Lately

Check 1, check 2, check check.  Is this thing on? I'm soooory it's been so long.  Several of you have kindly reminded me. I've had good intentions but the truth is that lately, we've been really busy!  And with my 9:00 bedtime, there hasn't been a lot of extra time for blogging.  But I vow to make it up to you this week, even if it means I have to cut out a nap.  (That's not true.  I give up naps for no one.  But I will try hard to blog this week.)

I couldn't really think of where to begin and what all I'd skipped in the last week or so, so I flipped through my iPhone pics to come up with yet another bullet list.  Here's what we've been up to lately:

• My parents went out of town for a long weekend so we got to dog-sit this guy.

• Henry is a wire-haired dachshund and looks like he's having a bad hair day everyday.  My favorite thing to do when he comes for a visit?  Cut off his long locks.  :)

• It usually drives my dad crazy, but the trim transforms Henry from an old man to the little boy that he really is.  And, even though I don't have an after shot to prove it, it totally takes 5 lbs. off his frame too.
•  One afternoon while Henry was still visiting I thought I'd take a quick nap in the chair instead of the bed so the dogs couldn't bother me.  My plan didn't work.

• With the help of my dad and husband, we cranked out 3 sets of patio furniture.  I spent one afternoon in the shop by myself cutting and sanding all of the pieces.  I was exhausted by the time I was done!

• One Friday night, a couple of our friends stopped by and invited us to join them at the Trolley Tour where they ended up treating us to a delicious dinner at a restaurant that we'd never been to, Rizzo's Diner.   I don't have a picture from the evening but it's worth mentioning because it was a really fun night.  Also probably the latest I've stayed up in a long time - past midnight!!
• The following Saturday morning I got to watch my 3-year old nephew, Parker, play soccer.  It was mostly a practice and then a bunch of running around (and some crying too!).  There was a parent for every child on the field during the game so it got crowded out there.  Parker scored 2 or 3 goals!

• We learned how to Skype!  I know most of you have probably been doing this for years by now, but we're slow learners when it comes to all things techy.  It's good to be able to see Doc's parents while talking to them!

• I, along with a few coworkers, volunteered a morning to create a garden at a local school.  I know the picture below doesn't look like much, but when we arrived, that area was more of a grassy mound.  We pulled all the grass and weeds, measured off the beds, and worked on leveling it off and digging trenches.

• We had a good doctor's appointment and hosted some friends and family for a gender revealment party.  That deserves a whole post of its own, so that's all I'll say for now.
•  Doc and I joined a couple of our friends for a picnic down in the park by our neighborhood.  We live so close to this great park with a view of the river and don't do this often enough!

• This weekend we got to see our 3-year-old niece, Bren, in her first dance recital.  She did great! I don't have pictures from the actual event, but here she is trying on her tap dance outfit...

• This is just her normal practice clothes for dance and has nothing to do with her recital, but I can't resist posting it.  Isn't she the cutest little ballerina?

That's all I've got for now.  Be back soon...promise!

Blogging in Bullets

I've gotten into this routine with blogging.  Around Wednesday of every week, the only thought constantly running through my head is that "I haven't blogged this week, I haven't blogged this week, I haven't blogged this week..."  And then at some point towards the end of the week, I force myself to sit down at the computer.  Most of the time, if I can keep my eyes open long enough at night, I try to crank out two posts at one time: the first to post immediately and the second to be scheduled for the next day.  Then I pat myself on the back for not being a complete slacker blogger and exhale a sigh of relief for buying myself some more time before I've got to put the fingers to the keyboard again.  Before I know it, the following Wednesday rolls around and the vicious cycle starts all over. And it's not like I don't have anything to say because I do.  I actually have several things I could blog about right now.  It's just that after sitting at a computer all day at work, I just don't want to do it again at home.  Plus, with my newly adopted 8:30 bedtime, it's hard to squeeze it all in.  So, just like last week, I'm going to have to turn to bullet points.  I had planned all week to do a weekend recap, but now maybe it'll just be a recap of the weekend plus a few days.

• Friday night, the weather was perfect.  We sat on our porch and cheered on 5K participants as they made their way past our house.  After the race, the street was full of shrieks and laughter from all the kids playing (ours included).  I chatted with neighbor friends while the yummy smell of dinner wafted from the grill.  It's nights like this that will really make me miss our little street when we move.
• Saturday morning was all about being productive.  The yard got some much needed attention.  Weeds were pulled, bushes were trimmed back, monkey grass was pruned, and the patio was pressure-washed.  Doc also washed both of our cars, just in time for the rain to come this week.
• Saturday afternoon was spent running errands with my mom (surprise, surprise).  We both had numerous things to pick up before this coming weekend and it was good to get all those things checked off the list.
• All the shopping made me pretty hungry.  Our last stop was the mall and I was just drooling thinking about the Auntie Anne's pretzel I was going to devour.  I was so bummed when they didn't have the kind I wanted (almond with caramel dip!) and ended up leaving with no snack.  My stomach growled the whole way and right as we pulled up at my house, Anna came out and announced she made cupcakes all by herself.  I could've hugged her so hard her little head would've popped off (I refrained).  She even died the icing Easter colors.

I had scarfed down half of a green-iced one when I asked her what color she had.  "Dad wouldn't let me have one yet."  Oh.  Oopsie daisy.  I told her to go ahead and help herself.  Who can wait when there are freshly baked cupcakes?  Also, I hope she always enjoys baking like she does right now.  I will make sure there is always a box of cake mix or brownie mix in the pantry.

• Anna and I worked on another quick kitchen project after that which I'll give a post of its own since I have several pictures.
• Sunday after church we stopped by a friend's house to meet their new puppy.  They were walking out the door for lunch so we kidnapped the puppy and said we'd babysit while they went out.  I really had a lot I needed to get done but I just can't turn away from a sweet puppy.  I mean, just look at this face!  His name is Miles and he's a cockapoo.

• Miles may never be allowed to come over again after all we put him through.  We took him to my parents' house for some fun in their backyard.  Part of that fun was a few trips down the playset slide.  Poor Miles has really gotta working on that landing.  Henry didn't realize how much bigger he was than the puppy and kept trampling him.  Oh, and we hadn't even been outside an hour before we looked over and saw Miles laying on his belly in a big mud puddle.  We had the honors of giving him his second bath ever.
• Sunday evening we had dinner with some friends that we hadn't seen in far too long.  It was good to catch up!  And the weather was nice again so we were able to sit outside.  Thanks to Mary, I now have a couple of pregnancy/baby books to read, including one all about mocktails for moms-to-be.
• Doc and I made a big grocery store run Sunday night, which is not fun at all...I only mention it because my lunch bag this week has weighed about 5lbs. everyday.  I have so many good snacks to choose from!  We also stopped at Walgreens for one last item and as I checked out, a man was escorted out in handcuffs.  So that was fun.
• Speaking of our grocery store trip, have you had Simply Lemonade with Raspberry?  Ohmygosh, it's goooood.  Definitely my newest obsession.
• I finally got my winter clothes packed away and all my summer clothes hanging in the closet.  My "offseason" clothes are stored in the playroom closet down the hall and since I was home alone and tryingnot  to carry too much at a time, it took FOREVER.  I was worn out afterwards.
• We have two pots that sit on either side of our front door.  Usually, I just plant a fern in each one of them for the summer, but this time I decided I wanted a big assortment of plants.  My mom helped me pick things out - we had to visit several stores - and I finally got them finished up around 8:15 last night.  I hope at least half of this stuff lives.  Don't know the names of everything in there, but there's some sweet potato vine, creeping jenny, 3 different fern varieties, and...other stuff.

 

That's all I have for now.  I'll try to squeeze one more post in before the weekend.  We've got lots of stuff planned so it should be a good couple of days!

All Over The Place

Usually, when I sit down to write a blog post, I have a plan and sorta know where it's gonna go.  Right now, that is not the case.  Who knows where this will end up; it may be all over the place. Last weekend, Doc and I took advantage of the extra day off (thanks, MLK, Jr.!) and jetted down to Florida.  The purpose of the trip was two-fold: 1) check on the house and 2) relax as much as possible.  After a not-so-great week, it was nice to get away for a few days.  We left early Saturday morning and, after a couple hour drive from the airport, we headed straight to the house.  We had a meeting with our builder to get updated on the progress (pics coming soon!) and then after that, we met with someone from the rental company that we'll use.  It was good getting all of that done and out of the way, but it made for a little bit of an exhausting afternoon.

We stayed at the Sandestin Resort, which is somewhere I'd never been.  We snagged a great deal on the room!  It was a great place to stay for what will hopefully be our last visit to the area without staying in our own house.  We had a great view of the beach from our room but you know what?  Our toes never touched the sand.

My husband treated me (and himself, too!) to a nice massage at the resort's spa.  Man, was it nice!  Why don't we all pamper ourselves more often?  One day, when I'm super rich and money goes on trees, maybe I'll have a reoccuring massage appointment.  I'll add that to my wish list.

One night we had sushi for dinner at the resort's sushi bar.  When it was served, I wouldn't let Doc eat any before I took a picture.

Shortly afterwards, I read a tweet that said something like "Things Girls Say: Sushi is so pretty!"  Guilty as charged.

I should thank Mr. Luther not only for the extra day off work, but also for the smashing good deals we got at the outlet mall in his honor.  I may even have to give our super savings a blogpost of their own, they were that good.

Switching gears...last night I made this cake for a coworker's birthday.  If you've ever spent 10 seconds on Pinterest, you've probably already seen it.  It's all over that site.

It was super easy.  One box of cake mix, one can of icing, 9 1/2 packages of kit-kats, and a whole bag of m&ms.  I'm sure there were no fat grams at all.

I think my coworkers like it.

That last piece sat there for about 7 seconds before someone scraped it onto their plate.  I think I may have to make another one this weekend for my dad's upcoming birthday.

I guess that's about all the randomness I've got for now.  Tomorrow marks one year since my sweet Minnie girl went to heaven.  I still miss her everyday.

Ramblings

• I have been swamped at work and I keep meaning to blog, but haven't been able to squeeze time in for it.  This will be a "Brain Dump" of sorts.  (I really hate that phrase...mostly the "dump" part of it.  That just sounds gross.  What can we rename this - Brain Emptying?) 
• Last week was miserable.  On Wednesday, our air went out again.  You may remember that that's already happened once this summer.  Doc was traveling for the week and I was working 10-12 hour days, so there was no time to sit around waiting for a repairman.  That means the AC didn't get fixed until Saturday.  Four days in the middle of July in 100+ temps with no air conditioner.  Actually, we had some air.  Last time it was the upstairs unit that went out so we couldn't sleep in our room.  This time it was the downstairs unit that went out.  Pros: I could sleep in the bed and shower and get ready for work.  Cons:  No cooking or hanging out downstairs, Lolli had to sleep upstairs with me, and hot air rises.  Our upstairs unit was working overtime just to keep it at 79 degrees, which is really not that cool.  So yeah.  Multiply the Longest 24 Hours Ever experience by 4 days and that's how fun last week was.
• Thankfully, the weekend was better.   On Saturday, as soon as our AC was fixed, we headed to my brother's house to spend the afternoon at the pool.  Funny how we finally had cool air again and ditched it to hang out in the sun.  At least the house was cool when we got home.
• Sunday I came home with 4 new pairs of shoes.  The best part?  They were all on clearance!  New shoes make everything better.
• I updated a couple of books on my 2011 Reading List.  Click that link to see what I thought of them.  A quick scroll-thru will show you that I'm behind.  There are 13 books on the list (the top 10 and 3 honorable mentions) and I've only made it through 5 of them.  That's not good, especially since the year's already more than half over.  I gotta get busy reading!
• Doc has been out of town again this week (Vegas!) but he gets home today.  Yay!  His parents arrive tomorrow for a weekend visit.  I can't wait!  It's been a while since we've seen them.  Good food and mani/pedis are already on the itinerary. 
• Also this weekend I'll be doing my first official wedding coordinating.  I know I've helped with lots of weddings, but this will be the first time I'm actually running the rehearsal myself and sending everyone down the aisle on the big day.  I'm excited but a little nervous too.  This weekend could potentially decide if this is something I'd ever seriously considering doing.  Like, for money.
• Yesterday, in a fit of wild craziness, I posted a link to my blog on someone else's site.  This is the first time I've ever done that.  Talk about nervous!  I think I'm getting braver.  I'm not sure what I expected - maybe lots of new visitors? - but all I got was 79 spam comments.  Grrr.  Oh well.  If you're visiting from The Mustard Ceiling and this is your first time here: Hi! Welcome! Take a look around!
• I think I need a new blog title.  Something that maybe makes more sense and is easier for you guys to remember.  I'm struggling to come up with anything creative on my own, so I invite you to leave suggestions in the comments.
• What else?  I feel like I had more to say, but my mind just went blank.  Maybe that means my brain is officially empty.  What's been going on with you guys?

Picture Thursday

Just some random things going on... Another recipe from our new cookbooks: spinach pasta, fresh spinach, roasted pine nuts, a dollop of ricotta cheese, and shredded parmesan.

Working on more felt balls for another project:

Best 99 cents I ever spent:

(It doesn't leave my hands feeling too dry or too greasy after applying, and it's small enough to throw in my purse.)

Finally, blooming flowers! Take that, San Diego.

"You talkin' to me?"