Not much to blog about

Don't really like the new Blogger templates...so I'm contemplating changing this blog. I'll let you all know if I decide to move it.

Just wanted to wish my husband a happy birthday!

Newest house project

Over the past 2 years we've been working really hard to get our house into tip top shape. As you may remember it was a foreclosure, and the previous owners didn't exactly keep up with the landscaping. Scott and I have ripped out a lot of stuff in the front, and our latest project was on the left side of the house. It had been pretty neglected, and there wasn't any plants there. We decided to build sort of a "retaining wall" (I'm not convinced that's what you might call it but that's the best I can come up with right now)

It took us the better part of 2 days to get it done, but I think it came out really nice!

(and Scott only found 2 little snakes hiding in the bags of mulch)

Next step is to move some of the zebra grass with have on the right side of the house so it will match, and then to put some of the mulch down that you see in the back of the picture.

Tried a new recipe!

Rachael Ray's Official Website

If you like chicken wings...and cornbread...you'll like this recipe!! We had it for dinner last night and it was really good. Definitely something I'll make again.

Have to say, there is nothing worse than having a mosquito bite on your toe! (Guess I will put some Windex on it)

A big surprise in North Carolina

Sometimes all it takes is a day or two away from your regular routine to make you realize that you have a whole lot of wonderful things in your life.

Sometimes, despite a bad economy and less money coming in your paycheck, you need to spend a little bit to spread some happiness.

Sometimes a surprise is all it takes to make someone else's day brighter.

All of this is true in my life today after my surprise visit to North Carolina this weekend.

My cousin Brittany is having a baby, due in October. When I got the invitation to her baby shower, despite it being in NC I immediately started planning to go. My mom was already spending the week with her parents in NC, I had tried to get time off to go with her but due to some work scheduling problems I wasn't able to get the week off. I was disappointed, but didn't give up hope. A few weeks ago I decided I was going to make the trip happen, even if it was only for two days. I bought a plane ticket to fly from Columbus to Greensboro and called my aunt and uncle to tell them I would be coming to the shower after all, but that I wanted to make it a surprise for Brittany.

The day before I left, I got my suitcase out to get ready to go,

walked out of the room for a minute and came back in to see this.

No Izzie, you can't go on the plane :-)

After a slightly chaotic night flying from Columbus to Washington D.C. en route to Greensboro...I arrived safe and sound in NC. (weather delays almost made me miss my connection)

Saturday we made our way over to my aunt and uncle's house to help them get ready for the shower. When Brittany arrived, I hid in the kitchen. As soon as she saw me she squealed and gave me a huge hug. Then the tears started...and of course the water works were flowing from both of us. (which is so surprising since hardly anyone in my family is a crier...NOT!)

After we all calmed down...we managed to get some good photos :-)

Brittany and her step mom, Jackie. (who hosted the shower)


















My mom with my cousin Kelsey (Brittany's sister)

Me with my beautiful cousins!

My mom with her mom!

Me, my mom, her brother and sister-in-law.

We laughed, we cried and had a great time at the shower.

To add to what had already been a fantastic weekend, driving on the way home Mom and I stopped in South Charleston,WV to see my best friend Kyra and her husband Bruce! We were able to stop for a little bit and have dinner with them...which really made my day!

On the way home we went to my parents house in Zanesville, so I got to see my dad and my brother..always a great thing!

And of course...I couldn't go to North Carolina without stopping at Hardee's for a hot ham-n-cheese sandwich. Seriously my favorite sandwich in the whole wide world! (and one you can't get in Columbus)

I am incredibly grateful to have such a wonderful family. Never mind the fact that we are all so spread out and sometimes it's a long time between visits, we always manage to have a great time. Despite a whirlwhind trip that lasted just over 36 hours, my heart is full of great family memories...and it was

Worth. Every. Penny.

Cards for soldiers

I recently found out about a group called Operation Write Home. It's a group where card makers will send in cards that get shipped to deployed soldiers, who can then in turn send them to their spouse/significant other/kids. All of the cards need to be homemade, and there are certain restrictions for what can go on them. For instance, glitter is apparently dangerous for our military members overseas. I, for one, did not know that, but I'm glad they pointed it out because I happen to normally use a lot of glitter.

You can send in as many cards as you like. I started going through my "stash" to see if I could challenge myself to make cards without buying anything new.

Apparently I succeeded because I just mailed 25 cards to them today! :-)

Hopefully they will like what I sent, and I can continue doing this in the future.

Excitement popped after cheaper popcorn fails to deliver

It's no secret I love popcorn. I love to make it in a pan on the stove, and when I make it, I make a ton! My favorite brand is Orville Redenbacher and I like to buy it in the 45 oz. jars.

It can get somewhat expensive since we go through so much of it. So, being the bargain person that I am, I decided to buy a different brand because I needed popcorn and the Redenbacher was almost $6 (it wasn't on sale)

BIG MISTAKE! It hardly popped, and the kernels were really dense, so it sounded like we were eating potato chips because it was so crunchy. I was really disappointed. Won't do that again!

All I wanted was a smoothie

I went to the store and decided to try a new flavor of the Yoplait frozen smoothies. You know the ones...where it has the frozen fruit and all you add is milk. The new flavor was chocolate and banana. Funny thing is, when I was checking out, the cashier scanned the bag, and then stopped. The computer asked for my birthday...you know...just like when you get carded buying alcohol. Thing is...THERE'S NO ALCOHOL IN THESE! :-)

She waved it off and then I took it home. Little did I know that wouldn't be the only problem I had with this new smoothie.

I went to make one last week. I put the stuff in the blender just like I was supposed to, turned it on and POW! I got hit with milk, all over my new shirt. Why? Because a piece of glass broke out from the blender. Now, it was an old blender so there's no crying over spilt milk here...but I was pissed I had to throw out the smoothie mix! :-)

Another Izzie story

I feel pity for the baby rabbit that ventured out into our backyard this morning. If I had seen Izzie charging after me like she did that bunny, I would run for my life too.

It all started with a normal trip outside for the dog to do her business. I saw the rabbit before she did, so I at least had time to brace myself for what was to come. When she sees an animal there's no stopping her. She of course took off, trying to climb under the deck because that's where the bunny decided to hide. Apparently the bunny then ran to the other side of the deck, because all I could see was the leash running along the end of the deck and a dog so desperate to catch this little guy that she was willing to squeeze under it despite being too big. In the end she managed to knock off some of the flowers from the pot I have sitting on the end of the deck, and the bunny ran away.

Let's just say she was told she was a bad dog this morning...

Houdini Izzie strikes again!

We thought she was safely padlocked into her cage....actually she was, but found another way to get out of her cage. She knocked the door and got it to fold inward.

Can't blame her for trying :-)

Stuffed cookies

I made a new recipe over the weekend...Chocolate Chip Cookies stuffed with double stuffed Oreo's. PURE HEAVEN! Here's where I got the recipe from: http://picky-palate.com/

YUMMO!

Sleepy Puppy

Izzie spent 4 days with her "uncle" Brody (my parent's black lab) and this is how she spent the next 4 days.

My best friend's wedding

My beautiful best friend Kyra got married over the weekend! I couldn't be happier for her and her new husband Bruce!! :-) More pictures to follow...

Interesting phrase

Tobey, a 50ish lb yellow lab who belongs to my in-laws is staying with us for a few days...
I can't believe I uttered this phrase tonight: "Tobey, stop chewing on the butt hole"
That lab chews on everything!
(this time it was a rubber chicken)

And no...I do not have a picture to go with it.

Using my Cricut

I've been using my scrapbooking toy (Cricut) a lot lately so I thought I would share one of the cards I made with it. :-)

My musical inspiration

Imagine this, you are driving in your car, and all of a sudden a song comes on the radio from wwaaaayyy back when...and you are instantly taken back to a point in your life where this song was prominent. That happened to me the other day, so I thought I would share just a few that stuck out in my mind. Enjoy!

On Bended Knee by Boys II Men

Who doesn't have a memory when they hear a Boys II Men song?

As soon as I hear this song it takes me back to middle school dances at Sells Middle School. They must have played this song at EVERY one of them that year. As soon as the slow songs came on...the boys scattered unless they had a girlfriend, then they were dragged out to the dance floor. The rest of us (myself included) spent the entire song hanging out on the perimeter of the dance floor just wishing the guy we had a crush on would come to his senses and ask us to dance. Of course, he never did. :-) Aww...the angst of teenage hormones.

So Very Hard To Go by Tower of Power.

This song was part of our marching band show my freshman year in high school. It was by far my favorite that year. I rememeber on Friday's they used to play our school songs over the loudspeaker in between classes. This year they actually played some of the songs featured in our show. It was fun to listen to until you discovered you were "marching" to the beat as you walked down the hall.

Gave new meaning to the phrase band dork...

Malaguena by the Madison Scouts.

My absolute favorite song from all of the marching band shows I've done. This was in the show my senior year, and I was so excited to be on the center podium directing it at the contest where we beat our rivals...the Grove City Marching Band. I can remember that night like it was yesterday :-) Madison Scouts happen to be my favorite drum corp as well!!

We will rock you by Queen

I went to Dublin Coffman High School...mascot: the Shamrocks. Yep...We will rock you was certainly played a few THOUSAND times during those four years!

The Hardest Thing by 98 degrees

Yeah, I grew up in the boy band era. :-) This video is terrible but you get the idea.

I used to listen to this song right after I met Scott. He was dating someone else...I thought he should be dating me...I got him in the end so I guess that's all that matters. ha!

Save the best for last by Vanessa Williams.

See description above...yep same thing :-)

For once in my life: Cover by Michael Buble

This was the song Scott and I danced to at our wedding. Always makes me smile.

Smile by Uncle Kracker

This song was played at the funeral of a family friend who passed away from cancer. While it portrays everything we love about Kevin, it also makes me think about all of the great things in my life. I can't help think about Kevin and remember his incredible sense of humor, and how he really truly would give you the shirt of his back if that's what you needed. I feel truly blessed to have known him.

God gave me you by Dave Barnes

This is a song I stumbled on a few months ago. I think it certainly fits in my life right now. God love my husband for loving me!

You drive me crazy by Britney Spears
Kappa Kappa Psi Beta Psi chapter, Spring 2000 class. 5 girls, 1 guy. Guess who dressed up like Britney? :-)

Muppets do Bohemian Rhapsody

Okay I just had to put this one on here...it makes me laugh so much!

How much???

A few weeks ago I was in Zanesville visiting my family. We happened to go out and do some shopping. We went to a place called Gabriel Brothers, which I happen to love. I first went to this store when I lived in Clarksburg WV. Think of it as a Big Lots plus clothes, shoes & purses. I love to shop there because they normally have decent stuff for cheap!
But on this particular shopping trip boy did I get a shock when I got up to the register.
I had a few things in my cart, a new bathmat and some plant containers for our house. I also had a pair of pajama shorts that I found in the lingerie section. The pink cotton shorts with black hearts were on sale for $4.99. Great price...or so I thought.

Here's what they ran up as instead:

Can you read that? $35,536.61 for a pair of pajama shorts.

Let's just say we needed a price override! :-)

Kyra's bridal shower

My best friend is getting married in June, so we had a bridal shower for her a few weeks ago. So excited to see her and get excited for the wedding!!

Upside Down Izzie

A crazy picture for today

Yep...she was actually laying like that. How classy.

Newest House Project

The old kitchen sink...doesn't look too bad but if you look closely on the left side you'll see how dirty and gross it is. Previous owners were not very good at keeping things up to date.

Nothing in our kitchen is white...so we decided it was time to buy a stainless steel sink

Should be as easy as taking out the old one and dropping in the new one right? WRONG
Nothing we have done to this house has been as easy as it looks.

Scott discovered that the hole for the sink was just slightly smaller than the new one needs. It was time for operation power tools. :-)

Gotta start with measuring...

Then it was time to bring out the big guns...

Thankfully after a few hours worth of work...he finished it!

He did such a nice job don't ya think!??!

Christmas 2010

Finally got around to uploading some pictures from Christmas: