Working on a Project

My sister has the ability to make things look good. By that I mean that she is able to look at a couple of furniture pieces, wall paint, fabrics and all of the sudden a gorgeous room is put together!

She recently designed and built me a coffee table and we have been working on sanding, conditioning, staining and fishing the wood for the past week. We are continuing that process today and I am excited to post pictures once the table is complete.

To tell you the truth, I can't wait until we are done with all the sanding. There is nothing worse than the sound of wood being sanded. I can HARDLY stand it. As a matter of fact, I can't stand it at all. My poor sister has being doing most of the work and I am SO thankful that she still loves me.

I will post pictures when we are done - but that might take a while...

Back from Camping

I am not sure I still have any viewers...

But just in case someone out there is still reading, I will go ahead and attempt to get back into the groove of posting.

I was gone camping this weekend and although I wanted to get back to my blog right when I got back, I was occupied doing the laundry, cleaning the bathrooms, vacuuming the floors, emptying the dishwasher and loading the dishwasher, going through piles of emails...

Now that my home is in order I can sit down and relax a bit. That is how I function. If my surrounding is a mess, my brain is also a mess.

Anyways, this past weekend was filled with sunshine, hikes, campfires, mosquito bites, long conversations, laughter and fun. I feel blessed to have friends that make the time to stay connected.

First we went on a walk

to pick blackberries

and we found this pretty flower on our way.

We headed over to the beach

to skip rocks

climb rocks

and pick up some rocks.

We played kubb

and built a fire.

We went on a hike

and watched the tides come in.

We enjoyed our time together and will forever cherish these memories!

Life

The weather is starting to change and I wake up with a sore throat every single morning. Autumn is one of my favorite seasons, but I am not ready to be cold. I don't want to start wearing scarves and wool socks. I don't want to start looking for my umbrella (it has gone missing since the beginning of summer).

However, this new season is bringing with it some exciting things! I am still not ready to share some of those things with the World Wide Web, but I promise you that there are some exciting announcements just around the corner. So, stay tuned!

On a different note, I am once again getting ready for a weekend of fun and camping. This camping weekend will be one of the last activities we have planned for the summer. As August comes to an end, my life is starting to calm down and I am excited to settle into a routine again.

Well, I need to head out and get going with grocery shopping, but I wanted to leave you with an encouraging massage that has changed my attitude this week.

Isaiah 43:1-2

But now, this is what the LORD says—
he who created you, O Jacob,
he who formed you, O Israel:
"Fear not, for I have redeemed you;
I have summoned you by name; you are mine.

When you pass through the waters,
I will be with you;
and when you pass through the rivers,
they will not sweep over you.

When you walk through the fire,
you will not be burned;
the flames will not set you ablaze.

So, if you feel like you are going through deep waters or maybe you are surrounded by fire, know that the Lord Almighty is with you in the rivers and in the flames. What more could you ask for?

Long Distance

I am a people person, which means that I like being with people. Maybe not every single day, but for the most part, I like being with people. Taking that into consideration, I never saw myself having a romantic long distance relationship. Praise God John and I always lived close to each other while we were dating.

However, for reasons I cannot control, many of my close friends live far away from me. So, in essence I have long distance relationships whether I like it or not.

I bring this up because at this exact moment, three of those friends are spending time together...doing whatever they decided to do with their day - and I wish I could be with them.

I wish I did not have to use a phone or skype in order to chat with them. I wish I could be a daily part of their lives. I wish I could meet all their friends. I wish I could sit right next to them - the way it used to be.

I guess the only way to fix that is to buy 50 houses in the same neighborhood and have all my friends move in with their friends and their families. There. Problem solved!

Working Faucet

For the past year or so, I have had a dysfunctional faucet in the kitchen. The water still came out fine but the faucet decided it was no longer going to move from side to side - and it got stuck right in the middle of the two sinks...which means that I had to take out the hose to be able to wash the dishes. However, after using the hose for so long, I got used to it and hardly ever made a comment about how annoying that was. Until I broke part of a crystal vase that we got as a wedding gift. The vase was long and skinny and I could not make it fit in the space between the two sinks.

But faucets are expensive (for reasons I cannot understand) and we were not financially ready to invest in another one. To our surprise, we got one as a gift and I REALLY like it!!! Needless to say, I have the best in-laws ever :)

The faucet has been there for a couple of days, but I still forget about it and get surprised all over again every time I walk in the kitchen.

Snow Lake Hike

Autumn is just around the corner and hiking season is almost over. So, we took the opportunity and invited a couple of friends to come enjoy a Saturday in the wild! Well, it was not too wild out there, but our view was peaceful and inviting.

The beginning (plus John who is taking the picture)

We saw many pikas

The lake was surrounded by these beauties

Snow Lake

Our group grew throughout the day

Never a Bridesmaid, but Definitely a Bride

My sister and I recently attended a wedding and while I was wearing my one and only little black dress, she pointed out that I would make a beautiful bridesmaid. Since I am married and therefore am a bride, the saying Always a bridesmaid, never a bride does not apply to me - so I am making up my own: Never a bridesmaid, but definitely a bride.

So, why have I never been a bridesmaid before? I don't know. Maybe because I don't have many girlfriends. Maybe because my girlfriends are not ready to get married. Maybe because my girlfriends don't think I am a close friend? I suppose all these possibilities could be true...but I hope it is not because my friends don't see me as a good friend.

Anyways, below is a picture my sister took of me - and she calls this my bridesmaid pose...which one day I will get to perfect when she is the bride!

P.S. This post was not written to become an advertisement - because I am really not advertising myself as a bridesmaid. I mostly just wanted to post this picture that my sister took of me :)