TGIF

Two things made Friday a great day.

1. I gave blood, my 8th time=1 gallon donated, but most importantly I got a church lady ham salad sandwich for lunch AND a free hat.

2. I got to cuddle with my good friend Dana in queen bed at a surprisingly cute and homey Starlite Motel.


That's right, all I need is a good cuddle at a humble establishment and a ham salad sandwich. Yumm.

Highway 36 Treasure Hunt

It's that time of year again! This weekend is the Highway 36 Treasure Hunt. My good friend Dana and I will be headed down the road in search of some needed "junk." Last year we did pretty well. And I'm excited, we're making a girl's weekend out of it. I've got my Ipod ready for the road trip, we're staying a quality place called Starlight, and.......we're sharing a bed!

And no, I haven't told her yet. It'll be a nice surprise.

So if you're not doing anything this weekend, head to Northern Kansas, this Treasure Hunt stretches from Colorado to Missouri, all along scenic Highway 36. It's filled with great vendors, yummy food, and a couple of giggling girls probably seen wandering around debating if we really need another glass bottle.

It's an Unknown thing

Growing up, I had it pretty easy in school, tests were no big thing, and I typically did well at whatever I wanted. Ok, well maybe besides basketball. But the ACTs, the homework, the pre-calc, it was all easily doable. And the things that I didn't do well at.....well, I just didn't do them. Believe me, just ask Mark about our experiences as I tried to learn to drive stick shift. So I just do what I know I can do, and those things that are more questionable-well it's hard for me to step out of my comfort zone. I'm scared of that unknown.

But I am slowly taking some steps that take me out of that comfortable place. Recently I have been feeling frustrated with work. I work as a teller at a bank. And honestly, if I saw someone from my high school or where ever, and they would ask me what I was doing....I was embarrassed to tell them. I began to feel like I wasn't going anywhere, I wasn't using the brains and the talents that I was blessed with, and that I was going to end up very unhappy if I didn't do anything about it.

And so I did.

And I am happy to say that I will be starting a new job this coming Monday. It's going to be challenging, difficult, rewarding, and so scary. But I'm ready for it. I'm ready for this test, but I am NOT ready to talk about it! I'll tell you more about what I'm thinking after I'm there for a couple weeks or so. You can tell how nervous I am by the fact that I can't talk about it. Mark even knows to not really bring it up with me yet. He asked me tonight if I had an idea as to when I'd be able to talk about the new job......all I could say was, "Later."

So this unknown is close. And I'm only slightly freaking. But hopefully once I jump in, it will again be a natural thing for me.

And I'll be able to talk about it eventually.

Summer Storm

It's raining and lightning and thundering outside.....and we're ALL inside.

THE Cody Dog

We all know that I am completely enamored with my sweet baby Cody. Cody was the best birthday present ever. For once, not only did my husband have a good idea, but he actually followed through with it, and kept it a secret-which is a big deal for him. (When he bought my engagement ring, he told me one late night out at the bar "Don't look in my closet when you come over to my house. I have a surprise." Really, he said that. He also once gave me a Valentine's Day present about a month and a half early.)



But Cody somewhat rules my life. He is an 80 pound attention whore, puppy-eyed, 2 year old. He will huff and sigh and whine his way inside the house, and just when I think I've got some good cuddle time coming, he'll either take advantage of my hospitality and maul me with his nasty dog breath and too big paws or leave me to lay next to his daddy.


But I still love him, and I still let him manipulate me. And someday we will have another baby, and Cody will lose some of his importance. But he will always, always be my first very big baby.

The Back Doctor

I went to the chiropractor for the first time today. I have had some back/hip pain for the past week or so, but it has definitely been worse the last couple of days. I've kinda been an old lady, unable to fully stand up or then to bend back over. I hobbled around and after being prodded by my husband and co-workers, I went ahead and made the appointment.

But today as time got closer to my appointment, my back got stiffer, and I became more decrepit, I worried too. I worried that I would hurt more after, that she would tell me to never wear heels again, but the thing I was most worried about....that she would say nothing was wrong with me and that I was crazy.

But she didn't. She told me in fact, that it was most definitely time for a little tune up with her and that I was definitely messed up. Like we're talking one leg longer than another kind of messed up. Like she kept saying, "Ya, uh yaaa....wowww" as my back and neck went craaa-AAACKK!

And so now, I'm laying on a bag of frozen peas, looking forward to next week's meeting. Where I will hopefully get equal length legs back....and approval to wear my favorite heels.

As long as you don't say Justin Bieber

Important things are coming.

Game Day is in 8 days. Game day, baby! I'm getting so excited. I'm planning out recipes and meals in my head, trying to decide what needs to be packed and most importantly, I need to decide on some game day music.

As a K-Stater, I have the obvious choices. The fight song, Wabash, Stand up for the Champions. But I need some more good stuff. I need some just fun tailgating music, some pump me up stuff, and mainly just some good music to take my mind off the fact that no matter what, every year, almost every game, we're 1 1/2 hrs later getting to the stadium, I forgot the tickets again, and there's some random kids eating all my hot dogs.

But anywho, what are the songs you love? The songs you put on your iPod for your morning run to get you going, the song you hear on a commercial at the beginning of football season that just gets your juices running? Let me know.

you should be jealous

Tonight for supper, we had Mac & Cheese with bacon mixed in, chocolate chip cookies, and I followed that all up with a beer.

Ya, I'm living the dream.

Just living the dream....

Giveaway times two.....

Another great giveaway -actually a week full of great giveaways. So hop over to check it out. Just don't leave a comment for today ok? I really want that tote. Just wait til tomorrow!

http://simplyfeather.blogspot.com/2010/07/savoring-last-days-of-summer-day-3.html

Giveaway!

Check out this great blog for some wonderful inspiration, cute kids, gorgeous decor, PLUS a Giveaway!

jonesdesigncompany.com

Buffalo Chicken Mac & Cheese

I may or may not have made a supper tonight that consisted of only carbs and gravy, but every so often I can actually make something good. A couple weeks back, I threw a bunch of stuff together and actually came out with something really yummy.

1. Throw a chicken breast in a skillet and let it cook. I cut it into smaller pieces so that it would cook evenly. Let cool, and then shred. I use two forks and just pull the meat apart.

2. Pour a buffalo chicken sauce over your chicken. I used the Budweiser Mild sauce.

3. Boil some water, and cook your pasta in it, I used macaroni noodles. Cook to al dente, drain, the usual.

4. Mix together the buffalo chicken and the noodles. Mix in a good ol dollop of cream cheese. I happened to have whipped cream cheese on hand.

5. Pour into an oven safe dish and then sprinkle some cheddar cheese on top. Put in a 350 oven for about 10 minutes. Maybe? I don't really know, but that seems about right.

6. Take out of the oven and enjoy the cheesy, tangy, deliciousness. And the leftovers are just as good!

That's it- simple, yummy mac and cheese with a twist. I loved it, Mark was even impressed. Definitely a make again.

And because it's been too long, I wanted to share some pictures of my baby!

This is his toy, he is almost obsessive with it.


Me thinks mommy needs to buy a bigger pool.


I think Cody is just slightly spoiled.

This is my life, this is what I get to look at (and laugh at) every night.

The Weekend Away

Last weekend Mark and I spent the weekend in Kansas City. Every so often we decide to act like we're a young, married couple-that even loves each other. The first night we headed down to the Power and Light District for a little bit of fun. We got there in time for a bit of a free concert by a Beatles tribute band, and a little Yellow Submarine to belt out.

And then, after that fun singalong, we wanted some more, so we headed into the dueling piano bar, Howl At the Moon. Let's just say, a good time was had by all.



And yes, my husband loves himself a straw to chew on. It could have been a cute picture, oh well-we tried!

We played a lot of slots, and by played I mean lost a lot of money at, but we had some fun. But we did very well at the little grill/eatery that was on the way out of the casino, back to our room. French fries, sandwiches, burgers, soda, hot dogs, we hit the jackpot.

Then Saturday morning we had some great plans to hit the Farmer's Market, but that King sized bed was just too tempting. So by the time we got up, got showered and ready, we made it just in time for a little tiny bit of shopping at an antique store and a couple crappy kitschy places, we headed over to Kauffman Stadium.


My honey splurged on the tickets as part of my birthday present. We were just about 20 rows up a little to the right of home. Perfect seats on an unbelievably sweaty day.


And then there's the fact that I caught a foul ball. Yep, caught it, with my own bare hands, it wasn't rolling on the ground, nothing like that. It just bounced off the top deck and the kid sitting behind me in pink shorts with embroidered martini glasses on it tried to catch it, but he didn't. (So yes, he slowed it down. But still he didn't catch it, and that's kinda what he deserves for wearing such a ridiculous outfit.) I bobbled it a couple times, but pulled it in-like the champ that I am.


So thanks honey for a great birthday present, a good time *wink wink*, and a chance at such an awesome souvenir like a foul ball!