Wednesday, August 31, 2011

Better After

While we're knee/waist/baby bump/earlobe deep creating some "after" worthy projects around here, one of our past efforts has gotten some blog-fame. Lindsey, over at BetterAfter chose to spotlight our media cabinet redo. So fun!

Check out the post here, and peek around the rest of her site- no shortage of fun makeovers to attempt (as soon as we contain the current rubble.)


Sunday, August 14, 2011

House and Friends and Thanks

To say that we've been up to our ears in house renovations would be a complete understatement. More accurately we've been up to other people's ears, as friends and family have generously offered to help with the seemingly endless stream of menial tasks that lie between us and a livable residence. I can't even say how grateful I am for all of this help- Mom, Vern, Nathan, Dillon, Tina, Matt, Daddy (and anyone else I may have forgotten due to asbestos poisoning!)...You are appreciated beyond words. We may still live in a dusty pit, but with your help, it's on its way to becoming at least a dusty house. Without your time, skill, tools, and effort, I would certainly have packed my bags for a hotel, and Dustin would likely be trapped under a pile of plaster.

So we've been unbelievably blessed. But there are two folks that have gone above and beyond what normal friendship is, and showed me again and again what the love and fellowship of Christ is.



A couple of weeks ago at small group, I was sharing that I felt completely overwhelmed, and panicked that the baby was coming too soon, and we were woefully unprepared. (A feeling that has decreased some, but probably won't ever go away...) Everyone listened, and offered to pray. But Meg and Sean showed up. That night they spent four hours stripping nursery wallpaper, and painting kitchen walls. They saw a need, and took the opportunity to love and bless us, by coming alongside us in our toil.

I have a tendency to take on too much sometimes (understatement), but rather than struggle alone, my usual tactic is to rope someone else in with me, to hopefully save me from drowning, or at least make sure I don't go down alone. It's probably not my best trait, but Dustin has gotten used to my messes becoming his messes, and subscribing to my permanent "team mentality" when in comes to getting things done. I definitely take this for granted sometimes, but give myself a bit of an out, because we are married after all, and I think that give me some sort of "two become one" license.

But Meg, without explanation, has come to understand and support this part of me, and is constantly there to pitch in and bail me out. Most times I don't even have to ask- she'll call and say she's free for the day and wants to help with whatever I'm doing. Other people would probably tell her thanks, but enjoy her day off....I on the other hand, ask her to bring Sean and lunch. (which she did, and it was helpful and delicious, respectively.)

She'll ask me questions. She'll listen to me complain. She'll spend hours constructing a photobooth backdrop that I insisted upon building (see above...we do good work). She'll pray for me. She'll scrap tiny chunks of wet paper off of crumbling plaster walls with her bare hands into the wee hours of the night.

She is a friend, of the best and purest kind. I pray that I have, and take the opportunity to be that type of friend to her and others.

...And I really hope they buy a house and have some babies soon, so Dustin and I can start this glorious mess all over again, serving from the other side.

Ecclesiastes 4:9-10
Two are better than one, because they have a good return for their labor: If either of them falls down, one can help the other up.

Wednesday, August 3, 2011

Pop pop!

So yes, we’re in the throws of a dramatic, (and messy!) kitchen renovation....

(want a sneak peek via camera phone? Here ya go:)


...But that’s no reason not to embark on an elaborate popsicle making extravaganza, is it?! No!!!

Pretty much nothing can stand in between me and a popsicle, so approximately 30 seconds after we had our new fridge, I decided it was time to christen it with homemade fruit popsicles (for a work friend’s bday...because I’m a giver).

With the help of my trusty Ninja, and friend Tina, I set about making as many popsicles as my new bottom-freezer could hold.

I turned to Martha (and one other random online source) for help, and narrowed it down to the following recipes:
Watermelon-Strawberry Pops
Watermelon-Blueberry Ice Pops
Raspberry Limeade Layered Quick Pops (split into separate batches of raspberry-limeade and plain limeade)
Pineapple Pops

I don’t have any pics from the process, but it was EASY! I had 1 square foot of countertop, and a completely full sink (with bonus socket wrenches teetering on the edge) and we still managed to get 5 batches done (one of each...double Raspberry Limeade) in an hour.

I (shockingly!) don’t have 40 popsicle molds, so I opted for 5oz dixie cups and small wooden spreader/spoons, which worked out perfectly. (3oz would have been suffiecient too, if you’re going for twee-little adorable snacks). I wanted my pops to be fancy and layered, so we kept all the batches separate, and filled each cup up half way with one flavor. Then we let them set for about an hour while we watched The Bachelorette Finale (yay JP!).

I returned to the freezer to check, and found that while the new freezer was working...it was actually working a little TOO well, and my brand new icemaker had dropped cubes into each one of my cups. (That’s what I get for using the ice bin as popsicle storage. Having fancy things is going to take some getting used to!) So we plucked them out, turned the ice maker off, and poured in our second layer. But due to the ice fiasco (and perhaps some impatience on my part) they weren’t quite set, so my layers went by the wayside, and each cup ended up being some sort of mystery fruit blend. A liquid-y fruit blend to boot, making it nearly impossible for the sticks to stand up....OH welllllll....we pressed on.

After a full night in the freezer, a trip to work in my handy cupcake caddy (get one! It’s so great!), they were ready for the party.


I was worried they’d be impossible to eat, but it worked out surprisingly well to just tear off the cups.

And surprise! A few flavors even had their layers intact! (and no- those aren't my nails...my coworkers are fancy too!)


And not surprise! Some of them were crooked and weird and crazy!


But that didn’t stop people from double-fisting popsicles in an attempt to try all the flavor combos. (I don't judge at all...I had two, one before the birthday girl even arrived, as a "test". And if you know me, you realize that 2 popsicles is actually a remarkable display of self control. In high school my friends and I would to hold "Popsicle Day" in which we would see how many popsicles we could eat before we got sick. We would end knee deep in boxes, I never even approached my threshold.)

My favs: Pineapple, and Watermelon-Strawberry. The limeade was a hit,and I liked it mixed with the raspberry, but as a layer on its own I think it was a little tart. And nothing personal- but Blueberry isn’t always my fav. That’s more Dustin’s thing. (he goes through the frozen bags like they’re candy. Or like I go through popsicles.)

So there you go. Press on popsicle lovers....don't let anything stop you.