The life & times of me.

Our New House — Omaha, NE

Tuesday, February 2nd, 2010 | Adventure, Domestic Growth, Events & Happenings, News | 2 Comments

If you’ve been following our journey to move more into the MidWest and be closer to family, then this may not be a surprise at all. Last weekend, Paul and I flew to Omaha, NE where we had 1.5 days to look for a house and (hopefully if we found one) to make an offer and hopefully be on our way to owning a home.

We flew in Friday evening and his uncle Ward (who is awesome and funny btw!!!) picked us up. That was the first time that I met the Siert Family and it was such a joy. They really are a sweet family, and I’m so glad I could finally meet them! Anyway, we had all of Saturday to look through houses so our agent picked us up at 10:00am and off we went. We walked through about 13 houses that day and it all became a blur. It was a good thing that I had made up these spreadsheets for house comparisons, so we filled those out when we walked through each house. The spreadsheets basically just gave room to leave comments on what we like, what we don’t like and anything else we saw for each room within the house and for the outside, yard, neighborhood, etc. It made it really easy to analyze each house and put it in the “NO” pile or the “MAYBE” pile right away instead of having to remember it all at the end. We were back at the Siert’s house around 5pm and we were wiped out. We both had headaches and were exhausted. (Just FYI — when showing your home on the market, please don’t put so much room fresh scents that it stuns people when they first open the door!! Subtlety is best when it comes to air fresheners!) After getting back, we decided right away to get the rest over with so we didn’t have to think about it anymore — we needed to send our agent a small list of a few houses we wanted to see again on Sunday, so we narrowed it down to our top 3. The remainder of the evening was spent just talking with Ward, Linda and Kara and having fun getting to know them.

On Sunday, we viewed our top 3 houses, and then another one that we didn’t get to see on Saturday. The top 2 houses had me going back and forth on which one I liked better. In one, I loved everything about it except the kitchen; it was super small and just weird! The 2nd house I loved the kitchen (the best by far that I had seen that weekend) but the master bedroom suite was small with not a lot of closet space and no tub and the front looked a bit “cold” aka not-inviting to me. We were having this discussion on our way to the 4th and final house, the one we didn’t get to see the day before. When we pulled up, I was seriously expecting to view it like the others one; there will be some good things/bad things that we like about it but nothing major will pop out. Well, I was so wrong! We walked through the main floor and everything about it really liked AND it has a big kitchen!! Then we walked through the upstairs and there are 4 bedrooms, the laundry room (also on the 2nd floor) and the master suite was awesome (read “big, whirlpool tub, walk-in closet)! The basement isn’t finished but it’s also really big and enables us to expand even more. There’s also a pool table that we get to keep (probably because they don’t want to move it). The backyard has a very nice wood deck and a basketball court, and still plenty of space for a nice big yard. It really was great. It didn’t take us long to say “This is it!” and go draw up papers for our offer. By the time we landed back in Denver, our offer was countered with a reasonable offer and we accepted!! We are now under contract for this home. Paul will be flying out to Omaha again this weekend to go through the inspection, and then we’ll close on March 8th if all goes well!

PS – We know it seems like a big house for a newly married couple, but we are looking forward toward the day when we get to expand our family, and also for staying here for a very long time and setting our roots down near the rest of our families. Here are photos of our new home come March 8th.

I’m GOING to be an Auntie Again!

Thursday, January 21st, 2010 | News | 3 Comments

That’s right – My beautiful twin sister, Katie, is pregnant! I’m happy for them and am excited by all that the coming months will bring for her as she prepares for this baby (due in late September)…

Going to Husker Land!

Tuesday, January 12th, 2010 | Adventure, Events & Happenings, News, life | 3 Comments

Long time, no write… I know, but you know me by now and therefore you know flu season takes my earthly life for several months, so I’m not going to apologize this time. Ha, so there I’m in a quirky and silly mood today, and let me tell you why!!

Several months ago, Paul and I started thinking about where we’d like to end up eventually – for good. We were reading a book together, called “Start Your Family” by Steve and Candice Watters, which helped us see the value in making decisions now that will impact our family in the future. We knew we wanted to be near most of our family so that when we start expanding our family, our kids would grow up with their cousins and know the extended family rather well. Since his family lives in Iowa and Nebraska and my family live in Kansas, Oklahoma and Colorado, we figured that either Omaha or Kansas City would be a good place to start. Through the months we’ve prayed about it, we’ve weighed options and have talked repeatedly about our desires for our family; we were on the same page. We decided late this fall/early winter than come the new year, Paul would start looking for a job in the Omaha area first, and then in the Kansas City area if need be; that we’d go ahead and move toward setting down roots where we would like to be for a very long time.

It all started just before Christmas, when Paul sent out his resume to one company right before the holidays, this was just after he got confirmation that he passed the PE Exam and is now a licensed PE (Professional Engineer; think “Board” for doctors and “Bar” for lawyers…). The very next day, someone called him with a position in North Carolina! Granted, that was the wrong direction that we wanted to go and he told them so, but that was still pretty cool. After the holidays – in only one week – Paul got more calls about positions in Omaha and Colombus, NE, a few of which were pretty interesting. At this time, with all these people wanting phone interviews, Paul decided it might be time to let his boss (Jim) know and ask if he’d be willing to be a reference. I also had given my final notice at work (I originally talked with them at the end of November to tell them that it would be coming sometime in the first quarter so it shouldn’t have been a surprise but evidently it kind of was).

When Paul talked with Jim, he said that he would always be a reference for Paul whenever needed but then also proposed something that neither of us had thought would ever occur. He offered Paul a position to stay on with Peak Power (still be a full-time employee permanently) but work remotely from wherever Paul ended up. This offer blew our minds, because it just seemed over-the-top! Here, Jim is basically telling Paul that because of his value to the company, they are willing to incur additional and unforeseen costs to get him set up with an office wherever Paul wanted to go! Paul did bring up some complications it would bring if they wanted to move that direction, but said he would think about it. Jim told him that he’d like to try and work around those obstacles if possible to keep him. That was last Friday afternoon.

Yesterday (Monday morning), Jim came back to talk to Paul, and said that he had already spoken with the President of Peak Power and had the idea authorized with a green light if Paul was on board. Paul was given a “go” with keeping his current job permanently, same pay, same benefits, etc and still move to Omaha if he wanted. Paul accepted the offer, and we now have no obstacles to moving, except the time to find, buy and close on a house. Jim just wants to know when we’ve got a firm moving date so they can work on getting Paul set up with an office. So, now we’re sifting through all the “to do’s” and trying to get organized since our biggest hindrance in moving has swiftly been taken care of! It’s amazing to see all the pieces falling into place without our effort at all (I think that’s God working in the situation and getting us to where He wants us to be, which happens to be where we want to be too!)….

So that’s the story, and that’s why I’m super stoked and all excited… Of course, I will deeply miss my friends here, and will also miss the mountains like crazy too; this is just such a sweet sweet undertaking and we’re certainly stepping out, trusting that God will take care of the details and He’ll bring us the rest of the way! Soon, we’ll be living in Husker-land!!!

Buttermilk and Cranberry Scones

Saturday, December 5th, 2009 | Recipes | 1 Comment

Ingredients:

2 c. all-purpose flour
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 c. granulated sugar
6 Tbsp (3/4 stick) cold butter, cut into pieces
1/2 c. buttermilk
1 egg (plus a little to brush tops)
1/2 c. cranberries
powdered sugar (to sprinkle, optional)

Directions:

In food processor (or large bowl with mixer), combine flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt and sugar. Blend well.
Add butter, cut into 8 pieces, until mixture is crumbly.
Add buttermilk and egg, mix until dough holds together and forms a mass.
Stir in cranberries.
Turn out onto a floured surface and pat into a 3/4 to 1-inch thick rectangle.
Cut dough into 8-10 squares or rectangles. Shape each piece into a triangle or diamond shape if desired.
Brush with a little cream or beaten egg.
Bake in preheated 400 degree oven, 15-18 minutes or until golden.
If desired, sprinkle with powdered sugar when done.

Makes 8-10 scones.

NOTE: Can substitute cranberries for other, similar fruit. Original recipe calls for currants.

Saturday O’ Fun and Goodness!!

Saturday, December 5th, 2009 | Friendships | No Comments

Today, Paul and I got to sleep in a little, just an hour but it was oh so sweet and needed. It’s been cold here this week with temps in the teens, so we’ve piled blankies on our bed and it’s been warm and toasty! Our plans today are: 1. Make a yummy breakfast (recipe to follow), 2. Go snowshoeing!!!, 3. Go look at some camera bags, 4. Relax and rest… with some small chores to do, like clean the bathroom and maybe vacuum but we did grocery shopping and laundry last night so we don’t have to do that today!

This morning for breakfast I made Buttermilk and Cranberry Scones, scrambled eggs, orange juice, and coffee and it was so good. One of my nurses, Eilish whom I love so dearly, made these scones for me a couple weeks ago and I’ve been hankering to make them for Paul. They are delicious! I’ll post the recipe here soon.

To give you a sketch of my sweet nurse: Eilish is Gaelic for Elizabeth, pronounced “eye-lish”. She’s Irish, yet married to a Scotsman (weird, but awesome). Eilish and John have lived all over the world, mostly in South Africa and India. They both have very thick accents and when I first met Eilish I couldn’t understand her. John’s a structural engineer (I believe) who’s designed and supervised many huge projects and his job’s taken their family all over the globe.

Eilish is a spunky “elderly” woman who really has a blunt personality. If she feels like you’re wasting her time, she’ll tell you so in a straight-forward way. I LOVE it!! They are both Catholic, and have the ritual of watching BBC News every single day (it’s the ONLY news they’ll watch). She’s also an amazing cook, and a health nut. Even in their late 60’s-early 70’s, both John and Eilish go to the gym every single morning where they swim 2-3 miles; do yoga, spinning and weight-lifting classes and where they know about everybody in town (Boulder). It’s amazing how many of clients specifically ask to see Eilish because they know her from the gym.

Two summers ago, my work had me working in Boulder nearly everyday of the week, so Eilish and John opened their doors to allow me to stay overnight at their place so I didn’t have to keep driving back and forth about 30 miles each way every day. There I learned a lot about both of them, and got to really taste what Eilish can do in the kitchen. So, when she makes lemon bars, or scones or whatever, I usually ask for the recipe. Speaking of, I’ll close this post and share the recipe in the next. Eilish is one of my favorite people that I’ve ever met!

Running on Fumes

Monday, November 23rd, 2009 | life, work | No Comments

183 phone calls in one day… that’s the highest number I’ve gotten to so far this Flu Season. In October, the highest count was 167. This is by far the worst flu season we’ve seen to date. Not only is there a national shortage of seasonal flu vaccine, but also the H1N1 situation is chaotic as well, with the county health departments controlling the distribution of it and our offices stuck in the middle between the public and the CHDs. There are two reasons for the seasonal vaccine shortage: 1. Production of seasonal flu vaccine was stopped about 3 months early in order to work on the H1N1 vaccine; 2. Out of the 3 strains covered in the vaccine, one of the strains was slow in replicating itself, which slowed down dose production even greater. Due to the seasonal flu shortage (and the highest demand we’ve had for it in the past 4-5 years) and the demand for H1N1, my work has been a bit exhausting for me. I’m managing the influenza situation for our offices along with my many other duties, and have about 11 different waiting lists, 5 of which are or have been active since October — hence the number of phone calls I make/take each day. I’m not looking forward to when the other 6 become active, which could be any day.

Usually, flu season is certainly a stressful time for all of us, but this year is much worse than any we’ve had in the past. That’s the main reason I haven’t written anything in such a long time. And also for this reason, I cannot express gratitude enough for my husband, who has been amazing in helping me relax when I get home; and especially in helping me with chores around the house and cooking on days where I am utterly exhausted from a hard workday. He’s been such a blessing! I’m so grateful that God has instilled in him a servant’s heart and that he really does extend the grace and love of our Savior through his actions and care for me. I just praise God for him every day!!

I’m also excited to say, especially in the midst of such a stressful and “insane” season, that I have informally given my notice of resignation to my bosses. Granted, I won’t really be gone until the 1st quarter of 2010, but given the workload of flu season, and the easy assumption that it will last through the turn of the year, and of my own workload in the company, I felt I needed to give them a good long notice of what’s coming so they can start thinking through how best to do that transition. And, now that I’ve told them and it’s off my mind, I really do feel so much better and that some level of stress has dissipated. I’m so glad to have that off my back! Though, I will greatly miss my amazing coworkers and many of the clients that we see (Compassion International staff!!!! among others…), I am ready for the next phase of my life and I’m waiting in anticipation for when that starts — in the next quarter!

Bringing Him Good…

Saturday, October 3rd, 2009 | Marriage | No Comments

Many people quote Socrates, concerning marriage, as once saying, “My advice to you is get married. If you find a good one, you’ll be happy. If you get a bad one, you’ll become a philosopher.” However, what Socrates really said was, “By all means marry. If you get a good wife, you’ll be happy. If you get a bad one, you’ll become a philosopher… and that is a good thing for any man.”

It seems that either one you use, you still get the idea that Socrates was not fond of his wife and therefore publicly made it known in a sarcastic statement that is still being quoted in books and comedy circles ages later. It makes me sad to read such remarks concerning marriage made by one of the most famous philosophers in history, and I can’t help but feel very sorry for his wife.

As I think on what husbands and wives may say about each other when the other is not present (or perhaps they are), it seems that our words toward one another should be of utmost importance if we take our roles in marriage, especially as Christians, to heart. Since the Bible repeatedly uses marriage as an analogy for which we put on display the grace, love, reconciliation and oneness of the Gospel, perhaps we should strive to build up the men and women God has brought us together with in our marriages. As closely as we are regarded by the outside world for just being Christians, we are even more of a target of speculation as being Christians who are married! How we treat, speak to, behave around, and love our spouses (whether present or not!) is under a magnifying glass for the surrounding world. How many times do we hear of Christian marriages being berated because of problems which may/may not lead to divorce, rather than the ‘norm’ of non-Christian ones with the same problems?

As I think of our marriage, I am so blessed to see that we really do strive to uphold one another, serve one another and encourage one another. I want to be able to display King Solomon’s words in Proverbs 31:10-12, 23 & 28:

“A wife of noble character who can find?
She is worth far more than rubies.

Her husband has full confidence in her
and lacks nothing of value.

She brings him good, not harm,
all the days of her life…

…Her husband is respected at the city gate,
where he takes his seat among the elders of the land…

…Her children arise and call her blessed;
her husband also, and he praises her”

I want Paul to be blessed in his life: with his family, with his work, with his friends, and with his ministry through our marriage. Most importantly, I want others who see our marriage from an outside perspective to be able to see the grace and gospel of Jesus Christ as we strive to represent it accurately in this analogous relationship called marriage.

I Have Bronchitis

Tuesday, September 22nd, 2009 | Wasting Time | No Comments

And I feel really yucky! I haven’t yet filled the prescription partly because I haven’t gotten over to the pharmacy yet but also because I’m kind of reluctant about taking it. I don’t like pills, at all!! I say “Boo!” and do a thumbs-down kind of thing. Ah well, I suppose I should try to get it filled tomorrow before I head to my parent’s house for dinner, and then maybe by all the clinics next week I’ll feel better.

On another note, I really really dislike this year’s flu season. It’s not even October yet and work is just INSANE! It’s the worst flu season I’ve had so far with work, and it’s barely just started. I came home extremely grumpy today, and I know part of my impatience is because I don’t feel well, but today was a pretty bad day. I’m ready for it to be over… yeah.

The Latest…

Saturday, September 19th, 2009 | Events & Happenings, Menu Planning | No Comments

I haven’t written anything in a long time, and it’s partly because I haven’t really had anything to say. I did change my blog theme, so come check it out – it’s a bit darker and perhaps reflects the calm that I hope will resemble some rest at home.

Work has been starting to get VERY busy, especially with H1N1 flu scares going around so I’ve had hundreds of phones calls about that alone, along with the regular seasonal flu shifting early this year. Work is going to be quite chaotic for me through the rest of the year most likely. Therefore, I apologize ahead of time for not writing more – I know I will be struggling to rest in itself, much less to communicate on my blog. Bear with me during this season, please.

I will share my Menu Plan for dinners this week, since I just got it done:

Saturday (tonight): Cabbage Rolls w/ Baked Potatoes
Sunday: Broccoli Cheese Chicken w/ Veggies
Monday: Italian Pork Chops w/ Green Peas and Onion
Tuesday: Sausage & Spinach Rigatoni w/ Mozzarella Cheese Sticks
Wednesday: Paul will have a Steak w/ Corn; while I go to my parents’ house.
Thursday: Homemade Pizza w/ Peaches
Friday: Crispy Chicken Strips w/ Cheesy Mixed Veggies
Saturday: Garlic Butter Steak w/ Roasted Thyme Potatoes
Sunday: Picante Roast w/ Mexican Corn

I’ve made it a habit to do slow-cooker meals on Sunday so that I don’t have to cook, as we are both trying make Sunday our day of rest and be serious about taking a Sabbath. We don’t go grocery shopping, do any cleaning, and limit how much time we cook so we can take advantage of not having a long “to-do” list that needs to be accomplished. It’s taken some getting used to but now I really value this time, I don’t worry so much about getting things finished before work rolls around on Monday again, and we’ve been able to visit with some friends and relax before starting the week again. It’s been a blessing for sure!

Well, that’s all I’ve got today, not much else. I am about ready to go swimming!!

6 Months Ago…

Friday, August 28th, 2009 | Marriage | 2 Comments

I was pacing in a room at the church, eating a sandwich for lunch and trying to make sure I didn’t spill anything on my wedding dress, waiting for one more hour when I could marry the most amazing and godly man I know! Today marks our 6-month anniversary; yes, we’re still newlyweds and it’s the best adventure I’ve ever had in my life!

Marriage, unlike what I was always told, has not actually been that huge of an adjustment for us. We were just talking about this not too long ago, but it’s really easy to be married to Paul. We both enjoy similar things and strengthen each other in our weaknesses; for instance I am more outgoing when it comes to being in a group of people than he is (though I’m totally an introvert) and he helps me re-evaluate what comes out of my mouth to reflect reality rather than my emotional response to something, etc. We also work together to keep the house clean and in order, to get meals on the table, and to do ministry responsibilities. We share the load in almost everything. It’s so wonderful to be married to a man who is so selfless, giving, caring, strong, tender, handsome and of course holy. (You can read all about my praises for him during my “Praying for Your Husband” series in July)

I am so blessed to have Paul as my husband!! 6 months down & a lifetime to go. I LOVE YOU, HONEY!!!

Standing at the Microphone…