Small Steps

GG and I celebrated our number four anniversary. Small step, I know but still progress in our journey towards eternity.

We celebrated by going out to my favorite place, Olive Garden on our actual anniversary. I love that restaurant. Good food, nice ambiance. I just wish people dressed up a little to match the ambiance-why do you look like you rolled out of bed or just got done playing basketball? I'm such a snobby snot sometimes. ANYWAY, I totally digressed.

This weekend we went to Mahoney State Park. I haven't been there since I was maybe a teenager, definitely before I went to college- so at least 10 years. I have happy memories of being there, granted we never did any of the activities-so I'm not really sure why went that far for picnics and the playground except that it was lovely. 

We started off with a picnic.... these are pretty much all self portraits so they aren't really helpful to see what we are doing except to see our pretty faces. :) Haha..

He totally got me, I didn't know he was pulling faces. Look who's got who now! BWHAHAHA. They totally just went on the blog!
Side note: I'm quite impressed that my husband can touch his tongue to his nose.

We paddled around a bit on the paddle boats. Not going to lie, not the most exciting thing in the world on a dirty, small little lake/pond thing. But just hanging out in the sun.

After paddling around with the geese with thought we'd try out our arms and swing at a few golf balls. For me, it was more like swinging at the air and missing the balls completely. GG however, is fantastic. I can see why people like hitting golf balls, if they actually can hit them, making them fly through the air. GG has been wanting to take me to a driving range since before we got married and this is the first time we actually got around to doing it.
Look at him, looking like a pro. :)

We finished our day off with a climb up the tower. I remember it being much taller than it was but I won't lie, I had to catch my breath at the top a little.

It was a perfect day for a wonderful 4 years together!

THANKS GG!! xoxoxo

Bye-Bye May..

Is may taking forever or what?! Seriously. I feel like I've been awaiting the end of the month for several weeks now. Anyone else? It's not that it's been a bad month, it's been fine it's just really long. Here's why I want this month done:

1. SUMMER- GG will be done with teaching (last day is tomorrow) and his very very short week class.
2. Anniversary is the last day of May and so sometime around there we get to celebrate.
3. MONEY. Seriously. I thought we had enough this month and I feel like I have been very careful but somewhere, somehow I spent our alloted budget already. opps. We also only have enough quarters for 2 more loads of laundry. So forgive us if our clothes stink. :) jk.  I will not let that happen!
4. Menu. I don't have anything fanastic lined up food wise for the rest of the month....or even really planned. I think I'll try and see what I can make with what we've got in our cupboards.
5. Vacation we'll be much closer. My neice is getting married and I'm totally stoked for a wedding. I never cared for them before I got married, now I think they are fantastic.

Reasons I don't want May to end:
1. My sister is moving away. :( Add ad tear to that sad face. :'(
2. May is a lovely month. And spring has been pretty good here.
3. well, guess that's it.

June, oh June, will come soon?? :)

walking

Am I odd that I like to paint pictures for my header? Ever since I was a teenager, I'd say middle school aged, I liked to paint pictures on the computer. I guess it must stem out of my kindergarten dream of being an artist (I wanted to be a good at drawing like my brother). Since I'm very limited in what I can do with an actual paper and pencil, this is my fulfillment of that dream.

I'm loving this spring weather we have been having here. It's been perfect for walking. I've been trying to take two walks a day. One with the kids (boo and my nephew) and one at night. The one in the morning is wonderful because the it restrains the kids. Am I terrible for loving car seats, strollers and high chairs for the sake that its just a few minutes that I don't need to worry about where they are? They can only do so much damage in those situations.   And I love, LOVE the evening walks that I take all by myself. I thought there was freedom and peace in my morning walks but taking a walk all by myself is so LIBERATING. It relieves all the anxious tension I often feel. I can actually think! I'm not worried about taking care of anyone else but myself. I can even call my friends who I haven't called in a long time. I can walk faster and swing my arms instead of pushing a stroller. I hope I can keep these evening walks up-even when it gets warmer.

Here a few pictures of Boo...

This isn't the best picture, I took it with my phone. She fell flat on her face as she was running around while I was putting the stroller away. Currently, the scrape is brown from the scabbing (I guess) so I have a brown-noser. :)

Also taken with my phone. She took the kid's meal binoculars with her on the walk. She was so cute looking at bugs with them.

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By the time I get halfway through my blog posts, I wonder why I'm even posting or sharing what I am sharing. Oh well I guess. If you care, you care. If you don't, you don't.  I'm kinda sad I've turned into a boring mommy blogger. I suppose I need to find renewed purpose in blogging.

Until next time.

Let us eat Cake!

Pinterest isn't working for me today and that has made me realize how much I depend on Pinterest. It isn't just a place that I pin things that look cool with only a slight chance of me using. It's my recipe book. I love finding recipes and trying them. I decided that I love to cook and try new recipes-most of the time. The foods are usually fairly similar and not outrageous. I am picky with my food and not extremely adventureous but I'm getting better. Anyway, this post if for a back up storage-in case Pinterest doesn't work again sometime in the future.

My mom gave me some chocolate cake when I was visiting her house yesterday.  It was homemade (not out of a box). It tasted somewhat like a Ding-Dong, Ho-HO....or some kind of chocolate snack cake. I can picture using this for cupcakes with a cream filling and this yummy sour cream frosting- or cake balls (never made them but I think this would make good ones).   And I would definitely make this for as a plain chocolate cake.

It came from Midwest Living Magazine.

Happy thoughts

Sometimes I don't like that my blog is mostly about my daughter but sometimes I just want to just share how fun she is- sometimes I need the reminder. Especially, after days of her pushing, screaming and biting her cousin, its good for me to remember how fun and cute she is.

One of my favorite things she says is "much fun" instead of "so much fun". My favorite time she uses it is when I lay on the floor and cuddle with her at bedtime. She'll look at me with a big smile on her face and say "much fun!" When she says that I hear "I love you".  (btw, she sleeps on the floor and has completely given up on the toddler bed, and I'm mostly okay with that).

Sometimes we take walks on the bike trail where she walks instead of riding in the stroller. Whenever she sees someones about 20 feet away she'll start waving her hand enthusiastically and start saying "hi" in her deep voice. It's so funny. The old people love her!

She just looked out the window and saw a dog and she started saying "hi" in her baby voice (similiar to how we talk to babies). Then she said "toot doogie" meaning "cute".

(This was taken probably sometime in the fall)

My little artist

Boo's First Portrait. I'm so proud. It's of her daddy.  She had a circle on her paper and I said that it looked like daddy. And then I asked her about eyes and then she drew them, then the smile, ears and nose. She's the one that decided he needed toes and that's how we got the arms and legs. 

Just thougt I'd include this one, I love her pout look....sometimes. :) 

I also wanted to say  sorry for making the "weighed down" post so depressing. I was just sharing my thoughts that have been occupying my mind and well, weighing me down a bit but I really am happy doing well.  As my sister shared with me in her comments ""(I)have a pink kink in your think. Bound, Bound and Rebound. You're doing great, just keep it up. Just look around! "  Thanks for you love and support.

the link is to the short video before a pixar movie.

You're doing great, just keep it up!

making my mouth happy

I really love food. I love it when I make food (most of the time) and I love it when others make it. I love looking at recipes at on pinterest.
One day I mistakenly said I had made 75% of the food items that I had pinned on Pinterest. I went home and counted. I had made only 25%. With probably good intentions of making at least 75% of them. :) So my new goal is to make 75% of them-to make my words true.

Here are a few that I've tried and loved!

This is Tuscan  Garlic Chicken and this is my picture. It turned out FANTASTIC.  It's a more involved recipe but so delicious. Hello homemade Olive Garden dish. yum.yum.

These Lemon White Chocolate Truffles

These Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies taste like Reese's peanut butter cups.

These are wonderful in my mouth and in my tummy, not so much my thighs...ha. :) I need to learn to love to exercise again.