Friday, September 30, 2011

New Chair

I had been searching for a 'reading nook' chair for our bedroom for awhile. Well, not really actively searching, but wanting one. I was originally thinking about a white overstuffed chair.. they were just so expensive though. And then after seeing a nice leather chair on pinterest, I starting thinking about leather. (except not for $4k... who the heck?!?!)

I'm afraid of getting cloth things off craigslist. Unless it can be completely washed- I don't want whatever cat hair, cigarette smoke, or bed bugs could be lurking inside. But leather I felt could be 'washed' and isn't really as penetrable (read stainable) as other fabric. So I started looking and then found this beauty.


It was a good arm/back/quads workout to haul it up into our apartment, but now there is is.


Geez, our room looks so blah... someday I'd like a Pottery Barn looking bedroom, but until then, it is what it is.

I'm not sure if I love how it looks in our room yet. Maybe the cream would have been better. But it's a quality chair (so what if there are some scratches on it and the craigslist lady didn't tell me that the reclining foot part doesn't quite go all the way back in!), I felt like it was a good deal for the money and maybe if we didn't want it in the bedroom someday it would be a nice extra living room chair for our future house. It'd even match our brown couch.

But for now I have a reading chair :)

Thursday, September 29, 2011

not much going on

Yesterday was a good, but not very exciting day.

Came home and the Hubbs had ran 20 miles. He is training for the marathon in a few weeks and so it was his longest run yet. My sweet Hubbs ran 20 miles after work, and then made dinner for us so it'd be ready when I came home. He made a recipe for Green Chile Chili, I don't remember where I got the recipe, but it was pretty tasty. It had one bottle of dark beer in it, so I could taste that a little, but mostly it tasted good. It was called green chile chili b/c it had salsa verde and green chiles in it, but it wasn't green at all!

After dinner we watched the end of Modern Family and then I made him sit in the tub filled with cold water. It wasn't ice, but we thought it'd be good to prevent swelling and too much soreness. Poor thing instantly started shivering when he sat down, it was sad to see! That was pretty much our night :)

Oh- I did get my glasses refunded! But they did charge me the 20% "re-stocking fee" even though when I went in last weekend I said I didn't think that was fair because they should have known the lens they chose wasn't right. I had looked up the medical codes they used and it said that lens they used was for up to -7 and my glasses prescription was a -12 lens. So how is that right?? Anyway, he wouldn't do it, so lesson learned never to go there again. I do think that's crap though, I'm sure they could have covered it and I think that it would have been in the best business interest to have a happy customer.. but I guess they disagree. Now is the kind of time when I wish I knew more internet stuff so I could write a review, but I don't. Anyway, glad to be done with that!

Wednesday, September 28, 2011

Small(-ish) Group

Last night our small group resumed after taking a summer hiatus. They had people at church re-sign up, so this time our small group of 10 had grown to about 19 people. It was fun to meet some new people and I am excited to share life together over the next few months. Our group leader said this is the last group they will lead, because then they are going to move into a small group leader training role next time. And he said that they hope that each 'semester' people would join a different group so they can meet more and more new people everytime. This is probably a good idea but I felt a bit sad. I am more of a small group, really getting to know each other type person. And that takes time. But on the other hand, Hubbs and I have been going to our new church for 9 months now and still really only know those 10 or so people- so it could be good to learn more.

I felt like I was awkward last night though. During the introductions this couple by us said they were also newlyweds, and we asked if they had kids, they said 'no' and Hubbs and I did a little high-five. (even though we want kids eventually- we have been wishing for some more people in our same stage of life now). Then at the end, people were sharing prayer requests and that couple shared that they wanted to start a family but then her job dropped her health ins so they can't afford to right now, and I felt like a jerk. Hubbs said I'm just overanalyzing, but I'd just hate to have hurt someones feelings, esp the first night! So I apologized, but still felt bad. Hopefully they'll get to know me more over the next months and know that while I'm not always tactful, I'm not intentionally hurtful.

Monday, September 26, 2011

It was a good weekend


He passed!!! Hubbs passed his board exam with a 91%, smarty pants, and so now he can legally work in Michigan. We were very happy. We went out to dinner at Olive Garden, and then met up friends at a brewery, and then went over to their house to play games. It was a fun night.

Sunday we went to church, and then met up for lunch with my friend from book club- and her husband who plays basketball with Andrew. And then the girls watched the boys play basketball.

When we came home our Moth Annihilation plan was resumed. The other day we found a moth on one of those traps. So we had to hunt for more. This time the moths were in a can of steel cut oats. I checked that can last week, and it was all clear- so they must have been eggs then, ewww. I don't understand these moths, they must have a really quick life cycle cause that wasn't very long ago! And of course they were in my other box of Red River (that was also sealed). My friend at lunch told me that her parents had those moths and 'they never could get rid of them'.... nooooo!!! Hopefully our system will work though, we now threw everything boxed away and now things will be jarred air-tight...

So I got all my jars unpacked


Washed them


Hubbs made stir fry


Then loaded up the jars


And here they are nice and put away



Although I ended up with too many small jars and not enough bigger ones. I should have known this, but apparently fluid ounces are much smaller than dry ounces, so for example a 8oz thing of panko would not fit into a 16 oz. jar, and barely even into a 32 oz. jar - so I need to see what I can do. And we haven't really thought of what to do about cereal boxes either...

The rest of the night I made a roasted tomato, onion, garlic and tomato soup, yummy


Talked to my brother on his 28th birthday, and relaxed with popcorn and The Bourne Identity... and this guy...


Good times. So this morning on the way to work it was super rainy. And as I got to work I saw something out of the corner of my eye and it was rain coming into my car from the sunroof! The roof was all the way closed, but it is somehow getting in. I could see the overhead light compartment thing was full of water. So that can't be good, but not really sure what to do about it either! Dad, help!!!! :)

Friday, September 23, 2011

busy weekend

This weekend is going to be pretty busy. Tomorrow morning I have to go back to the eyeglasses place and see if we can work anything out. I'm trying not to plan what I'm going to say, as I usually do in daydreams, because it still makes me mad. But I am hopeful for a resolution.

Next I'm going up to my hometown for "Dryden Fest" where I am going to help my friend sell her stuff. I'm hoping it's not too rainy and there will be a good turnout! I am really proud of my friend. She quit her full-time job to be able to do something that she is really passionate about, and started her own raw food business. I think that's so brave. First of all I don't think I do anything good enough to make it into a business (except my knit baby hats are really cute), but then to be brave enough to actually pursue it. I'm impressed. So yeah, a afternoon to hang out with my bff and eat free guac all day, priceless!

In the evening, I will either be celebrating or consoling my Hubbs. He takes his national board exam on Saturday and on our weekly schedule board he had written: Saturday - exam followed by celebration or depression. And he's not joking. This past week hasn't been very fun as he's been studying every night and getting more and more anxious as the date looms closer. I think he'll be just fine, he's worked so hard and he's just fresh out of school so hopefully some of those answers are still lurking in that brain of his, but he's just so nervous. Prayers are appreciated!

The other task for the weekend is more pantry work. I had ordered a bunch of jars to store our food and keep us safe from future pantry moth invasions, and they arrived. So now I need to wash them, and get everything stocked back up. We haven't seen a single moth since our search & destroy mission, but the fear of them still is there. One morning I saw Hubbs drive over to our apt dumpster and throw away a box of Life cereal. And he made me throw away a brand new box of triscuits because the bag had a small hole. We are paranoid, yes. But eating a larvae would be worse than wasting some money, so it's ok.

Sunday's agenda so far just looks like church and lunch. I'm looking forward to it, our lives have been far too busy and I need a good old nap and movie day!

Thursday, September 22, 2011

32

Happy 32nd anniversary to my parents!!


I can't believe this is the only picture I have of my parents in my facebook albums- daughter fail! This picture was from my brother's wedding in 2009. So just take out the kids and there you have the happy couple :)

My parents have taught me a lot about marriage, and are wonderful role models. I'm so thankful to have had such a good example of love and commitment.

***

update: yesterday got better. I saw I can return my glasses, there's a 20% "restocking fee" but I could still afford to get other glasses somewhere else and have money back too! So I feel better about that. And I came home to a big hug from Hubbs and some Eclipse watching, so it was a good day after all :)

Wednesday, September 21, 2011

Four Eyes

I feel like today is going to be a bad day.

Yesterday I went to get my new glasses. I haven't gotten new glasses in about 5 years. I wear contacts, and I really only wear glasses at night before bed. But I wanted to get some with an updated prescription and that looked good enough that I could wear to work if I ever couldn't wear my contacts for some reason. Now, I am very near-sighted -10.5 in one eye, and -9.5 in the other. So I knew my glasses would be thick, but I paid extra for "thinning" and this is what I picked up yesterday:


Are you kidding me??!? Those glasses are bulging out the back, side and front of the frame! I was really disappointed. And they make you sit there and try it on... 'oh how are they?' ... 'um, am I supposed to be able to have my peripheral vision completely blocked by the edge of these lenses?' ... 'oh, that's normal.' Um - no it isn't!! And I asked them if I had any options and he just looked at me awkwardly.

So I get home and I compared them to my other glasses, which maybe were a tiny bit less strong of a prescription but not much, and they are seriously 1/3 of the thickness.

I'm just so mad. They make you pay in advance, and then you're stuck with whatever crap they give you?? It is so unfair. I'm going to go back this weekend and show them my old glasses, and show them what "thinning" is supposed to look like, but it probably won't do any good. Apparently there is no customer satisfaction at Clear Sight Optical.

I paid over $350 for something I just want to throw away. I keep thinking about it and getting madder and madder. I feel like they are stealing money right out of my pocket and there's nothing I can do about it.


Plus my eyes look freakishly small and beady. Not happy. Not happy at all.

Monday, September 19, 2011

feels like fall

Well yesterday felt more like summer... but anyway.

This weekend I went home to hang out with my mom. I wasn't crazy about the hour drive, but I've been missing my parents and wanted to carpe diem. We went to a nearby orchard and picked apples. Then sat and had delicious cinnamon donuts and apple cider. My mom was telling me a story about the bible study she has at our house. She said a froggy (well really 2) had came in the patio door and she knelt down to look under the table to grab him out. And when she stood back up she looked down at her pants and she had knelt down on a second frog and crushed it!! She said she had to soak her pants b/c there was frog juice on them. Haha, so gross, how do you not feel that!?! Then she told me how the next day she was working in the garden and she saw a frog hop into the barn. So she grabbed him and went to throw him out the door- but she said somehow instead of out, she threw him up and he smashed into the top of the doorwall. I was laughing so hard. I never knew my mom was a frog murderer.

We also went and visited my friend who was working at her dad's honey/grape stand. So that was fun. She and I lived only a little over a mile from each other growing up and would always ride our bikes to each other's houses. I love that we are still best friends, 20 years later!

I loved the drive there though, the air smells like fires burning and the sun was setting through the trees and over the lake where I would love to have a house someday. It was really calming.

Came home and made my first batch of butternut squash soup for the season, and my first apple pie in about 3 years. Both were excellent :)

the apples

my pie crust

cut up apples

my crumb top (I don't really like other pie crust)

and hot out of the oven (with squash soup cooking in background)

Hubbs even stopped at Mc Donald's to get me a vanilla cone so I could have some ice cream on my pie, mmmm

It was yummy. I wished someone was coming over to eat some, but Hubbs had to study so I just ate some myself. Pie making is hard work! But it was a nice treat.

Friday, September 16, 2011

enjoy today

I haven't been able to sleep well the past two nights. The first night my mind was racing on ways to get rid of the moths, and planning what new storage containers to get for our pantry. Then last night my mind was busy imagining our future house, future new cars, future babies. Now, mind you, none of those things are expected to happen anytime soon. But does that stop me from spending time looking at cars/houses/baby stuff online? No. But it should. There is a good side of being a practical planner, but there's a bad side of just wasting a lot of time that could and should be spent doing other things that are useful for now. Time that could be spent maybe cleaning the apartment we live in now, or enjoying this time alone with my husband, or sleeping. I really need to work on 'enjoying today'.

Wednesday, September 14, 2011

Search & Destroy Mission

So after work yesterday I came home and Hubbs and I got to work on the pantry. We brought out everything inspecting boxes for holes, looking for small piles of crumbs, looking for evidence. And we found it. Oh we found it.

First up was my precious box of Red River hot porridge cereal (only available in Canada). Andrew found clumps and webbies inside. Next I saw a moth flying aroung, trapped in a sealed bag of white rice. Andrew opened up a box of barley and a moth, from the family of moths living inside, flew out. And then, in a "air tight" container (that will be returned to bed bath and beyond immediately) a fat larvae worm was found chilling in a clumpy ball nest of popcorn kernals that he had made for himself.

We ended up throwing away probably about $75-100 worth of stuff. We didn't find worms/moths in everything, but just thinking about their eggs on our food totally grossed us out and we didn't want to risk potential eggs hatching into another moth cycle.

Then I wiped down the entire pantry and swabbed each hole (in the adjustable shelving part) out with a q-tip dipped in bleach in case any eggs were laid in there. And back in went our remaining tiny stash of food. They said the best thing for storage is glass jars with a screw on lid, so I am already looking for more.

We also ordered pantry moth traps. Stupid Home Depot stores don't carry them, you have to order online, so instead of already being able to catch the moths, I have to wait for someone to slowly ship stuff to me. But that's about all we can do. When I came home last night from book club I killed another 4 moths that were flying around. So gross. There were several screams heard inside our apartment that day. And many shudders.

It just makes me feel like it will happen again. Apparently you get them from infected stuff in the grocery store and then bring it home. And you are supposed to avoid this by noticing moths flying around in the grocery store and inspecting every box you buy for tiny pinhole sized holes.

But also some of the stuff in our home was packaged badly. Both the Red River and the barley were sold in cardboard boxes that you just punch out a hole to pour out the stuff and then it has only that cardboard flap "door", so the moths just crawled right in. Very poor packaging if you ask me. Need more jars!!!

So if anyone ever has moths in their kitchen, don't just assume they came in the window seeking light- it could be much worse!

Tuesday, September 13, 2011

Take Over

I don't know how it happened, but after we returned from our trips we noticed that these guys are taking over our apartment


I don't know how they got in?!

....this just in.... after googling moth pictures, that picture was from a blog where a girl posted about pouring pasta into a pot and seeing tons of larvae worms being boiled. Apparently these could be Indian Meal Moths aka Pantry Moth larvae- and they lay 100 eggs at a time in the nooks and crannies of the cupboard crannies and even into boxes/containers of sealed grain/flour based stuff.

Dear God, please no. And come to think of it, I did see a moth in the pantry cupboard the other day and I thought, weird, I wonder what he's doing in there. Apparently laying hundreds of eggs into my food!!!

ewwww- must go home and check pantry!!

Monday, September 12, 2011

Weekend Review

This weekend was a busy one. Started off Friday night with a girl's night with my friend Liz. We had dinner, watched an episode of Switched At Birth (pretty good). She had bought this tiny pineapple


which was marketed as being sweeter. It tasted good to me, but $3!? No. This girl is too cheap for that.

We also made Almond Butter in her Vitamix. I guess I need to watch a tutorial on this. All these blog girls are always talking about how good almond butter is. And it tasted pretty good, but mine was like Almond Dust when I went to get it out of the jar this morning for my toast. And we had even added coconut oil! I don't get it. They must buy theirs already made. But again, I'm not paying $7 for a jar of AB, although I guess I paid close to that for raw almonds... anyway. Girl time was nice.

Saturday I went in to work for my old boss to do some filing, then went to my grandmas to clean their house, met my parents there and we went to the local "Arts and Apples" festival. Every year I search for caramel apples, and every year there aren't any. One caramel apple isn't too unrealistic to expect from an apples fest is it? Apparently it is. Luckily good old Meijer had one when we did our grocery shopping on Sunday. Mmmm


After the festival we went to a friend's birthday party, and then met up with Hubb's parents and aunt & uncle at a bar and then went over to their house. Sunday was our return to church. We hadn't been at all in August, every weekend we were on a trip somewhere! So it was good to be back. Then we did our grocery shopping and saw this guy


No way will I ever be buying a tub of trans fatty chemicals, but it did get a laugh from both of us.

Yay, a full fridge again!


We got some lunch at Qdoba and then did our typical Sunday afternoon of nap and laundry. We both got in some studying


I made granola


Hubbs made eggplant parmesan


With a marinara made by his mom from stuff in her garden, and fresh green beans and broccoli from my mom's garden. Neither of us really like eggplant that much, but he breaded and baked the eggplant slices first and it was actually pretty good.

My mom also has been stopping by my office almost weekly and giving me beautiful flowers from her garden, thanks mom!


We ended the evening watching American Gangster, (ok), and then into bed and ready for the upcoming week!

Friday, September 9, 2011

Rotten Potatoes

Now while I knew that potatoes could get squishy and grow eyes when they are getting old- I did not know that they could get a crusty shell and bubbling out insides and leave a dried blood looking stain on your floor, and a smell that your husband describes as "death" as he immediately bagged up and took out the trash.

This is what I grabbed when I went to get a potato last night:


ewwww!!!! what?!?!?!

I wanted to cut it open. I was convinced something was growing inside. I had never felt that texture before. But Hubbs would have none of it, so into the trash it went.

And I continued to get a different potato and made a fantastic omlet for dinner. Potatoes, onions, garlic, chicken, cheese- it was a good one!

Last night we went to a 'how to save for a house' seminar thing. It was a lot of budgeting which we already do and then some on saving for a house and info on loans etc. We came home and looked again at the ol' budget and I immediately felt hopeless. I feel that we are so careful already. We both have old cars, pack our lunches everyday, don't really get much new stuff- and yet we are spending almost all we earn every month. How is this possible?? Not too promising for the stay-at-home-mom dreams. Stay-at-home-mom-living-in-parents-basement maybe! No thanks. So we'll see. I actually feel really lucky, Hubbs is really good with our money and I totally trust his judgment, but it is hard.

And then when we came home I immediately went for the sweatshirt.


I have lots of sweatshirts, but for some reason I always reach for this one. Good old $7 OU sweatshirt. Sexy I know.

Anyway, our 'free heat' at our apartment doesn't even turn on till October so it is already a bit chilly. Or maybe I've just gotten used to it being at least 80 in our apartment!

Thursday, September 8, 2011

Toaster Ovens

When I was registering for our wedding one of the things I was most excited about was registering for our toaster oven. Sounds lame, I know, but I had had some 'problems' with toaster ovens before and I really wanted one that I was familiar with i.e. identical to my parents or grandparents. A simple toast button, and a dial for the oven feature.

But instead, one day going to my then fiancees house, his mom presented us with a toaster oven she had got us at family dollar, or some kind of store like that. The kind of store where they don't let you return things.

I should have been grateful, it was spontaneously generous of her, but I was disappointed that I didn't get to find the one that I wanted.

And last night, my old 'problem' returned.

Yes my friends, I'm talking about a toaster oven fire. My third toaster oven fire in fact. And the second one with those stupid corn tortilla shells!

It wasn't as bad as my first toaster oven fire, where those darn shells filled the entire kitchen of the house where I was nannying with smoke. As I stood there helplessly looking for the fire estinguisher. **Note to parents- ALWAYS tell your babysitter where that is kept, how was I supposed to know it was in the laundry room!?!** So yeah, I stood there helplessly watching the flames shoot up towards the cabinets after telling the kid to run outside. Luckily the mom had house painters over who ran in and threw the whole thing in the sink. So yes, quite embaressing. I had to tell the fire trucks that came that it was ok and they weren't needed.

Fire number 2 was the sad result of my bagel thins breakfast at then fiancees parents house one morning. I guess I just can't toast thin things very well.

And fire 3 occured last night while I was toasting the last tortilla shell for my dinner. I was sitting at the table talking to Hubbs when I glanced over and could see flames arising inside the toaster. He said I just stared at it repeating 'there's a fire, there's a fire, there's a fire' in a Rain Mannish type way. But Hubbs unplugged it, and somehow blew out the fire. And dinner was eating without tortilla shells. But at least I didn't burn anything down.

The first tortilla shell fire inspired me to write a letter to El Paso shells company telling them they should have a warning on their box of super flammable shells, which consequently earned me 2 free boxes, score!, but there will be no letter this time. First time shame on you, second time shame on me I guess. On the other hand, more potential free shells... eh?

Wednesday, September 7, 2011

California Gurls (and their husbands)

My friend Jill moved away last year. Her husband joined the army and was stationed in California for the first part of his training. So over the long weekend we went to visit.


And what sounds more fun than a 20 mile hike through Big Sur?!?! So on Saturday morning we strapped on our backpacks and headed off


we pumped/cleaned river water with this contraption Jill bought. I was still scared to use it, but didn't get sick. (so far anyway, who knows if something is growing inside me this very minute! *shudder*)


at the end of the first day, we had hiked to an actual hot spring


which was nice and warm, but why was I thinking there would be a smooth pool bottom?? False.

And we camped out and ate our army MREs


and headed back out the next day. Here we are by the entrance to the hike


tired... hungry... cranky and sore. This hike was r-o-u-g-h I don't know if it was because of the packs or maybe combined with too small hiking shoes, but it was a difficult one.

we stopped by the waterfall at Big Sur on our way home


And then to their house to relaxxx. Their super cute dog Becks also came with us on the trail in his very own carrier. What do you think, future family photo?

Tuesday, September 6, 2011

Sleepy

Last night we left California from visiting my friend and her husband who live out near Monterey. We had a nice Labor Day weekend. Well, actually it was exhausting. We did a 20 mile hike in Big Sur and it was rough. I thought since surviving the Inca Trail in Peru last weekend that I could handle it, but it was hard. It could have been that this time I was carrying a 25 lb pack?, but it was quite strenuous. There were blisters. There were falls. There were tears of frustration. But there were also good times with friends and good memories made. Maybe pictures tomorrow if I have time to upload.

So no sleep on the flight from San Jose to Phoenix, maybe 1 hour as Hubbs and I lay on the floor in the terminal waiting for our next flight, and probably 2 hours sleep on the flight from Phoenix to Detroit. And then straight from the airport to work. Not the most refreshing way to start the work week, but it's really hard to plan because you lose so much time flying East and it was the best way to maximize visiting time.

And that appears to be the end of our travels for 2011, sadly. I have used all my vaca time, and Hubbs has just started his new job and has to accrue, but they were good ones!

Thursday, September 1, 2011

Bug Bites

I have a bump on my finger and I'm nervous. It's been about 5 days now since I got this bug bite. It was craaazily itchy the first few days and the injection point looked like a broken blood vessel, which is different than a normal mosquito bite where you usually don't see an entry point. When we got home I poked a pin in there, and rubbed 'anti itch' on it, but 5 days later, it is still raised and swollen. Is there something growing in there!?!?! Maybe I'm paranoid. It does say the Bot fly lives in S. America, but it seems pretty unlikely...

In other news, I have become obsessed with the show Dexter. I don't know why, it is crude and pretty graphic, but I really like the mystery and suspense. Plus until the next Bachelor or Bachelorette, I have no other shows!