Recap of 2011

2011 has been an amazing year!! When I stop to look back at everything that has happened this year I am blown away!

First up I started and finished my last placement of grad school at Kettering Hospital. It made me realize that I love working with adults and the elderly. While some days were rough overall I had a great experience there.

Then in May I graduated with my Masters and had my job lined up for once I received my license (huge blessing)!! A few weeks after graduating we went to Colorado to visit family and show Matt how beautiful the mountains are. It was great to spend time with family and go sightseeing.

In June I started my job. While there are days I may not want to go to work, I really enjoy what I do. I love the people that I work with, we have one of the best rehab teams anywhere!! I love seeing my patients progress and helping them get back home. 

In September we had our offer accepted on a new construction house that they are working on building now. It is such a fun progress to drive by everyday and see the progress. It almost doesn't seem real that it is our house. I can't wait to see it once it is done and ready for us to move in!!

November was a bitter-sweet month. It was a relaxing first part of the month since most of the stuff for the house was done we were just waiting on them to get permits and break ground. The Friday before Thanksgiving we found out that Matt's grandma was back in the hospital. We hoped and prayed for the best. That week was tough for his family as her health continued to decline. The week-end following Thanksgiving he lost his grandmother. While I can't imagine the pain his family went though it was so hard for me to see people that I love so much going though that pain. She was a wonderful person who loved everyone and always had a smile on her face. She is greatly missed by everyone that knew her.

December has been an exciting time with the house as they broke ground and we now have a basement and lumber for them to start framing any day. We both have December birthdays and then there is Christmas which makes for a busy month. My Dad came up for Christmas this year which is always nice. I love being able to spend time with him. We went over to Matt's family on Christmas day and spent some time with them. It is so fun to watch how excited the kids are for Christmas! Then we went back over to my mom's to spend time with my dad and my grandparents.  I am so thankful that my grandma was able to come up for Christmas this year. It truly was a great Christmas!!

 So if you made this far reading congrats!! I can't believe how much as happened in one year and can't wait to see what the new year brings! Hope everyone has a safe and Happy New Year!

Walls and Floors

So this post is a little overdue, but I figured I better catch everyone up since the holidays are over.
On the Friday, 16th, they had the forms off the walls and this is what I saw. All the basement walls are done!

That Sunday the 18th, we went back to house so Matt could check out the progress. He was looking in our basement windows.

On Monday the 19th they waterproofed the basement and put the metal things around the basement windows. As you can tell they just made small progress over these days, but I was just happy to see that something was done.

On that Friday, the 23rd I decided to drive by the house. When driving up to the house I noticed that there were steel beams. So I decided to get out and get a better look at what all they did, and guess what?? We have basement floors!! This is one big step closer to framing :)

While my Dad was in town for Christmas he wanted to see the lot so we drove up on Monday. While nothing else was done on the house we stopped in the model home and talked to the sales rep. She said that they expected our lumber to be dropped off sometime that week. All week I drove by the house to see nothing there. Well today, Thursday, Matt was working near the house and let me know that they poured the garage floor this morning. After work I drove by and we have a garage floor and lumber!! I just had my iPhone with me so the pictures aren't great, but here is a pile of our lumber. I am not sure when they will start framing. I am so excited for it to start looking like a house :)

Progress on the house

Since my last post they have been busy doing a little something almost everyday. On Thursday, 12/8, this is what I saw. They put down wood forms to pour the footers.

The next day they poured our footers. It was kinda rainy that day so I just stop by, saw more straw, and left. On Saturday we went up and realized that all the extra straw was to cover up our footers. Here is me in our basement :)

Not much happened over the week-end. On Tuesday we went by and they were laying down some black tubing and putting our sub-pump housing in. I have pictures but they aren't on my computer yet. Wednesday rained some nothing was done, even though I still did my daily drive by to check the progress.

Today after work I drove by the lot expecting to see little to no progress. Well when I turned the corner onto our street I saw concrete trucks by our lot.  Then I saw the tops to forms for our basement walls. As I drove closer I was surprised to see that they were pouring our walls. Since they were busy working I just took a few pictures and left. I will go back tomorrow to get a better look at everything :)

We have a hole

We were supposed to break ground on Dec. 5th, but thanks to the massive amounts of rain we had in Ohio it got pushed back to an unknown date. While our sales rep, Tammy, said she would let us know when the backhoe showed up, I still drove by the lot everyday this week. Yesterday I noticed they had broken ground on a lot around the corner so I was hoping today would be our day. I never did hear from Tammy, but I figured I would drive by the lot just in case.

To my surprise as I came around the corner I noticed tons of dirt sitting on our lot. So they officially started on our house today! While I was tramping though the mud the backhoe driver showed up and started to level off the huge mounds of dirt. All I had was my iPhone so the pictures aren't the best but I plan to going back tomorrow during my lunch to get some better pictures. I love working so close to our future house!!

 The basement

The mid level dirt is for the rec room aka man cave

 One of the piles of dirt

Chile Verde Chicken Chili

I ran across this recipe and thought it sounded pretty good, I just made a few changes. I must say if you like chicken tortilla soup please make this ASAP. It has such great flavor and comes together in maybe 10 minutes. I put everything but the chicken in the crock pot the night before and threw it in the fridge. That way in the morning I just added some half thawed uncooked chicken tenderloins, turned the crock pot on low and was out the door. Then when you get home just stir up and break apart the chicken pieces. Dinner is served!

Sorry for the iPhone picture!

Chili Verde Chicken Chili

1 can chicken broth
1 cup of water (I just estimated)
1 onion, chopped (I used half a medium sized one)
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 jar (16-18 oz) salsa verde
1 (16 oz) can RoTel
1 (15 oz) can whole corn
1/4 tsp Cayenne pepper (I added this for heat)
1 tbs parsley flakes (I didn't use and it turned out great)
1/4 tbs ground cumin

1/4 tbs chili powder
2 cans of beans, drained (I used one white and one kidney)
1 banana pepper (I added since we had some)1
1/2 pack of chicken tenderloins or shredded cooked chicken

Add everything to the crock pot and cook on low for 8 hours. Serve with sour cream and tortilla chips.

First Purchase for the House

Today we made the first BIG purchase for the house. Sears had their friends and family tonight and we got a good deal on our new washer/dryer and fridge. Spending that amount of money still made my heart skip a beat or two, but we really excited about everything! The best part is that they will hold them until the house is done so they will install everything. After thinking it over for awhile we decided to go with a front loader washer and dryer. It seems really nice and even has steam, so hopefully we will LOVE them!

 

 They are supposed to break ground on the house Dec. 5th, talk about a great birthday gift for both of us.

Final Selctions

On Sunday we went down to the design center to make our final selections for the house. We really thought we had it all picked out from our last trip down. Of course two and half hours later we had everything picked out again and made a few changes. Now onto the pictures of everything :)

            Brick, siding, trim, and shutter color. The shutters and front door will be navy blue :)

Cabinets, Counter tops, flooring (foyer, powder room, and kitchen). The darker piece of paper is wall color and the lighter is trim and doors

             Flooring for the master bath and cabinet color

          Flooring for the hall bath and laundry room

  

Door handles for the house :)

        Lighting fixtures for the bathrooms..I am so excited for these rather than the light bulb style

       Fireplace color and the carpet we choose for the whole house :)

I can't wait to see how everything comes together in our house. We got another piece of great news this week!!  The loan officer sent an e-mail on Tuesday and we are officially approved for our loan. This means that the builder can move forward with everything now. I am hoping to hear from them soon to find out the next steps and timeline for everything. It still doesn't feel real! I mean we are actually building a house, and we are going to be homeowners!!!

Design Center

Today we went to the design center to pick out everything for the house. I went with my mom before we had the house, but it seemed much more "real" this trip. We have 30 days to make the final selections, but we wanted to go twice to be sure everything is perfect! Since every change after that 30 days means more money. I meant to take more pictures today, but it was all so overwhelming that by the time I remembered it was getting busy so I will have to get pictures next trip. We ended up spending about 4 hours there and had to take a lunch break to clear our minds. I thought we were doing great until we ended up back in the brick and siding room. This is the only room however where I actually took pictures.

We had a difficult time choosing a brick color from such small samples. So we picked out something then drove by some addresses to see it on a house. We choose the brick on top with the siding color next to the brick. The trim and garage door will be the lighter color, with navy blue shutters and front door. 

This gave us some idea what our house will look like since it is the Durham. This is the house that actually made us fall in love with the floor plan. When we first walked though it, there was only framing. Today we walked though it again and now they have some flooring, cabinets, and dry wall. I can't wait until our house is under construction and we can walk though it and see all the progress.

Minestrone Soup

With fall in motion I decided to try a new soup that I saw on Erica's kitchen adventures. I wasn't sure if it would be a hit with Matt, but he loved it. This is super simple to throw together in the morning and made the house smell amazing. I would try this one out soon. It makes quite a bit though so be prepared for some leftovers or you could freeze it for later.

3 cups chicken broth (I used reduced sodium)
28oz. can diced tomatoes
1 (14.5 oz) can cannellini beans
2 carrots diced (I used baby carrots and just guessed on the amount)
1 stalk celery, chopped (I didn't have any and it turned out fine)
1 c onion, chopped
1 tsp dried thyme
1/2 tsp dried sage
2 bay leaves
Salt & pepper, to taste
 1 cup pasta, uncooked
2 c roughly chopped fresh or frozen (drained) spinach
1/2 lb ground sausage, browned

In the crockpot mix the broth, tomatos, beans, carrots, celery, onion, thyme, sage, bay leaves, salt and pepper.

Set on low for 6-8 or high 4-6 hours.

About 30 minutes before you eat add the pasta, sausage, and spinach. Remove the bay leaves and serve sprinkled with shredded Parmesan.

Caesar Pork Chops and Pasta

This recipe from Kraft has been a huge hit at my house. While the pork chops weren't bad they didn't blow me away. The pasta on the other hand is requested at least once a week by my husband and I have even made it without the spinach if I am in a pinch and don't have any at the house. I made a few changes to the pasta but even how it is written is pretty good. One thing about the pork chops the cheese seems to fall off and while it isn't very pretty the taste is pretty good. I used a lite Caesar dressing and it turned out just fine.

Ceasar Pasta Salad

1 cup penne pasta
about 1/4 cup Casear Dressing, I never measure just coat the pasta
1 cup tightly packed baby spinach leaves
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/4 cup Parmesan cheese

Cook pasta in a large saucepan as directed on package. Drain pasta.

Add to pan with spinach and garlic. Cook and stir 1 min or just until spinach is wilted. Stir in dressing and cheese. Stir for about 1 min. Then serve warm.

Ceasar Pork Chops

2   bone-in pork chops (3/4 lb.), 1/2 inch thick 
1/4 cup KRAFT Classic Caesar Dressing
1/4 cup  Parmesan Cheese

 Heat nonstick skillet on medium heat until hot. Top pork chops evenly with dressing and cheese; press cheese into dressing to secure. 

Add cops to skillet cook 4-6 min on each side or until done. 
 

Journey to becoming homeowners!

We are on our way to being homeowners! I can't believe that it is actually true. We love our apartment but we want something of our own with a backyard for Bosco. So once I got my job we started talking about a time line for buying a house and then in late May we decided on a whim to stop by a new neighborhood near my work that we found. We figured we would just stop in and get some information on pricing and figure out what it would cost to buy a new house. Over the next few months we went to open houses, found an amazing Realtor, looked at pre-existing houses, and new construction. While I wasn't sure if I want to build or find something pre-existing, Matt knew from day one he wanted to build. He was a trooper though and looked at other houses. I soon came to realize that I loved the idea of building and having everything nice and new. So we meet with Ryan and Brighton homes to see more about pricing and floor plans. We got a great feeling from Brighton so we decided to go with them.

We were positive we wanted the floor plan we looked at in May, but I wanted to be sure we didn't miss anything so Tammy, the sales rep, showed us other floor plans that fit into our budget and then we walked though some houses under construction. After walking though two of them she said well we have this house, Durham, under construction it is a little more, but still fits into your budget. We decided to walk though it anyways just in case and of course we feel in love. So for about a month we went back and forth. We walked though the houses many times and keep looking over the price sheet. One Sunday I even went down to the design center with my mom to look at cabinet and floor choices so I could figure out the upgrades. We finally decided to place an offer on the Durham on Sunday (the 18th) and see what kind of deal we could work out. We got a call Monday evening that we didn't get the house and I was heartbroken, I wasn't sure what to do. Not only did we not get the house but their counteroffer was ridiculous. After talking everything over with Matt we decided to counter one more time and if they didn't accept we would move on. We didn't change much in our offer from the original but it must have been enough because on Tuesday we found out they accepted our offer. We are expected to close around April if everything goes as planned. Here is the outside of our house and the floor plan.

 

Where did the time go?

I can't believe that we celebrated our two year anniversary this past Monday. It seems like just a yesterday that we were married. So much has happened in those two shorts years and I feel we are even closer now. We moved to Georgia for my grad school not knowing if Matt had a job until he got a call while driving the U-haul (scary since I had no income). Moved back to Ohio for my placements (aka working for free) and prayed that Matt could get hired back on at Time Warner, which luckily he was. We got a dog, who is the best dog ever! And to finish out the two years I graduated from Grad school and started my first "real" job. Wow even typing it out I can't believe so many has happened in two years! I can't wait to see what the next year has in store for us. We are so lucky to have such a great family and friends to share our lives with.

 

Colorado part 2

Well this post is more than a little late. So I will just jump right in on Wednesday we headed down to Colorado Springs. First stop was the rodeo museum, I had no idea how large this place would be.

After that we drove around some and then checked into the hotel, since Matt was still feeling a little under the weather after all that walking he took a nap. I booked a Jeep tour for us later that day. It was a great time and we got to see many great sights. He took a little detour and we got see the Broadmoor hotel, I remember going there for brunch and it is still such a beautiful place.
 

 

 

 

 

we started on the road way down there!!

After the jeep tour we headed over the garden on gods and then made our way down a dirt road.

 

Pikes Peak was on the schedule on Thursday, of course due to high winds we couldn't all the way to top so we decided to drive rather than taking the cog. 

 

 

 

After pikes peak we went on another jeep tour. This one was more bumpy and therefore didn't make for lots of great pictures. I was a great experience. I am so glad that we did it even though I wasn't all for it at first since we had just done one the night before. Here a few pictures 

the "road"

 

 

There is our time in Springs, it was so much fun and we loved our time down there. On Friday we had plans to go to Estes Park and we went but it was rainy and cold so we couldn't go horseback riding as planned. I didn't get any good pictures as it was foggy and snowing off and on. We got to enjoy a baseball with my cousins on Saturday and it was great time. We took in downtown and had a great lunch before the game. Here is a picture of the boys at the game at the "mile-high seats" that we checked out before the game started.

 

Our trip is coming to an end. On our last day we went to Fort Collins to see the budweiser brewery.

 

 

 

   

 

That is our trip. I had such a great time visiting with family and seeing all the sights. I am glad Matt was able to get to know my grandparents, cousins, and aunt a little better since they had only meet once before at our wedding. It makes me happy just thinking about the time we were able to spend together!! The only sad part is that I didn't think to take pictures Aunt Peggy, Jeremy and Josh. Also I had taken a few pictures of my grandparents but something went wrong they are lost.