The Nursery

So Riley has once again pointed out what a horrible blogger I am. It's true! I get so wrapped up in my projects and just forget to "document". That and part of me wants to keep the finished product of the nursery a secret until it's all DONE... But I will show a few little "sneak peeks" until it's done, Deal?!

I feel like I am running out of time. I am only ONE WOMAN, and I'm quite pregnant, and it's just me in the house so I am left to do all the projects with just my own two hands! Today was the first time I actually reached out and asked for help. I bought this cube organizer thing (I finally made the decision to NOT continue my search for the perfect dresser). This this was HEAVY, While loading it into the trunk I decided that carrying the box all the way up my flight of stairs was not a smart choice, So I called a friend and asked her to stop by later to help out... See I can humble myself and not just insist on doing it all myself! Speaking of dumb choices, we were talking in young women's (after church) about moving furniture while pregnant. One of the other leaders moved her Piano down a flight of stairs, and her couch UP a flight of stairs while she was about as far along as I am, and her husband was gone. Nope, you could not pay me.

Ok so now to the fun stuff. I have never pretended to be some awesome DIY-er, I make more mistakes than I have success stories... So follow along and guess the stupid thing I'll do before I tell ya what I did... There are quite a few mistakes along the way.

Let's start with the letter... Ok, so I know that SOOO many people do it, but I wanted to put Miles' name above the crib in some way. So I had this idea to paint some of my old white Ikea frames, hang them empty on the wall(no glass just the wood frame), and put some string wrapped letters inside. I painted the frames and that was completely uneventful (and I don't have pictures of them right now, you'll have to wait. Anyway, I decided I could cut out the letters on card stock with my silhouette Cameo and wrap it in string. So I looked around because I KNEW that I already had everything I would need for this project. I really wanted gray letters, but did not have gray string. I DID however have this.

 And some Dye. I dyed some sheets over last deployment with gray dye, but it kinda turned out a little to purplish-gray for my taste... So I decided to use my black Dye instead... and just NOT let it soak as long as it said to. (Do you see where this is going?)

 This is my water once I added the packet(I was 100% that this would work and I was a genius.)

I dunked the string, flipped it over, and took this picture. It just got blacker and blacker as the time wore on... CRAP.

Lucky for me I had another thing of string (don't ask, I have too many of A LOT of things). This time I used the GRAY dye

And what do ya know.... BINGO

I was so pleased with it and took it outside to allow it to dry... It was a cloudy and muggy day, so drying was NOT happening. I decided to throw it in a pillowcase and toss it in the dryer for just a few minutes.... seriously only like 5 minutes. After the time was up I opened the dryer confident that I was so smart by putting it in a pillow case (figuring out how this story ends yet?). I have NEVER seen such a string mess in my life!!!! I spent the next 6-8 hours unravelling just enough of the string to get all the letters covered.... Lessons learned!!! I will take some pictures of the remnants of my giant string mess, and of the letters tomorrow...

But for now I am done. I am started to fall asleep while typing and then coming to and not understanding what was written... I know, I'm strange. So stay tuned, cause I HAVE so many more projects that I will post about this week. This nursery is going to be a success!

Holy Cow!

I am SO glad that this last week is over! It was a nightmare, and after all is said and done, all I can do is take a break and put my feet up. Here is the complete break down to the big move.

Day 1: Went to pick up the moving truck, got back to our house, Kyle helped Rye fill the truck with all the really heavy stuff. I ordered pizza and we cheered to a happy occasion.

Day 2:
6:45- left base in the full moving truck to try and find the weigh station (to get reimbursed we had to weigh any and all truck loads)
7:20- Pull over in tears, Tell Rye over the phone how frustrated I am, completely lost and running behind schedule
7:30- Weigh the truck
8- pick up keys to the house (find out the AC is broken.... rest of week is spent unloading heavy things into a house that is 85 degrees)
8:30-Have to be at work to teach preschool
noon-Rye picks me up, I find out he emptied the truck. We take it back to the house and attempt to fill it on our own. Kyle stops by and helps. Boys then find out they have to be to work at 3 for a formation. (truck must be returned by 4:30)
2:30- Take truck to get weighed.
3-I start to unload truck alone while Rye is at work.
3:30- I pull something in my growing stomach and cannot lift another heavy thing.
5-Riley gets home, realized i did not empty as much of the truck as he was hoping (his frustration starts)
5:15- I tell him he is putting a damper on the mood and needs to get out of his bad mood
5:16-I'm told I AM the reason for his bad mood, and he just found out he is leaving for __ weeks in the morning.
5:16:30- Hormonal tears start flowing.
15 minutes of silence
5:31-6-Riley wants to know where the heck the cheesecake I promised is. We go pick up said cheesecake
6-7-Unload the truck of pretty much everything
7:10- Riley asks me to help him move furniture
7:11-7:15- I go on a mini rampage wondering WHY none of the Marines are at our house unloading furniture and why the HECK the pregnant woman is left to do it.
7:16-Rye admits he never texted any of the guys. Cause it's their last night before they all leave.(big mistake)
7:17-8:30- Unloading furniture while Hormonal fit #2 kicks in. Upset with husband for not asking, and EVERYONE else for not offering when they KNEW what we were doing.
8:30- Kyle shows up to move dresser upstairs.

Day 3- Entire day is spent finding all of Rye's gear, and getting it all packed. He has to report in the early afternoon but doesn't leave till extremely late. evening is spent in the car waiting for him to depart, eating dinner and then falling asleep in the back while Jon sleeps in the drivers seat.

Day 4- Meeting at Pearl Harbor in the morning, Internet guy shows up right after that. I take the day to rest due to hurting myself on day 2.

Day 5 &6 -  is spent on back and forth trips from the old to new house. With car loads of the "little stuff. as well as cleaning.

Day 7(today)- Woke up at 5am, headed to the old place to finish the last few things. Then headed to work. Got a call at work from the AC guy wanting to come look at it. Left work, headed home... 2 hours later he tells me he HAS the new unit but i have to call and reschedule another day for them to come install it. Hormonal watery eyes follow. I return the keys to our old house, and get myself a freaking BANANA SPLIT.

Seriously, I have never been so exhausted in my life. I am dehydrated and thus retaining water like crazy. I feel huge all around (not happy about that) plus the heat makes me feel all sticky and nasty. my ankles/feet/hands/ wrists are so swollen...

And despite ALL that, i decided to man up and just take my 18 week pictures... UGH. I have lovely moving hair, I threw on some mascara and eyeliner for ya. even put a shirt on over my tank top(with this heat i probably sweat through it before these were taken.

Hopefully by next time i will look better. HA.

Without Riley here, i have to use my tripod, and therefor must put something on these boring white walls for the camera to focus on so i can use the self timer... Ugh having a boy to do this is SO much easier.

Seriously, it's freakin HOT in this house! Like i said, not feeling very attractive this week... I think tomorrow i should actually get ready, since i don't have moving crap to do before work... maybe you'll get better pictures tomorrow... cause these are NOT the 18 week ones i want to look at forever. I'm downing the water right now, just praying that i will quit retaining a bit.

I HATE when i run out of spray paint before i run out of Motivation

So the B key on this computer is now completely shot... i thought about just giving in and paying the $100 for a new keyboard, but Riley HATES this computer and just wants me to get a new one, FINE BY MEEEE!!! so excuse any missing B's in this post... i have to dig my finger nail in the little hole thing to make the letter, super fun huh.

So today Riley had Duty... for those of you unaware of what that is, it means he has to get into one of his dress uniforms and go babysit the barracks to make sure the stupid Marines don't make any decisions too high on the stupid scale. For 24 straight hours, ugh that would suck. So after dropping him off this morning i set off to do some garage saleing. i didn't bring any cash 1.) because we are trying to be really good about budgeting and hand me down crap isn't in the budget and 2.) i decided that i am a terrible impulse buyer and if i absolutely fell in love i would have to drive to go get cash, drive back... and by then i would have to still think it was a good purchase AND it would have to still be available. Well all the sales sucked big time, and i came home empty handed. i've been wanting to start on my barstool's but i am not getting fabric for those until this next payday (i made the smart decision that it wasn't a "right now" necessity.) ya, i do smart things like that from time to time. PLUS the fabric store we went to didn't have the gray i dreamed about. who knows if it actually exists... a girl can dream though. So i was sitting at home thinking about how i NEEDED to do a new project for the house. so i spent 24 minutes trying to get the code on our padlocked storage closet, finally broke in and grabbed almost all the spray paint i had in there. I grabbed the ihome, and Deezul and headed out to the back porch.

My in-laws are amazing, have i said that lately? when we bought our house, Rye's parents were changing their back patio furniture... so they just GAVE us these awesome chairs. They originally went in the set with a table and it was this amazing outdoor dining room. however a storm came and somehow shattered the glass top to the table. so they kept two of the chairs (they are SO comfy) and gave us the other 4. When the chairs first got delivered on island, they had oil spots and such all over. within 3 months of being here they have tons of rust spots on them. so i have been planning a face lift for these bad boys for a while now.

 So this is the before (super boring huh!)

 Do you SEE all that rust?!

 I'm doing yellow on two and blue on the other two.

 i then had to lay the chair down and at each angle cover all the brown with white.

 TADA!!!!!

So it took me less than a can of blue and 2 white to finish this chair, i am now all out of white and sad as could be. So what for part two of this and see how this little project finishes out!

P.S. did you notice how Dee is a total photo crasher :) that's my boy!

Inspection

So due to some recent events which i won't post about cause it's really nothing to be spread. Riley's unit is now implementing house inspections for the married Marines. which of course sends EVERYONE into panic mode... thoughts of Marines in dress blues with white gloves and a sword walking through my house, making sure my window sills are spotless... seriously though, i think last night when this was announced the mini mart on base probably had a spike in energy drink sales. Riley calls me in a panic telling me they may start in the morning, and we still have that pile of laundry that needs to be done (it is literally like 2 loads worth... that's IT)

Now i have no problem with a house inspection. i think it's a good idea. I mean we are living in military housing, they have every right to make sure we are not tearing the place down. Although with the current state of this apartment i sometimes wish that were an option. They can not tear down this condemned building fast enough. only a few more months! After the initial panic of someone coming through our house to judge us, we found out it's mostly just to check living conditions and as one Marine put it (make sure we don't have dead animals in the closet and nothing is growing in the fridge)

I am still going to make sure the house is spotless. If i am having some of Riley's higher-ups in my house it's going to look pristine. i honestly DO feel that this is a good idea, and other than not looking forward to having to mop the whole house like NOW (I've been putting it off) I'm ok with it all. It's a little motivation to get the spare room organized quickly (more to come on that). i think alot of girls (including me) got married VERY young. one of the problems of that is we move from home, to our very own place... not always knowing what running a household entails. I was really lucky to live so close to my mother in law for so long, she would take me to her cleaning supplies dealer (i guess it was not near as sketchy as her old dealer) and then she'd show me all the tricks to getting things to their cleanest potential. She is the one i call when i have any cleaning questions, i mean i dropped a plate of lasagna on her nearly white carpet... ya you can't even tell, she's THAT good. HOWEVER all the wives aren't so lucky to have a nearly OCD mother in law to show them the way. So they are left with a big house and feeling more than a little overwhelmed. i feel this inspection thing will put a fire under their bum.

Ok so about the spare room. so i was at the salvation army yesterday. I seriously HATE that place, they are SO overpriced. they were selling this piece of crap dresser for $160, at the D.I. it would have been $20. anyway they had this hutch their, priced at $125 i was NOT willing to pay that much, so i went up and asked the girl if they were willing to negotiate.. no dice. I asked how long they have had it, 2 days. so then i tell her i'll give her $100 right then and there. She then gets all pissed and tells me it's already on sale from $190. i ask her how it's on sale if they JUST got it, and then tell her it has ALOT of rusty and broken parts that would need to be replaced. She tells me it's worth $200(NOT) and that i should be happy to pay $125... so i got a little upset and stormed out telling her to keep her freakin overpriced hutch and that the whole store is freakin ridiculous. i was excited to get the hutch, redo it and then keep it in our craft/workout room to organize all that stuff, it would have been PERFECT! but instead she HAD to make me mad. stupid woman, and STUPID overpriced thrift store. you can keep your junk!!!

ok enough procrastinating... i need to get cleaning.

Stress and Excitement!

Well, i'm still here... still just Deezul and I, but soon... oh so soon, Rye will be home with me, harassing me once again to put the computer down and pay attention to him. I am thinking about turning my computer completely off and not touching it until he goes back to work.... let's see how that plays out. i'm able to talk to Riley alot more now, which has been so nice. i am to the point that every other wife is DONE with what they need to do and they are pretty much just killing time... i kinda wish that was me. i am stressed beyond belief with all that i still have to do. the secret is out. after a little over a year all of our household goods FINALLY arrived. ya it took two truck loads to get it all in our house. and now i am left with the task of unpacking EVERYTHING... and not much time to do it. i know i COULD leave alot of it alone and have Rye help me. however he's just getting back from a 7 month deployment, and the last thing i want to do with him is unpack and clean... know what i'm sayin. my original plan was to not tell Rye our stuff got here, and just have it all here and put away when he got home. but when it all arrived, the stress kicked in... and more than anything, i needed to vent to my best friend. i am now confident i did the right thing. He had secretly been stressing big time about having to unpack everything on his 4 days off work. the last thing i wanted to do was put an unnecessary burden on him.

So as stressed as i am, i am SO grateful that this last little leg is flying by... only cause there doesn't seem to be enough hours in the day to get everything perfect for when he comes home. then we will see how he REALLY feels about the decorating job :) oh by the way, i figured out what headboard i want to make. the inspiration comes from a $500 headboard in pottery barn. i will make mine hopefully for less than $50.... wish me luck! oh and all my projects are SO much easier with power tools.

oh and another thing... Mumford and sons.... AMAZING.

oh oh, and thunderstorms in Hawaii are AMAZING but frustrating when you are trying to unpack and the power keeps shutting off.

Stressed!

Well my power is going to be shut off in like an hour and a half.... for 6 hours... GREAT. that is EXACTLY what i need today :) Today is going to be a crazy busy day. i have a few appointments, and then i HAVE to finish the last of my "Deployment Projects".

I headed to costco yesterday for my final costco trip of the deployment! WOO HOO i freakin love costco. i spent a bit more than i planned but i got a TON of extra stuff. all stuff that we needed, except for I Am Number Four on bluray... but i really wanted that, so....... JUSTIFIED!!!!

i got alot of meat to freeze for bbq's with the boys and sunday dinners with my man. as well as one of those BIG drink dispensers... it was an AMAZING deal, and i've wanted one for months now. i had Sam and her husband come over last night, they brought the marine from our little memorial day cookout... cause i needed something moved, and having two marines do it is a HECK of alot easier. so i fed them all a Costco pizza, and then made them brownies. I am nothing if not resourceful. i finished out the night with the AC on 66 so i could freeze out my apartment, so i don't sweat to death today. Poor Deezul is shivering. he spent last night UNDER the blankets... he NEVER DOES THAT. poor puppy. and i WAS going to send him to Sam's to chill for the day, so i could get stuff done. but some last minute stuff happened.... so i am going to have to deal with the butthole today... let's see how things go :) i really do love Dee... more than almost anything. and anyone who has been around us knows this... HOWEVER for the project i'm working on today, i'd rather him be out of the way... it's a bit hazardous to puppy health :)

Almost Done!

I am getting so close to being done with this deployment! woohooo!!!! The sheets turned out fantastic, i am super impressed, wish i knew where that other pillowcase disappeared to.... oh well, it will turn up one day, and NOT match the rest of my room. My Wreath looks AMAZING, i did make the mistake of hanging it on the door with a ribbon that was hot glued, so it fell of the door and BROKE... a few more sticks of hot glue and a better ribbon, and we were back in business. I have the ideas in my head now for what i'm going to do for my head board and foot board. i just have to see if i can ACTUALLY pull them off. i was just talking to my father in law and we both decided i should get a jigsaw. so that will be coming in the next month of two. and the i just have to get the lighting in the guest room figured out... i have a FEW ideas... to sure what i'm actually going to do though, i'm waiting for Rye on that one. The guy is AMAZING when it comes to bouncing ideas off someone.

I haven't slept much lately, since Riley has been able to have more communication, i'm usually talking to him or one of "my boys" from the squad. so i have been going on like 2-3 hours at a time.. no wonder i'm sleep all day lately. TOTALLY WORTH IT!!! They are all so ready to come home, i cannot wait for that! i have been working on something for the single guys in Rye's team, but i won't put it up here, cause i don't want everyone else stealin all my good ideas :) ya i'm selfish when it comes to some of my ideas. i have NO problem sharing it, after everyone knows that i am the one who originated the idea :)

i have to get housing to come fix my blinds on my sliding glass door... they use cheap ones.. so some of them just... break... but housing is coming this morning cause my upstairs neighbor's porch is literally FALLING off.... i've been nervous it's going to fall on Deezul. so hopefully they get that fixed... or condemn the building and move us all :) i would love for that to happen, except that i JUST painted!! and got everything perfect.

And what is with housing thinking it's a good idea to shut off my power TWO days this week... ugh seriously... it's going off today for a while... and THEN again on thursday. and i have WAY to much to do on Thursday... so i decided i will freeze out the apartment the night before so that when i'm busy and have doors open and such, it will stay SOMEWHAT cool... until 2 p.m. when they turn my power back on.

So i'm trying to decide what color to dye my towels. so if you have any suggestions... lemme know! that's pretty much all i got today i have to get ready for work, which i still LOVE. but i also love that it's not full time. i'll try and blog a few more times in the next _____ Days, i'll be super busy. but i promise big updates will be coming by late june.

If you have any sort of problem with my blog... don't read it... if you have any sort of problem with me, confront me about it. don't be a coward. seriously. if you are honestly too afraid to tell me off to my face, then there is probably a reason we're not friends.

Look Unto Christ in Every Thought, Doubt Not Fear Not

Getting Things Organized.

Hey guess what friends.... MY HUSBAND IS COMING HOME FROM AFGHANISTAN SOON!!!! some days i sit and think wow, i cannot believe this crazy life we've been thrown into. soon my husband will be home from a war torn country. he has done alot of good, training the Afghani police and military. he's coming home as the biggest hero in the world to me. i am so incredibly proud of him. 2 years ago this week, we had already decided upon the Marine Corps and were waiting for him to leave for bootcamp. we were getting ready for a big California trip with Kat and Zack.

This life is crazy. i live thousands of miles from ANYONE that i know. i live alone 60% of the year, yet i'm far from single. i don't even bat an eye when i hear explosions and gun shots out my window. in fact the sound of gunshots is comforting to me. i got to the gym with a hundred guys who could kill me with a finger. I hear the world military or Marine Corps on tv, and i'm instantly tuned in. when walking to work in the mornings, i usually have to stop to pay respect to the raising of the flag. squads of running Marines are a normal occurrence (a very pleasing to the eye occurrence.) i live in a state where daylights savings means nothing, except the change in uniform. i speak in acronym's and people understand what i am talking about. i live on a military base where everyone has to be awake at 4-5 am... YET the grocery store on base does not open till 10 am... ya makes sense huh. i can walk in the middle of the night, and not fear what might be lurking in the shadows... worst case scenario, it's a drunk Marine, and my dog will murder them if they try ANYTHING!

i'm a Military Wife. i am the wife of a United States Marine... i am proud of my husband, and all the guys in his unit... and i'm proud of the wives. not the wives who go out and party all the time, but the ones who honestly keep the house together. This week i'll be trying to get everything organized. starting to get everything in place for when Riley comes walking through that door with me. i want it all to be PERFECT. cause he deserves that. to have everything perfect and in it's place. now to find the motivation to get up and do it. i was ALMOST out the door to go to the gym, when one of the guys messaged me and said Rye was getting on... so here i am 90 minutes later.... looking at the stormy weather and deciding whether walking to the gym is a good option right now.... we'll see. Stand by for confirmation of gym trip!

Brace Yourself!

Alright so last week i wrote an UBER long post about "things i've learned during deployment" for all my girlys who are ABOUT to go through a deployment.. HOWEVER, blogger erased it as i was posting it.. ya it didn't save like it's supposed to... so i threw a tantrum and refused to re-write it... i probably will tonight though.

Tonight i recieved a text from a friend telling me i needed to post a blog... so here we go. it's a bit harder to blog when i am refusing to put pictures up of the house..and when Deezul is adamant about falling asleep on my computer keyboard... lets see if i can do this while balancing this laptop on one knee OFF the edge of the couch (PLEEEEEASE don't smash to smithereens...)

So the house is pretty much DONE! woooooot ya i just patted myself on the back for that one.. ok so i didn't really, that would have taken too long of my hands OFF the keyboard... i have done SOO many projects. aside from painting EVERY room except the kitchen, there isn't much in my house that has not been "Sav-ized" looking from my perch on the couch (which is also new! i got a screaming deal on it, and it's amazing) i can see at LEAST 6 major things that IIIIII did... all on my lonesome. it is KILLING me to not put pictures up... but it will be so worth it to have Riley be the first person to see it all DONE... so be patient! All of our possessions from our house (prior to the military) are FINALLY being shipped. i spent a good long part of my Utah trip getting it all organized... HOWEVER, it will NOT be delivered until 1-2 days after Riley returns... so we will spend a good part of his time off... unpacking.. BOOOOOOO. it's alright though, it'll all be worth it once it's done.

So you are all probably wanting a "Sav" story huh..... alright here is one... i don't think i already posted about this... but i follow this girls blog, she does ALOT of DIY stuff... and is AMAZING! she's from St George and it makes me sad i never knew her... if i still lived there i would make friends with her. i actually went to D.I in St George hoping to run into her cause she claims to go at least once a day! no luck there though. There is this rug she made (i will link her blog when i post my pictures of my finished project... cause i don't want you sneak peekin on me!) it's a Zebra print Rug. it's AMAZING. so i have been determined since JANUARY to make this thing. so FINALLY like 3 weeks ago i tell Rye of my ambition and send him the link to check it out... he comes back and tells me he thinks it's AWESOME that i want to MAKE my own rug, but that the zebra is a little TOO girly...

now my man is pretty easy going and patient.. he has not thrown a SINGLE tantrum about my painting the living room purple. and he is usually VERY supportive, even if that means telling me that my idea won't work, thus saving me the wasted hours and heart ache... so when he tells me NO on a project, i usually throw a tiny tantrum... and then realize it was for the best. He suggested i find another design and make it work... so we changed the subject but for the next 3 weeks his words hung over me... i HONESTLY tried to envision another design and could NOT. I realized that HEEEE was not sharing my same vision and that for once, he was WRONG, and i was going to do it anyway. so on our next conversation i had to explain.

"ok Babe, so i KNOW you said you don't like the zebra rug. and that i should make another pattern... and i have thought long and hard about this... and don't think i didn't think about it, cause i really did... but i'm doing it anyway, so you'll have to suck it up"

to which he scoffed and said he figured as much... gosh i love that man! seriously he KNOWS there is no stopping me, and fighting this is just going to waste time... might as well let me have my way, and skip the argument that would eventually lead there anyway!

I also made Rileys massive welcome home banner that will hang in the hangar for his return... it's pretty awesome. and i am working on a banner for all "my boys" (Rye included) so that none of them feel left out on homecoming day. Rye and I are planning a bbq for our boys during his awesome 4 day weekend... we're both excited for that.

I am mostly just excited to snuggle that man of mine. seriously... our new couch is massive, to the point that we could both lay on my couch, and NOT touch, and the Deezul could be on the ottoman, leaving us both totally alone.. it's amazing. BUT i am already planning on just laying on his lap... falling asleep, and waking up to his hand in my hair :) let's be honest, it probably won't play out like that... he'll probably pass out on MEE and then i'll have to stay awake..... booo :)

guys, i'm ALMOST DONE WITH THIS DEPLOYMENT!!! i have survived, it's been a very strange adventure, but i'm glad to have done it... it will most definitely make Rye and I a much stronger couple. i am so excited to begin on US again. and HOPEFULLY get to spend a Christmas together!!!

You're Kidding... Right?

I'm back on island (yay). i've been getting settled and haven't had much of a chance to blog. but it's 5 in the morning, and i was woken up... so might was well.

My good friend Trudy picked me up from the airport, and we've been hanging out non-stop since. I KNOW... my couch is THAT awesome. :) So she has a friend that lives in the building kiddy-corner from me, a few days ago Trudy decides to "warn" me that her friend found a RAT in her house... and then the next day we hear that, said Rat, bit her friend and she was heading to the hospital to get a rabies shot. now, i'm not USUALLY one to complain... yes they used lead paint in this apartment... i avoided EATING paint chips and painted over it... yes there is dangerous black mold in my bathroom... i bleached the crap out of it, and PAINTED over it. i have ants and spiders... i either A.) burn the spiders with matches B.) recognize how many ants this particular Spider has killed... and let it stay for a few more days before i SMASH it... or C.) Spray the crap out of every corner with bug killer, bleach and vinegar... and in ONE room... i painted over their entrance. And while i am terrified of mice, i KNOW they are not going to kill me... just be gross... and i've been SO grateful to not have to deal with mice either.

HOWEVER i will NOT be ok with RATS... are you kidding me!?!?! this girl insisted on getting a new house cause she had also found the Rat in her 3 month old's playpen. that is seriously a safety/health hazard. they told her that they could NOT just move her to a new house... and i am unsure if they came out and removed the rats from her walls and house. so ya, Trudy tells me this, and it bothers me, but at the same time i'm thinkin "i have Deezul, he's a big dog and a rat would be CRAZY to enter into Dee's house. It's 5:40 here... 40 minutes ago i was woken up in my pitch black room to the sounds of scratching and gnawing right next to my FACE! i have a mini heart attack... grab my phone and light up the area where the noise is coming from. yup... my bedroom wall. i thought about punching the wall and scaring the bajeebuss out of the rat... but i was afraid it would piss him off and he'd retaliate. I grabbed my phone... and headed out to my comfy couch... too bad now i can't sleep cause i'm afraid it's going to eat through my freshly painted bedroom wall... and murder me in my sleep. Dee slept through the whole thing! HOW COULD HE NOT HERE IT!!! i expected growling and viscous barks... disappointment of a guard dog :) he DID however get out of bed and fall back to sleep next to me on the couch... how can i be mad at him, if even when he's dead tired he'd rather move than sleep in the bed without me.

On another note. i start my new job tomorrow... YAY!!! it's only twice a week, but i'm excited.

I HAVE SO MUCH CRAP!!!

The movers will be rolling into town in about 15 hours... to get all our crap to ship to us! WOOHOO i never thought i'd see this day!!! i have been at my mother in-laws house ALL DAY re-packing all the crap that was left at her house... WOW. first of all, i have SOOOOOOO MANY CLOTHES I FORGOT ABOUT! i am soo close to being finished, and then i get to go back and forth to my storage unit to get everything up there!

I attempted to steal my in-law's ping pong table for Rye... but apparently they got rid of it.. i know Rye, you're probably saying out loud "WHAT?!" in your Riley Tantrum kind of way :) but i tried. tomorrow will be such a long day... but i will be SO relieved when it is over... cause then all my stuff with be on it's way to Hawaii to meet me at my apartment to unpack it and then RYE WILL BE HOME!!! ya... take a moment and scream a little for me. we're getting close.

on a separate note... Deezul Oliver Gardiner turns 1 year old tomorrow! happy birthday to my little man. i really love that guy so much! he's the best part of this deployment! so tomorrow think for at least a minute "HAPPY BIRTHDAY DEEEEEEEE" cause i will!

Stranded.

where is the most convenient place to be stranded? on a tropical island? at home? both of those things sound lovely, however i am NOT feeling awesome about being STUCK on this island! i have not left since i arrived last May, and i HAVE to get to Utah, and it seems to be the most difficult time of year to get off this island. the last 5 flights i've tried to catch have canceled last minute... ya... things could be worse.. i COULD be flying to Moses Lake wa, where there is ZERO chance of getting to Utah from there... but i am still irritated. it's 7 and at midnight, i'll be heading back to the air force base to try and get on a flight. i have been praying (yes actually praying, not just hoping and calling it a prayer) that i will get there in time, that i will feel the inspiration from the spirit to get me on the right flights.

Yesterday my good friend Sam came and got Deezul, so when i got home last night (after the flight being canceled) it felt REALLY strange to NOT have Dee waiting for me as i opened the door... we got Deezul the day before we moved in here. so there has not been a single day, that he has not been here when i walked in. it was a little hard. Trudy looked at me and had to ask if i was ok and going to make it. i got a little teary, but thats about it. :) we crashed on my new couch (oh my gosh it's AWESOME) and since we'd been so sleep deprived at this point from trying to get all my crap done and trying to get me on a flight, we slept through SIX alarms that were supposed to wake us up so i could catch a flight this morning... ya... i am hoping that was divine intervention saying i wasn't supposed to be on that flight!

So pretty much, i HATE traveling, more than almost anything. i'm ready for this trip to be over, so i can be home and preparing for Riley's return back to me. i have ALOT to get done. i want everything to be PERFECT for his return (but this is me we are talking about SOMETHING always goes wrong) the apartment is coming together, and when i get back i'll have to get ready for the arrival of all of our stuff from storage! WOOOOOOHOOOOOOOO i am so excited for that!!!

I have been in contact with one of the guys in Riley's team's Mom, she is so super sweet. and i look forward to meeting her VERY SOON for our homecoming. i'm sitting here in the dark living room, listening to Mumford & Son's... SO AMAZING, i want more than anything for Rye to call me, it's been a LONG week, and i just want to hear his voice. but i probably won't for a while... SO BUCK UP SAV, and get over it. he'll be home soon... things could be far worse... i just need to quit complaining... haha ok, i'm done. i'll update soon with my adventures in Utah (if i ever freakin get there!!!)

look who's been busy!

The answer would be ME! i've realized that this deployment is always getting one day closer to being over, i have a list a MILE long of things i need to get done before Rye gets back. i've gotten the proper motivation to actually get things DONE! i have put a FEW pictures on facebook, but let's fill all my faithful blog stalkers in!

this bad boy i found at the salvation army for under $10, it took one can of kyrlon spray paint, and a little elbow grease, then i added a few bits of paper and VIOLA!

and here we have my AWESOME paint job, if you blow this up, you'll see all my horrible mistakes on the top. and as Riley put it, he's worried he'll come home to a retarded rainbow... HOWEVER... i quite like the colors i've been choosing, i think they are pretty "Gardiner-esque" i just picked out the color for the guest room... it's pretty awesome... i'm a little worried about how it will turn out but i have faith in my overall goal for that room. ya, i spent all of conference weekend listening on my T.V. and painting

after i finished painting the living room i had still had the Sunday session of conference left, so i started on this little project... i found this window thingy for $10 at Reuse Hawaii, which may become a favorite store! after one can of kyrlon spray paint, and some hinge thingy's installed on the back it's turning out almost like i had envisioned!

before!

all sanded and prepped for painting!

TADA!!!!!!!!!

oh and in the picture above you'll see in the corner THESE things

these are just the 2 small testers, i am making more, i wanted to see how they would turn out! and so far i am in LOVE!!! i'm making a bigger on that will actually end up being a hanging lamp :) we'll see how that turns out.

and now that the wind storms are finally over, i was able to re-hang the jars.. only TWO were shattered due to wind, i collected the sand to weigh them down in the bottom and i LOVE how they look in the dark!

so there you go, i still have more projects left, and ONE more paint color to pick out... the most important one... our bedroom... i'm thinking a REALLY light pastel, i don't want anything too bright... haha like the rest of the apartment. i think everything is starting to reflect US, yet i am REALLY worried that Riley is going to get home and HATE it... so cross your fingers that doesn't happen... only __ weeks left of this deployment and i am SO ready for Cute Bum to be home!

You Make Me Happy!

Today was a busy day. i was planning on going to my favorite zumba class of the week at 8am. but i stayed up late talking to Rye so i knew it was going to be hard to get my butt out of bed. so when my first alarm went off at 6:10, i shot Kat a text asking her to call me at 7 to get me UP!so i wake up to the sound of her ringtone... only to roll over and see it's my "normal" alarm at 7:30 going off.. so i FLIP out, jump out of bed, put Dee outside to go to the bathroom, fill up his food and water, track down some work out clothes, and get OUT the door in 10 minutes, at this point i have 18 minutes until the class starts.. so i start to jog, i'm not very good at running "off" the treadmill, and i had 2 miles to go, so i did take a few walk breaks... BUT i made it to the gym only ONE minute late! and i blame that minute on having to stop at 8 for "colors"

after zumba i had a nice walk home, showered and got ready for the day, made myself some eggs and a smoothie... i was REALLY craving chinese food, and decided to meet up with some girls at the food court on base... so i walked another mile BACK down to there... then decided chinese food was NOT worth the calories, and had one of taco bells "healthier" choices (less than 340 calories)

I picked up a new xbox game for Rye, i pre-ordered it a few months ago and it came out last week so i ran in and grabbed it, and bragged to the girls that i won best wife of the day award for that one. as i was sitting in the salon waiting for my turn to go get my bangs trimmed i got a text from my next door neighbor that someone dropped off flowers, and she brought them inside so they wouldn't get all withered. i had NO idea who would be sending me flowers on a random tuesday... curious i hurried and drove home (after getting my bangs all trimmed up)

he sounded pretty proud of his choice cause of the smiley mug :)

i sure do love him!

Sure enough they were from that awesome husband of mine... seriously, how did i get so lucky with him?! i don't deserve him, and i am NOT just being humble, i honestly lucked out with him! so what was the occasion you may be asking... well the card said "just because i love you, hope you have a happy day. love the nugget" so here i am thinking i'm the best wife for getting him a video game, and PRE-ORDERING another one for us, and he goes and blows me out of the water! goodness!

on another note, since last monday i have not only hit, but KILLED my calorie burn goal... 7 times! 7 out of 9.... that aint bad, and on those days i was EXTREMELY close to hitting my goal. i am keeping check marks on my chalkboard and i think once i get so many, i should get a reward.. what do you think my reward should be? and how many check marks do YOU think i should have to hit before i get it? maybe shopping money for clothes for each check mark? i don't know... lemme know what YOU think!

oh so tonight i found the CUTEST dishes at ross... i wasn't GOING to spend any money, but i kind HAD to get them. i didn't spend much but i absolutely LOVE the look of them, i might try to get some more.. i really love them!

and here's the pitcher that goes with

also i had a brunch yesterday, so i made a few recipes from the "our best bites" cookbook (which i know i've mentioned, but seriously it's AMAZING, and you should buy it!) i made the buttermilk caramel syrup

and the strawberry sauce

and look how cute i bottled them for my brunch! now this is mostly cause i had extra jars laying around... and i didn't have any lids for them and i was out of tinfoil, so i had to come up with something cute!

anyway, i'm going to have some frozen strawberries and keep on watching season 3 of Army Wives (ya, don't judge me, i'm pretty much POWERING through this series.)

Candle on the Water

first off... i HATE the song candle on the water... yup i said it! and i haven't seen "Pete's Dragon" since i was young... but last time i saw it i HATED it.

alright so i know you all have been on pins and needles to see what my chandelier in the bathroom turned out to look like! are you ready??!?!?! i am SO ready to show you all.. the ONLY bad thing about Rye reading my blog is that i can't keep any of this a surprise for him... not that it'll make it any less sweet to be HOME. oh and in case my father in law reads this... "I REALLY DO LOVE YOU AND I LOVE HAVING YOU AROUND ANYTIME!!! SERIOUSLY!" just wanted to make sure he knew i wasn't just trying to avoid confrontation earlier :)

alright here we go!!!

i would give you a "whole picture" kind of picture, but the bathroom is a MESS, and i still have a few other things to do... but isn't it CUTE!!!!

ok so this NEXT project, i've been working on for a WHILE, and i FINALLY got them hung up today! so these are the day time pictures of my back porch lighting!

HOWEVER, i just went outside to light them... and it's too windy, ya i'm a little upset... especially after i told my husband he was being a jerk for saying we should "electrify" them... haha i have a feeling he MAY win that battle :) anyway i am going to get to painting...

i just got done from helping with this funeral for a family at church, it was an ALL day thing, but i hung out with some AMAZING women and we had more than a few laughs... plus serving someone else always seems to be worth it. when you serve your fellow man, you are serving the lord. and although today was stressful, and SOO many things did NOT go right, i cannot say it wasn't worth it. so what are you waiting for! go out and serve somebody!!!! :)

quote of the day, from oct 2010 conference
Choose Faith!  Choose faith over doubt, choose faith over fear, choose faith over the unknown and the unseen, and choose faith over pessimism

Blogging Hiatus

first of all... happy march! and happy fast Sunday! as some of you may or may not know... the first Sunday of the month our church has what we call "Fast Sunday" here is a small explaination for those of you who know not of this practice.

On Fast Sunday, members of the church are encouraged to fast for two consecutive meals; most members of the church choose to skip the first two meals on Sunday, though some skip the last meal on Saturday and the first meal on Sunday. Members are also encouraged to give the money they save by not eating as a fast offering which will be used by the church to help the needy. The Sunday date is in marked contrast to most other Christian denominations that encourage fasting but invariably exempt Sundays.

now i'll be totally honest... i'm not very good about fasting... HEY at least i admit this :) today however is different. Jaxon is going in for surgery on Tuesday... hopefully to remove the tumor that they have been aggressively trying to shrink... so today ALOT of our family (the Gardiner AND the Wynn side) are fasting and praying for him... so here i sit... in a towel (don't judge me) i just showered and am about to get ready for church HALLELUJAH!!!! I was soo sick the entire month of february, that i was not able to attend church. plus if any of you know how many babies there are in a Mormon church, i didn't think it fair to spread my bronchitis germs around.

I went to this store yesterday "reuse Hawaii" and i may have fallen in LOVE! seriously. it's far better than any thrift store. when homes are demolished, this place takes their windows, doors, fixtures, hardware yada yada yada you get the point.. they have soo many antique looking windows and doors, which was HEAVEN for me, with all the projects i'm currently trying to do.. and NOW i'll be able to complete them for FAAAAR less than if i were to just BUY them at like pier one... one project for instance, will cost me MAYBE $25...... if i were to buy the less cute but pre-done version at pier 1.... are you ready for this.. you MAY have a heart attack... $180... ya, my husband would KILL me... i don't know about yours. anyway, pictures to come! woohoo!!!

i haven't heard from Riley in a while, but last i did, he was doing fine. There has been some "boy drama" so communication has been on the fritz. i always love Sundays, cause it's another week down. So i know you are wondering how much longer on this deployment... well screw opsec i'm going to tell you... are you ready?



you sure?


ONLY __ weeks left!! BUAHAHAHAA you totally thought i was actually going to tell you :) lets just say, it's a week less than last week.

i ordered what i expect to be the most AMAZING cookbook this week. i also ordered Kat one, and she said it's pretty much AWESOME! check it out here our best bites cookbook   it's some good ol' fashioned Mormon mom cooking :) which is the BEST kind of cooking. i'm excited for it.

alright well i promise to blog more... Deezul popped off my b and v key... so i am having to type by hitting those two keys very carefully.. it's a bit slower.. so THAT is why i haven't blogged this week. anyway i hope you all have and AMAZING Sunday.

My Attitude

Some of you may be wondering to yourselves "how does Sav do it, how does she wake up every morning alone and have such a positive outlook"

To you i have two replies... the first being 1. my situation is not so bad, there are many people that are in situations far worse than mine. i remember that, whenever i am feeling bad for myself. I remember that somewhere else is a widow/single mother just praying to get through the day. or a woman who cannot stand the sight of her husband. there are many other people in far worse situations, however those 2 are the ones that usually come to my mind, yes i understand it's a bit extreme.

reason number 2... i wake up every morning (usually between 6:30 and 7) my alarm is set for 7:30, but other than when i'm sick, i am ALWAYS up and doing something by the time my alarm is going off in my room. the sun is just barely starting to lighten the inside of my room around this time, and i see this

i found this frame on one of my many Ross shopping trips. it originally said "the boys" and had a fake picture in there of a dad and his like 3 or 4 sons... however i liked how with the missing letter it just said, "the boy" there was another frame that was supposed to say "the girls" and i thought it would be perfect to take off the S and then i would have a cute fram for each of us... but that frame was missing like an "R" or something. But i get to open my sleepy eyes, and if Deezul's fat head isn't in the way, i get a look at my man. it's not my favorite picture of him, but when i got the frame it was the only extra one of him i had.

And because i promised earlier, here are some pictures of my flowers that Mr. Gardiner sent me :)

pretty huh!!

my frame, next to my arrangement :) gonna be nice to wake up to.

ACCOMPLISHED!

Just like my title suggests, i have actually accomplished something! WOOOO (and the crowds go wild for Sav!!!)

Before i continue on with this post, i just want to throw in here that i'm sitting on my couch with Deezul snuggling watching New Moon... and Edward just left and she's all in her little zombie mode.. The book totally makes me cry every time... but i really like how they portrayed it in the movie as well (much less craptastic than the first one)... except her screaming in her sleep is....awkward, and really who wakes up screaming in their sleep because they realize they are chasing "nothing"...

NOW BACK TO YOUR REGULAR PROGRAMMED BLOG!

So i don't know if i have posted about what i have named "Mold Bathroom"... pretty much, on base housing sucks. as my brother pointed out today on the phone, i am facing FAR more dangerous things than my amazing husband. In the housing we are living in, we not only have BLACK MOLD, we also have lead paint... i face death EVERY DAY while he is away, breathing in CLEAN AIR... just thought i'd point that out. anyway, i have tried EVERYTHING to make this mold go away, bleach, vinegar, special cleaners, the magic eraser... nothing works.. and it looks something like THIS!

Ignore my mess.... it's my ONLY bathroom.

ok, so it was REALLY gross and bad... so i mentioned to my awesome Father in Law that i was painting. He liked the idea and thought it would be good for me to do a project or something to keep busy (little does he know i have about 30 half done projects around the house :) ) He proceeded to tell me how i need to do the proper PREP work for this paint job, repeating the motto of "the key to a really good paint job, is a good prep job" convincing me to sand down the current crappy paint job and tape everything properly, unscrew all the rods from the wall... yadda yadda yadda... I told HIM that every time they paint these apt's they never do the proper prep job, so if i was to do that now, it wouldn't make a difference, because there are probably 18 layers of paint on the walls.. he didn't care and told me to do the proper work..

and THIS is when i'm glad i live across the ocean :) cause he had NO way to make sure i was doing it the "right" way. now i DID learn my lesson from my "chalkboard" paint project, so i KNEW that putting tape down was an absolute must. but i don't like the sound of sand paper, and i didn't feel like unscrewing the things from the wall.. so i did a "Sav version" of the prep... once again, i know that Riley will notice that i only painted behind the toilet as far as people will actually see, and there is paint in spots it shouldn't be, but EH, overall i was pretty proud.. here is SAV'S prep work.

Yes, i used Tin foil and tape to guard what i didn't want painted... i decided it looked like i was protecting my bathroom from an alien invasion... as long as they were they aliens from signs.

Steph stopped by after i had started painting the first wall and helped me finish the first coat of paint. took about an hour and a half or so... then the directions said wait 4 hours and paint a 2nd coat.... Steph had class and had to take off... and knowing me... i only waited a little over 3 hours and did the 2nd coat... finished it while listening to the audio book of "i am number 4"... decided to peel off the foil and tape, and guess what...

Steph was right and i am SO glad i decided to paint! i was planning on painting a long time ago, but just never did it. i am so excited to finish decorating it! here are the "after" pictures, but before decorating.

it kinda looks purple in the pictures, but it's a light blue. YAY!!! next up is the hallway :) and possibly my bedroom.

on a totally separate note, this morning as i headed inside from picking up Steph from her graveyard shift, i was walking down my few steps, and for some reason this spot on the wall caught my attention.

and closer up

That boy's and girls, is a mud print of my husbands muddy BUTT! buahaha, he had to PT in the mud and rain a way long time ago, and when he got home from PT (workout) i made him mostly undress outside since i had JUST mopped and swept... so he leaned against the wall to take off his boots and this spot was made. when i ran the hose through the living room and out my front door to wash it... the whole area flooded.. if you remember right! haha so after that i just kinda forgot about the spot... until today, and now i kinda want to leave it, i mean i remember that morning like it was last week, and i feel like it's one mess of Riley's i should be allowed to keep until he gets back. :)