{TBB Asks // March // Beauty}

I'm just a tad bit late on posting this. ha! I always enjoy these TBB asks posts, so better late than never, right? Here are my answers to this month's questions...

{10 on the 10th // Jan // 10 things about me}

Joining my sweet friend, Erin for 10 on the 10th monthly link-up. This is such a fun link-up and I enjoy participating when I can. This month's theme is 10 random facts about me. Eeek! I am so terrible about coming up with things about myself. Especially when it comes to 10 things I've not shared on the blog before. I'm sure I've repeated myself.  I had to start this post way in advance so that as I thought of something I could jot it down. Here goes nothing...10 random facts about me.

{TBB Asks // August}

The sweet ladies at The Blended Blog have created another round of this or that questions and I thought it would be fun to join in. I missed the last one, so I was excited to get to do this one. Here are my answers..

{Ten things I am bad & good at}

My friend Dara at Not in Jersey recently posted about 10 things she was good at and 10 things she was not good at. I thought it would be fun to join in with her. I have to say, it was much easier coming up with the things I am bad at than it was the things I am good at! The last three things on my good list took me forever to come up with. ha! It's true that we are always our own worst critic, huh? Anyhow, here is my list...

{A Re-introduction of Hall Around Texas}

Many moons ago I saw this type of post on a friend's blog and wanted to post one here. I have made so many new blog friends since I have done any kind of 'about me' post. So, a re-introduction of me and my blog was in order. Just some random tid-bits about me and this blog....

{Five things that are bringing me joy right now}

We wrapped up a bible study at church about true joy and how it's God's will for us to experience joy. It is so easy to feel weighed down by drudgery & everyday things and so I want to document the things that are bringing me joy right now. I hope to do this every so often. Today I am sharing five things that are currently bringing me joy.

{36 on my 36th}

In honor of my 36th birthday {today} I thought I would share 36 random things about me. Several of my friends have done similar posts on their birthdays and I loved learning some new facts about them! I will tell you though that this was super hard for me. And by hard I mean it took me several days to think of 36 things and I even had to ask Nate to help with a few! #lamesauce

{The Versatile Blogger Award}

I just have to say...I have met the sweetest ladies through this blogging world. I feel so blessed to be among a group of such amazing women. Whitney at Work It Mommy recently nominated me for the Versatile Blogger Award. Thank you so much, Whitney!! I truly appreciate the nomination and feel so blessed to have met you in this online community.



The rules of accepting this award are 1.) thank the blogger that nominated you, 2.) link back to their blog in your post, 3.) share 7 facts about yourself, and 4.) nominate up to 15 other bloggers.




one.

I am a worry wart. Always have been and afraid I always will be. I worry to the point of anxiety.

two.

I despise seafood. I've tried a couple of things and can sometimes stomach fried shrimp with lots of ketchup, or fried coconut shrimp with a sweet sauce {and lots of it}. But that's about it. I can't even get past the smell of fish or any other seafood for that matter.

three.

I am completely in love and obsessed with my boys. Not in an unhealthy way. Just that I love them and love being around them. They are my people. They are my favorites. If you invite me out to a girls night on a weekend I will more than likely {and kindly} decline because that takes away from our family time.

four.

I put yellow under my eyes to get out the purple and use purple shampoo in my hair to get out the yellow. Oh the irony.

five. 

I have a weird addiction/obsession with office supplies, planners, stationary, etc.

six.

I have somewhat of a gypsy soul in that I love to travel and go and do. I love to go camping or on weekend road trips. To get out there and explore. It makes my heart happy.

seven.

I cheated and asked Mason to come up #7. I asked him what he would say if someone asked him to tell them about his mom. He said he would say:

"She's nice. She loves me and she always takes care of me."

There you have it. 7 very random things about me.

I nominate:

Beth @ Our Pretty Little Girls
Liz @ Chasin' Mason
Amy @ Keepin' Up With The Smiths
Desiree @ Macke Monologues
Sarah @ Foxy's Domestic Side
Nina @ The Joni Journey
Sara @ Crazy Cozads
Sara @ Running From The Law
Meghan @ The Adventure Starts Here

{Life in Fours}

I saw this post on Very Erin a few weeks ago and thought it would be fun!

Four Nicknames I’ve Had:

1. Crys
2. Nicoli 
3. Babe
4. Mommy

Four Movies I’ve Watched More Than Once:

1. Urban Cowboy
2. The Elf
3. 8 Seconds
4. Pure Country

Four Jobs I’ve Had:

1. Dallas Morning Newspaper - call center
2. Data Entry
3. Account Manager
4. Mother >>> by far the best job ever!

Four Things In My Purse:

1. My wallet
2. Wipes - hello messy little four year old! 
3. Chapstick or gloss
4. Brush & hair ties

Four Places I’ve Lived:

1. Duncanville, TX
2. Grand Prairie, TX
3. Irving, TX
4. Waxahachie, TX

Four Places I’ve Visited:

1. Nashville, TN
2. Steamboat Springs, Denver, Colorado Springs, Estes Park, CO
3. Orlando, FL
4. White Sands, NM

Four Places On My Travel Bucket List (You can read about these in my Texas Bucketlist!):

1. Big Bend National Park, TX
2. Garner State Park, TX
3. Pedernales Falls, TX
4. Shiner, TX

Four Things I Don’t Eat:

1. Onions
2. Seafood
3. Wild game; deer, rabbit, etc.
4. Bell peppers

Four TV Shows I Watch:

1. Secrets & Lies
2. Scandal
3. Grey's Anatomy
4. Nashville

Four Cars I’ve Drive :

1. Toyota Camry
2. Toyota FJ Cruiser
3. Jeep CJ 7
4. Hyundai Sonata

Four Things I Look Forward To In 2015:

1. Disney World!!
2. Mason having the Summer off 
3. Mason starting Kindergarten - bittersweet!
4. Knocking things off of our Texas bucketlist.

Four of my favorite foods:

1. Chips & Salsa {that's a meal, right?!}
2. Pizza {but I can't have it. Makes me sick :( boo}
3. Salad
4. Chicken

{Friday randomness//about me}

Happy finally Friday friends! I am so, so glad it's Friday. Not that it's been a bad week, but I just love our weekends!! No school, no work, no early bedtimes! Can I get an amen?! Tomorrow is our annual trip to the Fort Worth Stock Show and Rodeo and I am pretty excited! I love the FWSSR!! And the group we go with {we have 21 going this year!}. Have you ever been to the FWSSR?

I saw this over on Courtney's blog and thought it would be a fun Friday post! A fun way to get to know the actual blogger! I am almost certain I talk more about my boys on this blog than myself. They are just cooler and cuter. :))



Four names that people call me other than my real name:

1- Mommy
2- Babe
3- Crys
4- friend

Four jobs I’ve had:

1- Telemarketing for the Dallas Morning News {blah!!!}
2- Data Entry
3- Senior Account Manager {1999 - current}
4- 
 
Four movies you’ve watched more than once:
  
1- 8 Seconds
2- Girls Just Wanna Have Fun
3- Urban Cowboy
4- Ninja Turtles {the new one}

Four books I’d recommend:

1- The Bible :))
2- Can You Keep a Secret
3- Harry Potter Series
4- The Best Yes

Four places I’ve lived:

1- Grand Prairie, TX
2- Irving, TX
3- Duncanville, TX
4- Waxahachie, TX 

Four Places you have visited:

1- Disney World
2- Colorado
3- Smokey Mountains, TN
4- St. Louis, MO

{I think I need a tropical vacation!!!} 

Four places I’d rather be right now:

1- The Smokey's
2- The beach
3- Vegas
4- Anywhere with my boys!

Four things I don’t eat:

1- Seafood
2- Onions 
3- Anything on a bone
4- Quail/Dove

Four of my favorite foods:

1- Pizza
2- Salads
3- Italian
4- Mexican

Four things I’m looking forward to this year: 

1- Vacation!
2- Our 9 year wedding anniversary, 19th total year
3- Weekend trips
4- Babies!

Four things I’m always saying:

1- I love you so much!
2- Oh you're so cute!
3- NO!!!!!! {usually to Gunner}
4- Really?!?

Any plans for the weekend?

{Blog every day in September // Introduce yourself}

Howdy! I missed posting this yesterday because we were traveling back for our Labor Day weekend getaway. So, I'm playing catchup! I'm so excited to join this Blog every day in September challenge. Not sure if I will post every day, but I will try!

Monday, Sept. 1: Reintroduce yourself to your readers.

I'm Crystal. I'm 33. I married my high school sweetheart, Nathan in 2006. We dated for 10 years before we said I do. {yep, that's 18 years total} Nine short months later we traded the city life for the country life and moved to a rural area about 40 miles South of Dallas in the Lone Star State! And...we haven't looked back. Our hometown was quickly {and sadly} becoming not such a great place to live anymore and we knew that we didn't want to raise our children there. And we were ready for babies!

I am a Senior Account Manager for a List Marketing/Advertising firm. As of last October I work from home full time. It has been one of the biggest blessings in my life. It has given me back so much more time with my boys. I am also thankful I don't have to drive to/from Dallas every day! I enjoy reading, taking pictures, going to baseball games, spending as much time as possible with my boys, blogging and crafting. I use purple shampoo to keep the yellow out of my hair and yellow concealer to cover the purple under my eyes. A walking contradiction, I suppose. Fall is my most absolute favorite time of the year and I am so ready for it. Pumpkin patches, pumpkin candles, pumpkin spice everything...YES please!! I love Jesus, reading the bible and doing bible studies. Right now I am digging into Hosea with the She Reads Truth gals.

Nathan works for Lockheed Martin, Fire and Missiles Control. He loves hunting, fishing, camping, baseball and anything else outdoors. He also loves Mason and I something fierce. He also loves {and is very good at} dog training! He's been working with Gunner in the evenings and of course the weekends and Gunner knew all of the basic commands plus some the first few days we had him. Nathan is also very competitive at everything he does...always making tings interesting!

In May of 2010 we welcomed our sweet little guy, Mason Lane. He has kept us on our toes since. He's witty, hilarious and so very sweet. He's my little best friend. Mason just started Pre-K a couple of weeks ago and is growing entirely too fast. He loves Legos, games on his iPad, reading books, hearing stories {both fiction and non fiction}, playing outside, driving his Jeep Power Wheels, and pretty much any kind of playing. He hates nap time and bed time and has been known to pray to Jesus to 'please not make night time anymore'.

We added on to our little family in June by way of a Yellow Lab named Gunner Gage. He's a pain in the rear most days, but aren't all puppies? I forgot how hard the puppy training stage was. But, we love him dearly and can't wait for he and Mason to grow up together. They will be best buds!

We also have a kitten named Gabby, but she lives outside. And we also have a miniature Donkey {who also lives outside!}. I'm trying to talk Nathan into getting a couple of floppy eared goats...but it's not working! I can't wait for Mason to get into 4H or FFA so that we can have other farm animals.  

As a family we love spending time together...just going to Cabelas {or any outdoors store}, to a boat or rv show, going out to eat, or traveling. We especially love to travel and do new things. Nathan prefers the beach...give me the mountains. We do a fair share of both.

And for the number 1 question we get asked every other minute...."Are you going to have more kids?" We are undecided. We are very content right now and just enjoying our time as a family of 3. God may have other plans for us and that's okay.

That's pretty much us in a nutshell.  I know that the prompt was to introduce myself, but there is no me without my boys!

{Ask me anything}

Hi friends!! Happy Saturday!! 

I was looking over a draft I have...you know...full of random things about me. I am terrible about writing about myself. So, I want to open this up to all of you. 

Any questions you'd like to ask me?

I'd love to answer!!

{Day 1...Me in 250 words}

Day 1, Wednesday: The story of your life in 250 words or less

I'm Crystal Nicole, a born and raised Texan. I made my debut into the world on January 18, 1981 (old, I know). I am the oldest of three kids. Most of my childhood thru my high school years was spent in Cheerleading and Gymnastics. My darling husband, Nathan, and I met and started dating when we were just kids in high school. This November will mark our 17th year together. We married on August 25th of 2006 at Hanging Gardens. Almost the minute after we said "I do" we started looking to get a house out in the "country". In April 2007 we moved into our little piece of paradise. We bought a house on a little over 2 acres and our property backs up to my in-laws property. We share a back gate. I absolutely LOVE being that close to them. And my parents are only a hop, skip and a jump away. Awesome! After over 2 years of trying we found out we were pregnant on September 25th, 2009. Our precious little Mason Lane was born on May 25th, 2010. Nothing compares to that day. Nothing. Becoming a Mother is something I've always wanted to do and seeing Nathan become a Daddy, oh, that just quadrupled my heart in size. We are an outdoorsy type of family who loves traveling, camping, and of course baseball! I have a passion for photography, but haven't quite mastered Photoshop yet. I love all things vintage and turquoise. I dream of living on a large working farm some day. I adore my little family and being a wife and a mother. I'm learning to master toddlerhood....one day at a time. We are blessed beyond measure all praise be to Jesus!

that was 288 words, in case you were wondering!