Weekend Recap!

Thursday - - My interview was at 1 pm. I was first given a tour of campus by the director of the program I was interviewing to work with. The tour was nice, and it was a great way to learn more about the campus, and the program. I then had about a half hour to fill out some paperwork, and fill out a short advisor assessment. The interview started off, and I was SO nervous. They gave me the questions so I was able to follow along, and not have to ask them to repeat any of the questions (for anyone that does hiring, this was really nice!)! As the interview progressed, I became more and more relaxed and the interview committee and I started to really bond. They asked many follow up questions, and even a couple of the committee members seemed super excited.

After the interview, the director walked me out, and congratulated me on a super interview. We spoke for a few moments, and was told she would follow up with me later this week, as they have another interview.

I feel really good about the interview, and their reaction to me, and my experiences. Keeping my fingers crossed!


After the interview, I hurried home, and started packing for the scrapbooking weekend. It took a long time, but I had a lot of stuff. My husband got home from work, and helped me finish loading the car. The drive was so long!

Friday - - The morning we spent with my family, and lounging around. The scrapbooking event started at 5. My mom and I went up a little early to help set up and scope out the place. My husband went to spend the rest of the weekend with his family.

The rest of the weekend is almost a blur. There were up to 50 people scrapbooking at any given moment. Some people didn't sleep. There was a constant supply of food. There were a few shops to purchase stuff from. There were at least 5 cricuts on site. We played "Let's make a deal" for tickets. We did the chicken dance (many times). Tickets were used to win door prizes (from gift certificates, brads, and paper to office chairs and totes). The oldest scrapbooker = 71, the youngest = 12.















Unfortunately, I wasn't able to get much scrapbooking done. Instead I was busy helping with the organization of the event. I also was the photographer for the weekend, taking nearly 400 photos!

It was quite the weekend!

Two Words

I found this over at Candy Hearts and Paper Flowers and decided to join in the fun!



1. Where is your cell phone? counter mess

2. Your significant other? at work

3. Your hair? blond, frizzy

4. Your mother? fun, silly

5. Your father? hard worker

6. Your favorite thing? family, friends

7. Your dream last night? very strange

8. Your favorite drink? water, tea

9. Your dream/goal? happy, family

10. The room you're in? living room

11. Your ex? ex what?

12. Your fear? being unhappy

13. Where do you want to be in 6 years? house, happy

14. Where were you last night? driving home

15. What you're not? bored, awake

16. Muffins? banana nut

17. One of your wish list items? car, house

18. Where you grew up? tiny town

19. The last thing you did? pay rent :(

20. What are you wearing? t-shirt, capris

21. Your TV? vizio, black

22. Your pet(s)? none now

23. Your computer? macbook pro

24. Your life? busy, fun

25. Your mood? anxious, excited

26. Missing someone? friends, family

27. Your car? Red ford

28. Something you're not wearing? socks, makeup

29. Favorite Store? Archivers, Apple

30. Your summer? busy, fun

31. Like someone? uhh, duh

32. Your favorite color? multi, rainbow

33. Last time you laughed? last night

34. Last time you cried? last night

35. Who will re-post this? who knows!?



Be sure to let me know if you are participating so I have come over to check it out!

I'm back!

We just got home! We are unloading the car, and need some sleep! It was a great weekend! However, I'm SO tired. I'm being fueled by Mt. Dew instead of sleep.

I'll post a full update tomorrow!

How was your weekend?

Husband had spent the morning, until around 2pm with his family. I spent the day at the scrapbook event. We met at the end of the event, loaded the car and headed out.

We drove back from being home on the 29th. It was nice to have the time to be able to talk. We talked about the future, what our goals are, how we can reach them.

We stopped at a DQ for supper. Yummy!

Excited doesn't cover it!

I just got home from my interview! OMG! IT WAS AWESOME! The program, the people, the campus... The more we talked, the more we all connected, the more excited we ALL got! I'm so, so, so... Man, words even escape me!

I need to pack to get moving for my weekend away at the scrapbook event!


What are your weekend plans?

On my mind

• I have an interview on Thursday for a really great position and opportunity. I'm so excited, however nervous and trying not to get my hopes up!
  
• I'll be helping with a scrapbook retreat this weekend! I'm assigned to the photo printing station! :-)
• I haven't packed for the scrapbook retreat. I'll squeeze that in between the interview and leaving for the retreat!
• The apartment is a mess! Before getting the call for the interview, I was sorting some of our treasures to be taken to Good Will, or the dumpster. I guess the mess will have to wait.
• I finally gave in and turned on the air conditioner. I was avoiding it, however today, as of now, it is 86 degrees. The fan wasn't cutting it.
• Speaking of it being super hot outside. I have nothing cool and comfortable to wear to the interview! I'm not looking forward to my suit. :(

Wacky Web Wednesday - #17

Enjoy!

You can click HERE to go to Julian Beever's website for more information and photos!

Weekend Flair #8 - Cards

With all the craziness lately and my taking yesterday off, my instructions and photos are a little short, however I wanted to show you what I have been working on! If you have any questions, or need clarification, just ask :-)

Photo of starting supplies.


(12x12 paper, 3 stamps, flowers, and folded white card stock)

I cut the 12x12 paper to fit the folded card stock, leaving a small white border around the edge.


I used my Crop-A-Dile to fasten on colored snaps for the center of the flower.


After I stamped "good thoughts to you" (hero arts stamp), I glued it all together.


I attached two wire words ("husband" and "wife" from Making Memories) to this card.


This card I kept simple by just using the snaps, and flowers!






What creative projects have you been working on? If you posted about it on your blog, be sure to leave a link so we can all visit!

This was not the plan

We had plans this weekend.

We should be sitting at a wedding.

Plans changed.

Husband got 2 wisdom teeth pulled instead.

He is living on jello, popsicles and pain meds.

I am taking the weekend off.

Sitting here.


Eating this. :-)


Life is good!

Thursday Thirteen #9

13 things we can do to help out people impacted by the flooding in Iowa.
Families have lost their homes, furniture, clothing, toys, photos, food and water... everything they had...

1... An Iowa Mom is hosting a special web site here http://www.help-iowaflood2008.net to connect people that need assistance with those that are able to help. Please click on over if you fit in either of those categories!

2... People need toiletries, baby items, etc.

3. Donate gift cards.

4... Make other people aware (forward info/spread the word to friends, post about it on their blog)

5... Sponsor a family at http://www.help-iowaflood2008.net.


6... Donate to the Red Cross
Donate at 1-800-HELP NOW or en espanol 1-800-257-7575 or online at www.redcross.org


7... Iowans who need assistance or wish to volunteer with recovery efforts should contact the Iowa Concern Hotline at 1-800-447-1985.

8... If you wish to volunteer as a sandbagger, visit www.unitedwaydm.org or call 515-246-6563

9... Contact Salvation Army Emergency Disaster Service Program -- Cedar Rapids: 319-378-0337 to see what items/help they can use at this time

10... Contact the Iowa Humane Society. They may be in need of extra supplies and foster homes for pets.

11... Visit Mennonite Disaster Service for information on volunteering and supplies needed.

12... Post a link to these services on your blog!

13... Pass the word on to those people that do not have a blog. Send an email, make a phone call. Start a donation rally at your church, place of work, or child's play group.


Thank you to An Iowa Mom for hosting the new website and helping me come up with many items on this list! Additional phone number and website information was found at http://www.kcci.com/news/16552924/detail.html and at Shakesville.


The purpose of the meme is to get to know everyone who participates a little bit better every Thursday. Visiting fellow Thirteeners is encouraged! If you participate, leave the link to your Thirteen in others comments. It’s easy, and fun! Trackbacks, pings, comment links accepted!

View More Thursday Thirteen Participants

Giving a helping hand

I have been saddened by all the the news from Iowa of people loosing their homes, furniture, clothing, toys, photos, food and water... everything they had.



An Iowa mom has set up a website to help connect people that are in need of assistance to those that are able to help out. Please spread the word. Tell people to visit: http://www.help-iowaflood2008.net



Thank you!

Wacky Web Wednesday - #16

The flute is hard enough to play, beatboxing is an entirely different kind of challenge (which I find totally amazing). Watch the talented Greg Patillo do both... at the same time!

What would you do?

Tonight we went out with one of my husband's high school friends. He called to let us know he was in town for a conference and wanted to meet up for dinner. We enjoy when people visit. It is always nice to see family and friends while they are in town.(It is always frustrating to hear people were in town after the fact.)

When he called my husband asked if he had anywhere in mind he wanted to try. Maybe something he didn't have back home. He named a place downtown that we hadn't been to before. We knew it was a bit more expensive, but wasn't sure how much more expensive, and really couldn't then say we didn't want to go there.

We went, had a nice time, and enjoyed catching up with an old friend (and interestingly enough, this friend is married to my cousin). However, just for my husband and I, the bill was around $60.00. This didn't include the appetizer (as our friend insisted he pay for it), or the tip. We also didn't have dessert. This only only for the one plate of food we each had! It wasn't like we ordered the most expensive thing on the menu. We were actually almost as frugal as we could be without sharing something (which in hindsight may have been a good idea). Our friend's bill was nearly as much as ours, however he did pay for his meal, the appetizer and his dessert.

Now, I understand some people make more money than we do (which in his field is very likely). Additionally, some people may not be as frugal as we may be. In either case, that is fine. However, this friend plans to visit us again, bringing along his wife, and wants to return to this restaurant. Maybe they can afford this, however we cannot afford $60.00 meals. Additionally, we are not comfortable spending this amount of money on one meal, even if we could!

Don't get me wrong, we do our fair amount of spending on eating out and fun stuff. However, our splurging on dinner is usually around the $25-35 range (not $60). Plus for things that cost more, such as a concert, vacation, or other larger item, we save for it! We are not okay with relying on our credit cards.

We are by no means set financially, however are financially okay if we stick to our budget. So what do we do? Do we buck up and put it on the credit card, or basically save up for it? Or do we sheepishly admit we don't have the money and ask to go somewhere a bit cheaper? We don't want them to feel bad and pay for it for us, or "report" back to other friends of family that we aren't doing okay . Thoughts?

Menu Plan Monday - 6-16-08

I'm a little late with this one, but here it goes!

Monday - - Leftovers!

Tuesday - - Eating out with Friends visiting from out of town

Wednesday - - Taco Casserole

Taco Casserole
1 1/2 lbs ground beef
1 cup chopped onion
1 cup water
1/2 cup taco sauce
1 pkg taco seasoning mix
1 pkg yellow corn shells, broken
2 cups shredded cheese

Preheat oven to 375 F and grease 12x9 baking pan. Cook beef and onion until beef is brown. Stir in water, taco sauce, and seasoning mix. cook over low heat for 3-4 minutes. Layer half of the shells on bottom of prepared baking dish. Cover and half of meat sauce and sprinkle with 1 cup cheese. Repeat with remaining. Bake for 20-25 minutes. Top with tomatoes.

Thursday - - Eating out with friends.

Friday - - Grilled Roasted Garlic Teriyaki Chicken and Crispy Potato Wedges

Grilled Roasted Garlic Teriyaki Chicken
2/3 cup teriyaki sauce
1 Tablespoon brown sugar
1 Tablespoon vegetable oil
6 boneless, skinless chicken breast
1 Tablespoon garlic

Combine teriyak sause, sugar, oil and garlic, stirring until sugar dissolves. Pour Miture over chicken in large plastic food storage bag. Turn bag to coat chicken with mixture. Refrigerate 2 hours, turning bag once. Remove chicken from bag. Grill chicken.

Crispy Potato Wedges
4 med potatoes cut into large wedges
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1/4 teaspoon ground pepper
1/8 teaspoon salt
2 cloves garlic, minced

Place potatoes in large bowl, add cold water to cover. Let stand 15 minutes. Preheat oven to 425 F. Spray a nonstick sheet with vegetable cooking spray. Drain potatoes. Spread over paper towels and then cover with paper towels. Press to dry. Transfer potatoes to a clean large bowl. Sprinkle with oil, pepper and salt; toss gently to combine. Arrange seasoned potatoes in a single layer on prepared baking sheet. Bake potatoes for 20 minutes. Turn and sprinkle with garlic. Bake until golden.

Saturday - - Leftovers

Sunday - - Old-World Manicotti and garlic bread

Old-World Manicotti
12 large manicotti shells
4 cups shredded mozzarella cheese
2 cups ricotta cheese
6 tsp chopped fresh basil
1 jar spaghetti sauce
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese

Preheat oven to 350 F. Spray 13x9 inch baking dish. Cook pasta according to package directions. Drain and rinse with cool water. Let pasta dry on paper towels. For filling, in medium bowl, stir together 3 cups mozzarella with the ricotta and basil. Carefully stuff pasta shells with mixture. Spoon 2 cups spaghetti sauce into prepared baking dish. Arrange stuffed pasta over sauce. Pour remaining spaghetti sauce over top of pasta. sprinkle with remaining mozzarella. Bake for 15 minutes, sprinkle with parmesan; bake for 10 minutes longer. Serve :)

Be sure to visit I'm an Organizing Junkie for other Meal Planning Ideas!

Our time spent with grandparents

This last Tuesday, my husband's grandparents drove up to visit. It is wonderful they are still able to get around just fine, and drive themselves to distant cities to visit grandchildren.


After they arrived on Tuesday evening, we took them to the casino buffet for supper. After we had stuffed ourselves full, they insisted everyone should get a dollar for the slot machines. Other than a powerball ticket a couple times, I have never gambled. I really didn't want to, however they insisted and I caved. I sat down, put in my dollar a penny machine and started winning. Even a penny at a time, I was around $6 at one point. With the four of us, we put in around $9.00 and came out with around $40. Surprisingly, it was kind of fun. Well, maybe more exciting.



Wednesday morning, we made them breakfast and then headed out to the Mall of America. They had never been there and wanted to see what the fuss was all about. It was fun showing them all the unique stores, and theme park in the middle of the mall! Grandma saw the Build a Bear workshop and just had to try it out. I felt completely silly, however she loved it. For those of you that have never done this, it is quite the experience. You first pick out a bear... well, "skin". You can pick out a voice box, or proceed to the fluff station. I opted to go for a bear that didn't make noice, however grandma picked one out for her's. Then, the bear maker helper assisted us in stuffing our bear. Then we each got to pick out a heart for our bear. I went with a plain one, but grandma, wanting the full experience, went for the heart that actually sounds like a beating heart when squeezed. Then, there was a heart ceremony. The helper had us hold our bear's heart, rub it in our hands to warm it up, and then on our hearts for love, our ears for listening... etc. In the end we had to jump up and down, and spin in a circle. After this was over, we put our bears' hearts in our bears, along with ids (then if lost, they can track whose bear it is and return it), and they got sewn up. After all of this, we gave our bears a 'bath', and also had the option of purchasing clothing (which we passed up). We then named our bears, received bear birth certificates, and were on our merry way. I did feel silly, however I have to admit, it was kind of fun! :-) I think my husband and grandpa were much more embarrassed than I.


For dinner, we took them to the Rainforest Cafe. This was fun, however by this time, we were getting worn out. After eating, we decided to stop by a park for fresh air and to enjoy the weather. This didn't last too long, as the rain came in. We headed back to our apartment for the afternoon. We were all sleepy, however grandpa and I feel asleep while my husband and grandma looked at our Niagara Falls photos.


We didn't get a lot of rest time, as before we new it, we needed to head out to "Walking with Dinosaurs". The show was amazing! I couldn't believe the technology, and production that was put into this! However, after looking more at the webpage for it, with a $20 million budget, I could do a lot too! Grandma loves everything dinosaurs, and seemed to really enjoy the show.


I have a few photos from the show posted here. Plus, I'm adding a couple video clips below. If you haven't seen this, I would highly suggest it! It is about 90 minutes, plus intermission. The show takes you through the evolution of dinosaurs, showing the most common one's during the different periods. We had tickets about mid level, however I'm not sure if having a lower seat would have made the show better.












After the show, we did a quick stop at Culver's and headed home. They left for home on Thursday morning, and my husband had to work. I spent the day getting ready to visit my family over the weekend and napping :)


Friday my husband and I drove to my parent's. We will spend Saturday at the Centennial celebration for the local community, and then my sister's bridal shower. Sunday we will do the return drive home.


It is great to see everyone, however I'm ready for a few days to sit around and not worry about anything... maybe next week. :-)

Pay It Forward Friday #2

Welcome to It Forward Friday, hosted by An Iowa Mom!

Pay it forward Friday gives everyone a little extra reason to give a shout out and some linky love to one of their favorite bloggy reads!

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

• Title Of Blog I Would Like To Feature Is: A Daisy A Day
  
• I Like This Blog Because: There is always a fun new story, and Daisy has a creative writing voice.
  
• Here are two Posts I really Enjoyed: More Progress, and it's night time...let's r-r-r-r-rumble!

FOR MORE PAY IT FORWARD FRIDAY'S, VISIT AN IOWA MOM

Friday Fill Ins #76

Friday Fill-Ins #76

1. Traveling the world is high up on my bucket list.

2. My favorite quote is "We could learn a lot from crayons: some are sharp, some are pretty, some are dull, some have weird names, and all are different colors, but they all exist very nicely in the same box."; it's from unknown.

3. Scrapbooking inspired me to start blogging. I rarely write on my scrapbook pages, and am hoping this will help me document what is going on in my life.

4. Strawberries are best fresh.

5. Having a spider in my bed and my husband and I trying to eliminate it is the last dream I remember having. Yeah, ish.

6. The most enjoyable time to go for a walk is at dusk.

7. And as for the weekend, tonight I’m looking forward to seeing my family, tomorrow my plans include going to my sister's bridal shower and Sunday, I want to relax, but will spend the day in the car driving home!

Thursday Thirteen #7 - Walking with Dinosaurs!

Thirteen photos from Walking with Dinosaurs at the Xcel Energy Center!
We took my husband's grandparents and one of my friends (Tink) to this show. It was absolutely amazing! Check back tomorrow for more photos, videos and details!





























The purpose of the meme is to get to know everyone who participates a little bit better every Thursday. Visiting fellow Thirteeners is encouraged! If you participate, leave the link to your Thirteen in others comments. It’s easy, and fun! Trackbacks, pings, comment links accepted!

View More Thursday Thirteen Participants

Is your state represented?

Before our vacation, I picked up this license plate game for a couple dollars. During our vacation road trip, we were definately on the lookout for state plates! For only driving through a handful of them, we did really well!

Wacky Web Wednesday #15

Found this one over at Adventures in Randomness!

Completely amazing!

Feeling overwhelmed and unispired

I have spent the last couple days dealing with spiders. It all started when I noticed one crawling on my ceiling. However one turned to six and I panicked. Apartment living dosen't allow me to do much other than squish the things and wipe down their webs. I would love to be able to wash the webs off the outside of my windows and maybe do a little spraying around the place, however I guess this forces me to look for less toxic solutions. In searching the internet, it seemed there were many opinions and ideas, however I ended up getting a few sticky traps (typically used for mice) to put in the middle of spider highway, and some orange pine sol to wipe down around the windows and where I find webs. I keep trying to tell myself they keep away all the other creepy crawlies, however I feel itchy and icky just thinking about it.

Do you have any certain way of ridding your living space of spiders?

My husband's grandparents are coming up tonight, and staying until Thursday. We are all going to Walking With Dinosaurs! I'm super excited, but have so much going on this week, I feel that I might not enjoy it like I should.

My sister's bridal shower is this weekend. I'm running around trying to prep for that. Plus, it is an 8 hour drive away, so it isn't like I can forget anything! In addition, I'm also going to hang out in my home town for it's centennial celebration! Yeah, maybe a little cheesy, especially for a town of 300, but it has potential.

I have gotten in one more application, and am working on another. I'm still nervous about not having a job, but haven't had a lot of time to think about it.

With all of the above I feel like I'm way behind in blogging. I know this isn't good. I should blog for myself, however I have a couple blog posts in the works that I really excited about and want to hit "publish" (such as the long awaited, much promised review of wii fit). Even more than feeling behind, I'm almost feeling uninspired. I have this daily stuff I write about, I complain a lot, and tend to favor the "this and that" posts, however I also want to make this meaningful, for myself and for anyone that happens to read this!

How do you find your blogging balance?

Seriously, who thinks of this stuff?

Can you imagine sitting at your desk. Most likely as you are now, your body as calm as can be... except your hips? Imagine you are using a hula hoop (heck give it a try if you want). Now wouldn't that be a calming, refreshing, easy exercise to do while typing?

I don't think so!

Neither did this person, and she wrote a review!

You must click over and check this out. This review of the Hula Chair is ... amazing.Please, watch the video, even if you don't read the entire review! Priceless!

Found the review link over at Biddy's World. Hey Biddy, thanks for keeping it fun!

Menu Plan Monday - 6-9-08

Welcome to my Menu Plan Monday! Last week, I featured a couple new recipes. The meatballs were great! I rolled them in just a bit of tomato sauce and they were perfect! The yogurt glazed chicken was also good. It had a bit to much sauce for me, but I'm interested in trying it again with a different flavor yogurt to see the outcome. We used a french vanilla this time. I might try orange next time! :)

This week will be a little slim, as we have many left overs, and will out out of town for the weekend.

Monday - - Leftovers

Tuesday - - Chicken Salad / leftovers

Wednesday - - Potato-Veggie Frittata (We didn't do this last week, so I'm adding it here!

Thursday - - Orange Ruffie (we are on a fish kick)

Friday - - leftovers


Saturday and Sunday we will be visiting my family.

Expanding my mind through travel

For about a week now, I have been teasing you all with promises of my vacation story. I even posted a a few pictures here. We had a great time. I like my vacations on the relaxing side, thus we always try to take our time, exploring...
Here is our approximate driving route:


We live in some obscure part of MN. Our first night was in Wisconsin Dells as we left late in the afternoon. The 2nd night was stayed in Port Huron, two rooms down from Eddie Money. The 3rd night near Kitchener, Ontario. On this day we made a few stops here and there. My favorites this day were the beach at Grand Bend and Southampton beach.We spent some of the later part the day searching for waterfalls.

The fourth day we saw a couple more falls, and then drove to Niagara Falls! It is amazing! If you have the chance to see it, do! We were able to do the tour behind the Horseshoe Falls. It was SO much fun, and we ended up soaked! We walked around for awhile and stayed for the fireworks show! We stay in Niagara Falls, NY.

On the 5th night Lake Erie State Park. This day we spent some time at the NY state Park around Niagara, and then headed down the shores of Lake Erie. We walked along the beach after setting up our tent. It was so peaceful. We even built a couple inuksuks (I fell in love with these during my first trip to Canada... go ahead, google it... I'll wait, just don't forget to come back! Yeah, I realize it is a symbol of Canada and I was in NY... )!

After sleeping quite well on the tent, we spent a little more time on the beach, and then headed down the road. It ended up being a bit of driving, but did stop at the Cleveland Zoo for a couple hours. We have a MN zoo pass, which is valid at many other zoos, including Cleveland. However, the pass has my name on it and is valid for me plus one. This allows me to take my husband, a friend, or family member. We paid for 2 zoo members. Unfortunately, the Cleveland zoo didn't see it this way (even after we explained it, and showed our card which also explained it). I got in with my pass, however my husband had to pay. Ish.We didn't get to see everything there we wanted due to the closing time, however it was a nice zoo. My only complaint, other than my husband not getting in with our membership, would have to be the appartant construction of a highway/interstate through the middle of the zoo. I'm not sure what that is about. Seems strange to me. We spend the night in Hammond IN.


We spend our last day away from home, the 29th in Chicago and then driving the rest of the way home. We had a great time in Chicago! We rode to the top of the Sears tower, saw Buckingham Fountain, went to the Field Museum, and had deep dish pizza! The drive home was not as much fun as it rained into the night, however it was nice to sleep in our own bed!

Oh, we try not to eat fast food, but found out McDonalds has $1 ice cream cones. Needless to say, we had several throughout our trip

Here are a few more photos!

Those plants that live and Friday Fill Ins!

Despite the fact I tend to loose many plants due to issues such as this, I am not feared by all things green! Today marked my annual afternoon of re-potting any surviving plants. I do have a few that are nearly out of control (yeah, can you believe it?) and I'm not sure I have room for much longer. I'm hoping for a house in the next year, so I won't have to worry as much about the huge amount of space some of them take up. Honestly, having them on the desk isn't the issue. It is over-wintering them in the apartment that is the challenge!







What I ended up with (minus the huge one. I didn't move it for the photo, but you can see it in one of the photos above, in a corner!)!

---------------------------------------
And now for Friday Fill Ins!

1. Idle hands are likely in need of the break.
2. I love quiet time in the shower.
3. My favorite time of the day is when the sun sets. It is always so pretty and calm.
4. The last tea I drank was sugary.
5. I like to relax in the Summer.
6. My mother always said you will understand when you have kids.
7. And as for the weekend, tonight I’m looking forward to finishing a job application, tomorrow my plans include cleaning and Sunday, I want to go to the zoo!

Pay It Forward Friday #1

Welcome to my first Pay It Forward Friday, hosted by An Iowa Mom!





Pay it forward Friday gives everyone a little extra reason to give a shout out to one of their favorite bloggy reads!

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

This week, I would like to introduce Leslie, from Adventures in Randomness. Leslie takes us through the ups and downs of being a fun, creative and witty, married graduate student. Click on over! You will definitely find something amazing! Oh, and BTW... be sure to wish her luck! She is meeting with the graduate committee who today will be deciding the fate of her thesis proposal!

To read more Pay it Forward posts, be sure to visit An Iowa Mom. To participate, check here for the instructions and rules.

Thursday Thirteen #6 - Our Vacation!

13 photos from our anniversary trip (May 23-May 31)! We drove from MN to NY, with stops in Chicago, Cleveland, Niagara Falls and various places in Canada (where we saw all the waterfalls!)! I'll post more about our trip in the coming week. It seems since we got back, I have tons of stuff to catch up on!

1….

2...
Inglis Falls, Owen Sound, Ontario

3...
4...
Webster Falls, Ontario

5...
Tews Falls, Hamilton, Ontario

6...
Horseshoe Falls from the Skylon Tower

7...
American Falls light show

8...
Cleveland Zoo

9...
Sue... at the Field Museum in Chicago

10...
View from our Campsite at Lake Erie State Park

11...
View of Chicago from Sears Tower

12...
Anniversary dinner... Chicago style pizza!

13...
Buckingham Fountain, Chicago


The purpose of the meme is to get to know everyone who participates a little bit better every Thursday. Visiting fellow Thirteeners is encouraged! If you participate, leave the link to your Thirteen in others comments. It’s easy, and fun! Trackbacks, pings, comment links accepted!

View More Thursday Thirteen Participants