For the Love of Mickey

Posted on April 25, 2019 by barbiebeauty

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I think we can all agree Mickey Mouse is an all time favorite for kids and adults alike. Whether it’s his popularity, his personality or his positivity,  people love Mickey Mouse. I, myself, have been a fan of Mickey Mouse for years. I adore him for his creativity and longevity. After a few interactions with most people, they tell me, “This is what I know about you from observation. Your favorite drink is Dr. Pepper and you love Mickey Mouse.” Whenever I  am dressed in casual, comfy clothes, I am sure to have on some type of Mickey Mouse paraphernalia. Not only do I love Mickey Mouse gear, I love many of the quotes associated with Mickey (via Walt Disney). Listed below are a few of my favorites:

  • ‘To laugh at yourself is to love yourself.”
  • “Don’t stress over anything you can’t change.”
  • “It’s kind of fun to do the impossible”
  • “All our dreams can come true if we have the courage to pursue them.”

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Helicopter Parenting – Enough is Enough

Posted on April 18, 2019 by barbiebeauty
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Clearly there were two cameras here. LOL!

One of my goals for being a parent was to always be the best parent I could be. That included knowing everything about my son, going to all of his events (school and extra-curricular), chaperoning field trips, fixing lunches, placing love notes in his lunch box, helping with homework, and even sitting outside the school waiting for him to finish after school activities. I envisioned him jumping in the car, grabbing his afternoon snack and enjoying the ride home. We would have dates at least every other weekend. We would go to the movies, dinner, sporting events and take mini getaways. Clearly, I was delusional.

I spent the first half of my son’s life doing most of these things. We were inseparable. I would go to work and commit the rest of my hours to meeting his needs. I was always available to be the “team mom” because I knew I would be at whatever event he was a part of. I never missed a program and was even the fundraising coordinator for his school because I spent that much time supporting them through supporting him. I literally sat at the table with him doing nothing while he did his homework because I needed to understand what he was learning at school. We recited scripture daily for Bible drills, practiced spelling words, and I checked every single assignment he completed. When I would go to complete a task, he had to be in the same vicinity so I could keep a watchful eye on him. I figured he would make few mistakes or get in little trouble if I kept him close to me. I would forever be there to guide him. And then life happened.

The first thing I realized is my son was capable of doing so much more but I was actually hindering him by trying to do it all. I needed to allow him to find his own voice and stand up for himself when things didn’t go as planned. The second thing I realized is I was making my life miserable trying to separate my life as a mother, wife and educator. I needed balance and he needed independence. The more control I gave him over his life, the more control he took over his life. But because I had always been right by his side, I worried over every little thing. One day my husband asked me would I consider myself to be a “helicopter parent”? LOL, of course I did, at that time.

Seventeen years later, I’m still learning to let go. But thankfully, during the early years, I woke up and realized one day my son would move on and I would have to figure out life all over again. Would I have friends? Would I know how to date my husband? Would I be able to identify myself outside of motherhood? Not knowing the answers to those questions caused me to adjust quickly. It registered in that moment that enough was enough. I needed to keep my own identity while allowing him to develop his. Being a helicopter parent was not the most rewarding thing that could have happened. Allowing him to make mistakes, correct them and grow from his own experiences has been more gratifying than anything I imagined.

 

 

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Lace and Leather

Posted on April 11, 2019 by barbiebeauty

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Dressing up is so delightful for me. I spend so much time in sweats and jeans, I get a thrill out of getting fancy. My husband and I planned a date that consisted of dinner and a night of jazz. As stated previously, I always try to put together a fresh look when we are headed out for dates.

This “hot” number was purchased from a boutique I found on Instagram. When I received my purchase, while I was very pleased with the skirt, the original top was too revealing and a tad bit small for my liking. Because I was obsessed with the skirt I didn’t want to bother with trying to send the items back and having to find another product due to their “exchange only” policy. I pushed the skirt to the side and figured I would come across something at a later date to pair with it.

While cleaning out my closet a few weeks later, I came across a leather and lace top I had purchased from Express and placed in the back of my closet. It still had the tags on it and I had contemplated donating it on a couple of occasions. After doing a once over, I realized it might work with my new purchase that had placed in the back of the closet as well. This combination turned out to be perfect and my husband actually thought the top had been bought with the skirt. This outfit was full of comfort and sensuality.

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Mini Skirts for the Win

Posted on March 19, 2019 by barbiebeauty

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As we approach spring, I am looking forward to warmer weather, sundresses and mini skirts. I am fond of the vibrant colors that seem to come with spring selections in my favorite stores, sandals and a level of comfort I can only feel in a skirt or a dress. While I love the flow of maxi dresses, I tend to opt for just the opposite when choosing my skirts.

I am always in favor of a mini skirt. Growing up I always bought a mini skirt or mini skirt set when shopping for school clothes. Honestly, I love to show my legs and I also believe you can add more “flavor” to a mini skirt. You have the option of flats, thigh high boots, sandals, tennis shoes, etc. Mini skirts give you diversity.

This number was found on the clearance racks of Express and the color caught my eye. Since I opted for a simple, white blouse, I chose to add some color with my shoe selection. I chose a shoe that totally contrasted my skirt but had shades of pink in the design. And let’s not forget that belt to give that waistline a slimmer appeal. This turned out to be a very cool, casual and comfortable outfit for the win!!

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California Knows How to Party

Posted on March 12, 2019 by barbiebeauty

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As stated in Always Ready For a Trip, my husband loves to drive. He feels we have more options for our vacation when driving and driving also eliminates timelines. When we decided to head to California, I thought we were going to make an exception this time and purchase flight tickets. But NOOOOO, my husband was ecstatic about the 24 hour drive to California. He had it all planned out. We would leave at 5:30 A.M., drive for 12 hours, have dinner, rest and finish the last 12 hours on day two. I was tired from thinking about the first 12 hours so I definitely couldn’t fathom the idea of doing it twice on back to back days. However, I thought California was a perfect vacation spot for our small family and as long as he didn’t ask me to drive, I was willing to endure this lengthy and extensive trek.

When we got to California, guess what we did? You guessed it, rest! We had a full trip planned so we actually scheduled a day of relaxation before getting the party started. We officially started our excursion in Anaheim with a trip to Disneyland. Upon arrival at the park, we discovered the MLB All Star Parade was passing by the entrance of the park. That was a very nice surprise and we actually stood around taking pictures as if we had come for the parade. We spent two days at Disneyland because we wanted to take our time perusing the park, ride as many rides as we could, eat as many snacks as our stomachs could take, visit both parks and stay until midnight to see the fireworks at the end of the night. Buying two-day passes allowed us to get a late start if needed and we were able to move in and out the park for breaks. Best idea ever as it gave us time to regroup when needed and come back for more fun.

 

 

After Disneyland we drove into Los Angeles and went to The Hollywood Walk of Fame. We walked the streets looking at the stars and we absolutely had to find the Hollywood Sign. While in Los Angeles we also toured ESPN and had lunch in the ESPN headquarters. After leaving ESPN we decided to walk around the street to Staples Center and view the statues. A gentlemen that was a host at the circus thought my son was exiting the circus and gave him an opportunity to provide commentary. My son was laughing because he didn’t have a clue what to say but he was too shy to tell the gentlemen he had not been at the circus. He loved the idea of being at the booth so he just stood there with a smile.

 

From Los Angeles we traveled to San Diego to visit the San Diego Zoo. This is where we failed to prepare. We were not expecting the zoo to be of such great magnitude. We purchased one day passes but we just couldn’t cover the property in one day. We visited as many animals as we could and eventually gave up and called it a day. While we didn’t get to see all the zoo had to offer, we saw enough to understand the excellence of this menagerie.

 

Of course we would end this trip at our favorite place, the beach. We all know California is known for its beaches and after this trip I fully understood why. We spent time at Mission Beach teaching our son how to ride a surfboard, relaxing and watching the sunset. This was a great ending to our trip before heading back to the great state of Texas. By the time we left the beach I was so rejuvenated I took the wheel for a few hours heading home. California is definitely a lively place and I enjoyed the ambiance of “Cali”.

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Sssh! I’m Reading

Posted on March 5, 2019 by barbiebeauty

“The more that you read, the more things you will know. The more that you learn, the more places you’ll go” Dr. Seuss

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As grade age students, we are all encouraged to read. Then we hit puberty and think we have more important things to do other than reading a book. Like so many others, I was a book worm in elementary school but honestly can’t recall a single time I picked up a book for recreational reading in middle school. In high school, I was force fed the grade level English curriculum. It required me to read novels and I did what was necessary to complete the requirements and nothing more. Between sixth grade and my junior year of college, I never read a book unless it was essential to me earning an excellent grade in class. My junior year of college a professor recommended we read three books for recreation. I thought it was the craziest suggestion an adult could ever make to another adult. Did this lady not understand I was there to earn a degree and not read a book because she thought it was a good idea? She would remind us every week to grab the three books The Bridges of Madison County, Brothers and Sisters and Sisters and Lovers.

A year after completing the class, I found myself passing a bookstore and two of the books were on the shelf outside the store. For some odd reason I could still remember the name of all three books. Since I could recall the names of each of the books and two of the three were sitting outside of the bookstore, I figured I was supposed to read these books at some point in my life and I had gotten to that point. I ended up purchasing all three books and I must admit, I thoroughly enjoyed each one of them. From that point on I couldn’t resist buying a good book to read and shortly after falling in love once again with reading I found the book Will the Real Women Please Stand Up by Ella Patterson.

I consider this book to be a “women’s bible” to enhance appropriate social interactions, relationships, etiquette and personal appearance. Ella Patterson discusses physical fitness, how to own your sexuality and even how to turn a man on without turning him away. As stated in Want to Get Away?, this book is the very reason I refuse to walk around with broken nails and chipped nail polish. The author gave me a true awareness of self. Using this book, I self assessed who I was and I’ve continued to use it to have a full understanding of who I want to become. While this is not a goal setting book. there are tips to get you recognized as soon as you walk into a room be it for a job interview or date.

Will the Real Women Please Stand Up is a book I read every year. While I don’t read it chapter for chapter, I do focus on areas I can refine and I refer back to it for the sake of doing “touch-ups”. This book was a life saver in my younger adult years. There were so many subjects I would have never thought to approach that I became totally comfortable with. I was truly able to embrace who I was as a woman because of this book and the professor that unknowingly gave me the passion to read again.

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365 Days of Sixteen

Posted on February 26, 2019 by barbiebeauty

“The best substitute for experience is being sixteen.”

As we near the ending of the “year of 16”, my family and I sat down and discussed the lessons that were taught and learned during the time of my son being the age 16. Sixteen came with quite a bit of turbulence, but as we approach 17 we are starting to experience a calmness that only maturity can bring. We spent most of our days of 16 in disarray, never being willing to agree to disagree. Everyone had their own idea of what things should look like and each of us took a different approach to help my son achieve what we considered success. Somewhere along the way, I realized I was force-feeding my son what I thought was best for him and at that point I realized it was time for another approach. I sat down with each member of my family and here are the responses I got when I asked the question, “What did you learn during the 365 days of 16?”

The sixteen year old…

  • “Don’t let one event/incident impact how you perform in another event. – This was learned after I failed to qualify in one race this summer. I allowed it to impact me for the entire summer and as a result I experienced little success because I didn’t move on from that one experience.”
  • “Believe in myself. – With constant encouragement from my parents, I learned I can accomplish many things if I just believe in myself. I learned this lesson after running my best times in two big meets. Weeks before the meets, my parents kept saying things to motivate me and make me believe I could do great things.”
  • “Listen to people that have experiences and want to help you. – This lesson came when you (mom) told me I had to join the National Honor Society. I didn’t realize how important it was and how it could help me down the road. I was actually happy when I got accepted and I realized you’re only trying to help me. Most of the things I say I want in the next few years, you had them when you were my age. So I figured maybe listening to you would help”
  • “It’s okay to take risks. – You (mom) made me join DECA after I didn’t sign up for one of the other organizations at the beginning of the year. After joining DECA, I competed in regional competition and advanced to state. There were times when I didn’t know what I was doing while preparing for competition but I still did it and it paid off.”

From the dad of the sixteen year old…

  • “Parenting isn’t easy. – Knowing what was appropriate at the age of 16 was difficult for me to understand. I wanted to make sure he had appropriate interactions and we weren’t hindering him from growing.”
  • “Despite all that’s going on, 16 is still 16. – My son did the very things I expected him to do. He mumbled under his breath, he would talk back, he did what 16 year old boys do.”

From the mom if the sixteen year old…

  • Almost doesn’t count – This lesson was learned after we had to celebrate great performances in which the achievement still wasn’t enough to advance us in competition. We had to glorify second place or being one spot away from advancing to the next round of the contest simply because the task was well executed. It’s a hard pill to swallow when you’re so close yet so far away.
  • Don’t start a sentence with the statement, “I’m not trying to be negative”. One day I found this to be totally aggravating to my son as he followed up with the statement, “But you’re starting off by being negative”.
  • Constantly speak life into your child – While we have always done this, eventually they grow older and don’t do things the way we want them to do things. Instead of seeing him as being defiant I had to honor his desires in taking the  initiative to do things on his own. I had to continue to praise him and commend his efforts even if it was a fail. I had to be there to pick him up, dust him off and let him know it was okay to start over. I AM HIS BIGGEST FAN!
  • Prayer changes things – While this sounds cliche, imagine every member praying for something totally different for one person. We had to learn to fast and pray collectively and make sure we weren’t confusing God. When assembling for prayer, it helped us to understand we were all asking for the desires of the heart as we made our requests to God.

As we count down the final days of 16, it was quite a pleasure to have this conversation with my family. I’m hoping that as we share with each other, we can reflect and assist in the growth of our unit. Sixteen has been grand and as with anything, we are grateful for the experiences of dear old “sweet sixteen”.

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Just How Fab is JustFab?

Posted on February 19, 2019 by barbiebeauty

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If you know me or have been following my blog for a while, you know I love shoes. I am a sucker for cute colors and modest prices. I will purchase a pair of shoes from the $9.99 Shoe Deal store and rock them as if they cost hundreds of dollars. One of my absolute favorite stores to shop for shoes is JustFab and being an ambassador helps both me and the company. JustFab has a large selection and most importantly, they always have a sale. Many people frown at the idea of becoming a VIP member at JustFab because they don’t like the idea of being charged monthly for membership or having to remember to skip the month to avoid the membership fees. For me, if I can continue to purchase quality shoes at affordable prices, I will continue to set my monthly reminder to skip the month. While most days I’m in flats, I love to throw on a pair of heels with vibrant colors and strut my stuff. Here are a few looks from some of my purchases at JustFab. What are some of your favorite shoe stores and do you think you have to break the bank to look marvelous?

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Diary of Denver

Posted on February 12, 2019 by barbiebeauty

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We are finally in the process of throwing around ideas for our family vacation. Because of my son’s extra-curricular activities, the last few years have been centered around his events and where they take us. While planning, we always start to reminisce about previous vacations and ask each other, “Which one did you like best?”. It’s always hard to pick a favorite because each trip has offered its own adventures and brought us delight that only that particular city or state could bring.

While I don’t have a #1 pick, Colorado definitely sits high on my list. It included stops to the Olympic Training Facility, Estes Park, Sports Authority Field at Mile High, a Fourth of July concert in the park and Elitch Gardens Theme and Family Water Park. Each of these stops appealed to all of us for many reasons.

Being a family of athletes, stopping at the Olympic Training Facility was of major importance. Having the opportunity to see professionals including swimmers, wrestlers and track athletes practice was most stupendous. The tour itself was nothing short of amazing and the US Olympic Hall of Fame left us awe-struck.

Our next stop was Estes Park where we were able to relax and enjoy “cabin life” near the lakes. We spent our time hiking in Rocky Mountains National Park and and basking in all of nature’s resources. The funny thing about hiking is everyone on the trail was encouraging others to keep going because “If you make it to the end, the view is worth the walk.”

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We then drove into Denver where we had the opportunity to tour Sports Authority Field at Mile High. During this time, I was the biggest Manning fan so I was over the moon. We were late for our tour, as was another family from Texas, so we were able to snag a tour guide doing his last tour for the day and he allowed us to take our time and relish in MY moment of glory. He was very patient as we took 5,000 pictures and ran around like two year old kids in a toy store. We followed up our tour with a Fourth of July concert in the park. We sat around, snacked, listened to live bands and watched the fireworks before turning in for the evening.

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Our last stop on our tour of Colorado was to Elitch Gardens Theme and Family Water Park . Anytime we travel, I look to see if there is an amusement park. Although my son is not a fan of roller coasters, he’ll join us at the park for games, food, water rides and he’s always willing to hold our items at the exit while we wait in line to ride all the roller coasters.

Colorado was truly one for the books. The altitude got the best of me at the beginning of the trip but I refused to be defeated. Colorado was a wonderful experience and a lifetime of memories.

 

 

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When Jealousy Creeps In

Posted on February 5, 2019 by barbiebeauty

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One of the things I’ve tried to avoid in life is envy. To suggest I am jealous would mean I’m not satisfied with the life I have. I work hard with the intent to always move forward in every aspect of my life and am rarely influenced to make decisions based on what someone else has, does, thinks or says.

Last year “adulting” visited our household and decided to stay for a while. It was a year of having to make numerous household purchases that were unexpected but very necessary. In addition to the purchases we still had to provide for a child that had educational and athletic opportunities presented to him that would benefit him greatly in the future. As a result of this, our eating out became limited and my “Wish List” became almost nonexistence. Our idea of vacationing did not look as it had done in the past. We had to try to mix business with pleasure for the sake of having a vacation.

As I glanced through social media during this time, I started to let jealousy and envy creep in. I wanted to travel as I had done in the past. I wanted my “wish list” to be complete. But none of that was happening. Then I came across a blogger that posed the question, “Do my followers think I brag and boast about the things I have?” I immediately responded, “NO!” I shared with her I felt she was very transparent and that she was simply sharing what she liked and not for the sake of boasting. She replied by saying she had always been a handbag and shoe fanatic and those were the things she really loved so that’s what she chose to share. She went on to say that due to some changes in her household, she and her family no longer vacationed the way they used to and they no longer went out to eat because she was not going to put her family in a bind trying to “show out” for social media.

This message was God sent because it reminded me we all have struggles. And the idea of not having the opportunity for fine dining and extravagant vacations was clearly not as bad as not having a meal at all or a place to stay. I had to reflect on the many blessings I did have and really ask for forgiveness for overlooking how fortunate I was. The lesson learned at that time was best summarized in this quote, “I believe that whatever comes at a particular time is a blessing from God.” A. R. Rahman No matter how bad or unfortunate things seemed at that time, I had to remind myself God was still in the blessing business. And although I didn’t have some of the things I wanted, I had more than I could ever deserve.

 

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