...has my blogging time gone?
Well, we've been:
Cooking over campfires.jpg)
Shopping for a New Car.jpg)
Sight-Seeing in Philly.jpg)
Chasing Squirrels at Princeton
Stomping in Puddles.jpg)
Feeding the Chickens.jpg)
Running with Deer
Shopping in NYC
Checking out Broadway
Picking the Perfect Pumpkin
Enjoying the Beautiful East Coast Fall
Hanging out with Grandma and Grandpa
Sometimes I feel so badly about sending Cory to work every day and then making him come home and remodel my kitchen at night.
But sometimes I don't.
Tonight I just want to show off a bit of our hard work. (Thanks to Cory and Mom and Dad Graf for helping me see the light at the end of the tunnel. It's a long tunnel.)
BEFORE
.jpg)
AFTER (Well, okay, DURING, we've got some work still to go like tiling the backsplash, plumbing the sink, installing the toekick and baseboards, touching up paint, fixing the wood valance to fit spaces above the sink and cooktop, wiring the vent, etc, etc, etc, etc, etc, etc, etc, etc. But at least I had a stove to cook on tonight.)
I will spare the details of our horrific move, but fill you in on the fact that we are physically well and even in good spirits on most days. Sometimes when I look back on the past 3 months since we left Indiana I can't believe we are even still alive! It sure has been a tough move.
So I will admit it: I've missed Indiana terribly for 3 months straight. Until now I couldn't even let myself think about Indiana or I would seriously get sick inside that we weren't living there anymore. When a fleeting memory crosses my mind or I receive an email from a fellow Hoosier, my heart just aches to go back. Funny, huh? Those first few months of grad school, being alone all the time, having Cory at study groups around the clock...who knew that I would come to love it so much? Not the part about Cory being gone all the time...but certainly the friendships I made while we were there. It truly became our home. Our ward was our family. I felt loved, accepted, needed, and completely at peace. I'm not sure I'm ready to let go of that, even for the paycheck we now receive as real working class citizens. But I did let go...at least, I moved, right? And moving from Indiana was one of the most difficult things I have ever done.
Is it bad to want your husband to be a student forever?
As far as the house goes, we are making progress. Out with the Old and in with the New. New Woodwork, New Paint, New Light Fixtures, New Hardware, New Everything. New is definitely Fun, but I sort of get anxiety living in the mess. I can only handle it for so long...about 1 hour to be exact. One week after the aforementioned 'Horrific Move' (see post "The Move") I made Cory promise me that we would never have to live in a fixer-upper again, at least while it was being 'fixered-up'. Now that I think of it...did I get that promise in writing?
This week it is New Kitchen. The cabinets arrived on Monday and they are in boxes in the family room. An electrician is coming tomorrow to rewire some outlets and lighting. We will take the weekend to rip out the Old Lanolium and do last minute prep work. My parents are flying in on Tuesday for a week to help us put in the New Kitchen. I can hardly wait to cook a real meal again. For some reason Whoppers just lose their charm after the 4th night. Did I mention I don't like living in a remodel project?
Cory loves it. What can I say? He is finding his place, applying his education, making a difference. I am so proud of him!
I adore him. What can I say? He has handled this move better than anyone else. He keeps me company when I'm lonely, makes me laugh when I'm sad, and makes sure I eat at least one popsicle a day on the porch with him. I love my little Jake.
On Saturday Cory and I ran the Indianapolis half marathon. Totally cool race...35,000 runners and the course even looped around the Indy 500 Motor Speedway! I was really nervous because it was my first race, but it went great! (And I would do it again.) This picture was taken after we got home because we didn't want to run with the camera bouncing around in a fanny pack.
Yesterday, in my haste to get out the door to teach piano lessons, I decided to forego putting on my make-up. I mean, I can't look that bad without it, right? And I'm just teaching 6-7 year olds so what's the big deal? Well, 3 of my 4 piano students that day asked me why I didn't wear my glasses! The thing is, I don't wear glasses! They could tell something was different about my eyes but didn't know what. Needless to say, today I took time to put on my make-up.
A few weeks ago my little sister came home from her mission in Russia. I surprised her by meeting up with her in Atlanta and flying home with her on the last leg of her trip. It was great to have some alone time with her.
We visited my grandma before heading home.
Went to the temple with all of my siblings. (We missed Cory though, he had to stay home and do finals...poor guy.)
Jake and grandpa jummping on the trampoline in the warm weather.
A while back Jake was having some trouble with baths, he was terrified of the water getting on his hair. We got him this Lightening McQueen bubble bath in the plastic car container and now he won't put it down. He takes his 'bubble car' everywhere and loves his 'bubble car bath'! Thank you Disney.
We live at the back of a cul-de-sac in a neighborhood that is technically outside city limits. Because of this, whenever we get a snowstorm, we are LAST to have our streets plowed. Usually the snow melts before the plows make it our way. This storm was different. Cory and I were so excited when we heard the plows working on our street within 8 hours of the snowstorm. Then we went outside. Yes, the street was plowed...right into our front yard! Maybe next time I won't complain about the unplowed street!
.jpg)
