Jun 22, 2009

So many things to think about...

So many things to think about today:
Like: why does the government want to charge me to cancel my tax id number, even though I have never used it once. And, why doesn't nail polish dry shiney anymore? I have to buy an extra top coat and that is lame. Also, why do I look at a dish, know full well that I need to rinse it and put it in the dishwasher, and then leave it by the sink? So many great questions. Here's another. Why is it nearly impossible for me to complete a load of laundry without forgetting about it in the washer and leaving it overnight and having it smell bad the next day and having to re-wash it?
I can honestly say that I do not WANT to be a bad steward of what God has given me. In fact, quite the opposite. I want to use what he gave me well... but alas, I can not seem to do that. I even make myself notes and stick them on the fridge (because I am for sure to look there, right!). Frustrating.

In other news, next week is the last week for art camp. Today, I had a mere 9 students! I would like to say it was a quiet day, but it wasn't. We made hand made paper and had a great time being wet and messy. It reminded me of the awesome class I took at the Poplar Bluff Art Museum a couple of summers ago. So fun. Today, I got on their website to see about any upcoming classes, but they only have one in January listed. I emailed them off their website asking for info, and I got an email saying something like "thanks for sending your message, if you do not hear from us in 48 hours, cyber aliens have intercepted your email". I thought that was funny coming from a museum... but I guess all people involved in the arts are a little weird, huh?

I tried to replicate some yummy home made spaghetti sauce that my dad used to make last night, and it turned out OK, but not amazing. I don't know how to make it taste like dad does! Tonight is probably going to be hamburger night. Sounded a lot better to me yesterday.

Jun 20, 2009

Best Friends Forever!

I am trying to update my blog a little more often... a) so that my familia will know what is going on in my life since I don't have time to update them as I should, and b) because I think it will be neat to have an account of what I have done... even the small things. My Meme has a set of journals that she writes in every single day. Even little things like "we went to Costco and got a loaf of bread" but it is so neat to see how life progresses and how you change and grow. Sometimes Meme's journal has come in very handy because she was able to tell the exact date that they bought an appliance to see if the warranty was still in effect, or tell when a particular event happened so she can send a card next year, etc. So, that is my goal. I have a feeling I will not be able to write every day, but I definitely want to start writing more than once a month!

This was a pretty good week.

In art camp news, we made paper mache masks this week. I do kind of wish we had a little more time so that we could have done more layers of paper mache, but all in all, they turned out fantastic! I can't wait to get pictures of all the kiddos wearing them. Grace and Annabel went with me to Art camp all week, and I think Annabel's mask might be my favorite of all. She was absolutely maticulous about her paper mache, and it turned out smooth and nice. She decided to make a dog mask, and since we only had bright colors, she chose yellow and blue. It looks great. I was excited too, that so many of the boys really got into it and did great jobs!

Friday at Art camp, Gillian and Darcey got to go with us as well. I was so glad to get to spend a little more time with them. We made several interesting discoveries: Vienna sausage is disgusting, Annabel is the craziest out of everyone we know, and loud, disobedient children make Marcie "almost lose it" as Gillian said, haha. Lunches for the kiddos everyday is provided by Central Dallas Ministries. One good thing about them is that they are definitely a complete meal... but that is where it ends. They are the grossest meals I have ever seen, and I am glad I don't have to eat them! Friday, the meal was a boxed lunch with a can of Vienna sausage, a bag of baked dorritos, a juice box and an applesauce cup. I think the kids were mostly curious about the canned meat, so everyone at least tried it. One little girl spilled some of the juice on herself and said "oh man, now I smell like meat!" I had to hold in the laughter! I tried to convince Annabel that she loved it, but she wasn't having it. All the girls thought it was just about the grossest thing they have ever had. But amazingly, none of them were hungry afterward. I was amazed, too, that Grace went to sit at the table with all her friends, rather than hanging around me and the rest of the girls. I am not for sure, cause she would never admit it, but I am thinking she MIGHT have a crush on this boy named Joseph. So funny.

Wednesday night, Drew and I went to movie night at the Belmont. It was definitely not as fun as the first time because I forgot my bug spray, and we sat in front of heavy drinkers that wouldn't shut up the whole time about vodka and red bull. gross.

Thursday night was week 3 out of 4 of Girl's Bible Study. We are currently watching the video series of Lies Woman Believe and the Truth that Sets them Free by Nancy Leigh DeMoss. It is really good, and I wish that so many of my friends and family could hear her great words. One thing that I have really discovered in full is how great of a husband I really have! I never have to worry about him doing something that would hurt me because he loves me and even more so, he loves God. It is so amazing how much I have been blessed!

Friday night, Drew and I went to Gloria's with Macy and her husband, Chris. Macy is my very bestest friend since Kindergarten. No matter how much time is spent in between our visits, we always will be BFF's and we always have so much in common. It is so funny how connected we are, even when we don't know it! We ended up back at our house for some dessert and talking, and had a great time filling each other in on our crazy lives. I hope that we have kids at the same time so maybe they can be as great friends as we are!

Drew and I just got home from getting some Tacos at Jerry's Supermarket. They are yum.
Tonight, we are headed over to Meme's for Father's Day dinner. Which means, I must be off to make a "home made" (kind of) Italian Cream Cake... which, in our family, thanks to Drew, is also known as Man Cake.

Jun 14, 2009

Weekend O' Fun

Fresh out of a very cold shower, trying not to touch my slightly burnt skin, and still trying to catch my breath, I will recount the events of my ever busy weekend.

Friday: June 12
Went to work as usual and had a pretty good day with the kiddos. There are a couple of them that I particularly enjoy, and there are a couple that I wish my dad's invention of "spray Ritalin" was available for. One little boy named Michael is the funniest. He seriously has an answer for EVERYTHING! And he sounds so very matter of fact when he says it. Then there is Polly-the-vegetarian. She is cool because she totally sticks to her beliefs and checks the label on any food that is offered to her to see if it is ok to eat. My co-worker, Bonita, brought some lanyard string on the first day for the kiddos to play around with. They LOVE it! It is hard to get them to do anything else because all they want to do is make lanyards!
Friday night, Drew took me out on "date night". We started out at Half Priced Books where I picked up a sweet DK book on New Orleans - complete with awesome photos, and a book on CD - The Historian. I have always wanted to read it, and now I can listen to it on our approximately 36 hours we will be spending in the car during the month of July (this is not a complaint, I am looking forward to it!)

Saturday: June 13th
Spent quite a bit of the day on Saturday cleaning house. Having guests was a good excuse, because it really needed to be done anyway. I am always amazed at the amount of cat hair and dust I can sweep off our floors. It really doesn't matter if it has been a day or a month, I can get a full dust pan in each room... I know... more than you wanted to know! I mopped the Hardwoods with Orange Glo Hardwood Floor cleaner. I think I have talked about this before, but just in case, I absolutely LOVE it! If you have hardwoods, you need to buy this product.
I also tried some tile cleaner that did not work at all. It just left streaks on my marble floors in the kitchen, and really made it look worse than when I started. Anyone have a recommendation for tile floors?
Saturday evening, Nikki and David, our new neighbors, came over for dinner. We had a great time eating and talking and getting to know each other. Drew grilled BBQ chicken, and we had mashed potatoes, zuchini and mushroom skewers, salad (made by Nikki and really good), and the ever famous Apple Dumplings. Once you try these, your life will be complete.

Sunday: June 14th
Happy Birthday Grandma Dodd! I know she doesn't read this, but if you know her, you can tell her Happy Birthday too!
I hate to even admit this, but I slept through my alarm this morning and missed church. You will be amazed when I tell you what time I got out of bed... 11:30!!! I looked at the clock and thought maybe it was wrong and the power had gone out, but no, I really had wasted half my day!
This afternoon was the Summerfest at Eno's Tavern in Bishop Arts District. It was sponsored by Eno's (of course) and Bike Friendly Oak Cliff. In honor of BFOC, we decided to ride our bikes down to Bishop Art's. It was a great idea, in theory, but with it being currently 93 degrees outside, with a heat index of 5,000,000 - perhaps we should have rethought that. My hands hurt from the bike grips, my butt hurts from the seat, my face hurts from the burn, and my thighs hurt from peddling, but all in all, I feel very accomplished. I certainly don't look like it, but I feel as though I might have lost about 45 pounds on the ride, haha.

Some fun things happening this week:

Monday, the little munchkins and I will be starting paper mache. So fun and so messy and I can't wait!

Wednesday is Movie Night at the Belmont Hotel. Starts at sundown and this week, they will be playing Caddy Shack! Drew and I will be there with bells on (never really understood this saying).

Friday night, Drew and I get to see Macy!! Macy is my BFF from elementary school, and I definitely do not get to see her as often as I wish I did! I think we should commemorate this event with photos, what do you say?

More soon!

Jun 11, 2009

Braving the Storms

Last night and this morning were nothing short of an adventure.

This week was my first week to work at the Thriving Minds summer art camp at the Bath House Cultural Center near White Rock Lake. It has been good so far... great kids, fun art projects. I feel, however, more tired than I think I ever have in my life!! I have come home every day and taken a nap on the couch... although I have to admit that it is hard not to fall asleep on that couch (thanks Jer!)

Last night at around 8, a pretty severe storm rolled in to Dallas. It was lightening, thundering and the wind was blowing like crazy. It looked like the images you see on the news of the hurricanes around the gulf with the palm trees nearly bent in two from the wind just looking out our back door. The lights flickered a few times, and so ended the TV watching on the big tv. I went in the bedroom to catch the news, and ended up falling asleep at around 8:30!! I guess I really was tired. The storm woke me up around 3 (the night before, the phone woke me up at nearly the same time with a man looking for "Sylvia"... jerk). Waking up at 3 sure does make it hard to get up the next morning... especially when it is extra dark and stormy.

Evan rode with me to art camp today, and the poor thing did not witness my best side in the car. People drive like absolute morons when the weather is bad, and I was nearly run off the road by 2 separate vehicles, one being a Dart bus! God has a little bubble around me though, and we arrived safely and with not even a scratch! Once we got to the Bath House, we were amazed to see the Lake was beginning to slowly rise over the concrete barrier. The rain never let up, though, and by 11, the water was nearing the building, wrapping around into the parking lot and threatening to carry off a co-worker's car! We made an executive decision at that point to call parents and ask that they come get their kids. It was a good decision, in the end, since we found out later that many of the local roads were closed and parents had a hard time getting to us! So glad that everyone was safe and no damage occurred. I'm fairly sure we will be having camp tomorrow, just depends on whether or not it rains tonight!

This morning, Drew and I were happy to have insulation installed in our attic. Hopefully that will really help, and apparently we get a tax credit for doing it! Bryan's Conservation came out to our house and put in 9 inches of insulation, bringing us to... well, 9 inches in some places, and 13 in others... I guess. I haven't been up there yet to check it out, but my mom and dad were here when it was installed and I am sure they double checked for me. My kitties have been going nuts because of the weather, and apparently Lois got herself up in the attic and freaked out when she couldn't get down. Mom had to climb up there and get her!

Congratulations goes out to Amy and Rocky and their new baby Brinley! I am on my way up to go see the new little family.

May 31, 2009

Likes and Dislikes

Things I LOVE:
+ My most amazing, wonderful, intelligent, good looking husband. Drew is the best!
+ Early summer evenings with the grill going, a beautiful back yard of a beautiful house, and a comfy chair on the patio.
+ Good music that fits perfectly with my mood.
+ Having a plan... for the day, for the week, for vacation, for my summer job, etc.
+ A good dinner, with great guacamole, home made limeade, and freshly baked cookies.
+ My summer job - I think it is going to to totally rock.
+ Having a good book to read.
+ The end of school! Heck yes!!
+ Good friends whom you are so very thankful for and proud of... Congratulations Jeremy for graduating, Congratulations Amy and Rocky on your soon to be born beautiful baby Brinley (alliteration much?), and so thankful for so many others.
+ Being alive and feeling alive... celebrating every day.
+ Having a clean house, even though I don't much like cleaning it. (but I guess that point will come later)


Things I don't like so much:
- Paying bills
- Money in general... what good did it ever do anyone?
- Hearing my A/C on. It needs to just be cool in here without costing me so much money!
- Cleaning house, haha - specifically dishes and sweeping


Oh yeah, I love blogs too.

May 23, 2009

The Photo Entry

Here are a few photos for your enjoyment... and also a few for me to hopefully find out information...
My peach tree is growing peaches. They are so cute and fuzzy, but I want to know what I should do to ensure that no bugs or birds eat them. Any organic suggestions?

Anyone know what this tree is?


The other day, Drew was working in the front yard, and I got a little crazy motivation. So, I proceeded to cut down 3 horrid Holly bushes. I can not begin to express my level of detest for Holly bushes. They are ugly, and they stick you, and they grow like CRAZY and take over your pretty yard and make it where it hurts to get through gates... but I digress. This photo shows the future home for our new deck. I really don't know what I mean by "future" except that it is what I would like to do one day. And when the deck decides to build itself, haha, all of the dreadful holly bushes will be gone *insert mad scientist laughter here*

This is our "harvest" hahaha. We were actually able to grow 4 beans. Perhaps next year I will know to plant a few more plants and then we might actually have enough for a meal. Nevertheless, Drew is grilling steak tonight, and I plan to cook our 4 beans for us to enjoy. I'm sure they will be yummy.

Here are some more of our crops so far. One day, we might actually be able to have a salad. Looks tastey!

And, one day, we will have a cantaloupe. I LOVE cantaloupe.


I wasn't really able to get a good photo of our new garage star, because the weather was kind of crappy, and the grass wasn't mowed (Drew is outside doing that right now and it looks BEAUTIFUL!) But here is one of the things I bought in Canton when I went with the girls a few weeks ago. I love it!

And here is a photo of what Drew lovingly refers to as the "Tex Mex Garden" because it is just that... a mix of native texan and mexican plants. I have Mexican grass, Lantana and Bluebonnets growing and it looks so pretty! The bluebonnets are on the downfall, but I can't wait to see what they do next year!

May 14, 2009

Happy!

How has it been so long since I have updated? Especially with all the fun things that have been going on lately!

Let's start with Adventure Camp. Sadly, I do not have any photos of this, but I still have quite a bit of good old Texas dirt caked on my shoes, on my car, on everything I own that I took with me, just about. It was a pretty good time... lots of hiking and playing football, four square and various activities. I am glad to have gotten to know the 8th graders.

Then there was Canton. I don't have any photos of my treasures either, but maybe my next post can be photos with no text and you guys can play the matching game and see which picture goes with which paragraph of my blog, haha. Canton was awesome. It was especially nice this time since there was the threat of rain which held a lot of people at home. It didn't rain on us until we got in the car, which was perfect! I got a really neat Iron star to put on the garage, and some amazing soup and dessert mixes. I had a great time with Rebecca, Liz, Sarah, Lygia, and Kelly! Those girls are awesome!

And some news that I am really excited about: you know the frustration from my last post? Well, I am here to tell you that God really does answer prayers. I got a job working with a non-profit called Big Thought doing summer camps for Elementary and Middle School kiddos at the Bath House Cultural Center near White Rock! I am so excited and can not wait to meet to discuss details!

And another excitement: school is out in a mere 2 weeks! Juniors and Seniors are done officially tomorrow, with their exams being next week. Freshman and Sophomores have one more week of class before exams. So, I will be up here another 3 weeks, but it is definitely on the down slope and the end is in sight. I am finally being able to take a deep breath and relax a little. I don't think Drew and I have spent one evening at home together in a few weeks, so, I am really excited about the opportunity to spend some time with him.

Well, lunch break is over, so I must get back to teaching Art I how to do grid drawings. They are looking great!