Playing Hooky

Kyle and I were both off Saturday with "no plans."  Which is a rare event around here. Of course I had all kinds of ideas for us. I am dying to plant the last half of my garden. Finding a non-rainy day where my muscular husband can shovel and till my plot for me is challenging. I also have been trying to find a place/DIY plans to put a clothes line up in our yard. I am constantly washing towels and blankets. I can't wait to get one put up so I can give my dryer a break and get some fresh air breezing through my sheets.
Ahh.
So, I started out making a fruit salad and Spicy Ham & Egg Baskets for breakfast. My mother-in-law was in a muffin tin kick last week last weekend and made us these baskets and also spinach eggs bites.  They turned out delicious and super cute, so I had to try them first chance I got. Pinterest is full of great muffin tin recipes.  Here's the basic recipe by Healthy Recipe Ecstasy:

http://www.healthyrecipeecstasy.com/2012/09/26/spicy-eggs-in-ham-baskets/

I did a variation and scrambled the eggs and added green peppers and green onions. They were delicious. I didn't get a picture because we ate them right up. They were good heated in the microwave a few seconds the next morning also.

After breakfast, we headed to the zoo. I am trying to get more familiar with Kyle's Canon Rebel XS. I don't really know why, but I've been practicing. I tried using all kinds of settings and I still have no clue how to use the thing. I thought the zoo would be good practice. It was, but it's obvious I need a lot more! I did get a few of the giraffes as they were eating by us.

We decided just to play hooky the rest of the day and used our coupons at Smiling Moose and then went for ice cream at Cold Stone. I got the most amazing concoction that the nice Cold Stone lady recommended. It was cheesecake ice cream with peanut butter, chocolate syrup, and reese cups mixed in. Kyle got the same only chocolate ice cream.

This is Kyle's ice cream face. His thought process is going from "Oh yes, this is the best thing I've ever tasted in my life" to "Oh crap, this is the worst brain freeze I"ve had in my life." It happens every single time he eats ice cream. 

Ice cream makes me happy. So does a day doing nothing with my hubby!

We ended up going to watch Star Trek in 3D. It was awesome! You should go see it. Yes I like Star Trek, Star Wars, super hero movies, Harry Potter and on and on.  I never said I wasn't a nerd you know. 

We ended our night at a cook out with our friends and playing a ultra cool (nerdy) German board game called Settlers of Catan. 

Oh and I can't forget we got a special visit by my friend's Husky puppy, Murray. Oh my word, he is cute and so precious. I wish I had a picture to post. 

What a great Saturday! Of course when I got home I was feeling guilty that I ran around all day and didn't get anything done at the house. That darn to do list.  Oh well, someday when I'm productive I'll brag on it here in my blog. But don't hold your breath on that one. ;)

The Misfortunes of Our Fridge

I wonder how many times in the last week Kyle has opened our empty refrigerator out of habit? Lucky for that guy, we are back to business with our fridge. Let me rewind and fill you in on our latest roll with the punches event in the Campbell life.....

A week and a half ago, on the Wednesday before Mother's Day, I walked into our kitchen at about 8pm after getting off work a little later than normal. I fed the dogs and went to the sink (in my sock feet) to discover our entire floor covered in a pool of water. Of course I automatically thought my dogs must have gotten into something. I don't know why I would think that. They always look so innocent......

Cute little pals. But back to our story...

I found that the water was coming from our freezer. I opened the door and with water dripping everywhere, it was obvious that we had a situation on our hands.  I think those are the words I used when I called my mom. "Mom, we have a situation,  is Dad there?" My mom has heard this line before. In fact, this calls for a side story.

 * When I was in high school,  my friend Meredith and I were on our way home through the back roads in the dark after a rainy day. I couldn't really see how deep the water was across the road. Although I've drove these backwoods roads dozens of times, knowing they flood. I just didn't have time to turn around and make curfew so I drove right through. Bad idea. My car flooded and died. I then, intelligence shining, opened my door to see how deep we were. Deep enough for the water to rush in my floorboard. So I called my dad and said "Daddy, I've got a little bit of a water situation here" Dad, always my shining knight, comes in his truck, with the whole family shining flashlights and laughing as we sat barefoot on the hood of the car waiting for assistance. Meredith said "Oh you just never know what kind of fun adventures you get into with Jill,"  Kyle probably thinks the same.

I must add that as I'm assessing the fridge, I am home alone of course. Kyle is on shift for another 3 hours. Ahh. Police Wife Life.  It still feels a lot like Army Wife Life. Since my parents are my "on call" backup, I tell them my woes and got to hear my mom's encouraging story of how she had three years in a row on Mother's Day a large appliance broke down and she had to purchase a new one, I was really hoping this wouldn't be my luck. We had had a storm the night before and it looked like the odds would be against us on this one. I could feel my vacation budget getting smaller.  The freezer had basically thawed out and everything in it was just barely icy. I called around and invited myself to use some friend's fridge and freezer space and packed up all my food. I came home and used my car headlights to shine as I searched everywhere for our cooler in Kyle's dark shop (really hoping we get electricity soon!). By the time I got inside to mop up the rest of the water, I was starving. I left out hot dogs and carrots to put in a cooler with ice. Which we lived out of for 2 days. We do like to camp, just not in our own home. So at 10pm I was mopping water and eating a less than exciting hot dog supper. 

My dad saved us on Friday and brought over 2 mini refrigerators until we could get ours looked at. It felt like dorm living. But I turned out to be very talented in packing large amounts of food into tiny spaces. You don't know how much you miss having ice until you don't have a freezer. 

Finally, after a week and a half, we were able to get someone to take a look. They were able to fix our fridge for a relatively minimal fee considering. So instead of buying a brand new refrigerator, we can start vacation planning again! I'm so thankful that it came out best case scenario. Thinking of the minimal damage there was to my flooded car, my phone that survived 3 toilet drops, and now our puddle of a fridge that came through for us, I'm beginning to think maybe I just have a knack for getting out of water mishaps. Or maybe getting into them....Hmm.  

Thrift Store Inspiration

I stayed up until nearly midnight last night helping a friend hem pants for our co-workers. I guess I must have missed my sewing machine. I pretended that I wasn't behind on laundry and dishes and drug out the little feller to do some refashioning today.

 refashion [riːˈfæʃən]

vb (tr)

to give a new form to (something)

I had a blue dress that I bought from a thrift store last fall to wear as a swim suit cover up in Jamaica. I loved the print and the varying shades of blue. I thought the ruffles might iron down flat, but they never did, It was a little big up top, and too short for my preference so I didn't end up taking it. It has sat in my closet, but I just haven't been able to give it away yet because I just love the ombre blue color. So today I decided to give it a  makeover. 

Here it is looking a little frumpy, and coming close to giving you a view of me that (until I am a celebrity) no one would care to see.  

I removed the ruffles and elastic from the front, folded back down the top hem and sewed the sides to fit my waist. It still has elastic in the back the front is smooth and flat, instead of the "bubbled" look it has now. 

Here is the after. Much better! This skirt will be perfect for summer. 

I mentioned that I bought this dress for my Jamaica trip. I highly recommend you buy thrift store dresses to wear on vacations, especially if you are traveling out of the country or flying to a beach destination. It's easy to find casual beach dresses any time of the year. Goodwill here usually has them for $4.00 and other thrift stores can be even cheaper. It doesn't even have to fit perfect, because you are wearing it over a swim suit. I even cut down on my packing by wearing one to dinner (dressing it up with jewelry and cute shoes).  Then I wear it again the next day at the beach as my cover up. It doesn't matter if it's a little wrinkly or gets sand or sunscreen on it and you get two uses out of it. When it comes to traveling home and you've bought too many souvenirs, you can just leave the dresses behind or have the hotel donate them without worrying about the money you spent on them. 

Here is a fantastic little dress I bought for $2.00 at a thrift store to take on our trip. It's too low cut to wear alone, but works perfect as a cover up. It even has cute pockets that worked great for my camera. I did bring all my dresses home from this trip and hopefully I"ll get to use them again soon! 

Clearing the Cobwebs

It's my last day of my vacation week.  I've had a terrific, relaxing week at home. I finished enough cleaning and organizing to feel at ease with the house. My dining room is full of things to send off to Goodwill or to throw away. I have a long list of things I didn't get done but I'm just focusing on the tasks I did complete. Besides clearing the cobwebs,  I got to spend a little girl time with my sister in law who came and stayed with us. Kyle was off a few days so we got to spend some quality time. We also attended Guns & Hoses with my father in law.

Can you see where Kyle gets that handsome smile? (and his mischievous ways)

 I caught a cold half way through and spent one whole day in bed and on the couch feeling not so great. I'm glad I got that full day of rest, even if I did go through a whole box of tissues. The day I had my cold, I had plans to visit my family, so I decided to make the drive today instead. It turned out to be a great day riding 4 wheelers and catching up.

 My parents on the trail with us. Aren't they just the cutest?

 This is Achilles, my brother's dog. We take him with us on every trip.  He loves, loves, loves to run and swim through the backwaters.

 My brother and I. We are hoping to get more trail cleaned out and will try to camp out here this summer.

The blue sky against the wheat fields made for a beautiful day to ride. This is where I get my pretty face. :)

My darling little family minus my sister, who was working.

I'm so glad I was able to take vacation time to relax and gear up for summer. We get so wound up tight, busy, and float along through the weeks without taking time to just enjoy where we are in life. It's so important to take that time, even just a day and clear the cobwebs in our mind.  I'm happy to say I feel refreshed and ready to get back in the groove.

Spring Photo Shoot

I love our backyard. When we bought our house, I instantly started dreaming up all the parties I could host there. Bonfires, sledding parties, picnics, camp outs, and slip-n-slides, oh my. I love the view of the pond, It is adjacent to our neighbors back yards so it feels secluded and peaceful. 

     Last fall I decided to take our tri-pod out there and take some family photos in the backyard just for fun. We grabbed my great grandma's quilt, a hay bale, and the neighbor's pond made the perfect backdrop. 

We decided to continue the backyard photo fun in the winter when the snow was beautiful on the trees. This photo looks like it is photo shopped. I promise it isn't, because I barely know how to rotate a photo. 

This morning we were cleaning up the backyard from our bonfire party last night and the weather was so amazing. We took the opportunity to snap a few spring pictures. This backdrop is the north side opposite of the pond. I had hung some old windows in our trees for a fun party backdrop at the bonfire last night. Here is a group picture from the bonfire last night! We had an awesome time hanging with some of our favorite people. Good friends are a treasure. 

Since the windows were still out there this morning, I couldn't resist.  I think they turned out pretty cute.  

Now maybe I can update some of the empty photo frames that I have hanging on my wall. :)   Stay tuned for our summer backyard photos! 

Chocolate Chip Cookies

        It seems impossible for me to eat a chocolate chip cookie without thinking of my mom. When I was growing up it was her go-to pick me up. Of course, my mom did retail therapy, phone chats with my grandma, and long nights working in her garden to clear her head. But there were times when only a made from scratch, fresh out of the oven, chocolate chip cookie would do. My siblings and I would find her in the kitchen with a towel on her shoulder, barefoot, singing along to oldies on the radio. We would go play and wait until she called us in to lick the dough from the beaters. My mom never measured slowly or precisely. She just scooped the measuring cup in and did her best guess. Who knows what a "dash or sprinkle" really is anyway, right?  My mom is a teacher by profession and our cooking lessons started at a young age. It was extra practice for fractions and reading as we were instructions on how to follow recipe directions. Through our kitchen time, we also learned how to be creative with substitutions because sometimes you assume you have chocolate chips only to find a leftover chocolate bunny from Easter is all you have in the pantry. 

       When I think of chocolate chip cookies, I don't think about the raw egg dough I got to eat, I think of the  forgiving mom who let us get a special treat even if we had been misbehaving that day. I don't think of the imperfect measurements or if it is made with chocolate chips or chunks, I think of how I was taught to be flexible, improvise, and use the resources on hand. I received valuable coaching during these flour-faced sessions, and I thank God for chocolate chip cookies. There are that sweet little reminder of my mom's love.                    

       

      I have only had a smart phone for 6 months. I have had people exclaim "Don't you just love it?!", or "Could you ever go back to your old phone?!" Well, I can honestly say that I could. I love my smart phone, I love using it for pictures and to check my social media. I do. But, I find that checking my phone has become a quick addiction. I look at it while I'm in line at the bathroom at church, I check it during dinner dates with my husband, I look at it at long red lights when I'm driving. It's distracting. How can I invest in the people I love and the people in my community if I don't even see them? I don't want to be remembered as always being distracted or that I didn't value those around me. I want to be remembered by my love and for investing and pouring into the lives of my friends and family. I want them to see "chocolate chip cookies" and thank God for giving us that relationship. 

"And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds. Let us not give up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but let us encourage one another-and all the more as you see the Day approaching." Hebrews 10:24-25

P.S. I must add that I was making a new strawberry cake while writing this post, and I just looked over at an ingredient that I forgot to put it. So I don't think strawberry cake is going to be "my thing" like my mom and chocolate chip cookies. Better stick to what mom taught me. :)

Weekend With The Campbells

This weekend proved to be a classic Campbell adventure. And true to our adventures, it was not exactly... ahem, classy or glamorous I should say.. 

It started on Friday. We were both sitting on the couch when our German Shepherd, Archer, looks at Kyle and all of a sudden, poos all over the carpet in an obvious I'm sick kind of way.

Oh. Maybe I should have put a warning....*this blog may not be appropriate to read over dinner. There.      Now, back to our story. There is a lot of commotion that follows. We are shuffling Archer outside, grabbing paper towels. "No, not that rag, get an old one. Bring me some soap." Kyle is gagging, I'm telling Kyle to, I believe my lady mouth says, "suck it up and quit gagging." We clean it all up, and since we are heading to IL, we nix the plan to bring the diarrhea dog with us, and we leave him in the backyard. The rest of the day goes a little better. I get my hair done, we go target shooting, and stop for a quick chat with my family. 

First time with my new gun. I love it. 

Isn't my firearms instructor seriously handsome?!

After our quick trip to IL, we start clearing out our spare room to move our bed in and make room for our new master bedroom makeover. Hopefully our new bed and mattress are delivered soon!  Just like a typical wife/husband effort to clean, organize, and move heavy furniture. It goes very smooth with a lot of smiling, laughing, and please & thank you's . If you did not catch the sarcasm in that last sentence, then you must not be married. After a few grouchy comments, one big give away pile, and dividing the work (aka: putting ourselves in timeout) we complete our task. Phew! 

Saturday turns out to be a pretty good day. We take a trip to the zoo to buy memberships and enjoy the weather. Remember that blog about training for a hiking trip? The zoo is going to my perfect weekend workout space. Anyone want to join?

Saturday I do 5 loads of laundry. On the last load, I wash a big blanket that I have washed a few times before. The washer does not spin or drain. It's about midnight and time to change the clocks forward for spring. Kyle gets home and works on the washing machine but we are too tired so we just leave it for the next day. 

Early Sunday morning, I slowly awaken to a smell. At first I think maybe Lola didn't go out the night before and had left us a smelly present by the back door. She has done that before when we forget to let her out. Then I remember the washing machine and I groggily decide maybe it is the water sitting in the washer all night producing the sour smell. I fall back asleep hoping Kyle will wake up soon and go take care of it. Around 7am, we both start to wake up and the smell is undeniable and rank. Kyle cautiously walks around to see Archer sitting in the most poo I've ever seen in one place, outside of the rhino exhibit at the zoo. He gets Archer out, who spins around, runs into the living room, (yes leaving poo pawprints) swinging his tail (yes leaving poo tailprints), and finally Kyle gets him outside. 

Okay, now I'm awake. Forget the time change, forget the fact that my bed head is sticking up everywhere, and I have dark circles under my eyes. The disgusting scene before me has my full attention. I help Kyle carry the huge kennel outside. This time we are both gagging and I am certain I am going to throw up. My Friday "suck it up" comment is running through my head. Ugh. Humility lesson again. Kyle showers while attempt to clean the floor and the wall and the carpet and the other wall, and anywhere else that was in the line of fire. I clean and mop and I still feel like I need another round of bleach. Thank God Kyle was home to help me! 

After everything calms down, we throw on a smile and head to church still unsure on how we are going to clean Archer. I must say we remained relatively calm through the event. Maybe it was the lack of sleep, or we just felt bad for our doggie. 

Following church, Kyle has to head to work so we rush through dog bath outside, hose down style.  I'm so glad that it was in the 60's this weekend! Archer is clean enough and seems to be acting normal so we bring him back indoors. He settles back down and sits with me in the laundry room as I wait through an entire cycle trying to determine what the problem is. As I'm sitting there, ants start crawling on me. Three ants to be exact. And so the war on ants begins again. On the bright side, that means that spring is coming soon! 

At the end of the day our dog is clean, our house is clean, our marriage survived a poo attack, and we have determined volunteering to shovel at the zoo is not for us.