Easter!

For anyone who doesn't know me really well, I am a holiday FREAK!! I LOVE holidays and especially love decorating for holidays!!! But, most of my decorating has been concentrated on Christmas, so this past year I've been working on branching out. This was my project I finished last night:

I wish I'd taken some before and after photos - I bought this wreath with all the eggs on it for a quarter at a yard sale last summer. It wasn't in good shape, it was all faded and all the eggs were a moldy yellow color. So, I got some paint and painted each egg, then added a bit of superfine glitter and a bow - perfect for Easter! I love holidays! :)

If these walls could talk...

Well, since it has been a couple of days since we've finished our kitchen, Chris decided to jump right into remodeling our bathroom. He's torn off the nasty paneling on the walls (what is with the people who last remodeled this house and paneling?) and completely ripped off the tub surround and wood paneling below. Thank goodness that there is no dry rot underneath the tub or the paneling - I'm not sure my sanity could handle that big of a project (meaning not having a shower for a much longer period of time)! So, Chris calls me in after he rips off the wood underneath the tub surround and we find this:

It says: "This shower was put in 1958." How cool is that? First of all, it's awesome because this shower and tub surround is freakin 51 years old - yes, our bathroom really was that old and disgusting. Second, it's cool just because someone took the time to record that information! So, of course, Chris thinks to do this:

It says, "Was redone in 2009 - C + M". :) Feels kinda cool to make our mark on the house and take credit for all our incredibly hard work! I told Chris we should leave a million dollars in there for someone to find fifty years from now and be on the show "If These Walls Could Talk" - ha, wishful thinking! It's already cool that we live in the house Chris' dad grew up in - I hope Grandma Syd would be proud of how we've taken care of her house. I will be sure to post some before and after of the bathroom remodel soon - meanwhile, be prepared for us to be knocking on your door, begging to take a shower sometime in the next few weeks! :)

Remodeling finally complete!

For any of you who have ever been on this long and twisty journey of remodeling, you know that those words - remodeling complete - may never be uttered from the lips of a homeowner. However - dare I say it? - I think our kitchen remodel may actually be finished! Here's a couple "before" pictures:

I really think those awesome black and yellow walls will come back into style one day! Right! So, I guess I really didn't get complete Before pictures, because there used to be this awesome fake cardboard paneling glued onto the walls (which would be the black swirls - black tar glue!). So, we took those down about a year ago, so this was the result.

The second picture down is midway through the destruction - we had to completely gut the entire kitchen, take out the cupboards and everything, because there was no insulation on the wall where all our plumming is! No wonder our pipes keep freezing! Plus, we had 2 outlets in our entire kitchen (the refridgerator was plugged into an extension cord, and the coffee maker, toaster oven, George Foreman, dishwasher, microwave, and any other random electrical appliances shared a second outlet - not fun!), so Chris, being the awesome guy he is, rewired the entire kitchen so we now have 18 outlets!!!!!!!!!!!! (Excuse me while I go give my rockin' husband a kiss). Yes, we have enough plugs for a built-in dishwasher and a garbage disposal.

So, after all the rewiring, it was time to get the new cupboards and counters in (Chris did the counters himself), along with new flooring (Chris did it), new lighting (Chris put it in), and new texture and paint on the walls (yup - Chris did it, but I did help). The very last project to do was the door and window frames, which were completed this weekend!! And here's the after shots:

I LOVE our new kitchen - it's so bright and clean and perfect. So... we got this project finished just in time to move and let some renters enjoy the fruits of our labor, while we start out all over again!! But, at least we get a break for a year while we're living in Medford, so that will be a relief. In the meantime, feel free to come over for a dinner party in our newly remodeled kitchen (just don't use our bathroom, it's not remodeled yet!).

Apartment searching...

So we have begun our search for a place to live over in Medford for the next year. We are looking for something cheap, small, with laundry hookups and allows dogs. Ha! Might as well say we want to rent something on the moon!! It is not looking so promising! So far, we have found a five bedroom that rents for $2500/month (haha - but, it allows dogs!) and a studio with a SHARED bathroom. Chris says, what's a shared bathroom? I say, NO FREAKIN WAY!!! Fortunately, once he knew what it was, he was not keen on that either! I can put up with a lot, but a shared bathroom is NOT one of them!!! So, if anyone happens to know of any great places to rent in Medford that allows dogs (shared bathroom optional), please let us know!

And the winner is...

I'm sure everyone is waiting with bated breath as to where we will end up for this coming year... and the winner is, Medford!! Yes, thankfully, we got our first choice of a place for Chris to do his externship. We are relieved that we will only have to move an hour away! Even though moving is a pain no matter how far away you do it, it is way less of a pain to do it 70 miles instead of to somewhere like Anchorage, AK!!! Whew, what a relief. It's great to know what's happening and where we will be ending up - at least for a year. After that, who knows! Oh my gosh, I feel like a grownup, making all these big decisions and plans!

So, the packing saga continues. For those of you who have seen my house, you know that packing is going to be a longer saga than all three "Lord of the Rings" films! Any takers for helping us move all my crap?? LOL

On a different subject, Chris introduced me to this awesome thingy the other day: http://www.amazon.com/Kindle-Amazons-Wireless-Reading-Generation/dp/B00154JDAI/ref=amb_link_83624371_1?pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_s=center-1&pf_rd_r=0PRAFTQ1KDK5R8C2XEHF&pf_rd_t=101&pf_rd_p=469942651&pf_rd_i=507846. The Kindle. It's this way cool device that's like an ipod for books!! It can hold 1500 books in 10.3 ounces! Chris asked me, "So, if we got this, would you get rid of some of your books?" My hundreds and hundreds of books are one of the plagues of his life! But when you get a chance, check it out. It's freakin' awesome.

Busy busy

Life has been pretty crazy lately - not that it ever really settled down, but I guess it has been even more crazy than usual. I have been doing tutoring with a group of about 30-50 kids Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays the past two weeks, 3rd-6th graders to try to help the kids pass the OAKS (Oregon standardized tests) exam. We are all trying really hard to have Altamont go out with a bang, with having as many kids as possible pass the tests, so we used some extra Title One money to do this tutoring. It's great and it's a lot of fun, but it's a little hard on my schedule (4-6 pm Tues thru Thurs, then 9-12 am Saturday). I'm feeling a bit overwhelmed with trying to get everything done. Plus, I've been working on trying to pack some boxes (since we have A LOT of stuff), so everything isn't a rush at the last minute. And yes, I admit it, I'm a control freak, so if I can control something (packing), then I feel a lot better!
As if all this wasn't enough, I've also been dealing with Altamont closing. We as a staff, as well as the students, are feeling a lot of anger, grief, and worry about what will happen with the students. Altamont teachers are some of the only constant adults in these children's lives, and we know these children even better than their parents in some cases. It's going to be hard letting go of these kids and the family we have made at Altamont, so there's that additional stress as well.
Well, wish us both luck with all our changes going on right now! I know everything will work out, but it will all be a tough transition!