Bucket List update!

If you've explored my blog a bit, you might have seen my bucket list a.k.a. my 30 Before 30!  I have been meaning to update this list for quire some time, but never got around to it.........

1. Paint our master bedroom & bathroom.  This is "scheduled" to be done this weekend.  AKA that is when my momma said she would come over to paint our bedroom (it's my birthday gift)!  I plan on painting the bathroom while she does the bedroom.

2. Visit the Grand Canyon.  We went to Sedona, AZ in June 2011 and were able to take a day trip to see the amazing Grand Canyon.  Words cannot describe it.  It looks like a painting even in real life!

3.  Visit Key West and take a picture at the southernmost point.  We visited in March 2011 and had tons of fun.  We spent most of our time "on the mainland" and only 1 night, 2 days in Key West, but we still were able to see a lot!

6. Get rid of antique dining room furniture.  This furniture was handed down to us from my husband's grandparents.  Although it was a nice antique set, it didn't match our decor (AT ALL) and it was way too big for our space.  The dining set was picked up last week to be consigned at a local place and I sold the [non-matching] chairs separately to someone I work with.  Cross your fingers that our dining set sells for a decent price and within the allotted 90 days!

 9. Run a mile.  I finally completed this task in August 2011!  I didn't think I could do it, but I had a great cheerleader, hehe.  That cheerleader would be my hubby and he was very supportive during my slow run!  I'm planning on doing this more often, but so far, I've only gone on two 1-mile runs....

after my first mile run in 8 years!

 11. Try a new food.  This was completed during our trip to Sedona, AZ.  We visited Red Rock BBQ restaurant because it was right down the road from our hotel.  I wasn't planning on trying a new food there, but accidents happen, right?!  My pulled chicken sandwich was served with sweet potato fries (yum!) as well as some sort of deep fried corn.  Obviously the deep fried corn was my new food.  I thought they were hush puppies, but I still don't completely understand what they were...... This pic is courtesy of Google since I didn't have my camera that night.

 
 20. Organize my recipes.  I'm in the process of doing this, but it's close to being done.  I made a cute binder and I'm now in the [long] process of typing up all of my recipes.  I try to remember to do this while I'm just sitting around, but lately I haven't been sitting around very often!  You can see my binder in this post.

22.  Find a new church.  This is on my list because I haven't been going to church lately.  The reason I haven't been going is because I haven't been feeling like I'm going for me...I've felt like I was going as a duty or obligation.  I want to go to church because I am getting something out of it, not because I am supposed to go.  (Do you like that reverse italicizing?  Pretty smart, eh?)  Either way, I went to a church in my area this past Sunday and really enjoyed it.  I'm still going to try a few others, but I'm on the right path!

28. Get highlights in my hair again. This was crossed off my list in June 2011.  I got a coupon in the mail for 50% off any color services at a nice salon near me (where I also had a massage gift certificate) so I made it a spa day and got a massage and highlights!  I wanted my highlights to be a bit more noticeable, but at least you can't see them growing out now!

Before highlights with my sister-friend Kelli!

After highlights with Kel again! :)

Post Vacay Update!

We got back from Arizona Saturday a little after midnight.  Sunday I attended a bridal shower and was a busy girl unpacking and getting situated back at home!  Today I had a dentist appointment and was still getting situated (a.k.a. catching up on my DVR, laundry, painting my nails, etc.)!  Here is a quick sneak preview of our trip.....haven't uploaded anything from my camera yet so beware of bad-quality cell photos!

First, we encountered this stylish 'do at the airport.  This guy seriously had PERFECTED his mullet.  It looked like he used about a bottle and a half of LA Looks hair gel and had a perm but only on the bottom half.  Total amazingness!

 On our first day, we had planned to "relax" and settle in due to the time change.  Instead, we went on an amazing hike since it was right down the street from our hotel.  This is the view from a little ways up Bell Rock.

 Still hiking Bell Rock.....great views!

 We also spent some time shopping "in town".  They had some really cool vintage buildings and this was one of my favs. 

 We had dinner at a restaurant with an awesome view.........everywhere I went they had sweet potato fries.  I loved it!

 Another thing I saw everywhere we went: Prickly Pear Margaritas.  Obviously I love myself a marg but this was deeee-lish!  I must find the flavoring somewhere here in Ohio.......I'm already missing it!

 I needed a snack for our mini road trip to the Grand Canyon (~2 hour drive).  I thought animal crackers sounded yummy and found this super cute Lilly Pulitzer special edition box at the gas station.  Fun!

 There was a lot of sun ......which I loved!

 The sun led to heat.....which I also loved!  Like everyone says "it's a dry heat".  While it still felt hot, it was a lot different than Ohio heat........no instant sticky feeling (yuck)!

 We also visited the Grand Canyon and hiked down into the canyon.  Very cool experience but very HOT on the way out of the canyon!

I'm sure I'll find time in the next few days to give a real update about what's been going on lately in my life!  I've missed reading everyone's blogs for the past week!

Wedding [festivities] Wednesday! .....a day late :)

I meant to make this post yesterday and totally forgot.  Oops!


Either way, this past weekend, my girlfriends and I threw a bridal shower and bachelorette party for a really good friend of mine.  The guest of honor, Kelli, has been a close friend of mine for over 10 years!  I love Kelli to death and I feel like we can talk about anything, laugh about everything, and even cry to each other, if needed.  She is one of my very best friends and I'm SO glad she had a fun weekend.  Here is a quick recap of our weekend [I'll leave out the totally inappropriate stuff....hehe]

Bridal Shower hosted at MY house!  This turned out great and Kel got a ton of super fun gifts!

We made a road trip down to Cincinnati for the Bachelorette party!  This is us at dinner at Benihana :)

Our chef, Andre.  He was VERY entertaining.  He made this heart beat for us :)

The bride-to-be with her 'Suck for a Buck' bouquet.  This was quite successful and easy to make, too!

One of her first "deals", ha!

Cadillac Ranch!

Kelli really wanted to ride this bull.  She had tons of fun UNTIL she busted her chin open.  Poor girl :(  She was a trooper, though!

On our way to Mynt (we ended up going back to our hotel instead).

Kelli: I hope you're reading this.  It's time for you to make a blog!  One month and one day until YOUR BIG DAY!  Can't wait :)

Quick Vacation Recap

We had a GREAT time in sunny Florida for spring break!  I'm having some issues with the internet on my desktop (where I store all of my pictures) so the better quality pictures will be coming later.  For now, a few cell phone pics will have to do.


We started out our week on Fort Myers Beach at our lovely family condo.  The weather was PERFECT with clear skies and sunshine all day!

The sunset on our way to dinner (that is our condo on the left).

We had a relaxing time in FMB.  Our daily "schedule" included waking up to a walk on the beach (anywhere from 1-3 leisurely miles).  This included lots of people watching since the beaches were crowded with snow birds AND spring breakers!  After that we would usually go back to the condo for some lunch then head down to the pool to soak up some sun, do some reading and take a dip when it got too hot! 

After Fort Myers Beach, we took a mini road trip to Key West.  Neither of us had been before so it was really fun.  We only stayed one night/two days, but we were able to see a lot.  Our B&B was a few blocks away from Duval St. so it was an easy walk to all the fun bars, shops, and restaurants!

Our adorable B&B  in Key West.

We also did a little shopping.  The hubby broke down and bought me an awesome gift but ONLY because we got a crazy good deal.  This beauty was in the red-zone clearance where you could take an additional 40% off and we had a 30% off coupon.  Seriously, best deal eva'!

Did I mention this is my first [full-size] Coach? :)

<3

After Key West, we were scheduled to fly out of Miami so we drove up there to stay the night.  Little did we know, EVERY hotel in Miami (in our budget) would be booked.  We finally found one for a good deal so we booked it.  When we arrived it was SUPER shady.  I think my hubby thinks I'm a snob when it comes to lodging.  I swear I'm not.  This place was awful.  The mini fridge was broken and had leaked a puddle of water onto the TV (safe?), the bathroom was dirty and had cracked tiles and a dropped ceiling that was close to dropping on my head, the whole place reeked of cigarettes, and I was sincerely creeped out the whole 5 minutes time I was inside.  After a small anxiety attack, I decided to google the motel and found out there had been a murder in the parking lot in October 2010.  Um, no thanks!  We got our $ back and headed to Weston, FL.  This was a super cute little suburban-like town with a fun shopping area where we found an Italian restaurant for dinner.  We ended up booking a suite in a "resort" type hotel for only $20 more than the seedy roadside motel in Miami!  I guess it's all about location!
We didn't end up on our flight out of Miami (long story but overall, I don't recommend Delta to anyone).  We got re-booked for a flight out of Fort Lauderdale that night so we were able to spend one more day at the beach (not a bad deal afterall)!

Our extra day at the beach!

Overall, a great vacation!  I can't wait for our next mini-vacay.....a trip to Hocking Hills with some great friends in mid-April!

Green Outfits, Shamrock Writing & More!

First, I must finish up my What I Wore Week of Green.  You can see what I wore M/T/W in this post.

Thursday Outfit #1: green 3/4 sleeve top from Target, AE jeans.  This was taken at the mall BEFORE hair cut.

Thursday Outfit #2: Irish t from Marshall's, AE jeans.  This was taken AFTER hair cut (just a trim!)

Friday: light green polo from Kohls, Refuge jeans.

Did anyone else wear all green this week?  My kids LOVED it!  :)

I mentioned my [school] St. Patrick's Day plans in this post.  I used the same book, but changed the writing assignment a bit to better align with my students' needs.  Instead of making predictions about the story, I had my students retell the story in their own words.  Our focus was to retell the story in 4 parts using the words First, Next, Then, Last.  We talked about including only important details!  Here is what we ended up with:

We leave tomorrow for Florida!!  I might post a bit but I'm not promising anything. :) I'm super excited to get away from Ohio (even though the weather has been reallllly nice lately).  I'm having a mini panic attack though because I haven't started to pack!  Can't wait to be here:

our view from the beach one evening a few years ago

Aloha!

Day 9 - a photo you took.  This post will be short and sweet because I'm not feeling great.  This is a photo I took from the helicopter tour on our honeymoon in Kauai, Hawaii....LOVE IT!  I can't wait to go back some day.