A blast from the past

As I have been visiting my parents this week I have had the opportunity of looking at some old photos. Let's just say that I have found some real treasures.

This is a picture of my first day of school--probably 2nd grade.

Halloween with siblings in 1989.Me and my little sister with our faces painted.Me watering plants at my grandparents house in South Carolina in 1993.
Halloween with 2 of my dearest friends.
And my personal favorite
Goofing around at my dad's office. What a nerd!

Thinking "inside" the box

This afternoon while Nathan and I were doing stuff on our computers, I noticed that Kronk was sleeping in this box near the window sill.

As I was storing the pictures on my computer I noticed a trend.

Moral of the story:

If you have a cat do not buy a cat bed. Just give them a box and they'll be content.

Yucky Weather

We had another ice storm today in Iowa. I never thought I'd say this, but after spending 4 winters in Iowa, I'm starting to get used to this crazy weather. Here are a few shots that I took around our neighborhood......covered in ice of course.

**Click on the photos to enlarge them so you can see the detail of the ice.**

If you look closely you can see a birds nest in the tree (poor birdies).

Ah Mother Nature. Isn't she something?

Nursery

I substituted in nursery today for one of my friends at church so that she could attend one of the "grown up" meetings for our ward conference. Not only did I get snacks in nursery, but check out what I got to do:

It looks like my crayon coloring skills needs some work. Not only did I color out of the lines, but I gave the boy some hair highlights (see bottom left picture). Nevertheless, Nathan was very proud of my accomplishment.

Happy Birthday

Since Nathan has been SO busy studying for comprehensive exams, he wanted a quiet birthday this year. But I really wanted to surprise him and do something special for him.

So the preparations started the night before while Nathan was at church meetings. I went to the store and bought balloons, several birthday cards, and necessary ingredients for his favorite cookies and birthday dinner. When I got home, I baked the cookies (and hid them), did some dinner preparations, did the dishes, and hid the balloons.

Then came the big day! I got up early, hid the birthday cards around the house, and got the cookies and balloons out. Eventually, Nathan woke up and was VERY SURPRISED!

These are Nathan's favorite cookies--Raspberry Shortbread Thumbprints! YUUUUUMMMMYYYYY!

I had more surprises for Nathan when I came home from work. I told him that I was going to make fajitas for dinner and he was very excited! Fajitas are one of Nathan's favorite meals.

After dinner, we had a conference call with Nathan's family for about an hour. The longer you were on the phone, the more entertaining it became. Here is roughly how some of the conversation went (all at once):

Danny (brother): "How do you cook broccoli?"

Dad C (came on conference call a little late): "Hello."

Nathan: "Hi dad."

Mom C: "You cook broccoli by steaming it in a pan with a little water at a boil."

--a few minutes later--

Danny: "How many ounces are in 1 cup?

Rachel and Mom C: "8 ounces."

--another few minutes later--

Danny: "Are you sure there are 8 ounces in a cup?"

Mom C: "Yes!"

--another few minutes later--

Danny: "Hey...my rice is burning."

Nathan: "What is that noise in the background?"

Mom C: "That's dad's GPS."
Rachel: "Why is your rice burning?"

--a few minutes after that--

Danny: "Whoa! My rice is on fire!"

Dad C's GPS voice system (literally a few seconds after Danny says his rice is on fire): "Turn left here."

Mom C: "Danny, are you okay?"

Rachel: "What's on fire?"
Nathan: "I'm glad to hear that Danny's rice is on fire and that it needs to turn left."

I am not kidding...that is literally how the conversation was. Nathan and I were laughing so hard. This will be one conference call we will never forget.

After we talked with Nathan's family, we chatted with my parents for a while (mainly about USC's football situation, and California's 80 degree weather). So that is how Nathan's big day was. Happy Birthday sweetie! I hope you had a good and memorable one.

How to survive a winter in the Midwest

It is no big secret that Iowa has FRIGID winters (as many of you know from some previous blog posts). So, how do you survive a winter in the Midwest?

#1 Stay indoors! There is no wind chill if you're inside.

#2 Invest in some space heaters!!! This is a must! Yes we have our thermostat set at a specific temperature, but some rooms of the house never actually reach that temperature. For example: our bedroom has 2 outside walls which means that it is always cold. It's great in the summer, but during the winter... BURR!

One day I came home from work went and into our room to change. When I opened our door I noticed a significant temperature drop. So I plugged in the space heater and the temperature gauge on the heater said 60 degrees!!! YIKES! I even have a picture to prove it!

And even Kronk loves the space heaters. Check it out:

My favorite picture is the one with his butt up against the space heater! Kronk has a knack for finding the warmest spot. He is such a cat!

#3 We turn on heating pads to warm up our bed. Don't worry...they have an automatic shut off. Nathan used to laugh at me when I first started doing this, but then he started to mooch off me when he would hop into bed. After a while I went and bought him one so that his side of the bed could be warm too (which is why I get the wife of the year award)!
Some of you may ask "Why don't you invest in some fleece/flannel sheets?"
The answer: Nathan HATES them! That is why we used heating pads.

#4 Invest in the window insulation kits! They are the best and they really do help keep the cold air out (if done properly).

#5 Hang in there because spring is on it's way! Spring in Iowa is so beautiful and if you keep that in mind then you'll make it through. After all, I am on my 4th winter. If a southern California girl can do it, then anyone can do it!

Window insulation kit picture courtesy of Google images

Marriage is all about compromises

I'm sure we have all heard that everyone makes compromises in their marriages, right? I think this compromise is hilarious though.

Nathan does not like chocolate, and I do (I'm sure you see the problem). If I make any kind of dessert I usually have to go the non chocolate route. Well today, I really wanted something with chocolate in it (what can I say...I'm a girl). So what in the world was I supposed to do? Bake an entire cake with chocolate frosting and eat the entire thing myself? NO WAY!

Then the inspiration came to me: make a cake, split it into two pans, and then frost each pan differently. GENIUS!

Another funny thing: Nathan does not like sprinkles on his cake. So that's why my cake has the fun sprinkles. Ah Nathan...

Interestingly enough, Nathan remembered a similar compromise we made a few months into our marriage for his birthday. We called it the "politically correct" cake.

I like today's solution better. It's so much easier.