The Large PROJECT

Gary laughed at me every time I brought down the camera. He admits he appreciates it though. Mr. Uncle Sam gave us a nice little stimulus check and so Gary put it toward finishing our basement. Over all it has turned out more expensive than he first anticipated, not me though, I like to think I am smart. I generally figure everything costs more than I expect so I mentally thought about what we had in savings and added that to the stimulus, (excellent head math for me) so I agreed to let him start. Thankfully Gary is a smart guy and all too capable.

When we first got married Gary had a job for a summer doing dry wall. He hated it. Looking back we don't know how he got the job, (I am not being racist here, these are the FACTS) he didn't speak Spanish, and had never done the job before and none of the Mexicans on the crew spoke English. He managed to learn quite a lot and put up with a lot of trumpet polka music and here we are five + years down the road being thankful he had that horrible hot job. He's not an electrician and had no training in such yet he successfully and safely wired our whole basement, smoke alarms and C/O detectors that tapped into the whole house line, 3 way switches, GRC outlets, you name it. It's all up to code. He and his Dad framed it while Olea was in the hospital, a good project to keep his mind busy and not worrying so much about Olea. We did a cool texture and enjoyed picking out paint other than white. :) Gary was able to borrow tools from friends and family and now it's all done. YAY! We are so excited to reclaim our evenings. Since May 17th we have been working on the basement almost every evening since. Ah but "evening" doesn't even cover it usually we have been up till 12 or 2 am. Needless to say we are exhausted and in much need of sleep. But it's done and now I have an art studio and we have a nice private guest area and a place for the weight set. It's all good. Sigh. I still have some organizing work to get all my stuff in my studio where I want it but it's mine and a lock on the door to boot. Which I need with Olea since she likes to play with my art supplies so much.

The best part is, Gary did all of it because he loves me that much. And that's a pretty good example of why I love him so much. We had a friend congratulate us that our marriage was still intact, because he said nothing tries a marriage like a remodel or finishing a basement. :)

The following are progress pictures. I'm not in most of them because I am the photographer, and I think of it. But I was down there working with him when the kids were taken care of or down for bed.

before, nice work-out outfit huh?

framing (May 17th begin)
Plumbingthe bathroom fan ventsheetrockolea helping (yes, I let my 4 year old play with a dead battery power tool, coordination skills, look at all those screws she's sinking!)Mudding
oh the backwards hat is key I think,
A mud dropping, Great pic, I know. These are the things we giggle over though.
This was like 2am, I can't be held accountable for what my eyes do.Sanding, Gary hated this, for good reason.And now lets just mess up that smooth work with Texturing
Scraping the floor was fun. Gary did most of it, because it was a icky hard job and I couldn't do it for long with out my wrists having issues, look at that mess!Paint primerPainting
basecoat Main area Bathroom (it had a lighter base coat but turned out darker because of the glaze technique)Glaze Touch upsOlea helps with Painting baseboardsFlooring (we had this done Fixturesstorage shelving Done!Olea can't believe she can use the toilet down here
Oma and Zurich play in the Art Studio

Picture tag

I don't really get this tag, but I was tagged by Gina, because she tagged anyone who has kids. I claim two most days. It is at least a week old too.

1. Toilet
{I don't normally take pictures of my toilet...}
2. Laundry
{now why would you want a picture of my laundry?}

3. Kitchen sink
{I try to keep an empty sink, it's peace of mind and a pineapple can for bacon grease}

4. Closet
{It's almost legal bedroom size}

5. Refrigerator
{decorated by Olea and life, I like leftovers, less cooking for lunches, and my roomies from college will appreciate the large jug of Salsa middle shelf in the back}

6. Favorite pair of shoes
{I guess these two are my fave since they have a permanent home next to the front door, rather than my closet like the rest of my shoes}

7. Favorite Room
{ah we now have a king bed with memory foam top, soooo nice, yes our bed still sits directly on the floor until I make the bed frame I desire, nothing else will do, our bedroom is large shaped kinda like an L so you can't see most of it in the pic }

8. What your children are doing right now
{Olea is emptying her ark piggy bank and Zurich is trying to get the pennies}

I tag anyone who cares to do it.

unsolicited advice

It has been brought to my attention through google analytics and a comment by, I am sure, a well meaning individual; that this post was coming up when people searched for specific key words. I do not feel the need to delete this post, nor to act like it didn't happen, but to not seem like a Mormon basher... since I am a member of the LDS church I am using that post to redirect traffic and re-posting my experience here. I was very frustrated and for this purpose I will leave up the post with minor edits. This is not a negative post about the cannery specifically it is a post about unsolicited advice. If you feel like a person should never say a negative thing about anything in any way related to something the church has produced in it's temporal need, you don't need to read it. No one is forcing you. Nor do I believe, or think that you should believe, that my single experience represents the experience of many or is even a good indication of what a trip to this location would consist of. This post was a rant. I am allowed to do that. It was a single experience to exemplify many of which I experience as a young mother with young children in a society that supposedly supports the idea of families.
For the record: I feel completely justified in sharing my thought response to the unsolicited advice I received. If one is annoyed by it perhaps they should consider one's own comments before providing a stranger with unsolicited advice. (that's my unsolicited advice)

The original post follows.

The other day I had a large trip planned, as I must do these days living out as far as we do and with the gas prices... Our first destination was 45 mins away. We left at 9 am. When I was finally on my loop back home at around 3:45 I was exhausted the kids were too. It was a long hot day even with AC in the van. Our last stop was the L C. I am going to rant a little here... just a warning. I understand that the cannery is not the safest place on the planet for kids. I instructed my 4 year old to stay close enough to touch me and be very obedient. She was a perfect child. The baby I have no complaints about either.... So what would I have to rant about? I only needed a few #10 cans to finish up some canning. I have never been to the cannery before to do such a thing and I was given instructions generally on how to go about it. Lets just mention that I had to get directions 3 times because I came from south rather than north and the second instructions told me to turn left when I needed to go right... I am not directionally stupid and can usually find my way around better than most women... but it didn't work out so great this time. However when I got there I was at a loss. The kiosk seemed backwards to me. It seemed like a group was there ordering and I didn't want to interfere... Eventually I figured out where the "front" was and asked how to go about getting my few cans. After a nice older man filled my order for me (since I had the kids and he didn't want them in the fork lift area and I think he was just generally helpful) I went to pay. After writing out my check the lady in the kiosk said, "Tuesday afternoons are fine, mornings are busy. Maybe next time you could leave your kids at home."

This is what I call unsolicited advice.

I didn't say anything because I was so shocked. But in my head... leave them home? leave them home? They aren't "leave home" age, can't you see that? leave them home with who? I'm not going to make a separate trip just for 3 cans! Nor am I going to get a baby sitter so I can make such a pleasant trip to the cannery. Do you have kids? Do you remember what it was like with kids. Apparently not. Am I not doing what I am supposed to? Having kids (multiplying and replenishing the earth), Food storage, gimme a break! They were good, they didn't bother anyone at all or get in the way.... Why did she think that was such a great idea to say that? Seriously. Thanks for that, what a great solution, maybe I'll just leave my kids home all the time, that would really make my trips to town easier wouldn't it? Sure, no getting kids in and out of car seats for 5 mins so I can run in a place for thirty seconds. That would be great. Oh wait, except I can't leave my kids home. They are mine, and strangely enough a 4 year old isn't old enough to leave at home for 3 hours with a 6 month old while I "run" to the Cannery.

Maybe next time you could leave your opinion at home..."

Lindon Cannery

If you are looking for the Lindon Cannery it can be easy to miss if you have never been there. It is on the north side of the street set back a bit from the road, it's that drive way to the left (west of the building) on the picture that you want to go down. The cannery parking and entrance is behind the white building.
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View Larger Map

It has been brought to my attention through google analytics and a comment by, I am sure, a well meaning individual; that this post was coming up when people searched for specific key words. I do not feel the need to delete this post, nor to act like it didn't happen but I have moved it, so this high traffic post can direct people to the cannery. I was very frustrated and for this purpose I will leave up the post with minor edits. This is not a negative post about the cannery specifically it is a post about unsolicited advice. No one is forcing you to read the post. Nor do I believe, or think that you should believe, that my single experience represents the experience of many or is even a good indication of what a trip to this location would consist of. This post was a rant. I am allowed to do that. It was a single experience to exemplify many of which I experience as a young mother with young children in a society that supposedly supports the idea of families.
For the record: I feel completely justified in sharing my thought response to the unsolicited advice I received. If one is annoyed by it perhaps they should consider one's own comments before providing a stranger with unsolicited advice. (that's my unsolicited advice)

she's still a beauty

So yesterday I took Olea to Kiddie Kandids for her free birthday print. (I'm a cheapy, but I usually do end up buying a montage too so I spend about $25) People comment that she looks like her dad, and we've been hearing it since she was born, lately I am hearing that she's looking more like me. However, yesterday a picture was taken that when I saw it I thought, "Woah, that looks like her dad (as a child)." It's not the cutest picture of her but I had to put it in the montage so Gary could see it. I found the picture of Gary that I had in mind, and yes, they really do look alike in these pics. So against all copyright laws (since they are both professional pictures) I present to you the comparison.
(Gary also looks a LOT like his mom at this age as well. And I'm sure Gary will appreciate that I am putting this picture on the web, so here's another one. :) It's one of my favorites.

Tuesday Tell All: Pioneer Spirit

This post is probably not going to get the attention it deserves, it's going off of my memory and the fact that I have a very limited amount of time at the moment. With that warning... and the instructions given for today's post....

In the state of Utah July 24th is a holiday called Pioneer Day.

A pioneer is defined as "one who is the first to do something", or "one who opens up the way for others".

Using this definition, tell us about pioneers in your family.

Who was the first to graduate from college, first to join a new religion or move away from family. Use this definition to share a piece of your family history.

I have some Pioneer heritage but not the typical kind. On my mother's side a family was trying to find the LDS church and got caught up with the RLS (which is now called the Commuity of Christ) and then realized that it was a different group and went on to find the Saints. This quite a bit after the saints had settled in to Idaho. My Dad is a pioneer in that he was the first in his family to come to the United States (from Germany), since he came his two brothers and parents settled here as well. His parents are pioneers by becoming members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints.

I was the first in my family to not play a musical instrument in school, and the first to do School sports, track specifically.

And now the baby is awake so that's it... see I told you.

Olea's birthday

I am late on this post but I figured it needed to be posted and it took me a bit to get together the pictures. Olea celebrated her 4th birthday in June, here I am a month later, shows how busy life gets. So here's to my little 4 year old.

birth2 months
1st birthday Olea and Grandparentsjello cake demolition
with Great Uncle Walter-Horst

2nd birthday morning face

coretta making the monkey b-day cake
gary manning the grill, we had a bbq for the parents
cousins, Sabrina, Olea and Jade ride in the trainOlea the birthday train her grandparents madethe monkey cake

3rd birthday Licking frosting, green is her fav color this year friends making princess crowns the slip and slide eating watermelon Olea in middle, she loves watermelon
her swimming suit barely stayed on, so gary "fixed" it, opening presents here

4th birthday the bouncy house the train shade for adults some of the dads that tried the water slide Olea in the train with friends make your own cupcake Olea's was a space ship

So from the pictures you may be thinking that I am the best mom ever, it was a rad birthday party. As much as I would like everyone to think that I am that nice of a mom... I'm not. I just have great in-laws. They totally made Olea's birthday party a fantastic adventure. The kids had a blast, so did the dads ;). Regrettably, I never backed up away from the party enough to get a picture of the whole set up, apparently it was quite the spectacle, I had questions about it from people who drove by for weeks after. It was a super fun day and after the party we had some of our friends stay for dinner along with the relatives who were staying with us. Grandma did her Cinderella dance with Olea for everyone.

I thought I would have a pretty good documentation of what Olea looks like in swim suit from birth to age four since she has a summer birthday and the water is always present at her birthday parties. However, she wasn't always in a swim suit. :)

Memory Lane

1. As a comment on my blog, leave one memory that you and I had together. It doesn't matter if you knew me a little or a lot, anything you remember! (Coretta or Gary)

2. Next, re-post these instructions on your blog and see how many people leave a memory about you. It's actually pretty funny to see the responses. If you leave a memory about me, I'll assume you're playing the game and I'll come to your blog and leave one about you. If you don't want to play on your blog, or if you don't have a blog, I'll leave my memory of you in my comments.

EVERYBODY PLAY! (which means I tag everyone) I want to see what memories you have!!

Tuesday Tell All - Shaping Up

I started walking with my neighbor at her invitation, it lasted a week. Well with her, she has since broken her foot and so I have been on my own since that first week. It's been over a month but I'm sticking to it and proud of it. When I go alone I like it when Olea rides her scooter rather than choosing to ride in the stroller because I have to keep up a good pace or run to keep up with her which means I am getting my heart rate up. Otherwise walking on your own keeping up a pace is hard I think. I used to do track in high school so I feel like a looser now because just walking is a big achievement. :) I have some excuses though, which I think are pretty good. I have asthma which was only partly to blame for my drop off in exercise. When we found out the real reason in 2005 and had my thyroid removed I was suddenly able to manage my asthma like a real asthmatic, the large tumors on my thyroid were blocking my airway thus making it hard to breath, swallow etc. No amount of medicine seemed to be doing the trick, becuase it just wasn't making it past the tumor. But by then I hadn't done regular heart rate exercise for 4 years. (I'd done weight training, which is super fun and I love but not the same). It's taken a lot of will power for me with two kids to figure out a time to go and stick with it esp. when I have to convince my 4 year old that this is something we HAVE to do. So now I am working on building up my endurance which everyone kept telling me I needed to do before the tumor was removed and they all though I was just being a wuss because it just got worse and worse as the tumor got larger and larger. I'm no wuss. (I could go off on a tirade her about how super I am, but I'll save you all). Ah the kind of track star I could have been had I not had a huge tumor blocking my air way. Alas. ;) And when the basement is done and we move the weight set back inside we can begin that again too.

Courtesy

ok so I'm no Hell's Angel, but I know a few things about riding a motorcycle... not that I drive one, but my father did growing up and used to take me on rides and now my husband has one. I have ridden enough with him or driving behind him to notice something. It is customary and courteous to wave at other motorcyclists on the road passing or oncoming. You don't know them but you wave, not your typical teaching a toddler to wave but a hand off the handlebars that glides along just outside of handlebar range or just below, or a lift of the fingers off the bars depending on if there is a turn or not. I find this fascinating. I thought bikers were supposed to be mean people. Well at least that is the stereotype. Obviously I don't buy into it really considering my dad and mu husband. And yet we pedestrians walk down the street and don't even look at the person we pass on the other side of the sidewalk. And autos on the road are so rude. Everyone thinks they are more important than the next and everyone is in a hurry. The other day I had two people in a row cut me off really bad. I don't get it why isn't there more courtesy? According to my husband, Harley riders wave to Harleys, Japanese bikes waves to other Japanese bikes, no one waves to a scooter. :) hehehah Though I have seen Harleys wave to us (we have a Honda Shadow).

Tuesday Tell All: Touch

I love texture, on my hands not in my mouth. One of my fave things is to find cool textures or lovely scenery from my life and use them as desktop backgrounds on my compy. Here are some for your pleasure. If you'd like to set as desktop bg click on the picture so it is large then once it is all loaded right click and select "set as desktop background."



I love texture, on my hands not in my mouth. One of my fave things is to find cool textures or lovely scenery from my life and use them as desktop backgrounds on my compy. Here are some for your pleasure.