I feel like pouting...

I was just wandering around on saltlakecitymommies.com and found a post about a chick trying to sell her house. It is the most darling house with a wonderful kitchen- and just the right size! And the worst part? It's exactly what I was hoping to pay for a house.

I want to pout.... and throw a temper tantrum (I want it I want it I want it). But Dave and I have already decided to stay put for a little bit longer and get everything in order first.

Dang.

(Anyone want to buy me a house? I'll trade you a 2 bedroom condo).

Remodeling/fixing up the kitchen

So Dave and I have had this idea for a while now on a way to get some more storage- and an almost real pantry for me- in our kitchen. We have a closet in our kitchen that has some shelves and also held our washer and dryer. We decided that if we could get a stackable washer and dryer then that would free up one whole side of that closet space and we could build shelves in there- and viola! a pantry!

So Tuesday we went out bought a stackable washer and dryer. It was that nights adventure just to get the washer and dryer up into the apartment and last night we spent the evening just getting it into placed and hooked up. You'd think (maybe for a moment) that this would be relatively easy. And it almost was. :) First we had to move the old appliances and clean the floor below. So we had this dance of appliance going on- we'd move one, then move the other, and to make room we'd have to move the third. Then we shifted the new one into place. There were a few mishaps with the water hoses (not tightening enough, not shutting off the water, fun stuff like that... it just helped to keep the floor clean). We had to make a run out to lowes to pick up the vent tubing (that connects the dryer to the vent) and also picked up a shelving unit to go on the other side.

So we get back home, get the whole thing connected and try to move it into it's finally position. Now we had measured multiple times to make sure that it would fit just where we wanted it to and also measured the amount of space left over. Turns out we were probably 1/8 of an inch off so we can't the whole thing into the spot we wanted. And even if we did find the 1/8 of an inch somehow to move it... well, the hot water hose is an inch too short. So now the shelving unit we bought is one inch too long (so frustrating!) and we have to go out and try to find a new one. The only problem is- most shelving units come standard at 36 or 48 inches long... so finding one just an inch shorter is going to be tough!

We're going to be so relieved just to get this thing put up and the kitchen cleaned up. And the old appliances sold. Know anyone who wants a washer and dryer? We're selling them for a good price!

Sometimes it's just nice to stay home

(Almost) All of us girls: Top Row (L-R): Phegda, Mama (Carol), Julie

Bottom Row: Xan (Alexandria), Sima, Me (Deb), Stephanie

Bottom (Midget): Bella (Sima's daughter)

This weekend was a pretty good one. :) I had a chance to relax and I still got a lot done!

Dave's sister, Sima, came into town from Texas. So Friday night all of us girls got together for a girl's night at Stephanie's (another sister-in-law) house. It was so much fun! The excuse was to get to know Phegda (the newest member of the family- just married to Alex in January), but really we all just sat around telling great stories and talking about life. I had so much fun! It was so good just to hang out. The only girls missing were Darcie (SIL- married to Nick) and Sophia (One of the two nieces, Bella- the other niece- was there). I wouldn't mind doing that more often! :)

Married into it: Phegda (married to Alex), Me, Julie (married to Mark),
Stephanie (married to Chris), Missing: Darcie (married to Nick), Sophia (Julie's daughter)

The Originals: Xan, Mam, Sima, and Bella

Saturday was more family stuff. Dave and I went up to Xan's house and hung out with (almost) everyone. That was also a lot of fun. We had a great spaghetti dinner and I had a chance to talk baby with the girls. Sima brought a lot of Bella's old clothes, so if our baby turns out to be a girl, it is going to be one well dressed little girl. :) If it's a boy... well, we'll just have to go shopping.

(Some of) The boys: Dave, Mark, Chris

Sunday was the usual- just a quiet day- a chance to relax with Dave. :) And the best part? Not having to get ready for the week because it was a three day weekend!

Monday I woke up and just felt like getting stuff done. It was fantastic! I think that the weather helped. It was the "warm before the storm." It was pretty mild for most of the day- I had a chance to open up the windows and air out the condo (and we even turned off the heat!). It probably wasn't THAT warm, but it felt great to have fresh air. Lately I have been picking the oddest things to clean/fix up. I have a list as long as my arm of things that I want to do to the condo. The goods news is that some of it I can do myself. The bad news is that some of it can get pretty expensive. So I'll slowly be tackling those and just picking my favorites (or must-do's). I've been on a detailing kick so I have been cleaning the stuff that doesn't usually get cleaned- wiping down the walls, cleaning the baseboards, wiping down the area where the carpet meets the wall (the vacuum just doesn't seem to get all of the dust from there). Dave (smart cookie) just stayed out of my way. Oh yeah- and I painted our room. Just an accent wall, but I think I'll like it. We'll see. :)

And the joys of home ownership... Our drier is broken. It takes hours to dry one (small) load of laundry. I don't know what is going on. Anyway, so I think that we are going to have to find a new (cheap) drier (classified ads for sure). Oh yeah. And our oven is on the way out as well. It's not baking at a consistent temperature anymore and well, it's about 20 years old (maybe). So we have to pick up a new one of those as well. And for the win... we need to replace the surrounding walls in our shower. I'm tempted to just try to do it myself, but we'll just have to see about that.

PS: Ultrasound- one week- get your votes in now! If you look closely at the picture of me and the other wives, you might see the beginning of my baby bump!

Anyway, hope you all have a great week planned!

2009

Well, a new year has arrived. (Sorry guys- I don't do internet on the weekends which is why it has taken me so long to wish you all a happy new year). Dave and I managed to stay awake until midnight, but I couldn't stay up much later than that. We have had 2 consecutive four day weekends and this is our first full week of work in a while. It's going to be rough. But at least we only have to do it for a few weeks before we get another 3 day weekend and mini vacation to Vegas. :)

It's been a quiet start to our new year so far. Unfortunately Dave and I were involved in a fender bender on Friday. That was no fun- but we did discover that our Subaru is a tank. :) The car behind Dave and I failed to stop (perhaps even failed to brake?), pushing our car into the car in front of us. The back bumper on the car in front of us was cracked, the front bumper on the car behind us was snapped/destroyed. Our bumpers? A scratch on the back bumper and the little license plate holder on our front bumper snapped. Yup, I love our little tank. :)

Wish that I had more to say, but it has been a quiet start to the year. It's going to be an exciting year though. Dave and I have lots planned for this year- including the birth of our first baby, getting sealed, lots and lots of traveling (both before and after baby arrives), and fixing up the house.

OH YEAH! Dave and I started our first house projects! We put a ceiling fan in our living room (getting rid of this nasty/horrible chandelier), a new faucet on our kitchen sink, and this next weekend we're going to put another ceiling fan in the baby's room (I am still working out how that room is going to look in my head). Next up: I'm going to learn how to tile and redo our bathroom. :)

Anyway, I wish you all the bestest in 2009- it's going to be a good year!

Friday!

This week actually feels like it went by pretty quickly. :) I don't know how that happened but okay. This weekend is going to be pretty quiet. I am going to try to clean our carpets tomorrow and just do some major house cleaning. That's the mood that I am in right now (we'll see what kind of mood I am in tomorrow).

Tomorrow our nephew, Jake, is getting baptized. His little sister Sophia is getting blessed. We ventured out to find Jake a baptism gift (we got him these pictures you put in your scriptures to sort of illustrate the stories). There was some book signing at the store so our 5 minute leisurely trip actually turned out to be anything but. I hate crowds so much. Anyway, It's going to be a good family day tomorrow. After that I think I am going to make Dave take me to see the lights at Temple Square (I was after him to take me last year but that didn't happen).

I've started reading the Chronicles of Narnia again. I love that series. :) If you haven't read them, I highly recommend them.

:)