From Trash to Treasure

Some of you might know that I am pretty thrifty. I like to save money when I can and not spend it if I don't have to (of course, I can't deny that sometimes I do splurge). A few years ago I found a BBQ grill on a neighbor's sidewalk when it was put out with the bulk trash. It was perfectly fine, but some valve had broken that connected it to the propane tank. Since we have natural gas, we didn't even need that valve. It has worked great for us for years. I have also picked up a twin size bed frame that I didn't end up using, but I did sell it at a garage sell. Recently, I found a couple of Little Tikes toys in my neighbors bulk trash that Spencer has been thoroughly enjoying. Their kids had outgrown them, but they were just fine.

Also, I got a couple of lamps that my neighbor was going to get rid of when she moved and I fixed them up to work for me. I finally have some more light in my bedroom.

This is the "before".

This is the "after". My Mom always taught me that one man's trash is another man's treasure. I don't know if I'd ever call these things treasures, but I do like them, I did save money, and I helped the earth by recycling.

Big tummy, Little tummy

I took this video a couple of weeks ago. Isn't he sweet!

My Baby turns 3!

Today is Spencer's 3rd birthday. My, how time flies! He woke up excited that it was his birthday, but he didn't want to turn three. He wanted to stay two. After talking about his birthday for a while he decided that he didn't want to discuss it anymore and he would get mad if we mentioned it. That only lasted a couple of hours and then he enjoyed the rest of the day. Our friends, the Nelsons, came over to help us celebrate. He showed everyone how good he is at playing on the PS3, and he loved all the cars he received.

Tubing on the Salt River

We went tubing on the Salt River again this summer. It was so much fun, we decided we needed to do it again. We went with our friends, the Nelsons and the Wirths. It took us a while to get started because the Wirths' cousin got a big gash on his knee the first second he jumped into the water and he had to go get first aid. Other than that and a few rope entanglements, group separations, leaking tubes, near drownings, and flashing boobies, we made it down the river without a hitch and had a good time doing it. I can't wait till next time!

14 years and counting

Happy Anniversary to me! Too bad we don't look like we did then. Time and stress has definitely had its effects on us, but if it is possible, I love him more now than I did 14 years ago.
Four kids, 7 different apt/houses, around 20 different jobs in 3 states, and 7 cars later -we haven't necessarily had the ideal happily ever after, but we are still going strong. I love you, Paul. And thanks for loving me.

Bad Luck Comes in Threes

We were a little overwhelmed with our bad luck yesterday.
With a little less than a week in our house, our cow-ch has experienced it's first blemish. Spencer got a small ballpoint pen mark on it that we got off without too much of a problem, but an hour later I saw what I thought was a couple of other marks from the pen. I cleaned it the exact same way with the chemicals they gave us, but some of the dye came out and the spots didn't. I think it might have been where our cow got scratched by some barbed wire. Anyway, I about had a heart attack. Now we are not only freaking out because we have a couple of spots, but because this couch is supposed to be tough and family friendly. They swore by it.
After breaking the news to Paul, about an hour later he called to tell me that someone had just rear-ended his new car. He doesn't even have his license plate yet. It looks like there isn't any damage and more importantly Paul is OK.
Then towards the end of the day when Paul was on his way to pick up his mom from the airport, a bird slammed into his car while he was going 65 mph. He called to tell me and said, "Doesn't bad luck come in threes?" And then I was like, "Oh, no! What now?"
Can you see the bird in the picture? He, he. Poor stupid thing. You can see where it hit and then slid off. Yes, those are feathers stuck in the window. Imagine the impact.
Want a different angle? Needless to say we were glad when the day ended and we were glad to have Susan here without the bad luck rubbing off on her.

We Support America's Cattle Ranchers

No one can say that we don't support our country. We are contributing to the economy and supporting the cattle ranchers. They probably bred, birthed and raised the cows while we were waiting for this couch to be made. However, our long wait is over. The hide was finally ripped from the cow, tanned, stretched over some wood and fluff and is in our family room. We like it, but I'm still getting accustomed to seeing it in our house. Now I need a coffee table, end tables and lamps. Oh, and I think we need to paint our family room, too. I've always loved the color, but now with the couch in there it kind of needs a different hue. Maybe I should change my curtains. What do you think? Last night all five of us were all stretched out on the couch and yet we had plenty of room. Except for the fact that Lily and Spencer were on top of me, the rest of us couldn't even reach each other.