Well isn't that sweet?!

A week and a half ago as I was studying at the kitchen table when I heard a knock at the front door. So I did what I always do. I hid. About 99% of the time, a knock at the front door means someone is trying to get us to vote for so and so or sign some sort of petition. Stella on the other hand did not hide. She went straight up to the window and barked. And barked. And barked.

 

A minute or two later I heard the porch door close so I tip toed my way to the window to see A. Johnson's & Sons flower van sitting outside. What?! Someone was bringing me flowers and I didn't answer the door! The driver was just sitting in the front seat and not leaving! Then the phone rings. It's the driver. "Just letting you know I dropped off some flowers on your front porch." Me: "Oh great! I'm just on my way home right now!" Yep. I fibbed a bit:)

 

Finally he drove off and I stepped onto the front porch to find these...

 

 

For the first time in my life, Joe sent me flowers with a message that read, "Sorry we haven't been able to see each other this week. I just wanted to let you know I'm thinking of you."

 

 

I know. So sweet.

 

But can I let you in on a little secret? I may have put a tiny buzz in his ear about how it'd be nice to get flowers every once in a while even though I know they're expensive and usually die in a week. My sister recently was sent flowers from her husband and I didn't complain to Joe about never getting flowers but did say how nice it was. Hint Hint.

 

Then the next day these came.

A treat for Joe...

On Sunday, Joe and I went to the St. Paul Farmers' Market which you can read about over on MN Blog. I've always wanted to go but in the summer, we are rarely home if you can't tell. We just happened to be in town this weekend which was a nice break from all the traveling we've been doing lately so this little piggy went to the market. (Sorry, I babysat for some friends on Friday night and as you can tell, we did a few nursery rhymes!)

Anyway, we picked up a few things while we were there and one of our items were banana peppers. For Joe of course, not me. I can't handle the slightest ounce of anything remotely hot or spicy. He tried one once we got home and said it didn't really taste sweet or hot so I went straight to Google for help in finding a canning recipe for HOT banana peppers.

I give you... Hot pickled Banana Peppers. Not sure what they'll taste like when they're ready but I hope they'll be hot enough for Joe!

What you'll need:

About 25 banana peppers

2 cups water

3 cups distilled white vinegar

1/2 cup apple cider vinegar

1/2 cup sugar

1/4 cup salt

2 tablespoons whole peppercorns

1 tablespoon caraway seeds

1 tablespoon dill seeds

2 teaspoons ground allspice

I also added a little bit of cayenne pepper and red pepper flakes to spice it up a bit.

The recipe makes about four pint-sized jars, so out came the big stock pot of boiling water to sterilize the jars and lids. First, I got the peppers ready by cutting off the tops, slicing the peppers into rings and removing the core. Then you soak the peppers in a bowl of ice water with a tablespoon of salt for at least an hour. Don't ask me why you do this step...it's just what the recipe said to do:)

About a half hour into icing the peppars, I started sterilizing the jars and lids in boiling water for about 10 minutes.

Next, bring the remaining ingredients (water, vinegar, salt, sugar, and spices) to a boil as well.

Once everything was boiling and good to go, I filled the jars with the peppers and then poured the vinegar mixture over them. I used a small handheld strainer when pouring the liquid into the jars, so I could evenly divide the spices among the four jars. Caution: It will be hot!! Glasses will fog!!

Put the lids on the jars, screw the tops on and return them to the boiling water to process. At this point I didn't read the directions far enough because I had already dumped my hot water into the sink! Bahh!! So I had to fill the pot up again and start boiling some more water. You'll want to boil the jars vigorously for 40 minutes, then remove from the liquid and set on a dish towel to cool. Then you wait for the lids to pop!

The recipe said to wait about a month before diving into them! Joe looked pretty excited when he came home from the library and saw what I did. I hope they taste great! Otherwise, we have four jars of pickled hot banana peppers up for grabs!

He gets me...

For those of you who visited yesterday, you probably noticed that Joe and I celebrated our 1st Year Wedding Anniversary! We decided that instead of getting gifts, our upcoming trip to Chicago was going to be our gift to each other. Now, I've always been a "rule follower" so I of course didn't get Joe anything. Joe, however, broke the rules! He came home from class last night and pulled out a little gift because he wanted to make sure he had someting in case I got him something too! I guess I should learn to break the rules once in awhile:)

I will have to say, Joe did a pretty good job at picking out a little something for me. He  totally"gets" me. What is it you ask? Well, he got me my own personal herb starter kit!! WHOOOOO!!!

 Some of you are probably thinking, "Really Joe? You got her a crate full of dirt and seeds?" but when I saw this I'm pretty sure my face and giddiness showed my excitement. I've been wanting a garden but 1) we don't have the space for one 2) I'm sure the squirrels would eat everything, I mean, they eat literally through our garbage can for heaven sakes and 3) we don't have the best sunlight throughout the day.

With this I can grow basil, cilantro and parsley right from my kitchen window sill!

My seeds are planted so hopefully they grow now!

The directions said to cover the crate with saran wrap until my seedlings started to sprout up. My fingers are crossed!

Thank you to my awesome husband! We're both sick today, he stayed home from work...what a lovely way to start our next year of marriage together:) At least I got to plant my herbs!

One Year Ago Today...

One year ago today I married the love of my life, my best friend. I know it sounds totally cliche but you know what? it's the gall darn truth! It has been one adventure after another this first year of marriage. Joe continued working on his Master's and I started Nursing school. We welcomed Stella into our home in January and even started a business together. We've been keeping busy with traveling and finding time to just sit with each other between everything else - even though that doesn't happen as much as we'd like.

This past weekend we spent it up at his parent's cabin in Minong, WI. It was the perfect getaway with great weather and lots of sun and water.

On Friday and Saturday we took the boat over to a couple of the sand islands in the middle of the lake. Here, Joe and Stella are playing fetch on Eagle Island.

Our private island for the afternoon and my favorite spot!

Out for a sunset boat ride!

And now sleeping...

Our humble abode for the weekend!

Two islands in the lake. The one on the left we spent Saturday at and the one on the right is known as "Party Island". You can usually find many boats parked up along the shoreline during the day!

My girl and I!

Stella and Joe!

Joe went for a sunset dip in the water. Stella really wanted to join:)

We had a hard time coming home on Sunday but know we will be there again soon before summer ends. It was the perfect to getaway to just hang out with each other, eat lots of food, go to bed early because we were exhausted from the sun and just be together.

I'm not sure what the next year of marriage will have in store for us but if it's half as good as this past year has been, well I guess we'd be pretty blessed.

Really?!...Really?!

My husband's bedtime routine involves the usual things people do. Before he comes upstairs he grabs a glass of water, he heads to the bathroom to brush his teeth, gets on his pj's and then hops in bed to watch The Daily Show and browses on his computer before turning out the lights.

Except, he has a problem. Today I found six glasses next to his side of the bed.

SIX.

Really?!

My Two Loves

When studying gets crazy for school (which this week it is) I just look up from the books and see Joe and Stella and I am reminded how sweet my life is.

My Husband: Mr. Smarty Pants

...always giving thanks to God the Father for everything, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ...

Ephesians 5:20

Last week Joe had an interview at work for a Senior Operation Engineer position. He was up against two other people from outside of the company and it was about a four hour interview process. The job would mean a step up from where he is currently at and another step in the right direction for where he wants to go within the company.

This morning at 8:58 I got a text from Joe...

"I got the job. Senior Operation Engineer."

AHHHHHHH!!!!! I am so proud of him! I do not know the specifics of the job or what his responsibilities will be but I do know that he will now be the boss of some people (that's a frightening statement...haha jk) and I believe he gets to move from his cubicle to an actual office. Shwanky Shwanky!

Joe works hard at everything his does whether it's his job, his schooling or other things he does and I am so excited for him and all that he has accomplished and has yet to accomplish in his life. I told him I hope our future children get his "smart" genes because they'd be better off with his than mine.

Congratulations Hubby on the new job! I am very excited, proud and happy for you!! Love you so much!

A Visit to Joe's Work

Friday after my orientation, I headed to Joe's work to finally see where he goes every day during the week. Because it's an oil refinery they have a lot of security measures in place and he had to get clearance for my visit first before he even gave me the go ahead to come.

This is a terrible picture I took from my phone at the top of the ramp. Joe was surprised a security officer didn't see me (which would have been a not so good thing). Who knew?! The refinery looks tiny in the picture but it is HUGE!

I had to leave my cell phone in the car (that's why there will be no more pictures), check in and get a visitors badge that had to be visible at ALL TIMES and watch an eight minute video on safety so Joe could take me around outside in a work truck. We went up to see where his desk is and I met some of his coworkers. The "command center" reminds me of Star Trek. It's a big room shaped like a circle with windows around it and there are three pods of desks where they have all these computer screens to see what's going on in the refinery. It was pretty neat.

Then he took me on a tour of the refinery and I got to see the units he's in charge of. This place is crazy! It's amazing how many miles of pipes they have running through there. It looks like a big, carefully thought out mess of pipes running here, there and everywhere. It took us 45 minutes to drive through the whole thing!!

I still have no idea what Joe is talking about when he gets home from work but at least I now have a visual of the place. It's really cool actually. I'm glad I finally got to visit his workplace:)

You saw a what?!

I was one of the many deer hunting widows left behind by their husbands this past weekend to try and catch da turdy point buck. Unfortunately for Joe, I don't eat deer meat which means he's left to stuff his belly full by himself. Let's just say I'm scarred by a childhood experience when a dead deer my grandpa shot was lying in the back of their van, looking at me with its tongue sticking out. I'm sure my eyes were coming out of my head. Also, seeing the deer skinned and hanging in their garage over the years grosses me out.

Anyway, on Saturday as my Mom and Aunt Theresa were walking in town I got a text from my hunting husband...

J: "Haven't seen a deer but just had a big cougar run behind my stand. Tried to get a pic but was too slow. So cool!"

S: "Was she in her 40's? Hope that thing isn't hunting you!"

J: "I'd say late 40's. Never see one in the wild before..."

S: "Yea, well use your gun on it if you need to!"

J: "Haha no worries. I'd shoot if it I needed to. Then I could say I got a cougar" :)

You see, this is a prime example of how different Joe and I are. He thinks it's awesome to see a cougar out in the wild with only a gun to protect himself in case the cougar had other plans. A gun can do a lot of damage, I understand this, but I'd rather see them behind a glass wall. I, on the other hand, would have been running as fast as my legs could carry me, screaming and crying all the way back to the house.

***Hunting News*** My Grandpa shot a doe Saturday morning, him and my dad are still trying to get one more. And Joe's dad, Tom, got an eight point buck last night!!
***Update*** Add a doe on the list for my Dad!! He got one this morning:)

He went back for seconds...

True story. Joe gave me several compliments on dinner last night and said he'll even have the leftovers for lunch. SHUT THE FRONT DOOR! Joe never eats leftovers and he wants the dinner I made again, reheated?! I am one lucky girl. Lucky that I actually made a good tasting meal that is. The best part, it wasn't fancy, I made it without a cookbook and it probably took me under a half hour to make it. My secret: a good alfredo sauce with noodles and chicken, salad with fresh veggies (thanks to my grandpa) and yummy bread. E-a-sy! Now if only I could get away with making that same meal again, three to four days a week and not have Joe notice. He'd think I was the Pioneer Woman and Julia Child mixed in with a pinch of Betty Crocker. A wife can dream right?

Getting Around

Apparently I've been making the rounds on the blogosphere lately. Here's a post Jenna did on her new site A Northwoods Wedding about our wedding and some of our DIY elements. And I knew as soon as my cousin snapped a picture of me and his daughter Autumn, Christina his lovely wife would have something to say about it. I can never get anything past her! :) She's a quick lady.

Joe came home looking like a zombie last night after working eight straight days of 12+ hours and having class until 9pm the past two nights. Thankfully he has today off to recoup before he starts back up for another long stretch tomorrow. I am actually making him dinner tonight - yes, I'm cooking! Nothing fancy by any means but I think he appreciates my efforts more than the actual taste. However, I will at some point in my wife role attempt and succeed in the taste department. Mark my words.

On another note, I'm trying to spruce up what I talk about on here. Lately its been about volunteering, nursing or family (yada yada) and I'm hoping to at least add some pictures here and there. I mean, have you looked read the past, I don't know, five or six posts?! They are all words! That in my mind = boring. So I here by pledge to you my faithful readers, more exciting Jersey Shore fist pumping action!!

Starting tomorrow. Or the next day...

Shelerud Family = Creative Genes

My sister-in-law, Jenna, has not only started a new (a rapidly growing) photography company Photos by Jenna Leigh but she has now entered into the wonderful, crazy world of weddings and all that comes with it. She and her friend Britt have officially launched A Northwoods Wedding as of this morning and show that here in the Midwest, not only are we are cool people who have amazing ideas and beautiful venues but we have talent!! Jenna was also sweet enough to include our wedding in her new adventure. I feel famous...well, more like mini famous. :)

Did I marry into a talented family or what?! With Jenna's new ventures and Joe's company (which is close to its first sale, yes! he's been emailing a guy from Rhode Island who has spent a lot of time on the website according to Joe's stats)...I better start getting creative or I might be kicked out of the family:)

Labor Day Weekend

When Labor Day passes it only means one thing - summer has passed and fall is officially here. I've been trying really hard to be excited about fall this year and all that comes with it such as the beautiful leaves and those last few days of warm weather but my mind goes directly to 'winter is coming'. I'd take a hot humid day any day of the year over snow covered lawns and sub zero temps. But what can you do besides take advantage of those warm fall days as they come and slowly fade away.

This past weekend Joe and I headed up to his parent's cabin to enjoy the lake one more time this year. We had the cabin to ourselves the whole weekend besides Sunday when his parents and grandparents and my parents and sister came out for the day. Saturday we went out for a two hour kayak adventure (I did much better than our 13-miler down the river) as we explored a couple bays. That afternoon we headed to his cousin Brandon's wedding - yes, we had another wedding and we fully enjoyed not having any responsibility besides showing up and enjoying the evening.

On Sunday Tom, Sue, Ron & Pat, my parents and Sadie came out for the day. It was a little chilly but we still went out for a boat ride and took the sea-doos out on the water. Joe and my Dad had a great time on those! Ha. We shared a delicious meal and lots of laugh. Joe and I are very thankful our families get along so well. We spent one more night at the cabin and headed out yesterday morning. I always have a hard time leaving the lake because it's always so peaceful and relaxing. Life seems to slow down a bit:)

Today Joe starts his second year of his Master's program. Although he was dreading it this morning because his weekends will be tied up with school and Fall Turnaround at work starts this Friday, I think he will really enjoy his classes this semester. One is a financial course (he loves math) and the other is called Business Formations which goes through starting up a company. Hmmm...sounds familiar with his new company he started this summer! :)

Joe's baby...

For our wedding, Joe made nine different beers to serve to our guests and go along with our homemade wine. Little did I know it would soon turn into Joe's first small business and I say first because I don't think it will be the last (unless this one takes off:) He, like many others I'm guessing, would love to one day work from home, be his own boss, and travel more than he is actually in an office. In order to make that goal a reality, Joe's first step involved designing a temperature control system used for all grain brewing. Although I'd like to think I have more knowledge about homebrewing than some of the general population since I've helped Joe with a few of the brewing stages and he likes to talk about it, I couldn't tell you the specifics or reasons why and feel confident that you understand what I'm saying. I'll leave that all up to him.

His idea along with help from his friend, turned business partner has now turned into Brew All Grain. They have been working on this project since spring, doing research, building model after model and completing several test runs (seriously, they took over the kitchen, living room, garage) and now their site is up and running and have product ready to sell! I am so proud of Joe, he has worked tremendously hard on his baby and I hope only positive things come from it.

If you would like more information on Brew All Grain, homemade brewing, why a temperature controler is necessary or just want to talk brewing, Joe is your guy. He knows best!

(Of course I have to give a shout out for my husband's new business adventure!! :)