Java Junkie

A {Cheap} Makeover

In early august Mike and I enlisted Grandma and Grandpa G to sit on (grandpa's words) Trey and Xander whilst we celebrated our 12th anniversary in the big city.  While we were in the big city, I drug Mike through several thrift stores and one antique mall.  Nice of me to make him do something he really doesn't enjoy on OUR anniversary right?  You see, I had these visions in my mind, visions of the treasures I could find that would look wonderful after being spray-painted, distressed, and hung on my walls.  The part of my vision that finally spoke to my dear hubby...thrift=cheap.  We didn't find many treasures, but I did come home with this old home interiors picture.

Pretty huh?  While I didn't like the color of the frame in its original state, or the picture for that matter, I thought the frame would look fantabulous spray-painted a creamy white.  I wasn't sure what I would do about the picture - either replace it with something I did like, or remove it and just use the frame as decoration on the wall....

After I got it home I decided to try using chalkboard paint on the glass...below is the finished product on my wall.  (Mom - I finally found the problem that was stopping them from being posted here ;)...it may have been called lazyness...)

I. Love. It.  In the end - I spray-painted the frame, then dabbed dark brown stain on a few places to give it a bit of a distressed look.  I put four coats of chalkboard paint on the glass, attached a ribbon from my scrapbooking stash to the back with staples and tied knot.  The shelf was another one of thrifty finds from our trip to the big city...it was already white, but I put a coat of fresh paint on it, and distressed it with dark brown stain as well.  The telephone insulators were left here by the lady we bought the house from.  Her husband was a phone man, and they had LOTS of them.  I love the color of blue.  The paper balls I was using elsewhere, but thought they tied in well here.

I am so pleased with how this turned out.  Total cost for this makeover was less than $10 - and my hubby no longer thinks I'm crazy for wanting to find treasures at the thrift stores.  It helps that frugalness makes his heart beat a bit faster ;-).  I can't wait to see what else I can find and re-purpose...

Happy thrifting!

July 1, 2011 (Entering the Mountains and Leaving the US)

July 1, 2011 found us waking up in Havre MT and hitting the road bright and early.  We were super excited for our first glimpse of the mountains.  Mike assured me we wouldn't have to wait much longer, and he was right on.  After about 2 hours of driving we could catch glimpses of them...what a beautiful sight!  Below was our first look at the glacier mountains.



We couldn't believe how much snow was still on the mountains at this time of the year .

Shortly after reaching the mountains we made it to the top of Marias Pass.  When we left Havre that morning the temperature was 59 degrees.  When we hit Marias Pass it was only 54 degrees and windy!  We promptly dug out our jackets.

Mike and Trey on top of Marias Pass

Trey and me on top of Marias Pass

 After leaving Marias Pass we came to a place that they call Goat Lick - the mountain goats lay on the cliffs above the river and lick the minerals.  Of course we had to stop to see if they were there...they didn't disappoint us!

Trey was not enthused at all with being as close to the edge as we were.  The closer Mike and I went to the edge - the less enthused he was.

Of course I had to take a picture of him being less than enthused.  It's sort of a family tradition to take pictures of unhappy children...(my mom and my brother mike know what I'm talking about)

I couldn't resist taking a pic of this cool tree we walked by

I'm not sure what these pretty flowers are, but they grow everywhere in Montana and BC...even right out of the side of the rocks.  I suppose since I think they are so pretty someone will tell me they are actually a weed!

At about 4:30 pm we were waiting in line to cross the border at Roosville

We were soooo glad we were crossing into Canada and not into the US on 4:30 Friday afternoon on a long weekend.  The traffic on the US side of the border was horrendous.  Three lines of vehicles with at least 30 to 40 vehicles per line.  Mike said he never saw it that bad during the 1.5 years he drove truck and crossed that border weekly.

Since it was Canada day, the nice man at the border gave Trey a Canadian flag - I was worried about crossing the border, but it wasn't bad at all.  Less than 3 minutes and we were on our way...into Beautiful British Columbia.

In my excitement to see Michael, and meet Kelly, I failed to write down exactly how many miles it was to that point, or what time we reached their house.  At best guess - we drove around 400 miles that day and reached Michael's at about 5:15 pm...just in time for an excellent supper of pork chops with grilled potatoes and carrots! 

Summer?

Summer vacation has finally arrived.  Hopefully summer will arrive before fall too!  It has been a crazy winter and spring here in North Dakota.  Blizzard after Blizzard all winter long.  Then, when the snow finally stopped (it even snowed in May), the flooding began.  The red river hit levels almost as high as 2009 in April...but started receding towards late April.  Then in late May, Bismarck started ramping up for a flood fight unlike anything they have seen for years.  The Missouri river is rising due to increased outputs from Garrison Dam, and is expected to continue rising through June.  The sandbag fight is in full force, and people have been moving out of homes that are right on/near the river.  Minot is also fighting flooding - just yesterday they announced a mandatory evacuation of about 10,000 people.  Definitely a year we will remember for strange and dangerous weather.

On our front - live is busy.  Our little boy (or not so little boy) just turned 10.  So hard to believe he is already 10 - seems like just yesterday he fit in the crook of my arm...now my chin rests on his head without me bending at all.  Next fall he will be a fifth grader!   Wasn't he just in kindergarten?   This summer he'll stay busy with baseball, a few camps, and of course, swimming.  The pool opened tonight for the season - he was ecstatic!    

 After the winter we had, we are so glad summer is here - or at least the hint of summer is here.  We're hoping to milk every memory we can out of it! 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

A Long Ago Christmas Present

Not only am I the baby of my family, I’m also the only girl.  My brothers were seven and almost nine by the time I arrived.  I’ve been told they thought I was extremely precious…until I became mobile and started messing up their stuff.  I can’t remember what year it was, or exactly how old I was, but in my memory it seems like I was seven.   I was, obviously, old enough to know exactly which buttons, when pushed frequently, would torment my brothers the best. 

Christmas was nearing that year.  I don’t remember receiving lavish gifts for Christmas…there were mouths to feed after all.  That year though, there were more presents with my name then with my brothers’ names.  Of course, being the darling child I was, I had to mention often that I had more presents than they did.  I think most of my needling was pointed at Michael…possibly because he was closest to my age, or possibly because he was the master button pusher, and it felt like poetic justice to me.   Again, the details are a bit fuzzy in my brain (it has, after all been a few years ago), but I think I may have had seven presents with my name on them, which back then was pretty huge.  Some of those presents likely held boring things I needed like underwear, but prior to unwrapping them I wouldn’t have known that, and would have been dreaming of all the goodness that was in those wrappings.  And expounding on that goodness times seven several times a day.   I’m sure I didn’t ever get remotely close to being annoying. 

So, you can imagine my surprise and glee when I woke up one morning to find one more present.  Oh the joy.  I could hardly contain myself.  I remember shaking that present and admiring it.  What could it possibly be?  It was pretty heavy, and if I remember correctly didn’t make too much noise when I shook it.  I was beside myself with curiosity, but found enough kindness in myself to ensure my brothers realized I now had not seven, but eight presents. 

When Christmas Eve finally arrived, and we were ready to open presents, I was super excited.  To this day I can remember my excitement because there were so many presents.  The details get a bit fuzzy again, but I believe I saved the mystery present for last.  As fate would have it, I couldn’t tell you now what was in any of those other presents that had my name on them.  Those uber important presents that I rubbed my brothers noses in.  But that mystery present, I remember well its contents.  It was a big helping of poetic justice served with a side of humility.  Under that pretty wrapping (I think it may have been wrapped in the Sunday comics) was a large box filled with newspaper...and then another box filled with newspaper…and another box.   I don’t remember how many boxes total were inside that large box, but the last box inside the big box was full of…………rocks, courtesy of my brothers who had grown tired of my gloating.  I, of course, thought it was the meanest present ever and immediately commenced being a drama queen.  It would take me a few years to find the humor, and underlying lesson of that present. 

I learned from that present that gloating about what possessions you have is never ok, and doesn’t make anyone feel friendly about you.  Even if those possessions are new underwear and socks, graciousness goes much farther than gloating.  I also learned that if you already have more presents than normal, and one more shows up mysteriously, it might be a good idea to be skeptical…especially when you have brothers.

Giving Thanks

 

This year I'm thankful for my little family, our extended family, and friends who are like family.  I'm thankful we both have good jobs in an economy that is slowly recovering.  I'm thankful for a warm house and the bountiful food that was on the table today.  

I'm also thankful today that I didn't have to stick my nose outside of my warm house.  Late last night the wind came up, and did a good job of impersonating gale force winds.  Today the windchill here in the frozen tundra was supposed to range between -12 and -18 (see above--I didn't stick my nose out, so not sure if it was true or not).  Winter has arrived in full force this week.  It knocked on the door and said "Remember ME?  I'm BACK."  Like he thinks we missed him. 

Sorry--got off track here, this is supposed to be about thankfulness.  As you can see, I'm struggling to be thankful for winter's arrival.  I'll try to work on that since it seems we aren't moving out of the frozen tundra this year!  Continuing on this theme--I'm thankful I'm not standing in line already for Black Friday Deals.  Pretty sure there isn't any deal that would be worth spending the night "camping" in -18 temperatures.  Call me crazy, but I prefer my cozy warm house.

We will likely be putting on our crazy hats tomorrow and braving black friday in the big city.  We won't, however, be there until after 9ish.  At least.

Now I'm off to get the remaining dough from the PW Parker House Rolls out of the fridge so it can warm up and get ready to be turned into caramel rolls early tomorrow morning.

Wishing you all a Happy and Safe Thanksgiving.

 

Fall Photoshoot

We've had an unseasonably warm fall here on the northern plains, which has meant flowers bloomed longer than normal this year.  In fact, I still have some blooming in a pot by my front door...I'm wishing this weather could last until about May and then spring could come...guessing I may not get my wish.  A few weeks ago we walked up to the Court House in our small town where the flowers were gorgeous to get a few pictures of T-Boy. 

On the way there, he grabbed an apple off our neighbors tree.

 
Since I had to use bribery to even get him to agree to the photo shoot, I wasn't surprised that he wasn't 100% cooperative!

 

Here's a few more pics--mostly for those Grandma's and Aunties out there!

 
 
 
 
The bribery I mentioned above?  He is definitely his fathers son...Before he would agree to being my model guinea pig, I had agreed to making not one, but two pies of his choosing!  Sad that at such a young age he has mastered the art of bribery.

Loving Fall

Kris

Hello......Is anyone still out there?

 

My goodness it's been awhile since I've posted here...the past two months have been super crazy I guess.  I'll give a quick recap of what's been happening round these parts.

August 

*  We traveled west for a funeral and some family time

* T-Boy started 4th Grade (which is really hard to believe)

* I moved back into the office instead of working from home

September

*Mike and I painted our kitchen cupboards white in 7 short (or really long) days

*Mike stained, varnished and installed a new closet door (Living Room) and Trim (Living Room and Dining Room)

* Grandpa and Grandma G visited over Labor Day

* I went on my annual Scrapbooking retreat

* Mike entertained Marc, Lisa, Megan and Aaron while I was away :-(

* Football (NFL) began...which doesn't excite me at all, but thrills two of the strange people I live with

* Mike started classes again...Econ this time

October (so far)

* T-Boy and I headed west the first weekend for convention

* I gave 10 presentations for my job in 3 weeks...this is a story for another post

* We enjoyed a much needed full weekend at home last weekend

So there's a recap of what's been going on here the last 2.5 months.  I'm sure I missed a few highlights...I seem to get more forgetful each day!  What the bullet doesn't capture is how crazy work has been for both Mike and I.  Hopefully the bulk of the craziness has passed for now, and we can enjoy what's left of fall.

 

Randomness

Wow--it's been awhile since I've blogged...I chalk it up to summer being busy.  Also, the object of most of my thoughts, that boy with such a sweet face in the picture above was gone for awhile (like a week and two days).  A few random bits of useless information

*This is the face I'm apt to get when I pull out the camera--obviously his version of a nice picture face and mine are different.

*It's been HOT here for the past week.  I love hot weather--so much better than cold.  However, I don't much care for humidity.  Someone please remind me I said that in the middle of winter when I'm freezing.

*It's so cold him my house right now I could use a sweatshirt and socks--my dear hubby and I don't always agree on what temperature our thermostat should be set at.  In the summer, he usually wins.  

*We have a 5 hour drive ahead of us today--we've made this drive 5 times in the past three months--I don't like driving.

*I do like seeing family, which makes the drive worthwhile

*School starts here in two weeks--I'm ready, he's not

*On my nightstand right now are "The Time Travelers Wife" and "Eat Pray Love".  I've not been able to get past the first three pages of the first, but have almost devoured the last.  I think I must see the movie "Eat Pray Love" when it comes to our remote area of the country.

Well, that's enough randomness for today...I must go get ready before someone who shall remain nameless gets crabby.  And I need to get some socks on before my toes freeze off.

Stay warm cool

Kris
 

A Mother Is.....

~Making a decision to have a child is momentous.  It is to decide forever to have your heart go walking around outside your body.   ~Elizabeth Stone

Tonight as I was reading quotes about mothers, I thought about what it really means to be a mother.  As I type this, the boy that made me a mother is fast asleep on the couch, just a few feet away from me.  His last words before falling asleep were “Happy Mother’s Day Momma”.  On Friday, he brought home a card he’d made in school, along with rocks he had painted to look like ladybugs.  On the back of the card was written the words “best mom ever”. 

Really, I know that’s not true…there are days I’m not even half the mom I should be, or want to be.    I can’t help but wonder if all moms feel that way.  Have mom’s always felt that way, or is it a product of the last couple generations where Mom is no longer working at home each day.  Most mom’s I know including myself are juggling about three full time jobs…their job as a mother, as a wife, and their career.   Each day I vow to be able to juggle everything better…each night I wonder where the day went, and why I feel I don’t fulfill any of my jobs to the best of my ability. 

Possibly it has to do with the need to be just what the words on the card said.  Most moms’ I know want to have the title of “best mom ever”.  We want our children to look back on their childhood with fondness…we want to help them build memories that will last a lifetime.  We want them to know the meaning of unconditional love…we want to share in the wonder of growing up through their eyes.  We want to do everything within our power to keep them safe…but at the same time encourage them to explore and test their wings while they have a soft place to “fall” if they fail.  

So why is it we mothers think we need to be perfect in this job of mothering?  Perhaps because it is the most important job we will ever have.  Years are spent pursuing an education that will enable us to have a career we think we will enjoy for our working years.  Then years are spent climbing the corporate ladder trying to leave our mark in whatever industry we’ve chosen to work in.  Meanwhile, we’re also embarking on another career…motherhood.  This is the only career with which we will truly leave our mark for generations to come.  How we nurture and raise these little lives will impact how they nurture and raise the lives they bring into this world as parents themselves.  

Thinking about life that way helps put everything in perspective for me.  While my career is important to me for a multitude of reasons (including paying the bills), my son is my legacy.  My wish for myself as a mother is to remember to cherish each day and stage he goes through…and to give my best each day to this job of motherhood…it is the hardest job I’ve ever had, and the only one I’ve truly loved.  

~At work, you think of the children you have left at home. At home, you think of the work you've left unfinished. Such a struggle is unleashed within yourself. Your heart is rent.  ~Golda Meir

Sounds of Spring

We have had an unusually warm April here on the Northern Prairie. Our snow has been gone for weeks (knock on wood), and the temps have been lovely. This past week has been warm enough to have the windows open during the day, and sometimes even through the night.

Almost every night for the past week I've heard the sound of a basketball bouncing on concrete. Sometimes it's just Trey and/or his friends, but sometimes Dad joins in the fun. I've been enjoying the sounds of spring after what seemed like a really long cold winter.

Happy Weekend

Kris