I just signed up to run a 6k on October 9th at Thanksgiving Point. A few of the girls from the office are running it too. It's the Wasatch Woman Love Your Body 6K/10K 2010
3 years ago
Thursday, September 2, 2010
Tuesday, August 17, 2010
Changed again
My family is coming to visit me this weekend and I felt like I needed a little bit of change. So here it is.
I Love it!
I Love it!
Monday, July 5, 2010
Operation New Front Door
Ben and I have been continuing our home improvements. 
Recently Ben and I were talking to our neighbor about how we wanted to get a new front door because the one we had left space for air to get in and it was just ugly (see above picture). She told us that the people who were renting our home before we moved in had gotten drunk one night and punched a hole through the door. Since they were renting they called the landlord to come fix it. Their landlord said they broke it and they were responsible to fix it. The renters did not have money to go buy a new door so they simply took an interior door, cut it themselves, glued the hinges on, and viola, that was our front door. Sweet right? Not so much.
That's when we decided to go look at new front doors. We found one we loved at Lowe's and recruited one of the young men in our church ward who had a truck to help us go pick it up. We got all the supplies needed to take the old door and frame out, and put in the new door and seal it etc. Ben recruited another young man in the ward who said he'd help Ben install it on his day off. Everything was set and then Ben called the Bishop of our Ward to ask if we could borrow a crowbar. He said sure and asked what size we needed. Ben explained it was for the door and the Bishop told Ben a story about installing his own door and how it has never been right ever since. He gave Ben the number of a great handyman Nick and told him to call him.
We called and Nick was willing to come do it for $200 cheaper than Lowe's or Home Depot would have charged to install the door.
This is Nick taking out our old door. Nick IS AWESOME. and it only took him a few hours take out the old and put in the new.
No Door! Even no door was an improvement over the old door.
This pretty item is our new door. It is on two totes because while Ben and I found the door to be a thing of beauty just as it was, we (I) really wanted a red front door. My house is white with black shutters and I just thought that a red door would be just the thing to make it shine.
And shine it does. I LOVE IT! Ben likes it too.
Doesn't it look so pretty? Now we just say we're the house in the cul-de-sac with the red front door.
Recently Ben and I were talking to our neighbor about how we wanted to get a new front door because the one we had left space for air to get in and it was just ugly (see above picture). She told us that the people who were renting our home before we moved in had gotten drunk one night and punched a hole through the door. Since they were renting they called the landlord to come fix it. Their landlord said they broke it and they were responsible to fix it. The renters did not have money to go buy a new door so they simply took an interior door, cut it themselves, glued the hinges on, and viola, that was our front door. Sweet right? Not so much.That's when we decided to go look at new front doors. We found one we loved at Lowe's and recruited one of the young men in our church ward who had a truck to help us go pick it up. We got all the supplies needed to take the old door and frame out, and put in the new door and seal it etc. Ben recruited another young man in the ward who said he'd help Ben install it on his day off. Everything was set and then Ben called the Bishop of our Ward to ask if we could borrow a crowbar. He said sure and asked what size we needed. Ben explained it was for the door and the Bishop told Ben a story about installing his own door and how it has never been right ever since. He gave Ben the number of a great handyman Nick and told him to call him.
We called and Nick was willing to come do it for $200 cheaper than Lowe's or Home Depot would have charged to install the door.
This is Nick taking out our old door. Nick IS AWESOME. and it only took him a few hours take out the old and put in the new.
No Door! Even no door was an improvement over the old door.
This pretty item is our new door. It is on two totes because while Ben and I found the door to be a thing of beauty just as it was, we (I) really wanted a red front door. My house is white with black shutters and I just thought that a red door would be just the thing to make it shine.
And shine it does. I LOVE IT! Ben likes it too.
Doesn't it look so pretty? Now we just say we're the house in the cul-de-sac with the red front door.
Sunday, May 2, 2010
Improvements
We got new couches! They're an improvement over our old couches that were free. Our last couches my boss gave us after we helped him move and he decided his old couches didn't look nice enough for his new house. We appreciated those couches but are most excited to have these new ones which are the result of a yard sale. 
Yea for yard sales! Ben and I have found BYU students often buy furniture and other items several months before they graduate and plan to take it with them, they then get prices on moving vans, realize how expensive it is and have yard sales where you can get their pretty new stuff for cheap. As a result April is a good month for us.
More yard sale goodness...
We found the patio table at a yard sale brought it home and then found cheap chairs at Home depot and while we were their found this grill. We now have a patio set, woohoo! We christened the grill two weekends ago and invited over our married friends from American Fork, Mike and Chelsi. We had steak, hamburgers, hot dogs, potato salad, and root beer floats, you know you're jealous.
A few months ago we finally bought a lawnmower. We would have bought one last year but we had just bought a house and so most of our money went to a down payment. Also the lawn was dead when we moved in so we thought we'd wait until spring to work on the lawn. It's an electric mower because, one, I hear gas mowers are hard to get the right mixture for oil and gas and two,they smell. This mower you plug in using an extension cord and it feels a little like you're vacuuming your lawn but it's entertaining to me. Maybe that will change when I've used it more than three or four times. I also thought it was cute, Ben heard me say this and he said if I called it cute I would be the one mowing and his prediction came true. Ben mowing: 1 Dara mowing:3.
I said I would post pictures when the windows were done. And I didn't but I am now. I blame it on the fact the weather was really nice and then it snowed and I didn't want to go outside to take pictures. Oh well here goes:
Here is the outside of our house after. I LOVE the new windows. And they make a huge difference with the temperature inside our home. They also look nicer than the aluminum frames from the seventies and we can't hear the kids playing in the cul-de-sac anymore. Just for comparison, although you can't tell as much from far away, is the house with the old windows.
Here is the close up so you can see the beautiful new clean windows and we have screens!
On a side note this window is so clean I came running down stairs a few weeks ago because I heard a loud bang at about 7 am when I was getting ready for work. I came down to investigate and found a bird, it's head twisted to the side, sitting outside the window. I was terrified it was dead so I asked Ben to go check. He naturally was tired and still in bed and refused. So I bugged him. He wanted to let the cats out and let them investigate but I did not want parts of a bird, feathers or otherwise, all over the front yard/porch. Ben eventually came down and looked out the window. He said the bird was not dead because he could see it blinking, then he went back to bed. The bird did not move and by the time I left for work it was slowly regaining movement. I talked and encouraged him and eventually I got to close for comfort and it shook it's head, looked at me, spread it's wings, and flew away. I'm pretty sure it was in shock so I hope it didn't land on a branch, then fall out again once it froze up from shock and it's likely concussion. I envisioned this happening my entire time at work that day.
And from inside you can see the pretty window again and...our pretty new couches.
Next up we may be having an open house... a few months late.
Yea for yard sales! Ben and I have found BYU students often buy furniture and other items several months before they graduate and plan to take it with them, they then get prices on moving vans, realize how expensive it is and have yard sales where you can get their pretty new stuff for cheap. As a result April is a good month for us.
More yard sale goodness...
We found the patio table at a yard sale brought it home and then found cheap chairs at Home depot and while we were their found this grill. We now have a patio set, woohoo! We christened the grill two weekends ago and invited over our married friends from American Fork, Mike and Chelsi. We had steak, hamburgers, hot dogs, potato salad, and root beer floats, you know you're jealous.
A few months ago we finally bought a lawnmower. We would have bought one last year but we had just bought a house and so most of our money went to a down payment. Also the lawn was dead when we moved in so we thought we'd wait until spring to work on the lawn. It's an electric mower because, one, I hear gas mowers are hard to get the right mixture for oil and gas and two,they smell. This mower you plug in using an extension cord and it feels a little like you're vacuuming your lawn but it's entertaining to me. Maybe that will change when I've used it more than three or four times. I also thought it was cute, Ben heard me say this and he said if I called it cute I would be the one mowing and his prediction came true. Ben mowing: 1 Dara mowing:3.
I said I would post pictures when the windows were done. And I didn't but I am now. I blame it on the fact the weather was really nice and then it snowed and I didn't want to go outside to take pictures. Oh well here goes:
Here is the outside of our house after. I LOVE the new windows. And they make a huge difference with the temperature inside our home. They also look nicer than the aluminum frames from the seventies and we can't hear the kids playing in the cul-de-sac anymore. Just for comparison, although you can't tell as much from far away, is the house with the old windows.
Here is the close up so you can see the beautiful new clean windows and we have screens!On a side note this window is so clean I came running down stairs a few weeks ago because I heard a loud bang at about 7 am when I was getting ready for work. I came down to investigate and found a bird, it's head twisted to the side, sitting outside the window. I was terrified it was dead so I asked Ben to go check. He naturally was tired and still in bed and refused. So I bugged him. He wanted to let the cats out and let them investigate but I did not want parts of a bird, feathers or otherwise, all over the front yard/porch. Ben eventually came down and looked out the window. He said the bird was not dead because he could see it blinking, then he went back to bed. The bird did not move and by the time I left for work it was slowly regaining movement. I talked and encouraged him and eventually I got to close for comfort and it shook it's head, looked at me, spread it's wings, and flew away. I'm pretty sure it was in shock so I hope it didn't land on a branch, then fall out again once it froze up from shock and it's likely concussion. I envisioned this happening my entire time at work that day.
And from inside you can see the pretty window again and...our pretty new couches.
Next up we may be having an open house... a few months late.
Thursday, April 1, 2010
Home Improvements
Ben and I bought a house last July and have been so excited to have a place of our own. For the first time we can alter our surroundings. We can paint, we can replace, we can nail things into the wall, we can put up shelves. So we have.
The first things we did after we moved in was to paint. We started with the living room and the hallway going upstairs. Next we moved to the kitchen and painted there then slowly, the bathrooms, bedrooms and finally the den or Ben's place downstairs. We were so excited about our accomplishment. We showed it off when family came in to town and have friends over. We put up our pictures and got some new curtains and Ben with the help of his mom stained some wood planks and put up shelves in his Den. That was completed in January.
Now we're moving on to our next project. Ben and I filed our taxes and we were excited to get our tax credit for buying a home. Our house was built in the seventies so the windows are single pane and our utilities go right out the window quite literally. We started shopping around the got quotes from several places to get new windows. As a result we found out about a tax credit program were we can get up to 30% not to exceed $1500 of the money we spend getting energy efficient windows. Once we received our tax return (which took 7 weeks by the way), we chose our dream windows and ordered them last week. They should arrive April 8th and we're so excited. After that we'll work with an installer and after 2 days labor tops we'll have beautiful new windows! Fear not, pictures will be posted. Once that's done and the snow goes away, (It's snowing as I'm typing this) we'll have our open house and invite over some friend for some grilling goodness and some fun.
Next projects on the agenda, painting the exterior of our house this summer and after that tiling the bathroom, I love owning a house!
The first things we did after we moved in was to paint. We started with the living room and the hallway going upstairs. Next we moved to the kitchen and painted there then slowly, the bathrooms, bedrooms and finally the den or Ben's place downstairs. We were so excited about our accomplishment. We showed it off when family came in to town and have friends over. We put up our pictures and got some new curtains and Ben with the help of his mom stained some wood planks and put up shelves in his Den. That was completed in January.
Now we're moving on to our next project. Ben and I filed our taxes and we were excited to get our tax credit for buying a home. Our house was built in the seventies so the windows are single pane and our utilities go right out the window quite literally. We started shopping around the got quotes from several places to get new windows. As a result we found out about a tax credit program were we can get up to 30% not to exceed $1500 of the money we spend getting energy efficient windows. Once we received our tax return (which took 7 weeks by the way), we chose our dream windows and ordered them last week. They should arrive April 8th and we're so excited. After that we'll work with an installer and after 2 days labor tops we'll have beautiful new windows! Fear not, pictures will be posted. Once that's done and the snow goes away, (It's snowing as I'm typing this) we'll have our open house and invite over some friend for some grilling goodness and some fun.
Next projects on the agenda, painting the exterior of our house this summer and after that tiling the bathroom, I love owning a house!
Friday, March 26, 2010
Will I have more fun?
I thought maybe I need a change. Winter is winding down and spring is almost here. I need a haircut. Here I am before...
And after! I decided I wanted a little color change as well. I guess I'll find out if Blondes really do have more fun.
So far the best compliment I've received is a girl I work with told me I look like Tinkerbell.
And after! I decided I wanted a little color change as well. I guess I'll find out if Blondes really do have more fun.
Monday, March 8, 2010
Life Continues.
So in more good news. I passed the second investment licensing test I needed to become investment licensed. Now I just have to do my company's small assessment that I promise not to do anything that is not in the clients best interest and then I'll be on my way.
In other news, I'm still loving working with the Young Women in my Ward and we are planning a humanitarian project for the victims of the recent earthquakes.I don't have all the details yet but we're all very excited to help in anyway we can. I think sometimes we feel tragedies that happen far a way don't affect us and we have trouble feeling like that event is real and not just another fiction or movie but that something that affects real lives. I'm glad to work with girls who are so loving and giving of themselves and their time both to people in our community and to those they will never meet in other parts of the world.
Speaking of reality it feels like every married person I know is either pregnant or getting divorced. My very good friend is pregnant right now and I'm asking her all my questions that I don't feel comfortable asking acquaintances. While she's my first close friend to experience pregnancy, I work with a pregnant girl, a girl who used to work with me at my office is pregnant, two of the women I visit teach are pregnant, a girl I was in the journalism program at BYU with is pregnant and blogging about it, a girl from my freshman ward is pregnant, and a girl from my sophomore ward is pregnant, a girl from my seminary class in Cincinnati is pregnant, and the list goes on. On the other side I have three friends who either are in the process of getting a divorce or their divorce was just legalized. One girl I work with, one is a friend I met through my other friend, and one is a friend both my husband and I met in New Hampshire while we were dating. In each case a spouse was being selfish and not willing to work with their partner. All three were married in the temple and all of them seemed happy. It makes me appreciate my husband just a little more and it has led us to have some heartfelt conversations in hopes that we never end up in a situation where we feel divorce is the only answer.
I love my husband and appreciate all he does I hope it stays that way.
In other news, I'm still loving working with the Young Women in my Ward and we are planning a humanitarian project for the victims of the recent earthquakes.I don't have all the details yet but we're all very excited to help in anyway we can. I think sometimes we feel tragedies that happen far a way don't affect us and we have trouble feeling like that event is real and not just another fiction or movie but that something that affects real lives. I'm glad to work with girls who are so loving and giving of themselves and their time both to people in our community and to those they will never meet in other parts of the world.
Speaking of reality it feels like every married person I know is either pregnant or getting divorced. My very good friend is pregnant right now and I'm asking her all my questions that I don't feel comfortable asking acquaintances. While she's my first close friend to experience pregnancy, I work with a pregnant girl, a girl who used to work with me at my office is pregnant, two of the women I visit teach are pregnant, a girl I was in the journalism program at BYU with is pregnant and blogging about it, a girl from my freshman ward is pregnant, and a girl from my sophomore ward is pregnant, a girl from my seminary class in Cincinnati is pregnant, and the list goes on. On the other side I have three friends who either are in the process of getting a divorce or their divorce was just legalized. One girl I work with, one is a friend I met through my other friend, and one is a friend both my husband and I met in New Hampshire while we were dating. In each case a spouse was being selfish and not willing to work with their partner. All three were married in the temple and all of them seemed happy. It makes me appreciate my husband just a little more and it has led us to have some heartfelt conversations in hopes that we never end up in a situation where we feel divorce is the only answer.
I love my husband and appreciate all he does I hope it stays that way.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
