Lazy Days

I was a huge slacker this weekend and did next to nothing.  And, I’m being a huge slacker by blogging about my weekend on Wednesday. 

Friday night, Dan and I planned on using a Groupon to eat at one of our favorite local restaurants, Fireside Brewhouse.  We don’t go very often because it’s a little expensive, but the food there is fantastic.  Plus, on Friday nights they have a DJ or a band.  So, I dressed up in one of my new shirts from Windi, and we headed out.  Unfortunately, the place was packed.  I guess that’s what you get when you eat dinner at 9pm.  So, we ended up across the street at BW’s and had wings and watched some baseball.  Not quite the evening we were going for, but we still had a nice date.

Saturday, Dan got up early for his busy day.  He had a business meeting in the morning, and in the evening he DJed a school prom.  But, he had errands to do before Prom, like picking up the equipment and visiting family, so he was gone all day.  Literally, from like 10am until 2am.

Me?  Oh, I slept in, ate on the couch, took a nap with the dogs, watched the NBA playoffs, and finally about 5pm I decided I should take a shower.  A good wife would’ve cleaned house, gone to the grocery store, worked on laundry, or anything that would allow for a free rest of the week.  Nope.  My butt never left the couch, except to scrounge up some food, that didn’t require cooking.

But, I think I made up for it by having a girls night Saturday Night.  I met some friends at Indiana Live for my first gambling experience.  We ate dinner at the NASCAR restaurant inside the casino.  It was pretty good, but nothing exciting.  Afterwards the girls gave me a lesson in slot machines.  I’m cheap so I did the 1 cent and 2 cent slots, but I won money.  I won $11 and spent $16 on dinner, so for the night, I spent $4.  But, I don’t think slots will be my thing.  It was exciting to win, but there is no strategy.  I like to be in control, and there is no control.  Plus, you put money into a machine and, most of the time, get nothing back.  I’d rather go shoe shopping.  But, it was fun to spend time with the girls, as always.

Sunday, we had no plans again.  So, I got off my butt and went to the grocery store while Dan was lazy and watched the playoffs.  That evening, the sun came out and it warmed up a little, so we decided to try the dog harnesses out in the Jeep.  We loaded them up in the car, buckled them in, and went in search of better custard.  We landed at Ritter’s and the dogs enjoyed some vanilla ice-cream while I had a concrete mixer.  Still haven’t found custard as good as in Utah, but one day…

The dog harnesses worked great.  The dogs could sit or stand, but it kept them in the backseat and not out the sides of the Jeep.  I was very happy to have one less thing to worry about.

All in all, it was a very relaxing and fun weekend.  I got nothing accomplished, but sometimes, you need those days.

Craft Day

If you read my little “About Me” section I wrote “I spend my days...pretending to be artsy through various craft projects.”

Well, I’m not sure if you’ve noticed, but I’ve never posted anything on here about my projects.  There is a reason for this.  I have a problem.  I never finish anything.  If I don’t finish it in a week, it stays unfinished.  And yet, each month I spend too much money stock piling my craft room.  I have supplies for paintings, a ¾ of the way done wall hanging, a baby blanket I started when my sister was pregnant 5 years ago, a market bag I started this winter, and 2 scrapbooks (one for vacation and one for Dan’s fighting) with a whole 2 pages finished in each.

Yet I still have a file of projects that I want to do.  Including one I did yesterday.  Thankfully, I was able to finish it!  I must admit, I impressed myself with it.

Framed Earring Holder. 
Adapted from Positively Splendid.

Supplies:

• 5x7 Wooden Frame (I bought my painted but you can go to the dollar store and re-paint one yourself)
• Burlap or Canvas (I found some in the remnant pile at my craft store)
• Self-Adhesive Monogram Letter (No sewing=added bonus).  You could also use a stencil and paint, like Positveily Splendid.
• Scissors
• Hot Glue
• Staple Gun
• Decorative Flowers (I bought fake ones, but there are a lot of cute ideas to make your own)

Directions:

1. Take out the glass and backing of the Frame.
2. Cut your Burlap/Canvas to fit the 5x7 frame.
3. Either paint or place the Monogram letter on your canvas.
4. Using your staple Gun (this was so much fun), stretch your canvas and staple to the back of the   frame.  I decided for added support, I would staple mine to the Frame Backer with the stand so I didn’t have to hang mine.

5.      Place backer back in frame.

6.      Cut out leaves from the burlap and glue to the frame.  Hot glue the flowers.

7.      Add earrings.

8.    Sit back and enjoy this super easy, crafty, stylish earring holder you just made.  Be sure to have a glass of wine to celebrate and make your husband congratulate you on finishing a project.

I don't have kids, but I think this would be really fun to do, and easy to make.  To the guys out there, don't forget, Mother's Day is coming up.  I'm thinking I have a couple of mom's who may get a personalize earring holder in a couple of weeks.  That is, if I can bring myself to finish more projects.

I want to be..

A Runner.  More than anything.  I want to run races and to be excited for summer to start so I can start race season.  I want to be involved in the running community.

But, I struggle with finding motivation.  I read blogs, I have a playlist, I have the right clothes, the right shoes, I eat the right things.  I warm up, get the dog ready, and off I go.

And it never fails that at the end of my run, I feel defeated.  I don't get the time I want, I don't go the distance I wanted, and that is when I even make it out for a run.

Maybe I have high expectations for myself.  I know I've made progress.  Just 4 years ago I couldn't run for 10 minutes.  I did the couch to 5k program and progressed so slowly.  I did get up to running a mile just last year.  I've ran a 5k around my neighborhood.  I've ran 800's.  I've ran for an hour straight.  But, I want to be able to go out, for 30 minutes and run consistantly and have gone 3 miles.

One day.  I will not give up.  Instead, I'll find a new blog to read for motivation.

Harness

I love sharing positive feedback from new products with you guys.  Sunday I ordered 2 Large Dog Harnesses from Hunter K9 Gear.   The harness is nylon with plastic buckles.  It has a padded chest strap and, of course, it's pink.  And, they got delivered today.

After much trial and error with the fittings, I finally got both dogs in the harnesses.  They actually did pretty good so I decided to take them for a walk before it started to storm.

Stricking a pose

Both dogs did great, and I felt like I had so much more control.  Daisy didn't pull at all, and I only had to tug lightly for her to respond.  I wish we had done this a year ago.  Penny didn't like it as much.  The slightest tug had her sitting down and pouting.  I'm hoping she'll adjust quickly.

Showing off her new trick

Daisy is more interested in modeling

She loves getting new "clothes"

The harnesses also game with seatbelt attachments so they can be strapped down in the jeep.  Now Daisy won't have to fight for space, and I can feel comfortable with them in the car.  The only concern I have is with the plastic buckles.  If we get in an accident I'm not sure they will hold, but hopefully we will never test that. 

Practicing her "Blue Steel" Pose

Day off

As I mentioned earlier this week, I didn't have to work today!  I'm not going to lie, I really needed a day off.  Unfortunately this wasn't one of my "mental health days" where I take a day off to be lazy.  Today we had Dan's one year colonoscopy.

Yesterday, Dan stayed home and did the prep which sucks.  Poor guy couldn't eat anything all yesterday, and could only drink clear liquids.  So, I grabbed dinner at Qdoba (Yum!) so he didn't have to suffer through watching me eat.

I have to admit, I was really stressed about this appointment.  There really wasn't any reason for me to be nervous.  Dan has been feeling better every day.  He's more and more like the "old" Dan that I met and love.  Plus his PET-CT scan came back clear.

I think it had to do with the fact that the last time he had his colonoscopy we were just excited for some answers, and the prep actually relieved Dan's symptoms, so it wasn't as annoying.  Plus, after the last one, we got really bad news, and no answers (yet).

Thankfully, I can report that Dan's all clear once again.  And once again, I was stressed for no reason.  We are celebrating with left over chicken parm with spaghetti.  Tomorrow, once Dan has freedom to drive, sign legal paperwork, and make life altering decisions again, we will really celebrate.

Wed-nes-day

Wednesday are very bitter sweet for me.  Every Wednesday I feel bored.  I'm bored of working.  My motivation and productivity fall off the cliff.  I'm bored of cooking, but nothing else sounds good.  I'm bored of sitting at home and watching tv.

But, what never bores me...You guessed it.

My pups.  Today I taught them how to roll over.  This was an immediate hit, not only because of the treat reinforcement, but the belly rubs while getting treats.

 

How do you make it through your Wednesdays??

New Love

And no, we didn’t adopt yet another animal, although a mini-giraffe would be super fun, until the dogs gave it a heart attack.

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Nope, this past week I have fell in love with my grill.  The weather has been warmer, so I’ve been experimenting.

Sunday – Grilled Naan pizza’s

Monday – Tequila lime BBQ Mahi Mahi with grilled squash and zucchini

Tuesday – Mango-Cilantro BBQ Chicken legs

It probably helps that this is the view from my grill.

We eat dinner between 8:30 and 9, so it's pretty dark out.

And the dogs get to be outside the whole time, which means they aren’t tearing up my house.  And, my house stays nice and cool and doesn’t smell like fish. 

I spend most of the time standing in front of the grill, watching the dogs,  with a glass of wine, imagining a grass filled backyard with beautiful gardens, and secretly hoping my neighbors have their windows open to smell the wonderful food wafting from my grill.

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Sun and Ice-cream

I don’t know about you, but I had a fantastic weekend, as always.  Hubby and I always seem to have such a great time together, and with his work schedule, we’ve really started to make every free day together extra special.

Friday night, as I mentioned previously, my good friend Windi and her bf, Joe came over with their 2 dogs.  They have a handsome chocolate lab named Radley and an adorable Heinz 57 little lady named Daisy or Dee Dee.  We watched Dee Dee before, and she and Penny became great friends, chasing each other all over the house.  I was really excited for Daisy to meet Radley, because they have similar personalities.  So, not only did Windi and Joe bring me a new wardrobe (seriously I’m still trying to fit everything in my closet), but they brought Daisy a new best friend.

Daisy and Radley got along famously after a little adjustment period.  They tried to wrestle, but Penny doesn’t like anyone wrestling with Daisy.  It got so bad I had to put her in her kennel to calm down.  She just loves her sister so much.

After the clothing exchange, we headed up to the south side to meet Dan for dinner at this tiny BBQ joint.  The food was pretty good, but, I don’t eat much BBQ, so I can only compare it my momma’s.  They had a live band, and they were pretty good.  The other patrons were hilarious.  Afterwards, we went back to Windi and Joe’s to hang out for a while.  It was a perfect end to the work week.

Saturday was a busy day.  I started sorting and washing clothes (6 loads total when all was said and done), while Dan headed off to the gym.  Both dogs went into our bed to take a nap.  I guess they were still worn out from playing with Dee Dee and Radley.  After Dan got home, he laid seed down in the back yard, and off we went to NC.

My awesome sister-in law and I at my wedding

Dan’s sister turned 13, and she had a sleep over.  It’s been a while since I was 13, but it was fun to remember all the important things to a 13 year old.  First off, boys.  Phone calls, texts, 3-way phone calls.  Next, clothes, hair, nail polish, and talking about the upcoming Dance.  Who is going with whom, who is wearing what, and who is getting a spray tan.  Now, I didn’t go to dances when I was 13, and I definitely did not get a spray tan until…oh my trip to Cali in college.  So, some of this was new territory for me.

And, no 13 year old slumber party is complete without a little truth or dare, followed by pizza, tee-shirt decorating and a scavenger hunt in the grave yard.  Oh, and let’s not forget the sex talk in the middle.  That was fun…

Sunday, we had no plans!  Oh, it was so nice, to relax with the husband plus it was 85 degrees and sunny!  A perfect day.  I took the dogs for a nice long walk to the field, and then to the creek to work on Penny’s fear of the water.  I got her to put her paws in, only after I walked in the creek.  It was FREEZING, so we didn’t get any further than that.  Then we headed down to the pond so Daisy could get some real swimming in.  We got home in time to help Dan take the top off the Jeep.

It was a perfect day for a ride in the Jeep with the top off.  Dan and I both got a little sunburn, plus we got some ice-cream.  Yes, full fat, full sugar ice-cream.  Yum…Perfect Sunday. 

We even got lucky enough to catch our neighbors out with their dog, Mickie.  Daisy’s first boyfriend.  Penny again wouldn’t let Mickie wrestle with Daisy, but they had a lot of fun chasing each other.  By Sunday night, I think the dogs were ready for us go to back to work so they could get some sleep.  I could’ve used another day off, but at least I’m off work Thursday.

Monday Morning

Today’s morning can be looked at 2 ways:

Didn’t sleep well because of the storms/humidity/heat

Woke up late

No Coffee

Or:

Wearing a new outfit (thanks to Windi)

Get to have expensive coffee from work

No one noticed my wet hair due to the rain outside

Here’s hoping today ends up being more positive than negative.

Happy Weekend!

The most amazing thing happened yesterday...

 

No, my couch didn't throw up my entire closet.  My good friend Windi did some spring cleaning and gave me some old clothes of hers.  Yes, My wardrobe just doubled in one night!  

Have a good weekend!  Mine certainly is starting off fabulously!

Dream Day

If you could plan your perfect day, in detail, for one day, what would it be??

Dan wrote his day out, and shared it with me.  He detailed everything from how he would want to wake up, his perfect breakfast, activities prior to work, leaving for work, his ideal job, dinner, followed by evening plans.  I have to admit, it sounded pretty near perfect for him.  Since then, we have slowly been working towards achieving this perfect day for him.  I mean, isn’t this what life is about?  Being as happy as possible.  Plus, I got to see his vision for our future, so we are working together towards the same goal.

Since then, I’ve spent some time thinking about my perfect day.  It’s very easy for me to say, well, my perfect day would be sleeping in, breakfast in bed, no chores, and spending the day with the dogs and husband on a beach.  But, this is very unrealistic, and so I’ve had to think about what my perfect realistic, achievable day would be.  I’ve really struggled with this, but I think yesterday, got as close as I’ve gotten before.

I woke up around 6:30, ate a quick breakfast, threw on some clothes, and headed to the dentist with Dan.  After getting a cleaning myself, we were back home around 10am, when I showered for the day, made a very yummie egg and toast breakfast with coffee, and headed out the door for work.  I got to work around noon, worked for 5 hrs, being fairly productive all day, before coming home.

Dan took the day off work, so he had dinner ready for me.  I also received some ebay orders (a new dress and new jeans that Dan said makes my butt look 18 years old).  I changed into a tank top, and we headed with the dogs for a nice evening walk to Daisy field.  The dogs got to run while Dan and I got to enjoy some time together in the daylight.  We headed back home for a some dinner, before we headed out to see a movie. 

After a wonderful date with the husband, we still had time to relax at home with the dogs, while Dan sang and played on the guitar for me.  We went to bed around 11:15 after a wonderful day together.

Something about having a productive morning before work, only working until my job is done with no frustrations/problems, having dinner ready when I got home, and quality time with the husband and dogs, left me feeling like I’m returning to work from a vacation.  The fresh from the dentist clean teeth feeling helps too. 

If I could somehow turn yesterday into motivation to get up and run before work, to Dan being home some mid-week evenings, I think I would be a major step closer to my perfect day.

So, what would your perfect every day be?

Work

Don’t worry, this isn’t really about my work, but more about my work place.  We had an exciting afternoon yesterday.  And since no had said I couldn’t talk about it, I’m going to!

Yesterday around 3pm, as I was just putting my 1^st ELISA plate on to read, the fire alarm went off.  I looked around to see if anyone else is leaving, and decided to go ahead and start my plate, walk back to my desk to grab my coat and purse before heading out.  As we climb down the stairs we start hearing the safety team yell “This is not a drill.  The fire is in our building.”  Umm..what??!!

So, we get outside and immediately start to try and find the fire.  We could smell something every once and a while that went from a toast smell to burnt plastic, but other than a little smoke coming out of the air vent above my desk, nothing could be seen.  This caused a little panic as I didn’t want to lose my desk, until I realized there was a possibility for a few paid days off.

Once the initial shock wore off, I realized I didn’t check in with my safety person (whoops), I eventually found my way to my designated spot.  After checking in, I find out my supervisor hasn’t been located.  After a couple texts and phone calls, it turns out she had an emergency at her farm and had to leave.  Now I know why it’s important people know where you are.

Thankfully I grabbed my coat because it was cold out.  We were outside for about 2 hours before security came out and told us that we could go in to get our belongings, but then we had to leave.  We were instructed not to do any work.  They had to cut a hole in the ceiling to finishing putting the fire out.

Well, I still had plates to read and I wasn’t going to waste a half a day’s work for a stinkin fire, so I finished up reading my plates and left.  I came back to work today to find my desk in perfect shape.  No extra days off, but at least things were a bit more exciting than usual.

Thanks

Dan and I have some of the greatest friends who we can count on for anything.  I could give any one of them a call and they would drop everything for Dan, or me.  They proved this when Dan was in the hospital, and are always there to support whatever crazy scheme Dan comes up with.  I don’t thank them enough for all they do for us.  And, I can’t say enough by how great of a Girl’s group I have.  I’m very lucky to have 3 great friends who are spouses/fiancés to Dan’s friends, and I also have an ever expanding group of girls who are all amazing, beautiful, and talented.

So, to all of you out there: Thank you for being awesome and understanding when sometimes Dan and I are just too worn out to visit and have to cancel after a long day.

Photo by MLP

Tournament Time!

Dan made weight Friday night!  He actually weighed in at 184.  He looked pretty tired and drained when he got home.  He recovered very quickly (with the help of some good cookin and gallons of fluids) and back up to 187 the next morning.

Saturday morning, Dan had his EGO tournament in Greenwood.  After a very early start to the day (7am) to make a huge breakfast including German pancakes, toast, bananas, coffee, and a shake, we started packing for the day.  You’re never quite sure how organized things will be, and who will compete first, so you have to be prepared for the long haul.  A few necessities for Dan include: Gi, belt, MMA shorts, rash guard, cup, mouth piece, iPod, foam roller, G2 pre-workout drinks, fruit, nuts, and lots of water.  For me: dressing in layers as you can never predict the temperature, blanket/padding for the bleachers or ground, camera, video camera, snacks, entrance fee, a huge purse to carry everyone else’s stuff all over the place.

After many confusing looks from the dogs as to why we are up and out of the house so early on a Saturday, we loaded up the Jeep and headed out of the house at 9:40.  The tournament ran very smoothly and well organized.  It started about 20 minutes late (which is normal) and had an hour long rules meeting including demonstration and a Q&A session.  First on the list was a Team competition amongst the team’s highest ranking competitors.  Dan’s team did really well and it was really neat to see some high level grappling.   Plus I got to finally meet people on Dan’s team.

It’s been a long time since I’ve been to a tournament for Dan’s MMA.  There are several parts of this life style that I’ve forgotten about:

• People have to be instructed to wear shoes into the bathroom
• Walking around shirtless/pantless/shoeless is the norm.
• The women competitors could whip most men I know.
• The kids competition is a glimpse into my future.
• The concessions only sell junk food while competitors are munching on their favorite protein bar and shake.
• Granny knows more about submissions than I do.
• After a match, everyone is good friends, sealed with a hug or handshake
• A match of wits for men on the mats is equally competitive as the beauty show amongst women on the sidelines.
• Seeing blood on someone’s clothing, a dislocated shoulder, or someone who has been chocked to sleep isn’t something to cause alarm.

Dan did really well.  I am very proud of him for just getting on the mat and competing.  It’s only been 9 months since his surgery and to hold someone in your guard for 6 minutes while they are as heavy as possible on you is quite impressive after having your abs torn apart.  Dan didn’t win (6-0), but he did stuff a take down and defended himself the whole 6 minutes with no submissions.  His opponent won 2^nd place in his division, but had previously beaten Dan’s instructor 4-0.  I’m looking forward to the next one.

Weigh In = Cheat Day

Today Dan is cutting weight for his jiu-jitsu tournament tomorrow morning.  This will be his first time competing in almost 2 years.  I have to admit, the 2 years went by fast.  Before his last fight, we were traveling all the time for weekend seminars, training sessions, and competitions.  I’m going to try and video some of his matches, but I’m not great with the video on my camera, so hopefully it will turn out ok.

Unfortunately, Dan needs to cut 6lbs for his weigh in.  He can either weigh in tonight by 9, or tomorrow morning.  It’d be best if he weighed in tonight so he has time to rehydrate and rest.  Earlier this week he was at 191and he needs to be at 185.  So far, he’ll be ready to weigh in tonight which means…

I get to make pasta!  I’m so excited.  We are going to have chicken parmesan with spaghetti, garlic bread, and caeser salad.  And we are talking the Texas Toast garlic and cheese bread.  Yum!  So, after a quick stop at the grocery store, I’ll be going for a run, if the rain holds out.  Nothing gives me more motivation for a good run than getting to eat pasta afterwards.

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