Jantsen's Gift

I had a wonderful opportunity at work last week that I can't believe I haven't shared before now!  Have you heard of Pam Cope?  No?  Well, neither had I.  She was listed as a guest speaker for a women's initiative group.  I'm on a committee for the group but knowing nothing about the guest speaker, I honestly thought, "oh great, here we go".  Speaker series are great and all, but honestly, busy as I have been at work, I was soooo close to skipping it and chalking it up to another "ra ra ra, go team go" type of afternoon.  But, thank goodness I took the time to attend.  She is absolutely amazing.  I've attached a video clip below, which gives you an idea of not only what her story is, which is pretty incredible in its own right, but more importantly, what she does.  It will blow your mind!  I read her book "Jantsen's Gift" in seriously like two days and it is beyond inspiring.  So, as Pam would ask, what will be your Mark?  How will you impact lives and leave the world a better place because YOU existed?  I know I'm coming up with my answers.  What are yours?

P.S.  The video is almost five minutes long but I can almost guarantee that if you  take the time to watch it, you'll be googling Pam Cope and her work.  Here's a good starting point:  http://www.touchalifekids.org/

Doing a Little Bit Better at the Turner Household!

The little booger (Riley, my dog) went back to the vet this morning since I was working at home to take care of him today.  It was good news and bad news andI won't bore you with the details but instead will just say that if you are dog lover keep this little man in your prayers.  He sure is a good dog.  He's not in pain and it seems like we are going to get a while longer with him.  Now it's just up to me and Dude's Dude to let him know he's loved and keep him comfortable.  I need to get back to work but this is where he's been all day today, sitting by me while I work away.  I'm telling ya, he really is a good little dog!

Oh, 2010... I'm so over you

So, let the record reflect that I'm officially 100% OVER 2010. As if I hadn't already decided this was my roughest year to date, my poor dog is at the hospital as I type. He went to the vet this morning and the vet's machine that analyzes blood mysteriously broke at noon when they were scheduled to close. I know, ironic right?!?!? The vet said we could get the results Monday... if Riley made it that long. So we took him to a 24 hour ER vet clinic. His red blood count which should be between 60 and 70 was at 13.  His white blood count was much too high and his platelette count was off as well.  So, we are currently halfway through a blood transfusion, waiting to see if it works and keeping our fingers crossed. He's definitely part of the Turner family and we sure are worried about him.

Oh, and let the record further reflect I have not spent this much in one day with the exception of buying a car. Double whammy. But definitely worth it for my poor doggie. Here's a pic of my sweet boy when we left him for his blood transfusion. Bless his heart!

I'm alive!

Wow!  I've been totally MIA lately and I have no excuse.  Well, I guess that's not entirely true.  I really haven't felt like I had anything to talk about lately, except for work and how much fun can that possibly be?  Not much, let me assure you (and poor Dude's Dude can vouch for that!)  I think it's pretty pathetic that I've already taken a "hiatus" from blogging since this whole blog thing is still so new to me.  But I didn't even take any pictures over Thanksgiving....how pathetic is that? and how boring are posts without pictures?  So, while I think of something completely brilliant to write, you guys don't give up on me!  I'll write later when I'm not feeling so drained from work.  Hope you had a great Thanksgiving!  Christmas will be here before we know it!

A little bit of this and a little bit of that....

So, this is all a bit random, but here's some random thoughts for today:

1.  Dude's Dude had a birthday!  He's thirty now.  That's like a real adult.  Yuck.

2.  I'm pretty sure I failed miserably on Dude's Dude's birthday gifts.  A list of boring is pretty much what he got.  Practicality just doesn't ever get anyone jumping for joy.

3.  Next weekend is Thanksgiving and I have the week off of work.  I can't tell you how excited I am to have some free time.  I already have lotsof projects lined up to keep me busy.  More to come on that later but it does include Chrimstas decorations, shopping for gifts and cleaning the garage.

4.  Do you ever have to play politics in your office?  I do and it just makes me want to throw my hands
up and yell "uncle"!  Who has time for that at work?  Dumb.

5.  We got tickets to watch the Cowboys game this weekend and next -- Dallas Cowboys this Sunday, Oklahoma State Cowboys the next.  And that suits me fine because it kind of goes hand in hand with Thanksgiving. 

6.  Do you make a list of things that you are Thankful for every year?  I try to but this year am trying to resist it because the summary of my 2010 is that I'm thankful this one's over!  Bad attitude, I know, so who wants to put that down "on record"?!?!  

7.  But for real.  Yay for 2011!  I AM THANKFUL for the light at the end of the tunnel and the things I know are to come.  Big blessings in store for us.... I just know it!

8.  Do 6 and 7 make me slightly bi-polar?

9.  One Dallas radio station is already playing Christmas music 24/7 and it makes me mad.  I love Christmas music, but something about starting this early takes away a little bit of the excitement.

10. Have a great day!  I can't think of a tenth thing but it seems wierd to end with 9.  So there you have it!

Friday already? And a funny story

I absolutely can not belive it is already Friday!  We have a fun weekend planned - Dude's Dude turns 30 on Sunday so we are going to attempt to act like it's his 21st.  But first, a funny story:

You may or may not know that Dude's Dude loves some video game time.  I'm talking, wearing a headset, shooting up villages, black ops type games where he aggressively competes with every 14 to 18 year old possible.  The upside is that it forces him to "watch his language" and "deal appropriately with aggression".  The downside, is that he has been known to play for hours, sometimes into the wee hours of the morning, with that stupid headset on.  But, I try to be the supportive wife and he and his buddy J seem to have fun with it.

The other day, I met Dude's Dude and J for lunch and J had a mortifying story to tell.  The new edition of some game had come out and both guys had pre-ordered it only to find out people were CAMPING OUT for this stupid game.  Both guys decided they would wait in line (not camp out, but show up at for about two hours in line) for their chance to be one of the first to get the game so as to avoid losing any competitive edge with said 14 year olds.

WELL, poor J...  as he was standing in line, "a bunch of 18 year olds driving daddy's car drove by and yelled 'LOSERS!!!  GET A LIFE' and sped off".  Yes, J and Dude's Dude are thirty year old men, being targeted by the "cool kids" as losers!  HA!  I warned them that game was dorking them out!

Weekend Rollercoaster

Man!  Some weekends are a roller coaster of running like crazy until we crash into laziness and others are more of an emotional roller coaster.  This weekend, well, it was a little bit of both!

First of all, work has been whipping my tail lately.  I'm really trying to prove myself at work and it's starting to take it's toll on me.  But, nonetheless, I left work around 5:30 or so on Friday to grab Riley and drop him off at my parent's for the weekend.  I'm so lucky my parents are always so willing to watch him!

After ditching dropping off Riley, we loaded up Annabelle and headed to Oklahoma City to celebrate Dude's Dude's  Dude's Dudes' Dude Dude's  (still not sure that's right- ha!).... um, the hubby's?... upcoming 30th birthday with his family.  We lucked out and got tickets from a very generous friend (and huge OSU fan) to go to the OSU/Baylor game.  The game was great... the car trouble on the way there, not-so-much!  At least we made it safe and sound to Firestone. We had a great time at the game and OSU played a fantastic game, which made for a happy Dude's Dude and father-in-law once we picked the car up from Firestone and headed back to Oklahoma City. 

The rest of Saturday was spent with sweet friend's at the usual restaurant spot.  Doesn't she look tiny and squished in between our two burly men (her husband and Dude's Dude)?  Oh, and don't be jealous of the fancy "mural" behind them - the food is dang good!

Sunday, I woke up to get ready Dude's Dude's memaw's 90th Birthday party.  That was an emotional afternoon - memaw had a stroke a year or so before we started dating and has been unable to talk.  Sometimes you can just see something spark in her eyes - I swear she was holding Dude's Dude's hand and remembering her husband.  Such a mixed reaction of feeling blessed that she is still around but sad that she can't be more a part of her own celebration.

Hope you had a good weekend.

It's only three weeks away!

Sure, I'm excited about Thanksgiving as the next person.  But what really excites me around this time of the year is Christmas, the shopping that comes along with it, and Starbucks peppermint lattes.  That being said, BLACK FRIDAY IS ONLY THREE WEEKS AWAY!  Do you have your game plan yet?

If not, or honestly, even if you think you do, you should definitely check this out.  Black Friday is hit or miss for me and Dude's Dude.  (Yes, I'm a mean wife.  Yes, I drag him around in the madness of Black Friday.  But honestly, yes, I think Dude's Dude likes it a little more than you might imagine.)  The key to keeping your sanity on Black Friday is scouring the deals in advance, making your list, and throwing some elbows.  Ok, disregard that last part.  But truth be told, the savings are out there if you plan ahead.  It will be an early morning but hopefully a good kick-off to get you in the Christmas spirit! 

Ladies, get your shopping shoes on and start prepping for Black Friday!  It'll be here before you know it!

WHAT HAPPENED?

Not sure what happened but Blogger decided it didn't like my header and background and it's gone!

 If anyone is "out there", be patient with me while I try to get a new design up.  Strange things happening in the blog world!  Maybe this is a sign....and I'll come back bigger and better!

BREAKING NEWS!

So, we've heard it rumored before but now, even the business section of the Dallas Morning News is confirming....  Northpark Mall here in Dallas is gettting an H&M!

I've had a couple brief experiences in H&M and can't wait for more!  According to reports, the store should be opening late 2011 - abouta  year!  I know some people are put off by the quality of H&M clothing, but for those of us who can't afford refuse to pay Neiman Marcus prices on a trendy piece that we may or may not wear more than a handful of times, this type of store suits me just fine!

That being said, I seriously already contemplated the fact that by the time the store opens, our lease will be up on our current house and we have every intention of moving back down that way.  Coincidence?  Maybe.  Or maybe it's fate.  HA!

A new do!

So, I'm pretty much lame a rebel.  You know how most people cut their hair short for the heat of the summer and wear it longer in the winter.  Not me!  Nosirrreeee...  I do just the opposite!  And it's pretty predictable.  I grow my hair out all summer long, get my highlights just the way I want them and then, with the hopes of cooler weather around the corner, I feel the need to winterize!  So here is a before:

and after:

Whatcha think?  Can you even tell from these pictures?  Should I have stayed long and light?  Or keep changing things up?

It'll be here before you know it

Last weekend, I had a dear friend tell me that I need to be medicated after explaining that I woke up at 8:00 on a Saturday and couldn't go back to bed because my mental list was driving me crazy.  WHAT, me medicated?!?!?!  Seriously, I wouldn't be the same person if I wasn't constantly planning, constantly figuring out what needed to be done when and how.  It almost defines me.  I love events.  I love planning. In fact the planning and anticipation of a vacation, party or even just a night out is sometimes more fun for me than the real deal.  So, with that as my disclaimer, I pose the following quesiton:  have you started planning, shopping, listing, etc. your Christmas presents?   I HAVE!  I'm so excited about my progress.  I think this year I'll be done before Thanksgiving gets here.  How great is that?  Then, that leaves the hustle and bustle of "the season" behind and I can relish in the moments.  Again, how great is that?  I obviously am pretty pumped up about it!

Maybe I'll give a sneak peak into some of the loot.... you just never know!

Have a good weekend!

Dear Friday

Dear Friday,

I know it hasn't been long since I last saw you, but I have so been waiting for your return.  Last week, you came and went without hardly any acknowledgment, taking Saturday and Sunday along with you.  Please don't be such a stranger.  Let's spend some quality time appreciating each other today, ok? 

With mucho respect,

C Turn

P.S.  Leave my Saturday and Sunday alone!  They for SURE need to hang around more.  Love, C Turn.

Is it Friday yet?

So, remember me saying that this week would be nice because I was going to get a little break from the chaos of work on Tuesday?  Well, that only made today even crazier!  BRING ON THE WEEKEND!

A Link Worth Sharing...

As new as I am to blogging, I must confess that one of the reasons it took me so long to get started blogging besides sheer laziness is that I was worried about privacy issues.  I came across the link from a blog my sister in lawfollows called The Polka Dot Pig.  She had a great tip on protecting your photos that is definitely worth checking out if you're a blogger.  Plus, she does some really cute design work! 

Just thought it was worth sharing.  And if you want to pull pictures from my blog, just comment and I can email them on a case by case basis.  I hope to have more pictures up in the future so I thought I would protect myself now.

Oh, Mondays!

Oh, Mondays!  How I loathe you.  I mean, seriously.  My alarm must have gone off three or four times this morning before I was able to tear myself out of bed.  And the dogs?  Oh, don't even dream of trying to get the dogs up early on a Monday.  Those sweet babies need their sleep.  For real, they wouldn't get out of bed this morning.  At all.  Here's to hoping Dude's Dude let them out before he left for work.  Because when I left for work, they looked like this...

Could you please be quiet and turn the lights out? 

Anyways, that's about all I wanted to do was snuggle up with my favorite, Dude's Dude, and sleep the day away.  After our busy weekend in OKC (or not so busy but away from all our chores, etc), I could have used a day of catch up. 

At least this is kind of a short week.  Dude's Dude and I are both attending a speaker series tomorrow and are both pretty pumped up about a day out of the office, and hanging out together the amazing speakers....  Here's a sneak peak:

And my personal fav....former First Lady, Laura Bush!  Dont'cha just lover her?  Such a class act. 




That's all for now... Have a great week!

Well, here goes...

So after months of stalking reading blogs daily every once and a while, I've decided to give in jump on the bandwagon and start a blog.  To be fair, I'm not sure anyone will care about "follow me" and what I have to say but if nothing else, this gives me a place to keep a journal.  PLUS, since I consider myself a writer by hobby and my husband (who I will call "Dude's Dude" on here, simply because he is worried about "over sharing" in the blog world) has jokingly (I think?) said funny things and then told me to write it down for his stand up routine.  Seriously, ya'll... he's pretty funny.  But stand up?  Anyways, I digress.  This blog will serve our need to memorialize all the craziness of our lives and hopefully help us stay in touch with all our out of town family and friends.

Cheers!