Monday's Thought For The Day

Some Fun With The Indians

Just as usual, I figured I'd sit down and fill everyone in on what we did this weekend. Friday started out with David and Joe running and then us heading to Casa Real for dinner. The rest of the night was spent hanging out with Jen trying to teach me how to use Photoshop.

Saturday started as a dreary day with rain and all. I had to work the morning shift and was understaffed so it was fun running my butt off trying to be 2 people at once. I came home and since it was draft weekend David was glued to the TV. I figured it'd be a great opportunity to get some yard work done. To my pleasant surprise the weather took a turn for the better and it ended up being a gorgeous day. I got stuff done in the yard and got to enjoy the sunshine. Can't complain about that. In the midst of me working on the yard David's 'rents came over to hang out with David during the draft for a bit. That evening we went to dinner with my 'rents at Applebee's and then we bummed around the rest of the evening....that included making some returns to Home Depot, checking out Kohls, letting Bailey out (Jen and Joe's dog), and keeping a close eye on the draft.

By the way, some interesting situations with the draft, eh? I try not to get that involved in it as I don't know all the statistics. My personal opinion is really it doesn't mean crap whether you're drafted 1st or 101st because it's a totally different game when you enter the pros compared to college. Once again I'm not a "pro" on football but just look at the history....We then stopped by me 'rents and chatted awhile with them.

Today we got up at a decent time and hit the road to go to the Indians game in Cleveland. Jen and Joe went up there for the weekend for their anniversary (Happy Anniversary!) and they got tickets so they invited us up there to meet them today. Once again it was a BEAUTIFUL day. Couldn't ask for any better. And the tickets were amazing (at least in my opinion). We were in the 8th row on the 3rd base line (not sure if that's the right way of describing it). Anyway, we've never had foul balls get that close to us. Joe and David, being the goobers they are, even brought their gloves along "just in case". There were some pretty close calls...just not close enough. So anyway, it was a great day to enjoy the weather, the game, and of course great conversation. Jen and I took a walk during the came and ended up over near the Batter's Eye for most of the game just soaking up the rays. You guessed it, my face is burnt....but that's it considering I had long sleeves and jeans on. Hey, I tried to get some sun by pulling up the pants and sleeves...don't think it helped though. On the way home we stopped in Avon at Red Robin for dinner and here we are. Of course we spent some time outdoors with the pups today too.

We even managed to stop in Elyria on our way to the game to pick up our mats at Michaels and framed our 2 big pictures tonight. All in all a great weekend that was enjoyable. It looks like the weather will continue to be nice, just not as nice as it was this weekend. We're looking at mid 50's-low 60's. But I won't complain. Keep it comin' Mother Nature!

And The Scale Says...

I got home from work today and thought I'd give myself the old try on the scale. To my pleasant surprise I have met my goal of 115. Of course we just got back from dinner at Casa Real and I'm sure it's no longer the 115 it was 1 hour ago, but it's still the best feeling to know that I'm finally at my "just married weight." I'm still going to continue watch what I eat and be in my stronghold position. I don't want to continue losing weight but I must reinforce what I've been doing to continue a lifestyle change. This time I wasn't so strict on myself. Of course I wanted certain things here and there but I kept myself from eating them. In addition I gave myself small rewards as to not give up on myself. It's amazing what one little piece of sugar free chocolate can do for you. One meal isn't going to ruin it for you...there's always portion control and planning ahead. For instance I knew I was going to have a bit of a "free" type of dinner tonight so I made sure I was watching everything I was eating for dinner last night and all day today. Even though I had a decent amount of chips and salsa (a huge downfall of mine) I reduced my general intake of food (entree) Whatever, I don't know why I'm rambling. The bottom line is that I'm excited.

Belly Laughs

I got a decent amount accomplished yesterday even though it was pouring down rain. I started at Pat Catan's looking for items to mat and frame David's Marine Corps pictures. I wasn't looking for anything extravagant and was in luck. I found red mats and gold frames. I'm beginning to like this matting and framing stuff. It makes everything looks so nice and professional. And this time it wasn't so expensive. For 3 picture mats/frames it was only $30. Sweet. Now, just deciding where to hang them. You see, we've tried ridding our lives of the Marine Corps as much as we could due to all of David's horrible experiences...too many to mention here. But I think he has finally come to terms with most of them and realized it was a significant part of his life. And he's finally decided that he should be proud of himself and what he went through to accomplish all that he did. Not to mention, this should preserve the photographs. It's kind of cool too. He has his normal picture from boot camp, where he's in Blues. The second one is the entire platoon standing at attention. Then the third picture is almost like a school picture where it has all of the pictures where they are in their blues. They are individually listed, with their names under the pictures. The funny/interesting part is that the second picture is with 1st Battalion (who he dropped to and graduated with) and the third picture is with 3rd Battalion (who he started with).

Next, I went to Walmart and got several boxes to store items in. I about ripped my nails off when I was trying to place them in the cart. I'm sure if someone was watching me on a security camera they would have been laughing as I was doing the "pain dance" and shaking my hand about. And boy was that fun maneuvering a cart through a windy parking lot with pouring down rain and then getting them into the Aveo. They definitely fit with no problem but I was trying to control the boxes and cart without allowing the cart to hit my car, all while my fingers were still throbbing. Fun.

Then, I headed to the mall to get my bi-weekly pampering done...my manicure. I love to have that done. Of course now that I've been having them done close to a year I'm stuck with it and can't get away...not that I want to get away, but we'd save more money if I did. Ah, whatever, it's something small I can do for myself...I save money in other ways.

I headed home and cleaned a bit then finally started my scrapbook for Disney. I've had most of the items before we even went to Disney but now I finally got my pictures printed out. I actually had all of them printed before that are in a photo album but I had more reprinted just to make a scrapbook. As with all of my scrapbooks it's nothing fancy and no layering or crazy stuff like that. Just using colorful paper, cool scissors, and some stickers here and there.

That evening we went to Jen and Joe's for our weekly dinner and had Lasagna compliments of Eric. It was very good and as always fun. It's great to be able to chill and have some good belly laughs. You know the kind that almost want to make you vomit. Not that it's fun to feel that way...but you do consider it fun when it feels like forever since you've had a good laugh and you look at your life and say, "where did all the laughter go?" I guess that's what happens when you grow up and have a serious day-to-day job with bills staring you in the face at every moment. Don't get me wrong...I have a very happy life but it's not so carefree as it used to be and it's nice to have a night of laughs where you don't know what to do with yourself...when you're laughing so hard that you just start clapping your hands and have to lean over to try to catch your breath. By the way, why do people clap when they're laughing hard?? Any ideas? All I can say is that you shouldn't take a bite of ice cream and try to swallow it when you're laughing....

Loft Update

I figured I'd update you on our loft/attic situation. I finally have boxes in it now! I've been bugging David and he finally helped me move the boxes from downstairs to the upstairs tonight. Of course that was following 5 cans of the Great Stuff Gap Filler. I can't believe he went through that many cans but most of you know he's freaked out by spiders and wants to keep all the creepy crawlers out of our space. The amount of space is amazing...pictures don't do it justice. It's kind of like the Willy Wonka door. It looks so small but it opens to a huge area. I think what helps is that you step down into the area so you don't even feel like you are squeezing through a small whole. And there's plenty of room to move the boxes in and out. Pretty cool though...not too many people can say they have a Willy Wonka door in their house.

So we're moving in the right direction and at this point I'm ready to pitch stuff that we don't need and organize. Only, my body is telling me it's time for bed. Tomorrow is my day off and of course I have many things I plan to get accomplished. First, getting the boxes out of the garage and moving them to the loft, then off to the store to get more boxes so we can organize things that we have shoved into tiny spaces, such as our closets. Oooh, this should be fun.

Change Isn't Always Good

I picked David up after I got done with work. We headed out to get something to eat. Our first idea was KFC and then the idea of Berardi's popped in my head. Hmmm...a char chicken salad sounds good and I haven't had it in forever. I swear that mom, dad, and I spent almost every night there when I was in high school. It was a "cheap" dinner that was always hearty and fast. However, David's not that into Berardi's. But he said, "Go ahead, let's go there. We haven't been there in awhile."

We pulled up to find the 'rents there too. Pretty ironic since they haven't been there in awhile either. They had already eaten but stayed awhile with us. I got my usual salad but I must say it's just not the same. Berardi's isn't the same.

The portion was really small, but for the same price I used to get it at. It's not that big of a deal because I immediately boxed half of it (one of my weight loss techniques) so I didn't eat it all and had some for tomorrow. But boy, was it tiny. It still was very yummy. Then you don't have your usual waitresses that used to be there ALL the time. You have a few here and there. The new waitresses aren't necessarily bad, but it's just different. Same thing with the decor....not bad but different. Everytime I go in something is different or renovated. I think they're trying to make things more up to date, but it's almost as though they're trying too hard or something. Another thing is all the advertising that is EVERYWHERE. From the tables with ads on them to the coffee mugs you drink out of. It's one of those places that you think will never change, that will be a constant, and provide a small amount of "comfort". But I must say I was kind of disheartened and feeling out of place. Bummer.

Monday's Thought For The Day

Tulips

Even though I dug out tons of bulbs last fall there was a set that still came up. I must admit I have no complaints...they are beautiful and fit perfectly in the space below our back window....

Full Weekend

As we figured, it was a full weekend but we got tons done. Obviously we have a hole in our wall and that's an ongoing process. The floor should totally be done by tomorrow and then David hopes to finish up the door to make it look "finished" within the next week. Today we went out to breakfast and made a quick stop at Home Depot and did our grocery shopping at Meijer. Then we headed home. David worked a little on the loft then he went golfing and I headed to Tera's bridal shower. Then after that we met up at Jen and Joe's to work on their yard. As with the hole in the wall, this is definitely a work in progress. We made huge progress but it will be slow as we piece their yard together. It will look beautiful in the end though...that I am sure of. We stayed for dinner....BBQ chicken with fruit salad and potato salad. Yum. Summer is here...at least I say so. Even though you end up tired at the end of the weekend it's a great feeling to know that you've accomplished so much. Now on with the work week.....

Hole, Door, And Floor

It is now 12:36am and I thought I'd update you on our situation. We now have a hole, door, and floor in for our loft area. Yay! Thanks to a ton of work from David and Joey. Whew. They kick butt. There are a few things left...like finishing the floor (they ran out of screws) and then fixing some of the wall around the door and making the door more presentable but it looks like by tomorrow evening I may just be able to put some stuff in that space. I'm so freakin' excited. Thanks so much David and Joey. And of course Jen for lending us your husband for the day. Next up....Jen and Joey's backyard tomorrow....should be fun!!

The Door

The Floor Before

The Floor Getting Re-Done

Sunny Day

The weekend is here and it looks like it's going to be beautiful! I'm very excited. Today I'm planning on going up to Toledo to Levis Commons with Jen. The guys are going to stay home and hopefully we'll have some form of hole in our wall by the time we get home. David's wanting to put up a door and all in the hole. Of course I just want a hole in the wall and then we'll go from there. Yes, a door would be great, but I like to be realistic in thinking what can actually be done in one day. Anyway, then tomorrow is the start of our "wedding season." It's our first bridal shower of the season....for Tera and Gabe. So while us girls go to the shower the guys are planning on doing their usual thing...golfing. In between all of that I hope to be able to get out and just enjoy the weather. Every weekend in May we have something planned, which is great but it's hard to make sure you get things done around the house when you actually have something planned for each weekend. Of course if you break it down you only tend to have something planned 1 of the 2 days of the weekend. But when you want to tackle a project I try to give myself some breathing room, remembering that you always hit speedbumps in the road when trying to accomplish something. As always I have a list of items I want to have done by the end of the summer. But you know how that goes....limited time and limited money. I'd be happy just to have a few things accomplished...I'd even settle for 1 or 2 to have done, since they are pretty big jobs....like the kitchen cabinets and bedroom floor. We're still not sure what our plans are to bedroom floor still. Do we want to refinish it, paint it, or what? We could even leave it as is, but I can't see that happening. Well, since we're not doing that this weekend, I don't have to worry about it, so why should I? I'll keep you posted about the hole in the wall.

Rest In Peace Marley

Today was a day that I've been dreading for a while. One of my coworker's pets has been sick for awhile. If you can remember back to a previous post we had performed a splenectomy on her back in December. I never filled you in on the result of her biopsy but it ended up being a hemangiosarcoma (cancer). She did amazingly well through these past few months. She'd have bad days but then would rally and get back on her feet again. And there was several times where we thought she was at the end, only to prove us all wrong. Such an amazing dog that brought so much happiness to those around her. She woke up today having problems breathing. And anytime she would get up her body felt it was too much and she'd fall over. So today was her day to get on her way to see her friends in Heaven.

Shelly, my coworker, gave me a call just to let me know what was going on and she invited me to come see her off, and I took her up on that in a heartbeat. You see, this is one of the first pets that I've had to put down that almost feels as though it's part of my family. My parents put my childhood dog, Toto, down when we were living in New Orleans so I didn't have direct contact with the situation. We perform this procedure on a normal day-to-day basis and everyone always asks, "How can you do that? I'd cry everytime." The answer is that you tend to get this thick rhino skin that keeps you from crying. You try not to identify too much with the pet or what's going on, while at the same time giving your respect and understanding what they and the client are going through. It's something I never thought I'd be able to do but it just comes with time. I must say though that there are times when I do cry. Sometimes even with the client, sharing their grief...especially when you know the client and the pet well.

As I said this is a day of been dreading, but at the same time I've come to terms with. I had my crying time over it and today went quite smoothly and I have yet to shed a tear. And that's not in a bad way. Instead of being sad to see her go I am happy knowing that she will greet her friends, both old and new, in Heaven. And as with every pet we euthanize I made sure to whisper in her ear, "Tell Toto I said 'Hi!'." Rest In Peace Marley....

11/4/98-4/18/07

Markizm

Today was a long day but after I got off of work I headed to the 'rents house to help them do some stuff. Mom needed to book a car for her and Ande's trip to Florida in one month. So we did that and then we set up a blog for dad. He's been showing some interest and finally said, "Ok, let's set one up." So I helped him get started. As with any blog it is a blog in the making. Be sure to stop by Markizm and say "hello". I think he'll enjoy it and it will be an outlet for him, as I have found this blog to be for me.

I can't believe tomorrow is Wednesday. Time flies...and I can't say that it flies when you're having fun. It just flies no matter what. When I took out the trash at the end of the work day I realized how nice of a day it was. Too bad tomorrow's not supposed to be the same. I quickly gave David a call and asked him to fertilize the lawn so that it will soak in with the rain tomorrow. And he's such a wonderful husband that he did it without any complaints. But I must say I'm not looking forward to the aftermath of fertilizing. That just means mowing the lawn more. But to look at the brighter side of things, we will have a more beautiful lawn. I know it has the potential. As with everything it will take time.

I'm hoping everyone is having a good week and this is too having a surge to get to the weekend.....

Monday's Thought For The Day

Full Weekend

Our weekend ended up being full but enjoyable. I ended up going to David's gig after all. On Friday night when he went to meet up with the band we found that he could get us free tickets so my 'rents opted to also go, giving me someone to ride with for the trip. I also found a dress to wear for the weddings coming up. Of course I'm going to need atleast one more, but I can't complain given that it's really hard to find anything and I find something on the first try. Sweet. David's gig went very well. It was a long set but at the same time was quite enjoyable. Here are some pictures. Sorry they are blurry. I have found that our camera doesn't do very well with low light and no flash. The stabilization is horrible. I took some video too. I hope to post them sometime later.

The opening act was very good also. His name was Shane Piasecki. You can also check out his myspace site. We didn't get home the concert until after 1am and ended up sleeping in until 11am on Sunday. Haven't done that in awhile.

On Sunday we ate lunch at Panera and walked the mall and got some of our bath and body works hand soap since it was on sale. And I should've listened to my husband. He said, "I thought we still had some." And I said, "Yeah, we do. But only one left because I just got one out to replace the one in the kitchen." Boy was I wrong. Try 6 plus the additional 4 we got yesterday. Whoops. When I went to get one last time I obviously didn't check in the bag next to the "normal" bag. Whatever. You can always use soap.

We stopped by Jen and Joe's for a bit in the afternoon then we headed home so I could mow the lawn. Yes, it's the first mow of the season. It felt good and I enjoyed it. My body hurts today though...It's out of shape with the whole vibrating mower and holding the weed eater and stuff. Mostly my arms and some of my legs. I hate it after I get done, especially the first few times because my hands can't stand still. It's almost as if I need sugar because my hands just shake. Anyway, Jen and Joe ended up coming over with their beautiful daughter Emma. Joe and David tossed a softball around while us girls watched. And we had burgers on the grill for dinner.

Something cool too...Joe climbed our antenna tower and checked out our loft space. Some of you may know, but we have a loft above the back of our house but the only way up is on an antenna tower. But it has a floor and shelves. We're guessing the previous owners had some sort of pulley system to get stuff up there. And we've been wanting to cut a hole in David's bedroom wall (yes, his beautifully new painted wall) to make a door to enter the loft. So we'd have tons more storage space that is easily accessible. The guys were checking that out and feel that it is possible, so we may be having a hole in our wall next weekend. Hopefully a good hole though. I think that's about all that happened this weekend. Here are a few pictures from Sunday.

Weiners

As usual, I have another story to tell. Last night David and I were laying in bed having our nightly conversation and were discussing what he'd be wearing to the gig tomorrow. When he first told me what he was planning on wearing I totally misunderstood the shirt he was talking about, which then meant the outfit that I thought he was describing would totally clash. We cleared that up only to have conflicting thoughts as to what the color of the actual shirt was. He stated that it was black and I stated that it was navy blue. As usual, we didn't back down from each other and I said that I'd bet him on it (which is something I'd never do. I always know I'm right but I hate the bet idea). Anyway, the bet was if I was right David would owe me a trip to DairyFrost for a small splurge of ice cream and his side if he won was that he got another Vikings thing for his room. Deal. We shook hands and I said that we'd check it out in the morning. No. Of course David couldn't go to bed at this point and he went to get the shirt. Are you serious? Now I find this quite funny because we've totally switched roles here. I'd normally be the one being anal about it and this time it's him.He disappears for a few minutes and takes an awful long time to come back to the bedroom, so I'm thinking, "Ah, he's wrong and doesn't want to admit it." But just then he walks in and says, "We're both weiners!" There's no dominant color in the shirt. There are all these stripes and with both colors. So what does that mean? We're both wrong and the bet is null and void. We had to laugh about it as we say to each other, "I don't remember the shirt really looking like that...." We then roll over and go to sleep. These are the small moments in life that make it fun. When you get to share a chuckle at no one's expense.

Lifestyle Change

This weekend's going to be interesting. David has his gig up in Toledo tomorrow, but he also has to meet with the group this evening. So more than likely starting this evening at 6pm I probably won't see David for the next 24-48 hours. I'm going to an Arbonne party at 6, his meeting tonight is at 7 until?? Then tomorrow I work from 9-noon and he has to be up in Toledo at 1pm, meaning he has to leave the house probably around 11:30am. Then I have another party...Home and Garden. And I don't expect David home until atleast 1-2am considering the gig doesn't even start until 7:30pm and there's an opening act. Did you catch all of that?? I'm not sure even I did.

I ended up having the day off today due to the vacation schedule with 2 coworkers, so I've gotten some things done. I've also been fighting back cravings. Yes, that's right, here comes a lifestyle change.

About 2 years ago my dad was diagnosed with diabetes and started a hardcore lifestyle change. He was so inspiring that David and I also buckled down and I ended up losing around 20 excess pounds. Of course after several months I started to slack off and here I am still eating things I don't need to eat. And for some reason I've tried to buckle down and can't seem to have enough motivation or something. I think a big thing is that I'm not so motivated to lose 20 pounds, just a few this time and feel better about myself. I hate to call it a diet because I truly feel that it's a lifestyle change. I need to get my body back in check and remember you only eat to live and not live to eat. A very hard concept. The first few days are always hard because my mind keeps saying, "you're hungry" and I'm not really hungry. Listen to the belly, not the mind.

I'd like to be able to get to the point where I was before...when I'd walk down the aisle at the grocery store the sweets (donuts, cakes, etc.) actually made me feel sick to my stomach. Wishful thinking, I know, but I can at least hope. If it's happened once, it can happen again. David and I were talking about this the other day and it's almost as though you start to see food in a negative light. For instance, we tend to eat out a lot and when you're watching what you're eating, it's not so fun to eat out. In addition, the food you get tends to be more expensive and not be as satisfying. So you start to eat less. Another thing is that you start to eat at home more too, and I tend to eat the same thing over and over which once again makes you not want to eat that much. It's then that your body realizes that you don't need a full plate of food or several helpings but a small bit. I'll keep you posted on how it goes.

Our Little Pudge

The other day we went over David’s ‘rents house and I asked him to put some clothes on the dogs since they were going “out”. For those of you who don’t know, yes, our pets do wear clothes. And yes, they do like to wear them. I know, I can hear everyone out there mumbling some smart comment. But whatever. They're our kids and that's the way it is. So he put something on each of them and I came in the room to find that Viking had an oversized jersey on and Lily had a WAY too tight sweater. I just had to laugh. I finally said, “I appreciate you trying, but that won’t work.” So we went back in the room and chose something for both of them. But as we were looking for something I realized there are so many items that no longer fit Lily, so I put it in the back of my mind to organize her clothes. So I decided to do that today before going to work. Not to mention it’s almost spring and I figured I’d change their “wardrobe” that hangs on the wall from winter clothes to spring/summer clothes. I have little sterilite boxes that stack in the closet and each one is assigned as to what goes in them….old clothes, old clothes that don’t fit, spring clothes, etc. As I was changing everything out I figured I’d try most of Lily's outfits on, that were hanging up, to see what actually fits. Omigosh, I can’t believe my little girl is no longer so little. She’s a pudge now. I never thought that it’d happen. Now mind you she’s not huge but let’s just say you can’t see her ribs anymore and her waistline isn’t as trim as it used to be. I’m not complaining, as I never thought that I’d have to worry about her getting too big. But it was so funny and she was a real trooper as I put one thing on, took it off, and put another thing on. With them not going out so much they don’t wear as many clothes as they used to so it’s not something that we notice that much. Just thought it was funny. Then I think about all the parents out there that go through so many baby/kid clothes because their kids grow so fast. It’s kind of like trying to get everything on the kid at least once before they grow out of it, but of course you always have your favorites that the kid ends up in almost all the time. Whew, one more reason...because I'm sure that dog clothes are cheaper than human clothes...just a guess. Anyway, it made me have a little chuckle in my day. Maybe it will give you a chuckle too.

Monday's Thought For The Day

Yes, You Can Eat Too Much Jello

Where'd the weekend go?? It's amazing how weekends fly by in a blink of an eye. Not to mention my poor little eyes didn't want to awake this morning. I can't say we had a busy weekend but it was full. Friday we got our computer hooked up and now we're zooming. I'm very happy and even with the short period of time I was playing with my Pinnacle it didn't crash on me. Sweet. We also ordered B-Dubs and had carry out. I guess that was a pretty good idea, as almost everyone else in the city of Sandusky wanted to check out the new scene (the new B-Dubs FINALLY opened within this past week.) I was quite surprised as it was Good Friday and all and I figured it'd be empty, but it wasn't...so our plan for take out was a very good plan. Anyway, the food was great, as usual. I gotta tell you though, I think the prices continue to rise. I used to go there in high school all the time and I know I wasn't spending that much on my food with such a small imcome. For 3 sets of 12 boneless wings, a basket of onion rings, and a basket of cheddar buffalo chips it was $40. Now mind you that was for 4 people so it was still $20 a person (approx. what we'd spend if we went out, but still....) On Saturday we headed to Elyria to use our Texas Roadhouse giftcard (compliments of Julie). As usual, the food was great. The main reason we went up to Elyria was to get some things done for our "Sandusky stairway". We've been collecting items and now it's time to mat and frame. Yikes. I thought we were spending a lot of money getting these items, boy was I wrong. The framing will be more. And of course everything is odd shaped so they either must be matted or custom framed. To reduce costs we definitely went with matting everything to fit a normal sized frame. Those frames being 24X36. I gotta say I was kind of thrown for a loop. To begin we got decent frames for a decent price at Pat Catan's last weekend only to find that they didn't fit. So we returned them thinking we would have to custom frame. Then my lightbulb went on thinking..."there's a michaels in elyria." So we went up there. I had an experience with my mom a few years back at our michaels (which is now closed) and they made the mat while she was waiting. Well, we didn't have that luck. It takes 5-7 days to make them, which means we'll have to go back up to elyria at some point within the next 2 weeks and they were $32 a piece....just for the mat. I guess I didn't know what to expect, but it wasn't that. And remember, now we still have to pick up frames again since we returned our previous choices. Maybe next week....we already hit our budget for the weekend in 1 day. Thanks to a gift card and the holiday we didn't spend much more during the weekend. Whew. But now we have 3 pictures framed and 2 will be matted. Now they need framed. And we still have 3 pennants to mount and postcards to mat and frame. I'm sure there's other things to do but I can't think of anything at this time. That evening was spent with David's 'rents coloring eggs and then I made the Double Decker Knox Blocks for Easter. Yum. Easter went great, but I think I have realized, yes, you can eat too much jello. I love these Knox Block things. My Aunt Daleen makes them for every holiday and they're so yummy. After years of saying, "I gotta get that recipe." I finally asked for it and I'm glad I did. However, I made two double batches. One for David's family and one for my family. And I think once the lid came off I didn't stop eating those things. Needless to say I was bloated and feeling quite large for about 3-4 hours following our feasts. Oh well, I had waited for those things and they were very yummy. That's about all that happened this weekend. The next few weeks already look full. This next weekend David will be in Toledo doing a concert with Dan May. They're having a run through or something on Friday night and he'll be in Toledo all day on Saturday. Then the following week we have a family bridal shower on Sunday. Then the following 2 weeks look open (for now). Then a wedding. As far as I know we'll have 4 weddings to attend this summer. With everything coming it's easy for me to want to put things to do around the house on the back burner...meaning kitchen cabinets, bedroom floor, downstairs bedroom and bathroom. I don't even want to think about it. But I'm sure something will get done amidst the crazy schedule. Ah, we'll see. Happy Monday everyone!

Happy Easter

Good Friday

Ah, today is Good Friday. You'd expect the sun to be shining ready for Easter. Not so in northern Ohio. Try 30 degrees, which feels like 19, and a light blowing snow. A far cry from last week's mid 70's. Unexpectedly David had the day off today. I guess we should've known but they didn't let him know until yesterday. He was expecting to lay low and practice for his gig with Dan May that's coming up next weekend, but when he awoke he found that his rear tire on his work van was totally flat. It had a nail in it. Considering he's on call this weekend he had to get it fixed. So much for having a relaxing day. Not only was it cold while he was trying to change the tire, but he had a hard time getting the tire off the underside of his van due to rust. But anyway, I just got a call a bit ago and he said he's all finished and heading home. At this time I'm at work waiting for our next client to come...which isn't for a couple hours...our doctor had to leave in the middle of the day for an appointment, which means I must keep myself busy by cleaning. Nothing much is planned for the weekend. Of course family things on Sunday and that's about it. Tonight we're supposed to have our computer upgraded by Joey P. I'm excited for that...zoom zoom. Hope the 'puter goes faster. We shall see.
Can you believe our grass is ready to be mowed? Well, at least in my eyes. I can't wait for the warm weather to return, because you better believe that stuff's going to be cut ASAP. I can't believe I'm actually excited to mow the lawn. Give me a few weeks. I'll hate it. It's just so time consuming and when you get home and realize, "man, after working 11+ hours I still have to mow the lawn..." it gets kind of frustrating. But it will be nice to once again set up our patio furniture and chill outdoors, enjoying your hard work. I'm feeling pretty bad for the flowers. They are so confused. They start to come up then it freezes again. And considering this has happened a few times I think they are about shot for the year. But as I've stated in the past, this is a rebuilding year for our lawn. I took a lot of bulbs out at the end of last year and some this year too. I plan to replant new ones later this year. Don't get me wrong, they were beautiful, but I'd like to make my own twist on our backyard, and hopefully get certain areas under control. Our grass isn't horrible but that needs some rebuilding too. It will come. It will come. Must be patient. Alright I better get to cleaning. Hopefully everyone has a wonderful weekend and stays warm...maybe the sun will shine...

They've Arrived

Our New crocs
Originally uploaded by heidihvt.

A Sprinting Bean

Lily Running
Originally uploaded by heidihvt.

I just love this picture. It's not amazing or anything, but I find myself smiling everytime I see it.

Monday's Thought For The Day

I was a little late posting today, but better late than never...

It's A Beautiful Day

Is anyone else surprised that it is already April? And Easter is next Sunday? That seems too crazy. Time flies when you're having fun. Today was a gorgeous day. We spent much of the afternoon outside with the dogs. They had tons of fun running around and I had a good time taking some pictures and soaking up some well needed sunshine. This is almost the perfect weather for me. Every so often the wind will kick up and the sun goes behind the clouds, making it chilly. But otherwise it's wonderful. It's hard to believe that they have 40's forecasted for mid to late this week and even possible snow. Bummer. But that's Ohio for you. In addition to today's wonderful weather we had a good weekend that was spent with friends and family. I also am totally finished with one of my classes for this semester. Whew. One down, one to go. I think I've determined what classes I will be taking next semester. I'm going to up my amount of classes from 2 to 3 next semester. I've done it in the past, but wish me luck as I take this on. I must be crazy for increasing my amount of classes in the summer months, but hey, I want to graduate in the near future. I know this is a short post but I want to ready myself for the week...getting things together and securing any loose ends. Have a great start to your week!