Progress!

After dropping Andrew off at school, Drew and I had to meet the fence guy at the house.  We were surprised by the progress that had been made in a day!  Our garage door is now up!

 They also cleaned up the rest of the back yard (there were a couple of trees they didn't get out of the way) and did all the leveling.  They graded the driveway, getting ready for concrete!

 I walked inside to find all the light fixtures in place....and my CABINETS!!!  Here's the dining room fixture. 

 Foyer light

 My KITCHEN!!! (Minus the granite countertops and cabinet doors of course)

 Oh, I can't wait to start baking in here!!!

Living room

 Master bath

 Aperture doesn't have the photo stitch option, so you'll just have to imagine the next two photos stitched together all panoramically perfect!  (back yard)

 The rest of the back yard

 View of backyard from the back corner of the property. 

Things are coming right along!  Each time I see the house I get more and more excited.  We also met one of the owners of the company today.  He came out to check on the property.  (Super nice guy!  Just one more reason to love Timberland Contractors!)  He seems to think that everything will be right on schedule.  The fence guy should be able to start on Friday (fingers crossed)!  There should be lots of updates in the coming weeks, so stay tuned!

3 weeks!...We'll See!

We drove by the house yesterday to check on the progress.  All the painting is finished (walls and trim), so they're ready to get started on the good stuff inside.  

The paint is all the same color.  You just can't tell because of all the natural light.

 Garage 

(I took this one first because all of the other doors were locked, but as you can see..the garage door is wide open.)

We also heard a rumor that our house will be finished in THREE WEEKS!!  I really hope so, but we'll see!

Shake it!

Shingles that is.... (Get it? Shake shingles - sorry, I'm super cheesy today) They were going up today when we met the fence guy at the house!

First Day of PreK

Today, my baby started PreK!  We've been talking it up for months, trying to prepare him.  I knew he was excited because he has been talking about for the past few days.  However, when 6:45 rolled around, he didn't look too thrilled.

He finally got up and was rushed to eat his waffles.  During breakfast  he said, "Momma, what day is tomorrow?"  I said, "Tuesday."  He followed up with, "Do I have to go to school on Tuesday?"  Right now we live about 30 minutes from his school, so we were running to get out the door in time.  We made it just in time for a VERY quick photo...too bad the sun was in his eyes.

 I snapped this one as he was walking in the door....apologies for the blurriness.

 You could tell he was a little nervous, but he was all smiles as he walked in and took a seat.   The goodbye was quick and painless like a bandaid.  (I waited until I got to the coffee shop to cry)


It's hard to believe that he's already in preschool.  This time next year, he'll be starting Kindergarten!  Where does the time go?


I'm happy for him.  I'm looking forward to all the good things ahead: making new friends, learning all kinds of things, and all that comes with growing up.  The hard part isn't letting go.  It's trusting a total stranger to be an influence for 15 hours a week.  I can't control what he hears, bad habits he picks up.  I can only cling to the promise of God in Proverbs 22:6, "Train up a child in the way he should go and when he is old, he will not depart from it."  I'm claiming that for my son!


*He had a great first day!  He didn't want to talk about it at first, but soon he was talking all about it!  He's looking forward to tomorrow!*

Afternoon at Navarre Beach

Drew's brother, Adam, drove over to see us last night, so after church we decided to go to the beach! (Thanks Adam...if it weren't for company Drew would never go to the beach! lol) We went straight from church so Uncle Adam took a family photo in our cute matching outfits.  (Thanks Mom, for the boys' matching shirts.  They're very handsome!) 

 Then after a quick wardrobe change we hit the beach.  *I forgot my slippahs so you should have seen me walking around in my bathing suit with my red high heels...it was quite hilarious!*

 Uncle Adam chillin' in the ocean

 Andrew has learned to float over the waves, so he loves the ocean.

 After this picture, I left the boys in the water and fell asleep under the tent!  It was heaven!

 Andrew didn't make it very far on the drive home before crashing....with a chicken sandwich in his hand!

We had a pretty fun afternoon.  It was good to see Uncle Adam too.  Don't be a stranger Uncle Adam...come back to see us soon!

Looks a Little Different

We drove by the house today after church.  I wanted to see what the inside looked like with actual walls!

dining room from front door

 breakfast nook/partial kitchen view from living room

 bonus room

 Andrew's bedroom

 Living room.  French doors lead to back yard.

 view of dining room/foyer from living room (that's my favorite)

 laundry room (excuse the sweaty worker)

So it's starting to look like a real house!  Can't wait to see what they do next!

Things About Hawaii That NEVER Get Old!

I started this post in March, when we were spending our last few weeks in Hawaii.  For some reason I never posted it.  Probably because I wanted to put a picture with each of my "favorite things."  Whatever the reason, I revisited the post and thought it was time to post it.  So aside from me telling you about my recent (quick) trip to Hawaii, there's a list of all he things I love about Paradise.  


Like I said, this trip was quick...4 days.  And it came up just as quickly.  Unexpectedly, our renters had to move, so we had to find new renters, which we did on the first day we listed the house (Thank you, Lord!)  We were shocked that it happened so fast  and God's timing in this has been just perfect.  Drew had to stay and work, Mom and Dad had been asking if they could keep Andrew before he starts school (in 3 days now), so it worked out that I got to go by myself.  You're probably thinking...."lucky girl to get a vacation without a husband and kiddo"...well, it was mostly WORK.  We had our countertops fixed, locks changed, carpets cleaned, and an unexpected plumbing problem to pop up, so it wasn't much of a "vacation," but I did manage to squeeze in a little fun.  


I landed at noon-thirty and drove as fast as I could to my old church to wish Grandma Ball a Happy 88th Birthday.  I got there just in time to see her walking to her car.  She was SO surprised to see me!  She had no idea I was coming.  So I visited with a few church folks before heading over to see my friends on base, the Cronkrights.  Then I drove back to Waianae just in time to see the sunset from our lanai.

 And I had to take some pictures to show Drew his traveling palms.  (They were about 2 ft high when we planted them) and the banana jungle in the corner...I planted one little short one.  They've grown!

 That big bushy thing in the right corner is a tangerine tree.  It needs to be groomed a little but it has FRUIT on it finally!

 God painted me a nice Thomas Kincaid sky that first night.  The purples were amazing!

The next night, there weren't that many clouds in the sky, but it was still beautiful to watch the sun sink into the water.

 
 The view of the rest of our street isn't so bad, either!

 Monday the countertop guys came in the morning and in the afternoon, so the only time I left the house was to go get food.  I finished reading "The Help" (GO..RUN..see the movie!) and I actually had a little time on Tuesday afternoon to meet up with my friend, Ashley, and see the movie.  Then I had to fight traffic back to Waianae.  I had dinner with my neighbors, The Nelsons!  Mackenzie loved Andrew to death and she was disappointed that he wasn't with me.  The next day, the new renters came for a walk through, the guys came to change the locks, and the plumber came back to reinstall the sink.  Wednesday afternoon was the first chance I had to go to the beach.  I went with my other neighbor, Silke and her family.  We stayed a couple of hours and then went home to get cleaned up.  Silke was nice enough to invite me to dinner at her house.  She and Jerry always have a delicious spread! Afterwards we deiced to go sing karaoke at the Shorebird.   It was a pretty busy night so I only got to sing once.  But it was fun and I'm glad Silke went with me!

Thursday was a crazy day!  It started when I woke up at 6:30 to drive over to the windward side and return the air mattress that the Mills' let me borrow.  I had planned to meet my friend Courtney at Starbucks and she surprised me with Krista and Emily!  It was so good to hang out with them...even it was only for 30 minutes.  I miss these girls!

Then I had to drive like crazy back to Waianae to meet the plumber.  While he was working,  I did the touch up paint.  He finished up around 12, so I went to get some lunch and go to the beach for 2 hours. I sat in a chair on the secluded end of the beach.  It was great!  Great UNTIL....I had to say goodbye.  I had a plane to catch so I had to shower and finish packing.  I left at 5 for the airport.  :(

It was so good to be able to go back to Hawaii.  I miss it already.  I guess we'll get to go back the next time we get a tenant.  But I told Drew that next time he'd come with me and we'd stay MUCH longer than 4 days!


*Here's what I started back in March...


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Ya know, a lot of southerners don't like being stationed in Hawaii.  The culture is completely different, traffic is bad, and they get island fever.  Remember we're on an island about the size of Marshall County, so there's only so far you can go!  But for me, I love it.  I have always loved it.  So, in my last 10 days on island, I find myself feeling very nostalgic.  Every time we drive by one of my favorite landmarks, I say to myself (and sometimes out loud, "That's the last time we'll see (fill in the blank.)"  I thought about a tribute blog post.  I'm sure this post will do NO justice to how I truly feel about Hawaii, but hopefully you'll get a glimpse!


Someone once asked me if I ever get tired of the island life or if I ever get used to the beauty around me?  The answer: NO!  Sure we get in routines and our busy lives distract us sometimes, but there are some things about this place that just NEVER get old!  So here's my list in no particular order:


1.  THE SMELL OF PLUMERIA
I fell in love with Hawaii the moment I stepped off the plane.  I was immediately struck by a floral scent coming from somewhere.  (I didn't know then)  Turns out, it was the plumeria.  The Honolulu Airport is open-air and there are beautiful flowers and trees planted all around.  And with the warm winds blowing, it's impossible not to smell something yummy!


2.  HUMPBACK WHALES
FYI: Humpback whales migrate to Hawaii in the winter to have their babies in the warm, shallow waters.  I still remember the first time I saw a whale.  I had only been here for about a week.  We only had one car at the time, so I took Drew to work before heading to my Bible Study at the base chapel.  I had a couple of hours to kill so I took my breakfast to pyramid rock beach and sat on the hood to watch the waves.  Next thing I know, I saw a spray shoot up into the air.  It looked just like cartoon whale sprays!  So I knew what it was.  Soon enough, the whale breeched and dove down deep so I could see his tail!  It was amazing and it still is!  I could sit and watch the whales all day long!


3.  THE VIEW OF KANE'OHE BAY FROM THE H-3
There's something about coming through the tunnel and seeing that amazing view!  The bay, chinaman's hat, the marine base...it's all there.  The shallow waters around the sandbar are some of the most brilliant shades of blue I have ever seen.  I can't describe it, you just have to see it for yourself.  It literally is breathtaking.


4. SHORE BREAKS AT WAIMEA BAY
In the summer, the water at Waimea looks pretty flat, making it perfect for swimming and snorkeling.  However, the real fun happens in the winter.  Some days the ocean gives you the most perfect shore breaks (waves that appear really close to shore and "break" on the "shore").  They are so much fun to play in!  They're great for body-surfing.  One of my most favorite "play days" in Hawaii was spent at Waimea Bay with the Herring Family.  They were in town and I promised them a good time on the north shore.  We stayed in the water playing until well after sunset.  (something I don't usually do because of all the critters that come out at night)  Being a kid and playing in the waves can't be beat. There's also a giant rock to jump off of; something I had never done in my 6 1/2 yrs on island until June 2010.  It took me about 30 minutes but I finally did it...but alas there is no photographic proof.  There are lots of lava rocks in the water and some people like to swim down and spell out words with the rocks.  The day I jumped, it read: JESUS.  So when I jumped, I looked to Jesus. :)


5.  FRESH COCONUT, PINEAPPLES, MANGOES, AND APPLE BANANAS
Having fruit all year long never gets old.  I don't care what you say, the pineapples in Hawaii are much better than anywhere else in the world!  And I love going to the North Shore so I can stop at the roadside fruit stands and get fresh coconut and apple bananas. ***This trip, my banana trees and tangerine trees have finally started producing.  And I had to come home with a box of pineapple!**


6.  BEACHES
There are so many beaches to choose from, I couldn't possibly pick a favorite!  I spent a lot of time at north beach, waimea, pokai bay, the lagoons at Ko'Olina, and lanikai beach to name a few.  At any time on this island you're only about 15 minutes from some beach somewhere.   You just can't escape their beauty and they never get old!  ** I also adore Ka'ena point.  It feels like you're at the end of the earth out there.  Not to mention you can't beat the sunset view!  I spent 2 hours there yesterday before saying goodbye to Hawaii all over again.  


7.  WEATHER
With an average yearly temperature of 75 degrees, the weather is something you can't complain about!  It's perfect!  In the winter, the highs will be around 75, lows around 70.  In the summer, you can expect around 85 degrees with a low of 78.  Now sometimes in the winter the temps dip down into the low 60's and that's when we freeze!  Don't laugh!  I know in Alabama when it gets into the upper 60's we start wearing shorts, but here, that's grounds to break out the winter coat!  On the windward side (east) of the island it rains almost every day, just for a few minutes.  The west side is pretty dry.  When we lived in Waianae, it didn't rain very often in the summer.  So if ever there were a place with perfect weather, Hawaii would be it!  ** This trip was a perfect break from the Alabama and Florida humidity, though I hear you guys had some "fallish" weather while I was gone. NOTE: That "fallish" was NOT here when I landed**
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I'm sure there are thousands of other things I could write about beautiful Hawaii, but those are 7 of my favorites.  My Grandmother called to ask if I had a good trip, which I did.  She said "Hawaii will feel like home to you for a LONG time."  I agree.  
I'm back on the mainland now, but already longing for the next time I get to go "home."

My Kitchen

While in Hawaii my sweet hubby sent me this pic of some of the progress on the inside of the house!  We're down to the finishing touches...yay!

Blueberry Muffincakes

Some of you have asked about the blueberry muffin recipe, from the pictures on facebook, so I decided to just blog about it!  I mean, why not?  I did take pictures during the process. :)


This is a very simple recipe; so simple in fact, that my Aunt Andrea could do it!


Preheat your oven to 400 degrees.  
1 1/2 c all purpose flour                   1/3 c vegetable oil (I use melted butter)
3/4 c sugar                                       1 egg
1/2 t salt                                           1/3 c milk (I use buttermilk)
2 t baking powder                            1 c fresh (or frozen) blueberries


Mix all the dry ingredients (left column) in a bowl.  Add the wet (right).  Mix well and fill muffin cups 2/3 of the way full.  *It's a really thick batter so the blueberries won't sink to the bottom during baking.* Bake for 20 min! See...piece of cake!  The first time I made these, I didn't have any cupcake wrappers and just had to grease the muffin tins.  It didn't matter since this batch was for our breakfast.  They didn't last very long anyway!

 When I made the second batch a few days later, I had my workers in mind. I didn't want to take plain old muffins. I wanted something with a little more pizzaz!  I wanted to make some kind of syrup to either top them or fill them.  So I threw some blueberries, light corn syrup, sugar, and a little water into a saucepan and cooked them for about 20 min until it reduced to a thick, sticky syrup.  Sorry, no measurements this time.  I was just experimenting.  But it turned out well.  (That would be the sticky blue goo in the bowl and on top of a couple of muffins in this pic.)  After cooking the goo, I strained out all of the skin and seeds.  Andrew had already gotten his hands on one when I took this picture!  He approved!

 After I had a couple of muffins topped with the blueberry syrup, I decided to turn it into icing instead.  So, I just threw in some crisco, powdered sugar, water (or milk) and vanilla and beat it until it was well mixed.  It had such a nice, light flavor.  I'm a fan of experimental blueberry buttercream!  And what a pretty color!

 Next, I piped on some icing, put them in my cupcake holders, and drove them to the workers.  (Ok, so I ate one first, but you get the idea.)  They were Yum- O!

 Now, go get in your kitchens and try it!  Let me know how it turns out!  Happy Baking. :)

Insulation? Check!

I made some banana cupcakes for my workers and wouldn't ya know...we got to the house and NO ONE WAS THERE?! (So the workers up the street got to basque in the yumminess.)  Anyhoo, since no one was at the house, it made it a lot easier to roam around.  I was hoping to see the beginnings of sheet rock going up, but there was only insulation.   But as you can see, the drywall is next on the list.  There were huge piles of it everywhere.  Let me tell you..I DO NOT envy the drywall crew! (Kim, can I get an AMEN?)  This photo is standing on the kitchen wall looking into the living room, which looks into the 3 bedrooms on Andrew's side of the house.  (Excuse the quality of cell phone pics)

 Master bedroom

 Andrew's playroom, also known today as the "cotton candy" room, was considerably cooler with the insulation.  It's amazing what a difference it made EVEN before they finish the room.  The insulation made my ears pop in here today.  Crazy, I know.  

Tomorrow they should be hanging drywall.  Then it will really start to look like a house on the inside.  


I'm going to miss a lot while I'm in Hawaii next week.  Drew will have to update me with pictures while I'm gone.