One Step Closer...

I am so tired of people asking how my kitchen is coming and my response being: "Great. It's almost done. I only have the ceiling left to paint, and the edging to do...)

So, instead of making dinner tonight I did something else.

I painted the ceiling.

Except for the edges... which I can't reach... because I'm short... and afraid of heights...on that big, tall ladder...

So now my answer will be "Great, it's almost done! I just have the edging to to!" 

One step closer!!!

I wanna be the hot grandma!

Yesterday I saw a cute little old lady walking her two dogs. She must have been in her 80's. She was just taking cute little tiny steps as her two little black poodles scampered next to her. She had on cute little work-out pants. She had her cute little sun visor shading her eyes. She had on her toning shoes.

Wait... what? Toning shoes?

I began thinking of a saggy, wrinkly 80-something butt. Would toning shoes really help? And when I'm 80-ish will I really care if my caboose is toned?  I don't know... maybe.  But the more I thought about it, the more I realized that this lady still takes good care of herself, which probably makes her happier. And look great from behind!

So, maybe I will care after all when I'm that old. I came home, strapped on my toning shoes, and set that mental picture in my mind of how I want to look, as I'm working out.  (You know, that mental picture you have of skinny legs, no jiggling... the- workout- will- be- all- worth- it- because- it'll -make- me- look- like- that  mental picture?) Except, my mental picture changed. I am now speed-walking 2 miles a day to look like that cute little old lady with the great butt!

Ok, maybe not. But it's not a bad thing to shoot for after all. It's like the really big picture- the one WAAAAY down the road. And it's good to have the future in mind, right. I wanna be the HOT grandma!

Progress is progress!

Remember when my kitchen looked like this:

And then this: (giant gaping hole in the side of our house in the cold of October!)

And this mess? I sure remember it!!!!

Well, it's almost done! We now have this in place of the giant gaping hole: (sorry, the light is bad.)

And this where all that construction stuff was!

Now all that's left is to paint the ceiling, do a few little "finishes" and fix a small part of the floor that refuses to cooperate! Yay!!! (I love my pretty smooth glass tile backsplash. I run my hands across it several times a day! My husband is getting jealous, I think.) 

(Oh, and if you're interested, Income Property is our new favorite show around our house. It is about turning people's homes into income properties! We LOVE the before and afters! You can watch it here.)

Who do you think you are?

This show makes me cry every single time I watch it. (Which is usually when I'm trying to work out on the treadmill, which is impossible when you are crying, at which point I usually collapse onto the couch with a big wad of tissues unil I've cried it all out, then finally end up turning off the episode until I am through with my workout so I can cry and not risk breaking my neck falling off the treadmill!)

It reminds me how strong the bond of family is, and how far back it reaches throughout our family tree. The amazing people we come from, and how they are all up in Heaven aware of us and rooting for us, and cheering us on, and telling us we can do it because they did it, and we are part of them! (Now see, I'm getting choked up again!)

Watch it today if you haven't seen it before. http://www.nbc.com/who-do-you-think-you-are/

My hubby and I are going to be taking a family history class in church together. We have been meaning to do it for a very long time, but I will admit it is very daunting to me. I took a genealogy class in college (9:00 AM, freshman year... not a good combination.) and didn't do so great. (I think I pulled a C... and not without a LOT of begging.) So I am quite nervous about it, but hopefully I will catch the "fire" and feel inspired. Although I don't know if I'm quite ready for visitants from the other side of the veil to prod me along in my family research. I think I might keel over with a heart attack if that were to happen. I told my husband if anyone were to visit him to please tell them he does his entertaining in the livingroom so as not to freak out his wife. 

Anyway, this show "Who do you think you are" is certainly sparking that fire within! (This particular episode had me just sobbing!)

How hard can it be??? Really hard... sometimes.

Guess what?  Remember that new tile floor we installed about 2 months ago? Ya, we have to remove all the crumbling grout and start over again. Fun, huh? (our fault... we got the wrong grout to begin with. Grrrr...)

Oh, and remember that brand new dishwasher we had installed about... 2 months ago? Ya, I went to start it this morning and guess what? IT wouldn't start! More fun! (NOT our fault! Luckily, it's still covered under waranty. Luckily for Frigidaire, that is!)

Ooooo.... and did I tell you that we have an electrical outlet in the kitchen that keeps shutting off, and when I flipped the circuit breaker it sizzled? (this does NOT make me happy. Nosiree.)

Ya... I'm not loving my "new" kitchen right now. Nope. Not so much.

I am going to lock myself in my closet, rock back and forth, and try to count all my blessings. Now where are those Hershey's kisses....

No picnic in the park for me...

Yesterday I was busy grouting my kitchen tile backsplash. You know how, when you look at yourself in the mirror for a really long time your face starts to look distorted and strange? (Oh come on, you know you did it when you were little!) Well, that's what happens when you are stuck in the house all week long doing home improvement projects- everything starts to look distorted and wrong!

So, I made myself leave the house yesterday and I took a sandwich to the park.

There were cute little pregnant women strolling their little 2 year olds around the park. There were husbands and wives swinging their little toddlers over their shoulders, feeding the ducks, throwing rocks in the water.

I remember doing that with my little guy way back when. (He's 10 now... it was a long time ago!)

I never imagined it would be so hard to get another one.

I ended up leaving the park in tears because I was so upset.

But then, something wonderful happened. My son came home and asked me to go on a bike ride with him. We pumped up his tires, fixed his helmet, adjusted the height of his seat, pumped up my tires, and we were off. It was a gorgeous day, and the cool breeze felt wonderful on my face. IT blew all my tears and frustrations away. I had a fantastic conversation with my little man, and was reminded of how blessed I am to have the son that I have.

I came home grateful rather than feeling sorry for myself. I wrote in my journal last night about my day so I could have it to look back on when I have another pity party for myself.

Thanks to Heavenly Father for giving me the gift of my wonderful little buddy! And for the sunshine yesterday so we could enjoy eachother in it!!! (And for my new pink bike which I love and adore!)