at McDonald's today ...

Nolan had a mishap with his shirt, so Jen took it off. Isn't a shirtless little boy just what you expect in the PlayLand?


I love Nolan and Ava's faces. They're like, "Can you believe this??"

love.

I have found my new favorite beauty product. A few years ago, I started giving myself pedicures at home because I realized it was ridiculous to spend so much money every month to have someone else paint my toenails. I thought I would have to give in and get a pedicure since I have a little, um, difficulty reaching my toes these days. Enter this product. I was able to give myself a french tip pedicure in about five minutes with minimal maneuvering, thanks to this awesome pen. I think everyone should get one.

Hammer Time

Have you seen this commercial? We mostly DVR everything but I happened to see this today and loved it. Anyone else?

fall into the

Does anyone still actually shop at Gap? I haven't been in ages. I have to admit I like their new ad campaign, but I still don't think I'll shop there.

Musings

I've been a big 'ol slacker with the blogging lately. Here's what I'm thinking about today:

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I usually have really great intentions of writing a well-structured, thoughful post only to have few days pass and then not remember the exact point I had hoped to make. This has happened several times over the past two weeks. I've had some great talks with friends, attended a really though-provoking HFPE, wanted to talk about one of Jen's posts and had various other things swirling around in my head. This here is my attempt to hold myself accountable to actually post the things I think about.

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Let's take a look at a few projects I have in the works.

• freezer paper stencil onesies {status: bought onesies, paint, exacto knife and freezer paper; washed onesies; traced my stencil patterns and cut them out; ... That was in March.}
• special sewing project {status: bought cute fabric and pattern; cut out pattern; sewed approximately 90% of item in one night; ... That was in April.}

What do those have in common? Oh, yeah, the fact that they're unfinished and may in all likelihood stay that way. Does anyone else do that? How do I make myself actually follow through??

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Is Christmas really only 40 days away?? How did that happen?

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Falling asleep extra early is a nice treat. Especially when I know my DVR has my back and won't let me miss any of my favorite shows.

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a little help, please

I found this list on a Post-It in one of my notebooks:

• queso
• massage
• lunch
• nap
• DMD

Any ideas what it is? Maybe my perfect day?

you might be a redneck

Driving home from work tonight, Matt and I were behind these:

Some of you may not know the obsession my husband has with Nascar. He never cared about it until a year ago this weekend, when I got free passes to the Dickies 500 at Texas Motor Speedway. We got to go to the infield, the garages, pit row, meet a driver (#38 - David Gilliland) and watch the race from near the start/finish line. Matt fell in love and now I get to deal with a DVRed race every week. I'm just glad he hasn't converted to wife-beaters and mullets. Yet.

in case you were wondering

I need a tan. I saw this picture of me in California (with Emily!) two years ago and realized what a whitey I am these days. Boo.

Random Thoughts

It's been so long since I've posted a real blog entry! I guess packing and moving and unpacking will do that to you! I plan to post pictures of our new house when a) everything is put together and b) I get around to taking pictures! Until then, here are the random thoughts that have been bouncing around my head:

• A sweet person (woman/lady/girl - what do I call her?) from my new ward dropped off cookies last night because she saw that it was my birthday last week. I was actually in bed when she came by, so I didn't get to thank her in person, but I don't want to take her 'thank you cookies' because that starts a vicious cycle that never ends. What is the proper etiquette to thank her? A card? A verbal thank you the next time I see her?
• I'm jealous that Megan is in Europe for a month. I wish I had done things like that when I was younger and single.
• 28 feels old.
• I LOVE living near Jen and Shayne! It's fun to be in their ward and to know they're right around the corner if we're bored. I've seen them more in the past two weeks than in the previous 2 years combined, I think. Oh, and their kids are adorable. Bonus.
• I don't enjoy singing the words of one hymn to the tune of another. Why oh why do we do that in Relief Society sometimes?
• Having a house is fun. I'm so glad to be out of our smoke-infested apartment once and for all.
• Never buy a Jeep Grand Cherokee. We've put more money into my car in the last year than I ever thought we'd have to. My car is currently in the shop -- keep your fingers crossed that it doesn't need a new transmission like we think it might!
• Touching my bare arm to a burner in a 350-degree oven = bad idea. I have the singed flesh to prove it.
• I wish I had taken advantage of living near my mom. Now that she's in Utah, I have all sorts of projects I'd love her help on! I guess I've got to fend for myself on that tricky sewing machine!
• HD is awesome.
• I wish I could stay home all day and unpack and bake and cook and learn to do all the things I want to be good at. I think about the cakes a college friend makes and feel a little bit inadequate.
• I can't wait for fall TV. I love new shows and old favorites. There isn't anything wrong with that, is there?

debt consolidation

I saw this video awhile ago but couldn't find a shareable version. Thanks to Judd for the link. All I have to say is, amen.

let's pretend it's 2003 for a second

Yes, I realize 'funny' t-shirts are done. Regardless, I still laughed when I saw the first one. It immediately made me think of Megan. I'm not implying that she would wear this (I don't want to damage her street cred), but it may or may not bring to mind chasing (and being chased by) llamas in Peru. Good times. The second shirt is for my favorite Canadian, Stef.

what's sprouting?

My new favorite store, Sprouts, just opened in Southlake. I dragged Matt there about a week ago and stocked up on (cheap!) fruits, veggies and other yummy stuff. I've happily been munching on strawberries, blueberries, peaches, raw almonds, turkish apricots, banana chips, whipped honey, tomatoes, zucchini and corn since then. They have everything fresh and in season, which makes it extra good and cheap. They've also got an amazing bulk foods section where you can buy everything from fifty varieties of grains to trail mix to treats. The store won't be far from our (maybe, cross your fingers!) house, so I could feasibly make a trip there every week to take advantage of the specials. Hooray.

Prada Marfa

Matt went to glamorous El Paso earlier this week for work. While taking a border tour, they stumbled upon this. I read about it a few months ago on the Domino Blog and was intrigued. Two artists basically took a Prada store and plopped it down in the middle of the desert in Valentine, Texas, near Marfa. It's a permanent art exhibit done with Prada's permission and the store contains actual Prada merchandise from their Fall 2005 collection.

I was so impressed that Matt and his coworkers knew that they needed to stop and take a few pics for me. Sadly, as I will most likely never venture to Marfa, I'll never get to see it in person. I'll just have to be content with the pictures Matt brought back for me!

Am I moving?

So, I realized this morning that I left my ipod at home. {What is it with me leaving things behind lately? Sheesh.} Well, I decided I couldn't go a day without music of some sort in my isolated cave of an office. I turned on the iHome and stumbled upon MOVIN 107.5 and have been grooving ever since. There are no dj's -- it's just all types of random upbeat songs. I expected it to be techno of some sort, but it's SO much better. I looked them up online and to give you an idea of the rawk I'm listening to today, here is the lineup for their summer concert:

Color Me Badd

Tone-Loc

Coolio

Awesome.