In the spirit of today I wanted to list a few things I'm thankful for.
1. My family. All of it. Both sides. All sides. In-laws and out-laws! Joseph and I are both incredibly lucky to have families that are strong, loving, supportive, fun, and great role models that have influenced our marriage.
2. Friends. Five years ago on a whim we sold a house and moved across the state to a town where we didn't have a house, didn't have jobs, and knew hardly no one. In the past five years we have made new friends, friends who have become like family (see description above!), friends who have made this town feel like home. At the same time, we have kept friends from other places and other times, friends who we don't see every day or even every year...but who stay in our hearts all the same.
3. Jobs. We are incredibly lucky to both have jobs in a time when many people don't. There are days when it is stressful, days when it feels like we are just working to pay the bills...but then we will have days where everything is right and we know we are making a difference.
4. My grandmothers. I don't get to see them often enough, but I am lucky enough to have two healthy grandmothers...both of whom have overcome health concerns over the past year with grace, style, and relative ease. These two women remind me to be strong in any situation.
5. Our pets. They are stinky at times. They shed. They cost a lot. But they are always glad to see us. They always want to be cuddled. They never talk back. (Well, when Della poos outside her litter box I guess that could be considered talking back! But that's another story!) They remind us to slow down and enjoy the simple things in life.
Happy Thanksgiving Day! Enjoy the Macy's Parade. Eat a lot of dressing. But at some point take a moment and remember just how good we all have it.
Thursday, November 26, 2009
Tuesday, November 24, 2009
Of mice and men
The best laid plans of mice and men....
Well. It couldn't last. I had all these grand intentions of keeping up this blog with regular posts...filling in everyone (all three of you who read this) with the daily happenings of our life and it fizzled out. It's weird, because when things happen I find myself thinking "I should put this on the blog" but then I never get around to it. So here are some updates of what's been going on in our lives over the past month or two.
One of the last posts on here talked about some friends of ours who just moved to town. We've been having fun with them since they've settled in. We've done dinner a couple of times. The biggest change is we are now commuting together. We've always been lucky that Joseph and I could drive to and from work together...one of the benefits of working in the same place as your spouse is that it saves gas money! Now with the Butlers living close by, we are all commuting together. Debra works with the two of us and her husband also works in Little Rock. We take turns each week driving. We both have hybrids, so the gas savings are great!
Speaking of cars, Joseph and I sold our second car to my parents. They in turn were able to pass a car off to my brother who was in need of more reliable transportation. Anyone who knows Joseph knows that he LOVES cars. I mean REALLY loves cars. He's not a "gear-head" and all into engines and transmissions. He's into new, luxury, gadget-filled cars. He knows all the makes and models and trims. He can tell with a single glance if the car passing us on the street has factory hubcaps or something aftermarket. He is so observant about things!
We recently celebrated our 6th anniversary! Yea us! We celebrated by spending the weekend in Springfield and stayed at the Walnut Street Inn Bed and Breakfast. That is the place we stayed the day we got married. We also ate dinner at Gilardi's Ristorante which is where we had our rehearsal dinner. The B & B is just a couple buildings down the street from the restaurant so it is nice to be able to walk to and from dinner. And what a meal that was! We love to cook and eat great food, and this is one place that never disappoints.
We also went to Silver Dollar City again to look at the Christmas lights. We went to SDC to look at the lights on our first date and try to go back every winter. This year was a little different because it was nearly TROPICAL weather! Last year we were bundled up in multiple layers, coats, gloves, scarves, hats and still froze our tushies off. This year I was HOT wearing only jeans and a lightweight long-sleeve t-shirt! It was like Christmas in the islands!
Speaking of Christmas, we are fully decorated here. I think this is the earliest we have decorated the house. We put the tree in a different place, changed up whats on the mantle, and got new stockings. It's nice to see some sparkle and twinkle.
Okay, I'm boring myself now...I can't imagine anyone has muddled through this whole thing, but congratulations if you have!
I promise the next post will be more interesting!
Well. It couldn't last. I had all these grand intentions of keeping up this blog with regular posts...filling in everyone (all three of you who read this) with the daily happenings of our life and it fizzled out. It's weird, because when things happen I find myself thinking "I should put this on the blog" but then I never get around to it. So here are some updates of what's been going on in our lives over the past month or two.
One of the last posts on here talked about some friends of ours who just moved to town. We've been having fun with them since they've settled in. We've done dinner a couple of times. The biggest change is we are now commuting together. We've always been lucky that Joseph and I could drive to and from work together...one of the benefits of working in the same place as your spouse is that it saves gas money! Now with the Butlers living close by, we are all commuting together. Debra works with the two of us and her husband also works in Little Rock. We take turns each week driving. We both have hybrids, so the gas savings are great!
Speaking of cars, Joseph and I sold our second car to my parents. They in turn were able to pass a car off to my brother who was in need of more reliable transportation. Anyone who knows Joseph knows that he LOVES cars. I mean REALLY loves cars. He's not a "gear-head" and all into engines and transmissions. He's into new, luxury, gadget-filled cars. He knows all the makes and models and trims. He can tell with a single glance if the car passing us on the street has factory hubcaps or something aftermarket. He is so observant about things!
We recently celebrated our 6th anniversary! Yea us! We celebrated by spending the weekend in Springfield and stayed at the Walnut Street Inn Bed and Breakfast. That is the place we stayed the day we got married. We also ate dinner at Gilardi's Ristorante which is where we had our rehearsal dinner. The B & B is just a couple buildings down the street from the restaurant so it is nice to be able to walk to and from dinner. And what a meal that was! We love to cook and eat great food, and this is one place that never disappoints.
We also went to Silver Dollar City again to look at the Christmas lights. We went to SDC to look at the lights on our first date and try to go back every winter. This year was a little different because it was nearly TROPICAL weather! Last year we were bundled up in multiple layers, coats, gloves, scarves, hats and still froze our tushies off. This year I was HOT wearing only jeans and a lightweight long-sleeve t-shirt! It was like Christmas in the islands!
Speaking of Christmas, we are fully decorated here. I think this is the earliest we have decorated the house. We put the tree in a different place, changed up whats on the mantle, and got new stockings. It's nice to see some sparkle and twinkle.
Okay, I'm boring myself now...I can't imagine anyone has muddled through this whole thing, but congratulations if you have!
I promise the next post will be more interesting!
Friday, November 13, 2009
still alive
We're still here! I keep thinking of things to write but never get around to posting anything! We are leaving this morning for a weekend away for our anniversary...I promise to do some updates next week!
Wednesday, August 26, 2009
Movin' on up!
(Be honest...do you have the theme to "The Jeffersons" running through your head? I couldn't even type that title without singing it!)
We are busy little beavers this week. We have been helping some friends who are moving to Conway. They have bought a GORGEOUS home not too far from us. We've been helping clean and vacuum before the big stuff gets moved in over the weekend. Going over there is also an excuse to play with their 7-month-old little boy...who is so cute.
They are moving from a 700 sq. foot little bungalow to about 2500 sq. feet! I call that (sing it with me) movin' on up!
In other news, I've started drinking something for breakfast that looks like pond sludge and tastes like a vacation in my mouth....let me introduce my newest food fascination - the green smoothie!
Yes, it is supposed to be that color. It gets the green color from baby spinach. Don't adjust your monitor, you read that right. I have been adding spinach (can you believe that mom?) to my breakfast smoothies!
I first learned of the green smoothie from Sara over at Walk Slowly, Live Wildly and Happy Foody. She is doing a green smoothie challenge right now to encourage people to increase their intake of healthy foods and decrease intake of white sugar. If you do a search for green smoothies online you'll find as many recipes as there are people. I started with Sara's recipe and made a couple of minor tweaks before finding my favorite smoothie.
Here's my recipe:
1 frozen banana (freeze with skin on, soak frozen banana in a bowl of hot water for a minute before making the smoothie. Just tear the top off and squeeze the banana like a tube of toothpaste into the blender.)
1-2 cups frozen mixed fruit (no sugar added, just plain fruit. The bag I bought has peaches, pineapple, strawberries, and mango.)
1 orange, peeled.
liquid to blend (I've used water, but my favorite is organic apple juice - no sugar added, just apple juice.)
baby spinach (I buy organic).
In a blender, combine the frozen banana, frozen fruit, peeled orange, and enough liquid to make things blend - I start with around 1/2 a cup. I set the blender to the highest speed and pulse it for a bit just until all the frozen stuff is broken up, then blend until smooth. The banana is what makes this creamy. There isn't any dairy in this smoothie, so the banana is really important for texture.
Once all the fruit is blended, start adding the spinach. I end up doing anywhere from 2-3 cups (big open handfuls - I don't really measure). Poke it down into the blender so it is near the blades. Once again, pulse until it is somewhat chopped. It is going to look very leafy and gross to be honest. Trust me. Put the blender on high and let it go for a couple of minutes. The greens will completely break up. If it tastes/looks chunky, add a little more liquid and keep blending.
If you want it even a little sweeter, add a dash of agave nectar or stevia. I use agave. It looks like honey but has a little bit of a more floral taste. I wouldn't use any artificial sweeteners in this - that just seems wrong to add to a blender full of fresh fruit and veggies!
Now for the fun part - TASTE IT!! It should be very green looking, but taste only like fruit. If you can taste the spinach, you didn't put in enough fruit, or put in too much spinach! The texture is cold, creamy, and smooth. A straw makes drinking these easier, unless you want a green mustache.
On Sara's Happy Foody website she has a video of her making one of these. That's where I learned the frozen banana trick.
I drink anywhere from 24-32 oz in the morning and it holds me until lunch! And just think, I've gotten in more fruits and veggies than I usually would in a normal day.
AND even Joseph will drink them!
Funny story - the other day Spencer (age 4) was over here when I was making one. I put some in a glass with a straw for him and without hesitation he started sipping. After a few big gulps he said, "This tastes a WHOLE lot better than it looks!" I took that as a stamp of approval!
Last thing - For those keeping up with the Fisher story - he has healed beautifully. The Biobrane treatment did exactly what it was supposed to. His stomach looks so good - there are just a few areas that are barely pink anymore. His arm took a little longer, but even it has completely healed. He didn't lose any range of motion in his elbow either. He is back to being the funny, bright, sweet, energetic little boy we all adore. Thanks everyone out there (all 3 of you who actually read this) for sending up some prayers on his behalf. They were answered beyond what I think any of us had hoped for.
We are busy little beavers this week. We have been helping some friends who are moving to Conway. They have bought a GORGEOUS home not too far from us. We've been helping clean and vacuum before the big stuff gets moved in over the weekend. Going over there is also an excuse to play with their 7-month-old little boy...who is so cute.
They are moving from a 700 sq. foot little bungalow to about 2500 sq. feet! I call that (sing it with me) movin' on up!
In other news, I've started drinking something for breakfast that looks like pond sludge and tastes like a vacation in my mouth....let me introduce my newest food fascination - the green smoothie!
Yes, it is supposed to be that color. It gets the green color from baby spinach. Don't adjust your monitor, you read that right. I have been adding spinach (can you believe that mom?) to my breakfast smoothies!
I first learned of the green smoothie from Sara over at Walk Slowly, Live Wildly and Happy Foody. She is doing a green smoothie challenge right now to encourage people to increase their intake of healthy foods and decrease intake of white sugar. If you do a search for green smoothies online you'll find as many recipes as there are people. I started with Sara's recipe and made a couple of minor tweaks before finding my favorite smoothie.
Here's my recipe:
1 frozen banana (freeze with skin on, soak frozen banana in a bowl of hot water for a minute before making the smoothie. Just tear the top off and squeeze the banana like a tube of toothpaste into the blender.)
1-2 cups frozen mixed fruit (no sugar added, just plain fruit. The bag I bought has peaches, pineapple, strawberries, and mango.)
1 orange, peeled.
liquid to blend (I've used water, but my favorite is organic apple juice - no sugar added, just apple juice.)
baby spinach (I buy organic).
In a blender, combine the frozen banana, frozen fruit, peeled orange, and enough liquid to make things blend - I start with around 1/2 a cup. I set the blender to the highest speed and pulse it for a bit just until all the frozen stuff is broken up, then blend until smooth. The banana is what makes this creamy. There isn't any dairy in this smoothie, so the banana is really important for texture.
Once all the fruit is blended, start adding the spinach. I end up doing anywhere from 2-3 cups (big open handfuls - I don't really measure). Poke it down into the blender so it is near the blades. Once again, pulse until it is somewhat chopped. It is going to look very leafy and gross to be honest. Trust me. Put the blender on high and let it go for a couple of minutes. The greens will completely break up. If it tastes/looks chunky, add a little more liquid and keep blending.
If you want it even a little sweeter, add a dash of agave nectar or stevia. I use agave. It looks like honey but has a little bit of a more floral taste. I wouldn't use any artificial sweeteners in this - that just seems wrong to add to a blender full of fresh fruit and veggies!
Now for the fun part - TASTE IT!! It should be very green looking, but taste only like fruit. If you can taste the spinach, you didn't put in enough fruit, or put in too much spinach! The texture is cold, creamy, and smooth. A straw makes drinking these easier, unless you want a green mustache.
On Sara's Happy Foody website she has a video of her making one of these. That's where I learned the frozen banana trick.
I drink anywhere from 24-32 oz in the morning and it holds me until lunch! And just think, I've gotten in more fruits and veggies than I usually would in a normal day.
AND even Joseph will drink them!
Funny story - the other day Spencer (age 4) was over here when I was making one. I put some in a glass with a straw for him and without hesitation he started sipping. After a few big gulps he said, "This tastes a WHOLE lot better than it looks!" I took that as a stamp of approval!
Last thing - For those keeping up with the Fisher story - he has healed beautifully. The Biobrane treatment did exactly what it was supposed to. His stomach looks so good - there are just a few areas that are barely pink anymore. His arm took a little longer, but even it has completely healed. He didn't lose any range of motion in his elbow either. He is back to being the funny, bright, sweet, energetic little boy we all adore. Thanks everyone out there (all 3 of you who actually read this) for sending up some prayers on his behalf. They were answered beyond what I think any of us had hoped for.
Sunday, August 16, 2009
Staycation
On one of our many farmer's market trips this summer we ran into a man who makes furniture by hand. It is his hobby. He makes things like porch swings and patio furniture. We fell in love with these adirondack chairs. It was a bit of a splurge, so we decided they are an early anniversary present to ourselves. They are so comfortable. He sells them unfinished so we had to figure out what to do with them. After much debate and hemming and hawing about colors we chose Wescott Navy - in person it is a charcoal-ish gray-blue. Its actually a deck stain, not a paint, so these are perfectly protected from the weather.
Now we can take two steps out the back door and sink to relaxation...makes for a perfect "stay-cation"!
On a side note - it is a small world! The man who made this furniture actually knows Joseph's family! He has been fishing with Pop and knows a bunch of people from Joseph's hometown. It kind of makes this furniture more special to us.
p.s. Happy Birthday Breathen!
Thursday, August 13, 2009
Updates
Fisher seems to be doing well - we spent a little time with him earlier this week and it was great to see him laugh and play. He still has a splint on his left arm, but you wouldn't know it by watching him play. They go back to see the doctors at the burn clinic tomorrow to see how the biobrane is adhering and assisting with healing.
As for us, the flea crisis seems to have been averted. We re-treated the animals, deep cleaned the house, treated the house and will be treating the yard this weekend.
Joseph has a cold - poor guy.
And that's about all I know.
This has to be to sorriest excuse for a post in blog history, but it's all I have! I'll try to do better next week!
As for us, the flea crisis seems to have been averted. We re-treated the animals, deep cleaned the house, treated the house and will be treating the yard this weekend.
Joseph has a cold - poor guy.
And that's about all I know.
This has to be to sorriest excuse for a post in blog history, but it's all I have! I'll try to do better next week!
Tuesday, August 4, 2009
and now for something completely different....
First off, let me do a Fisher update. According to the last time I spoke with his mom, he is doing well. The procedure went better this morning than anyone could have planned - instead of having to staple the Biobrane to the burns, the surgeon was able to use steri-strips. This means Fisher won't have to go back under anesthesia on Friday to have staples removed! The next couple of days are critical for the Biobrane to adhere to the burns - the better it adheres, the better the outcome. This afternoon it sounded like Fisher, Kirsten, and Ryan all got some much needed sleep and big brother Spencer played at his grandparents house. As far as I can tell it seems like things are moving in the right direction.
And now to change the topic COMPLETELY - I hate spiders. I mean, really hate spiders. They totally creep me out. The only spider I remotely like is Charlotte from Charlotte's Web. There is nothing worse than walking through a spider web and getting caught in those invisible sticky threads. That being said, I can appreciate the beauty and intricacy of a web...I just don't want it on me!
Where am I going with this, you might be wondering...just hang in there...I'll get to the point eventually.
Even though we have a fenced in back yard, our dog Jill doesn't understand how to go to the bathroom out there unless one of us is out there too, telling her to "go potty" and "go poo poo." I can feel the collective eye-rolling now. Believe me, we hate it too. I guess it goes back to when we first got her, the house we were living in didn't have a backyard - it was more of a patio-style home. ANYWAY - when we were housebreaking her, one of us would take her outside to the field across from our house to do her business. She got really good at doing her business when we told her - Pavlov was right about that I guess! The problem is that she got too used to us being there and now won't without an audience! UGH. Most of the time it isn't that bad. We have some nice chairs on the back porch and one (or both of us) will just hang out there shouting commands (our poor neighboors - what they must think of us!) Sometimes, we will even walk around the yard while she's out there - looking at flowers, etc.
So tonight, we got home from church (we are having a revival this week) and I took Jill out. I was talking on the phone to mom while Jill was doing her thing when something caught my eye in the evening light.....
OH MY WORD. I am not kidding this thing is HUGE. This web stretches about 4 feet wide and 6 feet tall. It goes from one of the columns on the back porch all the way to that bush you see in the picture. If I had stepped off the back porch into the yard I WOULD HAVE WALKED STRAIGHT INTO THIS WEB AND HAD THE CREEPY CRAWLY NASTY SPIDER ON ME!!!!!!!!!!!
Now, my parents are probably surprised that I can even write this - knowing my reactions from childhood, they both would expect to find me screaming hysterically and refusing to go anywhere near the back yard. I have matured (slightly). I am very proud to say that I did not scream, I did not cry, I did not destroy the web. So what did I do?
I took a picture and posted it on here instead. Oh, and I'm not taking Jill outside anymore until Charlotte's relative vacates the backyard.
And now to change the topic COMPLETELY - I hate spiders. I mean, really hate spiders. They totally creep me out. The only spider I remotely like is Charlotte from Charlotte's Web. There is nothing worse than walking through a spider web and getting caught in those invisible sticky threads. That being said, I can appreciate the beauty and intricacy of a web...I just don't want it on me!
Where am I going with this, you might be wondering...just hang in there...I'll get to the point eventually.
Even though we have a fenced in back yard, our dog Jill doesn't understand how to go to the bathroom out there unless one of us is out there too, telling her to "go potty" and "go poo poo." I can feel the collective eye-rolling now. Believe me, we hate it too. I guess it goes back to when we first got her, the house we were living in didn't have a backyard - it was more of a patio-style home. ANYWAY - when we were housebreaking her, one of us would take her outside to the field across from our house to do her business. She got really good at doing her business when we told her - Pavlov was right about that I guess! The problem is that she got too used to us being there and now won't without an audience! UGH. Most of the time it isn't that bad. We have some nice chairs on the back porch and one (or both of us) will just hang out there shouting commands (our poor neighboors - what they must think of us!) Sometimes, we will even walk around the yard while she's out there - looking at flowers, etc.
So tonight, we got home from church (we are having a revival this week) and I took Jill out. I was talking on the phone to mom while Jill was doing her thing when something caught my eye in the evening light.....
OH MY WORD. I am not kidding this thing is HUGE. This web stretches about 4 feet wide and 6 feet tall. It goes from one of the columns on the back porch all the way to that bush you see in the picture. If I had stepped off the back porch into the yard I WOULD HAVE WALKED STRAIGHT INTO THIS WEB AND HAD THE CREEPY CRAWLY NASTY SPIDER ON ME!!!!!!!!!!!
Now, my parents are probably surprised that I can even write this - knowing my reactions from childhood, they both would expect to find me screaming hysterically and refusing to go anywhere near the back yard. I have matured (slightly). I am very proud to say that I did not scream, I did not cry, I did not destroy the web. So what did I do?
I took a picture and posted it on here instead. Oh, and I'm not taking Jill outside anymore until Charlotte's relative vacates the backyard.
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