The Wedding

Well, it's been a month since Brandon and Becca were married. I have been looking at the wedding pictures (all 1014 of them) and they are wonderful. Brandon looked so relaxed and Becca, when that girl laughs, she laughs with her whole body. I think the thing that struck me the most, looking back, is how relaxed everyone was, no stress, no drama, just good friends and good fun. The smile on Brandon's face reminded me of when he was little and I haven't seen that look in about 20 years. Thank you Becca for putting that look back on his face, I could never repay you for that.

My Mom was the Matriarch of the affair. She was so proud to see him married. It was good to have my whole family together, I just with Katie's kids had been there. They were the only ones missing. It was a small intimate affair with good food, good friends and great memories.

Life goes on.

I can't believe it's been so long since I updated my blog. Since my last post, Mike and I (with some help from our sons and some friends) have completely gutted and remodeled the bathroom in our house. Includes a new jacuzzi tub, new tile on the walls and floor, new cabinet over the toilet and a new sink and counter top. I am so excited it has turned out wonderful. But I have to say, it was a lot easier 26years ago when we were doing the tile in there for the first time. It sucks to get old and worn out. One thing I do have to say is I have a lot of respect for my mother and father in law. When we built this house, they spent a lot of time here during the summer helping us do the lawn etc. They were out there sweating in the sun all day while Mike and I worked and then still helped in the evening when we got home. I don't know how they did it without whining all the time like I have been doing.

I will try to have Dave help me put some pictures here so you can enjoy it also (the bathroom). Have a great day. And Happy Spring.

Sunday's Update

I can't believe it's been so long since I updated my blog. It has been a very busy 2 1/2 weeks. Thanks to a wonderful family friend or two, I no longer have a bathtub in my frontroom or on my deck. The jacuzzi is in the bathroom, sheet rock is up, paint is on the ceiling and walls. Tomorrow is tile. I can begin to see the end maybe. It has been a difficult week, alot to do at home, alot on my desk at work and THE BATHROOM. To top if off, Mike is on call again. And I feel so sorry for the guy, he has worked 41 hours of overtime (on top of 40 hours of straight time) in 6 days. And still 1 1/2 days to go. That is pretty tough on an old dude. One day ended up being 20 hours long.

Today is Valentines Day and a Happy Valentines day to everyone. My sweetheart had big plans for Friday night, dinner out and flowers. Well, he dropped the flowers off at 2am on his way from one call to another and I had cheese and crackers for dinner. Am I disappointed, not really because I know the place I hold in his heart. And he works so hard for our family. Plusssssss, this week just paid for our vacation in two weeks. Yippppeee can you say Vegas Baby. Not that I love Vegas that much, but it's warm there (usually). And work isn't there, we can sleep in if we want to and do nothing but rest.

Brandon is getting married in 6 days. This has been a very bitter sweet time. I have tried to keep a low profile and mend my steam roller mentality and ways. I am trying to be a better mother-in-law this time around. I am going to try to live up to the example of the best one in the world. My mother-in-law Virginia was a stellar example of how to be. For the first few years of our marriage, she was very intimidating to me. Not afraid to attempt anything and accomplished at just about everything she tried. She worked full time and managed a house and a family in a way that I could only dream about. But as I grew to know her and love her, it became apparent that she had her own worries about being the best at everything and being afraid of failure. She taught me so much about patience and perseverance. And a lot about home arts and how to fake it when you are doing homemade stuff like pie crusts etc.

I was so blessed to be able to care for her in the last years of her life and to be able to give back to her a little of the love and caring she gave to me. If I can only live up to her example as a mother-in-law, I will be blessed yet again. She has been gone for 2 years now and I still do things and find myself reaching for the phone to call her and tell her about it. I know she is watching over me and I can't wait until my test is done and I can be with her and my Dad again.

Remodeling

Mike and I have lived in our home almost 25 years. We started building it in November 1984. Mike drew the plans and built it and then we have spent the last 26 years changing it. First taking out the kitchen window and putting in a deck. Then adding a bedroom and bathroom in the basement. Then taking out the bedroom in the basement and adding a master bedroom in the basement. Then adding a garage and familyroom and a second deck. And landscaping and changing landscaping. Then a new kitchen floor. And new carpet. And a new driveway and front porch. And a waterfall (when all I really wanted was the weeds pulled from the flowerbed). But it's beautiful and I am lucky to have such a talented husband. Now we are remodeling the bathroom. So out goes the tile and the sheetrock. And now I have a tub on my deck (the old one) and a tub in my frontroom (the new jacuzzi one) and nothing in the bathroom but a toilet that isn't connected to anything.

Tonight my wonderful hubby was sitting at the kitchen table figuring out the plumbing for the new taps and showerhead in the bathtub. I love how he just sits there with this far off look on his face because I know he is drawing a picture in his mind and that is one thing I can't do.

We thought we had the tile all picked out and the colors and everything but then there is a picture on the box the shower head came in and it is really awesome. I like that tile better and hope he does too. And the jacuzzi tub, man I can hardly wait. I never figured he would go for it because it is so much more work than we had planned on.

And the down side to the remodel? The timing. Our son is getting married on the 20th of February and we are having some family for breakfast the day after. And it looks like we will be a one bathroom family still. I PRAY THAT I WON'T STILL HAVE A BATHTUB IN MY FRONTROOM!!!!!!!!!

My Two Favorite Puppies

Today Mike and I took our favorite puppies (but don't let them know they are dogs) to the vet. It is time for licenses again and they needed a few booster shots. To those who don't know the history of our dogs, I will share. Their pictures are at the bottom of my blog.

Sammie is Miniature Schnauzer. She was born in July of 2000. We adopted her from the animal shelter in the fall of 2003 when she was 3 years old. The Weber County Animal control took her away from a lady that was running a puppy mill. Poor Sammie lived in a crate and had babies. When she came to us, she weighed 10lbs and had been shaved almost bald because no one ever groomed or cared for her. She is the light of our life and the biggest couch potato, TV watching dog I have ever seen. She loves anything with puppies in it.

Penny is a West Highland White Terrier. She was 5 years old when we adopted her in 2004. She belonged to a lady who had Parkinson's disease and could no long care for her. Previous to this owner, someone had abused this sweet little dog. She is so timid and is always looking for a corner to hide in. She hates loud noises and hides if anyone raises their voice. I worry about her ever getting out of the yard because if you holler for her, she is sure she is going to get into trouble. Her favorite activities are carrying a stuffed animal around in her mouth like her "baby", chasing birds in the back yard and chasing her tail. Oh and she likes to lick Sammie like she was cleaning a puppy. She will do this for an extended period of time until finally Sammie gets up and walks off.

Anyway, back to the Vet visit today. It was very discouraging because although they are in good health, they are starting to show their ages. Both dogs are getting a cloud over their eyes. The Vet says it isn't cataracts but can blur the vision the same as a cataract can. Their teeth are starting to show their age. And Penny has developed a cough that sounds like her wind pipe is starting to collapse. Luckily this is a slow moving problem and will not affect her quality of life for a while.

As I was sitting in the front room tonight, watching Penny walk on the back of the couch and licking Mike's ears, I thought "What are we going to do without these babies". Hopefully, that won't be an issue for 4 or 5 more years but the Vet said he thinks that their early years had a part in advancing their age related issues.

So I would like to say that anyone who mistreats a helpless, loving animal like my dogs ought to be hung from their toenails. These dogs are the most loving things I have ever encountered. They give unconditional love and are always ready for a pat and a kiss. Give them a carrot or a dog biscuit and they think that life is great. I hope that the life they have experienced since they came into our family helps to make up for the first years of their lives when things weren't so great.

Sunday Random Thought Again

It is Sunday once again and today the whole fam is sluffing church. Mike is sick. He has been for a week but finally he is sick enough that he let me take him to the doctor. I wish that he would listen a little sooner. If he had gone to the doctor yesterday like I wanted him to, he would be on the road to recovery today. Instead, today (on Sunday), we were off to the InstaCare (Bless them). Nothing major, just a sinus/respiratory infections with a side dose of ear infection. So off to the pharmacy for some antibiotics, decongestant and then back home in the chair with the Snugglie. He laid around all day yesterday which lets me know that he really is sick, not just whining, because he is the busiest person I know. He doesn't do down time well. Dave is running a close second with the runny nose etc and now my throat is tickling. Can I tell you how tired I am of winter..........

I have been cleaning house preparatory to starting to demolish our upstairs bathroom. We are looking at 26 years with the same plumbing and things have been leaking a little bit in the past. So it's out with the old and in with some new. We were able to match the cupboard doors that are in the bathroom now so we won't have to replace the vanity, just the sink and top. Then we are going with a wooden "john" cabinent over the toilet for storage. We are taking out all the old tile (which includes the walls) installing new tile on the walls and in the tub and then going with a tile floor. New tub bars (for old people) and towel racks and hopefully in a few weeks, we are good as new. Then it's on to the down stairs bathroom. Because of the upstairs leaks, we have some damage in the downstairs bathroom to fix. Not quite as major as the upstairs but we are moving the doorway from the hall to inside our bedroom so it will now be an ensuite bathroom. How nice that will be. I will be keeping a journal on my blog of our success.

Last big remodel project will be taking the siding off from over the garage and installing new windows and rock on the front. Then the house will be all in this century and in good shape to sell. All we need to do is finish putting in our time and retire. Over the last 26 years, I have enjoyed being a home owner and still get great satisfaction from maintaining a nice home. But more and more I am ready to say "Home Owners Association Baby". Stand by for updates.

Random Thoughts

Today is a work holiday and it's my favorite kind. Mike and Dave are both working and I am not. Bless those kind of days. I have accomplished so much even though it's the kind of stuff no one will be able to see but me. I spent the morning shredding. That's just about my favorite activity, besides playing Bejeweled. Which by the way I haven't. I have been getting ready for tax time. This is what's involved.
1)Balance the checkbook (and if I'm lucky, it's not for months and months). This time, only one month. And that's just because I caught it up over the holidays (5 months) because I knew what was coming.
2)Try to remember how to run my reports for the tax stuff on Quicken. Quicken is a really wonderful invention and really is a time saver, if you know how to or can remember how to work it. But I found them (the reports) and they are printed.
3)Try to remember what all went to Deseret Industries etc, because that darned IRS requires an itemized list.
4)Find all the other stuff that goes in the folder for the accountant. Luckily, I have been doing this long enough that I have gotten smart and put all the receipts etc in a folder through out the year. 2010's folder is already going.
5)Empty out the files from years back and shred shred shred. I took out 6 bags of garbage, papers, envelopes etc that I have been cleaning out. I have to bag it up and stick it in the can before Mike gets home because the questions will start "Why are you getting rid of that". And if I don't bag it up good enough, and he sees it in the can, he will look through it. Don't think I'm lying , the neighbor has the pictures to prove it. Will we all develop those weird habits when we hit 50?

The only thing I have to figure out now is how does paper get so dirty? I am filthy, my hands are filthy and the floor really needs to be vacuumed. But I have accomplished the task, all I have to do is wait for the 1099's and W2's and I am there. What a relief.

Just a word about this holiday that I am enjoying so much. I really respect Dr. King and what he was trying to accomplish. I am especially grateful for the way he tried to accomplish it. It is so sad that a man who was against violence had to die by violence. I am very grateful for the message's I hear coming from our president when he talks about being a parent and trying to raise our families right. I don't agree with all of his politics and he hasn't been proven yet, but he puts the right message across concerning responsibility. Now if people would just listen to him. I am especially grateful that I have never had to feel the sting of racial bias or discrimination. I have dealt with disrespect but I can't complain because I am pretty sure in the last 49 year's I have dealt some out. I am just grateful that I learned respect and as parents we have tried to teach it to our family. It is still a lesson in progress but on the whole, they are getting it.

Thank you Dr. King, and "I have a dream" also.