Addicted to pretzel bread

Izzy and I are currently addicted to Trader Joe's Soft Pretzel Sticks. We can't seem to get enough of them, and every time we bite into one of the mini loafs, we both moan aloud with pleasure. They're ridiculously good and fairly inexpensive ($.99 each), so we tend to snarf them down a lot whenever we can.



Oh, and we wash 'em down with some yummy Trader Joe's Refreshers, either in Pomegranate or Tangerine. They're $4.99 for a case of four. Yum.

Scrabble dabble do

Izzy and I have been playing Scrabble almost daily after she comes home from school. If I'm not out running errands she'll stop by my house til her parents come home, and we often entertain ourselves with Scrabble. We just started seriously playing, but we've both found we have a real fondness for the game. I have discovered that my spelling skills are a bit rusty at the moment (which shocks me as a proofeader), but that's okay. We both tap into the dictionary from time to time to verify our word selections.



I'm not sure that we're playing by the official rules, but we have fun. We like to sit out on the patio and enjoy the summery weather as we challenge each other. Sometimes we take a break to eat, or yell at the dogs (they're always getting into things), or cuddle with the cats, or trade wisecracks with Pete. But otherwise we're pretty serious about our games. So far, Pete hasn't shown much interest, but we might end up recruiting a few hapless souls who pass by. Our next game will feature only people's names (and nothing too crazy, we've agreed).

(P.S. Don't forget to check out this week's Macro Monday image at vivid.)

Weekend guests

Izzy and her friend Abby stayed overnight on Saturday and into the day on Sunday. They are the first official guests we've had in our house since the spare bedroom has been semi-finished. Matt has been here before, but that was to either house-sit or to just crash on the couch. It was kinda weird but cool to cook for them, give them blankets and linens, and entertain them. Hopefully we'll have more people staying over in the future.



Dollie decided it was her duty to be the official guest companion, and made herself a little bed in a basket tray table designed for drinks, not cats. (It was a cheapy Ikea plastic neon green tray table, but I swapped out the tray for a white basket I happened to have.) Dollie seemed to be in heaven, having the girls fawn all over her, tuck her in at night, and feed her scraps.



Glad to know our guests will never lack for (annoying) company.

Welcome, Mr. T!

Izzy and I cleaned out the fish tank yesterday, and let me tell you, it sorely needed it! And when we were done, we introduced Kayo to Mr. T, my new fish. Izzy named him Mr. T, which is short for Mr. Tangerine (we're assuming he's a he). The name comes from the weird orange markings on him, something I've never seen on a Black Moor before (he has orange around his eyes, tail, and belly).

So far Kayo seems to like Mr. T, and Mr. T seems very enthusiastic and happy to be in a gigantic tank with lots of food. I'm hoping he can reach the same size as Scrappy did, and be just as happy too.

...and a handmade card for Izzy

Izzy was really amused by the card I made for Pete yesterday, and she asked if I could draw a picture of her that represented what she was all about. So I made her this card today, complete with rhyming verses and stick figures. I hope she likes it.

Handmade birthday card from Izzy

Izzy presented me with this lovely handmade birthday card last night. I was very touched and was impressed by all the added details, like the real flower and chocolate candy taped to the front of the card (she knows my weakness!). Throughout the card she wrote sentiments as to why she loves me so much and her thankfulness for my help in all matters. She's so sweet.

And best of all, on the back of the card she made an all-exclusive pass for unlimited access to her skills and talents. Which means I can call her over if I need her help whenever I want, for however long I want. She said I can use the pass for housework, errands, helping with the dogs, etc. So I already told her to pencil me in for Sunday for house cleaning, because I can sure use her help. I won't work her to death, but it'll be fun having her around and chatting with her while we clean and organize. I'm sure I won't have to beg her to help me reorganize my shoe closet!

Adora and Izzy

This was taken at 2:00 a.m. on Friday, when Izzy, Adora, Spanky, and I drove up to the shower house at Nelson Dewey State Park. We had arrived at the park really late, and were about to shower and hit the air mattresses. Spanky was sitting in the back, and Adora was in the passenger seat, where Izzy was supposed to sit. Izzy tried to push Adora out of the way into the back seat, but Adora was resistant and acting weird. She seemed to try to squeeze between the seat and the car door to get to the back seat, but at the last second she slid down next to Izzy and wrapped her paws around her, hugging her in a strange but needy grip. Izzy and I were cracking up, and I shot a few pix of the scene on my iPhone.

I'll be posting some camping pictures, hopefully tonight (there are about 500 of them). And yes, I'm still working on the Hawaii pictures too. With the camping trip successful (and over!) and only small family events left for the next few months, I can breathe easy and have some free time for such things as editing and posting photos. I also intend to clean my house, the yard, and maybe start on a children's book I've been thinking about.

Shopping with Jenny and Izzy

Yesterday Jenny, Izzy, and I went shopping for wedding jewelry at Fox Valley Mall. I found a lovely pair of simple "pearl" drop earrings and two matching pearl bracelets (thanks for finding the pink one, Jen!). I also got a pair of Eiffel Tower earrings and butterfly earrings. Jenny found a similar pair of simple pearl drop earrings, and Izzy got these cute and colorful animal earrings. We also ate at the food court, had some Starbucks, stopped at Archiver's for thank you card supplies—another cart lady spotted!—and visited the AT&T store to drool over the new iPhone. It was loads o' fun hanging out with Jenny and Izzy and getting this wedding stuff done at the same time. Thanks, guys!