$80 and a lot of patience

I always go thrifting with no expectations. Sometimes I walk out with my arms full and sometimes totally empty. Today was an armful kind of day. I'm super impressed with myself on the amount I spent, $80 (see title), and with the great finds. Unfortunately, I didn't try anything on in the store though. I was already a staticky mess, so I didn't want to make it worse. Plus, it would have taken forever! So, three items are being returned. One of which, is my favorite item, the sweater vest lying in front. I'm sad about that, but check out the other things. I'm in love with that raincoat with the plaid hood. I've being trying to find one forever and this one is not only adorable, but fits perfectly. Score! The two skirts on the right, I will wear belted as dresses. I picked up some things for my nephew, which are on the left and a pair of brand new pants for Aaron. You've gotta love Target's deal with Goodwill. There is nothing better than getting brand new clothing for $5.99 or less. The blue Converse One Star hoodie in the front is also a brand new. At this very moment, I'm in the process of washing everything. I know, exciting Friday night. Don't hate. My lovely husband is skiing, so what else would I fill my time with? Laundry and Oprah, of course! I'm actually having a pretty good night, which is an excellent way to close a great day! Now, I just need to clean out my closet, so that I'll have a place to put the new things.

A whole lotta nothin'

I was on a roll with my blog entries. What happened? I'll tell you one thing that happened, planning a family trip to Florida. It's not easy trying to please an entire family, especially an entire family that won't give me a budget or confirmation on days. I want to scream! I'm thinking about just trashing the idea and planning a trip with just Aaron and I. I mean, it would be so much simpler. I can't tell you how many hours I've spent researching, emailing, and negotiating pricing. Yes, I said hours. I'm going to need this trip after all the planning!

Other than that, I don't know really where the days have gone this week. I was off of work the last two days. I was hoping to get more accomplished, but I guess I should be glad that I just did some of the things on my to-do list. I plan on doing some more errand type things tomorrow, including eating lunch with B. Yea!

Okay, I'm putting myself to sleep with this post. So, I'll leave you with a list. Maybe something more excited will pop into my head tomorrow.

You know it's cold when....

1. You pull your cute little bikini briefs from the drawer, only to turn around and put them back and replace them with full-coverage boy shorts. Hey, the more fabric on your bum, the better!
2. You spend hours planning a trip that is months away, so that you can look at, dream about, and picture yourself on the beach.
3. You, being a non-snuggy owner, spend much of your day wrapped in nice, cozy spiderman blanket. Literally, wrapped, so that it stays up when walking or moving. It's almost like a go-to outfit.
4. You actually try to reason, encourage, or just yell, as if they would understand, at the dogs to go to the bathroom faster when you are outside because you are freezing. As for instance, "Sophie, I swear if you don't go right now, we are going inside and I'm not walking you again. You can forget. I swear you're doing this on purpose." Oh yeah, not to mention, you have on long sleeves, a tank, a hoodie, a coat, a scarf, gloves, the above mentioned boy shorts, pants, knee high socks, and furry dog-walking shoes when walking said dogs.
5. When visions of spring clothing keep dancing in your head.

Renee, Urban Dictionary style

So, seems like a lot of people on FB are looking up their names in Urban Dictionary. I decided to look my name up and see what it said about me. Um, I'm pretty sure someone must be stalking me. Other than the hypocrite comment, which I would totally own up to being if I were being a hypocrite, and calling myself one of the most amazing people you'll ever meet or the whole beautiful thing, I think it's pretty dead on. Sounds like I need to find some more friends with the name Renee. What do you guys think? The quotes at the end cracked me up.

Renee:

Renee is of the most amazing people you'll ever meet. She's random and weird, and most likely somewhat insecure, in addition to being outspoken, fiercely loyal to her friends, very sexual, very beautiful on the inside and outside, open minded, mean at times, dedicated to music, and impulsive. She can be a hypocrite, but often owns up to it rather than denying it. She may not always use her head and she tends to make excuses for the people she cares about.

Jeff: Who's the hot girl over there who's rambling about garlic bread's role in government conspiracies?

Tom: Oh, that's Renee. She's pretty weird, but she's really cool.

Random Tuesdays

Let the randomness ensue!

• Today I've made some head way on my long, long To-Do List. Finally.
• Being on the computer really zaps time. I some how spent three hours basically emailing, talking to friends, and checking Google Reader. Wow.
• This is what I had for lunch. All organic, besides the salad dressing, and delicious!

• Speaking of food, I cannot stand when people are eating and I'm not. I can't stand the sound of chewing and don't even get my started about chewing with your mouth open. It really makes me sick. I've been this way as long as I remember. Lucky me, I usually finish dinner way before Mr. O and get to hear him chew for 30 minutes after I'm done. I make an exception to him though, but you may find me humming in head or turning up the TV to hide the noise.
• Ah, Giada has a new line of cookware at Target. I love it, but I don't love her, which makes me hesitant on buying it. I hate that. Arrogance and rudeness are two more pet-peeves of mine. I saw her on Oprah and on a cooking contest show and she was so rude. She even gave a snide comment to Oprah on HER show! That kind of thing really turns me off to a person. That's why I don't watch, unless Aaron really wants too, films with Hillary Swank or Tom Cruise. We may be different from each other, but that doesn't mean you are better than other people.
• Check out Blood, Sweat, and T-shirts, if you have the Green Channel, which I can't seem to remember the channel number. It really makes you think and appreciate what you have. We watched Blood, Sweat, and Take-aways also. That one focused on food and where it comes from. This series focuses on clothes, how they are made and the poor workers. It makes me grateful that I live in the USA and makes me ashamed for how much we take for granted. Oh my goodness, one of my Target shirts was on the first episode. The shirt I bought was made by people making $2.00 a day. How sad is that?
• I'm glad the snow is almost gone. It was fun and all, but I'm glad the roads are clearing.
• I'm on a mission this week to do a little thrifting for some new every day dishes. My plan is to get a bunch of different ones. I think it'll make a fun table setup when we have guests over. Plus, my target every day dishes are starting to crack, chip, etc, not bad for having them eight years. I think we're down to five or six plates out of 12.
• I met up with my friend, Christy, for dinner last night. It was so fun! I miss seeing all my friends. It's much harder when jobs, responsibilities, and children come into play as you get older.
• I washed my great-grandmother's quilt today. She made it just for me. It brings so many memories back, like building things with empty spools of thread in front of the warm stove/furnace, helping her cook, while sitting on a red, metal 1950's stool, the smell of the bathroom soap, which smelled very grandmotherly, and watching the Christmas parade because we usually went on Christmas Eve every year. I wish I could use the quilt because it's very pretty, but I'm terrified to mess it up, especially considering that I was the last one to get one made for them before she died.
• I got called into work tomorrow. Boo, hiss, boo. It's good for our bank account though. I'm grateful that I have a job too, so no more complaining.
• I better head to bed because I have to get up at 4:20 to eat and leave in time to make it to work by 7:00. Sigh.

Snowblizzard 2010

We actually got decent snow for a change. This is a rarity in Tennessee. In fact, I can't really remember getting this much snow in a very long time. There is something about snow that just brings your inner kid out. I was giddy watching it and even more giddy when I walked outside. It's part of what caused such a lovely (snowed-in) weekend with Mr. O. Though I wouldn't want it all the time, I love a good snow every now and again. I'm hoping this won't be the last time we see this amount of snow this year. It's slowly melting away today, which is kind of sad, but good for the drivers out there. Here are pictures that we took in our neighborhood on Saturday that captured just how beautiful our snow-filled world was, if only for a few days. Notice how the dogs didn't share my enthusiasm!

Mr. Sandman, where are you?

I can't believe how fast time is going by. Have I said this enough times? It's February and it seems like yesterday was Christmas. I need to find a remedy for this situation. I need to slow down and savor every moment. This year could bring very big changes for us. I'm already dealing with one called nursing-means-so-long-normal-sleep-pattern. I guess I am a night owl again, but it is much more forced than for pleasure! Otherwise, I'd be falling asleep either at work or on the drive home and neither of those are good options.

I did, however, savor every moment with Mr. O this weekend. Our house guests were away, which meant we revisited our former life with it only being just the two of us. It hasn't really been just the two of us in a year and a half. It was lovely. I really, really love my husband. It's utter craziness how much I love him. One day, we'll have kids and a million obligations and I'll look back on these days with a sense of sadness, but also with gratefulness because it's been us against the world for nine years. That's part of why our kids don't exist yet. We want to be able to cuddle and lie in bed on Saturday morning without a time limit, brave the snow and go bowling at 8:00 at night, or drop everything and go on a weekend road trip, which we're planning to do soon. Don't worry, our kids do exist in my head. We already have a pretty awesome story too. One day, it'll be for all the world to see, or at least our friends and family.

I'm not sure what February has in store for us. I know that I'm starting on a mile long to-do list tomorrow. It's much more needed than fun things, but I'm kind of excited about the mundane things like cleaning though. I can't explain it, but I feel like February is going to be fantastic!

Oh, and if you care or are wondering, here's what is on our menu for this first glorious week of February. I can't seem to step away from the food entries.

Weekly Menu
Monday: Hawaiian burgers, organic onion rings and possibly salad
Tuesday: Tilapia with braised red peppers & leeks, carrot salad, and rice
Wednesday: Chicken with chive dumplings (I'm especially excited about this because it's using homemade stock from a whole organic chicken and I've never made chicken and dumplings before-Go me!)
Thursday: Pasta w/pumpkin & sausage
Friday: Leftovers
Saturday: I have to work, but I'm hoping to have Chicken and Spinach casserole ready to be put in the oven for dinner and if there are in leftovers from the week, then they can have eat those for lunch.
Sunday: I'll probably be asleep for breakfast, but for lunch, potato and leek soup, and dinner, spaghetti and salad

Ah, to live in Wonder Valley

I mentioned a diamond-in-the-rough house that I had found that is for sale. I am in love with what this house could be. The house I envision could be in magazines. I hope I stumble on something this lovely again when we are ready to move. Do you see the potentional? Check out other pictures on http://www.realtracs.com/ (only one of my favorite websites for realty stalking). It's mls 1133291.