Thursday, July 24, 2008

The mind of a woman

There was a semi-serious conversation that I wanted to have with Shantel this evening (being the wonderful husband that I am and meeting the emotional needs of a woman), but Shantel had other plans. Have a listen:

Andrew: So there is something that I want to talk about that begins with a "d", ends with an "s", and has a "p" in the middle.
Shantel: Diapers?

While Shantel was correct that diapers does begin with a "d", end in an "s", and have a "p" so perfectly placed in the middle, diapers was not what I had in mind. My intention was to talk about DPS, the Department of Public Safety, but I guess that will have to wait for another evening when the mind of a woman isn't focused on kids, poo, and diapers.

Friday, July 11, 2008

Mulberry Jam anyone?

Let me begin this by saying that I have the BEST husband! This past Sunday, we had our first canning experience together. We canned mulberry jam! A few weeks ago, to my heart’s delight, I discovered the apartment complex we live in has numerous mulberry trees on the edge of their property. After getting the okay from the property manager, I excitedly went out to pick as many as I could. I used that first batch to make Mulberry Buckle Cake, which I’ve been craving since the last time I made it back in my middle school days. I haven’t been able to stop thinking of all the delicious things I could make with such luscious little fruits… and then the idea of making jam occurred to me. What a perfect way to be able to enjoy the pleasure of mulberries all year round! Plus, it would give me excuse to experiment for the first time with canning :) I made up my mind that Sunday was the day for the big adventure. I assumed Andrew would do his own thing while I made a mess in the kitchen, but my to my delight he jumped right in to help! We had so much fun and we’re proud to say, the jam not only turned out beautifully but it tastes pretty yummy too! My next experiment… jam filled cookies!

Wednesday, July 9, 2008

Our life in a nutshell…

I know, I know… it’s been WAY too long since we’ve posted. Andrew and I have been busy riding our bikes around Ames, reading books, hanging out with family, and working. So far, the summer has been wonderful. Andrew and I have taken advantage of the beautiful weather and we’ve been outside a LOT.

The garden is growing beautifully. A few weeks back we had a slight problem with the evil little bunnies eating through my plastic fence and mowing down over half of everything I planted from seed. They even decided to bite off some of my pepper plants (even my jalapeƱo plant!). That’s not the worst of it though, they didn’t even eat them, just bit the poor little guys’ heads off. But we’ve recovered. I put up chicken wire, which has kept them at bay so far. I replanted everything they ate and we’re hoping to get a little something out of those crops. Our corn was indeed knee high by the fourth of July… which made me a very proud amateur gardener. We will have to take some more pictures of the garden and post them soon.

Andrew and I got to spend a weekend seeing all of my family a few weeks back. We got to see our niece and nephew together for the first time, which was priceless. I think I’m going to like this aunt thing. I get my fill of cuddles and then Andrew and I get to go home and have absolute silence if we so desire!

We’ve gotten to spend lots of time with Andrew’s family too. They have been busy planning a wedding for his sister, Anna. The first bridal shower is this weekend, which begins the final shower marathon for the Ternes siblings. It will be a blast… I can’t wait!

Andrew is still enamored with his gun. I’ve gotten over my jealousy and have accepted that he has another love in his life besides me. At least I can cook; it keeps me from getting completely replaced! No, actually, it’s been a great hobby for him. I’ve gotten to shoot it a few times and have really enjoyed it.

I feel like I’m writing a Christmas card with all the family updates! We’ll try not to wait so long for the next blog posts… we’ve got to keep you all coming back :)