Another belated Ten on Tuesday

Wow, has it already been a week since my last Ten on Tuesday? Here we go...

1. I won my first ever blog give-a-way!! I get $60 to use at CSN Stores. Sweet. Originally I blogged about wanting to give my bed a makeover, but the practical person inside me thinks I should instead invest in something that will intice would-be buyers to purchase my house. So with "modeling" my home in mind, I'll be checking out the "Home Improvement" or "Home Decor" stores. I know, not as exciting as a new pair of shoes or fun new bedding, but still this super cool surprise could not have come at a better time.

2. Earlier today I texted a status to my Facebook account along the lines of appreciating an opportunity to practice my diplomacy skills when faced with disgruntled constituents. Needles to say these last couple of weeks have not been without a few challenging moments.

3. I am in desperate need of haircut. Most days I feel like this:
But it's hard to justify the cost of this:
When I'm too busy spending money on stuff like this:

So, I end up just doing this:

or this:

One day, hopefully someday before this time next year, I'll be doing this:


And it will be magnificent.

4. While watching The Little Couple I was introduced to this cool place, Pinot and Picasso. What a fun idea!

5. My son injures himself daily at this point, multiple times a day on a really active day. He has bumps and bruises and scratches and it just breaks my heart every time. He's growing so fast!

6. If we're friends on Facebook you've already read something along these lines. Every time I see a Eat, Pray, Love preview I am disappointed as I don't get the same vibes as I got from reading the book. Makes me sad. I just saw one right now, as I am typing this blog. I'm sorry Julia, but I just don't think you're the right gal for this movie and the preview show you way too bubbly with that crazy laugh of yours. The character in the book seems far more pensive, reflective, almost like she was going out of her way to be an introvert. But here you are with your big beautiful smile and big belly laugh being the Julia Roberts we already know and not being Elizabeth Gilbert experiencing a self-seeking journey.

7. With August just around the corner I am reminded that Fall is not far behind. This heat is old news. I am very much looking forward to the crisp cool air of Fall. Come on Fall, I'm ready whenever you are.

8. My brother-in-law out in the Idaho wilderness...




9. Tonight I am attempting to bake one these for a team building event, tomorrow. I won't be baking the minis. I'll be trying a whole one, without the mangoes. Please ask the kitchen fairy godmother to pay me a visit and sprinkle some of that magic dust around.

10. I did it again. Started a Ten on Tuesday on Tuesday, but delayed its posting until Wednesday. Busy work days call for postponed blogging.

Monday Musings

Thank you to my lovely in-laws for keeping Gavin Friday night. Casey and I really enjoyed our date night/morning. On Friday night we went out to a very decent Mexican food restaurant. When you're way out here finding a decent Mexican food restaurant is hard. We enjoyed carne asada, enchiladas verdes and some super yummy Margaritas that went down a little too easy.

Later that night we had another couple over for cold beers and goood conversation, on the deck. Thank goodness for citronella candles. Saturday morning we slept in and then took an 80-mile motorcycle ride through the Smokey Mountains. I haven't been on a motorcycle ride since before I was pregnant, so that was a real treat for me. Casey takes his motorcycle to work almost daily.





Afterward Casey headed down south to where our offspring was frolicking in the pool and the sand box. I got to get all girly for a baby shower downtown, on the river. During my 8-5 I tend to get dirty or find myself in situations where heels and skirts would be entirely inappropriate. It was nice to put on some sparkle and spend some time with a group of lovely ladies.



Eventually I too made it down south for some quality time with the inlaws and my favorite boys. It was a great weekend, just what we needed. Casey made me laugh and smile and it felt like a real date!

Saturday was special for two more reasons: Miss Peyton Stephanie was born in Nevada and Miss Zora Lee was born in Arizona. Peyton is Gavin's newest cousin. Zora is the daughter of one of my childhood BFFs. We are super excited to welcome these two desert flowers into our hearts and family. Happy Birthday ladies! Gavin's other cousin, Carolina, will be born in the coming weeks, in Colorado. We love our little Western Women!

Sunday ended with a much needed trip to the grocery store and Lowe's, where I picked up my supplies for recaulking the bathtub. Doesn't that sound exciting? It will be nice to cross another task off our project list. Happy Monday everyone.

"mmm..."

Gavin eating his spaghetti.



We've been very fortunate so far. Gavin has not shown any signs of a being a picky eater. Some days he has his preferences, but for the most part he eats whatever we eat, including lots of veggies and fresh fruit.

He has recently started throwing things, anything, including his food. He does comprehend when we ask him not to throw things. He likes to fake us out. He'll bring his arm back like he's going to throw something and then he'll start to throw it only to never let go. Then he laughs and laughs. He cracks himself up.

He also likes to play what I call the "Sike!" game. Remember that? It's similar to the "Not!" game. He'll be eating a snack, maybe a pretzel or a craisin or something, and he'll extend his hand out to your mouth like he wants to share, only to jerk his hand and the snack back quickly right as you open your mouth. Then he laughs some more. He's a wryly little booger. I think he gets his pension for pranks from his Aunt Courtney and Uncle Tom. You can never be too suspicious of those two.


He does not do this with our dogs. He actually shares his food with the dogs, much to our dismay and discouragement. He will take a bite of whatever he is eating then extend a handful of it out to one of our dogs, which cues them to lick it. Our dogs know better than to grab something out of his tiny little fingers with their teeth. But Gavin sees us give our dogs treats so he wants to participate as well. After the food item has been sufficiently slobbered on, Gavin then eats what remains. I know, it's gross, but then again who am I to deny my son his happiness?

Sometimes he hums a tune at the same time. He'll be playing quietly in the kitchen, humming a little diddy while he "works," and then he'll take a little break to toddle over to his "snack station," where I've set out his sippy cup, a few goldfish crackers and half a banana. He'll take a swig from the sippy cup, choose a snack, take a bite and then go to one of the dogs, share his snack with the dog, humming his little tune the whole time, and then toddle back over to his toys, where he resumes "work." He's in his own little world.

This is our son, the foodie and the dog lover.

Ten on Tuesday

1. Privacy: We planted our privacy hedge a few weeks back – seven staggered Leyland cypress trees. We are hoping to block the eye sore of the vacant rental home next door.

2. Remodeling: I’ll spare you the details of the extensive home remodeling project list. To say it’s lengthy is a bit of an understatement. It is very well organized list thanks to my husband, Master of Microsoft Excel. Our next project is to once and for all tie up the loose ends in our bathroom, i.e., tile in the “hole” in our shower (where we could never agree on a window design anyway), re-caulk the bathtub, and replace the trashy ugly old door with a tasteful pretty new door. We haven’t picked our post-bathroom project yet, but we are leaning toward making more progress in the kitchen, perhaps finally installing our backsplash? We’re kicking’ butt and taking names trying to get these projects finished. Our goal is to be done by next spring, which means all our spare pennies and time are currently devoted toward Operation Remodel Morrison Manor. We’re thinking it’s time to move on from our humble home. I’d like to get it on the market just as soon as we put that last project, whichever one it is, to bed. I am not looking forward to selling a house in the current market, but I’m not completely discouraged about it either. We have a few things going for us; for starters, we have a small relatively inexpensive home in a small family-oriented neighborhood, in a desirable school district. Additionally, we will be leaving this house in far better shape than how we purchased it. So what about our next four walls? Stay tuned.

3. Salsa Gardening: We need more onions and garlic and needed to have planted them much, much sooner, like last fall. Our onions never got much bigger than a golf ball and we gobbled through them within a week or two. More onions and garlic means more space. I see some creative edible landscaping in my future, maybe more container gardening on the deck. I haven’t harvested my garlic yet, though I probably should. In vain, I am hoping to give them just a tad more time. Our tomatoes are doing great considering we don’t get quite as much sun as we need to. It’s meant slower fruiting and ripening, but the results have ultimately been delicious. We planted four different varieties this year and have had three renegade plants pop up in between my peppers and onions. From the looks of the toms they are cousins of last year’s crop. Kind of fun. We have jalapeno peppers growing out of our ears. We’ve started freezing them. I’m looking ahead for a day I can take off of work and do some canning and pickling with a native Tennessean friend of mine. I’m telling you, these Tennesseans have canning and pickling in their blood. It’s something I’ve really come to admire about this place and something I hope to carry with me wherever I may go. In regard to pests, I think we did really well this year. Planting the marigold along with all the onions, peppers and herbs did our tomato plants some good. Now let’s talk about cilantro. I got some research to do. I did much better this year than last year in terms of keeping the herb from bolting within a week or two planting of it, but I think I over pruned it and it eventually just died down. Apparently there is an art to growing cilantro, which has something to do with which stalks to prune, when to prune and when to re-seed. This is an art that I have yet to master.

4. Greenhouse: My time in the Biology greenhouse has been well spent. I've been working on a few aquatic plant tanks and tending to the succulents. I’ve definitely found a mentor in my Biology professor. My future as a professional environmentalist is really starting to take shape and I am excited about my path, despite the rocky patches. A little rock climbing is good for the spirit.

5. Nelson Mandela: Somewhere between watching the movie Invictus and the 2010 World Cup I found myself fascinated with one of the world’s most well-known figures, Nelson Mandela, also known as Madiba. I am currently reading his autobiography. I am on Part Three: Birth of a Freedom Fighter. For any of you who are into memoirs and biographies, I recommend “Long Walk to Freedom.” Mandela’s prose is incredibly thoughtful, articulate and well-spoken. My vocabulary has definitely improved within the first 100 pages. I admire his ability to view his experience in hindsight and articulate how it fits on a global stage. Prior to reading his autobiography, I had a general knowledge of Nelson Mandela, who he was, what he did, the basic premise of South African apartheid, etc. Until now I’ve never sought to further educate myself on the subject.

6. Chemistry: It’s official. I am glutton for punishment. I was totally losing sleep about falling behind in my courses. Withdrawing from summer school was definitely a good decision, considering my mental/emotional health at the time. But I just couldn’t get over the disappointment of missing out on Organic Chemistry this fall. I know, dork alert. So I dropped the graduate course that was really irrelevant to my overall objectives and replaced it with the chemistry I was supposed to take this summer. So now I will be enrolled in both Chem II and Organic Chemistry, this coming fall. That’s a lot of Chemistry and only a few short weeks away people. At least now, come spring, I will be on track to load up on the upper level stuff and really get cookin’. Exciting times.

7. Biology: That’s what this all this Chemistry is for! I’ve finally made THE decision. I put the Landscape Architecture dreams to bed and have decided to focus my energy on sustainable agriculture and environmental education. Edible landscaping can be a tasty hobby I save for my adventures in home gardening. I’ll be aiming for an M.S. in Plant Biology and hoping to supplement my curriculum with some soil science courses. For an M.S. in Plant Biology, biochemistry is a non-negotiable, thus all the prerequisite upper level chemistry and molecular biology sautéed with some plant physiology. That’s a full plate, folks. Geez, I wonder what’s for dessert? It's entirely possible at this point that I may grow up to be a farmer. Stranger things have happened. I have vague notions of advancing past a Master's degree, but I’m content with keeping those thoughts simmering on a back burner.

8. Art: I finally bought some REAL oil paints. I may have blogged about this before. But before I get started on finishing my oil paint portrait I’ve been working on a large acrylic paint project. It’s basically turned into a huge piece of hippie tie dye art. What am I going to do with a huge piece of hippie art? I have no clue, but I’m having fun with it.

9. Marathon: Yep, I’m still running. I’m a regular Forest Gump these days. There were a few weeks when I was unable to do my long runs, but I finally made up for that this past weekend when I did two long runs back to back, one on Sat. and one on Sun. I’m still lingering in the 8-10 mile long run range, running an 11-minute mile, plus or minus several seconds. My marathon buddy is down to 10-minute miles. Yikes! The pressure is really on to pull the lead out and pick up my pace. I have a good feeling about my fall training, this heat and humidity makes it hard to really push myself the way I’d like too. Thank goodness for my fancy new Blackberry. Let’s take a moment to mourn my old phone. She succumbed to an untimely wet death in the washing machine. Ok, mourning over. Let’s get back to celebrating the Blackberry. My new best friend, especially while running. I am totally digging using my Blackberry to tune into Pandora while I run. Awesome. Recent finds, Jonathan Elias, a contemporary composer. Check out his American River album.

10. Yes, I am totally aware today is Wednesday and not Tuesday, but I started this blog yesterday and just couldn’t let it go to waste. Casey and I are in dire need of a real vacation. You know, one that isn’t defined by the visiting of extended family. Don’t get me wrong, I love my family and love it even more when I get to see them face to face, but I want a vacation that doesn’t require shoes and comes with fruity cocktails garnished with tiny umbrellas and calypso music playing in the background.

To a very special someone...

Happy Birthday to my beloved. You are loved. I hope you have a wonderful day.

Gavin has some big boots to fill...