B is for the Bachelor

OMG!  I am about to go off on my soapbox!  The show Bachelor kills me!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  I watched it this week, like I do every week and it is so dang ridic!!!!!!!!!  Here are some rants of mine....

• "Now that I am sitting on top of mountain in Switzerland - I am feeling more and more in love."  WELL YAH!!!!!!!!!!!!!  Who wouldn't???  So, not real life!!!
• Over nights?  Are you kidding me?  Cort and Ben def. - well you know!  Freaking gag - do they all sleep in the same beds too?  No, I know they have diff. "fantasy suites" - but still terrible.  Ben was like, "I want to take our relationships to the next level!"  Well, what guy doesn't?!?!?!?  So next season, when Emily is the bach. and her daughter sees the show - what type of example is that?  I would say no I wouldn't do a over night and then I would prob. get cut!  NOT RIGHT!  And even if the "expected" doesn't happen, everyone thinks it did and it is still a bad example being set.   
• How could someone go on this show and expect to fall in love?  SO STUPID AND NOT REALISTIC! 
• How many helicopter rides are they planning on doing here???
• If he stares at those stupid frames any longer, I will throw up!
• Have you noticed all the stupid things they have to say about how love is like "mountain climbing" or "riding in a helicopter" - so scripted!
• Ben needs a hair cut!

All that being said, I will continue to watch and believe that all of this is set up by the producers, I just know that going in.  What I don't get - it's supposed to be reality TV - so realistic right?  It is def. not that!

OK, I am done for now.... hahahahaha!!!  AND GET YO' HAIR CUT BEN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Maxi Dresses

I am so in love with spring and summer dresses, skirts, etc. in a normal year.  This year they seem to be bigger than ever!!!!  And they are every where I look!  Love, love, love them all and want to purchase them all too - BUT WILL NOT BE DOING THAT!  I am narrowed down my top 3 fav's I have seen so far and I just had to share.  If there are any men, reading this blog - sorry, this post will prob. bore you to tears!  HAHA!

Women's Jersey Maxi Skirt from Old Navy - comes in grey, blue and black (blue is my fav.), $25

http://oldnavy.gap.com/browse/product.do?cid=55402&vid=1&pid=898059&scid=898059022

 

Kardashian Kollection - Women's Striped Maxi Tank Dress - love the nautical colors!!!  $59 - hard for me to pay almost $60 for a cotton dress though.  But so cute!

http://www.sears.com/shc/s/dap_10153_12605_DAP_Kardashian+Collection+Category?category=womens&adCell=W3

Kardashian Kollection - Women's Corset Inspired Maxi Dress - comes in vintage tiger and black (vintage tiger is my fav.) - $35

http://www.sears.com/shc/s/dap_10153_12605_DAP_Kardashian+Collection+Category?category=womens&adCell=W3



I think my fav is the third one - will some really cute black wedges.  I see this being my upcoming bday dress, if I like it when I try it on.  I do worry about it being too long.  Hope everyone has a good weekend!!!  

Meet Maverick Moore

Today post is going to introduce our new puppy, MAVERICK MOORE! 

First, with the name.... we have always said we would get a dog one day and name HIM, Maverick Nasty Moore after his Dad, KeeNasty.  But.... when we determined we would be getting a little girl puppy, I couldn't possibly name this little one "Nasty"... so we just went with Maverick Moore.  Maverick does seem like boy name, but I didn't care.... we figured it could work either way.  Now, why Maverick?  HELLO!!!!!!  We are huge fans of the Dallas Mavericks, enough said! 

So the breed - why we picked the Boston Terrier?  Read this blog post for those answers - B is for Boston Terrier

Color - most Boston Terriers are black, brindle or seal.  Little Maverick is none of these colors.  She is considered a RED Boston Terrier.  Red head, just like her Momma!  Lol....  Keeton is in trouble!  Red Bostons are said to have some health problems since they are not the typical color, but I have asked 2 vets about that and neither had heard such a thing.  We chose the light brownish color b/c we have lots of brown in our house, the tile, couches, etc.  Bostons shed minimally, but just in case we don't want hair to show up everywhere.

Breeder - I looked for a Boston Terrier for a long time, felt like a really long time!  Originally, we were going to go adopt a dog, but I never could find the right dog.  Eventually (after a month) and a couple of heart breaks, we just decided to go through a breeder.  I found Maverick through Puppyfinder.com.  Some things you should def. consider and ask when you go through a breeder - Questions to Ask Breeders.  You just never know with breeders and what they tell you, etc.  I was SUPER PARANOID!!!!!! 

OK.... so on to the fun stuff!  Here are some sweet pics of our little Maverick!  Enjoy!

My first pic with Maverick - right after we picked her up!

Understanding Dogs!

I have been reading so much about dogs lately and it is really interesting to me!  I have to first say I credit most of my knowledge to the dog whisperer, Cesar Millan.  He is freaking awesome.  Anyways, today's blog post is going to focus on facts that will help you with your dog(s), things you should think about when it comes to caring for your dog(s), etc.  Basically things I had no clue about that have been so helpful for me in understanding these animals.  I have had a new dog for 1 week now and I know I will go through so much more as time passes - so prob. more blog posts coming. 

OK my first thing I have learned and Cesar goes on and on about this one.  As humans, one of the biggest mistakes we make with our dogs.... we try to humanize them!  THIS IS SO TRUE!!!!!!!  I am guilty of it and have to remind myself daily, Maverick (my new dog) is a dog, not a human.  They think differently than me - plain and simple.  This isn't true in all cases, but most often it is.  So, you may be confused???  Here are some examples:

• The other day I came home and Mav had an accident in his crate.  She was laying right next to her poop.  I was devastated.  I thought, OMG - this poor puppy, I am terrible, how long has she been laying there and on and on.  Then Keeton reminded me, she is a dog!  OBVIOUSLY, she doesn't care too much.  Now, I am not saying let poop stack up everywhere and they don't care - come on people - use your common sense.  But it didn't kill her, like it did me! 
• We are crate training Mav.  She is already beginning to go in it on her own.  Would we as humans ever want to live in a crate?  Uh... no.... that would be jail to us, I guess!  You don't want to use their crate as punishment, you want them to like it and feel like it is their safe haven.  For humans, this would never work.

The first sense a dog will use is their smell, again very different from humans.  They smell everything!  Other dog's butts, your crotch, everything!  This is how they learn their surroundings.  This is normal, let them do it!

Dogs do not learn to NOT (yes, I know - double negative) pee or poop in the house by you rubbing their nose in it or spanking them.  They learn by you praising them when they do it in the right place.  For Mav - outside.  If you catch them doing their business inside, remove them immediately and let them finish outside and still praise them.  Praise for us, includes a treat.

You should never scream and yell at your dog - this shows "their pack leader" is unstable and they will not listen.  If anything, they get scared and shut down and you think they are listening.  In turn, they are not learning anything.  This is the same for parenting in my opinion (and no, I'm not a parent and am not saying I will never yell at my kids, I am sure I will from time to time) - but it can reflect you are unstable and if anything just scares them, in turn not really teaching a lesson.  I can promise you I will think about this when I do become a parent and work real hard at it.  Cesar says the pack leader should be calm and assertive - the perfect mix.  You also have to make sure your dog is calm and submissive when you are trying to teach them something, that way you know they are taking it in and learning from it.  Again, same with kids in my opinion.  I don't know how many times I see parents yelling and screaming at their kids and/or dog(s) and the kids and/or dogs are so upset or totally tuned out - really, you think that works???  NO!  In this case, I guess dogs are like humans. 

How you react, directly affects how your dog is going to react.  This relates to young children too.  Perfect example - the 1st full day I had Mav, I took her to the vet for a puppy wellness exam.  I was worried inside that something would be wrong - just paranoid.  Even though I tried not to show it, I know she could sense it.  She was terrified the whole time at the vet and for no reason other than the energy I was putting off.  Keeton took her back a couple days later and he said she was fine, why?  B/c Keeton wasn't worried about anything, like me!  An example Cesar gave was - if something painful happens to your dog (they fall, slam into something, etc.) - do not freak out, this could really scare your dog and you could have trouble with these situations in the future.  Mav was scared of the vacuum cleaner the other day, so you know what I did?  Held her while I vacuumed and then left it in the middle of the living room turned off, so she would get used to it.  The water is going to be the same battle with us.  Our dog will like the water, eventually!!!! 

So how do dogs communicate?  Obviously, they can't speak!  BY ENERGY!  Something else really cool I have learned about.  The energy you portray is going to directly communicate things to your dog.  Happy energy, sad energy, proud energy, upset energy, angry energy and on and on.  Dogs that are trained to fight are obviously very mad and upset - think about their owners - same thing!  That is why these dogs can be changed with diff. environments and owners. 

Socialize your dog - well if you want them to be social.  This is something very important to us b/c we are social butterflies!  We take our dog with us everywhere we can and when people are over we want Mav to be right in the middle of us interacting with our company.  That way she learns its ok to be around people and to be sweet, kind and gentle to them as well.  And how to act in general around people.   

Be consistent!  OMG!  I COULD GO ON AND ON AND ON AND ON ABOUT THIS ONE!  Yesterday, I told Keeton I bet Mav thinks her name is "down."  We prob. told her "down" 300 times.  She is learning it, but I think her attention span is so short right now it takes time and time again to go over with her.  This is something that relates to humans as well.  Your child, your dog(s) or my dog will never learn if you are not consistent with their lives.  You are their "pack leader" and they depend on you for that.  Everything from punishment, to when and where they pee and poop needs to be consistent.  It has been 1 week and we have our 11 week old puppy on a schedule, OUR schedule.  She eats at the same time, she poops about the same time, and eventually we will have potty trained completly b/c I have yet to tie down her "pee times" - it's like every hour right now.  I am proud of that and it makes it WAY easier for us too!

OK....well I guess that is enough about dogs!  I really have taken owning a dog very serious and I wish that everyone that owned a dog did the same.  We love our little Maverick!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! 

Great website to check out - http://www.cesarsway.com/

Saint Valentine's Day

Happy Valetine's Day everyone!  As you can imagine, my post today will be dedicated to this holiday.  Here is so cool info about this very old holiday.  Short and sweet.

Saint Valentine's Day, commonly shortened to Valentine's Day, is a holiday observed on February 14 honoring one or more early Christian martyrs named Saint Valentine. It was first established by Pope Gelasius I in 496 AD, and was later deleted from the General Roman Calendar of saints in 1969 by Pope Paul VI.  The day first became associated with romantic love in the circle of Geoffrey Chaucer in the High Middle Ages, when the tradition of courtly love flourished. By the 15th century, it had evolved into an occasion in which lovers expressed their love for each other by presenting flowers, offering confectionery, and sending greeting cards (known as "valentines").  Modern Valentine's Day symbols include the heart-shaped outline, doves, and the figure of the winged Cupid. Since the 19th century, handwritten valentines have given way to mass-produced greeting cards.

More info can be found here - pretty cool stuff.  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Valentine's_Day#Legends

I have decided to include a pic from every Valentine's Day Keeton and I have spent together.  Starting in 2007.  I am missing 2008 though - boo!!!  Not sure what happened there.

2007 - Our 1st Valentines!!!  

2009

2010 - the weekend Keeton also proposed

2011

B is for in the BEDROOM

Bahahahahaha.... I am laughing out loud on the title of this post, got your attention didn't I?  Get your mind out of the gutters.  No, but for real, this post is about our master bedroom!  Haha... and I know you are still laughing at me.  Ok, remember, I post about things that are important to me.  The other night I walked in my bedroom from my living room to get ready to go to bed and this sense of calm just came over me!  I thought, oh... I am so blogging about this!  Now, remember my blog, my opinions.... some of these things you may not agree with and that's OK.  Ever since Keeton and I have been married and lived together, I have been very big on our bedroom is our haven and so has Keeton.  Now, we don't have kids... so things may change big time once we do, but we have both agreed to try and not let that happen.  A long time ago on an Oprah show, she had a designer on there talking about master bedrooms.  One of the things that really stuck with me is along this same topic, keep your bedroom between you and your spouse and the example I remembered most was to only have pictures of you and your spouse in your bedroom.  For instance, I used to have a pic of my Mamaw on my bed side table.  I love my sweet Mamaw, but that is just not the place for her picture (you all know where I am going here).  Put pictures of just you and your spouse in your bedroom.  I love this idea.  Again, it really enforces your bedroom just being you and your spouse's haven, no one elses.  I also, like that sense of calm and ease as soon as I enter my bedroom.  I, of course, keep it very clean and smelling good!!  I also do not have alot clutter everywhere, well I don't have alot of cutter anywhere in my house when you get right down to it.  But in the bedroom, I have nothing extra laying around except the necessary items.  My walls are very simple too.  Not alot of crap hanging on the walls everywhere.  For those of you who know me well, I like lots of pics everywhere, so this is very different for me, but oh so worth it and Keeton really appreciates it too.  Sweet, simple and clean!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! 

One of the things in our house, that is a little different from most is there is tile throughout the entire place, even in the bedrooms.  This probably wouldn't have been a choice I made, but it works.  I think eventually we will get a rug for our bedroom, which will make it even more warm and cozy.  I also want to get larger lamps, for height - but these were wedding gifts and free - free, is always the best!  =)) 

Here is our awesome, comfy, king sized bed.  Oh and I am huge fan of sateen sheets.  Not satin, sateen.  SO SOFT and never too hot or cold.  I had the paint on the walls matched to our bedding.  The bedding was also all wedding gifts which is amazing!  You can't see out the window, but that is the pool outside the and a great view.  Again, makes it relaxing when you walk in to have a nice view.  We will prob. hang curtains at some point over the shades, just haven't found anything I love.  The shades came with the house - big plus!  Also, you will notice, not alot hanging on the walls.  I have a 11x14 pic of Keeton from the wedding on one side of the window and a 11x14 bridal of me (not shown) on the other side of the window.  Again, all about us! 

Snapped this pic to show our furniture.  I love our bedroom furniture!  When we moved into the house, I told Keeton I really wanted a MATCHING bedroom suite.  This is something neither of us had ever had and it was important to me.  You will also see here a metal piece on the wall (thanks Foster fam!) that matches the bedding almost perfect.  You will see another pic of us and this couple sculpture thing I love - another wedding gift.  =)  [Decorating tip - always decorate in odds, I like 3's personally]  I have a candle going most often.  And... see that box, perfect solution for Keeton's stuff so it isn't spread all over the top of the dresser.  I don't care whats in there as long as it is IN THERE!!!!  Keeton is great about keeping his stuff picked up though, I really lucked out with that and that is all thanks to his Momma!!!!!!!!!! 

Last pic, I will share is our wall across from our bed.  All the items on the wall - wedding gifts - we are really blessed.  Love the cross in the middle and a little higher than everything else - most important and center of our marriage.  Simple and clean.  You will see another little couple statue on the media stand - all about the hubs and me.

 
On Sex and the City, Carrie Bradshaw didn't even want a TV in her bedroom.  I do like this idea - goes back to making the bedroom all about you and your spouse, but I am not perfect!  Hello!!!! 

I know some of you may think I am crazy posting about my bedroom - but I am telling you I love it!!!!  I just had to share!  Good stuff!

B is for ShuffleBOARD!!!!!!!!!!!

Where is all started for Keeton - Paddy Red's Shuffleboard table.

Shuffleboard is one of my most fav. bar games to play.  Whenever Keeton and I go to a bar we love if they have a shuffleboard table!  Back in 2009 is when Keeton really became a huge fan of this game and for his Dirty 30 bday bash I wanted so badly to buy him a shuffleboard table.  Well.... little did I know, these tables are SUPER EXPENSIVE!!!!!!!!!  So, I ended up buying him a blackjack table instead. 

[[For those of you wondering, where would we put this shuffleboard table?  Well... Keeton's fam has a large metal building that has a full kitchen, restrooms, poker tables, a blackjack table, pool table, etc. etc. etc.  They call this place the "Party Barn" - but it is not a barn!  It doesn't house animals or hay!  HAHA.... I know the people in Keeton's fam who are reading this are prob. laughing at me right now b/c I have been saying this for so long.  NOT A BARN!]]   

Ok, so back to the shuffleboard table.... Keeton and the men in his family decided to build one instead!  Yes, they built one!  These guys can build anything, I swear!  I am amazed by these men all the time.  This blog is really all about their table they built a couple of years ago and the fun we have with that table.  Keeton's Papa and MeeMaw used to play this game all the time.  Sweet MeeMaw has passed away now and her legacy still lives on with this table.  They used to keep score on the wall for the REALLY GOOD GAMES/SCORES, check out these scores I took pics of.  I love these.

PP = Papa, Dan = Danny, Keeton's Dad and I love Papa's note, "I beat Dan - 3 games to 1 - Thank You God, Love you, D.A."  D.A. is Papa's real name.  Cracks me up!

Doris = Keeton's late MeeMaw - again, with the "HAHA" - too cute!  That is all Papa.  

 

Here are some actual pictures of the table the guys built.  It is a 16' table.  Shuffleboad tables come in different sizes.  The 16' option was the best one for this space.  It even has bolts underneath to adjust the table should it get off balance at one end.  Kyle made covers for it a while back and you can see those propped against the wall on the right.  Ignore the blue, beer pong tables....lol.  They buy the actual shuffleboard sand and wax and carpeted the inside.  So professional!  =)



I am not going to go into detail all about the game and it's rules, etc.  I think that may bore you all.  But I just wanted to blog about this table and the fun it brings to my life and my husband's life.  A couple of weeks ago we played all day - literally.  So fun, good memories.  I wish I would have snapped some pictures of everyone.  We really get competitive.  Ok, and just to throw this in - I won that day!!!!!  Danny is def. the hardest to play against, defensive wise.  I love the "Moore Men" in my life for making these fun times possible. 

....everyday I'm shuffling....

B is for Burger

Burgers .... YUMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM!!!  I love burgers, but def. don't eat them that often b/c we all know they are pretty bad for you!!!  So moving on....

My 2 favorite places for a burger in Funky Town are Dutch's Burgers near TCU and Pop's Burgers in Benbrook.  I swear Pop's burgers melt in your mouth!  The meat and cheese are cooked together and they taste amazing.  They recently just won the DFW's Best Burger Contest and deserve it!  Dutch's is another great burger - very messy, but oh so worth it!  Best part about their burger is seriously their bread.  I am not sure if they make their bread in house, but it def. taste like it.  Its more like a roll vs. a bun.  Here are some pics...

Pop's Burger - http://www.popsburgersandgrill.com/

Dutch's Burger - http://www.dutchshamburgers.com/

And lastly, I want to post how I make burgers at home!  I use turkey meat instead of ground beef to make it a little more healthy.  I dice up an onion and mix in within the meat.  Then I season the meat with soy sauce, Creole, Worcestershire sauce and pepper! You can cook the meat on the grill our in a pan on the oven.  Top with cheese if you would like and anything else you love!!!  YUM YUM YUM and easy!  OK, again this little seasoning mix was given to me by a friend - can't take all the credit.  My favorite side dish with burgers are sweet potato fries - baked in the oven.  Another great recipe!  Top with Italian seasoning and salt!  Delicious! 

Dang.... I am so hungry right now!  Any other burger joints I must try????

B is for BEST BOWL Commercials - Super Bowl 2012

In college, I majored in Marketing and I always talk about how advertising works on me!!!  Some people could care less - but I pay attention to it all.  Now, I am not going to give you all a lesson in Marketing and Advertising, but know the 2 are different.

According to Wikipedia:
Marketing is defined by the AMA (American Marketing Association) as the activity, set of institutions, and processes for creating, communicating, delivering, and exchanging offerings that have value for customers, clients, partners, and society at large.
Advertising is a form of communication used to encourage or persuade an audience (viewers, readers or listeners) to continue or take some new action.

I remember in one of my Marketing classes in college, we seriously discussed the Super Bowl commercials for an entire class period and it was so fun and interesting to me.  I am going to re-live that fun memory in my past with this blog post.

My favorite commercial - Skechers Shoes f. Mark Cuban



Reasons why this one rocks and catches people's attention:

• To start, it looks like a news cast of some famous race and catches your attention!
• How cute is this French Bulldog - dogs most often appeal to humans - "man's best friend" and I am on a huge dog hunt right now - trying to find the right one for us, so I even loved this one more b/c of this.
• Shoes on a dog - I don't care who you are - that is cute and funny!!!! 
• Racing - first thing I thought of - betting and gambling - how many people do you know that watch the Super Bowl just b/c they have bets going or are on several Super Bowl pots from work, etc.  Another crowd that is sucked in!
• "Wild Thing" by Tone Loc and the moon dance made famous by MJ - another hit!!  These will always get you up and going!!!  Well, for most crowds.... and you immediately start singing the song too!
• And then to top it all off, Mark Cuban!  He is so big right now b/c the Mavs are the reigning NBA WORLD CHAMPIONS (and my fav. team too) - can't get any better!  Maybe if Dirk would have been holding the dog instead - maybe better.... lol. 

Next one I loved....

• Weight loss - something everyone can relate to especially at the beginning of the new year!
• Again with the dog!  Same thing I said above - dogs most often appeal to humans - "man's best friend" and I am on a huge dog hunt right now - trying to find the right one for us, so I even loved this one more b/c of this.
• Another great song - everyone knows and can sing along to.

The #1 ranked commercial was the Doritos commercial, where the owner takes the dead cat bride from the dog for Doritos.  Too funny!!! 



I will leave you will a small factoid - a Super Bowl commercial cost 3.5 million dollars, almost $117,000 a second!  WILD, huh???

House Parties

Today's blog post is going to be about throwing fun house parties!!!  Well, in my opinion - my blog.... lol.  I love hosting parties and Keeton does too - just in different ways.  In turn, I feel we have pretty good parties.  The main thing we try and think about are our guests.  We want to try and think of everything possible that could make all types of people and ages happy and comfortable. 

If it were up to me, I would send a paper invitation every time!  But, in this day and age evite does work too and it is way cheaper.  I just have to get over myself.  I do have a "paper fetish" and my Mom def. handed that down to me.  So while we are on the topic of invitations - Invite clearly. Include necessary information for your guests in the invitation. Is the party a casual get-together or more formal? What about the attire? Maybe a guest would benefit by knowing ahead of time who else will be there (most of the time people will ask this if they want to know) and you might mention when and if they need RSVP.  Back to the whole, asking who will be there thing?  All my friends get along with one another, so this question would only be asked (in my opinion) if someone was trying to determine if they were going to attend or not.  Right (not going to lie) most of the time gets under my skin.  But whatevs....

Here are some more great tips I got from Ms. Emily Post herself!
Plan well. Preparing your guest list carefully is key to a successful party. Then do as much as you can ahead of time. (Lower the stress level by serving food and refreshments you know will work.) Get everything ready well before your guests arrive, so you'll feel relaxed from the very beginning.  Love this and so very true!  How many times have you been over at someones house and they are stressed out?  I def. don't feel like hanging around. 

Remain calm. Giving a party can be enjoyable, especially if you approach it with simplicity. Get help if necessary, and don't let your guests think you're huffing and puffing. They'll feel far more comfortable if they don't have to wonder whether they're causing you any trouble.

Keep your guests feeling welcome. Make sure guests are warmly greeted, then made to feel welcome throughout the party. Look after each guest as much as you can. If you notice that a guest has an empty glass or if there's one person standing alone, remedy the situation as quickly and cheerfully as possible.  Hostess with the Mostess baby - something I thrive for!

Be flexible and gracious. Your soufflé falls. Or one friend arrives with an unexpected guest. The ruined dessert? Have a fallback. The uninvited guest? As discourteous as it is for someone to spring a surprise on you, be gracious. No polite host would ever send an uninvited guest packing.

Be appreciative. Thank people for coming as you bid them good-bye. And don't forget to thank anyone who brought you a gift.  AND WRITE A THANK YOU NOTE - OK, I added the last part! 

Other things that you def. want to think about when planning:

• Inside or outside party?  We have a pool and fire pit - so people are always inside and outside at our parties - make sure you have seating in both places.
• Hot or cold weather?  Have a place for people to put their things.  I once read on a website to clear out your coat closet and allow your guests to hang their coats in that closet - pretty sweet if you ask me.  Our coat closet is right by the front door, this would work well at our house. 
• What ages will be there?  Have a plan of action for all ages.  Non-alcoholic and alcoholic beverages are a must if you are serving drinks. 
• Smokers?  Make sure you have ash trays outside for the smokers in your life - otherwise you may be picking up cig butts the next day. 
• Timing - this matters big time for what you plan on or don't plan on feeding people.  You can not plan a party in the middle of a meal and not feed your guests a meal or HEAVY snacks.  I like to start evening parties at 8pm, most people will come after dinner.  I provide snacks, but not a full dinner of course.  And people will not expect a full meal either.  I am a huge fan of chips and dips.  I like to try different types of fun dips from Central Market. 
• Music - I always, ALWAYS have music at my parties.  How lame and awkward is it when you go to a party and it is dead silent?  AWFUL!  You have to have some type of background music.  I create a play list that has all different types of music to please all crowds and not a lot of cuss words either.  This will offend people or stick out no matter what environment you are in. 
• Have options for entertainment - examples: Wii, sports game on TV, board games, Catch Phrase is always my go-to game.... so many other options.  For kids - crafts, children's movies...

I really love having parties, but don't want to wear people out on always being invited over, so we pick and choose the events we plan wisely.  We want people to show up and enjoy our parties!  The more the merrier....

Friendship Series - Part III

Today is going to be my 3rd and final post on my friendship series. I am going to talk about friendship within the Bible along with how social media has changed friendship.

::::yellow roses symbolize friendship::::

 During the session at church they started off by saying, “Model your friendships by scripture and apply it to the 21st century.” Here are some scriptures I really liked- in regards to friendship that the speaker shared with us.

• Proverbs 17: 17 - A friend is loving at all times, and a brother is born for adversity.
• James 2: 21-23 - Was not Abraham our father justified by works, in that he offered up Isaac his son upon the altar? Thou seest that faith wrought with his works, and by works was faith made perfect; and the scripture was fulfilled which saith, And Abraham believed God, and it was reckoned unto him for righteousness; and he was called the friend of God.
• Psalm 25: 13-14 - His soul shall dwell at ease; And his seed shall inherit the land. The friendship of Jehovah is with them that fear him; And he will show them his covenant.
• Psalm 55: 12-13 - For it was not an enemy that reproached me; Then I could have borne it: Neither was it he that hated me that did magnify himself against me; Then I would have hid myself from him: But it was thou, a man mine equal, My companion, and my familiar friend. (This refers to the topic in my 1st post – no one can love you like a friend and no one can hurt you like a friend)

The meaning of friendship has def. changed over time and especially now more than ever with all of the social media outlets. Social media is defined as people having conversation online. Plain and simple – just that – conversation.

 

The big one I will focus on today is facebook. There are def. more out there – twitter is the other big one I think about. Some people hate fb and some people love it. I personally love it and use it for its true meaning – connecting with friends! Obviously everyone on my facebook are not considered real friends, some just acquaintances. But I love keeping up with people! Some people could care less and that’s fine too! (example – my hubs) You can craft your facebook account into what you want it to be. Just family, ok! Just co-workers or colleagues – ok! Just close friends – ok! Whatever you want… and there are privacy settings that can be as “open” or “private” as you want to be with your information.

 

I have heard all the horror stories about facebook – ruining relationships, creating drama, blah blah blah – but, here is what I always say – if you have drama in your real life, you will have drama on fb. It is just another outlet for you to express yourself. People will take advantage of it and use it in the wrong way, but isn’t that true with everything in life?

 

So friendship in regards to facebook – I think there is def. an etiquette that should be followed on facebook to some degree. But on top of that learn about your friend’s views on fb before just posting something on their wall, etc. Perfect example – my best friend hates facebook! So guess what? I don’t keep up with our friendship through that outlet. If I post pics, she is not going to see them unless I tell her to go on and check it or send them to her. If I depended on fb to keep up with our relationship, we would never speak to each other. However, I have other friends that we can totally keep up with each other’s lives through fb and that is great too. I would just say – don’t depend 100% on fb for any meaningful relationship. You still need to have that face to face conversation, that phone call, etc. to keep a good friendship thriving.

 

Well, that wraps up my friendship series. I was so touched by this session at church that I had to share some of the really great things I heard. I hope you have enjoyed them as much as I have.

Friendship Series - Part II

Today is my 2nd blog post over friendship, something that is very near and dear to my heart!

::::the yellow rose symbolizes friendship::::

My post today is going to detail the benefits of friendship and how to work at maintaining good friendships. I guess I will just start by bulleting some benefits I learned about during my recent “Friend Me” session at church.

• Stress relief
• Shared conversation
• Inspiration
• Understanding
• Fun
• Advice
• Kindness
• Heart felt laughter
• Hugs
• Build self-esteem – this is one of my fav.’s and so, so true! Think about this, when your down, who do you go to? Your friends to help you feel better about yourself!!! They will do this in one way or the other.
• AND SO MANY MORE!!!!!!!!!!!

There are lots of ways to go about meeting new friends – the big ones:
1-work (proven that if you have at least 1 friend at work, you will like your job more)
2- church
3- professional associations
4- social groups.
Sometimes you have to step outside your box to meet friends.  I am very outgoing and this is A HARD one for me. I remember the first person I met in my first class at TCU. I walked into my first class and sat down and the girl next to me was so outgoing! She was like, “Hi, I’m *****” – I was so taken back and loved it all at the same time. She was my first friend at TCU and we are still in touch today. We both transferred in to TCU as juniors and were brand new to a whole new environment. I struggled academically in college and she kept me alive, seriously – this girl is so smart and I am so thankful for her! God placed her in my life for a reason and I hope I returned the favor in some way. We are both married now and attended each other’s weddings and of course stay in touch through facebook! We have grown and moved to different cities, she has a baby, etc. but I think we both know the sincerity of our friendship and know we will always stay in touch forever.

On the contrary, think about your child hood friends – do you even remember how you became friends? I honestly don’t remember the ways we met from way back! The ones that come later in life you may remember more clearly, but they are the same type of special! My best friend – I literally wrote her a note asking if I could be a soccer manager with her? I guess I was asking if we could be friends when you get right down to it! I AM GLAD I DID IT! She “approved” me for a soccer manager and the rest is history! Lol!!!!

I am trying to think of the best way to go about this blog post and I think it will be a little here and there, but I resort back to the bullet list – easy to read and write! Here are some great ways to work at maintaining good friendships.

• Go the extra mile with your friendships – think about what your friends like best, not what you like best. Example – does your friend appreciate a hand written note more, a dinner date or phone call?
• If your friend has a flaw that drives you crazy, look at the other qualities that you love about them. If you can truly not handle those small (or large) flaws then maybe that friendship is not quality like you might need and that’s ok. You have to hold them to different standards. Different type of friend – ya know? You would hope that they would return the same actions and you are both on the same page, otherwise – one of you might get hurt.
• Focus on ways in which you can be a better friend.
• Prayer for your friends – in turn, you need to know what to pray for.
• Don’t retreat from difficult conversations – true friends should be able to have the difficult conversations and get through them together. In turn, making each of your better! All about bettering myself as you know… B is for Bettering Myself Blog Post.
• Make time for your friends! We are all busy! But, you have to make time for your friends. This is good for them and you. Don’t let this crap get in the way… “it’s hard to stay friends – we are not ______” in college anymore, you don’t have kids, your single and I’m married, blah blah blah. True friends will make and find time for each other no matter what.
• Don’t give up on others.
• Find out what your friends value in a friendship and make sure your friends know what you value most as well. Mine? LOYALTY!!!

I am going to end today’s post with one thing I take to heart. Be friends with different types of people. Different types of people will bring the best out of you in ways you may not even realize. Don’t be quick to stereotype people – they could end up a great friend to you and a huge asset to your life!

Post #3 Coming Soon!