From Snow to Sea

 This tree is one of my favorites. It sits on our neighbors property and it is what we see when we sit on our living room couch.

 Our side neighbors have a large farm. Their property has been hit by a twister and then their barn burned down. Thankfully they have rebuilt and the farm is a gorgeous back drop for the snow.

Virginia

South Carolina

Florida

Florida

Florida

 

Florida

(Quick) Week in Photos - 1/7/2015

This week went quickly for us. The highlights of the week were losing the power (again) and the snow which is still falling. My doctor's appointment yesterday went well. He taught me a new trick. If I press my cheekbone, the twitch in my eye stops. The twitch has been there for two weeks. The doctor says it is a great sign. It means the dystonia is moving from my shoulder to my head. 

The kitchen is almost done. We have been living in a construction zone for three weeks. Here is what it looked like as of last night. The grout is being...grouted...right now. 

The rest of our house is still a mess. There is a toilet in the laundry room. 

But progress is being made and we are thankful to have this house.

Week in Photos - 12/23/14

Happy almost Christmas to everyone in the cyber world.

This week was all about the construction taking place in our home. Only one room remains untouched by the craziness - my room. I have been holing up in it all week.

"Before"

Day 1: removing the tub & surround and toilet

Day 2: The subfloor is laid. We had bubbling around the toilet and so the guys ripped it and fixed it. The wood under the toilet was wet and gross. I am so glad to finally have it fixed!

Day 3: The new tile is laid. My hubby chose it. Since it was a small bathroom, we went with something white.

Day 4: The new tile is grouted (Yup...we went with white grout. We really like white.)

Day 5: The tub & most of the surround are installed. Yes, we had to purchase a new tub which is disappointing. We had hopes of saving our old tub & surround. It was powder blue and the hubby successfully painted it years ago. He went to re-paint it and things ran a muck. The paint started chipping and peeling and it was a mess.

The guys are back today and they said we will see a big difference by the end of today. Here are some more photos from this week:

We had stuff everywhere this week.

Everywhere.

I love the new surround. All those shelves!

Hole in the floor! It was fine during the day but it was creepy at night.

See? Creepy.

My new supplement. I have a hard time swallowing pills and the doctor gave me the chewables. This is suppose to help with my food allergies. It means I get PIZZA tonight! The doctor wants to know if milk still makes me sick after trying the papayazyme for a week. My guess is "yes" but we will see. (update: milk still makes me sick)

I hope everyone has a wonderful week! Merry Christmas!

Week in Photos - 12/16/14

Happy Tuesday. I had a pretty tough weekend. The pain started on Saturday and Monday morning I couldn't walk due to the pain. Thankfully it seems to be better this morning. Plus, I am off to the doctor today.

We have also delivered Christmas goodies to all 14 neighbors and a few more people we appreciate having in our lives.

The deer hunting season is over here in PA. What does this have to do with us since we don't hunt? (We aren't against hunting but we are against waking up at 4am to sit out in the cold for hours.)

Our contractor is now available! His crew hunted for the last two weeks. Gotta love rural PA. It makes me smile when the kids have off for the first day of "buck".

It will be nice to have a new floor down in the bathroom. It will also be nice not to hear random gun shots throughout the day.

We really didn't mind the blue linoleum (can we all appreciate the fact that I just spelled linoleum correctly without using spell check? Amazing.) from the 1980's. But, it was discolored under the heater. It is the last surface in our home now to be re-done. 

Week in Photos - 11/30/14

Happy almost December! I hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving.

This week we had my mom & sister visit for the holiday. Since it was just the four of us, we decided to go to a buffet for Thanksgiving.

This is what my hubby's second plate looked like. I had little fried chicken drumsticks, a pile of black olives, corn and mashed potatoes. Yum!

November means major cleaning in our house. My awesome hubby cleaning out every cabinet and then retouched the white paint.

My sister got me this gray, yellow & white blanket. It matches my gray & white sheets perfectly. I love these colors together.

We made some fun peppermint body scrubs. Olive oil, peppermint oil (or extract), white sugar, coconut oil and a bit of red food coloring (optional). It smelled so good.

Here was our finished product. Here is the recipe (thanks Pinterest):
2 cups granulated white sugar
1/3 cup light olive oil
1/8 cup melted coconut oil
1/4 tsp peppermint extract or essential oil (we used both so it smells extra peppermint-y)

Combine all the ingredients and then divide the scrub into two bowls. Color one with red food coloring.

My mom topped one of my gifts with this adorable snowman. Growing up my mom had a set of these that we would put out every Christmas. That set is long gone but this little guy brings back so many memories.

Our file cabinet/TV stand/dresser/storage unit is done! I will be posting a tutorial next week.

I had this adorable t-shirt custom made. The Giving Tree is one of my all time favorite books.

And one last silly photo. My mom gave me dry shampoo. My hair is super oily. The dry shampoo turned my hair a lovely gray color. After I brushed it, it did fade and seemed to absorb some of the oil.