TGI Friday!!

Yep, it's that time again!

TGIfriday, a nice time to reflect on what's going on in our life, share what I'm currently interested in, and remind us of all the things we have to be grateful for! Feel free to add your own comments below of the things you are trusting for, grateful for, inspired about, or more!

Trusting that God has a plan for us regarding getting pregnant and starting a family. At times it is hard to stay optimistic since we don't know really what is going on with me and my hormones, but I started Clomid this month and have high hopes that it will help. Hopefully in the next couple days I will find out if it worked this month (causing ovulation) and we will go on from there, which will include increasing my dose for next month if I did not ovulate. It's hard to trust God and not worry about all the details, but I'm working on it! I know He has a perfect plan, and it will happen in the right time.


Grateful that I can go camping this summer WITHOUT crutches, a walker and a big stinking brace on my leg! We already had a great time on our first of 3 camping trips this summer, out to O'dell Lake for some boating and fishing. Lots of sunshine and 6 salmon later, I cannot wait for our next trip! Luckily I don't have to wait long, since this Friday we're leaving for 4 nights in Bend with our Christian dirtbike group, RUTS, for their annual campout. And for those of you who remember, yes, this is the trip I broke my leg on last year... and no I won't be riding on any trails this time around! It's still a great time with a lot of great people!


Inspired to work on other rooms of our house, since we recently got our guest room all set up. I want to redo/finish/organize my craft room next. Currently the room is a pretty good size but has DARK wood paneled walls, a very low (6 ft) DARK wood paneled ceiling, two tiny windows and very little lighting, so it needs some help! It has good potential though, with lots of opportunity for storage and a good work space that I can just shut the door on :) I'm looking forward to getting all my gift wrapping, craft supplies, cardmaking and scrapbook supplies, and sewing stuff all put away!

(hey, I can dream, can't I?)

Favorite new breakfast/dessert/snack :) is a Dutch baby, aka a German pancake aka deliciousness in your mouth! It is a cross between a crepe and a pancake, and it's baked in the oven. Here's the SIMPLE recipe: Preheat oven to 425. Blend (or process in a food processor) together 3 eggs, 6 Tbls flour, 1 Tbls sugar, and 6 Tbls milk. Melt 2-3Tbls butter in a large oven safe skillet (stainless or cast iron work great- & at least 8 inches across, the pancake will expand!). Tilt pan to coat with butter, pour in mixture. Bake until puffy & golden, 12-15 min. Serve with lemon juice & powdered sugar (I also topped mine with strawberries!). ENJOY!! :)


Random - I have discovered that I quite enjoy Kokanee! Kokanee is a fresh water salmon that Jeff fishes for, and since he caught six (!) of them last weekend, I've been able to try out different ways of cooking them. I usually do our Alaskan salmon on the grill with a cilantro/garlic/lime pesto, so I tried that with the Kokanee and it was very good. Our favorite however, was grilled (on foil) with a mixture of lemon pepper, garlic, S&P, a bit of brown sugar and lots of lemon juice. Sounds like a weird combo but it was delish! Next up: smoking them!


Interested in learning how to do a proper Mini Schnauzer haircut. Key word being proper. Our little Heidi is a Mini, and while we are very happy that she does not shed (no Schnauzers do!), she does need regular haircuts. I have trimmed her hair many times, but I wouldn't say I've ever really done a "proper" Schnauzer haircut. And because our little darling lives on a farm, she actually could benefit from haircuts more often than most... at least if we want to keep her from bringing every leaf, stick and other farm "goody" into the house! And as for Heidi herself, while she loves having short, freshly trimmed hair, she really does not enjoy sitting still while Mommy trims it, so I do believe she also would want me to gain some new skills in this area, simply so we could get it done more quickly!


Dreaming about babies :) As you know, I am trying to get pregnant. As you may not know, I have recently been hired as a nanny for a 3 month old little girl named Ella! She is an adorable little thing, and her parents unfortunately have to go back to work, so I'll be watching her on the 4 days/week that they are both working. I'm already quite smitten but I'm sure it will be fun to hang out with her and watch as she changes so quickly these first months. She is precious and I feel honored to take care of her!


Admiring the new blog I found called Young House Love. The whole blog is great, but I particularly love all their more recent baby-focused posts, including all the DIY projects they did for their nursery! It's an adorable pear green and aqua colored nursery for a little girl--and it looks perfect! There are touches of pink and flowers, but it isn't overly girly and it definitely is a cheerful room any baby would be happy to grow into. You can check it out here, and pictures of their new little arrival here. Fun fun!


And last but not least. . .

Yay that my amazing and extremely generous parents, who like to make sure no holiday, birthday or anniversary goes by without being properly acknowledged, decided to completely splurge on us and bought us tickets to THE LION KING for our anniversary (this Wed, 6-23, will be 3 years!!), which we have been totally dying to see! It's one of few shows that both Jeff & I wanted to see, and we are SO excited to go to it! Plus I love an opportunity to dress up, especially since it's been an entire year since I've been able to wear heels! :) It's going to be the perfect way to end our weekend, and a wonderful way to celebrate our three years of being married, and 4 years of being together! Thanks again, folks. You guys really do spoil us! :)

TGI Friday!!

Yes, it's that time again! TGI Friday, Spring Edition!

Trusting-that God knows the future, and will let me know what I need to know, when I need to know it. Sometimes I worry that I am missing something; that there was a step I was supposed to take or a fork in the road that I might have missed, but I need to trust that not only will God not tell me things I don't need to know, He will tell me the things I do need to know. If I am listening to Him and tuned in to His direction, He will guide me and give me enough light to see the next step along our path- whether it's the next job to apply for or the timing for a trip.

Grateful-for SO many things! That SPRING is coming, that I am finally making some progress on projects around my home, and for my Wonderful HUSBAND who has been doing so many sweet little things for me lately "just because."

(Like what, you ask? Well, he installed ALL of the baseboards I painted last weekend in one fell swoop, he has brought home flowers for me 3 times in the last month, AND after I mentioned that his mom had found some pretty pink branches around the farm to put in her house, he went out and cut a bunch to surprise me, including some with bright yellow flowers and adorable little white flowers. Just cause he thought I'd like them. SO sweet!)

Now when I look around my house I'm not only thrilled by my new baseboards, or happy that spring is almost here, I am also reminded of how lucky I am to have a hub who loves me as much as mine does!

Inspired- by a couple of home decor blogs I've been reading lately: both Our Suburban Cottage and It's the little things that make a house a home have me inspired for some springtime updating with lots of bright & airy rooms, white cottage decor, and making the best of what you've got to work with (such as vanity lights from the 70's and unattractive laminate countertops!). Go ahead and check them out--and then check back here for updates on the projects I'll be taking on! Some likely possibilities: kitchen cabinet makeovers & a new window seat!

Favorite-dessert lately is . . . drumroll please. . . tapioca pudding! Don't judge me. It's a delicious, sweet creamy treat, already portion-controlled (unless you eat two of them ...which of course I would never do!), and it just reminds me of being a kid! Now what's so wrong about that? And in case you need to be reminded -- no, tapioca pearls are NOT fish eggs or fish eyes or whatever your big brother told you they were, they are completely natural and yummy. So there. :)

Random-I have always enjoyed scrapbooking, stamping and card-making... and I have quite a collection of supplies to prove it! However I often find that it's just not that fun to work on cards or scrapbooks by myself. Well lately I've rekindled this hobby by helping my MIL out with a project she's working on.

Together we've gone shopping for supplies, coordinated ribbons and papers, and done the trial & error that's always necessary when deciding on the best possibly layouts. And I must say, we are a pretty good team, because the final product that we've come up with has been really adorable!

I'll see if I can take a few photos of the final product to show y'all (we aren't there yet), but let me just say that they are some of the CUTEST baby (girl) shower invitations you've ever seen! And it is most certainly inspiring me to get out my supplies and put them to good use!

Interested-in how to get back my previously well-mannered, easy-going, social-butterfly of a puppy! That dog seems to be AWOL and in her place is a neurotic, hyper-sensitive, bark-at-everything, friends-with-no-one, naughty puppy! I am having to spend most of my days scolding her for growling ferociously at the heater vents (?!), barking at every (even imagined!) sound she hears, and sneaking around in order to avoid the mysterious other-dog-in-the-mirror.

Dreaming- of going camping!! Because of an unfortunately-located tree, last year's camping season was cut quite short. I have since put in lots of time, and lots of work, recovering from the interaction with said tree, and I am really looking forward to this summer. Camping, grilling, fishing, going for long walks, heck, just sitting outside NOT in a wheelchair. It's going to be good!

Admiring- my newly painted and installed WHITE baseboards!! And my current project, white-painted door and window frames! Already these small changes are making SUGH a difference in my large living/dining room.

We have wood floors, dark wood and brown leather furniture, a dark wood-paneled wall with a brick red fireplace, wine colored walls in the DR half, and latte colored walls in the LR (yes, I know, pictures are worth a thousand words. However I'm preparing a dramatic before and after post for this project, so I can't give the punchline away ahead of time! Patience, people!). If you can try to imagine it, it's a pretty dark picture.

Before this project, there was NO bright white in these rooms to balance all the dark. The baseboards themselves have made a big difference, and I am already LOVING the white door frame. They both bring a nice breath of calm and cheer to the rooms, like a happy spring breeze. . . Okay, so maybe I'm over-exaggerating the effect of a little white paint (or a lot of white paint!), but if you were in my shoes you would understand. It is exactly what these rooms needed and I really, truly love it. *sigh*

Yay- I'm going to finally get a rug for my living room!! I've been wanting a rug for our living room floor for just about forever. Or at least since we moved in and refinished our floors :) However big rugs are not only expensive, it is also difficult to find a style that both the hub and I like. Well a couple weeks ago a good friend of mine (you know who you are, T!) mentioned on Facebook that she was bringing home a new rug she bought at Costco.

So of course I had to get the details (price, size, all that good stuff), and trot on off to my favorite warehouse store to check it out. And lo and behold, I found one I really liked! And even more amazing, the hub liked it too! (He didn't love it, and he made sure I knew it wasn't his absolute perfect dream rug, but hey, if he liked it at all I figured we're making progress here!) So we took a few days to think about it. . . and we still like it, so-- we're going to get it this weekend! I'm really very excited.

Now don't get me wrong-- I love LOVE hardwood floors, but I've learned that I also really love having something soft and warm under my feet, especially when it's drafty (and especially for the future when we have little ones here, with as often as they and their tiny feet are on the floor!). I also really like light and color and coziness, which are three things our living room does not currently have an abundance of (see above). So based on all that, I'm thrilled we have hardwood floors (that my brand new husband and I sanded and refinished ourselves, when we very first moved into our house!!), and I'll be even more thrilled when we've balanced all that wood out with a little bit of softness and warmth. Like our new rug will provide. Yay!

I hope you all have had a great week, and are making some fun plans for the weekend, even if it's only trying to work out in the yard between rain showers! Spring is on it's way, trust me! Until next time--take care!