Is it the one??

It has been a busy few weeks. Trying to get over my cold, which I am happy to report is gone, and the most exciting thing... House hunting! I have put in an offer for one house. And now we just need to come to terms, aka make numerous counteroffers... My parents came up THIS weekend, safely, and looked at it. I think I got their approval... I meant to take my camera into the house and snap pictures of the inside, but of course I forgot, so you will have to settle with exterior pictures.

Front of the house. Yes there is a fireplace in the basement. I love the fact there is a 2 car garage...
The walkout basement off to the side.

The back of the house. Big deck and there is a small stream behind too. There are 2 doors leading to the deck, one from the kitchen and one from the master bedroom.

I hope to have very good news by the end of this week. Fingers crossed!

A real scare

Where as the time gone? About 3 weeks ago I came down with a really bad cold and allergy infection. So I have not been up to blogging. When I have had free time I have been sleeping. I am happy to say I am finally feeling much better, still have an annoying cough every once in a while but doing MUCH better.

Last weekend my parents were up visiting and we looked at homes for me. Yeap, that is right, I am in the market to purchase my first home! I feel like a real grown up now. We didn't find anything that really made me jump for joy, and I definitely found out what I didn't want.

My Realtor, Julia Erickson (p.s. I love her!), sent me updated listings after I expanded my top dollar price. I saw some great ones on it and did not want to miss out on seeing one, so we planned on looking at some of them after work on Saturday. I looked at 3 amazing homes (in my eyes) yesterday and of course am not going to make a offer until my dad has a look at them. He is a builder and is good at assessing the foundation and basically the stuff that isn't shiny and pretty. So I called my parents that afternoon day and basically begged them to come up and take a look at them again on Sunday with me. They got in the car and were on their way, even though we were being threatened with bad weather.

About an hour and a half after they left I got a call from my dad's cell. It is never good when he calls b/c my mom always does the calling, I answered and he says... "Christie, this is your dad," which makes me laugh b/c if it weren't him it would be odd. "We just totaled our car." My jaw had dropped and the guilt was beginning to set in. He proceeded to tell me they were fine and unharmed but the car was toast. I guess the road they were on was really just fine but they started to go over a bridge and started to go sideways and hit the left guardrail and then was slammed into the right one (they had been going about 65 mph) and then went down the side of the road and that is where they sat. I was so happy to hear they were fine and was ready to get in my car to go get them, which my dad gave a stern "NO" to the idea. He knows I would have had a wreck too. By the grace of Lord above a solider from Fort Riley stopped to see if he could help and make sure they were okay. They found out that he was on his way home to WINFIELD, my hometown, and offered to give them a ride home. Can you believe that? God was working overtime for sure. I was so relieved when I knew they were home safe.

Here is a picture of their car. My mom said it happened so fast, which is so true. And I am happy they did not flip or roll. I am sure if they didn't have their seat belts on someone would have gone through the front windshield. I am so grateful that they are fine. It could have been so much worse.

Tasty Tuesday... A day late.

Stir-Fried Turkey in Lettuce Wraps
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Ingredients:

• 1/4 cup soy sauce
• 4 teaspoons fish sauce
• 4 teaspoons sugar
• 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
• 1 large shallot, finely chopped
• 2 tablespoons minced peeled fresh ginger
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 small jalapeno or serrano chile, seeded and finely chopped
• 1 pound ground turkey
• 2 large heads Bibb, Boston, or iceberg lettuce, leaves separated

Directions:

1. In a small bowl, combine soy sauce, fish sauce, and sugar and stir until sugar dissolves. Set sauce aside.
2. Heat a large skillet or wok over high until hot. Add oil and swirl to coat skillet. Add shallot, ginger, garlic, and chile and stir until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Add turkey and cook, breaking up meat with a wooden spoon, until almost cooked through, 5 minutes. Add half the sauce to skillet and stir until meat is cooked through, about 2 minutes. Serve in lettuce leaves with remaining sauce.