Tired of being tired?

Five simple things

1.  This Moment....

Actually this didn't make the week awesome, it made the week miserable.  We don't think it was the flu, but it put us down for at least six days.  I was able to get a lot of work done on my laptop, so there's a positive.  PITA is a snuggle-er, so he and Baz took turns keeping company with everyone laid up until this morning.  We are all finally feeling better, but wow, what a miserable week.  

 2. This Rain.


These images are from last week, but we still haven't had a break in the rain here.  I like the rain, but days of it is getting a bit exhausting.  Hopefully we will have a change-up soon....possibly some snow?  

3.  These Tickets/Shirts/and Z-Scale Trains.

  






Can you see the hikers?



I went to my first train show with the Mr. and the Bean.  This train show was pretty interesting with all of the different setups and scales of train sizes.  My favorite was the Z-Scale size.  How delicate that pieces were and how detailed the landscapes are.  The boys are at a train show today too, but I decided to stay home for this one.  I can't wait until they return and tell me all about what they saw.

4.  This Robin.

Even though it's been raining a ton here the birds are clearly enjoying it.  This little Robin has been splashing about in the birdbath every morning without fail.  I placed some birdseed in the bath to encourage her to return.  She seemed to have loved the treat and I enjoyed watching her play.

5.  This Moment with The Mr.

  
The Mr. enjoyed a year with his Fantasy Football Trophy for 2014, but this year he wasn't so lucky and lost it to another team.  He got his name engraved on the trophy though, so that was a pretty cool recognition for him.  (Even if it was all in "fantasy")



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Our Garden Currently: Winter cleanup


Our garden right now is looking quite sad.  I wish I could say that we have the most amazing winter garden going on and that we have cold-weather crops in full display, but that just isn't the case.  Although, we do have plans on cleaning it up and moving things around.  It has even made the Mr. and my resolutions list on things to do.  

The most important thing is to imagine a space that we would be happy with when we harvest each year.  We sat down one night and came up with a solution to the over-crowding in our raised beds.
  
Of course, this is just a rough outline, things may change.  We want to have some sort of walkway through the garden and we feel the beans/peas, or both may give us the coverage over the walkway that we are looking for.  I was thinking that morning glory would be a good one too, but we'll see.


I'm in love with the front entry of this house. I'm not sure where the photo came from or who it belongs to, but I just love it. Living in a city it would be a great way to break your property from the city streets. And the balcony.....*swoon*

  
(Source for both photos)
I've recently been finding an interest in roses.  I have been following a few pin boards on rose planting, pruning, and cutting, but I still couldn't figure out a good way to grow them where we live.  If you know anything about Oregon, you know that Portland is the Rose City, so roses grow fantastic here.  Finally, I came across an idea.  The pictures above are from the Lady Carnarvon's blog.  Who is Lady Carnarvon, you might ask?  She is the current countess at Highclere Castle.  What is Highclere Castle?  Well, if you're asking that, then you are really missing out on a lot of great history.  Highclere Castle is Downton Abbey.  Or should I say, Downton Abbey is Highclere Castle.  Well, I digress.  The roses pictured above are from the gardens of Highclere and I love how they are shown here.  The one on the left is a great way to grow them and I am having the Mr. currently design me something similar for when we move into our own home.  The picture on the right is a great way to grow the roses while we live in the city.  Although, we don't own the property here, I don't want to plant anything directly into the earth and not be able to take it when we leave.  I hope my roses look just as lovely as Lady Carnarvon's do.

We also want to do something similar to the trees in front of the house.  Mowing in a tiny circle is getting annoying, so we feel this would be a great solution and be more appealing.  We have a lot of bricks when the neighbor had us help tear out the old fireplace in his house. We may do something similar, or just stick to bark mulch. We'll see. 


Hopefully the spring cleanup will go well and we can have everything simplified and pretty. I'll post soon!


What happened this time last year?
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Five simple things

1.  This Oven/This Shower Curtain and Rod.
It's official!  We finally got ourselves a new oven and I am more than tickled with the one we got.  It's a Whirlpool Oven with an electric range (where we live doesn't have a gas option, unfortunately).  I personally prefer gas ranges, myself.  Mainly for these reasons: 1.  I grew up in the country and when the power goes out, guess what, your oven is out.  With gas, even if your power goes, you can still cook something.  Where we lived in Arkansas the power was out at least twice a week.  We had a gas range then and were always able to cook dinner still.  We had a baby too, so it was nice.  2.  Gas ranges seem to cook food more evenly.  It's just a personal preference thing really, and has nothing to do with anyone's cooking.  I prefer cooking on gas, but electric has taken some time getting used to while where we live now.  But all of that aside, this oven is great!  I can't wait to break it in with a new batch of scones/cookies/breads/chicken dishes.  I will have the inside in need of a clean soon-and it's a self-cleaning oven!  *Squee* (Cleaning a non-self cleaning oven)

We were definitely in need of an upgrade.  Our old oven was a Whirlpool too, but with the new one I am glad to be done with the coiled heating elements.




And the shower curtain.........

  

FINALLY we are on the right track with upgrades in the Hiatt House.  Most of these things will be left behind when we move, but while we are here, might as well make it amazing.  Right?  We finally made the shift from a straight curtain rod to a curved one.  We have such a small bathroom that it gives the illusion of a bigger shower.  The Mr. loved it-more room to shave.  And that shower curtain....I just can't get enough of it.  The Mr. was in Search and Rescue for many years, so he loved it.  It's from Izola and in the pattern of Scout.  I got this one through Birchbox and used some points to get a discount.  You can get it here.  (If you're curious, this is the curtain rod)

If you can see the older rod here.


2.  This Examiner Article by me.

A few tips on reducing your carbon footprint on the planet.  No matter who you are, you can't help but leave some sort of print on the earth while you're here and even when you're gone, but you can reduce that print in more ways than you might think.  You can check out the article here.


3.  This Geocache.

It has been one of my favorites so far.  We are loving Geocaching, but since we were already treasure hunters, it's no wonder.  Can you see this Geocache?  It's right before your eyes....hint hint.  If you're into Geocaching check out our new Willamette Valley Geocachers page on Facebook.

4.  This Oregon Signs.


  



When we stayed in Sunriver toward the end of summer in 2013, we loved the house we were in so much.  It was almost like a cabin in the woods and deer came right up to the front porch.  I couldn't get enough of Sunriver too. The entire area is flanked with forest and the homes blend into the scenery.  We were really bummed to leave and have looked into trips there again.  These Oregon signs hung throughout the home and I just loved how they highlighted the best places in Oregon.  If you are looking for a trip idea, check out Sunriver.  It's definitely one of Oregon's greatest highlights.

5.  This Influenster Vox Box.


If you've noticed the little blue Influenster tag on the right-hand side of my page (at the bottom of the sidebar) then you have known I've been part of Influenster for awhile now.  Well, last month I was one of the few that got chosen to be part of the Slimfast #Itsyourthing Campaign.  I received some snacks, a shake, and some promo flyers on the new Slimfast shakes and 100 calorie snacks.  I was a worried that the snacks and the shakes would taste bland, but I was pleasantly surprised.  The ones in the picture above are my favorite grab-and-go snack of choice.  They taste amazing!  They are the perfect light snack to grab when I am craving something sweet and with only 100 calories, it's totally a cheat meal.  You can join Influenster here, and take advantage of the Slimfast #Itsyourthingcampaign here.

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• This Cleansing Moment.

I've been clearing the negative out of our space since the first of the year by burning white sage.  It's such a nice, woodsy scent and I feel that the space is a bit more clear after a burn.


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Friday things

It's another week of January coming to an end.  The Mr. and I have been on a sleep-catch up mode for the last week or so.  It seems we just can't get enough sleep.  We are thinking it may be time to invest in a mattress topper.  We have been looking at the memory-foam toppers, but can't seem to settle on the exact one that peeks our fancy.  Update on that once we finally commit.  So here are the things that made this week amazing!

1.  This Patient Waiter.

The boys went with Bazels to the park to play with the helicopters they received for Christmas.  Poor PITA was patiently waiting for their return.  The Mr. got his helicopter from The Bean and me and The Bean received his from cousins. Although the Mr.'s is one that is fitted with a lot more gadgets, The Bean can get a feel for the one he got before buying him a more expensive model.  Baz has had a bit of arthritis in his hips-he turned 15 in 2015-so he needed the exercise more than PITA.

2.  This Jewelry.

I am loving my Yogi Surprise Jewelry Box!  It comes at the same time as my Yogi Surprise Lifestyle Box and it's the best subscription box I've had yet.  I get excited like a little kid every time it's on my doorstep.  If you don't get this box, you can try a month here.


 3. Honest Valentine's Day Diaper Print

How fun are these?  The Honest Company is always coming up with such fun things.  Now you can dress your baby out in their Valentine's Day Diaper Print.  Makes me want to stock up on them (just in case).


4.  Google's Image for Martin Luther King Day.

I really like how Google recognizes certain people in their image main page.  This past Monday was Martin Luther King day.  The Bean (Skylar-Braden) and I did a few things to honor the day.  We will have those updates soon on the classroom blog.


5.  This Sharpshooter.

    
My brother and sister-in-law got the Bean a Union Berdan Sharpshooters jacket and pants to match his hat he already had. (They got him the hat a few years ago).  He has worn it a lot lately.  It's been so cold here, so it's the perfect jacket to keep him warm, plus he just likes it.  Now to get him some period boots and the rest of the uniform to make him a real Union Sharpshooter. (Photo on the right:  Source)

The Bean also got a haircut and was looking quite fly afterward.  He was glad to get some of the hair out of his face, but he was bummed that the guy cut so much off the top.  I told him that the best thing about hair is, it grows back in no time.  Hopefully in a month the length will be where he wants it.  

  



There was a lot of hair on the floor when the barber finished-Look at all that hair!  It was kind of sad to see the long hair go; He's had it for so long.  The picture below is of the place we take him to get haircuts.  The Mr. has been getting his hair cut there since he was a kid.  It was the same place The Bean got his first hair cut and it's such a nostalgic place for us.




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