Three Men and a Lady

Nice Surprise

2012-02-09T14:46:00.001-08:00

It was so nice to get this in the mail today.

I know he's a great kid, but it sure is nice to hear it from someone else.

He's growing up and changing so quickly. He will be taller than me by this summer, his feet are bigger than mine and his voice has totally changed, but it's nice to know that some things never change - that he has always been a continues to be such a great kid.

I'm lucky to be his mom.

Cabinets Finished!

2012-02-06T12:02:00.000-08:00

BEFORE (OAK CITY)

AFTER

The cabinets are finished!!!

The kitchen is not, however it's underway so that's all I can ask for.

I'm overall pretty pleased with how they turned out.

Weekly Progress - Slowly but Surely!

2012-01-27T21:40:00.000-08:00

This has been an extremely hectic week.

Kid one - Orthodontist consultations and snowcaving tonight on Mt. Hood.

Kid two - to a Portland ENT for a second opinion.

Throw in repair visits from Direct TV since we continue to lose our signal daily, baseball signups and swimming lessons and this gets to me less progress than I hoped.

I like the hardware. It adds a little accent that I like.

Friday Rustoleum Update

2012-01-20T15:52:00.000-08:00

Friday update here. Slow is my progress since I only work on it as time permits, but it's getting somewhere and the hardware arrived (though hard to see from this pic)!

I'm not entirely thrilled about Step 4 (the final step - protective coat). I'm finding some glossy and some matte spots, but have emailed their customer service for tips. It's probably me being overly picky, but I'm happy at the overall results, especially for $80 and especially without any help from the spouse!

Only one oak cabinet to go on top! Stay tuned next Friday for any updates.

Here's a picture of my dream kitchen, aaahhhh.

Progress

2012-01-13T13:36:00.000-08:00

Breakfast Bar used to be Oak City

I hate countertop clutter, but that's how it's going to be until this is done!

Partial progress stresses me out. I like checklists and spreadsheets. When the items are checked off I'm stress free. That is not this project with how I've decided to attack it - as I have time.

My kitchen is a mess and in flux, but I'm surprisingly not overly stressed.

A couple things I am learning:
* When spray painting the cabinet hinges in a pretty new satin nickel, that you also need to paint the heads of the screws too. I'm poking them into a cardboard box and it is working fabulously. The screws get painted and don't get lost!

* I've also learned the top protective coat needs to go on with a very light hand or it dries like a white elmers glue. I like having a second dry brush on hand to go back over it lightly.

My new hardware for the cabinets hasn't arrived yet, but I could't resist rehanging it just to see what it looked like.

As soon as this is done, we can move onto the floor. There have been so many other projects (ie new siding, sinks, light fixtures, etc_ around this house that the kitchen was neglected. I'm really realizing it now.

Here Goes Nothing

2012-01-07T18:58:00.001-08:00

Our kitchen floor is in bad shape. Unfortunately, there's been 900 projects around the home that always seem to take precedence. It now is in a state that it needs to be replaced, ie new smoke alarms throughout the entire house one week before Christmas.

I found a reasonable economic product that I love for our floors, but it will look terrible with the oak cabinets. Replacing cabinets is not in my budget, so I'm hoping this product will help.

My husband thinks it is equal to "polishing a turd" and that it should not be done. I however have other plans.

We shall see. Here goes nothing and I will post before and after pictures at some point.

Surprise Surprise

2012-01-02T12:48:00.001-08:00

I was blog surfing and happened upon this table in the background at Camas Antiques.

I showed it to my wonderful husband. You can't even make out the whole table, but I knew from that small limited view that it was awesome.

I clearly have a problem/addiction/attraction to old furniture with unique shapes. I love the multiple legs on each side and shelf at the bottom of the table.

I took the boys to see the Christmas Story playing on the big screen at the theater next to the antique store and it was gone. I was a little disappointed, but wasn't surprised.

Somehow it ended up in my living room Christmas Day!

This then resulted in repainting the entry way, cutting new vinyl, etc. etc, but I love it!

Yard Inflatables

2011-12-23T18:23:00.000-08:00

I forgot about this incident until recently, but it still makes me laugh just the same.

My mom is one of "those" people....the people who love yard inflatables.

Several years ago, she lived down near the Puyallup Fairgrounds. She had a yard inflatable decoration of some type around this time of year. Unfortunately, someone damaged it while trying to steal it and it was ruined.

She quickly installed a new inflatable and had the light switch hooked up so you could flip the switch to keep it inflated.

One night my sister could not sleep and was up on the computer. She thought she heard something and when she peeked out the window, someone was again trying to steal it. Rather than call the police or head out the door to yell at them, she simply flipped on the light switch.

Wish I could have been there to see that!

New Sew Christmas Tree Skirt

2011-12-11T18:04:00.001-08:00

Before

After

I've seen a few of these online, but none were exactly what I was looking for.

Our Christmas tree skirt was sentimental, but the burgundy/navy blue/hunter green combo from 1997 just isn't as in style today.

This is definitely in line with my taste today. A few yards of fabric and burlap and a few glue sticks later, ok about 40 glue sticks later, this is the end result. And....I glued it on the underside of the tree skirt so we can always flip back if we feel like it.

Gift Bags

2011-12-09T13:38:00.000-08:00

I needed a fun new creative twist on your average gift bag.

I ordered these burlap bags through Amazon (Seller - Farber Bag and Company) and applied a letter I cut in vinyl on my Cricut to the bag.

I then taped off a square around the vinyl with painters tape and used black craft paint to completely cover the taped off square and vinyl.

After the paint dried, I peeled back the vinyl and this was the end product, which I loved!

I also had to clean the dining room table because the paint seeped right through the bags.

Woops!

Kitchenaid Vinyl

2011-11-24T19:36:00.000-08:00

The last thing I wanted to do was spend any extra time in the kitchen today, but this looked like so much fun, I couldn't wait until tomorrow!

I cut some different designs on my Cricut and wala! It's fun and festive for the Christmas holiday.

How to make Homemade Vanilla

2011-10-14T21:34:00.000-07:00

I decided to make homemade Vanilla for Christmas presents this year. I’ve always wanted to do it. There were some things that I learned however that could be helpful to others who are making the same. I probably could have saved time and money, but the result will still be just as delicious.

SUPPLIES
* Vodka: I used four total 5ths of French Pinnacle based on what the lady at the liquor store suggested, especially since I haven’t stepped foot in a liquor store for over 16 years. These were $11.95 each, including tax.

* Beans: I purchased three 10 packs of Tahitian and Madagascar beans off of Ebay for $30. They have a direct website you can also use http://www.vanillaproductsusa.com. They threw in an extra ¼ pound of beans with purchase (this equals about 30 beans). Total # of beans was 60 for about $30.

* Jars: it is suggested to use a dark or amber color bottle, but I went for design rather than recommendation. I purchased them from www.save-on-crafts.com. My total cost for all the jars was about $42.00. I purchased two styles of jars, the Fiji glass bottle for $2.19 each or 12 for $1.60 each (without shipping) – this holds 6 ounces. Oval Jars: 6 for $4.74 – this holds 4 ounces

* Labels: I found a very fun website www.myownlabels.com. It was a little spendy, but I was thrilled with the results! You can see proofs of your label on your screen prior to ordering. You can change label shapes, color, text, etc. $12 for 24 labels.

RECIPE
• 15 Beans per 5th of Vodka

INSTRUCTIONS
1. Slice the Beans in half. Then slice lengthwise. I did this with my kitchen shears.

2. Add the Vanilla Beans to the bottle of Vodka. Place in a dark location. Several months is ideal, but from what I’ve read 1 month will also work. You have just enough time to still do this in preparation for Christmas!You may need to add some of the Vodka to another empty bottle as the volume will increase once the beans are added.

3. Shake the bottles every week.

4. When the vanilla is ready to put in individual jars, pour vodka into another clean container, while straining the liquid through a paper disposable coffee filter. This will leave a clean vanilla in the new container and the beans and granules behind in the coffee filter.

5. Pour into individual bottles. Add a label and ribbon for decoration.

TIPS & TRICKS/LESSONS LEARNED
• Place the beans in the bottle of Vodka, rather than the individual jars. I put them in the jars and will now need to go back and fish out all the beans. I’m not looking forward to it.
• A fifth of alcohol is 25 fluid ounces.

COSTS & CALCULATIONS
• $48 for Alcohol
• $30 for Beans
• $42 for Jars (12 – Six ounce Fijian Jars & 6 – Four ounce oval jars)
• $12 for Labels
• Ribbon: Free since I have a ton
• TOTAL: $132 for 18 Christmas Presents:

$8.25 each for the 6 ounce bottles and $5.50 each for the 4 ounce bottles.

I figure this is a great deal considering real vanilla is $4 for 2 ounces!

March 1979 - September 2011

2011-09-30T22:02:00.000-07:00

Tonight I looked down at my sweet little one's face and low and behold, there was something missing....his first tooth!

We didn't see it fall out and fortunately didn't go through the trauma that often accompanied our oldest son when teeth fell out.

The tooth fairy will be making her first trip to the pillow where his sweet little face lies at night. He informed me as well that she should bring dollars and definitely not quarters.

It made me think of when I was elated to get quarters and a little "china doll". That's what I called it, but really they were just these tiny little dolls that were inside a little glass tube. You could buy them at the chinese restaurants in Seattle and they were my favorite!

I found this in my babybook tonight next to my first tooth that is taped on the page: "In March of 1979, you lost your first tooth. It was pretty wiggly & Mommy was afraid to pull it, so Grandma Peg did. The tooth fairy was very good to you. She left you $1 and a china doll. And then she left 50 cents at Grandma Peg's. You sure were a proud little girl, though you keep insisting you're so big! I love you!"

I snapped this picture really fast with my Blackberry, thus the poor quality, but I felt like I was staring back at myself! Since we lost the tooth, he is going to draw a picture of it and leave that for the tooth fairy....and she better not leave any quarters!

Trunk or Treat Halloween Printable Bingo

2011-09-21T15:33:00.001-07:00

Part of my responsibility for this year's Trunk or Treat at church includes hosting a Halloween Bingo Room.

There are many websites out there that have variations of Bingo, but not exactly what I need and at my price, aka Free. I also needed more than 4 unique Bingo cards so the same people aren't yelling out Bingo every 2 minutes and the prizes will go a little farther this way.

The dilemma now is to figure out what markers to use. Candy markers like M&Ms tend to disappear and cause a mess. Pencils from the Dollar store would work, but would require extra copies.

For my purposes, I'm created this version in Black and White. You could do it in color however and it'd be super cute.

It might also be nice to print these on Orange cardstock and laminate them in clear contact paper so they can be reused each year. That would then take us back to the bingo marker dilemma.

I'm guessing there are other people who are looking for the same. Feel free to use to your hearts content! Attached are 24 Unique Bingo Templates and 1 set of Bingo caller cards. I used pictures so those children who cannot yet read can be included.

Melissas Produce

2011-09-05T18:16:00.001-07:00

The other day, I was reading Pioneer Woman's blog. She was featuring a recipe using Melissa's products and asked who is Melissa?

I got to know Melissa very well this past week. Last Thursday, 2 GINORMOUS boxes showed up via FedEx on my front porch. They were so large, I couldn't even lift them by myself. Because they said perishable, I had to unpack them and make umpteen trips into the house.

Melissa came for a visit to my home. My Dad works for Melissa's and had me deliver samples of their product to one of our new local grocery stores, Chuck's Produce.
In return, I received 1 of everything that they were giving to the store.

This included green grapes, black grapes, champagne grapes, heirloom tomatoes, potatoes, bell peppers, jarred peppers, coconuts, young peeled coconuts, boiler onions, pear onions, lentils, beets, mangos, fava beans, cherry peppers, ghost peppers (Bhut Jolokia)....I didn't keep that sample, yikes! It's claimed to be the hottest pepper on Earth.

I canned up some salsa with the freshest ingredients courtesy of Melissa's and the tomato plants in my garden.

I took a class on the proper techniques to can salsa safely through the WSU extension and I must admit feel a little guilty that I took the easy way out. Anyone can "CAN" salsa with Ball's new method. It is so simple, I almost feel guilty using this method! You add some of this mix to 2 pounds of tomatoes and a couple teaspoons of vinegar and wala! This is perfect for the small batches of tomatoes out of my garden. I love that it doesn't require 20 pounds of tomatoes at a time.

You can stick in your fridge for 10 days, if it lasts that long, or process in a water bath like the regular canning method.

One of the other things I learned through the class is you should not place canned items in the fridge with the metal lids and rings. My grandma claims it never killed her family, but I'm going with the experts on this one. You can simply replace the metal lid and ring with the plastic storage caps. They come in regular or wide mouth boxes of around 8 and are very inexpensive.

I also picked 18 pounds of pickling cucumbers with my mom at a friends farm. We made quarts and quarts of bread and butter pickles. They won't be ready until October, but it will be like summer in a jar come this winter! Ball has come through again with the simplest of simple recipes in this jar. Again, you combined your chopped pickles with the spices in the jar, vinegar and sugar. So so simple.

Last but not least (and definitely a separate post), I made jars of homemade vanilla for Christmas presents! I learned some tips and tricks that are worth sharing with others that are interested in doing the same thing! Those will follow in a future post.

Maybe

2011-08-29T21:56:00.000-07:00

JR's First Pair of Shoes (Nike Air Jordans) & his Current Shoes

I joke that I'm not getting older, so how are my children?

It wasn't until we went to buy new shoes for the school year that it hit me like a ton of bricks.

Maybe it was the price tag that was associated with the mens size 10 shoes?

Maybe it is the new fall baseball team he plays for that just feels like young men?

Maybe it's that he told me he doesn't need us to stay at practice?

Maybe it's that he starts junior high in 2 days?

Maybe it's that his voice sounds different?

Maybe that he moves up to Young Men at church this week?

Maybe it's that he turns 12 tomorrow.

Maybe it's that it has just gone by too darn fast?

I feel like my life is changing drastically and like he's leaving home tomorrow. I wonder if I've done a good job. Have I prepared him properly? Is he ready for all these changes that happen to fall in the next 3 days?

I'm sure he is ready.

Am I?

Maybe.

Otherwise Known As Heather Junior

2011-08-17T22:25:00.001-07:00

Between John coaching high school football and JR playing fall baseball, we are losing our minds. Dividing and conquering as I like to call it. I try to avoid taking Jackson to his brothers practices. He has no interest whatsoever and it's not a good combination. It's just not.

I had a church meeting during JR's practice and so Jackson joined his Dad for the 2 1/2 hour event.

While in my meeting, I received the following text messages:

6:57 pm: "Jackson is a disaster"

Apparently it had something to do with not being able to catch the ball followed up with some comments from child to father like, "I hate you!" or "I don't even want to sit by you" to which the father replied, "then don't!, etc." This was followed by said 6 year old child flinging himself on the ground next to the bleachers.

7:14 pm: "Jackson pouting....has fallen asleep"

Now I don't know that I would fall asleep on a dry grass field for 1 1/2 hours, but I will say that he had to be up at the crack of dawn to go see the Ear Nose and Throat Doctor about his tonsils and was very nervous......so cut the kid a break.

And why is he only Heather Junior when he's being naughty?

Shoed

2011-08-07T13:29:00.001-07:00

This is the collection of chewed shoes we came home to after church. All completely ruined.

I bought John's size 15 flip flops while on vacation in Alaska a few years ago. I purchased them at Nordstrom for almost $100 and they even had a bottle opener on the bottom of the sandles. Though I'm not sure I'd want to open a bottle with the bottom of my shoes, it was a cool feature at least. Fortunately, the new replacements I ordered today also have this.

John spent hours driving all over to heck and gone trying to find these Birkenstocks for my birthday a couple of years ago. They are not your standard Birks and were hard to find, let alone in a Womens size 10. Those things come with a premium price tag. As many hours as he spent trying to find them, I spent breaking them in. They ~~are~~ were by far my favorite shoes. He even chewed the straps off. Though the new replacments are cute, I'm none to happy about breaking in a new pair.

JR's Fila shoes are now clogs. The heels were chewed off. Fortunately, a new pair of shoes was on the back to school list. I'm a little disturbed however than when I went to line up the photos from largest to smallest that his feet are now bigger than mine.

Jackson's Nike Flip Flip Flops - hardly even distinguishable. Brand new from Kohls in the $35 range.

I guess it was nice that he included all of us though. He was able to ruin one pair of shoes and/or sandles for each of us. How thoughtful!

$42.95 for New Reef Sandals
$54.85 for new Birkenstocks
New Shoes for JR - already in the budget

No New Sandals for Jackson - he'll have to make do the rest of the summer.

The vomit that will come out of the dog tonight from eating all this crap.....priceless.

The Stuff You're Made Of

2011-07-31T20:00:00.001-07:00

I have always felt a strong tie with my ancestors. I love, love, love the show Who Do you think you are? I was reading a friends blog last week and about her inspiration to do a generations project. I could not get my grandpa off my brain after reading her post.

My grandpa died when I was 13. I love my grandpa. I knew at that age that I got my artistic abilities from him. He passed them down to my Dad and I was blessed to inherit that as well. Now, my son has the same ability.

When I think of my grandpa, I think of an old blue toyota in the driveway in White Center and Mariners games playing on the car radio. I think of him out on the dock fishing at the cabin. I think of him wearing a black apron at Tradewell in West Seattle. I had an experience with him at the age of 13 that is so clear as if it happened yesterday. I don't remember many other details of being 13, but this I do remember. I was wearing turquoise high top converse. They had yellow on the inside and you could fold them down slightly to see both colors. It's weird the details you remember.

A family member showed up at our house and the next thing I know is we were on the way to the hospital. My grandpa had battled through Cancer. We thought he was on the mend, but unfortunately that would be the last night I would see him, on this Earth at least. It was late at night, but nobody was able to reach us. Everyone had already been to the hospital to visit and had left. We were the last to arrive.

My mom and I went up to the floor he was on. I went to the left and my mom spent time in the hallway hugging my grandma and talking with her outside the room. I was able to spend some time with just my grandpa and I. There was a triangle pulley of some type hanging near his face and he could grab it. He couldn't speak and his eyes were the bluest blue I have ever seen. I don't remember what I said to him. I just remembered the way I felt standing there with him holding his hand. I felt of his love for me. 13 years prior he had been there at Highline Hospital in Burien to welcome me into the world and there I was standing at the same hospital in which I was born, to see him go.

I have a picture of my grandpa on my nighstand. The blinds were slightly cracked awhile back and the street light was shining in. I looked over at my alarm clock and the picture of my grandfather was illuminated. It made me laugh and think of my grandpa and the good memories I have. I feel him near me and still feel of his love.

Through an amazing website called findagrave.com, I've been able to learn many things about my ancestors. I feel tied to them, even those I don't know or don't remember. Findagrave allows you to create virtual cemeteries. You can see headstones and cemeteries of those friends and families you have lost. You can request photos if they don't exist and can volunteer to take photos. Family links can be created on this website and you can even look up graves of famous people who have passed away and leave virtual flowers. With limited free time, I spend a lot of my Sunday free time on this website.

I requested a photo be taken of my great great grandparents, the grandparents of my grandfather written about above. What I found was amazing.

As I looked at this picture, I noticed my great grandparents died in the same year. Turns out the same day. Have you ever seen the movie The Notebook? My great grandparents share the same story and I was fortunate enough to find a copy of their eulogy given Feb.13, 1937 by Rev. Peter Jacobs, First Congregation Church, Shenandoah Iowa.

Service in the church at 1:30 pm. Burial in Farragut Cemetery.

Heb. 11:1-10 “And into the land of Canaan they came” Gen. 12-5
Intro: The Bible is a book of pioneers.
There is the pioneer of all pioneers – Adam, the founder of our race.
There is the pioneer of the civilization following the flood – Noah.
There is the pioneer of that remarkable westward movement – Abraham.
There is the pioneer who set a slave race free – Moses.
There is the pioneer of the Christian movement – herald of a new day – John the Baptist.
There is the pioneer of that great missionary enterprise with the world as his field - Paul.
Into the land of Canaan they came.
This is the story of two pioneers – a husband and his wife.
This is a story of two long time citizens of that land.
This is a story of a father and a mother –Abraham and Sarah.
It is a thrilling pioneer story deserving to be told to every generation of the race.
It is a story of a movement westward- a movement that became significant to the race- to the world.
Into the land of Iowa they came.
It is the story of two pioneer families, the McIntyres and the Stoddards.
It is the story of life in the early pioneering days in Fremont County.
It is the story of pioneer activities, pioneer home building, pioneer recollections.
It is a story of unbroken prairies, open cattle ranges, raging blizzards, racing deer, howling wolves.
It is a story of building a fine agricultural citizenship.
Into the land of Fremont County they came – The McIntyres.
The father, Oliver E. McIntyre, the mother Damarus Johnson –McIntyre (That year who came by train- the new railroad from Red Oak to Hamburg had just been completed). The five children in three covered wagons bringing their equipment overland from Stoughton, Dane County Wisconsin, across the vast prairies of Iowa from the northeast to the southwest.
In that group of five were George McIntyre and his wife, Ollie McIntyre, Arthur McIntyre. In that group was the sister, Mrs. Peter Benson, her husband, and Augusta, whom they had taken to rear and who is now Mrs. Ambrose DeLand.
A sister, Hannah, Mrs. Norton Inman, had come earlier into the land.
Six children out of a large family of thirteen established their home in the community since known as the McIntyre neighborhood.
Isaac Willis McIntyre was a lad of ten when they came-he is the last of the original Oliver E. McIntyre family.
The unused Singleton school house, built of native cotton wood lumber was their first home.
Into the land of Fremont County they came – the Stoddards.
The father, Nathaniel Stoddard, a native of Glasgow, Scotland and the mother,
Amy Ross Stoddard, whose mother was an own cousin of Betsy Ross, of American Flag Fame, from Sonora, Missouri, in the 1860’s or early 1861 they came. (Tabor, Hamburg)
Into a land of wagon trails, into a land of but few villages or trading posts- Sidney, in their home in the Waubonsie Hills Nov. 28, 1862, a baby girl was born whom they named Sarah Agnes.
What a contrast the Fremont County of 74 years ago, a land of log cabins, of log school houses, of no railroads.
Of this family of eight children but three are left. Two brothers, Albert Stoddard of Shenandoah, George Stoddard of Los Angeles California and one sister Lavina, Mrs. J.D. Brig.
Into the land of the McIntyre neighborhood they came. Will and Agnes.
He a young man who passed his 21st birthday the 4th of January of that year, she a young miss who had reached her 18th birthday on the 18th day of November, 1880. August 25, 1881, more than 55 years ago they pledged their troth to each other and decided to share in the building of the McIntyre community.
It then was the land where Sunday school and religious services were held in the country. It was the land of singing schools, debating societies, literary societies, dramatic clubs.
It was a land shared by three sons and a daughter
Essie Cordelia McIntyre (MY GREAT GRANDMA), now Mrs. J. W. McMahon, Jesse Arthur McIntyre, Carl Isaac McIntyre. It was a land shared by 13 grandchildren and 5 great grandchildren.
It was a land in which these loved ones shared with each other in giving these aged parents the most tender and devoted ministry during their final illness.
Into the land of the Soul they came- “Spirit land- Land beyond the setting sun.
Will, after the end of a 77 year journey, Agnes after the end of a 74 year journey. Both of them after a companionship of 55 years.
It was evening time, the twilight hour, just before the dark that he set forth on this journey. It was morning, just before dawn, a few hours afterward, that she joined him in this endless trail.
How beautiful and how blessed that they could enter the land beyond the set of sun together.

What I found is.... this is the stuff I am made of.

Monkey Baby Shower

2011-07-20T19:34:00.000-07:00

This past weekend, I hosted a baby shower for my cousin.

We went with the green and pink mod monkey theme, which is very easy to run with as far as themes go.

We served jungle juice (lime sherbert with limes and ginger ale) in brown and pink coconut cups.

We also had a banana split bar with every topping imagineable, and cupcakes with personalized cupcake picks I made for Meladee, featuring cursive Ms and monkey faces in pink.

We played Monkey Trivia and Baby Shower Bingo.

Favors included monkey containers with banana runts and jungle animal beanie babies.

I found the most adorable outfit on Etsy, personalized with her name, a headband and of all things....a tutu. More than that though, was the cutest little Griffey jersey in pink. (We definitely don't have anything with Griffey of the pink persuasion in our house!)

Sweetest of all was the wall sign that the little mamma wanted for the nursery. I had the exact color vinyl we needed and thought it came out pretty well. Me standing on a ladder applying it to the wall was another story!

And last but not least, I turned an ordinary green bucket from Home Depot into a polka dot laundry hamper, or toy basket......or cat house :)

It's the Pits

2011-07-09T20:54:00.001-07:00

My Dad showed up at our house unexpectedly this week.

Even more unexpectedly was what he showed up with...an early birthday present for JR.

This present lent itself to an overhaul of the back porch today. Thank gooodness it's really just a small slab. We spent hours ripping out grass, leveling stones, pouring and spreading sand, etc. I wanted to add a little decorative touch as well as square footage so as not to burn down the house!

Making smores will be checked off the Summer of Fun list tonight!

Thanks Dad, you always manage to find the coolest stuff (see item of the week)!

"He Saved Baseball in Seattle"

2011-06-14T06:26:00.000-07:00

My Dad took me to my first Mariners game in 1986. I was 13 and the M’s stunk. When we walked out through the concourse and I saw my first glimpse of the Kingdome field, I was hooked. People say the Kingdome was ugly, but at the time, I had never seen anything so beautiful.

The Mariners weren’t on TV much and other than an occasional box score in the newspaper or the friendly voice of Dave Niehaus on the radio, there wasn’t much reason to pay attention in Seattle. That all changed in 1989.

The Mariners had the next great player, a prodigy, the son of a Major League All-Star. They had “The Kid”….and he was supposed to be great. Boy…was he ever.

For Mariner fans, it was love at first sight. The backwards hat, the innocent smile, the most beautiful baseball swing I have ever seen. He hit home runs like it was easy. He played centerfield like he had been born to do nothing else and when Edgar doubled down the line in ’95, he raced around third and saved baseball in Seattle.

He became the most popular player in the sport, loved by thousands of fans all over the world. But as a kid growing up in the Northwest, he was more than that…he was ours. He was mine.

That’s a great thing about sports, you can sit in the stands and cheer for someone along with thousands of other people and they can still feel like they are yours. He was my favorite player. He was my baseball hero.

And last weekend I got to spend a day with him.

My brother was playing in a charity golf tournament and when he saw that Ken Griffey Jr. was going to be there, he called in a few favors and arranged to play with him. Then he arranged for me to tag along. (Surely a debt that I can never repay)

I’m almost 38 years old. I’m a father of 2 boys and well past the stage where anyone should have a sports hero. However when I walked out onto the golf course and saw him, shook his hand and introduced myself, I didn’t feel 38. “Hello, I’m Ken” he said. I felt like I was 12 years old.

For the rest of the day I tagged along while he played golf. He could not have been any nicer. We hung out and joked around, talked about golf, baseball, his kids, my kids.

I bet I have watched him hit a baseball 1,000 times and now I was watching him swing a golf club from 5 feet away. I couldn’t help myself…”Swung on and belted!”

After golf we went and had lunch together. Talk about surreal…I have a poster of this guy up in my room at home and now we’re having french fries together (for crying out loud, I even passed him the ketchup!) After lunch we ended up just sitting and talking for about 2 hours. He was gracious and engaging. Outgoing and humble. He posed for a photo and signed an autograph for me. In total we spent about 6 hours just hanging out. I’m sure for him it was just another afternoon but for me it was 6 hours that I will never forget.

I told him “Thank you for playing the right way. Thank you for never giving me a reason to regret telling my son’s you are my favorite player. Thank you for coming back to Seattle so that I could sit in the stands with them and watch you hit one out.”

“I hope you know how cool I think this is?” I said.

“What did you think I would be like?” he asked. “I’m just a normal guy who happened to have a really cool job.”

Maybe so. But for me and so many other Northwest baseball fans, he was a lot more.
We watched him play, collected his baseball cards, wore his jersey and hoped he was as great a person as we built him up to be.

He was. And I got to pass him the ketchup.

My Husband spent the day Golfing...with this person.

2011-06-12T17:12:00.001-07:00

U2

2011-06-06T15:36:00.001-07:00

As a surprise for my birthday, my most amazingly sweet husband took me to see U2 and Lenny Kravitz in concert at Qwest Field in Seattle Saturday, my Dad's birthday.

It was absolutely amazing. Hands down the best concert I have ever been too. It was a bucket list concert. My mom saw the Beatles in concert when she was 15 and for me, I compare this experience to that. The weather was stunning in Seattle and Lenny came on as the sun was setting. I could see my old home, West Seattle across the sound and I couldn't have asked for a more amazing evening.

I feel like the performance was so great that actually we ripped them off. If I had to, I couldn't even pick a favorite song or part of the concert. It was all amazing, but this was pretty cool I must admit.

A Vinyl Kind of Day

2011-05-30T13:33:00.000-07:00

Some time during this baseball season, JR decided to name his bat......Susan.
Not only did he name his bat Susan, but we put the name Susan in vinyl on the barrel.

We have only lost 1 game this season, so maybe it has brought some good luck. Today, JR and I spent some time applying names to his teammates bats.

You'll notice that all are girl names. Historically, boats have been given womens names and so I'm torn as to whether this is good or bad. Should I be concerned that they are smacking the heck out of something that has a girls name on it or is it a form of flattery?

You decide.

Leave a comment letting me know your opinion. For the fun of it, every comment left will be entered to win this 12x24 vinyl Salt Lake Temple that says I'm Going There Some Day. Contest ends Saturday June 4th. Can be applied to a wall or any smooth surface.

My Most Favorite First Baseman

2011-05-13T21:40:00.000-07:00

Last week JR took a bad bounce off of 1st base to the face. Not pretty, but burned in the stitching from the baseball into his face. Tough guy wound.

Last week during warming ups, we went for round two. I was behind the fence setting up our chairs, trying to entertain Jackson until some of the family got there. I was looking straight ahead and unfortunately this is what got burned into my memory. I thought it was from the other team, but apparently it was from a teammate (by accident) - he was hit in the back of the head and collapsed to his feet....immediately.

All I could see were the back of his cleats and the perfect shape of each and every rivet of those stinking shoes. Cleats up in the air, body down and pure sobbing. To me, it was like screaming in my ears. You know when your kids get owies, you brush it off and go about our way, but when you hear that one cry - you know the cry I'm talking about. The kind that counts. My adrenalin was rushing through my body like I only experienced one other time. I was sick to my stomach.

He is completely fine. Every day this week I have thought of how grateful I am that he was truly watched over. All the what-ifs have played through my mind all week long. I have much to be thankful for.

New Centerpiece

2011-04-27T15:13:00.000-07:00

Sometimes I debate on whether or not to even keep up this blog. I want to have something to say that means something to someone somewhere and I don't know that this blog does that. I figure the most important words I could ever write would be those to the members of my own family.

So....when I found this old typewriter at the antique store, I knew this would be my new centerpiece. We ordered new furniture and I needed a new centerpiece for our huge chunky coffeetable in the living room. I knew what I didn't want - floral, greenery, or something off a store shelf that everyone else has. I wanted something different and unique, but I absolutely could not find it.

I was walking through the antique store and found this cool old typewriter, but I couldn't find a price. After many trips up and down the stairs and phone calls, etc, it was decided the price was $10. They probably should have paid me $10 to carry that thing up the stairs - it is extremely heavy.

I decided that I am going to write letters to my family and file away the old ones in the antique wire basket placed behind it. So......I'm putting my efforts where I know they do make a difference and have meaning, but I'll continue to throw in the occasional blog entry here and there as well.

Easter Tips and Tricks

2011-04-15T19:30:00.000-07:00

Some of my must haves for dying Easter Eggs, plus a couple of new items thrown into the rotation this year:

1. Cheap whisks from the dollar store. The cheaper the better. Separate the wires and slip the boiled egg into whisk. Have kids use this to dip the eggs into the dye. Much cleaner and easier than the cheapy octagon egg holder that comes with every dye box.

A friend told me about the website: Our Best Bites

They have great instructions on how to boil the perfect egg, and

Dying the most adorable eggs, of which we will be doing both this year.

Spring Break

2011-04-07T15:14:00.000-07:00

Every Spring Break, we go to Seattle with the boys. We always stay at the Inn at the Market, aka "our hotel", we always eat lunch the first day at Ivars so we can feed the Seagulls (even though Pike Place Chowder has chowder that is 100x better) and we always go to Ye Old Curiosity Shop the first day.

Each year we try to add one fun new place to go sightseeing (Argosy Cruise, Space Needle, Aquarium, Underground Tour). This year.....we went to the gum wall in the Post Alley (under the market). Definitely worth checking out and spending a quarter to add your own gum to the wall!

The boys played their part in helping to stimulate the economy. Both had fat wads of cash that was spent on candy and crap - not necessarily in that order. However.....the last day they each bought the coolest souvenir I have ever seen them buy. There is a guy at the Pike Place Market called Mr. Dan. He is an arist who works on hats, Converse, etc. in a graffiti style. He gave the boys $5 off each of their hats since they were spending their own money. Remarkably talented and super nice makes for a great combo in a really cool guy. JR hit it off with him from one fellow artist to another.

Another great Spring Break for the books!

Bring them Back

2011-03-26T23:13:00.000-07:00

Fire Station 6 is down the street from my mom's house. When my brother had some health issues last year, my mom had to call 911 and they were the station that responded. Unfortunately, the station closed.

Also unfortunate is the increase in response time which then went from 5 minutes and 12 seconds to 9 minutes. I don't want to think about what that extra 3 minutes and 48 seconds could mean to my brother or my family when our dryer caught on fire in our house several years ago. When you have to call 911 for an emergency, 60 seconds alone feels like a lifetime.

I read in the paper today that there is a possibility of re-opening with the assistance of a $2.3 million Staffing for Adequare Fire and Emergency Response (SAFER) grant. It's around the corner and politics are heavily involved, however as I was reading the paper, I got an idea..... I thought it would be a great gesture to welcome them back with a home cooked dinner. Just a small way for me to show my appreciation for what they did for my brother and for our family.

My mind started wandering and thinking that while it is a good idea, maybe the community would want to participate. Think of the impact that many people could have on their home coming. My goal is to come up with a plan to reach out to individuals and businesses in the area and invite them to participate. We could make their first day back home one to remember, to let them know they were missed.

As a Leader of Young Women in our church, I'm currently working on my Honor Bee. One aspect of this involves giving service. Maybe this was meant to "bee" because I can't think of a better way to give service than to the firemen in my own community. Stay tuned for more.

If you know anyone who wants to help, please send me an email by following the link found at the top right side of this page under View my Complete Profile.

St. Patricks Day

2011-03-17T17:33:00.001-07:00

I love being Irish! My absolute trip of a lifetime would be to travel to Ireland and see where the McMahon's came from.

Until that time, I celebrate in the lame old American way - wearing green and giving green goodies.

This year the boys woke up to some extra goodies, green lunches - complete with sandwiches cut out in a clover and spray painted with green food spray paint. Dinner included green spinach tortellini (which I think they think I colored it), green sauce, green milk and various other green goodies. If it was possible to turn green, we did it.

Then to top off this grand old Irish day, John informed me that U2 is coming to Seattle June 4th to play at Qwest field (with Lenny Kravitz opening), following a WSU Cougars Mariners Day.

It just doesn't get better than that!

Erin go Bragh!

Kohl's Customer Service

2011-03-14T15:06:00.000-07:00

I'm very particular when it comes to watches.

A few years ago, I found a watch I love. It is Relic Queens Court Stainless Steel Two-Tone Crystal & Mother-of-Pearl Watch. It matches Gold, it matches Silver, matches my Wedding Ring and is very comfortable.

My only complaint is the little jewels fall out here and there. Occasionally, it becomes time to buy a new one as the bedazzles fall out and it looks a little scruffy.

Last week I was pleasantly surprised at the Customer Service provided by Kohl's. I took both my watch and John's to get batteries replaced. If you purchase your watches from Kohl's, they will replace batteries for a very reasonable $5.00 per watch.

When I returned to the jewelry counter, John's watch had been fixed. She was unable to get the back on my watch, even with the assistance of a jewelry hammer. She turned the watch over to find that she had knocked the hands off the watch while hammering. She then proceeded to walk down to where the Relic watches were located and replaced my watch with a brand new one.....and refunded my $5.00. I told her that didn't seem fair. I should at least pay the $5, but she said no. For $5, I left with my husband's watch with a new battery and a brand new watch for myself.

In my opinion, that is great customer service and that is another reason I will continue to buy my watches from Kohl's.

Nerf Nerds

2011-03-11T16:25:00.000-08:00

I'm happy that we can supply the whole neighborhood with weaponry of the Nerf variety.

This is the gaggle of boys (JR in red shirt) that has been in and out of my garage and yard lately, but I'd much rather have them all gather at our house than elsewhere.

John refers to them as Nerd-3PO, Nerdbacca, Nerd Solo, etc.

Boys will be boys indeed!

Friday Find

2011-03-04T12:59:00.000-08:00

My sweet mom gave John and I both Ebay gift cards for Valentines.

I used mine to buy this Deni Yogurt maker!

After a bit of a delay due to a train derailment, it finally arrived.

I'm looking forward to making our first batch of homemade yogurt tonight!

Blogging Blues

2011-03-01T17:27:00.000-08:00

I always mean to get to it....but I have had no time to blog or even read other blogs, which is always my preference.

I have been filling my time with a sick 6 year old who threw up on his big brother (feverish cheeks shown below on his 1st day as a 6 year old), followed up by the new puppy throwing up all over the husband, followed up by the 11 year old throwing up (thankfully not all over anything or anyone) accompanied by a wicked sinus infection which requires antibiotics, but cannot be started until his flu is gone!

The Oscars came and went. JR lost by 1 point. Unfortunately, his flu came on 1/2 way through the Oscars itself with a house full of family. He wasn't even able to enjoy giving Grandma Ramie a run for her money because he was feeling so miserable.

In between sick episodes, I did manage to squeeze in some family history this weekend and I must admit, I made some great progress. I am grateful to find family in the North Dakota area who so graciously shared this photo of my great great grandfather with me.

It took my breath away because though I never met him, I recognized him immediately. Having unique last names like Schotthoefer, Jonientz and Scukanec can really make research much easier!

If you love family history, I happened across a great website that has given me some great starting points.

February 17th

2011-02-17T14:26:00.001-08:00

To the little boy, who 6 years ago today came into this world to the tune of Copacabana (surgeons choice - not mine), stole my heart and somehow manages to continue to do so day after day.

I love you Jackson - or sometimes..... Jack Jack, Sonic, Chancho, Vincinie, etc.

Whatever you want me to call you on whatever day, I call you Loved because that is exactly what you are.

Make Your Own Cupcake Stand

2011-02-09T15:11:00.000-08:00

I am planning for a Monkey themed baby shower this summer. I found the cutest cake surrounded by cupcakes on a simple cupcake tower.

I was shocked when I saw how expensive cupcake towers were in the craft store....and equally shocked at how poorly they are made.

After some Google-research, I headed down to the local Goodwill

to get some supplies and make my own.

Miscellaneous Trays/holders/plates from Goodwill

After white spray paint and some E-6000 Glue.

Gray Tray Before

Tray After - with a coat of white paint

Since it's a Monkey theme, I thought these bottles would be fun for toppings.

And a Good day to you Sir.....

2011-02-04T10:40:00.000-08:00

Before we got him - Octoberish 2010

December 2010

January 2011

I really need to get on the ball and take some more pictures!

He is growing so fast, I can hardly keep up.

When we got him less than 2 months ago, he could go under the boys beds, but last night he was pretty sad and whining when he realized it was no longer possible.

He's a good little buddy, sweet, smart and already potty trained.

It just didn't feel the same without a dog in our home. Here he is - Arthur Digby Sellers, other wise known as "Digby" or "Diggers" or "Arthur Digarelli" or..... "Crocto-Puppy".

15 Years Ago Today

2011-01-27T16:17:00.001-08:00

.....was a day that changed my life.

JR asked me why I chose January 27th of all days to be baptized.

Was it a day that worked for my family, etc. or what? No, not really. In fact, it was my sisters birthday, but I was away at school. I think I just chose it. I was pretty much on my own anyways. I was a few months away from graduating from college, and that day worked for me. It was just a day back then, funny how that has changed.

It was absolutely freezing cold. There was so much snow. I had to wear big snow boots with my white dress. My hair was so long there was no way I could have dried it after the baptism, so I put it in a big horse's main ponytail and when we went outside after....it froze.

It was an awesome evening. I'm thankful to those who spoke - my mother in law, Charlotte and a friend, Kenya Baggett. Of all places, I met Kenya in water aerobics. She had just finished up her degree in Russian if I recall correctly and her husband was in Veterinary school. She was the sweetest thing ever and always carried the spirit with her wherever she went. It was no coincidence that she was placed in my life at the time.

Ariuntulga Tserendavaa and Adam Frost - Though they are grown men now, I will always think of those two 19 year olds who were so sweet and kind to me.

You would think that a grown woman could refer to a doctor from Yale as Dr. Frost, but to me they will both always be Elder Ari and Elder Frost. It's so hard for me not to refer to them that way. Who would have guessed that my life would cross paths with two young men from Provo, Utah and Mongolia? They changed my life - so much so that we gave our youngest son the middle name Adam.

And to my husband who helped it all to happen. It's also no coincidence everything that fell in to place in our lives for all of this to come about. I hope how much he knows what that day meant to me then and means to me now.

It has meant everything in my life.

Some things never change

2011-01-16T21:32:00.000-08:00

Growing up, I thought my uncle was one cool cat. He would take me on rides on his motorcycle and he was wild, fun and a jokester!

I was mortified when as a teenager I went to his firehouse and told him one of the younger guys was cute. Of course he went straight and told him.....I was absolutely moritifed!

As a young girl, I thought it was cool to have an uncle as a fireman. I thought firemen were tough. They were hard workers. I felt lucky to have a fireman in the family.

Firemen weren't reverred back then like they are today, post 9-11.

When we did have the opportunity to go to NYC a few years ago, I felt very uncomfortable standing outside Firehouse 10, located directly across the street from Ground Zero. I felt like onlookers standing outside a terrible accident.

There was a note outside the firehouse at Ground Zero asking to please respect their privacy and not ask questions. As they were returning from a call and I saw a last name on a memorial attached to the building that I recognized of a fallen fireman from Ladder 20. It was the last name I share with my uncle - McMahon.

Yesterday I was fortunate enough to spend the day with my uncle and I learned that some things never change.

I learned that.....
Firemen ARE tough.
Firemen ARE hardworkers.
I AM lucky to have one in my family.

5 year olds can be easy to please

2010-12-27T20:25:00.000-08:00

I'm so thankful for the little people in my life. Despite the darkest days, they can just fill a dark day with sunshine and not even know they are doing it.

My aunts called me yesterday to let me know that my aunt passed away in a terrible fire near Seattle. I've been trying to wrap my head around it and my thoughts are consumed with my Uncle and cousins. I happened upon more than I needed to online and can't seem to clear my mind.

Meanwhile, Jackson has been begging to use one of the items he got for Christmas.....he begged for it. In looking at the instructions, it required Half & Half as well as 3/4 cup of salt.....for 1 tiny stinking Blizzard.

I realized that I must be distracted because I left the bag of groceries in the garage that contained the Half & Half. That is not like me, but we got the ingredients and set out to have some blizzard making fun! (John was completely against this purchase. I told him he was lame. Let your kid have some fun. His argument was that you could drive down the street to DQ and get 4 blizzards for the same amount of money and less hassle. Bah Humbug!)

I admit, I'm not the best instruction reader, but I commited to read all 17 steps in the instructions. Too bad they don't tell you on the back of the box that you must hand crank the handle for.....10 MINUTES to yield a whopping 1/2 cup of a Blizzard! They also don't tell you on the outside of the box that it will scare the you know what right out of any young puppy or person for that matter in your home because it is so extremely loud. John warned me if I did not write the full truth, he would find a way to write his own version of the Blizzard madness that happened tonight.

We came to an agreement that not only would I write the truth, but that from now on, one of us would drive to DQ while the other cranks the machine.

We were both laughing so hard while I was cranking that machine that my stomach hurt. He tried calling his mom during the 10 minute experience so she could also revel in the fun of the gift she gave Jackson.

It was a fun distraction from todays sobering news and most importantly, he couldn't have been happier with his 1/2 cup of a crappy wannabe Blizzard.

Sweet Little Boy

2010-12-16T15:25:00.000-08:00

My mom called to tell me today that she doesn't know how to break the news to my brother. There are a couple of pieces of news we need to break to him.

First being that we are getting our little puppy this weekend. You see my brother does not like dogs....not even slightly. It took a good 45 minutes for him to decide he was going to leave the car last year on Christmas Eve and come into our house. He was terrified of Maggie and she was the sweetest girl ever. It took him years to warm up to Keyser, but we had Keyser for 10 years+. I'm hoping since Digby is so little, he will be more tolerant. We've decided the best way to break this first piece of news is to not break it at all. We aren't going to even tell him until he comes inside and figures it out for himself. Hopefully that will go fairly smoothly, it's just every future trip after that we will have to figure out.

The second piece of news is that Jesse told my mom after he comes over for Christmas Eve, he is taking me home with him. He seems to think I will spend the night with him and wake up with him Christmas morning. He doesn't think the boys need me since they have John. He has it all planned out in his mind. If the boys were older, I'd drop everything and do just that and spend the night with him, but my boys are still at the age where Christmas really is a big deal. He told his Dad not to come down from Seattle to spend Christmas with him because "he picks Heather."

Aaah, what to do. In any other situation, you could say I'll postpone it with my brother until the boys are older, but how do I know how many more Christmases I have with him? Not that time is promised any of us, but those are things I consider.

He was the first boy in my life really. Our mom was sick a lot growing up and sometimes as an older sister, I felt like a mom to him, so it's hard for me to set his feelings aside. What to do, what to do???

On a lighter side note of holiday trivia - I moved Bing Crosby to the top of my playlist today. Mr. Crosby is an alumni of my alma matter, Gonzaga Prep. I have heard some stories that he was quite the hell raiser while there!!!

A Couple of Goodies

2010-12-08T18:14:00.001-08:00

I made these for the boys teachers....

...and this for a friend. It wasn't even close to perfect, but I did my best. My favorite part was that I made it out of a book about Abraham Lincoln and painted the edges of the pages red.

Front Runner

2010-12-03T18:57:00.000-08:00

Now that we have decided on THE one, we're deciding between two names - Zod or Digby.

I prefer Digby, and just love his blue eyes.

Cello

2010-11-30T19:44:00.000-08:00

JR's Orchestra teacher is a teacher at the middle school who goes to the elementary school twice a week to instruct the students. He called me the other day to say how much he appreciates JR and his work ethic and attitude.

I was thrilled and so proud of him. I wish I could take some of the credit, but we are just not a musically inclined family. I should say, we love music and listen to all kinds of music, I just don't know how to read music or play an instrument.

In two months time, this is where JR is at with the Cello. He wasn't even looking at the sheet music. I was pleasantly surprised by both the call as well as his progress.

Be sure to pause the music at the bottom before hitting play.

Under Consideration

2010-11-27T20:44:00.000-08:00

Considering the possible addition to our family, but nobody in our family can decide on the same one!!!! They will be ready from the rescue group close to Christmas.

I never thought I'd be even close to ready this soon, but my absolute favorite is the little gray one. Look at those blue eyes.

What's your favorite?

The Belt

2010-11-22T13:44:00.000-08:00

I'm downstairs and I hear sobbing - you know the kind where you drop everything and run? You don't even think twice, you just go. John must have heard it too because he was right behind me up the stairs.

Both boys were crying, but JR is crying the really hurt cry. I'm thinking maybe they bonked heads or who knows what.

JR tells us that Jackson has bit him in the back. Pull up his shirt and sure enough, that little stinker has taken a chunk out of his brothers back.

When asked what they were doing, Jackson tells us they were playing the belt.

Excuse me? What is the belt?

Apparently the belt is a game in which you put your hands around your big brothers waist and he proceeds to drag you all over the house. News to me - and boy that sounds like a lot of fun.

I'm still not sure how "the belt" evolved to someone getting bit.

When also asked why he bit his brother.....he promptly responded: "My teeth were....evillllll!"

I just had to leave the room because I absolutely could not stop laughing.

Listen.....

2010-11-17T10:58:00.000-08:00

.....contains the same letters as silent.

Sometimes as friends, we need to be there just to listen.

Yesterday I stopped to truly listen and be present in that moment.

When I did, I learned a very valuable lesson from a dear friend that I will be forever grateful for.

Bearly Made It

2010-11-11T08:42:00.000-08:00

This black bear was shot by Eldon & Marita Young (John's Grandparents).

On hind quarters, its estimated height is between 7 and 8 feet tall.

This bear was quite the nuisance! Oren Hudson, owner of Hudson Air Services, had a cabin on Butterfly Lake, to which this bear was continually causing damage. Oren tried several methods to keep the bear from returning. One attempt included hammering nails through the door from the inside out so when the bear would paw the door, the sharp ends of the nails would discourage it from entering. Unfortunately, nothing worked.

Oren flew Eldon & Marita across the Knik Arm to his cabin. They set up an early warning system with strings and bells that would trigger when the bear approached. If the string was touched on the property, the bell would ring inside the cabin. Once in place, Eldon & Marita hunkered down in the cabin. The next day, it did in fact begin to ring.

Eldon jumped up, quickly put on his boots, grabbed his rifle and headed out to the porch! Marita was right behind him….or so he thought. When he turned around, she had slammed the cabin door shut behind him……with herself tucked safely inside.

Fortunately, Eldon and Marita were flown back to Anchorage a short time later.

Unfortunately for the bear, he also accompanied them on their return trip home.

From Anchorage, he later moved to Anacortes where he resided for many years. He recently made the trip from Anacortes down to Vancouver where he will rest comfortably next to this framed story.

Weather that fits the day

2010-11-10T09:02:00.000-08:00

Yesterday was gray, rainy and cold - perfect for how I felt.

I got the call from our vet. I drove to the office and sat in the parking lot for quite some time. I couldn't muster the strength needed to go inside and get her.

I kept telling myself, just move your feet, it shouldn't be this difficult.....but I was literally stuck there. I was completely frustrated with myself.

I went in and told the the receptionist I was there to pick up my little girl and she brought her out to me in a plain little wooden box.

Not a box befitting of my princess, aka Magalicious, Maggers, Mag-a-ret, Margaret, Mag-ret-town. We always wanted to rename her when we got her, but Maggie May was who she was and it just stuck. Like me frozen in my car.

Sidenote: there is no way that box is going to stay ugly and plain. It will soon have her name in Pink Vinyl and I think I'll decoupage her picture on top.

Jackson told the dental hygenist in his perky tone, "my dog died". Uuh, sorry Miss Hygenist Lady. It's how a 5 year old deals. It comes out at the most random times.

I lost it yesterday when he called his Auntie about something completely unrelated and had a physical meltdown about missing Maggie. I did not expect it and never saw it coming. I couldn't even hold it together. We sat together hugging and sobbing. 5 minutes later, it was off to assemble some legos or play the PS3.

My mind keeps saying it's just a dog, but my heart keeps saying it was my little girl.

My Little Maggie May

2010-11-04T12:25:00.000-07:00

My sweet girl lost her battle today. I'm grateful for the time we had with her.

I loved her.

Vinyl Car Decals

2010-11-02T16:49:00.000-07:00

I finished all my blocks for the bazaar at the local high school....except last night I thought I should make a couple sets for Christmas presents for the boys teachers.

I was envisioning red, yellow and black like school colors in the fun font that looks like the lined and dashed paper you wrote on in Kindergarten. Just an idea.

I also got another idea - to make vinyl car decals. The best thing about these is that they don't leave your windows gummy like stickers. I was thinking $5 for a customized car decal. Is that reasonable for a high school bazaar?

I especially like the one - I drive like a Cullen. Is it weird to sell these when I myself don't have any on my car?

Trick or Treating & Wheeling and Dealing

2010-11-01T14:36:00.000-07:00

My Little Zombie & Ezio from the PS3 Game Assasins Creed

Why is the best part of Halloween getting home, dumping out all your candy

and trading it with your brother?

There were some major trades going down at our house last night!

Hypothermia

2010-10-25T14:25:00.000-07:00

"Hypothermia can kill at an amazing pace when cold temperatures and strong winds cause the body to lose heat quickly. When the body's temperature drops to or below 95 deg F, dizziness and disorientation kick in, then the shivering stops.

The body now only maintains heat around the vital organs - brain, heart and lungs, and shuts down blood circulation to the arms and legs. Heart rate becomes slow, intermittent and weak, and the blood vessels widen.

This makes a person feel hot and want to remove all their clothes before they finally slip into unconsciousness. Ultimately, the heart stops. Stories are told of climbers being found naked and dead up on a mountain, with their clothes folded neatly a short distance away. This is because the person becomes confused and hot. Their brain tries to bring order to the scary and unfamiliar situation, although this can be potentially lethal."

At 78.8 degrees, you become unresponsiveness to pain.

Those cold temperatures and strong winds have blown fiercely in my personal life the past two years. I think the winds have always blown, but maybe I was more equipped to weather the storm. I had on protective gear that helped shield the effects.

With everything that has happened to our family the past two years, most of that protective gear has been stripped away. I now find myself in my own state of hypothermia in regards to a couple of significant relationships in my life.

I found myself at 78.8 and becoming unresponsive to the pain I was feeling.

Just like the body shuts down circulation to the arm and legs to protect the core, I likewise have done the same. I have shut off those relationships in my life because I feel at this time they are dangerous to me.

Ways to treat hypothermia include:
1. Staying warm
2. Removing patient from the environment
3. Not being fooled by your thermometer.

I am following these simple instructions to avoid being that climber.

I am eternally grateful for a husband and in-laws who don't fool me, have removed me from that environment and help keep me warm.

Law of Averages

2010-10-20T17:21:00.000-07:00

When Jackson was born, he added a dash of spice to our lives.

There always seems to be a story where he is involved.

In 5 years, JR has received 1 yellow slip from the school nurse for a bee sting. It's legit.

In 5 weeks, Jackson has received 5 yellow slips from the nurse, averaging 1 per week. No joke. I suppose they were all legit: fever, ear ache, fever - which turned out to be a bad sinus infection, cut finger and wind knocked out of him on the playground. I wish I hadn't recycled the first couple because I'm thinking we should make a scrapbook out of them.

John suggested that maybe Jackson has a crush on the nurse.

So the other day, I ran around the corner to drop off some things to one of my young women. I was gone maybe 20 minutes max.

When I returned home, this is what I found in the garbage can - 11 Rice Krispie wrappers.

Yes, eleven.

JR again had 1.

Jackson......had 10.

Maybe I'll add these to the scrapbook with the notes from the nurse.

Antique Windows

2010-10-08T12:38:00.001-07:00

I love old antique windows.

I have converted one into a message center in my kitchen, one into a giant magnet board that I refer to as The Gallery, one really cool old green one in my bathroom, but my most favorite creation was this that I made last night for a friends wedding this weekend.

Know Who You Are....

2010-09-24T16:27:00.000-07:00

....are 4 very powerful words. I feel so strongly about them, I have them on a sign in our hallway so everyone can see them as they leave the house and start the day.

Yesterday I was feeling rummy and crummy. I was under my quilt. You know the kind of day where you keep telling yourself you'll get up in 5 minutes, but you just can't make your body do it? I was feeling yucky.

When the boys came home from school, JR was upset. As he explained to me why, I came flying off the couch. It was probably not a sight to see - me in my jammies, feeling crummy, bed head and all. I was ready to drive my psycho-mom self to the school and let someone have a piece of my mind.

JR has been recovering from a football injury to the chest that affects his breathing. It's frustrating and will not be fully healed until football is over. The kid works so hard - playing football, basketball, baseball and swimming. I'm so proud of his accomplishments - on and off the field.

A teacher told them if they ran a certain # of laps around the gym, they were an athlete. If they ran under a certain amount, they were lazy and need to get off the video games or they would end up leading that kind of life for the rest of their lives.

EXCUSE ME?

I asked JR how many kids got above 40 and he said none. So some kid who wants to be Michael Jordan when he grows up, but couldn't run 40 laps may have just had his hopes dashed.

What if he believes those words spoken to him? What if he doesn't have a mom and dad at home to tell him who he is? In the day, my husband bench pressed 500 pounds, but coudn't do 1 pull up, so does that mean he isn't an athlete? I beg to differ.

Kids have it hard enough as it is. I don't need someone that I entrust my most precious little beings to tell my children what they are not.

When I was growing up, I wanted to be an Olympic Gymnast, an Architect, an Athletic Trainer, a wife, a mother, all kinds of things.

I'm thankful that nobody told me I couldn't.

It made me think of a quote from one of my favorite movies:

Dear Mr. Vernon,

We accept the fact that we had to sacrifice a whole Saturday in detention for whatever it was we did wrong, but we think you're crazy to make us write an essay telling you who we think we are.

You see us as you want to see us.

In the simplest terms and the most convenient definitions.

But what we found out is that each one of us is...

a brain,

and an athlete,
and a basket case,
a princess,
and a criminal.

Does that answer your question?

Sincerely yours, the Breakfast Club.

Great news x2

2010-09-22T14:02:00.000-07:00

One week ago Thursday, we woke up and knew something was wrong with our pup, Maggie May. Since she came with that name, I have dubbed her Magalicious.

Literally, over night something happened to our little girl. It was bizarre and scary. She was in critical condition throughout the weekend. How do you have a dog go from what seems perfectly healthy to discussing "our options" the next day?

We took her to the vet Thursday, Friday and Saturday to find out that she had severe cases of anemia and hypothyroid. Each day they tested her blood which showed no sign of improvement. Monday we were prepared for the worst, but our vet informed us she turned the corner. Though it will be a long and slow recovery, we are so glad she is going to be able to stick around awhile (even though we did find out they estimate she is 8 and not 3 like we were told). Great news, we couldn't be happier!

Then on Monday, I also got a letter from Gooseberry Patch cookbooks that they are going to publish my Great Grandmother's Green Bean Recipe that I submitted in their Sunday Dinner at Grandma's cookbook due for release this Fall. How cool is that?

Great Grandpa Max (Left) & Great Grandma's Wedding Picture

November 25, 1920

My Great Grandma lived to be 99 years old. She lived in a house in Beacon Hill (a neighborhood in South East Seattle) and walked to the Catholic church every day, despite being knocked down and having her wedding rings stolen off her hands. I still remember perfectly in my 5 year old mind the placement of her and my great grandfather's furniture in that house. She made these green beans every holiday (along with German cucumbers and sugar cookies) and though every boy in this house hates green beans, you better believe it's on our table for every holiday.

It's about time our luck started turning around!

Great Grandma Jonientz's Green Bean Recipe

•1 bag Frozen French Cut Style Green Beans (20 Ounce Bag)
•6 slices Bacon
•⅓ cups Chopped Onion
•3 Tablespoons Vinegar
•2 Tablespoons Flour

Chop bacon and fry. When it’s crispy, pull the bacon out to drain on a paper towel. Reserve the drippings in your pan.

Cook onion in bacon drippings until brown. Put vinegar in with onions and bacon drippings. Add flour. Stir. Add frozen green beans and bacon. Completely cover pan with a lid. Simmer for 1 hour. Add water or vinegar as needed. Salt to taste.

A Good Grief

2010-09-14T20:25:00.000-07:00

I accidentally happened upon Molly Jackson's blog some time back when I saw the name Jackson, and I'm glad I did.

When I was in college, my best friend lost her two year old son. Away at college and in my early 20s, I couldn't wrap my arms around having a child - let alone losing one. Fast forward to 2009 when I started reading Molly's blog, and it all slapped me in the face. It helped me to understand what Amber had gone through, especially now as a parent myself. My heart ached for the loss of her first son, even though it was 13 years ago. Reading Molly's blog led me to A Good Grief.

What is A Good Grief?

After the loss of her two year old daughter, Lucy, in 2008, Molly maintained her family blog, chronicling her grief. Resonating with people from all walks of life, her experience unveiled varied human suffering and like stories around the globe. In order to reach out and connect people and facilitate healing, Molly started A Good Grief for all those who have suffered loss.

One of their goals is to raise money for the burdensome cost of headstones for parents who have lost children.

For the month of September, A Good Grief is auctioning items donated by readers. I have been making sets of blocks for the high school bazaar in November, so I have donated a set of blocks as well as a 12x24 vinyl temple that can be applied to your wall.

I'll let you know when my items are up for auction. Check out all of the auctions this month for such a great cause.

13 Years on the 13th

2010-09-12T21:28:00.000-07:00

13 Years ago on September 13th.

Where did the time go?

2010-09-03T12:44:00.000-07:00

JR waiting for bus. 1st day of school - 2005

Jackson waiting for bus - 1st day of school 2010
(Recreated to look like pic taken in 2005)

My 5th Grader & Kindergartner at the bus stop

Not even stopping to look back

During the long, long days of colic, I often said to myself, "just get to 6 weeks, get to 3 months, get to 6 months," but the days continued to drag on. I just needed the crying to stop and to get some sleep. It felt like a lifetime.

What I'd give today to go back there, colic and all.

My baby started school today. JR started Wednesday, but Jackson's Kindergarten class didn't start until today. I'd like to think it was to give me an extra two days with him and savor every second. Luckily it's been a busy day between work and other things that needed done, but the hours have dragged since they left for school.

It's the only time they will ever be in school together and I am so thankful they are. It makes it a litle easier to let him go.

There are days when your life literally changes - and for me, today is one of those days.

Eleven

2010-08-31T21:34:00.000-07:00

It is so hard to believe that JR is now 11.

I'd like to think he had a great day that spilled over into today. Monday was a day spent with family and today with friends.

I got the genius idea to make the banner shown above Sunday night at 10. I get myself into these messes.

The festivities included:

Golf with Dad and two of his grandpas.
A new tradition I started where the birthday boy gets their own cupcake perched in a little glass container that we will use only for birthdays.
My friend at work is an "icecream man" by night. We thought it would be fine to hire him. He met us at the shortcut that leads away from the high school near to the field where the team practices. He blasted the music and John (Coach) let them know what was going on. I've never seen the team run so fast. Everyone got an icecream during practice!
Family came over for presents and Oreo cream pie. Let's just say it was a Nerf and PS3 theme. Every Nerf assault weapon available on the market is now in my home.
We went to JJ Jump - as John calls it, a warehouse or huge liability pit that is filled with inflatables and sweaty kids. Great combination. Since we were on a Nerf theme this year, everyone got a mini nerf gun rather than a goodie bag.

Follow all that up with an Open House at school and everything else that gets squeezed in the night before school starts. All in all, it was a busy but great day!

A Labor of Love

2010-08-29T08:23:00.001-07:00

I was fortunate enough to have served as a Young Women President in our ward a couple of years ago.

The relationships I formed with the young women and the leaders will last a life time.

When I was released, our Bishop gave me very wise counsel. He said that at a later time, there would be appreciation expressed on behalf of my efforts.

About a year ago, I received a greeting card from one of "my girls" that I will keep forever. She was at college and the words she wrote stirred my soul. It was exactly what he so lovingly referred to.

Then last night, the most wonderful gift I may ever have received arrived at my door in the arms of a friend. When I was released as President, she purchased all this fabric herself and had one of the young women sew the top. This is no small quilt and was by no means an easy task or inexpensive for that matter! She then went and so generously had it quilted in the most amazing of detail that a picture could not do justice. Of course all the colors are totally me. You could not pick more perfect colors for me. Come on people, it matches my blog for crying outloud!

I have had two blankets in my life. One was my Winne the Pooh "blankie". It ended up with holes so big my grandma cut it in half. When I had a meltdown over that, my mom had to sew it back together with the holes in the middle. I liked to rub it between my fingers for comfort, esentially shredding my blankie. I have it tucked away into my night stand. This quilt now lives no more than two feet away from my blankie.

I was in the middle of painting those darn blocks when it arrived. I quickly lost my momentum and had to immediately go lay in my big bed by myself under my quilt.

How do you thank someone for something like that? Words - by mouth or in writing - seem inadequate. To me, every square and stitch equals an hour spent, a lesson taught, a tear cried, a concern felt, a prayer offered and a memory made during those couple of years as President.

Grateful is an understatement.

A Little Update

2010-08-25T16:19:00.000-07:00

To be donated in an upcoming auction for Molly Jackson's A Good Grief Organization.

She uses proceeds from her organization to help families who have lost love ones pay for headstones.

She is truly amazing.

The picture color looks terrible, but the Beavers block really is orange.

This is the most UW stuff we will ever have in this house :)

Pretty Self-Explanatory

JR's Favorite School - and wants to attend there someday!

Also to be donated to A Good Grief auction.

For a co-worker

FINALLY got the night stand done - companion to the dresser.

And last but not least, a gift bag for my nephew's birthday party

this weekend, in honor of the Detroit Redwings.

In addition to finishing wrapping up our summer of fun ideas, I have been laboring over these blocks. I'm planning to put them in the high school bazaar this fall.

Because it's so much easier to saw, router and sand in the decent weather, I've been trying to take advantage of what could be the last good weather day in the forseeable future and get these things done.

I did take my husband's advice and was able to get 50 sets of these done over the spring and summer. (WSU, UW, U of O, OSU and BYU).

I still have another 40 to go before November. The vinyl is cut and the wood is in my garage. I was able to get some routering done today and my check mailed off to reserve my spot at the bazaar.

I have no idea how they'll do, so we'll have to see!

Blueberries for Sal

2010-08-15T12:11:00.000-07:00

I loved that book when I was little.

One of our "to-dos" was picking strawberries at the farm. Since we have strawberries in the back yard and this has been the weirdest farming season, we decided to go pick blueberries instead.

We picked 13.75 pounds in about 1/2 hour which was great because it was a very warm day Friday.

What do you do with almost 14 pounds of blueberries? So far we have made blueberry: smoothies, muffins, milkshakes and have frozen quite a few for the winter.

Picking blueberries at the farm.....check.

Room Service Anyone?

2010-08-09T22:50:00.000-07:00

My next posts will be dedicated to updating our summer of fun progress. At the beginning of the summer, we posted sticky notes of some of the fun things we wanted to do, learn, and accomplish this summer.

A quote from the Musicman reads - if you pile up enough tomorrows, you'll find you've collected a lot of empty yesterdays. I didn't want to get to the end of summer and look back and wish I had done more with the boys.

One of the to-do's was camping in the back yard. Huge thanks to John for setting up the tent, air mattresses, etc.!

We did camp out last night and had a blast! Auntie even joined us for the festivities. We squeezed a few of our to-dos in last night.

We sweated our you-know-whats off to the Wii game "Just Dance" (sampling of these songs are currently playing), followed by making hot chocolate in the Cocomotion, followed by making cookies (which canceled out the sweating from Just Dance). Two pieces of advice - 1. Buy a Cocomotion. It seriously makes the best cup of hot chocolate you could ask for and I have no idea why. 2. Don't make/drink hot chocolate after you have just completed every song in Just Dance. It just doesn't hit the spot quite the same.

The boys decided to extend their camping trip by one night. Because I am working in the office tomorrow, I have opted not to camp out. However, when I told them I was going upstairs, room service was requested.

This was the best I could do at 11 at night.

It's so quiet in my home, but I'm guessing not for long...... The garbage man will be here bright and early at 6 am :)

Garage Sale Find of a Century

2010-08-06T20:07:00.000-07:00

One of our "to do" items this summer the boys came up with was to go garage saling.

We put it off until today. We found some fun finds - like a black Jansport backpack for $1. Though the boys already have their backpacks, it never hurts to have a spare and a Jansport for $1 is a steal.

I was happy when I found this box of ribbon for $2. As John always tells me, I couldn't afford not to get it.

I wasn't planning to buy anything and the boys had their allowance - thank goodness because I had to borrow it from them so we could bring this sweet thing home!

Lately I've had this "thing" for shapely furniture. I looked at this piece constructed from walnut, but was confused because it had a sticker that said Make Offer. I hate that by the way, however - there was also a sticker for $25. I was confused - was it really $25 or was it make an offer?

Before
I spoke to the gentleman who informed me it was his grandmothers and he was really torn about getting rid of it. He was in fact asking $25. I looked at John and we both agreed it was too awesome of a piece to pass up.

After some TLC

I promised him I would take great care of it. I spent a long time this afternoon with the shop vac removing years of dust, pencils and who knows what else. The compressed air was a big help. I put some nice wood oil on it to touch her up, removed the face plate and cleaned it out. I plan to not touch any of it except for replacing the buttons.

In the Living Room:

Here's the kicker......it works.

John did a little research and it is a Philco 40-180. It is from 1940 and has all the original parts - tubes and everything. The tuner features "Standard Broadcast, Police Broadcast A.M Channel, Night Aircraft, Short Wave Ship to Ship and Ship to Shore, South Central America- Berlin, USA, London, - Paris, Australia, Rome, Moscow, -- Japan, London, Rome, Paris.

We talked about how there was probably a family that was very excited to have this brought into their home back in 1940 and that they must have listened to war related news on this very radio. There were no tvs in the home and this would have been to them what our entertainment centers are to us today.

Another Living Room Shot

We listed to Jay's show tonight on this beauty.
I have attached a video so you can hear just how clear the sound is.

What a find.

What are you excited for?

2010-07-19T16:13:00.000-07:00

My brother called me from the ER and said "Heather, I'm excited to feel better!"

It was a sobering slap in the face. I was so excited to hear that he was excited and then I found out that his excitement was simply so he could feel better.

When I am excited, it is for the weekend, trips to Seattle and various other things in life, but never have I really ever thought how something so very important can really be taken for granted. Feeling better is such an important - yet overlooked part of life.

"Cut loose from the ER" to hours of my mom trying to coax him out of her car. The nurses told her they didn't know what she would do when she got him home because he literally can't or won't move. She agreed and thanked them for their support of shoving him in the car and sending him home.

I'm grateful for a husband who drove down there at who knows what hour to find my brother who had been on his knees in the garage......for hours. Somehow together, he and my mom managed to get him to the couch.

Two days later, my poor mother finally reached her limit. Her whole 95 pounds was no match to his frame or his stubborness. I spent hours with my mom - sweating, yelling and in complete and total frustration as we tried to lift or move him. I have never yelled at my brother and I hated every second of doing it. I hope I never do it again. It was the only way I could get him to concentrate on me and unfortunately it was completely necessary to get him to move. I had to excuse myself and regroup. I sat for a long time at the edge of the couch rubbing his hair, saying little prayers to myself and crying.

I've had this blog post sitting in my draft pile for almost a week now. It's hard to sort through all of my feelings and get them from my heart to these typing fingers.

How do you explain a relationship with a brother? I have always felt like I was his protector and his buddy. We have never fought in his almost 30 years on this Earth. I was only 7, but I remember many details about the day he was born at UW. I remember lining up everything in his crib in anticipation of his home coming. The Doctors told my mom he would never walk or talk and that she should put him in an institution. I wonder what they'd think if they could have fast forwarded 15 years and seen him rocking out to Barney cd's and fast footing it in his Knight Rider car.

My life would in no way be the same today if it were not for each and every experience I have had with my little brother. I'm so grateful to him for the lessons he continues to teach me every day, even if his perfect spirit is trapped in a less than perfect body.

I want to make it better for him. I want to get back to our movie dates that we recently took up - just him and I. I want him to feel good.

You know when your kids get sick and get a fever and you sit up all night next to them just wishing you could take it for them? That's what I wish I could do.

In the words of Bob Dylan, "Ten thousand dollars at the drop of a hat, I'd give it all gladly if our lives could be like that."

A New Stress Reliever

2010-07-15T18:26:00.000-07:00

I have been reading about furniture re-dos (See my sidebar on Furniture Makeovers)

and have become quite intrigued with the idea.

When I found this little beauty on Craigs list, I knew if I ever was going to try, it was going to be with this dresser.

Before:

I loved the shape and the round bead looking type decoration in the wood.

I think out of a place of stress, I mustered up some patience and actually found myself relaxing and enjoying the process.

1. Step 1: TSP (removes all the years of grime, etc.)

2. Step 2: Minimal sanding (mostly on back right side where the damage was).

3. Primer: applied only with a small foam roller.

Dresser Drawers Primered - isn't that shape cool?

4. Benjamin Moore oil based paint. Though the cost is more than your standard paint, it is such a quality product. They say you get what you pay for and in this case, I found it to be true. Also applied with only a small foam roller.

5. Added some new drawer pulls and let it dry, dry, dry.

I spent hours laying on the driveway and in the garage painting the nooks and crannies with a small paintbrush. Especially those wood bead shaped decoration that made me love it so much.

And here she is:

All in all it went pretty well. Minus the black paint that I dragged in our entry way. a panicked trip to Home Depot for some Paint Thinner and additional hours of laying on the floor removing the paint from the carpet. Woops!

My next project - a night stand. I thought this complimented the dresser.

I'm going to attempt to get this to match the dresser. Stay tuned.

This is part of my playlist I was listening to during tedious painting - aka laying on my driveway being eaten alive by mosquitos!

Sports Saturday

2010-07-11T12:37:00.001-07:00

Yesterday was a day filled with sports and fun!

The morning started with the youngest's T-ball game with John as Coach and Grandpa John as Assistant Coach out on third base.

The afternoon included the oldest's invitational Shriners football game down on the turf (10 degress warmer than in the stands) with Grandpa Bobby as Coach and John as Assistant Coach.

Grandmas and Grandpas rallying around my kids means more to me than they will ever know.

No pics from football unfortunately! I was going to wait until the end, but JR got a bad turf burn on top of sun burnt arms and legs. Not a good time for football pics. A mom has to know when to pick her moments and this wasn't one of them.

**I also wanted to give a special thanks to that special family member who sent us the most amazing care package ever. Something for everyone - we are most appreciative.**

Thanks but No Thanks!

2010-07-06T15:57:00.000-07:00

For some reason, we have had numerous solicitors recently.

Oil Changes, pizza discount cards, windows, outreach programs, magazines, candy bars, security systems, etc. etc. - you catch my drift.

It is always men and always during the day. You're crazy if you think I'm answering the door when I'm here with my most precious ones to someone I don't know.

I put up this sign a couple of weeks ago so they would catch my drift. Today, the doorbell rang and I thought it was the mailman because his truck was parked across the street. Nope - it was a salesman (about the age of 16) from Pinnacle security.

He asked if he could put a sign in the yard and I said no. If I put the sign in my yard, he would buy me a security system!!!!! I said no again, again and again. I must have said no at least 6 times before I had to get rude. I hate that! If I tell you politely I'm not interested, please leave it at that and let's both have a nice day.

I realize we both have to work, but my address will not bring you any revenue which I previously told you politely - and you're costing me money since I had to step away from my own work.

He then tried telling me about my security system. I then told him between my security system, pitbull and the zombie killer upstairs, I think we are covered. I shut the door while he was still talking.

Isn't a sign on my front door that reads: "Please No Soliciting" good enough? Maybe the script font makes it look too polite??

In honor of this fun experience today, I'm going to give away a Please No Soliciting Vinyl sign for someone else! It's red and in a basic font I can't recall. Maybe you'll have better luck with a less formal font. I'll be curious to see.

Leave a comment/soliciation :) Winner chosen randomly Friday at Noon PST.

=======================================================

And the winner is......#1 (aka, the first comment): AND #2. (I decided TWO pick 2 winners!)

Jen and Princess BedHead! Send me an email with your address and I'll get this off in the mail to you!

Red, White and Blue

2010-06-28T08:51:00.000-07:00

Check out these 4th of July treats!

We will be making these this weekend for sure!

Saturday Project

2010-06-19T17:20:00.000-07:00

After sanding

White square (should have done the whole thing white)

Black vinyl (I got 2 of these out of one sheet of vinyl if anyone needs one!)

This photo looks black and white, but it's not! Vinyl applied to white paint.

Everything in Crimson

The white square and mis-alignment will ultimately drive me
crazy enough to re-do it correctly.

The back corner

My neighbors left this cool old wooden bridge leaning up on the side of their house for years. They moved out and left it behind.

I acquired it.

The first step was to brush it off and sand it. After sanding, it was still in a pretty gnarly condition. I have left it to sit in the garden for a week or so I could get some inspiration as to what color it should be painted. It sits to the left of my maple and crimson colored bird bath I received for my birthday.

I must have stood in Home Depot for an hour just staring at the paint colors. I finally decided on a crimson to match the bird bath and give the back corner of our garden balance.

This morning however, I got another idea and it actually worked (other than I didn't align each the W and the S inside each other - and probably should have painted the whole bridge white rather than just a square.)

After the White paint dried - ok you know as well as I do that I didn't let it dry. I really tried. I let it sit for hours, but it was still damp. I just couldn't wait. I'm working with limited windows in our recent weather patterns, so I just went for it.

I cut out the WSU symbol in black vinyl and stuck in on the white section of the bridge. I then spray painted the whole bridge in Crimson. I let that dry for a couple of hours and then removed the black vinyl.

I was pretty pleased with the results! (Linked on http://iheartnaptime.blogspot.com)

Summer Vacation

2010-06-15T14:57:00.000-07:00

The glorious weather of the Pacific Northwest put a slight damper on our last-day-of-school tradition, but the kids still seemed to enjoy it anyway.

As soon as I finished writing a huge message in chalk in the street it started pouring rain. Good thing I didn't make a giant poster this year. JR said he told the kids on the bus that his parents would be waiting at the bus stop to "get him", but when he saw our garage closed, he was bummed.

Little did he know we were hiding behind the dry shelter of the garage door. As soon as we heard the bus brakes, we burst out and soaked him and one of the neighbors with water balloons (in the pouring rain) and silly string. His report card was soaked! Jackson even participated in the festivities in his pajamas!

On the last day of school, I usually clear all of their masterpieces off The Gallery and it sits empty throughout the summer.

This year we added yet another last-day-of-school tradition. We sat down with stacks of sticky notes and listed all the things we want to do over summer vacation. It could be something fun, something to learn or something we need to work on (like wiping your own bum before the upcoming school year).

We placed each sticky note on the bottom of the Gallery. The plan is to move them to the top once we complete them. I'll keep a binder of these sticky notes at the end of the summer to remind us of all the fun things we did.

Graduation Shennanigans

2010-06-11T21:48:00.000-07:00

It's really amazing I didn't get into more trouble growing up. What was even more amazing was the fact that after we moved from Seattle to Spokane in high school, my best friend since I was 5, also moved to Spokane. It made the bitter pill a little easier to swallow.

As I attended the graduation of one of my young women this past week, I started chuckling to myself about one of the best senior pranks EVER pulled off by my partner in crime and yours truly!

Let's take a stroll back to 1991, shall we? I attended Gonzaga Prep. Had I gone to the public school, I would have gone to University High School. My bestie, Amber, went to U-High.

Prep graduated a few days before U-High. When it came around to U-High's commencement exercises, Amber did not want to put on a dress and graduate. We'll never say who came up with the idea, but.... when we got to the Opera House in downtown Spokane, the plan was that I would put on HER cap and gown and graduate for her. She would sit in the audience. Never mind the fact that her dad travelled all the way from Phoenix to be there.

U-High did it a little differently than Prep. They had the seniors sit up on the stage facing the audience, so once on stage, there was no way they were going to drag somebody off and cause a scene.

We thought it was HILLARIOUS! Because I lived in that neighborhood, I knew some of the kids and I will never forget the look on their faces and asking what I was doing. Even better though was handing the slip of paper with her name to the Vice Principal (who definitely knew who she was) in preparation for her name to be announced. I can't even imagine what he must have thought.

When we went to my house that night cracking ourselves up, I told my mom, "Guess what we did?" She said, "I don't even want to know!" We didn't tell her for years.

When Amber graduated from college, I received a call from her Dad in Phoenix. He wanted to make sure I was staying home :)

Jerk Alert!

2010-06-07T11:19:00.000-07:00

Meet & Greet

The Jail

Brothers in Jail Bunks

Bowling Alley - where Chunk first saw the Fratelli's

Goonie House

View from the Goonie House

Data's Outfit

"It's my Mom's favorite piece!"

And I'm not just quoting the movie. I'm referring to how honked off this weekend I was when we went to Astoria for the 25th Anniversay of the Goonies!

When we arrived in Astoria, the bus tour had been sold out (though they told us the day previous not to prebuy the tickets because it wouldn't be). While waiting in line, somebody told us that none of the actors showed up to the meet & greet that morning. This was not a free meet & greet either - these were purchased tickets. I was surprised, but thought to myself, sucks for that guy.

Though slightly frustrated by the bus tour buzz kill, we made up our own tour and it ended up being fun! We went to the jail, the bowling alley where Chunk smooshes his face against the window, and trucked our way up to the Goonies house, where I did see my brother-in-law do the Truffle Shuffle for an audience.

While waiting in line for the meet & greet, we were about two blocks back from the entrance. Next thing we know, Corey Feldman & Sean Astin are escorted to the back of the theatre which happened to be where we were standing two blocks back. They were flanked by cops and Corey had cameras above him (we heard rumors for his new reality show). Kind of a fun little surprise.

We got into the theater and seated on the stage was Jeff Cohen, Richard Donner, Sean Astin, Corey Feldman and Curtis Hansen. The theatre staff was a little less than organized, but it was still fun. They answered questions from the audience for a max of 20 minutes and then took a break. They came out 10 minutes later to sign autographs - well some to sign autographs lets say.

The first row of the theatre took 20 minutes to get their autographs, photos, etc. It was chaos. When I saw Corey Feldman stand up in his white coat and white pants, I figured maybe he's stretching??? No.....he's leaving.

Bush league.

To say I was disappointed was an understatement. I'm not sure what the couple who travelled all the way from Scotland thought or the guy who bought tickets to all 3 meet and greets, of which he said Corey stayed 15 minutes for two and never showed for the other.

His band was in the back of the theatre walking around trying to sell us shirts, cds, buttons, etc. for him to sign. Excuse me - he has left the building! They gave us excuses like he had sound check until 4 am that day and that he needed a nap before his concert, mind you this meet & greet was at 3 pm. Do you want to hear about my day sir? I'm still here - and I paid.

If I was there for a concert, I'd understand that, however the tickets we all bought were for the Goonies Meet & Greet, not his band.

In this economy when times are tough for everyone, it would have been nice for him to have a little consideration on how much people had to spend in money and time to come see him. Funny how Richard Donner, Sean Astin and Jeff Cohen were able to stay for their two hour commitment. Kudos to those guys.

Jerk Alert to Corey Feldman :(

Needs

2010-06-02T15:10:00.000-07:00

As my kids have gotten older, I sometimes find myself feeling like they need me less.

When JR came home last week and fell into my arms sobbing, I was reminded that I will always be needed - maybe even more so as they get older.

Even though he may not want to hug me and smooch me and cuddle me like he did when he was 5, he still needed me - just in a more mature way. Not that wiping bums, making lunches and checking homework are not important, but I found myself needed in a moment that you can't go back and re-do. This one counted and what I would do and say was going to matter.

As those hugs and kisses come and go, though it seems fewer and far between, I am trying to stop right there in the moment. I close my eyes, slow my breathing and try to feel it from my heart through to my fingertips. I want my body to tell my soul to remember that moment forever.

A little update

2010-05-29T21:16:00.000-07:00

The one thing I absolutely love about my birthday is that is usually falls on or around Memorial Day and this means a 3 day weekend! The weather is usually much better than what we have had recently around the Pacific Northwest, but I'm still hopeful of upcoming sun filled forecasts.

I have had the most relaxing birthday and been extremely spoiled at the same time. I find myself feeling guilty about it today. I didn't realize just how much I really needed some down time.

I feel very much loved by family and friends.

So much fun packed into the last 24 hours including: deliveries, packages in the mail, visits, phone calls, text messages, a card from my little Pit herself, a great dinner out and fun evening, an early leisurely stroll to the farmers market, building raised planter beds and planting veggies with Jack Jack (green beans, cucumbers, carrots, beets, strawberries, squash and tomatoes.)

I'm struggling to find just the right thing to go in this fabulous pot I got for my bday! As you can see, I'm using red bamboo, but I don't know if I have enough and I don't know if it is the right thing. I wanted beautiful flowers, but there's just not enough sun where it currently sits. Any suggestions? It's a huge pot, so it's creating some huge creative challenges for me.

I'm sad to say I have removed my music from my blog. After a 3rd virus on my PC and a 3rd time wiping the hard drive, I can't help to think it might have had something to do with it???

Littlest Loves of my Life

2010-05-09T16:07:00.000-07:00

Photo by Ryan Birnel

Often times I find the Lord prepares me in quiet subtle ways. He softly whispers to my heart. That way, when something big comes along, I'm almost mentally prepared - in a way that is hard to explain with words.

I've felt it numerous times in my life - from things like being called as Young Women's President to things I hope will and will not happen in the future.

He knows me and he knows my personality. When life and events don't "fit into my spreadsheet", it can catch me off guard, more so than I like.

One of those very things happened recently and it definitely did not fit into my spreadsheet.

When JR went to kindergarten, it was half days and was absolutely perfect. It allowed him to get in the routine, learn the process and work his way towards full days. This year, our school district had what I have heard from other parents was a hideous schedule. It included various and alternating days. It was challenging for the parents and students alike.

For the upcoming school year, the school district has decided on full days with the exception of a half day every Wednesday.

This will be JR's last and Jackson's first year at the elementary school. I'm extremely thankful JR will be there to show Jackson how it's done and hold his brother's hand in a sense.

However.....inside I'm devastated. I thought I had one more year with baby. This Mother's Day is like an end to an era. Next year on Mothers Day, I will have two children in school full time.

The clock ticks forward - tick, tick, tick and there is absolutely nothing I can do about it.

I was thinking about my very first Mothers Day today. JR was 8 months old and my husband, Dad and two twin cousins all went camping. Just the boys. They came home and had forgotten it was Mothers Day. I was furious, especially since it was my first. Locked into my memory forever :)

I'm proud of my boys and would never want to turn back time, but I almost can't believe how fast it's gone. I will be needed in a new and different way as they continue to grow up so quickly and I'm ok with that.

I'll just have to learn how to edit that spreadsheet as I go and click the save button often on these memories.

Block Retinoblastoma for Lucy

2010-04-28T13:24:00.000-07:00

I was extremely fortunate when I married my husband to get not only one, but TWO amazing mother-in-laws. With that also came two equally amazing sets of siblings. I really hate to use the word step-mom, brother, etc. When I hear the stories of all 7 kids together for summer vacations, I'm not surprised that Ramie was able to do such a great job! The stories are hilarious, but I'm sure that isn't the word she would have chosen at the time.

I wasn't surprised when I found out that this same mother-in-law was organizing a 5K on June 5th to celebrate a milestone birthday, and most importantly to raise funds and awareness for the Casey Eye Institute in honor of Lucy, her granddaughter and our niece.

Lucy was diagnosed with bilateral retinoblastoma when she was 18 months old. This is a rare form of childhood cancer that causes tumors to develop in the retinas in the eyes.

When Lucy was initially diagnosed, her parents learned that she had one massive tumor in her left eye, and was completely blind in that eye. She had 8 to 12 tumors in her right eye.

Lucy started chemotherapy and laser treatments on her eyes within days of her diagnosis. She had chemotherapy for a little over 3 months, and this, along with the laser surgeries to her eyes, worked quite well. She did however end up having her left eye removed shortly thereafter.

Lucy continues to have EUAs (exams under anesthesia) about every month, where her doctors continue to note the progress in the tumors in her right eye and also laser the remaining tumor(s).

Lucy just turned 4 and is down to only one tumor in her right eye. Her doctors feel that all of the cancer cells may be gone in this last tumor, and are hopeful that she will not need to have her other eye removed. Lucy will continue to be carefully monitored in order to make sure that she will be able to have a happy, healthy and cancer-free life.

If you would like to help, you can make any donation you feel comfortable with to Oregon Health & Science University - the Casey Eye Institute, Ocular Oncology Program in honor of Lucy Stancliff. (Click on this link to take you to the website).

For every donation made in Lucy's honor, you will be entered to win a set of blocks customized in whatever color or saying of your choice. The possibilities are endless (Colleges, High Schools, Holiday sayings, songs, etc. - whatever your heart desires)

Just leave a comment letting me know you have donated in honor of Lucy. Drawing will be held May 28th.

An Old Soul

2010-04-15T17:51:00.000-07:00

I have the best memories when I think of my Grandpa.

He is one of the hardest workers I know. I remember going down to the old Sears building in SODO to pick him up from work on Fridays with my Grandma. That building is now the Starbucks building, but in my mind it will always be Sears - with an escalator, candy counter, showroom and auto area. I thought it was especially cool when he brought home the green and white striped dot matrix paper. Though years later Sears would be traded for Boeing, the rides to Renton were equally cool.

He is a master gardener and makes the most beautiful stained glass I've ever seen.

When I was growing up, all of my trophies got broken. Of course he tried to fix them - because that is the kind of man he is.

He doesn't say anything bad about anyone and never speaks negatively. He has patience unlike anything I've seen. I only remember him ever getting mad at me once in my life and I probably deserved it. He always carries a Bandaid in his wallet. Don't ask me why, but I love that about him.

I secretly love that he calls JR, little John and Jackson, Jack and me Hez.

My mom called to tell me something happened while he was pushing a wheelbarrow full of yard debris (he is 80 years old) and that his neighbors found him. Thankfully the neighbor was a fireman.

A week after open heart surgery, my mom called again to say he was on his way home. She also told me during his recovery, someone had to sit by him to make sure he would stay resting in his bed. He would try to get up and greet people that came to visit. Of course he would, because that's the kind of man he is.

I feel very fortunate to have him in my life.

I might be way off base here, but in this picture from 1973, I think he looks slightly like a Kennedy.

Drool

2010-03-30T08:46:00.000-07:00

I love this little boutique that sits above the Pike Place Market called Watson Kennedy.

These amazing signs live there. For $295, you can take it home with you. Or, you can customize it with your favorite street names for $395.

Are Edgar Martinez Drive and California Avenue really worth the extra $100?

Neither are in my budget, but it's nice to dream.
I feel like I'm 10 all over again every time I see this sign as it reminds me of a place that I will always call home.
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As the school year comes to an end....what I refer to as "The Gallery" is getting full. This is an old window I found at an antique sale. I ripped out the screen and added some sheet metal from a local roofing company.

Each boy gets their own half for all of the masterpieces created throughout the school year.

On the last day of school, I take all of my favorites and pack them away in their keepsake box.

Spring Has Sprung Giveaway

2010-03-20T13:21:00.000-07:00

Today is the first day of Spring and the weather in the Pacific Northwest today is absolutely beautiful! I can see Mt. Saint Helens out of my bedroom window and Mt. Hood out of my boys windows. Perfect bookends.

It made me realize how neglected the yard seems to get over the winter, so I worked out all my frustrations on the yard today. Gardening is therapeutic and it allows you to be artistic at the same time. It's such a sense of accomplishment when it's all done. I really enjoy it.

The ribbon on these blocks made me think of Spring today. It also inspired me to have a give away to add a little dash of the Spring and sunshine I am thankful for today to someone else's life.

What are you doing on this first day of Spring? Is it as beautiful where you are today as it is here in the Pacific Northwest? One comment per person please. Make sure to leave your name and a way for me to contact you. Giveaway ends Thursday March 25th.
_________________________________________________________________

And the winner is.........#3, aka Butters! Thanks for participating. I'll do some more of these block giveaways as we go this Spring into summer. It's too much fun!

I'm Kinda a Big Deal

2010-03-15T16:57:00.000-07:00

"I hate playing defense, but I'm really good at it - so I kinda have to."

- Jackson, age 5, in regards to his soccer performance for the Black Eyed Peas.

Reverse the Curse

2010-03-09T09:20:00.000-08:00

It's not often John asks me why I haven't blogged about something, but I suppose this is Blogworthy.

For those of you who are familiar with our family's Oscar tradition, you know how extremely competitive it is. Ballots must be submitted in a sealed envelope by Midnight the evening prior. They must be completed in full or will disqualify your entire submission.

Points are assigned to each and every category. Much research is conducted by each individual participating. All entries are compiled into one master spreadsheet and points are listed on a giant version of said spreadsheet. This is a new tradition of only 2 years initiated from the spreadsheet girl, yours truly.

Since playing for the extremely coveted prize, the yellow spray painted Mrs. Butterworth, John has never won. You can see the names listed on the bottle for yourself. It's a huge source of contention. When I won in 2007, there was a terrible showing of sportsmanship for my win. I was not pleased with the bitterness shown at my victory by this same husband.

Upon much reflection, we realized that since the Butterworth has left our home in 2007 following my victory, we have had a couple of crummy years: a couple of jobs lost, a couple of cars stolen, etc. etc.

Sunday March 7th will go down in history. John claimed his first Butterworth by a one point margin.

Win big or go home? I went out on a huge limb and chose Avatar and Meryl Streep. I was tied with John for first place prior to these two awards, but ended in last place. I earned the BFL this year (Big Fat Loser). We now have bookends - the Butterworth and BFL in our home.

I think our luck is turning up. 2010 - reverse the curse.

Fifty Fifty

2010-03-05T14:20:00.000-08:00

Photo by Luc Viatour

As things have been turned upside down and inside out again in our lives, I find myself reflecting on the smallest of things. My brain must be in overdrive too, even as I sleep. I woke up this morning from a dream involving theft of my palm pilot, ethiopians and walkie talkies??? I woke up feeling more tired than when I had gone to sleep the night before.

I felt groggy, but as I got into my car this morning, the dew had settled on the grass. The sun was out and the reflection caught my eye. I could see individual drops on individual blades of grass. It was beautiful.

I just had to stop to see it.

In both thought and word, I am ashamed to admit that I have caught myself believing that good luck can't happen to us. I hate the word luck really, so insert your own word here. Call it faith, karma, luck, what have you. You know what I mean.

I don't want to be that person. I'm a pessimist by nature and I don't like that about myself. I don't want to be disappointed and so I'm the glass if half empty girl. It's something I desperately need to work on.

I can't even tell you what was on my stereo as I started thinking. Do we stop to see the "luck" in our lives? Have I been lucky or unlucky throughout my life?

I immediately thought of a day that changed my life - without changing my life - two years ago.

My mom called to tell me that UW had called. They had new technology that was able to isolate a gene mutation in the Jonientz family, specifically a deletion of exon 17 on the BRCA1 gene. This deletion was the cause of Breast Cancer in our family.

My Mom and aunt had both been through radiation, chemo, surgeries, etc. What did this mean for me?

I made an appointment with a geneticist. I sat down at the table across from this woman and another doctor who would tell me. They told me I had a 50/50 chance of having this deletion. If I have the deletion, it meant an 85% chance of breast cancer in my future and a 96% chance of cervical cancer as well. It also meant that my boys had a 50/50 chance of having the deletion as well. They talked with me about what I would do. Would I have a mastectomy and hysterectomy? Are you kidding, I was only 33 years old.

They explained what was covered by insurance, the improvements in plastic surgeries, etc. etc. A very surreal conversation to be having with two complete strangers.

If I didn't have the mutation, it meant my boys could not inherit it and I fall back into the general population risk pool.

I left that building wondering how my life was going to change in the next 12 weeks it would take to get the results. I pondered what I would do. Do you take drastic measures now to avoid getting cancer in the future? You can recover so much easier while you are young. I played all the arguments out in my head. I had opinions from family and friends, but ultimately it was my body and the decision I might need to make would really be my own.

That summer I got the letter from Myriad testing in Utah that stated: No Mutation Detected and a little yellow post-it note from the Geneticist that says: Yay! I have saved that letter and post it note because I can't bring myself to get rid of it.

Had different test results been delivered, my life would probably be a lot different than it is today for myself, my kids and my family as a whole. My thoughts have been consumed today with the 50/50 odds that were presented to me two years ago.

Do things happen to us because we are lucky or unlucky? I don't believe so. I think life happens. It shapes us, ultimately strengthens us and makes us who we are. It helps us to help others along the way.

If I had gone back to bed this morning, I 100% would have avoided missing something that I might have never stopped to take time to see along the way.

I'll stick with my odds any day.

Washington Irving.....

2010-02-25T21:36:00.000-08:00

said, "There is a certain relief in change, even though it be from bad to worse, as I have found in traveling in a stagecoach, that it is often a comfort to shift one's position and be bruised in a new place."

5 Years Ago Today

2010-02-17T08:15:00.001-08:00

Photo by Ryan Birnel

A day that changed my life.

A day that wasn't supposed to happen until March 13th.

A day that a lot of spice was added to my life.

A boy who came out peeing all over the world to the tune of Copa Cabana by Barry Manilow (surgeon's choice, not mine).

A boy who is sweet, fiery, funny, independent, tall.

A boy who is loved.

A boy who is 5.

One Sweet Little Date

2010-02-14T20:44:00.000-08:00

Because John would be at work and JR is gone, I thought it might be fun to have a date with my littlest man in the house. We set the dinning room table complete with goblets and mellamine trays.

On the menu was pink pancakes with chocolate chips, scrambled eggs, heart shaped sausage, grapes and tangerines. Jackson requested chocolate milk for himself.

He was so sweet. He told John last night he didn't know what he was going to wear for our date. He talked about it all day today. You can see from the video that he ultimately decided on NFL flannel jammies.

It was a great date. I particularly liked the conversation which primarily focused on why zombies don't have brains.

All in a weekend

2010-02-08T18:09:00.000-08:00

I made 16 of these blocks for a Valentines Swap this week!

A birthday treat I made for a friend! I love the colors!

Jack Jack & The Black Eyed Peas (Indoor Soccer)

This past weekend was complete chaos. Soccer Friday, Basketball Saturday and everything else in between. It ended in a relaxing Super Bowl Sunday. Had a great time with great friends.

I love that the boys are in one room and the girls in another - it doesn't bother me in the least. We ended up watching SNL throwbacks on a laptop and laughing HYSTERICALLY!

Some pics from this weekend.

Changing it up

2010-02-04T21:39:00.000-08:00

Call it inspiration from the laundry room/office (there is something inherently wrong with writing those two rooms in the same space - but whatever), but I am in need of a blog makeover.

I love the colors on my blog (with the caviat that it is almost too close to purple and gold), love the layout and clean lines, but am not particularly fond of the giraffes at the top. Nothing against giraffes - but I don't particularly need them on my blog. Since it is all embedded, it's time for something new. I need to "feel" it.

I feel pretty savvy when it comes to html and those kind of things, but I'm going to leave the design to the designers.

I will have creative input and have a picture in my mind of what the final product will look like. I fell in love with the new graphic I found today. It inspired the whole design of the to-be-remodeled blog. Probably a little more contemporary than I would have envisioned myself choosing, but it should be awesome!

Stay tuned....

English 101

2010-02-01T16:34:00.000-08:00

When I was putting this room back together, I found a paper I had written in college. It probably only makes sense to those WSU alums out there who were there way back when. Back when the Bookie actually was by the library.

Funny that I found it confining at the time because it was probably the place that was most freeing to me personally.

Nonetheless, it made me smile when I found this:

On the most confined campus of all, where the buildings were red and large and the stacks of homework were unwanted and larger than the buildings, where the residence halls were old and loud and the parking tickets were numerous and unavoidable where the cramped walkways cut across to the library where the library stood before the Bookie and the walkway by the Bookie ended in lines and the lines stretched to the bus and never seemed to get any smaller on this most confined campus of all, I chose to attend.

- Heather McMahon

MySpace

2010-01-24T21:15:00.000-08:00

It's like a mullet in a way - Office in the front, Laundry in the back.

As my favorite saying goes, It is what it is.

It was a lot more work than I expected, caused a lot of chaos in the house and took hours to put back together, but this space works great for me.

I found these wine racks at IKEA that I am using to store my vinyl. That's my favorite part of the whole room. I think they look awesome!

Before Pics:

Floored

2010-01-17T12:18:00.000-08:00

There's always a project in your home, isn't there?

Because this seems to be the case for me, the laundry room/mud room has never been on the priority list. You use this room to wash dirty clothes and access the garage for crying out loud, so who cares?

When I started working from home, I had decided I didn't want to really be isolated in a room. I need to be where the boys can get to me and I can still keep an ear open as to what is going on in the house.

Our laundry room is a backwards L as best as I can describe it. From the living room, you can see straight to the door that goes out to the garage, but you can't see the wash machine and dryer. It sits under the stairs. The wedge of space under the stairs houses my crafts, sewing machine, scrapbooking supplies, paints, Cricut, etc.

It's a waste of space unless you install countertops to fold laundry on. It wouldn't be a bad idea really. Better for me now however, is to use the wedge of space for the computer. It's right off the living room. I can hear the boys, I can be working and waiting for JR to come home off the bus and doing laundry all at the same time.

Multi tasking at its finest.

It's also my "creative" space. A room that houses all of these things and that I work in needs to be my Zen if you will.

This week began a long awaited project. The work was far more than I anticipated. Linoleum should be done away with if you want my opinion. John's job was to pull up the floor and paint. My job with the help of my home remodel guru great friend Shantel was to tile.

Getting the linoleum off the floor turned into a two person chore and a half. Covered in slivers by nights end and sore knees, we actually managed not to kill each other. I was pleasantly surprised.

This week is grout and sealing, so the rest of the house is still in disarray until everything can go back in this room. Living without a washer and dryer creates it's own set of interesting issues, but in a way, it's forcing me to do nothing around the house. In one way, that in and of itself makes me crazy. In another, I'm forced to take a break.

More pictures to come as we finish out the process this week.

Update 1/20: Waiting for grout to dry. Will seal tomorrow.

Tagged

2010-01-11T08:49:00.001-08:00

I was tagged by my friend Rachelle, otherwise known as Shelly Shell Shell.

I think it was meant to be. The tag is "This Picture has a Story":

Rules:

1. Open your first folder.

2. Scroll down to the 10th picture in that folder. If you don't have 10 pictures in that folder, then go to your next folder.

3. Post picture and tell story behind it.

4. Tag 5 friends to do the same.

I forgot this picture even existed. It was a slap in the face. I didn't realize what a big boy Jackson has become. Most significantly for me was a reminder of a happier time - for myself personally.

So many things have changed in my life since this photo and it reminded me of some very important things I needed to be reminded of.

None of this may make sense to you and maybe I'll share my profound feelings at a later date, maybe not.

We'll see.

Y2K Time Capsule

2010-01-02T09:36:00.001-08:00

On 12-31-99 we sealed an M&Ms time capsule with friends and family (John, myself, Jason, Stacy, Angi and Amber - my best friend who just happened to be there all the way from Texas.)We opened it yesterday.

It was quite amusing to go back through the contents which included: $11 cash (not sure why), JR's little BYU jersey his Uncle bought him while playing there, a cover of SI, a newspaper, JR's hospital bill with an $18 charge for a marker they used to draw a line on my belly of where to cut for the c-section, one of my paystubs from WSU where I made a whopping $6.10/hour as Associate Editor of the Chinook, and other miscellaneous items. Our favorite item was the little blue index cards that we all wrote our thoughts on. They were not revealed to each other until last night. It's funny to look back on those 10 years later. At the time, I was a first time mother of a 4 month old. My how the time passes.

Some of those thoughts include:

John: "To JR - I can't wait to watch you grow up into a little man. Hopefully you'll be a big brother in 2010."

Heather: "I can't imagine what JR will be like in 10 years. We'll be in a house somewhere in 10 years, hopefully still with Keyser Soze and each other."

Stacy: "Suck a Fish and Happy New Years."

Jason: "I offer you this insight into your past, on this your first new year, and this just happened to be the big 2000, we all sat here and did nothing."

Amber: "I pray this world will be more peaceful and people will return to their true faith." - and this was signed in her maiden name.

Angi: "Despite all the drama with the Scukanecs/Browns, they are my second family and I love them all."

We decided to write new notes, each making predictions and then some of our own personal thoughts not to be shared with others until we open it again in 2020.

My boys are all sleeping as I post my thoughts today. I'm guessing the toys, video games, books etc. that now grace my "wanting to be clean living room" will be no longer by the time we open the capsule in 2020. Those toys, game chargers and spiderman undies will be traded for girls, car keys and a different season of life.

If I must trade those things in, is it ok to ask for happy and healthy boys? That's what I would hope for the most.

My Super Sledders

2009-12-29T20:22:00.000-08:00

Apparently we brought the snow back with us from Mt. Hood!

The Innkeeper

2009-12-23T20:42:00.001-08:00

Sweet Message

2009-12-20T15:25:00.000-08:00

I heard this today and was captivated. If I had to share one Christmas message with you, it would certainly be these words which are so eloquently put to beautiful music.

Click on Prophets testimonies from this link.

Rub a Dub Dub

2009-12-17T07:29:00.000-08:00

PUJ has an awesome tub!

My friend Katie is extremely talented. She and her husband Ben have worked tirelessly on this tub. They were looking for 100 testers. My cousin Britt who lives in Seattle was lucky enough to be one of those testers! She just had her second little one via c-section. Those of you who have had multiple c-sections know just how hard it is to get down tubside to bathe those wee ones.

I wasn't lucky enough to have PUJ after Jackson was born, but I can tell you John would have benefited from this too. At 6' 5", it can be equally challenging for a tall person to squat down tubside. It would have been heaven sent for both of us.

Here is what Britt has to say about PUJ: "the tub definitely made it easier on ME! With my second c-section in 12 months, the healing process was a lot slower this time and the PUJ tub was much easier in that I didn't have to squat or kneel down to use the baby tub in and out of our bath tub. Standing over the sink was much easier on my body!

I would definitely recommend the tub and have forwarded the link to expecting friends!"

Click on any of the green PUJ links above to find out more!