Weekend Recipes

We have had a pretty productive weekend (laundry, errands, yard work, deck staining, etc.) and it was topped off by a delicious Sunday dinner (mostly) on the grill.

We had marinated grilled pork chops, grilled potatoes and fresh green beans from the farmer's market (at least for me).

The pork chop marinade is a recipe my grandma used to make and is one of my all time favorite summer recipes!  It can be used for pork chops or pork tenderloin.  This is definitely a recipe you should try soon!

Marinated Pork Chops

4 pork chops (I used two very large, boneless pork chops)

12 oz. lemonade concentrate, thawed

2/3 c. soy sauce

2 tsp. season salt

1 tsp. celery salt

1/4 tsp. garlic powder

Combine all ingredients in a shallow dish and marinate for 24 hours, rotating half-way through.  

I also tried another new recipe, peanut butter bites, tonight that I found here.  These remind me of the peanut butter balls that people make around Christmas time.  I had all of the ingredients on hand and it honestly took me 15 minutes from start to finish (with the exception of the cooling time).  And, they are REALLY good and REALLY addicting!!

Peanut Butter Bites

 

3/4 cup oats

1/2 cup peanut butter

1 tbs honey

3/4 cup chocolate chips

Lightly coat a baking sheet with cooking spray. Stir together the oats, peanut butter, and honey. Roll them into 1 inch (walnut sized) balls and place them on the cookie sheet. Melt chocolate chips in the microwave in 30 second intervals, until smooth. Dip peanut butter bites in the melted chocolate to coat. Return to the cookie sheet and refrigerate until set. Place in a zip-top bag (or just devour). 

I hope you had a lovely weekend!!

It has been a LOOOONG week.

This week has seemed to drag on forever!  Maybe it is the copious amount of meetings that have taken place this week, the 3600 newsletters I had to stuff (with the help of a few others) or perhaps that we have been waiting to get our new patio poured or the fact that I got up yesterday morning thinking it was Friday or that I couldn't sleep last night and kept dreaming about the Real Housewives of NY (I dvr'd a marathon yesterday since I had never seen any of those shows - and now I'm hooked).    Whatever the reason, I am so glad that it is finally Friday!  Amidst all the craziness of the week, I have a couple of interesting stories to share:

On Wednesday, as I was driving to work I saw some people off to the left of the road.  Now, this particular stretch of road has a train track that runs down the left side with about a 10 foot tall metal fence that separates it from a sidewalk and the street.  As I got closer to where the people were I noticed that a deer was hanging from the fence by its back legs.  At first I thought it was fake but then I realized that the deer was in fact real and that these people were trying to dislodge it from the fence.  You have to remember this is during the morning drive to work so there were lots of cars and not much time for me to take in this whole situation.  I could see that the deer was still alive because its mouth was moving and I could see that the men in the group were trying to free the deer and a woman was on her phone.  As I kept driving, I eventually past the scene but I could still see out of my rear view mirror.  I looked back and saw that they got the deer off the fence and just as I was about to look away (I was at a stop light by this time) I saw the deer try to jump the fence again but he didn't make it over and fell to the ground.  My heart was broken. 

I felt so bad for that deer for so many reasons and I felt helpless.  So, I called Brandon to tell him about this and he really didn't have much sympathy.  I know there are a lot of deer around, but I guess the animal lover in me still hates for the deer to be in pain.  On my way home I didn't see any remnants of the deer so I'm guess he either found his way or was put out of his misery.  Either way, I wish I wouldn't have seen it at all!

Another day this week (not sure which one) I stopped at QT on my way to work to get a Vitamin Water.  As I was standing at the refrigerator debating which flavor to get, I noticed a guy who appeared to be homeless lingering by the soda fountain taste testing all of the different slushes and sodas.  Basically he would fill up a 32 oz cup about a quarter of the way, chug the drink and move on to the next flavor.  I was a bit disgusted by this and it makes me not want to ever use the self-serve fountain again!  I know that I drink out of straws and most likely my mouth or the contents of my cup will never touch the outside of the cup which touches the lever of the soda fountain, but it still grosses me out a little bit. 

We started the 30 Day Shred workout this week.  On Monday and Tuesday we got up at 5:30 a.m., we skipped Wednesday and then we did it again last night.  So far, I really like the workout and it helps that Brandon is doing it with me!  Basically, it is a 20 minute workout with three different circuits that are made up of three minutes of strength, two minutes of cardio and one minute of abs.  It may not sound all that hard but I think even Brandon will admit that it is harder than he anticipated.  And, I think I can already tell a bit of a difference (or maybe it's just my imagination)!  Hallelujah!!

We are hoping to have a pretty low-key next couple of days - a visit to the farmer's market, a BBQ, and browsing for items for our soon-to-be patio. If only the weekend would last as long as the work week....

A Weekend in GC

This past weekend we headed to GC for Brandon's cousin's wedding.  Getting out of town took forever since I had planned to get off work earlier than I did.  I had a couple of errands to run before we left, I needed to get gas in my car and we had to drop off a truck that Brandon had borrowed from a co-worker.  So, we had two cars while we ran my last minute errands and got gas and we had a dog to deal with on top of it all.  We finally got on the road about 45 minutes later.

We made it to GC in good time, despite two, yes two, stops in Pratt.  I had to go to the bathroom REALLY bad and couldn't wait for Taco D, where we were having dinner, so I made Brandon stop at the first possible place inside the city limits - Taco Bell!  Ha ha!  He was less than pleased to have to do this, but he did it :)

Once we got the car unpacked, we headed over to Brandon's grandma's (his dad's mom) house to visit since we wouldn't be seeing her much over the weekend.  After that we headed to his other grandma's house to see his uncle who drove in from Minnesota for the weekend.  By the time we got home we were all pretty much ready to head to bed because we had a BIG day planned on Saturday.  Brandon and some of the other guys in his family were headed out to play golf and Brandon's mom had planned a fun day for the girls.

We started off our morning with a group walk at 7:00 a.m. There were five ladies and three dogs.  It was surprisingly steamy for being so early so we didn't walk as long as we had planned.  After the walk, we got cleaned up and headed downtown to a fun coffee shop and met up with the rest of the crew.  Right when we sat down, a state legislator who was campaigning for Secretary of State came up and started talking to us.  We listened to him for a couple of minutes and then he went to do an interview.  Little did we know that a few of us would get in the background of the photo that would appear on the front page of the GC Telegram!! 

I'm so glad my bra strap was hanging out for the whole town to see.  How sweet is that?!?!

The annual Beef Empire Days were also taking place and we had great seats for the parade, but we were more interested in shopping than watching the parade!  We shopped around at a few of the local stores until it was time to head home to grab lunch and get ready for the wedding.

These are the only pictures that we got of the wedding and I had to steal them from Ashley.

We had fun watching B's cousin get married.  Ashley was a cake cutter during the reception and I noticed the cake line starting to form and wasn't sure how she was going to keep up so I went to help her.  This was the first time I had ever cut a wedding cake and I can honestly say I have a whole new respect for this wedding "job."  Wowzers!  It is way more complicated than it looks, but we managed and got everyone served :)

After the wedding reception, we headed back home to get changed and then went to one of the local hotels for a big family dinner.  We had so much fun hanging out with everyone from Brandon's mom's side of the family!  There is never a dull moment....ever!!

Sunday morning was pretty quiet since Ash had to leave Saturday night.  We went to church with Brandon's parents and then went to El Zarape, our favorite local Mexican restaurant, for lunch.  I think we overwhelmed the owner as he got a little bit snippy with Brandon's mom when she asked to get a table for 11, but I think he got over it.  Every time we go to El Zarape we always bring back their salsa.  In fact, we've brought back so many jars that Brandon has turned them into screw/nail/bolt holders in the garage.  Well this time, we decided to make the trip count and we bought two 32 ounce jars of salsa!!  This should last us a while!

After lunch we pretty much packed up the car and headed home.  We always wish we could stay longer but we'll be back soon!

Catching Up

I have a great post planned about this past weekend, but I'm waiting to get a couple of pictures from Brandon's sister.  I've decided I like to include pictures in my posts when possible because I think it makes things more interesting. 

I spent last night writing an article for our church newsletter.  This is the first article I have written for the church so I'm a little nervous to send it because I'm not totally sure what they are expecting.  I had all of the information handed to me, I just had to compile and condense it.  Hopefully it will pass the test :) 

I also tried out a new side dish recipe last night and I liked it pretty well.  I had some cucumbers, tomatoes and fresh dill leftover from our trip to the farmer's market a couple of weeks ago and I needed to get them used up because I plan on going again this weekend.  I'm not sure if Brandon liked the salad too much, though.

Cucumber Dill Salad (source: Kraft Foods)

1/2 cup Reduced Fat Sour Cream

1/4 cup MIRACLE WHIP Light Dressing

2 Tbsp. chopped fresh dill

1 Tbsp. lemon juice

2 large cucumbers, sliced

1/4 tsp. black pepper

MIX sour cream, dressing, dill and lemon juice.
POUR over cucumbers in large bowl; toss to coat.
SPRINKLE with pepper.

*I added cherry tomatoes to mine and also added some seasoned salt.  I thought the dressing was a tad bit bland.  I think it would also be good with some red onion thrown in the mix.

I served the salad with grilled BBQ chicken and Ore Ida Crispy Crowns (my new love!).

Must. Keep. Going.

This has been a bit of a crazy past couple of weeks.  It seems I haven't been home much in the evenings and our weekends have been busy so I haven't had a lot of time to blog.  To illustrate this point, I calculated that I worked 26 of the past 48 hours.  Its days like these that make me wish I got paid overtime.  Also, I don't think my house has been cleaned since before Memorial Weekend, and I've had more dishes stacked up in my sink over the past couple of weeks than I have had all year.  I also haven't cooked dinner much, which is hard for me.  And, I have intended to make these and these for the past couple of weeks and by the time I get home at night baking is the last thing I have time for.

On top of all of this, Brandon and I started the 30-Day Shred dvd workout on Sunday.  I pretty much couldn't walk on Monday and Tuesday and apparently it showed.  My boss (the president of the Chamber) asked me if I had ridden horses over the weekend.  Ummm can you say EMBARRASSING?!?!  Sadly, we haven't done the workout again since Sunday because I haven't been home in the evenings and we haven't exactly been able to yank ourselves out of bed in the mornings.  So guess what?!?!  I'll be feeling as though I've been "riding horses" again tomorrow...ughh!

I must keep going though.  We are packing up for GC this weekend to attend Brandon's cousin's wedding and then we're getting a new patio poured early next week.  I'm sure a day will come when I appreciate the busyness so I suppose I should enjoy it now...

My Summer Must-Do List

I've seen a few different blogs where people are listing their "Summer Must-Do's" so I thought I would make one myself!

1. Host a big backyard BBQ bash
2. Visit the Farmer's Market on a regular basis
3. Celebrate our 4th anniversary (check!)
4. Go to a Royal's game
5. Sit on the patio and enjoy the summer evenings more frequently - with bug spray of course.
6. Make popcicles
7. Work on my tan
8. Wear breezy dresses more often in an effort to break out of my norm
9. Take an unexpected weekend trip somewhere new, but within driving distance - just the two of us
10. Pray for a different person everyday
11. Make mojitos (a good use of fresh mint from the Farmer's Market)
12. Take Koby to the new dog park
13. Visit my bff
14. Get the basement decor finished
15. Go to a bonfire and make smores

So, what have I left off my list?  Any other "Summer Must-Do's" that you know of or think I/we should try?

Four Years Ago...

...I became a wife and Brandon became a husband. 

 

...We pledged "for better and for worse", we read Ecclesiastes 4:7-12 and pledged to keep God the center of our marriage. 

 

In these four years, I can guarantee we've lived out "for better and for worse", we've realized that two is better than one and that keeping God in the center of our marriage sure makes things a lot easier.

I am so thankful for Brandon and for our marriage because I couldn't imagine walking through life with anyone else.  We have a lot of fun, we've shown a lot of grace towards each other, we've learned a lot about ourselves, we've faced trials and tribulations, and we've made a lot of memories. 

Thank you, Brandon, for being a fantastic husband and a wonderful best friend!  You make my days brighter and my life a little more exciting :) 

I Guess I'll Never Learn...

Yesterday, I mentioned that the girls in my family went to get pedicures over the weekend.  If you recall, I've had some pretty funny experiences while getting pedicures at Asian pedicure establishments.  Well, I have another one for you:

Tara, Natalie and I were sitting in the chairs just chatting while they started our pedicures.  Tara and Natalie both had women and I got the short end of the stick and had a man (past history would indicate that men should NOT give pedicures).  So, they had soaked our feet, taken the old nail polish off and were starting to work on the bottom of our feet.  They were using these metal file contraptions that I had never seen before but I figured it couldn't be that bad.  Well, Tara started wincing a little bit because her lady was really going to town.  Then, my guy started in on my feet and it was a strange painful ticklish feeling and I inadvertently pulled my foot away.  The guy kind of looked at me funny and then said "If you can't handle this, how do you handle your men?"  At first, I didn't know what he said and then when I realized what he said I just decided it was better to not answer him than to engage in a conversation about men and feet.  And, just so you can get a picture of what this guy looked like think greasy used car salesman meets the pedicure salon.  This guy was wearing a tight white t-shirt, blue jeans, Nike ankle socks, black slip-on dress shoes and a big gold chain.  The only thing he was missing was a gold pinky ring. 

Anyway, the moral of the story is this: NEVER let a man give you a pedicure.  It will end up bad!!

Scenes from the Weekend

We had a busy, yet FUN holiday weekend so I'll let the pictures do the talking!

Friday night we attended my cousin's rehearsal dinner at Loose Park in KC:

My dad, Matt and Tara were all there, too, we just don't have any pics of them.

Saturday morning, the girls went out to breakfast and got pedicures to celebrate Tara's birthday.  We also hit up a fun little boutique afterward and I picked up a cute dress :)

Saturday evening was the wedding.  I hate to say it, but we didn't get ANY pictures of the bride and groom.  It was a very fun, laid back wedding that totally reflected Chad and Jenny's personalities.  I wish I could have been that laid back!

(that is my cousin Chad on the far left - he was the groom)

Sunday morning we got up early and headed over to Matt and Tara's house to give "E" her birthday gift.  We got her a big magna doodle, which was a hit!  We left to come home around 11:00 to meet up with Brandon's parents who were in town.  We pretty much just relaxed Sunday evening.  We did watch "Up in the Air" which was a pretty decent movie.  It tells you something if I stay awake for it ;)

Monday morning we all got up and took the dogs for a walk at a park near our house and then we came home and Brandon and his dad got to work on a shelving project for my sister:

While the boys worked, Pam and I went shopping and just enjoyed a relaxing day.  After Pam and Craig left, Brandon mowed the lawn and I watched The Bachelorette.  All in all, it was a great weekend!

Lately...

...we've been busy.  Maybe pictures will illustrate our busyness better than my words:

Before Saturday afternoon

About 6:30 p.m. Saturday evening

In case you were wondering, we dug 13 holes and planted 13 trees/bushes!!  Okay, maybe we didn't dig 13 holes (that would be my husband who did the heavy lifting), but we did work together to get this task accomplished.  And let me tell you lots of planting preparation + 13 holes + 13 trees/bushes = 2 tired people!

What I haven't mentioned is that Saturday morning, we got up bright and early and painted our basement.  I don't have any "after" pictures yet because I'm still working on a few details, but if you recall this post, you might have an idea of what is coming.  I think we figured that we worked on house stuff for as many hours on Saturday as we would normally work on a typical week day.  And, we didn't even take a lunch break!!

Oh, and we have this little patch of strawberries that we've been babying for a couple of years now.

It may not look too vicious here, but it produces strawberries like CRAZY!!  Anyone have a good recipe to use up fresh strawberries???

This is honestly probably the third or fourth large bowl of strawberries that we've picked in the last two weeks.  And this bowl was just picked tonight!!!!!

So, that's what we've been up to.  We're definitely looking forward to a long, relaxing Memorial Weekend coming up!!

Memories of a Dear Friend

Our family lost another dear, dear friend this week.  This friend, however, was more like family to us.  When my parents moved to their current town, they moved into a rental house next door to Dena and Gary while their current house was being built.  Dena and Gary immediately welcomed my family by inviting them over for hamburgers (I wasn't quite born yet, so I missed out on the party), a tradition that continued for many, many years.  Once I was born, Dena and Gary often babysat me while my parents worked on the house or while my mom ran errands or attended my sister and brother's activities.  Gary would come help my dad do projects around the house or help my mom out when my dad would be a National Guard camp in the summers.  We used to spend Christmas Eve, our birthdays or any special occassion with them.  As the years went on though, our roles kind of reversed as we began to look after Dena once Gary passed away.  My parents were the ones to invite Dena over for Sunday dinners or to help her around her her house or to celebrate holidays.  Like I said, they were like family to us; like grandparents.  You can read all about Dena here, but I wanted to list a few memories of Dena:

• I think I learned my love of sweets from Dena and Gary.  When I would go over to their house, they had a "Fairy Drawer" that always had a variety of sweets in it, but I could only open the drawer once the fairy came to visit.  I think that was really just their way of keeping my sugar intake in check ;) They also always had cold cans of Pepsi or 7-Up in their refrigerator, but again, I could only have one per visit.
• Dena was a great cook and I can attribute some of my love of cooking to her.  I remember sitting on her countertop, in the corner by the appliance garage, watching her cook.  She made so many yummy meals that I couldn't begin to list them out, but the ones I remember distinctly are her hamburgers, goulash, sloppy joes, homemade chicken and noodles with "riced" mashed potatoes and green beans, her jello salads and homemade ice cream.  Dena was also famous for her cakes.  As she started to go downhill, before moving to Dallas, one thing we knew she would eat without a doubt was cake with ice cream. 
• Dena was a perfectionist.  If you ever walked into her home, you would have noticed that everything and I mean everything had it's place.  Her cabinets were perfectly organized, the pillows on her couch were always straight, her floors were always vaccuumed and her bed was ALWAYS made just perfectly.  Friends, she even ironed her bed sheets!!  She and Gary also had the cleanest garage I've ever seen.
• I remember I was never allowed to go into her formal living room unless I was invited.  This was the room where all of her valuables were displayed and it was very rare that I was in that room. 
• Dena taught me how to play solitaire, which was a daily afternoon activity for her.  Even when she was in her late 80's she would just plop down on the floor and play.
• When Dena would babysit me when I was really young, I would always have to take a nap at 1:00 pm so she could watch her soap opera.
• Occaisionaly Dena would have to punish me and when that happened I would have to go to the laundry room bathroom until I quit crying.  Once I quit crying, I was able to come out.  It was torture when I would get punished at their house.
• Dena always had the prettiest red geraniums in the summers.  And, when Gary was alive, they also had a HUGE garden.  One of my favorite things to do with them was to snap the ends off of the fresh green beans.
• Dena was always well put together.  She always had the perfect outfit with the perfect shoes and jewelry.  And her jewelry, wow, she had a lot of jewelry!

There are so many memories of Dena and Gary and while our "Dena" hasn't been gone for a while now, she was never forgotten.  In fact, one of the last times Dena was able to be out and about was at our wedding and I will forever keep hold of that special memory.  Dear friends are hard to find and hard to forget and my family will never forget Dena and Gary.

Dedicated to My Sister

For many, many years I have detested mini vans.  Even though I don't have kids, the thought of a mini van just screams "mommy".  I have the same feeling about shirts that say "Super Mom" or something similar.  Its not that I will be embarrassed to be a mom, its just that I envision myself to be a super hip and trendy mom that keeps up with current fashion trends, still reads daily celebrity gossip, cruises around in a fun, sporty car, etc. And I think many other gals feel the same way.  In fact, I'm sure of it.  And, Toyota is sure of it too... 

Cue The Swagger Wagon!  You must watch this video because it is PURE ADVERTISING GENIUS!!

I dedicate this post to my sister because she recently became the owner of a Toyota Sienna mini van and she is proud of it!!  She might need to work on her "swagger" a little, but I'd say she can fit into the hip mom category (most of the time, anyway -- I'm just teasing sis.  I'm just having a little fun!).

Disclaimer: For those moms who read this and have a mini van or a shirt that reads "Super Mom" please don't take this as an insult.  I'm not a mom yet so if one day I own either one of these items you are free to say "Told you so!".  I mean no harm to anyone....

Longing for the beach...

Today, I made this picture my computer desktop background...

I think it is good to have a reminder of a calm, relaxed, peacful time amidst the craziness of work! And it makes my co-workers jealous :)

Just a random post about the weekend

1. We've been growing strawberries and recently had to spray them for bugs.  I thought I might be able to find a fruit and veggie wash at the grocery store, but I couldn't.  So, I made a homemade (and green) wash today and it was so easy.  Here is the recipe: 1 T. lemon juice, 2 T. baking soda, 1 c. water.  Mix ingredients together and pour into spray bottle.  Spray produce and let sit for five minutes and then rinse with cold water.
2. I also went to the farmer's market on Saturday (in the rain) and found a HUGE head of romaine lettuce, the biggest grape tomatoes I've ever seen  and a couple of yummy looking regular tomatoes and I only spent like $8.  I will be going back for more!
3. While at the farmer's market, one of the vendors tried talking me into buying a homemade compressed dog bone that was seriously 3 feet long.  I tried to explain to them that the bone was twice as long as my dog, but he didn't seem to think that was a problem.  I didn't buy into his ploy and thus Koby did not get a homemade chew bone.
4. We had a last minute yard work day today.  We transplanted three bushes, I mowed the yard (yes, you read that right) and we started to draw up some plans for a little more back yard landscaping and possibly a pergola over our deck.  There is something about the Spring that motivates us.  And, I decided today that yard work or landscaping is "our thing" that we enjoy doing together.  Every couple needs a "thing" to do together, but never did I think yard work would be ours.  Go figure...
5. We have several other house projects that we need to get done including painting the basement (again) and sprucing up our bedroom a little bit.  We are so thankful for weekends at home to get this stuff accomplished.
6. We went to Carrabba's for my aunt's birthday today.  It seems like every time we eat at an Italian restaurant, I leave there with a new recipe idea.  This time, it was the entree that my aunt ordered - seared/grilled scallops over a bed of spinach and orzo, topped with a balsamic tomato reduction.  It looked so good that I pretty much had meal envy.  I will be trying to recreate this dish soon!

Okay, that is all.  Have a lovely evening...

Sweet Reminders

I came across these pictures of our cute little birds nest from last spring/summer today as I was going through some old files on my computer.  What a sweet reminder of life (speaking of the bird eggs and not the dead plant they are residing in) and God's creation.  These types of images really make me stop and appreciate the small things and I hope they help you to do the same!

We Need One of These...

I found these cuties in the paper today and I think we NEED the one that is mostly white!!  The third one from the left is awfully cute too; he almost looks like Koby's identical twin!  Are they not the sweetest set of puppies that you have ever seen (aside from my own puppy, of course)?!?! 

I asked Koby if he wanted a new sibling and showed him the picture of these little ones and his ears perked up and he started whining (his good whine).  I think that was a "yes!"  I think Koby would really love to have a little playmate.  He would definitely have to get used to not being an only-dog, but I think he would eventually come around and embrace a new little puppy.

The only problem is this: I'm afraid we'd be banned from either of our parents' houses if we got another dog.  So, if anyone knows our parents, more specifically our moms, you might put in  a good word for us :)  After all, look at those sweet, sweet pups who need a good home!

Massive Monday Mash-Up

This blog title is a shout-out to one of my new favorite shows, Glee!  Technically, a mashup is a mixture of content or elements and that is exactly what this post is going to be...

First, we had some crazy storms roll through here late this afternoon.  The meteorologists had been building up this storm since yesterday, but I don't think many people believed them because the same set of circumstances happened last year, and well, nothing happened.  However, around 4:00 this afternoon, the radar started blowing up and the storms started marching towards us with a vengeance.  

 (the storm rolling in)

(B keeping a watchful eye on the skies)

(moving closer)

(and then the rain and the wind arrived)

About 15 or 20 minutes after this picture was taken, the sun was out and the wind had died down.  I kept looking for a rainbow but we never found one.

Now, working in reverse chronological order, yesterday was a very relaxing and laid back day.  We went to church, out to lunch, ran to the mall (I scored some great work clothes!) and then we came home and vegged out.  After a little bit of napping, I ran a couple of errands and worked on a little "craft" project.  As you might remember, we collected a bunch of shells when we were on vacation and we had yet to do anything with those shells.  So, I bought some spray lacquer to seal the shells and bring back some of their color and placed them in a clear glass vase in our bathroom.  I plan to frame a couple of our vacation photos to hang on the wall as well.  

Saturday, was a very, very busy day!  We had a few house guests that stayed the night with us on Friday, one of which was Brandon's sister, Ashley.  She stayed with us because she and Brandon were running the River Festival River Run 10k early Saturday morning.

I was hoping to capture all kinds of fun pictures from the race, but after trying three different camera options (or lack there of), this was the only photo we got :(  They both ran the race incredibly well and they had a great day for a race!

After the race, we raced home so I could get my clothes changed to head to Beloit for one of my dear friend's wedding showers.  I had seen miss Kourtney in a long time and it was SOO good to catch up with her.  She seems so happy and I'm so excited for her to be living in Wichita for a while :)  I rode to Beloit with my other dear friend Emily (we were all roommates in college) who lives here, but we don't get to see each other nearly enough.  While a 2.5 hour drive (one way) usually seems like a drag, it literally flew by because we had so much to talk about!  I came home from the little trip feeling so recharged from spending time with people who know me in and out.  There really is nothing like good friends.

While I was gone, Brandon was a rock star and got so much done around the house that it makes me think I should leave town more often (just kidding, honey!).  That evening he met up with some friends to see Iron Man 2.  By the time he got home, I was out like a light...

As I mentioned, we had a couple of house guests on Friday night, and the rest of those house guests were my sister and her two girls.  They were making their way to my parent's house and stopped in to see us for the evening.  We took little E to the park to play for a little while before picking up pizza for dinner.  I think she had fun running around and playing on all of the different equipment, but I think she enjoyed the sand area the most.

Later, her little sister and my big sister joined us (it was a pretty windy day).  Little I had fun watching all of the activity at the playground.

All in all, it was a great weekend!  But, we are definitely looking forward to a commitment-free weekend this coming weekend :)

Now, remember when I mentioned we bought and planted some flowers but I couldn't find the pics??  Well, I found them!!  After a few weeks of growth, I definitely prefer one of the pots over the other, but I will give the other some time.

The pot I like the most right now is the first pot, but one of my favorite flowers is the hibiscus, which we planted in the second pot, so I still have high hopes!  The weather has been a bit cool for hibiscus so they haven't bloomed much and I think something is trying to eat the leaves.  I hope once the weather warms up the blooms will start to go crazy!

Alright, well enough with my massive mash-up.  I was hoping to leave you with a real Glee mash-up, but I can't seem to really find a good video example!  Shucks....

Five Senses Friday

It's been a while since I've done a Five Senses Friday post, so here it is:

tasting :: A little piece of a brownie left over from lunch (I can't help my sweet tooth, I just can't)

hearing :: The laughter of a coworker

smelling :: Nothing - I work in an office....

seeing :: The cutest little puppy (aside from my own, of course) walking in the parking lot

feeling :: Excited for the weekend

What are your senses this Friday?

Also, Happy Mother's Day to both of our moms and to all of the other moms out there!!

It's Only Wednesday

So, for most of the day today I had it in my head that it was Thursday.  I hate it when I'm a day off, especially when my brain is a day ahead - it just makes for a long(er) week.  On top of that, I've been  battling some kind of allergy/head cold/congestion thing since Sunday and it is really starting to drive me nutty!  I can't sleep too well at night because I can't breathe which causes Brandon to not sleep well because I snore which causes us both to be a bit cranky.  Not a good combination.  So in an effort to not dwell on the yucky stuff, I'm going to rattle off the good things that are happening this week:

• I had the foresight to put a roast in the crock pot this morning so dinner would be waiting tonight (roast beef sandwiches with horseradish mayo and fruit salad = yummy!)
• I got my car detailed yesterday, thanks to my hubby's good luck and an awesome gift certificate.  I honestly believe this is the cleanest my car has EVER been because the day we drove it off the lot, it was snowing like crazy.
• I got a pedicure today!!  I found a new little spot a month or so ago that I really like and that is really affordable - SCORE!
• We get to see my sister and my nieces this weekend.
• Brandon and his sister are running in the River Run 10k on Saturday and I will be there to cheer them on.  I had planned to run the 2-mile but I kind of fell off the running wagon.
• I'm also taking a small road trip on Saturday with a college friend to attend a wedding shower for another college friend who is getting married in Hawaii (slightly jealous)...  Excited to be in the same room with the two of these gals!
• I made several calls this week in an effort to recruit more volunteers for elementary check-in at church and much to my surprise, I might have removed myself from the normal rotation.  This is a good thing for a couple of reasons 1) I've been doing check-in on at least a monthly basis (sometimes more) for about two years 2) it frees me up to be a sub, which is in high demand during the summer.
• I've started counting calories again and I've kept on track most of the week!
• I think I found at least one dress for the multiple weddings we have this summer.  I still need to find at least one more, though.
• The weather has been amazing this week :)
• Tomorrow is THURSDAY, one more day closer to the weekend!

I miss Mayberry...

On Saturday, Brandon and I were in my hometown so he could lay tile on my parent's front porch.  While he was busy doing his thing, my mom and I ran a few errands around town and during that time, I was reminded of some of the good aspects of living in a small town in Kansas:

• We went to local lumber yard/home store (a small town Lowe's, if you will) and the sales person recognized my mom as we walked in the door, instructed another sales person to show her the grout chart and charged my parent's account for the supplies.  She didn't even have to sign anything - we just walked out the door.
• We went to the local garden center to pick up flowers (for our planting project later in the day) and we ran into my old boss from the movie theater, my seventh grade science teacher (who remembered what year he had me in school - 14 years ago!), a high school friend's mom and a few other people.  I chatted with all of them and it was lovely.
• We also went to Wal-Mart where we ran into a former youth group volunteer from our church and my high school assistant principal and his daughter, whom I cheered with in high school.
• After Wal-Mart we had to go to the vet's office to pick up dog food for my parent's dog.  We walked in the door (and my mom left her keys in the ignition of the car and her purse in the front seat) and the sweet girl at the desk knew exactly what kind and what mix of dog food my mom needed and again, we walked out without paying for or signing anything. 

While I grew up in this little town my entire childhood, I never thought about all of the luxuries (and I certainly didn't think of them as luxuries) that came with small town life.  Now, it really does cause me to pause and think about how lucky I really was to have that experience!