Goodbye July.

Today it is so hot I came to our basement to cool off.  The AC can't keep up.  So hot I was actually able to  convince Chad to go to the city pool with me today.  Holla holla what! what!

I didn't want to look like the creepy photo lady but there is a huge slide that you can go down.  Chad lurved it.

Chads book insisted on by Matt

My book insisted on every check out line around... the first chapter talks about the butterfly pavilion that I posted about here....

AND we went to IKEA Friday night and got some doughnuts at Krispy Kreme.  There isn't one close to here so when there is one within 20 miles we have no choice but to get a dozen. It's a rule. 11th commandment... Thou Must Eat Doughnuts

Chalk it up.

 Chad told me I couldn't do this for months...   He left the house Saturday morning and of course I wasn't going to just sit around and read.  Duh Chad.  I had already bought the chalk paint back during the winter.  This stuff was hard to find.  I swear there is a chalk paint thief obsessed person somewhere close.  Lowe's had no clue why they were always out of it.  I found mine on clearance at WalMart.  Take that chalk paint creep.

Anyway--- ever since I stalked down blue kitchens on the Internet I have been wanting to make some wall in my kitchen a chalk board.  What better place than the pantry?! I open that door ,at a minimum, 12 times a day for random things... snacks... throw away garbage...  just to look inside it ect.


I really like it.  Chad walked in and saw it walked back into the garage took a deep breath and walked in and admitted it looked good and he was wrong. heh heh heh. 



Q loves it.



If you don't like the paint I saw chalk board paper that is peel and stick at Jo Anns fabric.  It was around $13.  Holla.

They call me Martha.

I told you I couldn't wait until Ikea opened.  This set ended up being a little cheaper than the one that I had picked out there.  There aren't drawers in the pack that I picked but you can buy those separately.   There were a couple of extra pieces that were too big for me to use in this space but I am going to use it somewhere else eventually.  My groceries are now out of the coat closet and Quincy isn't drooling on the kitchen walls.

Lowes $93

I'm going to pick up a square of galvanized tin for Q's back splash in his dining room.

I can't wrap a cord to save my life

I'm holding clean sheets.  Holla.

dirty laundry.

Remember my  previous post (here)  about my sweet counter top that I had refinished in my laundry room?

Imagine this... what if I put a pull out shelf for my cleaning supplies in one of those cubbies?  Then made some kind of shelves for either side of the window? That might be too much... I have so much stuff piled on the counter top (in every room... its a bad habit... thanks mom for the trait) I can't fold anything.  I just drag it all into the living room.   

Now---- I am thinking on my back wall I need a shelving system for laundry products... bleach, softeners, hanging clothes, excess groceries (smallest pantry ever).  Something like this... that's from my obsession this week (ikea read here) . It's called the "Antonius."  I might make my way to Lowe's and see if I can find something comparable tonight.

My other thought with the laundry room is can I start feeding Quincy in there?  I'd love to get his drooly self out of the kitchen.  That bottom shelf is tempting... 

Ikea.

I have an obsession.  It opens in 6 days.

Pull the car over.

Chad and I drove to South Dakota for business this past week and were fortunate enough to drive through the Black Hills national forest.  Would I ever go to the Black Hills?  Probably,  if I owned an RV, had kids that were studying American history, and had a cooler full of PB& J's.  Mt Rushmore, Crazy Horse, and the Devils Tower were all within 10 miles of the road we had to take so of course we pulled over to snap some photos!  We wouldn't be American if we didn't.  Plus 5 hours in the car requires some leg stretching. There are 100 national monuments in the US. 

Dogs are American too... that's not right.

Crazy Horse.  This one is from the road we didn't want to pay $10 a person to see it.  Boo expensive.

Devils Tower.  Random fact ... it's the first national monument 1906. 

Ode to Mer Mer

M is for money because you always have some.
E is for exercise because you are super skinny.
R is for Rudd... like it or not it's in your blood.
E is for excellence because you are pretty amazin' at everything.
D is for driver because you turned 16!!!! WHAT!!!!
I is for immature because of the photos above and below... which I lurve and stole from Facebook!
T is for tall because  you are tall.. DUH
H is for Hildy because she birthed you and gave you to me.

Happy Birfday!! Love ya!

Hot or Cold?

Ohhh the question of the century... "when is the best time to visit?"  There is year round tourism no question  about it but if you asked me... anytime between May and October is the best time to visit.  I love the weather when there is no chance of snow.

Chad and I had to travel to Meeker , CO to his aunts funeral yesterday.  She battled cancer for an extremely long time.  She was an amazing lady.  You were truly blessed if you ever had the opportunity to meet her.  I know that I have posted about her husbands cattle ranch before but if you haven't read about it it is in Meeker, CO.  Meeker is an extremely small town with a stop light, gas station, and a Mexican restaurant. There are a few other things but that's what I think of when I hear the place mentioned.  It is known for its hunting and hosts thousands of hunters year round.   The scenery to Meeker is absolutely amazing.  Below are some photos that I snapped going over the mountains to get there.  You have to drive past several ski resorts... Loveland, Keystone, Brek, Vail, Beaver Creek, Aspen.. all of the snow had melted and there was green grass all over the slopes.  If you can see if it person it's 10x better than what I took going 70 mph down the interstate.

Colorado river

Does it really have to stay in Vegas?

Phew!  I'm exhausted.  Chad and I met my brother Justin and Ralph in Vegas for the weekend.  We lived the good life...  Our hotel, The Cosmopolitan, was amazin'.  There were three pools, a casino, restaurants, shopping, clubs, amazing views, and tons of people... now back to reality.  My brother is an amazing photographer and took the photos below while we were there.  Check out his other stuff @ JustinRudd.com

I took these photos with my cell when they weren't around with their awesome cameras.



Landed.