A little late, but as promised...

Here are the beginning pics of my little home project. I'm changing out a few light fixtures and thanks to a little discount place back home, I found 2 great ones for really good prices. One catch, the finishes didn't match and both were ugly (yep, liz and colleen, even the brown one was old and dusty looking. In fact that should have been the name of the finish... Old and Dusty... hehehe). So hence one of my weekend projects. I proceeded to buy every can of brown spray paint at Walmart and only on Sunday after church did I discover the color I really needed at Lowes. sheesh! So of course I'm sure my local police force have been put on alert because it either appeared that I was going to have a huffing party or that I was going to do some major "tagging" around town. ;-)






(Ummm, and just so no one thinks bad of our landscaping... remember I was outside spray painting, so our grass could possibly be green under the brown...possibly...)


Oh yeah... I also bought this bad-boy this weekend! It's my first MAJOR power tool. It's a miter saw so that I can finish up the crown moulding in the house (and whatever else I decide to cut up...)! Whooo-hooo. Now, I just have to get some goggles... ;-)


Oh and I'd like to introduce Cybil Banana-fana to everyone:


My best friend's mom gave me this plant and told me that she was INVINCIBLE (hence the name Cybil) and that there was no way I'd kill her. Lets hope not! She had been in their family long enough for Liz to use her little "leaves" as Barbie bananas (hence her last name Banana-fana). So she's got some longevity to her. I'm pretty sure I repotted her funny/wrong, but so far she's still green!

Happy Tuesday all!

Speaking Up and Sounding Off

Happy Friday! I'd like to take this time to get a few things off my chest and out my mind. Sounds like I'm on a rampage, but I promise I'm not!! hehehe I've just been up for a long time (the effects of drinking cups and cups of tea before bed and then not being able to even close my eyes til 3am).

1) Am I the only one who started bawling when Burke came to the bar and told Christina to come say bye to her best friend. Her person. I also cried when Denny and Izzy have that moment in the hospital hall, all I could say was "OH DEEENNNNNYYYY" thru a runny nose and drenched cheeks while KJ proceeded to claim me the "wussiest woman ever". hehehe

1a) Was anyone else bothered by Bonnie's bleeding out moments?!?!? Shonda almost lost me with that. I thought it was going to be a corny episode, but really, Denny saved the whole afterlife thing. In my opinion.

2) I Rachel Ray-ed it again last night with some Swedish meatballs and egg noodles. Took a pic, but left camera at home. It was awesome if I do say so myself.

3) I hate when pep just throw gum in the trash and don't wrap it in a tissue. Ewww, yuck, yuck, gross!

4) I've had several pep ask me how long I'm going to grow my hair out. Ummm, I'm not sure how to take that. hehehe
Are they trying to say I need to do something with it? I'm lazy, I live in FL and my hair is the cleanest and most conditioned it's been in... probably forever... Plus I really like looking like a wild child.

5) Doing some home improvement stuff this weekend. No...really. I'll post pics on Monday to prove it!

6) Gotta plan a highschool reunion. Gotta. Highschool class office roles should come with the 10 year requirement plan...

7) I have dreams of being organized. Seriously, that's what I've dreamed about the past couple of nights and it's also one of my big aspirations.

8) I'm loving this song. Can you tell I'm Grey's addicted? This is from last week's episode. (trying a new thing, posting a music clip... may not work. Song is called Bitter Song by Butterfly Boucher. Okay, music clip post didn't happen. Here's the link to the making of the video. Bitter Song

9) REFUSE to go to another Sat morn aerobics class b/c there are 2 military men who come (the rest are ladies) and scream "Yes Drill Sergeant, Give Us More. We Like The Pain" when all us ladies want to do is moan as we do our pushups. For the record the aerobics instructor's name is Mary, not Drill Sergeant and we do not want more, we want to kick you in your face and knock your teeth out so that you'll hush. (I've got a little violent streak that I can be strangely proud of, I admit)

10) I miss you peeps! Are you out there? Are you well?

Here's a few pics from last weekend where I got a chance to catch up with some of my best girlfriends. Great weekend, makes it hard to come back across that state line...

Happy Friday all!!!

Everyone needs

a good "Day of Love" shirt. I've always had one in past years, but this year I'm going to have to just color code it with some red or fuchsia since I seem to have "out grown" all of my past day-of-love shirts...

Some that I'm considering purchasing after the holiday (love a sale and at least one of these bad boys should be $5 or less):





The last one's my fav, but I've got to give myself options so not to be faced with a big ball of buying after the holiday disappointment.

Happy Tuesday!

Am I crazy?

When did 7:30 on a Saturday morning begin to qualify for "sleeping in"????
Am I an 80 year old woman or what?

So I was going to take pics to let you know what the r-n-j household looks like at 7:30 on a Sat morn, but of course EVERY single battery I own needs to be recharged. So I'm just going to describe (b/c I'm also procrastinating doing a little work, thus the Sat. morning post, which I never do).

We have the best sunlight that comes thru our bathroom window in the morn. It's one of those bubble glass windows (for privacy, and that's a wonderful thing, as you know I have issues with curtains... maybe we should bubble glass all of our windows.. hummm) and the light get's all distorted coming thru. Like a prism. Corny I know, but it's a nice thing to wake-up to and stumble upon as I try to tiptoe on our crunchy carpet (to not wake up kj) to wash my face.

Apparently I'm unsuccessful on tiptoeing b/c without fail, I come back in the bedroom to KJ laying in "suffication mode" which is sleeping with my pillow over his head, to indicate that I did indeed wake him and he's not ready to be woke. ;-) That's okay, I know he won't say a word b/c that's how we operate, as I have walked into a kitchen full of last nite's dirty dishes (b/c he cooked, and it was wonderful, but he is NOT a dish man...) and I won't say a word. He knows I'm noisy in the morns, I know that when he cooks, it's still my duty to clean the kitchen. All's fair in the r-n-k household.

I'm sitting in the messiest office, that I had hoped to paint and begin organizing, but alais, as I mentally lay out what I need to do today, I don't think that there will be time. sigh. Today would have probaby been a wonderful paint the office day.

So quicky here's what I'm thinking today will consist of.
1) Finishing up some freelance work. ( I was NOT getting back on this computer after pulling an all-nighter Thurs nite)
2) Catching an aerobics class (previously mentioned all nighter, put morning gym work out in the back of my mind yesterday, so I did indeed skip and if you read about the King Cake, then you know that was a no-no)
3) Maybe rididng my bike (Mom gave me her's at Cmas and it's been to chilly for a ride. Did you hear that folks "TOO CHILLY IN FL" Ha!
4) Cooking black-eyed peas for Black History program at church today. (I really wanted to do the one's out the bag, that you have to soak all night, but A) I've never done those and though it seems easy, I hate to mess it up. B) Daddy didn't call me back with how to do the soak all nite ones (b/c he is a black-eyed pea master) C) the real reason- I'm lazy and last nite all I could do was watch my dvr'ed Grey's episode and fall asleep.
5) Going to the Black History Program at church, in which I fully expect to be reciting a poem to a room of adults, b.c. even though this if for the kids, we're a small church and the one man with all the kids (4 or 5) isn't going to be able to make it, and that's our "youth group". hehehe KJ was thinking of not coming, but I guilt triped him telling him that he didn't have to support my poetry reading, I'd just perform for the other 5 adults that would probably be there. ;-) I'll let you know if it worked...

Anywho, guess that's about it. Gotta get some work done now b/c aerobics starts at 9:30 and my only FL semi-friend, Mary is teaching and although she does a great workout, she sometimes needs someone to help her catch the beat. In comes roz, who, although I'm about to fall out dead after 5 min and I dance like a little ole woman (says my dad) or an uncreative video hootchie (says someone who will remain nameless), I can ALWAYS find the beat to Salt and Pepper's "Push IT" and any other 90s tune that Mary chooses to try to kill us to.

Happy Saturday peps! Happy Saturday!

King Cake

Okay, does anyone else out there have to fight the urge to make multiple stops by the company kitchen to pinch a piece off of the King Cake?
If you're like me, you're clueless as to what a King Cake even is. I learned about this tasty morsel while working here in FL. I don't know if pep send us one because the company pres is from New Orleans, or if we're just not that far from New Orleans and Mobile, but I love that they feel we should participate in the sugary celebration.
Yep, it's one, of many, reasons that I don't take Friday morning off from going to the gym...
;-)

10 on Tuesday (late edition)

1) Is it wrong to feel like all of the elliptical machines in the gym are mine and that someone should immediately get off if they see me "stretching and staring at them" for an extended amount of time?

2) I saw a magazine article entitled "It's OKAY" and the 2 things that caught my eye were 1) It's okay to not have a fabulous time on vacation. Some vacations are just alright. hehehe I could relate to that one, but don't you always feel like people want to hear that it was absolutely wonderful?? 2)It's okay to be mad if someone names their kid the name you were "saving" for yours. I have a girlfriend whose sister-in-law did this and to this day, I still think it's a point of tension. Understandably...

3)I had a horrible dream where someone was chanting "It's been too long since you talked to him" and I immediately knew they meant my father. No worries, I called him on my way to work.

4) Been working late and working on freelance when I get home. I miss Kj time.

5) Tonight I'm scheduling Kj time. ;-) I hate to feel disconnected from him...

6) Been at my job a whole year, yesterday. I have a past track record of lovin' um and leavin' um right at the year mark. Different reasons, all I'm proud to say lead to better things.

7) I have a list of about 20 books that I'm scooping from my People magazine Book Picks. My goal is to read atleast a book a month.

8) Now I'm reading In Her Shoes, and ladies, let me tell you the book far surpasses the movie!

9) I'm my best at 4am. My mind is clear and I'm organized and creative. Too bad that once I hit a good groove it's time for me to go to the gym and stare at folks on my elliptical machine. ;-)

10) This weekend I think I'm painting a room. Ahhh yeah, the interior decor bug has locked it's teeth into me. Only thing that intimidates me are curtains (for which we have none). They're the one thing that I can never picture in my mind's eye how I want them to be... any creative suggestions???

Happy Wednesday all!!

I killed it....

yep, my poor little rosemary is dead. Death by black thumb. Seriously, the only plant alive in our home is one that I rescued from my former apt. neighbors trash pile. I don't know the formal name of it, but I'm calling it DC (for Destiny Child, the originators of the Survivor theme song). Really, unless Kj's watering that thing on the sly (which I doubt in that he takes a small sadistic piece of joy in watching my "black thumb" and "plant killer reputation" grow darker and darker), it's just determined not to leave this world. Fine by me. ;-) So this morning I bid my fine little rosemary Cmas center piece - beginning of inspirational "I'll start and herb garden" thoughts-not quite as resilant as I thought- little plant, farewell in a trash bag that just barely missed the garbage man this morn. So she lies in wait in our garage in the big green trash collector. Kind of ironic that it's the biggest green thing I own. ;-)

Have a wonderful weekend!

10 on Tueday (plus 1 = 11)

1. Organization is not my strong point. Whenever I get things straight in my mind, then I'm at work or church or somewhere where I can't begin to implement my newly thought out plan...

2. For lunch today, I had the best black bean burger. I just hate that it's at a restaurant where they deliver your food, so thus I must deliver a tip. $7 lunches can't keep happening (burger was only $5 but with tax and tip, up to $7)

3. We're having a spa day at work. Really glad I stuck it out... Now after spa day, I make no promises. hehehe just kidding (sort of)

4. This morning I found a rat's nest in the back of my head (the object to curly hair is not to comb it... also the downfall) and proceeded to define what that was to kj as I contemplated having him shave my head.

5. I'm horrible about getting things in the mail... those of you waiting for packages know this about me...

6. I give my People magazines to my neighbor when I finish reading them, but I can never remember to right down the "Book Picks" for future reference. Would it be wrong to march next door and ask to see the pages I had dog-eared?

7. We have 2 sets of neighbors. A) The one mentioned above who are nice and courteous (Them: um, do you mind if our dog runs across your yard. Us: No, of course not). and then B) The others not the least be concerned about neighbor etiquette (Um, we bought our son a set of golf clubs for Cmas, do you mind if he pars in your yard towards your house... - this conversation did not take place, but the action does.)

8. Pic to show that the above happens. I've taken the liberty of circling the ball in pink and showing it's distance from our window. sheesh!


9. I used to create forms all the time, at this very moment I'm avoiding and have been avoiding doing this very task at work for about 2 weeks now... shameful...

10. Are you the least bit surprised that my house does not have a formal Super Bowl Sunday plan? I am! I'm sure that I will be briefed on a plan later, but for now, my football engulfed luv is undecided on just how we're spending the blessed event. (insert eye-rolling)

11. Saw the best movie last night. Duma. Highly recommend, if you're into that Discovery, Animal Planet, Born Free kind of thing (yep, again, I know I'm a dork.)

Happy Tuesday all!

Gotta love a tag!

1. What did you do in 2006 that you've never done before? Got married. ;-)

2. Did anyone close to you give birth? Yep, Kendi had my precious baby S

3. Did anyone close to you die? A few great aunts, but they were older and I believe had lived full lives.

4. What countries did you visit? LOL none other than the US. On Jan 2nd we were in the Bahamas... guess that doesn't count

5. What would you like to have in 2007 that you lacked in 2006? A fully decorated house. I'm a firm believer in enjoying what you put into something and if I wait too long I may do all our painting and updating for someone else to buy...

6. What dates from 2006 will remain etched upon your memory and why? Um, nothing but the wedding readily pops in mind, but I don't want to sound like my life revolved around me getting married (life is wonderful b/c of so many things/people)... plus my memory is horrible at times and needs a little jogging. Feel free to jog if we had a date/memory and I didn't chime up here... ;-)

7. Did you suffer illness or injury? Just a little intolerance to lactose... sigh... this ole' body

8. Who's behavior merited celebration? All my girls (childhood, bham, out of state... so glad that you can calm the spaz in me), kj and my sister (yep brit, i'm proud of you, don't always understand you, but still proud to be your sister)

9. Who's behavior made you appalled and depressed? No one comes to mind. Guess that's a really good thing. Kj's really helped me to realize that people are people...

10. Where did most of your money go? Ummm, home stuff I think. Oh yes and gas (a 45min commute to and from is no joke)

11. What did you get really excited about? Buying a house. 2 people just aren't meant to live in a 1 bd/1 ba apartment peacefully

12. Compared to this time last year, are you, a) happier or sadder, b) thinner or heavier, c) richer or poorer? Happier (with some things, missing some others...), heavier (yep, that's all I'm going to say to that one), richer

13. What was your favorite TV show? Grey's Anatomy, Girlfriends, One Tree Hill, Lost (07 we're picking um right back up), Talk Soup (garbage tv I know, but I'm addicted to celebrity news... satisfies the curiousity in me...)

14. What was the best book you read? In 06? I really don't remember... hummm... Oh I know, Memoirs of a Geisha. Hate I read the book first. Made the movie horrible to me. Really should watch the movie, then read the book. That way you can enjoy both... That's what I'm going to do with Pursuit of Happiness, and what I'm currently doing with In Her Shoes. Books are the BEST! (yep, I'm a dork...)

15. Is there someone or something you missed this past year? My family & friends (a state line does make a difference)

16. What did you do on your birthday and how old were you? KJ was out of town so I worked and then treated myself to a sushi dinner. 26

17. What kept you sane? The Lord and good friends

18. What is one new thing you'd like to accomplish this year? Hummm, so many. sewing, completing some long overdue projects, and one lil one I'm keeping a secret

19. If you could do one thing this year and not get chastised by or for it, what would you do? By chasitised I'm taking that as reap no negative reprocussions, and I'd say quit my job, open a pottery store and freelance design fun projects. Love being my own boss and working my own timelines...

20. If you could meet one blogger in 2007, who would you want to meet? So many: Tasha, JJ, Elizabeth D., The Image is Found photographer family, Erin's little Pigbear, and I could always use some one on one with my girls Tricey and Colleen (my Colein).

Happy Thursday all!

Hey hey hey! It's 10 on Tuesday!

1) Had a wonderful weekend. Lots of Women vs Men competition (air hockey- this was woman vs woman and I kicked Liz's bootie, bowling - the men bearly inched into a win, cards- no details here, the wound is still too fresh)! Great times, great times.
Here's Liz and I doing our Cmas:


2) KJ surprised me with a stay here for our anniversary. Absolute Luxury!

3) Hosted a Brainstorming meeting at work this morn. (Went well if I do say so myself) Finally some responsibility!!!!!

4) Last night my husband's bball team stomped their competition 72-41. (The really impressive part is that there were only 5 of them which means a whole game with no substitutions. Talk about tired)

5) I'm about to burst with hunger (is that possible) but I'm determined to get this posted before I do lunch.

6) Went to Books A Million last night and remembered how intoxicating the smell of new books is. I'm pretty sure it's laced with something to make you WANT to run up and down the aisles like a banshee grabbing every wonderfully designed cover. or is that just me?

7) This game was on sale ($20) at BAM and I want it sooo bad. It's definitely a girl game, or atleast a game that I envision being best when played with my equally food-obsessed girlfriends. Yep, headed back over to get it this weekend...

8) Mental note: Move girlfriends across the state line so growing board game stack does not become lost under dust (from no use, not bad housekeeping, hehehe). Any takers???

9) A coworker went to the Dr and brought us all back one of these. I'm constantly amazed at the food combinations that make my mouth water, just from the sound alone...


10) Melon wrapped in prosciutto sounds so nasty to me, but I love the ham and pineapple combo on a pizza. Weird? I think not! Oh yeah, so does sugar free tofu jello!!!! (Notice it kind of cut off at the bottom of the pink circle. YUCK!)


Happy Tuesday All!

BIG weekend

this weekend, she


is coming to see me. She's MY Liz and there are no words to describe how her visit makes me want to do a fantastically spastic body contorting happy dance.

Also...
1 year ago on Sunday (the 21st) this couple:


was doing this:


Really... it's been a year?!?!?! hehehe
Here's to many more my love, many more...

ummm... i seem to have fallen behind....

heheheh! HELLLLOOOOOO out there! It's been a month. I know, I know, a month. So instead of boring you with lots of typing (that will come later), get ready for a montage of pics (and a few descriptive captions). This post should come much to my sister's delight, who only checks this every blue moon on her way to myspace and promptly moves on if she scrolls down and sees no pics... hehehe love you brit (but that's more for those of you who read, so could someone pass my little message on to my sis...)!

Now briefly here are the things I will tickle your peepers with:
1) Alana and Roc's visit
2) Cmas Eve
3) Cmas Day
4) New Year's/ Early Anniversary Cruise
5) Youth Trip/ Stopping by Lana-lana's

Yep, that covers Dec and Jan up til now...
Hummm, let's see how Blogger lets me do this... I wonder if there's a picture limit... guess we'll find out ;-D

~ALANA N ROC VISIT~

~CMAS EVE~

~CMAS~

~CRUISE~

~YOUTH TRIP~

~LANA's KITCHEN~