i think this is the 3rd tag....

10 years ago:
i was going to UVSC and dating a random guy.

5 things on my to-do list:
1. finish putting down weed blocker in my flowerbed in the front yard.
2. paint amelia's dresser.
3. see my earlier post about the kitchen. that is a huge to-do
4. get my garden ready for planting
5. build wooden night-stand boxes for the boys - (we'll see how they turn out. if they aren't too bad, i will post pics)

5 places lived:
1. orem, ut
2. provo, ut
3. american fork, ut
4. sanford, fl
5. lehi, ut

5 jobs i've had:
1. western watts
2. chili's as a hostess/busser
3. american name services
4. maxi-mart texaco/amoco
5. american name services (again...they can't get rid of me)

5 things people don't know:
1. i never wanted a little girl, but now love everything (except the screaming) about it... especially the clothes and the hair.
2. i went to school to be a wildlife biologist.
3. i have never gone down-hill skiing. this was a topic of discussion over dinner last night with some friends.
4. i am either very passionate about something, or i don't care at all.
5. i don't like people cutting across my lawn and i don't like people putting dishes in my dishwasher (i have to rearrange it to be my way).

i am tagging kim, roni, patti, and tonia.

the before pics

as promised, here are the before pictures of my kitchen:


an overview of the whole kitchen:

another view of the whole kitchen (note the pink countertops):

the countertop where we will be adding the bar:

and just for good measure, a shot of the pink floor that will be replaced soon.....

oh isaac.... i could eat you up

each night while i make dinner, the boys do their homework at the counter. jared usually has real homework of reading and a few worksheets, but i have printed out a bunch that i got online for isaac. last wednesday, when we finished isaac's homework, he wanted to put it in his backpack to give to his teacher. I at first tried to get him to put in on the pantry door to display (i can only imagine how many random pieces of paper these teachers get each year), but then i decided he could take it and probably end up bringing it home.

friday he came home from school and the papers weren't in his backpack, so i asked if he had given them to his teacher. the conversation went close to this:

me: did you give your papers to Mrs. Heap?
isaac: yeah, her says i could keep them.
me: so did you keep them; were are they?
isaac: no, i said her could keep them.
me: what did she say?
isaac: her said thank you.
me: that was nice.
isaac: her's in love with me.

redoing the kitchen

we are going to be redoing some of the kitchen. i have grown a little tired of the pink counter tops and plain oak cupboards. i would also love to redo the floors (the floor is currently a kind of a checkerboard pattern with pink squares here and there), but the flooring that i want is going to have to be a project on it's own because of the cost. so i figured start with the upper stuff and work our way down. that way i don't have to worry about getting stuff on the floor.

we will be adding a bar to our counter. right now it is flat all the way across and it is a pain for nathan and i to eat there because we have to bend over so far. i am so glad that nathan is such a handy guy and we don't have to pay for someone else to do it for us. (btw - i do rent him out and he can do almost anything).

this past weekend nathan and i went shopping for counter tops and tile for the back splash. the counter top part was mostly depressing, i found out that i have expensive taste...... well expensive for me anyway. i did find some tile that i really like though. it is tumbled marble and i put together a few different sizes and it should be really cool all put together. we will also be putting bead board on the flat surfaces of the cupboards and then painting them.

we are also getting a new sink. the one we have now is a creme colored porcelain and it is scratched and chipped. i am going to get a stainless steel one.

we have already replaced and improved a few things:

we had to buy a fridge when we moved in and we got a stainless steel one. our dishwasher broke about a year ago and we replaced it with a satinique (something like that) that looks like stainless steel. (i figured a lot of food and water would get on it and you can't just wipe down stainless with just anything and have it look good.) we haven't replaced the stove and hood. they are creme colored and will have to wait... the stove works fine so i have a hard time just getting a new one just so the colors will match.

we replaced all the light fixtures when we moved in. the light over the table area was a brass and dark wood ceiling fan and the light in the kitchen area were brass "boob" lights (they look like boobs, so yeah). nathan installed 4 recessed lights in the kitchen area and we put a brushed nickel chandelier in the dining area.

watch for the "before" pictures that i will post soon.

beautiful vista

“Anyone who imagines that bliss is normal is going to waste a lot of time running around shouting that he’s been robbed. The fact is that most putts don’t drop, most beef is tough, most children grow up to be just people, most successful marriages require a high degree of mutual toleration, most jobs are more often dull than otherwise. Life is like an old time rail journey … delays, sidetracks, smoke, dust, cinders, and jolts, interspersed only occasionally by beautiful vistas and thrilling bursts of speed. The trick is to thank the Lord for letting you have the ride.”

--Gordon B. Hinckley, quoting columnist Jenkins Lloyd Jones, reminded us that life will always have its challenges:

for me, this picture is a "beautiful vista"

and these are my "thrilling bursts of speed"

i am thankful for both.... and trying harder to show more gratitude for just getting the ride.

amelia's hair

i never thought i would be able to do anything cool with amelia's hair, not that this is too cool, but i was very happy with the results. i had a hard time getting the pictures because she kept looking at the camera at the last second and saying "no picr hair".

yes, those are my feet.

tagged .... again

bethany tagged me so here it goes:

FAVORITE PAIR OF SHOES- probably my steve madden brown leather loafers followed closely by my silver dance for $1 shoes (you know, the ones with the screws).

NEW YEARS RESOLUTION- i didn't make any resolutions.... i don't like to set myself up for failure. lol, j/k (i put that in there just for shane), i just want to be better and have a better life than last year.

WHAT ARE YOU LISTENING TO RIGHT NOW- office noises, me typing

IF YOU HAD $200 TO SPEND ON YOURSELF WHAT WOULD IT BE- i would probably buy a new pair of jeans....

RANDOM THOUGHT- i really am not looking forward to re-entering all these orders.

FAVORITE PLACE TO GO IN THE CITY YOU LIVE IN- home

THE BOOK YOU ARE READING - with my kids, mrs. piggle wiggle and with nate, the bom. i haven't taken the time lately to read anything for myself.

i'm tagging kim, jen, and roni