Survivor Night!

It's Survivor time again! 

This morning I made a quick roster of the tribes: 

<<<<<<<>>>>>>>

We haven't picked teams yet - will do so before the show starts tonight. 

(The boots are a bit silly, yes?)

I'm not sure what I like more - watching the show or the ritual of it. It's something to look forward to in the middle of the week. Vance gets into the show, Vaughn could care less but everyone likes that we eat pizza.

Here's a link to the Survivor info on the CBS site - which is where I got the pictures from. 

Do you watch? 

Happy Heart Day

Some say Valentine's Day, some say Estate and Trust Planning Day. You know, it's a tomato, tomahto type of thing.

My husband, being the romantic that he is, scheduled a meeting for us with a lawyer to do our will today. What says romance more than the piece of mind that comes with providing security for our two goofballs?

In other words...

Happy Valentine's Day!

Believe me. I'm as tired as you are of seeing these things. Hopefully this will be the last time you'll see Valentine Moustache Pops here. Ever. The kids are excited to hand them out today and for their class parties. 

Here's what's going on in the dining room right now.

Yes, it's over the top but it's hard corralling the kids when it comes to decorating. Still don't know what's on the menu for tonight. I'm thinking noodles of some sort. We'll see! No plans for dessert yet either. 

What's on your menu? 

Dinner Without Crayons: Our Big Night Out.

It's been 11 months since Justin and I have had a date or any kid-free time for that matter. No lunches or quick errands ran without them, nothing.   

(We did spend 4 hours in December sitting at the closing table with our bank guy and our realtor during the Closing Situation kid-free. I'm not counting that but I am thankful for my mom and my aunt who wrangled kids for us during that time.)

   So, yes. Here we were last time on March 7, 2011. On a beach. Around a fire. Thoroughly enjoying a night out while on vacation.  

Tonight Vaughn's school is hosting Parent's Night Out, God love them. As soon as Vance's basketball practice is over we're going to shove them (lovingly) through the school doors and run away enjoy our 2.5 hours alone.  

(Where we'll go to dinner and end up talking about them the whole time because to date they're the most lovable yahoo's that we've ever met.)

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Oh, that's so nice of you to ask about our office!

It's shaping up nicely, thankyouverymuch. Desks, chairs, and the bookcase are in place. Curtains will be hung this weekend along with other wall stuff. On the other hand we still can't get rid of the couch that's too big to go into our basement. It's in the office eating up space. We've had a few people interested on Craigslist but they flounder and never end up calling back. 

The only thing wrong with this couch is the fact that it doesn't fit down our staircase. It is stylish. It is comfortable. It's hardly been used. 

So now here's our choices: 

1. Shrink wrap it and put it in our already crowded garage for when we open up the walls to finish the basement and can fit it down (which also means we won't be able to get it back out if we ever move).

2. Sawzall the end off (nicely where the arm meets), fit it down the stairs, nail the sucker back together, and get on with our day. 

Number 1 was Justin's idea. Number 2 was mine. We tend to bump heads sometimes.

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What's everyone else up to this weekend? Exciting plans? Do tell!

Happy Friday!

    

Bad Grass

"You know there's a bad type of grass?"

Justin and I look at each other. 

"Oh, yeah Vance?" we say. 

"Abraham Lincoln's mom died because she drank milk from cows that ate brown grass. It was bad grass."

Phew. 

Vance's class is learning about presidents and yesterday an Abe Lincoln look-alike came to speak and apparently told many stories. 

  

.....

12 minutes later we get a call from The Weed Man. I kid you not.

And that folks, was our night. 

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It's Wednesday, which means it's Pizza Night around here. Tonight we're making our own and I'm trying a new recipe that I pinned on Pinterest. Caramelized onion, mushrooms, and honey goat cheese. I have a red pepper that I need to use so I'll throw that in the mix as well. 

HapPy WednESday! 

Random thought for the day

Isn't it funny that where you are changes the way you think? This has happened to me a couple of times recently. 


I was at Target and picked up a candle that was $15. Just as soon as I was putting it into my cart I thought, "I'm not spending that much for a candle at Target." and set it back on the shelf. If I  was at Anthropologie and saw a candle that I liked and it was only $15 I'd pick up at least three because they're so cheap! 


Isn't it strange how our brains work? 
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That's all I have for you today. Have a great Tuesday! 
  

Weekend Update: Superbowl Edition

Well, did everyone get their fill of junk food yesterday? 

We sure did, so welcome to...

DETOX MONDAY

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Favorite quote of the weekend goes to Vance who when asked if he wanted Doritos said the following: "What's a DOOOR-EEE-TO?"

I'm positive that he's had Doritos before, but since we never buy them I think he was just confused to see them in the house. Poor kid. 

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Taking care of business, I said I'd report back about the cookies that I mentioned in this post. (The recipe is also included in a link from that post also...)

They are, in fact, the best chocolate chip cookies that I have ever made. Ever. Sorry Nestle, we've got a new recipe. You should definitely make these. No. You need to make these. When you do, let me know your plan on how not to eat them all. (Mine included giving some to the neighbors, freezing some, but there's still some eyeballing be on the counter that I shouldn't be left alone with.)

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Just in case your following along with our painting progress, I'm pleased to announce that the rolling of the second coat was completed yesterday and just a little more trimming needs to be done. Halle-effing-lujah. 

Fancy pants Cookies and Free e-book!

On Monday I started working out again. 

Even on an incline and walking fast for 30 minutes isn't cutting it. It doesn't feel like a workout and at this stage of the game 30 minutes is all I can spend on a workout. 

On Monday night when I couldn't sleep I downloaded a running app and on Tuesday I started. It's been a looong time since I've ran. 

My body is in shock. Everything hurts, but in a good way. 

...............

Last night I made the chocolate chip cookies that Tidy Mom posted about. They're from Jacque Torres and dubbed The Best Chocolate Chip Cookie Recipe. Ever.  I won't lie, they're fussy cookies. I had to buy 2 different types of flour. I weighed my ingredients. And it gets better. The batter has to marinate for up to 3 days in the fridge. Trying to explain to Vaughn that we were making cookies but we can't eat the cookies until Sunday was tough. 

Here's my dough, chilling away. I may have screwed it up by not using fancy-pants chocolate chips though. It called for bittersweet chocolate, which I don't care for, and I forgot to buy fancy chocolate chips when I was shopping for all the fancy flours. We'll see how they do. I'll report back fo sho.

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Lastly, there's still time to squeeze in some Valentine's Day crafts. Sidetracked Sarah has put together a Valentine's Craft e-book that you should check out. It can be downloaded for free if you subscribe to her blog. My Heart Shaped Oreo Truffles are featured in it but there's so many other great ideas. Click on the picture for the link over there!

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It's Friday! And from what I hear there's some game that's being played on Sunday that I'm being forced to watch. Enjoy it!

(Yes, I know it's the Superbowl. While I did just learn who was playing yesterday at dinner, I have been planning our menu for the past week.)

Photo-A-Day

I got a late start, but I'm attempting to play along with the Photo-A-Day game. 

Here's what February's list looks like:

 

Fat Mum Slim created this and I think it's a great way to look back on the little memories that sometimes slip our mind. 

Play along if you want. You don't have to follow exactly what's on the list - they're just there for inspiration. Just hashtag your Instagram pics and your good to go. You can find mine from Twitter or Instagram, where I'm charisadee.

Here's mine from the past 4 days. 

Jan 30: Nature

It was 60 degrees on a day that should be more like 6 degrees. We celebrated with sidewalk chalk.

Jan 31: Me, again

A picture of me around 2 years old. The tan? From a recent trip to Hawaii. The glasses? I've worn them since I was 10 months old. (Updated to add: What type of background did you choose for that picture, Mom? Most kids got sun shiny backgrounds. Mine looks like the backdrop from Jack the Ripper. London fog at night, spooky trees...)

Feb 1: View

Celebrating my sister's birthday with a virtual happy hour over Skype.

Feb 2: Words

Vance's written presentation on killer whales. He gives it today and I think he's a little nervous. I wish everyone spelled 'human beings' like Vance did.

I'm linking up with these two parties today. Can't wait to see a glimpse from everyone else's world!