Teachers!

One of the nice things about going back to your old high school for graduation is that you have the opportunity to see some of your old teachers. I didn't stop and talk to very many, though. It was Memorial Day weekend, so there weren't as many people at graduation as there normally are. But I was excited to see the few I did run into.

I spent more time with this teacher in the six years I spent at WHS (no, I was not slow, it was grades 7-12). I had her for junior high band, high school band, choir, and she was my color guard sponsor. Yes, she is a busy woman. High school was so much fun, and it was in large part because of this lady.

This is Mrs. D. She was my reading teacher during grades 4-6. She is such a cool person. We always read neatest books and did the most interesting projects along with them. She always encouraged me to write. In fact, in the 5th grade, I was selected to attend the Missouri Young Author's Conference with a poem I wrote about a magical mirror that showed me the future.

Mexi-Skillet

It's Tasty Tuesday... a day late.

I found a recipe a while back, but we were in the process of packing and all of my fun kitchen stuff was already boxed up. I decided to save it until after we moved and unpacked. I was finally able to make it Monday for dinner and it was worth the wait. It's similar to Hamburger Helper, but it's a healthier, Mexican version.

So, without further ado, here's the recipe for Mexi-Skillet. Let me know if you make it and what you think!

Mexi-Skillet

-1 lb ground beef
-1 jar (16oz) salsa
-1 small can (8oz) tomato sauce
-2 cups pasta (I think I used gemelli)
-1 1/2 cups water
-1 cup frozen corn
-1 cup sharp cheddar cheese

I also add seasonings like chili powder and cayenne pepper.

In a skillet, cook ground beef until browned. Add tomato sauce, salsa, and water to beef and bring to a boil. Add pasta and corn. Reduce heat. Cover and simmer for 15 minutes (until pasta is tender). Stir occasionally. Sprinkle with cheese and let stand for a few minutes.

Enjoy!

**Makes 6 servings. 370 calories per serving.

"New" Floors!

We moved into our house on Friday, May 8th. On the 9th, my husband jokingly asked when I was going to start ripping out carpet. This is one of the things I insisted needed to be done, not only because we knew there were hardwood floors underneath, but because the berber carpet that was on the floors was just so ugly.

I finally started on the carpet on Sunday. When I started pulling the carpet back, the floors weren't too bad. I didn't love the color, but it was in decent shape. Then I pulled up a larger chunk and was immediately disappointed. The floor became a drastically different color.

Once we pulled up all of the carpet, it was obvious that an area rug had been nailed to the floor and the floor was finished around it. I talked to someone at work and they said that it was common in the first half of the 20th century because of the cost of finishing floors.

After we finally got all of the carpet, pad, tack strips, and staples out of the floor, we started sanding. We rented a floor sander from Lowe's. The sander rental wasn't bad, but the cost of the sandpaper (which didn't go very far) was a little higher than we would have liked. It worked well, though. Of course, we had to use a palm sander around the edges.

Finally, on May 18th, I was ready to stain the floors. It took me two hours, a paint brush, and a t-shirt, but it was worth it. The entire project cost less than $200 and added more than that to the resale value of our home. I'm actually quite impressed with myself. It turned out a lot better than I thought.

Here are some photos of the project:

What our floors looked like after the carpet was ripped out.

This is where I first discovered the change in color on the floor. The lighter color is finished, the darker color was unfinished wood.

Sanded and ready for stain!

The finished product.

For having multi-colored floor, it turned out pretty well. The color is brown mahogany. I actually think we chose another one, but when I got to Lowe's I had forgotten, so I chose this one. I think it was a good choice, though!

...and we're back!

Whew!

It has been quite some time since my last real post. Let me be the first to say that I have missed posting on my blog, even if no one reads it. Each day I think about something I want to blog about, but haven't been able to. I texted a few posts, but I was limited to 160 characters. If you've been reading my blog for any length of time, you know that I am a bit wordy, so 160 characters is much too few for me.

I've actually had the Internet back since Friday, but we spent the weekend back in Missouri with family. Michael's step-brother, Chris, graduated from high school on Saturday, so we spent out long weekend on the road. We got back to the house Sunday evening. I thought about blogging yesterday, but decided to take the day to recover from the trip.

But now I'm back and ready to go! I have taken tons of photos since I last posted and have so much to share with you! I hope you'll enjoy the posts over the next few days!

They're here installing the internet! I'll finally be able to make posts with more than 160 characters!

Living in a house is so different than an apt. Our street is so quiet. I love it. We are blessed to live in such a wonderful neighborhood.

The floor is done and looks great! I can't wait to share all of the before and after photos. :)

We've lived in Illinois for a year now. Holy moly!

I'm staining the floor this morning! I can't wait to see it when it's done. I'm taking lots of photos. We get internet on Friday, so expect lots of updates!

Anyone else see Grey's Anatomy tonight? Holy moly! I definitely did not see that coming! I cried so much during the entire show. Is it September yet? Seriously.

All Moved In

So we did it! We got all of our stuff moved in over the weekend and life is slowly returning to normal. The mountain of boxes is getting smaller with each passing day and it feels more and more like home. I cannot wait until we are ready to decorate and truly make it our own!

Unfortunately, we still do not have Internet at the house. Hopefully that will change in the next couple of days. I just opened my Google Reader and have 112 blogs that have piled up since last Thursday that I need to go through. So if you receive comments from me on things you posted several days ago, that's why.

I'll be back up and running in a few, short days. I have tons of stories and photos to share!

FINALLY!

It's here! The day we've been waiting for since mid-March.

Today we CLOSE on OUR HOUSE!

We go at 4PM to sign the paperwork that will make us the proud owners of a great, two-story bungalow in central Illinois.

Goodbye, Al

I'll miss you.

Pack, Pack, Pack

I'm still packing. 48 hours from now, we'll have owned our home for five whole hours. I have so much packed, but it feels like I'll never be finished. Tonight I did most of the kitchen and the rest of our clothing. Tomorrow after work I need to finish the last three cabinets in the kitchen and the hall closet.

The hall closet.

Oy.

It's that closet. The one where you throw random things when friends and family decide they're going to be at your place in five minutes. I'll get through it, though. I'm sure there will be several trips to the garbage dumpster.

We also called about utilities today. They will all be on and ready for us when we close on Friday. Of course, this is just the gas, water, and electricity. We'll get television on Saturday. We're having satellite installed and will also be getting DVR! Hooray! No more waiting until networks decide to post things online! No more arguing with Michael over who gets the TV at 8PM on Thursdays (Grey's Anatomy vs. The Office). We can watch BOTH!

As far as Internet goes, I'm not sure when we're getting that. We still need to call and have it switched over. Hopefully you won't be without my glorious techno-presence for too long, but I can't make any promises!

Moving Week!

Moving week has arrived!

To say that I am excited is an understatement. As I went to bed last night, I thought to myself that it was the last Monday I would sleep in this apartment and it made me so happy. Each time I take the dogs out, I tell them that it's one of the last times they'll have to be on a leash to go outside. They will, of course, be on leashes for walks, but they'll have a yard to go outside and play and run in.

Last night we had our final walk-through of the house. We took Wally with us to see how he'd react to the big yard. Needless to say, he was a little nervous being the only dog out in a huge yard. We actually arrived before our realtor. While in the backyard, we heard a tiny voice call out, 'a chihuahua!' and then saw this little girl come running up to the fence. Michael tried to talk to her, but she was shy and wouldn't respond. Then we saw an older woman come up to the fence and she said, 'It's about time you got here!'

That's how we met our first neighbor, Deb (the little girl was her granddaughter).

Our house has had a SOLD sign in the yard for a month now, so I'm sure the neighbors have been wondering when someone will actually move in, wondering who bought the house.

The house looked great. The yard was finally mowed yesterday, though if it rains, you won't be able to tell Friday when we move in. I am so excited that we're going to have our big house and our big yard and we'll be able to do whatever we want to it.

All right, so the packing hasn't been going as well as I had hoped. Today is my last day off before the move, so guess what I'm going to do? That's right -- pack! Pack, and clean, and do laundry.

America's Drive-In

Hello, lover!

As you can see, I had Sonic this morning!

In the third grade, our tiny metropolis got a Sonic. It. Was. Great. We could go out for ice cream when there was snow on the ground (Bob's and DQ close for the winter). The food was hot and the drinks were cold.

Fast forward to college. When Michael and I moved in together, there was a Sonic down the road. About once a week, we'd get up early, drive over, and grab breakfast on our way to school. It was a nice little weekly ritual.

Then we moved here.

Shortly after we moved here, Michael asked if I wanted to go to Sonic for breakfast the next morning. I quickly got online to see where the closest one was. The nearest drive-in was thirty eight miles away. What? To say that we were bummed was an understatement. We've learned to live with it, making excuses to go to Sonic whenever we can.

Since I don't have to be at work until 1PM today, we decided to make the trip this morning and enjoyed a tasty breakfast. I've been posting about Sonic frequently on Facebook lately, so I had to post a photo!