getting in the mood + learning something new

i'm taking a lunch break right now. eating half a peanut butter and jelly sandwich and some popcorn. last night i decided that i needed to pretend someones coming over to see the house so i would get in the mood to clean it. so this morning i've been busy doing laundry, dusting and bathroom cleaning when i got a call from our realtor saying that someone really does want to come over to see the house tomorrow. now i feel a little rushed even though i have the whole day. not only do i have my inside jobs to do, i currently have mikes too since he's out of town. there are about a billion and one leaves in our yard. i'm hoping it gets windy so they blow across the street into the neighbors yard. just kidding. sort of. i also hope booah, our bad ass cat doesn't kill any more mice and leave them by the steps. its really disgusting and gives me the weebee geebee's.

and while talking to mike last night, i learned a new trick on elements. its called filter.

totally digging the outcome of it.

is it friday yet?

today has been one of those days. kaylee and i went to pick up our goodies that we painted last week. here's my plate that's a tribute to emma bridgewater. if i would have had more time, i would of added more colors

but miss kaylee was already finished with her 5 ornaments. i will go back when i have another mommy day. i love doing this, it's relaxing and it lets me be creative even if i am copying a designer. after picking up our goodies, kaylee and i hit the storage unit. i have been searching hi and low for kaylee's flower girl dress that she wore last year. i want to get one more good use out of it before its too small. [it was a $160.00 dress + $40 for the shoes that are now too small that she wore for that one day.we had to order them from a bridal store] she will be a "princess" again for halloween. mike and i both went to storage and came home empty handed. this time i moved everything out and looked inside every single box till i found it. then we headed over to target for a few items. i managed to come home with items not on my list and no items that was listed. i did get kaylee a new hat. last year i waited and before i knew it, all the hats and mittens were gone. i'm still searching for mittens her size and that are plain. but am happy with the hat. she looks so cute! {yes that's food in her mouth} she found it to be hilarious that she had food in there while i was taking her picture.

i am trying but i'm struggling to be the parent that i want to be with her. {much too late with ham, he's been scarred already} it seems her goal in life is test my limits. last night i found a nice drawing done by her on our wall to the upstairs. good thing it wasn't permanent marker. and today i let her paint about 8 pictures before having her call it quits. i gave her ice cream afterwards only to find her painting again ON the couch of all places. i had nifty arrows pointing to the paint

but they have seemed to have disappeared just like my patience. you can still see the pink glob though. good thing we don't want to take the couch with us. its really an extra large sleeper sectional and we are offering it to any one who buys our house. we are even including the big screen tv. (65") if they want that too. and for more of an incentive we have included $1000.00 to the agent who brings us a buyer. nice little bonus money for them and hopefully a buyer for us.

weekend recap

friday mike talked me into going out to eat, not that that's a hard thing to do. he was ready to get out of the house plus he's going to be gone again this whole week. we tried a new place called granite city. it was pretty cool of a place and the food was pretty good too. kaylee ended up falling asleep on the way there and slept the whole time during dinner.

saturday we bummed around the house. the weather was kinda chilly +rainy so there wasn't much to do. i ended up checking for some vacation spots or time shares on-line. i told mike we should just stay where we are and not move and buy ourselves a time share someplace warm. since he was stuck inside all day he didn't like that idea. he liked the idea of vacationing someplace but the not moving part. he definitely wants out of this house. sunday we ended up going over to mike's parents house for trick and treating. don't know why but laporte is always a week before everyone else. i said that's just laporte for ya.

kaylee and taylor being princesses this year and kaylee being carried by daddy. her shoes were too big for her and it was cold out there. we went around the block and that was it. the girls did not complain about that at all.

busy

i've been a little busy for the last day or so. mike's been pimping out my photography taking so i've been working on getting a "portfolio" together and trying to use my mad photo shopping skillz only to find out i dont have any skillz. it would be easier if my kinda ex brother in law would hand over the information that i need in order to use the pcs3 that i have so i can buy actions to make my photos prettier. and it would be a lot less time consuming too so i can do other important things like write about nothing on my blog. tee hee.

in other news totally not related. i have my box of goodies ready to be sent out. its blogging by mail (10 favorite items or less) and it was hosted by the happy sorceress at dispensing happiness. i will have pictures and will post more on this later. once i receive my goodies and the recipient gets hers.

this dad rocks!

just saw this on ali edwards blog. robert guest is a dad who has been getting up every morning to wrote a note to his two children for the past 15 years. how cool is he?

a big girl

tuesday morning i woke up very tired and with an awful creek in my neck. sweet little kaylee kicked me numerous times during the night and i almost fell out of bed. she's a bed hog, that little one. at one time i had her sleeping on her own but that's another story. so yesterday during the day i kept telling her how she's a big girl now who needs to sleep in her own big girl bed. i even went as low as to tell her that if she didn't start sleeping in it, her brother will since his bed is smaller. so after bath and a little playtime, teeth brushed and potty going, we headed upstairs unwillingly on her part. she even cling on to daddy, cried and gave boo boo lip. i read her two stories and had her turn on her music. she asked me to stay a little longer and once she hit her head on her pillow, she told me she was tired and was ready to go to sleep. she was asleep in 5 minutes. the best part, she stayed in her own bed the whole entire night!

life has been good

the louder + messier part of my family will be home soon. kaylee wanted to go back to nana's house and left me here all by myself. she told me that i had ham and that she will be back. i really didn't take it personally. who wouldn't want someone to be at your beck and call and do everything you want them too?? she's a smart whippersnapper if you ask me. so in the mean time i have been totally enjoying my alone time. all that ham has requested from me over the weekend was food on occasion. he's a simple one. that ham. **big sigh of relief** life has been good.

money pit = our dream home

so here's the new money pit that we currently would love to call home. its a little over 4000 square foot from top to bottom. everything pretty much needs to be redone. the outside needs repainted, the decks need to be redone + treated, the bedrooms need new carpet except one and the bathrooms+ kitchen have yucky 80's style wallpaper and/or pink counter tops. (i love 80's music, not 80's decor}

it needs lots of love and lots of painting. we love the floor plan and the structure screams "kristi + mike".

the catwalk has enough space to be used as an office or crafting space which leads to the master bedroom. the other 2 bedrooms are on the main level and it also holds a full bath. off the kitchen is the laundry, door to garage and half bath. the half bath has silver metallic wall paper on it. how groovy is that? the downstairs which also leads out to the pool has a kitchen/bar area, another full bath and bedroom which we might turn into an exercise room. its got great potential and i'm ready to take the challenge. the other neat feature is that we have about an acre of woods behind us which then leads to the river. the good thing about this house is that its super cheap for the square footage which also can be bad. someone might snatch it up before we get a chance to do so.

doing much of nothing

i must say that my weekend has been very nice and very peaceful. saturday morning kaylee and mike were out the door by 7am. kaylee got to spend the night with nana while mike took his dad to st. louis to hang out then catch the rams play against the cowboys today. so i spent some time in the morning on the computer playing around via the pioneer woman style with a few photos that i took friday. i usually love my shots without all the fuss but look at the difference! makes me want to learn more.

i was suppose to do a "photo shoot" later in the day but it got canceled so i went shopping. mostly looking. i did end up buying an outfit for kaylee for 60% off and me a sweater dress that was marked way down. my only splurge was for 2 books and a magazine all about photography. i'm justifying my purchases by saying they're great investments and will make for great reference books later. i was pretty tired by the time i got home so i ended up chilling on the couch eating pizza and watching hgtv. its been great! and right now i am waiting for kaylee and my m-i-l so we can go to an open house. mike and i have already seen the house a few weeks back. of course we both love it. it needs some major work but i'm ready with a paint brush in one hand and a drill in the other. now if only we could get some luck to come our way......

pottery barn, not just a catalog

as we all know, wednesday i was feeling a little defeated by this housing market. while people were going through the house after a hard days labor, i was telling mike over dinner that if we do not get an offer by november we should call it quits. nothing really has been lost except maybe some bucks for storage. once returning home, i went through the mail for the day and found the beloved pottery barn catalog. i sat and started flipping through the pages when suddenly i felt something. what was it? a little tug perhaps? a little glimmer of hope? i visioned an all white bathroom with these colorful towels and shower curtains and suddenly, i had a small smile on my face. how much fun would it be to wake up and be greeted by these every morning? i love fun!

and to continue on with my love affair for furniture is this bookcase. i see white shells and mementos being displayed in the main living area. i love pottery barn! {but not their prices} and this rug by cb2 with a gray sofa or two. *sigh*


as mike would say "she's back in the game!"

gone too early

yesterday morning a student passed away. we heard that he had an aneurysm while getting ready for school. we knew of him from soccer. he also worked for my parents so we saw him weekly during the summer. he was a senior and he was known as "rockstar blake". {at one time he had long, wavy hair}

though we did not know him well, to me it still feels the same. guess being a mother and being a mother of a teenager brings the bond. i pray for his family and friends that they may find some peace.

donkey kicked

this is what this housing market and for something to go our way is doing to me. giving me a real hard kick in the heiney! just got an email from our potential construction company and was told that the land we have a retainer on might not be buildable and if it is, the septic system is going to cost us an additional 9-10 grand.

our realtor just called with someone from out of town wanting to see the house tonight. i'm cleaning like a mad women again. while doing so, i'm debating on calling it quits if this house doesn't sell by the end of november. yeah, you can call me a quitter. i know when i've been defeated.

behind the band wagon

i finally got to see some of this movie last night. i liked what i've seen so far. i'm a sucker for beautiful clothes. and a sucker for beautiful scenery and video-a-graphy. i cant wait to see it uninterrupted. maybe this weekend?

image courtesy: style hive

and i stumbled onto this website last night. i want this book and have looked on amazon and barnes and nobles. i might be too late. i'm waiting to hear back if any more are available.

selfish

on a sad note for me- no california living- just california dreaming. after weighing the pros and cons it makes sense to stay in the area we are. the only pro to the move to california is just that -we would be living in california. mikes work would not be an upgrade nor would our status of living. i know i could live with it and mike would make the move for me but i couldn't live with making my family unhappy for my own happiness. [sigh] i wish i could be selfish sometimes.

no offers on our house. the last people that came through loved the house but complained about the 10 steps it takes to walk upstairs from the garage. this is the second complaint about the steps leading to our house. never in a million years would i have guessed that.

and i leave you with two photos that i took yesterday. i love this picture window. its in front of the house and by late afternoon the sun in blaring into it.

inspirations

more photography blogs i am loving:

tilly mint. i want to know how she gets her images to look the way they do. be sure to check out her gallery too. i want 3 images from her dog "series". and she's also part of sea and sky.

sarah-ji. she can also be found on shutter sisters.

port 2 port press. she's also a part of 3191

i love food

this weekend i got to eat way too much food. went to mad anthonys in warsaw friday night with mike's boss and his bosses wifey. the food was fantastic. i ordered the jambalaya. you know how they put "hot" on it but it never comes out spicy? this time it did not disappoint. it was so hot that i hardly ate any of it. good thing i had a salad and garlic toast to go with it. had the best time hanging out with them. they both drank mike under the table. he had to leave 2 beers behind. wussy! {i was designated driver and my leftovers ended up spilling in the car}
saturday for lunch mike and i went to our own downtown and ate at a place called the vine. again, they did not disappoint. i ordered a small pizza while mike got the lobster ravioli. i ended up ordering the pumpkin spice cake to take home. and it was delicious. mike gets the drinks, i get the desserts.

later that day we headed over to hacienda in michigan city to meet up with mike's folks to pick up kaylee. we did not order a thing since we were still full from lunch. his folks are not as adventurous when eating out
and last night i made spinach artichoke dip, meatball sandwiches and homemade mac -n-cheese- yum.

mommy day

i am in love with this pottery by emma bridgewater first seen on the speckled egg blog. cant afford the whole lot just bits and pieces but they are fun and would look great in a new house or even our current home.

i am taking a mommy day today. i have an eye doctors appointment then after that its all about me! to be truthful i bought something on a whim on mondays shopping excursion that i am going to return without mike knowing. if he knew how much i paid for wrinkle cream he would flip me off and then some.

fall decorations

i've been inspired by the blogging community to show off my fall decorations. not that its anything spectacular but its fun to see how everyone else gets ready for the new season. i didn't want to go overboard nor do i ever go overboard with halloweeny decorations. i like to keep it simple with fall items so it can stay up longer. here's my lovely mosaic:

i would have a butt load more pumpkins + mums by the front door if the pumpkin + mum farmers wouldn't charge so much for them. this is indiana after all. we have plenty! see my bucket on the front door? you can also see it here courtesy pure and simple. thrifty decor chick must be a southern living at home consultant. and the picture of the gourds along the window, i was just playing around in photoshop. i like how its kinda hazy looking. and i love my teddy bear dressed up like a mummy.

exciting things

few exciting things to share. first being that i got two, yes me. two comments on my last post. go ahead - look and read if you like. what a great surprise. now i don't know liam or how he got to my blog but hey he left a nice comment and he seems to like ball state so he cant be all bad. and we all know pam from pure +simple. i've posted about her blog before and i visit her blog numerous times daily. kinda stalker-esqe if you will. she has great stories and great taste. what can i say? i want in on some of it.

look what i learned how to do this morning on photoshop elements. i made my own mosaic of our day at the pumpkin patch. {please excuse mikes dumb and dumber hairdo. he just got it cut that morning. i told him shorter in the back and longer in the front. when will he ever learn?}

mike called me last night with some exciting news. {he's been out of town again since sunday. due back today} he was telling me how he's kissing every ones ass, {its a joke between us} i mean schmoozing, impressing the big dogs and one of the big dogs likes what he's been doing and offered him a position. ok that doesn't sound right- offered him a job. guess where? CALIFORNIA!! its only in the baby stage that it was offered but its a possibility and we love possibilities.

and kaylee told ham that he was the best "brudder" for getting her a banana last night. how cute is that?

mumblings

monday kaylee and i went where we haven't been in a long time. the big mall. the big mall is evil. it makes me do evil things. like spend money and eat chick fil a. though i only ate whatever kaylee left behind. i am trying to watch my portions. {i don't like the word "diet". it never works. watching portions. work. exercising- though hate it, works. eating fruits and drinking water- works.} afterwards we headed over to my sisters house so kaylee could play with her cousins who she loves. then headed home.

i have a 3:00pm house showing today so i am now scurrying around the house picking up whatever hurricane kaylee leaves behind. its really not that dirty since we had the open house on sunday. i am hopeful yet not getting my hopes up. everyone wants to see the house. no one wants to make an offer.

and the photos are what my sweet husband bought me on saturday before heading over to the pumpkin patch.

love the camera clock and the picture frame is really pretty too. takes on whatever color is around it. cant wait to put a picture in it and display it in the new house someday.

lucky?

i was just thinking to myself how nice it would be to sleep in tomorrow and thought about asking ham if he would want to take a half a day from school all knowing that he would say no. {he hates making up homework}come to find out he doesn't have school tomorrow. something to do with teacher in service day. me being pissed off with the housing market just went away.

mixed emotions

this is what i was feeling on friday.

i was on-line all day trying to find a lab that can print photos for me but want them to be a little bit more professional than say shutterfly. i ended up going from one website to the next till it eventually brought me back to my starting point. yikes! i did find a few websites that can showcase my photos and another that can print. the best part, for a small fee they will set this up, i would be the one getting paid for any photos that a client prints! what a way to make some money cuz we all know this photography thing is expensive!

saturday was happy yet busy day with mike getting his haircut, going back to the apple orchard to pick out pumpkins, cleaning house and going over to a friends house for dinner. i have pictures of course and will post them later.

and today i'm feeling a little pissed off. we had yet another open house and 2 people showed up. i realize that many got duped with the housing market and easy loans and the credit cards. i feel for them. i really truly do because i have been there. yet i'm a little pissed because i feel like i'm being punished. we have made sacrifices and gave up a lot to be in the financial position that we are in. no we don't have a lot of money in the bank because we knew we would spend it. instead we put our money into our current home and took out a 15 year mortgage instead of a 30. {interest alone would of paid for a cadillac escalade for a 30 year loan} we both have great credit yet we are not able to do anything with it. the house we are looking to buy or build is nothing grand or spectacular. just a tad bigger and with one luxurious item- a pool. so yeah i'm a little pissed off right now.

apple orchard

kaylee and i have been going to a play date group for about 2 weeks now. they meet at different locations on tuesdays and thursdays. i think we will scale back to just tuesdays since i'm noticing its distracting me from my house hold duties. that is until we sell the house at least. today we met up for a field trip to kerchers apple orchard. we got a tour by mrs. kercher herself other wise known as "mrs. apple." she said that they have 25 different types of apples available and that there are 7000 different kinds in the world. the kids got to pick a few to take home and/or eat. we also got a tractor ride to the pumpkin patch which was filled with gourds. we got to take one of them home too. and we also went through a corn maze and found our way out. back to the shop for picture taking and apple cider for everyone. the weather was a little crazy today being cold one minute and hot the next. it was mostly cold. i would love to take both my kids back there in a few weeks to pick out pumpkins but i just don't see ham going with us. i wonder if he can still be bribed????