The Sycamore House

It was towards the end of January this year when Seth and I decided we should start looking for a house. Our apartment lease wasn't up until the end of July, but we figured we'd get a jump start on looking to see what was available and to give ourselves more opportunity to find a good deal. With all the short-sale homes on the market and the likelihood we'd end up with a fixer-upper, there was a good chance it'd be a while before anything serious happened.

We found an awesome realtor, Heather Higgs, who seemed as excited as we were about house hunting (seriously... she was AWESOME). We spent our evenings looking at homes on Utah Real Estate and planning outings to go look at the treasures we'd found. (By the way, Google Maps is the best tool ever for house hunting!)

Fairly early on we found a cute little house we deemed the "Sycamore House." It was a cute little house in a nice cul-de-sac here in Layton. It seemed to have all the things we were looking for: a semi-private yard, two car garage, 4 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms, and a large kitchen. And it had a huge Sycamore tree in the backyard. I have a small crush on Sycamore trees, so I was immediately enamored with the property. Especially because it was in the lower end of our price range!

For a couple days we mulled over what to do and eventually decided to put our first offer on a house. To our surprise the first bank accepted our offer within a week. And then the second one accepted it a couple weeks later with the stipulation that we had to close on it within a month. AHHH! This was definitely happening way faster than we ever thought it would!

The few weeks that followed were filled with discussions of paint colors and flooring options as well as trips to the hardware store & home shows to price all the different things we would surely need to fix the place up. We wanted to be ready to get to work once all the papers were signed. While the house wasn't a total disaster, it would definitely need a face-lift before moving time came.

And after what seemed like the longest month ever, we finally closed today! Woohoo! The Sycamore House is now ours and the adventure begins!

Which brings us to what you've all been waiting for: THE PICTURES! I wanted to capture the "before"  pictures of this house so you could all admire our handywork and excellent taste in tapestries when you see it finished. Actually, I'm begging you to admire it so I don't burst into tears about choosing the wrong color of taupe (you can tell your significant other/friends how much you hate it later).

The Sycamore House (BEFORE)

Back deck... they got a little carried away with the gazebos. There's also an above ground pool. Yippee.

 Living Room: The paint and floor aren't in as good of shape as they look.

Kitchen: The cabinets are disgusting. I don't think they've ever been cleaned...

 The counter by the fridge space is falling off the wall. And there's really not much cabinet space despite the large size of the kitchen.

The paint job in here pretty much sucks. All the white paint in the house could use another coat. And I hate this brown.

Family Room: There's some missing tiles on the fireplace hearth and the room definitely needs paint, carpet, and new window coverings.

Another view of the family room. See that old furnace? Yeah, it'll probably have to be replaced...

 Downstairs Bathroom: Lovely shade of blue, eh?

Downstairs Bedroom: This is a nice large room, but it definitely needs some paint, carpet, and blinds. Oh and probably a new ceiling tile or two.

Master Bedroom:  Needs some new carpet, paint, and some curtains!

 Master Bedroom: One small closet for the master bedroom, that's a problem!

Upstairs Bedroom/Office: It looks nice but the paint job sucks. As does the carpet.

Downstairs Bedroom #2: Yucky paint and carpet. And those curtains have got to go.

Downstairs Bedroom #2: I don't know why, but there are no closet doors in this whole house. (That flower is a nice touch though...)

Laundry Room: Very laundry roomy. I'll definitely be doing a spider check in here...

So there you have it. The new Hanson home! There are a few other things that may need to be fixed later such as the swamp cooler, garage doors, and aluminum windows, but it's not so bad.  Despite all of its many flaws, once we get done with it I think it will be great! We're really looking forward to all the extra space and LIGHT! We'll finally be able to have people over and not eat on t.v. trays! Woohoo!

My Obsession with Trains and Trout Continues...

This winter has proved to be very busy. Ok mainly just the last month or so. I'm not going to get into details yet, but a house hunting endeavor has been sucking up all my time. I realized how bad it was when I went to write the February book reviews post and realized I'd only finished one book. Sad. And my computer is on the fritz. And then somebody stole Sexyterra's license plate. It's been a mess. Which is why this weekend was so great.

For the first time this winter I actually got in some fly fishing. Yes, I went ice fishing several times, but it's just not the same. This weekend I got to put on my waders TWICE. And I even caught a few browns. Man I've missed those little guys (who may or may not have inspired some decorating ideas...).  Plus, have I told you how beautiful it is up on the Weber River? What? I have? A million times you say? Ok I know. I'm obsessed. But look at this... how could I not be?

Posted up at a good spot and caught these guys all day!

Seth fishing on the bridge as a train passes.

I don't think anyone could be more handsome holding a fish. It's unpossible. (Heidi, I stole your word!)



Ok fine I'll stop. Even though you're probably begging for more because I've left you high and dry for so long. It's not my fault. But I promise there is more to come. Some time. Not really sure when, but hopefully soon. Who am I kidding... the craziness is only just beginning...

Mascara Wars

Warning: This post contains explicit material about make-up and really girly things. Take heed male readers.

Even though I'd pronounced my favorite mascara here, I couldn't help but get sucked into marketing schemes and try a couple new mascaras. I mean, how could you not want to try a mascara called "Falsies." HA! So today we will be pitting the challenger, CoverGirl Lash Blast Volume Mascara against a couple contenders and see how it fares. Can it stay the ultimate mascara champion or will it crumble into a streaky black mess of failure? Let's find out...

CoverGirl LashBlast Volume Mascara

 

vs.

CoverGirl LashBlast Fusion Mascara

After declaring the CG LashBlast Volume Mascara as my favorite, CoverGirl came out with a new formula that was supposed to be both a volumizing and lengthening mascara. Well that's clearly better than just a volumizing mascara, right?


It took me a couple purchases of the Fusion mascara before I could really compare it to the Volume mascara. I accidentally bought the brown color of the Fusion my first time around, which I couldn't compare equally with the Volume because color can make a big difference in how the mascara looks. Still, the formula felt a little drier than the Volume. I thought it might be a fluke... maybe it'd been sitting on the shelf longer than normal because brown isn't as popular of a color. So I went back for a second tube and this time got my regular color: blackest black.

I immediately noticed the Fusion mascara formula was indeed drier than the Volume formula. I'm sure they did this to increase the length and volume, but it wasn't obviously more so than the Volume mascara. And because it started out drier, the tube didn't last as long. I saw little clumps on my lashes pretty early on. The Fusion mascara used the exact same wand as the Volume which I liked, but the one thing that sealed the deal on Volume being the winner was price. The Fusion mascara was more expensive than the Volume formula, by $.50 I think.

So the winner and remaining champ is.... CoverGirl LashBlast Volume Mascara!

Ready for the next fight? You got it...

Entering the ring we have our continuing champ: CoverGirl LashBlast Volume Mascara

And our new contender is.....Maybelline Volum' Express "the Falsies" Black Drama Mascara

I'll admit I bought this mascara just because of the name. Falsies? That name makes me think of these not these. My immediate opinion of the Falsies mascara was I didn't like the brush. It was too stubby and it looked like there was a lot of mascara loaded on the wand. Surprisingly it applied fairly well, not the gloppy mess I thought it would be. Still, I've come to love the plastic bristle brushes and this one was too bushy and not stiff enough. I also noticed there were a lot of hair-like fibers in the formula. I'm sure this is how they get the dramatic "false lash" look, but to me it just made the formula look dirty.

As far as performance goes, I didn't hate the look the Falsies gave. I did think this made my lashes look longer and fuller than the CG Volume mascara did, but not obviously so. However, the look with the Falsies was a bit clumpier than with the Volume mascara and it was tough to evenly cover my lower lashes without clumps and globs. The staying power of the Falsies mascara was comparable to CG Volume which was nice and I do think if you're looking for a super dramatic look you may like this mascara, but for everyday wear, I'm going to stick with my CoverGirl LashBlast Volume Mascara. Especially because I can add additional coats if I want the dramatic look the Falsies gave me. I have heard the original formula of Falsies (not the Black Drama formula) is a better everyday mascara, so I may end up trying that one in the future, just to see if I like it. But for our purposes today, I officially declare the winner to be:

CoverGirl Lashblast Volume Mascara!!

Have you tried any of these mascaras? Which did you like best and why? Do you use a completely different brand you think I'd like better?

January Book Reviews: West of the Tularosa, The Hunger Games, and Peace Like a River

To start out the new year I thought I would revamp my book reviewing system. I started using a new website called Good Reads to keep track of the books I've read in the past, books I'm currently reading, books I want to read, and books I've finished. I've posted a couple different book lists on my sidebar: books I'm currently reading and books I've finished this year. This way you can easily see the ratings I've given for any book without having to dig through all my book posts.

Because I started using the Good Reads website, my rating scale will also change. I will now be on a 5 star system instead of 3. Here's the breakdown:

 *= Didn't like it; **= It was ok; ***=Liked it; ****=Really liked it; *****=It was amazing

West of the Tularosa

by Louis L'Amour

Rating: **

West of the Tularosa is about... well... let's see. This guy comes into town and finds some dead guys in a cabin. Then the bad guys try to frame him and they gotta figure out who done what.

This was my first attempt at reading a western. I listened to this on audiobook and thought it was entertaining, though maybe not quite my style. I'm typically not big on westerns and this just seemed to be a little too... I don't know. It's a good book to read on the beach. There. I think that says it.

The Hunger Games

by Suzanne Collins

Rating: ****

For those of you who haven't read it yet, The Hunger Games is about a girl named Katniss who is involved in a deadly survivalist reality t.v. show. Every year, two children (a boy and a girl) between the ages of 12-18 are drawn in a lottery from each of 12 districts. These children are then sent into an arena to fight to the death. The winner gets immunity from later games as well as food and a home for the rest of their lives, something that is very valuable in a semi-communistic society where starvation is common. 

I didn't want to like this book, what with it being so popular and all, but I couldn't help it. I had it on loan from the library for two weeks, a shorter period than normal because there's such a long waiting list. Seth and I were both able to finish the book in the two week period. It was a very engaging book... I found that I kept reading and reading... something I rarely do. This was a great easy read and I'll definitely be reading the whole series.

Peace Like a River

 by Leif Enger

Rating: *****

I know. This book looks like it would be incredibly boring. The title does not do it justice. However, this was one of the best books I've read in a while. It's hard to say what this book is about without giving away too many plot details. Mainly it's about a man named Jeremiah Land who goes through a moral dilemma of whether he should turn his 16 year old son, Davy into "the Feds" after he is charged for murder and escapes from prison. The book is told from Davy's 11 year old asthmatic brother, Reuben's perspective.

I really loved Enger's writing style. He gave each of his characters such an individual personality and voice. You can't help but love each of the characters, even the "evil Fed" who is after Davy. This book is definitely on my Top 5 list for the last year.

p.s. I listened to the audio version of this book and really enjoyed it. Great narrator.

Please Bless the Refreshments

It's no secret that I grew up in a Mormon family. We went to church every week, read our scriptures, and had Family Home Evening. We didn't shop on Sundays, we paid our tithing and we supported our church leaders. We were the epitome of what a Mormon family should be.

One Monday night when I was about 10, my dad said he had something special for the "treat" part of Family Home Evening. We excitedly made our way through the typical program: Opening Song, Prayer, Testimony, Lesson. Then Dad disappeared into the kitchen.

A few minutes later Dad yelled from the kitchen. "Close your eyes, you birds, and don't open them until I say so!" I sat there on the couch with my eyes closed as Dad came in and handed me a cool glass of liquid. "Don't open your eyes yet, just drink it," he said.  As I lifted the glass to my lips I immediately smelled something unpleasant. I wasn't about to drink some stinky mystery drink, especially one my prankster dad just gave me, so I opened my eyes.

There in my hand was an ice-cold glass of beer. "Take a drink!" my dad said. "No! It smells gross and it's beer!" "It's just O'Douls, there's no alcohol in it, just drink it!" So I tentatively took a sip. A strong bitter yeasty flavor rolled over my tongue and I thought I was going to barf. "Ew! This is gross!" "Come on! Take a few swallows!" "I can't! It's going to make me throw up!" This went on for several more minutes until Dad finally gave up. We'd tasted beer and hated it. Just as he'd planned.

The remaining bottles of beer sat out in the garage for months before they were finally thrown away. It would be years before I'd have the nerve to try beer again. Dad's plan worked, as unconventional and crazy as it sounds. Although, this story doesn't even compare to the time he gave us hash brownies.

Ok not really. But he probably wanted to.

My Job

Whenever somebody asks me what it is I do for a living, I always hesitate for just a moment. There's not a fast answer like 'I'm a nurse' or 'I'm an accountant,' it's more like 'I'manx-raytechnicianandItestx-rayequipment.' Did you get that? No? Well, don't feel too bad, most of my family members don't really know what it is I do either. I imagine whenever people ask about me (assuming they do...) my parents say something like, "Oh, she does something with x-rays" or "She used to do something with lasers, I'm not really sure what she does now."

Back when I was fresh out of high school, I had no idea what it was I wanted to do. So, I headed over to the community college and spent a year and a half working on an associates degree in "General Studies." I was one semester away from getting my degree when I decided to dump that idea and head over to tech school. Why? I'm not really sure why actually. I'll tell you what happened....

I knew I didn't have much time left to figure out what I wanted to do next so I headed over to the library one day and picked up a book full of career listings. I scanned through the book, flipping pages and reading all the different careers available. Somehow I came upon the "Electrical Engineer" and "Electronics Engineer" listings and thought, Huh... why not? Looks like I could make a decent amount of money doing that.

To tell you the truth I didn't really know what the difference was between the two at the time, but an ill-informed career counselor at the tech school told me the Electrical Engineer was more of a designer/book nerd/work at a desk person, and the Electronics Engineer was more of the hands-on end. Completely wrong, but I figured the hands-on approach sounded better, so I chose to get my degree in Electronics Engineering.

I'd originally planned to go through and get my bachelor's degree, but the tech school I went to was really expensive and I didn't think the quality was that great, so I quit after getting my AAS Degree in Electronics and headed out to get a job. Because I only had an associates degree, this put me into the technician category instead of the engineer category. Which, to tell you the honest truth is completely fine with me. I'm not sure if this is true everywhere, but at my current job, the engineers do all the calculations, solve design problems, and do a lot of the thinking work. After they figure out what needs to be done, they tell me, the technician what tests to run, what equipment to use, and what products to build. So I get to do a lot of hands-on work with tools and test equipment.

So what do I currently do? Well, I'm basically an engineering technician for the "Research and Development (R&D)" group at Varian Medical Systems, which designs, tests, and manufactures x-ray tubes. They use these x-ray tubes in all sorts of areas such as CT scanners, airport baggage scanners, mammography, angiography & cardiology, radiographic imaging, etc. My job is to help test the new tubes and help fix problems with tubes they currently produce. I get to build and test x-ray tubes, write up build procedures for the manufacturing areas, order tools and parts, and write up technical reports.

I really think I lucked out as far as choosing a career that suits me well. I had no idea what I was getting into back when I chose my career, but somehow I managed to pick something that allows me to use my strengths and do things that I enjoy. I have a team of intelligent people I get to work with everyday in the engineering group, but I also get to work with all kinds of people all over the plant. I'm constantly doing new things and every day is different. Some days I'm working on spreadsheets or writing reports at my desk and other days I'm covered in dirt and grime with a wrench in my hand. Plus since this field isn't very popular with the women folk, I pretty much work with men all day. For me that's a huge bonus. All the women may hate me for saying this, but I'd much rather work with men. Less drama, more humor. Plus, they'll eat all the treats I bring in without whining about their hips getting huge. Win/win!

I hope this helped to explain what it is I do. Life sure is interesting in how it turns out. Things have a way of working out for the best sometimes, and I'm glad in this case I was able to find something that makes me happy.

The Four Virgins

The FourVirgins? Why yes! This post is about four virgins. Let me explain.

Yesterday was my virgin ice fishing trip this winter. It was also my virgin ice fishing trip to Pineview Reservoir. During said trip I caught my first ever crappie AND perch. So there you have it! Four virgins.

 My first crappie.

My first perch.

You'd think I'd have spent millions of hours at Pineview Reservoir over the course of my life. I mean, my grandparents have lived in the area for more than my entire life. I've driven by it countless times, but including this weekend, I've only ever been there twice. I've definitely been missing out.

On Saturday Seth and I met up with The Navajos and Eric (that should be a band name), to do some ice fishing. We chose Pineview because of its close proximity to our apartment and the fact that it was completely iced over. Pineview is a little different from most lakes in the area because it's not a trout lake. It's known more for perch, crappie, and tiger muskie. We set out to catch some perch and catch them we did!
We probably showed up later than we should have because the fish were only steadily biting for an hour or so after we got there. The total for the group was 8 perch and 2 crappie. Seth decided he needed more perch so he went out again early Sunday and caught 13 more.

We all had a great time and I'm sure this won't be the last time we ice fish at Pineview this year. It was definitely a beautiful place to be.

 Seth was really angry at his fishing poles. Or maybe he was giving them a pep talk. I can't remember.

 Eric, Ramona, and Gabe heading out onto the ice.

 Woah. That's deep.

 Seth showing us the ways of the auger.

Eric tries his hand at drilling.

Seth with his first catch of the day.

If you don't fish, you may be wondering why on Earth you'd want to catch and keep such small fish. I'll tell you why. Those perch are good eatin. Never cleaned a perch? I hadn't either! But we found this great video on YouTube that explained it really well. Also just FYI, these things are like mini catfish in the sense that they DO NOT DIE. Our perch were sitting out on the ice almost frozen solid for several hours after which they were put in a ziplock bag and taken home. I was half way through gutting one when it started flopping around. ALL of them did this. Creepy huh?!

For the record, we took way longer to clean ours than 10 seconds a piece, but this tutorial made it way easier to clean the fish than anything we would have come up with on our own.

Gutting the perch... it takes lots of concentration...

Some finished cleaned perch. That Leatherman Juice knife is the best for gutting fish, especially after being sharpened by Dad Hanson.

Don't know how to cook these guys? Well you're in luck! I've got the best recipe ever for fried fish from the fish cooking master herself.... Mama Hanson. Check it out over at Gravy Training!