more about it

So, there are few blogs I frequent. Well, kinda frequent. And one of my friend's blogs {ok, so we're not really friends, but she asked followers on her craft blog who would be interested in reading about her "boring" life, and I said Ooh! ME! So, we don't know each other, but I read about her life... Maybe I'll post a link to my blog, so Erika can read about my life too....} anyways, back to what I was saying, on one of my friend's blogs, she talks about things that are going on in her life. And she said it was just the same stuff, and it got me thinking. That's what life is. It's the same things over and over until something completely random and unexpected happens. For the longest time, all my posts were about Bandit, and I'm sorry but there are going to be quite a few posts still about Bandit. And now there will be posts about our house. About decorating and painting and fixing things, and that is just what it's going to be for a while.

On Erika's blog, she also posted some goals. Which made me think of my sorry looking list of goals. {Look to the left... yeah that list!} I really have been trying, and I even checked a few of them off.... I've been kinda lame and haven't been thinking of my goals at all. But, what I really need to do, is post the daily ones a paper or a poster by my dresser/in my bathroom, somewhere I'll see it every day! Because there are things I could easily be doing every day, no extra time is really needed to accomplish my goals. Some of them are more long term, or projects, and those ones I just have to plan for. First of all : I want to get my house clean, I want to put things where they belong, not just on the counter. :) So that is my first step! Then I will be constructing a budget, no we already have a budget, we just need to implement it and stick to it. I'm waiting for it turn into October to start that.

OOOHH!!! I have been trying to eat healthy lately. Less burgers, less Double-Stacks, less french fries, less soda, less grease! Cuz remember back in April when I went in to see about having babies, and the doctor's took tons of my blood to figure out why I hadn't seen my monthly visitor, and she told me I have high cholesterol? Well, it's been on my mind lately. {Plus I've a little bit of pain, I don't really know how to explain it, but walking back and forth across the Post every day, on the hunt for the ONE candlestick our inventory says we have, has started to wind me, and now it kinda hurts!} So, after the slight freak-out about having mildly high cholesterol, I have decided to eat better. It's been along time coming. Shark got a ton of elk meat from work and I hear that wild game is healthier than beef to eat. I cooked it today, and I added a whole can of mushrooms just so the meat had something to cook in, not just fry and burn! THERE WAS NO GREASE, no fat!! So Shark, go kill me some more food!! Anyways, about having babies, I'm just waiting to hear back on that supplemental health insurance...

So that's just what life is, it's the same thing over and over, and it's what is important to us. I have 5 followers, and I love you all dearly, and I know you could (probably) honestly care less what Bandit eats, or what color I painted my walls, but that's my life, and if you read it, that means you care a little right? And honestly, I write because it's something to do, it's some kind of filter so my husband doesn't have to hear it all the time {I really do just talk his ear off, not that he knows it - he's snoring most the time ;) } but this really just a kind of diary for me, it's about our life. It's about what is important to us. I don't write this blog to try to change history, or anything like that. I actually started it to try to keep my family connected to me {they are all so very far away!} and it's worked! But this blog is also where I write how I feel, what's bugging me, what's exciting, what's new, and what's important! :)

So there is love for all who read my randomness and pointlessness, just because you care... ♥

back in the swing

So lately I've just felt unsettled. Not restless but not settled. Nothing in particular. I think I felt that way because we weren't really sure where we'd be next month or next year. Yeah I know a year is a ways away but it's still one of those useless things I worry about.

I knew we were safe at Steve & Heather's but we were still unsure of our future. Of what would happen in the next 2 months. For a while there we were pretty unsure of getting the house or not. {People have said there is a calm in my voice they haven't heard in a while.} it seems like we have a direction to go now. It's comforting to know there is a place we can call OURS. (Although, I would like to add, living with family has been wonderful, we really didn't have to worry about much, just washing our clothes pretty much.) Steve & Heather have been wonderful and amazing to let us live there, thank you so so SO much!

Pretty soon Shark and I will be getting off work around the same time now. Which will be nice, cuz then we can sit down and eat dinner together, although it'll be around 8:30pm, at least we'll have dinner together. I'm even in the process of making up a Meal Plan. I know some ladies have a weekly meal plan, I'm hoping to plan mine for 2 weeks, and then go shopping with a big list every 2 weeks. I'm also hoping to stock up and use what I've got. We'll have to see....

Shark and I are no where NEAR being unpacked. But that's one of those things that will take time. Right now, I'm trying to find my dishes. I found most of the food we had packed away. We've also got all of our clothes. I just need Shark to fix the hanger-bars in our closets so I can start hanging it all up! I've also got to find some more shelves and dressers, garage sales here I come. Part of me wishes I had a week with no work just to get the house organized. (Which reminds me, I need to find our alarm clock!)

Also in other news regarding food and my to-do list : I have decided I need to start canning food. That being said, I need to pick up one of those "Canning Starter Kits" from Wal-mart, they've got them there for $10 or something, and it comes with everything I need to can. I'll share in a bit what exactly I'll be canning.... :)

I guess, it really hasn't sunk in yet, or something. Shark and I are still ready to run. I talked to him this morning about it. He said, it feels like we're just waiting for what's happening next. Like waiting for the good times to stop, waiting for the punchline, the devastating disaster to strike, because it feels too good to be true. But really, we're where we're "supposed to be" by the views of "The Others" - we're married, we have a hosue, we both have jobs, we're both mid-20's. I'm just excited to have a place that is officially ours. A place to make ours. A place for our family.

Love to all who haven't let the good times stop. ♥

any other day

Yeah right! So my awesome SIL Heather and I cleaned the whole house. Ok, so she vacuumed, and steam cleaned the carpets, and washed the walls and mopped the floor.... I painted and patched holes in the walls. Like I said, she's freaking awesome!! I just put on a 3rd coat of paint on the wall in our room. :) I'm hoping to post pictures after this weekend when we get most of the stuff moved in and into place. Or it will just be pictures of a green wall and a blue wall.... So, we'll wait until we get most of our stuff in place. But we signed the papers last Tuesday, and funded and recorded it on Friday. Heather and I went to start cleaning on Wednesday, but I didn't start painting until Friday. Until I knew it was for sure ours. We're pretty excited to have our own place. I'm pretty excited to start unpacking. It'll be like Christmas, some of those boxes contain mysteries, I have no idea what is in them, or what I have!

Things at work have been way crazy, as we prepare for Christmas, yes already. We started setting up last week, and already have a few trees decorated. I love Christmas, but I feel I'm already sick of looking at decorations. I'm just glad I'm not interested in buying things for my tree. We've had our blue/black/silver tree for 2  years now, and I'm pretty content with that. Buying red or green glittery ornaments would throw it all off. And I do have enough Christmas decorations that I am NOT interested in buying those either. Halloween on the other hand is a totally different monster itself. I love Halloween, and I would buy everything they have for the holiday, if Shark would let me. But he does not, so I do not. I did buy some decorations, but after buying from the Trading Post and from the Dollar Tree, I've said no more. So I don't buy any more Halloween stuff, but that doesn't stop me from making them!!

Speaking of Christmas, I think I've got a pretty good plan on what I'm going to be doing for presents this year. If I could just get the boys' presents figured out... Why do I always struggle with the boys' presents? Probably because I can't make them a purse or a wallet... Yeah that could be it. But I think I have most of the gifts figured out. Now just to act on my ideas and get started! :) I'm just all around excited about Christmas and gifts, not just receiving them (although I am considering mailing a box to my new address, first to see my new address with our name on it, and secondly because I LOVE GETTING MAIL!) but also giving them. I love seeing the look on people's faces as they open a gift specially for them. It's pretty awesome. But enough about Christmas : HALLOWEEN!! I'm pretty excited about our costume this year. Once I get it all done, I'll post pictures! Yeah!!

I absolutely love my husband. He went hunting this past weekend in Nebraska. Him, Steve and his friend Pickup went, so that left Heather and I as Deer-Widows. So we cleaned my house (without boys or dogs trampling over everything, including the baby) and then we hung out at Denny's late night, like way late, so late, the baby didn't fuss or cry or anything, just blinked at us as she chewed on a celery stick. Then the boys almost got stuck in WY, apparently there was a brush-fire that closed down the highway... If it's not snow and wind, it might as well be fire, right? But they got home just fine, apparently the fire was in the morning, and now one cared to turn off the sign telling drivers I-80 was closed... :)

We're hoping to start moving in some of our stuff over the week, and moving most of it on Saturday. Although, Saturday at 4:30 is a Relief Society activity in my new ward, and I want to go to that. :) We've called enough poeple to come help us, that it shouldn't take very long at all. So excited!!

Love to all who have long-lost stuff they never knew they had until they found it in a box in the garage! (I love YOU ice cream maker!)  ♥

Its a......

HOUSE!!!

We closed on the house yesterday evening and we are able to move in tomorrow! Shark changed the locks on Saturday, so technically it's been our house since Saturday!! Yayayay!

Love to all who find being patient pays off BIG!! ♥

and a Tutorial

So, I have been wanting to get some girls together and do a cute little Halloween craft. I saw some Halloween Jars done a while back, but I cannot remember where I saw them. So I kinda just winged it, and created a tutorial while I was making them!

What you need :

• Colored tissue paper
• Scissors
• Modge Podge
• Jars (any size will work, I have quart jars from the cupcake in a jar thing I did) *Don't buy jars! Eat that last pickle, make some spaghetti, you'll find jars all around, and it's cute to have different sizes of jars!!
• Little brushes to apply the MP

1. Ok, cut the tissue paper into strips, it is easier to apply in strips, and easier to control around the curve of the jar. Plus it looks pretty cool with light coming from the inside.

2. Next start applying the Modge Podge to the jar, and then placing the tissue paper strips. I spaced my first layer of strips out and then put more strips in the spaces that were left. Put a coat of MP over the strips you just put on. **Don't pull the tissue paper, it'll rip.

(If I could do these over again, I would start with the end of the strip up at the top by the base of the threads, so it's even, and then cut the extra off the bottom of the strips. I kinda placed the middle of the strips in the middle of the jar, so I had some extra paper on the top and the bottom!)

3. Make sure the whole outside of the jar is covered with tissue paper, unless that's the effect you're going for. Then apply with a nice coat of MP to the whole jar.

4. Add a face or whatever accents you want to the jar. I made a Jack-o-lantern face, I used black tissue paper for the face.

5. You can add ribbon to hang the jar, or you can sit them all next to each other. I just randomly tied ribbon twice around the neck of the jar. Lots of knots and lots of loop-arounds, I don't want it to drop!

*You can get battery operated tea-lights, or you can probably use real burning tea lights. I have an idea to put them all on a shelf and put a line of white Christmas lights in them, so they all glow. But these would be way cute to line the walkway to your front door, to guide the little Trick-or-Treaters!!

Here are Heather's :

Here are Angie's :

Here are mine :

Once we get our house, I'll post pictures of where I put them for my Halloween Decor!!

Yeah about that...

Ok, so we're still waiting to hear on the house, yeah, still waiting. BUT - I was going to work yesterday and there was a garage sale 2 houses down. I saw they had an upright freezer for $40, I asked Shark and his bro Steve to go take a look, see if Heather wanted it, and if she didn't, then I did! So, we now own a slightly yellow, slightly smelly freezer!! Yayay! If it works, it'll be awesome, cuz Shark and his bro Steve are planning on going bow-hunting this weekend, so now, if deer are shot, there will be a place to put all that venison!! Yay!

Also this weekend, I worked tons! But after work on Friday (I got off work at 6:30) I went up to the House. Our realtor called and wanted to do a walk-thru. I invited Steve and Heather cuz they have never seen the inside. We met our neighbors, very nice people, and they are young too! Everything was fine, and Saturday, Shark put new locks on the doors, cuz none of the previous tenants ever turned in keys!

Shark and I went to our new ward, and some of his friends from high school go to that ward! It's pretty awesome that he knows lots of people all over the place. :)

And pretty sure BOTH my Fantasy Football teams are losing! ugh! But I have Philip Rivers again this year, so hopefully he plays an awesome game tomorrow!!

So yeah, we're still crossing our fingers that things'll happen soon!!

Love to all who have had crossed fingers for months. ♥

Its like waiting at the DMV...

{but with a better possible outcome.....}

AND THEY WON'T CALL MY NUMBER

Yeah, so pretty sure we're still just waiting. Waiting. Waiting. I hate waiting. You can ask Shark how long I actually waited to open my birthday present... or my Christmas present... or basically anything that comes in the mail. {No worries, mom, I still have NOT opened that box you sent, the one that I can't open until we move. I packed it in a box somewhere....}

I'm not good with the whole patient thing. I thought I was. {But you know what Thought did, don't cha?!} I guess I should have realized that I'm not a very patient person. I talk to other cars, tell them to get out of my way, and yes, I am one of those foot-stompers. [Just yesterday I was in teh drive thru line at Panda Express, and the car in front of me got their food and slowly inched away from the window, I said {loudly} OH GET OUT OF MY WAY ALREADY!! and she did, but only after she looked up in her rear-view.... Yeah both our windows were open, oops. But really, I had like 7 minutes to get back to work!!

Wait, it could just be I'm not patient when I've got something to do, or somewhere to be! Yeah, that could be it.... But then how does that explain my opening gifts early. Hmm, well, I'm just excited to see what's in there!! I know it's for me, and I'm already so dang excited for the gift, might as well be more excited and tinkering with my gift!!

This house is like one of those presents, except with a BIG huge NOT YET sign. The hardest thing about it is the YET, it if was just NO, I think I could handle that, but it's the YET part that kills me. It's also the fact that we can't do a dang thing. At least with presents you can hide them from each other, so the NOT YET isn't so hard to handle. But there is nothing we can do to make this go faster. Trying not to think about it or worry about it just makes it harder to not think about it. {You know how when someone says don't think about those cookies, and then all you can think about IS those cookies?!?}

Hmmm, so lately, I have been trying to keep my mind off of the house, and since I packed some of my crafting stuff, I have started playing Lego Batman again. I've almost gotten everything in all the Hero missions, I just need to finish the Hero's and then start working on the Villians, and then I need to find all the hostages... I think I have time.

Hopefully we hear either today or tomorrow what's going down with the house. And for the record, this post did NOT help me NOT think about the house.... Yeah.

Love to those who are foot-stompers. ♥

You didn't know!

My brain never shuts off, so I have started to sub-consciously create a list of things I have never done!

1) I have never seen Pride or Prejudice, like the old one, that has 12 volumes or something. I have seen the Mormon version, it's cute, but I haven't even seen the Keira Knightley one.

2) Never been to a west coach beach.

3) Never eaten Pecan Pie.

4) Never made a pot roast, although Shark has.

5) Never opened my Etsy store, YET!!

6) I love cooking, but not so much cleaning...Until I get to work, and all I do is clean, I can't stop cleaning.

7) I'm still nervous about my heart. For so long, I figured everything would be okay, that nothing was ever wrong, and then I had to have open heart surgery last year...

8) My favorit candy bar is : Butterfinger, but I won't turn down a Carmello, Snickers or a Reese's Fastbreak.

9) I don't really like root beer, and I absolutely HATE orange soda! I am a carrier of TB, and when I was little the doctor's tried to fix it (I guess) and they gave me this horrible tasting liquid that I had to take with Ritz crackers, then they tried to turn it orange flavored, even worse. I can't stand Orange Soda or Ritz crackers.

10) I'm a sports fan. Any game I go to, I instantly become a fan. I even like going to baseball games. I love basketball games, and I definitly LOVE football games.

Ok-- so there are something I just realized about myself, I thouhgt I'd share. But anyways, lately, things have still be crazy. Work has been all kinds of crazy, we're a decor store, we sell all kinds of fall decorations, Thanksgiving decorations, Halloween, Christmas...Yeah, so it's been freaking crazy at work. Plus, we still don't really know what's going on with the house... SO yeah...

We will let everyone know as soon as we do, with the house. Even now, we're still not really sure....

But today we drafted our football teams for fantasy football with Shark's family. I think I'm going to do alright this year, at least IF someone picks up T.J. Houshmandzadeh... Please please please!! Yeah we'll see, between Gerrit's league and the Family league, we've got alot going on. I'll try to post about it every once in a while.... :)

Love to all who are forced to be patient even tho it's really really really hard to be patient!! ♥