Finally!

We are nearing the end of April and it has been pretty cold and rainy to wear sandals, let alone flip-flops.  I know I am in Nebraska and we do receive snow in April, but really by the end of the month, it should be in the 60's and mostly sunny.  But today was the day!  Our temperature reached 62 and for once it was above 40 when I left for work, allowing me to wear my favorite flip-flops and capri's.  Hopefully we are turning the corner and I can break out more sandal/capri combos and other appropriate clothing for spring.  I just hope I didn't jinx us by putting away my winter coat.

A real man

A real man isn't afraid to be caught vacuuming, doing dishes or laundry.  His mama taught him well!

Life skills

Someday his wife will thank me because he knows how to...

   -- set the table

   -- wash dishes

   -- sweep the floor 

   -- and clean a bathroom {and put the seat down}

      

Free Lunch!

It's support staff week at the elementary school I work at. Our principal treated the secretaries, office workers and paraprofessionals, like myself, to lunch at Big Fred's.  {who doesn't love a free lunch?}  Plus, as an added bonus, we are able to wear jeans to work the rest of the week. I am not sure what I like more, the free lunch or the fact that I don't have to plan out my work wardrobe.  :) 

Christ is risen!

Happy Easter!

That's a lotta popcorn...

But really what is a movie without popcorn?  Hubby and I went to the early bird discounted theatre for our date night.  What a bargain... for $13 bucks not only did we receive our tickets, but also the large popcorn combo.  It even came with free refills!!  Now if we went to the regular theatre to see a new release, we would have had to part with a lot more than the $13.00, and sadly, that would have just been for the tickets! Even though we are big Netflix lovers, every now and then we hit the cheap theatre for a true date night and yummy theatre popcorn.  Tonight we saw The King's Speech.  Check it out, it is a wonderful movie.  

Harder than it looks....

Okay so taking a photo of my life everyday has proved challenging. Yesterday I truly forgot to take a picture of something and post and today, with a migraine here I sit again without a picture. {at least I am posting} So this 365 day photo thing is, well... harder than it looks.  It's not hard to take a photo; there is always something I can take a picture of like the dinner I fix or something my family and I are doing.  But the part I have a hard time with is what my life looks like.  The word boring comes to mind.  Maybe not boring so much as plain.  Repetitive may be a better word.  School, work, carpool, errands consume my day. Not really what you want to read about. We all have these visions of our lives... exciting, always on the go, never a dull moment.  And while it may be these things, it's hard to capture it on film.  Like today, how do you capture a migraine, or an argument with your son. But such as it is, that is my life.  And my life is good!

Hello Cupcake!

There is a wonderful little bakery in town called Jones Brothers Cupcakes.  Tonight was our first time tasting these delightful creations.  The two in the first row are Red Velvet and the two in the last row are Black and White.  We didn't try those tonight as tempting as they are. {plus I want to fit into my jeans}

We ate the middle row tonight which consist of Sweet & Salty and Tiramisu.  Oh. So. Good.  Who would have thought that a sweet and salty cupcake could be so tasty?  Can't wait to try the others tomorrow. 

A good soak is all you need.

Trying to remind myself that the calendar does say April even though the rain and temperature of 40 degrees outside is looking more like fall.  Cold temps and rain makes for a crabby and lazy Sally.  The only remedy I can come up with that doesn't involve me eating an entire carton of ice cream or bag of Robin Eggs {my 2nd favorite Easter candy next to Reese's Peanut Butter Eggs} is a nice long soak in a warm {okay hot} bath with a few candles lit and some relaxing music.  However, my ipod wasn't charged and I couldn't find any matches. Oh well, at least I had the nice long soak in the tub. Yawn!!  Now off to bed.  

Again?

It was hair cutting time again for my hubby.  You wouldn't think his hair would grow that fast in 18 days to require another cutting. {does it look that long?} But it was!  Must be all the good living he does to make it grow that fast. Now if we could only get more hair to the top of his head to stop the thinning... 

Love Sunday Mornings

Sunday mornings are my favorite... get to sleep in, read the newspaper or a good book, and if I am in the mood make something other than cereal for breakfast.  A few weeks ago I found a recipe for homemade doughnuts on Real Simple.  Yes, those are biscuits in the picture.

It took only about ten minutes to transform those ingredients to the left into tasty doughnuts covered in sugar.  I enjoyed mine in quiet {hubby was at work and my kids were still asleep at 9:30} with a cup of vanilla caramel tea and a great chick-lit read. Ahhh....

Oh Fudge!

Or I should say yum fudge!  This is my first attempt at making homemade fudge and I have to say it is pretty easy.  Even for making a two layer kind.  Using the microwave instead of a double boiler is the key, at least for me.  The only trouble I had was not enough of the white chocolate mixture to spread evenly over the bottom layer.  It seemed to set rather quickly so the middle has a lot of white chocolate while the edges, not so much.  Even though it may not look very pretty and even, it taste like heaven.  

It's Raining, It's Pouring...

I know it's not the best picture, but this is what it looked like out any window today.  Rain, rain and more rain.  I am not really complaining, we seeded the yard so we needed the rain.  Plus you know what they say, "April showers bring May's flowers." 

Ugh!

First off I love my new hair cut!  Kate does a wonderful job and I always leave her salon feeling pampered, relaxed and genuinely happy.  Until someone takes a picture of me and then I see said picture.  Here's what I hear:  Wow, is this what I really look like?! Look at all those wrinkles around my eyes!  My nose is really crooked! Ugh! etc...
We are always our own worst critic; always good at cutting ourselves down and never really building us back up.  So here is my attempt at focusing on the positive in the mist of the negative.

Look at all those wrinkles around your eyes =
Yes, look at those wrinkles around my eyes, they show I have had a great deal to smile about within my life.

My nose is really crooked! =
My nose is crooked, but it gives my face character.  It is crooked because I broke it playing soccer, showing I have an active side.

Wow, is this what I really look like?! =
Wow, I look like someone who is enjoying a life well lived.

If I can't make it to the club

...the club comes to me.  I wasn't able to attend the March card club so my friend Dina mailed me the supplies to create them at home.  {love it when SU! supplies are waiting for me in my mailbox.} And after the day I had a work today I need a little creative quiet time.  {and wine}  Off to relax and create!

Beautiful Mess?

This is actually my daughter's room on a good day.  Only a few pairs of jeans, shorts and towels on the floor, along with what I believe are shirts, shoes and a bathrobe.  What kills me is the laundry basket, front and center.  Is it full of dirty clothes?  Nope, all clean and nicely folded.  Apparently the drawers in the background do not open, nor does her closet door.  I am trying to remember if I was this messy as a teen, and if so, when did the neat freak in me arrive? Or when will it arrive for her and her brother, who's room is just a bad and includes food.  Teenagers... life's beautiful messes.  :) 

Must have been a hard workout...

I am a Jazzercise girl.  Almost every Monday, Tuesday and Thursday you can find me dancing away in the back of class.  I say almost because there are times when I let life get in the way and just don't go.  {its my polite way of saying I can be lazy}  I didn't go at all last week due to my colonoscopy so I was back on the horse today.  It was a good workout, but I must of worked really hard because I tore my sweatpants.  A two inch hole on the seam, and I didn't notice it until we were stretching at the end.  I guess that was good, because I would have been obsessing over it and really wouldn't put for the effort for a good workout.  So that's how I spent my evening, sewing up my pants.  Although, I can't help but wonder if it truly was a hard workout or a result of all the Easter M & M's I've been eating that lead to the tear.  Had to be the workout right?!

Signs of life

Finally, signs of life in our garden.  Spent most of the morning today getting dirty.... pulled weeds, dead grass and old foliage from the lawn and garden. Spring just started a few weeks ago and you would not believe all the weeds, darn you dandelions!  When I work my way to the landscaping, I keep my fingers crossed that once I pull away the old foliage, I will be face to face with green shoots growing in its place.  So far I am not disappointed.  I am always so happy to see my plants come back to life, kinda of a karmic thumbs up and a preview of beauty yet to come. 

Prom 2011

I can't believe my son is going to prom.  Not that he couldn't go, but that he is that old to go! After the tears in my eyes were dried after seeing how nice he looks - they both look- I was able to take pictures.  We went to the OPPD Arboretum for our photo shoot.  It was really nice and I took a lot of great pictures. I know they will have a wonderful time.  So glad they are going to after prom, back at the high school, one less thing I have to worry about.  :) 

Friday Nite Jam

Homework is never fun, especially on a Friday night and especially when it is math.  You can see who she turns to for help. I am not a math whiz. Anything harder than basic math like balancing my checkbook makes me break out in a sweat.  {Is it bad that I can't do 8th grade algebra?}  Luckily for our kids, Dad is good at math. 

Pick me, pick me...

At least that's what it felt like at the college fair we attended tonight.  There seems to be so many choices and it's kinda overwhelming at first.  But once we looked over the list, it was easy to eliminate some of the colleges based on location and cost... goodbye University of Saskatchewan and Harvard; and the type of school and what they offer... see ya The Creative Center and Nebraska College of Technical Agriculture.  Out of the 60 or so schools that were there we were able to narrow it down to around 10.  Danny's top three choices are the ones pictured up right.  {and they gave the best swag}  

Now to hunt down some scholarships...

On your mark...

Track season began two weeks ago for our daughter Emily.  I don't know how it works in high school, but in junior high, they have to pick three areas in which to compete in.  She chose the 400, shot put and long jump.  After two weeks of practice, their first meet was today. In the picture above, she is running in the 400.  Her biggest fear was finishing last.... well, she did her best.  Speed just isn't in the cards for either of our children.  Still proud of her for trying!  She has more guts that I have.   Way to go Emily!

The worst is over

Hurrah!  My colonoscopy is over.  I am so relieved and happy to report all is fine...  a healthy colon and just a few biopsy taken because of my Crohn's.   And since I have been incapacitated for most of the day my picture of the day is of my colon.  {They actually gave me pictures, well a print out anyway}  So I thought I would share.  My healthy colon:

Not my idea of a fun night

Really, who would think drinking 4 liters of stuff to clean you out for a colonoscopy would equal a fun evening? {I don't want to meet that person!}  I am hoping the In Style and Us Weekly will at least make my time in the bathroom entertaining.  Still can't find anything to help with drinking that crap.  Wish me luck! 

A vision of spring

I have been nursing a sore back for the past few days, so when the weather today finally hit 70 I was bummed that I couldn't go out and work in the yard.  Our landscaping desperately needs its spring cleaning.  Instead I tackled a few areas of the house I could do without adding any more stress to my back with bending and heavy lifting; grocery shopping and window cleaning fit the bill.   While at the store, I found this adorable spring bouquet that was calling my name.  At $5.00, I bought two and brought some visions of spring inside.  Hopefully by this weekend, I will be able to tackle my front yard and see the signs of spring there as well.   

My crafty ways

I finally got around to trying a new paper technique I saw Wednesday at Splitcoast Stampers .  It is called Bargello and you take strips of different patterned paper, adhere them to copy paper, cut the strips out again and arrange them in dramatic fashion to make a neat background.  I kinda went with a zig-zag pattern. What do you think? 

It's the perfect size

I like to think of the mini blizzard as the perfect dessert for those of us watching our weight.  It's small, easy to eat and for me, the perfect amount.  I haven't checked the calorie content for this, I like to live in a state of denial for a while. But I was always told good things come in small packages?  And this is definitely a good thing.