I'm Back Babydolls!

The above heading is in reference to the TV show "How I Met your Mother", which I watch way to often as Mr. R has the DVDs and they suck me in with the cheerfully romantic plot lines.

So much as happened since my last post and I will attempt to fill you in on my little life in the 10 minutes I have before guests arrive and I must make/serve them dinner.

1. Marine Science is OVER! The camp ended last Thursday and while I love the fact I don't have to be up at 6:00 on the dot any more or wear the same shirt for four days in a row, I had a blast. The kids for the most part were great and really, who can complain about a job that pays you to be at the beach?

2. Sod, glorious sod! The sod was installed my last week at work and we have successfully kept it alive for two weeks. Apparently, my thumb isn't as black as I thought. The pups love it and are keeping it well fertilized. (Proving the sod should be thriving for years to come).

3. We have wood! (floors that is) The floors are in and they are beautiful. I almost didn't want to put our furniture back. I also love that their beauty has made Mr. R almost stop wearing his shoes in the house. (Double score!). The pups aren't too sure about them yet. They don't like that they click when they walk. This has put a damper on their stealth ability to steal food and open the treat cabinet.

4. Danielle is 29, well she has been for a few weeks now, but we celebrated her awesomeness and how thankful we are that she was born, last Thursday. Due to the fact that we only had half a floor at the time of party Kristin offered her house and all I had to due was provide the food. I tried a few new recipes and they were so good. We stuffed ourselves with buffalo chicken dip,(I use no butter and fat free/low fat cheeses) 7 layer Mexican dip, steak nachos, chicken nachos and queso. And it's not a birthday without some funfetti cupcakes ala Rachel.

5. Stuff the Bus! The YRs are hosting a school supply drive, for local kids, inspired by yours truly. You all know I have a strong desire for all things organization and crayola. We are asking for donations of folders, pencils, pens, and notebooks. (All other supplies are welcome too!) We have had some awesome donations from very generous people. And if you also want to be awesome and generous throw some supplies our way. You too could have a shout-out on my blog!

6. Obamanomics 101. With school starting in just two weeks (Eeek! I am so not ready). Mr. R was saying how we, as a club, need to educate people about what's going on with our money, aka taxes. The health care plan is a buzz on the news right now, but I gotta tell you, I don't really trust the news to give the full story anymore. Instead Mr. R and I, present to you, Obamanomics 101: Change we can't afford. If you want to know what President Obama's proposed changes mean for you paycheck and your family, leave a comment and I will send you a link to our new series.

7. I need new running shoes. I am back to running and logging some serious miles. I have yet to break in my new shoes well enough and now I have some serious blisters on both of my freakishly long index toes. I know as if feet weren't gross enough already.

8. Billy Banks is back (in my VCR). Yes, I am old school and still have a VCR. Also Billy Blanks, the Tae-Bo wonderman, (I love him), has new videos that are fantastic! The series isn't as crazy as his boot camp series, that almost killed me. It's great for my cross training days and it only takes 45 mins.

9. My mom is coming tomorrow! She is amazing. I love her and I haven't seen her in 7 months. I am so excited. She is my best friend, confidant, and shopping partner.

10. The 2010 IKEA catalogue is here. The layouts are great and my mind is already spinning with ideas on how to revamp our house. I have several pages already marked and circled. I think a trip to Orlando is in order.

Ok, so this has taken much longer than ten minuets resulting in Mr. R having to make dinner. Maybe I should blog at the dinner hour more often. Fellow bloggers, thanks for hanging in their during my recent draught of blog posts. I promise to do a better job of checking in.

Treadmill...

I am half way through my second grad class and I feel like I am on a treadmill running as fast as I can going nowhere. I realize this will all be over in a week and life will settle and return to normalcy. However, right now, I am tired...

Time to fess up...

I haven't run in 10 days. My lack of running started innocently. I over ran for a week and ended up with shin splints. (It hurt to even walk or stand!) I decided to take it easy and just walk instead of running. I have to say that I LOVE walking. I can breathe when I walk. I do not sweat profusely. And I can talk to my neighbors on the treadmill or around the block. My lack of running might also be due to the fact that I have decided to tackle A MILLION house projects this summer. And while I am steadily crossing off things on my to do list we still have so many projects still in the works.

I am jumping back on the fit train tomorrow. My Nikes will be glad to be back in action. Wish me luck!

Tea Party

As most of you know, Mr. R is the president of the young republicans in our area and has spent most of his life trying to fight for small goverment, lower taxes, and a sound defense stretegy for our nation. He has worked on a ridiculous number of campains, knocked on hundreads of doors, taken thousands of calls from irate consiuents when he was on Capitol Hill. Now, he has decided to educate americans through press and speaking engagements. I am starting to think that I married a young Bill Kristol.

We attended the Saint Augustine TEA party last sunday. (In case your TV isn't glued to FOX news like ours is the TEA parties were put together as a way for Americans to say we are Taxed Enough Already and ask for smarter government spending.)

Here are a few pics of the event captured by yours truly (& our friend Terry). Below you will find Mr. R's letter to the editor. Power to the people!

Why I Attended the Tea Party

Editor:
I attended last week’s tea party to add my voice to the hundreds of thousands of people nation-wide who are upset with how Congress and the Obama administration are spending our tax dollars. Although the opinions of the combined protestors ranged from fair tax, to flat tax, to no tax, etc. – we all agree that this administration has put our country on the wrong track.

Strike one is a stimulus bill that is so laden with pork barrel projects that it may actually help to lengthen the economic recession.

Strike two is the bailout to the automakers, Chrysler and GM. With our tax dollars, the government essentially bought a stake in two companies that sell products no one wants to buy. Oh by the way, after two rounds of bailouts, the administration now admits those companies may be forced to file for bankruptcy – something they would have done already if they had not received billions of our tax dollars.

Strike three is the administration’s budget plan for 2010. That budget calls for a massive increase in entitlement spending and calls for the creation of a nationalized healthcare system which has the potential to be the greatest encroachment of government power on our individual liberties.

While the national media’s coverage was largely dismissive of last week’s protests, they and our elected leadership should consider that it is very early in Mr. Obama’s presidency. If half a million people can be roused to protest this early into the president’s term, it is a sign of a nation looking for some spare change.

Mr. Republican
President, St. Johns County Young Republicans

My Saturday Morning...

Mr. R and my grandfather are covered in dirt and steadily tilling our courtyard, soon to be puppy park. Simon and Sophie are happily chewing busy bones on the chaise loungers watching Mr. R and my grandfather sweat and push the enormous rototiller. I am drinking coffee and finishing my LAST PAPER for my class! (In between blogging and checking email). Don't judge. I can't be out there right now, I do have a paper to finish after all...

Mr. R Speaks: Movies

I love movies. I love movies that make me laugh, I love movies that make me think, and I love movies with lots of explosions and crappy dialogue. H does not like the same movies as me. In fact, I don't think she likes any of the same movies.

I preface this because there are some movies that I could watch anytime they are on TV, and I happened to come across one of them this evening as I was looking for something not on the Style channel, Food Network, or TLC (didn't the "L" used to stand for "Learning?" What the hell happened there?).

For me, "Ghostbusters" is one of those movies I could watch any time. Hell, I could watch it back to back and never get tired of it. The cast is fantastic, the dialogue is clever, and the special effects have held up remarkably well for a movie that was made in 1984.

Of course, H does not feel this way about "Ghostbusters." After nixing my viewing choice I asked her if there were any movies she liked so much that she could watch them at any time. A simple "no" was her answer. How on earth did I end up tied to a person who places so little value in entertainment? Who doesn't love to take a break from all that is stressing them out, turn off their brain for 2 hours and laugh a little?

Help me out here folks! She hates my movies so much that I usually end up owing her two chick flicks for every one movie that I like. The tyranny must end! I'll go crazy if I have to sit through one more romantic comedy where the big-city ice queen b-tch finds herself in a small town butting heads with with a ruggedly handsome, yet sarcastic yokel who is secretely rich and engaged to a gold-digger before realizing in the last 10 minutes that they're soul mates.

I'm Back! .... almost

In the midst of our home renovations, graduate work, and my belated quarter-life crisis... I realized I missed documenting what's going on in Casa de Republican. I know my life is no true Hollywood story, but I still would like to record the mini milestones Mr. R and I are making. The solution to my lack of time and need to blog is Mr. R speaks! You lovely readers will be treated to some of the sarcasm and witicims I live with on a daily basis. (Think Ted, aka the professor, from How I Met Your Mother). He's making his debut tonight and hope you learn to love him like I do. Trust me, he grows on you.