Friday Funnies - Go Ahead, Smile Out Loud

This week I am compelled to post something this is not actually funny, but rather something I need to laugh at constantly to make bearable.
As you can see by my once jeans turned faux capris, I am in denial. Shorts are almost my least favorite article of clothing, listed just below Muu Muus and leggings. I commented the other day how, living in Omaha, I wouldn't even go outdoors when it was 95 degrees with a nearly equal humidity percentage, yet here I run and play all day. Yep, that's true denial for you.

Amoung My Favs

This weekend ended my friend Matt's week stay in Houston. I think he enjoyed himself, although Houston was not his favorite city. Saturday night Joe came home early from work - just for me :) and Matt and I hit the town. We had dinner at the original Carraba's downtown. Delicious! We shared mussels to start, and I had clam pasta for dinner. Seafood and Pasta...can it really get any better than that? Afterwards we headed over to the Toyota Center for the Fleetwood Mac concert. I was hoping to share some pics, maybe even a video. No such luck, they were not allowing photography or recording devices of any kind. I have never been to a live show where they didn't allow this, not even the Eagles. Stevie Nicks was beautiful and talented for a woman in her 30's...being that she is in her 60's she was phenomenal! A timeless goddess! Lindsay Buckingham can still rock it too, wow! We had a great time; I am thrilled that we were able to go. Thanks George! After the concert we stopped by a little pub to watch some live music, cover band style. This was my first time to a bar in Houston.

Just when you thought a day couldn't be better, along came Sunday. After spending the morning with the kids, I went to pick up Donni for massages at Massage Envy, courtesy of the Mommy Madness Promotion. I will let the video do the talking.


Joe had to go to work for a bit after I came home. Afterwords, he picked up Chinese food from Yao's. (Yes, the Rockets own Yao Ming has a place here in Houston that his parents run.) This is for sure my new favorite Chinese place. Try the curry shrimp.

Despite all the stress from financial burdens, our home in Omaha, and my lack of income, life has been really enjoyable lately. Joe works really had everyday for us (the kids and I) to be together at home, and experience life to the fullest. You're the best Papa Joe!

Working Towards a Wordless Wednesday

Wordless Wednesday is an entry many bloggers make each week by just posting a picture. I tend to be wordy; I will have to work towards that.

Houston doesn't mess around when it comes to weather! This photo is actually from last weeks rain storm. This is the park right across the street from our house. The photo was taken from inside the Traverse as I drove by. I was blown away by the amount of water. Turns out, when you are at sea level, you create parks to hold water. Being home to playgrounds and ball games is their second function.

This week, on Monday night, was the the first night ever (in my adult life) that I was woke up by a storm. Our area of the city received 4 inches of rain in an hour, and it kept on coming, accompanied by hail and severe thunderstorms. Roads and homes alike were flooded. Our home was fine. We were unable to leave for most of the day though. All the roads leading to the freeway were closed. Joe traveled 8+ miles out of his way to get to work Tuesday morning. The trip took him about an hour and a half.

So that was far from 'wordless.' Like I said, this will be a work in progress. teehee.

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In other random ramblings...

We make a lot of dust. What is the deal with that?

Mommy Madness - Tell Me More

Today was a HUGE day for me. I can not even put into words the amount of excitement that I felt today meeting with the contributors and creators of such a genius promotion - "Houston Mommy Madness." I could not contain the thrill behind it all, well it wasn't as though I tried either. If you're happy and you know it - show the world.

Being still quite unfamiliar with the Houston area, especially downtown, I set to leave the house more than one hour before the event began. Put the address into the GPS - fail. :) I ended up calling the organizers of the event, twice, for directions, and was the last to arrive. I chose my seat and was handed a packet and some paperwork along with a set of car keys. I began writing my name and glanced up for just a moment to look at the keys. My eye caught "Purp_" jotted on the tag. Without out thinking, I held up my keys and said, pointing to the tag, "Does this mean my car is purple!?!?!" (This most likely came out in a volume not at all appropriate for this business type meeting, but again, I couldn't contain it.) A PURPLE CAR! It really doesn't get any better than that.



Okay, let me digress for a minute to tell you how this all happened for me. Like any country girl, I am thrilled to be in Texas and immediately find the best country radio station and programmed it into my car. (Music of any kind is a necessity for me, but country will always have a special place in my heart.) One day while listening to the KILT I heard a ad for the Mommy Madness promotion. I immediately went online and submitted an application. A couple of weeks later, I went back to the site to see a notice that stated we should check back on April 20th to see the winners. I was a bit bummed to learn I wasn't selected. None the less, I went on with my day. Joe around noon to let me know that someone from CBS radio and Chevrolet had called the restaurant looking for me. Apparently, a woman with CBS Radio (Jeanie) was googling one day to see what sites were talking about or producing traffic about the event. Remember that post I made a while back about the Chevy Traverse and Mommy Madness?? Well, when she googled, my blog came up, as the first entry no less. The problem was, my application was not in their records (lost on the web somewhere?) so she had no way to contact me. Reading my blog, she read of the Flemings Town and Country opening and decided to call the restaurant and look for me. I called her and she offered me a place on the Mom Squad. AMAZING! Thanks Jeanie!!

So here we are, back around the board room table at CBS radio, joined by the creators of Mommy Madness, executives from GM, Chevrolet, CBS Radio and three totally rockin' Radio Personalities from their stations. Mix 96.5 - New Hot 95.7 - 650 AM - Sports Radio 610AM - KILT 100.3

Mommy Madness is an opportunity for five Mommy Bloggers to drive a brand new Chevy Traverse for 8 wks. In addition, we will be sent on "Mommy Missions" that tie into the madness of our lives and offer some fun opportunities for our families. We will make blog, picture, and video posts on our own blogs as well as the Mommy Madness Site several times through out each week. The site launches Monday, April 20th. Be sure to check it out and follow along. There will be incentives for you too. Check the site for how you can easily earn an hour massage at Massage Envy, and make sure you vote for your favorite Mommy to be entered to win a Girls Weekend Getaway (complete with spa services). *You can only vote one time. You will earn an extra vote for referring a friend.

The Mommy Madness promotion is currently running in three cities around the nation. Houston, Kansas City, and Dallas. The promotion will run from April 20th - June 14th.

Who is on the Houston Squad you say? We will make our debut on the Mommy Madness site on Monday the 20th. Until then, here are the Magnificent Mamas and their blogs.

1. Angie (that's me) - A Slice of Life
2. Valerie - Moms Living Fit
3. Christine - Christine Meeker Studios
4. Larami - The Alpha Team
5. Stephanie - Real.Life.Mom

Here we are thrilled to be just moments away from viewing our new cars.
(click to view larger)

Trying to contain ourselves as we listen to the walk through info.

And there is my dark cherry beauty parked in the drive at home.

A special thanks to CBS Radio and the Houston area Chevrolet Dealers for this truly unique opportunity!

A Sample of Saturday

In Houston, there are always several choices when it comes to how you want to spend you Saturday. (event wise) The top two picks this weekend were the Snow Festival and the Family Arts Festival. We decided, based on the weather patterns in Houston, we had better hit the Snow Festival first if we were to see any snow. Skipping over the details...it was a bust. I should have known Houston could not pull of 10,000lbs for snow for an event. There was not a flake in site. We were bummed! Cam did get to ride on a miniature horse though. I talked to the horse's owner and found out her ranch offers riding lessons for children as young as two. Woot! I finally found a place. She would begin riding on a miniature horse and then move up to a pony when she was around 5 or 6. We will definitely be looking into this more.

The helicopter that was going to offer rides had other business to tend to. Again, bummer. They did let Cambry sit in it for a bit though. Exciting!

Then we headed down to the the Family Arts Festival. We spent several hours making different crafts and art projects. When it was all said and done, Cam had her first taste of cotton candy. Delicious!

Boston Boy loves a balloon about as much as Cambry does. Really he just loves to hold anything with a string. Here he is napping in the stroller, still clutching the string.

Stopping to take a break.