Sunday August 8th

 It's been super smoky here in Utah due to the huge fire in California and Oregon. Smells like a campfire kind of smoky. We can't even see the mountain right now and usually we see lots of mountains all around.

This was actually after it started to improve

We still went out to play pickle ball at one point but I wondered if we were going to give ourselves lung cancer in the process. Frank's response was basically that we are going to die someday anyway...

I worked for a coworker on Thursday but I had Friday off this last week. My coworkers and I went to lunch on Friday as a farewell to Trent who got a new job.  I'm so glad to have a job where I like my coworkers!  Another coworker is leaving this week (going back to school) and I really don't enjoy the change but when you work with some college aged kids, that happens. sigh.

I spent Saturday mostly working on my various plants that needed repotting and/or splitting. I really enjoy keeping plants alive way more than I would have thought.  I divided my fern because it outgrows its tiny pot very quickly. I left part of it very small and put that one back in the bathroom.  I hope it survives and also stays small enough for the pot for awhile!  

Didn't know what this plant was. I ended up cutting it back a lot. We'll see if it survives.

Before cutting it in half

I made baby succulents!

Gave my giant pathos a haircut

I also rearranged a bit and took the red secretary out of the living room and put it in the dining area. I put the white bookshelf that was in the dining area in the living room.  I'm still struggling with designing the front room so I'm hoping taking the red out helps me a bit. I already have the blue buffet that I don't plan to change.

Sunday we went to Doneen's ward for Jaime and Greg's daughter's blessing. Her name is Elaine and she is like a Maggie clone so far. They make very cute kids!

Afterwards we had lunch and chatted with the relatives. I always enjoy that a lot. Ryan and Kristal came as well as Dion, Randy and Corey. Plus all the folks currently living at Doneen's.

Felt like a pretty relaxing week overall. I enjoy low key weeks.

Sunday August 5th

 This week we built a bookshelf/cubby sort of thing for Ryan and Kristal. The goal is to have a place for Baldr to climb up and look out the window but also be able to get down by himself. He currently jumps on a chair and then up to the table but is afraid of coming back down because the chair moves. This will allow him a built in stair to get to the top and also give a spot for storage in their small apartment. It was pretty easy to build and then we stained it a few days later.

I had Baldr come hang out in the yard while we stained it. I imagined him enjoying all the space and napping under the big tree. Turns out he just wants to be near the humans and also enjoys eating my flowers, digging in my dirt (not the dirt I don't care about, just the dirt right by my porch with my flowers in it), and climbing up on my white cushions after digging. haha oh boy!  It was a very hot day and he is used to being indoors a lot so he was hot and probably confused as to what was going on.  

Anyway, we got it done and he is now enjoying it in his apartment.

We did all the finishing on Thursday, July 29th. I also invited Harley over so the three of us could have lunch together. It was nice! We got Zupas and just chatted for a bit. Frank was able to share some of his fresh blackberries with Harley which was nice because she loves them and I don't. haha

Sunday we had Carter, Harley, Heather and Jansen over for dinner and games.  We had a good time together and Frank made two delicious pies for the occasion. Blackberry and Chocolate (this second one was specifically for me, the blackberry hater).

In the middle of our game we got notified by the Taylors that the basement had flooded with the recent rainstorm. It had rained Thursday night really hard but we slept through it so we didn't even realize. The Taylors were out of town...so they didn't know until they returned on Sunday that their bedroom and bathroom were filled with water. *sad face*

We (meaning Frank and the Taylors and their family) ripped out the carpet and did some vacuuming of the water and got fans going. Turns out our homeowners insurance won't cover anything since it was rain water. Fun!  Our plan is to replace the flooring in most of the house (it needed it anyway) and repaint. We'll save renovation of the bathroom for another time but it's likely the vanity is a bit mushy on the bottom.  We'll see.

Sunday July 25th

 Let's just ignore the amount of time that has gone by ok? Ok.

What's up with me lately?

Frank is super obsessed with Pickleball. This affects me mostly because I am the one he has available to play with. He has actually reached out to people other than me to play, so that is a HUGE thing. I'm always trying to get him to have a friend.  And it is just proof of his obsession.

I do enjoy pickleball overall but mostly just when we play doubles with someone else. When I play singles with Frank, I just lose a lot and don't have much fun. Luckily we often find another couple who is willing to play.  So overall, it's been a fun new hobby.  We play almost every night after work which is a big change from my usual -come home from work, sit on the couch, go to bed.

I am sweating way more than I like everyday though. And doing so much laundry.  I finally went and bought myself a few pair of shorts/skorts for playing because I was having to wash my one pair of workout pants every single day. haha

We even went so far as to take a lesson. I'm sure Frank would like to start doing that regularly but we'll see what the budget says about that.  The lesson was fun and very informative. He basically told us we were doing everything wrong, which we were not surprised to hear. haha

I have started using YNAB for budgeting and I love its guts.  I want everyone I know to use it.  It's so different and makes me feel much more in control of my money. It took me awhile to understand it, because it does require a mindset shift but once you understand how it works, it's magic!

Frank and I went to Bryce Canyon a couple of weeks ago and did some great hikes. I'll have to upload pictures sometime. I promise, I will.  We were there for the 4th of July. Saw the little town's fireworks show, did some stargazing (even went to a night time sky tour sort of thing which was fun but sadly, a bit overcast) and just enjoyed the nice weather. It was still hot there but not nearly as hot as back home where it was in the 110 type range. No thank you.

Last weekend was the Larson Cup. I participated in a team with Diane and Julie and I did the swim. I enjoy swimming generally but am definitely still out of shape. I knew I could finish but perhaps not quickly. We decided last minute to do the "mini" tri which meant I only had to swim 200 meters. Yay!  No problem.  It was a super fun day with my cousins and siblings. I always love the Larson Cup.  This year we spent a little time at my grandparents grave and had each of the living siblings take a bit (all on the phone--it was the first year with no one from that generation attending). It was really awesome, inspiring and made me love my family even more. 

Sunday June 6th

 I have a good excuse for missing last Sunday...I was on vacation! 

May 28th was our 33rd anniversary so we took a 9 day trip to Oregon to celebrate. It was relaxing and beautiful and pretty much perfect!

We spent the first weekend in Hood River and Cascade Locks which are both on the Columbia River.  Our hotel was right on the river and had an amazing view. The mattress was super comfy and wee had blackout curtains too so we found that we slept in every day. It was awesome.

View from our balcony

We drove to Hood River and spent some time watching the wind surfers/kite surfers. It was a lovely sunny day. I kept thinking that I could live in this beautiful place. Then I remembered that it's a place for wind surfers for a reason...it's always windy! I hate wind especially in the winter so probably not the place for me! But it was a lovely day. It made me want to be more physically active, that's for sure. Those people are strong.

We did a bit of hiking also and just enjoyed the beautiful weather.

Then we went to Diana and Rob's house and spent the rest of the time with their family also. We had Sunday at their house and then the rest of the week we spent in a beach house in Yachats, OR.

The house was right on the beach (though up higher) and had amazing windows and views.

The weather was practically perfect too! We had over 60 degrees every day and only one day that was overcast and sprinkled a bit. Overall, perfect!

We walked on the beach, hiked, saw weird plants, ate yummy food, made s'mores, saw a lighthouse, saw a whale playing in the water and played lots of games.  

Generally, it was extremely laid back and relaxing.

Diana and Rob were a good influence on us and we ate out way less than we would have if we were on our own!  (Though we still had quite a few good meals out) Cooking together was actually quite enjoyable too.

I love chicken and waffles and this was a really good one!

These weird looking plants are called Darlingtonia and they eat insects. They are huge...like 2 feet tall!

S'mores by the fire pit!

S'mores over the stovetop when it was rainy.  Worked really well! ha!

Our most exciting (non-whale) moment: had a toilet/water disaster that James was home to find, thank heaven..we were out hiking but he had school.  Water dripping from the light fixtures in the basement and everything. Luckily, not our fault, just a random water line leak. And he caught it pretty quickly. If it had gone on for the hours of our hike, it would have been really bad. 

We spent the last afternoon/evening back at Diana's and we helped remove some wallpaper they've been meaning to remove for, oh, about 11 years!  It's always nice to work on a project with family.

On Saturday, when we returned, I went to a big family dinner at Diane's house to cap off a wonderful week. Daren and Berit's family were in town and so were all of Doneen's kids so it was a really great time with family and good food.

Life's good.

Sunday, May 23rd

 Somehow I thought I had only missed two weeks of blogging but, alas, an entire month has passed!

A lot of stuff happened, probably. I don't remember.

Dion had a heart attack (!) and worried us all sick! He's going to be ok, thank heaven. I reacted much worse than I would have expected but it took me right back to a bad place mentally, where I lived for some time when Frank was fighting cancer. I had to leave the house because I was feeling so full of anxiety. What I wanted to do was to go buy the biggest dessert I could get my hands on plus a few bags of chips and go eat them alone in my car.  I realized that this might not be the best reaction to a heart attack so instead I bought a diet soda and drove to a nearby park to read and feel the breeze on my face. It helped.  The waiting for news was just awful and I kept thinking of how stressful it must be for Summer and the kids. We were all very relieved to hear the positive results and that he will be just fine.

I had a nice mother's day although it didn't really include any of my kids. Weird. Branden sent flowers and a card. So nice...I'll include a picture. Austin, being in Wales, sent a text. Ryan and Kristal stopped by with flowers and balloons but I was out visiting my mom's grave so I missed them. Sad, but a super nice gesture!  Carter was out of town (running a half marathon with his wife...crazy kids!) but they stopped by later in the week with a cool, illustrated version of the first Harry Potter Book (which I did not take a picture of, sorry. Google it). Frank made me chicken and waffles for dinner and it was amazing.

As I mentioned, I went to my mom's grave (with all of the Utah siblings and families and Daren and Berit were here in Utah too!). It was a really nice time together and I'm so glad we did it. Although I had recently gotten a second chemical peel and my face looked awful. Of course everyone wanted to take a group picture. I looked like I had elmer's glue dried all over my face, seriously. I tried not to smile for the pictures to keep from having too many weird wrinkles.

I planted some flowers both in the front area and rear of the house. I tend to see the ones in the backyard more and they make me quite happy. I always feel like the front of my house looks worse than the neighbors but I do get my gorgeous peonies so that makes up for it. ha!  I planted quite a few flowers out front but most of them seem to be struggling currently. We shall see.

My new favorites and they are perennials!

Yesterday I finally painted our mailbox. I've been meaning to do it for years!  It was very rusted and looked awful. And then sometime within the last year, someone banged into the little handle to open the door and it was all twisted. I forgot to take a before picture though.  I figured that since our mailbox is encased in brick, I better stop the rusting before I end up having to knock the whole thing down. I have no idea how people replace the mailbox in this situation!

Frank used a wire brush to get all of the rust off and I taped it off and spray painted it. Frank also straightened out the handle so I'll reattach that once everything is dry.  It looks much better!  I hope it holds up.  Of course right after painting, the wind picked up and so now I've got a bit of pollen and fluff from the cottonwood trees sticking to it. Sheesh.

Next thing is to add new numbers to it so people can find our house when needed. I am probably also going to add them somewhere on the house itself. Just have to decide where and what style of numbers. That could take another year...

Couches and Carbs

I recently decided to take the big step of hiring an interior designer to help me with my front room. I cannot figure out how to do this room!  I need more seating. I want it to be comfortable. I want to know what to do with my huge empty wall!  I'm over the striped wall and want something new for the entryway. I've hated that light fixture for 7 years. I've been trying to pick a rug for like 3 years and still don't have one for Pete's sake. Anyway, after much hemming and hawing, I hired someone. 

Clearly I have watched too much HGTV because what I wanted and expected was some sort of meeting followed by a drawing or computer sketch of the possible design. That's not exactly what happened. The designer did meet with me here in the house and we talked a bit. I showed him the things I do like in my house. He commented on changes he would make (which all aligned with what I was imagining).  I  told him that I have no idea how this is supposed to work, but what i wanted was a drawing or something so I could gradually make the design come true. I don't have the money to just *poof* redecorate/furnish a room. He said he could do that but first we need to decide on the basics so we made an appointment to meet at a furniture store to look at couch styles.  Ok, moving forward.

The furniture store meeting was fine but in the end I was picking out couches and chairs for my room and getting quotes for cost. And the cost was A LOT. (To me. Don't go crazy, it's normal people furniture) These are good pieces of furniture, which I like. But also, this is the least used room in my house. Is this where I should be spending big bucks? I left telling them I'd ponder it.  I worry a bit that I'm going to end up with something that ends up looking like a showroom living room, rather than the eclectic vibe I like.  Though, to be honest, this could all be in my head because all we did was look at couches. I've been known to overthink.

Fast forward a week or so and I'm figuring out how I can pay for the couches but perhaps put off any other designing until I save up some more. I still don't have an idea of what the end goal is. I need a picture! I'm panicking a bit also because I DO NOT want to get into any debt.  I make very little money and at this rate, the room will take me years to fund.  I mean, it's been years already I guess, so what's the big deal?

So, the day that I was supposed to order the couches, I whined to my friend in AZ and worried that I was rushing into something I'd regret. She had some of my same concerns. And so...I just called off the whole thing. Quit the designer and asked for a refund of my deposit. Told the couch folks that I wasn't going to order right now.  And ate some carbs. Because that's how I deal with emotions.

Now it's been another week.

I've commiserated with said friend who is good at this stuff. I've looked at lot of pinterest pictures. And I've eaten more carbs.  And I've decided to try an online designer.  This way they HAVE to give you a picture because you are never actually talking to them!  It's way cheaper than a real life designer so I figure it's not much to lose if it doesn't work out.  I submitted my info and pictures and now I wait for results. 

All this for a room that I use for reading and talking to plants.

Sunday, April 25th

First matter of business: I worked out several times this week. Not as much as I should have, but it was a start. Now to do even better next week!

Tuesday I got a haircut from Harley. She always does a great job and I like my hair so much more these days. Stopping coloring it was a good choice for me, it turns out. I made the mistake of petting the kitties and not washing my hands though. Of course I ended up rubbing my eye and it was all downhill from there. haha! I was so itchy! I'm usually super careful about that. I hate being itchy.

I took Friday afternoon off for a family activity. We went with Dion's family, Doneen's family, Jared, Heather and Jansen and Sara and Kaleo to the Tulip festival as part of a celebration for Heather's graduation from BYU. It was a lovely afternoon and the gardens were, of course, beautiful. I was glad to be there. When Dion originally told me about it I just said, "sorry, I'll be at work" but he texted later and said that life is short and I should just take time off to be at this family thing. So I turned to my coworker and asked if she would cover for me and she said yes!  It was definitely the right choice.  We then went to Dinner and ice cream after where Kari and her fiancé also joined us . It was totally fun.

I got my first ever chemical peel on Thursday. It's supposed to help with age spots, which I am getting lots of, and keep your face looking nice. My coworker, Lori, gets them and so I was intrigued. The rules are: no picking at flaking skin, wear sunscreen and stay out of the sun. So, going to the Tulip festival the next day might not have been the best choice. I did wear sunscreen but I was definitely IN THE SUN. Anyway, it just started peeling today. I was hoping to be done peeling by today so I don't look freaky at work. Alas, that is not to be apparently. Guess I won't mind wearing that mask as much as I usually do!

Now some complaining: Saturday I felt very down and very lonely. I cleaned house and did stuff that I needed to do but just kept thinking about how freaking ALONE I am here. I really missed my family when I lived back East and I am so glad to be near them now. But I think back East, people knew they needed other people. Most people didn't have a lot of family around and so they looked for friends and made close friends. Here, it seems like everyone has all their family around and so they don't need anyone else. I used to have friends. And I've complained about this before I'm sure, but if I don't reach out to others to do stuff or play games or whatever, no one reaches out to me. I constantly reach out to others but get no reciprocation. Why is that? Am I annoying and I don't know it?  Well, I realize that I'm annoying at this moment but I'm not always like this!  Anyway, I'm lonely and I don't know how to fix it.  So I ate junk food.  That's still going on today actually.  Back on the wagon tomorrow...