Monday, April 26, 2010

A kid in a candy store.

Three years ago when Jonathan and I got married we bought a house. It is a wonderful house, with a giant backyard.

However, after buying the house, we didn't have a ton of money for other necessities, like a lawn mower. Thankfully a family friend had a mower that we could 'purchase' for a case of beer. Now I am by no means complaining, but I think it will suffice to say a case of beer is not buying you a new, top of the line mower.

Jonathan has used that mower for 3 years now. Never once complained that you have to pull it 15 times to start it, or that you have to mow the same spot twice to get the grass short enough. The only thing he ever said was, 'I love our yard. Doesn't it look nice?"

And it does look nice.

But the other day Jonathan came in and said he had some bad news. Ole' jalopy had finally bit the dust. He named some fandangled part that had rusted and caused this other part to crack, etc. etc. "I'm sorry honey, I am going to have to get a new mower."

Secretly, I was so happy it broke. I know he has hated that thing from day 1. But being the practical, sensible man I love, he wouldn't spend the money on a new one until he had too.

Tonight a shiny, black craftsman platinum arrived to its new home; our home. Jonathan didn't wait a minute to start putting it together and test out his new toy.










And do you know what the best part of my day was? Catching my husband smiling while mowing the yard.

Saturday, April 24, 2010

Welcome Summer.

This year has been the coldest winter of my life. (Literally, it broke all the records.)

There is one big problem with this: I don't do cold. I love Florida because it is hot. Often. But thankfully, winter seems to have slowly faded, and for the last 2 weeks the weather has been showing a glimmer of the glorious summer ahead.

So today, without a cloud in the sky, I headed to the beach with some friends to celebrate the end of winter.

So long winter.... hello toes in the sand!











(Linzy was so excited winter is gone, she did cartwheels!)










We wanted to kick-off our celebration with a toast... but Gulf-coast beaches have a law that it is illegal to have alcohol on the beach. So in our ever-so-brilliant state, Rebecca disguised the sangria in a Zephyrhills bottle. Totally can't tell, right?












The day was pretty much perfect. We read books and magazines. Watched dolphins do flips and attempted some skimboarding. And of course, built the customary sea turtle sand castle.



















Some of the scenery was just breath taking... and some not so much. But all in all, it was a great "Welcome Summer" kick-off party.

Friday, April 23, 2010

Fort

Reese is an architect. Yes, you read that correctly, an architect.

She builds forts. Remember the kind you made as a kid? We all did it... dragged every chair, blanket and pillow in the house to one location and precariously clothespinned the pieces together until it filled the living room. Then you had to climb inside, invite your imaginary friend over, and play for hours until exhaustion finally won and you would fall fast asleep in your new palace.

Those forts are Reese's specialty. She has made them for as long as I can remember. In fact, she was only 4 months old when she made this fort:
















As she has gotten older her dedication and skill set has grown considerably. We come home after every outing and find our bed pillows rearranged into some fort-like concoction. Sometimes her blueprints only require 1 or 2 pillows. Other times it is a quad-pillow design.















While pillows are without a doubt Reese's favorite building block, she is not opposed to other materials. On occasion, we have unknowingly pushed her to be extremely resourceful. Should Reese find that all the pillows are otherwise occupied, she can still continue on her lifelong mission of fort building.

Thursday, April 22, 2010

A Perfect Football Date

The 2010 NFL draft began tonight. If you would have asked me 8 years ago about the draft, I would have laughed at you. I didn't grow up in a sports conscience home. Sure, we saw the headlines on the news. Even went to an occasional game. (After all, Bucs tickets were free if you spent $25 at Kash 'N Karry.) But we were not sports fanatics by any means.

Enter Jonathan, my sports loving, wildly addicted to ESPN, husband. Thanks to him, I have learned a lot about all professional teams over the last couple years. This may come as a shock to those of you that have known me for awhile, but I can name players. On lots of teams. For all kinds of sports.

It's impressive, I know.

So anyway, tonight was the draft and I had actually been looking forward to it all day. It is perfect "us" time for Jonathan and I.

We sat on the couch, got take-out Buffalo Wild Wings, the dogs gnawed on bones, and we talked. Jonathan looked up stats and talked strategy. I asked a lot of questions like: "Really, Tebow is still available?" "What is that guy wearing?" "Awww, he is crying; the Bucs picked a good one huh?"

It was about as perfect of a date as you can have.

Wednesday, April 21, 2010

It's a yellow ball day.

One of my favorite times of the day is the first 10 minutes after I get home from work.

For obvious reasons, yes. But also for these guys:

Meet Jake & Reese, my kids. Jake is a 5 year old lab basenji mix that we rescued from a busy interstate median. And Reese is a 2 year old chocolate lab that I found under the Christmas tree.

But I digress.

Everyday when I get home, the same thing happens. Jake & Reese meet me at the door. Jake tucks his ears back and jumps up to give me a hug. And Reese wags her tail so fast it shakes her entire body and she nearly falls over.

Then we go outside.

Reese picks her toy of choice, and Jake secures the perimeter.



And we play.

Reese will incessantly fetch whatever toy she has chosen, viewing each throw as a new invitation to frolic through the yard. Jake will sniff until he is sure we are intruder free, then join in the festivities.

And without fail, I laugh.

But today was particularly wonderful. There wasn't a cloud in the sky and it was a breezy 85 degrees. But it was also the first day in a week Jake was allowed to play. (He learned, the hard way, why eating a bottle of prescription medicine is a bad idea. It was a long week, but thankfully his shaved leg is the only lasting evidence.)

Today was a yellow ball day.


Tuesday, April 20, 2010

Everyday Reasons to Smile

I have been thinking about starting a blog for awhile. The trouble is, I don't have a hook. I am not a writer, and I am not a photographer. I do not have kids, and my job isn't super blog-worthy.

But I am a person who loves life.

I cherish the little things that happen in a day. I love the way it smells outside after it rains. The way my dog's entire butt wags when she sees me. The way my cul-de-sac becomes a parking lot for power wheels at 4pm everyday.

And I love to read blogs.

So after being a lurker and a reader of so many other blogs, I am going to start my own.

I don't know what the topics will be. But I do know it won't be perfect. It will have spelling mistakes. It will have grammar mistakes. And the pictures will probably have my thumb in the corner.

But it will also have lots of love and smiles.

I heard in a class once that we only remember 30% of our "memories" unless we do something with them. This will be my attempt to salvage those precious, everyday smiles. I love life too much to voluntarily give up 70% of my memories.