I love the snow. Yesterday's snow was really pretty but the snow that fell last night and was left for this morning is just gorgeous. The kids had both yesterday and today off and they are in h.e.a.v.e.n. Last night I was going on and on about how pretty it was and Ben offered to drive us around town to see the beauty. It was fun. We made hot cocoa's and headed out to see what Stayton looked like with all the new white snow. We did see several families sledding and kids having snowball fights as we drove around. It was a great evening.

What is so weird that Ben works in Salem and they have no snow. WEIRD.

A great day

If this day did not happen 34 years ago I would not be married to the wonderful man I have now. I have heard the story about his birth many, many times now. It is still fun to hear. Martha and Gordon were watching Kojak (had never heard of it until this story) and right as the gun was shot Martha went into labor. :)

I have felt bad for Ben for years. With tax season his birthday just gets over looked. There just isn't ever a good time. Tonight is AWANA. I thought I would take Ben out to dinner while the kids were at church but it ended up that tonight is GRAND PRIX. So we will be at church watching our kids race cars. Not quite the birthday he may have hoped for but hey, he chose his profession, right? :)

Ben has been such a blessing to me and the kids. He is really good at being a provider, a role model, a leader. We all love him. Thank you God for creating this man and giving him to me for my time on earth. He has blessed me.

(Maybe he will get snow on his birthday!)

I have two tickets to the Science Circus at Elsinore this Sunday at 4:00 PM. I won them but will be out of town and would love for someone to be able to use them. maybe a date with one child?

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So the kids are still selling raffle tickets for a 1 in 300 chance for a trip to Acapulco and $1000 cash. If you are interested let us know. They would love to call you. Also if you are interested in buying tickets to the auction, March 11, let me know and I will have a form mailed to you. This would be a good chance to check out an auction, for those of you who run an auction of your own. Get some ideas and have some fun. It really is a great night.

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Still no news on the house. Things just move a bit slowly now adays.

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Happy Valentines Day!!!

I love this day. If I had lots of money I think I could go overboard. I love pink and red and warm fuzzy movies. I love chocolates and flowers and being told "I love you." So this is a day I love.

Tonight I am making steak and potatoes with asparagus. Then the Alicia will head off to basketball practice and I will get ready for Ben and I to have chocolate fondue with goodies and a cheesecake sampler from Harry and David when they get back and Alicia is in bed. Yummy!!!!

I recorded P.S. I Love You and am picking up The Time Travelers Wife at redbox. I have seen both but Ben hasn't. This is the one day a year that he will watch a girly movie with me.

Three years ago I made red and pink paper chains and I saved them and they go back up each year. I have special white heart plates that I bought at Harry and David two years ago and I will hunt them down for their yearly visit. This day is made of traditions. This is a day to say I love you family-husband, kids. I love who I am with you. I love what you have made me. I love us!

Happy Valentines to you!

Dum Dum's

I was supposed to receive Ethan's shoes for basketball today. Yesterday I went online and tracked it through UPS and it was on schedule. I then checked today and was a bit alarmed at what I saw. Anyone else see it?

Shipment Progress for 2 DAY DELIVERY
Portland, OR 02/10/2011 5:33 P.M. Arrival Scan
Roseburg, OR 02/10/2011 4:40 P.M. Departure Scan
02/10/2011 2:53 A.M. Arrival Scan
Portland, OR 02/09/2011 10:49 P.M. Departure Scan
02/09/2011 1:03 P.M. Arrival Scan
Roseburg, OR 02/09/2011 9:20 A.M. Departure Scan
02/09/2011 8:32 A.M. Arrival Scan
Sparks, NV 02/08/2011 10:48 P.M. Departure Scan
02/08/2011 6:09 P.M. Origin Scan
United States 02/08/2011 2:22 A.M. Order Processed: Ready for UPS


Yep- these little boy shoes went from Roseburg to Portland back to Roseburg then onto Portland again! Wondering if I will ever get these shoes. We would like them for his Saturday game.

Oh, I can't believe I didn't tell you blog followers of mine this funny story.

The velcro on Ethan's school/basketball shoes isn't sticking. I didn't know this last Saturday and sent him to his game wearing them. They kept falling off. It was awful. So I had Alicia remove her shoes and Ethan got to wear his sisters purple basketball shoes during his game. He was NOT a happy camper BUT they stayed on the rest of the game. SOOOOOO wish I had gotten a picture of him wearing them though.

Now you see the why we need these shoes to arrive before Saturday.

bedding

Last summer when Alicia was off at camp we redid her room. It was so much fun and it gave me the itch to start decorating other rooms.

Ben and I have been sleeping under spare blankets picked up here and there for the last few years. In the 10+ that we have been married we have never really liked our bedding. Blankets are too short, don't fit around us, too scratchy, feel lumpy, etc. Just a few days ago when I was talking about bed blankets Ben asked if they actually make blankets for beds. UUUMMM, yes. Just like at hotel rooms. It is so sad that I have led my husband to believe that beds all over the world are as mismatched as ours. We also have never painted our bedroom since the day we moved in. That was supposed to happen this summer. But when we started house hunting I started to dream about a grown-up, romantic room. Ben and I decided we like the look of hotel rooms. (We had our two week road trip this last summer and saw quite a few hotel beds) That is what led me to this bedding set.

So I picked out my bedding from potterybarn.com and then I found parts of it on ebay. The duvet I got had a small rip, that she repaired, on the backside and brought the price from $169.00 retail to $59.99. That was well worth a small repair to me. No one will ever see it and I saved a bundle. The duvet and a flat sheet came today. I ordered the porcelain blue (which I thought would be a pale grayish blue) but it is more a seafoam green color. Thankfully when I was trying to decide what to do in our room this shade of green was on the shortlist or I would be very sad. I am still a bit disappointed but I know it will work fine with the accent colors, two different shades of brown, I plan on using.

I would like to try to add this also from potterybarn.com but in a white linen not burlap:
and made by me. The tutorial is at this website.

Now I have to take a sham (the duvet owner threw in a sham that had been ruined as an extra) to the paint store and start thinking about what colors our walls will be. Whether it is this house or in a future house. Who knew decorating could be so much fun!

Inspiration Feb 7.11

In the last week I have found so many things that I love for myself, things I like but won't use, or things I would love to try or buy.

So I am going to share them with you and share the sites that I found them at.

traditional kids design by other metros media and blogs Centsational Girl

First I love traveling. And my kids love maps. I think it is a great thing for kids to see maps, have easy access. This room is something I adore. Would love to do something similar someday.



From Living with Punks I found an item I will make some day. More specifically I will have someone make for me. hehe. I have an idea where I would like them to go and what I would like them to look like, but that will be another post.


Next from Crafty Sisters I found a mirror I would love to try and make someday. Not sure I will ever get to it but WOW.

Then I love about everything at 320 * Sycamore. The post I am linking is what first brought me to her blog. AMAZING.

contemporary kids design

This room I love, I want to use some ideas for the kids.

I found the above decorated rooms at houzz.com. This site has an amazing amount of rooms that are decorated gorgeously. It lets you browse by style or room and see what you like and you can even ask questions about something in a room and people answer.

I want to share so much more so I will leave those for another post. There are some great blogs out there though with some women doing some amazing things for a great price. You should start checking them out and get inspired!

As I dream of buying our new house I have been finding my self looking for new decorating ideas. This a bit new to me. I love visiting my friends house and seeing the way they decorate but never really felt the need to do it in this house. BUT I feel myself so connected to the "other" house that I am constantly thinking of what I want to do in each room. I have been perusing new blogs that focus on decorating and love the ones that focus on decorating cheaply. I have found a few items that I plan on buying at some point. I am now trying to figure out how I will afford all I want to do. It will definitely have to be a process. But I am so excited.

Do you have decorating blogs you follow? Or magazines you get ideas from? TV Shows? Any help?

I am now wanting to go antiquing and try flea markets. Does anyone know of any great areas for these (besides Silverton or Aurora.) Been checking craigslist but this area just doesn't have much.

save the hands!!

The last couple of weekends we have been trying to get the house in order to rent. Yard work, a few repairs, etc. We headed into Salem and bought a dishwasher at Lowes. It came in yesterday so this morning I took the long way into town to pick it up. Drove through the country and took pleasure in Gods creation and no traffic. (Sounds very cheesey but it's the truth!) So many animals were out today. the new dishwasher was carefully placed in my van and now sits in my driveway. I am not sure when it will be hooked up but I am so excited!!! No more hand washing dishes. No more dishes in the sink or on the counter. I am thrilled.

But on a very sad note, as I drove home today I had my first causality of driving. A bird smacked the top of my van. It was headed towards my window so I was glad it at least flew up a bit so I didn't have to see the killing. very sad.

Valentines Day

So what are you guys doing for Valentines Day? I need ideas. For years past we have put the kids to bed and pulled out cheese and chocolate fondues while watching a romantic movie. The problem is fondue can get expensive and we don't eat all of it and there is no movie out right now (on DVD) that I would feel a good V-Day movie. I am at a loss. Especially with Ben's birthday just a week after.

HELP!