lazy tuesday

its noon and guess what i have done so far? nothing. absolutely nothing! besides take ham to school and getting kaylee all of her needs, which is alot but still i haven't touched laundry or the bathrooms etc... and its been nice. i did just get done taking a shower so that's a start. it looks nice outside but its freakin' cold. around 42 degrees. a few days last week, it got up in the 70's what gives? i let ham skip school yesterday. this was the first time he has asked me in a long time and i asked him if it will be worth it to miss and he said yes. {they get to pick one final each semester to not take if they don't miss a day of school} i usually let him have a day or two every year to miss. come on- he's a good kid with good grades and sometimes he deserves a day off just like the rest of us! i also went and bought him the wii. mike said we would pay half but i think we will just pay it all since i'm technically taking his laptop that we got him the christmas/birthday (2006) before. it doesn't do justice for his game he likes to play on it. it doesn't show the graphics etc.. so his uncle burk {his dad's side} got him a kick ass computer this year for his birthday. can we say spoiled??? thought, instead of having the laptop sit and rust away i would use it for my photos + photoshop.

here's a project that i started this weekend and hopefully i will be able to finish it soon. or i should say hopefully i will get off my lazy butt and start sewing. i have all the pieces cut out. isn't it cute? i have enough pieces cut out to make 2 of them.found it from stacy julian's blog. you can find the instructions + download it here.

here's a pic of kaylee running in circles around me as i'm trying to take her picture. she thought it was pretty funny to be doing so. i think the pictures turned out great for her moving around. and these are her new kicks. i love these shoes on her!! and we always get compliments on them. in the winter we get her a pair of k-swisses just like mike's. not the same style but the same brand and he loves it.

my parentals surprised me last night with a $100 gift card from pier 1 for my sweet twenty -sixteenth birthday. they know i love that store!. so now i really want to move to the new house and decorate. as i was writing my post yesterday i got an email from our realtor saying that we have 2 people interested in the house. they just don't know if they can qualify for a loan. fingers crossed and prayers said that someone will come with an offer!! ok, i'm off to do something productive.

clearing my mind

i know i shouldn't let this house selling thing get me down but it does. i had high expectations that our house would sell fast and everything would be stress free but it hasn't been. we had a great turnout last weekend for our second open house and everyone that came through commented on how great the house looks etc.. yet no call backs. i don't think i would be as nervous if we haven't already found our dream house. i just hope no one comes and steals it from us!!

i signed mike + i up for the 4 mile race this saturday. i went running yesterday to see if i can make it and to get a feel of 4 miles. as i started out i asked myself why am i doing this for? i felt every pain in my body. i haven't had enough run time to be running in a race. after the first mile things started to get better. i had to remind myself that its just for me- to complete something. i just hope i don't come in last place in my age bracket. how embarrassing would that be?? i know, its all mental on my part. i can do it and it will be fun!! plus, its great exercise and i need all the help i can get to get rid of my "muffin top" ya know, the roll of fat over your jeans or bikini. i only have about a month left before hawaii.

i also thought about taking some classes and maybe become a graphic arts designer but i dont think i have enough artistic talent for that. or to be a professional photographer. i might be better or have more of an artistic eye than lets say mike but not enough to get paid for it. *sigh* i'm one of those people who have big dreams and can talk the talk but no ambition in getting it started. sad huh? its like my mind wants to do something but i have no heart, no determination, no take charge power. i guess i will stick to what i know and thats being a simple girl who says she can do something but actually never proves it.

wants + needs

kaylee + i went out shopping yesterday. needed to find a birthday present for a little one's first birthday but felt like i needed a purse first. a smaller, summer purse. this is my current purse which i love except mine is zipped topped. this is what i carry my camera in and its a load especially when i'm headed out for a quick trip somewhere.

i bought this little purse except the color is more similar to the one below but more white. i really really like it.

i think i need this camera for my smaller, summer purse. isn't it purdy?? its got all the bells and whistles too for a point and shoot camera. i'm on a mission to try and find it as cheaply as i can. i even tried to win a $505 gc from the pioneer women's website so i could get it for "free" but didn't win. i didn't think i would win but it never hurts to try. mike doesn't see a need for another camera though he does see a need for a big flat screen tv or two. go figure. the camera would of been nice to have had friday night with our friends out and it would be handy to have when i don't feel like lugging around the big dog.

happy spring day to me

look what i got in the mail yesterday! i participated in a favorite spring swap hosted by bree at life at 123 house

love the white vases + still trying to find a place for the birds nest. its pretty cool + i know there's a perfect spot for it. the harry + david strawberry chocolates were way yummy! {notice the "were", i ate them last night and just finished them for breakfast.} i also got 3 flower seed packets. i cant wait to move to the new house so i can plant them and watch them grow.

here's what i sent out to my recipient:

lots of note cards, chocolates + flower markers. i made the "family" picture and sent her some goodies for her two little girls too. its alot of fun doing these swaps and i wish i could find more. it does get a little nerve racking because i want to make sure the person receiving the goodies like them just as much as i did.

the weather has been awesome these past few days/week so kaylee and i are off to enjoy it with a little swing set + baseball action.

cute as a bug

kaylee is playing with her dress up clothes at the moment while i'm on the computer looking around. she keeps saying "touches" and i said " i dont know what "touches" are. she then goes to tell me " they're accessories, i said."

100% pure fun

i love it when i am pleasantly busy. after my last blog post, kaylee + left for story time at barnes + noble. i guess they only read one story because we missed it even though we were only a few minutes late. we did get to do craft time and look around. i found a few books that i wouldn't mind taking with me when we leave for vacation for that just in case moment that i do get a chance to read. {have i ever mentioned how high maintenced kaylee is? if i haven't, she's really high maintenced!} afterwards, we ate at the starbucks located in the bookstore. kaylee got a big reese peanut butter cup cookie and i got a panini sandwich. we then headed over to kristi + megan's house for some playtime. found kristi and i have some more things in common besides speaking our minds. we both spell our names the same way, we both like grape kool-aid or pop, we both have the same necklace + we both have food allergies. and her daughter megan is a cutie girl. she's maybe 6 months younger than kaylee. later that night we get a pleasant surprise phone call from the riley's. we haven't seen them since mikes 30th birthday party, i think its been that long. they wanted to know if we wanted to go out with them friday night before cofey, yes that's his first name, has to start working for 32 days straight. i called my female parental since mike's mom works 2nd shift. she said yes, she would watch kaylee for us!! wow! what luck. so we made plans to drop her off and eat at stray dogs. i love that place. not that the food is spectacular or anything, i just like the vibe. kinda reminds me of california + eating near the docks at the marina's. love that feeling!! we stayed there for awhile. i drank 3 red bulls and vodkas. then we headed out for a local bar in laporte since we were on time table. had to pick up kaylee at 11 the latest and we have an hours drive to boot. i had 2 more red bulls + vodka and i was off the charts. mike's cousin jessica's husband was there too. it was much needed fun! we were an hour late in picking up kaylee. yikes! i sent in mike to go and get her since the parentals seem to like him for some reason, oh yeah, they said that he was good for me??? saturday planted some flowers in the pots, had the lawn mowed+ got the house cleaned up for the open house. then i headed over to another friends house for her house warming party. sunday, we left for the open house but drove by twice to see 2 different people going through it. got us all excited and giddy with some excitement- that our house is going to sell feeling. neighbors {the scheidts} said they counted 6-7 cars came for the open house and our realtor left us a note that everyone made comments about how nice the house looked and what a great job we did with it. makes me proud of the work we put into it. now were are just waiting for the call back. for someone to come back and look through the house one more time before putting in an offer. fingers crossed, prayers being said and kaylee yelling outside "come buy my house!" {she learned this from little bear and when he yells and it echos}

wonder women

its 9:35 am my time and this is what i have gotten done since waking up at 6:10am, kinda in order:

1. brush teeth
2. take out real butter from fridge so it will be soft enough to spread on ham's bagel
3. check emails
4. wake up ham
5. clean bathroom- sink + mirror+ toilet {outside}
6. wake up ham
7. clean off hallway mirror
8. wake up ham
9. put away kaylee's clothes
10. make her bed
11. wake up ham
12. check out few blogs
13. make ham bagels + chocolate milk {kaylee now woke up}
14. get her "cock cock" + outside edges of toaster strudel {she wont eat the middle part, my favorite part}
15. kaylee goes pee pee
16. take ham to school
17. breakfast dishes done+ kitchen clean
18. clean inside toilet
19. made ham's bed
20. clean my bedroom+make bed
21. start laundry
22. shower, make-up + dressed
23. swept floors- all of the downstairs. upstairs done yesterday
24. kaylee dressed + hair done
25. brushed teeth again {hate having stinky teeth feeling}
26. put in another load of laundry
27. blogging

this is the most i've done in one morning in a loooonnnnngggg time!!! i wish i could just get into this routine everyday so that my family can make fun of me and call me neurotic like we do my mother in law. hee hee.

i am now famous- autographs later

i was on the 6:oopm local news. some guy came to the front door as i was roasting marshmallows on the stove and asked if he could do a little interview about the crappy housing market in our county being that is has been the slowest in 17 years. {he didn't say crappy but i know that's what he meant.} i asked if i had too and he said yes. i asked if it will help sell my house and he said it might. so i said ok. got some make-up on but forgot to change my shirt. i was wearing my michigan football shirt. yeah, i know. classy! they asked me some questions and i gave them what i thought. they did get on there that our house is 4 bedroom + 2 full baths, that its a great house. that we can always lower the price if need too in order to sell + that i hope the house we want doesn't sell in the meantime. they totally made me look good. i smiled alot + laughed alot. like i tend to do when nervous. i called mike immediately and told him the news. he was pretty excited about it. {free advertisement!} i called our realtor and she didn't seem to be too thrilled on the idea but afterwards she called me and said that it was job well done. they showed the open house sign + her sign at the very end.

inspired

image by: irene nam

this image inspired me to write this:

i was born there but never been

taken away before i got a chance to really see

to remember

eyes misty. heart beats with a familiar ache

dirt paths, trees lining the way. colors of home?

my imagination- its all black and white

want to breathe in the image

maybe catch a little breeze

just to see if home comes back to me

funny office supplies

i need to order some of these file folders for mike to use the next time he's in a meeting with the head honcho's.

i know mike would put this to good use:


this and other funny stuff can be found at knock knock

twenty- sixteen

today is the day that i gracefully entered into this beautiful world twenty- sixteen years ago. i woke up to roses + a sweet card from the husband. {he can be semi- unannoying sometimes, just sometimes though} he also made an appointment for a pedicure and manicure but i told him to cancel it. we are not suppose to buy anything this year for each other besides dinner out. (we have enough money coming out of our butts this year) i chose houlihans for dinner. they have real yummy jambalaya + food and they give you free dessert if its your birthday, no candle though. before we left for dinner, my parentals called from their vacation with their 2 boys {+their family} to wish me a happy day. that was nice. came home and our good friends kim+ gary came over to give me a birthday present. a HUGE wine glass + a bottle of sweet red wine. its really good + really cheap. you can usually find it on sale
for like 6 bucks most of the time at your local supermarket. sweet kaylee with her much loved hello kitty umbrella from the easter bunny. we "heart" the easter bunny!

and this is booah drinking water from the facuet. i swear he thinks he's a dog sometimes.


and that wraps up a day in the life of this twenty- sixteen year old. it was a good day. a really good day.

spring break

this is nicky our neighbors dog. she's a big teddy bear!! and she stays in her own yard. i took these yesterday and think they turned out pretty well. did just a little tweaking on them- pioneer women style of course.


even though we are not doing anything special for spring break, i am loving it. the weather has been semi great. {no snow! + some sunshine} kaylee has been sleeping in till about 8:30-9:30 in the mornings. last night was the first time in a long time that she actually stayed in her own bed. usually i hear a little thump- thats her feet hitting the floor which is usually followed by her shutting her door, footsteps coming down the stairs + her making her way to our bed. now i dont mind this really but for as little as she is, she does take up a lot of room.

i ran/walked 3 miles last night. it wasn't as painful as i had anticipated. if the rain can stay away till later tonight, i plan on doing it again. need to get in shape. i'm down to my ideal weight but cant seem to get rid of the dunlop tire thats stuck around my middle. i also want to do a race this year. the mayfest in shipshe and thats less than a month away. its a 4 mile run through the country + a little off pathing too. mike says not alot of people run that so i'm in. i get a little competitive and know that if theres a lot of people, i would go all out + then get discouraged as people pass me etc... i need to learn how to run my own race.

ok, i am off to do some laundry + pick up a little around the house. been keeping it clean for that "just in case someone wants to come over and look at the house" since it is on the market thing.

this is so her

it was another nice sunny day again yesterday so kaylee + i took advantage of it later in the afternoon and went for a little walk around the neighborhood. i got to practice my mad photo skills on her. {ham wont let me take pictures of him} i like them straight out of the camera. i tweaked a few of them + then went back to the original, they just look more real.

these pictures are so her: she loves to make those silly faces, she loves to laugh+ she loves to jump whether its over a crack in the sidewalk, over sticks or a puddle, she be jumping! she also loves her swing set and her daddy yaddie. last year she couldnt even reach the bar on her swing set even on her tippy toes. this year its no problem for her. it makes me a little sad seeing how big she is getting + how independent she's becoming. i bought her a little people doll house when she turned 1 for her birthday, she is now playing with it all by herself making the little people, dora, deigo + her other little toys do whatever it is she wants them to do. i love seeing and hearing her use her imagination. she's really good at remembering her little tv shows she watches + copies them later with her toys or with us. {little bear, max & ruby, spongebob}

people ask me if i'm going to put her in daycare. i dont know if i am or not. i mean, i do stay home for a reason. then again she could use some socializing + friends. i think for now she will stay home with me. i plan on taking her to barnes +nobles on thursdays. they offer a pre school story time for her. this will be great for both of us- to get out+ she loves stories. i also plan on getting her into either kindermusik or ballet. kinda leaning towards ballet even though they dont offer a lot of daytime classes. to see her in those cute little leotards+ tights- way cute!

photos from yesterday

this is booah. pronounced just like it reads- boo ah. we thought he was a she so we named him bella. booah is how kaylee pronounced bella + once we found out she was a he, we changed his name. he was ok with that. the first pic of him was taken a few days ago. thats his pititful, i want outside after being locked inside all winter long look. the next one is of him outside yesterday. i prefer him not to be outside- fear of germs, fleas + god knows what he will catch + kill but he was a good boy, kinda like a dog. he roamed around for a little bit, took care of biznez' then came back + sat on the back porch keeping guard. {he likes to play fetch too + he's got some hops y'all . might need to get a pic of that just to prove it}


these 2 pics are the ones that i did the pioneer women style. {hard light layers} the purple flowers i toned down a little to make them just pop a little more than the sooc shot. the chalk one, i left at 100% to show off the vibrant colors + contrast. think it turned out pretty well. i would add more pictures but i'm too lazy right now to do anything. i need to shower + get my spring swap box of goodies sent out.

beautiful days = beautiful weekend

for as slow as friday went, saturday + sunday definitely made up for it. the weather was perfect these past 2 days and we definitely enjoyed some time outside. saturday morning started out by having us be on the phone with the airlines. two of ours flights were with ATA who is now out of business. i got it all taken care of. we now have direct flights from chicago to hawaii and back. it makes me nervous not having a "pit-stop" for kaylee but hopefully i will have enough new stuff for her to play with +keep her entertained on the plane.

after all the phone calls made we went for a walk to our local ice cream shop, then went for a 2 mile walk. came back invited some friends over for a cookout + to watch some basketball. sunday was just as busy- went for another 2 mile walk, feed some ducks, got to see a huge turtle along the creek, kaylee got to swing + slide on her playset which she loves. even got her jammin jeep out for her to ride today. the yard is nice and clean, just need some flowers now to spruce up the house a little to lure the potential buyers in, grilled out again. we did not sit down till about 8pm tonight. i love days like these. and talk about a great day, it was perfect for picture taking + i took alot. i will post those tomorrow. i did some pioneer women photo actions to some of them and they turned out pretty cool looking. to top off a great weekend, we are now in spring break mode. no waking up at 6:30 in the morning tomorrow unless i feel like it!!

friday randoms

what a slow moving friday. doesn't help any that the weather is gray + the car is back in the shop. took it in last friday for an oil change. came out driving funny over the weekend. took it back in wednesday + today its going to come back with $700 worth of new spark plugs + wiring. kinda wish we had a different car when it comes to needing new parts for it.

last night i tried to be all pioneer womanish and make her beef brisket. cleaned the slab of meat + marinaded it over night. it was pretty disgusting cleaning the thing. i had to use paper towels to lift it into the roasting pan. didn't want to touch it. grossed me out but i do this stuff for the love of my family. {got to use my roasting pan that i bought over a year ago from pampered chef} roasted it for the time amount the pioneer women said it should take to only find that it was pink. as in corned beef brisket pink. had mike taste it and he said that it tasted like corned beef brisket. we don't like corned beef brisket. the meat man at the local supermarket was wrong + my attempt to cook a home style cattle ranch dinner went to waste. though the mash potatoes, green bean casserole for me + warmed up leftover mac-n-cheese was still good.

this is kaylee cheesing it for me. now she is 3 years old and she has actually grown a little in her short life span but see her cute little skirt? that was a birthday present for when she turned 1 years old. it fit her then, a little big obviously and it still fits her now. miss petite thang. i love her. i put "lip loss" on her + she talks with her lips sticking out, its too cute!

i love those sweatshirts too. i got her a pink one last year and got 3 more this year. another pink one, this green one + one that zips up for next year. they are so soft + they wash really well too+ they go with everything!!

here's a few pics of our house that we are trying to sell. its alot bigger inside than what it looks on the outside. the family room in the back is 19x23! huge!! we have a large sectional in there, chair + ottoman+ a 62" big screen tv. { i think its 62". mike will be upset with me if that's wrong. it's either 62 or 68}



oh well whatever it is. and talk about size, see the ceiling fan in our bedroom? the one that covers up most of the ceiling...well that's what you get when you let your husband pick out the fan. i never liked it, it doesn't match the decor unless you live in a cabin i'm glad that stays. our kitchen table fits 6 people but the realtor said to shorten it, makes the kitchen look bigger. not that that matters right now. no one is interested in seeing it!! kinda makes me worried..........

runs in the family

yesterday afternoon called the husband at work and told him i wasnt very happy at the moment. he asked me what was wrong and i told him i just got done peeing on a stick. he was quiet for a moment and said really. {i start to laugh} and said yeah. and he says oh good/cool. what?!! are you kidding me? we are going on a cruise in june, i get awful morning, noon + night sickness, we're trying to move. are you crazy?? while laughing, i tell him just kidding. april fools day. i get him every year with this one except the year kaylee was born. i did play the joke but then i said april fools but not really. it took him a minute or two on that one.

i told him to call his mom and play the joke on her too. she took the bait. {see how it runs in the family?} i've played this one on her every year too except last year. i did the joke on ham. on the way to school i told him we were moving out of state when school was over. he was upset the whole entire day!! poor kid. i'm a mean mom but thats just how i roll. one of these days someone will get me. karma happens.

i write poems

when i am feeling bored or blue

these are the websites i go to

till i realize that i will never possess -their talents or skills

my heart aches till its kills

every nerve and inch of my body +soul

to be a great photographer is my one +only goal.

{not the only one but it rhymed}

daniela berkhout {enter flashsite, then featured tab. amazing photos of italy}

tara whitney {love her colors+ sense of style}

jinky art + shop itty bitty {photoshop actions}

the pioneer women {is there anything she cant do? biatch! great tutorials in photoshop. easy to follow along even for element users}

the image is found {hate them too. they are the ultimate rock star couple. amazing stuff even with a $200 point +shoot}

allie hoopes {changed my camera settings to hers + love the outcome of my photos. and she can turn your handwriting into a font for 5 buckaroo's}

shuttersisters {group of women who contribute photos. love it!}

barebaby {sweet sweet baby photos. takes you to carrie sandoval + brittany woodall's websites.}

beckers blog {funny dude}

jessica sinclair {amazing wedding photos + owner of shootsac camera bags}

brianna graham {she doesnt blog alot but her photos are amazing!}

weekend in a nutshell

we had an open house sunday and it wasn't pretty. no one showed up. poor realtor. she sat here for 3 hours waiting. it kinda surprised me because we did see a few cars drive by- slowly- and thought for sure they would come inside and take a peak. its just going to take a little more time, hopefully not too much though. we are kinda on a time schedule {school ending + vacation}. its all having to do with the housing market. with foreclosures being the highest they have ever been, banks are not loaning out the money like they were a few years ago- that's why the foreclosures. stupid people. stupid banks. what were they thinking?? ah, what do i know. i'm just a stay at home mom living amongst the corn fields.

saturday evening, ham+ i along with his friend aarin hit the big mall to go shopping! this is the first in about 4 years that he has gone with me and actually tried on the clothes. he ended up getting 2 more pairs of jeans, belt + shoes. {a little over $200 bucks- yikes!} we still need to get a few t-shirts + some shorts for vacation. ham said that we need to do it again next week for those items. yeah- wow. never ever thought i would hear him say those words. i usually shop for him and hope he's gonna like it or we shop online and hope that it fits. now that he's a little taller, i think its going to make a big difference with the shopping. {he was in between sizes before. too big+ too old for the boys dept. yet not quite tall enough for the junior boys size}

sunday we went to the dollar theatre and saw this:

we, as in, me, mike+kaylee. ham didn't want to come with us for some reason. he went over to his buddy aarins house again. anyway it was a great, cute movie + kaylee loved it! it had singing, dancing + farting. the 3 things that puts a smile on that girls face. i loved watching alvin and the chipmunks when i was a little girl all those years ago. after the movie, kaylee said "that was a great movie. i wouldn't mind seeing it again." she's so wise for her 3 years of age. after the movie we went home to find out depressing news about the open house and that ends our weekend in a nutshell.