The joy in little things

Last night we moved a few steps closer to having a completed bathroom! I really can’t explain my excitement over this! While there is still some major things to be done, Phil put up the shelves in the linen closet, and this was a huge step forward. I no longer have tools mixed with hair products or towels in the guest bedroom. Instead they are all in their place in my beautiful new shelves.

We have two college girls moving in for the summer while Emily is gone; however they overlap by about two weeks so we needed a place for the girls to stay for a while. We decided that the upstairs was the best place for them; however this is the ONLY place in the house we have literally done nothing to. So last night we moved all of our storage that had piled up and cleaned and washed everything. I was amazed again by the dirt and nasty that the last owners left behind. After we cleaned I painted the stairwell since it was an ugly green with some graffiti on the walls. It looks so much better and I am starting to think with little money we could turn that into a really nice room…. Maybe that will be our next project! For now, the girls have a nice, clean place to stay for a few weeks.

This weekend we are looking forward to getting out in the yard and doing some much needed work. The gardens need to be weeded, the grass cut, and about a hundred other random things to be done. I really enjoy yard work, so it should be fun. I can’t wait to get flowers planted also!

Today marks my last day with Student Development for the year. I am feeling mixed emotions about this! I am excited for the change of pace and new challenges but will miss this job also!

Have a great weekend!

The stair's before!

The stair's after

The NEW vanity

New shower

The BEAUTIFUL new shelves Phil installed! Now we just need doors and trim to complete the look :)

To Lake Michigan and Back

Oh how the years go by…

Today I am sitting at work watching the commotions as our students here at Northwestern are finishing up finals and moving out. All students must be moved out of the dorms by noon Friday so many have already gone into panic mode. I see such an array of emotions as they are moving out, some so glad to get out of this place, others not quite willing to let go of the year yet. Though it has been years already I feel like it was not that long ago I was in their shoes.
I am reminded how fast times flies by. Watching the students hurry around, I want to hit the pause button and remind them this is a short season of life that will soon be gone. Enjoy every moment of the experience, it will soon be only a memory.

In my own life I need to remember the same thing. Life is short, days may seem long but the weeks seem short. I want to enjoy all of life for the good and bad. It is so easy for me to forget the small things in life like helping someone out, or just asking how someone’s day has been and truly listening.

No, Not Me!

As you have gathered, this last week has been a complete blur, honestly I think I stepped off the plane into an alternate universe where time and space are totally messed up. But don’t worry, I am super woman and even though life has been crazy I am still taking care of the small things…

No, this is not me, there is not a week of mail stacked on my counter top… apparently you did not read the above about me being super woman!

OH, this is someone else’s bedroom, I would NEVER be home for almost a week and headed out on another trip without unpacking… and no, I am not STILL living out of my suitcase!

Can you believe this person? I mean I bet this laundry pile has not been done for at least two weeks… maybe more…. Who does this? (And do they have any clean underware left?!?!)

This I know for sure is not me, I always do my dishes after I cook, how could any one not?

Ok, and honestly, if you have been under construction, wouldn’t you clean up and take the toilet paper and towel off the office couch?

Lastly, this is definitely not me, never would I have tools and hair products together in the bathroom non the less… my goodness, this poor girls house…

Ok, well thanks for letting me share how messy others are, just remember, I am super woman, my house is perfectly clean and organized and my brain does not feel scattered at all as I am once again on the road. Thank you for your understanding!

Off again!

Where did this week go? I mean, don’t get me wrong, I love that the weekend is here, however somehow it just means that this week was so full is just escaped from me!

This weekend we were going to relax, hang out with friends, unpack (please do not judge me for suitcases still on the bedroom floor… ) maybe even clean the house. However our plans changed again and we are off again! I guess this whole planning trips at the drop of a hat thing is sticking for us. (my poor dog, he thinks we no longer love him!)

We will be driving down to Racine, Wisconsin as soon as Phil and I both get off of work today along with his Mom. Phil’s grandfather has been battling cancer as well as a very bad infection in his knee for a while and now the cancer has spread. We both decided that we wanted to make sure we were able to see his grandparents soon. We will spend the day tomorrow with his family down there and then drive up to Milwaukee to visit my brother who is attending the University of Milwaukee. I am super excited to see his dorm, see where he has classes and have dinner with him. Then after dinner we will drive back up to Minnesota.

Maybe one day we will have nothing to do, for today, I am really glad we can take this time to be with family!

Phil’s first day on the job yesterday went really well! He is super excited to have a huge window in his office overlooking the city of Minneapolis. He sent me a text of it yesterday, and it is beautiful! Sure beats his cubicle with no natural light in his last job! He also said he really likes what he is doing, and feels like this is a good fit for him. I am so thankful for God providing a good job and something he enjoys!

My run yesterday was awesome! I ran a little over half a mile… yes, I know that does not compare to the six-eight I would do before… but hey, you gotta start somewhere! It felt so good to run, and know that I am making progress. As I ran they recorded me and then after we watched it and I was able to see a few things I can change in my running style that will help me prevent injury in the future as well as make my running more effective. I am allowed to walk for the next week and a half, then I will get my training program to get back to running after that. My physical therapist says that though it might be hard, she thinks I will still have enough time to train for the marathon, I just need to be really careful so I do not re-injure!

Hope you all have a great weekend, don’t forget, its Mothers Day on Sunday! 

Not forgetful, just busy!

I know it, I have been absolutely horrible about keeping updated these last few weeks. However just to state my case, this is not because I have not thought about it! In fact, I typically go through my day thinking about what I want to blog about, and believe me, I have a lot of good ideas. Yet somehow at the end of the day when I crash into bed (and yes, it has been almost literally crashing into bed) I have not written down anything. These past few weeks have been so crazy, I feel like I need to grab on to something stationary and hold on for dear life… and unfortunately there are no signs of life slowing down.
Phil and I both flew back to Minnesota Sunday afternoon after having an amazing trip in New Mexico. My heart, mind, body and soul really needed to escape and relax. Though we were very busy while we were down there, it was so nice to be doing something different with my great family. I was SO hard to say goodbye, but are excited that we will be going down end of June again for about ten days… and the countdown begins!

Work is insanely busy, though having a week off was amazing, I am paying for it now! I could work 24 hours a day and still not get done all that needs to be done before I start with Events for the summer. As some of you know, I work for Student Development nine months out of the year and then work with our lodging program for three months in the summer. I really love both positions, however this time of year it is crazy trying to wrap up one job and also working at getting the next started. This summer is also extremely busy with groups that will keep me oh so busy as well.

We have had a HUGE answer to prayer as well! Phil interviewed for a position on Tuesday and got a call back the same day that they wanted him to start today! It is a management company that has many apartment complexes for low income and homeless people all over the Twin Cities. He will be doing general accounting work for them. It is a contract position; however it sound like this will be a much longer contract, maybe even a year. So in the mean time, there are a few other direct hire jobs he is still in the running for. We are just so amazed at how God continually takes care of us!

Today I get to run for the first time in months… and I am scared!! Honestly really scared! I think it is more that I don’t want to face the reality of needing to get back in running shape or that I have probably lost all my great progress. However, I am excited that my leg is healing enough to start running again! Today I am running with my physical therapist and she is going to video tape me running and then we will work on form and how I run to help prevent injury in the future. Then in two weeks I meet with the orthopedist again and she said at the point unless something has really changed I should be given the green light to run on my own and start training again for the marathon! I am nervous thinking about running the marathon because I feel like I have lost so much time for training, but am so thankful that I will still be able to run.

And now for the random thoughts/pictures that have been floating around in my head for days…
Please meet Audrey… This is my dog (ok, I mean my moms dog, but I would take her in a heartbeat!) She is the sweetest little girl ever, I really had fun with her while in NM... I am sure she really misses me :)

Did you know spring is here? Yes, yes it is here!! Just to prove to you that it is… look what I bought to make our yard beautiful!!!

Did you know in New Mexico you can bring your little dogs anywhere?!? It’s true, and yes, Audrey loved going to Lowes with us!

I have also decided that I think the Southwest is b-e-a-utiful…. I love the mountains and the clouds and the sun and and and…. :) Marta and her boyfriend and Phil and I took a trip about an hour and a half south of Albuquerque to get hay for my Mom’s horses, I was beautiful country!

Yes, this is what real men do… and yes, these are real men!

And these…

And these…

Opps, i mean look at those REAL girls! :)

Ok, last random thought… can you believe that my little sister is 17!??! Look at her all grown up AND WITH A BOY!! :) Marta, I love you!

Oh my goodness, how time has flown by! I am not sure how this much time has passed, other than our lives being 100% crazy! These past two weeks have brought much change and fun times!

The biggest is that Phil and I on a whim flew down to New Mexico on Saturday to spend a week with family down here. Originally Phil was going to come down alone and work for my Aunt and Uncle and I was going to stay home and work. However some things happened with my family the day before he was going to leave and I felt a great need to just get away! SO, Saturday morning, two hours before the flight took off my flight was booked and I jumped on a plane. It was super quick and last minute but really great. I have the most incredible boss who understood my needing to get away as well as the most generous Aunt who used a free ticket she had so I could come down as well.

This week down here has been a blast. We have been mostly hanging out, with so much time together. My mom and I went for a very long horse back ride yesterday through the Bosque by the Rio Grand River. It was beautiful out and so much fun to be riding again. I think it has been almost four years since I have been riding, and for a girl who grew up riding everyday, that’s a long time!

My Mom moved into new house last fall but has not had the chance to paint much, so we went together to pick out some colors and started painting. Last night we got the first coat on her kitchen and had a lot of fun doing it. Marta and Phil did a junk food run, so we all got on sugar highs and painted… that’s my kind of fun :)

Back at home we have almost completed the bathroom and are just waiting on a full time job for Phil before we finish a few things. I meant to take pictures, however with our last minute trip, I just didn’t have time! It is looking so awesome though and it is AMAZING to have a toilet upstairs again!

I have also received some good news about my leg! I went for my six week check-up with the Orthopedist and she said it is healing really well. I will be able to start running again with my PT this coming week and two weeks after that should be able to start running for real again. I am so excited to be able to get back to running, though I am partially scared, I know after this amount of time not running it will take quite a bit to get back into it!

Phil is still searching for a job, there have been a few things he is in the running for, however nothing has panned out yet… There is a possibility of a job opening in New Mexico though. This is a really scary thing to think about so we are trying to just take one thing at a time and trust that God has a good plan! The thought of leaving Minnesota is so sad, however we would love to be with all my family down here. So we will see, it probably won’t happen for a long time still… but we will see.

Work has been extremely busy, I feel like everyday I am there I just do not have enough hours to do what I need to do. I am so grateful for an awesome place to work and am so thankful for amazing co-workers.

Well, that is all for now. I have been writing this post for the last few hours but keep on getting distracted by all that is going on here, so I better end before I have another thing to pull me away!