A Day At The Beach In December

New

new-
1. of recent origin, production, purchase, etc.; having but lately come or been brought into being: a new book.

2. of a kind now existing or appearing for the first time; novel: a new concept of the universe.

It's a new year and I am surprised once again at the appeal of using this opportunity to start new habits and make goals. I have never cared much for making a New Year's resolution,when I have,I gave up mid January. Instead I have tried to focus more on finding ways to make the most of the next 365 days while avoiding the pressure of keeping a resolution. Yes of course I want to be healthier, thinner, nicer, a harder worker ,better at trusting God,the best overall person I can be bla bla bla...

But all of that aside.

Deep down I am overwhelmed with the stereotypical desire to start new?

No, I don't mean fleeing the state and changing my name or quitting my job or anything that drastic.

I mean new like letting the past go,turning the page and proudly accepting that who I was and who I am are very different people. Time to live in the now. The present,the future. No more baggage from my ex marriage,dysfunctional lifestyles and toxic friends. No more old house full of cobwebs and mismatched paint that doesn't feel like a home...
our home.
This epiphany hit me othe other day as I was washing dishes. It's a hodge podge of Corelle that I got as a wedding gift in 1999 when a married a man who made my life a living hell for the ten years to follow. The others were a mixed set of chipped and stained hand me downs from Vern's family. I suddenly began to question the need to tolerate,wash,use these dishes that are either ruined or remind me of a bad memory. Especially ridiculous because I had a beautiful set of Fiesta ware sitting on my corner shelf doing nothing but making it look pretty and collecting dust." Do I really want to live the kind of life where I take the chance of dying with my fancy dishes still on a shelf?! NO!" So I gathered them up,gave them a long soapy soak and let them dry as I hauled those last bits of Corelle out to the recycle bin. An hour later,my cupboard was an organized masterpiece of storage containers and colorful dishes. My inner OCD basked in the sight of it,I was proud.

So we begin tomorrow,getting rid of everything that doesn't have any positive memory. Giving it away,throwing it away...oh yes,the sweet release of bad juju!
First project is to make over the living room. It needs everything from paint and molding to rugs and a couch. After that I will inflict my collection of home deco ideas from Pinterest all over the place. During this process it will require me to also tackle the garage. Time to come face to face with my piles of storage and say good bye to most of it once and for all. I need room to store more important things! Like...a craft bench area,stockpile items,garden supplies..perhaps a small greenhouse? Ok that last one will never happen but hey..a girl could dream! The really fun part will be being able to finally use and display some of the beautiful funky junk and deco we have been collecting. Old windows, giant mirrors, shelves ,antiques, beach treasures and generations of family heirlooms.
Oh irony,the ecitement of making new with a bunch of old stuff. 
Our new.

Resolutions

Stumped trying to think of a New Year's Resolution this year?

 May I offer some helpful suggestions?

Start buying lottery tickets at a luckier store.

Remember to brush teeth with bristly end of toothbrush.

Don't eat medicine just because it looks like candy.

Learn what the hell "resolution" means.

Always replace the gas nozzle before driving away from the pump.  

I will try to drive closer to the speed limit.

I will keep an extra safe distance when driving behind police cars.

I will no longer waste my time relieving the past and instead I will spend it worrying about the future.

I will not bore my boss with the same excuse for taking leaves. I will think of some more excuses.

I will do less laundry and use more deodorant.  

I will try to figure out why I really need nine e-mail addresses.  

I resolve to work with neglected children -- my own.

I will spend less than one hour a day on the Internet. This, of course, will be hard to estimate since I'm not a clock watcher.

I will read the manual... just as soon as I can find it.

I will think of a password other than "password."

I will not tell the same story at every get together.

Read fewer books. A little learning is a dangerous thing. Too much of it can really wreck your head.

Watch more TV. It's very educational. Catch up on all those programs you missed down the years.

Just for today, I will not sit in my living room all day in my nightdress. Instead, I will move my computer into the bedroom.

2011 Memory Lane

Gosh..the thought of trying to sum up 2011 and welcome 2012 in a blog post seems intimidatingly difficult and too much pressure. As I think back  about all the things that happened last year, my heart literally swells with gratitude..it wasn't perfect but as a whole is was pretty darn good!

We became parents of the cutest and sweetest little girl! Maxine is only 6 pounds but she has filled our home with so much love! Personally I have always known I needed a little girl and she is that and more!

I had my first surgery,bye bye Gallbladder!

I continued to fall deeper in my love and commitment to this man...

And together we cooked

and cooked...

We adventured through the Northwest,from the mountains to the beaches

We laughed....

 

And we cried...

So many good memories *sigh*..

Good bye 2011..

Welcome 2012

;)

The Final Lap

I am so happy and excited I just needed to blog about it! One. More. Day of work and then...3 whole days celebrating Christmas,sleeping in and enjoying some much needed time with Vern and the kids!

But first I must dig deep and "sprint" this last "lap of the race"...7  straight hours of back to back haircuts. Let's do the math.

7 hours - 1/2 hour lunch break (if I'm lucky)=6 1/2 hours of work
6 1/2 hours X 2 haircuts per hour=13 haircuts

I can do this! I will do it with joy knowing that when it is all over I can FINALLY focus on holiday fun!

Ready,set,GO!!!

A Christmas Photo Shoot

Chipper,waiting patiently for Maxine to cooperate...

But we all know  that's not going to happen..

So this Mommy chases the kids around for some individual shots.

 And here she is looking so angelic,

it almost looks like she cooperated?

Thank you photo editing software!

"Ok,just a few more before you two completely mess up your hair.."

Ohkay...

that went well..

Chipper,was that a smile?!

Now,let's try another shot together. 

 Well,that's progress but...

I think we can do better.

You'd think that getting them to sit AND stay,

at the same time,

 while you bribe them with a handful of treats

 would be easy?!

So,after many attempts later,

I finally found my favorite.

.

.

.

.

.

.

A twisted back,

2 sore knees,

an hour of photo editing

 and $30 later,

 I have the CUTEST Christmas cards ever!

I Think I Am Dating Clark Griswold...

It still hasn't really "hit" me that Christmas is right around the corner. I think part of me is still numb from Thanksgiving and the other half of me seems confident that I will whip it all into shape at the last minute like I usually do. Did I just admit I am a confident  procrastinator? Sheesh ;/

Our little house is decorated with a record amount of lights this year. Once Vern got started,the spirit kicked right in and he covered the eves,the deck and the fence with every string of lights he could find in the Christmas decorations. He admitted that it is no longer about the lights,it's just funny. I love that silly man of mine <3

Later,we found ourselves  in a tangled mess of mismatched lights for the tree. LED bright white,LED soft white bla bla,missing bulbs,burnt fuses...I finally looked at Vern and said "I could be totally fine with trashing this mess and buying all new." I think he had them in the garbage before I finished the sentence! (although he later admitted to digging them out a short time later and using the bulbs to replace a few bad ones that were already hung) The next day I came home to a  Christmas tree full of brand new, multicolor pine cone lights...puuuurfect! Another thing that I love about that man of mine,he always knows how to make me smile :)

Finally,about a week later, we got around to decorating.In only 4 years our cute little hodge podge collection of ornaments has grown quickly...as each year we add another memory,old or new. This year, I secretly snuck in a whole box of pink ornaments that I had from my old apartment. I'm not sure if Vern noticed or just hasn't said anything..? I assumed he or Del would be teasing me about all the pink by now?!..

I love it,our little Christmas tree,
assembled by plastic numbered branches,
bent to make it fuller and more "realistic.
Take a peek at it's branches
 as you may be surprised what you see.
 Rocking horses,Spiderman,playful kittens and gold bells,
a few Carebears and a frail popcorn chain.
Pink snowflakes and garland with shiny gold stars,
a special little elf always placed by Vern.
On top of it all is a gold medal star,
It's not real shiny,doesn't even light up.
The reason I like it
is because it is a simple reminder of what this season is really about,

*

A star,

the strength of love

 when it is assembled in numbers,

 All bearing unique gifts but intentionally united

with the same purpose and together,,, they created something beautiful.

Just like our tree :)