I ♥ technology

Since I can't just up and hang out with these two munchkins, in person, anytime I want,

hanging out via skype is basically the next best thing.

I can still get them to laugh and smile, or tell me stories. 

But when I tell my nephew I want a cracker, to which he says,
"Daddy, Amy cracker."
That's when I'm reminded skype can only go so far.

If only I could live closer to these two...and my new niece of course, but she's not quite old enough to join in on our conversations just yet.

Earning his keep

Hairy leggings?

Or just plain hairy dirty legs.

And because apparently we have a fetish with posting pictures of our ever so attractive feet.

While I was out running errands,

J. was earning his keep working in the yard. 

Our weekends are increasingly becoming more productive.

Let me explain

Dear Parents,

If I haven't written you enough sorry notes in my life, here's another to add to the stash. I'm sorry. Two months ago when you came to visit, we had this yard looking pretty darn good. Two months later, well, it doesn't exactly look like it did when you left. You know, weed free flower bed and all.

I blame the 100+ degree weather we've been having for nearly 28 days straight, because certainly laziness isn't the culprit behind this mess. I mean, weed pulling was my favorite chore growing up. * cough cough *

We tried to keep up, but those weeds battled us to the ground. Unfortunately, we surrendered and let them take over that once beautiful flower bed you helped us create. Like I said, I'm sorry.

However, this weekend, John and I decided enough is enough. So, to prove we really did appreciate you're help when you were here, and to end our embarrassed every time we pulled into our driveway, we took matters into our own hands. Not only did we battle the weeds, but also the 102 degree, hot, humid, sticky weather.

Saying we changed our clothes 5 times each on Saturday might be an understatement. Yes, it was literally that hot, still is in fact. But you know, people pay the big bucks to hang out in saunas, and lucky for us, we get to experience that same sensation, for free might I add, right in our own front yard. A free sauna, every time we walk outside, how lucky are we?

Our yard transformed from this (yes, I know, it looks terrible to the nth degree):

To this:

Yes, it still needs some work, but hey, at least it's a little better, right?

No more being embarrassed to admit that this is where we live. We'll try to do better from here on out, for your sake, ours, and our neighbors, promise. We can't have you thinking we take your hard work for granted, because we most certainly do not.

Yard work, just one of the many joys of being home owners.

Love,
Your favorite daughter

The things we discover on our nightly walks...

Clearly, we live in a very classy area.

 

And that's all I'm going to say about that. 

Practically Perfect

I'm the worst person to try and surprise. Surprises and I have a love/hate relationship. I love being surprised but hate the unknown, thus, I always end up figuring out whatever surprises John tries to muster up. In my defense, I try hard not to let my mind figure out the surprise, but I can't help that I'm just too smart.

Since our anniversary fell on a Sunday this year, we decided to celebrate our day of marital matrimony on Saturday, and John was adamant that the day be full of surprises.  To oblige, I tried hard not to "figure out" what he had planned. 

I think we both succeeded. 

Success included...

Tandem bike ride around Lake Hefner, something I've been wanting to do for awhile now, but never really thought we actually would...

Note to self: Always let the man sit in front, it's a much more pleasant ride that way.

Followed by a cool down session at the pool. Now that we've discovered such easy access to a pool (and it's 110 degrees outside) it's the only thing that gets us through the days...

And then, lunch of course, and a second failed attempted at using our groupon, the fine print will get you every time...

After a packed morning, relaxation was in order.
Massages, couples massages to be exact, my all time favorite thing EVER. Ever ever ever EVER EVER!

Not pictured, for your sake more than ours.

And then we freshened up and headed out for a night on the town, Oklahoma style...

For the first time since moving to Oklahoma, I actually thought OKC is kind of cool. Maybe we just need to hang out downtown more often to enjoy it's night life that I never knew existed.

The Melting Pot was calling our name, and seeing that they had a table, and a Happy Anniversary card waiting for us, we couldn't really say no...

We definitely ate to our hearts content, and enjoyed every moment of stuffing our faces with pure deliciousness. 

And to end a better than perfect day gallivanting around the city, from one thing to the next, we decided to sneak into the Red Hawks game to watch the last three innings, before retiring home and falling fast asleep. 

A better than perfect day? Absolutely, thanks to this one...

 

Love him!

One year down...

I almost forgot all about this video my sister made John and I for our wedding, exactly 365 days ago today:

Amy & John's Love Story from Andrea Candrian on Vimeo.

We laughed at how silly we sound in the video, and that we sometimes contradict ourselves...it appears as though neither one of us like being in front of the camera.

365 days later, and I'm happy to report that I'm wishing we could redo this day all over again.

But his time, I think we'd both be a little less nervous, and enjoy the day just a little bit more.

No future?

Pa-lease...

 

We survived the first year of marriage, of course we have a future!

We found summer

That summertime funk I felt stuck in, officially over! Once Friday rolled around, nothing stood in our way of enjoying every moment of the hot, humid, sticky air that we call summer here in Oklahoma. And, how better to enjoy such grotesque weather? 

Head to the pool of course.

Friday:

 Saturday:

and Monday:

And now I feel like it's actually summer, even if it's already half way over. All it took was a dip, or two, or three in the pool. Oh, and eating some apple pie. Patriotic apple pie to be exact.  

 And fireworks.

And bbq's.

Three day weekends and holiday's really need to occur more often. Or, perhaps we should just move to Europe so we can go on a six week Holiday every summer? Yes, I think I like that idea...three more years, three more years, three more years...

Summer's here?

Even with the 100+ degree weather, humid air, and feeling like I've walked into a sauna every time I step outside, I forget it's summer. You'd think the scorching heat would be enough of a reminder that summer is here, but alas, being cooped up in an office all day long, and not being able to declare June-September work free months, causes the forgetfulness.

I may have graduated from college three years ago, and have consequently been working full-time those past three years, but this is the first summer I've actually had to really work. I know, poor me. But you see, my first summer out of college I was an intern, which meant work in the morning, lay out at the pool in the afternoons. It was heavenly. Two summers ago I spent most of my time in Africa, granted it was for work, but it was still a "vacation" nonetheless. When I wasn't on another continent, I wasn't really at work either. Vacations dominated that summer. And again, it was heavenly. Last year, well...I had other plans in mind rather than working. Getting married, playing at the beach, and hanging out with family seemed a bit more important. Heavenly indeed.

So here we are, July 1st, fully submerged into summer, and instead of enjoying summer the way it should be enjoyed by vacationing, playing at the beach, daily trips to the pool, hanging out with family and staying as far away from work as possible, I'm having to embrace the "grown-up" world, and for once, realize life isn't all fun and games all of the time. Or maybe it is and I just haven't found that balance yet?

I know you're probably thinking, poor Amy, life is so unfair. But really, I'm not so much complaining about it, just more so realizing, oh, so this is what it's like to have to work all.the.time. and not have summers off. It totally sucks! Thank goodness I don't have a demanding or stressful job, but it's still a job that keeps me indoor between the hours of 8am-5pm. And I'm still forgetting it's summer. That's a sin. So, for all you veteraned workers out there, how do you enjoy the summer whilst being trapped in the office? It's possible, right?

The goal of this weekend, act like it's summer. I don't think that should be too hard to do. In fact, last night after an intense workout, we sat on our porch and ate popsicles. It's all about the baby steps.