Winter

Our backyard 12/26/12

Well winter is officially upon us. The holidays have passed - except New Years right around the corner. But there is currently a blizzard outside. I don't really mind it. The critters are going a bit stir crazy though. Charlie wants to be out but then gets cold very quickly. Lucy just ain't havin' it. 
But to add a little more crazy into the world it's the day after Christmas and I had to go to work in this mess. I took the truck so I had the 4 wheel drive but daaaang it was rough still. What usually takes me 40 mins took over an hour and a half. Once I got there though - I get a message on my phone saying they are trying to get everyone set up to work from home....really....And the whole way there I kept wondering what I was doing going in.
awesome. So I hung out for a bit had some coffee and then white knuckled it back home. Took about an hour and a half again. 

Charlie really likes my new body pillow

But now I'm working from home. A good and a bad. It's quiet but I'm used to hearing people on the phone and talking to each other. But that brings me back to the critters. Charlie is upstairs snoozing. The cat is snoozing but Lucy oh no not Lucy. She's playing toys and keeps wanting to hop into my lap. Cute thing though so she's helping me today I guess.

Charlie and me lounging in Iowa!

Lucy cuddling with the baby

on our way back home from Iowa

Getting a baby bump!

At least Christmas was good. Spent the day with friends/neighbors. Great food and very relaxing.  I actually went back to Iowa last weekend and had Christmas with as much family as I could. Then Christmas Eve I tried out the Methodist church near campus. Seems nice. Weird though not being with the rest of the family though. Also weird not having oyster stew. Am I even allowed to have oyster stew? - Oh yeah since I last updated this thing we found out there there is going to be a baby Schuster!!! Everyone is pretty excited except the cat! We find out the gender on January 2nd!!! I'm starting to get a good baby bump going and feeling movement!!

I'm going to go upstairs and find a snack and see how much snow there is so far. We are predicted to get anywhere from 8 to 12 inches last I heard but then there is the wind... great..


Okay back to work!

Stay safe peeps,
Michelle

Crafts



Cuddly

Okay I like to do crafts. I'm not real good but perhaps I just need practice. But I am doing more paper crafts lately. Not like scrapbooking but I made a Christmas banner that I'm hoping to take a picture of to include in my Christmas card. Also doing a craft for my sister in law for Christmas. Hopefully it works out. I also am doing 2 crafts for other sister in laws. I just need to DO THEM instead of cuddle with the critters and watch TV.

I do have a knitting project going on also. Just a scarf....for myself. It's hot pink. =) In my defense though I gave away my last hot pink scarf to a gal I worked with that was moving away. It was my favorite so I have to replace it.

Also, I have a baby blanket to make. I bought one giant thing of yarn so I wouldn't have to worry about dye lots if I needed more. But I think I'm going to try and do a checkered pattern with it. Maaaannn I think that means my scarf is going to get put on hold since this one has a time frame.

Anyway, that's all. Bowling tonight. I had a great game the last time which just means my handicap is going to be different... I have mixed feelings about it.

Michelle

BOWLING

So I'm not so good and the ladies I bowl with all know this but they just do it for fun anyway.
But the other day...okay it's been some time but I have been meaning to post this...I did awesome. Not because of my score but because of the splits

Game 1 was rough, but hey it was the first game. So lets just skip that one.

Game 2 I scored 128 add in my handicap then it was 229. More impressive was the split I got. The 4 pin, 3 pin, and 6 pin were all up and I nailed it.

Game 3 wasn't as good as a score. I had 104. Add handicap it makes it a 205 (as you can see my handicap is high...). In my defense though at about the 7th frame the bowling alley was taken over by about 75 Depauw football players. We should have been done but in game 1 we had some issues with our lane so we were behind. Anyway these guys don't know much about bowling courtesy and they were loud and walking between us and crap. Anyway. The splits I got --
The 3, 6, and 8 pin were up and I got it. And later the 5 and the 7 were still up and I got it!!! After the guys had shown up I did have another split pop up but I didn't get it. I blame them and another gal, Evelyn that had watched me make sure I get all the others. On the last one she didn't watch because she was glaring at one of the guys who had walked in my lane behind me. But hey still impressive.

I bowl again tonight but I don't think it will be that great. I'm pretty tired. However, it will be the first game where I get to bowl with my own ball!! I just got it drilled. I'm worried that the holes aren't big enough but they are the experts.

Have a good one,
Michelle

Just checking in

Not a whole lot going on here. Just normal every day to day stuff but, it has been awhile since I posted anything. Charlie can't get enough of outside even though it seems to rain EVERY day now or at least there is a dampness in the air.

I guess that there have been some break-ins in the area. Scary. They are actually only stealing car/tractor/lawn mower batteries. I guess some people just need to get a hobby. So I'm all about Charlie wanting to be outside. Keeps the bad guys away.

Belle is home!

Oh the cat is back. She had to have all her surgeries and my folks helped out with that. Thanks Mom and Dad! But the timing is great because there is a lizard living in my house. AHHHH!!! At first when I saw it I tried to convince myself it was a figment of my imagination except the dogs saw it too...and then I saw it again later in the day. I've named it Loch Ness. I've done some research and it's safe to have in the house and it eats bugs. Anytime I tried to find something about how to get rid of it all the posts were like "why would you want to?" Well....there's a lizard....in my house...uninvited....that's why.

Alright that's all I got,

This is what Loch Ness looks like

Michelle

Chores



Fire!



So I admit it, when the hubs is home I insist that we do chores and get things done around the house. Such as clean the floor, weed, trim bushes, DUST, whatever. Well he was gone all weekend and you know what I did? Very little!!!. Ahhh it was great. I watched some serious DVR - mostly Criminal Minds because I can't watch that at night since it terrifies me. =) I did attempt to have a fire but due to recent rain I couldn't get it to go big enough. And I did burn the stuff that has personal information on it. So I guess that counts for something. right? Right.



Nom Nom Nom



Lucy was awesome though and just hung out with me the whole time. She followed me out to the back 40 where the burn barrel is. And when I tried to actually enjoy some time at the fire pit she hung out. And of course she was up for cuddles inside.

I'm going to try and be more productive...try... I am bowling tomorrow (read - I get to wear my new bowling shoes!!!). And then also I am going to try and find someone to get some furniture that came with the house out of the basement. Then this weekend I am going to try and take my Riders Edge course through ABATE to get my motorcycle (LOL I almost wrote motorcyclone) license. I'm nervous about it but I'm going to give it 100% and if I don't pass then I will just try again. But my course is actually next weekend, just going to try and get it done before.

Digging....

Eating a stick is exhausting







Want to go swimming?

Muddy Charlie

I hate to jinx it but it has been good two weeks since the dogs have been in the scum filled pond. I know I know I'm shocked too. I haven't even figured out what the appeal is. I think what is really going on is that they see some other sort of critter - raccoon probably and decide to go check it out. They haven't figured out though that when you go in the pond you meet the hose shortly after.

Also, I blame Charlie. Little dog is much too sweet and innocent to be the one that decided to go to the pond.

This is going on dogshaming.com

Muddy and gross....happy as can be

Another thing that I know should be taken in to account is over the Labor Day holiday we went to Edwardsville IL and they got to go swimming in the lake. Charlie kept jumping in then swimming back to the pontoon, got her self up the ladder, just to turn around and jump in again. I need to get her into dock diving. This looks like a good group ----> Dock Diving Group

Army Men

Not the real ones, the small plastic toys.

Many of you don't know, which is weird since my sister and I are so talkative, that Meredith and I have been playing this game with each other since at least the beginning of our college careers.

That game is hiding an army of Army Men in each other's belongings. I don't even know how it started. Maybe she'll remember. But the way the game worked at first in college, while sharing a dorm room, we would set up these Army Men and wait for the other to notice. To us, it is HILARIOUS. To others, it's probably slightly odd.

A friend of mine, whom I will just refer to as BFB, wrote a note to me in the cover of his "much anticipated" thesis from college saying we first met while I was hiding Army Men in my dorm room.

Once we moved away from each other I think the game took a break for awhile. Then somehow it got picked back up. The Army Men have been many places and this list is subject to be added on to.

Here are places I remember:

• Bookshelf in Michelle's bedroom
• Dorm room bookshelf 2002?
• On Meredith's lofted bed on the pillow
• Under the covers on Michelle's loft
• Frozen into ice cube trays at Michelle's apartment 2004?
• Dog food container at Michelle's house 2010
• Mailed to Meredith's work 2010  
• Sent home in Michelle's stuff from visiting Iowa 2011
• Wrapped in a Christmas present for Meredith 2011
• In the passenger side back pocket of Michelle's truck 2012
• In a flower pot at Meredith's house 2012
• Rolled into Michelle's Iowa State University football poster 2012
• Set up as decorations in Meredith's entertainment center 2012
• Under the passenger seat in Meredith's car 2012
• In the Bocce ball set 2012

The latest location

Upstairs Bedroom Project!!!



This picture makes it look more green...



Okay so I have a bunch of little (and some large) projects going on. I think I may actually be nearing the finish line for one though. We painted our upstairs spare bedroom a nice tanish color. It was pink and green stripes and polka dots. I like pink but this was a little much. So it's gone now (except the closet......). But I updated a headboard that I already had. My friend Kris and I went to the fabric store and bought some backing and then some fabric and then she and I stapled the backing around the head board.  Then the hubs and I did the fabric. It's AMAZING. I also just went and bought a new comforter set. I'm going with an outdoorsy theme.



I need to get more pillows so I can use the
other shams and make this look nicer.



I made this headboard!

Next with the room is CURTAINS! Why am I excited about curtains.... I need to measure the windows and such first but last night I had to bowl instead. First game was 123, second game113, and then I didn't buy a 3rd beer so for the last game all I got was 94.

I think this lamp would look cool in the room



Peace out,

  Michelle

Here gos

Well, with so much going on in our neck of the woods I thought I'd start my own blog about it. Hopefully it will be a nice way for the hubs to see all the normal things I'm going to be doing since he's out "working."

Quick bio:

I'm 30 years old, married for 2 years, originally from Iowa and now living in Indiana. No, it's not the same.

The hubs:

34 years old, also originally from Iowa. A sweet new job for him is why we moved to Indiana.

Critters:

Charlie (female Hungarian Vizsla), 4 years old. A big Velcro dog!!

Lucy (female half Chihuahua and half rat terrier), 2 years old. If she asks though, she's a Vizsla

Belle (female cat) 5 months old, thinks she runs the house

Various fish that for whatever reason I obsess over also