The Best Boss

I must say I have the best boss. After six days of a mini Christmas vacation, I was not looking forward to going back to work today. 

Then I get a ping (think instant message) that we're going out to lunch. Always wonderful to get out of the office. Then I get the news that we're not going back to the office. What?! My prayers were clearly heard. THEN. I get news that we're working remotely for the rest of the year. Praise Jesus, hallelujah! Because who doesn't like to relax at home in their pajamas while working with the whole kitchen at your fingertips? Not me, I tell ya. 

Working from home also let's me get in extras that I wouldn't normally get. Like riding my bike at lunch, the shortest commute ever (besides my normal seven minute one), and the cutest company ever (Ryan, of course). Also a plus is having music cranked and singing loudly. Which may bother my "cube-mate" but he's usually a good sport. 

He's pretty adorable right?

While I'm working from home I'll be thinking about my New Year Resolutions for 2015. This past year I resolved to quit Facebook (totally did) and to buy gifts from local stores or craft them myself.(which I somewhat did).

I'll share my 2015 list when I finally have it together. 

Did you check anything off your resolution this year?

It's the Most Wonderful Time of the Year

I've got a huge secret. Wanna hear it?

I know. I know. It's not really a secret if I share it. But it's sooo good. It's the best secret ever. Can you guess what it is?

SANTA'S COMING! Like right now, he's on his way. Google's tracking him. So I hope you were good this year. I sure wasn't but I'm bribing him with cookies and other goodies. It totally works if you're looking for some last minute points with the Big Man. It doesn't hurt to leave a little something to warm up the soul too, if you know what I mean. 

But from the bottom of my heart, Merry Christmas. I hope you enjoy tomorrow with your family, your friends, and those you love the most. 

And I hope you have some good food. I know I'll be stuffing myself silly. 

Top Five: Christmas Songs

I think just about everyone has a list this time of year.

A list of people to send cards to. A list of cookies to make. A list of people to exchange gifts with. If you're a little person, you might have a list for Santa. 

I have a list of songs that put me into the Christmas spirit. Like, it's not Christmas until I hear each and every one of them. Here's my top five Christmas tunes:

1. The ever fun and cute, "Dominck the Donkey" by Lou Monte. 

2. The classic song by Thurl Ravenscroft, "You're a Mean One, Mr. Grinch."

3. Charlie Brown's "O Tannenbaum" performed by the Vince Guaraldi Trio.

4. A great collaboration is one with the Barenaked Ladies with Sarah McLachlan singing "God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen / We Three Kings."

5. Last but not least, my absolute favorite. Bing and Bowie singing "Little Drummer Boy / Peace on Earth." It isn't really Christmas until I hear this gem. 

So tell me, what gets you in the spirit? 

These are my confessions

Confessions...ahhh, so good for the soul. Here goes.

1. Pencil thin eyebrows. What gives? I don't see how it's preferable. I mean one wrong move and BOOM you're missing part of your eyebrow. Maybe you can explain it?

2. A lady bug landed on my husband's manly bits after he got out of bed one morning, and we sleep in our birthday suits, then proceeded to smack it off. Only hilarity ensued.

3. I sometimes comb Ryan's back hair. Why? Because it's funny that he has some to comb and because it bothers him. Pure enjoyment. Pure love.

4. I quit Facebook yesterday and I couldn't be happier. I was asked if instagram or pinterest were next. There may have been a *hint* of sarcasm in my reply.

5. We've already exchanged Christmas gifts. Mainly because I'm terrible with secrets and I get so excited that I just want to share. I mean why make them wait if they know what they got and it's the thought that counts?! I bought Rye a GPS watch with a triathlon bundle that can track you in the water, on the bike, and out for a run. He bought me a digital SLR camera that I've already got good use out of. I'm no where near a professional but at least I'm not using auto. 

What are some of your confessions? Do you have a holiday one?

Happy December!

I have been a serious slacker. No printables, no posts, no pictures. Ugh. What am I doing with my life?

Well, for one, I'm working. As in, as much as normal people do in a week in three and a half days. For two, I'm exercising seemingly every day. When I get home and finally eat I just want to sleep, which I don't do. Especially not now that we have this den of pain set up in our living room.

Many thanks to our tri-friends Andrea and Mike for the trainers! 

I've missed making printables and posting updates. I hope you've missed me too. Maybe this month I'll see my actual work job become less hectic, but maybe I'll become an astronaut. Both are as likely. Either way, I want to work on being more efficient with my time.

In the meantime, enjoy this Christmas printable featuring Santa's reindeer.

Santa's Reindeer

Although I might not feel like I have a lot of free time, I can't complain when I spend it with this handsome guy. Here's us finishing our second 5k, the Troy Turkey Trot.

What have you been up to lately?


The printable is formatted to fit a 8" x 10" piece of paper and features the following fonts: Simon Script.

These are my confessions

"...just when I thought I said all I can say." Yes? No? Okay, anyway. Behind this blog is someone super real and super normal just like the rest of you. Here's five random things that make me human, because five seems to be my number.

1. I once hole punched my hand. Very true story. I needed to hammer something into my dorm room wall and I thought, "what do I have that's heavy?" Well of course, the only thing I had was a three-hole punch. Clearly, it ended badly.

2. I lick my ice cream bowl clean. Yes, my face is then covered in meam (what I called it when I was three) but it's better on your face than left in the bowl, am-I-right?

3. I have the shyest bladder, ever. Unless it's Ryan (or complete strangers) I can't go with someone else in the bathroom. It's a struggle. I was a total creeper in the bathroom today, having to wait for two people to finish and leave before I could go. And I  was bursting, I had to go so bad. One day I'll end up with a bladder infection, I'm sure.

4. On another note, Ryan and I have no boundaries. We held a conversation earlier while he was on the toilet and I was leaning against the sink looking at him. Whatever. 

5. Last Friday, as I was walking out, my earring was ensnared by my scarf while my arms were filled with bags. I was so tired, that as my second level manager was untangling it, I was laughing uncontrollably. It was just the whip cream on top of that week. The cherry? My coworker has the last few seconds before my earring was freed on video. Kinda like this picture he took of me today. The jerk.

Yes, those are puppies on the blanket and I was indeed cold.

All I can say is, I'm glad it's Friday. It's been a long week. How was yours?

There's Something in the Water

Seriously, there must be. I feel like everyone and their sister is pregnant. And I'm going to rant a little bit about that in 3, 2, 1...

One of my coworker's wife just had twins (he's younger than me and the new babies make five). Ugh. The other week Ryan and I went to a jack and jill baby shower for a friend (who got married a year ago) where there were four other pregnant people, and a brand new baby. Two of those other pregnant women are also our mutual friends from bowling and also were married after Ryan and I. Double ugh.

To top it off, my closest cousin, and one of my best friends, had a baby this morning! A mere fourteen and a half months after her wedding. Sigh. 

Don't get me wrong, I'm so very happy for all of them, but I have this extreme case of envy. I can hear my ovaries cry over all the cuteness that's not happening to me right now. 

I feel like I should get an award for reluctantly making it through three years of marriage without getting knocked up. Can I please get something? Paying off student debt and competing in triathlons doesn't seem like an even trade off.

C'est la vie, I guess. It would just be great if I wasn't surrounded by freaking baby shit. How do you hold up against this kind of stuff? It doesn't have to be the situation, but tell me you can relate. Please?

Top Five Thursday: Tunetastic

I've worked about 46 hours since Sunday, one being a 14 hour day, and had maybe a total of 25 hours of sleep since then, which for me is definitely not enough. I need a solid eight hours a night to be human. Ryan can attest. 

Seriously, today, at any given point, I would blink and have a mini anxiety attack that I was going to fall asleep. Then I came home and Ryan gave me wine. I'm surprised I'm not drooling yet.

What's getting me through is music. Here's what been on a loop recently:

1. Walk the Moon's "Shut Up and Dance" because, um, how fun is this song? Oh, and HELLO those dimples? Kthnxbye.

2. One Direction's "Steal My Girl" because I'm twelve and love them. It may be a problem. Ryan's starting to look at me funny on this one.

3. George Ezra's "Budapest" because I hope Ryan would give up everything for me, but let's be honest, he didn't have much to begin with. Whatever, I love him anyway. I know I definitely would, but that castillo might cause some pain.

4. Sara Bareilles's "Gravity" in honor of the fact that we landed on a freaking comet yesterday. Is that not the coolest thing ever? We launched something in 2004 that landed ten years later. Talk about crazy calculations.

5. Jesse Ware's "Say You Love Me" because I'm just in that R&B mood sometimes and I'm kind of in love with her voice.

How's your week going? Are you making it through?

5k Finisher

Last post found me the night before my first 5k, ever. The morning of we, met up with my parents, who were driving up to cheer us on. We arrived an hour before the race and tried to keep warm in the brisk 36°F air. Here's a shot of us before the race. 

My company was the major supporter for the race and had about 100 people running, which was about a third of the runners. Now, I mentioned that if I ran the whole thing I would most likely cry. Well, I didn't cry...but I sure as hell ran the whole freaking course. I could not be more proud of myself or Ryan. I know you can't tell from my hair, it was so freaking cold I felt like I didn't sweat, but here's us after the race.

Towards the homestretch, Ryan was itching to run faster and kept bugging me about picking up my pace. A moment later we saw my parents cheering us on and I can't even explain how happy I was in that moment.  I knew we were close to the end and I was still running. As we saw the finish line, Rye looked over and said something like, "let's finish it." We sprinted the rest of the way and finished at 39:37 and 39:38. Ahead of our goal to run under 40 minutes. 

We may not have been the fastest, we may have been beaten by a 74 year old woman, but we ran, and we finished our first 5k together. Check out our stats below, we're 254 and 255.

What have you accomplished lately? What's next on your goal list?

'Twas the Night Before the Race

Yep, that's right. Tomorrow, Ryan and I are running our first 5K in the morning.

I'm somewhere between, incredibly excited and terrified. Excited because you only have one first and it's tomorrow! More likely, I'm excited for the fact that this is what our training has led up to. I'm terrified, because I'm not sure if I can run the whole thing. And I really want to. I think if I do, I'll cry. Legitimately cry. 

It's better too, as I have a little support group going. Not only am I running with Ryan but with one of my best friends, Andrea. You may remember her, my triathlon friend. My mom and dad are also going to cheer us on from the sidelines. My brother called me tonight and asked if it was okay that he sleep in on his birthday rather than go watch us run. I couldn't fault him at that. He even offered to make a sign for us, which I thought was sweet. Mainly because Dean is not crafty at all. 

Wish me luck tomorrow! I'll be sure to post about times and a picture with my face as red as a cherry. Be on the look out!

I'm Going Bananas

First, I want to say "Happy dating Anniversary" to Ryan. These past seven years have been all the better with you in them. I'm not quite sure how we made it through two years of long distance, but I'm really glad we did. I love you, cutie.

I'm usually all over celebrating little things, like today, but I definitely had no time to get him a card or little gift. Although, I did him a six pack for Halloween yesterday. A six pack of Reese's pumpkins that is. He declined to bring them up North where we are this weekend to celebrate his sister's birthday. I think it's because he wants to horde them all to himself. 

Now, since we're in the North Country, I see Ryan side-by-side with Craig, his dad. I am totally convinced Ryan is going to be exactly like him when we have kids. I often call him Craig 2.0 and there's a clear reason.

No, it's not because they're nearly identical. As I'm typing this, Craig said, "Even a blind squirrel finds a nut every once in a while." The same exact phrase Ryan uttered at a golfing tournament a few weeks ago when a guy in the group ahead of us hit a really nice shot. 

Earlier today, Craig was walking around the kitchen talking about bananas. Literally. I think it's his life goal to either make you laugh or drive you insane. If you ask Tammy, his wife, it's the latter. Ask Ryan? The first one. 

Then Craig started talking about how he says goodbye to his bananas in the morning. He looks at 'em, waves, and says, "I'm going, bananas." He must've said it five times with varying degrees of comma, no comma. I have so much to look forward to over the next fifty years or so.

In other news, Happy Daylight Savings tonight! I hope you enjoy your extra hour of sleep. Or partying whatever you choose to do. I'll be sleeping. Because that's one of my priorities. If you ask Craig what he'll be doing? He'll set the alarm for 2am, set the time back, and sleep for the extra forty-five minutes...

And if you believed that, you're as dumb as me. Happy November!

1,000 Miles

This past Monday, Ryan and I completed our first ever fitness goal. We rode 1,000 miles on our bicycles. It feels so great!

I also have The Proclaimers song stuck in my head. You know the one? "I would walk five hundred miles, and I would walk five hundred more." Except I sing it with "bike" because. Seriously. I rode a thousand miles! My sore ass can prove it. 

It felt so good to accomplish a goal and I can't wait for the next one. We're on target to run our first 5k on November 8th. 

Perhaps the best part of Monday was when we got home and I found this package...

My crispy M&Ms! Nearly two weeks early! I was downright estatic. I danced the happy dance and earned a few weird looks from my husband. It's probably because I looked like this...

With this candy in hand, I'm happier than a pig in mud. 

What's the last goal you reached? What's on your to-do list?

That's a Good One

Last night, after Ryan and I watched The Desolation Smaug, we hunkered down and watched some tv. During one commercial break, we saw one for this product called Osphena and laughed so hard at one of the disclaimers.

As a little background for the product, it's for women who've gone through that later change in life but still want to do the deed. Yeah.

Well, as they were going through the "do not to take when" list, one of the situations was if you were pregnant. Now, if you've gone through menopause, chances are, you're not popping out kids anymore. Right?! 

You gotta love the commercials there are on television.

What's made you laugh recently? Any good commercials on! 

Edit: For formatting

Fighting Fair

I'm confident that everyone has taken a shortcut at some point. I'm also fairly confident that every couple fights. It's natural and every couple fights differently. But I believe you should always fight fair and never aim to be hurtful. You're fighting to resolve something, not make things worse. 

Like every couple, Ryan and I fight. Our latest one was on Tuesday, otherwise known as street cleaning day in our neighborhood.

I've been riding my bike into work so that we can make our 1,000 mile goal by November 1st. As I'm writing this, I have 30 miles left, Rye has 27. On Tuesday morning, in an effort to catch up to Ryan, who was 20 miles ahead of me, I rode my bike in to work confirming with him that he'd park the car in the backyard. That way we wouldn't get a ticket or towed. 

Later in the morning, I get a call from my dad saying the car might be in front of the neighbors house and it might have a ticket. I told him I'll call Ryan and see what happened.

Now, I knew that in the morning one side of the street is cleaned (the neighbors' side) and then in the afternoon the other side (our side) is cleaned. Ryan, having only lived there for two years now, didn't know. He also failed to see the sign he parked right in front of that said "NO PARKING TUESDAYS 9AM - NOON."

When Ryan finally answered his phone after my fifth call, I laid right into the issue. Five minutes later the call abruptly ended when I curtly told him to "pay attention" then hung up. 

At the end of the day, things like this aren't an issue. We fight to resolve things (although I'm not sure he'll ever pay attention). Once the fight is over, it's done. It becomes part of the filler for the day. At the end of it, we forgive, we move on, and we still love one another, because we fight fair. There's no leftover words of hurt or anger because we didn't throw them in the first place. 

It's not always easy and it doesn't always seem possible, especially when you're passionate about something, but try to fight fair. Don't fight to fight. Fight to finish it. Fight to move on. Fight to forgive. And always. Always fight for one another. 

Even when it's hardest, fight for your love. Because at the end of the day, it's just you two. Two of you, waiting for another morning. 

My Grown Up Closet

For as long as I remember, I've wanted a really fantastic closet. You know the kind? The ones straight out of a magazine, with pull out drawers, wooden hangers, and shelves for sweaters? It would also be a walk-in with fancy lights and a place for my jewelry. I settle for this...

To level set, when Ryan and I moved into our apartment we got three "reach-in" closets. We have a closet for coats (and everything kitchen related that can't fit in the kitchen) in the living room, a good size (about 8' long) closet in the "den," and then what I assume is a normal (3.5' long) size closet in our bedroom. If you're wondering how we manage all the stuff we accumulate (decorations, hobby stuff, etc), it's not well. 

After two years of having my closet in a separate room, I got tired. I told Ryan he was going to suck it up and deal and we were going to share a closet. Naturally, he wasn't happy that "his" space now had to be "our" space.

After I made him go through every single thing in the closet (and his dresser), made him put his fifteen pairs of jeans (um, what the hell?!) in his dresser, and moved my stuff in, I worked on my next "project closet perfection" phase. Wooden hangers. 

Because if I couldn't have a glorious walk-in closet anytime soon, I could at least have nice hangers that would last forever.

I priced them out, which holy cow ouch, and then asked for the gift cards for Wal*Mart for my birthday. That way Ryan wouldn't freak over the cost and I could have my grown up closet. 

I'm happy to state that, today, I switched the last of the plastic hangers out for the new wooden ones. Of the one hundred twenty-eight hangers I ordered, I have six empty ones. Six. Which would most likely be filled if 1) our joint closet wasn't jam packed or 2) we put laundry away right after doing it.

Now, I have a HUGE box of plastic hangers left awaiting a new home. I'm giving my mom a bag of one hundred five hangers, yes I counted. I gave thirty to my brother and his girlfriend. I just have this box left. 

And no, I didn't count them. But I did take the time to put them in color order. Because, these are my priorities. Fancy hangers and color order.

I'm not quite sure how I justified the hangers, but I'm pretty sure I used the word "investment." Next phase in project closet perfection? A light!

Have you ever convinced your other half that buying something frivolous unnecessary was a good idea? What was it? Have you been on the other side of an argument discussion like that?

Every Single Inch

I can almost pinpoint the exact moment I started to be self-conscious about my weight. It was at an amusement park where a vendor would give you a prize if he guessed one of three things incorrectly. You chose what he had to guess on, birthday, age, or weight. I figured the hardest one is weight, and I was looking to win, so I chose that. The saint he was guessed something like 135. Granted I weighed less in high school, but still. I stepped on the scale and it ballooned to over 180. 

I'm convinced he did something to the scale but since then I've compared myself against these rail-thin girls envying their bodies. 

Then, at the beginning of this year, I started seriously exercising and improving my overall fitness. Compared to the beginning of my "fitness journey" (which is a ridiculous name for it) I've dropped about twenty pounds. My weight's leveled off and I haven't seen it change much in the last two months.  

I can't be mad. I eat pretty much whatever the hell I want. I'm burning the calories riding my bike, running, or playing racquetball four to five times a week. I'd even go as far as to attribute some of the weight plateau to muscle. Because I'm definitely putting it on. My legs are leaner and my face is thinner. It's not like you can see this huge bulk, it's just toned. 

As a result, I love my body just a little bit more. I'm more confident in the way I carry myself. 

Then I hear awesome songs, like Meghan Trainor's "All About That Base" which reinforce the message that perfect comes in all types of sizes. So, while I may not be a size two, I'm still rockin'. 

Every Inch Is Perfect

Every woman goes through days where they nit pick areas they hate about their body. I'm convinced it's normal. At the end of the day though, there's no reason to not love every single inch of it. It's yours. To cherish, to love, and to change if that's what you want. I know I'm strong. I know I'm healthy. I know I'm loved.

What more could you ask for?

The printable is formatted to fit a 4" x 6" piece of paper and features the following fonts: KG Flavor and Frames, Pinto NO_04, Indy Pimp, and Autumn. I used textures from this pack: Bokeh Textures.

Tell Me I'm Not the Only One

I was venturing through Pinterest the other day and happened across a recipe that called for the biscuits that come in a can. You know the ones? Where you "unwrap" the can and then it pops open. The post also had this picture. 

It pretty much sums up how I feel whenever I open a can. I jump. EVERY. SINGLE. TIME. Maybe one day I'll win.

Splurging on Candy and Forgetting Books

When I turned 27, I asked for three things: a mandolin, Walmart gift cards, and Amazon gift cards.

I used the Walmart gift cards to buy myself a "grown up" closet with all wooden hangers. I also bought curtain rods that match our headboard...which sounds weird. Hopefully this picture makes more sense.

no, my bed is not usually made like this because the last one out makes the bed and that ain't me

For some reason, Ryan and I get a lot of comments from friends and family that we have a "grown up" apartment. It happened again when I said I wanted to buy wooden hangers, followed promptly by a, "but I don't even have a grown up closet!" These are my priorities...decorating my house.

That and books. Hence, the Amazon gift card requests. I go through romance books (don't judge me) like candy. On Friday night, I complained about being tired around 10pm, went to bed, and then stayed up until 2am finishing a book I had started that night. I finished another book this morning over breakfast. 

So how exactly am I forgetting books? Well, it's funny you ask. I happened upon a list of 18 things that aren't sold in America. Naturally, I had to see what I was missing out on. Number 17 on the list? Crispy M&Ms. My favorite candy, ever. 

Sadly, they stopped selling them in the US in 2005. When they brought back the blue bag of M&Ms and they were pretzel and not crispy, I may have cried. I may have cried a little. I went to Italy on a school trip in 2007 and found some. They were quickly devoured and I've been questing for them ever since. 

And then, this list, reminds me of how amazing these candies are and how I can't have them. Then I remember, I have Amazon money and maybe this Amazon money can buy me M&Ms. Well, I found them. I found these glorious candies. In a month, they'll be here. Direct from Germany. I. Cannot. Wait.

If I die in a month from sugar coma. Or someone poisoning my M&Ms. Just know, I died happy. Most likely with book in hand, mowing down crispy M&Ms. 

I hope they're as delicious as I remember. Update to come.

What's something you loved but came seem to find anymore?

My Love|Hate Relationship with Running

I've tried to get into running a couple times in my life. Starting something new, especially when you're terrible at it, is awful when you're not doing it with someone. I tried the C25K program a couple years ago, but Ryan wouldn't do it with me. I lasted three and a half weeks then gave up. I didn't have anyone to push me when I wanted to be a pansy. 

This year, Ryan really got into biking. So much that we dropped nearly two grand on fancy bicycles. Don't get me wrong, these things are banging, but ouch. 

First, it's the biking. Then it's our iron man friends. Urging us to do more. Train for a triathlon. "This is my chance!" I thought. I could get us into running and then I could be a "runner." I shit you not, I've wanted to be a runner. I wanted to be one of those people gliding over the ground like a gazelle. Eating up miles like they were pasta dinners. 

Together, we started the C25K program. Two days into it, you know the run 60 seconds - walk 90 seconds repeat, my iron man friend decides we should go for a run. Together. Seriously,  my third day "running," I went with a seasoned athlete. An athlete who had finished the iron man not once, but twice. An athlete who at one time was the top woman for off road triathlons in the North East. Yea, I went running with her. 

I. Wanted. To. Die. 

I struggled. Through four miles, I struggled. I ran, I walked. I finished. At the end, she congratulated me on my run. I countered that I didn't run, I didn't do what she did. I'm not a runner. She, a seasoned freaking athlete, complimented me on my pace (about a 13:40 minutes/mile) and said I'm awesome.

I had to step back and smile. How could I not be proud? I finished. 

Now that Ryan and I are in week seven of C25K, we're running for 25 straight minutes. Last night we ran 2.55 miles at a 13:51 pace (including the distance of a ten minute warm up walk). Not a record breaker by any means. But we ran. 

I look back to that third day and I'm so glad I didn't give up. Because now? I'm a runner.

Another Year Down, This One's Just Beginning

I celebrated my champagne birthday this past Saturday and I can truly say that I celebrated. I'm so happy about it I'm nearly delirious. 

For the past few years I've dreaded my birthday. I hated it. It was the worst time of the year, right at the start of my favorite season. 

I guess it's normal, women hate their birthdays because they're getting older? That wasn't my problem. I was competing against my "ideal" self and where I thought I should be by now. Married, kids, dog, house, picket fence. I was married, sure, but I didn't have the rest of it. I was in my mid-twenties and I hadn't accomplished nearly any of my life goals. I was way behind my mom and some of my friends. What was I doing wrong? Why could these people have the things I wanted so badly? Didn't I deserve them? It wasn't fair.

It took me a while, but I've worked through the vast majority of those feelings and questions. So much so, that I could enjoy my life and what I have accomplished.

I realized that in the course of my life, I want children. I'm almost positive Ryan and I will have them in about five years, when I'm 31-32. I want to own a house but I don't need to buy one in the next year. We'll save for the one of our dreams. If it doesn't have that picket fence, we'll build one. As for the dog, well, I'll enjoy being just us two for now. It's nice to be able to drop everything at a moment's notice and go do something. 

In this past year, I've focused on what makes me happy. Making my marriage stronger. Baking when the mood strikes. Cycling nearly a thousand miles. Running. I freaking run! Committing to run the first 5k of my life by November. Committing to do five triathlons next year. And working on my relationship with my mom. 

For the first time, in my most recent years, I'm so happy about my life and where it's going. I look forward to each and every sunrise. For the first time, I realize that I'm a work in progress. I'm not defined by one outcome or one experience. I'm this winding, roving road that's headed into a pretty spectacular sunset. 

Autumn Bucket List: Update!

It's that time of year when I'm completely obsessed with apples. But to be honest, I'm always obsessed. That's why I have 30 pounds of apples in my freezer right now. Yep. In case you've been following, the apples won the freezer battle and will reside there for the next however long. The venison will be taking up space elsewhere. It may involve buying another new freezer. 

I've crossed four things off my list and they all involve apples. I'm betting the next one to get checked off involves apples too. Although the pumpkin cookies might get made first. And that's just because I have an open can of pumpkin in my fridge right now. Here's how it's looking so far:

I just realized that it's technically autumn now (eeee!). While yesterday was unseasonably warm, the weather has been cooling off and fall has settled nicely in the Capital District. I'm bursting with excitement to see what the next few weeks has in store. For once in a really long time, I'm excited about my birthday and can't wait for it to come. For now, I'll leave you with the heavenly donuts from Kaneb's.

What's going on with you? What are you excited about?

Top Five Tuesday - Funny Stuff

Sometimes, you just need a minute to laugh. When it's one of those days, or weeks, you want to smile and laugh a little out loud. Here's a list of the top five things that've made me laugh recently.

1. This picture. I literally laughed out loud for like a minute.

2. I write Ryan lunch box love notes most day and last week I gave him a few math jokes. Like this one: "You know what seems odd to me? Numbers that aren't divisible by two."

3. Pretty much anytime Disney can be brought up in a conversation. I especially love browsing the interwebs and finding gems like this:

4. Getting lyrics wrong and having absolutely NO IDEA until years later. Then when you're purusing the top 100 songs from the 90s you realize it's "How Bizarre" not "How Was I" by OMC. Not kidding, I found that out last week.

5. This Kevin Hart skit gets me every time. I wonder if Ryan can relate, since he's only an inch taller. 

What's made you laugh lately?

Sometimes I "SMH" at Myself

This week is incredibly busy and I have a ton of stuff I want to do before my mother-in-law, sister-in-laws, and nephews come.

One of the things I need to do is process (and freeze) the 35 pounds of apples we bought the other weekend. Unfortunately, over the weekend I was peeling and slicing apples and just happened to bent the crap out of my apple corer. Sad face. But that means that I get to upgrade to one of those peel/slice/core jobbies that might make my life 1,000 times easier if it works. 

When we were heading out to the store to buy it, I helped Ryan pack the car with bags of clothes we're donating. I figured we'd multitask and drop them off on the way. Now, for some background, we live in a city and don't have off-street parking. As I walked around the car to get on the passenger side, I asked, "Will you pull out for me?" His response? A big 'ol smile and a "sure can!" 

That smile of his gets him out of A LOT of trouble. It's just too cute. That, and the fact that I walked into it got him out of this one. I can't fault him for thinking it. I went there too. 

Wouldn't anyone?

Autumn Bucket List: Apple Picking

One of my favorite fall activities is apple picking. There's like a 0.01% chance that it's NOT my favorite. And each year, I go a little overboard. I mean, last year we spent about $120 on the trip...but that's not overkill. Right? I mean, I have applesauce and apple pie filling ready to go for months afterwards. That cannot be a bad thing.

This year, Ryan put his foot down. We would go in, pick just enough, and we get out. He didn't say it out loud, but there was a "before you get crazy and spend $100 on apples again" in there. 

The orchard by us grows about thirty different types of apples. Our plan? Macintosh. Jonamac. Greening. They were all in season and our top three favorites. They also happen to be the perfect combo together. The macintosh provide that iconic apple flavor. The jonamacs are the same apple-in-your-face flavor but harder than your traditionally soft macs. Then there's the greening, which are tart and add the kick to any apple filling. 

Look at how picture perfect this was. It's basically impossible not to go overboard picking and eating them right off the tree. 

After we found our favorites (and picked conservatively) we thought we should get a couple 20oz apples. What are 20oz apples you may ask? They're gigantic two pound apples that have little to no apple flavor. It makes my heart sad. But they make good filler. Unfortunately, I couldn't justify getting some after trying one and it being less than stellar. I couldn't. I just couldn't. 

Thankfully though, there was another crop of apples ripe for picking. Blondees. These apples are winners. They're like a ginger apple-pear flavor cross. And they're going to be decadent in my apple filling. 

Overall, we picked 29 jonamacs, 17 blondees, 16 macs, and 13 greening for a total of 35.10 lbs of apples. Roughly $48.79 at $1.39 a pound. A definite decline from last year's haul. However, in no way does this dampen my excitement for this autumn apple season and all the recipes I can't wait to try! 

Happy apple picking!

What recipes are you cooking with this year? Are you sticking to tried and true or trying something new?

Top Five Tuesday: Tunes

I'm going to try out something new. Here's the top five songs I'm hitting repeat on this week. I'm featuring alternative music that's played on my local station, WEQX. 

"Doses and Mimosas" by Cherub (Explicit) because "to all the bitch ass hoes that hates me the most, oh yea, I hate you too." (Please don't judge me on those lyrics - it's been a long day at work.)

"Silhouettes" by Colony House because his voice at 1:23, 2:32, and 2:41. He can sing me to sleep any night of the week.

"Take Me to Church" by Hozier because I know all the words and can sing it in key. ALL. DAY. LONG. (And it annoys Ryan, win-win.)

"Marigold" by J. Roddy Walston & The Business because it's one of those fun songs and you have no idea what the lyrics mean but you bop your head and hum along.

"One Minute More" by Capital Cities because I'm a big fan of the group and sometimes you just need a lovey song. It always reminds me of Rye and how everyday is better with him. 

What's on your playlist this week? Any of these make your top five?

Autumn Bucket List

Right now, I'm torturing myself. It's painful. 

Have you ever sat through one of those driver safety courses? Because that's what I'm doing right now. Clicking through an online presentation, watching depressing videos, and waiting for the time clock to run out. For six hours. 

Thankfully, you can multitask and I'm writing down what I actually want to do this autumn. 

I am thrumming with excitement about checking every single item off on the list. I just want to go out and do them all this weekend. Considering we don't have any fallen leaves yet and that it was 90° outside today, it might take a month or two to check these bad boys off. 

Here's my list:

As I check these items off, I'll post updates and pictures of the adventures. I can't wait!

What are you going to do this fall?

New Tunes - Alex & Sierra "Scarecrow"

Recently, I stumbled across the couple who won the X Factor last year. Adorable may be an understatement to describe them. And I'm completely obsessed with their new song "Scarecrow."

I just listened to it five times. In a row. I'm about 99.9% sure that if I hit repeat one more time and sing along that Ryan will holler, "Al!" With that tone. You know the one? The one you use when someone is just annoying the peaches out of you? Yea, with that tone. 

Or maybe not, since he just walked in as I pressed repeat and he was playing Pokemon. A twenty-seven year old playing Pokemon? Yep. That current little obsession was inspired by our seven and five year old nephews. 

I'm sure it'll pass soon. 

Please let it pass soon?

In the meantime, enjoy the melodies. 

What are you listening to?

Happy September, Happy Labor Day!

Ah September. Welcome, welcome. Thank you for starting me off with a three day weekend. 

This month, there's two printables. Mainly because I fell in love with these colors. They remind me of summer and the sea. I just don't want to let go of those vibes just yet as fall slowly creeps in. 

Say Hey (I Love You)

End of Summer Chevron

I printed them out and placed them together in Ikea frames on my living room mantel. I think the two together (along with those awesome bottles I found!) look great on my September mantel.

The first printable is formatted to fit an 8.5" x 11" piece of paper and I used these fonts: Cupid de Locke, Handy George, KG Call Me Maybe (Skinny), Sacramento, Pinto NO_04, and KG Heart Doodles.

The second printable is formatted to fit a 5" x 7" piece of paper. I know the PDF looks segmented but it doesn't print that way. No worries!

Startin' School Off Right

This past Monday, some 17,000 students started school at SUNY Albany. One of the 4,500 grad students in attendance was none other than Ryan. As a surprise, I did a little running around to start his school year on the right foot.

I knew I wanted to get him pencils and snacks. Which meant, I needed to come up with something cute, so I wrote a poem. 

I ended up including more stuff, like the beer and batteries, to make the poem longer. As a result, I had to use my very little (alone) free time running around like a crazy person. Because if I want to run out and go to the store, Ryan perks up and we end up going together. Completely foiling my plans on secretly buying stuff. 

Thankfully I had a hair appointment and some time between work and that to speed around and search for the elusive .5mm pencils, Reese's peanut butter cups, Walmart's honey roasted peanuts (yes, he's specific), and beer. I ended up getting the beer a different day due to the stars just not aligning. And I think he would break down and cry if I ever bought him not craft. (I mentioned he's specific right?)

I gathered my supplies (I found the prettiest rock candy!) and made cute tags for them. 

Then I put them into this tomato can turned adorable pail thanks to jute, hot glue, and some of my skin that was burnt off. 

On Monday morning he woke up to find this stash, asked why I did it, and then ate eight Reese's. EIGHT. He may have has a problem. 

I think with these goodies, his year is off to a great start. 

What are you doing for your students (kids or adults) heading back to school?