What's going on around here?

I'm grabbing a few minutes to myself to blog and write down what's going on around here.

I re-read my last entry and found myself shaking my head.  I feel like I am a pretty good judge of character, but sometimes even *I* find myself shaking my head at my complete lack of judgment.  That 'job' down there? Yeah, it didn't quite work out.  Seems I was mislead - A LOT - about the position, the state of the company, the opportunity, and the staff.  Sometimes a hot mess is just that, and you need to walk away from the smoldering ashes.

My kids came back from Arizona where they had a blast with their grandparents.  Our good friends Scott and Jason came to visit us and we enjoyed spending the weekend with them.  After that, Chris's brother Eric and his wife Misty came to visit for a few days.  And Monday, my kids went back to school.  Which means mommy has been waking up, making lunches, and getting them out the door.

I've actually been very busy, taking care of errands and small little projects that need to be done but could be put off while the kids were home.

Jordan is getting quite the reality check with her new junior high schedule.  She changes classes, has an elective, and a locker.  Wyatt loves his new teacher.  So much so, that his math has VASTLY improved, over the less than stellar teacher he had last year.  He WANTS to go to school, and she's amazing with him.  It's wonderful what happens when you have a teacher that cares, and doesn't just constantly complain about having 27 students in her class.

And I'm back in the hunt for gainful, SANE employment.  We'll see what happens.

This weekend is the last long weekend we get until October.  So we decided to take the kids to California and head to Magic Mountain and Hurricane Harbor!  We surprised them with it last night and they're very excited.  Chris and I want our children to have the best possible childhood we can give them.  Memories are way more important to us than things.  We don't buy our children a lot of things, but we do a lot to make memories.  We started behind the eight-ball with a very skeptical and cautious 9 (now 11) year old girl, and a shy and reserved 7 (almost 9) year old boy.  They've since come to understand that this is their family, and we are it, like it or not.  So while we missed some of their very formative years, we've been blessed in that we can do these things where we take trips and make memories.  Our most recent proof of the love our children have for our travel bug was when Jordan told us, in no uncertain terms, that she wanted to go to the family reunion in October.  We're most certainly going to try and make that happen.

So that's what's happening here in the Den.  It's a lot, and keeping up with it has been daunting.  So if you've called me, or emailed me, and I haven't responded, I apologize.  It's been a bit crazy.

A Calm Weekend

Chris and I don't have a lot planned for this weekend. We have a work dinner to attend tomorrow night, and that's IT! Tonight we're making steak with onion blue-cheese sauce, a fresh salad and grilled corn on the cob. We're going to pop open a good bottle of red, and then retire to the theatre room (HA! I've always wanted to say that. It's really just the family room downstairs) and watch The Edge of Darkness with Mr. Gibson while we eat popcorn and relish the surround sound.

Tomorrow we'll hop on our bikes and head on over to the Beaverton Farmer's Market. We haven't been yet this season and I'm very excited about that. I'm even more excited to think about hitching one of those kid trailers to our bikes and bringing the littles! We have a fantastic fountain in the middle of our little downtown and the kids love to run through it!

Sunday we'll go to church, then come home and do some housework and yard work.

Right now, I'm enjoying the cool breeze and the 71 degree temps. Have a fantastic weekend everyone!

Tax Craziness and New Ventures

It's tax season. Which means that I am not only hungover from the Holiday Season and moving, and all that came with that, but now I actually have to concentrate. I feel sorry for my CPA, he asks me things and I just look at him like I've never heard of a Form 990 or Prepaid Expenses.

Awesome.

On another front, I've decided to start doing a little venturing out on my own. I've put it out there that I am taking on contract bookkeeping gigs. I know, I just said that I have no clue about prepaids and why I have to book them, and I want to take care of other people's finances. HA! I'm kidding! I totally know what I'm doing.

No, really, I do. Quit laughing.

So I've made up business cards, and a flyer, and put together my business resume.

And I've signed my first client!

Awesome!

I've really been loving our new home. Chris and I have been working really hard to make it ours. We've made great choices in furniture, window treatments, and accessories. I know, I seriously have to get some pictures up here. It's hard for me sometimes when I am at home to decide which living room I want to sit in. The upstairs is our formal living, but has my "super chair" - an oversized, overstuffed armchair, with ottoman. I love that chair. The downstairs is our family room - and boasts a large down-filled sectional that is just plush.

My bedroom has become a literal sanctuary, and sometimes I like to lay in bed and watch TV in there, or read.

And that's all I really have this week. Some seriously random thoughts, but with substance, right?

Keeping my promise - once a week!

Sharing Cresmoor

I mentioned Cresmoor in my recap post and wanted to share pieces of her with you. Why is it that inanimate objects are more than likely female?

Anyway, here she is. Her front anyway.

And the kitchen. Good golly they did a great job.





These are MLS pictures. I need to get some pictures with OUR stuff. More later. I need to head to bed.