Math I can agree with

Our yard is about the size of a postage stamp. And if you add in the backyard, it is about the size of one of those elaborate, more expensive stamps. (This was one of the major drawbacks when we bought....obviously, the positives outweighed this issue...)

When we bought this house a couple of years ago we had zero yard equipment or tools. No rakes. No shovels. And definitely no lawnmower. So, we just started to use the neighbor's lawn guy. He was great... every Thursday we would come home to a freshly manicured lawn, but I was always a little irked that we were paying someone to mow our little postage stamp. Our little postage stamp that takes less than 30 minutes to lawn, edge and weed.

2 years have gone by and we still have the weekly lawn service. BUT -- things are about to change. I proposed a 'plan' to the husband a couple of weeks ago and he went for it.

The plan goes something like this:

1. we get rid of the yard service.

2. we buy a lawnmower - garage sale or Craig's list would be the best

3. we mow the lawn ourselves

4. we hire our cleaning people again

That is right - we get rid of one frivolous luxury only to add a different one. For what we were paying the weekly lawn service, we can hire the cleaning people again and everything comes out even.

This seems like a wonderful plan to me....don't you think?

Weekend Roundup

We had a pretty great weekend... how about you? As always, it went by quickly, but we had a great time. One of my very best friends was in town for the weekend, so we had a wonderful time just spending time together.

She got in town late Friday night and we spent the evening catching up while drinking wine on our patio. It was perfect.

And then on Saturday she was able to partake in our Saturday morning family tradition - donuts, coffee and Diet Coke at the neighborhood donut shop. This shop has the most delish donuts - light, fluffy and the perfect amount of glaze. Ahhh.... I could eat them every. single. day, but I only let myself indulge in this goodness on Saturday mornings. We have made a couple of friends at this shop and we always look forward to running into them on Saturday mornings.

After that, we went to a local farmers market. They had fresh bread, homemade pasta, organic cupcakes, Texas olive oil and tons and tons of produce. We decided to buy most of the ingredients for our dinner at the market - it was fun to see what we could come up with. We ended up making a pasta dish that we all loved. Garlic basil pasta with spinach, bacon, tomatoes, basil and olive oil. We also had to get a loaf of the jalapeno cheddar bread.

The rest of the day was spent walking around the mall and enjoying a baby free day. The Mr. stayed home with Miss A, so we were able to spend the majority of the day shopping without having to deal with strollers and sippy cups. It was a nice little break.

And then we came home and whipped up this little masterpiece using our loot from earlier in the day. Mix in a bottle (or 2) of wine and it was a perfect day.

I just finished watching the Emmy's and now I am about to crash.

And that was my weekend.... how was yours?

The Great Debate

The thermostat debate.

In our house, we are polar opposites when it comes to temperature. I love for it to be cold. Love to sleep with the window open. And love for there to be a slight nip in the air. Love to sleep curled up under a pile of blankets. The Mr. could not be more opposite. Loves to have the heat on. Hates to sleep with the window open and hates to be cold in his own home.

When I watch the weather and they talk about an 'arctic blast' I become giddy with excitement. I get excited about sleeping with the window open and burrowing under the covers. Last winter when I was pregnant, we never turned our heat on. Never. Well, maybe once... the. entire. winter. Guests in our house would complain about the temperature, but I would always win... because I was pregnant. This year, I cannot use that excuse and people just get annoyed with me.

Most mornings when we wake up the temperature in the house is 59. And, I love it! So, who wins the temperature debate in your house?

***We do turn the heat on upstairs so we do not freeze Baby M. I am not that cold hearted. ***

Christmas Cards

Checking the mail is a blah activity.... but when it is Christmas card season it is anything but blah! I love to see the card designs... the pictures... what people are wearing... the fun vacation pics, etc.



I plan our card down to the very last detail. Obviously, our outfits all coordinate. I hand address the cards using an ink color that coordinate with the card. The stamps would even coordinate in an ideal world. And as far as the card goes... I don't like anything with too high of a cheese factor. No talking snowmen or singing Santa's will be coming from this house.



And, I love to display the cards so we can look at them throughout the Christmas season. I made these clips using clothes pins and scrapbook paper.


(Steve was cat was not posed... just an added bonus)



From year to year I save all of the photo cards, as well as a copy of our card from that year. They are in an album and it is fun to look at the cards from previous years.



(That was last year's card.... do you think I would send out a card without Miss A?!?!)

We need a bigger bed

Have you ever been to that point … right before you fall asleep… right before you nod off… only to have your entire body make a sudden jerky movement and BAM! You are wide awake. You maybe have that sensation of falling… or that you are being hit and you and trying to get away. It is annoying – right?

Think about how annoying it would be if someone else thought you were falling. That’s right. Someone else thinks YOU are falling. For the past couple weeks Mr. will grab me in the middle of the night “because he thinks I am falling off the bed.” At first I thought it was a one time occurrence – he was having a crazy dream or something and in that dream I was falling off the bed so he was trying to save me. But no... it happens almost every other night.

But when that same “dream” occurs almost every night it gets pretty annoying. And when this “dream” also involves him rolling over and smacking me with both arms in the middle of the night? Equally annoying.

I have started to smack him back and he always mumbles something in his sleep… most of the time it is about me falling off the bed. He never remembers any of this the next morning and he thinks I am making all of it up.

**Let me just say, I have never fallen off the bed. Well, except that one time in college… but that was due to one too many lemon drop shots and having my bed perched on top of my dresser and desk. 8 feet off the ground. With no railings. The person that thought it would be a good idea to give college students lofted beds had obviously also had one too many lemon drop shots.***

Maybe this is his way of taking some aggression out on me? Maybe he is trying to save me from falling?

Any dream analysts out there?

The gift of cotton

Happy Anniversary Mr. M!

It sure has been a fun filled 2 years.

On this day 2 years ago I would have never predicted everything we would go through in 2 years, but I would not change it for anything. It has been a fun ride.

The traditional gift for the 2nd anniversary is cotton. Will my gift to Mr. M be something cotton??? He will find out tonight!

NEW pictures of Baby M.

Bill and Giuliana

In the world of Tivo I hardly ever watch anything on the night it originally airs. Yet, there is a short list of exceptions: Grey's Anatomy, Gossip Girl, Flipping Out...

I have now added 1 more to that list - Bill and Giuliana.

I am in love with these two. I feel like Giuliana would be soo much fun to hang out with .... a real girl's girl that also has a sense of humor. And Bill is also pretty funny. You can tell they are crazy about each other, but they also drive each other crazy sometimes.

They have homes in LA and Chicago. How fun would that be? Mr. and I were talking about it and I was saying that it would be fun to have a 'city house' and a 'suburb house.' We already have the second one... now we just need to get something like this:

The 'burbs are great for the schools and yard, but I think I am more of a city girl. Ah... the compromises of marriage.

Fore!

May and June are busy months in our household.... Mr's birthday, Mother's Day, my birthday, and Father's Day.... all of those events that can make for some creative gift giving. Although he never has to get too creative, anything from here or here is always good with me.

This year we are going to break from the jewelery and give each other golf lessons! We are going to take lessons together...hopefully we will not kill each other. One of us is a tad bit competitive.

I am going to try to channel Catherine Zeta Jones when playing. I hear she is a pretty good golfer and she always looks great while playing....

Puppy Love

This Saturday we are probably going to go look at puppy Golden Doodles. LOOK being the key word. As much as I would love to bring home a new puppy, the rational side of my brain snaps into gear and brings me back to reality. A puppy and baby at the same time? Maybe not a good idea.

(I had this breed picked out long before there was even talk of the First Dog..... Maybe we could have a puppy play date with Sasha and Malia)

If you have a dog and a baby, which came first? The dog or the baby?

Merry Christmas!

Mr. and I wish everyone a very merry Christmas.


(Christmas Card 08 - Laguna Beach, CA)


We have been talking a lot about how next year at this time we will have a 9 month old. Wow.

Black Friday

Friday morning our alarm clock went off at the lovely time of 4:30AM and we were at Wal-Mart at 4:45AM. This was a first for Mr. Accountant - he has never experienced the joys of snagging those deals, while I have done this for the past couple years. I go and get my deals, then I come back home and go back to sleep. I love the excitement of it all -- the rush of getting one of only a couple items they have at that price. The mad dash around the store to make sure you got everything you want. It is a complete high that only comes on the day after Thanksgiving.

This year, Mr. went with me for the first time. I think he was a little overwhelmed by it all. (And a little tired...)

Recap:

Will I get up at the crack of dawn to save hundreds? Yes.

Do I get a rush when I am successful in getting all of my items? Yes.

Will I run around a store to get a certain item? Yes.

Will Mr. ever do this with me again? We shall see.

A day in the life...

Sample phone conversation from yesterday morning:

Mr: You left the milk out this morning.
Me: Did you put it up?
Mr: Yes.
Me: Why are you calling to tell me this? Get back to work.

I am not the only one that gets these types of phone calls – right?!?

Early Voting

Last night, Mr. Accountant and I early voted…. It was the first time I ever had to stand in line to vote – and we were even doing early voting! I sure hope this is a sign of things to come next Tuesday. It makes me excited to think about all of these people doing their civic duty. As we were walking into the polling place, we were laughing about how our votes were going to cancel each other out… I have kept my blog free of political commentary, but can you guess which candidate the Mr. and the Mrs. each voted for?

Moving means...

... living in a maze of boxes

... having to purchase a cooking utensil only to use the same one for dinner AND toss the salad. Want seconds?? Clean the utensil that was used to cook dinner.

... drinking out of the same 2 glasses for the entire week

... long days and even longer nights

... and finally, eating Cinnamon Toast Crunch in a mixing bowl, with a plastic spoon, with a box as a table



This weekend is the big move and I can hardly wait!

Halloween Costume

I think this will be a perfect costume for us this year!

We did it!

We did it! We signed all the paperwork last night for our very own.....
Half bath - I am not a wallpaper person, but this looks great in the small space, especially when combined with the ornate mirror.

Kitchen - I love the stone back splash and the granite counters.... the double ovens are going to be great this holiday season!

Formal dining room - I am not crazy about the red. What color is your formal dining room?

Moving day is not until mid-October, so once everything is unpacked and in place there will be many more pictures.

The Paper Anniversary

We have the big 1 year coming up at the end of October and according to tradition, we should give each other the gift of paper. And in my opinion, paper concert tickets to MICHAEL BUBLE are just the thing. I have seen him in concert before and he is wonderful!

I am really looking forward to him singing Everything. We took dance lessons in prep for the wedding and that was our first dance song.

Where are you??

Last night Mr. and I were supposed to meet for a quick bite to eat before we had our weekly class for Financial Peace University. We decided on Pot Belly at 6...

6:05 I start playing Brick Breaker on my phone to pass the time.

6:15 rolls around and I am sitting there texting him to see if he is lost. This place is 3 blocks from his office.

6:20 Mr. calls me and the convo goes like this:

"Where are you?"

"Sitting at Pot Belly. Where are you"

"Sitting at Pot Belly"

"The one around the corner from your office?"

"Opps. Nope... not that one"

"Enjoy your sandwich. See you at class."

Moral of the story -- clarify the exact location or you will end up eating your sandwich alone.

Dresses and Ties

When we go to weddings, I always buy him a tie that coordinates with my dress.... I like to think that we "coordinate" vs. "dressing alike."






(Most important -- our wedding)

Spot Removal

The Woolite Oxy Cleaning Pod is wonderful.I tossed it in the cart a couple months ago, and now we cant live without it. It removes everything from red wine to cat mess to dirt to mystery spots. I especially like the carpet comb that fluffs the carpet back to normal, plus is works fast.

We have these 'mystery spots' that randomly appear.... Neither one of us know what they are how they got there and this is the only thing that removes them.