Spring break when you are 30

Spring break. It is the not the same as when I was a mere twentysomething, but I will say this year was a lot of fun. (Living in Michigan, I really never did the crazy spring break thing, just FYI.) But, now that I am 30 and a homeowner, spring break looks very different.



LBJ Ranch in Johnson City.
If I was a park ranger there, I would totally
use that pool after hours!

We attended a wedding last weekend in a part of Texas I had not visited before. It was a beautiful wedding and a lot of fun. On our way back home we visited the LBJ Ranch in Johnson City. That was very cool!

We have eaten out somewhere every day. Today we went to Perry’s Steakhouse in Austin. We had to fight a little bit of the SXSW traffic which was a downside, but the $8 valet parking made it more than worth it. Their lunch-cut pork chop is absolutely worth it. And, I just had my leftovers—even better the second time!

Perry's Lunch Portion Pork Chop.
For $11.99--you can't find a tastier deal
in Austin.

We have done a bunch of yard work. I convinced the husband to go with me to Ellie’s Greenhouse, a great place to buy flowers—not far from our house. I bought some plants their last year, and most of them made it through the drought and this year’s mild winter. Additionally, her prices are extremely reasonable. I wanted to try my hand at parsley and oregano—and I got some other plants for the front yard.

Mr. Campbell just finished staining the fence. Sometimes his projects (or the projects I convince him to complete) go really well, and other times they are a big headache. I was concerned because we decided to go with the uber cheap sprayer, but…. it worked and now the fence looks awesome. He got it all done in less than an afternoon! I would imagine he would have rather been watching basketball, but he persevered.

So, all in all—spring break was pretty nice. We relaxed a bit. We ate a lot—we got some work done. Oh, and there are only 51 more days of school left until summer vacation! Sweet!

Pinterest...You are TOO much.

Oh, Pinterest. How you have changed the world of weddings!

This weekend, my hubby and I attended a wedding of one of his coworkers.

Apparently, the weather did not get the memo that a wedding was occurring—it was 50 degrees and raining cats and dogs.

Thankfully, my brother-in-law had left an umbrella in his room when he moved out, and I figured since I cleaned up his room, it would count as one of those “finders, keepers,” kinds of situations.  

I had my red coat and my matching umbrella—thank goodness; I would have been soaked without them.

As we walk in the wedding cite, we see the happy couple’s engagement photos. They are super trendy, with color in all the right places—the groom has on suspenders and the train tracks are perfectly placed in the background. Never in a million years could I have thought of this picture and the other dozens of scenes strategically placed throughout the wedding hall. I assume Pinterest was the inspiration for these photos.

Husband and I shared a laugh, as we recalled our own engagement photos. It was almost ten years ago, (TEN…YIKES), and we got the $9.99 special at our local Wal-Mart. We only had to choose from three different poses and we went from there.

Man, how times have changed.

From the dried flowers and bows on the backs of the chairs along the aisle, to the handmade soap parting gifts, it truly seemed that the minutest details were taken into account at this wedding.

It was quite amazing!

It seems like you can do anything if you have the slightest idea.  I am assuming the bride got a lot of her ideas from Pinterest—I don’t know for sure, but given the popularity of Pinterest, I think it is a safe bet.

Oh, Pinterest. Thank goodness you weren’t around when I got married. I would probably still be working out all the details based on what I had repinned.

Dog-Tired...And 3 = Disaster

While my sister and brother-in-law are out of town, my hubby and I are charged with watching their dogs.

They have two, Duke (who is a deaf/anxious/showedupattheir door2yearsagostarvingandfullof heartworm- boxer) and Murphy (who is a Chug/Chihuahua-pug mix that barks at anything that moves.)

The List of Instructions...
thankfully it is only one side!

Last night, my sister dropped them off with a long list of directions about how to take care of these mutts. To her credit, I did request said list because I don’t want to mess with anyone’s routine.

In the past, our only dog, Chauncey, has had a bit of a problem with Duke. I think it is a male dominance issue, but Duke has no idea that there is anything wrong—because he is hearing impaired. So, I was concerned about how the two of them would get along. I hate it when there is gnashing of teeth.

So, anyway, I bring our four-legged friends and their beds upstairs and decide it is time for me to go to sleep. Husband is at a track meet, so, I figure I have a few hours before he gets home.

My sister warned me to take off the dogs collars because they shake them a lot in the night.

What she didn’t warn me was that Duke would not sleep at all because he was so stressed out.

Seriously, Duke paced for two, maybe three hours. When my husband got home, I greeted him with a frazzled, “I can’t take it anymore, YOU have got to do something!”

Maybe if we put Duke in his kennel? Surely, he will calm down and rest.

Wrong. As soon as we put him in the crate--he starts howling his fool head off. After about ten minutes, husband decides to take Duke into the spare bedroom so that I can get some sleep.

Of course, Murphy is also restless during much of the night—even after Duke is out of the room--I keep waking up to the sounds of Murphy sniffing around…he is under the bed, under the dresser, sniffing…sniffing….sniffing.

When I wake up this morning, after about three hours of sleep—I open up the door to the spare bedroom. Poor husband is sleeping on the floor and Duke is still restless and anxious—at 5am!

Needless to say, Duke is sleeping in that crate tonight. We will just turn the television up really loud. He has got to sleep at some point?

Right?

Thank God my sister and brother-in-law will be home Sunday!