fun slash busy

this week has been off-the-hook-fun but equally as busy! i apologize for the blog-hiatus, i mean...{not that anyone cares} but i've been otherwise occupied by family functions, projects, & preparing o' cancun trip 2007!

the highlights of the week were events that celebrated my little bro ryan's graduation from mesa high school, home of the jackrabbits. congratulations r-dawg!

ryan james dixon is one of my favorite people ever invented.

he is, in a word: amazing.

he is, in like twenty words: hilarious, kind, thoughtful, hardworking, genuine, talented, witty, selfless, honest, valiant, compassionate, punny, non-judgmental, humble, friendly, without guile, sweet, smart, ridiculously funny, down-to-earth, & freakin' awesome/adorable!

as a token o' my excitement for him & this milestone, i created a simple scrapbook for him containing some random words of wisdom/memorable photos to assist him along in adulthood-ness.

here are some slightly ghetto pictures of said scrapbook:

love ya ry-guy!

{happy graduation my brotha}

a little ray of chloe-sunshine...

...to brighten your day

all growed up

there are a few things that are definitely GROWING around our neck of the woods.

the first being: our happy orange-ish yellow zinnias

on saturday i was feeling slightly {depressed} because the zinnia seeds that i planted nearly four weeks ago, had failed to bloom. perhaps i didn't have enough faith. perhaps they needed to be watered by someone that remembered such things on like, a regular-ish basis. {hmm...that's a novel thought} who knows. but saturday evening, all i knew was that my cute yellow pots were feeling rather lonely {with just dirt in them}, and something needed to be done about it!! so i drove over to wally-world, and purchased me some pre-grown babies. {fyi...my adorable momma/the bow's granny/green thumb expert refers to her plants as "her babies"} anyhoo! so, they are {growing} and look rather stinkin' adorable on our front porch. and i am happy. and my goal for this year is to keep them alive for at least three weeks. {a dunn record, it will be} wish me luck.

the second thing that is growing like c-r-a-z-y is: chloe mae

when did this doll-of-a-child get so grown up? it seems like yesterday that she was just a tiny waa-waa drinkin' her miniature two-ounce bottles while being wrapped like a burrito in fetal position! and now she's a twenty-three pound bundle o' chatterbox, walking around with a sippy cup! ...and bringing myron & i the same insane-amount of PURE joy as she did back in the day!

and third/last but not least:

my mullet

{please excuse the disgusting photograph. i just wanted you to get a true visual of how *out of control* the situation really is}

good thing there's {only} approximately 59 hours, 35 minutes, & 23 seconds until my next & highly anticipated haircut/color!
hal-e-freaking-lu-iah!

{happy wednesday kids}

it's no secret

this rockin’ slash ultra amazing book was recommended to me by my awesome little brother ryan {of whom i’ll blog about later this week}, my adorable co-workers les & steve & my fake friend, oprah. on saturday night i was having a little trouble sleeping, so i decided to crack it open. i didn’t really intend on retiring to my beddy-by at three o’ clock in the wee am hours, but once i started...i was heavily addicted! and i must say, it totally rocked my angela dunn world!

it is a book about positive thinking. it is a book about the law of attraction. it is a book about believing in yourself & others. it is a book about being genuinely grateful for all that you have been given. it is a book about finding true joy & peace.

it reiterated to me in a very powerful & profound way, simple truths that i already knew & fully believe in my little angie heart:

-that i am a child of God, who loves me deeply

-that i have infinite worth & potential

-to “trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. in all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths.”
proverbs 3:5

-that i have meaning, purpose & direction in this life

-that fear is the complete opposite of faith

-that “the tender mercies of the Lord are over all those whom he hath chosen because of their faith, to make them mighty even unto the power of deliverance.”
1 nephi 1:20

-that {as mr. baser would say} i am a miracle. and i can do anything.

-that “that whatsoever ye desire, when ye pray, believe that ye receive them, and ye shall have them.”
mark 11:24

-that thoughts become things

-that “with god, all things are possible”
mark 10:27

& lastly,

-that “men are, that they might have joy.”
2 nephi 2:25

so basically, anyone that’s in the mood for a life changing read...check it out!

one more project...

...off my home improvement to-do list!

it is currently a goal o' mine to do all of my millions of un-finished projects before i start another one. {i have a really bad habit of being ultra a.d.d. w/ projects} so today i decided to finally BE DONE with painting these blasted bar stools!

last year, my mom & i spotted these @ good ol' target for $13.27 each! {i heart smokin' deals/couldn't pass 'em up!} they were originally a very boring & very non-ang eggshell color though, so i painted them red. but because i'm really smart, {and i say that with every ounce of sarcasm i can muster} it took 5 years, 10 coats, 75 hours of sanding, and a pink garage later, to FINALLY have them look halfway presentable!

that being said, i hafta admit, i'm pleased with the outcome. and everytime i look at them, i will be reminded of the blood, sweat, tears, and many a nap time that went into their loveliness!

uno, dos, tres, cuatro

caution: this post is gonna be borderline cheesy & purely dedicated to my very favorite freckled 27 year old redhead.
aka my oh-so adorable husband myron lee dunn.

why you ask? well, because four years ago today...

this happend:

yep, that's right folks. four years. wow with a capitol "w" is all i gotsta say about that one! time sure does fly when you are having fun. on may 17th 2003 my & i were married & sealed for time & all stinkin' eternity! doesn't that rock? i think it does.

perhaps in celebration, i shall make a list of reasons why i love this dude.

and i think i shall.

things i love about m-diz include, but are not limited to the following:

*his hilarity/sense of humor, {his impressions} and his laugh
* his skills {parenting, bow hunting *wink*, computer, and driving}
*his random obsessions {ie: suns basketball, ufc fighting, shooting guns (not @ people), the fish tank, e-bay shopping, etc.}
*his appreciation for comical genius-ness {ie: conan, arrested development, the office, chuck powell}
*his ability to lighten up any random conversation
*the fact that his exact-opposite-of-angie personality compliments mine so well
* that he is secure with himself, & has nothing to prove {so attractive}
*oh, and he's, well, just that: so attractive
*that he is the most tender, kind, caring, and ADORABLE daddy {seriously, it'd make you cry}
*his big enormous marked up scriptures
*his frugality & desire to live within his means
*that he is passionate about his beliefs & is willing to stand up & say so {and he does}
*his yummy green eyes, freckles, and good genes {produces adorable offspring}
*his deep-rooted country soul
*that he is talented {clever beyond reason, handy-man of the universe, and a major smarty pants}
* and the fact that i know he loves me, anytime of day, any day of the week, no matter what i look like, or what the circumstance:

he loves me.
and i love him.

aw, how's that for tender?

uno, dos, tres, cuatro & counting.
here's to a million-bagillion more honey!!

{happy anniversary}

aquatic pets

a couple of months ago we welcomed several new creatures into our dunn crib. audrey {myron's sis} & saac {her man} generously purchased us a little salt water fish tank...you know, just for kicks. {ya, they're nice like that!} my mother-in-law debra, also being very generous, got us the cutest little black stand, too. {thanks guys!}

it has been super fun to watch our little swimmers. fun to watch the coral grow. fun to see all the colors change. fun to see chloe's eyes light up every time she checks 'em out. myron has had fun feeding them, changing the water {ya know, the whole responsibility part}. and i have had fun just enjoying their happy/calming presence in our home. it's pretty much been a fun time had by all, i reckon.

you can hardly see them in this pictoral because, well, i'm a corny {dixon word for crappy} photographer, but there are a few fish in there. and we look foward to adopting more! our two little baby nemos are called romeo & juliet. and they are just the cutest little babes! our anenome is referred to as mimi. the two fire fish that looked like twins are known as mary kate & ashley. the sand-eater doesn't have a name {poor lil' guy} so i call him u.t. {short for un-titled}. oh! and we have one more tomato clown fish, but he jumped into the sump & we have had trouble/major drama attempting to retrieve him! oops. but no worries, he's okay just chillin' in the back. he is quite the cranky-introvert anyway! {oh, and his name is rojo, btw}

so, anyhoo...i just wanted to introduce you:

blog friends meet fish.
fish meet blog friends.

causes for celebration

the last few days have brought the dunn household {many} super exciting events/people/happenings to celebrate:

#1: we purchased one of these...

{aka a toyota yaris, aka a second reliable vehicle! ours is a yummy dark blue. this, my friends, has been a long time coming. we are beyond pumped about myron having a non-gas-guzzler, sturdy, and happy little ride to run his insurance appointments in! anyone want a "vintage" chevy blazer? anyone? anyone?}

#2: simplicity kits are almost finished. emphasis on the almost part.

#3: holl-doll wins!

{congrats to my adorable little sis, holly, who is the future 8th grade vice pres o' taylor junior high!! way to be amazingly cute/super awesome/& toad-ally cool {wink}...oh, and obviously more popular than i ever was! taylor trojans or bust!}

#4: being a mom

{being a mom to this charming babe is one of my very choicest blessings. motherhood rocks!
i count my lucky stars every freakin' day for this priceless responsibility.}

#5: having a mom

{this cool lady gave birth to me like 24 years-ish ago. someday i will do an entire post on why i love this chick. she is a kind, genuine, selfless, wise, charitable, hilarious, warm, hip and talented girl. she is the bee's knees, the cat's pajamas, and my bestest girlfriend.}

#6: we got to chat with this dude:

{my little bro, eddude called az from his mish in mongolia for mother's day. um, suffice it to say...it was ultra fun to hear his voice, laugh with him like old school times, catch up, and be reminded, yet again, what an awesome kid he is, and how rockin' the work is.}

#7: i'm thinkin' pink:

{allow me to 'splain. you see, my adorable husband likes white walls. for some strange reason that is un-understood by me, he really enjoys the simplicity of a uni-colored house. but i, on the other hand, love & borderline NEED color in my life. in our last house i had every room a different happy color. but, when we moved into our new home, i, being the sacrificing wife that i am, {jk/lol} decided that i was going to leave the walls the {boring} light tan color that they were. but get this...myron, being the kind and selfless man that he {for real} is, randomly commented this week..."um, i think chloe needs a pink room." woo-hoo, love ya babe!}

#8: suns win=happy redhead

after saturday's dissapointing loss, alls i gotsta say is raise the roofity-roof that our boys made my boy super happy by winning monday's game! go suns!

the end.

big girl, small post

busy & blog-idea-less.

on the brain

here’s a small collection of all the random things i have been pondering in my angie-mind on this {all too lovely} summer/suppose-to-be-spring day.

thought #1: trashday forgetfullness

why is it so hard for us silly little dunns to remember that THURSDAY is trash day? I suppose it is due to the fact that myron, chloe, mr. miyagi, and i are all mega-accustomed to mesa-ish friday pick up. but seriously people, when are we gonna learn? it’s been six frappin’ months since we packed our biggity-bags & moved…it’s {beyond} time for us to get in the tuesday recycle/thursday garbage groove. i tell ya, for a day that ends in such amazingness {ie: comedy night done right}, it certainly has a rough start {ie: myron or i busting out of our ultra comfy bed at the crack of the crack, upon hearing the too-loud-for-six-thirty roar of the garbage man heading our way, and in our pajamas hauling the two weeks full (cause we of course forgot to take it out last week) rancid trash can, only to sometimes inevitably discover he’s on the other side of the road, and we missed him.}

(which brings me to my next thought)

thought #2: for the love of nancy…

why, oh why, does the garbage man come so ridiculously early? {this is a picture of me being extremely annoyed}

thought #3: summertime rocks!

reasons why I love summer include: cantaloupe is $.59 right now {that’s good right?}, homemade pedicures/cheapy flip flops, random family vacations to cancun-esque like places {18 days & counting}, cute little girls in old navy halter-top swimming suits {refer to april 14^th’s post}, and the beautiful arizona sky & sunshine that truly are therapy for my soul.

reasons why i sorta don’t love summer include: dixon sweat genes, boring/already-seen-it reruns, and the fact that it lasts until mid-november.

thought #4: to my sweet lakisha,

it’s okay keekie…you are still an amazing talent with windpipes the size of lake tahoe. and if I could sing like you, well, i would be above the moon. i mean it when i say it; you got it goin’ on girl. but, now honey, it’s time to go home & put a shirt on. thanks sister, ai for life!!

thought #5 laundry misfortune

i consider it an amazing tender mercy from the heavens above that this bleach-stained towel {and one of myron’s old shirts} was the only item ruined in our latest installment o’ angie’s laundry hardship hall of fame. both i & myron {ahem} failed to remove this pen from his shirt upon entering the washing machine. so, it truly is a blessing that this said bleach stained towel {and my’s shirt}, was all that was destroyed considering it was among every pair of his tan work dockers, and a couple of chlo’s brand spankin’ new birthday outfits. someone upstairs surely knew that i could not handle yet another load of expensive blue mess to add to my record. so here’s a shout out to my laundry gaurdian angel who truly knew what was best for me on a wednesday: word.

thought #6: she's walking!

i can quite safely say that the gosh darn cutest thing to happen since the revealing of the salsa red volts wagon bug, took place yesterday. this photo is just a reenactment of what actually happened. you guessed it, these are the feet of our all too content with crawling 13^th month old/ now experienced walker. she took ten consecutive steps! way to go girlfrien’!

and finally:

thought #7: money shmuney

as i am recently & slowly discovering that living to work {rather than working to live} is totally overrated, i am becoming a much happier version of myself. this new phenomenon o’ my existence has opened me up to a happy little world of less stress, less feeling inadequate, and more conscious living. which reminds me, here are this month’s simplicity pages. {can you believe it’s class time next week, already?} they took me {beyond} forever slash three naptimes exactly, to finish. the ribbon is subject to change {in case there’s not mountains of it in stock} & i need to find a cute park picture {i have a tdf one of my nephew in mind}. but other than that they’re done. raise the roof, yos.

well folks, that’s my max. i typically only have 3-6 deep thoughts a day. {today you were lucky} until next time, c'est la vie. i have nothin’ but love for ya.

headgear

the babe is officially daddy's little lucky charm when it comes to him & his team. she watches nearly every suns game chillin' with him in the big, comfy red rocker. {at least until bedtime.} according to my, we have her to thank for the critical game 2 win/blowout event that took place yesterday evening. we are contemplating sporting purple & orange sweat bands atop the girl's head {in place of a bow} until they {of course} win the championship.

play by play

me & the girl are typical homebodies. heaven knows we have plenty of chores, toys, and tivo to watch around our casa. plus, i loathe traffic, we sometimes share "the better car" with our uber-attractive dad/hub, & life is just simpler and happier {or so it seems} when we just chill together in our humble abode. today however, i was in the mood to break out of the norm & run a million errands. actually, only like four...but it seemed like a million. we were out paintin' the town red all the day long!

here's our play by play:

first priority was definitely the grocery store. reason being: all that's been in our fridge for two weeks is mayo, worcestershire sauce that might be older than me, teething rings, and aloe vera gel. I like frys. call me ghetto, but it has the best prices/sales & i've been familiar with where everything is since it was called smiths. {however, i must confess; i do fancy the lighting/wood floors @ safeway, the small-town/tender feel of bashas, and walmart's off-the-hook inexpensivness..but i digress}

next stop was the good ol' united states post office. i usually avoid the p.o. like the plague because i feel like other than joanns fabrics, it takes the cake for having the crankiest workers in the universe! but, we had a few bills/letters to send, stamps to purchase, and a miniature/definitely not that exciting/ghetto-ly wrapped package to send off to my fantabulous sister heidi.
note#1: the lady that helped us was a doll, so helpful & kind. i felt guilty for pre-judging her attitude.
note#2: did you know that stamps are 4-freakin-1 cents now?
note#3: i really need to learn how to pay my bills online.

after our refreshingly short, and surprisingly enjoyable trip to the post office, we headed off to the mall. i had an exchange to make. and an exchange it was. one twenty dollar shirt turned into this large pile of yummy/super sale-cheap & much needed summer-y attire. the best part you ask? not one of these items needs to be worn with an accompanying shade! {'cause let's face it folks, it's too blasted hot in this state for three layers!}

the babe was such a great sport. which was rather appropriate considering she was wearing a very sporty-spice-ish outfit!

on our way home from the mall we stopped by the romney's to drop off a belated shower gift for my cute ex-coworker, amelia. we couldn't remember which house was hers, so we just guessed by spotting the home that was amazingly charming/adorably cozy looking/and perfect in every way. and i guessed correctly.

so, now we are home. chloe's taking a much needed napity-nap & i am {miraculously} preparing dinner for the first time in may. oh wait, in 2007.
on the menu: grilled chicken fajitas w/ homeade salsa.
{tasty}

tonight we plan to have a dunn-moment-of-silence for steve nash & his jacked nose, watch american idol {da-na-na-na-na}, and retire to thy beds & cribs early.