Fire at Vicksburg Village

It's been a crazy morning at Vicksburg Village Apartments:
A huge fire broke out at about 4:00 this morning. 

We had our windows open, so I was first woken up by the smell. 

Then I heard the sirens.

The building right next to ours was on fire.

It was insane.

The flames were huge.

The picture above is after the fire departments had been working for a while, so the flames are smaller. Also, it's from the opposite side of the building that the fire was actually on.

Here's some pictures from the other side of the building:

Firefighters from tons of different departments seemed to be working in shifts.

From the vehicles I saw, the departments on scene included: Plymouth, Maple Grove, Eden Prairie, Brooklyn Center, Hopkins, Bloomington, Rogers, Golden Valley, and St. Louis Park.

You can see the damage; This is one of two huge holes in the building. They are saying the fire started on the second floor.

...Still battling the flames at 5:30 in the morning, an hour and a half after we were woken up from the smell and commotion. 

Everything's dying down now (about 7am).

The fire appeared to be put out about 6:00.

But fire trucks and cops are still all over, tables/tents for injuries still set up:

But the commotion has slowed.

They believe it was caused from one of the AC's on someone's patio (each room in each building has it's own AC, located on each patio).

They say the reason the fire reached the extent that it did was because it's a wood building, and our buildings don't have sprinkler systems installed.

Did NOT know that.

Note to self: if you ever move to an apartment building, might be a good idea to check that they have a sprinkler system installed in their buildings...

Miraculously, nobody was injured.

The police chief reported that they believe everyone made it out safely.

I did most of the investigating and picture taking on my own with Tom's phone...once we discovered the fire was contained and our building was safe, Thomas had no problem going back to sleep, despite all the commotion, noise, and smell. 

He'll have no problem with the baby's cries when he arrives... :P

Adventures in the Kitchen

Well it's not news to anyone that I love to cook.

It's become a stress reliever for me, I think. 

Yup.

Just decided that.

Cooking is how I relieve stress.

I love it.

Well it seems like I learn something new every time I cook.

This past week I learned an incredibly valuable lesson, that I would like to share with you all, concerning cooking with oil.

First: Oil gets hot. I mean, HOT. Very hot. Dangerously hot.

No, I did not burn myself.

Or the food.

Worse.

I melted my measuring cup.

Note to self: Pouring hot oil fresh off the stove from the pan into a plastic measuring cup is never a good idea.

I was making gravy.

From scratch.

Creamy, delicious (yes, it turned out DELICIOUS) country gravy to go over my fried porkchops and mashed potatoes.

The recipe said that after frying up the porkchops, to measure out 1/4c of the drippings and oil to use for the gravy.

They should have noted not to use a plastic measuring cup (ya know, for us amateur cooks out there...).

Well, the dinner turned out fabulous (if I do say so myself) I went out that night after dinner and got some new measuring cups (because I can't have an incomplete set of cups!) and made the smart decision of investing in metal measuring cups this time.

On a side note: I must share a recipe with you all.

I don't usually, but this is a must try for everyone.

One: because it's to-die-for-delicious.

Two: It's pretty much THE easiest (not to mention tastiest) dessert I've ever made.

It's these little guys:

It's so easy, you don't even have to write a recipe down.

Here's what you do:

Roll out some Pillsbury crescent rolls onto a baking sheet.

Chop up butter into little tiny pieces (cold, right from the fridge butter obviously works best for chopping) and sprinkle over the rolls. 

Drizzle some brown sugar and granulated sugar over.

Then sprinkle some cinnamon. 

Pop 'em in the oven at 350 degrees for a few minutes until golden brown and bubbly!

Voila!

Deliciousness.

Oh yes, the icing drizzle!

A couple of spoonfuls of powdered sugar and a couple of tablespoons of milk to your desired consistency and sweetness. 

You can't go wrong.

Seriously.

Go make this.

Right. Now.

Nailed it!

I am an avid garage saler.

Have been for as long as I can remember.

When I was younger, my mom and I would always go garage sale hunting early in the morning. We'd get out there right at 8 when all of them were just starting to open, hunt around for goodies, then probably went out for lunch half the time too.

I've always loved it.

You just never know what you're gonna find!

Sometimes, a garage sale is a total bust.

Other times, it's full of treasures.

That's the fun of it.

I can't pass up a garage sale.
If I see a sign, I have to stop.

Because if I don't, I'll always wonder what I could have found...

I know, it's a little much.

But I just love it - the thrill of not knowing what you'll find!

Plus, it's cheap!

And I am all about saving money when possible!

So, as always, I've been garage sale-ing lots this summer.

In particular, for baby goodies.

Garage sale-ing is so much more fun when you're pregnant...especially, too, when you know it's a boy and you can hunt for lots of adorable clothes.

And how could you pass it up??

I can get an adorable outfit at a garage sale (pants, shirt, the whole shabang) for $2, or $10-$15 at the store...

There's really no reason not to be a garage sale-er when you're preggo.

Anywho, a few weeks ago, I was out garage sale-in' away with my mom, and we had a jackpot of a day!

We got looots of perfect-condition baby goodies!

But one of my favorite finds was a dresser.

We found this big solid oak dresser.

Now, I had been on the lookout for a dresser for our little Benjamin, and this dresser was [almost] perfect. 

The lady wanted $30 - I talked her into $15. 

WOOT!

It was a sturdy, solid dresser - but ugly.

Oak. Blah. So I wanted to paint it.

Needless to say I got the idea off pinterest...

And what a success!

Before:

{I forgot to take a "before" picture right away, so this is post-sanding, but you get the drift. Imagine this color, with gloss. Oh, and REALLY ugly, old-fashioned handles and knobs!)

And after!

{The clarity isn't the greatest because it's taken in my parent's garage at night time, but you get the drift...MUCH nicer!!)

Isn't she gorgeous?!?!

Now, I can't claim all the credit...

I had help sanding and varnishing from my dad and Thomas. 

But I sure do love the new look!

I think I am going to paint all my ugly oak and maple furniture from now on!

Looks so much more modern!
$15 at a garage sale...plus $10 on primer and paint.
NAILED IT.

From Scratch

I'm 24, turning 25 in a little over a month.

The average age of marriage for a woman in the United states is 27 (29 for men).

We got married when I was 23, Thomas 22.

Now, if we lived back in the sixties, this would be the norm.

Actually, I'd be "old" when I got married, with the average woman getting married at 20 and the average man at 22.

Times have changed.

I've been told many times that Thomas and I got married too young, too fast.

Too fast? Excuse me?

Did the 5+ years of dating not count for anything?

Ha. Apparently not...

As for too young? Well, I have some thoughts about that.

Sure, we were on the young side of the norm.

But sometimes I think "the norm" are doing things backwards.

The typical thing to do these days is go to college, get a career, become established in your career, get married, enjoy married life together a bit, have a baby.

But I think if you do things in that order, you miss out on some great opportunities. 

I think if you've found the one you love, and you know they're the one you want to spend forever with, why wait? 

Who cares if you're still in school?

Or working a side job until you can find a job in your degree?

That's life. Go with it!

When you're newlyweds, you're not supposed to be settled into life.

You're supposed to just beginning your life, creating it together.

It's okay if you have no money.

Newlyweds are supposed to have mismatched furniture crammed into a one-bedroom apartment.

Life has a way of working itself out.

Going through those experiences help bring you and your spouse together.

They create memories.

They create love.

I love that I've had the opportunity to experience this side of life with Thomas.

The side where we struggle with bills, shop thrift stores and garage sales, and coupon like crazy. 

It adds something...value? Coziness? Closeness? Can't quite put my finger on it...to our relationship.

Anywho, all I'm sayin' is you don't have to have your life set in order and everything aligned before you get married. 

That's part of the fun of getting married you: building a life together from scratch.

Because This is My Life These Days

I never blog anymore. 

Since my college days, my blogging has dramatically ceased.

I feel like I have nothing to write about anymore. 

My life is the same every day.

Even being pregnant, it's the same every day.

And whenever I get the urge to write about something, it's always about the baby.

And I think to myself: "I can't always write about my pregnancy or the baby. People don't want to hear about it..." 

But let's face it: 

That's my life now.

Work.

Thomas.

Baby growing. 

So I've decided: 

I'm just going to write about the baby.

Because that's my life these days. 

And if you've heard enough about little Benjamin, well, you don't have to read. 

I'm about to enter my third trimester.

On June 29, I will have officially three months left to go.

It's really, finally, starting to hit me that this is happening. 

My belly is really starting to grow.

And I'm just starting to feel the effects of pregnancy.

I hate going to the bathroom at public places, where the stalls are usually so small that I hit my belly with the door when I close it.

I can no longer bend down to pick something up.

It hurts, from squishing Benjamin.

I now have to spread my legs and squat so as not to squish my belly.

Just walking up the steps is starting to make me lose my breath.

My bladder seems to becoming smaller and smaller. 

I have a constant backache, am a human furnace, and the leg cramps are awful.

Ya get my drift...I'm starting to feel pregnant.

In addition to feeling pregnant, I'm feeling about a hundred different other emotions, now that we're getting closer and closer to Benjamin arriving. 

I'm so nervous.

Nervous I won't know how to be a mother. Nervous about not knowing a million things, actually. I'm great with kids. But I've never really had much experience with newborns. Everyone says it'll come naturally, but will it?
And registering for our baby showers just made me feel so incredibly overwhelmed!!
So much stuff needed!
And things I never would have thought of!
Thank goodness for my momma to help me.
But man, I feel overwhelmed. 
On the bright side: I have three months to prepare myself.
Reading lots, but how much can you really learn from books?

Starting my "nesting" phase. 
Been garage sale-ing lots, and finding some REALLY great finds!!
Loooots of adorable wittle baby boy clothes.
We've also hit jackpot on an exercauser & tummy time play set, stroller/carseat travel set, three gliders (one for me, my mom's house, and Tom's mom's house), a gorgeous wooden dresser, and high chair. All for amazing deals and in great condition, might I add!
I love garage sales! Next is craft fair season! Woot!

Well, really the next part is now organizing our home to accommodate all of Benjamin's new things. 

It's getting so so real...
I absolutely love watching him move around in my belly.
It was amazing feeling him for the first time: those little "bubbles" in my belly and tickles were wonderful.
But seeing him twist and turn and kick and punch and somersault is just the most wonderful thing I could imagine. 
Seeing my Benjamin be the wiggle-worm he is makes my heart melt every time, and makes this whole surreal experience more real. 
I am so overwhelmed with love for my little prince, and I am so excited to hold him in my arms soon!