Whatcha Been Up To?

I ran into some friends at Home Depot the other day. It was one of those times when I looked at my outfit as I was walking in, and thought, 'I hope no one sees me!' ....... and of course, I saw three people! Despite my best efforts to dart out of view, they caught me with paint in my hair, sawdust on my cheeks, ash in my eyebrows, and spray paint everywhere in between. And every one of them asked the same question: "Whatcha been up to?"

So since it seems everyone wants to know, here's the run-down.....

We have been stripping, sanding, resurfacing, painting, staining, sweeping, mopping, scraping, vacuuming, lifting, dragging, sawing, filling, installing and etching up a storm. Our house is coming along quite quickly, actually. It seems slow in the moment, but when I look at the progress we've made in just a few weeks, I'm pretty impressed! We can't take all the credit, though - Oby's dad has been a huge help!!! I think our deadline of 7/31 might actually be met! Now, if we can just stick to the budget.............

We saw Harry Potter. I liked it. It was a little long, and the ending was a little anti-climatic, but overall it was good.

I'm trying to get into a special education program through USU. I've passed the preliminary tests. Now, don't take that the wrong way - I'm no test-taking genius. It took two tries with the math test, but after a little refresher study session, I passed! The plan is to take some courses concurrently with actually teaching in a special education classroom. After one year, I'll have my teaching certificate (if all goes as planned, that is!)...... So, let's hope all goes as planned! I never would have thought I would become a special ed teacher, but since Chloe is starting special ed in less than a year, I thought it would be good to have a little education and experience under my belt. If nothing else, I can just be more comfortable with how things work if I run into any issues along her educational journey. I kept trying to talk myself of doing it right now. 'We're so busy with the house. I'm working on the playground. I should do it another time.' But then I realized, when will life be less busy? Ummmm, never. So I decided to go for it - no time like the present, right? Let's hope so!

The Salt Lake Tribune called and wants to do an article about my plans for the playground. An interview is scheduled for later this week. So I've been scurrying around trying to get all my ducks in a row with my marketing strategy and non-profit organization so when the article comes out, I can really be ready for people to see what's going on. Also, they want to take photos of Chloe and I. Um, hello, do they think a person who is renovating a house on a tight schedule and a tight budget has the time or money to get her hair cut or colored? And a pedicure?..... don't even ask what my feet look like! But I guess I'll have to squeeze some time in because they were pretty specific that they wanted to pictures to be of Chloe and I, not just Chloe. Trust me, I tried to talk them into that!

Speaking of cute Chloe, we're headed to Primary Children's Medical Center tomorrow for her spinal MRI. An EMG is in a couple of weeks.

Speaking of hospitals, my nephew had skin graph surgery and I haven't even been to see him! I'm a terrible aunt.

Speaking of relatives, my dad's cousins, Bill and Dolores, have been in town from Indiana. They are so darn cute! We're going to miss them when they leave tomorrow....






Speaking of awesome family members, how are we doing all this work on the house and taking care of Chloe, you ask? It would not be possible at all without our parent's help! I cannot thank them enough. Really. There aren't words that express that much gratitude. Sometimes a 'thank you' is all there is.

So enough about me. Whatcha been up to?