Just a photo mini update

Here are a few of the photos of Tucker playing frisbee!

Wonderful Weekends

This weekend was pretty nice, if I do say so myself!

Friday night after work, Derick and I just decided to stay home and veg out since we weren't entirely sure what the next couple of days had in store for us!

Saturday, we got up, got ready and went to meet Steph, Ratt, Megan (+friend) and Cassie at the Mall of America to hang out for a bit. It was Megan's birthday weekend and she wanted to shop at the Mall.

Steph, Cassie and I helped Cassie make a Build-a-Bear ~ a pink monkey with a heart pattern on its belly, hands and feet. She also put a monkey sound box in her, got her a white dress and shoes. It was all pretty cute when it was finished! We named her Princess Penelope the Pink Monkey. There was a woman in the line ahead of us who just started talking to us and was like yeah, they don't have any new ones (animals to make) and we pretty much have all of the other ones at home. AHH! WHY would you go there all the time to drop about 60+ bucks on two stuffed animals and outfits?! Wow.

The Mall was really crowded, so we didn't stick around too much longer at the Mall after they left around 2pm. I am not a huge fan of the MOA. I would much rather go to a smaller mall or Arbor Lakes where you can go into one store, walk out and go to another that you need to. We went right across to IKEA because I needed a couple candles and wanted to look at getting a plant that will live in my office...no flowering plants like it in there. Katie and I have been finding that out :(

Then I wanted to stop at Southdale Mall to check out Len Druskin to see if they had anything cool in there. It was really crowded and nothing really at a great price. Derick was DONE shopping for anything at this point and let me know. Whew, that boy does not like to shop for very long. He says that the people annoy him. I just have to laugh. I have to agree with that in the MOA though...people, strollers, ugh. Gotta love the people that just STOP in the middle of the walkway.

We decided to run out for a late lunch to the Olive Garden, where Lissa and Emily were waiting to eat too! How funny! We had a really good meal (used the last of our wedding presents - gift card). Then we went home and I made some homemade snickers bars because Paul, Jenny and Roman were coming over around 7:30 that night. Tucker and Roman played really well together, dispite the huge size difference! Jenny, Paul, Derick and I played BUZZ for a little while and then it was time to say goodnight.

Sunday I got up, got ready, went to church. I came home really quick to eat a little before I went off to volunteer at the Maple Grove CB store for a couple hours. During my time there, I saw one of the moms that used to work as a stock mom at Zany Brainy, and Brigette from Bello Fino! Grandma K also came in for a little while and bought a few things. She came in at the end of my volunteer shift, so she also accompanied me across the street to Ann Taylor Loft. I bought one shirt that was really pretty and that was it. I couldn't justify spending any more money than that.

I got home, cleaned up a little and then Derick and I ran out quick to get some things to grill some burgers outside and fill the propane tank. Our new neighbors, Melissa and Phil were grilling steaks as well :) I think that many people are starting to get the 'grilling bug' more now that the weather is nice!

After dinner, we took Tucker out behind our townhomes where there are a few old athletic fields. we let him loose and let him chase after the frisbee. He loved being out there and able to run that far...and eat the goose poop that was EVERYWHERE out there. That crazy dog...we tired him out pretty good before we came inside.

Today I have a dentist apt that I am not looking forward to, come back to work, finish off the day, head out to get more Fare For All discounted food packs and then home. whew! Busy beaver I have been!

Derick was looking online for teaching jobs - not just limiting his search to MN, and found a job in Clarksville, TN. So we jokingly looked to see if we could find houses in the area. We found out that Clarksville is a pretty big city and getting bigger! It is almost the size of Mpls! I have been having the itch to move, but we would both need to have jobs before we even thought of moving, or else it wouldn't be worth it at all. That, and even if we did decide to move, we would have to sell our townhouse, which would be a hard thing to do in the market right now. We would be selling it at a loss more than likely anyways!

Well, I guess that is all for now, just an update as to what I have been up to!
-L

Second Impressions

So the other night, Jana came over (she is on spring break from college) and we played some BUZZ trivia and then watched Death Race. (really good movie by the way) and we had the volume up to hear them talking and the bass of the music was pretty loud apparently because our new neighbors came over, knocked on the door and very nicely asked us if we could turn it down. I was mortified. I had had good intentions of going over there and introducing ourselves earlier when they moved in -August, but it was always late at night when we would notice they were home, or just figured that they were home and that it would be nice of us to go over and say hello since not that many people really do that around here.

So, tonight, Derick and I took some Moose Munch over with us and introduced ourselves to Phil and Michelle. They seem nice. They have two cats, one of which wanted to explore the great outdoors once we came to the door. I was glad that we were able to do that.

Laura posted something on FB that we have been talking about for a little while...a girl's spa day! We both have been working to the point of fried brain syndrome and need a little relaxing day-s. That, and we need to catch up on the happenings of our lives.

This week has gone by really fast. I guess that is what happens when you mix a TON of work and a lot of instant cappuccino! heh heh...

That's all for now ,
-L

Havin' a heat wave...a tropical heat wave...

Yay for warmer weather. I should post just that and only that! but I won't...

This weekend has been good for a lot of things:

• Derick got better after being sentenced to the couch from a bad cold
• I was able to really deep clean the kitchen (which has its own wonderful way of grossing me out on a fairly regular basis)
• I made one of the most awesome desserts out there --Snickers Bars (Thanks TL)
• Cleaning out the vehicles. Ugh, what a chore, but it had to be done as well.
  
• Cleaning out some of the closets and getting ready to donate things we don't need.

On that last one, I am very thankful that donation groups come at least once a month. We tend to get rid of things each time, and some times I am surprised that we have as much to get rid of as we do! I think that is the thing with living in a townhouse, apartment or some place without much storage space, you tend to not hold onto things as much as you once did when you had the space to do so. I like the feeling when I get rid of a lot of things. It is very liberating. I think I just need to get a little better at getting rid of things on first instinct rather than hold onto it going, hmm, I think I might need this...or want this...but I am getting better :)

I am getting ready to get rid of some of my collectables as well. So, if you know anyone who might like Precious Moments figurines, Mary's Moo Moo's, Stone Critters, let me know. I have the most of the Precious moments figurines by far, followed in order as listed above. I am thinking that I might list them on Craig's List or ebay. Craig's list might be more effective if I want to get rid of them as a large group. We shall have to see. I have some research to do in the meantime.

I have also been looking at more things to fix via sewing machine. My grandma gave me her very old one and I LOVE it! It works great! I think that in the case of the old vs. new sewing machine, the old ones win out far more than the new ones of the same calibur. Although, my grandma has since bought a really nice digital display one that is pretty awesome, but again, not the same calibur as the one that I donated months ago or the one that she handed down to me.

Next weekend is Christopher & Banks' Friends and Family event! I will be working at the Maple Grove C&B from 1-3 on that Sunday. I was sort of finangled into that one by my team...thanks guys...send me a post card from Vegas...




Anyway, at the Friends & Family event, you need to print off the coupon, bring it with you when you shop and you get 40% off of EVERYTHING in the store. No limitations like so many of the other retailers out there! Also, if you shop in-store, you can sign up to win a trip to Orlando, FL! I am sorry that I do not know more about this trip sweepstakes right now. I know that you can enter to win and that is about all. I mainly saw the artwork for the signs before anyone else really knew about it (that is one of the nice things about working in Marketing, you know what is going to be coming down the pipeline as far as sales and promotions and events!).

TGIF

So, living in Minnesota, I have grown used to the fact that in February there will be more snowstorms. Regardless if the temperatures were 45 degrees the week before. But one thing that I am a bit disgruntled about is the fact that the snow removal company came through last night to clear up the snow at around 2:00am this morning and were very loud. A couple of the guys were physically YELLING to each other. It took me forever to fall back asleep and Tucker was in the bed with me last night and he was such a bed hog!




This weekend Derick's cousin, Joe is coming over and bringing his big dog, Jake with. So, that means a house full of boys and boy dogs playing video games all weekend...I am thinking I might need an escape!
This is Lynnea's dog, Morgan, who also came to visit us on Saturday! Tucker had so many playmates!


But yay for MacBook Pros and video chatting capabilities! I was able to talk to Ben in Texas this morning! And later today Lynnea and her puppy, Morgan are coming over to play with Tucker and Jake!

Valentine's day

Alright, so I forgot to post about Valentine's day. I finally decided to dump the photos off my camera and there were some on there from a LONG time ago! Valentine's day included!

So, for Valentine's day, it marked 4 years that Derick and I have been together. So he gave me ONE purple-tinted rose (for our FIRST year of being married for Valentine's day) and a bunch of purple-tinted daisies. He also got me a bunch of Reeces peanutbutter cups and a book I have been wanting: Jon and Kate (the tv show) Multiple Blessin8s. (The 8 looks like a g on the cover).

We had a pretty low-key day. My dad came over early that day to help us finish off the garage with our cabinets and shelving and to drop off groceries for that night. We were going to be cooking dinner for them at our place.

Here are some pictures of the yummy food and the festivities:

Corporate Layoffs Suck

Today at work, right after our touch-base meeting, we were informed that our company was laying off 11% of staff, or about 25 people. It really affected our department. The whole rest of the day was really rough for everyone. I don't think that much work was accomplished. The really bad thing though, is that I didn't see any of this coming. The company did a great job of painting a picture of "rainbows and butterflies," but in reality, they were plotting the occurrances of this morning. My heart goes out to the people that lost their jobs. Some of them were the nicest, hardest working people. I just don't get it.

But also in this blog, I was going to write about growth! I think that I inherited my "green thumb" from my mother. I have really liked caring for plants and growing them from seeds especially. (I think it goes back to the days of growing the bean seeds in the cup in like 2nd grade and watching them grow! HA!)

I started some seeds earlier this month and they have been shooting up like CRAZY! I decided to also try my hand at a couple veggie plants - beans and peas! (see, I think that this is where the bean plants from elementary school play the biggest role!) I am hapy to report that they are all doing really well! There is one part of the tray that is slow, but they really like the shade and are taking their time :)



These were taken tonight, look how tall they are getting! the far left are the bean plants and the ones above this are sunflowers!

These are our new fish that we put into the 45 gallon tank:

Salvini Cichlids. We have 4 of them. They are kind of fun to watch! We have some other fish mixed in with them too, so it keeps things interesting!