Polynesian Dance

Sunny Florida!

Let me just say that Florida was NO disappointment! Despite what those weathermen said, it was good weather 90% of the time. First stop when we got there was Red Reef Beach. We went here to snorkel. I made Lane put on every piece of his snorkel gear for this picture.
Unfortunately I wasn't able to snorkel because every time I went under, water immediately got into my goggles, which in turn burned my eyes because of the salt. The goggles were even tightened all the way. I was very upset because I was so excited to go! So Lane had to swim around solo for a while.
That night we walked around Las Olas Blvd & ate at this crepe place that was incredible! We each got our dinner crepes & ended with this amazing dessert crepe!
Seriously, the best ever! So good in fact that we stopped BACK by this place to get another one before we went back to the airport!
The next day we went to this Polynesian show. I think this was my favorite part of the trip. The food was great.
The dancers were so entertaining. I'll try to upload 2 video clips I took.
On our last day, we went on this tour boat that showed us all the huge houses & yachts. Whoever the owner of the Miami Dolphins is owns more than half of Ft. Lauderdale!
Check out this cool boat & million dollar house!

Our last stop of our trip was at the everglades. We went on an air boat tour to look for alligators. Before we got started, we went to this exhibit where Lane got to hold a baby alligator.
This was when we were on the boat. This guy came up to our boat. When I heard that alligators can jump 3/4 of their body length, I was starting to get worried! He was so close I could have touched him.
Add laying out a few times & renting a jet ski & you've got our vacation in a nutshell. It was so much fun & I'm so glad we were able to go.

Rain on my Parade

Lane & I just spent an hour planning out our trip complete with things to do and directions from one location to the next, etc. Well I check my email & see our hotel confirmation is there & they also included restaurants and the forecast. So I take a look only to see that every day we will be there it's supposed to thunderstorm! I'm so depressed right now. Almost to the point of not going. Those of you who know me, know that when I get upset, I really get more angry. So it's safe to say I'm not a happy camper.

1 Week!

One week from today, Lane and I will be soaking up the sun in Florida! I cannot wait! I'm dying for a break and want a chance to get tan. I try to layout here on the weekends, but it always seems to be overcast. This will be our little "vacation" before Lane starts his research program & I start my new job. Although it will be a quick trip, we're going to enjoy every second of it we can. Be prepared for pictures!

Playing Hookie

So I decided to take a day off from work because I can. I have several days saved up and since I won't be teaching next year, I will lose them. Therefore, I figured the only logical thing to do was to use as many as I possibly can before the year is over. Actually, I feel bad when I miss days, so I don't do it very often. But today was very relaxing. So much in fact that I'm going to do this next week and the week after that. Why not? I started off my day with waffles and kiwi. Then I watched one of my favorite movies that was on tv, "Someone Like You". Next I got ready for the day & since it was pouring, I was inspired to go out & buy rain boots. I've been wanting a pair for a year now and got a great deal. They're so cute!Later I got lunch with a friend of mine and then we went to see "Made of Honor". It was very cute. I just love Patrick Dempsy.
After that I found a pair of jean capris for only $10! It was indeed my lucky day. And to top it all off, we had a little Grey's Anatomy watching party complete with delicious cheese dip. I don't think I could have hand picked a better day.

It's Official

So I've been looking to change careers and have been sending out endless resumes with not much luck. I figured the earlier I start looking, the better chance I have. Well, I've been interviewing for this one job for the past month now & just found out that I got it! I think I will really enjoy it. They have fantastic benefits and the best thing about it is that I'm not going to have to take a pay cut! It's a little bit of sales and little bit of event planning. Right up my alley.

Beeville

Lane & I decided to take a spur of the moment road trip to visit his grandparents. They live in Beeville, which is about 3 hours South of Houston. It was nice to sit & visit with them. This was only my 2nd time to meet them. They are so sweet and made us feel at home. Smokey loves feeding his cats, which we found were in the 30s! And Helen takes care of him and makes sure he has all his meds. I think grandparents are so special and are always great examples to follow. Seeing them made me miss mine.

Arizona

I went to Arizona for the weekend to visit Marianne, Clint & Sage. It was so nice up there. Much different than our normal humid climate. The mountains were beautiful. We went shopping for a while, but realized we were both bums & didn't have the energy to keep looking. So we went to see "Baby Mama", which was pretty cute. Here was the main attraction of my trip! This little one ate a ton! It seemed like every time I turned around, she was hungry again. Poor Marianne!

Haircut Woes

This time, the problem isn't with Lane's hair, it's with mine! So I needed a hair cut fast & didn't feel like spending a fortune with my regular guy. So I went to the local super cuts & figured it would be harmless. WRONG. I made the lady go back & cut more after the 1st time she showed me. After the 2nd time, I was tired & said it looked great. Well I don't know where I was looking because when I got home & inspected everything, I noticed that one side was shorter than the other! How did I miss that? No idea. I'll blame it on being the end of the day. Anyway, I had to even it up by myself which was a challenge. Just imaging me holding out chunks of hair & cutting away, with no particular plan involved. So now I just have an ugly blunt cut that's the same length all the way around when it should be angled in the back. And to make matters worse, I have an interview tomorrow! Grr!

Bowling

Last night we went bowling to celebrate Lane's birthday. Yes, we're still celebrating. Must be nice, huh? It was a lot of fun. Thanks to all those who showed up. I think Lane & I bowled a total of 3 games. We should join a league! However, I don't think they'd take me. Lane on the other hand did pretty decent. Here's his signature move...

Birthday Boy

Happy birthday Lane! He turned 29 today & we celebrated by going to dinner & eating delicious german chocolate cake (which I made with double frosting!) Only 1 more year til the big one!

Aquarium

This Saturday we went to the aquarium. Online it said there were 8 different exhibits. But once we got there, it was just a bunch of fish with 2 tigers thrown in at the end. Major let down. I did manage to get one picture.

Try This Recipe!

Lately I've been obsessed with chocolate no-bake cookies. So much in fact that I've made them 3 times in one week. Yes, that means the cookies lasted on average 2.3 days. I love these for 2 reasons: 1) they only take 5 minutes to make. 2) I just can't get enough of them. I used up all the sugar on the 2nd batch & made Lane borrow some to make another. When he found out our neighbor didn't have any, he went to ANOTHER neighbor. How sweet is he? I guess he would rather bring the sugar than return empty handed & put up with me pouting. So I figure cookies worth this much trouble deserve a post. Make them if you get a chance. You won't be sorry!

Mix 2 cups sugar, 1/2 cup milk, 5 tbs cocoa, 1 stick of butter in a pot & bring to a boil. Let boil for 45 -60 seconds. Remove from heat & add 2 tsp vanilla, 2.5 cups oats, 8 tbs crunchy peanut butter & mix. Spoon onto wax paper & let dry for about 20 minutes. **Tips: have all ingredients out & ready to go. Since it only takes a short time, you have to add pretty quick.

Row Row Row Your Boat

We were at a birthday party & in the backyard I see a canoe floating in the pool. So my first thought was that I have to get in that canoe! What I thought would be a fun, relaxing time, ended up being a stressful, fearful one. Reason being that while we were in there, someone thought it would be funny to throw a crawfish into the boat, knowing that I'm deathly afraid of them! So it lands right by my foot & I couldn't get out of there fast enough.

Here's when it first happened.

Here I am trying to wrestle Lane for the ore because I think he's going to flip it on me.

Laughing & scared all at the same time.

Hairless Situation

So here's the horror story. Lane was cutting his hair when all of a sudden I hear a yell from the bathroom. As I walked in to where Lane was, I see this "hole" in his head. Where hair should've been, was white scalp. He said the guard of the clippers fell off in the middle of him cutting his hair. So, he had to do damage control. He had to use the shortest guard he could find (1/8th "). Then when he gets to the top part, he can't find the 1/4" or 3/8" to blend it. Here's what that part looked like.

He had to use the 1/8th" to finish the job. Here's what he now looks like. I have to say, I was cracking up because it's a very unfortunate thing to have happen, but I am sad about the loss of his hair! In fact I'm kind of upset with him for being careless, even though I know it's not really his fault. Good thing guys' hair grows back fast. So until that happens, just look at our picture in the top right of our blog. That's what Lane REALLY looks like!