We Finally Did It!

It has been a long, stressful, and crazy journey, but we did it!  We finally did it!   We closed on our first house.  It is still so exciting I can't even contain it!   We have been dealing with this for over 3 months now.  The banks have gotten really strict on all the guidelines.  If this form wasn't current enough, then that one had expired too.  Or this paystub had the wrong date printed on it.  Really, I'm not kidding about any of that!

I'm just glad we stuck with it.  Now we've just gotta get B through college and then things should calm down!

Steel Cut Oats

Recently I have jumped on the steel cut oats band wagon.  Since I am fairly new to the whole cooking thing, I have been looking for new foods to try.  (We got married in November, so I have been experimenting for the last few months.)   I recently stumbled upon this recipe.

Steel-Cut Oatmeal

4 1/2 cups water

pinch of salt

2 Tbsp butter, diced

1 heaping cup of steel-cut oats

Combine all the above ingredients in a small (2.5-3 quart) crock-pot, and set it on warm.  Let the oats cook overnight, or for 7-8 hours.  Mix gently, and stir in:

1/4 cup brown sugar 

1 tsp vanilla 

You can mix in whatever you want from there:  raisins, dried cranberries, nuts, cinnamon, etc.  Make it your own! 

 

 

I actually cooked it in a 1.5 quart slow cooker on warm overnight.  I also just put 3 tsp of brown sugar and about a Tbs of sugar free maple syrup, because my hubby is diabetic.  

If anyone has any other similar suggestions please feel free to add.  I am always in need of new recipes, especially quick breakfast ones!

Thanks for stopping by!

Have a blessed week!

<3 Ash  <3

Day 3 — Your parents

Day #3 was way overdue, but here goes...

Mom and Dad,

You where would I be without you?  You have shaped and molded me into who I am today.  You have prayed for me since the second you found out about my arrival.  You prayed for my health, my arrival itself, my childhood, my education, my salvation, my finding a Christian mate, and so much more.  You are amazing people.  You really are.  Words can not express all the ways you have helped me through the worst of times in my life.  You helped me transition when we had to move during my high school years.  You helped me when my best friend died in a sudden accident, you helped me through college, through my engagement/wedding planning, and now you are helping me buy a house.   You have sacrificed so much for me in these 23 years.  I know that once I came along, your lives were forever changed, and that you made daily sacrifices for my well being.

I love you both so much!
Love, Ashley

Day 2 — Your Crush

Dear Brice,

Today's letter is supposed to be to my "crush" , but I think you are quite a bit more than a crush.  You are an amazing person.  When I first met you I knew there was something about you that I couldn't let go.  We became the best of friends and could talk for hours.   We would have times where we spent alot of time together, then we would drift apart again.   There was something that always brought us back together.   I remember people at church asking me when we would just get our act together and start dating! haha! 
Our first date was a day I will never forget.  That was the day that I knew that I would marry you.  HaHa!  I just had to figure out how to let you know that.   We grew even closer that summer, and everything after that is a whirlwind.   It is hard to believe all that has happened since July 4th!  We dated, got engaged, planned a wedding, got married, and went on a honeymoon.  
I have loved every second of our life together thus far.  I can't wait for all the amazing memories we have yet to share, but I will treasure all the ones we have already shared for as long as I live.

I thank God every day for making you especially for me.   I know that He knew the plan long before we even met each other. 

I love you with all my heart, Honey!
Love, Ash

Day 1 — Your Best Friend

Dear Lindsey,

You are amazing.  You have been my best friend since the moment I met you.  We worked together for almost a year and then got separated by life.  We then got to work together another year and then got separated by life, AGAIN.  You are an amazing person.  You can always let me vent, be angry, be blunt, and just be myself.  I know that you will not walk out on me or leave me just because of me being me.

I know life has taken us further and further apart, but you have always been there for me.  You were there when my best friend died, you were there when I graduate Tech school, you were there when I passed my board exam and became an LVT, you were there when I got engaged, and you were there the day I walked down the aisle and married my best friend.  You are always there.   You mean the world to me.  I know we don't always get to talk that much on the phone, but we can go weeks without talking and we always pick right back up where we left off!

Thanks for always being there for me.  I can't wait until we are little old ladies in the nursing home running over people with our hot pink wheel chairs!

I love you!
~Ash~

30 Day Letter Challenge

My 30 Day Letter Challenge.

• Day 1 — Your Best Friend
• Day 2 — Your Crush
• Day 3 — Your parents
• Day 4 — Your sibling (or closest relative)
• Day 5 — Your dreams
• Day 6 — A stranger
• Day 7 — Your Ex-boyfriend/girlfriend/love/crush
• Day 8 — Your favorite internet friend
• Day 9 — Someone you wish you could meet
• Day 10 — Someone you don’t talk to as much as you’d like to
• Day 11 — A Deceased person you wish you could talk to
• Day 12 — The person you hate most/caused you a lot of pain
• Day 13 — Someone you wish could forgive you
• Day 14 — Someone you’ve drifted away from
• Day 15 — The person you miss the most
• Day 16 — Someone that’s not in your state/country
• Day 17 — Someone from your childhood
• Day 18 — The person that you wish you could be
• Day 19 — Someone that pesters your mind—good or bad
• Day 20 — The one that broke your heart the hardest
• Day 21 — Someone you judged by their first impression
• Day 22 — Someone you want to give a second chance to
• Day 23 — The last person you kissed
• Day 24 — The person that gave you your favorite memory
• Day 25 — The person you know that is going through the worst of times
• Day 26 — The last person you made a pinky promise to
• Day 27 — The friendliest person you knew for only one day
• Day 28 — Someone that changed your life
• Day 29 — The person that you want tell everything to, but too afraid to
• Day 30 — Your reflection in the mirror

I have never really blogged before, but I am going to  give it a shot.  I saw this on several other people's blogs and decided to give it a whirl.  Day 1 starts tomorrow!

Hello, It's Me Again.

Wow, it's been a long time since I have been on here.  The wedding is finally over!  We made it through!  Everything went amazing PERFECT.  Thinking back at just how HORRID the rehearsal was, I don't know how we pulled it off.  I always thought we would both be a nervous wreck the morning of our wedding, but we were both calm and certain  of the events that were to happen that day.   I remember not even realizing it was my turn to walk down the aisle.  I just remember being in the back room and all "my girls" disappearing.  Then  the director flagging me in to get ready.  I am sure I had the most confused look on my face.  

After the wedding, we headed to the Bahamas!  Oh my goodness AMAZING!!! I can not wait to go back.  We slept on the prettiest beaches just soaking in the sun.  Then we went on a jet ski ride on one of the islands we stopped at.   Things were just too perfect!

Now things have started t o slow down.   We have gotten back into a groove and are enjoying this next "newlywed" phase in our relationship.   He is back in school.  I am working full time.  I am trying to get in shape, but I have had the flu so that kind of set me back a bit.  We are almost finished the process of buying our first house!  Who knew buying from your parents would be so much harder than buying from John Doe off the street lol.   Through it all, God has been so good to us! 

~Hugs~
-Ash