We've Moved!

We've just moved down the street and unlocked the front door...in the blog world that is.

We have moved to www.ourscreendoor.com.

Please update your links or favorites to this new site.

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Hmmm....

I just pulled up reader and noticed that the majority of our pictures are not showing on the blog. I am now really seriously considering moving to Wordpress. I've been thinking about it for a while because of it's increased functionality...but this seals the deal.

We'll be back soon...hopefully...

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Happy Memorial Day!

Memorial Day weekend is so important as we remember the loved ones who have served and are serving for us. Jay and I left Friday afternoon right after work for our three hour drive up to Tennessee. We took Jay’s truck for our trip even though we normally take my car. Murphy wasn’t so sure about the extra rumble of the truck, and refused to get up into the captain’s chair. Haley absolutely loved it since she had her whole own chair without Murphy walking all over her.

He spent the majority of the ride in positions similar to this...

We drove through some pretty serious rain storms, but we were determined to get there.

We arrived in Tennessee late Friday night, but mom had a crockpot full of pulled pork, sweet and sour meatballs and deviled eggs waiting for us.

We were also greeted by my parents new puppy.

This is Bentley. He is an English Crème Golden Retriever from this breeder. He is gentle-natured, curious and friendly…everything that a puppy should be. Have I mentioned that he has never met a stranger?

Early Saturday morning, Jay went to play golf at Centennial Golf Club in Oak Ridge while mom, dad and I were still waking up. He teed off right at 6:25 a.m., and was back by 9:30 a.m.

Just as Jay was on his way home from golf, mom was pulling the breakfast casserole out of the oven. She made an egg, sausage and cheese casserole and a hash brown casserole.

After breakfast, we finally got a couple of pictures with both Jay and me. Mom enjoys taking pictures with my camera so she was happy to take a few shots of us outside.

Mom told us that both my grandparents and my parents have pictures with them holding hands so of course we wanted to extend the family tradition. It would be nice to display their pictures next to ours someday.

I think at this point, Jay was saying “Ok, we’re done taking pictures now!”

Remember when I said that last weekend was my dad’s birthday, but we couldn’t make it up for the weekend? We decided to celebrate his birthday along with Mother’s day since we missed celebrating it as well. Jay and I cooked a pork loin, potatoes, salad and ice cream for dessert.

Mom had some decorations in the basement for Memorial day weekend and before we knew it we had a real party!! Mom had a treasure trove of decorations so we were able to celebrate right!

Dad toasted to the blessing of having our family together for the weekend, a great meal and this time to remember our lost soldiers.

We are definitely a camera family.

We bought dad Longaberger mugs for his birthday present. Dad likes them specifically because keep his coffee warm for an extended period of time. I don’t think he knows that they’re called Longaberger because when my mom asked what he wanted he said more of “these cups.”
We knew that we ordered a large-sized cup, but holy cow, these things are huge!!

Mom loves Philosophy products, so I picked up some really rich lotion with a light citrus and summer-y scent called Unconditional Love at Ulta.

My aunt stopped by on Sunday to spend some time with us before we left. Fortunately, we had tons of left overs from the two dinners the nights before. We whipped up another plate of appetizers and warmed the pulled pork and meatballs. We enjoyed ice tea, appetizers and salad, and everyone was free to pick their lunch.

After lunch, Jay and I rested on the sofa and just relaxed! We realized around this point that we hadn’t spent any time in the family room. The only time we spent time inside was to sleep and cook, the rest was spent on the back porch talking, enjoying a cocktail, eating dinner and relaxing on the sofa!

We enjoyed spending time with my family this Memorial Day weekend. We left early Monday morning at 8:00 a.m. to try to beat some of the Memorial Day traffic. Hope you enjoyed your Memorial Day!

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It's a Michigan Thing

This is Superman ice cream and it has been a favorite of mine since I was little. I remember taking bicycle rides with the whole family up to the local ice cream store in our small town and ordering as many scoops as my parents would let me.

Until last night, I didn't realize that it was a Michigan thing. Every time Jay and I went out to get ice cream (which isn't often), I would look for it. So I finally tried google - and there it was - listed as a Michigan specialty. The best way I can describe it is a sweet bubble gum like flavor. Although it looks like sherbert, it is not tart at all.

I found it online here, for a whopping $69.99 for 3 gallons.

If you ever visit Michigan, or live in Michigan, enjoy a scoop of Superman ice cream for me. It's SO delicious! Now I'll have to go hunt down some Blue Moon!! Don't tell me that's a Michigan thing too!! :)

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C is for Chores

Weekends now consist of chores, errands, more chores and then hopefully relaxing. Yesterday was pretty full for us after taking a walk, attending a shower, making a home video for dad and then making dinner. That left today to take care of the house and chores.

We had a million other things that we would rather be doing, including spending the day at Barnes and Noble looking though house plan books.

But we have been discussing our money situation lately, and that we really want to pretend that I'm not making money. We don't want to get in the habit of spending money that we otherwise wouldn't have like taking our car to the car wash, hiring a house keeper or hiring a dog groomer, just because we can. So we decided to stay home and work around the house together today.

We cleaned the house for the 1,000,008th time this month from top to bottom. Jay mowed the lawn while I detailed my car.

Summer is the best time for dog baths outside. No messes in the house and it's so warm, they're dry in an hour. I mentioned that I wanted to give the dogs a bath outside and Jay headed right out there when he was done mowing.

Haley took a little bit more coaxing, but he eventually got her washed too.

You might notice that she's shaking off before he even got the soap on her. :)

And then Jay gave Murphy a rose to bring to me...it kind of worked out that way... He tried to eat it on the way over. :)


Oh the days of being able to hang out in the sun are few and far between now, but I so enjoy spending time outside. We sat out on the porch and soaked in the sun for a good hour. We worked hard today but we're relaxing now that everything is done, and we didn't pay anyone to do it for us. Accomplishment!

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