Crappy Day

Two trips to Home Depot: $97.44

Throwing away a shirt, pants, socks, & shoes: $60

Hours spent under the house: 9

Hours lost working due to rain/snow: 1

Having a handy husband: PRICELESS!!!

The time finally came where something in our house broke. Well technically it didn't break.

Some moron thought that you could use a dryer vent and duct tape for plumbing. Needless to

say, we kept smelling this foul smell. I am way weird about smells and sanitation, so I

begged my hubby to look under the house. I knew the yucky smell wasn't coming from

inside. I thought maybe an animal got under the house and died - you just never know after

winter when things thaw out. So the awesome guy that he is he got under the house and all

of a sudden I hear this hacking and I look out the window. My dear sweet husband is on his knees hurling into the bushes. The verdict...crap was everywhere! Lesson to the dork that 'thought' he could do plumbing...duct tape doesn't fix everything. I am so grateful that my 'Mr. Fix-it' installed an entire new plumbing system.Then he cleaned the concrete and topped it off with a good Clorox scrub. The poor guy totally burned his lungs and throat. When he finally finished at 8 pm he quickly showered (after throwing away his clothes) and we left for the evening. The smell of the bleach permeated the entire house, but for me that was a piece of mind knowing we weren't breathing in the poop fumes! So another shameless plug for my man who saved us a couple hundred dollars by doing the 'dirty work' himself!

fRiEnDs

I have been so blessed throughout my life to have amazing friends! I had the opportunity to see two of these great friends that I haven't seen in a few years!

I first got to spend the afternoon with my friend Natalie, who I just love chatting with about anything under the sun! We have so much in common including the fact that her mom is friends with my moms childhood friend, who lives in California {small world}! We are both the oldest in our families and we deal with life's challenges and daily experiences in similar ways. We got to talk about family/friends, cameras, photography, and life. Our friendship started back in 2001 when we first moved to Utah. We were both newlyweds and we'd play games and hang out because they lived across the street and lets face it, we were on strict budgets. I miss those days {sigh}. When we moved back to Arizona they came to visit us, and shortly after they moved to the other side of the country for a while and even through the miles we still were able to keep in touch {especially through the blessing of blogs}! I loved every minute of hanging out with you Natalie and I love your new home! You are a wonderful example to me and I watch you more than you think {not in a stalkerish way, haha}. Welcome back to Utah!

The second friend that I got to see was Erika! Erika and I go back 12+ years! It all started with me asking for her picture because I thought she was cool and really good at basketball. She was my rock through everything and anything and I could always count on her. In high school we spent hours playing the piano and singing, not to mention the fact that our guest room became her second bedroom. I love that she can be trusted with any secret, and that she never judges anyone or gossips. She is also sentimental and saved some of the notes we used to write each other and we had so much fun re-reading them! She even had a funny one from when I was dating Phillip seriously and I hadn't even graduated yet! Erika and I can also not see each other for years and pick up as though nothing had changed. We had Cafe Rio and sat in her cute kitchen for hours talking. Oh and of course had brownies and ice cream! I loved talking about all our crazy stories from back in the day! Erika, I am grateful for our friendship and the closeness we've always shared! I swear if it weren't for some of those heart to heart talks, I wouldn't have made it through our senior year! You are an amazing example of selflessness. You rock Allstar!

SOLD...and BOUGHT!!!

My rad friend Sarah bought my Mac Mini...and I bought a new Macbook! I am so excited...for the both of us! She's going to love it, and I'm already enjoying the portability of the Macbook!

Sarah's new computer!

Deneigh's new computer!

GILGAL

Since Phillip's older sisters came into town for his brothers homecoming we all went to this really odd park called GILGAL. It's just some guys backyard and he did these crazy weird art pieces. Here are a ton of fun, random pictures from the day!

The BIG Surprise

Yes it has come to my attention that we have been M.I.A. for a few weeks...and I can finally share with you why!  Phillip's parents went to France to pick up his brother Steven from his mission.  So while they were gone me and Phillip, and Machelle {his sister} and Tim {her boyfriend}, redid 2 rooms in their house!  The first reason we concocted this surprise is that they never would have done it for themselves.  The second reason is that by doing this huge project we were taking care of Mother's Day/Father's Day, birthdays, and Christmas for the rest of the year.  So for 2 weeks we ate, breathed, and slept remodeling the basement!  We forgot the before pictures so it isn't as dramatic and you can't appreciate the work that went into this project by just showing the final outcome {Thanks Machelle for sending me the pics}.  I will say though that they feel like totally different rooms!  

The first room used to be the sewing/craft room and office.  It is now just the sewing/craft/scrapbook room.  It is bright and fun!  One of my favorite things about the room is my idea of using a lazy susan and putting dowels in it so we could put all the rolls of wrapping paper on it and spin it around.  I loved organizing everything and Machelle's idea for the fabric makes the closet seem like art, haha!  I love that this room feels happy!

The second room used to be Phillip's room, and then it was the dance room.  Guests would stay in this stark cold room and now it has a much warmer feeling about it.  Not only did this room get a fresh coat of paint and new hardwood floors {put in by Phil & Tim}, but it now has a designated purpose.  It is the office/guest room.  The futon allows guests a space to sleep, but still has an office feel for Phillip's Dad.

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