what's in a name?

oh my gosh. this is so hot right now, at least on Facebook.

Rules to naming your BABY (at least according to GQ, which is a very reliable resource!)

This is hilarious! I would really love to print this and mail it to a few people I know, but I won't because I will pretend I have better things to do with my time...like make fun of their ill-named children's names! whoops! what a B i am. oh, how i love to point the finger and laugh. that's terrible.

But in all seriousness (because I was just joking about the last 3 lines...I swear!), I think this obnoxious name game of these poor kids has got to stop! people are making up names and making their kids sound like the most ridiculous jokes ever! dumb. everyone wants to be "SOOO UNIQUE" that they just start sounding as dumb as everyone else who thinks they're being so very non-mainstream. get over yourselves, folks. or if you just cannot resist affectionately calling something Katniss or Zane, just get a houseplant and name it your imaginations wildest creation. Heck, even a dog or cat!

moving along, the high today is 70. 70!! what the hell! I am wearing jeans to work today! it's cool enough for JEANS! How does that even happen? Oh, i actually DID my hair this morning too. I curled it...my house wasn't too hot to do anything other than a bun right out of the shower, so I styled my 'do! I look presentable! it's such an unfamiliar feeling.

Next weekend Kenny Rogers is coming to Minnesota, and I really want to see him! He will be in concert in Albert Lea, MN which is a small town about 90 minutes south of Minneapolis. I think it would be a great time, fun people watching, and it happens to be part of the County Fair celebration so we would maybe even get to eat some trashy, unhealthy fried food and throw a few bucks down the drain while attempting to win a cheap, useless prize. Doesn't that sound awesome!? I LOVE fairs, so I am fully on board. Hopefully I can convince James that a 3 hour roundtrip drive is worth it! Come on...The GAMBLER!! 

**BONUS** It will also provide ideal circumstances to wear my cowboy boots and some sort of redneck, fair going ensemble. wahoo!! Now I need a paisley or gingham dress!

Well, let's get on with the weekend. I'm ready for some time on the boat - maybe Sunday will be my lucky day! 

Happy weekending!

Chia Pods.... yeah its been a very busy month!

Time flies...Summer is too awesome to be spent on a computer, blogging to no one about nothing. hence the long breaks between my posts, in case anyone has noticed. no? tear. 

it's already July 24th. Yes, 2 full days after Prince George Alexander Louis was born. Have you heard? Yeah, my dear friend Kate just had a baby boy and he's now 2 days old. I don't get to see her much as she lives in England, but I am hoping to see her soon. Oh, and her son. Yeah, I suppose her husby can join in on the fun as well - that William is really a gent. 

Here's a new product I just HAD to try. It was $3 at Whole Foods and although I admit I was skeptical, it truly was delicious! Next time I head to WF I will definitely pick up some more.

What is it? It's basically a yogurt, but with Chia seeds! And NO, it's NOTHING like rice or tapioca (I just threw up in my mouth) pudding. You canNOT taste, hear or FEEL the seeds in your mouth. In fact, this tasted like a mashed up, cold banana. I don't know if it was my mind playing tricks on me or if it was the real case, but it also kept me full for 3-4 hours. That never, ever happens to me with yogurt (unless i add lots of granola). in my opinion, it's worth the higher fat content to stay satisfied/fuller, longer. 

I've had a renewed found love for chia seeds - I even put them in some brownies i made a couple days ago. I didn't measure them and used them in place of oil, but I think they turned out just deliciously! I am happy with the results! I highly recommend it.

Here's a fun snap from 2 Fridays ago when dearest Olivia slept over. 

in addition to eating more than our fair share of cookies, we watched Wreck It Ralph (LOVED this movie!), did our nails, went to the play ground, beach, pool, and made star shaped pancakes! Olivia was a great little buddy to Nash and helped take him on a walk, even!! She learned what "Independent" means, and also what the expression "how the cookie crumbles" means. it was a fun 24 hours and although I was exhausted by Saturday evening, it was so much fun to spend one on one time with her and her imagination. She is so witty - were we all this clever when we were 6? dang. she is amazing, and i never get tired of hearing what she's going to say - or see what she's going to do - next!

OK so here's a hilarious and adorable picture I saw in an email and had to save. i thin it's the goggles that make me laugh so hard, but i don't know - it could also just be the complete personification of the pup. either way, it's so cute.

Guess that's it for today. ha, maybe this week - or month! will try to write more soon, but time is short these days! I am even surprised that tomorrow is Thursday already!! Trash day, Heidi day (trainer at my gym), and the day before Friday! So many big things on the horizon. oh, just so many...

bussing home today - wish me luck and a spot near the AC! 

hello, July!

have i discussed these Fresh Bar granola bars yet? if not, then all i say is go buy them and eat them and love them. they are delicious and satisfying and not bad for you. natural. simple. yummy. do it. keep them in your fridge...they are not crunchy like typical granola bars, but that's okay with me because they also have better ingredients than typical granola bars so it's really a WIN all around! found near the dairy/faux-dairy section coolers at Whole Foods.

we are doing a second bathroom reno! it's awesome! here we have the darling James ripping off one of the blood red walls...yes, the red idea was terrible. it looked better in our imaginations when we opted for the crimson walls. oops. no matter - they are GONE now!

I will update with more pics as they become available. (read: as I remember to take them and actually post about it all. it's summer! i don't have TIME to blog this nonsense.)

Next i must share a recent discovery of awesomeness. YES, this nullifies the above photos of the healthy granola option...however in my defense, I have purchased only ONE box of these crazy-good peanut butter poptarts and i still have 1.5 left...i have had them for over a week. that's pretty amazing self control on my behalf! anyway, if you like poptarts and peanut butter then buy these and enjoy. keep in mind they are 200 calories PER pop tart, so be careful with the over-dosing (something I am prone to doing when it comes to peanut butter anything).

Finally - here is a blurry picture from two weekends ago. this is our immediate neighbor's tree on their immediate neighbor's house! (also happens to be the house my parents used to own and I once lived in!) we don't really experience tornados or extreme, sever weather here in Minneapolis, however when we DO get a "big storm," it is the talk of the town - especially when it knocks out power for over 500,000 homes and rips thousands of trees right out of the ground. luckily for us, we have no trees land on our roof or harm our home or being. we did, however, have to sleep with no A/C or fans that night...no problemo for me! James, on the other hand, was not thrilled with sweating all night. i don't know how he survived Oklahoma summers for so many years of his life. He is more sensitive to the MN heat than almost anyone else I know. :) 

Saturday James and I popped into the Mall of America to quickly run 2 errands... so basically we spent about 3 hours at the mall! oops. OH well, it was only in the mid 70s and mostly cloudy so we didn't miss any suber-fab weather or pool time. just as we were about to leave, James suggested we check out his favorite Western store - they were called RCC Western Store but they changed their name to the Boot Barn. Kind of cheesy, yes, but still packed with amazing Western gear! hooray. My favorite find of the day was, undoubtedly, these amazing boots! Unfortunately for me they were only available in mens...maybe that was really a blessing in disguise? yeah, i'd have bought them in a heartbeat! James didn't really love them like i did so he passed.... damn. i love them. I hope they found a home with someone! love them!

This week is a little bit shorter of a week, as we have a half day on Wednesday and Thursday is my favorite holiday of the year (well, tied with NYE and Halloween. haha!), Independence Day!! Anything Red, White and Blue, I am ALL ABOUT IT!! LOVE me some "FOJ" !!!!! Pretty sure I have my holiday attire picked out and ready to roll, on land and at sea (errm, i mean river or pool). cannot wait!

Happy Monday! 

U-S-A!!