Scarlett's Birthday and Snow

So, I started writing this post way back in the beginning of February. But, life happens. The last two months have absolutely flown by! 

At the end of January, we celebrated sweet Scarlett's first birthday! On her first birthday it snowed. She had a great time playing in it.

Scarlett's one year photo

First snow of the year, on Scarlett's birthday

A couple of weeks later, it snowed again! One snow is unusual down here in Georgia, so we were definitely surprised to be getting more. Even more snow came down this time and it stuck around longer too. Of course both of these snows occurred on my work week. I am fortunate to have Jason who not only has four wheel drive, but also has experience driving in snow and ice! He was able to take me to work each night and bring me home each morning. I didn't have to stay at the hospital like many of my coworkers.

Second snow- You can see there is a lot more on the ground!

It certainly seemed like a long, cold winter this year. We are looking forward to warmer weather!

Eating at Home

Jason and I are trying to eat at home more.

We've always eaten out a lot, but now that we have a nice, new kitchen we want to use it! I'm also hoping that eating in will help us save some money and eat healthier. I'm trying to make a menu for each week to help me out. I hate having to try to figure out something to cook so having a plan or at least an idea really helps me. I know the weeks that I work will be easier to plan than my off weeks. My off weeks are very unpredictable, but last week we managed to make it work somewhat.

This is what the first week looked like:

Monday- Parmesan crusted chicken (Publix recipe), asparagus & roasted potatoes

Tuesday- Crockpot Mexican chicken*, corn tortillas, cheese & sour cream

Wednesday- Chicken parmigiana with caesar salad 

Thursday- we had a free pizza from Papa John's

Friday- BBQ pork, zucchini chips & macaroni & cheese

Saturday- Salmon, asparagus, & roasted potatoes

Sunday- I didn't have a plan, but we ended up having pork tenderloin with zucchini chips and baked beans

*crockpot mexican chicken is a name I made up for putting chicken, a jar of salsa, a can of black beans, and some frozen corn in the crockpot and cooking it on low all day

Last week was my week off so it went a little different:

Monday- Jason and I were working out of town so we ate out

Tuesday- Homemade pizza (turkey pepperoni and spinach) with caesar salad

Wednesday- Grilled chicken ravioli (from Sam's) with marinara and zucchini chips

Thursday- Teriyaki chicken, green beans, and roasted potatoes

We left for Gatlinburg on Friday morning and came home on Sunday night, so there were no weekend meals at home.

I have a tentative menu planned for this week:

Monday- eating at Mom and Dad's

Tuesday- Grilled chicken ravioli (from Sam's) with alfredo & caesar salad

Wednesday- Tacos

Thursday- Baked chicken, zucchini, & roasted potatoes

Friday- Pork chops, green beans, & macaroni & cheese

Saturday- BBQ chicken (or pork), salad & mashed potatoes

Sunday- homemade pizza and salad

Hopefully we can stick to the menu this week. I'm going to have to find more easy and delicious recipes too!

2012 Year in Review

Happy New Year!

We are settled in our new home and finally got internet over the weekend.

Looking back on 2012, Jason and I made a lot of wonderful memories!

January:

I finished up my training at the hospital and officially started my night shift position.

Jason and I spent a week in  Nicaragua on a medical mission trip.

I counseled patients using a translator.

Jason played games with the kids.

Charles and MC got engaged shortly after we returned home!

February:

Jason and I went on a weekend getaway to Asheville, NC with friends. We got to visit the Bilmore Estate, and it snowed!

March:

Jason and I spent a day together in Athens and checked out the zoo and the Botanical Gardens. We also celebrated Jason's 29th birthday!

April:

Jason and I went on a Spring Break trip with our friends to Florida.

Mom and I hosted a bridal shower for MC.

May:

We went to Milledgeville for Charles's graduation.

Jason and I celebrated one year of marriage with a trip to Jamaica. We climbed Dunn's River Falls, snorkeled, and enjoyed the beautiful ocean.

On Memorial Day weekend, we celebrated the marriage of Charles and MC!

June:

We went to Athens for a wedding, and I got to catch up with pharmacy friends!

We spent time on the lake and went camping in North Carolina.

At the very end of June, we signed the contract to build our first house.

July:

We celebrated my birthday.

We went on a road trip to Kentucky to visit Charles and MC.

Visiting Charles's school

August:

Daisy took a trip to the lake for swimming in her new life jacket!

We picked out all the tile and finishings for our house.

We road tripped to Maryland to visit family.

Construction on the house started!

September:

We went to Destin, Fl for vacation with my parents. It was a very relaxing trip!

Destin 2012

October:

We went to Gatlinburg with Jason’s parent’s to celebrate their anniversary. We got to see all the beautiful fall leaves and go to Dollywood.

Great Smokey Mountains

November:

We voted.

At the Tennessee Homecoming game, Jason and I had our picture made with Smokey IX.

We took another camping trip in North Carolina. This time Daisy went too!

We went to the Georgia vs. Georgia Southern game in Athens.

Charles and MC came down for Thanksgiving.

We closed on our new house November 30th!

December:

We moved into our first house.

We decorated the house for Christmas and celebrated our new home with family.

We were able to spend Christmas with both of our families!

2012 Christmas Card Photo

2012 Family Photo

2012 has been full of new beginnings and great memories.

I can’t wait to see what God has in store for us in 2013!

Our First House

In the months before Jason and I got married we made the decision to move into my parent's basement apartment after our wedding. We weren't sure if either of us were going to have jobs, so it was the best option. After I started my full time job around this time last year, we started talking about purchasing our first home. 

In January of this year, we began our search. At first we were just getting an idea of what we wanted.

We decided we preferred a two story, and we wanted it to have a basement.

We looked at all kinds of houses, but we were having trouble finding the right one.

In June, we looked at our first new construction. And we loved it.

It seemed like more house for less, and it would be brand new!

Unfortunately, someone else got that one.

We thought we were back to square one, 

but then the builder offered to build us the same house for the same price.

We decided to build the house. We love the floor plan and building would allow us to pick out everything and even make a few changes to make it even better!

First, we had to choose the lot. We choose one on the edge of a cul-de-sac.

Our Lot

Later, we went back to choose things like brick, paint colors, tile, countertops, cabinets, etc.

When we got back from our Maryland trip, the lot had been graded.

After grading came the footings and the foundation.

Footings

Jason and I in front of the foundation

When we left for the beach, they had graded the lot again but still hadn't done any framing.

They had most of the framing done by the time we returned!

Next came the roof and the windows.

Then the brick and siding went up.

Next came the paint.

Finally, things really started coming together.
The house got shutters and a garage door.
Landscaping was done after the driveway was poured.

The new front door was put in and painted along with the shutters and garage door.
Then the columns on the front porch got put up. 

Final Product

Last week we did our initial walk through and inspection. 

Building this house has brought about a roller coaster of emotions. 
It's exciting to see it get started and watch it come together.
It's frustrating when something doesn't look like you thought it would.
Dealing with the mortgage company has been really frustrating too.
It's also a little scary. There's so much that goes into owning a home. 
Change and the unknown always scare me a little.
There have been so many times over the last five months that I have wondered if this house would ever be ours.
But today, we finally closed. And now the house is ours!
Now it's time to move in and get settled!

Spring Cleaning

It's my week off, and Jason is out of town working, so I decided to do some Spring Cleaning today! Jason might not even recognize the place when he gets back!

My goal was to get rid of the clutter and get everything dusted and vacuumed. I realized in the process that I haven't taken very many pictures of our place. Someday I think I will want to have pictures of it, so I figured what better time to take pictures than when it's clean!

I started in the living room.

I got rid of all the clutter and found a place to store everything.

Then I dusted- all the bookshelves, end tables, and baseboards.

Next I vacuumed the floor, couches, and chair.

Bookshelves

Couches

Our favorite chair! 

I moved into the "dining room" next. 

Here I washed the table and wiped down all the chairs.

Then I dusted the blinds and window sills and vacuumed.

Jason refinished our table

Next I cleaned the bathroom.

The only extra things I did were dusting the light fixture and cleaning the floor by hand (usually I use the Swiffer). I also wiped down all the cabinets. I just washed the rugs and shower curtain last time I cleaned the bathroom, so I didn't do it this time.

Then I moved on to the kitchen.

I washed the counter tops, wiped down all the cabinets, swept and swiffered the floor, and wiped down all the appliances. I still need to reorganize the pantry, but I figured I could tackle that another day.

Last I cleaned our bedroom.

I found a place for all the clutter and dusted everything!

Then I vacuumed.

We LOVE our bed. So comfy!

From now on I think I will dust more often. The baseboards were awful. 

I used an entire package of these Pledge dust wipes today!

I highly recommend them though!

This is what's left on my list to tackle:

1. Reorganize the pantry

2. Clean the inside of the dishwasher

3. Clean the inside of the washing machine.

4. Clean out and organize the closet.

If anyone has suggestions on how to clean the dishwasher or washing machine I would love to hear them!

While I cleaned, Daisy took some naps and perched on the couch to see out the window!

Love this sweet girl!

Jason and I are so blessed to have this apartment. I am thankful for our time here!

Joshua 24:15 (NIV)

"But as for me and my household, we will serve the LORD."

Update

Let me start by saying I LOVE weekends. And this past weekend was definitely a great one! It was one of the few weekends when nothing was planned. My brother, Charles, was home too! I love it when he comes home from college. :) Anyway, all the free time on Saturday gave me plenty of time to get somethings done that needed to be done. I got my room and bathroom clean. I even had a chance to give sweet Daisy Duke a bath! Here she is all fresh and clean!

Charles, Jason, and I went to look into renting tuxes for the wedding on Saturday afternoon. We have a pretty good idea of what we want, and Charles and Jason got measured so that's out of the way. After we got back from dinner, we started working on the basement. There is an in law suite in my parent's basement where my grandparents used to live. Since Jason and I don't know where we will have jobs when we get married our plan is to move into the basement. We think it is best not to have to worry about a lease. Jason bought us a stainless steel refrigerator about a year and a half ago from a friend of his that was moving. It has been hanging out in the youth room since then. Jason brought it to the house last week so we could put it in the kitchen. It was completely disgusting though! It took me TWO hours to clean! Luckily all the shelves and everything come out which made it so much easier. I wish I had a before picture, but here it is after I cleaned it.

And here it is in it's place in the kitchen.

We think it looks great! We were also able to rearrange some furniture in the living room and take out some things we aren't going to use. We are making it our own! I can't wait to move all the great gifts from our shower in!

Sunday we visited a new church. It was really nice to go to a different church. We loved the Sunday school class we went to, everyone was so honest and genuine. The message was good too, and the pastor seems nice. I think we are probably going back there again on Sunday. I want to find a church where we can really get on board with what the church is doing!