10 Day You Challenge: Four Books

I don't read much - I don't enjoy it.  I'm envious of people who read all the time and love it.. I just can't get into it. I've been reading both The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo and The Lost Symbol for a long time, both I'm not very far into.  I'd just rather sit and watch a TV show than sit and read.  I wish I were different in that regard.  I have read a few books though, so only having to list 4, should be easy - we'll see...

1. Angels and Demons -  I read this book in about one week - which is a record for me - while on vacation in LA with my mom.  I could not put it down.  It grabbed me and sucked me in - the movie, several years later, sucked balls!  If you haven't read it, I HIGHLY recommend it!  I actually enjoy all of Dan Brown's books, which is why I need to stick with The Lost Symbol, I'm sure it won't let me down.
2. The Hobbit - I'm in LOVE with all of The Lord of The Rings movies, so I decided to read The Hobbit per a friends recommendation - SO glad I did!  Now I simply cannot wait for the movies to come out in 2012 and 2013!  It's (hopefully) going to be EPIC!  For those who don't know, The Hobbit is the prequel to The Lord of The Rings stories.
3. The Celestine Prophecy - I read this book many years ago and, at the time, it seemed to fit well into my life.  I was searching for something and, in my early twenties, trying to figure out who I was.  Today, in my current life and frame of mind, I probably wouldn't enjoy it much, if it all.  I have a pretty good feel for who I am and I'm not searching anymore.  While this book would probably be a good read for anybody, at any point in their life.. I just feel like it found me at the time when I needed to be found.
4. There's a Boy in The Girls Bathroom - LOL, I read this book a LONG time ago, but it makes my list because it's one book that I remember so clearly.  It was in my early teenage years that I read it and I thought it was the funniest thing EVER... I still own it.  For some reason it struck me as just a great book.. for some reason it just make an impact on my life!  Silly, I know, but we all have those thing that we keep with us forever and this book is one of those things!

ABC's Of Ang

So I've seen this around but just stumbled across a blog that had it on the first page, so I decided to steal and do it myself.

Age: 29, December brings the big 3-0.
Bed Size: Queen... dreaming of a king...
Chore You Hate: Dusting, it just plain sucks.
Dogs: not my cup of tea, too needy - just like kids!
Essential start of your day: Coffee and breakfast!
Favorite color: I love the color combo of Orange, Green, and Pink - bright shades of them all, makes me so happy!
Gold or silver: White Gold please.
Height: 5'4"-5'5"
Instruments I play (or have played): guitar for a semester in high school - otherwise my voice is my instrument :)
Job title: Administrative Assistant
Kids:are only good if you can give them back to their parents!
Live: Minnesota - born and raised!
Mom's name: Nancy.
Nickname: Ang, Dee, Baby, Pumpkin
Overnight hospital stays: Never.
Pet peeve: Bad driving
Quote from a movie: "There's no place like home."
Right or left handed: lefty, bitches!
Siblings: 1 older brother and a SIL.
Time you wake up: 5:00am, on the dot, unless I snooze.
Underwear: Thong most of the time.
Vegetables you dislike: I have a hard time with raw peppers, other than that, I'd about try anything.
What makes you run late: my lazy bones not wanting to move in a timely fashion.
X-rays you've had done: teeth and spine.
Yummy food you make: Avocado Cups - avocado, crab meat, cilantro, onion, tomato, lime juice - NOM!
Zoo animal: Dolphin if the zoo has them, otherwise I like any of the water animals - fish, seals, birds - I think I'm jealous of their lifestyle!

Random v.11.4

Some randoms for you today, just because I love you.

• I will be posting a picture heavy post this week of our weekend up on the North Shore - it was amazing and, as happy as I am to be home, I would have loved another few days up there!
• For those of you out of the lovely state of MN - it's been WICKED hot here this week - temps in the upper 90's and today we're supposed to hit 100°.  Fine and dandy until you add the dew point, making our days as humid as the Amazon  Rain Forrest  - literally.  Heat indexes up near 120°.  WTF?
• Yesterday it rained something fierce - it got dark as night up at work, then windy as hell, then the rain started to fall in sheets!  Our pit (where the truck back in for delivery) was FULL of water and one of the tops of our trees at home broke off (yet to fall, it's just chillin' in the other branches up top):
  

  

  This pit is DEEP, that plant (weed) sticking up out of the water is taller than I am

  

  You can kind of see it up there (click to enlarge), the top of our tree
• My niece turns 4 tomorrow, I babysat her on Monday night and left with a few photos as well as a video of her to share, for info, she LOVES Steve, so we were making videos for him as he wasn't there.
  

  

  We were taking these pictures because she wanted Steve to see that it was really her in the videos.

  
  

  

  Not sure if she is wanting to fight here or not, but she was excited about it afterwards

  
  

  

  One with daddy's hat for good measure

  
  

  

  Newest niece, Cayden, though she's over a year old now!

So this is Jordan's final take on a message to Steve.

Here are 2 more videos - this first one is just me recording her mid story so that she could see what making a video was like (hopefully you can understand her - as the video starts she is talking about her misplaced Bible, then she starts talking about a dream she had with a marching parade, a duck, and a squirrel with an acorn)

this second one is a take that got distracted by a funny question:

That's it for today!

10 Day You Challenge: Five Foods

Oh how I LOVE food!!!

1. Sushi - obviously, it's in my blog title, you'd have to assume it's one of my favorites!  Only thing I don't like about sushi is I tend to over-eat and end up WAY too stuffed... not the sushi's fault though.  I guess I just feel like, since it's a more expensive meal and we don't eat it as often, I need to get my fill of it... and boy do I!  I love rolls, sashimi, nigiri, you name it!  For me, the best way to end every trip to a sushi restaurant is to order up some yellowtail (Hamachi), either nigiri or sashimi, close your eyes, and enjoy! YUM!
2. Avocado - for some reason I just LOVE avocado.  It's pretty bland in it's taste alone, but with a sprinkle of salt, or lime juice, or mixed with tomatoes and onions, or served as guac... I just love it.  The good thing about this is that avocado is extremely good for you, so it's an okay thing to love!
3. Chicken Wings - oh yum, how I love me some tender chicken wings!  From a non-spicy sauce to a dry rub to a nice and spicy buffalo sauce!  I never used to eat wings because I wasn't a fan of eating meat from a bone, how times have changed!  Just the other night Steve grilled up some wings and made a homemade buffalo sauce - we ate the entire family pack of wings!  
4. Pringles - dude, it's no joke when I tell you that my body craves salt... usually my favorite way of getting said salt is chips.  I'll accept any chips, but if I have a choice I'd rather have Pringles.  Any flavor will do... original, sour cream and onion, cheddar cheese, or even one of those funky new flavors they roll out for a limited time only... just give me some damn Pringles!
5. CUPCAKES!!!!  This is a new found love of mine... I've always loved cake, even though I tend to not have a sweet tooth, birthday cake with frosting is yummy.  Enter the cupcake - it's JUST like birthday cake, but personal and individual.  You get a couple bites, which is all I really need anyhow, rather than a huge piece.  No fighting over who gets which piece with what decoration on it (yeah, so what if I still fight for the piece I want!).. it's brilliant, simply brilliant.  Which is why I'm SO excited for that UV Cake Vodka I wrote about the other day.  Does anyone know how to find out how much more sugar is in Cake Vodka over regular vodka? <-- serious question

Vacation

Today, once I leave this place called  hell  work, I'll be on VACATION until Sunday!  Steve and I are driving up to Duluth this evening, about 2.5 hours from our house, staying overnight - hoping to meet up with a couple of friends who live up there for a cocktail or two - then tomorrow (Thursday) morning we'll wake up and eat a nice greasy breakfast (gotta love little dive diners) and finish our drive to Grand Marais, MN (which is approx. another 2.5 hours beyond Duluth).  Grand Marais is on the North Shore of Lake Superior - one of our nations GREAT Lakes!  I'd say it's Superior to the rest ;)

The plan is to relax, eat lots, go to Canada and see a new waterfall, and then relax some more.

For those of you that are out of state, you may have heard on the National News that our state government is shutdown - which means all of our BEAUTIFUL State Parks are closed.  This makes me EXTREMELY sad, but we'll have to make the best of it.

Remember when I posted last summer pictures of our trip to the Black Hills, complete with pictures with our World's Best Donuts coffee mugs?  Well, I emailed them the pictures and they should be hanging in the shop - soo... no big deal or anything, but we'll be famous in the town we're in!

Steve's parents rent a little cabin up there, so we'll be staying with them - it's our 3rd summer going up there together and staying with them!  I can't wait.  So much beauty up there and lots of relaxing!

Have a wonderful rest of the week everybody!

10 Day You Challenge: 6 Places

Well crap... this is going to be fun!  I'm going to name 6 places that I've been and love or want to go see... but only 6?  This is a challenge!  In no particular order, as per normal.

1. New York City - I've been, I've seen, I've yet to fully conquer!  There is SO much to see and do in NYC, I'll never tire of going there, I'll never tire of seeing the Brooklyn Bridge, I'll never tire of all the people, I'll never tire of taking the subway to get anywhere and everywhere!  I was born and raised in a city so, to me, New York is the ideal city to have a wonderful vacation.  So many beautiful places and things to see!
2. San Francisco - I absolutely LOVE San Fran.  The hills, the fog, the breeze, the people watching(!), and the restaurants.  What's not to love about a city so diverse that has so much to offer.  It's so much more laid back than NYC, but it's still a busy city.  The Golden Gate Bridge is just the beginning of all San Fran has to offer.  Plus, it's a hop, skip and a jump from wine country!!
3. Maldives - I've never been, but it's always been on my radar.  The glass bottom houses would be AMAZING!
4. Australia - for as long as I can remember I've wanted to honeymoon in Australia.  Not sure where the idea came from or even when... and if I don't honeymoon there, you best believe I will go there at some point in my life!
5. Las Vegas - so cliché but I really love Vegas!  No matter how many times I've been there I still  haven't seen everything.  The hotels each have their own 'thing' that you can go see for free... there is Fremont Street which is free.. The Hoover Dam is about 45 minutes away and free... and the people watching is INSANE!
6. Home - as much as I love to travel, there really is no place like home.  

New Blogger Dashboard

Oy vey!  I don't even know how to navigate this shit!  Anyone else rocking the new blogger layout?  Upon signing in today I had it... so I'm excited for new things, but I also don't like having to relearn something I already knew so well.  I could go read about it and figure it out... BUT... I do have a job, you know!?

Boyfriend sent me a link last week saying that with all the changes the Google is making (for those who are not 110% Google EVERYTHING like some of us - gmail has a new layout coming, Google+ has just been released, gCalendar is new and improved, gDocs got a new look a few months back, etc.).. anyhow Blogger and Picasa will be undergoing a name change - as Google likes to have their name on things that are theirs ... sounds like Google Photos and Google Blogs will become official names - here is the link if you're interested in a bit more detail.  I know a lot of you are using blogger or blogspot as it was once called.

Speaking of Google+, anyone want an invite?  I can get you in :) If you don't know what it is... Google it... I don't want to explain it.
This would be a good example of a time where I'm all for leaning something new - it's not like something has changed and I have to relearn or find something... it's 100% new.  I'm cool with that.
Blogger changes suck - cause it's changing what I already know.


So... anyone out there with this new dashboard?  I know it's been slowly rolling out, so I'd have to imagine several people have had it for quite some time... do you love it?  hate it?  Anything new, cool, or exciting about it?

House: Outside

As promised.. here are some photos of the outside of the house:

First of all, the only picture I have of this huge change is from winter - back before the house was purchased - this huge tree was leaning in front of the house and it was ug-ly:

A few weeks ago, Steve's dad and brother came over and took it down:

Big hole!

Hell YES!  Looks WAY better.  Then, you'll notice all those bushes along the ground... well, those are all in the process of coming out and/or being replaced.

Some of the bushes remaining

Bushes gone along the front of the house!  The remaining ones in this picture have been trimmed to be the same height

My mom has been coming over and helping out with weeding and the planting of new stuff:

Hostas, Lupine, and Azaleas :)

So, we're slowly but surely filling in the empty spaces.

We're also in the process of scraping, sanding, priming, and painting out exterior trim (which is taking WAY longer than we hoped, because it sucks!), so ignore how awful the trim looks :)

Here are some other pictures from the exterior of the house:

Garage, patio, side door (the door we come and go from)

Side door and current 'patio' area

view of the 'patio' from the yard - see what I mean about this not being the ideal patio?  The table in the back is just sitting between the garage and house, can't look out to see much...

This is looking into our 'backyard' from the patio

From the back of the patio

again

This is still from the back of the patio, but looking at the back of the house, towards the park

Just another of the front of house

Beyond our yard is a park

 

Sidewalk leading to the front door - 

From a bit farther back

There is no path/sidewalk that leads from the garage (where we park) to the front door, so we never use this door.  This would be where we want to put a real patio.

This is the view from the park side of the house, that is our front porch, which you enter if you use the front door

 

still from the park side, just further over towards the neighbors house.  All those ground dwelling bushes up near the house are the same as what was in the front of the house - those will be coming out at some point as well.

This is what used to be our backyard, now it's our neighbors driveway.  Not much room  for anything.

UV Cake Vodka

On the 4th of July, we had a family BBQ at my cousins house, the 4th is my gma's birthday, so we usually always spend the day with family.

I don't have much to share other than a few comments about a new amazing vodka!  UV Cake Vodka!

I love cake and this shit straight up smells like a delicious cupcake -  It's amazing as a shot, it's amazing as a cocktail AND it's amazing like this:

I muddled 2 strawberries, poured in ice and enough Cake Vodka for the shots, muddled a bit more, shook a little bit, poured and topped with Cool Whip - YUM to the Nth!

The shots had chunks of the berries and with the Cool Whip on top, it tasted like strawberry shortcake.

The shot needs some perfecting and can be made with any berry available, I'd imagine... we're working on a name and copy rights, so ... don't copy it unless you give credit to me and my family :)

Now, go buy some!

10 Day You Challenge: 7 Wants

Man, picking only 7 might be hard... we'll see! ;)

In no particular order.....

1. To be debt free - if my car and credit cards were paid off, I'd have more money to do things (house stuff, vacations, etc).  I don't need to win a lottery and have all the money in the world, just to be free of those bills would be enough to make me happy.
2. A new upstairs bathroom - free of pink, free of a toilet that only flushes the paper if you hold the handle down the entire time it flushes (and even then it doesn't always flush it), free of a toilet that takes over 3 minutes to fill back up, with a shower so that I can shower on the same level as my bedroom, a new sink, oh so many things that need to be done to that bathroom!
3. A flat stomach - HA!  I'll just leave it at that.
4. A 1970 Chevelle - no big deal, just my favorite car.  I love old muscle cars and I really (really) feel like I'd look badass driving one!  That's all.
5. A Patio - Steve and I have dreams... obviously.  The land our house is on was divided a couple of owners ago, so rather than having a back yard, we have a house back there - so there is no real place to put a deck or anything.  So our idea is to put a patio on the front of our house - shit, I haven't even shown you people the outside of our house, have I?  Might make more sense if I do that... but we're just wanting to put down brick pavers and make ourselves a nice patio.  Currently we have an outdoor patio set (table and chairs) sitting on a cement slab between out house and garage.  Not the ideal setup for dining outside.  I'll try to get some picture and post them so you can see how we are set up.
6. To learn Spanish - it's on my Bucket List, but I'd just love to be fluent in Spanish.  I think in America today, it is a good language to know and I had a good start on it at one point.
7. To see Europe - 'nuff said.