Thursday 13: fact or crap- the BIG reveal!

Oh my clever friends- you all know me so well, but one little chick really did her homework! The winner of my contest is CAMILLE! You win a series of picture from Costco-- just kidding. (Camille asked today to pick up a few pictures for her- but that is NOT her prize!) I will think of you a fabulous gift and get it to you soon! It will be awesome! Camille got 12 right, only missing number 8! Great job!

1) I got the most beautiful pedicure this week with a spring-timey peachy pink color. CRAP- we are saving money remember!
2) My favorite boat on the Deadliest Catch is the Cornelia Marie- and I just LUV Jake Harris!! FACT! I always tease Mr. D. that we are naming the baby Cornelia Marie.
3) My hair is 100% my natural color - no highlights, low lights or coloring of any kind. FACT
4) Under anesthesia my mother told me she didn't like my current hair color (OUCH!) FACT-and she feels just awful about it! She said she likes my hair- and isn't sure why she said that!
5) While Mr. D. was in Canada- I ran up a 40 dollar late fee at Movie Gallery for not retuning the movies on time. CRAP! I did run up a fee - but it was only 14 dollars.
6) I have been invited to 3 events on May 3rd. FACT- I am only attending 2 of the 3.
7) All of the Oceanic Six and the algae eater, Canadian Bacon are still alive in the fish tank- holding the record for the longest we have ever been able to keep fish alive. (2 months) FACT
8) Mr. D. had 2 businesses in college- one that was profitable and one that never made a cent. (If this is true- bonus points for anyone who can name and describe the two businesses. If this is false- bonus points for the funniest name and description of the two businesses). FACT- he did have two businesses- P and J's Auto Detailing (they never washed one car!), and Lofty Ideas where they built dorm lofts and made a small fortune.
9) I have recently traded in my BlackBerry for the I-Phone. CRAP
10) If I could only eat one food for the rest of my life it would be eggs. CRAP
11) I am looking forward to my summer off from work. It is my favorite thing about being a teacher. CRAP- I work a 12 month contract.
12) I often feel guilty for forgetting to Twitter. FACT
13) Inside my wedding band is an inscription that is a cheesy line for a movie from 90's pop culture. FACT

Thanks to all that played!!

It is physically IMPOSSIBLE for me to follow a recipe

So I set out to make this recipe that my sister-in-law Meredith posted last week. As you guys all know- It is pretty much physically impossible for me to follow a recipe (or any directions for that matter). I know you are saying to yourself- "O.K. Sandy- what did you add?" Well, I only added mushrooms and Italian sausage to the recipe. Don't worry Meredith, I used really good olive oil, fresh garlic and basil straight from the garden- so I didn't have to resort to pouring ketchup on the pasta -props to you for the funny analogy! I once knew a couple of girls how created an amazing lasagna with ketchup- but that is story for another time. Anyway, back to the recipe. I made homemade pasta to accompany our meal. I don't know why, but lately I have been itching to make homemade pasta- so I did. It was tasty. I thought the sauce was great as well. However, I had one sad guy on my hands- who confessed to me that my usual spaghetti sauce is one of his favorite things and he spent all day thinking about it. Sorry Mr. D!! So, here, just a few months shy of my 10th anniversary- I had to take another vow- Do you Sandy promise to NEVER use another recipe for spaghetti sauce again? I Do! I am glad to know he is still a fan after all of these years!

Don't forget to enter my blog contest!!

jam packed weekend

We have had a great weekend spending time with our friends and lots of kids that we love. Saturday we went to see Eden play soccer. We had planned to go see Alice play last week- but she decided to quit the team- so we ate lunch with her last week. This week, Eden bought her A game. Mr. D. took a lot of great pictures with the camera he got for Christmas. While Eden played, Erica and Alice showed me around Alice and Eden's school. After the game, Mr. D and I ran errands and had lunch at Full Moon, a place I love. Here is a picture of me eating ribs. I took this picture to send to Kate, who was out of town at a wedding. We also went to a few stores (like the produce store I already called you about), the haircut place for Mr. D. and Kirklands. We came home to switch cars and went to Home Depot where we purchased lots of stuff. We got top soil, mulch, a few plants, and sand. Then we went to dinner at ... drum roll please... COZUMEL GRILL. Just to mix things up, we both ordered something we don't normally get.

This morning, we got up early because today was the day we were helping the neighbors with a special project. I went and got the boys and they helped me with some gardening and yard work. We....
*pulled up the gladiolas from around the tree in the front. (If you are my neighbor you may know it a the tree that we need to finish fixing the tree ring on.)
*took the sticks and rocks out of the back bed that was built last year- and has never had anything in it except sticks and rocks.
*added some soil and raked it around.*took a popsicle break
*The boys thought it was so cool that my back porch had "a table that you could write on"- how cool am I to have a table covered in pollen that needs to be cleaned. I should have told them I have a car you can write on too!
*planted our "Spaghetti Garden" with oregano, basil, and parsley plants. We also planted onion and chive/garlic seeds. It didn't take me long to realize I forgot to get a tomato plant to go in our topsy turvy tomato planter.

Meanwhile, across the fence- Mr. D. and Matt were building the play set for the boys. A project that took every bit of the entire day.

So we...
* blew some bubbles
* looked at the tadpoles
*went to the store for tomato plants and sand toys
*came home, had lunch and celebrated their Aunt Blair's birthday with cake and ice cream.
*finished planting our garden. (Yes! I know the topsy turvy is too close to the ground- I will adjust it later)*put down some sod.. slight under estimation on how much we actually needed.
*went in to my house for cartoons, another popsicle..


.... and a lollipop (to go along with a dirtly little face)
*looked at the fish.
*tried on my sun glasses

*played upside down- tv watching on my ottoman*realized how much fun bath's can be at Sandy's house!


*went home to eat dinner...

A little after 8.... the moment we waited patiently all day for arrived.
What a weekend!! I am so tired!

my trip to the new produce store

Today, we went to check out the new produce store nearby. Berries Market is officially my new produce store! From what I can tell, it is ran by a man and his wife. I didn't meet her- but he mentioned her. He was very nice, but I didn't get his name. They had wonderful deals on produce and they also had farm fresh milk and beef. I bought Amish butter, corn, mushrooms, garlic and baby new potatoes. Then he asked if I liked cheese... and proceeded to convince me to buy the buttermilk cheese from the dairy. He said if I didn't like it- I could bring it back so I bought it. It is SO SO SO good. We have been snacking on it a little this afternoon and I am planning to make macaroni and cheese with it this week. MMMM. He gave me a brochure on the dairy and said if there was something I wanted to try- just to call him. Sweet guy! We will definitely be back- oh, and they deliver too!

Thursday 13: fact or crap edition

Last Saturday Tiffani and I were playing this board game and I had the brilliant idea for a Thursday 13. I am going to list things here. Readers, you have a week to decipher which items are fact and which items are crap. Post your opinions here and the person with the most accuracies will win a prize of some sort. If multiple people tie, I will have a drawing to determine the winner. Have fun!!!

1) I got the most beautiful pedicure this week with a spring-timey peachy pink color.
2) My favorite boat on the Deadliest Catch is the Cornelia Marie- and I just LUV Jake Harris!!
3) My hair is 100% my natural color - no highlights, low lights or coloring of any kind.
4) Under anesthesia my mother told me she didn't like my current hair color (OUCH!)
5) While Mr. D. was in Canada- I ran up a 40 dollar late fee at Movie Gallery for not retuning the movies on time.
6) I have been invited to 3 events on May 3rd.
7) All of the Oceanic Six and the algae eater, Canadian Bacon are still alive in the fish tank- holding the record for the longest we have ever been able to keep fish alive. (2 months)
8) Mr. D. had 2 businesses in college- one that was profitable and one that never made a cent. (If this is true- bonus points for anyone who can name and describe the two businesses. If this is false- bonus points for the funniest name and description of the two businesses).
9) I have recently traded in my BlackBerry for the I-Phone.
10) If I could only eat one food for the rest of my life it would be eggs.
11) I am looking forward to my summer off from work. It is my favorite thing about being a teacher.
12) I often feel guilty for forgetting to Twitter.
13) Inside my wedding band is an inscription that is a cheesy line for a movie from 90's pop culture.


Don't forget to post your answers in the comment section. Your choices are FACT or CRAP! Enjoy!

I love a challenge

I have always secretly wanted to be one of those women who went to the store and bought a million dollars worth of groceries- you know the type that was such a bargain shopper they only spent like 20 bucks. We have really been watching our spending lately and I think this is the perfect time for me to really focus on money saving grocery shopping. My friend Michelle is always talking about playing the grocery game. So, tonight I went to HERE and signed up for the $1 trial offer. (If you go and sign up- please let me have credit for your referral!) I have put out a few feelers in hopes of finding someone with the coupons from last Sunday's paper (or the Sunday before, or the Sunday before, etc.) and I am sure someone if going to come through for me. Hopefully by the time I get out of school tomorrow I will be armed with coupons. I will keep you all posted if the money savings actually happen. Mr. D. doesn't believe it will. Even more incentive!

14 years ago today...

I saw Karen and Jonathan kiss for the first time!
Happy Anniversary to an awesome couple.

Life is good again!

I FINALLY got my new trackball in the mail today. I was able to access most of my messages- but others will have to remain a mystery. So if you sent me something and you didn't hear back- I am sorry. I am so glad that phone is fixed. I am anticipating some exciting phone calls soon.

Thursday 13: Thirteen things I want to share with you

1) I STILL haven't got my track ball in the mail- but did get confirmation that it has shipped!
2) I have been very challenged this week in my BlackBerry abilities and will appreciate it oh- so-much more when it is fully restored.
3) Last Saturday we celebrated 2 birthdays. Ceci's 1st Birthday.
4) And, Caleb's 2nd Birthday.

5) On Tuesday, Meghan called me and described a shirt to me that she wanted from Walmart. I happened to be at the Walmart and looked all over but could not find the shirt she described. I told her I found a super cute shirt for her and if I could my phone cursor to the camera icon- I would send her a picture. I couldn't get the icon to send it - so when Meghan came over last night I showed her the picture- and it was the same shirt. Coincidence? I think not!


6) I wish I were going here this weekend... or any weekend for that matter! 7) While I was "window shopping" at Walmart, I saw this clock I thought would look awesome if we were to ever make over our bedroom and bathroom. I took a picture of it so I would remember it. 8) My class is studying golf. The kids are really into it. Kate bought a little kid putting set that has two little putting holes. We set us a mini course and the kids are playing in a tournament. A tournament in with everyone as a winner of course! Here is a picture of me being super silly. The kids LOVE holding up the (homemade) quiet sign for the golfers.


9. At the Art area, the kids have a lesson creating their own golf holes for our classroom golf course. Here is what they look like. Great idea Katie!!

10) If you have blue eyes- run to the nearest store and purchase this. You'll be glad you did. They have sets for other color eyes- but I can only attest to the blue kit. 11) Sandy and the accommodating kitchen..... Last night I cooked a different meal for everyone eating at my house. Well, I didn't cook one thing- Gayle sent over some chicken and dressing. So I made the chicken and dressing (for me), seafood lasagna roll ups (for Meghan), buffalo shrimp and fries (for Mr. D.), oh- and crab cakes as an appetizer (for everyone). I also made Pillsbury garlic crescent rolls for the first and last time. YUCK-O!! My mom came over around 11 (yes- pm) and I warmed her up the chicken and dressing and she tried the seafood lasagna. She came in, ate, spent the night, went to work and Mr. D. never even saw her. How funny is that!!
12) My current to do list is longer than my current time I have to do something is.
13) I am only 58 bucks away from meeting my prescription deductible. I am counting the minutes when I get my Allegra D at 80% off (currently $125.00/month).

If you aren't reading...

If you aren't reading our adoption blog (which is private) and would like to be invited to read it, email me at the address on the right!

Dear Vera Bradley

Thank you so much for the lovely catalog I received in the mail - both yesterday and today. There are so many lovely things I need- and the duplicate mailing did not go unnoticed. You are such a clever lady with your umbrellas and eco-friendly shopping bags. I would be the hippest girl at the market (not that I would remember to actually take the bags with me)! I could just imagine my initials lovingly monogrammed (by Natalie of course) on the garden tote with matching gardening gloves. Who knows what masterpiece to do list I could write in my mini notebook with the matching pencil collection. Nice touch Vera! However, at this time, I am working on a project that requires a better use of my resources. Don't worry Vera, I will be back- just not right now. Oh my dear sweet Vera, fear not! Your bags will be the official bag of the Baby D.

Love,
Sandy

The great BlackBerry disaster of 2009

I am not sure if I had blogged on this blog, or just reported on Facebook- but I have become the chief surgeon of the BlackBerry trackball. My skills were harnessed out of a need to solve why my BlackBerry would not scroll down. After much internet research, I have successfully preformed many surgeries in the past 2 weeks. So yesterday, when the trackball wasn't cooperating, I dove right in. All of the usual techniques didn't seem to solve the problem. I decided to dive a little deeper. I found the root of the problem immediately and was thrilled that the removal of the lint might fix this once and for all. Then upon reassembly something tragic happened. One little piece when flying... and this piece was about the size of a pencil led .........and it was magnetic .........and don't ask why- but I was performing surgery in Mr. D's car...... and it flew into the abyss between the seats. I thought, when Mr. D. gets back from being in the store- I will just have him reach under the seat and get it. NO SUCH LUCK. We came home and spent at least 2 hours searching every inch of the car for it. We used a million different techniques- with no luck at all. We went to the T-mobile store to see what it would cost to replace the phone and even with my phone credit we were looking at a small fortune that could better be used on our other project. So, we came back home and I went online and ordered a new trackball for less than 10 bucks. Now, until it gets here- I am limited on my communication with people. With the mobility I have available with my current trackball situation I can....

- answer the phone if I happen to see/hear you at the time you call.
-call people who's numbers I have memorized (... so, Mr. D. or my Mom at home, oh and Julie and Kate - how have the easiest numbers in the world)
- I can call anyone in speed dial-- wish I had programmed people into that.. but I can call Mr. D. since he had programmed his number into #1 when I got the phone.
- I can see that I have messages/text but I can't actually see them - just the annoying blinking light and the number count on the screen.
-I can send a text to the last 3 people I called- but can't read if they send me one.
-I can check my voice mail if I call BlackBerry from another phone

...and that is it. So, until Wednesday or Thursday or whenever the part gets here-- SORRY!! and GOOD LUCK communicating with me.

Thursday 13: Thirteen things I did since I blogged on Monday

1) enjoyed my time at the beach
2) flew home
3) loved on Brady
4) ate at Cozumel- of course
5) went with my mom to her surgery
6) visited my Granny in the hospital
7) visited my super awesome vet cousin
8) watched the boys next door
9) returned to work
10) got a million hugs from my class
11) set up a 1-800 number
12) Daisy Scouts
13) shopped with my Mom before she went home

blogging from the beach

Just a quick note to let everyone know that things are wonderful here. We are having fun. Our meeting was incredible and we are excited about what is ahead. One more day to play and then home tomorrow.

Thursday 13: The lost and never found edition

All of you know how I can tend to fall on the disorganized side of life at time. Here is a list of 13 things I can never find. (some I haven't even looked for yet! Hehe!! )
1) my blue tooth
2) my blue tooth charger
These two items are lost and found frequently-- but can be lost at the same time, but both are NEVER found at the same time. I was using my old blue tooth- which I going to give to Kate when I found my actual blue tooth- but Brady found the old blue tooth first.....
3) batteries (We have several things needing batteries in this house. I can find batteries but not usually the size I am looking for at the time.)
4) The cord that would let me talk to Meredith on the web cam... (Meredith- how long have I been looking for this?!)
5) The mini mouse for my lap top
6) Perfect software for my web building/digital scrap booking type stuff.
7) The battery for the portable DVD player (not the new one, the old one).. I have to watch it plugged in.
8) My sanity--- haha!! 0ften misplaced
9) my patience, even more often misplaced.
10) My rewetting drops at 6 in the morning.. I am always feeling around for them- even though I have several bottles and they always end up being either by my bed or on my sink in the bathroom.
11) addresses and phone numbers- I never know where these are if they aren't in the Blackberry.... and finding an address and a stamp on the same day- well, that is like a fairy tale.
12) my label maker (and if you find it, see #3) who knows where this is- and it should be easy to find since it is in a box CLEARLY labeled "label maker".
13) My car keys- while I currently know where these are- there have been many many mornings where they have not been so easy to locate.

Kate's Top Secret Muffin Recipe

My school had a bake sale today. It was organized and executed by the Elementary student in the 1st-3rd grades. Earlier in the week they sent a notice around asking the faculty to bake something if they could. I didn't bake anything (pick your jaws up of the floor-- I actually said NO to something!). I wanted to make something, but with being sick, and getting ready to go out of town, and hanging out eating ice cream cones with Parker and Caleb,... and LOST being on last night-- I just didn't get around to going to the store, buying ingredients and making something. i did spend a small fortune- so I feel like I did my part. Anyway, this morning I rounded the corner and was able to snap a picture of Kate preparing her top secret muffin recipe for the bake sale.
Looks like it is as simple as stuffing Publix muffins in to Ziplock bags and pretending you made them. Only Kate- gotta love her!!

Caleb can't have an ice cream cone

OH YES HE CAN!!!

Today I got to spend the afternoon with Parker and Caleb. I always like to take the kids for an after school snack on the way home- because there isn't a lot of "kid food" at my house (yet!!). I got in the car here was the conversation.
Me: what will it be boys, chocolate sprinkle doughnuts or ice cream cones??
Caleb: (In a sweet little whisper) Ice cream
Parker: Caleb can't have ice cream cones
Me: and just why not
Parker: he is too little and he will just make a mess
Me: Caleb- do you want an ice cream cone
Caleb- (laughing)
I started driving to Sonic. All of the way there - Parker continued to explain to me how messy it would be, and how Caleb would need his in a cup, and on and on and on with a million reason on why the 3 year old thought I was being irresponsible. Finally I just summed it up for Parker with "Caleb can have an ice cream cone- just like he can have a bath". He actually did a great job with it- and loved every second of it. He even almost ate the paper because I had forgotten to take it off. Was it messy? Yes, but more importantly it was fun. (Just putting it out there for you Meredith- this is the kind of Aunt I am!)

Parker had a great time as well! And, true to my word, before they left my house- I gave both of the boys a bath. I had so much fun with them.