Letters From Home

So... I'm trying to do better with my posting. Sometimes I slack off and don't get anything written for a couple of weeks. I was thinking that the easiest way to be more consistent would be to link up with a couple of other blogs a couple of times during the week. That where today's post comes in... I came across this completely adorable blog Adventures of Newlyweds, and she does...

Dear Monkeys, I am so excited for this summer! While I don't have anything planned, I have lots of fun ideas! I'd only you will listen, not argue and just chill-ax already!

Dear God, thank You for always having perfect timing. I know I can be super ungrateful for the blessings you give- always asking for more- but I am learning to let go because "You got this."

Dear Realtor, please remember that, unlike you, I do not buy and sell houses everyday and therefore I do not understand half of what you are talking about.

Dear Metta World Peace, the Lakers are NOT the best team in the NBA. And you need to quit smoking whatever you are smoking.

Dear sunburn from 4 weeks ago, quit peeling already!! It's kinda grossing me out!!

Dear Readers, if you like this blog or if you have visited here before, please take a second to officially "follow" me so I know who you are. You can do this by clicking "Follow" at the top of the page or by joining Google Friend Connect. Thank you!!

And that's all for me today!!

Love you all,

Rulissa

My Life in Pictures - April

(Sorry for the delay on this!! I have several posts in draft form, but my internet has been wonky for the last couple of weeks, so I can't get pictures attached and posted - AAAACCCCKKKK!!!! Anyway - better late than never, right?)

I love Springtime...it's my 2nd favorite season! And here are the pictures I took this last month so I can remember every single day of it!!

April 1 - We had a heat wave (in MARCH!!!) and the air conditioner fritzed out. We resorted to the room air conditioner the in-laws got last year to save the day...and it actually worked out until the repair guy could get here. (Thanks again, Bruce and Jenny - you guys rock!!)

April 2 - Indian Paintbrushes are my favorite flower. They are blooming a little early this year because of our unseasonably warm spring!! Aren't they beautiful?

April 3 - The world of work. Not missing it one teensy little bit! And this time, they recorded one of the sessions to use for the people who weren't there. So not only did I have to speak the those in the room, I had to look at the camera, too!

April 4 - Salty Chocolate Chip cookies. Pretty tasty but I think I let them cook a little too long or maybe I beat them too long or I don't know...something...

April 5 - Back for the last day of training. The training room had just been redecorated and all I could smell was new carpet - all day long!! Not a fan...

April 6 - Mmmm...hot wings. And you can't have hot wings without something cool to go with them... cue the celery and carrots! YUMMY!!!

April 7 - Princess made brownies for our church luncheon tomorrow. She was super excited - and they were quite tasty. The boys want her to make some more - STAT!

April 8 - I won a hat! But, honestly...does it look like a hat I would wear? I didn't think so either, so I gave it to the tweenager.

April 9 - Twins! It's pretty rare for a cow to have twins. It's even more rare (rarer?) for her to take care of both of them. She's protective of them both, let's them both eat, keeps them together. It's pretty cool!!

April 10 - Taxes...not a lot to say about that.

April 11 - Planted our first vegetable garden today. Look what Haley and I found! Monkey Boy wanted to know if we would get super Spidey powers if it bit us. Uuuhhh....no. Just a trip to the ER!

April 12 - Happy Anniversary to US! 15 years of marriage - does that qualify us to be an "old married couple?" This is my gift (my fave!)

April 13 - Termites! Ugh!! What else could happen before we sell the house?!?!

April 14 - Grilled asparagus...uuummmm..... if you know me at all, you know I don't eat much of anything that is green. I did try this because I told my amazing hubby that if he cooked it, I would taste it. I did. Enough said.

April 15 - No picture today. Not sure what happened!

April 16 - See above...I'm just a slacker!!

April 17 - First baseball game of the season... Here is Monkey Boy before his very first at bat!!!

April 18 - New tires...I discussed the importance of not being cheap here.

April 19 - A new baseball season means meeting new friends!

April 20 - No pics again...My MIL had surgery today, so everything was a little crazy this week.

April 21 - No Sew Cardi... I blogged about it here.

April 22 - Princess is ready to help round up the calves. I think she'll have to wait a couple of years first!

April 23 - Home from the hospital and being doted on by the grandkids. It's very sweet to watch her get waited on. She does so much for everyone else, that this is a treat for all of us who get to be of service to her right now!

April 24 - Princess wanted to help Grammy, too! Papa doesn't like the dishwasher, so- since he has taken over the kitchen while Grammy is recovering, we are all handwashing... Oh, how I miss the dishwasher! :-)

April 25 - The bush by our front door is covered with blossoms. And those blossoms are covered with butterflies - and I mean COVERED! We are talking thousands...you can hear their wings. It's kinda creepy, actually!

April 26 -

April 27 -

April 28 - First tournament for the Tween Monkey. A whole weekend at the ballpark. We have a love/hate relationship with the ballpark. It takes our money and leaves us sunburned, but we play/see A LOT of baseball!

April 29 - First pitching outing of the season. Didn't let any runs score, but a little rusty at first. (And you don't need to adjust the color on your screen. The jerseys really are that day-glo orange color!)

April 30 - Hmmm...I got nothing here either. I'm am so glad this month is over! Hopefully I'll do better in May!

Love you all!

Rulissa

Confessional Friday

Hey ya'll!! I'm linking up with Leslie at A Blonde Ambition for Confessional Friday. The time of week when we share with you the many little (and not-so-little) things that, if we had any sense, we should really think about keeping private! Oh well!! Let's get confessing!!

1. I don't wash my face every night. Now, before you start screaming... I really don't wear a lot of makeup anyway. And, I have really dry skin. But... since I continue to age every year...I really need to get better at this. My skin looks so much better when I do!

2. I LOVE coloring books.  And a new box of crayons.  I could spend hours!

3.  I'm a sucker for an 80s movie!  ANY 80s movie!  For instance, Mannequin (with Andrew McCarthy and Kim Cattrall - before SATC!) was on the other night and I stayed up late watching.  They made AWESOME movies back then!!  My kids are really missing out!! :-)


4.  I am a terrible housekeeper!  I really spend most of my time picking things up and putting them where they belong.  Since we are moving (in process...), I've de-cluttered quite a bit.  That was nice.  Now I just have to keep it picked up EVERYDAY in case someone wants to see it.  So.... the actually cleaning - deep down, just ends up getting a spit shine.  Oh well... a little dirt never hurt anybody, right?


5.  I need to lose about 10 pounds.  (Don't tell my amazing hubby - he thinks I'm perfect!  Isn't he a keeper?!)  Some of my clothes are feeling a little snug.  I'm chalking this up to being at home all day and having easy access to the refrigerator.  Maybe I need a time lock on that thing?!


That's all I have for this week...don't judge me too harshly!!  Would you like to confess anything???


Love you all,


Rulissa

Faux Sewing

I miss my sewing machine.

It isn't packed yet, but it is "put away". There was a time I just kept it out, but in the process of trying to move, I get nervous dragging out my sewing stuff for fear that would be the time someone would want to come see the house! I have been itching to create something, so I dug through some past ideas and thought to myself... How about faux sewing?

I have this t-shirt dress with spaghetti straps. It really needs a jacket of some sort for me to feel comfortable wearing it. Just so happens, I found this tee on clearance at Wally World and fits the bill nicely, with a teeny tiny alteration.

Here's what I did...

First, I folded the shirt in half and cut right up the front.

Then, following the instructions on the heatbond tape package, I ironed a strip to the inside of each front.

And, voila!  That was all there was to it.  What do you think?

Now, if I am completely honest...this did nothing to curb my sewing itch.  However, it did give me something super cute to wear to church!

(side note:  I think this shirt is a XXL.  I actually wear a M/L, but I really liked the length on the shirt and it was on sale - so that's what I bought!)

I'm linking up with Brassy Apple for Make it Monday...hop on over and see what else she has posted!

Love you all!

Rulissa

Confessional Friday

Hey, y'all! I'm linking up today with Leslie at A Blonde Ambition blog for Confessional Friday...so let's get confessing!!

1.  Sometimes I forget that I don't know by blog friends in real life.  Does this happen to you?

2.  I am not naturally a patient person.  In fact, I'm working on a post about that RIGHT NOW!!

3.  I {heart} baseball.  Monkey Boy's first game of the season is tomorrow and I think I am more excited than he is! (and that's saying a lot!!!)

4.  We are enrolling Princess in Pre-K next week.  I know I still have all summer before she starts school, but I can't decide how I feel about it.  One minute, I'm sad because she makes me smile all day long.  And the next minute, I'm excited and planning what I'll do with all my "free" time!

5.  And, finally... my amazing hubby and I celebrated our 15th wedding anniversary yesterday.  woo-hoo!

So what about you?  Do you have anything you would like to confess??

Love you all,

Rulissa

My Life in Pictures - March

Goodness!  Another month has flown by...I can't believe it is April!!  This past month was a challenge for me.  I'm not sure why, but I lost all my motivation to do anything!  (You may have noticed that by my lack of posting!)  Taking a picture a day was no different.  In fact - I'm amazed it happened at all...but it did, so here I am to share My Life In Pictures for March.  I hope you enjoy them!!

March 1 - How 'bout a little corn with your butter, Princess?  We LOVE our corn around here.  And can't wait until we get some fresh from the garden.  The drought cooked most of it last summer, so our taste buds are craving it something bad!!

March 2 - Tween Monkey's basketball team made it to regionals!  They are soooo pumped!  We stopped for dinner before their first game.  I don't think they like the camera at this age - if they do, it's only so they can practice their "teen angst" look!

March 3 - I'm working on a hand-painted project for our new house...if we ever get a new house!

March 4 - I was going to make fajitas so I bought a whole bunch of tortillas.  Then I ended up not making them but still had a whole bunch of tortillas.  The amazing hubby had the idea to make them into a sweet and crunchy snack for the monkeys. They were TASTY!!  

March 5 - We are updating a corral on the farm, so the amazing hubby dug holes while I kept the auger straight.  Then he mixed concrete while I kept the posts straight.  TEAMWORK!!

March 6 - Monkey Boy had his first baseball practice today.  Excited does not even begin to cover it.  His best buddy at his new school just happens to be on this team, too, so that doubled his excitement!

March 7 - Had some yogurt and bananas that needed to be used, so I put together some breakfast smoothie freezer bags so we could make them quickly.  They are yummy to our tummies!!

March 8 - Made the Pioneer Woman's chicken parmesan.  Everyone loved it, had seconds and left me with the cleanup!

March 9 - Princess wanted to paint so we got out the watercolors today.  Super easy project - used coffee filters (whole) and used the watercolors to paint circles around them.  Then we cut them in half and taped them to the door.  One of the plusses of the coffee filters is you can see the rainbows from both sides of the door.

March 10 -  Cinnamon rolls (from the tube) + waffle maker = Dinner for Monkeys

March 11 - I am struggling with the kids in a couple of areas (namely, respect and kindness) so I thought this would help us both.  Something that I learned though is that God isn't judging me on my results.  He just wants me to keep doing His will and not grow weary in well-doing... (Galatians 6:9)

March 12 - Sometimes it drives Princess crazy that she doesn't get to go to school yet like the bubs.  Those are the days we do "homework" for her.  She is so smart!!

March 13 - Did I mention I don't like nuts?  Well, I found this recipe for Pecan Crispies and decided to pulverize the pecans so I wouldn't have to bite into one.  They were so good - why didn't I think of this before?!

March 14 - Homework for the Tween Monkey.  He doesn't have near as much fun as Princess does!

March 15 - We have the best orthodontist EVER!  They have cool glasses to shade your eyes when they lay you back and PSPs to play while you are waiting.  The boys don't complain AT ALL!!

March 16 - Today was ballet day, but I was running late so we didn't get to go.  Instead, we got dressed up and did ballet in the living room at Grammy's house!  Almost as good!!!  And I used my new Instagram app - what do you think?

March 17 - Had a get together with friends from church and Monkey Boy got his game on at the ping-pong table...Yes, McKenzie - I did just take your picture! :-)

March 18 - Yummy!  I took a lot of pictures of food this month!!  This is a new recipe - Salted Caramel Bars.  I tried them out on my church friends at lunch today and they were a hit!  No nuts, no chocolate...delicious!

March 19 - It rained all last night and this morning.  When the sun came out, Princess had to get her rainboots out and go puddle jumping!  Look at that splash!!

March 20 - The boys got their eyes dilated and Monkey Boy was trying to see what it looked like.  Instead of going to the mirror like a normal person, he took a picture of himself with the camera.  Just go with it...I do!

March 21 -  The Kansas cousins were in town for Spring Break.  The kids spent most of the day outside, but took a break for "coffee time" and watched a Ghost Hunters International episode.

March 22 - "unless"...Did you see the Lorax?  I had never read the book, but fell in love with the movie.  It had a great message.  Unless you do something, who will?

March 23 - Went to the museum with the Twinkies and Nanny.  It was a big, Big, BIG day for all!

March 24 - I'm quitting my Bare Minerals.  This is my new foundation brush.  I've never used one before, but I really like it!  I think I'm a convert. 

March 25 - The Hunger Games... Have you heard of this book?  You have?  Hmmm...I guess I'm the last to know again!

March 26 - The amazing hubby had to channel his inner lumberjack in order to repair some fence today.  I just got to sit back and watch.  I love my job!

March 27 - Do you notice anything strange about this cow?  We drove up and both were amazed at the faux-hawk she was sporting...Had to take the picture and show Monkey Boy (that is his signature hair style).  I wonder how she did that?!

March 28 - Well, now I'm addicted.  I read all three books over a span of 4 days.  Yes...they were good.  Now I have to go see the movie!

March 29 - The lavender on my front porch smells so great.  I'm thinking of drying it so I can smell it all year long.  Anyone know how to do that?

March 30 - I love this candy.  I don't usually pick it up at the store, but they've been running commercials for it and I'm a sucker for advertising!

March 31 - The kids spent the afternoon in the garage throwing darts.  (This was a good game - some of the darts ended up stuck in the wall!)

So - that was my month...How was yours?

Love you all,

Rulissa