July Fun

07/31/10

OK, here's some stuff that's been going on this month. First off, visiting my parents in Oregon over the Fourth of July. There were some cousins/aunts/uncles who came for a BBQ dinner.

Conrad lighting some fireworks for us.

Children enjoying the spoils.

Next up July 18th-19th: Rebecca and her family visited. She took tons more pictures of me than I did of her and her super cute family. We were friends all through high school and then roomed together freshman year at BYU. It's awesome how with old friends, when they visit, it's like picking up where you left off, and those five years inbetween feel like nothing more than a blip in your life (and you remember why you miss them.... :(.

Our children got along pretty well.

The COOOOOL artwork at the BYU Museum of Art when we visited there with them. It's made from irrigation wheel lines!

More wheel line art.

July 24th Mapleton City has its own funny little Pioneer Day parade, which the children got to participate in on the 5th ward's primary's little float.

For the last week of July, Mark and I (sans children, who spent those days with grandma) drove down to Brian Head and Cedar City for a 4-day getaway. On the way we did a little jeeping on a trail through Fish Lake National Forest, between Elsinore and Kanosh. There was a lovely aspen forest we drove through (in the rain) that felt almost ethereal.

We saw Much Ado About Nothing that evening at the Cedar City Shakespeare Festival. The next day we went to Cedar Breaks and did the hike there.

Then that evening we went to see The Merchant of Venice. The next day we were going to go mountain biking, but it was rainy and gloomy all day. Instead we jeeped a little trail to the top of Brian Head Peak, and then went in to Cedar City for a little shopping (bought books for the children), ice cream (ummm Maggie Moo's red velvet cake with brownies...), and watched Inception (go see it if you haven't already).

The funny little building at the summit.

Nice view, eh? (Ahem, I meant the OTHER mountains...)

And that's what happened in July. What's planned for August? A trip to Park City outlets for some school shopping. Father/Son's campout. Various church activities. Then, SCHOOL (horray!).

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Update

07/11/10

I can't believe it's already been a month since I last posted. This summer has been crazy busy with visiting grandmas, going to movies, playing with friends, and lots of other fun things going on around here. When I get the chance I'll post some pictures.

But the big news right now is that the Orem house is now under contract and should be sold by the end of July! It's a couple moving from out of town who want to live in the Orem High area and have six kids! They're really serious about buying the house, so we have our fingers crossed that it will work out!

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Camping at Payson Lake

06/12/10

Our pleasant little camp spot. The weather was beautiful the whole time and the bugs were minimal.

Gathering firewood.

So excited about the campfire.

Enjoying s'mores.

Roasting Starbursts. Yes, you read that right. For some strange reason they had a grand ol' time turning these into warm mushy globs.

Hanging out in the tent.

One of the brazen squirrels and chipmunks who sorted through our stuff. We kept the food out of the way, but they still chewed through the thin plastic wrapping of the paper plates and plastic cups. They'd practically come right up to our feet as we ate dinner, begging for a handout.

Mark and the boys heading out on Payson Lake. We spent Thursday afternoon here. It was lovely weather, not hot at all. I still got a pretty good sunburn anyway, but it was a nice day. There's a paved trail all the way around the lake that was an easy walk covered by trees.

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Book Review Goodness

06/18/10

So back in May I entered a contest over at the blog Elitist Book Reviews. I had been writing reviews for The Time Waster's Guide for a while, but the forum readers are different than they were even a few years ago. It used to be that the forum members would discuss books, but not so much anymore. As a result, there wasn't much point in writing reviews anymore if people don't care enough to read them.

Well, I was accepted on to the Elitist review team, which I'm really excited about. I'll be reviewing books I read anyway, plus the added bonus of reading ARCs, which are advance review copies publicists send out for free!

Here's my winning entry, and first posting on the blog. As I post new reviews on the blog, I'll make sure to let y'all know, too.

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Media Wall

06/15/10

There's a blank wall at the new house just outside the laundry room that's convenient to the kitchen, yet still not super visable by visitors. It makes a perfect media wall where I can post flyers, write down my grocery list, and keep track of the kids' school stuff.

The ribbon board is one I made at a Relief Society with my mother-in-law in the early years of my marriage. I've been using it ever since, and this is a great place for it.

The dry erase board is actually an old picture frame I had that I spray painted then added some scrapbook paper to. It's very easy and cheap to make, and it's fun to have a pretty 'white board' that matches.

Then I needed paper holders for the kids' school stuff, and I wanted something magnetic. I found these at Velocity Art and Design, which is a pretty cool website you should check out anyway.

I bought three, one for each kid. They come with their own little and powerful magnets, and screws to attach them to the wall. I'm really happy overall with my organized media wall. It's proved handy and convenient.

(Yes, that paper on Amber's file folder is a 'bored list' for during the summer when she comes to me to say, "Mom, I'm booooorreeeed." And I'll say, "Go look at the list." <evil laugh>)

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Ottoman and Bookshelf

06/12/10

You'll recall the old chair that I slipcovered earlier this week. I found an ottoman to go with the chair. It was at a yard sale for $1 - because the top cushion wasn't attached, and the fabric was ratty and had been spilled on by something sticky and smelly. (Sorry, I took off the bottom fabric before I remembered to take a picture.)

The fabric on the chair was clean, not sticky, and not smelly, so I just slipcovered over that. For the ottoman I removed ALL the fabric and reupholstered it because it made me cringe to think about only covering up the nasty fabric. It had to be thrown away.

I went back to the store for more duck fabric, all it took was 2 yards for this:

Oh, and I spraypainted the shabby little bookshelf with Krylon spraypaint in 'Celery'.

And now my cozy corner is complete:

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Moab 2010

06/08/10

Can it already be the second week of June? I hardly remember it being May... Last week we went to Moab and Arches National Park with Conrad and his family.

Here's the kids at a favorite arch of ours because it's so fun to just sit and enjoy: Pine Tree Arch

At the Visitor's Center.

Holy crimeny, do all my children have holes in their pant knees? What's with that...?

Spencer discovered that the white rocks made great chalk.

Enjoying the wildflowers near Double Arch.

Double Arch

Yes, my children will climb through, under, around, and on top of anything.

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Slipcovered Chair

06/06/10

When we first moved into the new house Mark wanted to put the leather chair in our bedroom. While I like the idea of having a chair in the bedroom for private reading time, the living room still needed that extra seating (that chair does get used a lot in there). In the meantime I've kept my eye out for a used chair to put in the bedroom. It needed to be soft and comfy, not too big, and because the budget is still tight until we sell the Orem house it had to be cheap.

I found this at the Sandy DI for $8 (yes it has a cushion):

It's been sitting in the basement for a couple of weeks until I could get around to it, and to Mark's credit he didn't say a word about it.

It fulfilled all the requirements, and the price was irresistable. I wasn't going to attempt to reupholster it, so I decided to slipcover it. There's a great blog over at The Nesting Place about how to slipcover that I used as my guide. I bought some off-white duck fabric at JoAnn's at $4 a yard (after the 50% off coupon). It's kind of like canvas, but more pliable while still being sturdy; the best part of using this kind of fabric is that the yellow chair won't show through. The chair used about 5 yards total. I wish I'd had more (it was the end of the bolt) because I mis-cut some pieces, so the seamline along the arms isn't quite what I wanted, but it still worked.

The finished product:

I even spent some time last night trying it out. The desk that used to be in that corner got moved to my bedside, and now I have a cozy corner for reading. I have an ottoman I found at a yardsale for $1 that I need to slipcover, but I ran out of fabric, so I need to go back and get some more. The pillow is one I made, as well. I'm thinking that the shabby bookshelf could use a fresh coat of paint.

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New Callings

05/23/10

Mark and I were given callings in our new ward, and since so many of you have asked, I thought I'd post when it finally happened.

Mark is the new Deacon's Quarum Assistant (he likes this calling)

Vanessa is the Enrichment leader (yikes, there goes some of my free time)

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6

05/21/10

My baby turned six today. It was his turn to have a party with friends. He chose a Super Mario theme. I made hats, a boomba pinata, mushrooms, and mystery box goodie bags.

Oh, and invincibility star sugar cookies, which they decorated.

A 'super' good time was had by all.

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Carter's Taekwondo Belt Display

05/08/10

Carter has been taking taekwondo for three years now, and has gone through all the little dragon belts. I wanted to make a display for him to put up in his bedroom. I've seen them before, but they can be pricey. So I made my own.

I started with a 12"x1/2" pine board, cut it to the desired length, sanded it, primed it, and painted it Carter's color of choice: orange.

I drilled holes in it so I could thread through some elastic bands to hold on the folded belts.

I added some nails to the back to hook the elastic bands on to. I also added a couple of 1x2 strips to the back so it would stand far enough out from the wall so the nails wouldn't gouge the drywall.

I mod podged a picture they had taken of him, as well as a board he'd broken during a testing that was signed by one of his instructors (I don't know if it's Chinese or Korean). Then after finding the studs in the wall, screwed it on. That last blank spot is for the black belt he has. Once he advances again, I'll put it on the display board.

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Various Craftiness and Decorating

05/07/10

A few things I've been working on the past couple of weeks.

1. Wreath for the kitchen. When I can track down the original idea I'll post it. It's made from coffee filters (yes, they come in brown) wired to a wreath form I already had. I thought I'd leave it at that. I think it looks cool, all puffy and tonal. Kinda like a big bagel. That's appropriate for a kitchen, don't you think?

2. My spring mantle decorating. The plant is one Casey left behind when he went to Germany. I've been giving it some tough love and it's shaped up quite a bit from the scraggly thing it was before. The old window frame is from a local antique store. The picture Mark got for the family last Christmas. I think it came together nicely and sets a pretty stage for the living room.

3. White milk glass collecting. I'm trying my hand at it, seeing what I can do with it. I like it because (duh) it's called 'milk' and I've always liked collecting glass items, AND a lot of them are vases! A girl who likes to garden can never have too many vases. Plus I like the calm look of grouping white things together.

Close up of white milk glass vase on the mantle. This one is my favorite piece, with the shape and grapevines. All of the pieces are from thrift stores, since it's old-fashioned and isn't generally sold in regular stores.

Lilacs and allium from the Orem house in a white milk glass vase. The white allows the purple to really stand out.

4. Mother's Day card inspired from Paper Crafts Magazine's May 2010 issue. Those are called 'rolled flowers' made from fabric and I wanted to try to make them. I'm happy with how they turned out. I've seen people put them on headbands, necklaces, corsages--which I'm tempted to try.

5. Another wreath, this time one of the 'book wreaths' that've been floating around the crafty blog world. The book's a relic from the thrift store, which I folded up and hot glued to a wreath form, then a dusting of spray paint. Of all the different book wreath styles out there, from rolling to mod podge, I liked how this one looked the best. I'm about 80% convinced I like it. Still weighing in.

A close-up:

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'New' Black Stools

05/06/10

Finished the final end table today. Yippee! I'm glad those are all done. Here's a final view of all three in the living room.

My other project involves new barstools for the kitchen island. I can't get big ones with backs on them because they'd impede traffic flow, so they had to be able to hide completely under the countertop overhang. I found that the two standard heights most barstools come in are either to short or too tall. But I knew one thing: I wanted them to be black so they'd match the kitchen trim.

We were going to wait to get stools, but I found a set of three, which is how many we needed, at the thrift store, for $30 (just one usually goes for $40+ at other stores). I brought them home and found they were too tall.

So I had to not only paint them, but also chop a few inches off the legs. No problem.

The stripper didn't take off the varnish (that left me scratching my head) so I had to sand it off. Originally I wanted to stain them black and then have a high gloss enamel coating, but I have no idea what kind of wood it is (it's NOT oak, pine, alder, and it smells like pig poo when it's wet, in case you were wondering), and it didn't take the stain. This meant I had to sand them down and paint them, which wasn't what I originally wanted, but I'd live with it since I'd still get an acceptable end result. Then I put on a couple coats of polyurethane. I still have a final coat of paint and then polyurethane on the other two stools, but here's the first one finished (next to what it looked like before):

Those stupid little squares (painted on, bytheway) are supposed to give the illusion that the side slats go through the legs, which if they did, would make the stools much sturdier and worth more, but they don't. More's the pity.

The new, improved black stool is the appropriate size now and is ready to be used at the counter.

I think it works rather well.

Since wood is LOUD when you're scraping it across tile floor, I found these babies at Home Depot and added to the bottom of each leg:

They nail in so they won't fall off any time soon, they're sturdy because they have the plastic on the bottom with the felt pad. They work great so far.

Edit: all three are finished

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Some Minor Updates

04/30/10

I refinished the coffee table.

Now I just have the second end table to do. I'll probably do it next week, then all the living room tables will be finished. Phew. Talk about a messy project, but I'm really happy with how they turned out. Mark is noncommital, which I can only interpret as meaning he doesn't hate them.

I also re-covered a couple of pillows. Think of them as pillow slipcovers, since they can be taken off. I really like how they turned out. Ruffles!

I found the idea for them here.

Mark took one look at those pillows and burst out laughing. I ignored him. Not EVERYTHING in the living room must be manly and gender neutral all the time! They've been in there almost two weeks and he still refuses to use them. Haha. Anyway, I'm happy with them.

Here's the living room with updated tables and a couple of new fresh-looking pillows:

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Laundry Room

04/29/10

My old laundry room was pretty big. It had a nice closet to store cleaning supplies, an area big enough to spread out, and a big utility sink.

The new laundry room might as well be a closet.

*Sob*

Eventually, when I finish up some of my other plans around the house, I'm going to come back to this and paint it a nice cheerful color (any suggestions? I'm thinking a pastel yellow or blue, or both!). Perhaps a little vignette on top of the cupboards. Some pictures or a pretty shelf where I can put clothes hangers. A shelf over the door? There's plenty of room up there. Hrm. Perhaps there are more possibilities than I thought.

In the meantime I had to solve the storage issues. The cabinets are (mostly) big enough to store all the cleaners. I installed these hooks for the broom, etc. (OK, I did put up that one picture. It's the poster from the Flower Festival in Puerto Rico that we attended a few years ago. FYI: Don't buy that kind of frame, they aren't very stable.)

That ironing board and iron holder I've had since we were first married, it was cheap, and works great.

I had a laundry rack, but NO room to set it up when I'm doing laundry. When I found this tutorial, I found my solution to this problem.

It was pretty easy to make, and cost about as much as a standing drying rack. It's perfect because it's out of the way, I can fold it up against the wall when I'm not using it, and I think it turned out cute!

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Toothless

04/28/10

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End Table Refinishing Project

04/18/10

We've had this end table and coffee table set ever since the house in East Millcreek (yep, this is a picture from the old house). I bought them at a store that sold used furniture. They were sturdy, they matched the wood in the house, they were cheap, and they came as a set. They serve their purpose.

But over the years they seem more and more dated. Refinishing them would hopefully solve the bland oak finish until we can afford something more current. I practiced first on my chair project to make sure I got the technique down so I didn't botch this. Mark was worried that I'd make them look worse than they do now (as hard as that is to imagine...).

First I looked in catalogues and online to see how others were refinishing their furniture. (By the way, Knock-Off Wood is a SUPER site for building your own projects, and has ideas for these kinds of things.)

I love how this looks:

{Photo from Knock-Off Wood}

Oh, and this!

Do you see a theme here? Dark wood finish on top and off-white painted legs! Pretty wood without being overpowering--especially since this house has so much wood cabinetry and trim. Perfect!

I chose the end table with water damage on the top, and stripped and sanded it. It took me several hours to scrub all the gloppy varnish and then sand sand sand it down. (As soon as we're able to afford stuff again when the Orem house is sold, I'm begging Mark for an electric hand sander.)

We had some walnut stain left from when we redid the Orem house wood molding, and I used that on the top. On the legs I first primed it with Kilz spray primer, then when that was dry I sprayed on a couple coats of Rustoleum's Antique White spray paint, then a couple coats of polyurethane, and voila:

Now I have the other end table and the coffee table to do. But I know much better the steps.

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Amber's Bedroom

04/11/10

Amber has lots of stuff. She keeps things from school and all sorts of little knick knacks and other memorabilia. The hard thing is incorporating as much of it as we can into the room without making the room feel cluttery. I think we succeeded for the most part, but Mark and I have to be flexible and let her do what she wants as long as she keeps her room clean. She had a ton of pictures she wanted to put up, so I tried to at least make it look cohesive. The black frame there in the middle still has yet to have pictures added. We're working on that.

The window faces east and the road, so we had to put something over the window for privacy and to filter out the morning light. This is a bedsheet I found at a thrift store cut in half to cover both windows. When we can finally sell the Orem house and save up money we'll eventually put up blinds and more permenant window treatments. That is Panda's new favorite spot in the house, by the way. He spends all morning there in that chair basking in the sun.

Amber's crowded bookshelf--she loves her books!

Amber's wall-o-animals. I found these semi-circle flower baskets and hung them so she could have a place for her stuffed animals that wasn't all over the closet floor. This is out of the way and contains them while still looking somewhat organized.

This is the wall between the door and the closet, a kind of dead zone really. To make use of the space and so she doesn't have more things spread out all over the room, I created a media zone, where she has her calendar, magnet board, white board, and cork board all together.

All in all she's pretty happy with the room. It's big, and her stuff is set up in a way that she likes.

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Master Bedroom

04/09/10

I need to finish the pictures for Amber's room, now that her curtains are up. So that will be the next post, but for now here's the master bedroom, which, clearly, is still a work in progress. It needs blinds, window treatments. An actual bedframe and nightstands that match. But, meh. We're getting to it.

(This bed needs a headboard in the worst way...but that will have to wait.)

(That door leads to the bathroom.)

My desk with its new matching chair.

A few things on the desk. My lamp I used to have on my bedside, but now use the built-ins, but I love it (it has shiny beads, it's so cute), so I'm keeping it. A picture I found at an antique shop, I love the watercolors and the scene. A mini terrarium I made--I'm trying my hand at them, doing something new. And the pennywhistle I bought during Jeff's wedding and we visited the Washington touristy things. Or wait, maybe I bought it in Philadelphia. I can't remember. Every once in a while I pick it up and play the little tunes in the book that came with it.

A begonia my mother gave me, but it's grown about 6x as big as when I first brought it home a while back. I think it likes me.

(The door leads to the deck outside.)

The things on my bedside bookshelf: a picture of me and my dad when I was little, a teddy bear Carrie sent me when Spencer was born, and a ceramic dish mom bought me that was made by someone named Diane Conrad whom we don't know, but liked the name for some reason...

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Chair Remake

04/06/10

I've been wanting to try to refinish a piece of furniture in forever. I thought a good starter project would be a chair to go with my black roll-top desk--because a chair is small, cheap, and it's not a significant piece of furniture everyone will notice, especially if you do a bad job. When Mark bought the desk for me for Mother's Day a few years ago I wanted something that would match the desk, but used a chair we already had. During recent trips to the thrift store I've kept my eyes open for something that would solve both dilemmas. Yesterday I finally found a chair at the DI for $10:

The back rest is still in good condition, and the seat looks like it was a more recent addition (the original bottom had been torn out and replaced with a board and a padded leather covering). Since the chair needs to be black to match the desk, I had to prep it for painting. I used this:

I could use the stripper indoors because it didn't have fumes, and the varnish was ready to be removed in about an hour. (Note to self: next time, let it sit longer to get the tougher stuff off.) I scraped it off the best I could, used an old sponge to clean off the rest, waited for it to dry, then sanded it. Boy was this a messy process, but I've learned better how to do it for the next project.

Next I primed it:

Then spray painted it black:

Then I covered it with a clear coat of enamel and recovered the seat with some fabric I had leftover from a window treatment project in the old house. Finished product:

I like how much sleeker it looks. It will look great next to my desk. My job on it wasn't perfect, but I learned a lot so that the next project will not only go smoother, but the finished product will be less amateurish.

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Moved In

04/01/10

Here's how it's looking so far. Living room:

Kitchen:

Formal dining room:

TV room:

Boys' room:

Bedroom across the hall from the boys' room is being used as a toy room:

Other rooms are mostly unfinished. There's still a bunch to do with hanging pictures, decorating, and window treatments.

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House Update: Closed!

03/22/10

Yep. Now it's official.

<dances>

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House Update: New Moving Date March 26-27

03/18/10

Long story short: mortgage insurance sucks. No one will give it to us for stupid stupid reasons.

We're re-assessing our options and have come up with a plan. We'll be closing next week for sure and moving next weekend.

Next week I have to drive my kids to the new school because the registration is all squared away now and I can't change it even though we won't have moved yet.

I'm living out of boxes, my house is a disaster, and I can't even drink a Coca-cola to make myself feel better because all this delay has made me all anxious and refluxy.

Our Orem house hasn't sold because no one has come to see it in three weeks.

I'm trying to see a silver lining right now, I really am, but all I want to do is go read some violent books or play a violent game and then sleep in tomorrow until, like, lunchtime.

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House Update: Still Waiting

03/17/10

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

But, ug. I'm going to give myself ulcers waiting so impatiently for the stupid lenders to just GET DONE WITH IT so we can close and start moving for pity's sake.

Still packing. Running out of boxes.

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Spring Tablerunner

05/16/10

It's simply stripes of different spring-colored fabrics sewn into a long runner and hand-quilted that I made recently. The colors here don't do it justice. It's so fresh and light, I love it. Makes me think of spring bulbs and Easter eggs.

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House Update: Packing

03/15/10

This last Saturday I went to the new house again and did lots more cleaning. It's as ready as it's going to be. Our original plan was to close on the house today, but the lender was being all persnickity about the appraisal (the knucklehead appraiser was incapable of using good comparables in his report). We'll let you know the offical day we close.

In the meantime, I'm packing packing packing. I probably have 2/3 of the house packed. What's left is the kitchen, bedding, clothes, and misc stuff we use. But now it's time to start packing even that. Mark is going to see if we can at least start moving misc boxes into the garage to save us time later. I'm hoping that won't be a problem.

It's INSANE how many boxes we're using. I'm not a packrat, I don't keep lots of stuff. But still, this is a full household with all the kid's paraphanelia that involves, and well as hobbies, and tons of fragile houseplants to move. (Whose fault is that, anyway?)

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House Update: Cleaning In Progress

03/06/10

Today the family trekked over to the new house with our car trunk full of cleaning supplies. We spent all afternoon working on the new house. We cleaned shelves, windows (scraped off the stickers--that took forever), vacuumed (by the way, the new carpet looks fabulous!), and wiped down shelves until we were sick of cleaning.

Next week is sweeping out the basement, throwing out garbage, finishing the vacuuming upstairs, and remembering to bring a ladder so we can dust the ledges and tops of cabinets. That should take most of the afternoon, too. But at that point we'll be ready to move things into the house (which will begin on the 15th, we hope). Other things like washing exterior windows, etc, will have to wait until we're unpacked.

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On the Fickleness of Utah's March Weather

03/05/10

Yesterday:

This morning:

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House Update: March 20th Moving Day

03/02/10

We finally have a day scheduled for moving. We'll be renting a truck for Friday (19th) and Saturday (20th). Mark has a bunch of days off earlier in the week so we'll be taking the small stuff and boxes over to the house with his trailer and Jeep.

The new house has the carpet installed, the exterior concrete is finished, and hopefully the exterior railing will be going up in the next day or two--and that's all that's left to do! Friday is the official appraisal day and then we can close whenever we want after that.

I'll be able to go over a few days before the moving process starts and do some cleaning--probably on Saturday the 13th if anyone wants to come help!

The Orem house hasn't had any offers since the last update.

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Flag Quilt

03/01/10

I've made this quilt about a hundred times for gifts. The original version is about 18"x12", but I made it bigger this time so it's about 40"x30". It's a great pattern that comes together fast, and only needs scraps (I started it yesterday and it's already done). Next week my Relief Society is having a service gift exchange, and since I'll be moving soon after, I decided to make something that could be given that night.

The pattern is from the book "Little Quilts All Through the House" by Alice Berg, Mary Ellen Von Holt, and Sylvia Johnson

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Acid Reflux

02/26/10

Yes, I've been diagnosed (by my internist AND by Mark). It began around September when we first put the house on the market. (Coincidence...?) At first it was a couple of times a month, but then it got worse and worse until about January it was almost everyday.

If you've ever had heartburn, it doesn't have to be really bad to make eating unpleasant. It was bad enough that I lost a couple of pounds in January--after not having gained any weight during the holidays because eating too much was just impossible. It was either a constant pressure in my diaphragm or a horrible taste in my mouth between meals. Being uncomfortable is one thing, but you can't have acid constantly eating away your esophagus; eventually that will make you very sick.

Mark was just about to write me a prescription when Casey sent me the "Diet to Heal the Bowel". I began the 10-day program. I quit caffeine, sugar, breads, red meat, and anything excessively acidic such as citrus fruits or red sauces, and anything that would potentially scratch my esophagus while it's healing. I was limited to certain foods, and while those foods in and of themselves aren't things I hate--only eating certain foods for 10 days straight was enough to make me want to pull out my hair. Let's just say that it's a good thing I'm not lactose intolerant, because dairy was about the only thing I could stand after that long.

Fortunately, it worked. While I'm not 100% healed, the constant discomfort is gone.

The 'diet' is now over and I can eat a more varied diet, but I find that how I look at food has changed. I think that from now on I'm going to be more careful about what I eat. No more Coca-Cola for me <cries>, I'm severely limiting how much chocolate I can eat (apparently, caffiene weakens the place where the esophogus connects to the stomach), and after a week and a half without sugar, any candy I eat now tastes too sweet. This means that, for now, I can avoid using medications. I'm just hoping that in the long run that giving up a few things will be enough to make my healing more long-term.

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House Update

02/18/10

The financing is all in place now and we're past the due diligence date. The contractors have begun working on the house and say they'll have everything done easily within two weeks. This puts our closing date tentatively March 5th.

They're working on grading some of the outside landscaping, fixing the gas fireplace on the main floor, hooking up the rest of the venting throughout the house, fixing any exposed wiring, installing carpet and cabinet knobs, installing a shower door, and any other miscellaneous things that need doing.

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7

02/16/10

Carter turned 7 on Saturday. He played on the Wii. A friend came over to play and brought him Bakugans as a gift. Grandma and Grandpa took him to lunch at McDonald's. Uncle Dan and Aunt Kristin came over. It was a fun day for him.

He specifically asked for ice cream cake, and really, the best place to get it is at Cold Stone. They had a mint chocolate chip cake there, which is his favorite ice cream.

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They've Accepted Our Offer (Take #2)

02/10/10

The house saga continues, but we really think that this is The One. It all started about a month ago after we withdrew the offer on this house and went looking again. We found another house in a different area, but the same town (Mapleton). We put an offer down mid-January, but before the owners accepted it, a cash offer came in, so the owners took that one and dumped us. They were supposed to close in a week, but the cash offer fell through and the house was re-listed; we put down an offer again at the end of January. We spent almost two weeks negotiating back and forth on the particulars, but now we're finally under contract.

There's no HOA like with the last one, but that's not the only thing that makes it better. The layout is more condusive to our family, it's less 'showy' than the other house so suits my style better, and most importantly won't stretch us financially. Also, it hasn't been landscaped yet (so excited!).

There are a few things that need to be finished with the house before we can live in it, but they're minor. A contractor is lined up and should have the house ready by the end of February for an occupancy permit, then we can move in the first week of March. The Orem house isn't sold yet, but having it be vacant for a month or two won't hurt us financially, and as the regular housing season picks up in the spring, having the house vacant will interest would-be buyers <crosses fingers>.

House Stats:
6067 square feet
4 bedrooms and 4 bathrooms
1 acre lot (with animal rights!)
3 car garage (sorry, Mom, not as ridiculous as the other one)
concrete slab in the basement for a fancy schmancy home theater

From the front (the house faces east):

Gotta love the weeds! There's no landscaping, of course. I have my work cut out of me. But I've already sketched out a few ideas for the yard. I might post them later if people want to see them.

Living room/great room:

Kitchen (if you are looking at the picture above, turn 180 to see the kitchen):

It just needs a fridge. The pantry isn't as big as the one I have now, but with all the other cabinet space in the kitchen I'm not too worried about storage space.

Deck/patio right outside the kitchen:

Spencer taking a look around one of the bedrooms (the one that will likely be his or a playroom for their toys):

"Bonus room" above the garage (hey, Conrad, what do you think we should do with this? ;)

Unfinished basement (with cold storage room and slab under garage for theater room; eventual spot for guestrooms, etc):

If you notice, there's no carpet in the rooms, the vents are missing, some of the stonework on the front of the house isn't done, and a few other things that need to be completed before we can move in. That just means we'll have to make double sure to post 'after' pictures after it's done so you can really see what we have envisioned for this place.

We'll keep you updated on our progress.

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Alter Ego?

02/06/10

So I've been surfing the crafty blogs the last few months, and just today I ran across this link from a blog I frequent:

http://www.vanessachristenson.com/

She has an Etsy.com shop, even. Her craftiness far surpasses mine (which is sporadic and unrefined, but I try). It's worth checking out if you like to sew! And she's hilarious to read.

But now I can't help but feel like my blog is super duper dated... Even though I'm lazy, it's way past time for a re-vamp. Anyone have suggestions?

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