Landscaping and Flowers!

What a busy summer it has been! We have been so busy that I've completely neglected the blog. Although, with so much going on I have a lot to share! Now I just need to find the time to actually post all of it! I thought I would start with our landscaping and flowers. A few weeks ago, we finally found some time over a weekend to work on the outside. Lots of weeding and trimming was needed. Afterwards we took some photos of mostly everything - who knows how long it'll stay this nice!?

Backyard at the bottom of the deck behind the garage.
All of the plants are perrenials, coming back each year!

Front of the house

SW corner of backyard

Deck off the back
Red/white are petunias and the green is a sweet potato vine.

Deck off the back
Geraniums on my new stand from Mike for my birthday!

Front door

Deck off the backPetunias and yellow marigolds in the back.

Backyard

Backyard
The hedges are ours - they line the back.
On the right, in the empty spot, if you look closely there is a peonia starting.

Unfortunately, after I took these pictures, that night we were hit with a storm and my potted plants on the deck got a beating. The petunias in the white pots are now pretty weak and many of the stems were broken off, same with the geraniums. Bummer! At least I have these pictures!

Rhubarb Dessert

It's Rhubarb season! I have a wonderful recipe that I love, along with my family, that I wanted to share with everyone today. The recipe actually was given to my mom by our old next-door neighbors years ago. The recipe obviously got lost in the recipe box and mom came across it last year. It's such a simple recipe but what a great end result! Everyone should definitely try it! Even if you don't like rhubarb, I really think you'd enjoy this recipe!

Rhubarb Dessert (similar to a cobbler dessert)

4 cups cut up rhubarb (I chop it really fine so there isn't too of large pieces to bite into)
1 cup sugar
3 oz. pkg strawberry or raspberry jello
1 regular box white cake
1 cup water
1/3 cup melted butter

Place in 9 x 13 pan in order above. Jello and cake mix go on dry. Add the water and butter over everything. Bake at 350˚ for 45-60 minutes.

Here are some pictures of the process:

Rhubarb, Sugar, Jello, and finally topped with dry cake mix.

Layers of the dessert - the white is all the dry cake mix.

End product before baking, topped with water and melted butter.

Final result! Yum!

Hope you all enjoy!

Our Fishing Expedition

Last Sunday Mike talked me into going fishing at the Raccoon River about 12 miles north of Carroll. Don't ask me how he got me to go on a late Sunday afternoon, when I wanted to get a ton of stuff done at home, but he did! He said the walleye were biting and we might will get one! That definitely sparked my interest! So we headed out with all of our fishing gear and went fishing at the river!

I'm pretty sure I thew out over 100 casts along with Mike...and no luck. After about an hour of absolutely no bites, I about threw in the towel and that's when it hit! Out of nowhere, I had a fish bite and was trying to fight the fish and get him in before my line broke or he slipped off. Of course I was screaming and getting pretty excited. Mike made his way over to me (we were on some steep rocks) and I was able to get the fish out of the water safely in the meantime. Come to find out it was a smallmouth bass. We've caught very few 13-14" largemouth bass at Swan Lake here in Carroll, but the only time I've ever caught smallmouth bass is when we're in Minnesota on vacation. And let me tell you...those fish can fight! They do about all the jumping, thrashing, flopping that they can to get off your hook and get away from you! Needless to say, it was pretty exciting. The best part is that it was a 16" smallmouth - the largest bass that I've ever caught!

Raccoon River - 16" Smallmouth Bass

Raccoon River - 16" Smallmouth Bass

So after taking some pictures, getting the measurement, all the excitement, and releasing the fish, we went back to fishing, having a little more hope that we would maybe catch that walleye. After about 10-15 minutes, Mike shouted over that he had something on the line, and of course, after little struggle on his part, he brought in his own smallie! 15 1/2 inches! So excited that we both caught something! (I was also thrilled on the inside because mine was bigger, haha!)

Raccoon River - 15 1/2" Smallmouth Bass

Raccoon River - 15 1/2" Smallmouth Bass

After more pictures, another measurement, more excitement, and another release, we went back to fishing, but had no luck after about 20 minutes and decided to call it a night since we both brought something in and it was past suppertime! No walleyes were caught, but we know they ARE out there and we had fun catching at least some sort of fish! Hopefully soon I'll be able to post pictures of our walleye that we might will catch out of the Raccoon. You just never know!

Enjoy some videos of our expedition!

My Business Website!

K • Meyering Design Website Snapshot

It has been many, many, MANY months coming! Finally, I was able to find some time (and by 'some time' I mean 'long days') to design my business website. Web design is a pretty in-depth thing...completely different from graphic design! But it was fun and I'm very happy with the result! However, it's always nice to hear feedback from others and get any advice, ideas on what I could do better. 

So, after deciding and designing how I wanted my website to look, I went to my web design program and started building the website. It took a lot of long hours, and a few nights of Bella getting no walks, but it's completed and I'm finally able to share it with all of you and my future clients!

The site includes an updated about page - telling about my design journey and how I got where I am today, and then also a little about my personal life. I've included a portfolio page and a contact page. My portfolio page allows visitors to view 4 different portfolios, including wedding, baby, graduation, and photo editing & restoration. The contact page gives visitors the option to message me requesting for additional information about my work or for those interested in design work - the messages come straight to my email inbox!

By having this website I will be able to advertise my design skills and work I have completed to people all over the state, and quite possibly, country! If you know of anyone interested in design work (of any kind) or may just be interested in seeing what I do, please pass my website or email on to them!

Take a few minutes to check it out!

Website: www.kmeyeringdesign.com

Email: kim@kmeyeringdesign.com

If you have any comments, ideas, advice about my website, please feel free to leave a comment here on this blog! :)

Angels in Heaven

Mike and I returned home to Garner this past weekend as we lost two dear family members last week on the same day: Great Uncle Jr. and Aunt Dorothy. We were so glad to be able to make it home to see family and say goodbye to two amazing, selfless people. Two of the many memories that come to my mind when thinking of them both would be Dorothy's big garage sales in Forest City and playing Bingo at Junior's at the annual Memorial Day picnics. The two of them will never be forgotten. 

It was so amazing and touching to hear all the stories about them, including my grandma and her sister Veronica, my mom and her sisters, and all the other cousins. We were able to see all of our extended family and sit and talk with them. Such a large, wonderful family we have! We are so blessed!

I came across a quote today that I really liked. I thought I would share it and the following picture with everyone.

Dorothy Frein, Frank Jr. Rayhons, and Arlene Frein

 

"When you lose someone you love, you gain an angel that you know."

Unfortunately, their other two sisters, Veronica and Arlene (my grandma), were unable to be there as they are both in the hospital doing their best to heal and be back with us soon. They may not have been there physically, but they were with us all! I was able to visit grandma a couple times over the weekend and had a great time reminiscing with her, sharing stories, and filling her in on our lives back in Carroll. She's getting better each day and I pray that God continues to bless her with his healing hand.

It's times like these that we are most thankful for our families.

Something from Nothing!

Okay, so maybe not from "nothing"....but you get the idea.  I've been reading a lot of blogs lately with different decor, craft, organization ideas. Pretty addicting might I add! I've gotten a lot of ideas from these blogs and usually making something from nothing!

I'll share one of my recent 'super-simple' ideas that I've come across and tweaked a bit.

What can you do with this...   

(a dusty black easel)

...and this?

(a fancy dessert plate)

Make one pretty sweet message board for your kitchen!

Easy as pie! 

Because the plate has a glossy finish, you can write on it with dry erase marker and easily erase, just like a school whiteboard! Yay! 

When I originally saw this idea they used a white ceramic plate on a plate holder. My kitchen isn't exactly white or really have any 'white' in it - so when I saw this cute decorated dessert plate at Wal-mart, I was elated because it would match my country themed kitchen perfectly! The best part is the plate was only $3.50! And I already had the easel, so a very inexpensive decor piece that has a function! Leave a message for your spouse, kids, whoever, or a note or to-do list for yourself! 

Enjoy!

A New Do!

This past weekend was a relaxing weekend for us! Since we were being so lazy, Bella pretty much slept all day. With her recent cut she was shivering - so being the wonderful, thoughtful person I am, I gave her a fleece blanket. Bad idea! She absolutely loved it and got all wrapped in it, however she was probably getting a better satellite signal than our dish!

 

She had no idea what was going on! I felt bad laughing at her, but how can you not at least smile?! It lasted a good 10 minutes and we no longer give her 'fleece' to cuddle with!

Beginning our Journey with Blogger

Well, we finally decided to dive into the world of Blogger! 

This will enable our family and friends to stay informed on what's happening in our uneventful exciting lives. We hope you enjoy following us!

With only Mike, myself (Kim), and our 2 yr old Shih Tzu, Bella, we aren't too exciting but still can't wait to share some of the things that go on in our lives. 

Enjoy!