Christmas

This year Christmas was at my house! This is the very first year that I have hosted Christmas. I cooked all the food, even the turkey. Mom brought some favorite side dishes.

After the meal, we sat outside in the back and Dad and I drank some warm coffee and we ate the pumpkin pie my mom brought. I had my outdoor fireplace going but when I put some more logs on it, it started smoking really bad. I think the wood may have still be wet. So, we had to move the fireplace out a bit to avoid being over come with smoke. :)


Allyn's self portrait!

The concrete was too cold for my 110 pound lab. At one point, her bottom jaw began to quiver and her teeth were chattering. Allyn went inside and brought out her Hello Kitty blanket and Lexy ( lab ) did not even move. I think she loved this and that she's way too domesticated.

At the end of the night, I wanted to go and snuggle in my bed with Allyn and look at all the cool books my parents gave her for Christmas. We looked at as many as we could and even went through all the presidents we've had.

Pictured here is Allyn, with the Snuggie my parents gave her. I think she's wiped out.

Christmas Fun

On Christmas Eve, Linda and Gary make Tamales. This year, I was able to assist.

Some back ground, Linda and I have been best friends since 7th grade. After we graduated high school, she left for the Air Force and then came back in 4 years. She then met up with Gary Price, whom I've known since elementary school and they were married in 1996. They both love food and love to cook and I get to reap the benefits of this.

Linda, Gary, Gary's Mom, Me

Here is Allyn and Gabrielle, Linda's daughter. Gabrielle did not want to take a picture becuase she said her hair was not done (she's 11) but I like this one of Allyn so I'm posting. :)

SCHLITTERBAHN

I took Allyn out to a water park in New Braunfels, Texas. The water park is converted into a Hill Country Christmas Village during this season. They have a couple of slides open ( without water) and ice skating. Allyn and I tried the ice skating and did not like it. Our skates were way too big for our feet and the boot part around the ankle was also too loose. Our feet kept slipping around in the ice skates making balancing itself the most difficult task. I'll stick to roller skates.

Allyn and Rudolph

Christmas Carolers

Dance Recital

Allyn's dance recital was December 12th. I cannot believe how grown up she looks with her make-up. She did a great job!

Marathon's

On November 14, 2009, Allyn ran her first "marathon." It was a mile long, so not an actual marathon but the Rock and Roll kids run. She ran with kids in her age group in second grade. I watched her off at the start and then walked over to the finish line. All of a sudden, here she comes. I was not expecting this at all. With my calculations, she had to have run this in either 7 to 8 minutes. She was within the top ten finishers. I could not have been more proud of her. It was supposed to be a kids fun run but not for Allyn!

On November 15, 2009, I ran my first half marathon which consisted of 13.1 miles.

The day was overcast and the humidity was up to 94% according to reports. I was able to finish with a time of 2:42. I will admit, I am pretty proud of myself too.

The time on the banner above is the clock time. The race began in a wave and I was in corral 20 so I had to wait a bit to start the race. I finished the race in 2:42:37.

My pacer tattoo had me finishing the race in 2:45, so I finished just under my projected time.

Billy Squier 2009

I bought and wore this shirt when I was 14 years old. I still have it and most importantly, it still fits. I wore it to the concert last night.

In this next photo is Laura, my BFF Linda and me. Billy is behind us in the white.

I could just about reach out and touch this mic stand.

Here is the set list.

He actually came right over to me near the end of the show and played right in front/above me. I'm gonna call it "He came over and played for me."

Ok, so those of you who know me know that I am a huge Billy Squire fan. My first rock concert was Billy Squier (with Saga) back in 1983. Me and my best friend Linda went and had a blast. This concert changed my life. I became infatuated with Billy. I learned as much as I could about him, I became a member of his fan club and I memorized every lyric to the album "Don't Say No." To me, he was more than a rock star but a college educated male role model who I thought the world of. To this day I still love his music so much.

Well, my BFF Linda informed me of this concert. I asked if she would go with me, since it was in Corpus Christi and she jumped at the chance. Though the concert was general admission, our tickets allowed us these special armbands to get up close to the stage. I planted myself right up on the stage and we stood there for the entire concert. I thought my high school crush had subsided but then he came out on stage and I screamed so loud. Billy was awesome and is still the "Rock Star." He put on a great show. He walked over to my side of the stage and I, of course, got his attention and showed him my shirt. I turned around so he could see the year of 1983. He gave me a smile, played his guitar a bit and then bent down and tousled my hair with his full hand. My dreams have come true people.

Allyn's 8th Birthday

Allyn's 8th birthday was September 13th. She wanted a pool party. We were a bit concerned because the week of her birthday we had a lot of rain (which was well needed). Allyn had a great birthday. The sun shined on down on through those clouds and it was such a beautiful day.

I make cupcakes for her birthdays. I have learned that they are so much easier to hand out and the kids love them....well...so do the adults. This year I made a batch of strawberry cakes with lemon frosting and lemon cakes with strawberry frosting. It was Allyn's idea to put the cute umbrellas on the cakes. I love all the color!

Allyn did not want an actual gift this year. She requested I take her to the state Capital. She was so jazzed to go. It was absolutely beautiful as well. The architecture was devine. I really think we could have spent the day there reading and walking and taking in all the history.