A Look at Our Paint

I mentioned on my group blog last week that Jon and I are repainting the majority of the upstairs of our house.  It's been a long project and we lost a little steam so we are taking a break from painting for awhile.  We have successfully finished the paint in the hallway and living room though.  The living room is called barefoot beach and although I don't think you can tell from the pictures, it is a light tan/gray.  In the hallway we have country beige.  The two colors were on the same paint chip and the color we selected for the kitchen and bathroom was as well.  When we get the motivation those rooms will be tattered sail.

The first finished corner with crown molding in the living room.  Barefoot Beach is the color.

Here's another shot of the wall color and our cute kitty Star.

Tired after all of the painting, Star curled up with me.

In other news, I rearranged the basement a bit this week.  I was sad that Curt moved and the basement seemed lonely, so I spent my spare time this week reorganizing it.  Ask Jon, that's my favorite leisure-time activity.  So, rather than thoroughly explaining what I did, I'll let the pictures speak for themselves.

The storage room now has a second makeshift guest bed in it.  Inflatable mattress on a bed frame.

Fully covered the green couches look better and I found the perfect spot for showcasing the plaque my mom made us for Christmas.

I moved the LoveSac and put our game collection on the shelves downstairs so it can be more of a hangout room.  I know the pheasants look weird, but I haven't found a better home for them.

I moved my awesome secretary to the basement with some help from Jon.  I wanted it in the family room down there so I can sew with the TV on.

Folded out with my sewing machine on it.  The drawers are full of scrap fabric, yarn, and current projects.

Meet Star

Notice the adorable line that runs down her nose.

 Meet Star, our adorable new kitty.  Paws moved to North Salt Lake this week.  Curt moved back home while his parents finish out their mission and Paws would have missed him if we kept her here.  With no Paws to curl up at the foot of the bed at night, Jon and I were very lonely.  So, to solve that lonely problem, we adopted Star.  Star lived with Curt's brother's family for a the last four years and they have loved her.  With their two cute kiddos though, they felt like Star might enjoy a little more attention.  Problem solved, we would love to give her oodles of attention and cuddles.  Jon just took these pictures so she blinked with the flash, but you can tell how cute she is anyway.

Showcasing her cute tortie colors and the new paint on our wall.

She's very petite compared to Paws, but we still love her.

Hopping up to the top of the chair.

Detroit

For those few who actually read this blog, I am sure that you were aware that I hail from Detroit, Michigan. I am very proud of this fact and I love my home state and my home town. A lot of people scoff when I tell them I am from Detroit, saying things like, "aren't you glad to be out of there?" Well, honestly, no. If it were plausible for me to live and work in Michigan I would be back there in a heartbeat. Jon might protest that a bit, since he hates the cold, but I love where my roots are. I love that you can trace my parents history and everything goes back to that beautiful place.

If it were up to me, I'd go back every summer and take a trip to the UP with my mom, driving the back roads and visiting the Edmund Fitzgerald via glass bottom boat. We'd drive out to Holland for the Tulip Festival in the spring. We'd paddle boat and hike at Kensington, Sleeping Bear Dunes, and maybe even along the coastline of Lake Michigan. I really wish that people could just go there and understand how amazing it is. Rather than protesting and saying that Michigan is one of the last places they would ever want to go, why not give it a chance. Sure, some of the Detroit area looks very sad, but the people who are rebuilding it have a deep love for it. The trees, the water, the hearty people, everything about that place makes me feel loved and warm inside.

Well, rather than trying to convert you all to a love of my home, here are a few videos that remind me why I love Detroit. Kid Rock, Eminem, and Tim Allen are all featured in these, and they really do show their love through their words. Enjoy. Warning to my friends from Detroit, these might make you uber homesick.


Chrysler Super Bowl Ad


Eminem's Letter to Detroit


Pure Michigan Ad Campaign featuring Tim Allen's voice


Kid Rock's AMA performance


Kid Rock's Summertime in Michigan

And just for fun, you should probably read this article too. The Freep does a really good job of summing up the spirit of the Chrysler commercial that aired during last night's Super Bowl.

Prepping for the Superbowl

Neither Jon nor myself are big NFL fans.  Actually, of all of the professional sports, I think that football is my least favorite.  Don't get me wrong.  I like college football and I enjoyed watching high school football when I was in high school, but professional football just seems so fake to me.  I would rather watch baseball, hockey, or even curling, before I would choose to sit down and watch an NFL game.

That being said, Jon and I will be watching the Superbowl on Sunday evening, but just for the enjoyment of the company and the awesomely hilarious commercials.  Prepping for the commercials, Jon found this jewel on the internet this morning.  His eyes start to water from laughing so hard every time he watches it.  It reminds both of us of Sam and his Star Wars fanaticism.  So, sit back and enjoy some amazing marketing from Volkswagen.

Ice Fishing

I posted this twice, once on my group blog and once here.  So... enjoy.

Okay, so I know some of you probably think that fishing is an evil sport, but Jon really enjoys fishing a couple times a year.  Rather than being left at home to be lonely all day, twice a year I hit the water with him to catch some fish.  We go once in the summer and once in the winter.  Our summer trips have usually been really productive.  We catch a lot of rainbow and cut throat trout and bring them home to eat.  Our winter trips on the other hand, have, in the past, been horrendous.

Two years ago when Jon and I were still dating, I drove up the canyon to meet him at Strawberry Reservoir.  On the way though, I hit some black ice and my car spun twice, hitting the guardrail both times.  It was a pretty scary experience, but I escaped with only a few bruises from my seat belt.  I made it up to Strawberry and we were skunked.  No fish caught that day.

Then, last year, Jon bought himself an auger so that we could drill our own holes for ice fishing.  We loaded up the car and drove to Pine View Reservoir.  We slid down the embankment with all of our gear and I started setting up the chairs.  Jon, using his brand new auger, started drilling the holes.  After drilling two holes, the wife of the family we were with asked Jon how thick the ice was.  He leaned down and put his hand into the hole to show her that it was about 10 inches thick.  As he was getting up though, he lost his balance and steadied himself by setting his hand in the snow... right on the blade of the auger.  He stood up and Joann (the wife) noticed that he was bleeding.  It was gushing pretty bad so I ran up the hill and found what I could to bandage him up before heading to Insta-care.  Duct tape and a maxi-pad was the solution and the doctor at Insta-care thought it was pretty ingenious.  Jon got 4 stitches and we did not catch anything, yet again.

Well, after such awful experiences in years past, I decided that this year would be the final decider.  If something bad happened this year, I'd never go out on the ice again.  Lucky for me, ice fishing this year was wonderful.  We went out with Curt and some of his buddies from High School and they kept us entertained.  Mostly by teasing me, but hey, I can handle it.  I got a line in the water and 5 minutes later pulled up a cute little rainbow trout.  We kept the fish to give to some people we were fishing with, but it ended up being eagle food within a half hour of our fishing escapade.  Jon caught two fish that day also.  Here's some pictures of our ice fishing adventures.  If you haven't tried it, it's worth a shot.  Even if you don't bait your line.  The experience of sitting out of the ice and hearing whoops and hollers of excitement from the people fishing around you every 20 minutes makes it worth it.

Me holding my little Rainbow.  Notice that my finger is sticking out of the mouth.

Jon with his first catch of the day.

Jon and Curty being goofballs with their fish.

An eagle stealing one of our fish.  The kids we were with threw the fish over there when the noticed the eagles circling.

Jon looking in his fishing hole.  It was so warm and clear that day that he could see the fish swimming around.

And... since we all love youtube, here's a hilarious rendition of "Ice Ice Baby" about ice fishing.  I love that their accents are soooo Canadian and that they specifically mention putting on their Sorelles.

So, give it a try.  But... maybe not this week.  The temperatures aren't supposed to break 30 for a couple of days, so maybe wait til it's a little bit warmer.

Jess

I wanted to post about Jessiy today, but I have work.  So make sure to read my post on the group blog.  I'll try to update this tonight.

http://every-day-is-awesome.blogspot.com/

Spirit of Christmas: Day 30

Christmas with the Raymonds

Just like I talked with my mom and Dar, I talked with my Dad about his favorite family traditions.  My dad mentioned first off how much he just loved having the whole family together for the holidays.  He loved as a kid going over to his aunt and uncle's house to celebrate on Christmas Eve with a giant family feast.  We reminisced about having the feast at my grandma and grandpa's house in St. Claire Shores.  It was so nice to remember those times.  He laughed as he remembered me and my sisters and cousins putting on a play of the nativity story in the basement for all of the parents.  Grandma always had the very best chip dip.  We then talked about the way those traditions have shifted into some of our little Raymond family traditions.

Me and Dad at The Henry Ford before Christmas

Jon, Mom, and Me at The Henry Ford

Now, we don't have a giant feast, and in the last few years, we haven't all been together, but we do have Turkey Casserole and Jello Salad as Christmas dinner.  It's an important Christmas tradition at the Raymond house.  My mom also makes the VERY BEST dinner rolls on earth.  She makes 3 dozen, and sometimes even 6 dozen so that we can have them with Christmas Eve and Christmas dinner.

Another thing my dad remembered as a child was always reading the Christmas story from Luke 2.  We have carried this on in a fun way.  My mom puts the pieces of the creche into paper bags and we take turns opening our "gift" of the story of Jesus' birth and reading the verses that go with that person.  I am so grateful that my dad was able to open up and share with me his memories even if they do make us miss our family members who are not here.

And just to share, this is a video from the new MormonMessages DVD.  The Spirit of Christmas, exactly what we have been discussing over the last 30 days.  This DVD is so awesome and almost all of the videos make me teary eyed.  The 20 most viewed are on the DVD and the rest of these awesome messages are available on the Mormon Channel.  Check them out.