Walt Disney presents

Winnie Pooh and the Blustery Day(in Chicago)


As I stood outside on bus duty today this favorite childhood story came to mind! Winnie and his friends would have had a hard time staying on the ground today in Chicago. It was a very chilly fall day with the winds gusting about 30mph. Hello Fall! All of the kiddies got off the bus bundled up and showing off their new fall coats! They looked so stinkin cute.

the 'Windy City' was really showing off today.

beautiful weekend!

WHAT A BEAUTIFUL WEEKEND!! I love love love this weather!

Saturday was a 'college day'. Once Nathan got back from work and I went for my run we found ourselves relaxing on the couch and watching football for the rest of the day. I took a 3 hour nap and Nathan napped a little too!! Except for the fact that we were relaxing on a nice couch(no futon) and had real food in the house(no cereal bar) it reminded me sooo much of a fall college day! We waited all day for the only real game that mattered....


VS
Notre Dame(they dont deserve a picture)

As game time approached we had our own little @ home tailgate! Hot dogs, chips, Oreo cookies and beer(Nathan had his Gumball Head and I enjoyed a little Wood Chuck) it doesn't get better than that!
I will not get into the details of the game for reasons that any Purdue fan knows- however, I only have one thing to say... DEFENSE WINS GAMES!!!

Our Tailgate!!

Nathan used his food science skills to chill my beer. all you need is a fancy vase, ice, water, and in a few short minutes your beer will be chilled to perfection. Thank You Purdue for teaching my husband these useful skills.

Its a rough life!

Boiler Up!


Today we went to church this morning and listened to another awesome message. Today Greg talked about how the direction that you choose determines your destination. If you say you are going to do something however, never point your actions to that directions- you will never make it there. He told about the sermon on the mound and read from the book Matthew. Jesus says Therefore everyone who hears these works of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock. The rain came down, the streams rose and the winds blew and beat against that house; yet it did not fall, because it had its foundation on the rock. But everyone who hears these words of mine and does not put them into practice is like a foolish man who built his house on sand. The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell with great crash. Kind-of reminded me of the old saying 'Actions speak louder than words.'

After church we decided to enjoy the beautiful weather by enjoying a round of golf(surprise surprise). Although neither of us played well- it was just nice being outside and together.
Watch-out Tiger Woods- Nathan is on the loose!!

Dear PTI- forget about Michelle Wie and checkout this swing. haha


Our plans for the rest of the day include: a nap, grade papers/write-ups, grill out, and watch the Colts!! Hopefully they wont be as dumb as Purdue was a call a time-out with 36 seconds left in their game so that the other team has time to set up a play and score a touch-down to win the game. not cool.

fun week

We have had very fun week this week! Here is a little bit of what we did:

Tuesday: We had small group with another great week of conversations over the book of Luke. I am learning so much and really enjoying it. My next goal is to do a better job on daily readings and devotions!

Wednesday: The girls and I from small group had our first 'girls night out' in over a year! It was sooo much fun. When the waiter asked if we were ready to order I said, 'I am sorry but we plan on being here for a long time!' We met at 6 and did not leave until 10:30!!! I am so thankful for these girls. They are such amazing women- that have taught me so much about life. We had lots of laughs, a few tears, good food and yummy fondue to finish off the night. I can't wait to do it again.

friends forever

my wonderful friend Bridgette and I enjoying a little fondue!

Vicky & Hilary shared their fondue too


While I was out with the girls Nathan and his dad went fishing. Now picture this:
Nathan and his dad carrying a boat across a 4-lane highway, over a railroad tracks to a hidden lake!! It makes me chuckle to think about. This is the text picture I got in the middle of dinner....

From the look on my husbands face they had a fun time!

Thursday: Nathan and I took the day off and slept in until 10. It was awesome. We decided at the last minute to make a road-trip to Purdue. Very random but so fun. We enjoyed a few drinks, pickle chips and lunch at Scotty's and made a stop at our favorite ice cream shoppe The Silver Dipper before we headed home. We stopped at his parents(they were very shocked and thought we had some big announcement to make- which we didn't)and had dinner at Arnies Pizza. So much for my diet that day but it was worth it.

Friday: Nathan was up ALL night because one of his stores coolers went out- then he left this morning at 4. I got a little more sleep than he did but once he left I was up for good. I got a run in and realized that fall really is here!! It did not get light out until 6:30ish. Before we know it- it will be 8 before we see sunlight. Awww- the joys of NWI. Tonight we grilled chicken, and enjoyed a walk to buy a Power Ball ticket!! When we got home I cleaned out the refrigerator and opened a butter dish and found worms that my father-in-law had brought me for my birthday!!! I called to give him a hard time and to my surprise I got to talk to our niece Morgan on the phone. She is such a doll- she asked if we would come down and play with her tomorrow. We sure do miss those little ones.

Tomorrow: Nathan has to work in the morning and my friend Heidi and I are going for a run together(the mini is only 3 weeks away!). We then plan on watching lots of football tomorrow!! The Boilers play ND tomorrow night @ 8- so we will be cheering them on loud and clear. I am feeling Boilermaker upset. 24-21 Purdue Wins.

Have a great Saturday and Boiler UP!!y

painted nails, browines and diet

Well- its past my bed time(I know its sad but I need my sleep!) but I am blogging while mom and Nathan watch House. I am not really a TV type- unless its Sports, Biggest Loser or The Bachlorette so instead I painted my nails and did some online browsing. I forgot how fun painted nails are. I really should do it more often!!
Last night we enjoyed having Nathan's mom and dad, Gavin and my mom here for dinner. I really wish we all lived closer and do that more often!! Poor Duane and Linda had to listen the typical 'Railing' dinner conversations- for some reason I have a feeling that the conversation that we were having was a little different from what they were used to having in their house! Between Gavins beer drinking challenge for Linda(just thinkin about that makes me laugh) and Nathan razing me about a 'cadaver' gift that we gave someone as a wedding gift- I really hope they will come back again. Nathan grilled yummy burgers(out in the rain) and I cooked the 'rest of the stuff' inside. I wish I would have taken some pictures of the desserts that we had.... I baked two types of brownies and Linda brought some too!! haha. Everyone had their choice of chocolate/walnut, chocolate/caramel, or chocolate/chocolate brownie with vanilla icecream!! We were all pretty stuffed by the end of the night.
So today... I re-started my diet. FUN STUFF! I have been doing a TERRIBLE job of snacking when I come home from school, eating ice-cream, cookies and anything else that looks good around the house. I got dressed yesterday and things were a little tight for my liking. SO last night I enjoyed my last bites of brownies for a while. When I got home I could hear the brownies calling my name but I ignored them and had a 60 calorie pudding for a snack instead AND no ice cream for dessert!! Its a good thing I am going to bed soon because I am sitting here STARVING. Don't worry- I am pretty sure I will survive but lets just say I am looking forward to my WW bagel in the morning.
Well, House is over and its WAAAAY past my bed time. This painted nail chick is headed to bed. night y'all

Wedding on 9.19

Last night Nathan and I headed to Indianapolis for a good friend, Erin Hudson's(now Kritenbrink) wedding. She married her her college sweetheart Jared in a beautiful outdoor ceremony at the Eiteljorg Museum downtown Indianapolis. She looked stunning in a ivory dress carrying lillys and hydrangeas. After the ceremony we had drinks and appetizers outside on the patio overlooking the canal that runs through Indy. The food was very yummy(it happened to be catered by the same people that did our wedding!!), the decorations were beautiful and the DJ was rockin the 80's list all night long(my husband was a dancing machine!).
It was neat to see how happy her and Jared looked throughout the night. We were seated with some of my sorority sisters that I had not seen in a while- it was great to catch-up and enjoy fun stories and laughs.

these were the outdoor chairs...they had the programs hanging on the backs of the chairs- such a cool idea.


loved this picture...Jared just saw Erin coming down the stairs with her dad.


Here comes the bride!!!


beautiful bride


Nathan and I after dancing and singing to Livin on a Prayer!



9.19
Not only was yesterday Erin's wedding but it was also my Dad's birthday. I tried to post about it yesterday morning but after starting the blog and starting to cry I decided to stop. It seems like just yesterday we were all sitting together at home enjoying a delicious family dinner that mom made, eating the homemade cake we decorated with LOTS of sprinkles and have fun watching him open all of the fun gifts that we got him. Man, I sure do miss him- he truly was the best dad a girl could ever ask for.
I am hopeful that he had a wonderful birthday and celebrated Heaven style!

correction

I have just been informed that there is a correction to a previous post that needs to be made.

Please refer to the Happy Sunday post.

The time that was posted for Nathan's popcorn panic run was 34.04 NOT 34.34.

Please accept my apology. I have been told that this is a BIG mistake.

visiter in town!

We have had a visiter in town all week...my mom!!! She came up last weekend for the popcorn panic and decided to stay for a while. It sure has been fun having here her!!
I woke up this morning really hoping it was Friday! For some reason it has been a long and exhausting week. School has been long but for the most part the kids are FINALLY getting into the flow of things. Well, except for one poor little guy who I found wandering outside of the school yesterday morning. When I asked him who or what he was looking for he said 'Mrs. Taulman, I can't find my class.' It took everything I had not to laugh. I simply said 'Teddy, maybe we should start by looking inside the building.' He agreed so on we went to find his class.
Yesterday mom and I had fun after school getting our toenails done(although the lady put on the wrong color on my toes) and doing a little TJMax shopping. I have had my eye on this print and yesterday to my surprise it was on sale so I picked up that and they had a great deal on a purse I liked so that was a must too! Nathan got socks :) We finished off the night with dinner at Houlihans.
Tonight when Nathan gets home from work we are going to make homemade pizza, watch a movie and enjoy some popcorn. I am not sure how much of the movie I will make it though but it will be nice to just relax and spend time with my hubby.

Happy Sunday!

Happy Sunday everyone!!!

Yesterday we had a great run at the Popcorn Panic. I was sooo proud of my husband he finished the 5 mile run in 34:34 and in 75th place!!! Yes I know-He is a stud.
Mom, Gavin, Uncle Kevin, Aunt Kris, and I all ran too. Mom did the 3 mile walk and won her age group!! Great Job Mom & Nathan!!!

Today we got up this morning(Nathan went into work before church) and headed to church. We heard a great message about Thriving in tough times. Greg talked from the book of Philippians 4. There were lots of encouraging verses that he reviewed, there were three in particular that stuck with me after I left. Verses 4:4-4:6 Rejoice in the Lord, always. I say it again: Rejoice! Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord in near. Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. There are so many times that I find myself getting anxious about the future and what God has planned for us. This verse tells us it is ok to pray and be specific when we pray but we must Also to Rejoice for all of the blessings that God has given us. These are two things I am going to work hard on this week. I am looking forward to the next two weeks of this series!

After church we came home to enjoy lunch and watch the Colts(since our Boilers played last night and lost). I thought I would be a good wife and back some cookies too.
Don't they look yummy!


If you look closely at that picture you will notice that the oven says CLN. I decided to clean the oven after the cookies were finished. Well...
After a few minutes the house started to fill with a little smoke so I turned on the fan over the oven. The next thing I know...the fire alarm is going off!!!!!!!!
so much for enjoying his cookies...he is trying to figure out how to turn the alarm off!


at least we know they work :)

Have a blessed day and enjoy the beautiful weather!!!

and now for the pictures

here are the pictures to go along with yesterdays post.

I was sharing this sweet spot with Nathan. Its where Daddy and I spent many of a lake mornings. Reading the sports page, sipping on coffee and enjoying the homemade doughnuts from the Bylers Bakery.


We are off in our little canoe paddling two by two. :) check out my paddle...its a piece of crap!


Nathan 'skinnin' the fish- YUCK!


The 'all organic' meal.It was awesome!


This is The Lake Crew! We spent many of hours on this dock. Times have changed soooo much...there are little ones in the picture now- so crazy!! Gone are the days of flashlight tag and Duran Duran.


Kelly & I before everyone got there! We were having fun with the toys.


Tim(Kelly's hubby) was opening the blinds for Heather...


hugs to the birthday girl.


my love


All of the girls that were at the party.

week(end)

This post is a little over-due but I wanted to be sure to blog about our fun weekend and this is the first chance I have had.

Friday night we packed up and meet my mom at the Lake. We enjoyed Gino's pizza, a beer and a beautiful sunset to finish off the work week. Saturday the plan was to stay at the lake till around 4ish and head to Scottsburg for my friend Heathers surprise ??th birthday(I wont post how OLD she is just incase she reads this! haha.). The day was beautiful and we were enjoying relaxing and soaking up some sun. Nathan took the canoe out around noon for a little fishing trip. Well, 4 o'clock came and went and he was still out there(I have no idea how he can do that)! His little fishing trip turned into 36 fish and he decided to come back in with enough for us to have for dinner. So much for leaving by 4- we had fresh fish to eat and the sun was starting to set- we were staying the night! Man, talk about a VERY yummy and organic dinner....lets see- he paddled out, fished with night crawlers, skinned(or whatever you call it) the fish and made homemade batter. To top it off we had fresh MI peaches and homemade red raspberry pie!! Now that is what I call good home cookin'.
We got up early on Sunday and drove to my New Albany to meet up with Kelly and Tim. They were kind enough to let up stay at their VERY CUTE home for the night. The four of us got dressed up and headed to the surprise dinner.
I LOVE LOVE LOVE surprises so I was very giddy before Heather got there. Her husband had set the entire party up and did a great job. I think she had an idea that something was going on HOWEVER she never guessed her college roommate(who lives in Ohio) and Nathan & I would be there(I had told her earlier in the week that we were going to the lake!!). It was so fun- we had a great dinner and enjoyed awesome company! It made me miss southern IN.
Monday we slept in a little and then went to breakfast with Kelly & Tim. After 4 different stops we ended up at Denny's. Not my favorite(IHOP was an hour wait) however, our waitress gave us a good laugh. She randomly joined in on our conversations (a few times) and coughed into our coffee....Kelly was afraid we would get the N1H1 virus! haha
On our drive home we stopped at Nathan's mom and dads for some homemade ice cream!!! It was delicious and I am sure totally fat-free. :)

It was packed weekend full of fun memories. I took lots of pictures to show but.... my camera battery is dead so I will charge it tonight and post them tomorrow for everyones viewing enjoyment.

ps- tomorrow is friday already... YIPPEEEE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

texting & driving

texting while driving... we have been hearing ALOT about it on the news and reading about it in the paper. The statistics are scary but we still do it. We do it because we think we are 'saving time' or 'I am safe about it', however that is just not true. Some things are much more important that 'saving time' and no matter how careful we are- we could just as easily be one of the statistics.
I was 'blog-hopping' and saw that Nathans basketball coach has a blog that he has designed for his basketball team called Bulldog Basketball and he recently posted to his players about the dangers of texting and driving. Nathan and I watched the youtube video that he posted and WOW! talk about a good wake-up call.

Please, if you text or chat on your phone while driving, take the 4 minutes to watch the video(just click on his link and look at his For the safety of this family link.

I also found this one that I thought was pretty powerful too. Texting and Driving.

Nathan and I have decided to make a conscious effort to stop texting when driving and using our head sets if we are talking on the phone...its for our safety and those around us. As of today no more texting and driving- maybe that could go for all of us?

happy hump day

I am ready for the weekend...anyone else? This week in school I am doing fitness testing with all the kids and if I have to hear one more 'beep' or 'ready, begin' from some annoying woman's voice I might scream!! Thank goodness for this wonderful weather or I might just go crazy(if you ask Nathan I kind-of did last night..opps!).

There has been alot going on in the Taulman house and one of the big things is that Nathan's district got moved again and this time it is not in the best area. Its a really sucky drive(he left this morning and it took him 2 hours to get to his first store!), and its on the streets that you hear about on the Chicago news every night...needless to say I have been VERY worried about him.I know they have put him there because he is so good at what he does but I sure liked it better when he was closer to home!! I have been saying lots of prayers and I know that God will protect him -however, its still scary for his wife.

Tonight we are enjoying a night of relaxing, fish tacos, a run, and a little ESPN. T-3 days until its time to BOILER UP! get excited.