The Real Scoopage

It's Sunday night and I am realizing that I like to sit down and think about my week in review and decide how my life is going in general. Does anyone else do that? I didn't realize I did it, but I like introspection in general, so I enjoy it and the blog is a great sounding board.

This past week has been interesting. That's really an understatement. It's been overwhelming, fun, nerve-wracking, full of adventure. I feel like I have run the gamut of feelings this week. I have felt the major stirrings of morning/afternoon/night sickness (oh joy) and been majorly affected by the humidity. I thought since I was a Maryland girl that it wouldn't be that much of an adjustment. Yeah right! It's been tough. It has slowed us all down. We all have taken long naps every single day since we've been here.

But it's been exciting too. We've enjoyed going to the pool. It's been fun learning about a new place and all of the local sites and history. We went to church today and talked to people about the area and Maddy loved the nursery ladies right away. We drove around a prospective "move-in" area and ate at a very shady Shoney's (do you remember that restaurant? It's not as good as you remember....).

(This is a picture of one of the houses we are considering. Very cute.)

And I have been out almost every day with our realtor. And then I come home and have panic attacks every night. :) Okay, not quite. But I am sure it is partly the pregnancy hormones that are messing with my emotions, but I have been having a hard time with knowing where is a safe place to take our family. Everyone has told us that the areas we are looking at are good areas with good schools (which they are, because I checked the websites about the schools, based on the good advice of several friends). But the good areas don't seem to be super separated from shady looking areas, and I think that is just part and parcel of living in a city (even though we are looking in the outskirts of the city). So that has taken some getting used to for sure.

Other things that I have noticed about the South so far? Sweet Tea must be the State drink, because every restaurant I go into, they ask me what I want by saying, "So ya'all want some sweet tea to start?" lol! People are SUPER nice. Everywhere. They are friendly and don't mind talking to strangers. I love this. They are polite. They say "Excuse me" when they might get in your way in the grocery store. I was raised this way and so I really appreciate it. People say "Yes Ma'am, and Yes Sir." In fact, it's required from the kids in school apparently.

What else? Smoking is still allowed in restaurants here. That shocked me. And everywhere you look there is tons of diversity. I forgot how lacking in this respect Utah was--it takes you aback at first. And this may sound weird, but people seem much happier in their jobs here. Well by that I mean the people working in grocery stores or Walmart or fast food etc. Back in Utah those people look like they wish you would shoot them and put them out of their misery. Here I have noticed that there is pride in what you do. It's kinda awesome. Oh, and at one super market they take your stuff our to your car and you are told you are not allowed to tip. I know they offer that at other grocery stores, but here it is expected that you will let them take your stuff out for you without asking.

A picture Maddy took of us while comandeering our camera.

Well those are just a few observations that I thought it would be fun to jot down while they are still novel to me. Overall it has been a good week. Even though I have been pretty sick and queasy, I am so grateful to be pregnant. I feel so blessed every time I feel sick because I pray that it means that this baby will stay. I still feel nervous and scared that things will happen. I think that small amount of fear keeps me from really thinking about the future and thinking about what it will be like to have a newborn again. I just don't want to set myself up for too much disappointment, which sounds crazy and probably is, but you know, that's how the mind works.
And even though I am anxious about finding a house so soon, I also know that is the right choice for us. I have considered just living here for a while and then figuring it out, but I feel like I want to bypass another tiny move and just trust that Heavenly Father will guide us to the place that we need to be at this point. I feel like we need to get settled and in place, especially with the baby coming. No more moving with a newborn (not a good idea if I haven't told you that enough). :)

So even though there are things that keep me popping the Tums at record-breaking speeds, I try to keep things in perspective (how unlike me eh?) lol. I know that every change has adjustments and I am trying to go slow and be patient. But that doesn't mean I don't miss my Utah friends and my sister. It doesn't mean that occasionally I don't question my sanity for doing this to our family. But things have a way of working themselves out. So then I take a chill pill with my Tums. It sees to be working so far.

(oh and people have asked me to post links to houses we are considering. I will do that once we narrow it down. Just cause I love ya).

a bit overwhelmed, but it's okay

So today I am feeling overwhelmed. Actually I've felt that way for the past couple of days. It's funny because in my head I know that everything will be fine and just to be patient, but sometimes you just can't help it, ya know?

I'm mostly feeling overwhelmed by finding a house. It's hard to look for a house in a place that you have never lived before. I've tried to do lots of research and figure out the safe good areas. Our realtor has been super helpful with this as well, but I still feel unsettled. I like to know by my own experience that a place is good, do you know what I mean? So I'm just afraid to make a mistake.

Today is the last normal workday that John will be home as he starts work on Tuesday (after Monday's holiday), and so I am trying to squeeze in as much as possible so that I don't have to take Maddy along for too much house-hunting, because she is notoriously terrible at looking at houses. Which just means that she is notoriously two years old still and living up to her age (so I don't blame her at all).

So it's kinda useless for me to vent about it on here because it won't change anything, and I know things will work out, but I'm venting nevertheless. I think it's mostly because I have been feeling so blah and yucky and just off with being pregnant and all of the humidity that I am readjusting to, that I just want my own cozy things around me, and to get back into some sort of routine. It will come with time I know. But can you blame me for wanting my cozy bed and familiar things?? (please say that you don't blame me at all. I am apparently looking for sympathy here). :)

the house hunt begins

Today went to see houses. It was a pretty eventful trip. I saw a lot of the area we are looking at and learned a lot about Charleston in general. I'm pretty exhausted from the long day but just finished Lost, so I'm still awake.

I think we may have narrowed down the neighborhood that we want to live in, which feels kinda fast to me, but when I was there I had a really good feeling. I'm taking John back tomorrow with the realtor to see the top two contenders so far. It seems a little crazy to think that we may have found our future house on the first day. I kinda hate saying that because it seems to crazy to me, but I guess if it can happen with trying on wedding dresses (I ended up buying the first one I tried on and was told that was pretty common) then it can happen with houses. But I still feel like I want to look around some more just to be safe.

Anyway, this is another lame post. What can I say? I'm kinda lame these days. I've been feeling more nauseous and off these days, so I blame everything on the pregnancy. It's a great excuse to have, and I happen to think it's pretty legitimate as well. Once I get a doctor I will be sure to ask for some anti-nausea pills if I still feel bad by that point. Well that's about it. Any advice for house-hunting?

The Post I Waited To Post (warning long post)

Okay, so these past few weeks (okay maybe months) have gone by in a whirlwind. One of my friends said on facebook, something to the effect of, "wow, is it just me or did this whole thing happen really fast?" I had to laugh. It did happen fast. And yet it seems like it has been in the works for a while.

I've been saying for a while that I would write about why I felt like we needed to move. I never got around to it (and openly avoided it) because I wanted to make sure things were going to work out. I'm kind superstitious or something because I was afraid to jinx myself. Also, I didn't want to go on and on about how this whole moving thing was some fabulous idea only to have it go horribly wrong. Call me crazy.

But now we are in South Carolina. We are living in an apartment that Amazon has graciously supplied for us for the next month and a half. Our stuff was packed up and shipped for us, along with our van. We have a rental car outside, and our little family is nestled into our new living arrangements. We went swimming all together today. I went to Walmart and bought soap and garbage bags and food. We took long naps, watched mindless cable (because we had basic t.v. channels in Utah, so it's a treat to watch TLC and shows like The History of Weapons). We unpacked, and we called moms, and we kept looking at each other as if to say, Are we really here? Did we really make it? Is this really happening? And then grinning like we got away with something.

The long story short is that life was pretty hard a few months ago. Lots of mitigating circumstances. Some of them you know about--the miscarriage being a huge one. It threw me into a tailspin. A big one. I hear it does that to most people. But I wasn't ready for it at all. I don't know how you can be really. I think I have mentioned previously how the miscarriage all of the sudden changed my perspective about everything in my life. It was like changing lenses on a camera. Everything was in different focus and different color. I realized that NOTHING is permanent. There are no assurances that life will turn out the way that you are planning. Also, that meant that there is nothing keeping you in a position of unhappiness except for yourself (in some cases, not all obviously). But this caused me to consider my life. I loved our house, I had good friends, things were pretty good. But I felt somewhere deep down that things were not right. They were not the way they were supposed to be. I couldn't figure it out for the longest time. When the miscarriage happened, it felt even deeper.

Then one day, I was sitting somewhere, doing something, when I very literally felt a voice come into my head that said simply, and without fanfare, "You need to move."

That's all it said. Some people would call that crazy. I know I did at first. I ignored it and laughed about how crazy of an idea it was. Move? When we had just bought our house a year ago and the market is terrible to sell in? When the economy was in the pits and it is a blessing to even have a stable job?

And then after laughing I got REALLY scared. I got scared because I knew it was the right answer. I freaked out. I didn't want to move. I felt comfortable. Unhappy deep down, but comfortable. I fought it for a long time. So then I knew the best way to get rid of the idea. I thought I would mention it to John who I was sure would shoot it right down.

But you know how this story ends right? He didn't freak out. He listened. He agreed to put the house on the market just to "see what would happen." He agreed to look for jobs "just to see what was possible." Several weeks later the house was under contract. Several weeks after that he was flying out for job interviews. A day after that he had a job offer. And here we are, in a temporary apartment, cutting up fresh pineapple like we're tropical old-timers.

All I want to say is that sometimes things look amazing and easy and great from the outside. Sometimes it looks like things just magically fall into place. And while I will agree that that has most definitely happened to a degree, I would like to also point out the fact that we had to get ourselves onto that track before the race could begin. And it was beyond terrifying. And the trip to get out here yesterday? Horrible. :) Seriously it was.

But today, as I back floated in the pool and looked up to see a blue sky, and green trees all around, I felt peace. I know the struggle is not over. I know this is a bit of a honeymoon period with this new place and adventure. But I felt peace in that deep part of me that I haven't felt for a while. I couldn't stop myself from grinning today. The journey has been hard. But I am grinning like a crazy person.

So maybe it's sappy. But this is to my one or two friends out there that might be right in the middle of feeling something along these lines. I don't know who you are. But I want you to know that God is aware of you and what you are going through. The hard things you are passing through? They really are hard. They really are scary. There is no doubt about it at all. But I am here at the other side to tell you that they WILL work out. You will feel that peace again. Just listen. You'll hear it. It may take a while, but it will come.

Goodnight. :)

The Randominator Strikes Again

Okay, lots to say, and lots of pictures. Here we go.


So last week my wonderful friend Lindy and I went to her brother's book signing. He wrote a book called The Lonely Polygamist. So we headed out together, ate at Trio (one word, Yummm), and I took a bunch of embarrassing photos. Here's her brother Brady during the reading. Also, I wasn't the only nerd taking pictures. So...okay, I'm still a nerd.
I told Lindy to smile. So she gave me this dapper grin. :)

I posed for my "I'm so literary" moment while waiting in line to get a signed copy of Brady's book.
Brother and sister saying howdy. Kind of cool especially because the book was dedicated to his siblings. I felt privileged to be with one of the dedicatees (I'm sure that's a word somewhere). He also very kindly signed my book and my friend Lori's book.
Then some friends were kind enough to throw me a going away bash. My favorite part besides the wonderful people?

The drinks! Lots of daiquiris and pomegranate martinis and margaritas. All mormon style of course, but I love some fancy virgin drinks. Lori was the queen of the drink making. I really really want a blender just like her's, it was awesome.There were even tiny umbrellas. Did I mention that I have the most awesome friends?

Here I am with the flattering hold-the-camera-with-my-own-hand shot with Kristen.
Haven and Jessica enjoying the umbrellas.


Yes, that's my "silly shot" face. I call it more "scary face."Jackie looking really interested or surprised.


Am I jumping around too much for ya? Good. That's kinda what my life is like right now lol. This is the breakfast in bed that John made for me on mother's day. The best part? The french toast was made out of Kneaders cinnamon bread (just like theirs is) and it was DELICIOUS. Seriously. So good. Notice the cute flower and lovely goblet....and tub of butter. I love my husband--he knows me so well lol.This is a picture of a $1000 Pottery Barn bed that I was obsessed with. I love how the footboard curves at the edge, and I love the scrolly legs and tall headboard. I just love the vintage classic feel of the whole thing. Here in Utah there's a Pottery Barn "outlet" (though it goes by a different name, like downhome outfitters or something). I saw this bed but in creamy white and fell in love hard. The sad part? It was half off, and therefore still 500 bucks. I wanted it sooo bad, but didn't feel right spending that much on a bed. I just resigned myself to never finding one because it was so unique.

Enter KSL (a local version of craigslist). I saw a headboard and footboard for way cheaper than the pottery barn version (even marked half off). I called on it and got it!
See the lovely curved edges? The only sad part? It was caked in black paint (and poorly painted at that). But I was told it was an antique, so I decided to strip the paint. That took FOREVER. I spent hours stripping off the old black sludgey paint and then giving it a once over with mineral spirits to get the remaining sludge off. By then I discovered that it was indeed an antique and made of real (and beautiful wood). I thought about keeping it, but it still looked a little rough from the black paint. Besides, I had a vision.
And so the last couple days have been spent giving this baby three coats of paint and primer. No spray painting for this lovely.
Here's the headboard. Both pieces have scrolly work (you'll see a picture below). So pretty!
I swoon every time over those turned edges and the cute feet.

Here's some of the scrollys I was talking about!
I love it so much. It is a full size bed, so we did have to find a mattress (ksl to the rescue again!). And now I am dreaming about the new bedding I'm going to get Maddy (although I am sad because my Mom just made me the cute umbrella bedding. But I couldn't pass this bed up. And we wanted a bigger bed in her room so we could lay down with her and read her stories at night).
Anyway, here are some that I'm considering. Tell me which one you like.


I like the quilty feel of this one. I think it would make the bed look less princessy, which could be a good thing.
This is from Land of Nod and comes in pink, green, lavender, and this pretty blue.
(That's a picture of it on a bed in pink).
And lastly, the shabby chic princess bedding of all bedding. It's a smocked duvet and would look right at home on the princess nature of the bed.

I'm just not sure which direction I want to go yet. I know...I'm obsessed with beds and bedding. It's my favorite thing to decorate in a house, what can I say.

Okay, so this has been another hodge podge post, brought to you by a scattered-moving-in-less-than-a-week mind. Goodnight!

To and Fro

Let me tell you, I can tell that I'm pregnant. I'm still not very far along, but even when I was pregnant with Maddy I was getting sick before I could even take the pregnancy test. With this pregnancy I have momentary bouts of nauseousness but mostly I feel dead tired. I feel so completely unmotivated to do anything. Basic chores are major accomplishments. I am SO glad I don't have to pack our house. At this point I think I would be curled into fetal position sucking my thumb and crying if I had to pack and arrange our whole move.

So I'm not sure if I've mentioned on this blog, but our final day in our house is the 19th. That's this coming Wednesday. That night we will be sleeping in an airport hotel and then flying out the morning of the 20th. We don't get into Charleston (after two transfers, ugh) until 8:00 eastern time. I'm not looking forward to that long of a trip with a rambunctious almost 3 year old, but it's loads better than driving across country for days on end with said 3 year old. I've bought a few new toys and activity books and snacks for Maddy to do on the plane. We'll also have some movies to watch on John's Ipad. Any other suggestions from moms who have flown with kids this age?

Let me see, what else is there to tell? We sold our second car. I've sold a bunch of things on craigslist. The moving company came and did the survey to know how much stuff they would need to move. Our van is scheduled for shipping. We're sending in final paperwork for the temporary apartment today. Our house has been inspected and appraised and found to be in good order (although we did have to fix a few things). I've spoken with a realtor in South Carolina several times and she has started sending me possibilities (looks like there are some good options!) John makes fun of me because when we were considering where to move based on housing prices, I told him there was one easy way to know if it was an area worth considering. I made him google to see if there were any Targets nearby. There are two. :) He teases me about that, but after living in Tooele--so far away from any kind of shopping at all, I really am looking forward to living close to something other than a Walmart and Denny's. :) I know, I'm such a snob.

Lastly, in this mundane and boring post, we took Maddy bowling for the first time yesterday. John has been feeling a little stressed lately and wanted to just go and do something all together so we wouldn't be stressing for a few hours. So we went bowling and it was absolutely hilarious watching how much Maddy loved it. She hated waiting for her turn. But when she got her turn she was eating it up and jumping up and down and whooping it up, even when she missed the pins. We all had fun and it was nice to just think about nothing for a few hours.

Well anyway, I better go. I think I'll add a random picture to the top of this post because I hate a post without a picture.

This is kinda cool

Check out this website. I bought a vintage chalkboard map just like this one from D.I. a few months ago. I didn't have specific plans for it, but it was just so cool I had to buy it (I believe I paid about four or five bucks for it). Now I know why! Can you believe it's selling for that much money??? Crazy.

I love thrifting.

I'm So Excited

And I just can't hide it. Obviously. :)

I'm just so excited. Today things are starting to get done and arranged and I love that. We have our plane tickets arranged. They made our reservations at the hotel we're staying at.

(This is the airport hotel that they booked for us for the night before flying out. Can you believe how pretty it is? Sorry, I get excited about this kind of stuff!)

They booked reservations at the corporate housing where we'll be staying for a little over a month. The mortgage brokers and loan officers have contacted us. I talked to our future realtor and sent her a list of homes that I've been looking at and she sent me a list of homes based on what we would like in next home. We also have a time set up for the moving company to come and take a survey of our home so they will know how large of a truck they need to move us.

(This is a picture of the corporate housing. Doesn't it look nice?)

I also finally went grocery shopping (it's always so nice to have food in the house again), and bought Maddy some little toys and books for our plane trip. I'm just starting to feel like things are really coming together, and it's great having someone else doing most of the hard work. Now I just need to buy some shorts so I can be ready for the warm weather. :)

Sorry again for all of the moving posts. It's just what is occupying my life right now. :)

To The Moms We Love

What's a mother's day without a mom tribute? To me, a pictures say a thousand words, so I'll let them do most of the talking. But here are a few words about my Mom Carrie, and John's Mom Jane.

things I've learned from my Mom Carrie:

Never give up
If your life isn't turning out the way you thought doesn't mean that it can't be better than you thought
Make fun no matter where you are or how much you have (getting ice cream cones from McDonalds drive-in in our jammies anyone?)
Things will always look better after you get some sleep
Bach and Broccoli is NOT a good movie. No matter how many times you check it out.
Stop worrying and get to work. That's the only way you'll feel better.
Fasting may have been "my choice." But a mother's disapproval is a strong deterrent.
Pray.
There is nothing funnier than a mom dancing to The Age of Aquarius while driving.
The international sign for cookies.
Popcorn and pink lemonade are a match made in heaven.
Be patient.

Love you Mom.










Lessons John learned from his Mom Jane:

Work hard (whether it's school or digging holes for trees).
Value a good education and keep learning your whole life.
Don't buy dogs to protect ducks.
Don't buy toys from the grocery store (or $20 mp3 players off of ebay).
Be willing to acknowledge your mistakes and become better.
Appreciate the things that you have instead of wishing for things to be different.
Try to think the best of people because you never know what they are going through.
Let your kids express themselves, even if it means letting them paint Egyptian hieroglyphics on their walls.
Family hugs are important.
You can never own too many books.
The world is a fascinating place, especially when you get to travel all over with your family.
There's more to life than playing computer games all day.

I love you Mom.








And lastly, things that I have learned during the few years that I have been a mother.

Laugh. And when things are not fun, laugh harder.
Always have stain remover in the house.
Snuggle as much as possible.
Going outside is a mother's best friend.
Whining is a toddler's national pastime. Don't take it personally.
Kisses and bandaids are secret anti-crying weapons.
Act silly when no one is watching.
Discipline even when people are watching.
Say I love you a million times a day. Hug twice that amount.
Always have bubbles.
Princess shaped chicken noodle soup is yummier than the kind without shapes.
Sometimes it's okay to laugh at your child when you should be punishing them because it's hard to keep a straight face.
Let Daddy help. A lot.


How could you not love being a mom to that face? Happy Mom's Day.