Wishing for warmer days...

Snow In Houston

2011-02-05T09:25:00.001-06:00

This is HILARIOUS & sooooooooo true! :) I'll try to share my "BIG STORM" pictures soon! (pause the music in the right sidebar for best listening)

I'm not dead yet!

2011-02-05T08:39:00.001-06:00

Just crazy busy....didn't I mention something about taking my life back recently???

Why haven't I done that yet??

Happiness angel wishes to all...

Has it really been 5 years??

2010-08-29T11:45:00.002-05:00

This picture taken inside the eye wall just prior to Hurricane Katrina making land fall. I don't think this is a time that any of us will completely recover from and certainly will never forget. I pray we don't have to experience anything like it again in our life times.

Some things I cherish from those days: the strength of a small town, the love of friends/family/neighbors, and iced water tasting like the most amazing drink on the planet!

Goodbye Palms!

2010-08-15T14:32:00.004-05:00

Just in case anyone thought the palms weren't dead here is the proof after 2 more weeks! YIKES! Lightening is harsh!

Here are the guys surveying the situation before getting started. Of course they only had about 3 - 5 feet to lay anything down in...

BIG Shredder out in front of the house!

GONE!!

GONE!!!

GONE!!!! NOW we have some major work to do to make this landscape look like anything!! WOW!

Roundy Boundy Roads

2010-07-24T01:24:00.000-05:00

My funky mood...

2010-07-24T00:33:00.003-05:00

Maybe the lightning bolt was for me?? To jolt me out of this funk I've been in?? I hope it works! I've decided to do three things to run for the fix!!

1. LET GO & LET GOD!!!

2. STOP letting work consume my every moment of life!!

3. LOVE....LAUGH...LIVE!

Think it will work?? IT BETTER!!! Wish me luck! AND if anyone out there is also feeling funkish---JOIN ME ON MY THREE!! :)

Hugs from Houston!!

LIGHTNING STRIKES!!

2010-07-24T00:21:00.004-05:00

Hmmm.....I'm thankful it wasn't the house but not sure what kind of karma this is!?!?! WOW!! Last weekend we had a Texas sized thunderstorm (which really isn't that unusual) that sent a BIG bolt of lightning & struck our palm tree or trees. (not to mention the poor trees were already looking terrible from the FREEZES we had this winter) It scared us half to death as we were all standing by the windows directly in front of the trees! EEP!!

Dad....Mom....here are the pictures--what do you think? The one on the left literally had the top blown off!! You can see the top sort of hanging on the side off to the right of the tree trunk.

We aren't sure about the tree on the left?? There is a "new" leaf...errrr frond...that looks not so good there in the middle left of the top. Do you think it got hit too??

YIKES!! Glad we weren't outside in the rain (as we McCoys have been known to do) doing yardwork this time!!!

More 150-- photos this time!

2010-05-15T14:22:00.005-05:00

BACKPOSTING ALERT!! :)

Thought I would share some of the BP150 still shots!

The therapy department gang (minus M & I) hanging out on our RIDICULOUS bed! It was the joke of the tent that we brought the double layer blow-up mattress to camp with! *ROFL*

18 Wheeled Shower Trucks!! :)

LOVELY pic of my backside "on the road" entering the town of Bellville right before lunch on Day 1

Mel, Bridge & me on the side of the road in some of the beautiful patches of wildflowers!

This is the typical rest stop--side of the road SOMEWHERE, TX! :)

Here is our gang before we got started! Parking lot before the starting line! Everyone looking ready to go!!

Extended Silliness 2010 BP MS150

2010-04-20T00:53:00.009-05:00

Let's try this again for anyone with time on their hands to watch nearly 10 minutes of MS 150 camperitis! :)

If you listen a while...you'll hear me say "Whoa" a LOT!!! *ROFL* Those were times when I was paying more attention to what I was filming than what I was riding and nearly lost it!! YIKES!! :)

2010 BP MS150 Update!!

2010-04-20T00:22:00.008-05:00

I know....I know....It's been MONTHS since April!! So this is a BIG back post!! I finally edited some of the video from the 150 and thought if there is anyone out there who is still interested in seeing it...a late post is in order! I'm still trying to get some copies of pictures & will add those to the blog some day.

We had a fantastic time! We didn't come close to making the whole thing!! (But we knew that going in!) I made 37 miles and Matt made 59!! I am sooooo proud of him!! The second day was very stormy in the beginning so we did NOT ride to Austin. We helped clean up and pack up everything ---> and home we went for a LLLLOOONNNNNGGGG nap!

Anyone who wants the short glimpse of our adventure please watch the first video...running time just under 2 minutes!

BUT if you want the complete LOOK into the silliness that ensued after the ride you are welcome to watch the EXTENDED version...running time just under 10 minutes! (and don't say I didn't warn you *heehee*)

Thanks to everyone who supported us and our journey to the MS150! It is a fantastic cause that we are happy to be a part of! I'm not sure if we are done with this event yet?!?!? Matt wants to finish it....I would love to at least make it through Day One!! :) We shall see! It will be here again before you know it! Stay tuned bicycle enthusiasts.....or just anyone who is entertained by our attempts at cycling!

HUGS FROM HOUSTON!!

2 days and counting

2010-04-14T23:37:00.009-05:00

I'm getting a little nervous but the time is ticking down despite the nerves! I would appreciate everyone's prayers and angel wishes for Matt and myself this weekend as we embark on our two wheeled journey in route from Houston to Austin!

We are 90% packed...the car has a bike rack...the "butter" is bought...the soreness from the last ride is nearly gone---> all in time for the BIG ADVENTURE!!! I'll be filming on the ride thanks to Matt's video rig for my handlebars so that you can all share in the fun once we make it home. My goal is to attempt as many miles toward LaGrange, TX as possible. Riding into Austin may not be a reachable thing for me this year! BUT--I'm so proud of the progress I have made! :) It might be the "MS 50" for me this year...that remains to be seen!

If anyone has an extra dollar or two you are willing to donate to a great cause...please copy & paste this link to help me reach my fundraising goal:
http://main.nationalmssociety.org/site/TR/Bike/TXHBikeEvents?px=5890150&pg=personal&fr_id=12962

I appreciate any support given and remember it is a tax deductible donation! :)

Black Eyed Peas!!!!!

2010-03-19T00:50:00.002-05:00

Woooohooooooo! I've got a feeling!!!! Tonight's gonna be a good night! Tonight's gonna be a good good night!!!

AND IT WAS!!! Got to see the BEP rock the house at the Houston Rodeo!!! Barrel racing...bull riding....a calf scramble....mutton bustin....corndogs...funnel cake...upset tummy....WHAT A NIGHT!!! :) [OH and that red blurry picture is an actual Ginnydreamin masterpiece of night photography *ROFL*][I think I post these pics to entertain myself more than anything]

Also squeezed in 5 miles of seat time with contact & pollen issues earlier in the day! :) Matt became one with the bike clipping himself bravely to the pedals like a REAL cyclist!! YIKES!! It scares the living bejimminy out of me to even THINK of clipping myself to the bike but most of you know I'm a BIG CHICKEN!!! Maybe with a few hundred more miles on this bike and I'll think about it??
THE GOOD NEWS IS: NOONE HIT US!! :) Yipeeeee!! :)

Happy St. Patrick's Day!!

2010-03-17T07:38:00.000-05:00

May you always walk in sunshine.
May you never want for more.
May Irish angels rest their wings right beside your door.

Erin go Bragh!!! :)

Ride??

2010-03-14T17:01:00.002-05:00

8.5 miles during which there was more 'Ginnydrama' than should have been!! I GOT UP EARLY FOR THIS!!!! ACK!!!!

The second part of our day was spent at the Brookwood Community Cafe' and included a quick costume change in the BR followed by a lovely lunch with Mama Bird and Addie!! It was delicious and the company was nice! The greenhouse at Brookwood ALWAYS rocks my world!!

Ouch! Surely going to be a frequent word in my vocabulary for the next few weeks!!

Lesson Learned: Sometimes its best to just WALK the bike across the one lane bridges!! :)

Ride like a girl!!!!

2010-03-13T22:32:00.005-06:00

OK--this is a quickie post to let you all know I'm not dead yet!! :)

BUT praying may be in order!! Remember last year when the SO and I signed up for the 180 mile bike ride from Houston to Austin but then dropped out b/c of unfortunate circumstances preventing us from getting the gear etc. to be able to attempt the ride. WELL--> we didn't learn a lesson by that dropout at ALL....NOR did we learn the proper way to TRAIN for said event!!

Here we are a mere 5 weeks to the ride and we are sadly (and SORELY) NOT in shape for this ride!! This weekend 20 miles into a headwind nearly killed me! :) *ROFL* Yes...seriously I bet I stopped 18 times (at least) during the 20 miles!!! ANYWHOOOO---> there is no QUITTING!!! Who knows if I'll make 5 or 105 miles?? I'm pretty sure NOT to make 180 (heehee) but for better or for worse April 17th is coming fast!! AND I NEED TO PEDAL FASTER!!!! :) Wish me luck!! I sure do need it!

The picture above is in George Bush Park (where we were riding) but was not taken by me! I failed to pack the camera for the voyage so only sniped an internet pic for you to see!

LESSONS LEARNED: 1. Biking with traffic on Westheimer is SCARY!!!
2. A headwind makes it feel like all directions are UPHILL! :(

THIS IS HOW WE DO IT!!!!!

2010-02-09T19:24:00.004-06:00

Stand up and get crunk!!!!!! This is how we do it in New Orleans ya'll!!

I'm SOOOOOOOOOO wanting to be there! Only a couple more days until I get to soak up some of this Saints LOVE!!! The city is on fire! All of us are reunited in New Orleans brotherhood who have ever hailed from this great town!! :) It has been completely revitalizing to be a part of--->even over here in Houston we've been hugging it out DAILY for our team! Fellow NOLA employees at work can't stop talking about it!! IT HAS BEEN AWESOME!!!!!!!

I'm watching the parade on streaming video online! THANKS GOODNESS for technology! My Mamma is down there on Howard St. in the THICK OF IT ya'll!!!! :) She says she has her camera so let's hope for some great pics if she can stop yelling "WHO 'DAT!!" long enough to take some! :)

For those of you who don't know---> this parade was to happen tonight WIN or LOSE! :) BLESS OUR BOYS!!! BELIEVE 'DAT!!!! :)

Still CELEBRATING!!!!!

2010-02-08T00:28:00.002-06:00

Here's Odie in all his Saints finery!! We BELIEVE!!!

Keep on partying WHO DAT NATION!!!!

BELIEVE DAT!!!!!!!!!

2010-02-07T22:18:00.003-06:00

DESTINY IT IS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Did anyone see the clock after the Colts missed that 4th down and goal?????

44 seconds left on the clock!!!!!! BELIEVE DAT!!! DESTINY!!!!!

WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOHOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I believe baby!!! NEW ORLEANS WILL RISE AGAIN!!!!!! :)

BLESS OUR BOYS!!!!

pssst.....I know for a fact they had an angel cheering section in Heaven!! Granny, Uncle Kemp, Aunt Harriett, Aunt Nara----> HAD to be smiling down on this tonight!!!!

Is it destiny??

2010-02-06T14:28:00.002-06:00

Anyone believe in numerology??? Check these out!!

This will be the 44th Superbowl.
Obama is the 44th President.
There are 44 days from Christmas to the Super Bowl.
The Saints franchise is 44 years old.
On Super Bowl Sunday it will be 4 years and 4 months since Katrina.
The Saints won in the NFC Championship game in 4 minutes and 44 seconds overtime.

SOME SAY IT IS DESTINY!!! :) I say I'm so freakin' excited they MADE it to the SUPERBOWL---> I really don't care if they win it or not!!! BUT A WIN WOULD BE SWEET!!!

Look OUT Miami!!!

2010-02-04T18:26:00.003-06:00

Letter below sniped from Miltie's friend Jill :) *written by Mark Larando*

Dear Miami,

The Saints are coming. And so are we, their loyal, long-suffering and slightly discombobulated Super Bowl-bound fans. While there's still time to prepare -- although a few hard-core Who Dats will begin trickling in Monday, most of us won't arrive until Thursday or Friday -- we thought we'd give you a heads-up about what you should expect.

First things first: You need more beer. Yeah, we know. You ordered extra. You think you have more than any group of humans could possibly consume in one week. Trust us. You don't. New Orleans was a drinking town long before the Saints drove us to drink. But it turns out beer tastes better when you're winning. (Who knew?) So let's just say we're thirsty for more than a championship; adjust your stockpiles accordingly. And look. When we ask you for a go-cup, be nice to us. We don't even know what "open container law" means. Is that anything like "last call"?

It's Carnival season in New Orleans (that's Mardi Gras to you), and we'll be taking the celebration on the road. So don't be startled if you walk past us and we throw stuff at you; that's just our way of saying hello. Oh, and sorry in advance about those beads we leave dangling from your palm trees. We just can't help ourselves.

February is also crawfish season, and you can be sure that more than one enterprising tailgater will figure out a way to transport a couple sacks of live mudbugs and a boiling pot to Miami. When the dude in the 'Who Dat' T-shirt asks if you want to suck da head and pinch da tail, resist the urge to punch him. He's not propositioning you. He's inviting you to dinner. And if you see a big Cajun guy who looks exactly like an old Saints quarterback walking around town in a dress ... don't ask. It's a long story.

We know that crowd control is a major concern for any Super Bowl host city. Our advice? Put away the riot gear. Reason No. 1: Indianapolis is going to lose, and their fans are way too dull to start a riot. Reason No. 2: New Orleans showed the world on Sunday that we know how to throw a victory party. We don't burn cars. We dance on them. Reason No. 3: Even if we did lose, which we won't, leaving the stadium would be like leaving a funeral, and our typical response to that is to have a parade. Speaking of which: If you happen to see a brass band roll by, followed by a line of folks waving their handkerchiefs, you're not supposed to just stand there and watch. As our own Irma Thomas would say, get your backfield in motion.

And hey, Mister DJ! Yes, we know you've already played that stupid Ying Yang Twins song 10 times tonight, but indulge us just one more time. To us, "Halftime (Stand Up and Get Crunk)" isn't just a song; it's 576 points of good memories. It's the sound of a Drew Brees touchdown pass to Devery Henderson, a Pierre Thomas dive for first down on 4th-and-1, a Garrett Hartley field goal sailing through the uprights in overtime. It's what a championship sounds like. You may get sick of hearing it. We won't. Encore, dammit.

Inside Sun Life Stadium, you may find your ears ringing more than usual. We're louder than other fans. Seven thousand of ours sound like 70,000 of theirs.Don't believe us? Ask the 12th man in the Vikings huddle. Some people think it's just the Dome that heightens our volume. But you're about to discover a little secret: We can scream loud enough to make your head explode, indoors or out. It's not the roof. It's the heart. Well, OK, and the beer.

Don't be surprised if there are more Saints fans outside the stadium than inside. A lot of us are coming just to say we were part of history, even if we can't witness it up close. The Saints are family to us, and you know how it is with family: We want to be there for them, whether they really need us or not. Because we know our presence will mean something to them, whether they can see us or not. Come to think of it, seeing as how you're taking us in for the week, we pretty much regard you as family, too. So we're warning you now: If you're within hugging distance, you're fair game. Hugging strangers is a proud Who Dat tradition, right up there with crying when we win. Most sports fans cry when their teams lose. Not us. We've been losing gracefully and with good humor for 43 years. Tragedy and disappointment don't faze us. It's success that makes us go to pieces. Hurricane Katrina? We got that under control. The Saints in the Super Bowl? SOMEBODY CALL A PARAMEDIC!!!

So anyway, don't let the tears of joy freak you out. We're just ... disoriented.

OK. Let's review: Order more beer. Throw me something, mister. Suck da heads. Wear da dress. Stand up. Get crunk. Hug it out. Protect your eardrums. Pass the Kleenex. Hoist the trophy. See you at the victory party.

Faithfully yours,

The Who Dat Nation

*Features editor Mark Lorando can be reached at mlorando@timespicayune.com or 504.826.3430. Comment and read more at NOLA.com/superbowl.

WHO 'DAT NATION!!!!!!!!!

2010-01-25T01:34:00.002-06:00

WHO 'DAT!!!!!!!!!!!! WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOHHHOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!
What a game!!!! I'm practically speechless!! BLESS OUR BOYS!!!!!!!

LOOKOUT SUPERBOWL!!!!!!!! HERE COMES THE NEW ORLEANS SAINTS!!!!!!!!

These are RIDICULOUS!!

2009-12-15T23:31:00.002-06:00

& FUNNY!!! I promise not to do another silly ELFYOURSELF video but I strongly encourage anyone reading this to try it out with your own friends and family!! SO FUN!! It cracks me up completely!! :)

Send your own ElfYourself eCards

THIS should crack a smile!

2009-12-15T22:00:00.002-06:00

Send your own ElfYourself eCards

Don't forget to pause the music in the righthand column! This is hysterical!!! Especially the part with me and B breakdancing!!! :) ROFL!!!!! Enjoy the full body chuckle everyone!! HAPPY HOLIDAYS!!!

More stolen pictures from Emme's big day!!

2009-11-30T22:27:00.001-06:00

I have to publish these precious pics (again sniped from Mom's camera) that give us all a bigger glimpse into Brandy's birthday AND Emme's birth day!!

My brother is such a sweet husband! He made B a jello cake because he knew she would be only able to have clear liquids today!! Isn't that the coolest thing ever??!! I was SERIOUSLY impressed and from what I heard B was too!

Here is the big brother giving his sister the gift he picked out while shopping with Nonna and Poppa!! SO CUTE!!!

Love this pic too!! :)

OMG! SO SWEET!! I can't wait to see this IRL!! :)

Andy's Day with Nonna!

2009-11-30T22:17:00.001-06:00

I'm a lucky girl and was privy to stealing pictures from Mom's camera documenting her day with Andy while his baby sister was entering the world!! They spent the day outside and in the garden!!! ANYONE KNOWING NONNA SURPRISED BY THIS??? Check out the adorable pictures she captured of the big brother in his adventurous day with Nonna!!

What??

Making privet roses! Remember doing this Jake??

Helping with the pepper harvest!

Happy Thanksgiving!

2009-11-26T22:45:00.001-06:00

We spent a quiet Thanksgiving with only 4 this year. Jeff, Brandy, Andy & Emme got discharged from the hospital today and will have Mi-mi (Brandy's Mom) helping them out for the first week or so. We missed having the whole family together! It is nice to have the reason being our family is expanding again! :)

Mom & Dad graciously came out to help Matt and I on the critical pathway to the Christmas party! I am throwing my first annual Christmas shindig for my staff at the hospital! I hope we can get some big things done because the party is in two short weeks!! ACK!!!!

Wish us luck!!! I'll keep you all posted! :)

Here is a shot of the Thanksgiving table...

This year I am so thankful for my health, my husband, my loving family, the newest little one to enter the McCoy world, my ADORABLE nephew who constantly makes me smile, my job, my wonderful friends both near and far, and the fabulous moments happening daily that make life worth living!! :) It's all about the little things! :) HAPPY THANKSGIVING EVERYONE!!!

Sending much love from Houston!! What are YOU most thankful for??

Brought to tears...

2009-11-24T23:22:00.000-06:00

I have been a ball of emotion today FULL of excitement that my little niece has come into the world safely...praying for scores of angels to watch over Brandy and the baby on the way...HAPPY that our small family is being blessed with growth again...sad that I am not in the middle of the action where I am most comfortable and happy...I have had a "grip" all day...with only a few tears when hearing the "She's here" news. Overall--very proud of myself for keeping it together.

BUT (you all felt that "But" coming, didn't you?) when I saw the pictures below a few moments ago--> I became a hot mess! I am SO smitten with my Andy! When I see his little face looking at and holding his new sister--it just melts me from the inside! It is one of those "thinking about life" moments! It brings a flood of memories of how lucky I am to have the best little brother in the world! Our relationship has always been super close...our family has been through many trials & tribulations coming out of each with all of us even closer. I pray that Andy & Emme can be as close as Jeff and I have been! I can hardly wait to watch them grow up! I wish for them many days of making mudpies...playing Mardi Gras...jumping on tractor tires...playing in sand boxes...playing house...playing with trucks/cars AND dolls...watching cartoons together...waking up for Santa together...riding bikes...getting dirty...splashing in the hose...water balloon fights...and yes, even the fights! Godspeed little ones...

I'm SO happy for my little bro and sis-in-law! They are so deserving of these two beautiful children! I'm so happy to be an Auntie again! I can only hope to do as great of a job as my Aunt Harriett! (Maybe she'll send me guidance)

Here come the adorable pics that caused you all to have to "listen" to my emotional flood! Thanks for coming along on my bloggy journey!

Little Mary Elizabeth is here!! :)

2009-11-24T18:55:00.003-06:00

I'm so happy to announce that my little niece was born today around 12:50ish as best I have been told!! Her name is Mary Elizabeth! Her nickname will be her initials spelled LONG (or actually spelled backwards then forwards again *heehee*)--> Emme! She weighed 7# 14oz. & is 18.75 inches long! They "say" she has red hair but the picture I have seen doesn't look very red to me??? Maybe its auburn or maybe they have all gone color blind??? I'll post the facts when I see more evidence :) I'm praying that whatever color it is---> she hopefully inherited her Mama's beautiful curls!! :)

Poppa X was there representing all of the absent McCoys and calling out the updates to the girls while Nonna spent the morning and afternoon with Andy!!!! Brandy did great and is out of recovery in her room with the precious bundle of joy! Jeff is the proud Daddy handling everything else!! :)

I am SO sad to be in Houston now but SO HAPPY both mother and daughter (who now share a birthday) are doing well!!! I have been getting frequent updates from the homefront and a peek at some beautiful pictures of our newest family member!!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY BRANDY!!!! I'm SO HAPPY you and little Emme are safe!! What a great birthday present--> a bouncing baby girl!! CONGRATS TO YOU, JEFF & ANDY!!!

Andy has already gotten to hold his little sis!! Nonna & Poppa say he was really sweet saying "my sister." I hope there are many pictures of that moment for us all to see SOON!!

YAY!!!!!!!! I'm sooooooooooooooooo excited to be an Auntie AGAIN!! :) Enjoy the pictures I sniped from Jeff's blog below:

Northwest Houston Heart Walk!

2009-11-07T14:03:00.003-06:00

We started the morning bright and early with the American Heart Association's Heart Walk! Our GREEN BEAN team had lots of fun walking and chatting together! The weather was perfect! I was just wishing for shorts by the end! :) Now I think its time for a quick nap! *heehee*

THEN--> ON to the dreaded critical pathway!! *LOL* Someone be sure to ask my husband if he still loves me after this Christmas party is done!! Yeah....seriously! :)

Part of the Green Bean Team before the walk starts!
On the way to the starting line!

The Kaminskis are in the house!
Fun along the route!
Hot yet??

Stop! Strike a pose! ;)

Bike Houston's 37th Moonlight Ramble

2009-11-01T17:34:00.004-06:00

Happy Belated Halloween Everyone!!! We spent the day preparing for our early morning ride through downtown Houston for some Moonlight Madness!!! :) It was quite chilly at 47 degrees but there were around 1300 other whacky folks that participated in what was termed "a rolling party!"

As my "voyage" organized "open route" ride [which really means "pray-for-your-life-because-drivers-don't-like-cyclists"], I entered the evening with a few nerves! Thanks to all of my cycling angels above....M & I had a safe and superfun ride! It was a short one at 10 miles but energizing in every way! :)

I just have to share a few things I learned last night:
1. Houston Police are SERIOUS about biking rules of the road. NO FUNNY BUSINESS!
2. You MUST give loose gravel and sand on the road proper RESPECT! :)
3. Someone shouting "CAR BACK" means MOVE OVER DUMMY!!!
4. Biker shorts were invented for a reason!
5. I have a new appreciation for an open route especially when involving possibly drunk Halloween party-goers & confused drivers as to why there are ?*##!!^**"?! bicyclists riding in the middle of the night! LIGHT YOURSELF AND YOUR BIKE PEOPLE!! Seriously--why would anyone question the need for that?????!!

I'm hoping to get a gang of friends to participate in this event next year! SO ANYONE interested---> let me know! Remember--> a ROLLING party!! WOOHOO!!

A blurry view of our position at the starting line...I think we were in the 7th wave to start! (Remember my night photo skills leave a lot to be desired!)

AT the finish line!! WOOT!! (My self portrait skills need some work as well! heehee)

Cy-Fair Pumpkins!!

2009-10-28T13:32:00.003-05:00

My department at the hospital continues to amaze me! The hospital sponsored a pumpkin decorating contest for Halloween. Rules stated we couldn't cut or carve the pumpkin...and nothing scary or gory either since they would be displayed in the hospital on judging day. One of the contest organizers was quick to tell me that my group has "never really participated" in this event so was I "SURE" that I wanted one pumpkin for each group?? I thought....what the heck....let's give it a shot!(I hate when people DOUBT so easily!) SO--> I left each bunch a pumpkin the night before the event started slap in the middle of their "areas" with copies of the contest rules and a note from me that said "Your challenge is to create this pumpkin into something! My only stipulation is that we all HAVE FUN in the process! Good Luck!" I then left the bare little pumpkins' fate in the hands of my therapists and staff! (praying we would get at least a face drawn on some of them!)

WOW!! Was I THRILLED!!! AND SO PROUD!!! Not only did they all participate but they all GOT WAY INTO IT!!! It was definitely a week of teamwork & FUN with many laughs and LOTS of creativity! The icing on the cake is that we "cleaned house" when the awards were announced! We WON three of the four categories for the whole hospital! YAY SPORTS MED & REHAB!!!!!

Check out these hilarious medically themed pumpkins below:
Introducing Cy F. Banks from Wound care & Hyperbaric Medicine! This guy got the prize for "Best of Show"!! For those of you who may have never seen a hyperbaric chamber---that is what he is laying inside. Poor Cy even got a "staged" doppler study and real MD orders from his physician!
The official medical chart for Cy is what put him over the top! It was really funny! Check out his previous hospital stays! You may have to double click this pic to really see the chart. *LMAO*
Granny D. Licious from Outpatient Physical Therapy! She won "Best Medical" pumpkin
OT and Speech did a spoof on the Pain Scale! No prize for this one but it got a lot of laughs!
Meet Hal O. Cise! He is CRAZY for CARDIAC REHAB!! :) Hal won "Funniest" pumpkin!

They're still going...and going...and going

2009-10-23T13:23:00.001-05:00

The boys just kept going and going! They tore down and built back our fence by the house. They replaced outdoor motion lights. It was terrific! I might have to give us a point with all this progress! So I think that would put us at: Malwitzs 1 -- House 7! *heehee*

Dad and I went on a fun thrift store spree! We found a few fun things to use decorating for the upcoming Christmas party!! OH YES--there is a loosely followed critical pathway! :)

I whipped up a YUMMY belated birthday dinner for Dad! Matt helped with amazing grill performance! I hated to see the visit come to an end! I never want to see my loved ones go back home.
My crew hard at work!

Dad to town--PROJECTS ABOUND!!

2009-10-22T13:08:00.001-05:00

MANY MANY THANKS to my FABULOUS father!!! I don't know WHY I'm lucky enough to have him?? :) But I'm SURE glad I DO!!

Dad came for a little visit! I got an incredible surprise when I got home by a beautifully decorated porch!! Fall mums...pumpkins...& beautiful Crotons! Thanks for the surprise Dad! You ROCK!

He & Matt worked like crazy tearing down the hideous spa that graced our tiny backyard!! SO PLEASE participate in the quiz--> How many trash bags DO YOU think it took to put an entire 8' x 8' spa into so that it could be placed on the curb for garbage pick up?? OH YES--> the neighbors must be LOVING this one!! (Remember there is a bit of whackiness that runs in the family *ROFL*)

I'm SOOOOOOOOOOOOOO happy it is GONE!!! YIPEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!!!!!!!!!

How many trash bags did it take? Anyone have a guess for me??

Departure day...

2009-10-18T12:57:00.001-05:00

It was a nippy morning when we left Wisconsin at 35 degrees...and we did it with two heavy hearts. Leaving family is never easy but this departure was especially hard. Prayers for healing & comfort will be near constant now.

We had a great trip! I really enjoyed getting to see this little town. If any of you want to find a true gem of a town hidden in the North Woods--you should make your way to Antigo, Wisconsin. It is full of my hubby's family history!

Matt is so blessed to have this close knit large family! I loved the tour...the experiences...the stories...the laughter...

Matt & his Mama :) This lady LOVES her boys!

Leaves of Gold

Our visit to the North Woods!

2009-10-17T12:25:00.003-05:00

We have had an amazing trip to Wisconsin so far!!! It has been wonderful to see all of Matt's family! Mama Bird and Aunt Mary picked us up when we FINALLY made it to Mosinee, WI around midnight! ACK!! We got to stay in the most comfortable little cottage of the Pineapple Princess! It was so great to soak up the goodness and vibe that is Matt's grandmother! Grandma Dodo is truly an angel with the sweetest smile. She is a beautiful person inside and out! We are so thrilled that we got to spend time with her visiting in the Hermann hometown of Antigo!

Aunt Mary hosted us in her FAB apartment for a fish fry! YUM! She set a gorgeous table and we had a really great visit! Auntie M TOTALLY rocks!

When I say the North Woods are incredible....WOW! Thanks so much to Uncle Bill for taking us trekking in the woods! [We missed seeing Kathy :( but will give her a little HI here!] It makes me realize how little season change we have down south to see the array of COLOR in the trees. (& we apparently missed the best time to see it!)

We also spent a fantastic evening with Uncle Gerry, Aunt Cathy, Kim & Carina via webcam!! I had my first Michelada which is hilarious if you think how close we live to Mexico....and my 1st taste was in Wisconsin! *LOL* We munched down some delicious brats & potato salad! The company was GREAT! We had a good time! Thanks so much you guys!! Ya'll are awesome!
COLOR! :)

I missed the snow by a day! Here is a sneak peek I found hiding by a lake!

I love moss! It's just so pretty, isn't it?

Wisconsin Bound!

2009-10-15T09:03:00.001-05:00

We are headed out to the north country today for a visit with Matt's family! We can hardly wait to see Grandma Dodo, Mama Bird & Auntie M!!! We hope to snag a quick HI to some of his Uncles & Aunties too! It is supposed to be COLD!!! BRRRRRRRrrrrrrr.......

Stay tuned for the details.....AND for the bloggy posts from last weekend with my favorite nephew!! :)

Happy Birthday Dad!!

2009-10-11T12:18:00.000-05:00

This is a birthday shout-out for my Dad!!!! He is quite possibly the BEST DAD IN THE WORLD!! Happy Birthday Dad!!! Hope your day was FABULOUS!!!! I love you!! :)

Let's make COOKIES!!! :)

2009-10-11T11:55:00.002-05:00

For all of you who don't know....I LOVE LOVE LOVE cookie cutters and have been building a crazy collection of them for years! Since Andy was BORN...I have wanted to make cookies with him! *happydance* *clap* I GOT MY WISH!!! It was SOOOOOOOOO worth the wait!! Thanks SOOO much to my hubby who captured these moments forever on film! It was one of those experiences that make you want to freeze time because every second of it was fabulous!!! :)

He was really listening! Isn't that the sweetest?? I could NOT believe the attention span he had for this!!! 2 years old & Amazing!

Check out his bracelets!! So FUNNY! :) It took him a minute to be OK with the mess too!
Rolling out the dough...

Cutting out the shapes...
More cookie cutting....
Gotta have LOTS OF SPRINKLES!!!! WOOHOO!!!!
SO proud of his cookies...! What a fun time!

Pumpkin Pickin'! Happy Fall!

2009-10-10T11:37:00.002-05:00

Saturday found us at the pumpkin patch! It was a beautiful day! Sunny bright blue sky and just a hint of cool in the air! SIMPLY GORGEOUS!!! I was SO blessed to be able to spend it with my family! I think we all had a great time! Everyone that wanted to picked their very own pumpkin to take home....mine is the fairy tale pumpkin that is perfectly quirky! See--->always aspiring to be in dreamland!

Enjoy the pics!
My little bro, sweet SIL :) & their little man!

This was the HIT of the day! We had a supreme meltdown in order to literally tear him away from the slide! It was so much fun to watch him climb up with a literal LINE of older faster impatient kids behind him....but he wasn't backing down and made it to the top all by himself MANY times!! I LOVE his spirit! ALL ABOUT THE FUN!!

Taking a break for Aunt Ginny papparazzi while climbing in the piles of pumpkins! :)

We EVEN got to go on a HAYRIDE!!!!! It just isn't the full experience without a hay ride!! :)

YAY!! Andy & family are here!!!

2009-10-09T11:19:00.005-05:00

My favorite little one came to see me!! He is all about doing it "myself" these days. He goes ninety miles an hour and loves to have a good time. His giggle is COMPLETELY infectious and his smile melts my heart! Can you tell I adore this kid?? I know I'm ridiculously smitten...but I love it!

I can't squelch the OT in me....so I got some triangular crayons to see how he is doing in the fine motor skill department!! :) Check out the pics below--> beautiful developing tripod grasp in BOTH hands....so which will it be? A lefty like his Daddy? OR right dominant? (B-->which are you?) It was so much fun to watch him starting to name his colors...he still gets some of them confused but most are correct!! "Puuuuple...Geeeeen.....RED!!!"

Left? He says "Bown"....still working on those R's!!

Hmmmm....left again! Really in the pics I took it was an almost even use of left and right...

Doing really well with the right hand too!!

I couldn't resist sharing this one even though its a little blurry! Andy has had a fascination with Uncle Matt's hat since he was about 7 months old!! Two things have been constants since he was just a little baby....his joy from being buddies with Odie and his love of Matt's hat! He found it in the office and wasted NO time in popping it on his head--what a cutie!!! {Don't tell anyone but Uncle Matt LOVES this little obsession too!}

Last days of September '09

2009-09-27T22:35:00.003-05:00

WOW! I am SOOOOOOOOOO far behind in bloggyland! I'll be doing a bunch of backposts to catch anyone following up on our world since May! Talk about MISSING MONTHS! I nearly skipped summer completely! BUT don't worry---> NEVER FEAR!! I did have my camera for all 'Littlest McCoy' sightings! Unfortunately there have been too few for me! I miss the FAM terribly these days! Don't know if its just because life has been stressful or ??? I think I just miss all the great HUGS, laughter & story telling!!!

Hope everyone has been well!! Here goes MUCH backpost goodness to catch up 'Ginnydreamin' world! HUGS FROM HOUSTON!! :) Overall --> Ginny, Matt, Odie & Betsy are all hangin' in there, doing fine & very blessed!

SHOPPING MADNESS!! :)

2009-09-15T01:01:00.001-05:00

Remember I have a new little niece coming in December??? I'm SOOOOOOO excited AND I can't stay out of the clothes for this little one!! :) Here is a sneak peak of a few things I have for her!! I can't pass up a good sale---don't kill me yet J & B!! :)
OOOOOOoooooooooo! LOVE the girly outfits! :)

AND for the big brother--->GLOW-IN-THE-DARK HALLOWEEN PAJAMAS!!!! WOOOOOOOOT! :)

New wheels for the folks...

2009-08-21T00:54:00.001-05:00

My parents are incredibly lucky.....they drove from their home...to the Gulf coast....to Houston today--->and you want to know where the car broke down??? ABOUT 500 feet from my driveway!! NO KIDDING!!!! It made for a kind of wild trip--full of fix-the-vehicle-quotes, blue-book-quotes, crazy car dealerships, strange salesmen, will-they-have-a-qualified-clunker-quotes, one SUPER NICE salesman and one shiny new van! WOW!! What a visit! :) It was great to spend time with them no matter where we spent it! I always want more minutes regardless of how many they have to give! :) It's what they call LOVE! :) I miss them--what can I say??

We felt MUCH better sending them back home in a reliably running vehicle!! Looking forward to the next time...

Check out her new ride!!

What have I gotten myself into?

2009-08-01T00:49:00.000-05:00

I am a firm believer that God only puts in front of you the things he knows you can handle! I have stepped off of the path I thought I was on......into a direction I never thought I would go. I have done a lot of soul searching....a lot of praying....a lot of asking advice from those I respect......and now I'm taking a leap of faith! I accepted a new position at work today......the Director of Sports Medicine & Therapy Services for the hospital. OH MY! Please say a prayer for me that as I walk into this unknown I have the strength & ability I need to do the very best job possible! Thanks bloggy friends & family! Stay tuned...

Happy Birthday Jeff!!

2009-07-27T00:32:00.003-05:00

Happy Birthday wishes today for my little bro! ;) I'm the luckiest sis to have such an incredible brother! He is such a sweetie! I love watching him be an incredible husband and father! HAPPY BIRTHDAY J!!! I LOVE YOU!!! :)

We spent the morning at the park! It was super fun but HOT HOT HOT!!! We ALL needed a nap after that! The evening was spent celebrating Jeff's day!! Have I told anyone how much the little one LOVES cake?? It is hilarious!!!! What a cutiepie!!

Slides are fun!!

Can't you just hear the giggles???

Happy Birthday songs for Jeff!! Andy got two spoons out of my drawer all by himself! He is READY for some cake! :) He helped blow out those candles for his Daddy too!

More fun with the J. McCoys!

2009-07-26T00:02:00.003-05:00

Day two found us in the pool and cooking! Matt made some incredible ribs!! Odie & Andy (who have been friends since they first met) nearly wore us all out playing in the pool! Andy is really doing well in the pool! He is not afraid at all with his swimmies on! "I do it" is his quotable from the weekend! He is talking up a storm and will repeat nearly anything you ask him to. He is all about being a big boy and doing things for himself. He is beginning to figure out using a fork and spoon, can drink from a cup all by himself and is pushing every limit he can!! :) Independent & mischievous year TWO!! :)

Odie has the rubber duckie!

Odie with the quarterback sneak!

Andy wins this round! 6 points! Will he make the extra point?

Yummy! Matt's ribs ROCK!! :)

Mama & her boy!

This is one happy family!

McCoy's Littlest Redhead comes to Houston!

2009-07-25T23:34:00.006-05:00

& his parents came too! *heehee* I just adore my nephew---that is NO secret! :) It is SO much fun to watch him grow! One of my favorite moments from this visit happened when I least expected it! I noticed he was soooooo sleepy & asked my little bro if he thought Andy would let me take him up to bed. Jeff said SURE! We had already had a blast with the new tub toys(I'm trying to get every different rubber ducky I can find) during a warm bath! We played & played in the Thomas the train tent(Thanks Catherine & Connor)! Odie & Andy played and played chasing each other around and around the bottom floor of our house! So my little one was TIRED ;)...I scooped him up, found the paci and took him up to a nice soft bed! I was all worried that he would cry because I wasn't Mom or Dad---> as I laid him down & covered him up, he looked up at me with those beautiful baby blues and said (pacifier in mouth) "I love you Aunt Juju" when his little eyes were closing! OMG!! I was teary eyed and happy kissing him goodnight-->"I love you too Andy!" I ABSOLUTELY ADORE THIS CHILD!!! I am SOOOO blessed to have him in my life! :)

Enjoy some fun pictures of Day one below: :)

Terrible TWOS come to Houston!! :)

Yes, the whole box! :) *ROFL*

TERRIBLE TWOS......Take 2!! And yes, the whole roll!! Apparently I don't understand "kid-proofing" the home! *teehee*

Here is the "innocent" face caught red handed! :)

Thomas is SOOOO much fun!

Can you see Andy tumbling out the door? Choooochooooooo!!!!

South Padre Island

2009-07-19T23:16:00.003-05:00

Our fantastic friends, the Kaminskis, treated us to a wonderful few days in South Padre for vacation!!! We crashed their vacation pad and had a TOTAL blast!! There is nothing like good friends, sweet kids, yummy food, hunting crabs by flashlight, PIRATES, kites, sea turtles, fireworks, waves, sun & surf to create tons of terrific memories for summer 2009! It was amazing! Thanks so much Bridge & Stan!!!

One of my favorite moments was watching Catherine SAVE what we think was a sea snail from certain death after it washed up on the beach and was being poked at by some grown beachgoers! Cat marched right into the middle of this group...saw they were possibly hurting what she thought was still alive.....scooped up the yucky gelatinous looking blob and brought it over to our tent! What a brave girl! After putting the blob into her sand bucket with beach water----> a beautiful sea snail began to swim!! It was really amazing! She released it back into the Gulf after a few more minutes---what a SUPER young lady!! :) It was refreshing to see the animal through her eyes!

Other favorite moments included feeding the sea gulls and eating watermelon on the beach sharing with everyone! It was a great time and SO RELAXING!! Good friends like these are hard to find and we cherish every opportunity to hang out with them! :) What a fantastic summer memory!

Har!!!! PIRATES!! Shiver me timbers!!!

The Black Dragon awaits!!!

A REAL cannon fire!!

Fireworks over the bay!! I just LOVE those fireworks!!!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY MOM!!!

2009-07-12T23:14:00.000-05:00

I want to give the official shout out to my MOM!!! She's the greatest! She totally keeps our family running!! She always has the necessary things on hand for a fabulous time!! It's awesome that now I consider her one of my best friends too!! Hope your birthday was all you wanted it to be Mom!! I LOVE YOU!!! :)

The 4th at the Frog Farm...

2009-07-04T23:04:00.000-05:00

Life is as it should be! It just isn't a proper Fourth of July without waking up to the local fire department parade down White Chapel Road! We had a great time in the pool, bar-b-qing & hanging out. I got to share the first fireworks with my sweet nephew!! (First of many many many more!)

Here are Jake & Andy right after the big parade!! It was adorable--I'm not sure Andy knew what to think of all the noise! He even caught some beads!! :) We are always RUNNING to support these great volunteers who years ago saved our home from a complete destruction fire!

SPARKLERS!!! WOOHOO!! My favsies!! :)

A BIG ANNOUNCEMENT!! :)

2009-07-03T22:56:00.000-05:00

I wasn't the absolute last to know!!! GUESS WHAT???? I'm going to be an AUNTIE again!! WOOHOO!! Andy, Brandy & Jeff are happily announcing THEY ARE EXPECTING!!! :) AND IT'S A GIRL (as far as we know now!!)

I can hardly wait!! LOOK OUT! Sugar & spice and everything nice!! That's what a little girl is made of!!! :) Ruffles, bows, flowers YIPEE!!! :)

My little Andy is going to make the best big brother EVER!!! :)

May/June Catchup

2009-06-29T22:51:00.000-05:00

I have to apologize for the LACK of news here on Ginnydreamin' for the months of May & June. Let me give you the gist of it in a nutshell: chaos at work, job hunting, heart investigation & resolution, JACHO survey, sweating in the garage, hanging out with the Lakota tribe, swimming and extraordinary OVERTIME! All of that combined left little time for blogging! On the plus side--> the gang in Houston is healthy, happy & hanging on by a thread or two! :) Hugs to all! AND now on to the moments with pictures...

Missed Mother's Day visit!

2009-05-19T22:46:00.001-05:00

I have to share a picture from this visit that Mom, J, B & the littlest redhead made to Louisiana for Mother's Day! I wish I could have joined them as I hear they had a fantastic visit!

This picture absolutely warms my heart! The smile on my grandmother's face says it all! :)

HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY WEEKEND TO ALL THE MOM'S OUT THERE!!!

Pool Opening Day & Birthday Happiness!

2009-05-09T01:40:00.003-05:00

We spent a fun weekend with the Lakota tribe!! Time for POOL DAY!!! Splashing and plant trimming with a few brewskis made it a fantastic afternoon!!

Chief Fuzzy Bear and Dances on Stix brought a wonderful birthday surprise for me and all of us!!! The most remarkable SUSHI feast EVER!!!! It was a great weekend full of some incredible moments of Lakota family time!! I loved every minute of it!!

Thanks SOOOOOOOOO much for the awesome birthday goodness M & B!! YOU TWO ROCK!!! :)

2 YEARS!!??!! & A Cowboy Birthday!!

2009-05-02T01:14:00.005-05:00

My little wrangler nephew and his fellow cowpokes joined up for a whooping & hollerin' birthday celebratin' bubble blowin' hotdog eatin' afternoon down yonder in a little town they call Cesear! You never saw such COWBOY action---> there was even a cowboy hat wearin' cacti [N' rattlesnake too] for targets from the watergun slingin' brood! Some lil' cowgirls tried their hand at mustang ropin' and ended by playin' with Cowboy Earl for some hulahoopin' trickery & action!! All in all the whole buncha folks what gathered seemed to pass a good time!!

(oops! Seems a little cajun injection happened there at the end of CowSpeak *rofl*)

ENJOY the precious pics of our littlest McCoy cowboy!! :)

Baby blue eyes! :)

OH NO!!! The sniped pictures are SO SMALL!!! I'll try to fix this soon but get out your glasses girls & guys -->these pix are TOOOOOOO cute to miss!

Takin' a ride round the bend on little Sota (who was bought WAY before the birth of the boy on a trip to Minnesota! His twin Sippi {bought in Mississippi of course} stayed on the ranch and missed the party)

Blowin' out those candles! He has been in training for this moment for nearly a year now!! :) ADORABLE...just look at those cheeks! :)

Here is the best cowboy cake a boy could ask for! Designed and created with love by his Mom & Dad!

Now can you believe these cuties??? This is Andy with his favorite cowgirl, Jenna! They are buddies daily-->and I hear Jenna tells everyone she has a little brother! :) SO CUTE!!

May Day Madness

2009-05-01T01:10:00.001-05:00

What a May Day we had today!!! Lots of dust, cobwebs, geckos, and boxes!! Memories of 9 fast years gone by abound!! One storage unit 90%ish cleaned OUT!! YIPEE!!! GO TEAM McCoy/Malwitz!!!

Wandering around in New Orleans...

2009-04-29T00:24:00.004-05:00

Day two of our mini vacation began with breakfast at Brennan's! We had a great time with a fabulous wait staff! The delight of my morning was fruity-licious!! Strawberries with double cream and Bananas Foster---> YUM!!! We won't discuss the insurmountable amount of calories consumed during this meal...OF COURSE!!!

We enjoyed a pit stop at our favorite Bienville Street Gallery! Always things to learn for the artistically challenged!

Midday found us walking the streets in the good company of my Dad :)! It was fun to show M. many parts of the Quarter he hasn't experienced before...

Street musicians & soul of the French Quarter

Balconies of iron

Shady Esplanade

French Quarter living

One of my absolute favesies!! Where else can you purchase spiked Koolaid for ridiculous prices in a crazy glass you don't need singing at the top of your lungs in the piano bar???!!! Rest in peace dear Eddie!

Scenes from the park...

2009-04-28T23:56:00.009-05:00

I'm backdating again but bear with me life is as busy as ever! :)

M and I had a fabulous two days soaking up the city I love! I got a rare chance to share some of the places dear to me with my sweetie. After our usual mishaps and shenanigans, we actually made the park in time for a terrific picnic....a nice walk...and a drive by the museum & sculpture garden!

Our first day ended as it should ;) ...on Bourbon Street!! WOOHOO!! (and somewhere in the distance they heard..."Let's party like rock stars!!" *ROFL* (maybe 10 years ago...) Oh yes, we were in bed by 1:30am!! I know, I know....it's shameful!

I NEEDED IT!! Enjoy the pictures! :)

This little one joined us for our picnic! I thought he might ACTUALLY sit down with us for a few moments!

Who loves to feed the birds....ducks....fish....pigeons :) ME!! M snapped this cool pic of my adoring fans as I doled out the goodies!

Regal beauty! I wonder how long these guys have stood guard over the pavilion in the park?? I can remember climbing on them when I was 4...3?? AND THAT WASN'T JUST YESTERDAY ;)
The gloaming on Bourbon & view from our balcony!

Anyone guess where this is? ALL my peeps---> YOU know this one!! :)

On our way to the Frog Farm!

2009-04-27T01:18:00.003-05:00

We are packed up & ready to roll out!!! I can't even express how much we need to get away! :) So...we are off to the Frog Farm to see what adventures we might have! With a day trip to NOLA in our plans as well....its about time to show my sweetie more of my roots and why I love them!!

I'm sure we will return with many pics of a certain little redhead who will be turning 2 next weekend!! Stay tuned....

Praying for safe travel and safe return home!! Hugs from Houston!!

One more for the MS 150!!!!

2009-04-20T22:40:00.006-05:00

I'm going to share a video that I found on Youtube made by a BP MS 150 rider for his fund raising efforts! It was filmed on the actual route 2 weeks ago! HILARIOUS!! and INSPIRING!!! ENJOY!!!

Matt and I echo his THANKS to our supporters who pledged to help us reach our fundraising goal! THANK YOU! THANK YOU! THANK YOU!!!!

If you watch--> DON'T FORGET to pause my music on the sidebar to the right so you can HEAR the video. ;) It's MUCH more enjoyable that way!

P.S. & YES the bluebonnets ARE that beautiful!!! Come see us next year and experience it for yourself! :)

BP MS 150 25th Anniversary!

2009-04-19T21:35:00.013-05:00

DESPITE the cancellation of Day 1's festivities, the BP MS 150 ROLLED out with 11,000 of the original 13,000 riders! WOW!! What an EVENT the BP MS 150 Houston to Austin IS in living color!!! M & I did not ride but made the trek to Austin to cheer our fellow teammates across the finish line!!! The headwind they fought all day was FIERCE!! I totally teared up when we felt the energy at the finish line and NOW my quest to accomplish this tour de force is completely renewed!!

I'm SOOOOOOOOOOOOOO very proud of all of my teammates that trained together...they gave it their everything and crossed that finish line (whether on two wheels or SAG)!!!! I know Team Tenet will only GROW next year!! Only 5 months until sign up for the 2010 MS 150!!

We also had a wonderful lunch with Beth! She was such a sweetie to come pick us up on campus so we wouldn't lose our parking space downtown!! It was great to visit and catch up! Thanks so much Beth for the last minute get together! We loved getting to see you!

Enjoy the pictures taken in beautiful Austin yesterday!!! Have a wonderful week everyone!! HUGS FROM HOUSTON!!!

Big Texas hospitality & spirit is thick in Austin! It is such an incredible city!!

Austin's gorgeous Capitol building greeted the riders at the MS 150 finish!

Many MS Survivors lined the finish line with incredible signs of support!

This is the scene in front of the finish line! It is a little hard to see unless you double click and blow up the image! The numbers of supporters cheering the riders in was SO MUCH FUN!!!

These "Tough Cookies" are a female team to be reckoned with! ;) GO GIRL POWER!!!

The cyclists coming in on their last downhill stretch to the finish line in front of the capitol! It was an awesome sight to see! AND a beautiful day to see it!

Matt took this FANTASTIC pic of our girl Bridge as she was about to cross the finish line!! I was (of course) making a complete FOOL of myself screaming & cheering her through!! :)

FINISHED!!!!!

Join the Movement!!! MS 150 on the Move!

2009-04-18T16:21:00.007-05:00

OH MY!! This weekend has been VERY different from what we expected!! The 25th Anniversary of the MS 150 HOUSTON --> AUSTIN has proven to be problem prone! The RAIN and thunderstorms coming through yesterday and today have literally FLOODED the big campground in La Grange, TX that was our destination tonight! SO--> the MS Society was forced to CANCEL Day 1 of the ride for the FIRST time in the history of the ride! That has sent all teams and riders SCRAMBLING to figure out what to do and how/when to do it!!

Team Tenet had a 2 1/2 hour powwow conference call to decide what would happen for us! We have just returned from braving the morning thunderstorms and a delicious carb-loading lunch at the hospital (THANKS CHEF MARK, JIM & GENE!! You guys are awesome!)! We grabbed that opportunity for a partial team picture as several members were flooded into their subdivisions and couldn't even make it out!! It's CRAZY over here I tell ya!!!!

Now the plan is to get as many riders to the starting point as possible and the rest will meet up at the finish line in Austin!!! WISH US LUCK BECAUSE WE NEED IT!!!!
I'll post a few pics from the festivities so far!! :) HAPPY RIDING EVERYONE!!!

This is a shot of our depiction of the MS 150 route we used for fundraising! Isn't it cute!! This first part starts at our hospital goes through Bellville and ends in La Grange to camp for the night--which would have been happening today if it hadn't been cancelled!

Here's Day 2 from La Grange through the park and into the state capitol, AUSTIN!! (& home to the University of Texas--> HOOK 'EM HORNS!!)

Here is the wacky Cy-Fair bunch! Team Tenet was made up of the four Tenet hospitals in the Houston area! The Cy-Fair gang is mostly a bunch of newbies to the cycling sport but we sure have had fun!!!

This is my bud, B. trying to force my husband to smile! :) I think she succeeded!! YAY!

This is the maiden voyage for TENET sponsoring an MS 150 team and we hope it will become an annual event for the corporation here in Houston! Here is the first ever Team Tenet jersey that we all (or most of us) signed today! It will be framed and hung somewhere in the hospital for many years of happy viewing!!!

Happy Easter Everyone!

2009-04-12T17:48:00.003-05:00

I'm taking a moment today to be thankful for all of the blessings in my life! My husband & closest friend, my family who there aren't words of enough gratitude, my faith keeping me on the right road, my friends who always support my crazy ideas and make me laugh, my little Odie always there with a wagging tail never letting me down, my whacky coworkers who are honestly the reason I can go to work everyday, my cantankerous Betsy, my home & 'work in progress', my patients whose hard work always inspires me if I'm having a bad day, the green plants & flowers that brighten my space and make me smile, my little blue bug taking me wherever I need to go, and ALL of the random acts from strangers in a day that help me to continue to believe in ultimate good! Sheesh! I know that is a mouthful BUT it is Easter SUNDAY! I've had a rough month and I'M DETERMINED to turn it around!

SO HAPPY EASTER TO ALL!!! Please take a minute to look around you and REDISCOVER the blessings you could be taking for granted today. Hugs from Houston!! :)

40 years and counting...

2009-04-04T18:22:00.002-05:00

Anyone who knows a smidgen about me knows how much I love, adore, and respect my parents...

This past weekend we went home to the Frog Farm to celebrate their Ruby Anniversary! 40 years since they said "I DO" It was a weekend full of moments I hope I'll remember forever! We pulled out their wedding album and heard stories of church decorating, extra cool chicken salad sandwiches, giggling girlfriends getting ready upstairs at my grandmothers' house, the "locked up" VW beetle that somehow got decorated anyway, Dad putting the finishing touches of greenery at the church with his suit ON as guests started to arrive (hmm...that one is really familiar *heehee*), and forgotten hanging bags on the way out for the honeymoon! The pictures of the day brought about many memories for both of them! We celebrated with a special afternoon in New Orleans at an old family favorite restaurant, Mandina's. THANKS SO MUCH to Diane, our waitress, who went OUT of her way to make the meal special! We finished the night with coffee and homemade strawberry shortcake at home. Wish we could have had you all there to join us!

HAPPY 40th ANNIVERSARY MOM & DAD!

Here's the happy couple! :)

Can you see the anticipation of that bite in Andy's eyes?? He was so cute..he followed the cheesecake around the table as we all had a taste! OH YES--it was YUMMY!

Me & the little guy (with M in the background)

March Missed

2009-03-31T19:09:00.000-05:00

*BACKDATED SECONDARY TO LANDSLIDE*

Sometimes life throws curveballs....

Even when you should be expecting them, you don't. Sorry for our recent bloggy absence but we have been trying to get our heads back above water. Don't worry, everyone is healthy. We are DETERMINED to survive this and God willing, we will.

Despite the "landslide" as we have now termed it, late Feb. and March were filled with bike riding and fund raising for the MS 150! Thanks to everyone who has supported M. and I, Team Tenet, and overall our quest to support the search for the cure for Multiple Sclerosis with words of advice & luck as well as FUNDS to reach our goal! GOOD NEWS--> we did it! We raised $800 together!! WAHOOOOOOOOO!!!!! :)

We will KEEP MOVING FORWARD! :)

Enjoy the pics from one of the many BAKE sales we have had at the hospital! :)

Healing power of cooking...HOLY MOLE'

2009-03-14T23:43:00.004-05:00

*BACKDATED SECONDARY TO LANDSLIDE*

They say the art of cooking has restorative power to the soul...

We spent the weekend giving it a shot! AND since the landslide I'll say we needed it! Months ago M. bought an "authentic" Mexican cookbook because he was interested in the process of making mole'. I say "process" since you can find/read about how mole' in Mexico is often contributed to by the whole community. It isn't a quick thing to make from scratch! We spent hours toasting, roasting, stewing, blending, chopping, grinding...........and finally tasting the 18+ ingredient sauce!

Was is healing? Hmm....it at least gave us something constructive to spend our time on! So I guess YES--it was! It was quite delicious!

Landslide

2009-03-08T16:58:00.004-05:00

On my weekly blog perusal one of my favorite bloggers posted something that spoke to me...

Landslide

I took my love and I took it down
I climbed a mountain and I turned around
And I saw my reflection in the snow covered hills
Well the landslide brought me down

Oh, mirror in the sky
What is love
Can the child within my heart rise above
Can I sail thru the changing ocean tides
Can I handle the seasons of my life

Well, I've been afraid of changing 'cause I built my life around you
But time makes you bolder
Children get older
I'm getting older too
Well...

Well, I've been afraid of changing 'cause I built my life around you
But time makes you bolder
Children get older
I'm getting older, too
Well I'm getting older too

So, take this love and take it down
If you climb a mountain and ya turn around
And if you see my reflection in the snow-covered hills
Well the landslide brought me down
And if you see my reflection in the snow-covered hills

Well maybe the landslide will bring you down

Go Texan Day & Goodbyes!

2009-02-27T18:58:00.001-06:00

**BACKDATED ENTRY SECONDARY TO LANDSLIDE**

It's been called a fever! If you've never experienced it firsthand....GO TEXAN Day is much like a 'Celebrate the Spirit of Texas' day!!! We spent it at work of course!! Lots of fantastic people donated money to TEAM TENET for the MS 150 by paying to "lock-up" the hospital's most wanted! The poor folks in jail had to raise ransom $$ to get out! They were all great sports about it and we raised a good chunk of change toward our $20,000 team goal! We were all decked out in our COWGIRL finest and enjoyed a hospital sponsored BAR-B-Q for lunch! Yeehaw! :)

We spent the evening with about 1/3 of my department toasting a coworker who will be leaving us for PT school and getting married! It was a good evening--despite our recent landslide.

Happy Mardi Gras!! 2009!!

2009-02-24T16:31:00.002-06:00

I sure do miss this party!!

P.S. Mr. Oscar

2009-02-23T00:48:00.004-06:00

Sean Penn, I APPLAUD YOU!!!! Standing and the whole bit! EQUAL RIGHTS FOR ALL! AND YES, PEOPLE--> Don't make your grandchildren ashamed of you! OPEN YOUR MINDS (& hearts) NOW!!

and ---> how cute is Kate Winslet! I have a new view of her...she seems real! Talking about her Mom's winning pickles! ADORABLE!

ANYWAY-->Hope you all enjoyed Oscar night!!

GOODNIGHT!! :)

Oscar Night!

2009-02-22T17:32:00.003-06:00

What is it about a movie? ...making tears spring up for BFF's close to your heart but now too far away...dancing us into beautiful worlds of fantasy...conjuring memories of days gone by...pushing belief in the ability to reach your dreams...scaring you to the edge of your seat with fingers clenched and heart racing...encouraging pride in people and country...creating anger at wrong doing...celebrating love and family...shaping ideas of soul love...and composing the discovery of Neverland just around the bend---> ALL in the course of a few hours!! We cry, laugh, think and dream! We take the opportunity to escape our own reality to the big screen! Shallow or deep--it's ours to discover and dive in! :)

IT'S OSCAR NIGHT BABY!!!! Celebrate the films! (AND the red carpet fashion!! YAY!!) Have fun everyone! Happy Oscar Night!

HUGS FROM HOUSTON!!

Officially REannouncing my insanity!!!

2009-02-03T22:26:00.007-06:00

OK folks!! This is just a post to let you all know that I have completely lost it and am now suffering from delusional thoughts!! I insanely but enthusiastically signed up my hubby and I for an adventure! What adventure you ask?

Anyone heard of the MS 150??? It is a 150 (183 in our case) mile bike ride to raise funds for the National Multiple Sclerosis Society! YES....I'm serious.....seriously deranged and NOW IN TROUBLE!!!!!

Oh sure! I signed us RIGHT UP with about 13 minutes of forethought which did NOT include HOW LONG 183 miles really is...HOUSTON TO AUSTIN TEXAS....WHY did I not look at a map before agreeing to this? AND ME???? HOW LONG HAS IT BEEN SINCE I HAVE BEEN ON A BIKE or done ANYTHING PHYSICAL for that matter????? WOW!!!

Seriously---the actual thing that motivated me is the stories I have heard about Matt's Aunt Beth who has MS and her fight back from it's initial onset AND the last two MS patients I have treated (especially Abby!!) who I witnessed with the most amazing display of courage and strength!!! Ultimately these folks motivate me to try this MS150!!! If they can be SO STRONG and face MS head on---> maybe I can face my fears, weakness, etc. to attempt this ride in their honor!

At the very least this should be an experience of a lifetime and a HUGE PHYSICAL CHALLENGE for me! SO PLEASE PRAY!!! :) And send wishes of strength and endurance for me and my SO!!! Goodness knows I will need all of the support I can get!

If anyone would like to donate to the cause (did I mention we have to raise $800 between the two of us??), please follow this link to my offical MS webpage and click on the tab that says "Donate to Julie":
http://main.nationalmssociety.org/site/TR/Bike/TXHBikeEvents?px=5890150&pg=personal&fr_id=10222&et=uJXdS6gByY2NeCkCtEUc-Q..&s_tafId=102539

or to my SO's MS webpage and click on the tab that says "Donate to Matt":
http://main.nationalmssociety.org/site/TR/Bike/TXHBikeEvents?px=5890310&pg=personal&fr_id=10222&et=2hazqXwsA-VQEfH4kRjVOw..&s_tafId=102539

and donate a buck or two to a very incredible cause! 80% of all money donated goes to actual patients with MS or to research funding for a cure! IT IS ALL TAX DEDUCTIBLE!! :) Thanks for any good wishes or $$ you can spare! :)

HUGS FROM HOUSTON!!!!

Little one Birthdays!!!

2009-02-01T21:50:00.003-06:00

My best bud in Texas has two adorable little ones!! I got the pleasure of being surrounded by all of the HAPPY THREE YEAR goodness for C! The joy that is impossible to neglect at a party for a child is palpable! What a fun afternoon at the gym!! The smiles, fun, and happiness just engulf you! I managed a few pics of the day! :)

The remainder of the weekend was spent getting ready for company! :) AND SOME WONDERFUL NEWS FROM BATON ROUGE!!!!! WELCOME TO THE WORLD LITTLE Gracyn!!! I'm so happy for A, M, & A---> the family has grown by one!! I can hardly wait to go see her!

Happy February Everyone! May you all have moments of love with someone dear to you!!

See how intent this BIRTHDAY BOY is about his "present cake"!!! Such a sweet little man!! :)

Brother & Sis line up to go to the next station at the gym!! :)

Aren't they cute!??!

Even Odie got in on the fun with the balloons I brought home for the people MISSING at the party

Pretty balloons!!

Happy Year of the Ox!

2009-01-26T14:30:00.000-06:00

Happy Chinese New Year!! Hope everyone has a wonderful day!!

CHANGE HAS COME!

2009-01-20T15:37:00.002-06:00

Check out the White House homepage!!

Also anyone in bloggyland interested in our representation today---> check out the Quacker Oats party hosted by Karen @ www.chookooloonks.com covered by Houston's finest news broadcasters!! Looks like they are whooping it up right! :)

Happy Inauguration Day!!

2009-01-20T15:28:00.002-06:00

What a day we are witnessing today in our country!! What a crowd in Washington, D.C.!! Where did you spend the moments of Obama's inauguration into the presidency? I was hanging out with coworkers around the hyperbaric chambers watching the tele in between patients! It has been and continues to be exciting!

Happy Inauguration Day President Obama! May you lead with all of the magnificence expected! Godspeed!

Sweet moment with Betsy

2009-01-18T23:19:00.003-06:00

I know most of Betsy's airtime is all about how antisweet she happens to be...

SO I thought I would share a snipet of calm... Here she is embracing the zen and hanging out with me as I surf the net! These are the times I'm glad to have our little kitty in the family :)! Happily, as she (and I *heehee*) gets older they are more frequent! Who knows, maybe one day we will consider each other buds! :)

SHE DOES LOVE HER MATTHEW! She is simply a one person cat. :)

Hope everyone had a great weekend! I'm off to bed with visions of the Park Seed catalog in my head!!! :)

Miltie! It's your day!!

2009-01-14T23:15:00.000-06:00

HAPPY BIRTHDAY MILTIE!!!! Wish I could have shared more than a text message with you today! Hope it was all you wanted it to be! HUGS FROM HOUSTON!!! :)

It's my honey's birthday!

2009-01-12T23:59:00.000-06:00

Happy Birthday to Matthew!!! I can't say he had a stellar day since I BARELY made it home before midnight from work with this cake! ;) BUT I TRY! We are going to try to carve out a moment someday soon to celebrate together!

I love you! HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!!!!! 2009!!

2009-01-01T13:20:00.000-06:00

HAPPY NEW YEAR FROM HOUSTON!!!! We spent a quiet New Year at home! Wiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii!!!!! It sounds like a war zone in our neighborhood but you all know how I love LOVE LOVE fireworks!!!!!!!!!!!! I SO enjoyed the beautiful display from the neighbors!!!! Hope you are all getting your blackeyed peas and cabbage today!!

Hugs from Houston!! Get those 2009 plans rolling!!! :)

Elefun!!

2008-12-26T13:04:00.000-06:00

I finally got the opportunity to meet sweet Raegan!! She is an absolute doll full of personality & mischief!!!! All of the Creels had a wonderful Christmas and it was so good to see them!! (even Jetlag John!!! heehee *poke*) Lilli and Raegan were too sweet playing with dolls from Santa! Savanna & Austin are WAY too grown up now!! I'm really not sure how Miltie keeps up with it all but she is a SUPERMOM afterall!!

Lilli & Raegan were so cute playing Elefun!! This game is precious!!

Beautiful Creel Christmas Tree

Beautiful Creel Christmas Tree #2....decorated with ornaments from and inspired by China! I LOVE it!

Merry Christmas!

2008-12-25T12:41:00.005-06:00

It was an unusually quiet Christmas morning for us. We postponed and rearranged so many things leaving us feeling a little out of the ordinary for the start of the day. Mom cooked a delicious Christmas dinner with occasional sous-chef help from Dad and I. We ended up having a good evening and an overall very Merry Christmas! Hope everyone else enjoyed their day!!

Mom may have to rethink putting candy canes within toddler reach on the Xmas tree! This little man was trying to eat it through the plastic! Heehee! He was QUITE STICKY when he finished too!! :)

Chunky puzzle mania!!

The fire truck ride is awesome Poppa & Nonna!! :)

This china has an amazing story! My grandfather traded his cigarettes for it during WWII! It was hidden in a barn, transported in wheelbarrows of hay, and shipped home from Germany to my grandmother! I feel just in awe when I think about it! It was fun to set the Christmas table with it today!

Christmas Tree 2008

My favorite Santa from the Frog Farm

Merry Christmas Eve!!!

2008-12-24T22:55:00.003-06:00

Hope everyone is having a wonderful time wherever you are spending the holiday with family, friends or both!! :) Many pictures to come of our time at the frog farm! Hugs from Houston!

Merry Christmas to all!! And to all a GOOD NIGHT!!!

Christmas Eve Silliness!! :)

2008-12-24T12:13:00.003-06:00

We had an early gift exchange before M left for the trek back to Houston!! Unfortunately the work on-call schedule has him headed back early but don't worry --> he gets to spend the holiday with his Mom and the Lakota tribe!! I'm sure they will have lots of fun!!

I have to share some silly pics of Andy since we had lots of playtime today!! AuntGinnyPaparazzi is on the move!!! :)

Christmas Eve Silliness Superstar----> ANDY!!

He has learned to say "cheese" for the camera now! It is HILARIOUS!!

Just playin' some B-ball!! Poppa & Nonna's gift was a HIT!!!

Making a goal!! ACTION SHOTS!!!! :)

A cheer from the crowd is a MUST! YYYYYYYYYYYYEEEEEEEEEAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Trying on Nonna's garden hat...what a cutie!!

Christmas from the 'Burg!!

2008-12-22T11:54:00.001-06:00

M and I were SO happy to FINALLY get to spend some moments with our friends G & S, our brilliant godson L, and his adorable sister A!! We hadn't seen them since their move back to Mississippi from New York so it was a LONG awaited reunion!! I'm happy to say we had a WONDERFUL time together which made us a little sad about the number of miles from Hattiesburg to Houston. We will cherish every moment we spent with them this Christmas!! Thanks for such an awesome visit you guys!! :) It was an evening full of pirates, sinking ships, sharks, elves, fairies, and a dress-up like Santa....the night of make believe moments brightened my whole Christmas!!

Isn't this the smartest and most handsome young man?? :) We are so proud of our godson, L --> who is growing up WAY WAY TOO FAST!!! He even read me a book about bats!! It was very special to hang out with him! We love you sweetie!

This is L's precious and FUN little sis, A!!! We had so much fun playing!

WARNING TO READERS IN BLOGGYLAND: This is the dreaded Tapi Yoki tree! This tree can snap you up in an instant if you aren't being true and good!! SO LOOK OUT FOR THEM IF YOU ARE EVER IN JAPAN...it only grows there!!

To Grandmother's House We Go... :)

2008-12-21T11:28:00.005-06:00

The whole gang took off to Grandma's for Christmas!! It has been a while since we ALL were able to make it at one time! It was great fun! I always LOVE spending time with my Grandma and seeing my Uncle J, Aunt S and any other family that happens to be around! This year we were blessed to see my cousin and his beautiful family who had just made it in after a long drive from Tennessee!! It was a terrific day that I was sad to see come to an end! :) Enjoy the pictures! MERRY CHRISTMAS EVERYONE!!

We have a "wrapping" tradition for this trip! For as many years as I have been able to use scissors....(*giggle* well, maybe not quite THAT long...) I have wrapped gifts ON THE WAY to Grandmas!!! (yes, its true that I come from a distinguished line of procrastinating folk)

It is difficult to take a pic of a boy you are holding but this one surprised me! I like the sweet look on Andy's face...I have no idea what he was looking at???

There are still places in Louisiana that beautiful Spanish moss grows! Andy thought it was cool!

Andy could touch the moss from the ground on this tree!

Second cousin play!! K was such a sweet sharer of her new toy! They are both SO cute!

Christmas Inspiration!!

2008-12-05T11:16:00.004-06:00

Happy Christmas decorating to everyone!!! I'm having some trouble getting into the spirit this year!! What is up with that?? SOMEBODY KICK ME!! :)

Thanks to Dad :) I've got some beautiful Christmas inspiration to kick off the decorations here at home!!

Odie is once again NOT THRILLED with my Christmas antics!!! *ROFL* Can't you just see the excitement!!?? heehee My little reindog....one day I'll stop the animal abuse!

Here is a shot of my Christmas cactus! I'm so happy it is still alive and the blooms are BONUS!!! This was given to me by my Grandma who is something of a Christmas cactus guru!! :)

Giving thanks...

2008-11-30T11:29:00.003-06:00

I hope everyone had a wonderful holiday! M and I were happy to have my parents visiting for Thanksgiving! It was a small group but the merriment was large! :) We had a terrific time! B. joined us on Saturday for Thanksgiving part 2!! The only bad part of the holiday was that it had to end! Thanks for everything Mom and Dad!!

Did everyone have a chance to think about what you are thankful for?? Family & friends definitely top my list. HAPPY THANKSGIVING!!

Our local grocery sold bread cornucopias which totally made my day!! I have always wanted to decorate with a cornucopia for Thanksgiving and this year I got my shot! I had great fun!

Dad and I had a blast setting the table again! It is such a good time to have everyone busy and bustling around to cooking, chatting, and doing little things to make the holiday so special!!

Mom and I tried our hand at adding little pastry leaves to the pumpkin pie!

Here is where the home grown lemons ended up! YUMMY!! We sliced a few for tea as well!

Odie had more family visiting than we did--his parents AND his brother came! They got into lots of trouble together but had lots of fun! Remember my famous red boa from Vegas??? Well, the boys thought it was great fun TOO!! See Odie in the corner of the pic trying to pretend he is not involved?? :)

AND Teddy even did some hunting...

Bathtime!!

2008-11-24T23:59:00.000-06:00

Thanks goodness for bad weather forecasts...I still have some company at my house. I was lucky enough to get home from work tonight in time to see my littlest nephew before he went to bed! :) I even got to give the babe a bath!! We had a splashing good time! There was blue soap everywhere and no tears were shed even during hair washing!

Andy is the cutest right now! He won't imitate something you say right away but give it a minute and there he is chatting to himself the very thing you wanted him to say before! He followed me around tonight when I got home from work and that TOTALLY made my day!!! *beam* He makes the most precious car sound when playing with anything that can be a real or pretend car! He says "Bye-bye", "NO", "All gone", "Mama", "Daddy", "Cucu" (for coffee milk), and "More" really clearly. He tries to mimic most sounds anyone says and is babbling up a storm! He loves to play with my umbrellas in the stand by the door and with any big people shoes he can find! He even was sweet enough to bring M a bottle of wine from the wine rack! (YIKES....looks like we missed a few things in our baby proofing moments!! *heehee*) His biggest buddy here in Texas is Odie! They have spent literal hours chasing each other with Andy giggling and Odie barking the whole way! Andy loves to steal Odie's toys to tease Odie and to play with them! I think Andy has spent as much time playing with Odie's toys as his own on this trip!

What a great extended weekend it has been! AND of course the COOLEST part of the day--> IT'S B'S BIRTHDAY!!! HAPPY BIRTHDAY B!!! I feel so happy to have a silly sister in law that I love dearly who LOVES my little bro so much!! She is such a loving mother! It has been fun to hang out with the birthday girl and family this weekend!!!! HOPE YOU HAD A GREAT BIRTHDAY B!!! WE LOVE YOU!!! :)

OK....you know the picture sharing is coming! :) Enjoy the latest pics of my favorite little shadow from tonight!!

Tub time FUN!!!!

Playing amongst the blue foamy waters... :)

Odie is never far away when his buddy Andy is around!

Even when getting dry & dressed...the playing never stops!!

On a completely separate note, here is my lemon crop harvested by M. if anyone is following the continuing horticulture saga :) Any suggestions for what I should make out of them special for the Thanksgiving holiday??

Playing in Aunt J's shoes

Sweet smelling clean boy ready for bedtime :) I just LOVE this kid!
GOODNIGHT EVERYONE!!! HUGS & BEDTIME KISSES FROM HOUSTON!!! :)

Quiet Sunday

2008-11-23T22:17:00.007-06:00

We had a calm & quiet Sunday spent at home! We celebrated B's birthday one day early since M and I have to work a long day tomorrow! HAPPY BIRTHDAY B!!! Happy Birthday wishes go out to John too!! Hope they BOTH have a fun day tomorrow!!

Is everyone ready for some turkey soon? I'm looking forward to my "list" of all of the things I'm thankful for! Take time to reflect and put together your own list of thanks ;)! It's fun! It is nice to think about all of the blessings in our life!

Take care all! Enjoy the pictures of the little one at play!

The Little People school bus hasn't lost its charm!

Play ball!

Dancing with Ernie for the Mango Tango! Brought to you by healthy tunes at Sesame Street! Did you know "Cookies are a SOMETIMES food!" *heehee* Cute!

White chocolate & raspberry --> YUMMY!!

Texas Renaissance Festival 2008

2008-11-22T23:33:00.015-06:00

We are so excited to have my little bro and his family visiting this weekend for the kick-off to their Thanksgiving WEEK off from school!! (I am SO VERY jealous!!!) They got in late Friday night and after a bit of a slow morning we drove out to Magnolia, Texas for the big Renaissance Festival!! The traffic was a NIGHTMARE but we had a great day anyway!! :)

I'll share some pictures from our adventure!! Hope everyone is having a wonderful weekend! HUGS FROM HOUSTON!!!

It is a bit like Renaissance Disney! I was amazed at how elaborate the buildings are! This is the outer gate!

WELCOME to the Ren Fair!! Come one! Come all!

Check out this Bier Garten SMILE!!! :)

Andy had his 1st carousel ride.....on (you guessed it) a MONKEY!! :)

I think he would have liked to ride on ALL of the figures!

Barbarian Invasion was the weekend theme! I think this is my vote for the best (& scariest....if you dismiss the "Oh NO they didn't!" costumes we saw...) costume of the day!

Another troupe of barbarian costumers

I can't WAIT until Andy wants to ride this one! FUN!!

Scene from the fair! It really is very pretty with the beautiful wooded setting!

A wedding processional! We had to "CLEAR THE WAY FOR THE BRIDE!"

My sweet nephew LOVES kettlecorn!

Check out this cutiepie smile while we were waiting for the show to start!

Promenade before the jousting starts

Pretzel anyone???

A stolen peek!

2008-11-21T10:04:00.002-06:00

Here is a stolen peek at my little Andy's Halloween night! For more details see what I hope will be coming soon to: www.themccoytribe.blogspot.com!!!

Isn't he SO cute???!!! I found these PJ's at Gymboree and couldn't resist! They GLOW IN THE DARK!!! The REAL costume got taken off early....full details at The McCoy Tribe!

Tigers & trails weekend!

2008-11-09T16:24:00.002-06:00

We had a late start to our weekend on Saturday! (maybe it was a hint of the gameday blues to come??) Poor tigers! We had a TIGER-WATCHIN' party at a friend's house! We passed a good time as dem cajuns say! It's a good thing we had good company and good food since the game definitely turned out differently than we would have liked! BUT WE SURE GAVE THAT CRIMSON TIDE A SCARE YEAH!!!!!

Today M and I loaded up the bikes and went to Addicks Reservoir for a ride! It was a beautiful morning and the trail wasn't very crowded! I still pathetically can only manage 8 miles an hour average speed :( (*heehee* but I AM carrying quite a load)!! We had a nice time despite my slowness!

I plan to cook my tindora rice tonight and M will grill us something! :) Hope everyone is having a FABULOUS weekend!!

HUGS FROM HOUSTON!!!!!

A view from the path!

Thursday Fieldtrip!!

2008-11-06T22:52:00.002-06:00

I had a culinary adventure today with a sweet friend from work!! Some historical info to this story includes a fantastic evening for a "HOW-TO" Indian cooking class and yummy dinner with her family early in the spring! She is always giving me tastes of her delicious lunches at work and even sends snacks home for my man! We miraculously finished work about the same time today and had both skipped lunch---> so she decided we should go to a little place she knew for a snack and then go to the Indian store for the remaining goodies I need to make an authentic meal from India!

I let her order for me since I have NO idea what I'm looking at! We had aloo tikki (a spiced potato pastry), kachori chaat (sort of a tiny pie with spicy lentil filling), mint chutney and mango lassi (a drink with mango and buttermilk)! OH MY IT WAS DELICIOUS!!!!

THEN--> we went to the store where I found the items I needed for my recipes as well as some fresh veggies I have never seen before! It was so much fun! The store owner let me taste an orange hard candy with a syrupy filling (I thought it was a piece of orange bell pepper from the distance) that was SOOOO sweet but good. She was giggling at me the whole time because I couldn't get over the look of the bitter gourd! I took a pic of my purchases (so you and Dad could see the veggies, Mom):
The knobby ones are the bitter gourds which M says she doesn't think I will like. It is apparantly an 'acquired' taste and very true to its name-->BITTER. But we'll see, I'm up for the challenge! The little ones are called Tindora. I have a recipe for Tindora rice that uses the "special" spice M's family made while she was home in India this summer. I can't WAIT to try it this weekend! Wish me luck and good cooking karma!

YES WE CAN!!

2008-11-04T23:45:00.006-06:00

Today marks an historic event in our United States of America! I hope we can all join together to help make this great nation of ours better and better! YES WE CAN! Let's join as one voice to create good changes for our country!

GOD BLESS AMERICA!
and
GODSPEED President-elect Barack Obama!

Psst....pause the music player in the right side column to hear the video! :)

Our voting ADVENTURE!

2008-11-04T22:25:00.002-06:00

Some of you, my friends out in bloggy land, know my PROCRASTINATING ways! :) So I probably don't need to say that even after a bit over a year in Texas...the hubby and I have NOT changed our voter registration and driver's licenses. Yea....yea...I KNOW about the 30 day deadline to become an official TEXAN! I'm really a rule breaker at heart! *heehee* [and YES, I hear you wondering if I am aware of absentee voting....there was a deadline I missed for that too! *rofl*]

SO then comes the problem of voting in this HISTORIC-no-matter-which-way-it-goes election!! I really do cherish my right to vote and believe we should USE it! EVEN IF it requires taking a day off of work for a 14 hour roundtrip home to cast the ballot!

WE HAD A GREAT DAY!! I was getting homesick anyway! :) We had a fantastic (albeit short) visit with Mom & Dad in the middle of the night and EARLY the next morn, a quick but good phone call with my little bro, a frosty mugged rootbeer with a chili-cheese-artery-clogging-loaded-with-onion-burger for lunch, a nice visit with the poll workers that included my 3rd grade teacher, Jeff's kindergarten teacher/our favorite bus driver, & two past band chaperones from the bandnerd dayz, a LLLLLLLOOOOOOOOONNNNNNNGGGGG drive with NO ARGUING beside my sweetie, a terrific dinner at an old favorite in Lake Charles before we hit the not-so-good-seafood border of Texas---->OH YEAH--AND we VOTED!!! :)
If anyone is looking for a good meal....we've been fans of this place since it was a "hole-in-the-wall" on Hwy. 14

YUMMY!!

Scenes from the swamp :)

A barge on the Atchafalaya

Teddy-sitting!

2008-11-02T21:59:00.002-06:00

We surely didn't get much on our "list" (really I should say "my" list to be fair *heehee*) done this weekend but it was fun! We spent lots of time laughing at the antics of Odie and his 'little' brother Teddy! We kept Teddy this weekend while his family is in New York!

Check out these CRAZY puppies!!!

My little Odie complete with LSU dog tags!! :) (forgive the red eyes...my program couldn't figure out how to fix it!)

SO Vicious! :D

Rough & tumble ALL the time!

How can you NOT love this little face?!?! :) TEDDY!!

Happy Halloween!!

2008-10-31T23:50:00.004-05:00

Hope everyone had a wonderful and SPOOKY Halloween night!! M and I had the pleasure of spending the evening with some close friends of ours here in Houston. It was amazing how much FUN trick-or-treating was and how EXCITING it all is through the eyes of a child!! :) We had a great night full of spooks, tricks, treats & fun!!

I'll share a few BLURRY photos ;) of the sights of the night and of little Thomas the Train & Ariel!!

Thomas the Train is such a cutiepie!

Goblins & Jack-o-lanterns were everywhere! It was SO great to see how much energy this neighborhood put into the FUN of FRIGHT NIGHT!!

Look at the LOOT little Ariel collected!!!

Year #8

2008-10-21T22:47:00.002-05:00

Hmmm....we barely even acknowledged our anniversary this year. As a matter of fact, I just realized I missed it on the blog too & I'm adding this postdated post in November.

Maybe just a sign we are getting old?? or busier? Whichever....Happy Belated Anniversary to my S.O.

Time FLIES too quickly!

2008-10-12T23:58:00.000-05:00

We had to say goodbye to our little visitor today :( and to his Mommy & Daddy too! (oh yes, they came to Texas as well!) There aren't enough hours in one weekend to soak up proper time with those you love! It just seems like the minutes melt away SOOOO fast!

Here are a few moments I haven't shared yet:

SO SWEET THE BABY FEET!! :)

Morning entertainment with Aunt J while Mom & Dad pack the car... This big boy can go down the slide all by himself now!! :)

Climbing back up!! We had the playground to ourselves for a little while so he had free reign of the slide! YIPEE!!!!

SWINGING!! :) Andy's vocabulary is growing by the day!! :) He was mimicking me when he was on the swing --- "Wheeeeeeeeee!!!!" SO CUTE!!!