funny frights

I am not a huge advocate for Halloween, but this kind of scary I can handle. Enjoy! And Happy Reformation Day! :)

Watch for Taylor Swift, I think she's the funniest!

recent faves

Following, find a few discoveries that I can endorse with enthusiasm!

1. The Shark Steam Pocket Mop

My number one despised household chore used to be mopping. I never felt like the floors got completely clean - most of the time it seemed I was just redistributing dirty water all over the place. Plus I had to push so hard that often I got blisters on my hands.

No more, friends, no more. This so-much-better-than-a-mop appliance first caught my eye when Target ran a great sale on it in the Sunday paper. Brian researched it online and after reading many favorable reviews, he approved the purchase. It was a little bit of an investment - definitely pricier than your average mop. But let me tell you why it is SO worth it.

- It uses steam alone to clean the floors. No solution and no chemicals. I will never have to buy a cleaning product for my floors again.

- It works on any sealed surface: wood, tile, laminate, etc. After you use it, the floors literally squeak they are so clean.

- It includes five microfiber cleaning pads: two rectangle, two triangle (for corners) and one with dusting loops on it. Each one is double-sided and machine washable.

- It's so fast! It heats up in just 30 seconds and you're ready to go. After using, the floors dry almost immediately, leaving no streaks and no footprints if I accidentally walk back over it.

Bottom line: overnight, this gadget turned my most dreaded chore into the one I now anticipate the most. It is simply awesome. (I think Bed Bath & Beyond carries them too... you could get it there with a coupon.)

2. It's a 10

Just might be the cheeziest product name ever, right? Well, this leave-in product can call itself whatever it wants and I will remain a loyal fan. My friend Carrie first told me about it last spring, but I had some other products I wanted to use up first so I just bought my first bottle a couple of weeks ago. I'm kicking myself for waiting so long!

It's named for the 10 things it claims to do, including repairing dry damaged hair, adding shine, smoothing and controlling frizz, detangling, enhancing body. Sound too good to be true? I thought so too. Until I tried it. With hair that is partly curly, partly wavy, partly straight with a little bit of frizz thrown in, I usually have to use a heavy conditioner and several products while styling. I worked up the courage to try the purple bottle solo and, no lie, my hair has never looked better.

Oh, and you can get it at the salon inside of Walmart!

3. Chase Mobile Banking Instant Deposit

This favorite has a couple limitations: you have to bank with Chase and you need to be an iPhone user. If you don't fit that criteria, skip this one.

This has to be one of my favorite apps. It allows me to deposit my checks (up to $1,000 per day) from home. All I have to do is use my phone to take a picture of the front and the back of my check. The deposit goes through immediately!

The other night, I made a deposit at midnight, just because I could. :)

4. The Vidalia Chop Wizard

Ok, I don't actually have this product yet, but it's on my must-get list. You may have seen it on an infomercial. Before your guard goes up, I have actually seen this used in real life by the woman who is hosting my Apples of Gold Bible Study. It REALLY WORKS!

In one whap, you can instantly chop onions or any other vegetable, fruit, cheese, chicken, really anything that can be diced. It comes with several different-sized cutting inserts. It's dishwasher safe. And the container where the chopped pieces fall doubles as a measuring cup. Cool! No more tears when chopping onions! I believe you can find these at BB&B as well.

If you decide to try any of these things (or maybe you discovered them long ago), let me know - you won't be sorry!

drink water to give water

Today, Living Water kicks off a new campaign called 10 days. They've reached out with this challenge: drink only water (no purchased drinks) for 10 days and donate your savings toward clean water wells.

While their primary target is college kids who typically consume multiple beverages per day, it's a good reminder for me to evaluate any little expenditures that I could easily do without! Creative giving opportunities abound if I'll only take the time to think outside the box. A little saved here in the US can make a huge difference on the other side of the globe.

Oh, and my talented little bro shot and edited this piece. :)

24 hrs in houston

Last weekend we were privileged to attend the wedding reception of our good friend, Cody Nath. Brian and I have known this guy since we were five years old (I looked for a kindergarten picture of us together, but I think our parents must have all of them)!

Cody got married this past summer in Grand Cayman. It was a beautiful time for their families to witness, but he and Christine also wanted to throw a party that all of their friends could attend.

Guess who had the honor of designing their invitations?

The reception was so fun! Especially because we got to reconnect with some other dear friends, Steven Reinemund and his lovely wife, Cristina. Although we only went to school with Steven for one year (fifth grade), over the years and the miles, he's remained a very special friend.

Cody and Steven were both in our wedding and Brian was a groomsman in Steven's wedding a few years ago. We feel so blessed by these lifelong friendships God has given us!

We flew down to Houston on Saturday morning and came back on Sunday afternoon. It was a pretty short trip, but we wouldn't have missed it for the world!

This was also the first time we have left the dogs in the care of someone other than family. The brother of a guy in our small group graciously agreed to spend the night and take care of them. I'll admit I was a little nervous to leave, since both dogs tend to suffer a bit of separation anxiety: Stryder's is manifested in upset stomachs and Annabelle's in eating non-edibles. I left two pages of notes (what kind of crazy mother am I going to be??) and I'm happy to report that both of them did just fine!

first date

Look back six years ago tonight, and you'd find two nervous, excited friends driving down country roads toward a corn maze in rural Kansas. A couple of goo-goo-eyed 23-year-olds, completely unaware that in six years, they would be looking back on this date as the night it all began.

Awwww.... :) Read on, it gets better!

Six years ago, I was living in Wichita with my parents and Brian was in his second year of dental school in Kansas City. We had spent a lot of time together the previous summer, and while we both knew there were mutual feelings between us, nothing had officially been verbalized. Several weeks before October 15, B let me know he would be coming to Wichita and asked me to reserve the evening for a mystery date. He showed up that crisp, fall night with handwritten clues I had to solve that would lead us to our destinations.

The first one took us to Barn'rds (Wichita's yummiest sandwiches) for dinner. This may sound like a lame first date but seriously, they have the BEST sandwiches. I was not disappointed by this choice in the slightest, because my gracious date even bought me one of their sugar cookies with orange frosting and a candy corn on top. Is it pathetic that I remember the cookie I ate? :)

The next clues brought us to the Bergmann Family Corn Maze in Haysville, KS. This little country attraction is a fall wonderland. There's a pumpkin patch, hayrack rides, apple cider, popcorn, scary movies playing in the barn and of course, the infamous corn maze.

(For those of you who don't live near corn and have no concept of said maze, visualize 15 acres of corn taller than your head. Walking paths have been strategically cleared throughout it, and you have to find your way from one end to the other. In the dark.)

Thanks to the flashlights Eagle Scout Brian brought for us, we eventually made it safely through the maze, took advantage of some cider and popcorn, and snuggled under a blanket to watch The Ring (scary!) in the barn. No hand holding yet, but I do remember sitting awfully close. And I'm pretty sure I acted more terrified by the movie than I really was, just for the excuse to bury my face in his shoulder.

Unfortunately we didn't take any pictures together at the corn maze, but six years later I can still remember everything so clearly. Autumn time, especially October 15, will forever evoke memories of those sweet early days together. Happy first-date anniversary, B!

I just looked up all of our October 15's together since 2004 - how much can change in a year! Here's a sampling -

2005: 2.5 months out from our wedding, our lives were hectic but the future was bright.

2006: We were living in KC. I was in a job that was killing me. Brian planned a special weekend trip to Big Cedar Lodge in Branson, MO to lift my spirits.

2007: Still living in KC, now working for myself, B had graduated and was in his AEGD program. On the 15th we were once again in Branson to celebrate the wedding of a dear friend.

2008: On Oct. 15, we moved out of our apartment in Lancaster, PA. On Oct. 16, Brian flew to Indianapolis to interview for one of seven spots in their ortho program.

2009: Now living in Indianapolis and B was a first-year ortho resident. Praise the Lord. We hosted new friends in our home for dinner.

2010: We'll be packing our bags and going to bed early, more on this to come!

growing pains

I'm A Good Girl I Am (Annabelle's fancy given name) still has some work to do before she can back her title up with her lifestyle. She's been a bit naughty over the past few weeks. I should have taken pictures along the way, but the one below will have to do.

Uh oh.

Bad girl, Annabelle, B.A.D.!!!!!!!!

It all started when we came home two weeks ago to find only traces (on her dog bed) of a medium sized cardboard box I had left near the front door. The contents, thank goodness, were in tact along with the protective plastic bubbles, but the box itself was nowhere to be found. Annabelle had a tasty cardboard snack that evening.

I came home a few days later to find bits and pieces of our mail strewn across the house. Every day the mailman puts our deliveries through a slot that falls into a box inside our wall, and then we open a little door in the wall to get it out. Well, the mail must have been heavy and fallen through the door onto the floor. Maybe Annabelle thought the envelopes were a predator trying to get into her home? Whatever she thought, she clearly took the victory over our mail that day. And we were left guessing on the totals of a few bills.

A couple of days later I went to Target. As often happens there, I went in for a birthday card and left with a birthday card AND a really cute jacket. I tried it on for Brian and then draped it over the back of a chair in our dining room. The hanging tags were just too much for a little girl dog to resist. The next day I found my coat in the living room, covered in dog hair and lying on top of Annabelle's bed. All of the tags, as well as the plastic bag housing the extra button, had been devoured. Brian convinced me that the button would pass (not that I wanted it back), so I checked her "passings" for days afterward... but I never did find it.

Lastly, the incident pictured above. Why, at nearly 11 months old, is she chewing on wood now? WHY?!?!?!? She has been SO good up until this point. We have no idea what is going through her little brain, except that she's going through some sort of hormonal phase. Or so we hope.

After hearing a terrifying story yesterday from a guy at Brian's school whose 6 mo. old golden died after eating a sock, we finally got out the crate last night. Back to confinement when we leave the house. We HATE putting her in there, but as our parents told us when they disciplined us, so we now tell her: "It hurts us more than it hurts you. We do it because we love you!" :)

a long-awaited visit

Last week, my parents finally came for a visit! We've been trying to schedule a time for them to come ever since we moved, so we'd been looking forward to this for quite a while! My mom had been here once (she helped us moved in), but during that time the house was in disarray and we were using our GPS everywhere we went. We were SO excited to show Mom and Dad around and introduce them to some favorite places that we have discovered during the past year.

Our first morning started out with a bang. Literally. While backing out of the garage, I was blabbing about something and ran the front of my car into the edge of the garage door. Uh oh. Thankfully, the guy who was riding in my backseat is the ultimate fix-it man and the problem was resolved by the end of the day. Seriously, he can fix ANYTHING, even a huge dent and a big white paint smear on the side of a black jeep. And he did it with only a 2x4, some goo gone and a little bit of polish. Thanks, Dad. :)

Some highlights from their trip:

- Our first stop, which was the Fresh Market in our neighborhood. I know it's ridiculous that I take pretty much all of our visitors to a GROCERY STORE, but it's just an amazing place! It's so beautiful and relaxing (sadly, I rarely walk out with a purchase because their prices are pretty high, but it's still fun to look)!

- Bub's Burgers and Ice Cream. Friday night we enjoyed gorgeous weather as we sampled Bub's famous burgers and shakes on their outdoor patio. Mmmhhmmm...

- We spent all day Saturday at Ken Ham's Creation Museum, which is about 2 hours south of Indy. After hearing rave reviews since it opened a few years ago, we had high expectations for our visit. We were not disappointed! From the planetarium to the dinosaur models, to the recreation of the Garden of Eden and Noah's Ark, the museum was filled with top of the line exhibits and fascinating displays that gave glory to God, Creator and Designer of the Universe. We would recommend the museum to anyone (especially families with kids)!

- Ambrosia. Our FAVORITE restaurant in Indy, hands down. Authentic, old country Italian. The type of place where all of the dishes are secret family recipes and made from scratch (even the pasta). Chances are if you have visited us over the past year, we have taken you here. You might notice that our plates in these pictures are practically licked clean.

- Our tour of the Indianapolis Speedway. Coincidentally, this year marks the 100th anniversary of the racetrack that hosts the Indy 500 race every year! We got to drive the 2.5 mile track and visit a museum that houses many of the winning vehicles, some of which date back to the late 1800's! For my sweet Dad who was a bit obsessed with cars in his "BC days" (as he refers to his life before Christ), the museum was a special walk down memory lane. We loved hearing him tell stories from his childhood and provide unique insights into the development of racing cars.

- Riding bikes on the Monon. After hearing about this trail that runs straight through the entire city (with an entry point just a couple blocks from our house), my mom has been DYING to ride a bike on it. She finally got her wish! We were blessed with cool fall temps and spent several hours enjoying a peaceful ride. Now, Mom is on a mission to see that Wichita builds a trail just like it... :)

- BRICS (Broad Ripple Ice Cream Station). Oh wow, this neighborhood ice cream shop is good. It opened just a few months ago in a 100 year old railway station - it's right off the Monon, so close that we can walk to it any time that we want to. All of the ice cream is made in Indiana and it is simply delicious. So delicious that we had to visit twice. :)

- Zionsville (an adorable suburb of Indy). Note to self: don't visit here on a Monday. Everything is closed. Oh well. We have a memory, a very short one, that will make us smile and remind me to always check store hours before making plans.

- Our welcoming committee. Every time we came back to the house, Stryder and Annabelle were at the window, beyond anxious to greet us. As you can imagine, they were spoiled with love and attention by the grandparents. For days after my parents left, the dogs would run down to the guest room in the morning, to check and see if they were there. Awww.

Well, that probably sums up their visit pretty well! Thanks for the great memories, Mom and Dad! Love you!