Weekend Activities

Well that weekend went by quickly. Too quickly.

Friday night I went to the wedding of our volunteer coordinator at church. It was in a historic building with bad acoustics. But a lovely wedding. It had a Great Gatsby theme. All the bridesmaid dresses (8 of them) were different and either gold, silver or black with lots of beading and shimmery stuff. Stunning. His last name is Truelove so they kept using #truelove on all the twitter and facebook posts. How cute is that?

The couple during their first dance

It was great to see so many people from church attend. They were married by one of my favorite pastors.

Saturday morning I slept until noon. Crazy I tell you. I have no idea what that was about except I haven't been sleeping well. So my Saturday was shot from the beginning. I had to do lots of grocery shopping and get stuff for my mom. She still can't drive.

I took a picture of her staples and she looks like a Frankenstein bride on her neck. The staples should come out today though.

Sunday was church and shopping at Lowe's for new electrical covers and a new blind. The blind has to be custom ordered so we are sleeping with a sheet over the window. Very classy I know but we didn't want to install the old blind over the freshly painted walls.

Then we watched the Baseball Hall of Fame inductions. We were supposed to go but had to cancel after our Hawaii trip got confirmed. So we watched on tv. It was so great to see the Braves players and coach go in together. I hope next year the third leg of the pitching trio goes in. That would be so great.

Another busy week here for me between work and home. I'm looking forward to a vacation...someday. 

Friday Fragments

Sorry I haven't blogged this week. Crazy every day it seems. But Mrs. 4444 allows us to be random in a weekly post so I appreciate that.

We had our bedroom painted yesterday. I know we could have done it ourselves but with the old wallpaper that needed to be textured and a ceiling that had an inset in it, we decided to hire our old painter. He gave us a great deal and we also had him redo the wood on two box windows. They look brand new. I'm not sure if we picked the right color. We need to get a new blind for the window and that should help out.

Stupid criminal of the week was a woman who rang up a huge bill at a bar and then left without paying. Unfortunately she left her purse behind. Pretty easy for the cops to find her after that. 

Summer has arrived steaming through the state. The rains last week brought high humidity added with 100 degrees. Reminds me why I hate summer.

Tried a new recipe this week and another failure. I'm not sure why I keep doing this to us. We never seem to like anything new.

Last night Project Runway started again. I want Tim Gunn to come and spend time with me. He's so great at being a mentor.

So You Think You Can Dance isn't doing too well in the ratings. If they would stop having the same sad sappy contemporary dances and get back to actual dancing (no stories please) it might get better. One of my favorites was out this week so I'm putting all my votes behind Ricky. I think he's going to win the whole thing.

Friday Fragments

Mrs. 4444 got back from her vacation, had a house full of people and still had time to host this. More power to you!

Mom's surgery went well. She's still in the hospital but the doctor was pleased with the surgery. It took a lot shorter time than we thought it would. Now for the long road of recovery.

Lovin' the temps this week and the rain. Record low highs here! I've never had the windows open in July in Oklahoma before. Slept so good last night.

I'm going with a stupid person this week instead of criminal. A guy in Washington set his house on fire trying to kill a spider using spray paint and a lighter. No indication if alcohol was involved but the fire department confirms the spider is dead.

I'm still looking at places to stay in Maui. The one I found that we really liked was booked and we are running into places that require 5 nights minimum and we will only be 4. We have a second choice but the cancellation policy was ridiculous so I haven't booked it yet. But if I don't find anything else, we'll be going with that one.

Just a few short weeks and Whitney will be heading back to school for her last year of college. She will be starting a new job as the person in charge of advertising for all student publications. This will give her some great new experience in advertising. She'll miss her current job though as will her boss. She continues to get compliments all summer for the job she is doing there now.

Friday Fragments

Second week of July is ending and it is time to frag my brain. Mrs. 4444 is hosting after her vacation (welcome home!) And I'm excited to have the new link for the fragments this week.

Stupid criminal this week was the guy who continually called 911 to report that his wife would not let him drink his beer. He was charged with unlawful use of 911 and he no longer has access to his beer.

We got my mom an ipad last weekend and I downloaded a couple of apps. Within three days she had me look at it because the power was draining too quickly. She had downloaded about 30 games and they were all open and running. I did show her how to close the apps but it was probably too much information overload when I went over it. I got it back to working with just three apps and we'll see where we go from there.

Whitney is dog sitting this weekend. One of the dogs was a rescue dog that is very skittish. She had lots of accidents to clean up last night. Hopefully today will go better for all involved.

I had three wine tastings to go to in two days and they were all good. I love when that happens. I didn't buy any of them (a little outside my price range) but it was nice to get to taste some nice wine without paying for any of it. Plus lots of good conversations with friends.

I still need to buy a case for my iphone. I got the screen protector on it but no case yet. I just can't decide what I want.

Dealing with the federal government is definitely a lesson in hurry up and wait. This whole week has been hurry up because the deadline for funding is today. So I've invoiced about $5.5MILLION in one week. Rest of the year not so much. Hurry hurry hurry...lots of waiting.

My summer tv pleasure is So You Think You Can Dance. This season I'm really enjoying a couple of the guys. I can't tell any of the girls apart. So the guys are getting my votes. They even stopped the phone voting this year. You can only vote on the app or online. Ah...technology.

Hodgepodge - Bored? Who Me?

This week's hodgepodge questions from Joyce.

1. July is National Anti-Boredom Month. When was the last time you were bored? What's your go-to cure for boredom?
Well I usually veg out in front of the tv. Probably not good for boredom but that's what I do. Last time I was truly bored was probably a couple of weeks ago. But boredom is actually good for me right now. Better than constant stress.

2. What's the last thing you made a reservation for?
Car rental in Maui. I still need to decide on a condo to rent.

3. What's one thing on your summer 'bucket list'? Any plans to make it happen?
I don't have anything on a summer bucket list. Make it through without dying of heat exhaustion.

4. What's your favorite summertime sip?
Cold water with lemon slices.

5. What do you find is the best way to handle another person's hostility and hopefully ease the tension?
Avoid them at all costs.

6. Your favorite film set in summer?
Field of Dreams. If you build it, he will come.

7. What word are you using too much lately?
Stress. Everything seems to be stressing me out and I'm tired of it.

8. Insert your own random thought here.
My mother is having surgery on her neck next Tuesday. It is a four hour operation where they have to try and release pressure on her spinal cord. The doctor is confident that this will relieve the pain that shoots down her arms and makes it feel like she is having a heart attack. She has to wear a neck collar for six weeks afterwards. Prayers would be welcome.

Friday fragments

Thank you Unknown Mami for hosting in Mrs. 4444 place this week.

I love having a three day weekend! Sleeping in and catching up on shopping and other stuff.

I took my mom to buy an iPad since she doesn't think she will be able to use a laptop after she has surgery. Now we have to figure her out her wifi password.

Stupid criminal this week was a man who drove his snowmobile into a tree. In June. Without any snow. Alcohol was involved.

You cannot believe how busy a liquor store is the day before a holiday. You would think that they would be closed for three weeks instead of one day. I was there at four yesterday and the big parking lot was quite full.

We plan on our annual watching of fireworks on tv again tonight. I never want to fight the crowd.

Have a safe and happy 4th of July.

Happy 180 Hodgepodge!

Joyce has been doing the weekly hodgepodge for 180 times now. Can you imagine?

1. Speaking of 180...when was the last time you 'did a 180' on something?

I'm sure it is work related but for the life of me I can't remember.

2. It's Independence Week in the US of A! What's your favorite thing about America right this very minute? Favorites only! Let's hear what you love about America.

If you're playing along today, and you're not an American but have been to America, what do/did you like best about this country? If you've never been to America, do you have any desire to visit? What's the number one thing you'd like to see?

I love being a part of home of the free. Never forget those freedoms we have. Even when they annoy you that someone else is using them.

3. Stars or stripes? Red, white, or blue? Watermelon, homemade vanilla ice cream, or blueberry pie?

Stars, red, and homemade vanilla ice cream.

4. When did you last see stars, figuratively speaking?

Saturday night I took a sleeping pill and then the phone rang right when I was about out. I wasn't quite with it...especially when no one was on the other line. It was midnight...not good.

5. 'Clear as a bell', 'with bells on', 'lots of bells and whistles', 'saved by the bell'...which phrase 'rings' truest for you lately? Have you ever seen The Liberty Bell?

I've never seen the Liberty Bell in person. "Lots of bells and whistles" that's how I'm feeling about planning a dream vacation.

6. Are you caught up in World Cup fever? Have you watched a lot or a little or none at all?

I don't understand this game of soccer at all. Running around trying to kick a ball? They've had the game on the big screen in our atrium. Tuesday's game probably had about 50 people watching with popcorn provided. We had quite the United Nations of people down there.

7. Bid farewell to June in 10 words or less.

I can do without the stress you caused me.

8. Insert your own random thought here.

26 years ago today I said "I do" to my best friend. Yes it was a hot day and I was covered head to toe with lots of fabric. It was the 80's people. I still have the dress in a box under my bed. Dan has no idea why I'm still keeping it because there is no way Whitney will ever wear it. But that's just what you did, right?

Hillshire Farms American Craft Sausage Product Review

I am a Bzz Agent and I get to try products for free and give you my honest opinion. Over the past years I've reviewed a multitude of different products and a lot of them haven't been that good. But these sausages are definitely worth buying over and over again.

One of the things I look for in sausage is the snap of the casing. You can always tell quality by the snap. That's what makes a sausage or a hot dog good. And let me tell you, these babies snapped with every bite.

So far I've tried two of the three flavors. The smoky bourbon was first. It was a little sweet and I never really got smoky out of it. But it was tasty. The second one I've tried is the garlic and onion. There was a nice hint of both flavors and made for a good sausage.

What I really liked about these is that they were easy to cook, and I didn't need anything on the bun when I ate them. There was no need to add a condiment to enhance the flavor. They tasted good on their own.

The price on these is really good. They are only $2.98 at my local Walmart for five of them. I think that is a really good price of good quality sausages. I've been trying to buy them every time I go shopping. Right now they seem to only have the jalapeno and cheddar ones so everyone else must be going to for the smoky bourbon and garlic and onion ones.

I would recommend this product.

#gotitfree