Gotta Love The Pups

I know some of you think I'm crazy for loving animal pictures as much as I do, but they make me happy and I always melt at the cute dog ones. So in this world of chaos, if animal pictures give me warm fuzzies, I'm stickin' with 'em (even if they involve cats)!

I think Maggie would jump through the window if she saw a doggie ice cream cone like this!

Wow - those are some serious jowels!

Very sweet buddies!

Wow - now that's ambition!

Teamwork at its finest!

Even cuter teamwork!

Wow - how's that for color matching?!

I wish Maggie were a water dog! So cute!

Ummmmm....not even sure what to say about this one. I guess the K-9 units are friendly to wildlife?!

Sibling rivalry at its finest!

I see you!

Ummmm...I don't think you're going to get a good tan.........

Contortionist extraordinaire!

What a sweet buddy!

Wow - now THAT'S some destruction!

Thankful Thursday

This edition of Thankful Thursday is going to look a little different. Last week, I didn't even do Thankful Thursday due to the fact that I was in kind of a funk and a crabby mood and I didn't feel very thankful about anything.

Well, this week I decided to post a picture that I took a couple weeks ago up in Lewisville - a double rainbow! I have been struggling with restlessness and agitation lately and I have quite honestly felt spiritually empty for about a month now. I'm not sure why, but I am aware of it and want this drought to come to an end.

Well, when I was up in Lewisville, there was an absolute DOWNPOUR of epic proportions and then when it was over, I saw this absolutely spectacular rainbow. It was the brightest, biggest rainbow I have ever seen in my life (the picture doesn't come close to doing it justice). And it was a full rainbow - end to end......and if you look closely, it's also a DOUBLE rainbow!

Anyway, I thought that maybe it was a sign from God that He IS still out there and that He still cares about my desires, my worries, my sorrows and my joys......it was amazing - and both ends of the full, complete rainbow were churches! The 2 'pots of gold' at the ends fell right into 2 churches! WOW - what a sign that God is still in control and unfolding His plan. It was such an amazing sight.....I hope that realization helps pull me out of this spiritual funk.....

Cowboys and Cowgirls

So after Cooper's with April and her friend, we HAD to go to the rodeo!

See - I've got my boots on and I'm ready for the rodeo!

I love going to the Stockyards and the rodeo is so cool. It's the country's first indoor rodeo and has a lot of historical significance. Also the first radio broadcast of a rodeo was done from inside the Cowtown Coliseum. Cool!

My favorite part - the national anthem girl!

The girl and that horse looked so regal - I just love it.

And right before the national anthem, they always play Lee Greenwood's "Proud to be an American" and she races around the perimeter of the rodeo ring with that flag flying - amazing. I would go to the rodeo just for that!

Alright, bring on the bull action! Look at all of those hats - all in one picture!

All of the cowboys are looking for 8 seconds on that bull!

Gettin' the rider ready for the next bull. Sometimes the bull will just sit down and not cooperate!

And here we go!

But my favorite event at the rodeo is the barrel racing by the girl riders. It's so pretty to see those horses in action.

Holy Meat!

About a week ago, April had a friend in town from Kansas (where she's from) and that friend wanted to do the whole rodeo/Billy Bob's routine. Well, of course I was in! Any excuse to go to the stockyards and wear my cowboy boots!

Before we went to the rodeo, we tried a new barbecue place across the street from Billy Bob's. We had heard a lot about it, so we gave it a whirl. It's called Cooper's.

I must say, though, that Hard 8 is WAY better. Same concept, but just WAY better food. Oh well - we tried it!

I thought this was a cute touch, though - different 'brands' that were imprinted in the cement of the sidewalk out front!

The outside area of Cooper's was pretty neat, though - live music and you could take your food out there and listen to the music while you ate.

Look at this menu - do you think it's vegetarian friendly?? I think not! The meat was excellent, though. I had the chopped beef sandwich - very good.

April got the chicken - and it was FREAKING HUGE!

Overall, we had a great time there, but I still think Hard 8 is better. So that's where I'm going to continue to take my out-of-town guests!

How Ironic

I got these pictures in an email recently and I thought they were hilarious - very ironic.........

Not sure why there's a gate, but no fence.....makes no sense!

HOT Stuff

On my trip to Gruene with Mayce and the girls, we came upon some interesting foods that were in the General Store.....They are obviously more touristy than anything else, but still - they were interesting!

Here's my personal favorite: They are "Kick Yo Ass Hot!"

Not even sure how I feel about this one - a little bit disturbing!

Do you get the feeling that Texas folks like their food HOT??? I think I might send some of the "Dumb Ass" bottles to a few people in Washington D.C. for Christmas this year........

Holy crap - "Texas Champagne"! I don't think there's ANYTHING I would make out of my recipe book that would require "cayenne pepper sauce"....EVER.

And in honor of me watching "Blazing Saddles" recently......

They even had a Christmas tree out with buckets of cute Texas-themed ornaments around it. SO AWESOME!

PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE somebody tell me that it isn't really armadillo inside this can?!

AMEN, Texas!!!!!!!

The General Store was so cute - old wood floors and old fashioned candies that you could buy at the counter. I could've stayed in there for hours!

They even had old beat-up Texas license plates nailed to the floor all over the place. LOVE how rustic this town is......