2013/Adoption/family/opening weekend/Ranch/Tuesday 10/Wurstfest

Time for Ten

Posted on by Mrs Gray / 1 Comment

It’s time for a Tuesday 10 today, I think. I’ve got a lot of thoughts floating around in this ol’ head of mine! (Oh-so-pressing ones, too.)

1. One of my best friends had a baby Thursday. I could hold and squeeze her for hours. I like to give all the new babies the Mojo Coma (patent pending). It’s part of my charm.

2. So far this week it’s Mr. Gray: 2, Mrs. Gray: 0 
(I got reprimanded by an old lady for not dancing to hip-hop polka music with him at Wurstfest. And, of course, the winking incident. What a good husband I have!)

 3. We had our big shindig at T-Paw’s for opening weekend of deer season this weekend. Our family only got to go on Friday, but I love that we are continuing that tradition with Baby Gray (even if he’s obsessed with riding the Ranger in the freezing cold).

Ranger

4. I get more and more aggravated about Pinterest all the time. Even things that are original thoughts no longer seem like original thoughts.

5. Before Baby Gray was born, I had terrible allergies. They subsided when I was pregnant and have stayed gone until this week. I don’t know how I used to have these all the time like this. I will be taking more extreme measures to feel better this go ’round.

6. We have started trading off date night with friends, and I really enjoy it. (Although, Mr. Gray phrased it funny to someone, and they thought we traded spouses–YIKES! NO!) It has given us a chance to get closer to that couple in addition to enjoying some time to ourselves. It’s a win-win! If you’re not doing it, find a family and start trading!

7. I actually genuinely like McDonald’s breakfast. Why am I so embarrassed by that?

8. I can’t believe football season is already almost over. We have one more home game, but we don’t get to go. We are going to Baton Rouge for the LSU game, but I still can’t believe that it’s pretty much done.

UTEP

9. Some days I sit and wonder how moms who work outside the home do it all. I commend you–every one of you. Keep up the good work! (Don’t get me started on single moms–WOW!)

10. I’ve gotten to have so many conversations with people about adoption lately. I love that there are people who are doing it for the right reasons, and I can’t wait for that to be part of our story.

2013/Aggie/anniversary/football/love/marriage

We’ve Still Got It

Posted on by Mrs Gray / 1 Comment

We weren’t in our usual seats for the first half of Saturday’s match up against UTEP. We left our friends in section 119 sit with some friends who had extra tickets (imagine that: extra tickets for an 8:00 pm kick against a non-conference opponent). All that to say we weren’t with our usual crowd.

UTEP

Mr. Gray headed down to get me some hot chocolate, and I felt a hand on my back, “How long have y’all been married?” she asked, clearly expecting my answer to be less than a year or so.

I did a little math in my head and finally came up with, “Oh, seven or eight years.” (I never know how old I am, either, if that helps.)

Astonished, she exclaimed, “And he still winks at you?” She continued, but I didn’t really hear her. I was still trying to figure out when he winked at me. How did I miss that?

When Mr. Gray returned with the hot chocolate (with an extra for the wife of a seat-mate he made friends with when we got there–he’s just that kind of guy) I told him the story.

His response? “I winked at you?” HAHA!  The Grays, keepin’ it hot one wink (or not) at a time!

2013/clothes/Fashion Friday/Halloween/handmade/tutorials

Fashion Friday: The Reveal

Posted on by Mrs Gray / 4 Comments

Alternate title: The Real Reason I’m Not a Fashion Blogger
Alternate title, II: Mr. Gray Takes Funny Photos
Alternate title, III: It Doesn’t Even Look Like You Made It Yourself!

Earlier this week, I showcased Baby Gray’s Halloween duds for school. I used Merrick’s tutorial and made a shirt for myself while I was at it. This is how it looked last time you saw it.

Surprise Shirt

I wanted something I could wear for Halloween but continue to wear other times as well. I went with a crow/raven/bird silhouette. I thought it turned out really well. Then I forgot to take photos until it was 11:00pm. When I looked at the photos Mr. Gray snapped, I remembered why I rarely showcase my own outfits ’round here. These are hilarious. I’m talking in most of them, laughing in some, and wondering what the heck Mr. Gray is doing in the others. At least my outfit’s cute!

Bird Shirt Collage
“Your shirt looks pretty good; I mean, it doesn’t look like you made it yourself.” I’m being met with rave reviews–look for this new line in fine department stores everywhere!

2013/Baby Gray/friends/Halloween/Happy House/Recipes/snack/theme/treats/tutorials

Candy Corny

Posted on by Mrs Gray / 4 Comments

If you’ve been around a while, you know I love themes. Last year, we were Franken-Theme-Y. This year, I found some cute candy corn treat bags, and we went with that (although he still wanted to make the FrankenBites from last year; my printer even cooperated–hooray for cute custom bag toppers).

Candy Corn Mix Packaging

We have candy corn cookies,

Cookies
(I used this frosting; it’s pretty sweet, but it’s good.)

candy corn mix,

Candy Corn Mix
(candy corn, orange M&Ms, yellow M&Ms, white chocolate chips, marshmallow, yellow Froot Loops, orange Froot Loops; mix together and add cute packaging)

and a… um, spider shirt. Yeah, he picked that.

Spider Shirt

I didn’t applique his shirt this year; I found a great tutorial from Merrick’s Art that looked like a perfect alternative since my machine is packed. He chose a spider; I chose googly eyes.

He also requested that I have a shirt to wear.

Surprise Shirt

Any guesses?

One other thing, I know Halloween is actually tomorrow. Baby Gray’s school party is today, so we’re enjoying two fun days instead of just one! 

2013/macaroni and cheese/Recipes/soup

Pass the Mac

Posted on by Mrs Gray / 0 Comment

Several months ago, Mr. Gray and I discovered a little deli that serves up some delicious macaroni and cheese soup. Of course, I immediately set out to try it at home–then forgot about it! This weekend, though, we decided we would have it for dinner this week.

I could taste many similarities to my broccoli and cheese soup as well as my potato soup, so I thought I’d have a pretty good chance at getting it right. Sure enough, it was good!

Mac & Cheese Soup

You will need: 
Elbow noodles
Chicken stock
Grated carrots
Cream
Yellow mustard
1-8 ounce package cream cheese
2 cups grated cheddar cheese
Course-ground black pepper, to taste

  • Add elbow noodles to a large soup pot (as many or as few as you need for your crowd–I actually added more as I started cooking) 
  • Cover completely with chicken stock 
  • Bring to a boil; add grated carrots
  • Reduce to simmer
  • Add cream and stir (probably about 1/4 cup or so) 
  • Add a little squirt of yellow mustard (Pioneer Woman adds it to her baked mac & cheese; I figured I might as well stick to what works) and stir
  • Add cream cheese and stir until completely blended 
  • Slowly add grated cheese and stir until blended
  • Sprinkle in pepper to taste 
  • Allow to simmer until serving; add more chicken stock to thin, if needed 

On another note, I found this cream cheese that I tried in mine:

Cream Cheese

I didn’t notice a difference in this and regular cream cheese; I’ll be using this again!

2013/faith/family/life/love/prayer

One Life to Love

Posted on by Mrs Gray / 0 Comment

Some days I just sit back and wonder how I got to this place. It’s a place I prayed to be. A life I said I would eat peanut butter and jelly to live. Here I am, living this life–sans peanut butter and jelly. God has handcrafted a beautiful life for this little  family. All we have had to do is say yes and take some risks. We’ve stepped out in faith a few times and trusted we’d land right where He wanted us.

 Family

It hasn’t always been easy, or without tears, but it’s always been worth it. Where He wants us is so much better than anywhere we could dream to be on our own.

“‘For I know the plans I have for you,’ declares the Lord, ‘plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.'” –Jeremiah 29:11