The bedroom is improving!

So for christmas I got that West Elm duvet I loved! Thanks Mom! My grandma got me a nice down comforter to go in the duvet too. Thanks G-ma!

Here are some pictures:

I also used a target gift card Zach and I got from Josh to get us some non-temporary curtains for our bedroom. I actually ended up getting shower curtains. I think they ended up working out great though, they are double lined so they are really nice. I think Targets selection of shower curtains is way better than their curtains too. I still want to paint the wall behind the bed a grey color, and get some lamps for the nightstands but for now the room looks nice and is quite functional! I am very happy with it. The kitties are too because they all love laying in there!

New Dishwasher

So a few weeks ago our dishwasher died. Dang being a homeowner and its impromptu unforeseeable catastrophes! Luckily Best Buy was offering 18 months at zero interest. We were lucky to get a bit of a deal due to Zach's old work connections and find one we liked in stock at the Best Buy near our house.

Zach, Greg and Dave spent most of the day installing it. After two trips to comet plumbing it was done!

Here is the old junker being removed:

Installation in progress:

Ta-da! Shiny new dishwasher is done!

I am in love with this new dishwasher. It is near silent and works great plus it looks wonderful and matches the rest of the appliances. Bye bye ugly black piece of crap!

I was bummed I had to put off my new counters but we should be getting them when we get our tax refund. So I have that to look forward to. Then the last things left for the kitchen will be the glass back-splash and refinishing the table and chairs. The ceiling also needs work but that's a low priority.

Here is a sample of the counter tops:

Snow

This post is definitely about a month past due, but better late than never!

painting for grandma

This is the 10" x 10" painting I gave to my Grandma for Christmas. This is the painting that got wrapped before I got a picture of it. Sorry the pictures are cell phone pics so the quality isn't great.

Christmas 2009, Christmas 2010

Hey not much has changed....

Zach, Kathy and I

Christmas 2009

Zach, Kathy and I

Christmas 2010

Recent Paintings

Here are some of my more recent paintings!

Here is a better picture of the 36" x 48" canvas I painted for Alyssa's apartment.

Here are some detail shots:

These two 24" x 36" canvases I painted for my Dad's office. I really like how they turned out. Here is a detail:

This 10" x 10" I did for my little brother.

This series I did for my bestie, Ashley. It is three 8" x 10" canvases. Here are individual shots.

 This painting I gave to my parents for christmas. It is either a 30" x 30" or a 36" x 36" I can't remember which. Ooops. Here is a detail:

This is a 16" x 20" painting I did for my Aunt Jooji.

 Detail:

 Details:

This series of three 8" x 8 canvases  is for my Aunt Becky's Christmas present. I still have to ship them so Becky if you see this before you get them then MERRY CHRISTMAS TO YOU!

This last  painting is a 36" x 48" canvas that now has a happy home at our friend Justin's.

I did another 10" x 10" painting for my Grandma but I ended up wrapping it before I got a picture. Woops! I will be painting a 20" x 20" and three 8" x 8" canvases for our friend Kyle this upcoming week. So look forward to some more pictures of new paintings!

New favorite book?

I have just finished reading the Sword of Truth series by Terry Goodkind .

Let me just say I absolutely loved the series, These may be my new favorite books. (yes more than Harry Potter) I am sad for them to be over. However, there is a new book coming out. 

The Omen Machine, that takes off where Confessor ended. I'm not sure when the release date is. March or July? But it's still something to look forward to!

I highly recommend reading them!!

Baked Three Cheese Ziti

I made this for dinner the other night. It was super tasty and real easy.

It was in one of my williams sonoma books. I altered it a bit. Here is the recipe:

1 C ricotta
2 C shredded Romano ( I used a mixture of Asagio, Parmesan and Romano)
1/2 lb or 8 oz. Fresh Mozzarella cheese
1 lb box of Ziti
1 can diced tomatoes
1 jar tomato sauce ( I go for Prego Traditional)
1/2 C chopped fresh parsley
1 small onion diced
3 cloves garlic, diced
1 egg yolk
olive oil

Preheat oven to 425. Grease a 3 qt baking dish. I used a 13" x 9" baking dish. Bring a salted pot of water to boil. Cook Ziti until al dente according to package directions.
Meanwhile in a large saucepan over medium high heat cook garlic and onion in a little bit of olive oil until onion is transparent. Add in diced tomatoes and tomato sauce.You can turn down the heat some since you just need to be heating up the sauce.

In a large bowl mix together Ricotta, 1/2 of the Romano cheese, egg yolk, and parsley.
When pasta is done drain and add to cheese mixture.
Add the mozzarella to the tomato sauce and let melt a little. When it is mostly melted add tomato sauce to the pasta and cheese mixture.
Pour pasta and sauce into baking dish. Top with remaining 1/2 of Romano cheese and drizzle with olive oil. Bake about 20 minutes until slightly brown and bubbling. Let sit 5 minutes before serving.

Slacker

I'm still continuing to be a slacker! The lack of posts on here is depressing. Good news is that things are progressing! I finally have chargers for the cameras. The back office room is somewhat organized though we have no seating in there and the desk still needs to be painted. I have so many things I want to post about but no pictures with me. So stay tuned for:

• My house decked out in holiday decor (I know its past Christmas)
• Snow at our new house!
• New paintings
• Great Christmas gifts

Those are the big ones. Today Uly is getting declawed. I feel terrible for it to have to come to this but we have tried everything from a plethora of scratching posts to cutting his nails daily. We covered the couches in double sided tape, We covered the couches with blankets and tucked them in but he still gets underneath them to claw the couch. We tried the claw covers that you super glue on (which he manages to get off within 24 hrs). No punishment works on this cat either! If there is trouble to get into he will find it. I will have to take pictures of our poor couches. We are using the laser declaw method which is supposed to be less painful and an easier recovery. Poor kitty has to sleep at the vet tonight. Rocker and Setzer my families old cats were both declawed and they were still able to catch animals and everything so I think Uly will be fine. I still feel really bad about it though.

Christmas morning seemingly overnight Penguin and Uly became best friends. They play and wrestle constantly. I think Penguin ends up getting fed up with it since Uly doesn't tire or give up. He is getting big too. Hes almost 9 lbs and is taller and longer than both the other cats. His paws are huge so I know hes going to continue to grow. I'm so glad to have kitties that frolic! He loves to play with Kathy too who usually lets him do whatever he wants to her but she will play with him sometimes. So cute. I seriously could spend all day simply watching my pets. Pretty sad. When there are four of them though something is always going on.

Justin's Painting

Here is my latest creation, This is a 36" x 48" acrylic on canvas.

This is way more of a landscape than I usually do but I like how it turned out. Hopefully Justin loves it and it has found a good home in his apartment!

I can't believe how long it has been since my last post. Good news though! Janet just got me some chargers for our cameras FINALLY! I should get them today or tomorrow. Plus with Zach's new macbook pro it is a lot easier to update my blog now since I don't have to sit sideways on the couch to use my computer. Sadly the back room still looks like a war zone.