The end

Tomorrow we leave. The house is empty (beside some trash, sorry)
Its been great living in this house. I am going to miss it very much. With us moving, it also means the end of this blog. It will still be up and be a reference for people that want to read about our little remodel.
Here are some picture of the house in what essentially is "after"

As Mike and I prepare start the next chapter. I am glad to leave this one with such a great experience. I loved the time spend with my dad working, planning, and deciding how the house was going to be.
Its a lovely space that is truly all mine. I don't think I will have a place all of my own design for quite a while.
Now you can follow me (and Mike) at our new blog.
Cant wait to share these new adventures.

Zucchini Bread

Our garden has been quite plentiful with zucchini. So I finally got a recipe from my mom to make some zucchini bread. Its baking now as I type this and it smells so good. I cannot wait to try it.

Step 1. Grate the zucchini. I got a chance to use a little grater I picked up at Target. I like it because, unlike square graters, I can clean the back side super easy.

Step 2. Add the other ingredients. Sugar, eggs, flour, baking powder and soda, and what I believe will make this so yummy, brown sugar, nutmeg, cinnamon and vanilla. Yum!
Im a very messy baker, Ive learned to accept it, and just clean up at the end.

Step 3. Mix all the ingredients and bake at 350 for 25-35 minutes. And enjoy the smell while it bakes.

I love baking and using the vegetables that we have grown in the garden. Here is the recipe I used: 

3 eggs, heated 

1/2 cup oil

1 cup white sugar

1 cup brown sugar 

2 3/4 cup flour

the recipe calls for 1/4 cup of powdered milk, I used 1/4 of 1/2 and 1/2 because I didnt have any powdered milk. 

2 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp baking powder

3 tsp cinnamon

1/2 nutmeg

3 tsp vanilla

1 cup chopped nuts

2 cups of grated zucchini with peal. 

Combine well and bake in 2 well greased load pans - 350 degrees for 1 hour. 

ohh yeah. here are some pictures of the finished product. Its so yummy, the cinnamon and nutmeg make it a perfect companion to some chai tea.

our little house

we are counting down the days till we move. our plans are to get us to DC before the 12th, when M starts orientation.
we decided we wanted a few days to explore this new city we will be living in before orientation starts, so we are planning on leaving JOMO on the 3rd of August.
That means that as of today we have 24 days !

I planned, worked, dreamed of the rooms of this little house. I feel a true sense of having accomplished something lovely when I look at this house.

Today we called a realtor to have her come out and give us an assessment on how much she thinks we could ask for the house. It makes me nervous, that decisions I made a year ago can now affect the amount I can get for the house.

Ive been looking at apartments in DC for weeks now. The list is narrowed down to about 8. With the possibility of adding or taking off some.

This is all getting very real. Very very real.

Blue sweater!

Six weeks ago I broke my ankle. Even though I can now walk with a boot, there are a lot of things I still cant do :(
like driving, running, and many other fun things I have kind of taken for granted.
A few weeks ago my mood has happier about being so limited, it has gotten old and annoying now. Keeping a positive attitude has been hard.

In keeping myself entertained i have been working on some knitting. Here are the results, this only took me about a week from start to finish.
I started it on the night of my sister-in-law's wedding rehearsal 6/28 and pulled it out of the dryer last night 7/7.
I knit it in this not so lovely tan cotton yarn, and it was kind of gloomy looking while I worked on it.
I hadnt really though of wearing it out side of the house until I came across a package of blue fabric dye. And then it hit! dye this ugly yarn into a love blue!
So now its something that I would proudly wear to a job interview or later in the fall when it gets a little chilly (the high today was 99°)

Lions and students and knitting oh my!

I havent been on MSSU's campus since last spring when I took students for Foreign Language Field Day. Today I took 18 students with me, its been cold so walking between buildings was quite miserable. I walked through the library, and met this fellow, hes a real stuffed Lion. He looks mad.

They are good kids, my Spanish students... really they are. Just a little distracted though.

I found a lovely pattern for knitting a slouchy hat on Ravelry. I love this site, so many patterns in one place with pictures and comments from other people that have made them. Here is a link for the pattern. Made one already in purple, this gray one is for my little sister Amanda.

Cloudy Days

April marked a tangible change into Spring. A warmth that had long been missed. I was slowly getting into the routine of the warm seasons, with outdoor cooking, bike rides, running and just spending more time outside.
Then the clouds came, they covered the entire sky and made everything gray. And those long dark days of winter seemed to be coming back. Its amazing hot a cloudy sky can change your mood. The drab gray clouds, the cool breeze, the lack of things to do.
So, to lighten the mood, a movie was to be watched. Not just any movie. A comedy. Last night we watched "The Man Who Knew Too
Little" a movie released in 1997 with Bill Murray (I've decided that if Bill cant brighten your day, no one can)
At the end of the movie I felt refreshed and oddly brightened.

So, here's to hoping that last, because the clouds continue to roll in and a darkness seems to have taken hold of the day.

Running

I don't always like running. I don't like the first and last 10 minutes of running, but that middle part, after you warm up but before your muscles start to tighten are GOOD. Those 10 minutes were you actually feel a little bit like an athlete.
I do it anyway, run. Even if those first and last minutes loom over me. Because I hope that at some point my whole 30 minute run will be like those middle minutes.
It also clears my head. After night of not sleeping well, or days of not doing much. My body welcomes the exhaustion that comes with working out and I sleep. And I get that burst of energy that turns days of not much to days of getting things done.
So with warmer days ahead. I guess I can look forward to many runs this spring.

New hat

I have been knitting for a while now. And still I'm amazed when I make something that actually looks good.
It's not perfect. Just a little big. But it looks good and maybe it's not to big and just a little slouchy like it should be.

New beggings

Its been a while but as spring begins to show its renewed spirit, I have felt the need to renew this blog as well.
So here goes.

Entryway

It's like magical working elves come over while I'm at work and do projects around the house
Really it's dad. He worked on my house today and laid the tile in the entry way. Now the living room looks complete :)

The most recent photos.

These are my most updated photos. They show the art work on the walls. Most of the art is made by my sister Amanda. She is a great artist.
Also. Look at those fancy light switches. I got some of them for free from friends. Dad told mom that after he saw my switches he considered thinking of switching all of theirs.
Every day I feel more and more settled.

During pictures.

I know it's been a while since I posted anything. But it was so crazy trying to get everything done before the end of the month (and having to move) that I really didnt have time.
Here are some during photos that didn't make it up before now.