You did what?!!

We bought a house this weekend!  Holy cow, it all happened so quick, but we are so excited!  It all must have been God's timing because we weren't really looking (at least I had no idea that we were interested in looking), this house came across a friend's list of houses to "flip", it fit what we could afford, and a few days later, we are home owners!!

We will not be moving in until the end of December due to some of the work that needs to be done.  The excitement of talking about where to arrange things, what colors to paint, and what "things" to buy has monopolized most of our conversation lately.  The house is not what you would call a mansion, but it fits us and our needs for now.  It is cute, and will be even cuter when we are done fixing it up.  Here are some pictures of the outside of it.  Sometime in the near future I will post pictures of the before, in between, and the after.

Close up of the front

Cute little mail box!

Ready to get moved in!

Garage

Back yard

Deck

It's the Simple Things

Today my mind has been focused on the simple things in life.  Things like a refreshing morning at church where you feel warm, welcomed, and like you're home.  Simple things like the power of God is wrapping around you as hundreds of people lift their voice together in song.  Or the words of a pastor ringing true in your heart, so much so you think he wrote that sermon just for you.

It's simple things like sipping a homemade eggnog latte after finishing lesson plans with the sound of football announcers in the background.

It can be a kiss from a loving husband on his way out the door, or a hug just because he loves you!

Today has been simple, which I am learning is not a bad thing. Here is to a simply wonderful day!

Absolutely Nothing

Today I have done absolutely nothing.  Well nothing too productive that is.   There is a list of things I could be doing that is probably a mile long, but I feel that reading, blogging, facebooking, playing around with my new phone and contemplating when to shower and run an errand or two, a much better way to spend the day.

Did I mention that I made an eggnog latte?  They are one of my favorites.  I know that it is a little too early for eggnog, but I saw it in the stores and just had to have it.  It will be coming to a Starbucks near you soon.  But if you can't wait, come on over and I'll make you one!

Here is to a day spent relaxing (much needed after talking to parents for like 12 hours yesterday!)

Yummy!

Just thought I should make your mouths drool a little bit about some yummy treats I've made lately.  I meant to post these muffins a long time ago, but I am not just getting around to it.  These bring back memories of picking blueberries on the blueberry farm back in Washington!

Before Baking

After Baking!

The Recipe for: The Best Blueberry Muffins

1/2 C Butter @ room temp

1 C granulated sugar

2 large eggs

1 t vanilla extract

2 t baking powder

1/4 t salt

2 1/2 C blueberries (mash 1/2 C with fork)

2 C all-purpose flour

1/2 C milk

1 T sugar mixed with 1/4 t ground nutmeg

Heat the oven to 375.  Greese 12 regular muffin cups, including the area between each cup, or use foil baking cups.

In a medium size bowl, beat butter until creamy.  Beat in the sugar until pale and fluffy.  Beat in eggs, one at a time.  Beat in vanilla, baking powder and salt.

Mixe mashed berries into batter.

Fold half the flour in with a spatula, then half the milk.  Add remaining blueberries.

Scoop batter into muffin cups.  Sprinkle with nutmeg sugar.

Bake 25 to 30 minutes, or until golden brown.  Let muffins cool at least 30 minutes in pan before removing.  (I like to eat them warm!)

The next batch of treats I made were ones that I found on Bakerella.  When I have time I like to try out her creations, mine never look quite as good, but I am enjoying getting better at decorating things.  My class devoured these!

Before Baking

Fresh out of the oven

Decorated and ready to be eaten

Happy Eating!

A freezing homecoming

I thought it was about time to write a post about my trip to Wyoming for homecoming.

Before heading off to Colorado and Wyoming my sweet husband sent flowers to school to let me know that he would miss me and to say have a great time.  They were so beautiful and filled my room with wonderful smells!

I think the weather wanted to give me a reason not to miss Laramie, so it snowed!  Not just a little bit of snow, 6 inches of fluffy, white, freezing flakes.  But do you think I let that stop me from going to a football game?!  Oh no!  Here are some pictures from the game.  Jamie and I left at the end of the third quarter because we were winning and we could no longer feel our toes. 

Here is Pistol Pete working the crowd!

Of course I had a wonderful time catching up with friends and some of the basketball coaches.  I truly miss all of them and feel so thankful that I was able to go.  Enjoy the pictures of my friends!  I am getting tired of writing today, so maybe tomorrow I will be more creative with my posts!

Amber and I hanging out in her awesome house with her hubby and adorable puppy!

Night out in Laramie after the big win!

I love these girls!  I am so happy that I got to see them!

This is what happens when you get stuck in the car for 3 hours in bad weather....you take random pictures.  Oh how I don't miss the road closures!

I hope you enjoyed the pictures.  Like I said, there is a more interesting post to follow tomorrow!  (I hope!)

I think I've lost my mind!

This morning I decided to do something a little crazy.  Well, actually it was really crazy.  I ran a half marathon without really training for it.  My body is currently reaping all of the painful rewards.  Originally I signed up for this half marathon thinking that it would motivate me to train and whip my butt into shape.  I just knew I would follow my fancy training schedule because after all I did pay for this.  I thought wrong!  My life is too crazy for me to find the motivation to get running.

Despite knowing that I paid for the race, yesterday I debated whether or not I should run.  "Maybe I'll just pick up my shirt and turn in my timing chip," was the thought running through my mind driving into Kansas City.  I got there, and decided I couldn't quit before the race started.  Then this morning of course I set the wrong alarm, but luckily woke up in time to still make it to the race.   BUT I would be cutting it close to making it on time for the start.....SO I thought, "Maybe I will just stay in my nice warm bed and snuggle with my husband," BUT I knew I couldn't do that.  I was already awake, and I knew I would feel like a quitter if I did not at least try to run. 


The next excuse that came to mind was my ankle.  My ankle has been bothering me off and on for the last few weeks, so I maybe it would be better for my ankle (and my untrained body) to not race. I was trying to avoid running in every way imaginable.  Of course the thought that popped up next was running a little bit, but not necessarily finishing because of my bum ankle. Being the competitor that I am, I knew that I had to just run it ALL or else I wouldn't be able to live with myself.

After making a mad dash to the start line in  the nick of time, I was off and running.  While my body wasn't entirely thrilled with me, I ran.  I ran all 13.1 miles!  My goal was to finish in under 3 hours.  I did just that and even better than I expected.  The benefit of running was being able to taken in the Kansas City scenery.  As I ran along I found myself admiring old buildings, homes, parks, fountains, new buildings as well as Kansas City life in general.  This run has given me a new appreciation for the breath-taking beauty this city holds that I wouldn't usually make the time to see.


So, you might be wondering what is the moral of this post and why do I feel I have lost my mind. 
Moral #1- My body can do more than I think it can, so as a result I should push it harder more often. 
Moral #2- Running 13.1 miles without training for it was not the smartest thing and next time I need to train. 
Moral #3- I love running in races, even if they are painful
Moral #4- Today's race (despite the pain) has awaken my desire to run another marathon.  Now I need to make time to train and find a fun one to run!
Moral #5- Running long distance races makes you think you like running really far until you have to train for it, but you decide you should still do it despite the crazy affects on your body.....


Yes I know that I am crazy for running a half marathon when I only got my millage up to 3 miles!

Looking Forward

I am looking forward to catching up on all the shows I missed while I was gone.  I plan on not moving for the next two hours!  First up Bones, then maybe Private Practice, followed by Glee.  Don't worry there are still more to watch tomorrow night!  I promise to write about my trip soon.