Happy 4th of July!!

I'm taking a much needed break from real life to come to the lake and enjoy some relaxing time with my family!  J is visiting his family in Minnesota/North Dakota so I'm missing him, but I'm so glad he was able to get up there and spend some time with them.

Although I love the lake and family time, I'll be missing 2 very important people this 4th of July!!

My cousin Hannah on the left and my cousin Carli on the right are both out west and can't join us for the festivities, AND I don't get to see my other cousin Miranda (next to Carli) until Saturday - the 4th of July won't be the same without them.

Today, I'm running a 5 mile race around the lake (it's going to be BRUTAL) and then relaxing at the lake, and hopefully seeing some fireworks to finish the day.  Hope you are enjoying your holiday and I hope your view this weekend is as good as mine!

HAPPY 4TH OF JULY!!!

I'm back... and I have big news!!

I am back from Greece, and before I get into the trip recaps, I have big news to share.  I haven't even shared this with Facebook yet, so you're not the last to know...

WE ARE MOVING!!!

I love Bloomington, and there are a lot of things I'm going to miss here, but we are moving, to Ann Arbor, Michigan!

via

We came here two years ago for my job, because it was a chance to be closer to family, and with the hope that J would find something in his field.  We thought that IU would be a great place for him to do that... it turned out not to be the case.

We are moving again because I got a new job, but we are so very hopeful that this time will prove to be a better chance for Jason to get back to what he wants to do.  U of M has a much larger athletic department and there are universities close by that could present additional opportunities.

If J gets back into athletics at Michigan, I can see Ann Arbor being a place that we would stay for a long time and have a good chance of really putting down roots... something that we though Bloomington would be.

SO - our house is on the market and we will be downsizing temporarily - back to an apartment.  That will probably be the most difficult part of moving because we have done so much to the house and it's going to be hard to go back to white walls and a kitchen that hasn't been upgraded.

One of the best things about this move is going to be how close we will be to my family's lake house.  Right now we are about 4 hours away - now we will only be an hour away - HOORAY!!!!

So I have one more month here in the state of Indiana, but won't be changing the blog name  :)

GO BLUE!!

A Bittersweet Goodbye

My cousin came to visit this past weekend, and although I loved having her here and we had so much fun, it was for a sad reason... she's moving and she will be gone when I get back from Greece.  The last time she and I moved away from each other, we got a matching tattoo...

Excuse this lame photo - I realized I don't have any pictures of it.

It means confidence, and at the time, and at the time, we were both starting a new chapter in our lives and we needed to remind ourselves that confidence was going to get us through the times that we though were too hard to get through.

So, we were sitting on the deck on Saturday night and we were telling a couple of my friends the story, and I told her that her move to Arizona may be a good reason to stick to the tradition and go get another tattoo.  She agreed (I now have 3 and she now has 6 - it didn't take much convincing) and we started googling... we found a couple of tattoo parlors that were open on Sunday and we looked for something that we thought was appropriate.

Well, after some edits to our original ideas, this is what we settled on...

Again, I know the picture is bad... it's hard to take a picture of your own ankles.  We are so happy with how it turned out (hers is the same as mine) and really had a great experience at Little Blues Tattoos!

She is more than just a cousin to me - she is like a sister and although I don't see her that often, I'm going to miss our time at the lake this summer, and I'm going to miss her stopping by my mom and dad's house when I'm in town to play games.  I'm so excited for her and her husband to experience a new state and start their next chapter together!!

Habitat for Humanity - Women Build

When I first came to Bloomington, my boss invited me to a Habitat for Humanity breakfast, and I was instantly intrigued by the organization, what they do, and the impact it has on its homeowners.

This year, I was invited by my boss to be a part of what I consider to be the ultimate DIY - her Women Build team!  Habitat for Humanity has Women Build Week all over the country, but I have heard from many women that Bloomington has a very strong group of women who represent well!  There were many teams of women who were on the build site for the whole week and I got to be a part of the group that framed the walls!

I don't shy away from building or working with tools - in fact, if we buy a piece of furniture that has to be put together, I am always the one to jump at the opportunity... maybe that's why I like IKEA so much  :)

This experience, though, was by far one of the greatest of my life!  There were probably 30 women at the build and we worked on two houses - putting all the walls together and getting a few of the exterior walls raised!  The homeowners were also there, which made this experience even more special because we got to know them, and got to spend the day with them, and to feel their excitement and appreciation was so great!

There were some people who were in charge of measuring and cutting and putting pieces of wood together to make the components of the walls.  I spent the entire day putting the actual walls together, and it was amazing to feel more and more confident as the day went along.  I even built a few walls totally by myself once I got the hang of it!  So - here's what we worked on!!

Our first few interior walls

Our first BIG interior wall

My first completed door way!!

I didn't take a ton of pictures because we were working really hard to get these done.  The house I was working on was a 4 bedroom, 2 bathroom house so it was larger than what is normally done in the Women Build week...

A big shout out goes to all of those friends and family who supported me - in order to be on the team, you have to raise at least $250.  I was close to $400 thanks to so many people who love Habitat and who also love me  :)  SO, here's to them...

We drove by the house a few days later (at the end of the week) and here's what we found!!!

I hope to be able to go back for the dedication of the house next week - I hope it's a place where the Mosiers enjoy raising their three children and where they really feel settled and connected to their community!

Happy Birthday

Today is Jason's Birthday!  

On of my fave pictures ever of J - Mexico 2009

We are so excited to get to celebrate it with his mom, who is in town from Minnesota, and my parents who came down for the weekend.  I love celebrating Birthdays and I especially love celebrating my best friend and the best husband I could ever imagine!!!

Wicked Weekend

J and I took a serious break from home improvements to head up to Kalamazoo for a long weekend of relaxing, family and a chance to see Wicked again!  We found out in December that we had tickets and I have seriously been looking forward to it since!  Wicked is J's favorite musical, although his list of attended musicals is pretty small.  It has quickly moved up my list, too!!

It was a seriously amazing show.  The girl who played Glinda was amazing.  She was better than the one we saw in Dallas - she was funny and played the part so well!  The guy who played Fiyero was definitely memorable, which I wouldn't say about the guy we saw in Dallas, and we had a great Elphaba!

Before the show started

After the show, we headed to one of my aunt & uncle's favorite restaurants in Kalamazoo, Martini's.  They have great drinks and even better food!

Can't beat their cosmo!

Roasted garlic and cauliflower alfredo - AMAZING!

It was such a fun weekend and it just makes me look forward to more family time this summer as everyone starts heading back to the lake on the weekends!!!

Coming soon - kitchen remodel & Wine Wednesday!!

Where did January Go???

I can seriously not believe there are only 9 days left in January.  The spring semester always seems faster to me than the Fall (yes - I live my life in the college semester calendar, not the normal January-December), but this is outrageous!!

When we started the semester, I kept thinking that I wish we would have had one more week before the students came back, but now it seems like they've been back forever and January 6 seems like an eternity ago!

Since I didn't recap Christmas with my family, here's the short version...

• It was so great to have my cousins and aunt home with us (it just wouldn't feel right with out them)
• We had a great "Christmas morning" that was really the day after, but it still felt like Christmas morning to me!
• After a few days in Indiana, we went up to Michigan to visit my other aunt and to go to my cousins' house for our family get together/ugly Christmas sweater party
• We returned to my parents' house for New Year's Eve where it had snowed, so I made Simon...

• New year's even with family, back home on New Year's Day and back to work on the 2nd

Since then, I've recovered from a cold, J has been in the ER with kidney stones and January has disappeared.  We've done some stuff around the house, I've been kind of crafty and I have lots to share, BUT I'm on my way to Chicago on Thursday, so it's going to have to wait until next week.

Just something to look forward to, I guess  :)

Christmas in Minnesota

We had a great trip to Minnesota!

As soon as we got there, we went up to J's grandparents' house.  It was so great to see his grandma with more energy and spunk than this past summer. They live about 15 miles from Canada, which basically just equals COLD, but this year, it also meant that the snow had frozen on the trees so everything was BEAUTIFUL! 

I posted this on Facebook and no one thought it was real

We got back to his Mom's and I finished wrapping while I watched some Christmas cartoons and his sister and her family got there on Thursday night.  On Friday we went and worked out, relaxed a little and went out with his sister and brother-in-law on Friday night. We don't get to do this much and it was so much fun! Not having any siblings, it's hard for me to really get what it means to have a sister or brother, but I feel a little closer to them every time we hang out. 

On Saturday we did a little bit more shopping and then got ready for our Christmas. It was CRAZY and we ended up having to take a half-time to clean some stuff up so we had room for more gifts. I think next year, we should let the kids open the gifts, put them to bed after a while and then open our gifts, hehehe.

J and I only took a couple of small presents up there for each other because it seemed silly to drag them up there and back, but my favorite gift that I got from him this Christmas was this...

 

Infinity ring with our birth stones

I've also gotten tons of compliments on the scarf that J's sister bought me... I absolutely LOVE it!

 



Sorry for the kind of weird picture



Everyone else left on Sunday and we relaxed and read books and just hung out. J and I met some friends out for dinner and drinks and then Monday we relaxed some more (I woke up not feeling well) and went out to dinner before coming home to watch Elf (J's mom had never seen it before). 

On Tuesday, we headed for the airport.  I've never flown on Christmas Day and it was actually busier in the airport than I thought it would be.  We were really lucky to avoid any bad weather, and everything went really smoothly!

We got back to my mom and dad's house on Christmas night and got up the next day to have Christmas - Round 2 with them. 

What's your favorite thing that you got for Christmas?

Friday Bride Day with The Green Bride Guide

My cousin gets married next week!!!!  I am so excited to get to be a part of her wedding as her Matron of Honor, and because I'm officially calling it wedding week (since the fun will start a week from today), I'm going with wedding inspired posts all week!

Because it's October in Indiana, the weather is unpredictable at best!  Fall is definitely my favorite season in the midwest because of the colors and the crisp air.  BUT you never know what the weather is going to be on any given day.  We've had 3 days of rain the past week, which led to icky humidity, but this weekend is supposed to be 70 and beautiful!

SO, as I was thinking of all the ways we could prepare for unpredictability on my cousin's wedding day (with an outdoor ceremony), a post on The Green Bride Guide really caught my attention!

They have some really great ideas on Keeping Guests Comfortable in Cool Weather, which include my personal favorite... a big, warm, fire.

Luckily, we are going to have the best of both worlds at my cousin's wedding... an outdoor ceremony that could be moved inside if absolutely necessary (for rain, not cold), a great indoor reception location, and one of my favorite of all of her plans, a transition of the balcony from a ceremony location to a fun outdoor space with cocktail tables and cornhole boards, where you can still go out and get that fresh air fix.

Have a great weekend!  More wedding fun to come next week!!!

This Weekend

J and I were on vacation again last Wednesday-Friday, so I hope you enjoyed the Chicago recaps while we were gone.

We went to the lake, to my aunt and uncle's house in Kalamazoo for a visit, and to my cousins' house in Grand Rapid's to see my uncle's art work that was displayed at Art Prize.  The festival has created another great reason for a family get together and my cousins were great hosts!

Rather than getting a hotel, we decided we would camp.  Let me just tell you... I am not an outdoorsy girl.  I hate bugs because when they bite me, I'm miserable... not like "stop breathing" miserable, just really itchy for a really long time.  I also really like running water.  I have curly hair, but my second day curls kind of suck, so not being able to shower and do my hair can make for some really bad hair days.

I've decided that I can handle this type of camping (backyard camping) for two main reasons...

1. There is a bathroom/shower just inside the door

and

2. I got this!!!

I know you've seen it before, but I'm really excited about it!!  I did forget to mention one other reason I'm agreeing to camp... my cousin has an 8 person tent, in which she has promised me we can fit 2 air mattresses.  I don't think I'd like sleeping on the ground... even in my pouch.

Hope everyone had a great weekend... Art Prize recaps coming soon!!

Well Hello There September!

After spending most of my time on the couch this weekend, trying to recover from whatever it is going on in my sinuses, I got the strength to get my computer out and write my first legit blog of the month.

I can't believe it's September and we have a LOT of stuff coming up in the next couple of months, so I'll delay the Labor Day trip recap a little longer and share the things that I'm looking forward to in the next 6-7 weeks!

I have a lot of work this week... I'll be there late Tuesday and I'm on call next weekend (good time to get some crafts done), but I plan on taking advantage of some flexibility in my schedule and sleep in this week so I'm not exhausted again by the end of the coming week.

J and I took some days off the following week.  We are going up to the lake for our last trip of the "summer", and just taking a couple of days to relax and hang out with each other!  Then we will head up to Michigan for a family gathering.  My uncle is an amazing artist, and has found a spot in the Art Prize weekend in Grand Rapids, MI so there are about 25 of us heading up there to see his art and to spend some quality time together.  We are actually planning to camp in my cousin's back yard, and so we ordered these...

They are only rated for 50 degrees, but I feel like I could wear some long sleeves and sweat pants and I'll be plenty warm... especially with that cozy hood  :)

The following weekend, J is going to meet a bunch of his friends in Wisconsin for Oktoberfest so I'll be left here to play Glee Karaoke on Wii fend for myself.  I also have a very special Birthday party to go to... our friends from work have a little boy who will be turning 1... and I get to take pictures  :)

The following weekend is my cousins wedding... SOOOO excited, so I'll have a short with that week, too.  I can't wait for their wedding day... I know she is so excited for it to be here, and I'm so honored to stand beside her on her special day as she did for me!  I may need to write a speech for this...

We have a weekend "free" (although I wish we were going to Texas that weekend for the Texas/OU game) and then the following week we are going to see Chicago (the musical, not the city this time) and then my mom and aunt will be here the weekend after that for a visit and to celebrate my mom's Birthday!

To round out the month of October, I'll be heading up to Detroit to present at a conference.  I'm feeling exceptionally special about this because they actually contacted me to ask me to present, are paying for me to fly up there, and taking care of all of my accommodations.  It makes me feel so fancy!!

So, as you can see, our next couple of months will be very busy, but hopefully that also means I have a lot to blog about!

What do you have on your agenda to kick off the fall?

Bridal Shower Fun

It just occurred to me that I haven't done a recap from my cousin's bridal shower yet... OOPS!

Well, let's set the stage.  My mom called me on Friday and said that they didn't have power.  A wind storm had gone through and taken some trees down.  I didn't really ask many questions, and figured that they would have the power on by that night... WRONG!

We had to make a couple of stops before we got to my parents' house so it was night by the time we got there.  J missed the exit because the sign had been chopped in half by the wind, and the whole area, which consists of a fairly large shopping area, was COMPLETELY dark.  Uh oh...

We got to my parents' house around 11 pm and decided we would just go to bed and hope that the power came back on over night - well it didn't.  I woke up at 5:30 am on Saturday, really starting to worry about the fact that I didn't know if the hotel had power.  J got up and went to the only grocery store in the area that had power, got some breakfast food that didn't require cooking, and got one of the last bags of ice in the city.  He also stopped by the hotel and they did not have power.  They asked us to call at 7:00 am when the manager arrived, and he would have more information for us.

So, we called at 7 am and it was busy.  I called about 10 more times before I figured out that they are probably on an internet based phone, which means no power = no phone.  J, my dad and I hopped in the car and drove over.  I talked with the manager and he said they would make it work!  They could get us all of the major food, they were ordering coffee from a local coffee shop, and that he would find something that could replace the toast that they wouldn't be able to make.  He also said they would put candles on the table for extra light, and provide extra pitchers of ice water.

Luckily my cousin had power, so I went to her house to get ready.  My mom and aunt put the centerpieces together and we met at the hotel to decorate and get ready...

Centerpieces, courtesy of my mom and aunt

Centerpieces, courtesy of my mom and aunt

The towel cake that I made

I thought donuts were more appropriate for a brunch shower

The table cloths were wrinkled (no iron) and it was pretty dark in the room because we kept having to close the curtains further to keep the sun's heat out, but the food was great, and I'm so glad we were able to make it work!  We played Bridal Scatgories which was a free print out that I found here and Name that Spice, even though it wasn't a "kitchen" shower per say.  Then it was time for the bride to open her gifts!

My other creation - Pinterest inspired, of course  :)

A few quick shots before we were all covered with sweat all went back home, and the bridal shower was a success!!

The bride between the Maid of Honor and a high school friend

Mother of the Bride, Grandmother of the Bride & Bride

Future Mother in Law and Grandmother in Law

Cousins - the funny picture (always a must have)

The bride with her aunts

Hannah and me!

I can't wait for her wedding... it's going to be such a fun day!  Only a couple more weeks until her bachelorette party, sure to be a great time as well!!!

A great way to celebrate life

A few weeks ago I mentioned that my mom's side of the family was getting together to say a final goodbye to my Grandma and Grandpa.  I looked and looked for something to read and could not do anything that was good enough for them.  Nothing I read was right... until about 30 minutes before we got there.  I was reading through things on my phone and finally found the perfect thing to share.

I was the only one of the grandkids to read/share anything, but I'm so glad I did...



Borrowed from my cousin

To laugh often and much; To win the respect of intelligent people and the affection of children; To earn the appreciation of honest critics and endure the betrayal of false friends; To appreciate beauty, to find the best in others; To leave the world a bit better, whether by a healthy child, a garden patch or a redeemed social condition; To know even one life has breathed easier because  you have lived.  This is to have succeeded.     ~Ralph Waldo Emerson

After our time at the cemetery, we went back to my aunt and uncle's house and ate, and laughed and just spent time together... it was a great way to honor our family.



My cousin and his wife also announced at their baby shower on Sunday that their son's middle name would be Elliott... what a great tribute.

Grandma and Grandpa, you are missed...

ANOTHER vacation!!!

We've been back at work for a week and now it's time for another vacation.  This one is a little more of a "stay-cation" than last week was... no flying... just a quick drive up to my parents' house.  Here's what's on the agenda for the coming week...

Friday afternoon - I have to run to Sam's and get some flowers for my cousin's shower and then J and I will go up to my mom and dad's house

Saturday - Hannah's Bridal Shower!!!  My cousin is also coming in from New York so I'm sure we will be in the pool with a beer (or two or three) for the afternoon after the shower.

Sunday - Grandma and Grandpa's burial and then the afternoon at my aunt and uncle's house with the fam.

Monday - ONE YEAR ANNIVERSARY!!!  We are going to do our "After I Do" photos on Monday morning... exactly one year after our wedding day... some may call this procrastination... I call it sentimental.

Tuesday-Saturday - fun at the lake, a 4th of July celebration and time with the family.  I sure hope they can shoot off fireworks... there's been a burn ban because we have had so little rain, but it just wouldn't be the 4th without them!

Sunday - a baby shower for my cousin, with a Very Hungry Caterpillar theme (SO CUTE!!)

All I can say is, I LOVE SUMMER!!!

Even though next week will be busy, I'll be showing you my latest creations (along with instructions) that will be making an appearance at the bridal shower on Saturday and the baby shower on Sunday!!

What do you have going on for the 4th of July?

A final goodbye

It has been almost a year ago since my Grandmother, the last of my grandparents, passed away.  It was sudden and unexpected and extremely hard on the whole family.  It has been an exceptionally hard year on my mom, who was the executor of her will and who lead her 6 brothers and sisters through each step of the process.

On Sunday, we will bury the ashes of my Grandma and Grandpa (who died in March 2009) and say one last goodbye to them.  It will be a small gathering... well, as small as our family gets... just their kids, grandkids and great grandkids.  There won't be anyone officiating or giving a service... it will just be us, sharing memories or poems or whatever we want.

I don't have any digital photos of my Grandpa, but here are a few of my favorite picture of my grandmother...

Three generations

Bridal brunch before the wedding

Dancing with my cousin, Mark, at his wedding

With some of her granddaughters at Mark's wedding

Playing cards - a family tradition

I don't know what I'm going to say/read yet... I know... I'm running out of time, but when I find it I'll know!

Minnesota/North Dakota Vacation Recap - Part 2

After starting our vacation with J's grandparents, we went back to J's mom's house to finish up our week.  We had some really great timing with our vacation this year because on Sunday, J's cousin had her baby!

We decided that it was a great occasion for me to make another diaper cake (DIY instructions coming NEXT WEEK!!!) and on Friday, we went and visited the adorable Westin...

That night, we got to visit with the other side of J's family, and spent some time with his Aunts, Uncles and Cousins... AND more cute babies to play with  :)

A great night to sit outside!

Friends!!

Jonathan

Jaden

We had to come back home on Saturday so we could get back to reality (a.k.a. work) on Monday, but it was a great week away!!!

One more week of work and then another vacation!!