How!!??

How do 2 people produce mountains of laundry? several loads of dishes? insane amounts of crumbs? I'm losing my mind. D and I are not dirty people! Why can't I keep up with our housework?

I cannot stand to fold another handkerchief (yes you read that right, my dearest, darlingest, husband uses at least one handkerchief per day. sometimes more.) or to scrub the same spots on the stove, or to pick up the same shoes. I do this stuff every single day. grrr.

I'm losing my mind.

Thanks for letting me rant and rave.

-H

Disclaimer: In no way is this blog entry a reflection of D's help around the house. He is very helpful and sometimes gets me ice cream.

i love church festivals

This is an Instant BINGO card

I look forward to church festivals all year long. Seriously.

If I had to make a list of the top ten reasons to be Catholic, festivals would be near the top (only second to Lenten fish frys).

Instead here is a list of the top ten things I love about festivals:

1.) INSTANT BINGO. oh my gosh I love this stuff! The BINGO cards are only $1 per card and they provide endless amounts of instant gratification. If your card is not a winner you can throw it on the ground and stomp on it (really!). I budget for this activity all year long! : )

2.) Funnel Cakes. yum. hot fried dough with insane amounts of powdered sugar. enough said.

3.) The Gambling Tent. I would be in big trouble if I ever went to Vegas. But it's for the church right?

4.) Cake Walk. Do you see a pattern here? I am into desserts and gambling. Sounds real healthy right? It is inevitable that after playing 13 rounds at the cake walk, betting on only 1 number (#50) the minute I walk away what number gets called? Oh! That would be #50!!! ahh! No M&M brownies for me!

5.) Instant BINGO. I love love love this stuff. It's addicting.

6.) Live Music. and plenty of people who have had a "nip" too much to drink....are you catching my drift?

7.) Beer Garden. aidding and abedding in drunken dancing (to live music) and the carousing of adults who are typically prime and proper since the church festival was invented. Seriously, even the most uptight individuals let loose at festivals. Myself being one of them. shameful.

8.) Rubbing elbows with your parish priest, school principal/teachers, and church members in a fun, casual, 'let loose' kinda atmosphere.... again....are you catching my drift?

9.) Instant BINGO.

10.) A year's worth of tithing in 2 days or less. I wish this wasn't true... haha...those Instant BINGO'S add up fast..

So check your local newspapers or church bulletins because it's that special time that only comes once a year when theres a festival every other weekend! yay! oh, and watch out for those BINGO's! enjoy.
-h

hot, hot, hot!

Summer is in full swing. No more complaining about cool weather! Yesterday was warm and today is supposed to be warm as well. How will I be beating the heat today?

1.) I will spend my morning making necessary phone calls, folding laundry, and tidying up.
2.) Dr. appt @ 10:45am
3.) Lunch with girlfriends afterwards...to celebrate my lack of Salmonella!!
4.) Picking out/up baby shower supplies for a shower next week
5.) Contemplating, what do you wear camping? Possibly purchasing some new camping appearal..
6.) Local parish festival tonight! I'll be there all night! I love a festival! (more of my love of ths catholic tradition tomorrow) Instant BINGO here I come! Watch out wallet! : )

-H

yay! yay! yay!

For the first time in 15 weeks I am Salmonella free!

*enter the Halley-lujah chorus*

I am celebrating tonight. Maybe a margarita? champagne?

-H

Honey, I'm Home!

Whew, after an awesome long weekend in Chicago D & I are home. We had and incredible time.

Here's a quick-long run down of our trip:

Friday- D2/H2 picked us up right around 9am and we were on the road. I was a bit antsy about the car ride. I am not a good car rider. I either fall immediately asleep or want to stop at every reststop along the way-not out of the need to rest or use the bathroom but out of boredom. However, riding in the car with friends provides endlessly opportunities for chatting, i-pod sing alongs, and general entertainment. By the time we arrived in Chicago I was pumped.

We stopped into the hotel to check-in and then headed to Millennium Park (which was only 1.5 blocks away. fabulous.) I had such a great time walking around and taking pictures. The sculptures are so cool. My very favorite part of the park is the water fountain with faces projected onto it..... the faces change every 10mins or so, they move, and they squirt water out of their mouths at you! Now, I know this sounds strange but it is super fun.



After Millenium Park we headed back to the hotel to get ready for dinner and Second City. I cannot say enough about the wonderful evening we had. We ate at a local Mexcian restaurant that made guacamole table side and margaritas from fresh squeezed lime juice. yum! It one of the nicest dinners D and I have enjoyed in a while.

Then we headed to Second City, which was NEXT DOOR! I was unsure of this comedy show. I don't care for overly crude comedy or the "f word" every other sentence. Boy, was I pleasantly surprised. Second City was amazing! I would absolutely recommend this show. D laughed until he cried. weeping. really. no kidding. : )

Saturday- We hit the ground running (in a good way!) After a breakfast of Dunkin' Donuts, which seems to be incredibly popular in Chicago because we passed at least 7 from our hotel to the train, we headed to the Sears Tower. The 103rd floor was closed so we had to settle with the 99th floor. It did not disappoint. I was skeptical about all the pictures D was taking from the windows. Those did not disappoint either.

After we left Sears Tower, we walked along the river and stopped for a quick, authentic, Chicago hotdog. yum!

After lunch we set sails on Chicago's First Lady for a boat tour of the city. It was sizzling hot. D was kind enough to find me some sunscreen so I wouldn't fry for the next 90mins. (I still walked off the boat looking lobster-esque but the sunscreen helped). I very much enjoyed the tour. Seeing the city from the river was incredible and the teacher in me enjoyed the history.

Next it was nap/shower time. Then dinner at Cafe Ba Ba Reeba and Mary Poppins. Dinner was a unique experience. Cafe Ba Ba Reeba is a tapas restaurant, so each person orders 2-3 small appetizer-ish dishes and shares with the group. Man-o-man, do those tiny dishes fill you up! I left the restaurant stuffed. We walked off our dinner and headed to the show(in hopes I would not fall asleep from being too full. don't worry I didn't). I love love love live theater. Mary Poppins was upbeat and entertaining.

Sunday: Can you believe we have already fit so much into 2 days? Just wait....there's more! Sunday morning D and I woke up early and walked/half-asleep dragged ourselves to church. ; ) The service was nice and it felt good to be still and reflective for an hour. After church we packed up our room and checked out of the Hard Rock Hotel. We loaded up the car and headed out to the streets for one last whirl around the city.

We planned to head straight to Gino's pizza for lunch, but it was 11:20am and it was not open yet, so instead we played around in the shops along the Magnificent Mile. We certainly enjoyed the Hersey Store....

um....clearly it's lunch time....I'm done-zop.s. that's cranky me in front of the American Girl Store!!!

Here is my Gino in front of Gino's pizza. Lunch was tasty.

Finally we headed to Navy Pier, where D2 enjoyed the fountains and we rode the famous Ferris Wheel.

ok..that was seriously long. I hope you enjoyed our pictures. I know I did. Believe it or not I'm not a picture person, but H2 is and she insisted on taking pictures anywhere and everywhere, and I'm glad!! Thanks H2! : )

-H(1) haha

24 hours in review

In the past 24 hours. I visited Millennium Park, went to the Skydeck @ the Sears Tower, took an architecture rive cruise on The Chicago's First Lady, went to see Second City, and ate AWESOME authentic Mexican food. yay! Here are a few pics. enjoy.

View from the Chicago's First Lady tour boat.

D in front of Navy Pier while on a boat.

Lunch.

Us at under Trump Tower

Husband and me @ the top of Sears Tower.

View from the Sears Tower. wowza.

D and D2 admiring a sculpture from China....in reality it's a camo painted oil rig....why?

D and I at Millennium Park.

"the bean" = awesome sculpture in Millennium Park = good for picture taking

This is a picture of me and D and D2/H2 in "the bean" in Millennium Park. D is in yellow and I'm the girl in teal hanging on to him. : )

Tonight we are headed to Cafe Ba Ba Reba for tapas and then to Mary Poppins. Tomorrow Gino's Pizza, Navy Pier, etc. More pictures to come.

-H

hey ma! look what i did!

The laundry is piling. The vacuum needs run. The sink is full. Showers need to be had.


What is a girl to do?

Obviously she should head to the local Dollar Store and start a craft project! And that's just what I did.

I called my friend and neighbor, R , and we were on our merry way. R and I are both teachers. Our craft project on this particular day could be described as 'practical desk bling.' ohh I've got you hooked now don't I? You wanna see more.... Well here you are:

Those are pens and markers wrapped in floral tape with silk flowers attached. I plan to set them on my desk to 'jazz' it up. Plus it's practical....who is gonna steal a pen with a giant flower on top of it? or better yet, what kid is going to 'borrow' his/her teacher's markers *which are off limits* when it is a giant flower on top of it? um....they are not.

Success!!

Here is a picture of R's flower pens and pot:

I love how personalized they projects turned out! We each picked a ribbon , flowers, and painted wooden letters to match. Too cute!

Love it! Yay 'practical desk bling'! This was an easy, cheap (all from the dollar store), fun project. I highly recommend it.

-H

leaving on a....jetplane?... make that a car

On Friday D & I are travelling to Chicago with another couple-we'll call them D2/H2....seriously though, D/H ARE their initials...you know who you are : P

So yesterday I ventured to AAA to pick up some travel materials. I am a total planner and needed walking maps, a tourbook, and a triptik. Now it's not like I have never been to Chicago before. I've been to the windy city at least 3x with my family and once with D. However, I plan to get the most out of this trip.

So far here's the plan:
*We are staying at the Hard Rock Hotel downtown
*Friday we are going to the Second City comedy show
*Saturday we are eating at Cafe Ba Ba Reeba and then seeing Mary Poppins at the Cadillac Palace Theater

Here are some other things I have on a master list of things to do:
*Visit the Sears Tower Skydeck
*Ferris Wheel at Navy Pier
*There is a jazz festival planned at Millenium Park this weekend
*A river/Lake Michigan boat tour-nice and touristy right? and educational!
*I have a list of all the diners that Guy Fieri has visited in Chicago on his show Diners, Drive-in's, and Dives -I plan on visiting at least one.
*D is very excited to eat pizza. Me too!

There you have it. It should be a great time. I have purchased waaay too many fun new clothes to wear (H2 has as well) and am getting everything in order to go. I am pumped.

-H

hello monday

well, it's monday. I was supposed to start my new job today, but they are understaffed or haven't hired everyone yet, so they are waiting till they have all their employees to have us start at the same time. WOW! Does that make any sense?

Anyway, my big exciting day consists of this:

folding mountains of laundry
cleaning the kitchen
maybe a bathroom
going to the hospital for a test
returning a dress
going to AAA
re-doing/planting a flower pot

i can't remember the rest.

Super exciting right? I am a bit stressed trying to get everything in order at home before I start work. I have been home with loads of free time for a year. I am used to my schedule. I am majorly excited about this new job, but curious how I am going to handle home stuff and work stuff. I tend to do everything in life with 120%. I am an over-over-achiever. Which means I want my house spic and span before I got back to work, tomorrow!?, and that I will spend a large amount of time organizing/decorating/buying crap/lesson planning for my classroom. oy!

Keep your fingers crossed for me! : )

-H

Oh!! and on Friday D and I and D/H are going to Chicago! yay! so add that to my list of things to do this week!

how i dealt with my booring saturday

It's rainy. D is working on the car in the garage. I am bored.

I have done laundry. Cleaned the kitchen. Been to Walmart. Watched a movie.

and....

I have prepared 3 double-batch dinners for next week.

That's right people. In one afternoon I have cleaned out my pantry and cooked 3 delicious healthy dinners for D and I next week. I made chicken salad, potato soup, and crockpot salsa chicken. I doubled the recipe for each dish and plan to freeze the second portions so in the weeks to come I won't have to cook dinner! hoooray!

Plus, next week (my first week of my new job) I won't have to think twice about what's for dinner and then come home and prepare it. It's a win, win.

Maybe I am warming up to the idea of a boring Saturday here or there....

-H

boooring weekend, any suggestions?

D and I have no plans for this weekend.

Some find that relaxing.

It sends me into a panic.

I need a plan. I have to know what is happening next. I do not want to be stuck in the house or on the couch.

Here's what we've got so far:
Friday- So far we have both just crashed. Napping. Dinner while watching tv.

Saturday- D need to fix his car. We have only had one drivable car since November. Now that I am starting a new job we need two. Keep your fingers crossed for him. I have terrible visions of the car falling off the jacks onto him. (Did I mention I'm a worry-wart?)

Sunday- Church

Now here's where YOU come in. Leave me a comment with things I could do to entertainment myself on my boring weekend. : )

-H

...... did I mention I'm desperate?

count your pennies!!

How I turned this

into this

Last week something incredible happened to me. I took some random change to the bank and walked out $258.55 richer. Oh my Gosh!!! D is a change collector. If he receives a coin as change he throws it in a jar, his car cup holders, my purse, or (my personal favorite) his pants pockets (which I rarely check prior to throwing into the washing machine, and the change clinks around the washer *annoyingly* for an hour).

Well I will NEVER complain about his change habit again. EVER. : )

When I called my dear sweet husband, squealing about my new found jackpot, he suggested I use the money to purchase a Pandora charm bracelet I had been eyeing. What a guy!

yay! yay! yay!

Being the loving wife that I am, I agreed to split the new found jackpot with him...seeing as how it was originally his change....

Now I have a darling new bracelet with three pretty charms: a Republican elephant, a pink polka dot glass charm, and a giraffe. And D has a new membership to a local sportsmans club.

We are happy people.

-H

Public Service Annoucement to Pregnant Ladies

D and I hung around the house tonight. I was exhausted from shopping all day....seriously....exhaused!

I went to Babies R Us to buy baby gifts for a dear friend. Here's the problem: my dear friend only registered for practical baby things, not cute, cuddly, soft, baby things. boo!

**Please, pregnant friends, humor your friends and pick out sweet baby things for us to buy you. I promise to buy you binkies and diaper genie refills too! pinky swear!**

Oh, and Defiance is an awesome movie. See it.

-H

reading material

I love to read. I am a good reader too....it must be the teacher in me : )

Currently I am reading Escape by Carolyn Jessop.

"Seventeen years after being forced into a polygamous marriage, Jessop escaped from the cultlike Fundamentalist Church of Latter Day Saints with her eight children. She recounts the horrid events that led her to break free from the oppressive world she knew and how she has managed to survive since escaping, despite threats and legal battles with her husband and the Church. "-Publisher's Weekly

I have a slight obsession with polygamists. I dunno, sharing a husband, rules against the color red, dozens of children, compound raids, scheduling....date night?....it baffels me. Of course I want to know more, especially since all of it is currently happening.

I am about half way through Escape. I have really enjoyed this book because it is modern and detailed. So far I would give it a rating of A+. I will let you know my thoughts after I complete the memior.

-H

spa-ing

Today I am spending some quality time at the spa. *ahhh*

I haven't been sleeping very well, so I'm hoping some R & R will bring me back to life. : )

My session begins at 11am. I will be having an hour hot stone massage, followed by snack time, which precedes my spa style pedicure with parafin for my hands and feet. Oh happy day!

I am so blessed that my husband understands my need for spa visits, as I am so tightly wound that I very rarely relax on my own. He even knows who I am talking about when I mention Marcia (the massage therapist) whom I have previously mentioned here.

Now I'm off to do something very un-relaxing......time to exercise. boo. At least I have a reward waiting for me when I'm done!

-H

rainy days and mondays...

Don't worry I'm not feeling down, but it is rainy and stormy this Monday morning.

D and I had a great weekend. Friday night we had a real live date night. We enjoyed buffalo chicken pizza (see below), went to Coldstone, and saw Angels and Demons.

Saturday we woke up early. I took D to the barn raising (whoa that was A LOT of work) and then I went to the mall (where I didn't buy anything....so that was a waste of gas). After malling, I took a nap and then went to help out at the barn party. I was really no help, but enjoyed being outside on a nice day and watching the boys hard at work. : ) We grilled out and then went home and straight to bed. D and his friends worked for 12 hours!!! They leveled the floor in the barn, resided one side, knocked down walls, and participated in numerous other home improvement type activities. Needless to say, he slept well Saturday night.

Sunday morning was church, then pizza, tidying up the house, and then our friends joined us for ANOTHER cook out. When D and I were visiting our parents over Memorial Day Weekend we picked up a few creature comforts from our hometown...mainly JTM hamburgers....a lot of them.... so we invited our friends over to help us eat them. A fun time has had by all. I especially want to thank Nurse H for bringing the Spartini-vodka, beer, and frozen lemonade. trust me it's good. : )

Later today I will fill you in on all the yummy dishes I plan to cook this week.

Hope your Monday morning is less rainy than mine!

-H