Tuesday, December 16, 2008

16 weeks=4 months

=I look pregnant. Kind of. :)
This is what happens when your husband is like twice as tall as you, all the pictures look like someone stood on a chair!
All is well with the babe, we got to hear the heartbeat last week and of course that was magical. We go for another ultrasound on January 8 to find out the gender!

Monday, December 15, 2008

twilight


We are hooked.

We have seen the movie twice now and borrowed the book from a friend. After both racing through it we went to the store and bought Twilight and New Moon because we just wanted to read them again and again. Upon checking out at Barnes & Noble, the cashier said to me, "I took the liberty of including a gift receipt for both books."

HAAAAAAAAAAAA!


Apparently young adults are not supposed to be devouring reading these books.


Also, we were trying to use cash this weekend so when we went to buy the books I used a big stack of one dollar bills and a few stacks of quarters to pay. And he still thought I needed a gift receipt?!


HAAAAAAAAAAAAA!


J

Friday, December 12, 2008

surprise!


Yesterday we got a very special surprise in the mail. A Moby wrap! This came from Uncle Brian and Aunt Tamara who used it for Ethan and are sharing the good with us now! We were so excited. Well I was more excited at first because Josh initially did not know what it was. Then we both tried it on and I wore it around the house while I was getting dinner ready. With a stuffed animal inside it! Ok we are dorks but we are excited to wear our baby and be able to get work done at the same time!

Here is a preview of me wearing a monkey...


I doubt our baby will be this small but that's ok!

Have a great Friday!

Wednesday, December 10, 2008

have heart

We got to hear the heartbeat today. It is always so reassuring to get these reminders because I get so worried in between the doctor appointments that something is going to happen. And would you believe I didn't even ask what the heart rate was so there will be no guesses if this is a boy or a girl. We will find that out by ultrasound in January! Other than that, everything else looks good and the doctor said that Josh can help out with the delivery and hopefully will be able to "catch" the baby! Is there a better word than catch for this? I feel like saying catch means it is trying to get away. HA!
In other excitement, I just saw this today and think we will need one. Josh said he doesn't want a wimpy looking stroller, I think this will do it!
Have a good day!

Thursday, December 4, 2008

stealing

I totally felt like I was stealing when I found this great deal a few weeks ago. My first pouch sling! It was on clearance at our local Target for only $7.46!! And the only one in my size. It is so fun and it is reversible. I wore it around the house that night when I got it I was so excited. Seriously.

new

Hey if you would like to see what we have really been up to lately, check this out.
Have a great day!

Wednesday, December 3, 2008

cloth diapers

We plan to use cloth diapers when the baby comes so I took advantage of the Black Friday sales at JoAnn's and stocked up on flannel and other supplies. We are planning to use fitted diapers with a cover. I made three diapers on Friday as soon as I got home and got the fabric washed. It was a lot of fun and also a great learning experience. The pattern I used ended up being pretty big for a newborn so I am going to need to modify that for the rest of them. Here are a few pictures. I got about 6 or 7 different flannels but here are just the 3 that I started with. They are so cute!!
Lacey helped me pick out the fabric and also waited in line with me to get everything cut. They had huge lines you would not even imagine it was that crazy.
The website I have mainly been using for the diapers is here.




We will probably also purchase some all-in-one diapers to be used with babysitters or long days out and about.

Sunday, November 30, 2008

snow dog


So this was yesterday—Charlie and her cute little scarf. My MIL, Linda, showed me this great idea and Charlie loved it.


And this is today, she loved it so much, the scarf is now missing. It is missing some pieces that ended up in her belly so it doesn't quite fit now! We WILL make another one because that scarf was just so adorable!

We have gotten a lot more snow today! And Josh is working so I am most definitely stuck at home NOT shoveling the driveway like he did this morning. Sorry dude, your work is now all covered with about 6 more inches of snow. Dad, can you come shovel the driveway? I'll make you chocolate chip cookies!!

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14 weeks

I think I will take the rest of the weekly shots in this format. Wet hair, no makeup, let the camera cover my face and there you have it. ;) Just kidding. Sorry, Mom!

It's a snow day here people! It has been snowing all morning and I don't know when it is going to stop. Josh is at work and here I am trying to photograph myself and this sweet little baby that is growing ever so quickly!




This was the night before, I don't know how the bump looks so huge here but maybe I needed to go to the bathroom or something. =) We went to see The Nutcracker. It was very fun.

Have a blessed day! Thank you for your prayers.

Tuesday, November 18, 2008

changeling

Well this is our 100th post and I am going to blow it on a quick movie review. Not a big deal. :)
This weekend we saw the movie Changeling. Since we no longer have a TV and don't see all the previews we really didn't know too much about the movie before going to see it. Based on a true story, the movie was very touching. Angelina Jolie did a fantastic job and although I am not usually a fan of her and her lips I thought she was great in this role. At the end of the movie most everyone in the theatre stayed seated for a little longer than they would after a comedy or lighter content movie.
If you are not familiar with the story, a woman, Christine Collins leaves her son at home on a Saturday while she goes to work as a manager at a telephone operator company. In the movie she tells him they will go see a movie on Sunday but in another description of the actual story I read that she left him with a dime to go see a movie. This happened in the late 20's. So, Christine returns home from work later that day to an empty house. Her sweet son has disappeared. She calls the LA Police and they tell her they won't take a missing person report until the person has been missing for 24 hours so she calls back as soon as she can the next day. Time goes by and eventually the police return her "son" who has been "found" in Illinois. At first glance Christine says it is not her son and thus begins the meat of the story. Through the process of trying to prove that this boy is not her son it becomes evident to Christine how corrupt the LAPD is and a local pastor enlisted his time to help her. It is a very frustrating story as you watch this mother be so committed to finding her son and be shut down time after time.
I have been reflecting on the movie since we saw it and I just can't imagine dealing with something like that but I know it happens every day. Innocent people are put in jail to serve time for someone else's bad actions, innocent people lose their lives, and innocent people are forced to suffer through horrible circumstances. It has forced me to think and to wonder if I am doing all that I can to help innocent people. Could we sponsor another child? Could we fill more than 2 shoe boxes this Christmas? Could we bring more than a few cans to the canned food drive? To me, those are just little things compared to the injustice that so many people are faced with every day. I'm not going to go on with this thought but I am sure you can think of many of the injustices in our world today.
If you need a movie to see I would recommend Changeling but be aware, this story could move your soul.

Thursday, November 13, 2008

baby wearing

This week is International Babywearing Week. While I am proudly wearing our baby internally right now I do plan to wear this sweet little thing on the exterior once they make their entrance into this world! Josh and I have both been interested in babywearing since before we even wanted to have a baby. We like the natural part of it and it just seems so much healthier to us than some of the other ways to carry a baby but to each their own really. We believe that each parent will learn what is best for their child and that is what they should do. So when this little person arrives in May I will be sporting a cute little sling and Josh has asked for something in camo. He likes the pouch style slings and so do I.
I don't remember how I found her but I have grown to really enjoy Stephanie's blog. She is a very talented babywearer and mom. She has a lot of great wisdom to share and I think we would be friends if we ever met. I like her style. She is also hosting a wonderful giveaway right now that would be pretty sweet to win, a sling fron Nonny and Boo!

Also, I don't even know if I've ever left you a comment Stephanie so here's to de-lurking as well. :) Thank you for sharing your life through the internet!

tag

Ok I've been tagged at 2 different blogs now and one was for 6 random facts and the other was for 7 random facts so I'll do 7 just to keep it real. Here are the rules…

1. I was tagged by sarahbee and amber.

2. Share 7 facts about yourself on your blog - some random, some weird.

3. Tag 7 people at the end of your post by leaving their names as well as links to their blog.

4. Let them know they have been tagged by leaving a comment on their blog.

5. If you don't have 7 blog friends, or if someone else already took dibs, then tag some unsuspecting strangers.

I'm not going to tag anyone else but if you would like to do this on your blog leave me a comment saying you have done this and I will definitely check out your blog and your random facts!

Fact: I had a very strange feeling that Josh and I would be together for quite a while the very first time we went out.

Fact: He had a similarly strange feeling as well. I don't know why it took us so long to figure it out. HA! Just kidding, it didn't take that long.

Fact: I love to watch football and baseball.

Fact: I would love to open a little bakery/café/shop some day and sell sweet treats and yarn.

Fact: I gagged 3 times this morning while trying to brush my teeth, my front teeth, not anything in the back or my tongue or what have you but the front of my mouth. And still I gagged.

Fact: Favorite hobbies would be knitting, reading, playing games, baking or cooking, and shopping.

Fact: I have been working on a very special new blog which I will soon be giving you a link to!

Have a blessed day!

Wednesday, November 12, 2008

11 weeks

We heard a lovely little heartbeat yesterday! And got to see the little monkey waving their arms around! What a refreshing and amazing thing to see! God surely is an awesome Creator. I don't know how anyone could think otherwise.

Well, the belly is starting to pop out. It is harder and harder to suck it in each day. Actually I've stopped trying to suck it in. :) No nausea today, maybe it is done!
Props to the Bella Band. Actually, praise God for the creaters of Bella Band because now I don't have to put on gym pants every night as soon as I get home from work. The Bella Band lets my pants still fit without having to spend an arm and a leg to get new clothes right now!
Here is a picture of the little belly.






Guest Blogger, Beware, Guest Blogger

A special thank you to my mom who has so graciously provided text as a guest blogger. Josh and I have been so busy lately working on many projects and one very big one that this blog has sadly taken a backseat. We do have some very, very exciting updates to come soon!
_________________________________________________________________
Hello all you readers and friends of Josh and Annies’ blog. I am a guest blogger who does read this space from time to time and I have noticed a shortage of reading material. So, rather then message them I have offered to fill a bit of this blog with some thoughts of my own! I am not quite ready to create my own blog so I’ll just try out this one and see how I do.

The young Easterling’s have been very busy lately. For the past month they have been working on home improvements. We have been fortunate to have been included in some of those improvements. We, being parents of Annie, in-laws to Josh, and “puppy-Grands” to Charlie, (probably one of the sweetest Labs in the State of Colorado) are Gary and Pam.

The improvements I am talking about have been putting in new windows for a nice tight home. Gary shared that this process was about blood, sweat and tears! We arrived in CoSP on Monday afternoon and the work began. The men put in one window and rested. Well, it was late, nearly supper and the sun had gone down! You could just see the wheels turning as they discussed the next window, how they would improve on the process, what supplies they would need to run to the store for etc. Ah, men on a mission. Then off to sleep and dreams of saws, trim, hammers and some special yellow foam insulation.

Tuesday was a new day and after a trip to H.D. (closer than Lowes) the windows were being re-placed and the home was shaping up nicely. Along the way Josh had to rescue Gary by replacing the end of his thumb….okay placing a bandage over a nice little gash! (Although there was enough blood loss to make you think the thumb was gone) The sweat part came in the afternoon. Even though the weather was cool, men at work just get sweaty! By the end of the day, towards evening, after sunset, the final window was secured for the night. What was planned to take 2-3 days was completed in about one and a half. Mission accomplished. (ah, yes, they are both that kind of man….one mind, one mission, “get ‘er done”)

Now what do two men with time on their hands do? Well, the guys found a few nice little jobs to fill in the remaining time of our visit. Gary purchased new carpet for the other daughter’s house on Villa and on Thursday what was put in. Josh and Gary were the movers of the huge couch, up and back down the stairs. Also several outlets replaced there and the lawn raked and mowed. Later they started an electrical project of hanging new lights on the Easterling’s garage. They put their heads together and even opened a book to help get the lights to work in harmony. Never happened, and that had them stymied, but eventually with the help of “Bo” the job is now completed. I would like to add that as we flew home, Gary was still trying to think of why the lights didn’t work as wired.

And that is where the tears come in. Yes, it is hard to leave your family, get on the plane and fly home. So much was accomplished on this “work and witness” trip. We did some work, we not only witnessed family love but were a part of if, but realized that being a part of your adult children’s life is such a gift. No matter the distance.


Thursday, October 30, 2008

nausea

The sickness has begun. It started with just nausea which I could easily deal with. Then last week driving home from the gym one morning I couldn't control it. I lost the few crackers and Vernor's I had to tide me over until breakfast. This happened in the car, mind you. Then the next day it happened at home. There have been a few other times and of course it's not that bad but it's definitely not the most fun!
So sorry for the TMI!
Anyway, most days I just feel nauseous. I have a few more weeks until they say it should settle down so we will see. It is interesting how your body reacts to this. The little person is the size of a grape today and has arms and legs. The joints are developing and it can move the arms and legs around. The tail, gone! Maybe it will still have a small tail though, that would be cute.
Pictures coming soon! I have a very tiny little bump right now.

Thursday, October 23, 2008

announcing baby easterling

This is how big the baby is right now, a kidney bean. Or a raspberry. About .6 inches long. It has little arms and legs and a head where eyelids have formed.
We are currently at 8 weeks and 5 days. Soon we will be telling the world that we are expecting a little bundle of joy but in the meantime here are some pictures to document this momentous time.
We are thrilled (and a little freaked) that God would bless us with a child. He is such an amazing Creator. And to think that just 8 weeks ago this little being was not even formed yet but was being prepared...for us. For such a time as this.
I have been thinking about how amazing it is that it was God's plan for these cells to meet and grab hold of each other and create this little living thing to grow into such a blessing. How it was not a surprise to God, at all. It was God's love. It is interesting to think about creation, when God saw that Adam was alone and needed a companion, he took part of Adam and created Eve. Out of love. And then he saw that it was good. And when we look at a relationship with God, how at one time this person had a choice to meet and grab hold of their Creator and they grab hold. You see their life change and they become a blessing. They become a picture of love. And when two people who God has drawn together, just like those little cells, grab hold of each other and don't let go you see an amazing creation called love. I think creation is Love in its finest form.
It is quite a surreal feeling to think that something was being formed in my body and I didn't even know it. That God did not only create my body as a temple for his Spirit to dwell but that he created my body to grow one of His creations. And as it continues to grow, our love for this little bean continues to grow. Love is such an overwhelming thing. But. Love. Is. Enough.

Wednesday, October 8, 2008

Pesto Cream Sauce

I'm sorry there won't be any pictures of this but next time I make it I will try to remember to take some pictures.

This sauce is really very simple to make and is delicious to eat.

You start by making pesto or you can buy it if you are into wasting money like that (just kidding, kind of). Go to your local farmer's market and they will probably be selling basil for some absurdly low price like 2 bunches for $1. If you buy this much basil you will have like 3 batches of pesto. Pull the leaves off the basil and put them in your salad spinner. Fill up the bowl and cover the leaves with cold water. Shake off the water and pour it out of the bowl. If you don't have a salad spinner, put the leaves in a strainer and fill your sink with water, then drain the water. Rinse the leaves again and then spin them a few times to get all of the water off.

Now to make pesto, I use a very simple recipe….are you ready for this?

Get out your blender and load it full of basil leaves, pine nuts, and olive oil. Grind. Chop. Mix. Whatever you need to do. Make sure all the pine nuts and basil are chopped up to little tiny pieces. Oh, you want to know how much to use? Hmmm..

I use about 3-4 cups of basil leaves, 1 cup of olive oil, ½ cup of pine nuts and then I added a pinch of garlic and Kosher salt for some flavor. Add more olive oil as you see fit.

So you made your pesto, it is great to put on pizza or pasta or you can freeze it and save it for later.

Now let's say you want some pasta with pesto but you want it to have some depth to it and not just be plain pesto. Here is when you should make the pesto cream sauce!

To make the cream sauce:

You make a simple Bechamel sauce and then add pesto. Easy as 1-2-3.

To make a Bechamel sauce you do the following:

2 Tbsp Butter

2 Tbsp Flour

1 ¼ Cups Milk

Melt the butter in a saucepan, stir in the flour and stir until the flour is dissolved to a paste. You want it to start bubbling but not change colors. This happens pretty quick. Next you add your milk and continue to stir. Let the milk boil. Lower the heat, add your pesto and cook. Stir the sauce for about 2-3 minutes. If you want it to be more like an alfredo sauce with the pesto, add some parmesan cheese. If you want it be cheesier, add some mozzarella cheese. Keep stirring until the cheese is melted. I usually add about ¼ to ½ cups pesto. It will turn a nice shade of green. Don't worry, it will taste so good you can overlook the color. Hope you try this, it is very tasty!

Monday, October 6, 2008

Back in the saddle again

Hello, we are back. I had the flu last week and was pretty much lazy so that meant no blogging. I could hardly get enough energy to read all of the blogs that I like to read. So we are back and ready to post again. A forecast of what you can expect to see this week…pictures from Josh's birthday party (only 10 days late), a recipe for Creamy Pesto Sauce, a fun knitting project, something from Josh.

Ok that should do it. Just wanted to let you know we are still alive and kicking, just a little bit slow these days.

Tuesday, September 23, 2008

rockies game!

We also went to a Rockies game on Saturday and here are a few pictures from that...

Pictures from the Rockies Game

They lost but we still had fun. And I got to eat nachos with extra jalapenos. YUM.
We rode the Light Rail to Denver from Orchard Station which I would definitely recommend doing if you are going to the game. It is so much easier to just park and ride the train than to go downtown and find parking and deal with traffic.

Monday, September 22, 2008

Puppy Party!

Well, we survived the Puppy Party! On Sunday we had 11 dogs at our house, 9 of which were Labs. Charlie and Toby turned 1 so we thought it would be fun to have everybody over. Valeen (Toby's owner mom) and I made a ton of treats for dogs and humans. We had a great time watching all the dogs play. I don't think there is too much else to say. Probably the hit of the party was little miss Belle who is Daron and Rachael's new Golden Retriever puppy!

You can see pictures here…

Puppy Party 2009

Wednesday, September 17, 2008

Whole wheat Wednesday


So the V is backwards. Now I'm trying to decide if I want to switch it around. I probably will but it will take some time to get that high on my list again. J


I've been doing a lot of baking lately and would you believe I didn't take any pictures to show you. We now have homemade biscuits, pita bread, and hamburger buns in the freezer. I can't believe how cheap it is to make this stuff. A note to any of you who would like to do your baking with whole wheat flour instead of white flour…it is very simple to make this switch you just need to buy yourself a little box of Vital Wheat Gluten. You may have tried using all whole wheat flour (wwf) in a previous recipe and it just didn't taste right nor did it have the correct texture. You may be using half white flour and half whole wheat flour to correct this. This is a fine set up but not my preferred way to work. Well my friends, the answer lies in this cute little box.


When you are baking your goods whether it is cookies, bread, biscuits, etc. and have used all wwf without adding gluten or using a high gluten flour, your goods will probably be bitter and very heavy. Almost like the texture and heaviness is too thick to eat. You will want to add in some gluten to give your product more chewiness and what gluten also does is holds together moisture so your baking will be more moist and fresh. The gluten won't add tons of extra carbs but it does add some. While most traditional recipes are created using All-Purpose Flour you can easily substitute wwf as you see fit when you understand how much gluten to add in. They do sell wwf with higher gluten content as well as ww pastry flour but if you are cheap like me you can do it this way.


From what I have been reading and trying to understand, gluten is the protein that works with yeast and helps it to stretch and rise. When you are making any kind of yeast bread adding some gluten to your wwf will make all the difference. In the hamburger bun recipe it uses 3 cups of flour and ¼ cup of gluten. The directions on the box say about 2-3 tsp of gluten to 1 cup of flour so the ¼ cup could probably be reduced a little bit. As you work with wwf and gluten you will see where you need to adjust. When I bake cookies using all wwf I will add just a little bit of gluten (maybe 1 tsp) because I don't want the cookies to be super airy but I also don't want them to be rock hard and a pain to eat. This seems to work well.


I have not yet tried wwf for things like gravy or cream sauces and I don't know if I will…I just always have some all-purpose flour on hand for those types of things. Maybe I will start with the half and half approach and just see what happens.


Do any of you use wwf? Do you use it only for baked goods or all sorts of stuff?



And because I kept using it...

Monday, September 15, 2008

weekend project


Ok, here is the weekend project I worked on a few weeks ago. I started this project after I went to Hobby Lobby to get yarn for a little baby sweater. I grabbed my yarn and then decided to wander the store for some inspiration since Josh was at work. An hour later I left the store with two bags of goodies. OOPS! =) And I also told Josh he wouldn't be able to eat out for a few days.

So in my bag o' goods I had the following: 2 skeins of yarn (for above mentioned sweater), 2 cans of spray paint, 4 wooden letters, sewing machine thread for hemming my pants. I think that was it although now I can't figure out why it took two bags to carry all that few items.

Anyway, I got home and told Josh I would be knitting all night because I did fully intend to do that but then I got trapped in this fun project.

The 4 letters I grabbed at HL were: E, V, L, and O.

What does that spell?

LOVE!

Our bed is that nice shiny bright red so I decided to first give the letters a coat of red spray. After that dried I had also grabbed some metallic copper spray paint and gave them a light dusting with that. Then I nailed a hole through each letter, 2 holes on the V and strung some leftover hemp string through the holes. I knotted the hemp on each side of the hole so that the letters wouldn't slide all over the place and because I'm anal about things being spaced just so. Then I tied two loops at the end of the string and hung those on the wall with some upholstery tacks. I never asked permission to put these things straight into the wall but I figure they leave smaller holes than nails so, who care? As it turns out the paint job looks almost orange which is fine by me. The end goal is to now surround the letters with pictures representing love—most likely wedding pictures and maybe some with friends but it's our bedroom so it seems kind of weird to hang pictures of friends on the wall across from the bed...if you catch my drift.

Here is the almost finished product.
My only question, is the V backwards? I couldn't figure out if it really mattered what side the thick side was on.

Friday, September 12, 2008

biker boys


Ok I got this picture from my mom today along with a few others and it just about killed me it was so cute. This is my nephews again posing with my dad and his bike. I love how Jackson (on the bike) is all squinty in that huge helment and Tucker (being held) seems to be looking for somewhere else to go. And the typical Dad smile just brings a smile to my face. Also notice the gloves that J is wearing. I bet they had fun trying on all their Grandpa's motorcycle gear. I am also about as excited as Jackson to finally see this motorcycle in person. My dad got it not too long ago so we haven't seen him since he got it. I don't know if he has started riding it to church yet but I know he and my mom have been using it and enjoying it quite a bit. I'm envious!
Happy Friday!
ae

Wednesday, September 10, 2008

then & now



I haven't had much to blog about lately and finally got some inspiration.

This weekend is Charlie's first birthday. Yeah for all you dog haters we are the kind of dog owners who celebrate these things. We will be having a birthday party the following weekend for Charlie and her brother Toby. So in honor of that I thought I would post some photos of Charlie and Toby when they were just little pups and then some of what they look like now. Obviously Charlie is the black lab. Look how stinking cute she is in that picture by herself. She was so TINY! These pictures were taken about 2 weeks before we got her. Toby is the very light yellow lab.

They have gotten much bigger! Toby is definitely bigger than Charlie now although the pictures don't show it very well.



Friday, September 5, 2008

it's a fiesta!

We had our first dinner guests since receiving our fabulous Fiesta Ware so of course I took some pictures of the set up. I don't know what it is about the Fiesta line but I just love the splash of color it adds to a table. There are some times when I truly enjoy eating off of a plain white plate so that will probably be the next addition to our collection. But, the color combinations are so fun. I had to get flowers because my mom said so. :) She was right, they look nice!
To some of you it might be weird that I am so excited about a colorful dining table but Josh and I both just love hosting people and preparing food. With both of those things it is like 80% based on presentation (I think). SO the table and settings really complete the meal. And that, my friends, is why it excites me! Knowing that you prepared a delicious meal and then serving it on a pretty plate is so much fun.



Tuesday, September 2, 2008

the weekend

We had a very full weekend but it was very fun.
On Friday night we had dinner and bowling with a bunch of friends. We ate dinner at one of our favorite places, had this TO.DIE.FOR. cake, and then went bowling. I got some nice gift cards too, thanks friends! Then on Saturday Josh had to work so I got up early and went to the balloon launch with Lacey and her roommate. Took lots of pictures. It was fun. But very early.
Then went to the farmer's market and got some smokin' deals on produce. So got busy making salsa and cleaning the house up. After I took a 4 hour nap...
Haven't done that in a very long time.
So Sunday we went to church and heard a great sermon. Then went to Josh's parent's house for some carrot cake and to receive my b-day gift from them. Totally cool gift, can't wait to use it. I got an AeroGarden. It is so cool. Put it together this morning though and pump does not work so have to exchange it.
Also, in other gifts I got 2 more place settings of Fiesta Ware and 1 set of fruit dishes. Also, got the towels I was hoping for and a gift card to Target. WooWOoO!
Never have I received this many gifts for my birthday. It was crazy. I am feeling quite overwhelmed today.
So moving on, Sunday after church and gifts we went and played some baseball with Lacey and then napped. Lots of naps this weekend, I enjoyed it. After the nap, anniversary celebration!! We go out for hot wings each month to celebrate so this time was no different. We went to Rock Bottom and watched the CU vs. CSU game while enjoying some wings and Titan Toothpicks. Good stuff, too much grease though.

All in all it was a great weekend!

Friday, August 29, 2008

gifts

Last weekend we celebrated our anniversary because this weekend we will be celebrating my birthday.

Well actually we will be going out for our traditional HOT WINGS dinner on our anniversary day but the main celebrating will be my b-day. We have done the hot wings thing each month on the last day to have some sort of celebration. Josh and I both LOVE wings and we try our best to not eat them throughout the month so that they are special on the last day. Usually it works out this way but sometimes we just can't resist and have to have them a few times.

Since we designated last weekend as the anniversary celebration Josh presented me with a very special surprise gift.

This fantastic ring that you see...he worked extra shifts at work and did some projects for his mom to save up his very own money to pay for this. I love it and I love his efforts to do something this special for me. I never thought I would have jewelery this nice let alone rings on each hand now and the necklace and earrings he bought for me in the past. He truly is such a gracious guy.

Isn't this ring amazing? It is *I think* 1 carat total weight on the diamonds and then has little sapphires in between the bands (as you can see). =)


I was trying to take the photos with my left hand so it's hard to get the full effect...

Thursday, August 28, 2008

anniversary

Well this weekend is the 1-year anniversary of our wedding. The year has surely flown by for us. God has blessed us immensely throughout this year. We are thankful for the things he has gifted us with and the ways he has guided our lives together. This last weekend we had the great privilege of going to stay the night at The Castle at Glen Eyrie. It was amazing! We also got to hike to the Punch Bowls. I had a few falls on the rocks and got pretty banged up but it was a lot of fun. It was one of the more challenging hikes we have done together and Josh did an amazing job as my leader. That is an area where we have seen some growth. Not so much a problem with Josh leading but with me following. :) In the past when we would do tough hikes like this it would be quite difficult to work together and trust each other but this time we did a great job communicating and helping each other out. Well, mainly Josh helped me but it was a lot of fun! And no arguments or raised voices (except for my screaming as I fell) made for a very, very enjoyable time together enjoying God's creation. **I am adding clarification here to let you all know that I tend to get a little cranky when we hike and a certain man enjoys pushing me to go harder when I would just prefer to sit down so that is where the "raised voices" come in..mainly from my whining!)**

Another great event coming up is my birthday. I don't need to say anything else about this, you know what to do. ;)

To see the pictures of our trip, click the picture below...

anniversary getaway

Tuesday, August 26, 2008

Making the Cut

Some of you more dedicated readers may remember when I started posting my fitness accomplishments a few months ago. By fitness accomplishments I mean that I got up and went to the gym in the morning before going to work. Well Lacey and I have still been keeping this schedule as time allows and it has been going well. Lately though we have been getting very bored with the same old exercises and running on the treadmill. Not surprising! And we haven't been watching our food intake very closely so all the working out for me tends to get cancelled out by my late evening Sonic run for ice cream or a slush.

We were faced with the wonderful fitness frustration: PLATEAU. Neither of us had enough excitement about working out to push up the intensity of our workouts. We tried but it was too hard. J So we thought about challenging ourselves by training for a race. We also noticed this girl who is always at the gym the same time as us and she was using this book called Making the Cut. We talked about checking out that book to see what it would be like and I just went ahead and bought it. We both skimmed through it and decided it would be a good thing to try. The author is a trainer from the show, The Biggest Loser and she seems to have her stuff together.

The book consists of meal plans and menus along with fitness plans to reveal the strongest, sexiest you in just 30 days. We are just going to track our calorie intake and follow the workout plan exactly. We just completed Day 2 of the workout and I think it's going to kick our butts. Each daily workout has 5 circuits to complete and each circuit has 4-6 exercises. You do a variety of different exercises and I think this will give us the switch we need to keep our excitement going. I'll keep you posted every once in a while on how it's going.

Saturday, August 23, 2008

little charlie sue



Here is Charlie showing her excitement about the fiestaware as well as begging to get up on the guest bed. I don't know where she learned how to beg. I do know where she learned her love for dishes though. You can tell lay down is her favorite command. HA!







Friday, August 22, 2008

more projects


Here is what we have been working on...rearranging furniture, painting furniture, and trading beds. The dressers were a natural wood looking laminate finish. So we marched on over to HD and bought us some spray paint. And bam, Josh made them espresso brown and fossil. Also painted the handles that were originally shiny silver. We love them now! The bed has been moved to be catty corner. Need some suggestions for what to do in that corner behind the bed. Well maybe not do so much as what to decorate with. =)
Guest bed is now a queen size bed. A few weeks ago Josh found us a king size bed for that room at a yard sale for way cheap and it was just too big. So he posted on Craig's List to see if anyone would trade a queen size for king size and sure enough, a few days later we got a queen size! And that is my gigantic memo board fully installed now. I just need to put some memos on it.








Thursday, August 21, 2008

window coverings






Here is the first of a few posts regarding all the fun house projects we have been doing. We have installed all new faux wood blinds through the house. It totally changes the whole look of the house. Not to mention how much light it blocks out! We can actually sleep in now! Well until 6:30 or so. :) Along with the blinds we have installed curtains in all the rooms and worked to actually decorate and stock the rooms with good stuff. I have been pretty frugal with the window coverings. Some are reruns or hand-me-downs and others are clearance fabric from Jo-Ann's, our bedroom curtains are from Big Lots. We really haven't spent nearly as much as you could when doing blinds and curtains.