Life Lately

I hope everyone enjoyed their long weekend, and remembered to thank the vets and active troops for the freedom to have a BBQ and do whatever we want for three days. 

For me, it was a MUCH needed break. The past two weekends were packed with events and scheduled things to do. This long weekend really got me back into my normal mode. 

Friday after work I enjoyed a bonfire at the neighbors. Of course this involved lots of kids and s'mores, but to my amazement, Cooper was on his best behavior. And by best behavior, I mean he only stole one graham cracker (thankfully without chocolate or marshmallow), and didn't poop in the yard without me noticing to pick it up. Unfortunately that bonfire set my allergies to insane, and Saturday was not a good day for me. But it wasn't a big deal, because I had 3 days to get everything done, I took Saturday to lay around with my allergies and watch movies. 

Sunday I did all of the yard work, and went for a swim (more on that next week). Then Monday rounded out the weekend with deep cleaning my first floor. A lot of work, but it feels SO good to have everything clean! 

A lovely (and slightly blurry) shot of me, but super cute of Luthor. Every time I sit on the couch, he is in my lap in less than 30 seconds.

I'm seriously looking into a cleaning company to come clean my house. I'm not sure the frequency I want yet, but I DREAD coming home and having zero time for myself because I have to clean. It's not terrible in the winter because there really isn't anything else to do, but when it's nice out, I just do not want to spend my time inside cleaning. I have to find a good place that will have someone who can deal with Cooper. Do you get your house cleaned? How often? Keep in mind, it's just me and the animals, but it gets dirtier than I like quicker than I like. 

I do have real posts coming - I've been working on scanning in old pictures so they aren't so boring :]  Thanks for hanging in there with me! 

May 20th???

I seriously do not know where time goes. 

The day starts and I feel great about what I'm going to accomplish. I have lists and I have goals that I need to make some progress towards, and I'm ready to kick some ass. 

By the time I arrive to the office, I usually have about 30 emails to go through from the night before. So I enjoy my breakfast while I deal with that, and before I know it, it's time for our daily meeting at 9AM. 

For whatever reason after that meeting until lunch time seems to disappear right before my eyes. I honestly don't know how this happens EVERY. SINGLE. DAY. 

One email leads to another issue to another issue and so on. I feel like I have ADD the way I bounce around things at work. But I feel that's part of the job - deal with it as it comes up. 

Anyway, the point of this post is that I need to find a way to keep on schedule everyday, and still put out all the fires that pop up. 

And along those lines is blogging. The past two weekends, along with my evenings after work, have been booked 110%. This weekend - NOTHING. The goal is to get caught up on everything (including housework - yuck!) 

I love blogging and all of the people that I have met so far. I am going to continue to work on this blog and do my best to have regular posts. Just don't expect it until next week. I found out yesterday afternoon I have to make a trip to Cincinnati on Thursday. 

Until next week, I leave you with a diaper cake I made for a friend's baby shower. This is my third time making it. It's not has hard and time consuming as you would think. Next time I will take pictures of the process so I can do a tutorial. And I'm 100% sure there will be a next time, since all I seem to do these days is go to baby showers and kids birthday parties. 

Have you ever made a diaper cake before? For whatever reason, I don't like the 4-wheeler for girls. Do you have a version of a diaper cake that's good for girls? 

Blogger Swap

Today I'm linking up to reveal the results of my latest blogger swap. 

From time to time I find these swaps, and I decide to join in. it's a great way to meet new bloggers, it's always fun to get something in the mail, and it's even more fun to shop and send a package of goodies to someone!

I entered the Diva swap (because fitness is the absolute last thing on my mind), and I was paired with Lindsay from Cowboy Boots and an Apron. She got married the weekend before we were paired up, and from what I could tell from instagram, it was an awesome wedding! She isn't blogging much these days but you can find her on instagram here. A real sweetie, with a love for Kiki LaRue and her two furbabies. 

The Diva swap was open to anything for the swap, and as I discovered quickly, Lindsay shared my love of notebooks, post-its, and pens. It turns out I shipped her some of the same things she shipped me!

See that super cute tissue paper? That's what she packaged my gifts in. It was wrapped all nice and cute, and I felt like such a smuck for using the smallest box possible, and using airbags for packing material with zero concern for presentation. And this is strange, because if you know me, any gift you get from me will be the best wrapped gift in the room. Note to self - make future boxes look cute.

Anyway, it was full of fun stuff!!

I LOVE notepads and post-its. I don't know where she found the puzzle piece, but it's perfect! I can't wait to use it.

Pens in fun colors, and that write amazingly. 

And the essentials - nail polish, snacks, and a mason jar for my drink. 

Not pictured was a Better Homes and Gardens magazine. That was the biggest thing for me - I LOVE getting and reading magazines, but I won't spend the money on them. I can't wait to sit on the patio and enjoy reading it. 

Overall it was great getting to know Lindsay, and a super fun swap. Thanks to Candra and Alicia for hosting such a fun swap - I can't wait to do it again! 

How to Drive Me Nuts

I'm linking up with Kathy for Humpday Confessions again today. Today I'm laying it all out there, because I'm going to tell you all of the things that drive me INSANE! And yes, I'm fully aware that after you read these you will probably think I'm a huge bitch. In reality - I am. Once I am comfortable with you, I tell it like it is - every single time. My dad once told my brother that I hated my roommate. My brother quickly questioned him because I lived alone. My dad said, "exactly." 

>>> when stopped at a stoplight, don't keep inching forward, getting closer and closer to the car in front of you. Newsflash - you aren't going anywhere until the damn light changes. Just sit there!

>>> USE YOUR BLINKER. Don't be an asshole.

>>> don't make noise when you breathe. If I'm sitting next to you at a meeting, I will have to restrain myself from slapping you. If you need to blow your nose or clear your throat, please do so, and stop making noise!

>>> this goes with clicking pens constantly. I'm not above grabbing the pen out of your hand and not letting you have it back.

>>> If you want to help with chores, fine, but you better wash your hands before you put away my clean dishes, otherwise don't bother. You also better was your hands after touching anything gross (trash) before you touch anything else in my house. And don't worry - if you can't remember I will remind you. 

>>> Do NOT put the laundry basket on the bed. That basket has been all over the house, and may have made a trip to the laundry mat. Don't put all those germs on my bed.

>>> Don't stand in the kitchen and expect me to hold a conversation with you while I'm cooking. You want a delicious meal? Then get the fuck out of the kitchen and enjoy the appetizers out in the living room.

>>> The smell of coffee grounds. I've learned to tolerate the smell of coffee, but the grounds afterwords - gag me! I just can't stand it. 

>>> Vomit talk. One of my biggest fears is vomit. Doesn't matter if it's me or someone else - I hate vomit. I don't want to talk about it, I don't think it's funny, and I don't need to see it on TV. When vomit is involved, I check out.

>>> Talk about a pet passing, and how Cooper is getting old. Do you think I don't know that?! I fully realize it and think about it often - I don't need you to remind me!

I think I'll leave it at that today. And although I sound (and am) super bitchy, I'm really not THAT bad. What are you confessing to? 

Hello There!

After a super crazy weekend I'm back among the land of normal. I actually even read some blogs today and left comments! 

My job is kind of crazy, and when stuff happens, life stops and I have to deal with it. Unfortunately that happened Friday night. Normally it's not a big deal, but it was especially crappy this weekend because my parents were in town. We were wrapping up dinner when I got the call. It didn't really ruin Friday night, because we almost done eating, but I knew it was going to screw up Saturday. 

My parents came in town to help me with yard work. I have a TON of flowerbeds and mulch, and I HATE doing all of the work myself. I was going to hire someone to do it this year, but my dad (being the yard work nut that he is) said he would come down one weekend and help me. My mom said she was coming too just to see me. So I had an awesome Saturday planned, starting with an amazing homemade breakfast for us. 

I woke up early and started my work, not to get done until 11:30. So, breakfast was not made by me, and my parents did half of the yard without me. Luckily I have the most fantastic parents ever, and they understood, but it still sucked. I was able to get outside and help them for a couple of hours before they headed back to their place. While typically they stay the entire weekend and never have a set time to leave, they had to leave by 3PM Saturday because of a golf tournament my dad had to play in early Sunday morning. So while I sat at the kitchen table working feverishly, they were out moving mulch. 

I have to do something really amazing to pay them back for this. They really aren't the kind of people you can buy a gift for. I'm headed home in two weeks for a baby shower, and I was thinking of cooking them a super awesome dinner and inviting my sister over so we could have a family meal. But, if you have any other suggestions, I more than welcome them! 

I actually have some scheduled posts this week on stuff other than linkups and me blabbing on (stunning I know)! So be sure to come back and check it out. Until then I leave you with this super cute picture of Cooper sleeping while I was working on Saturday. 

Little House Book Club Linkup

Jana from The Townhouse Pioneer started a "Little House Book Club" where we will re-read the entire Little House on The Prairie series - one book per month. Then on the last day of the month, we will linkup and do our reviews.

This month the assignment was the first book in the series Little House in the Big Woods. 

Let's start with a little background about me and the Little House stuff. I was OBSESSED with anything and everything Little House on the Prairie. I even dressed up as Laura for Halloween once or twice. I searched high and low for that picture with no luck. I have asked my mom to look in the photo albums at home. Before we are done with all of the books I will share that gem with all of you :]

So naturally, when I found out about this book club I was all in. And I didn't have to go any further than my basement to get my old copy. And I don't just have a copy of each book in the Little House on the Prairie series, I have copies of the series that were written in the time of Laura's daughter, I have picture books, paper dolls, cookbooks, and anything else that had Little House on the Prairie on it. Don't worry - you will get to see some of this amazing stuff in future posts. 

I have a vivid memory of getting this book from the library when I was a child. I was a huge reader and would read 2 or 3 books a day and would want to go back to the library every other day. My mom realized I needed something more challenging. I have no idea how old I was, but I remember her asking the librarian for suggestions and she suggested this. I remember my mom saying I was too young for Little House on the Prairie, but the librarian said Little House in the Big Woods was a much easier read and appropriate for my age. When I looked up where the book was, I grabbed Little House on the Prairie and read a few pages thinking, "I'm not too young to read this book!" And as soon as I was done with Little House in the Big Woods I went right for Little House on the Prairie and never looked back. I really didn't like people telling me what I could and couldn't do. In fact, I still don't. 

Now onto the review. . . . let me say, other than clicking how many stars I liked the book on Goodreads, I have never reviewed a book in my life. I honestly can't believe I have never really done a book review with all that I read. Oh well - first time for everything!

There were parts of this book that I remember reading as a child. Like them playing with animal organs as toys . . . I remember specifically being very grossed out about that then, and when re-reading it now. I remember thinking how boring it would be to have to sit around all day on Sunday. I also remember thinking how cold it must have been to ride on the sleigh to her grandparents house, and quickly thanking my lucky stars for a heated car. 

Overall, re-reading this book transported me back to childhood. As a child, this was one of my first exposures to how life was back then. Laura writes with great detail on how every chore was performed. It almost made me feel that I could just go out and do some of the things from her description. 

What do I think of the book today? It seems like a million years away now, as opposed to the almost 150 years that it actually is. But, I believe the book is written with a child reader in mind, and I believe it is written well. I hope that my niece will take the time to read these books and get a feel for how life was like in the pioneer days. 

Do you remember reading the Little House books when you were little? What were your favorite or least favorite parts?