An open letter to myself

**I normally don't post a lot of personal stuff on here b/c I feel like it can be a "downer," and I like to keep it upbeat.  But in the spirit of keeping it real, and hoping that writing will feel cathartic, I'm going to try it this once.  Feel free to skip this one and come back tomorrow =) **

Dear April,

RELAX.  You are running around like a crazy woman trying to accomplish things, and you're stressing yourself completely unnecessarily.  Everything is going to work out - God promises it will!  You have a fantastic husband who would support you through anything and wants to talk to you about your struggles.  Open up and LET HIM IN.  He will love you no matter what and wants to help you through your struggles.  Get over yourself, and talk to him, lady!

You have a fantastic job with an amazing boss and people who love and value you.  You are your own worst critic, and you always have been; lay off.  You can't be perfect at everything.  And the more you try the more frustrated you will feel.  Take some time to remember what you have and be thankful.  If every student doesn't get as much time as they should with you one day, don't stress.  Just try again tomorrow - it's a new day.  Never be afraid to ask for help - people WANT to help you.  Forget about your terrible past experiences, and forgive the people who've made you feel less than you are.

Stress is a choice, April.  And sadly, it's a choice you are ADDICTED to making.  When you feel that tightness in your stomach, just stop.  No matter what you're doing, stop and pray.  Your phone call, your meeting, your students can afford to wait 10 seconds for you to re-center, and everyone will be better for it, especially you.  Once you're done, smile at someone... remember something beautiful... and then continue with what you're doing.  Take a little time for you.

You are EXACTLY where God wants you to be in your life.  All you can do is follow after Him and He will guide you.  Enjoy this day, this moment, this second, and thank God for it.  Enjoy and love every student like they were you own, knowing they are someone's precious baby. Confide in your amazing husband; he is a gift from God.  And breathe.  Breath in, breathe out - enjoy this life for all it offers.

You can do it; you already are

~Yourself

July? Already?!

Well, today is the day we take off again for another vacation!  This is actually the main trip of the summer - Eric didn't get to come to Disneyland, and our anniversary trip was just a weekend getaway (despite the 14 hours of driving...).  We're headed off to Estes Park, CO, and what a wonderful time we'll have, I'm sure! 

While we're there, each couple will be cooking one big meal for the entire party so no one get stuck being the "family cook."  I've planned to make these...

Flank Steak pinwheels with sun dried tomatoes and goat cheese.  *drooling*  I'll serve it with whatever veggie Costco is stocking in spades, and maybe some good crusty bread.  Oh, I can hardly wait!  I'm also altering my dessert plans to make the Peach Galette recipe featured today over at Centsational Girl.  You MUST go see it!  This is what the final product will (hopefully) look like...

Can you say, "most delicious meal ever?"  Wow, I can't wait to eat!  Wish us safety as we travel to Tucson before heading out to CO tomorrow - lots of crazies on the road this weekend! 

Whatever you're doing this holiday weekend, I hope you're celebrating with friends, family and those you adore.  Happy Friday (and July 1, can you believe it?!), friends!!

Just call me Orville... Redenbacher, that is.

I'm dying under a mountain of popcorn. 

I like tackling big projects myself.  They always make for wonderful stories, amazing learning experiences, and pretty good blog posts (see here for Summer 2010's kitchen redo).  But sometimes, these big projects find me in waaaay over my head.  I've always been able to finish, but I'm having one of those moments where I'm asking myself, "What have I done?!" And even though Eric and my dad did a TON of work this weekend, there was still bunches of work left when I arrived home Sunday evening.  As if the volume of work wasn't enough, we're been removing ceilings that likely have asbestos in them, so we have to wear masks and long sleeves/pants that we want to throw away and never see again (have I mentioned lately that its eleventymillion degrees here??).  Also, we have to keep poor Ted in the bedroom so he's safe from the icky stuff.  And finally... it makes a TERRIBLE MESS. 

I am a neat freak when it comes to my house, and right now my living and family rooms look like this because all of the furniture had to be removed from the back two bedrooms.  I can't believe I'm posting this. *cue the shameful face*

Why, yes.  That IS several mattresses, part of a desk, a bike, sandpaper, a random couch cushion, and a fedora!

And in this corner we have more desk pieces, a nightstand, college textbooks (Why do I find it so difficult to part with these?  Probably because they cost me roughly my first born child...), sunglasses, our new Netflix movie, a glove, and an asbestos mask.   *And very ugly curtains that are coming down soon, thank GOD!*

Are you as queasy as I am looking at all this JUNK?!  How did we acquire so much crap?  I posted 7 things on Craigslist yesterday - I simply cannot have all this junk.  End. Of. Story.  Aaaaaanyway...

The de-popcorning is coming along.  In fact, the de-popcorning is finished, along with the patching, sanding round #1, the new texturing (using a skip trowel - tutorial to come), and sanding round #2.  Whew!  This morning, I'll be finishing the final sanding, brushing away all of the dust, and applying one coat of the new paint.  It's an exciting color, are you ready?  Here it is!







Yep.  White.  I really don't have a decorating plan for these rooms yet *blasphemy, I know!*  and it's probably good, since a friend of ours is going to be moving in with us next month and occupying some of the oodles of extra space Eric and I have.  For now the ceilings will be in a matte white, with "greige" walls.  I'm still deciding on the color, but it's going pretty much everywhere in the house.

DISCLAIMER: I cannot do half the things that I LOVE about decorating in our home (namely crazy paint jobs, custom finishes, cool floorings, etc.) because this house will be a rental home for us within a few years.  Have I ever shared that before?  Maybe not.  We are paying it off as fast as we can, and it will be an AMAZING source of income in the coming years, but as some of you may know, the name of the rental property game is LOW MAINTENANCE & EASILY REPLACEABLE.  Most (certainly not all) renters, particularly the college-aged ones who look in our neighborhood, don't take care of properties and everything needs to be basic so that if it is damaged or breaks, it's no biggie to take care of.  *Sigh* 

This post is getting wordy.  I need more pictures.  Sadly, ceiling re-texturing is not a great picture project, but I have a few, so I'll share what I've got!

Here is a frightening photo of me, filthy, and in front of a drop cloth.  Thanks, Sperian mask, for keeping me cancer free!  Hey, you guys love pictures - I didn't promise they'd be cute...

 Here's the setup: rinse bucket, mud bucket, trash bucket.   And dirty floor.

Here's a "before" picture of sorts.  Although the offensive popcorn is already down, and the patching and sanding are done, this is before the final texture goes on (the most time consuming and labor intensive part of the job).  Loving the dated fan-without-blades/light fixture?  Me neither.  It's gone before the end of the month.  Final Answer.

"During" picture.  Good old dad is taking his turn at skip troweling (he is MUCH better at it than I am - it's an art, for sure!).  Disregard the difference in colors, it's topping joint compound, so it's wet.  *don't I sound like an expert?  "Topping joint compound," not to be confused with "all purpose joint compound," so professional!*

And the "after" shot!  Kind of.  We haven't sanded or painted yet, and that horrid light fixture is still there. *shudder*  Tomorrow we paint, and maybe we can clean up a bit so my carpets stop looking like this:

At least it vacuums easily.  Oh, the joys of big projects.  I REALLY need to finish this one, and sell my Craigslist junk, so I can feel like a real person again in my house.  The mess has Got. To. Go.  Anyone else an obsessive neat freak?  Do you love/hate/love messy projects or am I the only crazy?  Oh!  I was going to show you my Goodwill elephant that I spray painted a chic glossy white last week, but it got all smudged on the top, and needs a bit of sanding, and another coat.  I'll do it this morning so I can show you tomorrow.  Along with my one-coat-of-paint-so-far ceilings.  Win!  Happy Tuesday, friends!

**Also, Happy Summer Solstice!  The longest day of the year will surely feel that long around here!**

Ted's new loot!

Ted is a happy happy dog this morning.  He recently won a giveaway from Decor and the Dog (go check the blog out right now! You won't regret it!) for a $50 PetSmart gift card!  He was originally concerned that he would not be able to buy exactly what he wanted, due to his parents' practicality and his lack of pose-able thumbs (otherwise I'm very certain he would have gone himself).  However, he neglected to remember that his mom is a total SAP and wants to spoil him completely.  We all jumped in the car a few nights ago, and headed out to PetSmart to see what we could find.  And we came home with a good amount of loot:

Ted absolutely insisted he be present in all shots so as to show how much he's loving everything!

We took home:

~Doggie nail clippers (they're still in the packaging and he thinks they're a treat -shhhh!) to help treat Ted's "raptor claws," as we like to call them

~A new bowl that's shatter-proof, has a rubber bottom and is MUCH more stylish then the pink girly other one he's been using for the last 6 months...

~A new "unstuffed" toy in the shape of a dragon.  He picked it up and carried it around the store for the entire time, and any of our attempts to show him other toys were met with disdain.  (We tried the wubba, Michelle, it just couldn't compare to his new dragon buddy, apparently!) =)

~A new collar to match his red leash and his new bowl.  Collars get to be so grungy looking after a while, especially here in hot, sunny, and dusty AZ!

~A package of "Greenies" treats that are AMAZING at helping keep your pooch tartar-free.


Ted is so thrilled with all of our purchases, and I think his faith in our shopping abilities has been restored.  He posed for some pics with his individual items, and you can see his annoyance growing in each of the shots.  To me, his face says: "Stop this and give me my dragon toy.  Right. Now."

Posing with what will undoubtedly be his least favorite purchase, and looking slightly annoyed.

Posing with his new bowl, and more annoyed that it is empty for picture-taking purposes.

Posing with his new collar, which he actually likes, and now definitely giving me the "stink eye."

 Finally happy that I gave him back his beloved dragon!

Thanks, Michelle for a great giveaway!  We are so thrilled with our new toys!  I hope everyone is having a lovely day (it'll be even more lovely if you check out Michelle's blog and see her drool-worthy monkey bread post!), and as always, have a happy Wednesday, friends!

Happy Mother's Day!

I am so BLESSED to have such an amazing mom.  She's my super-hero, and she comtinually proves to me how strong she is and how strong I can be.  Mom, you are an amazing role model, and I LOVE you!  I'm also blessed with my grandmother, who is so kind and generous, I don't think I've ever seen anything quite like it.  I love her so much!

(mom, me and grandma at my wedding)

I am also TOTALLY blessed to have such an amazing mother-in-law!  Diane is so sweet, and loves us so much, I can't believe I got lucky enough to marry the best guy in the world and to marry into the best family of in-laws a girl could ask for all in one day!  Awesome.

(Diane and me at Eric's graduation)

To all the mommies out there - you are loved and appreciated!! Happy Mother's Day!