It's been kind of a long feeling week, but alas, it is the weekend. We have a busy weekend in store with Adam's aunt and uncle visiting, dogsitting Molly, going to the Farmer's Market, bank, possibly Bed, Bath, and Beyond and Best Buy, doing laundry, cleaning the house, and anything else that might come our way...but that's tomorrow, and we're not there yet :).

I'm pretty drained, at the moment. I think the McDonald's workout DVD has a good deal to do with that. It was seriously challenging...not at all what I expected. I'm going to make Adam do it with me sometime so he can appreciate how hard I worked :-p. Of course, I did pick the "I'm up for a challenge" feature over "Ease me into it," but in my defense, I was thinking...How hard could a workout DVD from MCDONALD'S be?!! I guess I got owned on that one.

Other things I accomplished today included making some chocolate chip cookie dough (this time from the recipe on the Ghirardelli chips that were on clearance at Target). I say dough because I actually froze all but 3 cookies (and the dough consumed in the process) worth. I waited until Adam was home to bake the three cookies so I wasn't the only one to appreciate the fresh baked-ness...and so I wouldn't eat more than I needed to.

I also vacuumed (it's amazing how much these animals shed...then again, I suppose we ARE in the desert), caught up with a couple people on the internet, read for a bit, played with Lacy in an attempt to wear her out before Adam got home, caught up on yesterday's news on "The View" online, beat my reigning contender on Bejeweled, cleaned up after Lacy when she got mildly sick for a bit (she's fine now), did some dishes, made dinner with Adam, watched a little of our new favorite show on Hulu ("Three Sheets"...it's about drinking customs around the world...and while we don't even consume ANY amount of alcohol on a regular basis...much less the amount the host of this show does, it is interesting and entertaining. Don't knock it until you try it :)), paid some bills, got the mail, applied for Renter's Insurance, and, of course, wrote this journal entry.

Phew.

Adam, again, worked on getting familiar with his job...and doing engineer type things.

And for an added twist for journals to come...feel free to submit any questions you have and we'll do our best to answer them :).

Happy Friday, and Goodnight!

Early post today. I'm hungry...and waiting on Adam to get here so we can dig up some leftovers for dinner. I figured I might just take the time to write the journal now and have the rest of the evening to vacuum (maybe) or just relax. It's been a pretty relaxing day, thought I've been somewhat productive, too. I went to the library and got out a book to read...and actually read some of it. I also sent emails that I've been meaning to send for a few days and got the dishwasher loaded up and ran. I got to talk to my brother, my mom, and Eli. I braved the heat and walked to the mailbox (our's isn't at the end of our driveway. We have 'community mailboxes' that are around the block...they're basically the equivelant of P.O. Boxes, but closer to our house). I cleaned up the floor in preparation to vacuum. And I remembered to eat (thought I haven't drank as much water today as I probably should have.) I thought about exercising...but I didn't actually do it. Perhaps tomorrow would be a good day to start that. I found my free McDonald's workout DVD (that's about the epitomy of ironic, if you ask me), so maybe I'll give it a shot, tomorrow.

The gardeners come on Thursdays to mow the lawn...and Lacy doesn't like that at all, so the morning was started out with our sound machine blaring to drown them out and Lacy and I locked in the bedroom until they left. I swear there were probably five of them, today...with rakes and mowers and weedeaters and...I didn't get a really good look, but it seemed excessive. Then again, so does mowing the grass every Thursday in the desert.

And that's the news from Rosamond...Adam's home, so it's time for some grub. Bon Appetite!

We just got home from a delicious meal and a good time hanging out with the Lucas'. Heidi made some really good parmesean crusted chicken and green beans with garlic, onions, and parmesean cheese, among other things, I'm sure. It was really good...and Adam remarked about how much he liked the green beans...which he, honestly, doesn't normally like at all...but he said..."They were really good....they didn't taste like green beans." I guess I'll have to snag that recipe since I love them. For desert, we had strawberry shortcake. Heidi made the biscuit part, I cut strawberries, and Adam and I made whipped cream together from scratch to bring along. Adam also got his first taste (I think) of espresso and was alarmed at it's strength. All in all, it was a great meal, and we had a good time.

Lacy meeting their dog didn't go as well as hoped. We had some idea that it might not go swimmingly since Lacy isn't really a huge fan of dogs that are bigger than her. It wasn't bad...and if Lacy wasn't so possessive about balls she's playing with...and actually was social with other dogs (we've tried hard to get her more social...but even when we had her at the dog park and DIDN'T bring a ball...she's just spend the whole time looking for one until she found one)...I think they would've done fine. Perhaps in time they'll win each other over. Regardless, we'll be watching Molly next week while the Lucas' are on vacation. She's a good dog, so it shouldn't be hard at all...and we're always happy to find people to trade dogsitting with. Here's a picture of our newest furry friend:



In other news, I had a pretty full day. I generally take a short nap after Adam gets off to work so I'm not too tired and in the best mood possible (I NEED my sleep), but couldn't sleep this morning...so I opted to watch "The Bachlorette:After the Final Rose" instead. I'm sorry, it's addictive. By the time I finished that, had some pizza for breakfast, and got myself in some sort of acceptable form, Heidi, Colton, and Jack came to pick me up for my first babysitting gig in CA. Originally, I was going to stay with them while their mom went to the doctor, but we ended up going with so we could go to lunch afterwards. They did really well, considering the amount of time it took for them to get Heidi in. Colton has a very vivid imagination that came up with things like robotic black widow spider...a pocket-sized sheep and pig that are now his pets...and me losing to him in Hangman because he thought I was keeping track of what the word that he came up with was, though I didn't have any idea...nor did he, apparently. It makes it easier to lose in Hangman when you know the only objective was for me to lose :-p. Jack is fun, too. He likes to be just like his big brother, but sometimes he says some stuff that's pretty funny.

So after a good two or three hours of imaginiation, games, losing a Pass the Pigs pig (which surprisingly was more exciting than disappointing because it meant that both boys MUST be magic), and Hangman...we went to lunch...and then headed home.

In the couple hours between returning home and dinner, I was able to straighten up the office, clean the catbox, clean the backyard, put dishes in the dishwasher, and rebuild my drawing table. Adam admitted that, though he said he would, he didn't really feel like putting it together...which I gathered since it was still in pieces...so it's a good thing I did it. I think I might take a crack at drawing again tomorrow. When you're home by yourself most of the time...it wouldn't hurt to have a good creative outlet for all the thoughts you suddenly have time to entertain.

Anyway, we're home now. We're going to get a later start on getting to bed than normal, but it was good to bond...and to see Adam bond with the boys. I always enjoy watching him interact with kids. It was funny when I told him he could come inside and he opted out for throwing rocks at plastic bottles with Colton, followed by playing "soccer" with them once they did come inside. Needless to say, they took a liking to Adam pretty quickly.

Adam seemed to have a good day at work. He's doing a lot more specific things, lately, so other than telling you that he's enjoying his job, gets to do and learn a lot of neat things, and comes home generally excited about what he's doing...there's not many details to be disclosed. But rest assured...he's enjoying himself.

I think we'll wrap things up for tonight. If I get a drawing accomplished, I'll share, but we'll see how tomorrow goes. Oh, and yes...my toe is much better. It's still a little stiff, but then, so is my finger that a student of mine jammed months ago by pulling on it. Such is life. Have a great night and an even better tomorrow. Peace out.

Another slightly unproductive day of home life for me. I spent most of the day frustrated with my computer. As lame as it sounds, I shamelessly admit that I was trying to get last night's season finale of The Bachlorette to load. For most of the time, I thought there was something wrong with my computer or brower or something...and spend a lot of time and effort trying to resolve that...only to find out it was moreso that too many other people must have been trying to watch and overloaded the server. The View worked fine, though...so I killed some time with that. I also realized that we were planning on having leftover roast beef for dinner...but had nothing to put it on...so naturally, I made some hoagie rolls from scratch. They turned out a little more dense than rolls we've bought in the bakery, but they were good. Other than doing the dishes from that...and indulging my horrible addiction to beating Lynn Fiscella and my brother on Bejeweled Blitz...my day was fairly uneventful an 'relaxing'. Tomorrow, I will have my first babysitting experience since we've moved. I feel somewhat honored to be able to do this since it's a compliment to have someone trust you with their children after just over a month or so of knowing them. I have spent more time with them recently, though. It should be fun.

I think I forgot to mention...the marriage license safely arrived home a week or so (i think) ago. I didn't want you to lose any more sleep wondering.

Life in California is still a lot different than Illinois, and possibly a lot different than I expected. We still have yet to get a kitchen table and eat most of our meals leaning against the couch in the living room. Two of our four bedrooms (though we use one as an office) haven't been touched much since we moved in and the doors stay closed to save on air conditioning. I think, when I have some more time...I'm going to try and put my drawing table back together so I can get some emotion out in drawing...though that'll be interesting since I wasn't there when it was taken apart, and Adam wasn't even the one who did it. Nothing like a good challenge, though, right? We've started getting more invites to do things...the Christening Sunday, hanging out with the Lucas', dinner at their house tomorrow, lunch with some girls, Disneyland...etc. It's nice to be thought of, but I think it's been good to have so much time to ourselves, too. It'll be good to have those options, though. Our neighborhood is literally only two streets. I'm not really used to that concept. Granted, my house last year was kind of in the middle of nowhere...and it wasn't really a "neighborhood") We've met all the immediate neighbors, but haven't really made any strong connections with any of them. I've done a lot more baking and cooking than I ever had...and it's been fun. It's a good way to feel productive...and to raise the A/C bill :). The dog and cat seem to finally be settling in a bit...though the cat seems to get crazier every day. He was literally chasing the dog, the other day. We have yet to have a day since the first week or so that the high has been below 100. I hear it'll cool off soon (like, the end of August, probably), but hearing about how there's been times that the temperature didn't get BELOW three degrees at NIGHT is a little daunting. So far, we've been fortunate enough to be able to have the windows open at night, and only have run the A/C for two or three hours a day (though we keep it on 84 or 85 most of the time...trust me, it feels good compared to outside.)

I think that's a sufficient glimsp for now. I miss talking to everyone and seeing people on a regular basis. I've actually kinda been in an introspective, introverted mood the past couple days (weird, I know) and haven't been much in the loop...but I usually am up for a Facebook Chat, text message, email, or phone call...so feel free to drop me/us a line. Thanks for keeping up with us this far...and stay tuned. Peace out.

Apparently, the weekend wore both of us out. I had a hard time waking up, this morning...and Adam had a hard time staying awake, today. I probably shouldn't have slept as long as I did...but there's not much to do about that, now.

Today, I felt very lazy. I think the most productive thing I did (other than taking my clothes from the garage upstairs to our room...and throwing them in a basket to take care of later) was making homemade pretzels. They turned out pretty well and tasted equally good.

It has come to my attention that people would like recipes for some of the things I've made...and if that's the case, feel free to send me an email and I'll send you the one you're interested in. Besides violating copywrights...it would take too long to post them all up on here, but I'll send them to you if you request them.

I learned an important lesson, today. Never check Facebook before you watch a show with a finale that you don't want to know about. Someone on your facebook is bound to be too excited to hold back details...and then the surprise is ruined. (If you're a Hell's Kitchen fan...don't tell us what happened until Thursday :)).

That's about it for now. We're gonna head to bed early tonight to try and catch up on the rest we apparently didn't get enough of this weekend. Peace out.

Here's some photos of the injured appendage. It's not as impressive in photographs. I have decided that I didn't break it because the only time I've been in significant pain today was when I tried to wear normal dress shoes. I quickly opted for the flip flops. Weight bearing hasn't been an issue, though...which is why I don't think it's broken...just a little bruised. I think it'll be better in a couple days.

Today, we kept pretty busy, and again were successful in wearing ourselves out. We made it Sunday school a few minutes late...but we don't usually start on time, anyway...so that was okay. After a lesson and some donuts, we went to service...followed by going to a friend's for a Christening and some lunch. We left very full and with plenty of food to take home with us, too. Thus, we've opted out of grocery shopping this week in lieu of leftovers (and dinner with the Lucas Family on Wednesday). It was nice to hang out with some people from church and get to know them a bit better. When that wrapped up, we came back home and dropped off the food, let out the dog, and collected our dirty clothes before going for our now weekly trip to the laundromat. It didn't take long since we didn't have as much to do this week, so we came home, and finished up thank yous, watched a little tv, and relaxed the evening away.

We feel pretty lucky that we have already found a dog-loving family to swap dog-sitting with. It's always hard to find people you trust and know are used to dogs enough to be able to handle your's. Therefore, the fact that we've found one after a little over a month of living here is pretty sweet! Heidi and Jedd (and Jack and Colton) have a huge dog name Molly. Adam and I decided she's actually not that much bigger than Lacy, probably...but her head is large :-p. Unbeknownst to either of them...Lacy and Molly will be meeting each other on Wednesday. We're hoping they like each other enough to co-exist during the times we are swapping dogsitting...but we don't live that far from each other, if it doesn't work out. We'll see how things go on Wednesday and play it by ear from there.

It's been a good day. Have a good night!

Oh Woe is my Toe

Today was an eventful day. We slept in (which was 8:30. It's amazing how the definition of sleeping in changes throughout your life.) After putzing around a bit, we decided to go to the Antelope Valley Mall, get a new tire, and shop for some shirts for Adam for work. We found shirts fairly quickly after we had dropped the car off, and walked around the rest of the mall to kill time. Adam got bombarded not once, but TWICE, by this guy who REALLY wanted to clean Adam's shoes and try to sell him cleaner. Adam said no both times and the guy still harassed us "Where you going man...dude, come on....seriously." Do people realize that is NOT a good tactic? We stopped by the kiosk claiming to be selling pre-sale tickets for the fair...but of course, after a lot of discussion about costs and whatnot...they didn't actually sell tickets for the fair at all. They sold tickets for ONE of the grandstand shows (and definitely not the one we wanted)...and the rest you had to get somewhere else. Lame.

When they still hadn't called us about the car, we decided to have lunch...and picked up an added bonus on the way. Wearing flipflops in the desert seems logical...but it is not a good way to protect your feet from accidentally toe stubbings by people walking in front of you. I've never had a broken toe before...so I have no reference for what it would feel like or how much or little they hurt...but my toe hurts. I mean, I can physically bend it and wiggle it without too much trouble...but I definitely can't put weight on it normally without it hurting...and it's definitely bruised. Oh well...even if it was broken (which it seems like it should hurt more than it does if that was the case) there's not much to do about it from what I understand. I'll just deal with it and hope it heals fast (and that Lacy doesn't step on it too many more times).

So then...after all that fun...and picking the car back up...we headed to Target, Petsmart, and then back home for the night. We watched Garden State...which is a good movie (better than I remembered it), and now...it's time to put ourselves to bed. Sorry about the abruptness and anti-climactic nature of that ending...but...G'nite.