Happy New Year!!!

Happy New Year everyone! 

I started this blog one year ago, and over 70 postings later am still enjoying chronicling Teddy and my activities.  What started as something for us to just keep track of what the heck we are spending our time doing, has become a time capsule of our year.

I've also been surprised to find out that friends and family are also reading it to keep up with what we are up to.  The blog has evolved over the last year, and I'm sure will continue to in 2011.  While 2010 was an amazing year, I have no doubt that 2011 will be even more exciting.  So, I'll keep writing, and hope that you'll keep reading. 

Thanks for the good times 2010 and keep them coming 2011!

The Guest Bathroom Remodel: Day 2

Day 2 of our remodel project started with demolition.  Who doesn't love to do a little demo?  We had to take off the trim and doors for the bathroom and the closet.  Teddy let me whack away at it first.  I'm not sure why he trusted me with the crowbar and hammer, but away I went.

Here's my first few swings with the hammer working to tear off that trim

And success, I've worked my way around the door and am pulling that trim right out of the wall

After I got all the trim off, Teddy worked on pulling out the door frames

Teddy had a few nails left in the walls, but I was amazed at how quickly those doors came down, and what a difference it made in the room to remove those old dark doors.  Remember what it used to look like?

Then Teddy got to work on some of the caulk repair in the tub, while I started painting the ceiling

Here I am trying out our handy dandy edging tool we just bought.  It's called the Shur-Line paint edger, and that thing is amazing!  No need to tape except for in a few tight spots.  It was so much quicker to get that done.  I'd highly recommend it.

While waiting for the ceiling to dry, Teddy just couldn't take the waiting any more and we decided to quick fit one of the doors to see what it would look like.  (...and see if it fit...)  Even just standing in there, it looks so amazing!  I can't wait until it is all finished.  Even Fozzie came by to check it out.

After a few hours the ceiling was dry enough for a second coat and then we got to work on the walls.  We went with the color Glass of Milk for the ceiling and Etched Glass for the walls.  It's a nice soft blue that really makes the white tiles pop vs. blending in like before.  Teddy's having some fun here painting away.

Finally the first coat of blue is done.  We decided to get one more thing done before calling it a day.

Installing our new and improved light fixture!!  It's more than twice as bright, and a lot more attractive than the old version.  Remember what that looked like?

It's quite the improvement, if I do say so my self. 

So, day 2 is done, and we are starting to see what the end product will look like. 

Tomorrow is Day 3, and will be all about the doors, and keeping our fingers crossed that it will be the last day.  But now that I've jinxed us, I'm sure there will be a day 4.  :)

The Guest Bathroom Remodel: Day 1

It seems to have become a tradition that the week between Christmas and New Years is some sort of remodeling project for Teddy and I.  Last year it was the basement and the remodel that spurred this blog.  This year we decided to tackle the guest bathroom.  It's probably the smallest project we have on our list, so we thought it would be something we could definitely get done in the few days we had between the holidays.  This is more of a cosmetic remodel than a major bathroom overhaul.  We're keeping the tub, toilet, vanity, mirror, but changing the light/fan fixture, doors, trim, paint, toilet seat, faucet, towel bars, toilet paper holder and doing some caulking repair. 

Here are some before pictures.

The trim around the windows is what we'll be switching the doors to.  We're going to be bringing in some color vs. the now white and yellowish cream color

Check out these original doors from 1971. 

Here's another original gem from '71 that is going bye bye

Day 1 was started by shopping for everything we needed for the remodel.  We hopefully got just about everything we needed and won't need too many follow up trips to the Home Depot or Menard's to finish it out.  We're doing the whole remodel for less than $1,500 with the highest cost items being the doors for the bathroom and linen closet, which with the trim, nails and other items needed were a little over $600.  So, close to half our cost.

When we got home we got to work getting started on what I thought would be the most challenging part of the remodel, the light fixture.  Since it has a fan in it, and the housing for the new one is smaller than the old, we would need to drywall part of the ceiling.  Plus anything with electrical makes me nervous.  Here's Teddy working on taking out the old one.

He ended up having to climb up in the attic to get it completely out and make sure the fan connection was in there right.

Here it is with the old fixture completely out.  That electrical box was a mess, and Teddy did some work to clean it up.

Here he is with the much more organized wiring getting ready to install the new light

He got the new housing up and in, and at this point was climbing up to the attic to connect the fan output to the white duct work that you see in this picture.  But you can also see here the giant hole in the ceiling that is from the old light.

Teddy then cut a piece of drywall to fit in the space perfectly

And began mudding over it.  It's already looking pretty good!

Here is the housing after one coat of mud on the new drywall. 

After finishing that we decided to call it a night while we waited for the mud to dry on that and the other spackling that was needed on the walls. 

Day 2 is up next.  Demo!

Flavagivmas

Every year for what has to be the last decade, Kris and Erica have hosted a Thanksgiving party at their house for all of crew, AKA Flavagiving.  This year, I think time just got away from everyone and there was just so much going on.  So, Teddy and I offered to host this year after Christmas.  Thus, Flavagivmas was born. 

I made beer ham, twice baked potatoes, a salad and Heather brought a pea casserole.  I also had cupcakes for dessert, and Erica brought all the yummy goodies left over from Christmas at her house.  Mostly, we had a great time catching up and playing some games.

Here's almost everyone finishing up dinner.  We lost a few attendees due to the flu, but we all partied on in their absence. 

Jon finally joined the party

Then it was time to break out the games.  I had quite the stack from Christmas.  We ended up playing Pictionary Man, Apples to Apples and Battle of the Sexes.  I have to say that Pictionary Man was a big hit.  It was a great twist on the classic game.

Here's the Lach girls with Kris getting ready to play some games.

I didn't get any other pictures of the night since I was too focused on fun, but I know others took some.  So if you have pictures, please post them on facebook so I can update this post with more pics!

We ended the night with some Lego Rockband and Mario Cart game playing.  I think I ended up going to bed around 4am.  That has to be some sort of record for me at least in a LONG while.  It was great to catch up with friends around the holidays! 

Also, I got a lot of questions on how I made my ham, so here is the recipe for beer ham.

Ingredients:

A Ham (not the spiral cut kind)

A beer

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees.  Put the Ham in a roasting pan on a rack.  Pour the beer over the top.  Seal it up with foil and bake in the oven 20 minutes for each pound.    For the last 15 minutes take off the foil. 

That's all there is to it!  You'll get a juicy, delicious ham that isn't very salty.  The alcohol in the beer pulls the salt out of the ham.  I also recommend getting the butt vs. the shank.  I bought the shank this time and I found it to be more fatty and to have more connective tissue than the butt portions I've bought in the past.  It's super easy and yummy every time.

Christmas Recap

I cannot believe Christmas is already over.  Time caught up with us and before we knew it, it was the Eve of Christmas Eve, and Teddy and I found ourselves at Oakbrook mall fighting with all the last minute shoppers our there.  Yes, we got 90% of our shopping done the day after Thanksgiving, but then didn't hit another store until December 23rd.  Oops!!  It was insanely crowded, but we divided and conquered getting the last gifts bought.  I think the traffic in and out of the mall was the toughest part.  It took close to 30 minutes to go 20 feet.  Serious gridlock.  That night we finished the food prep for the parties the next few days, finished up the wrapping and got some rest before all the activities ensued.

Here's a few pictures of our tree fully stocked with gifts.

Christmas Eve

On Christmas Eve, we headed over to my mom and dad's.  They were hosting the extended family Christmas that night, and we were doing our immediate family gift exchange before everyone got there.  There were gifts galore.  We couldn't believe all we received this year.  Far too many pictures to include them all.

Teddy and I before getting started

One of my favorite gifts, the dessert plates for our every day dishes

Teddy and I also got rocking chairs for our front porch

A few outfits for relaxing and work

Then it was Sara and Michael's turn

Sara got the pasta roller for her kitchen aid.  Time to make more ravioli?

A fun cupcake book

And my favorite gift, to Michael, from me.  Yep, he decided to get funny in his Christmas list and asked for a mankini, and guess what, he got it!  His reaction was priceless.  And Sara's was pretty good as well.  I wonder if he modeled it for her later? 

Mom was next and she finally got a kitchen aid mixer, after all these years of cooking without one.  And she got the pasta maker too!

Sara made her an awesome calendar

Dad got a fishing hat and shirt, which he loved

He also got Dale Earnhardt's latest Wheaties box framed

And a bunch of new cars for his Disney train set

The dogs were also having a good time.  Porkchop especially was enjoying climbing all over me for some reason

Then since Sara got a new camera for Christmas, we thought we should take a nice family portrait.  This one turned out great, but I think the next one is more representative of our family.

Yep, that's us.  Hmm, maybe the Christmas card next year?

Then dad and I helped mom sauce the ribs before everyone arrived.  Yep, we had BBQ ribs for Christmas Eve dinner.  They were awesome

It wasn't long before the house was filled and we were all talking, eating and drinking.  The kids were finally happy when we all gathered in the living room for gift time!  I got another great gift from my aunts and uncles, some mini Le Cruset pots for individual pot pies, potatoes, etc. 

Christmas Eve was a great success, my mom threw another great holiday!

Christmas Day

On Christmas morning, Teddy and I woke up to exchange some gifts before heading out to church.  Since we got each other the china cabinet for Christmas, we got eachother a few small things to open up on Christmas morning.  One of the things I got him was star wars pancake molds with chocolate, chocolate chip pancake mix.  So, I made us some pancakes that morning.

The molds were a little overfilled, but they tasted delicious. 

Then after church we headed up to Kris & Erica's house for the Christmas day festivities.  We arrived to find the family room had turned into the present pit. 

Look at all those gifts!!  Everyone was far too generous again.  I don't have a lot of pictures of the family opening gifts, my camera seemed to focus primarily on the cute kiddos.  But Teddy and I got so much wonderful stuff.  I got a ton of great board games, a Jim Shore statue for my garden to add to the Mickey and Minnie I already have, gift cards, ornaments, etc.  Teddy also made out getting everything Star wars and Lego (of course!)   The most fun though was watching Emily and Carson open their gifts.  Emily especially.  She was so overwhelmed with everything that she received, she didn't know where to begin!

Emily loves all things that transport people:  cars, planes, trains, buses, helicopters, etc.  So she got a lot of gifts along that theme.  (Also, check out those Buzz Lightyear PJ's.  They are the best!)

Beth and Kris helped her open all her gifts.  And then it was Carson's turn.

This was Carson's first Christmas, so he's still figuring it all out, but I think he loved all his new toys as well.

He especially liked his new hat.  Isn't he a cutie!

 After the kiddos were done with their gifts, the rest of the family opened up all of theirs.  Like I said earlier, I didn't have many pictures of the rest of the family.  The camera seemed to focus on the kids.  But here is one of Kris and Erica, our holiday hosts opening up their loot.

After all the gifts were opened Erica and Mom started working on dinner while, Teddy, Jennifer, Beth and I played Jennifer's new Harry Potter Lego game.  Dinner was awesome.  We had a great roast with potatoes, corn & peas, and Becky made an awesome rice casserole as well.  After dinner we watched some of Elf and the Lach clan went to work on a puzzle.  It was a great Christmas Day with family. 

We couldn't have been more blessed this Christmas, we hope that everyone else is as lucky as are to have been surrounded by family and friends the whole holiday.