Perpetual Calendar

This past Christmas, my sister gave me one of the coolest gifts ever: a perpetual calendar journal. I think I remember her saying the idea came from this, but she changed it up a bit and bought a nice little wooden recipe card box to keep the cards in instead. **Update, I've added photos** Check it out:

I started out so excited that I wrote something for every single day, though as time went on that got hard to do, plus I was writing silly things like, oh let's see...January 14th: "Watched movies all day". Ah yes, memorable.

So I started only journaling on days when something particularly funny, weird or exciting happened and I find I have at least two or three things per week to jot down. I'm eight months in and I can't wait to start reusing cards in January so I can take a little trip down memory lane. As my sis says, "the first year may be the least rewarding, but imagine the archive of special memories that you'll develop over 10 years. Eventually, it will be a daily treat to be reminded of what happened each day over the last decade."

This has been so fun to keep up with, and even as I sat down today I couldn't resist the urge to look back at days this past year and smile. One of my most recent (and wordiest!) entries was on August 2nd, when we spent the night at my sister's apartment in Eugene. The plan was to head down after Handsome got off work on Monday night, spend the night, and spend Tuesday canoeing with a picnic lunch. Here's how it went down (in shortened perpetual calendar speak):

"Day in Eugene started out disastrously. Set out in the AM to have picnic lunch canoe trip. First stop, Starbucks and grocery store. Get fixings for picnic lunch. Off to rent canoes. Canoe rental man nowhere to be found in usual riverfront spot. Not to worry, main canoe rental place is just a few miles away. Can our growling tummies wait a bit? Sure. Hmm, can't find canoe rental place. Have right address? Check G's phone- yes, should be right here. See sign out front, yes this has to be it. Only building in sight is surplus store. Well maybe they rent canoes. Walk inside...very scary. Stand in line quietly, occasionally glancing sideways at eachother with fearful looks. Boys think they have it figured out, rental place around back. Leave surplus store, relieved. That...was weird. Drive around back- no dice. Try pizza place back by riverfront- canoe place moved, not sure where. G finds updated address on his phone. New place just down the road. Drive down the road- again, no dice. What gives? Ok, let's call them. Phone disconnected. That can't be right. Call again- still disconnected. But website is functional! G discovers last website update was in 2010. Okay, perhaps they're not in business. Canoeing = officially out. What next? Open swim at nearby outdoor pool? Sweet. Drive by- place is INSANE. Lines out the door. Forget that. Stomaches officially eating themselves. MUST EAT NOW. Resort to picnic lunch on itchy dry grassy hill while discussing next move. Bowling? No fun, indoors. Mini golf? Blech. Drive to ocean? It's approximately 2:15- this would give maybe 1-2 hours at beach. At this point, sure why not. Start drive to beach. Make it five minutes, plans change again. G discovers indoor free swim with wave pool in next town over. Make 15 minute drive to pool, parking lot doesn't look too full! Could it be? Walk in, place looks awesome. Pay (cheap!), change (rapidly), RUN for pool. Spend remaining hour and a half soaking up as much chlorine as possible. Love. SO love. Day is saved!"

I have to say that most entries are ONE LINE in length, as to save space for the coming years. Well August 2nd is screwed already because this entry obviously took up almost the entire card. I couldn't resist. I'm still chuckling about this day.

Thanks for the awesome gift sis, I can't wait to read this card again in a few years!

**Oh, and if you can't quite see the text on the card in the photos- I have an interview tommorrow! Wahoo!**

Numbers

290   The number of days since my last blog post. YIKES.

18   The number of days I have been "shredding". I'm not talking cheese here kids...I'm talking exercise. A couple weeks ago (19 days to be exact), I bought Jillian Michaels' "30 Day Shred" workout video and I'm loving it. It's just my style- only 20 minutes long. It's a great combination of strength training and cardio and after just 18 days I'm seeing a difference in both my mid-section and my energy. After nearly *ahem* eight years of no real regular exercise attempts and some serious added poundage, it's TIME for a CHANGE.

1   The number of months until my baby starts kindergarten. Cue panic attack and emotional breakdown.

6.5   The number of weeks until my best bud from childhood gets married! With my sis and I as bridesmaids, Sassy as the flower girl and the hubby and the sister's boyfriend as ushers, this is going to be one serious good time.

5   The approximate number of months until my best friend The Dish gets hitched too! You can see just how excited she is here. I have the honor of being a bridesmaid in her wedding also, and I am beyond excited to see what amazing things she comes up with for her big day. I could. not. be. more. PUMPED!!

2   The number of sodas I have had in the last three weeks. This, my friends, is amazing. Part of my whole "Goodbye couch potato body, hello fantastically fit mama" deal is giving up soda, alcohol and sweets as often as possible. I will admit that I am NOT strong enough to give all of these things up cold turkey, or even *gulp* forever, but cutting down hasn't been as hard as I thought it would be, and I take great satisfaction when I tell myself "no" and my self actually listens. If that made any sense.

48  The number of hours until Handsome's sister and her husband arrive from Minnesota for a week long visit! We have been counting the days for weeks now and we are so excited for some camping at the beach, have a growler or two of Ruby's at McMenamin's (I think I'll have to allow myself one pint glass), do some kite flying, tidepool exploring and lots of laughing!

7   The number of times Sassy-pants has come up to me during the writing of this blog post with some sort of imaginary beverage from her play kitchen. I am currently enjoying a nice "apple-chino" with coffee sprinkles and cranberries. Apparently. Next on the menu...blueberry frozen yogurt. And I'm being charged sixty bucks, she says. This better be the BEST imaginary blueberry frozen yogurt I've had in my life.

6   The number of weeks I have been unemployed. I have some seriously mixed feelings about this. Way back in May I was notified that I was being "riffed" due to my seniority level, and someone from another school (whose job was eliminated) was going to be moved into my position. This was not easy news to take. Especially since Handsome and I had, shall we say, very specific family plans which were effectively shattered by this news. It took some time, but I came to terms with my layoff and I made the best of my remaining weeks at work. It made it a little easier to know that I wasn't the only person in that position..there were actually four office staff members total who were going through the same thing. We also lost a large number of very valuable and hard working teachers, knocking the staff population down by almost a third. My last few days at North were very emotional, and I was overwhelmed by the reactions of my co-workers. I received countless offers for letters of recommendation, was informed by dozens of people that they were looking into any and all possible job leads for me, and I was showered with hugs and kind words. I miss North SO very much, but look forward to possibly volunteering a few hours of week once Sassy starts school next month, assuming I'm still unemployed then. In the meantime, I'm enjoying time at home with her, knowing that this will be my last shot at one-on-one time with her with school right around the corner. I'm also spending lots of time commiserating with my sister and her boyfriend, both recent U of O grads who have joined me in the work search. I feel grateful to have had so much time to spend with these guys! So like I said, mixed feelings about this whole "unemployment" thing, but I'm taking things as they come.

4   The number of "pleases" Sassy just threw at me to go outside and ride bikes. The sun is finally out, my happy-go-lucky kid is all smiles, and it's an opportunity for this mama to get some more exercise.

Feelin' good and SUPER happy to get back to blogging...see you again soon!

Happy Thoughts

Every night we have the same routine in our household. Handsome brushes Sassy's teeth while I pick out her clothes and get her room ready for her to go to sleep. We all cuddle on her bed together and read a book. Lately, we've been reading "Five Little Monkeys". Like, at least the last seven nights. I'm dreaming about monkeys with head injuries.

Anyway, the last thing we do before we say our goodnights is to think about our "happy thoughts" to help us go to sleep. They are usually extremely entertaining, and tonight was no exception. Here are some of my favorite happy thoughts from tonight:

Petting fish that are soft.

Petting nice tigers.

Picking roses and flowers from your lawn.

Swimming in the pool when you're an adult.

Playing games with my sweet mommy and daddy.

Getting married (thanks Casey and Ty!).

...and my favorite:

Laughing loud like a princess.

Oh kid, you are forever making us laugh.

Weekend Fun

Well, it's Wednesday and I'm just not sure I can survive this week...so I thought I would reminisce about last weekend's fun. Friday night we drove up to Sammamish, WA to spend the weekend with my parents, and started the weekend off with a marathon of "Just Dance 2" with one of my best friends. She is a dancing FOOL (and I'm basically just a fool), so she totally took us down. I woke up the next day sore EVERYwhere. Talk about making me feel old and out of shape...

Saturday we went out to lunch with my parents at a restaurant on the waterfront, which was really fun. We even snuck in a little garage saling because let's face it- my dad never passes up a garage sale! We spent the afternoon and evening carving pumpkins while my mom made beef stew, and Sunday was spent watching some serious football. (I LOVE FALL!) Here's a look at our totally awesome pumpkins:

Handsome's...


Mine...


And Sassy's!


I'm looking forward to a quiet weekend, with a little bit of trick or treating at North High for "Safe Halloween". Sassy-pants is dressing up as a princess AGAIN...not that I don't heart all the pink and sparkly things, but when will this phase end??

Blue.

It's a sad day in fishy land.

Our little blue Beta fish has bit the big one.

He has been our friend for two whole years so we are really quite sad.

Sassy-pants does not yet understand the situation and wonders why he is just SO tired.

So. Apparently we are going to learn about little fishy heaven tonight. And maybe make a trip to Petco tommorrow.

The End.

Totally Random

Well I haven't been as consistent with posts as I promised, and I'm seriously lacking creativity these days, so here is a totally random post about recently happenings in our lives. Enjoy.

This weekend is going to be the first quiet weekend we've had in weeks...I'm so looking forward to it! Though the past couple of weeks in particular have been SO MUCH FUN...

Two weeks ago I flew to Minnesota by myself (tickets were ridiculously expensive, so Handsome and Sassy-pants had to stay behind) to attend my cousin's wedding and my grandparen'ts 60th anniversary. It was a surprise to most that I was there and I was SO thankful that I was able to be a part of such an amazing weekend.

Last weekend, Handsome told me that our landlord was planning to stop by and take a look at the house, so I went into a cleaning frenzy to get ready for his visit. As it turned out, it was actually one of my closest friends from my neighborhood who drove down from Seattle for a surprise weekend visit. Best surprise ever! My sister and her boyfriend came up from Eugene and we spent a fun weekend catching up, laughing, and watching some serious football.

I am SO excited for Fall!! I can't wait to carve pumpkins, eat soups and stews, wear turtlenecks and boots, sit by the fireplace, feel the crisp cool Fall air in the afternoon...totally my favorite season.

I have baby fever. For real. Every time I see a little tiny baby or hear about a girlfriend or friend of a friend having a baby, I think about what it would be like for us to have #2. Sassy is going to make a FABULOUS big sister and I can't wait for the day that happens. Hopefully in a year or two, but we'll see.

Tommorrow, I am forcing Handsome to go on a shopping spree. For him, not me (bummer, right??). That man would wear basketball shorts and a Budweiser t-shirt 24/7 if it were up to him, so if I don't drag him to the mall, he'll never go....and he is in desperate need of some new duds. Perhaps he'll put on a fashion show for blogging purposes...? Ha, or not....

"Just Dance 2" for Wii came out this week and we are so super pumped to pick that up tommorrow too. Have you ever played that game? SO FUN! Just Dance 2 looks even more awesome- up to 8 players, dance offs...oh yes, we're excited. Here is a glimpse of Just Dance 1 at my parents (photos thanks to this girl)

I can't believe how much Sassy-pants has grown in the past few months. She is becoming her own self-sufficient little person and I love watching grow and learn new things. One of my favorite things to do with her is read stories, because there are a select few that she knows by heart and it is so funny to hear her "read" them to us. I highly recommend "The Little Mouse, The Red Ripe Strawberry, and The Big Hungry Bear"...such a fun book.

Speaking of books, I have not read anything new in months and I am desperately looking for new reading material. The last book I read was last spring and it was "The Honk and Holler Opening Soon" by Billie Letts...it was a really fun read. Any suggestions for a new book? I'm not looking for anything super heavy, but I'm not too particular.

Well, that about wraps up this edition of "Totally Random"...I'm working from home this afternoon with a sick child, so I best get back to work. Hopefully I will find some inspiration SOON and post something a little more substantial next time.

6 Miles

One of the teachers at the school I work for started a "Fall Fitness Challenge" this past week. It's a $5 buy-in, and for every four workouts you complete in a week you get entered in a drawing to win prizes at the end (the week of Thanksgiving). Plus, everyone who joined the challenge has their name on a board in this teacher's room, and for every workout you put a star by your name.

I decided to give it a whirl because I've been trying (unsuccessfully) for months to get into shape. So far, this challenge seems to be motivating me! I mean seriously- I would be so embarassed to have committed to this but not followed through, especially since (thanks to the star chart) all of my co-workers (and several students) would be able to plainly see if I'm being lazy.

So....I think in order to keep this momentum going, I should also be posting my progress here on my blog...however good or bad it is. This may sound boring, but I really think it will help me stay motivated! And now, as week one is ending, here is what I've done so far.

This week I:

• Ran a total of SIX miles! Woohoo!! This may seem incredibly lame, but for someone who hasn't worked out in years, it's a major feat! I'm only "briskly walking" on the treadmill, not running...it'll take me a while to work up to running I think.
• Resisted my usual Friday Starbucks treat- a grande caramel white chocolate mocha (holy calories, batman!). I'm not gonna lie...I only "resisted" because I got a late start out of the house and didn't have time to stop. Still, I think this counts.
• On at least two occasions this weekend, I chose ice water with a lemon over a soda. That was hard. It's not like I drink a ton of soda (maybe one or two a week?) but when I get a craving for a coke, it's soooo hard to resist.
• This morning I actually planned our meals for the entire week and put together a grocery list, and I'm planning to go grocery shopping after Sassy's nap. Usually our dinner plans are an afterthought. I end up stopping at the store on my way home from work, grumpily and exhaustedly wandering up and down the aisles looking for a quick and easy dinner idea. Then when I get home (completely starving and light-headed, I might add), I grab the first snack I can find- often a handful of potato chips or a cookie. This is not ideal for someone who is hypoglycemic.

I'm really excited to finally be working towards my goals! Speaking of which, my goals for next week: run at least another six miles, stick to the dinner menu, and remember to bring SNACKS to work so I don't have a mental breakdown on the way home from work from lack of nourishment.

Wish me luck and see you next week!

Chili Mac. It's Disgusting.

I love my conversations with Sassy-pants on the car ride home from daycare. We talk about our days, what we had for lunch, and what we want to do when we get home (today we were super excited to go home and sit on the couch...talk about an exhausting day).

Today I asked her what she had for lunch, and her response was, "Chili Mac. It's disgusting."

I couldn't really argue that one.

That kind of got me thinking...I feel like lately the lunchtime menu at Sassy's school has been slipping. If it's not chili mac (uck, I can't even think about it without making a grossed out face), then it's pizza, or corndogs, or ramen noodles. These, to me, do not spell nutrition. Don't get me wrong- they do serve fruits, vegetables and milk with every meal, and thankfully SP loooooves her veggies and milk...but I'm starting to worry that she's not eating as healthy as she should be at lunch.

At home we frequently do fish, salad, veggies...we try to stick to wheat breads, milk or watered-down juice...and when we're at home, SP eats very well. So, my question is- am I overreacting, or should I consider packing a lunch for her every day? I am out of the house for work by 6:30am every day, so if I did pack a lunch I would have to SERIOUSLY be on the ball. And I can't really think of many meals I could send with her that wouldn't required much preparation on the school's part.

Still debating this and weighing pros and cons with Handsome...not really sure what we're going to do at this point. It's entirely possible that I'm overreacting because it's not as if she's at an unhealthy weight, has any kind of health issues, or is not very active...I just feel like maybe we need to make a change.

Until then, she and I are going to continue our strong disgust of Chili Mac.

Chatterbox

My child is a motor mouth. She never ever stops talking. NE. VER. STOPS.

She wants to know what everything is, where it came from, why it's here now...she wants to know everyone's favorite color, who their mom and dad are, and where they live. She has to know what we're having for dinner as soon as I pick her up from preschool. If we're going grocery shopping, she needs to know exactly how many items we're going to buy...and then while we're shopping, she keeps count. She is so full of details, questions and statements, it's ridiculous.

Even now, as she's playing "quietly" in her room, I can hear her talking to her "friends" though that will only last so long before she's back out here playing "20 Questions" with me. And when she's not doing that, she's singing at the top of her tiny lungs. Yep, silence is scarce in this household these days...it's a wonder why my brain hasn't exploded yet.

Don't get me wrong, I've been waiting for this age since the day she was born- we are finally to the point where we can really interact with her, and I love being able to sit and have a whole conversation together. We talk about our days, what we want to do when we get home, the fun things we have planned for the weekend...and her goofy sense of humor and her ability to articulate her thoughts is really shining through.

It's amazing that not even two years ago, the most we could get out of her was this...




And now, all I hear all day long is this:



What a nut. I love my little chatterbox.

This chick...

is BACK.

Yeah, that's right...

I've been trying to get back on the blogging horse (or whatever you want to call it) for MONTHS now, and every time I sit down at the computer, my mind goes completely blank and end up spending an hour (or three, ssshhh!) stalking my friend's blogs.

Anyway, I'm finally gaining some inspiration and energy and ready to rock it once more. Be prepared for some totally random posts as I make my blogging comeback.

We've got a busy few weeks coming up- next weekend is the Mariners/Twins game with my parents, the weekend after that we'll be up at my parents again to celebrate the recent engagements of THREE of my good girlfriends, then a Brad Paisley concert at the Gorge, followed by a weekend visit from Uncle Han & Auntie Steph (all the way from Minnesota!) in addition to our 5th wedding anniversary. And that about takes us to October! Umm, I'm tired already.

See you back here SOON! :-)

For real this time.

Serious.

If you haven't already...

Check this guy out: http://travelswithsmee.blogspot.com/

He has some hilarious travel stories and a unique writing style...very entertaining! And feel free to leave a comment or two-- part of the fun in writing about his experiences is hearing people's reactions!

Enjoy!

PS- "Halloween in The 'Hood" party pics coming soon!

Sparkly Halloween

Okay, I know just yesterday I wrote that I'm thinking about ditching the blog because I've lost my creativity...but I'll tell you who's found it...

Miss Sassy-pants! Last week her class held a pumpkin decorating contest- there were no rules, just be creative and have fun. Miss C and I spent an hour walking around Michael's looking for ideas...at one point we had in our hands a pair of googly eyes, a doll's wig, and a pack of stickers...then we decided maybe we liked the rainbow pipe cleaners and sequins better...then it was a Mr. Potato Head that caught our attention...in the end, the item that caught Miss C's eye the most was a container of glitter.

"What about a sparkly pumpkin, Mommy?" her eyes got wider, "A sparkly PRINCESS pumpkin!!"

That settled it. We bought a tube of glue, picked the best looking collection of glitter colors and made our way home. We had the most fun decorating our pumpkin, and Sassy-Pants loved getting to choose which color went where. She made sure we used every color.

We made a mess of the kitchen and got some silly looks from Daddy when he walked in the door...but Miss C was ecstatic to bring her finished product to school. She got "oohs and ahs" as soon as she walked in the door.



Everyone brought fun and interesting pumpkins to share. They all sat together in a row for all the kids to look at. Then last Monday, another class came in to vote. Each child got to pick their favorite- Miss C's got 7 votes! She was the grand prize winner and was so proud that everyone "clapped at her pumpkin". It was displayed at the front desk and she received a special prize from her teacher.

Here she is, tickled to show off her prizes:


Way to go Sassy-Pants!


We're taking our sparkly princess pumpkin with us to Nana & Poppa's for Halloween, it will go perfectly with the very special pink princess dress that Nana is making for her!

I got nothin'

You know what I'm talking about...scroll down this page and read the dates on my blog posts if you're not sure. Pretty sure the last entry ON THE CURRENT PAGE was posted shortly after the arrival of Spring. As in April.

Every time I sit down to blog, I stare at the computer for a while, look through my recent photos, spend some time stalking my friends blogs....then decide I have nothing exciting to write about, so I log off. This has been going on for quite some time now, so I've started to wonder...

Why do I have a blog?

I do not know. I started this to keep friends and family informed on all the happenings in our corner of the world, but it seems like lately, not much has been going on. And of the handful of things that have been happening, I can't seem to use my creative juices to make an interesting enough blog post to share with everyone.

That being said...I'm thinkin' about ditching the blog scene. I just think it's kind of silly to keep pretending that I have a blog, when I never update it (except for the background that I just changed...I thought maybe a new background would spark new posts? It did not.)

Anyway, I'm going to think about it for a little while longer, but I think it might be time to give up. If anyone has any suggestions on how to build your creativity or thoughts on how you determine what to blog about (and how the heck to make it interesting!), I am all ears...

On the way home today...

This is the conversation that Sassy-pants and I had:

Mom: "I missed you today, baby girl."
Sassy-pants: "Yuck."

Um, okay...not quite the response I was looking for...I'll try again in a few minutes.

Mom: "I missed you today..."
Sassy-pants: "I know."

Wow, shut down again. I'll give her another minute...

Mom: "Hey honey? I missed you..."
Sassy-pants: "Yeah. Can I have a pretzel?"

Man, I cannot win today! Let's try this ONE...MORE...TIME.

Mom: "I MISSED you today baby girl!"
Sassy-pants: "I missed you too, Mommy!"
Mom: "It's about time!"
Sassy-pants, in her sassiest voice: "Heehee, you betcha! I'm funny!"

Oh yeah, you are HILARIOUS, kiddo...

See ya, suckers!

We're off for 4 nights and 5 days of this:



And this:


And some of this:

Be jealous.

Absurd.

Sometimes I get totally ridiculous, absurd ideas in my head. And once they're in there, I can't get them out again. Take this week, for instance. Tommorrow, Handsome's sister arrives for a four day visit. On Tuesday, my cousin "The Dish" arrives for nearly two weeks. Wednesday we're leaving for a 5 day camping trip in Washington. What would one be doing the week prior to such events? Probably lightly cleaning house, doing some laundry, planning menus and grocery shopping? Sounds doable, right?

Well this girl had other plans. I decided it was a good time to completely spring clean the entire house (I realize it's July, let's pretend I did this months ago), clean the fish tank, go through each of our closets and thin out wardrobes, weed the entire yard, detail the cars, wash and wax the kitchen floor, clean out the garage, wash windows, and my latest and greatest idea...PAINT.

I was in the middle of tossing my kitchen upside down yesterday when I got to thinking about how gross our bathroom is, and then I got the urge to paint it. I looked at my "to do" list. I considered how far behind I was. My eye caught the Lowe's ad on the dining room table. Aha- paint is on sale! It's a sign, I must paint! Hmm, where will I find time to get that done? Well I suppose I could skip "organize DVD's by genre"...and maybe I could alphabetize our cd collection another time. I bet if I clean the guest bathroom after Sassy-pants goes to bed tonight (yeah right) and I get up an hour earlier tommorrow (hahaha) I could do it. Oh yeah, totally doable. Nevermind the fact that I'll probably waste at least an hour walking around Lowe's, paint in hand...

Now here it is, Friday at noon and I have yet to clean the fish tank, vacuum and clean bathrooms, take clothes to Goodwill, finish weeding, wash rugs and sheets, tape the bathrooom, and oh yeah- PAINT it. And I suppose we should set up the tent to make sure our air mattress fits in it...and I need to pick up Sassy-pants from daycare. And we're supposed to have pork tenderloin and au gratin potatoes for dinner. And here I sit, blogging. I love how my reasoning works.

And I wish I could say I don't always operate this way, but that's not true...last Thanksgiving the house still smelled like paint when our guests arrived, and I had to ask them not to touch the hallway walls, as they were still wet (what is it with me and paint??). And I am almost always washing the guest bed sheets when my parents walk in the door for a weekend visit. Me and organization, logic, and time management need to sit down and have a chat.

Stupid absurd ideas of mine. Stupid to do lists. Stupid to do lists full of absurd ideas. I need help.

Fireworks on the 4th

Just thought I'd share a quick clip of the fantastic fireworks we saw on the 4th...Sassy-pants LOVED them, and you can hear her very enthusiastic responses in the background :-)

And have you ever heard fireworks as strange as the ones in this next clip? They appear at about the 35 second mark. WEIRD!!

Happy Belated 4th!!

She's Baaaaaack!!!!

Just when you thought I'd abandoned the blogging world forever, here I am again! My very serious case of writer's block is starting to fade away and I'm finally feeling the urge to blog again. Sorry for the unexplained 3 month hiatus!

We've been keeping plenty busy here in Oregon (I'm on my 3 week summer vacation!!), and the next two weeks will be the busiest of the summer. We're counting the days until a visit from Handsome's sister and her husband, followed immediately by a 5 day camping trip along Bumping River in SE Washington with my bestest friend in the whole wide world...then another couple days of fun at the beach and a little exploring in downtown Portland. Needless to say, I am VERY excited and will have plenty to blog about!

Other news on the home front...Miss Sassy-pants is finally potty trained! What a difference it has made for us. She is more independent and VERY proud of herself, and we are enjoying the small pay raise now that we don't have to buy diapers anymore!

Handsome is doing very well at work, his branch just finished third in the state last month! He has been working very hard lately and is counting the days until his week long vacation. I am currently on summer break, which I am LOVING. It will be hard to go back to work on the 22nd, but nice to get back into a regular schedule.

That's about all I can think of for now, but I PROMISE I will stick around this time...really! Okay, I know you don't believe me...I suppose I deserve it after 3 months of silence. I will do my very best to win you all back!

Until I blog again...

10 Things I Love

I love...finding good deals! I know I've mentioned this in past posts, but I really really love a good deal. My most recent impressive buys include a pair of pants and a sweater at Macy's, originally priced at $95 but purchased for $40, and a trip to Walgreens where I spent $16 but saved $18. My husband thinks I'm a nutcase because every time I find awesome deals while out shopping, I parade him through the house in the evening to show off every one of my purchases. Poor guy.

I love...having a child who LOVES sleep. If we had to, we could get Sassy-pants through her whole bedtime routine and happily tucked into bed in 5 minutes flat. Of course, we don't, because bedtime is full of cuddles, kisses, stories and tickling. All of which I also LOVE.

I love...surprising Handsome with one of his favorite meals ever- his reaction is so funny, he nearly trips over himself with excitement when he sees tuna noodle casserole sitting on the stove when he walks in the door at night :-)

I love...crossing things off lists. This is a little OCD sounding, but sometimes I make lists for the day just for the satisfaction of crossing things off. Makes me feel like I've had a worthwhile day, even if all I did was fold a load of laundry and watch an "America's Next Top Model" marathon.

I love...sitcoms. Nothing takes the stress of a crazy day away like laughing for 30 minutes straight. And usually the characters are getting themselves into much worse situations than you experienced during your hellish day, and it's always entertaining. I live for Two & A Half Men, Big Bang Theory, Rules of Engagement, New Adventures of Old Christine, and Gary Unmarried. Thank you CBS, for making my life better.

I love...SPRING. Although, where is it??? It's rainy, cold, cloudy and altogether depressing right now. I'm looking at daffodils in my front yard but bundling up in the morning like I'm going ice fishing. There's something wrong with this picture! I can't wait for warm days, sunglasses, sandals and trips to the ocean.

I love...having my very own parking space at work. It's the last parking space in the lot before the student section begins and often times I return from lunch to find some silly tricked out Honda Civic parked in my spot, but nevertheless- I enjoy the "perks" of being school staff.

I love...Sundays. Especially Sundays during football season! I love going to church as a family, driving around and looking at houses in the neighborhood afterward, and spending the afternoon relaxing and watching movies on the couch.

I love...vegetables. I could make a meal of just peas, broccoli, carrots and green beans. Cooked, raw, seasoned or plain, I LOVE veggies. Of course, to my husband, each of the above items is like kryptonite and he seems to think that he may actually DIE if he were to eat an entire serving of anything green. This is entertaining to me.

And lastly, I love...doing creative things. I have very little patience with myself and I get really irritated when the final product doesn't turn out quite like I envisioned it...but it's really fun to be creative. Right now I'm finishing up a scrapbook for my parents of their 2008 Hawaii/Vow Renewal trip. I'm also getting ready to make a felt storyboard for Sassy-pant's room, as well as some mini terrariums out of mason jars. Did someone say Martha Stewart?

And...thus concludes this week's edition of "Things I Love"....stay tuned for "10 Weird Things I Found in My Junk Drawer".

This just in...

I am the worst blogger ever.

I am a meticulous list writer, and every day this week the first item on my list has been, "write a blog entry". I dutifully settle myself in front of the computer screen, position my hands for some "QWERTY" action, and then....I go blank. I mean I....got...nothin'. It's not like things haven't been happening in our corner of the world, I just can't seem to figure out what's worth talking about and how to make it interesting.

But, rather than despair over my inability to deliver our little family updates creatively, I'll just give you a list of a few random tidbits to keep you all from wiping my URL from your computer forever:

-For the first time in 8 years, I am on SPRING BREAK. That's right, two weeks into the job and I already have a week to rest. In my opinion it's the only way to work. Two weeks on, one week off. Definitely my kind of schedule :-)

-Speaking of which, the job is still going well. There really is A LOT to learn, but I'm slowly getting myself organized. I'm lucky to have very helpful and understanding coworkers and am looking forward to getting back to work on Monday. I think. I'm almost positive. ;-)

-I've managed to get a few things done around the house this week...for instance, Sassy-pants finally has stuff on her walls again! And the purple walls and pink ceiling are NO MORE!! We finally broke down and bought some paint, and I spent two afternoons ridding her room of glued on glow in the dark stars, and purple and pink madness (seriously). It's now a simple off white with all our favorite framed photos and artwork bringing a little color into the room. As soon as my camera is charged, I'll snap some pics to share.

-Sassy-pants has her first ever (very small) ear infection and I am super bummed. I've been forced to revise my long "to do" list for the rest of the week in order to keep my little girl comfy, which is difficult since she has a nasty cough, ear infection and small eye infection (not pink eye, thank goodness!). Despite all of that, during our three hours at Urgent Care today, she didn't complain once. What a champ!

-Along those same lines, we recently found out that Miss C will not be needing glasses (whew!). Some of you know that we've been a little concerned about the fact that one pupil has always been larger than the other, especially since Handsome was in glasses at age 3...but luckily after going to two doctor's appointments and hearing from an eye specialist in Portland, there are no concerns with her eyesight. We have a follow up appointment a year from now, and we can rest easy knowing that all is well.

Ok, to sum up- Spring Break, painting, ear infection and eye appointment. Really? That's all I got? I wonder why I've had such a hard time finding something to blog about lately!

Let's hope Spring brings warm, dry weather soon so we can get outdoors and find stuff to do. We have big plans this spring/summer to hike around some of the state parks, Yurt on the coast, and maybe camp in SE Washington...and we're counting the weeks until visits from Handsome's Mom, my cousin The Dish, and Uncle H and Auntie S.

Bring on SPRING!!