I came across this today:
I put it as my desktop for a daily reminder.
We often forget just how blessed we really are.
Monday, August 22, 2011
Tuesday, August 16, 2011
Wonderful Trip Home
These pictures were taken over a month ago, but I figured better late than never to post them.
I had a great few days home in July - seeing everyone was just what I needed.
Mmmm...enjoying a hot dog - with lots of ketchup of course.
So pretty.
After lunch, we got the call - Uncle Kevin invited everyone over to his pool for the afternoon!
AND he even had a slide...
The above picture isn't that great and I really wish I had a wide angle lens...anyways, I wanted to capture Grandma in the pool without zooming in on her - I don't think she was feeling me taking pictures of her in her (Jody's) swimsuit :) And Dad even got in the pool - so fun.
Emery rocking Ayden's goggles...
Brothers ♥
After a long day of being outside and swimming, Emery fell asleep in the swing - so sweet.
This is one of those times where I couldn't decide between color or black and white.
How sweet is Emery?
This picture is blurry, but I still like it.
Thanks to everyone for a wonderful trip home...love & miss you.
Monday, August 15, 2011
The "What Should We Do Tonight?" Jar
You know when you have those nights and you think to yourself "what should we do tonight?"
Well, do I have the solution for you.
Dusty and I conjured up some free or cheap things to do, which I then transferred to construction paper.
We put them in a mason jar and when we can't figure out what we should do, we close our eyes, and draw from the jar...it's fun, keeps things exciting, and helps you get out of a rut of doing the same things every night.
Here is a list of some of the things in our jar:
- play catch (softball, football, frisbee)
- camping
- rec center (b-ball, ping pong, tennis, swim)
- write a letter
- driving range
- drinks on the dock
- fishing
- outdoor picnic
- movie - Dusty's choice (I put this one in there because I usually get to pick the movie :))
- "lake country" bike ride
- sunset walk on the beach
- tennis under the lights
- photo shoot
- drinks and darts at the neighborhood bar
- movie in the park
- volleyball in the yard
- air mattress movie night
- swimming
Wednesday, August 10, 2011
Frequently Asked Questions
Do you have a job?
No, I do not currently have a job. I have sent in resumes and applications, but have not heard anything back from any of the places I have applied to. I do babysit about once a week for a little bit of extra cash - and I enjoy it. When the boys go to sleep, I get to play the old school Mario game on the Wii = amazing. (Kara, it makes me think of you and FYI, I don't think I've lost my touch).
My next plan of action is to substitute teach for Baldwin County Public Schools. I think this would be ideal because I really want to have a flexible schedule. I want to be able to go the film festival in Birmingham at the end of this month, the film festival in New York in October, and when we have visitors, I want to be able to spend the whole time with them. AND I would love to be able to stay home for a couple of weeks over Christmas.
I feel like I want to live it up for a bit and travel whenever I get the opportunity...it seems like I was in school forever, so I want to have fun for a while. The only downfall of course is not having an income...I figure I can work for the rest of my life, so I'm not in a huge hurry to find a job.
What does your usual night in Alabama consist of?
Well, it's always exciting for both of us when Dusty gets done with work for the day. We usually cook dinner together, talk/hang out, and our favorite thing lately has been to go play tennis under the lights after it gets dark. It is SO much fun - we have been loving it. If Dusty gets done with work early, we usually go to the pool, the beach, or maybe a matinee movie. We have been really into renting movies lately (you can get codes online, so the rentals are free from the Blockbuster Kiosk or Red Box). Sometimes, it is just too hot out so the only thing that sounds appealing is to stay in the air conditioning and watch a movie.
What's your favorite thing about your new environment?
I would have to say being by the water is my favorite thing about living here. The water is gorgeous and white sand - how can you not love that?
What's your least favorite thing about your new environment?
My least favorite thing would have to be that in the summer here, it is a tourist town. Orange Beach has around 4,000 permanent residents, but in the summer, the population increases to tens of thousands of people. I feel like everyone I see here is basically not from here, which makes it difficult to meet people. We go to the same pool at least a couple of times a week and not once I have seen the same person there twice.
When can I come visit?
Seriously, please come visit - the sooner the better. Honestly, any time works for me and we would LOVE LOVE LOVE some visitors :)
What's your favorite restaurant?
Hmmmm...we don't eat out all that often. Almost all of the restaurants here are local places, hardly any chains and they seem to all specialize in seafood. I refuse to eat seafood, have never tried it, and never will. But, if you are into seafood, I think you would love hitting up some of the restaurants here - fresh seafood from the Gulf - it is the focus of their advertising, so it must be good.
If I had to pick a favorite place, I would pick Happy Harbor. It's a little bar on the water where mostly locals hang out. You can get Busch Light bottles for $1.50 all day, everyday, and we always share their pepperoni pizza roll - plenty for two people and we really like it. Our bill is always really low by the time we leave, which might play a part in why I like it there.
What's your best meal to cook?
Staples in my rotation of "cooking" are enchiladas and cavatini.
What do you do ALL day?
Everyone asks me this question. It's surprising how quickly the day goes by.
Some things I might do during the day:
Is it ungodly hot?!
YES! I can hardly wait for the weather to start cooling off. I daydream about wearing sweatpants, a sweatshirt, and cuddling up on the porch with a cup of coffee and a book.
Obviously, I don't deal well with the heat - I am miserable being outside during the day. Even when we go play tennis after dark, I am dripping sweat within 5 minutes. If you go to the beach and want to cool off in the water, it's not very refreshing...the water in the Gulf is warm. Anyways, enough complaining by me...it could be worse.
What's the next DIY project?
Well, Dusty recently finished painting the bedroom...I will post pictures once the room is complete, we are on the lookout for some old nightstands or something we can use as nightstands. We check on Craigslist and like to hit up garage sales...it's fun to take an old, beat up piece and make it your own.
We found a really cool, old wooden frame at a garage sale...I just painted it white and ordered a 10 X 13 print online to put in it...it will be our first thing on the wall in the bedroom - so excited!
Hmmm...I think our next "official" project will be to paint our bookshelf - we are thinking white and then we will paint the back of the shelves a different color. I will do a post about it when it's finished - I'm sure I will be pumped to share the finished product :)
Fun fact:
I went to get the mail the other day and there was a lizard in the mailbox...I freaked, slammed the mailbox shut, and ran...Dusty was in charge of getting the mail for the next couple of days, but I have since recovered and my excitement for getting the mail has returned.
No, I do not currently have a job. I have sent in resumes and applications, but have not heard anything back from any of the places I have applied to. I do babysit about once a week for a little bit of extra cash - and I enjoy it. When the boys go to sleep, I get to play the old school Mario game on the Wii = amazing. (Kara, it makes me think of you and FYI, I don't think I've lost my touch).
My next plan of action is to substitute teach for Baldwin County Public Schools. I think this would be ideal because I really want to have a flexible schedule. I want to be able to go the film festival in Birmingham at the end of this month, the film festival in New York in October, and when we have visitors, I want to be able to spend the whole time with them. AND I would love to be able to stay home for a couple of weeks over Christmas.
I feel like I want to live it up for a bit and travel whenever I get the opportunity...it seems like I was in school forever, so I want to have fun for a while. The only downfall of course is not having an income...I figure I can work for the rest of my life, so I'm not in a huge hurry to find a job.
What does your usual night in Alabama consist of?
Well, it's always exciting for both of us when Dusty gets done with work for the day. We usually cook dinner together, talk/hang out, and our favorite thing lately has been to go play tennis under the lights after it gets dark. It is SO much fun - we have been loving it. If Dusty gets done with work early, we usually go to the pool, the beach, or maybe a matinee movie. We have been really into renting movies lately (you can get codes online, so the rentals are free from the Blockbuster Kiosk or Red Box). Sometimes, it is just too hot out so the only thing that sounds appealing is to stay in the air conditioning and watch a movie.
What's your favorite thing about your new environment?
I would have to say being by the water is my favorite thing about living here. The water is gorgeous and white sand - how can you not love that?
What's your least favorite thing about your new environment?
My least favorite thing would have to be that in the summer here, it is a tourist town. Orange Beach has around 4,000 permanent residents, but in the summer, the population increases to tens of thousands of people. I feel like everyone I see here is basically not from here, which makes it difficult to meet people. We go to the same pool at least a couple of times a week and not once I have seen the same person there twice.
When can I come visit?
Seriously, please come visit - the sooner the better. Honestly, any time works for me and we would LOVE LOVE LOVE some visitors :)
What's your favorite restaurant?
Hmmmm...we don't eat out all that often. Almost all of the restaurants here are local places, hardly any chains and they seem to all specialize in seafood. I refuse to eat seafood, have never tried it, and never will. But, if you are into seafood, I think you would love hitting up some of the restaurants here - fresh seafood from the Gulf - it is the focus of their advertising, so it must be good.
If I had to pick a favorite place, I would pick Happy Harbor. It's a little bar on the water where mostly locals hang out. You can get Busch Light bottles for $1.50 all day, everyday, and we always share their pepperoni pizza roll - plenty for two people and we really like it. Our bill is always really low by the time we leave, which might play a part in why I like it there.
What's your best meal to cook?
Staples in my rotation of "cooking" are enchiladas and cavatini.
What do you do ALL day?
Everyone asks me this question. It's surprising how quickly the day goes by.
Some things I might do during the day:
- In the morning I have coffee, respond to emails, and get up to date on the blogs I follow (♥ this part of the day)
- I do the dishes, laundry, and clean up around the house.
- I look for jobs online and in the newspaper...fill out apps.
- I work on my thesis...or think about working on it and waste time doing other things.
- Go for a bike ride, do a workout video, go to the rec center, or go for a walk on the beach.
- Run errands - Target, Walmart
- Might go to the pool or the beach
- Figure out/find DIY projects, so we can work on them when Dusty gets home
- Sometimes, I even get to help Dusty with shooting footage for commercials - last time I was able to go on a jet ski ride with a camera attached to my head to get some shots...fun.
- I admit - I have also been known to waste time online...there are just so many things to look at.
- AND sometimes, I get bored...really bored.
Is it ungodly hot?!
YES! I can hardly wait for the weather to start cooling off. I daydream about wearing sweatpants, a sweatshirt, and cuddling up on the porch with a cup of coffee and a book.
Obviously, I don't deal well with the heat - I am miserable being outside during the day. Even when we go play tennis after dark, I am dripping sweat within 5 minutes. If you go to the beach and want to cool off in the water, it's not very refreshing...the water in the Gulf is warm. Anyways, enough complaining by me...it could be worse.
What's the next DIY project?
Well, Dusty recently finished painting the bedroom...I will post pictures once the room is complete, we are on the lookout for some old nightstands or something we can use as nightstands. We check on Craigslist and like to hit up garage sales...it's fun to take an old, beat up piece and make it your own.
We found a really cool, old wooden frame at a garage sale...I just painted it white and ordered a 10 X 13 print online to put in it...it will be our first thing on the wall in the bedroom - so excited!
Hmmm...I think our next "official" project will be to paint our bookshelf - we are thinking white and then we will paint the back of the shelves a different color. I will do a post about it when it's finished - I'm sure I will be pumped to share the finished product :)
Fun fact:
I went to get the mail the other day and there was a lizard in the mailbox...I freaked, slammed the mailbox shut, and ran...Dusty was in charge of getting the mail for the next couple of days, but I have since recovered and my excitement for getting the mail has returned.
Tuesday, August 9, 2011
St. Louis Gateway Arch
I apologize for my lack of blogging - I just haven't been feeling it...but after some harassment from loved ones, I think I'm back :)
Anyways, I realized I forgot to share our pictures from when we went to the Gateway Arch in St. Louis - it was on Dusty's bucket list and we were passing through St. Louis on our way to South Dakota, so we decided to make a pit-stop.
It's always fun to cross off something on the old bucket list.
Speaking of bucket lists, we made a "couples bucket list" on the drive to help momentarily pass the time...maybe I should share it and do a post about it later...and off subject, but we totally rocked Hangman during the drive...fun times :)
Okay, now for the pictures from our visit to the Gateway Arch...
We went inside to check out the museum...and the air conditioning was MUCH appreciated.
It was so miserably hot out, that I found it difficult to really enjoy myself during this visit. Any chance I got, I was in the shade...and still dripping sweat.
It was the 4th of July weekend and they were having a little outdoor street fair, and there was going to be a free concert held in the evening - which meant this place was packed with people. It would have been fun to go to the top of the arch, or take part in some of the other activities they had to offer, but the lines were too long and we had to hit the road.
This is where the free concert was going to be held that night - the Steve Miller Band.
Fun Facts:
*The Gateway Arch is the tallest national monument in the United States at 630 feet.
*The Arch was built at a cost of $13 million.
More to come on my current life...
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