Friday Fill-Ins

1. It's time for me to either get up or go back to sleep.

2. Prison; it's not a bad place for criminals who get to live there for free.

3. I must be crazy for throwing off my sleep schedule so badly this summer.

4. My dog, Steve, is the best thing I have ever known.

5. My hope & prayer is simply that we have a baby.

6. The last time I laughed really loudly was yesterday.

7. And as for the weekend, tonight I'm looking forward to painting, tomorrow my plans include painting and Sunday, I want to finish painting!

Friends & Wine

Tonight I went with a couple of girlfriends to D'Vine Wine. D'Vine is awesome! The owner was wonderful, the service awesome, the setup great, awesome decor, and can I tell you about the winearitas? YUM! :)

D'Vine is a great wine bar that offers a great girls' night deal on Thursdays. For only $25, you get all the winearitas you can drink, pizza, and everything to paint your own wine glass. It was GREAT because we were in a seperate room and waited on hand and foot!

The winearitas were deeeeeelicious - too delicious I believe! (Have I already mentioned the winearitas?) I really enjoyed painting wine glasses. I made one for Todd, one for me, and two for gifts that you'll eventually see some day. I can't spoil the surprise in case the recipients read this! Here are some pics -



If you live in the area, I recommend you check out D'Vine sometime!

1. A bad day is not the end of the world.

2. Sitting here, listening to the sound of rain falling, I know I can't be in Texas.

3. Blue Bell's Southern Blackberry Cobbler ice cream tastes so good!

4. Sometimes, putting others first is a good thing, but not if you always do it.

5. The dream of having children is breathtaking, really.

6. Well, maybe there is hope.

7. And as for the weekend, tonight I'm looking forward to nothing, tomorrow my plans include nothing and Sunday, I want to probably do nothing! (But we know things can change!)

Too Cute

Last night, I was resting on the couch when I turned to see this:

I know it's the cutest thing you've ever seen in your WHOLE life! Stevie was sad yesterday when Daddy took Mackey & Pippin in the car (to get shots), so I gave him a new tennis ball. He sat silently on the couch for a couple of minutes just waiting for me. He even waited for another minute while I got the camera ready on my phone.

Before you ask, we did not play fetch. He won't let go of the ball. Makes the game a bit tough since he's stronger and faster than me.

Distracted Drivers Game

I sent this to my nieces and nephew, as well as some other family members & friends. Try it out.

Gauging Your Distraction

New studies show that drivers overestimate their ability to multitask behind the wheel. This game measures how your reaction time is affected by external distractions. Regardless of your results, experts say, you should not attempt to text when driving.

I Pity the Fool . . . Who is Myself

Yesterday, Todd and I attended the wedding of a friend/colleague of mine. It was a lovely wedding for a sweet couple. We saw my friends from work, chatted, ate, drank, and danced. Yes, Todd even danced one slow dance with me. I had way too much wine & performed my typical Kristin-talks-knocks-over-wine-glass routine (shout out Cathy!).

I went to the ladies room to dry off my new (thankfully black) pants that I dumped a 1/4 of a glass of (thankfully white) wine on. I used the restroom, washed my hands, went to leave, and the door was locked. There was a woman in a stall who was spending way too much time in there, so I didn't want to say anything. I'm sure she was ready for me to leave, so she could do her thing in private. I tried to pick the lock, but the knob had a key lock. I lightly knocked, shook the door a bit, and repeated. The sitter was still holding out in her stall.

I tried not to panic, but I started wondering when someone would come rescue me/us. How in the hell had I locked myself (us) in the bathroom? Even worse, who in the hell locked me (us) in the bathroom? Would Todd come looking for me (us) eventually? Would anyone save me (us)? Would the lady ever come out of her stall and help me, or would she do her business and asphyxiate me (us) first?

I stuck a long, needing-to-be-cut-down fingernail into the keyhole, thinking I could jiggle it loose enough to unlock. I started knocking again. Before I began calling for help through the cracks of the door, I looked around to see if I was being Punk'd. That's when I saw it.

The door. The door behind me. The same door I came in. My drunk ass was trying to break into a locked closet.

I'm still laughing at myself today. In fact, I'm laughing/crying as I finish typing this. I pity the fool who is myself, but she makes for some great stories!! My grandmother, Mary, would be so proud. :)

Bath Time!

Tonight was bath night in our home. Bath night only applies to dogs. There will be no cat baths around here. :) I know some of you are wondering if the humans also got bathed, and the answer is yes. Since we don't have any children for you all to ooh and aah over, you get our dogs. You can still ooh and aah because you KNOW they're cute!


Being the picture & video whore sentimental kind than I am, one who captures precious moments with which to torture you for all to enjoy, I have quick videos of each of the pups getting their bi-annual daily baths.

Pippin went first because - as you can tell - she HATES to be bathed. She gets scared and acts more pathetic than she actually feels. You'll see it in the video. After she dried off some, Todd brushed her for a short while. Pippin then ran under the bed & we haven't seen her since. Baby.



Next was Steve. He's such a treat whore that he waited outside the bathroom because he knew Pipp got a reward. I'm talking he was so good that he just stepped right in to the bathtub. And to think that Todd carried him in the past. hahaha! Author's Note: Excuse the scary chick bathing the big dog.



And last, but never least, was Mackey. We call him "Goat" during bath time because, well . . . he looks like a little billy goat! I had to cut the end of the video in order to protect a little of Mack's privacy. Forgive Todd for being in the way. Didn't he know I was recording?!



The next biannual daily bathorama will take place BEFORE the maid comes, not hours after she leaves. The bathroom may be waterlogged, but our babies sure are gorgeous now and smell good too!

What a Difference a Year Makes

The second half of July, 2008 sucked.

A year ago today (7.15.08) my amazing niece, Whitney, was a mere few minutes from losing her life. Thankfully, she is recovered, alive, and kicking! She is such an important part of our family, and I can't imagine not having her in my life.

Also a year ago today, our home was struck by lightning. Add that to the chaos of the day, not to mention the expenses of replacing the things that were fried. We're still thankful things weren't worse.

Only two days later (7.17.08), our baby dog, Steve, had major surgery. Thankfully, Stevie had a full recovery and (after a few rough days) was back to himself within a couple of weeks.

While Steve was at the pupspital (pup hospital), my mom came over to tell me she needed she needed open heart surgery with bypass. Mom did remarkably well in her surgery only a couple of weeks later, and we are thankful for her full recovery.

There were some more rough patches to the rest of 2008, but we made it through it all. Today I am counting blessings and giving thanks. Oh, and hoping we don't have to go through all of that again!

New Headboard

Todd wanted a new headboard for our bed for his birthday, so he got one! The primary request was for a "leather headboard," and that's what he got. I really didn't think I would like it. Luckily it looks better than what I imagined. And, yes, I know it's pretty hidden by all of my pillows. I gotta get in a feminine touch somewhere in this house!

Plans are to place a mirror on the wall above it. It's ready, we just need to wire and hang it. Since we can't afford new furniture (thus the icky tables & shelves next to the bed), I'm thinking of painting them until we can. So many dreams, so little cash.

Other projects: new beds out front, painting the laundry room, our small garden, curtains, & hopefully reupholstering chairs. But, next up -- Our new piece of furniture is here and will be delivered Friday. Photos to come!

Camping, Kristin Style

When our friend Michelle asked if I'd like to ride to East Texas to take her daughter to church camp, I thought it would be a nice little trip. Then Michelle asked if I'd like to stay the night, and I wondered what I had gotten myself into. Don't get me wrong. I like camping! However, I am a city girl and like having electricity and a bathroom with running water. With temperatures over 100 for weeks now, there was no way I'd be sleeping in a tent. Thankfully, there was a wonderful cabin awaiting us!

The camp was BEAUTIFUL! Right on the lake were several cabins with accommodations much better than a tent. :) We had a great time just hanging out and enjoyed having control over the thermostat. Let's just say it was cold!



We are making plans to go back with some friends when it's cooler. I can't wait!

Pet Owners!!

Does your pet love riding in the car? Then you should check this out!

As you can see, Mackey, Pippin & Steve LOVE riding in the car. I have thought of what might happen should we ever get in an accident. What if I was hurt? What if they were hurt? What would happen to them?

This awesome company has it all figured out for me. You can receive a FREE pet safety kit that includes an auto decal and pet ID card.

Borrowed from their website:

Be Smart Ride Safe® with Bark Buckle UP’s Pet Safety Kit

The Bark Buckle UP Pet Safety Kit was designed to protect your pets if you are in an accident First Responders will locate the pet safety kit in your glove box and call your contacts to come get your pet plus inform them you have been in an accident.

• Pet emergency information

• First responder decal
• Shots and other records

• DR. pet advice
• Veterinarian information

• Pet travel safety tips

Now look at these very cute ID cards!!!! Your first kit is FREE & a there is a VERY minimal charge for additional. My three were only $2.50 and they accept PayPal!

ORDER YOURS TODAY! (Note: I am not affiliated with this company in any way, but I think it's an awesome idea that every responsible pet owner should consider.)

Pie Maker, Pie Maker, Make Me A Pie

Today, I ran across a pie recipe that sounded really good to me. So . . . I made it. It is so easy, smooth, creamy & yummy!

My camera is on its deathbed, but I tried to take some (albeit) crummy photos for you.

Peanut Butter Pie with "Lazy Tips" by Kristin

Crust:

1 1/4 cup chocolate cookie crumbs
1/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup melted butter
Mix together and press into pie pan. Bake 10 min at 375 degrees & then cool.

** Lazy Tip: Buy one of those chocolate pie crusts that are already made. I was even lazier and used a graham cracker crust.

Filling:

1 8 oz pkg of cream cheese, softened
1 cup creamy peanut butter (You could use crunch, too, I suppose.)
1 cup sugar
1 Tablespoon butter, softened
1 tsp vanilla
1 cup cool whip

Mix all filling ingredients except cool whip. Fold the cool whip into the other mixture. Pour into crust. Refrigerate till ready to serve.

**Lazy Tip: Don't soften the cream cheese & butter. Just use your Kitchen Aid mixer!

You can top with crushed graham crackers or Oreos or something else pretty.

**Lazy Tip: Don't put anything on it. Just eat it.

More New Furniture

I'll tell you more about our wonderful July Fourth weekend later. Today our weekend ended with Todd saying, "Hey - look at this. Let's go buy it." I'm not one to be disagreeable (plus he'd been eyeing it for a while!), so off we went.

We currently have a "very retro" (aka fairly tacky looking) cabinet setup for a bar right now. I'll take before & after photos to compare. It serves its purpose, but could be much nicer. Now it will be!

Here is what we bought:

It should be delivered within 30 days. Stay tuned for live photos!

Weekend Wrap-Up

Worst part of the weekend: remembering my cousin, Paxton, who passed away 5 years ago on the 3rd

Best part of the weekend: spending time & relaxing with family

Most random part of the weekend: plenty! Becoming "Uncle Kristin" :), seeing fireworks in the country, buying new furniture

People I saw this weekend: Todd, Michael, Cathy, Colby, Austin, & Owen (Todd's cousin, his wife & their three boys)

Something I wished I did this weekend that I didn't get around to doing: getting a little more sun

Things that I am looking forward to this week: lots of busy stuff! Penny teaching me how to sew, seeing an old college friend for the first time in about 15 years, taking a new class, a couple of weekend parties.

Things that I am not looking forward to this week: Tuesday being the first year we have Mary in Heaven on her birthday, helping my mom sort through some of Mary's stuff & estate paperwork.

Friday Fill-Ins

1. When I heard Michael Jackson had died, I was pissed because I knew it would take the attention away from Farrah Fawcett's death.

2. If there is no wine in the house, then laughter is probably the next best medicine.

3. It's late, but I'm still awake wishing I could better my stupid, freaking Bejeweled Blitz score.

4. Flush the toilet - always.

5. My eyes have seen the glory of the coming of the Lord, or at least heard about it.

6. Even when times are tough, try to live strongly.

7. And as for the weekend, tonight I'm looking forward to having lunch with Dad & Joyce then hanging out with Michael, Cathy & the boys, tomorrow my plans include swimming, fireworks, & hanging out some more and Sunday, I want to rest, relax & come home to my furbabies!

Rewind: Our First Rangers Game

Rewind to June 10 . . .

In the 5 1/2 years Todd and I have been together, we have never been to a Texas Rangers baseball game together! A friend had some extra tickets, and offered them to us. We went with our friend, Troy, and his friend Will.

Little did we know that it would be more entertaining than we thought. HUGE storms (I'm talking tornadoes, people) slowly moved through the metroplex before the game began. We moved up a few rows and just watched the skies. It was really cool.

Plus . . . it was $1 hot dog night and the beer was cold. That made the night perfect.

Rewind: Family Fun Time

Monday, June 8 was the day after Mary's Memorial, and we decided it would be fun to get out and play at Adventure Landing. I met my mom's husband Rick, my grandfather Fritz, my Uncle David, David's fiance Jane, and my cousin Erin. We started off shooting some indoor hoops before we headed out to the go-cart track. Watching Fritz win race one was a definite highlight! I tried to take photos while racing, but I was speeding so fast that they were all blurry. :)

Since it was a hot day, we needed to cool off. The bumper boats seemed to fit the bill. That is, until everyone began to pick on me. I was completely SOAKED. If family can't gang up on and abuse you, who can?

We ended the evening at Mom & Rick's by grilling burgers and having drinks. Things got a little silly when Mom started modeling some new flip flops and Rick took them on as his own. Somehow sunglasses got thrown in to the mix, and it all went downhill from there.

I know Mary had to be looking down on us and cracking up. Goodness knows we were! What a great day we had --- together.