Tucker Joins the Family!

Another whippet has joined our family!  Meet Tucker who is 8 weeks old.  Meeko and Tucker have gotten along so well and are both currently cuddled up on the couch with Brian, couldn't ask for anything better!










Meeko's cameo!


My three boys :) :) :) :)

Natural Homemade Cleaning Recipes and Tips!

So I decided since so many loved when I shared about making my own laundry detergent (http://rebeccajeanneroutine.blogspot.com/2012/11/homemade-laundry-detergent.html) perhaps I should share some other recipes and tricks I have come across and use!

Leather Couch Cleaning

Recently...as in today...I had saved a tip on how to clean leather couches and tried it out.  We have matching leather couches in our family room; a full couch, love seat, and single arm chair with foot rest and with dogs and people daily using them they are bound to get dirty.  The worst is after it rains and our dogs would come running in with muddy paws and of course trample all over our couches.  For the longest time we would just wipe it up with a damp wash cloth using straight water.  This did the job for a quick clean however lately I have noticed the "shininess" our couches once had has faded.  I looked in the household cleaners for a leather conditioner but beyond the hefty prices and harsh chemicals I worried how many stated they may dye or stain your couches!  Our couches are in great shape and I'm not about to try to make them shine and end up with couches we have to throw away!  So I turned to the good ol' Internet looking for budget friendly, natural, and successful way to condition our couches.  Why I have not done this before now is beyond me!  They turned out phenomenal and look brand new plus I made $0.68!

 
So what to know the trick and how to make the cash?  Here it is.....olive oil (cheap works) and white vinegar (Great value gallon size is a staple here)!  Yup that's it, two things!  We had about a small half bottle of olive oil and we always have white vinegar.  The combo is 2 part olive oil to 1 part white vinegar.  The white vinegar is your cleaning agent and the olive oil will condition.  You need two rags, one for applying and the other for rubbing and buffing.  Start off by vacuuming and collecting all the change (that's how you make the extra cash!).  Then use your bottle or spray bottle by always shaking it first and putting a tiny bit on your wash rag....a little goes a LONG way!  Then rub it all over like you would cleaning anything else.  Then when you are done use your clean wash rag and just rub it on down to get any remaining solvent off and to buff it all up.  That's it!  I spent about an hour this morning cleaning and buffing each of my couches and I couldn't be happier with the way they turned out, plus it didn't cost me a dime (I actually made money!) as I had all materials already here.  For those who worry your couches will be left all sticky and oily let me tell you we have been sitting/laying on the couches all day and they are not sticky or oily the least bit yet they all have their shininess back! 

Hardwood Floors

Again come to the rescue white vinegar!  When we pulled up our carpeting throughout our house we were left with beautiful original hardwood floors that luckily for us were already sealed and finished yet carpeted right over.   Talk about hiding the real beauty!  The floors under the carpets that we checked for when we walked through our house for the first time was one of the main selling points to us.  Knowing they were already finished meant all we would need to do is rip it all up and wash it and boom hardwood floors for nothing but sweat and never wanting to rip out another staple in your entire life!  Now before with carpet I would run the vacuum about twice a week and the carpets looked fine.  Now with hardwood floors I gag at the thought all that dog hair and "stuff" was clinging in our carpet after each day.  Every day I need to sweep which takes but 5 minutes and that alone is immediate gratification as I can see that the floor is clean and dog hair free.  Every so often the floors will get dull or those lovely pups of ours will track in mud and I will need to wash it.  While we don't have a mop (plan to get one soon, one of those Rubbermaid wet jet like things that you can put this solution of yours in and has reusable wash pads you just throw in the laundry and reuse!) I fill up a gallon bucket with warm water and throw in about a cup of white vinegar.  No your house will not smell like pure vinegar and even if you catch a faint smell of vinegar it will dissipate in a matter of minutes when it dries.  We do the old fashion hands and knees approach washing and making sure our rag is rung out well and only damp.  This does the job every time and disinfects, cleans, and deodorizes all naturally and inexpensively.  One can spend hundreds on hardwood floor cleaners but again they are full of harmful chemicals and expensive, these is a near free and natural way that leaves you with awesome results!  The good news is you can also use this on laminate and any other kind of flooring with the same results!

Cleaning Microwave

 

(No this is not my microwave so please don't be calling in the HAZMAT CREW!)

 

Oh how white vinegar thou art amazing!  Fill a coffee mug or any microwave safe bowl or cup filled with plain white vinegar in your microwave and nuke it for a good 4 or so minutes.  Remember when taking out the cup or bowl it will be as hot as the sun so remove carefully!  All you need then to do is simply wipe down and all that baked on mess and volcanic spaghetti explosions will slide right off.  I use paper towels that I can just throw out though normally I clean with wash rags, but what comes off the walls of my microwave needs to just be thrown out right away hence paper towels work wonders!   

Smelly Garbage Disposal

So hold on and don't just throw that white vinegar you just used out your window!  If you have a garbage disposal you know every now and then you end up with this funky smell coming out of it.  Well you can use your white vinegar that you just heated up to use to clean your microwave and pour it down your garbage disposal while it is turned off.  Then take some ice cubes and throw some in there, still while it is off.  Fill it up with ice cubes then sprinkle some baking soda on in there.  Doesn't get more natural than this!  Then the fun begins and you can throw your garbage disposal switch and let out an evil laugh as you hear the ice cubes being chopped all up and that funky smell disappear!  If you have a lemon laying around you can throw some pieces of that in for an even fresher smell.  Always be sure to run water while your disposal is on.  Then when all is chopped up you can halt your evil laughing and turn off the garbage disposal and water and boom clean garbage disposal!  No more buying those pricey toxic cleaning tablets at the store that we found don't even work; all it takes is some warm vinegar, ice cubes, baking soda, and an evil laugh!

Homemade Febreeze

OK my white vinegar gets a rest here.  I'm sure there is a Febreeze knock-off that uses white vinegar but that's not what I use!  This is so simple and easy to make get your palm ready to bonk your forehead for not knowing this sooner!  All you need is a spray bottle (we dollar store or W*lmart it up for cheap spray bottles) and fill it with 1/8 cup of fabric softener, 2 tablespoons baking soda, and the rest hot water.  Shake and spray away!  We personally are not fans of fabric softeners since many have been linked as cancer causing agents so we do a baking soda/hot water mixer and lay off the fabric softener.  I have heard of people using different essential oils, but again we aren't all hippy like and into the magical power of essential oils at this point in time.  Baking soda is a natural deodorizer and neutralizes the odors so you are not just masking but eliminating them and is safe for you and me, kids, and pets.  So much so safe for pets we may have even been known to spray our pups down with it in between baths if unexpected last minute guests show up....ok not really but that does give me a good idea for if that occasion does occur in the near future!  You can spray anything from your couch, rugs, the room air, even down to your husband!  It works trust me!

 

Foaming Hand Soap

This one is so simple and easy.  All you need is to keep on of those nifty foaming hand soap bottles that grandma bought you for Christmas.  All the power is in that little pump!  All you need to do when it comes time to refill it is 1 part of your favorite liquid soap or dish washing soap and fill the 3 parts rest of that baby up with water and shake her well.  Bang batta boom you have great smelling foaming hand soap for a fraction of the price of buying a new bottle!  Can you believe we are paying for mostly water when we buy store bought foaming hand soap?  Umm you stores can keep your water and I'll just add my own for a fraction of the price!  I have heard of people adding a little bit of rubbing alcohol in with their concoction for some added bacteria killing especially during the winter, however we hold the alcohol because we aren't really those partying type of people! 

 

 

Homemade Dishwasher Soap

Personally we have not given this a try yet as we still have a giant bin of dishwashing tabs.  Once those are gone we are for sure going to whip up this recipe and make our own!  There are quite a few we have come across and since we have hard water where we live, we decided on this recipe to give a whirl:

 

Dishwasher Detergent ingredients:
1 box Borax (4lbs 12 oz or 76 oz ) (2.15 kg) found in the detergent isle
1 box Arm & Hammer Super Washing Soda (55 oz or 3 lbs 7 oz) found in the detergent isle
24 packages of unsweetened lemonade drink mix, like kool-aid. (**Note: lemonade will stain soap dispenser yellow, another option would be to use citric acid instead of lemonade. You can usually find citric acid in the canning isle )
3 cups Epsom Salt
Lemi Shine rinse aid (this recipe does not work very well without it) You can find Lemi Shine in the dishwasher detergent isle at just about any store. You can also use vinegar as a rinse aid. If your dishes are coming out with spots on them that means you do need a rinse aid.

 

Directions: Mix Borax, washing soda, salt and lemonade together in a large, very large, bowl. When ingredients are mixed together well put soap in a container of your choice.  Use 1 tablespoon per wash cycle. It has no fillers so you do not have to use nearly as much to get the job done! This recipe is for hard water users.

 

Dishwasher Rinse Aid

While some may not be comfortable making their own dishwasher soap, you can get a little crazy and use a great rinse aid alternative....cue in my love white vinegar!  Yup that's, fill that rinse aid compartment up with white vinegar and a smile (Yes the smile is mandatory to give it the full powerful ability!) and run your dishwasher the usual way you do and you will end up with sparkling clear cups and dishes!

 

Rust on Knives/Pots and Pans and Stainless Steel Cleaner

This is another simple one.  All is needed is a lime (or lemon), salt, and a non-scratch scrub pad.  Squeeze lime (or lemon) juice on orange rust spots and let it sit for about 10 minutes.  Then sprinkle some salt on and scrub away.  A little elbow grease will go a long way!  The citric acid in the lime (or lemon) dissolves the rust and build-up while the salt helps as an abrasive to scrub it away.  So before you throw those knives away or hide them when company comes, try this little trick out and you will have brand new looking knives and pots and pans.  You can even use this on any other stainless steel surfaces, even your faucet!  Be sure to also save an extra lime slice and some salt to use with a shot of Tequila...um heck yes you should do a celebratory shot for saving your expensive cutlery and cookware!!!!


 



 

It honestly kills me knowing how much we pay for just mostly water in most cleaning products!

My 2013 Focus Word!

Some may have heard of a yearly focus word, others may have not.  I have never been one for New Years resolutions.  I feel resolutions we make in our lives we should be doing each and every year.  I'm not going to set myself up for disaster or something I will laugh at by the end of the year as I inevitably fail at it.  I decided this year and hopefully from this year on to pick one simple word that encompasses what I wish to accomplish in my upcoming year.  After pondering for the past 16 days, yes I planned on picking a word on the 1st but here we are on the 16th....I have come up with it.  My word of 2013 will be BUILD!

Yup there it is in all her beauty....build!  I am in a place currently with my life that I am in building mode.  Building the obvious things and the not so obvious things.  So get your constructions hats on and see what I intend on "building" in the next 12 months for my 2013 year.

• The very obvious thing is I plan to "build" up my home.  As anyone who reads my blog knows, we are are making our house our home and personalizing it.  We are expanding it by finishing our basement this year to open up a room on our first floor and give us more living space.  We are putting the sweat, money, and tears of our own into each project so we can have a conducive home for us and planning for the future.

                                      

• While I intend on "building" our earthly home, I also plan to "build" up my heavenly home.  I plan this year to spend more time reading the Bible.  Not only do I plan on reading it....hold your seats.....I plan on LIVING it!  Yup you heard it right!  I am first to admit that I am not always the most biblical living person.  I read one thing, nod my head agreeing with it, then within 5 seconds totally forget what I just agreed to to and do the complete opposite.  I'm a sinner and I know it in tune to "I'm Sexy and I know it".  So for this year I am going to be more thoughtful to the living word and do just that, live it to my best of ability.  Before making any decisions or swift actions I am going to ask myself each time if this will help me "build" up my heavenly home or is this something that is in one with my beliefs.  It may be a simple thing, but I think is something so important to "build" on personally.  I want to "build" a stronger faith, "build" a deeper understanding, and "build" a fearless belief in the Lord and help "build" up to my heavenly home.



 

• This year I also intend to "build" upon and strengthen relationships to with other.  I intend on "building" up those that already exists while also meeting new people and starting to "build" a new foundation.  It is so easy to get wrapped up in life and forget about those that mean the most to you.  I want to be more purposeful in "building" healthy strong relationships with others.  I want to be the best daughter, daughter-in-law, sister, sister-in-law, friend, and so on to those around me.  I want to become more purposeful in my actions and words.

 

• I also plan on "building" our family this year.  Last year was a whirlwind of a lot of disappointment in this department.  We dealt with a lot of loss and raw emotion regarding "building" our family in 2012.  I am so hoping 2013 we will be able to sweep away the debris of when our "building" came crumbling down and that we can put back up walls and this time those walls will not fall down on us again.  I am so blessed that Brian and I have an awesomely strong foundation built between us.  We hope now to build up from here.  We are continuing our infertility journey as well as entering the foster care world in 2013.  While our family may not end up being the conventional family, we look forward to "building" our special family.  Our family we "build" may be ever changing with kids coming and going, but that doesn't make it any less of a family unit.  I firmly believe this is the year we will also welcome a bundle of joy and look forward to that possibility.  I know drastic changes to our family is coming as we go from a family of two to more, yet this may be the most thrilling to me of my "building" this year.

• "Building" savings is also a goal for 2013.  Last year financially we did very well as far as savings go.  Of course had I worked and not been a homemaker we would have been reaping it way more for savings, however I am happy to know we are able to more than make it on one income which suites us well.  With a mortgage, insurances, Brian's student loans, utilities, as well as all the extras we did last year we still ended up with a good chunk of savings that we "built" but for 2013 I am looking really into "building" it up.  One never knows when an emergency may strike.  We are looking into by the end of the year possibly buying a minivan and we would like to work with as much cash as possible.  I want to "build" in 2013 a way to stretch our dollars more and be purposeful in our spending and saving.  We have been starting to follow the Dave Ramsey approach and have been cooking and eating at home.  "Building" our savings this year is a priority.  We know now just starting out if we are able to be saving more than we are spending that it sets a great framework for the future.  

• "Building" our health is another avenue in 2013 I am going to work on.  As I said we are trying to eat primarily at home for all meals, I am also being more health conscious of what we do eat.  Eating at home does not always mean it is better quality or better for us.  In the latter of 2012 we added more fresh fruits and vegetables to our diets.  We want to "build" on this and continue to add more and more fresh things.  Again I am not one for a big resolution to lose 100 lbs. or anything, but I plan to "build" in healthy exercise into my day.  I have already begun to take Meeko for walks each morning and trying to add them in the evening too.  In between I am getting on the treadmill as well.  I am not doing it to lose weight (ha wouldn't that be a nice thing though!) but I am doing it to be more active, have more energy, and be healthier. 

 

I challenge everyone to pick a focus word for 2013 and truly focus in on it for all aspects of the 2013 year.  What will your focus word be?



Finally Some Answers!





As promised here are the Q's I received and my A's.  I loved receiving all the questions even from those I have never met.  I even received one all the way from New Zealand and Turkey!  When asking people I don't personally know how they came across my blog many said they were doing general searches and in one way or another was led here.  One looked up homemade laundry soap (still one of my most popular blog posts), one infertility, and another bad haircuts (umm thanks for the reminder!).  I am happy people stepped out of their comfort zone to shoot me an email with their questions.  Not sure I would have the big girl panties courage to ask someone a question having not ever met them, but they were happily received!  It was also nice to get questions in from close family and friends and more surprisingly some distant family and old friends (holla facebook for keeping us in touch!). 

Now for the answer button to your questions!

 



 

Where are your fence pictures?

Good question!  Umm on my phone to be exact! We did finally have our fence put in but it was around a super busy time in our lives.  We were dealing with a lot going on with the holidays, traveling, fertility cycle, Brian's grandma passing away, and scheduling with the fence company.  Finally we made it all come together and we are now sitting back wondering why we didn't do this earlier?!?!  Our dogs loved the fence and were able to romp around in the backyard without having to be leashed.  For those who do not know we live in front of an elementary school so especially had to make sure our dogs were leashed.  We also had one dog who was a little bit on the temperamental this is my property and people type dog so had to be weary of that.  Unfortunately we had to put our dog Levi down which completely broke our hearts, I'm planning on a post about that to come.  Now Meeko is on his own in the back and hasn't romped around without his beloved buddy, but it has kept him off leash and able to get in a few sprints before running in out of the cold.  I'm sure once the weather warms up with Spring around the corner we will be able to really utilize the backyard and appreciate being able to have Mr. Meeko out there with us while we grill, lay in the hammock, and soak up the warm rays....man makes me yearn for warmer weather!  Hopefully I will post up the pictures I took of the fence installation as well as our new shed we had delivered all the way from Amish country. 

 

Are you pregnant?  Where you lucky this month?  Did "IT" happen?

When this first question came in I had just found out that I had not ovulated at all during this cycle.  Yes the same magic potion that last time not only did I ovulate with but became pregnant with had completely failed.  It was a major bummer and disheartening....to say the least.  I never intended for me to be so honest and open about our struggles with infertility for the past year and a half, however I find comfort in knowing we have so many cheerleaders and people who have an invested interest in us building our family.  Can never have too many prayer warriors is what I say!  This ended up being the most popular questioned subject I received from four separate people so I decided to share.  So where do we go from here?  Well we are on the verge of starting up another cycle and am in the talks with my endocrinologist on if we will just bump up the clomid by another 50mg or if we will take a whole different new approach.  We shall see.  I have no intentions on continuing each and every month updating on our current "trying" however I left an open platform for questions so here's your answer! 

 

When are you foster parents and when do you get your first baby?

I had to laugh a bit at this in reference to when we will be getting a baby.  Brian and I are currently in process of becoming foster parents.  We were working on our classes that run every Thursday for 3 hours.  We have classes for 12 straight weeks for a totally whopping 36 hours then we will be having our home study done.  This is a meeting both in our home to check for safety (there is a ridiculously long list of safety features we need to have in our home) and location for where children will be staying as well as in office meetings with our social worker to go over our personal histories individually and together and pretty much knock their socks off with how we are complete rockstars (hopefully)!  It is a long process and slow feeling at times.  The homestudy can take anywhere between 6-12 weeks and will not start until the end of our classes or in the last two weeks of classes.  Once all those pre-service classes and homestudy are done and we are approved by the state as foster care providers we will then have to do another 6 hour foster parent FYI course then we will be able to start taking in kids.  Notice I say kids!  Brian and I are both burdened with how often times sibling groups are split up in the system.  Both of us have fond memories of growing up with our siblings all in the same home and could not imagine losing our parents let alone our siblings on top of all of that.  While our hearts are burdened for sibling groups we also know at this point we are open up to two children.  There is no minivan here and we do have intentions of *fingers crossed* having a biological child by the end of the year so know we are maxed out at 3 car seats so 2 foster children be it siblings or two completely unrelated separate case children is what will work best for us right now.  As new foster parents we can take up to three children then larger sibling groups after 2 years of fostering, however we know what our limits are at this time and are keeping to them.  We are also not just open to taking in a baby, but we are being certified for newborns-8 years old.  We originally planned up to 6 years old, however we found there is a newborn-2, 3-5, and 6-8 age ranges so what the heck why not up to an 8 year old?!?!  My little sister Mary Grace is 8 years old and she is a true rockstar that we love having over on weekends and spending time with, we so got this!  We may get some weird looks being my husband looks like a 15 year old and here we may be toting around elementary school children and navigating the local school system, thankfully we live right in front of the school they would attend...I don't even need to get out of my pajama's or pretend to to do anything with my hair!  So logistically we are hoping to be fully licensed and ready to open our home to children from the county needing care come Spring like May-ish time. 

 

What happened to those siblings needing a home?  Why don't you adopt those siblings?

I have kept my eye on those two and unfortunately no one has stepped up to make them their own....yet!  Two people asked about them which puts a smile on my face to know at least those two read that posting and those children are on their minds and hearts. too  I still am holding hope that they will beat the terrible statistical odds and will find their forever family.  The great news is that their grant has climbed to over $1000 at this point so my heart is keeping hope!  I still feel so burdened for those children in an unspeakable way as they captivated every fiber in me.  As for why don't we adopt them well we would not be able to start the process until December so about a whole year away due to our ages.  One of us would need to be 25 years old to start the process off.  There was some going back and forth between us and the facilitator about the age thing as we were prayerfully considering it but in the end we would need to wait the year to begin.  The little boy is living in a terrible invalid home and needs out yesterday so they can't be waiting.  I'm sure the question will come what if they are still waiting (which chances are high) come this December?  Well we will reevaluate our situation then and decide if we will take the plunge or not.  It is my true hope that they will be home with their family by then...keep praying for them!

 

What hobbies do you have?

Hmmm hobbies.  You mean how many things have I gotten into then just left half-finished?  Haha!  On a more serious note I love photography, anything crafty or artsy, home projects, and lately really been getting into freezer meal cooking!  I have a post stewing up (get it?!?) about the freezer meals and how our lives have been changed for the better with them.  So easy peasy and inexpensive! 

 

How did you meet your husband?

The story we will tell our children or the real deal?  Ha!  The story our children will hear is that we met at the church on campus and fell in love and we lived happily every after never partying and only staying in studying our college days away in blissful harmony!  The real deal...and likely what our kids will sniff out....I met Brian for the very first time after going to a bunch of parties early freshman year and that night came back and was hanging out in the boys dorm.  I was with another girlfriend and we met some guys at a one of the parties we knew from classes and decided to go back and hang out.  Yes hang out is all we did and intended on doing!  Brian among a bunch of other guys hung out with us as we all looked at random pointless youtube videos and such.  Not far after I started dating another guy and Brian was dating someone else too.  We weren't really friends quiete yet.  I ended up being lab partners with a girl who was telling me all about how she was dating someone for the first time and while she really liked him she thinks she is better off single and the whole dating thing freaked her out.  I gave her advice to how to just be honest and tell him and see what happens.  The next week she came in telling me she did it and it wasn't as bad as she thought it would go, he agreed and they decided to just be friends.  Little did I know I gave advice to a girl to break up with my future husband!  This is what happens when you go to small schools!  I wouldn't know this for sometime or even who this guy was she had been dating.  

 

I was still with the same guy when a friend of mine told me she really liked this guy in one of her classes.  She wanted to invite him to go to this free college cosmic bowling event us girls were going to but didn't know how to do it.  I told her just facebook him since he was on and ask him, the least he could do was say he was busy or something.  She chickened out so I told her to move aside and as the other girls crowded around I pretended to be this girl and asked Brian to meet us up at the Laker to catch the bus over to bowling.  He said sure and brought along a friend with him.  We all met up and my guy last minute was busy so all the girls, Brian and his friend all went together.  The same girl we were trying to hook up with him was refusing to even really talk to him.  I kept trying to get the two to interact and even he said she was acting weird.  After we all hung out and this girl decided to go to bed early which again was weird especially if you like someone and wanted to possibly date them.  Looking back it was His master plan.  This girl (keep calling her this girl as half way through freshmen year she did something so mean that we ended up no longer friends) even after I would invite Brian over after would hang out then leave a few minutes later leaving me and the other girls and guys hanging out.  I ended up becoming friends with Brian.   Nothing to do with Brian but I found myself breaking up with the guy I was seeing and became single again.  I was in the "talks" with several guys but not really seeing one or the other.  Brian was in the strict friend zone and the thought never crossed my mind for this kid who had become like my annoying little brother friend to even be in the running.  Then everything changed. 

 

I was to go to a dance with the guy I had just broken up with when problems came up and I found myself date-less.  Brian already had tickets and asked me if I would go with him since everyone else in our friend group was going with someone already.  I told him no.  Yup so romantic!  Then he asked again via aim (remember those days?) and I said no again.  Then we were on a walk the two of us and he called me out on why I wouldn't go with him just as friends.  All of our friends were going with mostly friends from our friend group anyways, why couldn't we go as friends too?  Why should I stay in my room that night when everyone else was having fun?  So with less than 24 hours till the dance we jumped in my car and took the 2 hour trek to my parents house for a dress and then on our what should have been 2 hour drive back we got lost and ended up being a 4.5 hour drive back.  The whole time we sang, chatted, and had some deep conversations.  We had so much fun at the dance with each other and with out friends and started to hang out routinely more and more.  Little by little that friend barrier went down and next thing I know we decided to start dating and see where it would go and that's all she wrote.  Sorry not readers digest edition, but you asked so you got the WHOLE answer!

 

How are you doing all your home remodeling?

Not sure what you are exactly asking here.  As for remodeling we have redone our master bedroom (not too much master in size!), guest bedroom (still haven't blogged about that remodel), our main entryway, family room, and main hallway, and most recently finished our half bath remodel.  The half bath I haven't blogged about but I'm also not too excited about it.  Let's just say yellow highlighter on my walls, as bright as the sun.  Maybe it's not as bad as I think....maybe it's worse!  I guess I will have to post to see what others say but it's good to know it could be an easy painting fix.  It definitely is cheerful in there now!  We also have paint already purchased and the main wall decor item for the main bathroom but after the never ending half bath experience I'm weary to start ripping wallpaper down.  Also our basement is starting to take shape.  We cleared out, cleaned, and organized our basement area and the first wall actually went up tonight!  Hoping to get it all done especially that new multi-room area that will become our new office/craft room/guest bedroom/treadmill room, etc.  A room full of everything for everything.  As I said above, we also had a shed put in that we bought from Amish country and a fence that we hired a company to do.  Some things are just way over our experience or time capabilities so we hire out but everything else we have done ourselves with the help of family.  It has saved no doubt thousands of dollars, especially ripping wallpaper down, pulling out the carpet, tack board, staples, and cleaning our original hardwood on the first floor ourselves.  The only carpeting left in our home is our current office/craft room which once cleared out will be remodeled and carpeting yanked out for the original hardwood floors like we have on the rest of our first floor.  As for the basement still not sure what we will end up using for flooring but carpeting may just be in the running but we shall see. 

 

 

 

 

 





 

 

 

 

 

 

 



 

"No one longs for what he or she already has, and yet the accumulated insight of those wise about the spiritual life suggests that the reason so many of us cannot see the red X that marks the spot is because we are standing on it. The treasure we seek requires no lengthy expedition, no expensive equipment, no superior aptitude or special company. All we lack is the willingness to imagine that we already have everything we need. The only thing missing is our consent to be where we are.” ~Barbara Brown Taylor

New Years 2013!

So I'm only like 8 days late, but better late than never!  For New Years we did our ritual bowling, chowing down on our special New Years menu of foods, and watched the ball drop and brought in the new year with kisses and poppers....of course not both at once!


































Even Molly got into the festive mood by leaping for the streamer papers!!!!