high:low number four.

we're a bit late with our most recent high:low, but it's better late than never. and, what's kind of cute is that our high:low entries are more or less identical. how adorable are we?

shane
high: saturday i got to spend some time with my beautiful wife. it felt like it had been forever since we'd had some quality one on one time. we went to tulsa for some shopping, a matinee, and had our first experience at cherry berry. if you haven't been, you need to find one soon and indulge.

low: taxes suck. enough said.

rene
low: we had our taxes done last week and were beyond shocked to find out we owe an obscene amount of money. like, more than our combined monthly income. here's to an obscene amount of ramen in our future.
high: ah, saturday. in and of itself, saturday outshines every other day of the week... always. this saturday, though, was really sweet. my hubby and i saw the hunger games. shane loved the movie -- i was so relieved seeing as i had created a lot of hype after reading the books. we enjoyed some cherry berry frozen yogurt together and then did some shopping. i was on a mission for a few new super cute outfits. i've got to look good for bethany's visit. hehe. shopping was a success, and saturday, overall, was lovely.

spring break. day five.

backwoods critters pet shop. 

this. made. my. day.

spring break. days three and four.

days three and four of spring break looked eerily similar. a lot of time was spent finishing the hunger games trilogy. and, because of the obscene amount of rain we've gotten this week, there was no better place to read than cuddled up in our bed. 

shane all but demanded that i take a break from reading yesterday in order to meet him for lunch. we met at our favorite chinese restaurant only to be shooed away. apparently, the eatery closes at one. what kind of restaurant stops serving lunch at one pm? we got our wanton fix today, though, when shane picked up chinese takeout for lunch. he's good like that.

hours spent in our bedroom reading this week forced me to face the tough reality that i've killed yet another house plant. what was once a beautiful plant is now nothing more than bare twigs. still, i refuse to give up. maybe i'll add potting a new houseplant to tomorrow's to-do list, a list that thankfully no longer includes the daunting (yet enjoyable) task of finishing the hunger games.

happy spring, friends! 

spring break. day two.

today i gave in and started the second book in the hunger games trilogy. i'm twenty-three chapters in and will, more than likely, finish the book later tonight. in between chapters i did laundry and some other miscellaneous cleaning. but, in between each check on my to-do list, i managed to cram in a few chapters. it was a great day!

my first task of the day was starting dinner. i added a generous amount of salt and pepper to a pork shoulder and put it on a bed of onions in my slow-cooker. i topped the pork with two cans of chipotle peppers in adobe sauce and two cans of dr. pepper. the pork cooked on low for eight hours, filling our little place with the best smell imaginable. once the pork was cooked through and super tender, i shredded it and topped it with jalapeno coleslaw and cilantro. the sandwich was delicious and a nice change from the typical pulled pork sandwich we top with barbecue sauce. the sandwich was inspired by a pioneer woman recipe. if you haven't tried her recipes yet, get after it. you'll thank me.

while we loved dinner, we wanted to marry dessert. we ate monkey bread to our hearts' content while watching the shawshank redemption. when i was elbow deep in cinnamon and sugar and making the gooey concoction, i got a phone call from a close friend telling me that she and her husband are expecting their first baby! baby news always trumps dessert, and i couldn't be happier for our friends.

oh, oh! another great bit of news: there's a very likely chance that we might be seeing the black keys next month when beth and dylan are stateside. eager beavers are we!

high:low number three.

this week we've decided to make bookends of our respective highs. why not start and end with a high?

and, to those of you who've been sharing your highs and lows with us, keep them coming! we love to read your comments in general, and your highs and lows always make us feel a bit more connected.

week of march twelfth
(forgive us, our high:low this week is a bit arbitrary. 
it's spring break, though. we're allowed a bit of silliness now and then.)

shane
high: sunday night, after the ku game, rene and i watched the epic finale of season 2 of the walking dead. some questions were answered about this season and last season, but i was left with many more concerning the season to come. rene and i have been watching this series from the very beginning. she knew i had a soft spot for zombies so we decided to give the show a try. little did we know we would be hooked by the epicity (state of being epic) of this show.

low: my low is also about the walking dead series. rene and i always look forward to sunday nights when we can watch "zombies." unfortunately, we have to wait until the fall to get more of the flesh-chomping goodness.


rene
low: did anyone else feel sickly while watching ku play purdue? that horrible feeling was undoubtedly my low. it was like vcu all over again, and there was nothing i could do about it. shane and i exchanged glances every commercial break, but few words were spoken. then... with three minutes left in the game, everything changed.

high: THIS.

rock chalk jayhawk! loving us some march madness!

spring break. day one.

i love teaching.

if you know me well, you might question this statement. i'll admit, it's been a rough year, but all in all, i really do enjoy teaching. breaks from my profession, spring break and summer break in particular, give me time to reevaluate what i do and how i do it. breaks help me appreciate teaching all the more. and, honestly, who doesn't love a little vacation?

day one:
i downloaded the hunger games to my kindle this weekend and quickly made my way through the first several chapters. today i finished the entire book. what a great read! i can now see what all of the hype is about. maybe shane and i will make the movie a spring break treat.

today i also planned several yummy dinners for the week and did some grocery shopping, too. it's not atypical for me to make dinner during the week, but this week i'm able to make a few elaborate meals, meals that take extra planning and prep.

loving spring break and all of the rain. can hardly wait for day two!

keurig in the morning.

i love receiving mail. period. i adore the kind of mail you have to open on your walk from the mailbox back to the apartment -- mail so good that you just can't wait to rip into it.

and i love my keurig in the morning.