frosty + rock star= HALLOWEEN!

Is that his real hair?!?!?! :)

Every time I looked in the mirror I thought I was a mime :) Carter thought I looked like The Joker from Batman!

Don's Dilly Beans

Our brother in law Don makes some world famous Pickled Dilly Beans. Last Saturday we picked up some fresh green beans from the Farmers Market. Tonight we attempted to follow in his footsteps and make some of our own!

Carter cutting the ingredients to size.

Putting the beans in the sanitized jar.

Pre-canned.

Post-canned :) Hopefully we did alright!

ta da!

The final product! Carter did an amazing job. I wish the camera did justice to his paint job. He did a color wash of one color and two glazes and it is beautiful!

We moved the towel rack behind the door.

The tile floor and threshold.

The artwork we chose for above the toilet.

The towel ring, medicine cabinet and new light switches.

The same view showing the added storage space of the cabinet.

Thanks for checking in!

PS Check out a couple of posts below for "before" pictures of the bathroom! WOW.

We are goofy!

So the bathroom took a little longer than we would have liked, but here is a series of pics that Carter and I took once the last "major" piece of the bathroom was complete. The recessed medicine cabinet was a major hurdle for us because the old cabinet was way bigger than the current standard cabinet. Therefore, much wall repair and coats of paint later, we were finished! I wanted to get one last pic of Carter working, and I just couldn't get a normal smile! :)

what a goof.

Ready? Get Set! Remodel!

Carter and I have been given permission from our landlords to remodel our bathroom. We took a couple of "Before" pictures, along with some pictures of us taking off the wallpaper from 1972. :)

Carter contemplating where to start.

The wallpaper goes around the entire bathroom.

The vanity and flooring that will be replaced!

Carter working on removing the paper. The paper took about 10 minutes to remove. Next we get to work on getting the glue off. Should be fun! We'd welcome any advice!

Attack of the Killer Tomato (Worm)

Carter and I planted a fantastic garden this summer. We even protected the tomato and pepper plants with netting. When we returned from California this past weekend, we checked on the plants. To our dismay, our tomato plant was missing branchfuls of leaves. D'oh!

We thought it might be an animal getting through our netting based on the large grenade shaped presents left for us at the base of the plant.

After a few more branches were eaten clean, we got FED UP. So at dinner tonight I Googled "What eats tomato leaves?" It turns out, an insect does!!! It also turns out it camouflages so well with the plant you often don't see it. We had to go out for a second look, and based on the size of this Tomato Hornworm, I can't believe we missed it the first time. It was the size of a finger and it totally blended in with the plant!

Carter was brave enough to endure my shrieks and dump the worm in soapy water (it doesn't bite, but that knowledge didn't deter my skittishness). Carter even pulled the worm out of the water so we could get this last image. 

The enemy is DONE.

Long live the tomato plants.

Oh the reasons I love my mom!

Because she'll still do stuff like this!

well, that is not really the reason I love my mom, but it sure makes her fun! :)

My mom has given up her last two Mays/Junes (her favorite time of the year in Chicago) to be with her kids during important times (our wedding last year, this year to be on the east coast for three reasons: to be with Jamie, Chad and Milo during and post Milo's surgery, to be with Dan post surgery, and to go to Rob's wedding!) She is so supportive and we appreciate her so much... I don't tell her enough! I don't think there is a day that goes by that I don't talk to her on the phone... even if I don't have anything new to tell her.

Thanks for all of your support mom. I love you!

spring planting...

Today has been absolutely lovely in terms of weather, so we decided to be outside as much as possible. We raked the grass (or Carter raked and I tried to rake :)  ), picked up sticks, mowed the lawn and planted some edible delights. :)

Below are some pictures of the results!

Cilantro, sweet basil, lemon basil and sage in the left pot, and a container tomato plant in the right pot.

Red pepper, green pepper and jalapeno's in the left pot and rosemary, oregano and mint in the right. 

We really have no clue what we are doing, and are a little scared of what the rabbits that run rampant in the back yard will do, but we thought we could at least enjoy them for a little bit as they are!

Spring has sprung!

I've been really antsy for warmer weather so I can ride my bike outdoors. The only problem was I have COMPLETELY worn my tires down to the threads...

The inner tubes still held air, but I wouldn't feel comfortable riding on the road like this anymore!

Yesterday was the first beautiful spring day and I just couldn't resist getting ready to ride outside again. 

I now have new tires and was even able to get a short ride in before sundown. hooray!

     

MAC CHAMPS!

Now that I have a job at a bank, I don't have as many free hours to blog! The next few posts will all be things we have done/been a part of since our parents visited in February (that's right, a month and a half ago!)

Carter's season just ended after a fantastic run in the post-season. Post-season play began in Cleveland with the MAC tournament. Ball State upset Bowling Green in the last minute of the Championship Game, earning the teams first ever trip to the NCAA tournament. The game was SO STRESSFUL, but so fun at the same time (It helped that we won)! My parents surprised me by coming to the game on their way home from Philadelphia, and I have been kicking myself for not getting a picture with them at the game!

The game was at the Q, where the Cavaliers play, so that was a fun environment to be in as well. 

Here are some pics from the games...

Carter cutting down the net!

MAC Champs! Time to celebrate :)

Carter continues to test his cake baking/decorating skills. This cake actually made the newspaper. It was part of the NCAA selection show festivities :) oh yeah, it tasted really good too! 

Who turned out the lights?

During the winter months of grade school the above was a common saying, as long as it was tied to a joke. One kid would pull down another kids hat in front of his/her eyes and say, "Hey, who turned out the lights?" Well, last week Carter and I were graced by the visit of his parents and my parents. We had a few technical difficulties though. On Wednesday we were hit with a big wind and rain storm. This was our street...

We went to Carter's game on Wednesday night and we returned home to no power... until FRIDAY morning. We were one of the last 32 homes to get their power back... out of 21,000!! What a way to treat our guests!

The house got pretty cold, especially by Thursday night. We went to get some hot coffee from Starbucks and they don't brew decaf after noon (that seemed very backwards to me). Thankfully they brewed us a special pot so we could keep our guests a little bit warmer! Also, we had no hot water, so on Thursday night we went to Ball State to get cleaned up in the locker rooms! I told Helen and Jay that we just wanted to put some more adventure in their lives. Really though, we still had a blast with them and were SO THANKFUL they came out!

Helen and Jay by candle light...

The flash of the camera was the most light we had all evening!

What's so funny?

On Christmas Eve Grandma Shaw came over and everyone got a turn to take some pictures with her. By the time it was time for Carter and me for this special privilage, Grandma got a little goofy! She was laughing so hard it made all of our tummys' hurt. Also, we ended up taking some very serious pictures because we were trying so hard not to laugh. And don't worry, I did not egg her on at all ;-). I only said before every picture, "Don't laugh Grandma!" Definitely good memories from Christmas!

February 4, 1993

Today is my getting braces anniversary. On this day in sixth grade I got braces. They were so cool. I also got to wear headgear at night, which made me drool. 

awesome

 

Praise the Lord and pass the gravy!

Today I was going to put up some more pictures of Christmas at the Shaw's house, but before I could Carter found our camera that has been missing since the middle of October!!! I am SO THANKFUL. I have missed it so much :) Therefore I am going to put up a picture or two that was still on the camera that I have finally been able to download!

Eleanor, Ezra and I have a fun time rough housing

Breakfast with College Buddies.

Some of the Trick or Treaters that visited our home. Actually, they are his co-workers! So fun!