There's a hole in my wall!

It's true, and I love it!
My parents and little sister came out this weekend and we sure put them to work. The job on Bryce and my dad's list was knocking out part of the wall between the kitchen and the living room.
Here's a sneak peak into what it looked like:

I was really excited to knock the first hole in the wall. Man, I wish that I could do that more often!

We found all the extra drywall scraps from the builder of the house in the walls.

The guys figured that they couldn't have cut into a wall with more wires running through it. They spent a long time moving them around because I insisted that the could not just leave them hanging there!

Framing it it.

All done! It makes a huge difference.

 While the boys were having fun upstairs, Mom, Krista, and I were busy downstairs working on our own project. More on that later this week, but it has something to do with why there are no doors on any of the cabinets!

This picture just makes me laugh, so I thought I would throw it in here. Mom wasn't really trying to strangle my puppy while laughing gleefully but it sure looks like it!

Time again for... Ten on Tuesday

Ten on Tuesday (70)

This is a fun set of questions taken from this website, all about names. 

1. How did your parents decide on your name?
I'm not 100% sure. I know I've asked before but can't really remember. I know that they liked that it was Biblical and that it wasn't super common. Mom?

2. Do your initials (First, Middle, Last) spell out anything fun/funny?
Not really, I was BSR and now BSH. I used to be embarrassed that my first two initials were BS. I remember making an art project in middle school where we did a picture using our initials and that was the first time someone pointed it out to me.

3. Did you take your middle name from childhood or did you take your maiden name as your middle name? (If unmarried, what do you plan to do?)
I kept Sue as my middle name and took Bryce's last name as my own. Now, I love him and his family so much and thrilled to be apart of their family, but it was really hard for me to do that. In fact I didn't change any of my documents for about 4-6 months after I got married because I had such a hard time with the fact that I was letting go of that name. Although I had a harder time giving up my MN license, that was a dark day indeed. 

4. Are you or will you name your children thematically (ie. same first letter, all of same origin…)
Well definitely not same letter, unless they are multiples - which I don't have a great chance at. I like a lot of B names but really don't want to use them because then me Bryce and the dog would all be B names, so they are out for at least the first couple of kids! But I would do same origin, Norwegian or Irish. Don't  ask me why I love Irish names I just do. Norwegian because I love their names and the culture and my heritage. 

5. Did you decide on baby names as a little girl? Did you stick to them or change your mind?
Kathrynne. I was obsessed with that name. And now I really don't think I would use it. I remember fighting over the name Victoria with my cousin as well. I think we've both changed our minds quite a bit!

6. Does your family have any names that have been passed down through generations?
Not through the generations. We have some names that are in honor of others. My middle name is the same as my moms middle name (which isn't that well known since she actually goes by her middle name Sue) 

7. Do you look at the meaning of the name or just the name itself?
I will look at the meaning, but not base decisions on them. I believe that the child make the name about them, not the other way around. Maybe I feel this way because Bethany means...... House of Unripe Figs...... now if that isn't a name to live up to I don't know what is!! Card industries take pity on me though, those cards that give the meanings always say House of God, that just sounds way better!

8. Do you name pets with human names (Sally, Henry) or with pet names (Fluffy, Mr. Bo Bo)?
My dog is named after a car. Bentley. We were trying to come up with  a name for him and Bryce was reading the paper and throwing out random words he found and he said Bentley and we both just decided that would work.

9. Are there any names that you have an affinity or dislike for based on a childhood experience/someone you once knew?
There are quite a few, and many of those names my friends have used for their children so I won't go into that one!

10. What are some of your favorite names? Why?
I'd rather not say that right now, I think I would like to use them for my future kids and want it to be a surprise! But maybe I'll change my mind before then so it wouldn't matter....oh well  I guess you'll just have to live in suspense.

Ten on Tuesday

Ten on Tuesday (69)

Questions are from this blog

1. What type of cell phone do you have and how would you rate it?
I'm not one to actually know the name and fancy things that my cell phone does, mainly because it doesn't do anything fancy. It allows me to call people and that is enough. I would give it a 6 out of 10. It is really thin, not a flip style, but is pretty wide which I don't like. The bottom half of it flips around so you can use the full keyboard, so that is fun to play with when I'm bored. But really, I just don't care!

2. What has been your most serious injury?
Honestly, I have a hard time coming up with anything. I haven't been seriously injured. I think this is due to my fear of falling and getting hurt, so I just avoid doing things that have the potential of broken bones. Man that makes me sound like I stay in a bubble at all times, but I really do go out and do fun things, I swear!

3. What is one movie you hate and why?
I hate Ben- Hur. My family  loves this movie and I could never handle it. In our house there is no way to get away from the movie when they watch it because the sound system is all over the house, so it was always a dreadful many hours to be in the house while I was listening to people getting whipped and killed. I know that there is such a wonderful story in it, but that is all I see/hear.

4. How many email addresses do you have?
I only have two that I check regularly. But I have at least two more that I check once in a while, mainly to empty the junk that goes there. And then I am in charge of the church's email too.

5. What website do you waste the most time on?
I have become a huge fan of blog hopping in between house flipping blogs. I find the process fascinating. So needless to say my list of want to do's around the house is growing at a crazy speed!

6. Which mexican restaurant makes the best salsa?
 I wouldn't know, Mexican restaurants aren't my favorite. Especially their salsa, always too much cilantro for my taste.

7. What is your dream car?
I've become a big fan of driving a suv. I think I would go for the new Equinox or the CR-V. There are too many that I really like too pick just one.

8. If you could spend up to $100 with no strings or restrictions or guilt, what would you buy?
I would put it towards a vacation. So on that vacation we aren't thinking so much about what we are spending, and can be guilt free while we are somewhere fabulous!

9. What is your favorite board game?
I'm a big Sequence fan. Although I am becoming less of a fan now that Bryce can now beat me 3 out of 5 times. Who knew that one could become better the more you played at such an easy game!

10. How often do you change your hairstyle?
I am the most boring person when it comes to hairstyles. I have had it long almost my whole life, a few times I ventured out and cut it shoulder length or so, but then I always grow it out long again.

Grandparents Day

Remember Grandparents day in school? I always got so excited because I knew my grandparents were coming to school and I could show them a little bit of what we learned and then the best part they take you out to eat for lunch!

Well when I was back home I got to have a better grandparents day, I didn't have to show what I learned, but I got to spend the day learning from them! Liv has a weekly breakfast with them while she is home from China, and I tagged along for one of their dates. We started the day early and went over to their house (which is only one mile away from my parents, very convenient!) and we learned how to make caramel rolls. While the dough was rising we snuck into town for breakfast. We had the pleasure of Dorothy's company this week. As I was trying to come up with the best way to explain our connection I just couldn't come up with one, she is my cousins grandma, my grandparents friend, my "bonus grandma", and my boss' mother in law.

Dorothy, Grandma Alice and Me

McDonald's breakfasts are one of my grandpa's favorites!

Liv and Grandpa Jorolf

After finishing our Egg McMuffins, coffee, and conversations we went back to their house to continue on our baking adventure.

Dough is ready to be punched and shaped!

All shaped and time for baking!

Normally Grandma doesn't really like to show you how to make baked goods, she knows her recipes so well and does so much of it without measuring and just knows how it is supposed to look and feel that it is hard to explain. So this was a special treat for her to walk us through it, and my favorite part - she would let us know when the best time to lick our fingers to get the most sugar and caramelly goodness!

Nothing beats ooey gooey delicious caramel rolls!

I know that I am so blessed to have these two in my life. Growing up so close to them, we would often bike over to their house and grandma would always have a cookie ready for us. They are so wonderful to all their children, grandchildren, and great grandchildren. It is sad to think about their time on earth is more than likely coming to a close, but it makes me treasure the times I get to talk to them and listen to their stories all the more!

Celebrating With Family

I got to spend this past week back home in MN celebrating birthdays with my family. End of January and February are very busy birthday months in our family.

These three all have birthdays within a week of each other

Mom, Dad, Liv

My grandparents come over to celebrate each birthday too. Theirs are coming up at the end of February. On the 26th they will be 95 and 92!

And making his blog debut is my brother. I wont be able to celebrate his 18th with him which is coming up on the 27th. Sorry Buddy!

Liv and Daniel

When birthdays weren't being celebrated, errand were done, and that pesky thing called school was out the three of us sisters got to spend some time together. We have been slowly getting Krista accustomed to coffee and the coffee shop culture. It's a lot of fun. Sometimes it takes me off guard that she is old enough to really enjoy that stuff, but it is a lot of fun to have her be "one of the girls" and forget about the large age gap!

Liv, Krista, and Me

 Latte art is one thing that I really wish I had learned when I had my coffee shop. But even though I can't do it, I can sure appreciate it! I love the detail.

More mini house facelift

Last night at about 10:30 p.m. I started to get antsy  waiting for Bryce to come home and decided to do something productive. So I grabbed a few tools and started to attack the entryway floor. Now I like my house, but the entry drives me nuts! It is only big enough for one maybe two people, but you can't open or close the door with more than one person in it. Its tiny, and frustrating when you are trying to welcome people into the house. Well I can't do anything to make it bigger, but I can make it look prettier.

So with Bentley looking over my shoulders and giving me looks like, "Are you sure you should be ripping that up?" "Shouldn't we wait for Bryce to come  home?" I ripped and scraped and tore up the ugly flooring. And guess what is underneath it? Even uglier flooring!! (We did find yet another of the nastiest looking vinyl too, but decided to just go right over it)

Then this morning with Bryce's help we laid down the new flooring. I decided to go with a dark flagstone looking tile.

Now I think Bentley has decided it was a good idea

In other news, Friday night I was coming home from work extremely crabby. I had worked like mad at the church and was exhausted. Normally on Fridays I am home by 4:00 and have everything done for the upcoming service. This week I hadn't even started my normal duties by 7:00 pm and just annoyed with life. So I drive home in a not so happy mood and open the door and was greeted by these two handsome gentlemen.

Bryce had made a delicious candlelight dinner, had classical music playing, and transformed the house into a beautiful restaurant. My mood instantly lifted and I was so grateful for such a thoughtful and wonderful husband.

Thanks for letting me brag a little!

Bathroom Facelift

 Bryce and I decided that we wanted to do a little work to spruce up the upstairs bath. This one is used by all our guests, and even though we did a lot of work on it a year ago, it still needed a face lift.

So here are the before pictures:

Bryce sanded down the vanity, getting it ready for it's new color...

 Ripped up the existing flooring. Goodbye cheap looking vinyl

 even the inside of the medicine cabinet got in on the action, no more rust spots!!!

And here it is, new paint on the walls, new stain on the vanity, new floor and I love it!