TOH: Santa's gonna need a new entrance!

Our work on this old house continues, despite the freezing below zero temperatures this week.  This weekend John and I removed the chimney. Yep, over 4,000 pounds of concrete and clay bricks knocked down and thrown into the trailer via 5 lb buckets. That was a good arm, shoulder, and leg workout!  Santa's gonna need a new entrance to this place next year!

The old hot water heat system and radiators are completely gone too.  John busted apart one radiator in the living room that weighed roughly 1,000 lbs before hauling it away to the scrap yard.  It's awesome to have finally gotten rid of that big one!! The old pipes and furnace are all removed as well and the temporary furnace is in place.  The place is slowly shaping up! I know it doesn't look like much, but it feels like little by little we're making this old house our reality.

 While ripping off plaster and lath, we came across some original wallpaper.  Check it out! It definitely looks circa 1911 doesn't it??

Maybe I can save it and reuse it??  Ok, maybe not.  But it was pretty cool right?  We'll see what other treasures we discover as we uncover things...until our next update!

Let the Juicing begin!

This week I bought my first juicer. While I love my Ninja, it doesn't quite do the job for true juicing by getting rid of the pulp.  You might be asking, "Why the heck are you juicing??"  Basically, I'm trying a new way to get more fruits and vegetables into my diet. Frankly, I'm much rather drink my vegetables than eat them these days.  So I purchased a juicer this week and have started the juicing experience!  Today I tried my hand at carrot ginger juice.  Recipe: 5 carrots, 1 piece of ginger. Simple enough right?

Well, turns out that you want a small SLICE of ginger, not a WHOLE ginger root.  :)  So the first sip of this delicious juice wasn't quite so delicious.  It actually burned a bit going down!! Ha! Luckily I added some oranges and apples to neutralized the ginger a bit and it helped mask the intensity.  Then it tasted pretty good! Next time, I'll remember to use a small piece of ginger and add more for flavor if needed.

Other juices that I've tried so far include: strawberry, apple, & orange;  papaya & banana;  Next on the list to try is spinach and cucumber, celery and carrots.  Did you know that celery has tranquilizing properties?

I found some great recipes online...check them out by clicking here if you're interested!  Happy Juicing! Bottoms up!

Demolition is here!

We're officially in demolition mode! John is responsible for demolition and I get to help clean it up and haul it off (talk about fun!). When clean up is done, this old house will be on its way to the interior face lift we have in mind! The renovation process can continue! It looks roomier already...but we still have a long way to go.  Our sleeves are rolled up and work gloves are on! If you're looking for some muscle building tedious mindless work to do, grab a shovel and a mask and come on over! Otherwise, enjoy our update...

Just hanging around...aerial yoga!

Today was my second class of aerial yoga and let me say...I'm in love!! For those who don't really know much about aerial yoga, I'll fill you in.  Basically, it's the use of a fabric hammock to achieve yoga positions.  The fabric hammock allows gravity to kick in and you can literally just hang in positions and feel the weight of your body settle into the fabric.  The gravity pulls your spine into its natural alignment. The very first time I settled into the hammock, I could feel the "pop pop pop" of my spine, as I tipped upside down and settled into my hip-hang.

 Today's class worked on our hand stands, using the fabric to hang and isolate the leg muscles, then we grounded our hands on the mat and worked our upper body as well.  The class is a great balance between the fabric and the mat.

My favorite part is the mediation...you can mediate on the mat or in the fabric hammock! It stretches out and cocoons around you, enveloping around you.  Safely suspending you over the mat, slightly swaying while the sound of ocean waves plays softly in the background. It is so wonderful, calm relaxation and meditation is easily achieved...!  I'm already looking forward to my next class! Namaste  ;)

Taking down the trim(mings)...and New Year's Resolutions

 

The Christmas trimmings were hung with care, ready for family soon to be near! Ok, so Christmas and New Year's have already passed and were definitely a success. It seems that every year the holidays creep up faster and faster and then breeze by in a blink of an eye.  This year my brother and his family came into town from ND and we gathered here at my house for a Christmas feast with my nephews, small and big.  Here's a quick recap in pictures of our family time over the week.  It was so fun!  

 

Now it's back to work and taking down the trimmings from the holidays...and taking down trim from our old house.  Remember our house project, this old house?  The one that's sort of been put on hold for the holidays?  Well, our New Year's resolution is to finish the house project within our budget and as soon as possible!! The blue siding is off and the house is stripped down to its original wood siding from 1911 (I know it looks a little rustic).  Now we're taking down trim on the inside, starting demolition and trimming back our budget to ramp up the project.  Watch out 2013, here we come! This old house is getting a major face lift.  :)