{day 147 out of 365}

So, I found my picture from last Saturday. Here's M drawing with chalk at H's baseball games. She loves a butterfly!

Day 144 May 24 {2010} Like I said in my last post, this was my Dad's birthday!  M and I had a dr. appt for her 5 YO well child visit. She liked her new doctor, saying her shots don't hurt! LOL I think her anticipation of her shot was so traumatic that she didn't realize she got one! But, I did take her for ice cream after! We just hung out of the rest of the day, swimming a little, reading, etc. One thing that did happen, H bonked his head on the doorknob to the pantry getting a snack. It's a little bruised above his eye. Yikes. (It actually looks worse today!)

Day 145 May 25 {2010} Today was a working day for me. I've started writing the prototype for my project I'm working on. I'm still not feeling very good, and finally Heath decided to put me on some meds. Hope they help! We had pasta for dinner and just hung out till Heath went to work. We are a boring, everyday family huh!?!
M and I did run around today looking for my FIL's birthday gift today, and she requested we eat at California Pizza Kitchen. Here is her menu...I'd like you to notice the "scroll" header below...do you see that she had to color it symmetrically? The blue and green on each side reflect each other perfectly, almost. Wow...so she likes things to be balanced! It took her a while to get it this way! 

Oh, and M had made a "club" in the tv room. She spends tons of time there, alone! She wanted to sleep there tonight, but after I took this picture, she chickened out. Decided it was too far away from my bed!

Day 146 May 26 {2010} Laundry day! Only two loads today got done and neither are folded yet! We did get Heath tickets to fly back to Texas to be with his family as their arbitration hearing started on Thursday. He got someone to cover his shift. I'm not sure if you remember that they lost their Dodge dealership about this time last year. It has been a hard and trying year for all of them.
Anyway, I spent some time getting that arranged too.
Both kids had games tonight. H won his game; and they don't keep score at M's game. But, I did post on FB that M's version of baserunning is to run to a base and talk to the defender. How awesome is this pictures...showing it perfectly!

Day 147 May 27 {2010} H's End of the Year Party was today! His class had a great swim party, tons of fun. I got a sitter for M and went myself. I had a blast talking with the other moms. Love some adult interaction. Guess what else I did that was adult? Well, after I skipped out...I went to the noon showing of Sex and the City 2! ha!!! I enjoyed it...the time alone in a theater with popcorn and DP! At an ADULT show. Perfect!
I fed the kids early and started working tonight. I'm taking a break b/c I took a cool picture of the sunset tonight and wanted to post it. It's raining now, but how cool did these rain clouds make the sunset!?!? LOVE IT!

{day 144 out of 365}

Day 139 May 19 {2010}Like many Wednesdays in my life...I did laundry and straightened the house today. I remember little else. That is sad. I'm pretty sure I started feeling bad on this day.

Day 140 May 20 {2010} M had her last day at preschool, but first...I went to the eye doctor which was fine. I've been having issues driving at night so the doctor suggested a pair of glasses, weak since I had lasiks and my vision is very good. I ordered some, they'll be super cute. Then, I went to Target, surprise! I had a good time. I love Target. THEN...on to M's school for a movie of the year and lunch with the kids. Always good to talk to the other moms.

I came home, did a few things around here...maybe M and I laid out for a few and read books. Oh yes, that is what we did. I got this cute picture of M waiting for me to come outside!

Then, H had a game...he played good, and his team won!

Day 141 May 21 {2010} After taking H to school, I had a list of things I needed to get done around the house...dishes, M's room, clean my closet, etc. I also had some too ripe banans and decided to use my new mixer I got for my birthday, so I made banana bread. It's pretty tasty too!

And, in the middle of doing that, M decided to play cute and wanted her picture taken for her Aunt Amber. She's a ham (M not Amber)

Heath got home from his guide rafting course and we all went to grab some grub at California Pizza Kitchen. YUM!

Day 142 May 22 {2010} The kids and I grabbed some Starbucks, grabbed their swim team gear from the pool, and went to H's baseball game. They won, but it was a comedy of weird errors for this pretty good team!
We came home, swam a little, cleaned a little, I had a conference call for a new freelance project, and then grabbed Whataburger for dinner. M wanted a family movie night so the three of us snuggled on the couch and watched Disney's Robin Hood! So fun. I then worked a bit and caught up on The Mentalist after they kids went to bed.

Day 143 May 23 {2010} What a full day! The kids woke up wanting to test out their new goggles, suits, and swim caps. So they swam while I drank my coffee and ate banana bread. Then H and I completed his last project of the third grade!!! We cleaned the house, and M and I went to the grocery store.

I made a yummy dinner for our friends Hank and Kelly. They were over for a watch party for Lost. SO GOOD! (Lost that is.)  But, the problem? Our news stations here decided to do a split screen with video of a fire. Really, during the SERIES FINALE of LOST!!! Here is my picture.

Menu Plan Monday {May 24}

First, I must say Happy Birthday Dad! He doesn't read my blog, but I needed to give him a shout out! And, as my older sister said on his facebook page...( I wish I'd thought it and said it first)...Hope you have a year full of BU championships, exciting vacations, and birdies! That pretty much sums my dad up right there...Baylor, travel and golf! LOL


And, on to my menu for the week. I totally went to the grocery store this afternoon and pray I got everything I need! I'm not feeling well, but had to get some food in the house!


Monday: Saucy Skillet Pasta (though, I am thinking of delaying this till tomorrow and us going out tonight.)
Tuesday: out to eat
Wednesday: kids: meatball subs before baseball; Heath and I: green chili burgers at baseball (trust me, these are YUMMY!)
Thursday: Too Much Tennis Chicken (recipe below)
Friday: Beer Butt Chicken
Saturday: Pork Tenderloin


Too Much Tennis Chicken (my mother in laws recipe)
8 chicken breasts
8 slices of swiss cheese
1 can crm of chicken soup
1/4 c dry white wine
1 cup herb-seasoned stuffing mix (I use Pepperidge Farm)
1/4 c butter


In a greased 9x13 pan, place chicken and top with cheese. 


Combine soup and wine (Sometimes I double...I'm just saying). Spoon over chicken. Sprinkle stuffing over soup mixutre. Then, drizzle melted butter.


Cook at 350 for 45-50 minutes


(I usually serve with mashed potatoes and another veggie!)

 

Italy: Day 3

Day 119 April 29 {2010} We woke up way too early this morning to get our luggage out, then went down to breakfast! We then walked to the bus, which we rode in all day, save the two breaks at the autogrill and Pisa.

Now, let me tell you about this autogrill. It was just a "truck stop" with a bathroom, coffee bar, and convenience store. One, my goodness, they had no selection on drinks. They had like 2 little cooler things, we have two walls full of drinks here in the US. But, that is not what this story is about. At the autogrill, we were having a bathroom stop, so I figured, I'd let everyone go to the bathroom, then about 10 minutes later, I would go. That was the last time I did that! Why? You ask?

Let me explain...as Sylvanna would say. I lined up to go to the bathroom, about 2 people in front of me. No problemo! Except that in the US, we teach our little ones in preschool how to stand in line. Apparently, the same care of line waiting and taking turns is NOT taught in Italy. (My next thought...what do these people do when they come to DisneyWorld!?!?) Another bus stopped at the autogrille, full of short (to me, that is seriously SHORT) elderly women...like older than my parents but not as old as my grandparents...who proceded to "herd" their way to the bathroom. Men, in the US, talk about women going to the bathroom in herds...they have NO clue. I wish I would have had my camera, this is one of my major memories in Italy!

Needless to say...I was swarmed, like as in bumblebees. All of a sudden I felt women's body parts all around me...on my back, my arms, my sides. It was all I could do not to scream! The problem is, you wanted to tell them there was a line, but how. I don't speak Italian, they don't speak English. How did I solve the problem? I left! I couldn't stand it. Apparently, I might have a personal space issue, clostraphobia, not sure. It wasn't pretty. I nearly had a full blown panic attack. I don't like waiting for the bathroom surrounded by little short women, feeling their body parts on my body. Nope, not me. Let someone else do that. Luckily, I still had about one minute before the bus left and I darted into the restroom to relieve myself. Wow, what an experience. What I would do for a picture.

Okay, back to the task at hand, tell about my day.


Pisa: Otherwise famous for "The Leaning Tower" I had no idea that it was made of marble. I'm not sure what I thought the building material was, but I didn't imagine white marble. Seriously, it is also amazing that it's still standing. I mean, it's not leaning just a little. I took a picture to show how much compared to the church next to it. Here are our pictures...Heath was in a little "sillier" mood that I was obviously!

After taking pictures we had a few minutes left, so we got some gelato and later a bottle of wine, which we split with Peter and Marion. This was the beginning of many bottles of wine (split with Peter and Marion.) and the nickname Dr. Vino for Heath!

Lucca: What a quaint little town! Narrow streets, fun stores, and doorways. I decided to start taking pictures of cool doors and make a collage on a wall at home. Very cool. (You'll see one above too!)

I'm not sure what it was about the bikes, but I love this picture!

Tuscany (in general) beautiful and GREEN. I didn't realize how much I missed green living in the desert! SO many farms and vineyards and even nurseries for trees/bushes that are exported all over Europe. I really enjoyed the drive today through Tuscany. We spent the night in Lucca...hurray for Internet! I emailed Robyn and H today. I miss Internet.

{day 138 of 365}

I've gotta tell you, I'm kind amazed I'm still doing this. Though, I don't post every day, I do keep up with things and try to get a picture daily.  I've decided to catch up with things happening since Italy, then I'll go back to Italy, or I'll get too far behind. ya know...life goes on.

Day 127 May 7 {2010}  I actually woke up pretty early. My days and nights are so weird from Italy, what do you do!?!? Robyn and I hung out today, ate Indian for lunch. (I'd never eaten it.) Then for mani/pedi, Target, and White House Black Market. Love that store. We picked up H, checked on the other two kids and went for massages. FUN!
Then, Becca came to babysit while Heath, Robyn, and I went out to eat at Pappadeaux's. I'm allergic to shellfish, but they have a great filet there, and their creamed spinach is to die for.

Day 128 May 8 {2010} H had a baseball game at 8 am. Yes, that early. kill a mom. They won. We came home to get Robyn and J ready to leave, and I took them to the airport. It was at this time, that I hit the wall. Wow. Nap ensued...a long one. I woke up, went to the grocery store, and we grilled. YUM!

Day 129 May 9 {2010} Mother's Day! My kids and hubby made me breakfast in bed! Woo Hoo! Then, we all watched Princess Bride together in our bed. Loved that. Kids left, Heath and I went back to sleep. Stinkin' jet lag! We woke, dressed, and went to Chili's for lunch. I split fajitas with H. (Can you tell I'm staying away  from Italian! LOL) Then, on to Target for lawn furniture and Lowes for flowers. (I wanted to plant flowers for MD!)
So, the entire afternoon/evening, we planted, swam, played in the backyard with the dog. Can I tell you how anxious Emma is when the kids are in the pool. She doesn't really know what to do with them and hasn't figured out the pool yet. It was a perfect day. Heath grilled steaks that night, yum!

Day 130 May 10 {2010} I can't remember much. I think Heath and I went to run a few errands, picked up M's flower girl dress for Amber's wedding. Oh, and we napped. Yes, so sad. Hunter had another game too. Heath worked. I'm boring.

Day 131 May 11 {2010} Today, I shopped. See, you think, FUN! But NO, it was not. I am shopping for a dress for my sister's wedding, in June, in Jamaica. Sounds easy huh? Nope, I tried on at least 1001 dresses and found 1. And, I'm not sure about it! I picked up M from school and went to one last shop I happened upon. There, I found two very reasonable dresses. I bought both. I want to go again one more time, but I have three possibilities. I hate dresses. I love these shoes. I didn't buy them, but am going back soon.

Day 132 May 12 {2010} M and I stayed home and did laundry today. Told you I was boring. Why can I not turn weird boring event into awesome stories like Pioneer Woman? Love her. M had a tball game. She hit her first hit off of the coach pitching! WOo Hoo! (They just started this tonight.)

Day 133 May 13 {2010}I'm having some serious back issues. I think it was the LONG airplane rides. But, I got another massage today. I'm not sure if it helped or not. Although, today, I'm better. M and I went to a playdate at Hank and Kelly's. Then, Heath and I took the kids to visit a club today. I want to start playing golf, Heath wants to start playing more tennis, plus, the kids are joining the swim team. I'm excited to meet more people here.  I made pulled pork for supper. What is my deal with taking pictures of the food we eat...I guess it's easy!

Day 134 May 14 {2010} Heath is in Taos taking a course to be a raft guide. He wants to feel confident enough with our raft to take the kids and I on the river. Fun times. M and I hung out, cleaned a little. Then, we went to Lowe's and bought some paint. We also stopped at Sonic for Happy Hour! It's been a long while! YUM!
We came home to tape off her room and move furniture. I started painting her room after we picked up H from school.

Pizza for dinner! And, a Speed Scrap at Scrapmatters! I love them. I wish I could do more!  Here is my page!

click for credits

Day 135 May 15 {2010} Saturday I woke up early to paint the top half of M's room. These 12 foot ceilings are fab, but a pain in the butt to paint!

M had a game (We grabbed CFA for lunch.), then more painting, then H's game. M hit 2 more pitches! Awesome! H had a great game too! I couldn't paint more today, my back was so bad! H went to the NM high school baseball championship game with a friend. Heath grilled some yummy steak, asparagus, and potatoes! Hot tub rocks at night in the mountains.

Day 136 May 16 {2010} The kids let me sleep in. WOW! We ate Rudy's BBQ for lunch, then Cold Stone Ice Cream! And, we went swimming....COLD pool, laid out, read a book, then, back to painting. I finished it all today! And, cleaning house was on the agenda that night.

Day 137 May 17 {2010} The housekeepers came today. What a better person I am when my house is clean! I also got some mojo and finished a kit! I made mom's pot roast!

Had a good time designing today, and I even scrapped a page...here take a look!

click for credits

Day 138 May 18 {2010} Wow, I've been 36 for a month. I don't feel that old. Maybe that's just not old to me anymore~! LOL  Today: kids to school, I went to the post office, ran a couple of errands like the grocery store. Then, home to grab the recycling to take to the recycling center. Fun times. Boring life. This afternoon, I designed another mini kit as a participation prize for this month's Queen of Scrap contest at SM! And beef stroganauf for supper!

Italy: Day 2

Day 118 April 28 {2010} The morning started early! Jeez, this 6:45 stuff is not in my blood, luckily, we are 8 hours different, and my body has no idea what's going on! LOL!

Vatican Museums: I had no idea the treasures in the Vatican. WOW!!! Those tapestries in the hallways...Heath totally touched them-shame on him. Anyway...We were the first group in the Vatican today and were able to learn and explore almost alone! Enjoyed hearing Stefano's explanation with the museum and it's treasures.

But, MOST Importantly...the Sistine Chapel!!!! This is my dream since my jr year at Baylor...so let's see 14 years? 13? Anyway....are you kidding that I got to see it? OMG!!! How am I so blessed that I was able to see this masterpiece!
My feelings: overwhelmed, emotional, breath taken away, speechless. I had no words for several minutes as I was taking it all in.
The frescoes were stunning. My favorite thing? The perspective, lights and shadows. If I could, I'd go back, lie down in the center of the floor, and just look for hours...with binoculars! I have never seen anything as stunning/breathtaking and pleasing to my eye as that room. I didn't want to leave, but when I did, I felt satisfaction and accomplishment, and excitement because it was as amazing as I'd imagined. Okay, it was so much more! I never imagined it could be more. In fact, as I walked down the hall, away from the chapel, I wondered if I'll ever find another goal in my to life to experience or see. Seriously, amazing and beautiful. (Sadly, no pictures are allowed.)
As we went to St. Peter's Square, the pope was greeting the people (thus the chairs from the previous day. It was his Wednesday morning service.) He was on his pope-mobile. And, we got lucky, we were only 10 feet from him! What timing.

Okay, so I decided that I was going to take pictures with the motto: "Heather's Perspective of Italia!" So you might see some pics with a weird angle, etc., but my eye went to certain things/buildings in a certain way. I think I have captured some pretty cool pictures. And, get this...this girl from Texas, saw a monk! We don't have many monks in Texas. I love this picture! (can you see the difference in the amount of people in St. Peter's Square from yesterday. So glad we went early!)

After the Vatican, we traveled over to the Colosseum. 

The ruins were fascinating and gorgeous in a completely different way than the Sistine Chapel. So cool going to and seeing sights I've only read about or studied. So very cool.

We also toured the Forum ruins. Very cool stuff here; this is just a sampling of the photos I took.

Then a break for lunch (at a pizzariea)....

Heath had salmon/cantaloupe---he didn't like it. I had mushroom and buffalo mozzarella---yum! One thing I can't believe is all the cars and motorcycles! Seriously, i've never seen anything like it...this was the street next to the hotel...and I thought double parking in Brooklyn was bad! LOL! (how cool is this picture that Heath took...I'm in love...with both Heath and the picture!)

Afternoon...we went on an optional tour of Rome. We went to the Spanish Steps...so crowded, but beautiful with the azaleas! I never knew why they were called the Spanish Steps...they were built by the French, but the Spanish Embassy to the Vatican is down the street.

Then, on to the Trevi Fountain...Heath and I both threw our coin into the fountain so we could return to Rome.  Oh, and the bottom pictures are Heath's contribution to different pictures. We climbed a wall and held on to the light pole. Fun huh!?! LOL

We then walked to the Pantheon through the downtown/historical parts of Rome. We ended up at a square with many artists, and we bought a cool painting of an archway.

Our friends Geren and Dave had recommended a restaurant--which didn't open till 8 pm--so we went shopping, to the ATM, and back to Trevi. Al Moro was very good, but we couldn't read the menu, nor the gigantic wine list! LOL! Look at it!

And here are a few pictures of us around Rome!

We're back! And, I'm behind...

Heath and I got back from Italy late Thursday night. I'm hoping I'm finally done with the jet lag, but what do you do? I think my last post day was April 22. We left on April 26, the only thing I can tell you is that from 23-25, I remember little. 23rd Heath and H went to Santa Fe for a fly fishing film festival or something; M and I went out to eat and back home for a movie together. 24th was filled with baseball games, a Baylor picnic, and picking Robyn and J up at the aiport. Sunday 25th we did some final things and hung out with the family.

Day 116 April 26 {2010} I picked Heath up from the hospital at 5:45, and we headed to the airport. We ate breakfast and did our best not to fall asleep before our flight.

We flew from ABQ to Atlanta where we had time to change US $ to Euros and eat lunch. Here is our plane.

We sat on in Exit Row seats, but sat on the runway for an hour before take off! Sharron, our flight attendent sat with us and we chatted for an hour. Heath didn't know why I took this picture, neither do I, but we did have tons of room!

We finally fell asleep, but after 10-20 minutes, Heath was woken up b/c a passenger became sick...he thinks he had kidney stones. Sadly, we never fell back asleep!

Day 117 APril 27 {2010} We arrived in Rome at 8 am April 27...exhausted, but excited! We got our luggage, found Globus (our tour company--who did a great job!), got our first "cafe" trying to get us some energy!

Then we went to the hotel...with some crazy traffic, took a shower (which helped with the energy tons!).
Before we left, in fact, months ago, I applied for tickets for a tour of the Excavations under St. Peter's Basilica. So, Heath and I headed off on our own for our tour to the Vatican City. Here is our first picture of it...It was very beautiful and much larger than I imagined!

 

We arrived too early for the tour so we explored St. Peter's Cathedral and sent post cards to the kids. There were not a ton of people there, but chairs were set up in the square, we wondered why? The basilica was so beautiful! I didn't realize how many statues and mosaics were in the church.

 

And our tickets to the tour...which was cool. 

We were part of about 13 people on the tour. It was fascinating to go beneath St. Peter's to see the cemetery and the family "Crypts" (We can't remember the exact word used here). It was so interesting to hear the history of the excavations and how St. Peter's bones were found directly under the basilica! So cool--the only thing: We're not Catholic and didn't realize the meaning of St. Peter to the Catholics, especially those in this group. They were incredibly moved at the spot of Peter's bones. They prayed and were tearful while Heath and I stood there, stunned that they were moved to tears. Apparently, we are clueless, but the moment was one we probably won't forget.

After the tour, we returned to the hotel. The group went out for dinner, yum! At this point Heath had been up for 48 hours, and I was on to about 38 or more. Tired, we were! We did meet two couples close to our age: Dolly and Mike (from Houston) and Jason and Michelle from CA.

We fell asleep on the way back to the hotel and promptly crashed when we got in bed!

I'll continue to write about the trip and show pictures over the next few days. Thanks for reading!