Something to Look Forward To

This post goes for you, my few but fabulous blogger friends! Starting this Sunday I am going to (attempt) to start a weekly column on my blog. In the tradition of Candid Carrie's Friday Foto Finish Fiesta, Wordless Wednesday, and the Thursday 13, I shall give you: Sunday Celebrity Synopsis! Yes, the title is cheesy but to the point.

I am a huge fan of all things celebrity gossip. I have a People Magazine subscription that never got canceled after its trial 8-week period, I subscribe to Celebrity Baby Blog, I keep track of the latest break-up, bust-up, boob-job, and birth on my smutty websites, and now I am going to provide my commentaries of my favorite headlines of the week. I hope to see you Sunday!

Menu Plan Monday - July 7

I hope everyone had a wonderful 4th of July! Now it's back to the grind and looking forward to our next federal holiday; bring it on Labor Day! Here's the menu for this week:

• Monday: Oven BBQ Chicken*, Mac-N-Cheese, carrots
• Tuesday: Tilapia, oven Greek potatoes, salads (for us) and frozen veggies (for Livers)
  
• Wednesday: chicken nuggets, mashed potatoes, carrots, corn
  
• Thursday: Mama's Losin' It's wonderful enchiladas
  
• Friday: eat out
  
• Saturday: Standing Rib Roast (cut into rib-eyes)**, baked potatoes (sweet for me and Livers, regular for everyone else), salad
  
• Sunday: Livers and I are on our own.

* Super easy and incredibly delicious. Preheat the oven to 375. Wash chicken legs (or cut of choice). Put in a oven save dish. Cover with 1/2 bottle of Kraft Hickory Smoke BBQ sauce. Cook for 30 minutes. Pull out and flip chicken. Cover with other half of bottle. Cook for additional 30 minutes. Eat till you pop.

** We got this as a gift from my parents since Jeremy helped them set up their new TV. What a treat!

Today's Lesson in Gross...

...is brought to you by Miss Livers.

As I was scanning some old papers into my computer to get rid of clutter, Livers was looking over the gate to see what I was doing. I looked up at her and noticed that her mouth was covered in brown stuff.

(I know what you're thinking, and it's not THAT gross.)

At first I thought she must have found an Oreo somewhere, but I thought to myself, "Lindsay, you would never let the Little Mess bring an Oreo into the den," and upon further inspection I noticed that it was, in fact, NOT Oreo crumbs. It was dirt. While I was engrossed in my scanning she had climbed halfway up the gate and shoved her hand into the plant by the gate. Apparently the potting soil looked tasty (or at least worth tasting), because she most certainly did. Can I get a yuck?

At least it wasn't poop...

Fireworks and Boat Rides

Happy 4th of July! I hope everyone had a lot of fun spending time with family and friends, eating some good food, shooting off some fireworks, setting things on fire because of the fireworks, and hopefully not drinking TOO much :) We had a wonderful 4th at our house. Our first real one with Livers, because last year she was a bit too young to really care. Most of our festivities took place on the 3rd, because our town had its celebration on that day (don't ask me why), but we did have the obligatory cookout on the 4th.

This was the first time that either of us participated in our town's 4th festivities. We really wanted to just see some fireworks, but I had hoped to see what kind of children's activities they had planned so that Livers would have fun, too. When we drove up there around 8:15 or so, it was very crowded. J wasn't feeling too good, and this did not sit well with him. Top that with the fact that it was $10 to get in, and the night was almost a bust. After driving by we decided to do a loop and see if we could park somewhere for free, so we found a space by one of the dikes by the lake and started to walk.

To get to the festival you had to cross a bridge that goes over the lake. This scared J, because he worried that someone would hit us, but I assured him it would be okay because there was a sidewalk. As we're crossing the bridge I look down and tell Jeremy that I think I recognize one of our friends driving a boat. He said there was no way, but I kept insisting. He still didn't believe me until B's daughter looks up and sees me and starts shouting, "Lindsay! Lindsay!" We all waved down at them, and then we noticed that the boat behind them was full of some more of our friends. We call down to them to say that we're walking to the festival, and they asked if we wanted to get on their boat and see the fireworks. I love a good random evening, so we agreed and walked over to the other side of the bridge, hopped the guard rail, trekked through some brush, and made it to a little beach to board their boat. We didn't have a life jacket for ourselves, but they had a small one for Livers to wear.

I was concerned about how Livers would take to being on a cramped pontoon for an hour or so, but it didn't faze her at all. She enjoyed walking back and forth from one end of the boat to the other, trying to get into people's chips and cookies, and messing with the various gauges next to the boat's steering wheel. We ended up tying our boat to our other friend's boat and sat there for awhile chatting and waiting for the fireworks to begin. It was a lot of fun. As long as I've lived here I've never been on a boat (except to ski on a neighboring lake when I was kin college and once sailing), and it was a whole lot of fun. I kept telling J later how much I wish we had a one of our own.

Around 9:15 or so, once it had finally gotten dark, they finally started to shoot off the fireworks. I wasn't sure how Livers would react to them, since I know some children are very sensitive to sound AND we were on a boat with no way to escape if she had a fit. Luckily she was absolutely mesmerized by the sounds and colors. I muffed her ears with my hands for awhile just in case she was frightened by the sound, but after awhile she wanted them off of her ears and to get out of my lap, and it apparently didn't bother her at all. She spent part of the show running back and forth from cupholder to cupholder placing water bottles in and out, in and out. When it was time for the grand finale she had positioned herself next to M, the boat's captain, and was intermittently trying to touch the controls and stopping to watch the last fireworks get shot off. The look on her face as she watched them was priceless. She was so enthralled with them. I wish I could have gotten pictures of both the fireworks and of her on the boat watching them, but the swaying of the boat combined with how generally pathetic my camera is made it impossible.

After the fireworks were over we untied ourselves from our friend's boat and then slowly sped back to M's house. It was too dark and dangerous to try and jump the railing and trek through the woods to get back to our car, so we decided that I was going to hitch a ride back to my car and drive back to pick up J and Livers once we got to M's house. It was so calming driving back to the house (when Livers wasn't getting into everything). I loved how dark and peaceful it had become and the way the breeze felt on my face. It amazed me how well M new his way through the lake, because I'm sure I would've hit someone or beached the boat.

We finally got back to his house after 10, and hung out there for a little bit. His house was very nice, and he gave us a tour of it. We definitely had a case of house envy :) Around 11:15 we finally left to head home. Livers fell asleep in the car halfway there. You always think that keeping a baby up that late would mean that she's sure to sleep nice and late the next morning, but nope. Up around 8:15, right on schedule.

Overall it was a very nice, relaxing 4th, probably one of the best I've had. Nothing too high class, nothing too stressful, no hangovers, no sunburn. How was your 4th celebration?

Real-Life Thursday, Week 3

Where the Magic Happens: Our Bedroom
Here is our lovely, magical bedroom. It's nothing particularly special, but it's cozy for us and we love it. Luckily for me I've been on a ridiculous cleaning kick this week, so aside from the unmade bed the room is pretty clean. And don't mind the little one. She "insisted" on making sure she was in the pictures, too!

My husband's side of the bed:
It would be barren if I didn't put a wedding picture up of myself. That, by the way, is the only wedding picture in the house. We've been married three years and I STILL haven't ordered any yet.


The bed:
This is usually how it looks. Some days I decide to make it, but usually it's nice and lived in for when we get into it the next night. I also try and take a nap every day , because I'm a strong proponent of the "sleep when baby sleeps" idea. Livers is doing her normal try-and-get-the-phone routine.

My side of the bed:
Nothing special, really. I do have a beautiful vase from my aunt that she gave me at Christmas, and I believe Livers' goal in life is to break it. You can see her going for it right now. I also have a picture of Livers and me from Christmas and the obligatory bottle of hand lotion.


Top of my dresser:
Since we have an older house we have little closet space, which meant we both had to get dressers. I usually try and keep it pretty clean, because clutter bothers me. I have on it a lamp that I got from Target that I originally had wanted to put in the hallway but decided was very pretty here. The picture was one that I won on eBay. It is from an independent artist, and it's one of my favorite possessions. I thought I wanted to put it in my office one day, but when I kept it here (to have a place to keep it until then) I decided it added a lot of spunk to our gray bedroom, and it's been here ever since. I also have one of our four clocks (because we always want to know what time it is at 4 in the morning), an old picture of us, chapstick, and books I intend to read someday.

My husband's dresser:
His is intended to keep all of our entertainment equipment for the bedroom. One thing I really like about both of these dressers is that they didn't cost much (we got them at a naked furniture store) and my husband stained them himself. They took him forever, but he did a fabulous job.


Our artwork:
The pictures above the bed were all taken by my dad. He loves photography, and he always has his camera with him. He walks about 6 miles every weekend, and these are a couple of shots that he took last fall while on his walks. They are special to me because he took them and they were taken of places around where we both live. The other tree picture is a generic Target print, and the picture of Livers was one from her Christmas pictures this year.



Inside of my dresser:
I couldn't open all of the drawers so you could see everything, but you get the point. Clothes, clothes, more clothes.


Under the bed:
Usually it looks like we're growing a third dog, but vacuuming under the bed was on my t0-do list this week (since it hadn't been done in over a year). The gray you see is the dust I left behind, and it will stay there until we move one day :) Also featured are speaker wires, and a roach trap (not pictured).


Closet and Laundry:
Here is our closet. Yes, I color code all of our clothes to make it easier to find. I told you, I like to be organized :) The laundry hamper is at the bottom right. It is empty because Livers and I did all of the laundry yesterday. (Her favorite part is to take everything out of the basket while I'm folding it and then put it back into the basket. Fifteen times.)


What I sleep in:
This is a fuzzy picture of what I will be sleeping in tonight. I am a pajama bottom and T-shirt kind of girl for the most part, because it's what I find most comfortable and warm. If I get cold in the middle of the night I'll end up putting on one of my husband's long-sleeved shirts.

Real-Life Thursday, Week 2 (and a Little Bit Late)

I saw a few of my blog peeps, like Apple Joos and Tiaras and Tantrums, participating in this last week, and I thought looked like a whole lot of fun. After checking out a couple of people's participation for this week I decided that I wanted to jump on the bandwagon, albeit a little belatedly. So here is my real life, Part 1, and late, because it wouldn't really be me unless I was at least a good 10 minutes behind.

Our Junk Drawer:
Yes, every house has one, and I try to keep it as neat as possible, but there's always more junk that needs a home.


Where the Blogging Magic happens: My desk.
This would've looked different if taken at 11 PM last night. I have wanted this desk from Pottery Barn since I first saw it in their catalog, and I used my garage sale earnings and anniversary money to get it. I should take a nice long look at this picture, because it will never look so pristine again.


My Favorite Jewelry:
It would have to be a tie between my wedding jewelry and this necklace. I wanted a very simple, classic wedding set, and it definitely is that. The necklace is the only real jewelry "splurge" I've ever allowed myself. I usually just buy cheap costume pieces that cost less than $20 max. I found this in an aquarium gift shop. I absolutely love rainbows, so when I saw this I wanted it really bad. It really isn't that expensive, because the beads aren't real gems, just Swavroski crystals, but it was more than I would normally spend. It was easy to justify, though, because I knew I'd wear it with everything, and I have.
My Best Feature:
It would have to be my extremities: the hands and feet. I've always felt that the rest of me was pretty plain and ordinary, but I've always thought my hands and feet were beautiful and feminine. Though some people think I have freakishly long toes, I've always found them unique and beautiful.

Real-Life Thursday, Week 1 (and a Little Bit Late)

Here's another belated Real-Life Thursday. I thought the one I labeled Week 1 was actually first, but I was wrong. Anyway, here is a little bit about my very real life :)

The Fridge:
Our fridge is a typical parent's fridge: photos of the kids, random magnets from take-out and the vet, fridge toys, pictures, etc. On the side not pictured I have a paper keeping track of our spending and bills to be paid. Inside the fridge looks pretty typical for our house. It's a little cleaner than normal because it was trash day, but I need to go through it pretty soon.

The Sink:
We have a white plastic sink. I don't like that it's white, because it scratches and needs to be regularly Cloroxed to get rid of stains, but I LOVE how deep it is. It's a good 10 inches, at least. When Livy was little, it was her bathtub (when it was clean). If we ever do anything in the kitchen I'd love a nice stainless steel or ceramic sink. The flower at right is from my husband for our 3-year anniversary. I love love LOVE red gerbera daisies.

The Toilet:
This is the one that gets the most sittage. It's technically the guest bathroom, but it's the only one in the house with a tub so we use it almost exclusively. The room looks clean because the floors were mopped (and not just Swiffered) for the first time in about 5 months yesterday.

The Closet:
Our house is old, so my husband and I have to share this one closet. I regularly go through my clothes to get rid of things I don't wear, because otherwise it is bursting at the seams. When I was in college I started to organize my clothes by sleeve length, color, and type of clothes, and it has stuck with me to this day. It makes laundry day a snap and finding things very easy.
My Favorite Shoes:
I am a flip-flop girl during the summer, so these are my favorite pairs. I usually go with something simple that I can wear with anything, like the brown Rainbows you see (or a pair of Black Tevas), but awhile back I found the sparkly number on my feet on sale at Coldwater Creek, so I snatched them up. Usually cute shoes are painful, but these are surprisingly comfortable.

My Favorite Room (and it's view):
This would hands down be my office (the kitchen is a close second). It used to be in our spare bedroom, but I wanted to be closer to the action in the house, so we moved it to the "dining room" (which had been functioning as the dogs' room) in November. I love the nice dark gray walls and how they pop against the white trim. If you didn't notice, I have a slight fetish for things rainbow. I have ever since I was a little girl. I'm just glad I found a husband who will put up with it, because I'm willing to bet few would. Also, you'll notice that this seems to be someone else's favorite room, too. That would be my dog Lacey, and she's residing on her favorite spot in the house.

The view you see if of our backyard. We have tons of trees, so looking out of most windows in the house is like looking out of a tree house.


Self-portrait:
This is me and Lacey. I asked my husband to take it without a flash, because I didn't want you to think that you were seeing a ghost. And I wish I could take credit for the crocheted afghan, but my husband's grandmother made that for me. I just bought the yarn and told her what I would like, and she made it in something like a month and a half. She loves to do this, and God Bless her for it :)