Finally....

Man it's been a while since I blogged! At times when I am doing random things I think "I should blog about this".....and that is as far as it gets. Just a thought in my head! :) Anyway this is going to be a long, rambling post and I am not even going to guarantee that the pictures are in any sort of order.

So, here it goes......

Sean's celebrated his 3rd birthday! I am not going to go into the details of that party so if you want specifics you can always call me for the juicy details.....

Getting to see the kids was for sure the only highlight......

I enjoy decorating for the seasons.....fall is my second favorite!

By far our biggest project this fall has been painting our house. It was so much more work than I could EVER imagine. It has taken most of the month of October. Why so long you ask? Well, first of all since it was new siding we had A LOT of prep work that had to be done. Bob is the kind of "prep". Basically I am exhausted by the time we finish prepping and the real work hasn't even started yet....anyway we are basically done now. This isn't the best picture because of lighting but oh well. When I say basically there are a few more things Bob needs to do, mostly finish putting up "flashing" all along the roof line and some other tasks that you probably really aren't interested in hearing about!

YW always keeps me on my toes.....these are some handouts I did a few weeks back. Our YW in Excellence is coming right up and there will be more pictures to follow.....let's just say after our presidency meeting today I am sooooo excited for it! :)

I think everyone probably saw this picture on FB. Let's just say my work makes a BIG DEAL about Halloween. If you don't dress up you might as well just put in your two week notice, ha. To me its just one more thing I have to do that really I don't care about. I guess I won't win the most inspirational award but hey, I got a costume, wore it to work and had a smile on my face so that counts for something right?

And last but not least, we had some visitors the other morning! Bob took these from inside with his phone. Pretty cool huh?!

Happy November everyone!

A Visit

A few weeks ago David, Tiffany & kids were able to visit for a few days. Enjoy the pictures from one of our outings to the little beach right in our own neighborhood!

Fire!

Bob took this picture from the roof of our house tonight, the fire is on the other side of the Columbia River... 

 This second picture is one he took closer to Brewster, he drove a little way up one of the canyons to get a good shot....

We are not in any danger but it is awfully close when you can just stand out in your driveway and see it across the river! It started this afternoon and continues to grow....(don't know the cause as of yet)

Big Splurge....

I debated for a week how to best spend my birthday money....You know me I love a bargain and my goal is usually to get the absolute most I can for my money but I also was considering a purchase that would take all of it. I was eyeing a certain pair of boots from Nordstroms (anniversary sale!)
They came in the mail yesterday and I am soooo happy! Can't wait to wear them!
were quite pricey. Back and forth. Couldn't decide. Well the boots won out, I even had Elena go check em out for me in person : )
They came in the mail yesterday and I am soooo happy! Can't wait to wear them!

(I know these weren't your fav Julie but they won me over lol!) As you can see they are slightly cowboy-ish, but not too cowboy-ish and they are vintage-y. LOVE.
Thanks mom, dad and Marny (Bob's mom)!!!

Lookie what we have.....

A family of quails! The babies are soooooo cute and are probably some of the smallest I have seen in person! ;)

It's always something.....

I realized June is almost over and I have not done one post! Shame on me!
So I decided on the title of this post because isn't it really true? It's always something it seems, big or small.
When I got home from work today Bob's simple project of painting a door for someone turned into a mess as the sprayer he used decided to "blow up" and he ended up covered in paint splatter from head to toe. After he got that mess cleaned up he discovered the disposal was clogged. It may or may not have been due to someone (heehee) dumping a bunch of sticky rice down the disposal and then not properly turning on the "on" button and running water long enough. Whoops. So the rice pretty much turned to glue in there......so I ended up with this mess as Bob thought he was just going to clean out the disposal but then found out there was a crack in it and for sometime now had been spraying all kinds of liquid under the sink, yay!!

As I said....it's always something.

YIKES, May is almost over.....

So, first up Mother's Day....

of course the best part about the day was skyping with Kyle! We did a 3-way with Brian, Chantelle and us.

Katie talked to Kyle on the phone seperately because she had gone with a friend that week-end to Boise.

 Next, I cannot say enough how AWESOME it was to get this SURPRISE in the mail!!

Believe me, the stuff was out of my old purse and into this one pretty darn fast!

Love it!

 The picture isn't very good, but I think we finally finished our "wall".

Bob got the pictures printed out for the one window frame and we finished our ladder project.

I really, really like. Oh, and don't worry we aren't leaving that one stray mat in the small 3 pane window, we were just seeing how it looked.

 I also found a lamp for the corner that I love, (I am saying that  alot!) I got it at Target so the price is right too! Also, you might not be a fan and I understand, but suitcases as night stands or side tables is a trendy vintage-y home decorating style!

 And believe me, whenever I feel a little sad or am having a bad day, I just look at her picture and I have to smile!! :)

Hope your May was a good one....

see ya next month

What do I do you ask on weekends?

Well, let me show you! -

in no particular order cuz these loaded out of order!

First of all, trying out new recipes...

These two are amazingly good and easy, my two favorite combinations!

Making "take homes" for YW. They don't seem like they should take long but surprisingly they do!

The one below went with our Choice & Accountability Value, the 3 members of our presidency take turns once a month picking a value to focus on and give a little thought about it and of course it wouldn't be complete without something for them to take home!

I like a clean car so if there is a sunny Saturday I usually wash it! You know, Saturday is a special day.... :)

We finally got our piece of "man-made" granite to go over the top of the washer/dryer. It's hard to tell but it's white with little black flecks. It looks really nice. 

And of course little house projects, first I (well Bob and I) painted the laundry room door this fun color! Don't you think it's a good idea to make the laundry room a place that at least looks good even if you hate going in there!

I am also working on a ladder project that I will show you when I am done, I have to save something for May! 

Where does the time gooooo?

OK, I'll admit it.

I think Pinterest has taken over. Seriously addicted.

I almost forgot about blogging...almost

Let me just say

1. My life isn't super exciting, so I don't feel I have a whole lot to blog about!

2. I will try to be creative and at least blog once a month, minimum :)

3. Our girls weekend was SUPER fun. Seems like forever ago already. Wish we could just all live closer. Enough said.

All right, so this last week was Katie's spring break.

She has already come and gone and I didn't get many pictures but I did get this one (Katie actually took it of herself on my phone lol).

Of course the week went fast. It was a good week overall. I think the first break home is an interesting one. You kinda come home expecting everything to be the same, just how it was when you left and it kind of isn't!

Does that make sense?

It's this weird in between phase of a life you had and a new life your creating for yourself. I think that is kinda hard. Do you?

Overall though it was good.

Katie did get to see quite a few friends, (some she wanted to and they just didn't seem to make the time, hmmmm?), she cooked a meal for us, saw the movie "Hunger Games" twice, got a pedicure, went to Lakeview, did some shopping, got her hair done, went to a softball practice, went to a softball game, and got to drive her car again (that was a biggie for her!!)

Alas, Bob and Katie loaded up this morning and she is now back in Rexburg as I type!

Spring in a good time for new beginnings....in lots of different ways....

Here is a pic of her and her new hair do.

I think it looks pretty cute....

(she had her hair done by someone in Rexburg and they TOTALLY fried it, it was bad. I had never seen her hair in such bad condition, hence the bangs, shorter cut and a re-do on the color)

Thank goodness for the miracles of our stylist in Chelan! :)

See ya next month....

lol



Found in my shoe....

Yesterday I was rushing around (cuz I like to sleep till the last second!) getting ready to leave for church and could not find my wedding ring.

No worries I thought, it will turn up.

On my way to work today (and still no ring) I was a little more worried.

Spent my whole lunch break looking, nothing.

Came home from work and basically went through all the garbage's, look high and low (and I mean high and low) and in every nook and cranny I could think of and still NO ring!

Some serious stress was settling in, believe me I had said a bunch of prayers and was not going to bed or leaving the house ever again until it was found.

Then I thought "why don't I just look in my closet on the floor and there is was, inside one of my shoes, along with a single ear ring!

YAY!

Now, it is going to go here everyday when I take it off before bed....

The end. ;)



projects!

I mentioned in a previous post that we were would be working on a project (inspiration:pinterest) that would be featured at a later time....

Well, the time is now!

Today, just a few minutes ago actually, Bob hung our "window" picture frame. Each pane has a different picture that Bob took himself. I think it looks so cool and I can't wait to finish the other two!

Also, this last week a friend who has that eye for decorating came over and helped me do a little "re-arranging". We dug up a few things that had been stored away (for example, the trunk, which happens to have come over from Ireland with a relative of Bob's) and the pictures and accessories I already had are now displayed in different spots. I love it! It's amazing how taking your "same old stuff" and moving it around suddenly makes you love it again and makes it feel like a mini-make-over without even spending money!

and last but not least, I wanted to show a close-up of the trunk:

and that's the end of our "make-over" for now...

PS - I have NO IDEA why this picture loaded again here so just ignore UGH!

Happy Valentines to you (&me)

I thought I would give you a peek into our Valentines...

First, presents!

Pink roses and one of my favorite perfumes...

Oh Lola!

(and don't feel bad, Bob got a nice present too, the Kindle touch)

Next dinner...

I tried a new recipe, it's called rumbi rice. Apparently there is a restaurant in Utah and it is a copy cat of a dish served there. It was really tasty. I made the rice in the rice cooker, it was easy but a little different. Just add rice, water, coconut milk, can of red beans, and pinch of salt and press the button!

And last, but not least...

dessert!

Another new recipe:

chocolate chip cheesecake bars!

They did not disappoint....

now tomorrow it's back to oatmeal, fruit, and my chocolate slim fasts :)



parties & projects

Had a great weekend!

Started off with a couples night get together. How can you go wrong with great company, good food, chocolate fondue and games?

Next, I will give you a sneak peek into our newest home project. Bob and I worked on some old windows that will eventually be on the walls full of pictures! (you can see some examples on my pinterest)

And last but not least a birthday party for a friend at work Saturday night. Bob was a good sport about going with me to this one :)

Now gotta get my mind ready for Monday! 

I promise....

I promise not all my posts will be about my Pinterest projects ;)

But I do have a couple to share...

It's pretty darn good. I will give it a 8.5/10, it would be especially great as an apetizer (for example for the Super Bowl etc)

next I did a small, key word: small, Valentines Craft today:

Buy cheap, plain candles at WalMart, some cute paper at the scrapbook store and a little twine and  a hot glue gun and you done!

That was easy :)