- painting the trim and closet doors of my mom's room (the finishing touch to her brand new room)
- holding, rocking, and sponge bathing Ian (Karla is a beautiful mother. Ian is a beautiful baby.)
- mopping Karla's kitchen after Buster's 5th (I believe) "accident" of the day (I am NOT convinced that the last one was an accident)
- taking Buster for a walk in a very cute little Wheaton neighborhood
- eating too much at El Famous Burrito (aww yah for horchata!)
- laying with my stomach on the floor until I didn't feel like I would explode anymore
- talking with Walter on the phone :)
- a rousing 5 rounds of Pass the Pigs (all of which I lost, miserably)
- gathering all of my items from around the house into one ridiculous pile
- promising myself I'll be able to get up in time to pack my suitcase then... tomorrow I'm heading home to Memphis.
9.04.2007
dodge the bullet
My last full day in Chicago included:
9.03.2007
thanks to walter
wally was absolutely wonderful to me and took time with mike to take pictures of our house to show my mom (i ran out of time while packing up for the flight). here's what he sent me:
here's the view from our living room into our kitchen and dining rooms. notice the brand new dryer through the open door. it came while i've been in chicago and i can't wait to get a chance to try it out! the other door leads to a small porch, our back yard, and a field of (once) sunflowers (their season is officially over in AR). the small porch is attached to a decently sized storage room that we're going to open our house into, put in grand windows and make a sun room/breakfast nook. hooray for beautiful views and sunny skies! Oh, and there are many plans on how to fix up our kitchen. The only constant one is to remove that wallpaper (and fast).
Here's the view from our dining room into the living room (complete with Sputnik).
Here is our office, so far. I spent a good part of the day clearing out boxes and organizing books so that this room could finally be walkable. We're planning to do some renovating so it's hard to know always how much to unpack and how much to leave for a short ways (we hope) down the road. it's a balancing act. our desk, on the other hand, is super cool. ;) that's something i do hope to fix before too long.
Here's Walter's work out room. He's been super dedicated lately! You really can tell. He's losing weight and gaining muscle and looking super hot. i don't mind one bit. :)
Here's our bedroom (again, with Sputnik... but no Calvin, wonder where he's hiding). We're still working on getting our bed completely put together. A few pieces of hardware got lost in the move and we haven't replaced them yet. I love laying on the bed and looking out in to the hall where the walls are a beautiful green. The yellow of the bedroom walls and the green of the hallway seem peaceful and restful to me. They make me happy. We also have half bath attached to our bedroom.
This is the full bath down the hall. It's a work in progress as well. I found some fabric I'd like to make a shower curtain out of today. I'm pretty excited about it!
This, my friends, is a testimony to my geekiness. I needed a place to store my pictures until I found permanent wall space for them. I shoved them in this basket and then shoved it into the bathroom. I glanced at it later and realized that it was a "basket of flowers" and decided it must be meant to be. Walter (or Mike) rearranged this so more of the flowers are visible. I'm very happy with our house. It's by no means decorated yet but it is visibly lived in and becoming wonderfully cozy. I love seeing things begin to take shape and I'm ecstatic that it's stayed as clean as it has. I'm building in good habits. It's definitely an up hill battle. Not having a car or job to take me away from my house has been a big help, however. It's a good time to in grain some habits. :)
Hope you enjoyed the tour. I'm off to bed so that tomorrow I can finish painting my mom's room, spend lotsa time with Karla, finish making our flower (my rose, her cana) craft together, buy some quick essentials I haven't found in Memphis yet, and repack to head home the day after. Tomorrow will definitely come quickly (and speed by, I'm sure)!
here's the view from our living room into our kitchen and dining rooms. notice the brand new dryer through the open door. it came while i've been in chicago and i can't wait to get a chance to try it out! the other door leads to a small porch, our back yard, and a field of (once) sunflowers (their season is officially over in AR). the small porch is attached to a decently sized storage room that we're going to open our house into, put in grand windows and make a sun room/breakfast nook. hooray for beautiful views and sunny skies! Oh, and there are many plans on how to fix up our kitchen. The only constant one is to remove that wallpaper (and fast).
Here's the view from our dining room into the living room (complete with Sputnik).
Here is our office, so far. I spent a good part of the day clearing out boxes and organizing books so that this room could finally be walkable. We're planning to do some renovating so it's hard to know always how much to unpack and how much to leave for a short ways (we hope) down the road. it's a balancing act. our desk, on the other hand, is super cool. ;) that's something i do hope to fix before too long.
Here's Walter's work out room. He's been super dedicated lately! You really can tell. He's losing weight and gaining muscle and looking super hot. i don't mind one bit. :)
Here's our bedroom (again, with Sputnik... but no Calvin, wonder where he's hiding). We're still working on getting our bed completely put together. A few pieces of hardware got lost in the move and we haven't replaced them yet. I love laying on the bed and looking out in to the hall where the walls are a beautiful green. The yellow of the bedroom walls and the green of the hallway seem peaceful and restful to me. They make me happy. We also have half bath attached to our bedroom.
This is the full bath down the hall. It's a work in progress as well. I found some fabric I'd like to make a shower curtain out of today. I'm pretty excited about it!
This, my friends, is a testimony to my geekiness. I needed a place to store my pictures until I found permanent wall space for them. I shoved them in this basket and then shoved it into the bathroom. I glanced at it later and realized that it was a "basket of flowers" and decided it must be meant to be. Walter (or Mike) rearranged this so more of the flowers are visible. I'm very happy with our house. It's by no means decorated yet but it is visibly lived in and becoming wonderfully cozy. I love seeing things begin to take shape and I'm ecstatic that it's stayed as clean as it has. I'm building in good habits. It's definitely an up hill battle. Not having a car or job to take me away from my house has been a big help, however. It's a good time to in grain some habits. :)
Hope you enjoyed the tour. I'm off to bed so that tomorrow I can finish painting my mom's room, spend lotsa time with Karla, finish making our flower (my rose, her cana) craft together, buy some quick essentials I haven't found in Memphis yet, and repack to head home the day after. Tomorrow will definitely come quickly (and speed by, I'm sure)!
9.01.2007
In Absolute Awe
If you've ever wished that shadow puppets could be considered an art you just have to see this. It's absolutely incredible!
in lieu of iced tea
i'm in chicago!
the night before last alex picked me up from O'Hare. We stopped to get a slice of pizza that was (no joke) as large as my torso... well as long, my torso is (much to the media's dismay) considerably larger than 3/4 of an inch. my mom and i split a slice and alex amazed us with his eating ability. apparently it's a learned talent. he wasn't able to eat an entire slice the first time he visited Bacci.
The next morning my mom and i went on a morning walk chose our favorite neighborhood McMansion and then drove off to Qdoba for lunch. I had a mango salad (yum yum!) and my mom had a naked burrito. we picked up some burrito for karla and her mom and made our way to karla's house. Mom had never been there which made me the navigator. (Not a good sign) we pulled in to the driveway and were amazed that we didn't see any cars there. By my calculation there should have been two: karla's and her mom's. nevertheless we trekked to the door and rang the bell. No answer. I called k.'s phone but couldn't get my phone to connect to the network (darn AT&T and darn my nice little phone). we snooped around the house. looked in through the side door. explored the backyard. and then decided to leave. we went to JC Lichtto pick up some paint and then finally (just as an employee was walking us to our car) got a call from Karla amazed that we had been there. she'd been there all day.
"are you sure that you were at the right house? "
it looked like her house. exactly like it.
"did it have a stork in the yard?"
umm. i could have sworn it was karla's house.
we dropped off the paint, picked up the burritos. and ran over to karla's. this time we pulled into the correct driveway and were met at the door by a most doting grandma and her beautiful grandson (only 5 days old!) he has the cutest little nose that i think he got from karla and LOOONG skinny fingers. they're beautiful. we held her sleeping baby. visited. and walked the dog (buster, the puppy they've had for maybe 3 weeks).
when my mom and i came home we began work on the bedroom, ripping off the wallpaper border (NOT put on correctly... VERY hard to get off) and washing off glue. we breaked for chicago style pizza (YUM!) and High School Musical. Hehehe, I never thought i'd like that one but it was fun. It's exactly what i would have loved in HS. we finished the bedroom and dropped into bed around 12:15AM. (Happy Birthday MOM!)
Today we've removed a little more wallpaper (it was behind a dresser we hadn't moved yet), removed all the furniture, and painted the ceiling. Now it's on to the walls. I'll be sure to post pictures of the incredible results. ;) Back to work...
the night before last alex picked me up from O'Hare. We stopped to get a slice of pizza that was (no joke) as large as my torso... well as long, my torso is (much to the media's dismay) considerably larger than 3/4 of an inch. my mom and i split a slice and alex amazed us with his eating ability. apparently it's a learned talent. he wasn't able to eat an entire slice the first time he visited Bacci.
The next morning my mom and i went on a morning walk chose our favorite neighborhood McMansion and then drove off to Qdoba for lunch. I had a mango salad (yum yum!) and my mom had a naked burrito. we picked up some burrito for karla and her mom and made our way to karla's house. Mom had never been there which made me the navigator. (Not a good sign) we pulled in to the driveway and were amazed that we didn't see any cars there. By my calculation there should have been two: karla's and her mom's. nevertheless we trekked to the door and rang the bell. No answer. I called k.'s phone but couldn't get my phone to connect to the network (darn AT&T and darn my nice little phone). we snooped around the house. looked in through the side door. explored the backyard. and then decided to leave. we went to JC Lichtto pick up some paint and then finally (just as an employee was walking us to our car) got a call from Karla amazed that we had been there. she'd been there all day.
"are you sure that you were at the right house? "
it looked like her house. exactly like it.
"did it have a stork in the yard?"
umm. i could have sworn it was karla's house.
we dropped off the paint, picked up the burritos. and ran over to karla's. this time we pulled into the correct driveway and were met at the door by a most doting grandma and her beautiful grandson (only 5 days old!) he has the cutest little nose that i think he got from karla and LOOONG skinny fingers. they're beautiful. we held her sleeping baby. visited. and walked the dog (buster, the puppy they've had for maybe 3 weeks).
when my mom and i came home we began work on the bedroom, ripping off the wallpaper border (NOT put on correctly... VERY hard to get off) and washing off glue. we breaked for chicago style pizza (YUM!) and High School Musical. Hehehe, I never thought i'd like that one but it was fun. It's exactly what i would have loved in HS. we finished the bedroom and dropped into bed around 12:15AM. (Happy Birthday MOM!)
Today we've removed a little more wallpaper (it was behind a dresser we hadn't moved yet), removed all the furniture, and painted the ceiling. Now it's on to the walls. I'll be sure to post pictures of the incredible results. ;) Back to work...
8.27.2007
My recent life:
- no internet... most of the time. our neighbors do have cable that i can leach off of if i think it's of ultimate importance.
- we've added a second car in our life again. this time it's a black, two door, stick shift honda civic. 1998. walter is thrilled. i had no idea he wanted a civic. praise God he's given us a second car. praise God for wonderful in-laws whose generosity made it possible.
- walter has a job picking up a ridiculously expensive car in houston, tx tomorrow. i don't remember the make but i do know that you can find wallpaper for your desktop of them. they're that pretty.
- i'm in love with animals. i want dogs and chickens and goats. i half exhaust myself looking and learning online... but since my online time is in such chunks (mostly sundays and i suppose tonight) i don't over do it too often.
- walter plans to call comcast tomorrow and then we can have internet at home too (and we can watch battlestart when it returns in january! i'm so excited. you have no idea).
- wally was asked (by MSCC) to give his resume to MSCC (community college) and may (God willing) get hired on as an adjunct professor.
- no rain. everything is very dry and dusty. tho' it's killed off all our mosquitoes and i don't mind that one bit.
- KARLA HAD HER BABY!!! (i'm not quite sure how my thought process went from one point to the other... oh well) it's a beautiful baby boy (or so i'm told) whose name i've yet to learn. that's ok bc
- I'm going to Chicago on Thursday! I get to see Karla and little baby Gerbitz in person. AND! I get to hang out with my mom on her birthday. We're heading into Chicago... we tried to do that when we visited over the summer but only made it as far as Cantigny which was also beautiful. I had a great time.
8.22.2007
filling our 3 acres
the weather is still hot... tho' only up to 98 degrees today. somehow 98 seems hotter in the delta than it did in chicago. we haven't had any rain yet either... which led me to a new discovery:
driving on dirt (powdery dirt that hasn't seen rain in who knows how long) is just like driving on snow. you have to be careful not to over correct in very much the same way. (i discovered this in my "QUICK! We have to return the dvd to blockbuster!" moment. tho' i am a very good snow driver and did not have any problems ;) )
yesterday walter and i went to Angeletti Animal Acres to learn a little more about pygmy goats and maybe buy a few. we didn't really learn much but we did meet the sweetest every LaMancha goat that followed us around the entire time. :) I fell in love with that earless little goat! so sweet. (the picture is not of the LaMancha I met... i'll have to remember to bring my camera next time we look for goats.)
Today we may visit another man with goats and see what advice he has to give. We may also head back to the animal shelter to visit some of the dogs that were out at the vet last time we visited. we were there earlier today while they were installing an air conditioning unit. those poor dogs were toasty! thank God someone decided to donate an air conditioner. Those poor animals need it!
driving on dirt (powdery dirt that hasn't seen rain in who knows how long) is just like driving on snow. you have to be careful not to over correct in very much the same way. (i discovered this in my "QUICK! We have to return the dvd to blockbuster!" moment. tho' i am a very good snow driver and did not have any problems ;) )
yesterday walter and i went to Angeletti Animal Acres to learn a little more about pygmy goats and maybe buy a few. we didn't really learn much but we did meet the sweetest every LaMancha goat that followed us around the entire time. :) I fell in love with that earless little goat! so sweet. (the picture is not of the LaMancha I met... i'll have to remember to bring my camera next time we look for goats.)Today we may visit another man with goats and see what advice he has to give. We may also head back to the animal shelter to visit some of the dogs that were out at the vet last time we visited. we were there earlier today while they were installing an air conditioning unit. those poor dogs were toasty! thank God someone decided to donate an air conditioner. Those poor animals need it!
8.14.2007
good day sunshine
we're officially in our house! everything we own is officially not there yet... but it's moving over in small batches. life seems a bit more manageable that way, i believe.
we began moving our furniture in on Thursday, added just a little bit on Friday, more on Saturday and church and family on Sunday. Monday we finally set up the bedroom and brought the cats to stay.
Last night was our first night in our new home!
We had Josh and Jon and Pam over to watch Tombstone, eat popcorn and enjoy the quiet surroundings together. This morning I got out of bed and glanced out the window and was amazed at the beauty of it all: the blue sky, large yard, and field of sunflowers just behind... all that framed by gauzy white curtains in my very own bedroom. what a great start to the day!
I made my way to the door to go for a short jog but opened the door to too much heat and absolutely no shade. I'm going to have to get up earlier in the morning to take advantage of our long private road. that's the goal for tomorrow.
August has been blistering. 5 people have died so far in Memphis due to the heat. We're in a drought and it's easy to tell which fields are watered and which fields rely on rain. Thank God our fields are doing all right. On August 2nd the temperature hit 102 and it hasn't dipped below 100 since. It's been prime swimming weather if you can just stay inside until evening (tho' the water almost gets too warm). Today I spent the entire day inside cleaning my kitchen and bathrooms and unpacking boxes. Tomorrow I'll make a point to leave my home and take a dip in the pool.
we began moving our furniture in on Thursday, added just a little bit on Friday, more on Saturday and church and family on Sunday. Monday we finally set up the bedroom and brought the cats to stay.
Last night was our first night in our new home!
We had Josh and Jon and Pam over to watch Tombstone, eat popcorn and enjoy the quiet surroundings together. This morning I got out of bed and glanced out the window and was amazed at the beauty of it all: the blue sky, large yard, and field of sunflowers just behind... all that framed by gauzy white curtains in my very own bedroom. what a great start to the day!
I made my way to the door to go for a short jog but opened the door to too much heat and absolutely no shade. I'm going to have to get up earlier in the morning to take advantage of our long private road. that's the goal for tomorrow.
August has been blistering. 5 people have died so far in Memphis due to the heat. We're in a drought and it's easy to tell which fields are watered and which fields rely on rain. Thank God our fields are doing all right. On August 2nd the temperature hit 102 and it hasn't dipped below 100 since. It's been prime swimming weather if you can just stay inside until evening (tho' the water almost gets too warm). Today I spent the entire day inside cleaning my kitchen and bathrooms and unpacking boxes. Tomorrow I'll make a point to leave my home and take a dip in the pool.
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