A Dream Come True. .

I know that there are several of you that have been on the edge of your seats waiting for this unveiling. .

Maybe not on the edge of your seats. .

but waiting. .

and waiting. .

AND

waiting!!!

Me too. .

It seemed like it took a looooong time. .

From March 14th when they starting to do the foundation work. .

And the looooonnng weeks that followed. .

as walls came down. .

and walls went up. .

and DUST went everywhere!!

EVERYWHERE, I tell you!!!

                                     

And NOW. .

it doesn't even look like the same place!!

There is a little bit of metal trim work that needs to be finished yet. .

And the steps and railing to the old door on the left got finished by Jeremy this past weekend. .

Kelsey is also planning on building the media cabinet to the specs of about 10 photos put together :-)

Not really that many. .

but several. .

THAT, however won't be done for another month or so!

Some furnishings went in. .

My favorite corner is this one. .

The doors of this cabinet that Jeremy built for me were old windows from a local hotel. .

We had a little disagreement about where the shelves needed to go. .

and so. .

since I happened to get there AFTER he had just finished gluing and nailing them in. .

I lost!!  Oh well!

It made a handy library and game storage to entice people in the room to hang out and relax!!

I scored the old ladder at the outdoor flea market last month. .

And. .

thanks to Pinterest. .

was able to fix a pretty cool wall hanging!!

Speaking of Pinterest. .

This old window was taken from my great grandparents homestead. .

And my friend Missy and I enjoyed a bottle of wine. .

While it took us ALL afternoon to figure out how to cut the vinyl on her Cricket. .

And it DIDN'T take us all afternoon BECAUSE of the wine!!

That window is now at home hanging over our bed!

I thought I would also share a picture of how the tiny baby dresses turned out too. .

I'm feeling more settled now. .

And even though the position of my bed has changed. .

I am no longer waking up every night trying to decide where I am!!

I got lots of cleaning and rearranging done while Cami laid on the couch sick over Memorial weekend. .

And moved a few things around on my walls as I nabbed photos and "stuff" to decorate my new room. .

My first aid collection moved around a little. .

The bottom Red Cross poster was one of my new ones from the flea market. .

It was from 1917. .

I googled it. .

Amazing thing, this Internet!!

The potential for knowledge is UNLIMITED!!!

And. .

then I had to fix the spot where the first aid things WERE. .

I totally loved how that spot turned out!!

I love change!!

Usually. .

The other accomplishment of the weekend was setting the pitcher pump feature back up!!

Kelsey was not too impressed that I placed ROCK on his CONCRETE. .

AND, though he didn't say a word. .

His LOOK said it ALL!

It is STRATEGICALLY placed right out of the sun room windows. .

so I can hear the trickle while the windows are open. .

It's also really protected against the blustery Kansas winds. .

And I haven't even had to refill the reservoir yet. .

 even though the winds gusted up to 30-40 mph EVERY day for a week!!

I had to be in OKC a few weeks ago, and was able to find some hostas that grow to 50 inches tall!

And enjoyed picking out a Wichita Blue juniper and two dwarf Alberta BLUE spruce trees.

The Annabelle hydrangeas that I transplanted from a girl I work with will fill out the rest of the new garden spot nicely! I finished placing the rock around the north side of the feature, and planted a WHOLE flock of hen and chicks generously shared by a friend!!

I am LOVING it!!

We then moved this old oblong tank, stolen from my mother. .

really, it was LEFT at her new house by the previous owners. .

And they were fixing to load it up and take it to the dump before I RESCUED it for a more glorious existence!! There is a clump of purple fountain grass in the middle that I overwintered and divided. .

And two clumps of lemon grass that I started from seed on either side. .

Some overwintered sweet potato vine and some purchased purple and yellow petunias finished it off.

The two pots on either side on the ground are ALSO lemon grass. .

I was GOING to put them into the tank. .

BUT, I couldn't get them out of the pots!!

I hope they do well!!

They DO taste like lemon. .

And I'd like to learn to cook with it this summer too. .

I'll keep ya posted on that!

In other gardening news. .

Here is our veggie garden. .

We rescued the galvanized tubs from the front of the garden right along the driveway. .

They were doing nothing but growing weeds there, since it was difficult to water. .

And they now hold the perennial herbs as well as one green bean plant. .

 traded to me for a start of lemon grass. .

and some dill that Grant started in the greenhouse.

The green pots hold the tomatos, two varieties of cucumbers, assorted pepper plants and purple and green basil. .

And the round pots have more basil, cantalope, watermelon, and carrots.

So far it seems to be working out well!

The memory garden is also looking INCREDIBLE!!

I can view this from the new sunroom and patio area!

This collection of plants. .

Soft colors inferno strip. .

was purchased 3 years ago or 4 from High Country Gardens. .

and has finally come into itself!!

ALL the plants are blooming at the same time. .

And it is literally ABLAZE with winged insects of all kinds!!

The very faint purple spikes at the back right are Nepeta (catmint) Walker's low. .The dark purple in the background is Cardonna Sage, the light purple  in the middle is Rocky Mountain Penstemon, the hot pink on the left is Jupiter's Beard, and the light pink in front is Elfin Pink Penstemon. There is also some hot pink ground cover poppy mallow blooming (in the photo before this one). .as well as hot pink dianthus and light pink clumps of something that I can't name right now.

Further back in the bed are some transplanted clumps of silver and purple Lamb's ear. .

This festive looking Tropicana rose bush that I transplanted before the construction started in March. .

He has NEVER looked happier!!

Some Love Lies Bleeding that I started in the greenhouse. .

I think it is hysterical that this little tiny 6 inch long stalk. .

Is now sporting a 6 inch long flower spike too!!

The plant is supposed to be nearly 5 feet tall. .

With big, droopy flower clusters. .

Hoping it happens!!

The Amythest Falls Wisteria shrub is really taking off now. .

There is a ton of new growth. .

and some flowers.

This was one of the plants that I bought with money given in memory of my dad last spring. .

It is supposed to be a more drought tolerant wisteria. .

I can't WAIT until the clusters of purple hang off of the arbor near it!!

 Come back soon. .

These blossoms are from LAST week. .

 since I couldn't get them uploaded because of blogspot issues. .

in time to jive with my schedule. .

The gardens are changing by the DAY. .

And I'll have more photos again soon!

Until then. .

Be safe. .

And be blessed!!

Thanks for dropping in on us. .

A Little Christmas Cheer

I think that I have established the fact that I love Christmas. It's my "all-out" holiday. I love to decorate. .I love to make goodies. .I love the music and stories. .and I love all the many activities associated with it!

The decorating usually takes place the weekend before Thanksgiving. .just because I like to enjoy the festive colors as long as possible. It seems like every year things get placed in different locations because I can't always remember how it worked out the year before. I thought it would be fun to share with you how my house looks. .all dressed up!

The only two rooms that go untouched are the boys' bedrooms. Everything else is given a temporary makeover. This photo was from the top of the desk hutch. It's where my little collection of medical-related antique-y things live.

I also have a love of snowmen. .look at this little glass one with the wire stethescope and doctor bag, given to me as a gift! I like to add little touches of color to things. .like the little round mints I bought on clearance one year after Christmas. I added them to an old glass vitamin jar. The jar is high enough that the little mouths around here can't get to the mints to eat them, and I recycle them from year to year!!

Here's the kerosene lamp on my dresser. All these little snowmen happen to have colors that match the light sage green on our walls.

This is a rather sad picture of the wool Christmas tree that we made a few months ago. It seems to look cuter than that in real life.

This fall I had seen a cute photo of some wispy garland like this hooked on a headboard with tiny mitten attached to it. .I fell in love with that idea. .but opted to put it on our footboard instead and used stockings. You can see our Santa hats on the headboard. .Mine says "Princess" in sparkly letters. .a gag gift from the employees at work one year! I wear it every Christmas!!

I found this Snowman stocking and the long striped one in a local antique store one Christmas while home at my parents house. I just think they are adorable, and they always make me smile!

Cami got a Christmas tree this year too. She loves it! It is a little white tree from Walmart adorned with pink glitz and glam.

I have mostly collected snowmen. .but I have also acquired a small assortment of Santas too.

I made the little santa and his elf cross stitch a million years ago when I worked night shift!

This entertainment center was new to decorate. We picked it up last New Year's eve. My old one was much shorter. .and it was easy to see my nativity set on the top. I think you can see it well on this one too. .and I haven't knocked any of the figurines off yet. I do my Wii Active workout in the living room in the mornings before anyone wakes up. .and I can sure get the artificial flowers to bouncing on top. .I was really worried the first few times I worked out about sending the little people careening to a sure death!

Several of the figurines have been super glued together after a mishap with a 6 inch ball bat and a little plastic ball given to Tristan for his first Christmas. .14 years ago!! Jeremy was sure glad that it was ME that sent the ball through the nativity scene. .decapitating Mary and one of the wise men!

I love this hobby lobby garland woven through the metal candelabra! There are also red lights strung through it that are timed to turn themselves on at night.

I love, LOVE lights too. .the prime reason I LOVED Times Square!! These are on the top of my refrigerator. .also on a timer.

No children have careened through this spot yet, I was a bit concerned when I set it there. It is near the kitchen door. .but it has survived the season well so far!

We have finally made it to the utility room. .which is multifunctional. .a porch, closet, laundry room, and pantry. The Hoosier cabinet is a usual gathering place for all kinds of junk. .and the little display on the counter has helped minimize it in being used as a dumping zone!!

Periodically, my little glitter balls disappear. .I wonder where they go?!?

I know. .by now you are just thinking that I am insane!! I'm up and down. .climbing on counter tops to get the highest places and crawling under furniture to plug in lights. It takes a good several hours. .but the end results are so worth it to me now. .and the kids are always excited to come home and see the progress. .or help if they are here. I foresee that I won't do this always. .

But for now. .everything is fair game. .

. .and my plan is to continue dispersing holiday cheer throughout my house for many years to come!

So. .for now. .

the decorating is done. .

the baking/candy making is 90% done. .

the shopping is done. .

the school and church programs are done. .

And things will be on a downhill slide over the next week to enjoy a peaceful, spirit filled holiday!!

Hope your Christmas season is shaping up to be as peaceful!

Goin' On a Treasure Hunt

I love junk. .nice junk. .crappy old junk. .any kind of junk!! So flea markets are exciting to me!! You can find really nice things. .and really good junk! Good prices, good deals, fun bargaining and bartering and it is ALWAYS different!! It intrigues me the way that things catch your eye and hold your attention.  I love looking at things and trying to envision different ways to use them in decorating or gardening.  Or envisioning how and why they were used in the first place. This past weekend was no different.  My best antiquing buddy and I kidnapped my new neighbor girl (who also happens to love antiques. .and junk) and ran away to Wichita for the day.  I usually do not go with a list of things to check out. .but I did on Sunday.  Soon we will be remodeling our bathroom.  When we were "picking" at my great grandparents homestead several months ago, I took one of the glass paned kitchen cabinet doors.  My notion was to have Jeremy build me a display case using the door as the front.  I planned to put in a lot of bathroom collectibles that I have scavenged onto in my past. .but wanted a few more things to make it look complete.  I can excitedly say that I was able to complete that mission on Sunday!! I won't spoil my future post by telling you what will go in the case. .but I am hoping that I can convince J that building this box should now be a priority!! And that within a few weeks I will be enjoying my new wall art!!

What I would like to share today are a couple of things that I wasn't looking for. .nor would I have considered them things to be high up on my wish (I have been wanting one of these for YEARS) list. .but boy would I have been wrong to have left them there!!

This huge crock was Mary's big purchase from the flea market!! The price was incredibly low for what they normally sell for. .probably because it weighs like 2 tons and I'm sure they just didn't want to load it up and take it home again!!  As she was preparing to pay them for it. .they told her they would even throw in this smaller one. . .

for $10!! You can do lots of stuff with crocks. .so when she asked if either of us were interested in that deal. .I didn't hesitate.  It looks right at home on the top of my entertainment center across from a slightly larger crock that I got from my grandparents!!

As for Mary's huge crock in the first picture. .she needed a little stopping off place for it before she could get it home. .I'm thinking that I might tell her I broke it. .pay her for it. .and continue to enjoy it in MY living room :-)

After the flea market, we headed to west Wichita and visited the two antique malls on Highway 54. .Flying Moose on the south side of the highway. .and Paramount on the north side.  Oh my gosh!! We hit the jackpot!! We stopped at Paramount last. It took us about 2 hours to get through it the first time. .and I think we could easily have started over a second time and still not REALLY have seen everything.  I found my best treasure on the first row of that mall. .and tried talking myself out of it for the next 1 1/2 hours!! But I couldn't shake the images of it. .and by the time we were ready to leave. .I had it mentally placed in my room AND decorated!!

And though I changed it's final location slightly within my bedroom. .

this little mission style child's desk is quite at home in MY home!

After 16 years of marriage and all the things that go with that. .it has seemed that both of our "decorating styles" (if possibly he HAS a decorating style) have settled on mission style furniture. It has been the one type of style that we both agree look cool.  I suppose that this little table struck me because I so rarely have seen mission style anything.  I knew that it would be perfect in my bedroom

I would SO love to put my old kerosene lamp on the top. .but with the speed that people move through our house. .I decided that the lamp is best left on something VERY sturdy.  Instead I decided on Jeremy's worn bible (that he traded out for another one), some old spectacles from his grandma's family, the red vase that got replaced from the entertainment center by the crock, and an old photo of my mom in her first communion dress. 

Perhaps the most interesting part of this piece to me is the round swiveling "tray" on the left hand side. It was marked on the tag as a lamp stand?  I plan to try to google the desk and see if I can find more information. .but if anyone out there happens to know anything about a desk like this. .I'd love to hear more.

We certainly had a great time looking at the antiques and collectibles. .admiring. .contemplating. .learning!! And if any one lives near Wichita and enjoys this hobby. .I urge you to stop by. .but PLEASE don't be in a hurry!! I'll also tell you that Paramount's biggest sale of the year will be March 12-13. .when they will be taking 10-30% off store wide. .and the owners will be IN-STORE. .wheeling and dealing!! Wishing I could go back. .but it probably won't happen! Hope someone can take advantage of the sales. .and if you go. .be sure to let me know. .There were a couple of other little things I'd LOVE to own :-)

Wishing everyone a fantastic weekend!

Happy New Year

Hope everyone had a safe and happy New Year.  Jeremy and I snuck away on New Year's Eve to Wichita. We started out in the morning, but returned home shortly after because of the icy roadways from the freezing drizzle that we had the night before.  But, with ample sunshine, by noon the highways were pretty clear despite continued temperatures in the mid teens. .so we left part of the kids at home and part of them with Granny and took off for the city.

I had an agenda!!

Some of you may remember me talking about the Dave Ramsey financial planning classes that we went to last fall.  At that time, since we were anticipating a huge drop in our income after I went part time, I started diverting money into a system designed to keep funds available for different needs (or in some cases. .wants) I did this primarily to make sure that we had some extra money saved for repairs, vacations, and some restaurant visits. .in case the general fund dipped too low to include any "extras." So, I have been putting money aside for the last 1 1/2 years and finally saved enough to buy an entertainment center that I have been seeing in my dreams!! And with a small bonus from work and a nice gift from my grandma. .I also had enough saved to purchase

THIS. . .

An exciting big screen T.V.

I'm soon to be 38 and have NEVER owned a nice TV.

We had a great time shopping for it. .and the nice salesman threw in a cool Blue Ray player for dirt cheap.

Our lucky day!!

As I dismanteled my Christmas tree on New Year's Day. .I also enjoyed my annual

tradition of watching the Rose Bowl Parade. .

Live. . .on the BIG screen!!

And I'm sure that my hubby, who wasn't completely sold on the idea to start with, wouldn't trade it in after watching a couple of weekend football games on it!!

And the boys were super excited to get the old entertainment stand and TV down in Grant's basement bedroom.

So they could turn it into a game playing man-cave!!

This week finds us back to the grind. .Full force ahead with basketball games and pep band.

The new year also finds me picking up 2 extra family planning clinics per month and 2 new clinics. .so I now serve these needs for 3 counties in Oklahoma. I will continue my other 2 1/2 days of clinics per week. .and I have really been amazed at how busy I can stay on the other 4 1/2 days of the week doing family and volunteer stuff!! The gardening catalogs are coming regularly now. .and I have a good start to my spring order list!! Grant is going to do horticulture as one of his 4-H projects this year. .and I can't tell you how excited I am about that!! I caught some pictures of the greenhouse late last week. .and intend to share some those happenings with you this week. Even though the temperatures have been frigid. .in the single digits several nights, the goldfish are still living and swimming around during the warmth of the day.  The icy pond surface is an ever-present temptation to the kids. .and after days of warning them to stay off the ice. .Grant broke through it yesterday morning before church. .soaking one leg up to mid shin.  Though he and Devin both got repercussions from their dad. .I'm sure that it won't be long before they are at it again. .my boys seem to be fairly slow learners!!

On the radio this morning I heard an interesting piece of advice regarding the new year. .we all make mistakes daily in our lives. .but unless we make changes to do things we have never done. .and read things we have never read. .we will be the same person next year as we were last year!!  Not sure about you all, but I could stand some changing for the better over the next year!!

I'm happy to report that I have only slipped two swear words out since Friday night (and I was REALLY mad both times. .that's a good excuse right? WRONG!) and am thoroughly enjoying some extra reading time. .especially since the extra Christmas activities have ceased!

Any of you girls looking for a good book should check out the one I posted about last week. .For Women Only. .It is VERRRRY enlightening in understanding men. .and their thought processes. .and their needs. .and some of their bizarre behaviors! I am intrigued by it, and occasionally amazed about the perceptiveness of the author. I even found myself identifying parts of the book demonstrated in the movie Bounty Hunter that Jeremy and I watched last night after the kids went to bed (by the way. .a GREAT movie!)

So, here's to wishing you all a great week. .and a SUPER new year. Strive to be better in everything you do!