Hey Dude

What a crazy summer it's been! I managed to survive my summer classes, even making a 100 in Statistics (miracle), and an A in Film Appreciation. Fall semester starts Monday, and I have no clue how I'm going to get up for my 7:20 AM class. Last Wednesday, two of my uncles, my cousin, my mom, and I made the trek to Iowa for my cousin Jon Tumilson's funeral. Jon was one of the Navy SEALs killed in the August 6th helicopter crash in Afghanistan. It was very sad circumstances that took us there, but I am very glad that I went and got to see so much of my northern family that I hadn't seen in so long.

In the little time that hasn't been occupied by school I've been trying to take care of projects around the house. I purged my old Christmas boxes and wrap, which were still laying all over the guest bedroom floor. I got some new plants, finally made some progress on my spice storage, and put up my Pottery Barn daily system organizers (which involved some MacGyvering on my part). I'm working on a couple other projects that I hope to finish this weekend before it's back to the classrooms for me. I'll try to take some pics to share soon.

I'm also seriously considering hosting Thanksgiving for my family this year. By "seriously considering" I mean I've already been obsessively planning it, but I don't want to 100% commit just yet. :) That is in part what is spurring me to wrap up some of the household stuff. One of the biggest pieces of the puzzle that needs to be in place before I can commit to turkey day is a new oven. Our oven started smoking from between the unit and the wall when I started preheating it one day back in July. Our extinguisher was out, so I had to call the fire department. Luckily the oven shorted out before anything too bad happened. Josh's uncle came by a couple weeks later to inspect the damage and we realized it was the wiring to the oven that had caught, not the oven itself. We were very lucky the whole house didn't go up, especially when Uncle Gary discovered the firemen had turned off the wrong breaker and there was still a current available to the wiring. So, for now my old oven sits in the garage in pieces, and I fantasize about when I'll be able to have Gary install the new stainless steel double oven of my dreams.

New Toy

This week Josh came back from his Dad's house with a present for me. It was a lovely brown case, containing an even lovelier gift. Ann brought back her dad's old camera from NY for me. It's a Canon AE-1Program, a 35mm SLR from the early to mid 80's. There was also an extra lens and a flash in the case. And several film canisters, which I'm nervous to open. I don't know if they've been exposed yet, and I don't want to ruin them if they have. I'll have to take them by Barron's and have them checked out. There was another roll still in it's box, so I might pop it in the camera and just see what happens when I start pushing buttons. :)

Weekend Roundup

Friday:
-Work
-Home to watch some Ghost Whisperer while waiting for Josh
-Grab some dinner from Chick-fil-a, spicy chicken sandwich two thumbs up!
-See Josh off to Back In Black show in Flower Mound
-A couple glasses of wine and internet chatting with Conan friends until late into the night
-Josh gets home from show
-Bedtime

Saturday:
-Sleep in late
-Coffee and granola bar
-Clean house
-Josh leaves to rehearse with Matt
-Shower
-Salad and nectarine for lunch
-Watch a bunch of HGTV while cruising home decor sites online
-Josh gets home with some grub
-Finish getting ready
-Head to Josh's mom's house to visit with his sister & family newly arrived from Washington
-Pizza, beer, Wii bowling and two rounds of Cranium late into the night
-Head home and crash into bed

Sunday:
-Sleep in late
-Work on menu plan and grocery list some
-Eggs and whole wheat banana pancakes from the freezer for a very late breakfast
-Finish menu plan and grocery list
-Shower
-Get ready while Josh finishes changing his drum heads
-Grocery shopping
-Finally get the inflatable pool and pina colada mix for the white trash weekend I've been dreaming of
-Unload groceries and eat
-Water plants, harvest tomato and pepper, and tidy kitchen while Josh cleans the car and mows
-Josh's sister, bro-in-law, and niece come by with grub to see the house and hang out
-Lots of catching up and Beatles Rock Band
-Get ready for bed
-Lots of insomnia, restless sleep, and cat interruptions make for a rough night, boourns

Big Sis

Well, I'll be off on trip number two tomorrow. I'm heading down to my dad's house in South Texas for my baby sister's high school graduation. I seriously can't believe that she's 18 already....cause that means I'm....never mind. Anyway, not only are we a trio of lovely ladies, but we're also a bunch of smarty-pants. I was valedictorian of my class, Nicci was salutatorian, and Lindsey is carrying on the tradition as salutatorian of Van Vleck High School's class of 2009! Feel free to be intimidated by our incredibly large brains. :) Can't wait to see everyone and give Lindsey a big congratulations hug!














Lindsey, myself and Nicci on my big day. Pic by Carissa Byers.

Abbey

We went to the park last week and I took some pictures of my niece Abbey. We got some cute ones so thought I'd share. :)

Birthday Goodies

This was actually a pretty quiet year for my birthday. Some years there have been a full week of dinners with different family and friends. Occasionally there was a night out. All we did Monday is fly back from NYC and eat our favorite burrito bowls. But I did get some good gifts this year.

My mom gave me a bit o'cash for our trip and this great book













My bro gifted me this movie. He says it's the best serial killer movie ever. I'm waiting to watch it till Josh can sit with me.














Steph, Rodney & Rylo got me this great Martha Stewart recipe box.













And my mom-in-law got me a Michael's GC (which I intend to spend on Martha Stewart Craft items) and this t-shirt which we will hopefully be picking up from her this weekend.

Weekend Roundup

Friday:
-Rise and shine and shower
-Get myself ready
-Get all our stuff ready
-Hit the road on the way to Galveston
-Arrive in Galveston
-Hang out with Lindsey, Nicci & Bryan
-Meet Destiny at her house and head out to dinner
-Eat at Olive Garden- Josh had pasta with chicken and broccoli!
-Watch Dodgeball while we wait for Will to get home from work
-Hang out with everyone, guys playing Xbox, girls chatting on the front porch
-Have sister to sister to sister conversations till late into the evening
-Stay the night at Destiny & Will's

Saturday:
-Wake up and head back to Nicci & Bryan's
-Shower
-Wait for Dad and Darcy to each show up to go out for lunch
-Lunch at Salsa's- Josh ate 2 chicken tacos!
-Back to the casa for a little chillin'
-Say adios to Darcy and Dad & Lindsey
-Watch Oklahoma! with Nicci
-Grab some Subway and head to Destiny & Will's
-Eat, chill, watch Nacho Libre
-Welcome Will home, watch him open his birthday gift from Bryan and head back to the Fielder casa
-Go night-night

Sunday:
-Hop up and into the shower before anyone else
-Grab some coffee and watch TV with Bryan
-Pack up the car and head to Main Event for Will's birthday
-Play skeeball, dance dance revolution, guitar hero, air hockey, and other fun arcade games
-Bowl for an hour
-Say bye to everyone and start the drive home
-Make it home in 4 hours- yeah!
-Already miss everyone...sigh