a cowboy’s wife is having a contest on her food blog! you can win a hamilton beach® stand mixer and she’ll ship anywhere so everyone is eligible! i can’t even tell you how much i would love this mixer. i’ve been dying to get one. it would make baking so much easier and more fun!

well, it’s more than a day late, but i thought i’d share some pictures from our trip to the georgia aquarium anyway. the girls (me, rachel, mil, rachel’s mil and nana) spent the morning there on monday, nana’s actual birthday.

it was a lot of fun. i’d never been before, and it really is a great aquarium.

my favorite part of the aquarium was the tunnel under the aquarium that housed sharks and other fish. it was so neat to be able to look up and see them swimming above you. i could have spent all day sitting there watching them.

the beluga whales were pretty. they reminded me of aj because they floated around belly up on their backs. that’s how he lays around the house.

when joe went to the aquarium last year, his favorite animals were the sea otters. i tried to get a lot of pictures of them for him, but the fiesty guys wouldn’t stay still! they were constantly moving the whole time we were there. i did get a couple cute ones though.

my favorite animals were the river otters. they were *so* cute all cuddled up together. i knew aj would have loved to go snuggle with them!

joe asked me to bring home a sea otter for him, so i did. he named his new pet otto.

yes, the three musketeers (aj, julius and dizzy) should be afraid. otto’s moving in!

here are some pictures of our new house. and yes, the boxes in some of the pictures are now gone. yay! i’m finally feeling more moved in and relaxed!

the living room

the kitchen

the deck

the bedroom

the office/guest room

my scrapbook nook (which i’ve hardly had time to use yet!)

the rest of the back room

eighty fantastic summers was the theme last night as the extended schulman family descended on maggiano’s little italy for nana’s 80th birthday dinner. we all donned our “marge” shirts that nana had printed for the occasion, and we had such a good time! my parents and joe’s sister’s in-laws were part of the group, which made the night even more fun. i really enjoy it when my parents are able to make it to get-togethers.

the shirts say “marge, celebrating 80 fantastic summers.” you wish you had one too, don’t you? i know you do. they rock.

nana got some great presents. joe and i gave her a share book i had created. i had all the family and many of her friends and cousins participate by creating a page spread for it or sending pictures that i scrapbooked on pages to add in. it was really neat. joe’s mom said she looked through it all day today.

rachel gave nana a family tree with pictures of all of us hanging from the branches. it was really neat and such a great idea.

my parents’ gift was awesome. they gave her some vanilla-scented soaps and a t-shirt from nana’s custard stand in hixson, tennessee.

how awesome is that? it’s so her too. i know she’ll wear it often.

we had a delicious dinner that included bread, fried zucchini, spinach dip, spaghetti, asparagus, garlic mashed potatoes, salmon, chicken and eggplant parmisagna. joe and i vowed not to eat for the rest of the week. we were stuffed! even though the food was fantastic, it was more fun just getting to hang out with everyone. we rarely get to see joe’s sister or her in-laws, and we only see our parents every few weeks. it was really nice to have everyone together. i love how my family and joe’s get along so well. it makes life so much fun.

we took so many pictures, we probably annoyed the other customers with the flashes, but we didn’t care. we were having a blast, and that was all that mattered.

nana’s a blast, and i love spending time with her. i’m glad to be part of the family. happy 80th birthday nana!!

*as always, more photos of all the fun can be found on my flickr site.

joe and i are starting the house buying process. we met with our realtor on tuesday, and we really like her. i think she’d be tough in negotiating price.

we stopped by one house we liked last night, but the neighborhood really isn’t that great. think plants in tires in the front yard. enough said. and that was at the house we were looking at! the other yards didn’t look like they were kept up, which shows how much the residents care about their neighborhood.

we also went by another house we are interested in, and we have an appointment to look around inside on sunday. i really like it. it has four bedrooms and three bathrooms, which is the right size for us. it also has an above ground pool, a basketball hoop and a two car garage. and, it is well under the price we were looking for, which is another plus.

wish us luck!

well, i bit the bullet and got my hair cut! i’m still not so sure how i feel about it, but it is how it is. what do you all think?

the before:

and the after:

elvis van dolson

1986 (?)-2007

elvis, as much as it hurt all of us, we had to put you to sleep yesterday. your departure hit dad the hardest, as he was the one who tamed you when you wandered to our house in maryland one night eighteen years ago. you wouldn’t go anywhere near him, but huddled under one of our cars until he went inside, leaving a plate of food for you to devour.

night-after-night, dad did this, watching from the window. then, one night, you let him sit on the step outside as you ate. you were still skittish, but you were warming up to him. eventually, you let him bring you inside, and you were with us ever since.

you, whom dad nicknamed “the captain” after naming you for elvis presley, were a big cat. i could never really tell if it was your incredibly fluffy coat of fur or if you just liked to eat! frisky and sally were wary of letting you into the cat clique, but they eventually opened up as much as cats do. you became a part of our family.

through the years, we’ve added even more cats to the family, but you firmly held your spot as “dad’s cat”. you didn’t talk often, but when you did it was a very deep sound. you looked like a lion with your thick fur. my favorite picture of you wearing a tiny toy hat on your fluffy head is still on mom and dad’s fridge. it always makes me smile.

but, as the years went by, time took its toll on you, as it does to every animal and person. you began to lose weight, but so did frisky, and when he received a clean bill of health from the veterinarian, we thought you were fine too. however, you continued to deteriorate to the point where you could no longer eat. as much as mom and dad loved you, they knew you were suffering, and they couldn’t let that happen.

and so, on february 14, dad, randy and ryan took you to the vet for the last time where they said their final goodbye to you. the night before, dad sat with you and held you, hoping you would slip away peacefully in your sleep, knowing it would be easier emotionally on everyone.

you may be gone now, but we’ll always remember you, and you will always live in our hearts. and, i’m sure your brothers and sisters are missing you as well. we never really knew how old you were, but figured you were several years old when you found us, putting you around 20 or 21. you had a long, good life. i was sad yesterday, sad at the thought of us losing you and the fact that i wasn’t able to see you one last time. we love you, elvis.

joe accidentally took my coat when he left today instead of his. i don’t know how he did that, but he did. he called me to let me know to take his, and then said, “man. now i’m going to have to freeze today.”

“why?” i asked.

“i can’t wear a girl’s coat!!”

i just asked him if my coat fit him. he said i didn’t know.

“have you put it on?”

“no.”

sigh. only a guy would be willing to get sick rather than wear a woman’s coat.

update 12:28 p.m.

joe just called, quite proud by the number of men who have agreed with his insane thinking. here’s the conversation between joe and our brother-in-law, dave:

joe: “i accidentally took cady’s coat today.”

dave: “you didn’t wear it, did you?”

joe: “nope. i may die of hypothermia.”

dave: “at least you won’t be wearing a woman’s coat.”

other men have said:

“it’s not that cold out.”

i told joe not to come to me for sympathy when he gets sick!