FuelPerks

Ok, I just have to say how much of a fan I am of the Rainbow Foods Fuel Perks deal they have going on...I just saved over .50cents a gallon on gas last night!! I was pretty excited about that, only having to pay $2.06 for gas. I know alot of us drive around family cars so they can take a pretty penny on filling up, but if you are dorky like me and after swiping your rewards card to see how much they are taking off the price, filling up my Acadia isn't so bad after all:)

Our 1 Year!

"The One I laugh With, Live For, Dream With, love."

-author unknown

Wow, we made it to the big ONE Year mark of our marriage. I honestly have to say it has been one of the funnest years. I know you hear "the first year is always the hardest" and for some it might be, but we must've been blessed cause this last year was pretty fun and exciting! Exciting in the fact to see how God continues to mold us to be the husband and wife that he designed us to be for each other. It has been fun in the sense of learning every little thing about each other, whether is what discovering new habits, working with each other on house projects, being lazy on a Saturday morning having our coffee and playing the Wii ever so often(Mario Kart is our favorite so far), and getting into the word and discussing the meaning of verses and learning from each other. I have to admit, we continue to learn how to push each others buttons a time or two or three or maybe quite a few times:)...but those were the times that we grew that much closer to one another, learning quite quickly not to push that particular button again:) but always remembering to say "I am sorry" and then to let the other know "I forgive you."

Over all this has been a good year, and look foward to the many years that are to come. Thank you to all of our friends and family who we have to look to for encouragment, you all are a true blessing to us.

2 miles and Still nothing

my husband and I have been on this running kick for over a month now...we are running up to 2 miles every day, along with a tummy crunches, and I still haven't seen one inkling of a pound drop off!! I don't get it...we have even changed our diets to be on the more nutritious side, eating more fruits, vegies, salads, etc. Grrrr...I mean I know the weight just doesn't drop like that, but you would think I would start to see some type of results. It is just so hard to continue to work out when no results are in sight...maybe I need to do something more than run my 2 miles and 3 sets of crunches...who knows!! any ideas out there my fellow bloggers?

A Little Dessert in the Morning

I haven't really been one to drink black coffee, I have always been the "fufu" type drinker, like a medium latte with 3 pumps vanilla/3 pumps hazelnut with a little cinnamon sprinkled on top(mmmmm, that first sip tastes like heaven) but then my husband introduced me to flavored creamer! So I thought ok, I'll give it a try....and I love it(not all the flavors but a there are a few)!! The flavor is called Chocolate Eau Claire, just poor a little or a lot of it into your coffee and sip away, it truly tastes devine!

8 Things (past due)

So I started this a few weeks ago and finally had some time to finish:) I know I am a procrastinator!! Enjoy:)


8 things I am looking forward to:

1. going to New York to visit my sister

2. building our new deck.

3. hosting a house warming party.

4. being able to eat the yummy vegitabels from my garden.

5. going camping.

6. drinking Cherry Limeades all summer long.

7. floating out on the water with friends.

8. my one year anniversary this year



8 things I did yesterday:

1. had the Best Cherry Limeade with cheddar bites of course

2. went running with my husband.

3. cleaned the house

4. worked

5. sat by the garden and enjoyed the weather.

6. watered the flowers and yard.

7. texted my sister.

8. watched the begining of the NBA finals...is Kobe Bryant really that cool??



8 things I wish I could do:

1. Learn how to brew my own beer/wine.

2. attend a wine stomping event.

3. be on the Amazing Race.

4. travel across the world.

5. read my boss's mind

6. be able to name a song and who sang it at the same time:)

7. never have to work again.

8. be able to support my "entire" family in these hard times.



8 shows I watch:

1. House

2. CSI-New York

3. Ugle Betty

4. 24

5. Lost

6. Here Comes the Newley Wes

7. Wipe Out

8. The Mentalist



8 favorite fruits:

1. Strawberries

2. Blueberries

3. Raspberries

4. Kiwi

5. Cherries

6. Watermelon

7. Bananas

8. Pineapple(I really could list more)



8 places I'd like to travel to:

1. Spain

2. Upper East Side of the US

3. England

4. Germany

5. Italy (again!)

6. Ireland

7. Greece

8. all of Upper MI



8 places I've lived:

1. Oklahoma

2. Georgia

3. California

4. Wisconsin

5. Missouri

6. Apple Lane

7. Turquoise Trail

8. Blackhawk Rd.



8 people I'm tagging: not sure how to Tag people, but if I could it would be:
Holly/Becky/Jessica(1)/Jackie/Sherri/John/Jessica(2)/Lisa

Timberrrrrr

It is officially the start of Summer Projects to begin! First on the list take down trees in back yard:) I have posted a little video for your entertainment! We still have one more to go, but it was a start. I must say watching your husband up a really tall tree while it is swaying in the end all the while trying to cut it down is just a bit nerve racking. Boyz will be boyz!

We also got our sliding glass door put in a few weeks ago, it makes the dining room look soooo much bigger, it is nice:)

Next on the list is buidling a deck, plant the garden, redo the drive, paint MORE trim for the inside of the house, and replace the steps infront of the house:) Let the Good Times Roll!!

"Can You Keep a Secret"

Secrets from her boyfriend:

I've always thought Connor looks alot like Ken. As in Ken and Barbie.

Secrets she wouldn't share with anyone in the world:

I have no idea what NATO stands for. Or even what it is.

Until she spills them to a handsome stranger on the plane.

At least, she thought he was a stranger....

I won't tell you anymore, but this book is absolutely hillarious!!! This book is by the author Sophie Kinsella, she also wrote the "Confessions of a Shopaholic" Series. I find myself laughing out loud at the coffee shop not realizing where I am while reading this book. If you need a good summer read I would check this out.

I have been doing pretty good lately about getting back into reading books. I have come accross a few that had way toooo much drama, the series "Something Borrowed/Something Blue/Baby Proof", I wouldn't suggest them really, I found myself more irriatated than anything after reading them. But I am the type of reader that wants to knows what happens, so this time I just skipped to the last chapter and found out what happens. I couldn't handle all the drama:)

Don't worry I am not becoming a book critic or anything, so I wont be filling my blogs with book commentaries:) just thought I would share this book with you all!!

Moving Up to 4 Doors...

Well, we did it!! Rich and I purchased our first vehicle together:) with 4 doors!! We have been looking for few months now going back and forth over vehicles and after endless hours of researching and going to different dealerships for test drives, it all came down to a new Silver Green Metalic AWD Acadia(I know the picture shows a sliver vehicle, but it is the only one I could find). I have to say its not often you run into a really good salesman. He was very honest with us and helped us find a vehicle within our budget, all the while making sure it had the things we wanted in a vehicle. He also made sure we got every possible rebate and incentive to making the vehicle worth our money.
This will be the first 4 door vehicle either one of us will have owned, we are very excited for it and can't wait to go pick it up tonite!!

Greetings From the Future

I finally got to see what the huge big round golf ball looking like thing was at Epcot last week. It was a lot of fun, oh to be a kig again:)

T-2 days and Counting

In two days I will be laying out on the beaches of Florida:) I have never vacationed there before so I am super excited. There is even a shuttle launch the night we get in, that will be fun to see. I think I am more excited to be in the warm sun and leaving this cold weather behind!! I will post pictures of the trip when I return. Stay warm my friends, and I will be thinking of you all!!

The ENT Visit

I had my visit with the ENT (ear,nose,throat) doctor yesterday and have to say I was not to impressed! I drove all the was Minneapolis for this ENT doc, waited for him for about 15minutes all for him to tell me "You can either get your tonsils out or keep them in, here is a brochure and the number to call to schedule if you decide to get them out." THE END! I'm thinking "what...I just paid my co pay and took a trip to minnapolis for you to tell me that!!" I don't know about you, but sometimes these doctors baffle me at times. Why would'nt my first doctor tell me what he was going to say and skip right to part of you need to go get your tonsils out, schedule an appointment with them for this. So now I need to decide, to get them out or not too...that is the question:)

Boycott the Valentine's Day madness

I found this article online about boycotting the valentine's day madness today and found it to be logical and a bit amuzing and wanted to share it with all of my fellow blogger friends. I am totally with her about not being against the romance of it all for a day...but admist the economic crisis we are finding ourselves it is hard to understand why we all fall to the Hallmark spending spree for the day to tell the one you love "I Love You"....

Romance is to be savored, sure, but must we spend nearly $15 billion on candy, flowers and other frivolous gifts? There are better (and sexier) ways to show you care.....http://articles.moneycentral.msn.com/CollegeAndFamily/LoveAndMoney/boycott-the-valentines-day-madness.aspx

Happy Valentines Day!!! I hope you enjoy the article:)

Tonsillitis & Laringitas

Yes I have managed to take on both of these to throat adventures over the last couple of days...not so fun:( I seem to get the tonsillitis thing more regulary ever since last year!! I would about every 3-4 months, and now I add to it Laringitas. After many strep tests, mono tests, cancer tests, iron tests, you name the test, I have been tested for it, and my doctor is finally sending me to a ENT (ear nose throat) doctor. I have never been to one so I am a little curious as to what will happen, because they are scheduled out until the middle of February. What if I don't have my symtoms then...oh well, this blog is just me whining, I know. Its just when your throat really really hurts, your boss is expecting you to be at work, and you would rather stay home, but you feel like a soar throat shouldn't stop you from doing anything, it is just no fun!! I will keep you posted to see what the ENT doctor says.

Air Popped PopCorn, Cup o HotChocolate and a slice of Carrot Cake!

what more could you ask for on a Sunday night:) We got this new popcorn maker for christmas and we love it. I forgot how good popcorn tasted by making it from the seeds and not the bag in the microwave. It was a fun night, we got in our Pajama's Rich made some hot chocolate with LOTS of marshmallows, I made the popcorn and we rocked out on the Guitar Hero. I am actually becoming very good at this game, maybe I should head up a secret Rock Band:) wanna join!! and for desert we had the HUGE piece of Carrot cake we got from the resturant the other night. You could feed at least 4 off of that slice. But it was good. I love those random Sunday nights:)

LAYOFFS

We here it all around us, Layoff, Layoff, more rounds of Layoffs. You really never think that it will ever happen to you. It is so easy to take for granted the things we do have and I have realized over the last couple weeks how this word has really hit home for me. I have had a close girlfriend of mine make it through 3 rounds of layoffs at her work and I just found out my dad was laid off just this last Friday:(
It truly has been a wake up call for me, I first of all can't imagine the stress and worry it brings on the family of wondering will I have a job tomorrow or how long till I find a new job in this economy. Secondly, I feel like I have been in a little bubble of "the recession thing isn't affecting me" , not worrying about my spending and basically taking for granted what God has blessed me with in my life. Taking for granted my own job, complaining about it and having a bad attitude towards it, I am trying to turn that attitude around but its not an easy thing to do. Going through the rounds of lay offs with my friend and seeing the stress it brings on you and seeing the effects a true lay off has on my own family has truly opened my eyes to what is going on in this world. My heart truly goes out to them and everyone who is going through a layoff. love ya all:)

Winter Fun

Emma and "her" uncle Richy


little Cole climbing all over Rich



Emma put us in Time Out chairs:)

here is the start of our snow man...


he is getting bigger...

ta da!!!

we had a little help getting him together:)

our gingerbread house we made from scratch

HolliDazzle Fun

time of your life girls

Happy New Year Friends

I know I know, I have been a slacker on my blogs...does it count that I think about blogging:):)

well, 2008 ended pretty good, we went home to MI for Christmas and did my family's Christmas the weekend before. My sister from NY was able to come home and hang out with us. MI was fun, the travel out there not so much. we left MOnday night to miss most of the storm that was heading our way and finished the drive on Tuesday. What a MESS!! I think we saw at least 20+ cars in ditch from Janesville, WI to the Illinois boarder (for those of you that don't know thats about a 45min drive) we did make it safely to MI around dinner time.

They had over 2ft of snow when we got there. We built a huge (over 6' tall) snowman the next day with our niece Emma and her parents. (I will post pictures of him when I remember to bring in the camera) well, 2 days later the snowman was gone:( they had a huge rain storm come through and melted all the snow away...crazy so needless to say we didn't get to play in the snow too much. I think the best part of it all was hanging out with little Emma, Cole and Asher:) they are getting to the age where they are playful and want to hang on to you every moment. Emma and I had pj parties at night, and she adored her uncle Rich, if he wasn't in sight she would go looking for him.

On the house front projects, we are kinda at a stand still till the summer, just working on piddly stuff inside the house. When summer comes along we are planning on putting in a sliding glass door and a new deck!! oh ya and we need to redo our driveway. Fun times ahead!!

well my friends, I will try to post pictures soon. take care for now:)

No Problem Mon!!

oh Jamaica....this is where my husband and I went on our honeymoon!! it was so awesome!! when we got there we realized they had upgraded us to the best room on the entire resort, it had our very own swim up pool outside of our patio deck, it was great. our butler had our chairs ready for us every morning under the palm trees and brought us our Jamaican Smiles (the best drink ever) and whatever else we needed while we basked in the sun, they were only a phone call away. I would have to say naps by the ocean was one of my favorite events:) we went and got certified to go diving down there, that was cool!! it was a little scary for me at first cause I couldn't get the whole breathing through your mouth thing down, but once under the water they said I was a pro! It is amazing down under the ocean with all of the ocean life around you. words can't even describe. the sunsets down there were amazing too, and believe it or not the weather was great the whole week.

I will post more pictures and stories later, but this will have to do for now.

Got Zuchinni!!

so I went out to my garden last night and this is what I found!!!




wholly zuchinni!!! I needed two hands just to pick the first one in the picture off the plant (notice the finger nail swipe) I don't know how they got this huge!! no steroids, miracle grow, just water!! I know one thing for sure you don't see this kind of stuff in the stores:):)

They are really good, we grilled a couple them on the grill the other night, oh so tasty!! So if you want any zuchinni, come on over and I'll hook ya up!!

Mister N Shorty

Here are a few of our Engagement Pictures!!
15 Days!!!

Say It's NOT True!!

I get a call from my mother-in-law to be the other day telling me she bought her dress and how excited she was for it. She started describing her dress to me and it sounded very familiar!! So I asked her where she bought it from...from Sears :0 then I asked her what designer it was from... Oh Boy!! all I could think is that is was the EXACT same dress that my mom had bought a few months back for the wedding!!! so I am having her send me a picture of it to verify...I don't get how it happens, two different states, bought at different times!! oh boy, lets hope that it isn't the same dress as my moms:)

It's All About the Limeade!!!

You would not believe what FINALLY arrived in Minnesota!! SONIC and their famous Cherry Limeades!!! and cheddar bites!! mmmmm I made a trip to them on Saturday. It was GREAT!!

if you haven't had SONIC before it is well worth your trip. They are only in St. Paul right now, but is coming soon to Savage:):)

After the Fact

I thought women only changed their minds at the last minute "after the fact" that something is already in progress. Not true...I have come to realize that my hubby to be likes to come up with "new" ideas of how something should be or go "AFTER" I have started or completed the process of something!!! Now, I know he means well, and is just sharing his ideas, but FOR THE LOVE!! Why not share your thoughts and ideas during the putting together process. (I know where is the story LD) We have been working on our programs for the wedding, and I have made proteges for him to see and get his imput, he tells me he likes it and if I like it I can do it. We go get all the paper for the one side of the program and I him the file of what will be printed one last time to make sure he likes it. He does, then I get an email a couple hours later from him suggesting we do the programs maybe this way... AFTER I sent the file to the print shop with all the paper and is now in production. meanwhile I am preparing my self for him to say he really wanted to do the programs this other way. Which would Xnay the whole thing that we had put together in the first place. BREATHE LaDonna, they are just programs....You gotta love him though, he did realize his new idea was a "little" last minute, but thought we would share it with me:)

58 Days

Yeah!! I will be a Ver Strate soon!! I kinda feel like I am on a roller coaster of feelings, I get excited, then a little nervous, some times I feel anxious and then excited all over again:) So many changes to come. This has been a good year of changes though, My girlfriend was married earlier this year, I have two friends who are new mommies, and I am about to be married in less than two months....woohoo!!

Clubhouse Chicken Squares

some of us girls got together over the weekend for scrapbooking!! I wouldn't say I got to much done, but I did have fun:) we were to bring a dish with and everytime I make this, it seems as everyone raves about and wants the "secret" recipe...well, here is LD's version of the ClubHouse Chicken Squares. Enjoy!!!

2 (8 oz.) tubes of refrigerator crescent rolls1

(8 oz.) package of cream cheese,

1 clove of garlic, pressed

1/2 cup of ranch dressing

1 teaspoon of italian seasoning

2cups of chopped chiken

1 cucumber chopped

1 chopped tomato,

1/2 cup shredded marble jack cheese

6 slices of bacon, crisply cooked & crumbled(the "real" bacon bits work just as well)

Preheat oven to 375. Unroll 1 package of crescent rolls across one end of cookie sheet (baking sheet). Repeat with remaining package of crescent rolls dough, covering the sheet. Roll or press dough to seal perforations. Press up sides to form crust. Bake 12 - 15 minutes or until golden brown. Remove from oven and cool completely.

Place cream cheese, ranch dressing, garlic, italian seasoning, in a batter bowl. Mix until smooth. Spread cream cheese mixture evenly over the cooled crust. Sprinkle chicken evenly over the filling. Place cucumber slices evenly on top. Sprinkle tomatoes, bacon, and cheese on top. Cut into squares (I use a pizza cutter).

50 MPH

Today is the first day in a long time I drove the actual speed limit on my way to work. I see this trooper from the corner of my eye waiting to turn onto the highway after I passed by... oooh boy!! I was only going "a few" miles over the speed limit, ok I admit my car is use to going 60 on this road and not 50. So we are cruisin' along then I see another 3 cop cars up the road(at this point I am thinking I am about to witness a C.O.P.S. show episode) well, no COPS show episode was about to happen, but it did get me to go the speed limit the entire stretch of 13. I have to say though, it is too easy to be cruizin along and not realizing how fast you are actually going...

Joy Riding

Yesterday Rich and I were off to meet little Martin (he is the newest addition to some good friends of ours) after work and lets just say, it was a trip:) I googled the address that was given to me and printed them off to get us to the hospital, well, lets just say the directions took us to a house that was being newly built. So unless the hospital downsized to a housing development...mmm I not to sure. Well to our knowledge the adventure had just begun:) we started driving around the city of St. Louis Park and later found ourselves on Excelsior(which the hospital is on) so we pulled into the hospital and walked into the building, got on the elevator thinking we were going to her floor and ended up on the Senoir Citizens Ward! I don't think they are having babies on that floor. So we go down a level, nope that was the family practice level and everyone had gone home for the day! So we found ourselves back at the parking ramp and realized this hospital had multiple buildings. We picked up the courtesy phone to talk to the operator to find out which building she was in. Her reply was "you are on the wrong campus of the hospital!" we needed to go back out to Excelsior and go down another 2 miles and she will be at the hospital there. oops! (At this point my lovely husband to be was not very happy with me, I deffinately need to get a map or a gps unit in my car) So we get back in the car and head down the road to see construction is in our way of getting to the hospital! Yipee(note the sarcasm) well after a little detour we made it to the hospital...we walk in and ask the desk guy how to get to her room. We go up to the 3rd floor looking for room 316(this is the room I thought she was in). There is no room 316!! There was 317, 318, 319 and so on...NO 316. We both laugh walk back down the hallway and the nurses could tell we were still lost:) To our knowledge she was in room 336! An hour later we found our friends and met little Martin (the adventure was deffinately worth it, he is so adorable:):)!! but to know we did a complete circle on our drive passing the same resturant we passed on our way to the first hospital site oh about 45 minutes earlier....I got in a little bit of trouble:)

Too Busy

I feel like I have kinda fallen a little with my "God Time" per say. My prayer life is pretty good, but when it comes to sitting down and reading my bible or reading a devotion, I struggle. I feel like I have gotten wrapped up in the cycle called "I am too busy and if I am not at the moment I will find something else to do to busy my time" I know, its horrible isn't it. Then I get a little frustrated cause in the back of my mind I know I should spend more quality time with God and because I don't I feel bad. I think about spending more time with Him... ALOT(does that count?) but I don't do anything about it...I know I could have the strength to over come this bondage I feel, but I just don't have the motivation to do it. Blogger friends, do you ever get in this cycle? How do you deal with it?

Harding vs. Kerrigan for '08

ok, I was watching my usual Good Morning America Segments this morning while getting ready for work and I just have to laugh at the media these days, (don't get me wrong I love GMA in the mornings) but to analyze the Democratic race with the Harding/Kerrigan incident...I am not to sure. Granted I would have to say this is probably the first time I have been following the democratic race closely(I like what Obama has to say and to see how Clinton handles her campaign) but for them to say Clinton needs to pull a Tanya Harding on Obama to get on the ballot is kinda sad! Granted it seems that is whats happening, but why can't they focus on the issues such as the recession we are sliding in, or the housing market, health insurance, our kids education and so on. I don't know for sure the Obama campaign hasn't gone on a rampage like I have seen/heard the Clinton campaign do with her opponent. But come on now, can't we all just get along! We have two grown adults who could potentially be our President and this is what we have to look foward too???

What a Punk!!

So I was driving around the Wal Mart parking lot today at lunch looking for a spot to park in and had seen this car off to the side who looked like they were just going to plow right into me so I quickly slammed on my brakes. This kid(he is probably in his teens) looked at me and waved me on, so I proceeded and then went down the next aisle and just happened to find a spot right behind his car. As I was getting out of my car he pokes his head out of the window and yelled "you gotta problem with me!" and then gave me that look like you wanna fight. So I just shrugged my shoulds at him and continued to lock my car, well as I was starting to walk towards the store he was getting out of his car yelling "hey, whats your deal" ignoring him I continued to walk shaking my head at him. He then honked his horn at me trying to get my attention even more and continued the yelling. What was this boy thinking!! that I was going to fight him for whatever I did to make him mad!! what an idiot! Every part of my red headedness wanted to go off on him, maybe punch him for being stupid, but I didn't, he wasn't worth my time or energy. I just don't get why teens act like they are all tough, then it makes me think, were we like that as a teenager??

October Road

So I am not sure if any of you watch October Road, it is a show based on small town drama. It is the perfect chic flick!! I am sad to say the season has come to an end, I am so sucked into this show I find myself wondering about what the different characters are going to about how things ended. I can get myself so wrapped up in it that I feel like I am actually right in the town with them. I know sad, I am actually going to miss this show, hopefully they don't take too long to bring it back on.

Hair Dresser Crisis

I am kinda in shell shock and starting to freak out!! I just found out today that my hair dresser had left the salon!! AHHHHHH!!! who's going to do my hair, will I like the person doing my hair, will they do a good job?? I know I have a few months to find someone, but that takes a lot of time. If I wasn't so particular about who does my hair it probably wouldn't be a huge deal. It seems like you get use to someone who knows what you like and what you want and then they vanish and you have to start all over again. I wanna cry ..... Am I freaking out for nothing, I think someone just needs to tell me to chill out....anyone know a good hair dresser???

MY DRESS

So what do you think?? I heard it was the new trend these days!! ha ha....just kidding!! My girls were passing around emails about different bridesmaids dresses and so on and I really fell in love with this one:) and Rich will be wearing a sky blue tux with all the ruffles to match:) (just in case you were wondering)

if you want a good laugh check out this web site.... www.uglydress.com

you will be amazed on what you will find!!

Going to the Chapel!!

Yes, it is true Mister and Shorty are getting married!!!

He took me away for my birthday to a ski resort up in northern Minnesota. It was pretty nice up there. The room was awesome!! We went skiing, had strawberry cheesecake(my favorite), wine, went on a sleigh ride through the hills, and then one day I was sitting by the fire and he comes into the room with a box and said this was for me:)....was he for real!! I started opening the little box, getting more and more excited as I got closer to what is the most beautiful ring! It is perfect!! Of course I said YES!!!

Merry Christmas

I was watching Good Morning America the other morning while getting ready for work and they viewed the clip below and I got a little teary eyed. When you see things like this it just makes you appreciate the holidays and all that you have been blessed with. Have a safe a happy Christmas my friends!! (enjoy the clip...I think they have a little blip while it is loading)


Soldier Surprise
http://abcnews.go.com/Video/playerIndex?id=4000031

16 Days till the first Hill

Well friends I am not quite sure how to feel about this years birthday. Usually I am super excited and reminding everyone about my birthday coming up and getting them excited too(I know I am dork) But turning 30 is something else...I know I don't look 30, so that is positive:) Although, I will always be carded when I go out with my sister(who is 22) and they wont even look at her to see if she needs to be carded!! but there is just so many other things that fall in the 30 category that I am not too sure about....I am deffinately not 21 anymore, staying out till wee hours of the night and being able to get up the next morning and go...no way I need my sleep now, and the list could go on. I am excited that I get to go away for the weekend:) and that my girlfriend and I are probably having the Biggest 30yr bash ever...

sorry for the random blog...I was just sitting at work thinking about turning 30 and thought I would share my thoughts:)

SNOW..a love/hate relationship

It is amazes me how much snow we have gotten this month! I love it and hate it at the same time. I love it, cause it is calming to look out your window and see the snow covered trees and yard, to be snuggled up in your favorite chair with a cup of coffee (or hot cocoa)...its great!! You also get to go out and enjoy sledding, making snowmen, and snowangels:) I hate it, cause only in Minnesota do the drivers have to learn to drive all over again. For real!! I am sure we all have our stories.

So we FINALLY are getting to put things up in the cabinets of the kitchen and get it organized!! We can breathe the finishing touches. The only things left to do is put down the flooring, and install the appliances and order counter tops. Then we are DONE!!! with the kitchen...I have heard you are never really "done" on house projects. ( I will have to post a few pictures later)

YEAH GOD!!

Hey Friends

Here are the beautiful kids that my friends were blessed with through adoption!! It has been so amazing to see God work through their entire process. We are so excited for them all to come home!!

ps you can read about the process by clicking on there blog to the right"dressel familia"

This Is NOT Happening!!

I am seriously loosing my mind and I haven't even reached 30 yet!!




yes this is me pouting...for real though, this morning, I thought I lost my keys. I dumped out my purse wondering where they were, ran up stairs to my room, tore the whole thing apart to see if I dropped them on the floor, nope, so then I went back down stairs to my purse thinking they would magically appear this time, and went through it again, still no keys, yes, I ran back up stairs to my room, making an even bigger mess to find those darn keys! Still nothing, so I went back down to my purse determined that they had to be in my purse, nothing!! :) I even tried to retracemy steps from the night before. So at this point I had to call my boss to tell him I was going to be running late due to my lost keys. I call my mom to see if she still had my spare key, then I rummaged through my room one last time, then went down stairs to kitchen...and low and behold I had set them on the counter this morning after getting a drink of water!! So humility sets in called my boss told him I was on my way, do I dare tell him how I lost them! luckily I got voicemail and I was only a few minutes late.

....AFTER

For all you wondering minds what came after....
check out the new LD:):)
who would've thought I would be so brave to do such a thing :)
Kinda Hot don't ya think!!!

Before and....

Its a FLIP FLOP FRIDAY

Hey everyone....So I woke up this morning, got ready for work and the first shoes I slipped on were my flip flops with intentions of changing my shoes when I got into my car this morning. Didn't happen:) Just some reason, they are so much more comfortable than the shoes I wanted to wear and decided to just keep them on. Am I the only one here...Have a great weekend friends!!

Team Barr

What a fun season!! We had a 10-0 season ending up in the playoffs beating the first team(this team was from a d-2 league and was in 3rd)we played and the second team(they were in a D-1 league and came in 2nd) we only lost by 3.I know most we be like "oh man we lost!!", but considering we came from a D-3 league and we only lost by 3 I think is pretty good.
I actually did pretty good through out the season, I even made MVP in one of the games!! The were all intrigued by my acrobatic skills in catching a few of those pop flys:) I was even amazed I made some of those catches. They even ventured to play me at second base...(a position I have never played before) If I could only learn to keep the ball in my glove when I stop it, I don't know what I was doing but that darn ball always seemed to pop up and out. But hey at least I stopped it right. You will see Rich(#21), he is the one who got us into this league. This team is through his work. He did pretty good this season as well. Everyone was a lot of fun and real encouraging even when you messed up:) I will have to post more pictures later.

Sweet Dreams

So I got a new bed over the weekend!! and I LOVE IT!! yes it was due time that I did get a new bed (hence I had my old bed since middle school) I am not up on the fashion pro-qous on how often to change your beds...but I did it. I actually look foward to running up to my room and jumping in my bed and ready to sleep, then realize that it is only 7 or 8 o'clock and force my self to get out of it and go do something else:)
It is amazing what a new big soft bed can do for one person. I know this is silly to get excited about my new bed, but I just wanted to share it with someone!!

Got Soy!!

So, my sister has talked me into trying soy milk in my lattes (to make is a little healthier). I guess I have to say I can't really tell the difference between soy milk and 2% milk. I did cut out the vanilla shot though, since the soy has vanilla in it. Does this mean it is a good excuse to drink more coffee....probably not, but it is still very good!! I have been trying to cut coffee out of my diet, it is just too hard though. I don't know why! Does anyone else have this problem or is it just me.

6 hours vs 6 minutes

One would know that there is a big difference between the two...except for me:) I had my first pampered chef show the other weekend...The ladies had a great time and I thought I did pretty good...until I pre-almost burnt the pizza crust. See the recipe had called for you to "pre-bake" the pizza crust for 6 minutes(this is so the crust does not get soggy) after I had put the crust in the overn, I went on with the show. Well, it wasn't until one of the guests had asked if the pizza crust had been in for more than 6 minutes...I looked up at the timer and told her "no we have plenty of time." She then asked me again "are you sure??" so I checked the timer again then thought to look at the crust. Well, the crust was a nice golden brown, and when I read the timer again it had read that there was 5 HOURS and 25 seconds left!!! Hello LaDonna!!!....good thing she mentioned something...otherwise we would've had one burnt pizza crust to deal with. Good thing the host(my mom) had baught extra though. I couldn't believe I had set the timer for 6 hours and not 6 minutes!! Good thing this is called "Pampered Chef" and not the "Perfect Chef" I had a lot of fun at my first show, I have two more coming up for a couple of my close friends!!

DISCONTINUED!!!

This famous word seems to be our(Rich and I) theme lately!! We are finally coming down to redoing the kitchen in his house and seems like everything that we have picked out to go in the new kitchen has now been discontinued!!! It all started at Home Depot when we were asking about the cabinets we had picked out, they guy told us that they have stopped buying from that line for a month now!! Then we went to go look at our tile that we liked and guess what?? Yup it was discontinued too!!! Luckily we found cabinets that we liked right away but now we are back to the drawing board on the tile!! It is frustrating especially when you get your heart set on a certain look and then they take it away. I am sure we will find tile that we will like, but it is just frustrating when you go into the store ready to purchase the item for the household and it is no longer available. Because you want it to coordinate with all the other things you had picked out. We did get to see the floor plans for the kitchen our friend Drea made up for it. We are super excited about that. So now we just need to make a few more measurments get everything ordered and then comes Demo Day!!! When it is all done, we will deffinately throw a party!!

A Day at the Spa!!

Last Friday I was lucky enough to have received a gift card to a Day Spa. It was actually quite fun. I went in for a "Detox Body Wrap". You always see the ladies get wraps on the movies so I thought I would try it out. I am not really sure how much it "detoxed" me(like get rid of that bloating feeling or other impurities in your skin) but it was really relaxing and I felt great afterwards. I kinda felt like royalty. You get dressed in a robe(you can keep your undergarments on) and you go sit in a relaxing lounge and they have people there to wait on you hand an foot. I would deffinately do it again.

something fun

Burn 28 Calories

So I heard this on the radio this morning.

"Everytime you Kiss you loved one you burn 28 calories!! "

Forget all those other diets we try...right!!

Just give your honey a big 'ol SMOOCH and you just burned calories.
Happy Valentines Day Everyone!!

REVIEW DAY

so you know when you are going to sit down with your boss for a review, and you stomach is all tied up in knots and fearing for the worst. Why do we do this to ourselves, (or am I the only one) My boss and I sat down on friday and went over the good, the not so good, and THE BAD!! he kept emphasizing the bad part all the way up to it. Turns out there was no bad stuff!! I think I made all 4's and a few 3's(it was on a scale of 1-5)
I was actually relieved after our meeting and felt pretty good about my position here at ACI. Yeah God!! It's not that I can't handle the bad stuff, you just cringe thinking of what it could be, cause you strive so hard to do so good and put 110% into all that you do.

I know it's not much of a blog...but that was my thought for now...take care

must be smarter than the blog site!!!

I am so pumped!! ( I know it might seem silly) but I have been trying to figure out
for a long time now how to get my friends blog links on my blog, and today I am proud to say...
I FIGURED IT OUT!!!

So we are back on the house work train...it was kinda nice to not have to go straight to work
on the house right after work. It took a little bit to get back into the work mode..but it has been
fun and deffinately an adventure. If I figure out how to do one of those cool slide show boxes
I will put up pictures of Rich's house.

Already in the New Year

Well, what can I say...we are already in the new year and I didn't even get to blog my fun events towards the end of the year last year. December was a crazy month. I wouldn't even know what to name the title if I tried...maybe CRAZY DECEMBER!!!
I went to go visit my sister in New York over Christmas. It was a great time! Getting there and coming home was not so great....lets just say, don't travel over the holidays or at least take a direct flight and no connecting flights!!! Other wise you could be stuck in your connecting destination!! I won't bore you with the whole story. Once I FINALLY arrived in New York we went Trapeze Flying!! It was great!! Yes that is me at the top preparing to jump off that platform and fly through the air anticipating if the guy on the other rope across the net is going to catch me. What a rush!!!
Then my sister had me live the New York life style by taking me out till 2 in the morning!! I was wiped out by the end of the night...or is it just that I am getting older and can't keep up with those youngen's anymore!! Sad! It was fun though we went Salsa dancing with some of her friends!

Although I do have to admit I couldn't go out everynight and party...I can safely say I am not a New Yorker:):) We went ice skating in central park and shopping down in Time Square. Good Times.

Speaking of being old, I also turned another year older bringing me closer to joining the 30yr old club!! oh man..I am still not sure how I feel about this! It was a good birthday though. I went out for Cheesecake with some girlfriends and Rich took me to a nice resturant called the Wild Fire in Enden Priaire, mmmm!! oh ya my boss kinda forgot it was my birthday and so he went out and bought some cup cakes and came back with them and sang me happy birthday. It was funny...it is the thought that counts right!

So over all I would have to say 2006 was a good year. It was very busy, adventurous and well learned. I hope you all have a great 2007!!

LD vs the Hair Dryer

well, this morning my hair dryer decided to give me a small black eye

ok so maybe I didn't quite end up looking like that...but that is what I feel like minus the pirate hat:) I think my depth perception must've been off this morning. I had my drier in my right hand moving over to the left side of my head and bam...I flung it right in my eye. I thought I was going to dye(dramatization here) luckily I just have a few scratches on my eye lid and my eye has been hurting all day.

So on a more serious note, over the last week I have learned the importance of communication...and talking with the person face to face. Because email just doesn't cut it...even though it seems so real and the easy way to go...but I do know that if there is an issue or change that is coming to talk with the person and not try to explain through email. You can literally assume everything through email, which we all know what assuming does. Luckily after a few little tiffs my friend and I were able to cool off and work through it, thank you Lord, it deffinately was a lesson well learned. I am not sure who really reads my silly little blogs but if anything I can share with you all is if you know there is something important to share with anyone, make time to talk with them....ya email can be the quickest way to go or more convient, but you can save alot of frustration and hurt by just taking time to talk face to face.

Well, have a great weekend everyone!! You all are in my prayers. Ciao

Find the Chef In YOU!!

So I am trying a new hobby out and have decided to join the Pampered Chef!! Why not Right?? I think it would be fun to go to friends houses and cook for them...cause I love to cook and bake( I like to think I get my skills from my momma and my grandma) plus I get to make new friends and talk with lots of women and of course eat good food!!! So if you all ever need anything for your kitchen just let me know I can get you a catalog....or even better, if you want cool free stuff for your kitchen ask me about doing a show for you and I'll come over and cook for you and your friends and you will receive a gift just for hosting a show. How fun is that!!!

I'm LaDonna King and I approve this message :):)

(ha ha...I make myself giggle sometimes...)

Just not the Same

I was so bummed this morning when I got in my car, driving to work and was ready to sip down this new french vanilla cappacino stuff I got from the store. Let me tell you....it is just not the same as a French Vanilla Latte from Caribou or Star Bucks or even from the gas station(gas station latte's are pretty good, you can add your own flavor shots now!!) I even followed the directions on the can(shouldn't be that hard) So instead of tasting a nice warm yummy french vanilla latte I got a sip of bland hot milk with what maybe was a hint of coffee added to it!!!
Maybe the coffee queens new what I was up too (really I thought I would budget a little better and try something different than spending 3-4bucks on coffee like once or twice a week and only spend like a $1.50 on a small can of coffee mixture that I could have more than one cup and save some money...sounds logical) and that was my punishment. Or I should just add more mix and hope for the best!?!

Happy Birthday Emma!!

What a weekend!! We went home to Michigan for Emma's 1st birthday!! She is such a cutie. Deffinately has a mind of her own. Let me tell you though...it was such a long drive...9hrs...EACH WAY!!! But it was deffinately worth the drive. I am slowly recovering and catching back up on my sleep. I didn't realize all the weird dreams I have when I travel. Craziness!! I don't even know how I could dream up some the things I dreamed of. Like all the boys playing real cops and robbers in balerina outfits!! (don't ask) I swear I am normal!! :)

Yeah Fall!!!!

I love this time of year...all the pretty colors on the trees are just mezmorizing! Making trips to the apple orchard, sharing good times with friends around bonfires, taking walks and tromping on all the crisp leaves:) and the crisp cool air. It's great!!!

The Train!

Ok, the train guys think this is funny or something!....every time I go to lunch there is ALWAYS a train going by or at a dead stop!! So then I try going to lunch later...guess what...there is the train.. So then I try going to lunch earlier...Stupid train!!! There it is again!! I think they have guys in the control room watching for my car, just waiting to put those arms down!!! I give up. :)