my present to all of you, my internet friends

garrett has been talking about this blog a lot lately & he's told me how funny and how i should read it. and when he told me about it, i smiled. it sounded funny. but i really was just being polite. this morning, i was nursing mikey & went to the blog on my ol' ipod. and started reading the post about how kenny loggins ruined christmas. and before i knew it, i was laughing incredibly hard. like to the point where i may or may not have piddled a little. there was also tears. and maybe some embarrassing snot issues. 

please please add this blog to your reader, you will not be sad. unless of course you have bladder problems or you just have no sense of humor at all.

merry christmas to you all.

why couldn't this have been available last year?

oh, this is something that is making me wish i was teaching this year.  i hope one of my teacher friends decides to do it. [and if you do, tell me & show me how it turns out!!!] what a cute little project!!! this whole yearbook project is FREE and downloadable here. i'm liking that becky higgins more and more everyday. and, i think i'm going to be printing one of baby sleeping signs, too.

the saga of the dvd shelves

so... new furniture is coming. some has already been bought & built. which left us with a little reorganizing of a few things. dvd towers just weren't going to cut it. and i had a little vision. shopped at all of the possible stores i could think of that would have any sort of dvd organization. nobody had what i wanted. so last weekend, i whipped up a little picture of what i was thinking. even took some slightly inaccurate measurements. while garrett was putting together my desk, i kept talking & he kept looking at me like i was smoking a crack pipe. then monday night we needed to run to lowes and i suggested we look at wood... again, he gave me a look that said, "you're still hell bent on that?" i really only think he agreed to my suggestion cause he was looking forward to being able to prove me wrong. he didn't think he could do this. i believed. and while jared helped & greatly improved the building situation, i know he could've done it on his own. it would've just cost more money and frustration. he has worked most nights this week on staining and sanding. and after we left jared's house that first night, he was excited about it. he'd gotten over the disbelief. now, i'm pretty sure he's so proud. i'm proud - these shelves turned out way better than i had envisioned. thanks jared for your help and expertise. and thanks garrett - you rock.

bringing the shelves in the house. yes, his glasses are foggy & he's got sweat rolling down his face. it is hard work being a lumberjack mr. fix it man. but look at that adorable proud smile.

garrett declamping the palsy.

look at how nice it looks up there.

fully loaded.

now... anyone want these to towers? there's nothing wrong with them. they're about $30 a piece at target... we just didn't have room for them. we'll do a first come first serve basis. (not selling, giving away here.)

nail this!

my finger nails need to be butchered just about every week these days. it is crazy. i can't stand typing or texting or pretty much anything with long nails. i look at people who get fake nails and wonder what is wrong with them. don't get me wrong, i realize that my nails are pretty much most people's dream, they're strong and healthy... but i can't do it. i feel way too prissy. and i don't understand why people waste money on trying to make their nails more difficult.

i also can't stand when people file their nails uber squarish or uber roundish. why can't there be a middle point? a nice rounded square. i don't know where this post comes from, except that my dang nails have been bugging me since about friday & i haven't made the effort to go in and shorten them but they keep on buggin'.

the grass is always greener, isn't it?

my grandpa

my cousins shared this video/article on facebook. i sat here this morning watching & crying.

go here to see a video and read an article about my grandpa, Maurice. i wish i could copy & paste the video right here on my blog, but i can't seem to make that work this morning.

i'm so thankful for veterans, especially my grandpa.

i'm a bull

i couldn't breathe last night. both of my nostrils were completely plugged. and while it was plugged, it was also leaking. so finally i just got my bullring o' tissue out & shoved it up my nose. yes that's right, i rolled a tissue & inserted one end up each nostril. leaving me with a bull ring o' tissue. the night before, i just had tissue shoved it up one nostril. i even trimmed it down with a pair of scissors, so i didn't have just the little wad up my nose & the rest just sitting there, touching & bugging my face. last night that wouldn't have cut it. i hate raw nose. it stinks. in case you wondered. last month, bronchitis was all in my lungs, but i could at least breathe. through my nose holes. this week, it's all in my head. and i just want to think straight again.

it makes reading out loud really hard. it makes caring about getting caught up on grading papers really challenging. it pretty much makes anything to do with school difficult. i don't think i've mentioned it on my blog yet - but a student teacher started working with me on monday. her first day was the only reason i got out of bed yesterday. it is strange having someone in the room all day. more strange having someone react to what i say when i say it wrong. having a cloudy, coldy head isn't the best way to start off with a student teacher - poor her. if only i could bull up at school. instead, i just keep wiping and wiping. [blowing doesn't really work, dad - sorry.]

hopefully we both survive.

inside days in october?

don't mind us - we're having an inside day due to snow today. sad. momma no likey. too early in the year.

saturday agenda

*sleep in. which sadly probably won't happen, cause unless we party hardy friday night, i'll still wake up earlier than wanted. or i'll have to pee. *breaky: bacon and eggs. mhmmm. *finish reading my book. it is really good, but i've just been so busy. *treadmill. get a good workout in. i'm motivated for the tready right now. that is a good thing. *working on halloween costumes. i'm reminded why this holiday exhausts me. *lunch: orange chicken and rice. *taking a nap. *cleaning bathrooms. vacuuming & dusting. might "let" garrett help on some of that. *catching up on so you think you can dance. we're still weeks behind. i'm actually enjoying the auditions though. *make caramel corn. that sounds so good to me right now, i'm drooling.*dinner: i don't know. maybe a wrap. maybe i'll "let" garrett take me to dinner.*going to bed early. yes, i realize that a lot of my day revolves around sleep. i'm exhausted today. and i 've got a headache. and all i want to do is relax. it is what is getting me through the day.*also, i can't guarantee the order of events.

no beauty queen

me 100% natural. yikes.

me with makeup on. not a good picture, but a "finished" one after getting dressed from the above picture.

this is not a post looking for compliments. this is a post about all out honesty. i need eye makeup. i'm not one of those natural people that doesn't look scary without makeup. don't get me wrong - there are times when i go without, but those times usually involve not looking at a mirror. like when camping. but i need makey. not a ton & mostly, i just wear eye makeup. i do not wear foundation. in the winter, i wear a little blush. typically i wear a little under the eye cover up.

i dare you to take a picture of yourself before & after style. so i guess that's 2 pictures. i just don't think i'm the only covered up monster out there. be brave.

now, i'm done posting tonight. these posts have been stirring in my head for about a week now. there's a lot going on in my family right now & tonight i decided that i just needed to do something "normal" or else i would burst. my heart is heavy right now. i'm not focusing well. tonight i just needed to feel like the world isn't coming to an end. i hope that doesn't seem selfish to anyone...

quick catch up

carpet pictures are coming. at some point. i do love it though.

i went back on track today - school has been crazy. i fought with a copier & it won. i swore at it. then accidentally slammed the library door shut. pretty sure i offended a couple of people. i meant to shut the door, just not slam it. i wanted to rant at the machine in a little privacy.

after school i plan to: pick up my new glasses. exciting. i should wear them tonight as a dust storm was terrible for my eyeballs yesterday. they're so bloodshot, i look high. also, mail off some mary kay. i love new customers. and i almost always stick an extra treat in with an order. today i am sending a lip gloss. then i'll go home to cook up some yummy teriyaki chicken to take with me to book club tonight.

can't wait for: tomorrow night. no plans so far. we might get unpacked from another camping trip. yep, i camped twice this last month. we might go for a walk. we might catch up on a few tv shows. we might just go to bed really early. last week was incredibly busy. whatever we do, i'll just be happy to be home with my boy.

as soon as tori posts/emails pictures, i'll share some pictures from this weekend. camping was so much fun - even though they tried to torture me with heights & cliffs.

i hate when i can't find stuff tracking back on. missing right now: my daily schedule stuff. i have the little pocket chart guy, just can't find the papers to go in it. and my kids have no idea what we're doing next. so frustrating.

our bedroom & then the orange scandal

our bedroom had an accent wall the same as the living room... it was "hunter gray" which i loved for obvious reasons. but it was time to paint & do things differently. this is not what our room usually looks like, we've removed 2 dressers and a bookshelf before we started taking pictures.

this is the temporary "done" for the bedroom. i love the walls. the majority of our room is done in the crab apple, like the other bedroom... then we did a dark brown, very chocolatey accent wall. momma lovey. still missing furniture. will move it back in after the carpet comes on WEDNESDAY!

this is the living room on saturday. i meant to do a couple touch up spots with pain that was nearly 10 years old. word to the wise: paint fades & touch ups won't work. so, all of a sudden we've got a new dilemma... we've gotta paint this wall, too. in case you don't know this, garrett's favorite color is orange. i felt really bad, because my "touch ups" led to a much bigger project. we were just planning on doing bedrooms... but now, i don't think garrett minds too much:

at first i wasn't sure about it. but throughout the day as things have settled & we've gotten the place put back together - i have fallen in love. it's bold, for sure... but i think it looks fantastic. now there's no more green & the whole house has our own personal touch.

now, if only i can get the carpet burn on my legs and butt to go away. you see, i was doing the bottom trim areas & apparently i was dragging myself along. i can't sit the way i was sitting for the last few days on the floor. the burn on my legs has created much tenderness & sensitive bumps on my skin... hydro cortisone here i come! yes, this is actually worse than a sore/stiff back and all of my other sore joints. it is the strangest thing!

from purple to crab apple

This is my blood blister from when i hammered my finger. i know, you're saying, "why hammering when painting?" mostly it's because i found my quarter map & was putting more quarters in & had to use the hammer. it hurt. i screamed bloody murder. with the window's open. oops. not a good way to start a big project, but my finger has survived.

the whole reason we're doing all of the painting is because we're getting new carpet. because there are too many spots like this throughout the house. those are from attempts at cleaning. the carpet, in my opinion has always needed replacing. now's the time. plus, the berber is starting to snag in many places.

when i moved in 5 years ago, i was bored one weekend & decided to paint. it was my first painting experience. it wasn't horrible, but it wasn't fantastic. it has also gone unfinished for 5 years. i just can't get over what a change has happened to this room in the last 4 days. on top of that, i cleaned out so much garbage from this room. seriously, this room has been my dumping grounds for almost 5 years. now, it's a cleaned up guest room & i love it.

the priming was so stark & different. the whole room was transformed. we had so much fun doing this, every step of the way. it was long nights & lots of work - but i'm glad we did it together.

this is what the room looks like now. i can't wait to see what the whole house looks like with the new carpet. only one week. yippee. starting tomorrow we're painting our bedroom... i will probably share more pictures of that, too.

home improvements

hardware has been purchased for the kitchen cabinets.

paint has been purchased for the bedrooms.

carpet has been selected & 99.9% ordered. we just need to pick a delivery date, which can't be until we get the painting done. but it should be in the next 2 weeks.

i am very excited. we've definitely got our work cut out for us though.

what i need to do first - some more major dejunking. 2 weeks ago, we cleaned like crazy. but when i think about moving furniture to do the carpet, there is still tons to do. like under the bed. like stuff in closets. i'm kinda excited & dreading this at the same time. inner demons fighting the outer demons.

apparently next week when i'm off - i won't be doing much reading after all.

i just can't wait to get it all done!

september 12th

our world changed on september 11, 2001. i had never heard of osama bin laden before. i was scared. my dad's job was greatly threatened, "the family business" was permanently altered. luckily, i didn't lose a loved one... but i think everyone was affected.

i loved the rallying together that happened after that. democrats and republicans - we were all just Americans for a while. sometimes i miss that "big picture" aspect. i loved the pride we all felt in our country.

i'm thankful for the armed forces, who protect us.

i don't remember crying everytime i heard children sing patriotic songs before, but i know i do now. some days, just saying the pledge with my class chokes me up. i am proud to be an American.

i still feel such a reverence for that day.

items on my christmas list

• a new camelbak water bottle - i'd like to get an orange one for garrett, too.
• a couple of my favorite shows on dvd. need to stay caught up on my seasons; how i met your mother, 30 rock, the big bang theory. g will need lost and the office.
• new tenny runners. of the nike varietal. see next item to understand why.
  
• nike + ipod sport kit - nothing will encourage me to get moving like a new little toy, right?

i mean, i know that christmas is not for a really long time, but i figured if i started a list then i would remember what i want and others would have an idea, too. :) garrett, feel free to start your own list so i can know what to be planning on for your christmas.

also, i reserve the right to add more items to this list, should i feel it necessary.

if your front door looks like this:

and they'll threaten to charge you $255. so i told garrett he better get busy painting. and he did. it looks fantastic. and our front door no longer looks like a white trash door. yahoo. and we saved that money. well, after g calls the HOA and tells them that he did it & that they can shove it.

how not to start a day:

4 am - a laundry room shelf comes crashing down. it woke me up out of a deep sleep. i thought someone was breaking into our house. i woke garrett up & send him out looking for the perp & immediately wish i had sent him out into the fight with some sort of weapon. so when he came crawling back into bed a minute or so later & said, "a shelf in the laundry room fell down," i was relieved... but then my mind started thinking. did anything break? he didn't like my asking that i'm sure. but i had to check. and i'm glad we did. a liquid laundry detergent was spilled all over the washing machine & was draining into it. [typically we don't leave the washing machine open when empty, but it turns out this time it was actually an easier clean up. a 'rinse & spin' cycle.] it took a while to clean up. when it was time to finally crawl back into bed, there was only a little over an hour before it was time to wake up. my mind was working. there was no going back to sleep. until about 2 minutes before my alarm went off & then for the 20 minutes that i allowed myself to "sleep" in & hit snooze. at least it wasn't someone breaking into our house!

at least school went pretty well today. i brought home a bunch of work. i just finished a little while ago & now, i'm pooped. time for beddie bye. i mean, the day didn't start swell - but the rest wasn't miserable...

maybe this weekend, when both of our lives can slow down for a minute or two, we can take all of the cleaning supplies that i've been stocking up on to the garage/food storage area. last night, we got a bunch of stuff for really cheap & apparently hit the threshold of weight tolerance for the shelf.

momma needs some aloe

coming at you from the bathtub

the good things about today -

• a new neice was born. can't wait to meet her.
• went to a training class about a new grading program we're going to use next year & actually really liked it. the program i mean. please the teacher was from wisconson, so he had a fantastic accent; made me a little homesick for my cheesehead neighbors to the north.
• my mom & dad are finally back and had a great time... plus i got to talk to my dad today. [neddie rushed off to work & i didn't want to call 'n wake her tonight. catch you 'morrow ned!]
• we hit al's & walgreens with coupons galore tonight. got lots o' free sh*t & saved tons o' money. i mean tons. have you figure out register rewards? if not, you need to!
• got to see george at said training. george used to be my school's custodian. seriously - best custodian in the world. and he was a good friend of mine. he still works for the district, but now at the district offices. i love going to that building for for classes, cause i get to see him. he offered me a dr pepper, but i even turned it down. can you believe it?
  
• got to spend my evening with garrett... the cutest kid in the world.

the bad things about today -

• i'm officially back on track. which really isn't too bad - i love my class this year & am already starting to miss them. only 3 more weeks with them... we've come a long way - so much progress that i'm really proud of. but let's be honest here... going back on track is still going back on track.
• the havoc that 5 guys is wreaking on my system tonight. let's just say i'm soaking things as i type. it ain't pretty. i've been doing a lot of cringing. yes, t.m.i. - but as outspoken as i may be, thank your lucky stars that i'm holding back sooooo many details right now.
• i've also had a headache pretty much all day [don't worry hojo - peppermint treatment has helped it. but i didn't have it all day long]
• did i mention diarrhea? oh, i guess i did. but since i had to do it in a public place tonight, it gets mentioned again. so there. momma needs some reprieve.
  

our new temple

Saturday night we after we spent the day doing our "chores" we cleaned up and went to the new temple open house. It was lovely. I can't wait for our temple to be open for us to go and worship in. [not that there aren't others close by either]

I love being in the temple with my husband. Makes me want to spend more time there, that feeling.

This temple is exquisite.

I loved the design.

I also might've loved the cookies afterwords, too.

Mostly, I just loved spending that peaceful time with Garrett.