Y is for Yard work

We have been spending most of our Saturdays doing some yard work. Today is was definitely the warmest day so far, Nelson has already taken two showers! But we got some edging around our flower bed in the corner of the yard and got some mulch put down. We need to get some more mulch to finish things off but we are making progress!

Season Finale of LOST

Usually I do not get too excited about LOST because it scares me but tonight we watched the season finale with some friends so it was worth getting excited for. I made a special LOST dessert. For those who may not recognize it, it is the Dharma Initiative logo.

X is for X Box!

We do love the X Box. Well, I really just love Guitar Hero and Scene It but Nelson enjoys many other games (let's see how well I know his games)-GTA IV, Halo, Call of Duty, Assassins Creed. That is all I can remember, I will ask him and see what other ones he likes. He agrees and adds Lego Star Wars and Gears of War. But one thing I really appreciate is that he never plays to the exclusion of anything or anyone else. So, the X Box treats us very well!

W is for Weekends

Now that I work Monday through Friday, I have really come to appreciate the weekend. I look forward to usually getting a bite out to eat on Friday and not having to cook meal. And then just hanging out with Nelson, resting and relaxing that night. Usually on Saturday morning we sleep in a little bit (ok sometimes it is a lot) and then go to get a breakfast bite at either First Watch, Bread Co or Einsteins. I like to delay the getting breakfast part till as late as possible because breakfast is probably my least favorite meal of the day. So if I can hold out our leaving the house till about 10:30 (I have some really good stall tactics) then by the time we get there, order and then have our meal, it is past 11-after which is ok for me to eat lunch type foods. So then after that we just run errands, do some work outside, do some cleaning, laundry, maybe go to the grocery store, Lowes or something like that. Weekends are just so great, I love just spending time together!
Growing up we had some great weekend traditions, like my dad and I going to the recycling center together and me mowing the lawn, which he totally got the good end of the deal on that one. I think the best thing about weekends now is that I don't have to do homework anymore! That is a great feeling!!
Well, all that to say, I just really love the weekend!

What Indiana Jones can do for your family

We saw Indiana Jones this weekend and enjoyed it. But for this one father and son it was more than just a movie-
"I took my 12-year-old son who, having watched the previous three "Indy" movies multiple times on DVD and TV, is steeped in the Indy mythology. Watching his reaction to "Kingdom of the Crystal Skull" on the big screen was like watching myself at "Raiders of the Lost Ark" when it first came out — laughing, cheering, amazed at the action, pulling for the good guys, booing the bad guys — having a ball of a good time as he joined the ride and became part of the adventure. I was there, right with him and Indy. ... When my son and I got home, he found an old leather jacket of mine as well as an old camping fedora. He put them on, came into the living room singing the Indy theme song. We ended up on the floor wrestling and laughing. ... We had a wonderful evening at wonderful movie!"

V is for Vacuum

I really enjoy vacuuming, especially with my relatively new Dyson. It is amazing, dirt really stands no chance against it. And I love that I can switch between carpet and bare floors. We have a good amount of hardwood in our house so I just switch it over to bare floor and watch the dirt disappear.

U is for Uprooting!

This morning while Nelson was at the deacon's retreat, I did a lot of digging. I took out pretty much all the old plants which was pretty hard but I did it. Then I planted new bushes in the bed by our house. I was pretty worn out by that time so I had some lunch and then Nelson came home and did some more digging and then we planted some new flowers. We tried to get some more peonies to match the one that already was planted but we looked three places and all were already out of them. So we moved the peony (not sure if it will work) and then planted some rose bushes. Now they just need to grow to be big!!
Here they are-


New bushes in the front


Up close of the bushes


Even closer


New corner area


Everything!

T is for Treasures!

There is a website www.woot.com and their slogan is "one day, one deal" and they just have one thing for sale each day and it is always a really good deal. Sometimes they have a "woot off" where they sell many things in succession-as soon as one thing sells out, they bring up the next thing. And sometimes they have something called a "bag of crap." It only costs $1 and it could be anything but you don't know what it is until it comes to your door (it really could be trash or it could be something like a computer- you just don't know). It is hard to get them because there is a limited number and everyone tries to get them. Nelson has tried many times and been unsuccessful. But recently he was able to get not one-but three!! So today the box came and here is what was in it!!


The Box!


The "crap"


A USB cable!


Not quite sure- a little travel pack from Delta?


A Weather Station


A Woot Bucket!


You never know what is in the bag of crap!!

S is for Sweet bite!

Almost every night around 8 or 8:30 there is a conversation that takes place in the Somerville household. It goes something like this:
Emily: Hey Honey bunch, are you feeling a sweet bite?
Nelson: Oh yeah, what do we have?
E: (list some various sweet bites-usually ice cream or cookies or sometimes I throw something totally random in there like "garlic butter noodles")
N: Oh, I'll take some ice cream (or whatever sounded good that night)
E: Ok, sounds good to me!!
Then I get whatever it is ready, and bring it to Nelson and then
N: Thank you so much!!! (eats a few bites) Yumb!! (with the "b" emphasized).

and that is usually how it goes! Most nights we do not have anything out of the ordinary or super special but tonight I had to bake some dessert for our small group BBQ tomorrow night. Here it is (I really love baking)

R is for Research

So most of what I do everyday is work on a research project. However right now I am helping to teach the first years who are just starting their master's projects. I am teaching them all the assessments we use, and so I needed some video footage of people doing daily activities so they can practicing using the assessment. So I enlisted my parents' help. I realize it may not be funny to anyone else except Nelson and my brother and sister-in-law but still, I thought I would share it. In the video, my dad is supposed to be pretending that he has had a stroke and now has difficulty doing daily activities. So here is "getting in and out of the tub" (don't worry-he is fully clothed).

Q is for nothing

I am not in a very creative mood and I can't think of anything that starts with Q except quiet and our lives have been anything but quiet recently so I think I am going to just skip that letter and document our weekend so far. Unfortunately I don't have a firewire here at home (have one at work) to put up some awesome video that we took yesterday but hopefully I will get it up tomorrow or Tuesday. But anyway- we have had a good weekend so far and here are some pics to document it!

Friday night we went to dinner at Pasta House Pronto. I hate to say it but we were a little disappointed. It was more expensive than we thought it would be and we didn't really like our food. So that was no good. But then we went to look for a new TV stand because we needed another slot because we decided to get DirecTV. So we needed a spot for the receiver. Also, our old stand was too high so we needed one to be at the proper viewing height. We found one and were very excited (picture later on in the post). We put it together and were quite satisfied.
But we had to wake up early on Saturday morning to wait for the DirecTV man to come. So I thought we needed some coffee and donuts and the newspaper! We felt very grown up reading the newspaper (although we mostly focused on the ads and comics and special Indiana Jones section).





Then the DirecTV man came and we were very excited. At first he said he might have to put the dish on a pole by the side of the house to get the best reception and we were thinking that would be terrible but luckily he could put it on the roof. I thought the DirecTV man would think it was weird if I tried to take a picture of him so I just took a pic of his car instead!




And here is our TV all set up on it's new stand-


Then after that we went to my parents to do some videotaping (long story but basically I need it for demonstration for a class I am helping to teach). That is where the funny videos that I need to upload comes in but I don't have the firewire for that so I will update as soon as possible. But we were quite thirsty after leaving there and stopped in the 7-11 to get some drinks. We were so excited when we saw a Guitar Hero flavored slurpee!!!





Then we went to a nursey to get some ideas for plants, we got some ideas but now we need some new ones because we thought our garden bed was only about 7 ft x 1ft and got a good amount of sun. So that is what we told the lady and she helped us pick out flowers. Well, we realized today that actually our bed is about 14 ft by 3 ft and is mostly shade. So we need to go back and get some new ideas.
After the nursery we decided to wash our cars! That felt good to get another thing accomplished!


Then we had dinner and watched TV all night long, checking out the channels, recording things, fast forwarding through commercials, etc. It was great.

And that is all for now. This afternoon we hope to get the lawn mowed and put down some seed. Hopefully all will go well!

P is for Prices at the Pump

I just want to say right off the bat-I am not about to get worked up about the price of gas. It just isn't worth it to me. But look at this great pic I took today on my phone (I wasn't moving too fast when I took it). Check out the bottom price of gas! It is pretty hilarious!

O is for Occasion!

and the occasion is Mother's Day! Today we prepared a delicious lunch for my mom for mother's day. Happy Mother's Day Mom!


Table


Present for Mom


Mums for Mum


Dessert!


The kids

N is for Never ending guitar hero

So today James and Steph came into town and of course we had to get another guitar so we can have some serious guitar hero time. We were planning on getting one right away so we could have two-we wanted to get the Guitar Hero II bundle (guitar and game) so we could have all the GH II songs. but they don't sell that anymore. so we just got another wireless guitar and then GHII game. It is so much fun. Here are some pics of the night so far!

M is for Meaningful Things about me

Well, I am copying RiLee and doing her lists of 5s and so I also tried to make it work with the ABCs. so here is my M is for meaningful list!
1. 5 things under $5 that I couldn't live without
1. Lip Gloss
2. Custard from Jeremiahs
3. A pack of gum
4. Mascara
5. Kisses from Nelson (those are free!)
2. 5 Favorite Movies (in no particular order…)
1. Pretty Woman
2. The Holiday
3. Sound of Music
4. All the James Bond movies
5. Schindler's List
3. 5 Baby names I love
-Sorry I can't reveal these until the proper time
4. 5 Songs I could listen to over and over again
1. Be Thou My Vision
2. What is Love
3. Our Song (Moulin Rouge)
4. I Saw the Sign
5. Any song by U2
5. 5 People who have influenced me in a positive way
1. Nelson
2. My brother
3. My mom
4. My dad
5. My grandmother
6. 5 things that are always in my purse
1. Wallet
2. Cell Phone
3. Lip Gloss
4. Business cards (yes I just had to say that because I now have them)
5. Gum
7. 5 moments that have changed my life forever
1. My first date with Nelson
2. Our wedding
3. My salvation
4. College (that is not really a moment but it did change my life)
5. Getting Guitar Hero (ok not really)
8. 5 Obsessions I have now
1. Guitar Hero
2. Gilmore Girls
3. Monograms
4. Fresca
5. Our Dishwasher
9. 5 places I would like to go
1. Disneyworld
2. Europe
3. New York (I have been there and it was so great I want to go back)
4. Santa Fe, NM
5. Alaska (been there too but would definitely go back)
10. 5 appliances or kitchen tools I cannot live without
1. Kitchen Aid
2. Carrot Peeler
3. Paring Knife
4. Ice Cream Scoop
5. Cutting Board

L is for Love Guitar Hero!

I have secretly been wanting Guitar Hero ever since we played it with Winsor and Phil a while ago (maybe Christmas, I can't remember-but it has been a while). So finally tonight we got it!!! and it is even more awesome than I rememebered. The only thing that would make it even more awesome is a U2 version, but Nelson says not to worry, that there has been talk in the gamer spheres of such a version coming out. I am not sure if I will be able to handle the awesomeness when that happens.

K is for Killing weeds!

So one of the downsides to buying a house in the end of winter is that you don't really get to see what the state of the lawn is. Well, while there have been many nice surprises, like the beautiful flowers, our grass is mostly weeds. It is quite a bummer and we will probably have to work hard to get it to be mostly grass instead. But today, after Nelson did some mowing, I did some weeding and feeding so we will see how it turns out!

J is for James

So I am pretty sure I have the world's best brother (and he has a pretty awesome wife too)! He is great and as much as we have had our moments, I'd say we get along pretty great now. The only major bummer is that we don't live close to each other anymore. Here are some great pics of him, if only I was at my parent's house and could find some really embarassing ones. Oh well, these will do for now!

James and me when he came for my graduation from Wash U


James and Steph when they came to Chattanooga and made us go to a crazy but great restaurant. That face of my brother's is pretty typical.


James and Steph at my college graduation


No that is not James, but his dog Molly. I figure, no post about the Kling Jrs. is complete without a tribute to Molly.

I is for Into the Basement

Ok, so that is a major stretch but I need to post pics of the basement (although it is still in need of some more organizing) and we really do go "into the basement" a lot. Every day for sure. So here it is!

When you come down the stairs

hanging out area

stairs (and to the right is the unfinished part but that is even more disorganized so I didn't take any pics of that)