Four Eyes

My new glasses came in. I'm not going to be wearing them much, but for driving- yes. Grocery shopping? Probably. It's hard to see the signs!

Dorky? Yes. I like them though.

On an entirely different note...does anyone do freezer meals? I was thinking that it might be a good idea to have some meals prepped and frozen for the beginning of the school year. That time of year is so exhausting and I don't usually feel like cooking. Rather than eating out all the time, I thought it would be good to prep meals while I have time. Any good website or cookbook suggestions for freezer meals?

Kitten Love

Laila found some friends outside (and they've been driving her ca-razy)!

June Showers Bring...

GIANT FALLING BRANCHES!! Very happy that this did not hit my car today. Ironically, this branch did not fall during the storm. It hung around for another 15 or 20 minutes before scaring the heck out of us!

Spring Has Been Badly Needed Around Here...

Everything about the end of winter has been long, drawn out, and gray. I am SOOOO happy to be soaking up the sunshine, even if the temps are still in the low 30s.

It's been pretty terrible having indoor recess everyday. Even though my kids play inside pretty well, they've needed to run around for the past couple of months. All of that pent up energy has made teaching a bit tricky! Now that they're able to go out, I feel like we're being more productive in the classroom.

My energy level has been up and I've been getting in some kind of exercise everyday. I hadn't been keeping up with the Riverbank run training schedule and had been skipping the longer runs on Saturdays so I was nervous to do the 5 miler yesterday. But it was a great run and I even had enough energy to increase my speed for the last mile. I've been taking Laila on long walks, so she's been exhausted. An exhausted puppy is always great.

Around the house, we've had some ongoing projects- ongoing as in we haven't made any progress lately. Since we've gotten the treadmill, our desk has been laying on it's side in the guest bedroom. That bugs me. I like things to be finished. Well, today we finally brought the desk down to the basement to make a little work space and it makes me so happy. That office/treadmill/storage room has been driving me crazy. Maybe we'll finally get it organized!!

And today? We finally booked a vacation! It will be our first (besides going up North last summer) since our honeymoon in '08. We'll be heading to Puerto Rico. Can't wait. So far, spring is lookin' good!

Groupon

I just found out about this cool site called Groupon. It features a deal a day (like Slickdeals or Woot), but it only features things that are in your local area. I checked out some of the past deals and wish I had known about it before. Some of the past deals for my area included Door to Door Organics, cheap pedis/manis at a local salon, and deals on yummy restaurants. You should check it out for your city!

Some of My Favorites...

I know my own wedding is over...but that doesn't mean that I don't still love all things wedding! The husband rolls his eyes whenever I watch "Say Yes to the Dress". He can't understand why I would want to watch girls pick out their wedding dresses since I already have mine. But weddings are just so...pretty! This blog shows all the lovely details of a wedding. Rachael, you'd love this site! It's called Style Me Pretty.

There are a few blogs that I check out for ideas around the house. My faves are Design Sponge, which feature lots of before & after pictures, Decor8, and Young House Love, which features lots of DIY projects. Young House Love makes me wish that I was more inclined to try some projects around the house rather than just buying things. However, my skills are limited when it comes to using any kind of tool, sewing, or planning ahead. Maybe that will be a resolution for next year? Haha...probably not!

This Makes Me Laugh Everytime I See It!

2009 Memories

2009 was a busy year as I continued my second year teaching second grade, we bought a new home, and Gil began working with a new client out of state.

I took my first trip to New York City to visit a friend in April.

The most exciting part of our year was moving from our apartment in Northville into our first home!

The house definitely kept us a lot busier than I had anticipated with all the little things like buying furniture, unpacking, and settling in. The bigger problems of home ownership kept us busy too, like redoing our entire basement only a couple of weeks after moving in!

But that's all behind us now. Life lessons, right?

We got in as much family time as possible with our busy schedules. Things were a lot easier when we all lived in the same city! This year was so fun watching my nieces get bigger and bigger.

Gil and I celebrated our first anniversary together (well, really almost 8 years but we had to start our count over when we got married) :).

I visited Gil in Seattle during one of his trips for work.
We celebrated the holidays with family in Grand Rapids.
It was hard to get a good picture with both babies. :)

And of course, we got to see our favorite pup in GR.
We finished off the year with a ski trip to Shanty Creek up North.
What will 2010 bring? Can't wait to find out!

101.4...

was the temperature that I had when I got home from work on Friday. It was also the approximate number of body aches that I had. On the up side, it also happens to be the number of nice things that Gil has done for me since I got the worst cold ever. Among that list was making me pancakes in the shape of smiley faces, trekking off to the store after a LONG day of work to buy me Lemon Propel water and pudding, and having a fire lit and the Christmas tree lit up for me when I finally crawled out of bed on Saturday morning after going to bed at 5 pm the night before. I love my husband!

I Am Deeply Distraught...

because my husband (seriously) wants these. Love him, but...atrocious!