The kitchen is almost done!

Sooo…the kitchen cabinets.

They’re done!! With the exception of a few knobs; we are waiting for another shipment of them to Lowes (yes, we bought all their stock).

I wish I would have taken more photos of the painting process. Since it was chilly this weekend we turned our master bathroom into a cabinet door painting room. It was really tight in there with all those doors (we had 21 doors/drawers), but we made it work with our shimmying skills. It took a lot of shimmying!

Even though it was time consuming, I will venture to say it was sort of fun. We did a lot of talking about life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. Frank and I had an assembly line going- he would paint the sides and grooves, I would roll the rest…and then we’d switch it up every now and then. We ended up doing 3 coats. There are still a few spots I might touch up later on, but we were so ready to get them done that we went ahead and hung them.

Here is what our kitchen looked like before we closed on the house…

Kitchen before- lots of tile, dirty looking cabinets, appliances that did not work and a wall blocking off a lot of natural light from the dining room.

 And here’s a photo of what the kitchen looks like now (minus a few knobs and some touch up paint that is needed above the cabinet trim):

White cabinets, new drawer pulls, appliances, paint, light fixtures, island bead board, window blinds, and open to the dining room!

Now that I'm looking at this photo I'm seeing a lot more stuff I need to fix (hmmm...light bulb out, island needs touching up in the middle where you can see the seam in the beadboard for some reason...etc, etc.) You are always your toughest critic. We are super happy with how it has turned out so far. We really wanted to replace the counter tops, but they are in pretty good condition, and aren't horrible, so we are keeping them for now.

Next on the list is the hallway bathroom. We ordered a vanity/granite top that got here today!

Granite counter-top for hallway vanity

We bought this vanity, just waiting patiently for it's arrival :)

This weekend we will be spackling, sanding, priming the rest of the bathroom and getting it prepped to paint. I might actually buy some paint this weekend and get started on that as well.

Other than renovations, things have been going great at home. I’m cooking a lot and loving it (pretty sure Frank is too). Since he’s been flying nights lately, he’s been getting up in the morning and cooking me breakfast, which is really sweet of him. We’re still waiting to hear from Fedex as far as his job goes, could be a few months (or never), but we’re keeping our fingers crossed that we’ll hear back from them sometime this spring. I have a feeling there will be a lot of changes this year :).

SANTORUM 2012!

Had to throw that in for the fun of it.

That is all! Hope everyone has a wonderful weekend.

Overdue

We’re still here! Just busy…we had a whirlwind Christmas/New Years trip (drove about 3400 miles). We visited my family in Texas for Christmas and then drove on up to Michigan for the New Year. I went skiing, for the first time ever, yay! I LOVED it…can’t wait to go again. Here are a few photos from the trip:

Sister and Tyrel opening Christmas gifts- gotta love the bow hats ;). Also note the retro Justin Beiber folder I used as a best buy giftcard holder for my sisters boyfriend...I crack myself up sometimes.

Frank and I stopped by my alma mater for a walk through Fantasy of Lights. I remember this bubble blowing robot from when I was about 5. I even wrote about him in my diary once..ha

On our drive from TX to Michigan we got off the highway in Joplin, Missouri to see the tornado damage from last years horrible storm. It was bad, but it looks like the rebuilding efforts are doing really well.

The night before skiing my sister-in-law and I snagged a midnight ride on the snow groomer up the mountain. It was actually a pretty fancy contraption!

Hitting the bunny slopes hard! If a 2 year old can do it, I better be able to!

I managed to get off the bunny slopes,and green runs, and onto what was classified as blue run. I'm sure the blue's here do not compare to the blues out west, though! I'm proud to say I never had a "yard sale"! It was an absolute blast and I'm so glad Frank was there to teach me how to ski for the first time.

Frank and I at his sister's for more gifts and food!

Frank playing with Justin's new toy...I got him the football hat, so cute!

Luce with her owl hat

I pretty much failed at taking photos at Christmas this year, so this is all we have.

I’ve been battling the worst cold ever for about 10 days now. Sucks getting home from a long vacation only to feel like crap for the whole next week. The house is in shambles! I still haven’t put away Christmas decorations, much less Christmas gifts. Hopefully that will all get tackled this weekend!

Frank had to work last weekend and I basically sat on the couch and drowned in Kleenex, vicks, and trash tv. As much as it felt good to do nothing, I’m ready to get back in the swing of things. Frank flew a jet out to Salt Lake on Sunday and he’ll be home today- hooray! He skied all day yesterday , can you say- jealous!? I’m sitting at work in my cubicle and he’s sending me photos from the lifts and talking about how good his mocha-choca-carmel-frappe-latte is…booo. I guess I still love him :)

No plans for the rest of January. I like the sound of that. We need to get going on this house again. I’m ready to get the cabinets done so I can put my dishes back in them! My new year’s resolution is simple this year: don’t be lazy. I have a million and one things on my to-do list, time to start knocking them out!

Looking forward to 2012!

The island

This past weekend we spent a lot of time working on the island in our kitchen. We had one side of it done (with the beadboard), but spent this weekend sanding/panting the front and the doors, and replacing the pulls. It’s pretty much finished now, and today Frank is working on the rest of the cabinets. It’s really tedious, but I was amazed and what a HUGE difference this made. Our island looks brand new...

Newly painted white island cabinets

White painted cabinets with rustic nickel knobs

These were nasty looking just a few days ago! There were even big gashes in the doors from when we tore out the tile, but with the help of some painters putty, you'd never know they existed!

Other than working on the island, I went to a Saturday crossfit workout with Frank (the first time I have worked out in about 3 weeks!...I’m taking December off). We did a workout called “12 days of Christmas”, it was pretty brutal and I am soooo sore today! On Sunday Frank went mountain biking with a friend, we worked on the house a few hours and then went to mass. After church we had 2 couples over for dinner and I made ribs for the first time EVER. I wasn’t really sure how they’d turn out, but they were great! Yay! I love ribs and I’m glad I can make them at home now, instead of only having them when we eat out.

This week will be a busy one…We’re probably heading to TX on Thurs., and will be there Friday. Can’t wait to see everyone!

Random stuff

Hello & Happy Friday! This weekend we don’t have much planned, except for working on the house (and finishing up the Christmas cards, oops, a little late!). This past week we’ve had some guys working on the tile in the hallway bathroom and we’re really happy with how it’s turning out. The tile should be completely finished by this weekend, so Frank and I will be able to get in there and start installing the baseboards, toilet, vanity (if I ever get around to buying one), light fixtures, and painting. I’m excited to see how it will turn out, then we can start working on the master bathroom! So far- this is what the room looks like today…

We’ve decided to go to TX to visit my family for Christmas this year- then we may be off to Michigan again for the New Year. I may go skiing for the first time EVER! Yay!

Here are a few other little projects we’ve been working on lately around the house...

Newly painted white fireplace with Christmas decor.

We added beadboard to the island, it looks even better than this now since we've added the trim too. We are now in the process of painting all the cabinets white to match

Christmas nativity on our buffet

Trista, Colleen, Erin and I at Budman's retirement party

And I dyed my hair brown! (although I did leave some of the highlights...)

If I don't post again soon- although I will try. I hope everyone has a very, very Merry Christmas and a blessed New Year!

All I want for Christmas

Matthew 25: 31-46

"When the Son of man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, then he will sit on his glorious throne. Before him will be gathered all the nations, and he will separate them one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats, and he will place the sheep at his right hand, but the goats at the left. Then the King will say to those at his right hand, 'Come, O blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world; for I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me.

Then the righteous will answer him, 'Lord, when did we see thee hungry and feed thee, or thirsty and give drink? And when did we see thee a stranger and welcome thee, or naked and clothe thee? And when did we see thee sick or in prison and visit thee?' And the King will answer them, 'Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these my brethren, you did it to me.'

Then he will say to those at his left hand, 'Depart from me, you cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels; for I was hungry and you gave me no food,  I was thirsty and you gave me no drink, I was a stranger and you did not welcome me, naked and you did not clothe me, sick and in prison and you did not visit me.' 

Then they will also answer, 'Lord, when did we see thee hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison, and did not minister to thee?' Then he will answer them, 'Truly, I say to you, as you did it not to one of the least of these, you did it not to me.' And they will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life."

This was the gospel reading at mass a few weeks ago (Solemnity of Christ the King). Even though I've heard these verses several times, for some reason it has really stuck with me this time, and I've been thinking about it almost every day since then. I can't quit questioning myself. Am I helping those who are in need, am I going beyond what is expected of myself to show others God's love? Am I missing opportunities by not seeking them out or not recognizing God's call out to me? The last one is a biggie- sometimes life gets a little crazy and you have so much going on, it's easy not to hear the call, or not to recognize an opportunity. An opportunity to pray for someone who you know is suffering, to send a cheerful note to someone who is feeling down, or just spend time listening...something I know I really need to work on.

So throughout the day, I've been asking myself...am I being Christ-like? Is what I'm doing at this very moment, the thoughts running through my head, the things I worry about and the things that make me anxious or sad or happy, even...are these things that would pull out the same emotions in Christ? Am I being materialistic/judgmental/petty? This Christmas, all I want is to feel full of Christ and have a sense that He is working through me, guiding me to where I need to be. I'm not sure exactly what that means or where that will be, but hopefully someday I will...until then, I will try to be the best wife, sister, daughter, friend, stranger, child of Christ that I can be.