Home Improvements

We have added two exciting changes to our home this last month. I thought I would share them here.

By the way, this post could also be titled "it pays to know someone." S has made some great friendships with some very talented people.

S and his friend (who owns this cabinet business) spent the last couple of months designing and building us a new custom entertainment center. When we first moved into our home we had the problem of our townhome-appropriate furniture not being big enough.

Here is the before (just prior to the install. No, we do not keep our tv behind the couch:)


And the after!

It's beautiful and exactly what we had in mind. It's fun to have a piece of furniture that was built exactly to our needs. The doors, which were installed a day after this picture, are missing here. If I remember, I'll upload a current picture later. As you can see, though, it's perfect for storing all of Bean's toys.

The next change has been adding the terraced walls in our backyard. I mentioned earlier how we had some big plans for our backyard and this is, perhaps, the biggest step of all: building the structure. Another one of S's friends does landscaping. He does great work!

Here are some before shots.

Here he is making the first few cuts.

And here is how it looks now! The land between the walls is going to be our garden beds. The far left corner (below the walls) will be the shed/chicken coop (yes, we are going to have chickens...I'm still warming up to the idea.)

Middle.

And far right. The area without stone is going to be garden access and a waterfall will be to the right of that, falling into our...

...sunken patio! (Perhaps what I am most excited about!)

It is hard to tell in these pictures how deep it is, but it takes several steps to get down to.

A view of the whole thing.

And a better view of the steps.

We chose a pretty sandstone and we are anxious for the spring rains to wash off all of the mud so we can see it!

S and I sat by the window the other night, looking out over our yard like kids on Christmas morning. We are excited to continue going with this project. And Hello, dear tomato plant! I am coming for you! Stay tuned!

Monkey See, Monkey Do.

This picture I stole off her Aunt B.'s facebook page so adequately describes Bean right now.

We are quickly approaching that milestone in her life: her 18-month birthday. Which means that she takes that first big step into toddlerhood--going to nursery on her own. Without mom. Can you tell I'm a little wistful at this thought?

I have realized that this point in her life brings about all sorts of new challenges as a parent and as an adult. There are the not-so-fun moments: tantrums brought on by a new sense of independence, the ever curious "wow, what did you eat yesterday!" moments, and her love of pulling everything out--and not knowing how to put it all back. I have found some interesting items in our dishwasher.

There are the awesome moments: her ability to stop me from whatever I'm doing by holding up a book and saying, "Gee?" (translation not known yet,) her kisses which consist of her holding her mouth somewhere in the proximity of my cheek and then pulling back, exclaiming, "Ma!" And of course, seeing her face light up when she sees me first thing in the morning or (when I'm lucky and she's still awake) after a long day at work.

The thing that surprised me most is how much having a child has made me question who I am as a person. My mom found this quote by Helen Hunt. "Your toddler will do what they need to do, not necessarily what [you want them to do]...whatever you want them to be, you have to start becoming." Pretty great, huh? Except that now I'm really starting to see where all of my faults lie (probably excessively) and wondering how do become that person that I want to be? Bean is at a point where she mimics a lot of things that S and I do (it is so much fun!) But I worry that she might pick up on some of my not-so-great qualities.

Then again, I have heard my mom say on occasion that she wished she had done this or that differently and I don't recall her being anything but a fantastic mother. While it is still good motivation to quell some bad habits, I know in my heart that I am only human. I'd like to be perfect, but there is just no way that is ever going to happen. Hopefully Bean will love me anyway.

~

I have already read two books this month, making me feel more accomplished about a resolution I've made than I have ever felt in the past. Silly, I know. Also, I've both woken up early AND hit the treadmill for more days than not. I just found Bean's dress that I never finished and, sadly, she's already outgrown it. But I think I'm still going to finish it. Best to learn on something she'll never wear, right?!

Resolute.

As I left work last night, opening the door to the frigid Arctic air, I was quickly reminded of why I despise Utah winters so much. It is usually this time of year that we start making plans for our summer vacation (which might actually come true this year! *fingers crossed*) and counting down the days until spring arrives.

However.

This year I am actually looking forward to the bitter cold months of January and February! I am hoping that my post-holidays life might slow down a little bit and that I can possibly get caught up on some really fun things that I have been meaning to do since we put our home up for sale last June.

I also feel an overwhelming peacefulness that comes with this New Year. I usually dread the after-Christmas blues. But New Year's Day this year really feels like a fresh start which is greatly needed after the hectic year we just went through.

I also love making New Years resolutions. (Don't say you don't, either, 'cause really, who doesn't like having goals to work towards?? Even if they are long forgotten by Valentine's Day!)

Mine for this year are more concrete (a tip from Gretchen Rubin) and I am putting them out in the blogosphere to make myself more accountable (another tip from Rubin.)

(1) I will run the 4th of July 5K race. I have mentioned before that I have this fear of running actual races, and I am more out of shape than I am "in," but I am going to do it. And I am going to go a step further and try to do the Dirty Dash 10K this September.
I've blogged about this several times now, but in case you missed it...

(2) I will be the best working mom I can be. I am actually stealing this off of a comment board of another blog I read. It stood out to me out of the thousands of entries, and I was very glad that it did. I have been feeling a little down lately about my decision to keep working while having a child at home. I realized that my circumstances, such as they are, are probably not going to change in the near future. So why not embrace what they are and just do the best I can. Now this is more abstract than concrete, so to make it concrete I will do the following: (a) go to bed early and get enough rest so that I am not rushing out the door in the morning, possibly allowing me time to play with Bean before I have to go. (b) take the opportunities I can while I am working to be the best employee I can be, such as extra education opportunities. I want to be an example to Bean that, just because you are done with school doesn't mean you are done with learning. (c) circumstances at work don't always result in me being a happy mommy so I am going to earnestly try to leave work at work. She doesn't really care right now, but best to get in this habit early.
(a) I get 8 hours of sleep a night, minimum, 95% of the time.
(b) I work on CAP assignments daily at work. Also, I've been given the opportunity to do some training on new instrumentation back east.
(c) There is no way I could have known last year when I wrote this just how much would change. I was a wreck with worry for awhile and I really let it affect our home life. But I have learned, just as I posted in my superlatives, that our biggest blessings can come in huge disguises. A very good lesson for me this past year.

(3) I will take a sewing class (even if it is from my mom) and will finally finish the dress that I am sewing for Bean and also the quiet book for her to take to church (I bought the pattern months ago and it sits among a stack of other unfinished projects.) Bean starts nursery in about 6 weeks. A quiet book would make a great half-birthday present. (I can't believe she is already almost halfway to her second birthday.)
I've sewn 2 dresses and made a Halloween costume for the Bean so I don't think that is too shabby. I have yet to finish that blasted quiet book but am actively working on it and so close. I will finish it if it kills me.

(4) I will finish two books a month. I am still aiming for one a week but, realistically, I'm not sure I can make that happen. I think two is pretty good for me. And to go along with this I will continue my scripture study at a slow and steady pace. I just finished one of my resolutions for 2010 which was to read the entire Old Testament. I have to admit that I ended up more skimming the second half. But along the way I really developed this love of scripture study that has made me want to study and not just read the scriptures.
According to Goodreads, I read 27 books this year--so more than 2 books a month! Also, I finished the New Testament last week, meaning I have now completely read the standard works. Go me. Ask me in 20 years and I might actually be able to tell you what I read...alright, I have developed a good habit of scripture study and feel an absence on the days I don't read them, so I guess that's what really matters.

(5) I will plan dates for just me and my hubby at least every other month. This doesn't sound like a lot, but when I work every other weekend--and he works at least 1/3 of my weekends off--we don't see each other a whole lot! We already have nightly Modern Family dates and I would like to continue this tradition. We have Netflix now so we have thousands of options!
This one is so much harder than it sounds! We did go on some awesome dates this year, though. Next week--Georgia Aquarium.


(6) I will plant one tomato plant this year. Getting the entire garden in is going to be a huge task, both physically and financially. But I don't see why that stops me from putting a plant in a pot off of our back porch. As long as the deer don't eat it.
I did it! It died by mid-August, but I did it!

Whew! That seems like a lot, but really, I think quite do-able. What are your resolutions for the upcoming year? What a fun thing to share. Maybe I'll pick up a few more ideas from other bloggers out there.