Photo-A-Day 10 Day Catch-Up

Sunday, March 21st, 2010

Day 21

Yup.  A little over 24 hours after my shoes had been covered in snow out on the deck, all of the snow was melted, the sun was shining and I was left wondering if I had imagined that snow in the first place.

Monday, March 22nd, 2010

Day 22

I'm amazed at the quality of the photos I can take with my iPhone.  This photo is so darn cute I promoted it to desktop background.

Tuesday, March 23rd, 2010

Day 23

Hubby G and I are not nearly as diligent as we should be about eating our daily dose of fruits, but we made sure to stock up at the grocery store during our last trip.  

Wednesday, March 24th, 2010

Day 24

Colby mastered a new trick.  It's a little hard to tell in this photo, but now when we say "UP!" he sits back on his furry little rear and balances upright.  It took him awhile to get the whole balancing thing down, but he's a pro at it now.

Thursday, March 25th, 2010

Day 25

These are one of my favorite, most impractical pairs of shoes.  They've got a higher heel than anything else I own, but they're black and fabulous and I got them at Target for just $7.50 on my birthday earlier this year.  Basically they make me feel like a super model.

Friday, March 26th, 2010

Day 26

I was asked to speak (for work-related purposes) at a hair show put on by a class of high school students who are in a cosmetology class through their area career tech center.  I've never been to a hair show before, so I wasn't really sure what to expect.  I thought that the students did an amazing job- the theme of the show was 40's and 50's Hollywood Glam.  During one portion of the show the audience was asked to get up and move to a nearby room (shown in this photo) where all the models were and vote for their favorite by donating change or whatever amount they were able in the decorated boxes in front of each model.  The young lady in this photo with the red bow on her dress also had what appeared to be a red ribbon bow in her hair- I wish I had gotten an up-close photo of the bow, because it wasn't made of ribbon at all- it was her actual hair!  I was so impressed!  It was a very cool way to spend a Friday night working!

Saturday, March 27th, 2010

Day 27

We went out to my in-laws house to celebrate Easter a bit early.  Colby was thrilled to spend the day playing with his cousins, Guinness and Bailey.  My sister-in-law was trying to line the three of them up for a photo (impossible) with Colby in the middle and said, "come on guys, sit right here, it'll be just like an oreo!" love it.

Sunday, March 28th, 2010

Day 28

This is what Colby looks like when he's tired and I keep bothering him.

Monday, March 29th, 2010

Day 29

Monday night is always date night for Hubby G and I.  For this date night we took Colby for a walk together when I got home from work and then headed over to a nearby restaurant where we discovered their Monday night $2.00 margarita special.  We headed home after dinner and were in bed by 9:30 pm watching a movie- "Up In The Air".  Everything was so nice and relaxing and fun- it was one of the best date nights we've ever had!

Tuesday, March 30th, 2010

Day 30

Today was the first day since last summer that I pulled this beauty out and took it for a ride.  I love this bicycle!  I rode it to the library, got a library card and book, and rode back home.  The trek was a bit longer and hilly-er than I had imagined so I was definitely huffing and puffing (out of shape!), but it was good to get out and enjoy the weather, the library, and my fabulous bicycle!

A Real-Life Treasure Hunt: Geocaching

My family has known about Geocaching for awhile.  If you don't know what Geocaching is, I guarantee that it will sound a little unbelievable at first.

So what is Geocaching?

It's a treasure hunt of sorts.  Want to hear something crazy?  Tons of people- yourself very likely included- drive by or walk by these "treasures" EVERY DAY.  Seriously.  They're all over the place!

Ok, hold on.  I'm getting a little ahead of myself.  Let me explain.

In Geocaching, you're searching for a cache that's been hidden by someone else.  A cache can be a container very small (like a film cannister) or fairly large (like an ammo box).  It just has to be weather-proof so that it can withstand the elements wherever it is hidden.  Often times the containers are camouflaged to blend in with their hiding spot.

To find a cache, all you need is a GPS and the coordinates (latitude and longitude) of the cache, which can be found on the Geocaching website.

What's inside these caches?  Little 'treasures'.  Nothing worth any value for the most part, just various little trinkets.  People who find the cache are invited to take something and leave something, and also to sign the log book that every cache is required to have.

Here's a photo I took yesterday- Sister W and I did a bit of Geocaching yesterday and found 2 caches.  Here's one of them:

Pretty simple, nothing too complicated.  This cache was hidden beneath a huge pine tree and was covered with a bit of brush to help camouflage it.  Caches are not allowed to be buried, but lying a few branches or leaves on top of the cache in it's hiding spot is not uncommon.

Intrigued? Wondering if you've been passing by a Geocache every day without ever knowing it was there?  You can find out if you have been!  Just visit the Geocaching website and enter your address or area code and a list of the caches nearby will populate.

I don't go Geocaching as often as I'd like to, but it's always fun.  So far, I've found 25 caches- some around my home town and some around my current location.  One of the best things about Geocaching is that it gets you to get out and explore new places that you might not have ever explored otherwise.  Oh, and if you have an iPhone- there's even a Geocaching app!  

Have you ever been Geocaching?  Did you check out the Geocaching website to see if there were caches near you?  Were you surprised!?  Are you compelled to go out and find them now?

St. Patty's Week Photo-A-Day

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Tuesday, March 16th, 2010

Day 16

I started going running again!  Unfortunately my knee has been bothering me a bit, so I had to dig out my old knee brace.

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Wednesday, March 17th, 2010

Day 17

Happy St. Patty's Day!  I woke up in the morning and got dressed in green pants and this green scarf and I got almost all the way to work before I even realized it was St. Patrick's Day- NO JOKE.  I think my sub-conscious must have been in control while I was getting dressed because that's a crazy coincidence.  

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Thursday, March 18th, 2010

Day 18

I lost these for awhile today.

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Friday, March 19th, 2010

Day 19

Sister W, Colby, and I went for a long walk to a park near by.  I thought these trees looked really cool!

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Saturday, March 20th, 2010

Day 20

Did you see the ground in the picture from yesterday?  THERE WAS NO SNOW IN IT.  And when Sister W, Colby, and I took our walk yesterday we didn't even have to wear coats.  I woke up this morning to this. I had put my boots away and started leaving my Crocs outside on the deck for when I take Colby out (I don't leave them inside because Colby likes to steal them).  Guess I've got to get out my boots again.

Jumping On The Band Wagon: Ask Me Anything

Since everyone and their brother seems to have set up an "Ask Me Anything" widget on their blog through Formspring, I decided I may as well try it out too.  I don't expect to get many (or any) questions, but who knows- maybe you anonymous and the select few not-so-anonymous readers out there will surprise me!  If nothing else, it'll get me going on a few posts that aren't a part of my Photo-A-Day project.  So, if you've got a question, or multiple questions, the Formspring box is on the right side of my blog now.  You'll probably make my day if you ask a question.  Unless it's mean in some way.  Then I might cry.  YOU DON'T WANT TO MAKE ME CRY DO YOU?  I'll send Colby after your cell phone if you do.  I'll try to answer any and all questions.

Bring it on!

I May Look Insane, But I Swear, I'm Not.

Hubby G and I got iPhones a few weeks ago.  And let me just say, we LOVE them.  We had blackberries, and as our first smart phones, we thought they were great.  But after Colby's Marley Moment involving Hubby G's phone, we had to get a replacement and the replacement was crap and blah blah blah.  So we ended up switching providers and getting iPhones.

For those of you who don't know, the iPhone comes with a set of headphones that have this snazzy little microphone/volume adjuster attached that's completely unnoticeable.  I had never used this microphone feature until just a couple weeks ago when I tried it out while I was talking to Sister W on the phone.  First of all, it totally threw me for a loop to hear her in both my ears.  I know that sounds stupid.  But think about it- when you talk on the phone you hear the person in one ear only- you NEVER hear them in both ears.  Unless they're on speaker phone.  But that's different.  Anyway, she could hear me perfectly fine and I could hear her more than perfectly fine because did I mention- I could hear her IN BOTH EARS?  My first impression: iPhone headphones/microphone/volume adjuster is the bees knees.

(source)

Then I got a little ambitious.

Today when I got home from work I went running (that's a whole other post for another time- I promise to fill you in soon though!) and when I made it back home I got Colby ready to go for a walk.  Picture me as I leave my house.  I have:

iPhone in hand, snazzy headphones in ears
Doggy doo-doo bag tucked in the waistband of my shorts because my shorts have no pockets
Water bottle in hand so that I can re-hydrate since I just went for a run
Increasingly strong puppy who's not so great at taking walks leashed and tethered to my other hand

What made me think this was a good idea is beyond me.

I have my hands completely full just with Colby, and here I am throwing a water bottle and my iPhone into the mix.  Anyway, this is when I decide to take my multi-tasking to a whole new level: I decide to give my Grandma a call.  While I attempt to "walk" Colby.  And carry my phone.  And my water bottle.

I figured, "No problem! I've got my snazzy microphone headphones! I can talk to G-ma and still wrangle Colby like a pro"

Well.  I managed to balance it all but forgot to consider one very important factor: When you are walking a cute puppy that wants to make friends with everyone in the world and you have what appear to be regular old headphones in your ears, people are going to stop and start talking to you and ask about the dog and think you're completely insane for saying things that make absolutely no sense to them because you're talking on the phone, not to them.

This happened multiple times during our mile and a half walk.  Here I am yapping away to my headphones and I'm sure people think I'm insane and talking to myself.  And Colby is trying his hardest to pull on his leash and meet everyone in the neighborhood.  And EVERYONE in the neighborhood is out walking or running or riding bikes because the weather is phenomenal.  And I'm trying to keep him under control.  And hold my phone.  And my water bottle.  And talk to my G-ma.

Let's just say it was not a very relaxing walk.

Marley Moments: The Bluetooth Charger

Colby had another "Marley Moment" this weekend.  I thought he was downstairs with Hubby G while I was baking in the kitchen.  He wasn't.  He had snuck up into our bedroom and was under the bed destroying the charger for both mine and Hubby G's bluetooth devices for our phones.  

Photo-A-Day: March Weekend Recap

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Friday, March 12th, 2010

Day 12

Sister W and I almost always spend our Friday nights hanging out together.  We get really crazy and play games and go on tour with our band, "The Freaky Bees" in Rockband for the PS3 (The Freaky Bees is the first name that the game came up with for us, so we went with it.  It's really begun to grow on me though).  The highlight of playing Hoopla on Friday night was me doing my best bicycle and motorcycle pantomimes to try to get Sister W to guess "biker bar".  Or maybe it was when I (very poorly) drew a picture of a hamster to try to get both her and Hubby G to guess "Amsterdam".

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Saturday, March 13th, 2010

Day 13

This is one of my brothers-in-law.  He recently got back from Texas and he told us that he really missed Colby.  Well, he didn't actually say that, but I think this photo speaks for itself.

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Sunday, March 14th, 2010

Day 14

After staying up all night with the boys, Colby was so tired he was ready to fall asleep any where, any way.

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Monday, March 15th, 2010

Day 15

I miss having long hair.  It's in the stage of growing out right now where I have all these little wispy hairs that absolutely refuse to be controlled or wrangled in with a ponytail holder.  Also, yesterday was selection Sunday for March Madness and Hubby G was very pumped the Notre Dame is going to the big dance this year, so I had to sport one my ND sweatshirts in celebration :)

Photo-A-Day: 3.10.10 & 3.11.10

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Wednesday, March 10th, 2010

Day 10

We gave Colby a foam football knowing he would destroy it.  This took less than 10 minutes.

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Thursday, March 11th, 2010

Day 11

Mom's in town for the MACUL conference (I'm super jealous of all the fun technology she's learning about!). I meant to take a photo with her yesterday, but I forgot so I had to make sure I got one today!  Colby was really excited to hang out with her and Sister W.

Photo-A-Day

This is the first time I've sat down at my home computer for more than 5 minutes in about 2 weeks.  No joke.  Life is getting very busy!  The busy season for my job is fast approaching, and it seems to be more hectic this year than last.  Anyway, I came up with an idea to keep my posting here frequent, even if I don't have time for lengthy posts.  I'm still going to write longer posts when I'm able to, but for the rest of the time I'll be doing...

A Photo-A-Day!

I won't necessarily be posting a new photo everyday, but I'll definitely be taking a photo every day and then post them here and also on the Savvy and Sweet Blog Facebook Fan Page.  These photos won't have any sort of rhyme or reason to them, just some snapshot from my life every single day for at least a year.  I can really see myself doing this for more than a year, but for now, I'll guarantee you a year and we'll go from there!

I actually began my Photo-A-Day resolution last Monday, so without further adieu, here are my first photos:

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Monday, March 1st, 2010

Day 1
First day of sunshine since summer! (or so it seemed anyway!)

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Tuesday, March 2nd, 2010
Day 2
Colby is perplexed by the growing patches of grass and the shrinking patches of snow. I hope he still retains his potty training even when the snow melts.

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Wednesday, March 3rd, 2010
Day 3
Getting ready to take Colby for a walk. He is way to cute.

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Thursday, March 4th, 2010
Day 4
Hubby G and Colby playing. His little paws look so funny all folded like that.

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Friday, March 5th, 2010
Day 5
My absolute favorite sweater of all time. And, TGIF.

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Saturday, March 6th, 2010
Day 6
Sunglasses shopping with my best friend. After perusing the selection throughout the entire mall, I'm confident in saying these heart-shaped beauties were the very best of them all.

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Sunday, March 7th, 2010
Day 7
Almost forgot to take a picture today = taking a picture of my feet and my pup in bed while we watch the Academy Awards. I fell asleep mid-way through.

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Monday, March 8th, 2010
Day 8
We bought a new car! It's a 2003 GMC Envoy. Hubby G sold his car last Friday so we needed to buy a new one stat. And by "new" car I mean that we bought a used car that was new to us. But with the low mileage and immaculate interior, it may as well be new! Yay!!

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Tuesday, March 9th, 2010
Day 9
Enjoying a glass of my favorite wine- Moscato. After being really busy last week and starting off another busy week- this really hits the spot in the evening! And yes, it's sitting on a coaster with a photo of Colby in it. He's definitely our fur baby.

So there's the beginning of my Photo-A-Day endeavor!  I'll be uploading my photos at least once a week, hopefully a few times a week.  If you happen to have any ideas of what you'd like to see me take photos of, let me know and I'll see if I can make it happen!

A Savvy & Sweet Wedding: The Flowers

We decided fairly early on that we were going to use fake flowers instead of real flowers for our wedding.  I really never had one second where I wanted real flowers.  I just felt that with real flowers we would pay all this money for something that was going to die.  I mean, we didn't have a lot of use planned for the fake flowers after the wedding or anything, but the option was there.

So one evening Hubby G, Sister W, and I all trekked over to Hobby Lobby to figure out the flowers.  ALL THE FLOWERS.  As in centerpieces, my bouquet, the bridesmaid's bouquets, corsages, and all the boutonnieres for everyone who would need one.

So.  I would highly recommend figuring out exactly how many centerpieces, bouquets, etc. you'll need ahead of time.  We didn't do this.  Why?  I HAVE NO IDEA.  We just walked in to Hobby Lobby without a care in the world and spent a ridiculous amount of time there because in addition to picking out flowers we also had to figure out how many of each thing we needed and try to keep it all straight with out the help of a chart or diagram which makes me completely useless in nearly any situation.

Anyway, we managed to pick everything out and made our way to the register with what we wanted plus a request for them to order the items they didn't have enough of.  The lady at the register could see that we obviously had a plethora of flowers ready to be bought.  And this is when she became one of the patron saints of wedding planning.  We made eye contact.  She stared me straight down and then casually said, "If you come back next week....these could ALL BE ON SALE FOR 50% OFF...wink wink nod nod"

Seriously?  THANK YOU HOBBY LOBBY CHECK-OUT SAINT.

So we went back the next week and wouldn't you know it?  All the flowers were 50% off!  We ended up purchasing enough flowers for:

20 centerpieces
my bouquet
3 bridesmaid bouquet's
Gabe's boutonniere
3 groomsmen boutonnieres
5 corsages for mom's and grandma's
4 boutonnieres for dad's and grandpa's

Plus we also bought:
20 vases for the centerpieces
Ribbon to bind the bouquets
Fabric to cut into squares and put beneath all of the centerpieces

Grand total? About $400.  Cha-ching!

We also decided that we could tackle all the flower arranging.  I have never arranged flowers before in my life, but that didn't stop me from thinking I would be a natural at it.  I wasn't great at it, but with the help of the mom's and sisters we got the job done and I think we could start a business.  My mom has a talent for corsages- I was particularly awful at those.  Side not on the corsages- my opinion was this: make them however you want to.  Whatever you think looks good.  I don't care if they match.  The flowers are the same in each one and that's enough matching for me.  When you're planning a wedding there are zillion other things to worry about.  Non-matching corsages will not ruin the day.  

We got ribbon to bind the stems of my bouquet and my bridesmaid's bouquets and we also got little beads to adorn each that said "Sister", "Mom", "Dad","Family"-that was a nice, cute, personal touch for each one.  I hot glued the ribbon around the stems and called it good.  Oh, and I hot glued some rhinestones in there too- who doesn't love some bedazzling?

Here's a few photos from our wedding day of the flowers.

(my bouquet)

(me and my ladies)

(one of the centerpiece arrangements)

There aren't really any good close-ups of the boutonnieres or corsages, but they looked excellent as well :)  For DIY fake flower arranging, I think we did pretty darn well for our first try...and definitely worth it for the money we saved!

Savvy & Sweet Blogs: The Macs

The Macs is the blog of Jess and Joel Mac.  Jess started blogging back in 2008 to share updates and stories of her new beautiful baby girl, Cora, who was born on March 5, 2008, with family and friends.  On January 22nd of 2009, Jess and Joel took Cora to the doctor's to check on a recurrent ear infection and a respiratory infection- that's the day that their lives turned upside down.  Cora was diagnosed with neuroblastoma cancer and immediately began a battery of treatments.

Jess blogged through their entire experience- the praises and prayer requests of each passing week.  Just a little over a month after that fateful doctor's visit, Cora passed away on January 22,2009.  To honor Cora's life, Jess set up a store on Etsy with the idea to put the funds brought in from the Etsy shop toward a new playground that would be built in Cora's name.  The Cora's Playground Project attracted the attention of numerous other Etsy sellers and many donated portions of their sales to Cora's Playground Project.  In September of 2009 the Cora's playground was finished and officially dedicated to Cora.

More recently, Jess and Joel welcomed a beautiful baby boy into their lives- Levi.  I've been following The Macs since just before Cora passed away and it's been heartbreaking, joyous, and thoroughly amazing to follow the strength of Jess and Joel.  Even just the fact that Jess continued to blog though everything that was happening blows my mind.  Jess still stocks the Etsy shop from time to time, but everything always sells out within just a couple of hours- that always gets me choked up.  So many readers have been following along with The Macs story and Jess writes with such sincerity and bares her heart and emotions to all that it's hard not to feel like they're a family you actually know.

This blog is definitely not in the same vein as my usual blog reading, but it is one of my favorites and I always enjoy reading their updates, especially now with little Levi :)

Life Gets Crazy

Sorry again that posting has been light lately- life gets crazy sometimes doesn't it?  There's not even been anything big going on around here, just lots of little things that seem to suck up all my time.  I've got something in the works though for this blog though, so I promise there is action happening, even if it's not showing up here on the page!