Friday, May 31, 2013

7 Quick Takes (4)


1. At 5:30 a.m. this morning my alarm system blared like someone was trying to break into a bank. As I lept from my bed (with a heart attack) I was sure someone was trying to break into my house. I grabbed my phone and started stumbling down the steps turning on all the lights as I went. While tripping over my half asleep self I had a vague thought that I had no way to defend myself if it was a burglar. Apparently I was going to be the girl that runs back upstairs and hides in the shower like in every horror movie you've ever seen. Fortunately, the torrential downpour outside had just happened to splash water all over the flood sensor in my basement, tripping the alarm. Thank goodness, I wasn't going to be murdered and my basement wasn't really flooding. On the unfortunate side, we live in the country surrounded by fields, with field mice (bleh). I guess one of them must have eaten the poison in the basement and he decided to die right in the middle of my carpeted basement tv room. Disgusting! I will save you the dead mouse photo. 

2. With the humidity that has been in the air lately my hair has been a little bit cray cray. All the wispy pieces of hair right around my face like to frizz out into a lions mane that I assure you is beautiful. I really need to remember to snap a photo of this sometime because you probably have to see it to believe it. Anywho...I decided that maybe I should attempt to find some sort of taming product. Tame my mane...like taming a lion...get it?! Anyone have any good suggestions? The current hair products I own consist of shampoo and conditioner. The end. That's it. Not even an old can of Aquanet. Do people still use that? So suggestions would be appreciated and my hair is already really thick and heavy so let's avoid the heavy hair products. Mkay? Mkay!
Sorta like this only not red.
via
3. One of the new daily rituals in my house is pulling ticks of my dog. What has happened to my life?! A year ago I was revolted by the idea of touching a tick on my dog and now I make him sit still every night for 20 minutes so I can pull them off of him because I'm afraid there going to suck all his blood. We use tick meds every month but they still seem to find, and cling to him like Bella to Edward Cullen. I have decided that even though the tick meds say they are waterproof what they really mean is....if your dog steps in a tiny puddle they are waterproof... not... swim across the pond 40bajillion times a day waterproof. 

The things I do for this little puppy...

4. I started watching Downton Abbey a couple weeks ago on Netflix and am now in the middle of Season 2 that I checked out from my local library. Why did nobody insist I watch this show earlier? It's ridiculously addictive with all sorts of drama and scandal that seems even more dramatic and scandalous since it takes place in the early 1900s. I totally love this show and am insisting that you watch it. Plus everyone has lovely accents and they say things like jumpah (jumper). Watch it now.  

via

5. I talked to Seth about having a garage sale this weekend and he suggested I go garage sale shopping instead. Who am I to argue with a husband who wants me to shop? I will have to be sure to drag my butt out of bed early Saturday morning so I don't miss all the good bargains. 

6. It boggles my mind how many people feel like it's okay to ask you when you are going to have kids. Close family and friends, sure I'm fine with them asking, but all the people you sorta know, talk to at work because you have to? NO. Don't ask. It's none of your business. Usually, I'm just a smart ass and tell them we'll have kids when they want to pay my husband to move back into the state. I know we dated forever before getting married but we have yet to live under the same roof for more than a couple days at a time. Plus, every time they ask, I always wonder, "what if we had been trying to get pregnant and can't?" It's not true for us (at this point anyway) but I know it's true for lots of other couples. It's gotta be hard for those couples who are wanting nothing more than a baby and people ask constantly when they are going to have one. Take a hint people and quit asking unless you know that the person is fine with it. 

To be completely honest, this question doesn't bother me personally a whole lot, I just feel like it is really rude. Sort of like asking someone how there sex life is. None of your biz-nass!

7. I'm currently obsessed with listening to audiobooks. I feel like I never have time to just sit down and read so I've been listening to books in my car and I seriously love them. Right now I'm listening to Jodi Picoult's, Handle With Care. It's fabulous and I love the readers. The only downfall to audiobooks is that I seriously get angry when people call me while I'm driving now. First world problems I guess. 

Have a stupendous weekend! Not to be confused with a stupid weekend which is probably what you'll have if you were confused;)



post signature


Linking up with Jen at Conversion Diary.

Wednesday, May 29, 2013

Three Day Weekends


Hello Wednesday!

Man, I love a three day weekend and getting to skip right over Monday (the work part of it anyway). I got to hang out with the husband this weekend which is always nice. I wish I could say we had a long relaxing weekend at the lake, or something like that, but we pretty much worked our butts off. 

Since we (I use that term loosely) finished building the shop, aka a 40'x60' "man cave" metal building for my husband and his hobbies (hunting, golfing, woodworking, fourwheeling, lawn mowing, etc.) we needed to run electricity and water down to it from the house. So, we spent all day Saturday and Sunday digging a 400 ft trench from the house down to the shop. Fortunately they make a "trencher" that does the actual digging for you, but it does not dig out around water lines or electric lines or anything like that so all of that was done by hand. Mostly my husbands hands (and back). 

While digging by hand we were never able to find the phone line and we accidentally cut through it with the trencher. We don't have a home phone so we figured no big deal. It was several hours later when I realized the wi-fi on my phone wasn't working and duh! our internet comes through our phone line. Awesome. Since we were so busy we didn't have much need for internet anyway so I just waited until Monday to call and they came out yesterday and hooked it back up. 

After spending Saturday digging, literally from dawn til dark, my husband finally came inside for some dinner and we were both passed out by 10:30. Don't be jealous of how exciting our lives are now. I got a break on Sunday when I got to sleep in before getting up to go to church. On my way home I swung by Home Depot, our home away from home, to pick up some plumbing pieces to be used inside the trench. We spent the rest of the day threading 4 electrical wires through 2" wide pieces of pvc. Only about 400 feet's worth or so. 

Once the electric was threaded down to the shop we got to work glueing the piping together for the water. I'm pretty excited about the water part because Seth also trenched a hole to put piping and a water hook up right next to my garden. This will make it super easy for me to water and rinse off some of the dirt before bringing my veggies inside. I would say we got about half way done with the water pipes before deciding to call it quits around 6pm. Hallelujah!

After showering off all the dirt only to realize some of it wasn't dirt but a nice farmers tan (lovely) it was time for date night! My favorite part of the week:) 

It was getting a little late by the time we got to the city and I was wanting to see a movie so we just went to the theatre and ordered food from the restaurant inside. I scarfed down my bacon cheeseburger like I hadn't eaten in weeks and we settled in to enjoy The Hangover 3. I honestly thought the movie was pretty good. Not as good as the first but better than the second. I'm easily amused. 

On the way home I managed to talk Seth into swinging through Wendy's to try out the new Frosty Waffle Cones...umm...delish. Good thing I usually only drive by Wendy's on my way home from working out or I would probably be eating these all the time. 

I think God decided we needed a day of rest, since we didn't take one Sunday, so we slept in Monday while it was storming out. Seth finally talked me into getting out of bed around 10:30 and I finished up his laundry while making some blueberry pancakes and bacon. Mmmmm bacon! By 1:30 he was packed up and back on the road to Texas, for work:( I sure do hate when he has to leave. 

Monday afternoon my mom and I went to the mall to check out the sales and I managed to only buy myself a cute new dress and shirt. Plus a handful of shirts for Seth. 

All in all a good weekend with lots, but not nearly enough, accomplished. Anybody else think every weekend should be a three day weekend? 

If I get a chance I will try and take some photos of our lovely trenched yard to post. Beautiful, I tell ya!



post signature

Friday, May 24, 2013

7 Quick Takes (3)


1. SOOO ready for this 3 day weekend. My work week has been crazy busy with people waiting to dump work on us before the holiday and then expect it that day or Tuesday. Hello people, it's a 3 day weekend which means I want to slack off all day Friday, NOT try to cram a weeks worth of work in just so you can have your taco banners yesterday. 

2. I'm seriously in love with this photo of my yard. iPhones are amazing as is Instagram. Oh, and Kansas is obviously beautiful in case you had doubts before. 


3. The mirrors in the Target dressing room are the most unflattering mirrors in the entire world. I'm pretty sure they would sell 10x the amount of clothes if they invested in better dressing rooms with a focus on the mirrors. I'm 5'9 and I look like a 4 ft oompa loompa in those things. It's time for an upgrade!
My hips pretty much look like this in the Target mirrors (source).

4. I'm attempting beef jerky in my dehydrator for the first time. I will have to have my husband test it and I will let you know how it is and if it's worth trying again. Gunnar already approves but that's not saying much since he eats everything including the non-edible. 

I can just picture him saying "did I do that?" in Steve Erkel voice.

Neighbors delivery:(


5. I need to do some major house cleaning. Two rooms in my house look like the closets exploded and it's all junk I need to get rid of. Our town is having their annual city wide garage sale next weekend and I'm hoping to get rid of some of my stuff. Or, maybe I will check out other people's junk instead....it's still a toss up. (I'll spare you the explosion photos)

6. If I stopped drinking pop (soda, pepsi, coke, whatever you call it) I'm pretty sure I could drop 10 pounds. Unfortunately, I think I'm addicted. I guess it's better than drugs...maybe. Who really knows. 

7. My day job is Prepress Designer. I wanted to share the following for anyone that has ever considered "designing" something that will need to be printed, please take my advice. 

  • If you don't know what a bleed is, hire someone that does. 
  • If you are considering "designing" artwork in word, excel, publisher or anything not in the Adobe Creative Suite, hire someone. 
  • If you don't know what Adobe Creative Suite is without googling it, hire someone that does.
  • If your mom is the only person that has ever told you "you're a good designer", hire someone that does it for a living.
  • If you don't know the difference between RGB or CMYK, or what they are, hire someone that does. 
  • NEVER use comic sans in any type of design. 
source

source

So true. source
  • If you don't know why these images are funny, or you don't think they are funny, hire a graphic designer. 
  • If I have offended you, it's more than likely you should hire a designer:)

I could continue but I think those basics should help weed out a lot of people. One more thing...If you are a real designer (ie: get a paycheck for it) use a freakin bleed when designing! Thanks:)

Okay, I feel better. Have a great weekend folks!


(UPDATE: Linking up with Jen at Conversion Diary)


post signature

Tuesday, May 21, 2013

Oklahoma Tornadoes

While my husband drove from home (Kansas) to work (Texas), on Sunday, I spent a long time on the phone with him. I tried to pull up the weather radar online as well as watch The weather Channel as he tried to dodge tornadoes that were sweeping through near Oklahoma City. He was driving down I-35 and at one point had to stop and turn around to drive back North in order to avoid the tornado's that were passing through. Thankfully he was able to get far enough away and wait out the tornado before continuing his trip. 

While I am beyond thankful for my husband's safety I still feel terrible for all of those who are dealing with loss from these deadly storms. My heart and prayers go out to the people in my neighboring state of Oklahoma. 


Source
Click here for ways to help.



post signature

Gardening 2013

It's garden season folks! Finally, I might add. 

After what I like to refer to as "the longest winter known to man" it's time to enjoy those beautiful spring days.

Last Tuesday I was able to get my garden planted after a couple days without rain. I've got a feeling I may have timed my planting perfectly again this year. Want to know why?

This is why...


...everything is sprouting!! 

Literally, everything I planted is popping through the dirt. The photos are from planting last week and when I checked it all out last night. Only 6 days after putting it in the ground! In case you can't tell I'm totally fascinated and amazed that this can happen in under a week. I'm also super excited for the produce to come. 


Gunnar "helping" me plant corn last week. That's potatoes to the left. May 14th.

Planting the Peaches and Cream sweet corn. Last Tuesday, May 14th. 


Onions on the left followed by 3 rows of potatoes. Next to the potatoes are two rows of corn.
Photo taken last Tuesday right after the corn was planted. May 14th

The corn sprouting last night! May 20th.

Strawberries that were planted last year and will produce this year. You need to pick the blooms off the first year so that they will grow and produce a lot the second year. May 20th.

The onions have more than doubled in size since last week.  May 20th.

Cant' remember what this is...cantaloupe maybe? 
Potatoes last night after doubling in size since last week.
These are the same ones Gunnar was sitting next to in the photo above. May 20th. 

Please ignore the weeds, it's been to wet the last couple days to weed and they sort of multiply when they get rain. 

There is lots of other stuff I have planted but haven't posted photos of yet. Including 10 tomato plants, 2 pepper plants, a jalepeno plant and a serrano pepper plant, lettuce, spinach, zucchini, squash, and pumpkins. Plus a few herbs like cilantro which is great for salsa. 

My husband loves spicy and so I hope to be making him lots of spicy salsa, with all those peppers, later on this summer. 

If you have any gardening questions feel free to let me know. This is only my second year with my "own" garden but my mom has had one my whole life. I have/had grandparents with Green Thumbs on both sides of the family so I'm hoping I got lucky and got the thumb and not just beginners luck last year. 



post signature

Friday, May 17, 2013

Spray Paint Love!


You see, I'm what many people might call indecisive and a touch ADD. Just ask my husband and he will tell you I can't even clean without flying from one room to the next before ever finishing anything. I get bored easily and have a strong urge for instant gratification. I blame the digital age for that one. So, starting new projects always sounds like a good idea but ends up just being a half-finished-pile-of-stuff stacked up in the garage or a spare bedroom. FOREVER. 

Well, yesterday I was Inspired by my new bloggy friend Kala. I decided to quit being indecisive and to take the plunge into a project I've been wanting to do for approximately 3 years now. And no, that's not an exaggeration. 

After work yesterday, I skipped my normal Thursday night workout (for more reasons than just this project) and headed to Wal-Mart for some puppy food. Seriously, I feel like all I do is buy puppy food. Pretty sure our grocery budget has doubled because of Gunnar. Anyway (see, ADD) while at the ole' Wally World I happened to stumble across the painting aisle. I decided on a can of yellow gloss spray paint and a few sheets of sandpaper before rushing out of the aisle in case I should see another color and change my mind 12 thousand times. I checked out and headed home determined to complete my projects that night!

What were my projects you asked? Well, 3 years ago my grandparents realized I like cool old things, like blue mason jars, oscillating fans and lanterns. Apparently that means I like all old things, which  I won't argue, but that means they gave me a few treasures. My Grandma (who this blog is named for) gave me her old yellow milking stool that she had when she was a little girl along with a neat old lantern. 

The lantern had the original glass in it until my dog broke it (while it was in it's pile of junk in the garage) but it's still pretty cool without the glass. Both of these items were covered in rust and dust and were looking a little bit rough, overall. 

So I dug out my stool and lantern, which were at this point in the junk room inside my house, and decided to get to work sanding. I just scrubbed all over with my sand paper until I got bored and figured, "eh, good enough". I washed off both items to remove all the dust and grime and then patted dry. Since I also happen to be impatient (it's that instant gratification thing) I decided the stool was dry enough to give the paint a go. I pulled off the lid of my spray paint and went to town. After several light coats I let it dry and started on the lantern. Several more coats on the lantern and then the stool and then the lantern and I was thrilled!! They turned out adorable and I can't wait for them both to dry completely so I can bring them inside to place proudly somewhere. 



I think I have definitely been inspired to branch out into the world of spray painting a bit more:)

Oh, and it was cheap!

Sandpaper - $3 (with a bunch left over)
Spray paint - $3.50


post signature

Thursday, May 16, 2013

A Texas Saturday

After way too few hours of sleep, Seth decided 7:00 am was a great time to wake up and get our lovely Saturday started in Texas. I beg to differ. I managed to shower in the size of an airplane bathroom and got dressed for adventure. We decided to start our day by heading back to Tesky's to exchange the jeans Seth had bought since the button popped off when he tried them on. I don't sew. I also happened to stumble upon a pair of cute jeans that my husband insisted I buy and who's going to argue with that?

By the time we left Teskey's it was probably around 9:30 and we drove, over an hour, to a neighboring town called Bowie. I made Seth swing through the McDonalds so I could have a potty break and get an iced tea. Of course I got locked in the bathroom stall that apparently only opens from the outside?? Not cool. Luckily a kind lady freed me. From there we headed to a giant swap meet type thing in Bowie and walked around checking out the vendors for a few hours. Some of the stuff was normal garage sale type crap that you wonder about and then they had tons of rabbits and goats if you wanted to buy those. I was determined to take something home with me and when Seth held up a potato ricer to me I thought he was crazy. Until, he told me he thought it could de-seed tomatoes! I thought this was pretty sweet since I love to use my homegrown tomatoes to make salsa and homemade ketchup. 

After making ketchup last summer I told Seth I would never make it again because it was a pain to get the seeds out. Little did I know they make things to take the seeds out. Duh. 
So I spent my Seth's $5 and got myself a de-seeder. Along with a hamburger:)

We left the swap meet to head back to the camper where I managed a 30 minute power nap so I wouldn't be a huge grumpy butt later that night. Once I decided to wake up we got dressed in our finest Texas gear. Okay, it was just jeans, my new shirt and adorable boots. Then we headed down to the Ft. Worth Stockyards.

Going out with our boots on!

We made it to the stockyards at 3:59 just in time to watch them walk all of the huge longhorns down the main road. I'm not going to lie. I was expecting 100 or so but there were only about 5 longhorns. Still kinda cool though. From there we walked around looking in shops which were all pretty touristy. I could tell Seth wasn't feeling it and that he needed a Mt. Dew. STAT! I made it my mission to find him one since I was there to have a good time and I wanted him to have fun too and apparently he needed some Dew to "dew" just that.


Pretty sure these were real cowboys.

Take the bull by the horns.

Hey ya'll!
At this point I was obviously hungry again so we found a cute little outdoor eatery that was in between several buildings called the "Love Shack". They had burgers and nachos and stuff like that so we stopped to relax, have a drink and eat some delish nachos. The music and people watching was great as I wrote our names on a brick wall. Don't worry, everyone was doing it.

Um...yum. 

Our names are there...written in pen since I don't carry sharpies around in my purse.

More people watching was done as we walked around waiting for the rodeo that started at 8:00. I've been to rodeo's in my past but never one in Texas so I was expecting something pretty cool. We went in early and got great seats. Close enough to get hit by cow patties as I think Seth described a little more colorfully. Then the rodeo started. Bull riders trying there darndest to hang on for that 8 seconds that seems like an eternity. Girls flying round the barrels on their horses while trying not to tip em over. Calf ropers doing there best to throw those cute little baby calves to the ground. It was great.
The Coliseum where the rodeo took place.

Checking out the animals before the rodeo.

Let's get ready to rumble!!!

It's a bit hard to focus on a bucking bull. 

Or horse for that matter. 

The rodeo ended about 10 and we headed over the the worlds largest honky tonk, Billy Bob's, where we got in free with our ticket stubs. There is a small bull riding arena inside BB so we watched a few more brave fellas try to hang on for dear life as the bulls tried to kill them. 
Side note: Seth's Dad was a bull rider back in his younger days. Apparently he was pretty darn good to because he would enter the 16 and under competition and win and then enter the adult competition and win that also. I would love to see some video footage of him riding because I can only imagine at this point. Maybe I will post a picture of him riding a bull sometime. It's pretty neat. Plus I know he lived to tell about it:)
Performing at Billy Bobs that night was, Diamond Rio. They may be oldies but they are still goodies. Haha. Seth kept cracking up at how old they were and how they probably used to jump higher back in the day. I enjoyed the old women down front who were pretty darn excited to see there favorite boy band. I obviously made Seth stay until the end of the concert so we could hear, "I'll start walking your way, you start walking mine..." while we watched the diehards out on the dance floor. At that point I let him drive me home to pass out, from exhaustion of such a busy day as opposed to the two Malibu and pineapple drinks.

Diamond Rio was jammin'

Last photo of the night. Too bad it's fuzzy.

Sunday morning we managed to sleep in a little later before getting up for breakfast at a local diner. I then packed up and headed back home to a full size shower and happily awaiting puppy. Luckily I will get to see me husband again Friday which makes for shorter weeks:)


Ya'll come back now, ya hear!


post signature

Wednesday, May 15, 2013

Texas Weekend

Well, I got a little bit country-fied this past weekend while visiting the hubs in the Lone-Star state. AKA: Texas. I think I surprised myself when I rolled over and actually got out of bed at 5:15 Friday morning (okay I snoozed my alarm once) to begin my drive. I'm not a morning person. Ever. Okay, once a year on black friday I will haul my butt out of bed to go watch the crazies fight over the $2 dvd but other than that, morning aren't my thing. Back to the real story...I was packed up and pulling out of the driveway at 6 on the dot to begin my 8 hour drive South. I passed the time by listening to audiobooks and realized I could probably be a trucker if they gave me audio books to listen too. And a big gulp. 

After a quick potty break at the truckstop/McDonalds on the turnpike (about an hour and a half into the drive) I decided I had enough grease and caffeine in my system to keep me awake for a few more hours before stopping to fill up with gas. From there I refueled on caffeine and grease and made it the last hour and a half into Texas.

On my way to Seth's camper I spotted his truck at the local gas station so I pulled in to say hello. He had just won $100 on a lottery ticket so I knew we were in for a good weekend. Sadly, he had promised the cashier half if he won since he had the guy pick the numbers. Oh well, $50 paid for my gas to visit so I still consider it a win. 

I followed Seth to his humble abode and home away from home. A camper parked in an RV lot. Sounds pretty glamourous right? I mean, we were basically glamping! Let me clarify that this is not a large camper. It's a pull behind and has no popouts or tall ceilings or anything of the sort. I'm so grateful for the things he deals with (like living in a camper) to help support us. 

Side Note: My husband gets a monthly per diem for working out of town. It's basically to pay for his expenses since he won't be living at home. When Seth started working for the company he knew he was going to be out of town all the time so he decided to buy a camper and live in that. He paid off the camper in the first year and now he just pays a monthly lot rent to park his camper wherever he's staying. This has saved some major bucks over the past 4.5 years since he's not paying a large monthly rent for an apartment. Plus, as soon as he is done doing the out of town thing (hopefully soon!) he can turn around and sell the camper for some extra bucks. He's a smart fella!

Well, after settling in to the camper (aka: carrying my suitcase and pillows inside) we were off to go take a tour of the local waste water treatment plant. Hahaha, I bet this is how most vacations start, right? Well, since my husband is working his butt of to build this darn wwtp I decided I better take a tour. Let's just say I was pretty impressed. Not by the sewage but by how the heck he knows what he's doing. It's crazy how many buildings and structures and this and that there are and he knows how to build it all and how it works. Blows my mind. 










Yep, he built it all...or told people how to build it. 


After the tour we headed back to the camper to change clothes and head out for some boot shopping and dinner. We visited a store called Teskey's that is apparently the place to get boots, clothes, horse supplies etc. Apparently, things close early in Texas because we got there at 5:45 and they were closing at 6. Seth still managed to find a couple pairs of jeans and two new shirts that weren't over the top country. I still hadn't found boots so we drove down the road and found a much smaller store with some way nicer people and that's were I found my boots!

They were all brown with some turquoise stitching on the sides and I loved them! Seth and the sales girl both tried to tell me they wouldn't be comfortable to walk in for long. I argued that I wouldn't be walking in them forever and they were CUTE. Plus they were the comfiest ones I tried on. Obviously I won, so we bought the boots and a new shirt and I wore my boots right out of the store and to dinner. 


Howdy partner!


Dinner was at a steakhouse that I can't quite remember the name of...Mesquite Pit maybe? After a sugary frozen daiquiri we were seated to enjoy a nice greasy appetizer of fried onions and jalepenos. Yum! Followed by a delish bacon wrapped filet mignon that basically melted in my mouth. I managed about 6 bites before I was stuffed and had to get a to-go box. 

We hit up the RedBox on the way back to the camper and rented a movie to watch since we had a big day ahead of us on Saturday. The movie was The Impossible and I will tell you that it was amazing and I cried approximately 4 times. You should rent it. Seth fell asleep and I had to blast the sound so I could hear the movie over his snoring. Oh, and apparently we are 90. 

Check back tomorrow for the conclusion to my trip. It includes rodeos, bull riding and the worlds largest Honky-Tonk!


post signature

LinkWithin

Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...