Hog Rockin'

So for the past four days this Diva has been on total vaca. Every year Honey and I leave out on the bike in June to attend our annual summer bike rally in Cave In Rock, IL- Hog Rock. I could sit here all day and try to explain how crazy it is however, you still probably could never even imagine. Google Hog Rock, they have pictures on the site and as their motto goes, "If you don't want to show it later, don't show it now" you can use your imagination on what that pertains too.

Note: Honey is not cross eyed, he is just full of beer. :D

This lovely couple you see... well this year was not their first go around. Honestly, I didn't even know they were a couple last year when I was sitting at a picnic table enjoying a beer only to look back and see man getting head from woman...I thought they had just met. However this year Honey and I met Mr. and Mrs. Blowjob. They actually turned out to be some pretty neat people, interesting to say the least.

Clearly, you never know what you're going to see when it comes to visiting the grounds of Hog Rock. And yes, that is a motorized Keystone Light beer can.

Though my weekend was fun and relaxing I'm happy to be home. The two hour Harley ride to and from Illinois is enough to wear anyone out. Needless to say I was beyond happy to have a nice shower and be in the comfort of my own home. The babies were beyond excited to see us as were we to see them. They've oddly been on very good behavior, Koby (the puppy) even stayed calm enough to take a nap with Honey and I yesterday. We're beginning to think it's their way of begging us to never leave them for four days again.

Now it's back to putting on the domestic crown that still hangs slightly crooked. Even after a long weekend I've managed to cook dinner last night as well as tonight and even tackle some laundry and straightening up. Unlike my normal self, I have even unpacked and organized all of our camping goods and duffle bag. I believe a jewel added to my crown is well deserved.

I'm lovin' it

Why not join in a bandwagon for a change! This evening I'm joining Jamie for...



•I am absolutely LOVING that tomorrow is Thursday, the last day of work for me till next Tuesday. Honey and I are taking a trip to Illinois for a bike rally. Oh yes sweet sweaty biker dudes with biker chicks sporting mullets...amazing time. We went last year and had a BLAST! I won't lie, it gets pretty provocative. Take Bonaroo, Spring Break, and the CMA fest and you got Hog Rock.

• JosephJoseph is ahhhmazing.









It's a website that sales random kitchen gadgets and what-have-yous and I'm in love! I love the vibrant spin on boring kitchen goodies. When Honey and I first started our house searching process one night I was cooking and chopping meat up. It dawned on me how is he ever going to remember what cutting board is for veggies and what cutting board is for meat? Within that week I came across one of my most favorite kitchen gadget purchases!



Genius!!




•DRAW SOMETHING! I was obsessed with the game and before I knew it everyone I worked with at my store as well as my dads was playing it and it became too much so I moved on to something else. Well now my fire has been relit and I'm drawing like a mad (wo)man!

What are you loving?

Operation Laundry

With the combination of gym clothes, dog blankets, pajamas, work clothes, and day to day apparel I've learned that laundry is a never ending chore. I know I have to do laundry at least twice a week or I'm going to have to spend an entire day doing it. Now the days of the week I choose to do it is still being under negotiation with myself.

However I do find that having my own house I tend to stay much more on top of laundry due to me wanting to keep my house in tiptop shape. When I was off at college I went for the cheapest detergent in order to have more beer/liquor money and I didn't much care about the rest. After doing laundry at my moms during the moving process and hearing Honey compliment the aroma of his freshly cleaned clothes I knew there would be no cheapin' on the detergent. in the same respect, if I'm going to spend the time washing clothes I would like for them to smell like a bundle of joy myself but this was learned with age.

Also learned with age is the personal opinion the when it comes to the battle of smell between dryer sheets vs. liquid softener liquid takes the bait, not only on smelling the best but also the more pricey of the two yeah yeah I like to use an abundance of that stuff. Problem solver: Tide Plus Downy.



You're buying not only detergent but fabric softener as well. I still purchase the downy sheets as well just for added smell and a touch more softener yet I only use one sheet...and sometimes I even forget that depending on my hurry.

Operation clean clothes: check!


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A repetition

I'm starting to see that every week my meals are becoming a repetition. No, seriously. You can pretty much guarantee one of the following with he cooked in the approximate 6 days of my cooking per week.

•meatloaf
•speghetti
•taco bake/ enchiladas/soft tacos
•jambalaya
•pb&js
•something I bring home for work
•sloppy joes

Every once in a while Honey will grill up something scrumptious but other than that my menu is repetitive. I have plenty of recipes to try however moving and all our pantry is starting out at the bare basics. So you better believe I've been sticking to quick and simple, because really that's my forte.

I'm starting to realize that the whole "mastering" my domestic side is going to take time, patience, and a few burnt meals. Need I mention my fear of our oven?



note: the picture is from when we were just looking at the house, therefore that awesome shade of blue no longer exists
Yes it is apparent that that bad ass stove is from the early 90's possibly 80's. Why I'm scared and cautious to use it? The first time Honey and I ever used it we purchased a pizza from the store. We set the oven on the instructed setting and though it called for 18-20 minutes by 10 it was a cremated pizza.

Lesson learned: set it 25° below instructed setting.

before an after pictures of my kitchen to come... And the failed mission to replace the 80's oven

Finding a Balance

Honestly I've never been much of a cleaner. When it comes to scrubbing toilets, vacuuming, and all the other required duties to keep a home clean you better believe I've always put on my procrastination boots. Don't get me wrong I absolutely love a clean living area but the chore of getting it to that point is not my idea of fun.

until I had my OWN house.

Now I've somehow become my mother. I want ever inch of my house spotless. When my 40+hour work week gets in the way then I'm ready to pull my hair out. Recently we went to the Buffalo River on a canoeing trip plus honey and I worked 40 hour weeks. I find trying to get back into the groove of things isn't near as easy as I originally thought it would be. Yes I admit my house currently looks like a bachelor pad, and yes even Honey agreed.

However I think the average person would say our house is well maintained, yet the mail collection in the kitchen, the dirty laundry, and the somewhat scattered living room is enough to drive me insane. This is where my mother comes in place. Her house is always so clean I would be willing to eat my food off the floor yet she still swears its dirty. I'm just thankful Honey was raised in a clean house as well because he helps me stay on top of things. Really his only duty is to unload the dishwasher but still he helps pick up after himself.

Finding a balance between working, errands, scheduled plans, and cleaning house I have found is not my best area. However I'm still working on it in hopes to one day conquer and officially become a Domestic Diva


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Bang for the buck.

Yesterday I returned the junk piece of vacuum I purchased and bought a different Bissell. The Bissell PowerForce Turbo.



Somewhat harder to assemble yet the badass cleaning and gliding ease made it all worth it. When we purchased our house they had just redone all of the floors. Brand new carpet in the bedrooms, hardwood in the living room/hallway/foyer, and tile laminate in the kitchen/bathrooms/laundry room. When I vacuumed with my moms cleaner I never saw what came up I just new the floors looked pretty. Then I realized my new vacuum gave me a BIG bang for my buck since this vacuum was $20 less than the previous purchased.






Yes that is the dirt canister. And as much as I would like to say that's from all the rooms, it's only from the master bedroom. I seriously think it pulled up all dirt and grime from where they laid the fresh carpet. I will say that my floors now feel much fluffier. Haha.

Vacuum purchase: Successful.

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Diva vs. Vacuum

Let me start this out by saying thank goodness I went to college! If it weren't for that honey and I would have a serious dent in our wallets. I had the basics already purchased from a paper towel holder to an ironing board. However when you have three roommates plus yourself there's no need nor room for quadruples of the essentials. So though I had my toaster, plates, silverware, and other necessities I still have some larger ticket items to purchase. We've lived in our home for a month now and I still argued with myself on when to buy a vacuum cleaner, what brand, and what style. I'm not looking to spend a pretty penny on an impulsive purchase. Yesterday I finally made my vacuum purchase. after all it's been a month and I can only borrow my moms vacuum for so long. I ended up buying the Bissell Powergroom.



With so much excitement I rushed home to play with my new toy. After putting it together I started on the hardwood floors "this thing is a mean green cleaning machine!"...or so I thought. The whole reason I went with this vacuum is because it was reasonably priced on top of its claim to clean hardwood floor+carpet. When I got to the carpet I quickly realized I'd made a poor purchase. After trying all of the settings I realized that the head on the $89.99 vacuum was not capable of an "easy glide" across the carpet like the $30 Dirt Devil would've given me.

So after arguing with myself for a hot minute and having the feeling of being defeated by my lack of researching skills I came to the decision of returning the Bissell for something that would better suit my needs of a clean floor.

My next step is researching vacuums and finding one that is reasonably priced and is capable of fulfilling my cleaning needs.

Wish me luck!


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