Thankful Thursday

He love me.....

RJ, thank you for being so supportive and understanding this past month. It's been a tough one and you've been great.

Mischief

This is what happens when I talk on the phone too long
and leave the camera

on the table. Too cute, right?

Phone a friend?

During a game at a co-ed bridal shower I was asked what one item RJ would bring with him to a deserted island.

I initially thought 'his golf clubs' but there is a lot of sand on an island and I didn't think he was that good in sand traps, so I said 'his blackberry'.


Lucky for us he also said his blackberry and we tied for first place.

Afterwards RJ complimented me on the big laughs his family had for my witty answer, however I don't think he was impressed with my assessment of his golf skills. The car ride home was chilly to say the least.

7 years of marriage and I'm still learning.

Gingerbread Houses

About a month ago I suggested to RJ a gingerbread house contest. Our friends Cam and Amy had one last year and it seemed like a fun activity to try. I thought we would both start out with the same store bought gingerbread house and the challenge would be in the decorating as I didn't think RJ would be to focused on the task for too long. But then I mentioned that I would post pictures of each house on the blog and get readers to vote for which on they liked best. Then he said "Karen, if it's going on the blog, it's an all in competition, design and decorating." The gloves were off.
This afternoon we sat down with our graham crackers, candies, royal icing and Christmas Music and without any plans what-so-ever, dove right in.In the true spirit of an unbiased competition I will not reveal who designed each house. (But I think it's fairly obvious...)Design #1 has a traditional cottage feel, with Christmas lights and a stone walkway. Don't miss the outdoor Christmas tree and candy cane hearts on the roof. Design # 2 has a contemporary 'Fort Awesome' feel, with it's two storey elegance, double car garage and personal helicopter pad.

Please let us know which house you prefer in the comments. Bauer seems to be quite interested in both, if the drool droplets on the floor around the kitchen table are any indication.

The Gift

I found, what I think, is the perfect gift for RJ. I've been building it up a little this past week as the gift of the decade! And although I ordered it well in advance it didn't arrive until today. Needless to say, I'm relieved.

Can you guess what it is honey? No worries, you'll know soon enough!

Mailing It In

It was a busy weekend and it wasn't until late Sunday night I remembered our company potluck was the next day. With me already in my pj's I wondered down to the kitchen to see what I could make. After a quick search I found the 4 ingredients needed for Rice Krispie Squares. As I was finishing RJ came up behind me and said in his best Homer Simpson voice "Rice Krispie Squares. Really? Way to mail it in Mrs. Wiggins." I wonder how long he's had that line in the holster for.

Champagne Anniversary

It is RJ's and my Champagne Anniversary, 7 years on the December 7th.

This year has tested us. 'For better or worse, in sickness and in health, for richer or poorer'. It's been a challenge. I know we'll have better times and I know we'll have worse, but we'll get through it all together.

I love you honey.

p.s. I don't know if Champagne Anniversaries really exist, but in our house they do.

What's cookin' good lookin' ?

One of my 101 goals in 1001 days is to plan 5 months of food menus, specifically dinners. I bought a cute menu organizer for the fridge that enables my list making obsession. RJ and I went through the freezer and then our recipe book to see what could be made and what needed to be bought. We came up with this schedule.Look how nice and neat it is. There are some blank spaces to account for the occasional eating out and for the times when one of us wouldn't be home for dinner.

It was a great idea, however our month turned out to look like this:There are about 5 check marks on there. Life got in the way of our planned eating and even our Monday night 'pasta' was out the window 3 times out of 5!!
I really liked the planned menu and we've decided to keep at it. I'm not thinking straight by the end of the day and I don't want to discuss what we should make for dinner, I just want to eat. You know how I get when my blood sugar gets low! Okay maybe you don't know and that's probably a good thing. I can get....dramatic.

Footie quotes

There it is! Here we go! This game doesn't matter. Alright, it time to get your game face on. This game means everything. I can't believe he beat me by one point!

A sample of lines I expect to overhear coming from the bonus room for the next 5 months. The NFL season is about to start and RJ's Fantasy Football buddies just had their draft. Good Luck honey.

Now, what I am I going to do for the next 16 Sundays? :o)

Who's that?

RJ and I questioned 'who was who' in more than half the photos from a CD his dad sent. It's RJ's side of the family but he was as lost as I was. However, one look at this picture and I knew it was RJ.It's the eyes, they haven't changed. I love seeing bits and pieces of his life B.K. (Before Karen), I just wish he could remember more. :o)

Cheese!

One....

Two....Three.........say Cheese!

My new camera has a custom timer feature that allows you to take multiple shots at pre-set time interval. (The above was 4 shots every 3 seconds) I thought I'd give it a try with our yearly Dansbury photo. We are becoming seasoned pro's at this (or I'm getting less picky) because we got it on the first try.

Friday Breakfast - part one

RJ and I wanted to start investigating breakfast hot spots in our 'hood. RJ loves a 'big breakfast' and I thought it would put a little AM twist on 'date-night'. (I'm a morning person.)
Our first outing was to the Daily Grill (Davenport and Northfield). We went there for dinner once and we both enjoyed it. Their breakfast was very enjoyable too! We both had the Breakfast Special. Very tasty and quick. Don't you find that breakfast is always served more quickly than any other meal? I would have liked to try one of their freshly baked muffins but I was too full. An excellent start our research.

RJ: The Common Thread

RJ is on his way to Binghamton, NY, the official site of his annual golf tournament, The CheeseBag. It's RJ's Christmas in July. Like Santa he starts planning for the next tourney the day after he returns. However, it's been a tumultuous past month as there were a lot of unexpected changes to the teams. Wheeling and dealing players from one side to the other. Conference calls between the Captains. Many a late night texting. Finally a decision was made and team shirts could be ordered.

Go Team Navy with beige stitching!! Hope the weather is good and there are no overtime 'shoot outs' to determine who wins.

In a related story my car just turned over 100,000km. How is that related you ask? Through RJ. He's fascinated by my mileage. Whenever he gets behind the wheel he tells me what I'm at and how far it is until my next milestone. "Honey, you're at 87K, just 3k more until 90K!" So honey, because you weren't here to see it yourself, I present a picture of the odometer.Yes it says 100,003km. There was no way I was pulling on to the shoulder of the ramp to the 401 during rush hour traffic to take your dang picture! Love you!

Tubbs

Last Friday was Bauer's annual vet appointment. We expected the needles, the heart worm check, the drawing of blood and the talk about tarter build up. What we weren't expecting was an issue with his weight.

"And in this corner is Bauer 'the Retriever' Payne weighing in at a 58.2 lbs."

Our lean mean frisbee machine was 52.5 pounds this time last year. There are 3 reasons for the weight gain.

1 ~ Cheese on his food We started this so he would eat. He couldn't afford to lose weight when he was only 52 lbs.

2 ~ Less intense exercise We take him for regular exercise twice a day but the duration of the exercise has decreased. Bauer seems to get tired and hot more quickly than he used to. His 'stop' signal when playing frisbee is when he trots over to the shade of a tree and starts rolling in the grass. We have switched his frisbee from twice a day to once and now take him for a walk at night.

3 ~ He's 3 years old. Not a puppy any longer. **sigh**. We've put him on weight control dog food. With a small sprinkle of cheese.

After the vet appointment we walked home with our Tubbs. We slipped so easily into calling him Tubbs, it's not good, he's going to get a complex. However, it gave me an idea for Halloween.

Crockett and Tubbs. Fightin' Crime.

I just need to find a dog sized pin-stripe suit and to plead with RJ to grow/dye his hair and wear a white suit after Labour Day. Oh! I forgot the mesh shoes. This gets better all the time!!!

Weather Horoscope

Environment Canada - Mount Forest - Arthur - Northern Wellington County
7:38 AM EDT Thursday 25 June 2009

This is an alert to the potential development of severe thunderstorms with large hail and damaging winds. Monitor weather conditions. Listen for updated statements. If threatening weather approaches take immediate safety precautions.

A cluster of strong to potentially severe thunderstorms is crossing Lake Huron this morning. They will reach the Lake Huron shoreline around mid morning giving the potential for golf ball hail up to 4 centimetres as well as strong wind gusts to 100 km/h. Torrential rain of 50 mm within an hour and intense frequent lightning will also accompany the storms.

Ah shucks...today is our golf company tournament. Looks like the stars haven't been in my favour lately :o)

p.s. RJ left me a voice mail to inform me of the weather alert. At the end of the message he asked if there were any plants that I wanted brought in so they wouldn't get damaged. What a sweet guy.

3rd Annual Father's Day 10K

It's that time once again, it's the Father's Day 10K. Otherwise known in our house as the "They should start this race earlier because it's so bloody humid out" 10K.

Before the race I had RJ and Craig pose for the camera. I told them to give me a serious look AND to smile.RJ started to question me. Craig just tried his best. No questions asked. Good man. A few seconds afterwards they both confessed to being confused by my directions (what?? not possible) so I took a second picture and had them just smile. Ah, better.Once the race starts Bauer and I have a 40 minute wait. A good portion of that time (and my battery power) was spent trying to get Bauer to pose in front of the football tackling equipment. This was the best shot.He was looking straight at me (ie: the cookie I was holding) until a stray soccer ball caught his attention. Curses, another photo ruined to the retrieving instinct.

Around 46 minutes Craig came bounding around the track.He told me before the race that he wanted to break 45 minutes so he wasn't going to wave for my picture this year. Wind resistance maybe? He didn't make his goal (did I mention it was really humid?) so he could have waved. But how was he suppose to know.
And then along comes RJ.... A tad too serious. RJ loves to ham it up for the camera when he's running. But again the humidity can be mood altering. Congrats guys. Let's hope next year that Father's Day is a weekend earlier.

Nervous of the countryside

Scene: I'm driving and taking the long way to the dog kennel because I thought I was immune to bridge construction detours and could sneak over without any problems. I was wrong.

K: Where’s the dog?
RJ: Sitting behind you, looking out the window.

RJ: I wonder if dogs ever get nervous when you drive for too long in the country.
K: What!?!
RJ: Well, do think they think you are driving farther and farther away to drop them off in the middle of nowhere.
K: That’s horrible. I would never do that.
RJ laughing

K: I’d drop you off in the middle of nowhere before I’d drop off the dog.
RJ: I’d find my way home.
K: How?
RJ: The GPS in my phone.
K: Note to self…….

Roller Coaster of Emotion

Saturday night 6pm the doorbell rings. Bauer runs to the door barking. I point a finger at RJ and then the door. (The international sign for “you get it”) RJ rolls his eyes and walks to the door.

RJ: Karen do you have any money
I go to see what he wants to by.
K: Yes
GG: Hi I’m with the Girl Guides would you like to buy a box of cookies?
RJ: Yes please. How much are they?
GG: $4
RJ: Okay we’ll take one box. What flavours are there?
GG: Chocolate and vanilla
RJ looking at me “Which kind do you want?
GG: You get both of them in the same box.
RJ: Sweet.

I pay the GG she thanks us and leaves. I walk into the kitchen and RJ already has the box open. We snack on a few cookies.

RJ: Whew, I was a roller coaster of emotion there.
K: What? When?
RJ: When I was answering the door. I didn’t want to go because people are always trying to sell us stuff and I’m tired of that. Then when I saw the little girl I thought I’m going to have to say no to her so I was sad. But when I saw the box that said cookies on it I was excited. At last someone has come to the door with something I want to buy. Now I'm very happy.
K: You are also very weird.

Bionic Animals

Scene: Standing in the kitchen looking at the herbs on the table that need to be planted.
K: I guess I should get those herbs in the planter soon. Where should I put it so the rabbits don’t get at them?
RJ: Huh, I don’t know.
K: I guess we could pull out the patio table and I could put them on that.
RJ: You don’t think the rabbits will get up on the table?
K: No. Do you?
RJ: Yeah.
K: Really? They aren’t Super Bunnies. They don’t fly.
RJ: Well yeah but they jump.
K: They hop. They don’t leap tall tables in a single bound.
RJ: sigh :o)
K: They can’t climb like squirrels.
K and RJ: Squirrels!!!

What am I to do? Where should I put them so the rascally rabbits and super squirrels won’t get at them?

The herbs from R to L: basil, italian oregano, garlic and parsley.

Twits Tweeting

K: Have you been on Facebook recently?
RJ: Nope
K: Well it was Molly's Birthday on Monday. (Bauer's girlfriend)
RJ: Facebook is so yesterday. It's all Twitter now.
K: Ugh. What could you or I possibly have to Twitter about?
RJ: It's what's now, what's cool. Take a look (points to his blackberry)
K: Ugh, seriously?
RJ: I wanted to follow some news feeds. I literally opened an account 20 minutes ago.
K: Then literally 20 minutes ago you became a weenie.


I'm not saying Twitter-ers are weenie's, just this one is. Love you honey!


But then again, let's look at my coolness rating. I don't even own a cell phone. I can't come up with more three blog posts a week. My tweets wouldn't be as interesting at The Office Chair's. (What a following he has!)