summer days...

my niece Addie & I in my aunt's pool - hoping I get my summer mini book done this week!

tiny toes

This is my favorite photo from yesterday's pool party.

dog stories...

When Cory and I moved in together in August of 2005, we both immediately wanted to adopt a dog (we both grew up with lots of pets). And so we got Biscuit:

Biscuit 2005

Biscuit was a bit of terror. She would destroy things while we were away. She had lots & lots of energy. We loved her dearly. And less than a year after getting her, she was struck by a car & died. It was devastating. Our home felt empty. We casually perused the inter-webs, knowing we would want another dog. And then we found Bella and Lulu.

Bella & Lulu - March 2006

Cory drove a total of 9 hours to bring them home. Within the first week we had them, they both became violently ill. They ended up being quarantined at the animal hospital for over a week with parvo...we were told they had a 50/50 chance of survival. We visited them everyday; and many days they had no energy to even lift their heads to acknowledge our presence. It was such a tough time. They managed to get better & have been healthy ever since! In addition to being the cutest dogs ever, they are also the cuddliest. No foolin. Even though it is a constant battle with the dog hair around here...I couldn't imagine my life without them!
P.S. Not totally sure what is going on with the decor in these photos, you'll want to go ahead & ignore that ♥

foiled again...

source unknown

So I got up, drove to Lexington with Molly, made B&G for breakfast, then promptly got a terrible migraine. I actually had visual auras today for the 1st time - kind of scary & quite painful. I literally had blind spots, like when you stare directly into a light then look away. Then my vision became very blurry and it was like the outside edge of my view was cloudy. I spent the rest of the day hiding in my dark, quiet house. I wouldn't wish migraines on anyone. Hopefully I will feel much better tomorrow. Oh...and the panda/dog picture? No real reason, it was just cute & distracting ♥

ready, set.....weekend!

my photo - 2004

I have officially started my weekend! I am super excited to be having a sleepover with my sis tonight, who is home visiting from DC. Tomorrow, my other sis & her kiddos will be joining us for B&G in the morning (it will be Addie's 1st) and a day of doing whatever we please! I made a killer round of B&G at the lake last Sunday....then bragged about it to the fam. Now I have set some pretty high standards for myself to live up to. We have a pretty busy weekend planned so I don't know how much blogging or crafting I'll be doing...but I'll be back! ♥

blah...

my finished (free hand / car ride) embroidery project

I had such a great weekend...and then kind of a rotten Monday. The only thing that kept me going today was knowing that my sister Molly will be home tomorrow for an entire week! And even better than that, my other sister Erin and I are both taking off work Friday to so we can have a girl's day together!

our fantastic weekend...

On Friday after work, we headed out of town for one last summer weekend before Cory heads back to school (tomorrow). We went to Lake Sara and met our good friends Andrew & Michelle and Mollie & Jon. We drank too much, ate too much, swam and played in the sun. There were games of bags, naps, and even a quiet reading hour. We played Grateful Dead-opoly for many many hours and we laughed, hearty belly laughs...the kind that make your soul shine. I am thankful for such a fun weekend with friends & looking forward to many more just like it ♥

the plan...

source/inspiration: elsie

1. be healthy - eat better, exercise regularly & drink h2o
2. be creative - paint, sew, craft, art journals
3. be thrifty - budget, save, pay down debt
4. be happy - appreciate the small stuff :)

This weekend we babysat my niece Addie...we had her overnight for the first time. I must say, she was an absolute dream! She went to sleep almost as soon as I laid her down and slept in until almost 8 a.m. I took a few photos of her this morning - I have some weird lens fog going on here but this is the only smile I captured. I have a short week & then we are having a stay-cation...going to squeeze a few last drops out of summer before Cory starts classes again. ♥