There's no place like home!

I've lived in Utah now for about 27 years & even though it's grown on me, it's still not home! We made a quick trip to California last weekend (sorry Kerry, I should have called you!) & it was so hard to come back! My nephew Spencer was going through the temple for the first time & his brother Brandon was being ordained a Priest, so Thursday the boys & I packed the car while Eli was at work & at 7:30 when he got home we hit the road.

Even though going "home" doesn't mean going to stay at the house I grew up in, in Santee...in fact I haven't been to Santee since Connor was two...just returning to the San Diego area is good enough for me!

Friday afternoon we went to the beach...oh how I miss the beach! Not so much the sand though. I miss the days when I used to go to the beach at least twice a week...now I'm lucky to make it twice a year! At Seven Peaks, a local water park, they have a wave pool that's fun...but it's no match for the beach on a boogie board!

Saturday we were going to go back to the beach, but received a surprise call from our old friend John Porter. He and his wife, Kathy (Stanger), another old friend, were in town & on their way over. What fun it was looking at old prom pictures and remembering the good ol' days!

Sunday & the ride back to Utah came way to fast! It's funny...as kids we used to joke on our way up to Utah for family reunions that we needed to set our watches back two years...now it's probably my nephews & nieces making the joke as they come to visit me!

I don't think I would have been a very good pioneer!

I've been thinking about this for a few days now. It all started Sunday when I was making mashed potatoes for dinner...my mixer was broke & I had to mash them by hand! I've been having some numbness in my right hand lately & was really missing my mixer. This got me to thinking about how easy we have it...at least I didn't have to grow the potatoes!

Then yesterday at work I needed to email an electronic copy of a signed document to a lawyer in Salt Lake...so I signed the document, scanned it into my computer, then attached it to an email & he had in in minutes!

And earlier this evening as I was paying some bills online & IM'ing Eli who is working 'til midnight tonight, I realized I haven't bought stamps in forever thanks to modern technology! Yep, I'm very grateful to be a modern woman...I'm sure as a pioneer I would have been a whiner!

Water's here...

I have a waterfall in my yard right now! Every seven days & eight hours we get irrigation water...technically, our neighbors get irrigation water...we are just lucky enough to be at the end of the canal & it has to go through our back yard to get to our neighbors lower yard. I love when the water comes...it can be a bit time consuming...actually it's REALLY time consuming! But it is good for my lawn, plants & flowers, and it's so cool to hear the water running down the waterfall! I love to sit here & listen to it...it's so calming!

Happy Birthday?

I realized yesterday that "Happy Birthday" means different things to different people. Yesterday was Eli's birthday...and the thing he wanted to do for his birthday was paint our house!

When we took our lunch break Tanner thought we were done & asked, "What are we gonna do now to celebrate dad's birthday?" I explained that we were already doing it...that's when I realized that having a "Happy Birthday" changes meaning as we grow up. As adults we don't need a big party with lots of friends & gifts in order to be happy...we just want to doing something we enjoy with those we love. Maybe it's because we don't want to be reminded of our age...or maybe because as we get older we realize people & relationships are more important than things.

Bloom where your planted...

As I was outside watering my flowers this evening I noticed it's about time to weed again...it seems like I just did! So now, not only do my flowers have to deal with the rocky hillside where they are trying to plant their roots, but now they have to fight the weeds too! Then I noticed the start of a walnut tree fighting to grow inside the birdhouse in my garden. Isn't gardening so much like life! There are always rocks, weeds & obstacles in our paths, but as we work to overcome them we become stronger! It's not easy to have a beautiful garden...it takes a lot of time, patience & hard work. Life too takes time patience & hard work...so often we spend our time worrying about what we don't have that we forget to enjoy what we do have & bloom where we're planted!

Have you ever noticed you have to spend money to save money...

Don't get me wrong...I love a bargain, but have you ever thought about the fact that to save money you have to spend money. Take the new counter top that we bought for our kitchen remodel...the one we haven't started yet!

When we bought this old house it bugged me that when you came in the front door you were standing in the kitchen...no hiding the dirty dishes! We temporarily fixed the problem by building a wall and creating a little entry way...very little. Creating the entry also shrunk the kitchen, and the kitchen was still connected to the living room, but that was okay because we plan to move the entire kitchen eventually. There are just a few other projects we had planned first.

The other day while surfing the internet Eli found a solid surface counter top with a built-in sink and an island, that perfectly fit our plans, for only $400. It was being sold by some people that just built a house & decided they wanted a lighter color. Eli im'd me at work with the link to "check it out" & he was right it was perfect...except we don't really need it right now! To further convince me it was the perfect deal & we should buy it, he picked me up for a lunch date & took me to Home Depot. We had the counter top sales lady give us a quote...she was actually having a sale & it was only going to cost us $2400!

Needless to say...we bought the counter top! But just think...we saved $2000!

Don't tell me I can't...

When we bought this old house of ours we had lots of changes planned...that was before we met our 88 year old neighbor, Paul, that helped to do a lot of the work. He is the best neighbor & we hated the thought of destroying something he created...but the wagon wheel banister on the balcony had seen better days & needed to be replaced.

Eli & I found some new ballisters we really liked at Home Depot, but they were going to cost more then we had budgeted. So being the resourceful handyman that he is, Eli suggested we go to Metal Mart to price out how much it would cost to purchase the materials & create it ourselves. When we got there Metal Mart also had the ballisters we liked, but they were even more then Home Depot. Eli asked the guy at the counter if they carried 10 feet lengths of 2" wide metal. The man asked Eli what he was going to use them for, and when Eli explained he was going to cut them to size then bend them to the shape we wanted, the salesman told Eli he didn't think he'd be able to bend the metal himself...but then he doesn't know Eli!

On the first trip we just bought one length & had Metal Mart cut it for us. Eli got started making a jig the shape we wanted to bend the metal to, then started shaping the metal lengths. Through trail and error Eli was able to create the ballisters we wanted...and after working with the metal, he also figured we could save $80 if he cut the lengths himself.

First he cut the old wagon wheels out of the existing banister...then he cut out the old ballisters...it was kinda fun seeing our neighbors drive by really slow as they were trying to see what we were up to. After cutting off the old handrail, Eli created a new one out of 2x6's & used 2x4's the bottom rail...they looked really good after he stained them.

Now it was time to cut & bend the metal we had purchased to create the ballisters. Eli & Connor took the 3 foot lengths & bent them to have what Eli was calling a belly. Then they would check them against the jig Eli made to be sure they were all the same. After they were bent & had holes drilled in them, I spray-painted them black...see I contributed too! Eli finished screwing the last few of them on tonight. The new banister is beautiful!

Everyone has a story...

One of our ward Enrichment groups is called Everyone Has A Story & it's to help those that attend write their life story. I have always wanted to write my life story, but I always thought writing your life story meant starting at the beginning & telling the story chronologically....Too big a challenge! Then this group started & I was going to attend, but always remembered the day after they met. So as one of my New Year's goals I began attending this group. Wow! Who new writing your life story could be easy & fun! We pick a topic each month for what to write about for the next meeting...topics like: my favorite childhood memory, my siblings, how my parents met or how I met my spouse and then organize the writings in a binder...It's been a lot of fun! This way it's not so overwhelming...just one page at a time...I can do this!

Then I got to thinking...I've had several friends, co-workers & family members invite me to view their blogs lately...what better way to have a record of our family history...as it's happening! No going back & trying to remember all the details of an event later...I've got it written now!