9, 10 Talking Floors Again!

We have been moved in for a little over two weeks now and things are coming along.  I think Travis and I have realized the true meaning of exhaustion :) Before we moved to Paradise I was about to study my scriptures one night when I decided to study by topic. As I searched through the Topical Guide I looked for a topic that might interest me that night. I thumbed through the words and I came to Rest. I clicked on the topic curious to see what it would say and this scripture popped up, "Paradise, a state of rest, a state of peace, where they shall rest from all their troubles, and all their cares..." Alma 40:12. Although in this scripture "Paradise" is meant to be a different meaning from the "Paradise" where we live I totally felt love from the Lord in reassuring me that this is what we were suppose to be doing. We set out on the porch at night and listen to the sprinklers in the fields while eating Popsicles with the kids and I am constantly shown tender mercies from the Lord.

I had such a great lesson in Relief Society today I thought I would share since it is Sunday. Today's lesson was "With God all things are Possible". We talked about D&C Section 121 (My favorite section in the D&C).  In verse forty-five it reads, "then shall thy confidence wax strong in the presence of God." It is just amazing to me how God is with us all the time and his hand is in everything. I recently had an experience with a close friend of mine who is not active and told her and her boyfriend I was going to send the missionaries to their house, because he had so many questions about the gospel.  I have been praying that things will work out and as I was writing this post a knock came at my door. Who else but two Sister missionaries who were lost. I gave them some water and before they left they asked if there was anything they could do for me. The thought came to my mind to give them her address. So I did and they said they would give it to their mission president tomorrow at their meetings. This is because they live across the globe, but I believe that the Lord works in wondrous ways. Sorry, just wanted to share my cool experience.

Now lets get to those floors that have been bugging me for a while. This is the before, that I really didn't like.

 

And this is the after

 

 

 

It's funny but after all of that work I think all they needed was a little shine. We ended up using polyurethane and not tung oil. Tung oil didn't even make a difference in the shine of the floors, but once we put the polyurethane on it made them look more finished. When I talked to "Carpet Keith" our carpet guy, he recommended using a Satin finish, which turned out perfect. It cleans up nice and shows little dirt.

My project a week ago was painting the side porch. It was an eye soar and this is the door that all of our company comes in, so something had to be done. This is a before picture of the side porch to the house. I just wire brushed the old paint off and painted with an ultra white outdoor paint that had primer in it. I'm too lazy to actually prime before, which is what you really should do, thus I used paint with primer.

 

 

And this is the after. Painting all of the detail was definitely time consuming, but worth it.  I bought the chairs at a yard sale last year, all four for forty bucks, and I think they fit perfect. I just need to add some plants in the pots and flower beds for more color and I think we will have a nice little side porch.

 

 

 

 

I also went crazy and painted the front door BLUE! I love it! Some don't, but that's okay. I think I was feeling a patriotic spirit. I think if I added a door knocker it would complete it. I can just see the front porch this winter with an old sleigh, some skates, and a cute Christmas wreath!

  

Here are some other projects that we have been working on.  



 

 

I originally painted the hallway white and was going to leave it, but it was very boring and dull. So I painted it my go-to color for this house, Smokey Slate. It seemed to make the hallway a lot more lively.  I also got a great deal on the canvas of the kids and it ended up fitting perfectly.

 

 

This is the bench that Travis added in the living room to help with the uneven floors. I have been a little skeptical from day one about this bench, but it is turning out better than I thought.  He does good work! He also suggested as I was hanging the clocks randomly around the house, that maybe I should group them all together. Great Idea! They are a little high but I worried about the kids knocking them down if they were any lower. Once I add the cushions and pillows on the benches I think it will balance out the height of the clocks.

 

This last little while we have had some great helpers come and visit us. Of course we put them to work in the yard tearing down brick walls. Warner and Abi came and visited us for a week and then little Sydney came and visited us for a week. The kids have loved having their cousins visit.  If you look close you can see Ashlyn, she pretty much lives in her swimsuit and rain boots these days. Great farming attire.

 



 

This last Monday we were in Bear Lake so we stopped by the Raspberry patch to check on the berries and pick weeds in the rows. I suggested to Travis that we get up about 5am and go pick weeds so it would be cooler, but he said we would be fine leaving at 8am. So we headed out the patch to pick weeds at 8am. Once we got to about the middle of this 4 acre patch of berries about 11am, I was dying! It was hot and the weeds seemed to never end. I kept telling myself just keep going we are almost done. Luckily my husband is quite the champ, especially after a swig of a 5 hour energy drink.  There were about 10 rows left, when he said he would finish if I cleaned out the shed and the coolers. Love him! It brought back memories of when we cained the raspberries while we were dating. Good times. Who new I would see that raspberry patch every year after that? 

 

 

My battle wounds. This is where we will be the next month so we will see how much we can get done on the house in this next week before the berries come on. I'll keep you posted.

 

Just a little side note: Life and work is a lot more fun when you are living and working with your best friend! Love ya Trav!

 

7, 8 Moving I hate!

So I finally have internet once again, and this is my work station. This was my mom's old desk that she let me have. It is a little small, but it will do for now. I saw an awesome vintage desk the other day at an antique store for $20 that I am considering buying and fixing up. We will see.

Life has been crazy this past week. Where to start? Oh yeah.  Hope everyone had a Happy Fourth of July! I love the 4th!

I was a little bummed that we didn't get to go to Salina for their awesome 4th activities, but we had fun here too.  We hit the Hyrum parade, went and saw Despicable Me 2, and watched some fun fireworks. A nice day after the crazy week we have had.

Okay here is the update on the house.  Last Thursday we finished painting most of the upstairs, with the exception of touch ups and re coating the baseboards and doors. We prepared all week for carpet, which came last Friday and also prepared for a cleaning lady to come Saturday. I usually do all cleaning myself, but since we were running out of time, and didn't want to miss the family camp out, I thought I would try a cleaning lady.

We left Thursday night for the yearly Eborn Family Camp out, which lasted until Sunday. I was a little hesitant to leave the project, but Travis and I both thought our kids deserved a little break. I was excited on Sunday to be able to see the house clean and the carpet in... I almost ran from the car to see the inside of the house.  When I opened the doors, I thought, the cleaning lady missed the wood floors. I looked into the kitchen and yep it was dirty!!! As I walked around I realized the cleaning lady did not come. I went to look at the carpet and it was in, but there were mistakes and a closet had been missed. I sat down on the stairs and had a little minute to myself :(.... I was so upset! We were moving the next day into a overly filthy house.   I called the cleaning lady immediately and of course she didn't answer. When I finally got a hold of her she told me she was on her way and it would be cleaned by morning. She did show up, but at ten o'clock that night and I told her to go home, I was so mad! We didn't have lights in all the rooms so there was no way she would be able to clean the house, or for that matter clean it good enough. So we went home that night and made a plan.

We honestly have the best friends, neighbors, and family! We could not have pulled the move off without them. I had my nieces, my good friend Ashlee, and father in-law come that morning and help me clean, while my sister in-law Valerie took my kids. We finished cleaning about four o'clock (It was really dirty). Travis had the trailers loaded and emptied once before the help arrived. Like I said, the best friends, neighbors, and family ever!!! We had more than enough people helping us and I am so grateful to all of them! We were able to get everything moved and the Hyrum house all cleaned by 9pm. I forgot to mention one little, wait huge problem. Before I left from cleaning the ol' farm house, I thought I would put in one more toilet just so the kids would have a bathroom upstairs by the bedrooms. Installation went quick and my niece Sydney and I started packing up, when we heard some water running. I was thinking that someone had just left the sink in the bathroom running, but no. There was water in the downstairs bathroom coming out of the toilet and the sink drain. The drains were clogged! We immediately shut off the water and cleaned up the horrible mess. I knew Travis wouldn't have time to snake the drains so I called a plumber, and another plumber, and another plumber. They were all busy and the soonest one could come would be the next morning. So that night we slept at Val's house. Thanks Valerie!

Now we are in the ol' farm house. Boxes are everywhere and things are slowly getting put in their place. There are still a lot of random things that need to be done; baseboards, painting, toilets, lights, and yard work galore! I am most excited about decorating. I am going to take it one room at a time. This is what I want my guest bedroom to look like.

This is what it looks like right now.

So you see there is a lot to be done, but it will get there! I will keep you posted on progress. I have had a lot of people ask me where we get all our supplies. On Friday's Lowes always has a 75% off clearance and we have been lucky to find vanity lights, curtains, curtain rods, tile, and other odds and ends there for under $5.00. Amazing deals! So check your local Lowes to see if they do the same. Our carpet we also get from Lowe's they will always give us a discount, you just have to ask. And yes they came back and fixed the closet and the mistakes the next day. We have been able to get carpet at $.60 a sq ft. Your best bet is going to be price matching between Home Depot and Lowes on a bunch of items. They always beat the competitor by 10%, so you end up getting a really good deal. Just show them the ad on your phone or take a picture of the tag and item at the other store and show them.  Most of our plumbing parts we get at Home Depot, they have a better selection, but for important things like shower valves, we go to Peterson's Plumbing they have better quality. You can get discounted anything in bulk. I just recently went to Lowes and found the wood flooring for the office for under a dollar. The underlayment came with it so it ended up being a steal. I honestly walk into most stores and immediately go to the clearance racks, you always find a better deal and chances are they will even mark it down lower if you ask. My Dad always told me it never hurts to ask ;). I might have taken this a little to literally, but when it comes to big box stores I don't feel bad. If you have questions about certain items just let me know and I can tell you where the best deal is. This past winter Lowes had a clearance on vanities and we were able to get 48" really nice vanities for under $100. So recently I went in and asked both Home Depot and Lowes what they had on sale? They had nothing under $400, so make sure when you see a deal you grab it! I was not willing to pay that much for a vanity so I turned to KSL Classifieds and this is what I found.

I think it will go great with the house. Once I cut the hole for the sink and get the plumbing ran I will let you know how it turns out. But for a vintage piece at $175, a sink for $25, and faucet for $20, I figure the whole project will cost a little under $250. Don't be afraid to walk away if you don't get the price you want. If you look hard enough you will usually find what you want for the price you want. I love bargain shopping!!!! Well I better get back to the grind.