DAY 19- Something I Miss

Wow....well this is something you probably say at least once a day. "I miss ___" So here are a few things I miss:

-Being a kid so excited about waking up Christmas morning that you can't even sleep at night
-I miss high school so much...isn't that crazy??
-I also miss my fun college days
-I miss not having to worry about what I eat and when I eat it!!
-I miss being pregnant
-I miss being close to my friend Samantha (she lives in Waller, TX)
-I miss getting to sleep in
-I miss my Nannie (she passed away when I was 17 and I think about her all the time)
-I miss going to the movies ALL the time
- While I'm sitting here thinking I look over at a wedding picture...dang I miss my wedding dress!! ha I loved that thing. Too bad I only got to wear it for one day.
-I miss my Aunt Melinda (she passed away when I was 22) She was always the "fun" one!
-I miss the feeling of not having to stress and worry about bills, raising kids, work, etc!!

As a child you can't wait to "grow up". As an adult you wish you could go back. Take each moment as if it were your last. Enjoy the small things. Don't stress about silly stuff (remember some people have it way worse than you). Do something different for a change! Love love love on your family and friends.

I am off from work tomorrow! Everyone have a safe NEW YEARS weekend.

2011 is going to be a wonderful year!!!!!!!! 

DAY 18- Something I regret

I can't believe I'm about to share this with all of you, but out of all my 30 years I only have ONE  regret. I said "yes" to an engagement proposal to a man I had fallin out of love with. I'll explain myself:

While going to college at Sam Houston I met a guy named TJ (while working at McKenzie's BBQ) and had a crush on him instantly. He was adorable inside and out. We began dating a couple months later and were pretty much attached at each other's hips after that. He was a linebacker for the football team and pretty dang good at it! I think I fell in love with everything around him. I know that sounds weird. But I loved going to the football games and cheering him on, I loved hanging out with all the football guys and being at all their parties, I loved going to the bars and clubs, I was just having so much fun during this time. I was still so young and had no clue what I was going to do with myself after graduation.  After playing football he decided to be a graduate assistant for the team while he worked on his master's. This really started changing our relationship. He felt like since he was coaching his friends he didn't need to party with them anymore just out of respect. I understand this. We were 22 and 23 and NEVER left the house though. I still wanted to run and play while being in college and I just felt like we were some old married couple always sticking to ourselves. It was hard to talk with him about this because he was so happy with coaching. Another thing that put tension on the relationship is the simple fact of him being a football coach. If anyone is a wife to a football coach you know exactly what I'm talking about. He was NEVER with me. He pretty much lived at that field house. Was this something I wanted for the rest of my life? (Yes, I know I married a coach...but being a volleyball coach is completely different than being a football coach).

Fast forward: I graduated in December 03' and decided to go through a teaching program there at Sam Houston just so I could stay closer to him one more year. I finished May of 2005. And yes, he still had one more year left of graduate school. I went home for that summer to stressfully look for a teaching job. I had no idea that summer would change my life forever. I felt that TJ and I really grew apart that summer. I was home and he was taking summer school in Huntsville. We never saw each other and when we did talk on the phone our conversations were so boring. Example: "Hello?" "Hey what are you doing?" "Oh, nothing just watching some TV, you?" "Oh, just laying around." pause....pause...."So what are you doing tonight?" "Oh, probably just watching some TV or something." "Oh ok, well I'll call you later then."  click... I hated it. But....I just thought to myself, maybe that's how every long distance relationship was. Heck I didn't know and I didn't talk to anyone about it. (I had a really hard time expressing my feelings back in the day. I kept everything inside!) I was really unhappy that summer. I was just having doubts about everything. I wasn't sure on my future with him. I knew I loved him but was I in love with him??  In my mind I kept telling myself once I find a job we will probably grow further and further apart and then it will be easier to break up with him being away from each other. That was my thought at least.

Fast forward: Finally at the end of July I get a call for a job interview in Mexia. I had no idea where Mexia even was but I didn't care....I needed a job. (You have all heard the story of my interview and I got the job.) After leaving the interview I was headed to Dallas with TJ to celebrate his birthday and now to help celebrate my new job! Saturday night I got a really bad bladder infection and did not want to go out but TJ kept insisting that we go bc he had a fun night planned for us. He told me to bring something nice to wear bc we were eating at a nice restaurant. We ended up at the Reunion Tower (the big ball tower in Dallas) for dinner. Yummy! After dinner he told me he had another surprise for me. I'm thinking he was going to take me some where for dessert. Was I wrong!! He pulled out a ring and put it on the table. OMG! I could hear a table full of old ladies whispering, "He's going to ask her to marry him!" I on the other hand wanted to vomit. I had NO clue he was going to propose anytime soon. He told me over and over it would be in the spring if it was going to happen. What a surprise. How do you say no to this?? Plus it was his mother's diamond. I already hated the fact that he did it in public. (I think proposing is a very intimate thing for just the two of you.)  So, I said yes. There, now you know my biggest regret.

I was sick after leaving that weekend from his home. I loved loved loved his family. I knew after leaving that I would probably never see them again and I would end up hurting them all. We stayed engaged for about a month and then I had to let him know how I was feeling. Still to this day that was the hardest thing I have ever done. I think I would much rather push a baby out!! I never ever wanted to hurt someone like this. I knew the feeling of being hurt and it killed me more than he will ever know. But I didn't want to marry someone that I wasn't in love with and end up in a divorce 2 years later. Since the break up we have never seen or spoken to each other. Crazy..... It's been almost 6 years now.

DAY 17- Something I'm Looking Forward To

Perfect timing----2011. I really feel this year will bring lots of fun and exciting things for my family and friends! I hope to have another nephew or niece or at least one on the way! I am looking forward to the beach....Taydem turning 4 and Trever 17! I am looking forward to Leven and I's 5th wedding anniversary! WOW...Looking forward to being pregnant again. Keep your fingers crossed and say a little prayer that Leven is all aboard!! Happy Tuesday folks!

Christmas is in the past...already

Christmas 2010 has come and gone. Many more memories made, way too much food, lots of goodies and just spending precious moments with the family. My family is truly one of a kind. You just don't see too many families these days that actually get along, sad, but true.
Taydem was so cute this year getting all her presents from Santa. She knows who the big belly, white bearded, red man is but she doesn't get how he came into our house and dropped off presents for her AND ate the cookies and drank the milk. That whole idea really scared her. She is talking up a storm these past few weeks and we can understand her so much better! I love it!! She is sooooooo dang cute. And her manners are so sweet. Of course Trever's gifts keep getting more and more expensive! But that's his age.

I have a really funny story (not funny at all at the time) to tell you about kicking our Christmas off last week.

I took off Wednesday and Thursday so we could take a trip down to Mexia to spend Christmas with Leven's mom and dad. We got up Wednesday morning packed and picked up the house before heading out the door. Trever opened the car and started loading the back up. Once everything was inside the car we all headed out the door. Leven is walking out the door and hollars, "You got the keys?" I hollared back, "Trever had them." Ok, we all know that Trever wears hearing aids and I know sometimes he doesn't hear us or sometimes he just has "selective" hearing but when I yelled that back to Leven, Trever didn't say anything. So that made me think the keys were in the car. So again Leven says, "Yall got the keys?" And them SLAM..there went the door. Trever yells back (finally), "They are in the house hanging on the key thingy." OMG! Really? So we have now locked the keys in the house. Leven's set of keys were also in the house. We don't have any outside key bc EVERYTIME Trever would use it he would bring it right in the house and it would never get put back. We have gone through tons of keys with Trever. (If you know Trever or any 16 year old boy, he loses everything he gets his hands on!) Wears me out! So we call LockDoc and he shows up about 20 minutes later. I tell Leven to keep the doors shut on the Yukon bc the battery goes down fast. So we left Taydem sitting inside watching her movie. (Thank goodness for our new portable DVD player) The Locksmith starts picking our locks and then tells us that our doorknobs are to current and they CAN'T be picked. OMG? Really? So he has to drill the doorknob (ruins it!) to finally let us in. So now our backdoor can only be locked using the deadbolt until we get a new doorknob. So $40 down the drain. Thank you Locksmith. We get the keys, turn the house alarm on again, and all load up in the car. Crank, crank, crank?? Dead battery! Watching movies inside the car wasn't such a good idea. So we now have to jump off the car. OMG! Really? An hour later we are finally on our way.

We get to Leven's mom's house around 3 ish and spend the afternoon outside. We opened presents and Trev got a tomahawk and Taydem got a little bow and arrow set. Really cute. She also got a Polar Express remote control train. Here are some pictures we took that afternoon:

Throwing a tomahawk actually takes practice and it's harder than it looks.

We were aiming at the card

I finally hit it!

Ann and Lev

Love her!

We had a really good time visiting with Ann and Mike and spent the night playing card games and stuffing our faces! We got up Thursday morning and loaded up the car once again and headed to his daddy's house. Gwen had some delicious lunch waiting on us! We visited and opened presents with them until about 2 ish and got ready to head back to East Texas. We walked outside with our hands full to only find out that our keys are NOW LOCKED IN OUR CAR! OMG! Really? I swear we are a traveling circus. So we call the wrecker service there in Mexia to come open our car doors. Thirty minutes and $75 later we are loaded and ready to go. We still don't know who locked the keys in the car. We all tried to blame each other but can't figure that one out. I blame Trever...he's the kid!! ha.

How ya like that story?? I hope it made you smile at least....

I hope you all had a Merry Christmas and now are looking forward to 2011!

 I know I am!

DAY 16- Dream House

I've been a little behind on my days bc I was away from a computer. I took off work 3 days last week to spend time with family over the Christams holidays. So on to my dream house....I love the house that we built, but if I could do my dream house here are a few must haves:

- bigger walk in closet with built ins
- nice kitchen
- gameroom with pool table AND area for couches and TV
- pool house and of course a pool (pool house would have a kitchen area, bathroom, living room and bedroom)
- huge living room with really tall ceilings
- really nice back yard and porch area
- bigger laundry room

That's about it! I'm not too picky. And if I could, I would def have a interior designer. I'm horrible at decorating!

DAY 15- Bible Verse

This is my all time favorite bible verse:

Jeremiah 29:11

"For I know the plans I have for you," declares the LORD, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future."

DAY 14- A picture I love!

This picture sits on my night stand next to my bed. Everyone loves their wedding day, no doubt. Our wedding was so perfect for the both of us. When we have our bad days, this picture reminds me why I love him so much.

Fa la la la la la la la la

Last night Trever had his Christmas choir concert. He got all spiffed up and was looking right! I took a few pictures before we headed out the door. They did a really good job. So good that they did not sound like a high school choir at all. Thank goodness for iphones. It kept Taydem busy the whole show. Leven had to go to the girls Junior High game at 5, then open the gym for his club volleyball teams practice, then hurried to the concert just in time for the last two songs! Whew...After it was over he headed back to the volleyball practice, while Trever, Taydem, Bradley (Trever's BFF) and I headed to Pizza King! If you are EVER in Longview....it's a must to stop by and eat this pizza! I got plenty so we would have leftovers today for lunch.

This weekend I'm going to make some trash mix. It's my sister's recipe and I figured if she could do it, so can I! I'm also going to make brownies. I found this new recipe and it looks to die for. It has Snickers in it!! Yummy! Have a good weekend!

DAY 12- Goals

As a child/teenager I always set goals for myself. Stuff like...graduate high school, passing tests, making so many points a game in basketball, making 1st team all district, doing well at choir competitions, getting a scholarship, graduating college, getting a job, etc. But now that I have "matured" I don't really set myself any goals. This needs to change, I know. BUT, I do know I want to have one more child (that's not really a goal, but dealing with Leven it is!).

When I usually say I want to do something...I just do it. I don't really think about it. That's probably why The Barker household is so dang busy. I wanted to coach club volleyball....I'm coaching. I want to do a 6 week boot camp...I've completed 2 now. I wanted to sing in front of our HUGE church...I think I've sang 3 times now.

What are your goals? Leave me a comment

Bootcamp RESULTS

I have to share with you my bootcamp results because I am soooo PROUD of myself. 6 weeks worth of getting up early and fighting the soreness I am now so pleased that I stuck with it!


Down 9.25 inches with a drop of -5.68 percent body fat (30% to 24%) and lost 9 lbs of fat weight. My total weight loss was 4 pounds.

If I continue, by June, Victoria's Secret will be calling me! ha!

DAY 12- What I believe

I believe in God. I believe his son Jesus Christ died on the cross to save us from all of our sins and rose again. I believe he is the one person that will always be there and never let me down.

John 14:6
Jesus answered, "I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me."

I know and believe that I am going to heaven when my time on earth is done.  

Life is good...eternal life is better!!!

What do you believe? Will you join me in heaven one day?

DAY 11- Favorite TV Shows

This is probably the wrong question to ask me considering I could gone on and on about my favorite TV shows. Since I can remember I have been addicted to TV. Thank goodness my parents didn't allow us to have TV's in our room growing up or they would've never seen me. As a child my favorite shows consisted of (this will date me a little bit, ha!)

- Family Matters

- Full House

- Step by Step

- Saved by the Bell

- 90210

- Melsrose Place

- FRIENDS

- Lost

- Grey's Anatomy

Then of course ALL the reality shows I have loved:

- Real World

- The Amazing Race

- American Idol

- So You Think You Can Dance

- Dancing with the Stars

- Survivor

- Nasville Star

- Big Brother

- The Kardashians

- Kendra

- American's Next Top Model

- The Biggest Loser

Day 10- Something I'm afraid of

Unfortantly I am a "worry wart" just like my Mother. So I am afraid of stuff all the time. Here are a few things that run through my head:

-Something happening to anyone in my family or losing a family member
-Not raising my children the "right" way
-Losing our jobs
-Having another seizure
-I don't want to see the day where Taydem gets her heart broke
-Someone hurting myself or my family
-I hurt when my friends hurt
-Afraid of going BROKE!
-Afraid of heights
-Afraid of spiders and snakes
-Afraid of having my heart broke, again.
-Afraid of not being loved and having someone to love

I could probably go on some more. But dang, this is depressing me!

DAY 9- A picture of your friends

I am very blessed to have all the friends that are in my life. After you leave high school and then college it is a chore to keep up with everyone. You just get busy! Thank goodness for facebook. What an awesome idea! That is the #1 way I keep up with my friends. I still email and text as well. My friends have almost all got married and some are now working on their second child. Crazy. The best part is that we are all still close. Our kids are going to each others birthday parties! I just love it. I have also made some new friends since moving back home. Natalie works with me and I think she's my long lost twin! Kristen Fairbanks is a coach her in East Texas and we became friends last year while coaching club together! She is another long lost twin. We have so much in common! Here are a few pictures:

This picture has ALL of my clostest girlfriends!! Love them all!

Natalie and I at my 30th birthday!

DAY 8- A place I have traveled to

Last December, Leven and I flew to Oregon to visit with his good friend from high school and his family. This was by far one of my best vacations. I have been all over the U.S, but The Miller's really spoiled us while we were there. The west coast is so full of beauty. While we were there we saw the beach, mountains, fields, skyscrappers, snow, and waterfalls. They are surrounded by so much more than what we have here in East Texas. I want to go back one day and bring the kids. Here are a few of my favorite pictures from Oregon:

Leven was pissed right here bc he couldn't figure out how to ski! I made him take this picture!!

TEXAS!

Can you find us?

Chris and Stephanie Miller

On the beach!

Awh...smooch time!

DAY 7- Favorite Movies

I have always, always been a huge movie lover. But since having kids, it's so hard to sit down and watch a whole movie without stopping it! And we NEVER have time to actually go see a movie at the theatre. But here are 4 of my all time favorite movies. I can't watch too many movies over and over again, but these I can:

Wizard of Oz- Mom says I would watch this movie over and over as a child

Fried Green Tomatoes

Forrest Gump

A Time to Kill

Day 6- A picture of something that makes me happy

Taydem's sweet smile makes me smile. She has been smiling since the day she was born. She has a personality that most mom's would kill for their kiddos to have! She brightens up a room and keeps everyone laughing. Her name means: Cheerful, light-hearted!

Day 5- My favorites recipes

Funny that this is one of the challenges. I have been working on a family recipe book since September. I have asked all the women in my family to give me their most favorite recipes to include in this recipe book. I hope to have it finished just in time for Christmas. I am always calling my mother asking how to make certain things. So now I will have all of these delicious recipes at my fingertips! So here is my family's fav:

Chicken and Rice (so easy, but oh so good)

Chicken breast/tenderloins (boneless and skinned)
1 can cream of mushroom soup
1 can cream of chicken soup
Shredded cheese
Velveeta cheese
Rice

Cook your chicken (bake, fry, boil). Once cooked, set aside to cool. Boil rice until fluffy! Add soups to rice and stir together. Tear the chicken up into bite sizes and add to rice and soups. Pour mixture in a 9x13 dish. Cut up pieces of Velveeta and push down into rice mixture. You don't want to use the whole thing of Velveeta. Add shredded cheese on top and cook in oven on 350 degrees for about 20 mins!

Day 4- My Parents

I'm still working on my 30 day challenge:

My parents, Clark and Vicki, are super special people to so many. They have been married for 37 years, had 4 kiddos, and now have 7 grandbabies! My parents met at my mom's church when she was 16 and my dad 21. They BELONGED together from the start and have continued all these years to make their love last. My parents have always told us to keep God first in our lives and everything will fall into place. We were raised in a christian home and brought up extrememly well. As a kid/teenager we didn't always agree with my parents, but now looking back...thank the Lord we listened and trusted them. My dad is the HARDEST working father I know. He provided for my family and provided well. We always had what we needed and my parents taught us to except and take pride in everything that we had. We were far from being spoiled. If we broke something...sorry about your luck!! We learned to take care of our things. My mother is the strongest woman I know. She can do ANYTHING a man can do pretty much and has always been the rock of our family. From early on she taught my sister and I how to take care of a household. My sister and I were also taught how to work in the yard!! My parents wanted my brothers to be excellent husbands and fathers and my sister and I to be excellent wives and mothers. We have always been loved and watched our two parents love each other. That means so much in a child's life. If they had arguments, we rarely saw them.

Fast forward 37 years........ they are now the best grandparents in the world. They love our children more than they love us I think!! And let me tell you---our kids think Mom and Dad are angels!! They adore their Nana and Papa.

Polar Express Pics

Aunt Susan with Tay and Austyn

On the motor home as they watch The Polar Express movie

ADORABLE!

Worn out!

Polar Express

We are going to the Polar Express tonight!!! Taydem is beside herself and she doesn't even know what the Polar Express is. All she cares about is riding on a ChooChoo train. My Aunt Susan and Uncle Rob are the sweetest and most thoughtful people and have bought a train car all to ourselves! So there will be about 20 of us all going together. We are taking the motor home again so we can also all ride together to Palestine. What a wonderful way to start out our Christmas this year. I will take tons of pictures and share with you next week!

Happy Friday and have a wonderful weekend!

Day 3- My First Love

Tyson Strong was my first love. I was in love with him it seemed like forever. Or I guess I just had a major crush on him. We FINALLY started going out when I was a sophomore and he a junior. I think I made him jealous enough that he couldn't take it any longer!! He was and still is good friends with my older brothers so it just always seemed right with us. I adored his family (and still do) and my family adored him. We were the typical "small town" high school sweethearts. EVERYONE thought we would marry one day!! Prom, football games, concerts, dates, baskeball games, holidays, vacations...we did everything together. And of course with good times we had bad times as well. We were young and stupid as they say and broke up with each other over and over. He followed me through college and eventually our love came to a stop with him being unfaithful numerous times. Again, we were young. I can look back now and say that. I still think about him often simply because I care about him and want him to find happiness. He has never married and seems to just go through the motions of the day. Anyone that knows him, knows he is hard headed!!  We still see each other every now and then at weddings or out at the lake every summer. I always think, "What if?" But I now know that God had a plan for me and it wasn't with Tyson.

Tyson (left) and his brother Trevor. I stole it from Trevor's wife's facbook page!

Day 2- Meaning behind my blog name

To be honest I really didn't put much thought in our blog name. I started this blog right when we moved back to Longview. I wanted a way for our friends and family back in Mexia to keep up with our busy lives. My cousin Chelsea has a blog and I LOVELOVELOVE reading hers, so I asked her to help set up mine. So....I thought---What's the "BUZZ" on the Barker's today? There ya go! Simply simple!

Day 1- Introduce Myself

This picture is pretty recent. It was taken at my sister's wedding back in August!

I was born Devin Elizabeth Anthony on October 9th, 1980 to two of the best role models in this world, Clark and Vicki Anthony. I have 2 older brothers, Dustin and Darin, who are both married to wonderful ladies, Molly and Chrissy. I have 4 nephews and 1 niece. I also have the bestest sister in the world who is married to her love bug, Eric...did I mention she's also my best friend? We were raised in a loving christian home and we were taught that God and family always comes first. If you don't have these two, you have nothing. I have always loved to sing and sang my first solo when I was 8 at our church. I still continue to sing and I just recently recorded a solo on our church Christmas album! (I get the cd tonight) I started playing sports competively when I was in 3rd grade---Little Dribblers! I fell in love with basketball. I began playing volleyball in 7th grade and realized later on it was more of a passion. I went to Tatum schools from K-12 grade. Not very many people can say this. I had the most amazing years as a child and up until I gradated in 1999! My friends are still close today and our kids are now playing together. I went on to play volleyball and sing in my college choir at a small junior college close to home. From there I moved to Huntsville and graduated from Sam Houston State in 2003. I got my BBA in Business Administration and then got certified to be a high school teacher. My first job interview was at Mexia High School, summer of 2005. At the time I never knew that one interview would change my life forever. The man that interviewed me was Leven Barker. He was the girls athletic director at Mexia and was quiet a few years older than me and was a single dad. Leven became my husband 8 months later and....yup....I got the job!! We got pregnant 5 months after we said "I do" and I gave birth to the most precious gift EVER- Taydem Elizabeth Barker on August 22, 2007. We lived in Mexia until Taydem was 11 months old and then Leven got the perfect job (in my eyes at least, ha!). He was hired to be the head volleyball coach at Pine Tree High School! So we packed up our things and headed BACK to East Texas-my home. It took a long, long....long time, but Leven will finally admit he is happy here. Trever is now 16 and is a very good looking young man. Smart, charming, athletic and kind hearted. Taydem is now 3 and is beautiful, inside and out! She has the best personality, loving, sweet and of course kind hearted like her "Bubba." Leven and I have been married for 4 1/2 years. Wow. Leven would say he would've never guessed it. Marriage is not easy and we continue to work on it every day. I love him more and more as we grow closer together and as the days pass. We surround ourselves with family and friends and that always makes life easier. Now if only we can have ONE MORE CHILD!

15 facts about Devin

1. I bite my nails.....every day!

2. I love candy

3. Just got an iphone and yes, I'm addicted

4. I love changing my hair-color, cut, etc.

5. I love love love reality TV

6. I have had 5 seizures in my life

7. I sucked my thumb until 3rd grade

8. I was homecoming queen

9. I am soooooo not a girlie-girl. Let's see... I may shave my legs once a week! ha

10. I coach club volleyball

11. I have seen 3 engagement rings

12. I love the dentist

13. Favorite snack is chips and salsa

14. I have worn contacts since I was 15

15. Got lost at a christmas parade when I was 7! I thought my parents left me so I left my group and started walking down the streets looking for them---ALONE! Thank the Lord above some friends of my parents saw me and picked me up.

30 Day Challenge

This is something I pulled off a fellow photographer friend's blog I follow. Hopefully I can do this!! December 1st will be a good day to start it! 
Day 1-Introduce, recent picture, 15 interesting facts
Day 2-Meaning behind your blog name
Day 3-Your first love
Day 4-Your parents
Day 5-Your favorite recipes
Day 6-A picture of something that makes you happy
Day 7-Favorite movies
Day 8-A place you've traveled to
Day 9-A picture of your friends
Day 10-Something you're afraid of
Day 11-Favorite tv shows
Day 12-What you believe
Day 13-Goals
Day 14-A picture you love
Day 15-Bible verse
Day 16-Dream house
Day 17-Something you're looking forward to
Day 18-Something you regret
Day 19-Something you miss
Day 20-Nicknames
Day 21-Picture of yourself
Day 22-What's in your makeup bag
Day 23-Favorite vacation
Day 24-Something you've learned
Day 25-Put your iPod on shuffle, first 10 songs
Day 26-Picture of your family
Day 27-Pets
Day 28-Something that stresses you out
Day 29-3 Wishes
Day 30-a picture

Food, Football, Family and Friends

Wow, I can hardly keep my eyes open as I type. We had a busy "FUN" Thanksgiving holiday. Thursday morning we got up and headed to my Meme's for tons and tons of food, visiting with the family and of course I think football was on every TV in the house. My poor Meme wasn't feeling good at all that day. Let me remind you about my Meme. She's 87 and still doesn't take medication. Now my Papaw on the other hand pops about 20 pills a day. What I'm trying to tell you...my Meme is doing quiet while for herself! But the day before Thanksgiving she just wasn't thinking straight and was using a hand blender and some meat got stuck in the blades. Instead of TURNING the blender OFF first, she stuck her finger up in the blender to unclog the meat. And you can only imagine what happended when the meat become unclogged! Yup...My aunt said my Meme's finger looked like a curly fry. She had to get15 stiches. Poor thing. They gave her some pain killers but she became really sick off the meds. We all felt so sorry for her. And she hated that she felt bad especially since we were all at her house! We hung around all day and finally headed to The Barker house around 7.

Friday morning was spent putting Christmas decorations out!! I got everything out and put up except for the Christmas tree. I'm excited this year for Christmas because Taydem actually understands it all. She still doesn't like Santa but we are working on that. Danin and I went to the movies that afternoon and saw "Love and Other Drugs." Pretty good...especially since Jake Ggllenhaal is in it and is NAKED (well it shows his butt a few times, ha) !! He is soooo cute to me. That night Leven and I went to the boats with some "new" friends of ours, Cara and Aric. We had a ball. I actually won $130 playing BlackJack and of course we danced for a few hours. We got back to our house around 1 and started playing spades. We didn't finish until 5:30 AM!! I was worn out that next day. Thank goodness Taydem spent the night with my parents that night.

 Saturday we headed to my parents around 3 to catch the bus (my dad and uncle bought a motorhome). We were ALL going to the Tatum Eagle football playoff game. Yes, we still follow those Tatum Eagles! Once we got there, we feasted on BBQ, dips, and desserts until game time. The Eagles won 49-7 and are advancing to the next round.