Spring cleaning

It's a chore that I hate doing but once it's done I feel like I can get through summer without enormous dust bunnies following me everywhere. Today, I am tackling our basement. I don't think it's had a thorough cleaning since we moved in nearly 6 yrs ago. My brother and my sister-in-law are coming to visit in April so that is motivation enough for me to get moving!

School is going well, I am preparing for mid-terms and writing papers and conjugating verbs in Spanish like no other. Some days I wonder why I keep going. Then, I stop and tell myself that I want to go and that keeps me motivated. I really admire people who can raise a family, work full time and fit in school-that is amazing!

I've had my first taste of warm weather this week-it reached nearly 60 degrees on Tuesday and I officially have Spring Fever. I feel myself wanting to plant flowers, mow the lawn, open the windows and spring clean.

Speaking of cleaning, I should get back to it.

Happy March, everyone!

Way too long

Alright, I know what you're thinking. I know it's been entirely too long since I've posted. I've been a little pre-occupied. I know, it's not an excuse, but I provided pictures, so it'll be worth the wait. :) This is my fabulous bag I purchased to save my back from carrying an enormous backpack and a shoulder bag both filled with books. I could fit a 5th grader in this bag, I'm nearly sure of it.

I have affectionately named her "Roller Pig". She is a jack of all trades! As I mentioned previously, I can carry a small child, my books, lunch and purse for the entire day. She fits neatly in my trunk and is obviously fun.

Isn't she a beaut?

I also got a sewing machine for Christmas, which I was really intimidated by at first. But then, I just brought myself back to 7th grade Home Economics class and made these beauties.

I made the pillows, for the cat beds. They weren't going to be for them at first, but our wonderful dog Charlie decided that he liked pulling the stuffing out while they were sitting on the couch. That abruptly ended and they became cat pillows.

They were a lot of fun to make. Next, I'm moving on to making aprons. I am making matching ones for my girlfriends and their daughters. I hope they'll be a big hit.

Here's more shots of the cats pillows.

I've also been painting. I bought this picture which just had a white border. I added onto it to make it look like a full picture of flowers. It's been a great stress relief and I enjoy doing it. I'm working on a Vincent VanGogh painting now. I'll post pics when it's finished.

The winter hanging on and snow has made me quickly realize how badly I want spring to be here. I need a tan, a pedicure and to wear shorts again.

I hope you're all well out there my friends and family!

Love,

Heather & Roller Pig

Not sure what to make of this

I started school Wednesday, I have been preparing myself for that day-the pep talks, promising I'll be more committed to studying, not staying up so late-yada yada. Well this semester I am in Spanish III, Pre-Algebra, and I decided to take a Philosophy class. The math class I think will be good it's at 7:30am (what was I thinking) the teacher is laid back, funny and seems to be patient.

My Philosophy class seems r-e-a-l-l-y relaxed. The teacher is not giving out any homework, we have to read a chapter a week, we have a mid-term group project which seems really easy and for the final, we have a 40 true/false test. Is he serious?! I don't know what to do with myself.

Finally, Spanish. The teacher pushes you, and by pushes you I mean gives you cinder blocks to hold and stands on your head while you're treading water. :) The entire class is in Spanish-no English is spoken. The books are ENTIRELY in Spanish. I was trying to do my homework last night and deciphering the instructions took me about 20 minutes! I know it'll get easier, I am just in that freaked out phase right now.

I have to carry 2 bags (which finally brings me to the point of this post). I carry a backpack on my back and I also carry a shoulder bag (Both FULL of notebooks and books for my classes). I got home from school yesterday and nearly collapsed, they're so heavy!

So, I am looking for a backpack on wheels. You heard me. I told some of my friends that and they said "Oh the Old lady bag?" Are you serious? I have noticed that some of the more mature women roll those bags around.

I don't care-I'm on a search for one! I'll post what I find!

Feelin' good

After the eating, the baking, the wrapping, the shopping, the shipping & the parties-I'm beat. I have been taking the last week or so & getting organized at home. This includes taking things to good will, deep cleaning and totally re-organizing things. I got a sewing machine for Christmas, so I have started making some pillows, which has been a lot of fun for me. My next project will be making aprons. I can't wait!

I have also gotten into painting and making jewelry again. It's been so relaxing. School starts again on the 20th, so I am trying to get motivated for what is going to be a tough semester. I'll be ready to climb that fourteener. :)

I hope everyone had a great Christmas & New Year. I look forward to what life has in store for Jason & I this year.



I

Merry Christmas!

I LOVE this time of year. It feels magical-I feel like I'm 5 years old again. I successfully made it through school with B's. I was 2 points away from an A in Spanish II, but I left that class more stressed out than I've been in awhile! :P I'm grateful to have gotten the grades I did and even though my perfect GPA is ruined, I'll be ok. :)

I start school again in mid-January and am tackling Spanish III, the next Math class & Philosophy. I am excited about it and longing for the day I graduate.

Winter is here, we are expected to have a white Christmas which is wonderful. I miss my family terribly but know that I will see them soon.

My wish for you this season is that you're surrounded by the ones you love, that you have your health & keep the spirit of this time of year in your heart until next year.

Merry Christmas!

Son of a Nutcracker!?!

So, in Colorado, it snows every October-usually around Halloween. This year was no different. I am amazed and shocked every time it snows this much here. The cool thing is, it melts usually within 1-2 days. It is beautiful to look at and Jason loves shoveling it (weird, right?!) Here is the front of our house on day 2 of the snowstorm.

This is a shot of our neighborhood and a bush in the front of our house that blocks our view out the front window.

This is a view outside in our back yard, poor Charlie (our black lab) had snow up to his belly. Usually he loves being outside, but he has been an inside dog these past 2 days that it snowed non-stop.

I have been feeling crafty these past few days. A couple of friends at work are having babies, I made these cards for them, the feet are made out of little strips of paper, it's called paper quilling. I really enjoy doing it!

Here's another card, but for a baby that they don't know the gender of yet.

...and here's a picture of me in this hat, I just love it. I'm in my craft room in the basement and was feeling like you should know what this hat means to me.

This cracks me up. This is Charlie's puppy fence that we keep in the basement so he stays out of the litter box. Our cat, Belle got into one of the folds of the fence & looks like she's in kitty jail. =)

Picture update

So, we thought we'd better take some pictures of our nieces & nephews out here before they were 10! This is Kaylen, age 7 months...swingin' & sippin'. Micah, age 2 1/2 is quite the hockey star!

Kaylen & Aunt Heather, she loves to laugh!

Micah being silly as usual...he cracks me up!

Charlie playing with his bone, I'm telling you if he had nothing else, life would still be good!

He's so proud with it, he prances all over the house...

There you have it! Life is good, no complaints! :)

Move over summer...

I am supposed to be doing homework, but I am having a hard time getting motivated because of the wonderfully inviting fall weather. I love this time of year, my favorite thing to do is crunch leaves as I'm walking. I am listening to music, finding it hard not to break out the Christmas tunes!

I am going to make a hot cup of tea, curl up in my snuggie & watch a little television--you know to get my motivation. ;P

Happy Fall!

Fall is here

Hello,

I haven't had anything really interesting to report, so I thought I'd check in. I am pretty sure fall is here, the leaves are falling, wind is blowing and it's already snowed in Colorado. I have already made chicken noodle soup in the crockpot and we took our annual tour to Celestial seasonings to stock up on tea.

Everything is good, Charlie is finally calming down which this is the moment Jason & I have been waiting for. ;) He's getting bigger and he's really coming into his own. Updated pictures of him to come soon.

I'm in the throws of school which is going ok--this is a tough semester! I know once I get through it, I'll look back & think of how easy it was, but not just yet!

Happy Fall everyone!

Fall is in the air

Back to school, back to early mornings & early bedtimes. This semester I am enrolled in Spanish II and Pre-Algebra. Over the summer, I took the "Fundamentals of Math" class which basically is a 5th grade introduction to Math. I am the first to admit that Math & I do not get along. I kicked and SCREAMED my way through that class & got by with a B.

I didn't even get credit for that class and am now taking Pre-Algebra which again I don't get credit for on my transcript because I need College Algebra 120 for my AA degree. It's ok though, I am at a point now where I forgot everything I've ever learned about Math and there are people worse off than I am in my class.

It's been a fun summer, we didn't have a vacation which is ok because I was in school and we have Charlie who is still a bit too wild to be left at anyone's house. :P

I long for the crisp days of fall...wearing jeans and a sweater, sipping on apple cider and most importantly-decorating the house for fall.

I hope everyone is well and enjoying the day.

xo
Heather

Thinking about a lot, not much to say

Hello readers of my blog. I wish I had something exciting for you but I got nothin'. Just wanted to check in and make sure I still remember my passwords to get & update. :P

I hope everyone's summer is going well.

Summer Project

Well, here it is. Our project for the summer. We decorated and totally updated our dining room. Before this place was a drab, pale, white with random pictures everywhere. I have updated it to a warm, Mediterranean theme. The color is called cantaloupe. We love it. I hope you enjoy the pictures. Next summer: Bedroom.

I painted on the mattes of the pictures to match the photo. I didn't know I'd like them so much!

Summertime

I am so happy to be back in the blogging world. I have been so preoccupied with school this summer that I haven't made the time to post! I am proud to announce that I am an aunt again and I wanted to post the scrapbook that my sister asked me to make for her precious little boy, Wyatt. All is well this summer, it's hot but I am most grateful for the rain nearly every day!

I hope everyone is well and I will be on here more regularly!

xoxo Heather

Happenings and a bit of writer's block

Things have been happening for me, I have just been too lazy to post them. I hope you have your coffee ready-this is gonna be a long one!

As most of you know, I work part time at Target. I also have completed my first year of Spanish. At work one night, somebody asks over the walkie if anyone speaks Spanish. My ears perk up but I wait...somebody out there HAS to speak more fluently than I do.

I wait...they ask again...finally a third time comes around. I finally clear my throat and say "I speak very little and can try to be of assistance." I go meet the guest at the Service Desk. I have my phrases ready like "Mas despacio por favor" = More slowly please and "Hablo poquito espanol= I speak a little Spanish. I get up there and say hello and he asks if I speak Spanish and I say a little bit and he says "bueno" and the next thing you know...he takes off like a rocket. I am standing there in his dust.

I wish somebody could have captured my face on film because this guy handed my frijoles to me. My mouth was gaping open, my eyes wide and my face was as red as a beet. He was talking so fast I couldn't have Jesus save me at that point.

I had NO IDEA what he was saying. He must have come from the underbelly of Buenos Aires or something...all I kept thinking was "if you want to know the alphabet or talk about the weather...or conjugate some verbs or something-let's do that! I can only speak in the present tense though, OK?"

I had to say "lo siento"=I'm sorry and "no hablo", you can figure that one out. I kept thinking before this conversation that my Spanish was pretty good you know-compared to everyone in my class. I now know that my level of speaking Spanish is DORA.

**If you've made it this far, you may need a bathroom break**

I woke up this morning to my foot touching something wet in bed. This freaked me out a little bit. I thought maybe the blanket had gotten a bit cold as we sleep with the windows open at night. Jason felt the same spot and said the same thing-his foot touched something wet.

I looked down and low and behold--I find out that the Belle-the "blanket cat" you see at the top of this blog and thrown up an enormous hairball at the foot of our bed. Why- you ask? I don't know. Our animals like to torture us like that. I internally vurped and cleaned it up and then stripped the sheets.

Last thing-then I'm done. Imagine you're sleeping peacefully in your cozy bed. It's 2:30am, not a sound is bothering you. Your nose smells the foul smell of feces. I wake up thinking that my spouse is sick and has had an enormous accident in his sleep.

Thankfully-not him. WHEW! :) I then think it is the above cat...not her. I wake up Jason and we discover it may be the puppy whom we love and do not want to think of as creating this wretched smell.

Jason opens the door to his room where his crate is...I dry-heave, Jason runs out with his hands over his nose, and we conjure up a game plan. We rush Charlie outside and began to clean out the poopy-Picasso mess that has filled up the room. We hose out his crate, and give him a bath, I am bleaching out the smell in the room and we get everyone back to sleep.

THAT my fellow readers has been the last 2 weeks of my life. And, I have started my math class as of June 1st. Doing my homework has made me cry.

I'll be back to post later and I know things will be better.

Thanks for reading my rant!

xoxo
Heather

Six years already?

Today is my 6th wedding Anniversary. I am so lucky to have met the most wonderful man and am so blessed to have him in my life. Happy Anniversary honey-I love you!

I am happy to report that final grades were posted this weekend, & I got straight A's in all of my classes! I took Spanish I, Sociology, and Interpersonal Communications= 11 credits. I was really nervous going back to school full time but really excited that I did it! In highschool, I got by with average grades, not trying at all and not applying myself. Now that I have wanted to go back for a long time and pursuing a field that interests me, it's such a good feeling to get great grades!!

I have enrolled in a math class for the summer and will be volunteering to teach ESL to keep my spanish from getting rusty over the summer. I am over the moon with excitement!

It's good to not be in school for a couple of weeks!

Hellooooooooooooo everyone! I am done with school for the semester! (insert cheers here) :) I feel good about my finals and grades should be posted by Monday the 18th. I have been sleeping in, hanging out with Jason (whom I missed the very most) and taking Charlie on long walks and just enjoying everything!

I am going to immerse myself into some art projects and will take pictures once I finish them. I am really excited! Jason and I have a goal to paint our dining room this summer so I will have pictures of that posted as well.

The weather is warm, my house is clean and I think I'm going for a bike ride.

Happy Spring!!

Finals Finally

I wanted to post to let my family know I haven't fallen off of the planet. :D I am studying very hard for 3 cumulative finals in my classes which happen to be all next week. I will write more when they are over and I have my sanity back. School officially ends for me on May 14th.

I hope everyone is doing well!

xoxo
Heather

Project Angel Heart

I volunteer for a group called Project Angel Heart and I absolutely love it. I have been there since the end of February. Their website is www.projectangelheart.org and the work they do is unbelievable. They prepare amazing home cooked meals for people with cancer, AIDS, and renal failure not only for the person with the disease, but for anyone in their household.

It warms my heart to be a part of such an amazing group who does things for people in true need. I really wish I would have done this much earlier in my life. You can tell that each person in this organization truly loves what they do. A person can't have a bad day when you walk in the door once you see the faces of the people you are helping and those who have passed on.

If you live in the metro-area, and if you are able, please go out to eat on April 30th at the participating restaurants (see the website) as 25% of the proceeds earned that day will benefit Project Angel Heart.

I have never been passionate about volunteering, but I'm telling you, I get a feeling I can't describe when I walk through those doors for the 4 hours I am there. It's incredible to be able to give back to your community.

Have a blessed day.

Milestone

Charlie has successfully graduated from Puppy Kindergarden as of yesterday! Jason and I have been working with him for six weeks and he has come so far in his progress! This is a big day for Charlie and for us as he used to be the 'wild child' of the neighborhood. We are working to maintain the behaviors he has learned and focused on teaching him new tricks.

A week of bliss

I just had spring break this past week and it was glorious. I got to start it off early because school was cancelled due to snow which was marvelous! Then, I got sick because living in Colorado the weather is 70 degrees one day and snowing the next. I also think I got hit by the karma bus because I said out loud "I haven't gotten a cold yet and it's APRIL!" Well, scratch that. :D

I'm grateful that I was sick over my break because I lost my voice completely and was not a happy camper for a few days. Jason & I got to watch some movies and spend some quality couples time together. We baked, we cleaned...we were lazy!

I am going back to school today refreshed, revived and can see the end of the semester in sight!

Happy Monday everyone!