Sunday, August 24, 2008

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...

3 comments:

Martha said...

That picnic adventure sounded fun! That's so great that you've got some fun neighbors! And the stir fry looked yummy! The tables look great! Thanks for filling us in on the weather...that sunrise was pretty..And Congratulations to Blair! I know you're excited for him! Thanks for the update girl!

Lacy said...

I'm so glad ya'll are making friends with your neighbors and I am so impressed by ya'lls crafting/sewing skills. I love, love the apron. I don't think it would have looked near as cute without the different scrap pieces. So creative you are! Go Blair!

Jen said...

How cool that you are becoming friends with your neighbors. I love your apron...so cute! Congrats to Blair on making Staff!! Yay!