This Ones For Julie...

I'm a nester. Not kidding. With each of my boys I think I had the nursery done by the time I was 5 months pregnant. I can't help myself, something inside of me needs it to be ready.

Apparently, I do not need to actually birth a child for this to happen. Remember the post about waiting to find out if Julie would actually get to be the one? Truth be told, I'd already been dreaming of what her room would look like.

Once it was a go, I couldn't wait to ask her what colors she liked (I do, after all, need her input :) She pretty much gave me free reign...I'm sure she'll learn to reign me in once she gets here ;)

Julie's room is actually the room we kicked moved Jake out of. He's now in with his brothers. It seems to be working just fine. By August they should all be totally adjusted ;)

I have some before and after pictures for you. Because I know ya'll like to see some home improvement pics.

The pictorial tour of the new room is for Julie. Turns out, that sending numerous pics as attachments in emails to Norway is S-l-o-w from my computer. So she gets to see her room at the same time you all do...so the commentary is for her, because I'm pretty sure ya'll aren't gonna care about the size of the closet...but a girl's got to know this sort of thing, am I right? Of course I am.

Let's begin.

Jake's room before: Please note the carpet. Yeah. And the broken blinds. And the remains of several jars of miscellaneous goo that he's smeared on the walls in the three years we've lived here. Lovely.

The Process begins...

And after: The carpet was installed THIS morning :) Ben is home with Strep throat...he still managed to assemble the bed for me. Good man.

The bed and new wood blinds. The carpet is tan...it looks like a funky color in this picture, but it is not. I promise. I ordered the pillowcases from Potter Barn Teen...I couldn't resist. They inspired the green for the bed and desk.

Julie, this is the view (from the bed) of the other half of the room. There will be a desk there that will be the same green as the bed frame. The mirror (from my mom :) will be hung up too along with a shelf thingy for you to put stuff in. The picture makes the walls look splotchy, but they're not :)

The closet is near the headboard of the bed. This is the left side view of it. There won't be little boys clothes hanging in it when you arrive ;)

Middle section of closet:

Right side view.

Alright, that's all I'm showing you...the completely finished product will have to be a surprise for when you FINALLY get here!

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Sometimes I Pretend I Can Rap...

I mentioned my beautiful green iPod the other day.  I have to tell you, I had NO IDEA what I was missing out on all these years.  I imagine it's the same way I'll feel when I finally get one of those fancy-shmancy mini-vans where you push a button to open the door.

Anyhow, the itunes store and I have become best friends.  You would die, DIE  if you knew how much time I have wasted spent just looking up songs to hear the 5 seconds of free listening.  I am that easily amused.  I especially like punching in a year (1989-1996) in particular because it brings up the top 100 songs or so...and in a second it takes me back in time.  

And it turns out....I still very much heart all those songs.

And at .99 a song, I can't help myself.  It's like creating my own schizophrenic CD.  It's awesome.   

It's also made it crystal clear that my music tastes are all over the place.   I would share them with you...but seriously, I think it's a little more than you can handle.  I'm just sayin'.  

It has left me pondering one thing...Am I the only pastor's wife who bought Vanilla Ice's, Ice Ice Baby for my ipod?  Am I?  Tell me there's another out there who can "rap" the whole song.  

Need a refresher?  Click here.  

I'm off to practice my dance moves.  

Word to your mother. (which I googled, because I in fact have no idea what that saying means, turns out it was coined by Vanilla Ice during his 15 minutes of fame, it means "I tell you the truth, my friend."  I think it could also mean "what a white 31 year old mother of 3 says when  she wants to pretend she's a rapper."  I am a wealth of important information today, aren't you glad you stopped.)

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What's Got Me So Cranky...

I'm a bit crabby today. 

Shocking, I know.  *cough*

I'll spare you my whiny list of why, because it really boils down to one thing.  

And that one thing was written superbly by my bloggy friend Kelly, who happens to be living just one state north of me.  Which happens to be the only other state I've ever lived in.  Minnesota.

Minnesota is a lot like Iowa...except it has traffic, lakes, and shopping. Insightful, aren't I.

I read her post today, and *sighed* with relief.  

If you live somewhere cold...go on...go read it.  You'll feel better.

If you're smart enough to live somewhere warm...I will try not to stick my tongue out at you in jealousy ;)  I said try...I can't promise.

Thanks Kelly...I needed that today!

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Let Me Introduce You To...

Last Saturday I was painting Jakob-turned-Julie's room and had my trusted little pink Sansa hooked up to speakers so I could have me some music.

Remember the Sansa? Didn't think so.

Anyways, the Sansa and I have had a good couple of years. Ben got it for me for Mother's Day after I'd started running...I may have begged for it. Turns out, I'm quite attached to it.

Back to my story...so I was in the middle of painting and suddenly realized that only one of the two speakers was playing music. I fiddled with the chords and then did what any reasonable woman does when she still has lots of painting to do...I tapped the speaker lightly. Nothing. Banged it on the floor several times. Nothing.

The next resort was to call in the husband before I pushed the speaker to its limit. Still, the speaker would not cooperate.

Fast forward a couple days. I sit down at the computer with my Sansa and headphones and guess what!?! The headphones only work out of one speaker. Huh. Turns out, I'd abused the speaker for no reason...it was actually the Sansa's fault.

I lasted a whole two days before I had to go out and purchase a new one. This time, it's an iPod. Cute little green one. And I heart it already. I used money I'd earned babysitting...which makes me sound like a 15 year old. Big surprise.

Meet little green iPod and the earphones that actually fit in my ears:

Try not to be too impressed with my amazing photography skills.

And while I'm at it...I'd like to introduce you to my new glasses. I normally wear contacts, but it had been a good four years since I've had updated glasses *gasp* so, here they are:

Ignore the hair. It got washed, but that's about it. Frankly, it's lucky to be clean.

Here's a terrible shot of the side, but I had to show you because they follow my little bit ugly rule. See, they're alternating black and brown and the frames are plastic but the bows are metal. Weird-o.

Love 'em so far.

Vanity, vanity all is vanity ;)

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*Tongue in Cheek*

So, like a long time ago I asked you for some questions.

You delivered.

Here's some more riveting answers *insert tongue in cheek*

Rach asked: If you had to choose ONE outfit (from head to toe) that you had to wear EVERY day until your turned 40.....what would that outfit be?

This is a hard one...but I'm gonna go with what I have on today...I happen to be in love with the new rolled-up-boyfriend jean-with-some-tears-in-it-look. Kinda like this. Because seriously, no matter what I pick, I won't like anything for the next 9 years...except maybe ballet flats. I'm too fickle.

Lori asked: Ok, I have a question. Now, mind you no normal person would ask a preacher's wife this question, but I've never been one to color inside the lines, so here goes. ALSO (I promise I'll eventually get to the question), this is the first thing that came to mind, because my girlfriend and I were giggling just last night about our middle school nicknames... which brings me to the question, are you ready...What is your stripper name? (First pet's name + street you lived on during childhood)See? Not normal, I know. Let's hope once you reveal your name, it doesn't stick among your parishoners, I would feel bad.

Oh Lorie, this cracks me up...I've been waiting and waiting for just the right moment to share with the Internet my would-be-made-up-stripper-name, according to the above set guidelines.

First pet's name + the street I lived on during childhood.

Drum roll.... Maynard Third Street.

Yep. You read that right. Now you know the real reason I became a pastor's wife...with a name like that, stripping would just not be an option. *cough*

I'm also a big prude...which I may not have mentioned yet on this little blog :)

My friend Jenni has nicknamed me "Amish" which might have been a possibility for me, except for my deep love of electricity, plumbing, and epidurals during childbirth. But I digress...I should save this stuff for another post...

Tomorrow's Friday, YAY!

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I Got Lazy...

Three years ago when I moved to tiny-town one thing was blatantly obvious. If I was going to make friends here, it was going to take some effort on my part. In a small town where everyone knows each other it can be a little tricky to convince them you'd be an excellent addition to their little group.

I was on a mission to make friends. I'm certain I scared some off with my neediness eagerness.

Don't get me wrong, people were always kind and friendly to me, and I never felt like they were purposely trying to exclude me, it was just the simple fact that most groups of friends have an unspoken limit...most of the time we're not even aware of it, but I'm convinced it's true.

We get comfortable in groups. It's a weird phenomenon, but it happens to me all the time...it always has. We find those that we have some connection with and we settle in.

I eventually found my niche in tiny town. I've made friends and acquaintances. Connected who's related to who. And formed a group without even realizing it. Has our little group ever intentionally tried to make someone feel excluded? Absolutely not. Is there a chance that we've made someone feel excluded just by being together...probably.

Which brings me to my point (finally). Once I settled in and felt comfortable with the amount of friends I'd made, I stopped trying. Stopped reaching out to make new friends. Got lazy. Real lazy.

Same thing happened in bloggy land. Last year when I first started, I commented on all kinds of new blogs, visited the blog of any new commenter's...desperate to find my niche. And once I did...the familiar feeling of comfort set in and I thought to myself, as I often do, good enough.

And now I hear God whispering....No Sarah, not good enough.

Deep down I know I'm missing out on great new friendships, both real and bloggy ones. Now, I'm not talking about numbers of friends here, because balance is always involved. I'm talking about noticing and recognizing those around me in the same way I noticed them when I was searching for friendship.

So...out of my comfort zone, once again. And if you're new here, I will find you...consider yourself warned ;) And to all of you who've stuck with my boringness and become such good friends, reading and commenting so faithfully, THANK YOU! It really is part of what makes blogging so much fun.

Here's to doing better than enough.

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Lest I Worry You...

Yesterday I mentioned my bout of rebellion in the winter coat wearing department.

Lest I worry some of you, I thought I would prove that I am in fact still wearing a coat...just not of the winter variety. I wouldn't want you to think I was running willy-nilly all over Iowa with no coat.

I bet they don't teach Julie the word willy-nilly over in Norway. I bet they don't teach that anywhere...it's one of those little gem of a words that one starts using when they've had, what should be, and illegal amount of caffeine which was consumed in a matter of hours.

Also, and this is totally random, but at WalMart today, as I was pushing the cart, it kept shocking me...continually! It was the weirdest thing! It wasn't like I touched the metal and got a little zap, it was continual zaps as I held onto it! I think there's something weird going on at WalMart...I'm just sayin'.

PS - Ignore the sweater hanging out from under the coat...I'm sure it is a fashion don't...but trust me when I tell you the skinny jeans need a long sweater, and the long winter coat was obviously not an option in my time of rebellion.

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