I miss these girls...

ReeseAddison

Weekend Update #2

• Friday night we went to Jim and Ashley's house and played Settlers of Catan. I won both games, that never happens.
• After we got home, I planned out our meals (with commentary and advice provided by my husband) and organized my grocery list and got the coupons ready. Hey, this is what hip and happenin' young couples without kids do on a Friday night.
• Saturday morning we went to the grocery store, Target, and the library and made it home in time for the Ohio State kickoff at noon. I must say, the Buckeye obsession is everywhere in this town. You would think that you were at the game, judging by the clothing choices of the grocery store patrons - a blur of red and white. We even had to discuss the upcoming game with the meat clerk at the butcher counter. Yes, go Bucks! Now can I have my meat, please?
  
• We both managed to squeeze a nap in on Saturday afternoon. When I woke from my slumber, my husband had done two loads of laundry and cleaned the kitchen. Score.
• Saturday night we played Scrabble, complete with hot cocoa and Fernando Ortega serenading us in the background. I beat Jason at Scrabble by one point - yeah!
  
• Sunday morning we went back to The Chapel, the Green campus (Green refers to the location of the campus, not the color!). Pastor Knute Larsen spoke on Deuteronomy 1 - 6. Pastor Larsen bears a strong resemblance to Charles Stanley - his voice also sounds like Charles Stanley, only without the slight southern drawl. He was easy to follow and a great speaker. He made several jokes about Ohio State - that's another thing, we've been here three Sundays and each time the pastor opened up with a joke about Ohio State. Ah, gone are the days of Cyclones vs. Hawkeyes - here, there is only one team to root for!
• Sunday afternoon involved a trip to the Geek Squad at Best Buy (Jason's computer is on the fritz), football, etc...and now we are preparing to start the week all over!

Boring, I know! I'm going to have to find a way to jazz up these weekend updates or y'all are going to quit reading.

Here's a juicy confession. At church on Sunday, I set my program down on the bench right beside me. The woman sitting one seat away reached across and took it! I know she didn't mean anything by it; she probably thought it was hers, but I really wanted that program so I could follow along with the sermon notes. When she wasn't looking, I spied her program in her purse and snatched it right out. What happens to people who steal from others during church?

Me with really bad hair hiding behind my cocoa

Jason determined to find a way to beat me

What's for dinner?

Saturday - Sloppy Joes, Chips, Applesauce
Sunday - Frozen Pizza
Monday - Chicken and Stuffing, Green Bean Casserole, Pumpkin Pie (Jason's friend Lee will join us)
Tuesday - Sausage and Noodle Skillet (Jan M's recipe)
Wednesday - Sweet and Sour Pork and Rice
Thursday - Thanksgiving! - dinner at the mission
Friday - Eat Out (we have a gift certificate!)

You can fill in all the blanks with leftovers!
I've been trying to plan our meals a week in advance so we go to the grocery store and get only what we need. It's a great time saver, and easy on the budget! I realize this is not a new concept, but it's relatively new to me - remember - I was 28 before I got married, and up until that point I lived on microwave popcorn and diet coke :)

Quiche Recipe

1 9" frozen pie shell, thawed
2 c. shredded sharp cheddar cheese
1 c. chopped ham (I have also made it with bacon)
1/4 c. onion, chopped fine
2 eggs, beaten
1/2 c mayonnaise
1/2 c evaporated milk

Preheat oven to 375. Toss together cheese, ham, and onion. Spoon into pie shell. Whisk together remaining ingredients until well blended. Pour over ham and cheese mixture. Bake 45 minutes or until golden and knife inserted in center comes out clean.

Perfect for brunch or even an evening meal - I usually serve it with fresh fruit and juice. The leftovers heat up nicely in the microwave. Jason really likes this recipe even though his first reaction was that quiche is a "girly" food!

Weekend Update

Since my mom always asks about the weekends, I thought I would try to make weekend updates a regular feature of our blog. Let me warn you - our weekends are NOT exciting so don't read any further if you hope to be entertained and enthralled!

Well, another quiet and relaxing weekend at the Hubbard house. We spent Friday night staring at each other - literally. We did manage find the most boring show on television - I want to know if anyone can top this - it was a documentary on grass. Grass. Jason's friend Jim rescued us when he came over and we played a few games of Settlers of Catan and had brownies and ice cream. Jim is married to Ashley and we've gotten together with them a few times. Ashley couldn't come over on Friday because she had to supervise a youth group activity - so it was me and the boys. It was fun and better than learning about grass.

Saturday we slept in and then I made an amazing quiche - it really was yummy. I'll post the recipe if anyone is interested, it is very easy! I did loads and loads of laundry and also cleaned both bathrooms and the kitchen floor. Major victory. I read for awhile and Jason watched Ohio State get smoked. Then we couldn't stand the boredom any more and went to a matinee of Fred Claus. It was clean and family-friendly, but just okay. There was a woman behind us who talked the entire way through it. That didn't annoy me at all.

Saturday night involved more staring and reruns of The Office on DVD.

Today we went back to The Chapel for our class on Love and Respect. This particular church has two campuses - one in downtown Akron and the other about 5 minutes away from us in Green. We've been attending the class at the Akron campus, but this time we decided to try out the worship service in Green. That was a great decision! Even though it involved a rushed drive across town, we made it just in time for the 10:30 service.

We ended up in the front row - that's where all the latecomers end up, apparently! They had an orchestra - no joke - and a choir of at least 50 people. There were about 8 violinists sitting right in front of me and probably 25 other musicians in the orchestra. Needless to say, the music was beautiful, but the best part was singing "Great is Thy Faithfulness" - it was a wonderful reminder to me that all that I have has been provided by Him. I think the reason it hit home for me is that I am anxious about our house selling back in Dubuque, and I question why it hasn't happened yet. How soon I forget that He has provided every meal, every breath, every blessing.

The speaker was a man named Mike Castelli - he is an associate pastor at The Chapel, and is also the man that baptized Jason. He taught from Deuteronomy 8:1-20, which is such an appropriate message and goes along with God's faithfulness. The main idea of his message was "Remember God from hard times for better days are near, and these too are His provision" - an easy and concise concept for me. I think the main points of his message will be come to mind throughout this coming week. After the service, we stopped to talk to Mike and he remembered Jason immediately and was excited that we are in the area. I am looking forward to attending this church again - I don't think it is an accident that we ended up there to hear a message that would speak to my heart so clearly!

So, that about wraps it up. I left out our trips to Target and the grocery store - but what would a weekend be without at least one trip to either place? This week has a few treats in store for me - we are having dinner with Jason's spiritual parents, there is an open house at the mission, and I get to meet a new friend for lunch.

On a completely random note, am I the only one that loves the ipod commercial with the song "Music is my boyfriend"??? I can't help it, I love that commercial and I have to dance like an idiot whenever it comes on - even if I am home alone. Jason rolls his eyes but I know that he secretly thinks I'm cute, hahaha!

Thanks for sticking with me - this was a long one! And thanks for your comments - it means a lot to know someone is reading!

Today I joined Jason for lunch at Haven of Rest - I was so proud of myself driving downtown all alone! Small victory, but just one more step towards me finding my way around a new place. Here he is meeting me at the learning center, which is just one small part of this ministry. This is his office - I need to get on the ball and help him decorate! The framed picture of the pink duck will soon be replaced with some sort of Cubs paraphernalia!

Since my brother has apparently joined

the writers of Hollywood and has gone on strike leaving his faithful readers without a new blog post for over a month, I am forced to post a blog for him. No amount of poking, prodding, or general ridicule appears to be working, and this picture is too cute just to be left on my hard drive where nobody can ooh and ahh over it.

Addie and her Uncle "Jeff Jeff"

Exploring Akron

We have spent quite a bit of time hunting out a good grocery store in the Akron area. I never thought I'd miss any of the Iowa shopping...but ladies, be thankful for HyVee. What a great place! We finally found a grocery store on Saturday morning that seemed decent. But I miss rows and rows of produce and the friendly butcher counter with many offerings of fresh meat! We ended up getting our ground beef and chicken at Sam's Club and were pretty happy with the quality. I love Sam's, I'll be a member for life. Plus, now we don't have to worry about starving...our freezer will be full for awhile!

We also went shopping and found a few ties and some shoes for Jason. He's so fun to dress up, he's like my own personal Ken doll, LOL. If I say it looks good, he'll wear it.

Saturday afternoon I was insistent that we find a library. We found the Summit County Public Library and I immediately knew this was my kind of library. They had an entire section devoted to "Chick Lit"...SCORE! I picked up several Karen Kingsbury titles and a few other books I'd been wanting to read; so I'll be busy for awhile.

Saturday night we hung some things in the master bedroom, including the infamous Pottery Barn shelves that I am sure have caused many divorces among couples in the United States. They are so heavy and frustrating to hang correctly, but once they are up they look bee-yoo-ti-ful! Then Jason watched a movie that I didn't have any interest in, so I worked for a few hours editing articles. Ahhhh...the perks of a flexible schedule.

This morning we went to a huge church called The Chapel. Now, "huge" may be a relative term, but I certainly am not used to attending a church that has a parking garage, several services, and leaving 30 minutes ahead to get there on time! (We are used to rolling in 2 minutes before 9:30 and parking on the grass, LOL!) We first attended a small group ABF (Adult Bible Fellowship) and caught the first session of a DVD series called "Love and Respect" by Emerson Eggerich. I have been interested in reading his book, and we both enjoyed the first session so I think we will go back to that class. There were several younger couples in the class. I quickly learned that I am not showing respect to my husband when I say things like, "Sometimes you act like an annoying little brother"... (Sorry, Jeff!). After the class we attended the 10:30 worship service. I couldn't help but look around the auditorium and really miss the wonderful people at ACC...sniff, sniff!

Well, I'm off to take a nap...it is Sunday afternoon, after all!

P.S. Sometimes the Goodyear Blimp floats by our apartment - that's pretty cool :)

1/2 of our new home

Well, you only get to see pictures of 1/2 of our home because the other half isn't ready yet!

Here is my desk in our tiny little office. I miss my nice big office at Emmaus, but this works just fine! You'll notice the beautiful quilt that my mom made on the left...the bed doesn't fit because the desk is too long! We also have the laser printer and two bookshelves crammed into this room! A little cramped, but homey!

Here is the living room with view from the kitchen...this was a difficult room to set up - I'm not sure I completely like it, but this is the way it is staying!

The dining room - oops, I see an unpacked box!!The kitchen - ignore the dirty pot in the sink

Homemade baked potato soup will be served at 6:00 if you want to stop by!

The master bedroom is not ready to be seen yet...and the bathrooms are still in disarray...so you'll have to wait for those pictures, but they aren't far behind!

Tales from our trip

Not much to say other than we made it! We stayed in South Bend, Indiana for all of 12 hours and then hit the road again. This is what the trip looked like for me: Yes, I was following the 26 foot U-Haul with the trailer carrying Jason's Rodeo going 65 MPH+ and I managed to take a picture. Talented...or crazy??

We arrived in Akron around 4:00 on Sunday and decided to stay in a hotel instead of with Jason's friends because we couldn't find a place to park the U-Haul. We stayed at one of those hotels that advertises the rate and you can see it from the highway. What can I say, it was cheap and we didn't care. Plus, look at this killer view!

More pictures to come...stay tuned!