Gitz Bits: Week 33

Monday, August 15, 2011

This poor robin was in a tizzy trying to get some food on Monday. The feeder s/he was standing on is supposed to be safe against animals like raccoons and chipmunks, so when they stand on the little ledges their weight pulls the cage down and the food opening is covered by the leaves.

Well, apparently the robin had eaten a worm too many and was too heavy to actually get any of the birdseed.

If only the same was true for fast food windows...

Tuesday, August 16, 2011

I did a little food experimenting myself, which is almost unheard of in my world, but it turned out great! I was looking through a blog that had a recipe that filled all of my requirements:

1. I had all the ingredients in my house.
2. It required absolutely no effort on my part.

Because I love you all, here's what you do:

Mix 12oz. of your favorite barbeque sauce, 1/2 cup Italian salad dressing and 1/4 cup brown sugar and put it over 6 frozen chicken breasts in a crock pot.

{I only had three frozen chicken breasts and it seemed perfect to me because I liked the extra sauciness.}

You leave it on high in the crockpot for four hours and then pull the chicken apart with two forks. It is YUMMY. You're welcome.

Wednesday, August 17, 2011

This is what Riley and I look like when we're not making great things in crockpots.

Thursday, August 18, 2011

I was so happy that my little yellow flower started to get blooms on it again! I was afraid with all this dry hot weather that the time for flowers was over. I love it when I'm proven wrong.

Friday, August 19, 2011

I was so grateful it was such a beautiful day out for my Uncle Barney's family to have his funeral and celebrate his life. I took a picture of this gorgeous blue sky because I know the gray days of winter are coming soon enough and we need to enjoy these fluffy cloud moments. 

Saturday, August 20, 2011

My sweet sister Laura texted me a picture of her and Jeff getting my nephew Thomas settled in the dorm for his first year of college.

I'm so incredibly proud of him and can't believe it's time for him to be on his own already. And right now I'm just hoping his roommate doesn't mind Iowa Hawkeye apparel. :) 

Sunday, August 21, 2011

My darling seven-year-old Yodi got to borrow her big sister's cell phone on Sunday and we spent hours – literally hours – texting back and forth. It was so sweet to go over everything from how much we love each other to how sad she is I live so far away to how the pop rocks she was eating feel when they explode in her mouth.

I loved every single minute of finding out everything there was to know about her day on Sunday. I am a lucky, lucky girl.

Thanks for once again sharing my week with me! Click on the button below if you want to go to Jessica’s site and check out the other participants showing off their weekly photos as well:

Gitz Bits: Week 32

Monday, August 8, 2011

Monday was my parents' 47th wedding anniversary, so I thought taking a snapshot of their wedding photo was fitting.

Their wedding cake had tiny little figurines on it that looked like the bride and groom, as well as groomsmen and bridesmaids that were in matching blue dresses and veils.

You can imagine how happy I was to find that box in the closet when I was a little girl… they were way more fun to play with than Barbies as far as I was concerned.  

Tuesday, August 9, 2011

I think I already showed you guys the "JOY" blocks I have in my curio cabinet, so I wanted to show you the ones that spell out HOPE as well. Because we can all use a little hope in our day, can't we? :)

Wednesday, August 10, 2011

And this shot is the definition of hope from Riley's perspective.

I have a bit of an addiction to Sweetarts and Starbursts, and when a stray one is left on the table by my bed, Riley often does this look of unrequited longing.

Poor guy. He's disappointed every time.

Thursday, August 11, 2011

This is a public service announcement to all of you who may be wondering what to do with all of those tomatoes in your gardens.

If you are not slicing them up and dousing them with sugar, then you are doing the wrong thing.

Friday, August 12, 2011

I know Susie is probably less thrilled to be going back to work than I am for her to be there. But her being at work means she's now closer to Sonic, which means my fridge will look like this more often.

I know, I'm a selfish, selfish friend. :)

Saturday, August 13, 2011

Look! I've gotten really good at growing grass in my flower garden. Aren't you impressed with me?!?! I'm a total green thumb. 

Sunday, August 14, 2011

So, one of my readers, Donna, sent me this as a surprise package months ago and I felt so bad to have to tell her that it never arrived. But then I thought to have someone check my mailbox in case the mailman forgot and left mail in there instead of in my basket by the door.

And lo and behold… it was there! Can you stand it? If you look closely it not only says "Choose Joy" but it has Riley stamped onto the center stone. Which is fitting, because we all know that Riley is the center of the universe around here. :)

Thanks for once again sharing my week with me! Click on the button below if you want to go to Jessica’s site and check out the other participants showing off their weekly photos as well:

Gitz Bits: Week 31

Monday, August 1, 2011

What a perfect day. :) Every time Adeline was hungry, Jess came and got her to feed her. And every time she was done, she walked back over to the bed and put her in my arms.

Pretty much the perfect arrangement, if you ask me. 

Tuesday, August 2, 2011

Riley didn't think ANY of this was a perfect arrangement, however. I had decided early on that mixing Elias, a brand new baby and Riley was probably not going to be the smoothest option for the visit. Because I REALLY wanted to hold Adeline, and I knew that would never happen safely with Riley around.

So I shaved his hair as short as I could to help with my reacting to him and sent him off on a play date with Susie for the day. He did *great* with Susie… behaving way better than he does here at home. Heck, I was on the phone with her at one point when someone came to her door and Riley didn't make a peep.

We decided he's definitely more protective of me. But when he came home we also decided he was definitely not happy with me just giving him away like that.

I got the cold shoulder. BIG TIME.

I'm still not sure if he was mad because I sent him away, or because he discovered there's a whole world out there that I've been keeping him from...

Wednesday, August 3, 2011

I'm cheating and posting another Monday photo, simply because there's a cute baby involved. But the photo is actually to point out the cute pillow.

Shannon found this pillow in a Christian book store and snatched it up for me as a surprise... not only do the colors match my duvet EXACTLY, but it has my blog theme of Choose Joy front and center.  I thought at first she had it made, but she swears it was just sitting there already perfectly designed.

I love when that kind of thing happens. I love even more that my sweet friend saw it and thought of me. And I especially love the baby it's sitting next to.

Thursday, August 4, 2011

Speaking of sweet and thoughtful gifts, when Jessica and her parents came, they brought me this amazing bird bath! Doesn't it look beautiful by the hasta?

I think the birds were a little afraid of the fake cardinal at first, but they have been dipping their beaks and feathers quite often the past few days. On Thursday there were three of them hanging out, but they saw the motion of me grabbing the camera and flew away before I could catch them in action.

Friday, August 5, 2011

Have you ever seen a sweeter face?

My Yodi girl turned seven on Saturday, and on Friday afternoon she got her ears pierced to celebrate. It was a BIG day, so we skyped that night so I could see the sparklers in her ears. Which she said, by the way, didn't hurt at all.

Brave girl.

I had mailed her gift earlier in the week, so she got to open it that night while we were on skype. I had sent her some special earrings and that's the look on her face as she opened them. You would have thought I pulled stars right out of the sky and put them in box for her.

She's just the sweetest thing.

Saturday, August 6, 2011

Would you look at that? I FINALLY got two goldfinches at once. Elvis must have told Priscilla about his hangout so she could join him. 

Sunday, August 7, 2011

I cheated again with another Monday photo. But I couldn't let this picture go without showing it to you, because this little stinker could work that iPhone like a pro. There is no doubt Elias takes in everything around him because he not only looked big playing games on the phone, he sounded big as he kissed Adeline's head every time she woke up and said in his cutest three-year-old voice, "Hey there, pretty girl."

I so love him.

Thanks for once again sharing my week with me! Click on the button below if you want to go to Jessica’s site and check out the other participants showing off their weekly photos as well: