house hunting

we've decide to take the plunge....

and buy a home!

unfortunately, because we want to stay in the same school district, it means nearly cutting off our limbs to make that happen.

so while i wade through the few houses that are listed, and which are mostly out of our reach, i look to see how i can make the house my home.

and you know where i found it, right?

you can find it here



i fear my kitchen will never be this big, but a girl can dream, can't she?

and so on with my day i will go... hunting for the perfect dwelling we can call home.

be blessed

t

pets

some of you have commented on photos of O and Rubicon from yesterday's post to facebook.

she gets her name from being a red (Rubi) tailed boa constrictor, and from Con: the constrictor from "the Jungle Book".

here she was in j's hand, Dec of last year. she was no more than 6 months old.

here she is yesterday at a little over 18 months with my favorite O.

she's kind of big, yeah?

she climbed up the vacuum handle (shown in the background of the second photo, and climb onto the table lamp)

do i touch her? no

am i scared of her? maybe, but i won't tell for sure

do i feed her? yes

what do we feed her? live rats called crawlers. the last time i fed her i really wanted to keep the rat, instead. it was so cute. really. really. cute. it broke my heart to use it as a source of food. but that's life.

whose snake is she? j's. he got her for his birthday in 2010.

and yes, sometimes she gets out of her cage when we have it open, and it takes a bit to find her.

and yes... sometimes that is scary for me.

in other news...

i am taking an online Jack Hollingsworth iphoneography class today and tomorrow.

do you use your iphone for photography?

do you know the ins and outs?

what are your favorite apps for shooting/editing?

next week i will be posting what i've learned, so don't forget to check back.

be blessed!

t

here's to new beginnings

today is the fourth day of january.

it's also my uncle's birthday. happy birthday uncle mike!

there are so many things that i want to do for the house we, cross your fingers, will move into in the next month or two.

here is the table i would like to make for the back patio.

there are always pallets for free on craigslist. i think it's kinda cool.

i found this to possibly do above the real. wood. fireplace. to hide the cords to the tv.

here it is unfinished

with a little bit of work... tahdah!

i like this one from aspen-mills

which i found here

i would like to do this, too.

except i would like to have 20 mirrored tiles. you suppose it can be done?

everything was found on pinterest. have you checked it out? want an invite? just let me know.

what kind of new beginnings do you have going on in your life right now?

be blessed,

t

{just say cheese}

he'd rather i not take his picture.

he knows his girlfriend adores him.

and this is how we know he adores her.

his heart is as big as his smile. 

{do you believe?}

hello!

i really wanted to start off the new year blogging about something positive. so here goes...

O is home!!

here is the negative...

see that cute little boy above right there? he spent his winter vacation with the other part of his family. they went on train ride to see the man in the big red suit and tell him what he wanted for Christmas.

and what did that man in the big red suit bring that cute little boy who is on the verge of not believing in the man in the big red suit?

a magic pen and a box of laffy taffy. none of which were requested.

and yesterday, at his welcome home barbeque with some of his friends and their families, he discovered that all the other kids received what had been requested.

don't get me wrong folks... i know what the season is all about. but you try explaining to a 9 year old, who is on the verge of writing the man in the big red suit off, why everyone else got what they asked for and he did not.

break. my. heart.

i think i am going to have a chat with the man in the big red suit up at the north pole. i think he may need to send a letter of apology along with a few somethings for this young lad.

O, i hope you never stop believing in the man in the big red suit. but if you have, i really don't blame you.

{ innocence of a child }

i woke up to a phone call this morning from James saying he will be late getting back in. the small boat they took had to turn around because the weather is too bad. i checked wunderground, and it showed nothing. i switched it to infared, and it was all yellow and just sitting over the water off VB. i guess our lunch date will have to be postponed until another day. i'm a little bummed.

last night as i was reading through facebook, i continued to think about what a great communication tool it really could be. that is if the person on the receiving end wanted to hear what you have to say, or take the advise you had to give. maybe not even so much as to take it... but at least know options are there. (or vice versa)

i'm angry. i'm angry at the loss of my friend and was caught off guard as i let the tears flow. they didn't stop. and when i wanted them to... they still did not stop. so when O, who was reading on the couch with his back towards me, asked me a question and i couldn't answer because i was sniffing up snot, i was caught off guard. and when he came to console me, which he does so freely, all i could do is cry harder. 

when i got my barings straight, and all i could muster up is that i'd lost a friend. O asked if someone doesn't want to be my friend, and proceeded to tell me that his old friend M doesn't want to be friends with him anymore now that they are in a new class. (what an opportunity to talk... when your child sees you at your most vulernable time.) and as we progress in our conversation, he asks so innocently "did he get lost and can't find his way back home?"

yes. yes, my dear child. lost. but praying he did find his way home.