Happy National Coffee Day!

This has been a slow week in the substitute teaching world. As in, my phone has maybe rung twice for jobs this week...and one of those was for a job in November. But yesterday was the first day in a week I've actually felt better, so maybe it worked out for the best.

I put together this page yesterday using a few pictures from my birthday weekend. I had way more cute photos of Brody playing in the grass than of people, so I will definitely keep that in mind next time I have my camera out.

I've heard that there are four "crafting styles" that people tend to be in: fun and cute, clean and graphic, classy and elegant, or shabby and vintage. I think I'm most likely in the clean and graphic category...or maybe fun and cute? I don't know. I just feel like I tend to stick to simple ideas, with mainly photos + words on my pages.

On an unrelated note, I made these baked apples for a snack yesterday. I must say, for 150 calories...DELICIOUS!! I didn't need any whipped cream or ice cream with it, and I even had all the ingredients on hand. :)

I actually finished this page last year...one of my first digital pages from an assignment for class where I taught myself Photoshop. But I figured I would share it anyways. Just a few photos from when Tyson and I got engaged. Dad was operating the camera so you can't see us in some of them, but the scenery is breathtaking!

Random Ramblings

I didn't book a sub job yesterday...Mondays seem to be very slow! But I wasn't feeling that great anyways, so I had an awesome time hanging out with Brody, cleaning up around the apartment, getting the laundry done, and grocery shopping. Low key but so needed. The weekend was pretty packed (or so it seemed as I forgot my Mucinex and I felt pretty terrible the whole time): we headed down to College Station Friday evening, and then Tyson and Brody went on to the ranch while I attended a lovely shower at The Lemon Wedge for my sister-in-law. Then it was up to the ranch for me too...Tyson had some welding to do on Sunday and I watched him and frolicked in the grass, enjoying the weather.

I ordered a Wacom tablet which came bundled with Photoshop Elements, so I've spent a little time playing. Yesterday I sent this to Tyson at work. I'm definitely a beginner with my digital handwriting. But I had fun. :o) Hopefully I'll have some digital scrapbook pages to share soon!

No menu planning to share this week...my mom made chicken spaghetti and sent it to stick in the oven for a few meals. I also got a coupon from HEB to get an orange plate special from their cafe, so I got pecan crusted chicken, almond green beans, and roasted potatoes for free! I think we'll share that with a salad one night perhaps. Anyways. Looking forward to finding more new recipes. Any good ones out there?

Baby Brody

I can't believe he ever used to be this little! [January 2009]

I find this very impressive that it was shot in one take!

100!

Happy 100th post!! I'm not getting my free Photoshop Elements software until next week so this awesome labor of love in Paint will have to suffice. :)

I love rain! Especially a lazy, rainy Sunday afternoon. However, when we get extended amounts of rain, something with our AC unit outside blows a fuse and our breaker flips. Constantly. So we pretty much don't have air conditioning. Tyson is pretty handy, but it's wet outside (and dark) and he doesn't want to get electrocuted. Not that I blame him.

We have been out of town the past few weekends, so it was really nice just staying here and hanging out. Granted, football was on pretty much the whole time...(and we listened to the Aggie game online!) but I got to watch Medium tonight so I'm okay now. We had date night Friday night--trying to live reasonably (read: cheaply) so we were going to take advantage of a coupon to Chili's we had but the wait was long and our tummies were growling. So we went to Potato Shack instead. I love having one here in Katy, but it's just not the same as eating it in College Station! I mean, it tastes exactly the same...but it's still different. I should quit complaining and just be grateful though, right?

I baked an especially tasty loaf of bread this afternoon. It kind of looks like a brain in the picture, but it was pretty much amazing. Mozzarella Basil Bread. Wonderful. I am especially looking forward to baking the first pumpkin loaf of the season! 

Updates

This week has gone by quickly for me! It was a pretty good one though. Here are a few of the highlights:

:: The guest bedroom is finally coming together! It's been our dumping ground for anything we didn't really need, so it was pretty depressing. The bed is put together now, and only needs a few decorative pillows (which isn't in the budget, so who knows when that will happen!). All of the empty boxes are gone, and I just need to go through a few more boxes and reorganize our bookshelf. Hooray!

:: I won a contest on twitter! I've never won anything, so I was pretty excited. Bravo was having a sweepstakes for the Top Chef season 7 finale and Top Chef Just Desserts premiere and I will soon be getting all three of the Top Chef cookbooks!! YAY!!!! Tyson gave me the newest book on my birthday and I absolutely love looking through it. Mom liked it a lot too, so she is getting my duplicate. She's excited too!

:: We had our first week of small group on Wednesday and really like it so far! Everyone seems really nice, and it's great to meet other recently married couples.

:: I'm finally approved to sub in Fort Bend ISD! I had an interesting time figuring out the system Thursday night so I didn't get a job for Friday, but I'm definitely thinking next week will be busier. I also have my Katy sub training next Friday, and I'm really excited to start subbing around here. :o)

I think that's about it...we're at home listening to the A&M football game online and it's torture! I am looking forward to televised games. Happy weekend!

Dear Cable Television,

[image via TV by the numbers]

This summer I have been enjoying reruns of CSI: Miami and Medium (on A&E and Lifetime, respectively). I record them and watch them at my convenience. It's hard to believe in 2007 I was still using a VCR to tape shows! Gasp. Anyways, I have loved catching up on these awesome shows. However, both channels frequently skip random episodes, leaving me befuddled with the plot twists and what I've missed. Why does Tripp take a random patrol rotation in season 6? What in the world happened to Allison that caused her stroke? And most importantly, why did Lifetime skip an entire season of Medium?!

Suggested course of action? Play all of the episodes in order! Please and thank you.

Your faithful patron,
Hailey

[image via replace television]

Weekend Update

Today was such a beautiful day! Humidity was lower than usual (maybe 90%? you have to love Texas to tolerate the heat) and the sun was out all day. The crazy thing was that about 20 minutes after the sun set, it started pouring! So nice though. I'm dog sitting this weekend and Tyson is in College Station--at the game right now. Side note: I'm following the game on twitter (@therealjonlee) because it isn't on tv. I heart technology.

Micah investigating the perimeter. Love his curly q tail :)

Cutie Lazzy has a sinus infection and has been extra cuddly and attention-seeking. He still got in the pool with me though!

Callie now loves swimming! She kept jumping into my arms while I was in the pool to float. It was pretty funny.

Definitely time for some popcorn and a movie.

Random Photo Wednesday

Harry through the years...I didn't realize the Year Two disc was backwards and the Harry head is at the bottom.

Love the red in my kitchen...even if they clash right now.

7:04 in the evening and Tyson's still at the gym...(thus this post!) Brody is looking out the window for him.

 What I'm currently reading.

Happy Labor Day!

Happy Labor Day! I was actually born on Labor Day, once upon a time! We are at the ranch right now and heading over to my parents' for a cookout later this afternoon. And to bathe Brody. Oh my goodness, he is a hot mess. I think he played in the trash at some point.

I have my laptop back! Sort of...all of my files were wiped clean. But i had the good stuff on my external hard drive. Tyson said he saw me backing up my computer a few weekends ago and thought to himself that it seemed pretty silly...but now he wants me to back up his computer too! :) Apparently a virus corrupted a system file, so it just needed to be added again. What is the point of antivirus software? I have no idea. I'm just happy to have my computer back. Even if he does have amnesia.

I semi-planned our meals for the week... I anticipate coming back with leftovers from parents, so I'm planning on being flexible.

Monday: Ribs! Yay for not having to cook!
Tuesday: Baked Potato night :)
Wednesday: Firecracker Stir-Fry Chicken (I never made it last week because I forgot we were going out to eat for my birthday!)
Thursday: Pork Chops with Dijon Herb Sauce, green beans + homemade bread
Friday: Creamy Tomato-Basil Pasta with Shrimp with salad
Saturday: Taco Soup

Random Photo Wednesday

Happy Birthday to me indeed! :)

I opened my presents on the patio last Friday and afterwords I realized it was The Golden Hour so I grabbed my camera and took some pictures of Brody enjoying a backyard. This is his Zoolander face.