Easter Pops

Alison and I spent about 20 hours on Saturday and Sunday making Easter pops. We had so much fun. We like to stalk a fellow Blogger's site, Bakerella. She posts Easter pops every year and tells how to make them and she makes different decorations. Alison and I decided to brave the Easter pop. We decided to make chickies, sheep, and flowers. We are proud to say that the flowers are our original design. We came up with them all on our own! We are pretty proud of our hard labors this weekend, so we decided to take pics. They were yummy! Enjoy...

This is our grocery list.

These are all of the pre-made cake balls. I think we had 90 balls to start with.

We are ready to start decorating.

Baaah Baaah Black Sheep...

Naked chickies...don't look!!!

And the finished product...Ta da...

Scissors, Great Dalmuti, & Banana Pudding!

Yay!!! I am blogging again!! Ok, so I am a little behind, but a couple of weeks ago, we went to my aunt and uncle's house in Kennedale. It was going to be a fun weekend of scrapbooking, good family company, games, and of course, food, food, food. I had to share the pics from the weekend. We had a blast and can't wait to go back and do it again! Thank you David, Heather, and Trevor for letting us invade your space in a BIG way for a couple of days! I will explain the pictures as I go.

This is my aunt Heather in our scrapbooking room. As you can tell, we totally take over the room. What a mess!!

This was the horrible mess we made scrapbooking! When we scrapbook, we SCRAPBOOK!!!

The birthday cards I made for my cousin and James Burgess...

And the inside of the birthday cards from above.

A couple of "Thank You" cards I made to have on hand. I am pretty proud of my creations!

Now on to the festivities...

Ahhhh and on to The Great Dalmuti. It doesn't matter where you go, you can always pull this game out and have a good time. From left to right, we have my cousin's wife, Denise, my uncle, David, Chad, of course strategizing, and my aunt, Heather.

My cousin Trevor and his girlfriend Jessica and my other cousin Alan all sitting comfortably at the front of the pack!
My aunt Heather and me. Yes, that would be ME in the Great Dalmuti seat!!!! Woo-hoo!!

Alan had just had a birthday so I made banana pudding with Nutter Butters. It was a new recipe and I wanted to try it but Chad and I won't eat it by ourselves, so I took it so they could help us. Alan is blowing out the candles for his birthday with Chad intently eye-balling that pudding just waiting to dig in!!


I have also included two videos below. I am sorry about the first one because I apparently in all of my infinite wisdom recorded the video sideways, which my husband very quickly informed me was all wrong. That would have been nice to know BEFORE I was holding the camera! Oh well, maybe you will get the idea. Alan has what we like to call his "drunk dance." He wasn't drunk when he did it, but he humored us anyway because he was the lesser peon in the game and his father who was the Great Dalmuti ordered him to do his drunk dance. For any of you that have not played the game, the rules are that the Great Dalmuti can order the lesser peon to do things for them while they are shuffling the cards. If you don't mind looking like a dork at your computer and turn your head sideways, you can enjoy the full effect of Alan's infamous "drunk dance." The second video is Heather's own little version of the drunk dance. A tip to the wise: don't ever get in the lesser peon's seat with my family! They will make you dance! Enjoy...

My 25 Things...

So I have decided that since I don't do Facebook and some of our fellow bloggers are doing their 25 things, I would too. I know this is a little after the fact but since I don't have pics of Padre to post yet, I will do this instead. If you are lucky, we will share pics of our trip later! ;-) Ok, here goes...I will try to shock and awe all of you!

1. I am addicted to texting. I know..shocking! I love to text. Not that I don't love to talk on the phone (because our phone bill will show that I very much love talking on the phone!) but I love me some texting.

2. I am some kinda country! I love me some steak and potatoes, I love sweet tea, I love me some fried food, I love me some fires outside when it is chilly, I love me some back roads, I love my little bitty town I grew up in. I am country. I am convinced that you can take the girl out of the country but you can't take the country out of the girl.

3. One of my two BFF's is Alison. I have only called 4 people in my entire life my BFF so I don't use those letters loosely!! I am not one to truly let people in my weird little world all the way, but Alison is definitely one I have let in and I am very happy I did. My weird little world hasn't been the same and I am so happy I let my guard down when I did!

4. My other BFF is Clint. Yes, he is a guy. No, he is not gay. Get over it world-one of my two best friends is a guy and that is all there is to it. We have known each other for 13 years and he is practically a brother to me. He would give his life for me just as any family member would for me. Actually, he practically is family. So, now you have it...take it or leave it.

5. My mom is one of the closest people to me in my life. I love her dearly and I think she is the strongest, craftiest, smartest, most awesome lady around. She is a blessing and I am lucky to have such a wonderful mom. We talk almost every day and I wouldn't change that for the world.

6. I can't stand it when people let animals lick them on the face. Yes, I said it. And I have a dog that loves to show her affection by licking you in the face. I can't stand it. I love my Biscuit to death, but you will not witness her licking me in the face.

7. I love me some James Avery. Enough said...

8. I have no favorite kind of music. I listen to everything and I am pretty open to everything.

9. I am convinced that I miss my brother more than he misses me. Sometimes I even think that I love him more than he loves me, but who knows? I miss the way we used to be so close and I would do anything to have that back.

10. I wish time machines were real. Do you know what I could do with a time machine?!?!

11. I suck at keeping in touch with old friends, and I suck just as bad with keeping up with my blog. I know that one is a shock to everyone!

12. I love food. I am for the most part not picky. I like all types of food and have no problem stuffing myself whenever I get the chance!

13. Volleyball is my favorite sport. It has to be to tear my ACL and both meniscus, have surgery, be on crutches and not be able to put pressure on my leg for 6 weeks and still play again this season! What can I say...I am addicted!

14. I love to laugh. I really love to belly laugh. I challenge anyone to get me to belly laugh!

15. I hate stupid people. I know you all have encountered stupid people in your life. God gave us common sense to actually use it!!

16. I have a degree in psychology. I am doing NOTHING with my degree that I paid good money for. I don't want to talk about it!

17. I HATE to be cold. Yes, Alison, I am always cold in your apartment! I love you enough to let that one go, though. It is all about sacrifices.

18. I love sappy movies. I am a romantic at heart. What can I say?

19. I love our friends. Our life would not be the same without our friends. I could go on all day about each one of you individually, but you would never get to the end!

20. I am wordy! I know! You are bored by now, but I can't help it. I think details are important.

21. I love animals. All animals (except snakes and spiders and rats). Ok, for the most part, I love animals!

22. I don't know how to say "no." I have a hard time saying no to things. Therefore, I am always tired and over worked, and spread too thin. Now that you know this, it doesn't give you permission to take advantage of the fact that I won't say no to you!

23. I love to cook. I am not sure there is any more to say to that!!

24. My favorite flower is the gerber daisy. However, I never turn my nose up at any flower-especially when they are given to me as a surprise!

25. Last but not least, I love my husband, I love our home, and I love our life filled with all of the wonderful people around us. I consider myself a pretty lucky girl.

Thanks for reading all of this. I know it was long, but I am sure you learned something about me if you made it this far!

Road Trip!!!

So I am going home to East Texas this weekend! I am pretty pumped. I have nothing planned really. My mom is working on Saturday so I am going to go home early Friday to hang with her. I will probably take her lunch on Saturday and that is pretty much the extent of my plans. If I can catch up with old friends, I will, but I am mostly going because I need some time away.

It is so relaxing in East Texas. The air is clean, it is quiet, you can see stars forever, and for the most part, everybody is your friend. For a long time I didn't even get cell phone service there, so it really was time away. I am such a country girl and moving up here to the big city was really hard for me. I haven't lived in East Texas since 2000 and I still don't think that I have adjusted to living in the city. And before you all start clowning on me, I know-Anna isn't exactly city. However, everything around Anna is city and that's enough. Considering I don't spend enough time in Anna to know how small it is, I don't really feel like I am in the country. I am used to coming from a place where you had to drive 30 minutes for a grocery store, a movie theater, take out, shopping, the list goes on. There were car dealerships and the local Dairy Queen. That was it. And yes, I worked at the Dairy Queen. I have to be honest, I wouldn't trade those years now for a million dollars.

Anyway, I will be out of touch with reality for a couple of days starting Friday and I can hardly wait! I will be missing all of my friends, but don't worry...I will still have a smile on my face (and probably a drink in my hand!) You can rest knowing...I will return to the city quickly enough...

Hi, my name is Sherry Turner...

Hi, my name is Sherry Turner and I cry watching The Biggest Loser!!! And yes, I know, it has been 4 months since I have blogged. Trust me, everyone that ever thought about reading my blog has told me more than once how long it has been. I actually decided that I was going to make it my new year's resolution to be better about blogging. To be honest, I don't really believe in doing new year's resolutions, but after the flack I have gotten about my non-existent blog, I decided that maybe I should resolve to be better about blogging like the rest of my friends. So, here we are...

Now, back to my original post. I don't know what it is about this show, but all of a sudden this season, I am already emotionally attached to the contestants and it is only the second week! I literally have cried--tears rolling down my cheeks, sucking in cried both weeks. Yep. That's me. I even cried the second week of Mamma's Boys when the girl gave up her spot and eliminated herself because she didn't think it was possible to have a guy like her much less fall in love with her. Are you kidding me???? And I am not supposed to cry over this stuff? It just kills me to see some of these people try so incredibly hard and to put their ENTIRE body and soul into something and then only lose 1 or 2 pounds. These people are real. These people have real struggles and deal with real issues and emotions that we face every day. I can't help but be emotionally involved. THEN, to top it off I have my husband sitting beside me looking at me like I am a TOTAL idiot! I can always tell, too. He hears me sniffle a little, and he doesn't want to look over and make it obvious that he is completely wanting to stare at me and say, "Are you really crying over a tv show???" but instead he does that side look thing and then looks back at the tv. Then I wipe my tears that are streaming down my face and he looks over a little more. Yes, America, I cry when I watch The Biggest Loser!!! I am proud of it too!!! I can't help it that I am a big hearted sucker for reality tv! And yes, pretty much the same thing happens every season with the exception of a couple of twists, but for the most part, you know how it starts, you know what they do to get to the end, and you know what happens in the end. It doesn't matter, though. There is no other show out there that can do with someone's life what they do on this show. That's right--sit down Jerry Springer and Maury Povich. Who cares who the daddy is? The Biggest Loser is in town now!!! All I have to say is if you don't watch this show, you are totally missing out on seeing some awesome stuff.

God is in control

I can't tell you how many times this past week I have had to repeat the phrase, God is in control. I feel like the only things I have had to blog about lately have been negative. Unfortunately, this week has been nothing short of being full of negative news and I decided today that instead of writing yet another blog about everything that has gone wrong this week, I would turn it around and tell you 20 things I am thankful for. (I had to limit to 20 because I could go on all day!) Chad and I are very blessed to have each other as well as good people surrounding us. God is in control.

I am thankful for (in no particular order, just as they came to mind):

1. Marrying the best man that God put on this earth for me-Chad.

2. Wonderful family that love us and want to spend time with us.

3. Amazing friends that know us and love us anyway!

4. That my husband and I have jobs.

5. That my husband and I can pay the bills (mostly!) Haha

6. That we have a roof over our heads.

7. That we have clothes on our backs.

8. That we can afford to feed ourselves every day.

9. A mom that not only wouldn't let breast cancer tear her down, but won't let MS do it either.

10. That we live in America where we can believe freely.

11. That my husband and I could be on crutches the same time and know what each other is going through!

12. Our Angel and Biscuit that make us smile every day.

13. That I am educated and anything I don't know about I can just look up on the Internet!

14. Common Sense

15. Love

16. Forgiveness

17. Humor (because who couldn't use a laugh every now and then?!?!)

18. That I live in Texas and can see most of my family any time I want because my wonderful husband knows how important it is to me and lets me go every time.

19. The small things in life.

20. That God truly is in control.

What a week!

So I would have to venture to say that this past week had to be one of the worst weeks of my life and I have has some pretty bad weeks before. I was on call for work this week. You may be asking yourself, "Isn't she JUST and office manager and executive assistant for the president of a small company in Richardson?" Funny thing...I said the same thing! So then you might ask yourself, "What was she on call for?" I would then say something silly like TECH SUPPORT!!! Now you might ask yourself, as most educated human beings would, "Why would an office manager/executive assistant/do everything that everyone else doesn't want to do/dump on me your extra work/CFO-no really, I do the financials too/I work my butt off for this company- be doing something as important as tech support when she isn't exactly "techy"?" GOOD QUESTION!!!!! I am still trying to figure that one out. But apparently it is ok to make a "rule" in a company that every employee has to carry the support phone for the company for a week because for some INSANE reason our company thinks it is wise to offer car dealers 24/7 support, even if it means putting somoene like me on the phone for a week. I won't even get started on the brilliance of car dealers-not to mention the fact that we service the entire United States. In other words, we service every time zone. Sounds fun doesn't it?

So, for this week I have been woken up from a dead sleep at 1:30 am, 6:30 am, 7:00 am on Saturday, yes, I said Saturday, and have had calls into the night up to 9:30 pm. I have to fill out a form for EVERY phone call that comes in regardless of the issue. Even if a dealer calls me to shoot the crap for 10 minutes because it is raining cats and dogs in Virginia at their dealership and they have nothing better to do, I have to fill out a form. I then have to e-mail the form to our support department, which might I remind you I am not a part of, so that they can address the issues the next day. I also have to call a developer or a support person that is SUPPOSED to (and I stress the word SUPPOSED) have their phone on them and actually answer it so that people like me that get the calls and have no idea how to help these poor souls can actually call them back and give them a solution. Sounds easy right? Not so much.

Saturday alone, my day started at 7:00 am to the phone ringing with a dealer needing support. Ok great. I call the person that is supposed to help me and he is great. I have to give big props to Ray. Most of you don't know who Ray is, but he was my savior on Saturday. He answered my call EVERY time I called him on Saturday and he talked me off the ledge a couple of times too! I would have committed suicide on Saturday if Ray wasn't there to help me. However, there are some people in our company less dependable. And when those people choose not to answer their phone when they are the ONLY ones that handle those issues, it gets a bit frustrating. 15 calls I had on Saturday between the hours of 7:00am and 2:45pm. NON-STOP. I had people calling me while I was on the phone with other people. I had calls coming in when I had one on the line, and one on call waiting. Do people think that those of us that are not "techy" people can handle things like this? I literally wanted to sit there and just cry the rest of the day by about 11:00 am. I honest to God wanted to cry every time the phone rang, and in most cases every time the phone beeped because I was already on the phone with someone else. By 3:00 pm I had to plug my phone in to the wall beside me at the computer because my cell phone had run out of battery.

I sat at my computer from 7:00 am to 4:30 pm not getting up for water, to change out of my night gown, to get food, or to speak to my husband who was literally a room away. Between phone calls it was all I could do to get 1/2 way through a form before the phone would ring again. Just when I thought I couldn't take any more, at about 4:30 pm I got up from the computer for the first time since 7:00 am and I walk around the corner of my house and this is the face I see looking back at me.

As bad as my week and especially my Saturday had been, this made it all worth it. How do you not smile when you see that? Let's just hope she can do it again in January when I have the support phone again!