We really don’t slow down… maybe we will now?
Well well…. so much to update on and so little time! I’m bored at work at the moment, so this will be my little post for you all. All my patients are sleeping soundly! A rarity around here! :)
If you haven’t already found out via facebook (or good ol’ live human conversation!), we bought a DIFFERENT house in Hudson about a month ago (to move in at the end of June) AND we got a puppy 5 days ago! We’re crazy, we know it, but so far we are loving the puppy and are very excited about living in our first house, all three of us! The puppy (Lucy is her name) will probably be just as excited as we are. Hardwood and tile floors and a big grassy backyard (with lots of sticks!) will be like heaven to her, especially since she now is confined to a little carpeted (stains?? ahh!) apartment. Only 13 more days!!
So the house is a 1970s rambler with 3 beds, 1 3/4 bathrooms. Nice yard, updated main level, totally dated basement, and in an absolutely perfect location. Within walking distance to both the high school AND the middle school (think John’s future career as a track coach and special ed teacher)… not the forget it’s within walking distance to the YMCA too, and our church if you feel like it! There’s a nice little walking trail that goes through a grassy/woodsy area as well. Cannot wait to live there!
And so the puppy, the cutest little puppy that ever has or will be (haha, sorry). She’s a boxer/weimaraner mix, red/rust color, little floppy ears, big front paws (she’ll probably be 50-60lbs as an adult), oh and she’s only 10 weeks old! As John says, she’s our little turkey! Here’s a picture for ya:
Isn’t she adorable? I can’t say she doesn’t sometimes drive me crazy, or that I’m not totally sleep deprived, but I can say that she’s been a great puppy so far and we’re really looking forward to the future with her!
Alright… back to work I go. Only 2 hours left!
“Moving” On… Hopefully soon!
So I might have forgotten I even had a blog! Sorry!
We have been very busy since we started looking at houses. Most of you reading this probably already know that we found a house in Hudson, made an offer, and are in the process of finalizing our purchase agreement now that our inspection is done. It’s a lot of work! I’m already learning and seeing how being a home-owner is like like having kids or another job or… you get my drift.
The house is an old one, from 1922, but is in pretty good shape. It has it’s issues, but for the most part, is an amazing place for our first house. It’s near the main street in town and only another block to the river. We’re hoping it all works out, but man, we have my work cut out for us now! All the little projects are adding up on the list already: from things like fixing random electrical outlets, plumbing pipes, painting rooms/windows, replacing a couple beams in the basement (this may need to get fixed before we get our loan, actually, but we’ll see), changing some of the light fixtures, putting in a fence in the backyard, etc., etc…
We (that’d be John and I) are very excited but almost just as exhausted. All the forms, meetings, emails, phone calls, faxing, it get’s overwhelming pretty quick. But we’re making it through and so far we really haven’t had anything go awry. Our real estate agent has been great. Super helpful, patient, timely, knowledgable, friendly… you name it! Our mortgage broker has been great too… he’s not quite as friendly, but with a job like that, I don’t know how friendly you can be. He does his job well though! Our inspector did an extremely thorough job. My friends, coworkers, parents have been really helpful as well. So I really can’t complain about the whole process one bit.
It will definitely be nice to eventually, and hopefully soon, be able to settle down somewhere and not have to move every year. I haven’t been in one place for more than a year since I was 18. To be able to decorate our “home” without thinking that it’ll get de-decorated in only a few months. To be able to organize well and try and live more efficiently (less stress!). To have our own dishwasher and washer/dryer!!! SO excited about that. And a porch, a deck, TWO full bathrooms, storage space, a garage!!…
So anyhow, the next couple months, if everything goes through with this house, will be busy ones, and since we aren’t going to get internet this summer (but we will have local coffee shops!), I may not get to update too often. But then again, I’ll probably get excited and want to take pictures or ask for advice (sooo many questions!), so I really should take advantage of this great networking tool called blogging.
Stay tuned!
Next Step… a house?
As John and I come up to the end of our rental lease here in St. Paul, we’ve been pretty set on the idea that we’ll find an apartment in Hudson for a couple years tops while we save up for our first home. I’ve been pretty stubborn about this idea and haven’t even considered the idea of going ahead and looking at buying a house instead.
Well, this has changed these past couple days. John and I drove around Hudson the other day, before we visited a church there that we’ve heard some good things about from members of our current church, and we drove by a seemingly bland and small little house. Needless to say, I had already been looking around the internet real estate listings (ok, I’ve been doing that for months now, but not too often) and had already seen how darn cute the inside of this house is. The price seems okay, but then again, what do I (or John) know about housing prices? We just keep hearing “Now is the time to buy!” and have been trying to block it out of our minds.
I don’t know when exactly the shift happened, but I’ve been praying about this whole moving-to-Hudson-to-who-knows-where situation for awhile now and one after the other we have been unable to find an apartment place that’ll work for us in the area. We really don’t want to move any farther away from the cities (Hudson is about 15-20 min east of St. Paul) because that is where pretty much all our family and friends live, plus I do still have to go to work in St. Paul three times a week. But then again, we don’t want to move anywhere closer to the cities and away from John’s school in Menomonie, WI (an hour east of St. Paul) since we don’t know just how many times he’ll need to be driving there a week each semester. We’ve been blessed that he only has to drive twice a week for now, but we know that this most likely won’t be the case every semester. And we’re talking at least 2 1/2 to 3 more years of this.
Then we considered possibly renting a townhouse for awhile so that we at least have a little more space but still aren’t buying anything out of our budget… but then again, this seems a little contradictory because those townhouses cost quite a lot to rent and that’s a lot of money that could be going toward a mortgage. Doesn’t sound too wise… so we nixed that idea.
So… I’m sure you catch my drift… we are now looking into the possibility of buying our first house. There are many perks to buying in this market and also being that it’ll be our first house. We hope and are earnestly praying it’ll be in Hudson for many reasons. We really like the downtown area and it’s nearness to the river. We already know some people who live there. Like I said earlier, it’s still close enough to the cities that visiting family or friends does not necessarily need to be an overnight ordeal. John loves the closeness to the St. Croix River and the endless outdoor possibilities that this brings, while I love that it is a smaller town just outside the city (like what I grew up with, basically) and that we’ve already found a possible permanent church home for us. Also, I know some people who grew up in Hudson and I think they turned out awesomely. Not that this is a direct reflection on the town itself, but it sure does help! Can I also add that our car insurance premium would drop significantly by not living in the city!? Those little pluses do add up!
The next challenge we face, though, is trying hard not to lose sight of the fact that God will bring about a house for us if he intends us to buy and that no matter what, HE will take care of us. I mentioned a particular house earlier in this post and I’ll admit for both John and I, we are already struggling not to get too excited and attached to this one. It’s pretty small, but it has been updated extensively inside and it is only a couple blocks from the river front. BUT- we don’t need the latest and prettiest home with all the updated appliances (though I’ll admit, this would be nice!). We don’t need the three car garage or central AC or a fireplace or whatever… (which that house does not have, by the way) the list goes on. We know that if we are searching for joy in STUFF, in the perfect house, that we will only be left dry and hungry for something else to fulfill us. No house will ever compare to what He has prepared for us in heaven!
We are just striving to do what we know will bring glory to HIM, hoping that a decision to buy a home versus continuing to rent will be a better investment of the money He’s entrusted to us. And, that it would also help our family to grow both physically (yes, we’re talking kids here!) and spiritually in a way that brings more glory to Him. It’s definitely an exciting time!
Soup and Fajitas
I ended up making a couple things after my last post that were great and helped me use up some of those ingredients. One was Heidi’s potato soup, which was amazing! Funny thing is that my Papa (Grandpa) asked me for the recipe (on facebook, even more funny) and he accidentally put 3 cups of flour instead of 1/3 cup… oops.
So tasty though, when made right! Thanks Heidi!
I also tried making my own homemade pasta sauce using canned diced tomatoes, fresh basil and parsley and a couple other ingredients. These weren’t really on my “list”, but it was something I had been meaning to try for awhile. It came out runnier than I would have liked, but it was much more flavorful than I would have imagined it to be. I even got to use my immersion blender that my mother-in-law got me for Christmas. Yay! That’s definitely going to come in handy over the years.
And to top it all off, tonight I made fajitas for the very first time with my new-ish cast iron skillet. You have to understand, this is my husband’s absolute favorite meal, so he’s been nudging me to make them for a while now. I’ve always been afraid to for some reason. It was so easy! I used a recipe from allrecipes.com and used these cute mini sweet peppers that I picked up from Costco with my mom. All in all, great quick meal.
Husband was VERY pleased, and even more pleased when I did the dishes right afterward. Sometimes it’s amazing how I forget to do those simple things to bless him.
His response? “I also really like ice cream and beer…” Oh dear.
Lonely Ingredients
So I have cupboards full of random and seemingly necessary ingredients that, of course, I haven’t used much of, if at all. I really hate to waste, and I love the feeling you get when you know you’ve used what you’ve bought wisely, but for some reason, I’ve struggled to find use for so much of what I’ve invested in over the last year and a half (since getting married and having a kitchen!).
So, please, help me out. Take a look at my list below and then take a second or two to tell me any ideas you may have for me. Any recipes you know of or just simple ideas for integrating them in simple meals or snacks, or. . .whatever!
PLEASE. I BEG OF YOU. HELP!
And thanks. :)
Now to the list:
Dijon mustard
Hoisin sauce
red wine vinegar
white wine vigegar (I blame my sister for these two items! Hehe, love you Jen!)
cooking wines- white, sherry, and (I think) red
Hot sauce, both Chalula and Tabasco
Chicken stock/broth
Beef broth
Cous cous
Corn meal
Dry ranch dressing mix
Old Bay seasoning
Wild rice
Brown rice
Various pastas (like ziti)
TONS of frozen veggies- broccoli, corn, mixed veggies, peppers
Canned items like:
diced tomatoes
black beans
red kidney beans
whole kernal corn
tomato sauce
tomato paste
tomato soup
And a few more perishable items that need to be used ASAP:
Russet potatoes
Carrots
Onions
Celery (this will get used up anyhow, it’s so good with peanut butter!)
Sigh.
I think that’s it. This feels a little embarrassing to post, and kinda makes me feel like the spoiled foolish newlywed, but whatever, I’m calling out for help! A lot of the sauces/broths/wines were needed for a single recipe, but now I’m left clueless on what to do with them, not wanting to make that one recipe a gazillion times.
So go ahead. Brainstorm and give me some feedback.
THANKS!
An Early V-Day
This was awhile ago now, but who cares!
My wonderful and thoughtful husband treated us to a surprise night out at a hotel in Minneapolis (see here) the week before Valentine’s Day. Thank you, priceline.com, for helping us get such a good deal! It was a great time to get away for a bit and enjoy not thinking about work or cleaning and daily life. The funny part though? We get up to our room and see that we got two double beds! Whoops.
Since this place was on Nicollet Mall, we could just walk a couple blocks to some well-known fancy shmancy restaurants. We decided to go here, and boy was it yummy! We both ordered the corn tacos and really enjoyed them. The way they presented the food was really beautiful too; the plates were so pretty and cute!
Even though we tend to go “out” to eat pretty often these days, we haven’t been to a nice restaurant in a long time, or ever even. So I’m hoping my husband and I can do these little date nights out more often. It was great!
Crockpot Salsa Chicken
Here is a super easy and tasty recipe I got from a friend at work. She also blogs and has a cute cooking blog here. I cooked this up while I was out of the “house” for our usual Sunday business (church, small group) and it was ready when we got home! Super easy and pretty darn tasty too! Maybe not the most healthy, but not bad either! You’ll have to try it.
Here goes:
4 Frozen Chicken Breasts (I actually had mine already thawed and it worked just fine)
1/2 a packet of Taco Seasoning
1 can of Cream of Chicken soup
1/2 a jar of salsa
Spray crock pot with some non-stick spray and then put all ingredients in the crock pot. Cook on low for 7-8 hours.
Top with grated cheddar cheese and/or sour cream. Eat with flour tortilla or tortilla chips (we ate it with some blue corn tortilla chips). I served it with plain old cooked brown rice with the sauce and grated cheese on top.
Love these one-pot recipes! Enjoy!
Nocturnal for Good
This past Monday night was my first official 12 hour night shift at Regions. It went well! Of course the nurses I work with are all super nice and helpful, so that helps a ton. I worked another shift the next night, and both of those shifts were pretty slow, I’ll admit. Normally they aren’t that slow, they all said, but man, I was struggling. Plus, I did not bring enough food! Twelve hours is a long time to be working and you don’t realize how much you normally eat when you’re awake for 12 hours. Usually you would have had 2 or 3 meals if it was during the day.
I’m definitely adjusting to living a nocturnal lifestyle now. Since I don’t want to totally mess up my internal clock, I’m trying to keep it consistent even on nights when I don’t work. This poses a problem though, since our apartment is so open and since John sleeps at night. I can’t do a whole lot then because most things are somewhat noisy (like cleaning, for example). Last night I did manage to do the dishes at 3am though! Does anyone have any ideas of things I could do at night that would be productive or enjoyable that aren’t noisy but also don’t make me want to go to sleep right away? I love reading, but for now that still makes me sleepy at night… dang it.
So anyway, John also started school this past week and so there’s another change thrown at us. He’s doing so well already and keeping up with all his reading and homework. It’s so great to see! I’m excited for when he is finally able to become a special education teacher and enjoy it! Hopefully then I won’t have to work quite as much as a nurse, but we’ll see!
Please be praying for us as we are ajusting to all these big changes… it definitely is taking some adjusting!
Future Cheese Heads
Over the past couple weeks, the hubby and I have decided that we will, in fact, be moving to the western border of Wisconsin come May, Lord willing. This has always been my hope and plan, but not so much John’s, who absolutely loves the city and historic nature of our current dwelling place.
Though I’m not sure if he’ll admit to it, I think the main reason for John’s change of heart is seeing just how stressed and frustrated I am and have been with where we live now. I do love the cuteness of our apartment, but let’s just say I struggle with just about every facet of daily living when I don’t have any way of keeping our place organized or clean. Our apartment has one relatively large living room/dining room (to be more accurate, our kitchen table is in our living room), a tiny kitchen, and then downstairs is our medium sized bedroom, our small bathroom, and two decently sized closets. There honestly is just not enough space here for us, even after moving many boxes into a storage unit. And since I know we won’t be here much more than a year at the most, it seems unwise to spend gobs of money on furniture items to help organize.
So, the plan now is to move into a place (an apartment) in Hudson come May. We have already found some possible winners online that have two bedrooms (each with a closet!), two bathrooms, AND allow dogs, and still are cheaper than our place is now.
I should also mention another change in plans… regarding the mention of dogs. Since this apartment we found only allows dogs under 30lbs., we’re leaning towards getting an Italian greyhound, hopefully from a local animal shelter. And I’ll shamefully admit, we like to frequent the humane societies and pet stores (with puppies) roughly once every 1-2 weeks… and we happened to run across THE cutest greyish-blue colored italian greyhound. You should have seen both our hearts melt at the sight of this little bugger. We are definitely excited to have a fury friend join our family! Hopefully it would live longer than our fish… we are now down to 3 fish out of what used to be 8. Good thing I’m not attached!
Invitation
So my running blog has been flourishing much more than this blog, but my visitor frequency definitely has not followed suit. Want to stop over and help support me as I get my behind into gear? Please? Thanks! :)
