David and Rebecca Ward

2012-01-28T11:06:00.002-06:00

Dogs 01.28.2012

I got out the camera to take pictures of my garden and the dogs were all over it. They love getting their picture taken. The sound of the camera being switched "on" is like calling the dogs by name.

2012-01-28T10:40:00.003-06:00

GARDEN 01.28.2012

Last night we had fish and brown rice for dinner so I cut about a pound of broccoli florets and David steamed 'em for dinner. Well what was left after I tasted several...

I left some that are bolting (flowering and going to seed) so I can gather seeds from these plants. They were super hardy during the drought and I'd like to be able to plant them again.

The lettuce is ready to be cut again - I see Chicken Cesar Salads in our near future. Lunch probably since we have left over chicken in the fridge. The barrier is doing it's job and the mint and strawberry have been corralled. The cilantro is growing like crazy too. It's going to bolt soon. I've been pulling up the cilantro one by one, washing them and drying them for use. I don't really want it to bolt because the seed will end up everywhere and I'll end up with massive amounts. I hate pulling good plants, even to make space for new seeds. By keeping it from bolting I can prevent the need for pulling seedlings.

The baby garden loved all the rain and has doubled or more in size since the last photo two weeks ago.

I put garlic in the ground in the herb box two weeks ago and have sprouts on all three. Yea!

Our composts have been switched. The green compost from two weeks ago is being stirred regularly and will be used in the next bed. I'm relocating the mature compost from the pics two weeks ago, so I can squeeze in one more bed. It'll then be the green compost.

We have a little green frog living in the broccoli plant. I've been hearing toads from the garden at night too. I want to get a toad house and a frog house for the garden to encourage them to hang out permanently. David's building a birdhouse too. I plant the empty bed next weekend but don't have my final plans ready. I am going to put flowers between sections of veggies to encourage bees, butterflies and birds.

We got lots of rain last week. I was really happy that all my beds drained well. Too much water, not enough drainage, encourages grub worms, which are happy to be in Texas anyway. In my original 4*4 I lined the bed and when I tore it out to build a bigger bed, there were lots of grub worms. (I've learned so much since then...) I squished the ones I ran into and treated the soil with organic granulated sugar. When I turn the new, empty bed now I don't find any grub worms. Just happy fat earth worms. Yea!

My strawberry transplant from two weeks ago is doing well too. It's growing and seems happy in it's pot.

2012-01-15T16:45:00.012-06:00

Gardening
Soothes the soul and feeds the belly... Also I really like it. Thus we've built several. I went to get soil for the one bed but it was less to get a pick up truck load than a few bags... so then we had to build a few more. And sweet potato has a was of taking over the world if one lets it.

A small mint plant was placed directly in the ground about ten months ago. A few feet away was a small strawberry plant. A foot or so from there, an oregano. All of them are vigorous spreading plants. Especially the strawberry and mint. So we dug a foot deep barricade and dropped a board in before my entire long garden became mint. I'm quite pleased it's doing so well and all but there's only so much mint a girl can use. I also dug up a strawberry runner and planted it in a large pot, hopefully we'll get loads of berries between the potted one and the garden.

Basically what I have now is three full beds.

One is my baby garden, planted just before Thanksgiving and carefully covered when the temps are supposed to drop below 40 degrees at night. It's quite the jerry-rigged affair these days as the plants are growing so quickly but thus far we've lost none of the babies to the freeze. I tucked an old bell pepper that might be a goner in the corner in hopes it'd come back. She didn't do so well in the first freeze.

Another garden, now partitioned to keep the mint and strawberry at bay, has two broccoli plants, a variety of lettuce and a couple cilantro. I haven't ever covered any of this but it's hardy and doing well none the less. I just picked back all the lettuce so they are a bit naked right now but I get a few salads a week from them. The broccoli was growing in another garden up against chicken wire so they look scraggly but they are still producing quite well in spite of the freezes, the transplant and the general abuse from chicken wire.

The third garden is basically a doubling of my first garden, which was a 4*4. We basically used the wood from that garden and some other scavenged wood to build a much bigger bed then transferred the soil from the original garden into the bigger, slightly rearranged bed. (It was up against the short fence on the right.) Because about 1/2 the soil had been planted for a full year this bed, built in November, won't be planted until early February, although the soil seems good as I can't keep the volunteer plants out of it.

The fence to the right in the first photo, we put up right before adding the beds. There was a chicken wire fan fare that, while mostly did its job of keeping the dogs out, was ugly and difficult to work around. I wanted something more workable and pleasant to look at and I think we got both with this semi-pre-fabricated fencing from Home Depot.

We have two composts. One is mature and I use it in the gardens. The other is immature and we add our (organic) scraps from the kitchen as well was tea and coffee grounds.

I have a box that's dug into the ground that I am planting herbs in. I have cilantro and dill already and there's three garlic bulbs planted that will hopefully be ready in June or so.

Lastly, I have a box that has a bottom on it in which I'll plant sweet potato. I planted last year and it took over the entire 4*4 and when I dug up the 4*4 in November, despite the lining that was down, I found sweet potatoes. They were the size of peas up to the size of a thumb but they were there despite the fact that I had dug up all the sweet potatoes and turned the soil really really well over a year ago. And so, I'm planting sweet 'taters in a box this time around lest my entire yard be taken over by sweet potato.

I'm working up the plan for my February planting - only 2.5 weeks away!! And then the long garden will rest until mid-March or so when I'll plant again... Lots of planning to do.

2012-01-05T15:49:00.003-06:00

SEEDS!!

I ordered seeds for the first time from an online source. They came in today and I can't wait to plant....

2011-12-15T18:02:00.005-06:00

Gifts that don't fit under a tree

Needing Christmas gift giving inspiration? Have a list of relatives that have to be shopped for but have NO IDEA what to get?? Consider the following options for a unique gift that requires no wrapping or shipping and provides so much more than the obligatory tie or sweater.

Animals for a family in impoverished areas:
http://donate.worldvision.org/OA_HTML/xxwv2ibeCCtpSctDspRte.jsp?section=11080
85% of money goes directly towards helping other people

You can choose to give a family a range of gifts in the name of a friend or family member and have a nice card sent to said gifted to let them know of your Christmas wishes and gift. Gifts start at $16 for a bunny, so there is something to gift for every budget!

Adoption assistance:
http://www.showhope.org/
In 2010 79% of money went towards programs

Show Hope primarily provides financial assistance towards the expense of adoption and strives to utilize funds responsibly.

Transportation in rural areas:
http://worldbicyclerelief.org/
76.4% of money goes towards programs

A bike can make a three hour trek to school something more attainable for a family striving to move forward. WBR makes heavy duty, well constructed bikes and trains people to fix them providing a means of transportation and lively hood.

Help improve the lives of women and children in Ethiopia:
http://www.aglimmerofhope.org/
They promise 100% of donations will go to the field

Glimmer focuses on water, health, education, and microfinance in Ethiopia. We have a tender spot for Ethiopia as our dear friends brought home their babies from Ethiopia and asked us to take the role of and Uncle and Auntie. Our friends encourage their children to know about their birth country and we can't think of a better way to honor our nieces than to support their birth country to become self reliant and strong.

****Images taken from the websites of each of the organizations listed****

2011-07-30T12:24:00.003-05:00

Time Passes More Quickly When Working Full Time............

Training *finally* ended at work and we've been dealing with the client now for a month. My primary job is to help people who have lost family wrap up benefit affairs. Health insurance, pay checks, life insurance and other benefits that they might have through our client. That said I was trained in every area of how we serve our client. Thus I get to help with inbound calls as well. My case load is heavy for survivors but we are swamped as this is a new client and there are always "issues" when transitioning. It's been......... a lot of work. I'm trying not to work over time but still billing at least 8 hours of overtime a week. Hopefully this will slow down soon.

David's going to KS soon to visit with family and then I'm going to Seattle (YEA!) to witness the wedding of my baby brother. Wow. Can't believe the little squirt is getting hitched. Since we took two weeks to go to the Grand Canyon and back David's staying home this trip. And since the time off I need for my brothers wedding is so close to when David travels to KS I'm staying home from that trip. I must say I am really looking forward to the trip to Seattle to get a break from the oppressive heat here. Poor David is going to get much of the same weather in KS that we've had here.....

On the weekends I've been doing house cleaning and baking so we have a pile of goodies and "frozen dinners" stocked up for the weeks lunches and maybe a mid-week dinner. Lately I've been plowing through the "stuff" we've accumulated over the years. I kind of miss having everything we own fit into two trucks and a small trailer including a motorcycle. Not so much anymore....

I'm not very sentimental but there are a few things over the years we've received that I would like to keep. I tried the scrap booking thing while we were living in LA and I had hours of time on my hands. It was pretty fun for that season of life but I'm not the scrap booking type. So what does one do with piles of cards from a wedding and bridal shower?? I really didn't want to just recycle them as we received cards from so many well wishers, some of whom have passed since our wedding. I also have piles of cards and letters David and I wrote over the years of our friendship, the few months of dating and engagement and then as he traveled for work during the early years of marriage. It was fun to go through them and see how we've changed and the relationship has *gasp* matured. (We haven't matured much but the relationship has - haha.) My solution was to "white trash" scrap book these memories. Yes sir I grabbed my heavy duty three hole punch from my education days and a few used binders from that same season and drilled holes in it all putting the "relationship" cards/letters/notes and so on into one large binder and all of the shower/wedding/well wishes cards into another. And I like it. I can go through them and have the memories out rather than in a dusty container. I can go through the cards and letters David and I mailed through the years (and I was surprised to discover that we sent close to equal amounts in volume... something I didn't expect at all - I really thought I would have sent more David's way. Plus, he sent things like flowers and CD's that can't be three hole punched and added to our binder.......). We've known each other 12 years now, nearly half of my life.

I've also been trashing all the crazy things I kept from school. Notes, papers, exams and junk I'll never look at again. I know because I don't look at what I had from 10 years ago. Into the recycle that goes. I read some where that keeping syllabi is a good idea if you consider going back to school...... I kept those, I suspect I'll be back at education again some day.

We're finally getting into a good routine with me back to work full time. I've not worked full time since 10.31.2008 so finding a pattern to the weeks has been interesting. David's been cooking about half the time and even made some pretty delicious brownies a few days ago when I had a craving......... It's fun when he tries new things in the kitchen. So far, so good too.

The dogs are also getting used to being alone again. Scratch chooses to stay in the house (and is most often shooed off the sofa when we get home) and Sunny, despite the heat, chooses to stay outside. She's ready for bed when the sun sets though and gets anxious if she doesn't get dinner before sundown. Likes a routine like her Momma for sure.

And there it is. 4 months of life - in but the blink of an eye. Making every minute count.

2011-04-09T13:40:00.002-05:00

Becca's New Job - 03.14.2011

A hard decision to narrow the search to a ten mile radius from home was made and with it came much fewer options. I realized, however, that I didn't want to commute to the city every day. Also with our special dietary needs it's not practical for both of us to be driving for an hour each way every day...

While I'm still crazy about accounting, it's an employers market and there aren't any entry level accounting or finance jobs with in my limited search area. Even now that things are slowly picking up.

I applied for a Benefits Analysis position with a large, global company that is less than 7 miles from home in late November. I got a call back right away. They had specific questions about Excel. I was familiar with all the terms and requirements but not comfortable with them and thus said I was an intermediate Excel user, per their specs. Had I known that it'd be a three month delay from an offer to a start date I'd of felt much more comfortable saying I was an expert because I would have used those months to refresh all my skills and prepare myself for that position. Too bad for me. :( My recruiter (HR is now recruiting - what do you know?) Said she really thought I'd be a great fit for the company so she pushed my resume and information through to a manager friend of hers and thus I'm working more of a Customer Service position with clear expectations of moving forward and up with the company in a year to 18 months time. We're working with a very large client and it's exciting to be working full time again. I enjoy learning and several months of training will fulfill that void. There are two other accounting folks I went to school with in my group and we basically had the same story. Again, employers market and we are thankful to have jobs.

A month in and things are going well. I'm enjoying my coworkers and management team. I have a 10-15 minute commute and David and I are settling into a new rhythm and season of life. My company will pay for my Masters Degree so I've been looking into courses but we've decided we'll spend 6 months or so just adjusting to my being full time employed before we add a Masters Course to the week.

Now I get up start a load of laundry and trot around a block or three with the dogs then race home for breakfast and shower and out the door. Scratch has been choosing to stay in the house while we're gone and he's been very good. He HAS been on the sofa a few times when I get in but we're working on that. Sunshine prefers to be in the yard where she can chase her "yucks" all sorts of bugs and lizards. She's allowed out at 7am and she's more than ready despite having been for a run with David and a trot with me and Scratch. (While she doesn't bark much we don't want to run the risk of her out at 5am woofing and bothering neighbors.)

I've been making a whole chicken in the crock pot on Mondays. My gym days are MWF so David comes home to let Scratch out and finish dinner. Usually I make two dinners on Tuesdays so that on Wednesdays David just reheats something. I like to make broth on Monday nights and then make soup or stew on Tuesday nights for Wednesdays dinner. Fridays are fish night. David (when he's home) picks up fresh fish and grills for me.

He got to go to CA this week for several days. It was the first time in a while he's been on a trip overnight and I worried I wouldn't sleep well. I woke up every morning on his side of the bed as though I'd been looking for him in my sleep but I slept like a rock all three nights. (He didn't think it was fair since he didn't sleep well at all.) This weekend he's taking a course in down town. He'll be home in the evenings but gone all day today and most of tomorrow. So I had all the Saturday morning cleaning. We do like a clean house though. I missed having him mop the kitchen! I do the bamboo flooring and he usually does the kitchen.

So now that the house is clean and I'm ready for the day it's 2pm! How'd that happen? Guess I should go run errands.

2011-04-09T12:50:00.003-05:00

2011 Road Trip *JUNCTION, TX & HOME*

We drove from Carlsbad, NM to just out side of Junction, TX where we camped at South Llano River for a night. It was a very different experience in Junction than in Big Bend. There was very little wind and we saw many animals. Havalenas (a type of small wild pig), rabbits, turkeys and deer visited us - driving the pups wild with desire to chase. The animals didn't seem intimidated by the woofing though. Evidently the camp grounds is a safe haven for turkey nesting - something to do with the man who donated the land wanting to make sure the turkeys would have a place to raise their young without fear of hunters. I think it's working there were huge flocks of wild turkeys.

We stopped in Austin, TX on the way home from Junction to have lunch at Whole Foods. Austin is something like the Mecca of Whole Foods. It's where the original Whole Foods was started and continues today.

The drive home was nice, we found some back roads to avoid the traffic so we came into town through farms and wide open spaces rather than semi trucks and traffic jams.

It was a fantastic trip. We are already plotting for another but it'll be a while since, despite having about 3 weeks of vacation, I am not able to take that time off until after all of my training is complete. Possibly some time in August.

2011-03-22T19:54:00.005-05:00

2011 Road Trip *NEW MEXICO

So we did in fact pass through the South West corner of NM on our way to AZ and while we did see the towns we didn't really stop. On our way home we stopped in Albuquerque for the night. We arrived in town about 7p on 03.05 and since it was our anniversary we decided to find a place to eat. Never mind that we'd camped the night before and were slightly less than presentable. In down town Albuq we found a nice place where we could both eat (we previewed a menu prior to being seated). After eating lots of rice and beans and camp food then hand washing dishes it was a real treat to sit down and be served. And to have a selection of food! Wow. It took us a while to decide. And we shared a Classic Creme Brulee (minus the cookie) for dessert. A very nice anniversary indeed. That night we crashed in a hotel room as it was about 9p before we wrapped up dinner and hit the road again.

The next morning we headed north to see Santa Fe. We had anticipated camping at the Santa Fe National F orest.... When we arrived we drove up the mountain. And up. And up. And when we got to the location where we had wanted to camp there was several feet of SNOW! =) Rather than set up camp we hiked and played in the snow then headed back down the mountain and south towards Santa Fe again. We found a place to camp some where South East of Santa Fe in Santa Rosa, and decided we were going to detour south to see Carlsbad Caverns.

So we enjoyed camping one night and then started the drive to Carlsbad, NM. We passed (and stopped at David's urging) Roswell, NM where, according to legend an UFO landed and bodies from that UFO were stored in a shed some place in Roswell. While we did investigate the museum I vetoed the $10/each fee to see it and David agreed it was ludicrous so we scoured the gift shop instead. Do these people really believe that stuff?? I don't know but the woman I paid for my post cards with sure sounded convinced.

We arrived at Carlsbad Caverns about 30 mins after they allowed the last visitor to hike down. We debated and hemmed and hawed and decided what the heck we'd stick around. It was WINDY and we don't enjoy camping in super high winds in desert like weather.... because of the sand and burrs and the places that they can end up.... So we splurged on a hotel room.

Up early and out to the Caverns. We were among the first to start the hike into the cavern. They did post warnings that made it out to be quite treacherous but the semi-lighted, paved & railed pathway made for a lot less drama than anticipated... There are months when the bats come up from Mexico to mate and procreate. During this time there's swarms of bats that exit the cavern at dusk. Unfortunately we missed this but it was incredible anyway. We thought it was cool that we were on top of the world at the Grand Canyon just a few days before going beneath the world at Carlsbad. God sure added some fun places for his Kids to explore. I bet it was fun to Create too.

We stayed in the cavern a few hours but didn't linger because we left the pups in the truck. They were fine but happy to see us! After a break and a tinkle (pups & humans) we headed towards home again.

For more pictures click here

2011-03-22T19:30:00.009-05:00

2011 Road Trip *GRAND CANYON

The Grand Canyon was the main event of our trip. We took the long way there and home so we could extend the vacation and see more of the South West while en-route. Where to even start. Wow. It was incredible. Hubs is much more interested in photography of the land while I tend to take more pictures of people but at the Grand Canyon I couldn't take enough pictures. The air was really clean and clear and there was snow on the ground still. The trails down into the canyon were still very icy and are also very steep. For one to hike down them right now one needs special equipment. Also, dogs are not allowed to hike down - with good reason I think. Since we didn't budget to invest in icy conditions hike equipment we stuck to the rim. There was still plenty to see and lots of hiking to do. And the pups could go. On day one we arrived late and saw from a distance. Day two we started hiking early and hiked 4+ hours. I didn't think Scratch was going to make it. He was beat. We settled in at the laundromat so I could run a load of clothing and David made a late lunch/early dinner in the parking lot on our propane stove - hey a girl's gotta eat!! Especially after that much exercise.

We got up early on March 05 so that we could watch the sun rise over the canyon and start off our anniversary on a romantic and incredible note. We were not disappointed. It's amazing to watch the sun peek over the rim and start lighting the canyon. We left the pups in the truck while we stood and watched as the colors changed and the sky grew brighter. I'm not sure how a person can witness such an event and still question God's existence. A human or process or big bang could never orchestrate such majesty.

Since we had done so much hiking the day before and Scratch was super grumpy about all that exercise, we decided we'd drive around the other 1/2 of the South Rim we hadn't seen. We stopped at all the look outs (Scratch barely lifted his head in acknowledgment of a stop) and then continued to New Mexico.

For more pictures click here

2011-03-16T19:24:00.006-05:00

2011 Road Trip * ARIZONA

We drove Northwest from Big Bend, through the SW corner of NM and then due North through AZ. It was fun to see so much of the state. We camped at Catalina State Park for two nights to give ourselves and the pups a break from the truck. We had originally planned on having a hotel room in Tucson but the weather was so perfect we skipped the room in favor of a very nice state park. It had great amenities and we hiked much of the two days we were there. The weather was perfect - high 70's during the peak and about 30 at night. It was also very busy. The retirees were out in full force and David and I eyed all the campers and talked about selling the house and going on the road full time. Maybe in a few years. There's a huge selection of campers. From little bitty pop ups to mobile home sized monstrosities. We really liked the little mini-Airstream types.

The atmosphere in Tucson was remarkably easy on my lungs. I couldn't believe the difference in my ability to breath while there. My allergies and asthma have been pretty bad since living in KS and then here in TX. I did have relief while we were in Seattle also but it was pretty cool being able to hike for hours and feel great.

We also stopped by an In & Out while we were there. It was the first time we had eaten out on the trip and we decided that the fries and milkshake were the best bets so we shared one shake and two fries. David didn't get sick but I did. I imagine it was cross contamination considering it's a beef joint. The girl taking our order couldn't believe we were skipping the burgers.... we didn't get into it with her but there was no way David or I could have eaten a burger and gotten away with it for the rest of the day.

We checked out Phoenix en route to the Grand Canyon but only passed through. We didn't do much sight seeing or anything.

(I'm going to keep posting about our trip over the next few days - weeks??? - but I started a full time job Monday and we are adjusting to the new schedule and I won't have as much time to blog so bear with us. I'll also write more about the job at some point but I like order so first I'm working my way through our trip.)

For more pictures click here

2011-03-11T18:44:00.004-06:00

2011 Road Trip * BIG BEND RANCH STAT E PARK

We decided to see the State Park because the National Park had very tight restrictions on pets. They weren't allowed on any trails and couldn't be left in vehicles. When we travel with the pups they usually hang out in the car when it's cool enough. When we camp, they sleep in the car because Scratch is a HUGE bed hog & Sunny thinks it's play time when we are all in the tent. Everyone sleeps better when the pups are regulated to the Xterra at bedtime.

The National Park was also having fire restrictions. As in we couldn't have one. At all. We camp to have fires. While we have a camp stove that is propane run, we prefer to cook over the fire.

The State Park has potable water in only a few areas. Most of the camp sites are primitive. With two humans and two canines we can go through water pretty quickly so we decided to stay one night. There was really high winds and the air was very dry. The moisture was seemingly sucked right out of our skin. We both had cracks in our hands and the pups had dry paws. It was incredible how dry and windy it was. David enjoyed the drive to the site. It was rough and patchy and 4*4 was recommended. Our Xterra doesn't have a 4*4 package because it was less expensive (purchase price and gas mileage) and we didn't think we'd use it all that much. We did fine though since everything was so dry!

Hiking was fun because we were the only campers in the area. We hiked quite a bit over rough patches and dry river beds.

More pictures can be seen here

2011-03-11T18:30:00.005-06:00

2011 ROAD TRIP overview

David and I have been doing some traveling in the last few years but primarily to visit family or attend weddings. Both are fun and enjoyable but neither is truly vacation. Plus, we feel it's important as a couple to escape every day life. Even though we don't have children there's the daily grind that is nice to get away from.

This year (03.05.2011) we celebrated 6 years of marriage - which means we are working on year 7, which is supposed to be the "7 year itch" season of married life. Thankfully 6 days into our 7th year neither of us is experiencing an "itch" but we figured time off from regular life would be a great way to end year 6 and kick off year 7. In addition to our anniversary David and I have Birthdays within a few weeks and I start a new job Monday. Much to celebrate indeed.

We drove a large loop down to Big Bend Ranch State Park (which we chose over the National Park for the lesser restrictions concerning dogs & fires), then up through Tucson and Phoenix to the Grand Canyon. We mostly camped but got a hotel room for the occasional real shower and a load of laundry. Then we looped over to Albuquerque, up to Santa Fe, South through Santa Rosa, Roswell (alien nation evidently), Carlsbad then through Ft Stockton, TX and east on I10, with a stop in Austin, TX and home again. It was great. I'll post here about the actual trip and on our food allergy blog about the food and how we managed all the various food allergies while on the road.

(picture from Grand Canyon 03.05.2011 sun rise near Mather Point, South Rim)

2011-02-24T17:48:00.009-06:00

A Good Day

Today I was home with the exception of a semi-annual dentist check up. Those are usually pretty quick thankfully.

I spent the day cooking for the first time since my allergy diagnoses. It's another challenge: bring it on. Baking is has the potential to be difficult but I'm researching flours and determining which ones I want to mix. There are loads of gluten free (GF) items avaliable but most have corn and all have man-made ingredients I can't pronounce. We don't eat those kinds of things - they might come from corn and they can't be good for a body.

So I'll skip the cleaning and go right to the good stuff. Meatballs. Yummy. I made a batch that should last us a few weeks and they turned out well. Hopefully they'll go great in this evenings pasta dish.

Chicken stock. I've been simmering my chicken parts, veggies, herbs & spice since about noon (Minus about an hour for the dental visit). It smells heavenly and I can't wait to make split pea soup with the broth tomorrow. I'm trying to re-load my freezer with items we can both eat. David has worked his way through a lot of it and I'm going to need back up meals when I start work full time in about 2 weeks.

Granola. I'm working on walnut-blueberry. I did butter, honey, cinnamon and a little nutmeg. Pretty simple but it'll be delish.

I dug up a recipe that a friend mentioned that calls for 16oz of oatmeal toasted. Then you grind 1/2 to make a flour and make cookies with it. I'm excited to try it but I think it'll have to wait until tomorrow. My oven is occupied and parts of my mixer and food processor still need to be washed. I ran the dishwasher once but it'll go again before the days' end.

And of course the days not complete until I've had a romp and a snuggle with my two favorite fur babies. Currently they are in time outs for being too rowdy in the house. Oh the pouting that happens when they are separated.

2011-02-16T06:09:00.002-06:00

Over the last few months and especially the last few weeks I've felt off and have experienced nausea after eating. Amongst other things. I've been putting off food allergy testing because dealing with David's corn, soy & peanut allergy is more than enough thank you. Yesterday I went in and learned much to my disgust I'm allergic to wheat, beef, scallops, mustard, ginger and caraway. The wheat is going to be the most challenging. Then the mustard which seems to be in a lot of things. I won't miss caraway or scallops. David's allergy to corn & soy will make baked goods a challenge b/c often wheat free items compensate with one or the other or both. My allergy blog will now follow all of our allergies combined.

2011-02-08T12:28:00.003-06:00

My contribution to the neighborhood super bowl party. This and some home made salsa, guacamole (which I can't eat - I'm sensitive or allergic to avocado) and miscellaneous chips/pretzels that are safe for Hubs.

I am thankful I grew up in a family that cooked and baked from scratch. I tell David all the time how wonderful I think it is that I'm a good cook/baker. Not in a boastful way but in a practical manner. We would starve with David's food allergy if I weren't able to prepare food from scratch and manipulate (usually with great success) recipes to make them safe for my husband. As a general rule I must adhere to a corn free lifestyle as well since his allergy is so sensitive.

So this is an apple pie. Crust with butter, flour a touch of sugar and cold water. Filling with Granny Smith apples, sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg and a splash of fresh lemon juice and flour to thicken the juices. I carried it to my neighbors house and she promptly sliced it up, while warm and dished a piece each for us to share with our husbands. It was divine. I love apple pie. Hubs thinks this was the best one I've made for him. He said best pie "ever" but I've made pies prior to Hubs and I've made a few he's probably not had since Hubs. He prefers chocolate and says he doesn't like fruit pies.... funny though how much of a fruit pie he can eat.

2011-01-04T09:58:00.003-06:00

To Christmas, New Years and Beyond.....

A belated Merry Christmas from Hubs, the "kids" and me. We stayed in town this year as we have the previous two. David and I went to our friends house to celebrate with a large, corn free meal. This is the 3rd year we have celebrated with this couple and their two children and the 2nd corn free Cmas. This year we were unable to find a corn free ham so I cooked an 11 pound turkey. With 4 adults and 2 small kids we had plenty of leftovers.

David and I both had the week between Christmas and New Years off of work so we spent a lot of time lounging about and decompressing after a stressful year.

New Years Eve found us at the home of another friend. About 10.30p I called it quits - time for bed - but our neighbors were out when we arrived home and we ended up visiting with them until mid-night. The first New Years Eve we have stayed up for in several years. *Picture taken by our neighbor Brooke right about midnight on New Years Eve/New Years Day*

2011 brings the end of 6 years of marriage and pushes us into the 7th! We celebrate 6 years in March and are thankful for them. In April I officially turn 30. The big three-oh. I have been saying "I'm about 30" for three years or so now so it's not a big deal. Of course I anticipate saying "I'm about 30" for the next ten years or so as well. David and I hope to take a trip of sorts to mark the 6 years of marriage and 30 years of life - we'll see if we can fit it in. David is expected to travel more this year as his employer anticipates a higher job volume (thankfully) and I have accepted a position with a company to start mid-March.

Happy 2011!

2010-11-18T08:37:00.002-06:00

Amazon dot com

Recently Amazon was selling a book about pedophile behavior and, after it making one of the top seller's, pulled it due to complaints. Unfortunately this is not the first time that Amazon has made a poor choice concerning book availability. Shame on them.

The ease of using Amazon has officially been outweighed by their lack of discretion and I've gone on a search to find alternative web sites to make my purchases. I'm not comfortable supporting a company that blatantly opposes some of my basic principals. True, they pulled the book but it never should have been available in the first place. Thus, I am not even browsing Amazon for the best deal and avoiding the Amazon links that pop up in my searches.

So a few sites I have been browsing about lately include:
www.christianbook.com : They have books, music & gifts available and their rates seem more than reasonable.
www.target.com : There is free shipping for purchases over $50 and they carry a much wider variety of items online than in store.
www.magiccabin.com : Great for children's books & toys
etsy.com : Has just about everything available made by small businesses

2010-11-06T14:54:00.003-05:00

Today I cut my hair. Less than 5 years ago I did the same thing only shorter. I had shorter hair to begin with too.

Anyway, some little girls who have lost their hair to chemo will now have nice wigs. (I donated it to Locks of Love.)

It's a little sad for me but it'll grow back. It grew this long in less than 5 years.

Also it'll be nice to have lower maintenance hair. And fewer clogged drains.

I miss it a little because it was such a big part of my identity. My crazy long hair. I only cut it an hour ago so maybe in a week or two I'll just be glad it's gone. For now I'm a little sad.

2010-10-25T08:07:00.005-05:00

A BREAK FROM HOUSE CLEANING

This weekend David and I replaced 1/2 our fence. According to Mr. Wayne, who lives behind us the fence was at least 15 years old. Which makes me think it's probably the original fence because the house is only 16 years old. Our poor fence swayed with the wind and the posts are rotten through. It somehow survived hurricane Ike, thankfully, but the derelict old fence has gotten to the point of no return and we were concerned we'd come home to find our pups in a neighbors yard.

Lessons Learned

Post hole digging is super hard work - especially because we have clay, not soil
David is really good at post hole digging, he can dig several in one day that are 24 inches deep
I can only post hole dig about 16-18 inches deep
When the neighbor says "Maybe I'll be over after a while" he means he's never showing up - which we should have known because we have watched him watch his father-in-law over haul the yard. (We think our other neighbor will be different and he's probably 20 years older than the neighbor on the side we just finished.)
Working my muscles at 24 hour prevents me from being sore
Running every morning with Sunshine does not keep David from being sore
Knocking down an old fence is super satisfying (I got to take down most of that 1/2 of the old fence myself)

This weekend we anticipate finishing up. We haven't built the gate yet but we were able to use a section of fencing to keep the dogs in for the week. This way they don't have to be kept on a lead when in their own yard. Sunshine is pretty excited about the new fence. She sniffed the whole thing and has been sleeping right up against it. It does look and smell nice.

So the pictures are of the old section we have to replace starting Friday and the new section we finished last night. David probably worked 10 hours Friday and I probably worked about 4. Saturday we were both out there from 7am 'til 5pm. Sunday we got home from church made a quick Home Depot run and worked from about 1pm-7pm. This weekend we both work on Friday so it's going to be an even faster job. We kind of have a rhythm now so hopefully we can get the job done. The neighbors behind us have two small dogs so it's in everyone's interest for us to finish it before the week starts.

I'm going to do tear down as soon as I get home Friday so we can start in on post hole digging. Hopefully Saturday all the concrete will be poured so Sunday it'll just be filling in the fence pickets.

2010-10-22T13:43:00.003-05:00

Dusting.

There is something so mundane about it. I'm just going to have to do it again next week. Same task, over and over with out much change. But if I skip a week the dust collects like crazy and looks terrible.

It seems life for me consists of:

Keeping my husband fed
Keeping my house clean
Doing laundry
Working just a few hours a week outside the home
Managing our finances
Cleaning bathrooms
Dusting
Vacuuming
Sweeping

Yea I know if I'm not careful I'll thrill myself to death. ;) There are benefits to me being home. See the first item for reference. But I get restless. There doesn't seem to be many job opportunities for me close to home. I'm not interested in commuting. It would be a minimum of an hour drive each way into the city if I had regular business hours. I H.A.T.E. sitting in traffic. I'd rather stay home and clean. So here I am.

2010-10-18T08:56:00.004-05:00

Yea for girlfriends!

Three weeks ago David went camping with a buddy.

This weekend two of my girlfriends and I took off to Galveston. We did.... nothing. Went out to eat once. Cooked together, cleaned together, lounged in the sun, walked on the beach, hunted shells (some still inhabited!).... It was perfect. The weather was great and the beach house our friends family so generously allowed us to borrow was big enough that we each had our own room! :)

No pictures because girl weekends should have secrets.

2010-10-01T17:18:00.007-05:00

THREE YEARS AGO TODAY....

We were relocated to Houston "permanently".
So we bought our first home.

We had only a coffee table and an air mattress for furniture.
So we went out and purchased our first real bed, sofa and "man chair."

We had bright blue paint in our master bath room.
So while David was out of town I re-painted it myself.

We had only Sunshine our lab mix.
So three months later we went out and picked up Scratch our bull mastiff.

We had a "wet spot" in the closet.
So, much to my horror, David ripped the wall out post haste (and of course got it all back together again better than new!).

We had patchy white walls in all of the other rooms of the house.
So we started painting - together this time thankfully!

We were in the house one year.
So I made a "to do list" on my blog.

We had an existing above ground pool.
So 1.5 years later we removed it to save money on utilities & pool repairs/maintenance.

We discovered David had an allergy to corn, peanuts and soy.
So we sta rted a new blog to inform our family and friends and for Becca to connect w/other "custom made" people and started making HUGE adjustments to our entire lifestyle.

We wanted to see my education through.
So I went back to school and GRADUATED!

We hated our ugly green carpet.
So 2.5 years later we installed bamboo flooring, ourselves.

YEA FOR OUR THREE YEARS HERE!! We are so thankful for such a nice home and fantastic neighbors!

P.S.
For the record our 1 year list was:
To do:
1. paint the rest of the house which will include stripping wall paper in the kitchen
2. tile the spare bath and laundry room
3. lay wood (preferably bamboo) flooring in the main living areas
4. replace the carpet in the bedrooms.

And of that list we have:
1. Painted everything except the kitchen (yes still wall papered!) and one of the spare bedrooms.
2. David completed tiling ALL "wet" areas of the house including bathrooms, laundry room and entry ways. He's a tiling pro!
3. We put bamboo flooring down in the living areas AND our master bedroom and closet thanks to a GREAT deal we found on the materials.
4. See #3 - Master bed room has bamboo flooring. The two other bed rooms still have ugly green carpeting but it's not as annoying now that the horrid carpeting is limited to two small spaces.

P.S.*2 All pictures on this post were taken today in honor of one year. All pictures in other posts were taken around the time those posts were posted. =-)

2010-09-20T08:12:00.004-05:00

I'm "IT"

We were "tagged" by my super creative, first time mommy cousin who writes a fantastic blog about all things new baby and family. I have recommended her blog to many new mommies because she writes so openly about things such as breastfeeding and cloth diapering - two things that are wonderful for Baby but not very common in our generation. She also does reviews and GIVEAWAYS for fantastic mom & baby products.

Thankfully this is a short questionnaire and it was fun to read Julie's ....

1. What book did you last finish and did you like it? (great question, have to steal it)
First a disclaimer: since graduating in May I have been reading "potato chip books". Books that are easy to read, with out a lot of substance and that don't require a lot of brain power. After spending a crazy non-stop 18 months digesting Accounting, Economic, Business Law & other text books I've been reading miscellaneous books by random authors chosen by *gasp* the covers! The last book I read was "Moose: A Memoir of Fat Camp". I chose it for the chubby little girl in a floaty. I thought it was a brave cover and title. And yes, I liked it. Stephanie Klein writes honestly about her struggle as a chubby kid and her battle as an adult to stay fit. She writes about how tacky it is when her thin friends (or even thinner than her friends) go on about how "fat" they look or feel. It's funny, creative and even eye opening.

2. What is your go-to meal to make for your family (you know, the favorite, easiest, etc).
My husband has a corn allergy so we have to make all of our food from scratch all of the time. Pizza is a quick, easy meal for us. I have a quick rise crust and we can get a pizza in the oven in less than 20 mins when we work together on it.

3. What do you do on weekends, generally?
We LOVE weekends! When the weather is nice we like to camp and spend time out doors. We also spend a ridiculous amount of time working on our house. Sundays are usually spent at church and then dinner/lunch with friends.

4. What is your favorite website to visit, read, have fun on?
I play Scrabble online at Pogo.com for fun occasionally but I love to read http://nieniedialogues.blogspot.com/. Nie is a woman who suffered severe burns to 80% of her body and writes about the struggles and pain of recovery and the joys and love of her 4 children & husband.

5. Do you do crafts or have a hobby? Tell us about it!
I used to have crafts and hobbies prior to my goofy education but I haven't picked anything back up.

6. What is your favorite thing to write on your blog?
(Do you have a theme day, favorite post to share, favorite topic?)
I just write about life. I'm not a blogger extraordinaire as are many others! I don't do themes or give a ways or anything else super fun. On our allergy blog I like to connect with other people who deal with allergies that are life altering. Favorite topic? Life.

7. What do you do to de-stress?
I like to read blogs, play on line scrabble, read and work out.

8. Tell your readers something about yourself that we might be surprised to know!
Surprised to know? Probably not much since I blog about just about everything and I can't think of anything right now! Plus my "readers" are my grandma (#1 reader!) and other family and possibly a few friends here and there leaving even fewer secrets....

SO HERE'S THE HARD PART. Tagging other bloggers.... Is there a specific number I'm supposed to do?? I think since it took me more than a month to complete the questionnaire and my husband just got home and it's date night I'll just skip this part.... or possibly do it later.

2010-07-29T12:51:00.005-05:00

POSTING

Of late I have been posting on Hubs Allergy Blog or rather, my blog about Hubs allergies. We are exploring food combining, working on the house and just enjoying quiet evenings where I don't have to study or go to class and we don't have to work on the house. We aren't quite done with the base board finishing work but the house is livable and I'm searching for a small, inexpensive table to fit in the kitchen. We moved the dining table to the "dining" room area and the pups are in the study. Now we have a large empty space waiting on my great find. I had a garage sale with my friend and sold all my plastic kitchen stuff, some old clothing, an old vacuum and a few other items. It's amazing what a person will buy at a garage sale. Now I have a tiny wad of cash to get my table with. Which will probably mean another wood working project for Hubs with my goofy budget.

I have also put in a request for a small sturdy bench to put near the front door. David and I both prefer to be barefoot. We basically take our shoes off at the door. I'd like a little bench one could sit on and remove their shoes then tuck them underneath on a shelf. Something as basic as this or even one similar to this. Or maybe something in the middle such as this. I'm not sure if David will be making it or I'll be purchasing it but either way I see a garage sale in the future. ;)

The living room still isn't totally back together but when it is I'll post pics.

We're looking forward to our quick trip to Seattle in a few weeks. My brothers still live there and my parents and sister are heading that way at the same time. The 7 of us haven't been together since our wedding in 03.2005. It'll be great to hang out again. A very generous friend of the family opened their home for all of us to stay. Should be fun - I'm hoping to connect with some of my old friends as well but we'll see - it's going to be a quick trip. David's running out of vacation time and we don't want our neighbor to have to watch our dogs for too long.

The pictures today are of my poor naked kitchen nook and the dogs waiting on David to get home from work. When it's about that time they both like to lay facing the door. Sunny usually checks out the window a few times and they always hear his truck. Yesterday they both wanted the pillow next to the sofa so I put them both side by side and everyone was happy. I made the pillows for the doggies out of duck cloth and my sewing machine. When I went looking for some I nearly fell over at the price. Armed with coupons I went to Joannes and Michael's and made these wonderful, washable doggie beds that fit in with our living room color and are big enough for Scratch to be comfortable. He's always put out when they are in the wash and he has to scrounge about for a place to lay his weary buns.

2010-07-04T14:41:00.008-05:00

Flooring: DONE

Well mostly. We have all the bamboo flooring down but we still need to finish trim work and transition pieces. I love it. It's beautiful. It made David sick. I did the bulk of the sealant but the glue must have been made with corn as well. He slept in the garage in a tent for two nights. Now he's sleeping at the neighbors house for a few nights. (I'm telling you we have the BEST neighbors a girl could ask for - they even stopped by to see if he needed any snacks for tonights sleepover.)

We started installing the bamboo about 10:40am on Friday July 2 and placed the last piece in the hall closet at about 2:30am on Saturday July 3. A pretty good days and nights work I'd say.

PICTURES:
Friday 07.02.10
11AM - First row of bamboo installation

Mid Afternoon - Almost to the 1/2 point in the living & dining area (It's raining like crazy and we have to start trucking to the garage over the freshly installed bamboo - hence the cardboard boxes.)

Saturday 07.03.10
2:30 AM - David is cutting the very last peice of bamboo for the project.

Sunday 07.04.10
2PM - We have peeled the tape off the flooring in the living & dining areas. Sunshine and Scratch are adjusting to the new "no playing or running" in the house rule.

We still have work to do such as moving furniture back where it belongs and rehanging pictures and what not but we are so happy with the results! The floors look and feel amazing and we are excited to have a house that is no longer under construction. It's been a long 7 months!

Click here for more pics

2010-06-27T19:37:00.006-05:00

STEP ONE: LEVEL CONCRETE SLAB

Didn't get actual pictures of the process but this is the end result. It takes both of us because the leveling agent has a "time" on it. The compound starts to set within minutes.

Basically everything is off the walls and out of the room. We have the couch and a few wall hangings. I was waiting to see how much grinding we'd have to do. Thankfully it looks like none. How nice!

Clean up is relatively easy, just rinse everything before it hardens. ;)

David got a new gadget out of the deal as well. Mixing up the leveling agent is a huge task when one does it by hand. He was quite happy about the gadget. He says it's a cheap drill but it's a back up - he primarily uses the DeWalt I purchased pre-marriage.

2010-06-25T08:01:00.003-05:00

WORN OUT

Scratch knows his primary purpose in life is to ensure my safety when David's not home. He's a bit of a "hoverer" as in he follows me about all day long if David is not home. He trots right on my bum from room to room while I clean or fold laundry. Scratch is right there if I'm watering the lawn or working in the garden. When I was in the garage last week painting 1/4 round he was sprawled on the floor in front of the box fan panting and looking worried about how much longer I'd be taking. He was exhausted from all his hard work. When David got home this is what he found. (I was in the kitchen cooking dinner so he can put himself to bed without too much concern. ) Poor guy didn't even want to get up for a before bed tinkle. This new flooring business is wearing everyone out. =) It's fun though, I enjoy the manual labor, when it's done, and I can see the final product.

2010-06-08T09:20:00.002-05:00

PICS W/O BLUE TAPE!

CURRENT STATE OF GUEST BEDROOM: Bamboo storage, temporary linen closet storage & Misc. Catch-all for flooring project

CURRENT STATE OF MASTER BEDROOM: Needs tidying and a good cleaning before we can move back in including washing the curtains and a good dusting of all walls and ceiling fan!

CURRENT STATE OF TRANSITION BETWEEN MASTER BED & MASTER BATH: David and I installed the tile and the bamboo - now for transition pieces!

CURRENT STATE OF MASTER CLOSET: Again, basic tidying and thorough cleaning needed. Perhaps hanging my bridesmaid dress (fresh from the cleaners!!) in here wasn't the brightest of ideas....

2010-06-01T06:49:00.009-05:00

BAMBOO FLOORS!

I successfully graduated with my desired 4.0 for the semester. We were both proud of our accomplishment - because let's face it when one spouse is in school the other is making sacrifices as well!

Upon graduation we again picked up the process of installing our bamboo flooring.

First: While David was at work I relocated our weight room to the garage:

Second: We relocated our bedroom to the weight room.

Third: We spent an evening ripping out all the carpet and padding from our Master Bedroom. The next day while David was at work I ripped out the closet carpeting and padding and started the prep work for leveling the concrete.

Fourth: David ground down the high spots of concrete. Then we mixed up a leveling agent and filled in the low spots. (Not pictured)

Fifth: We spread out the sealant that prevents moisture from effecting our new flooring. This took the better part of a day. (Picture is of sealant with a small "walkway" to our closet so we could keep the traffic down while laying the bamboo in the closet.)

Sixth: David measured and cut all the boards for the closet. A friend came over and alleviated me of my duties as assistant. And the men finished the closet and about half of the bedroom.

Seventh: David and I worked a couple of hours to finish the bedroom.

David cutting the last few boards for our bedroom using the saw his Grand Dad gave him.

All of the bamboo has been placed and glued down. We taped the boards to help keep them stay together as the glue dried.

Eighth: The long process of clean up. Amazing how much junk gets spread about the house while installing new flooring. We cleaned up everything because this project is on hold for two weeks while we attend and participate in weddings. Next we will install flooring in our living room. Until then we are in our temporary bedroom with the bamboo piled high in the guest room and our room out of service. =) (other pics can be seen: HERE)

2010-05-13T08:06:00.002-05:00

Last Day

Today is my last day of finals to obtain my Bachelors Degree.

For those of you that don't know - I technically started in Fall of 1999. I've been plugging away here and there ever since. When Hubs and I landed in H, Texas I got a job, because that's what I always did. Then in a reduction of force I was let go. So I went back to school full time. And for the first time since Fall 1999 I was actively pursuing that BA as my primary purpose. That was January 2009. Which means I am getting the bulk of my courses in 18 months. Which is pretty good considering.

So I graduate this weekend.

Also for those of you that don't know, the ONLY aisle I've ever walked is the one to meet Hubs at the alter on Daddy's arm. Yup. And why would I change that?? Not for the Bachelors Degree but for my girlfriends wedding June 12. I don't know who's arm I'll be on but I'll walk that aisle.

My most difficult final is at 11am. If everything goes well - please that everything would go well! - I'll finish this semester with a 4.0. No easy feat with my five course load of upper levels including two accounting courses and a job, and a husband, and a house. I'm pretty delighted. I suppose worse case scenario I have 4 A's and a B. I'd really like 5 A's. That said the dryer just stopped and I should really be back at those goofy notes and things.

2010-05-03T16:31:00.002-05:00

Keep Praying

Elizabeth was greeted by her Heavenly Father this morning as she greeted her Maker, Savior and Friend. Her family is grieving her loss but recognizes the joy that Elizabeth is experiencing. This doesn't mean prayers should cease. She left behind a husband, a new born premie that's just 2 pounds and three other children. Elizabeth also had many siblings, grand parents and more that have been left behind. So while we deal with grieve there is joy in the morning.

Below is something that Elizabeth posted just 8 months ago:

posted by Elizabeth Oct. 2009:

"I heard a song today that I'd heard many times before, but today it meant something to me.

I'm trading my sorrows, I'm trading my shame,
I'm laying them down for the joy of the Lord.
I'm trading my sickness, I'm trading my pain,
I'm laying them down for the joy of the Lord.

Are you willing to trade with God? He wants your hurts and sorrows. He wants to give you joy. You have to be willing to trade with him. We have to be willing to say "OK God, I'll let go of my rights and my wishes and do things your way." Then He loves to fill up our lives with joy that passes understanding. We have to realize that we are giving up only shadows and illusions and in their place we are given riches beyond measure."

2010-05-01T12:21:00.003-05:00

A Glimpse at Elizabeth's Sweet Spirit

"I want to know God & not just in little inadequate snippets, but the real whole awesome God that He is. It may hurt, but what but pain ever drives us to God? What but trouble ever sends us to our knees in prayer? He woos & calls, but we won't listen. He's there waiting & wanting to bless us, like a parent with their child, but He must have our surrendered heart first. Oh, to surrender & know that God is good. Oh, to give my everything to Him & trust that he will bless it. In His time he makes all thing new, all things to work for good. Will it be my good? It may not feel like it, but what child ever knows his parent's thoughts & mind? Being jerked out from in front of a bus & spanked may be uncomfortable, but not as bad as getting hit by the bus. God's way does require discomfort, but who knows what is being done in our lives, or in the lives of those around us? So bring on the pain. I want to see. I want to hear. I want to love like Jesus."

_Taken from Pray for Elizabeth Manley as posted by one of her friends. Elizabeth wrote this about a year ago. Gave me goosebumps especially in light of her current situation._

2010-05-01T08:37:00.002-05:00

Please Keep Praying

Elizabeth made it through surgery where they took two lobes of her lung. Her baby remained en-utero and everything looked pretty good. Then late in the night she went into cardiac arrest and has been doing poorly since. They took Megan, Elizabeth and Jon's fourth child, via c-section. She was born about 3 months early at 2.6 pounds. She seems to be doing well, breathing on her own and moving a lot. Elizabeth's family is asking for a miracle and we serve a God that is able to provide one. Please join us in praying for this beautiful, Godly family. They are the kind of people that would recognize, appreciate and extol God for such a blessing as a life saved when all is counted lost.

Updates can be viewed at:

http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=121899827822124&v=wall&ref=mf

I don't think that you have to have a Facebook account to see the updates.

Thanks again for praying for our friend. She's so young and vibrant and an amazing Godly woman and fantastic mother.

2010-04-24T11:50:00.002-05:00

PLEASE PRAY

We have a friend from college, Jon, who married a very sweet young lady, Elizabeth about 6 or 7 years ago. They have three beautiful children and one on the way, due in July. They recently found out that this wonderful woman has cancer. It's in her lungs and there is a spot on her liver that is being tested. Her family is in GA and they live in TX. Her parents are going to help by taking the three young children back to GA, while leaving her mother here to take turns with her husband at the hospital. The hospital is about three hours from their home. Please pray for this family. The woman is a stay at home wife and mother that loves her husband and babies like crazy - all she wants in life is to be an amazing wife and mom and she's been living her dream for 6 years. While we don't know the wife well, the husband lived on the floor with my husband in college and we knew him for a few years. This is a God fearing, Christian family that believes in miracles, please join us in praying for one.

2010-04-23T08:36:00.003-05:00

What we have been up to.......

On the House

Gutted guest bath (but left the tub/shower combo)
Stripped out the linoleum in the guest bath
Laid all the new ceramic tile in guest bath (We grout this evening!)
Purchased an (on sale) vanity/sink combo
Purchased a new toilet
Purchased our wood flooring! It took 2.5 years of saving up but we finally made the big purchase. We caught a pretty nice sale on the bamboo we wanted and now have piles of bamboo in the guest room waiting to be installed.

In the Yard & Garden
Our friend was kind enough to help us out with....

Tree trimming
Yard taming
Mulch spreading
David did most of the work to get all the plants transferred from the house to the garden and it's growing like crazy! I pick peas and eat them just about every day. We haven't done anything more than eat them fresh out of the garden. =) Melons are growing hopefully we'll be picking those soon.

In School

Wrapped up the semester long group project that ended with a 40 minute presentation last week
Two more weeks of classes which include several exams and papers and a presentation
One week of finals

In Life

My dear friend is getting MARRIED and asked me to be a bridesmaid. I baked about 250 cookies for her shower
Planning her bachelorette party
Since we were in Dallas for the shower we made a 24 hour trip of it and arrived home about 4:30am
Looking forward to free time!!!

Apologies for slow response times and busyness - we hope to have some free time and travel time and sitting about time in a few weeks. ;)

2010-03-27T15:58:00.003-05:00

CAMPING

I hate to say it but David did most of the packing/prep work for this camping trip and I still managed to forget the camera, the one thing I am responsible for bringing. Ah, but it certainly doesn't effect the camping experience and thankfully, Hubs packed the food. We're getting this camping thing down to a fine art. We have a "cook ware / misc" tub that has a lid and includes things like clean dishes & silver ware (I TOLD David hanging on to a few pieces of the junky stuff we had when we were single would come in handy when we placed the beautiful stuff my parents got us as wedding gift in service!!) two pots, one w/lid, old pot holders, paper towels, tongs, TP and other basics. So preparing for a camp trip basically means grabbing the tub, sleeping bags, tents, a cooler w/food and doggie water bowl. After this trip we've determined we are going to slap together a small "Lock N Lock" with basic food items (rice, oatmeal, a canned thick lentil soup that's safe for Hubs to eat....) so cooler grabbing won't be necessary either. Clean up is a snap too, we pile all the dirty dishes in a bag and haul 'em home. Sleeping bags get shaken out on site and dirty laundry, if any, gets piled on the floor board behind the passenger.

David packed the food. He got some salmon steaks and asparagus. He laid the asparagus on a strip of tin foil, then laid the salmon on top and another single layer of asparagus. Followed, of course with a pat of butter and salt & pepper. When we got the fire going we just tossed those puppies over the fire and wah-lah a delicious dinner in less than 30 mins. And it was perfect.

Breakfast was a one pot affair. Hubs had onions chopped and ready to go. Light the fire, grab a pot. Dump in onions and raw sausage. Stir around until everthing's nice and brown. Throw in six or so eggs and stir until cooked through. Hm. Hmn. Delicious.

We probably won't have too many weekends left that are cool enough for us to be out camping so we're making the most of what's left. This little place was great - less than an hour drive, so you feel as though you're getting away but you're not in the car all day. I thought the water tables were unnecessary (we are now proud owners of a 5-gallon re-usable jug) but a nice touch. The grounds were a bit wet but the sites have about a six inch build up of sand on which to pitch the tent - thus it's always dry enough.

First thing Sunny girl did this morning when we freed them to take care of business was find a happy pile of something nasty and throw herself joyously on top of it rubbing it in like lotion. Fantastic way to greet the morning. She earned herself a freezing cold bath with Joy dish detergent when I spotted the maggots.... She was not amused: finally smells ready to camp and gets hosed down at the water table. Thank God for the water table. We used more than 5 gallons for sure!

So back to reality for us. This week is going to be brutal for me. Four exams, a paper and a project. The last four weeks following will have a steady pace but shouldn't be as ridiculous as this coming one....

2010-03-22T08:59:00.005-05:00

Spring Break 2010

My Spring Breaks of past have consisted of either working extra hours or (last year) making trips to a variety of appointments with David to discover what was making him so sick. This year, David and I had a real Spring Break. We high tailed it to see a good friend marry a beautiful and kind woman. Then we camped with our dear friends we simply don't see enough of. Then we took it easy coming home. Stayed a night in our own bed and camped on Mustang Beach. To wrap it up we made delicious shish-kabobs with friends last night and enjoyed a leisurely evening.

First picture is one of David with the groom (center) and the other guys that were on his floor in college. Tony, on the far end, was in our wedding and we camped with Tony and his wife after all the wedding festivities. It was great to see these guys again after so many years and to meet their wives and catch up with them.

The second picture is from camping with the W's. Tony was the Chef and whipped up some super delicious meals for us all to enjoy. His wife won over our pups by walking them to exhaustion and giving them all kinds of loving attention. The dogs LOVED camping, especially with the W's. We were the only ones out there camping so the pups got to do a bit of running and romping and slept really well for the next several days.

The last picture is from Mustang Beach right after we woke up on the sand. It was beautiful. The evening was great but by the wee morning hours the wind was picking up quite a bit and we left after having sandy chai and visited Cracker Barrel for breakfast rather than battling the high winds to make camp fire breakfast. Scratch really enjoyed beach camping. He rooted in the sand and chased Sunny all over the place. Sunshine "chased" the kits, sea gulls and other flying objects that had the gall to pass our area.

Now it's back to reality with a 4:20am alarm clock and a health bill passed in congress. I don't know what made me more sick to my stomach. I know which will have the long term ill effects.

2010-02-06T16:06:00.003-06:00

Long Over Due

It appears I have neglected "our" poor blog. Time has been something that has come up short on a regular basis over here and thus certain things, such as blogging, have been pushed to the side for a time. We volunteer with an organization that, starting early December, has required a lot of our time. In the interest of privacy we can't give too many details but a large chunk of my time is spent in ministry now and it's added another activity to juggle with homework and everything else.

David and I stayed home for Christmas. We had a nice dinner with friends who are also without family in the area. We hope to be able to travel this year for the Holidays as I will no longer be taking classes and will *hopefully* be working. We shall see what Nov 2010 and Dec 2010 bring.

I am still working for a family part time and David holds the same job. David did very little traveling in 2009 until the end of the year when it picked up again. He's been going out of town just about every week this year. My class schedule is another (but last!!!) full load. Thankfully, I am LOVING my two accounting classes. The last two I took I was not very excited about at all. I think it was a combination of subject/professor. I have income tax accounting and cost accounting this semester. First out of four exams for cost is on Tuesday!!

As graduation quickly approaches (Lord, that I would not just survive but that I would excel, Amen.) in May I am starting to look at job options. I am interested in working some place with maybe not such a huge salary but nice benefits. We're thinking airlines and hotels. Because we have family EVERYWHERE and we both love to travel. It'd be nice to get free or reduced rates on air fare and/or hotel rooms.

We will celebrate 5 years of marriage in March!! We can't believe how quickly time has flown. And we still like each other!! Yea for us. ;) Our fingers are crossed on celebrating my graduation, our anniversary and Birthdays this year with a trip of some sort following graduation in mid-May. Although David's going to need a month of days off for all the things we'd like to do. A wedding in IA over Spring Break, a trip to the NE to see family in the summer and a vacation this year..... We'll also need a Swiss bank account, lol.

Temps have gone below freezing several times and we lost the majority of our garden. We did get some nice carrots, jalapenos and green beans though. Hopefully our Spring garden, going in soon and for which we have planted seeds in the house already, will yield more.

Scratch was officially diagnosed with hypothyroidism and has been medicated about 3 or so months. It's amazing the difference in his appearance and energy level. He's the same dog just thinner, with tons more fur and a bundle of energy. He was also up to 116 pounds. So we weigh about the same. Which I find hilarious. Sunshine is loving her early morning (we're talking 4:30am, early) runs with David. She's a mess without them.

*Up-date on David's allergies

2009-11-25T08:56:00.005-06:00

Two Long Weekends

I didn't have to work last Friday and neither did David. We texted between classes. David: "What do you want to do with the long weekend" Becca: "Strip out all the carpet!!" David: "I'll help you strip!"

I raced home after classes and removed all small furniture and other items from the rooms. David walked in. "Wow, ok." Such a trooper. Then we got to it. Ripped out all the carpet, pulled tack-strips, scraped glue, pulled out washer/dryer and removed linoleum.... Nice way to spend a Thursday night. Friday brought even more fun. Then tile laying. We grouted last night!! Washer/dryer will go back in tonight, thank God because the laundry is piling up and we are having friends drop by for a quick weekend visit starting Friday afternoon!

On Friday we picked up a friends Puppy for the weekend. The dogs got along great and the puppy just wanted to play, play, play with the big dogs. She was small but could hold her own! It was fun having a puppy for a few days but I forgot how many times a day you had to take a puppy out to go potty. And how they get to playing and forget about peeing until it's go time (thankfully my neighbor was unperturbed). Our wonderful neighbor and friend and doggie sitter just got a new puppy. She lost her faithful Worthless about a year ago and just adopted a little lab mix something or other and named her Utah. Utah and our puppy for the weekend Bee, played and played and played. In and out and around the yard and into the doggie house and back around the yard.....

We are spending Thanksgiving with friends (the same ones that have Bee, the pup!). We started celebrating holidays with them a couple of years ago. Neither of us have extended family in the area so we cook up a big meal and invite the other "mis-fits". It's always fun and GREAT food!

On Friday we are heading to the Renaissance Festival, courtesy of CBI in the morning. Then we have friends from college that are heading in for a quick visit! We haven't seen them since we made a one day round tripper up to Dallas for a wedding a few months ago. We are excited to have them come down... but did give fair warning about the house being under construction. = )

I have two weeks of classes and one week of finals and then I am FREE for about four weeks! I'll still be working but I won't have home work or studying or commuting to do. Just baking, cooking, cleaning, running laundry......

2009-11-07T08:01:00.008-06:00

5 weeks

As this week ends I look forward to the last five weeks of classes!! In those five weeks I will have:

2 business analysis quizzes
2 business analysis exams
1 business analysis excel assignment
2 business law exams
4 monetary economics quizzes
2 monetary economics exams
2 monetary economics reports
1 monetary economics semester report/presentation
2 accounting quizzes
1 accounting exam
2 marketing exams
4 marketing quizzes
1 marketing report

Nothing like the end of the semester push. So forgive me if I become overwhelmed and disappear for the next five weeks. Following finals, of which I believe I should only have to take 4, I will have 4-5 weeks off from classes before starting up again.

I am introducing my friend, Hannah, to the family I have been working with since May. I will have to take two accounting classes next semester which will prove to be quite overwhelming if I continue to work three days a week. Hopefully Hannah will work out with the family so that she can pick up one day a week for me and also provide back up for those weeks when I'm just barely pushing through.

Our little garden is getting HUGE!! We have little cucumber the size of a mans thumb, little green beans and little melons just a bit bigger than grapes. It's so fun to watch them grow and we can't wait to pick 'em and eat 'em!! The pics here are about a week old. We have been having great sunny days and the fruit/veggies are thriving.

A few weeks ago, my neighbor allowed me to pick a lime from her tree in her front yard. We used the tasty lime in beverages and on fish. Then I planted a few seeds. And now I have an itty bitty little lime tree! I am most excited about this. Lime trees are supposed to be really
hard to get started. This little guy is doing really well though. I have no idea how long it takes to get it mature enough to actually produce limes but we'll see. My neighbors lime tree looks more like a bush and is always heavy with limes.

David's been out of town since early Monday morning. He's had a class in Dallas. Today is the exam and this evening he finally gets home. It's the longest trip he's taken this year so we have all been missing him! Sunshine especially as he runs with her in the early morning hours.
Walking with me just doesn't cut it for her any more. She's been restless and grumpy.

While I am awaiting final confirmation from SHSU, I expect to be graduating in May!! David and I are more than ready to see my education complete. I love school and learning and will probably continue to take classes for most of my life. However, school will no longer require so much time and energy after mid-May 2010. I'm not sure what I am going to do once I graduate. I asked David if it'd be ok if I just sat and stared at a wall for a few weeks. He said it'd be fine because he knows after a few hours I'll be bored and out searching for a fabulous job that I can throw myself into. Clearly I'm not so good at sitting about doing nothing.

I am most looking forward to FINALLY being able to upgrade my goofy green carpets to some sort of (hopefully) bamboo! We have been saving and anticipating since we moved in 2 years, 1 month, 1 week ago. We have a few things to do before we can start but it's getting closer. We hope to finish the tiling in the guest bath room and the laundry area in the next few weeks. First, we need to do a bit of painting in the guest bath. = )

2009-10-21T15:23:00.002-05:00

Pics of our garden from this morning. =)

Our little inside garden grew right out of our little starter boxes so I asked David to build me something that could be in the house for a while and then if the plants got too much could be moved out side. So now I have two of these little guys in the kitchen.

Our outside garden looks great! We should have fruits/veggies by Thanksgiving. How cool.

2009-09-26T19:35:00.003-05:00

I, David, am not sure what we have started. We now have more seedlings than what our little 4'x4' garden can handle. Of course the lime will not be in the garden. The seeds for the lime were harvested from our neighbors lime tree. We should start a show. "Gardening on a dime."

2009-09-21T16:10:00.004-05:00

GRACE

I have very little time for things beyond classes, work and studying. Last night, however, I climbed in bed before David (which doesn't happen much but I was beat and he was "on his way"). It takes a bit for me to fall asleep and the few times I've gone to bed only a few minutes before Hubs, I've been rousted just as I'm passing out and then it takes twice as long to get back to sleep.

Opportunity to read FOR PLEASURE!! Wow, I don't remember the last time although it's been within the last two weeks I think. I have been slowly working my way through "What's So Amazing About Grace?" by Philip Yancey. (Also rare because I typically peel through a book a day when I'm not in school and working part time.)

Last night I read this passage that has stuck with me, it followed a short story about a woman who watched her father act horribly to others including herself and how she passed it to her kids who in turn passed it to yet another generation:

"Grace is unfair, which is one of the hardest things about it. It is unreasonable to expect a woman to forgive the terrible things her father did to her just because he apologizes many years later, and totally unfair to ask that a mother overlook the many offenses her teenage sun committed. Grace, however, is not about fairness." (pg 80-81)

Wow. I'm not certain I've heard it put in such a manner. All the time we hear "it's not fair!" or "it's not my fault!" often saying such a thing ourselves and yet ....

2009-09-18T07:40:00.004-05:00

Smelly Dog

Tuesday evening I tried to put Sunny-girl to bed. She refused. Weird. So I stuck my head in her crate. *gag* It smelled TERRIBLE. (Normal people think this is normal - she's a dog. I typically wash the dogs bedding though, weekly. It's rare the bedding smells much because of the regular washing with added baking soda to the wash and vinegar to the rinse.)

Some how we must have missed a washing or something. She smelled terrible too. So I cleaned the crate and decided to deal with smelly dog the next day.

No doggie shampoo.

I found a website that said: mix 1 part clear antibacterial soap to 1 part white vinegar, mix well and wash dog. What the heck, anything would smell better than her nasty coat.

Surprisingly I LOVE the results. Today is Friday, and Sunny-girl is a dogs-dog. She will roll in anything dead, play in any amount of mud she can find, lay about in the yard where ever it's most messy (although she has standards, she does stay out of their waste - thank God) and so on. She still has no nasty odor. Despite rolling in something quite dead on our Wednesday evening walk. Her collar, on the other hand still stinks, despite soaking in solution.

After having such success I am looking into mixing laundry detergent now too. I purchased a huge bottle of it a few weeks ago while it was on sale and I had a coupon but when it's gone I'm seriously thinking about just mixing my own. So we'll see. The shampoo though - it'll be a huge money saver. A little goes a long way and it's really inexpensive to make.

(picture of Sunny coming up from a nice roll in the grass)

2009-09-16T08:03:00.003-05:00

11th Day of Gardening.

We are both really excited about how well our garden is doing. We got loads of rain for about four days (I think we got about 6-8 inches in 4 days) and it's not been great for our tomatos but everything else seems to be thriving.

2009-09-11T17:46:00.004-05:00

FALL GARDEN

On Monday David and I planted our first vegetable garden! We were pretty stoked. Down here the soil is really poor. Well it's not really soil. It's more along the lines of clay. Friends of ours that have gardens in this area usually do these square by square gardens. Since we have the space from removing our above ground pool, and the wood we kept when we removed the attached deck and some compost and soil, we decided to go for it. I measured it all out and David cut up the boards and used the old screws to hold the wood together. We lined the wood with cleaned sections of our old pool liner. So the entire garden is pretty much re-purposed material. While we did have to purchase some seeds I had saved some acorn squash and red bell pepper seeds. SO we planted: carrots, peas, green beans, broccoli, red bell pepper, jalapeno, tomato, cantaloupe, acorn squash and cucumbers. We already have little sprouts! We planted the tomato and jalapeno as little plants and they have grown some already also. Anyway we are pretty excited about the prospect of picking our own vegetables in about 50-75 days. If this plot does well, we hope to do a second in the winter. One nice thing about this area: 4 planting seasons!

2009-09-07T15:18:00.005-05:00

Office Chair Upgrade!!

For the past (almost) two years David and I have been making do with a metal folding chair as our "office chair'. I must say that after hundreds of hours seated in this chair I was loathe to spend another semester in it. For the past two weeks I have tried alternatives. The couch. The reclining double "man" chair. The kitchen. The floor. The trusty old metal folding chair with pillows.......

This weekend we finally purchased an upgrade. The sales were great and I had coupons and a paycheck. And a husband that said "Go buy whatever you like." Here is what I like. And, I have to add of course, at a steal of a bargain. = )

2009-09-07T15:13:00.002-05:00

Suits
A few weeks ago David and I hit the big sales over the "Tax Free Weekend" here in TX. We have friends that live about a mile from our home and we often call one another to share our great buy adventures. I called my friend and told her about the amazing deal we got on a new suit for David and she and her husband ran out to get one also. David and his friend wore the suits that Sunday to church. Aren't they handsome?? They made quite the splash in class. They both have lean bodies and their suits looked especially nice. We wives were quite pleased with our nicely dressed men folk. ;-)

2009-09-06T20:47:00.004-05:00

Catching Up

Since I ended with the post about our mystery snake it seems fitting that I start this long over due post about our snake. Basically I ended up killing him at the urging of our neighbor prior to learning his true identity. It turns out that my original instinct was correct in that he was not a harmful snake. I emailed two snake gurus with pictures of our backyard dweller and found this

"This is an essentially harmless, non-venomous, broad-banded water snake (Nerodia fasciata confluens). It's one of our prettier snakes, and can be distinguished from the copperhead by the lack of regularity in its markings."

The man who responded has a website to which he will be posting my pictures at some point:
http://bugsinthenews.com/

So my FIL and perhaps a few others were correct about the species of snake. I hate that I killed the poor thing (I'll spare the pictures) for several reasons. Not the least of which being that his presence would have prevented other, harmful, snakes from moving in.

Changing subjects abruptly:

VISIT TO CT
David and I were able to snag last minute-ish tickets for the both of us to get to visit my parents and extended family in early August. Originally I had intended to travel alone as the price of airfare was a bit steep. My grandfather was having a blow out party for his 80th Birthday and David and I decided it'd been too long since I'd seen them (three years in December). Thankfully when we were ready to purchase tickets, we found some for 1/2 the originally expected fare!! Yea us. =) Our visit consisted of sleeping in, eating, visiting and pretty much just being down right lazy. It was wonderful. My sister was also able to visit over the same dates (we didn't even plan it - it just happened) so David, myself and my sister were able to cook, bum around and eat way too much with my parents and family. We made the circuit enjoying great meals in our Grandparents home, my Aunts home and others. Everyone was really considerate about David's food allergies and he ate really well and didn't suffer a bit!! We were really thankful that my family was so thorough in their label reading and food preparation. Not even a stray miscellaneous "dextrose" or unknown "vinegar" was offered to David. HOW NICE!! We are adjusting here at home - it's becoming second nature, but it was a lot to ask of other people. We offered to bring food for David but everyone was great. (THANKS!!!! It really helped make our trip relaxing and "full-filling" for both of us.) David and I really enjoyed the opportunity to have no responsibilities or chores or anything. Our great neighbor provided doggie care in our home adding another layer of care free relaxation to our trip.

SCHOOL
I started two weeks ago. I have 5 classes. Lots of reading, homework and studying. Thankfully my schedule is a full Tuesday/Thursday rather than a few early morning classes and a few late night classes. It's been nice to be able to get on a sleeping schedule and STAY on it. I am continuing to work for now, three days a week (MWF) but the family I have been working for is actively looking for volunteers so I'm not certain if I will continue working through out the semester. I'm content either way I think. While I enjoy my time with the family, I realize that having more time in my own home wouldn't be a bad idea either. Right now we are all just waiting to see what happens.

PLEASURE READING
I have to make a quick note of a book I ran into at the Library Book Sale. Our library has a "Friends of the Library" book store. Books are basically between $.25 and $2 each and I typically browse their selection whenever I go to the library. I spotted "What's So Amazing About Grace?" by Philip Yancey and grabbed it up. I have hardly any time for pleasure reading, mostly I am reading textbooks but I sneak a page in here and there. I've read only about 70 pages or so but it's been thought provoking and influential already. The entire book is about Grace. I think a lot of churches have forgotten this aspect of Jesus' character. Yet, when one reads through the Bible the resounding message through Jesus' walk is grace and love. Forgiveness. Acceptance. The price of all sins having been COVERED, PAID IN FULL. Everyone last sin. Every grievance committed by us and against us. Punishment was delivered by Him who gives Grace. Definitely recommend reading this book. Slowly. This isn't a potato chip book by any means.

2009-07-27T16:34:00.002-05:00

I start school in FOUR WEEKS. I'm not ready yet. I've been looking at books and things. Thankfully my two most expensive books from last semester will be reused this coming semester saving us a few hundred bucks! I was excited about that. I also think that my business law text from a few semesters ago may work. *fingers crossed* If it works I only have to purchase two text books!!

We've been keeping busy with friends. Game nights where we eat together then play board games or card games have been a fun way to spend time with friends the last couple of weekends. Friends are such an enriching aspect of life. David and I enjoy one another a lot but having friends encourages us, strengthens us, challenges us and so on in ways that we can't reach on our own.

I'm still helping a family with the wife/mom three days a week. It's just enough to get me out of the house and keep my busy as well as assist with the expense of school. We're not sure what will happen at summer's end but there is a slight possibility that I will be able to continue to work for this family.

2009-07-10T12:44:00.004-05:00

SNAKE

A few mornings ago I opened the back door and allowed Sunny to pass. A typical, daily routine. Many times a day to be precise. She was already out the door when I saw the snake. It didn't have a problem with Sunshine passing but when I stepped out to attempt a better picture the bugger took off. So, does anyone know what type of snake this is??? Our backyard is currently a haven for snakes. Unintentionally mind you. David really doesn't like snakes. They don't much bother me but I realize we have many poisonous snakes here so I attempt to be cautious.

2009-07-10T12:08:00.004-05:00

Guestroom Ready.

I spent most of my free time in the last week or so readying our study. While I have gone in there about once a week to vacuum and do light dusting, I haven't done any deep cleaning since right before finals in mid-May. I've avoided the room quite well thank you very much. Since turning an extra room into a weight room we don't have a dedicated room for overnight visitors. Until today. We took my paycheck from last week and blew it on a futon, an egg carton mattress thingy, two table cloths (we'll get to that) and a plastic mattress cover. We still have a bit left and we are thinking about a small lamp for the room but we'll see. I wanted to make sure that the futon was completely washable. Being that it's going to serve as extra seating and a bed for company (and the fact I'm slightly OCD) I wanted a removable, washable, durable cover. To fit the mattress. I looked at futon specific covers and the least expensive was $40 and not very pretty. Or durable. So we went to Bed Bath and Beyond. One of my most favorite places because they allow me to use as many coupons as items I am purchasing. I keep all my coupons because they don't care about expiration dates. I don't go very often but when I do I can stay for hours. They have fabulous clearance items, which I can use my coupons on. I was looking for clearance sheets or blankets or something I could make a suitable futon cover with. I wasn't having much luck on the sheets. We were on our way out when I spotted clearance table cloths. Yippee!!! They were perfect. The right color (dark blue to match the color in my rug from London) and they had two in the size I needed. I was pretty excited, David was skeptical. "Think outside the box honey!!" Also, they were 8.99 a piece. The least expensive clearance sheets I could find at BBB were 19.99 and the least expensive (read really cheap product) sheets I could find at WallyWorld were 10.99. The thing about table cloths is that they are designed for use with food. Which means they usually wash really well. Especially when you buy the cheap ones you don't care about messing up. I purchased a white, clearance table cloth many moves ago. We can't stain the thing when we try.... =) Put a good cloth on the table however, different story. Also these table cloths were woven tight and had sturdy seams. We found a plastic mattress cover also (futon mattresses seem to love collecting dust and smells). Armed with my 20% off and $10 off coupons I got about $40 worth of goods for less than $20 (and that's with the clearance price of the table cloths. I think that they were originally close to $40 each). Don't be a square!!! Think outside the box and re-purpose items.

I busted out my sewing machine. It was wonderful. I haven't had time to sew since I went back to school 19 months ago. I made a piece for our living room which should be hung this evening and sewed together my table cloths. I just laid 'em out front side to front side and pinned them together. Then sewed 'em up leaving one of the short ends and about a foot of a side un-sewn. I think I am going to get a zipper but am still debating about picking up some big beautiful buttons. For now I just slid the mattress right in, like a pillow into a case. I have the plastic cover underneath the table cloth. Now I can take the entire thing off for washings and the plastic will deter dust and stinks. And can also be sterilized (I know I'm one of a kind.)

David hung our quilt from my Grandma. She made it for our wedding in lieu of a guest book our guests signed our quilt. We purchased some poster-art for our bedroom which didn't leave room for our quilt so we hung it here. It's beautiful and we love having it up again. I hung up a few pictures and the Kansas clock a co-worker made for David. It's not working but it's creative.

David's grand-dad had given us a really nice desk. Once we got the futon in the room we had to take some furniture out of the room. I asked David if we could separate the pieces but leave them intact so we could put them together again if we wanted. Now we have the top half as a mini-desk in the study and the bottom half in the living room. The desk in the living room looks much nicer than our folding table set up. I hadn't wanted the desk in here originally because of the size. With the top half, the desk is quite large and I didn't want it to be the focal point of our living room. I didn't get pictures of the desk but I will soon.

I also cleaned. From top to bottom. Washing the curtains and light fixtures. The whole nine yards. Let's just say it needed it. I had dusted the top of the fan from time to time but hadn't bothered taking down the glass parts and washing them. Time was an issue. And then desire. But I had motivation and time....

With the blaring white walls the despised carpet is even more hideous but time and $$$ will prevent me from painting. I would, however, like to paint this room. At some point. In the future. Like maybe in one year when I graduate.

And so we have a guest room. And our first guest will be here this evening. It's the first time we have had visitors while I am NOT in school or preparing for the upcoming semester since we first moved in. Should be fun, fun, fun.

2009-06-30T22:17:00.004-05:00

Consumed

Of late I have been completely immersed in finding "safe" foods for Hubs to eat. Including snack items until I have time to ensure all of my staples are safe and start cooking. I plan on making granola and granola bars tomorrow. It's all and well and fine for now but when school starts I'm not sure just WHAT we are going to do. I haven't seen a granola recipe yet that froze well. And as I don't add preservatives they have a relatively short shelf life.

None the less.

I am going to try and keep this blog for something other than the allergies and frustrations related to them as I have an entire blog dedicated to it.

The heat is getting unbearable. There was a slight break. The first day we didn't break 100 in a couple of weeks. We are still seeing a 30% chance of rain through most of tomorrow but it looks nothing like rain here now.

I have been watering our lawn. I noticed today that we have mandatory odd/even watering restrictions. Not sure how they enforce that. I have been doing my front lawn on one night and the back the next. It's a pain but when we finally get rain I want the ground to absorb it rather than have it roll around and be evaporated.

Typically I would work a 3 day week. Last week I worked each day and this week I will work Monday thru Thursday. Lori has been sick and so I have been needed a little more. She's a pleasure to be with but I am still tired. Haven't had as much time to get things done around the house so I will have to play catch up this weekend.

David and I are having a brunch on Saturday morning. It was something of a family tradition of David's growing up. We are having some friends from church and some neighbors over. I am making from scratch cinnamon rolls that David loves. A breakfast casserole that my mom always made on Christmas and a fruit salad. We haven't gotten much further than that on the menu but we are looking forward to having everyone over.

2009-06-30T08:04:00.004-05:00

Corn, peanuts and soy oh my!

We found out yesterday that David has food allergies. Specifically to corn, peanuts and soy. While there is a ton of information on wheat allergies it's difficult to find good information on the internet about corn allergies. And so a new blog is born.

2009-06-17T09:21:00.003-05:00

Sure Signs It's Summer

First white load of laundry in two weeks produced only one pair of socks
Electric bill more than doubled between April and May
The produce aisles at the market are teeming with beautiful fresh fruit
We are watering our lawn
My freckles are multiplying
I'm running laundry only in the wee hours of the morning, when it's coolest
I've stopped baking :*(
I can break a sweat walking two doors down
Our blinds and curtains are almost always closed, in an effort to help keep the house cooler
We're going to the neighborhood pool a couple of times a week!
The dogs think a good walk is around the block rather than around the neighborhood
I'm reading a book a day
We got 3 wedding invites, 2 baby shower invites and 1 pool party invite in one week

Happy Summer from H-Town - where we are DEFINITELY feeling the heat

2009-06-16T20:29:00.003-05:00

SUMMER

It's been HOT, in the mid-90's at least for several days - maybe a week - now in a row. No end in sight. Everyone is desperately watering their lawn in futile hope that it won't die. Most lawns look pretty brown indeed. Probably won't rain here for another week. Even I have our sprinkler out.

Sunshine loves the kiddie pool - going in and out so much that she sloshes enough water to merit a daily refill. She mostly prefers being out but often comes in for an hour or two nap in the A/C at the hottest part of the day.

Scratch - the big bum - just lays around. We can barely get him out in the heat to take a wee. He's taken to the couch.... Our neighbor came in through the garage today while David and I were out. She thought the dogs were out with me or something. Scratch didn't make a peep and as she was on her way out Scratch finally lumbered up for some lovin'. She called me at work to tell me what a marvelous watch dog we had. Such an alert and attentive safety system. We laughed about it for a while and figured that someone could pull everything out of the house but the couch and get away with it. I think he probably knows our neighbors scent. She's his BFF after all.

Not much is new. God orchrastrated an amazing job for me. I'm working 3 days a week for about 5 hours a day. It's in the neighborhood - close enough to ride my bike or walk. I'm assisting in the care of a young woman afflicted with MS. It's a wonderful job. I was afraid I'd end up with a night/weekend part time sales job at a WalMart or Target. I really didn't want to work 40 hours during my summer. And now I don't. No nights, no weekends and something I have really enjoyed thus far.

David is still plugging away. He's been taking a few more trips the last month or so than he has been since last years end.

Time to move the sprinkler around...

2009-06-01T09:22:00.004-05:00

Krazy Glue & Duct Tape

Our puppy Scratch was adopted from a little shelter in the sticks. It was suspected that he had been used as a starter dog for dog fights. You know - bait dog to get the fighters excited. He was terribly mistreated. When we brought him home he had a broken tooth in the front of his mouth that didn't seem to bother him much so we decided rather that knocking him out and pulling the tooth immediately we would watch it and see. Well over Memorial Day weekend that little tooth turned gray. *gag* So we scheduled for him to be drugged up and have that tooth removed. While we were paying for anesthesia we figured we would get the knot on his head removed as well. We were told it was "probably a benign fatty cyst" so there wasn't a hurry and have been ignoring that as well. On Wednesday morning I dropped Scratch off at the vet. I picked him up that evening minus one rotten tooth and one fatty cyst. It was basically, cosmetic surgery although we were told that it was a good call because they can turn cancerous. He was groggy and slower than normal on Thursday and extremely needy. I couldn't wee without him sitting there watching with big sad eyes. Everything was going fabulously Friday. By that evening he was perky enough to give Sunshine a great big whiff and attempt to mount her face. Wow. Steadily going down hill. On Saturday in anticipation of David coming home I started doing a good cleaning. Scratch wanted to go in the backyard and he had been doing well so I let him out. I was cleaning baseboards. I had a dust rag in hand and was crawling around the perimeter of the house wiping down our baseboards (yes, I know this is not normal but I do it regularly anyway). Sunshine thought this was fabulous fun. She was right on my tail end sniffing the perimeter and keeping pace. Every now and again head "butting" me. Literally. I finally tired of her antics and opened the door to let Scratch in and kick Sunny out.
"SCRATCH!!!" He had managed to rip open his incision. Including the internal stitches. "Sweet Jesus why does this ALWAYS happen when David is out of town?????" Attempted to ring every neighbor in my phone. Nothing. So I tried to keep the incision shut with everything from band aids to butterflies. Nothing. Got an Elizabethan collar from the neighbor. He hates it. My other neighbor arrived home from work 4-5 hours after our incident. Between myself, my neighbor and her boyfriend we were able to cleanse the wound with peroxide and betadine. We bandaged it with SuperGlue, Guaze and Duct Tape. What a handsome boy! David has decided we should wait and see how things go with him for a couple of days before taking him ot the vet. Just another adventure at the PsychoWard.

2009-05-26T12:02:00.004-05:00

Running away
David and I realized, about midweek, that we had a four day weekend that was arriving. We decided to bail on life for a couple of days. David had acquired enough points while traveling to cover the cost of a hotel and we haven't been away, just the two of us, for VACATION (ie: not visiting family, house hunting, or anything else) since we went to Mexico in '06. Enough is enough we needed to GET OUT. So we bailed. We dropped the dogs off at a kennel and hit the road. We went to San Antonio. Neither of us had been, we didn't know anyone that lived there and it was close enough that we wouldn't spend all day in the car. Also, they had a hotel with space that would accept our points in lieu of cash, last minute no less.

We parked our X in the hotel parking lot and didn't return until it was time to head home. We were able to walk every where. It was so nice to stretch our legs and enjoy one another. Basically we were able to walk out the back door of our hotel onto the Riverwalk. Not the busy section though, that was about .8 mile away. So we walked around, we ate out, we rode bikes, we took naps, we laughed and made silly jokes, we saw the Alamo, we stuck our feet in the pool (we were too lazy to change after walking for a few miles so we were content with just our feet in the water), we laid in bed and listened to the rain, we slept in, we walked the R iverwalk, we watched old movies on TV and we just chilled. How nice. Much needed and on a budget. We packed a cooler full of drinks, a bag full of snacks and stayed at a hotel with breakfast provided. We ate at the same place a few times because it was close and it was delicious. We haven't had really good Mediterranean food since we left Wichita (crazy I know but they had Bella Luna there and we would have happily eaten there weekly if given the opportunity). Oh and on our "way" home we tried a place that we happily drooled while reading the menu. And holy cow it was delicious. Worth the hour long wait for a table.

So now we are back to life. Relaxed, reconnected and renewed. David is taking a trip to KS for work and will be able to visit his family while there. We had been trying to figure out how we would manage a visit for me to CT and a visit for him to KS and CB&I solved the KS part for us. ;-) They obviously won't pay for me to accompany him but we're glad he's able to stay an extra day or so to visit his family. I'll hold down the fort here and start looking for a part time summer job. I'd like to find something I can do, at least until classes start again. Thus far most of the jobs require evenings and weekends which aren't really what I'm after. I'd like to have my evenings and weekends for family time. We'll see what turns up.

For more pictures click here.

2009-05-16T12:02:00.003-05:00

FINALS: COMPLETE

I finished my last final at about 5 on Thursday. Over all I think I did well. As I told my mom I can at least rest in the fact that I couldn't have done anything more. I studied about 90 hours in 7 days. Ridiculous I know. My grades are not in yet but I know I have lost my 4.0. I took six classes, three at night. I think that the three night classes are what did me in. ;-()

The big question of late is "When will you be done?" The answer? One year. I could have pounded through the summer and fall, taking heavy class loads and graduating in December, but David and I decided that it would be better for me to r.e.s.t. this summer. I have been in school year round for over a year, working while taking classes for some and taking toooooo many classes for the rest of the time. I probably will not walk. I didn't walk for high school graduation. I didn't walk for my AA graduation. I would rather just have a ginormous party. I'm not a super sentimental person and spending hours in line to pick up an empty folder just isn't my cup of tea. Please drop it in the mail and I'll see it when it gets here.

So, what are we going to do this summer??????????? That's the next big question. We don't know. We are hoping that David will be sent to some jobs that are within driving distance so I can tag along for a couple of days away at the company's expense.

I'm not sure who is more happy about my taking a break from school. David or me. David got me the flowers in the picture. They are starting to open and just beautiful.

Happy no classes!

2009-05-11T20:13:00.003-05:00

Prayer for clarity

Hello readers, I have a final at 8am tomorrow morning. My friend pointed out that she really thought I should be praying for clarity as I enter my exams. This makes sense. I have definitely put in the time and effort to prepare for the exams (I have 4 total). Please pray that as I go to take my finals I will have clarity of mind as I end this long, tiring semester.

Thanks!!

UPDATE: Picture of finals week
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=94679&id=678116408&l=b911d1009a

2009-05-04T19:54:00.002-05:00

Finish line in sight

15 weeks of classes down, one to go. Three exams tomorrow back to back, then a project is due, a test tomorrow, and a test Thursday to round out my last week of classes. Then finals. *Hopefully* I will be taking only 4/6 finals. Two of my professors have said that they would drop our lowest exam score - including the final so if we choose to skip the final it's a 0 and it's dropped. Nice. If I do well - even if I do only mediocre I won't have to sit for the final. I am praying that will be the case. If I have to take all the finals I will have two 8am finals (one Tuesday and one Thursday). On Wednesday night I have a final from 8-10 PM. Yes, at night - not a typo. For those of you that know me - I am lucky to be up after 9pm never mind functioning. It will be really hard to be taking that final (which is going to be taken - it is required and CAN NOT be missed) and then turn around for an 8am-er.

David and I sat on the couch for a minute after dinner. I told him I was weary. Just tired. Not "I stayed up too late over the weekend" tired but bone weary want a week of no responsibilities tired. I'm hoping to make a large batch of granola and some bread following finals. We have been eating boxed cereal and basic white bread (it's home made but I typically make more complicated bread with bolder flavors and textures). Rough life I know.

I have been working out and watching intakes to some degree for about two weeks now. I have noticed a difference in how I feel but have lacked a reference point for physical improvement. (We intentionally do not have a scale in the house.) David took pictures yesterday. I was surprised by two things: One, a year without a gym membership hasn't made HUGE, or terribly DRASTIC changes to my body (thankfully) but Two: my arms are fat. Yuck. I haven't really had a way to work those muscles until two weeks ago (I'm glad I didn't see them two weeks ago).

The bachelor pad down the street is a prime place to borrow workout DVD's so I have been doing P90X for a few days now. I can hardly walk today after doing the legs and back work out yesterday. Holy Cow. It's a great workout. David is in the process of installing a pull-up bar for me. From the ceiling. I didn't like the "doorway" versions and wanted one from the ceiling. Hubs is after that task in a hurry. Will post pics of weight room when installation is complete. Thus far it's taken the better part of two evenings.

2009-04-28T16:06:00.003-05:00

Flooding.

We experienced flooding in our neighborhood. Thankfully our street was the least flooded. I have pictures from our street here:
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=92050&id=678116408&l=c16fc8e140

We are OK, our Puppies are great, our home is fine, our vehicles are fine. And the sun is shining.

It was a little scary to come home, as usual for a quick lunch before my next class, and see vehicles abandoned at the corner entrance to our neighborhood. Then cars flooded up to their windows in the streets off the main drag. I called my neighbor and asked if my house was flooded. I had a brief moment of panic that I would arrive to our home and find our dogs sitting in three inches of water. Thankfully not at all the case but the street and yard were under. I called David "Hey so the water is above the curb and I'm heading home..." He said he thought I would make it - the Xterra has one of the highest clearances in it's class. Ha. Wow. I was tired coming home but I'm feeling pretty jazzed now. ;0)

2009-04-24T19:16:00.004-05:00

Home Gym

So. I told David I was tired of feeling fat. I'm not *fat* and I know it, but up until about a year ago I have held a gym membership. One of the changes in our finances was letting that go. I still walk the dogs every day but it's not the same for me as lifting weights or doing yoga. I have now overhauled the former guest room into a gym. David had the weight bench and a few weights from pre-marriage. I had a jump rope and yoga mat. Mom sent us outside toys (volleyball, soccer ball ...) for Christmas. The neighbor had a treadmill that was taking up space in their garage and David and I had Birthday money from my Grandparents and a coupon to Sports Authority. I took everything out of the room and moved what we had in. Then I talked to the neighbor about storing their treadmill in our house rather than their garage. She had mentioned it before but we hadn't done anything about it until last weekend when David moved it in to our guest room. We hit Sports Authority and hauled home a bar for the weights and bench and two 25 pound weights. Then I dug some make do metal "shelving" that was in the guest closet and had David hang them (not shown, pics taken before shelving installed) on either side of the big window. We set up the laptop on one and the sports equipment and the two workout related books we had on the other. Ta-da. Weight room extraordinaire. I'm so happy with it. I have been in there every day. Sunny gets on the treadmill with me while I walk to warm up prior to running. It's a really good mental and physical work out for her and when I am ready to run, she lays beside the treadmill watching intently. THANK YOU mom for the sports equipment, Grandpa & Grandma for the weight bar and weights and Jennifer for allowing us to "store" the treadmill. Having it right there makes it so easy to walk in and lift for a few minutes when I start getting sleepy. Also, due to my ridiculous allergies I haven't been able to really run outside in a while (I have both exercise and allergy induced asthma attacks and combined it's a nightmare) so it's really nice being able to run again. Double bonus that the room is air conditioned and has a nice ceiling fan!

2009-04-22T16:17:00.003-05:00

HOT in April

From weather.com
Sunny
88°F
Feels Like
88°F

The above is totally true. It's sunny and hot. Hope this isn't an indication of things to come. The dogs acted like I was killing them when I took them out earlier. Ten minutes and they have been in sleeping for two hours.