A little bit of everything...

Hey y'all! Long time no talk, I know and I apologize!! I just wanted to update you all on what has been going on with Blair and I for the past couple of weeks...

First, a couple of weekends ago, the couple that lives in the duplex with us asked us to go on a picnic with them on a local lake. Blair and I decided that it sounded like it would be fun and we could explore a bit of our new state, so we went. The other couple, the Dorrells, wanted to fish so we had to find a place that sold fishing licenses. We ended up driving about 20 miles out of our way, but we just took it as an adventure. We had passed one area that looked promising before we went to hunt down the fishing licenses, but on the way back we decided to look for another spot. It was our adventurous sides coming out, I suppose. Well, the spot we found turned out to be a bust. It had about 5 feet of "beach" but it was really just stinky dirt. It wasn't pleasant for a number of reasons, i.g. it stunk, the wind was blowing about 30 mph with nothing to break it, the water was gross and they couldn't fish. We stayed there for a little while then went back to the first place we found. It was so much better. It was a little alcove with trees, picnic tables, grills, a pier with fishing rod holders, a walking trail, a parking lot, and more. It was so relaxing to sit in the sun/shade, with wind blowing slightly, and just look at God's beautiful world. I would love to go back any time!! Here are some pictures from our adventure:

Above is the "bust" site and below is the "perfect" spot.

Blair decided that he wanted a project to do. For mine and Ashlie's wedding, my best friend's dad built short wooden stands. I acquired them, thankfully, when all was said and done. Blair has mentioned wanting to put something on top of them and he finally was able to do it. We went to a local home improvement store, Menard's, and bought some tile and all the stuff to put it on with. I am a bad blogger and didn't take a picture of the "during" process, just the end result! Sorry! I'll try better next time!! Here they are:



One night, Blair and I got a hankering for some stir-fry. Now, I've done stir-fry before and it didn't turn out too hot. I thought, "Maybe I can do it better this time." And boy was it! Martha gave me some insights a while back on how it's done and the end result was soooo much better this time around. Now again, I didn't do the 'during,' just the after, but here it is:

Yum!

Blair wanted a project and so did I...I hadn't sewn anything since leaving LA, and I was hard up for a fix! I have been wanting an apron, so I thought, I'll just make one! I looked through my scraps and had enough coordinating fabric to make just what I wanted. I thought long and hard about how I wanted it to be customized for me and this is what I came up with:
1. I wanted ruffles
2. I wanted a pocket for my phone, scissors, anything that I needed it for...
3. I sewed a button on it, then made button holes in wash clothes that matched so I could wipe my hands on that instead of my pants
4. I put a loop on one end and made a button hole to pull it through so I could hang it up easily and it wouldn't drag on the ground
When all was said and done, I got just what I wanted. And to my surprised pleasure, it turned out better than I imagined! Take a look:

Here it is hanging from it's little hook!

Now, everyone seems to think that North Dakota is nothing but cold weather and snow. I am here to prove the opposite, at least in the summer. The other morning I was driving to work and captured a beautiful sunrise. Let me share:

(~side note: Later this same day, it was raining, the wind was blowing about 35 mph, and it was 53 degrees...yeah, it's still August. I don't want to know how December'll be!)

Now, I've saved the best for last. Back in May, Blair took his test to become a Staff Sergeant. We didn't know how long it would take for the results to come back so we (by "we" I really mean me!) have been patiently trying to wait to know if Blair passed or not. Not long ago, he told me he would find out on the 15th of August. Well the 15th came and went and we still didn't know. Then one day last week, I came home from work and walked in the door from the garage (you can see straight to the fridge) and saw this:

Blair had passed!! For those of you that don't know, you can't immediately be promoted, you have to wait for your number. Blair said that his is a high number so he'll have to wait a while to "sew" (literally and figuratively) it on. I am so proud of him! He always does well at anything he tries! Congratulations, my love!!

Well, folks, that's all I've got for now! I hope all of you are healthy and happy! Till next time...

North Dakota Weather...

...is crazy!! It has been really nice the whole time we've been up here, except for three rain storms. This morning I jumped out of bed at 7 a.m. and woke Blair because it was HAILING!!! My brand new car was outside on the driveway and I wanted to get it in the garage! So we hurried down to the garage and shifted boxes around and Blair pulled my car in for me! (Isn't he sweet?!) At the moment, it's not raining, but about 20 minutes ago the "Commander's People" came over the loud speaker and issued a lightning warning!! Every time it storms they do that. This morning around 10 a.m. our street was covered in water! It receeded quickly though.

Let me show you the hail we had.

This is looking down the street towards the storm. It's so dark!!

Our Big Mystery

Blair and I had a bit of a mysterious happening occur on Thursday. I was at the library trying to get on the internet when Blair called and asked me to come to his work parking lot and to bring the camera. My first thought was, "Oh no, he had an accident." That, however, was not the case. Blair went into work Thursday morning about 6:45 a.m. (early, I know!!). When he came back out to the vehicle at around 11:30 a.m. the back driver's side window was busted out. Now the really weird thing is that there was glass outside and inside the car and, thank God, nothing was stolen. So, anyway, I get there and while he's looking up the number for the base cops, I took pictures. (Don't worry, I'll share!) When the cops got there they told us they didn't have their camera because it was being used for an "incident" off base, whatever that was. When I told them that we had taken pictures and we'd share, they were glad. I ended up having to follow a cop (which was totally nerve racking- trying to make sure I came to a complete stop, used my signal, drove EXACTLY the speed limit!!) to the Security Forces building to let them upload the pictures. It turned out to be a wasted trip however, seeing as how their computer wouldn't take my camera card. So I had to return to the library and spend 45 minutes there emailing the pictures to the cops. When I was at the SF building they kept apologizing to me for having to take pictures. One guy even said, "Here, let me get you the forms and you can do our job for us!" It was a little humor injected in a not so funny situation.

Let me back up a bit...when we were waiting on the cops, I called my insurance to see if they would pay for it. However, I was thinking the government would pay for it, seeing that we were on a military base when it happened. Blair didn't think so, so I called USAA. Well, later, Blair had a meeting and was talking to a few of the people there telling them about his day so far and one of the guys said that one time he'd gotten hail damage while on base and the legal department paid for it. So Blair talked to the legal dept. the next day and we've got to go online and fill out some paperwork and hopefully be reimbursed for the nearly $200 window. Say a prayer for us that they'll pay for it!!

Let me show you the pictures...



(We go Monday to get the window fixed.)

The "After"

Hey, y'all! Here is an update on the house and our progress!

So, our stuff arrived on Tuesday evening around 6:30 p.m. We had the entire truck unloaded in the house or garage by 10 p.m.! We have really moved fast in the unpacking area. We were able to unpack all but about 5-6 boxes, which are still in the garage. And those boxes have things like winter clothes and hangers in them. I am so excited to have our stuff surrounding us again. It brings comfort and lots of good memories.

Tuesday night was a good one since Blair put up the bed and we were able to sleep in our own bed for the first time in almost a month! It was so wonderful! I laid down and didn't move until the next morning!

Let me share some pictures now of how the house looks with some of "us" injected into it!

This is the living room.

This is a living room shot standing in the foyer.

Here is Blair's computer desk.

This is the kitchen (looking in from the coat room).

And here is our kitchen a little closer up.