My weekend : June 13-14, 2015

Our Saturday morning included the usual country drives through the marsh followed grocery shopping. Afterwards I turned the abundance of canned beans in our pantry into a batch of satisfying calico beans. (The recipe I used can be found at crockpotladies.com. (I didn't use a crock pot, and take no credit for the creation of their delicious recipe.) Later on we put black plastic between the rows of our garden keep the weeds down. Then we met some of Mike's family and went Catfishing. We caught alot of bullheads, but no large cats like we were after. After I caught a little more than a dozen before I was fished out so I spent the rest of the time roasting s'mores over the fire Pat, my brother in law, lit on the riverbank. Usually,  I look forward to eating S'mores for months and had just enough time to eat two before we got rained out. While I was roasting my last marshmallow the wind picked up and we heard thr rain coming over the water. We packed up and dashed back to the truck just as it started to pour.

Sunday had more scenic drives. We looked for new houses for sale and stopped so I could help a turtle cross the road. Then we took Layla to a nearby petting zoo. Where I injured my toe while trying to take a snapchat.  We spent the rest of the day lounging, sipping strawberry basil water (super easy to make, I cut two strawberries and a couple basil leaves and soak them for a half hour in a glass of water in the fridge), and resting my toe until my sister picked us up for a spontaneous ice cream trip to a local drive in.
Despite hurting my toe, it was the perfect, relaxing weekend.

My weekend: June 5-7, 2015

Started the weekend off right with a barbecue at my parents house friday night. I had an avacado burger. It really hit the spot.
Then we woke up early Saturday morning and headed to our local farmers market in search of some smoked fish. Shortly after arriving,  however,  we ran into our boss and ended up going out for breakfast with him instead. The fish will have to wait until next time but I managed to pick up a pretty pink bouquet on our way out.
Later that afternoon we went to another barbecue at an old friends house. After a few drinks and eating our fill of fresh corn on the cobb we headed to a church festival.  It was much bigger than any church festival I had ever been too. Layla rode on her first carnival rides. Her favorite was the carousel. Meanwhile Mike and the others went to watch a country band.
On Sunday I spent most of the day at a friends bridal shower. Layla was whiney from staying up too late at the carnival the night before. She couldn't sit still and kept trying to stick her finger in the frosting on the beautiful lemon poppyseed and chocolate cupcakes.  The shower was nice regardless.

Slow living weekend

Sometimes the best weekends are unplanned.
Our weekend started with a slow, rainy saturday. We were supposed to go up north to a family get together but the brakes on our truck broke suddenly. So Mike and I stuck close to home for the whole weekend instead. After we ran a few errands in the morning, we spent most of the day baking cookies, eating junk food, napping and sitting on the couch. Our main goal was to spend time together and not worry about bills and money. (We received a sizable medical bill earlier in the day but refused to let it, or the car troubles put us in a bad mood.)
When rain stopped in Saturday evening, we seized the opportunity to put up a new garden fence. We have to protect our newly sprouted beans and peas from the hungry deer that we sometimes catch munching on our garden late at night.
Sunday went just as well. With no vehicle and few responsibilities I was finally able to take Layla on her first bike ride this year. Rather I biked and she rode in the pull behind cart. Unsurprisingly,  she decided to take a nap. Once we were home, I let her sleep and planted some tomatoes nearby,  in containers on our patio. Mike and I plan on making lots of salsa this year with them and all the peppers we put in our garden.
Sunday dinner was just as relaxed as the rest of sunday afternoon. I packed a simple picnic lunch and we at it next to a creek in the woods. Then we went fishing until just before dark. I had alot of bites but nothing big enough to keep.

A Wasted Weekend

Am I the only one that thought today was Monday until a moment ago? Mike worked Saturday,  which made it feel like a Friday. Then I was miserably sick Sunday and Monday. So, instead of spending outdoors with the family, I spent lots of time in bed watching the History channel because I couldn't reach the remote. And by the way, the History channel should probably be renamed the "Paranoia" channel. It is definitely not the warm and fuzzy, pick me up that I needed while I was sick. Why wasn't Animal planet's "Too Cute" on when I needed it!? "Too Cute" has to be the most Therapeutic show on television. Wouldn't you agree?
So that was just the start of my sub-par weekend. To top all the sucky-ness off, one of my sugar gliders died. A sugar glider looks like a cute little flying squirrel except they are nocturnal marsupials. They're super sweet. Last week I rescued one named Stitch (like Lilo and Stitch) from a friend and had hoped I could rehabilitate it enough that it would be a good buddy for Shugs, the one Mike and I have had for a couple years. In the end it was sicker than anyone had imagined because it passed away last night. I cried despite only having it a week. Mike and Layla buried it in a pretty spot down by the river.
The only thing good about my weekend is I received my first Ipsy Glam bag in the mail yesterday. I actually thought I had canceled my subscription last month because I signed up at the end of December and never ever received a bag. Luckily I didn't because I was pleasantly surprised with what was in my bag. Sure alot of my bag was similar to items I already had like the shimmery neutral eye shadow and  versatile pink lipstick but overall it seemed alot more colorful than birchbox. The sizes were bigger however, Plus I love the bag itself. I'm picky about floral prints but this blue floral bag was perfect. Not sure how I'm gonna use it yet though.
So that sums up my weekend. Was yours better than mine was?

Not a Typical Valentine's date

I spent valentine's day weekend like every other weekend, ice fishing with my hubby and a few close friends and relatives.
Mike had been looking forward to this particular fisharee, or ice fishing tournament,  with boyish excitement.
He was confident he would win, and I was confident he could, because he's the luckiest person I've ever met (and I'm not just saying that because he's married to me).
I worked till 12:30 the night before, and tried to get a few hours of sleep before our alarms went off at 4:00. The fisharee began at 6:30 and Mike wasted no time setting up. We're allowed three lines per person and It didn't take him long to drill holes for our tip-ups in the perfect spots.
A few minutes after he had finished baiting our hooks and was warming up next to the heater, we got our first flag on one of my tip ups. I had to stay back and watch the little one so mike and a friend went to the hole without me. For me, catching a Northern Pike sometimes feels like pulling a log through the water, especially if they're swim through the weeds. But that wasn't the case for Mike, it only took him a minute or two until he had his first fish of the day, squirming on the ice. The northern measured  32 inches, and set the bar high for the rest of the tournament.
It was an amazing to start the day. And a great day to be out fishing. Despite the swirling wind and negative temperatures, it was sunny and the fish were biting. To top it all off, Mike won first place, and bragging rights with that first pike.
That's us, all bundled up in the picture. Me with a 28 inch Northern that I caught at nearly the last minute of the competition and mike with his fish. Overall, We might have not celebrated our valentine's day in the traditional way but it was better that way because we spent the day, outdoors, doing somthing we loved, together.