Jump-start for June...

Muchas gracias for the comments and support last week. It was nice to hear that I wasn't the only one in the dumps and that the sun will always come out tomorrow. Despite the rain last Friday, the sun did come out on Saturday and it was like a fresh start.


(Click each photo to see larger)

1. Driving home with my shadow.
2. What my hair looked like before the salon.
   
3. Stocked up on fruit.
4. I cleaned up after my week of laziness and got a meal started in the crock pot - Jamaican style. As a tribute to our heavenly honeymoon spot I found a few recipes online to cook over the weekend. This one was called Jamaican-me-crazy chicken and sweet potatoes. Dan really liked it, but I wasn't a big fan.
   
5. Thawing large white shrimp.
   
6. Another Jamaican meal with spicy shrimp, scallops, and cajun rice. We both enjoyed this one - might have to make it again sometime.

1. Monday afternoon we checked into the bed + breakfast and got a tour. We had a room in the cabin retreat that made us feel like rockstars far away while we were only a few miles from home. Chocolate chip cookies awaited our arrival, and a journal was left for comments. I really liked reading about the couples that had stayed there before us - some celebrating many decades together, some just married, and some just visiting on business. So many stories. It was the perfect place to relax and celebrate, and the spa bathroom was an unexpected treat.
   
2. Tuesday morning wandering after the best breakfast. Not the best picture of my new 'do, but it'll do. I think I had at least four inches chopped. The verdict: Dan likes it and the complements haven't stopped at work. I wasn't sure about it at first, but I'm getting used to it. Maybe I should throw caution to the wind next time and chop it all. It would be so much easier.
   
3. We found a small arboretum with a walking trail.
4. I really liked this tree trunk.
   
5. Just passing through...
   
6. Scrabble! Dan had never played and he beat me. Beginner's luck, that's all. I'll whoop him next time. After Scrabble, we decided to re-watch season six of Sex and the City before we see the movie next week. When I met Dan he had all the seasons on DVD, that's how I knew he was a keeper.

1. Before we dug through the 10 layers of plastic wrap and foil, we were trying to remember what flavor our cake top was. I was pretty sure it was carrot cake. I compromised when we ordered it since Dan's not a fan of much besides carrot cake. Truth be told, it was darn good carrot cake (even after a year) and we had chocolate chip cookies to go with it, so all was right and sugar-buzzed in the world.
2. Sharing a slice.
3. For Dan's anniversary gift, I found a Big Ben decoration at Target. Dan spent some time abroad in London during college, so the gift will go nicely with the art he bought there.
4. I finally bought myself a custom necklace from Lisa Leonard and I'm in love. I planned on buying a piece with balance in mind, so I would always be reminded of the balance I'm trying to achieve. But after thinking about the perfect word/phrase for me right now, irie came to mind. JUST WHAT I NEED. A little bit of IRIE every day.
5. Dan's anniversary gift for me was a map of Jamaica. Seriously - how cool is that? We're going to have it framed to go with a collage of Jamaica stuff somewhere in this place.
6. Tonight I got gutsy. I bought address numbers for our house because somehow we were skipped when the address fairy came around. The only address we have around here is a small plate on the mailbox with the previous owners' last name. AND the thing is GLUED TO LAST through five generations and every natural disaster known to man... so we'll have to do something about that. It looks like they had address stickers on the sides of the mailbox post at one time, but it beats me why they were removed and never replaced. So...I also bought more stickers to replace them.
   
   No, buying these things was not the gutsy part. Getting up on a ladder to situate and hammer them was the God-forbid-I-ever-do-that-again scariest thing ever. Maybe if I had a flat surface to place the ladder it wouldn't have been so bad, but if you were a neighbor of mine tonight you were probably looking out your window laughing at the crazy blond girl who stood for a good half-hour staring at her ladder and moving it around on uneven mulch trying to get it steady. And once it was steady, she took another half-hour tracing the numbers, erasing, and re-tracing them while shaking and holding onto the roof for dear life. Which, by that time was too late to be hammering so only half of the nails were done, leaving the other half for another amusing episode of Crazy Girl is Going to Kill Herself Addressing Her House tomorrow.
   
   At this point I hope they're not too far apart because the nails are not coming out - I tried. Why did I decide to put the numbers on the garage? Because we don't have a porch, and other porchless houses in the neighborhood have their address in the same place. Why didn't I just let Dan the Man mess around with this job? Because he's gone again, this time on an annual boys' weekend, and I thought I would surprise him with it. I'll let you know if he notices when he returns.

What else:
It's after 2:00 in the morning, and I'm still hyped up on an IC Mocha.

It's been so hot in the house the past couple days that I turned on the AC for the first time tonight - sorry Dan, but you'd be dying.

Remember the website design I was working on for the past month? I was volunteering for the job and, after a lot of soul-searching, I decided to let go of the responsibility last week. I was coming up empty and stressed, and needed to rid my plate of something. I'm so glad the leaders of the project were understanding and super supportive.

Sheri was in town Thursday night so we had our regular Cheddar's dinner and caught up on life. I think you need to move closer, Sheri. And Dan, it looks like we need to plan a couple trips to Columbus this summer.

Reconnecting with Dan and the house has been really energizing for me. The metal shelves and my craft baskets are in the office, and boxes of decor are sitting in the dining room for unloading. Seeing my supplies gets me thinking about projects and decorating. I have a slew of ideas and can't wait to get started. When Dan gets back we're going to make a list and timeline for our next steps. A June housewarming wasn't in the cards with Dan's travels, but maybe July? At this rate, maybe Thanksgiving? Painting, touch-ups, photos and art to be hung, shelves, yard work, furniture, details here and there, oooo-la-la!

At least two people have asked me if I'm having a girls' weekend since Dan is out with the boys. Ummm...nope. My girls are at least an hour away, and girl's things normally include splurging of some sort, which is not really feasible. But maybe I should. What do you think, girls?

I think this blog needs a new look...and that it's time for bed.

Hello June, you look awfully pretty on your first day.
How did you get here so fast - you better slow down.