How To Install a Ceiling Fan

I know, I know, all those design shows talk about how ceiling fans are such a eyesore and that they should never be in your house. Well, we like to have decent air flow and coolness when it's hot, so we have fans. In fact, every room that would need a fan, now has one. We spent our Christmas night cleaning out the loft and tidying the soon-to-be nursery. That's when Al decided that he needed to install the fan in the nursery. Yeah, it was ten and I was getting tired.

This brought me back to the time we installed the fan in the guest bedroom. The fan was up, and well, not working. We flipped the switch and either the lights worked or the fan worked, but not both together. For some reason, Al decided to have me check the wires to make sure they were correct. However, the switch was not flipped down and as soon as wires were touching, my body was jolted with electricity. It took me a minute to realize what happened, then...waterworks. It wasn't a totally big deal, but it scared me enough that I just stood there, couldn't move, and wept. Al was stuck there holding the fan parts up while I broke down. He didn't know if he should comfort me, laugh at me, or yell at me. I think a little bit of all of that happened, but I don't quite recall all the details. I just remember feeling the electricity go thru my body and standing there not being able to do anything. As you know, I survived with minimal damage.

Last night, in the three times that Alex had to recheck the wires and partway dismantle the fan, I was sure to flip the switch in the down position. I wanted to make sure that we didn't have a repeat electricity offense. Although we did almost have a broken leg or concussion on Al's end, all ended up well and I was in bed a little after 11.

With the room painted, fan installed, and room partway cleared, the nursery is starting to come together! Next project on the list is to re-arrange the loft and to get Al started on the bookshelf. WOOHOO!! Having a baby really gets you in the mood to have your house in order. :)

Happy Installing!
--Am

How To Rock Out in the ER on Thanksgiving

Yeah, that was how we spent two hours of our Thanksgiving evening. Before I go into any sort of detail, I should say that everyone is fine and no body parts were harmed!

Our trip began by driving 12 hours in the non-stop rain from Indy to Cortland, NY on the Tuesday before Thanksgiving. We and off listened to Harry Potter and took bathroom and food breaks. We got in around 11pm and headed to bed shortly thereafter. Wednesday was when all the trouble began. Shortly after playing a round of putt-putt and lunch, I started to feel like my allergies were getting the best of me. I got some pregnancy-safe meds hoping they would take my sniffles and headache away. Wednesday night was a little rough as I was having a hard time breathing and falling to sleep. Even with a dose of Tylenol PM I couldn't seem to get comfortable breathing-wise.

On Thanksgiving day, we headed to the park, and I was really hoping the fresh air would help clear me up. It was nice, but it didn't help me at all! We at lunch/dinner around 3 and that just seemed to make matters worse. I had a full belly and climbing the stairs seemed like the biggest chore! It finally got bad enough that Al called the OB back home and decided it was best to hit the ER. Boy, was I excited...NOT!

We get there, wait a bit, take my vitals, and stick me in a room. The nurse or someone listened to my lungs and heard wheezing. The doctor came in and said, it could be one thing or it could be another. We're going to run some blood tests, give you a breathing treatment, hook you up to an EKG, x-ray your chest, ultrasound your legs, and give you a CT scan. At this point, I start to freak out. I'm thinking, I'm pregnant and I don't want to put the baby through all these tests and I don't want to go through all these tests. So, after lots of talking about options, we decide to wait to see what the blood work says as that will determine which route to take. The doctor was sure it would come back positive for the possibility of a blood clot because I was prego. If it was negative, then it was most likely a breathing issue and not a blood clot issue.

During this time, there were six people that came in to do different things to me. A very nice man gave me the breathing treatment; a very rude lady that wasn't sure how to ask if I was pregnant or fat hooked me up to the EKG; a lady named Gloria and dressed in street clothes checked the baby's heart rate; a nurse drew my blood; a youngin' took all my insurance information; and a lady came in to talk to me all about the x-ray that I wasn't going to happen. All these people were in addition to the 2 triage nurses I had when I first arrived, the resident that saw me shortly after, and the doc. Really? Is it necessary to have all those different people? Freaking crazy town! No wonder ERs are a mess. Too many hands in the honey pot.

Overall, the blood tests came back negative for a blood clot, so the doc was fine sending me home with an inhaler. With the baby, a full stomach and a very bad cold, it was the perfect storm for pressure on my lungs causing breathing problems. I still have a bit of the cold left, but it's nothing like it was. And I have only had to use the inhaler about five times and none since I've been back in Indy. So, all things considered, I'm good and baby's good! Now, if only this cold would leave me alone!

Happy Easy Breathing!
--Am   

PS: How was your Thanksgiving? Hopefully less eventful!

How To Make Yogurt Pops

While passing the time by obsessing over Twitter, I found a website called Chobani Kitchen. It has all sorts of recipes and videos using Chobani yogurt as an ingredient. I really wanted some dessert-y ideas since I seem to be constantly craving something sweet. And although people say I'm eating for two I still want to be sure to not overdo it as that is so easy to do! So, instead of having a pint of ice cream, I've opted for the these pops.

I used two separate recipes: vanilla or chocolate pops and berry pops. For the vanilla pops, I used 1% milk and vanilla greek yogurt. I must say that these were kind of bland. I think I'll add some honey to them the next time. Since I really don't like chocolate syrup, I opted to whisk in creamy peanut butter and chocolate chips. This mixture really satisfies the sweet tooth! Finally, the berry pops suggested using plain greek yogurt, but I didn't have any so I used the vanilla. Alex was also kind enough to pick up some unsweetened, frozen raspberries, blueberries, and strawberries for my puree. I guestimated how much to puree and mixed in the berries with the yogurt and some honey. Now, I haven't tried this mixture yet, but I did take the remaining puree and mix it with some vanilla greek yogurt and honey. And wow! This was super tasty and will replace the pre-mixed yogurts I've been buying.

These pops take about 6 hours to freeze and are a tasty, healthy, late-night treat!

 peanut butter choc chip, vanilla, mixed berry

Happy Pops!
--Am

How To Hate Maternity Pants

I tried the rubberband trick. I tried just wearing the pants too tight for my own good. I tried wearing my fat pants. But I've now gotten to the point where I must wear maternity pants in order to be any kind of comfortable. And boy do I hate them!

They have this band that comes up to my boobs and the actual pant part is so low-cut that I am forced to wear long shirts. The longer shirts in turn, cut off my legs and make me look short and frumpy. The part that covers my stomach irritates the crap out of my skin, so all I do is itch it all day long. Seriously, I just stand and itch my growing belly. I can't win with these pants! Am I the only one with these problems? Answer: Most likely cause I'm weird!

Fortunately, I have found one pair of work maternity pants that are lower rise (thank you Motherhood Maternity) and one pair that has a flexible waist (Meijer) thanks to my Mom. Both of these are very attractive and hit at my hips or just below. Love them! Now if only I could find some jeans that are like that as well. Hmmmm.

Here are some of my belly pics:

4 weeks--when we found out!! i was skinny!

12 weeks

16 weeks (and yes that is a turtleneck)

20 weeks (i need to slow it down a bit)

Happy Pants Hunting and Belly Growing!

--Am

How To Hike in Brown County

After being cooped up in the house all last weekend, I couldn't spend another full day in the house. So on Saturday Al and I headed down to Brown County for some time out of the house! The leaves are so beautiful this time of year that I would go just to see them. But, I knew I couldn't get Alex to drive an hour fifteen to see changing leaves. Therefore, I threw in the idea of hiking.

Once there, we swerved and curved and peaked and valleyed until we reached the Brown County State Park. We drove through a good portion of the park until we reached the nature center. I was lured there with the promise of turtles, birds, and other wildlife. I expected the wildlife to be live, but most of it was stuffed. Besides a little area to watch birds and a snake, everything else was a decade or two old and not alive. We were there for 5 minutes before heading for the trail.

The trail started off downhill and wound around and around. We reached a huge staircase that we would eventually have to climb back up, but I was determined to get to the lake at the bottom. We continued to the bottom, where a serene lake waited. We stopped for a break before making the lap around the lake.

through the trees

the lake

whoa belly!

We lapped the lake and rested a bit before heading uphill. I knew that we'd eventually have to trek those stairs, so we paced ourselves. Uphill and pregnant is not fun...trust me! Here are the stairs from the bottom (left) and midway up (right):

Boy was it rough! However, not much longer and we were finished. Both of us were tired from the hike and ready to get home. We took a different home, which happened to take us right by the Edinburgh outlet mall. After a short bit of time at the Adidas (Alex) and Motherhood Maternity (Amber) stores, we hopped back on the interstate. With a short stop at a Whiteland apple orchard (I would not recommend), we were home by 6. All in all we had a nice day together and got some exercise in! If you do have a chance, get to Brown County before the leaves are all gone!

Happy Hiking!
--Am

How To Carve a Pumpkin

In order to carve a pumpkin, you must first find the perfect one! For me, this is very hard to do. I love the round ones that are symmetrical. I blame it on the accountant in me. Anyway, we went to our local pumpkin patch and selected three pumpkins, of which only one was large enough for carving. So, I had last Monday off and decided to tackle the carving.

I usually don't have any creativity when it comes to making faces, so I went to the internet. I searched for pumpkin carving patterns and up popped BHG.com. After taking a short quiz, it directed me to some stencils I might like. Find them here. The one I chose is located under Seasonal Fall Pumpkin Stencils. I wanted one that wasn't too hard, but wasn't super corny either, so I went for a scarecrow. After the stencil was printed and newspaper was laid, it was time to get to cutting, scooping, carving, and roasting.

 

the tools

Alex was kind enough to cut off the top for me. I saved all the carving tools from a kit I purchased a couple years ago. This kit included a fancy scooper to get all the insides out. I kind of actually like how the insides feel, which is really gross and weird. But, I still like how it feels between my fingers. I scraped the inside clean and put the guts in a bowl to collect the seeds. Once gut-free, I taped the stencil to the outside and got carving. For the parts to be hollowed out, I outlined what I was going to cut by using the poker. For the shaded parts, I used the roller. These were a great outline for when the stencil was taken off. 

 the stenciled pumpkin

 geez hallie! clean that mess up.

Once off, I used the smaller carver to cut through the areas to be hollowed out. I used the large carver to finish the spots that I couldn't get all the way off with the smaller carver. For the shaded areas, I used the smaller carver to give me a start. Then I took the scraper (kind of looks like a hook), and started to shade away. It was important not to dig too deep so not to take off the whole piece. Overall, it only took me an 1 1/2 hours from start to finish. And I'm so happy with how it turned out!!

oooooooh...scary

dang, I'm good :)

Happy Carving!

--Am

Oh and of course you have to roast the seeds...YUM!

How To Have Disturbing Dreams

Lately, I've been remembering my dreams more than I normally would. When you're pregnant, you often wake up during the middle of the night to use the restroom, find a comfortable position, or hit the dog for stepping on (and scratching) your already tender boob. And they say that when you wake up from a dream, you're more likely to remember said dream. As all my dreams usually are, the ones of late have been influenced by tv, friends, work, and recent conversations. However, these are more vivid and scarier than I can remember.

Here's an example: SyFy is currently running it's 31 Days of Halloween where lots and lots of scary or supposedly scary films are shown. One of my favorites is Wrong Turn. So, when I saw there was a Wrong Turn 2 and 3, I instantly set the DVR for them to record. As I expected, both were absolutely terrible, but for some reason, I love that junk! Bad acting, gore, awful story lines, it's all awesome! The only downside was I found myself running through the woods, half naked, being chased by deformed creature-people in the middle of the night. It was not so much fun waking up to this and a missing Alex at 2:20 in the morning. I was happy that I still had 3 1/2 hours to sleep, but would have been even happier if I could have fallen asleep right away and not have dreamed about these incestuous creature-people. Vampires would have been better. I mean, at least we know they aren't real, right?! 

Another example: one of my close friends and going through a rough patch and I haven't spoken to her in quite a bit. I have no idea what she's going through, so my mind has started to create stories as to what's going on. I have had FOUR separate dreams about her. Knowing this friend, the stories are so extreme and things that she would never, ever, ever, ever do! I mean, an affair, murder, tax evasion (must have been a work-induced thought) and an unwanted pregnancy.

So, what's the moral of the story? Don't make this the most exciting part of my day or consume my every thought. I mean, I refuse to cut out those movies or stop worrying about my friends, but I need to focus my non-work thoughts elsewhere. Any suggestions on where that should be?

Happy Dreaming!

--Am

How To Start a New Job

Most of you know that I started a new job about three weeks ago. One of my good friends is moving to Florida and therefore, leaving her position open. She had asked me back in June if I was interested and at first, I said no, thinking how happy I was at my then current job. Then I thought a little bit about it and realized that the best part about my current job was the people. The rest was just stress, stress, stress. So, I went back to her and said, "you know what? I am interested. Tell me all about it!" And over the course of two months, I turned in my resume, was called in for two separate interviews, and was offered the job of Accounting Manager for Park Tudor School. And no, I'm not going to be teaching any classes or taking over the former AM's job of Volleyball Coach. That would just be bad news for everyone!

I was ecstatic! Everything about the job seemed perfect with the exception of a longer drive. But, hey, it is mostly interstate and not at all bad. I broke the news to Heartland and gave a little over two weeks notice. My first day at PT was Monday, Sept. 12th. I was so excited and nervous at the same time--just like the first day of school. :) Everyone I met was awesome and I was settling in great at my first day. The only problem was that I had to tell the CFO of my pregnancy. Yep, I didn't say anything during the interview process as I didn't want that to sway the decision in any way. I knew I'd be perfect for it, pregnant or not. So, on my first day, I broke it to her that I was 14 weeks along. It went a little something like this (speaking very quickly)..."So, I'm not really sure how to say this, but this isn't how I wanted to start, but I'm 14 weeks pregnant." Whew! She was very understanding and understood that it was going to happening sooner or later, just a little sooner than expected. All in all, it was a good conversation. And it just so works out that part of my leave is expected to be over spring break, which is two weeks. 

I've been there three weeks now and things are going very well! Not only are the people extremely fantastic, but I have almost two months learning the ropes from the person who has done the job the past couple years. It also helps that we are super good friends. Thanks so much Sarah! Without her help, easing into the job would not have been as smooth as it has been. Also, without her, I wouldn't have a had this opportunity in the first place. I owe it all to Sarah and can't say thank you enough!!  I'm just going to be sad when she leaves :(

To all of you looking for jobs, I hope you're as lucky as I have been and have something fantastic fall in your lap!

Happy Job Hunting!
--Am 

How To Get Preggo

Most of our friends and family know that Alex and I would like to have a family someday. You may also know that we've been hoping to make that a reality sometime this year. It seems that most people I know who are pregnant or recently pregnant got pregnant very easily. A couple of them by mistake. So I thought and assumed (BIG mistake) that it would happen right away. Wrong! (as most of my assumptions usually are.) We tried for three months and no luck, just lots of sad times when Red emerged from her slumber.

Our next step was to try the ovulation sticks. Hopefully, this would pinpoint a good time for us to get it on and make a baby. We tried this for two months. Geez, I never thought I'd be peeing on so many sticks! With that method, we weren't having any luck. So, we decide to make an appointment with my ob/gyn to see if she had any suggestions. I knew it was probably too soon and she would want us to wait, but I wanted to be reassured that everything was ok with us. I always jump to the worst conclusion and think that I have something totally abnormal about me. Our appt was on Thursday, June 30th. I would hate to say it was a waste of time, but it was! She told us we were fine and that we just needed to keep trying. SUCK!

Well, the Friday after our appt (7/1) I decided it would be fun to take a pregnancy test (not sure why, but the mood struck me). I was due to start anytime between Saturday and Monday, but we had some of the early detection tests (First Response), so thought I'd give it a whirl. Well, two lines emerged. I'd never seen one with two lines, so I had to run it by Alex to see what he thought. Looked like pregnant to me. Alex went out later and got another pack of three tests. I proceeded to take one each morning on Saturday, Sunday, and Monday. All came back positive! And finally on Wednesday (7/6), I took a digital test to confirm. Well, PREGNANT was the answer! Talk about a range of emotions, but THRILLED was the overwhelming response. We are so excited for this journey we are embarking on and how it will forever change our lives!!

And I promise that this will not be the entire focus for the blog. Of course, there will be stories that arise from it, but hopefully, there are other things in my life that are exciting enough to write about! :)

Happy Pregnant Me!
--Am

How To Be a Little OCD

First of all, I would like to say that I have not been clinically diagnosed with OCD and I do not mean to poke fun at anyone with a serious disorder. Second, whoa busy time of my life right now! Which, in turn, has caused my OCD to spike. I'm not a germophobe. I don't have to touch things many times. I don't pull out my hair or pick at my skin. See I'm OCD when it comes to information and knowing things. For example, once I start reading a book or watching a movie, I have to finish it no matter how much I hate it. I am so afraid that I am going to miss something important. When I'm on aol.com, I feel like I need to look through every feed, even if there are 30. It's really annoying.

I follow many different blogs and feel like I need to look at every single post. I. CAN'T. MISS. ANYTHING. If I skip a day, I will make sure to look at the missed posts the next day. Recently, I have not been keeping up with things. In fact, I don't think I've looked at any of the blogs I follow for the past two weeks. I just started a new job on Monday and I was super busy wrapping up the old job before that, that I had no time to keep up with my blogs. Now I'm trying to determine if I go back and read ALL the blogs or if I can handle it to only catch up on certain blogs. This is a tough decision as I'm so afraid I'm going to miss something life-changing. I realize that's probably not the case, but it still sits there in the back of my mind. So, what do you think? Should I catch up on ALL of them or just a select few? What do you think I will do? I guess we'll see!!   

To all of my other mildly OCD friends, I feel your pain. But, it's time to move passed it!
Happy Obsessing!
--Am

How To Celebrate 29 Years of Life

On August 10th, I turned 29. One year left before I'm 30! I really don't feel old and I don't have a problem getting old. I think because I've always looked so young, I am always excited to get older. That may sound a little weird and maybe it is, but that's me! Plus, birthdays are awesome. I mean, what other day is all about you. Did I mention that I'm a little selfish? I love celebrating me! :)

So here's what the day had in store for me. I arrive at work to dino puppets and my very own Ambersaurus cake! What makes this cake even more special was that it was the first box cake that Claire Norton has ever made. For those of you that don't know her, she is Heartland's resident baker, sewer, and all things homemade! Not that I wouldn't have loved a made-from-scratch-cake, but the fact that it was something that she doesn't normally do made it special. And on top of all of that, Regan (Claire's husband) helped make it. You guys are awesome!

ambersaurus

We proceeded to lunch at the Tamale Place where I had the best pork tamale I have ever tried. For those of you that have never been there, it's worth a venture to the westside of Indy. Absolutely delicious! Plus you get a ton of food for a decent price. I headed home around normal time and arrived to a beautiful bouquet of crazy daisies and a sweet card from my hubby. What a guy!!

 crazy daisies and card

 vibrant colors

 i just love daisies

I didn't have much time at home before it was time to head off to dinner at Oceanaire. I almost always choose this restaurant for my birthday dinner because I love seafood, how the menu has Happy Birthday Amber at the top, and baked Alaska. If you've never been, make sure you go on a special occasion and tell them when booking the reservation what you are celebrating. It made my day even more special! 

menu--look at how special I am :)

Happy Birthday Celebrating!

--Am

How To Increase Your Furry Family

A little over a year ago, we decided it was time that Daisie get a playmate. I spent much of my downtime searching through petfinder for the most perfect companion. We knew we didn't want a puppy (no time to train it), so we looked for one that was young, but not a pup. We found one that looked like a beagle mix. I really struggled about if she were the one because she hadn't been fixed yet and not sure how Daisie would be with another girl. It must not have been right because we held off too long and someone else snatched her up. I did however find Chunky Monkey ("Chunky").

There were lots of puppy pics up and very few current pics up. I thought he was so cute as a puppy that he had to be cute as an adult. Alex didn't quite think so. He was very hesitant, but I pushed and pushed until he said we could check him out. Chunky was currently with a family that was finding him a little harder to handle than they had hoped. I talked a little with the original foster mom and some with the current family. We found out that he would fit in just fine, so we established a time for him to meet Daisie. I remember it like it was yesterday!

We got lost going out there and were about 15 minutes late to our meeting. Alex was already not happy with me and I was really nervous. When we finally made it, we saw Chunky and knew that it would be perfect. He looked like he belonged. He was super friendly with us, but we wanted Daisie to be happy as well. They both sniffed each other and decided that they could friends. The family asked if we wanted to take him home for the weekend, but we thought we should wait it out. Yeah right! That lasted 15 seconds. We decided we would take him home for the weekend and see how it would go. The Storey's were very generous and gave us everything they had for him (Thank You!). We took him home and he's been a Markov ever since! 

We immediately changed his name to Dodger (he was too thin for a Chunky Monkey). We had to work on some chewing issues and running away, but we eventually got there. He is such a fantastic dog and loverboy. During the day he wants to play and be everyone's friend, but at night, he wants to cuddle and be as close to you as possible. Unlike Daisie who gives big, wet kisses, Dodger gives short, sandpaper kisses. He's such a sweet boy and we couldn't have asked for more. 

dodger hoping he gets a treat

i love my new friend! Dodger (left) and Daisie tuckered out from the cabin

I hope everyone out there has a dog as sweet and fun as ours! Oh and I considered him a rescue because he was going to go back into foster care. Please save a life and not buy!

Happy Rescuing!

--Am

How To Vacation in Upstate New York

The last weekend in July, Al and I traveled to Cortland, NY to visit his mom and stepdad. Katherine took a job up there and has been living there since March. It's a cute, little town that is not very different from parts of Indiana. In fact, a lot of the countryside looks like southern Indiana with more hills. When most people hear NY, they don't think of countryside, but instead think of noise and busyness. Cortland is quite the opposite. It's quiet, old-school, a little run-down in parts, and adorable.

We arrived in Syracuse on Friday afternoon and stopped off to have lunch at a fine NY eatery: Burger King. We were really hungry and I really, really wanted a chicken sandwich! :) After lunch we headed to Cortland, where I proceeded to take a nap until dinner. Traveling is tiring! We had dinner at an Italian restaurant (of which there are many). I had scallops fra diavolo, which I would normally love, but the scallops didn't taste as I had hoped. The sauce was different than I expected, but it was a good different.

On Saturday, we headed towards Cooperstown, baseball capital of the world. It was a bit of a drive out there (a little over 2 hours) and we chose a bad weekend to go. It was induction weekend, so it was packed to the gills. We spent some time walking down, then back up main street, before stopping in at the farmer's market. Here, we were able to get a ton of veggies and desserts to be consumed that evening. Before leaving we stopped off and had some true to NY pizza. Later that evening we had steak, potatoes, fresh veggies, and tomatoes for dinner. We had strawberry rhubarb pie and blueberry crumb pie for dessert while we played Conga (a Cranium spin-off). Before that though, we had to make playdough, as all the clay in the house was crystallized! Al and his mom made it, while Brent and I watched. We ended with some fabulous light green playdough. 

On Sunday we attended church and met a lot of the folks we'd been hearing about all weekend. It's a very old-style church with nothing but friendly people. We spent the afternoon at Treman (pronounced Tremain) State Park in Ithaca hiking the gorgeous gorges. We were hoping to wade a little in Buttermilk Falls, but it was dry. However, we were very glad to have stumbled upon Treman. It was positively breathtaking at times. We stopped in at Wegmans for snacks and headed back home for dinner at The Hollywood. Some of the best stuffed shells ever!

Monday was a quick trip to the nature conservatory, a pop in at the Bling Store, and lunch at Pita Gourmet. Then it was off to the Syracuse airport to find out that our plane was severely delayed and we would miss our connecting flight. We had the choice to fly out that night and hope to get a hotel in Washington Dulles or to stay at the Best Western and take a 5:40 am flight to Philly then Indy. We chose the BW, which might not have been the best, but it worked. Instead of being home at midnight, we were home at 11am. Needless to say I fell asleep at 7 that night. Again traveling is tiring!!

All in all, it was a great trip! It was funny seeing the folks and playing with the pups. Milo sure does miss Alex. It's very cute to watch him follow him around the house. Lots of thanks to Katherine and Brent for opening their home to us. We really enjoyed our time spent in Cortland!!

Happy Visiting!
--Am

How To Twitter...or Is It Tweet?

Two months ago, I broke down and joined the Twitter using the name @AmberCharkov. Not even a week after that, I had jumped on the HootSuite. I was very apprehensive to join because I just didn't understand it and didn't think I needed another form of communication. I mean, I had Facebook. Wasn't that enough? I had no idea what I was missing out on!

One Allison Ackmann (@AllisonAckmann) (a friend and coworker) has been saying I needed to get on it. It started at subtle hints and ended with her going to get the entire office on Twitter if it was the last thing she'd do. So, one slow week at work, I took the last half hour of the day to get myself signed up on the Twitter. The first weekend I had Twitter, I was obsessed! I had to read every update that came across my screen. If I missed any, I would go back and read them to catch myself up. This was fairly easy, as I wasn't following many people. OCD much? YES! It's just like the blogs I follow. Right now, I follow enough that I could catch up on a week's worth of missed blogs during a Saturday. So, I become a little tentative to add many new blogs. I feel like if I don't see everything, I'm going to miss out on something. Geez, what did I do before I didn't join this blogging and tweeting world? However, with the twitter world, I've realized that I'm not going to be able see everything and that half the stuff out there isn't that important. I can let pieces of twitter information slide.

I did realize that it's a great way to communicate and to get your voice out there. You can post anything from what you ate for breakfast to an article on abortion. It can be as laid-back or as serious as you want it to be. I started by mostly replying to treats or re-tweeting (RT) what others wrote. This made it easier to get into the swing of things and took off some of the pressure. The hashtag (#) was something of a mystery to me, but it's really quite simple to use. You use it when you have a certain topic you're talking about or something you want to get across. A good example would be: Nothing will ever be as good as Veronica Mars. #KristenBell #VeronicaMars #ilovetv. See?! I also find you get more followers by following more people. It helps make connections and get your name out there.

I opted for the HootSuite because it was easier to re-tweet than using the original platform. I can't compare it to other platforms because I have no experience with them, but it works well for me. I like that I can see people who have mentioned me, re-tweeted me, sent me a message, and my tweets in addition to the tweets of my followers. I would definitely recommend it!


All in all it's a great tool for information and can be a good way to stay up-to-date. Of course, you should only follow those people that you want. And if someone turns out to be annoying (ie tweeting a shit-ton), then you unfollow them. It's impersonal enough that no one's feelings get hurt. However, here are some of my fave tweeters: @ClairBrsoman, @AllisonAckmann, @BellaTrella26, @NicoleWTHR, @David_Boreanaz, @RIPorSOL, @MS_Living, @threadless, @HeartlandTMP, @TheMommyologist, @TheChrisAngel, @WestCoastTacos

Don't forget to start following me--@AmberCharkov!

Happy Following!
--Am

How To Knock on Wood

Ever since Al and I got our second dog, Dodger, we decided we needed a fence. We were able to train Daisie from running away, but not Dodger. He loves people and other dogs, so if he sees one, he's a goner. We got him May of 2010 (or was it June?). And then when we got Diego (January 2011), we really decided we needed a fence. We hated tying them up, and it made me quite nervous waiting to see if Dodger was going to bolt. So, we sent in the proposal for a fence to our HOA and got started on the fence. Of course we called 811 (call before you dig) to make sure we wouldn't be hitting anything, and we waited the standard 30 days for the HOA to approve.

Al thought it would take a day to put in the posts and another day to put up the braces and the panels. Boy was he mistaken! The one-man auger rented from Home Depot did not do the trick. He spent forever on one post before he called in some reinforcements (our neighbor, Bruce). With his help, they were able to put up seven posts (of 32) in a span of 4 hours. Our ground is a rocky, clay substance that made it difficult to tap into. Al was beat. You could see the look of frustration on his face. He thought about renting a two-man auger, but found something better. Through the help of my dad, his buddy had someone come to the house with a bobcat and a much needed post-hole-digging attachment. WOOHOO!! The posts were dug and set in concrete in less than a day thanks to Steve and my dad (and of course the HARD work of my wonderful man).

On the weekend following, we ventured the cabin for some fun, but came home to a task that had to start as soon as we go home (which was 9:00 pm). At 10:00 pm on Saturday, Al began assembling the gate. Circular saw a-going and everything. I thought we would have had a violation of noise ordinance filed against us, but nothing yet! On Sunday, we were thankful enough to have friends over to help with the fence (and teach me the inner workings of my sewing machine). With the help of Regan, Al got one side of the fence completed. Not the whole thing like he was hoping, but it was all braced and 1/3 completed. Over the next couple of days, he was able to get the remaining sides up and we've been enjoying it ever since!!  

 dodger enjoying the fence

 al standing against his creation

 view from the outside

 my soon-to-be food producer 

 

tiki torch - first time used in 3 years

 thank you card and gift for Steve

I want to give a BIG shout out to my wonderful husband for all of his work on this. Not only did I get a sturdy fence, but I also got a snazzy garden spot! Thanks babe...you're the best!!

Happy Fencing!

--Am

How To Rock & Remember

On Memorial Day weekend, I headed up to Michigan City, Indiana for a weekend getaway. Note I said IN because I first thought it was in Michigan. Anyway, I headed up there with one of my good friends, Sarah, to meet our college crew. Back in the day, there were eight of us that bonded our sophomore year at Manchester: Alyssa, Nicole, Mary, Carey, Sarah, Jaymie, Hannah, and me. Mind you, I had met almost everyone freshman year, but didn't really KNOW any of them. Boy, was I in for it! :)

This trip was our first get together in a long, long time. Of course we've seen each other throughout the years at weddings and whatnot, but haven't had a visit like this since we were in school. Unfortunately, Jaymie and Hannah couldn't join, but we did have some husbands there to make up for it.

We rented a three story cottage, of which we had access to the two lower levels. We didn't do much over the weekend but reminisce, drink and play games. It was a rainy Saturday so there wasn't much else to do. However, I'm not sure it would have mattered if the weather were better. We're comfortable just chillin' and chattin'. On Monday or Sunday, we went to the packed beach for some sun. On a day that it wasn't so sunny, we strolled the beach and I started collecting rocks that I could use to create something to remember this trip by. I found all sorts of shapes and colors, even one that looked like the Virgin  Mary holding baby Jesus! Here's what I came up with:

sandcastle (not of my own doing, although i kinda wish i would have)

 the various rocks - the long one in the middle left is the virgin mary

more spread out in the oyster dish

 bunched together in the aqua dish

Which one do you like better? I'm thinking I like the more contained one, but can't decide. Either way, I have something to help me remember some of the best times EVER! I love my girls!

Happy remembering!
--Am

How to Make an Afternoon Snack

Today I had chunky peanut butter and graham crackers for breakfast. Whenever I have peanut butter, I tend to overeat. Something about it is just so tasty that I keep putting it in my mouth well after my stomach has told my brain to cut it out. Due to my 9:30 breakfast and massive consumption of peanut butter, I wasn't hungry again until 2 or so.

I checked the fridge for some leftovers, nothing. Checked the pantry for a quick dinner, nothing. What we did have was cherry tomatoes and two day old french bread that needed eating and an overabundance of basil from our basil plants. (Side note: Al isn't a fan of basil, so I don't cook with it much. I usually shred it and pair it with some parmesan covered popcorn.) Ah-ha! I could make caprese salad on toast. Here's what I did:

1. Sliced the french bread
2. Shredded basil leaves (we have green basil and amethyst basil)
3. Diced the cherry tomatoes
4. Mixed the basil leaves and tomatoes with some balsamic vinegar, extra virgin olive oil, and garlic salt
5. Buttered the bread and put it in the oven for a couple minutes at 255 degrees
6. Removed bread from oven and sprinkled with garlic salt
7. Added basil/tomato mixture to tops of bread
8. Baked for two more minutes
9. Topped with swiss cheese (all out of mozzarella!)
10. Baked for two more minutes
11. Remove from oven and eat!

I think I will call these caprese toasts. I was surprised at how fast I could whip up such a tasty treat! If only Al would have helped me eat the eight caprese toasts I made :) Maybe I'll have these as my next appetizer. Would you like that?

Happy Toasting!
--Am

How To Pickle...Anything

My father is very difficult to buy for. Unless he needs a new shirt, I'm out of luck. Whenever he wants something, he buys it, making it difficult to get gifts for him. Somehow, I remembered the Pickle Sisters. They've since gone out of business, but you used to be able to purchase picked everything: asparagus, garlic, carrots, peppers, garlic stuffed olives. I mean everything. Since I've become crafty, I decided that I could make some. I discussed the possibilities with Al, and we settled on dill pickles, dill green beans, hot peppers, carrots, onions, and pickles with celery and onions. I've made pickles before...once. So, I was in for it.

The Saturday before Father's Day was the big day. I spent most of the rainy morning trying to find the recipes for the brine I wanted to use. Here's what I found: refrigerator pickles, carrots, dill green beans, and hot peppers. When the sun came out, Al headed outside to put up fence posts, and I got to pickling. 

I worked with one veggie at a time. It would have been too chaotic for me to do more than that. I started with the recipe for the refrigerator pickles. I followed it to a T, except I subbed celery for the green peppers. My first batch turned out awesome, so I immediately got started on the next batch. Yeah, well, I shouldn't toot my own horn because the next batch turned into a syrup. Suck! I threw it out, washed the pot and started over. The next batch was for dill pickles. I used the same brine for refrigerator pickles, added dill, and left out onions and green peppers. Perfect! I think by then, I was through my first movie.

Onto the second movie, I made a jar of carrots and dills green beans using the recipes above. I only adjusted the measurements so I didn't have gallons of brine. On the third movie, I moved onto the hot peppers. The adjustments here are the measurements, not pre-cooking or broiling of the peppers, and the peppers I used: one red pepper, two jalapenos, one anaheim, one hungarian, and one cubano. After those were finished, I ended with the onions. I used the refrigerator pickles recipe and used one red onion and one white onion. Ah! Third movie done and veggies pickled!

 

the refrigerator pickle brine

               

 

the pre-pickled green beans

the final products (from left): onions, dill beans, hot peppers,

pickles with onions and celery, carrots, pickles, more onions

Happy Pickling!
--Am

How To Make A Shirt & Necktie Father's Day Card

Back in May, I made pop-up mother's day cards all thanks to an idea in Martha Stewart Living. So when I got the June edition and saw shirt & necktie father's day cards, I knew I had to figure out how to make them. The directions weren't in the magazine, so I headed online. There I found some rather confusing directions on how to make these. I'm not sure if it was the dark room or late hour, but I just couldn't figure out how to fold the card. I also think I started with a sheet of paper that was square instead of rectangle, which makes for a very awkward looking shirt. So, I looked a little deeper and found this on youtube. The directions are super-easy to follow and helped produce a great looking shirt. I used this video (also on youtube) to create the necktie. The hardest part was picking out colors and creating tie patterns. I used 8 1/2 x 11 sheets of paper for the shirt and 4 inch squares for the ties. Here's some progress pictures and the final product.

 the start of the sleeves

 the collar

 the completed shirt

 the beginning of the necktie

 the complete necktie

  the end results! which is your favorite?

i like the polka dots and flowers

Happy Card Crafting!

--Am

How To Etch Glass

A little over two months ago, I bought everything you would need to etch glass. It's not much really, just glass, contact paper, stencils, exact-o-knife, and Armor etching cream. All these materials sat upstairs until I finally decided what I could do with them. I originally got the idea from one of my sister's coworkers, Megan. She etched a beautiful name plate for my nephew and sent me the skinny on glass etching. Like most everything in my life, I got real excited and decided to hurry up and wait. So, here we are, two months later, and I found a reason to etch.

My fabulous friend and coworker (yes, I have friends at work!), Claire, is turning 30. To celebrate her birth, she's throwing a little shindig. I didn't want to show up empty handed and bringing only a bottle of wine felt like the easy way out. Good thing my bag of glass etching goodies contained two circle pieces of glass that would make perfect coasters!The stencils I had picked out would also fit her personality. Since she's very organic and earthy, I went with fern-like shapes. Now, it's time to get started. Here's what to do: 

1. Clean the glass with soap and water. Dry it with a clean cloth.
2. Apply contact paper on the glass. Make sure there are no bubbles.
3. Using your stencil, trace the design onto the covered glass. 
4. Take the exact-o-knife and cut around the tracing.
5. Peel off the contact paper that was cut-out. 
6. Thickly apply Armor etching cream with a paint brush and wait five minutes. 
7. Wash off cream with water and peel off contact paper.
8. Spray glass with glass cleaner and wipe clean. And there you go! 

 stenciled on

 stencils

 etching cream applied

 the finished product

It's not the most fancy gift, but it was fun to make and very easy to do. I'm sure Claire will appreciate it! 

Happy Etching!
--Am