Behind the Shutter Vol. 1, Issue 4

July 21 - Bat Dog
Opie is part Yorkie part bat, or at least when he is in the bathtub! We have been dealing with crazy fleas which leads us to more bath time fun for the boys. Doesn't he look happy?

July 22 - Afternoon Snack
Laffy Taffy could be one of my favorite sweet treats, next to cotton candy of course!  I have been known to eat as many of these as i can get my hand on in one sitting!

July 23 - My Nap Partner
I continued to recover from the Kidney stone blues. Opie is a great nap partner, and nurse maid. He never really leaves my side.

July 24 - Light Bulb Shopping
As we continue to refresh and update our home we are both very comfortable with Home Depot! Especially in the light bulb isle. We have tried more light bulb types than I ever could imagine. We were finally able to find the right look and price point for most of the bulbs that needed replacing, as well as others that didn't.  I really enjoy a warm light to add a bit of ambiance to our home, very similar to lighting candles regularly! I am so very thankful for Ryan and his patience on this journey.

July 25 - The Duck Days of Summer
My Mom got Diesel this little duck toy, actually she intended it for Opie. Opie in all of his Yorkie glory is much too mature for dog toys! Diesel has commandeered the duck and has not let it very far from his sight. Silly Puppies

July 26 - Hope is an Anchor for the Soul
This is my newest tattoo. I love Anchors, I love the things they represent.  Hebrews 6:19 says Our Hope in Jesus is an Anchor for the soul!

July 27 - Cherry Turnovers
We completed lots of work, and were so very thankful that my parents were able to bring there giant ladder over so we could hang a new ceiling fixture in the stairwell! We finished the evening with amazing Cherry Turnovers. They were delicious! 

Behind the Shutter Vol.1, Issue 3

Monday July 14, 2014

Courage

I love this Lion charm that my Mom got me for my Brighton Charm Bracelet. I do love me some Lions! I don't know if I believe in that soul animal stuff that I hear about in native american cultures but there is certainly something that I connect with when it comes to Lions. Just add it to my apex predator addiction. 

Tuesday July 15, 2014

My Wildflower

We enjoyed spending time with our God Babies!! I found myself almost on the edge of a panic attack trying to race to their pre-school/day care to pick them up after work by 6pm. I can promise you that traffic in Souther California is never worse than when you are raving to get somewhere. This girl in all of our Red Hair glory never ceases to amaze me! She is so bright, and her giggle just lights my world up! And oh boy does she have Ryan wrapped around her little finger! How we love her!

Wednesday July 16, 2014

My Morning View

These three boys are my world!! When I get up and going in the morning both of the Puppies like to take my spot in bed. This routine totally cracks me up! I normally find them completely asleep with Ryan. This morning Diesel was very aware of me, however he was much to lazy to get up and follow me around. Its times like this that I am aware of how thankful I am for what I have! Its good stuff!!!

Thursday July 17, 2014

The Plane The Plane

Another evening with the God Babies, full of excitement and smiles!! Conner’s recent birthday left him with a loot of toys! Playing with him is one of my favorite things to do. He loves this little planes, and makes the most awesome sounds!!! Its really neat to see how quickly they learn things! Every time we see them they are a little older and a little smarter! We are so very blessed to be on their list of caregivers and that their parents allow us sweet time with them! 

Friday July 18, 2014

Lets go Angels

Ryan’s love affair with the Angel’s continues! This time we sat in the Knothole club for the whole game! This is a dramatic change to sitting in seats. The Knothole club is a restaurant style venue with tables and chairs that are facing the field. You end up with great service and a great view! Im afraid that Ryan has become a bit addicted to this, I don't know if we will every watch the game from our seats again! 

We attended the game with some friends that we haven't seen in a long time, and it was great fun to catch up! I missed having bud light and cotton candy, Ryan assures me that he will correct this going forward! 

Saturday July 19, 2014

Kidney Stones are of the Devil

I ended up in the Emergency Room on Saturday night due to Kidney stones. I don't have words for the pain! People say its as bad if not worse than giving birth.  If thats the honest truth, than I'm going to have a C-Section if and when we get pregnant!  Yeah I said it.  5 hours later we left exhausted and a little doped up on morphine. Morphine is my friend.  I did get caught up with the two numbers after AGE on my Hospital ID Bracelet. I still think Ryan and the Hospital Staff are playing a mean trick putting 35 there! HA!

I am so very thankful to Ryan for supporting me through it. He is the best husband EVER!!!

Sunday July 20, 2014

Pain Med Blues

Nothing like resting and drinking lots of water to realize how bad you feel. I spent most of the day sleeping. Sleeping the pain away, sleeping the pain med fog away, sleeping the exhaustion away. I just slept a lot, which seems right in line with a Sabbath Sunday! 

Summer Reading 2014 – Book Review - The Second Empress

Michelle Moran has taken my summer reading by storm. The Second Empress is the 4^th Book of hers that I have finished in the last couple months. I have thoroughly enjoyed using the Kindle app on my devices mixed with the Whisper Sync feature from Audible.com to help me get through books at a faster pace. I also find that it makes my commute so much more enjoyable.  I highly recommend Cleopatras Daughter , Nefertiti , and The Heretic Queen as well. The last of her books currently available, Madame Tussaud is on my list of books to round out the summer. 

I discovered Michele Moran from a friend posting amazing pictures of her days spent on a local beach, working on her tan and her love affair with Egyptian Culture and History.  The book covers caught my eye, and captured me from the first few chapters.  I have had opportunities to learn about the Egyptian Culture and all of its jeweled mysteries, and continue to have a curiosity about it all. Not to mention my  affection for monster flicks like The Mummy!  This author’s mix of historical fact and fiction is a wonderful way to feed my inquisitiveness.  Her next release in March of 2015, Rebel Queen takes place in India, another culture that I find fascinating.  I will be waiting with much anticipation to open my mind to the adventures in this tale.

On to the Review:

The Second Empress is the story of Marie Louise of Austria and her marriage to Napoleon the Emperor of France in the 1700’s. The great niece of Marie Antoinette, Marie Louise was chosen by the Emperor to replace the infamous Josephine as his wife. The details of the heart break, political discontent, and social norms were captivating.  I found myself empathetic to many of the characters, and found a strange juxtaposition when attempting to identify a protagonist and antagonist among the personalities.  I enjoyed the references to the Egyptian Courts that I had read so much about in her previous books, as well as the role that pets, especially dogs played in the French Court.  I am partial to those Puppies! As you finish the book, there are closing chapters that explore the historical/factual information that the author used to validate pieces of the fiction. I have learned to appreciate the honesty found in what she chooses to use, change, or leave out; exposing these decisions helps to wrap up the story.

Over all this was a wonderful story, leaving me wanting to learn more about the French Court and the families who ruled!  Its good stuff! 

Behind the Shutter Vol 1, Issue 2

Monday July 7

Is My Foot Broken???

That was the question of the day. In the rush to get ready for the 4^th of July I thought it would be a wonderful idea to dance behind Ryan (he was installing a new toilet seat) as I got out of the shower, and ended up sliding across the bathroom floor. Yes you have my permission to laugh.  We ended up at Kaiser and found out that I had bruised my bone, but no breaks!  Super happy about that!

Tuesday July 8

Angel Game Blues!!!

After the weekend we had, all we wanted to do with rest. So we rested in front of the TV while the Angel’s lost a game. Can you sense Opie’s excitement over watching Baseball…unfortunately his Momma agrees.

Wednesday July 9

Water Bottle Thief!!!

This is one of Diesel’s quirky behaviors. He loves to take the caps of water bottles. We think he’s kind of special! Another man’s trash right?? Only problem is he doesn’t care if they are filled or empty. Silly Puppy!

Thursday July 10

Oh how he loves me!!!

Tommy’s hamburgers are one of my all-time favorite places to eat!  Something about their Burgers, Fries, and Soda that just speaks to me. We had one near our place in Lake Forest!  I would have Tommy’s at least once a week. Then we moved, and as silly as it sounds I felt like I was totally deprived because I couldn’t have Tommy’s any more. I was in a highly emotional place, who am I kidding I AM a highly emotional place.  A couple months back Ryan surprised me with a trip to a nearby Tommy’s! I was absolutely surprised and thrilled, I think I cried in the drive thru (I refer back to the earlier statement) I quickly realized that I associated normal good stuff with Tommy’s, and that evening all felt right with my world. We went back to Tommy’s again and synced my emotional wellbeing with my belly! It’s good stuff y’all!

Friday July 11

Taylor Tacos!!!  

We came, We Saw, and we ATE those Tacos! Fried Tortillas, Fried Ground Beef, Tomato Sauce, and Cheese….or a whole bunch of other toppings including pickles if you are anyone other than me!  These Taco’s made by my Momma and her Momma before her are nectar of the gods delicious!! I make some mean tacos too, but nothing is better than when my Mom makes them! She is the gringo taco master!!!

Saturday July 12

Happy Birthday Conner!!!

We celebrated our Godson’s 2^nd Birthday at Chuck E Cheese. This picture pretty much says it all.  We love this sweet boy tears and all! We can’t wait to see what the rest of his years look like!

  

Sunday July 13

The Gate Fixing Master!!!

This man is a machine! He drilled holes in concrete, attached all sorts of screws and bolts, and our Gate swings perfectly! This is our 1^st line of defense for the puppies from escaping our back yard. After our 4^th of July bash, it among other things came a bit unhinged. This is just another reason why this man is my hero!!!

Behind the Shutter Vol. 1, Issue 1

Monday June 30th - We are painting our third upstairs guest room. I just love the colors but boy oh boy am I sick and tired of painting. My Mom was sweet enough to join me at my house and help prep our master bedroom for carpet install later this week. I am so thankful for her, she is such a gift to me!

Tuesday July 1st - Yes its July 1st, does anyone else have a problem with this? Where has this year gone?? I spent the evening pulling blue tape off the floor in our guest room in preparation of our carpet install. Diesel thought this was great fun and ran around attacking me, Opie, or the blue tape. Silly dog!

Wednesday July 2nd - Opie is a wonderful 4 legged assistant when working from home waiting for the carpet installers to never show up. A pretty frustrating day, but I am so very thankful for the opportunity to work from home and the flexibility that allows are we work on refreshing our home.

We also ran into one of our friends who happens to live right down the street from us to pick up some fireworks for the 4th. We love having friends close, and the opportunity to support the local Elks Lodge.

Thursday July 3rd - The Carpet installers finally arrive! We had to lock our little Lion dog and his brother up. Opie likes to bark, and bark and bark, and it drives us all a little crazy!  The carpet turned out so beautifully! We are so very excited to see how all our hard work is turning out! Oh..I got my toes done in a lovely Patriotic Design! I think they are super cute, for feet of course!!!

Friday July 4th - We had a blast for our 4th of July BBQ! You can find my Planner for the event here. 

Lots of time spent swimming, cooking, talking, playing, and most importantly lighting fireworks off! The city we live in is one of the few left in Southern California that allow fireworks.  We look forward to the fun this brings every year. 

Saturday July 5th - We spent most of the day recovering, including this sweet boy. His poor little paws were red and swollen when we woke up and we had to put baby socks on his paws to stop him from licking. Ryan and I spent most of the day napping and resting recovering from the fun of the 4th of July. These days we don't live it up very often, and as we get older its a little harder every time to get back on our feet!

Sunday, July 6th - Was another day of rest after picking up what was the explosion of our 4th of July BBQ. I enjoyed spending most of the day tucked away in our master bedroom enjoying the new carpet and Season 1 of Revenge.  I am completely addicted to the show! The puppies helped me nap for a few minutes. Diesel has taken to sleeping on his back. It cracks me up!

We celebrated my Aunt's Birthday at the Knott's Berry Farm Chicken Restaurant which was so very yummy! Biscuits, Chicken Fried Steak, and Mashed Potatoes, the ultimate comfort food! 

Sparks will Fly 4th of July BBQ Planner

We are planning a 4th of July BBQ on Friday. 

After the recent weeks of fun plans as well as working hard at our day jobs as well as our house refresh projects, I created a planner to keep my thoughts and planning organized for our event. 
I thought I would share this planner in the hopes that it would help some one else stay organized this Summer Holiday! 

Planning an Event I start out with a few favorite questions: 

Who: Who are we inviting? Who is attending?

What: What kind of event? What is the Schedule of the Event? What are we Eating? What Activities? 

Where: Where will the event be held?

When: What date is the event? What time is the Event?

Why: Why are we having this event?

Do you feel like you are back in Junior High? Those 5 W's add such simplicity to organizing thoughts.

Links to Recipe's for our BBQ: 

Salsa 

Hawaiian Chicken Kabobs

Grilled Steak Kabobs

Lemon Ice

Once I have the basic's identified I document the list of tasks that need to be accomplished to get us to  a super successful event!  This is a look of the Week prior to our BBQ. The list of tasks is a living document that changes as plans change. Like when your Carpet installer gets the date wrong and you have to move everything up a day in preparation. Included in the list are any daily to-do's or plans from our calendar that would impact the time available for us to prepare, like work or race car driving.

Finally I make my shopping list. Starting with the activities planned to the menu, I walk each planned item for what needs to purchased, and where to purchased at.  

I print the Planner pages out and keep them on my favorite clip board (Yeah its pink and monogrammed). Ryan and I review the list and distribute the tasks until we get everything completed. 

Wishing you a wonderful 4th of July full of Yummy BBQ and Lots of Sparklers!!! Thanks for stopping by!