Sweat 'n Stuff

I really haven't felt like blogging much lately. To be honest, I've been feeling a bit 'off'. There's an underlying irritability that keeps surfacing and I can't really put my finger on it. It's like a bunch of little things that when you add them all up, or think of them all at the same time, equal one big BLAH.

Now for those of you that know me in real life, don't you go thinking that this has to do with the fact that I turned the big.....well, that had a birthday on Tuesday. And for those of you that just read my blog because you get a kick out of my weirdness, you're probably thinking I'm even weirder now. Yes, my birthday was on Tuesday and I didn't even do a post for it. I really couldn't think of a single thing to say, other than 'Happy Birthday to Me!'... and then what? So I just didn't post at all. M to the Izz-A and I did go out for sushi, which was absolutely delicious. And since his birthday is next week, we may do a dual celebration and go out with friends in a couple of weeks. Hopefully. I LOVE doing stuff like that.

Another contributing factor to my blah-ness may be the fact that next week I'm headed back to work after what felt like an incredibly short summer break. I do, however, love my job and the people I work with, but it's always hard going back to the classroom after having a couple of months off. Plus, Kate and I have become extremely close BFF's this summer and I'm feeling all sad and sorry for myself when I think of not being able to spend as much time with her.

Gah, is this post completely boring and depressing or what?! I just went back and reread what I've written so far and already I wanna give myself a swift kick in the...

Well, on the brighter side of things, my mom has been in town for a couple of weeks and Kate and I have gotten to spend some time with her. I love seeing the two of them together.

We went to the zoo yesterday. Although the only personal hygiene that took place in my bathroom before leaving was brushing the teeth and throwing on deodorant, I am so very glad I went the deodorant route. IT. WAS. HOT. At one point my mom looked at me and said, "Wow, you're really....ummm....sweaty." I knew I brought her along for some reason. I also could have won the Dirtiest Hair in America award yesterday.

No contest.

But something told me the apes wouldn't mind.

Thank goodness for the little signs that labeled each animal. I had no idea what the names were for some of them.

Here I am pointing out a 'deer-thingy'. I later found the sign and informed Kate of the correct name, although I can't remember it now.

I remember going on field trips to the zoo as a kid and it seemed like there was always some type of construction going on or that certain areas of the zoo were shut down due to unknown reasons; therefore, my teachers would resort to talking about the different types of plants and flowers that were planted around the sidewalks of the blocked off areas. Super interesting! Pshhh. I was glad to see that all areas of the zoo were up and running yesterday, except for the photo booth.

But I simply don't have it in me to pass up a photo booth, so we made do and took our own pics. Doesn't quite have the same effect, does it?

Kate loved watching me feed the giraffes, but didn't really want to do it herself. I tried to act like the giraffes tongue wasn't freaking me out. This shot doesn't really show exactly just how long it's tongue was, but believe me when I say that it just made me feel weird.

We immediately headed for the hand washing station...and proceeded to count to 30.

Kate didn't actually touch the lettuce or the giraffe, but I was thinking all things airborne.

I'm pretty fond of the giraffes. We both share a common trait known as ELN, Extremely Long Neck.

Best seat on the ride! You know it thrilled my soul when Kate told me she wanted to ride on the Gator. She knows what's up.

A word to the wise: Don't try to video tape your child on a carousel when you're riding it, too. I got a little nauseous and wanted to throw up the cheese puffs that I had stolen from Kate's backpack two seconds before hopping onto this thing. I might be smiling in this pic, but my mouth is doing that watering thing it does right before you throw-up.

We had a great time and loved watching all of Kate's facial expressions...

...and this one was my favorite.

So now I'm off to clean this house of mine. It's been neglected lately, as when I get into a slump, I slump in ALL areas.

But I crawlin' out of it.

I can just feel it.

Grab the popcorn

Make an on-line slide show at www.OneTrueMedia.com

**added music!**

Break

On vacation this week....

...bloggin' may be sporadic...or may not happen at all...

Be back soon!

Slightly new do, and possibly a new ride for Kate?

I got my hair done a couple of days ago, nothing drastic, but just a smidge different. Don't you love the word smidge?

The funny thing is that M to the Izz-A never really has an opinion on my hair, my clothes (except that time he told me I looked like a librarian), or anything like that. But, on the way home from our anniversary date I told him that I had a hair appointment scheduled for the following day and that if he wanted to put in any suggestions, now would be the time. He usually just rolls his eyes and tells me it doesn't matter to him.

But this time he spoke up and said he'd like to see it a little shorter and blonder, for the summer. Well twist my arm! Finally the man has a pulse!

Then:



You'll remember this pic from a few posts back, July 4th - The hair was in desperate need of color and the ends were past split, maybe even frayed?!






Now:

Here's the new do. Not too different, just a little updated.

And if you're someone who always does cool stuff with your hair, I envy your braveness and wish I had the bal!$...er, I mean, guts to do such a thing. Feel free to laugh at this post. One day I'll do something really trendy with my hair, but for now, I'm hanging out in the safe zone.

Thanks to my wonderful sis-in-law, Abbi, for her amazing hair skills. If it weren't for her, my hair would ultimately probably end up looking like this: Actually it does, before my straightening iron hits it.







Change gears just a bit:

I'm in the market for Kate a new carseat. If any of you saw her carseat and its cover, you wouldn't be my friend anymore, much less bum a ride from me. We've washed the cover hundreds (who am I kidding?) a few times and it's on its last leg. I considered just buying a new cover. They have so many cute ones on etsy - but she really just needs a new ride, because I bought her current seat from Wal-mart when we were in a crunch and it's not the that great. It's like public restroom or school toilet paper instead of Charmin or Cottenelle. Get me? I really don't know how she's dealt with it this long. It's super-hard and practically has no cushioning at all. I feel guilty and like a horrible mom every time I've put her in it lately.



So I need your advice. I've heard tons of good stuff about Britax, but is there any other carseat you would recommend, maybe less expensive but just as good? Or is Britax the way to go?

Guess who...

...finally got a Facebook?????

I'm always super late on everything!

And I still don't really know how to work the whole thing. Thank goodness for my secretary sister, Sal Gal, and my 24-hour Facebook operator other sister, Big Al.

I can blog all day long, but trying to figure out Facebook gives me diarrhea.



In other news, the fam and I leave in 2 days for our week long beach vacay, so the next few days are gonna be filled with laundry and what not. 'What not' meaning, making a run to Target for some inexpensive, but cute, cover-ups and sundresses.

And wish my Little Love, Kate, luck on Friday as she goes in for her 2-year wellness check-up, which will undoubtedly include shots. I, unfortunately, usually end up crying harder than she does. Will I ever get a grip?! Seriously, if I remember correctly, I think I cried a little when I got my shots for college. You're embarrassed for me, aren't you?

Celebrating 5 years in the making

We've been out of town since last Thursday, so I've been out of the blogging world. But after spending an amazing weekend with friends at the lake, M to the Izz-A and I went out for our little anniversary date...just the two of us. After catching a movie, we had a delicious meal at The Conch House, situated right on the water.

I love you Matt! Thanks for being the amazing husband that you are!

I never liked tight Wranglers until you!

Wordless Wednesday

Takin' care of biznaz

Let's just resort to bullets, shall we?

• I finally added an email address to my sidebar and profile. I've been meaning to do that for quite a while now and just got around to it. Drop me a line!

• Several of you have asked what kind of camera I use. It's a Nikon D40 SLR, along with this high power zoom lens. Believe me when I say that it is very user-friendly and perfect for everyday folks like myself.

• Someone asked me the other day why I never posted my pic from the Gate River Run 15K, which I said I would post back in March. I actually forgot about it, but here ya go...

Brightroom Photography

Mr. Bib#13683 behind me seems to have gotten some inside info on where the photographers were gonna be located. Guy's looking directly at the camera, grinning, ready for his close-up. Guess ol' Sunglasses Joe and I missed that memo.

But who am I to make fun? I'm the one running in 2009 WITHOUT an iPod! Seriously, who still runs with a radio strapped to their arm?!

4th of July - Good times

M to the Izz-A had last Thursday and Friday off, so we started our holiday weekend early and spent both days at the beach.

The first two pics for this post are probably my favorite.

I remember going fishing with my dad as a little girl and eating the mess out of some Vienna sausages. They make me gag just thinking about them now, but back then, I thought they were the best part of the fishing trip.

Whose mama is obsessed with SPF???

On Friday, we were happy to have Kasey, Brandon, Hayley and Leighton join us. The girls played so hard and had a great time watching Matt and Brandon try their hardest to make sandcastles. Sorry to report that they never quite succeeded.

The rest of the weekend is a fun-filled blur of sweat, diet coke, ribs, desserts, citronella candles, fireworks, and more sweat. I am so exhausted today from all of the festivities that I actually prayed that it would rain this afternoon so that I could stay inside in my pj's all day long without feeling guilty!

The best weekends always leave you the most tired. And I love it.

Of course I took plenty of pics of Saturday and Sunday,too. Seriously ya'll, did you expect anything different?

The 4th of July has always been a big deal with my family. My grandfather was the mayor of our town for many years, so he was the one who put the town's July 4th celebrations together. And now my uncle, Ben's dad, is the mayor. So it's like a no-brainer that we'll all be celebrating and watching fireworks together in our small town, instead of heading into nearby cities to watch theirs. There's just something about being from a small town...it makes me smile.

If I could add a song to this post it'd be John Mellencamp's 'Small Town'. I absolutely adore that song.

My cousin Ben's birthday is on July 4th, so we always celebrate our country's independence - and his weirdness.

I baked the cake with a little help from my friend Duncan Hines, and since we didn't have any birthday candles, we just plopped a tea light on top.

If you don't have time to make your cake homemade, or if you have all the time in the world and just don't feel like it, I've found that if you add a little more vegetable oil than the box directions say, along with a drop or two of vanilla extract, it makes it tastes very close to homemade. It's a trick I learned simply by hanging out with people smarter than myself. Go ahead, add it into your mix of tricks.

Thanks to Kristin for emailing me this pic. At this point the fireworks were in full swing, I was over the whole taking pictures thing and super sweaty. But Kate managed to put a smile on my face by singing Barney's "I love you" song and giving us a 'great big hug'. I'm not a big fan of Barney or that song, but when I hear it sung in her sweet little voice, it becomes an automatic fave. She sang it throughout most of the fireworks show.

The only thing that made me smile bigger than that was when the Elvis impersonator finally got off stage and stopped his gyrating.

And what's a Fourth of July without some sparklers?