A few years ago, I was talking with a young woman over the phone and she stated she was from Texas. As a Native Texan, I asked her where she was born. She told me she was actually born in Virginia but moved to Texas when she was three months old. My Texas rock garden in my backyard. As we talked, I thought about the familiar bumper sticker on many a Texas bumper. “I wasn’t born in Texas, but I got here as fast as I could.” It’s certainly my husband’s motto, as a non-native. I felt sure this young woman owned the same bumper sticker, based on the pride I heard in her voice. What made her story ..read more

Texas Phrases Remember the Alamo! Remember Gonzales! Remember Goliad! If you’re a Texan, you moved to Texas, or you have family in Texas, you’ve likely heard at least one of these phrases, if not all of them, at some time in your life. Even if you have no connection to the Lone Star State at all, I’m guessing they are familiar. If you haven’t heard them, get ready. It’s not a matter of if. It’s a matter of when. The beautiful walls of the Alamo are a beautiful site to see. And for those of you wondering, the Alamo was built first, before all those big buildings came up around it. Texas Pride T ..read more

A New Headquarters It’s hard to believe it’s been a year since we moved across the state from San Angelo, in the Texas Forts Trail Region, to east Texas so I could start my new job in Tyler, in the Texas Forest Trail Region. We’re coming up on a year of being in our house near Lake Palestine. While I haven’t had a lot of time to travel this past year due to starting my new job and getting to know my community, I look forward to making up for lost time and traveling the beautiful Lone Star State and exploring places I haven’t visited, or re-exploring the places I have. While I loved the desert ..read more

When it comes to the four seasons, not Frankie Valli’s band, (look it up if you’re under 50), but the actual seasons in the year, I always find Fall to be my favorite in Texas. While I know the season is halfway over, you still have time to experience the beauty of this time of year across the Lone Star State. With the smell of pumpkin spice, hot chocolate, and chili in the air, I’m sharing some of my favorite places to spend the autumn season. A lone maple leaf under ice at Lost Maples State Natural Area in Vanderpool. Fall Colors in the Piney Woods It’s so great to be back in the Texas Fores ..read more

As Spring begins, gardens across the Lone Star State are starting to come alive with color and activity. Interstates, highways, back roads, and fields reveal colors seen only in spring. The wildflowers all Texans know and love, bluebonnets, give a shout-out to Lady Bird Johnson, former first lady and person responsible for the Highway Beautification Act that was signed in 1965. Alongside the Texas favorites are Indian paintbrushes, daisies, rain lilies, prairie verbena, black-eyed Susans, Mexican hats, firewheels, and more. The season offers beauty across Texas and I’ve been blessed to visit s ..read more

It’s been quite a year at How Big Is Texas. I so appreciate all of you and hope you will continue to following along on my travels around the great state of Texas. I’m wrapping up some of my favorite moments of 2022. I hope you enjoy them. 10. Bringing in 2022 with a Texas Ball Drop and Cannon Fire at the Official World Headquarters The Official World Headquarters of How Big Is Texas, located in my backyard she-shed in San Angelo, lit up the new year in January 2022, as my husband Dan and I continued our tradition of dropping a ball on New Year’s Eve. This year’s ball drop was even more impact ..read more

A couple of weeks ago, I shared a gift guide of Texas items for the holidays. I didn’t include culinary options so I thought I’d do a part two gift guide, but this time only focusing on the great eats of Texas. I encourage you to Eat in the Heart of Texas and share your favorites with family and friends this holiday season. As a Native Texan, I don’t remember not having fruitcake during the holidays. This solid fruit and nut-filled cake has gotten a bum rap for years. I loved my grandmother’s fruitcake and while I have her recipe, I like to treat our family to Collin Street Bakery fruitcake f ..read more

Normally, this is a travel blog but since it’s the holiday season, I thought I’d offer some sage advice to you, whether you are traveling to see family and friends or they are traveling to see you. Consider it a little life lesson and my gift to you this year. My Holiday Story At the end of 2020, after experiencing one of the strangest years of our our lives because of the Covid pandemic, I decided to start decorating the house, the yard, and the Official World Headquarters of How Big Is Texas at the beginning of November. I usually wait until after Thanksgiving, but with the kind of year we a ..read more

My First Steps in Texas On August 12, 1964, I became one of the newest residence of the great city of Houston, Texas, which that year boasted a population of about a million people. More than 58 years later, another 1.3 million have moved to the most populous city in Texas and 4th largest city in the U.S. Since that time, I’ve lived in 19 other cities and towns in the Lone Star State and Houston, of course, remains the largest. I’ve also lived outside the city limits of most of the places I’ve cohabitated with my husband a majority of our 23-year marriage. We much prefer the sound of the r ..read more

As I relax in the Official World Headquarters of How Big Is Texas in San Angelo, I’m starting to feel the coolness of fall in the air. Here’s hoping the dropping temperatures will finally bring some much needed rain to the area. We could sure use it. I’m also thinking of the many trips I was blessed to take across the Lone Star State over the past year. Several times, I found myself on the Gulf Coast of Texas. I enjoyed a long weekend with old friends, went RVing with my husband and our dogs, and attended conferences for my job. After all my Gulf Coast travels, I decided I’d let you know about ..read more