Photo Shoot with Fen

Please ignore my double chin, but these were too funny and cute not to share! As you can see, Fenway is MY dog!

Fun at the Lake

We head up to the lake with the dogs several times every week for a hike and swim. They get to burn off excess energy, and we take the time to talk and enjoy nature. Here are a few photos from onen of our recent trips!

God Help Us

Sometimes my well-thought out plans completely backfire, and tonight was one of those times. Dave ALWAYS teases me about my blog, tries to spy on my posts, and thinks it is a total laughing stock. I suggested that HE start a blog so he can see how much fun it is to write about things that matter to you. In true Dave fashion, he poohooed the idea at first, but then tonight he asked me to help him set it up. Yay, Dave is now the author of his very own blog. It is called Gilder's Fantasies, and it is all about his obsession with Fantasy Sports! Whether or not he will actually write on the blog remains to be seen, but I hope he does because he is a good writer. Plus, maybe now he will not bore me with Fantasy Sports theories?! Here's hoping!

Back to School Wishes

I love etsy.com, and I would LOVE to have these items for back to school!

http://tiny.cc/hsfhr

http://tiny.cc/c7zap

http://tiny.cc/p3htp

http://tiny.cc/gsnf6

 While this adorable song was surely not written about adoption, I can't help but think of it every time I hear it! Believe me, this song WILL be on a slide show of our kiddo someday!

"Just Haven't Met You Yet" by: Michael Buble

I'm Not Surprised
Not Everything Lasts
Have Broken My Heart So Many Times,
I Stopped Keepin Track.
Talk Myself In
I Talk Myself Out
I Get All Worked Up
Then I Let Myself Down.

I Tried So Very Hard Not To Lose It
I Came Up With A Million Excuses
I Thought I Thought Of Every Possibility

And I Now Someday That It'll All Turn Out
You'll Make Me Work So We Can Work To Work It Out
And I Promise You Kid That I'll Give So Much More Than I Get
I Just Haven't Met You Yet

Mmmmm ....

I Might Have To Wait
I'll Never Give Up
I Guess It's Half Time
And The Other Half's Luck
Wherever You Are
Whenever It's Right
You Come Out Of Nowhere And Into My Life

And I Know That We Can Be So Amazing
And Baby Your Love Is Gonna Change Me
And Now I Can See Every Possibility

I Love Rain!

Since I began working my summer job 3 years ago, I have worked on Sundays. For the most part, I have never minded since the group that golfs on Sunday nights is really nice.  I mind a bit more once school and football season starts! My idea of a perfect Sunday is sitting on the couch wth Dave from 1 pm on, watching football. Since I work from 3 pm to close every Sunday, I usually miss out on about half of the football season.

Today, I was called by my boss and told to stay home! The group canceled due to excessive rain! I was awake around 1 am this morning when the rain started, and it has yet to let up. While football hasn't started yet, I am still glad for an unplanned day off. I spent part of today cooking. I made apple sauce and mashed potatoes. I did some cleaning and laundry as well as a bit of shopping at TJMaxx. Another one of my favorite weekend activities is taking a nap, and I did that today as well. I am waiting for Dave to return from Philly around 7:30 pm.

One downside to the rain is that the dogs are bored. I feel especially bad for the pup that I am watching because she has to be in her crate all day long. Normally, she spends most of her time outside, but she is a princess and hates the rain. Unfortunately, Dave and I are borh allergic to her so bringing her to our house is just not an option. Anyway, I am going to dive in a book a co-worker lent me. Seeing how school starts in a a little over 2 weeks, I need to get as much reading in as possible!

Ahh!

"I know that you believe you understand what you think I said, but I'm not sure you realize that what you heard is not what I meant." ~ Robert McCloskey
This quote describes me perfectly right now. I wish I could explain how generally misunderstood I feel, but I can't! I am feeling generally frustrated with life as of late, and I think a lot of it is as a result of our adoption plans.  I hadn't disclosed this before, but we have had 2 potential matches, one due in July and one due in October. Both fell through (obviously), but I cannot help but take it personally. I think we are a great couple who would make terrific parents, and yet, we are still not selected. Dave says that he does not take not being selected personally because it is not about them not liking us as much as it about them wanting to parent their children, but gosh it is hard to take. Deep down, I know he is right; however, that does not lessen the disappointment and sadness I feel when we are not chosen. It brings me back to the fact that I cannot give my husband a child, and that sucks. I am so excited about adopting, and I just NEED it to happen soon.

Summer Book Challenge Update

I started this challenge with a TON of enthusiasm, but then I saw the challenge list... Here are the categories I have completed:

1. August 1st is Girlfriend's Day. Read a book about a group of friends.: A Woman's Place by Lynn Austin (4/5 stars)

2. Read a one word titled book: Deadline by Chris Crutcher (3/5 stars)

3. Read a memoir: Look Me in the Eye by John Elder Robison (4/5 stars)

4. Read a book where a main character has a job you would love to have: Firefly Lane by Kristen Hannah (5/5 stars)

I am currently working on The Widow's War by Sally Dunning for the historical fiction category. I found this book as a result of a fellow blogger. I am about 60 pages in, so I will update when I finish it.

Good Housekeeping

In our never-ending stay or sell struggle, Dave and I have decided to do some work on the house. We know that if we find a house that we love (already happened), and they are willing to negotiate a price we can afford (still working on this one), that we will need to get our home on the market ASAP. We want to be ready, and if we never end up selling, then we will have just made some nice improvements on our home.

One of the most time intensive projects we have undertaken was re-painting the front porch and painting the rocker on the front porch. I can't believe how a fresh coat of paint is such a huge face lift!













I am also working on a wreath for the front door. I have zero craft talent, so I will need help with this one!














In anticipation of fall (and also because I forgot to water the previous flowers and they died), I planted mums in my flower boxes. I am thinking they are a bit sparse, but I want to see if they spread out a bit more before I plant a couple more.

Finally, I broke down and purchased a new table cloth and napkins for the dining room. If you have not seen my dining room, it is a combination of cream and a terra cotta-type reddish color. Because I was always worried about making the room look too busy, I always stuck with cream linens. Cream = BORING! I finally stepped out of the box and went with a cool napkin pattern. It matches the room and my table cloth perfectly!

I love my family

Dave will not be happy that I published this one, but it is SO him!

Chili Weather

I meant to post this last week, but I kept forgetting to upload the pictures. Dave and I love chili, but we despise beans! So I set out in search of a yummy chili recipe that offered something a bit different. I started with a recipe from the Newly Wed Cookbook, and I have adapted it over time. I usually make this almost every Sunday during football season, and we enjoy it while we watch the games. It is quick, easy, and delicious!

To begin, brown up your ground turkey or beef. We use ground turkey for everything, including burgers, tacos, and chili. I use a sauce pot since I will be adding other ingredients.










While the meat is cooking, I chop up yellow peppers, red peppers. and onions.











Once the meat is mostly cooked, I add these to the pot. I also add a small can of tomato sauce as well as a medium can of hot chili peppers. The canned chili peppers can be found in the Mexican food aisle. I also add cayenne pepper and black pepper. Of course, you can make the chili more or less spicy, depending on your taste. I will tell ya, we like it SPICY! I let the pot simmer for about 20 minutes, and then you are ready to enjoy! We like to top our chili with taco cheese for an added kick.

Baby Steps

I FINALLY ordered our bassinet today! The one I have been after was no longer available at Babies R Us, so I gave up and started looking for another style. Dave is my hero because he not only found it on overstock.com, but it was $30 less! Way to go Dave!

Here it is:

Finally decided....

and ordered nursery prints! I did not end up with the ones from Paris; I just couldn't justify spending that much money. So here is my compromise:

They are definitely girly, but I love them! Since they were only $22 plus shipping, if we have a boy I can order something different. Everyone swears we will have a girl, which is good because we cannot agree on a boy name! I love the whimsical birdies, and any daughter of mine will NEED a cupcake picture!

I can't believe that I haven't updated since Friday. I have been working for the last 4 nights so I have not had a whole lot of exciting news to post.

Tomorrow I am heading to David's Bridal to pickup my dress for my cousin's October wedding:












Then I am meeting up with Jess for lunch at Jumpin Jacks! It should be fun to catch up for a bit. It will be great to see her. I will probably get some other errands done tomorrow as well. I am off for the next 4 out of 5 days so YIPEEEE!