Grandpa

I know it has been a LONG time since I have blogged. I just haven't been in the mood! Anyone who knows me knows that if I don't feel like doing something, I'm probably not going to do it. Unless that involves work, or doing some thing my husband wants me to do. (sometimes) hehe. But anyway, I was having some deep thoughts today so I thought, what a wonderful time to blog! Now, before I start blabbing and you stop reading, know that there is some fun stuff to read toward the end of this blog post! Also, the BEST video you have yet to see. 

So, let's get on with it.

Today, on my way home from work, I was reminiscing about my grandpa! I miss that guy like crazy. For those of you who don't know, Grandpa passed away 2 weeks before Ryan and I got married in March. The cancer he had when he was younger came back to take his life. 

That isn't what I was thinking about though, I was thinking about how much fun I always had with Grandpa and how BLESSED I was to have him. I was trying to get an idea of what made him so special, but I couldn't. It wasn't just one thing, it was everything he did for us and with us that made him so special. It was all because he just loved us so much and so genuinely. I mean, most of the time he probably didn't know he was impacting our lives so much. For instance when he told me that eating my scrambled eggs plain was no way to do it! "You gotta put some ketchup on that!"- You were right Grandpa, I don't know what I was doing eating those things plain all those years. 

Anyway, I miss him a lot! I used to love calling him up and just saying hello, seeing how his golf game was going or what was new in Iowa. 

I guess I'm getting a little off track here, I was going to tell you something extra Fun...

Ok, let's let Jane & Becky tell you.

Did you get it?? Bun in the oven!? pretty tricky right? 

Ryan and I are having a BABY! June 2nd is when he/she is due! 

FUN news! But let me tie it into my top part, the part about Grandpa. I was thinking, how sad that my little peanut doesn't get to meet Grandpa! But then I thought, ohh.... Linds, they will. When my dad takes them fishing, when I teach them to put ketchup on their eggs, when Ryan's dad takes them in the tractor, and when they are loved unconditionally by their grandparents who can't do anything but spoil them. They will meet him. 

I'm not saying that I'm not sad that Grandpa's not here, I'm saying his shoes will be filled by the new Grandpa. Because what better role model could my dad have then the best grandpa ever. So cheers to Grandpa and cheers to new baby Ranschau!!! And cheers to new Grandpas who will be the best grandpas ever to their grand kids! Love you all! (I'm "toasting" you with my sprite... while I sit here waiting for the hubby to get home from work!)

Addiction & Apple Crisp

When we got married, I knew little about Ryan's addiction. Now that we are married, I've found much more out. It is an awful thing, addiction. It can tear families apart. If I am being really honest, Ryan's addiction has already started fights.

Now before you start judging me, I don't believe in airing all of our dirty laundry in public. I did, however, say that I was going to blog about all of the trials, tribulations, and triumphs in our new marriage! So, being the good wife that I am, I got my husbands permission to air this dirty laundry. I think it may even be therapeutic for us!

Ok, I don't think I'm quite ready to tell you what it is. I mean, why start another argument right now? 

First, let me tell you about this amazing apple crisp that I made today! I went looking for apple crisp recipe's because Ryan and I went with our friends, the Olsen's and the Okland's, to pick apples this weekend! What a blast!! ALSO what a bunch of apples!! 

Tessa- pickin apples! 

Tess and Paul, reaching for the tall ones!

So I went in search of a good recipe. Not wanting to peruse the internet, I went straight to a couple of cookbooks that I had on my counter. The first cookbook is from a church back home, that happens to have a TON of recipes of my mom's in it. I didn't find an apple crisp recipe from my mom :(. The second cookbook was given to me by my mother-in-law. Actually, when she gave it to me, she kind of giggled. She's a happy person, I don't know why she is giggling? Well, you see, as I was looking through this and that (canning/freezing recipes) there were a TON of recipes from my mother-in-law. WHAT? I didn't know she knew how to can things. I need to get Beckeroo to my house more often! So- I continue to peruse this cookbook, turns out it is schmuck full of her recipes! No wonder she was giggling! She just gave me the key to her Son's heart! I can make her recipes and he will never know why they taste so much like his mom's cookin'! FANTASTIC!

Anyway, Bec had an apple crisp recipe in there, and since it's in a published cookbook, I decided I could share it with you and it wouldn't be sharing any of the Ranschau "secret" recipes.

Becky Ranschau's Apple Crisp * SUPER DELICIOUS

Apple Slices

1 c. sugar

1 tsp. cinnamon

1 c. brown sugar

1 c. flour

1/2 c. butter

1/2 c. nuts

Spray and butter a 9x13 pan. Peel and slice the apples and put them in the pan. Add sugar and cinnamon on top of apples. Mix following until crumbly: brown sugar, flour, butter and nuts. Sprinkle on apples. Bake 1 hour @ 325 Degrees.

Serve warm with ice cream!

*** Lindsay Note: I added oatmeal instead of nuts because I didn't have any nuts but I still wanted some sort of crunch! 

I didn't get a picture before Ryan and I demolished half of it! 

Which takes me back to the whole reason we are here. Ryan's Addiction. It's not a drug or anything like that. It is... this...

That's right, you saw it here first! ICE CREAM! Honestly, I sincerely think that it is an addiction! I can't keep ice cream in the freezer for very many days. That is, unless I deem it mine and threaten him if he touches it! Honestly, one time I thought, oh, Harley chewed up one of our gallon buckets I should go get some ice cream and we can have another one in a few months. I had another ice cream bucket in 4 days. NO! I'm not kidding! He sees ice cream and he eats it! If I don't buy it from the store, he goes and gets it from Milkyway or Dairy Queen. When he goes out to Milkyway or Dairy Queen he drags me with him. And then I gain weight. So I have decided to just buy it for him and don't expect it to last for very many days. Because it won't. I also consider it a victory when I get to take the last ice cream out of the bottom of the box.  

Come on! Let's take a bath!

Honestly, I don't know what my dog is... but she's not a dog! I mean, I get it. We bought her from a Rhodesian Ridgeback breeder in Harrisburg. She's a Kina Kibambe Ridgeback... but she is NOT a dog. She's more of a human... a little dainty princess in a big dog's body! I kid you not! 

Lets take this for example: She HATES water!

In the morning, if the sprinklers have gone off, she WILL NOT walk in the grass. Wet grass? NO WAY! Ryan has even seen her plant her feet on the rocks and point her rear to the grass and relieve herself that way! Crazy!!

This dog will stop at nothing to stay dry. 

So lets say, for instance, that she smells... which often happens after a few weeks. And then lets say that we want to give her a bath. Hahaha good luck getting her in the tub!

"Harley, come on... lets go get a bath." The funniest part about this sentence is that it doesn't bother her one little bit! She'll just stare at you! Then say "Harley lets go get a bath" and walk toward the bathroom... ZOOM she's gone!! It's really funny how fast she moves!

"Ryan, where did she go?" "Well, I don't know, she's got to be here somewhere."

She goes where she thinks you can't get her. 

In the corner of the living room... behind her favorite green chair. And there she sits. Until the pepperoni comes out, Ryan gets a hold of her and she's lifted into the bathtub and showered with her least favorite thing... water.

She then proceeds to shake all water off onto my bathroom walls and run around like a crazy dog (I imagine trying to get warm). She also enjoys rubbing her wet face on my carpet. 

And that's how we do doggie baths in the Ranschau abode! 

Oh what a day!

6 Months ago yesterday I married my best friend! Every day since then has been an adventure! I didn't know it was possible, but I grow as a person and as a wife every single day! I have learned to love the strange things he does. Apparently I do a lot of strange things too. 

Happy 6 month anniversary, my love! I can't wait for a million, billion, zillion more months with you! 

Marriage & Salsa

Given I've only been married for 6 months, I can't actually claim to know much about marriage. But I do know that being new at it is sometimes a struggle. 

Lets take for instance looking for kitchen utensils... like say... a can strainer. This item is kind of a new novelty for me. Before I was gifted this can strainer, I would just use the lid of the can to strain it, easy enough. But now I am MARRIED (which somehow means I need to be fancier and more grown up) I want to use this fancy can strainer that fits perfectly over all cans, making it a breeze to strain them... when I can find it. 

Being a random kitchen utensil that it is, one would think that a can strainer would belong in the same drawer as the random kitchen utensil. The ones that don't get used all the time, but often enough to hold their own drawer in the kitchen. Such as cookie dough scoopers (which I found in the grilling basket), can openers, wine openers and so on and so forth... you get the picture.

This is where I have to remind myself that we are newly weds and I can't expect Ryan to know where I would possibly keep such strange tool. 

SIDE NOTE: I know you are really getting antsy to know what happened... but I forgot to tell you why I was looking for this can strainer. My cousin Pam recently shared her salsa recipe with me. I was going to make it to take to work! This salsa is SUPER delish! Here is the Recipe!:

Black bean & Corn Salsa:

2 cans black beans 2 cans white shoe peg corn 15 oz can diced tomatoes 1/2 to 1 chopped red onion 3/4 lime juice (plastic lime) 1 Tablespoon Cumin Salt Pepper Garlic

Drain and wash beans. Mix all ingredients and refrigerate.

2nd Side note: The store I went to didnt have Cumin so I substituted a little celery salt with a splash of light Italian dressing. Dont ask me why but it still tasted good! ALSO-- Add jalapeno peppers for a little heat! 

Sooo... back to where we were...turns out you have to strain two cans of black beans and wash them off. I thought OH! EASY! I have a can strainer... 

... where the heck...

... *rummaging through this very shallow random kitchen tool drawer*...

...is that darn...

...*now looking ANYWHERE else I can possibly think that ANYONE would put such a tool*...

...Can Strainer.

Do you see it? South west of the flour there... on my BAKING SHELF. MILES from the random utensils drawer! I also want to note that I had to move the chocolate chips in order to even get a glimpse at this little baby! 

Oh my word. How does this man's brain work? What am I even going to do with him?! 

Now, in Ryan's defense, I did move into HIS house. And over the course of the engagement and the first few months of our marriage, I have really taken over this place. I mean, OUR stuff has taken over the kitchen. It was all given to US so that we could start our marriage with fancy things! But lets be honest, Ryan's bachelor style kitchen has really been cramped. 

Anywho... thats all. I found the can strainer and now I will know where it will be if I can't find it in the future!

So that's my lesson of the day... just keep looking. And when you are at the end of your patience for looking. Call the man you love and chose to share your life with. He will know where he put it. And you better be darn tootin', if he doesn't know where he put it, he will definitely help you find it when he gets home!

hehe! Love it! Love you babe! Even if you hide my crazy kitchen utensils from me! 

Harl

Her name is Harley. I like to joke that she is the only "harley" we will ever have. You see, both Ryan and I have our motorcycle license... we do not, however, own a cycle. However- We do own Harley. 

Yes- She is spoiled

Yes- She likes to think she runs the house

Yes- She is naughty

But we love her! 

She makes me get up from the couch to let her out... sometimes she even whines enough to make me take her for a bike ride and on the REALLY bad days... she makes me take her to Sherman. Who/What is Sherman you ask? 

THIS is Sherman. A girls best friend! Take her to the dog park "go find Sherman" and she's off. Let her outside without a leash and she gives you that look thats says I'm going to run away from you right now just because I can. We know better... just yell, "Sherman's here!!!" and she comes right back! This girl has a deep burning love for her Sherman and no one can deny that to her! 

This dog is the center of our lives right now. So I wanted to be sure you knew who she was so I can blog about her! She's naughty, so she tends to make a good story :) 

This is CH KKR Not Your Typical Biker Babe... better known as Harley- our Champion Rhodesian Ridgeback girl... who happens to have a best friend... named Sherman... and with a name like that ain't no body gonna hate you.

First Blog, First Post!

I've never been a blogger! I LOVE reading blogs and seeing what is happening in people's lives! So, I am here to share mine with you! Here we go! 

My WONDERFUL husband and I just got married in March!

Since then a lot has happened. This blog is intended to keep everyone up to date on what is happening in the "New Ranschau's" lives! 

WE WENT TO ST. LUCIA!!! for our honeymoon. Neither Ryan nor myself had traveled on our own for a real vacation (you know the type that you lay in the sun and don't get up until someone calls you a lobster). We had never been on one without our families! That was the real kicker, not the wedding, not signing the papers to love and cherish this man for the rest of my life, but the kicker was going on a 7 day vacation with him!! It really made me feel like I was growing up! ;) 

Long story short, we had an AMAZING time on our trip! We met some unbelievable friends (who I could see us vacationing with again) and got some good R & R in before we came back to the real world in SF! 

Post Swinging from the trees! - Ryan's pick - Zip-line tour!

All-Natural Mud Bath!- Lindsay's Pick - Joe Knows Tour

The life of the party! Our new friends, Matt and Erin from Cali!

Side note on St. Lucia: WE HIGHLY RECOMMEND GOING! 

.... I was so busy reminiscing I forgot where we were.... oh yes, REAL LIFE:


We decided to take on the task of finishing the lower level of our house. After some debate we decided against paying a contractor to do it and "save some money". Now, let me be clear about this; I've always thought of myself as a "do-it-your-selfer", however, once it actually came down to me doing in myself... a flop! That being said, my husband finished the basement and I added all the extra... I like to call them "touches"... and he likes to call them "projects." But WE DID IT! I am so proud of how it looks! Reveal party to come!

If any of you have done any type of home projects, you will know what I am saying when I say that Ryan and I really tested our marriage with this basement finish! They all told me it was going to be hard, "you are finishing your basement?? so soon? Oh honey, you will really know if you marriage will last after that! Oh my!" and I laughed at them! *Psh*, I thought, it can't really be that hard. - maybe all those people had some underlying issues with their marriage already? - We just got started and its going GREAT! 

Well, heed this warning: if you are thinking about finishing your basement on your own, DON'T DO IT! hahaha... but really, don't. It was tough! When I eventually get final pictures, I will show you how great it looks and how proud I am of us and the accomplishments we already have under our belts!

That's it for my first post! I'll be back again! There is a lot more of this new Ranschau life I have to tell you! :)

Over and out! (hehe I think thats something my dad would say)
-L