Why Did the Chicken Cross the Road?

So, this is the latest project 'round our neck of the woods.  Chickens.  I had been thinking about it for a while, off and on for several years, but I didn't think my beloved would go for it.  After all, this wouldn't just be my project alone.  I would need his help to build a coop.  I'm a little handy, but not that handy.  Anyway, I had never mentioned this idea, notion, scheme until this past December.  I don't really know what finally made me spill the scheme to my beloved, but I finally did.  Anyway, his very first reaction was, "CHICKENS?  Why in the WORLD would you want CHICKENS?!?!"  I explained (feeling a little like Lucy Ricardo) what a great idea it was, what with the fresh eggs and all.  He walked away, shaking his head.  Then a while later, he came back and said, "Why not?!?!"  So, the seed was planted and it began to take root.  Or a plan began to hatch.  Sorry . . .

Now when my beloved does something, he doesn't do it halfway.  Everything he has ever built can withstand a hurricane.  He studied on this scheme and took off with it.  We had an 8' x 8' concrete slab that my beloved had poured for our girl to practice throwing discus.  Our girl never used it much and she was a senior in high school in her last season of track, so . . . what to do with the cement pad . . .hmmm . . .  what to do . . .?  Why, build a chicken coop on it, of course!  Or a chicken mansion, as it turned out.  My beloved worked so hard on this project. 

I absolutely LOVE how it turned out.  My beloved did all of the design, construction and painting.  I did the Texas flag on the back.  It is still a work in progress.  I hope to add some vintage signs and paint a few fun signs.  My beloved just built the nesting boxes (no pic yet) and has plans for some storage.

More about the ladies in my next post.

Distiguished Student

So, here is the scoop:  My boy is a Distinguished Student.  A little more than a month ago there was a letter from Texas A&M in our mailbox addressed to my boy.  I don't know why, but I always get a little nervous when I see an official looking letter sitting there.  Anyway, I carried it in and handed it to the boy.  He read it with a look of disbelief on his face and then handed it to me.  Guess what?  Not bad news?  No.  No, I should say not.  A wonderful letter from the dean of the College of Agriculture at Texas A&M University congratulating my boy for receiving the Distinguished Student Award for having a 3.5 to 3.75 GPR.  AWESOME!!!  This boy has it going on.  So, so PROUD of my Aggie!

Hello Stranger!

I'm not sure if anyone reads these random thoughts, and that's fine.  I just wanted a place to jot down some of the things that cross my mind.  Obviously, I'm not very good at keeping up with posting here.  Please don't think that nothing crosses my mind for months at a time.  I guess I'm usually too busy checking in on the blogs I follow, and it rarely occurs to me to write something myself.  However, and I know I have said this before, I am going to try to do better and post regularly.  Not that I have anything profound to offer, but it feels good to put a few thoughts out there in cyber space.

So a couple of things that have happened in my life recently . . . 1.  My girl just graduated from high school a couple of weeks ago; 2.  My boy is on the "dean's list" in the College of Ag at Texas A&M; 3. We started raising chickens.

So, I'll start with number 1.  My girl graduated on June 1.  I was sure that I would be bawling my eyes out that night, but I wasn't.  Don't get me wrong, it was emotional and I teared up a time or two, but there never were the full-fledged water works that I was expecting.  I guess that by the time we arrived at the moment, I was ready.  Do you hear me?  I was READY.  Senior year is not for the faint of heart parent.  Now, wait a minute.  Don't get the wrong idea here.  My girl is wonderful and smart and good in EVERY sense.  However, she was driving me crazy.  This girl was READY to graduate and move on.  She's been ready since about January.  Focus.  FOCUS!  Not high on the list.  Just ready to go to the next thing.  And the next thing is working two jobs this summer: as a waitress at an Italian food chain and as a floral assistant at a grocery store in our town.  Then, come August, going to the local Jr. college for a year and getting some basic courses finished with the goal of transferring to the big school, her beloved Texas A&M, in the fall of 2013.  If anybody is meant to be an Aggie, it's my girl.  She is maroon, through and through.  We are proud of this girl.  In every sense.  She ROCKS!

So that I keep my promise to post regularly, I'll save item number 2 for another post.  Even though I am about to burst at the seams to tell you about my boy's accomplishment.

Thankful

A lot of the time it seems that I get caught up in the "negative". I hate that because I really do seek to look for the positive in life. However, here lately the negative seems to be dogging me. But today, in the spirit of the season, I am only concentrating on the good things in my life.

These are the things/people I am thankful for: my boy and girl , my beloved, my mom & dad, my brother, my mother-in-law, my sister-in-law, our extended family, my crazy dogs, my crazy new cat, my home, the fact that my beloved & I both have jobs, my country, Texas (the state, not t.u. ;)), baseball, football, our health, Thanksgiving, the Christmas Season, Christmas music, decorations . . . I could go on and on. I need to remind myself of this list EVERY day, not just on Thanksgiving.

I wish you all a peaceful day of thanks full of family, laughter, love and good times.

Aggie Mom

Howdy!! I am now officially an Aggie Mom! My boy had his first classes at Texas A&M University yesterday. We are majorly excited at our house. This is a great time of my boy's life and we couldn't be more proud. I have enjoyed each step and phase of my kids' lives and this is no different. He is going to make many fantastic memories on this journey.

It Ain't Like it Used to Be

Not to be a downer or anything, but that is how I feel these days. "It ain't like it used to be." Of course, nothing is. Nothing stays the same and I understand that it can't. However, I am feeling like things all around me changing, and not necessarily for the better. I realize that I tend to overly romanticize the past . . . my rose colored glasses are securely on my face. But . . . it sure seems like life was easier and better back then.

Maybe it's all the news that makes up the news these days (our broken government, being at the very top of my list). Maybe it's just the "dog days" of summer. Maybe it's the fact that my baby is a senior in high school and ALL that that entails. Maybe it's this drought and the 31 days of 100 degree plus temps in Texas. Maybe it's the fact that my work environment is going to dramatically change (and I mean DRAMATICALLY) in 29 days, 8 hours and 29 minutes. Maybe it's all the road construction around my town. Maybe it's all the construction on campus. Maybe it's a new elementary school which was built in what was a cow pasture at the end of my mom & dad's road. Maybe it's the fact that "town" is creeping ever closer to my "country" home. Maybe it's all of the above and more that I have me feeling this way.

Maybe I need a vacation from my reality for a few days. Don't really see one of those in my immediate future. Guess I'll have to figure out another strategy . . . maybe a trip to "Margaritaville" would help to ease the pain.

It's Been a While

It's been a while since I posted. A pretty long while, actually. I guess I just fell out of the habit. Well, that's not exactly true, because I really hadn't developed a habit of posting yet. I think I'll give it another whirl.

We just returned from a quick trip to Western Oklahoma to "marry off" my cousin. En route, we spent a day at Six Flags. Let me say that "the old gray mare, ain't what she used to be". When James and I were dating, we used to head to Astroworld in Houston at the drop of a hat. We rode rides like the Cyclone and Greased Lightening over and over again. We would ride the Cyclone, a big, rough wooden roller coaster, and then get off and run to get in line again. A lot of water has gone under the bridge since then.

We rode Conquistador and a bob sled type ride without any problem. I thought to myself, "you've got this girl". Then we rode the Titan. This is a monster of a coaster. It is 25 & 1/2 stories tall. Not to mention the twists, turns and drops. I was so dizzy about halfway through the ride, I wasn't sure which way was up. Now comes the crazy part . . . I let these crazy people I was with . . . my husband and kids, talk me into doing it again. I blame it on the fact that I had left my brain on the coaster the first time. Needless to say, I was not in good shape after the second trip. I believe that "sea sick" would be a good way to describe it. I felt like I had morning sickness again. But trust me, there is no baby. Luckily, we had to wait in line for about 45 minutes for the next ride on the Texas Giant. I was about 75% when that ride took off, but I managed to keep it together. The rest of the day was "nip and tuck" but I survived and we had a good time.

The next day it was off to Oklahoma. It was so good to see most of my dad's side of the family. I so love them. I love when we stay at a hotel and pretty much take over the lobby, dining area or pool area. There are so many of us that when we descend upon a place like that, it feels like it's all our own. It reminds me of the get togethers at my grandparent's house, only sadly, they are no longer with us.

The small towns where we stayed and where the wedding took place were so picturesque. They were along Route 66 and made me nostalgic for old times and family vacations gone by.