Sunday, May 31, 2015

The Weekend Report


We had a fairly quiet but wonderful weekend here at the Marten Family Manor.  I kicked off the weekend on Friday afternoon, by spending it at my happy place, The Lazy River at Point Mallard. The water was a little chillier than I would have liked, but those hot, hot, hot summer temperatures are right around the corner, and I just can't wait. 

That evening I went to see Tomorrowland, and while George Clooney and Disney can typically do no wrong in my book, I have some mixed feelings about that movie.

Saturday was grocery shopping, and lots of cuddles and games of fetch with our Stinky, Sneaky Linky, who owns our hearts.I made some yummy Turkey and Sweet Potato chilli in the slow cooker. We spent the evening getting started on a new huge Lego project, while we watched episodes of West Wing, Gilmore Girls, and Community. I turned in a little early, because I planned to get up at a decent time in the morning.

Sunday morning, I headed to my 9 o'clock date with Pure Barre. What a work-out that was!  My muscles were certainly shaking (which is a good thing)! And then I headed to the Indian Creek Greenway for a run. I had planned to go 6.2, but I made the mistake of taking out my phone at about mile 5.4, and I was so tired, that staring at how far I had to go totally psyched me out! But I'm still OK with 5.5, it's nothing to shake a stick at. I followed up my intense work-outs, with a treat at Dunkin Donut (A Chip Ahoy Crunch Doughnut to be exact!). I live for my long run treat, and I live for donuts! So it's a win, win.

Sunday afternoon was taking a nap, watching Bomb Girls (a new series I found on netflix), putting away laundry, and breaking out my Erin Condren planner to figure out the week ahead.

I feel refreshed and ready to take on the work week. Have a great week everyone.


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Friday, May 29, 2015

Friday Five

Some highlights from this week:


It is such a simple pleasure, but I've been taking naps with the windows up in the bedroom all week long. Right now, it is the perfect temperature outside for it, and it is just the best!


Every year around this time, I have to get re CPR certified. Every year I save this guy from choking and cardiac arrest, and he never even says, "thank you."


I was a little concerned with the direction this words with friends game was going.

It is hard to see, but we had a pretty little rainbow after some summer showers earlier this week.  I so rarely see rainbows, that when I do, I get excited. 


Sorry, Not Sorry for this bathroom selfie. But I spent Friday afternoon at the Lazy River, and I wanted a shot in my new suit. This is the first year in the history of ever, that I actually felt confident in a swimsuit.


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Thursday, May 28, 2015

Project Life 2015: Week 17-Week 18


Week 17 was our time in Wisconsin, in fact I didn't even post any pictures from that week, it's all from the weekend for Adam's grandmother funeral.


Although it was for a sad reason, we did manage to have a little fun and a lot of family time on the trip.  On side 1, I highlighted some of my time in the Chicago O'hare airport, the little mushroom statute is from the porch at Adam's family's house, and the bulletin is from the funeral. I also popped in a post card I bought in the airport.


On this side, I highlighted playing video games with the cousins, eating pancakes, trail running, and attending church with Adam's aunt.  


Week 18, I returned from Wisconsin, all by my lonesome, as Adam stayed behind. 


On side1, I used a picture of my new iphone, a picture of Link being excited for doggie daycare, me sleeping with Baymax instead of Adam, roses blooming in our backyard, and recent reads. 


On side 2, I used a picture of a recipe I made, some running pics, my frappichino treat, email confirmation that I am registered for my next Disney race, my redbox weekend, and a little blurb about the royal baby (I like to include news articles sometimes). 



Lastly, I did a dog park insert, including a QR code with video taken at the park!

Materials Used:
Project Life Editions: Azure (retired) and 5th and Frolic 
Studio Calico: Carolina MoonBaxter Dog



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Wednesday, May 27, 2015

Around the House

Just a few house projects we have going on around here:


I have been looking for the perfect lamp to put on the nightstand in our Nautical guest room for a while now, and I finally found this light blue shell lamp at a favorite local store, Bargain Jungle. I love, love, love it. 

We bought a lovely table for our foyer area. I'm using it to store my work out stuff (weights, yoga mats, and yoga block). As well, as all my photo albums. I really like how it looks in there, and it just goes perfectly with my much loved rainy day painting.


I wanted to take on the small project of decorating our downstairs bathroom/laundry room. It is a small room, with an alcove area (with no door for the washer/dryer). Since it is the main bathroom people use when they come over to visit, I wanted it to look nice, and not just be the laundry room.

I had gotten a set of 12 vintage Disneyland attraction art prints off ebay for a really good price a few weeks ago. I spent a good deal of time with all 12 prints spread out on the floor, trying to figure out which 4 would go best together, as they were all various colors (I also knew I had to use the Peter Pan one, as that ride is my favorite)!


I got the prints hung, and Adam and I went to Lowes on Saturday to buy a curtain, so we could close off the laundry room area when guests come over. I picked a light blue curtain, as all the prints have a little blue in them. I'm so pleased with how it turned out! It looks so much prettier in there, and the Disney prints are just so, "me." By the way, it's super hard to get a representative picture of this room, as it's so small. But I hope you can get the idea anyway.


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Tuesday, May 26, 2015

Memorial Day Weekend


We had a rather low key Memorial Day weekend. I kicked off the weekend being sick, so I ended up  missing work on Friday and Today (boo). Our friends Jana and Austin came up from Jackson to spend the second half of the weekend with us. The plan was to do the Cotton Row 10k, but it didn't happen because I couldn't run.

We managed to do a few fun things though. I saw both Avengers 2 and Pitch Perfect 2 (man oh man, did that movie make me laugh). We played lots and lots of video games (Smash Brothers for the win, playing as King DeDeDe is my jam).  I made waffles and brownies for everyone. And we did some trivia on Monday night and had margaritas, I haven't  had a margarita in forever, and I only drank a third of it, & it knocked me on my booty. But I was giggly and fun the whole evening.

I also decided that evening that no bright lights, don't feed them after midnight, and don't get them wet, is not only the rules for caring for gremlins but also the Marten Marriage Manual. 

I'm glad that we are such good friends that even a low key weekend of sitting around the house can be a fun one. Heck, it's no trip to Disney World, but friend time is the best time.



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Friday, May 22, 2015

Friday Five

Some highlights from this week: 


For the last three months, I've been driving out to West Limestone High School to do some school counseling (filling in for someone on maternity leave). It's a very woodsy drive, and I drive by this lovely swap land on the way out. Since Monday was my last time heading out to that part of town for now, I stopped to take a photo.


One of the best parts of the weekday is coming home to cuddle with this little goober. On this day, he curled up in the crook of my arm, and we took a little nap. Link is seriously THE BEST.


Oh yes, Adam brought home these mac-n-cheese  boxes containing noodles shaped like Star Wars characters. This is a deviation from this usual Ninja Turtle variety (I once bought him the Phineas & Ferb kind, and he was none too pleased with me). Yes he is a geek, but I heart him, and seeing these made me smile. 


I got to use the PINK and BLINGED out birthday "barres" at Pure Barre last week. If I were to say it was not the most awesome THING, I would be a big old liar. 


This was on of the birthday gifts from my mother, a beautiful bracelet from the Danbury Mint. I love it so much, now I need to get some green clothes to wear it with!



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Sunday, May 17, 2015

My Birthday Weekend

Today I turned 29, and I have had a wonderful birthday weekend, and I just wanted to share a bit about it on the old blog.

Friday, I had the day off work because we had his and hers dentist appointments (I had a cavity, boo). I then had an appointment at the salon. It had been a while since I did a little more than a trim. So I went in for the whole she bang-a shape up & a highlight. I  love it. I keep singing the line from the song Platinum by Miranda Lambert, "What doesn't kill you, only makes you blonder." 


That evening Mom and I headed over to Spirited Art to do a little painting. I had had my eyes on this particular painting for a while. At first, I didn't like my painting, but after I stopped staring at it up close, I really loved it. It is now proudly hanging on my wall. 


I didn't do much on Saturday, I actually ended up working a few hours, but our morning started out eventful. I took Link outside to do his business, and he spotted a bird a few yards in front of him. He pounced! I thought surely the bird would fly off in time. But Link hopped up, and caught the bird mid-air! I was stunned! Soon he was shaking it all around! I told him to drop it, and he did. Luckily, the bird was still alive, but he couldn't fly, and his wing looked injured. I brought the dog in, and I went to wake up Adam, I didn't know what to do.  Adam put him in a box, and we called the Wildlife hotline. We had to wait a while for them to call back. It took about an hour, but he finally hopped out of the box, and when we went to check on him an hour later, he had flown off.  I think he was just stunned.

But I am just as shocked at what Link did, as I am impressed. Link Marten, the bird slayer.




I started my birthday off by taking my 4th Pure Barre Class. I treated myself to new, grippy socks! Love the saying, nice shaking. I feel like I'm embarrassing myself less and less during class, but I am still struggling to maintain perfect form, but I'm getting there! Afterwards, I went for a 3 mile run. Running after Pure Barre, works out pretty well, as Pure Barre stretches out your muscles (I snapped this Athens City Limit sign picture on my outing). After all that working out, I treated myself to a coconut covered chocolate donut. A wonderful birthday treat!



I showered after my long morning of working out, I put on a pretty dress and posed in the den (I don't try to include Link in every photo, but he is just a ham). We drove West for a half hour, to eat at Daniella's in the Park at Joe Wheeler State Park. My mother goes all the time, but we never had tried it. The view was beautiful, and we got to sit by the window, watching it rain on the river. We both enjoyed the food, especially the waffle bar. 


When we got home, it was time for my birthday gift. I opened a box, and it was empty, except for a clue, that had a picture of a castle, that said look elsewhere. I soon figured out the castle meant Disney, and I checked my DVD shelf, to find a wrapped DVD sitting there. It was the Blu-ray copy of Beauty of the Beast! I was so excited, because I needed this one for my collection, but it is currently in "the vault" and pretty pricey. I immediately watched it, before taking a nap, and watching some Mad Men with Adam.

It was a low-key birthday, but the older I get, the more I prefer that. Just some one on one time with the ones I love most. 


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Thursday, May 14, 2015

Five Things


I made this hummingbird cake with homemade cream cheese frosting via this Southern Living Magazine recipe for our last book club. It was sooo, sooo good. Probably the best cake I ever made. Everyone went back for seconds, and that never happens. So proud of how this one turned out. It was the crown jewel of my baking career.


These two are so funny. Link has only met his Aunt Carlee three times, and each time he does not understand why she doesn't want to play with him, but he just keeps on trying. He used to be scared of her, but he has been emboldened by his time in doggie daycare, and Saturday, he just kept barking in her face, like he was saying, "Hey! Play with me!" We finally gave them bones, and they settled down, and ignored each other for the rest of the afternoon. 


I bought my mother and I tickets to see Garth Brooks in Birmingham in June, and I'm so freaking excited!  I have always, always loved Garth Brooks, even since I was a little girl. I have fond memories of "The Thunder Rolls," and "Friends in Low Places." I just can't wait. We also got a room at the Sheraton for the night of the concert, and it will be a nice mini getaway.


I've really been trying to cook more weight loss surgery friendly recipes, and I made this recipe for taco casserole from bariatric foodie over the weekend. I can't believe how good it is, I ate it all week long! Color me surprise about how good Greek yogurt is as a substitute for sour cream.


I'm still super in love with Pure Barre, I've already been twice and I'm going tomorrow morning. It is such a hard work out for me, I guess that is why love it. When I complete a set, I feel strong, and powerful. And I just can't wait to get better and stronger. I want to learn to plank!  I learned at my last appointment with my surgeon/nutritionist that I had lost a lot of muscle strength in my stomach, and my nutritionist wanted me to work on my core strength. I think this will do the trick.



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Monday, May 11, 2015

Project Life 2015: Week 16


After a lot of weekends spent traveling, I've finally found the time to do a little scrapping in my project life album, starting with week 16. Week 16 was the week I went to Texas, so I ended up doing a two page spread with an insert.


On the first side, I documented our once a month book club gathering (the hummingbird cake I baked and our discussion of the book the Boston Girl). I used two instagrams shots- one of me getting embarrassingly photo bombed taking a pre-run selfie, and a picture of the office I'm currently working in at the Athens branch. I also posted a print out of the anger coping skills activity I did with my little ADHD group that week.


On the right side, I documented Kayla's wedding shower and the time I spent with my family. I used an instagram of my new outfit. I have a picture of Kayla's dog, Bella, and the socks I bought when we went shopping (Belle socks at Hot Topic for the win!). We also had seafood that night, so I documented that.



For my insert, I cut a photo page in half. The insert was all about the journey to Texas, since the storms made everything so nutso! For the first side, I have a picture of my luggage  (I was so proud to get it all in a carry-on), I also used a funny postcard I got at the airport. On the back side, I journaled about the storm, the flash flooding, and having to get a hotel room. I also included a picture of the flooding, a screen shot of the storm warning on my phone, and the little package your hotel keys come in (inside the card holder is boarding passes from the flight).


This is what the spread looks like with the insert. And with that, another week is in the books!

Materials Used:


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