Whew, what a weekend. First, a wedding on Saturday, complete with prep work, tear down, and lots of last-minute drama making things crazy. Then, a surprise baby shower on Sunday right after church, which was a ton of fun. I made these cute little chocolate chip cookie lollipops, and they looked really adorable. By the time most people left my house on Sunday, I was ready to crash and do nothing but fun stuff all day.

Heather and I went shopping at Ross, and I bought small cute glass mini-trifle bowls (I love, love, love glassware) and a really pretty platter for the kitchen, which got broken the next morning (I seem to be very clumsy over the last few days - this is not the first thing to break). It was only $8 (that's the good news), but as much as I like it, I don't think I'll be replacing it. I just don't have enough counterspace that I like leaving things on the counter, and the platter was too big to fit onto the wall. I do think, though, that I'd like to get some things like it - maybe smaller plates or a rectangular platter that could fit above the doors or window.

I saw Transformers again on Monday night. Really good movie. Really, really good movie. Seriously, go see it. On the big screen. Maybe more than once. :-)

I was working on rearranging my office before my family came to visit last week. I got the furniture moved and it basically straightened, but there's still a few things I want to reorganize and a few projects I want to complete. I'm planning a baby shower for Sunday at my house, and helping with a wedding on Saturday, so I'll probably get back to working in the office next week.

Here's one of the projects I did complete - making a colorful bulletin board. I got the idea here, and I can't believe what a difference it makes, and I really like it.


I used an old bulletin board, painted the frame black, and glued down fabric using Modge Podge. I started using tacky glue, but the glue showed through the fabric (the spots are mostly covered up by things on the board, but you can see a little spot there on the right). The Modge Podge worked well, as long as I kept the coat even and fairly thin. Then, I glued ribbon around the edges with tacky glue and pinned the ribbon in place until it dried.

My mom, sister, and nephew are here for a visit, and we spent some time today at the beach. Jacob was a riot - as we were walking back to the car, he told us something was bothering him in his bathing suit (sand) and couldn't wait until we got the shower to deal with it, so he dropped his bathing suit and walked the rest of the way with it around its knees. Of course, Katie took his picture - this is the censored version.



After cleaning up from the beach and going out to dinner, we went shopping at Old Navy, where I bought clothes in a size I can't even remember wearing before. It was a good moment.

I'm amazed at how absolutely creative some people are. My friend Kristina is like this - I just want to walk around her house and take notes, because she's done some of the most amazing things. Everywhere you turn, there's something fun to look at - I feel like a kid in a candy shop.

Browsing Etsy fills me with the same sense of awe. I just can't believe what some people come up with - just look at some of this stuff!

Friends from NorthernLakesDesign

Car Litter Bag from allysonhill

Cherish wood sign from littlebrownhouse

I really like the last ones - I'm thinking of ordering a custom sign for the archway leading into the dining room that says "live. laugh. love."

What I should have been doing tonight - cleaning. My mom, sister, and nephew are coming in four days, my kitchen looks like something blew up in there, and my guest room/office is not fit for guests or anything else for that matter. What I did instead - go to Busch Gardens. I rode Apollo's Chariot (and apparently screamed for a very long time) and Griffin (in the front row. holy crap).

I'll clean tomorrow.

I watched Because I Said So a few days ago, and after watching the music video in the bonus features on the DVD, I've totally fallen in love with The Weepies. Their site is one of those that plays a bunch of songs as you browse it, so the last two days at work, I've left the site open to listen to it. Here's the video, with scenes from the movie:



Tuesday night I watched Nathan, and he had a great time with Harvey and Dakota. He spent most of the night imitating them - crawling on his hands and knees, panting, letting them lick his tongue, and eating their food. So, tonight, Dakota and I headed over to Heather's to walk, and Nathan was wearing one of those kids' backpacks with a tail that's really a leash. Apparently, he is very into being a dog now, and we took a walk around the block with me walking Dakota, and Heather walking Nathan. He even ate his food on the floor - how funny is that?

I saw Transformers this Sunday - it was a really good movie. I'm typically a bigger fan of chick flicks, but there are a few movies in other genres that I really enjoy, and this was one of them. I did think it was a bit too long, but that might have been my tiredness kicking in. The graphics alone were incredible, and definitely worth seeing on the big screen. Maybe even multiple times.

I've been redoing my guest room and office, rearranging the furniture and trying to actually finish it off. My sister and nephew (and maybe mom) are coming to visit a week from tomorrow, so that's my deadline. I've been doing a lot more projects - making bulletin boards and painting magazine holders. I'm excited to show it off when its done.

My friend Nick tagged me to post the first 10 my iTunes comes to on shuffle. I actually don't have all of my music in iTunes - it's a project I've been working on - so I didn't think this would actually be that representative of my tastes. It's pretty close, though, despite the album/artist repeats.

1. Ready For Your Love - Chantal Kreviazuk
2. Take Me Home Tonight/Be My Baby - Eddie Money (from Monster Ballads)
3. All You Ask Of Me - Building 429
4. Free - Building 429
5. Kaboom! - Ursula 1000 (from the Grey's Anatomy 2 soundtrack)
6. The Christmas Song - Gary Chapman
7. More Than Words Can Say - Alias (also from Monster Ballads)
8. Christmastime - Smashing Pumpkins
9. False Alarm - KT Tunstall
10. Feelin' Alright - Alex Desert (from The Heights soundtrack)

I would tag someone else, but other than Nick and Brandon (who Nick already tagged), I'm not sure that anyone reading this actually has a blog.

It was Harvey's turn for a walk tonight, and she did really well! I stopped by PetSmart on the way home and bought her a harness, which makes it tons easier to control her. She's still pulling on the leash (though not the whole walk, like she did last time), but she wasn't gasping for air the whole time. Dakota really didn't like being left behind, though.

I finally got around to uploading the pictures from my camera. Here are some of the best from over the last few weeks:

Church in the Park

Caleb at the Josh Turner concert, drinking a non-alcoholic daiquiri

I decided (again) that I need to take Dakota and Harvey on daily walks, because if I ever want to be able to take them out in public (to the beach, for example), they need to better behaved on a leash (especially Harvey). I think the easiest way to start is to alternate, one each day.

Last night, I went over to Heather's neighborhood to walk with her, and brought Dakota with me (Harvey will be just getting short walks, for a while, until she doesn't pull on the leash as much). She did a great job, but definitely was pretty hot by the time we finished. So, last night, I bought this:


I'm not sure how well they'll drink out of something that small, but I figured I would give it a shot. I might try practicing with them in the house a little.

Ever have one of those days that just feels like the perfect summer day? That was yesterday for me.

I spent the morning and early afternoon at the First Landing State Park beach with Nick, Heather, and Nathan. I just love going to the beach - it's so incredibly relaxing. We never went to the beach much when I was kid, but I feel so blessed to live in a place where I can go anytime I want. Mom, Katie, and Jacob are coming to visit in a couple weeks, and I think I'm going to take them to this beach, rather than down to the oceanfront. Because its actually on the Chesapeake Bay, the waves are a lot calmer, and I think Jacob will like it better.

After the beach, I spent some time at home with Harvey and Dakota, then drove over to Robbie & Jenni's for a cook-out (they were having fish, but they even made chicken especially for me). Then we drove to downtown Portsmouth to watch the fireworks. We met a bunch of church people there to hand out bottled water. I got home late for the fact that I had to work today, but it was such a good day. And today feels like a two-day week - there's something to be said for holidays right in the middle of the week.

I have my laptop back - yea! I have lots of great pictures to share, but first I'm catching up on email.