Last Name

The other day I went to pick up a prescription at our nearby pharmacy.  I didn't spend much time thinking about what name to say.  The simple thought crossed through my head that I hadn't been to pick up a prescription since getting married so I said "Peterson". 

The lady at the pharmacy began searching for it.  She couldn't find it so she typed my name into the nearest computer.  She soon asked for my birthdate.  At that point she called a second associate over and they conversed as they pointed at the computer screen in front of them.  She then asked for my birthdate again.  Which I gave again.  The second associate then chimed in to ask me if it was possible that my prescription was under a different last name.  I quickly said, "Oh umm, maybe Vaughn!"  The lady instantly said, "Yes, your birthdate brought up your prescription but the last name didn't match."  I then quickly explained I recently got married and apparently I'm a bit crazy!  Well, I didn't say the crazy part but I felt a bit ridiculous.

Anyone ever heard the song "Last Name" by Carrie Underwood?  Well, I could definitely relate somewhat to that song as I walked away from the pharmacy.  For a brief second I wasn't sure what my last name is....lol!

Sampling!

The first thing Simon wants to do upon getting up for the day is....EAT!  Cody wants to rough up his bed or his blanket or the nearest toy then eat.  But he's not in as big of a hurry to eat as Simmie!  Our cat Storm has adjusted to the boys feeding times.  The boys eat breakfast and dinner at about the same time as we eat.  As for Storm, her meals of the day are at lunchtime and a late night dinner. 

Yesterday morning I went to get the boys out of bed for the day.  Simon was anxious to eat as always.  Cody lagged behind.  And Storm jumped up on the counter to wait by the water faucet, she loves to get us humans to turn on the water for her.  She likes it straight out of the tap!  I got the boys bowls out on the counter then poured their food in to each bowl.  As I was putting the bag of food away I got a bit distracted and moved a few things around in the closet before putting the dog food away.  Meanwhile Simon is anxiously hopping from one foot to the other in hopes that his food bowl catches a magic carpet ride all the way down to the floor so he can eat and not wait on his mommie.  I turn to look back at the food bowls and what do I see?  No it wasn't Simon on the counter eating his food.  Believe me he doesn't want to get into that much trouble! Instead I spot Storm eating the boys dog food!  I was in disbelief for a millisecond then started laughing as I looked at Simon's staring eyes as he was watching Storm eat HIS food.  I quickly set the bowls down on the floor so the boys could have their breakfast. 

I guess it's only fair after all the boys have sampled Storm's food that has managed to hit the floor.  So it's only right that she samples their food.  Once again this morning she was front and center taking a few kibbles before I could lay down the bowls for the boys.  Possibly she likes what they get and this may become a pattern. We'll see!  Here's the funniest part....just imagine the thoughts Simon had rolling through his head when he saw the cat eating his food! Lol!

Purchase Of My First Laptop (Update)

As I already mentioned in a previous post the Acer fit all my qualifications so I was happy with it until I started cruising around online more.  On certain web sites I noticed a lack of clarity.  Not as sharp of a picture as I would expect a brand new laptop to have.  On Sunday afternoon I sat down  with the Acer to put it to the test, since purchasing the Acer on Friday night I had only used it twice, both times in the late night hours.  So I was thinking maybe my eyes were just tired.  As I looked  around online Sunday afternoon I went to a few clothing web sites, which truly showed the lack of clarity. I then got my husband's laptop and set it up next to the Acer on the same exact web page.  We both stared at the two screens.  My husband agreed with me that there was certainly a lack of sharpness on the Acer.  Before the store closed on Sunday evening we took it back and came home with a Sony Vaio.  In the last 8 days I have tried out 3 laptops in total and returned 2 of them....hopefully the Vaio is a keeper!

We decided to quit messing around with this whole computer thing and go for the gusto, so to speak.  We didn't buy the most expensive laptop in the building but we came away with one that is certainly in the upper level of laptops being sold right now.  I needed a little convincing from my husband as I still wasn't quite positive about the Sony. Yeah, I'll admit I've always wanted a Vaio but I've refrained because Sony is always a bit more expensive than other brands.  However, Sony does have a few extra perks, plus the Sony fit my qualifications and then some.

There's tons of laptops on the market but once I narrowed down my qualifications the choice seemed a bit slim.  I suppose to make it worth your while to get a laptop you have to be willing to spend a little more than what I was originally wanting to spend.  The thing that I'm blown away by, is how much shopping for a laptop has changed since I bought my mom one 8 months ago. In the last 8 months ultrabook laptops, convertible laptops, and touch-screens have been introduced.  An ultrabook is a laptop that meets specific criteria in speed, performance, and overall weight.  A convertible laptop bends in different ways, just in case you need a laptop that can do yoga better than you! Ha Ha!  To better explain that joke...there's actually a convertible laptop on the market called "yoga 13"! As for touch-screens it depends on the model, some have them and some don't.

Hopefully, we are done looking at computers!  I know I sure am tired of looking and returning them!  Geez!  I never thought I would have so many issues with getting a laptop.  I'm really not that picky, I just want good value for what we are spending.

The Purchase Of My First Laptop

This is my first post I am making on my new computer.  We went out to dinner then to Best Buy.  Actually we went to two different Best Buy's.  The first Best Buy didn't have the selection I was hoping for.  I was a little concerned about going to the other Best Buy we frequent because earlier in the week their selection was low.  As we drove to the 2nd Best Buy store of the night I hoped they had restocked some things.

I'm not sure if the computer I came away with was there the other day when I looked but anyway I finally made a decision.  It's not so much that I couldn't make a decision it's simply that buying a new computer isn't easy.  Before buying you have to do your research and you have to sift through all the mumbo-jumbo in an effort to figure out what your specifications are for the new computer you want. Or if you are my mom, you don't have to worry about it because your daughter will keep you upgraded. ;)

I knew I wanted one that was a little more compact than my husband's laptop.  I knew I wanted a touch-screen after purchasing one without a touch screen last weekend I quickly moved that up the list of qualifications for the new computer.  I also wanted a decent amount of memory with a fast processor.  Another qualification or bonus for this computer was a disc drive.  They are introducing a lot of laptops without disc drives.  They are trying to make the laptops lighter and doing away with the disc drive is helping to do that.  Plus there's so many people that download, disc drives aren't used that much nowadays.  So the disc drive issue was not a deal breaker for me, but it was a bonus feature.  As I am not quite ready to completely depend on downloads.  Especially since we just got married and all our wedding pictures are on a disc from our photographer. At least though I've been somewhat forewarned that disc drives are likely to be fazed out in the next few years.  

I think in the end I went "middle of the road" with the new computer maybe the higher end of "middle of the road". But I couldn't fathom going over a certain amount.  We stuck to a budget!  As fast as technology changes I decided I'd rather save a little bit of money now and possibly update sooner.

My very first desktop bought for me by my grandma so many years ago was an Acer.  Since that first Acer I have upgraded with desktops only. This purchase is my first laptop.  While dating Brad I realized I liked his laptop.  I've said for awhile now my next computer would be a laptop.  I love the convenience of it.  It goes anywhere! Well folks, just like my first desktop was an Acer, my very first laptop is an Acer.  I came away with an Acer.  It was the size I wanted, the storage I wanted, the price I was willing to pay, the processor speed I wanted, the touch-screen I just had to have, and the bonus...it has a disc drive! So far so good...very happy with our new computer purchase!

Here's my quick advice on computer buying, don't break the bank....as I already mentioned technology changes too fast to put loads of money into one purchase. Something newer and greater will come out in the not so distant future and you'll be longing to upgrade.  Another tip, if you are upgrading to a computer with Windows 8....get a touch-screen.  Don't upgrade if you can't afford the touch-screen! I didn't realize the importance of the touch-screen until I unboxed the first one we bought last Sunday and started up Windows 8 for the first time.  Windows 8 is a lot more enjoyable to work if you have a touch-screen. 

One Cranky Little Pug!

One thing I can certainly appreciate about Simon is that he rolls with it!  Whatever "it" is...he rolls with it!  Whether it be snow, sleet, a sunny day, a rainy day, even an annoyance in our home he'll just roll with it as well. 

Yet another area where my, oops I mean, our two pugs are strikingly different.  Cody does not "roll with it".  Yesterday was a not so nice day for each of the walks.  We got hailed on during the early morning walk.  We were out too far to turn around and go home at the point of where it began to hail.  Or at least I think it was hail, my husband said it was sleet.  I'm still learning the difference.  Anyway, hail or sleet neither makes Cody a happy camper.  He turns into a cranky little dude when non perfect weather conditions exist.  Oh and you give Cody two or more days in a row of non perfect walking weather and he's near the brink!  He's so irritable he's ready to start taking names down for his bite list! 

This morning as we approached the elevator to go downstairs I could hear the rain beating down.  I knew at that point this was going to be an interesting outing!  Once we came out of the elevator and approached the glass door to go outside Cody noticed the conditions were much less than his high standards.  He immediately dug his heels into the floor and refused to get any closer to the exit door.  A tug-of-war match ensued, which I was the champ of.  Once outside he groaned, moaned, and pulled towards the door to go back inside.  The conditions were way too much to deal with so he soon got his way.  It was impossible to stay out there for the full walk. 

In the end I guess Cody got a small victory today.  He didn't have to walk in the horrible conditions of this morning.  I was very pleased to see that as the day progressed the weather improved so the early evening walk that we just finished was hovering just a little below Cody's high standards therefore he survived it without too much issue!

My New Computer!

I never planned on moving my old computer to our new place. It did make the move but is not set up, it's in the garage we have. I'll be giving it to one of Brad's friends soon. I got rid of my desk and was planning on making the jump to a laptop once we got settled in. So this past Sunday we went out looking and we came away with one.

After setting it up I soon realized in a matter of a few minutes....I messed up picking the one we bought. We should've got a touch-screen! Early this evening I took it back. I thought I would come away with another one but the brand I typically go with didn't have anything I was interested in. I looked at others but everything I seemed to like wasn't in stock. So I will do more research as the stores have a little bit different selection than the ones I previously researched online and hopefully by Friday or Saturday I will have my very first laptop.

I actually have debated if I need to get a new computer or if we can simply share Brad's laptop. But having two would be nice!  So who will get my business?...I mean that as in which brand will I come away with since my old standby brand has nothing for me. We shall see!

Visiting Granny!

We had a good weekend. It didnt seem long enough. But that's always my complaint! It wasn't a 3 day weekend for Brad. As for me today, I ran errands and took my husband lunch.

During the weekend I made blueberry muffins from scratch, something I've never done before. I made them to take to Brad's granny. I definitely think I overbaked them just a bit. I'm still getting used to our new oven. Different things bake differently.

We went out to see his granny on Saturday.  We had a great time. We took some food for lunch and spent the afternoon playing a game. Granny beat us in the game we played. She loves playing card games and Scrabble. We all won a round of the game but granny was the overall winner. It's always such a relaxing and enjoyable time out at granny's farm.

Our Valentine's Day!

I hope everyone had a nice Valentine's day.  We did!  Our Valentine's day was low-key.  We know how busy things are so we prefer staying in or going somewhere that we're pretty sure won't be busy.  Last year we chose a nice little neighborhood restaurant which wasn't busy based on the fact that it's a more casual quick-serve sporty atmosphere. 

This year we stayed in and ordered pizza.  We did consider the same restaurant we went to last year before deciding on pizza.  We dined on pizza and soda.  We had plenty of treats to enjoy too.  I made Brad some special Valentine's day chex mix!  Or at least that's what I'm calling it.  I melted chocolate chips and peanut butter together then poured it over a combo of chex cereals then sprinkled half of the mix with powdered sugar and added in some plain M&M's.  It turned out pretty good! Brad likes it and that's all that counts!

We planned on watching one of my fave movies for the evening entertainment but after opening gifts we watched the new movie Brad gave me.  I suggested we open the gifts a little early, because I knew the new movie Skyfall was in his gift bag.  I was willing to spend the evening watching a spy movie versus a chick-flick. But Brad insisted we watch the chick-flick that was from my gift bag.  Yep, we each got a movie for one another as a little side gift. We always seem to do that!  And here's a little secret I'd prefer watching a good spy movie nine out of ten times over a chick-flick!  The movie we watched wasn't your typical chick-flick, it was in the romantic category but not sappy or over done!  It was funny and entertaining!

It was a nice evening to simply chill!  Our first Valentine's day as a married couple.  It was fun!  Good movie, good food, and a wonderful husband as my Valentine...what more could I ask for?

 

The Numbers!

Obviously combining two households into one was a challenge.  Lots of stuff had to go.  There is however one area of the household that remains quite stuffed!  Double and triple of certain things!

Before moving we did our best to work on eating the items in the pantry and not going to the grocery store.  However, we still moved lots of food items.  The pantry at our new place is stuffed!  Don't get me wrong it's overall nice to have such a packed pantry. I thought it would be kind of interesting to post the numbers of items we moved.  So here are the numbers from the 2 refrigerators and 2 pantries:

6 jars of peanut butter(I hope Simon reads that line! LOL!).....Brad had 2, one for him and one for the boys when the boys would visit. As for me, I had 4...one for the boys, a crunchy, a smooth, and a back-up jar for the boys.Simon has me well trained there's numerous times I've been at the grocery store and I can't remember how low the boys pb is so I grab an extra jar.    

Salt...3 jars of salt....one regular and 2 sea salts.

Mustard....3, don't ask me why we had so much mustard between us!

Mayo....4, one regular in a jar, 2 spreadable pop top containers, and one light in a jar.

Coffee....3 containers of coffee. One container is a specialty flavor my mom likes so it made the move.

Coffeemate....4, two of them are hazelnut and 2 are plain.

Cereal....6 boxes of cereal and 3 boxes of oatmeal.

Sour cream....4 containers in two different sizes.

Ranch dressing....3 bottles two different types.

Marinades....oh geez, we have so many marinades between us it's ridiculous.

Pasta sauces....4 jars, I always buy those in twos.  So that number isn't surprising to me at all.

Pasta....I had 4 different types and Brad at 3.  We've got everything from elbow macaroni to lasagna noodles to penne.

Spices....nearly all commonly used spices we had at least 2 of.

So that's all I can think of off the top of my head.  As for cleaning products we have lots of duplicates there too.  For example, we moved 3 bottles of Cascade.  For awhile when we were arranging this new household I kept referring to it as "the house that had two of everything"....two people, two pugs,...two cats....oh wait no just one cat! Lol! In her opinion this place or any previous place hasn't been big enough for two cats to coexist! She loves being the one and only, I'm sure of it!

Our 3 Day Weekend!

We are enjoying a 3 day weekend.  Since Brad had to work last Saturday he was able to have today off.  I worked super hard during this week so that I could also take the day off with him.

Today is my father-in-law's birthday, we will be going out for dinner to celebrate.  He requested a batch of brownies as opposed to a birthday cake, his birthday brownies I just pulled out of the oven.  I almost forgot to put the pecans in the batter.  I had to mix them in after I had already poured the batter into the pan.  Oh well, it will still taste just fine.  One time quite a few years ago I forgot to put in the chocolate chips in a brownie recipe and there I was mixing them into a batter that had been pulled out of the oven after baking for about 5 minutes.  Geesh!

I sure have logged some time in the kitchen this week.  Baking, baking, and more baking! There's been more than one birthday to celebrate in our part of the world!  Don't get me wrong I love baking. I love being in the kitchen but after this week of baking plus regular evening meal prep, I'm wanting a short break from cooking.  Once the weekend is over I'll be refreshed and ready to get back in there in time to whip up my honey a little Valentine's day treat! I must say I love our new kitchen.  The design is nice!  It has two entry points, which I think Simon enjoys just as much as his mommie.  When I tell him to get out of the kitchen he can at least go lay down in an area where he is still privy to what is going on. The flow of the kitchen and living room of our new place was the main thing I loved about the floorplan. Plus the fact that all of our main living space doesn't share a wall with a neighbor is a HUGE bonus to me!    

Thus far the Dallas weather has been beautiful in February.  A rainy day is on the horizon.  When I tell Cody it's raining outside tomorrow I'll start by telling him it's not that cold at least!  Buck up my little camper!

As for the rest of our long weekend....no big plans.  Just as we want it!  A nice relaxing weekend with little to nothing scheduled to do. I forgot to mention we completed the look of our new place by buying bedding and bathroom ensembles last Sunday.  There we were in turbo mode flying around the house getting the last minute prep done before our Super Bowl get-together.  It was a little crazy but we work great as a team and we got it all ready to show by the time people arrived.  So now you can better understand why we need a relaxing weekend. 

Wedding Pics (part 3)

Here's some more pics!  A day late, what can I say?....I get busy! I was certainly super busy on Super Bowl Sunday.  I finally had some time just now to sort thru more pics. I'm currently trying to decide which ones should be selected for our photo album. This set of pics features another one with my mom along with some pics of the wedding party and a couple with my in-laws! I absolutely adore the pic of Brad and his brother Rob.  That one will surely be in our photo album. It's likely the best pic I've ever seen of the two of them as adults. I think most of the pics that have been posted thus far are good candidates for the album.   

 

Ready For Sunday!

Ah yes, February has begun!  It is my experience that February is the most unpredictable weather month that Big D has.  And so far I haven't been through a February here that hasn't featured snow.  So we'll see what is in store for us weather-wise!

I'm ready for the big game!  I decided on a fajita bar for the main course.  Then I'll have some dip choices and of course the typical fajita fixings. Oh and I'm going to make my fiesta chicken stuffed bread as a little extra choice for people.  It's a very unique dish not to mention a rather pretty presentation of stuffed bread.  As for dessert I already completed a cheesecake.

With the new job change for Brad came the once a month weekend workday.  So he had to work today.  His office is closed on Sundays so no worry there as to having to work on Super Bowl Sunday or any other Sunday.  I spent the day preparing our home to welcome guests tomorrow.  We still lack a few key items to fully complete our home. The guest bedroom and bathroom is completely set.  But the master bedroom and bathroom are in need of bedding, a shower curtain(one that we like), and towels.  We're making do with a combo of our old stuff but we want to update all of it asap.  While Brad was at work today I took some time to go look once more for bedding. I gave myself a time limit for looking since I had so much I was trying to accomplish this afternoon. In the end I left the store with nothing. I really want to find a nice one just can't seem to find what we both desire. There's numerous comforters out there with lots of intricate stitch work on them.  I'm unsure how the stitch work would hold up.  If it wasn't for all the ones with intricate stitch work, we'd likely have a comforter set by now. I've been racking my brain as to where else I can look for bedding sets.  Once we decide on the bedding set then we can get a shower curtain.  I don't want it to be too matchy-matchy but I want coordinating colors in both. I regret that our place isn't completely put together as I hoped it would be by the time we had our Super Bowl get-together but oh well!  I don't want to buy something just to buy it.

Yes, I'll be busy tomorrow.  But I'm going to try hard to post some more wedding pics at some point during the day.  I know which ones I want to post it's just a matter of finding them on our wedding pics CD and uploading them to the blog.