So lucky

I'm assuming that if you read my blog on a regular basis, it's probably because you're in a similar stage in life. Maybe you're in your late 20's-early 30's. Or you're married. Or you have a baby/babies. Or you manage a hectic full time job. Whatever relates to you, it's something that we have in common.

I've found that having all those things going for me (except the 30's thing....yuck), I know that I maybe do not have all the time I used to have for friends. It is not something that I wanted to happen or planned even. Things get moving and people get busy. And I am certainly the worst at keeping up with friendships- I've said that before.

But I'm still very lucky in that I have amazing friends that were made in college and those that still want to put up with me- have stuck around.

For instance, my little sister in the sorority, Deanna, has always been such a lovely and charming person. She is amazing. Through everything, she has never forgotten about me or anything. In fact, she so sweetly sent me an adorable bamboo heart plant today. I am not a major green thumb but I am so excited to see how it grows and have it grace my home. I cannot thank her enough for such a cute gift- especially for no reason at all.

As promised: The kitchen (before pics)

When we were dating, I was still living at home and Noah was in Annville. I decided I would make dinner for my parents and I...well, it didn't go well. Knowing that my skills in the kitchen were sub-par, I figured making spaghetti would be easy. Boil the noodles and put the jar of Prego on top. Simple right? Well when it was time to drain the noodles, I knew exactly what to do. I've watched my mom cook for years and she just holds the lid on and drains things. I can do that too!

Yeah right...

As I was draining the boiling water, I realized that the steam was quite warm on my arm and needed to rotate my arm a bit to keep my arm hair from burning off. When I did, the worst happened.

You know how when you dump pasta, a few noodles ALWAYS stick to the pot. No matter what right? Why doesn't every noodle come out of the pot? It's like someone added super glue to the pot when the noodles were boiling. Well, not when you're me. When I rotated my arm, EVERY, and I mean EVERY noodle, dumped right into the sink.

If you know me, you know that patience is not my strong suit. I immediately threw the pot and lid into the opposite side of the sink, picked up a STEAMING HOT pile of pasta, threw it in the pot and ran back to my room like a pouting child dragging pieces of spaghetti noodles behind me like my blankie. At that time, I called Noah crying that our children would starve because I can't even make spaghetti. He assured me that we would be fine, as would our children, but at that moment, I was completely over the kitchen and all it offers- or in my case, lack thereof.

So needless to say and as I've mentioned before...I hate being in the kitchen. It is probably my least favorite room to work in, clean, and organize. Don't get me wrong. I'm happy when the job is done but because I don't usually cook, getting rid of stuff is not my favorite task. The kitchen is Noah's sanctuary. He is such an amazing cook and really does enjoy working in the kitchen. Apparently it relaxes him. I don't understand how because I just get more anxious and worked up while cooking, but apparently it's stress relief for my wonderful husband.

Well, Noah is also a gadget guy. We have EVERY man-made gizmo that slices, peels, holds, chops, minces, dices, or any other kitchen based step. We have it. And of course, Noah wants to keep for that one time when we make that fancy dessert that calls for this and has to be presented in a fancy way.

Meanwhile, you can picture the look on my face. And my thoughts...well... those shouldn't be written in blog format.

So here are the before pictures of our messy and cluttered kitchen. I will warn you that some pictures will not be posted out of sheer embarrassment. The updated look and pictures will be posted as soon as I get the entire kitchen the way I want it. I'm still working out small kinks but it will be by the end of the week, I assure you.

And please don't judge...I'm usually avoiding this part of my home.

spice cabinet

my kitchen table is a dumping ground- this is a great day

everything is on the counters- no work space

yeah that's where the plastic high chair tray should be- on the STOVE?!

stuff all over the island

in the sunroom, pots and pans just sit out because we can't fit them in the red cabinet

this is the red cabinet- drawer is broken and the doors don't shut because of so much crap

high chair tray and the hand held Dyson...on the chair.

try getting something out of the back of that...yeah

it's ok but the cabinets are bowing from too much weight

there are 14 Nalgene bottles...for 2 people that raring hike. yeah...again

This cabinet is really deep but you can never get to it

we can never get the measuring cups figured out

cook books that are NEVER used because we have the internet

gadget drawer

how many pairs of tongs does one chef need??

at least 3 apparently? and yes that keeps the drawer from opening

top of the fridge is the second most used dumping ground

It's been a while...

With school/work, the baby, and being sick, I can honestly say, I have had no motivation to blog. And I truly enjoy blogging. I like to watch the counter on how many people have viewed the blog and I always hope for comments. But frankly, I've been blah lately.

Blame the weather. Blame the time of year. Blame not being able to shake this cold. Blame great shows being DVR'ed. Blame what you want but I haven't had the time and certainly not the motivation to blog. Also, I'm not sure that organizing my kitchen is really something people want to read about. Well, I have to be honest again...that is exactly what I plan to blog about.

So as a warning: The next few blogs may be about the mess that is my kitchen- before and after pictures will be included. It is my least favorite room in the house...I'll explain in blogs-to-be. It will be a thorough cleaning and de-cluttering series and if you feel the need to ask questions about anything kitchen related, please don't hesitate.

I hope to hear from you soon. Please feel free to send organizing issues my way and I'll answer as soon as possible!

What's your anti-psychotic?

Today was not a great day. Well, this week hasn't been the best. To start, I haven't been able to shake this cold. It started a little over a month ago, seemed to go away, and then after last weekend, flared back up. And, this is a little known fact about me, one of the worst feelings for me is having a stuffy nose. It may be stupid but that is one of the worst feelings to me. I can be achy, tired, or in pain but a stuffy nose is the absolute worst for me.

Aside from that, I'm having a very difficult time with my students right now. I still care about all of them but I'm quickly losing patience. I know they are in high school and still have a lot of growing to do but when I answer the same question over a million times, the directions are printed (and online), and it's written on the board, I have a really hard time keeping my cool. Needless to say, I'm hitting my limit of sanity.

And then to top it off, a student told me today that although I look nice today, most days I "look like a total mess". Nice... So yeah. I wasn't in the greatest of moods after this week.

So here's my question...when you have a crappy day/week/etc., what do you do to cheer yourself up?

I came home and watched an episode of "The Office". Although I love that show, I was still in a crappy mood when finishing. My husband comes home and somehow makes it all better. We end up dancing in the kitchen...to everything. And I mean everything. From Johnny Cash's "Ring of Fire" to The Peanuts theme to "She get it from her momma"- yeah you read that right. Then some musical numbers, Trace Adkins, and Nickelback. Don't judge.

What's your anti-psychotic?

And I'm back...

First, I want to apologize for not being around for a few days. On Friday, we went to Chambersburg to visit my parents and sister. Every year, the town throws a great icefest and chili cook off. I love the little town festivals and this is one of them.

IceFest is a great time when local businesses pay for ice sculptures and they line the main street of the town. Then we all walk around the town and look at all of the ice sculptures. There are tents to visit as well. To try the 30 or so types of chili, you pay to get in and sample the chili and beer. (smelly!) This year, we didn't do that because Ayden was with us and frankly it was WAY too cold. So instead, we walked the streets, ate some food (KETTLE CORN!!! YAY) and enjoyed each others company.

Enjoy the pictures! I'll be back with organizing soon. 

Just a little frosty mug

Hope they aren't sensitive to cold

Trying to stay warm

This makes total sense.

Vroom!

The whole group

For all my Alpha Taus!

I like turtles!

Yes Noah mounted it.

Phila!!!

See...I told ya!

Rawr!

Honest Abe

Huddled for warmth...and kisses!