Off to the Cabin!

Just a few hours of Nate's work and a car trip stand between us and the cabin. Going white water rafting with his family on Saturday!

Breakfast Date

Going up to Decatur with Nate and I get to have breakfast with Lindsay and Jenni! Yay!

Sweet Potato?

I was reorganizing the kitchen cabinets (to move my new rice cooker and stand mixer off the counter) and I found this...

I know, for a fact, that we got this gigantic, ugly sweet potato in our CSA in October. I guess it fell behind something and got forgotten. I'm thinking we're not going to eat it.

The Last Straw

We've done EVERYTHING to get Mrs. to stop peeing on the carpet. The vet finally told us it's part of her mental issues or something and I figured that as long as she only does it every once in a while and only on the easy-to-clean tile floors, I can handle it. And then today... she started "marking" (small amounts of pee) on the carpet outside the tiled room. That's it. She stays outside during the day and in a crate at night. I have no idea what else to do with her.

Stinky Me

I've been running around with neighborhood kids playing water games. I am stinky.

Family Talk

Spent over an hour on the phone with my mom and then talked for 2 hours over dinner with my brother. I really love my family.

Notary Public

I've been becoming a notary this morning. What did you get done?

Disappointing Dream

So while I'm taking a nap, I dream that I get woken up from my afternoon nap by my sister. She's calling and saying, "Surprise! I'm outside your house! Let's go get Blizzards from Dairy Queen!" And then my phone rings and wakes me up, but it's not my sister, it's just my alarm. No surprise visit. No Oreo Blizzards.

Last Week of Summer

This is my final week of summer, so how do I spend my morning? Why at school, of course! Hopefully, I won't have to go in again for the rest of the week.

Preacher Man

Nate preached last night at a retirement home service and it was the most relaxed I've ever seen him behind the pulpit. Everyone really enjoyed his very relevant sermon.

The Skirt

I'm wearing this skirt today. Whenever I wear it, I think of 2 people. My friend Lindsay, who found it at a thrift store and gave it to me, and my sister, who loves it. Thinking of you both today.

Hard Pews

I'm sitting in the church, as we do almost every Sunday, waiting between services.  It's kind of boring.  I wish the pews were softer so I could take a decent nap.

Cupcakes and Cookies

I did some baking this afternoon!

The cupcakes are this recipe with vanilla frosting and the cookies are supposedly breakfast cookies, but they probably a little too sweet for breakfast, even if they do have Special K cereal and oatmeal in them. Both were new recipes and both were huge successes!

Mulch

Spent over an hour putting mulch down in the garden with Ben. Hopefully, it'll keep the weeds from coming back. Also picked a bunch of beans and tomatoes- it looks like there'll be plenty more veggies coming from the garden in the weeks to come!

Debt Free!

I just paid off the last of my student loans! We are now, with the exception of our house, debt free!

Glow-in-the-Dark Frisbee

We're heading out to play frisbee with some neighbors. Should be fun!

Weeding

Noelle, Chuck, and I weeded the garden for 2 and a half hours this morning. It looks great, but I'm pooped.

Zojirushi Rice Cooker

Nate has been insisting we get a rice cooker. So with our extra summer income, we bought this one. It came in the mail yesterday, so we tried it out tonight. Our new recipe of the week is Sriracha-Glaze chicken and we made plain white rice in the Zojirushi.
The verdict: the chicken was really good (definitely make again worthy) and so was the rice (good thing since we're going to be using it a lot to get our money's worth!).

Magazine Beads

Today at neighborhood camp the kids made beads from magazines. Now I'm wishing I hadn't just taken all of those magazines to the recycling center last week...

On My Desk

You would not believe the piles and piles of stuff that gets dropped off in the media center over the summer.  Some of it with notes of explaination, others without anything but the words "DO NOT DISCARD" scrawled across.  Every summer my desk becomes a dumping ground and I will spend most of the morning sorting through it.

School

Going up to school this morning to get a few things done. I can't believe that summer break is almost over.

Grits

Went out and poured grits all over the fire ant hills. They need to pay for the bites that are making shoes unbearable to wear.

Fire Ants Bites

I have about a dozen fire ant bites on my feet and one on the palm of my right hand. Stupid ants. I'm going to get them with some grits later today.

NA's Adoption Party

Nate and I just got back from NA's adoption party. He's officially been adopted! Oh, and he's grown about 7 inches in the last 6 months!

Migraine

This is my second migraine in a week. My head hurts so bad.

Rug Doctor

Today I will clean the carpets.

Garden Update :(

Went out to pull weeds in the garden today and noticed 2 bad things:
1- some neighborhood kids picked all our little watermelons (and stepped all over the vines)
2- there is a large, angry fire ant hill that I stepped in (and now my toes are all bit)

The Day Nate Preached

Yesterday was a great day. My mom and dad were able to come to the service along with my father in law, Todd, 2 of our neighbors, and a friend from the Atlanta area. Nate delivered a really good sermon and looked super handsome in his bowtie and suspenders. Then we got to eat at Brickstore for lunch and for dinner were treated to some genuine Southern hospitality at the home of a church member. The food was amazing and the conversation was even better. Only downside- we left the house at 7:30 AM and didn't return until 11:30 PM.

Dinner and Games

Enjoyed dinner (corn and bean burritos) with Nate, Todd, and my father-in-law Ron and then board games with Nate, Ron, and our new neighbor Ben. Now it's time to get to bed early- Nate's preaching tomorrow morning.

Bunny and Owl

Here's what I made this morning:


The owl is made from one of my old knee socks (anyone recognize it?). I found the tutorial here.

Disney and Crafting Maraton

I've watched 3 Disney movies (Beauty & the Beast, Aladdin, and Little Mermaid) while I tried to finish up a couple of crocheting and sewing projects. You know what I noticed? In all 3 of these Disney classics, the dad is super old and the mom is nonexistent. Weird.

75 degrees!

Last night, we were able to open up the windows for the first time in weeks. The thermostat in the house says it's 75* in our living room!

First Ever From Scratch Brownies

New Recipe of the Week: Fudgy Brownies from the Better Homes & Garden's cookbook

Verdict: Good, but not as good as the box mix- which was disappointing.

Busy Kitchen

I've been baking this afternoon: pitas, cinnamon bread, and brownies (from scratch!- new recipe to come). Then I'm making roasted veggies (all from our garden) and Nate's making risotto for dinner tonight. Yum, yum, yum!

Harry Potter vs Twilight

If you've ever wondered which series is better or if you just want to be justified that you were right all along, check this out.

Really Awkward

You know what's really awkward? Calling your current OB/GYN and requesting your records, only to be questioned about why you want to go to another doctor. *dislike*

10:30!

Staying up until 2:30 AM (and by the way, HP was great) lead to me sleeping in until 10:30 AM for the first time I can remember. Feeling really bad for Todd who had to go to work at 8.

Harry Potter!

I'm really excited about going to see the last HP movie tonight!

Oh, and I was interviewed for the local newspaper about Harry Potter. You can read the article here if you want.

Screw You, AT&T

I've been on hold with AT&T for 45 minutes- all because they haven't sent me a modified bill yet. I'm going to need nap after this crap.

Order of the Pheonix

Watching the 5th Harry Potter movie while cleaning the living room.

Impressive Harvest!

I went out to the garden this morning and picked all of this!

Plus, there are 3 softball-sized watermelons growing and tons of green tomatoes!

Delayed but Home

My flight was delayed by about an hour and a half, but I am finally at home. Now I'm just trying not to feel overwhelmed by my growing to-do list.

Classroom set-up

Today Genevieve & I spent the day setting up her new classroom. It made me so thankful that I will never have to be a first year teacher again.

Florida Vacation Update

Past few days: watching Harry Potter (or sleeping through it in the case of Genevieve), staining bookshelves, going on walks, cooking (and then enjoying the results), shopping, and going to church (though sadly not going to the beach again- thunderstorms every day).

Today: going to set up/decorate G's classroom!

Blueberry Coffee Cake

New Recipe of the Week: Blueberry Coffee Cake from the Simply in Season cookbook (if you don't own this, you should- it's amazing!)

The Verdict: Even Genevieve who doesn't like blueberries enjoyed this coffee cake. The combination of the fresh blueberries, cinnamon, and chopped pecan topping was perfect. I highly recommend it.

St. George's Island

Today we went to St. George's Island with plans to enjoy a day at the beach. A nasty storm cut those plans short but we still had an enjoyable time exploring the area. Now we're watching the first Harry Potter movie in preparation for the upcoming midnight showing of the final movie.

My day with Genevieve

We went shopping, talked, ate, and began staining some bookshelves. Tomorrow: the beach!

Off to the Airport

Nate's dropping me off at the airport this morning so I can fly to Panama City! I'm excited about spending some time with Genevieve, but I'm also looking forward to the flight- I booked a window seat because I love watching the take-off and landing almost as much as I love fireworks.

Margaret

Spending the day with my friend Margaret.

Hummus

New recipe of the week: Alton Brown's hummus

The verdict: Best hummus ever. Especially when eaten with Keebler's Italian Herb Flatbread crackers.

$1 Tickets

Last night at the Braves game, our neighbor Ben and his wife Moncia won a free trip to the Golden Moon casino in Mississippi! Totally made the $1 tickets (and $10 parking) worth it.

Summer is the Best

Today I'll be hitting up several Decatur thrift stores, spending time with Jenni and Lindsay, and then going to a Braves game with Nate.

That Thing That Nate Is Always Telling Me

So the lake was wonderful. Especially the part where we shot a lot of fireworks off the pier and the part where I took a nap in the hammock. But there was one not-so-great part. The part where Nate got to say, "I told you so." I was skipping/running and slipped and fell and scratch up my hand. Nate is always telling me to slow down, but I never listen.

Lake Martin- Part 2

We're off to church and then straight after, we're going to spend today and tomorrow hanging out on Lake Martin! Fireworks, swimming, good food, board games, friends- I can't wait!

Movies and Neighbors

While Nate is gone to see Transformers 3 with some neighbors I've watched most of Singing in the Rain and Talladega Nights with pleasant interruptions from neighbors during both movies (once to harvest onions, green beans, tomatoes, and a cucumber from our garden- though a small amount of each).

New Groove

Watching the Emperor's New Groove with Nate for what be the 178th time.

6:30 AM

I've been up since 6:30. It's Saturday morning. Why can't I sleep in like a normal person?

Banana Bread

My new recipe of the week: this Banana Bread that I baked for a neighborhood get together.

Verdict: Everyone seemed to enjoy it but I loved it. I'm already looking forward to making it again!

Drugged Up Notebook

While putting books back on our bookshelves, I found the notebook that I used to communicate with my mom and sister right after I had my wisdom teeth pulled. Here is a transcription:

Did Mom have to carry me out? Can't tell when my mouth is open. I can't feel my mouth. I can't make it work. I don't know where my lip is. Valium worked big. Thirsty 2x. I want them. Bandaids. Water hurt. I'm DROOLING!

On the next page (when I'm a little more coherent):

What did he do with my teeth. I need them to give to the tooth fairy! That's 4 teeth x 50 cents. I'm the ouchy girl. I get what I want. I'm not hungry. Why do I have to eat? Did they tell you I cried?