a list

…because there are just too many things to cover individually.

1. First week of school went well. Other than having to get up at the crack of dawn to get to the gym, I really like my schedule. Starting at 8 a.m. gets me a better parking spot and, on two days a week, finished at or before noon. You can see a list of all the classes I’m taking on my ‘Back to School’ page. Now that I’m a junior and in the Coordinated Program, I really feel like I belong and enjoy being part of a group like ours. I’m sure I’ll blog more about my classes soon.

2. We have a new addition to our house: a Larkin premium rocking chair from Mrs. Nye. I’ve been wanting one for the porch to provide extra seating out here, but I tell you what–its cherry finish will look REALLY nice in our fourth bedroom once I get it furnished and set up. It almost makes me want a baby. Almost.

3. I’m officially addicted to open-water swimming. Seriously, where has this been my whole life!? I drove out to Sunset Bay again early yesterday morning to meet people to swim and we did about a mile and a half in some relatively choppy water. SO MUCH FUN. I think we’ll be able to go out through September, although I’m starting to wonder if getting a wet suit is in my future…

4. The kitties love the porch almost as much as I do. They’ll be sad when we have to close the doors once it gets cold.

5. Some of my house plants need some major TLC. My pothos (I have a couple) are doing great, but my peace lily and my wandering jew (I’m a little conflicted about the name–we’ll just call her ‘Stella’ from now on) are looking a bit sad. In fact, my peace Lilly’s name is, in fact, Droopy. I think some repotting and new locations are in order. I’m also planning on getting some spider plants (although I can hardly stand the name) for the office, too. Honestly, this house just doesn’t have a lot of window space for plants, so it makes it hard to have bright-light lovers here. I will persevere!

6. I picked green beans yesterday. The farm from which we get our CSA invites us to come pick our own of certain things, and right now it’s green and wax beans. I blanched and shocked and froze SEVEN pounds, and I still have a bunch more. (I’ll admit though, seven pounds sounds like a ton, but it really isn’t.)

7. Andrew and friends worked on the garage yesterday. They hoisted some giant boards up into the loft for the new floor and got the new frame in for the new door. It’s coming right along!

8. I had my first ‘pumpkin’ drink of the season Friday, despite wanting to hold off until cooler weather. Something about Dunkin’s Pumpkin White Chocolate flavor in my I Ed coffee just got me…

9. I went sailing on Wednesday! SO MUCH FUN. (Are you seeing a pattern here? This girl really likes the water!) I wasn’t much help on deck, but I’d really like to learn. I think sailing lessons for Andrew and me are in order…

10. I’ve definitely become a nail polish addict. Just painted my fingers Essie’s ‘the girls are out’ (I think), and I love it paired with that bright green on my toes. It’s still summer until it gets cold!

annual late-August trek to/thru Dayton

Andrew and I took off Friday at lunch to drive to Dayton, OH, for our friend Brett’s 4th annual Parrothead Open golf tournament, which is a fundraiser for cystic fibrosis.

We arrived just around dinnertime, and after saying good he to my other half, I did what exactly what Andrew would have done if our roles were reversed: I ordered a pizza. Except that mine was the kind topped with ham and pineapple…something strangely hard to find here in WNY. No one, and I mean NO ONE sells Hawaiian pizzas around here. It’s been (slightly) rough.

I ate on the way to Indianapolis, another two hours down the road. I got into grandma’s at about 9:30 and after some visiting, we went to bed.

Our Saturday was filled with the usual activities, like shopping. We hit The Container Store, Allisonville Nursery (where the house-planting bug hit BAD), and Crate and Barrel. There were some other smattered around in there (hello new cheap Old Navy shower shoes), and we finished up at the local library, where I was instructed to check out some Great Courses for Andrew.

Twelve giant CD boxes later…we headed to SoHo, grandma’s new favorite coffee shop, for some quick bites of gelato. Later that evening, we joined Aunt Linda and Uncle Dave at an Italian place in Zionsville–so quaint! We had a blast sharing things family-style and talking about Italy and our recent trip there.

The next morning, grandma and I just about opened Bob Evans at 6 a.m.

I had my ‘first breakfast’ of a veggie omelet, biscuit and fruit and sent the leftovers home with grandma before heading out to pick Andrew back up in Dayton.

‘Second breakfast’ was to be at Casa Diercks, where I got to hold sweet Madisen.

We enjoyed yummy goodies and the company of our dearest friends, minus Emily, who was in Columbus at a conference.

The boys started playing with the Nerf gun that Dave ‘modified’ to improve its firepower. Shocking, I know.

We stayed well after we said we would leave, and made sure to get one giant selfie of the group:

Bestest friends ever 🙂

garage project has begun!

Andrew arranged to start the garage ‘raising’ project today.

In order to get our cars inside, we have to adjust the height and put in a new door. Surprisingly, jacking up a garage isn’t that difficult, according to Andrew’s contractor friend. (Said contractor friend is here on-site, which makes me feel a whole heck of a lot better.)

For weeks, our stuff has been sitting outside (and in the basement) since we had to empty out the garage.

Of course, Andrew advertised that there would be breakfast. Of course, I could have bought bagels, but you know me; I had to take this as an opportunity to try out new recipes!

The spread:

Pioneer Woman’s Breakfast Pizza:

King Arthur Flour’s Lemon (but I used lime) Coffeecake:

Fruit salad:

And of course, beverages:

I am so excited this is starting, and thankful Andrew has so much help. Say some prayers for an injury-free day; I already sliced a finger on my mandoline last night while prepping dinner. Ouch.