"Vacation"

Last week was a really crazy busy week, I am so glad it's over. I got the keys to the house on Friday the 23rd in the afternoon. Michael was at work so I did a walk through by myself to see what needed to be done and holy crap, it was overwhelming. The house looked really cute when they had all of their stuff in it and decorated but when it was empty it was just ugly and I realized I needed/wanted to paint pretty much everything. They also left the house really dirty which was dissapointing and just added more on my 'to-do' list. So the first three days of my vacation I cleaned and painted as much as possible. Kayte was a huge help and came over on Sunday and tackled the kitchen, it was so gross, the fridge was filthy, it honestly looked like it hadn't been cleaned ever. And we got to experience the joy of homeownership for real on Saturday when it was really windy and rainy and the sliding door started leaking- inside the house! Yeah, not cool. Luckily I know a contractor, he oversaw the addition/renovation of the hotel and he is a really cool guy. I called him and he came right over to check it out and hooked me up with a sub-contractor who is going to fix it as side work which means it will be a lot cheaper. Turns out they installed the sliding glass door wrong and the piece that is supposed to go behind the siding was put in front. Smart. So that was awesome, I will admit I panicked for a moment. I ended up getting the master bedroom, hallway and living room completely painted, but didn't touch the second bedroom, bathroom, kitchen or upstairs so there is still a lot to do. Tuesday was moving day and it went great, a lot better than I had expected. Michael asked a couple of his friends to come help and they were great. We got the biggest U-Haul truck they had and it took one full load and about another half to get everything moved. We started about 11am and were done by 5, so it worked out really well. Then on Wednesday we went back to the place we were renting and cleaned everything. It only took us a couple of hours and it was so nice to be completely done with that and not have it hanging over our heads. The rest of Wednesday and Thursday was spent cleaning, unpacking and running back and forth from Lowe's for supplies, I think they know me by name now. Friday was a shopping day, Kayte and I had decided earlier in the week to make a trip to Portland and hit up Ikea, Chipotle and the church book store. We left about 630am and got to Ikea about 915 only to find out that it doesn't open until 10. Oh well, they opened the doors about 930 so we started shopping, we got a lot of good stuff! I got a new dresser for the master bedroom, tv stand, new light fixtures, curtains, curtain rods, end table, silverware, hanging lights for the living room and a whole bunch of other smaller stuff and I only spent a little over $600, it was a good trip! We did take a little too long at Ikea, Kayte wanted to be home when the kids got out of school, so we hurried through lunch and the bookstore but still didn't get home until about 6. It was a long day but lots of fun! Saturday was spend at the last soccer games of the season (yay, it's over!) and more unpacking and Sunday was more of the same. I was so glad to come back to work on Monday, it was an exhausting week. I am so glad we are in the new house, we love it so far and the puppies love love love the backyard. We are unpacked for the most part, but there are a few more boxes to go through and some more organizing that needs to be done. I took some before/after pictures so I will post those eventually. I have a huge list of things I want to do and I have to keep reminding myself that its not going to all happen immediately. OH, we really want to replace the carpet (ugly blue) with Pergo (or Prego as Michael calls them) floors and were hoping to get the 8k first time homebuyer credit before we moved so that we could do that. I had amended my 2008 taxes so that I could get it now instead of waiting until tax time next year and I sent the paperwork in not long after we closed on the house. The check didn't come and didn't come and I had started to think I did the paperwork wrong, but then I checked the mail the morning of the move and of course, there it was. I asked Michael if he wanted to postpone the move and do the floors instead, but he didn't like that idea. So we are stuck with the blue carpet for now and eventually we'll move things around so we can get the new floors. I think we're a little tired of moving stuff for the time being, maybe next spring when it gets warm again.

And so it begins

A marathon week of cleaning, painting, cleaning, packing, moving, unpacking, cleaning, organizing, etc. I talked today with the people we bought the house from and they will be out by tomorrow evening, perfect timing! After work tomorrow is the start of a week of vacation that I am taking. We are not actually moving our stuff until Tuesday, so that will give me 3 days to get it ready and maybe paint a little. I like the paint colors that are in the house now, they did a good job with those, but I do want to paint the bedroom and possibly the kitchen. Our utilities are all getting switched over on Monday and our new washer and dryer will be delivered on Tuesday. If all goes according to plan, we should be staying the first night in our new house on Tuesday.

Wedding Bells Part II

Surprise! Michael and I are engaged! After talking about it, looking at rings, etc. it has finally happened. He told me on Monday that he was going to make a special dinner on Tuesday and wouldn't give me any details. I bugged him and bugged him and he still wouldn't tell me anything, but I had a pretty good idea of what he was up to. I can count on one hand the number of times he's made a special dinner in the past two years. The only thing he would tell me is that I couldn't come home until 630 because that is when dinner would be done. Normally I have soccer on Tuesday which goes until 630 but it freezing cold and there was freezing rain on and off throughout the day so we cancelled practice. I think he went into a quick panic when I told him. I stayed a little late at work and then went to our new house to pick up my mail that they have been holding for me and got home about 620. Here is what was waiting for me:
Oh yes, that is all sushi, he knows the way to my heart. He went to one of my favorite places and got 140 pieces of sushi so that he could spell this out. I will admit that it took me a minute to figure out, looking at it from above it is pretty obvious, but from the side (it is a tall table) it was a little more difficult. I think I was stunned by all the sushi. I of course said yes, and then ate a lot of sushi! I was so full I couldn't eat the cheesecake for dessert. Oh, and the most important part, the ring. I don't have it yet, it is getting sized and should be done in about a week, hopefully sooner! I am so happy and so excited to start this new part of our life together, once we get moved into the new house the wedding planning begins!

Wedding Bells

This past weekend we got up early and drove to Portland for a wedding- Michaels sister was getting married. We met most of Michaels family at the Pittock Mansion for pictures before the wedding, the Mansion is way up on this hill so it had amazing views of Portland. I think we saw two or three other wedding parties getting their pictures at the same time, so it's a pretty popular spot. After the pictures we were going to go to Hooters because I haven't had it for over a year, so we went to the Hooters in Beaverton and it was CLOSED. I was SO bummed. We didn't have time to drive to the other one in town so we grabbed some fast food (barf) and went to the hotel to shower and get ready. The wedding was really pretty and I loved the colors. The ceremony was short and sweet and the reception was beautiful, lots of candlelight. And they did bbq for dinner- the ribs almost made up for not having Hooters. :) I got to meet a lot of Michaels family that I hadn't met before and he got to see some people that he hasn't seen for a long time. Overall it was a really fun night, we left about 9pm and drove back home. Our puppies had been pretty much alone all day so they were really happy when we finally got home. Thanks to Kayte, Chad, the kids and Michaels friend Trevor for stopping by and checking on them!! And congrats to Michele and Jeremy, the new happy couple!

It's beginning to look a lot like...

October?! Yesterday it snowed through half of our soccer game, yuck! I figured it was just a fluke since the sun came out and it warmed up quite a bit a little after it was done snowing. Wow was I wrong. This is what we woke up to this morning:
The leaves on the trees haven't even started falling off- they've barely started to turn colors!! I really hope this isn't a sign of how this winter is going to be. Maybe this will be the only time it snows for the rest of the year, I'd be ok with that.

Finally!

We have a moving date, sort of. The people that we bought our house from finally heard back from the bank on the house that they are now buying (they are buying a short sale, which can take forever). They got the home inspection and appraisal done yesterday, so really all thats left is to get their financing squared away and they say that their loan should be done by next week. Since we agreed to let them rent back for 60 days they will be out right around the 25th-26th of this month, and then we can move in! I am still waiting for my $8000 credit, hopefully we'll get that before the end of the month so that we can redo the floors before we move in. Only a few more weeks before I can use the awesome new steam washer and steam dryer that we bought, we bought them almost a month ago but are waiting until we have moved to have them delivered and set up at the new house.

Welcome to the Jungle

I got the most awesome stools/ottomans, whatever you want to call them off of Craigslist today. I have been checking craigslist every so often because I have a list of stuff I want/need for the house and I don't want to pay a million dollars for it. I really want to find some dressers that I can refinish for the bedroom. I have found some I like, but I think it would be best to wait until we actually move in and see how everything fits. But I had to buy these stools, they won't take up much space. Michael thinks they are ridiculous but he is a guy, so I suppose that is expected. He can't see my vision. Plus, when I asked him how he would decorate the bedroom he said he would paint it all black so that it would be dark. Enough said, he won't be decorating anything.

I got two of these for $60. They are from World Market, I looked them up on their website and they sell for $120 each, so two for $60 is a good deal! They aren't worn at all, they look pretty new. I am thinking about sanding and painting the wood black so that they'll match all the other bedroom furniture. We'll see...

Mmmmmmm....

As most of you know, my favorite food in the world is sushi. I could eat it every day if I could afford it. I really wanted it for dinner tonight, but didn't want to go to the restaurant to get it, lazy I know. Instead, I went to the store and picked up a few essentials and made my own and I impressed myself! It was really good and I will definetly make it again but right now I'm so full I don't want to think about eating again. I made the basic rolls, Philly Roll, Spicy Tuna and California. Then with the leftover tuna I made nigiri and sashimi. Here it is in all its glory:

Models for a Day

Well, more like an hour and a half. Our realtor, who is AWESOME, asked us if we'd be willing to take some pictures with her for some new ads that she is doing. We said yes, partly because she is so awesome and partly because then I would maybe get some free professional pictures of us in front of the house. It was fun, quick and easy, and I got to meet the wife of the couple who we bought the house from, so that was cool, she is really nice. We took Petree with us and he got to be in some of the pictures, too. He also got to check out the front yard of the house and the dog of the sellers, so he was excited about that too. :) The photographer showed us a few after he was done and they were really cute, I will post one up here when I get some copies, she said she'd send me some! After we did the pictures at the house we went to her office to take some shots there. Now back to our list of things to do before we move...

And Again

I found another quinoa recipe, and now it is my new favorite. The chili's give it a little kick and the lime juice makes it even better. I found it on delish.com, which is one of my favorite recipe sites.

Quinoa with Latin Flavors
1 cup(s) quinoa,
2 teaspoon(s) canola oil
1 medium onion, chopped
1 can(s) (4 ounce) chopped green chiles
2 clove(s) garlic, minced
1 can(s) (14 ounce) reduced-sodium chicken broth, or vegetable broth
1/4 cup(s) pepitas, toasted (pepitas are pumpkin seeds)
3/4 cup(s) coarsely chopped fresh cilantro
1/2 cup(s) chopped scallions
2 tablespoon(s) lime juice


1. Toast quinoa in a large dry skillet over medium heat, stirring often, until it crackles and becomes aromatic, 3 to 5 minutes. Transfer to a fine sieve and rinse thoroughly.

2.Heat oil in a large saucepan over medium heat. Add onion and cook, stirring often, until softened, 2 to 3 minutes. Add chiles and garlic; cook, stirring, for 30 seconds. Add the quinoa and broth; bring to a simmer. Reduce heat to maintain a gentle simmer, cover and cook until the quinoa is tender and most of the liquid has been absorbed, 20 to 25 minutes.

3.Add pepitas, cilantro, scallions, lime juice and salt to the quinoa; mix gently and fluff with a fork.

Spiders again?!

Michael called me yesterday while he was on his way to work to tell me that he had just had a really traumatic experience. He had been working on his truck the day before and had left the hood unlatched while he was waiting for it to cool down so I asked him if he had forgot to latch his hood and it flew up while he was driving on the highway. I would have laughed really hard if that's what it was, but it wasn't. He said he laying in bed, he had just woken up, and he went to swallow, yawn, whatever. He closed his mouth and tasted something sweet. So he coughed and out came..... HALF A SPIDER!!!!!!!!!!!! Gross, it makes me want to throw up just thinking about it. He said he thinks it bit the inside of his throat because his throat felt sore, and I said it was probably just the spider crawling to get out. Ew. It makes me want to tape my mouth shut at night so no spiders can crawl in.

It's Official! (and soccer)

We're finally getting an Olive Garden in Bend!!!! I have been hearing the rumor since I moved here, but nothing ever happened. Well, they broke ground quite awhile ago and the sign out front says "Olive Garden Coming Soon" so I am inclined to believe it this time. I love their strawberry lemonade. Although we probably won't go for at least the first month after it opens, I have a feeling it will be packed for quite awhile after the grand opening. Anyways, talking about Olive Garden being official really isn't the point of this entry, it just happened to fit in. What is also official is that we OWN A HOUSE! We signed papers last Friday and it closed yesterday, so it's official. Since the sellers are renting it back for up to two months I am going over to meet them at some point so that they can show me the details and such about the house, like mail days, garbage, how to set the thermostat. All the fun things that you usually have to kind of figure out on your own, so that will be really nice. We have been sort of packing and getting things ready, but now we'll need to step it up since they could move out anytime now.

So our first day of soccer practice was this past Tuesday, it was fun but could have been a lot better. I had woken up at 5am that morning not feeling well and spent the majority of the morning throwing up. I went to work but only managed to stay for a couple of hours and then went home and spent the rest of the day in bed until practice. So poor Chad had to coach pretty much the entire time since too much movement on my part would make me throw up. We are coaching Paiges' team, so it is 12 third grade girls and I think it will be fun, all of the girls are pretty cute. Our games start the 12th so we have a lot of work to do before then!

A new friend

So this weekend has been spent pulling weeds, a lot of weeds. Right now my hamstrings are strung tighter than a banjo. We didn't have just any weiner weeds, we had weeds that we have let grow for the past two months, huge bushes and trees of weeds. Seriously, in the back yard the wind was blowing the weeds really gently and it sounded like big pine trees creaking in the wind. And they were a good foot an a half taller than me, so yeah, lots of fun. Anyways, I was moving our trash cans to weed an area and saw the BIGGEST spider. I had instant heebie jeebies, but grabbed a jar out of the recycling and caught him. Then I came inside to try to figure out what kind he was, but looking at pictures of spiders that up close almost made me want to barf, so I just took a couple pictures of him and then I let him go far away from the house. ***I actually have found out that this is a female hobo spider, so I apologize to her for calling her a he.****

Petree's Spot

This is Petree's new favorite spot outside. Comfy and in the shade. He will love it when we have a hammock at our new house! And grass, we are really looking forward to having grass.

Awesome Dinner

As much as I like having Michael around, sometimes I like it when he works nights because it means I can cook whatever I want for dinner. He doesn't exactly like to 'branch out' , so I make my 'weird' food when he's not home. Tonight I made Sautee'd Quinoa (keen-wah), it was so good, I think I am going to make it a lot more often now. And I will make Michael try it, he might like it without the mushrooms. If you have never had quinoa you should try it. It is called the grain of the gods because it is practically perfect nutritionally speaking. It has an almost ideal protein balance, so it's really filling and really good for you. Anyways, there are lots of ways to make it, but here is the recipe I used:

Sautee'd Quinoa

1 C. quinoa

1 C. water

1 C. chicken broth

small onion, sliced

6-8 mushrooms, sliced

clove of garlic, crushed

salt/pepper

butter

Bring the quinoa, water and chicken broth to a boil and then cover and reduce the heat. Simmer for about 15 minutes, or until all the liquid is absorbed and the quinoa is soft. While the quinoa is simmering, put the onion, mushrooms, garlic and butter in a pan and saute. When the quinoa is done, add it to the mixture in the pan and cook on low for another minute or two to let all the flavors mix in. Serve and enjoy.

I let my vegetables saute until they were a little brown and crispy on the edges and it was really good. It would probably also be good with other vegetables, like zucchini, but I grilled my zucchini instead. I also used all chicken broth instead of broth and water. I only made a half recipe and as you can see from the picture, it makes a lot!