Where The Sidewalk Ends

Okay, so I've been back in Cache Valley since Friday afternoon. It is now Monday afternoon and I'm already to the point that my heart is aching - yes, ACHING - to be able to stay here forever! It's not so much the family (don't get me wrong, I love my family, but I would love them anywhere really) or the friends, it's just this place!

Today Sophie and I went to the Founder's Day celebration/parade in Wellsville. As soon as I started driving I got all nostalgic, but when I drove further into Hyrum and towards Wellsville, I started noticing all of the things that I love about Cache Valley. I love that there are many (MANY) places without sidewalks. The grass and gravel just merge on the side of the road. I love all of the trees - everywhere there are trees that have been here far longer than I have. I notice my mountains. Yep, you heard me, MY mountains, because they are my protection and my scenery and just mine. (Okay, they are anyone's who lives here I suppose) I love the run down old houses that have been fixed up to be adorable, and the ones that haven't. I love seeing kids toys left out on the front lawns. I love seeing these old stores that have somehow been in business since the beginning of time (even if they've had a few name changes). I love all of the streams and hills. I love the big ditches. I love the tractors. I love the cows. I love the old barns, the broken cars, the rusty cars that are still driving, the four wheelers, the trucks, the quarter pop machines, I love it all. The last few years (since having Sophie really) I have been yearning to come back here to stay someday. I want that security of not needing to lock my car or house doors at night, and walking throughout the neighborhood and seeing people you know just sitting on the grass having a good time. Oh I miss it so much! And there's nowhere really that compares to it. I mean, you can compare any small town in Cache Valley to another, but you can't compare Cache Valley to any other place. I've been other places and have liked things about them, maybe even loved things about them (I really do love Arizona, for example) but the second I turn that last corner through Sardine Canyon and see the view of the valley and see the temple barely visible in the distance, nothing else comes close anymore.

And to think that I used to count the days until I could move away. To the city. To the big life. To more exciting things.

Silly.

I hope and pray that someday when Jon is finished with his schooling, we can come back here and have a cute little house with no sidewalk where the kids run barefoot all summer long, and we can sit and watch a parade with 20 tractors at the end of it with the model and year they were made proudly displayed with the crowd cheering on.

This is the life I want, wish, pray for and dream of. With me, Jon, and Sophie all happy in our little valley.

But for now, we work. We get Jon through school, we find him a job, and then we'll see where life takes us.

Hopefully right here.

Oh Man of My Life...

So, I know that about once a year I write a post about how much I love my husband and how great he is and wonderful and thoughtful and sweet, et cetera, et cetera (I really like spelling that out, et cetera) and while this is all very much true, today I must complain (a little bit). You see, ever since the day we were married and Jon had to get used to wearing his chain (aka: his wedding ring) he has developed a rather annoying and unfortunate habit of taking of his ring and flipping it between his fingers. He holds it upright between his thumb and index finger, and then snaps it down flat so it makes this horribly obnoxious little "snap" sound. He did it so much in the beginning that I've developed a tick whenever something snaps in my ear. What is this tick you ask? My eye will twitch and the hell-beast inside of me comes out for a split second. It's quite frightening, let me assure you.

Aside from my own disdain for this habit, it is also a terrible one to have with a wedding ring. You see, there have been countless (yes, COUNTLESS) times when Jon has been flipping his ring subconciously and has dropped it. Because it's a circle, it always rolls away into some unknown abyss and it can take anywhere from minutes to days to find it again. Some examples of places he's dropped it are in the car, in the grocery store, at school, at work (and if anyone here has ever been in a call center and seen those floors, you'll know that even if you find it you suffer a fate possibly worse than death by having to crawl on the ground looking for it!), at friends/families houses, and (my personal favorite) in the middle of a frozen lake sitting over a small hole in the ice. Now he's gotten lucky each time and has been able to find it. Like I said, sometimes it's taken a few days (like when it was dropped under the drivers seat and ended up under the fabric of the floor), but we've always been able to find it. For 5 years.

Until now.

Midwestern University orientation, June 2, 2011.

His second day of school.

A mere 2 1/2 weeks after our 5 year anniversary, and a mere 2 1/2 months after I had his ring engraved with my heartfelt message of love. (It said, "Catch of a Lifetime" - get it? Because he likes to fish? Yeah, it was cheesy but cute)

Jon was sitting in his orientation, paying very close attention to what was being said, and not so close of attention to his left hand absent mindedly flipping his ring, when the ring fell. And rolled. Several rows away.

Now because it was during his orientation, he couldn't just start clammoring over people to get his ring back, so he thought he would wait until after. Well, after that part of orientation, he couldn't find it. He has checked the lost and found several times, but no one has turned it in. (Sigh)

So, for his birthday, instead of a fun remote controlled toy of some sort, or instead of a fishing trip, or instead of round of golf, or a night on the town, do you know what he will be getting?

Not a new ring, that's for sure! I'm not paying for another ring for him to lose!

Okay, maybe someday, but not this year. :)

Or maybe if he gets a new ring then I get a new ring as well? Like a wedding band to go with the engagement ring??? Hmmm, so many possibilities here...

I think for now I'm just going to get a Sharpie and draw a ring on his finger (while he's sleeping!) what do you think?

 Exaggerated Anger

My Sharpie-Bound Husband

Well, until next time fellow cyber stalkers!

If Bob Vila and Martha Stewart Had a Love Child, it Would Have NOTHING on Me!

Yep, you heard me. I am the fix-it, extreme handywoman, domestic goddess supreme. Okay, maybe not all of those, but I'm freaking proud of myself - you hear me? Proud! I've been working my butt off on this house, and since Jon is in school or studying all the time I've had to do almost all of it by myself! And then considering that I haven't done a lot of this stuff before, that's saying something. Anyway, this is the big unveiling of my house after all the work has been completed! Okay, in truth I'm starting this post with the work not quite finished, but I figured that by the time I get around to uploading all of my pictures and such then I will be finished with everything, so it works out. :) Okay, enough chatter, on to....the unveiling!!!

(Note: Rather than posting a lot of the same pictures that I've already put up, to see my post with all of the "before" pictures go here. Also, these pictures are a bit random, so sorry.)

Entryway / Living Room / Dining Room

Remember that horrible Winnie the Pooh themed room? (sigh) It's so much better now. :) (Don't mind the pillows on the floor - they are there in case Sophie rolls off the bed...which she's done at least twice now...yeah)

Okay so this is a before picture, but this picture was just too cute so I put it up anyway. :) So this is "Before" (also the day we moved in!)

My Fireplace. For the record, when someone puts EXTREME texture on a fireplace using plaster (not mud like a normal texture) it is VERY difficult to work with. So please, if you are ever considering this, please don't do it. It looks much better now, but up close looks a little like a melting Hershey's chocolate bar...Mmmm...

Oh, and eventually (crossing fingers) we're going to try and get a flat screen to put up above the fireplace since it is already wired for TV there as well as surround sound.



Okay so another before picture just to show the sheer wonderfulness that occurs with new countertops.

See what I mean? Wonderful! Oh, and just so you know that back wall is now painted the tan we have everywhere else and the little bit of half wall that pokes up above the counters is red now. And we found one of the cupboards that the previous owners took down (bad idea, there's already no space!) and we moved the one you see there on the top left over to the other side of that window and put the one we found in the garage where that existing one is now. Does that make sense? Hmmm, maybe I'll just take a picture and post it...

There we go! Now you can see it! :)

Now these are "In-Between" pictures, but I wanted to show you the tile that I put in! Yes, you heard me, I did this, and it was not as hard as I thought it would be! (Yes, that is me cutting tile, all by myself, because I'm awesome like that.) 

I had about a 15 min crash course on tiling from Jon and a few tips from our countertop guy (who was originally going to do our floor tile until we realized that we wouldn't have the money for it) who was really nice and let us use his saw for free! Next time I lay tile it will look a little better now that I've had some practice, but for my first time I think it turned out pretty freaking good! :)

This is the other side of the kitchen - I love how he did the backsplash with the granite tiles! That and even though it's a little older, I love the flat top stovetop that they have! So nice for cooking. The only think I don't like is that the oven itself sits right on the ground (no drawer under it or anything) so when I'm cooking stuff and open the door I can actually lay it on the ground, so that's annoying, but it's fine for me. :)

These three pictures are all of the master bedroom (previously it was just a room with particle board for a floor.) Much nicer now, and just the right size in my opinion. :)

This is the view going from the family room (the one with the fireplace) into the living room. I was so excited to FINALLY hang some of my stuff up! I've missed my pictures and signs...

Entryway

This is the spot between the living room and dining room. And in case you're wondering, Sophie likes to sort our junk mail for us, and that is why it is all over the floor. She got mad and put it right back there when I tried to clean it up, so I had to wait until she was in bed...

View going from living room to family room (that wall on the right has since been painted red)

Anyway, this is my new home. And I like it. A lot. :) Now all we need is some couches and we're set!

My Little Big Girl...

(Sigh) That's always a good way to start a blog post, right? With a long, slightly sad and defeated sigh? Well, the reason is that I'm realizing how big my baby is getting and getting all sad about it. I know, I know, when you don't have kids or perhaps when you're past this stage you see stuff like this and think to yourself, "Get over it, you knew it would go by fast and you knew that they'd be growing up, it's not like your baby has magical powers that allows them to be little forever!", but it's really hitting me for the first time.

Yesterday I was moving Sophia's stuff from the room she was in into the room next to her (we have a cousin who will be renting a room from us in a couple of months and since that room was bigger we're moving Sophie into the smaller room...cuz she's small) and after discovering that the crib was too wide to fit through the door I began disassembling it, dragging the pieces to the other room, and reassembling it. I got all but one side on, when I stopped and stared at my work. This crib was made to turn into a daybed, and in it's current position that is how it stood before me. I started thinking about how for a few nights in a row Sophie hadn't gone to bed until 11pm (bedtime is normally 8pm), and how she had recently started screaming everytime I put her down for a nap. Only for about 5 minutes or less, then she would realize that she was tired and lay down. I also thought about how she had climbed out of her crib a few months ago (though it was now on the lowest setting as opposed to the setting before the lowest when she had climbed out), and how just the day before she had been trying to climb her crib and got her chunky little knee stuck in between the bars. Then I started to wonder, "Will putting her in a 'big girl bed' fix this? She wouldn't feel as trapped, maybe she would sleep more soundly?" I got excited about the idea for a moment...just a moment though. And then I got sad. Was she ready for this? Was I ready for this? Is she really old enough? I have friends who have their kids in toddler beds earlier or around the same age as her, but should we try it? Etc, etc, etc.

After having these thought for what seemed like a very long time (though in reality it was about 30 seconds) I went and got Jon and brought him up to see what he thought. He didn't seem nearly as torn about it as I was, and simply said, "Sure, let's try it out." No sadness in his voice, no weight of the decision on his face, just a simple statement. Okay, there was a little bit of excitement in it too, but no worry. But again, this is why I love Jon - he balances out my crazy emotions with analytical thought processes that allow him to make rational decisions, which is also why I brought him in to see what he thought. I said okay, and we brought Sophie in to let her see her bed and see her reaction to it. At first, she didn't even notice it, but when she did...oh boy! What fun! She ran to the bed, plopped facedown on it and shimmied her way onto it. Then she stood, stared at the open space where she used to have bars, jumped up and down a few times, and then sat on the edge with her feet dangling off all while smiling and giggling at us. Jon saw this as confirmation that she liked it, which makes sense. I saw it as, "Where in the world is my baby and what have you done with her???" Surely my child wasn't this big yet! It must be an imposter. But no, that laugh, those eyes and those chunky thighs were definitely hers. And then, as if to confirm, she turned and gave me her big cheesey smile that she does where she squints up her eyes, wrinkles her nose, tilts her head up and sticks her chin out while flashing those pearly whites at me. My heart melted and broke a little at the same time.

(PS, the walls are not actually yellow, which is why I put a picture of the room first - my iPod thinks it's funny to have weird colored pictures....)

Now, she still didn't go to sleep until 11, but she did go to sleep. She even slept through Jon and I taking turns checking on her...about 4 turns each...we were a little obsessed. And then at 6:30 sharp (she normally wakes up at 8, except recently when it's been between 9-11am) we heard her at the gate at the top of the stairs calling down. Now, we are down the hall from her, not down the stairs, but still, she got up and out of bed and opened her door all by herself! I'm hoping that it continues to go this well and that she keeps liking the new setup. And I'm really REALLY hoping that she starts going to bed at 8 again...that would be fantastic...

Anyway, so that's my sad, happy story about my little big girl. I've heard it said that it never gets easier watching them grow up...I'm just now starting to believe this. Love you Sophie!

Diamond Rings and Silly Things

Okay, so it's random, I know. Let me explain my new title.

It was quite a journey coming to this title - see, I'm not very creative so I have a very hard time coming up with something I'll like for longer than a day...or an hour. Whichever. Anyway, so I played with titles for a while. First, I was going to take the advice of my friend Chelsea and try to work my last name into the title. But the more I looked at titles with "Hunter" or "Huntress" in them, the more I thought they sounded harsh, which I didn't want. So then I wanted something crafty, but the only ones I could think of that I liked were taken (Camilla, I love your personal blog title as well as your craft blog title!) Then I thought of doing something that started with an M, but everything I liked has been used. I went through song titles and lyrics, movie titles and quotes, foreign quotes and sayings, before I finally settled on doing something with candy in it (after considering "Sunshine and Lollipops" which was too overused.) Unfortunately, everything I thought of was either used or bugged me too much after a few times of saying it. So to help me think, I went and polished my wedding ring. I love my wedding ring. A lot. And I thought to myself, I like diamonds, let's try something with diamonds. It got a little formal though, so after being very frustrated I thought "I just need something silly to balance out the diamonds!", so I settled on my new title.

You see, "Diamond Rings" represents my marriage and my love of my husband. He bought me this ring against all of his better frugal judgement, because he saw me lose my breath when I saw it. I told him to go with a more simple, inexpensive ring (yes, we went ring shopping beforehand, but I liked it that way), but he got me the one he knew I loved. He is the most frugal person on the planet I think, so that was saying a lot for him. :) And also, I love him. Even without this ring, I would love him forever, but this ring is a token of that, which is a token of me now, so I thought it fitting for my blog title. Plus, diamonds are pretty, and I like pretty things too. :)

Then the "Silly Things" part. Well, our whole life is just a bunch of silly things, really. My daughter = endless silliness. I think we laugh more at her than anything else in life. Also, Jon and I are always teasing, tricking, and playing jokes on eachother. We're a pretty silly bunch, and no matter how old we get or how many kids we have or however stressful life gets, that will be a constant. So the "Silly Things" represent every other aspect of our lives.

So there you have it - my new (and hopefully improved!) blog title and address! If you hate it, well I don't really care because I like it, and if you love it, then thank you! :) Happy blogging everyone!