Monday, November 30, 2009

Weekend Roundup- Thanksgiving Edition

Thursday:
-Sleep in
-Clean and prep veggies for family dinner
-Composting- my compost pile GREW three scallions!
-Bake cheesecake cookies
-Shower
-Finish baking cookies
-Get ready
-Head to Uncle Richard & Aunt Noreen's
-Visit with family, eat, play Trivial Pursuit late into the night
-Home and into bed

Friday:
-Sleep in
-Photo class
-A little online Christmas shopping
-Leftover pizza for lunch
-A little TV
-Shower and get ready
-Bake rolls
-Play some Beatles Rock Band
-Head to Mom-in-law's
-Thanksgiving dinner, numero tres
-Watch Clue
-Pack up some leftovers and head home
-Hit the hay

Saturday:
-Rise and shine
-Get ready
-Self-portrait shooting for photo class
-See Josh off to San Antonio for gig
-Cereal and coffee
-Christmas and personal shopping with Holly
-Back home and into PJs
-Watch Christmas Vacation and half of White Christmas while working on gift-giving list and household budget
-Bedtime
-Woken up by horrible cramps, blech

Sunday:
-Sleep in super late after terrible night of sleep
-Start laundry
-Start house cleaning
-Josh home from SA
-Order Chinese delivery
-Eat and watch Simpsons
-Make grocery list for Josh
-Finish house cleaning while Josh gets groceries
-Play some Jeopardy on PS3 while folding laundry
-Shower
-Finish laundry and ironing while watching Christmas Vacation (yes, again)
-Some sodoku on iPhone
-Sleepsville, thanks to benadryl

Wednesday, November 25, 2009

Turkey Day

Tomorrow is our national day of thanks. I have too much to be thankful for to share it all here- last year was the best year of my life and surprisingly this year has not paled in comparison so far. We've been blessed to buy our first house, visit new and fun parts of our country to see and celebrate events in our friends lives, made lots of new friends, found new interests, learned new things, and broadened our horizons. We've been very lucky indeed. What better way to celebrate good times than with laughter, right? So, I share the gift of laughter with you, in the form of the most hilarious Thanksgiving sitcom episode ever- "Turkeys Away" from WKRP In Cincinnati.

Tuesday, November 24, 2009

Got Soul?

It's holiday time, which for most of us means a lot of time in the kitchen. Might I suggest what might be the best classic soul play list of all time? No joke, my personal mix cd was a big hit at work back in the day. It was discovered by a manager in the office, and she asked if she could copy it. She then made more copies and gave them to some of our co-workers who would randomly come up to inform me that they'd gotten a copy and that I was chocked full of soul. It's just that awesome. Guaranteed to have you dancing while you dice, and singing while you stir. To be played in this order (for reals, it's an important part):

"Superstitious"- Stevie Wonder
"Papa Was a Rolling Stone"- The Temptations
"Here I Am (Come and Take Me)"- Al Green
"I Heard It Through the Grapevine"- Gladys Knight and The Pips
"Respect Yourself"- The Staple Singers
"Mother, Mother"- Marvin Gaye
"Let's Stay Together"- Al Green
"Superfly"- Curtis Mayfield
"Try a Little Tenderness"- Otis Redding
"Mercy, Mercy Me"- Marvin Gaye
"Midnight Train to Georgia"- Gladys Knight and The Pips
"I'll Take You There"- The Staple Singers
"Sittin' On The Dock of The Bay"- Otis Redding

Feel free to omit the last song if you feel it's a bit predictable. I feel that way sometimes, but it is a good song so it doesn't hurt the groove of the playlist at all.

Monday, November 23, 2009

Weekend Roundup

Friday:
-Work, blech
-Grab Chipotle on the way home
-Eat and watch 30 Rock
-Watch Glee
-Get ready
-Fate Lions show at The Grotto
-Hang out and have fun times with friends
-Home
-Hit the hay

Saturday:
-Sleep in way late
-Leftover Chipotle while watching Gilmore Girls
-Make grocery list
-Shower and get ready
-Grocery shopping
-Make salad
-Head to Hoover-in-laws for early Thanksgiving
-Grub and gab with the fam
-Head to Flower Mound for Back In Black show
-Back home to bed

Sunday:
-Sleep in
-Start laundry
-Clean house
-Bowl of cereal
-Shower
-Clean and prep veggies
-Finish laundry
-Make biscuits
-Rob & Angie arrive for movie party
-Soups on
-Visiting while soup cooks
-Dinner
-Start the movie
-Break for milk & cookies
-Finish movie and see the guests off
-Tidy up
-Bedtime

Friday, November 20, 2009

Pants Party

As noted in my weekend roundup, Holly and I went on a turbo shopping trip on an already tightly scheduled Saturday. It was required however to take advantage of our 30% off reusable coupons for Old Navy and Gap. And even better after our first purchases at Old Navy we received a coupon for 35% off at Gap, improving the total savings. And better than all of that, I got to use said coupon to get pants. Glorious pants! I know have 10 pairs of pants that actually fit me well. Apparently I just have to spend more money on clothes to find some that will work for me. I picked up three pairs of straight leg, nearly skinny, corduroy pants in dark blue, gray and yellow. Also got a new denim skirt, as the one I owned was woefully outdated and a bit too big too. At Old Navy I picked up two more striped tops, a black & white tee that seems a bit of a cross between frenchie and mod, and a yellow and gray sweater with shoulder button detail. And for layering I picked up two tanks with ruffle-front detail in white and a soft pink (not shown). Yay pants!

Thursday, November 19, 2009

Getaway

I am feeling frazzled and overwhelmed today. Desperately wishing I could run away to a nice, peaceful cabin for some quiet time. The best I can hope for is finding some time to use our fire pit soon.














Photo of Casita La Joya, where we spent part of our honeymoon.

Tuesday, November 17, 2009

Weekend Roundup

Ooofff, had an off day yesterday so here's my weekend roundup.

Friday:
-Sleep in
-Breakfast and coffee
-Clean house
-Shower
-Get ready
-Read the first two chapters in my Friday class lesson
-Head to Mom-in-law's for family fun
-Two games of Clue and one of Cranium with some fried chicken and movie watching
-Back home and to bed

Saturday:
-Up early
-Quick cup of coffee
-Haircuts for us
-Home Depot for potting soil and caulk gun
-Back home and change clothes
-Shopping with Holly- lots of new pants!
-Rylee's 4th birthday party at Jump For Fun!
-Quick Chipotle dinner
-Swell Season at Palladium!!!!
-After concert traffic, blech
-Hit the hay

Sunday:
-Oversleep
-Coffee, menu planning and grocery listing
-Shower
-Wrap gifts
-Get ready
-Rob & LeAnn's baby shower
-Grocery shopping
-Start laundry
-Finish reading lesson chapters
-Reorganize closet shelf and dresser drawer for new pants
-Frozen pizza and 30 Rock from the DVR
-Finish laundry
-Watch some The Philadelphia Story
-Try to sleep, darn cat woke me up once an hour, grrrrr

Thursday, November 12, 2009

Favorite Night

Thursday night is fast becoming one of my favorite parts of my week. I don't usually work Fridays, which is great, but that day is typically reserved for getting my house cleaning done. I like house cleaning, but like it or not it is still a chore, which takes Friday down a notch. Thursday night however is a golden opportunity to do what I want, even if it's nothing at all. The whole weekend lays ahead of me, waiting to be filled with fun, and the yucky work week is done away with. I can stay up late without worrying about how early I have to rise tomorrow, and Josh has band rehearsal so I don't have to make sure there is dinner ready for him. Tonight I'm thinking pajamas and robe, playing a little DVR catch-up, watching one of the Netflix flicks that should be in the mail, and perhaps a little bit of reading. Yay Thursday!

Photo via Martha Stewart

Wednesday, November 11, 2009

Holy Crap!

One of my pics from our trip to San Francisco was picked for today's photo on Photopol.us. I'm amazed! Thanks!

goldengate05

Tuesday, November 10, 2009

The People in My Neighborhood

I mentioned at least once before how much of an impact Sesame Street had on me, and continues to have on me. So I couldn't possibly let today pass by without saying Happy Anniversary to one of the most influential and positive things to come out of our public broadcast system. Seriously, if you didn't grow up on Sesame Street I feel sad for you. I just can't imagine my childhood without it. I wish I could embed a video or two to share with you, but they're not crazy about sharing like that. You can however view hundreds of clips here, including my favorite, Ernie's Shopping List. They also have a youtube channel with a large sampling of videos from their website. What's your favorite Sesame Street moment? Happy 40th Sesame Street!



























P.S. Side note: I totally ordered Sesame Street checks when I opened my first checking account!

Monday, November 9, 2009

Swell(er) Season

The clip I previously posted of Swell Season on Conan was taken down for, blahblahblah, you know the spiel. But, it matters not because the totally awesome video for "Low Rising", directed by Sam Bean of Iron & Wine, is now up. So, I've updated the post with it instead. Scroll down or click here for the goodness.

Weekend Roundup

Friday:
-Work, yuck
-Leave early to meet Mom-in-law, bro and niece at the house
-Head to House of Blues
-Birthday dinner for niece
-Drop Mom-in-law home, in for a cup of coffee
-Back home and into bed

Saturday:
-Sleep in, terrible night of sleep
-Make menu plan and grocery list
-Coffee and oatmeal breakfast
-Get ready
-Head out to IKEA, hurrying through and gathering supplies
-Back home to put together new office "chair"
-Josh off to practice
-Eat and a little TV time
-Shower and get ready
-Holly's Birthday celebration at The Moon
-The Orbans, The O's and Dove Hunter- all awesome
-Grab some Whataburger and head home
-Eat and watch Simpsons
-Hit the hay

Sunday:
-Sleep in
-Fast grocery run
-Fate Lions come over for practice
-Eat yummy Central Market sandwich
-Dead head roses and clean out front flower beds, transfer leaves to back yard for composting
-Band practice over
-Clean and decorate front porch for fall
-Composting
-Start work on laundry area improvements with Josh's help
-Pizza dinner
-Start laundry
-Clean and prep week's veggies
-Shower
-Finish laundry
-Bedtime

Friday, November 6, 2009

Tattoo

I don't know if I mentioned it here yet, but I recently decided that I want another tattoo. And as soon as I had that realization it was quickly followed by the decision that it must be a Beatles tattoo. So, I've been pondering it for a while, where should I get it and what exactly should it be, been looking around the interwebs for ideas. Right now I'm leaning towards these silhouettes, perhaps down my upper left arm, sans text and in different colors though. Hmm, more pondering required.





























image via here

Wednesday, November 4, 2009

Swell Season

Not on the list below, but also high on my excitement meter is the upcoming Swell Season concert. Got the new album the other day and I am smitten with it and them. The last time I saw them was one of my best concert experiences and I can only assume this time will be even better. Especially since last time it was standing room, and this time we will have seats. Good seats. Great seats, you might even say- 5th row center. Get their new album and be smitten along with me.

Tuesday, November 3, 2009

Buzzing

My head is buzzing with so many ideas recently! I am so excited for the holidays, especially since it will be our first Christmas in our new home. And I'm looking forward to the new year too. It always feels like an opportunity to start fresh, make needed and wanted changes and think about molding your future into what you want it to be. Here are a few of the things that are buzzing around in my brain.

-Yesterday I signed up for an online photography course from TCU. It starts November 11th and goes for 6 weeks. If it turns out fun and educational they have several other 6 week courses I might sign up for.
-My brother has tentatively agreed to go to a Swing/Lindy Hop/Charleston class with me at a local hall. He's supposed to come by tonight so I can see if he has any general aptitude for the basic Charleston. I'm keeping my fingers crossed.
-I'm looking through my old MS Living's, other magazines, and tear sheets for Christmas decorating ideas. I got rid of a lot of our old decorations last year, most of which were hand-me-down items we had collected when family members cleaned out their closets. I get to start fresh and I am overwhelmed with the possibilities!
-I've started a new little project over at Small Time Cooks for the month of November, which has already provided me with one success in the kitchen.
-I'm excited to put together my Christmas list, lots of helpful things I need and a few fun things I wouldn't mind finding under the Christmas tree this year.
-So busy with two birthday celebrations this weekend, one birthday, a concert, and a shower next weekend, then our typical three family Thanksgivings, and we haven't even gotten to any Christmas events yet!
-I want to finish fixing up my office- need a chair, rug, plant pot, and some more decor/organizational fixes.
-Hoping to put together some vignettes of framed family photos down the hallway, which requires narrowing down the photos, getting them framed, arranged and hung. Oh how the simple things turn out to be so difficult, ha.
-Want to finally get some pics of the rest of the house that I like enough to share with you here.
-We are looking for a solution to our lot's drainage issues- looking to get some gutter installation estimates and looking into ways to use rain barrels to make the best of this situation in the future.
-Ideas for making the laundry area better organized and more productive.
-Stephanie should be having the twins by Christmas!!!
-Josh's office Christmas party, which I get to go to this year.
-Looking forward to making s'mores around our fire pit.
-Trying to cross off a few more of my 2009 Resolutions, before compiling my 2010 list!

I love being charged with so much inspiration and anticipation!!

Monday, November 2, 2009

Halloween 2009

Here we are ready for some spooktacular fun! Our friend Jen snapped this pic.

Weekend Roundup

Friday:
-Sleeeeeep innnnnn
-Clean house
-Wait for Josh to get home
-Put on pjs and order pizza
-Pizza in bed while watching Arsenic & Old Lace and Sleepy Hollow
-Bed time

Saturday
-Up early
-Coffee and breakfast while watching The Botany of Desire on dvr
-Holly stops by to loan me her make-up tools and give me a quick how-to lesson for my costume
-Run to Kohl's to exchange Josh's suspenders and Ulta for more make-up supplies
-Back home for lunch
-Shower and get ready
-Make-up and wig
-Costume on and out the door
-Party it up at Clif & Duane's
-Back home to hit the hay

Sunday:
-Sleep in (God bless daylight savings)
-Coffee
-Menu planning and grocery listing
-Shower
-Grocery shopping
-Chipotle for late lunch/early dinner
-Start laundry
-Clean and prep veggies for the week
-Flip mattress and topper
-Put Spring/Summer duvet up, pull out Fall/Winter quilt
-Watch some dvr'd Ghost Hunters while making bed and doing laundry
-Cheese and crackers for snack
-Finish laundry/ironing
-Read a little P&P&Z
-Lights out