life lately.

well, lately i've been siiiiick. so, life hasn't been too exciting. 


here are a few things that have been going on that may be of interest to others... or maybe not :)

what have i been up to?

well. feeding my dog wet dog food. (that's matt's hand, not mine. just so you know. my hands are crazy, but not quite that manly.)

 she loved it. so much that she destroyed the bowl. looks like she won't be getting wet dog food very often... we don't have a ton of bowls for her to chew up.

we discovered a great coffee shop. finally. it's great. great music, fun drinks, great atmosphere with lots of people who are artsy to the max--you know, lots of rob bell glasses and skinny jeans and colorful hair and such.

late night date to leo's coney island.

for fries and chili dogs.

does not get much classier.

right?

 what a good looking duo we are.

it's probably even classier that we took pictures while there... all the high schoolers were staring at us. whoops.

soon after the fries and chili dog fiasco, we decided we really need to start eating better. laziness and love of food has gotten the best of us.

so, last night i made delicious salads.

and then i found a slightly outdated container of fat free cool whip hanging out at the back of the freezer! 

(august 2011 is close to now, right? come on. frozen food can't go bad... i hope).

low fat cinnamon graham crackers with fat free cool whip shoved in between... frozen a bunch so the cool whip tastes like ice cream. they're seriously amazing.

so, that's my life lately. pretty exciting, right? 
but i sure do love it.
OH. and here's a gem for you:
matt and i wanted a good christmas card photo.
but then we remembered we don't have a lot of money. so we shouldn't get a photographer.
who needs a photographer when you've got a self timer, christmas muumuus, and christmas lights? 
jeez louise. check out this pure holiday joy:

you're welcome :)

oh, and if you didn't get a christmas card from us, it may be in the mail. and if it's not, i'm sorry... again, back to the not a whole lot of money lifestyle. consider this our christmas joy sent to you! 

we have a lot of it... clearly

birthday happenings.

i had my birthday.

and man, did we celebrate!

warning: i have a billion pictures. prepare thyself.

 free HUGE starbucks drink.

notes allll over the apartment from this guy i live with. i sort of love him.

then, love from my students...

then, celebrated with matt with a fun, nice dinner.

 filet for matt... since he rocked his exam!

 and for me? my current favorite food. incredible salads.

 cupcake store for dessert? yes, please!

(with a blessing from God in that we had no change and the meter was already filled!)

then, brother ben came for harry potter.

at 3 a.m.

in imax 3D.

 much, much needed.

 brother. standing proud.

 and me. man alive, 3 a.m. harry potter in imax was unmatched.

the next day, we went shopping!

 california pizza kitchen. yummmm.

of course. a stop at cupcake station. so i could get inspired.

and, the last event of birthday week:

a trip home and then to west lafayette for cousin tara's wedding!

 there's my dog's butt. just for an extra special treat for you.

 weddings! we love them!

okay. that's just a perfect picture. 

and here ends my birthday week/weekend!

joy to the world.

summer joys.

we are CRAMMING a summer into 2 weeks.
because matt starts surgery tomorrow.
therefore, his summer ends very soon.


to make up for it, a bunch of summer things...

 tigers game!

 duh. super ropes are a must.

 finally made sloppy joe for this guy.

 took bailey to pet smart... and then to partridge creek (the outdoor mall).

 couldn't eat in a restaurant since we had bailey, so CPK to go!

 andddd the crowning jewel in the day: a gourmet pupcake.

cupcake made out of dogfood for bailey.

 after all that, she was dead to the world for the drive home.

 then, an attempt at fireworks and the detroit symphony orchestra at greenfield village.

me with the baseball team.

 matt getting some lilli time.

 but then, the heavens broke loose and it downpoured. i mean DOWNPOURED. hailed on us. and then the fireworks got cancelled. but it was quite an adventure!

and then, birmingham fireworks. gorgeous. and on a huge golf course.

happy 4th of july!

turn away for one second...

i turn away for one second...

and this happens.
bailey got a lick of a plate of beautiful cupcakes.


to punish her,
i let her lick the rest of the frosting.
it's okay... she lost 6 pounds, so she's not fat anymore.
she's allowed.


(we went on a long run later to make up for it.)

other things.

since i haven't been around lately, i have much to share.


first, a book.
susan told me about it.
and it changed my world. (she told me it would. smart girl.)

you should read it.
it has completely changed my perspective on things, and i've started making a list of things i'm thankful for--blessing the Lord has given me in my life.


a select few of my list (working my way to 1000):

16. Toothless smiles.

44. Watching my students attack Matt.

56. Bowls of crunchy cereal.

72. Getting into a warm car when I’m cold.

74. Cheap furniture that looks more expensive than it really is.

80. How cute Bailey is curled on a pillow.

i mean, seriously. she's crazy cute.

in honor of 74, matt and i went shopping to do some upgrades in our apartment... (plus one big splurge).

you guessed it.

we splurged on the lamp.

just kidding. it cost $12.

but we did splurge and got a new TV. we've been talking about it for ages and we just went for it.

so, that's that. big changes up in here.

oh, and in case you wondered...

school just ended.

and yes, i bawled like a baby.

and i don't even care.

i love those children.