my new slicer

Today I bought this:

I'm ridiculously excited about my new electric bread slicer.  And I feel like my mom, since she has one of these, too.  Since we've started making our own bread v. buying it, having a slicer will be really nice.  I'm not necessarily very skilled at making even slices...

Bread is rising... too bad this won't get here for another week or so.  But one day soon, I'll be slicing to my little heart's content.

What's your favorite kitchen appliance?  Mine is probably the Kitchenaid mixer... but I think this one will be running a close second!

Please weigh in on the blog debate!  I would appreciate your insight!

doomsday

Today at 2:30 Mosie is headed to the vet office.  She's due for some shots.  Poor Mosie!  She doesn't know what's in store for her yet...

Exciting news!  The living room is complete!  One of the loveseat cushions came with a slight tear in it, so last night I stitched it up.

 And put on the cover!

I love that our furniture has washable covers!  The tags say "dry clean only", but a friendly lady in line at IKEA told me that I can wash them myself and hang them to dry, as long as I keep them far far away from the dryer.

A blog to read: Remember when Dave and I went to Iowa?  Our friend Melissa has since started her own blog.  Check it out!  She has 3 hilarious kids that she homeschools, is training for her first marathon, and also has 2 really silly cats!

painters

Warning: if you come to visit, you might be enlisted to help paint.

Good thing our friend, Chad, didn't mind jumping in.  Chad helped me with the trimming... which made everything faster and saved me from a painful, cramped, aching hand.  I'm super grateful!

We decided to paint the foyer, which was probably our most dramatic change, as it went from bright red to a more subdued cream.  Evidence:

Love love love it.  The room looks bigger and brighter after just one coat.

Trimming.  Chad took high, I took low.

Painting.  The radiator in the corner there posed a minor issue, but we got through it.

 See that lamp hanging there?  Earlier we climbed up to wash it out and found a bouncy ball inside!

I don't think I can adequately describe how excited Dave is to play with Mosie with this ball.

Painters by a red wall:

And a fancy new "crepe" wall!

Afterwards we celebrated with pizza (and barley and veggies) and sparking juice from IKEA!

One more coat to go (and three more rooms...)

20 miles finally finished

Well, close to 20.  I think it ended up being around 19.5.  It's taper time!!!

Favorite part of the run: around mile 6 I was passing an elementary school and a little boy was standing on the corner.  He would go toward the curb, then backup.  There wasn't a crossing guard and I'm pretty sure he didn't know if he was allowed to cross the street without an adult.  I got to the corner and said, "hey, do you want to cross together?"  And we did.  He was cute, even with the snot running out of his nose.  It was cold this morning.

Mile 10 I swung by the house for a bathroom break and for 2 bites of POM brownies.  Yum.

Mile 15 the balls of my feet started aching.  I did some mental tallying in my head... yep, I'm right around 400 miles in these shoes.  Despite what they say about running shoes being able to go 500 miles, my threshold consistently seems to be 400.  At 400 and after my legs just feel like absolute trash - my joints ache and my legs feel heavy and tired.  The last 4 miles were hard.  My body hurt from my neck down to the balls of my feet (literally).  I did a combo of walking and running to get through it, which definitely helped.  Final time: 3:12.  It's just under 10 minute pace, which is slower than I was hoping for... but at least it's finished.  And I'm hopeful that new shoes will really perk up my legs!

Speaking of shoes: they're ordered!

My sister recently got fitted for running shoes and ended up with the Brooks Adrenaline GTS 10's as well.  ...And we both have the same color.  Which means on race day we're going to be ridiculously matchy!

I like to order my running shoes from zbsports.com.  They tend to have the best prices - I got these shoes for at least $20 less than other places... and with cheaper shipping.  Plus, they donate a portion of the sale to a charity of your choice!

While I was out running Dave was busy spreading the smell of ammonia around our property.

(Do you covet his gloves?)  We've had a pair of raccoons frequenting our backyard, deck, and back balcony.  They're also scarily unafraid of us.  Dave shot one with a slingshot and it advanced on him, growling (he admits this was a terrifying experience) and I went out the back door one morning for my run and found a raccoon trotting toward me, instead of away.  Needless to say, I've been going out the front door ever since.

Dave read ammonia repels raccoons, so we've put an ammonia-soaked rag out by the back gate (there's a gap at the bottom where we think they might squeeze through) and also rubbed down the railings of the balcony.  We're hopeful we can get rid of them by smell-repellant and won't have to go more hardcore... with pellet guns or hiring someone.

Have you had any experience with raccoons/unwanted wildlife?

couches!

I got home last night to a surprise - Dave (and Melody) had put together our couches!

The couch and the footstool!  The loveseat is together but still doesn't have a cover - it'll be arriving (via mail) around the 31st.  They look so great!!

The furniture team:

Even Mosie helped!

Turns out IKEA couches are really pretty easy to put together.  Dave thought it took about an hour to get the couch and loveseat together, and then another hour to get the slipcover on.  The slipcovers take a little bit of work, but they're worth it.  They really fit the couch well - you can't tell it's a cover!

I'll have more pics when the loveseat cover and chair cover get here!

eventually

Currently our entryway smells like cardboard (which I really kind of love).  Eventually all those ginormous boxes will become the following:

So far we've got a footstool and an uncovered chair put together... but they also both came pre-assembled.  We picked them up in the "as-is" section of IKEA for an additional 20% off the already-reduced price!  We just needed to get a slipcover for them!

But furniture-assembly is currently impeded by the fact that I'm in the cubicle again for 3 days.  Speaking of which, the unheard of happened this morning:

I put creamer in my coffee.  This hasn't happened in about 2 years.  My coworker made an Italian roast so strong my eyes watered and I thought something was growing on my tongue.  Even with the addition of creamer I only made it through half.  (Isn't my mug awesome?)

How do you drink your coffee?

ikea in numbers

We made it.

Number of ice cream cones from IKEA bistro: 2

Number of ice cream cones I actually wanted: hundreds.  Best soft serve ice cream ever.

Number of people who gave me dirty looks while I waited in line with all my dollys and carts: 7

(I'm way back there giving a thumbs up.)

Number of minutes Dave spent in a bathroom stall using the random wall outlet to charge his phone so we could check on the availability of two furniture covers online: 10 


Number of new sitting options we'll have in our house: 4 (2 couches, 1 chair, 1 loveseat)

Number of IKEA workers who didn't think we'd get it all in our truck: numerous

Number of awesome brother-in-laws who did indeed get it all in, and safely: 1

Number of hours from departure to final arrival at our house: 16

Number of naps happening this afternoon: 3 (Mosie, too!)

another room!

Another room painted!  Two down, four and a half to go (one is a landing area, which hardly counts as a whole room)!

Before to after, green to brown, tired to greasy:

I've decided taping really really sucks.  It's tedious and annoying.  It was especially annoying this time because the tape wasn't sticking as well to the molding.  We're not sure why - it's the same tape we used in the other bedroom.  Maybe humidity?  In any case, I'm a little nervous to pull the tape off when the walls dry... we might have some trim touchups in our future.

I'll post more pictures later when the walls are dry and we move the furniture back in.  Luckily it's a gorgeous, breezy day outside, so we're thinking we can move stuff back in this evening.  Hooray!

Dave's celebratory lunch:

Easy Cheesy Pasta Bake

2c. whole wheat pasta

4c. tomato sauce

2T. italian seasonings

1t. garlic salt

3-4c. cheese

Boil pasta until soft.  Drain.  Mix pasta, tomato sauce, seasonings, salt, and 2c. cheese.  Spread in greased small casserole dish.  Top with remaining cheese.  Bake at 350 for 30 minutes, or until brown and bubbly.

Be sure to vote in the reader recipe poll!  Winner announced Tuesday at noon and recipe/review Friday morning!

finally: a bed!

As I mentioned on Thursday, Dave and I found side rails for our bed.  We were so excited because we've been moved in about 2 months, have had a mattress for 2 weeks, and still haven't been able to do anything with the headboard/footboard leaning against the wall.  FINALLY!

We picked up the side rails from the antique store and the man had done a little extra work on them!  Initially he had just been replacing the beam on the inside of the side rail - the one that supports the crossbeams and holds the boxspring in place.  But then he decided to strip the boards for us as well!  And he fixed some wobbly bolts. Awesomeness.  Another reason I love antique stores!

Once home we decided to clean them up with Old English polish for dark woods, hoping it might give them a darker stain without us having to go whole-hog and stain and varnish.  It worked!  (One finished, one to go.)

The polish we love!

And the bed put together!  We love how high up it feels after sleeping on the floor for so long!

I'm hitting a long run this morning - aiming for 22.  It is a glorious 61 degrees outside right now!  I can't tell you how much I love that.

Other Saturday activities: breakfast with some friends, babysitting my niece, and maybe some yardwork!  Be back later!

new workspace!

Dave and I bought this desk (among other things) from our former landlords.  It's leather-topped, kidney bean shaped, and just beautiful.  I love that it's not huge and I love the shape of it, the sweet drawers.  Initially we thought it would go upstairs but today Dave and I decided to move it downstairs.  I've been craving a workspace for myself - up until now I've been at the dining room table, which works, but isn't great (and doesn't look the nicest with cords and stuff everywhere).  I was going to go look for a small desk or table, but then this all came together!  Problem solved!

Right now it's in the corner of the living room (which we're eventually repainting).  We're thinking it might stay here, but depending on the couches/chairs we get it might shift to another spot.  I wanted my desk downstairs so I could quickly go switch laundry or put some beans on to boil for dinner.

Slowly, slowly our house is coming together.  Ha.  I feel like a liar saying that considering we're still using a twin mattress on the floor as our only "couch" and a large part of our possessions (books, decorations) are still in boxes, and dressers and bookshelves and tables are scattered haphazardly, but it's true.  Slowly, we're getting there.  The best part?  We're filling it with things that we absolutely love, not just like.  That takes a little more time.

new room

This morning's run:

2 mile warmup: 16:05
yassos: 3:47, 3:51, 3:46, 3:50, 3:49, 3:50
2 mile cooldown: 16:16

I surprised myself with the quicker pace in all aspects of the run today (I even re-mapped the route to make sure it really was 2 miles).  I was expecting a slower run since my legs still feel a little bit dead from last week's high mileage... but apparently they've recuperated just fine!

The finished room!  Before (with ugly tree decal that mom and I scrubbed off):

After!  "Pale cucumber"

I can't wait to get it set up with furniture!

since I've been gone

Exciting things happening at the house this week while I'm away at the office!  (Please excuse the sub-par quality of pictures.)

Our new mattress was delivered!

My new umbrella clothes stand came!

Unboxed, the stand will look like this:

We chose a portable one so we could easily set it up inside on rainy days or in the winter!

Dave also sent me this picture of a movie he saw at the library. 

No, really, kids actually really do like this movie!  Ha!  Advertising FAIL.

I had the most amazing breakfast this morning.  Pesto scrambled eggs with green pepper, leftover roasted broccoli, and a white peach.  Glory glory.

That's all for now!

4H fair date

We had a busy Sunday - church, a quick lunch, pre-paint taping, a quick bike ride to catch some of the 4H fair parade, then back here to paint!  After we painted the room and cleaned up we rode our bikes to the fairgrounds - Sundays are the only day with free admission - and wandered amongst the hordes of people.  We ate some delicious fair food, listened to a bit of a concert, then rode our bikes home.  It's MUCH faster to ride bike there - the traffic and parking is crazy!  The 4H fair is a pretty big deal around here - "biggest county fair east of the Mississippi".  Tonight we saw a car all the way from OREGON.  It's nuts.

A couple fair highlights:

Mini donuts.  Fresh from the machine.  This is, admittedly, the main reason we went tonight.  Dave adores these donuts like you wouldn't believe.  He calls them his yearly regret... mainly because after eating about 20 little balls of fried dough he feels sick... but still can't stop.

These old people at the concert were awesome.  The old man was rocking back and forth, grooving to the beat, and the lady pulled out a cell phone with a full qwerty keyboard and started taking pictures.  We were impressed by how hip they were.

This is Dave and I, so you know there's got to be ice cream involved.  The best deal at the fair - a giant bowl for $2.50.

We got home and I grabbed some laundry from the dryer to fold.  Mosie helped.

She's too cute.

The bedroom still needs one more coat of paint before it's finished - I'll wait to post pictures until it's fully done.  But we've decided painting is kind of fun!  And it wasn't as nearly as messy or time consuming as I expected... except for the taping part.

Are you working on any house projects right now?

I'll post the CSNStores giveaway winner at lunch!

house day

Dave and I took care of some essential house errands yesterday.  First up: mattress shopping!  On the way there I took a nap.

I love sleeping in the car.

We found mattress shopping to be a really strange experience.  You lay around on beds while talking to the sales associate.  It's just kind of weird.  We felt a little bit like creepers.  But apparently not so creepy because we took a picture.

We left the mattress store without purchasing and hit up McDonalds for free smoothie samples.

Verdict: cold and refreshing, insanely sweet.  I'm guessing there is a heavy heavy amount of sugar in these babies.  They're more dessert than anything.

Then we returned something to Gap and I found a pair of jeans for $15.  Woohoo!  We also took my broken food processor over to Bed Bath and Beyond and got a brand new one.  Yay!

At this point we decided we did indeed want to purchase the mattress we had been debating on.  We went back and bought it, then Dave did his part in my run-recovery process.

Popcorn from Target!  Super salty!

We came home and laid low for a little bit, then did some yardwork before bed - picking up sticks, sweeping, mowing.  It was h-o-t.

We have a big day today - church, the 4H county fair parade, and a painting party at our house!!

we caved

Heading out for a run here very shortly!  It's been storming this morning, which is fantastic, because it means that it might be a little cooler for my run.  Yesterday's weather was predicting 78 degrees at 5am, but right not we're holding at 73.  The humidity, of course, is insane-o high.  I'm starting to rejoice when it dips below 90%.

With a heat index of 100 yesterday Dave and I finally caved and turned on the air conditioning.  We had been trying to do our best with ceiling fans and windows, but it was thick in the house yesterday.  Our bedroom tends to be the hottest in the house (after the attic rooms), and I was sweating just sitting in the bedroom last night.  So the air is on.  It's set at a modest 80, which is still warm, but at least the humidity is out of the house and there's some relief!  We're trying to conserve energy as much as possible by keeping the house at a higher temp, or avoiding AC at all when we can!

After I get back from the run we are going mattress shopping!  Since moving in to our new house we have slept on an air mattress (thanks, Jenny and Mark!), a pile of quilts, and the guest bed mattress.  We're still on the guest bed mattress, but it's time to get our own!

Oh, this is totally unrelated, but check out this picture from girls' weekend in early July.

My mom, niece Lizzie, sister Kelly, me, and my sister-in-law Corrine.  Love this picture.  Just wish my sister Jill and my niece Clare could be in it, too!

What do you keep your thermostat at?

Don't forget to enter the giveaway!  I'll pick the winner on Monday!

missing

I'll be back later with pictures from my weekend (cute nieces and delicious food!) but here's something that happened while I was gone:

The hot tub is gone!  The hot tub came with the house when we bought it (despite our efforts against that).  While hot tubs are fun, I really didn't want the maintenance or expense of them, and Dave isn't a huge fan of sitting in them.  We decided to give it to our realtor and her husband as a thank-you for all the help they gave us in the house searching/buying process, and because we became friends with them and liked them!  The only catch was they had to remove it - we don't have a truck or the tools for it.  But Saturday morning they came and took it away!  I'm so happy it's gone!!  And I really hope they enjoy it!

Now Dave and I are debating what to do with the space.  Any ideas?