Simple Pleasures

I LOVE having my own bathroom attached to my office at work.

Why?

Because I can sit on the seat without worry.

It's all in the simple things. :)

Miscellany

There's a lot on my mind lately.. but unfortunately I can't share anything via the blog.. YET. So, stay tuned.. lots of large updates to come!

• Z & I went to Indiana for the weekend to visit his cousin & his wife. They just bought a new house, so it was neat getting to see it.. and them, of course. Sat. night we went to Chilis, and then we hung out @ Lowe's. Us girls snagged some mistint paint and checked out paint colors and backsplash tiles for their new place (I'm living vicariously through others til we get our own). The guys looked @ power tools.. surprise, surprise. Sunday they taught me how to ride a [manual] four-wheeler. Let's just say.. I need practice. lol :) We headed back to OH around 2 & spent the rest of the day w/ his family & friends.
• Z's poison ivy is recovering. It was BAD. Like all over his body! Sucked for both of us- He was miserable and I couldn't even kiss him.. or anything else. :) Within another week, I figure it'll be totally gone.
• I swear if I didn't know better, I'd think I were pregnant! Of course, I'm NOT. See above point. :) I just feel slightly nauseous off and on all.the.time. Weird.
• I found an interior design school that I'm going to start taking classes at sometime this year. SO excited. 6-8 months from starting, I'll have my certification. :)

Since I can't mention a lot of what's going on in our lives right now on here at the moment, I thought I'd open it up for questions [not about the not-to-be-mentioned news though :). Anything you'd like to know? Perhaps you're wondering if I stuck my finger in an outlet as a child? Or what it's like up in the Northern-most part of New England? Ask away!! I'll do my best to answer!

Monday Randoms

My brain is in a billion different directions this morning, and since I'm unable to write anything fluent enough for you all to understand, I'm doing it bullet point form. :)

• This weekend we did a lot of.. sleeping. Like a ton. I feel asleep at 7pm Friday with my laptop on my lap- I was that tired! Didn't wake up til 8:30 Sat. morning. Took another nap Sat. afternoon. Slept a good 8-9 hrs. that night, and took another nap Sun. Afternoon. What is wrong with us?? haha And for some reason I still needed a cup of coffee to keep me awake this morning at work.
• I'm pretty sure I've lost some weight. I'm not touching the scale til I'm sure it's at least 5 lbs, so we'll see. I had been counting calories, and on an average day I took in no more than 1200. I looked up averages, and talked to my nest.com girls, and found out that that might not be enough. Sometimes too few calories actually stunts weight loss. So.. I upped it by 100-200 calories a day and tried not to stress about it. Sure enough.. my pants feel looser, and my belly a little more toned. I'll take it! :)
• My X-rays came back from the specialist, so I have an appt. with the Chiropractor tonight. I really really hope we'll have some answers this time. I'm ready to feel my age, and not like I'm 60! Z's also been having some pain since his big wipe-out on the tube while we were in Maine, so he's getting adjusted as well.
• We're picking up our new living room furniture tomorrow!! Eee!! So excited!! We sold our end & coffee table Sat. night, and the "new" ones are in the garage, halfway through their paint job. We're also giving our current couch & comfy chair to Z's sister tonight, so this evening our living room will be almost completely bare! I hung some new wall art & am playing around with other accessories to pull the room together.. can't wait to finish it!
• Z's birthday is next Thursday, so this Sat. night, I'm throwing him a party at our place! So excited for that- just hope I can get everything done by then!
• Z & I are on a "buying break" this week. Lately it seems like he's been buying a lot for the garage & I've been buying a lot for the house.. well, it all adds up, so we're going to try & slow down a bit! I just have a problem with taking on too many projects at once.. like right now I believe I have 5 different ones going!
• Z found a fraudulant transaction on my credit card last night, so we had to call & report it. They're going to investigate, close my account, and send me a new card. Thank the Lord for fraud protection- I Love my credit card (that sounds bad.. we pay in full every month btw :) ).
• I was sorely disappointed with Ruby Tuesday's veggie burger on Sat. night. Seriously- I think they just mashed rice & black beans together. They have FAB burgers at the RT's back home- I don't know what was up with this place- I don't think they like veggies. :)

K.. enough rambling! How were your weekends??

.. Oh by the way...

Tonight's that auction.. the one I mentioned at the end of this post. I'm rushing there right after work to see the house. We haven't even seen the inside of the house yet and the auction starts at 6pm. Oy! the stress! the pressure!

We've set a limit number that we won't bid above, and his parents and grandpa are coming so they can help us inspect it and give us bidding suggestions. We've never done this before.. and auctions for an item this HUGE scare me.

You don't get to have an inspection before you commit to buy. BUT, there's the chance that we'll get a heck of a deal & our net worth will instantly multiply by like 80 times.

I'm half nervous about it, and half at peace.

It's a big deal, and there are so many unknowns it's crazy..

But, God is in control. He's led us through this whole house-hunting process, and he's obviously kept us from any house he didn't want us to have before, so I know he'll do it again.

Your prayers would be mucho appreciated.

..like MUCHO mucho. Thanks.

************

And PS- AMAZING giveaway HERE!!!

Recap.

This weekend was a blur, so I'll just recap it quickly.

Friday night I spent priming & painting a desk & finishing the bench on PP today.

Saturday we went to church, went to Culvers (as usual), took a nap, went to see our friends' new baby in the hospital, and went out to dinner.

Sunday we picked up my new craigslist coffee table & end tables. Then Z went to an auction at a car dealership that closed & got lots of good stuff. I spent the entire day painting the desk & chair, running to Menards for project supplies, starting on some smaller projects, and cleaning the house. It was a full day and by the time 9pm rolled around, I was wiped out!!

Monday after work we met up with some friends and went to a Cincy Reds game. Even though they've been doing horribly, they won last night. It was no Red Sox game, but it was good nonetheless. There were something like 10+ homeruns, and 3 were hit to our section. The guy 2 rows in front of Z caught 2 of the balls, lucky guy! We went with a group of about 60 people, so that's always fun! I forgot my camera, but here are a couple cell phone shots.


Yesterday a few items came in that I ordered, so I'm looking forward to getting everything situated tonight. Z has a men's Bible study so I'll have the place to myself. I might even whip up this fabulous Zucchini cake with the HUGE zucchini our landlord gave us.

To Be Honest...

I just love all the 'honest' posts going around with this award, so you can imagine my excitement when I was tagged by my blogging buddy, d.a.r. I've taken forever to get it posted, but that doesn't take away the excitement! This girl is truly honest, and her blunt, truthful comments have definitely helped me from time to time! Thanks a bunch!! So... here are the rules:

1. List 10 honest things about yourself that your
blogging friends do not know about you.

2. Give the award away to 7 bloggers.

3. Let them know they've received the award.

Hmm... I always struggle with coming up with things people don't know about me, but I'll try!

• I grew up right next to Canada. I had Canadian teachers (private Christian school), Canadian best friends, we shopped in Canada, my sisters took gymnastics in Canada... It was just like the next town over.. except for the whole security check thing.
• I was the first one on my dad's side of the family to move out of state.. we're a close knit bunch so moving wasn't easy!
• I was never into politics until I married my husband. I'm still not "into" them, but I feel like I'm much more 'in the loop' & passionate about certain things. For example, you don't want to get me going about Obama's stupid heathcare plan, big government control & spending, abortion, or the whole "take from the rich & give to the poor" mindset. Gosh. Makes me mad just thinking about it.
• A lot of people who don't know me well think I'm just a girly girl. Now, while I can be girly with the best of them, I can also get dirty & sweaty with [almost] the best of them. :) Yes, I've been covered in mud, go hiking & camping, use power tools, and pee in the woods if there is no toilet around. Now you know... ;)
• On the other hand.. I also did the pageant thing. I was Little Miss [Hometown-festival] & Miss Teen [Hometown]. Yeah, I practiced walking, waving, speaking.. the whole bit. Even took home the talent, scholastic, & congeniality awards. Probably should have left some for everyone else.. Anyway, I just did it for fun, so by the time I was finishing high school, I didn't really feel like doing it again- girls take that stuff WAY too far! Hmm.. I need to dig up the pictures..
  
• I play the flute. Or did. I believe it's still at my parents' house. But piano has always been my first love.
• I don't drink Soda. Or pop for you midwesterners & Canadians. :) Once in a while, maybe- if there's nothing else to drink, but that's it!
• I grew up in Maine, but I've never tasted Lobster. Or any seafood, for that matter.
• Z and I forgot to buy my wedding ring til 5 days before the wedding. Thank the LORD Kay's had something in stock!
• I was strangely tall in 6th grade. Like 5'5". At least it felt tall then- I think there was only one other person taller than me. But then I just... stopped. And everyone else grew. So now, I'm an average 5'6 1/2".

Whew! That was tough! Kudos to all of you who've done this already- 10 things is a lot!

I tag:

Liana
Ashley
pk
Leah
Lucy
Carol
Summer

Monday Randoms

• Bachelorette Party went great this weekend! Had a fab time with the girls- lots of fun. Didn't end up staying over night- I took most of your advice & just left once things were dying down. And by dying down, I mean 70% of the girls were asleep when the movie ended. So, it worked out great all-around. Z was waiting up for me when I got home aroung 2am. :)

• I've decided I'm going to be a runner. No, not just "start running". I decided I'm going to have the lifestyle of a runner, as in, I need to do it. So, I'm starting out slow & short. Working myself up to more, and not getting overwhelmed. I plan on finding a 5k to run sometime this summer or fall. It's not far, but you gotta start somewhere, right?? And, once again, thanks to You girls.. It's still your fault. :) I absolutely hate running, but the results are so worth it. My coping tactic right now is just trying to feel my body getting stronger as I run. That, and checking out my neighbors landscaping in FULL DETAIL and game-planning what I'll do when we get our own yard... Totally takes my mind of the fact that I'm panting and my ankles are killing me. :) Ran both Saturday and Sunday. Yay me!

• I'm getting super sick of house-hunting. I just want it to be over with! I've lost track of how many houses we've either put an offer in on, or been ready to, only to find out we've been outbid, or there's already a pending contract. The competitor in me wants to beat down the competition, but somehow that doesn't work with real estate.. :)

• I'm unbelievably white. Like pasty. Z's arm next to mine makes me look like an Albino. SO not attractive. And since it's becoming shorts & tank-tops season, I NEED to do something about it. Only problem is.. I'm thinking I don't really want to lay out in a bikini where the tenants beside us can be peeping-toms. I really don't want to go back to the tanning beds, but it's oh-so-tempting!! I really can't pull off the pasty-white look like this girl. ->

• I'm thinking about a blog-makeover. If you have used someone to create yours, please share! I want to go custom, but I'm not sure I can do it myself, so I'm willing to hire!

Happy Monday Everyone! Have a great workweek!

Wednesday Randoms

• I work in commercial contracting. I'm the office manager (formally, but what I actually do is so varied it causes my job title to be a bit of a mystery). I am the ONLY female that works for the entire company. Which means I constantly get "picked" on. For being a former veggie who happens to love tofu products, for wearing "impractical" cute shoes, for having a post-it obsession, for cooking(they think I can't simply because I don't make them lunch. ha!), the list goes on. It's like working with a bunch of Uncles that like to tease. So anyway, we just bought new conference room chairs, and I snagged 2 of the old ones to reupholster. I needed to measure them for a foam cushion so I went out to the shop/warehouse to ask for a tape measure. Shop guy gives me one, and asks, "Do you know how to read that thing?". Huh? Are you kidding me? If he only knew..

• I'm loving going natural in the face department lately(or maybe it's just that I haven't felt like doing my makeup). A little tinted moisturizer, some subtle eyeliner, and I'm good. Going anywhere? Well, I might throw on a little mascara and blush, but that's it! I tell myself I'm just gearing up for summer & I'm not lazy! ;)
• So those chairs I mentioned above- am I the only one who sees the potential?
  crappy camera phone shot

• Z took me out to Mexican last night. I just love dates! Even if we are married- there's just something about going out that makes me happy! Unfortunately though, I could only finish 1/3 of my amazing Chicken taco salad. Those darn Nachos they give you to snack on..
• I have a serious problem lately- sleeping. Meaning, I need wayyy more sleep than I ever had. If I sit down or try to read for a minute, I'm asleep. After getting home from work, I don't feel like doing anything!! I just feel... blah. And I end up sleeping. I don't get it! I need to start taking iron again..
• Problem #2- I have no friends. haha, okay, that was an overstatement. But, since moving to the midwest & marrying Z, it's been VERY hard to meet other ladies my age/situation/etc. Now, I LOVE my sisters-in-law, and I have some other casual friends nearby, but none of those 'sit and talk and laugh for hours' kinds of friends that I miss so much. I think I've made this problem worse because of a case of "newlywedisms"- We just got married 4 1/2 months ago & he's my best friend & we don't enjoy not being with each other all the time. But still, he grew up here & has many more friends he can go visit & talk with. Me? Not so much. So, say a prayer that God would send me some lovely ladies with a heart for God, a love for life, & similar likes/dislikes, please? k thanks. You guys are the best, and I am truly grateful for your blog-friendship! :)
  

Happy Tuesday!

Guess today's just the day for giveaways! Holly over at Homebody is giving away these super cute ceramic number balls and April at dot... dot... dot... is giving away some Juicy Goodies!

Be sure to check these out!

Also, I'll be having a giveaway in a few more weeks in honor of my 100th post! I'll give you a hint now- it's spicy & relaxing! :)

In other news, Z spent last night helping a guy who flips houses. He's helped him out a few times now, in exchange for this guy teaching him how to do whatever it is he's doing. It gets him some great experience for when we decide to flip our first one (did I mention we're going to do this?)!

I almost died from coffee inhalation this morning. Thank God my coffee cup was mostly empty and I could spit the coffee back in. I almost had coffee spewed all over my desk. I know, you didn't need to know that, but really, it was a scary thing! Thank goodness no one saw!

My wedding photographer asked me to write up a rave about our wedding photos for her new website! I'm so excited for it to launch- I'll definitely share when it does! If you're in the greater Boston area, she's the girl you want (no, we're not in Boston- she graciously traveled for our wedding)!!

Z and I watched Australia last night (Free Redbox rental!). It didn't help that he got home late, but the movie lasted forever! We were up til 12:30 watching that darn thing! Which is not wise when you wake up at 6:15! It was a pretty good movie- nothing amazing, but worth the watch. I just would rather have done it on a night we didn't have to have incredible discipline to get out of bed the next morning. Don't tell, but I may or may not have dozed off for 1/2 hr. this morning while no one was in the office! :)

As promised, here's the Tiramisu recipe! I love it because it's soo simple, you make it the night before you need it, and it gives a certain impressive air when people ask what it is and you say, "Tiramisu", and have to explain to them that it's a light Italian dessert. Oh, and it's yummy! :)

What You Need

2 Tbsp. MAXWELL HOUSE Instant Coffee

1/4 cup boiling water

32 Reduced Fat NILLA Wafers

1 tub (8 oz.) PHILADELPHIA 1/3 Less Fat Cream Cheese

1/4 cup powdered sugar

1 tub (8 oz.) COOL WHIP FREE Whipped Topping, thawed

1 cup fresh raspberries

1 tsp. unsweetened cocoa powder

Make It

STIR coffee granules into boiling water until dissolved. Cover bottom of 8-inch square dish with 16 wafers. Drizzle with 1 Tbsp. coffee.

ADD 2 Tbsp. of the remaining coffee gradually to cream cheese in medium bowl, beating with whisk until blended. Add powdered sugar; mix well. Stir in COOL WHIP; spoon 1/2 over wafers in dish. Cover with remaining wafers. Drizzle with remaining coffee; top with remaining cream cheese mixture.

REFRIGERATE overnight. Top with raspberries just before serving; sprinkle with cocoa powder.

Thank you, Kraft Foods! Happy Tuesday!

Wednesday Randoms

• I do not understand Ohio. At all. This was out my window at work yesterday: The tree is blossoming, the grass is green, and even if you can't see it, there were SNOWFLAKES coming down!! Gah! And did I mention it's back up to 50 today? Yeah. Ridiculous!

• I feeling a little excited because I made chili tonight from scratch.. and for a former vegetarian who doesn't know steak from pork chops, that's not bad. I knew it was good when Z took a bite and did that weird "Mmm" man groan thing. That's usually my signal. :)
• My little nephew is growing so fast! This is him at 3 weeks, and then 5 weeks. Crazy, huh?
• I think I've decided that selling wedding stuff is definitely more of a pain in the butt than buying it all. It's worth it in the end, because at least we'll get some money back, but I think the problem lies with irresponsible people and keeping track of everything. But, you know me- I've got my spreadsheets & they always come through for me!! :) But speaking of wedding stuff.. here's a fun one of getting ready on our wedding day!

You know you all did it too!! (Squeezing everything into the dress!) :P

All Things Bright and Yellow

The past year or so I've been falling in love with a color per season. This past fall/winter it was dark purple. Oh, how I loved it! It all started with this Liz Claiborne bag:(sorry for crappy picture- taken with the phone)

Now that spring is attempting to show it's face here in the midwest, I have a new fascination. Just ask my family. They rolled their eyes at my search for the perfect new handbag in....

YELLOW!!

Here are just a few images so that you can grasp the amazingness that is yellow:

Frozen Peaches
Yellow Umbrellas
Yellow Dress

Yellow Zara Dress


Yellow Chair

And finally, I do think there's a reason yellow is at the center of Pantone's colors for spring here.

What color are you loving? Any other yellow enthusiasts??

Gameplan?

So, we're your typical newlyweds. Still trying to figure life out. Z and I have both grown up with a strong background in business, hard work, entrepreneurship, and people skills. We've known for a while that we wouldn't be the underdog in a company for our entire lives. We had a goal of business ownership and financial independence. Well, you've heard all about Z's business ideas if you've followed this blog for very long. The past couple weeks have brought him a new idea. And I'm more comfortable with this one than any so far so I gave him the go-ahead on it. It's in an area that he has expertise, and wouldn't need to do mounds of research to develop. So.. we have a plan. (!!)

Of course, any business requires investment, so that means we need to do some serious saving! Which shouldn't be too bad, because we can easily live on less than half of our income. We did a little looking at real estate last night- we want a place that has a nice house with room to grow (3+ beds) and a good amount of acreage as we want to have the business on our property, but not too close to the house. We found a few places that would work, but quickly realized that we need to do some saving for a down payment before we get ahead of ourselves. So, we figure that if we save for 6-8 months we'll have what we need and we can start looking seriously at real estate. We'd like to do it before Dec. 31 because of the first time home buyer tax credit.

I can't tell you how good it feels to finally have a plan in place for our future! Before we have kids we want to have the business bringing in enough $$ to replace my income so that I can be a stay-at-home/work-from-home mom. I'm looking forward to it so much.. especially the whole getting to decorate our first home part!

And speaking of decorating.. lately I've been toying around with the idea of going back to school in a few years.. for interior design. In my opinion, not a ton of schooling is needed to be good at this- you either have an eye for it or you don't. Of course, you can develop that eye, but if you don't have a knack for it, I personally don't think you'll ever be better than mediocre. I (humbly) think I have a decent eye for it and and just need a bit of training.

So anyway- I'll keep you posted on how everything goes! Hang on! It's going to be a fun ride!

How long did it/do you think it will take you & your hubby to get a solid plan for your future in place? Or maybe you just had it super together & knew before you got married? Or is it just always changing and evolving?

Other Random Bits:

*I'm going to be studying & taking the test to become a notary public (for work). Is it just me, or would that make you feel a bit like a more dignified citizen? :)

*I think I have a problem. Ever since getting a Post-It pop-up dispenser for my desk, the sticky notes are EVERYWHERE! Case in point:















*Z and I are heading to Michigan today after work. My family went up there yesterday and we're going to join them staying with my aunt and uncle who live there. I went to college in the same town, so we're planning on going to the beach where we had our first date! yay! The sad part is that tomorrow afternoon my family will be heading back to the great Northeast! I'm going to miss them so much, but plan to go visit them this summer.

And, to close, here's a couple pictures of that first date on the beach (we'd known eachother forever & phone-dated for a while before I moved to MI- that's why we were so "friendly"):

Being Random.. on Tuesday

• The visit with the family is going GREAT! It's so wonderful having them here! We're pretty busy though- thus the reason that I've been slacking a little bit on blog posting. So far we've had a big get-together at our house, given them a tour of our town, played some mini-golf [I guess midwesterners call it putt-putt?], gone to some batting cages, gone outlet shopping, had a movie night, and eaten tons of food (pictures to come). Right now they're checking out the air force museum while Z & I are working. After work Z & dad are heading to the Honda dealership because my dad has recently become interested in Goldwings (it's a motorcycle- it's okay- I wouldn't have known either). Then bowling tonight and who knows what else the rest of the week.

• Yes, you heard me say outlet shopping. It wasn't that glorious though- we had a good time and got a few deals, but my parents had way better luck finding stuff than my sisters and I did. You know it's bad when your dad buys more clothes than all 3 of his daughters! I got a cute J Crew tee and and a top from Gap. I also picked up some bath & body works goodies and a mysterious object from the Pottery Barn outlet that will make it's appearance in my upcoming 100th post giveaway. No hints yet!
• I spent a while Sunday night teaching my dad how to use his facebook account. We all got a kick out of it!
• I got a new phone- the Samsung Sway. My review? Don't bother with it. It looks super cute & love the slider, but the battery life sucks & the texting is slow. I'm calling Verizon to see if I can get it switched.
• I had a freaky nightmare last night that had me talking out loud enough that I woke myself and Z up at 3:30 am. Gah! Thank goodness for husbands to hold you and make it okay til you can fall back asleep! I haven't had a freaky dream since my series of Betty Boop ones back when I was little (Please, please, please, don't ask! lol).
• If I didn't have self control, I'd smack the guy who dumped my sister the day before they came out here. He's ...grrr.... nevermind. I'll be nice. She's hurting even though she's trying to be strong and for a super-protective sister, that's hard to watch.
• If you would, keep Z & I in your prayers as we have some important financial decisions to make coming up. I'm afraid we might not see entirely eye-to-eye on them, so there will have to be plenty of praying, discussion, and compromise.
• We watched Smoke Jumper last night and surprisingly it was a pretty good movie! Definitely worth the watching!
  

Anyway, I can't wait to show you some pix from our adventures this week/weekend & I'll get a post up asap. Until then, have a wonderful rest of your Tuesday & thanks for your sweet comments lately!! :)

How fitting..

..that S over at a.little.bit.delirious & Another Day in Paradise would give me a Kreativ award while I'm covered in paint up to my elbows. :) haha.. Seriously, though, Thank you both so much! I've enjoyed getting aquainted w/ you through blogland! Here's the award & the rules:List 7 things that you love, and then pass the award on to 7 bloggers that you love!Be sure to tag them and let them know that they have won. You can copy the picture of the award and paste it on your sideboard letting the whole world know...you are Kreativ.

7 Things I Love:

• My husband. You've heard all about me "fluttering", so this one is no surprise. He's truly my gift from God.
• My family. I really think it's impossible to convey just how deep my love, loyalty, and appreciation for my family goes. Family is so important to me.
• The piano. It's therapeutic for me, really. Somehow music always helps me connect with God.
• Lists, lists, lists. :) This includes sticky notes. I've probably had you laughing at me for this lately. But really, if I'm stressed all I need to do is whip out a spreadsheet to organize my thoughts, and I'm calm, cool, and collected again.
• DIY projects. It gives me so much satisfaction to put time and effort into somthing that creates a beautiful result. I often look at sites like Pottery Barn, and think to myself- I can do that! A little while later- I've got a replication for a fraction of the cost! :)
• Entertaining. I love having people over to our house! I even love all the prep work- cleaning, cooking, decorating- it's so worth it when you hear "Mmm, this is so good!" or "The place looks great!".
• Last, but certainly not least. In fact, definitely the most- my Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. For saving me from my sins and leading me through this crazy world. All the above blessings and abilities are because of Him.

Now, for the lovely blogs that I'd like to pass this along to:
Liana @ Weight for Me!!
Seleta @ Simply Seleta
Holly @ Life in the Fun Lane
Ashley Paige @ I Love You More Than Carrots
Lindsey @ Learning to be a Wife


Other News

• K guys, seriously do the grocery store list thing, as crazy as it sounds!! I saved so much time last night with it!! And I only picked up about 5 items that weren't on the list (which is really good for me!).
• I was suupperr productive last night. *pats self on back* Right now, it looks like all the table needs is a couple coats of Poly & I need to do one more coat on the chair legs. Child's play! We're on the homestretch!! Also- I got a ton of cleaning and laundry done. I didn't stop for 2 seconds (okay, so I grabbed a piece of pizza for like 30 seconds..) since I left work. But it paid off- Grocery shopping? DONE! Last coat of paint on furniture? (pretty much) DONE! Bedrooms & bathroom cleaned? DONE! Laundry? DONE!!
  
• I'm thinking about my little sister today.. you know, one of the sweet adorable ones I talked about yesterday? Yeah, well.. she got her heart broken. Her boyfriend called her last night and ended it [after NOT TALKING TO HER at all on her birthday the day before & the day before she left to come out here-he goes to school out here and was planning on seeing her]. Grr.. The overprotective sister in me is gritting my teeth and sharpening my claws.. But I'll be good. She just deserves to be treated soo much better!!
• My family leaves today to start the 21 hour drive out here. They're driving straight through, so they'll be here for dinner tomorrow! YAY!!

Anyway, just wanted to say thanks for putting up with my craziness (though some of you are enablers and you know it!! ;) ). I really enjoy sharing with you & getting to know some of you! Happy Thursday!!

Wednesday Randoms

• Let's just start out with the fact that I almost typed "Thursday Randoms" & I've been thinking it's Thursday all morning, even though if it really were thursday I'd probably freak out - I have much too much to do before Thursday rolls around.

• Yesterday was my twin sisters' birthday. They turned 17 and I can't believe that in one short year they'll be planning to come (hopefully) live with Z & I while they go to college out here. I've always been super protective & thought of them as the little sisters. Sure enough.. they're not so little anymore. Can I brag for a moment?? .....k thanks. I have the most gorgeous (seriously!), smart (we're talking 100 average in school people!), mature (they're so not into all the stupid high school stuff most teens are), and giving (some of the things they do would about make you cry) sisters ever. EVER. I love them. And they're coming to see me on Friday!!! (YAYY!!!)

This is them singing to Z at our wedding haha...

• I walked into the house last night at 10pm. Yep- got home at 5, was out in the garage by 5:30, Z ordered pizza and brought it out to me around 8:30, and I finished my last coat of paint at 10. If you have no idea what I'm talking about, read my posts from Sunday and Monday. So far I've got 13 1/2 hrs. of labor in on this dining suite overhaul in 3 days. Did I mention I work full time? Poor Z.. he hasn't had a good home-cooked meal in a little while! Luckily though, he's had a good bit of work to do on his truck and cleaning up the garage, so he's been out there with me a majority of the time. I was going to show you some pictures of the progress, but decided to save it all for one final product post Friday or this weekend.

• I have fallen in love with Jim Brickman's piano music. Seriously. The man is so talented. I can't wait til we move out of this apartment & can fit a piano for me to play on. My relationship with the piano has taken a real hit the past year and half or so, and I plan to make up for lost time! Here's the song by Jim Brickman we had played at our wedding (when the bridesmaids walked in).

• Z introduced to me his latest entrepreneurial idea this morning. Yesterday he drove by a local place called "The Hamburger Wagon" and started thinking about how simple yet profitable the business was. Cue excitement. Now, we'll be looking into food service. Ah, being married to this man is never dull. As if you needed visual proof, here's a picture of my hubby just hours before we said I do: