Luxury Madness.

Our water has been out since last Thursday.

I would like to be able to say this is a "first world problem" but I think it might be more of a "third world problem".

We got back from Kauai Thursday evening (I know.  I know.  I shouldn't even bring that up) and I was EXHAUSTED (oh . . poor Sabrina . . so tired from the vacation traveling!) and was looking forward to brushing my teeth, taking a hot shower and heading straight to bed.

Turn on the faucet.  Nothing.  WTH?!

BOYD!!!!!!!!!

Long story short . . . our pump is broken.  So we have buckets of water to pour into the toilet so that we can still flush every so often (we are on the strict code of: "If its yellow, let it mellow.  If its brown flush it down".  I hate this rule.  

I have stopped drinking water in hopes of not having to pee.

Boyd at one point made the comment:  

"Since when is running water an aphrodisiac for you."

*****

Recap of Vacation:

Kauai is fabulously gorgeous.  The food was wonderful (I may have eaten 20+ fish tacos while there) and Boyd was able to surf to his heart's content.  Boyd made me take videos of all his "awesomeness" but due to lame content no videos will be posted. 

Me:  "I know you FEEL like Tarzan swinging on a rope and jumping in a river but unfortunately the video camera does not see it this way."

He has no idea how he snagged me . . . rare gem that I am. :)

Randomly, Boyd's college buddy, Casey and his wife Sabina (CRAZY, right?!) were also vacationing on Kauai while we were there.  So we hung out and it was great.  Where else should old friends meet up for a mini-reunion but in Hawaii. 

A few pics:

Waimea Canyon.  Lovely

Backyard view from our B&B

Morning coffee

Boyd and Casey on our boat tour

Driveway to our first B&B

Boyd!

We went on a few hikes

Yeah! Celebrating 12+ years of marriage.

A lovely river with rope swing.  No snakes in Hawaii.  How great is that?!

Wailua Falls

Na Pali Coast

See what I mean.  Fantastic.

I'm not going to lie though.  The weather was rainy off and on and not as hot as I would have liked.  BUT I still managed to get sunburned and walk around without layers of clothing on so this is definitely a WIN.

Also, the first B&B was a little tough for me.  I hit the nail on the head with "adventurous" but my high maintenance side of me said . . . "I want my own bathroom".

I'm so weird.

The second B&B was great.  No complaints.

*****

I sent in our tax paperwork.  Hooray!  Now we just hold our breath and cross our fingers.  I have a feeling that other people handle taxes much more responsibly than us but I have yet to find a system that works for me except PANIC when it hits March 1 and curse and sweat and curse again that I can't find "x document".

*******

I ALMOST FORGOT!  Sister2 had her baby.  Finally!

While I was on vacation, of course.

And I nearly had a panic attack and called the hospital because the texts were very vague as to how baby and mother were doing. 

 Yes.  I have anxiety issues.

But all is well and I proudly introduce my new niece:  

Elliette "Ellie" Anne King.

Such a sweet baby.

We quickly introduced her to Target.  And yes, for those curious:
It is annoying to have really pretty sisters.

******

That is all.  Boyd just barged in and said "TRY THE SHOWER!"

Yes, I live in a house filled with LUXURY MADNESS.

And the Crowd Goes Wild.

Saturday Brother2 had his final 8th grade basketball tourney.
Boyd and Jordan coached.  

I thought the coaches and the boys did a great job
but I may be a little biased.

It was bittersweet.

On the one hand the the guys all worked really hard.  

Great intensity.

But on the other hand all 3 games were lost by 2 points.

However, we did win the best-looking-coaches-award.

Win.

The last game we played, a mother of the opposing team stood up, turned around and literally did a "hulk roar with the flex" to our crowd, right after they won with a last second shot.  

  I was dumbstruck - first of all by the very good impersonation of the "hulk" (one of my favorite Avengers) and secondly, that she had such courage and sense of freedom to pull off such a roar.

  It was Impressive.

I didn't know if I should laugh or run screaming from the building.

So I just laughed nervously. 

Boyd didn't think I should name the town since the entire state of SD is "local" - so I will only give a hint: 

Starts with C and ends with "astlewood".

What would we do without small town rivalry?

Be kind to one another?

Yuck.

In other news, it is raining outside.

The wind is howling.

And our power just went out.

When I Grow Up.

First of all, please know that I am only writing a post so that I can reach my goal of 2 posts per month.

Lofty overachieving is the name of my game.

Here is my obsession for the minute: I am always amazed when people are so SURE about what they want to do with their lives. I have no clue. I started at college going for an education degree. Then I switched gears and got my graphic design degree instead because the classes were a lot more fun. Student teaching vs photography class? Easy Decision.

And then I tried to get a job. And who knew that the graphic design industry was rather saturated?! So I've been doing admin work for the past 10+years.  

Sometimes I think about painting furniture for a living. Or getting my interior design license. Or becoming an expert gardener and selling produce in the summer. Or maybe I could have a water restaurant on my pontoon and sell burgers and hotdogs to all the summer fishermen and recreationists. Or maybe work my blog more.

And then I remember that I need to make more than "tens of dollars".

******

We leave for vacation soon. And yes, I'm bragging. I just got a reminder of our reservation at one of the B&B and the instruction was to "bring a flashlight and your directions". Jealous? I also know that our "hut" has no bathroom which means I will be hiking through the jungle to find a toilet. Screw you 5 star resorts! We LIKE to be uncomfortable. Which leads me to our house updates . . . . .

*******

We have a stove! And it works!

Now for walls.

And to finish all the floors.



This is after Boyd tore up linoleum.  Then we scraped the glue (black stuff)



This is the finished product.

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Basketball season is over which is a bummer because now we have to TRY and be sociable. 

*********

Boyd and I have gotten quite a bit of snow shoeing and cross country skiing in. I find this makes winter tolerable.  We also volunteered at the Bryant Cinema recently and thoroughly burned the popcorn.

We suckered some friends to help us out.  Tx Lance and Carissa!

*********

I know the greatest people.  Here is an example:  my friend Shawna (from Minnesota) was telling me about her weekend (we are devoted email buddies). She and her cousin rescued a dog running down the middle of Interstate 169 in the Twin Cities. After running after it and having several people also pull over and help them, they finally captured this dog.  After about 3 hours of dog duty, they got a call from the neighbor of the dog's owner who was checking messages for her neighbor, who was in the hospital with her dying husband. Ugh. Today Shawna emailed me and said she received flowers with the following note:

Dear Rescuing Guardian Angel Girls – Thank you with all my heart for rescuing and taking such good care of my dog on Saturday.　I’m not sure if you’re aware that my husband passed away that same day.　 I’m not sure I could have handled another loss.　I can’t even express how grateful I am in words that are strong enough.　I hope someday when you’re in need you’ll find angels along your highway too.　
Love, Linda and Dash

I love it when people actually CARE. Shawna cared about a dumb dog running down a highway. That dumb dog happens to be giving comfort to a woman in pain. I wish it were more common to hear "Good Samaritan" stories. I know there are people out there doing good things . . . . why don't we hear more about them?

Then Shawna told me the story of how she received a bottle of Steak Sauce from Wells Fargo as an apology for taking so long on her refinancing.  

*******

Here is proof that I probably am not a Good Samaritan:

Nice.  Sav age 7; Me age 14

*******

I meant to send out Christmas Cards.  Fail.

Then I was all on board to send out Valentine's Day cards.  Fail.

So.

Happy Late Winter Everyone.



.







Dr. Oz can kiss my . . . .

We have moved into the new house. Its not "comfortable" as of yet but its ours. For example: the toilet works (one of my "hard" conditions) but the bathroom sink does not. So I have the dilemma of either going downstairs to wash my hands or nixing personal hygiene.
At this point I’m pretty much 50/50.

We have a fridge but no stove.

We have a furnace but no duct work.

I’m freezing. All the time.

Then I got a letter from my compassion child in the mail where she tells me about how they get water through a pipe and wash their clothes in the sink on Sundays.

Spoiled brat.

I’ve recently decided I should start exercising.

But that seems like a lot of work. The personal trainer that works there always gives me a weird look when I walk through the door. ALMOST as if she is questioning my dedication to the exercise.

What I really want to say is:
"I’m just here to take a shower. Its way too cold at my house."

Seriously though . . . . does anyone else have the problem of what follows mentally when you start to exercise??? Not only do you start to weigh yourself every week, but it is as though an AVALANCHE of other "good things" to do start to raise their ugly heads. Gosh. Well . . since you are exercising you should really know that berries fight cancer. So eat GOBS of berries. Don’t eat carbs. Ever. Except when they are good for you. (Wait a minute . . . ) Don’t eat meat - but get enough protein. Unless you read this article where it says you should only eat meat. An apple a day keeps the doctor away. But not apple juice - that is dangerous. Crossword puzzles keep you sharp, along with the color purple (maybe this is a connection to the berries?!). Red wine is good for your heart. But watch those calories!

Do your devotions. Stretch every morning. You really should get more organized. Get that meal chart made. Start using a chiropractor and don’t forget the massage. And maybe start plucking your eyebrows. But not your gray hair - apparently that is a big fat no-no. You need to go in every 6 weeks to keep your hair healthy and good heavens what do you mean you don’t color your hair?! You don’t want to actually look like you are in your 30s do you?! Get on the botox train you silly girl.

I now feel a lot of anxiety.

Hello comfort food and nice soft bread. And yes, I would also like to order 2 large caramel rolls but sprinkle some bacon bits on top for the all important protein. A girl has to eat her breakfast - after all, it is the most important meal of the day.

Still Winter.

I am an overachiever by writing twice in the month of January.  Twice!  I'm patting myself on the back right now.

We threw Sister2 an Open House baby shower recently.  I took a shower in honor of this event.

In all seriousness . . thank you to all who stopped out.  It was very special.

*****

Boyd came home from the house this weekend and exclaimed:  "We have hot water AND there will not be ANY sand in the water when we use it!"

I was not aware that this was something to be thankful for:

Thank you Lord for no sand in our water.  Amen.

********

Dad really likes "Lucky".  Lucky is the largest cat ever.  The irony is that Dad pretends he doesn't like cats and will complain if they are "spoiled" (i.e. me feeding them actual CAT food).  But then he says in a moment of forgetfulness: "Lucky is so big now, that I have to wear my largest coat to be able to carry him with me."  

Translation:  Dad will zip up Lucky in his coat and carry him around with him as he works.

Cat Hater.

******

Mom was showing off a little china plate she found in their tree belt.

Does this seem strange?

Our bathroom sink was also a tree belt treasure - found by Boyd.

Apparently it is a gold mine out there.

*******

I made some little Valentine's Day decor.  Message or email me if interested.

slknudsen7@yahoo.com

Blocks of wood.  These are $10 each.  

Mom is making these cute "Home" signs.  $34/each

Speaking of sale stuff . . . I have scheduled the next Lucky Day Sale for the weekend of May 17th.  I'm hoping it will take place on my property.  Stay tuned.  I may be entirely way too optimistic which is not something I'm typically accused of.

********

We were supposed to have book club tonight but then it began to sleet.  This really bummed me out but did remind me to give a book update.  

Our book club selection this month was:  

The Fault in our Stars by John Green.

Amazing.  I loved it.  It was sad but the writing makes the sadness worth reading.  It was funny.  It was smart.  And it was profound in sections.  

GREAT BOOK.

I also recently read The Princess Bride by William Goldman (although the real author is S. Morgenstern but Goldman does the abridged version).  I'm assuming most of you have seen the movie.  If you have NOT seen the movie stop reading this blog right now and go buy it.  Such a classic.  I was a dope and never realized it was a book first.  

Absolutely Delightful.

I just started The Paris Wife by Paula McLain and I'm very hopeful that this will be good.  It is about Hadley Richardson who was married to Ernest Hemingway.  I find Hemingway an intriguing person so I'm excited to read it.

Moving On. . . .

********

Little Oli loves to paint.  I bought a stool at a garage sale awhile back and he has been busy painting it ever since.  That stool has paid for itself over and over again with the sheer MINUTES of focus it provides this kid.

The little paint footprints crack me up.

******

G has started basketball practice.  He is a 2nd grader.  He is a sharp kid and never forgets when the next practice is much to Sister1's chagrin.  He is one dedicated 8 year old and may already dribble better than I.

Ahhh . . . . the art of Basketball.
An art form I never quite achieved. :)

******

I booked our winter vacation!  We leave for Kauai in March.  The date we leave also happens to be Sister2's due date.  *sigh*.  I'm hoping she arrives early.  I'm ready for warm sunshine.

yeah for vacation AND chest hair!!!
Tulum Mexico 2010

*****

Boyd and I celebrated 12 years of marriage at the end of December.

12!!!

And the good news is that I'm still crazy about him.

Or maybe just crazy.

Machu Picchu, Peru 2008.
This guy is up for traveling.  Anywhere. 

********

House update:  We are not moved in yet.

Be patient.

Because we most certainly are not.

But we still love each other.

Most of the time.

Promise.

And there went December

I am not sure where December went (and frankly January is now half over as well).

I think I will blame the Mayans.

Or Obama.

So . . Christmas happened.

I love Christmas.  But it is exhausting.

Board Sledding.

The Knudsen kids.  NYE at the Goss Opera House

It is hard to believe but no child was hurt.

Boyd and Nephew Jake.  Obviously Boyd is an avid sledder

Also in December:

I may have kicked my family out of their house for a weekend.  Win.

I went cross country skiing with Boyd - - - and somehow i managed to stretch an arm muscle.   Fail.

I keep hoping that coordination will find me at some point . . . but its not looking promising.

I got new snow shoes.   Win.

Boyd got a small compact camp stove.  Win?

Christmas  Done.

********

Litte Oli likes to pray at dinner.

He noticed that people were starting to smile (because seriously how CUTE is that?!) . . . . . 

He states sternly: "This is NOT a funny prayer."

And then he begins:

"Dear Jesus.  Please let us go to the cabin.  And please let papa, deara, cooper, brina, unca boyd, danny, tootles, jordan,  . . . . . . (you get the idea)

What a gem.

*****

A few "recents"

Dad comes in the house.  "I'm so sweaty".

And promptly takes off his shirt.

WHY am I still living here?!

****

Dad talking to Savanna (who is preggo)

Do you get swollen a lot from sitting all day at work?  Are you able to walk around?

Sav:  Not really.

Dad:  Because . . we always made our cows walk for water and that seemed to help.

********

I started a list of resolutions.  First on my list was to BE KIND.

Fail.

******

And now Blizzard Gandolph is upon us (although just rain at this point).  And for some reason Sister1 and boys, Sister2 and Jordan are all spending the night.  G has just made his "bed" on the floor of our room.

It promises to be an interesting weekend.

An Attempt.

I have no idea if this will go over but I thought it was worth a try.

I am going to attempt to try and sell a few items through this blog occasionally.  If I don't have takers, then I won't waste my time any more with it.

So . . without further ado here are the following items for sale:

*********

Winter Wonderland signs - $26/big and $22/small

Baby, its Cold Outside - $14

This is a really crappy picture.  let me know if you want measurements.

These cute little winterland scenes in a jar:  $10/small or $12/big

And last but not least my friend Kim makes these fabulous gloves!  I am only posting a few pics but she has quite a few - they are $32/each and are touch screen for all you savvy iphoners.

This guy has been on my nerves lately.  He makes large messes, typically hits his head somehow and may be heard cursing from time to time.  He may also be for sale.

Please email me at slknudsen7@yahoo.com if you want something and we can work out the details from there.

*******

Was that annoying?  Are you more interested in furniture?  Or nothing at all?  I'm curious.

*******

The bedroom is basically done.  Doors still need to be hung, floors washed, etc BUT I'm calling it done.  I love the color AND I love my new little chair from my friend Natalie.  Stinking adorable.

********

I think that is all for now.  I feel like I have been in a holding pattern lately - - trying to find joy and gratitude in the mundane and the slow process of the house.  It is hard to not play the game of:  "Once this gets done THEN I will be happy.  Or when we can finally move in, THEN things will be better."  I have found that this rarely solves anything.  There is just a new hurdle to overcome.  And frankly . . who am I kidding - - my hurdles are typically insignificant in the large scope of things.

So.  Yes.  It is annoying to have to drive to the gas station every time I have to use the bathroom . . . but is it worth really whining over?

Probably.

*******

I hope the holiday season is treating you all wonderfully.