Christmas Day

On Christmas Day, Justin went out to work between 3-4am ( I totally wasn't going to wake up to see what time it was). I got up and went to Church, for our Sacrament Only meeting. After Church, Justin got home, and we loaded up presents and went to my parents house. We watched everyone open their presents, and we opened our gifts from them. I got a new pressure canner, and Justin got new Bridle and Halter for his new horse.

It was funnest to watch Hailey and Natalie open their presents. You could tell they were still pumped with excitement (and maybe a little sugar) because they would not hold still. Hailey was really into books this year, she also got some new clothes, a drawing board from my parents and a few other gifts. Natalie got new plastic animals with a toy barn to go with. We bought her mostly clothes, but she also wanted a stuffed kitty, so we got her one of those too.

After we did presents and Breakfast with my family, we headed to Justin's Parents house for the rest of the day. I was too busy opening presents to take any pictures, lol. (I'll have to get some from my mother in law). They always completely spoil me! Eric got me an old fashioned Pop Corn popper for the awesome snack bar I'm building for the basement. His parents/Santa got me a huge Leaning Mirror that I've been wanting forever. I also got a new small camera to carry in my purse, some clothes, perfume, chap stick, lotion-- you name it.

Justin got equally spoiled with new heaters to use in his shop, clothes, a mini helicoptor, bullets-- and the traditional box of Fruity Pebbles.

We went and visited with my Grandparents, and all my Aunts and Uncles on my mom's side of the family for a minute, then went back to the Pratt's and ate an amazing Prime Rib Dinner, and stayed up late watching The Proposal with His parents, Eric, Aunt Corina, and Mammy and Pappy.

We were incredibly spoiled and blessed this year. We never go without, and I've definately been enjoying the giving more than the receiving, although I got some awesome presents.

I'm blessed to be able to celebrate the birth of my Savior with our Families. They're a blessing in our lives, and I appreciate them so much.

Hope you all had a Wonderful Christmas.

Christmas Eve

For Christmas this year, since both our families were in town, we decided to split up Christmas Dinner between My family on Christmas Eve and his Family Christmas Evening. I was in charge of the Ham and Relish Tray (Thanks J&L Oilfield for the awesome ham!) Justin had to work both days, so on Christmas Eve I loaded up my treats and headed to Jensen. Dad had Spark (the horse) All harnessed up with her bells and everything, ready to go for a wagon ride and caroling when I got there.

We got the Ham in the oven and loaded the family and Blankets into the wagon, and off we went.

We went around the block a few times, and as always, my dad had the greatest idea. We went and picked up Tamara Sharp. (If you don't know who that is click here). As we pulled up, we could see her staring through the window at us. When Dad stopped, I got out and ran up to the door. Jan, her mom, answered and saw us outside and said "That's why she's been knocking on the door," So we asked if she would like to go for a ride, and of course that was a silly question. She loved every minute.

After the Wagon riding was over, we went back to the house and proceeded to eat entirely way too much dinner. It was completely delicious, and we ate all night long. Justin made it out to play with us around 4, and when he got there we started to play some games. My little brother decided to teach us Hand and Foot (We were all ready to die) It took forever,  but it was a great time. We had lots of laughs, as always, and tried to keep the Cheating under control (A-hem, Tiffany and Jason).  By the time we got home we were completely too full, and tired, but since I knew Justin had to go to work at 3am, and we would be going to Jensen as soon as he got home, we opened our stockings before bed.

We decided that between buying ourselves the new Big Screen for the basement and the new iPad that we would only do Stockings this year.

Justin was so thoughtful and had Tiffany crochet me another pair of my favorite house slippers, I got some awesome jewelry, my favorite chap stick, and some other little things I needed. Justin got 2 new Blue Ray DVD's for his new Blue ray player, New PJ Pants, a Zippo Liter and some Almond Snickers (his favorite).

Hair...

I finally went and got my hair done a little while ago. I always get told it looks exactly the same as it did before. Well, it's probably true, because I do the same thing every time. I am not brave when it comes to my hair. For what feels like the first time in 22 years, my hair is actually noticably longer than ever before. Strange. So when I went to get it done, I told Desiree (who is the greatest) to cut as little off as possible and still get it cleaned up. Well- Here's my proof. It actually did make a difference.

(PS, I'm terrible at taking pictures of myself, so just ignore that part)

LIFE—Not the Cereal

Lately Life has been a tiny bit overwhelming. (I’m not going to get real deep here so no worries)

It’s just been a little bit stressful/humbling to be called in the Relief Society Presidency. I attended my first meeting and it was 3 hours long, by the time I got home, I couldn’t even talk.

THEY DO SO MUCH.

I’m sitting here thinking to myself- How on earth am I going to do all this? Why did anyone think this would be good for me? Maybe I have something to learn? Maybe I need to grow. Whatever it is- I better hurry, because I feel like I’m already behind.

As this week slips by, the New Year gets closer and closer, and with it comes so much…well…work.

It literally all feels like it starts on the same day. Volleyball starts January 3rd. My 2 College Classes Start on the 9th and my next Relief Society meeting is on the 16th. I know that doesn’t sound like a lot, but just those three things (Actually the last two) carry so much weight in my mind.

I’ve been trying really hard to balance it all out.

Home, Work, School, Church, Sports, Justin

I literally have a calendar on my iPad (which I love- Thanks babe!) for each one of these aspects of my life.

I keep catching myself wishing I had someone to come line it all out for me, balance it out and hand it back to me and say “Here- DO THIS” Because I feel like I could handle that. I’m worried that by trying to balance it all out by myself- I’m going to mess something up.

{Yeah I know, I’m kind of over thinking the balance thing}

Anyway—we had a great Christmas this year. Everyone was safe and happy and with Family, which is what matters most. Pictures to come :D

Hope you all had a Merry Christmas

Spring....

Well... I've decided I should've done it the way the bears do it and hybernated through the winter.

I think that's the only way I would've stored up enough energy to do what I have to do this spring.

• I am taking 2 college classes to work towards completing my Bachelors Degree in Business Management. It's going to take a while before I will finish at that pace, but it's better than nothing.
• Yesterday, I got called as the new Relief Society Secretary. I wonder what that will entail?
• Our Co-ed Volleyball season starts at the beginning of January
• I have some exciting things going down at work that should (hopefully) take affect at the end of January.
• There is also a new store down town called "Tag custom apparel" that has started a consignment shop in the front of their bulilding that I've secured a space in, and need to get things ready to take down there, and I have to be able to keep things stocked. {because I thought one more thing to do would be super fun}
• Tac all that on to the regular: Visiting Teaching, Vinyl orders, Finishing the last little bits of the basement, possibly expecting puppies and the Holidays and I believe I'm certifiably nuts.

Merry Christmas!

Thanksgiving...

We had Thanksgiving at our house this year. Justin's family was all out of town, so we just visited with my family. I spent the morning cooking and they came up in the afternoon. We ate dinner, played games, ate dessert, and watched movies. It was a great time. I love being able to live so close to my family and share our holidays and occasions with them!

I found a good use for Cranberries...They make a beautiful center piece!

My favorite! Mom's Homemade Cherry pie.

Liddy decided that under the table was the best place to be all afternoon, so she got plenty of "foot rubs"

The girls found the Nerd Glasses out of the toy box...

But Natalie decided they fit better upside down.

These girls crack me up, but mostly I was just happy to be able to spend time with my family and remember all of the things I have to be Grateful for.

Sleep....

So…I was going to post yesterday about what a HORRID night I had, then I got busy and didn’t do it. Then last night happened and I’ve decided there are evil forces working against me and my sleep because I’VE HAD IT!

For some reason Ace and Sophie have decided not to get along lately, so Wednesday night they were arguing in the Kennel, so Justin had to get up and separate them. This of course woke me up. Justin put Liddy and Ace out back and let Sophie have the kennel, but being alone, of course, made her howl and scratch at the door, and Ace could hear Sophie howling so he barked- for hours…so I dozed in and out of sleep between hearing “Bark- Scratch- Howl and Justin getting up to try to get them to sleep.” I am a solid sleeper, so I can sleep through the dogs being noisy- not when they argue- but just the general whining. Justin wakes up if someone in China sneezes….and I know it’s not his fault but it drives me crazy! Because every time something wakes him up- he gets up, or plays on his phone, or yells at the dogs and it wakes me up. GRRR…. So I thought that was bad…

Yesterday was Justin’s ‘Friday’ because this is his (once monthly) four day weekend. He stayed up late playing some game on the X Box so I went to bed before he did. Then for some reason, when he came to bed, he woke me up and made me scoot over and sleep on his side and he slept on my side, so- of course- I tossed and turned and rolled and was uncomfortable. The term “woke up on the wrong side of the bed” has a new meaning to me.

I slept like crap, woke up with a headache and was SUPER mad at Justin for making me scoot over. I asked him why he made me move and didn’t just sleep on his side of the bed and he said I was already sleeping on his side, so he HAD to sleep on my side. BULL. Haha I know how terribly I sleep if I’m not in just the right spot….

Anyways- here’s hoping I get some better sleep tonight or I just might kill someone…

(For those of you who have kids that keep you up all night every night and are rolling your eyes at me- stop it, lol. I will cross that bridge when I come to it, but for now- I enjoy my sleep!)

Stubborn with a soft spot...

I am generally a hard headed person—and I’m glad to admit it, but from time to time I find that I have a few Weaknesses soft spots…

White

Dogs, clothes, furniture, paint- You name it, I have a thing for almost anything white. {Besides Snow and Coconut}

Carbs

I absolutely love good spaghetti (Olive Garden). I would eat (real) mashed potatoes every day of the week if I could...and brownies...

Building things

It’s so rewarding to create something out of nothing, and to be able to tell people “I built that”

I love to build beautiful things- even if nobody cares.

Dr.Pepper

Buying things I know I shouldn’t

It’s my small way to break the rules. I’ve never been a rule breaker- so it must be the rebellion starting to climb out of me.

A good conversation

I LOVE having a good conversation; where people actually listen to you and you listen to them and don’t feel like you’re annoying them or wasting either their or your time. I love it when someone wants to talk to me. It makes me feel important.

Hot Chocolate

It is the ultimate “cure-all” for my bad days. I don’t care how much sugar is in it, or how much time I waste making it just perfect, I can sit down and relax and drink it and abuse it as my own guilty pleasure. (When I don’t have as much time- Dr. Pepper will measure up as a quick fix)

Hoodies and Pajama Pants

My husband probably thinks I never wear real clothes. I’m in Pajamas when he leaves for work in the mornings and as soon as I get home, if I don’t plan on leaving the house again, I’m back in pj pants and a hoodie, so when he gets home after me- it probably looks like I never got ready for the day.

Camping

If it’s warm outside, almost no matter what I’m doing- I would rather be on the mountain with a camp fire, my husband, dogs and a horse. It’s what good days are made of.

Decorating/Rearranging

Ever Since I was a little girl, I can remember pushing furniture around from room to room, and loving every minute of it. I love trying to find the “best” layout for a room, and I love changing things up every once in a while. I also believe that a home that is welcoming and invites the spirit is where people want to spend their time, so I try my hardest to make sure our house is clean, organized and decorated. I want people to feel welcome in our home- especially us! So we can enjoy our time and be comfortable at home.

…just in case I’m ever having a bad day, You will all know how to fix it

A.BIG.GIANT.RULER.

Once again, I owe the inspiration for this to Pinterest, but I LOVE how it turned out!

All I did was take a regular ole 1"x12"x6' Pine Board from Lowes:

And I varnished it...

Then I got to work on the ole vinyl cutter.... And cut out all my (-)'s and my Numbers...

Then I stuck them to my board, and Added a Picture Hanger to the back and...

Wa-la!

It's awesome and I'm in love!

The original post I stole borrowed it from used it as a transportable (is that a word?) child height measurer. You can write on it in Magic Marker with the child's name and age and it can move from house to house with you.

Maybe some day we will do that-- but until then, It's just my BIG. GIANT.RULER.

The Basement...AFTER

Well, this is the good part. Who ever thought someone could be so excited over things like grout and carpet?

Well... I guess I'm getting old and lame, cause I was completely psyched to have both of these things. More so on the carpet...but either way-- Here are the AFTER pictures  of our Basement....Finally...

Living room

Looking at the Office (with stuff piled on it) and up the Hall

Looking towards the Stairs and Half of the Office

The Gun Room...

My Awesome Vanity and Mirror in the Bathroom

Bathroom Cont.

My Craft Room.

We also have a Storage Room and a Closet under the stairs but those aren't really picture worthy.

These pictures aren't really "finished"

Since then we've finished all the electrical outlets and Justin has framed in the big window in my Craft room for me. We still have a ways to go but, it's huge from where we started.

Now if it would just stay as clean as in the pictures above....but that's not real life I guess.

Merry Christmas to us and our New Big Screen.

See-- the window is boxed in....

...with junk...

LOVE the floor in the office. We bought enough to redo the floors in my kitchen, hall and Laundry room. Now if we could just get it installed...



The Gun Room.... (I will be in trouble for posting this picture)



Notice where the vinyl cutter is sitting in this picture? Next to the computer...

Notice the empty spot on the floor (the one next to all the junk)

Lookie Lookie! I finally got a vinyl cutting table! And I upholstered a chair cushion to match my upholstered shelves.

I also got to organize all the baggies for my orders on the floor by my new table.



That's all for now...but it won't be long before I have another project to post, I'm sure.

The Basement... BEFORE

So there are way too many pictures to try to post all at once, so I will do a BEFORE and AFTER post. The before is the super boring part, but I'll do some IN PROGRESS pictures too, just to keep it entertaining.

Enjoy our two years worth of Progress....
it's a mess I know- so don't judge me :D

This is looking into the Gun room

This is what is now the Bathroom

Look at all that dust!!!

The Living Room

I think this was one of the happies days of my life...lol to come home from work with all the texturing on the walls DONE!

Primer!

Painted all the 1"x4"'s for the Board and Batten

Bathroom after paint

I HATE painting doors!!!

Board and Batten before touch ups

Justin's Orange Wall in the Gun room

Board and Batten after Touch up's

Tile in Bathroom before Grout

Awesome Striped wall in my Craft Room

Now you have to wait til tomorrow to see the AFTER pictures...but you pretty much get where this is going :D

P.S. I LOVE my Board and Batten in the living room, and Striped wall in my craft room!