And Apprently October Never Happened...

Hey, everyone!

So apparently it's been almost two months since I've blogged. October did happen I swear. And I did try to write a post on two different occasions, but deleted both. So happy November, everyone!

Before I start to type, I am going to let you know now, readers, that I believe there is some sort of food particle in my keyboard because my comma key is not always making a comma. So please do not judge poor grammar that I may have missed as I probably typed it but something's wrong. Also, probably a good sign I need to clean out my keyboard. Or stop eating and typing if I cannot handle complex tasks such as getting the food into my mouth. God, I'm an attractive person...

I will start with a Kylie update today as that's really the reason anyone reads this in the first place.
She's awful.
Ok. She's not awful but there's been some...uh....regression.... since I've gone to work. I don't think she's handling this change well and she is letting us know she is not happy about being home alone. For a long time we were able to let her have the run of the house and she was fine all day long. She'd sleep on the couch as soon as we'd leave, but whatever. If that was the worst of what she did, so be it. Except it wasn't. I'll spare the details and just give you a brief recap...



~Toilet = living room
~4 old ink cartridges= consumed (on carpet)
~4 pairs of socks= consumed (apparently 4 is our magic number)
~Clip flashlight off my Nook = consumed
~Luke + turkey baster + hydrogen peroxide = induced vomiting
 

So now we live in our box while Luke and I leave the house. Done and done. We'll try again next year.

Speaking of work, I have some exciting news... I HAVE FRIENDS!

I know, right?!

A month or so ago I called Luke and told him I was going out to dinner with some friends from work and he made me repeat myself 2 more times. Right?? Super exciting!
Not to say I didn't have friends before I started working, but now I have work friends! It's great! And I work with a GREAT group of people. I won't point out specific people because I don't know how they'll feel about it, (And when one certain kindergarten teacher heard I blogged she thought I was nuts for writing something on the internet that ANYONE can read)but I just love some of these ladies! I really enjoy going to work. And the kids I work with?? So much fun. I really do love kids. (One of them looked at me the other day and said "I'd like to be your son." I told him that would probably be an awkward conversation with my husband and he replied, "That's ok. We can do it.". Melts your heart, right????

Ok so I wasn't going to mention this, but against my better judgement, here it is....


I am now 30.

::ACK::

I know. 

I keep seeing everyone on Facebook post about turning 30 and they seem relatively ok about it. How...? I'm not ok with it. Or, I wasn't ok with it. I'm getting better with it. But I'm not totally ok with it.
I always thought I'd be in a different place in my life when I turned 30 then I am now. (And I'm not necessarily talking about location.) I just mean as me. I thought I'd be in a different place as me. (I am also grappling with the mental image of ovaries that look like raisins, but I digress...)
I am now 30 and there is nothing I can do about it. (Except suck it up and accept it. And work that much harder to be who I want myself to be.) Whatever that is.

                                                            INTERMISSION


I have decided I am blog post bipolar. I have to be in a certain mood to write and last night when I started writing this, I was in a bloggy-kind of mood. This morning as I finish this, not so much. (I was woken up at 7:20 on a Saturday....I'm typically hostile anytime before 10am on a Saturday) So I will end here. If I have pictures, I will post them.

Thanks for reading about our crazy. I will leave you now so I can put the mountain of clean, folded laundry away that has been sitting on my living room loveseat for 5 days now.
I take that back. A week. We started laundry last Sunday.
Ok. almost a week. 6 days. I'm being dramatic.
Either way, I have to put it away because my in-laws will be here in less than 3 hours.

Oh. Luke is vacuuming. Wow. Cool.

On that note... HAPPY SATURDAY! :D

The only picture I have to post. (And another obvious sign I need kids....) I don't think we'll ever outgrow bad dog school.

What Do You Do When Your Nails Are Wet? Blog.

Hello readers!

Since taking off my acrylics, I've had some chipping issues with polish so I went to the store to buy some new nail polishes and polished away. Only bad thing is I am HORRIBLE at sitting still. So I'm blogging. Hi.

Things in Missouri are ok. The weather has cooled a bit the past few days and I am getting so excited about fall. I have to say, it is very pretty here in the fall. And it's my favorite season so I'm excited for it to start.

For those of you who may or may not know, Luke and I just celebrated our 4 year anniversary last week. For those of you who don't know us, we don't really celebrate our anniversaries past "Happy Anniversary". This year was no exception and kinda made us both laugh because I feel like a good sign that you are comfortable in your relationship is when your 4 year anniversary is overshadowed by the first payday since July and the new apple iPhone 5 launch announcement. Ahhh marriage.

The school year is in full swing for Luke and it's going very well. The first year is always the hardest and this year is MUCH easier than the last. I cannot wait to hear his concert next month. Really excited.

I am also working at the elementary school and it's been really nice getting out of the house. I am SUPER behind with Maury, but I guess I'll survive. I guess. And it could be worse... I could be the father...

I think the most entertainment we've seen the past couple weeks is our little mutt-ball. While we are at work, we let her have the run of the house. (Except for the bathrooms. She's a trash/tissue eater.) Anyway, we've been letting her wander while we're gone and the other day I came home and there was a medium-size wet spot on my couch near the edge of the cushion. Not pee, I knew that. So I feel the couch and sure enough, it's warm. Somebody jumped up on the couch (a no-no) and fell into a deep enough sleep that she drooled a puddle onto my couch. (Though as my aunt pointed out, she could have been licking either her foot or butt and made the spit spot, but either way, she was on the couch.) She knew she did something wrong because when I turned to look at her she ran into her box.
Sunday, we went to church. We got home, couch warm, dog boxed herself. (I love how she punishes herself) We change our clothes, go to Walmart for groceries, come home and instead of greeting us at the door, we walk into the living room and who do we find on the couch?? She doesn't even bother to get up. She slowly lifts her head, slowly stands up, slowly stretches, sloooowwwly hops off the couch and walks over and into her box. Little snot. Luke says he doesn't care if she goes on the couches or not. I told him I didn't but it's super fun to mess with her. And really, if that's the worst she does, I'm not gonna complain. Have at it, Kylie.

This is our life. It's all over the place. It's up, it's down, but it's ours. And Luke, Happy Anniversary. It's just a day once a year, but I wouldn't do that day all over again with you. You are my best friend and the other half of me. There is no one I'd rather share this goofy life with. I love you.

On that note, my nails are dry.

Thanks for reading! Get excited for fall!!

I'm Blogging While I'm Chewing. Thank God You Can't See This.

Happy Wednesday, readers. I haven't blogged in awhile so here's a post.

I am also eating breakfast and a bagel is currently hanging out of my mouth because I need two hands. And I still have on my green face mask from last night. I'm pretty.

Well Luke officially started classes last Wednesday and so far, so good. Veteran teachers weren't kidding when they said your first year is always your hardest. It's only been a week but already Luke can see a difference. He was so ready to go back. (And I was so ready for him to go back...) I'm glad he loves his job.

Speaking of jobs, I got one. I haven't started yet so I don't know if I like it or not, but I"m going to be working as an aid in the elementary school. So yeah.

School has also started for me. I am going back to school to get a degree in education. We did a whole bunch of soul searching in Iowa and I think this is what I want to do. What will I be teaching? Well... I think I know but I haven't exactly come to terms with it yet so I'm not going to say. I'll just confirm that it will be high school and I am expecting a lot of "I told you so's" and potential gloating from friends. So that's all you're gonna get. I'm gonna teach high school something. I think. Or Sociology. I'm conflicted...

In other exciting news, my bestie just had her second baby, a little girl named Ayla, and I am SO EXCITED! The plan is for me to go out there next week to visit them depending on when I start my new job. (I am waiting for my finger prints and background check to go through.) Although I have seen Katie since then, I haven't seen her little guy, Cole, since Christmas I don't think... It's time. SO PUMPED! (Oh. And by "out there" I mean Indiana. I just caught that.)

I think that's it. That's my post. My breakfast is gone except for what has been spilled on my white shirt and my face is all green and crusty from this mask. It itches and I continue to forget it's there and scratch it, only for green dust to fall all over the place. Again, I am pretty. My husband is a lucky, lucky man.

Oh my god, there are crumbs, butter and peach juice on my shirt! Plus green mask gunk!! How do I function in polite society?!

Have a wonderful rest of the week as I know I suck at blogging more than once a month. I don't know about where you are, but it's beautiful here! So enjoy the day! (By beautiful, I mean it's supposed to be in the 90s today. It's beautiful from inside. In the AC.)
(What? I don't like to sweat.)

Oh pictures... right. Hang on.

If there was any doubt Luke was bored and needing to go back to school, I looked over to see this...

Kylie's fine. Happy as always.

Hair experimenting. My sister suggested curling it so I did. I kinda like it. (I go back and forth.)

For those of you who have known me for the last 8-9-10 years, you know I've always had acrylics. Well I just took them off. Those are my nails. Short and stubby....

Bad dog.

This is forever my life. Everywhere I go, everything I do, this happens. It's cute and fun and awwww... until you are trying to type an email, pay bills or function. But I love her.

:D <--- That's me Happy.

Well hi there! This is a very happy post as I am currently very happy. Good time to read.

A brief recap : Since my last post, we were in Iowa with Luke's parents for a little under 5 weeks, (I was with my family for 5 days out of that week) and we just got back home a week from today. What a trip! It was so much fun to spend so much time with my in-laws and have my mother-in-law all to myself. Really. A nice trip. I will however mention that it is always different being in someone else's house, but it was really very nice to spend time together. I am very lucky and love my in-laws so that helps. :) 
We also had a BLAST in Mackinac for Luke's cousin's wedding. So beautiful and so much fun. There are a million details but then that would be too much to write all in one post and I'd like to keep this one relatively brief. Just know it was an awesome time!!

I'll start with the only brief negative... when we got home Sunday evening, our house was 91 degrees. Yes, our air conditioner blew at some point while we were away. (Go figure.) And with 108 degree weather outside, that sucked. Luckily for us, our neighbor is a heating and air guy and because I "sounded pretty desperate on the phone", he came over and fixed it for us. It only took 4 days for the house to cool lower than 82. I am dreading our electric bill for this month....
That being said, the house is now cool and comfortable (and the air is not currently running) and I got some great HAPPY exciting things happening.

My sister and I talked awhile ago about her coming to visit me at some point this summer. We originally talked about July but since we were out of town, we moved it to August. Well along the way, I also talked to my cousin, Emma, about joining her to which she said "YEAH!". Well... fast forward to 2-3 weeks ago when I was home and Emma backed out. I was kinda crabby about it. Ok, ReALLY crabby about it, (I later confessed that I may have used her name in vain) especially because she gave me this really lame reason why she wasn't going to come visit. (Long story. Just know it was lame.) Anyway, so Danielle (my sister) is on her way on Friday anyway so Luke and I scrub the house to make it nice and pretty for her arrival! Well at some point on the phone she made a couple comments that were suspicious in nature about there possibly being someone in the car with her. ("Make sure you call the guard shack and let them know we're coming...I"M COMING.") And that was just one example. So now I'm suspicious but she assures me it's just her and she has to go so she can focus on driving. Well she get's here and who jumps out from behind her but EMMA! AND...ALYSSA!!!!!!! (My other cousin!) Total surprise!! Apparently this was the plan all along and Emma was just trying to surprise me. Best weekend EVER!
So we've been spending the weekend doing all sorts of cousiny things (minus Michelle... We miss you, Michy-Squish :(  ) Friday we hung out around the house, played some games, then went out to eat. Yesterday we did more hanging out, napping, reading and playing more games. Today we went to the City Museum and are currently napping, reading and blogging around the living room. Perfect trip! Seriously, so much fun. I can't wait for next time so hopefully Michelle can join us too! (And Aunt Linda and Uncle Tom...) :) I am so very lucky!

And that's about it. I have pictures... Ok I'll download them onto my computer and post them. Give me a sec...

 Ok. Downloaded.  I'll post a few from the month. Enjoy!!

Me sitting on the porch swing in Iowa while Kylie checks things out for me. I love porch swings...

My mom and dad watched Kylie for us while we were in Michigan for the wedding. She sent me this picture with the caption "Friends for now... they like to roll on the freshly vacuumed carpet - I wish they would stay off of it for just a bit..." (I seriously cracked up when I saw this picture.)

Shot of the wedding. A beautiful ceremony followed by a beautiful luncheon then some fun dancing in the evening. Seriously, so much fun! And congrats to Tyler and Josie. Happiness your wedding day and always!

Me and Luke in front of the inn we stayed in right after the ceremony. Beautiful little inn. :)

Paradise, Michigan. We stayed here Friday evening and this was the view from our little porch.

Luke in Mackinac just throwing stones into the water on a break from our bike ride with his sister Claire.

This is how we tried to stay cool while the air was figuring itself out. Soaking my feet in the cold water and Kylie just couldn't help herself...

ALYSSA! At the City Museum in a whales anus. Yes. You read that right.

EMMA! She and her turtle companions to her left (our right) were pondering the meaning of something....

Danielle and Emma climbing on the outside of the City Museum. Danielle is not afraid of heights but after this climb, she was done. It doesn't look high from here but they were about 5 stories in the air in a glorified slinky. I stayed on the ground.

All The Cool Kids Are Doing It...

Hello and welcome to my blog! (Or welcome back as the case may be.)
I've noticed on Facebook today that quite a few friends are updating their blog posts today so I thought if all the cool kids are doing it, I should do it too! That's just logical. (Besides, I am in the process of downloading about 300 pictures of my sister-in-law's wedding to make a wedding album for my mother-in-law so I'm kinda stuck to my computer while this all goes on anyway.) So hi!

We are still in Iowa and will remain here until the end of July. (Actually, this is not quite correct. I will be home in Chicago on the 8th of July until the 14th and then back to Iowa and then up to Michigan for Josie and Tyler's wedding (YEA!) THEN back to Missouri.) So I guess I should technically say we won't be back home until the end of July. The 26th I  believe? Maybe? I can't remember. A long time.
In any case, we are enjoying our time here. Luke is working with his dad which he's been having a lot of fun doing, and I've been hanging out with my mother-in-law which I have a lot of fun doing. I have to say, and I've said this before, I could not ask for better in-laws. Luke too. I am so glad we both get along so well with the other one's family. It's wonderful. Last night in fact, we went on a little double date with Luke's parents to a jazz concert. So much fun and the music was amazing. What a fun night!! I'm looking forward to the weekend so we can all spend some time together and no one has to work. :)

(Oh good. My pictures are finished downloading.)

 While we've been here, since I am the only one not working, I was able to spend some time with Luke's grandparents (Overton) and his cousins (Thomas). The shower for Josie and Tyler went really really well and I think everyone had a really good time. Then a few days ago I went for mani/pedis with Josie and Nella. Fun girl time! That same day I was able to just sit and chat with Grandma Overton which was really really nice too. I just love Luke's family!

Geeze...I think that's it. Short blog today. And since my pictures are done, I have to reason to sit here anymore. Guess I should shower, huh?

Oh. And Kylie is fine.

And one more thing for those of you keeping score at home. The welts/hives we thought we had? Chiggers. (Not an allergic reaction to Oxyclean as previously thought. Good thing we rewashed EVERYTHING WE OWNED...) Little nasty red spawns of Satan who apparently dig themselves under your skin and make themselves at home until your body figures it out and attacks and kills them internally. Or you use nail polish.  I am not even going to tell you as to where I had to have nail polish. All I'll say is Luke and I have now taken our relationship to a whole 'nother level...(TMI? You'll be fine.You weren't the one polishing or being polished.) And ticks. In 29 years I've never had a bite other than a mosquito or presumable a spider. In one month alone, days apart, I've had chiggers ALL OVER and 2 ticks. And this wasn't just from Iowa. Missouri is to blame for the chiggers. Can we move back to Chicago yet??? I'm kinda done with the country and "nature".

Ok really I'm done now. Enjoy your weekend and STAY COOL!!!!!

Fun with a cone. Who lets me do these things?

Summertime in DeSoto

Hello everyone~ I am writing this post from my in-laws front porch on their porch swing. Aaahhh... I love porch swings. Someday I will have one. I will. Let Luke know.

Since our last post, we have begun to experience what it's like to be with on another 24hours 7days a week. And so far, so good! It's gonna be awfully quiet come August. I am enjoying Luke's company and I hope he feels the same...

Also since my last post, we went to Florida with my family. Can I just start off by saying that our parent's generosity blows my mind. To say we are blessed is an understatement. My parents took us (Luke, myself, my sister and her husband, Sam) to Florida. They rented a house and we were all able to stay together for a week. It was SO much fun! We laid on the beach, swam, shopped, got a piercing, ate yummy food.... So much fun! (And yes, mom and dad, I got yet another piercing while in Key West. You didn't even notice it so you're fine. For God's sake I'm almost 30...) I think one of the highlights of the trip was playing the game....how do I say this? The game rhymes with "pull spit". I'll abbreviate it to help. Anyway, yes we were just sitting around a table playing a card game but there is nothing funnier or more satisfying than to hear my mother yell "BS!" across a table. It didn't even matter to who. At one point, we gave her a hard time about swearing and she said "I know. I think I'm going to say B.S. instead. It just feels uncomfortable." (FYI, that little moment of guilt lasted about as long as it took her to say the sentence. The next person she accused of lying, she exclaimed loudly and exuberantly, BULLS**T! Much to our satisfaction.)
 Speaking of my mother... Luke, Dad and my sister Danielle, went scuba diving the Tuesday we were there while Mom and I amused ourselves with the Keys. And boy were we amused. We visited the "Sandal Outlet" (which, and you're welcome for the tidbit, but the "Sandal Outlet" is not actually an outlet. Unless you consider paying $50 for a pair of rubber flip flops outlet prices. Right? Talk about false advertizing. Well I've now gotten back at them by telling the world that the Sandal Outlet is a big fat tourist trap. And now I feel better.) While we were shopping at said Sandal Outlet, Luke, Dad and Danielle were taking different level training courses to dive. Since Dad is a certified diver he took a refresher course, Danielle, who is also somewhat certified, retook the  basic course and Luke took the basic course as well having never dove before. And would you believe it??? Luke's first trip and they see a SHARK! An actual shark! Ok, not a great white, but a reef shark! How cool is that??? Dad said in his 30 years of diving he'd never seen a shark before this dive and Luke sees it on his first! So now he's all excited to take more diving lessons and become certified himself.
We met up with the others for lunch then went on our way again as they went off to dive and we went off to amuse ourselves. This is where the "Bird Sanctuary" comes into play....

Oh. My. God. Let me tell you about the bird sanctuary. First of all, I'd like to point out that the bird sanctuary was NOT my idea. Let me further point out that it was  a cool 106 degrees out. (Ok, I'm being slightly dramatic. But it WAS in the 90s and with the heat index? Whatever that is? It was hot.)  So we pull into this place, get out of the car and start walking along the path. Although there were come cool birds there, none of them looked healthy or particularly happy. And the smell..... geezus the smell was bad. But we ran into this nice lady who worked (owned?) the place and she was feeding them. I'll give her credit, she walked right into an enclosure with hawks and scary looking owls to feed them, but the whole place was just...I don't even know how to describe it. And to have her talking to us while holding a bowl of dead baby chicks and mice.... yeah.... We saw some cool birds following this lady around. And a malnourished cat. And that was cool (sans the sad cat), but it was when we went off on our own to the back end of this sanctuary that we saw the pelicans. They were free to roam and roam they did. And the smell got worse and worse as we got further and further back. Then it happened. We were REALLY trying to keep an open mind and learn something from the experience and IT happened. There was a large pelican flying above just in front of us when it took the BIGGEST, SPLASHIEST POOP we have ever seen. Just FEET ahead of us. And that was it. We looked at each other, our faces speaking for us, and bolted for the car. Holy hell I have never been happier to see a minivan in my LIFE.
All throughout the day we met some interesting people (the hot dog/ice cream place owner who talked to us about how we should vote for Obama because the republicans were going to ruin America) (Yes, this was in Florida), to the little chocolate place that was cuter than cute and super yummy on top of it. (They had salted caramel chocolate candies. Yes, I did ask if I could move in.) And we ended our day at Seashell World. Now I must defend Seashell world. We'd driven past it a few times that day in our quest to find something to do and kinda chuckled to ourselves about tourist traps and how ridiculous the store must be. But we had an hour left and we'd pretty much exhausted the area. Not to mention we were still recovering from the bird sanctuary and at least this place had air conditioning. And wouldn't you know it, it was a really cute store! I found myself a super cute coverup and it wasn't expensive at all! (Unlike the previously mentioned "outlet".) Success at the Seashell World!

And of course the rest of the trip was nice. It's so good to see my family. We miss our families a lot. Saying goodbye at the end of the trip was emotional to say the least. (Also because my husband and I had contracted what we assume was food poisoning somewhere between Miami, Newark and O'Hare... but that's a story for a different time....) What I'd rather take away from the trip was the fun, yummy food, family and of course, the bird sanctuary. Thanks, Mom and Dad. We love you guys.

Now on to present. As I mentioned earlier, both our parents are beyond generous to us as we are currently staying with my in-laws for a couple weeks while Luke works with his dad some. I have to say this, and I am not just saying this because I'm here, but really, I could not ask for better in-laws. I know not everyone can say this, but I am blessed enough to say that I can. In fact, my mother-in-law just left me to go back to work from coming home just to have lunch with me. :) 
 So as of right now since everyone is at work and I'm the only one home right now, I am sitting on the porch swing, watching my idiot dog eat everything she's not supposed to in the yard and ignore me when I yell at her to stop, and blogging. What a great day. :) To both our families, we love you. Thank you.

I believe that is all I have to blog about today. Oh. The boys just pulled in from installing a counter top. Perfect timing. Now Luke can take turns yelling at the dog to stop eating the landscaping. :)

Pictures! Lots. And slightly out of order.

Dad was ready to go! This was the packing before we left. He tried on those shorts and I made some smart-ass comment about all he needs now is a Hawaiian shirt, socks with sandals and a fanny pack. He giggled and said "Hang on!" He was also VERY concerned I was going to post this on Facebook. Nope. Blog. (And for the record, he did NOT take any of these items on the trip with us.)

It is very difficult to take a good picture with the sun directly in your eyes, FYI. But you get the beachy idea.

Dive class. Mom and I stayed for a bit to take pictures then left. This is them filling out the paperwork that says they can't sue if they die. I think. Or it's for their certification...I don't remember.

See? Out of order. This is us leaving for the airport from my parents house. We flew from St Louis to O'Hare, stayed one night then flew out the next day.

I didn't lie when I said we were finding ways to amuse ourselves. Mom's got a thing for roosters...

Found a manatee at Seashell World. It was pretty cool. (And side note, it took, like, 6 tries to get this picture. First it was on video, then it was too dark, then there was a refrigerator with drinks behind me... Whatever we got it.)

I sent this little beauty to my sister while she was diving so when she came back, she had a little love text from me. If you can't read it, the sheep says (yes, that's a sheep) it says "Sisters are friends for life" Because why wouldn't a sheep hold this kind of sentiment. My thoughts exactly. And I'm pretty sure my face says it all. I love you too, little sister.

This was a restaurant that we ended up leaving because the kids (we were pretty sure they were not 21) sitting at the table behind us were drunk and obnoxious. My mother gave them a good old fashioned what's for. Haha! Thankfully, this all happened after we ate.Which is good because it was probably my favorite meal of the trip.

Danielle and Sam our last night. There aren't many pictures of Sam because he joined us a few days later. His dad and sister live in Miami so he stayed the first half of the week with them and his sister, Mariela, drove him to us and stayed with us a day. So much fun!!

Mom and Dad. Very pretty picture AND mom's legs are in it! She was very concerned about that...

Oh. And for those of you who are not on facebook, I cut all my hair off. You've been updated.

Numb nuts hurt her back leg. Not sure how, but she licked it to infected so she got a cone. She's fine. But I don't think she could look any goofier if she tried.

And well, there you go. I stand corrected.

The Crabby Post. (You've been warned)

Hello friends family, and faithful readers... I'm crabby. I wasn't crabby about 30 minutes ago but now I am. You see, I just got home with Kylie from our walk and as I was settling down on the couch with my glass of juice and I see this big, black WASP hovering. So I "calmly" got up and got my arsenal of unwanted bug killing stuff and when I returned, the little b------ was gone. So I took the next logical step. I dropped my tools, grabbed my computer, phone and dog and am now stuck in my bedroom until my husband gets home. At 4. (It is currently 11:52) So I am crabby.
Now I know what you are thinking, "Just go find it and kill it." YOU go find it and kill it. The last time I battled a wasp, I woke up with it hovering over my face. I grabbed my Raid and sprayed that little sucker all over the room till he died. Now my walls are nice clean and painted and I can't just go and raid all over the place anymore. So I wait. What adds to my crabby is that today is the last day of school for Luke. The kids all got to leave by 11:15 but the teachers have to stay till 3:30. He doesn't mind, but I do! I wanna start our summer together! I'm excited!! (And at the moment trapped so I'd REALLY like it if he was able to come home.) Can you imagine? A WHOLE summer. Just the two of us. Together. One house. God help us.

Well some of you may or may not have noticed that I haven't written in while. Well, it's been kinda busy around here the past month or so. And I know for all you naysayers out there who think just because I don't work and have no kids that I have all the time in the world to do everything; well, I don't. So stop judging. I do the best I can.
But for the past 4 weeks we have been going going going. 4 weekends ago Luke and I went to Western Illinois University so Luke could be a judge at Macomb Jr High's music festival. Oh my gosh, SO MUCH FUN! Well, I had fun, anyway. He enjoyed the judging and I enjoyed walking around Macomb reminiscing about times past. The campus has changed and hasn't changed so it was fun to see and sad to realize just how old the campus is. Brown Hall is falling apart! I guess I never noticed it while I was there? I mean yikes. Kinda sad.  But boy, did I have fun in that building. And as an added bonus, I got to have a voice lesson with my old professor Matt Bean!  Even though I don't sing anymore, it's still fun to do it every once in awhile. And it was SO nice to see Matt and work with him again. :) And as for our little white house, it's still there. With a porch swing! I was planning on asking whoever lived there if the coat was still there, but the couple times I drove by, I didn't see anyone outside. And I certainly wasn't going to walk to the door. So who knows. But for some reason, I can't help but assume it's still there. If it had been hanging there for as long as it was because it was too creepy to take down, then I'm gonna assume it's still there. Ew.

Then the following weekend we took the DeSoto HS choir and band to Gatlinburg, TN to compete at Music in the Parks at Dollywood. So much fun! The kids did amazing and won left and right. 5 and a half trophies and a medal to be exact. And the kids were wonderful. I cannot say enough nice things about the kids or the trip! I have pictures I'll post too. :)

Then this past weekend we took the JR High band and 8th grade choir kids to Chicago for Music in the Parks at Six Flags. They also did very well! The choir took home 2nd place but was .5 away from 1st! Luke could not be more proud and all his hard work really paid off! His final concert was last week as well and he had a bunch of parents come up to him and compliment him on the great job his kids have done. A couple parents even commented they could see a change in their child(ren) not only musically but as an individual. So he should be so proud of himself. I know I am proud of him!

And that leaves us with today. Last day of school for his first year! And I have to tell you, he did amazingly! He loves teaching and is a great teacher. Not everyone is cut out to be a teacher but he really, truly is. And for the most part, the kids REALLY like him. I am so proud. And SO ready for him to come home. (Not just because I am being held captive by a terrible little monster of a bug, but because I miss him. Really, we've never really spent time together like this. On summers in school we were in different states and during school we had class. Then we got jobs and only saw each other in the evenings and most weekends. Now it's going to be everyday for the next 3 months. With no obligations or commitments. Kinda excited. (And kinda nervous...) ;) Can't wait for 4:00!

I guess my last update is about Kylie. I have to say, since she turned 1 in March, she's started to become a better dog. Calmer - kinda - and more obedient. Now I'm sure that has in part to do with all the training we've been doing (She is now in the Advanced class!) but I have to say, she's turning into a great little mutt! And while we were out of town, we had one of Luke's students dog sit and she got to visit with her old foster, Kaylyn. I think she had fun because when we got home, she slept for two days! She's so much fun now that she's not all over the place. I have pictures. :)

And I think that's about it for this post. If I've forgotten any details, I'll just post again. Hopefully sooner next time. And who knows, if Luke doesn't get home sooner than later, I may post again out of sheer boredom... (And he has to come home at some point because we have High School graduation tonight. Congrats to all the graduating seniors! Thanks for reading! Now to post pictures!

Our music dog. We were preparing for something... one of our trips? And Kylie was hanging out with us in Luke's office. She made herself comfortable under my chair on a pile of music.

New kitchen table and new decor in the kitchen! I plan on buying a large clock with utensils for the opposite wall!

At some point over Easter, Kylie caught a stomach bug. She was having an upset stomach for 2 weeks so I finally decided to bring her to the vet. (The rice and boiled beef were not helping) They needed a stool sample and she wouldn't go so I kept telling her it would behoove her to go because the next step involved lube. She didn't listen. So they had to lube a plastic rod with a scoop on the end and go get it themselves straight from the source. This is the before.

This is after.

This is when we were talking about having to do it again for a different test that was much more specific.

This is after the second time.

   Incidentally, all tests came back negative. She got an antibiotic and prescription food. Good as new.

I am so organized. Rx food with yogurt and antibiotic labeled and ready to go! Man, I'm good.

Cheese dip at a restaurant in Macomb. We were going to go to El Ranch but someone told me about a new restaurant that's better. Seriously yum.

This is the high school during competition. Amazing job!

Two wild eaglets.

On top of old Smokey!

The many faces of Dolly. At the Country Music Hall of Fame.

Luke's students during their clinic at Western. Yes, we were there twice. I brought my actual camera this trip so most of my pictures are on that. Along with them competing. When I download those to my computer, I'll add them. I even took a video of them singing one of their songs! And Ps, the kids LOVED Dr Stegall! A few said that was their favorite part of the trip!

Jill (band) and Luke with their trophies!

Kylie had a big weekend too. This was the day I picked her up. (Monday afternoon)

This was the same time I took the picture of Kylie that same Monday afternoon. Now he has  whole summer to do this! :)

Phew! What a Ride!

Well, shows over! The musical is officially finished and what a great show! The kids did such a good job! I sat in the audience for all 4 performances with my heart racing and a smile on my face. I only worked with these kids for 2 1/2 weeks but boy they grew on me fast! (They even started calling me Momma Overton...heehee!) Every song they sang my heart was in my chest hoping and praying they got every note and word. And for the most part, they did! (There were a couple of blunders and an unintentional expletive, but everyone recovered nicely and you could hardly tell. And no one heard said expletive, thank God.) (One of the kids lost his balance, tripped, and mid-stumble yelled "s#!t!". And even though he was miced, no one heard him over the singing. Phew....) I still shake my head at that one.
Anyway, it was so much fun to get involved with and I miss working with them. I also had a lot of fun working with the director. Love her. We would sit together and go through the ups and downs in the show together.(One night we didn't sit together because she was helping the sound people and I inadvertently grabbed the leg of the woman sitting next to me when one of the kids forgot the words to his song... Thankfully, I knew the woman as it was the jr high band director but still! It was just a reflex. Sorry, Jill!)  Although I had helped with music and other things in past shows, I was always also on stage. It's a whole different ballgame to sit in the audience and watch. But the director, Sam, made it fun. So I'm kinda looking forward to next year. I just hope I am wanted back. :)

As for the cast party, it was here. After some going back and forth, Luke gave in and the party went well. I cannot express enough what a great group of kids we had. The only fatality was a pop can being knocked over onto the rug with about 2 drips of pop left in it. And it wasn't the kids fault. It was the dog's. So successful party had by all. And not a single kid left without saying thank you. I don't know what Luke was so worried about. Theater kids are usually good kids. I am going to miss them. :')

Well now that everything has returned back to normal, some normal updates. Luke has been hard at work chopping down trees and unwanted shrubs around our yard. it's only the 4th day of April and already Luke has mowed the lawn 4 times. And it is super long again. I know this is unusual for this time of year here, but I'll take it. A couple days ago it was in the 90s here and today it's going to be a chilly 73. Crazy!!! But I appreciate how green everything is for sure. (And so does my asthma...) I can't wait to finish our landscaping and make our house look like a respectable home. I keep saying we'll do it in the spring but it's been spring here for the past 2 months! At this point back home, we are still anticipating at least one more surprise snow. I think I can say with confidence that we are done with snow here. Especially because all winter long we only had 2. Crazy, right???

I may or may not have mentioned before that we bought paint for the guest room downstairs. We still have yet to paint, but since we have a few of our weekends left, hopefully it will be done soon. We just need to patch the splits in the walls first then we are good to go. I can't wait for that project to be finished as well. That may be my favorite room when we're done! :)

As for Luke, the school year is winding down fast. 31 days left as of today and he is alllll mine for the summer. I'm kinda excited about this. I miss that kid during the day. And we (I) may or may not have mentioned the the kids about teaching acting/voice lessons this summer. They were really excited so now it's just a matter of ironing out the details.
 I am also excited to have family and friends come visit this summer and for us to go visiting as well! (For more than a week at a time! No more 'drive-bys!') Not to mention we have a wedding to go to for Luke's cousin so that will be a little mini vacation for us too! So excited!!

What else.... I think that's about it. Kylie is fine. She started her new class session last Sunday and did well in class. Now if she'll only do it at home as well... And I think that's really about it. I'll check to see if I have pictures to post to leave you with. (I checked...no good new pictures. Sorry...)

Thanks for reading and we are sending so much love!! :)
Happy Spring! And Happy Easter! (We'll be in Iowa - Can't wait to see everyone!!)

Ok this is the only picture I can find to post. This is our tub. (Duh) And in the tub is the spigot. The joys of home ownership... I went to take a tub and the water pressure blew off the spigot. Thankfully, I was not in the tub when this happened cause it really flew. It bounced off the back of the tub and landed where you see it now. After I yelped from the surprise of it all, I took  a picture. Then I made Luke fix it. We're good now.

As Promised...and Maybe a Little More

Hello everyone. It was highly suggested I get on my blog and update by my mom's friend, and faithful reader, Karen. ;) You know, I used to give my bestie Katie a hard time when she didn't update her blog every minute of every day, but I am starting to understand. Katie had a new baby to update about. And I wanted to know everything about his first giggle, drool, and eye booger. I assumed she had all these amazing things to say and tell alllllll day long. But I'm sure all she wanted to do was get more than 2 consecutive hours of sleep. And since she was the one wiping said drool and eye boogers, I'm sure they lost all their novelty. It's hard to find things to write about when you are worried no one will care as much as you do.
Personally, with my own blog, I have realized a few things... I am not that interesting. I don't have a new baby. I have a dog. A terrible little mutt with no manners. And a new-to-us house in the middle of nowhere. I look at all these things and think, "I have nothing to say that would interest anyone; much less fill a blog post. And yet, people read. And can I tell you, it makes me feel awesome! And even though I am all these miles away, I still feel connected to all the people I care about back home. :) Now let's talk a little about Karen.

Karen and her husband, Andy, have been friends with my family since we moved in the same court some 25 years ago.  (We did a brief stint in Streamwood when I was 4.) My mom and Karen have been good friends ever since and Karen and Andy are like extensions of our family. Our English extension. Karen and Andy are from Liverpool, England, and moved here to the states years ago. I mention this because if anyone knows about being far from home and missing family it's Karen. But as she reminds me, at least I can hop in a car. I look at the 6-7 hour drive and think "I hate this drive, it's soooo  looooong, blahblahblah whinebitchmoan..." But when I am reminded that at least I do not have to take an umpteen hour flight sometimes with layovers, it kinda puts my short distance into perspective. And really, the last time I went home, I flew. Making my trip approx. 53 minutes. Had Luke left the airport for our house the same time my plane took off, I'd have beaten him. So really, I have to room to complain. So thank you, Karen, for being my little support system and for understanding what it's like to miss home but then also miss home while you're home. (You know what I am talking about) :) And also thank you for reading!! Now for the DeSoto updates...

Well it happened. I don't know how it happened, but it happened. Our dog graduated her first level of puppy classes. Don't get me wrong, the teacher admitted that in her 30-some years she's never failed a dog so really, it's more like 'No Child Left Behind' but I'll take it! And considering the class started out with 5 puppies, Kylie being the oldest, and ended with 3, I guess that says something. (One was given back to the adoption agency - really upset about that one - and the other didn't show up.) Also, at the end of class when we got our certificates, one of the dogs was asleep and the other was trying to take his certificate out of his 'mom's' hand and eat it while Kylie just sat there, I took that as a good sign. So yes. Our little hot mess is one step closer to being a model citizen. $106 later and we are signed up for the next session; along with the puppy trying to eat his certificate. Diesel. I love that dog.
Another Kylie update is that she turned 1 last week. I bought her a party dress and we had a great day. We got to go to the store and do a make up lesson for when Luke and I were sick and get a couple extra treats along the way. (The guy at the check out counter spoiled her rotten and she totally turned up the cute and took advantage. Flirt.) So now the countdown begins for year two when dogs are supposed to calm down. I'm not holding my breath, but if it worked for my parent's dog Archie, there is hope for Kylie.

Another Overton shocker is that apparently I have temporarily stepped out of retirement. Kinda.
The high school is doing Grease and Luke is doing the music side along with Aaron. A few months ago Luke told me he talked to the director and mentioned I'd "love to help! She's a theater person!" (I almost killed him. Jamie mentioned to me that Aaron learned to stop volunteering her for things a long time ago.Haha! It wouldn't be so bad if he warned me ahead of time instead of "Uh...by the way...") However, fast forward to a couple weeks ago and he told some of his students that I'd help them with their solos for the show. (I was irked but at this point, the damage was done) So I went in to help one of the kids and I haven't really left. Don't get me wrong, I am NOT going back into theater but it has given me something to do besides wait for Luke to come home. (Which some nights is after 8.) And I enjoy the kids. A lot. It's a good group.
I have also found myself sewing costumes, staying late, counseling kids, and "mother hen-ing" as I was told yesterday by the guy we are borrowing the sound equipment from. Either way, I never saw myself doing this again. And though it is most certainly NOT making me want to jump back on the stage, I offered to help again next year. The kids are just so much fun. (You'd think I'd want to go into teaching...and yet I don't. Figure that out. I can't.) At this point, I am trying to convince Luke to have a cast party here. The few shows he did in high school they would always go back to this one teacher's house, watch the video of the show and eat pizza. Most of these kids can't afford simple pleasures like pizza parties so I thought this would be the perfect spot as well as something special to celebrate the kids' hard work. I'm still working on it. I have a week....
On the flip side, Luke has found a new passion in musical theater and wishes he did more shows when he was younger. He is so excited about this show and I love just how excited he is. He is so good at what he does. I'm so proud of him!!! I am also trying to convince him to do some sort of lessons or camp for music/theater this summer. There are no arts in this town... some of these kids need this outlet. They are opening a new community center and I think it will be the perfect venue. Luke would be great at teaching it! Work in progress...

I think I am going to end my post there. Since it's been a month since I've posted last, there is more to update but I have a kitchen full of costumes that need to be sewn, store that needs to be checked out for a "Johnny Casino" costume, showers to be taken, nails to be done and dinner to be started all before 3. After this week, I will try to post again about all the home repairs and whatnot's.

Thanks for reading - especially you, Karen! And for the record, Katie's blog is still my favorite blog to read! I still check it every morning and every evening...just in case! :)
Have a good week everyone!! I'll leave you with some pictures! :)

We changed this wall from oatmeal to purple! Love it!!!

What is this, you ask? Kylie ate our house. Ate it. She is TERRIFIED of the vacuum so I put her on the porch so I could quick vacuum the rug. Just the rug. No more than 7 minutes later, I see her doing something but I can't tell exactly what it is. I bang on the window once. She looks up with chunks of our house falling out of her mouth. She knew she was in trouble  too cause her tail went between her legs and she ran to the other side of the deck. Luke was SO MAD. Thankfully he was at work and had time to process. (She was fine though. Idiot.)

This is Dexter. He followed my neighbor's kids and I tied him up out front so his owners could find him. They never came. So the next day I named him Octavious (Gus), and  brought him to Canines in Crisis where they found his microchip and his parents! He stayed with us for a day and a half and was a super cute dog. He is currently a foster with my neighbor and heart-worm positive. :( The guy doesn't really want him so I told him that if he is able to de-worm Dexter, I'd take him. We can foster him until he's adopted or keep him ourselves as he's an older dog (5 years) and hard to adopt out. (Everyone wants puppies) So keep a look out for more updates about Dexter! You may see him again! :)

The birthday girl in her fancy party dress!!! Cutest.Dog.EVER. I LOVE THIS GOOFY MUTT!! (Which is shocking considering Luke and I talked about it the other day and cannot find any redeeming qualities about her. She eats things she's not supposed to, she acts like a moron on walks, still chooses to have accidents in the house when she's pissed at us, jumps up on everything and everyone, does not listen for anything, and needs CONSTANT attention.)Yet I don't know what we would ever do without her. She is part of our little family good or bad. We adore her... We just can't seem to figure out how or why... ;)

Since Kylie now sleeps in her bed in our bedroom, she lets us know when it's time to get up. Right now.

Proof! We have a certificate of graduation!! I wanted to buy a frame for it but after we dropped $106 on the next class, I didn't have the heart to ask Luke to spend one  more dime...I'll buy one later this week when I'm by myself. ;) That sucker needs a frame and pedestal!!