5 Fact Friday

Happy Friday, friends! This week has seemed so long. Not sure why, but it definitely has. =( I'm grateful for the weekend, even though I won't have too much at home time. I know it will still be a nice weekend!

1. I've been wanting a pretty plant for our porch to spruce it up and make it colorful and pretty. We went to Lowe's on Sunday looking for the perfect thing. Our porch doesn't get much direct sunlight so it made it very difficult to find a plant that would work. However, I found this New Guinea Impatiens and loved it!

2. Until yesterday, I had never made a Pineapple Upside Down Cake before. I know how much Collin likes it so I offered to make one for his birthday. I then decided I really wanted to make the cake batter by scratch. I was so concerned it was not going to turn out very well, but everyone said it was good!

3. I think Collin had a pretty good birthday! He seemed to really enjoy himself. And he even got to play a little bit of guitar in the afternoon! He loves to play his guitar.

4. It's so funny watching the cats play. Especially when Seabass is climbing up or down his cat condo. It's really nice though when he's finally being peaceful and calmly sitting atop it!

5. I hate that I haven't taken too many pictures of the spring pretties this year. I mean, I did get like 100 some shots, but all on my iPhone and I didn't do a photo walk and get pictures of some things I was meaning to before they turned green. Oh well. Photos like this one make me not so sad about not using my Nikon though. The iPhone can take a pretty good picture!

Have a great weekend, friends! I'll see you back here next week!

Cindy

My Birthday Boy!

Today is Collin's birthday! Hurray! I love celebrating birthdays, and it's even more special when it's someone I love!! To celebrate on the blog today I want to share with you 27 fun facts about Collin for his 27th birthday!

Back from New Year's Eve 2009 when Collin DJed a Rave at our church!

1. For some reason unbeknownst to me, Collin can eat a peanut butter and jelly sandwich for lunch every day. He did it for practically nine months while working at Cheseldine Tire & Auto before he got his current job.

2. Collin really enjoys playing video games. The Metal Gear Solid video game series is definitely his favorite, though. It's got a great story to it!

3. When it comes to learning music, all Collin has to do is hear a song once or twice and he can figure out EXACTLY what the notes are on his guitar (or piano, bass, etc.)

4. Collin was in Boy Scouts growing up. He was close to becoming an Eagle Scout but his troop here in MD wasn't very motivating and he aged out before he got it. =( He's as capable as any Eagle Scout though!!

5. Collin is a master at making pancakes! He spent weeks finding the perfect recipe and figuring out how to cook them perfectly. I'm glad! They're so yummy!

6. When we go to Cracker Barrel, unless he orders breakfast, he always orders Chicken Fried Chicken with green beans, mac and cheese and applesauce with a Sweet Tea to drink. Creature of habit much? =)

7. Collin loves watching movies and quotes movies/TV shows all the time. It's amazing how he can remember the lines!

8. If I had to pick a favorite TV show of his, it would be hard! He enjoys many shows, mostly comedies. But he's currently re-watching Scrubs and Arrested Development, and he really enjoys watching Psych and Modern Family. Oh and The Walking Dead but that's not a comedy. =)

9. His frisbee golf skills continue to amaze me! He can throw those discs so far it's incredible! I'm glad that he doesn't mind playing with me.

10. Collin really enjoys being "green". He's very conscious about recycling and using CFL bulbs. One day I just know we'll have solar panels!

11. When it comes to pets, Collin loves our kitties as much as I do! But I know he does want a dog one day. Hopefully we'll be able to get one eventually!

12. I am continually impressed with Collin's handiness. He fixes things and usually in such ingenious ways! And he even built a really nice cat tree for our babies with his dad.

13. Collin doesn't really enjoy having his picture taken, but he puts up with it for me!

14. He is quite possibly one of the smartest people I know! Collin can learn and remember just about anything and he always seems to know how things work or why something is the way it is.

15. In that same vein, Collin is filled with lots of random knowledge and trivia.

16. When Collin was born he was practically a full month late! He weighed 10 pounds 3 ounces and was 23 inches long! Today he is 6'2"! Guess being a big baby really was foreshadowing!

17. Despite his "heavy" weight as a newborn, Collin is really skinny now! No matter what he eats he just doesn't seem to gain any weight! Though when he exercises he gains muscle weight.

18. Collin isn't really a fan of store bought/bakery cakes. Though if the cake is homemade (even if from a box) he'll eat it right up!

19. A big pet peeve of Collin's is when driving and he sees someone pass on the right on a solid white line. He's threatened to have a squirt bottle at the ready in his car and when someone passes him on the right (like if he's turning left or someone in front of him is), squirting the car passing as a "warning" of sort. Haha!

20. Collin loves to travel and go on adventures. It works out perfectly because I do, too!

21. He also doesn't mind going to fun little festivals or just walking around "downtown" with me and exploring. Sometimes I think his favorite days are ones where we just enjoy each other's company while walking around. Those are my favorite, too!

22. Collin loves roller coasters! He loves the thrill of feeling like your stomach is in your throat and the excitement of going really fast and looping all around!

23. Collin isn't really a sports fan. He doesn't regularly watch games, though being at a game is fun for him. However, he did play PeeWee football as a kid and he was on the golf team at his high school in North Carolina!

24. Collin loves it when I play with his hair. Though he keeps it rather short, he loves when I rub my hands through it and lightly scratch his scalp.

25. When Collin gets mad about something, or if something is bothering him, even once he's over it, it still takes him a while to get over it. Like if we're arguing about something, once it's resolved, he needs a little bit of time to go back to "normal". He has to decompress a little, I suppose.

26. For several years Collin gave up soda for Lent. Then one year he gave up both soda and tea! This year he gave up chocolate which he said was by far the hardest. However, the year he gave up soda and tea, after Lent was over he decided he was only going to drink caffeine free sodas from then on. It's been hard on him, especially because Dr. Pepper is his favorite and they don't sell the caffeine free version around our area!

27. Bad grammar is another pet peeve of Collin's. I think the thing that bugs him most is then vs than or too and to. Good thing I know the difference. ;)

Collin being goofy. He loves him some Nerf!

I love my birthday boy so much and I hope that it was fun for you guys to learn a little bit more about him! He's such an awesome guy and I hope that everyone can love him, too!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, COLLIN!!

Cindy

A GREAT Birthday!

Oh you guys, I had a great birthday yesterday! It was so, so nice. Much better than last year, that's for sure! Last year's was kinda depressing, but this year made up for it! It was a BEAUTIFUL day temperature-wise. It was cloudy but didn't rain at all until late afternoon and then it was just a sprinkle. That stopped and it didn't even really start to rain again until overnight! But besides the temperature, I felt so much love! Everyone was wishing me a happy birthday, I got to spend time with family and I just enjoyed the day! My aunt took my mom and I out to lunch (my mom's birthday is today!), I got to do some shopping at Ollie's after work and I found some goodies, I got to get adjusted at the chiropractor which always makes me feel better, then I got to have dinner at Cracker Barrel with my parents, Collin's parents and my sister, and to top the evening off I got to snuggle on the couch with Collin and catch up on some shows on Hulu. It was so delightful!

My special birthday message from Collin first thing.

The beautiful birthday sunrise!

A coworker gave me one of his cinnamon roll things he had brought in that morning!

My delicious loaded baked potato soup at Long Horn Steakhouse for my birthday lunch!

The temperature about mid-afternoon!

Lately this has been one of my favorite places.

So once we left the chiropractor and went to dinner I completely forgot about wanting to document my day and didn't take any more pictures. =( Sadness but it's okay. It was a GREAT day!!

Cindy

It's My Birthday!

Today is my birthday! And it is a great day so far! It's so warm!! It's in the 70's! Anyway, I thought it would be fun to share some pictures from my childhood with you all here today, to celebrate! These are some of my favorite "pictures from the past".

Circa 2003-2004. Not sure exactly when this was taken but it was towards the end of high school for me. This is my sister and I being silly with our Nana.

This is my sister and I with a few of our pets (my parents still have the cat!). I'm probably about 6 and my sister would have been about 4.

My dad and I eating ice cream together. This was a common thing for the two of us. =) I'm probably around 7 here.


I do believe that I was 11 here. This was after my piano recital and with me were my sister, best friend Stephanie and Steph's younger sister, Brittany.

One year my sister and I were presents for Halloween! I was probably 7 in this picture.

Easter Sunday with Nana. Kaity and I always wore matching outfits with our cousin Leah. At this point we had already ditched the hats! We're probably 8, 6, and 2 here.

Hanging out in the hot tub with my friends at the Lake Gaston Campground/Resort. This was probably 2001.

Me with my Samoyed dog, Molly. I'm probably 4 or 5 here.

This was taken at a Superbowl party my parent's hosted in 1999. I don't think the Redskins were playing that evening but Mr. Potts was there representing!

I hope you enjoyed this trip down memory lane with me! I'll be back tomorrow to recap my birthday!

Cindy

Life, Lately!

It's been a fun and busy past few days! We got more snow on Friday afternoon/evening which (along with my cold) kept us home, I had a lovely girl's day with some ladies Saturday, Sunday we had church, lunch with some friends, and some errand running. Then yesterday it was back to work and then play practice last night at 8pm. Whew! And the busy-ness isn't going to end until this weekend (or maybe after!) I don't necessarily mind being busy, but keep me going too long and I get annoyed and just want to be home!

The pretty snow on my lunch break last Thursday once the sun came out and it had stopped snowing.


The pretty sky on my way back in to work after lunch on Thursday.

Do they look mischievous? It's because they were. Collin put Seabass in the snow to freak him out, instead he runs around trying to climb trees and hiding in bushes. Needless to say, I freaked out a little!

After his excursion in the snow, he decided to make it up to me by snuggling in my lap for a long while that evening.

A pretty sunrise on Friday morning before the weather got bad again.

I'd been wearing my puffy down coat all last week because it keeps me warm. However, sometimes the feathers escape!

The snow on my windshield as I left work on Friday afternoon. It had only been snowing for about an hour and there was already significant accumulation and the roads were slippery!

Even though it was snowing outside I made myself a hot fudge sundae!

While watching Back to the Future Seabass slept on me.

I love when Collin tries to figure out songs. He is so great at hearing something and being able to play it. I love his musicality.

The frost on my car windows Sunday morning as we left for church.

Somebody hit my car door with their car door it looks like... I have no idea who it was and there's a little bit of scratching at the top mark. =/ My poor car was already dirty enough from the snow/salt. Now it's damaged. =(

I don't like the cold weather, but I sure do like that I can wear cute hats!

So that's a little bit of what's been going on lately! Today is so nice and warm! It's almost 60° and tomorrow is supposed to be in the mid 60's! Which is perfect because I can wear a dress AND... Tomorrow is my birthday!! I'm really excited! There's not really anything too big planned, we're just going to Cracker Barrel for dinner tomorrow evening with family. But I love that place and can't wait to enjoy a delicious meal! This birthday isn't anything too terribly monumental, I'm turning 27, but I still love celebrating. I love celebrating life! Plus, it gives me an excuse to spend time with family and get a good meal. =)

Cindy

Weekend Update

This past weekend was a lot of fun! We spent a good bit of it with family, too! Friday evening we spent with Collin's family and yesterday we spent with my family! Collin's aunt and uncle had been in town visiting so we went out to dinner with them Friday and then they came back to our place to see it and play Quelf! We had a blast! We got to eat at the new Cracker Barrel that just opened on Labor Day. We had a long wait (about an hour) but it was delicious! I'm so super excited we now have a Cracker Barrel. It's one of our favorite places to eat!

Saturday I got to do a bit of shopping with my mom and our friend Kathy. Mom needed to go to the mall to pick up my dad's birthday present and Kathy and I tagged along. We had a delightful afternoon together! And then once we got home I got to do even more shopping in my mom's closet! I got 6 new shirts that my mom was getting rid of! =D I love free clothes! That evening after running some errands Collin and I just relaxed and watched Night at the Roxbury (so stupid! lol) and then some Scrubs on Netflix.

Sunday we had a great church service where we introduced a new song called Great I Am by Jared Anderson. Such a powerful and incredible song! I am so glad we learned it and have introduced it to our congregation. Our pastor said it gave him "tingles". =) After church we went out to lunch with Jeff and Jeannie and it was SOOO delicious! We went to a local gourmet sandwich bistro and I will definitely be going back! So, so good! I had chicken tortilla soup and a roasted vegetable sandwich with goat cheese on foccacia bread. I didn't take a picture but I absolutely should have because it was beautiful! After lunch we spent a little time at a friend's 21st birthday celebration and then we headed to my parent's house where we commenced the scavenger hunt all about my dad for his birthday! We had a blast!! And it was so fun comparing pictures with the guys. We did girls vs guys and it was really great! Then after, we had a delicious dinner my mom made and a yummy hot fudge pie that I made via a Pinterest recipe. I'm for sure making it again and I'll take pictures and post a tutorial next time. =)

To kick off my dad's birthday weekend he and I had lunch together at his favorite Chinese Buffet on Friday!


Cracker Barrel food is always so delicious. This time I got the Country Vegetable Platter with dumplings, lima beans, mac and cheese and fried apples. So, so good!

Seabass is really taking to his new home. It's very rare though that we can catch him sleeping peacefully. I know he does at some point but it's rare he does it when we're around so I had to document this moment!

Picture taken to represent what my dad wants to do when we retires. Be a full time RVer with my mom. =)

This picture was taken to represent both my dad's favorite store and his favorite tool. Haha! Auto Zone and a Screwdriver! I love that my sister can be as goofy as me!

I hope you guys had a great weekend! I most certainly did. What was your favorite moment this weekend? I'd love to hear about it in the comments!

Happy Monday!

Cindy