A Whole Lot of Changin' Goin' On.

FYI: My Sister is a Pampered Chef Consultant and I agreed to host a party for her; Friday, November 20th @ 6:30 PM. If, by some unfortunately oversight, you did not receive an invitation to this party; and would like to attend- just let me know and I'll get the information to you. The more the merrier!

SOOO "cliche", but so true: "The only thing constant in life, is change".

The good change, for us:


Nick's Mini Cooper arrived, safe and sound, from Texas. As I mentioned previously, Nick bought the car off of eBay, from a BMW dealership on Plano, TX. I kept repeating that I hoped this would turn out to be a screaming deal, for us. Rather than a cautionary tale.
I did get a little worried at one point when I called the transport company that was shipping the car to UT and their "hold" music was MJ's Smooth Criminal- on repeat! Fortune was on our side, though, and things went well. Nick loves his new ride.


One (of the two) exterior projects on the house that I wanted to have completed was done. Nick and his Dad put up the shutters, and they look great! I am hoping to have the vinyl porch railing done next year. Keep your fingers crossed for me!


Obviously (as you can see from the shutter picture), we also had our first substantial snowfall. I put Reagan in her little snow suit and boots. As soon as we got outside she did a face-plant in to the snow. I picked her up and cleaned her off, but also took this picture. Nick said it was mean of me to take pictures of our daughter crying, but I think it is comical. Besides, after she realized that the snow wasn't going to kill her she had a great time. She picked up on the fact that eating snow is apparently, delicious, all on her own. Smart girl! I am sure that if Nick were writing this post he would insert some joke about staying away from the yellow snow, right here- but I like to think I am above such humor. Love you, dear!


The biggest change that I am absolutely loving, are the changes we made to the interior fireplaces! We moved the Wood Burning stove downstairs. And I had the space left vacant by the move: fitted with a gas fireplace insert. You can see the "before and after" above. To make this change happen, I was on a pretty tight budget. Ideally, I would have loved to rip the brick out and replace it with stone and a gigantic mantle. However, I still love how it turned out. You can make things just as pretty, even when you are pinching your pennies!

Lastly, the not so great change: and also my reason for not blogging as much lately.... I have been thinking and thinking about whether I ought to even mention anything. The argument in my head: " It has been such a big part of our life the past few weeks, I don't know how I can not mention it". "However, I don't want my blogging about it to turn in to a pity party, that all of my readers are invited to...". So, I'll keep it concise.
UT Albertson's were purchased by the locally owned Associated Foods. The buyout has not gone smoothly, and it seems that there has been zero communication between the "higher-ups" and the employees. Nick still has a job, but he no longer has a contract with his employer. This little paragraph of explanation is just the tip of the iceberg- to say the least! All I can ask for is that everyone send "happy thoughts" our way, while we try to wade through this unexpected mess. There are a lot of hard decisions that need to be made, and what I wouldn't give to own a crystal ball to see the future and what will be the best for our family.
I'll cut away from being all "cryptic". And conclude with wishing everyone a Happy Thanksgiving! I, for one, and thankful for the continued readership and comments that my blog receives!