The Fluff

My Husband, The Realist

This morning I sent the following email to Ben:

I found a 4 night stay at a resort in Puerto Rico w/ flights from Detroit for $1,035 total for both of us..... Dec 8-12...

His response:

I found a truck in our garage this morning that didn't have air conditioning...


Touche. At least he makes me laugh, right?

Summer days, driftin' away

Where does time go? And how is it JULY already?

I love summer. I love going to the lake, my parent’s pool, camping, just being outside. Although the last few days have been quite cold, I can deal with it as long as the weekends are nice. The 4th of July has always been my favorite holiday. Growing up, we’d always spend the 4th at my grandparent’s cottage on Green Lake. When we were little, we’d watch the parade and collect candy, but as we got older we always enjoyed riding in my grandpa or uncle’s classic cars. The rest of the day was spent swimming, tubing, eating, and just having fun with all the cousins. At night we’d always light some of our own fireworks and sparklers before laying blankets on the front lawn to enjoy the fireworks show over the lake. Now that I’m older and our family has changed and grown, things are a bit different, but I’m still looking forward to celebrating out there. Green Lake is one of my favorite.places.ever.

I’m also looking forward to the long weekend. Ben and I both have Friday and Monday off. This summer has seemed busier than most. On Mondays Ben plays softball, on Tuesdays Boston has his puppy preschool classes. Thursdays are dinner with my family, and many weekends we are at Ben’s parents cottage in Hastings. I’m looking forward to having time to sit in the hammock and read this weekend. To float on a raft for awhile. To sleep in.

This past weekend, we took Boston to Reed’s Lake for awhile one afternoon. We got ice cream at Jersey Junction. We walked down by the lake and let Boston swim. We just enjoyed the sunshine and took life at a slower pace. It was a picture-perfect afternoon.






Summer… will you please slow down?

Happy Anniversary

Happy 2 Year Anniversary, Ben! I love you!



For others... updates coming soon...

Dandelion Festival

This past Saturday, Ben and I headed out to the town of Borculo, MI for the Dandelion Festival. Borculo is a SMALL town near Zeeland that has a Dandelion Festival every year the first weekend that Holland has Tulip Time. There is a parade, lots of games and bouncy houses for kids, free food, and fun family time. My brother is a lieutenant in the Blendon Township Fire Department, and they always help out. The firetrucks are in the parade, but kids also get to sit in the trucks and put out "fires" with the hoses. It was fun couple hours and nice to hang out with Luke and Anna, as well as support Joel and his department.

Great News

Life is pretty great right now. Boston is home and adjusting very well. He's so playful and fun, but he also loves to sleep! The really great news is that Ben got a job!!! He had 4 interviews for a position that he really wanted, and yesterday they told him they wanted to extend him an offer. The offer came today and he's meeting with someone from HR tomorrow to formally accept it. We are so excited! His first day will be May 4.

God is good. Thanks for all your prayers and support these past few months - they are much appreciated.

Tomorrow...

this little guy is coming home with us!!!

Surprise, Surprise

Well... I'm in a little bit of shock right now. We just found out that Mango is a HE, not a SHE!!! The breeder just sent me an email feeling so horrible and embarrassed. On the original birth paperwork, our puppy was marked as male. However, when she emailed me after the birth, she accidentally referred to him as a "she" and then in our writing back and forth, it just got stuck in her mind that it was a girl. The breeder handles the puppies every day, but has about 17 of them and it just never registered to her that she had told me incorrectly (since male puppies don't raise their leg to pee until they are older anyway). When she measured him today, she thought "wow, she's measuring big for a girl" and double-checked... that's b/c it's a boy!

She feels absolutely awful and contacted me right away to see if we wanted to change our mind. It really didn't matter to us either way. When we were going to get a puppy from the first litter, it was going to be a boy. We just fell in love with the little face and can't wait to have a puppy in our home.

So... now the dilemma is a name again! Mango is a little too girly. We're thinking Boston. Do you guys like that or have other suggestions?

Ahhh!!! I don't like surprises :P.

Randoms

Nothing too exciting has been going on lately (hence, the lack of posts), but I also don’t know where time is going.

We went to Ann Arbor this past weekend to visit Jesse and Julie (Ben’s brother and his wife). We had a great time hanging out and playing games… basically being lazy. We played lots of Settlers, Ticket to Ride, and learned a fun new game: Bohnanza.

Mango is the final name for our puppy. I really liked Nala too, but couldn’t decide, so I told Ben he could pick. Only a week and a half til we get to pick her up!

I won a healthy habits drawing at work and won my choice of a stationary bike, recumbent bike, or stair stepper. I chose the stationary bike. I was excited – I never win anything.

I have the day off on Friday. I’m so looking forward to it. I haven’t had a day off since New Years. Yay for long weekends.

Puppy Picture!

The breeder just sent me a recent picture of our puppy! She's just shy of four weeks in this picture. Only 4 weeks til we get to bring her home! We still aren't 100% set on a name. Our top 2 are Mango and Nala, but we're open to other ideas. Vote for your favorite name in the poll on the right. If you have other ideas, let us know! Here she is:

Puppy!!!

We're getting an Australian Shepherd puppy!!!! Since Ben got laid off, our puppy plans had been put on hold. We had been really sad about this, as the original puppy we were going to get was supposed to come home at the end of February. Now that we know exactly how much Ben is getting in unemployment, combined with the fact that we still have some wedding gift money left and the fact that the breeder emailed me a few weeks ago that another litter was just born, we decided to move ahead with our puppy plans! We also figured that if Ben has a job by then, great, but if not, at least he'll be home to train her!

Nine puppies were born in the litter, and two of them were "mismarked" according to breed standard. Basically meaning that the color and markings aren't the "ideal" for the breed. We are getting one of these puppies. We are getting her for a little bit cheaper than usual, we don't plan on breeding or showing or puppy anyway, and Ben fell in love with her little face! I'll post pictures soon... her eyes aren't even open yet (it should be any day now). Once the breeder sends me newer pictures, I'll be sure to share them. She should be ready to come home with us around April 19.

Now we need a name... and it's proving to be more difficult than naming a child (or so I imagine, since I already have potential children's names picked out :P) Any ideas?

Husbands

INSTALLING A HUSBAND

Dear Tech Support,

Last year I upgraded from Boyfriend 5.0 to Husband 1.0 and noticed a distinct slow down in overall system performance, particularly in the flower and jewelry applications, which operated flawlessly under Boyfriend 5.0.

In addition, Husband 1.0 uninstalled many other valuable programs, such as Romance 9.5 and Personal Attention 6.5, and then installed undesirable programs such as:

NBA 5.0,
NFL 3.0 and
Golf Clubs 4.1.

Conversation 8.0 no longer runs, and Housecleaning 2.6 simply crashes the system.

Please note that I have tried running Nagging 5.3 to fix these problems, but to no avail.

What can I do?

Signed,
Desperate.


DEAR DESPERATE,

First, keep in mind, Boyfriend 5.0 is an Entertainment Package, while Husband 1.0 is an operating system.

Please enter command: ithoughtyoulovedme.html, try to download Tears 6.2, and do not forget to install the Guilt 3.0 update. If those applications work as designed, Husband 1.0 should
then automatically run the applications Jewelry 2.0 and Flowers 3.5.

However, remember, overuse of the above application can cause Husband 1.0 to default to Grumpy Silence 2.5, Happy Hour 7.0, or Beer 6.1. Please note that Beer 6.1 is a very bad program that will download the Snoring Loudly Beta.

Whatever you do, DO NOT under any circumstances install Mother-In-Law 1.0 (it runs a virus in the background that will eventually seize control of all your system resources.)

In addition, please do not attempt to reinstall the Boyfriend 5.0-program. This is an unsupported application and will crash Husband 1.0.

In summary, Husband 1.0 is a great program, but it does have limited memory and cannot learn new applications quickly. You might consider buying additional software to improve memory and performance. We recommend"

Cooking 3.0 and
Hot Lingerie 7.7.

Good Luck!
Tech Support

White Chocolate Maple Blondie

If you are looking for a great dessert for the non-chocolate lover, this is it! Every time I make this dessert, it gets rave reviews. I just shared it with a co-worker, so I thought I'd share the recipe here too! It's similar to Applebee's blondie, if you've ever had that yummy goodness.

****White Chocolate Maple Blondie****

3/4 cup butter -- very soft
2 cups packed brown sugar
-> cream ingredients

4 eggs -- add one at a time
2 tsp vanilla - beat in

combine (separately)
2 cups flour
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
-> add gradually to creamed mixture

Directions:

spread in greased 9 x 13 glass pan. sprinkle 1 cup white chocolate chips
over top. Bake at 350 for 25-30 mins til it looks golden and sets up a bit.

*Sauce*

2/3 cup margarine
2 cups powdered sugar
1 cup carnation evaporated milk

bring to a boil and boil for 2 minutes. Remove from heat and add 3 Tbsp log
cabin syrup.


Serve warm with ice cream... ENJOY!

Fabulous Weekend!!

Wasn't the weather this past weekend fantastic? Ben and I headed down to Chicago with some friends to celebrate Steph's birthday. Saturday it was 60 and sunny downtown! We had such a great time walking around, shopping, and just hanging out. We got a great deal on a suite at Embassy Suites and were close to pretty much everything. We hit up Hardrock Cafe for dinner and then chilled in the hotel hot tub. I didn't take many pictures, but here is one of the birthday girl and I:
Looking at the picture, I REALLY need summer back - I'm so pale! Yesterday felt like spring as well. I went for a nice long after work and just tried to enjoy the weather while I could. I really don't want snow to come back!

This week is quite busy. Monday we went to Founder's to hear a friend of Ben's play in the Grand Rapids Jazz Orchestra, tonight is the Calvin-Hope game (go Knights!), tomorrow night we have an event at work, and Friday is the first visit day of the new semester. I'm looking forward to the weekend!

Since Ben lost his job, our puppy plans have been put on hold for the time being. Instead, we're watching other people's dogs! We had Ben's parents dog last weekend and will have her again the last weekend in February. This coming week, we'll be watching Lexi, Kristen's dog while she's at WPPI. I'm excited!

25 Random Things About Me

I finally succumbed and did the list on Facebook... figured I may as well post it here too!

I've been putting it off long enough. Here we go...

1. When I first learned to write in preschool, I wrote everything mirrored.

2. I have a very strong dislike for cream cheese and seafood.

3. I have lived 6 places in the last 4 years: California, Muskegon, my parents house, the 1st apartment, Ben's parents (after the fire), the post-fire apartment. Now that we are in our house, we're staying for a good LONG time.

4. I get up extra early in the morning because I hate being rushed. I like to sit and eat my breakfast, watch the news/Today show, etc.

5. I have horrible balance. I actually refer to it as my "non-balance". I'm also extremely uncoordinated.

6. I have a great sense of direction. I'm handy to have around on road trips.

7. My mind is like a steel trap. I remember things in crazy amounts of detail. In college, I would notice if Steph used my lotion... even if she put it in the exact spot I had it, I'd know if it was turned slightly or the label was facing the opposite direction, etc.

8. I love Shark Week on the Discovery Channel and have always wanted to be in one of those cages with sharks swimming around. However, if I ever had the opportunity, I'd probably chicken out.

9. I went to school at the zoo in 6th grade - literally. John Ball Zoo School. Best.Year.Ever.

10. I love to bake. Whenever I am bored or stressed, you will find me baking.

11. My husband, amazingly, has been able to turn me into a saver. I used to shop all the time and if I had money, it'd be burning a hole in my pocket.

12. I used to be a certified lifeguard.

13. Ben and I got married on Friday, June 22, 2007. We chose that day because my grandparents had gotten married on Friday, June 22, 62 years before us. They were the best grandparents anyone could imagine, and we thought it would be special to share that day with them - even though they are no longer with us. I hope that our marriage is as long and happy as theirs was. And... that someday we can be as wonderful grandparents as they were.

14. I used to teach middle school math. I still love math. I would do algebra for fun even today. How can you not love solving for x and y?

15. I love dogs and can't wait until Ben and I get a puppy this spring!

16. I always said I was never going to marry anyone from Iowa. God has a sense of humor. At least Ben's family lives here now, so we don't have to make trips there too often!

17. I have to lotion my hands and put on chapstick every night before I go to bed. Otherwise I can't fall asleep. I also sleep with a fan on.

18. I had horrible baby teeth. The enamel on them was really thin. I had to have a root canal when I was 4.

19. I love Starbucks.... especially a tall, non-fat, no-whip, 3.5 pump white mocha.

20. I love to be anywhere near water... a beach, a pool, on a boat.... but I especially love my grandparents place at Green Lake. So many wonderful memories.

21. I hate spiders and have a 6th sense where I can walk into a room and almost immediately locate a spider on a ceiling or wall. It's weird. I'll wake Ben up in the middle of the night to kill a spider if I see one.

22. I am left handed when it comes to writing, but do everything else right-handed.

23. I'm a natural blonde and have never had my hair highlighted, colored, permed, etc.

24. When I eat ice cream, I usually have it in a bowl, with a spoon. Rarely do I get an ice cream cone. Licking ice cream makes my tongue numb, literally, and then I talk funny. My husband thinks its hilarious.

25. I love to play games: Settlers, Ticket to Ride, Room, Blockus, Killer Bunnies, and many more.

January = No Good

Apparently January isn't a good month for Ben and I. We're 2-for-2 when it comes to the month of January in our married life.

Last January was the fire.
And yesterday, Ben got laid off.

Next year, I'm going to try and find a way to skip the month of January completely. Does anyone have any ideas of how to do this?

One Year Ago - Starting 2008 Off with a Bang

Sunday, January 20, 2008:

Ben and I had just woken up from a Sunday afternoon nap when there was a loud banging on our door. I went to the door, opened it, and no one was standing there. I looked down the hall and saw a man just going door to door banging, but I also saw a large cloud of smoke charging down the hall - our apartment building was on fire. Since the smoke alarms on our end of the building weren't going off yet, I am very thankful to the man who was banging on doors. Ben and I quickly grabbed our toiletries and glasses/contact stuff (since we figured we'd probably be out of the building at least over night), a few things that were easy to carry, took pictures of the apartment just in case, and we headed to his parents house - who only live about half a mile away. We were probably out of our apartment in less than 3 minutes, but in that little amount of time, we reeked like smoke and it was getting very thick in the air. We drove back a few times through the night to check on things. It was a big fire. The fire started on the complete opposite side of the building, and destroyed the whole third floor. Just FYI - it was an electrical fire.

The Aftermath - look at all the ice coated trees. We had to chip about 3 inches of ice of of Ben's truck to get it out.

-

We weren't allowed back into the building for 2 weeks. The third floor was a complete loss. Our floor, the second floor, and the first floor suffered primarily smoke and water damage. They had to make sure the building was structurally sound before we were allowed to enter. They also had crews come in and rip the ceilings down in all the apartments because large chunks of drywall were just falling at random. Here are a few pictures of our apartment:

The Bathroom

The difference in carpet - we had a TV stand sitting in this spot

Our closet. The bar fell, and our clothes were sitting in 3 inches of nasty, sooty water for 2 weeks. Lovely. Needless to say, they all got thrown away.

Thankfully, we had renter's insurance and were able to recover most things. The fire seems like yesterday, but it also seems like so long ago. We're so grateful to all our wonderful friends and family who supported us in various ways this past year. Our home is always welcome to you, if you need a place to stay!

Puppy Fever

I have serious puppy fever. Now that we are in a house and actually have a yard, I cannot wait to get a dog. Both Ben and I grew having a dog as a pet, and life just seems so empty without one! We've been in contact with a few Australian Shepherd breeders and we are hoping to get a puppy within the next few months. How can you resist this?

Living Room: Before and After

We're finally back up and running!!! Here are pictures of the painting project. The room isn't totally done... the walls are still fairly bare, etc, but you get the idea. We are very happy we went with the blue - I love it!

Still No Internet

...at home, at least. Why does hooking up internet and TV have to be such a pain? Anyway, someone is supposed to come out today and figure out why it's not working, so hopefully tomorrow I'll be back up and running. It's just too much of a pain to take house pictures and load them onto the work computer. Soon.

Our holiday season was wonderful. Ben and I both had a week and a half or so off of work and got to spend some precious time with family, friends, and just enjoying our new house. We are almost completely settled and loving it. We were supposed to go to Minnesota for 4 days over the break, but after attempting to drive there on icy roads, we decided to turn around after being in the car for more than 5 hours and not even making it to the Michigan border. Having 4 extra days at home was a blessing in disguise. We played a lot of games (I got Ticket to Ride for Christmas - so fun!), had friends over to go in the hot tub and hang out, went back to the old apartment and moved the remaining things, got some great after-the-holiday deals. New Year's Eve was spent up at our friend's cottage about 45 minutes north. We played tackle football on the iced over lake, ate, played games, and just had a lot of fun.

Pictures to come... hopefully soon! I feel so disconnected from the world without email and TV - sad, isn't it?