Cookie time!

Today I went to the Darling's house so that she could finish my veil for the wedding. Mom, an auntie, H and the kids came too. Turns out that the Darling's son came home for the weekend too, and he spent the day playing with the kids. One fun thing they did was to make cookies.

Here is Lil' H, hard at work frosting his cookie. Mom says the tongue comes from Dad's side of the family...everythinhg works right if you stick the tongue out!

Roo got a little too enthusiastic while frosting her cookies, and some frosting ended up on her elbow. But she sure had a good time!

Yep, looks like they all had a good time!

Bruiser is so cute

Wednesday night I was up late working on a project for work, and Bruiser and Hubby-to-be both fell asleep. Finally, HTB went to bed, but Bruiser wanted to stay in the living room with me. He was playing with his toys, when suddenly, out of the corner of my eye, I see a dark flash. I look in the living room, and Bruiser is in the laundry. Not only is he in the laundry, but he has snuggled inside a sweatshirt, then turned around and laid down, so that his body is inside the sweatshirt and only his head is sticking out. It was adorable. (Please excuse the other laundry on the floor!)

Day Out With Thomas

Last weekend we went to a Day Out With Thomas the Train, where you actually ride a train with an engine that looks like Thomas. Lil H of course had a blast, and I was thankful that this year we had an air-conditioned car! This weekend, it rained...last weekend, it was 105 degrees!

This is what Lil H looked like for most of the train ride (below)...he would have stayed like that all day if we'd have let him.

Random

I saw a keychain at Hallmark the other day that said "Everything I need in life I carry in a cute handbag." I thought it was very fitting. And my cute handbag happens to have pink and white polka dots inside!

Today I Want...

There are two things that I want today. The first is a watch that I love but probably won't get - after all, I do have a gorgeous Coach watch that I LOVE and that goes with everything. The second is a pen that I might really get...yes, a pen.

1) How beautiful is this Tortoise shell watch by Michael Kors? It's cool without being really trendy, and it would look so cute with so many things...

2) The Pulse Smart Pen by Livescribe - that's right, a smart pen! It's a computer in a pen, one that records voices as you write, and that can transcribe your notes right onto the computer! You can hit playback and listen to, say, part of a lecture that you missed. How cool is this? You have to watch the whole video at the Livescribe website - it is really, truly cool...

Adventures in Food

In honor of my brother, who recently found out he's allergic to nearly every food under the sun (including carrots - come on now, who's allergic to carrots??), I've been trying to eat one new food a week, if not more, and break out of my comfort zone. This week's food was pretty far out there - buckwheat pancakes! I'll post pictures of them soon (because they look a bit funky), but you know what? They're pretty tasty! They're more like a dry cake consistency than a pancake consistency, but I ate them with spray butter and Smucker's sugar-free syrup, and they were pretty good. And btw, Smucker's is the best sugar-free syrup that I've found...it tastes just like syrup, unlike some of those other sugar-free syrups, like Eggo. Ick.

7 Small Steps to a Healthy You

I read this article today on Weightwatchers.com, and it really made sense. So often in life, I fall victim to what they call the "END" - Everything Now Dilemma. I try to radically change every aspect of my life at once, and then three weeks later everything is worse. You can read the entire article here, but below I've listed the 7 small steps to a healthy you that they describe in the article:

Monday: Back to work or school. Resolve that all you will do differently today will be to make sure to eat two or more pieces of fresh fruit. Any time, any way.

Tuesday: Today you will set some goals. Plan where you would like to be by the end of the month, then the end of the year — both in your private and personal life. Write these goals in your diary or stick them where you'll see them.

Wednesday: Water day. Eat that fruit, keep your goals in mind and drink six or more glasses of water. Add variety with a squeeze of lemon or lime juice. Or sip on herbal tea if you prefer.

Thursday: Add in some exercise. Go for a (20 to 30 minute) walk. Walk in the park, around your neighborhood or head for the mall and do some fast-paced window shopping ... but don't forget the fruit, the water and to review your goals.

Friday: Fruit, walk, water, goals ... it's getting easier. So this is the day you give your diet a spring cleaning. Eliminate foods that are not helping you stay trim and healthy. You know what they are.

Saturday: Pay day. Well done! You're still drinking plenty of water, including fresh fruit in your diet, exercising, eating well and generally staying on track with your life. Spoil yourself with a special treat. Go on, you deserve it. Have some frozen yogurt for dessert, take in that new movie or plan a weekend away.

Sunday: Traditionally a day of rest. And you can rest, too, since relaxation is key to maintaining control over your new healthy regimen. Take time to lie in a hammock and gaze at the clouds. Put on a facial mask, take a long, luxurious bubble bath, read a book or play with your pet.
Now that wasn't so hard, was it? By the end of just one week you are happier, brighter, healthier and ready to keep going — because you know it takes just three weeks to create a habit. Except you will have created seven by then.

Thought for the Day

"Striving for excellence motivates you; striving for perfection is demoralizing."
- Harriet Braiker

I really wish some people in my work life would remember that. Do you think it'd be insubordination to hang that up at my desk...or make it a scrolling screensaver on my computer?

What a weekend!

My weekend went like this:

Friday I left work at 2:00 to go to E&H's so E and Hubby-to-be could take his truck to the transmission shop. HTB convinced me to bring Bruiser, who has not yet spent enough time with Gus to be buddies. Little H opened the sliding glass door, Gus came bounding in, Bruiser freaked out, and in the ruckus I slammed my head against the tile counter. Yep, it hurt. In fact, it still hurts.

Saturday was kick-back, which I needed. I spent the day at a yard sale, and although I didn't sell anything, I had a good time just relaxing and hanging out. Then, Saturday night was H's birthday party at Mom and Dad's.

Sunday was good - Mom and I spent the day making wedding invitations, and they look pretty darn cute! Even Dad helped out, putting the stamps on the response envelopes (which Hubby-to-be had addressed, thank you honey); pictures to come soon.

Sunday night, the suckiness started. I got halfway down Mom and Dad's driveway and a light came on on my dash. Having no idea what that particular light meant, I stopped and got my book out of my trunk. Apparently it's something to do with the emissions, and if it stays on it says "Continue driving at reduced power until you reach a service station." I was in freaking Placerville, how was I supposed to drive all the way home at reduced power?? So, back up the driveway I went. Long story short, I cleaned out my embarrassingly dirty car, took Mom's car home and Dad took my car to a shop today. I got home at 9:30 or so and stayed up until midnight doing work, ick.

Let's hope my car costs less than HTB's transmission. The shop just called him and told him how much the final cost was...let's just say ouch. It's dang near a whole month's salary!