Thirsty Thursday

Morning coffee and a Cinnamon Scone I whipped up last night.  The rest are for the new team at work, but I always have to make sure they're good enough to share.  Today is my last day of my first week since Mr. and I are off to NYC tomorrow.  Excited for the trip...nervous to leave the dogs.  But, once we check into the lovely hotel, some of that will melt away.  :-)

At weeks end I'm still excited about the new job, still see a lot of potential there, and I see a lot of room to make it what the owners what it to become.  Next week we'll see how they all respond to the first team meeting and everything I plan to lay out on the table.  Excited to be the person that they've wanted in their corner for quite some time...it's fun to prove to people that things can change in the right direction and that the promises others made and never kept up, were not the teams fault, but that individuals inability to follow-through.

Meanwhile, I heard a rumor through the grapevine that the old clinic I left in January is crumbling under mismanagement and all the b.s. I was always working to push out of the clinic.  It's always a little extra nice to hear that people you've hired in the past at other employers, are seeking you out to work with you again.  Kinda makes me feel good.  And I love to have smart and trained staff right off the back that I'm 100% confident in their work ethic and abilities.  So, lets just say I have some great new hires lined up!

Ok, must shower, walk the beasts, and head off.  So nice not to be dreading what I'm headed to or having to rush to meet someone and unlock a door. The past stress is dripping off me like the glaze on those scones in the kitchen! - Rin

Hot and Happy!

I'm off to the beach!  Had the whole day off today too to prep, bake goodies, and make sure my bois are tired and ready for the drive.  Nothing like an energetic dog panting by your ear to make the drive more fun. So I'm hoping the heat and walks today wipe them both out and they just curl up and sleep.

I baked some s'mores cookies for the trip and have a beach cooler full of snacks I've been avoiding for weeks.  I made some homemade mint tea from my patio garden and the travel mugs are prepped, ice is made.  I don't mess around here folks!  It sounds like it's a huge trek...but we'll only be in the car for 3 hours...lol.  I just like to have rations for any trip...plus it's vacay the minute I start the car.

So, that's that.  It's supposed to cool down by tomorrow so we can at least enjoy the beach and not die of heat exhaustion...which is always a bonus.  Looking forward to it all.

Cheers - Rin

Partly Sunny with a Chance of Showers

Been a bit busy and unable to sit down and collect my thoughts enough to get them down here.  I am so ready for a new start and just waking up each day makes me more aware of it.  Like senior year of high school after your university acceptance letters have arrived...you know it's over, but you still have to show up until it's officially the end.  Being in love more and more everyday is certainly easing the stress of work.  I can never exactly express with the right words, but I couldn't imagine my life now without Mr. in it.  I've never experienced anything like it!  

My boxer boys are doing and things outside of work couldn't be better.  Love sharing my home, mornings, and evenings with all my boys, Mr. included.  The tree is lit and I'm always in the baking mood during the winter.  I whipped up a pumpkin bread with cranberries last weekend and am planning a few batches of cookies this weekend for a cookie swap a few coworkers and I are doing next week.  Hoping to make a few batches of  bath salts and bath bombs this weekend too.  I usually tend to try and make stuff for people for the holidays as much as possible...besides Mr. of course.  Can't wait for him to open his!  

I'll have to share some pics of and recipes of the salts and bath bombs if they come out well.  Crossing my fingers it's not a complete bust of an idea.  :-)

Well, after fishing for these pics below, I'm going to go take a nice hot shower and get dinner going.  Sweet Potato and Pepper Soup with Smoked Gouda grilled cheese.  Mmmm.  - Rin 

Rump Day

Sunday Funday

This weekend is flying by...why, oh why do they do that.  Weeks drag, weekends fly.  I think we should work two days and take 5 days off.  Where do they have jobs like that...that pay full time?  Or I need to move to a country that believes in the two hour afternoon siesta...so that weekends aren't so jammed packed with fun.

Last night we changed our plans a bit and decided to walk to a restaurant close to my place, sit outside, have a beer, and just chill out a bit instead of hitting the city.  We walked in, looked around at all the people dressed up and all the hipsters in bow ties...glanced at the huge stack of cupcakes and the chalkboard congratulations sign, and realized we walked into a wedding reception.  We were like, ummmm I guess the restaurants not open tonight.  Some douche in a bowtie was like, you didn't notice the door sign?  I looked at the 3x5 index card sign and said, no, maybe you should have had something a bit more noticeable...douche.

So after the disappointment that we wouldn't be walking to dinner, or enjoying our favorite butter butter chicken and parm fries we decided on an alehouse...two beers and dinner later we were bum tuckered and just came home and ate some of my pear pie and crashed out.  Today was my first intro into his family.  Brunch with his brother, sister-in-law, and their adorable children.  It's refreshing to be with a family with kids that actually have a sense of parenting.  Brunch was fun, and of course the kids were center stage, so it took some of the pressure off the initial introductions.

Came home from that, took a nap, and now I just finished cleaning and ran to the store for some lunch items for the week.  Really looking forward to getting out of town for a couple of days on Sunday.  Mr. suspects where we're going,  but I'm doing my best to keep the definite place a secret.  Of course his mother wants me to give her the address since she hasn't met me yet and I guess doesn't trust her youngest son running off to a secret vacation.  I guess my Mennonite pacifist heritage isn't enough yet.   Oh well, I have no problem winning over moms.  So, I may just let the secret out to Mr. so that he can tell her and put her at ease.

Tonight we're headed to the city for the Gay & Lesbian Film Festival and dinner.  Hoping to get Mr. to a great little eating spot that I think he'll adore and that I've been dying to get back to.  Gotta feed the dogs  so I can get them out and set before we need to peel out of dodge.

hugs - Rin

Thursday Teasers

These guys know how to play the tease card...really well I might add.  It's like a bird feeder out in the winter, with no bird food in it.  It's the same way I feel about Thursdays...you so want it to be Friday, but at the end of the day you just have to face the facts that it's not.  This means tomorrow's post is gonna have to have some hotness fo sho!  Which one do you wanna see peel it off the most?  Do share, I'm super curious.  

nuhmahstee biatches - Rin

Teaser 1

Teaser 2

Teaser 3

Teaser 4

Teaser 5

Teaser 6

Teaser 7

Teaser 8

Wednesday Potluck

This is my kind of potluck!  A healthy balance of protein, starch, and side dishes.  Dessert is an entirely different subject, so I think I'll have to save that for either another day, or when I get home from work tonight.  I don't want to over indulge, you know.  

The fall has me thinking of getting together with friends and making big dinners, pouring wine, and just enjoying the moment.  Life goes so quickly and our lives get so caught up in just getting by that we have to remind ourselves, or at least I do, that we can take a moment and just be grateful we're here and making a difference hopefully.  I don't mean to get sappy but I really am just so overwhelmingly excited at what lies ahead and the opportunities that I feel are around the corner.  I just feel. unlike the economists and political news media, that there is a wave of good things on the way for me and the folks I share my life with.  There has to be something if I'm getting such a strong whiff of goodness. 

Anywho, there's to a lot of work and shit to be done in the mean time.  Boys are walked, I made breakfast and a coffee for Mr. before he headed off to work, and now I'm finishing up mine and about to organize myself for the day.  I had a person call out this morning so I'm going in a bit later than normal so I can cover her closing shift.  I am not used to having so much time before work, but it's nice to take it slow and easy in the morning at least once in a while.  But I'll be dragging by the time it hits my normal exit time...so I foresee an afternoon venti in my future for sure!  

Ok, pack a healthy lunch and take a walk between projects today...at least that's my plan.  - Rin 

MEAT

POTATOES

 

SIDES