Tuesday, January 31, 2012

rethinking - refinancing

ronnie and i are refinancing our house. 


when we bought it four years ago we locked in a rate of 5.875%. 
if you look at the rates now, they are in the low 4's, 
and this could definitely make our monthly payment lower. 
score.  plus, i have an 'in' at the bank so a lot of the normal fees are waved. 
we like that.
ronnie and i went back and forth this year about whether or not to sell.
i decided that since we didn't know what or where my new job would be, we should wait.
now that we know, i think that it would be stupid to move.
ronnie agrees.
i live 2 seconds from work. 
i get to come home everyday for lunch.
i don't want to lose that.
plus, half my argument for taking this job was the gas money we would save.
(ps - i've only gotten gas once in january.)
if we started looking at locations out in the country,
i would go back to have a commute in the morning. 

so even though our dream is to live in the country.
it will have to wait. 
probably another 5 years. 
i don't know what i'll do now that the updates to our house are almost complete.
maybe i should start looking into new hobbies...


  

Monday, January 30, 2012

let's call this finished

last week i took a little break to finish our bar in the basement.
i didn't want to bore you with the details but it was a lot of painting.
then putting on the counter top.
cutting in the sink.
blah blah blah.
so i'm happy to finally be able to show this:



a long way from here.

      



it took much longer than i expected, but ronzo is a perfectionist and i wouldn't expect anything less. 
next step? buy a mini fridge and fill those shelves.

Sunday, January 29, 2012

dinner party - part two

my time away was nice.
and not.
after a week break,
i have lots to share.

we'll start with my saturday night.
dinner party - part duex.
after my friend, alexis invited us to her home in november
we finally found another free weekend to repay the favor.
plus it gives us a good excuse to try out new recipes.
this time i made lasagna and breadsticks.
alexis provided the wine and salad.
and linds made chocolate chip cheesecake from pinterest.




after, we played a game that is my family's favorite.
my dad made me a board for christmas so i was excited to break it out.


and it was a good night.

Tuesday, January 24, 2012

and now we wait

i just wrote a whole post from my new phone
and when i went to publish it,
it failed.
blah.

but basically the whole post was about how i don't have anything to say.
no new crafts.
no new clothes.
no new recipes.
and the freaking bar in the basement is not done.
and that's what has been taking up my time:
painting.

so i think the combination of writers block, a boring life and a painting project
makes for a bad blog week.
i'm apologizing now.

on a good note,
i'm loving my new phone
when i remember to use it.
i'm still pretty bad about muting it and then forgetting it's there.
but i'm trying.
and i got some sweet pics of my babies in bed.
i love the camera.



 

Saturday, January 21, 2012

new car and new recipe

we drove down to warrensburg last night to meet up with my parents.  
my old car needs to be licensed and it has always been in my parent's names.
so as of last night, we are now proud owners of a 10 year old sunfire.
sa-weet. let's celebrate.


and since we were in town, mom made us dinner.
homemade chicken pot pie.
my favorite.
and here's the recipe:
it's a doozy, but if you ever have the time, i suggest it.

you'll need:
1/2 C chopped onion
1 large can veg-all - or mixed frozen veggies
(carrots, green beans, corn)
1/4 C chopped celery
3 cups cubed cooked chicken
6 Tbsp butter
1 tsp salt
1/2 C flour
3 C chicken broth
1 potato

boil chicken in water until cooked. cut into cubes. make two crust pie dough (double your normal recipe) and roll out. cook onion and celery in butter until tender. add flour and salt, cook for 2 mins. add broth all at once. cook and stir until thick and bubbly.  boil veggies and a cubed potato.  add chicken and veggies to broth.  pour into a pie crust.  top with the other pie crust. seal edges. 
bake at 350 for 35 to 40 mins.


Chicken Pot Pie

my mom always makes her pie dough from scratch, but i bet you could totally buy it and make this 10 times easier. 

good luck and enjoy!



Thursday, January 19, 2012

preplanned

lindsay and i are planning a baby shower for our good friend, jana, 
due on april 1st with a little baby boy.
max.
the shower will be held in my newly renovated basement.
and this is also why i have ronnie working on our new bar every night.
that thing HAS to be done in time.
not to mention, that i told him i needed this up to standards in time as well.
(he hates life)

here is the invite we sent out a last week (via shutterfly).

going from that, i think we'll probably keep most things
blue, white and yellow.

i was thinking balloons would be festive
and easy on the wallet.
this could be fun for the stairs.

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or string them up over the food table.  maybe both.

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we plan to do a onesie craft during the shower - so linds and i will have our done
and hung on a banner with M A X on it.  should be cute.

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and then when everyone else gets done,
they can hang theirs to dry as well.

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and my mom has a bunch of mason jars,
so i thought this might be fun too.

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shower planning is so fun.
especially with pinterest.



Wednesday, January 18, 2012

btc, phone home

so i know NOTHING about phones.
and didn't really need to.
why?
because i try to avoid talking on them.
sure, i'll respond to a text... when i get it.
and most times, that's hours later.
and if you catch me at the right time
i might even have a nice 20 minute conversation with you.
but that's where it ends.
and so, for the last several years,
this was my phone.
still is my phone.


pretty sweet, right?
but,
my office blocks the internet.
and for someone that is on
and
it's a lot to miss.

so i'd like to get a new one.
something that has the internet,
with a clear screen
and takes good photos.
oh, and no small buttons.
these fingers are not made for small buttons.
i was thinking touch screen,
but didn't know if those broke easy?

advice?
please advise.


Tuesday, January 17, 2012

living in a winter wonderland

this "winter" is bazaar.
barely any bad weather to speak of.
today was actually cold,
but tomorrow will be back up in the 60's.
but i still wanted my house to have some winter decor.
and i didn't really have any.
so i bought a bag of pine cones,
some white poinsettias
kept my white snowflakes off my christmas tree
and made a quick trip to hobby lobby for some crafty items to make more snowflakes.

i hung my homemade snowflakes from my window cutouts in the living room.
thank you popsicle sticks and glitter.


here are the poinsettias and pine cones.
i also make sure and change out the books i keep on my entry way table.
the colors always go with the seasons.


bringing the pine cones to the living room.


and kept my feather wreath up on the backdoor.


my "snow" trees stayed as well.  then i added a row of snowflakes under the tv.


i added one pine cone to each plate in the dining room
and bought new glass hurricanes,
but i haven't figured out exactly what i want to do with them yet.


and some friends of ours stopped by and dropped off this awesome doormat.
the hubs and i with our puppies.  perfectly represented.


so that's the winterscape at our house right now.
hopefully the snow will join us outside as well.


Monday, January 16, 2012

the first 365

last week mr. mason turned the big oh one.
and over the weekend we went to dana's to celebrate.







and then since my friends weren't quite ready to say goodbye,
most of us made a night out of it at shannon's.


and i got to see little graham again.


lots of cute little stinkers filled my saturday.



Friday, January 13, 2012

friday night lives

last friday i had plans to have a girls night, but it was cancelled when our
hostess realized her husband had to be up and ready for work bright and early saturday. 
so instead, ronnie and i went out with our
we played the juke box.
drank some beer.
ate unhealthy food.
and finally made our way back to my house. (1 block down the road)
ronnie showed off his christmas present which lindsay modeled.


then we played my christmas present/the best game ever, A to Z.

and after the turnbows left,
i realized how drunk my husband was.
how could i tell?
well, he spilt a beer
put on some george strait
and wanted to dance.

and that's why we're perfect for each other.

 

Thursday, January 12, 2012

gross or great

when ronnie and i went to visit his mom around christmas
she offered us pancakes one morning for breakfast.
and when she popped a bag out of the freezer, i was skeptical.
frozen pancakes.
no thanks.


but then i ate them.
now i love them.
and bought a bag for ourselves.
seriously - - always save brand, blueberry pancakes from walmart.
who knew?
and the best part - - 70 seconds and they're done.

gross or great?
you decide.
my verdict:
great!


ps- we don't actually use Mrs. Butterworth's.  we buy sugar-free Log Cabin which has 200 less calories per serving and i think it tastes better.

Wednesday, January 11, 2012

the things ronnie does for me

ronnie slaved away for me all weekend. 
and now into the week.
it's taking longer than i thought.
and i feel bad.
but i'm more excited to see this thing finished.
i help when i can, but i admit, carpentry is not my thing.
i'm more down there making sure it looks like my drawing.
from upstairs i hear lots of cussing and banging around.
saws, hammers and nail guns,
but i think it progressing nicely.

here he is starting the shelving unit

almost done

done.  and you'll notice in the top right corner of the picture, you can see where our ceiling drops down.  that is why in the rest of these shots the top of the shelf will be cut off.


one of the lower cabinets done

both of the lower cabinets done.  the open space between the lower cabinets and the shelving units will be where the mini fridge goes. 

and as i type this, ronnie is at lowe's buying the counter top.
then all we'll have to do it paint this whole thing white.
ugh.




Tuesday, January 10, 2012

don't blame me

i have a post written about date night on friday.
i have a post written about the project ronnie is building me in the basement. 
and i have a post written about my winter decorations around the house.
when i went to add photos,
none will upload.
what the hell.

i think blogger is having technical difficulties.
and i hate it.

so instead, i'll just fill you in on some fun facts about my life right now:

a year ago today we got 12 inches of snow.
today? it was 57 degrees.
i didn't wear a coat and i went running outside.
i really wouldn't mind if we skip winter altogether.

i cooked dinner both nights so far this week.
chicken tacos on monday.
pork chops and mashed potatoes on tuesday.
i'm thinking frozen pizzas on wednesday. let's not get carried away.

i'm still getting up by 6am in the mornings so i have a couple hours before work.
i am doing laundry, making breakfast and sweeping floors all before my day begins.
ronnie called the other day and i was laying in bed reading.
i can't explain how much i love my mornings now.

sorry about the lack of pictures and project updates.
hopefully tomorrow.

Monday, January 9, 2012

firsts

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(i loved this. made me think of umkc.)

this is what i wore to my first day
at first community bank
on my first week
at the first of the year.

nothing new - but these people have never seen the ol' wardrobe before
so it's new to them.

this is weird time for me right now.
the future is so up in the air.
not that i had everything figured out when i was at umkc
but i can't tell where this career path will lead.
which makes me nervous
and hopeful.
and scared.

like i said, it's just weird.

i waited a week to update about my new job because i wanted to give it time. to see what i liked and what i didn't. or if i thought i made a huge mistake. so far, these are my first impressions:

it was not a mistake
but i also hope to leads to other positions that i can use my degrees.

getting to go home for lunch is like a gift.

a two minute drive lets me get a lot done around the house in the morning.

i don't dread going in or seeing my boss.

working with all that money makes me nervous.

i'm still not clear on everything that i will be doing.
working till 5 is not as cool as working till 3.

i've had to turn down two interviews because of my new schedule.

so there you have it...
lots of good - - and some bad too.
which would be the case at any job.
hopefully i'll understand more about everything the more i get into it.