2009

I'm thinking of writing a cookbook. Well, not really writing but compiling one to give to family and friends. As I am thinking about what to include, I am thinking about what I cooked this year and to be honest I haven't cooked as much as I would have liked. The year started out busy, as it typically does. Back to school, back to life, back to AP, swimming, History Day, Acadec and a new program Link Crew. Last winter I made a lot of soup and I found the beauty in freezing soup. I also realized how easy it is to make beans from scratch in the Crock-pot. In the spring I came down with a bizarre illness and food was not in the forefront of my mind. I didn't enjoy cooking or eating much so spring's recipes we mostly out of necessity. Jeff  learned how to cook a few great dishes (tempeh tacos and pasta) which as really helped out a lot this year. In the summer we ate lots of salads, corn and vegetables from our garden. This was the first year since I was a kid that I had my own vegetable garden and it was awesome (and economical) to make my meals from what I found in my backyard. One way to try to get rid of my illness was to relax, and I found gardening to be extremely rewarding and relaxing. Summer was spent reading books in my hammock, taking naps and gardening. This winter it's been all about lentils and beans. I can't get enough of them. We now have central heating so I can enjoy my house even on the coldest of days and can cook up a veritable storm. I'm back to my normal self again (with a little less vision but a much greater understanding of life) and ready for 2010. 

Next goals: write a kickbutt cookbook to share with family and friends, finish reading some books that have set unfinished for months or years, keep working on the house (the never ending story) and enjoy life's adventures. 

i wear the pants...or at least i'm earning them.

for those of you who don't know, jeff had surgery on thursday. he had a lovely little growth on his knee that started to bother him after his stp bike ride this summer; on thursday they removed the little bugger. jeff is going to be off his feet for a little while. he should be walking normally within a week, but until then, i'm in charge! today i mowed the lawn, all by myself. i know,  you're all truly amazed. i don't know if i'm going to regret posting this, because now all those husbands out there are aware that it can be done by a woman. it took me a while and i'm sure it's not half as good as jeff could have done (cough cough), but it's liberating none the less. i also washed the car, planted a rosemary bush, took out the trash, turned the compost, killed an enormous black widow and now i'm relaxing with a beer. my, how the roles have reversed. this is what jeff has been up to for the passed few days (refer to photo). lots of video games, movies and the always interesting internet to examine. other then that, everything is going along. school is good and very busy. earlier this week i was thinking that perhaps a 24 year old should be doing something that is less stressful, like maybe i should be a part time barista or a server at a restaurant. teaching is sure taking up a lot of my time. maybe i'll go into landscaping, i have experience, you know.

Update

The passed few days have been somewhat of a fall teaser. The weather has been unbelievably wonderful (high of 90 degrees?) and you can smell fall in the air. School has officially started, so that means I will be MIA for the next 8 months. I am attempting to not become a hermit, but I can't make any promises. There are other things in life now that are bringing out the hermit in me. I started reading the Twilight series and for those of you who have read it or are currently reading it, you know exactly how deep the obsession runs. I've had to start limiting the amount of time I spend reading it (2-3 hours a day?). With the combination of school starting, the heat, and Twilight, it has left little time for working on the house. But, I thought I would include the little progress we have made; so here's a current list of what we have accomplished thus far: 1. We have painted another wall in the living room (2 down, 2 to go). 2. Mike finished stripping the paint off the fireplace (goooo Mike). 3. Jeff cleaned out the garage and hooked up the dryer. He's getting quite good at killing black widows, by the way. 4. We've picked out the design and color palette for the house, now we have to implement that. 5. Jeff cleaned out boy room, so he, Matt and Phil can escape from womankind and play music and the wii without girlfriend/wife interference. All in all, pretty productive month. The next month will be fun (painting the exterior!!!). It will look like a different house! Photos to come! 

House Before:

As many of you know, Jeff and I are in the process of restoring an old house. It was built in 1946, so it has lots of character and lots that needs to be fixed. In our first month here we have painted 1 room, started stripping off the paint from the fireplace, completely ripped out all the "volunteer" plants that were in the front and back yard, replaced the sprinklers and have started designing the landscape. It has been a long month but we're going strong. Our goal for the year is to have the exterior done: new paint (we're thinking green?), and new landscaping. Here are a few pictures of the house now and a few pics from Phil's bible study birthday celebration. 

Quote

As summer comes to a close I am starting to feel overwhelmed. The house is coming along, little by little, but the list of things to do keeps getting longer and longer. The daunting thought of school starting is also lingering in my mind. The summer has been lovely, but as usual, it has gone by far too fast. I'm at the point where I don't know where to start.  I was looking for inspiration and I found a pretty good quote to get me going. "The reward of a thing well done is to have done it." -Emerson

Home Ownership Lesson #2

Always buy a home warranty. They come in handy when you decide to do laundry and your tub and toilet over flow. It's ok I probably didn't need that shower anyway. Ah the joys of an old house. 

The first day of the rest of my life...

Yes, today is my last day of summer school. With 15 minutes left until the bell rings I am waiting in anticipation until it's over. Don't get me wrong, I had a wonderful class, but I am in need of a break. We moved into the new homestead on Saturday and are getting settled. It went smoothly but I must say I don't want to move again for a very very long time. I hate not knowing where anything is. In addition, I love that we have a cute old house, but I don't love all that cute old houses entail. Broken plugs, extremely large black widows, wrong outlets, short cabinets etc. Thank God that grandpa is handy and lives around the corner. It should be an exciting summer.