Today we have been working on some home improvement projects since Ben is off of work for President's Day. We decided to go ahead and paint our island we recently got. We used a special brush that is supposed to give the paint a fabric or "linen" look. Here's a close up.
Here is the finished product. We wanted to add color to our kitchen.
Here is one of my Roman blinds that I made. I haven't gotten them all hung yet. They were a lot of work, but I think they look nice.
Here's an update on my flowers. I know you all have been pacing the floor just waiting for this. Anyway... I purchased a plant stand off of Craigslist and here it is. It's much better than paper plates on the floor.
These are some that are opening really nicely.
Here is the newest addition and they are fancy looking to me. It's nice to see blooming flowers in the winter time. Ben and I are staying home today. It is snowing pretty heavily outside and we could possibly get 6 + inches of snow! It has been a very snowy winter apparently here in Kansas City. Snow is beautiful, but I'm ready for spring and flowers and walks outside at the park.
Be watching for updates on my blinds. We are planning to put them up today. :)
This is Ben and sorry I haven't blogged for a while. I finally took some new pictures when I was on my latest trip to Cleveland for training and I thought I'd share them. First of all, when the plane landed it was -14 degrees! (including the wind chill). That's the coldest temperature I've ever been in, in my whole life. Secondly, people drive much more carefully in Kansas City in the snow. The taxi driver in Cleveland was slipping and sliding and driving like a maniac while talking on the cell phone and just acted like the snow was no big deal. Last of all, there was so much snow that a plane slid off the runway in the Cleveland airport. After this incident they completely closed the airport with no planes in or out until they could shovel the snow off. So my first flight out of Cleveland was canceled and they bumped me to another flight, which was also canceled and then they said I could fly out on the first available flight the next morning. When I showed up for this last flight in the morning it was also canceled! Aaargh! Finally the airline bought me a ticket on another airline to get me home.... and I was SO glad to be home.
Here's the airport the morning after. Still pretty snowy. Once we boarded the plane they had to de-ice it by spraying 2 different types of chemicals on it.
Here's a shot of one of the buildings where I did the training. Pretty boring stuff really, but trust me it was REALLY cold! :)
On Sunday I will be into my 23rd week, or my sixth month. I finally feel like I'm beginning to start to show and so I'm thinking it's time for my first belly
picture.
This first picture I can't see that much... so I pulled my shirt towards me.
Do you see a bit of roundness there? That's Benjamina. That's what Ben calls our baby since we don't know if it's a girl or boy. I'm sure in a matter of weeks I won't have to ask you if you see any roundness. It will be in your face!
I'm reading this book I got from the library called "Things I Wish I'd Known Sooner- Personal discoveries of a mother of twelve". I figure this lady's got to know quite a bit. One quote really made me stop and think. I believe I had to read it a few times to let it sink in.
"When we live our lives dealing with things that really matter, the things that don't matter- don't."
Last night I made "Old Settler Beans" for the first time. I thought I'd share the recipe with you all. I served it as the main dish with cornbread. I think if I were to do it all over I would serve it as a side dish. I got this recipe from Ben's Aunt Dee.
Old Settler Beans
Brown 1/2 lb gr. beef (I used a pound)
1/2 lb bacon (chopped)
1 onion chopped
of course... drain the browned meat!
Add:
1/3 C brown sugar
1/3C white sugar
1/4 C ketchup
1/4 C Barbeque sauce
2T mustard
2 T molasses
1 t salt
1/2 t pepper (I used more)
1 can red kidney beans (drained)
1 can pork and beans (not drained)
1 can butter beans (drained)
Bake 1 hour at 350 degrees.
On a different note... my orchids have never been so happy! Here is one that is opening up at the moment. You can see some little droplets on the stem... those aren't bugs. Those are called "honeydew" and it is a sticky substance the plant produces to tell you it's happy.
This one is STILL blooming!
This one is ready to pop any moment. I'm waiting to see what the blooms will look like. It's been so long for some of these that I don't remember what the blooms look like anymore.
Today we bought a kitchen island from a guy on Craigslist and while we were there we asked him if he happened to have a pot rack. He did and we bought it for $10! Here's Ben trying to figure out if it looks right or not.
My newest project is making my own Roman blinds for the kitchen. It all started when Ben and I went to JC Penny home store and got a quote for custom Roman blinds. They gave us a quote for $450 for four windows and that was 60% off!! You can imagine how well that went over with Ben.
So... Ben and I took a trip to Joann's Fabrics and had fun picking out fabric. Then I printed out a pattern from online but that was scrapped when I read I'd have to get all kinds of extra materials. Ben's Grandpa made some Roman blinds for Grandma and so I decided we'd do it Grandpa's way. Let me just add that Ben's Grandpa is a jack of all trades. He can hunt, sew, invent, preach and any other sort of thing you need done. With the patient help of Ben's Grandma, Georgia, we made the first blind today. (she did most of the work) You'll never believe it, but there are coat hanger wires in the seams and I marveled at how Grandpa bent them so straight. Next he is going to help me hang the string for them.
I chose some beads for the bottom of the blind. I thought it would make it nice. Oh, and the window in the background is only primed, not painted yet. That window is where this particular blind will go...and no, you aren't getting a profile of my belly yet all right?! :)
I have been meaning for ages to do a blog about the Red-tailed hawk. I have never seen one in person until I came to Missouri. They are everywhere perched beside the roads hunting. I've made it a project of mine to learn a little bit about them. I thought you all would find it interesting too. When you get older don't you sometimes think, "man, if I had a research paper due now I'd do it on this topic." No? Ok, so maybe I'm the only one... but right now my research topic would be the red-tailed hawk. Let me tell you a little about them.
Their cry is used in movies to represent any eagle or hawk anywhere in the world. Apparently, eagles don't cut it with their cries. If you watch the video I will attach then you will understand. It's amazing and SCARY!
They are sometimes known as a "chicken hawk" although they rarely kill chickens. They are sometimes shot by farmers thinking they will take their chickens, but in other places they are protected by law.
Females are bigger than males!
Indians consider the feathers to be sacred and are used in religious ceremonies.
It flies 20 to 40 mph and while they are diving they may reach up to 120 mph.
Generally they are non aggressive towards humans... thank goodness.
They eat whatever comes their way. They eat birds, reptiles, and small mammals mostly.
When they reach 3 yrs old they are mature. They are monogamous... meaning they mate with the same partner for many years. (like eagles) Only if their mate dies will they get a new one.
When they are courting the male does an air show to impress the female with huge dives and big circles.... all the while screeching his head off.
Females lay 1 to 5 eggs at the beginning of April. (about one every day) Both the male and the female incubate the eggs although it's mostly the female while the male brings in food. They also both make the nest.
I know you may be tired of hearing about our house improvements, but that's all we've got to talk about at this point. Oh, and no, I'm not showing yet so I'm not going to give anyone a silhouette of my belly.
We have started painting the hallway right beside the kitchen. Ben chose the color and it's called "nuture". I think it's rather nice.
Here's the wall... I'm standing in the kitchen taking this photo.
This is what the cabinets looked like before... and the wallpaper.
This is after a few weeks of work. We still need to paint the window above the sink.
The kitchen as a whole.
Ben is not only hard working, but a wonderful husband. I told him to give me the best tired pose he could. He really was tired tonight.
In other news, we recently got some used furniture. This armoire looked normal sized until it got into our house. I still like it though. We bought a bed and two night stands too that match this.
Well... now that I'm in Kansas I feel like I ought to share some info about the state. I always like to know state information. I'm not sure why... so here it goes.
The state capital is Topeka, but the largest city is Wichita. (I've never been to either) Kansas is the 15th largest state.
Where did they get the name Kansas? Well... I've heard that it was named for Konza (also called Kansa or Kaw) Indians who lived in the area. I've also heard that the name is from the Sioux Indian meaning "south wind people." Not too sure.
Here is the state flag. You can't see it very well but it has a sunflower at the top because Kansas is the "sunflower state." It also has some people in covered wagons and Indians hunting bison on it. It also has the state motto: "Ad Astra Per Aspera", which means "To the stars through difficulty" in Latin. Inspiring huh?
The state song: Home on the Range The state tree: Cottonwood The state bird: Western Meadowlark
State Animal: Bison
There is also the state repile, the state insect and the state soil, but that's just getting ridiculous. Anyway... hope you learned something new about the mighty state of Kansas.
Some of you may wonder what I do during the day since I don't have a job. Well... I give myself assignments most every day. These pictures are some of what I did today amidst going to the bank and grocery store. Ben helps me when he gets home and by 9pm we are both exhausted!
As you can see in the first photo the evil brown wood color is showing.
Oh, and FYI... if you use painter's tape (the blue one) when you paint, take it off before the paint dries. Everyone must learn that the hard way.
In this photo you can see the new creamy white interior of our cabinets. They all will eventually look like this.
Today as I was going through some more boxes I came across this poem that I jotted down from a book I read one summer. I thought it was so beautiful that I should share it. The painting at the bottom is by an artist called Danny McGraw.... lovely.
Mom, What's It Like?
When you felt the foot within your womb, when the infant cry first filled the room... to think that you and heaven just circled the moon... what's that like?
And the day the bus pulled to a stop and you zipped the jacket up to the top and placed a kiss on a five-year-old's cheek and waved good-bye, then saw the trike- silent and still- what's it like?
The first time you noticed his voice was deep. The first time she asked if you were asleep and wanted to know when love was real, and you told her. How did you feel?
Then the candles were lit. She came down the aisle. Did you weep? Did you smile? And when your child with child told you the news, and in the quiet of the corner asked for clues. "Mom," she whispered, "What's it like?" What you told her would you tell us? Indeed, what is it like?
In recent days we've both been working on painting the kitchen. Ben especially has been working very hard. In his words- "once you start into it, you can't stop". I find it easier to stop than him it seems. :) Anyway, we've painted our kitchen yellow and we've had many a discussion if it's too yellow, too much egg yolky... you get the picture.
This is Ben posing.
This is Ben priming the cabinets. Notice the primer is bright white.
These windows have mainly been my project. I painted them a creamy white tonight. Aren't they lovely? (say yes... please)
This is tonight. We've decided to "glaze" our cabinets. It's hard to explain, but basically you paint the main color (for us the creamy white) and then you get the glaze (a brownish color called Cottonwood for us) and apply it. Then you wipe the glaze off a bit and the glaze stays on the grooves for a nice affect. We've never done this before, but I was impressed with the outcome.
Today I turn 31. I have a feeling my 30's will go by in a blur. Ben took me out for Indian food last night- YUM! It's my favorite... and to think I never had it until I met Ben. I had a concert tonight with my choir and while I was gone Ben went out and got a birthday present for me. It's a changing table I had admired on Craigslist. I think it's really great!
Today Ben and I went to the doctor's to have our first sonogram. We both found it very interesting even though it is difficult to make out what you are seeing most of the time. The lady giving my sonogram said that I was not as far along as I thought (I was not surprised). I was supposed to be 19 weeks and 1 day, but instead I am at 17 1/2 weeks by all the measurements she took today. That makes my due date at June 9th.
These pictures are hard to make sense of I guess, but the head is over on the right and the baby has its mouth open. The lady taking the sonogram said "maybe its singing." I thought that was pretty appropriate. During the sonogram we saw the heart beating and also we saw the baby sucking. She said she saw fluid in the baby's stomach so it's been drinking fluid. This second one is equally hard to distinguish. Again, the head is on the right (the baby was laying across my stomach long ways or transverse) and it is facing the camera with a hand up in front of its face.
The lady said that my placenta is to the back, so that means I'm going to feel this baby kick more. It's only 7 ounces right now she said. We have decided to not find out the sex of the baby. Ben wanted to be surprised and I have been talked into not knowing. After today's sonogram if she told me the sex I'm not sure I would believe her anyway. It's so shadowy. I figure the baby won't mind what color I paint its room anyway. We are so grateful everything looks ok.
Ben is becoming such a handyman! Here are some pictures of our work in the kitchen. I thought this first one was funny because he got spackling on his chin.
Here he is cutting cabinets. Our fridge hits the wall when we open it... so we decided to get rid of a cabinet.
Here he is with his saw.
Now we are priming. Does the work ever end?
I couldn't stand it anymore and had to see some of the color we chose on the wall. Here is one wall I painted. It's called "warm cocoon". I've personally never seen a cocoon that color! I like it.
On a completely different note I recently made my first quiche! Hurray! Happy New Year!
Today we have been working on some home improvement projects since Ben is off of work for President's Day. We decided to go ahead and paint our island we recently got. We used a special brush that is supposed to give the paint a fabric or "linen" look. Here's a close up. 
Here is one of my Roman blinds that I made. I haven't gotten them all hung yet. They were a lot of work, but I think they look nice.
