We have a new house!

First off, I know it has been FOREVER since I posted anything new, but it has been crazy busy and we’ve been trying to live life here in the Alaskan summer while we can and planning to catch up when time allows.  So here’s the first bit of news:

We finally made it to closing!  We closed on the house on May 25th, just in time for the girls to see it before the were off to spend some time with Grandma Penny.  Even though we closed on the 25th, we couldn’t actually step inside until the 26th.  Do you have any idea what kind of torture it was to have the keys, and still not go in?  But I was good and patiently waited it out.

So now the house is ours and we can begin to personalize it.  The first thing we had to tackle was moving.  Can I just say UGH!  I spent pretty much the whole month of June moving everything over (because I had paid for it on the rental, darn it!)  In the end, we were out on time and everything was in order.  I can say that I was pretty stressed about getting it all done.  And in a lot of pain.  As it stands now, I will be happy if I can get my garage cleaned out before the snow flies so I can park in the garage.  We’ll see if I need to modify that goal in the next couple months.

I have managed to get some things in order around here (with a little help from those more mechanically inclined than I am).  I think most of the curtains have been hung (that I have purchased, anyway.  And the cats have taken up residence in their favorite spots and made this their home.

It’s kind of funny to watch them sometimes, because they are used to having more carpeting in the house and now they have mostly laminate flooring.  Sometimes when they mean to stop, they keep sliding across the floor.  Very funny, or else I just need to get out more.  Maybe both.

Anyway, it has been wonderful driving home each night and turning into MY neighborhood, turning down MY street, pulling into MY driveway and walking into MY house.  It feels good.  And it looks lovely.  I can imagine how things will change over time as I do more, landscape more, decorate more to make it feel more like me.

This is one of the lovely sights that I will see in the spring out my living room window looking into the back yard.  It just makes me smile. 

 

 

 

I will endeavor to post more this week about all the happenings and goings on since May when we closed on the house.

(p.s.  Two house payments later and I’m still so very excited!)

How Embarrassing!

I had  such a great weekend (well, it’s still going on . . . and still good!), but parts of it were not quite what I would have planned.  After dealing with issues for the girls’ upcoming trip to the Lower 48, Greg and I headed to Homer  to spend the night and try a little fishing.  Friday night, we just grilled out on the boat and enjoyed the peace and quiet.  I love being there . . . listening to the water, hearing the birds and feeling the gentle rocking.  And after dinner, we even walked up to the Salty Dawg.  It isn’t tourist season yet, so it wasn’t crowded . . . but I wonder what it’s like when it is peak season.  It’s not really the kind of place I would normally frequent, or even think about visiting.  But it is the kind of place you have to go to at least once to check out the decor.  It’s the ambiance everyone goes to enjoy.  Next time I’m there, I’m wearing red.  (I’m sure no one knows what that means . . . except for Greg.)

The next morning, I woke up early and got as dressed as I had to in order to walk up to the bathroom from the boat.  Meaning, I put on pants under my pajamas and put on a sweater . . . and of course, slipped on my dork shoes that Greg got me before we headed down to Homer on Friday.  (They are comfortable, by the way.)  When I stepped off the boat, there were about twenty seagulls hanging around on the dock.

The walk up to land wasn’t too bad, the tide hadn’t gone out yet.  A quick trip to get my first Alaskan fishing license, and then we were on our way!  It really was a lot of fun.  I loved the feeling of cutting through  the water.  Greg said he hasn’t fighting it, but I love that split second feeling before the boat falls and hits the water . . . that moment when you feel weightless.

 

We motored out past Seldovia bay, but it wasn’t getting any calmer, and we knew the water was going to kick up as the day went on.  So we started to head back to do a little trolling around the islands.  I was just enjoying the scenery, and I realized I really needed to go to the bathroom.  (No, the boat does not have one.  There is a bucket, with a toilet seat.)  About that time we are just kind of rocking around, and Greg is talking on the phone to Scott . . . and the next thing I know, Greg says something to Scott about his Harley puking oil.  Guess what I felt like at that moment?  Yep, you guessed it . . . I was not feeling well at all.  Greg asked me to steer the boat and I was like “I can’t”.  I followed him out the door and told him I was going to be sick.  I have to admit, it was very sweet of him to tell Scott he had to go and hold my hair for me.  But could life get any more embarrassing for me?  The answer is, yes . . . it can.  So after a couple rounds of hurling (I felt much better, thank you), I told him that I still needed to go to the bathroom.  So out came the bucket.  And to my embarrassment, I had to tell him I didn’t just have to pee.  (I’m even blushing now!)  Picture this, me siting on a bucket, going potty on the back of a boat on the open water . . . and what do I see?  A float plane above, and it circles around.  Thankfully, it didn’t get to close.  Now, this whole time, Greg is kind of watching me with this amused smile on his face.  Eventually, I had to ask him if I could please wipe my ass without him watching me.  LOL!

Not long after that, we headed back to the harbor, where I could get my feet on “terra firma”, as Greg says.  All in all, it was quite an adventure.  I did tell him I was sorry and asked if he would take me out again . . . his answer?  “Probably.”  And I have been named the first one to puke on the 4 Boys.  Doesn’t that deserve an award or something?

p.s.

Those shoes Greg got me?  They’re waterproof, so they will work out well for other future seasickness spells.

 

HOW EMBARRASSING!

 

About the house . . . finally

I figured I had better get my butt in gear and post about the house . . . finally.  I took pictures of most of the house when we did the house inspection, but somehow I missed one of the bedrooms, and I didn’t take one of the outside.  Silly me.  So here goes . . .

Here is where you walk in the front door:

Kitchen:

Living room view from kitchen bar:

Dining room (the owners were having a birthday party this particular day):

Downstairs office area:

Family Room:

And I thought this was pretty cool . . . the area under the staircase had been finished off . . . I think even I could sit under there with a book!

So there are a few pictures of the house I am very much wanting to purchase.  I hope you like it as much as I do.

Opinions?

Scrappy Project-Mother’s Day book

What a crazy couple of days it has been!  But it is high time that I took care of a couple of things  . . . the first one being a look at how the Mother’s Day book I made for Jenifer turned out.  I hope you enjoy it . . . as much as I enjoyed making it.

Here’s the front cover (I was dying to use the flower in the upper left corner . . . they’re new!):

The album flips up instead of to the side.  So here are the next two pages:

And behind the photo mat on each page is a pocket that has additional space.

Pages 3 & 4:

Photo Mat #2

Pages 5 & 6

Photo Mat #3

Pages 7 & 8

Photo Mat #4

Pages 9 & 10

Photo Mat #5

Back Cover

Anyway, Jenifer and her kids loved it.  And I can’t wait to hear what her mom thinks about it.  I hope she likes it.

So what do you all think about it???

Scrapbooking Retreat

Just a quick note to share a couple photos from my retreat.  I really love The Inn at Tern Lake.  It is so peaceful and tranquil there.  Barb and I even went for a walk . . . about three miles.  I’m not sure I would attempt to try that during tourist season.  The highway would be much too busy for that. 

Here are a couple views from my room:

And another:

The day I took these photos (Sunday), the clouds had moved down the mountains and there was a misty rain falling.  The day before was absolutely beautiful, but if you ask me, I thought this held beauty too.

And, of course, my comfy bed (no, I didn’t make it before I left) . . .

I really do love this place and it was nice to get away.

Latest Scrapbook Project (new one)

So one of my friends at work asked me if she could hire me to create a special scrapbook project for her mom for Mother’s Day . . . and of course, I said yes!  I figured my scrapbook retreat this last weekend was the perfect time to work on it.

Here are a few things I used in the album . . .

Just a little glimpse to tease you.  I will tell you the album is finished and everyone who has seen it, has loved it. 

I will post the finished project tomorrow.

I hope you like it too!

What a great day!

Okay, maybe it is just a good day.  It’s not raining (or snowing) and work is going good.  I’m still struggling with some things on the house, but I think it will work out.  It feels like it is coming down to them just arguing over a couple thousand dollars.  And it feels so petty in the big scheme of things when you are talking about way more than that.  I will try to post the photos of that I took during the inspection later on tonight.  (If I can fight the kids for the computer.)

Quick sales blurb here . . . I did make my goal and posted items on Craigslist last night and the night before.  Here are the links if anyone is interested in “my trash, someone else’s treasure”:

Misc. Stuff:

http://kenai.craigslist.org/hsh/1698968522.html

 http://kenai.craigslist.org/hsh/1700711519.html

 http://kenai.craigslist.org/bab/1698960764.html

 http://kenai.craigslist.org/bab/1698958573.html

 http://kenai.craigslist.org/clo/1700710093.html

 Here’s the scrappy stuff I just listed:

http://kenai.craigslist.org/art/1700703105.html

http://kenai.craigslist.org/art/1698967135.html

 http://kenai.craigslist.org/art/1698955040.html

That’s it for me now.  Off to enjoy my oatmeal for lunch (forgot to bring something else.)

I hope your day is going well!

A Quick Note Before Bed

I just wanted to jot a quick note before bed.  Today was a better day.  I did get a lot accomplished today in the way of getting the garage in order and a few more things packed.  I know it is a slow process, but I hate having things in disorder and chaos for long.  UGH!

As for me and Greg, he asked me if I would go for a walk with him earlier this afternoon to talk.  And at first, I let him talk.  I didn’t really have much more to say.  I did understand his point.  And he did tell me he still wants to see me, as long as I can work on those things that are not exactly good in my life.  (I agree about those things not being good.)  I did ask him to be a little gentler about how he confronts me when I slip up.  So for now, we are going to work on things.  I’m good with that.

So tonight, I am going to finish posting a few more things on Craigslist that I need to get rid of, and then it’s off to be.

 

p.s.

My goal is to post at least three things each night until I have the “get rid of” box listed.  (Actually, it’s more like a pile, the box wasn’t big enough.)

Not a happy camper . . .

Do you ever just wonder if something is conspiring against you?  That was the way my morning started out.  Not only did I somehow shut off my alarm without realizing it . . . well, that’s not entirely true.  I realized it about 20 minutes before we needed to leave.  So the morning was a little rushed (no shower for me), but no one complained about any smells coming from my office.  LOL

So that was the first thing.  The second thing that occured was when I walked out into the living room and looked out the window.  Could you guess what I saw?  My first thought was what the . . . Here’s how it looked from the bus stop:

 

My car was covered with snow.  Why on earth are we STILL getting snow in April?  Please pray for it to end.  Please?

P.S.

Just a little side note . . . about the house, the inspection is tomorrow.  Pray for everything to go well.  And maybe I will snap a few photos to share as well.  I can’t wait! 

Unfinished Project Completed #1

Yesterday was actually a fun day for me.  Once a month I spend time with some friends and other scrappy people for the day and hopefully accomplish something.  My goal yesterday was to FINISH some Halloween chipboard books that my friend (Missie) and I had started before Halloween.  In our defense, there were some delays because we weren’t just making one book, we made six.  But I managed to finish them yesterday and right away gave three of them to the proper individuals.  Well, four counting the one I am keeping.  Today I will get Sadie hers (if I am in that neck of the woods), and tomorrow I will give Jenifer hers at work. 

I thought I would share how they turned out though.

The front pages came in two options:

Here’s the first:

And the second:

I think the first two pages in the book are one of my favorites.  The black cats on the paper are actually velvetized.  I really like how it turned out overall.

Journaling card on the backside of the purple photo mount above:

The next two pages are pretty cool, too.  We mounted a little paper bag with a journaling card tucked inside on one page.  And on the other we hinged a page so there is room for extra photos.

Here are the hinged pages and the journaling card:

The last two pages are the first pages we attempted, and I think they took the longest to complete.  Definitely one of my favorites.  I love the way the witches legs turned out.  I wanted the stripes on the legs to look funky, so I hand cut and glued each one.  That’s a lot when you think about six books!  Now you know why it too so long.

And finally, here is the back page:

I really did enjoy this project a lot.  Not just because it was creative and challenged us to think, but because we were also giving some to our friends.  We had so much fun doing this.  Now I’m just not sure what our next project will be.  We are just happy this turned out so well!

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