Monday Sweetness

I love Mondays. Everyone is GONE from my house by 8am and it's so NICE to have the house back, it's quiet, no ones looking at my dishes pile and smirking because I'm on the computer instead of at the sink. I can sit and write my blog while listening to "my music" that no one else in the house (cept for the kids) likes! So, I'm listening to Carrie Underwood... CUZ I CAN! lol

We went up to the cabin Saturday and Adrian loved it like I did, after pointing out every little flaw that he could, and we put a deposit down on it. We're so excited. We'll be saving at least $250 a month, and that means we can use that to pay down debt and hopefully be in a position to buy at this time next year.

We'll have the whole month of March to move, but with 2 weekends already taken up it should be interesting... ugh. Adrian's only home on the weekends, so that leaves this coming weekend, and the last one of the month, which sucks because that's Spring Break, and I was planning a trip for myself to go visit friends from Roseburg to Portland. Ah well, I suppose I can wait until the Summer.

I'll be making phone calls to find out if there is anything other than dial-up available out there (not looking good) and to see if I can still get my DirecTV (doubtful also). There is cable, so there is hope. hehe - So today I've got those phone calls to make and the taxes to finish up (yes, STILL). Oriana sleeps in late on Mondays, worn out from all of the playing with all of the sisters and other kids that were here all weekend (6 girls all weekend long). I should do myself a favor and go back to sleep, but I enjoy this quiet time too much. :)

Once we get moved we can start working on plans for our big camping trip this summer, and planning our wedding. I'm excited!

Hmmm... what else to write about... I've got to figure out a way to keep me busy at home but also make money. I wish that I had some talent that would keep income rolling in. I'd love to be able to make/sell things online. I'll figure something out!

I don't think I included this picture in the pictures of the cabin, so I leave you with it today - and I'll smile everytime I look at it.
Isn't it cool?

I know, I said we were done looking for a while

But I found a cabin in the woods for rent, in the area that I would like to eventually buy in, so it's perfect in that way. It's FUNKY, totally unique and kind of quirky - my kind of cabin. :) Well, except that in my kind of cabin there would not be an indoor sauna but instead a outdoor hot tub, and I would get a ginormous antique claw foot tub. In this cabin there is a sauna, but no bath tub to be found. There is a shower in the sauna, and in the main bathroom, but no bath tub? There are lots of things to concider.

A huge factor in this is that I now have a roomate whom I can't just leave hanging and she can't afford my rent here on her own, and doesn't know anyone to have move in for a roomate. :(
I feel like I have a responsibility to her and I told her that we'd be looking for a place in May/June, not a week after she moved in. It's unfair to her to move. But I have to think about my family too - I will have to figure out how to make it right if we do decide to move....

The cabin is great, I love it. It's so unique, so cool that it feels like me. And talk about back to basics... check this out... it has an antique wood cook stove - that's in working order. It's those lovely colors of cream and light blue. It's gorgeous. It has style and grace AND it's functional? I mean I don't know if I'd really use it, but it's SO cool that it actually works! I suppose I'd use it on Turkey Day, when the regular old electric stove is full and I need an extra place to warm sides or bake bread.

The property the cabin lies on is not in such good shape. It's got lots of random things laying around that are sort of scarey when I think about my girls running around out there, or even the dog. There is shattered bits of glass around each of the really old beat up junker cars that are spread out on the land. There's probably 6-8 of the old junkers, some of those are pretty creepy too. A friend tells me that rattlesnakes like to hide in that kind of atmosphere. eek!

The land is rough, it's very rocky, little to enormous, just rocks everywhere. There is no garden space. There is space to plant flowers outside of the HUGE wall of windows (a LOT of windows, ahhh) in what looks like a big planter box that runs the length of the wall of windows... there's probably a name for it that I'm not aware of. I could do an above ground garden, it'll just take a little more work in the short run...

Well I must put an end to my chatterboxing and daydreaming. I hardly slept a wink last night and I have GOT to get some sleep! Oh, and I need to catch up on my drama (soap!) so I see a corner of a couch with a velvety soft blanky that is just calling my name...

I leave you with a few pictures of the cabin and grounds... feel free to give me your input!

The property - I spy 3 cars (or what used to be cars)


The beautiful and so unique handrail




The kitchen looking outside - my car - and the ancient snow plow thingy in the driveway.


And the kitchen with that gorgeous stove... and a common area over by the window.

Oatmeal, again?

I'm tired of oatmeal. I'm tired of trying to eat healthy. I'm BORED to death of it. I'm LAZY. I don't WANT to work to figure out what to eat that is healthy. I don't want to try to make good and healthy decisions every day. But, I WANT to be fit, not skinny really, but fit. You know, where the fat on your back doesn't jiggle when you go up or down stairs?! Ugh. It's tiring and boring and it's work. It's supposed to be worth it. But, I've been doing weight watchers for almost 7 weeks now, paid nearly $100 if not more and I've lost 3 pounds in total. 3 lousy pounds. I'm pretty sure I could do that by going to the bathroom. But I eat my damned oatmeal and I try, I really try to stay away from foods that are not healthy, but it sucks ass and I'm not going to stop bitching until I drop at least 10 pounds! There's a thought, what if bitching were like an excercise... THAT would be cool!

I have roomates! Interesting stuff huh? My friend and her daughter moved in with us last week and it's so strange to have a friend over at night to watch American Idol with me.... so cool!

We aren't moving until May or June (did I say that already?) Hopefully we will be able to find the perfect place by then, I'm sick of moving, I'm sick of worrying about the crap that happens to someone elses house when I live in it, I want my own!

I want big trees surrounding my house, I want dogs (yeah, more than one!), I want to take in stray animals and give them a home, I want a garden, I want snow on the ground in the winter, I want to plant flowers and watch them bloom in the spring, I want a garden in the summer, I want fruit trees and berry bushes, I want horses and I want room to groove, I want neighbors - but not close enough to hear my music, but close enough to notice if something is wrong. That's all, that is all I want. That's not too much is it? I'm not asking for fame and fortune or to have my name known, or to have a brand named after me. I just want peace in my home, and around it. I want my children to feel comfortable running in the woods around the house, with the dogs by their side, I want to curl up by the wood stove in a comfy chair with a blanket, a cat on my lap, a book in one hand and a cup of tea in the other.

Ok, now you all know what I daydream of daily. I do mean daily. lol

I have to find a way to get there!

Possibilities

Ok, so there are just too many possibilities of where to live and what to do.

We have decided though that we will take the next month to figure out what area we are going to move to, and then once Spring hits we can really start looking for our "landing place" then. More rentals open up in the Spring/Summer anyway. So for now we are working on decluttering, simplifying and stupid taxes.. yippy.
Well and I will be starting up something business wise for myself by the end of this month.

I don't have much else to say right now and I have got to get started cleaning up this house as we will have much company soon! :)

Little Last Minute Road Trip - Does a body good!

Well I am typing this from a Hotel room in Sun Valley. It's beautiful, quiet, quaint and charming here. There is just a little snow on the ground and there is a chill in the air! Ophelia and Oriana are cozied up in the big King bed and I'm being lazy on the couch with my papers and my house search tools open on the laptop. Yes, we are searching for a home. We finally made a decision on this and I will share it with you all once I have it all figured out completey. :)
Today I've got houses lined up to look at and the drive home to complete. I have a ton of paperwork to sort through and lots and lots of phone calls to make when I get home!
Oh! A really great friend from 9th grade found me on Myspace yesterday. I am so excited to get to know her again! Kara I missed you! I have a ton of memories from that time and I have always missed her. I haven't seen her since I was, oh - 15? Whoa, I just realized that means it's been 15 years. God I'm old. I've tried to find her several times over the years, but never succeeded! She said she's tried to find me for years too... which is funny because I always asumed with a name like mine (that's never changed due to marriage either) it'd be easy to find me, I guess this is not the case though. lol
Well it's about time for me to get cleaned up and walk the kids down to the nearest coffee shop for some hot cocoa! mmmmm - crap I have to be good though. I had a really bad day yesterday and splurged on a sweet coffee drink AND fast food... ugh. I probably gained 5 pounds! lol
I hope everyone has a great day!

Tiny Piece of Me

My dad took me fishing off of that pier.
I went to those highschool football games.
I walked those streets.
I took my brother on that half-pipe ~ in a shopping cart!

Man I miss it there. I came upon this video by chance, I couldn't believe my eyes, it's such a SMALL town! I miss it so much, I cried all the way through the video, but mostly because I miss my dad so much lately and I couldn't believe I got to look at that pier.

laptop takes a crap

yay. I'm so excited. My laptop decided to die rather than to try to compete with the brand new Gateway laptop/notebook that Adrian just got from work. The minute he brought it with him to sit next to me (mine was on my lap), mine started acting quirky. Then about 15 minutes later I had to reset it, so guess what - it didn't even come back on!!! :(

So I probably won't be online as much, it's much harder to find the time to dedicate to just the puter. Usually I'm multi-tasking somehow. If I have the puter on my lap I can watch tv, get 2 lazy things done at once. lol. But if I have to go upstairs and be stuck in the little office with just the computer, then I feel I'm even lazier.

Maybe I'll finally get my taxes done?

Well I guess we shall see. That is the thing that I'm most worried about this week. Taxes, and finding a new home, a smaller and easier to care for home!