Three Things that make Me Happy

I love when Jeff helps me dry the dishes, especially when I have a particularly large amount, when I have so many that they won't all fit stacked into this little drying rack without tumbling down and needing another "bath."



My Kitchenaid mixer!! I love this thing! Thanks again to Jeff's aunts and uncles for so graciously gifting this to us when we were married. Without this, I would not make all of our bread rather than buying it and consuming who knows what it is they put in that stuff these days. And without this, I would probably look like Popeye because I would actually have to knead my dough by hand if I actually dared to make it without this lovely appliance. (And that's a strong motor, don't stick your hand in it, it will hurt.)



And number three: this little baby of ours that sometimes kicks so hard you can actually see my belly move. And right now I think it's doing a cartwheel...

Baby, Curtains, and Car

Jeff and I were able to see our newest niece this weekend. Kendall is such a cutie, congratulations again Amanda and Paul! And as usual, I completely forgot to get a picture so check out Amanda's blog to see their beautiful baby girl!

I think spring is here. Do I dare say that? If it starts snowing again, I'm terribly sorry! This weather just makes me so happy! And it puts me in the mood to clean. And to just be productive in general; I got such an itch to make something today so I finally cut up some beautiful fabric that I've had for some time now (Heather Baily for Pop Garden). I starting making curtains for our spare bedroom. The only problem with those impromptu sewing sessions is that I came to a standstill quite quickly. I need some pretty ribbon to separate the two fabrics that I used and I also need fabric to back it with to finish it off. So I'll be on the lookout for good deals on both!

Jeff dropped the car off today before going fishing with Tom T. I received a call from the dealer a while later and apparently what I hoped would be a quick fix is actually going to be quite expensive. The radio doesn't turn off when you turn the car off so it's killing the battery, he's had to jump it about twelve times in the last four days. It needs a new something something...I really don't know car lingo and I think I was more shocked by the price than anything. But even more than the money, the problem is time and the fact that we only own that one car. So I'm not sure when it will be fixed considering they will probably have to order the part.
Grumble, grumble...

Wasn't I just saying we have so much to be thankful for? Guess it's time to count my blessings!

Oh how I wish...

...that health insurance did the job you thought you were paying them for

...that I had another car so I could bring the Malibu in to get fixed while Jeff is working

...that auto insurance did the job you thought you were paying them for

...that I had a printer that worked

...so many wishes...

Where has the time gone?

This would have made sense to post on our anniversary, but I didn't think of it at the time:

In one year, quite a bit has changed!

I got a new job.
Jeff finished school (for now).
We bought a (old) new car.
Jeff got a new job.
I quit my job.
We moved to the U.P.
We found out we are having a baby!!
I got in a car accident, therefore losing said car.
And,
We moved again. (The next town over.)

And somewhere in all that, we managed to embrace all the good things in life: Making new friends, being fortunate enough to be able to live near one of our churches, and being able to keep in touch with our families thanks to today's technology!

We really do have so much to be thankful for!

The View Outside my Window

Can you say "yuck?"

Visiting the Southern Peninsula

Our trip downstate was nowhere near long enough! I know I've been back for almost a week but I figured I'd give you an update.
We made it in town at about 9:15 Saturday morning so I was able to go out to coffee with the girls. Unfortunately, that meant I didn't get much sleep so I spent half the day napping after that! It was so nice to be able to see all of our friends this time. The only downfall was that we weren't able to spend as much time with our families as we would have liked. We're heading down again the first weekend of June for Jeff's sister's graduation. I'm planning on getting a ride down a week early so I can spend some more time with our families.

The weather has been awesome this week. It was around 70 today so we ventured out to "the island" (it's actually a peninsula) for a walk. We saw a guy with his two kids on the beach...in their bathing suits! There was still snow out on the pier! I mean looking at that beautiful water made me want to swim too, but come on now, let's be realistic!

Calling All Cooks!

My Mom's family is putting together a cookbook filled with all of our family favorites. I know I've mentioned it to a few of the girls in my area. If you are still interested, let me know, I'd like to get an estimate so my aunt Sarah can figure out the final cost of each cookbook. It should be around $10 with between 600 and 700 recipes! This is just for an estimate, you can order once the final cost is figured out. I'll let you know! At that time, I will need your money before I can order your book. For now, just leave a comment on this post or email me at heidisue88 [at] hotmail [dot] com to let me know how many you would like. It sounds like Sarah has been working pretty hard on this, we're all pretty excited to get our 408 Magnolia Lane cookbooks!!

You can also order from my Mom's blog as well as any of my sisters.

Fire up!

The bags are packed, the house is almost clean, and the car is a disaster. We're ready to go!
Actually...Jeff still has to go to work tomorrow. Bummer dude. He almost was going to take the day off tomorrow and use a "floating holiday." So we almost could have been downstate tomorrow afternoon. And he almost could have played hockey with the guys tomorrow evening. And I almost could have gone out to breakfast with the girls on Saturday morning.
But, the boss didn't say yes. He did even almost say yes.
So we'll still be there Saturday afternoon. And I was so excited! Okay, okay, I'm still super excited to go down there even if we do have to wait until Saturday!
Guess that gives me a chance to clean the car tomorrow!

Pictures in my head

I have this photograph in my head that will never be able to be developed. A few years ago I was traveling back to Michigan from Minnesota with a close relative of mine. Her husband was also going to Michigan but they were driving separately. They went to kiss each other mid-stride while walking to their vehicles. I think it was raining. She was wearing a bright blue jacket. It was such a casual thing but the fact that they were still moving, and the color of the jacket, and the rain (I think it was raining) made it such a picturesque moment. I wish I had had my camera ready at just that moment so I could have given the picture to that particular couple. It probably wouldn't have turned out quite like it appears in my mind but still...
And speaking of pictures of couples, I wish I could have someone follow Jeff and me around and photograph us in our day-to-day lives. Sometimes the little moments are the ones that really count.

Let's get those creative juices flowing!

Do you ever get that feeling? You know, when you're just aching to do something, anything, creative? I usually get that feeling when I'm tired. Go figure. In this case, I'm tired and feeling nasty from this cold. Plus, I am so incredibly frustrated because I don't really have anything to create. So throw me some ideas, I just want to do something!

Here's what's on my list of things to make:


Curtains for my living room, as well as both bedrooms, but mostly my living room, I'm still looking for the right fabric

A piece of wall art that will be a gift for a friend, actually two pieces, actually I just need frames

Our wedding album, I need to order prints and buy the actual album, hopefully I can find one downstate, otherwise I have everything else


Do you see the trend here? I have part of what I need for everything. Well, that is, if you count an idea a part of something. I do!

I was thinking of buying this chandelier from IKEA for my dark little living room:



Buuuut, now I'm thinking I should just make one. That is, if I can make one for even less than this costs. Somewhere along the lines of a wire basket hung upside down decorated with some kind of beads or sparkly things. I know it wouldn't be hard, it's just a matter of IF I'll ever get around to doing it, and I want a light NOW.