pump the brakes

seriously, i am so overwhelmed right now that i don't even care if my to-do list gets done or not.  i just keep rewriting it in a vain attempt to procrastinate! 

but never fear...our anniversary trip to gruene, tx is super close and after that i will have a lot of blog posts to publish.  we have lots of plans from the real ale brewery, to floating the river, a concert, drinking beer on our deck facing the river, drinking wine and eating. 

see yall soon!

Dream Subject - Lady Gaga

Yes, she's kooky and not beautiful in the conventional way.  But girl has a rocking body, an original look and she stays committed to her unusual style.

My Mom and I saw her Monster Ball tour in April and it was amazing.  We danced the whole time and were astounded by her talent and ability to play multiple instruments, sing and dance at the same time all while wearing crazy outfits and shoes.   Also, I always knew I have cool parents that have very open minds (and they raised my sisters and I to have them too) but it really hit home when Lady Gaga was talking about equality for all no matter what your gender or sexual preference is and my Mom and I were in complete agreement with her.

Love her or hate her we all have to agree that Lady Gaga has done wonders for the LGBT community.  And WE should all be thankful for that. 

Here are some of my favorite pictures of Lady Gaga.

The Parents Backyard

My parents have an awesome backyard.  A pool, a vegetable garden, fire pit, covered patio, quirky sculptures, various lounge chairs and lots of flowering plants.  It is a great place to spend an afternoon or evening.  When we visit it is pretty much the only place we hang out. 

 A Cardinal hanging out on a lounge chair.

 Petunias

 This toucan plant holder is made out of a tire!

 Mandevilla

 suculents

 Sunflowers

Morning Glory

Icon - Herb Ritts

One of my favorite photographers is Herb Ritts.  Although he sadly passed away in 2002, his work is still heavily featured in magazines and books.  He focused on black and white photography and portraits.  He is probably most famous for his celebrity portraits commissioned for Vanity Fair, Interview, GQ and Rolling Stone.  Right now I am lusting for one of his coffee table books but they cost the big bucks!

Here are some of my favorites of his:

all photos by Herb Ritts via google images

Busy, Busy, Busy

It's crunch time.  No matter what, this time of year is always the busiest for me.  The first day of school is this coming Monday.  So, this past week has been a major rush to get my classroom, paperwork, files, lessons and supplies ready.  Although this year wasn't so bad because I didn't move classrooms (after 5 years of teaching I have moved classrooms 4 times).  It's still been crazy hectic.  You see, I am a list maker, and the list for the beginning of the year (boy) is one that I keep in a binder and reuse every year.  But each year it gets tweaked and added to.  Even with that list I have two more going right now, one in my iphone and one on another piece of paper.  Seriously, today it felt like whenever I scratched out one thing that I completed, 3 more items were added to the list.

See that smaller piece of paper on the notebook?  Yeah, that is what I have planned to finish tonight.  It's 9:41 pm, I have a feeling I'll be up again till 1:00 am as I was last night.  Tomorrow is "Meet the Teacher Night" and we have training in the morning.  So, that means 4 hours plus whatever I can do tonight to finish up everything for the first day of school.  I have a feeling the weekend is going to be all school work too.  Ugh.... think good thoughts for me.

This Thursday the husband, the fur babies, and I headed up to Killeen for the weekend.  We had a great time of eating, swimming, drinking and eating some more. 

 Jack and Colby swimming in the pool.  Colby jumped in right after his run, hence the shirt. 

 Cindy and Jack at the Vineyard at  Florence.

 Mom and Dad at Inwood Estates.

 Trey and Tatum walking on the square in Georgetown, Texas.

 Jack

Walking to the Monument Cafe.

window internet shopping

Payday is Friday...but even then I seriously need to save my $$$!  We have several trips coming up soon that I really need to save for.  So, instead of spending real money, I will spend fake money!  It doesn't quite match up to the thrill of receiving something new in the mail but it sure is fun!

KALLISTO -- 22k Edged Amethyst Slice on 24k Gold Adjustable Ring

Set of 2 Ocean Shoreline Sea Glass Aqua Blue Half Gallon Mason Jar Pendant Lighting Fixture

NEW Decorative Designer Pillow Cover - 20 x 20 Garden Crewel Sea Glass on BOTH Sides

NEW Decorative Designer Pillow Cover - 20 x 20 - Thomas Paul by Duralee - Topiary Maize

Rhombus Silver camera strap

 

Vintage Atlas EZ Seal Jar filled with 1 lb Assorted Sea Glass

Joplin and Murphy

 Joplin - Colby took this picture.

Murphy

Yup, these are my babies.  My fur babies.  This weekend they went with my husband and I to my parents house in Killeen, Texas.  They have a huge back yard with tons of plants, a pool, and a vegetable garden.  The yard keeps them entertained and they also had their cousin Marley, a chocolate lab, there as well. They have been sleeping ever since we got home.