Happy Anniversary Mom and Dad!

Wow! 34 years. I'm sorry, but I don't have any photos to show you...I forgot to put my memory card in my camera :-(

We made steaks and potatoes on the grill for the big event. And for dessert....porcupine cakes! One day while my mom was watching Jared he took pretzel sticks and stuck them in a cake. She dubbed it a porcupine cake. So, what would be more fitting than a porcupine cake for their anniversary?



Fire update:
Here is a post that my husband did on the emergency forum for this county:

I woke up responding to an unknown type fire. Then upon leaving the house I hear from police on scene it was my father`s business, Oswald Plumbing and Heating garage, fully involved.
Needless to say I went directly to the scene. I was not a firefighter this time, but a victim. 25 years in business gone in no time. It was one of the few times I had seen my father cry in my life. He lost everything, 2 service vans, tools, and a large inventory which he built up over his time in the bus..
When he started, he worked from our basement. I remember having to move pipes and fittings when I want to get my bike from the basement. 5 years later he expanded to this garage. I remember how empty it looked inside and how I wished it was when I arrived on scene.
Sometimes we respond and brush off an incident as it was just another call, now I know how it feels on the other side.On behalf of my family I would like to say THANK YOU to everyone involved there that night and all emergency services who take the time from their families to help others.

Bedroom Makeover

Below you will see picture of how we lived for over a year. No curtains, we did have sheets, but there were in the wash the day I took these photos, no pictures on the walls, just blah.

I had enough of looking at this white pallet. I gave myself a budget of $100 to redecorate. Once I started doing my homework I realized that with a budget of $100 I could basically buy curtains. But I was determined to work with $100. At lot of the improvements you will see below are handmade or found around the house with what we already owned.

I took a trip to Walmart and bought fabric for the curtains - total cost for curtains: $24.

The quilt I made and already owned. I just needed to finish putting the binding on. So I got my butt in gear and finally finished the quilt. Jared and I made the two matching pillows with leftover fabric.

The photo hanging on the wall was in our living room and I needed a change.

The hamper - $20

The quilt rack was downstairs too - free.

New Lampshades from Big Lots - $24.

Painting - I made two - one that you see below and one for the living room bare spot - $15.

Hat boxes - from my grandmother's estate - free.

Wall hanging - sitting in a box from our last anniversary.

Wooden Bench - this was sitting awkwardly in our dining room - fits great at the foot of our bed.

Bed Skirt - $10 from eBay.

Total - $93.00

Having a Bedroom you can be proud of....priceless!!

The Shack

Wanna read a thought-provoking book? Read the shack. Although this is not a difficult read, I found myself reading about one chapter a day. I needed time to think about what I just read and what that meant to me.

Fire

I'm sorry to say that my in-laws and husband have suffered a great loss. My in-laws have their own business and my husband works for them (or he did). This past Tuesday the business went up in flames, literally. Here are a few pics...

My father-in-law has been in business for 25 years. I know that this is just a building and no lives were lost or even injured, but this was a huge part of his life.