Curtains stress me out

There are so many to choose from. You can never tell how they're going to look in the store. They're such a visible part of your home.

These are all reasons I have not put any curtains up since we've lived here. Last weekend, our A/C shut off, prompting us to draw all of the blinds tightly and keep the lights off to try to keep it as cool as possible. (Luckily they were able to fix it pretty quickly).

So we decided it would be worth it to find some energy efficient/solar blocking curtains and see if it would keep our apartment a little cooler (and maybe cut down on our power bill). And then I got more stressed out because I didn't have time to comparison shop OR find exactly what I was looking for. But I sucked it up and we went to Lowes and Walmart and bought a few curtains, rods, and hooks for our 2 bedrooms.

They actually look really good! I didn't take any pictures for the blog because they are still really wrinkled and I haven't had time to dewrinkle them yet. So far they are keeping the place waaay cooler. I'm mad that it took us over 4 years to put them up!!

1 year ago

Sometimes I like to click on the left side of my blog and look at what I was up to one, two, three and four years ago at this time of the year. I clicked on July 2009 and came across this post of Bailey and her new toy, the large, indesctructible Tuffy Ring. Ironically, I took this picture of her this weekend, cuddling with her somewhat worn-in Tuffy Ring. Suprisingly (shockingly), it has lasted a year! Well, kind of. It has no stuffing, no squeakers, about 6 holes and constantly frays all over the carpet, but it is for sure one of her favorites!

And here's a pic of her "relaxing" after a long, difficult day of lounging around on the balcony and going for a walk in 100 degree weather!

Blue Ridge Mountains..........

It's no secret that this will likely be our last summer in Alabama, so Tom and I really wanted to take another mini-vacation in August. We had thought about going back to the beach, but 1) we had no idea what the status of the water was going to be with the oil spill and 2) we really wanted to go somewhere we could take Bailey.

I was searching around on the internet for "pet friendly vacations" and quickly came across some cabin rentals in the Blue Ridge area of north Georgia. There were tons of cabin rentals and I quickly decided my requirements were 1) a hot tub, 2) a mountain view, and 3) a grill. And guess what? We found the perfect place! Complete with a hammock, a fire pit, and a "carved bear." (Seriously, "carved bear" was listed under features and amenities!)

I am SO excited! I can't wait to just get to the cabin and relax on the deck, either in the hot tub, hammock or lounge chair. We're going to check out Blue Ridge Lake and see what Bailey thinks about swimming. And we're going to grill out every night, which will be awesome since we currently can't have a grill where we live now. Can't wait!!

Has this ever happened to you?

So, I went to BP** the other day to fill up on gas. I'm standing there pumping gas, watching the numbers go up and up and up, and thinking that surely the tank has to be close to full. Sure enough, it was, because suddenly gas started overflowing from my tank! I immediately took my finger off the lever, then withdrew it from the car and it was still letting gas trickle out. I put the nozzle back on the pump and went inside to let them know that their pumps are not automatically shutting off when the tank is full (as this has never happened to me before, I assumed ALL gas tanks automatically shut off and stop pumping gas when the tank is full). What follows is my conversation with the gas station attendant:

Me: "Um, Hi, I was filling up on Pump #1 and my tank was full and the pump didn't shut off, gas just started overflowing from my tank and pouring on the ground!"
Gas Lady: "Oh, baby, that's ok, that just happened to me the other day!"
Me: "Um, okay, but I just wanted to let you know that your gas tanks aren't shutting off so it doesn't happen to someone else. It seems kind of dangerous."
Gas Lady: "Mmmhmmm, that same thing happened to me, not even at this gas station! See, I had the little lever clicked on so I could walk away from my car and when I came back gas was going everywhere!"
Me: "Okay. I didn't have the little lever "clicked on," I was standing there holding the lever the whole time, and it didn't shut off when my gas was fill."
Gas Lady: "Yeah, you just have to watch the numbers."
Me: "OKAY. Is there a manager or someone I can talk to to let them know your gas pumps aren't shutting off when people's tanks are full?"
Gas Lady: "Mmmm hmm, you gotta call The State and ax them what to do. Because my manager, he's not here right now. You gotta call The State."
Me: "I understand you can't do anything about it, but it seems really dangerous and someone working at the gas station should be able to fix it."
Gas Lady: "Mmm hmmm, just call The State."

I didn't even get into the fact that they completely ripped me off because it charged me for all of the gas that went all over the pavement. Is this BP's plan to make a few extra cents on every car that fills up there to make up for the oil leak?

So if anyone has any ideas as to how I go about calling "The State," who I should talk to at "The State," or how to get the phone number of the state of Alabama, please let me know. Or if you have any insight on why it's the State's fault that BP's gas pumps aren't shutting off.

And if this is a normal occurence and just the first time it's happened to me, just ignore this post.

**I only went to BP because we have $125 worth of gift cards from participating in Alabama's Commute Smart program and logging our commuting. As if they haven't done enough to ruin our environment, I had already planned on avoiding them like the plague once these gift cards are used up. This further confirms I will never stop at BP again.

Everybody Loves a Happy Valley Girl

This tank top came in my birthday package from my parents. I'm pretty sure it was intended for me, but either my mom forgot I'm not 5'2" anymore (was I ever?) or it shrunk in the mail. Regardless, now Bailey has a game day shirt!

Pepper Plant!

Tom has a love for hot sauce. He puts it on pizza, burgers, and if there is nothing else to eat, saltines (yes, saltines). Last spring his friend Ben got a post-doc position in Tom's lab and the love of hot sauce became even more intesne. They take turns buying Red Dot hot sauce so the lab remains fully stocked.

Ben bought Tom a cayenne red pepper plant at the beginning of the summer and we are currently trying to keep it from taking over our balcony! It has 6 peppers that have turned red, about 20 green ones waiting to change color, and approximately 35 flowers that will eventually blossom into peppers. We are going to try our hand at making our own hot sauce soon! Wish us luck!

Kent Jr. explains something in detail to Leah

This is only really funny if you have ever met Kent, who knows everything about everything, and if there is something he doesn't know, well, that's what iphones are for.

Yesterday we went to a barbecue with a few people from Tom's lab. It was in Tuscaloosa, so it was a good dry run for the game in September. We were entertained by a variety of babies, ate some good burgers, and enjoyed a few good laughs.

Art on the Rocks!

Last night Tom and I went to Art on the Rocks at the Birmingham Museum of Art. They open up the museum, have hors devours, drinks, and a band outside. We met up with our friends Stacy and Kelly who volunteer at the event and our friend Paige and one of her friends. The food was amazing and the weather "cooled off" (meaning NOT 90 degrees) and thankfully it didn't rain. The band was Dawes, from LA. They're singer-songwritey and Live 100.5 used to play them when they were still on the air (*sigh*). They were really good! So good that I bought their CD, and when we talked to them afterward Paige let them know (twice) that I bought it. The lead singer made a lot of really weird faces when he was singing....and kind of looked like Ben Stiller (but only when he made weird faces). Except for my feet deciding they all of the sudden hate my strappy black heels, we had a fun time! (It must be because I hit the big 3-0).

Overdue

Yeah, I'm a little past due with the blog updates. Sorry! Last week was so busy with work I didn't feel much like blogging....actually I didn't feel much like doing anything. Thankfully the weekend came and revived me!

Saturday we went to Tom's Pathology picnic. Our last one. Sad. I didn't manage to take any pics. It was too hot to make any extra effort :) We enjoyed some Jim 'N Nick's BBQ and got to catch up with some friends we hadn't seen in a while. Two of our friends, Erin & Keith, recently became foster parents to two of the most adorable little girls. The one year old was napping when we got there and woke up a few minutes later with a smile on her face and was just as happy as she could be! I hope someday our kids wake up from naps smiling.......that is definitely a characteristic that I am lacking. Saturday afternoon we both spent an hour or 2 at work and then finally went to Chili's with our gift card (we had planned on going for my birthday but that didn't end up happening).

Sunday I had a very productive morning around the house followed by a lazy, relaxing afternoon by the pool with friends. It was perfect! The weekend has been so relaxing I don't want it to end. But I know if I don't go to bed soon I won't be too pleasant in the AM!

Key Lime Pie and Meatball Sub Casserole

I have been wanting to make some variation of key lime pie/cheesecake/cake for some time now. I found 3 different recipes (one pie, one cheesecake, and one cake). The pie won, mainly because it was the least amount of work :) The picture doesn't really do it justice....I added a few drops of green food coloring but it turned it a weird dark green color.

I've had Meatball Sub Casserole on my menu plan for a while, ever since I saw it in a Taste of Home magazine while traveling last month.

Both are recipes I would highly recommend! The key lime pie is very tart and limey but really good...especially with whipped topping! Next time I'm only going to use 1/2 cup of key lime juice instead of the 3/4 cup that it calls for. And on the meatball sub casserole I omitted the water that it calls for to be added to the sauce. This one is a keeper for our next freezer cooking day!

Happy 30th Birthday!!

To meeeeeeee :) Yikes. I'm officially 30! I had a relaxing, low key, yet fun 30th birthday. I thoroughly enjoyed taking the day off of work on my birthday. My massage was great - not quite what I expected, actually a little more painful than I expected, but it was like that good kind of pain. I guess that's what happens when you only get a massage once every 30 years ;)

I did a little shopping in the afternoon - you can read about that here. A few good friends came over for snacks and beverages and Stacy made the best ever chocolate peanut butter marshmallow birthday brownies! The puppies got to play Twilight and we were able to talk to some other good friends who couldn't make it due to a small geographical difference :) Now I get to relax and enjoy the rest of the weekend. If only every weekend could be 3 days long....