Off to the sunny Caribbean!

This was one hell of a week! I usually don't curse on this blog, but I feel that hell is the only word that will actually describe my week. My allergies are out of control, I got my first migraine today, and my students have been highly unmotivated and socially miserable. Bottom line, I need a break! Mr. R's week hasn't been much better. Lots of cases, lots of phone calls, crazy clients, and even crazier Republicans!

So we decided enough is enough! We are "off" to the sunny Carribbean where we will drink cocktails, sun ourselves, read books, talk to each other, and "come home" tan and relaxed.

I am so looking forward to some quality time with my husband and a good night sleep!

Happy Friday and I hope you have a great weekend!

See you Monday :)

4/29: Flavorful Thursday!

Mr. R and I try to have a date each week and Thursday was supposed to be ours. We were also invited to Flavors with friends on Thursday so in favor of amazing wraps and yummy house sauce we opted for a group date.

It was so nice to see everyone outside of school and I was grateful for some quality girl time before hand.

We stopped at Cold Cow for frozen custard and jimmies on the way home.

Perfect night!

4/27: Yummy Dinners!

I took a night off from the gym tonight to get ahead on cooking.

I made two dinners in one!

Dinner #1: Rachael Ray's Alphabet Pasta

Dinner #2: Bacon, apple, and Gruyere grilled cheese

They were both so good I decided to have a little of each.

Happiness is truly carbs and cheese.

On a totally different note, I am down a pound!

Thank goodness the scale finally budged!

4/26: Project Life in full force.

This is what my TV room floor looks like! The good news is I am almost finished with the month of January. The bad news, we are currently in April. Oh well, progress is progress!

Fantastic Day!

Mr. R turned 28!

We celebrated at Epcot and Hollywood Studios.

We rode:

• Soarin' which is by far my most favorite Epcot ride. I really felt like I was flying over California in a hang-glider.
• Test track: Very cool! And a total Mr. R ride. He loves all things fast, Top Gear approved, and new to the car world.
• The Boat ride in Mexico City. The ride was really cute and mellow.
• Figment's Imagination tour. A favorite of mine :)
• The Maelstrom: a tour of Norway's fjords, complete with trolls, a waterfall, and vikings!
• The Rockin' Rollercoaster: this is Mr. R's most favorite Disney ride! He would ride this all day every day if he could. Even I have to admit that 0 to 6o miles per hour in less than 2 minutes is pretty amazing.

To save money we carried in our lunch, but we did save room for amazing dessert in France. We stopped off at la pastesserie in Epcot. Mr. R chose the eclair and I had the chocolate mousse. It was the best thing I think I have ever eaten.

Totally wonderful, fantastic, and amazing day!

4/24: Mr. R's Decathalon

We celebrated Mr. R's birthday decathalon style this year. We have been really into board games lately and I wanted to plan his party around a few of our favorites.

Round 1: Pictureka, winner Ashley

Round 2: MadGab, winner Kristin

Round 3: Cranium Pop Five, winner Girl's Team

Round 4: Apples to Apples, winner Jen

Round 5: UNO, winner Ashley

Round 6: Cranium Party Play-off!, winner Chris!

After much tallying, final deliberations, and a declaration that Mr. Potato Head should be the theme of Barry Manilow's next song, we had three overall winners.

The gold medal went to Ashley! (Her prize, a house bunny DVD!)

Congratulations to Heather who won the silver medal! (She chose Yellowtail Merlot)

And in third place, or bronze medal winner, went to Kristin! She went home with Forgetting Sarah Marshall.

It really was a fantastic time! I am so thankful we have found such great friends here in Florida. Love them so much!

4/22: Happy Birthday Mr. R!

I love you more than words can express and more than I ever say or show you. I am so thankful that God made you and chose you to be my husband. You continue to amaze me with your work ethic, your love, your patience, your understandings, your desire to follow God more, and your almost unending love for me.

You don't know this, but you are extremely hard to buy presents for. You say you have everything you need. And you are very careful about the things you want. I thought for weeks about what you read and study and what interests you have.

My mom trumped me with the Big Bang Theory DVD. You trumped me by saying Barnes and Nobel had nothing that interested you... and then I remembered your most loved magazine.

THE ECONOMIST!

So glad you loved your gift!

4/20: A very good day!

Mr. R was appointed to our county's planning and zoning board today!

This is an appointment that he has worked three months for. Three months of REC meetings, one on one meetings with the commissioners, three months of extra hours at the headquarters, and three months of festivals with lots of hand shaking on his part and nodding and smiling on my part.

The appointment came on a Tuesday a very busy Tuesday in fact! So we celebrated by doing a couple loads of laundry, getting Mr. R a haircut, and the best part.... FIVE GUYS! Mr. R. had the bacon cheese burger and I had the hot dog. And of course no meal from Five Guys is complete without fries.

Today was a very good day!

4/19: A very ordinary Monday

And while it takes courage to achieve greatness, it takes more courage to find fulfillment in being ordinary. For the joys that last have little relationship to achievement, to standing one step higher on the victory platform. What is the adventure in being ordinary? It is daring to love just for the pleasure of giving it away. It is venturing to give new life and to nurture it to maturity. It is working hard for the pure joy of being tired at the end of the day. It is caring and sharing and giving and loving…

Marilyn Thomsen

All in good time.

My favorite memories for childhood are Sunday drives.

So glad that Mr. R and the pups like them too.

4/17: Tea Party!

This party had no cream and sugar, no doormouse, and no Mad Hatters.

No tea was served, no scones, or crumpets either.Instead a group of concerned citizens met on Francis field to discuss what to do about the current Obama administration's love for big government, big spending, and bad policy.

Whether or not you are a fan of the tea partier's or conservative politics. You should be a fan of people expressing themselves in a positive way to evoke change.

I may not fully agree with the message the tea party is spouting out.

(Get it? spout! I crack myself up!)

But I do agree that as Americans we have the right to express ourselves and we should use that right. We should fight against things we think are wrong or dishonest. And we should gather together with likeminded individuals to amplify our message.

And we shouldn't wait for someone else to tell us what to think or who to vote for.

One of Mr. R's most famous rants is that we should do the research ourselves and discover what we personally believe and then vote accordingly.

If you are reading this and you too have concerns about the future of our country. I urge to learn about the issues, read about the candidates running for office in November 2010, and get ACTIVE!

Let your voice be heard and let your vote count!

4/17: Happy Birthday Ashley!

Mr. Republican & I celebrated Ashley's birthday with burgers, beer, and chocolate cake.

I can't think of a more awesome combination.

I forgot the camera so here is a picture of Ashley from earlier today.

She was part of the Jacksonville Flash Mob who danced to Ke$ha's Tick Tock @ the Landing.

It sounds like it was awesomely hilarious!

And because I am a dork and love my cricut. Here is a photo of her gift.

We didn't have a card so I made one on in less than 3 minutes.

I swear that thing in amazing!

An intimate view of my life.

A friend introduced me to Mark Menjivar a documentary photographer who photographs the inside people's refrigerators. Menjivar was working on a film about hunger and discovered that people's refrigerators were the gateway to not only what they eat, but also what they value and how they spend their money.

At first I thought he was full of it. I mean really, what can a fridge full of food really tell you? But after a few photos, I had to eat my words. See his pictures below.

A mid-wife and middle school science teacher share this fridge. They believe in buying local and buying organic.

A street advertiser. If you have ever been/lived in NYC. You know how hard these guys work. It's amazing he/she had anything in this fridge at all!

The freezer of an NRA member.

And finally a bartender. Who gets home @ 8am and wakes up @ 4pm.

It's amazing how a few photos of a kitchen appliance can tell so much about a person. So to be fair, here is the my fridge.

What do you see?

We had a crazy week this week, hence the takeout containers.

We made a trip to COSTCO this morning. (So many fruits and vegetables!)

Our yummy cheese drawer. Does it say we are wine and cheese mongers?

Does our fridge scream a Republican and a wannabe hippie live here?

What would your fridge say about you?

Back in high school..

Mr. R has decided to join a softball league. It was a last minute decision that left us scrambling around the house for keys 15 minutes before the game started. But we made it!

I only had the iphone to take pictures, so you have to trust me that my husband was a hottie in his cleats, old glove, and pants covered in grass stains.

And it was pretty awesome to be in the stands cheering.

It hit me that it has been 10 years since I have been in the stands cheering for a boy. Almost 10 years since I graduated high school. I may look a little older and my skirts are definitely longer... but the trade off is worth it. Because tonight I went home with Mr. R and he was worth waiting for.

4/15: Highway Robbery!

This year Mr. R and I had to pay Uncle Sam.

I am not happy.

I may not miss Bush, but I do miss his tax cuts!

photo source

4/14: Less Words on Wednesday

Mr. R and I attended a fundraiser tonight. It was held in an amazing home, with an amazing foyer, where an amazing chandelier the size of my body hung from a ceiling so high it could touch the stars. The attendees wrote checks of 1,000.oo to attend. And I got to the shake the hand of a gubernatorial candidate. I drank wine, wore a pretty new dress, and made small talk with various attendees. However, I didn't get to have dinner. So Mr. R treated me to dinner. And dressed in our finest duds we ordered from the red drive through window and came home to feast on chicken nuggets and waffle fries.

It really was a perfect night.

4/14: Views from the McCollum Campaign

Mr. R and I worked a McCollum fundraiser on Wednesday. The wine was amazing and I would have eaten 20 of every appetizer if that had been permitted. Also the house was crazy amazing. The foyer chandelier was the size of my body. And if that is not enough, my ENTIRE house could fit in the living room.