I thought summers were supposed to be dull…

So, here it is, July, and I’m just now sitting down to write.  Is it because I’m so busy I can’t find time to tap out a few words?  I just can’t find a minute to sit?  Nope.  I’d just much rather read about Duchess Kate’s impending bundle or continuously refresh my Facebook & Pinterest feeds.

I guess that’s not all true: we have been doing various fun things, which I will recap for you enthralled blog visitors now.

Matt finished his first term in Physical Therapy school in May!  He’s been such a work horse.  He’s in class for a full work day, comes home & eats dinner, then retires to our Master Closet to study.  The study closet used to be a bedroom until some enterprising homeowners added a master suite on the back of the house and annexed the bedroom for a closet.  My wardrobe is painfully inadequate to fill it.  But I digress.  Matt had a full week off after his first term, so we took our little family to Corpus Christi for a few days at the beach. 

We had a week or regular life and then My father-in-law came to San Antonio to watch James and I got to go celebrate my mother-in-law’s 60th birthday on Prince Edward Island with my sisters-in-law.  (There were a lot of parts to that sentence, I apologize for any misplaced modifiers.)  We all had a lovely time, tromping around the island, shopping, visiting every Anne of Green Gable’s/L.M. Montgomery site we could find, shopping, eating & more shopping…  It was a lovely & refreshing time.  I really have wonderful in-laws.

Oh, this blog writing is so self-indulgent.  I’ll come back soon and tell you about the 4th of July Party that left me with 7 bags of tortilla chips in my pantry.

Getting Back.

Whew, boy.  I’m sure there are a thousand things I need to update.  The last six-to-eight months have been a whirlwind. 

We are now safely ensconced in the bosom of Texas.  We’ve settled into our nice little house and our nice little routine.  Matt goes to work/class everyday and I get to chillax (ha!) with James everyday.

I am going to try to blog once a week starting in June.  Why not until June?  Because next week is Matt’s first week off in the program & we are going to Corpus Christi and Austin and then a week after that I am going to Prince Edward Island with my mother- and sisters-in-law.

Then, I will be back and I will be all yours.  Sorta.  I think we all know how these promises go.

Blackberry Mint syrup.

I decided that because my Blackberry Mint syrup is just so amazing, I will post a recipe, even though there are about a million other things I should be doing right now.  I am a terrible prioritizer.

Blackberry Mint Syrup
1 1/2 cup water
1 cup sugar
6 oz blackberries
10 -12 leaves of mint

Place all ingredients in a pot.  Bring to a boil.  Let it boil for a while (5 to 10 mintues - I'm not sure, I was obsessing over Pinterest at the time).  Let is cool & add to your tea or other beverage.

Wow, that's easy.  I think I only used about 6 leaves of mint, but it needed a little more.  Don't get too crazy though, because mint can make your tea awfully earthy tasting.

See how pretty my syrup looks in its lovely bottle ($2.97 @ Wal-Mart)?

Yeah, I've got a pretty nice camera.

EDIT:  I forgot the very important step of straining the syrup after boiling it.  Whoopsie doodle.

Tea and other stuff.

I have been experimenting with tea lately.  Yesterday I made a blackberry mint syrup to sweeten my daily drink and today I am sipping on some peach & earl grey.  This is mostly brought on by my husband's stipulation that I "have to actually use" the pitcher I got at World Market a few weeks ago.  Done and done.

My lovely sister-in-law is coming to visit on Friday, James is going to be dedicated at church on Saturday and then on Wednesday we are spending some time in Greer, Arizona with the rest of the in-laws.  Should be fun.

I've been watching Green Wing on Netflix and it provided me with probably the most hilarious thing I've ever seen on TV.  Enjoy:

Oh, good job, RL.

I loved the Beijing Olympics page boy caps.  Loved them.  Would have gotten one if my husband weren't so hat-averse.  The whole look was great cute & stylish for the guys and the gals.

So why did Ralph Lauren not only decide to go with a doofy beret, but also have the uniforms and doofy berets made in China?  Ugh... This doesn't bode well for our London Olympics.

Miscellaneous.

I have been following this article series over at Slate since it premiered last fall.  It is so fascinating.  Go give the latest installment a read.

James had his 4 month doctor's appointment this morning and is growing like a weed.  The doc said she especially liked his double chin.  Which made us all laugh.  Rice cereal, here we come!

You will only see this video here on the blog.  I apologize for it's sidewaysness - blame the videographer.

Here We Are!

James came about ten days after that last blog post, which is part of the reason why it's been so quiet  around here.  He is the most wonderful baby I could have possibly imagined and I feel as though life has transitioned easily from one stage to the next.  I am so happy.

At least a couple times a week, usually while checking Facebook or doing some other internet time waster, I think about updating this blog only to be overwhelmed as to where I should start.  So I think I'll just start from here.

Can you believe Johnny Depp & Vanessa Paradis have called it quits?!