And I'm back!

I have not cooked a "good-actually-cooking" meal in like two weeks. Ridiculous. I am back in the saddle again!

Chicken Parmesan, corn, bread and pasta....

My happy Husband. 

Much love, 

Allison

Our Song is a Slammin' Screen door....

(The Title of my Post is my cell phone ring. Remember? I love Taylor Swift.)

Ryan has installed a screen door on our back door! He is super handy. This may sound like it is not a big deal, but the directions were ridiculous and it took longer than the nice Lowe's man said it would. Ryan worked diligently after work for a four days. I was the official complainer and drill-holder. My mother would be so proud. 

We got the screen door because our dog, Sadie, scratches the current door like crazy. And it is nice because we can leave the back door open and see outside. Okay, I mean Sadie can see outside. Man, we do a lot for this dog. Anyway, so far she is afraid of the screen door, so she won't scratch. We'll see how long that lasts.

Here is Ryan's handy work: 

BEAUTIFUL. My Husband rules. 

Sadie looking at me weirdly because I am taking pictures of a screen door. Sheesh, Sadie. Ungrateful. 

Much love, 

Allison

Our Staycation

A very reliable source (cough, Wikipedia, which I used to tell my students is NOT a reliable source, so really I am joking) calls a "stay-cation".....

staycation (or stay-cation, or stacation) is a neologism for a period of time in which an individual or family stays at home and relaxes at home or takes day trips from their home to area attractions.

We are going to take one! For Fourth of July weekend, we had been planning to go to Houston to be with Ryan's family. We have not spent nearly enough time with them this year! We have been finalizing plans, but have decided that they will come here to Dallas and we will rent jet skiis! I am so very excited. I have been itching for a vacation, but this is more exciting to me, because I don't have to worry about packing, or what to do with the dog, or how much money we will spend on eating out. I am SUPER excited. 

Do you buy the staycation? Do you think that it doesn't count? Would you go on one? If you live in a boring place, is a staycation not possible?

Or I guess a more important question is.....When will Jillian see that Wes is a fame-hungry jerk?

Much love, 

Allison

Inspirational/Really Sad Video

This made me cry! But it was also very inspiring to hear them talk about their son, and their faith. 

Much love, 

Allison

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Happy Father's Day!

I LOVE my Dad. He is seriously the best. He is funny and sweet and loving and I am very blessed to have him. I love you, Dad!

My Dad and I at the Sooners/A&M Game last season!

My Dad, Ryan and me at Ted's for my Birthday last year!

Happy Father's Day, Dad! :) 

Much love, 

Allison

My Best Friend's Wedding

Last weekend, Rachel got married! Here are some pictures I took....or Ryan took...or Addi took....

Bridesmaids!

Wedding Day! 

Beautiful bride!

Ryan and I outside....right behind us is where we got married. :)

Beautiful bride and the Maid of Honor!

Signing the Wedding License! 

Congrats, Rachel and Blake!

Much love, 

Allison

Bachelorette Thoughts

So, I have not blogged about Jillian's Bachelorette season yet. Which, if you read my blog, is abnormal for me. But, alas, there is so much going on in our lives. But that is a whole other post. 

To see something funny, go to my Facebook and see Sadie chose the color of our grout. It is pretty funny. I would post it here, but it is on Ryan's computer at home. 

Okay, now to the Bachelorette. Hmmm. Here are my current thoughts. 

1. One thing I have noticed about this season is there are a lot of "dark horses". I think that there is only supposed to be one "dark horse" in a competition, but I think in Jillian's case, there is more than one. I think both Reid and Jesse are her dark horses. What a weird sentence. I like both of them! Reid reminds me of Chandler Bing, and there was one moment last night where he was joking with Jillian about having two wives, and it reminded me of Ryan and myself. So I think I like him because he reminds me of my husband. Nothing wrong with that, right? I also like Jesse cause he seems to be genuine, like Reid. 

2. When the show first started, I liked Kipton and Jake. I still like them. They are both good looking, and seem sweet. But for some odd reason, I am just secretly wanting a relationship (besides Trista and Ryan's) from this reality show to work out. Because otherwise, I feel like a loser for wasting my time watching it and ahem, blogging about it. All that to say, I think Jillian and her man have a better shot of making it if she chooses Reid or Jesse as opposed to Kipton or Jake. Reid and Jesse have both seemed like easy-going, down-to-earth guys who really, really like her. Chose one of them, Jillian. For the love, please make a relationship work for this franchise! (I really doubt this will happen, but a girl can dream....)

3. Wes is slimy! He keeps playing that same song and talking about his CD and I think he is bad news. I don't like him, and if you watch the show, they make it seem like Jillian is the only person who can't see through him. Ugh. Go away, Wes. I will NOT buy your CD. 

4. Ed left for work. Okay, so he had to go because his boss gave him an ultimatum. He said he could stay there and "find love", or he could keep his job. I bet that boss got a hard time at work this morning. The women in the office are probably glaring at him behind their coffee cups and talking about him when he uses the water cooler. Jillian was SO upset about Ed. Overly upset, it seemed. To me, logically, he should have left (as he did), because he didn't know how long Jillian would keep him around, and when she dumps him later, he would have no career to go back to. But honestly, to my girly-nature, I see how Jillian would see this as "Ed would always chose work over me." And, if you are going to start a family with someone, they need to have their priorities in line. But it is a little different, because it is a reality show, and if I told my boss I was leaving to go "find love" for 6 weeks (if I wasn't married to the love of my life, obviously), I would get SOO made fun of. If not from my boss, the other ministers would have a field day. I would never hear the end of it. Wow, this is a long paragraph. Let's move on. 

That's all for now. Hopefully you are still awake. 

Much love, 

Allison

And we're out!

Alright, we are out of here! On our way to Edmond for Rachel and Blake's wedding. I cannot wait to do all my bridesmaid-ly duties and celebrate with the happy couple. And see some old friends! Have a great weekend! 

Happy Wedding Weekend to one of my dearest, oldest, bestest friends!

9 days till....

....Rachel's getting married!
Some of the bridal party at her Bachelorette party!

I am so excited for Rachel. We have been friends for a very long time....since 1st grade. She is going to be such a beautiful bride and have a wonderful life with Blake! 

Much love, 

Allison

Allison Harms, Animal Rescue

Lately I have been saving small creatures left and right. It is becoming a pattern! Here's why....

Last Friday I was driving down Allen Heights, which is a street in Allen (Duh. I don't know why I just wrote that). I noticed on the other side of the road, a sweet turtle was trying to cross! I instantly needed to save this turtle. I pulled into the nearest neighborhood and took off running down the sidewalk. As I am coming close, I see a car coming and I almost lose it. I cannot stand to see this little turtle get squashed. Luckily, the car slowed down and waited for the turtle to cross, and then drove off. (Insert your best "Why did the turtle cross the road" joke here.) I then ran over, grabbed the little turtle, who instantly went in his shell, and put him in the woods by the side of the road, just before another car speed by. Phew. 

The other day at the gym I was on the elliptical, which faces the pond outside the recreation center. Which, by the way, is really nice. It is so peaceful to watch bunnies hop and ducks swim while you work out. But, I digress. So I am working out, and I notice these children running around. No big deal, right? Then, I see that they are THROWING ROCKS at the new BABY DUCKS the park just celebrated. I hop off my elliptical (interrupting a great workout, by the way) and go to the front desk at the gym. I asked the receptionist man (nicely) if I needed to stop the kids outside from throwing rocks at baby ducks. He told me not to worry, and that he would get them to stop. He did. Phew. Baby ducks at the park can live in peace for another day. I mean seriously...throwing rocks at ducks? Where are your parents? Were you born in a barn? 

Also, to complete my animal rescues, I save bunnies and birds from the wrath of my dog on our daily walks. She has discovered that birds and bunnies would be really fun to chase, and if she sees one, I better hold on, because she takes off pretty forcefully. 

Maybe tomorrow I will save a squirrel. Who knows? Or a stray kitten. 

Much love, 

Allison