An unexplained absence.

Hello blogging buddies! Is anyone still checking this little space in the blog-o-sphere? If you're reading...thanks for sticking with me!

Obviously I've been absent from the blogging world for (gasp!) more than a month and I'm sure I "owe" someone, somewhere an explanation. But I have none.

Sure, I've been busy. Busy praying for this family and of course sweet baby Stellan. I've also been busy with work and family and landscaping and other projects at our house.

But still, there should have been time for blogging. And yet, I haven't found time. See? It's an unexplained absence.

Oh well, things can only get better from here right? Right?

Stay tuned...

MIA

Ahhh! I did it again, didn't I? I promised to be a better blogger and I've let ya'll down. I wish I had a good excuse...but really, I just didn't feel like blogging.

Truth is I've made a very conscious decision to put my marriage and my husband first over everything else. Including blogging.

So I make sure that when I get home from work the tv, radio and computer are not turned on till we've eaten supper together and had time to talk about our day. By the time we do that, we typically watch a half hour or so of tv together or play a game together or just hop in bed to cuddle and talk some more.

I can really tell how our marriage has been strengthened since we bought our house. I no longer have that strange restlessness inside me and I've learned to think about the more important things in life.

So, dear blogging buddies, that is why I've neglected this little space in the blog-o-sphere. Even though I haven't been writing, I've still found time - early in the morning, before work - to keep close tabs on the zillions of blogs I follow. I don't think I could ever give that up!

For those of you that are really interested, I'll give you a quick run-down of all that you've missed in that last two-ish weeks.

Sturgeon Spearing season came and went with no one in our group having even enough luck to see a fish, much less spear one. My aunt - who does not spear in our group - did harvest a nice sturgeon this year, though, so we were quite happy for her.

Mark invited 12 of his buddies from work to our house to play poker. Judging by the amount of alcohol, dip/chips, sausage/cheese/crackers that was consumed - a good time was had by all.

Last weekend we watched my godson Jade and had fun taking him to my parent's farm to see the cows, calves, and cats. My parents also have two sweet, gentle as can be puppies...but for some reason Jade was terrified of them and both dog's feelings were hurt.

I've been pretty worried about their dog Trigger, a purebreed red bone coonhound, who has a nasty infection in his front paw. Thankfully he's on antibiotics and seems to be doing better.

In other medically related news, my dear grandma had to have emergency gall bladder surgery this week. Thankfully everything went fine but it was a very scary situation as she had quite the infection and a lot of pain, further complicated by a spike in her blood sugar, probably due to the meds. She is still in the hospital recovering while the doctors work on controlling her diabetes.

We've had the opportunity to spend some extra fun time with friends and family lately as we've wrapped up some of our house projects. We went out last night with my brother and sister-in-law and had lots of fun!

Four of our nephews wrestled in a youth wrestling tournament today. We really enjoyed cheering them on, even though it was tough to keep track of who was wrestling where at what time. The boys did great!

Last week we recieved great news - we are eligible for the new first time homeowners $8,000 tax credit!! Whoo hoo! We're looking forward to a great tax return that will help replenish our savings account and hopefully allow us to cement our driveway.

Have I mentioned how awful it has been to shovel the snow out of our driveway? No? Well suffice it to say...it's been awful. I look forward to having a paved driveway that would accommodate a snowblower or at least allow us to shovel more easily.

Speaking of snow...where the heck is spring? I'm more than ready for it!!

I've got lots more to share, but I'm going to wrap up here and get on with my laundry and cleaning. Don't worry, I've started a list of all that I need to blog about, so hopefully I'll start finding more time to share. Until then...ciao!

Guess what I did today?

I shoveled the driveway, removing a good four inches of snow while more of the fluffy white stuff fell down around me.

I finally unpacked the boxes in our office.

I washed a sink full of dishes and did two loads of laundry.

I sewed the er..."private area" of my husbands work pants where a tiny hole appeared. I have no idea how or why he gets holes in this area...I don't ask questions.

I used the lint roller on hubby's work shirts...cuz I know how much he hates lint.

I organized all of my info for the upcoming Relay For Life event and emailed my fellow team mates with that info.

I uploaded a zillion pictures and sent them (via Wal-Mart.com) to be printed.

I put new pictures in my two photo collage frames. I made a grocery list.

I windexed (yes, that's a word) our coffee table and took out the recyclables.

While I did these things, I watched the episodes of Jon & Kate Plus Eight and Little People, Big World that I TiVo'd (gosh I have no idea how to spell that) Monday night and four episodes of Full House.

What have you done today?

Not Me!

I'm jumping back in - feet first- to the crazy fun of Not Me! Monday, hosted by the fabulous MckMama.

I did not recently cave and join the multidudes of facebookers in the "25 things about me" craze. I did not learn some new things about myself in writing my 25 things and I didn't share my list with my mom (via email) because I thought she'd like my answers.

I also did not go with my mom to see "He's Just Not That Into You" at the theatre on Saturday while hubby was Sturgeon Spearing. I did not point out (to my mom, whose husband - my dad - is also a scrooge about Valentine's Day) all the lovely couples in the theatre with us watching the movie. Together. With popcorn. Nope not me!

I didn't feel bad when, upon returning home from the movie I found the sweet Valentine's Day surprise hubby had left for me to find. I did not take back my mean thoughts about him and promptly call his cell phone to declare my love for that man.

Because I was so enamored with the gift I didn't find, I most certainly didn't grumble about having to trek into the cold, in my jammies to pick up my dear husband from the bar later that night.

I most definitely didn't cry when I realized that all those gosh-darn-curl-up-in-a-ball-because-they-hurt-so-bad cramps turned into my period; meaning I'm not pregnant even though we've been trying for eight months to conceive and that stupid pregnancy book I've been reading "told" me that all the signs were there this time and I would most certainly find out I was pregnant. (Whew! Gotta take a breather after typing that one.)

I have not been very emotional lately, and didn't cry when I thought my brother-in-law was laughing at me when he was really laughing about an un-related joke he'd just heard. I'm not that sensitive.

I did not create a "To Do" list for today and have not already accomplished nearly half of that list including #7 "Blog."

I am not, right now, paitently awaiting the Fireplace Fixer Guy who is schedule to inspect our fireplace today. I am not sooooo looking forward to curling up by it later this afternoon with a good book.

I am also not even the teensiest, weensiest bit worried about whether or not this Fireplace Fixer Guy - whose name is Edward, apparently - is a rapist/murderer/all around creep. I'm not that paranoid and don't mind one bit being all alone in our house with a guy I don't know.

I am not waaaaaaay excited for my friend Sarah and her cute lil family, who just bought a new house! I wasn't even a little bit jealous that their offer was ACCEPTED without much difficulty. Because I'm not bitter about our home-buying experience at all. (Smile)

I am not going to sign off right now to watch a Brady Bunch marathon on TV Land while I dust, do dishes and wait for the (maybe creepy) Fireplace Fixer Guy.

I did not cut my own hair this morning after setting up and cancelling several appointments at a local salon. It has not been 8 months since the last time I paid someone to cut my hair. I did not just cringe as I typed that.

That's all....

Have a great Not Me! Monday!

P.S. The fireplace guy just showed up...he's not creepy! Hooray!

The Joys of Owning a Home

Guess what I did last night? Go on, guess. Need a hint?



Still can't figure it out? Here's another.

See all those containers gathered around the sump pump in our basement? See the water dripping down the walls of our basement? Now, take a guess.

Yup, you got it! We had a sump pump disaster last night. Wanna hear about? No? Too bad...

It all started with the recent thaw, you know the one that melted the 12+ inches of snow that had accumulated all winter in one, warm and windy day? Yea, that one.

That thaw created an adorable little pond in the empty lot right next door (see first photo - that's not snow, that's water). That little pond immediately started dripping its way into our basement, prompting the sump pump to kick in every two-three minutes.

We weren't too concerned at first though we realized that because the house was a foreclosure and it sat empty for nearly a year, there could be some problems. That's why we checked on the pump and basement every hour or so.

Everything was fine until 8 p.m. last night when I checked on the basement and saw water, lots of water, seeping in through the walls! My shouting quickly sent hubby outside where he found the pipe thingy that was supposed to take the water from the sump pump to the sewer system had frozen and was instead spewing water right along side the house. When too much water accumulated in one place, the ground became saturated and the water started coming in through the basement walls. Ugh

Mark quickly set me up with a lemonade pitcher, all the garbage cans/coolers/large storage bins etc. we had in the house and instructed me to "scoop" the water out of the sump pump to keep it from running while he frantically called plumbers and both of our dads for advice.

The plumbers were not helpful, but thankfully our dads came to the rescue. My dad rushed over with a hack saw and some large black tube material, while Mark's dad gathered the tubing he uses to drain their sump pump water away from the house. And I kept scooping.

My dad and Mark sawed off the offending, frozen portion of the sump pump pipe and attached my dad's temporary tubing while I - finally taking a break from scooping - ran to my father in law's to get the "good" tube. (As seen in the second pic.)

Thankfully after some experimenting, Mark and my dad rigged up something they thought would work to get us through the night. By this time it was nearly 11 p.m. Guess what my sweet hubby had me do then? Get back on my very sore knees on the hard cement floor so I could strain my already very sore back to dump. the. water. back. into. the. sump. pump. hole.

By this time, I was treating that water like liquid gold! It took a lot of hard work to keep up with that scooping - as fast as I could remove the water, more was rushing in because of that gosh-darn-stupid-little-(gigantic!)-pond next door!

So I dumped the water back in and crawled into bed...only to be awoken two hours later when the alarm went off signaling me (or hubby) to check on the sump pump. And that's how the rest of the night/morning went - getting up every two hours to check.

Today (I'm off work) I am aiming to get everything up off the basement floor and onto the shelves Mark made, just in case there are more sump pump problems (there better not be!). I'd better get to it, that pond isn't getting any smaller....

Ahhhhh the joys of owning a home.

Our House...in the middle of our street...Our House...

Some house pics for your enjoyment!!!

We re-carpeted the entire house....
and re-painted the entire house!

Our cozy fire place!

All About Hubby

Husband Meme

1. Where did you meet? at the golf course where I bartended and he frequently golfed

2. How long did you date before you got married? we dated a year before getting engaged and then it was two more years till the wedding - I had to finish college!

3. How long have you been married? almost 16 months

4. What does he do that surprises you? Plans sweet date nights or brings me something he knows I like

5. What is your favorite feature of his? the way he walks, his hands, his smile...

6. What is your favorite quality of his? he's waaaaaaay funny

7. Does he have a nickname for you? honey

8. What is his favorite color? blue

9. What is his favorite food? anything with meat and veggies

10. What is his favorite sport? Football/Baseball - it's a tie

11. When and where was your first kiss? July 18, 2004 (our first date)by my parent's garage

12. What is your favorite thing to do as a couple? hang out together, watch movies

13. Do you have any children? nope, not yet

14. Does he have a hidden talent? He can actually sing quite well..when he tries

15. How old is he? 26

16. Who said I love you first? He did, while we were slow dancing to one of our favorite songs at a Tim McGraw concert he took me to.

17. What’s his favorite type of music? country

18. What do you admire most about him? He's a hard worker, he's financially smart and he checks into everything to make sure we're getting a good deal and it's "right" for us.

19. Do you think he will read this? Nope. I know he won't.


HUSBAND MEME

1. He’s sitting in front of the TV - What is on the screen? Football

2. You’re out to eat. What kind of dressing does he get on his salad? French

3. What is one food he won't eat? Shrimp - he's allergic.

4. You go out to the bar. What does he order? Captain & Coke or Lime Green Tom Collins

5. Where did he go to high school? mmmm that might be too much info to put online

6. What size shoe does he wear? 13.5

7. If he was to collect anything, what would it be? Green Bay Packer memorabilia

8. What is his favorite type of sandwich? I was just informed that he LOVES eggsalad sandwiches...I have never seen him eat one, however.

9. What would the Husband eat every day if he could? Hu Hot

10. What is his favorite cereal? Cap'n Crunch

11. What would he never wear? Pink

12. What is his favorite sports team? The Packers and the Brewers (a tie)

13. Who is his best friend? me first then his brother Randy

14. What is something you do that he wishes you wouldn’t do? Get frustrated easily and "yell" at him

15. How many states has he lived in? just one

16. What is his heritage? german

17. You bake him a cake for his birthday; what kind is it? Chocolate/caramel from Manderfields Bakery...I don't bake cakes.

18. Did he play sports in high school? Football

19. What could he spend hours doing? playing Madden on his Wii