Confessions

I think it's so funny the spastic habits we don't realize we have.

For example-

• I like to eat cookie dough instead of the baked cookies. My dough has lots of finger-scoops when I make it. :)
  
• I drink milk out of the carton- wonder if I should tell Steve?
• I like to keep things in their original wrapping as long as possible. I love the feeling of opening something new.
  
• Only Diet Pepsi makes me burp like a boy.
• Every day when I come home from work, I open all the blinds and windows (I wonder how much our neighbors really know us!?)
• New books smell great, and I frequently sniff them.
  

Oh, how in the world does Steve live with me? :)
You know, you guys could always write me about your crazy habits! It might make me feel better...

Let it snow!

After much deliberation, we splurged and purchased a HUGE gas fireplace. Actually, we didn't think it would be as big as it turned out to be...

It was fun and relatively easy to set up. As we started pulling the pieces out of the boxes, we started to wonder just how big this sucker was going to be. By the time we were done, we were shocked...it was a BEAST! We were almost done with the mantle, when we noticed a significantly sized puncture mark in one of the corners. We called Lowes (where we got it from) and they said we could bring it right back and switch pieces for a better one. We went back out, toting our huge top piece, and made the trade. We were about 5 minutes down the street when I noticed I had left my purse there (which had the house keys). Bummer...so, back we went.


After the mantle, we worked on the firebox. This too was easy to assemble. The logs were a little flaky, but they went together well. We stepped back to admire our work. Wow...what a large fireplace!



The next step is to set up the gas, but since our whole excursion/setting up took longer than we had anticipated, this project is for another day. Steve's dad will probably help us with that part. Unfortunately, I would probably be in the way in this part of things. My knowledge of gas is limited to my own.

Hopefully you will be able to spend time with us around it soon!

It's Been a While!

Hello friends!
Just a quick update...

Steve and I are doing very well. :) We've had fun (probably me more than him) adding things to the house to make it more homey. It is turning out very nicely. There are projects (such as the bathrooms, spare bedroom and loft) that won't be done for quite a while, so we're trying to do the things we can fit in here and there. My parents gave us to dressers to use in the bedroom. My plan is to refinish them, but I can't do that until our spare bedroom is cleaned out, and that won't happen until we figure out some of our movie/computer/storage stuff.

We've already started thinking about how to decorate for Christmas. Our first Christmas as a married couple in our house! Woohoo! We both agree that we need to have a real Christmas tree, but have no idea where we'd put it.

It's only been about 4 months since our honeymoon and already Steve and I are thinking about taking a short vacation! Life is crazy! He is extremely busy with work projects, church responsibilities and other commitments. We've learned to love the weekend as we try to keep our commitments to a minimum in order to spend time resting and being with each other. Last Saturday we had a lot of fun eating a late breakfast, running errands, shopping, going out for dinner and watching a movie.

I work as a substitute teacher for Cinnaminson School district. So far, I've subbed at the high school and middle school. Oddly enough, I haven't subbed at the elementary level (which is where I have my degree!). When I am not subbing, I work in the church office, spend time doing house wife things and read or go to the gym. I am (hopefully) going to work for Arline, a tutoring company that educates students in impoverished school districts, starting in November.

A couple of weeks ago, we went boating with friends. Here is a picture of Steve water skiing. He was great! I was far more talented at tubing. The guys tried to rip me off of it by going fast. Needless to say, we were both very sore the next day!



Whew- well that is a small snippet from our lives! Hope this update finds you well!

-Steve and Bethany