Lookin' Out My Front Door

Before all of the white stuff started falling, I experienced my first pre-snow thunder and lightning storm.  It was kind of bizarre; you don't expect lightning and thunder when it's snowing.  It was peaceful listening to the sleet and then heavy snow, hit the sky lights upstairs and McHotterson built our first fire of the cold season.  Come to think of it, its the first fire we've built since we moved into this house.  It was lovely and before he left for work this morning, he stoked it and threw another log on, so it's still blazing.

Y'all stay warm!  

In With the New

This summer McH and I moved houses.  When we moved to C-town, we acquired a big office desk from my sister-in-law's parents.  I happened to be visiting her at their house in Oklahoma and they offered this desk to us.  We needed one, they had one, I took it.  It was in a large storage building where they had lots of other furniture and things, and they promised they weren't planning on using it.

It was a little beat up when we got it, and we beat it up even more using it for the last four years.

So, during the move, the desk just fell apart and ended up at the dump.

For the last 4 months or so, we've lived with an office that is not put together at all because we've had no desk.  This wouldn't be as big of a deal if it weren't for two factors: 

1.) McH does all of his bookwork and billing for his business from our home
2.) the office is a room you must walk through to get to our living room area, so it is seen all the time. 

Fast forward to a few weeks ago.  My mom was in Amarillo and text me a picture of a desk she found at World Market she thought I might like.  She was right.

So, I waited until I found a good coupon (World Market has good deals if you are patient and wait for the coupon...when I bought my hutch, a few years back, I had a 40% off coupon).

This time the coupon was 25% any piece of furniture.

Yesterday after our doctor's appointments, we headed to WM and purchased a beautiful desk and hutch to go on top of it.  We saved some good money, too, because we picked it up at the store instead of having it shipped AND because we bought the pieces separately and were able to use a coupon for each one.  Here are the desk and the hutch together.

I CAN'T WAIT to put it all together and finally be able to arrange our office area!  The "double drawer" on the right, is actually a hanging file area and the drawer in the middle folds down to accommodate a keyboard if you desire. 

It's the Little Things, Ya Know?

A few posts back I told you about the new set of table and chairs we bought.  Well, we were finally able to pick them up last Thursday and McH spent yesterday putting it all together.  It is even more beautiful than in the pictures or even in the store and it is going to be a perfect place to gather as a family.  I look forward to many breakfast and coffee sessions, and great conversation around this table! 

"BEFORE" shots

Some AFTERS

And then some AFTER, AFTER pics...(with a little touch of Fall).  If you click on the pics, you might be able to see my hutch in the dining room in the background.  The table and chairs match it almost perfectly!

Now, if we can get some baseboards put up and some decor on the walls, we might actually have the kitchen and dining rooms finished!  YAY!  It's only been 3 months!  HA!

A New Place to Sit

Yesterday, Saturday, McHotterson and I had to make an unexpected trip to Lubbock in the early morning.  

While we were there, we decided to drop in to Bob Mills Furniture and "just look around."  

In all reality, we do need a new desk.  When we moved this summer, we chunked the old one because it was falling apart.  It was given to us when we moved by my sister-in-law's parents who had it just sitting in a storage building and were ready to get rid of it.  At the time, we welcomed it's price tag...FREE!  So, we loaded it up and brought it home.  But it had seen its day and now we are in the market for a new desk. THIS IS PRIORITY!

However, we also were interested in looking at some kitchen tables for our new kitchen.  We have a nice bay window in the kitchen, which I've started filling with pretty, colored glass and a few plants.  

McH and I have been talking about how nice it would be to have a table in front of the window and be able to drink coffee in the morning, and eat breakfast together.  Who am I kidding?  This would only happen 2 out of 7 days a week, MAYBE, but hey, I'll take what I can get! 

Bob Mills didn't have much in the way of desks, but they DID have a nice selection of kitchen tables/chairs.  Here's what we decided on...

Roanoke Pub

I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE it!  We went in, knowing we wanted something taller with at least 4 chairs (we got SIX).  It has a leaf in the middle, so if we want to add more surface area to it, we can!  This will be great if/when we ever are able to have holidays at our house.  I wish you could see the picture better, but the finish is EXACTLY like our hutch from World Market.  It is black, with some distressed looking places around the edges and such.  It is perfect for what we want!

As we were driving away from the store, McH turned and looked at me and said, "By the way, that is our anniversary present to each other," (our 8th anniversary is 10/12, Tuesday).  He has a way with justifying certain purchases!  HA!  In actuality, we didn't need any justification.  If you've never been to Bob Mills, I highly recommend it!  The salespeople are very friendly and helpful and not pushy at all, and we got a great deal on the table and 6 chairs! 

It wasn't in stock, so we put down a deposit and will pick it up in a few weeks when we are back in Lubbock!  

I'm so excited about putting the table in our kitchen and being able to use it! 

I'm Alive!!

I have not fallen off the face of the earth, dear BLENDS!  I've missed you, I've missed you so much!  Each time I have thought about sitting down to post, I figured I didn't have enough time/energy/mental capacity to get something coherent down, so I just decided to avoid it altogether.  Boo.

I don't even know where to start, but I do promise I will post all about my summer adventures at some point. 

The summer started with working another Walk to Emmaus, which was, of course, AMAZING!  I can hardly believe that was this summer...it feels like a lifetime ago! 

Then, my mom, Amy (my SIL), and I headed South for our much anticipated two-week jaunt to Peru!  It was spectacular and overall indescribable, really.  That is at least 2, if not more, posts in itself. 

I was home for a couple of weeks and during that time we worked on our new house day in and day out until I thought I would literally go insane.  If I never see another piece of trim or baseboard I have to paint white, I will not be disappointed in the slightest.  I do NOT suggest moving in the middle of a Texas summer to anyone.  It wasn't pleasant.  Not in any way.  The closing was a mini-nightmare due to some unforseen personality differences.  We'll just leave it at that.  But, as of the 5th of August, we've been in our new house and we are enjoying it for the most part.  My favorite word to associate with this house is POTENTIAL.  It really is a great house, it just has lots to do and right now my life is so crazy, it's been a slow go. 

In late July, Mchotterson and I started the invitro process.  My mom came up about 5 days ago and she and I stayed in Lubbock four days while I had daily doctor's appointments.  We got home yesterday afternoon, and I slept aSo far, things have been going really well and we just continue to pray they will remain that way.  I had to miss some training for school, and I hate that, but priorities are different these days.  I am headed to inservice tomorrow and I'm so excited to see all my friends again and get back into the routine of school.  There is comfort in familiarity isn't there? 

So, that is a very BRIEF synopsis of my summer.  Could I have packed anything else into my life this summer?  I can't imagine what it could be! 

If you're still reading, Blend, I'm grateful and I would ask you for prayers for McH and me.  You are the BEST and I've missed you so! 

I Know For a Fact The Earth is Round...

...because as much as you might have thought so, I have not fallen off of it!

Wow, BLENDS, first I have to apologize for my lack of posts in the last few weeks.  Things have been, shall we say, kind of nutty in this cowgirl's household.

I am going to use this post as a quick recap of what's going on in our crazy, but very BLESSED lives.

*School was over May 28th and I have already been enjoying my summer.  I've spent the last four days in Amarillo with my mom, taking care of her bestie, Donna, who just had shoulder surgery.  We had some family and friends over last night so Dad could grill for them and he didn't disappoint.  I love it when they are here!

*McH's new business endeavor is going really well.  In fact, it's doing better than we could ever have imagined...thank you, Lord...and he is looking at hiring someone to help him out.  He is spraying fields all the time and as soon as I start to complain about not seeing him, I remind myself that this is an answered prayer and God has been faithful to us...beyond our wildest dreams.



*We have been overwhelmed with blessings this summer in the form of answered prayer.  I think I mentioned a while back about possibly selling our house.  Well, it kind of fell through then, so I was okay with knowing we had given the decision over to God and continued to pray for an opportunity to sell in the future.  The opportunity came sooner than we were expecting.  Once again, our house was not listed or officially even on the market, but a couple from a little town South of us needed to move closer to the hospital and long story short, the contract has been signed by both parties, and we close on August 3rd.  Whoa.  That's still very surreal to me.  Part of me is very sad to be moving...okay a BIG part of me.  But again I am reminded that God has given us this opportunity (albeit in a way I wasn't really expecting, and in a way we will have to sacrifice quite a bit as far as our house goes), and so I choose to be abundantly grateful for it.  HE IS SO GOOD!!!  I'll post more about the house stuff later.

 *I have accepted a position as the junior English teacher, and will be teaching all juniors and one class of Dual-Credit seniors this coming year.  It's going to be a big year of changes for me, but I'm looking forward to the new challenges that come with this next school year.







*This weekend I was in Stanton for Women's Emmaus Walk #40.  What an honor to serve these women as a team member again this year.  I was just overwhelmed with God's grace and mercy as I saw the hearts of some of these women soften and the walls come crumbling down.  The Holy Spirit was powerfully present this weekend and it was an awesome sight to see!







* Did y'all notice the ticker at the top?  I can hardly believe it, but in EIGHTEEN DAYS I am leaving for my trip to Peru.  I've been saying I don't think I will really believe it is going to happen until I'm on the plane and headed to South America.  I am SO excited I can hardly stand it, but I also know there is a lot to do before I can leave!  I've been taking a Spanish class, which has now ended.  So, I'll be continuing to brush up on it on my own and getting my things together slowly.

*We have finally started our road to in-vitro and we couldn't be more excited.  Things are going to be really busy and crazy the next couple of months, but we are ready for whatever and wherever God brings us in this journey.  I don't really feel a peace about sharing all the details about our in-vitro yet, at least not with the whole world (because you KNOW the whole world reads this blog...lol), but as I feel led, I will share more as far as specific dates and things.  We would ask for your prayers as our friends and family.

The Mantle Makeover

Gosh, my days are just seeming to fly by recently.  I look up and realize it's been days since I've last posted!

I've been so busy with many things going on, including, but certainly not limited to: McHotterson's new business (he is making a round trip to Oklahoma and Kansas to look at spray rigs tomorrow...if you think of it, say a little prayer for safe travels, if you don't mind...and no, he is NOT quitting his job...he will still be a TXDOT engineer, so no worries there), the dreaded TAKS test which is FINALLY over, my weekly Spanish classes, Bible study, writing, reading, teaching, and the list goes on and on.

This weekend we were able to travel to Oklahoma City and Guthrie, OK for the Timed Events Finals.  I really enjoy going to these rodeo events because I didn't grow up around the rodeo scene but McHotterson really loves it.  So, I like learning about it because of him.

Another something that is keeping us busy, or at least keeping our minds and hearts busy, is the possibility of selling our house.  It is a LONG story to get into right now as I'm exhausted and just realized it is 10:01 p.m. and I need some sleep.  But I will tell you there is a chance we MIGHT be moving out of our house sometime soon, and that STRESSES ME OUT!  I'm really trying to stay calm, but it's not easy!!

And speaking of our house, I mentioned in a previous post I would be showing you the makeover on my mantle.  Well, here it is and can I just say I LOVE IT?  I'm not an IN YOUR FACE Western decorator.  I like Mexican country and especially love the bright, splashes of color.  I like a little bit of funky, a lot of traditional and whatever else I find.  I like black thrown in with dark browns, and I tend to lean towards the colors of Fall in my house over others.

I was in a total funk when it came to our living room.  Our house is small, and our living room just wasn't doing it for me.  So, I hit the 50%-80% sale at Hobby Lobby, took my SIL and MIL with me, and boy did I hit the jackpot!

BEFORE:

(You can't see the mantle very well here, but this is the only pic I could find)

AFTER:

(I fell in LOVE with these hanging metal boots when I saw them at HL...I bought the jug to the left at 80% off because one of the handles is broken off of it, but who would know when it's turned to the back...the SIMPLIFY sign, little lamp, picture frame, and the grass and things in the jug were all 50-80% off...and the little birdie I really wanted, but it wasn't on sale, so at the last minute my sweet Mother-in-Law bought it for me...thanks, RETA!...I already had the little cross, and the garland, and I just printed a picture of McH and the pups and me to use in the picture frame).  

I love the reds and greens and how they pop off the wall.  

Thanks to my sister-in-law, Dawn, and my mother-in-law, for helping me put all of this together! 

Ice Storm 2010, etc...

Obviously the weather prediction in my previous post was right on.  We've been out of school the last two days and I have to say, even though I know we will have to use a bad weather day to make it up, I needed a four-day weekend!  So, I've loved it!  I've relaxed, built a fire, cuddled with the pups (and McHotterson while he's not doing his TXDOT engineer duties and saving the lives of stranded strangers in a single bound).  I finally cut up a bunch of veggies and fruit I've had in the fridge and put them in the new Rubbermaid Lock-Its (they're way cool), I bought at Wally World the other day.

I've also been on Facebook, reading blogs, and sleeping.  Told ya I needed the day(s) off.

Here are some pics from Ice Storm 2010:

The temperature gauge about 3:00 p.m.; it feels colder. 

The backyard...so sad...and it looks even worse now.  The ice is just too heavy for the limbs and every once in a while you'll hear a "SNAP" and there's another branch down.

Branches heavy with ice. 

ABOVE:  The tree that normally hangs over our driveway a bit was so heavy with ice yesterday it was touching the ground.  Mid-afternoon I heard a huge POP and went out to find the tree had completely broken off and is now in our driveway, blocking my exit from the garage.  

BELOW:  My view from the couch.  Rough, huh?  

And these shaggy girls aren't sure what to do with all the ice, but they sure are cute, aren't they? 

Sadie girl looking pretty.  She's turning into such a great dog!

ABOVE:  We had to get on to Sadie the other night for chewing on my running shoe.  A few minutes later we looked everywhere for her.  When we finally found her, she had made a bed out of the toy basket and was sulking.  Too funny.  I finally bought her a new bed so she has a place to lay other than on top of all the dog toys.  

 

ETC...

I've already posted about this, so I won't say much about it.  Here are some pics from our trip to Dallas last weekend.  Somehow I got no pictures of myself with Sally or with McH.  Darn it. 

 Playing shuffleboard

My BFF, Sally (L) and Amanda.  

Dinner Saturday night was DELICIOUS!  Chicken wings and brats, tossed salad...

fresh asparagus...

 

satueed mushrooms...

And here's the full spread...

Check Her Out!

While perusing some blogs tonight (please do not fall over in shock), I stumbled upon this one I LOVE (or "lurve" as the author writes) about decorating on a budget!  Check it out!  I already have so many ideas; now I just need the time to get them accomplished.

Lately, I've been very "blech"about our house.  It's just stagnant and boring and I'm getting tired of it!  So, I've been looking for things I can do differently!  I've also found some great Christmas gift ideas since we're kinda on a budget with that this year, too.  Aw, who am I kiddin'?  I'm on a budget every season of my life!  **sigh**

Anyway, not only does this blogger have AMAZING taste and great THRIFTY ideas, but she's
HI-LARIOUS to boot.

So, if I've piqued your interest, go check out the Thrifty Decor Chick!  You won't be sorry!

For My Garden Hat Lady

From one cheap heart, to another...


BEFORE: My $15/ea. raw-wood IKEA chairs.




AFTER: With a few coats of paint and lots of sweat equity!

A New Leaf

Yep, I've turned one over. First, I have decided I MUST stop feeling guilty for things in my life that I a.) have no control over, b.) just aren't worth it or c.) I just plain have no place feeling guilty about.

So, there are many areas I'm working on this, but one is my house. I must say that the majority of us (although there are a FEW crazy exceptions to this rule) do not enjoy housework. I find where we might differ in our opinions is not the fact that we despise it as a whole (because most of us do), but merely in the specific parts we might like or dislike (i.e. bathrooms, mopping, dusting, etc...), or in the reasons behind not finding it even the slightest bit intriguing.

For example, the only part of housework I enjoy is purging and organizing. I love getting rid of junk and reorganizing a space. I absolutely HATE cleaning bathrooms. Gag. A. Maggot. I don't mind dusting, I guess, but I am definitely not eager to jump in. And mopping? As if. Vacuuming I can handle. On occasion.

Now, let me make one tiny detail clear. Even though I do not like it, I still do it. My house, on most occasions, is relatively clean. Albeit, not always tidy, but most always mostly clean. Liveable. You won't die or contract a disease. Is my guilt showing?

I do not like housework for one main reason: it takes away from the things I would rather be doing or could be doing. Even in my quaint, little house, it still feels like a ginormous chore. It overwhelms me. I can totally relate to those people you see on Clean Sweep and shows like that who just gave up. I'm not there and I hope to never get there, but I can understand. I can see how it happens. Scary.

I hear complaints all the time about housework and I DO NOT want to be one of those women who thinks it is "my job" because I'm a woman. I enjoy keeping a nice, clean house. I do not enjoy the means to the end. I do not want to do housework for 50 years and despise every minute of it, or be bitter about it later.

Here are my top 10 things I would rather/could be doing if I wasn't doing housework:

1. Spending more time in God's word and praising Him

2. Spending more time in THOUGHTFUL prayer.

3. Spending more time with my husband.

4. Spending more time thinking of nice things to do for my husband.

5. Spending more time calling friends I don't talk to nearly enough.

6. Spending more time working on my yard.

7. Spending more time working in my classroom (which I don't mind near as much as housework).

8. Spending more time READING GREAT BOOKS on my long, long "Want to Read" list.

9. Spending more time building blogs for my friends.

10. Spending more time riding horses, playing golf, working out, walking the dogs and all of those other things I want to do more of and don't have the time it seems.

So, this is all said to let you in on a little secret. In T minus 9 plus a little days and counting, I will experience my very first H-O-U-S-E-K-E-E-P-E-R.

Yes, I said, "to heck with the guilt." I have talked about this for over a year now, and just haven't done it for various reasons.

Just because I don't have human children, doesn't mean my house doesn't get messy or dirty OR that I have all the time in the world to clean it. I don't!

And, when it comes down to it, we are willing to pay for what we want or need the most, and each of us makes our own decisions about what those things are. I've made my decision and I couldn't be more excited. I seriously cannot wait for the 14th!!!!!

WANTED: A housekeeper (or angel as I like to call her). Once every two weeks. To dust, clean floors, vacuum, clean windows/sills, mirrors, dust fans, and most of all CLEAN THE BATHROOMS!!!

And, now I've found her.