garage sale.

Being a teacher, I’m always on the lookout for cheap children’s books and stuff for my classroom. When I saw that there was a neighborhood garage sale near us that would be taking place today, I made plans to get up early and go check them out. And then I convinced Ty to come along too. (He wasn’t pumped about it at first, but he ended up with a cheap table saw, so he ended up being happy.)

 Well, while we were getting ready, it started to rain.

But not just any normal kind of rain. . . sleety, icy rain.

But we decided to brave the frigid temps and ice, and go anyway.

I actually found a couple sales with some awesome kids books. And I found a fun rack with bins to put scissors, glue sticks, crayons, etc in for the classroom.

And I may or may not have gotten a Coach purse for 5.00.

It also may or may not be real. . . but either way, it was 5.00.. . . AND its green!

It was totally worth braving the nast-o weather.

I’m now staying inside the rest of this rainy day doing laundry, writing May lesson plans, and reading/relaxing. I love you, Saturday. Thanks for being awesome.

his and hers: 10 pet peeves

1.    People who leave the empty toilet paper roll on the thing.

2. Bad parkers…this is a big one.
3. “Yo-yo drivers:” Those who don’t know how to drive a consistent speed.
4. People who think they’re entitled to things.
5. Obnoxious, stupid cell phone ringtones that go off in public.
6. When you enter a seemingly empty elevator, and lo and behold, someone’s been hiding in the corner! Then they proceed to look at you like you’re invading their space when you get on.
7. Flat-billed hats.
8. The “cool” untied shoes.
9. Male skinny jeans.
10. Pessimists.

1. Shopping carts with a broken wheel. Also a wobbly table. Maybe this counts as two separate ones, but I’m lumping them together.
2. Parents who bring their YOUNG kids to R-rated movies at like 11:00pm.
3. People who say, “I know, right?” I hate that expression. Its dumb.
4. When I can’t find a match for a sock when folding the laundry. Hence the huge sock pile that has accumulated on top of our dryer full of socks with no mate.
5. When people rub their hands or feet on the carpet. I know that’s weird, but I get beyond creeped out by the sound it makes, and I can almost feel the sensation of it. Gives me the heebie jeebies. I hate it. Please don’t do it around me.
6. Parents who give their kids weird names.
7. Being told to “Please pull forward. . . we’ll bring your food out,” when I stop for fast food.
8. When people say “supposably” instead of “supposedly.”
9. When you try to pull a string off your shirt, but instead of breaking off, it gets longer. Dang.
10. People who talk about sports and say “We” like they’re a part of the team.

birthdays and trivia

Last night was Ty’s birthday. We wanted to go out to dinner, so we went to our new favorite place, Rivals.

Lucky for us, when we got there we found out that Trivia Night was starting in 10 minutes.

So of course we had to join in the fun. . . even though it was just the two of us. Our team name was “Millers.” Creative, huh?

I’ll be totally honest and admit that we didn’t do very well at all.

I’ll also admit that in order to gain 10 bonus points, Ty and I may have stood up and performed the Macarena in front of the whole restaurant.

And my finally admission is that even WITH those ten bonus points, we weren’t even CLOSE to winning in the end.

But we had fun and that’s really all that matters.

(Or maybe that’s just what losers say to make themselves feel better about their intelligence.)

 

We’ll be dominating next week though. We may have scored another couple who will be able to answer the “old people” questions.

ponchos and blue men

My parents got us tickets to go see “The Blue Man Group” for Christmas. The show was last night, and Ty and I didn’t really know what to expect. All I really knew was that there were some blue guys, they played drums, liked audience participation, and that you might get a little something on your clothes. But when we got there and walked to our seats (in the front row), there were PONCHOS on our chairs! I was starting to wonder what we were really in for. . .

But the show was absolutely amazing! It was so funny and creative. At one point in the show, one of the blue men caught several paintballs in his mouth, then spit the paint onto a canvas and made a painting with it. Guess who he gave that painting to? If you guessed me, you’d be right. The Blue Man leaned down and stared at me with his creepy wide eyes and expressionless face and handed me his painting! Ty was uber excited and can’t wait to hang that "spit-paint" masterpiece in the Man Cave.

 Thanks for taking us Mom and Dad, we had a blast!

his and hers: 10 places you'd love to travel to

As I’ve said before, Ty and I would love to do some traveling before we settle down and start a family. So I thought this would be a cool topic for “His and Hers” today. Not saying that we’d ever have the means to go to many (or even ANY) of these places, but in a perfect world this is where we’d like to go.

1. Boundary Waters (a wilderness place located between Minnesota and Canada with some of the best fishing in north America)
2. Gettysburg
3. Lambeau Field (preferably for a game)
4. Texas or Illinois (to hunt whitetails)
5. Elk hunting out west
6. Hawaii
7. Greece
8. Ireland
9. Canada (for a fishing trip)
10. Israel

1. Italy
2. Greece (specifically Santorini)
3. Austrailia (If I could handle that long of a flight)
4. Ireland
5. London
6. Paris
7. Egypt (in a time of less chaos, of course)
8. New York City
9. The Bahamas
10. Some kind of cruise to the Carribean

Thankfully, at least a couple of these match up, so we won't have a knock-out battle if we actually get to travel somewhere. But I think I'll pass on some of the hunting/fishing type trips my hubby would like to take. Sorry hun.

sleeping beauty.

As I was sitting on the couch a minute ago, catching up on my daily blog reads, I heard a strange sound coming from the chair beside me.

Apparently he must have had a long, tiring day, because he’s snoring in the chair at 6:30pm. So I did what every loving wife would do. . . I covered him with a blanket took a picture of him to put on the internet. (Notice that even in his sleep, he's never more than 6 inches from the remote, xbox controller, and cell phone.)

At least its not a video with some audio of that garbage truck snoring :)

He can thank me for that later.

quick little letters

Dear Kindergarteners,

Thank you for making me smile yet again today. Its amazing how quickly you guys have learned to read, and seeing your little faces light up after you read an entire book to me is one of the most rewarding experiences I can imagine! Keep it up!

Dear Ty,

In case you were wondering, all of that hair is STILL in your bathroom sink. And that’s pretty much all I have to say about that.

Dear Bubba,

I didn’t appreciate it when you threw up on the carpet a few minutes ago, and I'm sure Ty didn't either, because he's the one who cleaned it up. From now on, please chew your food completely before you swallow, and maybe that won’t happen.

Dear Paycheck,

Please deposit yourself into our bank account so I can go spend you.

Dear Witch Lady In Line at the Grocery Store,

I had a VERY hard time not yelling at you for the way you were speaking to your 9 year old daughter in line. She wasn’t doing anything wrong, yet you continued to degrade her over and over the entire time we were in line. None of the things I wanted to say to you were very Christian-like, so lucky for you, I decided to keep them in my head.

Dear House,

It would be nice if you could keep yourself clean without me having to help.

Dear Dad,

I taught my students how to tell time to the half-hour today. Through my modeling of that concept, they were able to figure out how to tell time all the way around the clock. It was an extremely proud moment. Despite what you may think, I CAN tell time, and was able to successfully pass that skill set down to the next generation. Booyah.

Dear Fruit,

Get in my belly now. K, thanks.

Love, Lisa

weekend recap

This weekend consisted of the following:

Friday evening: Showing off my new pedicure to anyone who was interested in looking and waiting on the deck with Abby to greet the hubs when he got home from work.

Dinner, Bible Study, and hanging out with some other young married couples from church. Another couple with no kids joined our group, so now Ty and I aren’t the youngest anymore!

Saturday: Ty went and worked in his parents’ woods with his dad planting trees, while I enjoyed some last minute relaxation before Spring Break officially ends.

Ty’s uncle was turning 50 this weekend, so we went to a party at their house. They live out in the middle of nowhere, so I was excited to point out all the cows, sheep, and horses on the way. Ty was apparently thrilled as well. . . can't you tell? 

We had good food, good conversation, and a bonfire. I also got some good quality time with his aunt Kimi, who I love hanging out with! She and I talked a ton about traveling, which is something Ty and I hope to be able to do before starting a family.

Sunday: Went to church, did some laundry, and tried to get back into “school mode.” I’ve missed my little boogers over Spring Break, so I’m actually excited to head back to work tomorrow. We’re learning about insects right now, and I wanted to make a diagram of the parts of an insect this afternoon. Bubba thought he needed to help. Thanks Bubs.

All in all, it was a great weekend, and a very {relaxing} Spring Break!

friday night date night, circa 2007

No Friday Night Date Night for us tonight.

Instead, we’re heading to our monthly small group Bible study with some other young married couples from church, and then game night!

So instead of Friday Night Date Night, I thought I’d tell everyone about a date we went on in the beginning of our relationship.

Well, it wasn’t a “go-out” kind of date, it was a “hang out at his parents’ house and then go for a walk” kind of a date. . . which are actually my favorite kind, even today.

So, we’d hung out at the house for awhile, just chilling and being goofy.

Then Ty says, “Let’s go on a walk.” He lived out in the country, and I’d had like NO experience in the country, so I was excited. We walked to this parkish, fieldish place, with this huge wooden tower overlooking the. . . empty vastness.

We climbed the steps all the way to the top, and I was picturing that it would be very romantic when we reached the top.

But alas:

When we finally did reach the top, and I mentioned how pretty it was, what did Ty say?

“Yeah. . .like 3 people have committed suicide up here.”

Mood killed.

Dang.

his and hers: what would you need to survive on a deserted island?

I thought it would be fun to have Ty and I make a list to fit a topic (that I choose, of course,) once a week. For this first week, I picked: What would you need to survive on a deserted island? Here are our lists:

       

        Ty

1. Machete
2. Fishing tackle.
3. A Pot that can boil water
4. a Tarp
5. Spool of rope or twine
6. matches
7. Compass…. . . to find my way, but also to use as a reflective device to signal ships.
8. bow and arrow. . . I can use it to hunt and protect myself
9. a backpack for collecting food and firewood.
10. A change of clothes.

And here is my list:

1.          Ty. Mainly because I love him, and I cannot imagine why I would be in the position to be stranded on a deserted island without him. But he would also be a guaranteed hunter/gatherer/fisher, shelter builder, bug squisher, fire builder, and scary animal keeper awayer.

2. My Kindle Fire. With an unlimited battery supply. And wifi. Deserted islands have wifi, right?
3. Sunscreen. Because I’m hoping that if I were stuck on a deserted island, it would be a warm and sunny one. I would love the tan, but definitely don’t wanna be getting burned and end up turning into “Leather Woman.”.
4. My iPod. Again with unlimited battery…. . . and maybe an iHome to play it on. That only counts as one item, right?
5. Soap. If Ty’s gonna be out there on the deserted island with me, I gotta keep myself smelling fresh, right? (He’ll probably definitely need some too. . . hopefully it’s a humongous bar.)
6. Cute clothes, shoes, and jewelry. Duh. .
7. Macaroni and cheese. Since I wouldn’t eat pretty much anything Ty would be hunting and gathering (like bugs, mice, jellyfish, and whatnot) I would need my favorite food to nourish my body. Which I guess means that I would need milk and butter too. Which means that I would need a cooler. Again, that all counts as one item, right?
8. A refridgerator. . . preferably a full-size one. It’ll keep my milk and butter cool, and will provide me with a place to crawl inside of when I get hot. . .because I’m not very friendly when I get too hot.
9. My pillow. I’m not about to sleep with my head on the ground. I don’t need roaches crawling in my hair.
10. And lastly, my phone. . . .with cell service of course. Because I’m pretty sure that about 15 minutes of being stranded on a deserted island with me, Ty would need to call someone to come and rescue us before he killed me.

What would you “need” if you were stranded on a deserted island?

The Great Fence Debacle

I mentioned awhile back that we planned on doing several things to our yard this summer.

One of those things is putting up a new fence. Possibly like this one:

The “Fence Man” came this evening to give us a quote.

We had already kind of picked out a design we liked, so the “Fence Man” quoted us a price that included removal of the ugly chain-link fence we have now, removal of all the bushes that are in the way of the fence installation, labor and materials.

Let’s just say, that quote was about a bajillion more dollars that I had ever dreamed it would be.

Since we clearly didn't want to have to sell any organs in order to finance this project, “Fence Man” gave us several cheaper still way expensinve options, and I was pretty much still picking my jaw up off the floor as he was leaving.

Ty and I talked about it, and spoke with my dad, and we all agreed that the price he gave us was just WAY too high, and that we’d be crazy to go with them.

After much discussion, I think that we’re (gasp) just going to attempt to do it ourselves.

-I say “ourselves,” but really, how much of this do I actually see myself being useful at?

Anyway, this means we (meaning Ty and our fathers, thanks guys!) have to tear down the old fence and bushes, dig the holes, cement the fence posts, and put up the fence panels, which are hopefully pre-stained, because if not, that's one more thing to add to our labor list.

Ugh.

But it will most likely cut the cost of what the “Fence Man” quoted us in half, maybe more.

So if you’re local and would like to lend us your husband, your children, your spare bobcat, or your money, just hit me up. O

Dear Husband,

As much as I love the fact that you FINALLY shaved that furry rodent beard off of your face, I cannot say that I appreciate said furry rodent beard laying in the downstairs bathroom sink. I know its technically your bathroom, but still…….

Yuck.

This was how I found that sink when I stopped in there to check out how my Easter dress looked yesterday.

It was also still there this morning when I stopped in there to turn the bathroom light off.

So if you could please remove it before I gag, I’d definitely appreciate it.

Love, Wife

Ps. You look totally amazingly good-looking with your stubble. E

friday night date night

This week's Friday Night Date Night found us out of town, hanging out with this cool dude.

If you don't know, this is our nephew, Caleb. Since his new sister was just born and there's a lot going on, we wanted to take him out and do something special with him.

Out of all the places on Earth (or at least, of all the places in the small, rural area they're from)

he chose to go to McDonald's for dinner.

After dinner, we went to Putter's Bay and did some miniature golfing.

Well, we did that after we got lost and drove around the countryside for about an hour.

Thank goodness they invented angry birds to keep 6 year-olds entertained while the adults try to figure out where the heck they are.

Anyway. We did some mini golfing. And took some pictures.

And then this little booger decided to show us his "inner Tiger" by scoring not one, but TWO hole in ones! What the heck!?

Hole in one #1

Hole in One #2

Needless to say, he kicked my behind something fierce.

He hardly even had to try...the ball just seemed to magically go in the hole.

He actually only lost to Ty by 6.

Maybe it has something to do with the hood he refused to take off the entire date night.

It must have some magic mojo or something.

On the car ride there, we had a discussion about not being sore losers, so I had to hold my head up high and take the teasing on the ride back home.

And upon walking in the door after we got back, he proudly announced to his parents that he beat his aunt Lisa pretty bad.

Glad I can boost a pre-schooler's self-esteem :)



its a girl!

Her name is Lydia Jane.

She's smaller than most of the baby dolls I used to play with.

She's already proved to be an excellent pooper.

And she already has us all wrapped around her little finger.

Welcome to our family, Lydia.

Uncle Ty and I look forward to watching you grow up, and we love you already.

Love, Aunt Lisa



Ty-isms.

Over the years, I've been pained given the opportunity to learn so much about this guy.
And one of the things I've learned, is that there are certain things he says that have different, or hidden meanings. The following is just a little snippet of some of the "Ty-isms" I've figured out.

"I'm gonna watch the game." = "I won't be listening to a word you say for the next 4 quarters."

"I'm checking Facebook." = "I'm checking Facebook, but then I'm going to spend hours on hunting websites too."

"I'm completely out of underwear." = "I still have plenty of underwear, but I'm out of my favorite kind."

"That's my sweat towel from working out last night." = "I wouldn't touch that thing if I were you...it'll still be wet for 48 hours."

"Can I use your Kindle real quick?" = "I secretly not so secretly want my own Kindle, so I figure if I bug you enough about yours, I'll be able to get my own."

"I don't care if you spend some of our money on new work clothes." = "I better get a peek at that receipt so that I can spend an equal amount on hunting/fishing gear. That's actually the only reason I'm allowing you to buy clothes anyway."

"I think I'll have asparagus with my dinner tonight." = "In 20 minutes, the house will reak and so will my pee."

"Today I'm gonna clean up my pile of stuff off the island." = "You should probably get used to the fact that my pile will actually be there weeks."

I could go on and on, but I'll save that for another time. Meanwhile, we're off to meet our brand-new baby niece tomorrow night. And I'll probably pick up on a few more "Ty-isms" along the way :)

remember that one time we got engaged?

Well, that was officially 3 years ago today.

We got engaged on our 2nd anniversary of being a couple.

 

Which, according to the math, means that Ty and I have been a couple for a whopping 5 years today.

Its been an amazing 5 years, with lots of love and lots of laughs.

And some pain in the butt moments as well...

Like this morning.

Apparently, before mowing last night, Ty moved his truck into the middle of the driveway for easier access to the grass.

As I looked in my rearview mirror this morning to back out before work, I noticed that his truck was over quite a bit farther than normal.

Using my fabulous spatial sense skills (NOT) I figured I could just back out around his truck.

I was wrong.

I figured out I was wrong when I hit his truck.

Since this is not the first time I've done that (ugh), I immediately freaked out, and in the midst of my freakout, stormed into the house and began yelling at Ty for his irresponsibility....or really, just the fact that he merely forgot. It was dark before he came in.

Then we had some words...an argument, if you will.

Luckily there was no damage, and he moved his truck and I was on my way.

We quickly reconciled through text messages once I got to work, and now all is well.

But still, a pain in the butt moment, none the less.

And I'm sure there will be many more of those in the future.

But the amazing moments far outweigh the pain in the butt ones.

He still wins my heart over daily.

Like when he brought these home, in "celebration of the best question I ever asked."

Swoon :)

sunday adventure

Today was supposed to be filled with yardwork for Ty...

and lesson planning, grocery shopping, and laundry for me.

Well.

That didn't sound like too much fun.

So on my way home from the grocery store, I quickly developed some alternative plans.

I proposed the plan to Ty, and he agreed.

Our mission?

Explore the creek 3 minutes from our house.

With doggy, of course.

Abby was trying to fish on the log with her daddy.

Never too far from a train around these parts...

Just thought this was cool...I promise I'm not affiliated with any kind of gang.

I also apologize if this happens to mean anything offensive...I can't read graffiti.

***************************

We had a really good time, although I was told by Ty that I apparently need to get out in the woods a little more, because I thought that a bunch of vines by a tree was a teepee. It really did look like one.

Whatever.

Our adventrure was definitely better than yardwork and lesson plans.

And yes, doggy had a blast as well.

Now, as Ty and I get back to our regularly scheduled Sunday plans, she is napping off all the excitement.

Happy Sunday.