Time is ticking

In less than 2 weeks I will head to Utah to see my (hopefully) brand new grand baby!

I say hopefully because babies come in their own time and, well, she's not here yet.

I'm very excited for the trip.

It'll be a little vacation from my regular life

and obviously it's exciting to be meeting my grand daughter.

But I'm realizing that this one trip is just not going to cut it.

One week 

with this little baby

and my daughter in law

and my 2 sons that live in Utah

and my brothers an sisters that are there

Well, gosh there just isn't enough time!

So now I'm trying to figure out how to get out there for a more extended visit in the summer.

Since Carter is 14 (Oh my gosh, he'll be 15 by then!), he has a pretty full life

Scout Camp

Youth Conference

EFY

friends he wants to spend time with

So it won't be easy to fit it in.

But I'm determined...

even if I have to drive across the country, I'm going back to Utah!

Plus, babies change so much in the first year

I really have to go out as much as possible

Don't I?

Yes, Yes I do.

My favorite things right now

Texts from my kids

Calls from my kids

salt and pepper Pop Chips

Alone time

Freezer meal cooking

A clean house

Just in case you were wondering.

Stuff

There's nothing like moving to cause a person to analyze the "stuff" in their lives.

Our house was wonderful in many ways but one thing we really loved about it was that it had LOADS of closets and storage spaces:

a huge walk up attic

a pantry in the kitchen

an office space with cupboards off of the kitchen

a laundry room with shelves on all the walls

A basement with a huge pantry

A big closet under the stairs

And a big set of cabinets that could be loaded from the back/opened in the hallway on the front

Then there were extra bedrooms once the kids started moving out.

All of this fabulous space meant that I could store Christmas decorations, big platters, table leaves, extra folding tables (6!), etc. and none of them were in my way on a day to day basis.

But I seriously felt like swearing when I was moving and would find yet another closet that had to be cleaned out.

So now that I'm in my new place, I'm trying to be a little more mindful of what I really need before buying anything.

 I've never been a hoarder or anything

and I do try to divide wants from needs in general...to teach my children if nothing else

The one thing though that I have moaned about on occasion is that we have never gotten a bedroom "set".  I don't need all matchy matchy but in 24 years of marriage, we still don't have a headboard?

We used my sons changing table as our dresser for YEARS.

But now we have 2 lovely (if a bit scratched up) Costco dressers that used to belong to our sons who have now moved out.  

And I got our nightstands as a gift to myself with my last paycheck as a nurse in Oregon.

They were from the unfinished furniture store and they cost $30 each.

We used them exactly the way they came out of that store up until this last year, when I finally painted them black.

I'm not sure why certain things never make it to the top of our "to buy" list.

I seriously doubt I will ever have a headboard unless I make one from scrap lumber...which is on my to-do list, by the way.

And, honestly, the bedroom doesn't bug me that much right now because we're in this condo with purple walls and 1985 curtains.  So it kinda squelches the interior decorator in me.

And now, the reason this whole rambling blog started...

I bought something!

My first ever purchase of good cookware.

I have owned every possible type of cheapo pans (all non-stick of course) over the years.

I've never liked them but since I don't love to cook, I never felt I "deserved" good pans.

Well, I've been cooking more

and

I've been ordered to eat a healthy diet (that requires more cooking) by my doctor

So I broke down and bought them.

Aren't they just so pretty?

And I will be finding a new home for my old pans because I am no longer that girl with the big attic who keeps doubles of things "just in case".

Reality sets in

I told my son that I would like to send him a care package and asked him for suggestions of things he might like to get.
Here is the list he sent me:

soap
clorox wipes
dank food
 (for you folks who aren't as hip as you should be, "dank" means good)
Oregon cheese
cereal
vegetable oil
and...
trash bags

Yes, I think the reality of living on his own has truly set in when his idea of a fun box from Mom includes trash bags, cooking oil and soap!

The ol' Junkitz days

I have been trying to organize my new scrapbook/craft space

and I came across these little scraps of paper that I've been keeping forever.

They contain quotes that I thought were funny from my Junkitz buddies.

Only the people who were there will get any sort of chuckle out of these

But I have to document them here or they will be lost forever!

And I just can't have that.

They are from a cross country trip that the group went on together.  

I was only there for the last few days but it was

Amazing.

I LOVED my time working at Junkitz.

I met amazing, fun people and I am still friends with them today.

The quotes are in no particular order:

Candice: Well I already have four but ....ok.

Annette: I hadn't thought of that.  But now that you mention it, I think I'm scared and I'm going to my room.

Donna: Sometimes I really question what comes out of my mouth.

Debbie to Candice:  Don't tell me, it's your husband's and it smells like him.

Candice: Is it a bad sign when the check in desk is covered by bullet-proof glass?

Japanese Restaurant: Who the Daddy? Who the Daddy?  (while smacking the meat)

Stacey: I felt a vibe.  Did you feel a vibe?

Donna: I wasn't afraid of not being loved...just that I wouldn't have a good time.

Donna: Al Roker looks just like his wax dummy.

Al Roker: Scrapbookers. Wow. 

(No exclamation point because he said it with that much excitement)

Annette: The crude talk is getting to me. It's so unlady-like.

Stacey: It's the kind of place where you don't want any of your body parts touching anything.

Stacey: You guys are hicks.

Annette: Hold me.

Stacy Y: You mean you can't ever stand by the street here?

Debbie: I don't trust any of my sphincters well enough to do that.

Janna: Are you having a moment or is something wrong with your eye?

_________________

After looking through my photos to add a few here I can definitely say

I'm having a moment.

The New Digs

I finally have the main floor of the house organized enough to take pictures!

When I say organized enough that means you will likely see tools, picture frames, random curtains (not on rods) and various other things lying about.

But you will just have to trust me that this is an improvement.

Something to keep in mind:

I took all of these pictures with my phone and I'm too lazy to fix the colors/lighting

Off we go:

Here is the view standing at my front door.

To the left is the kitchen

Ahead and left is the living room and Sun room

Ahead and right is the dining room and bathroom

To the right there are staircases heading up to bedrooms and down to basement

 Ta Da!  The stairs

The kitchen

Colors are off here but it has cherry cabinets and Terra Cotta walls

I love:

the big deep sink

the trash compactor

how pretty the appliances are

I don't love:

the dishwasher is WAY smaller than my previous one.  I'm still figuring out how to load it.

Smooth top stove.  I think they are a pain.

Microwave is very wimpy with no turntable. 

And I know you are loving my fabulous table!

Living room:

I managed to fit all of my furniture but it's tight.

I hope it doesn't look overwhelming but it'll have to do for now either way.

Sun room (right off the living room)

I managed to fit two very important things. 

1-my yellow phone

2-my turquoise frog

Dining Room

It has the look of an Easter Egg basically.

Purple walls, blue cabinet, white cabinet

But it's a big room with a nice window that opens to a deck.

It'll be great in the spring, summer and fall when we BBQ

(this is obviously where the tools are being kept for now)

Bathroom

Yes, more purple.

with blue

I live in an Easter Egg

and you are going to ask "Can't you paint?"

the answer is yes I can

But I don't know if I want to.

I may decide it's worth it but for now I'm living with the lavender.

That's your tour for now.

I hope to show you the bedrooms someday but glancing at how Carter's looks right now...

It'll be awhile.

For a good cause

Today I am packing up and shipping off my wedding dress.

It is going to Frank's mom's house where she will transform it from a dated 80's wedding dress to a lovely little blessing dress for my granddaughter.

I am excited about this idea!

I loved my dress.

It wasn't an expensive dress, as a matter of fact it was made by a fashion design student at BYU.

It was her final exam.

I brought her a sketch and she made the pattern, fitted me and sewed the dress.

I think it cost me around $100 plus materials.

The perfect price for a starving student.

And since I have no daughters to use it in any way,

and since it is an 80's style dress and no one would want to use it even if I did have a daughter,

I am glad I've found a way for it to live on.