Weekending

I keep telling Matt "I really need to blog again." Every time I say it, he says "yeah you said that last week." I don't think I can even call myself a blogger anymore at this rate. #EyerollEmoji I apologize for a post severely lacking in photos and heavy on text, but I've got to get back into the swing somehow, so it is what it is.

This weekend we went took a quick overnight trip to the Dallas area with friends. On our drive down, we listened to the OU-Texas game and enjoyed leaving at the perfect time so that we missed all the gameday traffic. #winning :) One of the couples we were going with said we absolutely had to stop at Buc-ee's on our way down–and guys, it may sound weird to say you must stop at a gas station, but seriously, if you're ever in the area, you must stop at this gas station. First, let me note that it was ridiculously clean. Also, in addition to having all the drinks, candy, food (as in real food, steak, BBQ, etc) you could want in one half of the store, they had a Cracker Barrel-style gift shop in one quarter of the store and a tourist-y gift shop in another quarter.

When we finally got to the hotel, OSU was losing and we were not happy. Thankfully when I started watching, my Pokes started winning. When we were sure the Cowboys would win, we headed out for shopping and dinner in Southlake.  If you've never been to Charming Charlie, you should definitely check it out - we spent more than an hour in there. The prices are ridiculously cheap and everything was super cute.

Southlake was having an Oktoberfest, and while we didn't participate in any of the festivities on our mad rush to find the restaurant we were meeting at, it looked like a lot of fun (and smelled so delicious... like sauerkraut!).

The whole reason for our trip was that the guys had a tee time at Tour 18 Dallas on Sunday, which is hands down one of the coolest courses ever according to their pictures :) Meanwhile, the girls had a relaxing morning sleeping in and eating breakfast at 10, drinking too much coffee and wandering around Roanoke. We stopped to shop at Kiki LaRue and the Plaid Peacock before meeting up for lunch at Hard Eight BBQ.

I'm so short that my head couldn't even be centered in the Peacock cutout! haha.
The town had several cute cutout spots to take a picture. 

When your day job involves fighting hunger, your passion doesn't stop on vacation.

^^^Those are literally the only two pictures I took all weekend. 

And that was our weekend. Too fast, but so much fun with friends. 

Today, you go to college.

Nearly 19 years after you made me a big sister, you're making me feel old. Today, you go to college.

One of my favorite parts of your senior year was watching you win the Grady County Tournament. Like I said on Twitter that night - you couldn't have found a prouder big sister in the world. However, that's not just a one-time thing because you won a basketball game. Every day you make me proud to be "Kaden's Big Sis."

Now, with some pictures that have nothing to do with the rest of this post (other than having you in them), I have some words of advice. 

First, don't worry about buying birthday and Christmas gifts for the next four years. And by that I mean go to the Student Union and put it on your bursar because mom and dad LOVE paying for their own gifts, and luckily we all love getting more OSU gear. Take advantage of discounts after a Cowboy win - especially when we win big!

Don't lose your way to the Colvin Center or the library. The Colvin, for obvious reasons. The library has (had? things have changed!) Seattle's Best coffee and printing is (used to be?) free. And buy a mortar board - it's pre-filled with important dates, such as finals week. See above for how to pay for it.  

Wear your orange on Friday, and again on Saturday, Sunday, Monday..well, you get the picture. Orange every day, got it? And for crying out loud, learn the Alma Mater. For the record, there's no "SO TRUE" in it. #SoBlessed 

Now, this one's important, so listen up. Finals week is coming... you'll blink and your first semester will be nearly over. I'm not concerned with how much you study - I know you'll study hard and make excellent grades. No, I'm much more concerned with your nourishment. Never skip a Pancakes at the Union. 

Proud and immortal

Bright Shines Your Name

Oklahoma State

We Herald Your Fame

Ever You'll Find Us

Loyal and True

To Our Alma Mater

O - S - U

I hope you have a great freshman year. Keep your focus on the Lord. I'm praying for you every day. I know you're going to succeed and far surpass any goal you've set. Dare to dream big dreams. Finally, I've said it before, but today it's officially official so I'm saying it one last time - welcome to the Cowboy family. I love you, K. Go Pokes!

-Sis

Currently

Even if I only post once a month what we're currently up to, I'm determined to do it - I really want to have this blog and be able to look back in the future at where we are now. I saw this 'currently' linkup on the faith, football & fairytales blog, I decided to join in!

Making: Lots of shirts, a few party invitations, and always new things at my day job! Shaeken, LLC has been steadily busy, which absolutely still blows my mind and makes me thankful every day for the chance to chase my dreams. Aside from our glitter backpacks (still 3 available at the introductory price!), we haven't done any preorders since Valentine's Day, but have still had several custom shirt requests, which I always love to do. One of my favorites, pictured below, was an Easter tee for a coworker's adorable daughter. I'm currently working on a birthday onesie for our friends' one-year-old, team shirts for cheerleaders, and a couple of workout shirts, to name a few things!

Monogram leggings are my favorite these days!

Easter Bunny Ruffle Tee

Wishlisting: you know you're old when on your wishlist is more 'house stuff' than fun stuff!! I am wanting to get some sort of freestanding pantry to add more storage to our kitchen/dining area! I'm dreaming of something with an open area perfect for my Keurig and KitchenAid (or Keurig and toaster if Matt has his way...we'll see!).

Cleaning: our cooktop! When we moved in, there was a horrible burn stain on the cooktop. My aunt told me about CeramaBryte when we were baking for Easter and my stove hasn't been the same since. I was able to get the burn mark off, and now I'm just constantly keeping it buffed to a looking-brand-new shine!

If you have an electric cooktop, don't walk, RUN, to Lowe's and buy this. It took off every burn mark that existed on our stove from before we even owned the house, and I've tried EVERYTHING to get them off! It's a little $10 miracle product. #NotAnAd #ItsJustThatGood

A photo posted by Shae Mortimer (@shaeken) on Mar 26, 2016 at 5:55pm PDT

Posting: on Snapchat (@shaeken) and #FightHunger everywhere on social media! Click here to see how you can join the Fight Hunger. Spark Change. campaign just by posting to Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and Snapchat!

Tasting: At the moment, water with MIO added. I don't like the taste of the water here at work, so I tend to gravitate toward diet coke way.too.often. They upped the prices on the vending machine this week so I'm taking that as a sign to STOP with the diet coke! I've been drinking my Spark in the morning and occasionally in the afternoon - Green Apple is my favorite followed closely by Fruit Punch.

Happy Birthday, Magan: 25 for $2,500 for 25

January 30, 1991 is forever etched in my memory. A girl born on that day took half my spotlight, left teeth marks on my arm and ultimately became my best friend. Her name is Magan, and this year, she turns 25. For her 25th birthday she is asking her family and friends to help her raise $2,500 for Cavett Kids, an organization near to her heart:

I think we need more love in the world. We need more kindness, more compassion, more joy, more laughter. I definitely want to contribute to that. 

I became involved in the Cavett Kids Foundation a little over 2 years ago when I attended the Cavett Kids Got Talent Fundraiser. I instantly fell in love with this foundation and could not wait to get involved and find out more! Here I am two years later, an active volunteer and a member of the Cavett Advocacy Board. Cavett Kids has transformed not only my perspective but my life since I became involved. Danny Cavett, the founder of Cavett Kids, is one of the most genuine, upstanding people I have ever had the opportunity to know. When I am with my Cavett Family, I am surrounded by the most incredible kids, phenomenal staff, and wonderful volunteers and donors that I have ever met! I never leave an event with my heart untouched. On January 30, 2016 I will turn 25 years old. A few months ago I began thinking about my birthday and what I wanted to do to make birthday number 25 a memorable one. After quite a bit of praying, God laid the $2,500 for 25 in 25 campaign idea on my heart. What does that mean exactly? Well, from January 5, 2016 until January 30, 2016 (25 days) I want to push to raise $2,500 for the Cavett Kids Foundation. The $2,500 I hope to raise would help children with chronic and life threatening illnesses go to summer camp and have THE MOST FUN, EVER! Trust me, I know, I have been and it’s a BLAST! The camps and programs offered by the Cavett Kids Foundation are at no cost to the camper or their family, so we rely on AWESOME donors like YOU to help send our kids to a place where illness does not define the child. I am asking my family and friends that in lieu of a birthday present, to make a donation to this campaign. Even if you don’t know me, I am asking you to make a donation to this campaign. Before I go, I want to share one of my very favorite Cavett Kids memories.

One of the first Cavett Kids I had the opportunity to meet was Melanie. In 2005, at 12 years old, Melanie was diagnosed with medulloblastoma brain cancer. For nearly 10 years, Melanie fought a hard, but good fight with cancer. Unfortunately, in December 2014, Melanie lost her battle with cancer but she won the war as she was welcomed into the arms of Jesus. I met Melanie in the spring of 2014 at a golf tournament. She swooned over the professional long driver who was working one of the holes at the tournament and I began to get to know Melanie. I saw Melanie again in August at Kamp Courage, my first camp experience. The entire time I knew Melanie, her mobility was limited to a wheelchair; however, that did not keep a smile off of her face. I will never forget walking down to the horse stables to watch the kids ride horses. Melanie wanted to ride a horse so badly but wasn’t sure if she would be capable because of the wheelchair. So, what did we do? We got Melanie on that horse. She was lifted by volunteers onto the horse and guided around the riding area. I can still hear her laugh and see her smile. For the 5-10 minutes she was on that horse; Melanie forgot about her cancer and she forgot about the wheelchair. She was just a girl having the time of her life on a horse. That’s what Cavett Kids is all about, giving these kids a chance to do things they normally wouldn’t be able to do. Cavett Kids helps these kids cope with their illnesses, connect with their fellow campers through their illnesses, and to build character despite their illnesses. Cavett Kids aren’t survivors, we are thrivers. It is my birthday wish that you will make a donation that will go toward enhancing a child’s life. Thank you, so much in advance and God bless.

“Do not neglect to show hospitality to strangers, for thereby some have entertained angels unaware.” Hebrews 13:2

Click here to make a donation to Magan's 25 for $2,500 for 25 birthday fundraiser. 

Happy birthday, Mag. I love you!

Dear #TechSupport,

I'm sorry. I truly am.

I know you're 24/7, but I'm quite certain you didn't anticipate a really excited, impatient, creative person interrupting your relaxing Sunday afternoon. I bet you didn't anticipate me interrupting your MNF viewing, either, so I'm sure the during-business-hours call that I couldn't answer was the ideal compromise...sorry I couldn't answer, but this exciting project is "just" a side job (and "just" a crazy dream that I'm seeing come true, so bear with me!), so I can't answer the phone and troubleshoot during the day. But, thanks for returning my call during the Jets-Colts game tonight.

I appreciate your patience after saying "to get to this next piece, you're going to need an Allen wrench," when my response was "hold on, let me look for that real quick..." I know you heard the frantic typing as I google image searched "Allen wrench" - but really, if Matt's toolbox was labeled "this is a screwdriver" and "this is a drill bit" and so on, it would be easier. Just kidding, I know what a screwdriver is. Anyway, it was probably clear to you that I had NO CLUE what I was talking about after my Google search, especially considering my dear husband informed me we do in fact have an Allen wrench that goes on the end of the screw driver (WHAT? GOOGLE!?), so thanks for not laughing.

I was at least able to see the part in question, and I'm sure my creative description of what I was looking at was one of the most entertaining things you'd heard all evening... "So that green strip? It looks like someone took a bite out of it. You know, like an apple, but not smooth like the Apple logo, more like real teeth, it's jagged-y. Wait! I think that green thing is a computer part. Oh yeah, to answer your question, yes, maybe part of it could be melted."

When you said you would call back at 7:00 in the morning to help me order the part, I'm sure my hopeful-to-high-pitched "Pacific time? Oh, no...EASTERN time? Ohhh-kay." gave away my dislike of mornings, so if I'm a little groggy at 6:00 a.m CST when my phone rings to place the order, I apologize. That's way before my usual wake up time, but maybe I'll get up and do something productive. Haha, just kidding.

And though we haven't had this conversation yet, I apologize before it even happens... I will probably ask if you offer free two-day shipping, and if you don't, I will be checking for the part on AmazonPrime as I'm placing the order with you. I'm really impatient, as discussed earlier, and AmazonPrime is just so convenient.

Thanks so much for all your help,
Shaeken