Jun 30, 2009

Birthday Wishes...


Happy Birthday, Dad. Love you!

Jun 25, 2009

A Turkey Burger lives with us....

and his name is Henry...
He's a Mischeif Maker...


He likes to use our laptops as his own personal heating pads...


And sometimes he finds it convenient to take a bath on our laptops...



That's okay, because he's such a cute little boy!



And he's the world's best Cuddle Bug...




Our little Turkey Burger, Henry. We're so glad you came to live with us.

Jun 23, 2009

Curb appeal, flower style...

Andy and I have been trying to spruce up the front yard. Here's what we've done so far. The picture quality is horrible but you get the idea.

I've always been a fan of the gorgeous varieties of Hostas and I had been telling Andy how badly I wanted a Hosta bed. Now I have one!! I can't wait until they get bigger. I'll have to tell you a funny story about planting these Hostas later.

I just love that I have these gorgeous flowers blooming right outside our front door. Makes me smile every day when I leave for school. When everything matures and spreads out a bit it will look even more fantastic. I know it doesn't look like much, but you should have seen it before. This was all the budget could handle this year, but I plan to add additional plants next year to really fill everything in.

The red lillies are my favorite. I used to have some of those flowers in my other garden and always thought they were so beautiful. I'd been looking for some and finally found these at Fred Meyer in salt lake.

Andy bought two of them for me and we got the yellow daisies for free. The yellow daisies aren't doing so well but I guess we can't complain since they were free. I also have a Coneflower which is not pictured here because it hasn't bloomed yet.

Jun 15, 2009

Despite the rain...

Andy and I managed to get some fun in this weekend even in spite of the rainy weather. Saturday morning we went to Salt Lake to check out the farmer's market.

We loved it! It is held at Pioneer Park and features fresh produce and homemade goods from local farmers and artists. There were so many vendors and tons of food to taste test.

One thing we tried was fresh marinated veggies on top of a slice of wheat bread covered in pesto sauce. It was amazing. We also tried a fruit tart that was delicious! We ended up purchasing some asiago cheese bread with some tomatillos and cilantro dipping sauce to go along with it.

After the market we stopped at the library and then went over to Whole Food's. A while back we had gone to dinner with some of Andy's coworkers at Rickenbacker's. I had the pistachio crusted salmon over butternut squash ravioli.

The ravioli was so good that we have been searching for some ever since that night. We haven't been able to find any in the local grocery stores so Andy thought Whole Food's would be our best bet. Sure enough- we found some. Now we can't wait to try it out!

On Sunday we took Ash for a hike.

She loved it. She would run ahead on the trail and then come racing back to make sure we were still following her. She even splashed around in the water a bit.

It is one of my favorite hikes; shady and absolutely gorgeous!

Overall a great end to the weekend. I sure was feeling sad about it being over and having to go back to work the next day

Jun 12, 2009

Ugh...

Ash got bored with all the rainy weather and dull days. She decided to amuse herself by ripping down the net fence around the garden. Then she walked through every inch of it destroying anything in her path. I'm sure it was great fun for her, but it made me cry.

Somethings also been munching on our plants and killing some of them. Andy investigated the other night and came back in to report that the culprets were none other than disgusting slugs. Yuck!

Then, to top it all off....Mauney puked on the carpet this morning right in front of us. Scrubbing puke out of carpet is the worst way to start your day.

I hope the rain goes away soon because it's sure put me in a sad state of blues and it's making the animals go stir crazy, which is making us all go crazy.

Jun 11, 2009

Wish list is not just wishful thinking...

You know, life is full of crossroads. Every single day we encounter them. Every single day we make choices that either enhance our life or not. I came across these interesting questions today...

1. If I knew I couldn't fail, what would I do that I am not doing now?

2. If I didn't have to do it perfectly, what would I do?

3. If I wasn't worried about money, what job would I do?

4. If I could live anywhere, where would I want to live?

5. If I was willing to give up past regrets, how different would my life be starting now?

6. If I wasn't so worried about outcomes, how would my life be different today?

There's no reason that we can't have what we want out of life. Sometimes I get caught up in wishful thinking. If only I had the money/time/courage, I could do this or this or this. *sigh* And then I move on and forget about it. Shame on me.

What if we instead realized that you can do what you want and have what you want, if you just used a little creativity to find a way to get to it?

There's nothing wrong with tweaking your wish list to form it into something you actually CAN get/accomplish. If you allow your wish list to be flexible you won't ever have to give up on it.

For instance: What if my wish was to 'travel the world.' That's a pretty tall order. Couldn't I narrow it down to "By the year _____ I'd like to have travelled to Brazil."

Setting clear goals and specifically defining your wishes can help you accomplish them. And maybe along the line I realize that I'd rather go to Rome then Brazil. That's okay- cause my wishes are flexible.

And at the end of my life, when I look back, I won't say "I never got to travel the world." I will instead say "What great memories I have of my wonderful trip to Brazil. I'm glad I made that opportunity happen for me."

What else can you do to ensure that your wishlist becomes a reality? Surround yourself with friends and family that either share those same goals or support you and encourage you in accomplishing them.

It's amazing how much positive reinforcement and total backing from friends and family can boost that "I believe I can do this" factor. Just like it's amazing how one negative comment can plant that tiny seed of self doubt.

Lastly, remember that life is not always a picnic. You're going to stumble, you're going to make poor choices, things are going to be hard, and you're going to feel like giving up on your wish list. But don't.

What defines a successful person is how they handle lifes frustrations and whether or not they get back on the horse and keep trying. They don't dwell on the possibility that things may not go the way they want them to. They are aware of that fact but they don't let that stop them from going for it and giving their all.

So when you look at those questions above...take some time to really give more than a one word answer and you will uncover some very powerful information. This one exercise could help you open your eyes to a whole new world of possibilities.

And remember you're never too old and it's never too late to re-evaluate what you want out of life and then find a way to go out and get it.

Jun 9, 2009

Tool Box fail...

Why can't tool boxes be like Mary Poppins black bag?

Endless pits of storage for all sorts of garage mayhem. Wouldn't that be wonderful?


Last night Andy began to tackle the craziness that is our garage.

Remember how we thought getting that tool box would magically organize the garage for us?


We were so wrong. The tool box is full now. But somehow the garage still looks like a tornado hit.

Apparently we need a bigger tool box. Or two. Or three. Or maybe twenty.

Jun 4, 2009

Le Jardin....

Have you seen our garden? You haven't! Well, here it is!!


Tada!! We may be amateur gardeners but we're getting the hang of it.



Look what we did! Seriously, I'm so excited to have fresh veggies!


Henry came out to "help" with the planting and watering too.


But he gets "watered" by Andy as a warning to keep off the newly planted carrots!



So he sits off to the side and pouts.



Ash is our supervisor. She follows us around and makes sure everything is done just right.



But sometimes supervising makes Ash tired so she takes a break.



Even Anti-Social Mauney can't help but come out to see what's happening.



Isn't my itty bitty green watering can oh so cute!! I love it.

I started a gardening journal to keep track of what we liked, what didn't work, what varieties we used, etc. But knowing my attention span, I'm not sure I'll keep up with it.

Jun 3, 2009

My ride...

I drive a Ford Escort. It's white. I want a wagon. I don't care what kind...Subaru, Saturn, Audi. Andy prefers I have an Audi and that's just fine with me. I want to haul my dog around like a real granola.

(I'm not a granola. I don't have a bike rack or a ski rack. And I don't have Save The Whales bumper stickers. I just pretend.)

But for now, it's me and the Escort. We've had a happy life together for the most part. But in some ways, she just wasn't cutting it.

The cup holders for instance.
Inadequate to say the least. However, I never paid much attention to them. I've spilled approximately 31 drinks in that car.....and cleaned up maybe 8 of them. It'll dry on it's own, right?

Somehow that obsession with cleanliness and no clutter I have doesn't apply to my car. Nor does it apply to my purses.

How does this spillage occur? Well...every time I take a corner my drink goes flying, soaking my pant leg, the dash, the floor, middle console and sometimes even the ceiling.

I'm not a maniac when I drive. I just believe in being firm and confident in my turning manuevers.

One fine day, the lucky girl that I am, was being treated to a full interior detail of my car by Andy. Things were going wonderfully until he lifted up the car mats and saw brown carpet rather than gray.

I have an explanation for that!! I swear! Usually when I spill said drinks, I'm on my way to somewhere very important..like Target....or Barnes and Noble. No time to clean!

So Andy went back to scrubbing and I braced myself for what I knew was coming. The shame of my cup holders.

Then it happened. Andy tried to rescue the spare change that had accumulated in each cup holder and found it stuck tight in the sticky goop that once used to be my beverage of choice.

I knew it was there. I'd been avoiding it, hoping it would go away or evaporate or something. No such luck.

It took Andy quite some time to scrub the remains of my Dr. Pepper and Latte infatuation from every inch of the car. But when he was done...the Escort was sparklin!

Needless to say...a couple weeks later he surprised me by replacing my cup holders with delux, super duper deep cup holders!

I haven't spilled a drink yet!

Jun 2, 2009

Sleepy time is rough...

The other night Ash was lying by the side of the couch looking very forlorn. I think she realized that it was almost bedtime.

She doesn't like bedtime very much and sometimes I have to carry her to her room. She slinks down and tries to hide from me when I say "Sleepy time Ash!"

Ever since she was a puppy she has been babied. She has always slept in the bedroom either on her pillow by the side of the bed or on the actual bed. I think she got used to hearing the sounds of her people sleeping next to her.

I'll admit that there were times when it was a great comfort to me to fall asleep with my arm around her.

When I moved her to Andy's house I knew I still wanted to allow her to sleep indoors, but that I didn't want her in the bedroom anymore. It was time for her to have her own place at night.

For now, we have settled on the spare bedroom. I set her pillow and blanket up in the middle of the room. She likes to be tucked in.


She has a hard time though because she's alone and it's quiet in the room all by herself. I started putting a radio in there, on low volume all night, to keep her company. That stopped her from whining. But she's still not a happy camper when night time comes.

Anyway, we were watching her be sad, laying over in the corner, and feeling bad. Andy thought maybe she needed a little attention before we pushed her into night time solitude. So he got her up and started to play with her in the middle of the living room.
Cutest thing ever! It totally melted my heart to watch my loves wrestle around and play together. Ash was having the time of her life being center of attention and she went to bed that night with no fuss!


Jun 1, 2009

Typical night at home...

So yesterday evening I pull up to the house just as Andy is backing out of the driveway. I start walking toward the door with my arms full of groceries when I hear a honk. Andy yells out the window "Don't go in the house!"

"Why?"

"Just don't!"

Apparantly minutes before I arrived, Andy unknowingly tracked dog doo doo all over the house. One of Ash's less appealing qualities is the size and consistency of her poo. Yuck!!

"I have to put the groceries away." I protested.

"Well, just come with me first."

Andy was on a mission to find the one thing that's been holding him back from organzing the garage. A tool box. He found one on KSL for a decent price so we went to look for it. And.....he bought it. Now, hopefully the garage will find some order.

Okay, I wouldn't consider myself a neat freak. Rather, I'm severely anti-clutter. It makes me anxious and stressed to have clutter around the house. I like everything to have a place. And not just any place, a place that makes sense to the overall function of the household.

One of my favorite past times is organizing things. I know...I'm wierd. But I really enjoy putting things in order and making everything look tidy and presentable. There's something about a clean and orderly house that makes me feel really proud. Like it's a reflection of my character or my ability to run a house.

So living with two guys has been quite a challenge for me. I'm learning a lot of patience, haha!! I try to leave messes that I didn't make right where they are and just let it be. But sometimes, the anxiousness gets the better of me and I can't help but put things 'away.' Sometimes there's a little (ahem) confusion on where 'away' is. But I think we're all learning to adapt pretty well.
But anyway..back to last night.

After coming home with the new tool chest, we resigned to the fact that we couldn't get on with dinner or relaxing on the couch until all the doggy poo was cleaned up from all over the house.

So Andy and I set to work with a bucket and rags. There was poo tracked from the kitchen, down the hall into the bathroom and then down the stairs into the bedroom. I laughed a little but I don't think Andy was amused.

After the crisis had been taken care of, we decided it was time for dinner. The only thing ready to go from our garden was the spinach so we cut a few leaves off. Andy made a scrumptious spinach salad complete with almond slivers, tomatoes, mushrooms, cheese and raspberry vinagrette.

I tried a recipe I saw in a magazine. I made tin foil dinners with chicken breasts, pineapple rings, green pepper slices and barbeque sauce. It wasn't a masterpiece but we got full off of it.

We had a free Redbox rental so we picked up Adam Sandler's latest movie, "You Don't Mess With The Zohan" while we were out getting the tool chest. Pretty funny. I'm an action movie lover and Andy really likes comedies, so we get a good mix of both and I'm learning to laugh at the lameness that is Adam Sandler.

It was one of those nights where you look back on it and realize that you wouldn't have wanted to be anywhere else. Even if someone had offered you tickets to the Bahama's. Sometimes home is just too nice to be anywhere else.