Catching up: We got a new kitty. A.K.A. why you should avoid the cats for adoption center at PetSmart if you're not looking for a cat!

Mistake #1: Walking by the adoption center in PetSmart

Mistake #2: Looking at the kittens.  I fell in love with her eyes and coloring immediately

Mistake #3: Chris let me hold her.  She loves being held and is super purry.  Our cat Sophie does NOT like to be held.

Mistake #4: After we got home, sans kitty, Chris let me go back

Mistake #5: Chris said she could be an early birthday present.

We got her.  Her name is Nora.  We love her.  She is super cute, small, and sweet.  She is also a TALKER! She meows all the time.  She loves Sophie (the feeling is not reciprocated) as well as the dogs, she plays with the boys and cleans their faces, in fact I think she thinks she is a dog.  Ultimately we both agree we probably shouldn't have added another pet to the household (we are definitely done with pets for a while!) four is our max. MAX.  But she is a really sweet and entertaining addition to the family.  

The next addition to our family will be of the human variety.  Not pregnant yet but we stopped trying to not get pregnant in August.

Ina and my Mom are like this

Do you watch the food network? I love the food network. I love cooking, and new recipes, and just seeing delicious food be made and making myself hungry. I also, however, enjoy having one show in particular on in the background. Barefoot Contessa. It is not because the food is the best, I don't usually make recipes from this show because they all seem a little too invloved or expensive. No, it is because the host, Ina Garten, reminds me of my mom. Her laugh, kind of her haircut, generally her face and smile. It's just kind of comforting. I took the liberty of making a side-by-side comparison photo. These are kind of ridiculous pictures, but my sister and I were amused by this...maybe we're the only ones.

do you see it too?!

Pure Joy

I am just giddy over what I got today....

A Library Card!!!! I got this one with a cute little fish on it, along with a book I am about to settle in with for the night. Just the thought of this has brought me happiness all day. Goodnight.

Here I Go Again

Let's just say that over the past few years, like many people, I have gained a little weight. Particularly since the wedding I had let myself go, so on January first I began my new exercise and healthier eating regime. I was doing well, going to the gym about five times a week and keeping track of what I ate in a food journal (which I highly recommend - I certainly did not restrict myself from eating things I love, but it kept me accountable for how much I ate). By March I had lost about ten pounds, but then April and May came with tons of homework and stress. Going to the gym totally went out the window and I gained about five pounds back. So I decided to really start it again, June first, with rejuvinated motivation - afterall, it is bikini season.

So here is my news, the reason for this post, something I am very proud of. It may not be a very big deal to most people, but today I ran a mile without stopping. Let's get it straight, I am NOT a runner. I hate running. This is a big milestone for me. Throughout all the years of school when we ran the mile, I never once ran the whole thing without walking at least part of it. I went into the gym, went to the treadmill, set it at a decent pace and told myself I was going to run (let's be more accurate - jog) the whole thing, and I did. Like I said, it doesn't sound like much, but hopefully it will lead to more miles in the future. Here's to getting back in shape!

hello birdy

The other day I ran to Office Max (for pushpins!) and noticed the sign had a little guest. A bird's nest in the 'e'. There was also one in the 'a' but I didn't get a picture of that one. Can you see the little birdy? Adorable!

Skittle Vodka?!

A few weeks ago on a Friday night Chris and I were bored and none of our friends were up for hanging out, so the plan was to get together on Saturday. What should we do in the meantime? Apparently Chris decided we were going to make Skittle Vodka for the following night. We hadn't done it before and thought it might be fun for an evening activity together. Well, it was quite a bit of fun, especially eating the extra skittles!

the stuff
sorting the skittles by color/flavor

filling the bottles (after we emptied them, I insisted we drink the water rather than waste it...that wasn't so fun) with the vodka as evenly as possible. I say we did a remarkably great job.

Then we filled them with the respective skittles, shook them up, and put them in the freezer over night until the skittles had all dissolved and the flavor infused. Then just strain the remaining white stuff and it is ready. They turned out fantastic, I've got to say the boys enjoyed it the most, seeing as how they drank all of the vodka in about two nights. They preferred it in shot form, but Leah and I enjoyed our drinks (the only one we got) mixed with some Sprite.

Paisley is 1!

This weekend we went to little Paisley's first birthday party! She is our littlest cousin and she is very sweet.
She wasn't quite sure what to do with the cupcake at first.
With a little help, she figured it out. But she decided she doesn't really like chocolate cake because only one or two bites made it in her mouth. It was apparently more fun to smear it all over her face.
Then she was done.

Paisley, we have been told, will be the last of the cousins to be born and therefore....we will be the next to have a baby since we are the oldest cousins/grandchildren however you look at it. Erin (Paisley's mom and Chris's aunt) told me that I will inherit a plethora of baby goods from her, I'm eyeing that portable highchair in a very cute shade of green (perfect for a boy or girl). BUT don't get too excited, this is not an announcement. We will not be having a baby for a few more years. I am excited for that stage of my life, but for now I am going to enjoy this one spending time just the two of us (and, of course, our two furry children). Speaking of which, here is a picture of my babies not bugging eachother (very rare).

a night out and some new friends

So Friday night we had to go see Ironman 2. We went with our bestest friends Leah and Chris (pretty much our only married couple friends) and Josh and Doug. Leah also invited a couple of new friends, Phil and Emily...am I sensing a new pair of married friends?! The answer to that is a firm YES. You never know if you'll have the right kind of chemistry with new people to be able to say you will be fast friends, but I think we all hit it off. We went to The Cheesecake Factory beforehand, here is Phil trying to consume his fish taco without losing all of the contents.

SUCCESS! oh ya, and Ironman 2 was pretty good too.

what made me happiest today

I have been super stresssed out the last couple weeks with the end of school approaching. I have been up until about 4 am everday for the past five days working on my final project. Today I was working at school and came back home for dinner and surprise! My husband cleaned the kitchen and the bathroom! It was such a relief to come home to a clean house. So thank you to my wonderful husband, I am blessed to have someone so thoughtful in my life. Now back to school...

I LOVE TARGET!

So, school is over in three weeks, and in that time I have two projects and a paper do finish. HOLD IT. Let me clarify, I have one project to finish and a project and paper to START! Needless to say, I am a little stressed.

Tonight I did not really have homework to do, so I decided to take the night and relax. My idea of relaxing...going to TARGET! I could peruse around target for hours and not get bored. I went there just to browse, not to buy. BUT then I saw these...

Now at first I thought, eh. But then I put them on, and oh my goodness, so freakin cute. Can't even describe how cute. But I try to be practical; they clearly are limited to the number of outfits they will coordinate with, therefore I would not purchase them. I put them back and walked away. I had gotten a few aisles down and I just couldn't stop thinking about these adorable shoes. PLUS they were on sale, PLUS there was only one pair left in my size, PLUS I loved them. All these things equal me scurrying back and promptly getting the pair of shoes. And I don't regret it. Look how cute!

Oakley's Surgery

Ok, so I'm pretty bad at this blogging regularly thing. I like to attest that it is because I don't have anything to blog about, but that isn't really true since I could blog about not having anything to blog about if I was so inclined. I digress. I do actually have something to blog about. Oakley had to have surgery! Well, not really, it was just a procedure to let out an infected abscess in his foot - but he did have to be put under. Oh ya, and turns out he had double ear infections. Crap. Sorry bud.

Oakley!

So, a lot has changed since the last time I was really blogging. Number one change: we got a puppy! We got him in June, he is a purebred golden retriever, he is now six months old. Introducing Oakley:

hangin by the creek

he fell in

then he was sleepy

helping Daddy fish..or not

he loves the water!

he looks so old now, but he's still got a lot more growing to do

ULTIMATE FRISBEE!!!

I know it is totally dorky, but I'm on an intramural ultimate frisbee team with my architecture student group. I'm awful at it, but I have so much fun! I'm a pretty terrible thrower, and I can't catch anything that is too fast, or high, as I am 5'1" and have absolutely no vertical, but get this! I am leading scorer right now. This is complete strategy, because when a girl scores it's worth double the points, so since I'm pretty useless in general, I try to hang near the end zone and when the frisbee comes my way, I'm there to catch it and score the mega points. It's exilharating...particularly when there was a minute left, we were one behind, and I scored the winning goal! Best moment of my life!....ok, not really, but it was awesome. Of course I have to give major thanks to my teammates who are actually fabulous athletes and just make me look good.

Anyone up for a game of frisbee? Just let me know.