"about me" -Ashley

this is a little paragraph "about me" ryan's coming soon...

i am a down to earth girl who grew up on a farm and fell in love with a simple, hard working small town boy. i truly believe a smile can change someone’s day. I love getting up in the morning. i love chick flick films. Fall is the best season, period. i love surprising ryan, although i don't like surprises myself. I have small feet. My husband is my best friend. i really miss my sister who is living overseas. i love deep conversations. My family is very important to me. My boppa (grandpa) is one of my best friends. I am a very black & white thinker, which is both good and bad. I got my moms laugh, and my dad’s opinionated thoughts. I am always thinking. i am starting to really like reading. I have been blessed with the best husband. I love bonfires. I could spend hours reading quotes. I love to be around people, but don't like big gatherings. I research the heck out of anything new I try. A good song is an amazing find. When I was five I stole a piece of bubble gum from the grocery store and my mom made me go back and apologize. in some areas of my life I am anal on being organized and others I fly by the seat of my pants. I’ve been a waitress for eight years, and somedays I like it. I have a lot of friends but only a few close friends, of which I’d do anything for. I start listening to Christmas music as soon as it gets below 40 degrees. I love getting a hand written note. I love making someone’s day. i love to day dream about our future family, but am not ready for motherhood just yet. I have to do things in order. I am a creative thinker. I don’t like heights, but I did as a kid. And most of all I love the Lord.

4 thing i bet you didn't know about the houck's

1.) Ashley is a walking advertisement for a cleaning product called Grease lighting, you can only get it at lowes, its the BEST. http://www.glblast.com/products/Default.aspx

2.) Ryan doesn't like ice in his pop. he'd rather have it VERY cold from the fridge

3.) since purchasing our two rental properties we disagree about 95% of the time, but don't make any decision unless the other is on board 100%

4.) we are obsessed with the Lion King soundtrack. it has to be playing for us to clean.

Don’t pray for a lighter load. Pray for a stronger back

life after august 1 2007

To say the past year has been tough would be an understatement. Trying to get two businesses up and running (Appraising and property management) to a point where it’s making money is not easy, nor should it be. Nothing easy doesn’t come with a lot of work, a lot of prayer and a lot more work! Ryan & I joked a lot this past year how we’re living our dream and nightmare at the same time. Last July we bought 628/630 garnet. We lived in one side and completely remodeled the upstairs. I don’t think anything was the original when we moved out. It took us 11 months to complete with putting in 85 plus hours (between our jobs and the duplex) for the last month and a half. Including an all-nighter the night before the new tenants moved in. We certainly couldn’t have done it without our family & friends who REALLY stepped up to the plate and helped us out when we needed it the most. There were many times Ryan & I questioned our sanity in doing this. Then this June we purchased another duplex located right behind the east Hy-Vee here in Ames. So, that’s where were at right now. We’ve learned so much this past year about ourselves, God’s grace, love, and working hard for your dream. Was it worth it? All the late night hours, time and commitment? Absolutely.

helping grandma

ryan & I helping grandma around her house. we ended up trimming bushes and we even got some kringla!

kitchen/living room wall removal part 2

tearing out the wall to make a breakfast bar










getting ready for demo...








breakfast bar looking good...





wow!

deck

added a deck

tile floor

laying the ktichen floor









my friend from work (jen) and I "buttered" the tile for ryan.

hallway

hallway before












hallway after. took out a closet, put in a door, and a deck out the back.

kitchen

living room before/after

living room (from the other side)


















how the carpet looked when we bought the place









how the windows looked when we bought the place.






finished, WOW!

upstiars bath before

bathroom before








before











bathroom after





bathroom before




bath after

kitchen/living room wall removal

the wall before. separated the kitchen and living room








making the marks









checking them twice








starting demo





the hallway looks WAY different!

closet removeal

closet before






starting to tear it down























hallway before





look, its getting longer!!

picture from the hallway (we expanded the hallway to have a deck off the back)







new closet semi-finished

I know, right?!

okay, as many of you have noticed we haven't posted anything in AWHILE. we are STILL trying to get our Internet hooked up to our new place. (hopefully by MONDAY, the latest) i have ALOT to update, so please check back soon!