Many Thanks!

I have been looking forward to this weekend for a long time. First, my sister and her sweet family (including my newest niece) are here for the weekend. We have to share them with her husband's family, but at least we get to have them for a while. I'm looking forward to spending more time with them tomorrow and getting to know my three week old niece better. I'm also excited to have a four day weekend with which to relax and decorate for Christmas. I just love the Christmas season! Everything seems just a little bit better. Plus, it's my first Thanksgiving with my husband. I knew him last year, but I was driving him to Utah to see his fiance last Thanksgiving so this year is better! :)

I am so thankful for so many things this year that I couldn't possibly name them all. However, I am most thankful for the following (in no particular order):

1. A heavenly father that knows who I am and loves me despite of my weaknesses. I am also grateful for the experiences that he gives me to make me a better person.
2. My amazing husband who is so patient with me and is constantly trying to make me happy. He is so talented and handsome. I cannot imagine my life without him.
3. A job to go to everyday.
4. All of the material blessings I have received. I sometimes forget how incredibly blessed I am to have food to eat, a house to live in, a car to drive, and clothes to wear.
5. My family who has loved and supported me in everything that I have done. I know that any member of my family would be there for anything I needed.

Happy Thanksgiving everyone!

Project update

I will post pictures soon, I promise. It's just that my house is kind of a wreck right now, for numerous reasons. First, because I have 20 projects in process right now and second because I spend all of my time doing projects rather than cleaning! I had a pretty productive weekend and hope to finish a bunch of things up this week. I made curtains for the two windows in our kitchen. I think they turned out pretty good. We also bought a new dining room set. I can't tell you how happy I am about that! Here's a stock photo:

It's not very big, but it's nice because it sits behind our couch in the living room and I got tired of pushing the old table out of the way to get by. Technically it can seat 6 people, so it should do for a few years anyway. I also ordered a new light fixture to go above it, but it's not here yet. The one that's there is very country. Here's a stock photo of the light fixture:Also, my two person table for the kitchen came in yesterday and my sweet husband put it together while I was at work. I'll post pictures later. Now that we have paint, a table and chairs and curtains in the kitchen, I need to take a break from the kitchen for a while because the cabinets and countertop are jobs that are too big for me right now.

I finally got all the pieces put together for some new art for our living room. I found these prints I loved on art.com (I love that website). I bought 16 x 20 prints thinking that would be a standard size to find ready-made frames for, which it is if I didn't want to mat them. However, 20x24 frames are not so easy to find. I finally found some at Aaron Brothers, but still needed mats. I called around to several framing shops. Apparantly mats are made out of gold these days because everyone wanted a LOT of money to cut plain white mats. I finally found this little mat store in the mall that would do it for a reasonable price. Yay! They also earned my business forever! I called ahead to ask them to have the mats cut for me when I went to pick them up. That was bonus number 1, because none of the other shops would cut them before I paid. Then they told me that they would put everything together for free if I brought in the frames and prints. Cool! So I take all my stuff in and they take my art and frames to the back room and are taking FOREVER! Finally I ask what is taking so long. Apparently, I gave them the wrong measurements for the mats and they had to re-cut them. Not only did they not charge me for the first ones (even though it was my mistake), but they also gave me a 30% discount because I had to wait so long. Holy Cow! If anyone EVER has framing needs in the greater Phoenix metropolitan area, you have to use this place. It's called Frame Up. They have two stores- one in Superstition Springs mall in Mesa and one in Paradise Valley. They will also beat any printed framing quote by 10%. I wish I knew about them before!

So the end of that story is that I got the art framed and hung on the wall last night and it looks great. I finally hung up all the pictures in the staircase and hallway as well. For the rest of the week, I just hope to paint and install the molding for the shelves, finish the living room furniture (it's so close it's ridiculous) and clean my house so I can put up Christmas decorations on Friday. I'm so excited for this weekend!!!!!! Yay!

Projects!

Gosh, my house has been all about projects for the last couple months. I wish I had taken before and after pictures of everything, because we've made a lot of transformations. Luckily, Brandon and I enjoy working on house projects together, but boy, is it tiring. Here's what we've been up to (in no particular order):

1. Stripping and refinishing all of our living room tables (Coffee table, side table and sofa table). Brandon came into the marriage with really nice furniture. Unfortunately, it wasn't my style and didn't go with anything else in the house. It was a light wood with intricate engravings. So, I took out the engraved pieces and replaced with straight pieces of wood, stripped off the stain, re-finished in a dark chocolate stain and replace the hardware with modern, silver handles. We had some issues with the polyurethane coats, but now we're almost done. Brandon finished the coffee table last night and we should finish the other two this week.

2. Redecorating both of our offices. The pictures of Brandon's office in a previous post(his birthday present). After my sweet husband installed a wonderful, but enormous desk in my office, I realized I couldn't paint the walls, so I painted the ceiling instead (with the help of my fabulous friend, Janette). It's a dark turquoise, to match the satin and velvet turquoise curtains that take up most of one wall. Oh, I made the curtains, too. (I hate sewing, but I love that I can because I can never find cute curtains in the store.) I hung some art by one of my favorite artists (Steven Meyers) and now I love it!

3. Redecorating our bedroom. When I moved out of my law office recently, I took all of the decorations and put them up in my bedroom. I hung shelves and pictures and bought new lamps and made some curtains. I couldn't find material I liked for the curtains, but I did find a shower curtain, so I cut it up and made curtains. The sink and vanity are connected to the bedroom, so I put up curtains on a shower bar to separate that part from the rest of the room. Now, the only thing left to do is refinish the bedroom furniture in a dark stain (I already ripped off the engraved panels.)

4. We put up shelves and new art in the living room. I also bought new lamps and made curtains to frame the french doors (but that was a few months ago). I also repainted the shelves in the living room that are also connected to the staircase. It's hard to explain without seeing it. I'm also working on spicing those shelves up with some fabric backs. I think (HOPE) we're going to buy a new dining set this week. That will really make a difference in the whole room. After that, I think we'll be done with that room.

5. We also painted the hallway and stairway. Painting stairways is a big fat hastle. Luckily, I have a wonderful husband to help when I get these ideas in my head. I just need to repaint the handrail, put that back up and hang pictures. I'm also working on the shelf project I mentioned in number 4. On the stairs side of the stairs, I'm stapling up some fabric and framing out all of the shelves in molding.

6. Jill and I repainted the guest bathroom one night and then Brandon and I framed the mirror with painted molding and replaced the light fixture. I hung up a painting, added a little cabinet, some candles and matching towels. I also replaced the towel holders. It's amazing how easily those things updated the previously old and ugly bathroom.

7. This last weekend, Jill and I painted the kitchen. Well I helped her tape the kitchen and then she painted it while I sewed some curtains for her kitchen. I bought fabric for kitchen curtains and will probably have those done in the next day or two. I ordered a small table for the kitchen, and then I'll take a break on the kitchen for a few months.

8. Replaced all the door knobs in the house.

Projects on the horizon:

Refinish bedroom furniture
Refinish kitchen cabinets and add new hardware
Resurface kitchen countertops
Paint master bathroom
Refinish master vanity
Build dog house for 4 dogs
Build a closet under our staircase
Paint all the trim and baseboard in the house



I'm sure I'll come up with more projects, but that's all we have planned for now.

I am recalling the November 6th Post

I would like to now boycott my November 6 post "What city are you?" Six out of six people that I know of who took the city quiz all were London. Unless someone who takes the quiz gets another city besides London, I am putting my foot down and saying "WHAT A FRAUD!"

My cousin, Mindy, tagged me!

1. Where did you meet your husband?

At my house. A mutual friend brought him with him to home teach me because his normal companion couldn't come.

2. What is the first thing you said to your husband?

"I've heard about you. You were a jerk to my friend Lindsay."

3. Where was your first date?

That is a tricky question. We went on a fake date to Serrano's when he was engaged to someone else. It was fake because we were just friends and his fiance lived in Utah, so he was bored a lot. :) I don't remember what our first real date was because we were friends for so long before we started dating.

4. Where was your first kiss?

In my kitchen, waiting for a frozen pizza to cook.

5. Did you have a long or short courtship/engagement?

Pretty short, I guess. We were friends for about a year and a half before we started dating. We dated for 3 months before getting engaged and were engaged for three months.

6. Where did you get engaged?

Also a tricky question. We started talking about it at my house one night. It was more of a process than an event. We were engaged for a while before he actually proposed. I think I got my ring about three weeks before we got married.

7. Where did you get married?

Mesa, Arizona LDS Temple

8. How did your reception go?

It was perfect and beautiful. We ate a yummy dinner and then just mingled. I refused to stand in a receiving line.

9. THE HONEYMOON...

Cancun, Mexico. It was beautiful and we had a wonderful time. Even though I was sick most of the time.

10. Who's turn is it next?

Jackie, Cristin, Holli.

What city do you belong in?

You Belong in London

A little old fashioned, and a little modern. A little traditional, and a little bit punk rock. A unique soul like you needs a city that offers everything. No wonder you and London will get along so well.

What City Do You Belong In?

Job update

So I've been at my new job for just over a week. People keep asking me if I like it. That is a very impossible question to answer at this point. Training is long and tedious. I spend 95% of my time reading everyday about a portion of the tax code. I'm learning a lot and I know it's necessary but I seriously want to poke my eyes out just so I don't have to read anymore. I'll let you know how it is when I actually am able to start doing my job. I do like the environment and the people that work here. I do like the part of town that I work in (but I don't like the commute). I think I'll like the job. That's all I have to say about that right now.

I start Tuesday

I finally got an official offer of employment from the company I was hoping for. I am so excited to finally have a solid plan. It should be great. I will be working for an investment company facilitating real estate transactions. The company is a subsidiary of a Fortune 500 company which means great benefits. My division only has 11 people, so it is the benefits of a huge corporation with the feel of a small company. I think I will really like it. I'm not excited about the commute to Phoenix every day, but that's really the only down side. Plus, I'll be making more money - WOO HOO! Of course I had to go shopping this week for new work clothes!

Friday Night Freaks

My friend Ally's boyfriend plays in a band called Jed's a Millionaire. They are actually pretty good. Anyway, Ally sent out an e-mail that they were playing last Friday night at Paper Heart Gallery in Phoenix. She said it was part of Phoenix's "First Friday" art walk where all of the galleries stay open late and artists line the street trying to sell their art and there is entertainment, etc. It sounded kind of fun, so Brandon and I decided to make it our date night. HOLY COW! It was not as described. First, Paper Heart Gallery is a bar with an art gallery in the back room. Second, the gallery show was death themed. Third, the place was FILLED with freaks. It was actually a lot of fun, but only because I could not stop staring at all the freaks. When we first got there, we said hello to Ally and a few of my law school classmates who were also there (I met Ally in law school). The band hadn't gone on yet, so we decided to wander a bit.

We went out to the front parking lot and saw the funniest thing I had seen in a long time! There was some sort of belly dancing convention and everyone was dressed like gypsies, taking turns belly dancing for each other. There was quite the crowd. This was made only more interesting by the fact that more than half of the belly dancers weighed at least 300 pounds. There were even troupes of 300 pound belly dancers that performed! I could not look away. They were very proud of their bellies. While this was disturbing, part of me was proud of them for their high self images! We tried to take pictures, but none of them turned out. We watched for quite a while before going inside.

We went back inside to listen to the band and had just as much to look at. There were several very distinct groups there. It was crazy. First, there was our group, which consisted of several attorneys and their friends, spouses, etc. We were pretty normal. Then there was the gypsies, which I previously mentioned. There was also the cross dressers. They were this group of men that tried, but failed to look like women. Well at least I thought they failed. One of the guys in our group was checking one of them out before another guy told him that "she" was a man. Ha ha! There was this one "she-male" that was balding and his hairline didn't start until half way back on his head. It didn't matter. He just grew it out long and pretty and dressed like a woman anyway! That was my favorite! So disturbing. There was also the gray faces. This group all painted their faces gray with dark circles around their eyes. Why do people do these things? I told Brandon I bet they are all regular people during the day, working at the bank and the library, and turn into gray faces at nights. The last group was the lesbians that stood right in front of us and kept kissing while the band was playing. They were interesting too. Brandon kept mentioning the one with the butch hair and the service station shirt on. I don't know why she was so interesting, but she was definitely the boy in the relationship. Her girlfriend was a girly girl.

I guess the summary is that it was good to see some of my friends and the band was good, but I'm so glad I've led the sheltered life that I have. I mean...how do you get on the path that leads you to become a balding cross dresser?

30 only makes you more handsome!

My gorgeous husband turned 30 on Saturday. It was so much fun. He's not accustomed to the multi-day birthday celebrations that I enjoy, so it was fun exposing him to a new way to do birthdays. Last Sunday was the first celebration...a Miller family gathering at my mom's with his favorite dinner and a cheesecake with 30 candles in it! Then on Friday night, he and I went to Carrabas for dinner to celebrate Brandon's Eve. Yummy! Saturday was his actual birthday and I had a lot of work to do. I've had some problems getting him a present that he didn't find out about. I bought him a miter saw a couple weeks ago, but he found it in my trunk a week before his birthday. Then I was going to buy him an electric razor, but he tried to buy one for himself so I had to tell him that it was one of his birthday gifts. So I tried one last thing. We live in a three bedroom house and we each have our own office. A couple months ago, I decorated my office and I think it looks great. His office was still bare. You see, he and I don't have even close to the same style, so he put most of his stuff in storage. Well I went and got a lot of his stuff out of storage and decorated his office. I made curtains made of tan suede. My dad helped me make wood shelves that wrap up high in the room on three walls and I filled every piece of wall space with his decorations from the dead animal, cowboy, southwest design area. He absolutely loves it. Here are some pictures. Tell me what you think.

Saturday night, we had a bunch of friends over for a barbeque. It was fun and I think Brandon had a good time. Happy 30th Birthday love of my life! It's going to be a great year!

Now here's the job search update: My last day of work was on Friday. I had one interview last week with an investment company that helps facilitate 1031 exchanbe property and land transactions for investors. I have a second interview with them tomorrow for lunch. On Saturday morning, a law firm that I sent my resume to called and said they were in a hurry to make a decision and wanted to interview me that afternoon. I told them I couldn't, but went in for an interview on Sunday after church. I loved the firm and felt like it would be a good match for me. I felt like they liked me too. I got an offer first thing this morning from the law firm. It was for a lot less than I was hoping and it's pretty far away (North Scottsdale), but I told him I needed a couple days to think about it. I could start working this week. We'll see how my interview goes on Tuesday. They pay more, but the work would be all transactional and the hours would be shorter. Plus, there would be no billable hours requirement. On the other hand, I don't know if I'm ready to give up litigation work yet. We'll see. Hopefully I have a job by the end of the week. Wish me luck!