March Favorites

The Civil Wars - I am probably late to the game, but ohmigosh I love this group! Just listen to them and you will too!Benefit Erase Paste - I still totally love my Benefit Boi-ing concealer, but I now also LOVE my Erase Paste! I have been using it almost everyday and I just love it's cover and staying power!
Aussie 3 Minute Miracle - No explanation needed. Just try it and you will never not use it!
Agatha Christie Towards Zero - I haven't been reading much lately, but I did read this and it was really good! I heart Agatha Christie!

Lush! I'll say no more. LOVE!Tresame Dry Shampoo and Maybelline One by One mascara - Please ignore the nail stuff as I haven't used it yet. I have been using the shampoo on my day 3 hair and it makes it nice and fresh again! I have also been using the One by One mascara and love it! It did take a few weeks to get used to it and I think maybe the formula needed to dry out a bit from use, but now I use it everyday and love it!
Urban Decay Naked Pallette - Do I really need to explain this love? No.
Firefly tv series - Jon and I started watching this on Netflix and we are hooked! This show is so good! Why do the good shows always get canceled after only one season?

ZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ

Zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz. Must sleep. *harumph grumph* Please go to sleep brain! *snuffle, grumble* Stupid brain just shut up!

This has been my brain the past couple nights. I am so tired! Sigh. Insomnia sucks! Anywho I'm exctied b/c

A. My Lush order came!

B. I get to have dinner with my sisters this weekend!

Super excited about my Lush haul, it'll have it's own post soon. I love! This Sunday, Jon and I are going to go out to lunch with my sisters and bro-in-laws! It's been awhile since I've seen them all so I'm excited to get together! This week has been kinda blah. We've had no sun and snow showers! Blech. I'm so beyond ready for spring!

Dialect Vlog

great googley moogley

Well hello there! Saturday was spent bowling. We are pretty terrible bowlers, but we had fun!

Then we just chilled out at the house. We watched The Big Boss, aka Fists of Fury, staring Bruce Lee. It was darn good too! Yesterday, we woke up to an inch of snow! It's the end of March people!

Oh well. It melted just as fast as it came. Anywho, then we did a few chores and then chilled some more. I have to rave about a cleaning product here b/c ohmahgah! I have been trying to get our bathtub clean since we moved in a year and a half ago. It was so stained and nasty. I knew we were getting it clean because we had actually used straight bleach on it to try and get it clean. I shouldn't say clean, it was clean, but extremely stained. It grossed me out and I was so embarrassed of it. Anywho, I decided to try a cleaner I found called Kaboom.

It is a miracle. I just sprayed it on the tub and wiped it down with a wet clothe. I did that twice b/c the tub was pretty stained. It completely wiped it clean! My tub is pretty! I am so excited! I can't wait for my Lush stuff to come in and take a big ol' bubbly bath!

Mishmash microwave dinner

I didn't feel like cooking and we didn't have much laying around, so I decided to see what I could come up with.

Mishmash micro dinner

2 pkgs Knorr noodle mix (we used chicken broccoli)

1 can chicken

1 1/2 cups frozen mixed veggies

1 1/2 tsp garlic powder

1 tsp cracked black pepper

Mix up the noodles as directed. Add in the chicken and veggies. Microwave for 19 minutes. Nom!

This was pretty good! It's not gourmet, but it's easy and quick. Jon and I both said we'll have it again.

Things I wish I would have done in my teens/20's

I don't think it's a big secret that I wish I would have been more adventurous in my life. So here is a list of things I wish I would have done in my teens/20's. I guess I feel like since I'm nearing 30 *gasp!* I don't feel like I can do these things...hm.

1. Piercings! I always wanted to get my nose and lip pierced, but didn't. I wish I would have been more adventurous and gotten that done.

3. More Tattoos. Ok so I will actually probably be getting more tattoos anyway, but I wish I would have gotten them sooner.

4. More parties. I didn't party all that much through high school and college and I wish I would have pulled more all night parting while I had the chance. I'm getting old and can't stay up all night anymore!

5. More adventurous fashion/makeup/etc. I never experimented with fasion and makeup until really recently. I'm getting to an age where it isn't appropriate to play with some trends, and wish I would have done that when I was in ma' prime!

6. More outgoing. I had terrible self esteem all through high school and college and I definitely didn't go out of my way to talk to people. I was too scared I would say something "wrong". Anyway, I wish I would have been more outgoing and social. You never know who you'll meet!

Zach's Creamy Chicken Enchilada Casserole

Zach didn't have the recipe he used when I asked him, but I googled and this looks pretty close. It's from thriftyfun.com

Creamy Chicken Enchilada Casserole

Ingredients

• 1 can cream of chicken soup
• 1 can cream of mushroom soup
• 1 cup chicken broth
• 1 can chopped green chilies (8 oz.)
• 1 medium onion, chopped
• 12 corn tortillas
• 1 chicken, cooked, boned, chopped
• 2 cups shredded sharp cheddar cheese

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Combine soups, broth, chilies and onion in bowl; mix well. Alternate layers of tortillas, chicken, soup mixture and cheese in casserole. Bake for 30 minutes.

Daffodils

I got my daffodils from the American Cancer Society and they just bloomed!

Aren't they pretty! Makes me really feel springy!

#4

4. the ring: tell us about it! did you pick it out? did he? pictures! tell us about his ring too!

Jon and I went together to pick out my ring. We didn't have a lot of money to spend, plus I didn't want a big ring. I have smaller hands and wanted something proportionate. My ring is actually a promise ring from JC Penney. We just went to look at rings so I could get an idea of what I liked. I tried on my ring and fell in love! It's diamond and white gold. It was more than we were wanting to spend, but that week it was on sale! I told Jon that if he was gonna pop the question, he should really get it that week. Turns out he agreed! He bought it that week, but he didn't use it for another 5 months! We went ring shopping in February of 2009 and he didn't propose until July 2009! for our wedding bands, we have plain white gold bands. Mine is very thin to match the thin band on my e-ring. Jon's is a bit thicker.

Playing catchup

A brief overview of what we've been up to:

1. Sunday night was our weekly movie night. Zach cooked for us and it was amazing! He's supposed to give me the recipe, and I'll post it. Yum!

2. We worked.

3. The weather has been beautiful so we've been outside enjoying it and the windows have all been open!

4. The hot tub is gone!!!!!! They came and got it and now we have a patio! Woop! Now to shop for lawn furniture!

5. We picked up Josh tonight and we have him through the weekend (Spring Break). Bring on the kiddo fun!

6. Last night, Jon went over to Dustin's for a few hours and I chilled out at home all by me self! I did a little laundry then watched a movie. In bed. With Topeka. It was nice.

7. We went and saw a friends new house and Jon drooled over their basement.

8. We finally met our "new" next door neighbor! His name is Charlie and he's 79. He's nice!

So that's been what's going on. That and the internet issues. Hence the zillion posts while it is up for the moment.

RIP Elizabeth Taylor

downtime

we are experiencing internet difficulties here at the homestead, so i may be a bit sporadic in my posting for a bit until they are fixed. :(

Hello Spring!!

It's the first day of spring!!!! Woot! Of course, spring totally came in spring like with gloomy rainy weather, but hey, it's spring! *big sniiiiffff* Ah can't ya just breath it in?!?!?

Fact #1: Topeka has become much more vocal since Jersey passed. It's funny and cute most of the time, but sometimes...not. Examples: It's cute when he makes little mew/chirping noises at the birds he sees through the windows. It's not cute when he whines until someone pets him.

Fact #2: The hottub should be gone sometime this week *Hopefully* Big freakin' WOOT!!!! I can't wait for that stinky thing to be gone! We're going to get a set of lawn furniture and a fire pit! I'm pretty sure our summer will be spent between our backyard and Sonnie's pool. Ah summer.

And she's back!

Hey all! Sorry I've been gone for the past couple days. I've been letting myself deal with the death of my kitty. But I'm back! So let's catch up shall we! Thursday was St Patrick's Day! Jon and I stayed in and had our own little celebrations with green wine (I don't like beer), funny glasses, and the movie Leprechaun! (so yet so good!)

Yep, my hair was in a towel in that picture! Lol, oh well! The weather that day was AWESOME! 70 degrees and sunny! Jon and I took a walk around the neighborhood and then sat outside and enjoyed that weather! We are going to try and walk pretty much everyday now that the weather is getting nicer b/c I want to get in shape!

In other news, Spring has sprung! Here is a branch on the tree in our front yard.

Yea spring!

Last night we just stayed in too. We need to get out I guess! I did get my Urban Decay Naked Palette! (insert choir singing here). I love this! The colors are so pigmented and pretty! I wore colors from it today and they are awesome! Yea!

Today we've just been chilling at home doing...nothing. We REALLY need to get out! I found out the Edinburgh Outlet Mall has The Cosmetics Company Store! I need to go there! Who wants to go with me?!

RIP

Jersey George Rhoades

Oct 2005 - March 2011

good and bad

Well I've had quite a up and down life lately. Saturday night after the Maple Syrup Festival, Jon's mom came over to visit for a bit. We walked back to her house with her and while Jon and I hit the hot tub, she and Josh ran to Dairy Queen and got us all ice cream! Yum! Sunday we really lazed the morning away (I choose to blame the idiotic time change we are forced to live by) and then went to visit Jon's dad that afternoon. He gave us 2 really cool Venus fly trap plants!

Cool right! We are all really into them. They are neat little plants! We have to feed and water them and they're kinda like a pet. A plant pet! So far good right? You're probably wondering where the bad is. Well the sorta bad is that Topeka killed our Venus fly traps! He decided he didn't like them and dug them out of their pots! We are going to get more and keep them in a green house contraption to keep them safe until the summer when they will go outside. More bad....the really bad...we too Jersey to the vet. He has lost a lot of weight, been lethargic, stopped eating, and has a really stinking mouth. He seemed fairly ok until around Sunday, then today took a turn for the worse. We don't know what's wrong, so we dropped him off at the vet and they are running tests tomorrow. I hope it's nothing too serious. :(

He's the one sitting up with white tipped ears.

The really good is that when I got home I had an email from sephora saying that they had the Urban Decay Naked eye palette in! I most certainly ordered one strait away to cheer myself up.

So anyway, I'm really just trying not to worry too much about Jersey, but I can't help it. Maybe it's just a bum tooth! That would explain a lot! Well anyway, that's our last couple of days. The vet is supposed to call me tomorrow after the tests. I'll let you know.

'Allo!

Hi all! It's been such a great weekend! Nice and sunny! After the festival yesterday, we went over to Jon's mom's house. We did a little hot tubbing and then his mom bought us ice cream! Yum!
Today we lazed about then went over to see Jon's dad. He gave Josh and Jon Venus fly traps! They are pretty cool! Tonight we are going to stay at home and chill. It's been a busy weekend! That's all for now!

The National Maple Syrup Festival

Yesterday we went to the National Maple Syrup Festival in Medora. This is it's third year running and we had a lot of fun!

Our first trip using our GPS!

We have gotten a lot of rain lately. The fields look like lakes!

They had all you can eat pancakces. The guy making them holds records for most flipped and highest flipped. He flipped the pancakes onto your plate!

We waited in line for over an hour to board the bus that takes you out to the farm. They apparently had a shortage of buses. We finally got to the farm though!

They had a bunch of kids stuff to do. Josh got his face painted, made rope, and made a candle.

Drip drip! These are attached to the trees to catch the sap that makes the syrup.

We didn't buy any syrup ( it was a little pricey) but we did get some blueberry jam from a local vendor! It was named purple haze! We also got some salsa from him!

It was such a beautiful day out! Perfect weather for a day outside! The festival was a lot of fun! They had a lot of vendors, horse drawn carriage tours of the farm, bluegrass bands playing music, a building with food, and several attractions including a man eating chicken, an indian settlement, and settlers showing you how syrup used to be made! Good times!

#3

3. proposal: how it happened, how long were you engaged for? was it a total surprise? pictures of that... etc.

Our proposal wasn't fancy or super romantic. It was very us; casual and just the two of us. We had been talking about getting married, I had picked out the ring I wanted and I knew he had bought it. I just couldn't wait for him to ask me, but he kept not asking me! July 4th of 2009 I had been pestering him all weekend about getting married. I must have been in a mood. Also he had had the ring for 5 months already and still no question had been popped! I was getting impatient! So back to the 4th. We were going to go watch fireworks but they got rained out, so we decided to go over to our friends house. On the way our the door, Jon (walking behind me) said to wait b/c he had to ask me something. I turned around and he had the ring, still in the box, lol. He asked me to marry him. I said yes, of course! We celebrated for a while just the two of us, then went on about our night. We didn't even tell our friends when we saw them that night. We kept it to ourselves for a bit. We were engaged for 1 year, 2 months, 14 days. I don't have any pic's of the engagement.

#2

2. when you knew he was the one: self explanatory.. but how and when did you know?

I don't think there was a specific moment when I knew he was "the one." I knew from the beginning that he was going to be in my life in someway because our personalities matched to well. I knew that we would be friends if nothing else. Of course I'm very VERY glad that we are more than friends! So I suppose that I always knew he was the one for me.

My first VLOG!

I decided to do the dialect vlog that's all over the place. Forgive me if you are super tired of them! Here is me! Excuse my voice, my allergies are totally wack!

#1

1. how it all began: how you met, first date, first kiss, how long did you date? first picture together.....etc.

Jon and I met when we worked together at Target. I thought he was cute, but too young for me (he's 3 years, 2 months, and 6 days younger than me). We had a mutual friend that worked with us, and eventually I started going to parties at his place. We became friends and Jon's bestie, Dustin, decided that he liked me, which let me tell you is a miracle in itself! Dustie's a bit picky about people ;). Anywho, he worked his magic and Jon and I had our first date on a double date with Dustin and Amber! It was a DISASTER!!!! We went to see the Cinderella Man and the movie broke! The film burnt up! So we then decided to go bowling. My finger swelled up while bowling, so we decided to just go to dinner. We went to Steak N Shake and the waitress poured a tray FULL of ICE WATER all over Jon!!! He was soaked and freezing! After dinner, we went back to his place and despite the awful events of the date, he must have like the company b/c he gave me a wonderful (surprise) kiss goodnight! We dated on and off for 5 years before we got married. We had been together solid for 3 years prior to our wedding. I don't have our first picture together, so here is the oldest one I have on our computer!

Jon's Comments: Where will I begin...suffice to say that although the first date was awful, yet charming, I knew that she was something special. Oh and about Dustin, we owe much to him b/c I would have been too shy to ask her out on me own.

This sounds like fun!

I found this on http://seanandchloe.blogspot.com and thought it looked like fun! She calls it the Wedding post challenge! I'm probbably going to post a lot of these at the same time, but you'll get the point. Here are the topics.

1. how it all began: how you met, first date, first kiss, how long did you date? first picture together.....etc.
2. when you knew he was the one: self explanatory.. but how and when did you know?
3. proposal: how it happened, how long were you engaged for? was it a total surprise? pictures of that... etc.
4. the ring: tell us about it! did you pick it out? did he? pictures! tell us about his ring too!
5. engagement/bridal pictures: let's see em!
6. the colors: show some of the flower and colors you used
7. the dress: was it what you always imagined? did you have it made for you? white or ivory?
8. the little accessories: you know, veil? shoes? jewelry? what did your bridesmaids wear?
9. the reception: where was it at? show us some pictures! what day did you get married?
10. the cake/food: i love food. so tell me about what you had at your wedding!
11. your song and/or the first song you danced to at your wedding: share a music video or lyrics if you can!
12. favorite part of the day and least favorite part of the day: can be anything.
13. honeymoon: where did you go? was it good? ;) haha...jk.
14. thoughts on marriage: what is the easiest/hardest part? if you could change anything, what would it be?
15. first place that you lived together: pics if you have them!
16. kids: do you have any yet? if not, when do you plan on it? how many do you want? any tips on good/bad birth control?
17. most recent picture of you and your significant other and what you love most about them :) and any other thoughts.

Stay Tuned!

Ok I'm probably late to the party but...

...this is super cool! this is what 59 minutes on my computer looks like!

make yours here: http://iographica.com

pieces of me

outside my window...is the street. nothing too exciting.

i am thinking...that a movie night in bed sounds v. tempting!

i am thankful for...my family.

what i am learning...patience.

i am creating...a dance along mixtape.

i am going...crazy!

i am hearing...my psychotic cats running around.

i am reading...towards zero by agatha christie

i am hoping...that we will be able to finish filing our taxes soon.

around the house...there is clutter. always with the clutter.

one of my favorite things...my ipod touch photo apps. yea!

a few plans for the week...planning a VIP (Jon and I only) St Paddy's day partay

a picture...this is my special kind of crazy face! yikes!

Edit: I got these questions off somebody's blog, but I don't remember who. If it was you, let me know so I can credit!

Shopping Haul

Today Jon, David, and I ran to Columbus. We had some essentials to get and there were some things that we wanted. I got a couple magazine holders...

an organizer for my makeup drawer...

some spring/summer scented candles...

And some SHOES!!!! I needed a pair of nude heels to wear to work with my dresses this summer. I found these at Target and fell in love! These wedges aren't too high and they are really comfy!

Then, I needed to get rid of a couple of my flats b/c they are old and...well...stinky. Target had some flats on sale so I picked up my two favorites.

I am totally in love! It rained all day here, so shopping was of course called for. Target had some really cute dresses, so I need to get a girl to go shopping with me. I managed to snap up my shoes today, but clothes shopping was out of the question! I need some work appropriate dresses for the upcoming warm months and Target had a few that would be appropriate and cute! I heart Target!