Keeping busy, waiting for baby

Remember my last post, in which I laid out the plan to ambush the house across the street? Yesterday's perfect spring-like weather was ideal for our little makeover.

Here's the before:

And the after:

Now on first glance, it may not look incredibly different. Here's what we did:

• Removed the faux brackets from the shutters, and gave them a fresh coat of semi-gloss black paint. 
• Trimmed the juniper tree bushes on either side of the front porch, opening it up, and making it look a bit more well-kept. 
• Cleaned out the flower beds lining her front walkway, as well as the beds on either side of the porch. In the spring, if we haven't sold, we will plant some seasonable flowers (it was full of overgrown dead ferns).
• Added my two bright red flower pots, just for a teensy pop of color on the front of the house. 

In addition to her house, we also cleaned out our non-camper-on-blocks neighbor's car port and side yard, which required moving about ten pounds of bird seed, lots of fallen branches, and at least six hanging pots of dead plants. 

All that activity and still...no baby!

Keeping the nesting thing in full swing (and inspired by pinterest, of course), I've started contemplating how I'm going to drop the baby weight. I decided to break out my old homemade granola recipe today and give it a whirl. Perfect topping to some plain greek yogurt. And you know exactly what is in it. Give it a try! I've made it slightly lower sugar than the actual recipe, as sugar is my true weakness. 

Basic Granola

2 c. oats

1/2 c. wheat germ

1 tbsp. brown sugar

1 tbsp. water

3 tbsp. canola oil

1/4 c. maple syrup

Extra Flavorings

1/4 tsp. vanilla

1/4 tsp. almond extract

1/2 tsp. cinnamon

Extra Ingredients

1/2 c. raisins, dried cranberries, chopped nuts, shredded coconut, dried banana chips, etc. 

Mix oats, wheat germ and brown sugar in a bowl. Bring water, oil, syrup and any extra flavorings you'd like to add to a simmer in a small pan over low heat (not adding any extra flavorings is fine, too). Pour liquid over oats and stir to combine. Spread mixture onto a greased cookie sheet, and use your hands to make small clumps of mixture. Bake at 275 for 30 minutes. At this point, you can add any extra ingredients you'd like, toss with a spatula, and allow to bake for another 15 minutes. Allow to cool completely, and store in a tight container for up to 2 weeks.

Now off to the gym...must continue to attempt to walk this baby out!