Ol' Summer Days

Well, the Fourth of July has come and gone, which means summer is already halfway over!

Here are some pics from our Fourth of July. The day mostly revolved around food, which any good day does really:

The day began with some waffle-makin:

Its too early for fireworks Lydia

 Grilling hot dogs later on- a hot dog goes from a cheap, subpar meal to a juicy, delicious delicacy when you grill it versus nuke-it-YUM

 The man behind the grill isnt too bad either:)

 Hot dogs and homemade mac n cheese

 I just took this picture because I wanted to show off this baking dish that I have that I have been waiting to use forever-its just so fancy!

And then there was flag cake!!

Aside from Fourth of July food, we have been busy decorating our house- including putting pictures up, enjoying our new washer and dryer (our laundry is soft and smells soooo good) and organizing, organizing, organizing.

Is there seriously anything more precious than a kitty enjoying herself?:)

I think she did this after she got in trouble for being in the way while I was cleaning or bolting from the house once someone opened the door. This is how she gets her way...every time:)

My wonderful husband, organizing our garage...

Oh Lydia. She tries to be helpful...

As summer reaches the halfway point, I began to think about those goals that I set out when I started this blog, and when summer was just getting underway. Summer has a way of doing that to you- in early June, you begin to think that you have all this time to do all these things, then by July you begin to think, where did the time really go?

So lets see- last June, I said I was going to:

•  Become the next Martha Stewart (or at least start homemaking)
• Get healthier
• Plan for next school year
• Read like a champ

And....thus far...

•  I have GREATLY enjoyed cooking and decorating my new home-and we are just gettin   started- yard projects are soon to come

• I have improved upon some health habits, and succumb to others:) But this is kind of how it is huh? I have gotten back into exercising, which is AWESOME (sometime I want to blog about exercise and how I am convinced it truly makes or breaks my day). I have started to eat more fruits and veggies (having a grill really helps) and I would say that I am eating better overall. However, I am still drinking soda (I can't help it!!!) so not all is perfect. I haven't really totally revamped the way I have been eating, but I have done a few little things that have made such a difference:

  1) I chop up fruits and veggies the second I get them home from the store- half the  reason I didn't eat fruits and veggies in the past is because the require prep (yes I am that lazy). And FYI, there are YouTube videos on how to cut every kind of fruit out there (and yes I have looked all of them up-watched one on how to cut cantaloupe today)
2) Almonds. They are my savior food! And for those who like them bold, the Wasabi and Soy Sauce flavor is amazing!
3) Have a good breakfast and lunch- when I eat a healthy breakfast and lunch, then having McDonalds for dinner is not such a travesty- this helps me out especially during the week
4) Tuna-another amazing food-love having it for lunch
5) Plan ahead. When I think about what we are going to have for dinner each night of the week, I am so much less likely or go pick-up fast food.

I want to continue to look for ways to be healthier-so that I can keep up with Lydia and her antics, and the little squirts I work with:)

• I have been very busy this summer with summer school-next week is my last week! Phew! Its been a good experience overall, but fairly tiring. Each day has been different and crazy, but I am glad I did it and the kids I have worked with have been pretty sweet. However, it makes me thankful that I don't have them all in one room at one time during the school year. My secret though? Food. Kids will do anything if they are promised treats-hehe

• I think I have officially read three whole books this summer- not really that whoopie:) I haven't really read anything earth shattering-but I do love having my Nook:))

So I haven't done too bad with my summer goals, although I already feel like the summer is almost gone- I will be spending the next few weeks working on the house, going into my real classroom to prepare for next year, and hopefully getting to see some friends before work starts:)

I hope everyone has a great weekend! Talk to ya soon!