winter wonderland
After only 3 and a half years of living in Nashville, we finally got to experience some Tennessee snow! It began snowing on Friday morning and by noon Cade was allowed to come home. The “state” had officially closed (which meant his company had no one to work for). It kept snowing all day, but the roads weren’t bad yet. We had a fun and relaxing afternoon, venturing out to Ugly Mugs for some coffee with friends.
Saturday morning we got up and took some pictures. Our neighborhood was so quiet.
Saturday afternoon we went “sledding” in our backyard with a few trash bags. Jordan, our neighbor boy, came over and helped us create a small path that the “sleds” followed. Cade and I also took a walk around the neighborhood but decided that by the afternoon the roads were too icy for our comfort.
It’s currently Sunday morning and we still haven’t gone anywhere. It is crazy to see how many cars try to make it up the small hill beside our house even though it is covered in ice (which is only beginning to melt). One car tried 4 times and finally gave up. Just now, another car came sliding towards our curb while trying to make the turn. Oh goodness.
I love the snow. It’s been the perfect excuse to stay home.
Filed under First time | Comment (0)New Year’s Eve (2009-2010)
For the last several years our New Year’s Eve plans have ranged from doing nothing, to going out to eat (just the two of us), to celebrating with about 30 people. This year, as we began to discuss plans with our close friends, we all decided that it would be really nice to keep this year’s event small and intimate. Shaka and Stephanie offered to host and prepare the main course. Will and Tiffany brought some crackers and cheese. Nicole (and Javier who came after his shift at the ER was done) made amazing creme brulé.
It was decided that we would dress up – which was super fun! (Cade even helped me straighten my hair… a first!)
We played some “get to know you” games during supper and then the boys worked on their Tetras skills.
Almost midnight!
Watching the “ball drop” on T.V.
The next morning Cade and I hosted breakfast at our house… some of them even came in their PJs. (I think we’ve begun a fun tradition!)
It is such a blessing to have close friends in Nashville!
Filed under just for fun | Comment (1)Marvelously made
The following book review is by NO means meant to be a hint about any baby happening in our personal lives! Just thought you should know upfront! =)
About six months ago, a friend of mine recommended this book to me: Taking Charge of Your Fertility by Toni Weschler. She had recently become pregnant and she was telling me that before that process ever began, she found the book to be extremely helpful and educational in more ways than just understanding a woman’s fertility. At the time I put that thought on hold but a few weeks ago my curiosity lead me to look it up on amazon. When I saw that there were OVER 1,000 five star reviews I just HAD to know what I was missing out on. I ordered my used copy for $4 and as soon as it arrived, in all of its 458 page glory, I began to read.
At first I was slightly skeptical because I’ve heard people talk about using the “natural method” of birth control but it never seemed to do the job (if you know what I mean). But now after reading the book, I would love to have a conversation if not confrontation with some of them to see if they were actually DOING what the book says.
All this to say that after being on the pill for 4 years, Cade and I have decided that we want to give my body a break from those hormones. Even if you aren’t considering changing the form of birth control you currently use, I would highly recommend this book simply to understand and appreciate your body more.
It is an excellent read and it will expand your concept of how awesome our Creator is too!
Filed under book review | Comment (0)Christmas 2009 – Indiana/Nisly style
This Christmas was spent with my side of the family – the Nislys to be specific. Ever since I was a little girl, my dad’s family has gotten together every three years. The siblings and grandkids (and now great-grandkids) live all over the US so it’s hard to have everyone travel much more than that. But we sure have a lot of fun when everyone is there. Many of my dad’s side had still never met Cade, so it was high time we made an appearance.
On the way to Indiana, I traveled up with my parents and Beth and Saulo to Illinois to visit my mom’s parents, who now live beside her younger sister. Duane, Lili and the boys came the last afternoon and spent a few hours there as well. Cade drove up to Indiana the day before Christmas since he had to work that whole week.
One of the highlights from our time in Illinois was when my aunt remembered a toy that my mom gave their family when we moved to Ecuador. This was probably my favorite toy growing up: a race track of sorts for marbles. Needless to say, Adrian and Jonathan were entertained for HOURS!
Once we got to Indiana, we were given the keys to a friend’s duplex. Saulo, Beth, Cade and I got to stay there by ourselves and had a jolly time talking and playing games into the wee hours of the morning. Both Saulo and Cade came away with renewed motivation for learning English and Spanish.
And it snowed!
The whole weekend was great, even though it was overwhelming because there were so many people there (around 80-90 I think.) Food was good. Talk was great and getting to show off my husband was the best!
While were in Goshen, we also got to meet up with my dear friend Shivy and her husband, Jeremy. I have missed having her close by. It’s hard to believe that it has been more than 10 years since we lived together in Ecuador and shared so many things.
Back in Nashville…
Cade and I had every intention of exchanging Christmas gifts this year… but it came and went without them. We talked about it a lot, and I am thankful that at least we are on the same page: when we need or want something throughout the year, we discuss it and then buy it. But it’s hard to go out and spend money for the sake of doing it when we have things, like a) a trip to Italy or b) a fence, that we are saving for instead. Cade’s parents however are WONDERFUL at giving gifts. So when we got our Christmas money, we decided that a shopping trip for a few new clothes was in order. We now both have a few great new pieces to add to our wardrobes. How fun!
P.S. Express is currently having a pretty good sale on sweaters and tops. That’s where I spent most of my $$. Thanks again Momma and Poppa T!
Filed under trips | Comment (0)Slacker
Yup. That’s me.
I haven’t updated my blog as I normally do and I honestly think the biggest reason is because I’m embarrassed. Yup. I made a commitment to photograph 365 days of my life and somewhere around Thanksgiving I gave up. There. I said it. I haven’t wanted to admit that because I hate not following through.
Oh, well. If I could go back and change my lazy attitude that took over, I would. But it’s done now.
I have also been really busy with a photographers conference this last weekend and I am SO excited about this year. I have a renewed passion and new ideas for how to continue to improve what I offer.
I’ll write some more of that later, but I wanted to at least break the silence. =)
Filed under about me | Comment (1)Basement Apartment – Improvements #2
Over the last few weeks we have been working hard to get our basement apartment ready for our new tenant. We started by replacing all of the windows and the main door. Then we repainted the entire basement plus all of the wood paneling in the living room/kitchen area that used to be a light green color (chosen by our previous tenant). This time we chose a neutral, light tan color for the walls and bright white for the trim.
My dad even got in on the action so that I could take 2 days off and travel with them to Illinois before Christmas. (Thanks again Dad for all of your amazing help!)
When we got back from Indiana, I finished up the white trim and then cleaned the apartment before we had our house appraised. We are working towards canceling the PMI we pay monthly on our mortgage. I’ll let you know as soon as we find out the details about that.
Here it is with the new paint and updates:
Cade put some nice trim around the top of the bar area and I had a lot of fun caulking it in. In fact, after I worked on the windows too I decided that caulkin’ should be my new profession ’cause I have some hot skillz. =)
The bedroom.
Bathroom. (Don’t forget to notice the new windows!)
We are pretty excited about how it turned out. Each year we keep making it better! =)
Filed under our first house | Comment (0)budgets
Cade and I have been trying to follow a monthly budget for around a year and a half. Keeping track of each category and the remaining monthly balance has always been frustrating to me because we hadn’t figured out a system to keep up with it. We usually just entered all of the receipts at the end of the month and looked back on what we had spent. Not very intentional. =)
So we recently created an account on mint.com.
Cade was really skeptical at first but after reading a lot about it, he thought it would be a great idea.
This secure site, allows you to enter your bank account information and then create a monthly budget. It recognizes your purchases or bills and divides them by category inside your budget. So as the month progresses, I can easily see in charts and dollar amounts how much I have left in each category. Needless to say, I am loving it so much!
You should try it.
Filed under First time | Comment (1)24 days of give-aways
You KNOW I am a huge fan of Dave Ramsey and I couldn’t resist telling you about his 24 days of giving something away – sometimes multiple items. So get yourself over there and sign up.
http://www.daveramsey.com/
Oh, to give like no one else!
Filed under just for fun | Comment (0)Thanksgiving 2009
Since we have been married (for the past 3 years) Cade and I have celebrated Thanksgiving with almost complete strangers. With our past work schedules it never made sense to drive anywhere too far for one day off. So this year, when we began discussing Thanksgiving plans with my family (since my parents were back in the states for 2 months) we decided to rent a cabin about an hour from our home. But then our plans changed a bit when Duane and Lily decided that they were going to Argentina and Brazil for a conference, which required them leaving on Friday. So we switched our days around and everyone arrived Monday night at our house. The basement apartment is currently not rented which also worked out perfectly to be able to host everyone – they each got their own bedroom. How fun! Cade had to work Tuesday and Wednesday during the day but he joined in the fun at night time.We had Thanksgiving Day all together.
I can’t resist little people in sleepers. =)
This ottoman was a huge hit with the boys. They were ON it at all times. =)
Of course we went to a park one day.
Adrian – the little dare devil, climbed to the top all by himself.
Both days when Cade came home from work, Adrian ran to give him a leg hug. It was really sweet to see how excited he was to see “Toi”. =) Jonathan enjoyed some fun with him too … our house has great areas for chases. Lots of loops between rooms.
It took 5 of us to make our cranberry salad (with my great-grandmother’s hand cranker.) It was fun… AND yummy!
Adrian has a slight obsession with “skate” (skate boards) so we drew about 10 little people on skate boards for him. Each time he would stop and count them all again then ask for “otro, peas”. =)
Lily was playing peek-a-boo with Jonathan from across the room. His laughter is so cute!
We made our first Turkey all by ourselves… and it was DELISH! (I picked out a 20 lbs. turkey before I checked my pan. Thankfully we were able to squeeze it in. Next time I’ll stick with 18 lbs. or less.)
Stage 2 – complete. Nice and golden brown. Now to wait until the prob thermometer timer goes off @ 161 degrees.
My new table (which you can’t really see because of all of the place mats – BUT we did all fit in!) Glorious!
We did some family photos upstairs in my studio. How fun!
Everyone got into Rock Band… even my dad. =)
The day after Thanksgiving, Beth and I did what we do best: Christmas trees. We used to do this together every year in Ecuador so it was fun to have help again. We tried to get the boys to serenade us with Christmas songs but all we got was more Rock Band. Better than nothing I guess. =)
Adrian joins the boys playing Rock Band. He came up with his own drum. =)
We had a fabulous time… and I miss getting happy hugs first thing in the morning accompanied by the biggest grins. My nephews melt my heart!
Filed under family | Comments (2)Promotion
A month ago, on October 1, Cade celebrated his 2 year anniversary working at NIC. When Matt, a fellow JBUer, first told us about the position that was open, I was confident that Cade would be offered the job. He dressed up and headed to the interviews and then wrote “thank you” notes (a “southern courtesy” I was made aware of during my TFLI days). It was indeed noted by the interviewer. =)
Two years and many projects later (one which lead to Cade meeting the Governor of TN), we began discussing how he could request a promotion during his upcoming annual review. Armed with the advice of some friends who work in similar corporate settings, Cade boldly talked to his manager and laid it out as he saw it. Needless to say, she didn’t bat an eye and told him she’d talk to the general manager.
A few days later, Cade was officially named “Lead User Interface Designer”. Boo-yao!
I am so proud of how hard Cade works and how motivated he is to constantly learn all of the new things that are required to stay on top of his profession. He is the most self motivated person I know and I am tickled pink to have him as my very own husband.
You rock, pookster!
We celebrated by going to Pei Wei… fancy, I know. =)
Filed under tootin Cade's horn =) | Comment (0)