walmart photo shoot

Remember that flat tire we had?  Well, we originally took it to Walmart to see if they could just patch it - they wouldn't.  Apparently they were too bald....and we had driven on the flat for too long.  Well, while there we ran into my sister so we decided to go in and harass her.

I just so happened to have the camera and definitely didn't want to leave it in the car so I took this opportunity to have a little photo shoot to practice some of the lessons from my class.  These are my favorite shots.

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I was also practicing some shots with different light at Mom's.  The one of Duke required a nephew who was nice enough to hold a lamp, just so, until I got the shot I wanted.

Next blog I'll show you my favorite shots from the photo shoot I had with my niece and nephews.  This is my last week of class.  :(

easter weekend in kansas

Easter weekend was a blur but yet a lot of fun.

We got to hang out with my high school friends and their spouses.  We headed to dinner and then out to the dog bar - of course so Duke and Miley could join us.  You may remember a previous trip to the dog bar.  If not, check it out here.

Duke and Miley had drinks, had a photo op and made sure we were all safe from other dog bar patrons.

We were out way past Duke's bedtime so he ended up curling up on Mom's lap.

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We also participated in the Easter traditions with my family.  First up we colored eggs - of course!

It's tough work making an egg that fancy.

We also made our signature cupcakes - dawning the grass this year.

and of course we ate WAY too much candy!!!

How was your Easter???

muffin tin night

So the brain has totally not been functioning lately.  I volunteered to host Supper Club last Thursday night but was also planning to head up to see my family that night for the holiday weekend.  Not sure what I was thinking...I'm still paying for it since we got up at 3 am instead and drove up - 6 long hours...

But anywho...the Supper Club theme this month was anything cooked in a muffin tin.  I opted to make Amy D's muffin tin meatloaf - it was easy, utilized my mixer and I could use up the bacon ketchup before we head off to Maine.

One of the drawbacks to this dual home living thing is when it comes to the fridge.  There comes a time when it's almost time to switch homes that you quit adding things to the fridge so you don't just end up throwing it away when you return the next season.  We've reached that point now.  So making this was amusing - it called for 2 cups of ketchup - I only had about 1-1/4 - so I scrounged and scrounged.  I found 3 packets of Whataburger ketchup and 1 packet of Chic-fil-A ketchup - tossed them in.  I was still short so I added a little water (trick I learned from my mom to make things stretch..hehe) and rounded it out with BBQ sauce.

I've mentioned Sean's dislike of the cooking stones before, so I tried to line it with liners first - not the best plan.  I wasn't thinking about the grease from the meat so I still had to clean it myself...ugh!

They were AMAZING!!!  Amy said she got the recipe out of her mixer's manual - you know how they have some recipes.  It's definitely a keeper and great to cook up and throw in the freezer for Sean for days I have to go out of town.  Will definitely make this one again!

getting caught up

So to get you all caught up here's the fun that's been happening around here.

We've been enjoying a lot of really nice weather here this spring. Duke's been really enjoying it, too. Have I ever mentioned his chewing of empty plastic bottles fetish?

Look at him protecting it - just in case someone else may want it (and no I didn't pose him like that)

Don't worry Duke - no one wants your silly bottle.

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We've been making A LOT of trips to the home improvement store to finish up phase 3. Of course Duke likes to come along.

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Speaking of phase 3 - IT'S DONE - and ready for some tasty things to start growing in it this fall. I think it turned out pretty good.

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I finally decided on a curtain rod. I just hope it gets here before we leave for Maine cuz of course it had to be a custom order. TWO weeks and counting before this flock flies north! Oh so much to do!!!

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We just got back from visiting friends and family in Kansas for Easter. It was so nice but too short of a trip. We had dinner with great friends that we don't get to see near enough, Duke hitting the bar again, pictures of headstones to help out my genealogy research, ate way too much candy and Easter dinner, photo shoot for my class with my niece and nephews, oh, and then there was this (please ignore the filthy car)…

Yes, we're now the proud owners of four new tires. Two trips to Kansas - two flat tires - it was time - except we weren't planning on doing it until we returned in the fall. UGH!

More photos of the Easter trip to come.

black light bowling

Sean got a little itch - he wanted to get beat at bowling.  I decided to be nice and take him up on that - being the wonderful wife I am and all.  So, we grabbed our socks and headed to the local bowling alley and began our two games.

Seeing how we don't have kids of our own we quickly realized the exorbitant amount of tweens bowling on both sides of us.  We tried not to let that ruin our fun and I continued to whoop up on Sean with my mad bowling skilz.  With his form how was I winning you may ask???  I'm just that good!

About the time we started our second game they turned on the black lights and cranked the "Tonya" music even louder - Sean LOVED it!  I think it made his form even better - but not his score.

I have a little ask for those of you that are parents out there - teach your munchkins some bowling etiquette.

• The bowling lane is not a dance floor.
• Climbing on the ball return is annoying.
• You have your own lane - stay out of mine.
• It's nice to wait for the person next to you to throw the ball before you do.

and if you happen to get the privilege of being the chaperone of a rowdy bunch of kids at a bowling alley, reign them in a little so everyone else can enjoy their game too.

flip burger

Are you as crazy about Top Chef as I am???  I was totally rooting for Richard Blais this last go 'round.  I could just taste each thing he made and imagined how utterly amazing it must be.  So, when I found myself in Atlanta this week I knew I just HAD to head on over to his restaurant Flip Burger Boutique.

As you probably guessed, they serve burgers - but these aren't your ordinary burgers.  Mine had chorizo and a fried egg.  They even had one made of shrimp.  Mine was good but a little under-seasoned for what I was expecting from Richard.  Actually, I found almost everything under-seasoned.  If you've seen Top Chef then you know he likes to use Liquid Nitrogen when he cooks.  The dessert list was all milkshakes - topped off with a little Liquid N2.

My favorite one was the nutella and burnt marshmallow - unfortunately ours were all melted by the time they made it to our table.  This picture is of the only smart one at the table as he ordered his before dinner - fully frozen!

Sad to say, but I think my favorite piece of the meal was the drink of the day - Spring Fling.  Wish I had stuck with that drink as the others I tried weren't nearly as good.

Although I found the waiter charming when we first arrived he soon became arrogant and annoying.  When we mentioned our shakes all being melted he said "well, that's ice cream for you".

So, as you can tell, I'm a little, ok a lot, disappointed in my experience.  I may give it another shot if I find myself in Atlanta again in hopes that Richard is there.  He had been in that day but during lunch and we went for dinner.  The company totally made up for the disappointment in the restaurant though!

all over the place

This post is going to be a little like my week - all over the place.

I finally finished my final assignment for my painting class.  What do ya think?

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I've been trying to get all my "Texas friend time" in as it's about time to head north.

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Still debating if I want to do this half marathon thing...

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The veggie garden has begun.  Hopefully Lowe's will deliver the supplies soon so it can get finished.

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I'm taking a photography class now - already a week behind - plan to get caught up this weekend.  Here are some of my "before the class" photos (it was actually our first assignment).

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Duke is nosey...

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I'm hosting Supper Club at my house this week.  The theme is muffin tin recipes - recipes anyone, anyone???  My favorite muffin "tin" is the Pampered Chef stoneware one.  Unfortunately, Sean won't touch it and he does the dishes so I tend to not use it much.  As I was getting the link to it to attach here I saw they now have a stoneware cookie sheet.  Not sure how it's any different than the regular rectangle one except it has one side that angles up.  Why is it that cookie sheets do that anyway???

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We had a hail storm last night.  Some of our plants now have holes through the leaves.  So sad...

We also found out one of the gutters was somehow clogged up.  Now sure how that really happens when you have no trees big enough to get leaves in there but it happened.  Sean has cleaned it out but now we have to replace the mulch that escaped from all the water pouring over the gutters.

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The lake has officially thawed out!!!!!