Lately-ish

Dirty dog!

Our backyard is a jungle!

The diverse ecosystem that is our property :)

Tequila Pork Chops with Grilled Zucchini.

Spices for a batch of chili.

IPA: A match in chili heaven.

Bought myself a new store-coupon organizer. Stylish!

Got a new purse too!

The plowin' occurring across the fence from us.

Turquoise pedicure. Love!

Finally, Progress!

We finally took a step forward in the home construction progress!

After returning our deed to the attorney and learning our loan officer was on vacation last week, we were told on Monday that our loan was ready to close! We were so excited, we scheduled our closing right away. Yesterday, we signed the papers.

We are beyond thrilled! Construction is scheduled to start on Monday, however with the 4th of July holiday, it is likely to start on July 9th. Ugh, I'm so impatient at this point, I just want to look out the window, and see dozers and people working on our property. At this point, if construction starts on the 9th, there is a good possibility we will be our house by the beginning of October. Yes, please!

On another subject, I did order my new running shoes. It was a hard choice between the Pumas and Aasics, but I went with the Aasics. They shipped yesterday, so I should have them by Monday. I also (surprise, surprise!) ordered a purse. I finally found one I liked at the right price (it's been a long search).

We've got a heat wave starting in our area today, it's supposed to be a 105! I will probably be inside most of the day, along with the dogs :) I'm making chili tonight, so hopefully I will remember to take some pictures so I can blog about cooking again. I've gotten into a routine of forgetting my camera, so I just need to buckle down and do it. We'll see, no guarantees here!

Happy Thursday!

25 Things You May Not Know About Me

1. I start every day with 2 cups of coffee.
2. I'm secretly a Miley Cyrus fan. I love to work out to her music.
3. I coached club volleyball when I was in college.
4. I don't like tomato based chili. I prefer mine Texas-style. With elbow macaroni.
5. My celebrity crush is Timothy Olyphant aka Raylan Givens.

6. I wear flip-flops 365 days a year.
7. I have 5 tattoos.
8. I used to have my belly button pierced, as well as my nose.
9. I worked at Baskin Robbins in college. And I ate ice cream every time I worked.

10. I hated avocados when I was a kid. Now, I would eat them every day.
11. I used to make fun of my mom for couponing when I was a kid. Oh boy, that one has come back to bite me in the butt!
12. I love salsa. I go through a 48-oz container in a week.
13. Mexican food is my favorite cuisine.

14. I have horrible vision. My eye doctor told me I'm nearing the point where there won't be a prescription for me anymore, and I will have to have Lasik.
15. The thought of Lasik makes my skin crawl.
16. My first car was a 1984 Nissan Pulsar. Baby Blue. It was hideous. I named it "Satan".

17. My second car was a black 1991 Toyota Celica that I called "The Batmobile".

18. I rang in my 21st birthday in the middle of an 8-day power outage due to an ice storm.
19. I'm super picky about purses. I haven't bought one in 2 years because I can't find one I like.
20. I'm not super picky about shoes. I gave away about 30 pairs when I left Oregon (not enough room in the moving truck to bring another 30 pairs of shoes).
21. I hate beets.

22. I've never owned a home. But I'm getting ready to! :)
23. I hate rain.
24. I love snow.
25. I'm a horrible skier. The first time I skied was when I was 24 years old. It took me 3 hours to do my first run. The hubby was maaaaaad!

Pumped Up Kicks

Confession time:

It's been a long time since I bought new running shoes. A long, long time. I'm talking, an embarrassing amount of time. My shoes have gotten to the point where I'm just mortified to wear them.

I realize when shoes get as worn out as I've let mine get, they aren't good for your feet. They don't offer the support that they should, for my legs or back. I guess I've just pushed running shoes so far down on my list of priorities, that I was bound to make it to this point sometime.

Well, no more. It's time to get some new shoes. I'm having a hard time deciding what I want to get.

These Nike's are pretty much like every other running shoe I've ever bought. In fact, I don't know if I've ever bought anything other than Nike... So you could say, I know what to expect out of my ol' faithful Nike's.

Which brings me to Aasics. I love these shoes! Very, very different from any other athletic shoes I've bought. I'm thinking, these are so bright and cheery, how could I not want to work out?

Ahh, Pumas. I've haven't owned Pumas since high school. I wore my Pumas from high school until the soles fell off. I loved those shoes. I wish they still made them... But anyways, I like these running shoes. Pretty basic, with a splash of my fave color, purple.

I think I'm going to let my choice sink in, and buy the one I want tomorrow. I'm so weird about shopping. I see something I like, think about it for days, and then when I decide I absolutely want it, it's gone. Story of my life.

I'm pouncing tomorrow.

BTW, I think it's going to be the Aasics :)

I Guess I'm Getting Old...

Well, it finally happened. My little brother got engaged. I love him to pieces, and I'm glad he found love, but I'm still a little in shock. He's my little brother, and he'll always be that crazy kid in my mind. Sigh. I guess this is growing up, to quote Blink 182 :)

It looks like it's going to be a fall wedding, so I've already picked out what I want to wear, how I want to wear my hair, what makeup colors I want to wear, and etc. Yep, I'm that girl. I've haven't had an excuse to dress up in awhile, so I think I'm excited for that. Here's what I'm thinking: (and knowing me, it could change tomorrow!)

I love this cute sweater dress. It's totally my style, which some may say is plain, but I say is classic.

I'm really into cowboy boots right now. I saw pictures on Pinterest of a wedding where the bridesmaids wore short dresses and cowboy boots. So cute! And hey, why not play up my new home? I'm soooo getting a pair. BTW, it's going to be a casual event so I think I can pull off cowboy boots :)

I love this casual, slightly messy, boho look on Nicole Ritchie. I think I'm going to go for this, or something similar. No stiff prom updo's for me!

Mostly, I'm excited I have an excuse to go home. Things are going to be crazy, as we will be nearing the end, or just finished with house construction, but ce la vie. We'll make it work :)

Pics From the Day: 6/20/12

Vanilla Caramel Cream in the K-Cup. And catching up on reading.

Beachy waves.

WTF?

It's 93 degrees outside!

Brutus is hot too!

Love that tongue.

Buds.

It's a rough life.

Dinner. Pulled pork hash with a side of strawberries.

The hubby helping with the landscaping.

Beautiful sunset

Just Our Luck

http://blogs.psychcentral.com

The hubby and I were hoping to sign our construction loan this week, and begin construction on our home next week (to be honest, we were hoping to sign a month ago!). Yesterday, we found out we will definitely not be signing this week.

Our loan has been delayed for 3 weeks now, thanks to a title issue. I won't get into the whole story, since title issues are a complex problems that are hard to understand. Basically what it boils down to is that there was an error with the hubby's mother's father (did you get all that??) deeding his land to the hubby's mother. We had to have all of the hubby's mother's brothers and sisters sign a new deed (there are 3 sisters and 2 brothers, plus all spouses). It took us a while to get all these signatures. The deed was driven to Tennessee by one of the hubby's uncles, overnighted to Florida, and personally escorted by us to Cincinnati last weekend. Taking the deed to Cincinnati last weekend was an ordeal all in itself. The hubby and I had driven for an hour towards Cincinnati when we realized we forgot the deed, had to turn around, go get it, and then go back towards Cincinnati. We finally have all of the necessary signatures, the deed is notarized, and... our loan officer is on vacation.

Oh, brother. We talked to the branch manager at the bank yesterday, and she told us the earliest we could sign would be Monday, when our loan officer is back in the office. Apparently, at this bank, you can't have someone else handle your documents. It's a small town, this is a small bank. The hubby and I left the bank, stunned, ticked, and more than a little cranky. We are ready to get this thing going! We sought consolation at the local brewery, numbing our disappointment with local beer. That wasn't so bad, but how much better would it have been if it had been a celebration? We decided we would go back sometime when we are in much better moods.

If we sign on Monday, construction will start the following Monday. I so wanted construction to start next week. The hubby and I will sit tight this week, stare at each other impatiently, and day dream about decorating the new house :)

Product Review: Revlon Just Bitten Lipstain + Balm and More

Ugh, I'm really missing blogging about cooking. I haven't been trying too many recipes lately, mostly sticking to the tried and true while I'm cooking for the hubby's aunt and uncle. I think I'll have a couple of recipes to try this week, but we'll see...
New beauty products? Now that, I've had time for :) A couple of weeks ago I bought some Physician's Formula skincare, and I've been loving it! I don't know if I will be able to find a sale that amazing again, but again, we'll see. Anyhoo, here's what I've tried lately:

1. Revlon Just Bitten Lipstain + Balm

I tried Revlon's new lipstain in Sweetheart. I love the idea of a lipstain, color that lasts for hours and that you don't have to worry about touching up. It's the carrying out of that concept that I have a problem with. I've never found a lipstain whose color doesn't get blotchy on my lips after applying it. I was very pleased with Revlon's formula. The product itself goes on smoothly, and doesn't look or feel dry. I would say it's a good marriage between a lip balm and a stain. I know you can all hear a "but" coming on. But... the color? Wow. This was florescent, neon pink on my lips. I couldn't even handle the color. This color is pretty similar to most pinks I wear, so I was really surprised by how bright this is. I had to run my finger over my lips multiple times to blend the product down from it's original color. The color looked pretty good after I had worn it down, but I have to say, the stain doesn't last as long this way. I just bought this product in Romantic, which is more of a coral-y color. We'll see if this more my style. I'm hoping so, because I do think this product has great potential. The verdict? If I can find a color I like, I will probably be using this a lot. And would I buy this again? Obviously, I did :)

2. Physicians Formula Deep Wrinkle Corrector Day & Night Cream

Wow, that's a really long name! I bought this about 3 weeks ago, and have been falling in love a little more each day. There's nothing to dislike about this cream. I find this cream comparable to Olay's Regenerist Micro-Scuplting Cream. Olay's cream usually retails for around $25, and I picked up this Physician's Formula cream for $3! Hopefully, I can find a deal this amazing again, because I want to keep using it. The cream has a very thick texture, but smooths on amazingly well. A little bit goes a long way. Because of its thick texture, I use this as a night cream only. After the first night of using this, I couldn't believe how soft and glow-y my face was the next morning. I was instantly hooked. It's very humid here this time of year, so I am using this every other night to avoid the "greasies". Every other night, I use my Garnier gel cream which is very light. This moisturizes my skin so effectively, it's making my face makeup apply better. Especially in the under-eye area. I've noticed a lot less settling of the makeup into the fine lines around my eyes, thus bringing less notice to the not-so-many wrinkles I have. The verdict? Love, love, love! I don't know if I can bring myself to pay full price, but who knows? I might go into withdrawals without.

3. Dove Nourishing Oil Care Leave-In Smoothing Cream

I've had a really good round up of products this time. This summer, my hair has been super-dry. To the point where I look in the mirror, and I'm disgusted. I've spent some considerable time growing my hair out, so chopping it all off and starting over is not something I want to do. I've been wanting to try this product since I read about it on Nouveau Cheap's website. For a drugstore leave-in conditioner, this is a top-notch product. I've been using this for about a week, with amazing results. I did a conditioning mask earlier in the week, and have been using this ever since. My hair is noticeably softer, even the hubby thought so. It has a nice, thick texture and a quarter size amount takes care of all my hair. Which is numerous. I warm it up between my hands, spread it through my hair, and then comb it all through to even it out. My hair is so soft after I blow it out, I've been giving my flat-iron a rest. This is good for my flat-iron, as well as my hair. A win-win. The verdict? I will be buying this again. It's pretty cheap already, and I can always find Dove coupons.

Hope everyone had a great weekend!

Pics From The Day: 6/14/12

You can't see us!

Brutus

This is what a nice kitchen looks like

Fun pedicure

Beautiful day, beautiful view 

Made Grownup Hamburger Helper for everyone

The bed is too damn high!

Getting blonder...

Gizmo getting in the toy box

It's hard finding time to blog around here! The blog may be sparse for awhile...

Happy Friday!

Mid-Week Beauty Finds

I am not usually out shopping in the middle of the week. Mainly because the hubby and I are sharing a car, and of course he works during the week. However, the hubby's aunt was going out to do some shopping yesterday so I tagged along, as did my mother-in-law. I'm glad I did, I found some good buys, and new products to review!

The first stop was Rite Aid. Rite Aid had select Revlon makeup on clearance for 75% off. I couldn't pass that one up.

I ended up with New Complexion foundation, normally $11.99, on sale for $2.99. The Age Defying Spa concealer, normally $10.99, I got for $2.74. And the lipstick? Normally $8.99, I got it for $2.24. I ended up with $31.97 worth of makeup for $7.97. I was pretty psyched about this :)

Later we stopped by Sally Beauty Supply. Or rather, I stopped by Sally while the hubby's aunt went into the Scrubs store (yeah, that didn't sound like fun to me either). I found a couple of things-

Cina Nail Art Decals were Buy 1, Get 1 Free. That totally excited me, and I just had to get some new decals to try. I can't wait to re-do my toes. You can almost bet that's what I will be doing tomorrow :)

My hair has felt like straw lately, very dry and brittle. I was looking for a deep conditioner that wasn't too expensive. This was on sale for $6.99, normally $12.49. I decided to give it a shot. Upon bringing the product home and googling it, I'm pretty sure this is for African-American hair. That's what I get for knowing nothing about a product line, right? This didn't stop me from sampling the product, and I glad it didn't. I've only used it once, but my hair feels much softer. It doesn't feel greasy or weighed down either, which is always my concern with a product designed for a different type of hair. This one's a keeper though, hopefully it will bring my hair back to the softer side.

Good things do come to people who venture out in the middle of the week. Of course, the hubby's aunt and I had a cocktail in the afternoon upon returning from shopping, that led to a lot more cocktail drinking later in the day. But hey, that's a tale for another day :)