We Didn't Start The Fire

Most people have a few days that they always look forward to.  This list usually includes things such as birthday, Christmas, and Thanksgiving.  My list includes these things but also includes the Twelve Night celebration- which is when we get together with friends for the annual Christmas tree burning.  Here is my post from last year about the event.

This year it wasn't nearly as cold as it has been the past two years which was quite nice.  We were afraid it was going to get rained out, but it only rained for a few minutes.

JP loves this tradition as well.  He is always very involved in the process of putting the trees on to burn.

Brian and Corey holding a tree up vertically with rope.

Sweet friends.

Yet again we had a ton of fun!

Diapercycle

Our good friends are having a baby in February.  We helped host a couples baby shower for them.  One thing that everyone knows about them is their love for motorcycles.  They even own a Harley!  So, when I saw a diaper motorcycle on Pinterest, I knew I had to make it for them.

I've made a regular diaper cake and I will say that this is more difficult.  Getting the wheels completed is the most difficult part.  I had no trouble with the front tire but the back tire I just couldn't get right.  By the time I transported it to the shower, the back tire looked like it either had run over a nail or hit one too many pot holes. Oh well!

I originally just had the dog as the stuffed animal but his head was so low it didn't look over the handle bars.  So a trip to Toys R Us found the pig which I thought was perfect (you know Harleys are referred to as Hogs).  Anyway JP liked the long legged dog so much so we decide to use his velcro hands to strap him on the back around the pig.

I used this youtube video to show me how to do the tires.  It was much easier to see it done through video than to try and figure it out through pictures.  For the rest of the diapercycle, I used this blog which I found on Pinterest.  I would have used the blog for the entire thing but had trouble with her method of making the tires.

Happy Birthday Sarah!

Happy Birthday to my sister Sarah!

She was "almost" born in Pizza Hut. (Not really, there was plenty of time to go home to drop me off between Pizza Hut and the hospital. But she did insist on us eating at Pizza Hut for her birthday a few times when we were kids).

Apparently I wanted to name her either kitchen or chair.  Both very suitable names, don't you think.

 Unfortunately the only thing I remember about the day she was born was walking through the hospital and seeing an "old" man in a hospital bed which scared me (I was 3 1/2) and the small horse that as part of the toy my Granny gave me.

I think it was for her 5th birthday, I got her a the stuffed animal version of Sizzle from The Puzzle Place- apparently at the time it was our favorite show.

 I'm very grateful to have a sister- an instant playmate- then and now. Glad we currently live in the same city.

She has always been and will always be stronger and tougher than me.

Our First Christmas Party

In December, we hosted our first party in our house.  I had my co-workers over for our department Christmas party.  Everyone brought a dish, and we enjoyed the Secret Santa reveal. (In the picture above (L-R), Kayla, Me, Kate.  Kate was convinced that Kayla was her Secret Santa.  Once I learned that I used Kayla to help further disguise the fact that I was Kate's Secret Santa.  Kate was shocked to find out it was me).

We had a TON of work to do before having people over.  JP worked until the day of the party installing the recessed lights (which wasn't necessary for the party but needed to be done before we left for Phoenix a few days later).  I also was sick the day of the party as well as about a week before.  Needless to say we were exhausted by the end of the night.  However, we LOVED having everyone over.  It was SO much fun.  I think we both learned that we will definitely be having more people over to our house AND that our house doesn't have to be perfect in order to have guests.

(you can see our 70s couches in the background of this picture.  Did not have the new one yet).

We really did not have enough seating to have 20ish people over.  Our pastor was kind enough to let us borrow 20 folding chairs, even though the party was the night before our church's Christmas program.  Glad we got them back to the church before the program because the program was packed and definitely needed those seats!

House- First 6 Months

If you remember, a few weeks ago I posted our house's list of things to do for 2012.  As things on this list get completed, I plan on updating the blog about them.  Before we get started on our 2012 list, I should update about what we did during the last 6 months of 2011.

We spent a lot of time cleaning.  Every floor was mopped and then mopped again with Murphy Oil.  Then JP waxed and buffed all of the wood floors.  This took a lot of time!

One of the first projects was installing a range vent so when we got our stove we could turn the vent on and any smoke would go outside.  From the previous owners, it was evident what can happen to the ceiling without one- grease spots galore.

We wanted to make sure we did this before we got a stove.  We did have to take down the heavy microwave.  This project required JP to purchase some power tool that allowed him to drill through the tile, then through wood, then through the brick.

The hole!

JP completed another project that required cutting a hole.  This time he cut a hole in the ceiling in order to install a whole house fan.  This was something that he really wanted and in the spring and fall will be quite useful.  After this project was completed we purchased Home Depots project guide and this project ranked in the most difficult category.  It took JP several days to do it but he did it with really no major difficulties. Note: Don't worry, the pen marks around the on/off switch will not be there once we paint.

JP apparently really likes to cut holes in our house because he had a third project that required hole cutting.  This time it was to install recessed lighting.  JP really has a pet peeve about showers being dark, so his first attempt at installing a recessed light was installing one over the guest shower.  His grandfather helped him with this, and it was a good practice run before he moved on to the bigger job.

Our living room had no lights at all.  All lights would have to come in from lamps and other things you plug in.  We did not like this at all.  So, after much research on which lights to use and how to lay them out, JP started the job. This job required a lot of hole cutting, climbing around in the attic, and installation of wiring.  It produced a huge, dusty mess as well! It took him a few days to do, but I am very impressed with the results.  He installed a dimmer so it can be as bright as you want it to be- and compared to what it was before, it can be super bright!  I took a picture but I feel it is kinda hard to take a good picture of recessed lights.

One major project, that still is not complete, is stripping the paint off of the front door.  I'm not sure the difficult of this project was expected.  Both of JP's grandparents have helped with this project.  He and his grandfather spent two days on the front of the door.  They discovered there were 8 layers of paint between them and the wood.  They got most of it done except for the little nook and crannies- such a tedious job!  Note: if you ever do something like this, make sure you wear a good mask as the old paint likely has lead in it.

Another weekend, his grandmother attempted to finish the job.  She was able to finish the front getting all of the tedious areas.  Now the other side of the door has to be done.  We can not stain until both sides are complete.

JP's grandparents have helped us with several things other than the door.  While JP and his Grandfather were working on the door, his Grandmother did a TON of work in our yard.  They also helped us replace our rotting flower boxes that were in place when we got the house.

Now it doesn't look like I've contributed anything to all of these projects, right.  Well I've been busy too.  I've painted the guest bedroom, the office, the master bedroom and master closet, and the kitchen (including the ceiling).  I'm not ready to post pictures of these yet but I couldn't have done it without the help of Amanda (guest bedroom) and my sister Sarah (who helped me with every other room).  I have the living room, dining room, master bath and hallways to complete now.

To me, the actual painting process is the easy part.  Picking out the paint color is the most difficult.  It takes me a good week or two to decide on the paint color.  I have been buying paint at Home Depot and have gotten to know the men in the paint department pretty well.  They have nicknamed me the Sample Queen because I purchase so many samples before actually deciding on a color.

I have also spent a lot of time with furniture etc. purchases.

We got this chair on Craigslist.  It is from Ballard Designs where it cost $1100 originally.  We were able to snag it for $400.  The original owners said they rarely set on it and were getting rid of it because they it just seemed to collect piles of clothes.

I have been waiting to get a new couch for an incredibly long time.  While we were in our apartment, we decided not to get a new couch because we knew once we got a house we would hate to have a couch that worked with our apartment and not our house.

After much research, I determined I wanted to purchase our couch from Hillcrest Furniture in Downtown Homewood.  I would highly recommend this place. Their staff is not pushy, very patient, and very helpful.

I had narrowed it down to a few couches, and it took me a week or so to determine which one to get.  After than it took me a good week to decide on the fabric.  I did so much research on fabric that the people that work at the store joke with me that I probably knew more than they did now and could have a job there.

So this is the couch I decided on.

The easiest decision for me was to use the green fabric for the pillows (that was after it took me a little bit to decide if I wanted pillows and if so how many).  If you know me at all, you know green is my favorite.  Thanks to Scotchguard, I decided to go with this Linen/Rayon mix fabric.

 Notice the hole right above the light switch that is above the couch.  This is a "war injury" from the recessed light installation.  JP had to cut a hole in the wall so he could drill a hole through a stud so he could slip the wire though it.  That will patched, along with the other holes that were present upon purchase, when I decide what color to paint the living room.

Since it was a foreclosure, the house did not come with a fridge or stove.  We immediately bought a fridge because it is quite difficult to live without one.  However, we did not immediately order a stove.  We knew we wanted a double oven and ended up finding the best deal from Warehouse Discount Center. We were a little nervous about buying from them but they had the best price by at least $500.  Other than the fact that it was back ordered for over a month, it all ended up working out ok and we would recommend purchasing from them.  After going 5 months without one, we are really excited about having a stove!

Our very first purchase for the house was a King sized bed.  Much bigger than the Full sized we were using.  However, I could not find bedding I liked for the King sized bed.  JP's grandmother loaned us some King sized sheets until we found something we liked.  I finally found something from Ballard Design. Note: this is not our bedroom but the pictured from Ballard Design of the quilt.

So I think that is most of the interesting stuff that we did on the house in 2011.  We did do a few other things, like add insulation to the attic and replace the water regulator, that aren't really interesting.

Stay tuned as we chip away at the 2012 house list.

Water

One of the things I want to do this year is drink more water. I'm shooting for the standards 64oz/day which would provide me with 50mL/kg which more than meets my needs of 30-35mL/kg. (Sorry but it is hard not to apply what you do all day for you job to your real life when you can).

My sweet Granny gave us these Tervis Tumblers for Christmas.  She picked the perfect teams for us all.  I got the Braves, Sarah got Samford, and JP got the Phoenix Suns.  If drink two a day, that gives me my 64oz.

Christmas Adventures in Phoenix

This year we went to Phoenix for Christmas.  We were there for 9 nights and got to do a lot of things that are unique to Phoenix as well as spend a lot of time with JP's family.

Going to Phoenix means there will be no shortage of good food.  JP's mom is always cooking up something good.  Here we are on the traditional dip night where the dinner consists of different types of dips.

Not only is the food in the home great, but there are so many places to eat in Phoenix that Birmingham does not have.  My favorite being In N Out Burger and JP's favorite being Filibertos- both of which we visited several times.

Earlier in the year my mom had sent me a blog that talked about True Food Kitchen which has a location in Phoenix.  Why did I want to visit this place? At True Food Kitchen, we celebrate simplicity. We practice sustainability. We believe that simple, fresh, pure ingredients create the most memorable and satisfying meals. And while our healthy menu is packed with nutritious, good-for-you vegetables, whole grain and proteins, we never sacrifice flavor. You may not notice the difference. But it’s there.

So, I took JP on a very girly adventure in Scottsdale.  JP tried to make the adventure a little more manly by dressing like a cowboy.  This picture does not include his boots.

Our first stop was Last Chance which had tons of discount items from Nordstroms.  He actually got more clothing items than I did.

We then headed to True Food Kitchen.
 


I loved it!  We ate outside on the sunny day.  The restaurant gave off a bright, clean, and fresh vibe.  I got the steak tacos and JP got the raw tuna salad.  JP and I both agreed that it was quite tasty, but he felt it was more like a snack than a meal.



After True Food Kitchen, we headed to Anthropologie followed by Sprinkles.

The rest of our adventures in Phoenix were much more manlier than our Scottsdale adventure.  Take for instance they day we spent on Superstition Mountain.

Michael and his girlfriend Heather asked us if we would like to join them on their hike up Superstition Mountain.  I immediately asked the difficulty and was informed that it was no where near as difficult as the Grand Canyon hike we had done earlier in the year.

As we made our way up Superstition Mountain on the Flat Iron trail, I came to realize that this hike was no hike at all but a climb.  I was using my arms and hands as much as I was using my legs and feet.
This person at hikingarizona.blogspot.com does a much better job of describing this climb than I could:
The difficulty of climbing makes this one of the most challenging trails in the Superstitions. The mile between the waterfall and the top of the mountain gains over 1,500 feet in elevation and is nothing more than a continuous climb up jagged rocks. Although this part is challenging and will get the heart pounding, the rocks do provided a nice climbing surface with plenty of places to clutch as you drag yourself up the mountain.

Finally, after climbing until you think you can go no further, you arrive at a 12-foot rock wall that proves to be the most difficult obstacle yet! Although not impossible this rock wall is by far the most vertical challenge encountered on this trail. Fortunately, immediately on the other side of this wall is the top of the Superstition Mountain and a large flat plateau (and trust me, after climbing for what seems like forever, the flat land will be something to rejoice over!)

I must say that I frequently wanted to give up especially when I would look up at the rocks and saw no possible way for me to get up them.  But, JP was quite kind and stayed behind with me as Michael and Heather were much quicker than I was at the whole climbing thing.  If he had not stayed behind with me there would have been no way I could have done it.  At the end though, I was SO glad that I completed the whole thing.



At the top.

 Heather and Michael, our climbing buddies.
 

Another manly adventure we had was our run/walk around Ussery Mountain.  JP and his brother Matt ran the 7 1/2 miles around and over the mountain while JP's dad and I walked.  I did run the last mile though.  No pictures of that one.

Our final manly adventure was Boyce Thompson Arboretum.

Now an Arboretum may not sound exciting or daring but the Kaal boys managed to make it those things.  We stumbled across some Australian rock formations that created a path.  The Kaal boys decided these would be the perfect race course.  So we raced both of these paths.  Each person being timed as they took their turn.  This ended up being quite an exciting and fun thing to do!

Matt races



Michael races


This man...


managed to make the trip to the arboretum a little daring (or maybe a little scary) when he decided to eat these guys...





As we were walking through JP saw these beans and decided it would be a grand idea to try a Mescal bean.  He chewed it once or twice and proceeded to spit it out, something we would later be thankful for.  Once we got back to the house we discovered that these Mescal beans are highly poisonous and can be very deadly.  There is documentation of someone eating just one and ending up very very sick.

JP had started feeling bad once we got home so I immediately called poison control who looked at some case studies and told us if JP started vomiting to go to the emergency room but otherwise he would be ok since he didn't actually swallow the bean but just got some of the juices.  It all ended up being ok but hopefully JP learned the lesson not to eat random things.

In addition to our adventures we enjoyed some fun Christmas celebrations that I got no pictures of.

One final note, we did NOT go to the Green Cross near JP's parent's house for an adventure.  Apparently these things are all over the place in Phoenix.