rainy days

Oh how I love rainy days...we desperately needed it too so I am thrilled that it is raining.
In most retail stores, rain slows things down. I guess people don't want to get out in the rain for just regular shopping but oh no, not at Hobby Lobby. I think people are willing to brave the nasty weather to run out and get their craft projects so they will have something to do when they spend the rest of the day indoors. Now I am a big fan of craft projects - seriously - but I like it better when people play outdoors and the HobLob isn't such a crazy place!

Quiet morning...got up and went to the gym and came home in time to kiss Chad goodbye as he headed out to the pool. I tried to convince him that it wasn't just raining but was thundering also but he said he hadn't heard it (and I only heard it once...bummer). I just wanted him to stay home with me this morning. He is doing a recertification class for a couple of lifeguards and says they will get in the pool as long as it is only raining. Ugh...very cold water!
I have to close at the HL today so I will get off late after spending the morning home alone. I planned on getting a ton of stuff done yesterday on my day off but spent the whole day running Megan around town (her car is in the shop) so I didn't really get stuff done at the house. Its ok...people are more important than laundry. It just means I need to get some of it done before I leave for work today...cleaning up the kitchen and putting a load of clothes in before showering and going to work....
tomorrow, after I open at the HL, we are hanging out at home and then Sunday we are doing Megan's birthday with the family since the in-laws will be back from their trip to the Turks and Caicos (did I mention we got invited and didn't go?).

here's what happened.

Chad and I had just finished eating dinner and picking up a movie...we were driving home past this really cool community garden called The Gathering Place that is sponsored by and taken care of by a local church (I would post the link but I can't find it!). I was driving and admiring the garden and then I noticed a tall, blond/curly haired fella taking pictures of the plants...
or was he videotaping the plants....
or was he looking familiar?
Is that Caleb...that I went to India with?
Who is helping start the organization called Sixty1 that is setting captives free on the other side of the world?
Who is apparently making a documentary film on the little community garden in Chattanooga?
Yes.
Yes it is.
So, we turned around and went to talk to him for a few minutes.
About the garden. And his film. And Sixty1 and how you can be involved.
Yes.
You.
More to come hopefully on some Sixty1 fundraisers and world changing.
God has such a cool plan.

oh happy day.

Another swell happy birthday to my favorite sister-in-law...(shh...don't tell her that she is my only one!). I ordered her one of these super, duper cute laptop sleeves for her MacBook today - she picked it out so it isn't a secret. It is really cute though. Pondering it though, I think I could make one of those so that is my next goal for gift giving occasion...

These people are here with Meg celebrating..

and I am going to bed.

but wait!

Don't quit reading because I am so boring!
I just got exciting!
I made the beginnings of bread starter this morning which means in about 12 days I can make bread and still have starter to make more later! I am pretty excited but it means that I will have to have someone babysit my starter when we leave town for a week in August. I wanted to be able to make bread sometime this week and technically I really could but I think I will wait and that way I won't use all my starter.
I am so excited!
My mom also says the dough is really good for cinnamon rolls!
Here I come domestic goddess!

my apologies.

I'm sorry my blog is so boring...
and the three of you have to read the boringness all the time.
I will try to be more exciting.
I promise!

Today is Megan's birthday...22 years young! I think they are going to the Terminal for dinner tonight but I have to close at the HobLob so I won't be joining them unless they are there really late (which isn't likely due to the problem that Chad gets up at 5:30 to go to work every morning and needs to be in bed before 10:30 so they will probably go earlier and be done by 9). I am however, going to bake her a cake...
so I am going to the grocery store.
Now.

why blogger, why?

How come I can't put space between my thank you letters in my previous post?
No matter how many times I hit "enter" to put extra lines between the sections it doesn't show up like that in my actual post?
Why must you be so hard-headed blogger?

letters

There is another blog that I love...Taza and Husband.
I love their funky style.
I love that they get to live in Washington, DC (I'm so jealous!....oh to be in the center of US politics...I drool.)
I love that they post pictures taken by their favorite polariod camera.
I love that they spend the weekends wandering around DC going to markets and funky little places to eat.
But most of all...I love her letters.
She writes thank you letters and love letters on her blog and they are so cute and so sweet.
So, in honor of a cute little blog, I am going to write letters today.

Dear husband,

I love you. Thank you for taking the dog and leaving for 24 hours. I was mad when you left and then I realized that you did it for me! Thank you for cleaning all week to get ready for my party.

You are wonderful.

Dear girls that came to my party,

You are a blast. I am so glad you came and we giggled and played and paid too much for makeup (oh wait, that was just me).

Dear Mom,

Please come see me. I miss you.

And I need your help sewing a dress.

My dining room table is cleaned off just for it! (ok so I had a party but now it is cleaned off just for you!).

Dear Gwendolen,

Thank you for waking me up all night long with your barking.

I only needed 4 hours of sleep.

It's cool.

Dear Wooby,

Thank you for helping your sister Gwendolen keep me up all night by chewing on my fingers with your razor sharp teeth. I hope you enjoyed sleeping in the bathroom the rest of the night.

Dear Target,

This is the first of many love letters. Thank you for having a maxi dress in your sleepwear department that I will be wearing during the day because it is the first one I have found that is long enough.

Dear Spike TV,

Thank you for playing far too many hours of consecutive CSI.

You are fabulous, for a men's channel, of course.

Dear Canon Camera,

Please miraculously teach me how to use you better.

I want to be a better photographer.

Dear M&M Mars Company,

Why did you have to make peanut butter M&M's?

They are addictive and I love them too much.

Dear Chattanooga,

Thank you for finally making yourself feel like home.

Sorry it took so long but I finally like you now.

Dear Wooby (you get another one cause I like you so much),

Thank you for letting me take your picture so much.

You are too cute for words.

Dear husband (you get two because I love you so much),

You are wonderful. Have I ever told you before?

I think you are handsome, kind, wise, and generous.

should be.

One of the bloggers that won "Best Eye Candy" at this year's BlogLuxe Awards writes a blog titled "I should be folding laundry".
Oh boy, does she know what she is talking about.
I am supposed to be folding laundry at this very moment.
What am I doing instead?
Watching an old episode of CSI (the original, of course!) and blogging.
Oh dear, I need a shower before I go to work.
Why is it that I can't turn off the computer?

whoops. and whoa.

Whoops - sorry, I know I promised to take pictures but we got so busy having fun that I sorta forgot. But we had a good time (atleast, I personally think we did!). My Mary Kay lady got here about 5 last night (after we took the jetski out on the very choppy lake. less fun that I had hoped for...) but she was wonderful. Always is! We did spa pedicures and she put marbles in our tubs so we could roll our warm, soaking feet around on them and it was fabulous - what a wonderful idea! I bought far too much stuff (don't tell Chad!) but got to use a little "hostess credit" towards some of it so it wasn't too bad.
The five ladies then went and ate at Amigo's and hung out for a bit before we came back home...
Jess and I stayed up talking until about 2am and I don't regret one moment of it. It was so nice to have someone to talk to - someone who probably knows me better than my husband - someone who is wise, understanding, kind, and gentle-hearted. She gives the best advice and humbly corrects where she knows there is hurt and misunderstanding. She is wonderful...when I think about not living in my home town there isn't too much I miss now, with the exception of her and my parents. Those three I miss the most.
We got up this morning and I made everyone pancakes and bacon and then my sister and Frannie headed out because my sis had to get back to work today. Jess and I went to Target and bought some super cute -whoa!- "unmentionables" for Danielle's shower...less than three weeks away!! They were so cute I even had to buy some for myself...wait...are they really for me or for him?
Both I guess.
Also got Wooby a collar - which she hates and is trying to take off. And a scratching post so she won't destroy furniture. Good luck.
Headed over to the other side of town to hang out with Chad and Paul for a bit. Haven't seen Chad since yesterday (when he was a little frustrated with trying to teach me how to back up a jetski and trailer...much harder than it looks, by the way.) so I am looking forward to seeing him. He (wisely) spent the night at his parents house so the ladies could have the rule of the roost...and he took Gwen with him. He doesn't know what a blessing that was!

here!

They are here...!

Lovin' on my baby.

while we wait

In the meantime...while I am waiting expectantly for my Sis and the Franster to arrive...
I think I will follow in Emily's footsteps and show you pictures of the new pillows on the couch.

Ok, so they are just pillow covers and were hasily put together to cover the ugly old pillows.

And please don't think the bows were supposed to be cute.

I mean, they are supposed to be cute but I don't know how to sew in zippers and it was not the time to learn so they are literally tied on with the satin ribbon.

Covered buttons would have been brilliant.

Emily, where were you when I needed you??

blog-a-rog.

Bloggin' with kitty curled up in my lap.
She can be so sweet.
But not at 4 am when she is biting my fingers.
Not so sweet then.

House is pretty much clean - much thanks to my wonderful husband and his sister for pitching in and helping out. They did it mostly for me (I know a clean house benefits everyone but it was really just for me...).
I just need to put some stuff upstairs that we don't need for a couple of days and then make a run to Goodwill to donate some stuff we don't need sitting around.
My sis and Frannie should be here in about an hour and I am super-duper excited.
They wanted to "do something fun" in the afternoon so I think we will do Lupi's for lunch and then if the weather holds, we might take the jet ski out.
Maybe...choppy water makes for a less than pleasant jey skiing experience.
We will see.

I will take pictures.
Promise.
And yes, post them Mom, just for you.
Pictures of your babies.

planning.

Hello all...

I am not doing so hot on my "to- do" list..
I worked a little bit more on the dining room table but didn't get too much done because I finally finished the pillows. I put bows on them instead of sewing in zippers (mostly because I don't know how!) and last night was not the night to learn. The bows obviously are not going to last with a cat and a dog in the house but as long as they last through tomorrow night I will be fine.
So tonight I have to...
-finish the dining room table
-clean up the kitchen (a rather large chore)
-vaccum and do hardwood floors downstairs
-clean bathrooms upstairs
-put together goodie bags (they are ready, just need to be put together)
-go grocery shopping
-clean couch cover

Anyone want to help?

The camera is charged and ready for fun pictures...be prepared!

it's going well.

I came home last night to the kitchen counters cleaned off...and my wonderful husband making a casserole.

No lie.
He is beyond fabulous.
There is still a little to be done in the kitchen because he didn't want to go through or throw away stuff that I might still want/need (the Bed, Bath, and Beyond catalog...come on!!) so I have to spend a few minutes tonight finishing that up but the majority of it is finished. Wonder of wonders!


I just worked in the dining room for a while and got about 3/4ths of that stuff put away or boxed up so someone else can go through it. Hopefully I will be able to finish that tonight or tomorrow morning and organize my craft stuff a little bit so it looks presentable. There is no way it is getting all put away somewhere but neat and organized into its bins will be sufficient.


Got part of the goodie bags for Saturday bought and put together but I will have to add that to the list of things to finish before Friday night too...


Today is freight day at the HobLob so I am thinking about not even showering before I go to work...I am just going to get sweaty and dirty moving stuff around so I will just shower when I get home so I can go to bed being clean!

In the meantime, there is some serious snuggling going on

near me on the couch.

Shhhh...

don't tell.

yum-o.

I am planning the menu for this weekend when I have ladies in town to visit...
it includes lots of easy meals with fresh, local fruits and veggies and I could not be more excited that they are all coming to hang out!
Just three more days of the Hob Lob after today and a fun weekend to look forward to!

Gwen on her way to her last doggie class. She was so excited that she asked to wear her "bad dog bandana" like a head scarf so she could keep her hair looking nice on the way...

This one is from a while back...Wooby really took to my friend "Tyler"...
even stopping for a snuggle on his shoulder.

This morning...too busy taking the picture to smile for the camera.
Sorry...

Eating a peach then going to HL...closing tonight and tomorrow.

Cleaned off the desk and the table in the living room.

The rundown of what else I need to do before Friday night?

Here goes:

-grocery shopping

-vaccum living room and upstairs

-wash couch slip cover and put it back on the couch (a MAJOR solo accomplishment!)

-clean off dining room table (which was cleaned off about a week ago by ME and now is covered with stuff again since the closet under the stairs was cleaned out by someone ELSE)

-clean off the kitchen counter

-clean kitchen floors

-clean bathrooms

Are there enough hours in the day?

I think not.

trf
Wooby says.
While walking on the keyboard.

is it?

Does that foot make a good pillow?

whoa...

This is my 250th post.
Whoa.
I can't decide if that is a good thing or a bad thing....
I think it is a good thing.

A lot on the schedule for this week.
Working every day until Saturday...closing Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday then opening Thursday and Friday. Running a few errands this morning and then heading in..a special one that I am pretty excited about too - going to the jewelry store to hopefully be able to wear some of my Mema's jewelry. I know it isn't that exciting but it is meaningful to me. My engagement ring and wedding band are Chad's great (great?) grandmothers and so I also wanted to be able to wear something that was my grandmothers.
I am a little sentimental that way.
We had a good weekend but probably didn't get as much stuff done as we would have liked. There are some parts of the house that need a little work before this weekend - I am having people come see me! My bff Jess and my sister and Frannie are all coming for my Mary Kay party on Saturday night along with some other folks so I am pretty excited (those three are just spending the night..). So, house cleaning and organizing will take up most of my free time this week...
Did I mention that swim team is over? The city final meet was Friday and Saturday so all they have left is a little dinner/awards thing this Saturday (which I won't make because of my visitors...).
Did I mention that swim team is over?
Oh thank you Jesus...I will get to see my husband more!

what do I need?

There are a couple of blogs that I read because they are funny, witty, or just plain entertainment (why do we love to hear about other people's lives so very much?).
Then there are a couple of blogs that I read - and crave - because they inspire me. They inspire me to create, find beauty, be a better wife or person, or just be love.

I found this on one of those blogs today and I think I have even talked about it before but I wanted to post the video (links to youtube) so you can watch it too...what do we really need in our lives?
More dancing.

I need Africa more than Africa needs me.

"My joy should have no regard for my circumstances."

And sorry, I couldn't figure out how to post the video itself here so just click on the link.

tonight

Chad went to bed early...not feeling well and I think it is coming to the other two members of our household (human members atlesat...). The sore throat - hoping it is just allergies - ickiness.

We watched tonight's episode of Burn Notice and are currently watching Royal Pains...both are pretty good....

Lame posts. Going to bed soon.

before and after

This is what I did tonight...

Meet J. She is a friend from work...

one of the other front end gals.

She wanted her hair permed.

So we did.

And this is the result.

It actually turned out really good...

atleast I think so.

The curls are probably a bit smaller than she would like but they will fall out a bit as she goes.

Too cute!

you made my day!

Dani Mac - You are wonderful.
You are one of the best friends a girl could ask for - creative, funny, sweet, did I mention hilariously funnny?, God-lovin', Ryan-crushin', cool, awesome, wonderful - all barely scratch the surface of who you are.
I got a package in the mail today from my Dani...who is getting married in just over a month. It was, in theory, supposed to be my Christmas present but now we celebrate Christmas in July around here! It was full of wonderful surprises - a super cute passport cover (perfect since I am in the process of renewing mine with my new last name!), goodies from her trip with Living Water, a book by Bono which has so far been both interesting and inspiring, and my favorite part - three pictures from our session with Lindsey of Lindentree Photography (three that I didn't already have). What a sweet and thoughtful gift, coming just a month before our one year anniversary.
I opened it and nearly cried...
my best friend Dani is just that - the best.

uno mas

Tomorrow night is the last doggie class - graduation and play time.
I hope we graduate. And by "we" I mean all three of us.
Tomorrow is also my day off for the week. Working on Monday and then being off on Tuesday always messes with my mind...I feel like Wednesday is another Monday and I have to study the week's sales all over again. But I only have to close two nights this week - a welcome and wonderful surprise! I open two, close two, and work the mid-day shift (10-6:30) for Saturday (which is sorta a cool shift because you get to sleep in a tiny bit but you don't have to stay and clean up at the end either!!).
Tonight is the last home swim meet, meaning we are getting closer to the end of the swim team season. (did you catch that hint of relief in my voice?) Chad and Meg have swim team committments this weekend (city swim meet) and next weekend is the awards banquet of sorts. I was planning on going to that but I am having some friends and loved ones come in town that weekend for a little girls get together on the 25th. Two of my bff's *yes, I have about 4* are hopefully going to make it here and I think my sister and her Frannie are going to come up as well. We are going to have a full house and I love it! I have some serious cleaning and craft projects to do before then so wish me luck! Those couch pillows still need to be done and after cleaning out the closet "under the stairs" -a la Harry Potter style - there is another mess on the dining room table. Fabulous.
By the way, on that note, Harry Potter comes out on Wednesday. I wish I wasn't such an old fogie and I would go to the midnight screening but alas, I need sleep and I have to open on Wednesday morning so I am trying to convince the man I love most to go with me when I get off work on Wednesday...cross your fingers and wave your wand that it will work out!

oops.

Have you ever had one of those mornings where you mis-estimate how long it will take you to get ready or get confused and set your alarm way too early?
I have.
This morning.
I set my alarm for 6:45 knowing that I have to be at work at 9.
Uh. What was I thinking? I could probably get up at 8:00 and be at work on time (I usually leave about 30 minutes before I have to be there, not because it takes that long to actually get there but I like to give myself some leeway...)
So here I am...up.
Like a crazy fool.
I agreed to work a couple of hours today because another one of the supervisors had to unexpectedly go out of town for a death in the family...always a bad situation so I had no problem agreeing to cover her morning for her. Plus, not to sound selfish, but it means about 4 hours of overtime for me. My boss actually texted me about the time we closed last night and asked me if I would so I agreed to do it. I wouldn't have agreed if Chad wasn't going to be going to a swim team car wash fundraiser for most of the morning so I won't miss out on anything there.
This afternoon Chad has promised that he will go out on the jetski with me...he even volunteered! So we will probably spend the afternoon with his dad working on fixing a few things and riding around. Then he has also promised that we can spend some time together this weekend....just the two of us (cue:music). I can't wait...Oliva Garden and sangrias, here we come!

good dog?

Gwen and I went to doggie class alone last night, sans Chad because he had to go to a meeting for the city swim league which his team is a part of. I thought he might have to go but I hoped he wouldn't. Gwen was fairly well behaved the very first class when I had to take her without "her boy" but last night she was just not having it. She spent about 90% of the class trying to get out the door. I had to drag her across the room to participate in the first activity and then as soon as we got near the door side of the room she just pulled towards it for about 45 minutes. Finally the teacher made us sit in the middle of the classroom while everyone else worked on each task. She told me that my goal was just to keep Gwen's attention no matter what it took so we played and I gave her treats and did simple things like "sit" and "down" that she knows how to do. With about 15 minutes left of class she realized that we weren't going home and Chad wasn't coming so she decided to participate and actually did really good. Hotdogs are a fabulous motivator! At the very end of class, when the teacher just wraps up and answers questions, everyone else's dogs were dancing around ready to go but I kept Gwen's attention pretty much the whole time. I was proud of those last 5 minutes the most, even if it took an hour to get there!
We are going to do a little more work today and then I have to fold some clothes and go to work. I had a pretty bad headache yesterday...probably the worst since I started taking the migraine meds. I know that I didn't get to the medicine fast enough - should have taken something when I felt it coming on at work but never did until I ran home between work and dog class. It was pretty bad last night, even with the addition of some caffeine (?sp) but finally went away the middle of the night sometime (as I slept on the bathroom floor...not feeling good at all.) I just need to give in and take meds when I feel them coming on as opposed to hoping I can fight it off. It just obviously isn't going to happen so I need to consider my health before my hard head-edness.
This weekend is the women's expo here in town and Paula Dean will be here, along with Staci London (of TLC's "What Not to Wear"). I think Megan and I might go check it out...tickets are only like $20 bucks and they are good for Saturday and Sunday so it might be interesting and fun.

25 before 26

My friend Tyler, as mentioned before that is not his real name, and I are going to hopefully spend some time hanging out today. HL calls my name this morning but I am supposed to get off at 5 which should leave us plenty of time. He has this idea of 25 things he wants to do before he turns 26 because of a recent huge life change so I am helping him along the way...he went hang gliding saturday morning and I saw picures. Amazing. and terrifying.
Today Megan and I are going to teach him how to swim. He knows how to swim but he doesn't know proper stroke technique so that is the plan for today....among other things.

hanging out

Hanging out with my friend...let's call him Tyler (that's what he said I could call him..)
Can you call someone a childhood friend if you didn't meet them until middle school?

photog

I am learning how to use my camera.

Trying.

Not too great at it.

I look at other people's photography and I wonder:

should I learn to use my camera better or learn to use photoshop better?

Which of those two is actually producing the fabulous pictures I can't seem to get?

The following are unedited....SOC...as some people call it.

Not the greatest but I wanted to point out a couple of things...

the aquarium on the right bottom corner

and teenie tiny on the left bottom corner is another fireworks show just over the ridge (probably at Lake Winnie).

I think my favorite part is that you can see some of the lights from downtown in the pictures.

I wish we had been a little closer because this was with my zoom lens...

next time I'll be ready!

home improvement

Not the show.
The actual act of improving one's home.
Or our home to be more precise.
Chad and Jay brought me lunch at the HobLob today and purchased a few samples of drawer/cabinet pulls for us to choose from. We put them all on the kitchen cabinets so we can hopefully pick the ones we like best.

that one on the right is darker red, not pink.

bad lighting + bad photographer!

We are looking to replace all the knobs in the kitchen and all four bathrooms...looking at around 100 knowbs probably. These aren't our only choices but they were just the ones we liked at HL. And they don't have to all be the same...i.e. the bird one is the top choice for the downstairs half bathroom...it would only be like 4 knobs. I think too many birds is a little crazy. And the blue one with the green flower is the top choice for the kitchen cabinets but I think it is too large and bold to do every knob with that one so we would probably do drawers with that knob and then doors with a different but matching one...

suggestions or opinions?

independence!

Fireworks at Coolidge Park..picture not by me.

I did not successfully take fireworks pictures the last time...

working on it!

Happy Fourth of July!

Remember those who fought and thought and hoped for your freedom today...

I just got out of the shower and I have to be at work at 10. We do close early so I should be done by about 6:30 and be able to head home where dinner will already be in the works (oh how I wish that was true every night!). Gotta go dry my hair because I went to work with dripping wet hair yesterday. My boss called and asked if I could come in early (not true...he actually texted me. Seriously.) but I didn't get it until 11:20 and he wanted me there by 12. I had to shower, dress, and literally run out the door. So today I am going to try to actually get ready before going to work.

Chad's parents, Jay, nephew W and maybe some others will be at our house cooking out tonight. Since I am working all day, I don't really feel the need to clean up the kitchen again or the dining room again so I am just not going to worry about it. I refuse.

Then we are going to Coolidge Park to watch the fireworks with thousands of our closest friends...anyone want to join?

what I got done

Not as much as I had hoped but some things are more important...
I put the slip cover on the couch and it is OK but far from perfect. After a trip through the dryer to get the wrinkles out, I think I will be happier with it. It is obviously not going to fit our odd couch perfectly so I think we are doing ok with it. It will definately serve its purpose of keeping the couch cleaner so it will work. I will be happy to throw it in the washing machine as often as necessary. I didn't get the pillows covered but I picked out fabric from my stash of remnants and cut out what I needed. I think they are going to be cute but that is for another day.
I did vaccum and clean off the table so that is good...and I met Chad and his coworkers for lunch. He got off a few minutes early so once he got home I became sorely unproductive. Hanging out with him is much more important than folding laundry (which I did a little of!) so I did that instead. He is off with me on Thursday so I am sure we will get plenty of stuff done just none that I planned on getting done!
Attic fan is working to cool the attic so that is our Thursday project...move stuff in there!