Making A House A Home.......And Other Tidbits

I won't even address the fact that I haven't blogged in a LONG, LONG time. I am just going to get on with what I have to blog about. I better start with a family update (if I blogged more often, I would be able to skip this formality).



Joseph has been BUSY, BUSY, BUSY with school. It is so important to him to get good grades and I am thankful that I am married to such a hard worker. He is only taking 12 credits this semester, but his Calculus class takes a lot of time. He has been doing so well this semester and it looks like he will continue to be on the Dean's list. He is also in the Honors College which means he has priority registration (gets to register first). I already have him registered for next semester........with a whopping 17 credits. Hopefully, we will be able to balance everything!



I have been busy with the girls and working more. One of my main weaknesses is being self disciplined and a good manager of my time. There is so much in life that I want to do and so much in life that I need to do. There never seems to be enough time for it all. I get really frustrated with myself because if I wasn't so LAZY, I could get a lot more done. I have been finding some hope in my scripture study. I just keep trying and hoping that one day the Lord will bless my weakness to become my strength.

The girls are doing well. Paige is loving preschool and can't wait to go to kindergarten. Unfortunately, she is an October birthday and so she misses the cut off to go this coming year. She will be home for another year before she embarks on the adventure of school. I can't believe how fast she is growing up. She loves to help with anything that Joseph and I are doing. She is starting to write and read several words. She is always making me smile with her vivid imagination.

Lexi is still my ornery little Lexi. She is so much fun and is expanding her vocabulary daily. She scowls at everyone for the first five minutes she is around them. She won't be bullied and sometimes beats up on her big sister. Her daddy hangs the moon in her eyes. She is also a big helper. She especially loves to help unload the dishwasher. I am so thankful for the wonderful opportunity and privilege I have of being the mother to my two sweet, beautiful girls.

So, now that the update is wrapped up......on to my current rambling thoughts. I was at a friend's house lately and she has such cute things in her house. She really has made their house a home. She makes a lot of her home decor herself and it looks great. I came home and started thinking. We have lived in our house for three years and I absolutely love our house. However, from a decor standpoint I don't feel like it is a "home". The only rooms that have any decor to them are the kitchen, dining room, and living room. The only reason those have anything done is because my mother has come over and helped me.

I have also been inspired by Joseph's cousin who is so CREATIVE. She can take a piece of what I would consider, at first glance, ugly junk (and walk away from) and turn it into something absolutely amazing. I wish that I was more creative and that I could see potential in more things. I usually never think past my first impression of the "ugly junk". I have started to read some blogs of women who decorate their home by finding potential in junk and turning it into treasure. I have felt inspired with the things that these women have been able to create. I have been amazed with the transformations that have taken place with a little paint and "repurposing".

So, now I am on a quest to make my house more of a home. To really analyze each room and figure out how I can really make the most out of the space......both decoratively and functionally. I want to love house even more and really feel like it represents me. I don't have a lot of money to spend on it so I am really trying to get past my first impressions of "junk" and see what treasure I can make of them.

So, I want a little advice from any of you that still read my blog..........what do you do to make your house a home and represent who you are? Where do you find your treasures in hiding?

A Month......Seriously????

Wow....it has been forever since I posted (a month). Where in the world have I been? There isn't much exciting things to report. We have been crazy busy! I will give a rundown of what we have been up to (update overload). Hopefully I can get back to a more normal routine of blogging.

I spent much of the month of November looking (and feeling) like this:

My surgery went great the end of October but the recovery really sucked. Don't forget to note the bottle of Norco on my bed post. It took me FOREVER to feel normal again. I am so glad that December has been much nicer. Our ward was absolutely wonderful. I was in awe of all the service that they rendered on my behalf. People dropped by food all the time, came and cleaned the house, watched the girls when I needed to rest, etc. My parents were also wonderful in making sure that they could be here and help me out when Joseph couldn't since I couldn't lift anything for 6 weeks. A little rough when you have a toddler.

The beginning of December, I did another VCUG (this time was a horrific nightmare!). The good news is that my urinary reflux was resolved with surgery. I am so thankful for that! I don't think that I could go through this whole surgery and recovery process again if it hadn't worked.

Other than that, I have been busy with work and the girls. I closed on a couple of real estate transactions and have been busy running the office while Joseph did tons of sprinkler blowouts.

Speaking of Joseph, he has been busier than all of us. Our idea to just send out a few emails and blow out 10 or 20 sprinklers turned into a full time job for Joseph for the last 6 weeks. He blew out his last sprinkler yesterday afternoon. We are so thankful for how long this lasted. We have been truly blessed. It has also turned into a full fledged lawn care business.

In the spring, we will begin doing lawn fertilization and sprinkler maintenance and repair. We were able to form somewhat of a business partership with a guy in town and he is giving us 500 fertilization accounts. We are so thankful for this amazing opportunity.

Joseph is going back to school in January to continue to pursue his bachelor's degree. I will miss him since he will be gone a lot more than he is right now but we have been extremely blessed with his opportunity to attend college with the VA paying for everything and don't want to waste it.

Paige is in preschool this year and absolutely loves it. I love the preschool that she goes to and her teacher is wonderful. Paige also had her first Primary program this year. The Sunbeams were just singing one song. I had to go up there with her (she was bawling) and wouldn't sing with the other kids. She did wave to her grandparents (both Joseph's and my parents came) but came back down with me after their song. She was just too scared to be up there. Hopefully next year she will be a little less afraid.

Lexi is growing up so fast. She has started talking more and more. Her favorite words are mommy, daddy, baby, cookie, mine, and grandpa/grandma. She also started going to nursery the first of November. She is having a hard time adjusting to nursery. Hopefully within a few more weeks she will be used to it.

There isn't anything really exciting happening. We are staying home for Christmas this year. We are having a New Year's Eve slumber party at our house with all of Joseph's family. We think that it will be a lot of fun and are really looking forward to it. We will be a little cramped with so many people sleeping in our house but we think it will be worth the fun.

We hope that everyone has a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year! We are so thankful for our Savior and the true spirit of CHRISTmas! Here is a couple pictures of the girls.....

Yet Another Blog

So, I have added more to my already full plate. I have a Great Deals blog where I am blogging about matching coupons with sales and about all the deals that I get. I believe information is best shared. The address is:

http://greatdealhunting.blogspot.com

Or click here to go directly to my new blog--thanks Mandie for doing my blog design. You are the greatest!

And The Winner Is............

I did this drawing the whole fashioned way. I put names in a hat (the 3 people that entered each got 4 entries), shook it around, and had Paige draw a winner!

So the winner is..................KRISTIN C.

I will leave a comment on your blog. Email me within 24 hours to claim at danesenterprises (at) gmail (dot) com.

Congratulations, Kristin!

For the two of you who didn't win, and everyone else who didn't get a chance to participate but wanted to --I will be doing a monthly giveaway so be sure to enter next time. It will be for a different product each month.

Giveaway Officially Over

The giveaway officially ended today at noon. Thanks to all who participated. I have been running behind all day today so the winner will be announced tomorrow. I apologize for the delay, I have just been so busy!!!

Giveaway

I am doing a giveaway for my crib bedding and nursery decor website, Creative Crib Couture. I will be giving away the Hot Cocoa Frame Set by Trend Lab (pictured above). There are opportunities for a total of four entries per person in the giveaway! This is how the giveaway works:

1. For an entry in the giveaway, post about the giveaway on your blog. Please include a link to the website. Also, please be sure to give the link to this blog post so others can take advantage of entering into the giveaway. After you have posted, leave me a comment with your blog address.

2. For a second entry in the giveaway, check out the products on my website and post what your favorite product on my website is. You can post about your favorite product in the same post that you do for your initial entry. If you do it in a seperate post, be sure to leave me another comment so I can check it out.

3. I will also give two bonus entries for anyone who puts a link to my website on the side bar of their blog. Be sure to leave me a comment letting me know that you have done this. I want to make sure that everyone gets their entries.

The giveaway ends at noon on November 17th. I will then draw a winner randomly that evening. I will notify the winner via a comment on their blog (make sure you leave your blog address in your comment!). The winner will have 24 hours to then email me at danesenterprises (at) gmail (dot) com to claim the frame set. If the winner doesn't email me within 24 hours, I will pick a new random winner.

$20 Sprinkler Blowouts

Joseph is blowing out sprinklers this week (Wednesday/Thursday/Friday) for anyone interested in the area. He is charging $20 per yard. Please pass this information to anyone who might be interested. If you are interested, we can be contacted at danesenterprises (at) gmail (dot) com.