Indian Summer

I love this time of year. At certain times on certain days there is a distinct crispness to the air. I find myself drawn to our front porch to visit with our wonderful neighbors as our kids play together. I will miss our little 'situation' here in podunk Clearfield when it's all said and done.

That being said, I've been de-personalizing our house this week. Perhaps I've gone too far in watching the HGTV 'Sell your House'-type shows, but I decided it's worth a try. According to HGTV and staging experts, buyers want to see your house and what it offers (ie square footage, architectural detail, etc). Thus, that also means that buyers are not there to admire your stuff. You are showing them your house not your preference for decor. My mom commented that she'd have thought that people would like pictures around because it makes the house feel homey. I don't know. Perhaps I did jump the gun. All my family photos are now boxed up (and boy, did I have a lot more than I thought).

Maybe I've jinxed us, and now we won't get anyone to even come through to look. Seeing as we're heading into fall this could very well be true...not the best time to have your house on the market. OH well, when it's all said and done, I have that much more already packed---less to do when we do sell. My house does seem to lack a little personality, I will admit. But in a way it may also be a small step toward helping me let go. I have a hard time doing that...with almost everything. I definitely need an adjustment period for change. sigh.

Speaking of change, I got released from my calling as Beehive advisor. The president was so on top of things that when she heard we were on the brink of closing, she found a replacement (who can actually go to Mutual.( Surprisingly, it was a calling that I really didn't mind and looking back, I can see a lot of growth in my teaching and am grateful for that. Other than that, I've been keeping busy doing a bunch of deals... the problem now if having a place to store it all. LOL. I pack to de-clutter but then buy more to take up more room. Smart, Jill, real smart. Oh well, it's all FREE (or mostly so). Who can turn down free stuff (and yes, it is stuff we actually use)?

And I bought myself roses. They were on sale for $3.50 for a dozen long stemmed roses...breathtakingly gorgeous as roses are. couldn't pass it up. I'd rather buy them myself and spend $3.50 than have Andrew (who doesn't 'do deals') splurge and spend $50. (or as he says, I'm just too practical to buy flowers for).

relief and disappointment

So the buyers backed out last night.

(pause...let out a collective sigh)

But despite the disappointment of the waiting and wondering and stressing finally coming to a head, I am relieved...like a deflated balloon. These last few weeks have been heinous at times, not physically speaking so much, but mentally. I worry...and worry and stress and stress and go through every case scenario possible. And with this culmination of events I am decidedly ready to breathe. I wasn't much looking forward to packing up our house in the next week or so to be out by the end of the month--no new house to move in to because we'd just started looking on Monday. I had resigned myself to the fact that I would just hold off on preschool (surely making my daughter fall drastically behind her peers due to my lack of parenting/planning) and move in with my mom while our household items sat stored in some POD--the storage location of which i hadn't figured out yet.

I have to admit I was nervous about everything at that point because so many things seemed to be getting in the way of our stars aligning. I am not fixed on the notion that there is a knock-you-over reassurance when finding a house; however, despite seeing several nice homes which would serve us well in the future, I didn't feel that CLICK...like 'yes, i can imagine us here.' And despite my inclination to stress in general, so many other little things seemed to just not sit right.
And so I sit here now and bask in the probably fleeting moments of relief and serenity until hopefully another offer comes along and the whole process starts over again. I get to enjoy my cute, little house for a little while yet to come and am grateful for times that things work and sometimes don't work out.

Birthday Fun

At the Davis County Fair petting zoo

riding the grand champion hog and a pony named Charlie

Lily had such a fun birthday weekend. On Friday (her actual birthday), our little family of four went to the Davis County Fair. The girls had fun petting all the animals in the petting zoo. Zoe is wary of anything alive (big or small) getting in her space, so she enjoyed them from afar for the most part. Lily got to ride a grand champion hog and then it was off to the pony rides. For the 45 minute wait-in-line the two minutes she got to ride seemed really short, but she loved it. She found a stick-pony at one of the booths and used part of her birthday money from Grandma and Grandpa Fedor to get it. She named it Charlie after the real pony she rode. (top left collage pic)

Saturday, Grandma and Grandpa Allred took her to the Teddy Bear Stuffing factory in the mall. Once she saw a horse as one of her options she had eyes for nothing else. She dressed it in a purple (her fave color) tutu-dress with a purple flower headband and named it...Helen. (top middle collage pix) We don't know when she's ever heard the name 'Helen' but that's what it is.

Then, on Sunday, we had our extended family join us for her birthday celebration. She got spoiled and loves all the wonderful princess, pony and fairy stuff she got. She will be a happy, busy little girl. She had a princess cake (bottom middle collage pix) and loved licking all the frosting. Thanks to everyone who came to help us celebrate. Lily was so sad to see you go.

Then, on a side note, we have been in the midst of solidifying our house sale. We got an offer and are working out the nitty gritty right now. The catch is that they want us to be out by the end of the month so their kids can start school; however, with how much time it takes for the appraisal, inspection etc., I don't know if that's going to be possible (or at least without me having some kind of stress break-down). It's hard to really get started because there's always the possibility it won't go through, and I don't want to have my house half packed to only be disappointed by some glitch. So we're holding our breath and waiting. It's going to be an interesting next two weeks. Most likely we'll have to move in with my mom until we can find a house and close. And of course I just enrolled Lily in preschool and will now have to cancel her spot seeing as we most likely won't be up here for her to attend. That's actually my biggest stressor...figuring out what to do about preschool now. I'm hoping there will be somewhere that will accept her after the school year has started. Andrew tells me I worry and stress too much, but he doesn't do it enough so I feel like I have to do it for the both of us. ha!

Our Three-Year-Old

August 15, 2008

Happy 3rd Birthday, Lily Belle!

We love you always and all ways!

For Lily as you turn 3:

You are a chatterbox and love to talk. Your endless questions and boundless energy gives Mom and Dad a run for their money. You love the color purple and love coloring with your 'marters and hwans' (markers and crayons). Before you go to bed you want to always read 'a cuppa more stories' and you have to have your 'bintly' (blanket) and your stuffed dog, Beemer. You have a love for animals...especially horses and anything little. Disney movies and cartoons are your favorite thing to watch, and you love getting your toenails painted. In fact, you often say to me, "see my toenails coming off..need to paint em again." You LOVE milk and enjoy 'snoot snats' (fruit snacks) and 'tlotlit or 'anilla icehweam' (chocolate or vanilla ice cream). In addition to loving all the Disney princesses, you also love The Little Einsteins and Super Why. You love all meat (including fish) and sweets but don't so much like vegetables in general. You have such a tender heart and are so sensitive We love you more and more each day. Thank you for bringing such joy to our hearts and lives. We love you, Punkin!

You can see she's a beautiful girl, she's a beautiful girl
And everything around her is a silver pool of light
The people who surround her feel the benefit of it
It makes you calm
She holds you captivated in her palm. --KT Tunstall

Dinosaur Museum and family pix

Here are some pix of Lily and her cousin, Noah, at the Dinosaur Museum in Ogden. We were able to spend the afternoon with the Pedersens from Logan and had a great time. We also went to the ever-reliable Costco for a cheap dinner and family-friendly date place.

The pix below are from the Allred wedding and the August family party...various shots taken by my sister, Torrie. Thanks for being an opportunistic photog and getting me in a couple pix to boot (that doesn't happen a lot around our house).

a day late...

So i wanted to post on 08/08/08 but it didn't happen. instead, we had the opportunity to attend the wedding of my step-bro (weird!), Ryan Allred and his now-wife, Heidi Koplin. Andrew wasn't going to come (said he didn't want to use a holiday at work) but took it off last minute. (He says it's because of me but I really know it's because Lily pleadingly approached him yesterday morning and said, "Dad, you come to the wedding with us? See the pretty princess in her white dress?" PUTTY in her hands)
It was in a gorgeous backyard owned by old ward neighbors of mine growing up. It felt like I was in a weird time-warp dimension. All these guys I grew up with, hung out with, and now I see them on such a rare happenstance...older, different and out of place. And I never thought I'd be one of those people who said, 'time passes so quickly...it's been ten years since highschool'. But yes, that's what I think. Can I say, OLD! In my mind's eye I still view those memories of yesteryear as being more recent than they were. Perhaps it's because I don't feel all that old...just in retrospect. (Plus, I'm five years younger than Andrew so I guess I can always use him as an excuse to feel young and dapper! :O) )
To end this random post I will close by saying that I am so grateful for brand-new pruning shears which made dead-heading my roses quite the relaxing activity today.
Until 09/09/09.....