HTPC Experience

Hello Blog-readers and Tech Nerds.  It's been a while since I've contributed so on Pie day (which so many of my friends have pointed out is only observed by real nerds), I thought I'd write a techy post on my Home Theater PC experience...hence the title.

The market is being flooded by new digital means of watching TV on your big screen.  From the Apple TV to Google TV, the Boxee Box to integrated Apps built into your favorite flatscreen, companies are finally trying to tap into what many of us have been doing for years.  Watching TV on a computer.

I built my first HTPC in 2006 out of the best components I could afford off NewEgg.com at the time.  It was a great box that looked like an old school audio receiver with volume knob and buttons on the front.  Even had an LCD you could have display almost anything.  I ran that system all the way till 2010 (almost 24 hours a day) till the motherboard fried.

For the last 2 years I've been running a much smaller machine and I have to say, I'm quite impressed with the quality.  Asrock put together some bare bones systems built mostly on laptop parts that really handles the graphic requirements a new HTPC needs (that's for the suggestion Brain).  Costing me less than $500 for the hardware, I have a high definition system connected to my Flat Screen that when coupled with Windows running Media Center and a Tuner Card will record and play TV almost out of the box.

What You Need:

1. Asrock Barebones Computer
2. A version of Windows (suggest Windows 7 64bit with Home Premium or above for Media Center)
3. A USB TV Tuner (This one looks pretty good and does digital)
4. A HDMI cable to connect your TV (assuming you have a HDTV with HDMI input)
5. You probably want an external hard drive cause you're gonna fill up the built in one with recorded TV
6. If you buy the Asrock that doesn't include a remote, pickup a MCE remote with infrared receiver
7. If you like to have the keyboard an mouse handy, a wireless set makes it easy to hide

The Setup:

1. Boot up the Asrock and install Windows (use a password you can easily input with the remote).  Connect to the internet and run windows update.  I'd throw the following software on there too:
1. Chrome for Browsing
2. FlashPlayer
3. VLC (for watching odd codex)
4. ffdshow (Free open-source codex to process video and audio)
5. Make sure the Graphic Card drivers are the most current and up-to-date
6. Logmein or another remote desktop client
7. Virus Protection (use something free with good ratings, Norton will just slow the whole thing down)
8. I'd setup Netflix while you have the mouse and keyboard connected to make it easy
9. Install your external hard drive, format and name it if you so desire
10. Install your Tuner Card
2. Now, connect the computer to your flat screen (if you are using the built in infrared, make sure the box is in direct sight of your remote, otherwise locate your IR receiver in a good location)
3. Make sure the tuner card is connected to your cable or cable box
4. Boot the system and run Media Center.  You will now walk through all the steps to properly display MCE on your TV and setup the Tuner Card to work with your service provider. (Note: if you are using a cable box things get much more interesting with IR blasters and trying to get windows to control your cable box.  I just gave up and use the basic cable and avoid the mess of cable boxes)
5. Setup MCE to record your favorite TV shows.

There are of course many issues that can arrise and having your own HTPC isn't for the faint a heart.  But lets be honest here, having something you don't have to pay for, that records TV and will display whatever online content you want on your big screen is pretty awesome.  It's really just a huge computer so go ahead an throw on The Daily Show through Chrome and full screen it...looks better than Netflix most of the time.  YouTube and Vimeo, with HD streaming you won't know why you ever just flipped channels for hours looking for something to watch.  

DIY Boot Straightener

Droopy boots get me down. They flop over in the closet, looking messy and creating extra creases and slouchiness in the boots I'm trying to get a lot of life from.

Solution? A pool noodle. I grabbed this noodle at Target for $2 (too bad they haven't shown up at our Dollar Store just yet). I cut it into four sections and straightened up my black and brown boots in nothin flat! Regular scissors work fine - this was a two minute project.

Happy Saturday!

Lasagna Soup: Delish!

Thanks to Pinterest I'm finding all sorts of tasty new recipes.  Tonight we tried this one and it gets thumbs up all around.

Photo from Deen Bros.

This is "Tastes Like Lasagna Soup" by the Deen Bros.  I think these are Paula Deen's sons with healthier takes on their mom's recipes.  We skipped the breadsticks and extra cheese on top and it was still super tasty!

House Tour

We moved into our first house back in October and Jimbo posted a few pictures from our initial visit.  It seems like it's high time to take you on the tour!

I consider the house "furnished" but not "decorated."  You'll notice lots of bare walls.  As much that blankness is bothering me, I'm taking the decorating projects slowly.  Thank goodness for mountains of inspiration on Pinterest!  I thought it might be fun to give you the "before" tour and then unveil decorating projects as they are completed.

The Front Room - complete with Jim's beloved Steinway and a big front window for Sugar to monitor the cul-de-sac.

Looking from the Front Room into the Dining Room (and the Kitchen beyond that).

Entry & Hallway - we love the cut-outs opening to the Dining Room on the right. 

Kitchen - glass block windows on either side of the stove allow more natural light.

Kitchen "view" (complete with a dirty soup pot) into the Living Room.

Living Room, Patio, and Backyard

Living Room

Pantry!!  One of my only finished spaces...I couldn't resist painting it a wild color.
This is "Jack-O-Lantern" from Miller Paint.

Laundry Room - VERY exciting for us =)

Guest bath 

Guest Room!  Come and visit!

Office (Nicole's side)

Office (Jimbo's side)

Master 

Master (and some legos...)

We (and by "we" I mean our dear friends Karen, Jen, Jonathan, and Spencer) did a lot of painting prior to moving day so we're happy with our wall colors.  Now that you've taken the tour, feel free to schedule your visit and start sending in your ideas for decor!

2011 Holiday Greetings!

Time for a look back at 2011...We vowed it would be Year of Nothing, but we sure crammed a lot in!

January brought actual snow!

Bigger than the news of snow was the start of Jim's new job as Director of Oregon State University's Glee Choir.  Between 75 and 100 students have enrolled every quarter and they are a big hit around campus.

OSU Glee

Jimbo hit the big 3-0 in April.  His best friend Lucas turned 30 a few days later so we rolled the whole thing into one big birthday shindig (complete with matching novelty t-shirts) at the Kennedy School in Portland. 

Soon after we celebrated another friendship - my 20th anniversary with my bestie Brenda Lee.  We'd been promising ourselves to celebrate milestones (10 years... 15 years...) but never managed to pull it off.  So we went big for our 20th and flew off to Puerta Vallarta, Mexico. 

Jim and Thatcher came along to..."supervise"...and we had a fantastic time!

April included one more special celebration - showering our girl, Erin, and anticipating the arrival of her sweet baby Aiden.  

My pals from grad school got together in Las Vegas in May.   We had a fantastic reunion, including a Cirque du Soleil show and a special baby shower brunch to celebrate Nikki's little guy, Oscar.

In June, I joined a group of OSU colleagues to run our Hawaii orientation program in Honolulu.  Thanks to an unused companion fare, Jim was able to tag along.  Of course he was put right to work and learned a lot about academic advising and online registration!

July found us in Charleston, South Carolina, helping our dear friend Amanda move.  A few days later we'd gotten her settled in Columbus, Ohio.  We got to see a few new states and try out the Piggly Wiggly.

I dig the Pig!

We traveled back to Montana in August and had a nice relaxing vacation.  We spent time with my Mom and Fred in Missoula, and took a camping trip with my Aunt Sandy and Uncle Dean. 

Four days with no internet, no cell phones, and nothing more pressing to attend to than getting the boat in the water?  Hello Vacation!  I finally got good at towing/backing/parking a trailer.  I think I'll add that to my resume...

We squeezed in a day trip to introduce Jim to Glacier National Park.

Just as we returned from Montana, I had my last day at OSU's College of Pharmacy.  It was hard to say goodbye after 8 years, but opportunity knocked for me and I took a new job as Assistant Director of Undergraduate Programs for OSU's College of Engineering.  About a month later, Jim was offered a position as Choir Director for the First United Methodist Church in Corvallis.  Glee and the church keep Jim happy and busy, and we both feel so fortunate to have found such fulfilling work this year. 

Knowing that we are happily settling into long-term jobs in Corvallis, we decided to take the plunge and buy our first home.  We looked at 10 houses and fell in love with number 11!

We moved in to our new digs in October, and have been enjoying "fancy" amenities like the dishwasher, a garage, and a real yard for Sugar.  It's a big step up from our 850 square foot rental!

Thanksgiving found us at my brother's house in Spokane, Washington.  It was a  nice low-key weekend with my family and included a benefit dog-walk for the Humane Society. 

And now it's time for Christmas.  It will be our first in our home, and Jim's family will come to celebrate with us.  As we count our blessings - family, friends, good health, meaningful work, and the world's greatest dog - we wish you all the best.  May all your days be filled with joy! 

Happy Holidays from Jim, Nicole, and Sugar

DIY Ornament Wreath

There are gobs of cute ornament wreaths all over Pinterest, and I finally got around to making my own!

I followed a very nice tutorial from Andrea, and there are plenty of others out there so I won't bore you with the repeat here.  I found these fun silver ornaments at Winco (of all places!) and they were even cheaper than the dollar store options.  I used 70 ornaments total.  The best part?  The globe snaps into the hook on the ornament so there was none of the tedious gluing required on the other tutorials.  I think Winco is also called Cub Foods in some areas (wink wink Minnesota girls!).

Our door is super tall so standard over-the-door wreath hangers weren't working.  We found a really nice decorative metal Command Hook at Home Depot and adhered it to the door.  It's sturdy, but removable so I'm not worried about damaging the door surface.

Come knock on our door!  We are super festive!

ETSY Find: Self-Inking Return Address Stamp

Buying our first house gave me the excuse I've been needing to order a return address stamp.  A little hard to justify when we were renting, but absolutely essential to home ownership!

There are a zillion options on ETSY so I didn't bother looking elsewhere.  Since I was a liberated woman who didn't change her name the day after the wedding, all the really cute monogramed stamps were out.  Bummer!  Honestly, that's my only regret about keeping my name...not having a monogram.  And, if that's my only misgiving, I suppose I made the right choice.

So, anyway, back to the ETSY selections!  Eventually I settled on this one from Savethedate Design's shop.

Cute.  Simple.  And solves the mis-matched last names issue by eliminating them all together!  

About a week later our fancy new stamp arrived in the mail. 

She packages her stamps in little fabric drawstring storage bags - a nice touch.  Obviously I covered up our exact street address (you all know it anyway!) but you get the idea.

My excitement over this swell new self-inking delight (combined with a couple sick days at home) motivated me to finish up our holiday cards early.  Now that's an amazing stamp =)