Ask me anything!

Happy 200th post to me!

No, I won't be celebrating every hundred posts... just the first 100 and now 200.

(ok, and probably another one at one year... ha ha!)

So in honor of my 200th post I am allowing you to ask me ANYTHING you'd like to know about me.

I've seen other blogs do something similar and it always turns out to be fun, interesting and informative.

Of course, I only have ten readers as opposed to the hundreds everyone else has--but there still may be something you want to know.  Something you've been dying to ask.  It can be something simple, something crazy, something personal, something complex, something silly, or any random thing that pops into your head.  It can be related to my marriage, my job, my hobbies, my blog, or completely hypothetical.   Leave your questions in the comment section and I will write a post in the next week answering all of the questions I received.

If you'd like to ask an anonymous question you can email it to manylayersofme at yahoo dot com.

(DISCLAIMER: I do reserve the right to be vague or not answer questions that may jeopardize the privacy of Little Man, Little Man's family, or anything I deem inappropriate.  Thanks for playing!)

Splish Splash, Quack Quack

Isn't spring the time for ducks?  Last year Little Man and I made this little picture. 

I painted his feet on construction paper.  I'd recommend using white.  I was out of white, so I used light blue.  Hence the reason the ducks look a little green! :)

After they dried, I drew a beak and some terrible looking feet.  I cut them out.

Then I had little man draw a scenery for them.  Of course, he needed a little guidance and he was a young 3 at that point.  I sort of helped him draw a circle for the "pond" and had him color it it.  I also told him to add the grass.  I think the sun was his idea, but I did draw the circle for it.

It is now hanging on the fridge in the garage and greats me every morning. :)

House Tour--The Kitchen

I apologize for not having you back to my house sooner.  I've been unusually busy these past few weeks and my house hasn't been the cleanest it could be.  I'm sure you understand, right?

Well, come on in and check out my kitchen... I'd offer you a seat, but there aren't any! :)

I know you've seen glimpses of the kitchen from other posts.  You usually see it from this angle.

Our living room and our kitchen are the only two rooms on the main floor of our house.  

(Sorry.  I haven't shown you the outside of the house.  You have to go up about 5 stairs to get to our door.  I say "main" floor, because it's not really ground level.)

This floor is an "open concept", which I like.  If I'm cooking in the kitchen, I can talk to Michael while he is  in the living room.  If he's doing the dishes, he can talk to me while I'm in the living room.  It works out.

Here are some other views/angles for you.

That light you see is a little landing and then is the stairs to the basement.

We'll visit down there another time.

We have a love/hate relationship with the stainless steel and the glass stove top.

They are very nice to look at, but the biggest pain in the butt to clean.

And... we don't even have kids putting hand and finger prints on them. *sigh*

So there you have it.  Our kitchen.

I can't really go as "CSI" as I did last time.  There aren't many things to zoom in on. 

(note-if you have no idea what I mean by that, go back and look at the living room post.)

I'll try to give you a little info though.

First, we hate having a corner sink.

You will notice, the dishwasher is on the left and the stove is on the right.

Michael, being the great husband he is, likes to be in the kitchen spending time with me while I cook.

Sometimes he likes to kill two birds with one stone and do the dishes while I cook and we chat about our day.  Unfortunately, this just doesn't work.

(The top of the blender is in the dishwasher in case you are observant and wondering.  I would be if this wasn't my house! :)

This isn't the greatest picture because of the lighting, but I like having the top of my shelves to decorate.

I told you in the living room post how that monogram is our cake topper.  I like that I came up with a way to reuse it.  The giraffes are from my trip to Africa.

There's lots I like about this... except the old bananas. ha!

I never wanted a block of knives on the counter.  Actually, I was pretty against it.  However, a relative got them for us for our wedding and I'm actually quite fond of them now.  It makes cooking super convenient.

I also love my kitchenaid and yes, I do use it!

I also like have the under the counter radio/CD player in the kitchen.

I really like this picture frame with the black and whites against the red wall.

If you look at the other pictures you may thing it's placed a little low on the wall. (or maybe it's just me).

I'll show you a little secret...

It's covering a phone jack!  We don't have a house phone, so I didn't want that hanging in the middle of my kitchen messing up my decorating.  So, we took the wall plate off and covered the hole with painters tape.  Brilliant if I do say so myself! 

I've told you before that I love wrought iron.  I seriously love this little scrolly thing.

I got it for $5.  Who can beat that?

I also like the top of the hutch.  The little Peace sign is for Michael.  He likes all things Asian.  You'll have to ask him about it!

LOVE the birdcage candle holder.  It was also the "card box" at my wedding.

The microwave cart and hutch were both purchased at Target for ridiculously good deals.  (and by that I mean the hutch was originally $250 and we got it for $48 or something like that.)  They fit perfectly into the space and were desperately needed for extra storage.

Also, the space above the fridge was empty.  I traded some tutoring with a dad of one of my students to order and install cabinets up there.  It was some serious empty space that I had great plans for.  (Cereal boxes being "great" in that regard. ha!)

Oh, and I forgot to point out the floors.  The entire main floor has laminate wood floors.  I like them alot.  They dress the place up and are easy to clean.

Hope you enjoyed the tour of our kitchen.  I'll try to invite back quicker next time!

Remembering Palm Sunday

Happy Palm Sunday

"And the multitudes that went before, and that followed, cried, saying, 'Hosanna to the son of David: Blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord; Hosanna in the highest.'" Matthew 21:9

List o' fun--Franklin Park Conservatory

The Franklin Park Conservatory is a great place to take kids.  I think most people think conservatories are just for old people who want to look at plants, but it's much more than that.  Little Man especially likes to go when they have the butterfly exhibit going on, which goes March to July.

Of course, his other favorite thing is the mini train that is set up right by the entrance.  

He could sit there for hours watching that train go round and round. 

The whole little town is made out of trees.

The Conservatory often has Chihuly blown glass on display as well.

The current display will be taken down after tomorrow, but I'm sure they'll have it up again soon.

This is us standing under one of the places that has some glass.

some more while we walk...

Some crazy bird that scares me just a little

They were actually having a glass blowing demonstration, so we went and watched for a little bit.

Then they have this little hallway that has all sorts of hands on fun for kids.

It's very educational and the kids love it.

Then we moved on to the room where the butterflies were.  Is that the rain forest? I forget.

Anyway, there are also some fish in there that Little Man loves to feed.

More Chihuly glass.... looking for butterflies.

It's best to go on a sunny day.  On cloudy days they are less likely to be flying around and more likely to be hanging out on the windows.  Unfortunately, we went on a cloudy day.  But we did see a few.

Then right when you leave that area, there is a place where the butterflies are actually popping out of their chrysalis.  (Some are... some are already flying around, some still have wet wings, and some are just chrysalis).  Little Man will stand there forever and watch.  He's fascinated by it.

They actually do a butterfly release every day at 1.  A lady gives a 15 minute presentation and then lets some butterflies go.  We were going to watch, but it was a little too crowded and I didn't think Little Man was going to make it the entire 15 minutes.  But one of these days we'll check it out!

The Conservatory is a little pricey, but there are a lot of coupons floating around out there for discounts.  Also, if you don't have a coupon you can get a AAA discount.  It's not much, but it's something.

I didn't even show you all of it.  There are a few outside places as well, but it was just to cold the day we went.  There is also a park within walking distance that you can check out after your fun-filled day.

Rain, Rain, Go Away

Is anyone else sick of the rain already?  Ugh.  I am just not a fan. 

I guess if you have to have the rainy days, you might as well do a fun rainy day craft.

We did this one last year.  I got the idea here.

The splatter is done with an old toothbrush and blue paint.  Clever!

Keeping you on your toes...

Ok.  So we have a slight change in plans.  Remember how I told you we Sellers are like that?  We like to keep you on your toes at all times!  :)  Well anyway.... after I had a slight emotional breakdown, it has been decided that we are GOING ON VACATION!  Can I get a "woo hoo"?

We aren't going here

But we will hopefully still be getting some sun while we are HERE!

That's right.  We are going to Vegas, baby.

Neither Michael nor I have been before and we are looking forward to it.

We will be there for 5 days, 4 nights.

So far we have tickets for

(Ok, and I'd like to point out that one of the three original founders of the Blue Man group graduated from EVANGEL UNIVERSITY.  I'm just saying...)

AND

I'm pretty freaking excited.

We also plan on checking out all the sights and enjoying the sunshine.

It is a much needed break and reward.

Come on April 4th!

Sometimes... I'm just a little crazy

Saturday we went to have sushi for Laurie's birthday.

Unfortunately, I didn't take any pictures of this momentous occasion.

After eating some "oh so yummy" food we went shopping.

While roaming Pier 1 I came across this ridiculously LARGE spoon.

I decided my sister might need to be fed.

(Thanks for playing along Ang)

Notice my niece in the background??  She was not amused.

Sooooo.............. I spanked her.

THIS is my life. :)

Party Recap

Friday night we had a surprise birthday party for my sister.

Here's a brief picture recap.

My sister is a princess, so that was the theme.

She had a princess cake, princess gifts, and a feather boa with a tiara.

She is in love with Costco cakes, so that's what she got. :)

Laurie and I waited patiently for her to arrive.

Then she arrived with her boss/BFF Sandy. SURPRISE!

Getting her princess on!

Opening gifts

This random guy stopped by for a picture.  His wife didn't realized he had stopped and she was all the way out the door.  Pretty funny.  Guys were buying her drinks and giving birthday wishes all night.

Hmm... do you think it's because she's freaking gorgeous?

Laurie and Ang

Me and my Seee-sta!

My love

Ang and her friends

Showing her pedicured toes off.  She's weird like that.

Us again

and last, but not least, the self taken shots

Lots of laughs.  Lots of fun!