joy.

i'm experiencing it.
and here's why:

my sexy hubs mowed the lawn today

...and i love the smell of fresh-cut grass.

...and i love a clean yard

...and i love the way his sweat smells

(i really, really do.)

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i just got home from a wonderful vacation at "aspen grove family camp" and i am still reeling from all the family, food, and fun that i was able to soak up in great abundance while there. i really am going to post pictures... but due to the fact that i took around 700, i'm feeling a bit overwhelmed... you understand.

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i get to host a birthday dinner tomorrow and celebrate the lives of three (count 'em, t.h.r.e.e.) beautiful, wonderful friends that i don't get to see nearly as often as i'd like. one from colorado, one from florida, and one from right down the street. which leads me to:

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party throwing love. i have been pouring over cookbooks all day in excited anticipation. i'm just like my grammy (meaning, i believe in the very depths of my soul that food is, in all actuality, l.o.v.e.) i love, love, love feeding the people i love. and i think the menu is going to look a little something like this:

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APPETIZER:

bacon wrapped water chestnuts (a blackwell family favorite)

MAIN COURSE:

white fish with ginger and soy (courtesy of SBD)

grilled chicken (pure and simple, no recipe required)

SIDES:

rosemary red potatoes (a friend's recipe)

garlic roast asparagus

(courtesy of miss donna hay - a favorite of mine, all of her books and dishes look more like art than food and/or literature. i have literally read several of her cookbooks cover to cover...who on earth does that? donna'll do it to ya though.)

SALAD:

spinach with sweet poppyseed dressing, cheese, eggs, and crisp bacon pieces)

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i love my vacuum cleaners, i mean... dogs.

kort just spilled a pile of food and crumbs onto the floor when he decided that it would be a good idea to "frisbee" his paper plate into the garbage can...and missed. i went to the closet to grab the broom and turned around to find nothing but white, sparkling tile...ah, the joy of dogs.

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the wind is blowing really, really hard and rattling the tin roof on our back porch. i don't know, the noise might (just might) make me worry about monsters in the closet and under our bed. the hubs is probably going to have to sleep on my side of the bed tonight...you know, just in case.

...i love it when he sleeps on my side of the bed just in case.