Little Changes

You know how I tend to ramble sometimes but eventually get to my point? You may want to keep that in mind for this post….

A long, long time ago my college roommate, Mr. C, and I went out to buy some fish and a tank. Then we bought more fish. Then some died so we replaced those. We’ve had fish since college and although they were great then, we found ourselves not paying attention to them much and not holding up our end of the upkeep. We searched and searched for a good home for them but weren’t having much luck. I couldn’t bear the thought of selling them on craigslist either. Just when I was beginning to feel like we were running out of options, we found a great family who wanted them! I love win-win situations!

Since I heard the fishies were leaving I’ve been deciding what to do with the cabinet they were on. Yes, I know that sounds horrible and heartless, but as I said, it was time. We couldn’t really find a spot for the tank in the house when we moved so we stuck it in the hallway by the entryway. The placement was awkward and the hallway looked odd with a fish tank in between our wedding pics and the bathroom. Fast forward to this weekend when the fishies swam over (okay okay, they were driven) to their new home.

After a few moments of mourning (yes, I do have a heart), I set to work on doing something with my small space. I bought a basket months ago to go in the space and I was so excited to use it for keys, wallets, etc. Right now the kitchen counter is our “catch-all” and I HATE it. I just knew the basket would fix all that. But, it looked dumb and Mr. C didn’t have any qualms about telling me this in those exact words. It was too big and too dark compared to the light color of the cabinet.

I keep our bread items in a basket and had been thinking it was a bit too small so after swapping baskets around the house (the basket that looked horrible on the cabinet looks wonderful in the kitchen!), adding a lamp, and finally making something from pinterest, I am so pleased with my space. I found myself walking by it about ten extra times yesterday. Don’t you just love when that happens?

Here’s it is!

Don’t you love it? I’m sure by now you’re just dying to know how I made the heart picture. Right? Well, today is your lucky day because I’m going to tell you!

I found the idea on pinterest which had been pinned from a very inspiring blog, 33 Shades of Green. The hardest part for me was finding a frame I liked as well as one that had some space between the picture and the glass. We went to 5 stores searching for the perfect frame….I’m so lucky Mr. C loves me and doesn’t mind being drug all over down :)

Here’s what I used:
-a 5 x 7 frame from Bed, Bath, and Beyond
- a heart punch
- pop dots (although you could just glue or tape them on if you don’t want them raised)
-scrapbook paper, including a neutral color for the background

I had a really difficult time choosing paper. I originally had some lighter paper, but the hearts just didn’t show up as well. First I measured the paper to fit the dimensions of the frame and cut with a paper trimmer. Because there was matting I then took the glass and back out of the frame and put my background paper in the frame with the matt on top so I’d know what area I had to work with. This also kept the paper from sliding all over. I prefer this way rather than cutting to the size of the opening and then having to tape or glue the paper somehow to avoid slipping. Next I punched a bunch of hearts, picked my favorite, and moved them around until I was happy with the pattern. I used a small ruler as a level and attached each heart with a pop dot. Then I put the frame back together and spent the next 5 minutes telling Mr. C how much I loved the end result. Really, like 5 minutes…and every time I walk by…and sometimes when I just think about it.

The project cost me about $10 for the frame and paper (I had the rest). I’m thinking it would be fun to change out the picture with the season…snowflakes in winter, flip flops in summer, leaves and acorns in fall, etc.

I’m so excited that the cabinet that looked out of place now seems to tie everything together! I love the warm light from the lamp, the piece I finally crafted, and the basket to hopefully alleviate the kitchen counter of it’s “catch-all” status.

Sometimes You Just Need a Little Reminder

How are you feeling about those New Year’s (or otherwise) resolutions?  I’ve heard a lot of people say they didn’t make any this year because they never follow through. That’s a bit “glass half empty” for me, and although I’m not 20 lbs. lighter, richer, and haven’t finished any scrapbooks (or started for that matter), I’m really putting forth a lot of effort with my resolutions and I’m pretty darn happy with my progress.

With so many things going on it’s hard to remember what exactly my resolutions are.  I had to come back to my blog to check up on them the other day.  I figured that was really bad and needed to be fixed.  I think it’s too easy for things to be pushed to the back burner when everyday life is in session.  It’s too easy to not take the walk I scheduled in my planner, push my daily devotion back a day or two, or three, lose my motivation to organize a space that’s been bugging me, or not take time to sit, play a game and enjoy each other’s company.  Because these are general, lifestyle goals/resolutions, it’s even easier for me to push them aside.  It’s not pressing like the laundry or the yard or dinner.  It’s something that can be ignored until I have time to pay attention.  Because of this, I decided that my resolutions needed to be placed somewhere as a constant reminder of my goals and resolutions. 

I typed up my resolutions and gave each one its own unique, pretty font.  I originally had a little tagline under each one but I thought that was too cluttered.  I decided simplicity was key because I wanted the list to act as a reminder, something I could glance at or scan quickly while I was getting ready in the mornings, before I headed to bed, etc.  I picked up a bright turquoise frame from Target for $5, printed my list on cardstock, and stuck it in the frame.  The picture quality isn’t the best but I’m sure you get the idea.  

I LOVE it!  Mr. C was nice enough to move a pair of his shoes in the closet to clear a space for my new resolutions reminder. (although I feel a bit bad about this since I definitely have the larger collection and should probably move my own shoes…but I’m not complaining).

Since making pretty frame, I set more “healthy” goals for the week, made something crafty, and organized one of my spaces that has been driving me nuts!  You’ll have to wait until the next post for that though :)

So all in all, I’d say I’m fairly happy with my progress although I hope to make more progress in the next month.  I haven’t jumped ship yet (unlike that unlucky Italian captain of the cruise ship).  How are your resolutions going?  I hope you haven’t written any off yet!  Perhaps you need your own reminder?

Argument for Marriage

Marriage can be hard sometimes. I hear people say things like “once we are married things will be easier” or “things will work out once we’re married” or “we’re basically married already so nothing will change once it’s official”. Nope, I don’t think any one of those statements is true. Once you’re married the pressure is on. It’s not a test run anymore, its serious stuff. You’re in it together with no magical fixes. If anything it’s harder because you’ve made this commitment to each other and you’re trying to figure everything out. I don’t care if you are living together before, it’s still different. Not that marriage is bad – with the right person with the same values I think it’s amazing – however it’s not always what you expect.

Arguing sometimes becomes more intense because there’s more pressure and you’re dealing with more issues. I’ve been hearing about a study which concludes that fighting once a week is good for marriage. Apparently Indian couples agree that fighting once a week is the key to a good marriage. I’m not positive, but I think the people of India have a better marriage rate than us in the U.S., so maybe they’re on to something. Now no one enjoys fighting, but I think of it as a good cry – sometimes it does more good than bad. Of course it all depends on HOW you fight. Fighting dirty is never good and won’t get you anywhere. But fighting/arguing helps get the issues out and ignoring things or trying to keep that perfect honeymoon stage just isn’t realistic. Arguments lead (or should) to open discussion from both parties and each trying to see the other’s point of view. No one is perfect and most people end up with someone who in some way is their opposite. With that combo, disagreements are bound to arise.

People don’t like to talk about their arguments. Some people are uncomfortable even seeing another couple argue (I’m talking minimal arguing/bickering, not serious fighting/yelling/violence). I hate being told to calm down when we’re trying to work through something, especially by a friend/parent who is simply uncomfortable with any interaction that isn’t 100% happy. Like every other couple, Mr. C and I argue. We argue about dumb stuff mostly but in its own way it’s important and it’s something that needs to happen. If we don’t argue we don’t work through our dumb issues, our not-so-dumb issues, and rid ourselves of the everyday frustrations of people living together (why the socks are ALWAYS on the floor, why the lights are left on when no one is in the room, why something didn’t get done that was important to the other one).

I have to say we argue more now that we’re married, but 99% of them are dumb. One time we were walking the dog and a discussion turned into an argument. After a few minutes I had no clue what we were arguing about, but I was determined to win! We were walking down the sidewalk looking and sounding like morons, but I just had to win! I have no idea who “won” and I probably should have just ended when I realized I forgot what we were discussing in the first place. I think we both lost sight of the real issue and were both stringing it along until we “won”. I’ve learned to suck up my pride sometimes. No one likes saying they’re wrong and I seem to have a large dose of this quality. Mr. C jokingly asks me to repeat myself if I ever say “I was wrong” because apparently it’s not the most common thing, but with time I have been making an effort to care less about the “win” and more about the end result of making up. Sometimes we laugh things off, sometimes we agree to disagree, but when we need to discuss it I’m happy that we’re able to without breaking things or calling the cops.

So, if a weekday argument is always on your itinerary as ours usually is, then hopefully that means we’re on our way to a long, happy marriage!

Saying No

It’s hard to say no sometimes.   In our fast-paced society we’re expected to be everywhere and do everything.  I read an article on MSN this week which stated that people with smart phones (used for personal, not work, purposes) are more stressed than people without smart phones.  Apparently, smart phones have led us to feel as if we constantly need to be checking facebook, twitter, email, news, weather, stocks, etc. and responding to any messages we receive right away regardless of their importance.  This is the mentality of our society –  do more with the same resources – specifically do more in the time we’re alloted.  The problem is that the time we’re allotted isn’t increasing and doing more might not be better.  Productivity is great, but there comes to a point when we’re taking on too much.  We’re doing things to please others or perhaps because we feel guilted into them.  This leads to a point where we’re overwhelmed, stressed, and wondering why we can’t reach our own goals. 

I’ve always had a hard time saying no when I need to – to an event I really don’t want to attend, a volunteer project I don’t think I can handle, to purchasing something that someone is pushing.  Saying yes is just so much easier, and it usually pleases the person asking.   These reasons aren’t good enough though.

I first really learned to asses the situation and to say no in food situations.  Just because there’s a delicious, free breakfast at work doesn’t mean I have to go.  Sometimes I feel as if people think I’m anti-social, but I learned that I need to say no - for me.  For me, it’s just not worth it.  I’ve learned I need to take myself out of a situation where I’ll be tempted to do something I don’t really want to do.    I’m not going to the ice cream shop with someone if I know I’ll want to get myself a cone when I get there too simply because I’m at the ice cream shop.  I can’t say that this is easy.  Friends, co-workers, and family sometimes seem to wonder if one time is really that big of a deal, why I won’t just go with the flow, or perhaps they think I’m picky.

This concept has carried over into other areas of my life and I’ve finally began saying no when I need to.  No, I cannot handle that volunteer opportunity right now.  No, I cannot fit that into my weekend and also do what I need to do for my family and/or myself.  No, I cannot tolerate a friendship that is only bringing me down.  No, I cannot sit on the couch all night and watch TV (oops, that one is to myself usually!).  The thing is, when I say no to someone else it’s usually because I need to say yes to myself.  This doesn’t mean that I never say yes.  I do say yes, a lot actually.  I say yes when I feel that something is important, when I know I can balance it with other commitments, and in the case of food, when I have planned for an indulgence.  I say yes when something will help me reach my goals, when it meshes with my values, when it brings happiness to my life.

I guess I have learned to finally be picky (although if you ask my mother she’ll say I was always picky!).  I’m picky because I want to enjoy life.  To do this I need time to smell the roses.  I need to take care of myself.  I need to not have every minute of every day filled, leaving no downtime to just breathe or say a prayer or be thankful for my many blessings.  I need to feel good about myself.  I need to do things that I enjoy because life will provide enough unenjoyable moments that I don’t really need to add to them!  If I don’t work for my goals, who else will?

So, I’m reminding you and myself that it’s okay to say no sometimes! 

Pantry Organization

I don’t do well with clutter or nonfunctional spaces.  Unfortunately I somehow have way too much of those two things at my house now.  I’ve been extra inspired lately by pintrest and some amazing organizational blogs (check them out on my blog roll page) and have been itching to do some organizing (which I'll of course be sharing with you!).  December isn’t exactly the optimal time to be organizing my house because inevitably every organizational adventure includes a stage where the space looks MUCH worse because everything is strewn on the floor, counters, and whatever space is available at the time.  So, I managed to contain my organizational excitement and focused on Christmas.  My organization itch wouldn't go away though so when I was home I decided it would be a great idea to have an organizational adventure at my parent’s house!  It’s always more fun to make a mess at someone else’s house anyhow, right?

My dad has commented before that our pantry looks great or amazing, or some other hugely complimental word like that.  He’s not the kind of guy who usually notices or ever comments on stuff like that so I was surprised.  When I got to my parent's house I realized why though.  The pantry drove me NUTS!  My mom is a great organizer, but the pantry seemed to have her overwhelmed.  Sometimes an extra eye and set of hands is all you need.  The pantry shelves are so deep that my mom didn’t want to waste the space, but this created a new problem of things being shoved to the back and forgotten about.  I figured it would take 1, 2 hours tops to reorganize. Boy was I wrong.

This is what we started with.

  

We began by taking EVERYTHING out (this is how the strewn about every flat space stage occurs) and checking every single expiration date.  Most of the stuff was fine, but there were a few things that were a bit past their prime.  One item expired in 2003.  Another was in 2006.  That stuff went straight to the trash.

There were a lot of little things that didn’t have a home so we decided to get some bins and baskets to wrangle like items.  I happen to think the oxo containers are the best things since sliced pickles.  We picked up a couple more of those for foods that's always on hand like, such as cereal or pretzels.   Not only do the containers simplify the space, but they also keep food fresher longer.  We searched the dollar store but they didn’t have much left in the container section so we headed to Wal-Mart where we picked up the majority of the other containers.

The cat food had been taking up a shelf while the floor space was cluttered with cat food bags and recycling containers that overflowed.  We quickly fixed that with four rolling containers with flip lids.  These hold two different types of cat food (two different cats…picky eaters) and two different types of recycling.  The rollers make them easily accessible and the flip lids don’t allow for recycling overflow.

The cans were a huge issue.   She had two shelf dividers, one in front of the other.  However, this actually made it harder to see the cans.  We split these up and grouped like things together.  The items that she only had one or two things of went into another cupboard onto a pull out drawer for easy access.

We used small, stackable drawers to wrangle the smaller things like tea bag packets and crackers.   The baskets held chips, nuts, popcorn fixins’, and baking chips.  We were able to use a couple baskets she already had on hand for this part.

To top it all off we found some free printable labels online, used our own pretty font, and laminated them. 

We were both very satisfied with the end result (and even my dad was impressed!).  I kept opening the pantry for the rest of the week just to check out our handiwork.  I reorganized our pantry a few weeks ago but unfortunately I was a big disappointed with it when I got home.  It just doesn’t look as amazing as my mother’s pantry does now!

This is just the beginning of the organizational spree so stay tuned for more posts.  The rest hopefully will be in my own home :)

There's No Place Like Home

I love going home.

My home, my forever home in Nebraska, is so much different than my Arizona home. When I’m in Nebraska it feels like a whole different world. Life slows down and it's apparent that values are different. People are different. They talk to you while you’re waiting in line like they know you although you've never seen them before. Seeing people you know while you’re out and about isn’t shocking, it's actually very common. Traffic is different. Driving across town isn’t stressful and it doesn’t take an hour and a fourth tank of gas. I don’t think I’ve heard anyone honk at someone else anytime last week. People proudly display the American flag and they take pride in working hard and their families. Values and emphasis are more on family and faith and honesty and goodness and less on how much money you have or what part of town you live in.

I'm not saying other places are bad. They are just different, with good parts and bad parts. Arizona has a lot of great things (and so many wonderful people!) that I’d miss if I left. But, Nebraska will always be my home. Sometimes I think about moving back. If I did, there are most definitely things that would drive me crazy, but there are also things I’d love. I’d enjoy the first snowflakes fall each season (before I began complaining about the abundance of snow), Christmas lights on a home being more common than not, 15 minutes would become my definition of a "long" commute, family being around the corner, lunches and weekend meetups with friends who have always and will always be true, and the familiarity of a small church.

When I’m back it’s like nothing changed. It feels like I never left and then a minute later it feels like I’ve been gone forever. It’s hard to explain. When I first moved to Arizona I felt like I had no real home because Nebraska was no longer my home and Arizona didn’t feel right either. For awhile I felt out of place in both, but now I usually feel at home in both places. If only I could merge the best of both worlds. For now I enjoy every trip home. Maybe someday we’ll move back or to another state. But, Nebraska will always be my home, a place I hold dear in my heart. It’s funny how once upon a time I just wanted to leave, and now I love coming back.

New Year, New Look

Happy 2012! We rung in the new year with my parents and one of my oldest friends by playing games at the house and watching the ball drop twice. Yes twice…we wanted to make sure they didn’t change anything the second time around ☺ We watched the ball at 11 and then looked for a channel showing the guitar (is there still a guitar that drops?) but couldn’t find it so we went back to the ball again. That gave us two chances to ponder what the heck was going on with Lady Gaga’s ensemble? I guess I could ask that question for every event she attends though….

In honor of the new year, my blog has a new look! I figured it was about time to update our wedding pic since it’s been about four years now (HOLY COW!). My mother was our photographer during our time home and took the new blog photo as well as some wonderful pics for our New Year’s photo cards. The first shoot we only took “holiday” photos (thanks to pinterest for the photo ideas!) and then I realized I needed some “normal” ones for the blog and for us, so we went back and took more - at 2 locations that time because the sun was messing up the lighting that day. I got home and realized I wasn’t too happy with those so we went back AGAIN. My mom stood in the cold this whole time and took a ton of pictures. I’m so happy with them though and so grateful for our photographer!

For those of you who get the emails and don’t come directly to the blog, please head over to In the Centner of it All, check out the new look, and let me know what you think!

Christmas 2011

I can’t really say it’s been a busy week, because it hasn’t been my typical normal type of busy.  I’ve been busy enjoying my time off and didn’t get a chance to post about Christmas yet so on New Year’s Eve I’m finally posting my Christmas update!

We flew in to NE the afternoon of Christmas Eve so by the time we actually got home it was time for the festivities to start.  Christmas Eve is usually pretty laid back and this year was no different.  My mom, Mr. C, and I had chicken noodle soup while my dad ate his smelly oyster stew.  I love Christmas Eve soup.   Nothing special, but it’s amazing.  It must be the magic of Christmas Eve that makes it taste so good :)

We passed out the gifts and enjoyed watching everyone’s reactions as they opened them.  Unfortunately my mother and I weren’t too photogenic while this was happening and my dad has this fear of cameras soooo you don't get many photo of us!

Mr. C loved the math sayings I framed for him.

Oscar the cat quickly became exhausted from all the excitement.

Hannah loved her expensive gift of a box.

In the end we surveyed the damages and decided the next time we’d have a garbage bag ready for trash.  Although I really enjoy picking out gifts the best, I really loved mine this year.  I got some great cooking stuff I’d been wanting, a beautiful scarf, a thoughtful ring, a sparkley bracelet, and even some practical stuff!

Because we flew in later than usual we didn’t make it to church Christmas Eve and went Christmas Day instead.  The service was great, but I really missed the songs and story from the Christmas Eve service.  The meaning was still there though and we celebrated Jesus’ birth with a lot of singing.  I enjoyed seeing some people I hadn’t for awhile and the feel of the small church.   It just felt like home.

My brother, sister-in-law, and my three nieces came over Christmas Day.  This is when we usually have our big meal, but this year we had sloppy joes and a bunch of sides.  At first I wasn’t too sure about that, but it ended up working out great.  We didn’t spend all day cooking and we had more time to just enjoy being together. 

It was fun watching the girls open their gifts and we were lucky enough to get to play with some of them after.  I mean um…they played with them.  We got Simon Flash and haven’t really stopped playing with it since then….it’s been preventing us from going to bed at a reasonable hour actually, but it’s really addicting!  We were also extra lucky this year and got to see my cousin, her husband, and their very cute new baby.  It was so nice spending time with family.

Our new tradition has been to go to the movies on Christmas, however due to poor planning about how early we’d need to arrive we gave up on the movie out when we saw the line.  After driving around to look at lights I slipped on my new PJ’s and slippers, grabbed some homemade apple cider while my dad made popcorn, and we all watched The Help together.  It was a great ending to a wonderful day.

We didn't have a white Christmas this year, but I was just grateful we got to spend Christmas in Nebraska.  I'm very thankful our Arizona family doesn't mind sharing us for Christmas and thankful that we have loved ones in Nebraska that make our Christmases so special.  I hope you had a wonderful Christmas, surrounded by family, friends, and whatever makes you happiest.