Christmas

I hope you had a very Merry Christmas! I tried to pace myself and did pretty well. I made a centerpiece for the table on the 23rd that came out better than I expected. My family came down as well as Greg's mom, so we had 9 around our 8-seat table. We had great munchies before our early dinner and Greg made prime rib and ham while I made rolls, potato salad, baked potatoes, and peas. A warm dutch apple pie with vanilla bean ice cream and a pumpkin pie with whipped creme rounded out the menu. Yum!

We emptied our remodel bank account by purchasing our son's coveted item. He waited 6 months for this one thing from the remodel. He and I did our research and went shopping. We ordered a Sony Bravia 46" LCD flat screen TV and it arrived the Friday before Christmas. We updated our cable package to include HD and digital and a few more channels, but we might switch to Direct TV because it's cheaper and has more and better channels. Why didn't we do that in the first place? No clue.

Since my mom got to finally see the house, I'm sharing some pictures. We are still at the 'before decorating' phase. I want to do some lettering on the walls and add an entry table, entertainment center, pictures on the walls, candles, etc. It will be fun to find the time to shop.







Today we get our new kitty. The kids went to their dad's for Christmas Eve as usual. He and his wife and just put down their cat as well. Her sister wanted to replace their cat so she brought two kittens from their ranch as a surprise Christmas gift to her. She didn't think she was ready to replace the cat so soon, but one of the kittens really took to Kristen. It is 8 weeks old, has all it's shots, comes with a cat box, litter, and food. It's black with white tips on its feet, and white tummy,and a white upside-down heart on it's face. They're bringing it to us at 2:00 today. Kristen had found a cat on the Internet called Zenith that she wanted, but Zenith lives in Selma, a few hours away. Mark and I didn't like the name Zenith. Everyone liked the name Kira so she will be named Kira Zenith. K-Z for short. (K-Z kitty!) Can't wait.

It's been a very busy weekend. Leadership training yesterday, which ended up being a 3 hour board game because one member couldn't make it due to illness, Mark's friend Andrew coming for dinner to show us pictures of his first semester at Montana Wilderness Bible School, and friends from church coming over for lunch to hear about what we're doing with the church plant. Sure makes you keep your house clean!

We're planning our advance for our leadership team. (Advance, not retreat, because Greg doesn't like the term 'retreat'.) We're going through my favorite book of all time by Erwin McManus and might do my second favorite book of all time by him as well. At the advance we'll plan the calendar year, our pre-launches, and seek God.

Well, I better wash the windows. The dogs had a field day on Christmas with the mud and seeing my mom's two little Bichon Frises inside.

Blessings this sunny, clear, beautiful Sunday!

Scary Day and the Great Half Reveal

Yes, I'm still here. If you're still checking my blog, God bless you for your faithfulness!

Last Wednesday was a scary day. We were in Modesto working and had just finished lunch. I got out of the truck to head to the bathroom and saw this shimmering, red/pink flashing crescent in the upper left portion of my left eye's vision. I stopped. I looked around. It wasn't going away. I took a couple of steps, it was still there. It was kind of how things look before you pass out. I walked back to the truck and stared at Greg, waiting for him to finish what he was doing. He looked at me and I said, "I have a problem. There's something wrong with my vision." He came over and prayed for me and held me. I was getting scared and panicky. I had this about 15 years ago a couple of times and thought maybe it was happening again. We got in the truck and headed for our eye doctor in Modesto. I called as we drove and thankfully he was in and could see me.

We got there and as I was standing in the waiting area talking to the doctor, it went away. Greg says it always happens. When he prays for me, nothing happens right away, but 15 minutes later, I'm healed. The eye doctor examined me well, dilated me, and assured me my retina was still attached and everything looked normal. It was an ocular migraine. I've always called it a painless migraine. You're sensitive to light and sometimes have that drugged feeling afterwards but you also have these weird flashes of light that can be like stars on a black background, crescent shaped and multi-colored, or other varieties. I had had sinus pressure in my left temple that morning and was under a lot of stress last week, so that's probably what happened. I got to do easy work the rest of the day, raking leaves, then went home. All better.

The Great Half Reveal had to do with the stress of last week. We're coming towards the end of the remodel and I scheduled painters to do the cut-ins in the living room. We have high, angular cathedral ceiling lines and I didn't have the desire or confidence to paint straight lines up there. They did some trim work too, and painted our dining room for the third time, the correct color! Totally my fault for not being able to get the right color the other two times. Anyway, we were also getting our windows replaced. Greg and I had to paint the walls and the hallway and the trim and touch up the bathroom. Greg was sick last week and two nights he couldn't do anything. In one night he painted the whole living room, while sick! We still need to do a second coat, but it's passable if you don't stand too close! Kristen's bedroom furniture was all over the living room, as we were having baseboards put in her room. It was chaos. We had to put everything back together by Saturday afternoon for our leadership meeting and Sunday for family coming down. Here are some pictures of what has transpired over the last several weeks since the last shots.

The first wrong color in the dining room. New tile.

Tiling from the living room into the hallway. Our tile guy was great, always giving us a pathway to still walk when tile was drying overnight.

The concrete pour for our backyard and side yard. We extended the concrete through the side gate and along the driveway so I dont have to get out of the truck in the dirt anymore!





Greg and our neighbors replacing our side fence. All in one day!



Kristen was in her high school drama this weekend so we were making frequent trips to Denair (20 minute drive one way) all week. We put it all together, less decorating (not to that step yet). Family came down to see Kristen in the play, minus my mom who was sick (hence the half reveal, and all was well. I could finally relax! The next hump? Christmas here. Fortunately we finally got the tree up this week. We just need to move it. Still lots to do.

Blessings on this foggy, cold Thursday.

Remodel Update

It's been awhile, so I thought I would give everyone an update on where we are on the remodel. We have almost all the electrical done. We need to install some bulbs in the can lights. The concrete guys pour the back patio/walkways and side of the driveway tomorrow. We are are part way done with baseboards and need trim installed around doors and the window in the living room. Then we paint the living room. We need to paint the extension one more time. It was first painted a green that was too dark, like a hunter green, then we swung too light to a lime green, but I think we've found the right color now. We're also waiting for a plumber to come and use a special tool to remove our existing bathroom fixture so we can install a new one. Someday, the vanity will be replaced.

The things that are on our list as God provides are an entry table, an entertainment center, and our desks and office furniture. Because of the dimensions involved, we'll have to do all these items custom. Instead of doing these now, we decided to re-roof and replace 6 existing windows, so structurally, we'll be fine for the next 20-30 years.

I'm happy to say that for the first time in months I woke up this week WITHOUT a new layer of dust on every surface! What am I looking forward to most? It just might be the 20 yard dumpster that's coming so we can throw all our demo stuff away and clear the backyard for landscaping (Greg's favorite part!) It also might be the table and hutch coming Saturday. I just wish the extension was painted the right color first!

Today was spent removing trims from the living room doors and window, going to physical therapy to fix a slipped sacroiliac joint that went out in July after pulling nails from rafters, then again when helping someone move by taking something off the moving van in September. Then I went to work for four hours. Tonight, it's trying to tackle my desk. Tomorrow, we wrap the back of the house so the new concrete doesn't splatter against the new stucco. (That would be so ugly!)

Blessings on this chilly Tuesday night.

New Stuff

I'm finding it impossible to blog on Mondays. I have just enough time to get up way early, throw on work clothes and hit the door at daybreak. I even eat in the truck. So, here's an update on what has gone on in the last 2 days.

Sunday we went to another church to check out what they did. Several people have asked us what we thought about them but until Sunday we couldn't answer because we had never gone. Though what I heard prior was controversial, we found it to be a great experience. We were greeted warmly at the door and handed our bulletins. We were welcomed by a couple we knew and got to catch up a little before service. The associate Pastor came over and introduced himself as well and welcomed us. Then the Pastor came over and called us by name and welcomed us. He said he heard we were planting a church on the west side. We caught up with him a bit and I got to catch up on his brother, who I worked with at Gallo many years ago. The worship was great, the teaching was on track and relevant. As we exited the front door, the Pastor offered to help us plan our church plant and asked that we call him. I filled out a visitor card and the associate Pastor called us that afternoon. All in all it was a great experience and we're glad we went.

Sunday we pretty much did stuff around the house and watched football. Yesterday was a good hard workday and last night I fell asleep on the sofa with Greg at 6:00 for a few minutes while our tile guy grouted what he did on Saturday. He offered to come back tonight and Wednesday night and tile more, but Greg wanted him fresh on Saturday, so he'll be back then to tile the kitchen. Yeah!

I'm looking forward to tomorrow night. Besides teaching, we have gifts to bring. I love bringing gifts! I have lots to work on today and tonight we will probably grind down the rest of the concrete and pull up some carpet to prepare for this weekend. Maybe I'll do some painting today as well. Blessings on this fall Tuesday!

Update

I'm slapping myself for being so sporadic in my blogging and having to try and remember where I left off Tuesday! Wednesday night was our Bible Study on the westside. We had our new youth pastors Josh and Monica over so everyone could get to know them and they had instant rapport. We played a game called Loaded Questions which was great in getting everyone to know each other better. We laughed constantly. I get to teach this week and then next week we'll start a marriage series. Josh and Monica will be caring for and teaching the six little ones so all the adults can focus on the teaching.

Wednesday Greg and I worked the Turlock route and Thursday we were in Modesto. Greg assigned me my first area to be totally responsible for; the rose gardens and planters around the sanctuary of a church in Modesto. Friday I helped him for a couple of hours at our church and got to mow a new area.

Yesterday one of the couples at our small group was having a garage sale to make rent and we saw the opportunity to bless them. We called them Friday night and told them we had appliances and boxes of kitchen stuff they could have if they wanted it to sell. They came over at 7 yesterday and picked it all up. It blessed us to have it gone. Greg rearranged the garage and I can park in it again! They sold enough stuff to make their rent! Yeah!


Our tile guy came at 7:30 and started tiling the new room. He laid 92 20" tiles yesterday and will come back Monday night and grout it. Then he'll be back on the weekend to continue tiling into the living room and kitchen.


The stucco guys also came at 7:30 and started on the back of the house. I went and picked up pizza and soda for everyone at noon and we had fun talking in Spanish and English and finding out about every one's families. The tile guy ha 4 kids! The stucco supervisor came from a family with 10 kids and another stucco guy had 11 kids in his family! Yikes!

Today we're visiting another church. Should be interesting. Better finish getting ready. I hate being late! Blessings on this beautiful 85 degree Lord's day!

Scary!

What a crazy couple of days since my last post! Greg and I met with a guy who he wanted to do our tile floors Monday night. He struck me as someone with a drug history but seemed pretty okay that night. We agreed that I would meet him at Lowe's Wednesday at noon to pick out the mortar, grout, etc. He called and said he couldn't make it until 12:15. No problem. I got there at 12:10, waited in the front of the store until 12:20, then headed to the back in case he was in the tile section. At 12:25 I called him on his cell and he said he was on Monte Vista Ave. and would be there in a couple of minutes. At 12:50 he comes staggering in, slurring his words, is constantly in motion, mumbling, can't concentrate, it took him 20 minutes to pick out the mortar from about 4 choices! I told him he looked like he wasn't feeling too well, and was he under the influence of something? He said he lost 1/2 a tooth and couldn't keep his plate up. I thought, if you have plates, then a lost tooth shouldn't hurt a bit! He didn't say he took anything and didn't miss a beat or seem the least bit offended when I asked, as though he's been asked that before.

I started feeling really freaked out. I couldn't wait to get out of there! He was supposed to come over and start working on the floor, but I thought, I don't want him using a saw on my property! He'll cut off a finger or something then I'll have a lawsuit, yikes! We went out the store and he said he had to go to the temp agency to pick up a ticket then would be over in 20 minutes. As soon as got in my car I called Greg. No answer. I drove to where I thought he would be working but he wasn't there. Kristen was home. Finally I got Greg and told him this guy was on drugs. He called the temp agency and had them tell him we wouldn't be needing him. Whew! That was close. I've never felt so threatened in my life! He was nice, but he was totally out of it and not very lucid. Even the temp agency said they've been watching him lately. Greg said he sounded out of it on the phone message he left that day.

With our new board coming Saturday morning, I was in a pickle to get the bathroom done. I was already painting and needed a tile guy fast! Friends of our let us use their saw, then when the tile guy fell through, they let us contact their tile guy. What a godsend! This sweet, Christian Hispanic man and his wife came over at 6:30 yesterday morning to see the job and agreed to do it all today so we could use the bathroom tomorrow for the board meeting! Yeah! He doesn't speak English so I get to try and remember my Spanish and communicate with him. He's very patient with me! God surely protected us from making a horrible mistake on this one!

The painters are here doing their thing. They're even going to make my corners straight in the bathroom and touch up the kitchen too. A professional job. Yeah!

I worked with Greg 9 1/2 hours yesterday. He said he was glad he married a strong wife. My shoulder is a little sore from lugging around a full large trash can several times yesterday, but a good kind of sore. He said I'm ready for mowing our largest account on Monday. Yeah! It's a little scary thinking I'm going to be doing corporate lawns. I remember Gallo's beautiful grounds. I'll be very careful. Greg said it's the most challenging time to learn to mow, it's wet and the grass is high. That means there could be ruts left when turning and I have to know the height to mow. Luckily he helps me with that but says I have a good eye to know what to set it on. Since I'm not working with him today, I have to help him Saturday afternoon. Should be a pretty easy half day though.

Today, I'm trying to be productive. It's hard, as everything is covered in plastic and I can't get in the bathroom. I'm pretty much making lists and doing laundry and running errands.

Blessings on this gorgeous Friday, and thanks for reading my rambling!

Saving Grace

Not what you think. I don't remember if I blogged about the frustration of having striped ceilings or not. If not, I have them after several coats of primer. The saving grace comes in the form of a painting contractor who may (hopefully) save my tail and finish the painting. I'm too gun shy to try and finish it myself, though I'm doing the bathroom. Hopefully, Greg will approve the bid and we can move on to tiling the floor and finishing up.

I've taken a break from the painting to concentrate on other things that have been neglected, like my desk, the ironing board, the bedroom, and better cooking. The bathroom has been prepped for painting as soon as the spackling paste dries on a few spots and Greg unscrews the light fixture box, which has stripped screws due to the installation, I'll get painting. We bought the new toilet last night, bone colored, elongated bowl, and chair height for when we're too old to sit all the way down on a standard toilet! Greg will install the toilet and faucet this week, hopefully, before our board meeting on Saturday. Yes, I am cutting it close!

Here's what a wonderful husband I have: We had 2 coupons at Lowe's, the better for $25 off a purchase of $250 or more. The toilet was $221 complete. The coupon expired 3 days prior. Greg said I had to find another $29 worth of stuff and then he went to the service desk and asked if we could still use it. He probably explained that I had been trying to get him to go buy the toilet for a week, but he put me off, and could they make an exception. They did! While he was negotiating, I found a salad spinner and a couple more kitchen utensils I needed. What a great shopping experience I had! Greg got brownie points and gold stars and pats on the back and compliments all the way home. He's my hero!

Tomorrow I hope to share with you what cool things I've discovered in my David book and m Multi-ethnic church book. Good reading!

Blessings on this sunny Monday afternoon!

New Job

Today was my first full day (9.5 hours) in my new job with Greg doing landscaping. Most of it was fun and challenging. We started by going to Ripon (about 30 minutes north) to pick up several flats of annuals, then to Modesto (about 10 minutes back north) to LaLoma (a gorgeous neighborhood on a river) to prepare to plant them and do some detailing. The homeowner came out and chatted with us and expressed he didn't want to lose us as his landscapers. (He won't!)

Then it was off to Turlock to stop at home for a potty break and cut my bangs (they were driving me nuts, especially in this wind). Off to the storage unit to pick up the big mower and to a residential to mow (I mowed front and back), edge, and blow, then to a subdivision of 10 homes where I mowed 6 backyards and learned to use the commercial edger. A little detailing and then we were off to our church. Yeah! I like doing our church because it's beautiful and because I get to ride on the big mower, which is a blast. Greg said my lines were straight! I got to edge there also, then off to the storage unit to unload.

To celebrate, Greg took me out to Lampost Pizza. Honestly, tonight's dinner tasted better than any dinner I've had in months! It pays to burn calories! I'm not even tired, but I know that when I go to sleep and then roll over, my body will experience the stiffness I've come to know lately from all the painting I've been doing.

You might be wondering where we are on the house. Well, since I've been home this week, I've put 2 coats of primer on the walls in the new room, 3 coats on the ceiling, 2 coats on the kitchen ceiling, and 3 coats of paint on the kitchen walls. My biggest frustration is that the paint is streaking. I've never had a problem with paint not covering well in my life, and now, all I get are streaks! Needless to say we're getting quotes from painters to have it all sprayed before I go bonkers. I'm not taking any chances with painting the new room with a roller, though the walls came out well with the primer.

Can't wait to actually live in the house when it's done, cook a real meal that takes more than a little baking or microwaving, and sit at a table to eat a meal. Tomorrow, I tackle the bathroom!

Blessings!

EQUIP Announcement

We are happy to announce that Josh and Monica Kemper have joined our Leadership Team. They have a great background working with youth and Monica has taught women's Bible studies. They have a heart for marriage ministry and we look forward to see how God will use their gifts and abilities going forward.

I got most of the extension primered yesterday. A small section of the wall remains as well as the kitchen walls. Greg and Mark worked on the ceiling last night and when the sunlight hits the room I'll see what needs to be finished. Looks like Saturday is paint day after the prayer walk. Also on tap for today is helping Greg get a load of debris to his truck this morning, a trip to Modesto to pick up the bathroom fixture and my replacement left contact (I've been wearing a trial pair with a piece missing in my left eye for a month or more), meeting with the cabinet guy for the dishwasher facing installation and a drawer guide repair that I kind of broke, bill paying, lesson on the big mower, and bed. Whew! Ambitious? Yes. Do-able? I hope so!

Blessings on this cloudy, cool Friday.

Remodel Update

It's been awhile, so here's an update. Saturday we got the sink and dishwasher working! Heaven actually opened up and all the angels began singing! Monday we got the refrigerator installed. Yesterday we got the microwave installed. Wahoo!
Yesterday they papered and chiken-wired the back outside of the house and I think they're stucco-ing today. Soon we'll do the sheet rock and texturing, then it's all mine to tile and paint. That should work out well with me leaving my job. Hopefully it will all land at the right time.

The World Vision truck rolled in last night and we will start setting up the exhibit today. We met with the tour staff yesterday and learned that the head person is from a church in Fresno that was a church plant 7 years ago and they are now planting their fifth church. Way to go!

Much to do. Trying to conserve energy. Yesterday I was running on fumes and spent the evening by myself reading my appliance manuals, as I didn't have the strength to work on the house at all. With all the work Greg has been doing and me on the house, we are planning a 2 day family trip to Yosemite to rest and re-center before we fall apart. Can't wait!

Blessings this amazing Wednesday.

Inch by Inch

Last night I got to cook on our new cooktop! We had a breakfast dinner. It was great! Jim even said how very nice the cooktop was. It glows in red! It senses when something is on it or not, and tells you when it is still warm. It even has a timer. Five burners is so nice! I've been cooking on 3 because 1 was flakey for about a year. Right now they're wiring the sub panel into the main panel so I can have the double ovens working.



Yesterday was a bit of a hard day. I had a filling at the dentist. I was blessed it was so quick, about 30 minutes because it was just a crack that created a chip, though the chip was still in place between my molars. The hygienist flossed the chip under a filling about 2 weeks ago. The bad thing about the work yesterday was I think he drilled parts of my tongue accidentally. I have these pink grooves on the side of my tongue and he mentioned the most challenging part of the filling was keeping my tongue out of the way and the tooth dry. Yesterday it was so sore! A little gly-oxide and I'm much better.

Today will be a great day. I get my back fixed. I get to shop for pots and pans and silverware and dishes. I get to have my first training lesson on the x-mark 60" mower. I think the fridge and dishwasher and faucet will be installed today so I'll have running water in the kitchen!!! That's the thing I've missed the most for sure. You probably don't realize how much you wash your hands and food when cooking until you have to walk to the bathroom every single time to use the sink. And that's only if no one is using the bathroom, otherwise it's a trip further back in the house to the master bathroom. I shouldn't complain, some people don't have clean running water at all. I'm blessed.

Time to finish breakfast and hit the stores for the 9:00 openings. Blessings this gorgeous sunny Friday.

We've Got Granite!

Yesterday I went home for lunch and to my surprise the granite guy was there. We walked in and the smell of glue (epoxy) hit us. I couldn't round the corner fast enough. To my surprise, the granite was much darker than I expected. I was expecting this milk chocolate brown and all I saw was black. Looking closer, I saw the brown and flecks of silver. It was the same granite but it's surprising how dark it looks in different lighting. It looks really sharp, playing off the black streaks in the edges of the cabinets. The edge is a narrow bevel. It's a great contrast. The look on the contractor's face was a smile frozen in time. He was waiting for me to say "I love it." I can't just yet but I'm working on it. I have to equate my thoughts of what I expected it to look like to what it actually looks like. It may lighten with all the lights on it. It is beautiful. Mark and Greg both said they like it better more black than brown.

Today the appliances get installed. Yeah! I get to cook! I get to use the countertops! In a week I'll have handles and little things fixed. Yeah! The whole house fan is too large for the trusses, which can't be cut because they're engineered to keep the roof up. So, I have to return the one we bought and get a little smaller one.

Our Bible Study was great last night. We did a survey of what books of the Bible people wanted to study, what people of the Bible, and what topics. There was some overlap. Greg wants to touch on four different things for a few weeks to give them a taste of what each would be like, then pick one to study in depth. Should be fun.

Lots of great things happening the next few days. Because Greg committed to volunteering at the church this Saturday, we're moving our garage sale to the next Saturday.

Blessings this beautiful Thursday.

What Do I Call This Post?

Two things come to mind . . . Better Late Than Never and Stop the World I Want to Get Off. It's been crazy! Though I got up before 6 and tried getting back into my routine of quiet time first, then exercise, then shower, the breakfast and blog, blog somehow got squeezed out!

After a whirlwind of errands, I was reminded my life has a lot of crazy things going on all at once. Remodeling your house and starting a church are probably two things someone wouldn't normally choose to do at the same time!

I was blessed today though as I ran errands in Turlock and Modesto that I found our kitchen faucet, soap dispenser, air switch (a button installed in the granite to run the garbage disposal), and our garbage disposal all at the same place. Ordering my handles for the cabinets was less successful. After a 20 minute wait for the only person who could order them, I left. I'm going to look online. I would have bought the air switch and garbage disposal at the same time. Oh well.

I was going to share the cool cabinet features today, but decided to wait, as some of the features haven't arrived or been installed yet. They're coming.

Got lots more to do today. Just stopped for a snack and let you know all is well, just on high speed.

Blessings this gorgeous Friday.

The Build Has Begun!

After weeks of destruction, yesterday we saw the fruit. The cabinets got installed!
My driveway yesterday.
My contractor and cabinet guy.


The cabinet for the double ovens.

Tomorrow I'll try and show pictures of all the cool cabinet features. Yesterday the inspection cleared for insulation and plywood to go up outside. We'll get the whole house fan installed and cabinets adjusted. Fun! What hasn't been fun was our washing machine went out a couple of nights ago. It leaked water and smelled like a hamburger restaurant. That' what I smelled, Greg smelled rubber burning. We decided to just buy a new one rather than hassle the repair route. It's already been repaired at least once After the $200 appliance rebate from buying all our appliances, it didn't cost too much at all. God sure timed that one well. Last night Greg and I picked it out and Mark and Greg brought it home and installed it. Tonight I get to do laundry. Yeah!

We have much still to do on our end. Some painting, linoleum removal, carpet removal, and tile installation. I've got to get the bathroom re-done too. All this and I'm craving a trip to the ocean for some peace and solitude, an escape from the chaos. I cant' wait until it's done and I can put everything away and clean everything well and decorate. That will be my joy. Greg's is landscaping the backyard. Whaoo.

Got to go. Blessings this beautiful Thursday.

Hello Again!

After having a few days off from blogging, I feel like I've been away a very long time. My computer has been unplugged and under plastic, I've run short on time and one day I had absolutely nothing to say.

Greg and I had to go to San Leandro yesterday morning to pick out our granite slabs. For some reason I thought when looking for the same name of granite, they would all look pretty much the same. Nope! What we saw in February at Bedrosians was nothing like what we saw at GMS. The colors were muted and two opposing corners had huge fissures in them. I declined those slabs and suggested we go check out some other stores. There are several in a very close area. The next place had slabs that were clean (no fissures) and had more of the contrast I was looking for. I still wanted to look around so we went to a few more and ended up buying at the second store.

Today the cabinets go it. The contractor saw them yesterday and said they were beautiful. Our cabinet maker is a perfectionist and and artist with a great eye. I can't wait to see them! I hope the granite goes well.

We're having a huge remodel garage sale this Saturday. Kitchen cabinets, light fixtures, furniture, drapes, blinds, windows, appliances large and small, a California King pillowtop mattress, you name it! In a few weeks, carpet and a sliding glass door. If you live nearby and are interested in any of it, let me know and you can have it before Saturday. Everything must go!

Blessings on this gorgeous Wednesday.

Hilllarious

Today we're getting our wiring done! I went grocery shopping today with a whole other mindset-what can I put in the microwave, toaster oven, or crockpot? Not having a stove or oven really changes things. Needless to say I bought lots of frozen stuff, but only after checking the sodium and fat contents. I can't believe how much fat and salt is in even the frozen food that is labeled Healthy or Lean!

Anyway, I decided to be unoriginal today. My friend Jason Hicks has a video posted for last Friday August 15th. Take a look and see if you don't cry laughing!

Blessings on this amazing Friday.

Getting Closer on our Ammiversary

Greg, Kristen, and I took out our upper cabinets, a lower cabinet, and the sink yesterday. I got to do some electrical work yesterday, which Greg said I did well at. Everything is pretty well organized too. We have a fridge and a microwave and tonight we'll add the toaster oven.







We stopped around 3:00 yesterday, cleaned up, and headed off to our special spot, Black Angus, for our 4th engagement anniversary. It was fabulous. We spent the evening watching the olympics, reading, and getting some office work done. It was a great day.

Blessings on this cool, comfortable Monday.

Uuuugggghhhhh!

I wish I had taken pictures. We got up at 6:00 this morning and started moving concrete at 6:30. Greg hurt his back yesterday working and we only had Mark for just under 2 hours to help this morning, so Kristen and I did the majority of loading the pickup and trailer with concrete mow strip and other chunks. Mark filled the 3 yd. dumpster yesterday with stucco. Then Greg, Kristen, and I drove to the river and properly disposed of it all. It's a little scary looking over the 100 foot drop to the river on dirt in the back of a wood-floored trailer, sloping down towards the river and holding a 25 lb. piece of concrete and you hurl it (and hopefully not yourself) into the river below. A shower never felt so good!

When Greg gets back from his last job, he will see if he's up to tearing out the kitchen wall. There isn't much room in the dumpster for the wall, but he can make anything fit anywhere. Anyone want some windows?

So that's why I'm late blogging today. Now it's time for more quiet time, then when the laundry is done, hopefully a nap. Blessings this hot Saturday.

Red Hot Mama

>


Okay, so I'm not a red hot mama, but Thursday I my arm felt like one! Greg asked me to have our custodian turn off a sprinkler valve at church because he knew it was full of red fire ants. I looked for the custodian but he left to get supplies. I took matters into my own hands, thinking, "I can do this!" I found a popcorn bag and donned it as a glove. Bravely I went out to the field, opened the valve cover, and reached it. It took about 3 tries to get it all the way turned off. Though there was now a hole in the bottom of the bag, I left unscathed, or so I thought. I shook the bag viciously to get a few straggling ants off. On the way back to the building I looked down and saw a red ant on my arm, all curled up, looking rather dead. I gave a little shriek and brushed it off. A few seconds later, that area started to burn and itch. Great, I thought. I went in to the office, washed my arm with soap and water, quickly consulted the Internet and my doctor's office and called Greg. The doctor's office said use hydrogen peroxide, the Internet said rubbing alcohol. I ran home and put the peroxide on it and it felt somewhat better. Over the course of Thursday it got red and swollen. Friday, a puss pocket formed. Greg insisted to popping it to get the poison out. His fire ant bites never did that though. He squeezed and out it came, and more hydrogen peroxide was applied. It became more swollen through Friday with a hard bump underneath and a scab finally forming. It looks better today, just a small red area with a scab. I learned my lesson. No more red ant nests for me!

This experience reminds me of the times when I've known better NOT to do something and went ahead and did it anyway and got burned in the process. Sometimes we need these little reminders, don't we?

Yesterday was a big day for us. Kristen got her driver's permit! Today is her first behind the wheel lesson. She's pretty nervous, but she'll do fine.

On the remodel side, we got windows yesterday!
Today we shop for the door handles and fans. I got he lights for the outside of the house yesterday. Wahoo! Next week, we demo the kitchen. Yikes!

We've Got Doors!

Yesterday our doors were installed and the electrician came and started the wiring. Yes, that's plywood in front of the doors to keep the dogs from scratching the new doors. Casey got halfway over it last night. It's over 4'! Windows this week? Tearing out the kitchen wall next week? Wahoo!

I'd love to share more, but I'm running a little behind this morning and what I was going to share really doesn't go with doors! We'll try tomorrow. Blessings on this beautiful, warm (100) Thursday.