High Five Friday

Linking up with Lauren today for my top 5 things from this week!

1.) In my search for the perfect summer song, that has now commenced since the weather has been over 100 degrees twice this week, I stumbled upon this gem in itunes the other night and I'm thinking it just might fit the bill

It's no Jake Owen, but I'm totally diggin' it

Here's my favorite summer song from last year:

I know, hard to beat right?!

2.) I was checking out one of the newer blogs I started following recently and was so surprised to find this awesome tid bit in one of her posts:

Seriously, MADE. MY. DAY. 

Go check out Mosby's blog...and she just turned the big 21 so wish her a happy birthday!! =)

3.) My new Water Hyacinths for my water garden!

(Thanks mom!)

This is what they look like:

Can you spot them on the far left and right sides?!

...supposedly they're considered an "invasive" species...so I'm hoping they'll "invade" my water garden and get all big and pretty and pretty and stuff =)

4.) Got a call to set up an interview for a potential full time internship...cross your fingers for me!!!

5.) Tax refund has been deposited folks!! 

Are we gonna use it and go on an awesome vacation?!

No.

Are we gonna buy some new awesome comfy furniture?!

No.

Is Rissa gonna take all the money and go on a shopping spree?!

I wish.

Are we gonna pay off a buncha debt and credit cards?!

TOTALLY.

I know, it's a terrible way to use an extra load of cash, and a terrible reminder that I'm a grown up now. But hey, you gotta do whatchya gotta do right?!

Alls I'm Sayin'...

The Boy Who Lived

Over the weekend my dear friend Stephanie and I had a Harry Potter party.

Why, You ask?

Cause we're cool.

But really though, do you really need to have a reason to have a Harry Potter party?

The answer is no, but we just so happen to have one anyway!

You see, the Pottermore website is now LIVE folks! If you haven't heard of it, it's an interactive website with additional content from JK Rowling about the plot, characters, her inspiration for the stories, and so much more! And you can do all kinds of reading and game playing and...reading and stuff! It's way cooler than how I'm making it sound right now, I promise. 

As I was trying to tell Nate this he's all, "I can't be married to a nerd. You need to get that under control." and asked me if it was like World of Warcraft or something.

...I told him to bite his tongue and come back to me when he had a better attitude.
Muggles, I tell ya...

Anyway, so with Pottermore being live Stephanie and I thought it was the perfect time for a Harry Potter party! We spent the day learning the website, watching the movies, chatting, and eating our home-made Harry Potter snacks. Of which included:

And just in case you were wondering,

Diagon Alley is that way

Oh, and,

Hogsmede is that-a-way

One of the most exciting parts of the website is that you can personally be sorted into a House! Stephanie and I have been talking for months that if we were to be sorted into Slytherin...we just might die. And since I'm here typing this post...ergo de facto, we managed to avoid Slytherin House.

Phew!

Drum roll please...

Now, I won't even lie, Gryffindor was obviously the ideal choice, but as I mentioned, anything but Slytherin is A-OK with me! And bonus, Stephanie is a Ravenclaw too! So that totally makes us housemates. Which totally means we could have sleep-overs and stuff. ...if this wasn't a virtual world, that is.

Harry Potter party #2 is already in the works for when book 2 goes live on the website!

It was a good day, I must say!

  

Sometimes and Always

Sometimes I convince myself to blog on the patio in order to take advantage of the weather before it's too hot

Always ...it's already 102 degrees in April!

Sometimes I freak out when bees get too close to me and feel kinda silly when I do the please-don't-sting-me-you bee dance

Always ...don't even care! Bees are scary!

Sometimes I wonder why my water garden is dying

Always...call mom!

Sometimes I wonder why it smells like urine on my patio

Always...call Gunther!...who's the one who every time I tell him to go outside and go potty before I put him in his kennel, lifts his leg on my fern

Sometimes right when the sun is going down, the light falls ever-so-perfectly on my garage door censor and it won't let me close the garage door

Always...wait til the sun moves and hope the neighbors don't judge me for our messy garage

Sometimes I think I wanna be a good fan and watch the Suns vs. Jazz tonight
Always...pray and cross my fingers cause I think I'm just too nervous!!

GO SUNS!!!

   

Sometimes and Always

Linking up with Megan again for another round of Sometimes and Always!

Sometimes: I try and chew gum when I get bored.

Always: End up biting my nails instead

Sometimes: I browse USWeekly.com

Always: Wish I didn't after reading 2 stories because celebrities are so ridiculous. 

Sometimes: I feel like all I wear are my scrubs

Always: Oh wait, I always do cause I'm always at work

Yuck.

Sometimes: I feel like the parking meters downtown are kind of expensive.

2 quarters doesn't get me much more than 10 minutes

Always: Remember that the city changed it back to free after 5pm and on weekends, so I suppose it could be worse

Sometimes: I get really nervous when I have to give a presentation in class

Always: I get warm when I get nervous which then turns into a heat rash. And then I'm not only nervous to give my presentation, I'm nervous about getting a heat rash.

Sometimes: I wanna yell at Nathan for not turning off the light when he leaves a room

Always: I don't want to be that wife that nags nags nags. So I bite my tongue and turn it off myself

Sometimes: I tell Gunny he can't come up on the bed and snuggle cause he gets my bed all harry and dirty

Always: let him up anyway cause he's so cute and such a good snuggler

(shhhh don't tell Nathan!)

7X7 Award

I was tagged by none other than Tyah Jo Haro for my first ever blog award!

Aww shucks =)

 ...I'm not really sure what I'm winning or how I'm winning it, but if we're being real here...I never win anything! So needless to say, I'm pretty pumped for the blog lovin' sent my way...and I don't even have a speech prepared!

For this award I have to share 7 facts about myself, link to 7 blog entries, and nominate 7 other bloggers for this fab award!

Shall we?!...

7 facts

1.) I'm afraid of grocery shopping. It's a legit phobia here folks. I always feel like I'm in the way, with other shoppers poppin' out of blind corners and sneakin' up on me and stuff. The fuller my shopping cart becomes, the more anxiety I get. When I'm in the check out line I can just feel everyone behind me giving me the stink eye and thinking like, "ugh this girl is seriously taking  foreeeverr." I don't know what it is, but grocery shopping is just not my thang.

Gives me heart palpitations.

2.) I love politics.

 Sometimes I watch C-SPan.

Weird. I know.

(Internship with United States Congressman David Schweikert, Fall 2011)

3.) You can't convince me that any book series that comes out now or any time in the near future will ever trump Harry Potter.

4.) If you give me a sunflower I'll totally be your friend

5.) I always complain about school and how many papers I have to write and blah blah blah...but secretly I love being in Grad School.

6.) I have a gap between my two front teeth. When I was little I thought it was just temporary and that my teeth would grow together and look oh-so-pretty like the girls in magazines.

But they never did.

And I never liked it.

But I can totally squirt water out from between them at a pretty impressive distance.

So I suppose it's not too bad.

7.) I love Jesus and I can't wait to get to heaven, and I want to take as many people there with me as I can 

7 Blog Entries

1.) Townsend love story

2.) Independence Day

3.) Halloween a la pooches

4.) Meet Bucky

5.) My name is Carissa and I am a Chocoholic

6.) Happy Thanksgiving

7.) Family holiday fun

7 More Award Winners!

1.) Kayla at The Lindholm Life ...I realize Tyah totally already awarded you this 7x7 honor, but I'm determined to get you blogging more girlfriend! Haha! Miss you!

2.) Ashley at Dashing Tales

3.) Amanda at My Love for Lyla

4.) Allison at Nestful of Love

5.) Sheila at Live Laugh Love

6.) Heather at From Here to There

7.) Nicole at Blogging Bissy 

Easter Sunday

So this year for Easter Sunday I decided to invite my family over and host my first ever family-holiday-get-together at my house! I was a little nervous because my house is a little on the teeny tiny side and I was afraid everyone wouldn't fit, quite frankly. But fear not, it turned out A-OK! ...(if I do say so myself)

...AND I made it through the morning with only 2 phone calls and a handful of text messages to my mom...until I realized I didn't have my brown sugar and went in to full panic mode. Don't worry though, mama performed her usual damage control and brought over her brown sugar.

Crisis averted.

My Aunt Marilyn pointed out that this was the first family get-together of the "new generation" (aka the grandkids) and that I was the first one to host it. I felt special and decided to wear a crown all day as my prize. After all, Easter is all about me and my party right?!

Totally kidding. Don't get all crazy on me!

I did however, make souvenirs for the occasion. Mason jars (cause I'm a little in love with them) filled with Easter candy! Nothing extravagant, but still fun right?!

Between these and the fabulous cake-ish pop-type-things my mom made, we had a pretty festive looking table and I was totally diggin' it!

To make it even more festive we added all the food! Cause food makes any table a million times better right?!

Now, I can't even lie...I did not make all of this food! Let's see, shout out to my cousin Craig who brought the seven layer salad made by none other than his wife Sandy (and it was delish!), my mom brought the deviled eggs and carrots, my sister and her bf Adam brought the potato and swiss cheese concoction that is seriously, amazeballs! My Aunt Marilyn and Uncle Jeff brought the always-a-necessity-at-any-family-meal corn bread pudding, BUT I did however, make...drum roll please...the HAM!! My mom found this recipe for a ham glaze with honey and brown sugar and it turned out oh-so-yummy!

You better believe we didn't waste any time digging in!

And I must say, Nate banished the dogs to their bed (cause no one likes a beggar) and they stayed there until everyone was finished like the good pooches they are

...it was pretty impressive actually.

After dinner comes dessert and you better believe we had dessert! Aunt Marilyn brought the most delicious cherry cake and my mom made the tastiest lemon pie thing with white chocolate on the bottom...and make no mistake, I had a little bit( or a lot) of both!

While we let our food digest we were fortunate enough to Skype with my Aunt Trudy and Uncle Ted in Seattle and my cousin Jeff in California. It was so fun to get everyone in on the video chat! ...I'm still waiting for the day the Fleishman's make there (ahem, permanent) return to AZ!...*cough cough wink wink Bob's you're uncle* =)

If we're being real here, I don't think we're gonna get Jeff and Brittany out of California though =)

Gunny made a new Friend in Benjamin while watching the Dbacks game...seriously, how presh is this?!...Gunny didn't even try to move, he stayed there like the good, loyal buddy he is

Despite our home being a bit cramped, I really enjoy entertaining and having people over...more than Nathan can say, that's for sure!...If you know anything about Nathan you know how much he looooves to socialize

At any rate, the day turned out wonderful and my first ever hostess gig I'd say, wasn't too shabby after all! 

Fill in the Blank Friday

Trying a new link-up today over at Lauren's blog for Fill in the Blank Friday!

1.  Today is a good day because: I get to have breakfast with the one and only Charlene Book!


2.   The best thing I did all week was: Find out that Nate and I actually get a tax refund. I'm serious...highlight of my week!


3.  The current weather is: LESS than 90 degrees. Which is always good in my book in early April in AZ 


4. The best thing about spring is: Spring Training!

5. A fashion trend that I'm dying to try out for spring is: Not gonna lie, haven't even paid attention to spring fashion trends at this point...


6. A person who made me smile this week was: my friends and classmates Sarahita and Stephanie always make me smile..the class we have to sit through every Tuesday night is less than stellar, we have a 20 page paper and power point presentation due Tuesday, but we still managed to make Stephanie laugh so hard she started to cry during class!...and that's what I call makin' lemonade! 


7.  The most delicious thing I ate all week was: All the Easter candy that's now on sale. It always tastes better when it's 75% off right?!
..it's a jelly bean buffet at work!

It's OK Thursday

It's been a while but guess what?! 

It's OK Thursday!!

Linking up over at Neely's blog for, quite possibly, the best link-up of the week!

It's OK...

If you're heart skipped a beat when you read online that JK Rowling's new novel title and synopsis was released!

If you decide to start a countdown until JK Rowling's new novel is released!

(Septmeberrrrrr!)

To have one last fatty hurrah when all the Easter candy goes on sale before you start your "I'm gonna lose weight and get in shape for summer" diet

If the total number of burns on your hand from the oven now totals three

To do a happy dance when you find out that you get a refund on your taxes after all...not gonna lie, I totally thought we were doomed this year!

To believe that the guy who did your taxes last year royally screwed you

To start giving your teacher the stink-eye when she just won't wrap it up at 8:30 at night

To give Stephanie the stink-eye when she keeps asking questions that prevents said class from getting out before 8:30 pm!

(hahahahaha! Don't worry Stephanie, I still love you!)

To be more excited that you thought you would be about making your "30 before 30" goals and feel like they're already motivating you!

Check 'em out here! 

If when you fill out your Sonic survey for a free Route 44 drink and it asks you how many times a month you visit that Sonic your answer reads: 20-30

(if you do the math, that's like, almost everyday)

What can I say, I like me some Route 44 Diet Coke with regular cherry syrup and easy ice

What's OK with you today?!

Sometimes and Always

Joining in the fun with a new link up today with Megan over at Mackey Madness!

Sometimes: When I sit down at the computer to start homework, I tell myself I will NOT check Facebook or Blogger until the homework is complete

Always: Check it anyway and start said homework an hour late

Woops.

Sometimes: I pray before I go into work that God will give me patience, that I will have a good attitude and not be cranky today

Always: Patience supply is depleted an hour into my shift

Sometimes: Tyah's new puppy makes me want another furbaby

Always: I think of all the pittle I cleaned up when Gunther was a puppy and decide against it

I still love you Gunny

...on the other hand, I could totally go for another Maycee puppy. Mace was the best puppy ever (no offense Gun dog)

Sometimes: I tell myself I will wake up early in order to allow for ample time to drive through Dunkin' for an iced caramel latte light on the way to work

Always: Never wake up on time, drive through Dunkin' anyway and arrive at work 10 minutes late

Oopsie.

Sometimes: I think about giving Nate a good shove when snores so he'll roll over and quit snoring for 10 minutes

Always: ...Give Nate a good shove so he rolls over and quits snoring for 10 minutes =)

Sometimes: I give myself a pep talk, take a few deep breaths, and tell myself I will get everything on my list before going grocery shopping

Always: Check out with only half the things I need because my cart is getting too full and when my cart gets too full I start to freak out and we all know what happens then...time to go!!

   

Out in the Desert

After a few years of always missing this annual shin-dig (due to work...what else?) I finally made it out to the Cowboy Weekend hosted by my father-in-law's long time friend Gary and his fiance Jyl.

Gary and Jyl have a bunch of property down in Maricopa and they're nice enough to open up their land to their family and friends to come down, hang out, and do all kinds of fun things for the weekend! Nate and I were only able to stay for Saturday but made sure to have made the most out of it!

After getting a grand tour of the place, meeting a few chickens, and goats-namely Twinkie who's seriously like, the cutest little goat ever...crazy eye balls and all, Dan and Nate decided to go throw knives.

How very manly of them.

Nate's brother Dan 

After a few rounds of knife wielding Nate decided to shake it up a little bit and throw knives from up high.

Nate's first and foremost concern is always safety *cough cough*

    

I'm not so sure he was actually playing for points and accuracy, or rather was just looking for an opportunity to aggressively chuck knives through the air.

Jury's still out on that one.

A little later on in the day I discovered what I'm gonna ask for for Christmas this year:

A BB gun.

Would you believe me if I told you that I'd never shot a BB gun before? 

True story. 

So when Dan's girlfriend Sam busted out her BB gun, followed by everyone else, I decided I needed to play with it.

Did I mention it's PINK?? ...which just makes it a million times better right?! 

Carl's BB gun on the other hand... not so pink.

Sherri couldn't resist Sam's BB gun either. It totally matches her pink shirt.

Way to accessorize Sherri! 

The rest of the afternoon we spent out on the quads. Jyl took us out, showed us some neat spots, and we ate a bunch of dust along the way!

I know what you're thinking, but don't worry, I always hold on tight when we double...unless of course a good photo-op presents itself...

Who says the desert's not beautiful??

Nate still hates it when I bug him for pictures, which I still don't get cause if I wouldn't have bugged him for a group pic and ignored his complaining we would've never gotten this bad mamma jamma...  

As Dan would say, "I'm sexy and I know it..." =)