Blossburg House

We bought our first house in April of 1997. Cam was just 5 months old. It was an 1890's house with 1,700 square feet. We had 3 bedrooms, 1 bathroom, a study, a playroom, a kitchen, a diningroom, and a livingroom. Our master bedroom had a sitting room attached. We loved that house, except for the bad windows and the very cold kitchen. We also did not like that it only had one bathroom and no garage. But, it was a perfect first house for us.

It was an older house, so there was wallpaper and peachy/orange paint on the walls. We did a lot of work to that house.

When we first bought it, we had to spray insulation into the attic. Michael was up in the attic spraying, and I was down on the ground, outside in the cold, pounding the insulation into the machine. Mom and Grandma watched Cam--he was very fussy because he was teething, and he was also breastfeeding. It took us 4-6 hours to do that job. We woke up the next morning with junk in our lungs and crusted-over eyes.

We also painted every single room. That was a stage that we loved green and maroon colors. It is crazy how your tastes change, because I hate those colors now. We even painted the kitchen countertops.

The boys were both born in this house, so it is very special to us. They sure loved that playroom.

Here are photos when we first bought the house:

Doing the insulation

Cam sitting on the table--notice the beautiful wallpaper

I absolutely loved those windows in the livingroom--it made it so bright in there

Here are the after photos:

This was our sitting room

May Goals

These are my goals for May:

• To put mulch on the flower beds
• Syllabus for Cam
• Exercise daily
• Take walks daily
• Blog daily
• Cleanse weekly
• Keep up with the menu weekly
• Go out for coffee or lunch with Mom
• Eye appointment for Cam
• Cut Lily's hair
• Orthodontist appointment for Jar
• Go camping
• Plant a few flowers
• Jar testing
• Read 5 books
• Finish school and file the portfolios
• Get school ready for next year

To recap April's goals:

• Go to the dentist (which I am not thrilled)
• Piano lessons every week
• Exercise daily
• Blog daily
• Cleanse weekly
• Keep up with the menu weekly
• Go out for coffee or lunch with Mom
• Register Cam for SAT test
• Jury duty (boo hoo)
• Orthodontist appointment

source

Currently

Currently...

• I am thinking...that I hope my back gets better quickly
• I am thankful...that we got the mulch done quickly yesterday
• I am wearing...my pajamas
• I am creating...ideas for my blog
• I am going...to make eggs, bacon, hash browns, and toast for lunch today
• I am wondering...what I should make for dinners this week
• I am reading...Shape-Up Short Cuts by Jen Ator and The Blender Girl by Tess Masters
• I am hoping...that the good weather is here to stay
• I am looking forward to...our first camping trip
• I am learning...that building muscle is the key to better health...I always try to kill it with cardio
• I am pondering...what electives the boys should take in school next year
• I am eating...lots of smoothies and ground turkey
• I am drinking...lots of green tea iced tea
• I am feeling...very sore from the work yesterday, especially my back
• I am watching...48 Hours and Dateline
• I am enjoying...taking photos of the boys...they are pretty much the same height. They look like twins
• I am praying for...discipline to work out hard
• I am working on...working out with weights and doing interval training
• I am needing...to cut Lily's hair--yucky
• I am listening to..."All of Me" by John Legend
• I am annoyed that...I hurt my back yesterday
• I am anxious about...Michael's job

Currently...

• Outside my window...It is cloudy, but the sun keeps peeking it's head out
• In the kitchen...I smell my Thai Lily candle and the black bean brownies
• Around the house...I need to clean the dining room table
• One of my favorite things is...the boys in their new outfits

Five on the Weekend

We had a great weekend. On Friday night, Michael and I watched some shows together. The boys played some games with the cousins. We had turkey burgers and sweet potato fries for dinner.

On Saturday we put 7.5 cubic feet of mulch (or bark dust) around the flower beds. It took us about 2 1/2 hours. It was back-breaking work. We rested in the afternoon, watching Shark Tank and the Shark Tank special. That evening I cut both Jar and Michael's hair.

On Sunday, I did not go to church because I really messed up my back when I cut the boys hair...after working in the yard all afternoon.

Here are the five special things for this weekend:

O N E:
     It is so nice that warm weather is here. I am looking forward to long walks every evening this summer.

T W O:

     Trader Joe's is my favorite grocery store. I do wish that we had one close by to us. I would go there every couple of days. Here are some of our favorite things from Trader Joe's.

T H R E E:

     I have been making a lot of green tea iced tea. It has been so yummy!

F O U R:

     I made brownies in an iron skillet. I made them with gluten-free flour. No one liked them. So, today I made our favorite black bean brownies.

F I V E:

     We finally got some mulch. It had been 4-5 years since we had last got some. We spent 2 1/2 hours yesterday spreading it on our flower beds.

Before mulch

After mulch

Before mulch

After mulch

Friday's Letters

Dear Jesus:  Thank you for the beautiful weather this week. It was so nice...even if it was hot for 2 days.

Dear Michael:  I sure wish we could know what was going on...it is really hard not knowing.

Dear Cam:  Well, only 1 1/2 more weeks until Syllabus...Yahoo!

Dear Jar: Well, only 1 1/2 weeks of school left...I know that you are so ready.

Dear Lily:  You need a haircut so badly...I sure don't want to though. I wish there was a machine that would do it for me.

Dear Fresh Fruit and Whipped Cream:  I cannot wait to have you for dessert tonight.

Dear Friday Night:  I taped two Walker, Texas Ranger for tonight. We will see if the boys like it or not. We also have our regular Friday night shows.

Dear Saturday:  Well, we have a lot to do tomorrow. We are having 7.5 cubic feet of bark dust (mulch) delivered tomorrow morning. We will all be very tired.

Dear Laundry:  I am glad to have you done for the week.

Dear Turkey Burgers:  You were delicious last night. I cannot wait to have you again tonight.

Dear Sweet Potato Fries:  You are so delicious. We are having you for dinner tonight with the turkey burgers.

Dear Weekend: It will be a busy one for sure. We will do bark dust and probably work on the car.

Dear Duggar Girls' book:  I just picked you up from the Library. I am curious to read you. Michael and I love to watch your show.

Dear Weather:  It has just been beautiful. I want it to stay.

Dear School:  We only have 1 1/2 weeks of school left until we are done. Yahoo!

Dear Yard:  You are looking really nice right now.

Funny Lily

That is one ferocious dog

Throwback Thursday

When we lived in Florida, the boys favorite thing to do was to catch lizards. They were obsessed with it. That ended one day though when we found a water moccasin (also known as a cottonmouth snake) in the yard...under a flower pot.

There are probably 10 or more lizards in this cage