Just not the same without her

It has only been a day but when Jillian is gone it seems as though I always end up feeling like ........

Memorial Day Weekend

Today, we are leaving for...



To go and hang out with...


Hopefully it will be warm enough to lay out here...


Although he has to leave on Sunday...


We get to hang out on Monday!!


I hope everyone has a great Memorial Day.

Conserving Energy or Heat Stroke??

When we moved into our house we decided to wait as long as possible before we turned on our AC. We wanted our electric bill to stay as low as possible. We have been doing good so far... nothing that our fans couldn't do. Last night when we were going to bed I looked at the thermostat because I was sweating...which is saying a lot because I am ALWAYS cold. It read 90 degrees. It was at that point we decided the AC needed to be turned on. When it is 11:00 PM and 90 degrees inside something needs to be done. So it is officially summer and our air is now on!

My new favorite place...

Over the past few years I have grown a love for reading. Now that I have graduated I have time to read books I enjoy and not feel guilty for not reading textbooks I read all the time. I have come to realize that books are expensive and I can't justify spending $20 on a book that I finish in a few days and then it just sits and collects dust on our bookshelf. Today I decided to go to the Library and see what I could find, and I LOVED it. It was so easy, free, and they even have DVD's. Why would anyone spend money at Blockbuster when the library has everything and it is free? I took Robby and Veronica with me and they too got a few books and a movie. We had the best time and it is now our weekly outing. If any of you are as cheap (or just simply a newlywed on a tight budget) as I am, I encourage you to try this out, it is the best!

Made of Honor

I am a sucker for chick flicks. I LOVE them... I am always up to go, and it doesn't even matter how cheesy it is, I will go and watch them and have the best time. Tonight my mom and I went and saw Made of Honor, and I loved it. Granted, I do enjoy McDreamy and any movie he is in. I still enjoy Enchanted and am so excited when a niece asks if I will watch it with her. My favorite is watching it with Bostyn because she can recite the ENTIRE movie word for word. Anyway back to Made of Honor, it was so cute and funny and if you want a "feel good" movie where McDreamy isn't dating someone who has issues (Merideth) I highly recommend it.

California!

This weekend I came home for Mother's Day because Trevor Dean is calling home. But when I come to California that means.. GOLDEN SPOON!! Of course I eat Golden Spoon when I'm home, but when the Bruce girls get together it seems we get one after every meal, and I love it. We are even passing our love of Golden Spoon to Ava. I wish I recorded how she pronounced "Chocolate Ice Cream" because it is too funny. I hope everyone enjoys a little golden spoon every once in a while.

Going Green!

For the past few months I have wanted to "Go Green", but wasn't sure how. I knew that buying organic wasn't really the way to go because at this point in my life I am too cheap to spend more on meat, fruit, etc. The other night when I was doing my routine cleaning I went to bed and could barely breathe because of all the fumes. I then knew it was time to change. I got out my "Martha Stewart Homemaking Handbook" and made a grocery list. Today I had went to Bed Bath and Beyond and Wal Mart and bought: 1. White Vinegar 2. Baking Soda 3. Three squirt bottlers 4. Shark Steam Mop 5. 3 different types of clothe towels and 6. Clorox Green Toilet cleaner.


After cleaning the house this is what I learned:

1. The Shark Steam Mop is the best invention ever. I usually don't like to mop because you have to fill your clean sink with water only to get dirty and the mop itself is so dirty how could it possibly clean your floor? I usually used so much PineSol so it smelled good I had a headache afterwards. With the shark all you do is fill it up with water, let it warm up for 30 seconds and Voila! Start mopping! It steam cleans your floor within minutes. Then you take off the re-useable and washable cloth wipe and throw it in the wash. SO easy, You don't have to buy several swifter sheets, and it is the best!

2. I hate hate hate cleaning the microwave, it smells it is gross, and I just hate it. Martha had the best solution... Take a cup of water with 6 Tbs Baking Soda and microwave on high for 3 minutes in a microwave safe dish. The water explodes leaving baking soda everywhere. Let it sit for 2 minutes, the just scrape the baking soda off. It TOTALLY Cleans the microwave and the odor is gone.

3. I filled the kitchen spray bottle with half water half vinegar. I then sprayed it all over the countertops and wiped it clean. It smelled so clean, left no streaks, and cut through any grease on the counter.

4. For the bathrooms I did straight vinegar. For the tubs I sprayed them down with vinegar then poured baking soda on the them. The Bathroom then started to sizzle. I got a clothe towel wet and wiped it up. No more dirt, hard water, or mildew.

5. The Clorox green toilet bowl cleaner smelled SO good... and it worked like a charm!

6. To unclog drains pour about a cup of baking soda down the drain followed by 3 cups vinegar. Let sit for 10 minutes or so then pour boiling water down the drain... worked like a charm!

7. Lastly, the cloth towels. I decided that using paper towels was a waste. I bought several towels and I'm not sure which ones I like the best, but they are all in the wash right now ready for next weeks cleaning.

All in all, going green was fun! And although today was more expensive then the usual cleaning supply bill, now that I have everything it will be much cheaper. A huge bottle of vinegar is only 2.00 and a huge container of baking soda was 1.99!

**I still cannot give up my clorox wipes... I use them for quick clean-ups.
***Dad, don't worry I am not a tree-hugging liberal. I just wanted to make cleaning easier!