Picture Screen

For my wedding my dad made me these picture screens to display our pictures on. It came with me to Bakersfield and has been one of my favorite things in the house. I love pictures and people always come in a check out all my pictures. Lately the ribbons have been coming loose. I decided to nix the ribbon and go back to basics with the cork board underneath.



My dad, being the brilliant man he is, made these so that you could remove the panels if you ever wanted to change out the fabric.




I removed the panels and started to take off the fabric only to be reminded by all the remaining fuzz that we had used a little adhesive. So my plan to just do cork was foiled. I took off the ribbon and put the green fabric back on.




I pinned the pictures back on and it looks great!

Patio

Those of you that have been to our house have seen what we have affectionately called our "smoke stacks." Behind our house we have a cement patio slab that had four poles coming out of it that were meant for a patio cover. Well they have been there a while because other more important things have been on our list of things to do. The day has finally come and we have a patio cover! The American Awning guys got here at 11 a.m. and left by 2 p.m. and we officially have shade in our backyard. This cover has been long awaited for mutliple reasons. When it rains, water would come seeping in under our back door and was starting to cause some rotting. Our poor puppies would have to howl and howl to wake us up so we could let them in the shed when it was raining. During summer it will be a lot cooler for us outside and the dogs with some shade since our trees are not very large yet. So this is a big thank you to our wonderful landlords (the farm) for making this happen. We promise to enjoy it all the time.

They are just so cute I couldn't resist.


More pictures to come when we get the poles and cross beam painted.

Valentine's Day

Valentine's Day...It's one of those days where people with significant others go out of their way to make sure their "other" knows how much they love them. To some this might be stressful because of the pressure to make their love happy. I've always enjoyed this holiday as long as I have been with Ben. We keep it low-key and just make sure to enjoy each others company. Yesterday was my first day part time which gave me an excellent opportunity to whip up something wonderful for dinner. Not that yummy dinner requires lots of time, just what I had in mind did :) So our night was spent at home which suits us just fine. We have been accused of being home-bodies, well I emphatically say Yes We Are! And we love it. Here's what our night looked like.

I made scalloped potatoes from scratch.

Beef short ribs, simmered and broiled.

Espauragus sauteed in olive oil with salt and pepper.

Ben's favorite, funfetti cake for dessert.

A table for two, yes I was feeling like being a little cheesy romantic with candles.

Flowers from my honey.

Funfetti cake and a couple episodes of Parks & Recreation. What a relaxing wonderful night.

Ch Ch Ch Changes.......

Yes I know, I've neglected this blog once again. Life really caught up to me the last couple months. Also, my camera was broken, or rather my memory card was and it took a couple tries to find the right one for it. Anyway, a lot has happened over January and February for Ben and I. The biggest change being my job.
I previously have handled insurance and patient account information at a Physical Therapy office in town. I've done that for the last year and a half. It took me a while but I finially realized that this wasn't the right job for me for multiple reasons. The problem was that I love where I work. My bosses and the people there are the kind of people I wouldn't find to many other places. It was my responsibilities there that was leading to my frustration. So once I finally admitted to myself that this job wasn't a fit for me, I told my boss. The way he reacted is a true testament to why I want to stay there. He wasn't suprised because he had seen how different things had affected me. Not only was he understanding, he thanked me for being honest with him! Then he proceeded to work out a plan with me so that I could keep working there doing something else that is way more suited to me and my strengths. God's providence is just amazing sometimes! It took them a while to find someone to fill my place but they found someone great who really will do a great job. So, as of Monday, I will be part time doing miscellaneous front office work and hopefully some other paperwork for the Therapists. The job is losely defined right now because we are going to try some different things and see how they work out. Being the structure loving person I am, it's taken a lot of faith in God's divine plan for my life to move forward. What better place to be than in the hands of my Savior? So I move forward, excited. Excited for all the possibilites and doors that have been opened!
Next big thing....We're going on vacation! Ben is taking me to Cancun for a week. Anyone who knows Ben knows this is huge. He's not a traveler by any means and him taking me there and being excited about it is crazy. But we are going! Our tickets are booked. Passports are ready (after much anxiety on my part after realizing my maiden name was still on mine, not to worry it has been changed and Ben won't have to take someone else). We are staying in an all-inclusive resort and plan on being beach bums most of the time :)
As I look back over this post, I realize I'm am so wonderfully blessed. It's easy to forget when you're a worry wart like me. Everything is working out with my job for the better. We get to go on an amazing vacation. Life is GOOD.