looking back, looking ahead.

well, its that time of year again. actually I'm probably a little late on this, but now is when I'm finally getting around to find time to reflect on the past year - to see the good, the bad, the frustrating, and the awesome. time to think ahead to the fresh year laid out in front of us, and make up some thoughts and goals about what we think the days ahead of us will hold and how they will go. it all seems a little arbitrary, but there's still something comforting about the process. so here goes:

in 2015, i wanted to... ...finish the kitchen renovation with sanity and grace. this is big and exciting and a huge blessing. i want to keep that in mind rather than just freaking out over all the details.

wow. this seems like it was SO long ago. last year, we were deep in the trenches of this massive renovation. this year, we have been enjoying the finished product for 9 months and it already feels like our house has been this way forever. as for my attitude during the process? I think I did ok. i don't remember yelling at any contractors. I do remember feeling overwhelmed by just how awesome and nice everything was, and pleased by all of the guys who worked to make it happen.
calling this a win.

...feel good in my skin. whether i lose some weight, clear up my face, grow my hair out, or just shift my personal perception of myself, i just want to feel better.

still growing my hair out. haven't weighed myself all year. got rid of some 'fat' clothes. simplified my closet. still working on that whole 'clear up my face' thing, and i still have overly emotional days when everything is just the worst, but overall i feel pretty good about where I'm at. win.


...focus on intentionally healthy choices: walk. eat salads. less sugar-bomb snacks. more jazzercise.

a bit of a roller coaster on this one. i think there are only so many salads a person can handle before you just need to sit down with a bag of Hershey's kisses and just eat the whole thing. still love jazzercise though. half-win.


...be more organized. this includes previous years goals of closing my extraneous bank account, starting the big book of everything, budgeting, finishing up some half-done projects, and hopefully just generally feeling more like a responsible adult.

ha. hahahahahahaha. nope. I'm just as big a mess as ever. but I'm starting to realize that most other people don't quite have it all together either, and if i remember that everyone else is just guessing too, then i don't have to be as disappointed in myself. just keep swimming.


...host parties. i'm going to have such a nice new kitchen, it would be a shame not to share it with people i love.

this year we hosted my birthday, Mothers Day, had our community group over every week, did Christmas with friends, game night with coworkers, and even threw a last-minute New Years Eve party. not too shabby.

...spend time outside. sunshine is the best. and not much beats that wonderful exhausted feeling after a long day spent working or playing outside. i'd like to do more of that this year.

good not great. i think? i definitely was outside this year: i hunted a lot of waterfalls, hiked in different places, soaked up the sunshine and have the pictures to prove it. but i know i also spent plenty of time inside. since i don't really have a way to quantify this one, I'm going to go ahead and give myself the benefit of the doubt and call it a win.

...get pregnant. this is something i dont really talk about much, because it is extremely personal and because i dont want anyone asking me "how's it going? *winkwinknudgegiggle*" ugh. awkward. no thanks. so why put it on the list? because i've been pretty singularly focused on it for the past 10 months but haven't let myself talk about it much, and it just feels good to put it in writing.

nope. moving on.


...take pictures. because i want to be able to look back someday and remember my everyday life, along with the big events.

i definitely took a lot of pictures this year. i also spent a lot of time really enjoying just being with people i love instead of attempting to just document that time. this is a weird one to try and strike a balance, but I'm feeling ok with it. win.


...go to the beach. i just love it.

spent a week at the Outer Banks in August. and it was lovely. win.

...have fun. smile. laugh. relax. be silly. just fun.

so many good moments this year. plenty of laughter. so much fun. win.

my gut-reaction to 2015 was that it was a tough year. there were a lot of tears this year, and loss, and disappointments.  but looking at these goals i made last January and seeing how many wins are on this list (7 out of 10 what!!) well, its just a nice reminder that along with the less-than pleasant moments is always sprinkled in plenty of joy and grace and goodness. they always go hand-in-hand, because you can't really appreciate one without the other. if everything is good, then nothing is. or something like that.

well, this post is already super long, and i don't really feel a great need to do too much looking ahead at this particular moment, so let's just save that for a separate post. okay? okay.

non-resolution redux.

so. apparently we're already half-way through January.

Happy New Year, y'all!

according to popular conventions, by this point in the year i should have already done a sweeping, overarching review of 2014, committed to several large goals for the year to come, and probably already failed half of them. but i have done none of that. instead, i am spending this week frantically finishing all of the Christmas presents that i put off crafting until the very last minute in preparation for a giant Christmas/Birthday extravaganza with my whole extended family this weekend.  so while i have managed to extend the holiday spirit long past most of the rest of the world, i have not transitioned into the new year mindset quite yet.

BUT since I have a ton of different and exciting things rattling around in my brain that i dont want to not share, here is my best attempt at thinking through some things i would like to do and accomplish and be in the upcoming year (which is already 4% over. way to be ahead of the game, Mando.)

first of all, my goals for this past year; 14 for '14 and one to grow on:
(my comments in italics)

1. curtains. well, we had curtains made for the front room and dining room. they turned out to be all different lengths and i kind of hated them. and now we're rearranging all the windows so they'll probably end up being useless, but at least they happened. half-win on this one.
2. read at least 3 non-fiction books. read one for sure. finished a couple fiction books too. most recently started The Story and am on Chapter 6 i think. half-win on this one.
3. have pretty flowerbeds. Mark did get rid of the ugly tree on the front corner of the house, but left that bed full of weeds. he also tore up the side bed by the driveway during the great downspout extravaganza of 2014 but we haven't re-mulched it yet. i planted zero things. fail.
4. budget. haven't quite found a plan that has stuck long-term yet. but we're not broke so, win!
5. ride my bike. twice, i think. win!
6. read through my Bible. i recently started reading The Story. kind of like the Bible, abridged. half-win.
7. close my other bank account. not this year. this is just pathetic. fail.
8. big book of everything. good in theory, but never quite got it started. fail
9. pass the PE. DONE. PASSED! HAVE THE LICENSE TO PROVE IT. WIN WIN WIN!!!
10. overcome my fear of the lawnmower.  helped mow the grass once. that's about it. fail.
11. run. bought new shoes. decided running probably just isn't for me. counting it as a half-win.
12. sew a cushion for the entryway bench. still currently sitting 3/4 of the way done in the basement. have spent the past 6 months trying to work up the energy to finish the stupid thing. half-win.
13. get the air ducts cleaned. UGH. stupid air duct guy never showed up for our appointment. so i gave up and decided it wasn't that important to me. fail.
14. yoga. bought a new yoga DVD. did it twice. win?
15. start the kitchen renovation. of all the things on this list that i figured wouldn't happen this year, this is the one we actually did! cabinets and appliances are ordered, demolition is pretty much done, and rebuilding has already started. if all goes well, we should have a brand new space by spring! win!

well, that's a whopping 7.5 out of 15. this is my least favorite thing about goals: looking back on them and realizing how hard i failed at some of the simplest things. i did some BIG things this year professionally and house-wise that i am proud of, so why does having un-done things on my list get me so down? why set goals at all if not accomplishing them just makes me sad? padding my yearly list with fluff isn't going to do me any favors, but seriously - where is the balance between stretching yourself and setting yourself up for disappointment?

and yet, i still see the value in setting goals, and starting a new year fresh. everything is so full of possibility at the beginning of a whole new year, (or 96% of a new year in this case)  and i really do want each year to be the best year yet. i'm pretty sure the point of goal-setting to stretch your own boundaries and inspire personal growth, so i'm not giving up on the whole thing just yet.

in 2015, i would like to...

...finish the kitchen renovation with sanity and grace. this is big and exciting and a huge blessing. i want to keep that in mind rather than just freaking out over all the details.
...feel good in my skin. whether i lose some weight, clear up my face, grow my hair out, or just shift my personal perception of myself, i just want to feel better.
...focus on intentionally healthy choices: walk. eat salads. less sugar-bomb snacks. more jazzercise.
...be more organized. this includes previous years goals of closing my extraneous bank account, starting the big book of everything, budgeting, finishing up some half-done projecs, and hopefully just generally feeling more like a responsible adult.
...host parties. i'm going to have such a nice new kitchen, it would be a shame not to share it with people i love.
...spend time outside. sunshine is the best. and not much beats that wonderful exhausted feeling after a long day spent working or playing outside. i'd like to do more of that this year.
...get pregnant. this is something i dont really talk about much, because it is extremely personal and because i dont want anyone asking me "how's it going? *winkwinknudgegiggle*" ugh. awkward. no thanks. so why put it on the list? because i've been pretty singularly focused on it for the past 10 months but haven't let myself talk about it much, and it just feels good to put it in writing.
...take pictures. because i want to be able to look back someday and remember my everyday life, along with the big events.
...go to the beach. i just love it.
...have fun. smile. laugh. relax. be silly. just fun.

so there. i feel good about this list. it's probably not all-inclusive of everything that this year will bring, and of course is completely subject to change because who knows what God has planned for us, and i will still likely feel like i have failed at a lot of it come this time next year because that's just how i do. but if i manage to cross off even just a couple things on this list, i think i will feel good about that.

here we go. headlong into the remaining 96% of the year. let's do this.

thankful 2014: december wrapup.

45. vacation days. long weekends are the best. thankful for a few days off work in the middle of a busy season.

46. in-laws.  thankful for the generous family that my husband comes from.  thankful for laughter and games and time spent together.

50. grandparents. thankful that Gram is willing and able to alter my bridesmaid dress for me. thankful that Pap pretends to know who i am. thankful for good memories around the kitchen table. thankful that gram still makes candy.

55. aunts and uncles and cousins. thankful that no one bats an eye when we rolled in just in time for lunch - in fact, we had pizza in hand and a seat at the table (or on the steps) almost before we even said hello. i am thankful for every single one of them.

81. my fat sister. and Balthazar who is making her fat. and her husband Micah who let Mark hang out with them all last weekend while i was bridal showering and bachelorette partying.

84. laser tag. part of Julie's bachelorette festivities was playing laser tag in fancy dresses. thankful that i had a fancy dress that fit me. thankful for an amazingly fun group of girls to spend the evening with.

93. Christmas decorations. we are keeping Christmas really low-key this year, since we are planning to start demo for the kitchen project right after the holiday. thankful that we already had a tree in the basement, and plenty of ornaments and lights and tinsel to make decorating for the season quick and painless.

 

98. online shopping. and two-day delivery. i have a feeling that these two things will constitute a large portion of my Christmas shopping this month. thankful for technology that facilitates my laziness.

100. traditions. thankful for the challenge of this thankful list every year. thankful that it directs my thoughts towards thankfulness, and away from whining. of course i can still be plenty whiny, but i am at least more aware of it.

thankful 2014: way behind.

33. glitter spray paint. for all your 'covering everything in sight with pink sparkle' needs.

34. related: spray adhesive and glitter. for when the glitter spray paint doesnt cover as many things in glitter as you would have liked it to.

36. i am a hoarder. this means i had an ample stash of cardboard and cardboard boxes that were the perfect size for cobbling together a spray-booth. because spray painting outside in 20-degree weather is just not going to happen.

 

37. craft stores. thankful that they are absolutely FILLED with glitter everything in anticipation of the holiday season!

38. disposable income. thankful for available funds for party supplies, and date nights, and the occasional Starbucks.

39. an alternate camera. or two. went on a field visit last week and our camera died, so i was thankful that we brought two cameras. and then the second camera died a couple hours later, and i was thankful that i had my camera in my purse.

40. friendsgiving. i cooked a turkey. i invited my community group. we talked and laughed and ate good food. there was no pressure and no SOMETHNG and no one would have judged me if the whole turkey thing was a flop and we ordered pizza instead. and it was good.

41. charter busses. thankful for no-stress transportation to and from NYC. bonus: Despicable Me (1&2) and Elf as on-board entertainment.

 

42. broadway. thankful for so many amazingly talented people all gathered in one place who will let me pay them to entertain me for an afternoon.

43. for the record: i am NOT thankful for the sickness that befell my sister and her family this week and prevented me from meeting up with them in NYC this weekend. but i think i might be thankful that i am not sick with the same thing.

44. the postal service. bringing me a wedding invitation, a bridesmaid dress, fabric for Balthazar, and bridal shower favors ALL IN THE SAME WEEK! thankful for a fantastic mail week.

45. short week. thankful for so many good things to look forward to during the upcoming long holiday weekend.

thankful 2014: part four.

19. downspout underdrain - this fall, Mark rerouted our downspouts to make use of existing drainage pipes that run underneath our driveway. i am thankful that he was capable of taking on this project, that all of the trenches are finally filled back in, and also that our sidewalk no longer doubles as a miniature lake when it rains and will be less likely to flood the basement or become a hazardous sheet of ice this winter.

20. carpet stretchers - apparently these are a thing that exist, and they will fix the wrinkles in your bedroom carpet that are the result of a shoddy installation job a few years ago.  thankful that Mark was willing to tackle this completely spontaneous and different type of DIY project.

21. home depot tool rental - because where else are you going to find someone who will loan you a carpet stretcher on a Sunday afternoon?

22. motivation - for myself, this is something that has been somewhat lacking over the past few weeks since Daylight Savings Time kicked in...i'm much more likely to shut down after dark than to start a new project or do anything really. but every now and again i get a burst of energy and motivation and i am productive and awesome and i am thankful for those times.

23. long projects - these are the ones that test our patience and stretch out longer than we ever thought possible, but they are the ones that yield some of the best rewards. like that one time Mark re-drywalled a wall in the fireplace room, or gutted and rebuilt our whole bathroom. most recently, Mark has been building us a new bed frame for over a year now, and i am thankful for the time and patience and ability he has to tackle these types of projects.

24. the end of long projects - the end is unarguably the best part of ANY project. we now have a fully functioning new queen-sized bed frame in our master bedroom! it has 6 big drawers underneath, and a nice tall headboard for sitting up and reading in bed, and ok so we still have our full-size mattress on it, and the drawers dont have any hardware on them yet, but other than that, this project is done and useable!

taken before the drawers went in

25. our cabinet guy - we are soclose to finalizing our kitchen layout, and Christopher is totally awesome - answering all our questions, and helping us visualize all our options, and really working to help us keep moving forward with this whole big kitchen renovation. thankful to be working with good people.

26. my microwave - making indoor s'mores possible. yum. even though i am planning on replacing it in the near future, i am thankful that it works and has done so reliably for the past four years.

27. my sister Abi - always good for an encouraging phone call. thankful to have sisters who are never more than a phone call away.

28. nighttime walks - i've said it before, but i think this week was definitely the last last chance for being outside after dark with just a hoodie to keep me warm, so i took the opportunity to hit the streets for a little time out of the house to chill, and decompress, and talk on the phone. thankful for my quiet residential street, my flashlight, and free time to take advantage of the lovely weather.

29. electricity - thankful for heat on chilly days, air conditioning on warm days, lights after 5:30 pm, and a multitude of other things made possible by this nifty discovery.

30. to-do lists - mine right now is growing faster than i can cross things off of it, but the things on it are all good and exciting. thankful for the visible progress inherent in list-making.

31. music - specifically, those really random songs that pop up when your iPod is on random shuffle and remind you of good times and even better people. "Delta Manda Dawn, what's that flower you have on? could it be a faded rose from days gone by?..." thankful for happy memories with people i love.

32. new toys - i got a Fitbit today at work! thankful for my company's wellness program and being physically fit enough to participate in it.

thankful 2014: the third.

13. Jazzercise. i recently attended my 200th class, and was gifted a set of 3 of my very own Jazzercise DVDs for my at-home workout enjoyment! thankful to have found an exercise routine that is fun enough to keep me coming back.

14. bear hugs. sometimes you just need someone to hold you and squeeze you until you just can't be upset anymore. and when those bear hugs turn into slow dancing? makes me smile just thinking about it.

15. Pandora radio. i have stations on there for almost all of my moods. thankful that my husband knows exactly which one to pick to cheer me up after a less-than-stellar day of work.

16. sunshine. thankful for sunshine and blue skies outside my window. thankful that the sun is up when i leave for work in the morning (at least for now anyway)

17. breakfast club. our department has breakfast on friday mornings. thankful that i can count on a couple extra minutes in bed because i don't have to worry about breakfast.

18. my new work-acceptable hoodie. just slightly more fashionable than just a regular old hoodie - i think the lack of a front pocket is the main difference.  its not fancy enough for everyday office-wear, but can absolutely be worn on casual fridays. this delights me immensely today. thankful to be permitted to be comfortable and professional at the same time.

thankful 2014: yesterday and today.

9. community group. these people are some of my favorites. blessed to share life together with them. thankful for shared experiences and knowing that i am not alone: "i really thought i would be where i wanted to be by now, because i've been doing everything right. but i have to trust that God knows what He's doing." universally applicable and so true.

10. ice cream. so i'm supposed to be doing a no-sugar challenge through work right now, but there are cheat days built in for a reason. i'm thinking 'kahlua and cream' is one of them. thankful for treats.

11. nice fall evenings. probably one of the last evenings of the year that it will be possible to comfortably sit outside and chat over ice cream. thankful for being able to take full advantage of it.

12. foggy days when you're stuck at work anyway. easier to focus that way, instead of wishing you were outside instead. thankful for the extra concentration boost.

thankful 2014: first edition

as has become a family tradition, i will be attempting to list 100 things that i am thanking God for throughout the month of November.  there is no particular order to the items on my list, although i am following the lead of my wonderful mother this year and intending to explain them each a little bit, rather than just list them.

1. my job. i have a very good job. it is stable, it is in the field i studied in college, and it has a traditional monday through friday work week. this means that i reliably have weekends off and can afford both the time and dollars to do things like drive to Pittsburgh for a few days to hang out with people i love. thankful for a consistent schedule.

2. Sophie.  yes, i named my car. i bought her with my own money (and my dad's co-signature) after graduation, and five years later i own her outright. she is a great traveling buddy, and she has facilitated most of my best memories in recent years. thankful for her reliability.

3. Gordon is broken. so while i was traveling this weekend i relied heavily on my backup GPS on my phone, which took me to my BFITW's house by way of my sister's house. she was surprised to have a trick-or-treater come to her house on Friday night, and even more surprised that it was me! thankful for backup GPS and spontaneous sister visits.

4. a BFITW. everyone should have a Best Friend In The World. i am especially thankful that mine isn't afraid to have the tough conversations, tell the hard truths, or share the awkward moments. and she gives the best hugs. thankful for her best-friendhsip.

5. work friends. its nice when the people you are forced to spend 40 hours a week with are also people that you genuinely like to be around. thankful to have people to joke with throughout the day, who speak my same sarcastic language. 

6. a captivating podcast. started listening to Serial while i was driving to Pittsburgh and back. devoured the first six episodes. a little disappointed that now i have to wait for new episodes to be released weekly to try and figure out who-dunnit. thankful for anything that makes a long drive seem to go faster.

7. my Momma. we have a standing phone date on Friday afternoons to chat about work and life and occasionally make pizza together. thankful to be close with her.

8. my husband. when i got home last night, the house was clean. the dishes were done. he was folding the laundry. so very thankful that he loves me.

golf for dummies, by dummies.

1. you should probably own a putter. and just in case you were wondering, the club in your bag with the P printed on the bottom is not it. that's apparently a pitching wedge. looks nothing like a putter. common mistake, i hear.

 

2. only use a tee once per hole. tees belong in the tee box, when you tee off. that's it. once you're out on the fairway (or the rough, or the sandtrap) your tee is of no use. leave it in the cart. or your pocket. but if you put it in your pocket, remember that's where it is or else you will look silly after you lose or break all of your tees and then have to borrow a tee only to find that a tee has been hiding in your pocket for the last couple hours.

3. keep your head down. if you lift your head, or take your eye off the ball, or blink at the wrong time, you will either whiff or send the ball flying into a tree or watch it land approximately 10 feet in front of you. generally you would like to get more distance out of your swings. (hits? strokes? i dont understand golf lingo)

4. dont be afraid of divots. divots happen. if you are aftraid of them, you will likely swing too high and just nick the top of the ball, or whiff completely. because golf is a giant frustrating head-game. neither of these will get the ball much closer to the green. hit the ball, fill the hole, and move on.

5. your drink tickets are a perk, not a challenge. so you have four drink tickets. and then your friend gives you their three they aren't using. and then someone else slips you five more. this is not a challenge to down a dozen beers before 2pm.  enjoy your drinks, but keep in mind that maybe a company event is not the best opportunity to be shotgunning beers in the parking lot.

6. sometimes the best ball is in the sand. whoops.

7. your golf glove is probably more fancy than you realize. in fact, it might even come with a built-in ball marker. looks like a useless snap-on decoration, actually a useful piece of golf equipment. i discovered mine on about the 17th hole of the day. so fancy!

8. there is no number eight. i dont know that much about golf.
but look! video! not as funny as last years, but proof that every now and again i can hit a decent shot.

 

 

lately.

so i think i've hit a point (again) at which so much has been going undocumented, but i don't want to jump back into documenting just the most recent adventures i've been on without at the very least mentioning the less-recent adventures, and then i get myself stuck in an endless loop of non-documentation because i am SO far behind and i can't pick just one place to pick back up again, and i feel like i've talked myself in at least three circles in just this one giant run-on sentence and so here's a lame bulletted list of some recent adventures and minor mishaps and travels and happenings.

• so there was this wedding: the lodger got married. and maybe more excitingly, he moved out of our basement! Mark and I both had a part in the wedding - he did a reading, and i did a painting. live. in front of people. as part of the ceremony. it was terrifying. but i think it turned out pretty well for being designed and executed in less than 4 days.

• 4th of July in Pennsylvania: Mark and I took advantage of the long holiday weekend to spend some quality time with my grandparents in Pennsylvania. it was beyond nice to just hang out with them, sit and chat on the porch swing, and just be togther. we helped to finish painting the shed (just the inside of the doors), went on a walk with Pap to get icecream, and caught up on all the new family gossip. we were bummed to miss the family reunion last weekend, but we already had plans made. next year. we will be there.  

• long weekend in Wyoming: ok, so i don't know if 6 days can really pass for a long weekend since its closer to a full week, but two of those days were travel days and there was a weekend in the middle so i think it totally counts. however you want to classify it, it was too short.  i was flying solo on this trip (Mark couldnt swing the vacation days) which was awesome and sad all at the same time. awesome because i got to have all of that time with my parents and brother all to myself, and sad because i didnt get to share those memories with other people i love so much. also, long layovers are not nearly as much fun when you're travelling alone.

• miscellaneous yardwork: Mark spent most of his weekends in July cleaning up brush in the backyard: all told i think he took something like 11 truckloads of branches and brush and leaves and random other detritus to the dump. we also finally cut down the big bush/tree on the other front corner of the house that we never quite got around to last year. yay for chainsaws! the guest room gets so much more light now! there is still plenty of cleanup work to be done, but we have made some serious visible progress over the past few weeks and it feels good.

that giant monstrosity in the background of this picture? gone!

• kitchen overhaul - planning: it looks like this might really happen. we started playing with the idea of adjusting our floorplan back sometime last year i think. we started seriously laying out options in April. to date, we have met with the cabinet guy, and talked with our general contractor, and are getting estimates for all of the different trades that will be involved (and there are a lot!), and thinking about appliances, and there is a very good chance that we could basically have a whole new house by this time next year. this is going to be big.  

• technological upgrades: yes, we finally got ourselves some smartphones! we went with iPhones because we already owned an iPad and mostly understand how the platform works. Android just seemed a bit intimidating, especially since Mark is the most adorable technically-challenged-old-man-stuck-in-a-young-man's-body. but i think he's getting the hang of it.
• girls weekend at the beach: i spent the last weekend in July in Southern New Jersey with some good friends, an acquaintance, and a few complete strangers and no one died. we all shared a nice hotel room in Wildwood, and spent time chilling on the beach, walking the boardwalk (so much walking!), and doing plenty of quality people-watching. 
  
   we also ventured south to Cape May for several dinners, some sightseeing, and a paddleboard adventure! Cape May was very cute - full of charming Bed and Breakfasts and a downright adorable pedestrian mall full of little shops, but overall seems like a pricier vacation spot than neighboring Wildwood. Since we were staying in Wildwood but spending so much time in Cape May, i joked that instead of it being a Wildwood Weekend, we were actually doing a Cape May vacation on a Wildwood budget. either way, it was great to be on the beach again, and i'm thinking that Wildwood trips might become something of a tradition in years to come. 

• action camp! the event previously known as vacation bible school at our church was last week, and as always it was a blast. i was the group leader for the 4-5 year old age group (yay yellow team!) as we took a Trek to the Top and learned about Mountaintop Moments with God. its always a little bit of a crazy week, but i just love it so much.  

so anyone want to place a bet on how long it will be before my next oh-wow-its-been-so-long-since-my-last-update-heres-a-lame-list-of-what-ive-been-up-to post? i'm really going to try to update more often, and with more interesting things to say than just "hey look i did this! still alive!"  but i dont want to make too many big promises... lets just see how it goes. ok? ok.

last day of twenty six.

flashback to my plans for the year of 26:

embrace imperfect. live. laugh. plan more. plan less. focus on family. relax. and enjoy. focus on friends. read. craft. create. be present. seek joy. share love. play. smile.

be gracious. accept grace. have fun.

 

apparently i had some pretty good goals for this past year, and i really can't believe that a whole year has passed since i wrote that - time has absolutely flown by! although time has also kind of crawled, at least for the past few months. i feel like its been years since i ever did anything other than read textbooks and work through example problems. (Tminus 21 days and counting!) but i like to think that my year as a whole was pretty full of all of the things i hoped it would be a year ago - time with friends, time with family, lots of fun. i dont really think i can ask for much more than that.

 

tomorrow is the start of twenty-seven. deep breath. here goes.

 

 

to do lists.

i started a couple monthly to-do lists yesterday. because i think that small, manageable goals with definite deadlines are sometimes easier to swallow than grand, overarching year-long non-resolutions. and also because i had a strong desire to DO SOMETHING before class last night other than reading my reference manual or working problems.

so i made a couple lists. and then i also decided that i NEEDED to vaccuum the rug in the fireplace room, which involved putting away the sewing machine that has lived there since january, moving the table back into the breakfast nook, and cleaning out the spinny-brush part of the vaccuum cleaner (and figuring out how to put it back together correctly) so that it could actually spin again. i barely got that rug vaccuumed in time before class, but at least i did it. it is done. look at me accomplishing things.

there are a few other things i would like to accomplish in the next few months. little things. manageable things. a couple no-brainer things. just to give me enough stuff to cross off a list to get me through April 11 without feeling like a complete failure at life, and to give me a couple non-studying activities to look forward to.

March Goals:
1. vaccuum the fireplace room rug.
2. finalize the tabs in my reference manual.
3. take two practice exams.
4. turn 27.

April Goals:
1. do not cry during the exam.
2. take a nap.
3. go to Florida.

May Goals: (this is about when life should finally resume to somewhat normal)
1. put away Christmas. (yes, really.)
2. CLEAN ALL THE THINGS!
3. start working out again.
4. clean up all the downed branches in the backyard.
5. hem all my new work pants
6. anything but study, really.

i'm really looking forward to May.

not dead. just not feeling wordy lately.

so. sorry about the radio silence around these parts. i'm still here. still living life, eating regularly, going to work, doing all of the important things like laundry and dishes and i think i might have even cleaned the bathroom recently so yeah, i'm pretty much a rockstar. *brushes off shoulder* but as far as writing anything? sharing my stories? documenting the life i am living right now? eh, not so much. *shrugs* and i'm kind of ok with that.

winter is tough - it is cold and lonely and dark and lasts way too long after Christmas and i'm just now realizing that i'm really only about halfway through the season. gross. but what i'm trying to say is that i feel like as long as i am surviving, i'm doing ok - even if the documentation side of things is slipping.

so just in case you've been wondering, this is what i've been up to lately:
(and i even made my list alliterative! just because i can! Cope would be so proud!)

Sister Christmas. we travelled to Pennsylvania the weekend between Christmas and New Year's to celebrate with my family. i took zero pictures of our extended family celebration at Aunt Sara's house - i figured cousin Sarah had it covered - but did manage some pictures of our mini-Christmas with the sisters and our families.

we even had a tiny tree to put our presents under!

 

 Mark's present came in a Victoria's Secret bag...

 

  don't you love my sister's new hat?

Skiing. for the second year in a row, i survived the Shifflett family ski trip. and i liked it! we went to a different mountain this year - Showshoe, WV. the trails were tougher, and it took me a while to re-remember how to make it down the mountain upright (i ended the weekend with a grand total of 12 wipeouts and one giant hip bruise...apparently i always land on the same spot) but we had a really good time. my camera spent the weekend in my purse so i don't have any pictures, but my FIL took some good ones (and at least one terrible one that i couldn't convince him to delete) so if those ever actually make it off of their camera i might share a few.

Studying. the day we got back from our long skiing weekend, we also started an online review course for the PE Exam we're taking in April. ever since then, literally all of my free time has been spent with my giant review books; either reading theory, listening to lectures, working problems, or weeping in despair because right now it feels like there is no way i will ever re-learn all of this stuff in the next 79 days.

(not) Sewing. so i got that great sewing machine for Christmas. and i have some good ideas for sewing projects. and i have created a "sew fun!" pinerest board. and because of the aforementioned skiing and studying, i have had zero time to actually sew anything. sigh.

Shopping. mostly for groceries and other necessary but not necessarily fun things.  i feel like i have spent a lot of time at the grocery store, which probably isn't even true because Mark's new job is right across the street from the grocery store so he has been doing a lot of the shopping for me. but, it started with an S so it made the list. i have been to Walmart twice in the past week to buy exciting things like lint filters for my utility sink and mini saltines and a dishpan. and ok i also impulse bought the movie Tangled just because i wanted to watch it. maybe i'll watch it again tomorrow...

Singing. the Frozen soundtrack. constantly. all the time. obsessed. have you seen this movie? is it even still in theaters? we saw it on a date night on New Years, and you need to see it too. trust me.

Sparkles. ok so this isn't really a thing i've been doing, but it snowed yesterday and it's a little windy today and all of the blowing snow outside my office window looks like one massive glitter party and it makes me smile.

lessons learned: drywall.

so as i mentioned last week, i spent my (gorgeous, sunny, HOT) weekend in the basement attempting to tackle the mountain-o-junk, our disorganized office area, and its less-than-functional closet. i made progress on all of those things, but none of them are quite done yet. because in order to truly finish any one of those projects, we had to take care of the elephant in the room: the moldy corner.

this corner of our basement got wet last fall during the hurricane. it was the only part of our basement that got wet, and we were happy to ignore it for a while. but this past weekend, i decided that it was high time we got around to fixing that, since it needed to be done if we wanted to paint the office. the hubs helped me with the icky demo parts on Friday night, but since he already had plans to be super busy all day Saturday working in the master bathroom, the rebuilding part of this project was going to be all me.

 this is what i learned from my first solo foray into drywall.

1. defective downspouts are never a good idea. this is especially true during a hurricane.

2. water in the basement + drywall = wet moldy mess.

3. bleach water will kill mold. it will also discolor your carpet. beware of drips.

4. dehumidifiers are da bomb-diggity. extra bonus points if they came with your house for free and have saved your basement multiple times in the past few weeks.

5. cutting drywall down to size is empowering and awesome. dont be embarrased to jump up and down and squeal with delight after you make your first cut.

6. don't get too cocky about your beautiful drywall installation. chances are, you forget to replace the insulation first and now you have to take it all back apart and start over.

7. always cut insulation from the kraft paper side. its easier and much less itchy. (and when your husband tells you this, just pretend that you knew that all along... you just like a challenge.)

8. you can push as hard as you want, but that screw is not going anywhere if your drill is set in reverse.

9a. your husband may tell you that taping and spackle-ing is simple and easy and that you'll have no problem with it...

9b. your husband is a liar. as soon as you proudly show him your handiwork, he will tear it all apart and tell you to try again tomorrow. to his credit, he will also apologize, which actually does help a little considering he just smashed all your drywalling hopes and dreams against the rocky shores of reality.

 10. if at first you don't succeed... just get your husband to do it.

still on my office/basement to-do list:
- finish spackling/sanding the corner.
- paint.
- install baseboard?
- get a new desk.
- move the futon into the office.
- put some boxes in the attic.
- figure out what to do with the zillion CDs we own.

fashion police.

Acceptable Uses for Leggings:
1. worn under a dress.
2. worn under a skirt.
3. worn under shorts to go running.
4. worn under jeans on cold days.
5. worn instead of shaving your legs that day. (i wont judge)

Unacceptable Uses for Leggings:
1. pants.

i thought we all had this figured way back in the day when BettyJo was mocked for her generous use of spandex in her wardrobe. leggings as pants are not a good idea. they were not designed to function as an outer layer of clothing.

i may not judge you for being too lazy to shave your legs. but i will judge you if you abuse your leggings by showing up to work wearing what is basically an undergarment. i will judge you so hard.

TL;DR Version: leggings are not pants.

meal plan monday: may 14.

i'm not sure which kitchen-related news should accompany this week's meal plan post, because we had a little bit of everything going on in there this weekend: electrical work, cleaning, cooking for the inlaws, and most fun of all: dealing with our clogged sink.

buckets-o-fun.

i'm pretty sure that the whole sink ordeal deserves a post all its own, if only because the thought of a nasty clog and a backed up sink doesnt do much to stir up visions of tasty things that i would like to eat this week. so instead, let's just take a quick look back at what was most recently left on our kitchen-to-do list:

- swap out all the electrical outlets, switches, and the random phone jack.
- fresh coat of paint on the cabinets and drawers.
- re-hang the light fixture.
- decide on something to do with the fake wall next to the fridge.
- move all our kitchen stuff out of the nook and back into the kitchen.

and after this weekend about an hours work on Sunday morning, (seriously, WHY did we put this off so long?) the list is looking more like this:

- swap out all of the rest of the electrical outlets, switches, and the random phone jack.
     (we only had time to replace the most obviously ugly ones before family
         descended en mass)
- fresh coat of paint on the cabinets and drawers. (we decided against this)
- scrub/wipe down all the cabinets and drawers.
- re-hang the light fixture. (about 20 mins before people started showing up)
- decide on something to do with the fake wall next to the fridge. (nothing!)
- move all our kitchen stuff out of the nook and back into the kitchen.

its kind of amazing the things you can accomplish under a self-imposed deadline. especially when you make it just a little bit crazy, you know, like inviting ALL OF THE IN-LAWS over for a Mothers Day picnic lunch. and just like that, after a month and a half of nothing, BAM the kitchen is DONE!!
(ish)!! (as long as you dont get hung up on maybe replacing a few more outlets and a light switch, and possibly cleaning the cabinets and drawers. and really since that last one was only added because the thought of repainting all the cabinets was too much to bear, even that is kind of optional.)
our kitchen is looking and working like a fully functional kitchen again, instead of a construction zone, and i like it.

(insert picture-that-i-didnt-take-because-i-was-too-busy-running-around-like-a-chicken-with-my-head-cut-off-trying-to-get-everything-else-ready here)

however, i'm still not pushing it to its limits this week with the meals i have planned. partly because i went grocery shopping with half of a list over the weekend and i have no desire to be anywhere near the grocery store again this soon, but mostly because there was that whole sink debacle that happened right in the middle of all our other craziness that still needs just a little bit more attention before the kitchen is going to be ready for any hard-core cooking.


Monday: grilled chicken salad, made with leftover chicken.
Tuesday: leftovers. again.
Wednesday: crock pot roast with potatoes and veggies.
Thursday: frozen raviolis with jar sauce.
Friday: fish and rice and a veggie.
Saturday: broccoli mac and cheese.
Sunday: eat whatevers left of the leftovers.

in the dirt.

are you ready for the most anti-climactic before-and-after ever in the history of before-and-afters? because i've got it right here for you.

first things first, lets take care of the befores, shall we? care to tour the grounds with me? as we make our way around the house, please take note of the clever way that we have enabled overgrowth and death to intermingle in our flower beds. this creates a unique atmosphere that has been years in the making, and gives off an impression of complete and utter neglect.

there's a flower bed in this picture?

 

the flowers on that hydrangea are all dead.

 

this is where we store all our dead leaves for the winter.

 

so. many. weeds.

 

there used to be a GIANT ornamental grass in that big empty spot.

i spent about 6-8 hours on Saturday battling creepy insects, monster weeds, and the return of my seasonal allergies in an attempt to make some sort of progress in these areas that were formerly known as flower beds. i pulled weeds, and picked rocks, and bagged leaves, and made some pretty good progress on my tan. so here's what you've all been waiting for: the afters. see if you can spot the differences!

look! a flower bed that's not full of grass!

the dirt is very welcoming. honest.

the view from the end of the driveway

i really hope those bushes arent dead.

i spent way more time in this area than this picture lets on.

HUGE difference, right?! hardly looks like the same place! ok fine, so it looks pretty much the same, just now with less green and more dirt. the look we were going for was "blank slate," and i think we pretty much nailed it, dont you? our future plans for the flower beds/general outdoor space is still evolving, but this is kind of what we're thinking so far:

- tear out the bushes closest to the front door.

- also get rid of the giant ugly bush on the corner of the house closest to the driveway.

- remove all the white rocks around the perimeter of the house, replace with something less weed-y.

- lots and lots of mulch.

- figure out what kinds of shrubbery/flowers will work best.

- better define and fill the flower beds around the deck.

- powerwash the deck.

- make a patio area between the deck and the basement doors.

- define an area for the fire bowl.

so long story short: we've got more updates planned for our outdoor space, but for now we're back to ground zero. so the good news is there's nowhere to go but up! if any of you would like to be a part of this awesomeness, just let us know and we'll plan a bush removal/mulching/planting day sometime after vacation and make sure that you're invited! or if you're a sane person who would like to stay as far away as possible, then i totally understand.