Bored, bored, bored

No real point to the picture, except that I freaking love it.  That's right. I said it.  I like something that I created, even if its just a photograph.  And any part of it that appears creative actually comes from Afterlight.  But whatever.  I'm in a mood.

I've been at work all night.  This isn't weird.  I work 2 nights a week.  Normally I either have a coworker who is TOO enjoyable that I can chat with all night, or enough with me to read to keep me busy.  Or there's always Pinterest.  I exhausted Pinterest.  I finished my book. (The Great Gatsby.  Somehow, I missed reading this book all through high school and college.  It was fine.  I dunno.  I was much more excited about the previous 3 books I read: Let the Great World Spin, Help Thanks Wow, and A Million Miles in a Thousand Years.)  And the lady I'm working with is perfectly lovely, but we just haven't clicked.  I mean, we've never drawn one another pictures of butt holes in bags, or slow danced, or watched Miley Cyrus videos together.  Maybe we'll get there someday, but someday isn't tonight and I'm bored.  Plus its my birthday weekend, so I'm feeling extra reflective.  Not like you would want to wear me on a night bike ride, but just maybe thoughtful.  Its been a rough couple of weeks.  I've said it before and I won't quit saying it, even to newly married/engaged friends.  Marriage is hard.  Its another full time job.  Honestly, I think its the hardest thing.  For me, anyway.  But we're still pluggin' away and I'm going to try to stop being a lazy, easily irritated spouse.  Either that or just start drinking more.

I wonder what my 33rd year will have in store for me...I can't stop looking at profiles of pit bulls on the Humane Society website.  And mastiffs.  And labs.  Maybe a new dog?!?  We still haven't paid our taxes, so maybe a visit from the IRS?  Just kidding, I don't think they would waste their time with us, but it does raise my blood pressure a bit.  For real, I went in to donate blood on Wednesday and they told me my blood pressure was too low and they gave me a few minutes before they retook it, all I had to do was think about the damn taxes and whaddaya know.  Up it went!  Hoping for maybe a long weekend vacation, even if its just to Johnson's Lake or Mahoney.  I need a few days of nature and fresh air and minimal technology/interactions with other humans.  I need a girls' trip, as well.  One that is a little less nature-oriented maybe.  (Maaaayyybe one that involves a city with an IKEA.  Hint hint.  Wink wink.  Coughamynebesniakimhintingthatireallywantyoutoplanatripcough.) Who knows what will happen!  I'll get a little older, there will be surprises.  That's what is both great and horrible about life, right?!?  For now, I DO know that I have a birthday weekend to look forward to and it starts in just a few hours.  And it starts with a bachelorette party for one of my favorite people.  So, cheers to being 32 for one more day:)

Pics from my mom's bday a few weeks ago:)

Willa is 4. F.O.U.R. Seriously.

I'm not going to lie, I turned into a weepy, blubbering mess at the end of this long birthday weekend.  And all because my little monster is 4 now and is turning into such a pretty, grown-up, monster.  I've said it before, but how on earth is she so pretty?  I ask her that about every other day.  And she just says "Moooo-ooom."  (Imagine that is a voice just like a whiny teenager.  Because that is what she sounds like all the time now.)  One day a few weeks ago, we were sitting on the couch together and she crawled in my lap for a little lovin.  I asked her what I was going to do when she was too big for me to hold her like that anymore and she said, "I will still sit by you and hold your hand."  I fought back tears that day, too.  What a great 4 years it has been, getting to know Willa.  If you are curious, she is really into singing these days, the movie Pitch Perfect is just about her favorite thing, she is awesome at puzzles, she knows her right from her left (thanks to Uncle Chris), she can quote movie lines like nobody's business, she likes hamburgers but not cheeseburgers, and she would love for us to get a big dog.  Oh, and she usually farts first thing when she wakes up in the morning, then giggles and tells me that she is just farting out the rest of her sleep.  Just when I start to wonder whose kid she really might be, she proves that we are, in fact, related.

And now, some pictures from all the fun...

Prepping for the outdoor movie

Brad figured out a fancy-schmancy way to play a movie outside on a screen that he constructed.  So, we had a gaggle of Willa's friends over...late...and fed them a bunch of candy and pop and gave them face paint and silly string and glow sticks and then had them watch Wreck-It-Ralph and then sent them home...late...with their parents.  Your welcome, parents.  It was fun.

On Sunday, the day of the actual birthday, we gave Willa a trampoline and some tiny cupcakes.  I consider buying a giant trampoline a mark of my adulthood.  I wanted one for our yard SO BAD so I made the executive decision that Willa would get one for her birthday.  It was either that, or a big dog, and I'm not quite ready for another pet.  I...I mean, WE, are in love with the trampoline.  And don't worry, we put the safety netting up after these pictures were taken.  Willa just kept telling us "safety first, guys."  She is a much more confident bouncer with the net up.

The Monday following the birthday, we slept in, and then took a trip to Grand Island to visit Grandma Van Boening, Great Grandma Christensen, and Island Oasis Waterpark.  I figured it was about time to introduce Willa to the place that shaped her mother's young adult years.  We had a great time at the water park.  And I am proud to say that in the absence of the '95-'02 crew, the I.O. still seemed to be running smoothly and very well maintained.  And, all the lifeguards appeared to be no older than 13.  

That was Willa's 4th birthday, in a nutshell.  She has yet to receive a pet snake.  She is ok with that.  Her Uncle Chris promised to buy her a snake for her birthday.  It drove her nuts when he would talk about it.  One day, he asked her what she was going to name her pet snake and her response was, "Knife.  Because that is what I'm going to kill it with."  Hmmmmmm.   

Pinterest is always there for me. Its such a good friend.

Almond Milk Iced Coffee from Oh She Glows

Roasted Strawberry and Toasted Coconut Popsicles

I use my Pinterest account.  I really, really do.  When I'm on my game, and planning my meals, and packing my lunches, I use Pinterest heavily to decide what to make and create grocery lists.  I admittedly have NOT been on my game the last few weeks, but I thought I'd share a few things I did try.  First of all, the iced coffee.  It tasted so, so good.  And it wasn't a difficult process at all, until I got to the step where you strain the coffee concentrate and I don't own a cheesecloth or a nut milk bag.  So I was trying to do it with coffee filters and that took ages and was pretty messy.  But you can bet your sweet patooty that I am going to get a nut milk bag and use this recipe all the time.  Plus, that will really aid in my other goal of making my own nut milk.  Duh.  The second thing I wanted to share was the strawberry-coconut Popsicles.  They look a little bit intimidating, as far as making Popsicles goes, especially since you can buy them for cheap.  But the taste on these bad boys was just so good.  And they really were not hard at all.  You do want to make sure to toast the coconut VERY briefly.  Like 2 minutes.  And the suggestion to use full fat coconut milk probably isn't a bad one.  I used the Trader Joe's light coconut milk and it still tasted good, but I could for sure see why they said full fat.  

I have a list going of recipes that I want to try in the next few weeks, and I'm very excited about it.  I'll share.  Because I am constantly over sharing.  Just ask the poor girls that I work night shifts with.  They know all about my hemi.

Fourth Favorites

We hope that everyone enjoyed the fantastic 4th of July holiday!  We did!

Congrats to dear brookie!

First of all, I love this picture.  It was taken a few months ago on a nice girl's night out.  Second of all, the lady on the left, my most favorite brooke, won a very cool blogging contest and I want every single person I know to hear about it!  brooke's blog is called grace and light, and she won Typepad's 10th Birthday Blogging Contest..  Do read about the contest, and then read every single one of brooke's blog posts, because they are all worth your time.  She is so very thoughtful with what she writes, and her words are so elegant.  I suppose you could read the other 2 winners' blogs as well, if you work night shifts like me and dink around on the internets for, like, hours.  Or, you could google yourself, then shop on Amazon for nut milk bags and donut pans, then pay a tiny portion of your taxes online, then look at tons of pictures of cute baby animals on the Huffington Post, then try to refocus yourself by looking at your own blog post about your goals, and then spend the rest of the night looking at lipstick shades.  Yeah.  Do that.

Because, wine.

I'm not exactly sure what the theme was for Summer, 2012 but I have decided that 2013 is all about the vineyards.  Wine is gluten free.  Vineyards are beautiful.  Yes, I realize we live in Nebraska but I'll take what I can get.  And the place we visited on Friday evening was the bee's knees.  Glacial Till is near Bennett, Ne which is a decent drive from our house, but totally worth it.  The Chambourcin was red and dry and I had the whole bottle to myself.  The music was fun.  I danced with Willa.  They had a visiting brewery, which made the gentleman happy.  You know where to find me every other Friday night from now until the end of summer.

And...if you don't get the title of this post then you have not been following my directions all along.  Shame on you.

Need a great ebook?

I recently purchased this e-cookbook, written by a girl that I follow on Instagram, and I am loving it!  I have already made the Pad Thai a few times, the chocolate chocolate chip muffins, chipotle tilapia, spicy tuna salad and the super seed loaf.  The recipes are all very clean, all gluten-free, and the author gives suggestions on how to make most of the recipes vegetarian/vegan as well.  I highly recommend it, if you are looking for some easy, healthy ways to perk up your food-life.  Her blog has a lot of really great recipes on it, as well.  Take a peek!