Five For Your Infos...

Just a quick list of For Your Information...

My husband Jared is the best thing that has ever happened to me.  I wouldn't be who I am without him.  He makes me want to be a good person, a loving person, and a hopeful person. He is my rock and soul mate.

I have kind of a "man's job".  I work at a conservation office where I handle construction site inspections (and don't doubt that I have a pink hard hat... cuz I do) and do land survey work.  But, on super fun days, I get to teach kiddos about clean water!

I don't have a ton of "girl" friends, but the ones that I do have are the best.  They're always there for me when I need a shoulder to cry on or a ear to talk to. 

I love to eat anything fresh, or as The Hubs likes to say, "anything that grows".  In the words of Jared: "If I planted a sh*t tree, you would eat turd fruits that sprout from it"... yeah, probably.

I love anything that looks like it could snuggle. It's my fave :)

Today I'm doing my first link-up with Lauren!

1. My favorite color is... I have 2! BubbleGum Pink and Kelly Green

2. My travel destination of choice is... New Zealand, mountains, rain forests, farms (love all of that!)

3. My favorite food is... Pie! Any kind really, pumpkin, apple, peach, berry... except mince meat pie, I don't think anyone really likes that stuff, gross.

4. My happy place is... nuzzled up inside of Jared's "neck hole", the area between his shoulder and his head. Or maybe in a triple spoon, Jared, Me and Sophie :)

5. My favorite saying is... "Alls I got to do is keep bein' a good person. No matter what, good things'll come my way. Everything's gonna happen for me, just so long as I never have no in my heart." -Joe Dirt

6. My dirty little secret is... I eat marshmallow fluff out of the jar with a spoon (regularly).

7. Something friends might say about me is that I... am too hard on myself, I really gotta work on that.

This just made me laugh

Courtesy of:  Wise Idea, Always Remember Life Lessons with Lucidity www.wiseidea.net

How dirty is this "Frank" character, anyway?

If you have ever had the "what's for dinner tonight" argument... He isn't happy with what you want for supper, you aren't pickin' up what he's throwing down, Dirty Franks is an awesome compromise.  With a ton of menu options to pick from, everyone is sure to find something they like.  This place is pretty popular with the locals and totally kitschy, with that tackiness that makes Dirty Frank's super appealing.  

Courtesy of Dirty Frank's Hot Dog Palace in Columbus, Ohio

So, Dirty Frank's is a creation by Elizabeth Lessner who also was the brain behind Tip Top, Betty's, and Surly Girl Saloon.  These joints pride themselves on not being chain-y and I love that they highlight local brews and food favorites.  Ms. Lessner has also done a great job and making amazingly scrumdidlyumptions food at great prices.  Dirty Frank's has a ton of weenie options to choose from, hot and spicy, classic and traditional, all out weird but delish.  You can customize your dog (all-beef, veggie) or even get a brat or kielbasa.  Last night, I had the tofurky dog (watching the cals) in the poppy seed bun.  I got the Razzle Dazzle (cream cheese, green peppers, onion topping) and the Saurkraut dog (kraut, onions, and spicy mustard).  The Ohioana is one to try as well, with a great corn relish topping.  I'm sure my frank would have been better had I splurged for beef, but was still tasty!  Three of us ate last night (each had 2 dogs) and with a beer and sodas, we spent about $30.  Check out http://dirtyfrankshotdogs.com/ for more information, menus, and specials!  Be sure to go during non-peak hours to get a table, or be prepared to wait in line, this place is really popular among the locals and is tiny!

Sophie!

O-H... isn't she the cutest little Buckeye?!

Bark in the Park at the Reds Game, such a fan

 a.k.a. Mouse Rat, Stinker, Sweet Mouse, Sophers, Sopherson, Sophie Wophie... I could go on. This is the pup (well, she's full grown, but still acts like a pup).  We rescued her a little more than a year ago from the Humane Society. The vet seems to think she is a cross of a Pembroke Welsh Corgi and some sort of Sighthound, maybe a Whippet or Italian Greyhound. She is our baby, and we love her with all our hearts.  She is a huge fan of dressing up, see right, and she loves chasing squirrels out of our backyard.  She also enjoys long walks on the leash, and snuggly evenings on the couch.

Product Preview

Alright, so for my first Product Preview I thought I would blog about a particular line of products that are close to my heart.  I just returned from the salon and realized, I just really love Aquage products.  Aquage is a full line a of hair care and styling products that is great for your hair and great for the environment!  From shampoos, conditioners, and stylizers, to texturizers, and finishing sprays, this line has it all.  Aquage is great because their products are water-based, which means no nasty build up!  They also use recycling technology in the production of their products and they DO NOT test on animals (which is awesome!).  I swear by 5 of their products (well, these are just the 5 staples that I happen to use) Volumizing Shampoo and Volumizing Conditioner, Sea-Salt Texturizing Spray, Thickening Spray Gel and Illuminating Gelade. On a side note, Aquage products are only available at hair salons and professional salon supply stores (i.e. Cosmoprof).  They have done this for years and refuse to sell to places like Wal-Mart so that they can make sure you get the best product available.  A shout-out to my salon, where I buy my Aquage... Hey Perfect Image in Westerville!!  Here are a of the products that I use and love:






 Now, I love the shampoo and conditioner because it does the job but is super lightweight.  I have a pixie cut, so I can't be weighed down with nasty heavy conditioners.  After towel drying my hair, I like to get a good spray down from the sea-salt spray and then I pump about 6 squirts of spray gel into my palm and work it in really well, roots to ends.  Next, I blow dry to get a ton of volume. After drying, I use a flat iron to shape my look.  I use the crown of my hair as a guide. Bringing everything in front of the crown forward, and everything behind of the crown goes back.  Once I get the look I want, I distribute the gelade through for a medium hold with a ton of shine.  If I am going out or know that I will encounter some wind, I will spray it down with a freeze spray, but not always.

Newport, KY

So, yesterday and today I have the day off.  The husband and I decided to take a mini- (and I mean mini) vacation and decided on Newport, Kentucky.  As major Reds fans, we had always seen Newport from across the river in Cincy, but we finally decided to cross the river and take the time to explore Newport.  There are a ton of attractions there, lots of restaraunts/bars, shopping, etc.  Almost like an Easton but smaller.  If you are ever in the Ohio/Kentucky area and have a day to spend, you won't be disappointed if you take a trip to Newport.  I've included some of the highlights of our day:

Newport Aquarium... Awesomeness.  As a fish, mermaid, dolphin, anything water-lover, I have been to my fair share of aquariums, but so far, I'd rank this as a tie for first (Ripley's Aquarium in Gatlinburg, if you were wondering).  The Aquarium is right on the riverfront, and very easy to get to.  Like I mentioned, the area is like a smaller Easton, so maps all over, signs all over, easy to find.  There were tons of exhibits, and a wide diversity of species.  I didn't think ticket prices were too bad either, $22/adult (I've seen worse).  We spent about 2 hours there and aside from many children there because of summer break, I didn't find that we were rushed much.  We took as much time at each tank to read about the critters and look for them in their hiding places.  A few of my favorite things from the Newport Aquarium were the Small Clawed Asian Otters... adorable.  So, otters are my most favoritest animals ever.  When we got to the otter exhibit a trainer was feeding them icecubes.  Another awesome part of the facility is the Shark tank.  Basically just a tunnel that you walk over and under and are surrounded by sharks and rays on all sides.  Super fun!  The aquarium also just opened up a new exhibit called Peguine Palooza, they are so stinkin' cute :)

After the aquarium, we grabbed some Coldstone, nom nom nom.  As usual, I got way too much and felt way too guilty after eating it :)  I can't help it, if you have ever had sweetcream icecream, with oreos, marshmallows, and grahams, you would understand.

If we had more time, we would have eaten at one of the many nice restaraunts, Brio is there, one of my faves.  They also have a mall, an AMC movie theater, and a few bars.

All for now, if you can make it to Newport, it's worth your trip.  Lots of fun things to do and see, and all in one compact area!

First Time for Everything!

Alright, I've been following some blogs of friends and I started to feel a little creep-ish. I feel like blogging is such a great way to learn new things, get/borrow great ideas, and catch up with friends you don't see as often as you'd like. I decided that after reading so many other blogs, that I would start my own. Maybe my pals care about what I'm up/in to as much as I want to stay current with them.

A lot of the blogs that I read related to crafts, or recipes, or just random thoughts for the day, venting etc. I figured, I'm not going to write about myself all day... who wants to hear about how boring I am? Show of hands? Yeah, that's what I thought. While my social life is a little less than exciting (gotta love curling up on the couch with the pup on a friday night watching Law&Order re-runs while the hubby rubs my feet), the time I would be spending at the bar or out with friends is taken over by crafting, cooking, re-decorating, RE-MODELING (big, because it's a big job), exploring the world, reading, dining out, ya know, the fun stuff I like to do. Don't get me wrong, a night at the bar every now and then is super fun too :) So, since I have a lot of time on my hands to explore my creative/adventurous side, I thought I would share it with you! Stuff I like, stuff I've tried, stuff I'm into at the moment. Feel free to catch any ideas that I may throw out there, try them, you might like them!
This will take me some practice, and some patience (which I have very little of)... bear with me :)