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Author: Andi

A Visit From Seattle

Posted on April 7, 2016January 29, 2017 by Andi

Our long-time friend, Kelly, and her daughter, Aria, came to visit us a couple weeks ago. I literally squealed when she told me she booked a flight here and was even more excited when she decided to stay with us! That meant loads of baby snuggles and Kelly-time!

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Chuck also made his best batch EVER of pretzels!!!

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We went to one of her favorite restaurants one night for dinner. It was fun to bring all the kids there. Thankfully, it’s not a super classy joint, so we weren’t bothering anyone with all the kids (whom were all very well-behaved). We also spent a morning at the zoo and had lunch at Noodles.

The kids were really good with Aria and liked to play with her. Maddie was especially loving of her…and Aria liked Maddie a lot!

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It was a brief, but wonderful trip. I am so thankful that she came all the way here (after staying a number of days in Georgia) to see us and let us meet her sweet little girl!

I am hoping to plan a trip out during Chuck’s July trip to Seattle. I am really excited to go out and see some of my dear friends there! It’s so good to be back home in MN, but I still miss my friends there. Thankfully, 2016 makes it pretty easy to stay in touch with each other!

andi

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Building My Skills

Posted on April 6, 2016January 29, 2017 by Andi

A dear friend of mine asked me if I would help her make a website for a business she wants to start. I couldn’t be more excited that she asked me. I love web design even though I am quite an amateur at it. But this is something I would love to add to my resume as a skill I have for future jobs in the tech field one day. I have helped my dad build a website (of course with help from Chuck) and we will be doing some updates to his site soon, I have had a few websites of my own over the years and I am hoping to do a bit of updating to my site soon. I am so honored that she asked me to help. This is a perfect project for me to gain some more knowledge and skills.

A few weeks ago I went to a Geekettes event. I love their events. They are a great place to talk to women in varying stages in their tech degrees. This time there were some amazing speakers (one I would LOVE to work for one day) and a t-shirt company was there screen printing shirts. I come home from those events so excited and motivated. It’s so fun to hear how people have come into the tech field and what varying positions there are. It gives me confidence that I will be able to find something that is a good fit for me one day.

I also follow some Facebook groups on similar topics to Geekettes and keep looking for events to attend. I had sent out an email to a few people and posted on FB to see if anyone wanted to join me. I didn’t get any takers. Maybe it was because they weren’t free that night or it could be a sign of how intimidating the tech field can be for women.

I have done some more research about various jobs and have a book I really want to read about project management in my list of books (I haven’t decided if I am going to buy the physical book to have the author sign it – which she said she would) or just buy the kindle edition. After talking to one of the speakers, she seemed to think I would be really good at project management. It is appealing to me, but I worry I am too much of a pleaser, not strong-willed enough, or not the right personality for it. But I think those are just my insecurities talking.

After I get my friend’s website up and running and looking the way she wants, I’ll be sure to post it here. I think it’s something many of you will want to utilize!

andi

 

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Some New Meals

Posted on April 5, 2016January 29, 2017 by Andi

It’s been almost a month since I posted something here. I am slacking! I’ve been trying to make some new meals here and there.

The most recent one we tried (and I loved…even the leftovers) was Spicy Grilled Tofu. I didn’t take any pictures, but trust me! It was so yummy! I made some brown/wild rice in the rice cooker to go with it and sautéed some peppers/onions/garlic to go with it. Yum! I used only 1/4 cup syrup instead of the 1/3 cup and I didn’t actually grill the tofu. I just seared it in a pan. Still delicious. The only things the kids ate was a little bit of the rice. I can’t remember what I had leftover in the fridge for them to eat for dinner that night.

Tonight, I am making Mexican Zucchini Burrito Boats. I have seen similar recipes to this one online many times, but decided to finally try it. I’m really excited. The kids probably won’t touch this. I’ll give them some to try, but most likely they will eat a cheese quesadilla.

I am planning to make some tofu lettuce wraps next week, as well.

We have made these Veggie Packed Pizza Roll-Ups many times and we love it! We make a bunch of sauce and freeze leftovers for another time. They are so filling since you make whole wheat dough for them. We like to add some extra spices/seasoning in them and sometimes some bacon bits. The kids will usually eat these, but Chuck also uses some leftover dough and makes them some breadsticks with them (which they dip in ketchup…weirdos).

Some of our favorites are:

  • Onion Rings, homemade pizza (sometimes we make the dough and sometimes we just use store bought)
  • Taters & Veggies (I could eat this for every meal, and they can be modified with whatever veggies you like best.

  • Spaghetti (we sauté a BUNCH of garlic, peppers and onions and add it to the sauce, which makes me eat less pasta because the sauce is so filling)
  • pancakes/waffles and eggs
  • Veggie Soup (which we had last night for dinner)
  • I made the Chicken Noodle Soup I like with tofu instead of chicken and it turned out great!
  • Fish tacos

I’m trying to broaden my food horizon and try some new things, but I still throw in some favorites. Making a new meal too often can be challenging and even make you less excited to try more new things. So I am trying for one new meal a week. I like having a big arsenal of go-to meals. Smile And another thing I do is add the meals we are eating to our shared calendar. Then we can see what is coming up or adjust as need be if something comes up.

Do you have any favorite vegetarian meals that you love that we should try? If so, please send along the recipe! What do you do for meal planning/prep?

andi

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Superhero Party

Posted on March 11, 2016February 1, 2017 by Andi

This year Maddie knew exactly what kind of birthday party she wanted…. “a Superhero party with ice cream cake!” So that’s exactly what she got!

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We invited family and a few friends over and it was so fun and simple. I got a bunch of capes for the kids (and a few extras for adults to play with), made a photo booth backdrop and cut out masks and such. We played Kids Bop music and ordered pizza and ate DQ cake. It was perfect!

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Grandma Linda made more amazing gifts this year. She made Maddie her very own superhero cape, headband and wrist bands and a Barbie tent/sleeping bags/campfire! She is SO creative! The kids were fascinated by the Barbie stuff.

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Thanks to our family and friends that could be there (or sent gifts in lieu of your presence) and helping to make this girl one very happy superhero!

HERE is a link to the photo gallery from the party.

andi

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Maddie is 5!

Posted on February 24, 2016January 29, 2017 by Andi

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Our baby girl turned 5 last week! 5!!!! I am not an overly sentimental person. I don’t keep every piece of art the kids make or many of the things most parents would keep. But there was something about putting Maddie to bed for the last time as a 4 year old that just turned me into a sobbing mess. I could barely hold it together when I was kissing her good night. It’s not like me at all.

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The cutest part was in the morning after we woke her up and I was making her breakfast (blueberry muffins), she said “mom, I don’t feel any different. I have a different number, but nothing has really changed.” She’s so smart. I told her that’s kind of how birthdays are. You get older, but don’t feel different when you wake up. She didn’t like that. I think she thought she was going to magically feel completely different. Children are so cute and innocent.

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She brought cupcakes to school that morning and then later in the day we opened presents. She had some leftover ice cream cake from her birthday party the previous weekend (I’ll post about that soon) and otherwise had a pretty low-key day.

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But she’s 5! 5!!!! I think it was hard for me this time because I signed her up for kindergarten right before her birthday. Something about knowing your kid will be taking the bus and heading to school all day was a shock to my system.

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We also got her first haircut a couple days after she turned 5.

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Our sweet girl is 5 and is really turning into a remarkable little girl. She’s so sweet and caring to her brother and sister. She’s helpful and understanding. She loves learning. She smart and curious and loves to know how things work. She’s very crafty and creative. And she’s the silliest little girl!

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We love her so very much! Even if she is a little strange. Smile

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Chicken Noodle Soup

Posted on February 23, 2016January 29, 2017 by Andi

I made this a month or so ago when Chuck was out of town last time and it was so yummy! I think I found this recipe through Pinterest, but it came from Cooking Light so I wanted to give it a try. I am definitely making it again…maybe this week!

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This was really flavorful. I was pleasantly surprised. I think it helped to use stock instead of broth. The only thing I would do differently next time is have some extra stock to add in after. It was a little light on the liquid. I would have preferred a little more. When I saved the soup, I added a little water to each of the servings and that helped.

I’m getting hungry just looking at it. Guess the ingredients are going on my grocery list! It was a tasty dinner and was great for lunches.

*UPDATE* I made this again today. I added two 32 oz containers of stock and no extra water. I also cooked the veggies with some garlic (which I did last time, too). It was much better liquid-wise. The taste was still really good and I ate a small helping for lunch and have about 5 lunch portions leftover.

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I also didn’t mention that I love how tasty this soup is and it only takes about a half hour to cook. This is going to be a definite go-to meal for me.

andi

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First Haircuts

Posted on February 22, 2016January 29, 2017 by Andi

Maddie got her first haircut. You read that right. She’s 5 and she just got her first haircut. I wasn’t ready to cut her hair. But then it’s been so hard to manage lately and it made her so upset to brush her hair, I knew it was time. So we took her in to get a haircut. Here are before and after pictures.

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When I first looked at the pictures it didn’t look like she had very much cut off. But then we did a side-by-side picture and when you look where the bottom of her shirt is, you can see that quite a bit was taken off. Smile

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It’s so much nicer now and so much more manageable. I know I should have done it sooner, but now she has more crazy mom ammunition for later in life.

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And as if cutting Maddie’s hair didn’t send me over the edge, I decided to get Alex’s hair cut as well. And Alex went first, so the 15 month old got a haircut before the 5 year old. You can call me ridiculous now. Smile

Maddie was a trooper and didn’t make a peep or anything. Alex, well, he cried the whole time. But he was mostly mad that I was holding down his hands. He calmed down as soon as he got the plastic cover off him and I let him out of the chair.  Here are his before and after pictures.

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I wanted him to have a mohawk, but knew that I wouldn’t keep it up and style it everyday, so I had her keep it longer, but she still styled it that way for me. By the time we got home, though, the mohawk had fallen down. Here’s one I snapped before we left.

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This place saved a clipping of their hair in a little envelope. The lady who did Maddie’s hair commented that was one of the biggest amounts of hair they cut for a first haircut. Haha.

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Overall, it wasn’t as traumatizing for me as I thought it would be. And now I can brush Maddie’s hair without a fight and Alex just looks like a little man. Smile Now maybe just another year or two before Dannie gets her first haircut. Smile

andi

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The Hypnotist’s Love Story

Posted on February 4, 2016January 29, 2017 by Andi

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I finally finished reading all of the books by Liane Moriarty. This one was the last one I needed to read. Here’s a bit about this one:

Ellen O’Farrell is a professional hypnotherapist who works out of the eccentric beachfront home she inherited from her grandparents. It’s a nice life, except for her tumultuous relationship history. She’s stoic about it, but at this point, Ellen wouldn’t mind a lasting one. When she meets Patrick, she’s optimistic. He’s attractive, single, employed, and best of all, he seems to like her back. Then comes that dreaded moment: He thinks they should have a talk.

Braced for the worst, Ellen is pleasantly surprised. It turns out that Patrick’s ex-girlfriend is stalking him. Ellen thinks, Actually, that’s kind of interesting. She’s dating someone worth stalking. She’s intrigued by the woman’s motives. In fact, she’d even love to meet her.

This book took me a really long time to read. I started it months ago! And I just finished it the other day. I had been reading a little bit here and there and in between reading other books. Now that’s I’ve finished it, I don’t know what took me so long. It was a good story, albeit a little slower than her others. I think the drama in this one dragged on a bit. This one was probably my least favorite of her books, but I didn’t dislike it.

Moriarty does a great job of making very creative, yet believable stories. Maybe that’s why I find it so intriguing. I liked the premise of a hypnotist. Whether the information about her profession was all fact or not, I still found it interesting. There was something about the way the main character dealt with all the things that came up in the book that I found amusing. She thinks of herself as such a calm and collected person, and for the most part she conducts herself as such. But her internal dialog with herself about stuff that comes up is quite hilarious at times.

I think everyone should read all of Moriarty’s books. But that’s just because I liked them. Smile Here’s a link to her other books that I read and wrote about.

  • Big Little Lies
  • The Husband’s Secret
  • Three Wishes
  • What Alice Forgot
  • The Last Anniversary

Happy reading!

andi

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The Last Anniversary

Posted on February 3, 2016January 29, 2017 by Andi

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This is an older Liane Moriarty book that I finished a few months ago.  I had read most of her other books and this one came available at the library. Here’s a bit about the book:

Sophie Honeywell always wondered if Thomas Gordon was the one who got away. He was the perfect boyfriend, but on the day he was going to propose, she broke his heart. A year later he married his travel agent, while Sophie has been mortifyingly single ever since. Now Thomas is back in her life because Sophie has unexpectedly inherited his aunt Connie’s house on Scribbly Gum Island—home of the famously unsolved Munro Baby mystery.

Sophie moves onto the island and begins a new life as part of an unconventional family, where it seems everyone has a secret. Grace, a beautiful young mother, is feverishly planning a shocking escape from her perfect life. Margie, a frumpy housewife, has made a pact with a stranger, while dreamy Aunt Rose wonders if maybe it’s about time she started making her own decisions.

As Sophie’s life becomes increasingly complicated, she discovers that sometimes you have to stop waiting around—and come up with your own fairy-tale ending.

I love all of her books and the way Moriarty writes. I was sucked into this fun book quite quickly. I liked the characters from the beginning and wanted to find out all the hidden secrets. I liked that some of the characters were in on it and the others weren’t. It was a fun book that really could have had a very different outcome.

I don’t know where this ranks in my love of her books. I just think you should read them all. I finally finished the last one!

Have you come across any authors you needed to read everything they wrote?

Happy reading!

andi

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Dept. of Speculation

Posted on February 2, 2016February 1, 2017 by Andi

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This book was my book club’s December/January book. Another author had recommended it. It was different than anything we had read. And for good reason. It was weird. Here’s a little about the book:

In the beginning, it was easy to imagine their future. They were young and giddy, sure of themselves and of their love for each other. “Dept. of Speculation” was their code name for all the thrilling uncertainties that lay ahead. Then they got married, had a child and navigated the familiar calamities of family life—a colicky baby, a faltering relationship, stalled ambitions.

When their marriage reaches a sudden breaking point, the wife tries to retrace the steps that have led them to this place, invoking everything from Kafka to the Stoics to doomed Russian cosmonauts as she analyzes what is lost and what remains. In language that shimmers with rage and longing and wit, Offill has created a brilliantly suspenseful love story—a novel to read in one sitting, even as its piercing meditations linger long after the last page.

This was a very fast read. I read it in just over an hour. (I had put it off and read it the day of our book club meeting.) The writing style was very different from a typical novel. The sentences were choppy, the paragraphs were brief and characters were referred to by descriptions instead of names. The story itself was a bit depressing about their lives and marriage.

I’m not sure I’d really recommend it because it was hard to find and probably not worth paying lots for. I did find my copy through the library, so it was worth it for me to give it a read.

Happy reading.

andi

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minihays

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#hayskidsyearlyphotos #hayskidsyearlyphotos 📸
10 Alex turned double digits () ❇️10❇️ 

Alex turned double digits (😧) a little over a week ago and celebrated with some friends over the weekend. He is the happiest guy around and we hope he never changes! 💚💙🎉
12 I’m almost two weeks late posting abo ✨12✨ 

I’m almost two weeks late posting about Dannie’s bday, but she had a fabulous day celebrating various times with friends and family She was thoroughly spoiled and is so very loved! 💗🎉

minihaysreads

Anyone else use @loopearplugs? I got a pair last y Anyone else use @loopearplugs? I got a pair last year and I love them so much. They are wonderful in so many situations and really help me focus when there are lots of noises around.
Books & Bracelets! My new favorite activity has be Books & Bracelets! My new favorite activity has been creating bracelets to go with some of my favorite books. This was my first little and I loved these books and their little wrist friends so much. 🤩😍

More little creations are being added to @technicallyscattered.
When you volunteer at the book fair, you’re obvi When you volunteer at the book fair, you’re obviously going to come home with some new books! I think there was only one I regret not buying. Next time!
My youngest might have found our new favorite way My youngest might have found our new favorite way to read together! Under a blanket with a reading light!💡

haysonthelake

The new dock stacks so nicely on the shore! The le The new dock stacks so nicely on the shore! The legs even store inside. So smart!
Chuck’s dad came to help us take out the dock an Chuck’s dad came to help us take out the dock and Alex wanted in on the fun, too. It was so cute to watch three generations of Hays men hard at work. 😁 (Don’t worry…I helped, too!)
#the jet ski lift has been so helpful for moving around the dock sections and it turns out it’s fun for rides, too! 💦
Cleaned up the space under the porch and deck a fe Cleaned up the space under the porch and deck a few weeks ago for the winter. I love the kayak hanger Chuck found!
It’s spooky outside…Mother Nature sent us tric It’s spooky outside…Mother Nature sent us tricks today. Hopefully the neighbors are giving out treats tonight! 🎃❄️

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