Just a Wednesday!

Hello everyone! For those of you who just love reading our super fun posts, I thought I'd just update you all on the week. After getting back from Spring Break, work has been steady. I'm actually on the Social Committee at work and have spent a lot of time in the evenings getting ready for a baby shower for my friend Megan (who I also work with) at our office! I just love babies and love learning things from my friends that have them. It will be so fun when Vic and I have ours....one day awhile from now!

Anyways, in addition to party planning, my friend Taylor Verett (one of the many Veretts we love) has come into town to see his girlfriend Mary (my cousin) and they are staying with us for the week. So, I have gotten 2 weeks in a row of Verett time in. If only Whitney would surprise us with a visit next week....just kidding Whitney, we will permit you to stay in Washington and keep those congressman in line!

So, we have gotten to visit with Taylor and Mary, and Taylor even installed a brand new ceiling fan for us! It looks great!

So, that is all for today...just a regular Wednesday!

Erwin Saddlery Leatherwork

I have to brag on my Daddy who of course, as a daughter, thinks he can do anything and everything just right! But, really, he is so talented in the saddleshop. For those of you who don't know, he is a saddlemaker. He can also do just about anything with leather that you can come up with. He makes tack and boots and purses and home items, etc. I plan to post some other items he's made for me from time to time. But, for today, I am going to show you a picture of 2 things. The first is a leather cross that he stitched and tooled to hang on the wall. It is about a foot tall and he just did a beautiful job! He actually made 2 recently - one for a wedding gift for Vic's uncle Keith to give away and one extra. Well, I snatched that extra one up very quickly and plan to put it in my office tomorrow! The second picture is of a jewelry holder that I asked him to make. I had seen a fabric jewelry holder similar to this in a store and decided that I just knew my dad could make it even better. And, as usual, he did. It holds my necklaces, bracelets and earrings and it hangs on the door. It is just perfect and I am in love with it. Don't you want one now?? :)

My Hardworking Boys!

Also, during Spring Break, we spent a little time helping my dad with some things outside (okay, so let's be honest here, I played with the baby calves and the goats while the boys actually worked - but they are stronger and more manly and don't really need me!). Anyways, Vic drove a skid steer for the first time to drive some t-posts into the ground for the calf pens and then he and Charley and Daddy all spent some time trimming some trees so a new pasture fence can be put up. See some pictures of those hard working guys below!

 

 

That evening we got to eat dinner at Shoguns - a Hibachi grill (which I have never been to before - I really liked all of that crazy chopping and cooking they do!) with Stormy and Tabatha. It was so nice to see them. We followed them back to Sanger to see their brand new house that they've just finished remodeling. They will start moving in this week and I am coming back next weekend, so I plan to help them do anything they need on Saturday as well! It is always so tough to not imagine just moving back to Sanger so we can be near them. Good friends are so important and they are really good to us! And, we never get enough time to visit! Anyways, I am so excited about their new home and maybe next week I'll remember to take a picture to post on this blog! I look forward to the day Vic and I get to start looking for a new house - hopefully in the next few months!

Baby Calves

So, for those of you that know me, you will know that I love goats. I raised them for 10 years and showed them and they are just wonderful livestock and pets to have and have the best personalities. And, there is nothing cuter than a baby goat.....but second in line are baby calves: especially baby Holstein calves! When my daddy told me on the phone one day that they'd gotten some new baby calves to bottle feed, I was so excited! So, the first chance I got when I got to Sanger to feed them, I took full advantage. There really is nothing sweeter than baby calves sucking on your hand like a bottle and jumping and playing around. Their long legs and big bodies are just so funny to watch operate....especially when they are young. I was excited for Vic to feed a baby calf also since he has never done that. He was probably not quite as over-excited as me, but I can definitely foresee some baby calf feeding in our future...I'll get him trained!

Painting GG's House

So, our Christmas present to my wonderful aunt GG was to paint 2 of her bedrooms, as she is redoing parts of her house. So, we went home Spring Break with that being the main item on our agenda. My dad and grandparents and GG had gotten the rooms free of furniture and we were set to paint Thursday morning. It was a very long day of painting, but a lot of fun. This is where I am so lucky to have such a wonderful husband. He is not only a perfectionist and really only likes good work done, but he is so patient and hard working and just plain good to my entire family. I don't think we could ever have done it without him (plus he is tall and that can be really helpful in a family of Erwins all a little shorter than him! haha) Everyone was over during the day helping or painting at some point. We painted the guest room a cream color and GG's bedroom a light blue with white baseboards and doors. It looked really good. And, I was sure not to paint "I love Vic" on the wall like I did the first time Vic and I painted in his house. I thought it was so fun to write him a little love note that would get covered up anyways, but he was not nearly as pleased. Apparently, sometimes you can see those things through the final coat of paint....if I recall correctly (and I do, Vic! hehe) I think I cried that night because I felt so bad and I think he might have even raised his voice with me (which we all know is something Vic never does - he hardly ever gets into a bad mood!) Okay, so that is not really a terrible story, but if those are the kind of "bad" moments we have as a married couple, then I think we are set for a pretty happy life ahead of us!

Hullabaloo's Diner

Before we left town for Sanger on Wednesday, we went to Hullabaloo's Diner with Cassie and Kristofer for lunch! If you ever go, try the Elvis Fries - fries with sausage gravy and cheese - does not sound that tasty, but it really is!! We were so thankful that we got to spend time with them while they were in town; they actually stayed at our house while we were gone to Sanger and let me tell you - when we got back, it was completely spotless! I mean, they went above and beyond as house guests and really, we'd prefer that they just come live with us!

St. Patrick's Day

I have lots of new posts, so I'll make them fairly short and include lots of pictures! March 17, 2009 - St. Patrick's Day! We had a few people over to the house - Kristofer, Cassie, Katie, Katerina, Charley, Mary, Courtney & Danielle - for Shrimp Etoufee! The boys did a great job preparing it and we got lots of visiting in...with a few glasses of green beer included!

Koppe Bridge

Good morning! So, last night our good friend Kristofer and his girlfriend Cassie (also our sweet friend!) came into town for a Spring Break visit. Though I think their week may end up busy, we are so glad we get to play with them for a couple of days! They got here about 5:00 and after Vic showed Kristofer everything new in our house or yard (he was like a little kid showing his friends his toys) we all went to Koppe Bridge for dinner! My cousin Mary and another favorite Verett of ours, Katie, joined us! There is nothing more fun than telling old and new stories and laughing continuously for a few hours! Plus, it is so super fun for me to see how much cuter Kristofer and Cassie are getting to be all the time!!

The fun did not stop there! When we got back to the house, we got to Video Chat with Taylor all the way from the Air Force Academy in Colorado! This is one thing that Vic is always amazed with - technology. We have only video chatted with Taylor twice (we have to have Mary in order to coordinate the visit and get us logged on - haha!) and Vic always likes to be the main one in the camera to talk to Taylor. There is never boredom with Taylor as we got re-enacted scenes from the movie Role Models, viewings of a new skull-crushing knife for Kristofer, and confirmation that he will install a new ceiling fan for our house when he visits next week!

I had to go to bed earlier, since I am the responsible one (along with Mary) that has to get up and work at 8am even on Spring Break week....as we said last night, someone has to bring home the bacon. So, that is all I know for now, but promise to post more fun things soon!

Seidel Girls Weekend

Okay! I promise to be better about updating because Jill told me she checks this every single day! Even if all I do is go to work and go home, I'll try to think of something every 2-3 days to write about! First of all, I had the most wonderful weekend with my mother-in-law, Janice and my sister-in-law, Jill. They came in on Friday night and Vic even took the night off from studying! We ate tacos and got to do a little visiting. Then, Saturday, we fought through the cold and the rain and went to the outlet mall off 290 in Houston to shop! Because Vic and I are trying to stick to a budget and save to buy our super fun new house, I did not spend much, but I always love trying on clothes! And, Jill is so amazing - she bought 8 shirts and 2 pair of jeans! She practically has a brand new wardrobe! We ate lasagna that night (belated for Vic's birthday; every single birthday he has had since he can remember, his mom has made him Lasagna!) and planned Joe and Cassie's engagement/pre-wedding party that will be held June 20th. I am very proud of our planning and our table decorations. You all will have to check this after June 20th for pictures!

Sunday, we went to Church and Vic and I ushered for the first time. That is harder than you would think. It will get easier each time we do it, but there are so many little things to remember - I will have to practice. We did, however, learn that you get to see other sides to members when you are passing out a bulletin to each and every one. Vic was totally lost with one member, who was very friendly, but started in on some random conversation about her daughter and the uncle in the drug/armed forces and all kinds of random stuff...it was pretty funny to watch him try to keep up and then know what to respond with (nothing!).

On Sunday, Janice and Jill left us and Vic studied and then we watched "Australia" which I have been wanting to see since December! It was different than I expected but still pretty good with some action and romance and comedy. We enjoyed it!

So, that is all for this weekend. I will try to post again soon and with pictures of something fun!

Starting the Blog....

Well, I love reading friend's blogs, so Vic and I are going to attempt to do some blogging ourselves! We may not have enough interesting things to blog about, but we'll try it out and see!

As most of you know, Vic has been studying for the CPA exam and taking the Becker Review since the beginning of January. He just finished taking the Part 2 Exam - Audit - on Saturday which means we are halfway through! He passed Financial (which we just found out about this week!! Whoop!!) and started Regulation tonight. I am always so proud of him because he is such a hard worker and so dedicated and never has a bad attitude about anything, even though 100% of his time is taken up studying, working, and sleeping!

We did enjoy our weekend though! After his exam on Saturday (also my birthday!) we went to Roadhouse to spend a very generous gift card. Then, we went through the carwash - not going to lie; I love carwashes! It was so fun! That evening, Charley came over to visit and Vic and I had a wine, cheese, meat, cracker dinner. It was so fun! Then on Sunday, we had a regular day that included Church Activities, going to the grocery store, naps, etc. That is the fun thing about being married: even regular trips to the grocery store are so fun!

Okay, that is all for now. We are onto a new week of work, school, boot camp, etc. I hope everyone of you are enjoying yours as well!

Sarah