the day the lights went out.

We've been having a serious drought this summer.

Well, it finally rained yesterday.

With like 2 rumbles of thunder and some high winds.

2 hours after the "storm" passed, the lights flickered, then went out.

It was 3:54 pm.

Well dang.

We didn't let it get us down though (not at first, anyway.)

4pm- Call the electric company to report the outage.

4:02- Sit there figuring out what on earth I am going to do now.

4:04- Curse myself for not using the bathroom a little bit ago. You win, Mr. Well in my backyard. Well played.

4:05-Walk around house aimlessly, already bored out of my mind.

4:15-Lay on the couch with the baby and read a book.

4:45- Hubby comes home. I declare that the power outage is going to be a fun adventure.

5:24- Talk to my dad to see if they had power. They do. Boo.

6:00- Sit outside with hubby and the pets. Laugh while the cat goes down the steps and rolls in the dirt.

6:03-Get mad at the cat when I realize how much dirt is in his hair.

6:04-Bring the cat back up on the deck

6:04:30-Cat goes back down the steps.

6:05-Yell when the cat scratches the crap outta my arm while I carry him back inside the house.

6:30-Hubby decides he wants to go fishing in the morning. Goes to get fishing stuff ready. I read again.

8:30-Not much light in the house now, so I go back outside to read again. Getting kind of tired of reading.

9:00-Hubby comes outside with our favorite game. Have to play it outside so we can see. He beats me easily each time. Duh. I blame the fading light.

(Ignore the dead grass...I told you, we've had a drought.)

9:30- The electric company arrives. Cheers can be heard throughout the neighborhood.

9:32-I wave my spirit fingers in an attempt to urge the power to come back faster.

9:57- Still no power. And now also, no light. We go inside.

9:58-I download the flashlight app on my phone.

9:59- Hubby yells at me for how bright and annoying my new flashlight is. Then I shine it in his eyes.

10:03- Hubby decides to go to bed because he's going fishing early in the morning. I decide to lay in bed with him and play on my phone. Clearly the power will be on any minute.

10:07- No power, and its hot in our room.

10:14-I use my new flashlight to go down to the laundry and get my jammies. Check for crazy murderers with my flashlight. Find none. Come back upstairs.

10:30- Lay in bed. Hot. Silently curse the electric men because they obviously don't know what they're doing. It's taking them forever.

11:18-Still awake. Still no power. Also, phone is now dead. This sucks.

11:23- Rejoice when the power comes on!! Run to the fan and turn it on. Run to the bathroom and pee. Rejoice again that I can flush the toilet. Turn off all the crap that was on when the power went out. Return to the bed. Rejoice yet again in the wondrous breeze from the fan. Fall asleep.

sometimes i make {somewhat} irrational assumptions.

We all have things we're afraid of, right?

Right.

So I thought I'd share some of my fears and the assumptions that go along with them today.

- Whenever someone rings the doorbell and I'm home alone, I always assume it's an ax murderer. I almost never answer it. I'll even get down on the floor and crawl around so the person can't see that I'm home through the windows. No joke.

- If I have a headache, I typically assume it means I have a brain tumor.

-If I shop at Wal-Mart past 9pm, I assume that a rapist has crawled into my backseat while I was shopping, so I thoroughly check my car before I leave, but still find my blood pressure feeling a bit high until I get home alive and un-raped.

-If a car is following me and makes two of the same turns as I do, I assume this person is following me home to kill me.

- If I kill a spider in the bathroom, I assume it has laid its eggs in my bed and its babies will eat me in my sleep.

-If I leave a store without buying anything, I assume I'll be stopped at the door and asked to look in my purse, because they think I've shoplifted. I try to act totally innocent and walk out very slowly...and probably make myself look even more suspicious in the process.

-Any time I see a white car, I assume it's the police, and they're going to pull me over for going 3 mph over the limit. Okay...maybe more than 3 :)

-Whenever I walk over one of those sewer drain things, I assume that it will collapse and I will fall into the fiery pits of hell.

-When I'm getting gas, I take those little signs on the pump VERY literally. I assume that if I reenter my car to put my credit card away, I WILL create a spark upon retrieving the pump after I get out and will blow myself up. So I take extra precaution in de-static-ing myself by touching every metal surface I can find before I reach for the pump. That's right...I just made up a word.

-If I am within 100 feet of someone who is smoking, I assume that I will develop emphysema and lung cancer. So I shoot incredibly dirty glances at the offender, and cough incredibly loudly at them, trying to get my message across. As if that will actually cause the person to stub their cigarette out and embark on a smoke-free life.

-If I do not use the bathroom IMMEDIATELY before getting in bed at night, I assume I will pee in my sleep. Then I will have to explain to my husband why he is laying on wet sheets, and will never live it down. So I go right before bed. Every. Night.

- If I am riding in an elevator, I assume it will get stuck, and the other people inside will get to witness a crazy person have a heart attack while trying to make sure she gets all the oxygen before them.

-If I am using a step ladder, I assume that I will fall off of it and tumble 3 feet to my death. I sweat like a hog until I finish whatever it is that I'm doing, and climb down it slowly like a terrified child, vowing never to use a step ladder again.

I just realized how many of these I've actually shared...I think I may have gotten a little carried away, and now you all think I'm totally crazy. So I think I'll stop here for now. There may or may not be about 20 more of these...but you'll just have to make your own guesses on what they are.

What are some of your fears and assumptions?

dear husband,

This is backwards.

Thanks for trying though.

xoxo, wife

life's a beach

Sand chairs. Beach towels. Sunscreen. Waves. Umbrellas. Picnic lunches. 50 degree water. Numb toes. Lake Michigan. People watching. Stupid chain smokers (at the beach? Really?) Hairy-backed man (sorry for the grainy photo, but I was being a paparazzi, and had to zoom in my faraway shot). Sun. Perfect weather. Toes in the sand. Mother-daughter time. Seagulls. Lifeguards. Rescue boats poking long sticks in the water (I swore they were searching for bodies, but Mom said no.) High parking prices. Boardwalks. Adorable kids playing in the sand. Yellow cake batter ice cream at Oinks.

I'd say the day was a success. Can't wait to do it again soon!

dear husband,

I'm sorry I didn't take you totally seriously the other night when you came home from your softball game.

When I came outside to see why you hadn't come in yet, I found you like this.

This was as far as you made it from the car.

You were complaining of not feeling well and that you thought you were going to throw up.

I thought you were being dramatic...we all know how men can be when they think they're "sick."

After you took a shower, we checked your temp and you had a little fever.

I tucked you into bed, still thinking you were being a little dramatic, especially when you asked for your phone "in case someone calls."

And when you complained when I put a frozen bag of veggies on your head that you wouldn't be able to eat them now, because your head would thaw them out.

And when you asked me to take a picture of you on your cell.

I figured if you were really sick, you wouldn't care about any of that stupid stuff.

But even though I thought you were milking it a bit, I brought you home some ice cream for your throat...mostly because it gave me an excuse to get something for myself, too.

Then yesterday after church, you asked me to look down your throat.

Again, I was slightly annoyed, because any 26-year-old man should know that he is more than capable of using the mirror to look down his own throat with a flashlight.

But I did it anyway.

And I saw white spots.

And then I knew.

You weren't simply being a whiner. You were actually sick.

So then my guilty conscience kicked into high gear. 

I took you to the doctor and then to the pharmacy.

I made you some lunch and dinner.

I checked on you throughout the day to make sure you didn't need anything.

And I got you to bed early.

I'm rambling, but I basically wanted to say that I'm sorry for thinking that you were just being dramatic.

It's just that sometimes, having a little sniffle can turn you into a whining puddle of complaints.

That's just how guys are.

But I know now that you are legitimately sick this time, and I'm sorry for not believing you.

You're sleeping, and I think I'll go check on you now.

xoxo, wife

not always glamorous.

I can be a very self-conscious person at times...and I'm sure you can all relate. 

I try (probably way too hard most of the time) to look my super cutest in pictures.

I try to get my "good side" in the picture, and will stand a certain way or smile a certain way to ensure that I look my best...and most of the time it backfires.

My thought process is always this:

When my future grand kids see pictures of me, I want them to think, "Man, my granny was sure cute when she was young!"

But while looking back through pictures on my computer today, I realized that the pictures that I got the biggest kick out of, weren't the ones where we were smiling perfectly.

The ones I enjoyed looking at the most, and the ones that made me smile and reminisce were the ones that were silly.

Those are the pictures that truly show our personality.

And to be completely honest, life isn't always glamorous, is it?

I wouldn't say that any of these pictures are "cute," or that I'm proud of the way I look in any of them.

But thinking about it now, I don't care if my grand kids think I was pretty.

Because I'd much rather them say, "Man, it looks like my granny was a fun person."

Maybe they'd use other adjectives...

like crazy, weird, a doofus, moron, creepy, or odd.

But I'd like to think they'd go with fun instead :)

sweet summertime

This past weekend was what summertime is really all about. Trips to the lake with friends, spending time with family, and bonfires. Here's my recap in pictures.

Lake Trip

Pretty excited because this was our first lake trip of the summer.

I'm never normally a good co-pilot, but this time I insisted that we ditch the GPS, and I would totally get us there without getting lost. And other than allowing Ty to drive completely by the house, I did a pretty good job!

This is Ty's girlfriend, Emma. I think I need to watch my back, because she's slowly stealing his heart :)

Getting ready to go out on the boat...pretending like he's actually going to ski with that little girl life jacket.

Here I am making friends with the enemy...just kidding, love you Em!

Father's Day Family Photos...Kind of

Why take nice, normal family photos when you can take awesome ones like these? Okay, okay, maybe we got some nice ones too :)

Father's Day Part 2...Cookout and Bonfire

Grand kids (the ones who were able to make it) with their Grandma and Grandpa

Watching the boys play in the sprinkler brought back memories of how much fun it is to run through tiny streams of water while screaming your head off.

Baby Lydia is getting so big! 2 and a half months old already!

So there was a small snippet of our weekend. Hopefully we can have more just like this one!