A peak at our home

While we feel like our progress with the house is going painstakingly slow, we do have some space that is presentable should guests stop by. That is not to say that we are finished with it (not at all!), but it's at least presentable for the time being.

Our living room space is a rather long space, with the distance on either side of the front door being longer than the distance from the front door to the opposite wall. This means the room is somewhat split, so there are two different seating areas.

This is the area to your right when you enter the front door (though the pic. is shot from the wall opposite the front door).

And this is to your left.

Like I said, we are not finished with the rooms, but they at least resemble a home! We plan to take down the wall paper (I love that it's vintage, but it's worn, stained, and very discolored from the sun in some places), texture the walls (they're plaster, so a Venetian plaster effect), strip the paint off all the woodwork, and put up crown molding. We also plan to take out a door way that leads straight into our room, since there's another door from the hallway. (We don't really like a walk-through bedroom).

Oh, ad did you notice the floors? Didn't William do a fabulous job?! I can't begin to describe what a mess they were!

Anyway, that's just a peak for now. The dining room is pretty much presentable, but I've still got a few things left to accomplish before I post pics.

Plodding Along

I realized today that it has been almost a month since my last post (gasp!), and was severely depressed to realize I don't have much to report. But, in an attempt to keep everyone informed, I'm hoping there will be a few noteworthy events in the blabbering that follows.

I spent two weeks this month visiting my mom, sisters, extended family, and friends. It was wonderful to see everyone, and I really didn't want to leave. We have been doing wonderfully since we moved to Wheatland, but I've been so busy that I haven't allowed myself much time to think about how much I miss having family close by. I came home with a renewed determination (as I usually do) to move back to the Big Horn Basin as soon as we possibly can!

I was able to make a quick trip to see Miriah and her beautiful family (including my new nephew!), and I was so grateful for that opportunity. Let me take a minute here to gush... Their house is adorable, their children are angels (yes, Miriah, even Ethan... seriously, he is NOT a screamer, so don't even pretend), and their happiness with their life is apparent to everyone around them! I'm so glad I was able to be immersed in their personal world in the short time we were there!

While I was away, William worked hard on several projects. He got a LOT of rewiring done, with no trips to the ER, which is a MAJOR, unexpected plus! He also raised my countertops, which is a drastic improvement... I no longer have to fold myself in half to wash dishes or appear as though I'm praying to my vegetables as I'm chopping them! Now we can begin to pay a little more attention to cosmetic details in our kitchen, though even that will take some time. We're working really hard to be a frugal as possible with our rennovations, so we have to wait to find the killer deals. That then leads us to begin new projects while we're waiting, which leads to our little family living among construction rubble! *sigh* It'll be worth it once it's done, I suppose. I just need to do a lot of yoga and that weird chanting/humming crap, I guess.

We did manage to make some headway and clear some space today, however. There were a lot of "extras" that came with the house when we moved in (most of which were a surprise to us), and we needed to clear out extra appliances, furniture, household goods, etc. So, we had a yard sale. We made over $300! Wahoo! So, of course, I visited a few yardsales myself (yes, I attend meetings for my disorder... they don't help), and was able to score a new memory foam mattress for William & I! It's the type with the pillowtop to give some extra firmness and support. I got it WAAAYYY cheap, and we're excited to see how it works for us.

Well, that's about all. Did you find anything worthy of the publication I gave it within my ramblings? No? Well, then next time quit reading sooner and you won't deserve the boredom induced stupor you're experiencing.

Kitchen Progression

So, this last week, with my MIL's help since she was here (Thanks, Carol!), we tackled some big jobs in the kitchen. I don't know if you remember what it looked like, so here's a reminder!

The yellow looks bright and sunny in the pic, but in reality it was harsh and garish... YUCK! You also can't see the horrible stick-on copper tiles done as a backsplash over the counters and covering two walls! Double YUCK!

And then, there were the floors...

I know... I'll wait while you puke.

Finished?

The previous owner had ripped up carpet (who puts carpet in the kitchen? DUMB!!!), but hadn't gotten any further with the renovation (that happened with A LOT of things in this house). So, this is several layers of linolium (and yes, that is the correct spelling. If your spell checker says otherwise, you may want to get a new one) with carpet adhesive that is no longer sticky (a.k.a it's so full of dirt and crud it can't possibly stick to anything else). GROSS!

So, we pulled all of the linolium up.

Now we had hardwood floors covered with the adhesive for the linolium. Of course, we would love to refinish the hardwood floors, but, um... IT'S A LOT OF WORK!!! Anyone willing is more than welcome to tackle the task for us! William said (after 5 weeks of work on the hardwood floors in the living and dining rooms) he's not touching anymore hardwood flooring projects for at least a year.

Anyway, after cleaning up the wood foors, we laid down new tiles, and now we have this:

Ahhhh... pretty, huh?
(Notice, I also painted! Much better!)

We also decided to rip out a few (stupid) cabinets that didn't make much sense where they were.

Yeah, I forgot to take the "before" pic until William started taking it down. But, you get the idea. A coat closet in the middle of my kitchen. We took it out...

To make room for my Hoosier Cabinet knock-off (designed by me and built by hubby!).

We also removed this little number:

Stupid placement... it covers most of the door frame! We plan to cut it down to counter height and make a little nook for all the mail, phone, phone books, etc.

So, I know there I don't have a whole lotta "after" photos yet, but I'll get 'um. It's a work in progress, but at least I can walk through my kitchen without feeling like I need to borrow William's combat boots!

Swimming, Swimming, in the swimming pool

It seems that Wyatt has overcome his hesitations concerning water, so we have taken full advantage of every opportunity to play in the water this summer. Yesterday, we went to the town pool for the first time, and we were quite impressed.

Wheatland is a small town, and it's an outdoor pool, so we didn't expect much. The pool was awesome! They have three water slides (not huge, buy hey, they're water slides!), a regular diving board and a high dive, and a LARGE wading pool for the little ones. Wyatt was so excited! We played in the wading pool for a while... until Wyatt saw the waterslides. He ran straight to the smallest one, and climbed up while William and I were jumping into the pool to try and get to the end of the slide to catch him! We thought for sure he wouldn't like it after he went under water, but he loved it! Of course, William did his best to keep Wyatt's head from going under. We spent over an hour playing on that slide... and then Wyatt spied the diving boards.

No, I did not allow my three-year-old to jump from the diving board, but it took some MAJOR convincing! He wanted to jump off the high dive (groan)... of course. Sometimes his fearlessness frightens me. Okay, MOST of the time it frightens me!

Anyway, we had a great time! Here are a few pics of my little man having a blast in the water!

Back in the saddle, er, computer chair again!

I know you've all been waiting patiently (i.e. complaining incessantly), so I'll do my best to bring you up to date!





The House





We've been working hard on lots of projects throughout our new home, doing our best to respect the history of this house while making it a functional home for our family. We finally got the floors refinished (pictures to come later), and we have decided we don't ever want to buy a home with hardwood floors again! We did some research, and seriously planned on a three day weekend to get the floors done. HAHAHAHAHA! I would like to find whoever touched these floors last (it's not the people we're buying from), and choke them with the cord of the floor sander! We knew the floors looked bad, but HOLY CRAP! WHAT WERE THESE PEOPLE THINKING?! The floors had been waxed, AND THEN gallons upon gallons of lacquer were put over the top. This resulted in the lacquer and wax simply melting to the sanding pad, rendering each one unusable after just a few minutes. 150 sanding pads and 5 weeks later we finished! Our $150-$200 dollar project became a $500 BEAST!





We are still working on the kitchen. The walls have been painted, as well as (most of) the cabinet doors. We plan to redo the counters, put in different appliances (including a dishwasher! Yay!), lay down new floors (forget pulling up what's there to refinish the wood!), and put in a few new cabinets. Oh yeah, and we also have to rework some wiring. Good thing we have an electrician who unwittingly offered to help us!





The Job





William's job is going well. He is in his second phase of FTO, and has been doing very well. In about 5 weeks he'll be completely on his own, and hopefully working a little more predictable schedule. The shift work hasn't been bad thus far, and the people at the department have been great!




This was William's first day in uniform. He REALLY didn't want to take the picture, but I reminded him that Dad wanted one! And we all know the answer to a request from Dad... "Okay, Kurt!" (And yes, Dad, you know it's true!)

Church

Our new ward is wonderful! They have been very welcoming and helpful. I have already been assigned visiting teachers and have been visited. I haven't had visiting teachers come visit me in a LONG time (Tia and Nikki, you were the last!), so I was impressed with and grateful for their efforts!

Our ward is small but full of wonderful people. Wyatt doubled the nursery size (literally) when he began attending. However, we have a very active ward with lots going on. It's a good place for us.


Overall, things are going very well for us! We LOVE Wheatland, and feel right at home here. I'll post further details (along with more photos) soon.

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.