Kitchen Remodel

After much debating and many trips to local stores and picture surfing on the web... I finally decided what I wanted to do in my kitchen. Last Monday we started with some demolition. Here is the old tile and backsplash during the demo...

The little area of counter that we cleared stayed plywood for a while, then on Friday Mark put it together with the new materials. I picked a yellowish granite tile with lots of brown in it. It's called Giallo Amalfi. For the backsplash I chose recycled granite in the color 'espresso'. Here it is without the grout in it....
...

Here it is with the grout.....

Thankful Thursday... The Thanksgiving Edition

1. This evening as I was facing some unexpected turmoil in my day, I decided to take a few quiet minutes to myself and read the Bible. I picked some quotes used at a retreat I went to a couple of months ago. I read each one (savoring it) until this one stood out to me...

1Thessalonians 5:18-In everything give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you.

I read this over and over, and I pondered it. I took time to give thanks for the person who brought the turmoil... for having them in my life. I took time to give thanks for the love and forgiveness God shows me every day. And I also prayed for the strength to interact with this person gracefully and with love.

I am so thankful for God's Word in my life.

2. I am thankful for a week of rest and catching up and working out and rejuvenation.

3. I am thankful for the little bit of scrapbooking I got done today.

4. I am thankful for finishing the editing of the pictures for my cousin's son's wedding I took in August. It was a late night last night, but I am happy to be finished.

5. I am thankful for the delicious food I will get to eat tomorrow, and for the nourishment I am blessed with each day.

6. I am thankful for the opportunity to remodel my kitchen... to pick for the very first time exactly what I want... just for me.


7. Finally, I am thankful for all of the people in my life... my family, friends, colleagues, students, acquaintences. Each is a blessing to me. If you are reading this, thanks for being YOU!

Love, Nancy

In my hands...

Today I held in my hands...
my puppy's ear as I flipped it back the way it is supposed to go when I let him in from his morning constitutional...
the keys to my car and classroom with my new gym badge to get into the gym...
the hand of the "Helper of the Day" as we walked in from recess...
a can of diet mtn. dew...sustenance...
report cards filled with little marks that mean so much to parents of the little people I spend my days with...
sweet french rolls as they transformed into sandwiches for dinner...
15 pound weights that had to be lifted above my head again and again until my shoulders ached...
the mouse for the computer as I check emails and update Facebook and check in on the online world...
an old classic edition of Oliver Twist... my next book on the list of 100 books I am trying to finish.

What did you hold in your hands today?

Dorothy

So at our school, ALL of the teachers dress up in a theme related costume on Halloween. We got to vote between school supplies and The Wizard of Oz. Obviously, The Wizard of Oz won. At one of our staff meetings in early October we discussed who was going to dress up as which character. I piped up that I would be Dorothy. The next weekend I trucked over to Joanne's Fabrics and spent $47 on material, a pattern, and notions. My sweet mama sewed the costume for me. I found some brown pumps at Payless Shoe Source for $3, bought red spray paint and brought home Elmer's Glue and red glitter from school and WALA! I was Dorothy. It took me a really long time to get my hair french braided that morning. I was hoping Kyla would be available to help me, but she was over at her friend's house at 6:00 a.m. being transformed into a zombie. Normally I don't really get into Halloween, but I actually really enjoyed being dressed up. I think I was the last teacher to take off my costume, and I put it back on that night to pass out candy at home. I got some snarky looks from pre-teen girls, but luckily I'm older and strong enough now that those don't slash my heart open like they did when I was younger. I am not sure if I like the dressing up part or if it's that I got to be Dorothy. I was a serious Wizard of Oz geek as a kid. It was my FAVORITE movie and I looked forward to wathcing it all year. Once, I remember standing on a kitchen chair with my face about 3 inches from the clock counting down the seconds until 8:00 when it would start. I waited there for about 300 seconds quivering with anticipation. On another occasion, I took my battery operated cassette player (you know, the flat black kind from 1976) and placed it next to the speaker on the TV and recorded the music and dialogue of the entire movie. I listened to that recording over and over again. Unfortunately, I missed a few parts because I paused the recording during commercials and had forgotten to turn it back on. Luckily, they weren't crucial parts. Whatever the reason, I am glad to be at my new school with a great, fun-loving staff. My heart is happy.
The staff already picked out a theme for next year, but I am unable to divulge this top secret information. It should be fun, though!

Newly Employed

On Halloween Kyla wanted to be a zombie. We went to the mall and got her a couple of cute shirts (this little animal print was one of them) and a makeup kit that had fake skin and fake blood and all that good stuff in it. It was late by the time we finished shopping, so we called the boys and decided to get a quick dinner from Taco Bell. While we were in the drive thru, her phone rang. It was the owner of our local gymnastics center calling her for an interview. An interview on Monday at 4:45. She was super excited. After we got home, she realized that Monday was Halloween, and she was perplexed about what to do. Should she dress up? Would it be appropriate to go to the interview as a zombie? Maybe she could wait and dress up after the interview... But she really wanted to wear her costume to school. What's a girl to do?

After talking to her friend who works at the gym, she decided to dress up and wear her costume to the interview. I was a little worried... but SHE GOT THE JOB!! She worked at her first birthday party yesterday, and tomorrow is her first day of helping to teach classes. I am so proud of my beautiful zombie!

Fire and Light Sale

For three years now, Cindy and I have been venturing up to the Fire and Light Sale in Arcata. We always get there around 10 and wait in line for about an hour. This year I was pretty amped up to buy dinner plates to go with the four bowls I got last year. I also really wanted wine goblets. As soon as we walked in the door, I saw there was no red anywhere (and I absolutely had to have a red plate) and no goblets in sight either. I felt the wind go out of my sails pretty quickly. So we puttered up and down the crowded aisles for a while. I had a couple of things in the cart, but I wasn't feeling very enthused... Then, unexpectedly, a little bit up our row, I saw someone putting out red dinner plates. I practically ran over there and claimed the one I wanted... Now things were looking up! I got 4 plates... red, blue, green and yellow. Perfect. A little while later I saw someone unwrapping martini glasses. There were 4 of them, but 2 were the same color, so I only got three... black, turquoise, and green. My Fire and Light placesettings are looking pretty sweet!