Well, we did it. We signed many, many times on the dotted line and will shortly be elbow deep in home remodeling shenanigans and much more debt. Now that the closing is behind us, here's our to-do list:
1. Move all worldly goods out of house so roof can be ripped off
2. Move all worldly goods into rental house
3. Spend next 6-8 months agonizing over fixtures, tiles, paint colors, etc. while trying not to go over budget
4. Move all worldly goods back into the "new" house
All in all we are really excited about the pending transformation, except for steps 1,2 and 4.
We are signing our lease tomorrow, and Charlie has already declared which room in the rental is "his." He also loves to talk about how Mr. Craven is going to make his house bigger, and then he can get a yellow doggie. He's got an agenda, no doubt.
I've decided to start a separate blog just for the renovation (not entirely sure why this is necessary, but it seemed like a good idea earlier this afternoon). Check out www.miraclerenovation.blogspot.com in a few days for some before pictures and the plans for our new nest.
Tuesday, March 31, 2009
Thursday, February 26, 2009
Quotables
A few gems from the past few weeks . . .
To Evan: "You and me should have cookies now because mommy isn't home."
"This is going to be a large poop."
When he's upset: "Make me feel better" and/or "There's water coming out of my eyes" and/or "Dry my tears."
To me: "Let's do an art project."
To Evan: "What is that man's name? Maybe it is Bob. Maybe I am Bob. Maybe you are Bob. We Bobs are going to get something to eat!"
He's also been making up words - his latest is "Kirkus Feekus." Apparently this is a location, as his firetruck was headed there.
To Evan: "You and me should have cookies now because mommy isn't home."
"This is going to be a large poop."
When he's upset: "Make me feel better" and/or "There's water coming out of my eyes" and/or "Dry my tears."
To me: "Let's do an art project."
To Evan: "What is that man's name? Maybe it is Bob. Maybe I am Bob. Maybe you are Bob. We Bobs are going to get something to eat!"
He's also been making up words - his latest is "Kirkus Feekus." Apparently this is a location, as his firetruck was headed there.
Saturday, February 14, 2009
Happy Valentine's Day
We are having a fantastic Valentine's Day! No roses, heart-shaped chocolates or dinner reservations, just a nice day out and about, complete with delicious treats from The Cupcake Shoppe. This is one of my all-time favorite places. Whenever I go in, I can appreciate how some women feel about Tiffany's.
Some mid-morning lounging around
Charlie enjoys his Brown Betty, icing first
Ashleigh digs into her Plain Jane, with conversation heart
A moment of calm before the sugar high takes hold
We went from there to Pullen Park, so the kids could run off some cupcake energy. After feeding the ducks and geese, we walked by this gorgeous cherry tree. Seemed the perfect place for a photo of our two tiny lovebirds.
To cap off our day, Evan made heart-shaped meatballs for dinner. Cupcakes and meatballs? And a new episode of Battlestar Galactica still on the DVR? Beats roses any day.
Some mid-morning lounging around
Charlie enjoys his Brown Betty, icing first
Ashleigh digs into her Plain Jane, with conversation heart
A moment of calm before the sugar high takes hold
We went from there to Pullen Park, so the kids could run off some cupcake energy. After feeding the ducks and geese, we walked by this gorgeous cherry tree. Seemed the perfect place for a photo of our two tiny lovebirds.
To cap off our day, Evan made heart-shaped meatballs for dinner. Cupcakes and meatballs? And a new episode of Battlestar Galactica still on the DVR? Beats roses any day.
Monday, February 9, 2009
1st Haircut
It was time. Charlie's hair had reached maximum craziness, complete with snarls and windswept vision impairment.
Before:
After:
The boys came by work to show me the new do, and Charlie said, "I got my hair cut. I'm adorable!"
Before:
After:
The boys came by work to show me the new do, and Charlie said, "I got my hair cut. I'm adorable!"
Sunday, February 1, 2009
Thanksgiving II: Dumplings
This year, we voted 3-1 to switch up Thanksgiving II to not include any Thanksgiving food. Evan very stubbornly opposed this transition, but Ben, Kirsten and I beat him into submission. We decided to go for foods we normally wouldn't make, and here were a few possibilities (all from scratch, of course): tamales, sausage and dumplings. We decided on dumplings, inspired by an issue of Living which included 8 dumpling recipes. We ruled out wontons, peirogi (too easy to come by), and gnudi (which are like ravioli minus the pasta, and didn't seem particularly appealing). Topfendknodl made the list, but we ran out of time, as is so often the case during these weekends.
Dumpling #1: Manti
These are Turkish dumplings filled with lamb, onion and spices - insanely delicious, and worth the effort as they are tiny. Legend says (how often do you get to write that?) a worthy bride makes manti small enough that 40 can fit in a spoon.
The troops at work:
About the size of a dime before "pinching" . . .
. . . and more like a dime afterwards.
Coming out of the oven after first baking and then braising in yummy cinnamon infused stock
Ready to eat, dressed wth brown butter, yogurt with garlic paste, paprika and mint.
Dumpling #2: Kropkakkor
Thanks to an ill-timed migraine, I missed the making of these guys. They are Swedish potato dumplings filled with caramelized onion, allspice, bacon and smoked ham. The Swedes eat them with lingonberry jam (what else?) for breakfast, or as an afternoon snack. Along with the meds, these were a lovely headache cure.
Charlie gets in on the action
Dumpling #3: Momos
Thus fortified, we moved on to our next victim, a vegetarian version of Nepalese dumplings served with homemade hot sauce. We were all in agreement that the hot sauce overpowered the mild flavors of the dumplings (shitakes, cabbage and potatoes) but they were very tasty nonetheless.
The filling
Finished product, ready for steaming
Dumpling #4: Onde Onde
These Indonesian dessert dumplings are rice flour based, filled with brown sugar and coated with fresh grated coconut. They sounded declicious, but were, to be blunt, a total disaster.
The recipe called for glutinous rice flour, and using just regular rice flour didn't cut it. We made a special trip to an Asian market for pandan essence and should have put the flour on the list as well. We bought two different pandan products: extract and essence. The latter looked more "authentic" but was also more syrupy, so the onde onde ended up a shade of green not to be found in nature. Once it came time to boil them, the lack of all that gluten caused the dumplings to crack, and the brown sugar to leak out. Boo hiss . . . I'd like to try these again sometime, though, becasue the pandan was really intriguing, very nutty and fragrant. And it was fun to have an excuse to crack open a coconut.
Dumpling #1: Manti
These are Turkish dumplings filled with lamb, onion and spices - insanely delicious, and worth the effort as they are tiny. Legend says (how often do you get to write that?) a worthy bride makes manti small enough that 40 can fit in a spoon.
The troops at work:
About the size of a dime before "pinching" . . .
. . . and more like a dime afterwards.
Coming out of the oven after first baking and then braising in yummy cinnamon infused stock
Ready to eat, dressed wth brown butter, yogurt with garlic paste, paprika and mint.
Dumpling #2: Kropkakkor
Thanks to an ill-timed migraine, I missed the making of these guys. They are Swedish potato dumplings filled with caramelized onion, allspice, bacon and smoked ham. The Swedes eat them with lingonberry jam (what else?) for breakfast, or as an afternoon snack. Along with the meds, these were a lovely headache cure.
Charlie gets in on the action
Dumpling #3: Momos
Thus fortified, we moved on to our next victim, a vegetarian version of Nepalese dumplings served with homemade hot sauce. We were all in agreement that the hot sauce overpowered the mild flavors of the dumplings (shitakes, cabbage and potatoes) but they were very tasty nonetheless.
The filling
Finished product, ready for steaming
Dumpling #4: Onde Onde
These Indonesian dessert dumplings are rice flour based, filled with brown sugar and coated with fresh grated coconut. They sounded declicious, but were, to be blunt, a total disaster.
The recipe called for glutinous rice flour, and using just regular rice flour didn't cut it. We made a special trip to an Asian market for pandan essence and should have put the flour on the list as well. We bought two different pandan products: extract and essence. The latter looked more "authentic" but was also more syrupy, so the onde onde ended up a shade of green not to be found in nature. Once it came time to boil them, the lack of all that gluten caused the dumplings to crack, and the brown sugar to leak out. Boo hiss . . . I'd like to try these again sometime, though, becasue the pandan was really intriguing, very nutty and fragrant. And it was fun to have an excuse to crack open a coconut.
Tuesday, January 20, 2009
During the Inauguration . . .
. . . Charlie asked us, "Is Obama happy?" I said, "Yes buddy, I think he is."
I know this is a little cheesy, but I felt so proud watching him take the oath of office (too bad Roberts goofed on the oath - I mean seriously? It's the only quoted text in the Constitution!), and felt pretty happy myself.
I know this is a little cheesy, but I felt so proud watching him take the oath of office (too bad Roberts goofed on the oath - I mean seriously? It's the only quoted text in the Constitution!), and felt pretty happy myself.
Holy Blizzard, Batman!
IT'S SNOWING!!! And not a little piddly NC snow - real, serious constant snow that's sticking to the ground. I'd say we've had 3-4" already, and it's still coming. Now, for those of you that live in OH, NH or MN, keep your mocking to a minimum, kay? We try not to give you a hard time when you complain about 90-degree weather in the summer. :)
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