My house is sparkly. Not as in glitter, the herpes of the craft world sparkly. But sanitized, scrubbed, wiped clean and nary a germ to be found (at least in the main living areas - don't get me started on the attic).
Why this sudden interest in cleanliness? A few reasons, actually, most of which have to do with a very interesting marriage dynamic. See, I'm not the neatest of people. I pile things, leave shoes wherever the fancy strikes to take them off and absolutely hate dusting. Hubs on the other hand, prefers order and hates clutter with a burning passion equal only to unnecessary stoplights. But he's been gone on a mission trip for the past couple of weeks, so my shoes have spread out and it took me 6 days to remember to bring a light bulb upstairs for our bathroom mirror.
But Hubs is coming home on Wednesday, and absence has made my heart grow fonder which has inspired me to clean with abandon this weekend so that he comes home to order, clean clothes and the ability to walk around our bedroom without tripping on my sneakers. Lest you fear I've gone completely mad, I can assure you that the spare bedroom/office is still a mess and the living room is still very much under construction.
I used this method with great results for my stove top grates. Mine needed a little scrub with a rubber scraper, but this house was lived in by a bachelor for many years.
I made this laundry soap (warning: annoying song on the blog) with the addition of some baking soda and have been using it a lot. Really love the smell!
I dusted, disinfected, put away stray shoes - not because I want to/started to feel like I was in my own episode of Hoarders, but because I want my husband to enjoy the home we have made together. He loves me no matter what and would be glad to come home no matter the state of the laundry if only because it's about 15-20 degrees cooler than Haiti.
This is my own way of saying "I love you, I missed you, and I'm glad you're home." It's been hard to learn that acts of service like scrubbing the tub mean more to him than a love note; but I love him a lot and I want him to know that, so I'm speaking his language. Plus, there are side benefits to cleaning, like finding money in pockets, having enough underwear to get you through the rest of the week, and not being afraid to take a friend on a house tour. :)
~JB
Showing posts with label home. Show all posts
Showing posts with label home. Show all posts
Monday, August 20, 2012
Tuesday, June 12, 2012
Dirt
I'm sore.
My back hurts, blisters have formed on my hands and I'm a little sunburned, all in the name of home ownership.
Take that, unplantable hill that we live on!!
~JB
My back hurts, blisters have formed on my hands and I'm a little sunburned, all in the name of home ownership.
Take that, unplantable hill that we live on!!
~JB
Sunday, February 19, 2012
Mr. Ed Comes For a Visit
We had received a couple of packages addressed to the old owner a little bit ago. Ahem, by a little bit ago I may or may not mean right after Christmas. Yup, I'm that classy.
So after many attempts to try to shove this particularly weird (to me) job off on Hubs, I realized that his m.o. would involve putting it off until he could rationalize that Mr. Ed (the guy we bought the house from) didn't even want his stuff anyway and the packages could be tossed. So, earlier this week, I caved and emailed Mr. Ed and we decided that he would come pick them up.
Insert mini panic attack here.
See, Hubs and I have talked a lot about how it was obvious that Mr. Ed cared about the house (he updated the important things, took care of it, etc), but that he decorated like an old woman. Faux brick wallpaper. Grape wallpaper. Multi-layered marble-ish looking wallpaper. Wood paneling. Not one but two melon colored bathrooms. Yeah. We haven't been able to make much progress on big changes, but what we have done, we love.
There was something a little unsettling about Mr. Ed seeing how we've changed the house he grew up in. I wanted him to like it. I wanted him to think we were taking good care of it. I didn't want to let on how much I hated all the wallpaper. I cleaned with abandon on Saturday in preparation for "the visit". I anticipated the questions, the doubting our choices, or even a backhanded compliment or two.
But instead, his wife came. She didn't stay long, but she did mention that as soon as Mr. Ed came home, he'd grill her about what we'd done with the place. I don't think she hated it, but then again, she's a very nice woman and for all I know is a wallpaper fanatic who thinks we've ruined the house.
But you know what? It's not his house. It's not the house. It's OUR house. Mr. Ed may have grown up here and hung some dreadful wallpaper, but before him, there was another family. And before that, another family whose daughter wrote on the wall in 1929 and who apparently painted everything green. And now, it's ours. It's where our kids will (hopefully only on the chalkboard) write on the wall and where we will have family picnics. And if we want to do that in the absence of horribly ugly wallpaper, well then we will!
So here's to the death of ugly wallpaper, and to doing whatever the crap we want to our house!
So after many attempts to try to shove this particularly weird (to me) job off on Hubs, I realized that his m.o. would involve putting it off until he could rationalize that Mr. Ed (the guy we bought the house from) didn't even want his stuff anyway and the packages could be tossed. So, earlier this week, I caved and emailed Mr. Ed and we decided that he would come pick them up.
Insert mini panic attack here.
See, Hubs and I have talked a lot about how it was obvious that Mr. Ed cared about the house (he updated the important things, took care of it, etc), but that he decorated like an old woman. Faux brick wallpaper. Grape wallpaper. Multi-layered marble-ish looking wallpaper. Wood paneling. Not one but two melon colored bathrooms. Yeah. We haven't been able to make much progress on big changes, but what we have done, we love.
our chalkboard wall (decorated for Christmas)
painted the dining room yellow and added wainscoting
completely redid the laundry room (crown molding finished soon!)
There was something a little unsettling about Mr. Ed seeing how we've changed the house he grew up in. I wanted him to like it. I wanted him to think we were taking good care of it. I didn't want to let on how much I hated all the wallpaper. I cleaned with abandon on Saturday in preparation for "the visit". I anticipated the questions, the doubting our choices, or even a backhanded compliment or two.
But instead, his wife came. She didn't stay long, but she did mention that as soon as Mr. Ed came home, he'd grill her about what we'd done with the place. I don't think she hated it, but then again, she's a very nice woman and for all I know is a wallpaper fanatic who thinks we've ruined the house.
But you know what? It's not his house. It's not the house. It's OUR house. Mr. Ed may have grown up here and hung some dreadful wallpaper, but before him, there was another family. And before that, another family whose daughter wrote on the wall in 1929 and who apparently painted everything green. And now, it's ours. It's where our kids will (hopefully only on the chalkboard) write on the wall and where we will have family picnics. And if we want to do that in the absence of horribly ugly wallpaper, well then we will!
So here's to the death of ugly wallpaper, and to doing whatever the crap we want to our house!
Monday, November 21, 2011
Sharing Our Home
I love our new home. To be honest, I'm surprised that it feels like 'home' instead of 'a house' so quickly. We've settled into our rhythm, with the one minor exception that we still can't figure out a great 'who is going to get the mail when' system.
One of the things I've loved most about these past few weeks are those times when we've been able to have friends and family over. We had a housewarming party, and I laughed myself silly watching my nieces and nephews run around the circle of the first floor. Hubs had a bunch of guys from church over for Zombie Movie Monday to help eat the leftovers from said housewarming party. Sidenote: I hate zombie movies, but it's something that brings the guys together every other week and they love it, so we women normally hide at someone else's house to watch the Sing Off and stuff our faces with chocolate.
And now, we're moving into a new season of sharing our home. There's a guy at our church who needs a place to stay for a few weeks, and he'll be here on Friday. To be honest, I'm a little worried, mainly because I've never lived with any boy except my dad, brother and Hubs. But the thing is that I really believe that God does not just call us to be hospitable when it's convenient or easy for us. Mike needs a place to live. We have an extra bedroom. It's not easy, but that's what the church is in day to day life. Inconvenient. Messy. And full of unexpected blessings.
One of the things I've loved most about these past few weeks are those times when we've been able to have friends and family over. We had a housewarming party, and I laughed myself silly watching my nieces and nephews run around the circle of the first floor. Hubs had a bunch of guys from church over for Zombie Movie Monday to help eat the leftovers from said housewarming party. Sidenote: I hate zombie movies, but it's something that brings the guys together every other week and they love it, so we women normally hide at someone else's house to watch the Sing Off and stuff our faces with chocolate.
And now, we're moving into a new season of sharing our home. There's a guy at our church who needs a place to stay for a few weeks, and he'll be here on Friday. To be honest, I'm a little worried, mainly because I've never lived with any boy except my dad, brother and Hubs. But the thing is that I really believe that God does not just call us to be hospitable when it's convenient or easy for us. Mike needs a place to live. We have an extra bedroom. It's not easy, but that's what the church is in day to day life. Inconvenient. Messy. And full of unexpected blessings.
Thursday, September 8, 2011
Home!
We signed the papers for our new home last week!!
I'll just give you a minute to celebrate.
It all happened really fast. Our realtor emailed us info on a few houses last Tuesday and we made an appointment to see one on Thursday. I had work, so Hubs went to check it out. He loved it, called me, and we put in an offer. I went after work to look at it with my in-laws and received a great counteroffer, which we accepted. Told you it went quick! Now we're in the process of giving our mortgage guy any and all personal information, going through a house inspection/haggling process and who knows what else.
It's a 100-year old Colonial and the last owner made awesome updates like putting in closets, adding a second bathroom and updating the wiring. Also some not so awesome updates like faux brick wallpaper.
If all goes well (which I'm not necessarily expecting to happen), we'll close at the end of October and be moved in enough to have Thanksgiving at our new home! How appropriate that the first family celebration will be one of giving thanks to our God who provides.
More details to come as we move through this process. :)
I'll just give you a minute to celebrate.
It all happened really fast. Our realtor emailed us info on a few houses last Tuesday and we made an appointment to see one on Thursday. I had work, so Hubs went to check it out. He loved it, called me, and we put in an offer. I went after work to look at it with my in-laws and received a great counteroffer, which we accepted. Told you it went quick! Now we're in the process of giving our mortgage guy any and all personal information, going through a house inspection/haggling process and who knows what else.
It's a 100-year old Colonial and the last owner made awesome updates like putting in closets, adding a second bathroom and updating the wiring. Also some not so awesome updates like faux brick wallpaper.
If all goes well (which I'm not necessarily expecting to happen), we'll close at the end of October and be moved in enough to have Thanksgiving at our new home! How appropriate that the first family celebration will be one of giving thanks to our God who provides.
More details to come as we move through this process. :)
Friday, August 26, 2011
No, really, I'm ok
So we didn't get the house. Yeah. Bummer. I may or may not have had a dream that night where I drove by the house and yelled at the people that were working on it that they weren't taking good enough care of the house. In that dream, the new owners also looked like Amish boys grown up to be hippies who were painting the doors bright magenta and teal, but that's another story.
I am still sad that we didn't get the house. I was looking through another blog, saw something really cute, planned out where in the house that idea would look great, and had to remind myself that it wasn't going to be our house anymore.
But honestly, I'm ok. Yes, I'm sad, but that's what happens when your dreams get a little wrinkled. It's not the end of the world. We still have an apartment to live in and enough money to put food on the table. We can still look for another house to dream about.
Just like anything else in life that I want but don't need, I will be just fine until the day comes that God gives us a house that we can call home. Also, I'm secretly really thankful that I don't have to pack and move just as we're starting a really busy season at the church. So I guess I've taken the next step in learning this lesson: I do not always know what is best in my life, but God does, so shut up and trust Him. :)
I am still sad that we didn't get the house. I was looking through another blog, saw something really cute, planned out where in the house that idea would look great, and had to remind myself that it wasn't going to be our house anymore.
But honestly, I'm ok. Yes, I'm sad, but that's what happens when your dreams get a little wrinkled. It's not the end of the world. We still have an apartment to live in and enough money to put food on the table. We can still look for another house to dream about.
Just like anything else in life that I want but don't need, I will be just fine until the day comes that God gives us a house that we can call home. Also, I'm secretly really thankful that I don't have to pack and move just as we're starting a really busy season at the church. So I guess I've taken the next step in learning this lesson: I do not always know what is best in my life, but God does, so shut up and trust Him. :)
Wednesday, August 17, 2011
Gambling
Well, not "going to the racetrack with Gramma" gambling. But we're gambling just the same.
We put in an offer on a house last week, only to have it rejected. So we submitted a second offer, only to be told that there are now two other people who want the house, and we were to submit our best offer and the bank will decide from there.
So we thought and prayed and I freaked out (a lot) and submitted our best offer. And let's be honest, I'm still sitting here freaking out. I don't know if our offer is good enough. I don't know if we'll get the house. I don't know where we'll be living in a couple of months. I'm torn between trusting that God has a plan and relentlessly asking myself if this might be it. I know that worrying and re-thinking everything will do no good and will only result in lost sleep.
So I will pray, and I'll probably worry, and I will absolutely spend too much time on dumb stuff tonight, like googling dog breeds and looking up stuff on Pinterest.
Lord, help me.
We put in an offer on a house last week, only to have it rejected. So we submitted a second offer, only to be told that there are now two other people who want the house, and we were to submit our best offer and the bank will decide from there.
So we thought and prayed and I freaked out (a lot) and submitted our best offer. And let's be honest, I'm still sitting here freaking out. I don't know if our offer is good enough. I don't know if we'll get the house. I don't know where we'll be living in a couple of months. I'm torn between trusting that God has a plan and relentlessly asking myself if this might be it. I know that worrying and re-thinking everything will do no good and will only result in lost sleep.
So I will pray, and I'll probably worry, and I will absolutely spend too much time on dumb stuff tonight, like googling dog breeds and looking up stuff on Pinterest.
Lord, help me.
Monday, March 7, 2011
Our Home
Welcome to a quick mini-tour of our home!
First, the living room:
Our couch has gone through 5 owners, 7 residences and is still holding up! While someday I'd love to have a new comfy couch without the swanky pattern, this beauty 1) was free and 2) is still pretty comfy, so we're content.
Hubs actually built those shelves for us! There's actually 2 sets with a board that's supposed to go across the middle to create a TV stand, but we didn't have room for the whole thing, so we're using the shelves and have the TV board in storage for now.
My favorite part of our living room for several reasons. First, our clock wall. I love it! I love that it's unique, I love the peaceful tick-tock sounds and I love that it will be bigger someday. :) I'm also in love with our elliptical. I posted about it here, and we've been doing pretty good about getting on it a few times a week!
Our bathroom:
Hubs thinks I'm weird, but I put up these frames to help me memorize Scripture. And to be honest, it's not going very well, so I'm going to do something he thinks is even weirder - write our regular prayer requests down in one frame so I am reminded to pray every time I brush my teeth. And he gets his own quote to read regularly:
His says: "A man content to go to heaven alone will never go to heaven" by Boethius.
And our bedroom:
Hubs made the mirror frame, and our dresser is a wedding purchase from IKEA. I was a little hesitant on the quality, but it's awesome! We're planning to get one of our pics from Ireland blown up to hang above the bed, but waiting until some extra money shows up and asks us to spend it.
And here we have our wedding quilt! My mother-in-law made it for us and it has 1 John 4:12 on it "If we love one another, God lives in us and His love is made whole in us". And that pile of clothes is actually a beautiful gift:
Since we have to wear skirts when we're in Haiti for our mission trip this spring, one of the women made a bunch for the girls and I to wear and then we'll leave them down there for the girls at the orphanage. So not only is is a beautiful way for her to give those girls something they need, but it saves the team time and money finding skirts that are long enough. Yay!
So that's our home, or the clean parts anyway. While I will be very glad to own a home and be free to paint and decorate and plant flowers, this little apartment is a great first home for Hubs and I. We love having our small group over or just watching MacGyver reruns on Netflix. Give us a call if you want to come over and sit on our old couch and have a beer with us!
First, the living room:
Our bathroom:
And our bedroom:
So that's our home, or the clean parts anyway. While I will be very glad to own a home and be free to paint and decorate and plant flowers, this little apartment is a great first home for Hubs and I. We love having our small group over or just watching MacGyver reruns on Netflix. Give us a call if you want to come over and sit on our old couch and have a beer with us!
Saturday, January 29, 2011
Perfect Blogs and Jealousy
I have a confession to make.
I've become a bit of a blog-stalker.
Instead of doing all sorts of productive things in my spare time, I'm reading the blogs of others, getting ideas and generally creeping on other bloggers. But I figure if you put it out there on the world wide interwebs, it's fair game, right? Can I help it if your house renovation is totally my style? Or if I want to learn exactly how many cleaning uses there are for vinegar? Or that your pictures are so pretty that it makes me want you to take my picture in case I look that pretty too?
But I have a bone to pick with you bloggers, you DIY types that always have spare time, money and space for uber-cute projects...HOW IS YOUR HOUSE THAT CLEAN?
Am I just a destined-for-mess person? Do people really have multi-layer table settings in the middle of the week? Are your bathroom counters always free of beard hair? (ok, that one may be specific to our household and even more specifically, my dear husband)
Now that I have that off my chest, I think I'll go do the dishes and then relax with my favorite guy in the world in our somewhat messy living room. Because I'd rather spend my time with him. And in the spirit of full-disclosure, this is what our dining room looks like on a normal day.
Disclaimer: our home really isn't that messy, it's just not Better Homes & Gardens worthy...ever. :)
I've become a bit of a blog-stalker.
Instead of doing all sorts of productive things in my spare time, I'm reading the blogs of others, getting ideas and generally creeping on other bloggers. But I figure if you put it out there on the world wide interwebs, it's fair game, right? Can I help it if your house renovation is totally my style? Or if I want to learn exactly how many cleaning uses there are for vinegar? Or that your pictures are so pretty that it makes me want you to take my picture in case I look that pretty too?
But I have a bone to pick with you bloggers, you DIY types that always have spare time, money and space for uber-cute projects...HOW IS YOUR HOUSE THAT CLEAN?
Am I just a destined-for-mess person? Do people really have multi-layer table settings in the middle of the week? Are your bathroom counters always free of beard hair? (ok, that one may be specific to our household and even more specifically, my dear husband)
Now that I have that off my chest, I think I'll go do the dishes and then relax with my favorite guy in the world in our somewhat messy living room. Because I'd rather spend my time with him. And in the spirit of full-disclosure, this is what our dining room looks like on a normal day.
Disclaimer: our home really isn't that messy, it's just not Better Homes & Gardens worthy...ever. :)
Saturday, October 9, 2010
The Stuff We Get
So it's a typical Saturday in our home, except that nothing in life is typical. We finally got internet, after the Hubs found a deal. I did the laundry, he cooked, I cleaned, he left for a bachelor party and I figured out how to stream Netflix instantly.
I got caught up into a show called Hoarders from A&E. Basically, it's an intervention show for people with hoarding issues, which stem from depression, poor organizational skills and various forms of OCD. This motivated me to clean my house a little more, and I also sent my mom an email about getting together some extra kitchen stuff to donate to a mission that our church supports.
So instead of working on my talk for tomorrow night, I'm sitting at home thinking about the value we attach to stuff. I just asked Hubs the other day if we could get more decorations. And he said no (big surprise, there), because he doesn't like clutter and there's so many more things that will have lasting effect that we could spend money on. Like paying off our cars. Or saving for the house we'd both like to build one day. Or helping to send one of our youth kids to Haiti this spring.
So why do I have this need to buy a fall wreath for the back door that we never use? Why do people accumulate stuff on top of stuff and get put on a TV show? I think it's part of our compulsion to self-soothe, the need to make everything look good on the outside because we think it will make everything feel good inside. We don't trust that God can change us, can form us, can heal us.
Part of why I started this blog is because I'm trying to learn to trust in God's sovereign hand to heal, change and mold me. I do love Him, and I have committed my life to Him. But faith is a daily thing, it's something that we work out with fear and trembling. It's something I'm learning day by day.
Welcome to the journey.
I got caught up into a show called Hoarders from A&E. Basically, it's an intervention show for people with hoarding issues, which stem from depression, poor organizational skills and various forms of OCD. This motivated me to clean my house a little more, and I also sent my mom an email about getting together some extra kitchen stuff to donate to a mission that our church supports.
So instead of working on my talk for tomorrow night, I'm sitting at home thinking about the value we attach to stuff. I just asked Hubs the other day if we could get more decorations. And he said no (big surprise, there), because he doesn't like clutter and there's so many more things that will have lasting effect that we could spend money on. Like paying off our cars. Or saving for the house we'd both like to build one day. Or helping to send one of our youth kids to Haiti this spring.
So why do I have this need to buy a fall wreath for the back door that we never use? Why do people accumulate stuff on top of stuff and get put on a TV show? I think it's part of our compulsion to self-soothe, the need to make everything look good on the outside because we think it will make everything feel good inside. We don't trust that God can change us, can form us, can heal us.
Part of why I started this blog is because I'm trying to learn to trust in God's sovereign hand to heal, change and mold me. I do love Him, and I have committed my life to Him. But faith is a daily thing, it's something that we work out with fear and trembling. It's something I'm learning day by day.
Welcome to the journey.
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