megzilla

Vacation Pictures

2008-07-04T16:58:00.003-05:00

Here are some of my favorite pictures from our vacation to the Smoky Mountains in June.

These photos were taken at Cades Cove in the Smoky Mountains National Park.

We went to the Ripley's Aquarium in Gatlinburg one day.

What a cute kangaroo..

We took a nice hike to Laurel Falls.

We also hiked to the top of Clingman's Dome. It was too foggy to see much.

We stopped on the way down to the Smoky Mountains to vacation with Mike's parents in Fairfield, TN.

We also hiked Porter's Creek Trail. There were many historical artifacts on this trail that were interesting and a geocache!

This is an old fireplace that is just off the trail. We also found a very old stone wall and stone steps built by pioneer mountain people, a cemetery and pieces from an ancient model T Ford.

This is a 130 year old barn that we came across on the trail.

Random Mountain Scenery. Pretty, pretty.

New Name, New Look

2008-05-27T22:56:00.002-05:00

And more posts coming to a blog near you.

Meow 1 and Meow 2

2008-04-23T19:52:00.005-05:00

Came home to this today. Cutest things ever.

Earth Day 2008

2008-04-21T19:53:00.004-05:00

Please take a minute and ask Congress to stop global warming and to reverse the extraordinary environmental destruction that is taking place around the world. Sign the Sky Petition!

Job Applications and a Recipe

2008-04-17T20:55:00.002-05:00

So I pause from my pile of job applications (complete with essay questions!) to bring you a delicious, new recipe that is great for leftovers.

Cuban Pork Sandwich

Hamburger buns
Yellow mustard
Mayo
Leftover pork roast
Sliced deli ham
Sliced swiss cheese
dill pickle slices
2 T melted butter

For each sandwich:

Spread mustard on one half of the bun. Spread mayo on the other. Layer pork, ham, cheese, and pickles. Put buns together and flatten to about 1 inch thickness.

Brush tops of sandwich with melty butter. Cook like grilled cheese sandwich.

I don't know what makes it a Cuban sandwich, but it was surprisingly good. I had to microwave mine for 20 seconds after I grilled it to get the meat in the middle nice and warm.

Yummy Hummus

2008-04-14T16:15:00.003-05:00

Super quick, easy, cheap, low-fat, and yummy!

Hummus

1 can garbonzo beans (chickpeas), drained
1/4 c olive oil
1 small clove of garlic
1 T lemon juice
1/2 t salt
pita bread, pita chips, or veggies

Place beans, olive oil, garlic, lemon and salt into food processor. Blend on high speed, stopping to scrape sides occasionally. Blend into a uniform consistency. Store in tupperware, in fridge.

Serve with pitas, chips, veggies or whatever.

RIP Homer the Gerbil

2008-04-10T19:37:00.004-05:00

The best gerbil ever.

I saved him from a family who wanted to get rid of him because they were tired of him. They told me I could do whatever I wanted with him... not a good thing if you are a gerbil. So I brought him home 3 years ago and he has been part of our little zoo of animals ever since.

Even though most people might think that just he's a gross little rodent, he was my little rodent... and I will miss him.

...

2008-04-07T20:55:00.000-05:00

Spring Break Countdown

2008-03-18T17:10:00.004-05:00

Only 3 days until Spring Break woooooooo! Good thing too, because Mike and I could both really use a week off work!

Unfortunately, we are not doing anything especially exciting this year. A trip up north and then a tentative geocaching adventure in Brown County are in the works, but that's about it.

But I found out today that we ARE going back to the Smoky Mountains again this summer!!! YAY!!!

Check out where we are staying!

We'll be there during the first week of June. We get to bring the dog, celebrate our first anniversary there and hopefully do a lot of the stuff we ran out of time to do last year.

So exciting! Let the summer vacation countdown begin!

I Couldn't Resist...

2008-03-14T15:52:00.003-05:00

From a funny little email I got today...

Are you sick of high paid teachers? Teachers’ hefty salaries are driving up taxes, and they only work 9 or 10 months a year! It’s time we put things in perspective and pay them for what they do - baby sit! We can get that for less than minimum wage.

That’s right. Let’s give them $3.00 an hour and only the hours they worked; not any of that silly planning time, or any time they spend before or after school. That would be $19.50 a day (7:45 to 3:00 PM
with 45 min. off for lunch and plan — that equals 6 1/2 hours).

Each parent should pay $19.50 a day for these teachers to baby-sit their children.

Now how many do they teach in day…maybe 30? So that’s $19.50 x 30 = $585.00 a day. However, remember they only work 180 days a year!!! I am not going to pay them for any vacations.

LET’S SEE…. That’s $585 X 180= $105,300 peryear. (Hold on! My calculator needs new batteries).

What about those special education teachers and the ones with Master’s degrees? Well, we could pay them minimum wage ($7.75), and just to be fair, round it off to $8.00 an hour. That would be $8 X 6 1/2 hours X 30 children
X 180 days = $280,800 per year.

Wait a minute — there’s something wrong here! There sure is!

The average teacher’s salary (nation wide) is $50,000. $50,000/180 days = $277.77/per day/30 students=$9.25/6.5 hours = $1.42 per hour per student–a very inexpensive baby-sitter and they even EDUCATE your kids!)

WHAT A DEAL!!!!

...

2008-03-10T19:42:00.005-05:00

Chock Full O' Update

2008-02-27T19:56:00.002-06:00

Work:

Lots of snow days and delays have our schedules and students in complete chaos. Mike hasn't gotten paid a lot due to the school cancellations since he is an hourly worker. So that is pretty sucky.

And then certain people I work with (who shall remain nameless) have not been doing their job, and things are getting ugly. The proverbial poo is going to hit the fan very soon I think. Things should be interesting.

Saying that I can't wait for spring break is an understatement. Only a month away!

Home:

No news on the house contract... surprise surprise. I am so over it.

Our trees, cars, and other outdoor items survived the ice storms that came through this way. Our neighbors didn't fair as lucky. They had several limbs come down, including one on their roof, and two that were mere inches away from their cars. Yikes.

We ordered seeds for our garden this spring! We're doing carrots, cucumbers, squash, spinach, peppers, leaf lettuce, and tomatoes. I'm excited to get started on this. We can start planting the spinach in mid March, but I think we're going to wait until the first of April due to all this wonky weather. I want to try out this rainwater watering system idea I have, but we shall see how the planting goes first.

Mike bought me a Fiestaware spoon rest out of the blue one day. I heart Fiestaware. And Mike.

Other news:

We've done a lot of geocaching lately. We try to get out when the weather is nice-ish. We went out and found 5 this afternoon. Much better than the other day where we looked for 6 or 7 and only found 1. We have found 39 total so far. Our enthusiasm for our new hobby has gotten both sets of parents and siblings interested too. We are planning to do some more geocaching on spring break as we make our merry way around Indiana to visit friends and family who are scattered about. Can't wait!

INDIANA BASKETBALL = AWESOME. Even though this coaching fiasco has put a damper on the season, it's got nothing to do with the amount of sheer talent that we have on the team. And once IU gets it act together and hires a decent coach and gets rid of their lousy athletic director, there will be no stopping them. GO HOOSIERS!!!

Mike and I have recently decided to "go green." I really really despise that saying. Loathe. But it gets the point across. We are both interested in actively changing our lifestyle so that we have a lower negative impact on the environment. I could go on and on about what we've been doing and how we feel about it, but I'll save that for another time. This is just an update, you know!

Um... I can't really think of anything else.

Over and out!

Snow Day Cookies

2008-02-21T17:13:00.002-06:00

Not so much Snow Day Cookies as Ice Day Cookies since there isn't a flake in sight, just freezing rain and a sheet of ice covering the roads. Whatever type of wintery precipitation it is, these cookies hit the spot!

Chocolate Chocolate Chip Cookies with Coconut

1 c. butter, softened
1 c. granulated suger
3/4 c light brown sugar
2 t. vanilla extract
1/2 t. salt
2 eggs
2 c. flour
1/2 c. baking cocoa
1 t. baking soda

Reminder: Preheat oven to 375 degrees. (I ALWAYS forget to preheat... my cookie baking time is always doubled because I'm a ding dong.)

Beat butter, sugar, brown sugar, vanilla and salt together in a large bowl. Then add in the eggs and beat until creamy.

Stir together flour, cocoa, and baking soda in a different bowl. Add this mixture gradually to your butter mixture. Blend well.

Now this is where you can get creative. Add whatever extra goodies your little heart desires. I had white chocolate chip and semi sweet chocolate chips on hand today. Mike requested coconut, so I sprinkled some on top after I had spooned the cookie dough on the baking sheet.

And speaking of cookie dough, someone really needs to make cookie dough ice cream with this stuff. I think I enjoyed it more than the actual baked cookie.

But if you prefer your cookies Salmonella free, you should bake them on an ungreased cookie sheet for 8-10 minutes. They are so good... perfect with hot chocolate on an icy day at home.

Calm Before the Storm

2008-02-20T19:51:00.003-06:00

Just a Few...

2008-02-10T19:14:00.000-06:00

Just a few pictures from yesterday. It was the first time I busted out the camera in awhile.

Sunset through the trees.

Near an old cemetery

I love pictures of wintery trees.

I really love black and white pictures of wintery trees.

I could have stared at those clouds all day.

Sunset. Kind of crazy.

We went geocaching again this afternoon. We found all of them that we went hunting for. Got a little toy camel for our efforts today... sweet! I'll definitely be doing my research this week so we have a bunch more to find next weekend.

Treasure Hunting

2008-02-09T22:56:00.000-06:00

Mike and I spent the better part of our day today geocaching. It's basically a GPS treasure hunting game you play with people from all over the world. Someone creates a stash, registers it online with its GPS coordinates, and lets other people find it. Sometimes they have little treats and toys inside, sometimes it's just a piece of paper where you can write your name and the date you found it on. Wikipedia can explain it alot better than I can. Check it out if you are interested!

Today was our first time out doing this. We went looking for 6 different geocaches located in different cemeteries around our area. We figured that cemeteries would be a good place to test the waters since we could park and wonder around freely without looking too suspicious.

We didn't do too bad... we found three of them, plus another one we accidentally found while looking for another one.

Here's Mike with one of the caches. He ended up finding all them. I just took the pictures.

Here's a peek inside one. We took a compass keychain and left a squeezable rubber chicken.

Another peek. In this one we took an army man and left 2 poker chips.

This is one that only had a paper to sign. Tricksy to find something so small.

We could have probably found the others too, but one place was totally submerged in water from this week's downpour of rain, and another place had a freaky deer skeleton around the place where it was supposed to be hidden.

Once I saw that, I was out of there. Plus it was getting really dark and I didn't want to be in a creepy old cemetery at night anyways.

We had a great time today. We had perfect weather and good luck finding things. We were out at a place where we had a beautiful view of the sunset this evening. I have more pictures to post, but I'm too sleepy to work on them tonight. Another night, another post.

I Finally Found One...

2008-02-08T15:34:00.001-06:00

I've been searching for a new lunch box to take to work with me ever since Mike spilled beer in mine over the summer. I've looked all over the place for one to take, and at last I found it.

It's made out of neoprene and it is almost the exact color and pattern as our shower curtain.

Mike bought it for me yesterday as an early Valentine's present. Not especially romantical, but I'm happy as a clam. Because nothing says love like a wet suit lunch box.

LOST

2008-02-01T21:19:00.000-06:00

If you are a LOST fanatic like me, you have to go here:

www.find815.com

It will feed the LOST addiction until the next episode...

HAHAHAHA

2008-01-30T17:23:00.000-06:00

Bad Domain Names

All of these are companies that didn't spend quite enough time considering how their online names might appear - and be misread...

Who Represents is where you can find the name of the agent that represents any celebrity. Their Web site is
www.whorepresents.com/
Experts Exchange is a knowledge base where programmers can exchange Advice and views at
www.expertsexchange.com/
Looking for a pen? Look no further than Pen Island at
www.penisland.net/
Need a therapist? Try Therapist Finder at
www.therapistfinder.com/
There's the Italian Power Generator company,
www.powergenitalia.com/
And don't forget the Mole Station Native Nursery in New South Wales,
www.molestationnursery.com/
If you're looking for IP computer software, there?s always
www.ipanywhere.com/
The First Cumming Methodist Church Web site is
www.cummingfirst.com/
And the designers at Speed of Art await you at their wacky Web site,
www.speedofart.com/

Found at: http://humour.200ok.com.au/bad-domain-names.html

Take a Hike

2008-01-29T15:57:00.001-06:00

Mike and I have decided to start hiking again.

Now if you know me, this might come as a surprise. I'm not much of an outdoorsy person. I don't like to sweat. I don't like bugs. And I generally prefer to be laying on the couch watching House instead of roughing it. Despite this all, I really do enjoy a good hike. (Not the extreme, backwoods, overnight, life or death, 45 mile hiking... just your usual day trip hiking.)

When we lived in Bloomington, Mike and I would go 3-4 times a week during the spring, summer and fall months. We'd easily go 2-3 miles, depending on what trail it was. Some of the reasons: Bloomington had some awesome nature trails, we had to exercise our beast of a dog (who we were hiding from our landlord) so she wouldn't wreck our little apartment, and we had very little money to do anything else.

After we left Bloomington, the hiking slowly came to a halt. Student teaching took over our lives. Then jobs. And this and that... there is always something, right? We take Scout out to run into an open field near our house or to the city lake when it's warm, but that is pretty much the extent of our walking trips as of late.

So the other night, as we sat around complaining about our out-of-shapeness and slowing metabolism, we decided that we should start hiking again. We both enjoy it... why not make it a hobby again?

The plan is to start out slow and work our way up to a rugged trail somewhere in the Smokey Mountains this summer.

I'm excited. I started my "training" by doing some leg squats yesterday. I regret doing them now that I cannot move the lower half of my body, but ya gotta start somewhere, right?

Cuteness Alert

2008-01-27T12:23:00.000-06:00

Happy Belated Birthday, Sam!

2008-01-27T12:05:00.000-06:00

My sister turned 21 this week. She came home this weekend to celebrate it with the family. Mom made her a Thanksgiving dinner in January and I made her a cake.

I told her I'd make her any kind of cake that she wanted. A fancy one... a themed one... whatever she desired . She requested a cake based off her favorite show, The Office. A Dwight Cake.

This is what she got. The Schrute Buck Cake.

Not as impressive as the volcano cake or Candy Mountain (I'll post about these another time), but not too shabby.

Homemade Peanut Butter Cookies

2008-01-20T17:15:00.000-06:00

It's a lazy Sunday afternoon in the middle of a three day weekend. What could be better than bumming around the house and watching movies on tv? Cookies, of course.

I chose to make these just because I had all of the ingredients on hand and they seemed pretty
easy (would hate to do anything too strenuous on such a relaxing day...).

Peanut Butter Cookies
Makes about 15 cookies

**I'll post a picture later... too lazy to upload now**

1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 peanut butter
1/4 cup margarine
1/4 cup shortening
1 egg
1-1/4 cup flour
3/4 t. baking soda
1/2 t. baking powder
1/4 t salt

Pre-heat oven to 375 degrees. Get your cookie sheets out. Don't grease them.

Cream together the sugar, brown sugar, peanut butter, margarine, shortening and egg in a large bowl. Once mixed together, add flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. Mix well.

Now you can stop here and enjoy your delicious traditional peanut butter cookies.

Or you can get a little crazy; add some oats to make oatmeal peanut butter cookies. Or put in some cashews for a crunchy cookie. Or coconuts and M&ms, mmmm... I ended up adding chocolate chips, crushed up peanuts and white chocolate chips to this batch just because that's what I had on hand.

Pour your selected goodies into the dough and mix well. I didn't have exact measurements, so I just eyeballed it.

Roll your into 1-1/4 inch balls (I didn't really measure... just nice little cookie globs). Place on the cookie sheet about 3 inches apart and make a little peanut butter cookie criss-cross pattern by mashing the dough with a fork.

Bake on the top rack for 9 minutes. I have a pan full of cookies that have burny bottoms because I put them on the lower rack, so beware.

Excellent cookies for a lazy Sunday.

So Cool

2008-01-16T20:43:00.000-06:00

Now these are hand puppets!

Game Over

2008-01-13T15:57:00.000-06:00

I don't even want to talk about it...

Let's just hope that Dungy stays!

Kitties

2008-01-13T13:39:00.000-06:00

Up close and personal...

Meow.

freerice.com

2008-01-12T23:06:00.001-06:00

Play a vocabulary game at freerice.com. Every time you get a question right, advertisers donate 20 grains of rice to be distributed by the UN World Food Program. Not only will it make you smarter, you'll get warm fuzzy feelings because you are helping a worthy cause. Go now!

Just for Fun...

2008-01-12T10:51:00.000-06:00

My exotic name is...

1.the first 2 letters of your name:
ME

2.the first 2 letters of your middle name:
LE

3.the letter i:
I

4.double the 3rd letter in your last name:
EE

5.the letter a:
A

6.put it all together:
MELEIEEA

Wow... that's a lot of vowels.

A GREAT Day

2008-01-11T15:40:00.000-06:00

Surprisingly, unexpectedly, miraculously... today was a great day at work. I rarely have a great day there... I mean, I love all the kiddos and usually enjoy what I do, but most times the other junk gets in the way. Don't even get me started...

Anyways, today I was asked to take over the DIBELS lessons for the first grade classes that come into our room. DIBELS is the "in" reading program at the moment which works on beginning reading skills. So being in charge of that means I get to plan lessons and teach to 2 groups of 10 first graders for 30 minutes each.

Now that may not seem like much to most people, but this is like a major promotion to me. No, I don't get paid any more than I do now, but for someone who is sometimes painfully over-qualified to do this job, it's like hitting the jackpot.

And when I say I'm over-qualified, I'm not being snotty... it's the truth. Seriously, my job for the last week has been cutting out shapes, laminating cards, and doing lunch line duty. That gets old really fast. I really don't need a college degree and a teaching license to do that. But it is a job and a stepping stone to a teaching job. So this is my chance for a breath of fresh air and a challenge that will keep me from getting bored and will give me more experience for a real teaching job in the future.

And on top of that, I was given compliments today. I mean, I know I'm good at my job. Again, not being snotty, but it's something I pride myself on. But sometimes it just feels really good to hear your boss say it.

And it's now the weekend... could it get any better?

Even More Useless Trivia...

2008-01-08T16:35:00.000-06:00

Here is some more random information that I know you all were just dying to know. You can find a bunch more here. I don't promise that it is all true, but at least it is entertaining!

The province of Alberta, Canada is completely free of rats.

The average chocolate bar has 8 insect legs in it.

There are no venomous snakes in Maine.

Hawaii is moving toward Japan 4 inches every year.

Almonds are members of the peach family.

Topless saleswomen are legal in Liverpool, England, but only in tropical fish stores.

John Quincy Adams, sixth president of the United States, loved to skinny dip in the Potomac River.

A private elementary school in Alexandria, Virginia, accidentally served margaritas to its schoolchildren, thinking it was limeade.

Oprah Winfrey and Elvis Presley are distant cousins.

A chef's hat is shaped the way it is for a reason: its shape allows air to circulate around the scalp, keeping the head cool in a hot kitchen.

Pain is measured in units of "dols". The instrument used to measure pain is a "dolorimeter".

Albert Einstein never knew how to drive a car.

Astronauts cannot burp in space. There is no gravity to separate liquid from gas in their stomachs.

The glue on Israeli postage stamps is certified kosher.

Armadillos can be housebroken.

Peanuts are one of the ingredients in dynamite.

In Tokyo, they sell toupees for dogs.

Recipe of the Week

2008-01-04T16:28:00.001-06:00

Here's a little goodie I made for our New Year's Eve party. I got the recipe from a Pampered Chef cookbook that I received for Christmas.

Black Forest Trifle

Looks good, yes?

Here's what you need...

1 package of devil's food cake (plus the eggs and stuff to make it)
2 milk chocolate bars
1 can of cherry pie goo
1 t. almond extract
1/2 c. cranberry-cherry juice (apparently our small town doesn't stock this, so I used cherry Juicy Juice juice instead...)
2 c. cold milk
2 packages of instant white chocolate pudding (I could only find the sugar free kind.... boo)
1 container of Cool Whip

First of all, bake yourself a devil's food cake. Let it cool completely before you move on to the other steps.

Once your cake has cooled off, cut it into 1 inch chunks. The recipe calls for squares, but they definitely look more like chunks to me. Set them aside for awhile.

Take 1-1/2 chocolate bars, and chop them to little pieces. Set this aside too.

Dump your cherry pie goo in a bowl and add 1 t. almond extract. Remove about a 1/2 c. of this for your pretty topping. Add 1/2 c. of your cherry-like juice to the rest of the mixture and stir it all together. Set this aside also.

Next, make your pudding by whisking your two packages of pudding and 2 cups of milk together. Once it begins to thicken, fold in the whole container of Cool Whip. That's right... the whooole thing.

Now you are ready to assemble your trifle. You can use a pretty little trifle bowl like I did. But don't worry if you don't have one handy... I assure you it tastes just as good in an ugly bowl too.

First you put half of the devil's food cake chunks at the bottom of the bowl.

Pour half of the cherry goo mixture on top of the cake layer.

Sprinkle half of the chopped up chocolate bar over the cherry goo layer.

Top with half of the pudding mixture.

Repeat the layers until you are left with a smooth white chocolate pudding layer on top.

Now for the fancy-scmancy garnish stuff.

Use that 1/2 c. of cherry goo you saved to make a nice little circle on top of the trifle. Then use a vegetable peeler or a grater to make the little chocolate shavings. Voila! You have yourself a very impressive looking trifle.

Be sure to refrigerate at least 30 minutes before serving. Or even better, make it the night before so you don't have to worry about it the next day.

Yum Yum Yum. That is all.

The Contract Saga Continues...

2008-01-03T20:02:00.000-06:00

Well folks, I believe we have made some headway.

On the house-buying, that is.

Our landlady is apparently "taking tomorrow off work so she can finish the contract." Exact words there. Hooray!

Mike called her today to ask about things. He also told her that we have a small leak behind our shower. He told her that he could fix it, but wanted to sign the contract first, since it's technically not our responsibility to do deal with yet. I think that may have nudged her on a little more than just another update call.

So she is supposed to be coming by sometime this weekend to talk to us.

And to sign away her house. To us. Homeowners, finally.

I'm trying to be realistic about the situation still... not getting my hopes up...not counting my chickens before they hatch. But honestly, people, I've been counting these chickens since June. I am beyond excited! Thoughts of remodeling and decorating have been dancing through my head once again, and I am now secretly pricing dishwashers.

So I suppose now we just wait and see what happens.

And keep adding money to that dishwasher fund :o)

My New Year Resolutions

2008-01-02T19:14:00.000-06:00

1. Read at least 2 books a month.
This will be an enjoyable resolution for me! I love to read, but rarely have time to do it. Maybe a deadline in the back of my mind will help motivate myself.

2. Get our finances in order.
We've already started working on this a bit, but I would like to get everything better organized and create a budget we will actually stick to. Also on the list is to pay off our credit card and add to our savings.

3. De-Clutter.
When Mike and I moved in together 2 years ago, we had a collision of my stuff and his stuff. It was everywhere and it was awful for the first several months. We've really done well by getting rid of a lot of it since moving away from IU. But still, and especially since the wedding, we've got a bunch of junk that we really don't need or use anymore. Time for it to go!

3. Worry less.
I've tagged this on to every new year resolution list I've made since I was like 12. Haven't really made much progress on this one, but maybe 2008 is the year!

Care to share any of your interesting resolutions?

Christmas is officially O-V-E-R

2008-01-01T19:50:00.000-06:00

After a week and a half of celebrating, Christmas is finally over. And what a Christmas it was!

We kicked off the holidays by driving up to see Mike's family on Christmas Eve Eve. We visited with his grandparents for a bit, opened presents with his parents, his sister and her husband, and ended up drinking a little too much wine. A good time was had by all!

On Christmas Eve we drove a little further and visited more of Mike's extended family, had lunch, opened more presents, then left to make the 4 hour drive back home. We stopped in Bloomington for a bit to visit some college friends, then hit the road again to make it home in time for more Christmas festivites.

Once home, we went over to my parents house, where we exchanged a few presents to each other. We got Dad a super cool green laser pointer, we got Mom a subscription to the Paula Deen magazine and some cutting boards that she has been obsessing about. Sam made out like a bandit and got lots of gifts, because I kept finding fun things to get her. I settled for a little moleskin notebook especially for London (where she will be going next year) and an Office t-shirt, and a funky purse with owls on it.

After that exchange, Mike and I went home and exchanged gifts to each other. He got me new fiestaware (!!!) and some fun bath soaps and stuff. Along with his tv, he got some new boxers, some yummy treats, and a new pillow (something that he's been wanting ever since I stole his good one!).

On Christmas Day, Sam woke us up at 7 am to come over and open presents from Santa. We got a bunch more good stuff... clothes, more fiestaware (!!!), another guitar for guitar hero, a remote controlled helicopter (guess who that was for), my new Coach purse, and a whole lot more. Momma Claus always does such a good job at Christmas!

After the morning's festivities, we went over to my aunt's for the rest of the day. We ate, played games, mocked each other... good times.

We had a few days rest, then were back on the road for my mom's family Christmas. This year it was held near Nashville, TN. We drove down there, ate probably 5 cows worth of BBQ ribs, opened presents, wrastled the little cousins, and spent the night. Another successful Christmas there, too.

Last night we had our last Christmas gathering. Some of our friends came over for a taco night/pajama party/gift exchange/new years party. It was a lot of fun. We spent the night playing darts and guitar hero, eating lots and lots of Mexican food and drinking a little vodka to ring in the new year.

We took our tree down today, so the holidays are officially over for us. It was definitely a marathon Christmas, (Mike and I estimate that we drove about 750 miles total) but it was completely wonderful. All the hustle and bustle made the vacation go by too quickly (tomorrow our last day of freedom booo), but it made for a great holiday season!

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!

2008-01-01T11:26:00.000-06:00

2007 was wonderful!

Here's to an even better 2008!

Shadow

2007-12-28T12:18:00.000-06:00

Our beloved fat cat, Shadow, died today. We've had him for about 11 years... he was truly part of the family.

He was a great cat. Sam and I would play with him and dress him up in ridiculous clothes. Dad would always share his cereal milk with him in the morning. Mom would let him sleep on/around her face. He was a friend to all of the pets... and an even better friend to me.

I love you Shadow. I miss you already. I hope you are catching those bed mice in kitty heaven.

Aren't You Glad He's Not Your Neighbor?

2007-12-22T10:42:00.000-06:00

This guy does this every year, but it never seizes to amaze me.

I'm just glad I don't live next to him!

Christmas Light Display

We are headed up to visit Mike's family tomorrow...so let the festivities begin!

I HOPE EVERYONE HAS A VERY MERRY CHRISTMAS!

12 Days of Christmas: A Scavenger Hunt

2007-12-21T18:55:00.000-06:00

My sister and I came up with a fun little Christmas treat for our parents... a scavenger hunt based on the 12 Days of Christmas.

We made little clues and hid prizes around the house. After much searching at Walmart, we decided that our 12 Days would have a food theme.

This is what they ended up finding!

On the 12th day of Christmas, my daughters gave to me...

12 drumsticks drumming

Oops! Typo! 11 peppers pepping.

10 Lords A-Leaping (Get it? Ultimate popcorn... it leaps when its popping... okay, kind of a stretch)

9 Ladies Dancing (see the lady... she's a-dancin'!)

8 Maids A-Milking

7 Swans A-Swimming (Swanson... get it?)

6 Geese A-Laying

5 Golden Rings!

4 Calling Birds

3 French Hens (My favorite! See their curly French mustaches?)

2 Turtle Doves

And a partridge in a pear tree!

New Phone=Awesome

2007-12-18T16:40:00.000-06:00

I got a new phone today! Wooooooo!

AND it's IU red! Woooooooo!

Juke

New Friend

2007-12-10T17:35:00.001-06:00

I met the most beautiful little man tonight.

Keegan

I finally got to hold this highly anticipated little guy today. What a cutie. I love him already!

House Update!

2007-12-08T14:25:00.001-06:00

So we called our landlord again today, asking about that wonderful little contract again.

Well, ladies and gentlemen, it seems that we have made progress.

She said that she will have it to us at the beginning of the year and she will back-date the contract to June.

That means everything we've paid since June will go towards the cost of the house. That's 7 months of rent going towards our house... a whopping $4200 going towards our house. A wonderful, most unexpected surprise!

So that's the scoop. Mike keeps saying good things will happen to those who wait. We shall see!

Twas the Days Before Christmas

2007-12-06T17:25:00.000-06:00

This little poem just about sums it up.

‘Twas the days before Christmas,
And all through the school,
The teachers were trying
To just keep their cool.
The hallways were hung
With Christmas art.
(Some made in November
To get a head start!)

The children were bouncing
Off ceilings and walls,
And seemed to forget
How to walk in the halls.

When out of the teacher’s lounge
With “holiday shirts”
And “jingle bell jewels,”
The teachers looked festive
Enforcing the rules.

There came such a chatter,
The principal went in
To see what was the matter.

The teachers were hiding
And trying to refuel,
On coffee and cookies
And treats from the Yule.

When what to their wondering
Ears do they hear,
But the ringing of school bells
It’s the children they fear!

More rapid than reindeer
The little ones came,
And the teachers all shouted
And called them by name;

Walk Vincent! Walk Tanner!
Walk, Tyler and Sammy!
Sit Jamie! Sit Laura!
Sit, Tara and Tammy!

To your desks in the room!
To your spots in the line!
Now walk to them! Walk to them!
No running this time!

So straight to their places
The children all went.
With fear of detention
Where they all would be sent.

With manuals of lessons
Cradled in arms,
The teachers began
To use all their charms.

But the lessons presented
All fell on deaf ears.
The children were thinking
Of Santa’s reindeer.

With a toss of their hands
They put manuals aside,
Went straight to the cupboards
Where videos hide.

And laying their finger
On the TV remote
They sat back to write
Their last Christmas note.

But you could hear them exclaim
At the end of the day–
Have a wonderful, happy and
L-O-O-O-O-O-NG Holiday!!!!

Class dismissed!

Meow

2007-12-05T19:55:00.000-06:00

Here's a picture of Mr. Marley Cat.

End of a Season

2007-12-03T17:41:00.000-06:00

Today was my dance team's last performance. They were a pretty good group of girls, but I'm definitely not sad that it is over. No more rushing back and forth to different schools and hopefully I'll never have to hear "Getcha Head in the Game" ever again.

It was the first time I've ever coached anything, so it was a good experience. I learned a lot about wrangling pre-teen girls and how to deal with parents and just how extra-curricular activities work from an administrative view point. While I'm very glad to be taking a nice long break from coaching, it's something Ill definitely consider doing again.

6 Months Ago...

2007-12-02T12:19:00.001-06:00

At this time, 6 months ago, I was getting all dolled up with my friends and Mike was hanging out with his buddies, all in preparation for our wedding.

I can't believe it's already been six months... but then again it seems like we've been married a lot longer than that.

Of course we've had our ups and downs, but all in all, I think marriage really suits us.

On the 1st day of Christmas...

2007-11-28T20:20:00.000-06:00

Happy Early Birthday to Me!

2007-11-23T18:28:00.000-06:00

My sister is the most impatient gift-giver ever.

She went out shopping for my birthday present today, found it, and brought it straight over to me, even though my birthday is only a mere 7 hours away. Impatient, but I'm not complaining!

She knew we've been looking everywhere for some neat stuff to put on our walls, so she got me these! Cool, huh?

We hung them over the fireplace and they look awesome. Now we just need to find something for that middle spot.

Mike is taking me out shopping tomorrow, then we're heading over to my parents' for a birthday supper and perhaps a movie. Fun fun!

HAPPY THANKSGIVNG!

2007-11-22T09:34:00.000-06:00

Happy Thanksgiving everyone! I hope everyone stuffs themselves silly with obscene amounts of delicious food and takes a little time to give thanks for all the blessings in their lives.

And while you're at it, enjoy some of these Thanksgiving jokes!

What is the turkey's favorite black tie celebration?
The Butter Ball

Did you hear about the X rated turkey?
It was served with very little dressing.

Which side of the turkey has the most feathers?
The outside!

How does a turkey drink her wine?
In a gobble-let

What is the difference between a chicken and a turkey?
Chickens celebrate Thanksgiving!

And my favorite...

A few days before Thanksgiving, a lady was picking through the frozen turkeys at her local grocery store, but she couldn't find one big enough for her family. She asked the stock boy, "Do these turkeys get any bigger?" The stock boy replied, "No ma'am, they're dead."

Yesterday's Sunset

2007-11-21T20:23:00.000-06:00

Yesterday I was going to the grocery store to get stuff for my Thanksgiving dishes. On the way there, I noticed the sunset, pulled over and grabbed my camera. Good thing too, because by the time I got to the store, the cool jet lines were gone and so was all the pink. That, my friends, is why I take my camera everywhere!

Some Things Never Change

2007-11-21T18:19:00.001-06:00

When my sister and I were little, we would play for hours in any over-sized box that would come into our possession.

Some things never change.

Here we are, not watching the new awesome tv, but playing in the giant box it came in. With creepy eyes.

Miraculously, we fit Mike in there too.

Some people just never grow up. I hope I'm always one of them....

Recipe of the Week

2007-11-18T17:20:00.000-06:00

More like recipe of the month. It's been awhile since I've tried anything new, and it's been even longer since anything new I've tried was something to write about.

So in efforts to get this recipe of the week thing kick-started again, I'm busting out one of my favorites that we use pretty much every week.

My Favorite Garlic Bread

For this, you will need:

1/2 stick of butter
3 cloves of garlic, finely minced
1/2 T parsley (more or less)
1/2 loaf of French bread
Parmesan cheese

First soften your butter in the microwave. Try not to totally melt it or make it explode like I have done in the past. But even if you do, it will be okay.

Next, chop your garlic and add to the soften butter. Then add your parsley. Give everything a good stir, then spread it onto your French bread that you've cut in half long-ways. In the event that your french bread has gone moldy without you knowing it, the garlicky/parsley butter goes just as well on regular sandwich bread.

Put the bread in the oven @ 400 degrees and bake for 7-8 minutes.

Take the bread out for just a second, sprinkle some parmesan cheese on top and pop it back in the oven for another 2-3 minutes until crusty. Then enjoy some of the best garlic bread ever!

Christmas Came Early!

2007-11-17T18:32:00.000-06:00

Instead of buying each other gifts for Christmas, Mike and I decided to pool the money we would have used, plus any other Christmas money we get, to buy something we've been dreaming about owning for a long time.

And being the impatient, highly excitable people we are, we went out and bought it today...

Here it is!!!

It's a 42" LCD super awesome tv. Mike was actually skipping down the aisles at Walmart as we were buying it.

We hooked it up and it's amazing. We broke it in by watching IU beat Purdue at the last minute in football. It was so clear we could actually see the players sweat and the Purdue fans cry. Well, I made that last part up, but if they showed the Purdue fans, I'm sure we would have been able to see the tears.

Best present ever! Merry Christmas to us!

Lost and Found

2007-11-15T19:04:00.000-06:00

My Grandma Nancy was a wonderful cook. She made the world's best fried chicken and meringue pies. She also had the coolest cookbook ever, full of recipes she collected throughout her years in the kitchen. When she passed away two and a half years ago, I decided I should start making a cookbook like she did. And I have... it's been one of the only self-assigned projects I've actually stuck with. So far I've filled one and a half notebooks and am still going strong!

For the last few weeks, I haven't been able to find one of the notebooks. The first notebook. The completely handwritten notebook with 100+ recipes in it. Needless to say I was a bit distraught. I searched high and low, every nook and cranny, and still couldn't find it.

So today, I was just randomly cleaning up a bit and I saw a papery corner sticking out from behind the fridge. The light bulb clicked on in my brain... there it was! I must have put it on top of the fridge "for safe keeping" and it fell off. Hooray! So now I can enjoy my recipes again... except now I have in mind to digitalize them all so I won't ever lose them. A new project awaits!

STRESS

2007-11-13T16:48:00.000-06:00

I've been a bad blogger recently. It's just I've had other things on my mind.

Warning: venting about to occur...

I've been stressed about my job... it seems I was hired in the middle of a office political hail storm. I still LOVE working with the kids, but the snarkiness is getting old and it seems I'm having to pick up a lot of the slack.

I've been stressed about the dance team. I've had to suspend two girls from the team due to grades, and now the routine has fallen apart. And to top it off I've had to deal with snarkiness from a parent. Principal involved snarkiness. Oh my.

We had Marley neutered/declawed/vaccinated yesterday. That was a large chunk of change and was I worried about him because we took him to a different vet due to cost issues with our regular one. My normal love bug of a cat is kind of grumpy and shaved in awkward places, but all in all he's doing fine.

We also had to switch Mike's car insurance because his policy with his parents is over. We've been fighting for two days over it because Mike agreed to coverage that is waaay too expensive for what we are getting. Not only agreed, but put a 2 month down payment on it. Now I have to get my dad to help fix it because it seems that Mike can't manage to do it himself. Sigh.

And to make things worse, I'm out of my medicine that helps me deal with stress. So all these stressors that most people could easily deal with seems like huge, monstrous ordeals to me and I end up falling to pieces over everything. I go to the doctor on Friday, but for the last week I've been falling apart over stupid little things. And the thing is I know they are stupid... I just can't help it. I'd say I'm somewhere between a nervous break down and a horribly foul mood. Friday never seemed so far away.

Venting complete.

So in conclusion, I'm a nutcase who hasn't had time to blog. But I promise I'll do better! New recipe coming soon!

It's Beginning To Look A Lot Like Christmas...

2007-11-09T22:58:00.000-06:00

Today we had the afternoon off work, so I decided to do some heavy duty Christmas shopping. Some may think I'm crazy, others might think I'm ultra-prepared. But really, I just really really really hate the Christmas crowds. They make me irrationally angry. Irrational anger is not a good thing for me, so I try to get it done as quickly and as soon as possible.

I got a lot done today. We got Mike's entire family and my mom's side of the family's presents bought and wrapped. All I have left to get is my parents' and sister's presents, and of course, Mike's.

Not too shabby for only being Nov. 9.

My Little Marley Cat

2007-11-07T20:02:00.000-06:00

Here's a little video that reminds me so much of my little Marley cat. All you cat lovers out there will appreciate this too!

The Wake Up Call

Boo Patriots...

2007-11-04T18:41:00.001-06:00

That is all.

Drat you, time change!!!

2007-11-04T09:28:00.000-06:00

So we woke up, showered, got ready, etc. to go to church this morning at our usual time. As we were putting our shoes on and taking the dog out, I happened to walk by our digital cable box and saw the time. The following was my internal dialouge.

"9:15? That's not right. It's 10:15. Wait. It is 10:15, isn't it? Am I going crazy? Oh wait, it IS 9:15. Time change! Drat you, time change!"

It's just a good thing our cable box changes on its own! So now we're enjoying our extra our before church. Mike is cooking bacon and I'm browsing for Christmas present ideas on the internet. I'm kind of disappointed that we didn't get the triumphant sleep in... I love that smug feeling... the feeling like I've beat the time system or something. But it could have been worse. We could have sprung ahead and totally missed everything this morning. Or work tomorrow. EEK! Someone was smart to declare the time change on Sundays... a dum dum mistake buffer of sorts!

Candy! Glorious Candy!

2007-11-03T21:15:00.000-05:00

My mom and I volunteered to help out with the promotion of our church's education center by stuffing treat bags for our town's annual trick or treat walk. We had to take a little break to relish the huge amount of candy that we had in our possession.

Check out Mom's face. She looks like a candy eating lion lady. It's so nice of her to keep supplying me with all these wonderful blackmail pictures!

First Performance

2007-11-01T16:56:00.001-05:00

My dance team girls had their first performance today. It's been a long time in the works.

When I first signed up for the job, I wasn't totally sure what I was getting myself into.

When I had to come up with the dance on my own, I was like "WHAT HAVE I DONE?? WHY ME??? WHY????????"

And then I had to deal with the t-shirt people and slow orders. IIIIEEEEEE!!!!!!!!!! I finally got the shirts in yesterday afternoon. I hate cutting things close, so I was just a tad bit stressed!

It was a lot of hard work and a lot of practices, but also a lot of fun. I've got 16 wonderful girls to work with and a fabulous assistant (who also happens to be my mom) that helps me out when I can't be there because of my other job at my other school.

Today's performance was GREAT! It was the best job they've done so far! I was nervous for them all day long because the last practice didn't go so well, but they got it together and just blew me away!! They crowd cheered and the principal gave us a good review. I'm so proud of them... it's like my little baby birds have flown from the nest!

Happy Halloween!

2007-10-31T21:43:00.000-05:00

I'm too tired to really post anything... I shall updatetomorrow. But for now check out these incredible pumpkin carvings!

Pumpkins: Part Deux

2007-10-30T23:27:00.000-05:00

The week of rain washed our pumpkin faces off. Aww sad times.

Until we busted out the knives! (Horror movie sounds: ree ree ree ree)

Mike chose to stick with Laughy McDracula.

I decided on a plain, old fashioned, scary face... perfect for a headless horseman if one should happen to come around.

They've been out like that for 2 nights in a row on our busy street without getting smashed... wonder if they'll make it to Halloween? Bets, anyone? :o)

Potatoes:1 - Meagan :0

2007-10-27T16:14:00.000-05:00

The mashed boo-tatoes didn't work.

They were supposed to look like this:

Extremely cute and seemingly easy.

Seemingly is the key word here, people.

I totally screwed up the potatoes. I forgot to peel them, they were undercooked and wouldn't smash, and the mixer shot them all over the kitchen.

Instead of cute little ghosties, I got this:

A really lumpy bowl of potatoes. They weren't awful, but definitely the worst batch of mashed potatoes ever.

So I'm trying it again this week. Maybe for Halloween!

Just a few pictures

2007-10-26T18:06:00.000-05:00

Here a few pictures that I've been working on here and there.

My kitties. They are best friends. Not a great quality pic, but they make up for it in cuteness!

Sunset at Wal-mart. Seriously. Look west from the parking lot and you'll see it. I cropped out that Christmas star they have on top.

One of my favorites! That's at IU. The campus is so pretty this time of year.

Another IU tree.

My other favorite. Who knew roses still bloom in late October?

Chuck Norris World

2007-10-26T16:21:00.000-05:00

Instead of doing anything productive, I stumbled across this.

Chuck Norris World.

It's so weird. It's a Mario/Sonic/Streetfighter inspired game (literally) where you are Chuck Norris. You make your way through different levels jumping on and roundhouse kicking your enemies in the face. And the sound is in French. But the subtitles are in English, except for his name. They call him Tchaqui Nouris.

And while we're on the random subject of Chuck Norris, here are some jokes about him. I love these... they crack me up! Chuck Norris Facts.

MIA

2007-10-25T17:13:00.000-05:00

It's been an incredibly busy week, and as you can tell, I've been slacking in the blogging area.

Sorry.

I'll be back soon.

I promise.

On a side note, I'm making Mashed Boo-tatoes for dinner. I hope they turn out as cute as the picture!

Fall Break!

2007-10-19T10:52:00.001-05:00

We're officially on Fall Break, the best four day weekend in the whole year! You can't ask for a better job than one that gives you weekends, summers, and random days off. God bless the school corporation. (A moment of silence for my college friends who do not get fall breaks...)

So this morning we're headed off to Bloomington, where we'll get to see friends, family, and Bob Dylan! We're only staying until tomorrow night, so we have a lot packed into two little days.

Mike is especially excited. When he woke up this morning, he said it almost felt like Christmas. Silly boy!

And the thunder rolls...

2007-10-18T21:11:00.000-05:00

This afternoon a big line of severe storms rolled through our area, along with some pretty wicked looking clouds. I'm terrified of storms, but I just couldn't get over those clouds. I got the courage to run out and snap a few photos of some of them.

Here it comes...

Gloomy clouds.

And even gloomier clouds.

Eek.

Cliche Buster...

2007-10-15T19:43:00.000-05:00

Get code for this picture Funny MySpace Comments

House Update

2007-10-14T22:30:00.000-05:00

Bad News: No contract yet. Sigh.

Good News: Everyday we are living less and less like the Beverly Hillbillies gone to college!

Today we got curtains! Ooh la la!

Next on our list is to get some artwork on the walls and maybe a new coffee table. We'll be headed up to Bloomington area next weekend (for the concert yaay!) so maybe we'll find something interesting up there.

PUMPKINS!!!

2007-10-14T22:10:00.000-05:00

Mike and I painted our pumpkins today.

A gruesome twosome for sho!

Let's play a game! Can you guess whose pumpkins is whose?

*
*
*
*
*
*
*
Have you made your guess yet?
*
*
*
*
Hurry up!
*
*
*
*
Alright, time's up!

Here's Mike's creation. He named it Laughy McDracula.

And mine. The Old Hag.

I hope your guess was right!

I heart Halloween!

More Useless Trivia

2007-10-11T19:24:00.001-05:00

It's been a busy week and my brain needs a vacation. But since it's only Thursday, a little useless trivia will have to do for now. Enjoy!

Rabbits love licorice.

A humpback whale's penis can be longer that 10 feet.

As a young and struggling artist, Pablo Picasso kept warm by burning his own paintings.

Tuesday is the most productive day of the work week.

Cows give more milk when they listen to music.

Peanuts are an ingredient in dynamite.

Armadillos can be house-trained.

The yo-yo originated in the Philippines, where it was used as a weapon in hunting.

Eau de cologne was originally marketed as a way of protecting yourself against the plague.

The human body contains enough iron to make a 3-inch nail.

Nintendo was established in 1889 and started out making playing cards.

From "This Book of More Perfectly Useless Information" by Mitchell Symons

Cooking Misadventures

2007-10-10T17:23:00.000-05:00

Being the baking extrordinaire that I am, I decided to make the world's best cupcakes for my pregnant friend Andi. I've made them before, so I thought it would be a breeze to do again.

Wrong!

First off, I miscalculated the strength of my mixer. We got a new one as a gift for our wedding, and boy is it strong. It's like a power drill with little whisk thingies. Anyways, I forgot how strong it was and ended up shooting sugar all over the kitchen. It was like an explosion. What a mess!

After I regrouped, I kept on my merry little baking way. I made the batter, poured it in the little cupcake things, and started to put them in the oven. I took a little taste and BLEH!

I forgot the sugar. Duh.

I had to dump it all out and make it all over again.

So my new batch is in the oven, almost done. We'll see if these turn out to be the world's best cupcakes, or yet another cooking disaster by yours truly!

4 Things

2007-10-07T18:56:00.001-05:00

I got tagged by Perri, so here it is... four things about me.

Jobs I've had:
1. Kennel Assistant at a veterinarian
2. Cashier and display designer at a craft shop
3. Housekeeper
4. Teacher/Aide

Places I have lived:
1. Boonville, IN
2. Bloomington, IN
3. Um...
4. That's all.

Food I love:
1. Pasta- any kind
2. Pizza
3. Mexican food
4. Diet Coke

Websites I visit daily:
1. Bank
2. Weather.com
3. Facebook
4. Any updated blogs on my Google Reader

Places I'd rather be:
1. Visiting friends in Bloomington
2. Hawaii
3. Laid out on a beach with pina coladas (in Hawaii)
4. Snuggled in bed

Movies I love:
1. 50 First Dates
2. Talladega Nights
3. Monty Python & the Holy Grail
4. Empire Records

TV shows I watch:
1. House
2. The Office
3. CSI
4. LOST

People I tag:
1. My mom- who never updates her blog... slacker!
2. My sister- who writes some of the best blogs ever
3. Jada- who takes really cool pictures (I want to see more!!)
4. Heidi- who I'd love to know more about!

Ah, the great outdoors....

2007-10-07T17:31:00.000-05:00

Ahh... the sun's shining, the birds are singing...

And the Emersons' are camping.

So after work on Friday, we packed our gear and headed up to Lincoln park to camp our little hearts out. Actually, it was Mike's heart that wanted to camp. Mine wanted to be at home watching CSI, painting my toenails. I cannot stress enough that I am soooo not a camper. Or an outdoorsy type person at all, really. The only reason I was going on this trip was to appease my husband.

That being said, I didn't really have that bad of a time.

But we didn't have that great of a time either...

The possible reasons?

1. As we were unpacking the stuff at our campsite, we realized Mike forgot to load up our clothes in the jeep. Crap.

2. Deciding we could make do without our clothes for a couple days, we continued to unload the car. We shortly realize that Mike also forgot to pack all of the blankets. Double crap.

3. An hour's round trip driving home and back to get said clothes and blankets and some forgotten firewood, I cooked dinner with one knife and a plastic fork by lantern light.

4. As we were a bit tipsy that evening, we decided to go to bed and didn't think to put all of the food up properly. We found out that raccoons like chocolate. Alot. Needless to say, no smores for us.

5. At breakfast, I made an oh so delicious omelet that I promptly dropped on the ground. I scraped the top part up and ate it anyways.

5. It was hot, Don. Very very hot. Why is it 90 degrees in October? Why?

Despite a few (well, a more than a few) setbacks, and my pre-established feelings about camping, we did enjoy ourselves. We cooked a great campfire dinner on Friday and had a great time just talking, reading and relaxing. We brought Scout, who had the best time in the world. I think she thought she was in doggie heaven. It was fun to watch her sniff and romp around. We went on a hike on Saturday and sat by the lake for a while. It was really really nice.

But in the end, the heat got us. We were hot and miserable. We were ready to go home.

Even Scout was.

So we packed up and hightailed it home where we lounged on the couch like slugs the rest of the afternoon.

Not horrible. But I don't think I'm ready to go back and do it again anytime soon...

It's Finally Happened

2007-10-05T14:53:00.000-05:00

"I waited patiently for the LORD;
he turned to me and heard my cry."
Psalm 40:1

We have been praying for such a long time that both of us would get jobs soon. It's been hard not to get discouraged and angry about things, but we've kept our spirits up, knowing that God would answer our calls when the time was right. Well I'm happy to say that it's finally happened. I got my prayer answered last night and experienced a wonderful first day at a job I know I'm going to love. Mike's was answered this morning when he was offered an aide job and will be starting on Monday. God is truly good.

I GOT THE JOB!!

2007-10-04T21:00:00.000-05:00

I GOT THE JOB!!
I GOT THE JOB!!
I GOT THE JOB!!
I GOT THE JOB!!

I can't believe it!! I'm so happy and thankful and I don't know what else!!!

I start at 8am tomorrow. Ill find out all my job duties then. I'm so nervous and excited!

I'm so happy I could burst!

Praise the Lord!!

I GOT THE JOB!!

A Big Day

2007-10-04T15:33:00.000-05:00

Mike had his interview today. He's in the running to be a temporary aide to a student that has Downs Syndrome. From the interview vibes, Mike says he'd be surprised if he didn't get the job. So we're definitely hopeful about this one. We'll find out for sure sometime tomorrow.

And tonight I find out whether or not I got the aide position I applied for. I am beyond nervous. All I can do is distract myself from staring at the phone.

How cool would it be if we both got jobs in the next 24 hours? I'm so anxious.... ahhhhhh!

I'll let you know how it all goes down. But for now, I'm off to start packing for our little camping adventure this weekend... I'll let you know how that works out too.

Romping Grounds

2007-10-03T12:35:00.000-05:00

Mike and I both had the morning off, so we decided to take Scout outside to play. We like to take her to an empty field by the cemetary near our house where there is lots of space to run and romp.

Here she is running...

And romping...

Running and romping makes for a happy dog!

And a happy dog makes for a happy owner!

Which makes for a pretty great morning!

A peek into my kitchen

2007-10-02T19:06:00.001-05:00

Today I waged war on my house and cleaned every room top to bottom. Since I was doing that, I decided to go the extra mile and get my kitchen back in order from all of the painting and stuff. Although there is still a little paint tape up since we still have to do some touch ups, and no curtains yet, I can honestly say it looks much much much better than before. See for yourself!

First off, the table area.

BEFORE:

Glaring white walls. Bunny foo foo wall border. A random blue bucket on the table. Not a pretty sight.

AFTER:

Much better, see? Nice bright walls, a new ceiling fan, and a shelf with some of my fiestaware. I heart fiestaware.

Alright... next is the actual kitchen area... this is where the magic happens.

BEFORE:

The bunny foo foos are back. Really, not too shabby, just white, cluttered and messy.

AFTER:

Ooh la la! More color, less clutter. Even Ringo is enjoying the cleanness.

Good News

2007-10-01T19:26:00.000-05:00

Mike got a random call today from our tri-county special education cooperative asking him to come in for an interview. Apparently the head hauncho at the school corporation recommended Mike to them. We are both pretty amazed. We had no idea there was even a job opening. I guess he made a good impression on the right people during his interview a few weeks ago... that can't be a bad thing!! He is going to call them tomorrow to get some more info on the job and to schedule a time to come in. Hooray for possible surprise job happenings!

Make this. Now.

2007-09-30T12:10:00.001-05:00

Mike and I have been pretty busy lately and haven't gotten to spend much time together lately. So last night we decided to have an at-home date night where we cooked a fancy dinner together and watched CSI all night.

I love fancy dinner nights. I love picking out what we're going to eat and then I really love being in the kitchen with Mike as we're making it. It's romantic... in a productive sort of way. I came across this recipe at one of my favorite blogs and it truly one of the best things I've put in my mouth.

So drop what you're doing and make this. Now. Seriously.

EDIT: I made this again using chicken instead of shrimp and it was just as good. Yum yum yum!

Recipe of the Week

2007-09-26T20:25:00.001-05:00

For 23 years, I had gone without knowing the joy of pesto. I never tried it because it looked weird and just assumed I wouldn't like it. After finding a recipe that called for a pesto sauce, I decided to be brave and try it out. And boy am I glad I did. It has quickly become a favorite in our house... an easy peasy meal that tastes delicious!

It is made of basil, garlic, olive oil, and parmesan cheese. Tastes good but it looks gross.

Anyways, here's the recipe. It's sooo quick and easy!

Presto Pesto Chicken Pasta

4 chicken breasts
1 package of your favorite type of noodle
Jar of pesto (it's in the spaghetti sauce aisle)

So you cut up the chicken into bite size pieces. Put 2 T (give or take) of pesto right on top of the chicken pieces. Coat evenly. Throw the chicken in a pan with a little bit of olive oil and saute it until it's nice and brown, about 15 minutes. Meanwhile, boil the noodles until they are al dente-ish. Drain the noodles and add in an additional 2 T of pesto in the pasta and stir, coating the noodles evenly. You can put as little or as much pesto as you want in the pasta... do it to your liking. Serve the pasta in individual bowls and add pesto chicken on top, or just mix it all together and serve. It literally takes like 20 minutes to make and is goo-oo-ood!

Bugzilla!!!

2007-09-25T20:26:00.000-05:00

Ahh! Bugzilla attacked us! It was enormous! It kind of flew at me and chased me out of the kitchen. Thankfully Mike protected me and took him back outside. I only got close enough to snap a couple of pictures. Then Mike was a jerk and teased me with it until I screamed.

It never rains, but it pours...

2007-09-25T19:43:00.000-05:00

Oh rain.

My flowers desperately needed it. But unfortunately in these parts a steady downpour will knock your power right out. Instead of an afternoon spent watching CSI, surfing the internet and eating ice cream on our glorious couch, I sat in a dark house... for 3 hours. I ended up taking some pictures around the house, playing with the dog, and reading a book that is just so-so right now instead. And I did still have the ice cream. Then I went over to my church's little cooking class and sampled some yummy camping food. Now I have a few ideas for our own camping trip in a couple of weeks (which I may or may not be dreading). So a nice little day off despite the power outage... I'm just thankful our basement didn't flood!!

Here's another view of those gloomy clouds. I had to sneak out between rain showers to snap this shot.

Interview update

2007-09-25T11:33:00.000-05:00

Well the interview is over and I can breathe easy again. After days of dread, I can say that it all went pretty well. I was interviewed for four potential jobs. They asked the questions, I gave the right answers... without putting my feet in my mouth or sounding mentally unstable. I was kind of twitchy and used my hands way too much when I was talking, but overall I think I made a positive impact on those who were interviewing me. The main thing is that I stayed true to myself and tried my best. It's out of my hands now...

Now I wait until Oct 4 to find out the good news/bad news.

Getcha Head in the Game!

2007-09-20T19:22:00.000-05:00

Wanna hear the song I picked for my drill team to dance to? It's the pop version of a song from "High School Musical," the "IT" movie at the moment for all you teenyboppers out there. Don't mind the orangey blurs on the video. Just imagine 15-20 slightly awkward 6th grade girls dancing to the song.

I wrote 90% of the dance today. The rest will have to come together once I meet the girls and their mad skillzzzzz, hahaha. I'm kind of excited about it all, I just hope it doesn't look totally stupid. I still need to work on the tryout fliers, permission forms, and t shirt designs, etc. Practices don't start until October, but my plan is to have all of that stuff done so I can concentrate on the girls and their routines when that time comes. So for now, after listening to it about 100 times, I just gotta getcha getcha getcha song out of my head!!!

Another job interview

2007-09-20T11:01:00.000-05:00

Another job opportunity has rolled around, this time its for me! I have an interview on Tuesday for an aide job at my favorite school. The school I sub at almost every day. The school in which I am coaching the dance team. So if I don't totally blow the interview, I'd say I have a pretty darn good chance at getting the job. But then again, you never know. But at least I got an interview! So please bust out those wonderful prayers of yours... I really really hope this is the one! Thanks!

It's here!

2007-09-19T16:33:00.000-05:00

It's here! It's here! I never thought I'd be so excited about a piece of furniture!

Absolutely fabulous.

Most of the living room work is done. The walls are painted and most of the physical labor is done. We rearranged some things and got rid of some clutter. We still need to get curtain, better wall art, other non-ghetto furniture, etc. but all in good time.

Here's a before and after.

Before. What a sad sad white little room.

After! So much better! Notice Scout has already claimed her spot by the window.

We're in the works of doing the kitchen too. We put in a new ceiling fan and painted in there too. I'll post pictures of that once it's finished. But for now, I am going to lounge on the couch and watch CSI. Ahhhh, feels good!

Our couch comes tomorrow!

2007-09-18T15:43:00.000-05:00

Our couch comes tomorrow!

Our couch comes tomorrow!

Our couch comes tomorrow!

I'm so excited... it's like Christmas... in September! YAY!!!!

That is all.

Recipe of the Week

2007-09-18T10:40:00.000-05:00

Do you have hungry friends that have stopped by unexpectedly? Do you want something to munch on while you watch the Colts win? Or maybe you just need a snack that requires no cooking? Well I have the solution for you!

Impossibly Easy Bean Dip

1 can of refried beans
1 packet of taco mix
1 block of cream cheese, softened
1 little can of green chilies
tortilla chips

In a bowl, combine the beans and the taco mix. Mix it really well.
In another bowl, combine the cream cheese and green chilies. Mix that really well too.

On a platter (I used a paper plate to complete the impossibly easy theme), spread the bean mixture out until flat and smooth. Next, layer the cream cheese mixture on top of that. Smooth it out until flat and smooth. Voila! Your bean dip is complete. If you want to fancy it up a bit, throw some black olives, tomatos, or green onions on top. Yum yum!

Bad but not suprising news...

2007-09-17T20:33:00.000-05:00

Mike got a call from the school corporation tonight confirming our suspicions... he did not get the aide job that he interviewed for last week.

Le boo.

The personnel head honcho gave him the ol' "keep trying, get your name out to the principals and get your foot in the door" speech. Blah blah blah. We get it already. Unfortunately that technique hasn't been working well for us so far. But he did get an interview... so I guess that's something!!

Mike was kind of bummed out, or frustrated, or something. I told him that it means he is supposed to go on to do bigger and better things and we just have to be patient enough to let things work themselves out. I just wish those things would happen a little faster and we'd have a little more patience with all of this!

So I'm off to make my hardworking hubby a nice bowl of ice cream to ease frustrations. Maybe the next interview phone call he gets will have better news for him.

We Interrupt This Blog...

2007-09-16T09:19:00.001-05:00

For some perfectly useless information.

Lions cannot roar until they reach the age of 2.

M&Ms were developed so that soldiers could eat chocolate without getting their fingers sticky.

Whales cannot swim backwards.

Buzz Aldrin's mother's maiden name was Moon.

Every year, 8,000 people injure themselves on toothpicks.

The state flag of Alaska was designed by a thirteen year old boy.

Counting how many times a cricket chirps on 15 seconds and then adding 40 to that number will tell you roughly what the outside temperature is in Fahrenheit.

The United States has never lost a war in which mules were used.

From This Book of More Perfectly Useless Information by Mitchell Symons

And so it begins...

2007-09-13T14:46:00.000-05:00

We have officially started working on the house. We contacted our landlord and got the okay to paint our walls. Apparently she really is working on a contract for us (hooray!) and we can go ahead and start fixing the place up. So our first project is the living room. Mike wanted to fix a leak in the bathroom... but our new couch needs a pretty room to live in first, right?

Anyways, the seemingly straight forward job of painting a couple of walls has grown into quite a project. Our walls are gross and bumpy, so we have to sand, spackle, and wash everything down before we paint. So my day off of work today has been deemed prep day. Mike helped out for a while, but then he had to leave for work. So here I am alone.... with power tools.

Yes. Scary, I know.

I know nothing of power tools. I was the girl who dropped my shop class because I was scared of them. Mike must have faith in me, but I think he might be a little too trusting. Just look at me... I've been using my sunglasses as safety goggles. Stylish, maybe. A handy man, I'm not so sure.

How Many Pain Can You Stand?

2007-09-12T17:14:00.000-05:00

My sister sent me a hilarious little video clip that just made my day. It's called How Many Pain Can You Stand? It's 6 guys in a library trying to be quiet while playing a card game. Usually that wouldn't be too difficult, but this game is a little bit different.

Okay, a lot different.

If you have 9 minutes to spare and a slightly sick sense of humor, I totally recommend you watch. Enjoy!

Blast from the Past

2007-09-12T15:39:00.000-05:00

Here's an article I found in the paper about one of my all time favorite teachers. I was in her media class and also on her yearbook staff in high school. She is a great lady and an amazing teacher!

Mrs. Metzger

Quotent Quotables

2007-09-10T20:44:00.000-05:00

One night a year or so ago, a friend and I happened to start talking about God. I believe in Him; she isn't so sure. She went on to talk about how she had trouble believing in something that is not logical; there is no scientific fact that God exists. To her, He is like a fairy tale.

I wished I could put into words why I believed. I kind of felt silly talking to her about it because she was perfectly right, believing in God is not logical nor scientific. But in the end, I still believe. There are so many unspoken reasons in my heart why I believe. I have faith that He is there and loves me, even in spite of all the mistakes I have made, and will make, in my life. That will never change.

I've been reading a book called Blue Like Jazz. It is a book of thoughts on Christian spirituality that my sister recommended to me. It's pretty good so far. I came across a passage in this book that reminded me of that conversation that night.

"I don't think there is an explanation. My belief in Jesus did not seem rational or scientific, yet there was nothing I could do to separate myself from this belief. [She] was looking for something rational, because she believed all things were rational. But that is not the case. Love, for example, is a true emotion, but it is not rational. What I mean is, people actually feel it. I have been in love, plenty of people have been in love, yet love cannot be proven scientifically. Neither can beauty. Light cannot be proven scientifically and yet we all believe in light and by light we see all things. There are plenty of things that are true and don't make any sense. I think one of the problems [she] was having was that she wanted God to make sense. He doesn't. He will make no more sense to me than I will to an ant." Donald Miller, Blue Like Jazz

I don't usually say too much about my thoughts on God. While I feel very strongly about my faith, I also feel that it a very personal thing and one I shouldn't go blabbering on about. But for some reason, I just felt that I should share that little paragraph with all of you, asking those who wrestle with this question of logic to keep an open mind. I hope that my friend does too.

Our New Couch!

2007-09-08T19:51:00.000-05:00

We made our first official grown up major credit card purchase this afternoon. After about 2 hours of stretching out and reclining on various types of furniture, we finally decided on a super comfy, micro suede sectional. It comes with a stain protection plan and will fit perfectly into the weird layout of our living room. It will be delivered here on Sept 19... I'm so excited I can hardly wait!

So without further adieu, meet our new couch!

Think of all the Colts game action that baby is about to get!

This one shows the color a bit better.

As soon as we are able, we are going to paint the living room walls blue with a grayish tone to it and do window treatments. I can't wait to get rid of all of our old mismatched college furniture and have some color on the walls! And of course, Mike is pushing for a fancy new TV with a surround sound system. It will definitely all have to been done in (tiny) baby steps, but at least we have an awesome couch on the way to get us started!

Orange is the Happiest Color...

2007-09-08T19:43:00.000-05:00

At least that is what Frank Sinatra once said. And you know, I think he was right. Especially when you are with my family at Charlie's Mongolian BBQ!

I think Dad should audition for the part of The Joker in the next Batman!!

The gruesome twosome.

And this one... there are just no words to describe it...

Ah, just another night out with the fam.

We're going to see Bob Dylan!

2007-09-08T10:28:00.000-05:00

On Fall Break this year, we are heading up to Bloomington to see the Bob Dylan/Elvis Costello concert! Better yet, it's Mike's parents' treat! They invited us to go to the concert then stay the night with them in a hotel suite. How awesome is that?!?