I dreamed of a wedding of elaborate elegance; a scene filled with flowers and friends. I asked him what kind of wedding he wished for; he said one that would make me his wife.
Planting time!
O'Donnell's
After work yesterday Katheryn and I went to the 24 Hr. Fitness by work and had a nice workout! I was glad to have someone to work out with. 

I went home afterwards and there was still at least an hour of sunshine left, so I decided to plant some seeds on biodegradeable pots! These pots can be placed directly into the ground and will biodegrade. Neat!




There is eat of them and by God, if something doesn't sprout.... Well, actually! one of them was labeled "Guaranteed to Grow!" Not that I could actually return them... but you know what I'm sayin'! I am excited to see what happens!

Also, last birthday, a few co-workers got me this little yellow rose plant.  Seriously thought it would die within weeks.  Nope... it made it through the winter, all the freezes and everything.  It never turned brown.  It just lost some of it's luster, but here it was this morning bright and early.  See all the new growth?



Pretty excited!

More to come!

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Progress!
O'Donnell's

I love when I make progress in something.  It just makes me feel so good!  This past weekend, Hubby and I got a LOT accomplished around the house.  The best part? No whining from him! SCORE!

First though, a cooking escapade! Last week I decided to try out PW's Lasagna.  Actually, it's called "The Best Lasagna Ever".  I was so proud of myself.  I did it! And it was GOOOOOOD!!


The only thing I would change about the recipe is substituting stewed or crushed tomatoes for the whole tomatoes the recipe called for.  Other than that, this was a grand recipe and we ate the entire thing! (In more than one sitting!) 


While I was still at work on Friday, Andrew cut and edged the yard. Go Andrew!!

Saturday morning, I let him sleep in a few hours (my gift to him for doing all the work the day before) and I got started pulling weeds and grass runners out of our front flower bed. 

Before:

Yikes! Someone took the winter off, right? LOL

After:


See those dead looking plants in front?  Yeah, I hate those.  They are still alive, unfortunately. They are starting to get more green by the day.  Those are coming out soon and will be replaced with the flowers of my choice. :-)

I/we spent most of the morning pulling weeds and preparing the two flower beds (1 in front yard, 1 in back) for new mulch and new plants! I am so excited!

Saturday evening, Andrew and I got all spiffed up to meet Andy and Lara at Danton's Seafood in the Montrose area. The food was delicious and so was the company!



We got to have adult conversations! No kiddos! It was a lot of fun!


On Sunday we dropped Andrews car off to get the oil changed, had breakfast at Kolache Factory and went to WalMart to buy some planting necessities! When we got home we started putting up a long shelf in our garage for more storage!


 



I would place the bracket in the correct place and hold it while Andrew drilled in in the wall.  I was very important! ;-)



Look at all that extra storage space!!! We are putting another shelf below it soon, too! I've already put a lot of big appliances we got for our wedding that have just been sitting in our back room up on that shelf! Yaaaaayyyyy!!



Once we finished that and took a break, Andrew wanted to build my IKEA craft desk! I jumped all over that! I have been waiting a long time to have this craft room!! I loved it because we worked together and there was NO arguing! WOW!!

Finished Product:






I cannot wait to spiff this room up!! It's going to be great!! My first project you ask? A wedding/honeymoon scrapbook! Dreams do come true, people. 

That was the weekend! On to this week so far!

Monday night was our Pages & Pinot (Cute, I know) bookclub meeting.  Allie called the EcoShuttle to come pick us up!



:-)

Once we got to the place, we got a front row seat to a BUST!



See the blue on the opposite corner? There were two guys working that corner and they totally got busted.  Drugs/Alcohol.  The two dudes couldn't even stand up straight. They were pretty bad off.

See bookclubs are exciting!!!!

This month, the book we will be enjoying is:



Hmmm... Don't know why it is blurry.  It's called "Looking for Salvation at the Dairy Queen."  Katheryn and I are actually picking it up at lunch today!

That's it! That's all I've got for you!

BYE!

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Weekend fun and Sunny weather!!
O'Donnell's
Happy St. Patrick's Day!  Is everyone wearing green?  Did you eat Lucky Charms this morning?? ;-)

I married into an Irish family, too.  Yay, for me!

So, after all of Bailey's procedures and whatnot, I was stuck in the house for what seemed like FOREVER and finally, one day last week I just HAD to get out.  I had a few Tarjay (Target) gift cards and they were burning a hole in my pocket so off I went!

Among a lot of other unnecessary stuff, I got this Bodum! (French Coffee Press)


Heck yah! It's PINK!

I used it this weekend and have used it EVERY MORNING since! It is fun and makes me feel very mature.



Anyone got any extra coffee cups?  I only have a few and I think this snowman one is hanging out in the wrong season.  I could use some fun, colorful, cheery ones! I'm just sayin'....

We sat around Sunday morning and relaxed. Apparently, Bailey didn't receive enough sleep. How cute is he?



I may be a tad bit biased here, but how sweet is this?

I call him my "Snuggy Bubby" and it drives Andrew crazy.  ;-)

On another note!!!! Spring has sprung!!! As evidenced by my open sunroof and hand sticking out!


Weeeeeee!!!!

Get a load of these two bloggies...they are getting ready for spring and summer with plants, herbs and flowers! Oh my!

Jellie and Tator Loooooov-a!

Steph over at LifeShinySideUp :)

Show them some looooooooov-a!

;-)

Happy day!

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A healthy (Almost!) dinner!
O'Donnell's

Today was a LONG day.  I needed something to take my mind off of the days events and figured cooking a healthy, delicious meal would do the trick! I popped over to PW's amazing blog to pick something out.  All of her recipes that I have cooked so far have come out amazing! I picked out this one and was on my way!

Carrot and Squash Curry Soup

Slice 4 large yellow squashes
THINLY slice 3 carrots
Dice 1 large yellow onion.




Combine 3 Tbsps of Olive Oil (I used EVOO) with the one large diced yellow onion and 5 cloves minced garlic in a large pot. Heat over medium heat for a few minutes.



Add 3 THINLY sliced carrots in and cook until the carrots start getting tender.  The recipe says three minutes, but mine took more like 5-6. Who knows!



Once carrots are tender, add the 4 large sliced yellow squashes. Stir until Squash has become tender and add the 1 Tbsp curry powder and pinch of salt. (Hint: if you really like curry, like me, add more curry. I think I added 2 tsp's more to mine!) Recipe also calls for dry white wine, but it isn't necessary.  I only had about a 1/4 cup left from a previous recipe, so I poured that in! Stir all together.



Next, add the 48 ounces of Chicken Broth.  Bring to a simmer and keep it at a simmer and cover for one hour.




After this has all simmered for an hour, blend with either an immersion blender (which I am not lucky enough to have) or a regular blender. I had to do this in 2 batches since my blender wouldn't hold all of this at once!



Pour all back into the pot and heat.




You will most likely want a side of some sort.  I picked out garlic bread!!



Bon Appetit!

This was a super easy, cheap and delicous recipe that I would recommend to anyone!



Have a wonderfully blessed day!
1 comments |
7 hours of sleep in 3 days make for a marvelous Monday!
O'Donnell's


Bailey had a rough weekend.

We've been having some behavior issues with Bubba for the past few months and the past couple of weeks have been very trying in our household. His whole attitude has changed.  He NEVER wants to be out of his cage, he barely eats or drinks (in fact, for 2 days, he did absolutely NO eating or drinking), is slightly aggressive towards Andrew and I and just shakes and whines.  It's really heart breaking, to be completely honest. I know he's not a child or anything but he's MY child since we don't have any children and to not know what is going on with him is really disheartening. 

Once he started not eating or drinking, I immediately took him to the vet.  Everything physically checks out. Labs are fine, no broken bones or herniated disks, etc! The vet said we could TRY and see if neutering will do anything to change his behavior.  He also said he didn't have much hope that neutering would solve the problem, but that it was worth a try. He said we would try this and then if it doesn't work, but Bailey on Prozac. Seriously? I've seen what Prozac can do to Humans! There is no way I am putting my puppy on that! I will try everything else out there before I would ever do that!

It was like overnight he went from happy, playful, full of life puppy to depressed as heck puppy. Wow. It is a really hard pill for me to swallow!

Friday we got Bailey neutered and some dental work done. It's been really pathetic around our household the past 72 hours. Lots of sleeping...Bailey, not us! and laying around. I took some pics (and videos, but thought I should spare you guys my mommy obsessive videos!) and thought I would share with you guys!

Here is Bailey a few hours post surgery.  Doesn't he look happy?


Here he is later that night laying on top of Andrew on the couch.



They didn't send Bailey home with an E-collar so on Saturday morning, FIRST THING, we went back to get some different pain meds since he was moaning most of the night and get an E-Collar. Here he is sporting that oh-so-fashionable E-Collar!



Both Friday and Saturday nights, Andrew and I slept on the floor in the living room to keep Bubba away from his stitches.  The E-Collar wasn't long enough PLUS it was a really flimsy fabric. We layed down an old comforter on the ground, covered that with a sleeping bag and we were good to go!  I woke up Sunday to this. Seriously. I swear to you this was not staged!




Andrew can sure act like a tough man, but now we all know his deep dark secret! ;-)



Everytime I see this pic, it makes my heart melt! They were OUT!




Sunday, we all took a field trip to PetSmart to get Bailey some more soft food and a new/modern E-Collar.  It's inflatable and allows them a greater field of vision, is easier for him to eat with and sure gives Andrew and I some good laughs. It looks like he's ready for a summer swim with a floatie on!




Bailey seemed much more himself on Sunday. We even had to calm him down a few times when he was getting to worked up.  He's not allowed to run/jump for 7-10 days. Right.  These people have never met my dog!

This morning, however, Bailey vomited multiple times and appeared to be in great pain.  I tried to get him to eat since he has to take his meds with a full belly, but that was not happening. I did what I could, I left a full food bowl and some treats on the ground and fed him his meds. 

Hopefully Bailey is back to his happy go lucky self soon.  I miss that pup!
2 comments |
A few weeks in pictures
O'Donnell's
What is it with me?  I am so gung-ho about this blog and then all of a sudden I disappear.  Strange.

I suppose I can update you guys in some pics!

Two weekends ago, Andrew and I spent Katheryn's birthday with her and some friends and family.  We started the night off at Ousie's Table.  The atmosphere was perfect and the food was to DIE for! I had shrimp and grits (OMG, so good!) and plenty of yummi pinot noir.  Her birthday cake was a carrot cake.  MMMMM mmmm! My favorite!  We left there and headed to The Vineyard, a lovely wine bar in the Sugar Land area.  We all enjoyed many delicious bottles of wine. From there, the ones of us who were still standing went to Olive's Martini Bar.  It was a nice atmosphere and I went from wine to Lemon Drop Martini's and some incredibly sour drink.  I still can't remember what it was called, but boy, was it sour!


It was a nice relaxing fun evening that I think we all needed. No worries, we all stayed at the Marriott in Sugar   Land...only a 2 minute walk from where all the craziness was going down.   ;-)

Allie and I finally got together to cook and have some wine and girl time.  We decided to make turkey burgers and sweet potato fries.  Actually, they were Yam fries, but who is worried about it? LOL  We had plenty of time to catch up, cook, enjoy a fantastic bottle of wine and giggle and gossip.  It was tons of fun!



Just in case you were wondering, Bailey is still cute. And it's STILL the only thing that saves him some days! LOL



Tuesday evening, I met my parents for dinner in Clear Lake before my nephew's CHAMPIONSHIP competitive basketball game.  It was a hard fought game and he did amazing and in the end.... THEY WON!! WHOOO! Congrats, Greg! 



This evening, Andrews parents were gracious enough to take me to dinner and it was great and a fun time.  When I got home, I noticed a package on the porch.  It was a wedding present! From Allie's parents and her brother.  It's a Kate Spade mini vase and I just happened to have a few fresh flowers to place in it.  Isn't it too cute!? I love it!! 



Once again, I will try to be better about keeping you guys updated! 

xoxo!
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Unanswered Prayers (Not the Garth Brooks kind!)
O'Donnell's
I have unanswered prayers

I have trouble I wish wasn't there
And I have asked a thousand ways
That You would take my pain away
That You would take my pain away


I am trying to understand
How to walk this weary land
Make straight the paths that crookedly lie
Oh Lord, before these feet of mine
Oh Lord, before these feet of mine


When my world is shaking
Heaven stands
When my heart is breaking
I never leave Your hands


When You walked upon the Earth
You healed the broken, lost, and hurt
I know You hate to see me cry
One day You will set all things right
Yea, one day You will set all things right


When my world is shaking
Heaven stands
When my heart is breaking
I never leave Your hands


Your hands
Your hands that shape the world
Are holding me, they hold me still
Your hands that shape the world
Are holding me, they hold me still


When my world is shaking
Heaven stands
When my heart is breaking
I never leave You when...


When my world is shaking
Heaven stands
When my heart is breaking
I never leave...
I never leave Your hands
_______________________________________

This song is by the wonderful JJ Heller. I heard her song on KSBJ a while back and it's really stuck with me. Obviously she has a gorgeous voice, but it's really the words that stuck with me. 

We all have unanswered prayers, troubles and sorrows.  But you know what? God holds us through it all.  He protects us...he takes care of us.

Hopefully you didn't expect a big drawn out post about this.... I really just wanted to get this song out there...and get JJ heard.  Her lyrics are amazing.

If you have iTunes, download her entire album called "Painted Red".  You won't be disappointed. You could also just YouTube search her name and song title, which is "Your Hands".

Just a little thought provoking post...

I just mostly wanted to tell Him "Thank you."


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