I would like to apologize to The Rampy Chronicles for neglecting it for my other, newer more hip and cool blog, Events by Shelbi Rene. I have an explanation. A couple explanations actually. First of all, Events by Shelbi Rene is officially my work blog now. The Rampy Chronicles is my life blog and might soon become a private blog (gasp!). The jury is still out on that one. Also, since my line of work is much more interesting than my life, Events by Shelbi Rene is getting a lot more action. Sorry TRC.
For example, last weekend we literally did nothing except watch football (How BOUT them Cowboys?!), eat and lay around at my parent's house. I know, we are super interesting people and you wish you had our lives but not everyone can be as cool as us. I did make it out of the house for a baby shower on Sunday for my dear friend Mindy Rives. It was cute as can be. SHE is as cute as can be. While you're over at her blog checking out her adorable baby shower, you should also check out her baby's nursery. Mindy and I both loved J-Lo's nursery (there's a pic on her blog) and it was her inspiration for her nursery and will be my inspiration when the time comes.
I'll be in Abilene this weekend for Ms. Leslie Sensing's nuptials AND Abilene the next weekend for ACU Homecoming (because we are die hard ACU fans as opposed to most of our too-cool-for-school Austin City Limits and Rangers fans fellow alumni) so expect fantastic pictures on the horizon.
The State Fair of Texas is open and I'm a huge fair fan because I love to eat. Turkey legs, corn-on-the-cob, caramel apples, funnel cakes, fried butter...say what? Yeah, fried butter. Not sure if I really want to try it because I don't prefer to gain 10 lbs. in 2 hours but we'll see. I've heard it's pretty good. Other fried foods making an appearance this year: Fried Frito pie, fried beer, fried frozen Margarita, fried s'mores Pop-Tart, fried chocolate, fried lemonade, fried club salad and Texas fried caviar. Crazy.
Also, if you're cheap like me you'll appreciate this. Mommy's Wish List posted the deals for the fair this year if you want to save money instead of paying $15 for admission.
DART Combo Ticket
Available at Kroger Food Stores. $16 buys 1 general admission to 2010 State Fair of Texas; round-trip transportation on DART the day of your visit. The Green Line drops off at front gate and a second station is located within easy walking distance to the MLK entrance. Advance ticket is $13.50 at Kroger without the DART pass.
Dr Pepper $3 Tuesdays
Every Tuesday, bring an empty Dr Pepper can and enter for $3. Most rides on those Tuesdays (excluding the Thrillway, Texas Star; selected other attractions) are 5 coupons.
Dr Pepper $5 after 5 p.m.
Bring an empty Dr Pepper can to any State Fair admission gate after 5 p.m. and enter for $5.
Kroger "Three for $2" Wednesdays
Admission is $2 for each visitor bringing 3 cans of food for area food banks.
Coke $4 Thursdays
Bring an empty 20 oz. bottle of a Coca-Cola product and enter the Fair for $4 admission on Thursdays.
HealthSpring and Mature Texan Magazine sponsors of Seniors Day
FREE Thursdays for Senior Citizens 60 years and older.
FREE Cinemark Thursdays
Free admission with a Cinemark Theater ticket stub on Thursdays.
KISS-FM “Fridays at the Fair”
Half-price admission and half-price rides after 5 p.m. on any Friday. Must present coupon printed from KISS-FM website for admission offer. Half-price ride wristbands will be distributed from KISS booth outside Midway Arch from 5 p.m.–9 p.m. on Fridays only.
Dickies Day
Thursday, September 30, wear and show your Dickies logo clothing item at the staffed tent outside the gate and receive a voucher. The voucher is for FREE admission on Thursday September 30 only.
Any Day McDonald's Deal
McDonald's offers $4 off General Admission with one of their State Fair coupons (available on tray liner or bag stuffers) any day of the Fair. A free child ticket (with purchase of general admission) coupon is also distributed by McDonald’s. Offer may not be combined with any other offer.
Museum of Nature & Science Members
FREE Admission for you! Members receive a voucher this week (I got mine last week) good for free admission for two adults and up to 4 children. Voucher is good on any week day of the fair. You're not a member? Join now silly and get your voucher!
ALSO, an update on Chip. He was awake today!!! This is a huge HUGE deal. The chance of this was slim to none. We are all OVERJOYED by the GRACE of GOD! It truly is a miracle. The doctor said so. Please continue to pray as he still has a long recovery process and prays are asked on behalf of the blood clots that still remain in his lungs and an MRI that needs to be done. Thank you so much for your prayers. They are working!!!
Wednesday, September 29, 2010
Tuesday, September 21, 2010
Pray for Chip Bloecher
A friend of ours from church is in the hospital right now after suffering a heat stroke at the Cowboy game on Sunday. His name is Chip Bloecher and he is the principal at Carrollton Christian Academy. He has a wife, Lisa, and young daughter, Hope. The latest update via the Facebook group "Pray for Chip Bloecher" is as follows:
This morning about 3:00, they brought Chip out of his paralytics again. At that time some brain anomalies, though slight, did manifest to the displeasure of the doctors. They continue to not see the stimulus response they desire. They took him to get an "urgent CT scan" to make sure there was no new swelling in his brain - and as hoped, they didn't find any new issues.
At 6:30, still off his meds, he began to seize again - typical response for the existing swelling, and they put him back on meds to control those.
If you want to be specific in your prayers, the family - all of us - are desperate for signals of higher function brain activity. We all eagerly anticipate the day when that sharp mind of his is at full function, but until that day prayers cover him, even when medicine discovers its own limits.
Chip's wife Lisa specifically asked for these three prayer requests from the beginning:
1. That there be no swelling in Chip's brain
2. That there are specific responses when asked by doctors (such as squeeze my hand - open your eyes - etc.)
3. and for the ability to breathe on his own
Please take this moment to say a quick prayer with me for a full recovery for Chip.
God in Heaven, We know that you and only you can heal Chip and bring him back to full recovery. We pray that this is your plan. We pray for the existing swelling to cease. We pray that Chip will respond to doctors and that he will start breathing on his own. You created Chip and only you can restore Chip's brain function and we plead that you will. Also, please be with Lisa and Hope and give them a sense of peace only you can give. A men.
Also from the Facebook group:
A special line has been set up to receive text messages. Your messages will signal to Lisa that someone is in prayer for her family, and especially her beloved. You can send texts to 214-868-7133
And one more thing...I believe it is by no circumstance that last night Preston and I were talking about how quickly life can change as the result of something as unpredictable as a stroke. This morning, Preston received the following information in an email. I am no doctor, so if any of this information is incorrect and you happen to know so please let me know, but I think it would be good for all of us to recognize the warning signs of a stroke. I know Chip had a heat stroke but nevertheless...this is good stuff. (Just a warning, this is an email chain letter so it's a little intense/cheesy but the message is important nonetheless.)
STROKE IDENTIFICATION:
During a BBQ, a woman stumbled and took a little fall. She assured everyone that she was fine (they offered to call paramedics). She said she had just tripped over a brick because of her new shoes. They got her cleaned up and got her a new plate of food. While she appeared a bit shaken up, she went about enjoying herself the rest of the evening
Her husband called later telling everyone that his wife had been taken to the hospital. At 6:00 pm she passed away. She had suffered a stroke at the BBQ. Had they known how to identify the signs of a stroke, perhaps she would be with us today. Some don't die. They end up in a helpless, hopeless condition instead.
A neurologist says that if he can get to a stroke victim within 3 hours he can totally reverse the effects of a stroke...totally. He said the trick was getting a stroke recognized, diagnosed, and then getting the patient medically cared for within 3 hours, which is tough.
RECOGNIZING A STROKE
Remember the 3 steps, STR.
Sometimes symptoms of a stroke are difficult to identify. Unfortunately, the lack of awareness spells disaster. The stroke victim may suffer severe brain damage when people nearby fail to recognize the symptoms of a stroke.
Now doctors say a bystander can recognize a stroke by asking three simple questions:
S: Ask the individual to SMILE.
T: Ask the person to TALK and SPEAK A SIMPLE SENTENCE (Coherently)
(i.e. It is sunny out today.)
R: Ask him or her to RAISE BOTH ARMS.
If he or she has trouble with ANY ONE of these tasks, call emergency number immediately and describe the symptoms to the dispatcher.
New Sign of a Stroke: Stick out Your Tongue
Another 'sign' of a stroke is this: Ask the person to 'stick' out his tongue... If the tongue is 'crooked', if it goes to one side or the other, that is also an indication of a stroke.
Hopefully this will help save a few lives. You never know...
This morning about 3:00, they brought Chip out of his paralytics again. At that time some brain anomalies, though slight, did manifest to the displeasure of the doctors. They continue to not see the stimulus response they desire. They took him to get an "urgent CT scan" to make sure there was no new swelling in his brain - and as hoped, they didn't find any new issues.
At 6:30, still off his meds, he began to seize again - typical response for the existing swelling, and they put him back on meds to control those.
If you want to be specific in your prayers, the family - all of us - are desperate for signals of higher function brain activity. We all eagerly anticipate the day when that sharp mind of his is at full function, but until that day prayers cover him, even when medicine discovers its own limits.
Chip's wife Lisa specifically asked for these three prayer requests from the beginning:
1. That there be no swelling in Chip's brain
2. That there are specific responses when asked by doctors (such as squeeze my hand - open your eyes - etc.)
3. and for the ability to breathe on his own
Please take this moment to say a quick prayer with me for a full recovery for Chip.
God in Heaven, We know that you and only you can heal Chip and bring him back to full recovery. We pray that this is your plan. We pray for the existing swelling to cease. We pray that Chip will respond to doctors and that he will start breathing on his own. You created Chip and only you can restore Chip's brain function and we plead that you will. Also, please be with Lisa and Hope and give them a sense of peace only you can give. A men.
Also from the Facebook group:
A special line has been set up to receive text messages. Your messages will signal to Lisa that someone is in prayer for her family, and especially her beloved. You can send texts to 214-868-7133
And one more thing...I believe it is by no circumstance that last night Preston and I were talking about how quickly life can change as the result of something as unpredictable as a stroke. This morning, Preston received the following information in an email. I am no doctor, so if any of this information is incorrect and you happen to know so please let me know, but I think it would be good for all of us to recognize the warning signs of a stroke. I know Chip had a heat stroke but nevertheless...this is good stuff. (Just a warning, this is an email chain letter so it's a little intense/cheesy but the message is important nonetheless.)
STROKE:
Remember the 1st Three Letters: S. T. R.
STROKE IDENTIFICATION:
During a BBQ, a woman stumbled and took a little fall. She assured everyone that she was fine (they offered to call paramedics). She said she had just tripped over a brick because of her new shoes. They got her cleaned up and got her a new plate of food. While she appeared a bit shaken up, she went about enjoying herself the rest of the evening
Her husband called later telling everyone that his wife had been taken to the hospital. At 6:00 pm she passed away. She had suffered a stroke at the BBQ. Had they known how to identify the signs of a stroke, perhaps she would be with us today. Some don't die. They end up in a helpless, hopeless condition instead.
A neurologist says that if he can get to a stroke victim within 3 hours he can totally reverse the effects of a stroke...totally. He said the trick was getting a stroke recognized, diagnosed, and then getting the patient medically cared for within 3 hours, which is tough.
RECOGNIZING A STROKE
Remember the 3 steps, STR.
Sometimes symptoms of a stroke are difficult to identify. Unfortunately, the lack of awareness spells disaster. The stroke victim may suffer severe brain damage when people nearby fail to recognize the symptoms of a stroke.
Now doctors say a bystander can recognize a stroke by asking three simple questions:
S: Ask the individual to SMILE.
T: Ask the person to TALK and SPEAK A SIMPLE SENTENCE (Coherently)
(i.e. It is sunny out today.)
R: Ask him or her to RAISE BOTH ARMS.
If he or she has trouble with ANY ONE of these tasks, call emergency number immediately and describe the symptoms to the dispatcher.
New Sign of a Stroke: Stick out Your Tongue
Another 'sign' of a stroke is this: Ask the person to 'stick' out his tongue... If the tongue is 'crooked', if it goes to one side or the other, that is also an indication of a stroke.
Hopefully this will help save a few lives. You never know...
Friday, September 10, 2010
Labor Day Weekend
Labor Day weekend we…
- Bought the iPhone 4 on a whim (walked into the store to see if they had them in stock, they said yes, we said “We’ll take two!”) Best spur-of-the-moment decision we ever made because then...
- We sold our old SLOW iPhone 3G’s on eBay to a guy in Russia for the same price we paid for the new iPhone 4’s.
- Cleaned the house and started decorating for Fall (no pics yet…I’m not finished!)
- Celebrated Leslie at her Bachelorette Party…
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| Me and the bride-to-be Leslie! |
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| Dinner at Chuys! Half our table: Lyndsay, Lauren, Heather, me and Les |
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| Kaylain's husband helped her make this cake. Can you believe a boy did that!? |
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| Ashley put all the cute favor bags together...so fun! |
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| Me, Lauren and Heather |
- Went to the lake with the Gauntt’s…
AG eating pizza...such a cutie!
My sunburn prone hubbie :)
About to go jump in!
After the lake we went back to B's house to shower before heading to Anamia's. AG got mad while Brittany was in the shower and did this. I thought it was a riot.
- And to the zoo with Ella…
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| Roaaaaarrrr! Heading to the zoo! Please notice her pretty yellow stick-on earrings I gave her in the car. She would NOT stop looking at herself in the mirror. HILARIOUS! |
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| He looks good with a kid don't ya think? ;) |
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| Checking out whatever animal that is! |
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| Monkeys! She talked about the monkeys the whole way there. |
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| Flamingos! |
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| The penguins were the BEST! (In my opinion at least.) Ella was a little afraid. They would follow your finger around the glass thinking it was food and it was quite entertaining. Unfortunately we didn't catch it on tape but right before we filmed the video below Ella screamed because the penguin snuck up behind her. HA! |
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| Weird bird...pretty sure we didn't read any of the signs that tell you the animals' names...whatever. So this was pretty funny. We went to a water adventure something or another and the kids were allowed to touch the animals and shells in the water but they weren't supposed to take it out of the water...you'll see what happens... |
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| It took us about 10 minutes to figure out she was saying "goldfish" not "horses". |
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| Eating goldfish and watching goldfish. It was just a coincidence that we saw the (real) goldfish right after handing her the goldfish crackers. They happened to be in the pond right in front of the giraffes. |
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| This guy was cracking us up! |
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| Forced smile by Ella...she was so ready to go by this point. Giraffes in the background! |
We weren't even out of the parking lot...
And just a few Ft. Worth Zoo tips I would like to document so I will remember what to do the next time we go…
- Bring your own stroller and make sure it has good wheels and fits through doorways easily. Ella's stroller was perfect.
Don’t go without another adult. It’s just way too hard to get your stroller up and down the stairs by yourself.- Bring your own water, lunch and snacks. Though they do have a Grandy’s in the park…mmmm…I love Grandy’s.
- Bring animal crackers or goldfish…it’s just fun to eat a goldfish cracker while watching real goldfish swim or an elephant cracker while watching the elephants.
- Maybe don’t bring a cooler into the zoo. A lot of people did this and were lugging them around all day. That just seems like a lot more trouble than it’s worth.
- Bring a cup for your child so that when you buy ice cream you can just scoop some of yours into your child’s cup and they can “have their own”.
- Depending on your stroller and how many kids you have, there are parking lots along the street before you get to the zoo entrance where you can park and then just walk to the zoo to avoid paying the parking fee.
- If you don’t do anything else…GO SEE THE PENGUINS!
We are going to try out the Dallas Zoo next time because we hear it has improved a lot in the past few years and has a new water play area for kids. Plus we think it would be fun to take the DART once it opens in Farmers Branch. The Ft. Worth Zoo has a little area in Texas Town where water squirts out of a water tower and Ella would have stayed there all day had we not encouraged (forced) her to go see more animals.
Well, it was a very productive weekend and we hope you enjoyed your time off too!
Friday, September 3, 2010
College Colors Day
Today is College Colors Day and we were encouraged to celebrate at the office. When I walked to my desk this morning the OU flag was draped over the balcony and the OU fight song was playing the intercom. Thus I have heard the OU fight song, Texas fight song and other unrecognizable random fight songs from various schools played sporadically over the intercom the entire day. I also got a free cupcake (thanks to OU...those Sooners are persistant). Unfortuently I did a poor job of representing ACU. 99.9% of my ACU shirts are acutally club shirts. The one ACU shirt I own (and chose to wear) is from Homecoming and they gave it to me for free for being on the court. It does glow in the dark though so I mean, that's cool right? I think I'll wear the Willy the Wildcat costume next year if I can get ahold of it...Uncle Britt?
Wednesday, September 1, 2010
So Long August!
August is my absolute LEAST favorite month of the year so I am thrilled that it's over. Hopefully this also means good-bye to 100+ temperatures but I wouldn't put it past September to bring the heat. I swear I was supposed to be born in a cooler part of the country. September, by the way, is my second least favorite month of the year. Hopefully WAY later on in life we can have a few kids in August and September so I won't hate them so much (the months, not the kids) but of course I won't plan on it because who wants to be 9 months pregnant in the hottest months of the year?! ANYWAY, the one great thing about September (and August I guess) is that Fall begins shortly after they are over and Fall is a wonderful, wonderful thing. I'm pretty sure all (ok maybe not all, but definetly most) of my favorite things come from Fall: caramel apples, football season, leaves falling, cool weather, layered clothing, my birthday, pumpkin pie, holidays...I could really go on forever.
Last weekend we went to Austin to visit the Rampy clan. Shout out to Jeff and Malena as they celebrated 34 years of marriage by taking us to dinner! Speaking of anniversaries, Preston and I officially celebrated our 3 year anniversary last night by going to III Forks for Restaurant Week. We never celebrated back in June and have been super busy since then so we decided that last night was the night I guess. I was hoping to take a mini vacay but seeing as I don't have an abundance of days off anymore, that won't work out any time soon. Maybe next year...
As for dinner, it was fantastic! We had a 3 course meal and I kid you not, I made myself SICK I was so full. I mean this very literally. When we got home I put on my pajamas and went to bed at 9pm because I couldn't move. Oops. :) The food was delicious and the service incredible. Out waiter was as sweet as she could be and we're pretty sure one of the owners was at the host's podium when we checked in because his picture was on the wall. Guess who else's picture was on the wall? MINE! Ok, maybe it wasn't exactly me per se, but if you ever get the chance to go to III Forks (and I highly recommend that you do) check out the picture of Carly Patterson on the right side of the door as your are leaving the restaurant. Spitting image of myself. It kinda freaked us out.
For our First Course we were given the option of either the III Forks Salad, Wedge Salad or She-Crab Soup. I picked the soup and Preston chose the III Forks Salad. Both were awesome but that salad...de-vine! We might go to Silver Fox on Friday and if we do I'll be ordering that salad (same owners).
Our Entrée Choices were a 7oz Filet Mignon with a Cognac-Gorgonzola Demi-Glaze (my choice...I always go for the steak), Pan Seared Monk Fish in a Creole Mustard Beurre Blanc (we never choose fish), and the Herb Crusted Lamb Loin and Lamb Chops (Preston's choice). All were served with mashed potatoes, sugar snap peas and off-the-cob cream corn. I loved everything on my plate and would have licked it clean had I not been so full. I took the rest to eat for lunch today. Preston liked his lamb but I'm not so sure he loved it and he actually wasn't too fond of the creamed corn though most people rave about it. I loved it!
For dessert they had two options: Strawberry Shortcake and a Mandarin Orange cake. I don't remember the fancy names for them because they weren't on the menu. I kinda thought they should have had one fruity dessert and one chocolate dessert because Preston is allergic to many fruits so he had to go with the Mandarin Orange cake since he can't eat strawberries. Luckily Preston ended up loving his. Both were actually quite good but of course by this point I was already full so I just ate really fast to fit my entire dessert in my stomach. I should have just asked for it togo but I wasn't sure if that was appropriate in a fancy restaurant.
Labor Day weekend is coming up and its gonna be a good one! I'll be decorating for fall, attending a bachelorette party and taking my cousin Ella to the zoo...at least that's the plan. Have a great weekend everybody!
Last weekend we went to Austin to visit the Rampy clan. Shout out to Jeff and Malena as they celebrated 34 years of marriage by taking us to dinner! Speaking of anniversaries, Preston and I officially celebrated our 3 year anniversary last night by going to III Forks for Restaurant Week. We never celebrated back in June and have been super busy since then so we decided that last night was the night I guess. I was hoping to take a mini vacay but seeing as I don't have an abundance of days off anymore, that won't work out any time soon. Maybe next year...
As for dinner, it was fantastic! We had a 3 course meal and I kid you not, I made myself SICK I was so full. I mean this very literally. When we got home I put on my pajamas and went to bed at 9pm because I couldn't move. Oops. :) The food was delicious and the service incredible. Out waiter was as sweet as she could be and we're pretty sure one of the owners was at the host's podium when we checked in because his picture was on the wall. Guess who else's picture was on the wall? MINE! Ok, maybe it wasn't exactly me per se, but if you ever get the chance to go to III Forks (and I highly recommend that you do) check out the picture of Carly Patterson on the right side of the door as your are leaving the restaurant. Spitting image of myself. It kinda freaked us out.
For our First Course we were given the option of either the III Forks Salad, Wedge Salad or She-Crab Soup. I picked the soup and Preston chose the III Forks Salad. Both were awesome but that salad...de-vine! We might go to Silver Fox on Friday and if we do I'll be ordering that salad (same owners).
Our Entrée Choices were a 7oz Filet Mignon with a Cognac-Gorgonzola Demi-Glaze (my choice...I always go for the steak), Pan Seared Monk Fish in a Creole Mustard Beurre Blanc (we never choose fish), and the Herb Crusted Lamb Loin and Lamb Chops (Preston's choice). All were served with mashed potatoes, sugar snap peas and off-the-cob cream corn. I loved everything on my plate and would have licked it clean had I not been so full. I took the rest to eat for lunch today. Preston liked his lamb but I'm not so sure he loved it and he actually wasn't too fond of the creamed corn though most people rave about it. I loved it!
For dessert they had two options: Strawberry Shortcake and a Mandarin Orange cake. I don't remember the fancy names for them because they weren't on the menu. I kinda thought they should have had one fruity dessert and one chocolate dessert because Preston is allergic to many fruits so he had to go with the Mandarin Orange cake since he can't eat strawberries. Luckily Preston ended up loving his. Both were actually quite good but of course by this point I was already full so I just ate really fast to fit my entire dessert in my stomach. I should have just asked for it togo but I wasn't sure if that was appropriate in a fancy restaurant.
Labor Day weekend is coming up and its gonna be a good one! I'll be decorating for fall, attending a bachelorette party and taking my cousin Ella to the zoo...at least that's the plan. Have a great weekend everybody!
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