Back to the Grind

I had the privileged to do a guest post over here and silly me, I forgot to link up. SO, if you want to read it, you can go HERE.

It's been a crazy couple weeks at Ruesch Manor. We've had lots of driving, planning, vacationing, heat rash, and camp - I honestly wouldn't have it any other way BUT with that being said, I'm so ready to get back to my routine and back to the grind. There is something so comforting about a schedule.

I am having major withdrawals from girls camp, who woulda thought? Cutest sweetest girls, really and truly.

aaannddd since I have way to many emails to count that I need to respond too, here are some crappy cell phone pictures of the last few weeks (in no particular order because well, that would just take forever. remember those emails?)...

Maybe we're a little too into ourselves? I don't know.

Happy Monday!

Just A Little Break

...from all of those California pictures. Mostly because I forgot to get some more off of Jeremy's phone. It's hard work I tell you, emailing every individual picture. I cannot wait to get a new camera. I'm keeping my fingers crossed for the next month or so.

Speaking of cameras, I  do ridiculous amounts of review reading and spec research before purchasing, but I also love suggestions from YOU. So, this is the camera that I'm kind of considering. Does anyone have it? Or do you have any other suggestions? I'm looking for a more advanced point and shoot, but not a dSLR - I don't think I'm smart enough for those at this time in my life. Looking for something is the middle. Catch my drift?

Thanks for your help!

Lastly, I saw these shoes in person while walking around the many shopping areas that we visited. Aren't they beauties?

/source/

Then I got a little sad after I looked at the price tag. J.rue always teases me and says that I have an innate gift to choose the most expensive thing in the store. It's a curse. These probably won't be happening anytime so, but I can admire from afar.

Part 2: Just Beachy

One of our first days of California was spent at the beach, and oh was it a glorious day. All of the beach essentials were present, like the subway sandwich. Have you ever eaten one on the beach? They just taste better that on a sandy beach, so do crunchy cheetos.  There was much reading and much sleeping on my part, with a little dash of wave jumping.

The only downside is that I fried the back of my legs, and I'm pretty sure there were 2nd degree burns on the back of my knees. Stay tuned, those come into play later...

I bought this natural face sunscreen what was SPF 50 by Mustella. I read some reviews on it and they did mention that it was hard to rub in. Apparently I forgot to tell j.rue. The upside is, he got no sun on his face that day! Oh and are these not the 3 cutest water babies you've ever seen?

 HAPPY HUMP DAY!

Post Vacationisms and Steamy Hot Vacay Part 1

We started our vacation in St. George, checking yet another thing off of the bucket list, for my cousin's homecoming. We're glad to have him back! Of course there was mucho shopping involved at the outlets. It wouldn't be a family outing without it, right? At least not one of ours.

The queen mom and I single-handedly tried on everything in the gap -- a very successful venture if I do say so myself. I talked queenie into some killer yellow pants. We're kind of twins now. Meaning, calls will be made before I venture over to her castle in Ogden wearing them. Then we headed over to old navy and waited hours for queenie M and Micah to try on their whole inventory. It was two big scoops of nice and relaxing with a cherry of smashfries on top. 

Now to the lovely ailments that I have so fondly named post vacation-isms. Have you ever noticed when you get back from a vacation, and not just any vacation, but a roadtrip, and how you feel, um, not so fresh afterwards? And the not so fresh coming from all of the junk food, fast food, and soda you've been drinking, all of the heat you've soaked in, and the lack of sleep.Just me maybe? I bring to you ism #1 - the stomach rebellion of 2012. Mine is not happy with me. at all. It's like we're not even friends anymore. I can basically eat fruit, veggies, and hummus. Do you think it's maybe trying to tell me something?

Ism #2 - I also have lovely dry itchy red spots ALL over my body. They tend to flare up when I get too hot or I try to work out. I'm going to attribute this heat rash to the 10 hours I spent in a car that was sporting a 100 degree temperature.I like of look like I'm battling a bout of leprosy. You should see my students faces when they walk into my office. I can see their mind reeling, trying to decide just how close is too close. Did I mention I was itchy? TMI, to start off your Tuesday. Welcome!

Okay, I thought I had more, but basically it's just my innards and outtards that are just not cooperating. I don't know if they just want to be back on the beach in California or if they're teaching me my lesson and strongly encouraging me to get back into my routine ASAP, or else! I'm thinking the latter.

Well, too bad body, I have girls camp next week. The next two weeks will be anything but the norm.

Maybe after that...

Hot Hot Heat

We're back! and I have about a million pictures I would looove to show you, but being that we are restricted to cell phone photos for the time being, and we used j.rue's phone, then this is all you get today. I do feel that our driving home conditions should be recorded, at least for my posterity, so they avoid at all costs, what I'm about to tell you.

First, I'll preface the story by telling you that we took j.rue's car to California because it gets fantastic gas mileage and my car, well as I've been told has no balls. It's just all there is to it. Unfortunatley, j.rue's car doesn't have that, now deemed essential, thing that we call an AC. So there you go, you're all caught up on our car history.

The driving to California part was just fine and dandy, really. I' pretty sure the daisies whistled and waved as we drove by. It was easy peasy and everyone was happy. The way home was not the same. Think more along the lines of the Psycho theme playing over and over again. If any of you were in Utah, Nevada, Arizona, or California you probably noticed that it was kind of a scorcher this weekend, when we were driving home. without AC. So we were driving home, it all started off okay, 84 degrees in the car, and as we drove thru the Mojave desert, the temperatures quickly skyrocketed into the 100s. Yes, you heard me right. It actually got up to 110 in our beloved Mazda3.

So, this is how we do. Water bottles, spray bottles, damp beach blankets, and windows open, but just enough so the actual sun doesn't burn your skin. I'm a major whitey, remember? We split up our trip, that the heavens above. We drove from Cali to St. George and then St. George to home. When we got out of the car in St. George we looked like we had been severely sunburned and we had a glaze of spray bottle water and sweat that gave us this shiny look. We were not sunburned, but we were cooked from the inside out. I'd never understood the concept of a cold shower until that moment. Usually I think I want a cold shower, but I get all chilly in about 30 seconds and warm it up. Not the case this time actually. 

The next day, j.rue has to basically coax me in the car with breakfast and shallow promises that the last stretch of our trip could no way be as bad, and it wasn't. But it was still 95 degrees in our car all the way home. We still had to use those blasted spray bottles and I still had that glazed look when we got home.

Was it worth it? Yes, I don't remember that last time j.rue and I had ever gotten to spend 9 days straight with each other. Who knows when it will happen again. Will I ever take a road trip without AC ever again? No, not even in the winter.