Grill buds

I'm so in love with this warmer weather! Blake and I grilled out tonight for the first time this spring. Delicious. Tending to the items on the grill just wouldn't be the same without our grill buddy staring at the food until it is cooked to our tastes and standing guard to make sure any mess we make is cleaned up right away. What a good dog.


P.S. She also does the same thing when she grills with my dad. Do you need a grill buddy?

Life is full of beauty, and so is the farm

Saturday was a great day, and much needed. I helped my dad outside on the farm all day, and took some pretty inspirational pictures.

When I'm roaming around my parent's place, I often find myself inspired, yet sad. I always think of the history there. How all of my uncles and my own father grew up there, how my grandfather was born in our TV room; I really appreciate all of the history there. And then, I think of how more and more small family farms are either run out because they simply can't keep up financially, or they are bought out because some new industrial development would like their land. In the two block radius of my parent's house, my Dad recalled how there used to be about 20 dairy farms, and now there are only five. Three of the houses he remembered as a kid are no longer there, having been bought out and then torn down. The landscape is also completely different. We can see brand new houses being built on a far hill, the local gravel company has completely blasted out a hill for rock, and destroyed a farm in the process. There is a ridiculously large ethanol plant going up about a mile away, and the towering silos can be seen from our place. What used to be a view of the horizon as we drive up the hill has now become a view of cement and steel. The roads are paved (though our little section is still gravel, thank goodness!). I remember riding my bike around the entire block and having 3/4 of it being a gravel road. Now, there is only a small gravel section, which makes the rest of it easy riding.

How I long for those simple days again. No cement and steel, gravel roads, hills and farms where there are now holes and rubble, open fields.....I wish farmers and farming could still be as successful as it once was. What happens when we run all of the farmers out?

It's crazy to think the simple days that I long for are significantly different than the simple days my Dad longs for. I love my Dad.

My dad airing up some tires

And the award goes to...

Blake - husband of the year, hands down.

In Monday's post, I had worried about leaving the house cleaning to him for our showing today. When I got home, the house was cleaner than it was when I left! It was amazing! I almost didn't want to set anything down when I walked in the house because I was afraid to dirty it up a bit. How wonderful.

Blake and his lemon smile.

"I wonder if they can check the other stores?"

Shopping with my mom is quite the chore, and almost always an all-day adventure. Today was no exception. Usually I get cranky with her on her shopping sprees, but today, I simply observed her quirky (and cute) shopping habits:

1. When entering a store, always look for signs on top of the clothing racks that indicate everything on it is at least 60% off. Once located, walk (or sprint) as fast as you can to said rack.

2. To get a question answered, nonchalantly walk past a sales associate and say aloud, "I wonder if these are on sale; I wonder how much this is?" or something to that extent. It is much more effective than actually getting the associate's attention first.

3. Try on every piece of clothing that is on sale, regardless of whether or not you actually like it. Today, she ripped apart a coat on the hanger (it's not heavy enough, what an ugly color), but tried it on anyway, and then gave a disgusted look when it didn't magically change into something that she loved after she put it on.

4. Don't be afraid to try on clothes ranging from the junior section to the petite section, to the misses section, no matter what age you are. She found a couple of "racy" shirts and dresses today (think really low cut). Don't worry, I gave her enough grief about it, that she will be searching for a camisole: "Mom, I think you have officially reached your mid-life crisis." haha. My question of the day: "Can you wear that to church?"

5. Always check out stores with weird names because "you never know what you will find." Today's store: Tuesday Morning. It was actually a pretty neat place. It reminded me of the home and decor branch of TJ Maxx. There were some pretty awesome silverware sets, and sheets there at a super discounted price! Mom knows best!

6. Pronounce brand names such as Gucci (pronounced Goo-see) or Dolce and Gabbana (Dull-chee and Cabana) incorrectly. It's just funny.

7. When trying to locate a brand name in the store, ramble off letters like "C I E or E C I or C E I or something" and hope the store clerk can help you find it. Today, she was looking for E C I, but the sales clerk found, C I A instead. We eventually found E C I on our own. I don't even know why she was looking for it.

8. Peruse the shoe section of the same store twice while you are there. You never know when they will add more shoes.

9. In order to save time, try on clothes without going to the dressing room. Nothing perverted or weird, just try them on over the clothes you are already wearing. We found a super cute dress today after mom had been in the dressing room for awhile, so she just tried on the brown and white sleeveless dress over her bright pink t-shirt, and let her white capris stick out from under the hem of the dress. She then said, "What do you think? Just ignore the pink!" As you can imagine, that was pretty hard to do, so Blake and I handed her a brown shrug sweater to go over top of it (the same as what the mannequin was wearing). To complete the outfit, she rolled up her pant legs, and then tried on the display shoes. She bought the dress.

10. Spend at least three hours in one store. How else do you think she gets all of the above accomplished?

My biggest lesson of the day: Don't listen to her when she claims she will "stay right here." Not only does she NOT stay right there, but since she is so short, you can't find her when she roams. She is shorter than the clothing racks. Our most brilliant idea as kids when shopping with mom was to put those silly bells on her purse. We couldn't see her, but at least we could hear her!

The adorable shopper helping Jennifer's house feel like a home last June.

Great idea!

I visit Jordan Ferney's blog, Oh Happy Day, on a regular basis, and I love her idea of taking a photo tour of her current apartment before she moves to her new place (check it out!). I plan on putting our place on the market later this week, so I'm going to give a photo tour too. She has a lot more pretty and interesting things than I do, but I can talk up my lovely couch animals or my "vintage" entertainment center (3rd time owners!). Photo tour to come soon.

While I'm on the house subject, I went through another house yesterday. Five levels (think weird split-level, not skyscraper tall) + two pink toilets + one pink bathtub + one blue toilet in American flag themed bathroom + included old appliances (among them, a microwave from probably 1976 at the earliest) + blue counter tops = Yikes...we are NOT living there.

I also really enjoy Fine Little Day, from Sweden. It's another blog that I visit daily. It's very simple with adorable pictures about real life. It makes me smile. Below is a sample of one of her posts.

This sad sad sight met us yesterday when we was to pick up a friend of Otto.
A drowned hedgehog.

Cute, right? But, also slightly funny - and probably not what you were expecting. I think the little boy (her son) squatting on the edge of that fountain just looks so precious!

My sister has finally started to update her blog on a semi-regular basis, to which I can only reply, "It's about time!" I was starting to feel like checking her blog regularly was simply a lost cause. Then she surprised me with multiple updates in a single evening, and even updates two days in a row! Note to readers: please read her blog on silicone strainers. It's very informational if you are considering one for your kitchen sink! Who knew?

-

For the cat people

Since I posted such a happy picture of the dogs, I thought I better share a video I saw of "The Mean Kitty Song." Frankly, I think it's cute!

This picture makes me smile

It's so carefree, and look how happy Teddy looks to be running towards me! I am also a fan of Sophie running after Teddy in the background. She's so slow. She couldn't keep up.

I am especially thankful today, the sixth anniversary of 9/11, for everything that I have been blessed with; including such happy dogs!

I miss my cousins

These two guys remind me a little bit of my brothers, and a little of my cousins in Taiwan! I love their complete ability to be goofy. It makes me long for another summer with them, eating delicious fruit, bowls of rice, playing Nintendo, traveling, hiking, and laughing more than I ever imagined I could in one single day.

I miss you cousins!

A little TBS funny

Blake and I caught an episode of the World's Funniest Commercials on TBS tonight. Below, some of our favorites.

1. Shadow work is so cool! I don't know about the Volkswagon Phaeton, but the commercial is neat.


2. Blake laughed especially hard at this one! Click here to see it!

3. If this isn't motivation for some people to keep their places tidy, I don't know what is!

4. Yikes....another Blake favorite!



Check out the link to the TBS site above for more funny commercials! Do you have a favorite?

Smiles for Today!

A little list of the things/people that made my day! :)

1. Blake

2. My niece, Jessi. She is getting so big and becoming quite the talker!

3. Meredith. She can always make me laugh about something!

4. The ringtones on my phone, even though my friend and co-worker, Luke, thinks they are weird! We're talking ringtones from the Lion King and Wicked! :)

5. Fr. Hertges

6. The new bag my sister and brother-in-law, Lola and Mike, brought me from their vacation on Mackinac Island

7. Psycho Sophie

8. My adult choir!

9. The secretaries at the office

10. Random informational phone calls from my sister, Jennifer

11. Arctic Freeze grape slushies from Dairy Queen

12. Limericks

13. Home-grown sweet corn

14. Fresh baked zucchini bread

15. My wine from Sonoma

16. Calling and catching up with a great friend!

And, in honor of my #2 smile for the day, a couple videos that will probably make you smile too! :) Sorry they are sideways!