Little of this, little of that...

First things first...we won our season opener against W.F. Rider on Friday 40-21! Woooohoooo! Such a great start to the season! If you want more details, you can check out Roxanne's football blog :)

I'm so glad my bestie will be at the games this year!

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Did you know that Dillard's has all their sale items an additional 40% off right now? I practically HAD to go shopping with savings like that! Haha ;) I got a few things, but these little cuties are my favorites...

I love daisies, so I had to have them! Thanks Momma!

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I know I'm not the only one ready for fall! My goodness, I'm so sick of sweating to death when I walk out the door. I'm dreaming of fall scented candles, skinny jeans tucked into tall boots, pumpkin spice lattes, crock-pot meals, crisp mornings and adorable scarves...

And speaking of scarves, Meredith is hosting a scarf swap...I'm so excited!

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I'm wanting to start running (and actually enjoy it)...got any tips for me? I went tonight, and I definitely felt good afterwords. I eat pretty healthy most of the time, (with the exception of my Starburts addiction) so I want to add to that and begin exercising more often. I'm hoping I'll be one of those people that WANTS to wake up early and workout. My hubby seems to think it's pretty fun stuff, so maybe I will too!

Well, that's all the randomness I've got for now. I hope your week is off to a great start! :)

Happy Girl...

Yesterday was my birthday and I definitely had a great one! Thanks to my sweet family and wonderful friends, I felt special all day :)

And since getting older isn't as exciting as it used to be, gifts kinda make up for that! My parents, my brother, my future SIL, Rob's mom and grandparents, my bestie Lexi and other close family friends all spoiled me with fun gifts and I am SO thankful for each of them and the love they gave me on my big day!

But the biggest gift of them all came from my sweet hubby...

It says..."You have been approved for Lasik Eye Surgery. To be performed sometime between today the 26 of August and before you start a new phase of your life. (School, Work, etc...)

NO EXCEPTIONS. YOU ARE GETTING IT. ENJOY!!!!"

Can you believe it?! I was SO shocked/excited/happy! I thought it was so adorable that he made a little "gift certificate" to give to me. What a sweetheart. Love that man. I can't wait to be able to see when I wake up in the morning!!

In other news, tonight officially kicks off football season! I can't believe it's already game time, but I'm definitely looking forward to it!

GO COUGS!!!!

I'm still here!

Disclaimer: marathon post :)

Whew, the last several days have been BUSY but FUN! On Friday my brother & Nicole came in town for the weekend, so I spent the day hanging out with my awesome family! My mom's birthday was last week and mine is coming up this week, so KB & Nicole made us a delicious birthday dinner!

My grandparents came over too!

We just had a relaxing family day/night...we missed Rob though! He was at the scrimmage in Amarillo.

Lexi's birthday was also last week, so a few of her friends from college came in town for a girls weekend! We spent most of Saturday afternoon hanging out in the pool, then we went out to dinner and to an Aaron Watson concert Saturday night. It was so much fun! The boys even got to join us that night :) There's nothing better than a West Texas Saturday night spent with fun friends and two-steppin' the night away! I hope you had the best birthday, Lex! LYLAS ;)

Sunday morning was breakfast at my parents' house before KB & Nicole were to head back home. We had a breakfast of champions and spent a little more time together while everyone was available. After KB & Nicole left, Dad went to play golf, and Rob left for work, Mom & I ran to Bealls because they were having a HUGE sale. I don't normally shop there, but they had some good stuff! I got all of the shirts below for Rob, a swimsuit for me and some athletic shorts all for $56! I even went back today and got some Nine West jeans for $11 and a cute dress for $9! I love bargains!!

After some bargain hunting, Mom & I went swimming with our favorite munchkin...Natalie of course! She is at such a fun age right now. She'll be 3 soon, so she's really becoming her own little person with lots of personality and sweet spunk. She has become a little fish over the summer! She gets diving rings from the bottom of the deep end of the pool and swims on her own! (With monitoring of course...ha!) I'm so impressed she's swimming without floaties! So proud of that little one.

After swimming I rushed home to bake cookies for the coaches! I made them every Sunday last year, so they've been asking me if I was going to do the same this year...and how could I say no?

KB & Nicole brought the cupcakes (even GF for me! So sweet!) they will serve at their wedding, so my mom had this box from those and I added a little note for the guys. I'm sure they all noticed ;)

I got the nickname "cookie katie" last year. Four dozen funfettis coming right up!

And that brings me to today...it was my LAST FIRST day of school! Wooohooo! Such a good feeling! In reality it probably won't be my last first day because I want to get my Master's, but it will be for a little while anyway! I'm a little nervous about the semester, but I know it will be over before I know it and I will have a degree in Biology! Exciting stuff.

I hope all you teachers (and students) out there had a great first day!

Happy Birthday Mom!

My mom is awesome...plain & simple.

She's a beautiful person...inside & out!

She has a heart made of gold!

She's a hard worker and is extremely good at what she does.

Everyone that knows her loves her!

And how could they not?!

Mom~

Happy Birthday!! I hope this year brings you many blessings and lots of happiness! You deserve the very best! Thank you for ALL that you do, but thank you most of all for just being there. Your presence in my life is something that could never be replaced, and I treasure the memories we have together. I'm looking forward to making many more this year!

"She's my baby & I sure do love her!"

"She's my momma & I sure do love her!"

I love you lots, Mom!

It's Official...

Well, my husband has been missing from the house for a couple weeks. We took program pictures last week. 2-a-days and pre-season predictions have been all over the news. It can only mean one thing....football season is upon us! I feel like it has snuck up on me this year, but I am looking forward to those Friday Night Lights! There's really nothing like it. West Texans take football very seriously! I'm also looking forward to spending lots of time with these lovely ladies...

Saturday night our H.C.'s wife, Roxanne, had all of us 'c-wives' over for our annual girl's night out. It was such a fun night filled with good food, party planning for the season and, of course, lots of girl talk! You can read more about it on her blog.

She had everything decorated absolutely beautifully (no surprise there!) and made each of us feel loved and appreciated!

Adorable and vintage place settings...

Some of us stayed so long (we're talking after midnight here) that she made us homemade chocolate shakes! Mmmm....I felt like I was at a slumber party!

I am so grateful that Rob and I have started out on this staff. It's amazing how well all of us mesh; it really feels like family. I can't believe that it is our third season together....that's practically unheard of in the coaching world! We are blessed!

Thanks again for a fun night Roxanne!! :)

GF Sweet & Spicy Shrimp

Gluten Free Sweet & Spicy Shrimp

1 pound raw shrimp, peeled & deveined

3/4 cup rice vinegar

1/3 cup brown sugar

3 Tbsp. GF soy sauce

1 Tsp. red pepper flakes (more or less to your liking)

2 Tsp. fresh grated ginger

Combine everything except the shrimp in a sauce pan and bring it to a boil. Let that boil for a few minutes until it reduces down a bit. In the meantime, heat a drizzle of canola oil in a large pan over medium to medium high heat. Once the pan is hot, throw the shrimp in with a little salt and pepper. Saute the shrimp until they are cooked through (they'll look opaque and hopefully slightly brown around the edges-it won't take long!) Once the glaze has reduced, pour it over the shrimp and serve over coconut rice.

Coconut rice is just rice (I prefer brown) cooked in 3 parts coconut milk (unsweetened) and 1 part water. It is slightly sweet and so delicious...definitely more exciting than plain old rice!

This recipe has been hungry-man approved!

WINNER!!

I didn't use an online random generator, but I promise you can trust me! I wrote everyone's names on slips of paper and drew one...

...And Michelle was the lucky winner!! Michelle, I laughed when I drew your name since your comment said something like "I love giveaways but never win!" Your luck has changed :) Congratulations, I can't wait to see what you use your gift card for!

Email me at klgalusha {at} gmail {dot} com and I'll give you the code!

Thank you to everyone who entered, it was fun!

Last Lake Weekend

This past weekend was Rob's last work-free weekend, so we definitely wanted to enjoy every minute of it, and that we did! We headed to Possum Kingdom with Lexi, Mike (who also coaches at Cooper) and Lexi's family. Saturday afternoon was spent on the boat and in the lake just soaking up the sunshine and hanging out with everyone. Saturday night we got the opportunity to meet Chad Hennings! He was speaking and doing a meet and greet/book signing at a restaurant at the lake, and Lexi's parents knew how much Rob & Mike would enjoy it, so they generously took all of us as their guests. It was pretty awesome, and I enjoyed listening to him speak about his life!

Rob & I ready to go to the dinner...

Mike & Lexi...

Chad brought his Super-Bowl rings, so of course we had to take pictures with them!

They were HUGE!

The boys getting their books signed!

Rob & Britni (Lexi's older sister) go WAY back to middle school! They have been close friends forever, and he has always been "a part" of their family. It's funny that Rob & Lexi have know each other longer than I have known either of them!

Besties :)

Mike asleep after our Sunday morning breakfast/feast...just thought this was funny! Check out those awesome bunks...twin on top, queen on bottom with a full pull out!

I'm glad we got to have a FUN last free weekend with our fun friends! Two-a-days started today for Rob, and I am enjoying two weeks without school before the Fall semester starts! I was SO happy when I did not have to get up and go to Physics this morning :) Now I just have two more classes this Fall, then I graduate in December...exciting but scary!!

Wordless (almost) Wednesday

Isn't it funny how someone so small can make your heart feel so full? This little one brings a lot of joy to my life, and I'm thankful for her! You are so loved, sweet Natalie!

PS--Don't forget to enter my giveaway below! There's still lots of time left :)