Re-Roofing... oh the joy...

We spent Thanksgiving weekend re-roofing our house. And by "we" I mean Lance and I plus our friend Ryan, my dad Paul, my brother Justin, Lance's dad Bill and sister Cameo. And thank God we had all the help we did because it was a LONG weekend! As you can see we had some holes... stick your foot in them sized holes... hence the re-roofing before the winter.

Who needs roof top delivery when you have a Case and two dare devils to stand there while Lance drives toward the house... Safety first! LOL!
We had to cover the majority of the roof with OSB to rid ourselves of holes and further issues. Here's Paul, Justin and Ryan laying down the felt or tar paper.
Here's Bill and Ryan laying down the rolled roofing. We did this on the flatter section of the roof to help with leaks and the possibility of sitting water.
Cameo moving the Case while Lance yells instructions from the roof since she had never driven it before. "It's like driving a tank" Lance says, like that means something. LOL!
We still don't have the ridge cap on but man does it look better. You might notice there is now an eve or overhang on the front peak. Nice added touch Lance thought of since we didn't have any overhang. It will be nice when the rain comes to stand at the front door and not get soaked while you unlock the door.
Oh and thanks mom for making us dinner 3 nights in a row since we worked so late. She "doesn't do roofs" but she knows how to cook!

Fireplace Surround

One more piece of the front room puzzle is now completed! Here's the project!

So you can see in the picture above there is a ledge at the top of the surround and if you look in the picture below you will notice it is no longer there. Apparently gravity doesn't allow concrete to stick on the underside of things. It was almost a disaster but we made it work!

Scroll down to see the finished project.
I think it turned out quite nicely!!
One more project down, um... I have no idea how many more to go!! LOL!

Entry Closet

To put your jacket on at the front door as you leave or hang it up as you walk in your home may seem like a simple thing but for the last 3 years this has not been an option, until now!!

Here's Lance framing the closet and cabinet for the soon to be saltwater fish tank to sit on.

Here it is finished!! And it looks like it has always been there! Gotta love that!

And a view from the front and the closet doors. I'll have to post an update of the fish tank when it is up and running!

4 Years Today!

How quickly the years fly by and how much FUN we have had! It's amazing to think about. Lance and I went from Kindergarten through 7th grade in a lot of the same classes. At that time of my life boys had cooties so I didn't have much nice to say about him, especially when he cornered me on the school buss and kissed me! My mom heard all about it when I got home. We actually became reacquainted through my younger brother. Lance didn't realize "Amber Stranberg" was Justin's older sister, didn't even know his last name until my brother told Lance "you should date my sister". My brother didn't approve of any of my ex-boyfriends not that I can say I blame him. LOL! Lance being the curious person he is asked my brother who his sister was and Justin casually says "Amber". From that point on they began scheming how to get us together. I got home from college and told my brother I would go wheeling with him, my brother and I are close which is good because if we weren't I never would have gone "wheeling" which is totally fun by the way. Yes I mean off-roading in big 4-wheel drive trucks. Anyone who knew me in High School would understand why this never would have happened! LOL! We went wheeling but I didn't end up riding with my brother, they told me it was because Lance's truck was more capable and safer... yes, I fell for it and it didn't hurt that Lance's 8 month old yellow Lab puppy was sitting in the back seat... Six months later we were married and have enjoyed the days ever since. It's crazy to know that the first person who kissed me will also be the last!

The Rubicon Trail

Here's the group! Lance, myself, Tawny, Gabe and Abby in the front. Abby wasn't paying attention and Morial is hiding under Lances s-10 Blazer. Here's Lance maneuvering the "Devil's Post Pile"!! This was basically a ravine of BIG rocks!
Here's Gabe in his Toyota 4-Runner maneuvering a one-way trail with a large cliff on the passenger side...
Both guys climbing a rock face along the trail.
We had a complete blast, it was hot and dusty but we bathed like bums in Buck Island Lake each night, nearly caught hypothermia while in the water - due to the elevation the water was NOT warm! It felt nice though to be clean before eating dinner and heading to bed. We camped along the trail during our trip which kept it interesting as we did not sleep in the same place once! I think this will be an annual trip for the 4 of us and anyone else who comes along!

The McGrew Trail (Pre-Rubicon Test)

Rock CrawlingCheck out that FLEX!
Here's "The Crack" on the McGrew Trail. Both our rigs made it through for the first time without carnage! Tawny & Gabe are with us on this trip! I can hardly wait for RUBICON!
One Aggressive Chevy S-10 with plenty of custom work built by our very own Lance Longiotti!
Believe it or not, Lance meant to put us in this crack and we drove right out once the guys were done oogling the suspension. LOL! Overall the trip was a success for both rigs, Lance and I found out the hard way that the gas gauge doesn't work so they had to syphon gas out of Gabe's truck and into ours so that we could make it to the tow rig and onto the trailer! All in all the trip was a SUCCESS!

S-10 Maiden Voyage

White City Sports Park!

Here's Lance checking the articulation!

Here's me driving, I was a little nervous!

All in all it was a good first trip, we broke 1 arm of the 4-link but Lance thinks it wasn't welded solid enough so it should be fine soon!

Tag You're It!

Ok so my mom tagged me, I have never been tagged before so I figured I would share this little tiny flower with you all as well, it is smaller than an inch. It is on a Lily pad in my pond and they only stay for one day!7 things you may not know about me... my mom knows everything about me so we'll see how well this works...

1. I speak German, some Italian and would love to learn Russian, Spanish and even Czech.

2. When I have children I intend to speak more than one language in our household, not sure if Lance knows that yet. LOL!

3. I love riding my quad (Yamaha Warrior) and tearing around on the dunes with my husband and friends.

4. I can't wait until my Yamaha R6 (street bike) is ready to ride! Lance is fixing one up for me.

5. If money wasn't a factor, I would be perfectly content traveling the world for the rest of my days. Owning a home is great but nothing compares to traveling and seeing the world God created for us!

6. I also have a love of organizing and labeling things... Thanks Mom!

7. I miss a really great friend that moved to Utah, I miss her everyday. Right now I am reading Kite Runner, she recommended it to me over a year ago and now I know why! Trisha you are the best!

Now let's pass it along and see what we can find out about Trisha!

Deck Furniture!

Telescope Casual is the best deck/patio furniture available! And Valley View Nursery carries a variety!This is the most comfortable set of chairs (we have 2 swivel rockers and 2 recliners) and I love the table! It has 12 x 12 tiles setting in it so you can pick your color!! Gotta love that!
I, of course, had to choose two colors and create a pattern. LOL!
Lance and I sat out on the deck last night, ate dinner and enjoyed the cool summer evening. It was so relaxing, I just soaked it in!!

Front Step!

Taadaa! The new front step!So you really can't tell too much in the pictures but the approach to our front door slopes just a little making the placement of potted plants difficult! I learned the hard way with the planters from Lance and my wedding.
But now we have two beautiful pots with Nandina to set off the front door!

Pond Update

This is a Canna in bloom, the photo washes some of the color out but man these are beautiful up close. They look like a prehistoric plant with the coloring on the leaves. You can also see the other Canna I planted down a little farther, it is green and much smaller. We'll see if it gets big enough to bloom this year.
Here's the Crosomia in bloom. I love this time of year!
This is an aerial view of our pond. I thought it was cool you can see the gold fish!
This is a water Lobelia, kind of odd looking at this point because we should have pruned it so it isn't one tall skinny stalk but it started to bloom and I couldn't bring myself to cut it just yet!

Garden Update

Check out the size of this stuff!!My peppers are over a foot tall! That solar light measures 13" above the dirt. And you can see peppers growing if you look close.
This isn't the jungle but it sure looks like it! Look at my tomatoes go!!
My lettuce grew like crazy too! Although the first salad Lance and I had with it was not so tasty...

S-10 Chevy Blazer Rebuild

Enter the S-10 Chevy Blazer... fully stock... no modifications. I figured I would tell you all what we have been up to since the progress on the house has come to a halt. Here it is with full-size axles, 38" tires and no bumper. You notice it is sitting on jack stands because there isn't suspension at this point... no more leaf springs!
Here is a look at the rear 4-link suspension Lance fabricated. This is a very precise endeavor to make sure everything is the proper length and placed in the proper location so as the truck articulates the tires raise straight up or drop straight down without axles wrap... or at least that is what I got out of it. LOL! Check out that articulation!! Yes that is our yellow lab Abby posing for size relativity in the photo. Don't worry that is a 1/2 ton Cherry Picker (used for lifting and positioning motors in vehicles), so at least she is safe! Anyway, this is going to be one serious 4-wheeling machine!!RUBICON, HERE WE COME!!

The Laundry Room!!

Ok so I know I am way out of order since the laundry room was finished in February and I just worked on my garden last weekend... but here it is anyway!Here is a look at the room totally stripped and we are adding the beadboard walls.
Here are our helpers. Morial and Abby, very good spectators.
Here's Lance skim coating the existing concrete floor so we can make it look pretty and new!
Here is the final product!! Yeah, a laundry room and full size appliances (Thanks Papa)!! So here is a list of the details you may not see. Lance Hammer Coated the washer and dryer because they were stark white and it didn't go with our decor. I added a section of wine corks for visual interest between the upper cabinets. The new concrete floor has been acid stained (thanks DJ for all the advice!!). Man am I glad we did this small concrete project before the mammoth kitchen and hall project!! Best to start with 50 sq ft versus 400 sq ft!! Yes the walls are purple and I love it!! It has a utility look with a feminine flare. hee hee! There is also a pocket ironing board in the wall on the left, man that thing is awesome! It even holds my iron and it is all nice and tucked out of the way!

The Continuing Landscape of the Backyard

Here's a look at our pond now that it is a bit more landscaped! Thanks Valley View Nursery!! So here on the left of the pond you will see Scotch Moss (the bright green little mounds), and 2 varieties of Canna - one is redish and one is green, they are still small so I will have to post againg when they are larger and in bloom! You can also see the clumping Bambo peeking out from behind the waterfall - that will get 6-10 feet tall. I can hardly wait!!
On the right side you will see Heather (the purple flowering shrub), a Crocosmia (the tall grass on the right that will flower), an Evergreen Bonsai from Lance's brother Cory (Thanks Cory!) on the right by the grass and a rare Birch to the left overhanging the waterfall.
These are my new planters with Happy Chappy Roses in them, they are just beginning to bloom and they are sooo pretty! Man I love Spring! Ignore the deck that is pulled apart... Lance was rigging all the drip and sprinklers to all my new plants!! YEAH no watering by hand!!