For Our Viewing Pleasure

This is our other recent purchase that I alluded to in my last post. J has been looking at TVs for about the last 5 years. Our current Tube was a Shopko return. J worked in the Shopko merchandising/returns area in college. So our TV doesn't work when it's really humid. BUT now we have this lovely new TV! :)










The very large box it came in...
We tried to put this in the back of our friend's Forerunner but it didn't fit. It has to ride home upright to avoid breaking and problems to the plasma screen. So we ended up using twine from the Sears guy to support it in the back of the truck. And I rode home with my arm out the back window for extra support on the corners and bumps.
Now our evening are mostly filled with J figuring out all the new settings and features. I think I'll like it more when we get past this stage and just watch it like normal. Some days new electronic toys are more hassle than fun. :)

My Favorite Husband & Chef

The cast of characters...
A few weeks ago after church I began craving an Egg McMuffin or a Bagel 'n Egg sandwich from McDonald's. J said 'no' because we will not be indulging my every craving - it's not healthy and I would gain 100 pounds! We even drove past McDonald's and I begged to no avail. Then my genius hubby said he could make one for me at home. I wasn't so sure. I really wanted that fake looking patty of eggs. And I was doubtful J could produce that or anything as good as I imagined it would be at this moment. OOH how wrong I was!!!
This picture is from the second time we've had these sandwiches of egg, bacon, cheese and English muffins. The may not be as structured as McDonald's but I think they're way better tasting! I am so impressed by my hubby and to blessed that he likes to cook and is good at it!




A little extra bacon and some hash browns make it the perfect Sunday lunch. Satisfying and nap inducing.










The other food I've been craving is coleslaw. Not just any coleslaw but only the world's best! I am very picky about this. Coleslaw from the grocery store has this weird tang to it and at restaurants it's just not creamy or homey enough. I finally called my Granny for the perfect recipe. It's from our Mennonite church recipe book and is actually from Dresbach's in GI. Sadly Dresbach's is no more... no more fried chicken and sides in the park. BUT the coleslaw lives on! It's perfect - nice and creamy with just enough vinegar to keep it from getting too creamy. Thanks to Dresbach's, Mennonites and Granny, I can count this craving satisfied!! Who knows what it'll be next.

Seats for our Seats

What do 3 huge boxes on our porch...










Plus a pile of bubble wrap equal...










New Bar Stools!!! Finally! I've been looking for these forever. I knew exactly which ones I wanted. The challenge was finding them in espresso, not black and for a reasonable price. Did you know you can get these exact stools at Pottery Barn for $250? Outrageous!!










Here's the aftermath...










We also got a surge protector for our other new purchase thus the 4th box.

Yearly Flowers

Our 4th Anniversary was July 2nd. Sadly that morning came and we both forgot to say "Happy Anniversary Honey. Love you". Only 4 years in and we're already forgetting. And I forgot to give him a card. This year I've been really bad at the card thing - birthdays, anniversary - you name it and I forgot. So part way through the day J emailed me a reminder. And I asked if we were doing anything and if he remembered our deal. Yes and he did.
About 5 o'clock that afternoon these beautiful flowers showed up at my work. I love getting flowers at work!! I get to show off what a thoughtful hubby I have. I'm sure you're wondering what 'the deal' is. Well my practical husband thinks that flowers are a waste of money. They cost a lot and they die after a few days. I know it's true but I still want flowers. So the deal is that I get flowers once a year for our anniversary. Valentine's Day is ten times more expensive and my birthday is a close second to the anniversary. I'd say it's a good deal! :)
Our joint gift was going out to supper. We went to The Dish. Have you ever been there? The food is very good. But it's a little pricey. I expected a huge plate of food for the price and just got a fancy regular sized meal. So I'd say it's a good place to go for special occasions once in a blue moon. We love trying new food places and revisiting old favorites. Since I've know J, this has become one of my favorite things about going on vacation. He always researches the best places to eat wherever we go!
So it was a happy anniversary and I got flowers! :)

Reality TV - Love & Family

Maybe I watch too much TV. Or maybe I read too much entertainment news online. I completely get drawn into shows about real families or couples or couples falling in love. I think that's girl thing. I didn't watch much of the Newlyweds but was still sad when Nick and Jessica broke up. This was particularly disappointing to me because they claimed to be Christians who believed in the sanctity of marriage. And they believed that marriage was a lifelong commitment. Sadly they did not uphold this pledge. I don't think you can say reality TV broke their marriage but I sure don't think it helped. Marriage has enough challenges without adding the pressure to perform for TV viewers.
Today's latest Christian couple to face marriage failure is John and Kate. This case makes me even more sad because of the kids that are involved. How sad that they believe that divorce is better for them. This also makes me mad because this family in particular spoke often about going to church and how their faith was not highlighted in their show. Every time the rumors come out about a new 'good' couple splitting up, I don't want to believe it's true. But after a few months of rumors, it usually happens. Now I wasn't really surprised that Jon & Kate were having trouble. Anyone could see that on the show. Kate was overbearing and even rude to her husband. And Jon was usually just not engaged in his life as a husband and father. But I am even more shocked at their behavior now! They've barely filed their divorce papers - they're not even divorced yet - and they're hanging out all over the world with their new partners for the whole world to see! Kate's short comings were rather obvious on the show but Jon's issues are coming to light now. He clearly does not want to grow up or be a father all the time. And I wonder if his 22-year-old partying girlfriend is the best influence for his 8 young kids. It's so sad to see not just the failure but total demolition of another Christian family on the TV. No wonder the world says marriage is silly and outdated and unnecessary if this is the example that they see.

On to other TV notes, the Bachelorette was on again this week. I must say there is way less drama and way less to talk about now that Wes is gone. This was the week that the fast forward button was real handy! Why does the world believe it's necessary to sleep with your significant other to know if their marriage material?!? Jillian slept with 2 possibly 3 guys in a week's time and claims to be falling in love with them all. Eww and totally messed up. What I did like this week was seeing the sights in Hawaii. What a beautiful place! I'm going to miss Reid and his awkward silliness. But I'm looking forward to the Guys Tell All show next week. I imagine more Wes related drama is in store. I've decided that my favorite part of this show is the middle weeks - when there are less guys but the physical ickyness hasn't started yet.

On another completely different TV note... We've been watching the Tour de France (say it Fronce cause it's better!). I really love that I've come to enjoy this sport so Justin and I can watch it together. I won't share many details in case you're like us and record it and might be behind a few days. But this year is drama filled! Lance Armstrong is back and making waves. Justin can't stand him and hopes he doesn't win. I can't help but secretly cheer for him sometimes. :) The next couple weeks of the tour are going to be awesome! I recommend watching - it's on Versus. Limited coverage in the mornings and recaps in the evening.

What do you watch on TV? What do you watch with/for your spouse? How do you feel about the example of Christian marriages we see on TV?
Have you seen Fireproof? Now that's a movie that portrays Christian marriage realistically and honorably! I cried at every other scene. Think that has to do with hormones? :) Not the best made movie but definitely the best message I've got from a movie in a long time.

Home is where the Heart is

June included a trip home (to my parent's house). I like that it can be home too. I have 2 homes now!! :) This was shortly after we bought our new little cannon so I have lots of pictures. And lots of 'artsy' pictures since we were trying out the features.
Highlight of the trip may have been checking out Dad's barn - more like castle/monstrosity.
Here are some views from the top... This barn has a tower of sorts on the side. You climb a very tall ladder and then climb through a small hole in the ceiling. Then you climb through another small hole to the very top where you can look out and see forever. I love how the corn is all green this time of year. So beautiful!
Here's the fire pit down by the lake (aka puddle) where we had brats for lunch. Don't worry we boiled them first so they were cooked and all that was needed was browning/burning. I love brats.
Here are our artsy photos of the day. I have more but this post was getting full so maybe later. This one is of a knot on the post of the deck. I thought it looked cool!

We also got in some animal time while we were there. Here's brother A with Desmo - Good Puppy! Well Desmo is no longer a puppy but since he's a little hyper dog, I still think of him as a puppy. He's so funny! He thinks he's big so he barks and chases everything. He doesn't like J so he always growls at him. :) Hehe. My parents also have new kitties!! Three left out of five (I think) is pretty good. And they're so cute. They followed us everywhere when we were close by the dog house. Yes they live in the dog house with the dog. He's the papa. :) I tried really hard to convince J to let me take one home with no luck. But I think I'm wearing him down!
Now the absolute best thing about this trip was telling my parents they're going to be grandparents this winter!! :) Sorry no pics of that but when I have a bump to show off I will. Right now it's so small, I would laugh posting pictures!

Finally Jillian Finally!!

Good Bye and Good Riddance Wes! Monday's Bachelorette was fairly unexciting but very satisfying because she finally sent Wes home. And he finally fessed up to all the girlfriends rumors and proved he was scum once and for all.
I don't feel like spending time on a recap, so I'll just say I'm hoping for an Ed vs. Reid final. There is something about Kiptyn I don't really like. Well it's more that I don't care - he's not interesting and doesn't seem like a good match for her.
Only a few more weeks! What do you think?
Who will she pick?
Who should she pick?
Who should be the next Bachelor - Jake or Michael?

Guilty Pleasure

... The Bachelorette.
It can't be helped. I was a casual watcher but I got hooked on Deanna's season and can't stop. It is so sneaking how they've strung the last few seasons together so you just have to watch the next one. And it does not help that most of the girls in our flock are also hooked. We all DVR it and end it watching it at home or staying late after study to watch it together. Our husbands humor us and I think maybe even enjoy it a little. Then we all shriek and ooh and ahh and discuss all the details!
Monday was a real doozy or wicked as she says. I think Jillian has completely lost her mind! Wes is just awful. He's there to promote his band and their new country CD. He's even told the other guys that! And now we find out that he even has a girlfriend at home. Of course most the guys are too chicken to tell Jillian that. And the ones that do tell her, she doesn't believe because she really likes Wes and is following her gut. Good guy and totally stand up honest man, Jake showed up this week after being sent home to tell her the truth and she wouldn't believe it. Boy, she makes women falling in love look stupid!
So Monday they had the hometown dates and we were sure we knew which one was going home. But then Ed, who had left a few weeks ago for his job showed up begging to be taken back. And of course she said come to the rose ceremony and we'll see. She gave roses to...
Kipton - nice. Bad kisser. But a front runner.
Reid - nice but slightly spastic.
Ed - yay! I liked Ed. I think he might win. And surprisingly he seems normal. Jillian has been picking rather weird guys. But what do you expect when she thinks it's a requirement that they've had the hearts broken before.
Wes - arhg!! We do not like Wes. Jillian is so dense. You should see how all the guys moan and roll their eyes when she calls his name. She must be blind!
So Jesse and Michael go home. Jesse was no surprise. But poor Michael. He was the young sweet goofball of the bunch and had totally fallen in love with Jillian already. I'm thinking he might be back begging her to marry him. We'll see.

So if you have time to waste on Monday nights tune into the Bachelorette! But as we near the end of the season be prepared to fast forward some steamy scenes. This is my least favorite things about the show and this seasons promos hint that they will show more than we ever cared to know. Eww. Thank goodness for fast forward. I really hope I can break this guilty pleasure soon! But if Michael is the Bachelor next season, I might have to watch again.