There is a faint glimmer of light at the end of the tunnel.

Well, you can't tell from this picture, but A LOT of work has been done this week on our kitchen. Since my last post we have done some more electrical work, finished hanging sheet rock, taped all the seams and textured the walls and ceiling. We also scraped up the old linoleum floors and took the old carpet out of the dining room. Today the kids and I primed and painted the walls and ceiling. Whew! I am tired just remembering all the work that's been happening.
So now we are getting to the exciting part... putting everything back together. It's funny how you grow to be thankful for the little things when you've gone without everything. Right now I am so excited to have my pantry back come Monday. There's a possibility that we will get more pieces installed on that day but I dare not get my hopes up.
We are really tired of eating frozen food. It just doesn't satisfy the appetite that we have when we've been working all day. And I'm starting to feel kind of crummy from all the processed foods. Don't get me wrong-I'm not some organic eating health nut, but I'm used to home cooked meals and gosh darn it, I MISS THEM! Our friends Jake and Karen were kind enough to have us over for dinner one night this week so that was a really nice break from our pathetic food we've been eating here.
Friday we're leaving for Utah to spend spring break with Grandpa Tom and Grandma Fay. Grandma Fay is the queen of home cooked meals. It will be such a treat for us. Can't wait to come and eat all your food, Fay! hehe
Keaton has decided to go out for tennis this year. In the past he's always done track, but he thought he'd try something new. So far he's enjoying it and coming home tired and sore. Their first match is March 30 and I'm excited to be involved in something new.
Carson had his last basketball game today. His team went undefeated (again). I think the closest game they played was 6 to 24. One of the games was won 0 to 34. That poor team! I felt so sorry for them, I kept wishing our team would just let them have a basket or two. I think it's just a matter of time until the city puts an end to this team Carson always plays on.

Right after spring break is when the track season starts and Jantzen is finally old enough to do it this year. Yippee! She's so excited to finally be able to do what her brothers have been doing every spring. I'm dreading the three hour track meets in the cold and wind, but I guess that's just the way it goes. Until I save enough money to move to Hawaii I guess I'll just have to get used to it.

Here's a few cute pictures from the last week:

Nice safety glasses, huh?

Jantzen LOVES to help clean the bathroom. It probably won't last long enough for her to actually get good at it.

Poor Kamber, she endures so much humilitation!

Welcome to my world, Part 9,765,251

Progress IS being made. I repeat. Progress IS being made!

Despite a couple of minor setbacks, (like electricity running through Chris body a few times), we are making pretty good time on our little project. Check it out:

We have almost finished putting up the sheet rock. All of the old cabinets are out except for the island. I am clinging to the island for dear life because it is a great place to put all our tools while we're working. Well at least that's what I'm telling Chris. Really it's because it holds my ONLY accessible dishes. Without them we would be eating cereal out of a toolbox. I would be slicing apples with a utility knife and and then serving them up on a piece of sandpaper.

Oh yeah, and just when I thought there was nothing more I could possibly lose, Chris found one more thing to take apart...the railing above the stairs.
Nobody has fallen yet, but I know it will probably happen eventually. And I have a feeling it's gonna be me.

Welcome to my world--Part 2

First let's refresh our memories. I'm gonna go back in time to the good ole' days when I could cook whenever I wanted. "What's that you say child? You'd like a sandwich? No problem. I'll have one whipped up for you in 30 seconds or less."

Now we'll fast forward to Monday, the day my world came crashing down on me. The day I lost my oven and my upper cabinets.Notice how we're still smiling here because we haven't...
Done this yet!Did I mention that I lost my ceiling on Monday too? Oh, yeah and lighting. When I lost my ceiling I also lost about 30 degrees in the kitchen and gained a nice breeze which caused a constant rain of insulation on us.
Yesterday things got better...and worse. I got my ceiling back, but I lost my stove, sink, lower cabinets, drinking water from the fridge, walls and ...MY SANITY! All I have left in the world is a fridge and a microwave. Has anyone ever tried to cook a Papa Murphy's pizza in the microwave? Just wondering.

Look me in the eyes and tell me this is not the cutest Scentsy warmer you've ever seen.

And for my music lovers, I had this one made just for you.

Yeah, that's the kind of PULL I have with this company...

Welcome to my world...

And would someone PLEASE save me?

In the interest of full discloure I am showing some pictures that I would never show because my kitchen is THAT UGLY. But you have to be able to compare the before and after pictures to appreciate the results.

This is our future fireplace. Gorgeous, huh? For some reason I'm having trouble visualizing what it's gonna look like when it's done. Can't figure out why. At this point I just want it hooked up so I can WARM MY TOES on it! I don't care what it looks like anymore. This industrial look is starting to grow on me.

But nevermind the fireplace. Because we're going to have to abandon that project for now in favor of a different one.

Say goodbye to the kitchen. Our new cabinets will be in on March 16 so it's time to start demolition. If anyone wants cabinets for their garage let me know. I'll be placing an ad on Craigs List soon. And yes, that IS a tent in my living room. It's just how we roll these days. I'll be sleeping in it for 40 years to increase my spirituality.

See how the lovely ceiling drops DOWN in the kitchen? It's further evidence that this house was definitely built in the 1980's. But we're taking the ceiling out. Can't wait to be able to see the attic right from my kitchen! And to hang sheet rock, tape, mud, sand, mud, sand, mud, sand and then texture. It's gonna be a blast.

See these red shelves? This is my catch-all area of the house. (Yes, two people DO need to own 5 pairs of sunglasses!) But I think I've come up with a solution to make everything more organized and pretty looking. So stay tuned. When this project is done in the year 2027 I will show you what we did. And if I still have my sanity we shall rejoice together.

We're home, we're safe, we're alive

(Name that movie for a chance to win....nothing)

OK. So I realize it's been awhile since I've reported on our doings and happenings. But believe me, it's not because there are no doings and happenings. So let's begin.
We continue to make microscopic progress on the installation of our new fireplace. I would show you pictures, but I don't have the camera with me.
Chris, Keaton and the camera are at the Klondike Derby this weekend. For those of you who don't know what that is, you're not alone. I don't know either. I think secretely they're spending the weekend at Hooter's. Just kidding. It's a Boy Scout camp out in the snow. Wonder why I'm not there? I don't. I can't imagine anything more miserable. But hopefully they're having fun and we'll share pictures sometime in the next year or so.
Carson started his basketball season a couple of weeks ago. So Saturday mornings are spent watching practice and games. I love the program he's in because they practice for 45 minutes then play a 45 minute game and then we're done for the week. No mid-week practices or anything. And they're nice enough to schedule team pictures during practice too. This program must be run by a mom! And she's a woman after my own heart. I have recently realized that Carson is a runt. I knew he was a little bit small for his age, but I look out on the basketball court and he's the smallest one out there. But it doesn't stop him. He still does great and his football team as well as his basketball team (same group of kids) is undefeated so far.
Daniel finally got his cast off this week and now only has to wear a removable brace for about another week. He was so excited to give his arm and hand a good scrub and to take a shower without a plastic bag on his arm. He also really missed playing his guitar and cello. We can hear him strumming away for hours at a time downstairs. He also is going to be in the spring musical at the high school, "The Pirates of Penzance." Did I spell that right? Probably not. Anyways, he's really enjoying it.
Jantzen is still loving preschool and especially loved her Valentines day party. She spent many hours admiring all of her little valentines and memorized which kid gave her which card. It was amazing, considering that she has about 20 kids in her class. We kept quizzing her just for fun. She's such a sweetie and such a turkey. She is so excited to read and usually at bedtime she wants to repeat everything I read to her so that she can pretend she's reading. She's sounding out simple words and is working on memorizing all her story books so that she can "read" them. This girl has some seriously crazy memorization skills and one day I'll figure out what to do with them.
This is really starting to feel like one of those Christmas letters where you go through the family one person at a time and highlight their year. But...oh well, no excuses. I'm lame and I know it.
Chris has just had eight days off of work and I'm not sure what he did. Just kidding! He's been working on the fireplace, but since he's learning as he goes, we've run into lots of delays. We've spent a week waiting for some vent pipe to come in and he couldn't really do anything on it until that was here. So my feet are still cold and we have a huge hole in our ceiling but life's good. We're gearing up for a big kitchen remodel and I'm excited but dreading it. I know that nothing will go as planned and everything will be more difficult and expensive than we thought. I'm not being a pessimist, it's just the reality. I've lived through remodels before and that's just the way it goes. But when it's done it will be so worth it.
I just returned from Boise last night. I was at Scentsy Director Boot Camp and it was so amazing! I learned so much and met tons of great people. I love this company I'm working with and the growing potential is so huge. It's already growing at a rate of about 400%, even when the rest of the economy is tanking. The company is totally debt free and the owners are amazingly humble and down to earth. The product sells itself, all I do is share it with people. I was talking to the owner, Orville Thompson, and he told me that people who have been Scentsy Consultants for four or more years are consistently making $200,000 per year or more. Of course it takes work. You can't just sign up then do nothing. But it's not that hard, either. Believe me. I don't work that hard! So here's my pitch to you. If you hate your job or don't make enough money, give it some thought. It's only $99 to get started and you can easily make that back at your first party. In less than one year my team grew from one person to 20 people and I'm making money off of other people's work. How great is that? At that rate, I'll be paying off my house a lot sooner than 30 years from now. And I've met tons of great people and made lots of new friends. It's definitely been a win-win.
In other news about me, I've signed up for another half-marathon and so will soon be torturing you with details about my grueling runs. This year I talked my good friend Heather into doing it with me and I know it's gonna be so fun. It is, after all, the Girlfriend's Half Marathon. We'll definitely be shopping for matching running outfits to wear on the big day. Pink, of course. If there's anyone else out there crazy enough to join us, let me know.
Well, I think that's about all the news and weather in the Wrathall household. Thanks for reading all the way to the end. Your eyes are probably tired by now.

We did it!

I'd like to thank my agent, my manager and most of all my fans. I couldn't have done it without you. I really appreciate your devotion and willingness to participate in our dog adoption rituals. I knew they would work!

The puppy went to a nice retired couple who live on nine acres with other dogs, cats, chickens and horses. But their world was somehow empty without a little lap dog to sleep at the foot of their bed. So I'm sure that he will have a wonderful life there, and now I can continue my life, free of doggie messes and midnight yelping. Yes!

There are some tears being shed by Jantzen but I think a trip to Dairy Queen should take care of those.