Happy (House) Anniversary!

Hard to believe that it has been a year already, but yesterday was the one year anniversary of the day we closed on our house.

We've had lots of fun times here already...I'm sure there will be lots more to come!

Thankful It's Over is More Like It

Odds are that when you get all set up to make your Thanksgiving day dessert, you'll open the cupboard and realize you don't, in fact, have instant chocolate pudding like you thought.

While you're at the grocery store getting that pudding, you'll think about buying a box of devil's food cake mix for the dessert just in case. But because you are 99.9% sure you have one at home, you don't.

And odds are when you get home, you'll have every flavor--including holiday funfetti--but the one you need.

So you'll decide to make the cake from scratch because, you know, that is sooo much easier than driving the .4 miles back to the grocery store to get the cake mix.

And while you're making the oh-so-yummy cake from scratch, you'll crack the eggs and toss the shells across the kitchen into the trash can. That isn't in it's usual space, of course. [you'll stop and clean up egg goo here].

So while the cake is baking, you decide to whip up that instant pudding so you're on top of things, because, clearly, you have been so far.

You'll stir and stir and stir the instant pudding for way more than 2 minutes and wonder why it isn't thickening up like it usually does. So you'll pull the pudding box out of the egg-goo trash can only to realize you bought the cook and serve kind.

Once the cake is done baking, you'll wait only 9 minutes instead of 10 like the recipe says to turn the cake mix onto the wire cooling rack, leaving half of each cake round in the pan.

And once all is said and done, odds are about 100% that you'll wish you just bought that pretty turkey-shaped cake at the bakery.

True story, folks.

The News to Top All News!

I won’t beat around the bush. It’s been a fairly boring couple of weeks in terms of things to write about. Lots of stuff has been going on remodeling-wise, but nothing of any excitement to blog readers whatsoever.

So this super exciting news officially breaks that funk. We’re pumped to share that we are going to be an aunt and uncle again!

Michelle and Jason are expecting, and I feel so much better that I can share the news publicly now, as my head was about to explode for the last couple of weeks! The due date is the end of May 2009.

We are very excited for them as they prep for many, many changes in their lives. It’s time to get those puppies used to not being #1 and #2 anymore.

They’ll just have to get used to being #3 and #4.

Oh, and did I mention that it’s TWINS? :)

[insert girly screams and jumping around here].

Drywall Installation

Well, today is the Great American Smokeout. How fitting, then, that the drywaller would choose to smoke one cigar after the other in our basement and try to smoke us out.

Being the um [cough], gentle soul I am, I feel too bad to tell him to put it out. Especially because, you know, he's doing it for FREE.

Good thing I acted fast and turned off the heat and shut every air vent in the house, because it were pretty darn near being a real pool hall down there.

Gross.

99 Things.

I saw this on a blog this morning, and thought it'd be fun to do, mostly because I have nothing inspiring to write about right now! :)

Highlight the things you've done in your life. Mine are in bold.

1. Started your own blog
2. Slept under the stars
3. Played in a band
4. Visited Hawaii
5. Watched a meteor shower
6. Given more than you can afford to charity
7. Been to Disneyland/world
8. Climbed a mountain
9. Held a praying mantis
10. Sang a solo
11. Bungee jumped (well, sort of…one of those arch things)
12. Visited Paris
13. Watched a lightning storm at sea (from the beach)
14. Taught yourself an art from scratch
15. Adopted a child
16. Had food poisoning
17. Walked to the top of the Statue of Liberty
18. Grown your own vegetables
19. Seen the Mona Lisa in France
20. Slept on an overnight train
21. Had a pillow fight
22. Hitch hiked
23. Taken a sick day when you’re not ill
24. Built a snow fort
25. Held a lamb
26. Gone skinny dipping
27. Run a Marathon
28. Ridden in a gondola in Venice
29. Seen a total eclipse (I think…)
30. Watched a sunrise or sunset
31. Hit a home run
32. Been on a cruise
33. Seen Niagara Falls in person
34. Visited the birthplace of your ancestors
35. Seen an Amish community
36. Taught yourself a new language
37. Had enough money to be truly satisfied
38. Seen the Leaning Tower of Pisa in person
39. Gone rock climbing (not crazy rock climbing)
40. Seen Michelangelo’s David
41. Sung karaoke
42. Seen Old Faithful geyser erupt
43. Bought a stranger a meal at a restaurant
44. Visited Africa
45. Walked on a beach by moonlight
46. Been transported in an ambulance
47. Had your portrait painted
48. Gone deep sea fishing
49. Seen the Sistine Chapel in person
50. Been to the top of the Eiffel Tower in Paris
51. Gone scuba diving or snorkeling
52. Kissed in the rain
53. Played in the mud
54. Gone to a drive-in theater
55. Been in a movie
56. Visited the Great Wall of China
57. Started a business
58. Taken a martial arts class
59. Visited Russia
60. Served at a soup kitchen
61. Sold Girl Scout Cookies
62. Gone whale watching
63. Got flowers for no reason
64. Donated blood, platelets or plasma
65. Gone sky diving
66. Visited a Nazi Concentration Camp
67. Bounced a check
68. Flown in a helicopter
69. Saved a favorite childhood toy
70. Visited the Lincoln Memorial
71. Eaten Caviar
72. Pieced a quilt
73. Stood in Times Square
74. Toured the Everglades
75. Been fired from a job
76. Seen the Changing of the Guards in London
77. Broken a bone
78. Been on a speeding motorcycle
79. Seen the Grand Canyon in person
80. Published a book
81. Visited the Vatican
82. Bought a brand new car
83. Walked in Jerusalem
84. Had your picture in the newspaper
85. Read the entire Bible
86. Visited the White House
87. Killed and prepared an animal for eating
88. Had chickenpox
89. Saved someone’s life
90. Sat on a jury
91. Met someone famous
92. Joined a book club
93. Lost a loved one
94. Had a baby
95. Seen the Alamo in person
96. Swam in the Great Salt Lake
97. Been involved in a law suit
98. Owned a cell phone
99. Been stung by a bee

If you have a blog, do it too! It's fun! :)

Lack of posting

Sorry I haven't been posting as often as I once was. Our lives have been consumed by remodeling.

A big thanks to mom and dad Lauver, Bradley, and mom and dad Ran for all their help this weekend.

We went from this:

To this:

...and all in a somewhat short order; all, of course, after the crappy wiring was fixed, the new wiring was put in place, the crooked studs were leveled, and on and on.

We're excited about the progress, but couldn't do it without our super handy families.

Next step is the puttying of the drywall!

Thanks again for all the help--we really, really appreciate it!

*Prayers*

Seth's Aunt Marsha is undergoing a double mastectomy today for breast cancer. We are thinking of you and praying for you, Aunt Marsha, Uncle Paul, and the kids/grandkids!

Because of the nature of my job, I work a lot with our Breast Center marketing their services, and therefore have learned a lot about breast cancer. Above is part of the imagery a designer and I came up for this year's campaign. Seemed fitting for all stages of breast cancer awareness, diagnosis, and treatment.

(excuse the brown, it's not looking so pretty on the other brown background. It really is pretty in person :)

Whoopie Pies!

In Seth's grad school class, they have snack sign-ups for each class. Wow, it has been like 15 years since I can remember doing that! It is like in elementary school when you had to have enough for everyone when you brought a treat.

But anyway, I digress.

As in the past, my gorgeous husband signed me up for the cupcakes. Patriotic themed cupcakes, no less. At least he knows that if I'm going to have to make baked goods, I'd chose cupcakes.

So, while they were in the oven, I really caught the baking bug. I often like to try new recipes and bring them to work for people to try! I saw the recipe for whoopie pies online, and it only had a few ingredients, so I bookmarked it and decided to try it sometime. Well, it seemed like the perfect timeand I had everything, so I gave it a shot.

Ohmyword, they were amazing. Better than the Amish whoopie pie recipe I had been using.

For your baking enjoyment, here it is:

1 (18.25 ounce) package devil's food cake mix
5 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 cup milk
1 cup shortening
1 cup white sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla extract

To make the cakes: Prepare mix as directed on package except using only 3/4 cup of water. Drop batter onto greased cookie sheet in 2 1/2 to 3 inch (or smaller, because they really expand!) circles. Bake until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Let cool.

To make the filling: In a saucepan, combine milk and flour and cook, stirring constantly until it forms a thick paste. Let cool. In a medium bowl, beat sugar and shortening until fluffy. Add vanilla. Add cooled flour mixture and beat until double in volume. Spoon a dollop of filling onto half of the little cakes. Place the other half of the cakes on top of the filling to form sandwiches. Individually wrap.

All in all, they took me about 5 minutes to prep, 10 minutes to bake, cooling time, and about 5 minutes to do the icing. Easy peasy and super good. My co-workers loved them!

Enjoy!

Remodeling Progress

In 3 weeks, it will be a year since we closed on our house. That is SO hard to believe. Time flew by. And what better of a way to celebrate than to be doing pretty much the exact same thing we were doing at this time last year: remodeling. I can think of nothing else I'd rather be doing. Sense the sarcasm? :)

As always, nothing is "simple" in this house. Just a little "facelift" quickly turns into a complete overhaul. Case in point: master bathroom. Second case in point: basement.

Our reasoning has been and probably always will continue to be "might as well do it right the first time." So, in true Ran fashion, the basement is gutted. Pretty much all you see is studs everywhere you look.

We got our first real estimate this weekend, and it was for the drywall installation. It will cost us an arm and a leg one marriage (I kid, I kid). Seriously though, my jaw hit the ground, because, I'm no expert at remodeling but I do know that I could do it for cheaper than that.

Fortunately, our neighbor happens to be recently retired from a career in drywall installation [insert cheers and hallelujahs here]. When I mentioned what the company was going to charge us, he mentioned casually they were nuts and offered to do it at no cost. Of course I offered to pay him, but he rapidly shot that down. He has a heart condition and isn't able to hang it, so we'll hang it for him, which I hear is the easy part. He'll do the hard part of mudding, taping, sanding, etc.

Luckily, our fathers happen to be the 2 most handiest men on the planet, and have graciously offered to help. My brother and mom came this past weekend to help too. One of Seth's old bosses is coming on Wednesday to do the electrical work. Seth's parents and my dad will come this weekend. Fortunately, we are blessed with a whole lot of people who know what they're doing and have offered their help!

Once the last of the framing is done, and the drywall is completed, we'll paint (a TON of square feet--I can almost hear myself whining now), lay Pergo (date night!), put down new carpet (yay!), and decorate (my favorite!!!). There will be two distinct areas--one with a pool table, and one with the family room area (though all in one great room). We'll get new solid doors and new hardware. Lastly, we'll round it out with new lighting fixtures, curtains, and slip covers for the furniture. Then we'll be set to enjoy our new space, which I am VERY excited for. Next year, we may shoot to add the wood fireplace. We'll see.

My timeline is...um, aggressive. I'm all about the deadlines. And in having things in a somewhat organized fashion for the holidays. My goal is to have this done in time to put a real tree down there for Seth, and enjoy the Christmas season down there. In the meantime, I've been Christmas shopping like a fiend and even wrapping gifts, too! I am done with all but two people on Seth's side already!!!!

So for now, here is half of the room before:

We'll post more pictures of the space this weekend!

Friday Night!

After a long, stressful week at work, it's finally Friday. And tonight, my good friend, Tricia, is coming over with her boxer puppy for a play date with Bentley. While they're playing, we'll have time to grab some take-out dinner and catch up! When her puppy, Elvis, and Bentley first met, they were great pals, so hopefully they pick that right back up.

Pictures to follow!

Have a great weekend! :)

Inspirational couple

I've been stressed at work, and stressed with the remodel, but those "stresses" don't even begin to compare to the ones shared by this couple, who, knowing their baby would die shortly after birth, trusted in God to give them peace in such a horrible time, and carried the baby full-term rather than terminating it. Be sure to read the "Letters to Isaac" part.

It is such a beautiful story. When I was off work the other day for the contractors to come, a co-worker sent it to me. I read their entire blog...and then proceeded to vote with red, puffy eyes.

I only wish everyone would have had a chance to read it before they voted.

Their situation really makes you reconsider the trivial things that test you every day--sitting in traffic, burning dinner, doing 18 loads of laundry. Because in all honesty, that's nothing.

A sweet reason to vote!

I'm sure everyone is already on your case about getting out to vote because it is the right thing to do, yadda, yadda....which it is, don't get me wrong. But do you know another great reason to vote? Free things!

Below are a list of places that are giving out free things to people who vote:

Starbucks - free 12 oz. coffee to people who wear the "I voted." sticker given out at polling places. If your's doesn't give this, they are going on the honor system.

Krispy Kreme - free doughnut to those wearing the "I voted." sticker.

Ben & Jerry's - free scoop of ice cream from 5-8 p.m. Appears to be on the honor system.

Chick-Fil-A - free chicken sandwich to those wearing the "I voted." sticker. This is on a store-by-store basis, so not guarantees your still will be offering this.

Eat N' Park - free coffee to those in PA, OH, and WV who wear the "I voted." sticker.

Vote--and enjoy!

Bentley's New Diet

So apparently, Bentley isn't satisfied with his organic, low-protein diet. Instead, he'd like to eat an assortment of things he finds around the house and outside.

Here is just a small sample of some of the things he has eaten within the last week:

-piece of raw, fajita-marinated chicken off the cutting board
-a few squares of toilet paper
-insulation
-contents of bathroom trash can
-V8 fusion fruit/veggie juice
-multiple sticks
-part of a pumice stone
-a light bulb

Yes, above, I did say a light bulb. Today, he ate the mini one out of one of our lawn lights.

Super.