bringing all the boys to the yard, okay, not really

1. these beauties are growing in my yard. yup, you read that right- I have bananas!

2. though i'm not sure when i'm suppose to pick them.

3. i got to tell some plumbers they suck today.

4. the main water line that leaked $600 worth of water last september and cost me $400 to repair is leaking another $200-300 in repairs today.

5. they told me its because of ground movement. so my house is the only house on the block that ground moves because none of my other neighbors are having this problem???  hmmm......

6. i called for a new plumber whose coming out tomorrow. fingers crossed they give me a better quote.

7. i gained 5lbs since the last time i weighed myself. in fact, i think i gained more than that because i had lost 4lbs. what a big mess i am!

8. kaylee got a new outfit today because i felt guilty for making her go out in the hot, hot sun.

9. if you need an  good  awesome book(s) to read, i highly recommend molokai and honolulu by alan brennert. both books kept me wanting to know how it was going to end. i could not put them down!

10. and i'm super disappointed in ryan lochte's swim in the 400 relay last night. michael phelps gave him a great lead and he lost it.

highlights, broken relationships and a prank

at night- thats not a huge zit on my nose but from my glasses

1. friday got my hair cut and highlighted instead of colored because the stylist said i don't have lots of gray and it will keep me looking young.

2. she also thought i was much younger than her. [she was 40 and asian too]

3. i finally broke my 10 year relationship with AT+T and went Verizon. 

4. Now I'm debating on breaking up with Iphone to go with the Samsung Galaxy 3. 

5.  The galaxy has a bigger screen, more and different ring tones and their "Siri" seems to work better. [but i love my apple computer]

6. i really could of used some good news yesterday- like i won a million dollars or something. just felt a little blue. i need some friends!

7. i went for a run this morning and sweated like it was 100 degrees. i keep reminding myself that its just fat melting away as it runs into my eyes.

8. now i'm sad that i have to wash my hair because we all know i won't be able to get it too look like it did yesterday.

9. mike and i went to a shogun place for dinner last night. it was okay definitely not a hani yori's! [we're bummed we didn't eat there once while back in indiana!]

10. ham was telling me how much his bug bites were burning when kaylee whispered to me that she gave him nail polish remover instead of calamine lotion. tricky girl! [ham sat on her when he found out]

hermits

the car ride home; close to memphis

she said ham was mean first.

1. this whole week we've stayed home and done absolutely nothing. so i forced kaylee out today. kinda.

2. we went to kohls and got ham bed sheets he "loved" while we stayed at the in-laws. 

3. of course when i gave them to him, he complained that they were poop brown color and that he wants louis vuitton silk sheets. [he was kidding of course about the lv sheets..i hope]

4. we ate lunch at subway, then got her hair trimmed at some cheapy place. i could of done what the "stylist" did and saved myself 12 bucks.

5. then i dropped kaylee off at home since she didn't want to go plant shopping with me. [i knew i wouldn't be able to concentrate with her around anyway]

6. while there she calls me then hangs up on me because i didn't give her the answer she was wanting. so i had to call her back and tell her no tv or computer till i get back. [her brother was home fyi]

7. most of the plants that i planted have died either from the heat or all the rain. so i got some mexican oregano- smells yummy!and some other red plants to go with them.

8. i started to feel that i need a nap feeling so i took a multivitamin instead. can't believe how much better i feel!

9. even after dinner, i went for a short run and almost ran the whole way.

10. and my favorite part of everyday is when kaylee and ham go swimming or hang out in his room together. kaylee just laughs and laughs. boy is she going to miss him when he leaves for school but we're not going to think about that right now.

[word] a reminder

while folding laundry this morning, i decided that i'm going to stop whining about moving closer to downtown and start loving my big, beautiful house again.  then i went on pinterest and see this.  

pretty random wednesday

our road tripping doggy

1. ollie was a great dog on our road trip to indiana. in fact, he was better than the kids!

2. he did bark a lot once we got to mike's parents house but to my surprise, they all got along in a day or two. [still lots of barking though]

3. today he finally got to play with his girlfriend, fiona. its been 3 weeks since they last saw each other.

4. i finally made a hair appointment only to find out that the guy hairstylist i really liked is no longer at the salon. just my luck. 

5. so i'm going to the same salon but going to have someone else do my hair.

6. not sure what's going on with my head but its been hurting for the past 2 days now.    almost migraine like.

7. we went out to dinner tonight and i had a california burger. it had yummy avocados, green chiles and some chipotle sauce and some other goodness.

8. i'm trying to be really good and watch i eat so i only ate half of my sandwich and less than half of my french fries. [had half a cupcake after lunch]

9. heather brown surf art posted about a blog called the grommom on facebook. of course its all about life in hawaii and of course i entered the heather brown surf art contest.

10. and something really off beat. i love laundry detergent pods. i used them at my in-laws and haven't looked back since.  i like all and they end up being cheaper too. [i still need a small bottle of detergent for the really small loads]

whipping her into my own personal baker

 cupcakes

 double layer cake

dog cake

1. kaylee had her cake class today and got to make all these goodies. 

2. the double layer cake is chocolate on the bottom and vanilla on top. she said she was the only one who got to make one because she followed directions correctly. 

3. i'm going to saran wrap the hell out of the cakes and freeze them. we'll keep the cupcakes for right now grubbing.

4. i went running/walking tonight. it wasn't too bad but its just so hot.

5. mike went to the gym this morning. i think it was because i was drooling over adam levine on the telly last night. how can you not drool when you know he looks like this?

6. awhile back i bought a $50 gift thingy from plum district for $25.00 to erincondren.com. i was going to get another life planner but the gift thingy didn't include that so i got a notebook plus a calendar instead.

7. i think it will be a better fit anyway. the life planner is really huge and i didn't use half of it.

8. while reading other blogs i wonder how they get all the free stuff or stuff to giveaway.

9. one blogger got paint. i need paint! i got lots of rooms to paint! someone send me paint!

10. guess it helps if you have more than 2 blog readers. i love my 2 blog readers though and wouldn't trade them for free paint!

i wish we lived closer to downtown

 The Grove- they had the best short rib taco's

 where i got my free ikea bag, pillow and blanket. listening to the jazz band

 goobers [i need a facial, can't believe how bumpy my face looks]

some sort of art? you can go through it

1. saturday afternoon while checking my facebook, ikea posted about being down at the discovery green later that day and that they would be giving away free stuff and gift cards. 

2. after all my talk about my current obsession of moving closer to the city, mike had to give in and take us to prove we don't live that far.

3. i didn't win a gift card but did get some loot and a few 20% off single item cards.

4. the park was really neat and had an awesome splash pad, fountain and playground. the old play group would of loved it!

5. unfortunately we didn't stay long. i think mike's turning into an old man.

6. sunday we had some friends come over for swimming and cookout.

7. the neighbor kids came over too. mike ended up being the white guy here.

8. looking at photos of myself has made me realize that i need to take better care of myself. [i desperately need a facial and haircut. a massage too while i'm at it]

9. i seriously don't know how the texans do it- look good at all times. [instead of a sweaty mess]

10. after a day like today, i wish mike's folks lived closer so mike, kaylee and ham could go away for the weekend. i need some mama time!

does an overnighter count as a "mini" vacation?

 view from hotel room

 this house is super charming even though you can't tell by my drive by photos.

 and a super cool tree

 you wouldn't even have to twist my arm to live in it

kaylee and mike night swimming

1. mike's been staying at the omni all week for training. guess his work didn't want him driving those 18 miles each way.  [18 miles can equal 30 to 90 minutes of driving time]

2. so we decided to join him for an overnighter.

3. boy am i glad we did. its been getting pretty stagnant around here doing nothing!

4. we went and exchanged ham's shoes and gave the guy helping me 10 bucks so he could get some lunch. [he left his wallet at home and he didn't want his co-workers all up in his bizness]

5. bought kaylee a headband [hanna anderson] and some over priced gummi bears from dylan's candy bar before meeting up with mike.

6. ate dinner at morton's and then got some fivebucks hot chocolate after they went swimming.

7. we also drove around after dinner and looked at some really big and fancy houses. 

8. decided to come home instead of shopping this morning. 

9. ham's rent and tuition is really stressing me out. these past two days are the only days i went shopping that wasn't food related. today was a small house related target run]

10. and something completely off topic- i waxed my little moustache about 10 minutes ago. man does that stuff burn/hurt!

what's that weird, sad feeling? oh yeah, homesickness

while visiting indiana, ham and i checked out our old house. 

[took these photos before our move]

 old neighbors recognized the rover and stopped us to ask if we were moving back. they were very disappointed to hear we were not.

  ham was amazed at how large the backyard was.

while it was a short time, i'm so glad we have so many fond memories of this house.

once we got back into texas and onto familiar roads, i felt a sadness in my heart. not because i missed texas but our home and friends/family in indiana. guess thats what homesickness feels like. [i've never been homesick before]

indiana recap in photos

our trip to indiana in no particular order.  i can no longer be accused of being photo stingy. lots of photos here.

 sunrise in missouri

 old neighbors over for a swim

 rented a pontoon on pine lake; laporte

 pool party that my wonderful friend hosted but only 2 of my friends showed up

[hope this makes the others feel guilty : ) ]

 same pool party- paper lanterns like in the movie tangled

 swimming with the cousins

 mike and his mom in shipshewana

so sweet- bff's holding hands.

 saw the mississippi river at least 3 times

 ate some yummy bbq in memphis

 my kiddos in front of our hotel before going to bed. the westin has the best smelling lotion, shampoo and conditioner. even entering their lobby smelled heavenly![its white tea??]

 getting our toes done

 partying with some old friends; mike's because all mine left me. [guilt trip : )]

 the story: i drank 2 large beers, 3 red bull and vodka's and did 3 gold schlagger shots

 mike + his bff

 sexy bartender

 mike the next morning after the party

 me after the party. [yes, i puked! lots!]

 nugget lost another tooth on 4th of july

kaylee using her american girl doll gift cards she got for her birthday and christmas

alex, her doll, got her hair done and ears pierced besides getting a few other things.

home sweet home

via myroots

we made it back after our little "vacation" from visiting back home. will post more after recovering from our 18 hour drive.