the never ending story...

….and we’re back! i know, i know, some of you have been worried us voights had gone MIA on the blogosphere and that it would soon fall on its shortcomings like the roman empire…but fret no more. we are back. and ready to blog. well, sort of. i must sadly report cooking has taken a summer vacation from our home - with all the weekend cookouts and a hectic schedule of after-work happy hours. and after the husband's post below, perhaps it is good to take a break (though if you must know, the voights are taking a 30 day "live long" affair to health begining june 1)

and well, to be honest, our yarkwork to-do list is growing just as fast as the weeds along the back fence. so we hope this weekend will bring us some positive reinforcement of getting back into the groove of being responsible homeowners. not that i doubt us, but with keeping such a busy social life, i fear we have slowly become “those people” who start a million projects and never actually complete them. along with that awesomely cracked toilet seat we are still sitting on, we also have half of a power-washed fence, a fence that is a quarter of the way to completion on painting and 4 of 20 bushes that have been tended to. needless to say, i hope monday's weekend update will bring us a good pat on the back and some well manicured solutions to our home!

crack attack...

So it has happened. We're married; she's cooking; and I'm gaining weight. Think not? Try 9 pounds since that fateful 3.21.09 date. And don't try to put it on the unlimited supply of drinks and food at the honeymoon resort. No, no. I shed that with my flu/pinkeye when I got back. But it's ok, i've started to accept it. The couch is comfortable. Our DirectTV gets reception 90% of the time and red wine keeps my heart healthy. Or at least that's what I thought until I used the restroom the other day. Without going into details that might scar readers and warping this blog into an R-rated affair, I'll simply say that I was leaving the restroom and notice that the left side of the toilet seat had a horizontal crack in it. Not a scratch, not a tweak - a seat breaking crack. And it wasn't there when I sat down on the toilet minutes earlier.

I broke...I cracked our toilet seat. Think about that for a minute. Toilet seats are built to withstand the worst environments. People's bums are soft by nature. Mine has extra cushioning these days. And I managed to crack it like a hammer to an egg. I wasn't really sure how to react. Semi-proud. Semi-amazed. Semi-embarrassed. But mostly in awe. Then I started to think about what my visit to Lowe's was going to be like. Would they ask why I needed a new toilet seat? Should I sit down on them in the store and "try them out" to make sure they could resist my power/force? One with a wide base? A narrow one to concentrate the support aspect? Should I get one with a cushion or does the next one need to be steel, industrial strength? Maybe white isn't the best color on me anyways - how about a beige one?

It was about this point when I started to realize how quickly the leather seats in my Jeep have stated to crack and age; how the foam on my side of the bed has a much starker imprint than my wife's. And so as I walked away from the ludicrous lavatory trip and headed back to the couch, my wine and the current episode of cnbc, I made a mental note to myself to start running again; that, and check my office chair at work to make sure it had proper support.

-the mister

scat cat OR cat scat!!!

though i have always had a big place for animals in my heart, it is no secret that i just haven’t ever been too fond of cats. likewise, i believe they return my sentiments. i worked at a vet clinic in high school when i once aspired to become a veterinarian. this class-A job was basically working in the kennel downstairs - cleaning up the dog runs, giving meds, baths and, yes, expressing anal glands (that is all you will hear about that, promise). i always hated when the time came to tend to the cats because whenever i would walk by, they would hiss – it is like they could sense my distaste (and for a rainy day i believe it started when i was 7 and a kitten hung from my neck by its claws...)

some of you may be familiar with our recent trash debacle with our neighbors. and now this is where i tell you they also have a big, fat cat (the name is slipping my mind but i believe it may be named “schwartze katze” for “black cat” in german). they told us on our pre-trash visit to their house that SK loves being outside and enjoys the “catnip” plant they planted in their front landscape.

well, yesterday i (more so milo) noticed some cat feces in our landscape. as i hunkered down to inspect the piece of yard milo was sniffing so fondly, i noticed those cat-like turds all about our new mulch. well doesn’t this just add to our neighborly love…i mean, now their cat scat will add to our huge piles of trash.

i understand both my sister and sister-in-law will be angry at me for my anti-cat post and the ideas that follow below, but it just has to be said - i will have no mercy if that cat meets milo in the backyard…

below are some ideas i found on a website to get that kitty out of our hard work. i personally like the super soaker idea through our front window.

Sometimes, to keep cats away from a yard, you have to think like a cat. Put yourself in the cat's place. Observe cat behavior. For instance, they're pretty fussy creatures, aren't they?

1. One of the things cats are fussy about is getting wet. Water is "kryptonite for cats." Getting wet seems to be almost a phobia for them. Use that phobia to your advantage in trying to keep cats away from yards.
When you catch cats in the forbidden area, you can try hosing them down with a Super Soaker or similar water gun. Such action may reinforce the notion that they are unwanted in your planting bed.

2. Thinking like a cat again, another thing we can say cats are fussy about is how something smells. You can use feline fastidiousness to keep cats away from your yard in a number of ways:
a. One of the commercial cat repellents available is a powder called, "Shake-Away." Shake-Away bears the scent of the urine of predators that cats fear, namely, the coyote, the fox and the bobcat. This commercial cat repellent comes in a granular form, which you simply sprinkle around the problem area. The product is advertised as being organic, making it an acceptable option to use around children and pets. Nor will it harm your plants.
b. Some plants give off smells that cats dislike. One such plant, Coleus canina, goes by the common name, "scaredy cat plant." As the second term in the Latin name indicates (think "canine"), it is also effective if you have trouble landscaping with dogs. Other plants often recommended for keeping cats away from yards are: rue, lavender, which deer pests also dislike pennyroyal

a cupcake affair

so we celebrated my niece's 1st birthday this sunday. and my sister went all out - making her a tutu and dedicating the day to a full-blown cupcake theme. all the food served was modeled after a cupcake - and it all actually tasted pretty good (sorry sister, but you have to admit some had the potential to taste funny in cupcake form!)

all in all, it was a great time with a great turnout. i think she loved pretty aunt kelly (and uncle brandt's) gifts the best - after all, one of the sippie cups had "do-do" on it...which is her combination of "dog" and "milo", whom she just loves hanging out with!

looks like ellie loves her birthday and will begin celebrating it for a month soon enough like her pretty aunt kelly :)

i thought i would share some pictures with you to see how stinkin' cute she is. this is again where i insert the plug for a better camera...this was my sisters, but you can see how it just doesn't capture life's moments like a cannon SLR....

i just love baby legs!
there is a noise that goes with this face, which makes it even more precious!

"ohhhhhh" is what she said for everything

pretty girl

i have proof!

what i've learned from being married:

• my husband is a great surface cleaner. however, if you consider eating something off of the counter and i’ve been out of town…think again
• there must be something “manly” about taking out the trash. i find joy in keeping my email inbox clean. he finds joy in keeping Hefty in business with his multiple trash trips each day
• growing up, I remember someone told me it cost 10 cents for every light switch you turn off and on. my husband must believe that is true still. either that, or his fingers hurt too much from working so hard he can’t bear to move them to save power or the earth
• there is never any harm in a good ‘ol fashion competition – especially when it comes to who can mow the yard the best or power wash the fence more efficiently
• “alone time” is out the window. at first I thought it was just my dog rudely barging through closed doors…apparently it is a boy thing
• it is always nice when the one who cooks can watch the other clean. my husband actually initiated this rule and i gladly follow it. i think he just wanted to continue his fetish with loading the dishwasher…but again, who’s complaining?
• the family that blogs together stays together. my husband is a blogger now too
• dance. even when your wife is watching. or recording it on her cell phone
• sing loudly. even when you husband is sitting next to you
• something about our bed being made makes me feel like we have it all pulled together. i will strive to stay away from this lie
• apparently i missed the memo on any canned beverage tasting better after sitting open in the fridge for at least two days…
• a well manicured yard is something to be proud of. let’s not go there on where you keep your trash
• i’ve lived by a lot of “secret rules” that i somehow expected my husband to “just know” – working on getting over that
• strive to love each other the way your dog does every day when you come home from work
• long walks and lying in bed laughing before bed will keep a marriage young. maybe this is hopeful two months in, but those are two of our cherished times together each day

watch out ladies, he is in his "prime"…

the voights have of plenty of house projects on the horizon, and i fear we will soon discover we both may be “those people” who start and stop projects before completion. our first home project is so close to the final product i can barely take it – our new gate.

at the first of the year, we solicited my brother-in-law to come out and build us a new wooden fence. this immediate need came just a few weeks after closing on our home, when the previous two-post swinging gate plummeted to its death. we needed something quick to help keep the pup under wraps in the backyard.

but our only problem came when our idea for a one-post gate just got a little too heavy, and thus, the gate was permanently shut and no longer open for business. this weekend, my husband and brother-in-worked to install this heavy duty, rotating wheel and boy letmetellyou it is the greatest thing since sliced bread! that bad boy opens and closes like it is its job….which is great, since that is what we needed to allow our cars back in the comfort of our garage.

so last night, my husband thought he would go out and prime/paint the newly completed fence in all of 20 minutes – in just enough time before a new How I Met Your Mother came on. so after about 10 minutes, he walked back in with paint on his face.

my first mistake was asking if he was done – because i honestly think he believed he was. the second mistake was going outside to see the job only to find the paint he had spilled and/or dropped on the driveway - thinking that it would wash off? which i must ask, “isn’t that the whole point of paint – to stay on after you put it there?"

to add to the manhood, he had the notion that we only needed to paint the front of the fence, and neglect what it looks like from the inside for the visitors we actually know. wrong-o. long story short, we both ended up with tiny paint brushes jamming them in little holes trying to fill in all the gaps with paint. going over six minutes into HIMYM, we called it a day, let the primer dry and plan to go out another nice day to finish the back of the fence.

oh, and i plan to break it to him soon this fence will need a second coat….

weekend update

well, i must say with a deep sigh and heavy heart, my birthday celebrations officially came to an end yesterday evening. for those of you out there who have known me for years, we must all admit i've made some progress over the years. Growing up, the birthday celebration began about 30 days out. This included a daily countdown and suggestions of what to get me off my birthday wish list. during college, we pared it down to a one week celebration and this year, well, it only lasted about four days.

but it was one heck of a four day bash. an evening of $3.50 pitchers with co-workers and friends, a “food day” at work and lunch at pf chang’s, birthday dinner with the husband at ruths chris, a new iPhone, loaded nachos and horse races on saturday night all topped with an afternoon full of presents with family and my mom’s chocolate cake (jointly sharing in the mother’s day love with my mom and sister of course). whew!

so i was fully content with this year’s massive blow-out, that is until my wonderful husband went and put a nail in the coffin. this morning he woke me up and said “happy may 11th”. to which i said, “ok, and….?” to which his response was, “well, I just wanted you to know it is no longer your birthday.” cruel? just a little bit. honest? yes. necessary? i think not!

on another topic, our weekend was full of many blog-worthy topics - which of course will be shared over the course of this week. the husband will make his first debut to discuss some newly obtained tips for grilling steak, lots of upcoming house projects to report on and my niece’s first birthday celebration is just around the corner!

until then….

my joyful life

in honor of my own birth (and yes, i am wishing myself a happy birthday on my own blog today!) i thought i would share some of the newest wedding photos. 1. because i am excited to have some of them. and 2. because my new husband is something that makes life full of joy. the blog name, "made from scratch", is an effort to describe how we started our journey together so long ago, starting essentially from the beginning, or scratch, and our continue to build our lives together.

if you want to check out more of the photos - go here http://www.carignangallery.com/index2.php and in the "client" tab, enter the password "voightwedding" all one word.

happy birthday to me :)

the skinny on skinny jeans

well blog-followers...it is official! i recently purchased my first pair of skinny jeans and i am ready to rock them out for the upcoming birthday weekend.

for the last year or so, i lived in the assumption that these jeans are only for skinny people, hence their name. but i'm finding that this is just simply not true and that they are in fact about finding the perfect pair that compliments your body type and shape. so..there, that is my skinny on the jeans...

for a quick background and some additional reading material, it must be said i'm not usually one for fashion (i hold true to still being little make-up, pony tail gal i've always been). but my first blog following experience lead me down a street of fashion that made me curious as to how fashion fits in my life. so here is my own personal shout.

amidst all the wedding hoopla, our friends blog began to take-off (http://www.ballcapsandneckties.blogspot.com/). i mean sky-rocket. he even handed out cards at our wedding to solicit readers. no, really. but this has been my newest and easiest way to consider new fashion opportunities - one piece at a time.

"B&N nation", as the blogger self titled his following, does tend to offer some side shaved hairstyles for ladies and zipper shoes i just cannot justify or fathom trying to pull of with my midwestern appeal, but for the most part, it highlights some of the newest and most recent trends that make you feel better than jessica simpson or rihana on a bright sunny day.

so in conclusion, i must admit i just didn't have much to blog about today - or much time - but i should update you that tomorrow's post will hopefully include some NEW wedding photos, as our photogs are uploading to their site the rest of our wedding pics.

until then ---

go green or go home

as of late, it seems everyone in my life is talking about being "green". people at work have noticed that i usually do not recycle my diet coke cans and given me their spiel about how that is just absurd (i do admit it is just laziness - they even have bins here at the office). ive also been meeting people one after the other who are pursuing careers in the environmental sector of the world. and im sure it doesn't help living in the ripple with all the "granolas", but the more i think about it, the more im finding i am actually "green"and the voights do fit into the neighborhood...

for example, one of our friends came over last week to test out our new lawn mower. as she navigated our circa 1960s "reel" red mower (see photo below), she said she liked the idea of no gas and no electric to help the environment. so i thought - "wow, take that people - do you take it to that level at home? i think not. sure, your cans are helping...but really? really how much does your coke tab collection contribute to stopping global warming? i push my mower in my yard and have yet to use any sort of pesticide or insecticide on our yard". ok, so maybe my push mower won't stop the melting of the polar ice caps, but i am at least helping in my own, small way just like all those other can collectors....

so in effort to find of picture of this awesome purchase, i found the photo below lurking on the internet - i just couldn't help myself when thinking of the husband tending to the yard in this fashion...

since the weather is getting to be nice, we've started walking a bit more, supporting yet again the whole "green" initiative. true, it may not be like back in the good 'ol days of living downtown, but it is as close as you can get here in the circle city. in fact, yesterday we walked to the hardware store to purchase some more yard decor. (below is a photo of the really pretty dahlias we planted by the front door) after my experience last week with the fresh market in the neighborhood and a "green" sunday afternoon, i'm feeling inspired. not to mention i have some things to contribute to the betterment of society aside from turning the lights off after my husband 24 hrs a day...

¡holy moly guacamole!

sadly i must report last night's first major cooking failure - guacamole. that little sucker sure is difficult and was a lot more effort than i had anticipated. i must also note i did not take a photo of this bad boy, so nothing for me to forget in the morning...

it goes like this: last night i thought i would whip up some guac before dinner, as a little snack to hold me over because the husband was at some work happy hour (hence causing a delay in dinner time). promptly after leaving work, i headed over to the local Fresh Market. wow, let me just tell you what a little slice of paradise this place is - soothing music and fresh fruit & veggies - and a plethora of organic food to feast the eyes of all the bripple hippies. man, was i excited when i left that place. i thought to myself, "self, you have so many great memories ahead of you in this place - you are going to make so many awesome, healthy and hearty meals that people will love". but low and behold, it all came crashing down.

smashing that darn avocado takes way more effort than the guac mix package led me to believe and soon my dream crumbled - avocado chunk by un-smashable avocado chunk. perhaps i will investigate the "proper" way to "mash" an avocado - because my meat tenderizer, large spoon, small spoon, food chopper and hand mixer didn't work. i toyed with the idea of using the actual blender, but my sliced and diced pieces were taking over the entire kitchen that i simply needed to surrender and call it a night with the cheese sauce.

ill keep you posted if i battle this thing again - perhaps next time with a mortar and pestle ...