Garden Party Wedding Shower!

Friday night was pretty sweet, you guys.  The teachers at BF's school threw us a little Yard and Garden themed wedding shower and it was AMAZING.


One of the teachers hosted at her house which is the cutest stone house ever in the West Moreland area.  Ever.  Anyway, so when BF and I arrived we walked up the stone steps and on the front door we were greeted with this picture:

If you cannot read the "caption" it says , "Llewellyn Dress Code" as in, that is how he dresses for teaching (NOT).

And then they had more all over the house with different hilarious captions:

"Taco, Burrito, What's that in your Speedo?"

"Don't bring your guns to school!"

I laughed until I cried, it was an awesome joke on BF.  Those ladies are so funny!  Anyway, because it was a garden themed party we had all sorts of garden themed goodies and a dessert of Dirt Pie which was an adorable pot filled with layers of pudding and crumbled cookies made to look like dirt with gummy worms coming out of it.  And we got some pretty amazing gifts as well!  We got lots of yard and garden tools (shovels, hoses, water can, etc), an amazing wheelbarrow, a glass pitcher for tea and libations, cute citronella candles and LOTS of Home Depot/Ace Hardware gift cards!!! 


I cannot thank those awesome teachers enough because over the weekend BF and I started tearing out our backyard sod so we can start over (now that most of it is dead) and we definitely used most, if not all of the gifts we got plus we had a very fruitful shopping trip to the Home Depot.  After we got all of the yard stuff we needed, we even had enough gift card money left over to buy two wooden Adirondak chairs and a little side table for our front porch!  


Once we have accomplished more in the yard I will take pics.  


I also feel like we are officially getting married now- once there's a party in your honor it's a done deal!  We are so excited and I can hardly stand it!

EOTW (End of the Week)

Ah, you guys, it has been quite a weird week so I don't even want to rehash all of that.  But it wasn't all bad, either.  Here are some of the highlights of the week and what I'm looking forward to for the weekend.




1.  I made some kick ass bread.  BF and I have always tried to buy the best quality bread we can, but sometimes it's expensive and sometimes you find that good ingredients are hard to come by so we decided we should try making our own.  A couple weeks ago I made my first batch and followed the directions to a T and my bread was heavy and didn't have the best flavor.  It didn't taste awful, but it definitely didn't meet my standards.  I tried again 2 weeks ago using a different recipe and then modifying it slightly to what I thought I should do and it turned out great!  I had to stick it back in the oven because the recipe called for a baking time of 20 minutes (How about it's more like 35-40 minutes, but whatever, recipe) but other than that it was pretty tasty and much lighter than the first batch.  This week I did it again and man am I really getting the hang of this bread thing.  It was even lighter and fluffier and tastier than the previous batch and it came out golden and awesome.  I will post my modified recipe soon if you want to try it for yourself.  See my lovely loaves in all of their glory:

Dough!

The finished product.

2.  Continuing my domestic streak, I successfully made yogurt.  For real.  I didn't realize how easy it was, especially with an awesome yogurt maker that my mom found at Goodwill for $4.  All you have to do is boil your milk, add the yogurt cultures, pour them into the jars and let them sit in the heated yogurt maker overnight and boom! Yogurt.  We priced it out and making a batch of yogurt costs less than 50 cents per serving container.  That's WAY more cost effective than buying our favorite yogurts for $1.25-$2.00 a serving.  I'm going to keep my eye out for a second yogurt maker so we can do double batches because BF and I like yogurt pretty much everyday for a snack.  Sorry, no pictures but maybe next time.

3.  I read the last book in "The Immortal Nicholas Flamel" series by Michael Scott calle The Enchantress.  This is a young adult series and I absolutely love it.  The entire series takes place over about a week and a half, but boy is it action packed.  I would highly recommend it for some summer reading.  A friend of mine just gave me the 50 Shades of Gray books, but I'm not sure if I'll like them.  I'll start the first one this weekend and we'll see.

4.  Zumba- When I first started this class with my friend Stancy I thought, "Eh, it's good cardio so I guess I'll do it, " but now that I am getting a hang of the moves and know the songs I freaking love it!  Well, to be more accurate I love SOME of the songs and I love that I'm getting an hour of cardio in without running.  I'm really committing to running, however I'm starting to develop shin splints in my left leg so I'm trying to add in other cardio to increase my stamina and that way my running can be less frequent but I'm still making progress.  The downside is I think I'm going to have to break down and buy a pair of dance sneakers because I've tried several different kinds of footwear for this class and everything causes some sort of discomfort.  I'm pretty sure it's because they aren't made to support jumping around and lateral movement, just forward running movement.  

5.  Tonight will kick off our first official wedding related event! The teachers at BF's school decided to throw us a garden themed wedding shower which is awesome!  They thought it was a good idea since we pretty much have most of the house things we need but we really wanted to focus on getting the backyard cleaned up and in a usable state.  This afternoon after school one of the teachers is hosting the party at her house and I cannot wait!  Because the weather is kind of iffy I cannot wear any of the cute floral skirts or dresses I had planned to wear to a wedding related event, but if that's the downside of this whole party I'm living well.  I will definitely be posting pictures!  Also, I LOVE BF's coworkers and spending and evening with them is sure to be entertaining and fun.

So that's what is going on with us!  Here's to a great weekend.

Venus is Messing with Everything

Maybe you've heard and maybe you haven't, but this week something rare and crazy happened and it was the planet of Venus passing in front of the sun.  I guess it only happens every hundred-some-odd years and this year it was going down.  I remember early on in the week hearing about this phenomenon and I thought to myself "Sounds awesome!  I should check this out since it's not going to happen again in my lifetime!" and then I promptly forgot all about it.


I need to pause here and tell you a few other seemingly random things, bear with me.


Random tidbit #1- I used to be a crazy nail biter.  I'm not even joking.  I used to bite my nails  until they were sore.  My mom called it a nervous habit, but I wasn't a nervous child and I think it was a way for me to use up excess energy without disturbing anyone else.  I literally cannot remember a time when I wasn't a nail biter until 2 years ago when I quite for a few months and actually grew my own nails out and painted them pretty much daily.  Sometimes I would pick at them or bite a  hangnail, but for the most part I've stopped biting my nails.  This past winter I had pretty  much completely stopped even picking at hangnails, etc.  My nails were long and pretty and strong and I wasn't even focusing on them.  


Random tidbit #2- BF and I go to bed between 9:30 and 10:30 every night and we almost always get 7 hours or more of sleep because we are healthy and awesome.  I haven't always been a "go to bed early" type of person, but since I'm and "adult" now and I work full time and have a pretty full life it's pretty easy to go to bed earlier than I used to.  In high school it was rare for me to even be ready for bed by midnight and I had a zero period and had to be up at 5:20am to get ready for my before-school class... I pretty much averaged 4-5 hours of sleep a night and then come saturday morning I wouldn't even roll over in bed until 11am or so.  I would try and try to go to bed at a decent hour, but it just never seemed to work out that way.  I no longer sleep that late on the weekends, I can hardly sleep past 8:30!  Anyhow, our sleep patterns nowadays are pretty regular and good for us.




So anyway, back to ole' Venus.  Apparently she passed in front of the sun just like she was supposed to but what no one told me was that she was going mess shit up this week.  


Exhibit A:  I randomly started biting my  nails this week.  Don't even try to tell me it's stress related because that's what my acid reflux is for!  I mean, I didn't go completely crazy and bite them down to nibs, but it was a little shocking.  I did finish reading a pretty entertaining book series that had me enraptured, but still!  Why did you even bring that up?  No other reason for me to bite my nails.


Exhibit B:  I have gone to bed at my normal time every night and gotten up at my usual time each morning but HOT DAMN am I freaking tired.  Like, to the point where I almost left work to go to my car and sleep in the parking lot instead of eat lunch.  I chose to eat lunch in the kitchen like a normal person, but whatever.  Every single day this week I have felt like I just want to die I am so tired.  I've been eating pretty well and getting my sleep and not doing anything that I can see would disrupt my sleep so therefore VENUS + Passing in front of the SUN= FEELING TIRED.  


Exhibit C:  It is mother-effing JUNE and it rains like a Hurricane every few days and mists on me constantly and if I don't see a glimpse of summer I'm going to quit Oregon.  Full on quit.  You tell me what means.  I say it's Venus's fault.   Somehow her path in front of the sun has screwed up the summer weather that was on the way and replaced it with RAIN.  Way to go, Venus.  You stole my summer weather.




BF was texting me today and also thinks that it's "Making everybody crazy!".  I don't exactly know what he means, but I will ask and let you know.  Also, I assume it's what I mean when I say Venus is cocking it all up.  

Stupid Things People Say and Do at Work- 1st Edition

Welcome to the very first edition of "Stupid Things People Say and Do at Work!"  Because of the frequency of these occurrences at my place of employment you will probably see more of this same post going forward.  And I just had to write it all down because it's so stupid and crazy all I can do is laugh.


Preface- I am not in the IT department, I am not anyone's mother at work, I am not the office handyman or maintenance person, I do not keep the supply cabinet at my desk and I am not anyone's personal assistant.  All of this will be important.


1.  "Can you fix my computer?"


2. Coworker-  "Can you fix the printer?"


    Me- "Probably not, but what's wrong with it?  Did you call the number listed on it?"
  
    Coworker- "I don't know, it just won't print.  No, what number?"


    Me-  "What did the screen say when it wouldn't print?  Also, the number is listed on the printer and      right above the printer on a bright red and white sign."


    Coworker- "Um, it said something about toner?"


    Me- (very sarcastically) "Hmmm... I wonder what that means?" turns back to computer and keeps working.






3.  "I like certain kinds of pens/pencils/purple highlighters.  Can you order those for me?"




4.   "Where am I supposed to hang up my coat?"




5.  "The meeting you scheduled is right before lunch, from 10:30 to 11:30... are you going to provide lunch after the meeting?"


6.  "Do you have batteries/dry erase markers/sticky notes/etc ?"




7.  "Would you run an errand for me?  It won't take long."




8.  "The printer is jammed!"




9.  "The bathroom is out of toilet paper/paper towels."



10.  Walking by the recycle bin in the copy room I noticed empty takeout containers slimy with food residue all over them.  There is a kitchen with a trash can and compost bin 5 steps away.  Gross paper food containers with grease and sauce on them are NOT recyclable.






Just a little glimpse into my day some days.  

I O U

I got paid on Friday, like I do every other week and for the first time in my entire adult life I could not go out and frivolously spend a single penny of it.  This is brand new to me. Champagne problems, I admit that, but DAMN!  I like to get a pedicure if I feel like it or buy a new book at Powell's.  Almost the entire thing went to pay for something, and none of it was things we could do without (ie.  mortgage, HOA dues, gas for the car, credit card bill) and the money that didn't go to pay for something is being reserved for gas money for the next week and a half.  I blame this wedding. No seriously, I do.  Every time I turn around we are having to pay for something or pay the deposit for something. Gah.  I hate having debt at all... it just makes me so uncomfortable!  I feel like I'm just throwing out IOU's at this point.  Not that we are too bad off, I'm just not used to pinching pennies so tightly!


BF and I were talking the other day and if we had really thought about it and thought no one would care I would just elope and come back and throw a giant barbeque to celebrate our marriage.  We also know that had we have done that both sides of our families would be outraged and probably crucify both of us.  Small price to pay, I say.


We've been trying to save money where we can so I started making our own whole wheat bread and it turned out great!  1 batch of dough makes almost 3 full loaves, so I just freeze 1 loaf, put the other in the refrigerator for the next week and eat the 3rd in the current week.  We've also been trying to use coupons more, but I don't even see how people who want to eat the healthiest foods can even do this successfully. There are no coupons for fresh seasonal produce so we just have to watch ads for grocery stores to see who has what on sale.  Also, we've noticed that the items that do get coupons are typically super processed foods that we don't normally eat anyway.  Frustrating!  I also have started checking the Frugal NW blog a few times of week to see what deals folks are finding. 


Anyone have good couponing tips?  Send them my way!