A Place to Hang Stockings

Sunday, December 20, 2009

Home improvement projects have slowed significantly. Okay, they've actually come to a complete stand still. Except for me exclaiming to Hubster that I've finally found the perfect place to hang the Dustbuster.

There are still projects aplenty. The master bath needs re-tiling. The blue bathtub and tile in the hall bath have got to go. It would be nice to have closet doors, stair hand rails, and lights in the living room. Those are all on the list. For later.

There was one project, however, that I was determined to get done before Christmas.

Do you remember when we finished the playroom/family room? There was a large black box in the far wall. Otherwise known as the fireplace.


The one thing I wanted done before Christmas was a mantle. A place to hang stockings. A gathering stop for the bitter cold Iowa winter nights. A focal place in an otherwise rather bland (but always messy) room.

We started by tiling around the fireplace. We chose a beautiful travertine tile (which we could afford to do, since this particular color was on sale, and there wasn't that much to tile.)


After I tiled and grouted, Hubster installed the surround and mantle. Let me clarify. I came up with an idea in my head about what I wanted the surround and mantle to look like. Hubster then patiently listened and examined my drawings. He then made multiple trips to the hardware store and built our mantle from scratch. By himself. With me playing cheerleader and avoiding anything with a sharp edge.

(There were many pictures of all the steps from start to here, but that would have meant subjecting you to dozens of blurry photos. Which I wasn't going to do. Merry Christmas.)

(And please note Monkey's little wooden tool box at the bottom of this photo. He and his wooden hammer, nails, and screwdriver were helpful at every stage of this project.)

After the (surprisingly large) mantle was built, I then painted it the same antique white as all the trim in the house. And painted. And painted. Repeat this step several more times, turning what should have beeen a one weekend project into a two week project.

Regardless...

Two weeks later, instead of this...


We now have this...



And a beautiful mantle like this is just begging to be decked out for Christmas. Just apply stockings the boys decorated two Christmases ago, free pine branches from the local hardware store, and handfuls of pinecones that the boys are always collecting.


I think the result is just magical.


There was still something missing. Hubster rectified this with a trip to a bait-and-tackle shop by the lake, from which he returned with enough wood to fill half our shed.

Last night, we enjoyed our very first fire in our new fireplace.


It feels more like home and more like Christmas than I would have ever imagined.

On the move

Saturday, October 3, 2009

Last week, it was Parent's Night at Bug's school. We love his school. The walls are painted floor to ceiling with brightly colored murals done by the children. The classrooms are everything you could imagine for an elementary school.

Near the front door, there is a bulletin board labels "Welcome to our new students." There are only five pictures on the bulletin board. Two children from schools across town. Two siblings from Michigan. And Bug, from Salt Lake City. Only five new children in the entire school (not counting the kindergartners, obviously.)

Talking to our neighbors, I initially got the feeling that people here stayed put longer than anything I was used to. All our neighbors sent their children to the same elementary school, the same high school, and still live here now that the children are in college.

Then I realized there is nothing strange about them.

There is something strange about me.

When people ask me where I'm from, I say Salt Lake City (or Utah, depending on how familiar they are with the geography). I didn't always have a good answer for that question.

I attended four different elementary schools, not including a year of private school, and two years of home schooling. In addition, I attending one junior high and two high schools. The longest I have ever lived at one address was five years. And that happened once. I have 16 moves under my belt with my family by the time I was 18 and moved out on my own, only to start the process over again.

After a life where moving vans and cardboard boxes are as routine as the beginning of the school year, the whole thing begins to develop a sense of normalcy.

Hubster and I have moved 7 times in our 8 years of marriage.

Sometimes it takes stepping onto solid ground to realize how much the boat was rocking. Our home feels steady. For the first time, we feel like we've reached port. And only in the looking back, have we come to realize how rough the ride has been.

We plan on staying put for a while. Bug, and maybe even Monkey, will complete the elementary school at one school.

I'm not going to make any promises that we will be able to put forever. There may be moves that mandate school changes. And I'm sure that those will provoke the same tantrums and tears that I put up every single move. But I am determined that those disruptions will be few and far between.

Because it feels good to be still.

The Big Reveal, Part 1

Tuesday, September 1, 2009

The last few months since the Big Move have been busy.

It wasn't just the move, it wasn't just residency starting.

We also had a home to remodel.

Hubster and I have lived in apartments ever since we got married. I had lived in an apartment with three roommates a year prior to that. Hubster had lived in apartment for many years before that. We had spent all of our time together and our time as a family of three and then a family of four with people above us, and people below us, and people on the right and on the left.

We watched our friends buy homes and nearly made ourselves sick with envy.

But we were willing to wait until it made sense. We had thought about buying a few years ago, but then the housing market turned south, and we were grateful that we hadn't. Otherwise, we would have found ourselves in the situation we saw some of my classmates: homes for sale and unable to see before the move for residency had to be made. We moved to Iowa without the stress of selling a home.

We had spent years imagining what our home would be like. What we wanted the rooms to feel like, the mood we wanted to create. And we were sure that after years of living as a family of four in a 2 bedroom, 1 bathroom 650 square foot apartment, we would appreciate our home more than anyone else ever had.

We've been working on the house since day one.

And I am finally ready to start sharing some of the work.

Well, kind of ready. We still have an lack of furniture and there are still many boxes that have not been touched. (And I would like to apologize for the slight blurriness of the photos. My camera's auto focus has gone haywire. I know what I want for Christmas.)

I wanted to have a week of reveals, but doing call every third night prevents that. So, I will have a series of reveals, done as quickly as my schedule and lack of sleep allow.

Today: the living room.


The BEFORE:




When we bought our couch three years ago, we bought a nice neutral tan sofa. I knew that this procluded me from ever painting the living room tan. Which is a good thing. Hubster and I decided that we wanted a gray-blue slate color in the living room to complement the dark wood and green and turquoise accents we love.

The AFTER:




The color is a little bluer that we anticipated, but we love it. (Also, after painting for weeks, there was no way we were repainting any room.) It is such a relaxing color.

The trim used to be brown. We painted it all a lovely antique white.

We hung the photos up last week.



Now it finally feels like we live here.

Settling In

Monday, July 20, 2009

It's been over a week since my last post. The last time something like that happened was when I had no access to the internet and moved across the country.

This time, I don't have the excuse of no internet and a Big Move.

My only excuse is being flat out, beat down exhausted.

While my current residency schedule is not overly demanding, currently just 9 hour shifts 4-6 times a week, the mental fatigue is surprising. Decisions I make actually matter. So I put a lot more thought into every decision. Not that I always get it right. My attending physicians correct my treatment plan just as often as they agree with it.

But don't worry. No patients have been injured in the training of this physician.

If the mental fatigue I feel at the end of each shift isn't enough, there is a home renovation waiting for me when I get home. Between tearing out shrubbery and invading vines, laying floors, and ripping out carpet, I'm physically exhausted too.

Between the two I've barely had enough energy to read a few pages of Harry Potter each night before falling asleep. Let alone blogging.

But I realized today that I haven't shared my thoughts on my new home/town/state.

Salt Lake City is by no means a "Big" City. It's got nothing on LA, Chicago, Dallas, or New York. But it is definitely an up-and-coming city, with many of the amenities of much bigger cities: pro sports teams, aquariums, art museums, ballet, theatre. Costco. IKEA. And it is definitely a city and not a town.

My new home is technically a city. Although the hospital is the tallest building. There are no 20 level business buildings. Farmer's markets are held "down town" (down town in quotes because down town is two streets lined with cute boutiques and amazing restaurants. But no big buildings.) It may be a city, but it feels like a town. The fastest I've driven in a week is 35 mph.

I do miss some of the amenities I had grown used to in bigger Salt Lake.

But I think I like this better.

It is easy to live here.

City living can feel high maintenance. The worry about traffic, the crowds, movies being sold out, restaurants being crowded. All together it just adds a layer of stress that I almost didn't even notice. Until it was gone. The worst traffic I have been in for the month and a half I have lived here is when there were 6 (yes a whole 6!) cars in front of me at the only traffic light I go through on my way to work. 6! Versus the usual 1.

I love where we live. Our home is next door to Bug's new elementary school. The school is in front of a reserved green space. Which means no homes can be built in the heavily wooded area that lies just the other side of the school.

Our neighborhood is very quiet. The people we have met so far have lived here for 15-20 years. People move into this neighborhood and then stay put. There are not a lot of young couples with young kids. I'm a little disappointed about that. I had partially hoped for a neighborhood swarming with kids, yards cluttered with their toys, where Bug and Monkey would have easy access to potential friends. That's not how things are. We don't see many other children. But I'm sure that will change when school starts back up in a month.

And I love our neighborhood, even without herds of children.

Everyday, when I drive up this road, I feel happy about where we live.

Road leading to our neighborhood

We have fireflies here! Before we moved here I had never seen a firefly. I could go on and on about how much I love them. We often sit as a whole family on our back porch and watch them. The boys are slightly squeamish about insects and so they don't run around catching them in jars. But there is still nothing like fireflies.

Our yard is also frequented by cardinals, goldfinches, robins, rabbits, chipmunks, and squirrels. Every morning, there is some new wildlife that causes the boys to call for me, while they alternate between squealing with excitement and hushing each other to not scare it away.

We are happy here. Life is easy here. We are definitely settling in.

How may I help you?

Thursday, June 18, 2009

I think Lowe's is failing its customers.

(Home Depot probably is, but as there is no Home Depot here, and I've never bought anything from them, I can't be completely sure.)

Lowe's really needs to add another layer to their employee training.

The skill to size up a customer's ability to actually do the project they are buying materials for.

Let's say, hypothetically of course, that a Lowe's employee has a couple come through their check out lane. That couple is buying 7 blank doors, a hinge and lock drilling kit, the hardware for said doors, and about 20 gallons of paint.

The appropriate thing to do would be to say, "Have you considered pre-hung doors? It's doing to take you hours upon hours to drill the holes for locks and chisel the slots for hinges. And then when you're done, you're going to find out that the door is a quarter of an inch too big anyways."

Or when the same couple comes through the next day with 30 boxes of Pergo flooring, someone should at least mention Lowe's installation services. Or mention the hours of frustration that couple has in front of them.

Yes, Lowe's offers how-to books. Yes, Lowe's offers (quite pricey) installation services.

But when a person is standing in the flooring, or lighting, or paint section of the hardware store, they are filled with sugar plum plans for their new home. They get excited about the possibilities. The more excited they become, the more confident they become in their own skills.

The Lowe's cashier could be their last link to reality.

Re-wired

Friday, June 12, 2009

We made it to Iowa safely. On Sunday. We just got internet today.

And there are so many things that I could write. About how much we already love living here. About how nice it is to have a house.

About how the home renovation is already a complete disaster and I just want to curl up on the floor and cry.

About how many posts I've missed on the blogs I'm following that I'm never, never, never going to be able to go back and read them all.

But we will save all that for another day.

Because my arms hurt so much from holding a paint roller that I can't type.

The road before us

Friday, June 5, 2009

The boxes are full. The rooms are empty.

We leave in the morning.

We have a lovely (flat) long drive ahead of us.

I'm not going to have access to the internet for a few days, but don't worry, I didn't forget about any of you.

But just in case you do want something else to read, here are a few of my favorite posts. Because some days are better than others.

My Secret Love

Speeding Up

I'm done with waiting

Another Year Older

Change of mind, not a change of heart

Enjoy (hopefully.)

And I'll see you all soon. From 1200 miles from here.

Closing Time

Monday, June 1, 2009

We closed on our very first home today!!

(Okay, actually, Hubster and I had signed the papers in front of a notary and FedEx-ed them back on Thursday. But that's a minor detail.)

Today, the house is officially ours!

About time!!!

I've said it before. We hate apartment living. But before now, there was never a good time to buy. We didn't buy when we first got married, because we just couldn't afford it. And then we didn't buy, because we didn't know where I would go for medical school. And then we didn't buy because we weren't sure where we wanted to live. And then we didn't buy because we didn't know where I would go for residency.

You get the picture.

But now, we are going to be in one place for quite a few years. We get the opportunity to settle down.

And we couldn't be happier.

Things we are looking forward to

- a back yard!!! Monkey and Bug will be able to run outside when ever they want. And kick balls and blow bubbles.

- more space. Seriously, our apartment is about 700 square feet. And we've got four people in here. It's just a little bit crowded.

- a garage. Now we don't have to basically draw straws for who gets the covered parking during the winter. We both get covered parking!

- a garden. I can stop growing things in the window sills and start growing them outside.

- creative license. We get to pick paint colors, carpet, etc... Yeah!!!

Of course, there are things about the move that make us sad.

Things we will miss include...

- people. My family is here. And being 1200 miles away will make the casual weekend at my mom's just a little harder.

- the mountains. Never thought I'd hear myself say that. But I've become slightly attached the last couple years.

- the familiarity. It's going to be tough getting to know a new city after having lived in this one for so long.

But we are excited!

Things we will NOT NOT NOT miss...

- the downstairs neighbors. Wow, they've made our life miserable, what with their broom and all. I drop up cup putting away dishes. Bam bam bam. Monkey rolls a ball in the kitchen. Bam bam bam. Bug falls over in a fit of laughter. Bam bam bam.

- the cramped space.

- the smokey smell the maintenance man leaves behind everytime he comes in to fix something.

- the downstairs neighbors.

- the upstairs neighbors and their love of Guitar Hero.

- the downstairs neighbors.

- the downstairs neighbor's broom.

- the lack of outdoors space.

Need I go on?

Our Problem Now

Tuesday, May 12, 2009

Two weeks ago, our dishwasher broke. As in pouring water out the bottom and forming the equivalent of Lake Michigan in our kitchen.

But we didn't stress too much. We grabbed several towels and a mop, mopped up all the water, and made a call to our apartment manager. 6 days later, we had a new dishwasher.

Yes, I know that it is slightly ridiculous that it took 6 days. But the only real inconvenience to us what that I had to do dishes by hand for those 6 days.

Things won't be like that soon.

In our new house, everything will be our problem. There won't be any apartment manager to call. There won't be any groundskeeper who shovels all the walks and mows the lawn and rakes the leaves.

There will only be us.

Mentally, I think we are completely ready. We've been ready for years.

But the thought that if the water heater goes out, or the dishwasher floods us out, or the air conditioner goes kaput, it is our problem.

I don't think I would be so worried about this if our budget wasn't so tight. I also think that knowing that I am going to be the only source of income also stresses me out.

Hubster has been the main money maker for our family, exclusively so for the last five years. And although I helped with the budget and took care to keep expenses in check, it never weighed on me like it does now.

Hubster has done such a great job providing for our family. I am just hoping that I can do nearly as good of a job as he has.

And I don't want a rogue dishwasher ruining it for me.

Where we come from

Tuesday, April 28, 2009

I think that people generally have two feelings about the place they grew up.

That place can become the most wonderful, idyllic place to have grown up. It is a source of perfect childhood memories. No place will ever be able to compare. People who feel this way want nothing more than to get back to where they grew up.

The other option is that the place becomes something to escape from.

For a long time, Utah has been that second type of place for me.

I moved to Utah from California when I was 10. My dad had been serving in the Navy and we had lived some amazing places. I loved my time in the high Sierras. My time in Southern California by the beach.

I resented the move to Utah. And even since then, California took on that idyllic image in my mind. I would tell everyone I was from California. I always planned on moving back there.

Even as I grew, and Utah became where I was "from" and everyone I knew was here, I still, tucked away in my mind, wanted to get away.

Hubster has had the same feelings. He spent his high school years in small-town western Montana. Utah always felt like more of the same.

We have talked for years about how nice it would be to leave, to start over, to get away.

It's funny that it takes the getting away becoming a reality for the place I grew up in to take on that childhood beauty.

I never once appreciated the mountains until I realized I would be leaving them.

There's No Place Like Home

Tuesday, April 7, 2009

It feels like I've been away for forever.

But I have a good reason.

Over the weekend, Hubster and I flew to Iowa. And bought a house!!

Our very first house. It's really ours! (Well, pending something disasterous on the inspection and worse case scenario with financing. But parring those two nightmares...it's ours!!)

(Oh, and prepare yourself for a lot of exclamation points. I'm extremely excited about this whole thing.)

I have lived in an apartment every since I first moved out of my parents' house the summer after I graduated high school. It's been pretty much the same for Hubster (just five years longer.)

We've raised our two boys in apartments.

While it has been convenient in terms of needing to move for various reasons, and more affordable, it obviously has had it's drawbacks.

My boys have never had a yard. They can't go outside unless I'm with them. We have to be "considerate" of those who share walls and floors and ceilings (which means no Tonka trucks in the kitchen.)

The worst part about it has just been the whole temporary feeling. Each place we've lived, we think, "Oh, we're just here for a little while." We don't feel settled.

But all of that is going to change. We have a house!

Granted, it's not a beautiful house. It needs a little "love." But everything it needs are just surface treatments: paint, new carpet, new light fixtures. Things I probably would have done anyways, regardless of the home.

Living Room

(Needs paint, but the floors are nice)

Kitchen

(Needs new floor, but the cabinets are new)

But what the house has are things you wouldn't be able to fix. Location! (Isn't that the rule of real estate?) We are next door to what is most likely the best elementary school in town. We are in a gorgeous neighborhood (I can't believe we could afford a home in that neighborhood!) We are only two miles from the university and parks. It is just wonderful!!

Oh, and it has a yard.