Portland or Bust

So excited to be planning our first (longer-than-4-night) vacation!

We were thinking about cities to visit... somewhere in the north... not far from the coast...

And then we stumbled across THIS video! As Daniel put it, "How could we NOT go?"

So excited. August cannot get here fast enough!

Wallpaper Removal Party

Doesn't sound like much of a party, huh? This was my recent attempt to help out sister who is doing the hard work of getting her house ready to put on the market.

Maybe because I lived with an ambitious party-planner in college (shout out, Jenn!), or maybe just because I needed an excuse to get some creative energy out... but anyways the "party" happened!

Turns out I had Strep throat this weekend. When I was up with a fever in the middle of the night, I got inspired. These are the wallpaper-removal-themed cards I made as labels for the party food:
(Daniel took these pictures)
The menu was admittedly a little girlie:

Olive-cucumber finger sandwiches (I called them Tea Sammies). Click link for recipe.
Lemon Cream Cheese Ball with Graham Crackers (Thanks again, All Recipes!)
Sausage Cheese Balls (Daniel's suggestion about having "normal food" turned out to be a good one)

And to drink:

Raspberry-Watermelon punch (took way longer than you'd think. I made it virgin)
Strawberry Limeade (again... straining takes a long time! Worth it for this one though, also virgin)
Sweetened and Unsweetened Tea


Thank you, Rubbermaid, for these awesome 1.1 gallon containers! Made my life so much easier.


All in all, the event was a success... even if not so much a "party" as a work day, with girlie food.


Thanks to some very gracious guests of the party, the house is now (almost--except for above the kitchen sink) completely wallpaper-free!

Home Improvement with Hand-Me-Downs

I am the happy recipient of a few items my sister got rid of, in a recent-onset frenzy of de-cluttering.

One of said items is a pair of cute white and black shelves. simple, but perfect for the kitchen!


Daniel helped me--or rather let me help him--put them up last weekend.


Wish I had taken a "before" picture, but doesn't it look nice, having all that stuff off of the kitchen island? I think it does. Bravo Daniel, and bravo Nickie!

Happy Independence Day!

Some good family friends hooked us up with some awesome Rangers tickets for the 4th of July. Although we didn't win the game, we had a great time, and the after-game fireworks show was the best we'd ever seen!

The Mullins family


The Moss family


My folks


The Woodward family (minus baby Elizabeth)


My mom with baby Elizabeth


Heidi and Dave


My sweetie!

Hope everybody had a great 4th of July!

Crash

I hate car accidents.

I haven't been in many. Today was my second one, and it was definitely my fault. Something about it makes me feel like a failure and a stereotypical female driver. I usually object so strongly to that stereotype, because I heard somewhere that insurance rates are higher for young males than females.

But the fact remains... today's accident was my fault.

Thank goodness for good insurance companies (thank you, USAA), gracious drivers, a close-by car rental place, and a really helpful, supportive husband.

I'm fine. Not sure about the car yet.

My Worst Fear--Realized

We've been having water bug* issues.

The other night, my worst fear** was realized.

I stepped on one.

Without shoes. Or socks.

It was still alive.

Screaming and jumping and rubbing of feet on the carpet then commenced.

Daniel took care of the demon bug.

And I dreamed of roaches that night.

BUT

The important thing: I survived. I even slept in the house that night. I'm a stronger person than I thought.

AND

Daniel has picked up Terminix's slack. While I'm bitter we're paying for their services and STILL finding roaches, I am also SO grateful for Daniel. He picked up lots of supplies from the store and seems to have greatly reduced the number of demon bugs getting into the house.

* "Water bugs," as it turns out, is a euphemism and a misnomer for "cockroach" or "demon bug"

**My worst fear is not really stepping on a cockroach without shoes or socks, but it's up there. A wise friend once said the internet is not to be trusted with one's bare soul, and so I'll keep my worst fear between myself and a few close friends.

Wildflowers in Richardson

I have to say that living in Richardson has more perks than I initially realized. There are so many opportunities for the community to get together and be involved--like having a "clean up the creek" day for those of us who live by Duck Creek. Or a ceremony called "The lighting of the Tree" at Christmas time--which takes place beside a little Santa-Land for all the kids. I just really like it here.

A new surprise bloomed about a month ago: there are BEAUTIFUL wild flowers that grow on the medians and on random street corners all over Richardson. This weekend we took a little trip over to the library to take advantage of the photo-op... and to enjoy the flowers :).