Bakin' for a livin'

If you remember about a year ago, I was making cakes for baby showers and birthdays like it was my job, then I got a job and really haven't had the time since!  Well this last weekend, we had a friend ask if I could make a cake for her daughter's 5th B-day.  So of course I jumped at the opportunity!  Abby's parents got her a minature dauschund for her B-Day named Copper.  Similar to this little guy...

So Thursday night I started baking and before you knew it I had a cake that started to resemble a dog...

Or a Platypus... with a mow-hawk??

I got tired of washing my hands to take a picture after each step

Miss Abby with her 'Copper Cake'

Showing how old she will be. 

Turns out Copper is boy - but Miss Abby LOVES pink, so the pink collar was a hit!

Yardwork - or something like that...

Our sweet neighbor lady rents an aerator every year for one full day and lets anyone in the neighborhood use it for free.  She said this is her gift to the neighborhood.  So last year the week we bought the house was the week she rented it and that is how we met Jane.  I got the pleasure of handling that beast last year since the Husband was steadily working on the fence with his dad.  So this year I was hoping he could do it, but no such luck - hubs had to work the 'Chain Gang' at the football game.  (I'm not really sure if that is the official title for the guys who keep track of the first down with flag things connected by the chains or if that is just what the husband calls it!)  Anywho, that left me to get it done on Friday night.  So at 6:30 I headed out to mow and aerate the yard - great arm workout by the way!  I decided to knock down the mower since we won't be able to mow for a few weeks, then realized I should probably bag it - no problem.  It's a new mower and things work a little differently than our last one but how hard can it be??  I hook on the bag no issues then get started, the first few sweeps no issues, then I started noticing grass flying up - that's odd.  I keep going since I just started the bag can't be full.  It gets worse, after about half the lawn I realize my 'white' shirt is now a pastel green.  I stop empty the bag and mess with it for a little while and nothing looks wrong, so I try it again.  Same thing!  I was quickly running out of daylight so I put some sunglasses on and just went with it.  At one point I'm pretty sure it looked like I was in a grass storm with the amount of grass being spewed at me.  Oh well, it got done!  
Next was the aerator.  This bad boy is extremely heavy and wonky - our yard isn't very level to begin with, but man I do NOT remember it being this bad last year!!  At one point I got to the curb and apparently I held the gas a little too long as the whole machine lurched forward as it hit the cement.  I was holding on for dear life thinking please don't fall, please don't fall, please don't fall I can't afford to buy you!!!  So what did it do? It toppled over on its side... all the while a couple was walking across the street just staring - Not offering to help or anything - just watching me struggle.  It's cool, I got it.  So I straighten it back out and then I see this big brick piece of metal on the ground - at this point I'm just angry thinking Oh great, I not only look like an idiot, I look like an idiot and I am the proud new owner of a an aerator.  Awesome - what I've always wanted.  So I attempt to pick up said metal brick and quickly realize this thing weighs close to 50 lbs.  So lets tack on wimpy to that idiot who owns the aerator.  So I reset and chuck it on the top of the machine so I can take it to the garage to take a better look at it - keep in mind it is dusk now, so I really can't see much at this point.  Unfortunately for me, we have a STEEP driveway - yeah you know where this is going...  So I know it's going to be heavy d/t the weight of that stupid brick, thus I give it a pretty good push trying to get it up the drive - it doesn't budge.  So then I really give it my all and I get it over the lip of the curb then I'm stopped dead in my tracks.  So I keep pushing trying to get at different angles to get my best leverage and I'm really not getting anywhere.  Meanwhile that couple that was walking - REALLY slow - keep looking back at me to see if I get anywhere.  Still haven't asked if I need any help - finally I waved and said HI - well that gave them a little hop their step as they turned away and speed walked away.  I'm pretty sure at one point I was nearly horizontal to the driveway as cars slowed to watch if  I would make it.  Well good news neighbors - I made it!  Turns out that metal brick thing was just a weight to make sure the machine punctures the ground and it just slides in the front all nice and neat - yeah I didn't need to push it all the way back to the garage GREAT.  So I got back to it as I was quickly loosing daylight.  I finished the rest of the front yard without too many issues.
The next moring the Husband did got up early to finish the backyard.  I was laying in bed and it sounded like someone kept reving the engine on something.  So I peek out the window and see the Husband with a look of dismay on his face as he is practically sprinting behind the aerator.  So I grab some shoes and head out to see if he wants some pointers ;)  First thing he says is this thing is really hard to turn and it goes really fast!  I chuckle to myself thinking of last nights events.  I then gave him a quick run down - he was leaving the tines (part of machine making holes) down each time he tried to turn  - aka Impossible to turn.  Don't worry folks he was a little embarrassed when I had to tell him how to work it, but at that point in time he had no knowledge of Friday nights events :)  Now he does.  
Needless to say after Friday night I was done with weekend yardwork!  The Husband and a friend however rented a Verta-Cutter for the lawn also.  This machine cuts lines in the yard kinda like plowing fields.  We had a huge HUGE section of the backyard that was gross buffalo grass so he killed all that and 'plowed the fields' to get it ready for seeding.  

(Don't worry - that last one isn't B's poo - it's the result of the aerator!)

I spent Saturday sewing!  I've been trying to get these done for a week or two now, I just keep getting side tracked or else my machine wasn't working.  Now we just need some pumpkins and we are ready for Halloween.

I also checked out the progress of the Garden.  I have to say we've been neglectant gardener's lately!  However we still have some decent yield.  Tomatoes are still very VERY green :(  Everything else though is doing alright!

Two things I DON'T recommend

Holes dug by Miss B...

Letting your broccoli flower... who knew!

Catch Up

So I've been a little behind on my blogging lately... my bad.  Work has been pretty busy and school is in full swing for the Husband!  I think the beginning of the school year is on of my least fav times due to the craziness it entails.  Anyways - I've been slowly SLOWLY changing over our living room color scheme to greens/turquoise and aquas.  Sounds very bright, but I'm trying to do it just with accents vs an aqua couch - that might be a little much!  I picked up this great new rug to go over my fireplace accident last winter - (we don't have the fire place tool set so I was turning a log with a stick and definitely filliped it out on the carpet.  It didn't really register exactly what just happened until the Husband ran over and grabbed the sticks to flip the flaming log back into the fireplace - Oops!)  

Well apparently the Mini Horse didn't really like it as this is what we came home to several times...

Then she really did a number on it by ripping up the corners - this makes for a VERY unhappy momma!

Don't worry - I'm resourceful!  I saved all the pieces she ripped off and fixed it with a little hot glue - good as new and the Mini Horse respects the rug now.

 She even lays on it since she figured out it's pretty cushy!

Last weekend, my Aunt Cindy & Uncle Kent came to visit from Colorado.  We got to go to dinner with my other Aunt Carol & two of her kids - Ryan & MaryAnn.  We went to Jack Stack-Freight House.  I'm not a huge BBQ fan - in fact I would rather not eat it - but I must say this was really good!  I got the smashed chicken and had dinner and two lunches out of it!  After dinner we went to Ryan's house in KC to play Farkle.  Have you heard of it??  VERY FUN!  It's a dice game and I couldn't begin to tell you the rules right now, but it was a lot of fun!  Here are some action shots...

This is a really good roll!  That's 800 points... I think!

Then on Sunday the Husband's FBLA group at school put on a mud volleyball game.  It was a little chilly out, so I came later with Sonic drinks.  The Husband was the official and apparently a pretty strict one.  If the kids walked toward him as though to hug him or get mud on him he screamed, "You touch me, I get to kick you and I get to pick where!"  Needless to say he was fairly clean afterwards!  Here he is in action...

 The 2011 Mud Volleyball Champions

Lastly, I've kind of neglected the garden lately.  I have to say that is partially due to the LACK of yield we have had.  Cherry tomatoes are great, but that is ALL that we've had ALL SUMMER LONG!  Today I was able to pick one Roma Tomato (left), one 'Big Beefy Boy' Tomato (center) and several cherry tomatoes.  Here is a picture for comparison...

Oh you see nothing wrong with this picture??  Well here is a size comparison - the Roma tomato is about right, the 'Big Beefy Boy' however is SMALLER than the Roma and this is the 'biggest' Beefy Boy we've had all year!  I'm hoping it was just due to all the heat and that we will have tomatoes coming out of our ears in the next few weeks but I am definitely a little discouraged!  I guess we'll just have to wait and see!

Introducing Miss McKinley

One of my best friends from Chiro school just had her baby!!!!  Miss McKinley was born on Sept 2nd and she is the SWEETEST LITTLE THING!  The husband and I got to go visit her on her when she was 5 days old!  Momma and Daddy are doing great and the puppies seem to be adjusting well.  Apparently I was pre-occupied with Miss McKinley as I ONLY have pictures of her from our visit!  Here are a few of my favs...

 

 Remember that fancy sewing machine I bought so I could make some pillows?  Well I still haven't made any pillows, BUT Miss McKinley got some new threads - (I think that's the right slang for clothes :).

Got this idea online - just cut the legs and toes off some tights and sew together and attach your favorite flower!  Vwala!

Again I found this idea online - it's one of those Tag Toys - since ya know babies are always more interested in the tags and wrapping than the actual toys.

A skirt for Little Missy

This is probably my favorite so far!  The lighting is off and it's not quite finished in this picture.  I ended up adding a flower to the front which made it SUPER cute!  I'll post another pic when I get one from Momma T.  Can't wait to make something else for Miss Thang!

In other news, we've been very busy lately!  So bed time is one of our favorites!  The other night I was cleaning up my Quickbooks and came to bed to find this...  yes Miss B's head is ON my pillow and there was NO room for me!

She didn't even wake up while I took pictures!

Neither did he...

Labor Day Festivities

The fam got to come visit for Labor Day.  On Saturday I got up early and did a Sprint Class at the HS Track - boy was that a mistake!  I'm pretty sure I haven't sprinted since I was in HS - that's right 8 years ago!  I knew if I sat down after that there was no getting back up, so I made myself busy running errands, going to the Farmer's Market and cleaning.  I got the the FM about 5 min before closing time - BEST TIME TO GO!!  I decided to get some flowers and the lady just kept sending me back to the buckets to get more - she said they'd be going to the compost if they went home with her!  So for 5 bucks I got all of these!

I also ventured out to the antique store and got this awesome vase!  I'm pretty much in love with this vase and a couple other items I got - now I just have to find a place for them!

Once the fam got here, we started off with some time at Schlitterbahn's on Sunday afternoon.  Wow was it cold!  Last time we went there it was freezing as well, thankfully the sun was out this time!  Had a blast though!  Afterwards we headed over to the Legends to watch 'The Help'.  SUCH A GOOD MOVIE!!!  I've been looking for something new to read, so I think I'll be reading The Help next!  Monday we headed out for breakfast at Milton's - BEST BREAKFAST EVER!!  Then we went to the Husband's school to visit Stanley the document reader.  Isn't he handsome ;)

 The husband is getting into video productions and this year they have a studio and a Tri-Caster.  Oh you don't know what that is?  I don't really either, but it has something to do with a green screen and it looks pretty cool.  Anyways this year is his experimentation year, so he put Jordan up against the make-shift green screen and showed us a little bit of what it could do...

 You can't really see the screen, but he made it look like Jordan was in a news room, at the fair, at the airport and many other places with the click of a button.  Pretty cool!

 Then we headed downtown to get some grub.  It was so nice out we decided to go 'full Lawrence' and have a picnic in the park!  It was gorgeous!  You can't tell these two are related can you ;)

 The boys discovered a new app for their phones called 'Geo Caching' - basically you look at the map and it tells you the coordinates of a 'treasure'.  Once you find it you can trade it out for something you have and then sign the log showing who you are and what time you were there.  That occupied them for a while and I got to play with my camera...

  Hope you all had a relaxing weekend!

Where did August go???

Not a lot of new news around here.  We've continued to check off items from out To Do Lists, so that's fun.  A few of those items include find a treadmill and hang our TV on the wall.  When we moved in, there was a wall mount in the basement.  We moved that upstairs and put our TV on the wall cost about 5 bucks, why didn't we do that a LONG time ago???  No clue!  It is so much better and now when Miss B walks in front of you you can still see the TV rather than trying to push her out of the way!
Last Sunday I found this bad Larry on Craigslist for $100!  So excited about that steal!

We went to the Farmer's Market last week and there was a new cupcake lady who had 'Pup-cakes'.  I'm kinda a sucker for any doggie gimmick like this, so of course Miss B got one!

She was trying so hard to get a lick in before I said she could have it:)

She couldn't quite lay down all the way - the treat might run away...

I tried to get a picture while she was eating it, but she thought I was trying to steal it so she ate the entire thing in ONE BITE - I don't even think she chewed it.

I was picking veggies later that day and spotted this guy - can you find him?

How about now?

When the Husband was trying to get him off the plant - that's right I wasn't about to touch that thing - he squirted some nasty juice out of his mouth ALL over me!  Eww.

Sorry bug lovers, but he had to 'go' - this is what he was doing to my veggies!

Well that was quite random..

Hope you all have a fabulous 3 day weekend!