Noogies

Who doesn't love a good noogie!  After looking through some pics on my comp, I realized I have a tendency to give them.  A sign of affection, I suppose!

I know Emily does.

Erin does after 5 drinks.

I don't think this particular Erin loves them but she is a good sport.

Nick LOVES them. For sure.

Snapshots from our weekend with the girlies

Uncle Mike snuggling sweet baby Brynnie

Getting crafty for the new baby room!

Deck fishing in their undies.  They are so carefree...I love it!!

Weekend.

Friday eve: Learned how to play racquetball.  I think my version is more a combination of racquetball and dodgeball.

Saturday morning: Had a fabulous facial by my sweet Connie.  She has the touch of an angel!!!  Followed by a strong coffee and people watching in the Oak Street Plaza.  Made me never want to leave Fort Collins.

Saturday eve: Made pizzas on the grill with the Saters and the Aalborgs, then played telestrations while we ate mini bundt cakes.  That game is always a hit!!

Sunday: Went to Blackhawk with my dad, brother and uncle.  Is it considered playing craps if I only roll the dice?  Okay, great!  Blew through $20 in roulette and then watched Olympic volleyball.

Neck and neck in the competition of who could get more wristbands.

Sunday eve: Finally reconnected with the Dorr-Hvidstons over dinner and laughs and talks of their upcoming wedding.  On the trip home to their new house they timed it from our door to theirs...35 minutes!  Hip hip hooray!!

I love weekends like that.  DUH!

The Babysitters Club

Mike and I are watching our nieces Addy and Brynn this weekend while my sister and Adam are in Denver celebrating their anniversary.  We've watched the girlies before but its possible that this time around may be the most exhausting.  Their energy level is incredible.  Brynn is constantly all up in my business, touching everything, and most of the things she wants to touch are dangerous.  I don't know how she just happens to find scissors, nail clippers, knives, etc...The girl is drawn to danger and to whatever is "off limits".  Addy is pretty obedient but she is starting to reallllllly observe things and to say things that make me LOL and/or squirm.  For instance:

A conversation between her and Mike:
  Addy: What kind of poddy do you have?
  Mike: The same as you!
  Addy: No you don't, you have a penup!
(not sure if his "samesies" answer was the best but come on, people without kids just don't know the right answer to these questions.)

Her attempt to "talk shop" as we pass Auto Zone:
  "Not too many cars at the car store tonight..."

I hate this one...I knew she was going to say something as an overweight girl walked by our table at dinner...and she sure did say something...
  "That girl has a BIG tummy!!!!"
Then later:
  "I mean that girl has a really big tummy!" (complete with hand motions and all)

Brynn says equally ridiculous things, but what makes her most adorable is that most of the weird stuff has been said while she is sitting on the toilet and I am pleading with her to pee.

"I love all people."

Bathroom negotiation at Panda Express:
  Brynn: "I want some fried rice!!!!"
  Me: "If you pee, I will buy you some fried rice."
  Brynn: "Sounds like a deal!"

I thought I had successfully put her to bed about an hour ago, and all of the sudden she comes flying down the stairs saying, "Hey-rrrroooo!!!!"

But no matter how exhausting these girlies are, I am obsessed with them.  They are the light of my life!!!

Night night!

Test of character

I usually really enjoy the work I do.  But the past week I have felt overwhelmed and like I will never get caught up or ever be on top of things again.

I feel like we are planning a party for 230,000 people.  Some are RSVP'ing, but some won't tell me they are coming until the day of the party.  Some have told me they want chicken, but when they get to the party, they'll actually want fish.  Some will have told me they want chicken, and I can prove they requested chicken, but will show up to the party demanding fish.  Some people will have a cocktail, but I am not able to track how many cocktails each person will have, so I just have to make a spreadsheet and hope that I find a way to accurately track people who drink.  Then after the party, the host will ask me to give them a detailed report, broken down by gender, of who used which toilet and who used a fork vs. a spoon.

I feel like I have a really fun, really energetic co-workers but they don't remember specific things I've trained them on and they don't quite understand the importance of not serving peanut butter to a person with peanut allergies.

I told Mike that I think my character is being tested and that I don't think I'm handling it very well!!!!

7 Day Cleanse - Day Four, Five & Six

Work has been busy and interfered a tad bit with my cleanse.  It happens!  Oh well.

Day Four
Bananas and milk. Today you will eat as many as eight bananas and drink three glasses of milk. This will be combined with the special soup which may be eaten in limited quantities.

As I mentioned on day three, I was suuuuuper pumped for this day.  And it didn't disappoint!  I forgot how delicious a nice glass of ice cold milk is.  (Note to self.  Drink milk before taking vitamins otherwise you will want to barf.)  I probably ate 6 bananas and had 3-4 bowls of soup.  It was fantastic.  The kale was my favorite part of the soup...and the asparagus was my least favorite.  Even though it was a hot day, I ate a nice steamy bowl before our kickball game that night.  I have a suspicion that it was the super soup that allowed me to get on base that night.  Woo woo!!


Day Five 
Today is feast day. You will eat beef and tomatoes. Eat two 10 oz. portions of lean beef. Hamburger is OK. Combine this with six whole tomatoes. On day five you must increase your water intake by one quart. This is to cleanse your system of the uric acid you will be producing.


I am not a big meat lover.  So when it came to day five, I was sort of stumped on how to thrive.  I ended up buying a 4-pack of hamburger patties and then bugging Mike for cooking instructions as he was headed out the door... "Cook them in the grill pan?? For how long on each side?  What seasonings?  How do I know they are done??  HELP MEEEEE!!" etc.  Luckily I barely had any time to think on Thursday so this was the perfect day to have the meat day.  I took a hamburger patty to work and as I was microwaving it, Mike called to tell me he was at Snooze with a friend for lunch, so I put my tasty (nasty) little patty on a plate and met him other there.  This was sort of a mistake...not only did I look like I dug my lunch out of a trashcan, I was also trying to conceal its weirdness by covering it with a napkin so the servers kept trying to take it away.  Not to mention Mike and Erin were sipping on delicious grapefruit juice and debating pancakes vs pot pie.  I have no clue where this week's self control came from, but normally I walk right in and don't even have to look at the menu before I am barking my order "SWEET POTATO PANCAKES, STAT!!!!"


Needless to say, I was glad when day five was over.  


Day Six 
Beef and vegetables. Today you may eat an unlimited amount of beef and vegetables. Eat to your hearts content.


Bad news people.  I totally lost my love for the cleanse after day five.  I just did.  I think the meat killed it for me.  I just don't know how to prepare meat that looks or tastes good.  I ate the rest of the super soup for lunch, and then.....................met Mike for chorizo queso fundido (double chorizo, por favor) at El Monte.  I won't even tell you how many ounces of strawberry lemonade icee we had when we went to see Rock of Ages later that night...Woopsies!  Needless to say, day seven did not exist either.


HOWEVER.  I liked this cleanse!  I think moving forward, I will adapt it to be a vegetarian cleanse that only lasts 5 days.  I mean come on...who wants to cleanse on the weekends???  Not this food lover, thats fa sho.  

7 Day Cleanse - Day Three

Day Three
"A mixture of fruits and vegetables of your choice. Any amount, any quantity. No bananas yet. No potatoes today."

Nothing too exciting to report from this day.  Mainly because I spent the whole day being excited for day four (soup, bananas, milk!!!)  I am still feeling really energized and I even thought to myself something incredibly euphoric like, 'this is the best week everrrr!!'  If eating this way makes me happy, then I don't know why I would ever stop!


I am most surprised at how satisfied I am after a meal of just fruits and veggies.  This really makes me think about why I include carbs in almost every meal.  Obviously, I don't think this is something I could do day-in, day-out, but I know I can definitely start to rely less on carbs.  Even though they are the most delicious part of the food pyramid EVA.


Still drinking coffee black.  I am able to drink more than one cup of coffee now that is isn't bogged down with the usual sweet creamers I usually dump in there.


Last night, I had some mashed cauliflower and I vowed to use those more often.  They look exactly like mashed potatoes, and so I wonder who I can trick into eating them because of this?  With the right herbs and spray butter, they taste good too, so I think this new wonder is here to stay.  


I also made my soup for day four before I went to bed.  I took a picture I was so excited (will post it tomorrow!).  I think I even did a soup dance as I walked away from the simmering pot.  Cauliflower. Kale. Green beans. Asparagus. Mushrooms. Tomatoes. Corn. I will devour the entire pot, I am sure of it.


Tomorrow, Day Four...pretty sure this day is going to be my fave!!