Confessions of a Bootless Texan

OK, I usually don't post twice in one week, but I absolutely loved this Christmas survey on Ashley's Starting Somewhere blog. I just had to steal it! :) 1.  Favorite Christmas Album/CD/Song?  My favorite Christmas Album is definitely Christina Aguilera's "My Kind of Christmas." It came out in 2000, and I still can't get enough of it.  2.  What do you usually eat on Christmas morning? Sadly, I eat my usual breakfast on Christmas morning...either cereal, cookies or a granola bar. I'm not exactly a "morning person."  3.  Favorite holiday or Christmas tradition? Drinking eggnog and wrapping presents! I've gotten quite good at this wrapping thing.  4.  Real tree, fake tree or no tree? Fake! Woohoo! This year to save space we put up the "mini" tree. It's cute and gets the job done. Oh yeah, it only takes 5 minutes to take down too! Ha! 5.  Christmas pajamas… yay or nay?  Nah, I'll stick to my usu

I can't believe Christmas is just four days away! It seems so unreal! With that said, the gifts are packed, the stockings are hung, the tree is lit and the Christmas songs are playing (whether I want them to or not). Ha! Since the last time I blogged, I've... Visited The Peddler Show at the Pasadena Convention Center. It's kind of like the Nutcracker Market...just scaled down like 1000%. Though there aren't many merchants that attend, it's still really enjoyable to look at so many unique items under one roof. Not to mention, I found this amazing SFA wall decor! :) Shopped at the Cypress Premium Outlets! It was the perfect weather for a day of shopping...70 degrees in December! Yep, I didn't stutter! I love the outlets since you just can't beat the bargains. For example, the Coach store had a 40% off sale on all items. Needless to say, I bought a Coach phone cover and head wrap while I was there.  Registered to take the PPR on March 9th. Ee

So I know it's been a few weeks since I went to the Nutcracker Market, but I thought I'd share with you my favorite booths/stores I saw while there. Since most of these places have websites, you might want to do a little Christmas shopping from your couch. :) Side note: While I enjoyed the Nutcracker Market experience very much, I probably will not be back. The admission is extremely high ($13 a person plus parking) and the massive amount of people pushing and shoving you makes it hard to stop and really look at the individual items. With that said, there are a few ways to cut your costs. You can print a $1 off coupon on their website or get half off admission if you show up 3 hours prior to closing. Personally, I'd recommend the latter because 3 hours is more than enough time to shop. Without further ado, here's the list- 1.) A Rosy Outlook -This booth was amazing. They sold accessories, shirts and so much more. I ended up buying the "Born & Raised in

Thanksgiving. Just the word alone makes me smile. I love everything about this holiday. I love the rest, the relaxation, the games, the family time and, of course, the food! This year I'm spending Thanksgiving with my grandparents and mom. Instead of slaving over a hot stove all day like we've done so many years before, we are having Cracker Barrel prepare our Thanksgiving feast. For just $54.99, we're getting a meal for 6! Here's the link for more info!   Cracker Barrel Thanksgiving To-Go On Sunday, my mom and I went to the Dancers Against Cancer Benefit Concert at UH-Clear Lake. The concert featured dancers from local studios and professional companies. In the end, all proceeds raised benefited Nick Linton and Aaron Pena Jr., two young men suffering from two different cancers. It was really an eye-opening experience that changed my outlook on life. I worry so much about the small stuff when I should just be thankful for every day. I hope any readers in the area c

The past few weeks have been pretty crazy for me.  I took my dance certification test at the College of the Mainland on October 17th and......... I PASSED!  I also won tickets to the Gotye concert through a contest on the Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion's blog. The concert was amazing! I fell in love with the Givers, the opening act. I highly recommend you check them out. One of their songs was featured on Glee recently! I finished all of my field based experiences! Before interning, you must complete 30 hours of observation. While this doesn't sound like much, it really is quite hard to just sit and watch a class for that long.   I took the Haberman Pre-Screener test??? Up until this week, I had no clue what this test was. Apparently, this one test has a 95% success rate of determining teachers who will stay and succeed vs. quit the profession. I should find out later this week my results. (YIKES) I hope y'all have a great week, and I&#

I seriously can't even account for where the last four months went. While I was busy worrying about the most petty things, time flew by.    In the last four months, I've... -celebrated my grandfather's 80th birthday!  -started my field based observations for my teacher's certification. It feels so weird to be back in high school. I still feel like a student myself.   -studied, studied and studied some more for my dance certification test next week. -learned the beauty of Crockpots! In fact, I'll share with you my favorite Crockpot recipe to date. It's so simple and tastes so good. Hope you enjoy it as much as me! Crockpot Potato Soup -went to Trader Joe's for the first time! I'm in awe of all the unique foods there. If you're addicted to pumpkin as much as me, you'll love their pumpkin muffins, pumpkin butter and pumpkin ice cream. (I tried free samples of all of them at the store.) -read "The Girl with the Drago