Fall ~ The Most Wonderful Time of the Year?

Okay so in Bible study this week we were supposed to say our favorite things about fall. I'm not really found of cold weather but I can appreciate some things about fall haha. So here's my list, which I might add to later when I have more time to think about it :).

Pumpking Spice Lattes with soy milk

Not sweating under our down comforter

Sleeping with the windows opening

Wanting to work in the yard because it's nice out

Hot coffee becoming a good idea again (okay I drink it hot all summer, but I get weird looks haha)

Pumpkin ale :)

For the record I still don't really like soup, but some kinds are growing on me

Oh and my awful one, people burning lots of natrual gas in their homes, gotta feel the industry love haha

Okay so what about you? This is an interactive post ;)

2 Weeks to Go!!!

Wisdom Tooth Out + Required Day on the Couch = Time To Blog

Okay so my last week and a half have been crazy! Here's just a snapshot:

-Rach came and visited before heading to Perryville Arkansas for a new life on a farm :) okay she's working for Heifer for nine months to get away from the craziness of it all, learn about sustainability and figure out what to do with her life next. Hmm I'm starting to think I need nine months on a farm haha.

-We had lots of fun watching burn notice, going to the farmers market, making pizza, sitting in coffee shops, looking for old doors and a piano bench (we found neither), going to an old book store to look for an old hymanl and of course walking out with an extra book by Gabriel Garcias Marquez, ah old book stores. Kindle will never be a match for you. And neither will the internet. I don't think heaven will have computers, but that's just my wish I think.

-We went to go see our future puppy!!! We haven't picked one out yet because they are so cute and still so little!! Kat and David came along for the fun so they could make sure we pick out a good playmate for Daisy and Chico, and so we could avoid driving our little VW on ten miles of gravel :). They have giant heads!

- Then Tuesday I headed off to Denver for XEC's annual board meeting. It was a bit crazy fancy! We stayed at the Ritz Carlton downtown which for the record had a gigantic bathroom complete with jet tub and separate walk in shower. I think I could have fallen asleep in that shower after the long day of meetinngs. The meeting went well though, I got up gave my ten minute shpeel, made some joke about being Jenny Hellman and after that everyone who got up made some comment about not being Jenny Hellman and one of my old classmates got up and said well I'm not Jenny Hellman but rumor was she did cheat off me in school! Ha it was so funny b/c the CEO said well how come she got better grades than you? HA. Needless to say I didn't have to do much introducing at dinner, everyone already knew who I was :).

- And while I was gone, Spencer was diligently getting the yard ready for Blitzy!! So here you go, pics of our yard progress!

First he took the old under the sink cabinet from the kitchen that was in the house when we bought it:

And made it into a beautiful dog house!

Then when I got back from Denver I added some lovely paint that Rach and I picked out:

And now all it needs are a few shingles, a sign that says blitzy and we'll have the cutest dog house on the block :). Spencer also went to work on a fence for a little dog run so blitzy won't have a giant yard to get lost cough make trouble in :).

And yes yesterday I got a wisdom tooth pulled. So today's job is to sit on the couch, eat soft foods, and make sure my blood clot doesn't fall out :). The body really is an amazing thing. Sorry I don't have any really funny stories, just lots of texts I sent that I don't remember sending and a very vivid dream about eating lasagna :). Thanks for all the prayers and notes!

What We've Been Up to Lately

Okay first off, this one isn't really in chronological order but it's the most exciting so I'm putting it first :). We got a piano!!!!!!!!! Okay so it isn't ours permanently, but Tim had it in storage and had no where to put it in his apartment, so we gladly agreed to store it in our house for him till he needs it later :). I'm so excited!!! I've been wanting a piano well since I left my house in St. Louis for TU, so a LONG time, but I haven't wanted to fork over the dollars for a new one and I haven't liked the cheapo ones I've seen at estates sales so this one is perfect! I love the color and it sounds beautiful even though it is old, which is just what I wanted. It has one sticky key, but hey it'll make it a little easier to give back someday, hopefully in a long time :). I'm rusty, but I'm so glad to get to have a piano to play! Now all I need to do is hit up a used bookstore and find and old hymn book :).
Okay so on a more productive note haha, Spencer and I have been working on the shed more. Okay he's done more than me, but I've been a little distracted with cleaning the house and entertaining the five girls who stayed with us this weekend for a high school friend's wedding! I did go to the dump with him to empty out the truck bed after we filled it full of old lathe and plaster that he ripped off the walls.

Wow he looks like he's having so much fun :). I think he's dreaming of his own workshop where he can leave everything out whenever he wants to and I'll never have to know haha. And of a door he can lock so no more lawn mowers and weed eaters get stolen!

Look familiar? Looks kind of like our house did a few months ago :). Man something about seeing the studs of a structure is just so fun! It's like seeing a glimpse that it can be made new and functional!

And yes we did move everything back in the shed so that we don't look so white trashy any more haha. Check out our lovely green grass haha.

Spencer's also been busy getting ready for our little puppy! So he started with this leftover cabinet from what was in our kitchen before we ripped it all out:

And after a little magic with the table saw, now we have this lovely little dog house!!! Okay we still need to put on cedar siding and put on shingles and I need to paint a little sign that says Blitzy but then it'll be ready for our little puppy :). Which by the way I think we finally get to see next weekend! I can't wait!

Okay last thing, yes I know we've been working hard lately :). A friend at work was getting rid of her TV cabinet for super cheap to make room for her big 42" screen TV that wouldn't fit in the new cabinet, ha I know rough life. So, we decided to take it off her hands and use it as a kind of entry way closet for now.

It needs some help though haha. So next on the house to do list is to figure out how to get a rod across the top of this for coats before the cold weather comes, figure out how to cover up the hole in the back that was cut out for the old TV and figure out some basket things for under the shelf for storage. Oh and figure out something to go on top of it. Whew looks like I have my work cut out for me :). Good thing I have the new piano to help me relax!!! Haha.

Bathroom Finished!! (Okay not quite, but close)

Okay these are kind of dark, but we finally worked on the upstairs bathroom! We decided no shower door because they are waaay too expensive. Okay so really my little helped me pick all this out, so we had a fun little adventure shopping the racks at Target and then trying to figure out how to get the hooks on the shower curtain(actually my little figured it out, my brain was too dumb to hang it up right haha). I figured we needed some fun color up in this room because it's so small, and I love it!

I'll put up pics of the other side and the window once I get the medicine cabinet painted. We found an unused one while we were cleaning out the shed so now all I need to do is spruce it up, hang it up, and then the bathroom will be fully functional for all our out of town guests next weekend.

White Trash for the Better Good

So we have this little old shed in our backyard. It used to be umm well we aren't really sure. Maybe a small apartment? Maybe a garage? Maybe a workshop with a bathroom? Who knows but it is definitely in need of repairs! So Spencer has started on it because the table saw in the sun room is just not really a permanent solution ha. Although for now it is not really bothering me which is more than a little amazing. I think it's because I never found whicker furniture I wanted, okay I found some I wanted, but nothing I was willing to pay for :), so in the meantime the room was empty anyway, so why not have it be a workshop for a bit. BUT only for a bit! Anyway so Spencer has started tearing down the plaster walls in the shed to make room for drywall and a new workshop!

Here's the other side of the shed that is still full of all kinds of stuff that was in our house when we bought it. Lovely old cabinets and doors and windows and beams and who knows what else that we might one day use.

There's only one small problem. In order to clean the shed and take down all the plaster, first he had to empty the shed! It's contents have been strewn across the backyard for the past week or so. So yes, we have become white trash for awhile so that we can eventually have a workshop and a nice yard with a new fence for our puppy to run around in!!!

Okay sadly, the two grills and two lawn mowers and bathtub have actually been in th yard for alot longer than two weeks :). I know, I know we are horrible. But it has been sooooo hot that I've had no motivation to do yard work! I still need to finish cleaning off the bricks so we can have a sweet patio, but again the heat has not been my friend. Okay I'm just lazy sometimes :).

So today some major progress was made! Most of what was in the yard that was just trash and things we no longer want has made it into the truck bed so we can take it to the dump!

Oh hurray for being able to see the grass :). We might yet still get there. Maybe it will be 90 again instead of 105 and we will want to work for more than 45 minutes at a time!

Puppies!!!

We are getting a puppy!! They were born on Saturday and I'm so excited! Which if you know me is kind of a big deal because for the longest time I really, really didn't want a dog. But now I can't wait to get it! We're going to go pick out which one we want this weekend (we get first dibs because we paid up first haha) but then we have to wait 8 whole weeks to get Chancellor or Blitzy haha. Okay we haven't actually settled on a name yet, but those are the ones I like :).