organized clutter....oxymoron?

Everyone has a place in their house where they dump and unload all the stuff they bring home after a day's work. It is a rare occasion when I can walk into the house without an armload of stuff ready to unload....everything from purses and keys to mail and coats. At work, one of my co-workers calls me the bag lady because I always am carrying multiple bags to and from the office....and I'm not even a mom yet! For Luke and I, the dumping place in our house usually ends up pretty close to the door. Especially, now that we're living in a two-story house, I'm finding it increasingly difficult to take my shoes and piles of mail upstairs where they belong. We needed a solution, especially knowing that when we have students over, they're going to need a place to do the same.  That's why we created this space in our living room, just inside the door. ....Bring on the junk organized clutter!

Purity Ball

Saturday night, we had our third-annual Purity Ball at church for 7th & 8th grade girls. What a fun event!! I started it a few years ago, and it's amazing to see it grow each year. This year we had a record 24 girls, 6 adult leaders, and many high school students who helped serve! The evening started with a formal dinner and then we had Amy Jagger, a woman from church, speak to the girls. Her message was phenomenal and there were many tear-filled eyes around the room when she finished. There was a lot of prayer leading up to this event, and God definitely delivered. At the end of the night, we gave each girl a purity ring or white rose. Here's a picture of everyone (including the leaders).

Casaburo Salad Recipe

This week's recipe has become one of my favorites. Most people who live in the Ft. Wayne area have experienced eating at Casa's, or are at least familiar with its reputation for great Italian food. In my opinion, their house salad is the best salad out there. A couple years ago, one of my co-workers brought this salad to a work carry-in, and I was sold! It tastes very similar to Casa's salad. So, if you want in on the secret, you can try making this at home. It's pretty easy once you have all the ingredients on hand.

Dressing Ingredients -

This makes a lot of dressing, so I usually cut these ingredient amounts in half and save the rest of the dressing in the fridge for the next time I make it.

3/4 tsp. Oregano
1 Tbsp. Salt
1-1/2 tsp. Garlic Salt
8 oz. White Wine Vinegar
1/4 c. Cornstarch
1-1/2 tsp. Pepper
1-1/4 oz. Sugar (about 10 tsp.)
2 c. vegetable oil

Blend all ingredients except oil in a blender or food processor. Pour oil in a stream with the blender on.

Salad Ingredients:
1 head Iceberg Lettuce
1 head Romaine Lettuce
1 Red Pepper, chopped
1 bunch Green Onions, chopped
1 c. fresh grated Parmesan Cheese
1 c. fresh grated Romano Cheese
Croutons (optional)

Toss salad ingredients. Add dressing right before serving. (Don't add dressing to salad all at once. It gets soggy quickly.)

Makes about 12 servings.

My Hero, Batman

Luke and I entered a new phase of our marriage last night when an unwelcomed visitor showed up at our house....a BAT!!! At about 10pm, I was down stairs brushing my teeth, and Luke was upstairs getting into bed when I heard something in the kitchen. As I turned around, I saw something fly through the dark room. At first, I thought a bird had somehow gotten into the house, but when it flew again, I realized that it was actually a bat. You can probably guess what my reaction was. Yes, I screamed for Luke at the top of my lungs! Before this, I thought I could handle most things. I can kill a spider and even trap a ground hog if I need to, but I CANNOT handle bats, mice, or snakes! Luckily, Luke stepped up and became my hero (a.k.a. batman)! He ran downstairs and started waving a boot in the air to try to hit the bat. We had both doors open, as Luke tried to get it out of the house. While he was trying to get it, I was outside hiding behind the door like a little kid. :)  Eventually, Luke hit the bat to the ground and flung it out of the house...with my high heel shoe, I might add, which was unfortunately the closest pair of shoes to the door. I had to force myself to put those shoes on this morning for work. I was trying to think of every excuse not to wear that pair of shoes today. But I faced my fears! At the end of it all, in my head, I started singing "Another One Bites the Dust" (Queen, anyone?!), but it did leave me wondering....is there more than one bat in our house???!! Until we find out, if you need to reach me, I'll just be here hiding my head under my pillow.

March Madness Window Bracket

With March Madness in full swing, Luke decided to spend most of his Friday afternoon off working on his bracket....although it turned out to be a little more than just an ordinary bracket. It's a life-size bracket on one of our living room windows! Cool, huh?! We just hope the dry-erase marker actually comes off the window in a few weeks!



The bracket is a little hard to read in this picture, but you get the idea.





Here's a better view of the window bracket.



Popcorn Party

Last night, Luke and I invited some students over to watch some of the NCAA basketball tournament games. It was so much fun! As you might expect, food was a necessary part of the festivities. Lately, I have heard great things about Kernal Colada's Snack Shack in Columbia City, so I ventured out to pick some up for the party. And thanks to my Groupon, I got it for half the price! It is the coolest place. They have tons of popcorn flavors...traditional Chicago style, caramel, birthday cake, hot jalapeno, and many more. I bought three different flavors for the youth to try, but the birthday cake flavor ended up being the overall favorite. Leave it to the pictures below to leave your mouth watering....yum!!



All Three Flavors...Chicago Style, Birthday Cake, & Caramel



Bathroom Makeover

Here is another home project that we've almost completed--the first floor bathroom. It's amazing what a fresh coat of paint can do! All that's left to do in this room is to finish painting the doors and to find a hand towel rack.



BEFORE



AFTER