Slowly but surely...

Well, our roof is half done, thanks to Mother Nature for providing insuffient weather allllllllll day on Saturday.  The weekend pretty much went down like this:

Friday... The guys teared off old shingles (on half the roof) and attempted to land them in the dump trailer.  I say "attempt" because that part of the project was definitely not their strong suit!  It was my job to pick up the ones that didn't land in the trailer... which was about 3/4 of the roof.  After some additional purchases at Menards we called it quits for the night.

Saturday... Kurt and I got up with the sun and immediately began preparing to cover our exposed roof before the forecasting rain.  Kurt tackled the starter strip and drip edge while I crawled around the roof pulling nails (yep, I was up there too!).

It started sprinkling already around 8:30am and things went downhill from there... Lucky for us, Jim (Kurt's Dad) arrived just in time to help tar-paper the roof and (in the rain).

All in all they got it papered and managed to pull an enormous tarp over it before any damage was done.  Whew, close call.  The rest of Saturday was shot due to the rain and that set us back quiet a bit... but don't worry, we still had to make another trip to Menards.

Sunday... We tried to play catch up and Kurt went to town shingling with the help of our friends Noah and Chuy (you guys totally kick butt!!). 

After a full dawn-to-dusk day of work they wrapped things up for weekend.  Kurt still had to finish up a section on Monday night but since then we've attempted to have a "normal" week and are saving the other half for the coming weekend.  Oh yeah, I also made yet ANOTHER Menards run... *grumble*.

Even though the project is taking longer than we had hoped, the results are looking great!  Check out these before and after shots!!

 Old roof (above) ---- New roof (below)

On another (much more fun) subject... our engagement pictures are TOMORROW and we are really excited for them!! =D  The weather looks perfect, a sunny 68 degrees when the session starts so we're looking forward to hanging out downtown Cedar Falls for some modern pics and then out in the country for some laid-back shots. Our wedding photo, Rose, does some awesome work so it'll be fun to see how everything turns out!

Hello Fall!

Today is the first offical day of Fall so I guess it's time to say goodbye to summer and open our arms to the cool weather, brisk breeze and crunchy multi-colored leaves (my favorite!).  Fall is Kurt's favorite time of year and it's a close runner up for me too (I'm a summer girl, what can I say?).  Either way, we're pledging to take advantage of Fall because everyone knows it'll slip away too fast and we'll be stuck with winter for far too long.  So, first up.... re-roof the house!

After writing the largest check in our life (you're welcome, Menards) and loading/unloading the truck a few times we now have a garage full of roofing supplies.  Horray!  Lucky for us, Kurt is a handy man so he'll be tackling this project with the help of his dad and a few friends (THANK YOU GUYS).  We're excited to see how the fresh new roof changes the look of our house... the current one is pretty sad looking.  This is the first of many curb-appeal projects that we have added to our "wish list", hopefully we can take down those awful old-school awnings next!!  I know, I know... they're practical.  But ugly! So you know how this one's ending right??  ....Anyways, the tear-off starts now!  Cross your fingers that it doesn't rain (although I just looked at the forecast and I looks like it might tomorrow - uggh).  Stay tuned for progress pics!

OH yeah, for those of you that missed the fun, Memory Walk was a success last weekend and I am happy to report that work-life is getting back to "normal".  Although the weather was colder than I would have liked we had a good turn out (record turnout actually!) and we are set to raise a total of $250,000 chapter-wide for Alzheimer's care, support and research.  Rock on, right?  Of course, reaching that impressive goal calls on supporters like me and you to keep fundraising and raising awareness.  Keep it up and thank you all for supporting my efforts! :)   Here's a sneak peak at what Memory Walk 2010 entailed....

Make an on-line slide show at www.OneTrueMedia.com

Work, Work, Work.

I've been meaning to post for quite some time, but this has been a hectic week! In fact, I've been meaning to sit down and do a post dedicated to elaborating on our work -- as in, what we do for a living.  Since we don't get to see many of our friends and family members very often there are a few questions that we always get asked ...one of them is "how is work going?".  Of course, people rarely have time to actually discuss this subject but work is such a large part of everyone's lives that I think it's important to know and understand what your loved ones actually DO.  Here it goes....

Jessi
Job Title: Outreach Coordinator
Company:  Alzheimer's Association, East Central Iowa Chapter

This is a big time of year for me at work -- it's Memory Walk season (actually, we're only 2 days away from Memory Walk now.  Whew!).  For those of you that aren't familiar - The Alzheimer's Association's Memory Walk is the nation's largest event to raise awareness and funds for Alzheimer's care, support, advocacy and research.  Memory Walks are held annually in hundreds of communities all over the US, but our specific chapter of the Alzheimer's Association hosts 4 walks each year (all on the same day)... one in Coralville, Cedar Rapids, Waterloo and West Union. I am the Walk Coordinator for the Northeast Iowa Regional Memory Walk, which is held in West Union, IA.  So yeah - in a nutshell I've spent the 4-5 months promoting the event, implementing marketing tactics, recruiting team captains, attending tabling events, and generally raising awareness about the event (and of course, the importance of the cause).  Now that Memory Walk is just around the corner my days are filled with list-making, last-minute details and packing up supplies to ensure Memory Walk is a smooth and inspiring event for all that attend. :)   ....When it's not Memory Walk season my work days consist of more general duties like carrying out support services, delivering community presentations, marketing smaller events, compiling the newsletter, etc.... until Spring rolls around and I dive into QUASH (sounds fun, doesn't it?? We'll leave that for another post).

I truly enjoy my job and am lucky to have an awesome group of co-workers! 

Kurt - Day Job
Job Title: Concrete Finisher
Company: Martinson Construction Inc.

This is also a busy time of year for Kurt... when the weather is nice there is lots of concrete work to be done.  Summer has consisted of some long days and even mandatory Saturdays but now that fall is around the corner we'll have to wait and see how the schedule pans out!  Kurt has been at Martinson for about five months and it's been a good job, but not a real fun one.  If you've ever talked to Kurt for more than 10 minutes I'm sure you know that concrete isn't a job he likes doing - but it is a job he's good at doing.  He's been working different concrete jobs since high school, he's put in time on a numerous different crews as he floated around and went to college, too!  So although Kurt spends his days making concrete look pretty - it's his "night job" that really qualifies as "his work".

Kurt - Night Job
Job Title: Owner, Upholsterer 
Company: Showtime Auto LLC

We've mentioned it before but it's worth mentioning again because starting a business certainly qualities as an adventure!  Kurt spends almost every night outside in the garage doing custom upholstery jobs.  I have to admit that I didn't realize how time consuming this venture would be until he started tackling this big jobs... I don't know how he does it but Kurt easily logs an additional 30-40 hours per week with Showtime.  ...Now here's where the explanation comes in handy because when most people hear he does upholstery they think he's recovering furniture, ahhhh not true.  Kurt does AUTO upholstery (think hot-rods, muscle cars, etc with standout interiors!) and the occasional boat cover, motorcycle seat, etc.   It's an interesting trade because every job is a custom job -- he listens to what the customer is looking for then does whatever it takes to create it.  (My camera is dead but I'll be sure to post some pics of his work later!)

So there you have it -- the low-down details on our daily work lives!  I'm sure you'll hear tid-bits about work in the future, too. With that in mind we'd like to leave you with a little quote... hope it inspires you a little, or at least makes the rest of the work-week a more manageable! :)

“The only place where success comes before work is in the dictionary.”  - Oscar Wilde

Oh, Pita.

Our Internet service is horrible... and that is the *main* reason that I haven't been able to blog this past week and half.  I swear, every time we try to get online we have to spend half and hour troubleshooting and running repairs just to get it connected for 10 minutes!  Uggh!  I am fed up with Mediacom.   BUT it seems to be working for now (of course, not the wireless though) so here it goes:  A quick update on what we've been up to....

Last weekend I went to Des Moines to have an "APT 14 Reunion" with my college roommates from senior year.  It was a great day and fun night (but we missed you Caitlin!!). 

YUM. We've been grilling out more now that the weather is cooling down!  Ahh the simple joys of Fall in Iowa. :)

And now the big news!  We adopted another dog!! .... I had mentioned a few times that I would like to have a small indoor dog since Rockie is an outdoor dog.  I've grown up with small indoor dogs as pets and Kurt grew up with farm dogs (outside, of course).  .....One day at the mall my Mom was flagged down by a lady that saw her "I love my Papillion" magnet on the back of the car and wanted to ask if she was interested in another Papillion.  Long story short, this lead to us meeting and adopting a papillion from the Humane Society.  Random, we know.   

This poor little pup was rescued in a thunder storm about a month ago.  We're not quite sure what kind of life he lived until now, but we've self-diagnosed him with PTSD.  Seriously.  He's pretty skittish and clearly has a grudge against all men.  He'll follow me everywhere that I go but he still growls and/or barks at Kurt every time he comes in the door.  It's been fun watching him warm up to us and get comfortable in his new home... but it is heartbreaking to think what the little guy went through to make him so fearful and jumpy!  How can people be mean to such an adorable dog?!? 

Anyways, we named him Pita (yep... like the bread).  The shelter had named him Peter, but neither of us could handle having a prissy puppy with a traditional human name.  LOL.  Since the dog was already getting used being called Peter I figured that "Pita" would be a good fit... sound the same, but is much much cooler.  Problem solved.  Plus, it's a good story isn't it?!?! =)

Meet Pita!

Aren't they precious?

Now we're enjoying the long Labor Day weekend -- it's been nice to have the few days at home.  We even took the dogs on a nice long walk yesterday!  There are TONS of fun trails around here so we were all loving it.... perfect weather too!  Other than that, Kurt is logging lots of hours on his current upholstery job and I'm dedicating time to wedding projects.  Needless to say I have found numerous DIY projects that I've fallen in love with for our wedding... I told myself it'd be easy to get them all done before the big day, but time is flying!!  We've already been engaged for 6 months and I've done 2 out of like 50.  Oops, better get to work.  <3 

Have a fabulous Labor Day!  Take a break. :)

Mini Vacation!

Last week we took a "mini vacation" and had a ton of fun!  It earned it's "mini" status for a couple different reasons...
#1:  It was really only 1.5 days off work, and vacations in my book must be over 3 days to be significant. ha!
#2:  We really didn't go anywhere that we haven't already been...but that doesn't mean it wasn't a great trip!

So what did we do, you ask?  We drove up to the Iowa State Fair first - which we were both really looking forward to.  Last year was my first State Fair experience, and of course I loved it.  I pretty much love any large events with lots of people so when you throw in carnival rides, performances and fried food galore -- I'm in complete awe.  (PS.  Mom & Dad, looks like you did do something wrong while raising me.... no State Fair trips.  Fail.)   Anyways, we met up with Lindsay, Adam & Jill...pitched our tent in almost the exact same spot as last year... bought the most expensive drinks on earth... ate the BEST food item at the Fair...and then enjoyed a GREAT concert in the Grandstands.  Darius Rucker was a really awesome performer... we recommend him to any country music lovers out there! :)  

$12 Beer?  Doesn't even sound good, right?

Mmmmm "Chicken Lips"...the BEST thing you'll ever eat.

Darius Rucker concert at the Iowa State Fair = fabulous!!

All of us, at the Darius Rucker concert!

Of course, camping at the State Fair leads to ridiculously long lines for the showers so we opted to hop across town to my friend Maggie's apartment for a quick visit and quick showers. (Thanks Mags!)  This was about the time that storms starting brewing so we steered clear of the Fair for a little longer and indulged in a big breakfast at I-Hop.  Yum!

Coffee, Pancakes, French Toast and everything else that is good. :)

Friday at the Fair was rainy -- which forced me to buy the ugliest pair of shoes that I have ever owned.  Yep, you guessed it, I now own crocks.  Gasp!  They did solve the slippery-flip flop situation though so I guess they've served their purpose and can rest in peace in the trunk of my car until our next camping adventure.  (Background Info: The crocks are the 3rd pair of shoes that I've had to buy while camping... I always overpack clothes and forget about my feet. Maybe someday I'll learn.)  A few hours after the shoe-spree the rain cleared out just in time to enjoy the afternoon at the Fair!  Here's a glimpse of what the fun included....

Colt Ford concert (for free!)...who would have thought that a country rapper would be good?  He is!

On our drive back from the Fair we decided to stop at the Lake for some extra fun in the sun!  This was the only time all summer that we got to go tubing and jet skiing!! It's hard to believe that it's the end of August and we only got to go once.  It was a really great addition to our mini-vaca though! :)  To top it off we spent Saturday night at a wedding reception (congrats Casey & Sara!) and took Rockie swimming on Sunday.   Yep, you read right... we took the dog to the pool!  On the last day that the pool is open they have a "Dog Day" and it was unlike anything we've ever seen.  Dogs were everywhere...some big, some small, some on leashes, some in life-jackets, some running around like crazy! We were a little nervous to take Rockie there since she's never been around that many other dogs but she did a great job!

She wasn't too fond of the water at first... it took some persuading/pulling to get her in.

By the time we left she was jumping off the side into the 3-foot and swimming around with Kurt!
She loved it. =)

Of course the weekend expired and we were thrown into another week of work (a full week....sigh!).  With only 3 weeks left until Memory Walk I am keeping crazy busy in the office and coming home completely brain-dead each night.  But, I do like the chaos because it's all for a good cause!  Which... by the way... if you'd like to support my efforts I would greatly appreciate a donation of any amount.  All donations help fund Alzheimer's care, support, advocacy and research through the Alzheimer's Association.  With your help we will be one step closer to finding a cure for this devastating disease!  

Ey, yey, yey.... Is it really almost September??  We're ready for some football, sweatshirts and sitcoms.  Bring it on!!

By Popular Demand

OK, Ok, ok... we promise to post more often.  After numerous reminders that we've been slacking on the blog lately I guess it's time to step it up. 

To put it plain and simple - this past weekend rocked.  Matt came to stay with us Thursday night - Sunday and we packed in a ton of fun stuff.  Matt & I had a perfect sunny day at Lost Island on Friday (sorry Kurt, somebody's gotta bring home the bacon!)... He even (rather forcefully) convinced me to go on the Molokini Crater aka the funnel the doom as I like to think of it!  I've been notoriously chicken about this slide each year that we've visited the waterpark so it wasn't much of a surprise when I bowed out last year.  Since it was just the 2 of us this time around I had to suck it up and take the plunge... literally.  Long story short I managed to keep my fears to myself until I let them all out in a nice healthy scream as we slid (backwards) down the 75-foot drop.  It was intense, definitely a rush, but not my cup of tea. Of course, Matt got a laugh out of it! ....We spent the rest of the weekend playing games, watching movies, making delicious food and doing random stuff around the house.  =) 

On Sunday we had some company over to BBQ and see our house!  We loved having my grandparents, aunt and uncle, cousins and parents up for the day!! The weather couldn't have been better and it was awesome to have family around to hang out for the afternoon.  Let's do it again soon!!

....And now, by popular demand, a couple of our favorite recipes that have won the hearts of our loved ones!  We highly recommend whipping these up ASAP! 

Chicken Tamale Casserole

1  cup  (4 ounces) preshredded 4-cheese Mexican blend cheese, divided
1/3  cup  milk
1/4  cup  egg substitute (I usually just beat 1 egg)
1  teaspoon  ground cumin
1/8  teaspoon  ground red pepper
1  (14 3/4-ounce) can cream-style corn
1  (8.5-ounce) box corn muffin mix
1  (4-ounce) can chopped green chiles, drained
1  (10-ounce) can red enchilada sauce
2  cups  shredded cooked chicken breast
1/2  cup  sour cream

1. Preheat oven to 400°.
2. Combine 1/4 cup cheese and next 7 ingredients (through chiles) in a large bowl, stirring just until moist. Pour mixture into a 13 x 9–inch baking dish coated with cooking spray.
3. Bake at 400° for 15 minutes or until set. Pierce entire surface liberally with a fork; pour enchilada sauce over top. Top with chicken; sprinkle with remaining 3/4 cup cheese. Bake at 400° for 15 minutes or until cheese melts. Remove from oven; let stand 5 minutes. Cut into 8 pieces; top each serving with a dollop of Daisy!  =)  
Serves 8 .... or reheats GREAT.

Peach Crunch Cake
24.5 oz jar of sliced peaches in light syrup
1 package yellow cake mix
1 stick butter (1/2 cup), cut into 16 pieces
1 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup chopped walnuts

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
Layer ingredients in a 13 X 9 dish, in order starting with the peaches.
Bake for about 40 minutes.
Serve warm ....with ice cream. 
Serves 12.

Enjoy! :)

More Time Please.

I know we start every post like this but WOW - we seriously need more hours in the day, and more days in the summer!  I have been having serious mixed feelings about mid-August being here already...

PROS 
August is still summer so that automatically earns brownie points

Matt is visiting us in August (more details below)

Work is busy - which I prefer

UNI students are back in town
Emilee is moving to Cedar Falls

Football season is just around the corner

CONS

Summer is almost over

Kurt works long hours

It is insanely hot (so far)

We have to re-new our tags on both vehicles
The sun is setting earlier

So there you have it... the Pros narrowly beat the Cons for August.  We will just keep trying to soak up as much sunshine as we can!

This past week has been pretty uneventful.  Kurt is busy working on a huge upholstery job which is very time consuming since he is currently doing this on top of his full-time job.  He has been working hard to get his business off the ground and has had a steady stream of upholstery jobs this summer.  He's managed to convert our garage into an upholstery workshop (of course, he has big plans to make it better in the future) but it sure beats working out of the 2-bedroom apartment that we used to live in. HA, that is a sight I will never forget.  =D  If you, or anyone you know, is looking to have some upholstery done please keep Kurt in mind.  Visit the website at www.ShowtimeAutoLLC.com for more information and give Kurt a call for a quote!

Kurt's new upholstery table -- put to good use!

I've also been keeping busy with projects of my own -- We've made quite a few wedding-related decisions over the past couple months and it feels good to check things off that list!  My bridesmaids found a dress they all love (I even want one, that's how cute they are!), I've gather lots of fun ideas by browsing online and we booked a photographer from Cedar Falls.   Of course, my never-ending DIY projects are still keeping me entertained as well... I love doing crafts and have always enjoyed the personal touches that can be found at most weddings/receptions.  Our reception will be full of fun little things that fit our personalities and I'm having a blast working on them. =)  Here's just a little sneak peak of what's to come....

Some of my DIY centerpiece materials. :) Love them!
(The teal looks blue...but it's teal.)

On another note, we are really looking forward to having my brother, Matt, come stay with us this week/weekend.  Matt & I have have a tradition (which started when I moved into my first apartment during college) where he visits for 3 days each summer!  I'd have to say it's one of my favorite traditions because not only do we get to spend alot of time hanging out together but we have also made a tradition of going to Lost Island (the waterpark) and eating Chinese food.  Can't beat that!!!!  Since Kurt has now joined our tradition we're always packing in even more fun stuff... maybe some frisbee golf, bowling, wii, movies?  You never know, but it's always a great time!! Can't wait for him to get here tomorrow night.

Until next time, stay cool (literally stay in the A/C).