Monday, May 30, 2011

Memorial Day weekend at the cabin

We had a great weekend up at Janeal (Chris's mom) and Brad's cabin. We headed up on Friday morning and got there around noon. They have a great place on Cedar Lake about 2 1/2 hours north of where we live. Here are some pics of "paradise" up north. They bought it last spring and have done so much in the past year to make it their own.

Kitchen into dining room

Dining room into kitchen (the table was on its way)

Beautiful fireplace and TV area

View of the patio and out to the lake

Stairs up to the loft and upstairs bedroom

View of loft and my husband pretending to shoot a deer (ironic since he doesn't hunt)

View of the lake

Where our bonfires are

view from down by the lake of the back of the cabin

Friday it was just us and Janeal. We hung out, went fishing for a little bit and pulled Kirby out of the lake. Yep, that's right, the little stinker either jumped in or fell in. Not really sure what happened, but luckily g'ma Janeal has quick reactions and pulled him out. While fishing, I reeled in a few crappies and a dog fish and Chris and Janeal caught some crappies and sunfish as well. We ended up throwing everything back since we don't know how to clean the fish and Brad wasn't coming until the next day. Then we went back to the cabin, had some dinner and relaxed for the remainder of the night. The dogs are in heaven when we go to the cabin. This is what they looked like after day 1.
Oscar passed out on a pile of pillows


Kirby snuggled up on my leg as I read

Saturday we slept in until about 8:30 which is late by my standards. Once we woke up, we did a little cleaning around the cabin, went out fishing for a little bit and waited for the rest of the troops to arrive. Brad arrived around noon and Josh, Whit, Claire and Max weren't far behind him. We ate some lunch and then Josh, Chris and I headed out for some fishing. We didn't have much luck. We caught a lot of small fish and had a few lines get snagged. Chris had Oscar kiss the small fish we caught. It was pretty cute.



After our unsuccessful venture in fishing, we headed in for dinner and a campfire. We had some yummy pork chops, salad, grilled veggies and bread. Soooo good! Then we had a campfire with smores and good company.

Sunday we slept in again (felt so good) and then woke up and worked around the cabin. The boys had to load the 2nd dock into the lake.  We just worked around the cabin and hung out until we had to leave at 1 to head back home so Chris could go to work. We had a great time up north and can't wait to go back in a few weeks when Rudy and Marcia are here!

I hope everyone else had a great weekend!


Wednesday, May 25, 2011

Girls Night Out...Only in Forest Lake

This past Saturday me and some friends headed up to Forest Lake for a Girls Night Out. It was a ton of fun! We all brought a little snack to munch on and some drinks. We headed out to a few bars and had a blast! We were lucky enough to have Jen's husband drop us off and pick us up - Thanks Jim!. Apparently there are only 2 taxis in Forest Lake and if you don't reserve one, you're walking! Here are some pics:
Check out the creeper in back...me and Megan practically peed our pants when we saw this pic!

Re-do...thanks bartender!

Jen and I opted for bombpop shots

Jen, Tara and Jen

These girls went with Jagerbombs (I call them gag bombs, seriously make me sick!)

Me and Megan

It was a really fun evening and luckily we weren't hung over the next morning so we could get home. If we would have left a few hours later, we probably would have been driving through tornadoes. I can't even imagine how scary that would be!

Thanks girls for the fun, drama free weekend!

Saturday, May 21, 2011

What to do when 2 deer and a turtle show up to your garage sale...

Well, the big weekend was finally here! We had our garage sale this weekend and despite the crappy weather, we did pretty well. Here are some pics of the sale:

view from the street - we had to invest in some flags - very effective!

The snapping turtle that snuck into the garage on Friday - I was pretty freaked out by it, just kept my distance

On Saturday morning these guys ran from across the street and into our yard! There were 3, but 1 hopped the fence across the street and got separated. I hope they had a meeting spot somewhere :(

I made chocolate chip cookie dough cupcakes to sell. They went pretty well. I sold 10 of the 12 I had for the sale.

Our goal was to make enough money to buy a flat screen TV for our bedroom. Mainly because we don't like how our bedroom is set-up right now and a flat screen would allow us to change the set-up. Well, luckily we made enough to cover it! We know some peeps that can score a discount at a local vendor so that helped us out too!

Thursday, May 19, 2011

Thankful Thursday


 




1. I am thankful to have tomorrow off of work! I have a ton of work to do at home (set up a garage sale, at least most everything is priced). I really hope we can unload some of our stuff on to happy buyers!

2. I am sooo thankful for the beautiful weather we are having right now. It's been 70s and sunny every day this week and it feels like paradise!

3. I am thankful that my hubby will have a little break from work this weekend. He has some days off which is much deserved by him. He will have to work the garage sale, but that's a lot less labor-intensive than his usual gig(s)!

4. I am thankful that my girlfriends and I are having a girls night this weekend! These ladies are a blast to be with and we have lots of fun together (no drama). It's in Forest Lake so we don't have to deal with outrageously expensive and packed downtown bars and clubs. I'm all for the small town gatherings!

5. I am thankful that next weekend is Memorial Day weekend. I can't wait to have another long weekend and spend some time with my hubby's family at the lake cabin.

6. And finally, I am thankful that in 3 weeks this adorable man will be flying up from Florida to spend a few weeks with us. He is my hubby's grandpa and is such an incredibly sweet guy. Him and hubby's aunt, Marcia, will be flying up to spend some time at the cabin and do lots of fishing and goofing around.

Rudy and Janeal (Chris's mom) doing some fishing at the lake


Tuesday, May 17, 2011

Dear afternoon toast burner...



Dear afternoon toast burner,
First off, I would like to congratulate you for actually being able to burn toast in our crappy office toaster. Whenever I use that thing it takes about 10 minutes to pop up and it's only half ways toasted. This actually works out well for me since I don't like crispy toast. It scratches the roof of my mouth and then I have dead skin all up in my mouth, yuck! Anyways, back to the point...why are you toasting bread at 3:30 in the afternoon and why can't you monitor said bread so it doesn't burn and stink up the office? This would be much appreciated, especially for those that sit near the kitchen area. K, thanks!

Oh, and if you could also pass this message along to the afternoon popcorn burner that would be great! Maybe you're the same person??



Your friendly co-worker,
Becky

Monday, May 16, 2011

Weekend Recap

Hello! I'm back from a refreshing weekend. Nothing too extravagant, but I did get to spend some time with my hubby this weekend and it was nice. Friday night started off kind of icky. I wasn't in the best of moods and just need some "me time". I don't think the fact that I almost got hit by another car on my way home really helped. It made me realize I just need to go home and stay home!

Saturday morning Chris and I went to a neighborhood in Savage to check out their huge association garage sale. I'm not much for garage sale-ing so I don't ponder in the place for too long. I had a couple of items I was looking for, but didn't score either of them. The first place we went to we got a dog kennel for Chris's dad who is bringing home a new pup in a week and a half - $10 and a leaf blower (for Chris's business and our yard) $40. I was a little nervous to keep going after we spent $50 at the first place, but we did and didn't end up with much else. It wasn't the best day for garage sales, rainy and chilly out. It didn't stop people from going, though. We had to get some tips of how to win people over since we're having a garage sale this weekend. We came up with -  streamer flags to lure the buyers in, food for sale (or free like some people), a variety of items (some people had like 5 things for sale) and a clean garage! The rest of the afternoon we worked on pricing our stuff and getting it together. We hit up a new place for lunch called Burger Jones - now open in Burnsville! It's a nice little place. We didn't have a burger, although the White Trash Burger was tempting! Maybe I'll go back when it's on special, Tuesday, I think. We had nachos - they were delish! I really wanted to get a malt or a shake, but I'm too cheap to spend $5 or $6 on it.

Sunday morning, I woke up early since Kirby was begging to go outside! After that, we took the dogs for a walk around the neighborhood to wear them out. We made a little trip to Home Depot and then Chris was off to go golfing. I was a houseworking machine while he was gone. I finished our garage sale pricing and organizing, planted flowers, did laundry, cleaned and dusted, did the dishes, cleaned our pantry (time to go shopping again), went to Target (saved $30 with my coupons and credit card discount), Michaels (saved $13.60 with coupon and bogo), and VonHansen's (saved $8), got dinner ready, and found a little time to soak up some sun - not much, though! When Chris got home we had dinner, watched a little TV and then off to sleep.

The weekends seem to go so fast! At least I have a 4 day week this week - YAY! I have Friday off to work the garage sale. I hope we sell lots of stuff mainly so I don't have it in my house anymore. A little extra cash will be nice too :)

Thursday, May 12, 2011

Time Killer or The Time I Killed my Computer

Well, since I showed up to work this morning and all of my computer settings are lost and I'm waiting for IT to contact me, I figured I should post something on here. Not only is my computer jacked up, but our phones are down which makes the likelihood of IT contacting me zero to none. I think I should get to go home and have a free day, but the boss didn't agree to that.

I wish I was going to the Taste of Lakeville tonight, but the hubby has to work (actually delivering food to the Taste of Lakeville for the restaurant we works at). It's in downtown Lakeville, MN and they have food from local vendors and tents with tables and tables of wine and beer to "taste" as many times as you want. It costs $30 and is a blast. There is live music playing and a silent auction. In the past, I have definitely gotten my $30 worth of food and alcohol. Hopefully next year we will be able to attend it.

In other news, I downloaded a new app last night on my iphone. It's pretty awesome! It's called Joggy Coach and it tracks the distance, time and pace of your run. And it's FREE! I went for a jog last night and put it to it's test. Every 5 minutes it interrupts your music and announces all of the info. One down side is that you can't have a playlist going, you have to go to your ipod and start the music. You can upgrade to the premium version and get the playlist feature. Not sure it's worth it, but I'll see.

I'm so happy Friday is almost here! Not much going on this weekend. A certain someone is having a birthday on Saturday and on Sunday I might be attending a bridal expo with my friend Sarah. She's getting married in September and still looking for ideas.

Hope everyone has a great day!

Monday, May 9, 2011

Cookie Flower Bouquet

As part of my Mother's Day present to my mom and mother-in-law, I made cookie flower bouquets. This was my first time making them and I think they turned out pretty great! If you are related to me or friends with me, you may receive one of these in the future...just a warning!
I made the cookie dough with that HUGE bag of sugar cookie mix in the back ($.79 at Costco a month ago, unbelievable!). Roll the dough out and cut with cookie cutter. Put a stick (found at Michael's) in the bottom and I had to patch the back with extra dough.


I made the cookie glaze by following a recipe I found in a clipping for coupons, added some food coloring and sprinkles. I found the center of the flowers at Target in the bulk candy section. Some sort of sugar coated lemon gummy candy.

I frosted the cookies, sprinkled them and pushed the candy in the middle. I had to let them sit out overnight for the frosting to dry. The next morning I used plastic wrap to wrap them up and used some ribbon I found at Michaels to tie little bows at the bottom. FYI, I really suck at tying little bows!

I got these cute little flower pots at Michaels and stuffed them with floral foam.

Here is the finished product! The green grass is some shredded paper that is used for a gift bag or basket.

By no means am I claiming to be good at this! I know some of you that may read this are awesome bakers, and I am at best a novice. Just having some fun in the kitchen!

We had a good weekend and enjoyed hanging out with our Mothers. Now back to the grind at work :(



Friday, May 6, 2011

My First Sunshines & Creeps

Happy Friday Everyone! I swear everyone is in such a great mood today since the sun is shining and we're supposed to hit 70 today! I'm playing along with Kristen today for Sunshines & Creeps

Sunshine to this amazing weather. I feel like a weight has been lifted and I am so ready for spring and summer to be here.

Creep to my boss bringing in donuts this morning. I guess that could be a sunshine, too. Nice and unexpected



I came back to my desk with this (yep only half, I am on a diet you know). Then I opened my drawer to get a napkin and found these left over from yesterday

Woops, I forgot about those! Really made me feel like my diet is not going so well right now :(

Sunshine to Mother's Day this weekend. Glad that I get to see my mom and my mother-in-law. They're both wonderful and I couldn't ask for better moms in my life.

Creep to the funeral we have to attend tomorrow. Our dear friends, Ben and Jen, lost their baby 2 months ago. She was 37 weeks along and the baby was stillborn. Still such a tender subject for everyone. They are amazing people. Please keep them in your prayers!

Sunshine to hanging out with my niece, nephew and mother-in-law tonight. Nana is babysitting so I'm coming over to help and to just play with the kids for a bit.
 Sunshine to my husband. He landed a big curbing (that's what he does, decorative concrete edging) job today and it's right in our neighborhood! The house is beautiful and their landscaping is immaculate. We jog by their house since it's on "our route" and every time we go by I always gawk at how much I love their place. So proud of him!

That's about all I have this week! I hope every one has a great weekend!

Thursday, May 5, 2011

Happy Cinco de Mayo

In honor of Cinco de Mayo, I'm posting pics from a night out to dinner on Tuesday. We went to Buffalo Wild Wings and enjoyed some wings and nachos. These aren't our favorite nachos, but still delicious!


I got chili and pico on my side


Chris "patiently" waiting for me to take a pic before he can devour the nachos
Oh, how we love our nachos. We also love Cinco de Mayo for a couple of reasons. It's an excuse to pig out on some delicious Mexican food and it's also the anniversary of us purchasing our first home together. Last year at this time we were signing our lives away for the next 30 years. Such a BIG step for us. Selling the townhouse and purchasing an amazing home to grow in. We spent last winter finishing our basement, which we are SO happy with. 

I hope everyone celebrates safely today! It's almost Friday, thank goodness!

Tuesday, May 3, 2011

My A-Z

Since I'm a new blogger, I thought this would be a fun way to introduce myself.

A. Age: 27 - I will always be younger than my husband, which he is constantly reminded of :)
 
B. Bed size: King

C. Chore you dislike: Folding and putting away laundry. cleaning the bathroom

D. Dogs: Yes, Oscar and Kirby - both Yorkies

E. Essential start to your day: Brushing my teeth

F. Favorite color: Not sure I have one, I go through phases. I really like aqua and teal right now

G. Gold or silver: Silver

H. Height: 5'6

I. Instruments you play(ed): When I was young, I played piano but never practiced so I quit going to lessons. Grade school through 10th grade I played the clarinet.

J. Job title: Premium Disbursements

K. Kids: None yet, just our fur babies.

L. Live: We live in house in Savage, MN - will be 1 year on Thursday

M. Mom’s name: Vicki

N. Nicknames: Bex

O. Overnight hospital stays: None

P. Pet peeves: When people leave the toilet cover up, sand/dirt on my feet in the house, repeating myself to my husband...probably a lot more to list but I don't want to sound like a freak

Q. Quote from a movie: Pretty much anything from Old School

R. Righty or lefty: Righty! Could practically chop the left one off, well not really!

S. Siblings: One older brother - Travis

T. Time you wake up: M-F 6/6:30 - Sat and Sun are questionable

U. Underwear: um...yes?

V. Vegetables you don’t like: Radishes, Tomatoes, not too many others

W. What makes you run late: Hitting snooze too many times. Picking out clothes. Packing my lunch, getting distracted

X. X-rays you’ve had: Teeth

Y. Yummy food you make: I'm pretty adventurous in the baking/cooking department. I like to experiment and try different things.

Z. Zoo animal favorites: Monkeys, hands down!

Monday, May 2, 2011

Weekend Recap

My weekend was pretty low key. I took Friday off from work just to have some "me time". I intended on getting a lot more done this weekend, but the crappy weather just made me feel sluggish :( Friday I did some cleaning around the house and ran some errands.

Saturday the hubs and I were lazy and just bummed around and watched movies. I made French toast for the first time with potatoes and bacon on the side. The French toast tasted pretty amazing. I made extra since the recipe I followed said you can freeze them and toast them later. I hope it works out :) Saturday evening I went to my sister-in-law's (Whitney & Josh) house for dinner. She made chicken lo mein. It was pretty delicious! I got to hang out with my niece Claire. She has been sick lately so it was so nice to have her back to her normal sweet self. Max, their son, was so smiley and precious. He got his first hair cut on Saturday and looks adorable. I came home and soon Chris joined me after work and we watched "The Mentalist" which is a favorite show of ours.

Sunday morning rolled in and Chris was working all day. I headed out to get the Sunday paper so I could do a little coupon clipping. I found a lot in there to buy, not sure if that's a good thing or not :) I did a little cleaning, laundry, read some of my book and made some chicken wings and potatoes for dinner.

Here are some pics from the weekend:

Finally some sunshine...at 7pm Sunday night. Seriously MN weather, shape up!

I did a little coupon clipping...trying to get in on the Extreme Couponing, but not really there yet!

Mom will you play with me and "the chippy?"


No, ok I'll play with Oscar instead


I hope this week goes by quickly and warms up a bit. I'm really tired of seeing flurries outside!