Iowa Domestic Tourism

There is a long list of things I should be doing right now: studying for mock boards tomorrow (for which I will be surely mocked--okay probably not overtly but over my own feelings of academic inadequacy), practicing my golf swing for our golf outing in the afternoon (our "reward" for suffering through the mocking--too bad it is more like punishment for me, a total non-golfer with no idea what I am doing), cleaning my house for the visitors who will be here in a few weeks for my completion of residency, working on work check out stuff like surgical logs and research presentations, and maybe just getting ready for bed.

So why the compulsion to blog? Especially when I don't know what to say? Maybe it is my desire to connect to the world when my husband is at work (again), leaving my chatty extrovert self on her own with only the blogosphere to listen? Or maybe it is my way of putting off what I really should be doing.

I would like to finish documenting my Japan trip but I frankly don't have the time for that currently--hopefully in a few weeks. I am interested to share about how I was able to refinance my student loans for about half the interest rate (Yay! Yay! Yay!), but again, don't feel quite up to the task today. Unfortunately there are crazy or emotional or exciting or scary things in my life I am not able to share (either due to patient confidentiality or my own confidentiality, etc). And I am sure there are some deep topics rumbling around in my brain ready to come out. Something about the challenges of being a woman surgeon or what it is like to be a twin or some of my life goals.

Or maybe we can talk about my plans after June 20, which by the way, is the LAST day of my life as a resident.

I was hoping to go on vacation but that doesn't look like it will work out. So, I am planning a stay cation which mainly I hope will include some major rehaul of the house! Yes, the house I moved in to a few weeks before residency and has only known the love and care of at least one (and usually two) residents. One piled high with medical journal articles, fake dental teeth, and any and all kind of clutter you can imagine would accumulate after four years of living a crazy life.

It may not be Disney...but maybe staying home could be fun!

I am hoping I will have the stamina, time, and desire to actually do a full rehaul. I'm not very good at the organizing thing. Or at the giving things away thing. Or the decorating or having ideas thing. So that is certainly a road block, or rather a mental block. But I'm committed.

Beautiful Iowa!

Some big goals include:
1. Getting rid of clutter once and for all (yeah right!). Wouldn't it be great to have a fresh start?
2. Decorating the beautiful basement we finished and never furnished or decorated. Ideas? Anyone up for a Chicago Ikea run?
3. A few maintenance things like painting the front porch and arranging to have our hazardous 1930s stone steps replaced outside.
4. Clean out and make our second bedroom functional as a guest room.
5. Clean and organize the garage and get the yard in shape.  I was hoping I would be up to this task but I'm not sure I can do it. After all, it is a vacation!
6. Maybe some fresh paint or updates in general in the house.


I am hoping to trick myself into thinking all of this work will be fun! Liberating! Stuff I've been wanting to do but couldn't get done as a resident but now can as a real adult with a job and a domestic plan!

I am also hoping for some fun time. One fun thing per day, maybe... I wish I had more time to structure out my staycation to make it really productive and also fun. Maybe a massage one day, a few matinees, a little shopping, and hopefully a trip or two to Chicago (remember Ikea?). After that I'm not feeling too creative.

Anyone have any good ideas for "vacation" when I am stuck at home? Also I am accepting volunteers, slaves, friends, professionals who are willing and interested to help a domestic novice achieve a higher level of domestic bliss and feng shui. Because really, all the motivation in the world may not overcome a blank slate of ideas or know how.

Mason Jar Salads

Usually I am quite tired after a full day (or week) of work and even making a simple dinner (thank you frozen section at Costco!) is more than I want to handle.

But...

Every once and awhile, I go in Mormon Mommy Blogger/Pinterest/Super Woman/Suzy Homemaker mode and find new powers for domestic success!

Last month I went a little crazy in my meal prep for the upcoming week. I was determined to find a low stress, affordable, and easy way to feed both myself and my even-busier resident husband a healthier diet, knowing we are both on-the-go with often little time to think about lunch beyond a granola bar or PB sandwich. I posted my first experiment on Instagram and have had so much interest/requests I figured I better do a post.

My husband and I try really hard to bring our lunches to work, mostly in an attempt to be frugal. It is usually a huge chore to realize late at night when it is already past your bedtime that you did not take the time to plan a lunch. I usually end up 1- stocking up on the carbs and packaged foods, 2-starve myself to save money (or simply because I don't have the time), or 3-cave and buy something ironically unhealthy at the hospital like a burger and fries.

*UGH*

I have also been striving to eat healthier--my main goal is incorporating more fruits, vegetables, and real foods into our diet. When I plan ahead I tend to do pretty well with this.

So, I decided to try the Mason Jar salad thing that seems to be trending on Pinterest and Facebook.

Since Costco is my friend (or maybe it is the other way around) I stocked up on a few staples:

Large (did I say large? I mean HUGE? 4 lbs is a lot) bag of pre-washed spinach
Container of grape tomatoes
Bag of mini bell peppers
Cucumbers
Carrots
Head of Red Cabbage


I tend to have a lot of dressings on hand already and things to supplement like eggs, cheese, craisins (Abe's favorite), nuts, tuna, grilled chicken, etc.

And then I started layering, mixing and matching as I went, using ideas I found on pinterest as a reference.

Here were my steps:
1. Salad dressing of your choice (I wasn't ever sure how much to add. If you are really a stickler, it could be helpful to measure as it was hard to judge). I used a range of creamy and vinegar based dressings to keep from getting bored.
2. Layer toppings in bite size pieces--I tried to layer things at the bottom I felt were less likely to get soggy: cheese, carrots, grape tomatoes (I felt these would hold up better than diced tomatoes, but I did cut them in half), chopped peppers, cabbage, etc, with cucumbers, eggs, and other more moist or potentially soggy items at the top.
3. Add greens. I was pleasantly surprised how much lettuce actually came out of the jars after I felt like I didn't leave much room for it.
4. Store (and admire your handiwork)--these easily stored for 1 week+
5. Grab and go!
6. Enjoy knowing you are being a little nicer to your body and feel clever doing it.




One week of lunches for two busy doctors on a diet, and a budget!

A few thoughts:

• As far as eating them goes, I ate them straight out of the jar...or poured onto a plate (which was easier but required slightly more planning). They were large and filling salads!
• They looked beautiful in my fridge and lasted for over one week, maybe even two (I went out of town before I had the chance to finish the last one towards the end of week two). The second week I noticed some wilting of the greens and I could tell the tomatoes were ripening, but they were still edible. This probably depends on the freshness of your produce of course!
• You can mix and match for variety. I tried some more cobb-type salads with cabbage, tomatoes, eggs, cheese, more of a Caesar type salad with parmesan and creamy dressing, as well as a fruity vinaigrette with craisins, mandarin oranges, and almonds.
• Adding a protein like tuna, eggs, grilled chicken helped me feel more full, made it more enjoyable, and kept fine.
• Be aware people may give you weird looks, almost everyone will question what you are doing, and most will think you are a real Martha Stewart!
• This was very affordable and a great way to get some extra veggies in to my day!
• I read some people would place paper towels or crackers at the top of the jar to absorb moisture. I tried this in a few jars but found it unnecessary. It actually just made me paranoid, of eating the paper towel!
• I would like to try more toppings and types of salads: southwest with avocado, corn, salsa, fajita meat; fruits like strawberries, blueberries with candied nuts; beans, feta cheese, quinoa, bacon, beets, etc.

 This is 1-2 weeks later. A little misty in there, but not bad!

And what to do with the 3.5 lbs of spinach you have left over?

Smoothies!

Thanksgiving

Sometimes life is refreshingly nice. This was a wonderful weekend. What a treat to have three whole days off as a couple (and four for me!).

We had a great Thanksgiving with family and friends here in town. I feel so lucky to have Abe's family close so we can enjoy time with them even when we aren't able to travel. Abe and I enjoyed an early matinee movie before heading over for dinner. I think this may have to become a new tradition, 10 am movie on Thanksgiving. A great way to relax after some of the business of cooking--I am also very lucky to have a husband who makes great desserts so I don't have to, it can be exhausting just watching him at work.

Then we had great food and the annual Thanksgiving Walk through the forest.

And pie! I LOVE pie.

Friday we went Christmas tree hunting at the local tree farm with Abe' family. We had a lot of fun arguing over which of God's creations were the most decoration worthy. After trudging in the cold for quite awhile we settled on one of our first choices. (isn't that always the way, same tree but colder toes!) It was fun and warmer than usual (but still cold enough for funny hats that look like they were made out of Sesame Street characters...

...and pink scarves that make basketball player men look like old ladies).

 

 

As usual, Abe and I came home treeless. We like going for the company more than the tree I guess. I couldn't bear the thought of putting a tree into our chaotic, messy house.

 

After setting up my in-laws' tree, we decided to come back to my house for some cleaning. At first I was a little embarrassed but then decided to accept the help. My MIL very graciously helped me clean my kitchen and then we took on the ambitious task of some rearranging in the living room. We had a little extra help by that time and before I knew it, the messes and stresses of the before mentioned post were gone! I have been so unhappy with our awkwardly shaped living room that I am pretty pleased to see it looks like a new room without having to buy any more furniture.

 

To top it off, Abe surprised me with out very own Christmas tree (thank you Costco! and instagram for capturing all of the memories!), just as the messes were cleaned up and the house ready for some Christmas cheer.

 

 

 

 

 

I don't think it could have been a much better weekend! Time off together, fun and relaxing times with friends and family, and a clean and decorated house -- with still two days left to go.

 



 

 

 

Looking forward to the holidays this year. Usually I am stressed and busy enough at work I feel a lot like the GRINCH. Even though I know we will both be on call this year, I am really hoping for a wonderful season.

 

November, really!

I'm still here, world.

This past month was pretty crazy. And I didn't have a lot of emotional capacity (or time) to sit down and write. Even today, after noting a whole month of not blogging, I feel a little strained on where to go from here.

The first week after the break in was pretty hard. I felt like I was in a depression: tired, lack of energy, poor appetite, stressed. While it was anxiety provoking to prepare for our upcoming trip to Florida (for a conference/vacation), especially while being cut off from all of our funds while waiting for new credit cards and debit cards to be sent, going away was a huge blessing! The conference was great and Abe and I had some much needed away/down time together.

I think that break really helped us reset and come back together a little more sane. I am ready to move on from the whole thing. Unfortunately, we've made little physical progress in this. We finally got our new doors installed (the side door was broken and we decided to upgrade the front as well to something more secure), to at least a functional manner (yay, we can go in and out the side door again) after weeks of waiting (the door company lost our order so we had to wait even longer than usual). I finally heard back a very short reply from the police a few days ago (my first communication since the first few days) saying basically they have no updates. And we are still working/battling with the insurance company on our claim. I will be so glad when I have most of my stuff back and can do simple things like turn my TV on again (they stole the remote) and return this borrowed computer.

Some longer term implications of it all, the things they took that can't be replaced (besides my sentimental jewelry) include my sense of security. I find myself more scared to do simple things like walk from my detached garage to my house at night, spending the night alone when Abe is on call, and even driving more than a few miles.You never wake up expecting today to be the day you [fill in the blank for something bad that can happen.] I certainly didn't expect ever to be robbed in our little Iowa town. Now I can't seem to help but wonder, Will today be the day I ....?

With the stress of the event and all the time it has taken to sort through everything, I got derailed from my new healthy eating goal. After weeks of cutting back on sugar and processed foods, I was enjoying more wholesome food and saying no to cookies that much easier. I certainly fell back to the high carb comfort foods since then. I gained back most of the 6 pounds I lost and am only just beginning to lose that again.

After months of budgeting and getting ready to make some more sacrificing in the name of frugal living, our computers with all of our budgeting information were taken. I am trying to get caught back up now but I worry I wont ever be able to figure out where we left off. We have had to cut back on student loan payments to cover some of the costs of the deductible and home repairs (hello compound interest!).

The good news is all of the kindess everyone has shown through this whole ordeal. I can't believe the generosity of so many who have made us food, let us borrow computers, brought replacement gifts, or just listened to me cry or vent about the whole deal.

I feel very blessed to receive a scholarship to the conference I attended. The $1500 is almost enough to cover the deductible or one of the door repairs. What a blessing in disguise.

And this has been a good reminder that things are just things. Yes, they are your things and can mean a lot, but in the end, they don't really matter.

I don't expect to ever recover any of our items. I will be surprised if the perpetrators ever get caught. But I am moving on. Even if they have set us back financially, emotionally, and in life goals such healthy living, financial discipline, studying, or even blogging. But I am coming back, even if slower than before.

And I certainly learned a thing or two about protecting against future loss. Maybe that will be my next post.

(Once I get our new computer and settled back in, I hope to include some pictures with my posts as well. Luckily they were kind enough to leave our external hard drive with our personal photos!)

Online journaling, thanks for listening

The other question everyone wants to know is, How are you holding up?

All I can say is I am feeling a wide range of emotions right now. Most of the time I don't feel like I am feeling anything. I'm still kind of numb or in shock. It doesn't seem real, but when I realize it is I still feel sad.

Mostly, I am in mourning for my rings. Unless they somehow recover our property (I am less than hopeful), I know I will never find one like it again. And because of our lack of supplemental insurance, we wont get enough money to go out and find a comparable one. I'm not too excited to get a replacement one as it is (I want MY ring) but having to cough up the thousands of dollars to get a second place one doesn't make me feel any better about it. It will probably be a long time before we can even justify replacing it. The missing watches and even costume jewelry that wont be replaced because they fall in this "jewelry category" just makes it that much more unpalatable.

I am also feeling frustrated and stressed. There is a lot of stuff to sort through. Messes that they made. Canceling credit cards. Re-issuing my drivers license (another hour of my life spent at the DMV!), making a comprehensive and very thorough list of missing items including documentation like receipts, pictures. Trying to plan a trip we take soon without credit cards. Not having a computer (borrowing one for a few more days, luckily). Having to get the door secured (it's screwed shut now) and eventually fixed.

And annoyed. The little things are getting to me. I think this is a glimpse to my psyche and how much it really is effecting me. I feel super annoyed they took my pillowcase. Now that sheet set will never be complete. What will I do with one unmatching pillowcase? Dealing with the insurance company so far has not been as easy or pleasant as I had hoped.

I also feel a little guilty. I feel bad for feeling bad. Afterall, it's just stuff, right? I keep telling myself that and I give myself a hard time for letting it get to me. But if someone else tells me the same line I feel annoyed, "What an insensitive thing to say!"

I feel sick. I have been nauseated most of this week. Not sure if it is related. I've had a poor appetite and slipped out of my healthy eating kick.

I feel angry. We have been trying so hard to budget and keep track of our money. We have been trying to maximize our student loan payments and to be frugal. I should be grateful we have been shielded from a financial crises because of how careful we have been, but I am angry this is going to set us back. Instead of paying extra each month on our loans, I have cancelled these payments and we will be setting that money towards our deductible and replacing items and fixing our house to make it more secure.

I don't feel scared and vulnerable. Right now. I have too many other things going on to have felt this much. But I notice I jump when people knock or I hear loud noises. I think the anxiety will come. And I find myself wondering if they will come back.

And I am feeling grateful. I think it is normal to have times in life when you feel kind of alone. I know I have had a lot of friends move away. I often feel like I don't know many people any more. I can't believe how kind and supportive everyone has been. I was able to take an afternoon off work to get settled because the people at work were really helpful and understanding. We have had friends drop by to see how we are doing, cupcakes and homemade pies dropped off, offers for places to stay, a cleaning crew that picked up not only the messes made by the burglars but the messes made by me, meals brought, and two separate friends who brought over jewelry they picked out for me.

And that makes this so much better!

Booty

So, everyone wants to know, what did they get?

I am currently working on the insurance claim where we have to list out each item. The list so far is over 50 items. It is hard to believe they took that many things but somehow it lists out that way.

The biggest loss by far was our wedding rings. Since we both worked in the OR that day we left our rings home for "safe keeping." Not only were these the most expensive items taken, but they were obviously of the most sentimental value. Unfortunately due to an oversight in our insurance, we did not have the extra jewelry coverage and so we will not even receive enough compensation back to cover the engagement ring let alone the other two wedding bands, watches, and necklaces, earrings, etc. I have accumulate over time. Things like my high school class ring and an antique necklace from grandma, a set of pearls, and gold stud earrings. They also stole every piece of costume jewelry that I own(ed) which would cost a lot to replace now.

They also took mostly electronics. Things like our blue ray player and ipods. And computers. And Abe's pillowcase (I am sure to carry my jewelry in). Which makes me mad because now my bedding set doesn't match! They took my wallet including my ID and my credit cards. They looked through the bathroom (for drugs?) but didn't seem to find anything there.

They took almost everything that was worth anything.

But luckily, they missed some big things. Our TV as I said had been moved. I am sure they had every intention of taking it but got spooked. There were a few things in plain site they didn't grab and a few things that were in the next drawer over they didn't dump out, etc. I don't really want to make a list of everything that was taken or that is left to advertise for round two but I can say someone coming back for more wouldn't do very well.

I am grateful they didn't get everything. And I am grateful despite the messes they made, they didn't do any other vandalism or trashing of our place beyond the door. They could have been much more mean spirited than they were.

Broken

When I arrived home on Tuesday September 24 I was in a rush. I parked my bike in the garage and ran up to the side door (the one facing a busy street). It was about 5:15pm and I was supposed to meet my mother-in-law at 5:30 to run a few errands. I opened the screen to notice the door was partially open.

I was surprised.

I remember closing the door tight when I left about 6:30 that morning for work. The door is old and sometimes the latch doesn't catch so I am usually pretty careful about making sure it really is locked when I leave. I remember vividly checking that morning.

But, maybe something happened? I contemplated not going in and calling the police but figured my husband probably just came home early.

I was leery enough to call inside, "Anyone there?" before I made my entrance. I didn't hear my husband's response but I figured maybe he just didn't hear me.

I walked in and tried to close the door. It didn't want to shut. This got me nervous and wondering...but again, its an old house. I felt a little leery and could hear a beeping nose as I went up the stairs into the kitchen area. I could see both doors on our fridge cracked open.

"I really don't think I left the fridge open, too!"

I closed the fridge and turned around. I noticed our flat screen TV was on the floor of our study instead of on the dresser in our bedroom like it should be. I turned to see our flashlight on and sitting on our coffee table. I called to Abe, and could see in the distance our bedroom with things not quite looking right. I was thinking, "Is he home early, spring cleaning or something?"(Which would not be characteristic of him on either point).

I turned behind me and suddenly noticed the drawers and cupboards to the kitchen and our entertainment system were open/dumped and things were strewn around. I felt a sinking feeling as I started realizing and SEEING the signs of my initial thought before I walked in that cracked door.

I ran into my room as I knew then and there that the wedding band I had removed that day before work and my engagement ring would be gone. This was confirmed when I saw dresser empty of every jewelry box, earring, and necklace and the emptied drawers, clothes, papers strewn around the floor and bed.

At that moment, I turned toward the living room to notice more drawers open, clothes thrown around the room, and the front door and screen swinging wide open. Just then, a young woman walked up to the door and knocked.

Still in shock, I remember thinking...maybe she is here to tell me that there were some people doing work at my house today, or maybe she saw someone running away?

But instead she said, "Hi, I am ..... and I am running for city council."

I told her I was very sorry, I didn't think this was a good time as I thought I had (turn on the sobs) been robbed. I clearly was unintelligible at this point so after another explanation she told me, "I think you should come out of the house."

"I think I should, too."

So we spent the next few minutes trying to call the local township police department. Should we call 911? Was this an emergency? I had a really hard time finding the numbers in my phone which I had programmed before under "city" police but searching for police didn't take me there.

And then I waited, crying on the grass. I called my MIL who was there within minutes. I didn't call Abe because I didn't want him to stress while at work (and I honestly wasn't really trusting myself to tell him because it just didn't seem real) but he called me within minutes and got the whole sob story. He was able to rush home from work.

And we continued to wait for the police. I called a second time and was told they were not "on-duty" but were only "on-call" that day. So much for living in our neighborhood with it's own police station (we live in a very small "town" inside of the larger area with our own police station which is notorious for horrible speed traps and tickets for speeds of 26 mph) that felt "so safe."

What a way to start the week!

Painting the grass

I wonder if they paint their grass?

Before leaving BYU, I remember having an exit interview just before graduation in the science building. I spoke to a couple of women on the advisory board for the college of Biology. They asked me about my plans for the future. My experience at BYU. Suggestions and feedback I had for the college. We talked about my family and my siblings and their future plans. They seemed impressed by the things we were accomplishing and they asked me what gave us our high ambitions and drive to achieve. I wasn’t sure at the time. Thinking back it may have had something to do with painting the grass.

We grew up doing yardwork as a family. Very frequently (it seemed like every Saturday in my memory), we were roused by my father to help with the yardwork. He would come up with a project he wanted to accomplish and rally the troops. This consisted of “the big girls” (which depending on the age, was my twin sister Amber and I, and as we got older, our younger sister Brenna) following him around to pick up never-ending branches after they were trimmed, planting the garden, weeding, raking, or other standard yard work, and the younger kids getting bored and frustrated early on and “the big girls” annoyed they had to do so much of the work. Luckily, we were usually rewarded with a fun dinner out or an activity that evening. I learned early on Saturdays were for the yard.

I still find it a habit (when I can get up the motivation) to spend my Saturdays working outside. Too bad I’m the only “big girl” (don’t I look it in this picture?—talk about flattering angles) around to help!

During the summertime while our friends seemed to have never-ending activities with friends and not a care in the world (I wonder how close perception was to reality here?), my dad made us promise to never sleep past 8:30 and to spend one hour per day in the yard. ONE hour…60 full minutes outside laboring away. It seemed like torture sitting in the morning sunshine with a quiet yard, and pretty unreasonable to me at the time. None of my friends had to spend a full hour a week doing chores (at least not that I knew about—did you guys?), and we had to spend one whole hour each day! Amber was in charge of pruning the roses, and while it was frought with danger (thorns!), at least she had the great satisfaction of the beautiful blooms to keep her going. I was in charge of weeding the flower beds, which ironically I think back on now, one hour per day was not enough to keep up with all of the weeds. And I hope Dad, you aren’t reading when I confess despite how awful I thought this time was, I don’t think I came anywhere close to meeting the time quota. I’m guessing you already knew that, though – by looking at the flower beds.

I’m still not very good at keeping up with my flower beds!

But I haven’t even got to the worst of it: painting the grass.
Never heard of this chore before? I’m not surprised. I’m not sure where my dad got the idea, but I remember him coming home from work one day and gathering Amber and I to the front porch. He gave us each a pair of gardening gloves, a little mug, and a sponge paint brush. I was a little excited by the cute green and yellow gloves and mugs until he instructed us that we would spend an hour each day “painting the grass” with weed killer. He filled each mug about half way with Roundup and put us to work.

I quickly inherited a disdain for “crab grass” from him.

Can you blame me after hours of artistically “painting” Roundup on individual blades of crabgrass in our lawn “each” day during my high school summer? If you know anything about weed killer, it kills pretty much anything it comes in contact with. Thus, you cannot simply spray it on the lawn hoping to kill the undesirable grassy varieties that threaten to choke out your beautiful lawn unless you want to kill all of the surrounding grass as well. Therefore, it must be applied more carefully, blade by blade, and a paintbrush was evidently just the tool to deliver the chemical.
I have no idea if it made a difference or not. I couldn’t tell and I think I thought my dad was kind of crazy. Who knows what the people in the cars driving by must have thought?

Sorry, Dad, but it’s a lot more fun taking care of my own yard!

Isn’t it interesting how your perspective changes with time though? I look back and realize he was GENIUS. Maybe he really did believe in the blade by blade method for weed control; I suspect he believed more in the power of work. I’ve heard of parents or discipline programs making kids move piles of rocks back and forth to teach hardwork and discipline. I think the grass was our own little never-ending rock pile. I may have learned to hate crabgrass, but I think I also learned the importance of working hard, even if it seems silly or futile, never-ending, or like you just can’t make your way out of the weed patch.

My life definitely has had some overgrown patches to pass through since then. And I just keep painting…

He’s back!

I’m not sure if I ever made public a death in our family. Some of my loyal, long term readers may remember him from previous posts.

Introduction

Gnome

Initially he was just like any other gnome. He just sat there in the dirt. Until one day a woman at work took a particular interest in him. She made the mistake of thinking he was a robot and eventually asked a friend if he was a “mormon shrine.” We got quite the kick out of that. Pretty soon he started to develop quite the personality (as we can see in the post above) and popular among friends at work. It wasn’t uncommon for us to come home to find him ready to celebrate the next holiday.

Sadly, sometime this year he was broke to pieces after falling to an untimely death. We felt it was unlikely a suicidal incident and more an unfortunate accident. We like to think of it as an “act of God.” Really, gnomes should never be at the height he was enjoying when a burst of wind came through. There were some rumors that it was the work of an Iowa State Catholic (there was some early confusion about him being a Mormon icon), but these rumors were never confirmed. Unfortunately, humpty dumpty could not be put back together again and too sad to put him to rest, he sat in a pile on the porch. We had to celebrate Labor Day, Halloween, and even Thanksgiving without him this year.

In reflection, it is interesting to note that I never thought I would adopt a gnome. In fact, I felt they were rather silly. However, he had really grown on us and we were sad to see him gone. I guess we weren’t the only ones…

Looks like he was re-incarnated and back to his old, jolly antics.

A Christmas miracle! Coming out our door we noticed a familiar face. He looks a little different (I guess the stress of resurrection really put the white in his beard) but we recognized him right away with for his holiday cheer.

 

I’m excited to see what he does next. He truly seems to have a “life of his own.”

Basement redo

The week we moved in to our house, there was about a foot of water in our basement. It’s an old house and I guess that’s pretty typical for this area (although being from the desert of Utah, this was a bit of a concerning thing to me). We figured we would never be able to keep anything important down there (at least not on the floor) and combined with the low ceilings, steep stairs, etc, wrote it off as much more than a dank laundry dungeon.

We knew we needed to get the radon fixed. When we had a consultation for that, the man suggested waterproofing the basement. That got the wheels turning and after about one year of simmering on it, we decided to go for it.

Here are a few before photos.

We started with installing a french drain system. Oh, and getting rid of the really awesome shower we had down there. What a sacrifice. To think we never had the chance to use it…

It got worse before it got better. Then went the framing, electrical, insulation, sheetrock, etc. Choosing the paint colors was one of the hardest parts.

We went for the green, which was a little scary at first…

And had to repaint the cabinets so they would actually be white…                                   

We were making progress and it’s amazing how something as simple as a laundry sink or a hanging bar for clothes can make you so pleased!

 

And finally after weeks, it’s practically done! Because it is a basement we didn’t try to make it the most luxurious room in the house. We painted the concrete floor and left the ceiling exposed for the sake of ceiling height (especially for Abe) but I’m pleased with the result, especially when compared to before.

 

 

So here’s the before and after results, side by side:

 

Anyone up for laundry? Now we just need to figure out what to do with the extra space.

Dungeons without dragons

When I was a little girl my mom seemed to be always dreaming up her new vision for our home. She would have pages of blueprints she had drawn up. We would drive around neighborhoods looking for houses we liked. I used to wonder why she was always talking about knocking down a wall here, building a deck there, adding on an addition there.
Then I grew up. And got my own house. And like most daughters who seem to realize they are a lot like their moms, I find myself doing the same thing. I’ve been dreaming up home remodel ideas since before we moved in. Right now I am pining (or should I saw “pinning” away on pinterest) to remodel our basement. Right now it looks like this:

Ok not really, but hopefully you get the idea that this is a picture of a dungeon and that is my best description of our dark, cold, and often wet basement. (Oh, and FYI, be a little careful when searching online for images of “dungeons!”)
As of now I avoid going down to the basement. It has cold floors that as I said are often flooded, lots of spider webs and steep stairs. I don’t know how much it would cost to update things but I am mainly hoping for a finished off area we can enjoy, even if it is mainly for laundry or storage. We have limited closet space so some extra storage would be great and I’d like a nice place to be able to sit if there were a tornado warning -- or even if there isn’t a tornado warning, where we can sit without worry of drowning, freezing, being bit by spiders, or some radon related ailment in the future.
This is maybe my favorite picture. I could definitely see this working in our basement!



I also like the idea of a versatile work space with lots of cupboards and storage.





I am hoping to meet with a contractor this week to find out if this is even a possibility. Until then I’ll try not to obsess over it too much. Anyone have any ideas? Also, I am thinking of trying to use recycled cabinets if anyone has any leads.

I wont go in my ideas for the attic…that’s just going to have to wait. Probably forever.


Does anyone else do this, besides you mom? Plan your imaginary home?