Currently...

Watching the sunset from my deck

Drinking... a Coors Light. It's been a long weekend. As if I need an excuse

Wishing... it wasn't Sunday night. I'm nowhere near ready to go back to work tomorrow

Obsessing over... baseball [Bucks won their 8th straight game tonight!] .. aloe .. Nike shorts .. Target [this isn't new]

BRAND NEW Party Deck sign on my kegerator

We have a tie game, folks!

...and in the bottom of the 10th, BUCKS WIN their 8th straight

Literally went to Target for bug spray, $50 later...that was some expensive bug spray ;)

Wanting to purchase... this bag. No description needed

Looking forward to... a week off from the Party Deck [off day + road trips] .. a pool day at grandma's .. a wedding

Favorite songs on the [XM] radio... Blurred Lines. Sail. Anything FGL or Hunter Hayes.

A Friday Night in April

After having the flu [for the third time this year]/God-knows-what for a week, complete with...

...at least 12 hours of sleep everyday

...eating less than a meal a day

...making it through roughly two and a half days of work

...the weirdest dreams that made absolutely no sense

...getting poked by a [rookie] nurse while being tested for mono, thus resulting in a painful & nasty bruise

...not changing out of my favorite sweats

...watching the opening round of the Masters/too much tv

 

...I'm finally feeling better. I think. I did get out of the house tonight for a much-needed trip to the mall [retail therapy- a new shirt from Von Maur & candles from Bath & Body] and a much-needed trip to Target for 'groceries' ...





... oh and the new Blake Shelton cd.

Thank God for that 70-degree weather that lasted a day, to be followed by days of clouds & rain, the Masters, the Frozen Four, and great family & friends to help a girl get back on her feet.

Happy weekend.

Obession [caffeine]

As said in my last post, I'm currently obsessing over caffeine. This is not new, however, the form of it is.

I'm not exactly sure when I started drinking coffee, but lately, I've found it difficult to go a day without Starbucks. Or a Mountain Dew or Coke. [Mountain Dew is likely to be a lifesaver during grueling payroll days].

While strolling down the baking aisle at Target one day, I came across this:

Starbucks. Caramel. Iced. Coffee. Just add water and milk. Wait, what? I was lured. And now, I'm addicted. I can't afford to go to Starbucks every day, but I think I can handle having Starbucks a little different every day. You can find these at Target: $7.29 for 6 packets. [I have yet to find them elsewhere. Let's be honest, I hardly shop elsewhere]. I think that beats spending roughly $4 for ONE drink in the drive-thru...

DIY Love: Chipboard

Ashley over at Our Life...'Better Together', is blogging 14 Days of DIY Love in honor of next Thursday [love day]. Yesterday's post was about Chipboard. I played around over Christmas break and used Chipboard letters to make personalized stockings. It was a fun and very cheap project! I used Chipboard letters from Hobby Lobby, $2 stockings from Target, and some craft paint I already had at home.

After seeing Ashley's post on the Chipboard banner, I decided it was the perfect thing to hang from my shelf above my tv. During Christmas, I had clothespinned holiday cards to ribbon and was planning on making different sized hearts to hang. Well, I decided I liked Chipboard better and it would let me be a little more crafty. The letters are different than what I originally wanted, and some are a little small, but I like it. What do you think?

Paint.

For some reason, while I was at Menards this afternoon [searching for a Swiffer..do those still exist?!] I decided to pick up a couple paint samples. My grandma suggested it a couple weeks ago and I finally gave in today.

Spanish Tile.

I painted about two feet of the wall behind my garbage can and then to the right of the stove, underneath my cabinets. It's not fully dry and it's just one coat, but I think I like it. I think.

Stonewall Jackson.

  

I DO like this one. I painted where my dining table sits, and also where I [for now] have a huge picture above it.

So after Round 1 of painting, I took an unnecessary trip to Target.

I spent twice more than what I wanted to and got seriously upset when I asked for a Caramel Brulee Latte at Starbucks and was told "we no longer have that, it's seasonal." Uh, alright then..can I have a Caramel Light? "Frappucino?" Sure. I was obviously confused and a little pissed, and even more so when I realized what I had agreed to order.

Round 2 of painting went much better. Then I decided to clean my kitchen and bathroom floor. At 9:30 PM, I was outside, shaking the sand and salt from my kitchen rugs. I swept before getting on my hands and knees to clean the floors.

If you know me at all, you should be thinking, "who is this girl and what has she done with Lindsey?"

Here I am. Wide awake at 11:30 PM, on a "work night" with a disaster of a kitchen /living room. At least my floors are clean.

Shutdown Projects

Today was my first 'real' day of Christmas Shutdown. For the other 98% of John Deere, Christmas Shutdown began last Friday. I was, er, lucky enough to be one of the few that had to work the Monday after Christmas. After a very early start, which included going to work in my pajamas, I was home by 2:00. I finished taking down my Christmas tree and a few other decorations, had a few visitors stop by to see my home and not more than ten minutes after they left, I did something stupid. I went shopping. The day after Christmas. I don't even shop Black Friday! After getting my oil changed, Target and Hobby Lobby were the only two stores I could stand going to before it started raining and I decided that Starbucks was in fact just what I needed.

At Hobby Lobby, they had these cute wooden/cardboard letters on sale. I picked up a couple and then went to the paint section. After picking out three colors of paint that match my bedroom, I wandered the store and ended up in the yarn aisle. Boom. Light bulb. I had seen yarn wrapped things on Pinterest, so I figured I'd give it a whirl. I bought some "practice yarn" and ended up going back to Hobby Lobby today to get more.

The finished project! I'm pretty excited about it, especially where I'm going to put it..stay tuned!

Another great idea I had this morning was to make a "Thankful Jar." Just before reading The Vintage Pearl's blog about "a blessings jar", I thought it would be neat to have a clear jar full of colorful paper - with an idea, a word (or words), Bible verses, quotes, notes, something I did that day, something/someone I'm thankful for, etc. I'm planning to start this on New Year's Day, but I don't know if I can wait...

Thanksgiving Weekend

This was one of the best Thanksgiving weekends I've ever had. Black Wednesday, or Thanksgiving Eve, is always a fun night and almost like a high school reunion (good or bad). Jami and I took Taysen to Grandma Lori & Grandpa Jim's for the night since Jami had to work Thursday morning. I let Tay crawl on me and then we were laying on the floor and he could not take his eyes off of me. Every little movement I made - he watched, every sound I made - he mimicked. It was truly one of my favorite times I've spent with him.

We spent the majority of the night at the Screamin' Eagle. Steph & Nick came out for the first time after having their sweet little boy, Ari, so there was lots to celebrate! We cheers'd to Steph "bein f'n out!" and to a Happy Thanksgiving. It was good to see people I hadn't seen in years, even though with several friends it had been days, and I had fun meeting new people, many who I work with and didn't even know it!

 




After watching part of the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade from my bed (without a hangover!) and laughing at some things I found on my phone from Black Wednesday, I got ready and went out to the cemetery. It was by far the nicest day we've had here in awhile, in the 50's but just a little windy. I went to my aunt Kristi's for Thanksgiving with my dad's side of the family, watched a lot of football, ate a lot of food, and had a lot of fun. I went back to my mom's for another Thanksgiving dinner, finished watching the Cowboys win (YEAH!) and got ready for the hockey game - Jami and Taysen went with me this year! It's so much fun to watch Taysen get excited when they score a goal. He really focuses on the game... I told Jami when she found out it was a boy that he'd be a little hockey player. ;)

Instead of going out to wait in endless Black Friday lines, we had a little Thanksgiving Sleepover at Jami's. I put Tay to sleep and I woke up the next morning to a confused face, almost like he was thinking, "you're still here?!" I dressed him, fed him breakfast, and watched Mickey with him.

The faces he makes while he eats just kill me! We ended up doing a little Black Friday shopping, but made sure we waited until noon. Kohl's was still packed, with the longest lines I've ever seen, but Target wasn't bad at all. We of course had to stop at Starbucks right away (and share a little with Taysen). I've never had so much fun shopping with a baby..we spent a good hour in the toys section, and I walked out of there with wrapping paper & Taysen's first Christmas present - all for under $10. ;) That afternoon, we read books, played with toys, napped, and played peek-a-boo around the sectional.

Our Friday evening was spent on Main Street in Cedar Falls for the Holiday Hoopla kickoff, a "first-time" for all of us. We went in and out of many stores, except for the newly-opened Scratch, listened to the band and watched Alvin and the Chipmunks. We took pictures by Santa's Workshop, and hurried to watch Santa land in his helicopter. We walked up and down Main Street before standing outside Cup of Joe to watch the fireworks.



I can't wait until he's a little older and can enjoy it even more (and until I have one of my own to share this with!)

I spent the rest of my Friday night at Young Arena for the Warriors Alumni game, watching a few friends, and enjoying a couple beers at Smitty's. I was home by 11:30 and got a few texts calling me "old" and "lame." :)

Today, my mom and I went out looking for a TV stand, barstools, and some other things I felt I needed before I move on Friday. I ended up getting kitchen and bath towels, a shower curtain/rod for my bathroom, Christmas lights for my small tree I'm putting outside, verticals and blinds for the living room/bedrooms, a nine-cube organizer, and a few Christmas decorations. I was sick of shopping (what?! I didn't know that was possible..) and ready to go home.




Countdown: 5 days!

Baby Clothes and Sick Days

I can't focus on one thing to write about, but I'm determined to write about something, so I guess I'll continue on with My Little Things.

2. Baby Clothes. 

These really are little things, and since my best friend/cousin/roommate has little Taysen in her belly, well, I've had more than an excuse to do some serious shopping.

 

Now, my trips to Target aren't complete without making a stop to the baby section, even though by now I have memorized where everything is located, and what the Cedar Falls Target has that Waterloo doesn't. During my upcoming visit to Des Moines, where I'll be staying just a few blocks from Jordan Creek Mall, I plan to carve out some time to check out Baby Gap...this could be trouble. Expect to see more rambling and photos about this subject. :)


3. Sick Days.

A good, true sick day is spent in bed or on the couch, in your sweats, with your dirty hair in a messy ponytail. A sick day should mostly be spent sleeping, if at all possible. A sick day should not be spent worrying about anything work-related. Forget about your meetings and deadlines, turn off the laptop, and put the BlackBerry on silent. There is a reason it is called a sick day. It means you need to relax. This afternoon is my "sick day." I am laying on the couch in my sweats and my dirty hair is up, but I'm not sleeping...yet. After having a fever at work this morning, which was established by my sweating in the bathroom and five minutes later having goosebumps at my desk, I decided to take a little break from life and go home.