Monday, September 21, 2015

{Weekend Wrap-Up}

Happy Monday!!  Once again, another weekend has flown by & another week begins. We are 2 days away from the first day of Fall...but unfortunately - Mother Nature hasn't gotten the memo.  It's hot!! I am so ready to put away the flip-flops & break out the sweaters & boots.  

Here is a quick weekend wrap-up!

I was so excited to be able to go to my first A&M football game of the season on Saturday!  A friend/coworker wasn't able to use her tickets so she offered them to me & I gladly excepted.  The game started at 11am so it was HOT!! We got there a little early to check out the new stadium & it's pretty incredible.  I LOVE the exterior & the inside is pretty top-notch.  Thankfully the Aggies got the win & now the true test comes this weekend when we start SEC play against Arkansas.

 
 
 
Saturday night was the last night of the Washington County Fair.  Back in the day, we were there every night, open to close.  Now it seems like we have to talk ourselves into going one night!  It wasn't too hot & the entertainment was ok {not great, but we NEVER get anyone great so we don't have high expectations}.  It was a fun night with family & friends and that's all that matters.
Sunday was a pretty lazy day.  I went to church, the grocery store and then came home & watched football most of the afternoon.  On Saturday, I was up at 6am & got to bed around 1am...I'm too old for that so I needed a day to recover. =)  Needless to say, Nola is  HUGE fan of lazy Sunday afternoons as well...this is pretty much what she spent the entire day doing!
Here's to another busy week & hopefully some cooler weather!

Tuesday, September 15, 2015

{Show & Tell Tuesday: Guess Who's Coming to Dinner?}

So, I'm loving these link-ups because it gives me something to blog about without the stress of coming up with something on my own...because let's face it - the brain is stressed out enough these days.

Today I am linking up with Andrea for Show & Tell Tuesday.   Today's topic is: Guess Who's Coming to Dinner?
Everyone who knows me knows I LOVE to host parties so what better than a dinner party for my nearest & dearest "famous friends"!  =) Of course all of you are invited as well, but these are my top 5 VIP's.

{One: Ree Drummond}

Well duh!  Of course I have to invite someone that can cook really, really well!  I love watching her show on the Food Network every Saturday morning.  I'm not a bad cook...but I could definitely use some pointers & new ideas. Plus, her daughter is an Aggie now so who knows - maybe we could hit up an Aggie football game while she's in town.

{Two: Chip & Joanna Gaines}

I'm going to count them as one.  It's my dinner party so I can do what I want, right?  I'm a big fan of their show on HGTV & have probably watched every episode at least twice.  I cannot wait for season 3 to start in December.  Think it would be tacky & inappropriate if I asked them to give my house a little mini makeover while they are there?!? They live less than 2 hours away so I'm fairly certain they will come. =)

{Three: Ellen Degeneres} 

There must be some funny people at my dinner party who can break the ice because let's face it, that would not be me.  And who better than Ellen Degeneres!  I normally only catch about the first 15 minutes of her show in the break room at work, but I laugh the entire time.

{Four: Jimmy Fallon}

Speaking of funny people - hello!!  who wouldn't want to spend the evening with Jimmy Fallon?!?  I absolutely love watching his lip sync battles.  Funniest.Thing.Ever.

{Five: Ed Sheeran }

While I don't know a whole lot about him personally, I LOVE his music.  And we need entertainment at the dinner party, right?  He could sing "Thinking Out Loud" on repeat & I would be one happy girl!

So there you have it: my top 5 dinner party guests!  I'm off to check my calendar now to see when I have a free evening & then invites are going in the mail.  Hope you can join us! =)



Friday, September 11, 2015

{Friday Favorites}

Happy Friday!!  Two posts in 2 weeks?!?  Y'all are shocked, I know. =)  I'm going to do my best to start blogging more; my goal is at least once a week.

Today I am linking up with Narci, Andrea, & Erica and sharing some of my Friday Favorites!

{One}

The return of Blue Bell!  We have now been back on the market for almost 2 weeks & seeing a 1/2 gallon still brings a smile to my face.  You are read about our big comeback day here.
 

{Two}

The return of Fightin' Texas Aggie football! And how about that big win last weekend & our AWESOME defense?!?  Oh my Heavens I love this time of year.  I could spend Saturdays watching college football all. day. long. if I would let myself.  Of course I love me some Friday night lights & Dallas Cowboys as well....but there is nothing quite like game day in Aggieland. I cannot wait to see the completed stadium this year & I am already counting down the days til our football roadtrip...looks like we are headed back to Ole' Miss!

{Three}

It's Fall y'all!  Ok, well not technically, but to me it is.  September - December is my absolute favorite time of year.  I got a little jump start on my decorating back in August {you are shocked, I know!}.  I am still working on my front porch...just waiting to spot my first pumpkins at HEB. There are lots of 80's & 60's in the upcoming forecast and I cannot wait.  I haven't jumped on board the "Pumpkin Spice Everything" train yet...but I might give it a shot again this year. 

{Four}

My "mini" backyard makeover!  It's a far cry from what I had hoped to accomplish this year, but given the whole job situation - this is as good as it's going to get!  But, considering I have spent very little money - I love how it turned out!  Can't wait to have some friends over, light up the fire pit & make some s'mores! 

{Five}

What would my Friday Favorites be without Nola?!?  Even though I don't know her exact birthday, we think she is somewhere around 9 - 10 months old.  I feel like we are finally transitioning from the puppy stage.  She's content now to lay on the bed & sleep while I'm doing stuff {as opposed to being right in the middle of every single thing I do}, and I can leave her in the house unattended while I'm outside without the fear of her destroying everything {of course, I'm probably going to jinx myself now}.  She has developed quite the personality & I let her do things I never dreamed I would.  Yes, she drips water all of my floor when she drinks.  Yes, she sheds hair EVERYWHERE.  Yes, she sleeps in my bed at night {and any opportunity she can get}.  But I can't imagine life without her. =)

Have a fabulous weekend & enjoy this {somewhat} cooler weather!

Friday, September 4, 2015

{#bluebellisback}

On a Friday back in March, we received an email & at the time, we had no clue that it was only the beginning of a snowball of bad news.  News broke soon thereafter of the 3 deaths in Kansas.  A week or two later, that was followed up with a partial recall of some of our snack products.  Certainly that was the worst of it...we would recall the products, clean the machines & move on.  Never in a million years would I have ever dreamed what was to come. More recalls, a plant closure, a total recall, more plant closures, layoffs...it just kept getting worse & worse.  Those were tough times; I am not going to lie.  There were sleepless nights & tears cried.  The one job I had known for almost 19 years was crumbling around me & it was scary as hell. We hit rock bottom on Friday, May 15th & there were definitely some very dark days following that.  But,  things {very} slowly started to look up.  Eventually there was talk that Sylacauga would be the first to begin producing again & before we knew it, trucks started rolling into Brenham with ice cream. There was a week or two where the days were long, but one good thing is that through all of this - time really has flown by. 
 
It was soon announced that Blue Bell would hit shelves on Monday, August 31st.  Can you say Best.Day.Ever?!?  Monday was seriously like  Christmas morning.  Just the anticipation of it was CRAZY!!  Our route drivers had to hit the road around 3:30am so we decided to come up that morning & make them breakfast...it was the least we could do.  My alarm went off at 1:40am, but I'm fairly certain I never really went to sleep....how could I?!?  By 2:15am, we had the electric skillets going & coffee brewing. 7 1/2 dozen eggs & 80 tortillas later, we had enough breakfast tacos for most of Washington County.  What can I say, we don't do anything "little"...when we do something, we do it right.  In fact, I am pretty sure all 13 of us crazy ladies with our breakfast tacos & goodie bags were a little overwhelming for all those guys that time of the morning.  ;)
But, it was so much fun & so worth getting only a few hours of sleep for.  We had a blast & I really do think the guys appreciated it. The best part of the morning was standing out on the corner of 577/Blue Bell Road & Buchanan Street to cheer on each driver as they left.  When that first truck pulled out, I am fairly certain everyone had tears in their eyes. Our Brenham route truck even got a COP escort - lights & all - to HEB.

I think we knew the response to us returning to the market would be good, but we quickly realized just how incredible it was when there were people standing in line at grocery stores before they even opened; it was kinda like Black Friday!!  Most stores were sold out by mid-morning.

It was so cool to see "Blue Bell" trending on Facebook & Instagram. Our route drivers quickly went to celebrity status; it was so fun to listen to their stories of taking selfies with fans & how people actually made uturns & followed their trucks to see where they were making their next delivery. From the bottom of our hearts, THANK YOU for welcoming us back with open arms. 
 
 
At 9:00am, we had an ice cream party in the break room & were finally able to sample it for ourselves. It was definitely as good as we all remembered.  And nope, we weren't able to eat all we can & sell the rest this time - selling was definitely top priority! =)
After a crazy busy day, we ended it at Las Fuentes with margaritas & Mexican food.  How else do you think we would have ended it?!?  It was so exciting to finally have a celebratory drink!  Once I finally got home after an almost 18 hour day, I let Nola partake in the celebration.  As you can tell, she was quite the fan. =)

The amount of support & loyalty over the past few months has been beyond amazing.  I also know that there are some "non-supporters" out there...and that's ok.  I'm not going to go into a debate with anyone over what Blue Bell did right or wrong.  Are they perfect?  Nope...and neither are any of us.  We all make mistakes, but you learn from them & move on a better person.

It's like several people said over the past few days - it's more than just ice cream.  And I'll leave it at that.