I am a blessed woman!

Like many women, I often find myself slightly frustrated with the differences in habits, priorities, and thought processes between my husband and myself. While I try not to let these issues obstruct my vision, I sometimes overlook what a wonderful man I share my life with. This past weekend, however, I was reminded.

We recently were in a position to obtain an item that would have been greatly beneficial for our family. The original owner no longer wanted this item and had asked a friend of ours to dispose of it. The friend then offered the item to us, knowing we could use it. We were thrilled! However, during a conversation while we were preparing to make the item more usable for our family, it became apparent that not only did the original owner have no idea that we were going to take it, but that the original owner would most likely not be happy about not being asked.This wasn't something we had really thought about. If we were in the owner's position, we would have loved for our unwanted item to go to someone that could use it. But after the discussion with our friend, we felt it was something we shouldn't broadcast. The secrecy of the situation immediately made me sick to my stomach, so we discussed our options.

There wasn't much chance the original owner would ever find out what had happened to the item, but I didn't feel right about it. We could have called the original owner, but it was already several days after the item was supposed to have been disposed of. William and I did not want to make things difficult for our friend who had simply tried to help us. So, that left the only other option of disposing of the item as the original owner had asked. I really felt as if there was no other option, but it was a disappointing option. We really would have benefited from keeping the item, as it would have solved a dilemma we had been working on for a while.

My wonderful husband listened to me explain my concerns, chief among them being I didn't want to regret keeping the item and feel guilty every time I used it. I also didn't want to see Wyatt using it and know that I had put him in a position to be using an item acquired by anything less than the most honest means. Even as I was explaining myself (and as I type it now), I could hear how corny I sounded. But that wonderful man I have been blessed with as my husband simply sighed and told me he didn't want me to feel that way, so he would take care of it. This was no small feat for him. It actually required some work to dispose of the item the way it was meant to be, but he did it so that his wife could comfortably stand by her convictions. He very easily could have argued with me. The item was being tossed, and the original owner didn't want it. Instead of arguing, though, he supported me.

I truly am a blessed woman. My husband works hard to take care of our family and supports me in those little moments when no one will see but me.

Ode to the Queen of Procrastination

I am, admittedly, a procrastinator. I proclaim my procrastinating abilities, for that is truly what they are, not with my head hung in shame, but with a toss of my head and a smile on my lips. It takes great talent and skill to pull together a final outcome of such high quality as I do, and I felt I should share some secrets of this unnoticed art.

To truly master the art of procrastination, you must fully understand the reasons behind it. Amateur procrastinators lack substantial reasoning skills and must be called as they are... lazy. Professional grade procrastinators, such as myself, find personal meaning in their sluggish design. Each must find his/her own drive. For me it is simultaneously the contradicting desires to plan and be flexible. You see, life has taught me that very little is a "given." Courses change without consideration to your goals, ideas, dreams, or plans. In that aspect, I have developed an appreciation for the flexibility my procrastination allows me. If I have not yet acted, I do not have to undo my actions when things change. In the same respect, allowing time for those changes gives me ample opportunity to plan for them. I can ensure doors are left open in the event things do not pan out as hoped for in plan "A." Thorough planning and reviewing allows me to then act more efficiently as the deadline draws near and produces a complete, spectacular outcome.

So, put those projects off a little longer. Spend a little more time planning and accept those curve balls with grace.

Now, I must go procrastinate my packing.

I'm signing up for remedial blogging classes

This past weekend I was thoroughly chastened for my lack of committment to my blog. I have been adequately humbled in my shortcomings, blah, blah, blah. I know, you've heard it all before. However, since my parents have decided to uproot yet again (aparently at the most mercurial phase in our lives, we, as their children, are expected to provide our own sense of stability), I am forced to turn to my witty literary skills to keep them updated.

So, updates:

William was offered a job with the Wheatland Police Department and will begin the second week of May. We are so excited about this opportunity, and we really like the community. Of course, we thought it was going to be absolutely perfect because it's only an hour away from here, where we believed my parents were still going to be located... Silly me, thinking they would like to keep things simple.

We have decided to buy a house in Wheatland... a BEAUTIFUL house! It's an old home, built in 1923, with a LOT of charm. We are going to do some work, but most everything we want done is cosmetic. We plan to refinish the floors, do lots of painting, and spruce up the kitchen. We also want to redo the bathroom (we're putting in a claw foot tub we got at a KILLER price, and a seperate shower since it doesn't have one), and we're going to finish the basement. The two rooms in the basement are finished, but the main area (which will be our family room) isn't. We also want to put up a fence around the front yard, since we are getting a dog as soon as I feel settled enough to take on that task! We'll definitely have a busy summer, but we're excited!

Front of our house. It's on a corner lot only 2 blocks from the PD!!!

My beautiful, sunny kitchen! The countertops are going to be replaced (we're doing it ourselves!), but I can't decide about the yellow. BTW- the wall is NOT lavendar as it appears here!

This is looking at the front door from the dining room. The kitchen is behind you. Again, the coloring is WAY off in the picture... the walls are actually light green, not pink!

The dining room, and looking into the kitchen (the front door is behind you). As you can see, there's LOTS of space. The house is HUGE (over 2900 sq. ft.)! The 2 upstairs bedrooms are located off to the right from here, as well as a bathroom. Downstairs has 2 more bedrooms, a 3/4 bath, a laundry room, and a large walk-in storage closet.

I will take "before" pics as well as "after" pics for each project that we do so you can see our vision coming to life! We will be in this house for at least 3 years (have to stay for 3 for the tax credit), at which point we will re-evaluate. We would like to be able to move out of town, so we'll see if it's reasonable to do at that time. We've looked at similar homes in the area that have been fixed up the way we plan to do, and I think we'll be able to make quite a proffit when we do decide to sell. Of course, I plan to be as frugal as possible in our updates, which will make our return even bigger!

Hopefully, that was enough of an update! Things are going to be hectic with the move and the job change, I know, but I will try to continue to post regularly, even through all of that. Of course, you, my adoring fans, deserve more posts, but my new found determination stems from a desire to keep my dad informed while he is in Afghanistan. It's been such a blessing to have my parents right here this past year. I was so confused about the way things turned out when we left the Air Force, why the job we wanted didn't work out. But this past year has been the greatest gift I could have been blessed with. It gave us a moment of cohesion and stability during a very difficult transition before we all split in different directions again. I am so proud of my dad for being willing to go when he feels the call, and I'm proud of my mom for being the strong, steadfast woman he needs. It will most definitely be rough, but we'll be alright.