Schwartz Christmas

Schwartz Christmas started in Perry on Christmas Eve day. We had a casual pizza and sandwich lunch and enjoyed spending time with family.

The whole crew

We love getting to see everyone, and being able to spend time with them. We opened our gifts, and spent the day lounging and talking.

That evening, we attended Midnight Mass at St. Joseph's in Bristow. This year, Father Bradley had the children join him in singing various Christmas carols. It was a blast watching the kids get excited.

This year, we decided to spend 5 days in Bristow. Since we were going to be gone so long, Dan agreed to let Beckett and Ellie stay with us so no one would have to check on them at home. Beckett did fine in the car; Ellie cried the whole way there and the whole way back. They did much better than expected at the house. By Sunday, they were willing to brave going upstairs to investigate.

Beckett

Ellie

Christmas Day, Jeremy made pozole (a Mexican soup). Since his family likes things spicy, he added a lot of different peppers, so I didn't eat it. Everyone seemed to really enjoy it, though. Justin came over around lunchtime and we opened gifts. It wasn't long before everyone was playing with their new stuff and was getting distracted from the actual gift opening. Mamaw and Pop also came to visit since they had no plans Christmas Day. Once Justin, Mamaw and Pop all left, we spent the evening playing cards.

The next day, Jeremy and Dan went to work on a few projects around the ranch. Tonya and I visited while we waited to see what they wanted to do for the rest of the day. We decided it would be fun to shoot, especially since Dan got a new gun for Christmas. We set up some explosive targets in the pond bed, and took turns trying to blow them up. It was a blast!

Dan setting up the targets

Tonya's turn

Testing out his Christmas present

When we ran out of targets, we found this poor guy trying to escape the chaos.

With new targets set, we continued our practice.

I was REALLY excited when I blew up one of the targets with the new gun. (Excuse the super nerdy comments at the end)

One of Tonya's gifts was permission to get another indoor cat, with the condition that she got rid of the goose and duck that had become her pets - the goose actually let Tonya pet him. I promised to get plenty of pictures of the goose and duck so she could remember them, only the duck was not so fond of having his picture taken. He ran every time I tried to take his picture.

After shooting, we went to Beach House and got a delicious hamburger and onion rings, and spent the evening playing cards.

The next day, we hung around the house. It snowed, so we weren't willing to go running around. We did run to Wal-Mart to get what we needed for dinner before the snow got too bad.

Glen (Dan's brother) and Tina (his wife) came for dinner. We had Pioneer Woman's Perfect Pot Roast and various sausages from Siegi's Sausage House. We played cards and visited for hours.

We went to church on Sunday, then came back to relax for a while before the trek home. We had so much fun spending time with family, and getting to relax for a while without having to worry about the cats being okay alone at home (really, I'm the only one that worries).

Hope you all had a very merry Christmas as well!

A Very Dean Christmas

We are very blessed to get to spend Christmas with my whole family every year. Jeremy and I really enjoy the time we have eating, cooking, laughing, and talking.

This year, Dean Christmas came the weekend before Christmas. My oldest sister, Tara, her husband, John, and their kids, Evie, Maggie, and Oliver came on Friday. We had planned on waiting until Saturday to open gifts, but the kids were too excited. So, after a delicious meal of homemade lasagna (one of my absolute favorites!), the kiddos donned their elf hats and began passing out presents. It was a blast getting to see them open their presents.

Maggie was excited to open gifts

Here come the elves!

What did we get?

Check it out!

Oliver got a TON of these, and was really excited about it. He said "I'm going Mario!"

I kept hearing "EEEE!!!" from Evie

"I can't wait to open it and play with it!"

All the adults (kids with husbands) drew names to give gifts. I We got the easiest to buy for - my sisters. I We got them each a cool t-shirt from a local store in town. They had a TON of awesome stuff. Look up Red Dirt Emporium on Facebook to see some of what they have.

I made canvases for my mom and my Mema (unfortunately I forgot to get a picture of the one I made for Mema).

Go Pokes!

On Saturday we hung around at my parents' house. Mom made a massive breakfast spread and stuffed us full of delicious food. The kids, Tara, and I watched some funny animal videos on YouTube while our food digested.

We played some fun games, too (a must for any Dean get-together). This year, we played a card game that went along with the "Monty Python and the Holy Grail" movie, and we played a game where you had to guess who belonged to the mustache.

We had a massive Mexican meal for lunch/dinner on Saturday, including tacos, street tacos, fajitas, Mexican quinoa, and all the stuff that goes with it. Mom and I made homemade sopapillas, which turned out delicious! The girls, Megan and I also painted some old wine bottles I have been collecting. Sunday morning, we all met at the truck stop near Mom and Dad's house for some delicious breakfast before everyone headed home. It was a great Christmas, and we can't wait until our next big Dean family gathering!

Giving Thanks

I have so many incredible things to be thankful for. Sometimes I am overwhelmed with how blessed I am. Here is a list of everything I am thankful for (in no particular order).

1.  My amazing husband. I can't imagine my life without him. He is always telling me he loves me and loves to surprise me with little gifts all the time. He pushes me to become a better person. He loves me even when I act crazy or weird. He is my absolute soulmate.

2.  My mom and dad. They worked so hard to give me everything I wanted or needed, and I will never be able to repay them. I love them with all of my heart, and I hope that I make them proud of the woman I have become thanks to them.

3.  My crazy sisters! I always laugh with them, and I know I can talk to them about anything. I can completely let loose with them. I don't know where I would be without these two, and I couldn't ask for better sisters.

4.  My brothers-in-law. They are funny, smart, and they put up with me and my sisters, and all our crazy-ness. Need I say more?

5.  My nieces and nephew. They constantly make me laugh, they are smart and quirky, and they are truly some of the best kids I know.

6.  My mother- and father-in-law. They raised the man I love (something I can never repay), and they have always been there for us when we needed them. They have accepted me into their family with open arms. I am so thankful for the amazing relationship I have developed with them.

7.  Both my Grandma, and Jeremy's Mamaw and Pop. They are incredible people, and I love all of the knowledge they pass on to me.

  

8.  My entire family (including Jeremy's). Unfortunately, both sides are too huge for a group picture. But know that I love the support all of you provide, as well as the fun times.
9.  My cats. Yes, this is the crazy cat lady portion of this post. They help me relax after long days at work, make me laugh with their hilarious antics, and show me unconditional love.

10.  My amazing friends. They accept me for who I am, they are always there for me, and they have given me some incredible memories.

11.  Having a job I enjoy

12.  Having a roof over my head, and a working car

13.  Good health, both mentally and physically

14.  Having a place to go for the holidays

15.  All of the amazing people I have had the privilege of meeting and getting to know through the course of my life. Many of these people have touched me in ways I never thought possible.

What are you thankful for?

Favorite Finds

I have never been considered a big person (hence the name "The Life of a Little Wife"). I am all of 5'0", and sometimes it seems I am only that tall when I stand up SUPER straight. So when people read this post, they will probably be thinking "Why is she posting about a weight loss app?". Well, let me tell you. This app is AWESOME!

I started gaining weight by adding a few pounds after I graduated high school. I didn't think anything of it, and didn't try all that hard to lose those pounds. Before I realized what was happening, I was up almost 24 pounds from the weight I graduated high school at. Now, I know I will never be considered heavy given the weight I was at, but I wasn't happy with how my clothes were fitting, and I had started to become self-conscious of how I looked. 24 pounds is a decent amount of weight to gain, and the fact that it happened over a six year period made it even harder to detect. Until I finally hit that point that it was either shed a few pounds, or buy an entire new wardrobe. If anyone has a frugal husband, you will know I opted (with a lot of encouragement from the frugal husband) to go for the first option.

We had gotten a BowFlex for Christmas last year. Let me tell you, this machine is really cool. I hate the idea of having to find time to drive to the gym, fight everyone for machines, and drive home. After work, I usually want to just piddle around the house. With the BowFlex in our sunroom, I didn't have the excuse that I didn't want to leave home or fight anyone for a machine. So, my husband and I started to use the BowFlex. Well, after some somewhat serious medical issues spread over the course of a few months, I hadn't gotten very far in the weight loss department.

I was frustrated with myself, and figured I should look for other ways to lose weight. That's when I found the LoseIt app (and yes, I know this sounds like a bad infomercial, but bear with me). Using this app, and another app called Yoga Studio (awesome for anyone interested in doing yoga at home), I have since lost almost 15 pounds. I am extremely happy with my results, and my husband is, too (remember the frugal-ness?).

What is super awesome about this app is that you can also do it online (which I use at work frequently). This app is super easy (I have it on my iPad to use at home, and I use it online at work). The first step is creating an account. Either download the app (I believe it is free. If it isn't it is just a couple of dollars.), or go to http://www.loseit.com/.

Once you set up an account, you record your current weight, and your goal weight. You also decide how fast you want to achieve that goal (losing 1/2 a pound a week, a pound a week, etc.). Using your gender, age, and other demographics, the app determines how many calories you should eat a day to achieve your goal, and gives you a date you should reach your goal given the speed you selected. Each day, you record what you eat for each meal, and you record any exercise you did for the day. There is an entire index of food to choose from, you can create your own food (using Nutritional Info), and create your own recipes.

My favorite part of using my iPad and the app is that you can scan barcodes of food you eat, so you don't have to search for it in the massive food index. There is also an index of exercises to choose from, or you can create your own. There is a spot to record your weight at any time. I tried to record mine weekly, but you can do it as frequently as you like. There is also a graph that shows your weekly caloric consumption, along with a pie chart for how your meals break up into fats, proteins, and carbs. I participated in an "Octo-Log" challenge that challenged me to record my meals and exercise every day for the month of October. I didn't win anything, other than being proud of myself for recording. And it helps if you are COMPLETELY honest about your meals. Count that candy bar you snuck in when no one was looking - it's the best way to meet your goal.

Everyone can afford to live a little healthier, right? Try out LoseIt, and see if you like it!

CureSearch for Children's Cancer

I wrote this post a while ago, with every intention of including a "Pie in the Face" and "Ice Bucket Challenge" combination video. However, several minor health issues, birthdays, and travels have kept me from actually doing the video. I figured that could easily be a post on it's own, so I decided to publish this as is. September was National Childhood Cancer Awareness Month. 42 children are diagnosed with cancer every day. That is more than a classroom full of children. Every. Day. 12% of these children will not survive. 60% of children who survive cancer suffer late-effects, such as infertility, heart failure and secondary cancers. Unfortunately, my husband's family has been affected by childhood cancer. In March 2011, my husband's cousin was diagnosed with acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) a few months before his 16th birthday. It is utterly devastating to watch a family go through the torture our family went through. All of the unknowns, the sickness, the chemo. And it is also devastating to see a young man's teenage years be taken away from him. Today, B is cancer-free, and all of his treatments are over. He is happily attending college, enjoying life as any college kid should. But there are so many other children who are not as lucky. And B wouldn't be so lucky, if it wasn't for research looking for a cure for cancer. I vowed to let this blog be a voice for some of the lesser known organizations that do wonders for people, either directly or indirectly. CureSearch for Children's Cancer is one such organization. "CureSearch for Children's Cancer funds and supports targeted and innovative children's cancer research with measurable results, and is the authoritative source of information and resources for all those affected by children's cancer." (CureSearch Mission Statement) This non-profit is one that our family has decided to support since of B's diagnosis. B's mom and sister participated in the CureSearch Walk on September 27. In Oklahoma City alone, $46,302 was raised (at the writing of this post). Can you imagine everything $46,302 can pay for, if each CureSearch Walk could raise that amount? That's more than $2.3 million. Imagine all of the clinical trials, innovative research, NEW CURES that can be found with that type of money. Even if you cannot afford to donate, help spread the word about childhood cancer. It is devastating. And for some, incurable. This needs to change. For the children that do not get to experience their childhood they way they should. For the children who suffer the after-effects of treatment. For the children who don't survive. For more information about CureSearch, visit http://www.curesearch.org/about/ To donate, visit https://www.kintera.org/AutoGen/Single/SinglePledgeBasket.asp?ievent=1035694 People spreading the word and donating will help more children have an outcome like B. So share! Donate! TAKE ACTION!

Favorite Finds

I have been growing my hair out for what seems like an eternity. It is FINALLY getting long enough that I can start trying all of the adorable hairstyles I have pinned on Pinterest. However, most of those hairstyles don't work on my hair length. It is hard to find cute hairstyle tutorials for medium length hair. Even if they say they are for medium length hair, they are actually for hair much longer than mine, leaving me super frustrated.

So, you can imagine my excitement when I found an entire blog for medium length hairstyle tutorials. A WHOLE BLOG! And this lady is very helpful in explaining her hair tutorials. She is a hairstylist who uses her own hair to explain and demonstrate how to fix your hair. I have tried several of her hairstyles, and they are actually very easy!

Here is Kate, from The Small Things blog:

http://www.thesmallthingsblog.com

This blog also has tons of other useful posts, from makeup to motherhood to clothing. I haven't spent as much time reading her other blog posts, considering how many hair tutorials she has! Here are direct links to some of my favorite tutorials.

http://www.thesmallthingsblog.com/2013/09/the-mid-knot-tutorial/
I love this hairstyle for every day looks. It is easy, and keeps my hair off my neck.

http://www.thesmallthingsblog.com/2011/10/half-up-braids/
This hairstyle seems like a "Duh!" hairstyle that would be easy to come up with on your own. However, my craftiness doesn't extend to personal style.

http://www.thesmallthingsblog.com/2013/06/side-french-braid-bun/
I do this hairstyle a lot using just a plain braid, and it looks just as cute!

http://www.thesmallthingsblog.com/2011/08/how-to-curl-your-hair-with-curling-iron/
This is an awesome hair curling tutorial - and it is so easy once you get the hang of it!

Visit this blog, and check out all of her hairstyles. Her YouTube channel is also an easy place to view the tutorials.

What are your favorites?