Weekend Wrap-Up & a New Car!

How was every one's weekend? Ours was WONDERFUL. I truly mean that. Let's start with Friday :

I left work early because the snow was coming down pretty steady and I wanted (needed) to get home before it got dark...because driving in the snow in the dark is 10x harder than just driving in the snow for me. Oh, and the roads looked like this: 

 Anyways, I headed home and even made it home in less than an hour with the snow. That was pretty good time! I think it benefited me that there were not many cars on the road...This was my car after driving home on Friday:

The last time I will see the Civic in our garage...more on that later!

Friday night the hubster and I stayed home with Louie instead of doing our usually Friday night grocery shopping. We cleaned the house a little and discussed what to make for dinner. I was craving pizza but did not want to spend the money, or have all the calories of delivery pizza so I decided to use a new recipe I had pinned on Pinterest for a pizza casserole. As usual, Pinterest did not disappoint me. The casserole was delicious and we still have some leftovers to enjoy. Maybe I will share that recipe with you later this week! We snuggled on the couch with our homemade pizza casserole and watched Courageous. Have you seen that movie? It is incredible. We saw it in theaters a couple months ago and it was just as good the second time around. Really, if you have not seen it you need to as soon as possible. I promise you will not be disappointed.

Saturday morning we woke up to even more snow. It might have snowed pretty much all night off and on...it was beautiful! Louie did not like it too much at first but he eventually warmed up I guess...he was so funny licking the snow and running around with snow on his nose. I snapped some pictures of our favorite puppy dog:

After getting ready and digging out of our garage so we could get the car out we were on our way to Fort Wayne. It took awhile to shovel out our driveway, but it was very nice of one of our neighbors to come help :) We were on our way first to Lowe's to purchase the backsplash that I blogged about here. We ended up getting everything we need for the kitchen backsplash project, so we are ready for that soon. I am excited about it even though we know it will be a lot of work and I like to think we are ready for a challenge :)

After Lowe's we grabbed some food and went to our first car dealership. We were not pleased with the customer service or friendliness offered at the VW dealership in Fort Wayne and ended up at the Honda dealership where we traded my 2006 Civic. We test drove a CRV at both dealerships but ended up getting a much better deal and warranty through Honda, so that's where we ended up. It took hours to sign everything and get out the door! I will say that it was hard watching the Civic drive away in the end and I might have teared up a little. It was my Grandpa's last car and he loved it. There was a story behind that car. Actually, there were a couple funny stories behind that car. And I loved the car too. In the end, I know it is only a car and that we were making the right decision because the Civic was just not safe enough for me with the ice and snow we deal with in Northern Indiana. The CRV is much safer and has 4WD. I asked Stephen to take some pictures of me and the Civic for the last time:

Then we went to take pictures of the new car:

We ended up with a 2009 Honda CRV that's silver with black leather interior and 4WD. We were leaning more toward Honda when comparing small SUV's simply because I have always driven and loved a Honda. In the end, the CRV got better gas mileage, had more storage room (72 sq. ft), and better crash test ratings than most other small SUV's. It was an easy decision for us and we are so pleased with the outcome. I love the car and how it drives! I also really like that it is the same color as Papa's civic was, I think he would like that :)

Sunday we taught Sunday School and went to late service-then we met Stephen's parents and his brother and his wife for lunch before going grocery shopping. We spent the rest of the afternoon at home. Stephen watched some football and hung this lamp:

It's a well lamp that I ordered a while back and it finally came in. I love that we have some light near the sofa now so we can actually read in the living room. There was no room for a small table or even a floor lamp before, so this is perfect!

While Stephen was watching football and hanging the lamp I was baking up a storm in the kitchen. Pinterest had me going...I think I made 4 or 5 different things that we will eat all week long for breakfast and snacks. It felt good to be back in the kitchen cooking because I feel like it has been awhile!

And that's pretty much it. A great, blessed, productive and loving weekend! :)

Oh, and the only picture of us all weekend:

Have a great Monday, y'all!

Random thoughts for this Tuesday:

Disclaimer: All of the pictures used in this post are cell phone pictures. Please excuse the poor quality!

1. We are having some weird weather here in Indiana. Well, at least I think it is weird. Let’s just say that we had snow but it is all melted now and last night we had thunderstorms. Thunderstorms in January! I even had to wear my rain boots to work today because of all the water. Is it not spring, it is winter! Oh and our high today? Yeah, it’s in the 50’s.

2. Our high on Friday is 23 degrees.  In the 50’s on Tuesday and in the 20’s on Friday, that’s totally normal, right?

3. We finally got our Christmas gifts put away and/or hung up this weekend. The pile if gifts that was neatly stacked in our bedroom was driving.me.nuts.

4. Speaking of hanging things, several new things are adorning our walls at home and I love it.

This is our new gallery wall by our staircase. Mom & Dad got us these great frames for Christmas. Love!!

These new sconces are from Kohls and they are in the library-where up until last weekend we had nothing on the walls! I am working on a painting that will go in between them!

This puzzle was a gift from my Grandma this Christmas. It looks very good in our library and I think it will be something we treasure forever. She even wrote a note on the back of it!

5. I got a lovely Christmas gift from my sister-in-law that I can’t wait to use.  She got me the Baby Cakes Cake-Pop maker, which is essentially a Easy Bake Oven for adults. I am so ready to put it to use. Maybe this weekend! J

6. Louie has been acting like he feels much better, even running around with energy. I want to teach him how to play but since he never has he just doesn’t get it. We have a couple toys that he will sniff and just walk away from. What toys do yours dogs love? I need some ideas for something he will actually use!

7. The hubster and I picked out what tile we want for our backsplash last weekend at Lowe’s. I think it is perfect!! Just waiting for our 10% off coupon to arrive via email and we will be purchasing the tiles for our spring project!

What do you think?

8. Last weekend we also did a little car shopping. My car is just not safe in the winter with snow. We are comparing the Honda CRV and other compact SUV’s that offer 4WD or AWD. Do you have any recommendations or reviews to offer from personal experience? We have heard wonderful things about the CRV and are leaning in that direction. Probably going to test drive this weekend!

9. Getting a new car means getting rid of my old car which makes me sad. My Honda Civic was my Grandpa’s last car and I took over his payments when he became too ill to drive. It breaks my heart that it won’t be staying in our family. L I might cry when I give over the keys…

10. A new aquatic and fitness center just opened near our house. Read: about six blocks away. Every night I drive by it and wish we had a membership so I could get some exercise and work harder at losing weight. A 12 month membership for me and the hubster is $400. I think it is time to sign up!

11. I have not had a gym membership since I was in high school and worked at the YMCA. Membership was my only benefit and I loved going to work out…hopefully I can find that love again! Maybe paying for the membership will actually motivate me to go! Ya think?

12. We have been watching Mary Poppins and it is such a fun movie! A spoonful of sugar… J

13. Oh, we also watched Mr. Poppers Penguins last weekend and LOVED it. A must see!

14. I LOVE after Christmas sales! We found some cute (and cheap) stuff last weekend at Kohls. This included the perfect ornament for Louie to remember his first Christmas with us. We I was so excited!

15. I could keep going and thinking of random things, but I thought maybe I should stop. Don’t want me readers to get bored!

The rest of Mom, Dad & Hunter's visit {Part 2}

I realize this post has taken me forever to get published...can't say I really have an excuse. If you didn't read or don't remember Part 1, get caught up here.

While Mom & Dad were here we headed to Amish Country for them to get a taste of it all. We planned on doing the tour at Amish Acres, but unfortunately they close for the winter so we were not able to. I was a bit disappointed by this, but we didn't let that stop us. The restaurant was still open (it is closed now though) so we did get to enjoy an Amish Fest. It was D.E.L.I.C.I.O.U.S! Seriously, if you ever have an opportunity to eat at an authentic Amish restaurant, DO IT!

After lunch we strolled around some of the property and took a couple pictures:

We stopped at a couple antique stores on the way back home and had a great time doing so. Stephen and I enjoy places like that! We had been in these antique stores before, so it was nice to show them to Mom and Dad. Hunter was not too thrilled about the shopping for "old crap", but he put up with it pretty well! Maybe it was because we promised to go bowling with him that night? He rarely bowls in Florida, but loves to bowl up here!

That night can you guess what we did? If you guessed we went bowling, you are correct! The bowling alley in our town is small-about 6 lanes I think. We bowled there last year with Hunter and ended up going to a different, bigger bowling alley in another town. This year we tried it again and stuck it out. We were the only people in there each night (we went 3 nights in a row). It was awesome!

I loved the big tree they had inside:



We bowled and bowled and bowled. Hunter improved some each night, which was nice to see. Now he loved bowling even more and I know he has gone at least once since we returned home. Stephen and I have thought about going bowling since they left but it just seems weird to go without Hunter, ha!

Hunter also like "ice skating" in our yard. The snow was pretty icy to begin with, so that made some pretty icy tracks going into the garage. It was funny to watch him tackle the graceful job of ice skating on this "ice". He totally provided us with entertainment! I will say thought, that he did not fall once. Bravo, Hunter!

Another day we headed north, almost to the Indiana and Michigan state line for some shopping. We first went to my Dad's favorite store; Bass Pro Shops. It was cold outside on this day. Like freezing. It was nice that we were all bundled up close together in the back of Dad's truck:

While Dad shopped, we spent time looking around the store. Have you ever been in one of these? They are incredible and all different. So very cool! Hunter and Mom had an impromptu photo shoot when they did the exact same thing unknowingly, ha. Love that they think alike so much!

We ate at Quaker Steak and Lube, which was pretty amazing. Hunter had hot wings that he talked about all day long, and I had a hot wing salad that I would order again in a heartbeat. I really like trying new places and finding out they are delicious. It is not so much fun when you hate your food and leave hungry, you know? After lunch we stopped at the outlet mall and I stocked up with some new jeans that I desperately needed. It was another fun (but cold) day in Indiana!

Mom, Dad & Hunter left for Florida (via: Georgia) dark and early the next morning. It was quiet in our house and seemed so odd! We really enjoyed the time they spent here with us and hope they come back again soon!

The rest of Mom, Dad & Hunter's Visit {Part 1}

The day after Christmas we had some shopping to do. Well, I had some shopping to do. :) I have for years always bought wrapping paper for next year on the day after Christmas. It is cheap and always on sale, so why not stock up for next year? I love saving money!

I also wanted to get some more Christmas decor type things for the house. I wanted some more wreaths and ornaments this year, but since it is silly to pay full price for these things...I tried to wait patiently. I can tell you now that we scored some super cute and very affordable Christmas wreaths that will adorn our doors next year. Each door should have a wreath on it if all goes as planned! We also got some ornaments for our silver and green tree, since next year it will be much taller. Taller = bigger and bigger = it will need more ornaments. Agree? Okay, great!

Moving on...

The next day we woke up to snow. Actually, I set my alarm for 4am (when the snow was supposed to start falling in our area) and had promised Hunter that I would wake him up if it was indeed snowing. Well, sadly at that time it was still raining so back into bed I went. When we woke up around 8 that morning though, it was snowing and the ground was already covered.

Everyone was SO excited!

We got ready and headed to Warsaw for some walking and shopping. Mom wanted to eat at The Boathouse, but Hunter really wanted to eat at Long John Silvers because they closed in Florida...in the end Long John Silvers won. I forgot how greasy that place is!

After eating we headed to Winona Village to walk around the boutiques and do a little shopping. Here are the pictures from that trip:

Once we made it home, we changed clothes and packed up to head to the park for some sledding and snow fun!  Hunter got to wear his new snowboarding pants, so he was thrilled J We all bundled up and hit the road…since the hubs, Hunter and I had on layers and layers of clothes we decided not to squeeze into the back of the truck but rather to ride in the bed of the truck sitting on saucer sleds. Disclaimer: the park is only a couple blocks from our house so we felt we were safe going that short of a distance. The bed of the truck had a bit of ice and snow in it, so we kind of slid around whenever Dad turned. It was pretty fun, but I was worried about the dangers of it! Here are some pictures of us headed to the park:

And sledding:

Then the guys started building a snowman. It was pretty awesome. Dad and Hunter even used their pocket knives to help shape the snow ball. Pretty funny! I didn’t get a finished picture of the snowman because my camera battery died (poor planning on my part), but just try to imagine a snowman with wooden arms, 2 eyes and a camouflage baseball cap. Have that picture in your head? That’s their snowman!  

Mom and I decided the snowman building was a man’s job, so we sat pretty and took some pictures:

All in all, it was an amazing day in Indiana. We prayed for snow and we got snow…enough to play in while my parents were here. It was beautiful outside, too!

God is SO good!

Stayed tuned for Part 2!