the little things

God is Good!

Sometimes God just blesses you when you least expect it!

Last night, after a very hectic day at work, on my drive home, I managed to have 2 great conversations with girlfriends, came home, changed into a hoodie & jeans..ate some yummo sloppy joes that Nate had made, popped in Toy Story (it’s pretty much been Movie Central around our place since last week! Haha) chowed down, ran into the grocery store (which, by the way, have I mentioned that it’s only 2 minutes from our house??!) to pick up the fixings for spinach dip for today’s Halloween “party” at work, came home, made the dip (but forgot the spinach! LOL Thank goodness for WalMart on the way home from hubby’s work!), talked to my cousin Steph for an hour, got a CUTE ‘new home’ card from my grandma & grandpa, called grandma to thank her for said card, told her I loved them both, she said said we love you too (which completely warmed my heart!), got a call from my mom, who always makes me laugh, called Megan to catch up & make plans for tonight at my house (she’s coming over to pass out candy!! It will be our first ever trick or treat experience!! So excited! Hey, we’ve never lived in town before! LOL)..she’s spending the night-so excited about that too! And then..it was bedtime..at 9:15 p.m.! I was beat! haha!

God touched my heart last night!  He blessed me so much with such great conversations..makes me one happy girl!  This morning on my way into work, as I was praying & praising Him for his blessings on me, I began to cry. I felt Him there with me SOOOO much!  It was amazing!

I just wanted to shout it out this morning..God is SO good! He never fails.

I hope you all have a blessed day! Live it to the fullest!  That’s what I’m going to try & do today! :)

Dorky Duenke's

I couldn’t think of an original title today! ;) hahaha

Anywhoo…I’m finally here..from work!

We’re all moved in!  Everything went wonderfully & we LOVE our new home (except for the stinkin’, stupid,dumb, awful shower!! LOL—more on that later!)

I missed the cable/internet guy Friday by 15 minutes, and they couldn’t get us in until this coming Friday!! Ack! So, I have been without tv or internet since last Thursday morning & it hasn’t been much fun!

I came back to work this morning, after my 5 days off..and got here early just so I could get online for a few minutes! Haha.

Nate & I busted booty all day Sunday getting everything out of boxes & into our new home!  And I am happy to say we got everything unpacked & situated except for the office/scraproom!  I will be working on that tonight when I get home…at least I know I’ll get it done since I have no tv or internet distractions! ;) 

I *hope* to post photos once we get online again…however, bad news..our digital camera is pretty much not working. :(  Sooo sad!  So, we went to Best Buy over the weekend & priced out a new one.  I just want a digi Rebel…I’m hoping we can work it into the budget b/c we MUST have a camera!

I’m going to try my darndest to get my camera to work so I can get some shots to post here tho!

Two funny’s already happened in the new place: first, Nate fell down the basement stairs! LOL  (it’s funny now that we know he’s okay! Haha)  He’s not used to stairs I guess, especially wooden, curvy stairs!  Then, yesterday, we were outside visiting with my dad.  My dad went inside real fast while we were still outside, shuts the door & we say goodbye.  Nate & I go to get in the house…but, we couldn’t! We were locked out!  We have this keypad/lock thing on our door and when dad shut the door it engaged & locked us out! LOL  We had nothing with us!

Thankfully, I had left our bathroom window unlocked that morning & there was a ladder laying on its side right under the window…see where this is going?! ;)

We tried to set up the ladder the right way…but it was too unstable, so we laid it back down & grabbed a bunch of bricks to set it up higher..and my wonderful hubby crawled through the bathroom window!!!  Success!  We cracked up!!

I am still laughing!  That is sooo our luck!

But, anyways…I’m off to lunch & to play catch up!

I hope you are all doing well & thanks for the good thoughts for our move! We appreciate them! :)

happiness

Well, the week has arrived. The week where we actually get to MOVE! :)

So stoked. So stoked!

Have I mentioned that lately?! ;)

We had SUCH a great weekend! Seriously, so much fun!

Saturday night we went to Heather & David’s. She made dinner & it was scrumptious!  They had a bonfire & we went on the most fun, but super chilly ride! Such a blast! The Turtle Pretzels were a HIT! (ps-thanks for the sweet words about that recipe! I used to hate to cook/bake & I’m starting to really enjoy it now!) 

After we came home, Megan & her BF came over to watch Most Haunted we had recorded the night before on Travel Channel..I think?!  We made chicken soft tacos & hot chocolate in the CoCoMotion! Mmmmm! They stayed until after 1 in the morning! We had so much fun!

Sunday was church & a new Sunday School class started for married couples, so Nate & I decided to join (especially since the into was last Sunday-our anniversary, talk about a sign! Haha)& it was WONDERFUL!

I’ve never been one to participate by giving an answer, etc..I always learn better just listening & observing, but I can tell this class will be different! We watch a dvd & then have group discussion while filling out a workbook. The guy on the dvd, Dr. Emerson Eggerichs is awesome! Super REAL & funny! I love his way of explaining how men & women “work” & that marriage is most definitely WORK. Every single day. The class is about bringing God into your marriage & making it a marriage of THREE. I am pumped about it, even if Nate & I ARE the youngest couple in there! LOL ;)

After church, we had our church Harvest Party and oh my, what a blast!! I loved it!  The weather was outstandingly beautiful! God was there & it was amazing!  Nate had a blast!  You should have seen him doing the 3 legged race & Wheelbarrow Race! TOO funny! And go me on forgetting the camera!  Here’s the crazy part…anyone remember Jimmy? Yeah, THAT one…well, in some weird, crazy situation, Nate ended up being teammates with him for a different game! LOL  It was too funny!  So weird how I have NO feelings for him anymore.  So weird how Nate is truly my everything & I can’t ever imagine loving anyone else. Oh, btw..Jimmy is engaged now. The madness! It’s great what a few years can do to people!

Anywhho, I made those new cheesy potatoes..and holy wow! Were they good!!  I had none left! Alriiiight! Rock on! Free Will Baptists LOVE to eat & lemme tell ya; we had everything under the sun to eat, but I am proud to say I did REALLY well!  I had some of my potatoes (hehe!), some of mom’s lasagna & something else that I completely forget! Plus, some dessert: a scotch a roo! YUMMO!

Nate & I competed in the Corn Hole competition. Only thing was, he was in the Winner’s bracket & I was in the losers bracket! LOL still SO much fun! Have any ya’ll ever played? If not, you need to!  It was a late night, but we didn’t care, because we had such a good time!

I worked yesterday..and today & tomorrow is my last day for the week! I’ll have 5 whole days off & I am super happy about it!  Nate called our landlord today & he’s allowing us to get the keys on Thursday at 2pm!!  Yeyyy!

We have most everything we possibly can have packed up..including all my scrap schtuff! I’m ready to get the place homey!  I plan on doing my new scrap space (and whole house actually!) in antique/vintage/country/primitive!  Sooo excited!  Nate said I could do whatever I wanted…I have a wonderful hubby! *grin*

I hope to get here before the move, but who really knows right now!  I can’t wait to update with photos of our new home!!  God has truly blessed us this year & for that we are GRATEFUL.

So..I leave you with these…

Complete goofiness from Mr. & Mrs. Duenke late Sunday night!  Doesn’t Nate look horribly mean in that bottom photo??!! He’s not tho..I promise that! :)

ps: please forgive the lack of spacing in here...Typepad is driving me crazy lately! I promise I really do write in paragraph form! :P annnnd I forgot, I was tagged by Janie!! *7 Randoms* -I can't eat a cookie without milk. -Nate paints my toenails! Seriously, how lucky am I?! hahaha. -I have 3 mini albums started RIGHT NOW & haven't finished a one! -I drive 40 minutes to work & 40 minutes back home...for going on 3 1/2 years now. Blech! -I don't like talking on the phone. -I'm really bad in math. Like realllly bad. I never understood how letters ever got into math. How bout we leave those for the alphabet. :P -i want to be a mom. like, yesterday. ready...waiting...:) (we already have names picked out for when the time comes!! heeee) I tag whomever is reading this & hasn't played yet! Lemme know you did it so I can check it out! Have a good night!

the sweet stuff!

Sometimes you just need a sweet treat!

Today was one of those days!  Nate & are headed to our friends, Heather & David’s house for some beef & noodles, a bonfire & hayride tonight & I couldn’t arrive without a little something!

So, I decided to make these: Mom’s verision of Turtle Pretzels! So, easy-peasy & even better: S OOOO GOOD!! :)

I wasn’t sure about points for us (me, Nate, Heather & her mom are all doing WW’s!), so I calculated them out by ingredient, and averaged about a point a piece! Niiiice!

Should you be tempted by the sweetness, I’m sharing what you do..(sooo stinkin easy & fun for kids too!)

-1 bag Rold Gold Tiny Twist Pretzels (fat free!)

-1 bag (or 2 if you wanna make more!) of Rolo Chocolates

-1 regular size bag of pecans

*I preheat the oven to 350* while I prepare the goods! Hehe

Lightly grease a cookie sheet, place all kinds of pretzels on it…put a Rolo on each pretzel..put in the oven for just 3 or 4 minutes..just until they’re starting to melt..remove them from the oven & place a pecan on each!

Cool them right on the sheet in the fridge for 30 or so minutes.

ALL DONE!

Perfect, yummy snacks! Mmmm!

In other news…less than a week until we move!! I am about to go start packing my scrap schtuff up..sniff sniff!  I’m excited & ready tho!  I’m hoping to do a new space like Ali Edwards’ scrap room! LOVE that space!

Thanks for all the anniversary wishes! Nate & I both appreciate them very much! :)

We have a Harvest Party for church tomorrow & I will be trying a new recipe for cheesy potatoes I’ve never tried before..so that should be fun!

Then, a 3 day work week for me & then errand day Thursday night & THEN moving day!!

It seems like forever since we first found this house!

God is so good!!

Hope you are all having a fantastic weekend!

Time well spent

God showed me just how wonderful my life is so many times this weekend. I am truly blessed!

Friday,Megan called me & asked if I wanted to go with her her BF to see Goodluck Chuck.  I declined at first cuz I didn’t want to spend the money, but then I decided to go..I mean..I cannot pass up some Dane Cook now!! ;) hehe It was kinda vulgure & tasteless, but pretty cute none the less!!

Nate got home a couple hours early from work, so we were able to spend some chill time watching tv & making a grocery list. :)

Saturday we ventured out to WalMart (ahhhh and on a Saturday of all days?! What were we thinking??!) to stock up on schtuff we’ll need for some GREAT, new recipes I found at dwlz.com!!

Had a nice little lunch a Subway before coming home to put the groceries away & catch up on some more DVR’d tv shows!

Later on, we headed to Fairlawn so I could go to Lane Bryant & find some khaki’s, which they didn’t have & I was so bummed!  So, we ventured over to Canton to the other LB..still found nadda…so I opted for some new black dress pants..since I needed them too! I love em’!

After some shopping, we ate dinner at the much planned for Chipotle!! Mmmm. Heaven! It never fails me. I love it!  After dinner, we ventured back home to see We own the Night with Joaquin Phoenix & such…it was good!  Definitely a “hard, rough” kinda movie, but we really liked it!  OH, and I almost forgot! We weighed in a day early (b/c with the anniversary & bad eating out we were about to have, we thought it might be a better idea! Haha) and nate lost 2.4 & I lost 3.2 in 6 days! We’re happy & can’t wait to keep losing!

Sunday was church & our anniversary!  The Sunday School bunch sang “Happy anniversary” to us & it was so sweet!  Church ROCKED. Soooo good!  Dude. I am seriously so, so blessed to have such an amazing church like I do! The worship is amazing!!

After church, we came home & made these:

Low-point pepperoni snacks! And they were deeeelicious!!  Nate told me I had to buy more stuff to make them again this week! Hehe. I even used turkey pepperoni (which we actually like better than regular!) to cut down on the fat even more!  We also had a chunk of our top layer of wedding cake!  The cake lady had told my mom just what to do last year when it came time to freezing it & having it taste good on our 1 year..and it worked!!  It was delicious! It seriously tasted just like it did on our wedding day!  No joke!  Now, we have this nice big chunk of cake..and no one to share it with! LOL  The swirls were even still on it!!  Made my day! Hehe.  So, I told my mom to swing by & get some b/c we don’t want it laying around here tempting us!

After a quick nap & getting ready, we headed back to Canton so I could get my rings cleaned at Jared (and where I almost walked out with an early Christmas present! Hehe) & to stop at The Exchange (where you can buy previously owned dvd’s,cd’s,video games, etc) we love it there! We found Twister & Click for $10 total! Anywhoo…after that & Old Navy-which, btw they’re having a HUGE sale right now! Nate finally got a belt that he’s been needing forever & I got a sweater that is TOO cute!... we went for our anniversary dinner a Carraba’s!  I had never been th ere, so I was pretty excited to see what it was all about!  Nate had called ahead a few days ago..so they even had a sweet little “Happy Anniversary Nichole & Nate!” at the top of the Specials! :)  Everything was fabulous!! From the bit of bread we had to the main course (Nate had lobster stuffed ravioli & I had shrimp & mushroom fettuccini alfredo!) to the service..it was excellent! I loved it & can’t wait to go back..but not before I save another thousand points cuz that place is FATTENING!! Hehe. Thank goodness we had water to balance everything out! ;) hehe.

So so good, as were the sundae’s we had at Friendly’s later on! YIKES! Points overload!!  Needless to say, we’re back on track today! Hehe.

Everything was wonderful! The day was super perfect & Nate I enjoyed every second!  It flew by, very much like our wedding day!

We kept reminiscing about our day last year..how wonderful everything was like being pronounced Mr. & Mrs. and gettin' down to YMCA at the reception! ;)

Today we have been packing fools!  I am soooo ready to move! Can’t wait! Nate talked to the landlord today & he said he put fresh coats of paint in the stairwell, living & dining rooms! We pretty much have everything that we possibly can packed up..including the spare bed & our kitchen table!! Hehe.  We figured we won’t need in the 10 days we still have til moving day, so why not?!

I hope everyone’s weekend were well!  I think I might go scrap some before all that gets packed too!

this...

keeps me going.

him.

Little encouraging & sweet notes on my food journal.

“I love you baby! Here’s to a new us!!”

Found this today after a long day at work & SO not wanting to workout.

But, after I saw this, my attitude changed, completely.

We are REALLY doing this!

I love it! I love that my best friend is right there by my side, pushing me, encouraging me thru this, believing in me!

We are so gonna kick our fat butts to the curb this time!

Had a great visit with my friend, Melanie last night! Her hubby is in

Iraq

right now..until late next year. So, so hard. We had a yummy dinner at Applebee’s (Southwest cobb salad off the WW menu..Mmm!) & even a treat at DQ (dilly bar)! Thinking about you, Melanie!

Nate even got home early from work, so after he heard I had had a treat, he had to have one too! So, we made a trip into DQ & he got a vanilla shake! Thank goodness for flex points! Haha ;)

We’ve also being DVR’ing The Biggest Loser & I love it! I’ve been a big fan since the first season.  Sooo inspiring! So, we watched that before bed & then I crashed!

I found some GREAT recipes the other night online & was originally hoping to make a small scrapbook with them, but I’m thinking that may take a bit too much “work!”, so I may just settle for a binder & some page protectors to get the job done! Haha.

Anywhoo…that is all, really!  I can’t believe our anniversary is fast approaching!!  So excited! Any ideas for a small budget?!  We’d love to do something on Sunday (well, aside from dinner!), but don’t have much money this week.  Any suggestions?!

dude. i'm hungry!

Geez, I am really slacking with updating this thing lately!  I really need to get it together!

I blame it on the mess in my home. ;) hehe. It’s funny how when your things are tucked away in boxes, (like your toaster that your hubs just could NOT wait to pack away even tho you use it often!) and you have things stacked all over the place, and well, your home is a MESS..just how flustered one can get when all that is too! So, right now that is me: flustered. Ready to get in our new home! But, in the meantime (less than 3 weeks to go, btw!) life must go on…and this is the latest…

Nate’s old suitemate from college got married Saturday.  It was such a beautiful day here & their wedding was precious.  They are beyond adorable & we are so blessed to call them friends.  Nate had a blast catching up with a bunch of people from college. I loved that too, especially for him!  Since his schedule is so wonky, he never gets to hang out with his friends, so the reunions were much needed.  I think it’s always sweet when the groom gets teary eyed when he sees his bride for the first time as she gets ready to walk down the aisle. And Chris did that when he saw Bethany & that got me! I cried..a little. Hehe.  They did a slideshow after lighting the unity candle & it was sooo cute! I wish Nate & I would have done that! 

After the early wedding, we stopped by grandparents for a visit. Sooo good catching up with them!  Then, we went grocery shopping & had our last “eat whatever you want, stuff yourself so much you can’t move, cuz this is IT” dinner…because…

We’ve decided to Weight Watchers together!! 

With our schedules the way they are, we aren’t able to attend the meetings, plus it saves us money..so we’re doing it alone.  Nate has never really even been on a diet before, let alone done Weight Watchers..so this is already proving to be a battle!  Today is Day#2 & I am happy to say even thru grumbles, headaches, some whining & complaining…we are still going strong!

We just got done walking a mile with the Walk Away the Pounds dvd’s & Nate is (anxiously!! Haha) making lunch!

We have just both had enough. I mean really. We’re 23 and so happy (aside from our weight)…and we are seriously starting about starting a family sooner rather than later..and we know it’s not good to be this big. AT ALL.

I officially weigh more than I ever have in my life & it makes me sick. But, I’m done crying over it. I’m  done looking thru my old scrapbooks & getting MAD at myself for gaining everything I had lost back, PLUS some.

Tired.

So, Nate & I both said no more.  We know it’s going to be tough. Hard and not fun at times.  But, when you go to your family doctor who you’ve known almost your entire life and he (finally) tells you you MUST lose weight, it kind of hits hom e.

So, here we are.  With our Pointsfinder in o ne hand & water in the other! ;) We have our food journals along with our current weights & points values stuck to the fridge, and we stocked up on fruits & veggies, and 100 calories packs the other day.

We know we CAN & WILL do this!!

Even when I have to hear Nate say, “dude. I’m hungry!” and even when I say it myself…I know we will get there!

Nate’s goal is to get into a 30 waist jean…maybe 32.  Mine is to be 140 lbs. ROCK ON. I’m ready for this! FOR REAL this time!!

In other news…I scrapped a little late last night while Nate watched some football…fun stuff!

the boring one

with no photos. oh blah.

to be honest, we haven't done much to take photos of..or to record. our apartment is a wreck.

all my signs, decor, candles (except one) are all packed. nothing fun  exciting lately!

can you tell we're ready? ;)

less than a month now!! so, so excited.

Nate's mom came for a visit this weekend. She left this afternoon after a yummy lunch out. We took her by the new place..and it got me even more excited to move in!

She will be making all new curtains for us..we went to JoAnn's Saturday & looked thru books. I found just what I want. Now, I just have to decide on the colors for them! 

Not a whole lot going on with us lately.  We recooped from those nasty colds, after having to take a day off Thursday.  I cannot believe it's October 1st already! Less than 2 weeks until our anniversary!

Oh, we went to my fave antique store today. Big mistake!  I found 3 pieves I LOVED all in the same booth! Nate said I can go back on Friday & get one!! I found the cutest wooden, 7 drawer "chest"..it's white..and worn & I LOVE it! And I also found a cuuute wooden, white shelf with a drawer that hangs on the wall...omgosh! AND an adorable white wooden table that would be perfect as the library table I've been trying to track down for our new place..I can see my Willowtree Nativity on it now! haha. All 3 pieces are good deals...so who knows..maybe I'll come home with all 3 & then have an unhappy hubster to deal with upon my return?! LOL

I am a true antique-er at heart. I never knew until recently, but old mkes me more happy than new!

I've started to venture "back" to Two Peas again. I've missed it there. I miss the gallery & the people. It's a great place, so hopefully I'll get back ito the swing of things there again!

I hope those who read this are doing well! Maybe next time, I'll have some photos to post or something! haha.