What a year 2012 turned out to be - I mean seriously, could we have possibly jam packed anything more into this 12 month section of our lives.
Let's see shall we -
The moving to Newton thing
We started off looking at houses, finding the perfect one, getting financed and moving in. As time marched forward our window to do things like remove wallpaper and paint and take up carpet got smaller and smaller but somehow we made it work. Since then, almost every wall in the house has gotten a coat of paint, the basement has been completely torn apart and is about 1/2 way put back together again and we are finally "settling in"
The Graduation Thing
It was no small miracle that James made the decision to come and live with us for his Senior Year but it all paid off to watch him get that high school diploma, be diligent about submitting applications for scholarships and achieving a FULL RIDE to Iowa State. Also his mom brought him a new car for graduation when she drove up here for the ceremony - yup - ex wife - in the house - out to dinner with the family - the whole everything - and it wasn't awful.
The Business Thing
What an up and down that was. Banks, financing, back and forth, lawyers, accountants, offers, counters, evaluators and, of course, that is all in the middle of one of the worst year's that the company has ever experienced. We made it through it all though and next year's marketing plan is strong and the changes we are making are good. Whew
The New Nephew Thing
My brother is a father! So weird but so awesome. I couldn't love my nephew more if he had come out of me!
So 2013 is here and (although I know everyone feels its cliche to make a "resolution") I feel like the start of a New Year is an excellent benchmark point to look at and say - yeah - last year at this time I was **fill in the blank**
All of my goals this year center on STRENGTH.
1. This is the year that we are poised to be in a place of strength financially - paying off credit cards and cars, etc and putting money in savings for our future. And staying on BUDGET THIS YEAR!
2. I am going to run a half marathon in April with CJ and Heather. As crazy as that sounds its true. Money has been paid, registration packets have been ordered and I'm going to have to train like a mad woman to be ready in time.
3. I want to build strong habits with my family as well. We just purged out all of the crappy food that was weighing us down (literally as well as metaphorically) and we are committed to eating out less and not bringing the junk food into the house. On top of that we want to do less TV time and more free reading and play time and teach respect for their things and the items of others.
4. I want to read or listen to 100 books this year
5. I also want to scrap 100 layouts
Sounds good right? Here's to a strong and healthy 2013!!!
Tuesday, January 1, 2013
Sunday, December 23, 2012
Bathroom Reboot
It's taken me awhile to get back into the swing of the remodeling projects that I had going in the basement but I got back on it this weekend and have more results. As long as you don't peek behind the curtain at the unfinished shower project, my downstairs bathroom is looking pretty awesome!
Here are the before pictures. Note the blue smear paint on the walls, the yellowed vanity top and - well the blue...There used to be a flat huge mirror on the wall just to the right of this picture.
And now a coat of paint covers the blue, I refinished the vanity top and got some new bathmats/shower curtains. TA DA!
New mirror on the wall, and refinished vanity top.
Yay for having a nice bathroom!
Here are the before pictures. Note the blue smear paint on the walls, the yellowed vanity top and - well the blue...There used to be a flat huge mirror on the wall just to the right of this picture.
And now a coat of paint covers the blue, I refinished the vanity top and got some new bathmats/shower curtains. TA DA!
New mirror on the wall, and refinished vanity top.
Yay for having a nice bathroom!
Wednesday, October 31, 2012
Tons of work - totally worth it!
Remember the basement? Yeah we had pretty much forgotten about it too...since Josh left for San Antonio and James started school at Iowa State we were rarely even down there. So it seemed odd that Chad and I decided to take on the basement project this fall of course I jumped in with both feet.
The first two rooms that we started working on were literally blocked off last summer. When we took up the disgusting carpet there was even more disgusting tile stuck down with thick black tarry adhesive. The walls were crumbling and well - everything was smurf blue...
So...a ton of drywall, two gallons of paint (Valspar St Francis Hotel), hundreds of square feet of carpet tiles, a lot of elbow grease (including Jackson and Joey who helped me hammer out tiles) and we now have two functional bedrooms in our basement!!
**nevermind the mess
Last but not least the dining room area. The first picture was taken during our second tour of the house before we put in our offer. The ceiling tiles were yellowed from cigarette smoke, the carpet was stained and gross. The second photo shows what we found under that carpeting...not much better (you can kind of see the gross tiles in the front bedroom back there too.
So I did some more drywall repair, a nice coat of the same paint I used in the bedrooms put down more carpet tile and polished the woodwork. Right now its a cozy sitting room because its convenient storage for the furniture while I tackle the other side of the basement and bathroom but eventually we will have a pub table and chairs in that area.
The next chapter is to come. My bathroom is pulled apart down there at the moment its mostly painted but the shower surround fell apart when I was cleaning the grout so there are some major issues down there. Just wait there is more to come!
Monday, July 16, 2012
Thoughts/rant on this "Fifty Shades" thing
I admit, I was curious to see what all of the hype was about and, since I happened to have downloaded copies of the "Fifty Shades of Grey" series by E.L. James I thought I would give it a go. I popped them into ibooks and dove in.
The first thing that struck me is that the writing wasn't great...it reminded me of something written for teens and I SERIOUSLY hope that was not the demographic they were going for with this novel. The inner monologue of the main character was inane and I found myself skimming chapters full of gratuitous and completely unnecessary sex scenes. I honestly think I may have enjoyed the book better if there wasn't a love scene every four paragraphs.
For me, the most disturbing about this phenomenon is the Christian Grey obsession. The man is a psychopath, a sadist, a control freak and, quite frankly, dangerous and should NOT be an ideal to which any young woman (or old woman as some of the followers of the novel have proven to be) should aspire. Period. We may have seen a softer side as the novels continued but I have felt compelled from halfway through the first book to issue a warning.
Ladies:
If you find a man, no matter how rich, handsome, sexy and powerful he is, if he stalks you all the way across the country when you tell him you need space that is NOT normal. If he convinces you that the only way you can be together is to do things that you are not comfortable with it is NOT healthy. If your boyfriend admits that he loves punishing you and hitting you you RUN away from that situation because you WILL get hurt, physically and emotionally. If they are so controlling that he tells you what and when to eat, who you can and cannot see, and goes to the extreme of buying the company for which you work just to be able to have control, that is a sickness and you will lose yourself in the process of making him happy.
The "heroine" Anastasia continually talks herself out of common sense. I'm all for exploring new experiences as long as you are in a loving and respectful relationship and have clear expectations. What I am not cool with is the glorification of the "kinky fuckery" as the book calls it ad nauseum. This girl had protected her virginity despite other advancements from nice, normal men but her resolve melted at first sight of Christian and was gone in minutes instead of the weeks and months it takes to build a mutually trusting relationship. It is not cool, not normal, and not healthy. Ana doesn't even get a chance to breathe before being pressured and smothered by her boyfriend. How is this even acceptable in our society?
Please, don't look for your own Christian Grey. Most women who get into relationships such as this end up broken, hurt, and abused. Shelters across the country are filled to brimming with women who fall in love, think that they need to sacrifice themselves and their morals to make a man happy and stay in the abuse because they are convinced that love is more about pleasing their husbands and boyfriends than creating a two way relationship. Just remember, the story doesn't always end with the power of love triumphing over deep seeded mental problems. Most of the time, the story ends badly.
Love
Kris
I have one book to go but I have to cleanse my palate with a book that doesn't make me cringe constantly first.
The first thing that struck me is that the writing wasn't great...it reminded me of something written for teens and I SERIOUSLY hope that was not the demographic they were going for with this novel. The inner monologue of the main character was inane and I found myself skimming chapters full of gratuitous and completely unnecessary sex scenes. I honestly think I may have enjoyed the book better if there wasn't a love scene every four paragraphs.
For me, the most disturbing about this phenomenon is the Christian Grey obsession. The man is a psychopath, a sadist, a control freak and, quite frankly, dangerous and should NOT be an ideal to which any young woman (or old woman as some of the followers of the novel have proven to be) should aspire. Period. We may have seen a softer side as the novels continued but I have felt compelled from halfway through the first book to issue a warning.
Ladies:
If you find a man, no matter how rich, handsome, sexy and powerful he is, if he stalks you all the way across the country when you tell him you need space that is NOT normal. If he convinces you that the only way you can be together is to do things that you are not comfortable with it is NOT healthy. If your boyfriend admits that he loves punishing you and hitting you you RUN away from that situation because you WILL get hurt, physically and emotionally. If they are so controlling that he tells you what and when to eat, who you can and cannot see, and goes to the extreme of buying the company for which you work just to be able to have control, that is a sickness and you will lose yourself in the process of making him happy.
The "heroine" Anastasia continually talks herself out of common sense. I'm all for exploring new experiences as long as you are in a loving and respectful relationship and have clear expectations. What I am not cool with is the glorification of the "kinky fuckery" as the book calls it ad nauseum. This girl had protected her virginity despite other advancements from nice, normal men but her resolve melted at first sight of Christian and was gone in minutes instead of the weeks and months it takes to build a mutually trusting relationship. It is not cool, not normal, and not healthy. Ana doesn't even get a chance to breathe before being pressured and smothered by her boyfriend. How is this even acceptable in our society?
Please, don't look for your own Christian Grey. Most women who get into relationships such as this end up broken, hurt, and abused. Shelters across the country are filled to brimming with women who fall in love, think that they need to sacrifice themselves and their morals to make a man happy and stay in the abuse because they are convinced that love is more about pleasing their husbands and boyfriends than creating a two way relationship. Just remember, the story doesn't always end with the power of love triumphing over deep seeded mental problems. Most of the time, the story ends badly.
Love
Kris
I have one book to go but I have to cleanse my palate with a book that doesn't make me cringe constantly first.
Monday, July 9, 2012
A Change for the Better
I think that I have always known that the way that I live my life was ultimately poisoning me. I have smoked, drank, eaten poorly, watched too much TV and not moved my body enough at various points in my life. Looking back, I can see that the times when I have been happiest have been the times when I have treated myself the best. So now here I am, facing demons again.
Being a road warrior is awesome - flexible scheduling, getting to meet new people in new places all the time. But it has its drawbacks. Like having to grab quick meals on the road...usually resorting in choices between Casey's pizza, McDonalds or Subway. Some choices are better than others but all were slowly seeping into my system. Making me feel fat, lethargic and lazy. Behind the wheel is not the best way to have an exercise and activity filled lifestyle either. So I know that I have to make a change. One for real and one for good.
It all started with a documentary - something that I picked up just on a whim and from recommendations from friends and family. Forks over Knives. And while I am more skeptical than to buy into all of the claims of health and happiness it puts forward, it did sprout a seed that I had planted in my brain long ago. Natural is better. Not rocket science and so simple that it makes me feel dumb not to have caught on long ago. So I did my research. Everyone from Dr. Oz to the CDC and many stops in between and I made some decisions.
Chemicals are killing me. Sugar, caffeine, Artificial sweeteners, nicotine, processed foods. It was all making me tired and heavy. Last year when I did the HCG program I felt amazing. Truly great. Even just eating 500 calories a day I felt great because I was eating good healthy foods, lean proteins, fresh vegetables and fruits. Over the past year, however, I have slipped back into old habits, put on an appalling 30 pounds over the day I got married and my energy level has plummeted. So no more chemicals. Sounds easy right? uh huh. Easy until you go without your morning coffee, without your diet soda or sugar laden cereals or breakfast bars. Easy until your kids beg you to go to McDonalds where even the french fries have sugar in them. Easy until you realize you live in Newton and there is no whole foods markets within an hour radius of my house.
Not easy. But hopefully worth it. Today is day two - low dairy - vegetable base - organic. I'm exhausted and my head hurts but I can feel the toxins leaving my body. Without getting graphic, bathroom times have been much easier. From the research I've done, this is normal, getting my body back to basics. By next weekend I should be feeling better and then I get to add in moderate exercise. Stay tuned for more updates!
Being a road warrior is awesome - flexible scheduling, getting to meet new people in new places all the time. But it has its drawbacks. Like having to grab quick meals on the road...usually resorting in choices between Casey's pizza, McDonalds or Subway. Some choices are better than others but all were slowly seeping into my system. Making me feel fat, lethargic and lazy. Behind the wheel is not the best way to have an exercise and activity filled lifestyle either. So I know that I have to make a change. One for real and one for good.It all started with a documentary - something that I picked up just on a whim and from recommendations from friends and family. Forks over Knives. And while I am more skeptical than to buy into all of the claims of health and happiness it puts forward, it did sprout a seed that I had planted in my brain long ago. Natural is better. Not rocket science and so simple that it makes me feel dumb not to have caught on long ago. So I did my research. Everyone from Dr. Oz to the CDC and many stops in between and I made some decisions.
Chemicals are killing me. Sugar, caffeine, Artificial sweeteners, nicotine, processed foods. It was all making me tired and heavy. Last year when I did the HCG program I felt amazing. Truly great. Even just eating 500 calories a day I felt great because I was eating good healthy foods, lean proteins, fresh vegetables and fruits. Over the past year, however, I have slipped back into old habits, put on an appalling 30 pounds over the day I got married and my energy level has plummeted. So no more chemicals. Sounds easy right? uh huh. Easy until you go without your morning coffee, without your diet soda or sugar laden cereals or breakfast bars. Easy until your kids beg you to go to McDonalds where even the french fries have sugar in them. Easy until you realize you live in Newton and there is no whole foods markets within an hour radius of my house.
Not easy. But hopefully worth it. Today is day two - low dairy - vegetable base - organic. I'm exhausted and my head hurts but I can feel the toxins leaving my body. Without getting graphic, bathroom times have been much easier. From the research I've done, this is normal, getting my body back to basics. By next weekend I should be feeling better and then I get to add in moderate exercise. Stay tuned for more updates!
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