A week in review!

Sunday:  Baked spaghetti (I actually used elbow macaroni), and

Cinnamon cupcakes, 

and homemade Chex Mix-OH MY!  Last Sunday after church we decided it was a good day to eat yummy food I guess.  Aaron has been making a lot (2 times a week probably) Chex Mix lately!

Monday: Art,  and Science, and Foundations-OH MY!  Co-op and C.C. at the library.  And I am done with the OH MY's...It just popped into my head...you know-Lions, and Tigers, and Bears-OH MY!

Tuesday:  I found something I want for Christmas and it isn't the candy that someone randomly left behind.

And I got gas for $2.59 at Sam's Club.  Thank you SC for low gas taxes!

And of course school.  Geography is kind of cool.  Who knew?!

Wednesday it was chilly enough for me to bust our some closed toed shoes!  Thank you Nana for buying them for me this summer-I am so glad I can finally wear them!
 

Jake played with Sadie while we waited for Nee and Aunt Sheila to head to Greenville. 

Doesn't she look vicious?  She isn't.  And look below for a lovely picture of some roses in our yard.

Mr. Poinsett  is apparently from Greenville.  I can't really remember what it said.  He went to some island and brought back Pointsetta's...Maybe.  I could google it but I am not going to.  I will just read it again when we head back to Greenville.

We had fun on the Falls Park Bridge over Reedy Creek.  

Nee was on the phone with Tina (their phone isn't great in Bolivia so when they call you take advantage of talking to them!) so she missed out on our awesome shadow picture from the bridge.  I think we are going back soon to do school and have a "What 13 Looks Like" photo shoot.  

Seriously.  We live in an amazing (yet scary) time in history.  Go back even 5 years and you would be hard pressed to take such amazing pictures with a phone.  My poor camera has been retired and it happened the day I got my smart phone.

By the time Nee got off the phone the sun had changed enough that the shadow picture wasn't quite as awesome.

Aunt Sheila and Nee in a tunnel leaving the park that brought us to another great bridge. Jake has decided he is going to live in Greenville when he grows up.  That sounds perfect to me because it is not that far away from Spartanburg....or we could move to live by him. :)

A group of 3 ladies got a big kick out of me taking this picture of Jake when he looked over at them and whispered to them, "help me"!  We didn't even go in the shop but how can you pass by one of these face cut out photo ops?! Hahaha!  I love that boy and his sense of humor!

  The whole point of going to Greenville was to get some Annie Sloan paint, but by the time we got done eating lunch at Sticky Fingers (yum) and checking out the park, the store was closed...We made it back home in time to go to the store and get supplies for Jake and Daddy to fry Oreo's, pickles, and other goodies for the Youth to eat while watching the end of the movie "17 Miracles".

Thursday:  We enjoyed watching Sadie obsess over the Squirrel in our tree.  I missed her sitting up on her back hunches looking like a large black prairie dog.  You may notice how big her dog bed is.  We unfolded it because we were getting ready for a doggy sleepover with Sadie's doggy cousins Penny (her adopted dog mom and best dog friend.  We were babysitting Penny when we adopted Sadie and Penny was a good mama for her first few days at home with us) and Lucy Lou.  Nana and Papa headed up to Tennessee for a couple of days and the dogs have been having a great time.

  We decided it was way past time for a big breakfast.  I can't remember the last time I made pancakes.  That is sad. 

 Lucy helped Jake with some reading.  We are both reading Robinson Crusoe  for Jake's 9th grade Literature and Composition.  Did I mention he is in the 8th grade but really the 9th grade?  That is a post for another day.

Jake went to the dentist and they found his first (and maybe second by the time he goes back in six months for another cleaning) cavity.  Bummer.  He goes back on November 11th to get it filled and he has been brushing, flossing, and swishing like a maniac since then hoping the other tooth may not become a cavity.  Both teeth are new ones that just came through which the dentist said is very typical.

 On Friday we had a mental health day (Wednesday Jake did do some school and it was a field trip) and had a friend over.  Jake's friend Ethan, has a sister who is a senior and she and her mother were going to tour Clemson University.  Which meant Jake had a friend to occupy his time.

  
They had a great time jumping on the trampoline and playing outside for a couple of hours and then lunch with a show followed by playing the Wii.  They didn't even get to Lego's and ping pong so Ethan will just have to come back again soon.

 I accomplished a ton while they hung out!  I began my new mission for the Fall:  Mission Organization.  Do you remember that show that used to be on HGTV?  It was my favorite.  I am literally going to organize every room, drawer, and cupboard of our house.  I started in the dining room because that room will be the easiest.

While they had a gread time, I worked long and hard in the spare room that turned school room/office a few weeks ago but never really got completed.  It is several steps closer to done now!  And most recently you can open the door all the way.  This past week we have had to step over some piles-you know, things I had started to organize and never finished...I do that a lot.  I have always had that one room that I can shove stuff in and just close the door to when people come over---but not any more.  The whole house will be organized!!!!

You can see a few containers under the dry erase board (they are all photos with a little bit of other "memory type things" mixed in...yep back before I had a digital camera) that I still need to go through.  Notice the TV armour (sp?  that is how spell check said to spell it but it just doesn't look right...) that used to be in our bedroom is in the school room now!  Now my dresser is in our room (I was using it in here to hold craft stuff when this room was still a spare bedroom.) and so is the hope chest that Grampa Smith made me.  I will take pictures of all the changes once it is all pretty and done.  I have already posted so many pictures of the house I should probably hold off until things are more permanent. :)

I also realized I am Monica.  Remember the show Friends?  She was the one who was kind of OCD but you found out later on that she had a closet that was stuffed with stuff.  Well that is me.  I like my house to be pretty and I don't mind (that is not true...I do mind but sacrifices must be made for pretty) having to shove things in a closet to accomplish it.  But this is going to change.  This will become a sort of storage/craft supply closet.  You see if I admit I have the problem then you all will be waiting to see me fix it.  Now that I have shown it to you, I have no choice but to fix this problem so you can see the amazing after photo.  This one may be a while because it will be the last frontier for sure.  

I also started this project.  The whole wall will be filled with frames.  The frames will all be painted black.  The empty frame will have an H in it.  It will be amazing and I know I already have enough frames to finish the project.  They are in a container either in the attic (not going up there), the shed (not going in there), or the laundry room (I will go in there-but not to dig through things).   I need to find and paint them and fill them.  I will post an after photo when this is all done.  I am so excited. 

Sadie is so good at sharing.  They all fit on the bed but at this particular moment Sadie was giving her cousins some space.

Today is Saturday and I am sitting her blogging.  Aaron and Jake have headed for to Columbia for a Youth Temple trip so I have several hours to spend doing whatever I want.  I have a couple of things I need to do and a whole bunch of things I want to do!  I started off by dusting, vacuuming, and reorganizing some pretty things.  Then I sat down on the love seat and enjoyed my pretty living room while watching "Fixer Upper" on HGTV.  I love that show and I love my whole entire house- but at this moment I am in love with the view from my love seat!  I know I just said a few minutes ago that I needed to stop taking pictures of my house but I cannot do it.  I am getting ready to Fall Up this room a little but before I do I just looked at my pretty room and breathed a deep sigh of satisfaction....

...and onto a remake.  I painted this picture several years ago to match my Southern Living at Home Gail Pittman vase, platter, and large bowl (which I still have and love) when we were selling our house in Fletcher--why do we always make our house perfect when we are trying to sell it?  Not this time.  We are staying put and I am going to make our house perfect for us to live in-not sale!

I am painting over it and I am so excited  (I should have primed it instead of having to do a million coats..oh well).  More on this later.  Now onto missing my guys but loving the time I have to accomplish a few fun things!!!

Hello, my name is Carrie and I am a memory pack rat....

Is there a 12 step program for that?  I am not a hoarder.  I don't have a yucky house so packed with stuff I can't clean it.  My house doesn't smell from old pizza boxes I can't throw a way.  I just have stuff.  Most of it tied to a memory. . .or possible memories we may make.  It isn't laying around every where. . .well right now it is because I am going through it to get rid of it!!!!

We started school on Monday and on Friday I decided to put school on hold.  Seriously.  We are blessed. . .Or in other words: we are living in the chaos of way too much stuff.  I some times wonder how much money we would have in the bank if we didn't have so much stuff.  It is my fault.  I enjoy stuff.  I have a shelf with 11 packs of wide ruled paper, 15 spiral bound notebooks (that to tell you the truth I don't even like. . .but they were only 10 cents. . .), and 12 composition notebooks. I have all these paper products because I couldn't remember if we had what we needed so I would buy more. ..and because I like really good deals.  I have one of those plastic shoe boxes with 5 pairs of scissors in it...there is also a pair in the kitchen drawer. . .and in a zipper pencil case. . .and I just found another pair in one of our boxes that is still in the basement of Erin's (my sis-in-law) house!  There is also a plastic shoe box of tape.  I can never find tape when I need it.  I think I found it all now.  If you need some tape just ask me.  I have enough for a small village.  I am a sucker for school supplies and paper products.  Aaron pointed out we probably have enough of both to get Jake all the way through high school. . .He is probably right.

We are going to have a yard sale next week.  A  BIG yard sale.  I don't even care if we make much money, as long as we can just get rid of all the crap we really don't need! I am not even going to price anything.  I am going to make a poster that says "make me an offer" and call it good.  We homeschool.  We are home a lot.  It makes me insane that our 3rd bedroom is full of things like large Rubbermaid containers-one of which contains every single craft Jake made in one year of preschool . Yep.  I am a memory pat rack.

We used to be organized or at least more organized.  We are going to be organized again.  This week we aren't doing school.  We are going through EVERY thing we own and we are getting. rid. of. stuff.  Our school room is were this journey began (. . .just yesterday. . .it seems like so much longer than that), and it is total chaos right now (you know how it gets worse before it gets better? That is where we are right now. . .).  It will be perfectly organized and downsized after this week.  And so will every other room in the house.  I am sure there will be some sweat and tears but it will be so worth it.  I may or may not be blogging this week.  No!  I will be blogging this.  I will take pictures of all of our crap as we are organizing it to remind how it feels to have too much stuff, so we will never have to much stuff again!

Wish me luck.  Pray for my child, because he will be my slave labor to help me accomplish this task.  Aaron will be amazed at our accomplishments everyday when he gets home from work. . .I can't wait to be done.  I can't wait to know where everything is.  My life will be simplified in one weeks time.  I hope. :)

Brain Declutter: Because I can...

*I can post for the 4th time today because I have the internet at my house.  Also because Jake spent the night with Nee and Papa last night and again tonight.  Also because I am trying to catch up and keep up.  It will take a while to actually catch up for the last 5 months.  I haven't even posted picture from our NH trip in January....I have a lot of catching up to do....

*I changed the background of my blog in honor of the fact we are going to Camp this summer!!! We go ever summer really, but I didn't think we were going this summer.  It is my favorite place on earth besides home.  It is my home away from home.  Some of my best memories come from my time at camp.  I can't wait to go!!!

*I have recently learned I am being judged by the titles I have given my boards on Pinterest.  At book club we started talking about being materialistic and one of my friends said she hated it when people asked if she wanted to see their house.  I said I loved that because I love to see peoples houses.  I don't think that makes them materialistic-(not always at least) it just means they are proud of their home and the work they put into.  Than another friend says, "this from the woman who has a board called 'my dream home'." Some one else mentioned they had a board about home decor too, to which she said, "yes, but mine is just called 'home' (or 'for the home'...or something like that...)". So, the moral to this story is:  People might take you literally when they read your pin board titles so don't name them something other than the norm, because people might think you are being materialistic.  I guess she took "my dream home" title literally because if I had all the pretty things I posted I would have a mansion bigger than the Biltmore Estates...I'm not bitter-just venting...but I won't go as far as saying what I wanted to say back, that would just be rude.  Don't worry my response wouldn't have had any curse words or anything.  It may or may not have referenced...opps!  I almost said it.  Back to my happy place...Okay.  I feel better I just added a robin's egg blue kitchen to my ever growing dream home on Pinterest so I feel better. :)  I am really not taking it personally.  I just thought it was interesting to learn new ways people can judge you and you not even know it.

*Since Jake was spending the night with my parents and we live in the same town, I couldn't very well go with out actually seeing my child, so we met at the park.  We also happened to meet up with some other people we know at the park too.  I got there just as Erin and Jaxon were leaving.  Which means I was just in time for a little cuddle from our little buddy. 

 We had a little picnic....

 ...and then we defied the notion that homeschoolers are not socialized.  Every where we go we meet new friends and today was no exception. 

 While a game of tag was going on Nee and I went and checked out the beautiful sculpture of flowers.

 It was so life like and looked real except for the size...

 ...which was larger than life.  It probably set the mood for the movie that came out today that Jake got to go see with Nee and Papa: Epic.  Jake said it was, "awesome and epic."  Nice choice of adjectives dude.  The movie Epic is epic. :)

*I am said to say I have only read 11 books this year.  That is pretty pitiful...

*I have one more week until I am 37.  I have noticed that while I have been 36 that my hands have seemed more scaly when they are dry.  I wonder if that means they will get wrinkly while I am 37...

*I kind of love how Pinterest lets you know if you have pinned something before so you won't pin it again.  That is pretty much genius if you ask me.

*The past couple of weeks in the news have been pretty depressing.  The 693 (that may be a slight exaggeration, but it is close.)  scandals in DC about things that have happened that our leaders "didn't know anything about".  The horrific killing in England, of a soldier just walking down the street.  The terrifying tornado in Oklahoma. The crazy lady that brutally killed her boyfriend and that fact that everyone cared so much about knowing the gory details that it was all over the news... I could go on and on.  It is crazy out there!!!  One of the sweet mom's in our homeschooling co-op always says, "We live in a fallen world, but the Lord is in charge."  Good thing to keep in mind when everything around you in the world seems to be falling apart...

*I am very proud of the fact that I didn't even have to spell check "exaggeration" in that last thought.  I can never---correction--couldn't ever spell it right.  Until now.  Go me. :)

*We have been extremely blessed to have weather like we live a few states North instead of in the South.  It was in the 70's today with a light wind...We are usually dying from the heat by now!  I am loving it.  I could live in this weather year round-with a couple months of a little cooler so we can wear fall clothes too.  I guess I could live in a Spring and Fall climate year round.  That would totally work for me.

*I almost forgot!!  How could I forget?! One day last week, Jake and I were taking a walk to the lake so Sadie could take a little swim...

...On the way we saw this very old sign getting eaten by a tree...

 When we got there Sadie was swimming it up, having a great time! 

 She was hasing away Candian geese....

...while Jake and I happily watched...

 Sadie swam around looking like an otter...

And then out of no where this very stupid SNAKE starts swimming right toward my dog.  It was about 15 feet away.  (I know it wasn't going to attack her but really why not swim away from the dog?)  I screamed and it went under water and I called  Sadie out of the water and we got the heck out of there.  I was SO mad at the dumb snake.  It has a WHOLE lake and it has to swim right toward a large dog swimming and splashing and chasing sticks?!  My theory that snakes are afraid of big dogs has gone down the drain!!!  The one good thing is that I didn't not break down and cry, I just got mad.  That seems like a step in the right direction, don't you think?

*Now every time I go into the back yard to do this...

(which I love to do by the way),...I tell Sadie to go and chase away the snakes, while I  check out the trees above the deck to make sure there are no snakes waiting to scare me to death.  She is worrying me a little because one day she stayed in the house all day.  When Jake went out she did too but she didn't even leave the deck...like she was afraid to go out there.  She would only go out to pee and come right back in...It could just be that it was really hot (we have enjoyed cooler weather but we did have 2 hot days this week) and that now that she is 2 1/2 years old she isn't a crazy puppy any more, but I am going to watch out for snakes just to be safe.

*I ran out of space for books (we need to make a trip to Ikea some time to get some cheap Billy book cases) and we had several more boxes of them, so I used the mantel.  I stuck a few other things that didn't have a home yet up there too, but they have since been relocated.  At some point I will hang something above the fire place but I have to choose wisely.  This cute little bungalow is old enough to have plaster walls so once the hole is made it is there for good!

*My mom helped me sew some new pillows. Which really means I designed them and she did everything else because she is way better and faster than I am and she loves me enough to do it for me.  Isn't her house so cute in the background?  I am in love with the built in bookcases!

Here is an, out of focus, sneak peak of a few of them.  I am going to take pictures of our house soon and post them.  Not because I am materialistic-because I love to take pictures and make our house a home.  And because this blog is kind of like my journal and well....

 ...just because I can! :)