We Have Puppies!

Penelope and Re-Pete are parents again!

We welcomed four little puppies into our home. The first one was born just before 5PM and the last was born just after 8PM. There are three females and one male.

This brings the total number of canines in our house up to seven.

My darling husband has already asked if we can keep the male.

He was joking.

I hope.

Race for the Cure

Saturday morning was the Race for the Cure 5K for the Susan G. Komen foundation. This was the 19th year for the race, which raises money for breast cancer research. The woman it is named for, Susan, actually lived not too far from here, which is why the race is an annual event.

My friend, Melissa, and I talked it over about a month ago and decided that we would participate. It's for a good cause and you get a free* t-shirt. We had so much fun! The news said that there were over 4,000 people registered to participate this year. I didn't see everyone, but there were certainly a lot of people around.

The race actually took place only a few blocks from my house, so Melissa and I were able to walk over rather than battle the parking disaster. Fortunately, the weather Saturday morning was a bit cooler than it had been. It was still in the 70's when the race started, rather than the 80's we'd been waking up to for the last week and a half.

While it was only in the 70's, it was still a bit humid. The race coordinators were well-prepared, though. Less than a mile into the race they had a large industrial fan with a hose mister hooked up to it. We definitely walked a bit slower through it. They also had tables with water three or four times throughout the race (note to self: next time, drink more water!), as well as a sprinkler and another misting fan.

5 kilometers is 3.11 miles. With the humidity and a couple of hills, we certainly felt all three miles. It was a good workout, though, and I would love to do more races in the future. We didn't see the time clock at the end, but think we finished in just over an hour.

I was a little sore when I woke up this morning, but felt good enough after work to take the dogs for a little walk around the neighborhood. If it doesn't heat up again too soon, maybe we can keep it up. I know the dogs enjoyed it!

*if you have to pay to participate, is it really free or are you actually buying your own?

I miss...

SNOW!!!

This would be a welcome sight right about now. It's so hot.

'I'll Be There...'

I've got to say, that man could dance.

R.I.P. Michael Jackson.

Cute for Less

Leading into this last weekend, I didn't have anything to wear to the wedding. I wanted to look nice since Michael was in the wedding and would be wearing a tuxedo. I went shopping a few times, but could never find anything I liked.

I take that back. There was a great Calvin Klein dress at Von Maur, but I couldn't see spending that much money on a dress.

Anyway, I resigned myself to looking awful and packed a dress that didn't make me look my best. I wasn't exactly looking forward to the weekend knowing I wasn't going to look as nice as I wanted to.

Before checking into our hotel on Friday, we made a stop at a large retailer. Not thinking about anything, I went browsing through the clothing section. After a few minutes, I hit the jackpot! I found an adorable dress on the racks. They had it in black and green. I am tired of wearing black all the time, so I went out on a limb and grabbed the green one and headed to the dressing room.

I was pleasantly surprised at how nice the dress looked on me. It went past my knees (I think my knees look funny), covered my farmer's tan, and covered up all the right areas.

Then I turned around.

Ugh, it didn't look as good from the back. I will be the first to admit that I have cellulite. Seeing that there were noticeable bumps, I seriously almost put the dress back on the rack. Then I remembered, hey, I'm a woman! They make a variety of magical underwear to help you look thinner and smoother and tucked away! So I grabbed my dress and headed over to the section of chunky gal miracle underwear.

The underwear worked it's magic and I looked really nice. With the bra I was wearing, I quickly realized that my undergarments cost more than the dress itself. Being a woman and looking good is expensive. And sometimes a little painful. The strapless bra I wore was the corset-type one that I wore on my wedding day. It held everything in. Of course, it was a bit tough to breathe at first, but I adapted.

Without further ado, here's the dress!

No, I did not wear flip-flops to a wedding! We were getting ready to leave when I realized that I didn't have any photos of me in my dress. I had already changed my shoes. Also, it poured down rain and was hot and humid, so the flat-ironing I did that morning before checking out of the hotel was ruined. Also, notice how my arms and face are nice and tan but my legs are ghostly white!

Here's what's really surprising. I bought this dress at Wal-Mart. I'm finding that they are starting to carry much cuter clothes these days. It's definitely refreshing. Here's a breakdown of cost for the outfit:

Dress: Wal-Mart, $15
Shoes: Payless, $20
Necklace/Earrings: Wal-Mart, $7
Spanx: Wal-Mart, $3
Bra: David's Bridal, $30

Ty & Jami

This weekend, Michael and I went on a road trip to Missouri for Ty and Jami's wedding. Ty was the best man in our wedding last year and Michael was his best man this year. We've had the chance to get to know Jami over the last six months and have come to love her as much as we love Ty.

The wedding was in the bride's hometown in north central Missouri. We had to stay 15 minutes away, though, because there were no hotels. We had fun exploring and going into different small-town stores.

The wedding was Saturday afternoon. In the morning, the sun was shining and it looked like a picture-perfect day for a wedding. It quickly clouded up and began raining around 2PM. Right before the wedding, though, the sun came out. Along with the sun came intense heat and humidity. Fortunately, the reception was also indoors.

Ty and Michael work for the same company (in different cities, though) and he lives just over an hour north of us. Jami is moving up here this week and hopefully we'll be able to get together very soon!

The bride was escorted down the aisle by her two sisters.

The Vows!

Lighting the Unity candle while a friend played the guitar.

The kiss!

They're married!

_______________________

**In case no one has noticed, I'm horrible at captions.

Happy Anniversary!

Happy first anniversary to my incredible husband!

It's been one year since we took our vows and I love you more and more each and every single day.

The Ceremony

Our first anniversary is coming up very soon. I haven't finished posting wedding photos, so I thought I would finish it up before the big day. We last left off with Michael's family pictures and now we're to the most important part of the day, the part that sealed the deal -- the ceremony!

From left to right: Michael's mother, step-mother, and my mother lighting candles before the ceremony.

My groom waiting patiently with his groomsmen.

The bridesmaids. This means it's time for me to arrive!

Yes, I cried walking down the aisle. However, I didn't cry nearly as much as I thought I would. I cried through the rehearsal and expected to do the same during the ceremony. I was too excited to do so, though. I can't remember if my dad cried walking me down the aisle. We wore matching shoes. They were awesome.

Here's my daddy giving me to Michael. I happen to think that I am a great gift. The giftwrap that day wasn't too bad, either!

Neither of us could stop smiling through the entire ceremony.

Next came the rings. My hands were so swollen the week leading up to the wedding. My rings wouldn't go on all the way and had to literally be forced onto my hand. Thankfully, the swelling was down the next day and my finger didn't fall off. :)

Michael had the exact opposite problem. His ring didn't need to be sized when we bought it. However, he'd been working for a month when we got married and had lost a little weight. His ring slipped right on.

As excited as I was, I was still a little nervous that day. When it was time to light the unity candle, for some reason I decided that, rather than pick the entire thing up (as Michael did), I needed to pull my taper candle out of the candleholder. I swear, this is my natural hair color!

You may now kiss the bride...

So we did it! We got married! Sixteen long months of planning. It was all worth it.

We even have the paperwork to prove it!

We left the church to bubbles. No rice here!

Here we are in the limo. As we drove to the reception site, I remember thinking about the scene from 'My Big Fat Greek Wedding' where Ian and Toula are going to their reception and she's surrounded by lace and fabric.

...and they lived happily, ever after!

Let's Try This Again...

Remember how I used to post about my weight-loss on Friday? I lost what, six, seven pounds? Then I stopped. There was no explanation, no mention of diet or exercise. It is safe to assume that I fell off the bandwagon. It happens. As proud as I was of myself for posting the scary number that is my weight, I apparently wasn't ready to actually do much about it.

So here we are again. I still had my chart hanging on the fridge and was sad to see only a few of the smiley faces colored in (that's what I do to show how much weight I've lost overall). This morning I weighed myself, ripped down my chart, and made a new one. I also made a new one for my incredible husband, who has been going to the gym in the evenings.

As for my weight, I have gained since I last posted. Miraculously, though, I didn't gain back all of the weight. This morning I was up to 208.6 lbs. That's a BMI of 30.8 -- obese. Yikes!

I don't have a plan yet. Do I spend the money to go to the gym? Weight Watchers? Do I try to do it myself and utilize the trail at the park a block from here? Any ideas? What's worked for you? I'd love to hear what you have to say!

What is this??

When you move into a new place, you always spend a bit of time learning about all of the little things that make it unique -- the squeaky step in the basement, lifting the doorknob as you lock it, and jiggling the toilet handle just so.

Playing in the yard, I've found a few interesting things, too. The plants, how to open the back gate, and how to reset the garage code. The other day, however, I found the most intriguing thing yet.

This.

What is that?

I found this between our garage and the fence. If it isn't clear from the photo, there is a piece of decorative wire fencing in the shape of a circle. It is on top of a patio block. What does this look like? Is it just me, or does this look like some sort of grave marker? Do you think there's an animal under there? Fortunately, this is back in a corner in a space that we will never use. I have zero interest in disturbing it in order to find out. I've seen Pet Sematary.

Does your home have any strange little quirks? Any hidden secrets? Bueller?

Graduation

Michael and I were in Missouri over Memorial Day for his step-brother's high school graduation. We were so happy to hear that it was only going to last an hour. When we graduated in '03 and '04, our ceremonies were two hours long. This year, they cut the scholarship portion out of the ceremony. There are only ever approximately 50 students per class, but listening to who got how much money for what school is incredibly boring. I'm excited they get part of their education paid for, but am really glad they have a banquet for it now.

Here's Chris walking into the gymnasium. Why does he look so somber? I remember wanting to skip to my chair because I was so excited to get my diploma. I'm impressed with the fact that this photo is decent.

Here he is getting his diploma from the president of the school board. I just want to point out that I was sitting at the back of the gym when I took this photo. My SLR is amazing.

Here's Chris after the ceremony ended. I'll let you in on a little secret: that folder is empty! The diplomas are in the office, but students can't get them until about a week after graduation when grades are turned in.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

Remember the cleaning schedule I posted? We've lived here for a month now and I finally started implementing it today! Go, me! After grocery shopping, I headed upstairs and scrubbed the bathroom, which is Monday's chore. It's so shiny and smells so nice now. Hopefully I can be disciplined enough to do tomorrow's chore in the morning, which is to clean the living room and dining room. If I keep it up, my house will look amazing by Friday! Won't that be nice?

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

Yesterday I got to see my great friend, Laura! We met in Saint Louis and went shopping. I was planning on getting to the mall at noon and Laura said she was going to get there around 11. Since I don't see her as often as we'd like, I decided to surprise her and got there early. We had a great time shopping. We ended up at Sephora, where I decided to try the concealer for Bare Minerals. I have an eyeliner that I really like and wanted to try the other stuff. I bought a kit that had tons of makeup and brushes in it. I'm excited to try it and see how well it works. She raves about it, so I'm positive.

After shopping, we ate lunch at a disgusting bar & grill in downtown Saint Louis. We ate on the patio where there was fresh air. In Illinois, you can't smoke in any business, but Missouri doesn't have the same laws. The food wasn't very good. Laura had some tortilla chips that were red and green. We were hoping they weren't leftover from Christmas!

After lunch, we went to the Fox. I love the Fox. It's so ornate. It looks like a shrine to the Persian Empire. Seriously. It's really nice, though. We were there to see RENT. This was actually the third time we were seeing it together. It's always so amazing. What was so great about this show was that Anthony Rapp and Adam Pascal, who played Mark and Roger not only in the original production, but in the movie version as well.

It was such a wonderful day! I am so glad that I was able to spend it with such a great friend!!

Mud Puppy

I do not know what it is about our puppy, Wally, but he has a knack for getting into trouble. He is seriously a naughty puppy. At least three hundred forty-seven times each day I can be heard shouting "wally!" "no!" and "don't be naughty!" at our seven month old pooch. He is poorly socialized and mischievous, the latter of which is not directly our fault.

When we were in Missouri over Memorial Day weekend, we had a weenie roast at my folks' house. It had recently rained, so the alley next to their property had several puddles. Being the crazy little canine he is, Wally took off after a bird that was bathing in the water. Not watching where he was going, young Wally McWallerson went straight into the water.

At first he was surprised to discover he'd gotten his toes wet. He quickly got over this and began running through the puddle. Since he was already muddy, we let him run to his heart's content.

Afterward, we surveyed the damage. At first, he didn't look too muddy...

...and then we turned him to the side.

Lacy (my parents' dog and one of my favorite 'sisters') stood nearby the entire time, watching the terrible tooter (Wally is gassy) make a mess. At this point she looked at me as though to say, 'See? I'm a gooooood girl. I only have a little mud on my snout.'

We then called for a bucket and some water. Wally received a much needed dunk and scrub-down in order to remove the sand and mud that coated his paws.

Yardwork!

Our house was put on the market in August 2008. It's been at least that long, if not longer, since any maintenance was done on anything but the grass. In front of the porch there are several evergreen shrubs, including two that go almost as high as the porch roof. On the north side of the house we have what may be the world's oldest (and possibly prettiest) hydrangea. I'll post photos in a week when it finally blooms. There's also a bleeding heart and a couple of hostas. The south side of the house has tons of day lilies (no idea what color yet), two bridal wreath spirea bushes (photo below, but not from my house), and two rose bushes. It's a wild smattering of foliage.

So this evening I went outside to work on the spirea. I got out my hedge clippers and was just going to trim it. It was so overgrown that it was billowing out into the driveway, which meant it was scraping against the sides of our cars when we drove by. Not cool. I got a little carried away and totally butchered them (it kind of reminded me of the time that Michael foolishly allowed me to cut his hair). I decided to get my shovel out and try to get them out of the ground.

Within ten minutes, I had the first shrub out of the ground. I felt empowered. I mean, after tackling the dining room floors, there's really nothing I can't handle. I quickly came inside to tell Michael. Remember Tim the Tool Man Taylor from Home Improvement? That's the sound I made when I came in the door. I had that chest-thumping pride coursing through my veins. I battled Mother Nature with a shovel and a cheap pair of gloves and I won. The second one took a while longer, but by that time I was getting tired.

Now I have a huge gap on the side of my house. Maybe tomorrow I can get a couple more shrubs pulled out. That'd be great. When we get them all out, we're planning on putting in Burning Bushes. They're green in the spring and summer but then turn red in the fall. How pretty would that be? I love fall colors!

Tasty Tuesday: Oatmeal Sandwich Cookies

It's Tasty Tuesday! I didn't set out to make anything today, but I found a recipe and just happened to have all of the ingredients, so I decided to give it a shot. It's a recipe I found last year in a magazine. I actually tried to make a very similar recipe a couple of months ago, but something was missing from the recipe and my cookies turned out poorly.

Not this time, though. No, sirree! These turned out great. This recipe is an homage to one of my favorite snack cakes. You must try these cookies. Now. Not tomorrow morning, not next Thursday. Now. Go to the store. You won't be disappointed.

Oatmeal Sandwich Cookies

Cookie:
3/4 cup shortening
1 cup sugar
1 cup packed brown sugar
1 egg
1/4 cup water
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 1/2 cup self-rising flour
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp ground cinnamon
3 cups oatmeal
3/4 cup raisins (optional)

Filling:
1/2 cup butter, softened
1/2 cup shortening
3 3/4 cup powdered sugar
2 Tbsp milk
1 tsp vanilla extract

Directions:
In a bowl, cream shortening and sugars until light and fluffy. Beat in egg, water, and vanilla. Combine flour, baking soda, and cinnamon, then gradually add to creamed mixture and mix well. Stir in oatmeal and raisins.

Drop onto greased cookie sheet. Flatten slightly. Bake at 325F for 13-14 minutes.

In a bowl, combine filling ingredients, beat until smooth. Spread the bottom of half the cookies, top with remaining cookies.

Yields: 3 dozen

Yummy!

I'm Conflicted

I love meat. I love my bbq. I love my summer grilling. But I'm not sure how I feel about McDonald's after seeing this video. Warning, this video may be a bit graphic for some.

McCruelty: I'm Hatin' It--Learn More.