I'm usually the girl with the Canon attached to my face.

PIZZA! PIZZA!

2011-04-07T12:13:00.002-04:00

It's that time of year again. I have Barnaby's pizza tickets for one of the greatest deals in town. A large 4 topping pizza for just $10! And who doesn't love Barnaby's pizza?

How it works: The tickets cost $10. You purchase the ticket from me, and then when you go to Barnaby's for your pizza, you just hand them the ticket, no money. A large 4 topping pizza would normally cost about $20. The tickets are only good for the Grape Road location and are good through August 30, 2011.

Why they do it: This is how the Barnaby's softball team earns money for their yearly fee and also to buy equipment for the team. My brother and dad play for the Barnaby's team on Monday nights and I've been selling these tickets for them for years. Mostly to people at work. My goal this year is to sell at least 100 tickets. I've sold 34 so far.

My Secret Ingredient

2011-03-23T21:57:00.004-04:00

So with us going to Disney in two months, I'm trying to make better decisions about what I eat. Maybe shed a pound or two. I'm not full on dieting, but just making better choices. No more Starbucks and a donut on my morning breaks. I munch on baby carrots at work and am getting unsweetened black tea from Starbucks instead of coffee. Unsweetened tea is not a change for me. I make it at home often and drink it all the time. Tonight I made turkey burgers for dinner. They weren't super healthy because I did put Swiss cheese on them, but they are a better choice than the usual pasta that we eat regularly. I took fresh ground turkey, sprinkled in a little bread crumbs, onion powder, black pepper and chili powder. Then I added my secret ingredient--crisp, dried onions. I find them at the deli at Target. They are basically dehydrated onions used for soup or salad topping. But they are amazing in my burgers. They give it some texture and a lot of flavor. I top my turkey burgers off with sauteed mushrooms and Swiss cheese and then put them on a toasted wheat bun. I don't even put any condiments on them they are so delish.

Spring is in the air!

2011-03-03T22:31:00.003-05:00

I notice a couple days ago that it is actually starting to show daylight when I go in at 7am. Finally! But if I'm figuring it correctly, that will be set back an hour in 10 days. Right? Because we'll set the clock forward, which means I'll be going in earlier than I am now. Right? Damn you, Mitch. But I love to see wonderful sunrises when I drive in to work. It can set my mood for the day. Positive thoughts!

I am also changing my music on this page to a spring/summer mix. If you have any suggestions, let me know. But I plan to put on some upbeat, jazzy, fun songs.

A Little Piece of Apple Dumpling Heaven

2011-01-17T19:14:00.003-05:00

I happened upon this recipe for apple dumplings and was a bit skeptical. It includes Mountain Dew, which I can't stomach. But since it had 924 reviews and has maintained a 5-out-of-5-star rating, I thought I would give it a try. Let me tell you this. They were phenomenal. I made them exactly as the recipe instructed. And there was a lot of liquid remaining at the bottom of the dish. So next time, I think I will halve the liquid portion of the recipe. Which, in turn, will cut down on a lot of the calories. (As if someone counting calories would make these anyway.)

December 31, 2010

2010-12-31T18:33:00.002-05:00

Well, today is the last day of my 365:2010 project. I've been sick for the last 3 days and came home from work. I was suppose to close, but I feel like crap and don't have a voice. I was there for 2 1/2 hours and it was hellish. I can't help anyone if I can't talk. I hated to leave, but I just wanna lay comatose on the couch all night. I do have to open in the morning. We'll see how that goes. I watched the ND game and wanted to cheer a couple times, but couldn't. Duke is being very sympathetic and laying with me on the couch. I had a dose of Theraflu and am just waiting for it to kick in. I swear I'm immune to western medicine. Nothing works for me. Jon is currently making soup for dinner. I bid everyone a Happy New Year!

December 30, 2010

2010-12-31T18:32:00.000-05:00

Two days left of my 365 project and I didn't take a picture today.

December 29, 2010

2010-12-29T13:17:00.002-05:00

Here's Duke. Looking at the sunshine, dreaming of the upcoming spring when the snow will be gone and he can frolic in the yard for hours on end, when he'll find all his toys that have since been buried by old man winter. Dream big, kid. Dream big.

December 28, 2010

2010-12-28T22:32:00.004-05:00

Like I posted earlier, Jon got me a new camera bag for Christmas. Today, I got around to transferring my equipment to the new bag. What a difference in size! However, I still could not get all my lenses in the new bag. But that's okay. I have 3 lenses that are real similar in size. And if I ever get my old camera fixed and are able to sell it, it's going to need a kit lens to go with it.

Currently, I'm watching the Minnesota Vikings/Philadelphia Eagles game. I've tried several times before to start watching NFL. Previously, I just couldn't get into it. I like watching Notre Dame football, but pro isn't the same. Until tonight. I'm not really sure why I'm getting so into this game, but I think I'm fast becoming a Vikings fan. Maybe it's because they are playing against Michael Vick. Maybe it's because I know that Hank Baskett plays for the Vikings and I like watching the Kendra show. Who knows. I know, geographically, I should be a Colts or Bears fan. But I'm a rebel.

December 27, 2010

2010-12-27T16:50:00.003-05:00

Well, Nipsco decided that they would trap me inside my house all day today. I had planned on running errands and going grocery shopping today, but my plans were thwarted. I really appreciate how I didn't get a phone call, an email or even a note or knock on my front door saying that they would be digging a massive hole at the end of my driveway and blocking me in all day. They were there when I got up this morning and are still there at the current time of 4:52pm. All I'm waiting for now, is a knock on my door telling me to evacuate because they hit a gas line.

December 26, 2010

2010-12-26T20:28:00.003-05:00

Like my new Chilly Willy hat that Jon got me for Christmas?

December 25, 2010

2010-12-25T23:43:00.006-05:00

Merry Christmas!

Jon and I exchanged gifts this morning as soon as we got up. I got awesome gifts from Jon! A bunch of great 80's movies, an awesome new winter hat (it looks like Chilly Willy), and a new camera bag.

Then we had some last minute house cleaning to do before his parents came over at noon. I made spaghetti and garlic bread for lunch and baked an apple pie for dessert. We watched Christmas Vacation while we ate. (I'm a little 'Christmas Story'ed out.) After we ate, it was presents time! (Again!) Jon and I each got a present that was in a box and the box had stuffing in it because the gift itself was smaller than the box it was wrapped in. You know what the box was 'stuffed' with? Money! I love it! I got some stuff for my camera, a new candle and of course, the cash. Cash is always acceptable.

December 24, 2010

2010-12-25T23:30:00.006-05:00

It's almost here! This morning I was woken up by Jon asking, "Did you set your alarm?" I replied, "[deleted expletive], what time is it?!" It was 7:45 and I had to be at work at 8:30. It takes me at least 15 minutes to get there. So basically, I had 30 minutes to get up and go. First, I had to make the guts to my homemade frosting. I have to heat up flour and milk to make a ball of mashed potato-like mush that will be added to other ingredients at a later time. The mush ball has to be cooled completely before this can happen. So I had to make it in the morning so that I could make the frosting when I got off work to put on the red cake I made yesterday. There was no way I was going to trust Jon to make it. Have you ever had to heat up flour and milk paste slowly? You have to stir it constantly and not let it burn. I don't think Jon could have done it. (Sorry, honey.) So, I jumped in the shower at about 8:05. Yep, 10 minutes till I had to be out the door. So I went to work with wet hair and not a stitch of makeup on. Beautiful.

Work was okay. I only had to work a 5.5 hour shift. Then home to frost the cake and take another shower so that I could do my hair and make up for dinner at my folks' tonight.

We had a good time. Dinner was great. My Aunt Linda made almost all the food. My mom had carpal tunnel surgery a couple weeks ago and didn't feel up to doing all the cooking. So my aunt offered to do most of the cooking and bring it all over. Chris made green bean casserole and I made red cake and brought rolls. Then it was time for presents. It's so fun to watch the girls open their gifts. After hanging out for awhile, Jon and I headed home to our cozy abode.

December 23, 2010

2010-12-23T21:23:00.004-05:00

Before work today, I made some chocolate covered pretzels and Oreos. Then I ran some beer and treats over to Jen's. I got to see Ethan's orange Tai Kwan Doe belt. He really wanted me to go downstairs to see their new pool table, but I had one more errand to run before heading to work. So I promised him I would see it this weekend. Santa may or may not have dropped off one of E's presents at our house. Today wasn't too bad at work. I really haven't had too many horrible grinchy guests, thus far. After work, I made my red velvet cake for tomorrow night. Hopefully it turns out good. I haven't made this recipe before. I'm sure Chris will be the official judge of that one.

December 22, 2010

2010-12-22T15:42:00.004-05:00

Today is my last day off before Christmas. I'm trying to finish up some last details for Saturday. All of the shopping and wrapping has been done. Except I had to make Morgan's fleece blanket. I had to lock the cats in the bedroom and Duke in the kitchen so that I could make the blanket on the living room floor with no disturbances. It took me almost 3 hours. The tying part is tedious, but not the most time consuming. It's getting the two pieces of fleece all lined up. Cut squarely. And the edges cut into little strips. (In the pic, the blanket is folded in half. I did tie it all the way around.) Tonight Jon and I are going to Four Winds with his parents and his aunt and her boyfriend. We're going for the dinner buffet. We might gamble, we might not. We're not gamblers. I don't like throwing money away. Don't get me wrong. I love to spend money. When I'm getting something in return. But I don't do casinos or lottery tickets.

December 21, 2010

2010-12-22T15:31:00.003-05:00

Tonight, Jon and I drove around Winding Brook Park to look at Christmas lights. Honestly, it's the same every year. But it's tradition and we enjoy doing it. Obviously, we listen to Christmas music while driving through. This picture is of a house that looks like Christmas threw up on it. They had a ton of lights up. None of them matched, different lengths, different colors. I honestly think they did it on purpose that way. Because, otherwise, I don't see how someone could look at this and say, "Yes! It's gorgeous!"

December 20, 2010

2010-12-22T15:28:00.002-05:00

Penguins are kind of Jon's and my thing. When Jon proposed, we were staying in a bed and breakfast up in Ludington called the Doll House Inn. Each room was decorated in a theme, and ours was decorated in black and white and penguins. It was called the 'Tuxedo Room'. Here's one of my little penguin decorations that sits on top of the computer desk. Isn't he cute?

December 19, 2010

2010-12-22T15:26:00.003-05:00

See? I will take this opportunity to thank all my loyal fans. (All 2 of you.) I will not be doing the picture-of-the-day next year. I will still blog, and post interesting pictures. But I will not be doing it everyday. I set a goal for 2010, and I think I did a pretty good job of keeping it up. I know a missed a few here and there. But now I can look back at this year as a diary of sorts.

December 18, 2010

2010-12-22T15:22:00.002-05:00

It's been so busy at work and with our extended hours, I have found no extra time or energy to take any pictures lately.

December 17, 2010

2010-12-22T15:18:00.001-05:00

Duke laying in the living room by the soft glow of the tree.

December 16, 2010

2010-12-22T15:16:00.002-05:00

The moose says 9 more days. I kind of can't wait for it to be over. At least work-wise. Which spills over into my not-work view of the season.

December 15, 2010

2010-12-22T15:14:00.002-05:00

Bubba likes to lay under the Christmas tree. That's why I stack all the presents on the table that sits next to it. I need to leave room for my little fatty Bubba.

December 14, 2010

2010-12-22T15:10:00.002-05:00

Making Chex Mix! I love making my own Chex Mix because I only put my favorite stuff in. Everyone who knows me, knows that pretzels are not allowed in mine. Why waste the space when you could have something delicious in it's place. Like Quaker Oatmeal Squares. They are the most awesomest! I made a triple batch of cereal. But I quintupled the seasoning part. (That's 5 times the seasoning!) I like my Chex Mix tasty.

December 13, 2010

2010-12-14T02:01:00.002-05:00

Today was our holiday dinner at work. I totally forgot about it until later in the day, right before I was heading out to work. And as soon as I got there, they were delivering a fresh batch of Amish goodness right as I walked in the door. Essenhaus from Middlebury has some good ass food. I took my dinner break at 6:30 when they dropped off another fresh batch. I filled up on noodles and mashed potatoes. Ya know, the healthy stuff. I did have a little bit of turkey. But nobody makes noodles like the Amish.

December 12, 2010

2010-12-12T17:35:00.002-05:00

Today was a lazy day. We didn't really do anything today. And the snow is starting to come down, so we won't be doing much of anything for the rest of the night. I made lasagna for dinner. Always a winner in the Kiefer household. We'll be eating lasagna for the next few days though. Which is fine. It's scrumptious and we won't be going grocery shopping again until next weekend. I was going to make Chex Mix today. But I didn't have any garlic salt. Plus, Jon's wants nuts in it and I didn't buy any for this batch. So at work tomorrow I'll buy the garlic salt and I think some cashews. And no pretzels. They are not allowed in my Chex Mix.

December 11, 2010

2010-12-12T09:49:00.002-05:00

We finally got the tree up today. This is the second year we have had this tree and I love it. Our old tree had all the branches separate that had to be put on individually. This tree, which I bought on clearance after the season three years ago, is the best ever. It is only 3 sections and all the branches are connected and hinged. And it's pre-lit. It literally takes less than one minute to put up. Then we just add the decorations and skirt. Now for the presents...

December 10, 2010

2010-12-12T09:48:00.002-05:00

These are my new gloves. Photography gloves. This way, I can still have complete control of my camera and all its functions without freezing my hands off. I'll just freeze my fingertips off...

December 9, 2010

2010-12-10T01:28:00.003-05:00

So I got a text this morning at 7:47am from Jon. Letting me know that there was a beautiful sunrise happening. Today was my day to sleep in, since I didn't have to be to work until 3. Thanks for the wake up call. It was a pretty sunrise. But because it was about 10° outside, I opted to take a picture with my phone through the window. It wasn't pretty enough for me to get dressed, put on boots and go outside to take it. I asked Duke about it when he came back inside. He said it was pretty too.

December 8, 2010

2010-12-10T01:26:00.002-05:00

Duke sure does like to play in the snow. I wonder if he gets too cold, but just takes it like a man. Maybe I should get him some mukluk boots and an argyle sweater.

December 7, 2010

2010-12-10T01:25:00.003-05:00

We sure got a lot of snow last night and today. The snow piled up and made a weird santa-type hat for this bush.

December 6, 2010

2010-12-10T01:23:00.003-05:00

Today is a nice day for hot chocolate. With Reddi-whip and Pampered Chef Sweet Mocha Hazelnut sprinkled on top. Mmmmm.

December 5, 2010

2010-12-10T01:22:00.000-05:00

Here's a quarter for the jar.

December 4, 2010

2010-12-10T01:21:00.001-05:00

Maybe I should start a "non-picture-day jar" kind of like a swear jar. I have to contribute money every time I forget to take a picture.

December 3, 2010

2010-12-10T01:10:00.002-05:00

So...today was my first day off since Thanksgiving. And I really wanted to relax, lay on the couch all day and watch Christmas movies. That plan was thwarted when Comcast knocked on my door telling me that some internet signals were getting crossed in the area and they wanted to replace my old cables. Fine. Nothing like 2 men invading my house unannounced. I was indifferent to the whole idea. We were having no problems with our cable or the internet. Question 1: Can you come back when my husband is home from work because I'm not letting random dudes come in my house while I'm alone? Question 2: Am I getting charged for anything? Yes and No. Whatever. Go to work then. Not that any of that information has anything to do with my picture today. Except for the old white cable that you can see on the TV stand. But the real star of the picture is my Duke! (Who was none too happy to have the random dudes in the house.)

December 2, 2010

2010-12-03T17:24:00.002-05:00

I expressed my confusion about recycling on facebook already. So I'm sure that the only two people who read my blog have already seen this. But, do we or do we not recycle frozen food boxes?

December 1, 2010

2010-12-03T17:22:00.002-05:00

My, how the year has passed by so quickly. Here it is December already. Today we had our first real snowfall of the year. It was quite windy and chilly this morning. It was a looooooong walk from my car to the building at work at 7am. I'm not ready for his. Brushing off snow, scraping my windshield, starting my car early to warm it up. Let's hope it's a short, mild winter. For once.

November 30, 2010

2010-12-03T17:21:00.001-05:00

I've been so busy at work and trying to catch up on my sleep schedule, I didn't take a picture today. Boooo.

November 29, 2010

2010-12-03T17:15:00.002-05:00

This was a test picture with my phone. To test the camera, test sending pics through text and email, and test uploading pics to facebook. Success on all accounts!

November 28, 2010

2010-12-03T17:03:00.004-05:00

Oh.Em.Gee.

I got a new phone! I've seen commercials for the Samsung Galaxy S and I've wanted one ever since. They make it for different carriers, and for AT&T it's called the Captivate. It's part of the Android family. It's a full windows smart phone. I can do everything on it! It's even a Kindle! I downloaded a book onto it already! And it has a 5MP camera. The only con is that with all the functions it does, the battery life sucks. I have to charge it every night, where with my old phone, I could go 4-5 days before having to charge it. Now let me tell you the story of how I got it. FOR FREE! This is a $200 phone. And even though I was in love with it, I knew I'd never buy it, because let's face it...Who's gonna spend $200 on a phone. I could stay at a Disney hotel for 2 nights for that much. Well, tonight the Target Mobile guy (the guy who sells contract phones at Target) was walking around asking if Target team members wanted a free phone. I'm interested, tell me more. They wanted to make room for more inventory and needed to get rid of some phones. All I had to do was renew my contract. Well, I've been extremely happy with AT&T, so I had no problem with that. And since I already have a full data package, the smart phone data package is only gonna cost me $5 more a month. Well, sign me up! Talk about being at the right place at the right time. Especially since I wasn't scheduled to close that night. The other GSA called in because of a family emergency and I came in to close when I should have been a mid shift that day. Everything happens for a reason, right?

November 27, 2010

2010-12-03T16:38:00.003-05:00

We've noticed lately that Pooper likes to lay in the bathroom alot. I think it's because there is a register on the wall that pumps hot air into the room from the furnace. So Jon and I decided to go out and buy him a nice comfy bed to lay in when he is in there. However, now Bubba thinks he deserves it and it's for him. So...they will have to share. Or, first come, first serve. Or fight over it. I don't care.

November 26, 2010

2010-12-03T16:36:00.002-05:00

It's Black Friday. Time to debut my new Christmas earrings! They are Italian.

November 25, 2010

2010-12-03T16:32:00.003-05:00

Happy Thanksgiving!

I know hell at work starts tomorrow, so I'm trying to enjoy myself today as much as I can.

Besides being thankful for friends and family and good health, I am also thankful that my mom caters to everyone's likes and dislikes when it comes to food. I don't like mayo and my brother doesn't like Miracle Whip. So my mom always has both on hand. For the holidays, she also has Cool Whip and Reddi-Whip available for the pies and desserts. Chris will only eat Cool Whip. I'm a Reddi-Whip girl. I like real whipped cream. Maybe it's all my years of getting the real stuff at Starbucks that has spoiled me.

Care to share your opinion and add to the debate?

November 24, 2010

2010-12-03T16:30:00.003-05:00

He's here!

Tonight we went to my parents' for dinner and then to Bremen to watch the lighting of the Christmas lights all along the streets and to watch Santa arrive by parade. It was raining all night and chilly as hell. The girls got to see Santa and when Morgan was sitting on his lap, a local photographer from the newspaper took her picture. She'll be in the Bremen newspaper. Which I'm told only comes out once a week. It is a small town.

November 23, 2010

2010-12-03T16:28:00.003-05:00

Tonight for dinner, Jon made my favorite pancakes. Apple Streussel. This is his creative process. He puts a lot of love into them. :-P

November 22, 2010

2010-12-03T16:24:00.004-05:00

As I've stated before, Bubba tolerates Duke due to his complete lack of energy. Here, it seems as if Bubba is saying "I just wanna sleep. Get the light out of my eyes and this dog off my ass!"

November 21, 2010

2010-12-03T16:22:00.003-05:00

I finally bought my new camera. I'm so excited. I thought about it for a long time and was originally going to buy the model that was a step down from this. But I knew in the long run, that this is what I wanted and was gonna have to shell out the money for it. Well, I shelled out the plastic. But I hope to start getting some jobs again and make some of that up.

November 20, 2010

2010-11-21T17:31:00.002-05:00

I've been patiently waiting for some canvas prints to come in the mail. Finally! I put one of my favorite lighthouse pictures on canvas and we hung it in the living room. I love it! It's not as big as it looks in the above picture. It's only 12X18. But I also only paid 14.99 for it on Artscow. If you friend Artscow on facebook, they periodically send out promo codes on their status for great deals. Like I said, I bought this canvas print for 14.99 with free shipping. I'm gonna order two more and have a set of 3 pictures on the wall.

November 19, 2010

2010-11-21T17:24:00.003-05:00

So recently, I've been trying to recover some picture files from my broken external hard drive. I called Best Buy to see how much it would cost. They told me that they don't do that on site and they would have to send it out. It would cost anywhere from $260 to $1800. Really? I'll research other avenues. Hello Google. I found some free software to download that is used for recognizing failed hard drives. Bazinga! For the last few days, I've been successfully extracting my picture files from the failed external hard drive onto my computer. Then burning them onto CDs and DVDs. It's going to take some time to get all the files. But I've recovered some old pictures that I could sell that I haven't had access to for the last year and a half. Which is great because a guy at Jon's work wants to buy some Notre Dame pictures for framing. Thank you PC Inspector!

November 18, 2010

2010-11-18T20:03:00.002-05:00

Finally, I bought my new camera today! I'm so excited. So excited that I came home from work and fell asleep on the couch. I'll play with it tomorrow. Jon and I went to Ethan's Taekwondo class tonight. Then it got late and we picked up some McD's because I didn't feel like making dinner tonight. I think I'm starting to get sick. I have a gooshy head--my head feels full and heavy and I'm really tired.

November 17, 2010

2010-11-17T22:30:00.002-05:00

We have our first Christmas decoration out! Okay, that's because I just bought it today and I'm not gonna go put it in the basement for a week or two. I went to the Christmas Tree Shoppe today to buy a Thanksgiving Day hat. They have a hat in their flyer that looks like you have a turkey on your head. Not a gobble, gobble turkey, but a meaty and delicious cooked turkey. Ever see the Friends episode where Joey gets the turkey stuck on his head? Anyhoo, they were out. But I did find this Christmas Card holder. It was only 2.99.

November 16, 2010

2010-11-17T22:29:00.002-05:00

Must be a farmer. A witty farmer.

November 15, 2010

2010-11-17T22:22:00.002-05:00

We have this thing in our family called NAT. When we were growing up, my grandma always made southern sweet tea. It was always around. She kept it in the fridge at all times. We all grew up drinking it and all love it. However, if you did not grow up in our family, you hate it. It's weird, but true. The joke is that if you aren't a Rucker, you don't like the sweet tea. (The Rucker story is long and sorted and for another time.) But my dad is the exception. He is not a Rucker. He married into the family. But, he's been around for awhile now. And now he now carries on the tradition of making and always having the NAT around. In time, this beloved tea was renamed by the Not-a-Ruckers as Nasty Ass Tea. Or NAT. Jon is Not-a-Rucker. He absolutely hates it. So he insists that I make NNAT at home. Or Not Nasty Ass Tea.

November 14, 2010

2010-11-17T22:21:00.001-05:00

:-(

November 13, 2010

2010-11-13T21:59:00.002-05:00

Who would have thought that the Irish would win today because I ate a donut for breakfast that had shamrock sprinkles on it! I hate sprinkles, and was pretty disappointed that the bakery put sprinkles on all the donuts. Not one without, dammit. And my 47¢ Starbucks coffee has made an appearance in the picture as well. That's right. 47¢.

November 12, 2010

2010-11-13T21:55:00.003-05:00

Morgan's birthday is Monday and Chris threw her a birthday party at my mom and dad's tonight. My mom and dad got her a bunch of dress up clothes and wigs and accessories. She loved them and did a total makeover before we did cake and ice cream. Here she is blowing out her candle with her princess dress, wig, crown and make up. Too cute.

November 11, 2010

2010-11-13T21:54:00.002-05:00

Dukey's gonna get a crick in his neck sleeping like that.

November 10, 2010

2010-11-13T21:48:00.002-05:00

Tonight I went to my first meeting as an associate member of the Clay Fire Department. Woohoo! We got the lowdown on expectations and safety precautions. I can't wait to go to some calls! I have to schedule my battalion chief ride along first. Stay tuned...

November 9, 2010

2010-11-13T21:43:00.003-05:00

Leaves, leaves and more leaves. Here's how we do it. We use the lawn mower to 'mow' up the leaves. Since the bagger works for shit, we don't use it. The leaves just get sucked up and thrown out the side. So basically, we mow in circles to, more or less, corral the leaves into a manageable pile. We then rake them onto a tarp, drag them over to the other side of the driveway near the woods for burning at a later date.

November 8, 2010

2010-11-13T21:42:00.001-05:00

Quality lunch. Beer and poppers.

November 7, 2010

2010-11-08T19:44:00.002-05:00

Bubba makes a good pillow. Pooper still wants nothing to do with Duke, but Bubba tolerates him. Mostly because he is fat and lazy and doesn't wanna get up and move.

November 6, 2010

2010-11-08T19:42:00.002-05:00

Starting last night and into this morning, we had our first snowfall. Pretty much most of this disappeared by late afternoon. This picture was taken at 8:28am.

November 5, 2010

2010-11-06T08:09:00.002-04:00

Oh, we have been craving some deep dish ZA for awhile now. When Jay and Jen (Should I start calling them 'Jan' for short?) go to Giannetto's for dinner, we take turns buying. I hadn't realized that it was their turn when Jen said they were paying. (I hope I didn't misunderstand.) Which means next time it will be our turn, we owe them. Which really means that we have a reason to go back again. And again. And again.

November 4, 2010

2010-11-06T08:08:00.003-04:00

Warm Iron When Needed? This is on my bath towel. Do you iron your towels? You know, when kinfolk come 'round?

November 3, 2010

2010-11-03T12:24:00.002-04:00

I made the easiest and most delicious pumpkin muffins today. A coworker was telling me about it and I found the specific recipe online. All you use is a box of spice cake mix and a 15 oz can of pumpkin. No oil, water or eggs. I did add a little cinnamon to it though. Just mix together and put in muffin cups and bake at 350° for 20-22 minutes. The batter is real dense and thick, but trust me--they turn out wonderful. Next time I am going to sprinkle some cinnamon/brown sugar crumble on top before I bake them. I'll be making these for Thanksgiving. Yummo!

November 2, 2010

2010-11-03T12:21:00.003-04:00

I found Duke's costume for next year! 50% off, of course. It's a Roman warrior riding on a chariot. I figured Jon wouldn't mind a costume if it were a little manly. Duke didn't like me putting it on. He thought it was a chew toy. But once I got it on, he was okay with it. I can't wait till next Halloween!

November 1, 2010

2010-11-03T12:17:00.003-04:00

Babies got baths tonight. Pooper is 13 and Bubba is 12 and we've never had a problem with fleas before. But I think maybe Duke brought them in from outside. Duke is treated, but we never treat the cats because they are indoor cats. But somehow, they got 'em. So we bathed them and treated them with some Spot On. Hopefully we will nip this in the bud. They hated it by the way. You'd think we were slowly killing them by the sounds of their yowls. Such torture.

October 31, 2010

2010-11-03T12:06:00.003-04:00

Happy Halloweekend!

After work today, Jon and I went over to my parents' house for dinner and to pass out candy to the trick-or-treaters. Jon and I don't get trick-or-treaters at our house. Well, at least we don't think so. In the 8 years that we have lived there, we've never been home for Halloween. I think its safe to assume that we don't get any kids, because our house sits back from the road a little and there is a line of trees that separate our house from the street. We have an empty lot just to the east of us that sits on the corner. And our neighbor to the west of us is about 30 yards away. I just don't think kids are gonna run through our area of the street. Morgan dressed up as Batgirl and Lauren as a gangster. I took pictures of some of the best homemade costumes that we saw that night. I think the best one was bacon. There was a great R2-D2 that made the R2-D2 noise that he makes, a toothbrush and toothpaste. One girl was dressed up like a cowgirl and had her dog with her that had a costume on that looked like he was a horse and had a little cowboy riding on his back. Next year, we will have treats for the doggies too. And I decided that next year I'm putting a costume on Duke. We never have before, but we're gonna try. Jon's not into it, but I don't care.

October 30, 2010

2010-11-03T12:04:00.002-04:00

Panera Baked Potato Soup is highly recommended. Of course, you can get it at Panera. But we now sell it at Target in the deli. Phenomenal.

October 29, 2010

2010-11-03T12:02:00.004-04:00

I found this cool gift card at work that I've never seen before. It appears to be from a past Christmas. I took it home to give to the girls. They might think it's kind of neat for a hot minute. (It had a zero balance, I didn't steal it.)

October 28, 2010

2010-11-03T11:56:00.003-04:00

I'm so excited to embark on a new adventure. Jay set up a program with the Clay Fire Department for freelance photographers to work as associate members. There are three of us, ideally one for each shift. We will get text messages whenever there is a call and we are suppose to respond and take pictures. Its still in the beginning stages. But I did pick up my vest. (I photoshopped 'photographer' on it. It really just says Clay Fire.) Hopefully, I will be able to respond to some interesting calls. Looks like I'm gonna have to buy a camera real soon huh? Jon says I should prepare myself for possibly seeing some gruesome stuff. I think I will be ok. But you never know until you're in that situation. We have a meeting next month to go over safety procedures and expectations. Honestly, I don't think I will respond to anything until I have all the safety information.

October 27, 2010

2010-11-03T11:53:00.002-04:00

Today was a pretty non eventful day. My dad and I have been trying to coordinate our schedules to take some nice fall pictures with the changing leaves. It's pretty much too late for that now. We met at St. Mary's hoping to get some nice pictures there. No luck. So we drove over to Notre Dame to try our luck there. Not much better. I did get some shots of the dome as the sun was going down, but nothing too compelling.

October 26, 2010

2010-11-03T11:41:00.004-04:00

So, we were pretty busy this weekend and we had planned on taking down the gazebo canopy top. Saturday, we had two soccer games and a Halloween party that we went to. Sunday, we went to Lauren's soccer game and did some grocery shopping. When we got home, we had to give Duke a bath. So we didn't get to the gazebo. Big mistake. Today proved to be a near-disastrous wind filled day. I guess the storms were pretty severe. I was at work and monitored it on the computer, but being in a big store with no windows except for the entrance door, I was mostly oblivious to the wrath. When I got home, I found our gazebo to be slightly affected by the weather. Luckily, Jon was due home shortly after me and we could get it bent back into place without anything getting damaged. In fact, we're pretty lucky that it didn't tip over and crack our slider windows. I let Duke out for a quick pee and ushered him right back in. It was still quite windy, and I didn't want him getting hurt. When Jon got home we fixed it. Sort of. Surprisingly, it bent back into place with little effort. And there wasn't a single stitch out of place on the gazebo top. Wow did we luck out. Now, we just needed to get the top off for the season and everything would be fine, right? Nope. In Jon's irritated and impatient state, he pulls on the corner of the top to get it off the frame and rips a big hole right in the corner. Ya know, where it needs to stretch tautly over the frame corner? Jon has a tendency to not think before he acts. So know we will have to buy a new canopy for about $65.

October 25, 2010

2010-11-03T11:41:00.001-04:00

Booooooo.

October 24, 2010

2010-11-03T11:39:00.002-04:00

Today, Jon and went to Lauren's final game in her soccer tournament. The Invaders won! Lauren probably has more trophies right now than she knows what to do with. At the game, Jon found $30 laying on the ground. Bonus!

October 23, 2010

2010-10-24T10:23:00.002-04:00

Today was a busy day. Jon and I went to Morgan's soccer game this morning. When we came home, we chilled out a little. Jon played on the computer and I fell asleep on the couch while watching the Notre Dame game. When I woke up, it was time to go to Lauren's soccer tourney game. The Invaders won and will be playing the championship game tomorrow afternoon. I attempted to make cupcakes for Julie's Halloween party tonight. I discovered that I didn't have enough milk to make the homemade frosting, so I decided to make sugar cookies instead. When it came time to get my (cheap, homemade) costume together, I couldn't find my big fake plastic knife. So I had to ditch the costume and go as a deranged killer. (Because the look like normal people. Get it?) Jon and I drove separate because he knew he wouldn't stay too lon. It was mostly people from my work and he didn't know but only a few. I had fun. It was kind of laid back, not too wild. I got my ass handed to me in a Euchre game. It only lasted a couple deals because Helen (my opponent) got two loners. It was a quick game, indeed.

October 22, 2010

2010-10-24T10:15:00.006-04:00

Pumpkin carving time! We went over to my mom and dad's for dinner and to carve pumpkins tonight. I was originally going to carve the Mona Lisa on mine. I had the pattern printed out and it was considered and 'advanced' pattern. I have to admit I was a little intimidated. There were a lot of small cuts to be made by her mouth. But I was willing to give it a try. However, when I went to tape the pattern on my pumpkin, I discovered that my pumpkin was too small. It wasn't tall enough actually. So I opted for a puppy pattern in honor of my Duke. It was only an 'intermediate' pattern. After we were all done carving, we all put the pumpkins on the porch. We had a lot of fun and they all turned out great!

October 21, 2010

2010-10-24T10:07:00.005-04:00

Whenever I watch Hoarders, two thoughts go through my head. And they are at different ends of the spectrum. At one end, I think to myself, our house is usually a little messy. (Or as my mom calls it, "It looks lived in.") And I think, well, its not as bad as this crazy kook's house. At the other end, no matter how clean I may think my house is, after I watch the show I am motivated to clean something, because hoarding has to start somewhere, right? And I'm weird about people coming over to our house, because in my mind, I think it's never clean enough for company. Don't get me wrong, when people do come over, we clean up. But everyone I know knows that they are not to stop by our house without calling first or planning a day ahead so we can clean. And I got to thinking, I wonder if people think we are hoarders and that's why we don't like people to come over? Well, I'm here to say that we are not hoarders. There are no piles of unwanted crap with dead cats to be discovered underneath. We have working plumbing. And a clean counter top and stove top on which to cook.

October 20, 2010

2010-10-24T10:02:00.002-04:00

Well, my schedule got a little screwy this week. I am usually off on Wednesdays and I worked today. It threw me off a little on my days. Tonight a group of us went to Hacienda to celebrate Jon's and my birthdays from last month. We usually all get together for dinner for birthdays, but everyone was so busy last month with vacations. Chris and Laura bought our dinner, which was really nice. And my parents had the staff come out and sing and give me and Jon sombreros. Ethan showed off his Pop Warner football metal and I promised him I would let him be my picture of the day. It was good to see everyone as we don't all have time to get together at the same time. Lives are so busy...

October 19, 2010

2010-10-24T10:01:00.000-04:00

I got nothing.

October 18, 2010

2010-10-24T10:00:00.001-04:00

Bubba Burrito.

October 17, 2010

2010-10-20T06:15:00.002-04:00

Today, my dad and I drove to Ludington to take pictures. We were hoping for the leaves to be more turned up north, but we were a little disappointed. We still got some great pictures, but were just hoping for more. We stopped in Grand Haven on the way home. Here at one of their city parks, is an actual once-used train, the Pere Marquette Steam Locomotive No. 1223. Its all nice and pretty and restored and sits on a track right next to a playground. You can even climb on it and look in all the windows. Pretty neat. I've never been on a train before.

October 16, 2010

2010-10-20T06:14:00.003-04:00

I like the way the sun casts a shadow filled glow in the yard early in the morning. Too bad the scenery isn't more interesting. Just our side yard. Well...Duke's yard. He owns it.

October 15, 2010

2010-10-20T06:11:00.004-04:00

I saw this cloud formation when I was leaving work today. I thought it looked like angel wings. If I had seen them just a little earlier, I could have snapped the picture so that it looked like the little tree had wings. But they were steadily moving.

October 14, 2010

2010-10-20T06:11:00.001-04:00

October 13, 2010

2010-10-20T06:04:00.002-04:00

Today, I spent a lot of time attempting to make a cute fall treat that I saw online. Mini caramel apples. Here's the concept: Use a melon-baller to scoop out balls of Granny Smith apples and stick lollipop sticks in them. Then dip them in caramel, sprinkle them with crushed peanuts, drizzle them with chocolate. Sounds easy enough. Well, it turns out that caramel is not too happy with the unskinned apple ball and decides to run away, dripping all the way down to the bottom. I ended up with a sheet of apple-balls-on-a-stick sitting in a large pool of caramel and peanuts. I was pretty disappointed. It was an experiment. It failed. Later in the evening, Jon and I went over to my parents. My mom bought pizza and Lauren and Morgan helped put up their Halloween decorations. Morgan is not to keen on the monster in the window or the witch that sits on the front porch. She understands that they are fake and made of plastic and were bought at a store and are kept in a storage room until we put them out, but she still doesn't like them.

October 12, 2010

2010-10-13T10:00:00.003-04:00

Tonight for dinner, I attempted to make some krab bisque similar to what we had at Steamers in Ludington. It was pretty good. However, a few changes I would make for next time. Double the liquid portion of the soup but use the same amount of krab. It was a little too thick this time around. Add some onions and red peppers. Possibly cut the krab up smaller or when its all done, use an immersion blender to break it all up.

October 11, 2010

2010-10-13T09:58:00.001-04:00

Indian Summer. Duke approved.

October 10, 2010

2010-10-10T20:18:00.004-04:00

My favorite tool--the tree killer.

Since the weather was outstanding today, Jon and I spent a few hours outside doing yard work. We both mowed some of the yard. Put all the deck furniture away. I then cleaned up the front of the garage. Cut down some overgrown bushes, cleaned the gutters and cut some tree branches down. I would love to cut down all the trees, but we don't have the money and Jon likes trees. But Jon doesn't like picking up leaves. So decide, buddy, which you like/dislike more?

October 9, 2010

2010-10-10T08:47:00.003-04:00

We started the day out going to Morgan's soccer game in the morning. I don't remember if she won or not, but I know that she had 3 goals herself. Jen picked me up in the afternoon and we went to a Tastefully Simple party at Artistic Hair, where she gets her hair done. We popped over to Pop Style for some popcorn before heading home. I (mostly) watched the game when I got home. Later in the evening, about a million fire trucks went by the house. When I went outside and stood on the deck, I could still hear them, so I knew they were close. Jon and I hopped in the car to see if we could see anything. I've never seen a house on fire before. Turns out, it was right up the street, and no fire, but just some smoke coming out of an empty warehouse. Which is a good thing. I mean, I realize smoke is very dangerous, but I'm glad the firefighters didn't have to fight a fire and lives were not inherently in danger.

October 8, 2010

2010-10-08T23:32:00.003-04:00

I got my Scentsy order in today. I love it! I think I might be a little obsessed with it already. I want one or two more for other rooms in the house. This one is in the kitchen and I can smelll it in the living room sitting here on the computer. The scent I have in right now is Sunkissed Citrus and it smells awesome in here. The plug-in has to stay out of the way of the animals, so I might opt for the bigger one that sits on a counter or table for my next purchase. Oooh, I can't wait to try out more scents!

October 7, 2010

2010-10-08T23:30:00.004-04:00

I haven't had Peanut Butter Cap'n Crunch in forever. It tastes as great as it used to and still tears up the inside of your mouth.

October 6, 2010

2010-10-08T23:30:00.001-04:00

October 5, 2010

2010-10-08T23:15:00.002-04:00

Tonight all the TLs and ETLs (supervisors and managers) went out for a team builder. We met at Barnaby's for dinner at 4. Pizza, beer and fried pickles! Then we all met at Strikes and Spares for bowling and go-karts. I was winning the go-kart race by a mile. But Bryan and Brian conspired to take me out and I ended up third. I had decided early on that I wasn't gonna bowl because I didn't want to risk hurting my bad knee. Peer pressure and the jams on the jukebox lured me in anyway. I bowled two games and will pay for it tomorrow.

October 4, 2010

2010-10-04T22:14:00.002-04:00

Today I went shopping for new work pants. If there isn't anything else in the world that will motivate a person to lose weight, trying on new clothes will. I have to get motivated. I need help.

I came home and cleaned today. Did the dishes, did some laundry and put a couple Halloween decorations up. This light-up spider hanging from the ceiling fan made a really cool light pattern on the ceiling.

October 3, 2010

2010-10-04T11:42:00.004-04:00

Halloween is coming. Or as Target Marketing calls it--Halloweekend.

Duke is sporting his trick or treat collar for the month. I am trying to teach Duke to walk on a leash. We have an acre of yard and for the most part, it's all fenced in. Duke has always had the run of the yard for whenever and for however long as he has wanted it. So we don't walk him. Which means he is a nightmare to walk on a leash whenever we need to take him somewhere. I'm using the Gentle Leader to break him of his habit of pulling. He doesn't like to wear it, but I'm hoping he gets used to it. And eventually, when he learns to not pull on his leash, he won't have to wear it at all. If you don't have a dog, or have never heard of it, it fits over the snout and around the neck. When your dog pulls forward, it pulls his nose to the side, theoretically stopping him from pulling. I'm taking him out into the yard for only a little bit at a time. This is the first day, and my goal is for it to take less than a month to break his pulling habit. I'm jealous of people who can take their dog anywhere and the dog will trot right next to them on a loose leash and not be a pain in the ass.

October 2, 2010

2010-10-04T11:40:00.001-04:00

D&B. Not Dooney and Bourke. Duke and Bubba.

October 1, 2010

2010-10-04T11:30:00.003-04:00

Have you ever used Restaurant.com? It's wonderful. It is a website where you can buy restaurant gift cards for less than half the price. For the most part, they sell $25 and $50 gift certificates for $10-$15.All you do is put in the zip code to pull up participating restaurants in a certain area. Now, I will admit, there isn't a huge selection, and certainly not your most popular restaurants. No Hacienda, Fridays or Granite City. But if you ever want to try out a new or unknown restaurant, this is the best way to do it without spending a ton of money. Here's the kicker--most of the time they run a deal where you can get anywhere from 70-90% off the purchase price. Today, I bought 2 - $25 gift certificates for Francesco's (on Lincolnway, near the 100 Center). Normally, they would have been $15 a piece. But since they were 90% off, I got them for $1.50 a piece. Now, when Jon and I decide to go (because they never expire), we just print off the certificate and take it in with us. It sounds too good to be true. But it's totally legit, and yes we have used them already and they work fine. In fact, we used them twice for different restaurants when we went up to Ludington last weekend.

September 30, 2010

2010-10-01T12:17:00.002-04:00

It's beginning to look a lot like...fall. There's lots of corn down. Leaves are starting to turn and fall. The days are breezy and the nights are getting cooler. We'll probably have to mow the lawn one last time this year.

September 29, 2010

2010-09-29T13:32:00.003-04:00

Today I cleaned out our hall closet. This is not the first time I've done this. It tends to get filled up with crap I really should be throwing away. I have a small problem with hair products. It's not like I have some grand fashionista hairstyle, but every time a cool new product comes out that I see advertised in Cosmo or on TV, I buy it. Whether or not I'm done with a previous product. So if I buy a new, healthy, trendy shampoo, I will take the half used bottle I am currently using and put it in the closet for later use. Let's get real. I'm not gonna use it again. I also have quite the hoarder's collection of Bath and Body Works product. Besides the fact that I used to work there, it seems to be the 'go-to' gift among women at work. So I've built up quite a collection. I filled a large trash bag with crap that I ended up throwing away. Mostly hair product and BBW products. I saved a small amount of crap for the next garage sale. (Now I have to find a place for it until someone decides to have a garage sale.) I reorganized what was left. First aid in one plastic bin, cleaning stuff in another, etc. The vacuum cleaner is actually in there now. I'll probably be doing this again in another year.

September 28, 2010

2010-09-29T13:30:00.002-04:00

Well, I knew I couldn't go the whole month without taking a picture...

September 27, 2010

2010-09-29T13:22:00.002-04:00

My Duke is so glad to be home. We are so glad to have him home too. He can lay on his couch spot and look out the window all day. He can spend as much time outside as he wants. He can chase the cats around. He gets to snuggle in bed with us.

During the Family Guy episode this week, Brian (the dog) made a comment about being sent to the kennel while the family went on a vacation. He said he hated it, because he wasn't sure if they were gone for ten hours or ten days. He couldn't tell the difference. Jon made the assumption that that's how Duke felt when we boarded him. I wish he understood English so that we could assure him that we would be back and not to be sad. I know he was treated well, but I hate that he had to stay in a run for most of the day. He's not used to that. We don't crate him anymore and when we're gone he has the run of the whole house. I gave him lots of treats today and tons of lovin'.