Big Green Egg

For a wedding gift, Wesley and I received a Big Green Egg ceramic BBQ grill.  To say that Wesley was excited would be an understatement.  He was ecstatic about the grill & couldn’t wait to use it!  I love grilled food, especially smoked over a charcoal pit (like the green egg is).  Last Thursday we made the trip to Miles City to pick up our new green egg.  And of course, on Friday, we HAD to grill on the new grill!  After much debate, we decided on a homemade grilled pizza since we got a free pizza stone (SCORE) along with the BBQ grill.  The pizza was delicious.  It had a great smoky flavor with the yumminess of pizza and all the topping on it that we wanted.  It was awesome!  It was pretty cold the rest of the weekend, but we continued to grill on Saturday with another homemade pizza.  We tried different toppings, different meats, and finally perfected the homemade pizza to just the way we like it.  It reminded me of being at child staying at my Granny & Papa’s house.  My Papa would ALWAYS throw our pizzas on the grill for me and my sister to have for lunch, and the smoky flavor of our pizza took me back there. 

Saturday we fed, doctored a few calves, then spent the rest of the day inside.  It was quite cold Saturday afternoon, and very overcast.  Since we were inside for the afternoon I decided it would be a good time to paint our bedroom.  So, we brought out the painting supplies, plastic tarp to put over the carpet, and started painting.  I had taped the room off the night before, so all we had to do Saturday was paint.  It took about an hour & a half to paint the room, with the most tedious work being at the base of the wall where the wall met the carpet.  It was extremely difficult to not get paint on the carpet, and to keep the dog hair that accumulates at the base of the wall (yes, I do clean our house thoroughly but the baseboards seem to always accumulate dog hair on them).  So, between strokes I’d have to wipe my brush off to avoid painting dog hair onto the wall.  Fabulous.  BUT, at least it’s done now!  I have to say that I really like the color.  At first I thought the grey was going to be too lite, but it’s just enough color for our walls.  It’s called Platinum Grey and to me it just has a hint of grey in it.  The good news is that it will go with any decorating that I want to do in the room! 

Sunday was more of the same, minus the painting.  I wasn’t feeling the best Sunday (the flu is really going around up here so I’m trying to stay away and avoid getting sick) so we spend the afternoon resting on the couch and watching the football playoffs.  Side note – I hope the Ravens win the Super Bowl.  I was off Monday as it was a federal holiday.  We decided to run to Billings and pick up an elliptical machine that we had ordered.  While I didn’t get a lot of crafting done this past weekend, I did manage to make some coasters, and a burp cloth & pacifier holder set before leaving for Billings Monday!  Anyway, we snatched up our elliptical, I made a quick trip to the fabric store for more supplies, then we headed back home!  It was a nice trip to the “big city” but a couple hours in Billings does both of us in and we are MORE than ready to be back to the ranch and peace & quiet. 

Our little Jakey dog is not that little anymore.  He’s getting quite big, and has an even bigger personality.  Jiggs and him get along quite well these days, although Jiggs does have to “correct” him every now & then.  We are so glad the boys get along so well, and they keep each other entertained quite well.  Jake is getting used to all the sights & sounds around the ranch, and goes with Wesley every day to feed.  Plus, it wears him out so he’s not so wound up when we get home in the evenings!  Here’s a recent picture of the boys.  Jiggs was sleeping, and Jake wanted to snuggle with him so he went & curled up on Jiggs and went to sleep too.  Of course when I stepped across the room to grab a camera Jiggs kind of opened his eyes, but rest assured, he went right back to sleep. 

I have more pictures of the boys in the recent snow storm, as well as pictures from Texas.  I’m hoping that the blogger picture upload is functioning by this weekend so I can share those with you as well!

Have a wonderful week!!

Snowed In!

On Thursday the 10^th of January we had a pretty good winter storm move thru our region.  It started out as rain, then turned to snow & ice.  As you can imagine, this made for pretty crappy road & travel conditions.  And, we had some pretty gusty winds causing knee high snow drifts.  So, Friday I didn’t go to work due to the roads & weather conditions.  It was quite nice to be at home that day, especially since it was so nasty outside!  I made a big pot of chicken & sausage gumbo, and Wesley and I cleaned out our entire office & guest bedroom.  Now things are extremely neat & orderly in there, and that makes me very happy! 

On top of the fact that our office looked like a tornado went thru it and it NEEDED to be cleaned badly, the other reason that we cleaned it out was so that I could set up my craft room in there as well.  I’ve really been getting into sewing various things, and just recently Wesley bought me a Cricut machine!  If you haven’t heard of those you should DEFINITELY check them out (if you are into crafting, of course).  They are quite the little dream machine.  I’ve made one project so far, and I LOVE the way it turned out!  I gave the project I made to Wesley’s parents and they absolutely loved it.  So, if you want something like I made them I’m definitely up for taking orders!  Just email me at lazydboutique@gmail.com (more details on this later) or you can send me a message on here, either way!  I’ve also been making burp cloths, bibs, and pacifier clips as well.  I have material for both boys and girls.  I’m making sets of them so everything matches each other!  Once I get my sets together I’ll post pictures of them on here.  And now that our office is nice & tidy clean I am able to do my crafting in there & not drag everything out to the kitchen & have to put it all back up in the office!

Made using my Cricut :)

Handmade burp cloth for a little girl!

The rest of the weekend last weekend we didn’t do much of anything.  It was pretty darn cold outside, so we relaxed in the house most of the weekend.  We had our normal chores to do around the ranch, but other than that it was a pretty easy going weekend for the Davenports.  This weekend its supposed to get pretty darn cold again so I’m hoping for another relaxing weekend in the house again.  However, this weekend we actually have things to do inside the house.  You see, I have been wanting to paint our bedroom and bathroom since we moved in.  The winters work best because I get Wesley home in the evenings at a decent hour, and weekends are the same.  Last winter we tackled the living room, office, and hallway.  So this weekend we are going to paint our master bedroom.  I picked out a platinum grey color for the room.  I really hope it looks as good on the wall as it does on top of the paint can lid!  If it turns out, I’ll take pictures & share them.  Then, maybe in the next couple weekends we’ll be able to paint our bathroom.  The color I picked for the bathroom is called “Mexican sand”.  I think its pretty,  and it’s a color that’s versatile so I can change the bathroom colors easily without having to repaint the walls!  I am the type who wants to paint once & not paint again for another 10 years.  I hate painting, but love the finished product.  So, I always go with colors I can easily match with things. 

This weekend it’s a 3 day weekend for me, and I’m pretty excited about that!  I have off Monday and since Wesley will have to work I am going to try to get some good sewing & Cricut time in Monday.  I tried uploading pictures again but it wouldn’t let me, so I am attaching a few that I took off my phone recently.

Driving into work this morning was one of the most beautiful sunrises I’ve ever seen.  The blues, pinks, oranges, and yellows were so vibrant against the landscape.  I tried to capture its beauty on my phone, but the picture I got doesn’t do it justice.  At any rate, I still wanted to share it with you!

One last note, on January 12^th my Papa (my Mom’s dad) celebrated his 89^th birthday!  My sister, as well as our husbands, are so blessed to have him still in our lives.  He’s a great inspiration and a wealth of wisdom for us all and we all wish him all the health & happiness as he goes thru this last year before turning the BIG 90!!!!

Have a great weekend!

Texas...Part 2

We settled into Texas quite nicely, even though we only got a few hours of sleep Friday morning.  We had lunch with my sister that Friday, then went and did a little shopping at the Saddle Shop in Brenham.  Wesley got a new hat, belt and some new boots.  I walked away with a new rain gauge for the house (it was a must-buy item) and some new Cayman boots as well.  After our shopping adventure (thanks Mom for going with us!) we headed out to decorate the hall for our vow renewal ceremony the next day. 

Getting in the night before at 5:30 in the morning really took it out of us, but not enough to miss going to Mariachi's on Friday evening!  We met up with some of our dearest friends and all had a nice dinner & a few drinks together.  It was quite a fun evening for all of us, and we all knew the next day was going to be even more exciting!

Saturday started off with getting my hair done, and Wesley and I sharing a red beer to start the celebration.  You see, when our Montana wedding was on the verge of cancellation (due to the weather) we both sat down & had a beer, and things ended up turning out just fine.  So, we figured we would carry on the tradition and start this wedding celebration out with a beer as well.  From there we went to help finish decorating the hall with my Aunt Sandra, cousin Ashlie Cegelski, and Denise & Carrie Kmiec.  We had great help that day including my Uncle Larry, Ashlie's fiance Michael, and Brian & Debra Kraft.  It wouldn't have been a success without all these people & all their hard work! 

Our ceremony started at 4:00 PM with Deacon Darron Smith officiating our vow renewal.  I met Wesley at the front of the alter, we exchanged our reaffirmation vows, and then it was off to do some dancing!  We had a nice supper cooked for all our guests by my Aunt Sandra, and after our guests were fed we lined up for the grand march.  Wesley had never done a grand march before, so it was quite an experience for him!  He said he had fun, but wasn't too sure what to think when people were grabbing at him as we went under the "tunnel" (if you're from Washington County you know what I mean).  We danced until about 10:30 that evening and we were all exhausted! 

Sunday we got up & headed to Houston to be with my Granny & Papa and have our family Christmas there.  We had so much fun, like always!  We got some pretty cool gifts for Christmas from them, and of course we had great food.  We topped it off with delicious desserts that my Granny made just for the special occasion.  My sister and Tanner were able to both be there for the family Christmas which made it really nice for all of us to get to spend time making more memories with each other. 

Monday was New Years Eve!  We went out to our country place (where my parents have some land) and got together with Brian & Debra, my best friend Katy & her husband Jason, my sister, and my cousin Amber and her boyfriend Keith.  We shared great food, a lot of good laughs, and were able to toast the night at Midnight bringing in the New Year together!  It was raining that evening in Texas so we didn't really get to do any fireworks, but I did get some pictures of that night.  Wesley & Jason had a good time roping together, and I tried my hand a few times with the boys as well.

Tuesday we didn't do much of anything.  We slept in, stayed at home with my parents & played board games with them.  Wednesday it was more of the same, but made time to go to lunch with Katy & Jason to say good-bye, and ended the evening with a wonderful dinner out at my sister & Tanner's home prepared by the both of them.  Thanks so much to B & Tanner for having us out...we REALLY enjoyed it!  Definitely doing that next time we come home!

Thursday morning we got up early & headed to Houston to catch our flight back home.  We had to get up about 4 AM to make it to the airport & catch our flight so it was an early morning for us.  There were quite a few tears shed by us all, but we know we will be together again soon.  I'm really going to miss my sister.  I know my parents & I will see each other multiple times throughout the upcoming year (yay!) but it might be another year before I see her again.  She and I are very close so this is hard for me.  It was also hard to say goodbye to my best friend Katy.  It was just like old times when we were in town & we miss her & Jason a lot as well.

Things were just as we left them when we arrived back in Montana Thursday afternoon.  I was pretty bad at taking pictures when we were in Texas (SORRY) but I did get a few from Christmas & New Years.  And, I have a lot of wedding pictures from Texas so I'll upload those & share them with you as soon as I can!  And, I was going to upload the pictures I DO have on hand, however for some reason blogger isn't wanting to cooperate with me.  So, I'll try again soon to upload them! 

Have a fantastic weekend!

Texas Bound!

What a fun trip to Texas we had…after the airport dilemma.  You see, here’s how it went, from the beginning.  Wesley and I spent the night in Billings Wednesday (the 26^th of December) because it was snowing lightly and we didn’t want to make the 2 hour drive the next day on slick roads (if they ended up slick).  So, we decided we’d make a night of it & stay in Billings before catching our flight out to Texas the next day (the 27^th).  We had a nice dinner, went to Target & bought a cool new suitcase (unplanned, but our other one broke, so it ended up being a sweet deal) and settled in to our cozy hotel room.  

Thursday came & we were both so excited!  We got to the airport about an hour & a half before our flight left so we had time to check our bags, get thru security, and walk the 25 feet to our terminal gate (yes, the Billings airport is THAT small, although my measurements might be a slight exaggeration).  We were on an express jet flight to Denver, Colorado where we had an hour layover until our flight took off from Denver to Houston.  Of course I kept checking my United (airline) app on my phone to make sure our flight was on time, and it was, until about 20 minutes before we were supposed to board.  The United attendants at the gate came over the intercom & informed us that our flight to Denver was being delayed 20 minutes because they were waiting on our plane to come in.  Fine, no big deal.  We still have time in Denver to catch our connection.  20 minutes passed & they then informed us that our flight was going to be delayed another HOUR because they were waiting on our plane.  However, they checked ALL passengers who had connections in Denver, and all of us were OK on time to get to our connections.  *Whew*…we breathed a sigh of relief.  Our plane landed (as they said it would…an hour late) and I then realized that we were not on a JET plane, we were boarding a bombardier PROP plane.  A PROP PLANE!  I had no idea they even made those damn things anymore!  Mental note – check what plane we’re going to be flying on before booking all future flights.  I couldn’t figure out why it was so loud when it landed, until my sweet husband informed me that it had physical propellers on it & not a jet engine.  Great…just when I thought I’d have a patience pill in my purse somewhere I seem to have misplaced it.  Damn. Oh well, suck it up & get on the damn plane.  We boarded fine & were pushing back from the gate when the Pilot comes on & says he’ll get us to Denver as soon as he can (except we’re in a PROP PLANE…they can’t go as fast as a jet engine!).  As things stood, we were set to land at the exact time our next flight was going to be taking off.  We both discussed our plan of attack on the hour & 15 minute flight to Denver so each party knew what was expected of them.   I was going to run like hell thru the Denver airport to our next gate, and Wesley was going to grab our carryon bags & be in hot pursuit after me. 

As soon as we landed in Denver I had my phone on & checking the flight status of our connection.  At that time it showed it was taking off 20 minutes late.  We still had time!  It was going to be close, but we had time!  All hopes were lost when we sat on the runway waiting to taxi to a gate for 17 minutes…count them.  17.  17 minutes for them to move 25 feet forward, open the door, and we had to exit using the STAIRS of the damn plane door!  And that’s when the rat race began.  I left my husband to grab our bags, and I ran like hell up the ramp, climbed 2 flights of stairs, and RAN to the first United desk I found.  As I’m approaching I’m yelling “Can you please tell me if Flight 1234 to Houston is still here?!”  The guy looks at his computer, hits a few buttons, and states “I show that the plane is still here”.  GREAT!  Can you please tell them that we are on our way & we will be right there?!  He looks square at me & states “I cannot talk to another terminal. I suggest you start running”.  Umm…what did you just say to me?  Don’t tell me y’all don’t communicate with one another because when we are in mid-flight we got flight updates for connections.  If I had the time, I would have stopped, walked around his podium, and punched him in the bal face.  But I didn’t.  So I ran.  At this point Wesley had caught up to me (poor guy…he was dragging 4 carryon bags with him) and we ran together.  We had to go from gate B60 to B29.  For anyone who has ever flown, that’s about 45 miles thru the airport.  And, running thru Denver, makes it about 45,392,847 miles.  We finally made it to our gate on the complete opposite side of the airport only to be told that we missed the flight by 7 minutes.  Excuse me?  We taxied for over 15 MINUTES when we got here & we only missed our connection by 7 minutes?  As we walk sulk to the next available United Customer Service desk to figure out what to do next (since neither of us have ever missed a connecting flight), we are told that we have to go to the representative desk at gate B39.  Great…back halfway down the airport.  Upon arrival at the customer service desk, a nice long winding line was awaiting us, along with half the flight from Billings to Denver because we ALL missed our connection to Houston.  After Wesley stood in line for an HOUR, I finally decided I’d pick up one of those red phones attached to the wall that read “Direct Line to United Reservations”.  I waited, and waited, and waited.  FINALLY someone picked up.  I politely told the guy our entire story about missing our connection, then proceeded to tell him that I didn’t care if we had to pay first class rates but I wanted on a flight from Denver to either Houston or Austin, and I wanted on a flight tonight.  I can hear him typing away on his computer at this point when he comes over & says “ma’am…you have got to be the luckiest person today.  I have 2 seats on the next and last flight out of Denver to Houston and it leaves tonight at 9:59 PM”.  BOOK THOSE TICKETS!  It is approximately 9:15 PM now.  Then he says “Oh wait, I see that the flight has been delayed 2 hours.  But, it does leave at 11:59 PM from Denver to Houston”.  At this point I didn’t care.  We were leaving Denver tonight & we would be in Texas in a few hours!  Texas bound once again!

After telling Wesley the good news, we went and had a drink (or two) at a bar in the airport.  We were exhausted and relieved at the same time.  Had we not got on that flight we would have had to spend the night in the Denver airport and wait for the next flight out to Houston (which was sometime the next morning…putting us to Houston the next day & to Brenham that next afternoon.  We lucked out).  At 11:30 we were boarding our express jet (this time, it DID have a jet engine, although I wouldn’t have cared as long as it was taking us to Houston).  We taxied down the runway to take off at midnight, and neither Wesley nor myself made it to take off; we were out.  We both slept for almost the entire flight.  We had about 40 minutes to spare after waking up & before landing in Houston.  We landed in Houston at 3:15 AM (and I’ve never seen Bush IAH so empty) and everyone on the plane clapped!  We got to baggage claim, and were so thankful we were in Texas.  During this fiasco we told my parents we’d just catch a cab to a nearby hotel & they could come get us the next day (it was, after all, 3 AM!).  But they insisted they come get us. 

As we walk out of baggage claim and thru the doors into the humid Texas air we stand looking for our ride.  2 seconds later I see my sister FLY out of the door of their excursion & run toward us.  MY SISTER CAME!  What a surprise!!!!  I hadn’t seen her in one year.  It was a LONG year without her, but she was there to pick us up!  She came with my parents and her husband Tanner.  We were so surprised!  It was the best surprise for me/us!  After a long embrace, we loaded up our luggage (2 checked suitcases, and 4 carryon bags…yes, it was necessary) and headed to Brenham.  We pulled in my parents driveway at about 5 AM…and were in bed by 5:30 AM.  I didn’t care…we were there!  And we didn’t have to spend the night in the Denver airport.  Although we didn’t get much sleep, it was much needed.  We had a long weekend and upcoming week ahead of us, and we were going to need the sleep!

To be continued……………...............