PROPOSAL PARTY...

We are starting off the New Year with a bang!  Our youngest is engaged!  It's been a whirlwind since he met Miss Right.  They go to the same school but didn't really know each other until last summer, when they were both in New Reign, a singing group, and traveled together with the group recruiting for the college.

He's been planning ever since then and popped the question Saturday night.  It was at our home and her parents flew in from Portland.  Another brother came in from Denver and a sister from Las Vegas.  She has another brother and sis-in-law that live here.  So lots of love and travel went into this event.

He popped the question at our house, because there's a construction project they've already been working on in progress in our driveway... a tiny house!  Kinda crazy, especially since the walls have just gotten up over Christmas break, but they knew they both wanted to live in a tiny house and are both really hard workers and decided to make it happen.  With the help of some family and friends, he decorated it inside and asked her "come see something." With brother being the photographer, he proposed while we were all hiding inside our house to surprise her.  It turned out great!

Our son wanted me to make a fajita dinner and I'm so glad he suggested it because we got to really talk and relax with most everyone - not like being at a restaurant.  HERE is my favorite recipe that I found a couple of years ago and love.  I made it along with all the trimmings, and also some special cookies made with cookie cutters that look like them!  It was a fun night.  

The cookie cutters were a Christmas gift our son gave to them, so I had to try to use them!  You send in a picture and they are made out of plastic.  I think they really look like them!  No lie, they weren't easy to use, but they turned out!

Friends

Mom helped me!

A home-made gift from a roommate!

Decorations in the tiny house

The parents and the happy couple!

SUPPORT FOR YOUR HEART AND HOME...

Our kitchen has been under construction since late August (Grrr...)  Actually they started it then wasn't sure which way to repair it so started on the facade repair on the front, then did some repairs on our back patio overhang and now are finally back around to the kitchen.  We had noticed over the years that our ceiling was cracking in the middle and after some consultation and measurements, it was discovered that the ceiling in the middle was 1.5" lower than the outsides of the room.  We definitely had a support problem!  You could even tell with the floor in the bedroom above the kitchen.

Sometimes our lives are the same way.  We may look all right on the outside, but slowly, without proper support, things unravel and without some repair, things could come crashing down all around us.  How do we ensure that we stay strong and keep it together?  I'm no counselor, but I feel like I've learned a lot through my life experiences (aka my age!).

MAINTENANCE - check yourself occasionally.  Take a walk, a mental health break, meditate.  Think about what Matthew 7:5 says, "You hypocrite, first take the plank out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s eye." It's a humbling experience.  I think daily rituals for this are the key.  Pray, read scripture, just find the time that works best for you meet with the Father and examine yourself.

RESTORE - call in a professional if you need to - sometimes we need help! I appreciate the passage in Acts 9 that recalls Saul's conversion.  He was blind for three days afterward and did not eat or drink.  Then Ananias was sent to him.  What do you those three days were like for Saul?  His soul needed repair, and God blessed him through Ananias.  Sometimes it's hard to reach out for help but restoring mental/spiritual health will take your stress away.  God provides peace during rebuilding.  

All of this re-construction going on in our 39 year old house just reminds me that nothing here on this earth was meant to last.  It's all temporary!  I'm so looking forward to that heavenly home God is preparing for his children!

DECLUTTERING IS MY MIDDLE NAME...

This is the year it is going to happen!  No big projects that I know of happening in my life or ministry and so I am declaring that nothing will stop me this year!  I've already gotten a good start in the laundry room and upstairs linen closet so you get to see my handiwork!  I've made two trips so far to donate.  Win-win!  Every time we get bad weather it's good for me because it makes me stay home for extended periods of time to get these jobs done.

One way I am staying motivated is to watch a youtube video on decluttering (there are many) right before I get to work.  Do you have any tricks to get psyched up for chores you need to do?

 All cleaned up

Before and After

MORE THAN I EVER WANTED TO KNOW ABOUT SEWER LINES...

We've had some issues with clogged toilets and backup into our bathtub the last few months.  The Hubs worked on it some and was finally tired of it  - so we called Roto-Rooter.  They couldn't find any problems but told us we needed to put in a sewer cleanout  in the yard...

So we had thought we had just had some minor clog that had been resolved, but the week of Christmas it all started again.  I joined Angie's List and found a reputable plumber who turned out to be great. Their business name - Plumb Crazy!  They were great - punctual and hardworking!  Four or five trips to the house later, it was discovered via camera that an addition onto our house (before we owned it) had been placed over the sewer cleanout, which is a big no-no.  I think the addition was in the 1990s so apparently it was fine for a long time, but no more!

We ended up with this in our master bathroom:

This is another break in the line in the yard that was discovered

BUT the best news in this whole mess is that I was able to get a new bathroom floor!  We had actually given this bathroom a facelift in 2015 by painting the woodwork, the walls, and the ceiling, and also getting a frameless shower door.  The only thing we did not do was put in a new floor or light fixtures.  So I was thrilled to get a new floor!  

Isn't she lovely?

THE MORE BIRTHDAYS I HAVE, THE WEIRDER MY REQUESTS...

Yes, for my birthday in June, I held fast to my pledge to not add any stuff to my house this year - only buying food and experiences!  So I told my husband what I wanted was the grime removed.  We just had our grout cleaned and resealed.  First time in 16 years that someone besides myself cleaned the floor!  I don't know if you can tell from the pictures, but it is so nice - like brand new!  It wasn't cheap but totally worth it!  

Before

After

Before - with tape marks from rug tape

After

Before - more tape marks from run tape

After

Pretty happy with the result!  I may never scrub floors again!  :)

CLEANING AND SCRUBBING...

Saturday was one of those days when we didn't have much planned, it was too chilly to do outside things, and everyone had a project to work on...so I did something I haven't done in a very long time.  I cleaned and oiled the wood cabinets in my kitchen!  I also mopped the floor!  My Mother was always diligent about keeping her woodwork oiled and her kitchen cabinets are 41 years old and look fantastic!  I was pretty proud of myself as the cabinets and granite were shining.  We get quite a bit of traffic through here and with the Hubs and two adult children working out of our home five days a week, it's hard to keep clean.  

This isn't the whole kitchen but a portion of what I did.  I was reminded of one of my favorite poems.  I used to have this poem on a wooden heart in my bathroom way back in 1989, the year my first child was born.  I always loved it and still do.  And I still think it's true!  I tell myself even now that having people in our home, and using the kitchen, is more important than a spotless kitchen!

SPA DECOR...

While decluttering sometimes I get distracted...but it 's okay to take a little break now and then!  We have a surplus of hotel soaps from the Hubs' travel, and I have a surplus of jars too!  I decided to make a little spa decor out of all that!

P.S.  I think I convinced the Hubs to quit bring soaps home from the hotels!  We've got enough for the next five years!!!

PAPER PROBLEM. THE STRUGGLE IS REAL...

I really want to get this messy scrapbooking room under control.  Hint:  there's more than scrapbooking stuff in this room!  But I really don't want to spend much of my time anymore organizing, sifting, and memorializing the stuff I have. What to do?  I certainly don't want to leave it and goodness knows when I'm gone have my children cursing me for leaving it!  So I'm tackling it.  A little at a time.  It gets too overwhelming otherwise.  My resolution for this year is to only spend money on food and experiences.  So hopefully that will help me not bring anything MORE into the house.  In the meantime, I'm cleaning, purging, decluttering, donating, however you can describe it.    I suppose I could just pitch it all without looking.  But I just can't.

Got this one area cleaned and looking good!

I decided this filing cabinet has got to go.  It is full of files.  90% of them I haven't looked at in years. College work, files from my teaching days, Bible lessons, files from trips we've taken, piano lesson books from three kids, home warranties and appliance instructions from things purchased back in the 20th century!  Crazy.

My advice to all you 20somethings:  Don't let it get out of hand.  Schedule one or two days a year to work on things like this.  Send the Hubs and the kids away and tackle it.  Then you won't find yourself in your 50's with less energy and more junk than ever to have to sift through! I suppose since you have grown up with computers you will probably have less physical papers and files anyway.  But you never know.Also, don't get a big house with extra rooms!  In our busyness, I tended to throw things in a box to "deal with later."  Well, later is here and it stinks.  I really wish I could do more things that matter or just more fun.  But this is necessary.  And January is the perfect month to tackle this mess!

FRESH NEW BATHROOM LOOK...

We decided it was time to do something to one of the places in our house that has been forgotten...the Master Bathroom.  It's easy to not care about it, since no one ever sees it except us.  But we started thinking about it and decided the floral wallpaper had done it's duty.  The brass needed to go and the wooden cabinets needed paint.  We had wallpapered when we moved in 15 years ago, and my BIL redid the tile.  The tile still looks good. So this was really all just cosmetic. That doesn't mean it was easy, though!  We started in February and worked little bits here and there when we had the time.

The tub - before

After

Shelves by the tub - before

After

The Hub's side - before

After - grey paint on the cabinets, walls, new brushed nickel faucets and knobs, and spray-painted light fixture.  

My side - before

My side - after

Toilet room - before

Toilet room after

Some of the fun stuff...

This is one of my favorite improvements - hidden hinges!  It wasn't easy but he did it for me!

In process - we really liked the grey tones and decided to leave the crown molding as-is because it wasn't water damaged and I like the contrast.

Our lovely brass...before

New brushed nickel

New towel warmer

New toilet paper holder - and yes, we kept the phone in there...it was there when we moved in and we thought it was funny, but occasionally the Hubs has to check the weather when he gets up in the morning...AHEM.

New switch plates and electrical covers

Finally, some fresh rugs!  

We are about 90% done  - still trying to figure out what to do with the brass in the shower and on that door.  But it feels nice to have something up-to-date in there!  Of course the color scheme is catching so I ended up getting a new comforter for the bed this summer, too!