Hot Dog!

Ok, so maybe my day wasn't quite as planned.....I didn't actually get anything on my list of things to do done. I shopped for the necklace and jeans, but didn't buy (found some jeans but they were $100, meaning I definately had to think about them before purchasing!). Didn't get to the nailpolish (I think I found some pink we havn't tried before when I was cleaning out the cabinets in our bathroom last week so will do that tomorrow night with Ry). My hairdresser was not in today (why take Monday off???? Does he think he's the post office or something?) and just didn't make it to get my eyebrows waxed. (p.s. am I the only one who wants to do that right before you go home for an hour? I feel so goofy with bright pink eyebrows--even if it does only last a short time!) Anyway, I did get my sister Kimber's baby shower invitations done (and they are adorable if I do say so myself).


But back to the reason for this post: I have to tell you the one thing I get excited about when Chris is gone (yes, there really is just this one thing because I love Chris dearly and hate it when he's gone). Here it is: hot dogs! I really love hot dogs--and not just plain old hot dogs, but Chicago Dogs like my mom used to make for us when we were kids. Here it is, in all it's glory:

Wondering how to make your own tasty morsel? Make the hot dog (I get the 98% fat free kind but not because you have to), then add tomatos, pickle, cucumber (I swear it's good), mustard, onions (I didn't have any today) and sprinkle lightly with celery salt (did I swear it was good yet?) Chris won't touch it with a ten foot pole (nor any hot dog for that matter, Chicago style or not), so when he is gone, it is my little treat. And guess what?? Ryan loves 'em too!! Check her out! Ahhhhh--a chip off the "not-that-old-block"!Hot dogs--they may be mystery meat to some, but to me, they are a little slice of home!

Back at it...

Well, it's official. Today is my last day off before I have to start back to work for the 2008-2009 school year. Sooo....since Chris left this morning for Coaching School in San Antonio (yes, he'll be gone for our anniversary tomorrow!), I have a day of girlie stuff planned including but not limited to:
getting my eyebrows waxed
getting my hair cut (hopefully!)
shopping for new jeans
searching for the perfect new necklace (which may double as a lanyard for school sometimes)
updating my blog (yay!)
buying new nailpolish so Ry and I can paint our nails this afternoon
going to Michaels (big sale this week!)
etc.

Wish me luck in getting it all done, but more importantly, wish me luck in making it to work on time tomorrow! This sleeping in until 6:30 and bringing Ry to school at 7:45am has been GREAT! Tomorrow, that alarm is going to be so loud and annoying at 5:45am!!! URGH!! Plus with Chris being at coaching school, I don't have a back up in case I'm running late getting Ryan to school--pray for us! : )

On vacation!

I will agree that for any of you who are actually checking this again to see if we are still alive, you all are patient folks! June 1st until July 21st? Who waits that long to blog? Well, me, I guess. You see, we have been so busy with summer school and hiring personnel at school, then with my grandmother's passing and going to Iowa, that time slips by and nothing gets blogged. THEN, we went on vacation (Seattle) and I have one week left until I'm back to work again! So here goes--a little taste of our week last week in Seattle

Chris and I decided to hit the Oregon trail and discover the great Northwest. It was the first time we'd gone on a trip without Ryan just for "fun". It was beautiful, great weather and a nice chance to just be a couple--but I have to say, we missed Ry SO MUCH!! In fact, we were thinking of going on a long trip to Europe next summer, but after being gone 5 days and missing Ry so much, we are rethinking that to a family vacation in the states!! Ok-some pics for ya:

Stops on the way to Mt. Ranier:

At one of the many stops at Mt. Ranier National Park. The real mountain is to our left, but it was over the ridge and you couldn't see it from this angle. I have great pics of the mountain, but they're on my other camera which is giving me fits this morning! It was beautiful though, and a great change from being in the big city of Seattle where we stayed downtown (see below).

Us on the Bainbridge Ferry with Seattle's Space Needle in the background.

We stayed at a hotel at 3rd and Cherry (near Pioneer Square) called The Arctic Club. It used to be an old gentlemen's club for the guys who were part of the gold rush and then made bookoos of money when Seattle declared itself the gateway to Alaska (uhh...did they forget about CANADA??...but people believed it so I guess they were pretty clever!). Anyway, they just updated the old building to a hotel with 120 rooms and the coolest decor ever, with a nod to the gold rush and Alaskan explorers also. All in all, a great trip with great weather and fantastic food (the best meal of Chris and my LIFE at Cosmopolitan Grill!). But as I said, glad to be back home with Ry and enjoy a little down time before work starts up again on Tuesday of next week. I'll try to be a little better about blogging more often, too! My sister Angelia just had her third kiddo (my nephew is just as adorable as his brothers!) and has already blogged like 15 times since getting back from Omaha on Wednesday with him!! I'm such a slacker.....sorry ya'll! : )