Ruler of the Elves

Update #4: 9:46pm 1.2 Naps 0 Deer 2 Potty Breaks

We made it here safe and sound! And it only took 6 hrs. and 24 min. We thought it would have taken much longer, but we made great time.

Here are the cow and elephant as promised. Like I said, they are kind of scary, but the kid likes them, so we slowly drove by.

If you’ve been following along, thanks for your time. I hope everyone has a safe and happy 4th of July weekend!

———————————————————————–

Update #3: 7:45pm 1 Nap 0 Deer 1 Potty Break

Just texted with my cousin Ben who is drinking a beer for me. He is awesome. Thanks Ben! (Pinky says “hi.”)

Right now, we are on the back roads of Kentucky, inching closer and closer to our Tennessee destination. We saw a huge dinosaur along the side of the road, apparently advertising some sort of prehistoric museum. I wasn’t quick enough with the camera, so I have nothing to show for it. You will just have to believe me. I heard though, that there is a huge pink elephant and giant cow coming up soon. This sounds like the stuff that nightmares dreams are made of.

———————————————————————–

Update #2: 7:19pm 1 Nap 0 Deer 1 Potty Break

We are still here, truckin’ along. To keep things entertaining, I let Pinky borrow my camera to take a few shots. The two photos on the right are the world through Pinky’s eyes. Interesting. Not too shabby in the photography department either. You can also see me in the mirror and I think that it may be my first appearance on this blog. (It’s hard to work yourself into the photos when you are behind the camera.)

In case you were wondering, this is the setup of all the gadgets in the car right now. Computer, power cord, cell phone, usb cables, ipod, tom tom, car power charger thingy (for electrical plugs), camera, battery charger, etc.

———————————————————————–

Update #1: 5:19pm 1 Nap 0 Deer 0 Potty Breaks

Pinky took the opportunity to catch up on her zzz’s. She doesn’t look very comfortable in the photo, but when she woke up, she said she felt much better. She hasn’t stopped talking since.

While she was sleeping, Chris and I noticed a U-Haul box trailer with the word “Aerodynamic” on the back of it. I noted that it was probably the biggest oxymoron I’d ever heard of and Chris stated it was the equivalent of driving a barn down the road.

We also spied the water tower for the city of Florence in KY. Does it need an explanation?

We are currently stuck in traffic outside of Louisville, KY. I see cherries and berries…

———————————————————————–

We are on our way to Tennessee (right at this moment) and I thought it might be neat to try blogging from the road, while capturing some of the sights along the way. I have my phone connected to my computer, using it as my modem, and my camera close by to take shots from the car.

This morning I told Chris that I wanted to try and blog the drive down and these may or may not have been the looks that he gave me. Ok, Grizzly Adams. *Wink*

We are still on the first leg of our trip, so stay tuned to see where we are, provided I get cell phone service! I’ll be back in a little bit.

Several months ago I found a few pre-stretched art canvases at a sale for $1. Total steal. I knew I could not pass up such a great deal, so I came home 4 canvases richer. Since I didn’t really have a plan for them, they sadly got stashed away in a closet, that is, until today. When Pinky came home from school, I was trying to think of something fun for us to do together and remembered the lonely little buggers sitting in the closet. So I pulled them out, grabbed some paint and we got to work creating our own masterpieces. And it was really easy! Here’s what you do…

First, grab a four year old (or just their mentality) and clear out a space on your table to get to work.

Next, take some painters/masking tape and radomly slap it on making sure to smooth it down.

Then, paint the each canvas with the color of your choice. (I sprayed them with clear paint to ensure the color would not bleed through before this step.) Pinky chose a bright pink-ish color. Surprise. Surprise.

When the paint has dried, remove the tape and hang your beautiful artwork!

This past weekend was the bridal shower for my Cousin Ben’s fiancée, Katie, and I must say it went off without a hitch. Thank goodness. I think it was the first party I’ve planned/thrown where I wasn’t running around like a chicken with my head cut off before, during and after, which leads me to believe that maybe I’m getting better at this kind of stuff. My Cousin Brittany and Aunt Linda both did so much for this shower and helped me prepare almost everything, from painting food stands to decorating tables to baking cupcakes until 2 am. (It would be very uncharacteristic of me to not stay up crazy late the night before an event.)

(The table runners were just strips of burlap and the placemats were green cardstock squares.)

The preparation has been going on for well over a month, at least in my brain. Last weekend, my lovely husband built wooden food stands for me and I painted tree branches that would be center pieces, which I stole from the burn pile at my dad’s house. I wanted to keep the decorations calm, cool and outdoorsy to counter the heat that we knew we would have in the garage hall (not air conditioned) so I chose a natural color palette with light greens, browns, beiges and whites with foods to compliment that.

On the gift table, we placed two branches in clear vases with sand and hung small cards on them for the guests to write wishes or advice for the bride to be.

We couldn’t forget cheesy fun bridal shower games, which included large amounts of gum chewing and some toilets paper dress design. Katie had a little trouble stuffing her mouth so full and you can see from the photos that she was a little grossed out by the huge glob of gum that was in her mouth. The purpose of the game was to see how well she knew her groom to be and for each question she answered incorrectly she had to put a new piece of gum in her mouth.

Pinky, who will be the flower girl in the August wedding, had to take a little break to run outside and chew her own gum in private. I guess the pressure of the crowd was just too much for her to handle. Yeah right.

The wedding dress game was pretty funny too. Technically, the point is to split into teams and dress up one person on the team with toilet paper, trying to emulate the look of a bridal gown. The photo on the left shows what Pinky thought of her dress. Apparently, she wasn’t a fan. The other photos are Katie’s good friend from college looking a little scared and my grandmother, who donned a mini dress w/ train, engagement ring, hair bow, necklace w/ love knot, and a braided garter.

Lastly, it was time to open her gifts and Katie ever so delicately tore into each one, being sure not to break any ribbons.

They may be cute, but these 2 are dirty! They both need to be bathed, but I thought while we were outside I would snap a few photos of their scruffiness to share.

The top left and bottom photos are of Maverick. He is the perfect model and will stay still (for the most part) when I pretend to be a photographer. This is actually quite odd too, considering his hyper active/goofy personality. I was always told that when dogs get older that they calm down and I think they broke the mold with this one. He has enough energy for everyone in this house and sometimes I wish he would share it, like in the mornings when my snooze button is being repeatedly pushed. I could use some energy then.

The top right photo is Piper, my princess puppy. She is very sweet and may very well be one of the prissiest Goldens I have ever met. You can tell by the look she is giving me that she is probably thinking “Sheesh woman, do you really need to keep putting that thing in my face? I have things to do around here, like smelling these lovely flowers and lounging in the warm sun. Now fetch me some water!”

Today, I made a trip to Ikea to grab a few items for a bridal shower I’m planning this Saturday. I kind of have an obsession with Ikea. I mean, there are so many great items (although not always the most durable) for awesome prices. I found some sweet deals on a lot of stuff I needed and I probably could have found a ton more to shove into my cart, providing there was any room left.

The shower items are as follows:
1. 30 Wine Glasses – I probably looked a little funny leaving the store with so many of these, but in my defense, I do like wine and I could have always said that I was planning on using a different glass every day for a month. Because I’m not a wino.
2. 48 Glass Tea Light Holders – Only $1.99/12 = Score!
3. 100 White Tea Lights – Really, you can never have too many tea lights. Really.
4. 3 Tall Rectangular Glass Vases – A vase is a vase.
5. 1 Black Lantern – For my patio, not the shower. $6.99 = Score!
6. 1 Package of Green Napkins
7. 4 Packages of Faux Apple Blossoms – An apple a day…

Since we made such great time, we had a few moments to pop into the Pottery Barn Outlet on the way home. I have been searching for the right throw pillows for my living room for quite awhile now, to no avail. I don’t know if it is because I’m just too picky or if I was just waiting for that perfect combo of price and pretty. Lucky for me, 2 of these puppies were waiting for me in the back of the store and one look at the price tag ($10.97) had me walking out with a huge bag of pillows in my hand. Even though they are simple and easy going, they had me at hello.