motown in the mountains

currently working on this among other things. i'm selling tickets if anyone is interested. i'll have a website link in the upcoming days.

if you build it

some of the latest construction going on around the house. nothing like a baby to get you motivated to get stuff done. above is a flagstone staircase being installed. it's currently getting rocked and i'll have finished photos next week.

below is a bump-out to our deck. we decided since we can't use much of the back yard anyways, we'll make our own flat land via more decking. it's amazing how increasing it a few feet gives you a ton more space. eventually i plan on staining it black or a dark walnut so it's not so mismatch.

got to finish packing for our trek up to maryland for my sister-in-law's baby shower. we've got a jam-packed weekend but i thought i'd update the blog while i had a minute.

snow baby

so this has pretty much been our winter so far. snow, snow, snow! of course it's nothing like the record breaking snowfall the rest of the east coast got this past weekend, but it's been pretty consistent for us. there was probably a day, maybe two that we haven't had snow on the ground since avery's arrival. so we are getting a little stir crazy waiting the arrival of spring.

yes, i started this post about 3 hours ago and am just now posting it. someone asked me what i do all day and it's pretty much the same thing avery does. eat, sleep, poop! lol! avery is starting to nap on his own so it frees me up to get a little housework done. so blogging has taken a backseat to other duties. i would like to get back into it, mainly so i can document the goings-ons in the westphal house. it's hard to believe it's already been six weeks since avery's arrival. time is definitely flying by!

busted

friday afternoon i heard a big bang that shook the entire house around 12:30p. i stood there and listened intently, nothing. i shrugged it off thinking it was a gust of wind. a few hours later i grab a picture frame and head down to the basement. when i hit the bottom step i hear a buzzing noise. sounds like a generator pumping. i look towards the noise and then down. WTF!! it's water! i step down and i'm standing in half an inch of water. i turn to my left, my right, where the hell is this water coming from? i run upstairs and call aaron's office. "this is dr. westphal's wife, i have an emergency, i need to talk to him!" he answers and i start talking non-stop.

"the basement is flooding, i have no idea where the water is coming from, what do i do?!"
"did a pipe burst?" he asks.
"i don't know, i hear a gushing/buzzing noise, i guess that could be water." holding the phone up to the noise. "hear it?"
"yeah, turn off the water line."

i turn off the water and the noise starts to dissipate. thank goodness. i tell him i tried calling todd and jerome and can't get a hold of either one. i ask him if i should go to their job site, since maybe they're not getting phone reception. that's probably a good idea he tells me, he'll be home as soon as he's done seeing his patients.

i corral the dogs into the car and head over the job site. i get there and it's empty. i start to panic. i head back home and call my brother. "who do i call about a busted water line?" a plumber he tells me. i get home and thumb through all my basement construction papers, looking for the plumber todd hired to do all the plumbing in the basement. my phone rings. it's jerome. "i'm on my way." he tells me. a wave of relief gushes over me.

he gets there and i show him where the noise was coming from. he tells me it looks like's it could be the line to the outside spicket. he cuts a 10x12 hole into the drywall and sure enough there's a crack running down the length of the pipe. he said he'll cap off the line for now, so we can have water to the rest of the house but we'll have to replace the line in the upcoming weeks. i ask him if the carpet is ruined. he tells me as long as we get all the water out, it should be fine.

so we've spent a majority of the weekend sucking the water out of the carpet using a shopvac and my "pee-pee" vac. luckily the carpet pad we opted for is supposed to be moisture resistant. and so far the carpet is still damp but no longer squishes when you walk on it. i think the only damage done is to some of the molding which is easily replaceable. thank god! most of the storage boxes we have are those five gallon plastic tubs. all-in-all the damage has been minimized.

i'm so glad and thankful we have todd and jerome when it comes to home "problems." having someone we can trust and is so knowledgeable when it comes to home repair is such a blessing. i'm almost positive if i'd have called someone else the whole wall would be ripped out right now.

the first pic is what my pants looked like after working for two hours. damn, those knee holes are a lot larger than i realized. i think the end is near for them.

nate and fiance

nate and katie came out to see us this past weekend. (hence the lack of posts) the main reason for the visit...to show off katie's new ring! ;)

here are a few pics from their visit. we were able to get some drinking, good food, wii fitting, football, shopping, tubing and basketball in. yep, it was pretty jam packed.

fall is finally here

we've had a busy, busy october. and it doesn't look like it's gonna slow down, at least not for a little while. last weekend we headed back to illinois to help celebrate mark's 60th birthday. a quick lowdown on where we were and who we were with.

saturday we stayed with the caraways. we visited a local pumpkin/apple farm with the kids, had a great steak dinner jason grilled up and then autumn and i proceeded to kick the boys butts in a game of trivial pursuit. we rule at 90's trivia.

sunday we headed over to jim and joyce's new abode for mark's surprise party. all of the boys were able to make it and even jay flew in from california to help celebrate. we got to see lots of family we hadn't seen in a long time, especially on aaron's mom's side. it was so great seeing everyone and meeting some new friends. matt and kristin announced that baby number two is on it's way! congrats!!

sunday evening we headed back to murphysboro to check out nate and katie's new home. it's super cute and so them! congrats to you guys! we did a little shopping monday for katie's new nieces and then headed home tuesday.

this past weekend has been packed full of activity as well. friday we went out with jill, jerome, todd and michelle for a belated birthday dinner for aaron. saturday we headed up to tweetsie railroad to check out the ghost train and all the other halloween festivities they had going on. the weather was perfect and we had a spooktacular time. today we headed up to sugar mountain for their make-shift octoberfest. rode up the chair lift for the second time this year. we laughed at how we've ridden it more without snow than with. it had gorgeous views and the leaves are in full color now. a definite plus in the high country.

here's the flickr set with all the photos we've taken so far. next week we head to winston-salem for the als walk.

gotta go. brian just texted me to play mariokart. man, i haven't played in forever.

eat at cho's

i'm amazed at what you can find at a asian grocery store these days. you can now get kimchee on the go. and not just one type, but a huge variety. if we lived close by, i think i'd be there weekly, if not daily.

we've had five straight days of rain. and i think we're all getting a little cabin fever. it hasn't rained continuously, but it has daily. planning an outing has been difficult. tomorrow i think we'll brave the forecasted downpours and get a little site-seeing in.

tonight aaron ran in the bear. the race was all uphill and the elevation changes 2000 ft. he finished 377 out of 897. (not sure if that's the correct number of people that participated.) for his first time, he did great. one of the nurses finished 8 minutes behind him and there were about 200 people who finished between them. (gives you a better idea of how the numbers work) not sure if this is gonna be an annual thing with him. i have a feeling it will since he did so well.

screamtime

can you guess where we went today? with family visiting we decided it was the perfect opportunity to get a little fun in between the rain showers. it's rained the past few days and it's forcasted to rain the rest of the week. we've been cooped up playing video games, watching movies and doing a little crafting. (i'll be posting what we're making tomorrow). hopefully by the time brian and irina arrive friday afternoon we'll see some sunshine.

here's luana a little too happy to zip. she was a bit nervous at first, but she ended up being a natural. unfortunately we couldn't convince my mom to give it a go. i'm sure she would have had a ball too!

the terrain was quite different from our jamaican canopy tour a few years ago. instead of trees we pretty much zipped from hill to hill, dodging the occasional cow. and yes the mountains were "smokin" today. we were pretty much the only locals who took advantage of the ride. not that it wasn't busy, but everyone we met including the 10 others in our party were from florida up for the summer. i'll let the pictures do the talking. zipline flickr.

hunka-hunka burnin boston

what marley looks forward to on our daily two mile walks. bosco's the same way but he's in and out, no lolli-gagging, he's all business. i honestly think she'd stay there all day if she could. i don't blame her. i'd do the same!

art-o-mat

this past weekend aaron and i went to the wedding of the son of aaron's boss. it's weird to go to a wedding when you've only met the groom in passing and you've never met the bride. it was more of a courtesy attendance than anything. we got all dolled up and had a good time nonetheless.

the reception was at the turchin center for the visual arts here in boone. a really nice venue with modern art and exhibits surrounding us. when we entered the lobby i spotted the art-o-mat immediately. i had heard of them but this was the first time i'd actually seen one. what is the art-o-mat? they are "retired cigarette vending machines that have been converted to vend art." unfortunately i didn't have any cash on me to vend some art. but next time i'm in the area, i'll have to give it a go.

surprisingly there are two vending machines located in boone. which is crazy since there are only 82 throughout the whole country. i'm actually considering submitting something for vending. it'd be great to have somebody by your art on a whim!

and he ran...

...he ran so far away.
right before we left on our trip last week, aaron decided, on a whim, to run the spring fever 5k. he's been an avid runner, usually running a few miles at the most. so the saturday before we left, we got up early...him to run, me to offer moral support. i was about the only person there who wasn't participating in one shape or form. he did well, considering he'd only run it twice the week before. he placed 12th out of 133 and first in his age group. i was quite surprised at how fast he was. i was debating whether or not to go get the dogs, when he comes striding around the corner. 22:17. not too shabby. the 12 year-old kid that won, ran it in 18:18 and, i should point out, was puking his guts out when he finished. not a pretty picture, but i guess it's the price you pay to win.

here he is about to enter "the chute." i still need to learn all the racing jargon. a little inspired to run? not really. but i have found myself trotting a little faster when walking the dogs. next i'll be speed walking. and then perhaps i'll actually start running.

billy goats

yesterday we trekked up grandfather mountain with the pooches in tow. aaron's been wanting to hit the hill all month, but due to rainy weekends we haven't been able to go til now. (plus, during the month of april it only costs local residents $1 as opposed to $14, so you know we had to go.) here's aaron and the dogs at one of the scenic overlooks. you can see the rope we used to climb up the rock, it was that steep. surprisingly, the dogs were able to climb the rock without any difficulty. they must have a little billy goat in them. unfortunately, spring hasn't quite hit the high country yet. the weather was agreeable but it wasn't as scenic as it is when everything is in bloom. probably why it only costs $1 this month.

ridin dirty

yesterday i ventured up the road behind our house in search of bottlecaps. there's usually no traffic on the road, maybe an occasional parker or two but for the most part it's pretty quiet. our neighbors had warned us that they've caught kids up there before so that's why they had placed a chain across the road to stop the trespassing.

well, as i got closer to the second empty lot, i could see something glimmering in the sunlight. this is what it was. a crack pipe or meth pipe, i don't know. it's some kind of smoking instrument. i brought it home to show aaron and he started to freak!

i was a little startled by his reaction. of course i knew he wasn't going to be happy, but i didn't think he would go into panic mode. "we should call the police. we can't have druggies hanging out around our house." well i come to find out he just read an article in our local paper about a murder that happened here a few years ago. it's a pretty gruesome crime, so i was beginning to understand aaron's frantic state.

we went back and dragged some logs across the road to prevent any further access up the road. we even found some 2x4s with nails in them to act as spike traps. now i have to contact the electric company about installing a security light at the end our our street. it's better to be safe than sorry.

sleepy hollow

unfortunately the weather has put a damper on our zipline plans. it's about 20 degrees colder today than it has been all week. plus it's rainy and just a little foggy. just a tad.

walls of pain

i started wallpapering yesterday. what was i thinking? it's a lot harder than i anticipated. i thought by starting somewhat small, the master bathroom, i'd be able to get my feet wet and be hanging like a pro in no time. apparently our bathroom is the definition of "wallpapering around the tricky spots," (a brochure i picked up before starting). and our bathroom is a lot bigger then the lady at lowes thought. i had measured before i went in to order the paper. i then forgot to bring in said measurements. but i thought i could wing it and told the lady what i was papering. "two should be enough," she told me. and when i picked up the order i thought the same thing. "what am i going to do with all this extra paper?" ding. once i started, i knew i was gonna be in trouble. i'll have to go back this afternoon and order at least two more rolls. i'll be posting before and after pics once i finish with the two rolls i have. it may be a few more weeks before it's completely done. i do have to say, i am getting better with each strip and it does look good. i should have started with a room that didn't have so many in-corners, out-corners, fixtures, tight spots, etc. another lesson learned.

on another note. i rarely encounter a rude person in boone. at least not one of a local persuasion. when i went to pick up the wallpaper, the interior electronic doors at lowes wouldn't open. they were open just a crack. i stood there waving my arms, stepping here and there in front of the sensor. nothing. i walked over to the service department and told the girl they wouldn't open. "it's the wind."

okay. so i walked back to the doors and tried to get the doors to open again. she walked over, pulled the doors open and again said "it's the wind." and turned and walked off. i don't know why this bothered me so much. perhaps it was the "it's the wind, moron." look she had on her face. that i was supposed to know it was okay pry open the doors myself. AND that there was no freaking wind blowing.

it's the first time i've ever had the desire to report someone. man, i'm getting old!

something funny this day happened

before i forget. aaron and i headed to lowes to get a few home improvement items this afternoon. when we were getting out of our car there was a dog barking uncontrollably in the car behind us. i looked over to see what's got him all worked up. there's a truck beside him with a dog and a goat in the cab. yes, a freaking goat. i had to do a double take. at first i thought it was a deer but then it looked straight at me and i knew exactly what it was. only in the south would that be a normal occurrence. maybe not.

biggest upset of 2007

of course i have to post this: biggest upset of 2007

AND appalachian state won the national championship for the third year in a row on friday. go mountaineers!

making the lists

in case you missed it. an article was recently brought to my attention. thanks, aly. read more here: america’s 10 best outdoor towns

"the mountaineers are a win away from an unprecedented third straight national championship." aaron almost had a conflict of interest. it could have been siu vs. asu in the championship game. unfortunately siu lost to deleware last night. not much of a football fan but go mountaineers!!

"...these towns have not only back doors to some of the country’s best adventure terrain, but also lively, livable communities that are dedicated to playing in and preserving the great american playgrounds."

the air up there

yes, i live here.

saturday aaron and i went to an all day music festival at the boone city fairgrounds. this don't look like no stinking fairgrounds i ever saw. we listened to some roots, rock & reggae. not in that particular order. my favorite: black cash (a johnny cash tribute band). although all were great. there was a wide variety of people...mainly of the hippie persuasion. apparently the hula-hoop has replaced the hacky sack. i didn't get that memo. and i think aaron and i may have had the shortest hair there. definitely a good place to people watch. we got there about 2 left about 9. started to get a bit nippy.

we are still the the most unprepared couple of the bunch. forgot lawn chairs, blanket, food, frisbee, tent, kite, kids etc. just had our little cooler filled with 6 hard lemonades to last the both of us 6 hours. i think this happened to us the last time we went camping. aaron and i are eating granola bars and everyone else was cooking up bacon, eggs, coffee, etc. when will we learn?!?

friday i let jill inject a little botox in me. i really don't need it, but i wanted to see how it felt. she gave me 4 injections, mainly to lift my brows and give them a natural arch. i honestly can't tell anything yet. she said it might take a few weeks for results. luckily i'm blessed with some asian genes and don't have any noticeable wrinkles. thanks mom.

katie and adrian have decided boone is not the place for them. i'm a little disappointed but i kinda figured as much. they just aren't the outdoorsy type and you really have to be in order to appreciate this place. aaron and i don't regret our choice at all. it would have been nice to have another group of friends out here, oh well. they're still looking at asheville, so there is a possibility they'll end up fairly close. we'll just have to wait and see.

attack of the...

we're still in the process of exploring the area. every chance we get, we like to hike with the dogs. yesterday was no different. aaron wanted to show me some of the trails he found while riding his bike. so we packed up the dogs, put on our hiking shoes (yes, i went out and bought hiking shoes...chucks just weren't cutting it anymore) and drove over to the greenway. i hooked bosco up to his new "no pull" harness and commenced to start his "i'm the master, your the dog" training. (i've discovered the dog whisperer) of course, he's not having any of it.

well, while we're trekking uphill i really can't correct him and i give him more lead then i should. so he's off smelling and marking everything. when i finally catch up, he starts scooting around on his butt and acting really strange. he must have gone through some brambles and it's put him in panic mode. then i see the hornet on his little stump of a tail. i swat at it but it's almost like it's embedded in there. then i feel something on my finger and start flailing my hands. it's another hornet. *sting, sting, sting* on my back. i take off with bosco in tow. "bees, bees, bees!" i scream at aaron as i run past him. when i get a good distance away, i reach back and notice the sweater i've got wrapped around my waist is still covered with them. i fling it off in the middle of the road and start running again. seriously, this had to be a sight. finally, after we get a good distance away, i'm able to calm down and regroup. aaron heads back, with a big stick and picks up my sweater. it still has a few hornets hanging out on it so he flings it around and shoos them away. i make him carry it the rest of the hike. seems to be a hornet magnet of some sort.

we ended up in a neighborhood neither one of us was familiar with.

"i'm not going back," i tell him.

so we head down the paved road in the opposite direction.

"you know we're headed in the wrong direction?" he says.

i look down and see big lots and i know exactly where we were. damn it. if we continue, it's going to take us twice as long to get back to the car. i turn back around.

"when we get back there, i'm running past that hornet hole! you take bosco and you go first."

we run past. the only hornet that bothered us on the way down was stuck to bosco's tail again.

"there's one on the sweater! no, wait, that's a leaf."

"you're paranoid."

"i just got stung 5 times, i have a right to be paranoid!"

i guess i'm not allergic to bee/hornet stings. and neither are the dogs. marley's already been stung twice since we've been here. and yesterday was bosco's first experience. we're headed to the dog park shortly with jill and jigsaw. a little playdate of sorts. should be fun.