Sunday, June 29, 2008

summery drinks

I'm always on the lookout for new summery drinks. (And I'm talking non alcoholic; favorite cocktails requires another post.) From ice tea to smoothies, I love fun, refreshing drinks you can cool off with. Here are my favorites:

Tea-based drink: Lemon Zest or Mucho Mango from Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf
Sadly, I can't get one in the Midwest. It's a delicious mix of fruit, ice and tea.

No tea drink: Mango smoothie from Panera. Mix of mango, ice and splash of raspberry sauce.

Yogurt/ice creme drink: Mango smoothie from Nordstrom Cafe. Lethal mix of mango sorbet (Haagen Dazs) and other yummy goodness.

I've tried other smoothies from Coldstone, Freshens, etc. but they either made me feel ill or didn't rank as memorable.

Let me know if there is a good drink out there I need to try.
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We made it to the pool yesterday before the rain came through. It was nice to chill (especially after pulling weeds for an hour). Now we're scrambling to get ready for work tomorrow and vacation on Wed.

Thursday, June 26, 2008

double L

Cubs lose big today and so do we. We went down to the 15-run mercy ruling in the 5th inning. Very painful.

We're off next week for the 4th of July so hopefully we'll come back stronger in the second half of the season.

I am really ready for the weekend. Our goal is to get to the pool finally! It's not the Santa Monica beach, but it works for R&R.

Wednesday, June 25, 2008

tidbits

I don't have much to post about that doesn't involve golf. I've been pretty much living on a golf course since Sunday helping run a youth tournament for work.

We had everything from holes in one (two!) to tantrums. The rain tried to drown us out this morning - we had HOURS of rain early - but we got everything in.

It's hard to believe summer keeps rolling along. We leave for vacation next week, it's the 4th of July and Ben's birthday already....can we pause for a minute, please?

Sunday, June 22, 2008

ohio

We were in the buckeye state for Ben's cousin's wedding this weekend. The drive wasn't too bad, but I'm fading fast tonight. All the fresh air and sunshine for the official start of summer wore me out.

Cinci isn't as bad as Columbus as far as buckeye fans go, although numerous people in Ben's family are Ohio State alum or fans. That makes it tough for Michigan fans. We made it through okay and even managed to miss some of the dance floor singing, etc. honoring Ohio State. All in all, fun times! That's our only wedding for the summer, which I think is an all-time low.

It's time to cheer the Cubbies to a victory over the White Sox (a series sweep!) and head to bed.

Wednesday, June 18, 2008

tidbits

The weather this week is so nice it makes me want to call in sick. High 70's to low 80's, sunny skies and low humidity. Just perfect.

I did some yard work tonight. Finally got pots out on the path to the front door and prepared a planter for the back patio. It's starting to look good! I'm visualizing a lush hideaway.... just not quite coming together yet.

I talked Abi tonight also because she got a box of goodies from Aunt 'lissa (super fun dress, mini watering can, gloves, shovel). She loves to tell you "I'll be over in three minutes, okay" ... her way of saying she wants to hang out, I guess. Too cute.

Off to get a bowl of ice cream before bedtime!

Sunday, June 15, 2008

teeny tiny berry triplet


I got some delicious strawberries at the farmer's market and found a wee little berry triplet inside my quart. Check out their size next to a dime! So cute!

We observed Ben's annual Shaving of the Beard yesterday so he's ready for the dog days of summer. I think you know it's summer when all of the sudden you have weekends full of activities and everything starts to go by in a blur.

We've had a busy week so we're chillin' tonight. We did go for a short walk to see how our neighbor's house was doing after a tree fell on it earlier today during a short burst of thunderstorms. The crane lifted the tree off the roof and while there is definite damage, it doesn't seem to have totally smashed the front of their house like it could have.

Tuesday, June 10, 2008

tidbits

The A/C works again! It's MUCH cooler outside (for now), but I'm sure we'll be using the air shortly.

We've had so much rain lately our yard is in a constant jungle state. We got a push mower (non-gas) a few weeks ago, and Ben's getting regular work-outs wheeling it around the yard.

Our mini garden is sprouting! I'll let you know what we get out of it that is edible. So far the radishes look to be coming on strong.

All this heat is reminding me how many new summer items I need. Swimsuit, skirts, shoes!
My find of the week so far is a pair of Jessica Simpson espadrilles I found on sale at Nordstrom.

I'm also stocking up on sunscreen whenever I see it on sale. My absolute favorite is the Neutrogena Fresh Cooling Body Mist Sunblock. I love, love, love this stuff!

Sunday, June 8, 2008

who turned on the heat?

It's hot. The kind of hot you feel just sitting. All the rain we're getting along with the heat wave has created an unbearable jungle.

Less than three weeks ago we had our heat on which seems like a dim memory. We turned the air conditioner on Thurs. morning when we left for work but when we came home our house was a hot-box. The AC wasn't working AND the windows had been closed all day. If we had a pet I'm sure it would have died.

The repairman was out Friday morning and we needed two separate parts. One won't arrive until Monday and then it has to be installed...so we may have AC again on Tuesday.

Until then we sit. And we sweat.

Thursday, June 5, 2008

it's a girl...

were the words my mom and family heard 30 years ago today! And a big girl at 8 lbs. 12 oz. and 21.5 inches.

My mom and nan had agreed on my name beforehand if I was a girl so she was excited to tell nan the baby was here and it was a Melissa Marie. When my mom called to tell nan (who was back in IL; I was born in KS) around 45 minutes after I was born at 2 a.m., nan said papa was standing in the kitchen in his underwear waiting for the news. I never heard that part of the story until this year, and I've heard The Story of My Birth for as long as I can remember.

I've heard if I had been the first child born I'd have been the last. Surely that is an exaggeration.

Tuesday, June 3, 2008

political tidbit

Barack Obama is the 2008 Democratic nominee for President of the United States of America! It's a good day.

Sunday, June 1, 2008

June 1

How can it be June 1 already? Crazy.

We had a great weekend. I saw Sex and the City Friday night, loved it, and gave a woo hoo today when I saw the box office results. I think critics/press were WAY too hard on the film. It's supposed to be entertainment for pete's sake! They need to stop over-analyzing and ripping on a "girl" movie about "fashion" and "sex." In fact the show/movie is really more about the amazing friendships between four women if you ask me (and since you are reading this blog I like to think you did). But if the movie was just about fashion and sex, get over it! There are plenty of "guy" movies about nothing and few people rant about it.

Saturday we saw the Cubs beat the Rockies from spectacular seats in just perfect 70's, sunny-sky weather. Could not have been a better baseball day!

Today we hung with the fam for a pre-birthday celebration. The best part of the day was seeing my nan play bags like a pro. She threw three ringers in one round! Clearly, baggo skills run in the family.