6 Years Ago....

*Disclaimer - please disregard the quality of this photo. Because I don't have a scanner nor any digital pictures of this event, this is actually a picture of a picture*

Six years ago today, I married my best friend. It's been a wonderful six years.
Love you babe!

Wiped Out.....

It's 7:30pm on a Saturday night and I'd love to just curl up in bed. I. Am. Exhausted.
I'm not looking for pitty or a that a girl, just wanting to document so when my husband asks me "what did you do all weekend" I can just tell him to read the blog.
Here's what I've accomplished from 8:00a.m. until 6:00p.m.

1. Got new tires put on my car.
2. Got a 30 minute cardio session in while waiting for the car.
3. Mowed the grass.
4. Washed 7 loads of laundry.
5. Primed and painted 2 coats of paint in my bedroom.
6. Made guacamole.
7. Cleaned Colton's room.
8. Cleaned Brett's room.
9. Went through Colton's backpack to see what homework he needs to do
10. Went to one furniture store. Found something I liked, but not something I love. I really want something I love.
11. Got side tracked into two clothing stores while out looking at furniture. Found nothing.

Now my couch is calling.

Time For A Make Over....

When Mike and I moved into our house 6 1/2 years ago, we were what you call house poor. We both had entry level jobs and come to find out, I would be laid off approximately 1 month later.
We had great support from our families and inherited a lot of household items - dining room table, family room furniture, etc. But the one item that was the sweetest of all (please note my sarcasm) was a pimped out bedroom set from Mike's aunt and uncle.
This set was black glass with gold trim. The dresser probably weighed 300 pounds. No joke. But the icing on the cake was that the bed had light sockets underneath it so you could really make that glass shine. I am pretty sure that in our pre-nup it was stated that never would a light bulb be placed in any of the sockets or I would end up with everything and Mike would end up with the bed and the bed only.
It's now time to move on. Over the course of the past month or two, I've been throwing out dresser drawers, night stands and finally the bed into the garbage. And I'm feeling sooooo good about it.
As of right now, our box spring sits on the floor. There are no night stands and our dresser doesn't have one drawer. It's sole purpose is to be a base for our tv. A couple of people have asked us if we've digressed back to our college days - boy are those people funny!
But, this weekend, I mean biz-nass! I picked out a new paint color called "At Peace" - how fitting huh?! As you can see around the window frame below, the painters tape is up and I'm ready to roll. I can hardly stand it. Tomorrow the transition begins.
Now, if I could just find some furniture that I like that fits in our room. Our room is not the largest in the house. In fact, our 6 year old has the largest room, but that's for a different post.
So without further delay, a picture of the current color. Sorry there was no freakin way I would have shared a picture with our bed in it. In fact, I don't believe I even have one and I'm totally okay with that.

Random.....

• I really dislike breakfast. I would rather eat lunch at 9:30 (and again at 'normal' lunchtime) than eat breakfast. I'm not really sure what it's all about, but as far back as I can remember, breakfast has never been something I crave or get excited about. Anybody have any recommendations for breakfast? I'm needing something that doesn't require fancy ingredients. Perhaps something I can bring to work to eat as I'm busy enough as it is getting up at 5am, getting myself and two kids ready to go by 6:30. I appreciate any ideas.
• Why do people name their kids such odd names? I know, I know, to each their own, but c'mon. I was reading every Hollywood gossip magazine I could get my hands on while I was getting my hair-did last night. One of them had stars with their babies. Some much cuter than others, but that's not my point. Coco, Apple, Indiana, Kal-El, I could go on and on. There are even non-celebrities that pick the wackiest names EVER! Seriously people, don't you remember back in grade school when kids would pick on each other for any reason? Let's not give them ammunition.
• How much do you tip your hairdresser? I like to give anywhere between 10-20% depending on how good of a job they did and if they massaged my head when they shampoo my hair. I love getting my hair washed at the salon. Last night I think I was within seconds of falling asleep. The only thing that kept me awake was the minty smell of the conditioner. Man that was great.
• I'm planning on painting my bedroom this weekend. I haven't decided on a color yet, but hopefully by staring at the 1/2 inch x 1/2 inch squares of color, one will jump out at me.

I think that's about it. Have a great weekend and I'll be sure to report which color screamed my name the loudest.

Delish.....

When Mike and I went to Maui 5 years ago, our friends introduced us to Fish Tacos. I realize these are not new by any means, but at that time they were new to me. And they were delicious. After we left paradise, I've tried them at a few other locations, but nothing quite compares. Until now.
I came across this recipe somewhere and have made them a couple of times. Yum. Freakin Yum. My kids even love them. So, I thought I'd share with you.

Oh, I double this recipe too.

12 oz fresh or frozen skinless fish fillets (I use Talapia because it's not super fishy)
1 Tbsp olive oil
1/4 tsp cumin
1/8 tsp garlic powder
3 Tbsp mayo
1 tsp lime juice
2 cups coleslaw mix
Rinse fish and pat dry. Cut fish into 3/4 inch slices. Place fish in a single layer in a greased shallow baking pan. Combine olive oil, cumin and garlic powder. Brush over fish. Bake at 450 degrees for 4-6 minutes or until fish begins to flake with a fork.
While fish is cooking, stir together mayo and lime juice. Add coleslaw mix. Toss to coat.

Peach Salsa:
3/4 cup chopped peach
2 Tbsp sliced green onion
1/2 jalapeno seeded and finely chopped (keep seeds in if you like a little heat)
1 tsp olive oil
1 1/2 tsp lime juice
1 1/2 tsp vinegar
1/4 tsp salt
cilantro (as little/much as you wish)
Mix all ingredients in a medium bowl

Spoon coleslaw mix into hard taco shells, add fish slices and top with peach salsa.

Enjoy!

So Cool.....

Click on the link below to see my talented cousin Cory in a very cool ad for jeans.
Select "Enter Here" by the green clover.
Then select "Cory" out of the list of names to watch the video.


http://www.luckybrandjeans.com/#/cory

No. 69...Deliver Baked Goods to a Neighbor....

Another one on my big list to cross off.
This past Sunday I went on our annual trip to the apple orchard with some college girlfriends (I'll post pictures when they send them to me and tell you all about our secrets). A few days before we went, I received the new Kraft magazine (love it!) and in there was a recipe for an Apple Tart. I had also gone to the grocery store to purchase a couple of the items that I would need to create this tasty treat, except for the apples - on purpose.
I carefully selected my apples knowing that I would be making the Apple Tart. Last night after dinner, I whipped up 2 of them! One for my family, because, let's just be honest, I needed a practice round and a taster - nothing worse than making a dessert (and giving it to somebody)that doesn't taste good!
I brought over the better looking of the two, with some cool whip, to our neighbors. They have 3 kids. Two boys that are off in college and a girl that just started kindergarten. I'll just say that they were thrilled when I came running out of my door at 8:30 as they were getting out of their van with a late night treat for them.
About 3 minutes later, Geri called me to tell me that they were happily feasting on the Apple Tart and wanted to thank me - "you are such a sweetheart, thank you."
I was just smiling feeling good that I made a difference to their sweet tooth that night.

Input Please.....

We are looking into getting a new home computer. I work on one most of the day, but know very little about the intricate detail that goes into being a "good" computer. If you have any advice to offer, I would love to hear it.
I will be using it mainly for downloading pictures and blogging. My husband will use it for catching up on the latest sports scores. Then there's Colton who likes to try to visit every website that he hears about either on TV or at school.
Thanks in advance for your help!

Milestone.....

Tomorrow I turn the big 3-0. I'm not mourning it, but looking forward to it. As I think back of all the things I've accomplished in the past thirty years, I can only hope my next thirty years are as good. What have I done these past thirty years....let's reflect, shall we?

• Got my drivers license, graduated high school and voted for president for my first time.
• Dyed my hair various colors and styled it various ways. Some turning out much, much better than others.
• Received one speeding ticket and talked my way out of three others.
• Graduated with a 4-year degree in 3 1/2 years at SCSU (now that's an accomplishment!)
• Worked at a golf course, a taconite plant, a restaurant, a library, Target, a manufacturing plant and a hospital.
• Had 2 amazing, wonderful, beautiful boys.
• Married a wonderful man.
• Bought a house without even seeing it in person.
• Walked sixty miles in three days for breast cancer awareness.
• Bought two new vehicles at the same time. SCARY!
• Made new friends.
• Got laid off. Got promoted.
• Have learned what's really important in life.

I could go on, but bottom line is that in the past 30 years, I've experienced many things and learned even more. Here's to another 30 years!

#1 Songs......

Tammy had this link on her blog, so of course I had to check it out. Here are the #1 songs on the birth dates of my family:

Mike - Silly Love Songs by Paul McCartney & Wings

Leah - Boogie Oogie Oogie by Taste of Honey (WHAT? Never heard this one.)

Colton - Ain't It Funny by JLo featuring JaRule (I remember cranking this one in the car with the windows down.)

Brett - Promiscuous by Nelly Furtado featuring Timbaland (hope this isn't a glimpse into the future!)

It's a Par-tay!

My dear husband and great friend Marilyn threw me an early 30th birthday party on Saturday. Unfortunately, the weather didn't allow us to play yard games, but we didn't let a little rain ruin the evening. Thank you to all who stopped by to help celebrate! Here's a snapshot of some of the crew. What a great looking group huh?! :) There was only one injury to report. Poor Shawna (who maybe had 2 beverages all night) ended up breaking her foot as she went out the front door to head home!

Another First.....

First Grade!! Colton was so excited to get the day started. He jumped out of bed which is not the way things usually go. Normally it's "Colton, time to get up" about 23 times before there is movement from his room. He chowed down breakfast and was rushing me to get outside to take a couple of pictures.

Fore.....

A couple of weekends ago, we took a little road trip to go spend some time with my step-brother and his family. Their boys are about the same age as ours and they have a blast together. Not to mention we adults have a good time too! We went out for lunch then onto some mini golf. Here are the boys: Colton, Brett, Jack and William. The course was a lot of fun. It was Colton's first experience in the world of mini golf. He just loved it. We didn't keep score except when I got a hole-in-one. Yeah, you read that right!
Then the older boys went on the go-karts with their dad's. While Kristen and I waited and waited with the younger fellas, we attempted to keep them occupied with....
their pirate costumes. That only accounted for a few minutes of entertainment unfortunately.
We wrapped up the evening with some good food and a few mind games of Battle of the Sexes and Trivial Pursuit. Thanks Nate and Kris for a great weekend!