We lost a tree

     I know we have been taking down a lot off trees lately, but we had one little surprise tree take down a few weeks ago. Thanks to some crazy storms that blew through Ohio we ended up with some hurricane force winds and lots of thunder and lightning. This crazy combination led to us coming home from work to find this in our front yard:

 Half of the tree was down, and half of it was still standing, but the half that was still standing, didn't look like it was going to stay standing for long. So we needed to find a way to get this whole thing to come down.  We were super fortunate that the tree didn't fall towards the house, but it did however fall towards our fence and crunched up a good portion of it.

 We called a tree service to come deal with this mess, but they weren't going to be able to come out for awhile (there were a lot of trees down all over the city).

No tree service, but there was a couple of guys with a chainsaw and a truck who were walking up and down the street looking for work, and since the tree was already down, and the fence was already damaged, I figured we would be ok. At least it couldn't get any worse, right? And Joe was there to supervise the whole thing.

 Batman liked watching all of the commotion that was going on in the front yard.

 Our house definitely looks different in the front now:

We are going to have to come up with something to make the front of the house not look so plain. We were already planning on replacing the fence in our backyard this summer, so we have added a new fence in the front yard to the list as well, so that should hopefully help.

Slugpocalypse

     I've been putting off writing this post for awhile now because it will prove just how ridiculous awesome I really am when it comes to gardening (aka farming) and being a normal person.  
     I planted 2 small container gardens late this spring in my first ever attempt at gardening. In total, I have 3 tomato plants, 4 pepper plants, 2 strawberry plants, basil, cilantro and 2 cantaloupe plants (because why not?) 

     I did many hours of research before deciding which plants to buy, which stores to get them from, what dirt to use, what fertilizer to use, etc. I even created my own gardening things board on pinterest. I had many hours of my life wasted invested in this project, so I needed it to go well.

     I should also mention that right around the time I was planting my garden, new neighbors moved in next door (this information will be important later). 

    I have been keeping an extremely close eye on everything that was happening in my garden, watching the weather everyday and making sure all the plants were adequately hydrated, but not too hydrated, and making sure no cats, birds, or squirrels were eating any of it. This obsession is what led me to be out in the yard at 10:30pm on a Wednesday evening. There I was minding my own business, watering my garden, when all of a sudden I noticed several nasty slugs crawling around the patio.

    The discovery of the slugs immediately led to me run inside and Google, "are slugs bad for gardens?" Which led me to this website indicating that YES slugs are indeed bad for gardens. ". . .slug(s) attacks from all angles. At ground level it chomps its way through the stems of tender young plants and devours the leaves of vegetables such as lettuce. It climbs to munch the higher leaves, and also the hearts of cauliflowers. Still not content, it burrows deep beneath the soil, attacking root crops such as the potato, carrot and beetroot, and even flowering bulbs." 


But not all slugs are bad. 


This is a good slug



and this is a bad slug



see the difference? Me neither.


The indication that slugs were bad for gardens only left me with one option: Kill all the slugs. This conclusion then led me to Google "how do you kill slugs?" which led me to this website. Since I was not in possession of Rove Beetles, Lightning Bugs, Toads, or Ducks, and I'm not yet crazy enough to harvest human hair, I decided beer was the way to go.  So there I was, at now 11:00pm outside placing bowls of beer all around the garden. It was at that moment that our brand new neighbor came home from work and wanted to introduce himself. I am pretty confident this was not my best first impression. It's very difficult to not sound crazy when describing how you have declared war on all of the slug species.


The good news is that the beer worked! The slugs were definitely attracted to the beer bowls. The even better news is that they sell organic slug insecticide at Lowe's which is safe to use on vegetable gardens that works even better.  It's been about 2 weeks and I can confidently say we are now slug free. The very best news though is that last week I picked some of the basil from the garden (for pesto), ate it, and did not get food poisoning. I am pretty sure that officially makes me a farmer. 

Rowdy, a Bird's Nest, and the Gnome

You may be wondering how this previous scenario came to be.

Well, we have been working on turning our forest into a back yard. It started a few weeks back with the removal of many, many tiny pine trees. . . . But 2 mega-pine trees still remained.

These trees could not be cut down with a hand saw and necessitated the rental of a small electric chainsaw. The best time to rent a chainsaw is in the pouring rain.

It took some hard work on the chainsaw's part, but we managed to take down most of the trees and stumps.

And left us with this incredible firewood pile

It was right as we were attempting to take down the final stump that the chain decided to jump off the saw, leaving one perfect gnome seat.

The rest of the gnome's found a resting place as well. I call this one "sleepy"

And this one "relax-y"

The yard is finally Tree-Free!!!!!!!!!!!! (And, the grass patches are starting to grow together)

Yard Work Stinks, cont.

The backyard wasn't the only space to get a major makeover. We have been tirelessly working on getting rid of all of the pine tree shrubberies that were planted EVERYWHERE!

Our front yard used to be super dark and sad, covered in tiny shrubs and ivy

(credit to Zillow for the before pics)

But now it is wide open, and glorious!

Even our Hydrangea got a fancy new brick border and some cedar mulch chips.

Joe injured himself pretty severely trying to clear the front walkway, but it was totally worth it because now there is a great little place to put our trashcan

I also dug up many, many, many lillies. . . .who needs some?!?!?

Yard Work Stinks!

Yard work does in fact stink. . . but man does it make a big difference in the quality of your outside time if you have a nice yard.

Our yard used to be a freaky forest filled with pine trees of all sizes

(credit to Zillow for the before pics)

But now, it is a beautiful oasis (ok not really, but it is getting better)

We are in the process of attempting to grow grass, but currently we are only managing to grow patches of grass. Our plans are to continue the tree removal we have already started by getting rid of the 2 super tall pine trees inside the fence, and the giant pine tree on the outside of the fence. With all of these trees gone, we may actually have some usable space in our back yard!

Camera

I just bought a new digital camera. It will come in the mail from amazon (thank you amazon prime for 2 day free shipping) on Thursday!!!!! Get ready for a whole lot of new blogging!!!!

in the meantime, here are some great videos:
Dope Zebra

Baby Sloths Get the Onsie Treatment

Steven Jo Does the Cinnamon Challenge

David Beckham on Ellen

Beautiful Baby

Beautiful Hudson Elise Beisel is now safe in the arms of Jesus. She is home with a new healthy, cancer-free, body.

Hudson Elise Beisel 

  |  

BEISEL Hudson Elise Beisel, born April 8, 2011, peacefully left us here on earth to be with Jesus in heaven while in the loving arms of her Momma and Dada on Sunday, March 11, 2012. She was survived by her loving parents, Jeff and Jennifer (Morris) Beisel; big sissy, Wren DeLaine Beisel; adoring grandparents, Howard Morris (Papaw), Michael (Groppy) and Roxanne (Grommy) Beisel; Aunt Amanda Beisel; Uncle Kip Morris; Uncle Brett and Aunt Diane Morris; cousins, Tyler, Abby and Baby Breanne Morris. She was preceded in death but greeted in heaven by her Mamaw Jackie Morris, Uncle Chip Morris and two siblings. Momma and Dada are so proud of you Baby Girl! You were so strong and fought so hard. By God's supernatural power, you defied obstacles and surpassed so many expectations. You touched and changed so many lives. Our hearts will never be the same. We will never forget you, will love you always and can't wait to see you again. Thank you to Jesus, our Lord and Savior for choosing and trusting us to take care of Hudson here on earth. We are truly honored. Thank you for rescuing our precious Hudson. You are such an awesome, tender and loving God. All glory to you forever! Family and friends may visit from 5-8 p.m. on Wednesday at the DWAYNE R. SPENCE FUNERAL HOME, 550 Hill Road North, Pickerington. A funeral service will be held at 11 a.m. on Thursday, at Veritas Community Church, 345 East 2nd Avenue, Columbus. Interment at Glen Rest Memorial Estate. Online condolences at www.spencefuneralhome.com

Published in The Columbus Dispatch on March 13, 201

Beautiful, Beautiful, Baby. . .


Hudson Elise Beisel from Jeff Beisel on Vimeo.

Baby Shower

We had a baby shower for a couple in our community group tonight. For some strange reason, I volunteered to make the cake.

I saw this on pinterest:

So I made this:

I wouldn't exactly say I nailed it, but I do think I have some room to improve in my face decorating. My ladybug face looks a little bit like it has crazy eyes.

Another great gem that came out of the baby shower:

Memes

If you love memes as much as I do, this video will make you tear up (warning: slight profanity):

Budgeting and Meal Planning

2 things that I am not very good at (well there are several things, but I'm only going to write about 2) are meal planning and budgeting. I've known since we got married that we eat out way too much, esp. pizza, and we buy wayyyyyy too much at the grocery store (that we throw away when it goes bad). Joe and I went to a class at church last week on being financially responsible. . . so we figured we should give it a try.

After sitting down and running the numbers, Joe are I are $100/month away from not having to take out student loans for living expenses. We are SOOOOO close. Enter in meal planning.

Our biggest problem is that we are semi-picky eaters and very limited in the kitchen. That being said, here is the list of meals we both like that are "easy" to make:

Lasagna

Steak

Enchiladas

Chef Salad

Tacos w/ rice

Chili - but no beans (yuck)

Pizza

Brinner

Hot Dogs

Burgers

Pulled Pork

Chicken Cassarole

Grilled Cheese

Spaghetti

Grilled Chicken

Ravioli

Fettucini Alfredo

Skyline

Pork Roast

Ham Steaks

Smoked Sausage

Rotisserie Chicken

Stuffed Pepper Stoup

Hawiian Crock Pot Chicken

Baked Chicken Parm

Spaghetti Stuffed Garlic Bread

crock pot chicken wings

twice baked potato cassarole

Lasagna Soup

I need more ideas. Please help!

Best Restaurants in Columbus

Living downtown certainly has it advantages: Places of business are open past 8:00pm, there are multiple things to do every night of the week, and you can usually find something fun and  free/close to free to do. It seems like I run into people who are "new to Columbus" (or people who live in the suburbs who are afraid of traveling inside 270) fairly often.  I always am offering suggestions on places to go, so I figured I would write them out so I have a quick reference for the next time I am asked.

Best Pizza:
1. Hounddogs - Fun Fact: They are open 24hours
2. Fabians
3. Adriaticos
4. Carsonie's - Although technically it's Stromboli/calzones. . . but it's still pizza related

Best Burgers:
1. Thurman Cafe Fun Fact: Be prepared to wait over an hour . . .it's worth it!
2. Brazenhead - Fun Fact: $3 burgers on wed. nights
3. Little Palace
4. Ted's Montana Grill - Fun Fact: All burgers come in beef or bison
5. Max & Erma's - Erma Combo

Best Fine Dining:
1. Lindy's
2. Any Cameron Mitchell Restaurant - Particularly Cameron's and M
3. Eddie Merlot's
4. Barcelona - Fun Fact: We went here the night we got engaged
5. The Top Steakhouse

Best Mid-Priced Dining
1. B.J.'s Brewhouse
2. Schmidt's - German Sausage House (or Haus)
3. Milestone 229
4. Rusty Bucket
    4.a.) Old Bag of Nails - these are basically the same restaurant, but still delicious!
5. Easy Street Cafe - for when you can't get into Thurman's!

Best Cheap Eats
1. Tai's Asian Bistro - Honey Chicken is where it's at!
2. Chef-O-Nette
3. Jason's Deli - This is a chain restaurant, but still wonderful.
4. Johnny Buccelli's
5. Graffiti Bruger

Best Specialty Restaurants
1. Dirty Frank's Hot Dog Palace - Hot Dogs
2. Gooeyz - Grilled Cheese
3. Jack and Benny's - Best Breakfast in Columbus
4. Hal and Al's - Vegetarian/Vegan plus Huge beer selection
5. Mickey's Late Night Slice - pizza by the slice

Best Bars/Bar Food (For Girls)
1. Mac's Cafe
2. Club 185 - Delicious Chips and Dip
3. Plank's Bier Garten
    3.a.) Plank's Cafe and Pizzeria
4. Gresso's - Fun Fact: Killer patio in the spring/summer

Best Bars (For Boys)
1. Park Street Tavern
2. Beck Tavern
3. Blue Danube

Best Sandwiches
1. Ohio Deli and Restaurant - Fun Fact: If you attempt to eat the dagwood, you will puke
2. Kazinger's Deli - Super expensive, but definitely worth the try
3. Brown Bag Deli

Places we still want to try:
1. Flatiron
2. Village Coney
3. Deep Wood
4. River Club Restaurant at Confluence Park
5. Giuseppe's Ritrovo
6. Buckeye Hall of Fame Grill

Any other suggestions????????

This is genius

This is absolute genius. I google all day, everyday:

my camera broke

So. . . my camera broke, which makes blogging a lot less fun. So while I haven't been taking pictures, I did these things:

Made Skinny Taste Chipotle Rice (also, learned how to cook rice, also learned what Basmati rice is)


Rearranged the living room.
Commissioned Sam to make me something like this


Pinned this for Joe to build


listened to this sermon
and then saw this picture and laughed harder then I have ever laughed before



So, at least I've been keeping myself busy. Hopefully I will get a new camera soon.