gone fishin'

I don't normally fish, in fact I had to purchase this pole, but when Jamie and Scott were talking about going I figured Justin would enjoy it - and he did! I would cast out and he would reel in. He would look at me with big eyes and say "there is a fish on my hook!" We didn't catch anything, but had fun.

Busy today

Me: "What are you doing?"

Justin: "Waiting for the bus."

So glad he loves to get crafty!

testing my green thumb...

...or lack there of. Only time will tell.

My car wash boy

Nearly every night, Justin can be found washing the car.

07.08.09 @ 10:11:12 AM and PM

07.08.09 @ 10:11:12 AM
We were getting our coffees ready for the day. Justin wanted nothing to do with having his picture taken!

07.08.09 @ 10:11:12 PM
Reading "Emily's Balloon", but I change the words to read "Justin's balloon" - he likes it better that way!

red white and blue

It's no secret, our preferred choice in footwear is flip-flops. Justin has 4 pairs. I have 10 pairs.

cool or what?

If I remember {and I better} I want to play along!
Get more of the scoop here: http://elizabethkartchner.blogspot.com/2009/07/smorgasbord-of-numbers.html Here's how to play:
1. Have your camera handy on July 8th-this Wednesday -which is also Jermey's birthday! :)
2. Take a photo of whatever you are doing when your clock says 10:11 am or pm. (we won't worry about timezones)
3. Challenge yourself to think outside of the box in how you take the photo or don't worry about that part and just snap one real quick!
4. Post the photo on your blog or an online gallery. Leave a comment on http://elizabethkartchner.blogspot.com/ linked to the photo and be entered into a giveaway(Yes, share this fun game with your friends on your blog, the more the merrier.)

ME

I asked Justin what I should take a picture of today. His response: "me!" And now take note of a few things here:
1.) pants are on backwards - this is on purpose {so the big back pockets are in the front - which makes it easier to access his checkbook, which in turn works out well when he is taking orders at his restaurant}.
2.) the dance - Justin has an incredibly goofy, totally cute little dance his does of late. {he was busting it out when I asked him to stand so I could get a pic of the pants}.

As for me - it is Monday... I am trying to eat well this week {too many cupcakes, cookies, and other forms of white flour have caught up with me}. But I am hungry and craving junk, something tells me I better opt for some protein instead {which doesn't sound nearly as good}!

my helper

Justin loves to help me. He often pulls the bench up to the kitchen counter and says "I help my mom" - and he does! After helping me start dinner he measured and poured salt. It kept him busy for like 2 minutes.

Happy 4th of July!

It was HOT today! So we set up the sprinkler and pool.

BBQ hamburgers and hotdogs for dinner!

Sparklers!

I love ants!

Justin loves ants. The little black sugar ants. He found an ant in the bathroom and picked it up and talked very sweet to it "awwww, bay-beeeee, oohhhh!" he would say. He lets the little ant crawl on his fingers and hands. Then will enthusatically jump and wave his arms and exclaim how much he loves ants! Funny guy he is! Here he is telling me just how much he likes ants while his little buddy is crawling on his hand.

Not only is he sweet to ants, but he is sweet to me too. I had my toes near the edge of the sofa and Harlow was under there and went to swat at my toes - when I jerked my foot away to avoid cat claws in my feet I rammed by ankle bone right into the table leg. I doubled over in pain, it hurt! Justin gave my boo boo a kiss and insited that I wear this band-aid. Sweet boy he is!

spicy noodles

A new food addiction: Spicy Thai Style Pasta Salad from Trader Joe's! It is fantastic! This weekend I am going to try and make this at home. But seriously, this costs me $3.99 - unless I can talk people into coming over to hang and eat - there will be no point in whipping up a big batch.

buck-up buttercups

Wednesdays are no fun for Justin. After spending Saturday and Sunday with me and Monday and Tuesday with his daddy - well... Wednesdays are his Mondays.

He tried to convince me to let him stay in bed. He tried to conivce me to let him stay home alone. He sat on the sofa and pouted. Eventually he sucked it up and walked out the door - and - go figure, he had a great day!

As for me, I had to suck it up too. I had an annual doctors appointment today and Dr. Scott suggested a tetnus booster and a vitamin d test. Now the blood draw doesn't freak me out {anymore}. The shot had me freaked though! I am quite sure I declined the shot last year out of fear and I figured I might at well be a big girl and take it like a man. So I did. The shot was nothing, a breeze! I felt like a super hero, I looked the shot straight in the eye and didn't let it get me down! I was a little sore after (like getting punched in the arm), but not bad at all. I am a tough kid - and so is Justin :)

P.S. - Yes, Justin is wearing the same outfit he had on yesterday. I wasn't gonna argue with him on attire when it was all I could do to convince him to get out of bed this morning.

dude with a 'tude...

...but with a very good imagination!

Justin came home from spending the day with Jason and he was bossy, grumpy, mean and in need of a serious attitude adjustment.

Luckily his attitude improved as the evening progressed. My super creative and imaginative little dude just had to make his own hot air balloon. His plan: to "fly high!"

goofy

I had no clue what to take a picture of today, so during a commercial of The Bachelorette I grabbed my camera, made a fish face and called it good.

Here's to a 4 day work week, an upcoming 3 day weekend, a semi-uninterrupted date with my TV, a long hot bath, Trader Joe's and spicy noodles. How's that for random?

fun in the sun

I'm looking for a four leaf clover...

My backyard = 99% weed / 1 % grass

I need a lawnmower and some weed 'n feed, this much I know. I just don't have the $ or time to take care of this situation. There are dandilions out back 18 inchs in diameter, clover, clover, crab grass, things I can't identify that are taller than Justin. Yikes!

LOL

After work and daycare pick up we met up with Jamie, Scott and Nicole at Gustav's for fondue, girl talk {with a little male perspective} and one or 7 mojitos. Then we headed to my house to look at wedding pictures, and that is when Scott drew my attention to the letters on my fridge...This was not intentional. I am not sure if Justin put these here, I actually think it was me and I can say with no doubt that it was 100% random. I do remember picking letters up off the floor at one point this week and slapping them on the fridge bottom, I obviously didn't look at where I was placing the letters. At least is wasn't a super offensive 4 letter word or something. This just cracks me up! Especially after the conversation/discussions we had at Gustav's. Ha ha ha!

And a funny footnote to today - picture this: Justin and I on one site of the resturant booth (Justin next to the wall) - Jamie and Scott and the other side - the waiter at the front of the table telling us all about the specials. Out of no where Justin waves his fist in my face "rock on" fashion and says "rock on mom!" Everyone sees, everyone laughs. I did not teach him this {I think he learned it at daycare) - but it was oh so random and oh so silly!

bye bye for now, hopefully forever

The for sale sign has been gone for a week now. In fact my sister was the first to notice its absence last Wednesday when we pulled into the driveway. All that remains is a deep square hole in the middle of the front yard and the burning uncertainty of exactly what will happen.

...and on an unrelated note...
RIP Michael Jackson

ball shirt

Justin's current clothing obsession is his "ball shirt" - he has worn this one a few days in a row.

making a puddle

Justin had to make a puddle in the street tonight, after making the puddle he jumped in it, but it wasn't big enough - so he had to add more water. He cracks me up.

Guilty Pleasure

Me, kicking back watching The Bachelorette. {sigh} Where are my 25 handsome eligible bachelors? It is almost painful watching this show, but I can't pull away. I am jealous.

a bonus

A bonus pic compliments of Jason's cell phone. Justin spent the day with Daddy and rode on the Oregon City trolley. I think the cheesy grin says it all.

Dueling hair straighteners

And no Justin is not using a 400 degree straightening iron - his was "plugged in" to the drawer not the outlet.

Festival of Balloons

Today I took Amanda and Justin to the Tigard Festival of Balloons. Justin was scared of the loud burners on the balloons and was afraid they were going to fall on us, but I think he really enjoyed seeing the balloons up close. The day started out with a haircut for me and I actually spent most of the day in a crappy mood. It was one of those days where I was impatient and frustrated with myself, but it ended well.

Cocktails at 5

After a late morning, Justin went to daycare and Amanda and I went for pedi's followed by dinner at Typhoon {Thai, yum!} and then we headed to the mother ship {aka: the spa} for facials and relaxation. It was a well deserved day of pampering no doubt about it!

And let me just say how cool and surreal it was to have this delish mango dacqari with Amanda {in the bar}, isn't she still like seven?

Congratulations to Jamie and Scott

Tuxedo clad Jimmy playing with a stick while his parents get married in the background.

And on a day like today just one picture will not suffice...

Kelly, Jamie, Rachel, Me

The fruits of my labor!

Chocolate Stout Cupcakes double dipped in Ganache and topped with Bailey's Irish Cream Buttercream!

Girl Power!

Today with the help of Amanda I made:
84 wedding cupcakes
1 sugar free birthday cake
1 two tiered wedding cake
100+ chocolate dipped strawberries
50 wedding programs

Today Amanda made:
2 batches of strawberry freezer jam

Today Rachel made (with a little help from me):
Jamie's bridal bouquet
5 boutonnieres

Today my kitchen and dining rooms were turned upside down.

All the projects were complete by mid-night and then to wind down Rachel and I sat outside sipping Irish Cream and partaking in some serious girl talk. Tomorrow is going to be a long day.

Busy

Today I had a very busy day at work, since I was going to be missing a large part of the week due to wedding prep and such, I crammed a lot into my two days at the office. But I would rather be busy and have the time spent here speed by than the alternative.

tough day

Today the day I have been waiting for/wanting to avoid came. Someone wanted my house and put in an offer. Without knowing what was going to happen with my loan modify I didn't have the information available to make an educated decision and therefor declined the offer {which sucked anyway}. On top of that some other shit hit the fan and I wanted nothing more than to hide and cry.

all mine

Parental Advisory

Most of the pictures taken tonight were inappropriate and or scandelous. But here are Nicole, Jamie (the bride to be!) and Rachel. Today and into the evening we had a great time! We spent some time making pompoms for the wedding decor, had a lot of girl talk, lots of drinks, hot dogs for dinner, naughty cupcakes - topped off by a Pure Romance party. Good times - Good Times!

I have no idea what to do....

As a child I probably had a Friday night Happy Meal nearly every Friday. My dad would pick my brother and I up for the weekend and we would head to dinner, which was frequently at the Golden Arches.

Tonight I had some errands to run so a dinner out made the most sense. We hit up Mikey Dees for some Happy Meals. Then we went to the craft store and I got a text message that could have a serious impact on things to come... the Realtor said we have an offer on the house. My first thought: I am NOT moving! I have no idea if the offer makes sense, bust should learn more soon. I have NO idea what to do and I am trying really hard to pretend it isn't happening. I need to some number crunching and make a few decisions. Some divine guidance would be nice right about now.

What do these 3 things have in common?

A.) They are condiments.
B.) They all made it into the same sandwich
C.) They all don't belong together on the same sandwich
D.) All of the above

Justin wanted to make his own dinner tonight and this is what he pulled out the fridge and started smearing on bread. *gag* I offered meat, I offered cheese, I offered peanut butter... all were a no go. I did manage to get him to just put the jelly on one piece of bread and make that a sandwich and then have just the mustard and ketchup on the other - and he was okay with that. Boggles the mind I tell ya!

Photo block

It was the end of the day and I had no picture and I had no inspiration for a picture, so another evening bathroom shot it is. And that is really all I have to say about that...