Musings...

I officially LOVE being a school nurse. There are several great things about it, the number one (in my opinion) being summer break! When I graduated from nursing school I pretty much knew I didnt want to work in a hospital forever, but I assumed that I would need to start off there. I anticipated long work days, stressful situations, and no more summer...I was wrong! I feel so blessed, because the timing is perfect this year- Dillon only has 1 summer class, and we were both feeling the huge need for a break. Although I've not been resting that much so far (Im babysitting ALOT, and we have lots of little trips planned), its so nice to have a change of pace and some time to catch up on things.
*Disclaimer: I do enjoy working (most days =)) and don't mean to come across as lazy for being so pumped about summer- I am very blessed to have a job in general. I'm just excited that I can have the best of both worlds~



This past weekend we babysat my niece (22 months) and nephew(4 1/2 yrs) while their parents went to L.A. We decided we are NOT ready for kids (not that we were thinking about it), but we did have so much fun playing parents for a few days. We went to Gattiland, the park, library, pool, Petsmart (to look at fish!), and watched movies... cooked, cleaned, bathed, and put to bed. Lunchtime we took them to Chik-fil-A and McDonalds so they could play and we could relax (kinda've). We were exhausted at the end of every day-ha! Some of my favorite moments were when I would go get my niece up in the morning and she would get a huge smile, and when my nephew and Uncle Dillon played with their paper airplanes. Bathtime was equally exciting because it meant bedtime was nearing =). I brought my camera thinking I could take lots of pictures but we were just so busy I really forgot to take pictures until the last night. Here are a couple of cute ones:

Look for potential

A few months ago we were visiting my family, and I was telling them about this really neat Salvation Army in Dallas that has lots of good finds. My mom made a joke about thats where we'll go to get gifts for people, and Dillon said, "only gifts for mother in-laws." We all laughed but later me and Dillon were thinking it would be funny if we got her birthday present there. A few days later I left the store with this:


It was a dirty faded yellow

I really wasnt sure what I was doing to do with it at first, but eventually a thought popped in my head. It involved spray paint

And leftover fabric from these:

So here is what I did: cleaned the frame well with a wet rag, took it outside and sprayed it with several coats of white. I took my fabric and stapled it tightly around a thick piece of cardboard. I then wrote ' family ' on the outer piece of glass using a paint marker. I didnt calculate the total cost but I know it was under $5.

My mom loves homeade gifts so this turned out to be a great gift. It is simple right now, we may add some black and white photos to the inside of it someday.

I'm Back!

So this past week we went to Midland and Cloudcroft to see my family- for those who don't know, Cloudcroft is a beautiful mountain village with not much to do other than enjoy a peaceful getaway. We did just that- ate out, slept in, read, and enjoyed each others company. We did manage to get some shopping in, in Ruidoso one day. Here are some pictures:

I have been feeling really craft lately- the past 2 months I have done lots of projects and made homeade gifts. Tommorow I'll post a little blog about a fun makeover I did on a salvation army find.

Cowtown

So last Friday, to celebrate 3 years of a perfect marriage (hear the sarcasm-haha), we ventured to the Fort Worth Stockyards. Key word- Friday night- yes, we travelled in a parking lot for over 2 hours before we arrived. I took a small nap, we talked, sang to some songs, stared at the traffic, and then we reached our destination.

Dillon took me to H3 Ranch for dinner- after chips and queso, I had grilled shrimp and Dillon enjoyed Prime Ribs- it really was good, I would recommend it. The company was great too.

Funny side story (or annoying, however you view it); as we were walking up to the restraunt, a shady man approached us and handed me a flower arrangement and said, "It's free for the ladies." I assumed he was working for the restraunt and took them innocently, while I noticed Dillon giving me the look. The man jabs his elbow into Dillon and cackles "Free for the ladies, not free for the men!" Dillon is highly annoyed, as he saw it coming, and offers a low payment, while the man explains that he owes TEN dollars for the cheap boquet. Dillon stuffs the money in his hand and we walk into the restraunt. I was a little in shock at how quickly it had all happend, but as we sat down, the more I thought about it, I realized NO, we did not HAVE to take the flowers. I marched back out the door and demanded my money back. I didnt actually demand, but I explained that my husband was upset (I blamed it on him-hehe, but it worked) and he gave us our cash back- I was victorious! Dillon was proud I think. He later explained that he had thought I wanted to flowers so he didnt say anything, and I explained to him that I thought they really were free (I am gullible sometimes).

After dinner we strolled down the main street. There was lots to do (a maze, a museum, shops, bars, dancehalls).

We had originally thought we might go to a dancehall, but I was wearing flip flops so we decided to head back after we had mosied around for a bit, but we both really enjoyed ourselves. (Next time we will try to go when the longhorns walk down the street).

Thanks Dillon for a great night out!