Den Makeover

Last Saturday Chad started tearing up the carpet in our front room (what we call our den) while I was sitting in there watching the olympics...and we wonder where our son gets his impulsiveness from.  So since the carpet was out, we decided we might as well get the painting in there done.  Yesterday, Chad and I finished the ceiling and today I am going to finish the walls (I lose his assistance to work, stupid job messing with my plans).  I can't wait to see the finished product!

Summer Break Cooking

If you know me well, you know that I LOVE to cook, not only eat. Haha!  Well since I have been working at the school and get a summer break, I like to take advantage of the extra free time I have and try out new recipes.  The first one I tried this week was Italian Stuffed Beef by Fabio Viviani, courtesy of his webshow Chow Ciao! on Yahoo.com.

Before Cooking

Ready to serve!

I served it with a side of spaghetti and garlic bread.

It was cheap and very yummy!!!  Click here to watch the video and try it for yourself.

Creative Gift Giving

Zak and Lauren have been dating for over a year and this is the second time they have dated.  They are very cute together and seem to be a great match, they both even wear mismatched socks!

They have always shared a knack for creative gift giving...whether it's how the package is wrapped (hockey tape and duct tape have both been used) or the actual gift.  A couple of their best have happened recently.

For their one year anniversary Zak got her a Pandora charm and placed it around a large stuffed dog's neck like a charm on a collar.  She made him a graffiti picture featuring their names and the date they started dating and filled in with words from songs.

For Valentine's Day Zak got her a Pandora charm again but this time he put it in an empty spot in a box of chocolates.  She almost threw out the charm, though, because the silly boy didn't make sure she noticed that the tissue paper contained the charm!

She gave him a completely dog themed gift...a stuffed dog that says "sweet nothings", a dog chocolate pop, and this card:

I can't wait to see the next gifts!

New Furniture

One of our 4-year-old Lazyboy recliner has a broken wing...the left armrest panel has come loose. I contacted and sure enough the part is fully covered under warranty, however the labor is $90.10 per hour and they estimate it will take 2 to 3 hours for repair. So, up to $270 to repair a chair we paid $420 for on sale.

So, long story short, we decided to get new furniture. In the process, we're going to repurpose the "den" into a "family room" with the furniture we're replacing.

Yesterday, we picked out the new furniture for the living room. It will be delivered on the 27th.

Then we will have 2 TV viewing rooms in the house and enough seating to maybe entertain every now and then!

ADD or no ADD

Chad, Zak, and I always tease that I have Adult Attention Deficit Disorder.  The jokes include: shiny things distract me, forgetting where I was going on my way there, not being able to find items I'm holding in my hands.  So the other day I started thinking, "I wonder if I do have ADD," and took a close look at the things I do in a day:

While I am getting ready for the day I am watching a TV show on my iPad.

While I'm driving to work, or anywhere when I'm alone in the car for that matter, I listen to an audiobook.

I take my iPad with me everywhere I go so I always have my Nookbooks to read whenever I have to wait or have an unentertaining moment.

I crochet while I am watching TV to keep my hands busy.

I scrapbook.

I blog.

I post on Facebook.

I post on Google +.

I tweet.

At any given time, I have no less than five projects in progress.

So, what are your thoughts...do you think I have adult ADD?  HAHA!!!

Zak's 15th Birthday

Zak turned 15 on January 13th...my little boy is definitely a young man now.



We had a very busy night on Zak's birthday but it was a very fun night!  I picked up Lauren, his girlfriend, on my way home from work.  I got a text from Chad on my way...hurry up, he's chomping at the bit to open gifts. I had stacked them up on the kitchen table before I left for work.

As soon as Lauren and I walked through the door he started tearing into them.

Among several other things, we got Zak snowboarding apparel.  Unfortunately, we haven't had any snow for him to go out and give it a try, yet.

 I think his favorite gift was the one from Lauren's parents...2 huge boxes of Skittles!

After gifts, we had cake.  Zak is not a traditional cake lover so I got him a cheesecake sampler.

Then we met the Millers for dinner at PF Chang's.

And Zak and Lauren shared dessert on the house!

After dinner we then had to speed off to his PJPII game and he scored a birthday goal!

The Mystery of the Lost Retainers

Who knew that these two little pieces of plastic and metal could cause so much drama?

Last Thursday night our house went into an uproar at 10pm.  Let me give some background first: every night I remind Zak before I go to bed to "brush your teeth, put in your retainers, take out your contacts, wash your face, and use your acne cream."  Zak's common response is "I know" or "Okay" as if he has never forgotten any of these things.

So, last Wednesday I did my usual reminder, got the usual response, and asked him, "I don't remember the last time I saw you wear your retainers, do you." "Just a couple days ago, Mom."  Well, then Thursday night I went to bed early so Chad did the nightly reminders and got from Zak, "I can't find my retainers."  Chad asked, "When was the last time you wore them."  "Last night."  "So you've you lost them since this morning, case and all?"  This whole time I am laying in bed listening to this thinking, "this is not going to turn out well."  As Chad and Zak are searching the typical places, the last time Zak remembers wearing them keeps getting bumped back further and further..."maybe a couple days ago," "maybe a couple weeks ago," "I honestly don't remember the last time."  After 30 minutes of Chad and Zak searching, I decided that maybe they just needed some female eyes to look so I got up and searched for 30 minutes.  NOTHING!!!

Finally, I thought maybe they were left at the Millers' the night he stayed over when Chad and I went to NYC, which was in October.  I texted her and we all went to bed.  Friday morning Tami texted me back and no, they had not seen them anywhere around their house.  The thought that the retainers just seemed to have disappeared into thin air was ridiculous, so finding them nagged at me all day and night Friday and again Saturday morning.  Everywhere I walked around the house, I was constantly on the lookout for the little black container.

Saturday morning while waking Zak for hockey, I once again was down on my knees looking under his bed, dresser, desk, nightstand...and all of a sudden I happened to notice that one of the power plugs pinned between his nightstand leg and the powerstrip had a latch on it.  OMG, I had found them.  I hollered, at the top of my lungs, at 7:00am, "I FOUND THEM!!!"

I Think the New Dog Bed is a Hit!

I recently removed Bella's pen from our bedroom leaving only one dog bed in there.  I had an old twin comforter that we had been using, but I just didn't like the unfinished look of it.  So Monday night while browsing Target with my BFF during hockey practice, I came across a faux fur throw that was clearanced out and decided I would stitch that around the comforter.  The result looks great!

 

After I took the pic of the finished product, I went and cleaned up the scraps and put away the tools.  When I turned back around, the bed was already in use!

Bella

A bit later after I had finished doing a couple other things around the kitchen, it was once again being given a test drive!

Abby

My Lucky Day

Last Christmas Chad and Zak got me my Pandora bracelet and my first 4 charms.  Since then, between my birthday, Mother's Day, our anniversary, and a few I've bought for myself, my bracelet has become almost full.  It is my most prized possession as each and every charm has a special meaning to me.

Christmas Eve I noticed that one of the 2 clips was missing.  I was really upset, the only saving grace being that it was one that I had purchased for myself so the sentimental value was not as high as most.

And then, this Thursday, as I was digging through my purse looking for a pen...there was the clip!!!

PHEW!!! Lucky me!

I am a Hockey Mom

Wash the jerseys

Find the shin guards

Sharpen the skates

Drive to practice

Freeze at the rink

Smell the gear

Wipe the tears

Give the hugs

Cheer the team

Feel the pride

Christine

So a while back I posted about the car swap Chad and I went through and how I was fortunate enough to inherit his Acura TL...a fun little sporty luxury car.  Well, since taking over "ownership" of the car, I have begun calling it Christine.  Remember the Stephen King novel about the car that fell in love with her owner and started killing all women that got in the car?

I swear this car has a vendetta against me...I am constantly hitting my head, pinching my fingers, or dropping and losing things in it.  Truly...she's Christine reincarnate!!!

I'm sorry...

With the crazy days prior to Christmas, which include Chad's birthday, and then being sick over the entire holiday break, I have not been keeping up with my posts.  I just want to let you know I haven't forgotten about it and I will be back at it tomorrow.