Don't worry, be happy!

Being happy is a choice.

Period. End of sentence. I was driving to work today with no makeup on because I have poison ivy ALL over my face, going on five interrupted  hours of sleep and not awake because I hadn't had my coffee yet (from my messy house) but the sun was shining, there was a good song on and I realized that deep down in my soul that I am HAPPY! Not only deep down in my soul was I happy because I made it a point to make positivity a habit but I was happy on the surface too. It just boils out lately because my efforts have turned into a lifestyle.

I don't really want to be preachy or on a pedestal but I felt that if I have found something good in life then I should share the secret so someone else can benefit as well.

As long as you have Jesus and make some positive actions your daily routine then you can be happy no matter what life throws your way. Promise.

Peace out!
-Shannon

Take a Step Back

This weekend I had an "ah hah" moment.

RylieMarie rides her pony, Star in a lead line class. The class is meant to teach your child how to ride so they can ride by themselves in the future. Just like everything else in life, some kids ride sooner or later than others. They are so many factors that play into this; saddle time, horse, kid, physical and mental capabilities, the want to.... Well, the last several times that RylieMarie has ridden she has done really well on Star. I have been walking behind Star so RylieMarie learns to rein on her own and so Star doesn't follow me all the time. As well as RylieMarie has been doing, Star has been doing just as well; she listens to RylieMarie and her commands.

This past weekend was a different story. RylieMarie just sat there and didn't try to rein by herself. She truly just let Star go wherever she wanted. It was frustrating to me and I would just end up leading Star. I asked my mom to take RylieMarie through one event and it was the same result.

 

I had to sit back and realize that RylieMarie is doing really well for a three year old and as long as she is having fun then we are good to go. I guess we all have days when we want to just sit back and relax so RylieMarie is allowed to have one as well!

 

 

 

Isn't she a cutie?!?!

 

-Shannon

Easter Sunday

This year Easter was hosted by my sister, Kristel. She is such a natural at hosting and entertaining and it definitely showed on Easter Sunday. The lunch was delicious, decorations were adorable, we played games as a family and she color coordinated the Easter egg hunt so it was a fair game for all ages!  Here is picture overload....

My sisters and my mom: (Left to Right) Kristel, Tabitha, Myself and Terrie

 

 Everybody except BJ who was getting ready for work and my dad who was napping.

 

Johnny stole RylieMarie's hat, she wasn't too happy! 

 

Confetti eggs on Tyler's head; that's what cousins are for....

to slam an egg that won't crack on your head.

 

 

Tabitha and Braden 

 

BJ, Kristel, Becca and Tyler

 

I just love this girl! 

 

Lindy and Johnny

 

 

My dad, Kim and my mom, Terrie

 

Happy Easter!

 

-Shannon

RylieMarie and Star

RylieMarie and I went to ride horses this weekend. Here are a few pictures I was able to take before the rain came in....

Every pony needs a kiss from a little girl, right?

 

 

 

Halter from Teskey's in Weatherford

 

 

Added the pink bows hoping it would hold her mane down, it is just now growing long enough to lay over. Without the bows, Star rocks a mohawk!



 

 The look of disappointment that the playday was rained out, she wanted to ride more.

 

 

-Shannon

Saving the day or cR@zY?

My sisters, nephews and nieces and I had a slumber party at my parents' house on Saturday. Like all fun slumber parties; the talking commenced and next thing you know, we need a midnight snack. We all load up 6 of us in the SUV and drive to town for Jack In the Box at 12:30pm. As we are driving down a county road that doesn't get a lot of traffic if any during the midnight hours, I see a man walking/climbing out a ditch with a black bag and no flashlight. Seemed a little suspect to me so as a group we decide to turn around and go back for a second look.

Side note- he was clean shaven and healthy looking so not homeless in my mind.

 
Anyhoo, drive by #2....the bag is right next to the fence and he is no where in sight.
Hiding, maybe?
 
At this point, we are all clattering like a bunch of women clatter and screeching 50 BILLION directions to my 16 year old niece that is driving about where to drive to, turn around at, driver faster, drive slower. You get the picture. (She was a PRO driver and I will now trust her to drive my three year old around town.)
 
I start dialing 911 so the sheriff's office can come check it out. I would want a neighbor to do that for me if I lived at the house that he was hiding out near. I'm on the phone with the 911 operator as we initiate drive by #3.
 
He is now on the other side of the road with his black bag and a flash light that he shines in our faces while it is flashing. Not, like "don't run over me" kind of shine but the "I'm gonna' blind you" kind of shine. Also, he has traveled pretty far up the road in the short amount of time that it took us to turn around.
 
Along with 50 BILLION shouting directions to our 16 year old chauffeur, here are the 60 BILLION theories we had:
 

• Nighttime worker (Without any spot lights?)
• Wife kicked husband out (Kicks him out into the ditch without a car?)
• Homeless man (Yes, a clean shaven, decently dressed homeless man in BFE)
• Teenage boy sneaking to his girlfriend's house-(What teenage boy carries a bag?)
• Robber (Where is his getaway car?)
• Murderer (Perfect size bag for a toddler body) YUCK!
• Rapist (Seems the most logical to me- bag had the duct tape, black mask, ect in it--I could see all that with my xray vision.)

Anyhoo, we go to town to get our Jack in the Box and Whataburger and come back to scene of the hypothetical crime. As we turn on the county road, we pass the sheriff's deputy and didn't see the scary man in plaid and green beany so we circle the block. Block in the country = 1-2 miles.
As we get back on the main road to make our way to another county road to see if that is where the getaway car is, we happen to fall in behind the sheriff's deputy. He turned left to look for the getaway car (I assume that is what he is looking for) so we turned right back on to the county road.
No scary man in sight.

I call the non-emergency line and they confirmed that they hadn't found him. Kinda silly but I am glad we drive on that road 5-10 times, hopefully we scared him off from committing whatever hypothetical crime is was about to commit.

I was scared, excited, my adrenaline was pumping and it was absolutely freakin' hilarious!!!
I ended up sleeping on the floor of my parents' room between my 3  year old daughter and my 11 year old scare nephew that followed me around the rest of the night. Scaredy cat but also all the beds were full anyways. That's my story and I'm sticking to it.

We drove back the next day and we could tell where the bushes were pushed over---perfect for him to be hiding from us on drive by #2.

So, were we trying to save the day or are we just cR@zY?!?!

-Shannon

Tattle Tale Tuesday

Brandon and I rented Dallas Buyers Club from redbox over the weekend.
I offered it to my mom (who shall remain nameless) to borrow, watch it and return it. She was simply amazed that she could return it to ANY redbox location. Those genius redboxes!

Well, she called me today on my cell phone at work. That never happens so my first thought is "Who died?" Luckily, nobody died. Here is how our conversation went down....

Mom-The DVD won't fit into the redbox.
Shannon-Do you have it turned the right way?
Mom-I've tried every way.
Shannon-Silence.
Mom- I'll see if someone here can help me.
Shannon-Okay, good idea.

We hang up and not even 60 seconds later I get this text message from her....

 

At least she has a sense of humor about it, right?

Darn Redboxes, they are just too hard to work!

 

 

Sidenote- I really enjoyed Dallas Buyers Club; the acting was phenomenal. This is the first movie that I didn't see Matthew McConaughey but I saw the character of the movie.

His acting ability went from Jennifer Anniston level to Angelina Jolie level.

 

Adios, Shannon

 

 



90 Year Old Lady Hips

I have ridden horses since I was knee high to a cricket,errr....grasshopper.
Jiminy Cricket anyone? This is a shout out to my sisters, if they are reading this.


With riding horses comes some aches and pains along the way, especially when I started riding a a giraffe. Hank isn't really a giraffe but his neck is as long as a giraffe, hence the giraffe nickname.

Hank has since been passed down to Parker.



 

I started riding this wild beast at the age of 15. He is a really broad horse which caused my hips to hurt when I ride. I am not the type that runs to the doctor over every little thing so I didn't. If you are that type of person, then I feel for your spouse; I can totally relate because Brandon is that type also. It's never ending. Good thing we balance each other out because I never go!

 

I had my hips checked out 3 years ago; took xrays, did physical therapy (waste of time) and then went to one session of Airrosti. They recommended more visits but I was busy with a full time job and a newborn. The one visit fix worked for almost three years then the pain was not bearable and I walked around like a 90 year old woman. I took another 4 trips to Airrosti and TA DA (said with magic wand waving in the air!) My hips are back to being the hips of a 40 year old woman. I am only 28 but with more exercises to strengthen my old lady hip muscles then I will soon have the hips of a 28 year old again. Yay.

 

All that being said, now I really get to the point of this post- I went for a run on Monday night and it felt absolutely-freakin'-WONDERFUL! I set a RANDOM goal to run for 3 songs straight. Who cares about mileage or pace, right? I ended up running for 5 songs WITHOUT stopping once.

Positives-
My lungs don't hate me.
My legs don't hate me.
My hips don't hate me.
My mind was cleared.
My spirit was relaxed.
I felt like I conquered the world.

I told my husband before I ran "No laughing at the fat, or white legs."

His response-he laughed OUT LOUD at me. Yep, that's MY husband-be jealous.

Actually, he redeemed himself when I got back by giving me a big high five and just had that look like he was impressed.

Hope you have a ROCKIN' Wednesday,

Shannon