weekend update

Garage sale went really well. I made $239! I don't remember what our final total was as a whole but I think it was around $700. Not too shabby for a 7-2 work day. Well, I say 7 but it was really 6! The moment we opened the garage door to start bringing stuff out onto the driveway, people were pulling up to the house carrying flashlights because it was still dark outside!!! We couldn't believe there were so many early birds.
After the garage sale, we had more peeps over for the game. So glad we won. I have to admit that I was in and out of sleep in the 4th quarter. I was gung-ho all day and cheered through the 1st half of the game but halftime made me sleepy while cuddled in a warm fuzzy blanket and a full tummy. My boo cakes and Taylor's pumpkin whoopie pies were delicious!

And the wainscoting was finished on Friday!
Before (previous home owners):

I vow to take better pix with my big daddy Nikon soon but for now, here's an iphone pic:

I would like to do something different with the curtains in the room, but I still haven't figured out what that is yet.

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Don’t drop a full bottle of nail polish remover on the bathroom tile because the cap will break and flood your floor with the smelly stuff. This happened to me during my “hurry up gotta leave the house so I’m not late for work” moment this morning. I have those moments nearly every morning. That’s normal, right? Everyone does, right?

Cooper steals my spot in the mornings and hates it when I turn the light on and run around like a crazy person (his hair looks like mine in the mornings):

Today at work we’re having some kind of Employee Appreciation Day and then I’m picking up one of our sales guy’s from the airport. He’s been in Dubai, Singapore, etc for the last few weeks and his wifey has a conflict today so I volunteered to take him to her since this will allow me to get the rest of the day off work! TGIF!

After I drop him off, I’m headed to the grocery store to load up on yummies. We’re having a 3 family garage sale at our house tomorrow and a cookout later to watch the game. I’m excited for a fun busy day with a houseful of peeps. My menu:

Smoked Brisket & Pork Loin
Grilled Foot Long Dogs
Tay’s Tater Salad
Baked Beans
Queso and Tostito Rounds
Cowboy Queso and Fritos
Relish Tray (assorted pickles and olives)
Strawberries and Cream (cream consists of whipped cream cheese and honey)
Cupcakes
Tea, water, BYOB, and Tay’s Margaritas (Has oranges in it, yum!)

Crockpot Queso Recipe:
Velveeta
Rotel
Jimmy Dean “breakfast” sausage
Add milk as needed to keep it from getting too thick
(I’ll be doubling everything to make a big batch of it)

Cowboy Queso Recipe:
2 cups of shredded cheese
1 cup of lite sour cream
1 cup of FF mayo
Large handful of chopped green onion
1 can of drained Rotel (I like mild)
1 can of fiesta corn
The handyman is headed to the house as I type this to wainscot our dining room. I’ll see you on Monday with pictures!

525,600

Maybe it’s my love for “the arts”. I don’t know. My expression can best be displayed in a song today. (I type this in true dramatic form with a hint of sarcasm.)


Seasons of Love: Rent (the musical)
525,600 minutes, 525,000 moments so dear.
525,600 minutes - how do you measure, measure a year?
In daylights, in sunsets, in midnights, in cups of coffee.
In inches, in miles, in laughter, in strife.
In 525,600 minutes - how do you measure a year in the life?
How about love? How about love? How about love? Measure in love.
Seasons of love.

I was thinking about where we were this time last year and where we’ll be this time next year. I was thinking about Lee being gone for a year and how much time will be lost. Then I started thinking that time won’t be lost-just time lost being together. A dear friend pointed out that we’re laying the groundwork for our future. And then the final chorus plays:

“…the story never ends let's celebrate remember a year in the life of friends.”

game face

Over the weekend Lee and I went to the OU game to watch our Sooners get beat. We lost our fantastic #3 ranking and it was so sad but in true Sooner fashion-I still love them. There were 3 thirty minute delays due to the ugly thunderstorm before the game finally started. Not that we minded too much because we were with Mallory and James in his family's suite on the 50 yard line in VIP!!! I didn't know it was possible to make an OU game more fun, but it was sooo much more fun in a box. Brisket was for dinner followed by all kinds of snacks in the 1st half. 2nd half brought queso, spicy nuggets(funny inside story) ice cream and giant pretzels. Did I mention there was a stocked bar? Folks. This was better than Disney Land. Lee about poo'd his pants when I told him where we were going to sit at the game. We had an absolute blast laughing at one another while throwing temper tantrums when a pass was missed or intercepted. We love our Sooners.

Cute Mal almost too nervous to watch. She had her shades on too;)

Mine and Mal's toes watching everyone clear the field. Defeated.

online shopping

Saw lots of these type pix:

Bought these:

Loving these looks:

Bought these:

amused

Today has felt like a Monday. No lie. Honestly, I'm not amused. Busy. Busy. Busy. What I do find amusing is this:

I had lunch with my pal Kimberly today. She is a kindergarten teacher. Bless her heart. She might feel the need to use the kit above for parent teacher conferences. Ha! She's on Fall Break today so we did Panera. Yum!

Wainscoting update: Handyman is coming over after work today to measure. YeeHaw!

3 Things that I'm considering over the wknd:

Black leather leggings

Skinny jeans (I need another pair. I have a pair that I wear on repeat all the time)

Black riding boots (I had to donate my black ones after Winter last year. They were bad news bears. I wear boots just about everyday with whatever outfit to work when it gets cold.)

babe

First of all, I'm not preggers.
I ran across a blog post today that described the writer's recent gender party. (Where the future mom and dad announce the gender of their baby) Anyway, she posted some pictures of the decor and I about squealed when I saw the napkins. I have stockpiled these same napkins for my way in the future after deployment baby-to-be's shower. Weird, right? Well...I saw them and I just had to have them so don't hate. I'm a woman that likes decorating. I just can't help myself. It's OK to look forward to using my cute whittle napkins. These are dessert size napkins so I would find some cute yellow or navy and cream colored polka dot dinner napkins to go with them and kindly ask my hostesses to use them. Ha! They're not entirely gender specific so we're good on both accounts:

project

Guess what. I want to add wainscoting to our dining room. I wonder if I can do this by myself...I wonder if I have time to do this...

I'm wanting to do something like this all of a sudden AND really really badly:

dining room (update)

As promised, I took a pic of the updated dining room last night since Lee hung the super large framed map. What? Where is the map from? Savannah of course. I bought the map at the marina on our last trip after we finished sailing one day. It only took me forever to get it framed and hung. I really want to get a rug for this room and update the trim I did to THESE curtains. I don't really want to replace the curtains entirely bc then I feel like I would need to do that for the living room too since we have an open floor plan to the living room and these curtains share the same wall as those curtains, no? (Sorry for the poor iphone pic)

I made chicken skettie last night for dinner and then packed leftovers in lunches for Lee and I both. I bet we have a carb crash in a wee bit. He's already called me to say he was running to the store from his office to grab a Monster energy drink.

weekend update

This past weekend was a fun one! Lee got our awesome new alarm system installed on Friday and he’s pretty obsessed with everything it can do. Lee and I started the weekend off by going to Lowe’s and loading up on gardening soil and peek moss when I got home from work. Later that night, I got some snuggle time while catching up on our recorded TV.


On Saturday, I passed out pansies at my sorority’s house on campus. The alums sell flats of pansies for their annual fundraiser and I volunteered for pick up day. I’m trying to get more involved and it was a gorgeous day to be on campus so I didn’t mind at all. The actives (college gals) were so sweet to stop and chat, talking to them made ME want to be a young college kid again. I felt like an old fart and found it funny because all through college I could not wait to be an independent adult and to have a real job. I loved college, but man was I busy. It was nothing for me to carry a full semester of classes and work over 40 hrs a week. Passing out flowers, I started thinking about all my buddies I met in college and after. Not just buddies but lifers. Friends you have for life and tell all the in-between to, ya know?

THEN! I went even further down memory lane by driving to our buddy’s home town to watch his high school alum football game. Taylor made her famous enchiladas and we sipped her mom’s famous margarita recipe (Tastes like yummy lime juice with oranges!) before heading to the stadium. We cheered and watched Jacob scored the only touchdown for his team that night. It was a hoot. There were 3 ejections (due to fights), someone dislocated their shoulder AND another broke a collar bone! We spent the night at Taylor’s folk’s home and I swear walking into the house I was thinking, “This house should be on the cover of Southern Living.” It had a glamorous lodge type feel. An iron chandelier hung from the high ceiling on the front porch and giant moose antlers were centered above the front door. Dang. I should have taken a picture!!!

We headed home Sunday morning and we got busy in the yard. Lee mowed while I planted 2 flats of pansies and 20 tulip bulbs! I also got some twine to tie up our pretty yellow mums that came back this year. They were getting top heavy and splitting down the middle instead of standing full and round so I cheated with twine and now they look TV ready. Lee finished his chores a lot sooner than I did and headed to the gym but he gets to spread all the mulch when we get it. It took me a good 3 ½ hours to get all the planting done. When I finished, I went and got a pedicure. My callused feet needed one bad. So bad, that I might go back this weekend for another one! I try to go every 2 weeks but I’ve been a slacker. I really need to start caking on the lotion at night and wearing socks while I sleep. High heels to work and just being simply hard on my feet isn’t doing any good, but maybe lotion-y socks will help????

It was a busy Sunday. After the pedi, it was time to get groceries, cook dinner, do laundry, etc. O and I finally finished watching this week’s episode of Grey’s. This season had me teary eyed every week. If only Derek would stop being a jerk to Mer. Looks like he’s finally starting to come around tho…

This morning I drove 45 minutes to work, pulled into the parking lot, walked into my office and THEN realized I left my laptop at home. I turned around and drove home to get it of course. Crikey.

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Dinner was a success last night! I followed through with the meatloaf, mashed taters and green beans.

Random. I saw this pic on FB the other day and I just had to repost here so I can refer to my archives and see it again. It just makes me smile:

I made my first ever pumpkin pie. It was relatively easy. After it cooled, I put a layer of FF Cool Whip over the top of it and set it in the fridge overnight. I brought it to work this morning. I can’t wait to take it out of the fridge after lunch and see what everyone thinks!

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
This weekend we're heading South to watch our BFF, Jacob, play in his HS Alum football game!!! There's a crowd of us going and having a slumber party in his home town. Lee and I are pumped about it. I'm sure he'll try to find a jumbo pickle to munch on in the concession stand. Lee loves pickles and for some reason when I think about HS football games I think about nacho cheese and jumbo pickles.
TGIF!

in my kitchen

It’s no secret I like dishes so when mom was about to get rid of (yes, get rid of) her solid white dishes with a wannabe milk glass resemblance to the edges, I raised my hand and maybe slighting yelped, “Wait, I want them!” I could easily see these babies used for wedding & baby showers or simply any ole reason to have a party with our friends. She gave me a set of 16! Bring on the parties! I love kitchens that display all white dishes. We have other dishes, yes. And I love them, but who can resist more?! OK. Maybe a lot of people, but not me! White dish envy:

I only just got them so they might be moved around a bit before finding a perfect placement, but here’s my quick attempt before Lee got home to meet the new alarm system guy:

I’ve been quite domestic this week. My pal, Taylor would be proud. She is the best cook and could prob cook a 5 star meal from an Easy Bake Oven. I baked over the weekend. I have prepared Lee’s lunch 3 out of 4 days this week and cooked dinner a couple of time. Don’t laugh about that one. I rarely feel like cooking dinner after fighting traffic for an hour to get home after work every day. If I want any time to do something like go to the gym or walk Cooper, it’s too late to start cooking so we have a fend for yourself policy on most nights. We do a lot of casseroles that I prepare, freeze and pop in the oven to bake. However, some weeks I get a wild hair to cook! I made a yummy fajita steak and taco meat salad earlier this week that Lee gobbled up:

Tonight I plan on doing a meatloaf, mashed taters and green beans while Lee takes an exam. Did I tell you he’s working on his MBA? Well, he is.

exterior holiday decorating...arrrrrrrgh

Can your house do this:

Recently, Centsation Girl blogged about possibly the coolest neighbor ever, HERE.

good times

Already looking forward to the wknd to do more of this:

weekend update

Lee had a long drill weekend. I say long because he left on Thursday instead of Friday. Nothing new and exciting to report on that front.

Meanwhile back at the ranch:

1. Organized my closet. Again.
2. I gave Cooper a bath.
3. Had Chinese takey outey.
4. I did 2 loads of laundry.
5. Painted my own nails and toes!
6. Ran and emptied the dishwasher.
7. Baked a cherry pie.
8. Watched the game at Kimberly and Rusty's house.
9. Napped.
10. Had dinner with Nick and Kristie. MMMM fajitas...
11. Watched Contagion at the theater with Nick, Kristie, Taylor and Jacob.
12. Got groceries.
13. Emptied all the trash in the house.
14. Vacuumed my car.
15. Baked 4 loaves of pumpkin bread.
16. Made chicken fettuccini for us to eat when Lee got home.
17. Packed Lee's lunch for today.

I kept busy while he was gone and I liked it. Time flies so much more when I'm busy or asleep. I also thought of a couple things I'd like to accomplish while he's deployed:

1. Learn to sew. (I took a costume course in college so I know the basics but I'd like to become more "fluent" so that I can sew my own curtains, pillows, table cloths, etc.)
2. Discover Photoshop. Lee bought me the software but I have no idea how to use it. I need to spend some time watching some tutorials, etc. I'd really like to be able to photograph our kids/family members myself one day and make them look professional worthy, ya know?

By the way, turns out my from scratch cherry pie was a success even if it did look like it had a disease. Kimberly confirmed that someone even had 2 slices at the watch party! I can never get the crust just right. I think it varies by oven bc my temp and time never seems to be right. I need to watch it bake closely or more so obviously.

What I CAN do is make some pumpkin bread. The house smelt a-mazing and my office devoured the bread this morning! Here's my recipe:

(This made 2 larger type pans and 2 smaller type pans. I'm so descriptive. )

INGREDIENTS

• 1 stick butter, softened

• 2 cups sugar, 1 cup brown sugar
• 3 eggs
• 3 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 tablespoon baking powder
• 1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
• 1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
• 1  teaspoons ground cloves
• 1  teaspoons ground nutmeg
• 16 ounce can solid pack pumpkin (They only had a large can of pumpkin pie kit at the store so I just measured out 16oz of that.)

DIRECTIONS
In a mixing bowl, mix butter and sugar. Add eggs; mix well. Combine dry ingredients; stir into creamed mixture just until moistened. Stir in pumpkin. Pour into greased loaf pans. Bake @ 350. My recipe calls for bake time of 1 hr but I removed it all at 45 mins so watch it! I waited for the bread to be completely cool before dumping them out of the pans and into plastic wrap.


Contagion. This movie was OK. It was good but not great. It had GREAT actors but it seemed to reiterate the same scene over and over which made the movie seem longer than it was. I wanted to scream, "I get it. People die after getting infected by the disease!" On the way home, we discussed story lines that were left unfinished in bad taste. Bottom line. I think the movie poster looks more exciting than the movie actually was.

vroom vroom & texas still sucks

Hey local pals, you know anyone wanting to buy a truck?

We're selling Lee's truck. We've only had it for a couple of years but it's not worth holding onto if he's not going to be driving it for 15+ months. AND we just put new wheels on it since the old ones were stolen under our nose! The only reason I would fight to keep it would be to deter bad guys from breaking into the house by leaving it in the driveway but that's an expensive deterrence, right?! Plus, I trophy myself as a bad arse with a gun now. The funny + innovative idea we have is that if his truck sells fast than Nana is letting Lee drive her car so that we don't have to car pool with our 1 car until he leaves for his training. Smart and funny, huh? Nana is a young 94 but her car sits in her car port, I'm looking forward to seeing Lee drive Nana's car and I'm sure Nana is too. TeeHeeHee!

I plan on sock'n away that saved dough to for-real build a house when he gets back. Maybe I can use that amount saved to buy THAT double oven for the new house! However, during his training I'm sure that mula will be buying plane tickets so we can see each other every chance possible.

I'm no longer in denial that this isn't happening. This all is becoming too real as we are no longer making deployment plans but acting out our plans now! Wowzers. Lee and I are great planners but he is a better actor. Like turning our plans into action. My own little action figure. One of my favorite qualities about hubby is that he doesn't only talk about plans, he takes action and make things happen. Sexy Sexy.

Big plans this weekend? OU/TX game, duh!

BOOMER SOONER!!!

winning

I love pumpkin anything; spice, bread, pie, custard, ice cream, butter... Give it some pumpkin and it's tons better! Maybe that's why I had a nice little chuckle when I was cruising through FB this morning and saw this new pic a friend posted from a recent pumpkin carving entry:

bake me a cake

Mama heard this recently and shared it with me today:

"Sometimes we wonder, 'What did I do to deserve this?' or 'Why me, Why now?'
Here is a wonderful explanation!

A daughter is telling her Mother how everything is going wrong, she's failing algebra, her boyfriend broke up with her and her best friend is moving away.
Meanwhile, her Mother is baking a cake and asks her daughter if she would like a snack, and the daughter says, 'Absolutely Mom, I love your cake.'
'Here, have some cooking oil,' her Mother offers.
'Yuck' says her daughter.
'How about a couple raw eggs?' 'Gross, Mom!'
'Would you like some flour then? Or maybe baking soda?'
'Mom, those are all yucky!'
To which the mother replies: 'Yes , all those things seem bad all by themselves. But when they are put together in the right way, they make a wonderfully delicious cake! '
God works the same way. Many times we wonder why He would let us go through such bad and difficult times. But God knows that when He puts these things all in His order, they always work for good! We just have to trust Him and, eventually, they will all make something wonderful!
God is crazy about you. He sends you flowers every spring and a sunrise every morning. Whenever you want to talk, He'll listen. He can live anywhere in the universe, and He chose your heart."

Not bad, huh? Now...only if it were all a "piece of cake".

weekend update

This past weekend was a nice one. We went to my Little's wedding Friday night and it was so good to see her. It had been too long. I swear she looked like wedding Barbie but with cowgirl boots. Her colors were pale pink and grey. The maids and men were grey suits and dresses.
Before the wedding:

Lee and I managed to get to the gym and take Coop for a run over the weekend. We also enjoyed the OU game Saturday night, but we did skip out in the 3rd quarter to stop by our favorite burger joint to cure our starvation. 62-6 was the final score. Boomer Sooner! My pride for our Alma Mater is funny to watch apparently. Lee always gets a good chuckle when he sees me get teary eyed holding my finger high up in the air as we (OU FANS) sing OU's Alma Mater. Its hard NOT to get a wave of emotion at the start of any OU football game. The crowd is intense, fireworks, horses, The Pride..."There is only 1 Oklahoma" video before the game...

On Sunday we took Cooper with us to pick out a couple four pumpkins for his BIRTHDAY. Our baby is 3. Lee gave him a new bone in the morning, we called him "Birthday Boy" all day and chased him around the house trying to steal his bone. He wouldn't chew it but only tote it around in his mouth with his chin up as if he was carrying a trophy or the prize duck. Silly goose. Yes, we are just now getting around to our pumpkin carving event as mentioned HERE.