A Surprisingly Wonderful Week

Have you ever had one of those Sundays when you looked at the week ahead in disdain?  I have.  Five days ago, I was not all too happy about what was ahead.  I had very few reasons to be excited about the week.  I had a sinus infection, I wasn't feeling good, Devin's in the middle of board prep, the weather was supposed to be gross, and there was nothing all that exciting to look forward to before the weekend.  On top of that, the weekend ending had been so busy that I didn't really feel rested.

Then, lots of stuff happened this week.  My laptop died.  The air conditioner in my car broke...again.  Work was crazy busy.  Sounds pretty awful right?  Surprisingly, no.

Somehow, I have been super Zen about all the craziness and have had one of the most amazing weeks ever.  There was nothing big or awesome that happened, but the little moments were just too perfect.  On Monday, Devin planned his lunch break with mine so that we could have a quick lunch date.  I think we probably talked about fungus or bacteria or something part of the time, but I also filled him in on some funny moments from the world of TV he's been missing out on.  And we had good old regular small talk.  Then, I also got my dogs new toys on Tuesday.  Last night, they were so entertaining that I did almost nothing else but watch them play for over an hour.  Because Devin has been staying up later than me every night, Blue has also gotten to sleep on the bed with me a lot, which I love.

On top of all this, there have been lots of chats with family, tele-shopping with my mom and sisters (do you like how I just made up a term for it?), planning for our big end-of boards hiking trip, and delicious foods on sale at my favorite stores.  The weather hasn't been all that bad, and life has really just felt wonderful.  Strange huh?  And now, because they are just too darn cute, I'll close with a picture of my spoiled dogs surrounded by all their new toys.  Sorry for the picture quality...only my phone was handy!

Oh my goodness, don't you just love them?  I sure do!  :]

Oh Dear!

That's what I exclaim when something goes wrong. Is the soup boiling over?  Oh Dear!  Did the car just make a particularly end of life-ish sound?  Oh Dear!  Did I just drop something I really shouldn't have?  Oh Dear!  Where did I get this?  I have no idea.

My biggest "Oh Dear!" of late: my poor Lappytop is dead.  Two nights ago, the low power icon came on, even though it was plugged in.  Oh Dear!  After trying a bazillion outlets and disconnects/reconnects, it still was not working.  Thanks to Amazon, a new cord is on the way.  Until then, my poor, dead Lappytop (real name)

has been replaced by OLDSKOOL.

Yes, when Devin set up our home network, he did in fact rename my old laptop for it's um, advanced technological age.  Poor OLDSKOOL.  He went through part of undergrad, all of grad school, and the early days of marriage with me.  At least he got to come out of retirement for a few days to chug his way through the internet.  Maybe I'll even dig through his hard drive and see what treasures I can find.  I'm sure I'll appreciate Lappytop even more when he's back in action in a few days, though!

p.s. It took roughly 5,000 hours (give or take a few) to upload both of these photos.  Awesome.

Texting with my Babe

11:03 am
B: I am so hungry!!!!!!

11:04 am
D: Pizzaaaaaaa!

11:05 am
B: Yesssssss!!!!!!!! :]

Guess who has a lunch date?  Hurray for "mandatory" breaks during board prep!

I Have an Awesome Mom

A few fun facts:

My mom is fun...and funny.  Some of my best memories of the later years of high school include being doubled over laughing with her and my sisters.  I still laugh with her all the time now...just over the phone.

My mom tans waaaaay better than me.  In the summer she looks like a sun goddess.  I just glow, reflect light, and/or blind people...sigh.

My mom had been there to support me for every major (and minor!) milestone in my life.  Even when the ceremony has been stupid, the travel was long, or the event was boring, she was there.

My mom has awesome hair.  Even when she complains about it, it still looks great.  People often say we look alike.  I love this since we share no genetics!!



I really am a super lucky girl to have had this amazing woman as my Mom.  I couldn't have done a better job picking one for myself.  I love you Mom!!!!

A Tale of two Tails

Once upon a time (or you may call it last weekend), two dogs went on an amazing adventure.  They explored miles and miles of woods sniffing and marking nearly everything as their own as they made their way to a campsite among the trees.

Once there, they played and played and then watched their father start a fire.  They were very impressed at his use of flint and steel while using no matches or lighters.

They even tried to help with the sticks.

However, once it was blazing they wanted nothing to do with it.  The marshmallows that came with it, though, were another story.  The dogs loved the little bit of sweet sugary goodness.

The dogs slept in a tent.  Or, they occasionally napped while never really settling in for the night.  Really, where were the special, extra plush dog begs they are accustomed to?

When they woke up in the morning, the gear was loaded and they began the hike out.  Conveniently, the dogs had their parents with them to carry everything for them, leaving them free to swim, play, and get in a few last sniffs.

Two happy, wet, tired dogs arrived back at the end of the trail glad for their adventure and ready for a soft place to lay down.  It may have been the best weekend they'd ever had.

And they lived happily ever after...

Disaster Strikes

It's never a good thing when your laundry room looks like this:

because it means that this:

will soon be replaced with this:

and you will be out a few hundred dollars.

If you are savvy, you will tell yourself that at least you now have 10 more gallons of hot water at your disposal and that it just increased the value of your home.  You may even thank it for forcing you to redo your floor since you were debating whether or not to do it.  In the end, though, that may be what comes out of your mouth but almost definitely won't be what is going through your head...sigh.

Two Years of Wonderful

On May 2, 2009 I was lucky enough to marry the most wonderful man in the world.  He is funny, thoughtful, and at least as stubborn as me.  Growing up, my mom always told me I would need a strong man to balance me out, and that is exactly what I got.  Whereas I am often emotional, he is logical.  When I become worried, he calms me down.  If I'm upset, he knows just how to make me laugh.  I love to watch him play with our dogs, do a goofy dance, or man the grill.

The day we were married, I never imagined how happy we would be two years later.  We are more in love, more in sync, and more in tune with each other now.  We have learned to work as a team in the kitchen, in our goals, and in life.  Now, I'm not going to say that everything is perfect, blissful, and incredible all of the time.  But, I so frequently find myself full of wonder at the life we've created together that I can definitely say these two years have been wonderful.  Happy Anniversary Babe!