Juney June June

Isn't the point of summertime to relax and be lazy? Why hasn't that happened for me yet?!

I've just had the busiest summer ever! Work's picked up quite a bit what with summer programs beginning, which makes for more fun, but certainly takes up quite a time commitment. 

There's also been an increase in care taking for my grandmother so that's been a major change at home.

Story time with Granny!

N loves having great-grandma around to read him stories. He's also made some major improvements with walking since she's come up here; it helps that he is completely obsessed with her walker! Plus, he probably doesn't want her showing him up, either. :)

I've just finished a major project for church that I've been working on for months and months and mooooonths. I have never been happier to be done with a project in my life! (Excluding all those awful science fairs in junior and senior high school, of course..) So that's good news- one less thing for me to stress about!

My totes happening sister came for a visit before starting a new job- yay for sisters! 

She's doing something with the Muppets- I don't know what it is, but come on!! The Muppets!!! Yes, it is totally fine for you to be completely overcome with jealousy.

Anyway, she came over and looked totally glamorous for several days in her skinny jeans and movie star shades, and in between looking glamorous and being glamorous, she made me this shirt:

Oh, did I mention she's insanely talented at many things, sewing handmade clothes included in that list of many things? I went to lunch with my mama this week, and a random lady stoppe us to ask me if I was into paleontology. Ahahahahahaha!!! Yes, ma'am, in an entirely immature dinosaur coloring books, stickers, and Jurassic Park movie marathon way, as I thought was entirely obvious by my awesome shirt! She was so sincere though! Too funny!

N had tons of fun with Auntie S and was sad to see her go! He sure loves her!

There's been an increase in legal stuff for my divorce (yea for divorce, nay for more paperwork and meetings and people that make my skin crawl), but I've also made major headway in my moving checklist! Woohoo!

I signed a lease on an amazing place that I can't wait to make my and N's new home- yayayay!!! Hurry up August!! I've also found some great daycares in the area for the munchkin, but I haven't decided on one in particular yet. 

I'm starting to organize and pack for the move now. Oh man. Just thinking about all that lifting and moving and exercise makes me want to eat a chocolate cake. I'll probably be spending all of my spare time packing and stacking boxes from now until move in day. Never have I ever imagined I would say this, but thank goodness for all of the diapers I've bought over the last 18 months! All of those boxes are coming in reeeeeeally handy right now! :)

Speaking of moving/exercise, I fell off the exercise bandwagon at the beginning of the month. Not to worry though, I climbed back onto it this week! I've got all kinds of workouts in lately- long bicycle ride with friends over the weekend, pulling my massive child behind me in a kiddie bike trailer. That was quite a bit of fun! We ended that night with some shaved ice at a tiny little summer shop. Yum! I've you've never had shaved ice, YOU ARE MISSING OUT.

Fun fact about my current job: I can kayak to and from work! You just have to factor in the extra time that it takes for a weenie like me to drag myself across the lake AND hope that no one is bothered by the lake water smell if you have to jump into the water and pull the kayak up onto the shore. Oh, and really cross your fingers and try not to look aggressive when you paddle into the lagoon and have to navigate to shore in a small space between a family of swans and a family of geese. For those of you that don't know, those birds, swans especially, are mean. I think I stopped breathing for the full five minutes it took me to float carefully between the two groups, pull the kayak out of the water, and get the shiz outta there!!

Today I went swimming out on the lake with my young gentleman friend. It feels really nice, but man, is that water gross! I'm a snob when it comes to lake water- I don't like immersing myself in bodies of water that I can't see the bottom of. I'll do it though. There are SOME that WON'T! Not to mention any names, but cough, cough, this kid I know, cough, cough, won't touch the water this year! 

Last year, swimming was SO MUCH FUN, but this year, he didn't even want me touching the water. God forbid it touch him! Not even the sand was all that fun..there was a lot of squealing and sand throwing and then he just demanded that I take him to the deck swing. (Everyone knows those are the most fun, anyway.) 

So anyway, back to the exercise nonsense, since that's what I started out talking about, I've also done a ton of manual labor this week, helping a friend clean up his yard. And when I say "yard," I'm really using that term loosely! It was more like a jungle. I'm talking chainsaws and trees and weeds above my head and as thick around as my wrist. I thought for sure I would be really sore by the end of the week, but nope, I'm feeling great, so that's good news!

This coming weekend is going to be another fun one! I love summertime! Sunshine and birthdays and weddings and bonfires and the loveliest of friends! :)

It's June!

It's finally really summer! The last couple weeks have been pretty warm, but now that it's June (the best time of the year!), it's official! 

Memorial Day weekend was pretty great- I was on call at work all weekend, but I made it home Saturday for a few hours when some old family friends who moved out of state years ago stopped by! Sunday night my family and I went to a cookout/jam session which is always really fun! My aunt and cousin drove up for a few hours on Monday, just in time for lunch (steak and barbecue ribs).

My totally rockin' cousin with the Magoo.

Like I said, it was a pretty great weekend!  I didn't get much accomplished for myself since it was a pretty busy week and a half (work, visitors, wrapping up a giant project I've been working on for months, Tim's leave was ending, etc), but I did keep up with my book a week. 

I read Maine, by J. Courtney Sullivan, while I was at work over Memorial Day weekend, in between guest groups. 

It reminded me a bit of Divine Secrets of the Ya-ya Sisterhood. Similar theme, anyway.

And this week, I read Sisterhood Everlasting, by Ann Brashares. I know, I know! Enough of the sisterhood stuff, right? Well, since I only had 14 books to go on the BBC's Top list, I searched the intranets for other recommended book lists, and I found a list for chickies in their 20s, and I thought, "well, hey! I'm in my 20s!" So after dropping by the library with that list in hand, I checked out all three of the only books they had available at the time. Apparently, sisterhoody books are popular! (Along with How to Win Friends and Influence People, so I guess the Midwest public library system is all about making and having friends? P.S. That little winner is next on the list..) And so back to the last book I finished, Sisterhood Everlasting is apparently the last book in the Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants series? I didn't even know there was a series! And I don't really feel the need to read the others now that I know how it all ends..

In other news...guess what baby was dedicated at church this weekend?? This one!!

We look pretty dapper, don't we? Please excuse N's crabby face- this was approximately three hours past naptime!

Hope you all have a fabulous week! I'm starting back up with running tomorrow since I have fewer excuses not to, so I'll be back soon with that nonsense.

A book a week

I officially declare my "read one book per week" goal to be in process! 

This week I read Major Pettigrew's Last Stand by Helen Simonson, set in the English countryside. It's all about relationships, with a bit of old fashioned manners and such. It was a fun read! I'm going to do my best to choose books from BBC's Top 100 Books list for my weekly reads, so I can slowly check off two goals at the same time. 

Whoops! I just looked up BBC's list and I've only got fourteen books to go until I've checked that goal off. I may have chosen the wrong list to work my way through- most of these books are old news. Perhaps I'll just finish it off and then set a new literary goal?

On another note, I've decided what I want to do with my square frame that I picked up this week! I know how I'll be spending my Memorial Day weekend!

Craft day!

Today I had an itchy feeling to be crafty, so my friend and I headed out this afternoon to collect a few useful items. We picked up a few dollar items and then hit goodwill and snagged a couple cheapo wall hangings.

K had a plan for her craft, so she found some post it notes that were shaped like letters and stuck them to two different  styrofoam pictures. She then painted one solid color over them, like this:

After letting the paint dry a little, she pulled the post-it's off, and voila! Two nice little prints of a song she loves, ready to hang in her apartment, all for less than $10!

(Sidenote: who has the coolest shirt ever? That girl!! "You're killing me, Smalls!")

The peachy colored print had a bit of a marbley effect, as it has some Monet flowers underneath. I really like the gray print! 

Anyway, here was K, being all creative and productive, and all I managed to produce for my craft was this little plastic container for N. 

I cut a hole in the lid, wrapped duct tape around the edge of the hole so there wouldn't be any sharp plastic edges, and showed him how to stuff pompoms into the container through the hole. Not exactly creative, OR brain surgery, but N thought it was the coolest thing since his afternoon snack, so I count myself a winner! 

Just look at him go! :)

Back to the crafty stuff, though, I picked up a neat square frame that was very nicely showing off the most hideous, filthy sheet of brocadey fabric that I thought I could repurpose. I popped the plate out that the fabric was glued to, ripped the fabric off, and flipped the plate around so I can paint and hang it. I haven't quite nailed down what I want to paint yet, so I saved that project for tomorrow!

N loves it when K comes to visit! He gets so spoiled!

What should I do with my snazzy "new" wall hanging? Should I paint a pattern, or a picture, or print something on it? 

I've also got a trifold dressing screen that I rescued a couple summers ago that was falling apart. I used some filler in a few cracks, but haven't done anything further with it. It's possible that I could coordinate the screen with the wall hanging! 

Guess who's home?

We've had an unlucky streak of doctor visits, strep throat, colds and coughs around here, but not to worry! I'm here!

But more importantly, Unckie Slim is here, too! 

August, 2013, meeting Uncle Slim for the first time, just after he came home from Afghanistan. (Wearing camo in support of Army Uncle:))

We've been having lots of fun, now that Uncle Slim is here and we're not moping around the house feeling sick anymore. (Although we did squeeze a few visits to the neighborhood sheep in, between feeling crummy and feeling sick!)

Hello, sheep!

Welcome home, Uncle Slim!!

My Life List

My life list!

*I reserve the right to add, edit, or remove goals from this list whenever I feel like it.

Family Goals

1. Geocaching with my miniature man.

2. Classic movie marathon

3. Watch our favorite sports team play live.

4. Play in the rain.

5. Color run with punkster.

6. Have a mother/son photoshoot. 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016 down!

7. Bury a time capsule.

8. Make a model airplane.

9. Visit a history museum.

10. Paint N's room.

11. Build a bird house.

12. Teach him how to be a gentleman and how to treat a woman.

13. Spend a winter night in a hotel with a pool so the kid can swim.

14. Have the kid's caricature drawn.

15. Take the little man bowling. 12/2015

16. Sign kiddo up for dance/swim/riding/etc class.

17. Do something the spawn has always wanted to do.

18. Journal for when N is little.

19. Lay in the grass in the summer. This is a fun one! We like to do it on the regular. :)

20. Go rock climbing (real or facility).

21. Plan a fishing trip.

22. Wake N up in the middle of the night and go to an all night diner for breakfast.

23. Plan an event for every holiday.

24. Explore local places we've never been. 

25. Get up early and watch the sunrise.

26. See both our favorite bands together.

27. Pick out, buy, and train a puppy. 

28. Buy him his first suit. 

29. Visit a college in every city we ever visit together. **I'm thinking I'm nixing this one.

30. Go to one professional game for every sport we can think of.

31. Look through old black and white photos of our relatives together. 

32. Continue my gene pool. Umm... See: Magoo.

33. Lead N through a hedge maze.

34. Make a bucket wish list come true for N.

35. Write a letter for N for his 18th birthday.

36. Go to the dog park to admire the dogs together.

37. Be an example: Show N that you can do anything you want with hard work.

38. Watch N go to college.

39. Go horseback riding.

40. Go snorkeling in the ocean.

41. Go snow skiing/snowboarding.

42. Fly a kite.  Attempted & flopped in a big way, 08/2015

43. Try archery.

44. Take N to Medieval Times. 08/2015

45. Teach N how to write. 

46. Paint together with N.

47. Read a classic together.

48. Create a family crest.

49. Watch the entire Star Wars collection.

50. Teach him to iron clothes and sew on buttons.

51. Camp in a tent in the backyard. 

52. Create a paper mâché volcano and blow it up.

53. Adopt a senior doggy.

54. Write handwritten letters together.

55. Visit every local museum.

56. Be a godmother.

57. Be a foster parent or adoptive parent.

58. Babysit someone's kids for a weekend.

59. See a play on Broadway.

60. Write a list of qualities N should look for in a woman.

61. Raise N to be a Happy, Healthy, Confident, Cooperative, Responsible, Faithful person.

Physical Goals

1. Take a personal defense class.

2. Run a seven minute mile.

3. Run a mud-run.

4. Run a fun run with N. 

5. Fast for 24 hours.

6. Become skilled at skiing. 

7. Live a healthy lifestyle.

8. Run the Disney princess half marathon.

9. Learn yoga.

10. Bike across the country.

11. Run through Hell, MI when it freezes over.

12. Run a mile in my underwear.

13. Run a 5k together.

14. Run a marathon.

Foodie Goals

1. Cook a Thanksgiving turkey that I shot.

2. Eat a lobster in Maine.

3. Cook 30 recipes from 30 different countries in 30 days.

4. Raise my own food.

5. Catch, clean, cook and eat a fish.

6. Bake a soufflé successfully.

7. Eat at a revolving restaurant. **Technically accomplished in Duluth, during my childhood.

8. Eat at an undersea restaurant.

9. Order dessert first.

10. Drink only water for a year.

11. Make my own pizza from scratch.

12. Create my own barbecue specialty.

13. Create my own kitchen sink cookie recipe.

14. Make homemade ice cream.

15. Develop a signature family recipe.

16. Eat a meal overlooking the Colisseum.

Personal Growth/Learning Goals

1. Sew a quilt.

2. Earn my bachelor's degree.  05/2012

3. Write a grant and get it approved.

4. Grow in my faith.

5. Learn to play the accordion.

6. Write a blog and publish 100+ posts.

7. Read a book each week for a year.  1-12/2015

8. Take a motorcycle class.

9. Send a care package to a soldier.  Uncle Slimmy's 2013 & 2015 Afghanistan tours.

10. Take a first aid course.

11. Earn my master's degree. Check, check! 2016
12. Pass the speech Praxis. Check, check, check! 8/1/16!

12. Read the entire Bible in one year.

13. Do something nice for someone who will never find out. Accomplished! But to be continued...

14. Come up with and check off one goal per friend, per year.

15. Go on a missions trip.

16. Learn how to change a tire/change a flat, if necessary.

17. Read half the books on BBC's Top 100 Books list.

18. Take a gun safety class. Check, check! 07/2016

19. Take a concealed weapons class. Check, check! 07/2016

20. Learn to sew.

21. Learn to ride horseback with skill.

22. Learn to decorate cakes.

Professional/Financial Goals

1. Publish a story.

2. Sell artwork I've created.

3. Become a speech language pathologist.  I'm on my way! Praxis to go, CF to go, August, 2016!

4. Find/publish Pea Soup.

5. Become financially self-sufficient.

6. Become debt free by 2020.  Looking less and less likely, considering current, continued debt accumulation.

7. Start an investment account.

8. Prepare a will.

9. Own a home.

10. Pay off my mortgage by age 50.

Home Goals

1. Create a comfortable home.

2. Plant a tree.

3. Plant a garden.

4. Be green.

Travel Goals

1. Take a spontaneous weekend roadtrip.

2. Take a trip where N's favorite movie was filmed.

3. Take dad and N somewhere special.

4. Go zip lining at Whistler or maybe in Tennessee. 

5. Stay in a cabin on a lake for a week.

6. Visit a big city for a weekend.

7. Go camping a minimum of one time per summer.  2014, 2015

8. Visit all 50 states with N.

9. Get in the car and drive with no plans.

10. Climb a mountain.

11. Hike the Appalachian trail.

12. Go to a Sarah Addison Allen book signing.

13. Go water skiing/wake boarding.

14. Attend a rodeo.

15. Go to NYC together and walk in Central Park.

16. Go to the Winter Olympics.

17. Visit 30 NYC landmarks.

18. Cruise Greece.

19. Stay in the south of France for one month.

20. Shop on the Champs Élysées in Paris.

21. Spend Thanksgiving in NYC.

22. Visit the Smithsonian.

23. Go on a trip by myself.

24. Make a travel nap of all the places I've been and all of the places N and I have been.

25. Attend a unique small town festival.

26. Visit a ghost town.

27. Attend a cirque du soleil show.

28. Attend a cultural festival.

29. Attend a gay wedding.

30. Visit lighthouses/volunteer to be the lighthouse keeper for a summer.

31. Attend a three day music festival.

32. Visit Neuschwanstein Castle in Bavaria. 

33. Ride a cable car in San Francisco.

34. Visit all US national parks.

35. Spend a weekend in a cabin in the woods.

36. Take N to visit Santa in Lapland.

37. See the Hollywood sign.

38. Camp Bestival.

39. Go to Sea World.

40. Take N to Sandusky or Cedar Point.

41. Visit Rita and Sharky with Jess and N.

42. Visit Houston.

43. Go to the children's museum.

44. Visit the Eiffel Tower at night.

45. Go to Talladega.

46. See New England in the fall.

47. Spend a summer in a lake house.

48. Go to Chincoteague for Pony Penning Day.

49. Go to the top of the Empire State Building.

50. Visit Graceland.

51. Go lobster fishing in Maine.

52. Sleep in a castle.

53. Mennonite my way.

54. Go on a cruise with N.

55. Go to New Orleans for Mardi Gras.

56. Drive Route 66. 

57. Go to a Montana ranch for a week of vacation.

58. Go to a big medieval fair.

59. Go to Disneyworld.

60. Visit the Colisseum.

61. Stay on a plantation in the South.

62. Go to every county fair in Indiana.

63. Stay at a bed and breakfast.

64. Go to Glastonbury Festival in England and see Stonehenge.

65. See the aurora borealis.

66. Places to visit:

          A. US National Parks in West roadtrip: Yellowstone, Death Valley, Zion, Grand Canyon, Yosemite, Crater Lake & Glacier National Park.

          B. PEI

          C. Coast to Coast US South roadtrip: GA, AL, TN, MS, LA, TX, NM, AZ, UT, CO, NV, CA.

          D. Multnomah Falls, WA

          E. Mt. Rushmore, SD

          F. Gum Wall, WA

          G. Hoover Dam, NV, AZ

          H. Statue of Liberty, NY

          I. Grand Canyon, AZ

          J. Antelope Canyon, AZ

          K. The Wave, AZ

          L. Yosemite, CA

          M. Hollywood Walk of Fame, CA

          N. Moaning Caverns, CA

          O. Glass Beach, CA

          P. Ice Castles at Silverthorne, CO

          Q. The Road to Hana, HA

          R. Waianapanapa Black Sand Beach, HA

          S. Las Vegas Strip, NV

          T. French Quarter, LA

          U. Niagra Falls, NY, Canada

          V. Times Square, NY

          W. Olympic Games, any location

          X. Sundance Film Festival, USA

          Y. Up Helly Aa Fire Festival, Scotland

          Z. Mardi Gras, USA

Other Experiences

1. Get a professional massage.

2. Jump into a pool fully clothed.  

3. Have my caricature drawn.

4. Wear an itty, bitty, teeny, weeny, yellow, polka-dot bikini.

5. Wear a red string bikini.

6. Milk a cow or a goat.

7. Go spear fishing.

8. Ride a bike along a beach.

9. Watch a combine demolition derby.

10. See the Nutcracker.

11. Own a pearl strand necklace.

12. Go skinny dipping.

13. Ride an elephant.

14. Ride a camel. 

15. Go to the opera. 

16. Watch a Royal Ballet performance.

17. Have my fortune told.

18. Go snowmobiling.

19. Ride in a helicopter.

20. Go white water river rafting.

21. Go to a shooting range.

22. Sleep on satin sheets.

23. Find the perfect black dress.

24. Dress in expensive lingerie.

25. Fill up an entire coloring book.

26. Register as an organ donor.

27. Ride in a hot air balloon.

28. Add something useful to Wikipedia.

29. Send flowers to myself.

30. Go to the crosstown classic.

31. Go to a Bears game.

32. Attend an MLB game.

33. Wear dresses more often.

34. Cover my bed in rose petals.

35. Shear a sheep.

36. Watch every episode of How I Met Your Mother.

37. Build a sandcastle.

38. Watch a meteor shower.

39. Attend a dinner murder mystery.

40. Become a beekeeper.

41. Drive a tractor.

42. Go canoing.

43. Serve at a local shelter or soup kitchen.

44. Buy a motorcycle.

45. See a Broadway play.

46. Go go-karting.

Already a Public Procrastinator

Good news! I've recruited at least a couple people to join my Tough Mudder team! Yahooo!!

On another note, I've been trying to organize my life list and didn't realize so much time had gone by since my last post. It occurred to me Monday and now what day is it? That's right, Wednesday. 

Granted, I logged some crazy hours at work last week (thank goodness) and have had a sad little sicko to take care of this week, but still!

Here's my Official Post Promise: I'll post my life list tomorrow, either a portion of it, but organized, or in full, but highly disorganized. I'm satisfied with either scenario! :)

Goodnight!