Noah, Chickens, and Valentines

Last week, I got my dining room all organized and pictures hung. Guess what the theme of that room is?

Noah's Ark ;)

My kitchen is still assorted "Chickens" :)

And for February...I put out some Valentine decor.

I don't have cute kids to take pictures of. I have to take pictures of cute STUFF. haha

I have been working on my office this week, but making slow progress there. I ordered window blinds from JCP this week. Custom window treatments were 30% off- then for using a JCP card, they gave me another 20% off. Yep...50% off- it was still a hefty price tag at that, for 18 windows. (Sad thing is, we have 28 windows, so I still have 10 more to go. Later)

Aspens in Texas

One of the things that happened when we decided to "retire" in Texas, was that I didn't get my yard full of aspen trees that I wanted. But thanks to one of my dear friends, I have aspens in my bedroom. This is the only aspen trees you will find in Texas :) She gave me this photo before we moved. I just got the mat for it yesterday- got it in the frame today- and Ron hung it for me.

 

Life is Good

For a while now, and especially during the Fall I was trying to walk a mile, ride my bike a mile, and stick to my low sugar, low carbs, low wheat, low dairy diet. I participated in a fitness challenge for 12 weeks. That ended the week we were moving. I didn't participate in the weight loss goals- because I didn't expect to lose any weight. During the 12 week challenge I might have lost a pound or two. Then as we were moving and with the Christmas holiday activity- I actually lost 9 pounds. Don't know if the results of the fitness challenge were just slow to take effect or what? :) Then I put a couple pounds back on :( 

So... back to walking a mile, biking a mile, and still on my diet. The diet is actually pretty easy for me- I have been on low sugar long enough that those cravings are gone. I will occasionally have a diet soda or chocolate- but those are my only vices ;) The only thing I really have to work at is drinking more water.

Here is where I walk now. Usually I scare up a few deer- they run along side the road ahead of me. No more dodging skunks (Cottonwood Lane), no more dodging dogs, cars, and trash cans (Creekbend Estates). I did tell Ron though, "If I go out to walk and don't come back in a reasonable amount of time. Come look for me- I'll be easy to spot- I'll be under a pile of buzzards along side the road!"

Yesterday, it was snowing in Denver and Utah. It was freezing in Atlanta. It was raining in Florida. It was a brilliant day in Texas. (Our builder has the railing up in the front. We are waiting for a painter to show up. The shutters are still in boxes in the garage.)

Today Ron is outside playing with his new chain saw :) Here was his last tree cutting project. He says, "I can make trash fasted than I call haul it away". He is really thinking he needs a "pick em up truck"!

Waiting For The Shower

Most mornings Ron gets up about 6 am, gets in the shower, has breakfast with me, then heads for his office. Usually I wait to get in the shower, after he is already working. One morning, I needed to be ready sooner than that, because mom and I were "heading to town". I was waiting for him to get out of the shower...when I realized...hey wait a minute there are two great bathrooms up stairs...what am I doing???!!! I guess the habit of sharing the same bathroom for all of these years, dies hard :) I could actually have my own bathroom...if I wanted. hehe

And...I love the way the bathrooms turned out in the house. The master bathroom downstairs is actually a full bathroom with a shower and another (small) full bathroom with a tub, with a french door in between. The small bathroom with the tub is also the downstairs guest bathroom. 

(The small corner tub in there works perfect for little kids).

In the 2 bathrooms upstairs- one has a shower and the other one has a tub/shower. So we pretty much have whatever your heart desires for "tub only"- "shower only"- "shower/tub".

One bathroom upstairs is teal and gray. The other bathroom upstairs is gold and gray. The master bathroom/guest bath, downstairs is terracotta and gray.

Real Life

So...no more "catchup"- I can just post "real life" now :) I am gradually going through a major adjustment in my life...trying to figure out what "real life" is now. I'm still living a dream and wondering whose house we are living in. Then I realize...what a minute...I picked out all of this stuff. lol 

As expected a few things didn't turn out quite like what I "thought" I wanted- but that's okay. Many of the walls are still bare...while I try to decide exactly where things should go. But, remember, I am a minimalist at heart, so even bare works pretty good for me. (much better than clutter :) As I have been decorating...again a few things (and colors) aren't exactly what I was expecting, but other items are working out great. Here are a few of my favorite things so far. (and I am still wondering how they get all of those great photos on Houzz.com - somehow my photos don't look as good as the real thing- some of the colors are off- but you'll get the idea)

Here is a picture that I used to plan a cabinet in my kitchen- with a built in microwave and oven with a book shelf around the corner, facing the other wall.

Here is how mine turned out. (I should have tried to take the picture at exactly the same angle) Anyway... it has glass doors on it.

And the bottom of it is my "little kid dishes". When some of the grand kids were here for Christmas- it was fun for them to go pick out their own dishes from this cabinet. 

This furniture is in the living room. Only the sofa was here at Christmas time- the two chairs arrived in January. The kids will probably notice that the sofa no longer has black stripped pillows on it- I recovered them in chocolate brown- goes much better with the chairs. 

Ron won't let me cover up very much of the wood floor- but I found a rug that I really like for just inside the front door. 

 Most of the windows will have pleated blinds on them- but this one window in my laundry room had a cabinet on one side and just a small area of wall on the other side- perfect for a small drape that is just for decoration purposes :)

That little drape and the brown pillows were my sewing projects so far. Gradually things are getting unpacked- still lots to do there- but it's getting to where I have to be in the right mood to do that now. I also spend time working on "store stuff" (when the computer cooperates). I spend time each week planning a Sunday lesson for a Valiant boys class (ages 8-11). Mom and I plan our shopping days, since most of the shopping is 30-60 minutes away. Pretty much I can "clean" to my hearts content and still not finish (in fact the bunk room is still exactly the way the kids left it after Christmas), I'll get to that one of these days...who needs all of those beds made anyway- lol. Since Ron is in Houston this week- I  had to take the trash can out to the road today- put corn out for the deer- feed the stray cat- and untangle the pool cleaner-crawler-thingy. :) Mom and I went to Kerrville today for her pedicure appointment- then Office Max- then Subway lunch- then fabric store- then grocery store. Now we'll stay home for a few days, and not go anywhere. I'll let you know when I figure out what's "real life"- it all seems like someone else's life in a strange house for now. hehe

Catchup- Girls Lunch Out

Since Audrey was here on a short schedule, the only day that we could have a "girls lunch out" was on Saturday. There was a particular, Hill Country place, that I wanted to go. It is called Camp Verde and it is located between Bandera and Kerrville. Other than the fact that it was busy and we had to wait an hour to get a table....it was perfect. There is a cute little store there and the restaurant only serves lunch. Needless to say, with the hour wait and then a slow lunch, we were "out" for most of the afternoon. The guys did well holding down the fort at home :) We loved being together...

The waiter at the restaurant commented about the beautiful girls and announced that he was single. lol

More Gifts Catchup

Some how there were still a few gifts left...after Christmas.

The Simms arrived late on Thursday evening, after driving all day from Oklahoma.

There was even a birthday gift for Savannah!

Then the Andersons arrived late on Friday evening.