Whirlwind Weekend

Well, I have a lot of things I need to work on, so I've decided. I'm a big, ungrateful, stupid, jerk.

And that's that.

We blocked the basement. It included Jacks and other items, but now the upstairs floor is level. Yay. And the gas furnace is no more. Double yay.

And vents and ducting are a huge, crazy stupid gigantic pain in the rear end to take out.

And old water in pipes stinks.

But I've become a master stucco-er because all the plastic came down over the weekend,  and the new stucco is sooooo nice and seamless!

Sorry for the cryptic blog tonight. I'm tired, and coming down with a cold. Also, my camera may or may not be broken. This is still to be determined. It's frustrating being shy and wanting people to like me and be my friend, but know that I don't deserve it because I'm not friendly enough and say really stupid put-my-foot-in-my-mouth comments.

There ya go. The rambling thoughts of Alyson at 1:30 am.

Good night.

Well fetch. I just deleted this post and now I have to rewrite it. That was dumb.

I was at a thrift store in town and saw these amazing mirrors with the coolest frames ever made. I'm not a fan of the gold, and I'd redo that, but I need your opinions.

What do you think about me putting them side by side in my master bathroom? Nah? Maybe just put one on its side? Maybe put one in my living room? Forget it all together?

I have also compiled a list of photos that illustrate what I am talking about. Just scroll down and then leave a comment telling me what you think!

And one more thing, I know they don't look that big in the photo, but they are huge. Really.

Stuck on Stucco

Guys, I finished the stucco for the year!

I will stand while you clap

*bowing*

*and more bowing*

I am so tired. I am physically and emotionally exhausted right now. It's photo season, scouts just started back up, Trevor just started a new job working a lot more hours- making him much less available to help, and I feel like the weight of everything is on me.

And trust me Mom, I am giving it all over to the Lord.

Now, because I know you are asking yourself "Self, I wonder how she put up stucco with those two little boys?", let me tell you how this goes down.

So I normally put up a camping chair for Carter to sit in, and we have an old fashioned crib/bassinet that I sit Will in next to him. This is out in the dirt of the backyard where I'm working. Will normally cries and tries to get out, and sometimes faceplants into the dirt, but I just put him back in. It takes about 5 hours for me to apply one batch of stucco by myself. This is with me regularly rewetting and mixing the stucco so it will not set up before I can get it on the house.

Yesterday Will went three hours past when he should have eaten because I was on such a tight schedule, I couldn't stop. I had stucco, scouts, and a photo shoot. I almost had a nervous breakdown. It was too much.

Anyway, there is some insight into my life for you.

Well then...

I've said it before and I'll say it again

Life never turns out like you expect, and you would be shortchanging yourself to fight against your life plan.

My advice: sit back and enjoy the ride

Also, be open to life's challenges. They are happening to you for a reason, and you will most likely not feel grateful for a very long time, but you WILL eventually see the reason behind it, and you will be grateful.

And now some news: we've had an unexpected and unplanned job change. It's so crazy and I'm still trying to make sense of what this means for us. We are still living here in Gooding,  and still plugging along on the house. I still cannot wait to move into the house, and it may be sooner rather than later. We just are not sure if Gooding is where we will grow our roots deep.  Only time will tell.

Little Pieces

Is it normal to feel like every time I drop my kids off at their first day of school, I left half of my heart there with them? Does the feeling ever go away? I don't think I want it too. It would be nice if it didn't hurt so much though...