Pictures of the Kitchen

My kitchen is as done as it's going to be for the time being. Sometime, maybe sooner than later, I'd like to paint (or have my step-dad paint) the cabinets white. I don't really like the current color, and I think it would look so pretty to have white cabinets. No color went well with this shade of wood. I was trying to pick a color that would coordinate with the cabinets, but after a fair amount of hand-wringing, I gave up and just chose a color I liked.


I painted the kitchen blue. Sea Exposure blue. I think it looks nice and fresh with the green living room. The combination makes me happy. I've gotten many compliments on the colors (even from men!) so I know it's not just me being crazy thinking it looks decent.

I should note that I painted many months ago, and am just now getting "done" decorating. I kinda got burned out for a while there.

I had to throw in some artichokes somewhere in the decor (on this wall and the wall on the other side of the sliding door). I just wish they were real- and in my mouth!


I found this table runner on clearance at TJ Maxx. It may not have been right for anyone else's kitchen, but it was perfect for mine! Just the right shades of green and blue.



I hunted everywhere for curtains, and I didn't find any that totally met my expectations, but I did like these inexpensive panels from Target. I like the scribbles. They look better when they're open; I just closed them here to show the design.


I love the blue next to the white trim.


I love this print. The little trees and old-timey folk sitting around. Not sure what they call it... I spray painted the frame and cut scrapbook paper to fit each space. I think I might need to start trying something other than the "scrapbook paper as art" thing. This will have to do until I start being more crafty.


Still looking for a cute chair to put at the desk. I need to hit some more thrift stores and find something to spray paint.


I finally got around to hanging the IKEA picture shelves a couple of weeks ago. Yay! They've only been sitting unloved in the laundry room since spring.

The totally cute tiered cabinet was Becky's... I think of her whenever I look at it.


I got the black&white flower prints at IKEA as well. The plain white picture is from Hobby Lobby. (Just trying to give credit where credit is due.) I spray painted all the frames except for the one on the cabinet. They were all old and ugly colors. I love what a little paint can do!



I am really excited about houndstooth lately; even before I started seeing it everywhere. (You should see the adorable shoes I got for $10 at Burlington Coat Factory!)



I got these dishes on clearance at Marshalls; $5 for the set of 4. I thought they were so cute. And I couldn't believe they were black, white and green. Success!

I'm liking how the kitchen is looking. Since I'm in there so much, it's nice to like what I'm seeing. It motivates me to keep things nice and tidy. At least for now... ;)

A better friend

I find it hard to believe it's been over two months since Becky's passing. So many things remind me of her. I know she'd love the chillier weather we've been having this week. Even so, she'd probably keep her A/C running. She'd be busy rooting for BSU football. Nearly everywhere I go in town, I've been there with her. I miss the simple things, like wandering around Target with her, looking at everything. I was there tonight with the kids, and I thought of Becky as I consumed water from the drinking fountain. She was always grossed out by drinking fountains. I think she would have paid $10 for a bottle of water before she'd use a drinking fountain. Funny girl.

I've been thinking about the great, attentive friends I have, who offered condolences and support when they heard about Becky. I got phone calls from concerned friends and family. Others stopped by with homemade treats, flowers, and heartfelt cards. When Maria heard the news, she sent me a text asking if she could come by. She took time out of her busy day to bring me a Blizzard and talk with me for a while.

I never thought I was capable of offering comfort to a grieving friend. I've never felt confident in what I could say. I thought they didn't want me "bothering" them with my clumsy attempt at caring. I learned that every little thing someone did for me was much appreciated. Just knowing how many people reached out to me, in their own way, meant a lot. I took note of those things, and they all made me want to be a much better friend. It's true that actions speak louder than words. Any kind gesture is just as important as another. Whether it was a sympathetic phone call, a card, flowers, or a visit, they all made an impression on me.


I didn't take pictures of the cookies, Blizzard or cards, but I did manage to get a picture of these beautiful flowers. This arrangement was from the Jensens. I was given one other flower offering, a little rose plant, from the scout leaders I work with.


I'm so thankful for great friends. Ones who know just what to do to lift me up. A couple of days after I wrote that whiny blog post, I got a text from Maria. It said: "Renee and I are coming to get you tonight between 8 & 9, and you can't stop us!" I responded that I might kick and scream a little, just for fun. I was excited for them to come, but I also knew they'd make me explain what the heck was wrong with me.

The time came, and they showed up at my door like this...


I loved it!

This was a fun thing Renee and I did long ago when we were but 18, except we added more details - like fancy hair and huge lips, and we colored in the features for emphasis. Renee and I actually drove around town like this once or twice. I was at the wheel, so I think I took mine off while the car was in motion. When we stopped at a red light, Renee turned to face the lane of traffic next to us, in all her brown-bagged glory. She stared motionlessly until some guy in a truck looked over, did a double-take, smiled and shook his head in disbelief.
Those were the days!

*Back to Sept. 2011...*
We went to the new Aspen Leaf to load up on frozen yogurt, then decided to walk around the block as we ate. We had scarcely left the parking lot when Maria asked, "Soooo.... what's up?" Ha, I knew it. We walked and talked for a while. I felt silly that I'd whined so much on my blog. But I thought to myself that maybe I should do it more often if it makes my friends come kidnap me.

What they did was so thoughtful. I just hope I can be the kind of friend to them (and others) as they are to me. If it were me in their shoes that week, I probably would have talked myself out of it, thinking, oh, she's probably busy tonight... we can do something sometime soon. I'll just have to plan a time. But then the time would pass and I would feel like it was too late. So it would go undone. Just like so many times I've failed friends before. I don't wanna do that anymore. I want to be the kind of friend someone wants to have around. Who isn't just there when it's fun or convenient. But always.

September Sampler

September was a busy month. I can't believe it went so fast. Sorry, no pictures this post. I'm getting lazy in my old age. Also, I'm not bothering to verify exact dates that events happened for this post. I figure that mentioning approximately when something occurred is specific enough.

Here's some of September, in random order.

-The girls' other hamster, Cuddles, passed away. =( Less than 4 months after Missy did. It wasn't as hard letting this one go because she really seemed ill. I think it will be a while before the girls start wanting another pet.

-The last Tuesday of the month, our ward had a Relief Society meeting. My suspicions were correct- it was a visiting teaching conference in disguise. That's okay. It turned out to be a really good evening. I had been asked to sing "As Sisters in Zion" with another lady as part of the program. I was so nervous to sing in front of everyone. I was shaking quite a bit when I stood up, so I had some vibrato that usually isn't there. Ugh. I was trying to calm down, but it didn't work. The rest of the sisters joined in (as directed) for the last verse. When I heard everyone singing so beautifully, I lost it. I couldn't keep from crying, which meant I could no longer sing. What a sap. But I really felt the warmth of the spirit. Music touches me in a way mere words can't. And I've always been a fan of Relief Society. No matter what's going on in my life, I love R.S.

-Cora started playing viola in her school's orchestra. I think it frustrates her to not be automatically good at it. She likes to excel at everything she does, and she feels like she isn't doing well enough at this. I know she'll do well if she keeps at it!

-The middle weekend of the month, we went to Lagoon with most of Ryan's family. I'm happy to report I didn't take a single picture. They never turn out very well there, and I didn't want to worry about toting a camera around. We had the best time with the kids this trip. Oliver was SO EXCITED about the rides. Last year, he was still a little "I-don't-know-what-to-think-of-this", but he's reached the age where he can really enjoy it. The moment we'd step off of any ride, he'd clasp his hands in front of him, pretty-please style, and scream, "Can we go again?" He loved all the rides, but I think his fave was the new roller coaster near the kids' section. It was a very fun day for everyone. It was supposed to rain while we were in the park, but it didn't. It did, however, decide to literally dump upon us the night before as we slept in tents at the Lagoon campground. Only the edges of the tent got wet, and we were all up on air mattresses. It was a relatively warm night, so it wasn't too bad. I did have a hard time staying asleep because it was really loud rain, and according to my calculations it continued the entire night. But it was worth it.

-We have a "new" vehicle. Sorry to anyone who wanted to say a personal goodbye to our periwinkle minivan. It's gone. Long gone... One mid-morning I went to test drive an '05 Chrysler Pacifica at Peterson Stampede. It was a really good deal I'd discovered online. I'd been doing some studying up on possible vehicle choices, and had it narrowed down to two faves. One was the Pacifica. And this one was a pretty blue/green. Well, I drove it, liked it lots, called Ryan, then I went ahead and bought it. We'd been saving up and had enough to pay cash for it. We have too much interest as it is with student loans and mortgage, we certainly didn't want more. Don't think it was a really expensive car, because it wasn't. I really like it, and now I don't dread the thought of driving around town. The van was really, really noisy.

-My mom wanted to take pictures of our kids. We set up a time and met her at Kathryn Albertson Park the last Monday of the month. While we were there, we happened upon six deer! They were all hanging out near the bathroom I was trying to take Oliver to. A couple of them darted right past us! We kept watching and waiting for them to disperse so Oliver could go potty. I didn't want to invade their territory. One never knows what wildlife will do. I finally just had Ollie pee behind some tall grasses. Anyway, it was a rare treat seeing deer in a park, and especially so many of them. The kids were fascinated.

I guess September's officially a wrap.

I'm trying to get all caught up on my blog so I can start on a project I keep feeling like I should try. And not just should, but something I've really been wanting to do for a long time, and I think I can do it, but at the same time I've been putting it off because I haven't been calm enough or open-minded enough to give it a good shot. Anyway, if I ever kick myself into submission, I'll let my blog know about it.

Happy October!

Jane Got Baptized On My Birthday.

Jane's baptism day happened to be on September 3rd, my birthday.

That morning I went with my mom and Megan to get my first pedicure. It was my mom's first time as well. I think Megan was only slightly embarrassed by our inexperience. The part where the gal used the pumice stone on the bottoms of my feet tickled like crazy! I could hardly stand it. I tried to hold still and keep a straight face, but I fooled no one. =) I did enjoy the rest of the procedure. Most of it was relaxing and nice. I picked a sparkly blue polish. It turned out really pretty.

My feet that evening.


The rest of the afternoon went by quickly. Before long, it was time for Jane to be at the church for her baptism. She was excited, and we were excited for her. Lots of our family came to support Jane, taking up most of one side of the chapel.


Janey and Dad


Mom and Jane


When Jane came out of the water she blurted, "That was weird!" I think she must have been referring to the feeling of wearing a soaking wet jumpsuit.

I don't remember much about the confirmation because, right in the middle of it, a group of people went into the kitchen (which was right next to the room we were in) and started talking loudly, checking the fridge, etc. Oh well. I'm sure Jane heard what her dad was saying.


Afterward, most of our family went back to our house to wait for the Flying Pie pizzas that Megan and I went to pick up. It was soooo yummy.

Then it was time for cake and ice cream. Everyone sang to me.

Dang back lighting.


Me trying to decide which wish to make.



Either I thought of the perfect wish, or my arm is engulfed in flames.




That was a lot of work and a lot of smoke.



Loved ones engrossed in dessert.


Isaac, Ethan and Jane hanging out upstairs.


Jackie (Ryan's sister) with her little daughter, Tomi.


The birthday girl.

It was an all around great day!