Swimming.

My eyes that is.

This has been my morning. And this is just the reference workbook. My actual financial worksheets are a lovely 10+ page workbook their own. :)

Oh, how I love Excel.

Fail.

Yesterday evening was fun.

We were invited along with K&R for some boating fun. I was somewhat badgered into attempting a water sport.

Let's back up and say that I have no arm strength. At all.

Knee-boarding earlier this summer was a fail. I just kind of cruised around laying on the knee-board. Just chillin'. Could have called it stomach-boarding.

So, I'm going to wakeboard. "Oh, don't worry. You don't have to do anything, the boat pulls you out. Just bend your knees and then tilt the board as soon as you start going." Sure. Right. I can do this.

As there were no cameras on board, I took the liberty of finding this image online to re-create my experience for you.

This was my position. The whole time. Each time. All 87 tries.

Sigh. Maybe next time.

Think I should add push-ups to my list of things I should do? I think so.

Last weekend.

We had a good time with our company this weekend... Jennifer and Emmy were here for supper and the night, Saturday. Then we had the family over lunch on Sunday. Sadly, that was essentially my first time having some "major" company over. However, based upon our house size, it's probably the most we can have at once.

Be warned. If you stay here, the dog will wait for you while you're in the bathroom. She means well. ;)

Oh, glory be.

I'm posting a recipe. Alert the press. Tell your friends. Call your grandma.

No final picture. References available upon request.

Proceed at your own risk.


(PS. 87% of the glory goes to my mother, who combed through three different enchilada recipes... and I didn't entirely use the one she came up with anyway. I wrote down what I did later, though, so this should be fairly accurate.)




Enchiladas. Amazing. Watch out, Solea.

Team Players: (PS. I apologize to all you non-Pick'n'Save shoppers. They just have the best selection for all of these types of things. I will definitely get this green taco sauce again. Probably the hot version, though. Some day when I don't have enough to do, I should count the varieties of organic olive oil they carry. I'd be there awhile.)

Cook:
  1-lb hamburger meat (I used half ground turkey, half ground beef)

(Rinse), Add:
  1-pkt taco seasoning
  1/2-can refried beans

Mix with:
  4-oz cream cheese
  1 1/2-cups shredded (sharp cheddar) cheese
  1-can mild green chiles
  (For all of you with husbands that enjoy onions, feel free to chop some up in there.)

Mixture can be made up ahead of time and refrigerated. (Very convenient for Sunday mornings.. heh.)

Roll up in tortillas, seam side down, in a extremely well-greased 9x13 pan.
(Author note. It was not 12:52. And I doubled all this, hence the 1/2 this and that.)

Sauce:
  1/2-can green enchilada sauce (never been a fan of the red stuff)
  1/2-bottle mild green taco sauce
  4-oz sour cream
  Cumin, chilli powder to taste... about 1-2 teaspoons/ea is a good starting point.

Not appetizing looking at all, eh?

Pour over entire area of tortillas. (Unless you like crispy edges. Your call.)

Bake 60 min at 350.

Take out and sprinkle with shredded (sharp cheddar) cheese while you're waiting for the family to get up to the table. ;)

Haircut.

This morning:

Now: (Look at the legs on this broad!)

It's a definite possibility that I might miss my scruffy dog. And I just called her a broad. *palm to the forehead*

Wow.

So. Many thanks to Kyle Hodgeman for commenting on my last post.

I'm officially sold on this... really want to order it soon!

PS. I was told the French Press is a nasty mess of grounds afterwards. That's what I really was leaning towards originally. The "no-mess" part of this seems too good to be true!



Now, the next question is. Should I choose next-day or super-saver shipping? ;)

Coffee lovers. Help please!

So. The time has come for me to stop pretending that I'm not addicted to coffee.

I've been drinking instant coffee that has a mixture of creamer, sugar, etc in it, and feeling like I'm cheating myself.

I'm not averse to regular coffee... as long as I can put my own stuff in it. Which is what I want to do. However, one of my biggest pet peeves in the world is cleaning out a regular coffee pot.

I have said "regular coffee pot." I can remember a time when the wet grounds dropped on the way to the garbage. It was gross.

So for myself, I'd like to get a little one/two cup press or machine or something. Something.

I was looking around on Amazon, where else, and found some different examples of things I could use.

Exhibit A: Coffee/Espresso percolator

Exhibit B: I'm not sure. Looks like something used for drugs in my opinion.

Exhibit C: French coffee press

Now, here's the specifications: I don't want to hand-grind my own coffee. I think it's cool, but there's no way I can run that before I have caffeine. Sorry.

It needs to be something I can use regular coffee grounds in (by regular, I mean store ground, we're not talking Folgers, here) and be easily cleaned.

So, professional opinions, please?



(Hm. I don't have a tag for coffee... maybe I should make one?)

Thought this day would never come.

Ladies and gentlemen,

Presenting Joel and Mariah's wedding album. 2.5 years after the fact.

Amazing images by Christopher's Photography, album design by yours truly.


I'll be ordering this by the end of the week... so let me know if you have any tips or suggestions! I must say, I've probably re-done each page about 7-8 times, and am pretty happy with it now.

However, as I'm a perfectionist, there's always room for improvement, right? :)

Enjoy.

Walmart.

Let's set the scene.

(PS. Use of the word "black" is for descriptive purposes only. So you know in what way I heard all this. In no way at all am I racist... but maybe there's a reason for some of the common stereotypes.)

Joel's in the car, patiently waiting for me to come out with groceries. He was so patiently waiting that he just had called me to see if I was ever going to escape that place.

Hung up the phone, swung down the next aisle, passed someone, and heard: mmm hmmm. You know, the way black people say that. It might have been that certain expletive they say like that too. The one that starts with D.

He was talking on the phone, nbd, probably was talking to them.

I keep walking. I hear "excuse me?"

I keep walking. I hear "excuse me?" again. Louder.

Uhm what? as I turn around.

How do I find a girl like you? (As he's checking me out up and down) You lookin' good! (Insert something that I can't remember about white hair...) You from here?

Not originally... Iowa.

Many black people in Iowa?

Not so much, no.

So... you probably wouldn't be open to carrying black babies?

(Internal gasp. Hel-lo. Hold up my left hand.) I'm married.

So am I. Don't matter.

Yeah, it does.

Oh, you're happily married?

Very.

Well, marriages break up all the time.

Oh do they? Not ours.

Are you sure?

Yes.

Oh, okay.

And he walks away.


He wasn't creepy, probably 23-25 years old, probably no taller than 5"8", was decent looking, and was dressed fairly nicely, in reality.  But, really? You want me to carry your babies? And ask me three times if I'll give up my marriage?


Wow.

Is my ba-donk-a-donk that big that I'm attracting black guys? I think it's time to hang up the push-up bra and start doing some squats or something.

I was looking all over for my other experience with Walmart on my blog... apparently it happened PB.. pre-blog. Where those Postville (IA) meat-plant raids were happening and they were carting out illegals left and right. And storing them in an auditorium 3 blocks north of our apartment in Iowa. And it's sunny noon as I'm in the Waterloo Walmart. And this Hispanic guy with nasty teeth and a tracking leg-bracelet followed me out to my car. The one time I parked like a mile away. And wouldn't let me put my own potting soil in my trunk. And hardly let me shut the door. And walked my cart back to the store grinning and waving as I speed-locked my doors and flew out of the parking lot.

That one actually required shoe shopping to get past the queasy stomach feeling.

Ooo.

Thanks for all your wonderful suggestions as what to do with the little mirror plaques.. I think I'm actually going to do what I normally do.

That is, just let them sit around until I find something else to complete a wall arrangement.

What I really want to do is get some art canvases printed up with my photographs to go along with those. I was originally thinking 10x10 canvases... about 2 of them. However. Lab cost on those is still pricey.

With these new little mirror plaques, I'm thinking something a little different. They're about 6x6, just off the top of my head. I'm thinking smaller photo canvases and a larger arrangement.



We'll see.

Once I get some more ideas down I'll put up some pictures. :)

Help, please.

I found these cute things at a sweet little antique/home furnishings shop in Greenville today.

They're mirrors with scroll overlays on them... they have hooks in each corner on the back.

Cute, huh?

So, now I need help deciding what to do with them. All you creative people *ahem, Stacey, cough* get working here.

I thought about this.

Or this.

Or, goodness gracious, this.

Whaddya think?

Gaga

Hm. The "Lady Gaga" button in Photoshop... now, what would that one do?

(I know, two posts in one day.. don't get used to it. :D)

You know that poster...

... that says, everything I need to know, I learned kindergarten?

I think they should make a new one: "Everything I need to know, I learned from a Google search."

Legit, don't you think?

::UPDATE::

=

Psst. Yes, I created these. But neither of the images were mine to start with. ;)