A Chapter Closed: The Kellogg Project - Before and After

Those of you who know us well know that we bought an investment home in Kellogg, Idaho; spent 7 or 8 months completely remodeling it, and then put it on the market. Well, sell it we FINALLY did, and it just closed a few days ago.

(This type of stuff we have been doing all of our married lives - buying homes and fixing them up to sell - long long before the term 'flipping' houses was ever invented!)

But not on this magnitude. All our other home re-do projects were just mainly cosmetic fix-ups.

This home, built in 1910, was redone top to bottom, except for the studs [and wow - they don't stud them like THAT anymore. . . ] and the siding, which had been replaced in this decade and was in very good shape, except for the trim boards around the windows and doors, which we re-boarded or repainted. Top to bottom, baby.)

To celebrate, I am going to share with you all the gory Before (and During) pictures,

and let you oooh and ahhh over the After's

Just walk down memory lane with us for a minute. . .

Exterior, before we tore out part of the yard to widened the driveway (it really needed it - there is no street parking) and removed the old roof on the carport

After, all cleaned up and ready to go! New roof to the carport is also a redwood deck

This is the kitchen, after we tore out all the old cabinets and fixtures. It's actually prettier this way than before. . .lots of layers of old wallpaper. . .

After
The Living Room, in the midst of a mess. . . and yes, that is the original red brick, painted black. In this case; not attractive
After, with all the original built-in shelves cleaned up and painted, a new mantle,wood stove, and completely resurfaced surround and hearth. (No the carpet isn't peach or pink. Just weird lighting)
View of stairway off Living Room - The ceiling was sagging, so we installed long runners to boost that baby up!Looking into Dining Room and Sun Room. . .
After. . . I would have loved to have dinner in there -

Sun Room, during construction. We replaced all the windows. They were beautiful, but not at all energy efficient

Now a cheery, happy place. The new owners are going to use it for a homeschooling roomOh, I almost forgot the entryway! It was so dark and ugly and easy to forget. . .

Now, Unforgettable!
Nasty little half bath became. . .

A large and comfortable main bath with laundry area (on the wall opposite the doorway) Upstairs bath, after we tore out the smelly old vanity, and the concrete shower, and borrowed space from a hallway closet that was not needed after we discovered a hidden walk-in closet. Old houses have cool surprises!
Thought this old house could use a vintage touch. . . very comfy claw-foot tub, but I only got to sit in it without the water Double vanity - we had a lot of fun picking out the perfect mirrors that go so great with the glass tile inlay - click on the pic for details. . . When we were cleaning out the rest of our tools and supplies out of the basement before the new owners took possession, I have to confess that I felt a little bit envious of the new owners getting to live there. It truly was a blessing to be able to restore this old home to it's former beauty.

What I was going to post. . .

. . . was a Before and After
of a HUGE project


that my hub and I worked on . . .


but it is going to be a HUGE post,


and I am out of time and energy. . .




So



Even though

Easter 2009 is Over. . .
(someone just emailed it to me yesterday. . . I don't know the source, but it you do, please thank them for me. . .)




I am going to


Post This:

ALL I NEED TO KNOW ABOUT LIFE
I LEARNED FROM THE EASTER BUNNY
Don't put all of your eggs in one basket
Walk softly and carry a big carrot
Everyone needs a friend who is all ears
There's no such thing as too much candy
All work and no play can make you a basket case
A cute little tail attracts a lot of attention
Everyone is entitled to a bad hare day
Let happy thoughts multiply like rabbits
Some body parts should be floppy
Keep your paws off other people's jellybeans
Good things come in small sugarcoated packages
The grass is always greener in someone else's basket
An Easter bonnet can tame even the wildest hare
To show your true colors you have to come out of your shell
The best things in life are still sweet and gooey

The recipe for 'Monkey Brains'

Noelle mentioned that she had 'Monkey Brains' at our General Conference potluck.

(She also mentioned that we cleaned 'all morning' beforehand - really all we did was a final cleanup before 9 am, so how much 'work' could that be?)

For those of you who were horrified that I would set such a dish on my table to feed my family and friends, let me assure you that-

A. I didn't make them.
and

B. A Friend brought them
and lastly

C. The recipe she was talking about was 'Monkey Bread' which you may or may not be familiar with.

If not, here's the scoop on how to make these delicious pull-aparts, courtesy of momswhothink.com

Ingredients:
4 cans refrigerated biscuits

1 cup packed brown sugar

1 1/2 sticks butter (3/4 cup)

1/2 cup white sugar

2 tablespoons cinnamon

1/2 cup raisins

chopped nuts

(the last two ingredients are optional, it's great with or without them)

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees & butter a 9-10 inch tube pan (or you can use a 9x13 baking pan, just adjust baking time and layering accordingly)
2. Mix white sugar and cinnamon in a plastic bag. Cut the biscuits into quarters and place six to eight biscuit pieces in the sugar cinnamon mix in a plastic bag. Shake well.
3. Arrange pieces in the bottom of the greased pan. Continue layering until all the biscuit pieces are coated and in the pan. If you are using raisins, place them among the biscuit pieces as you are layering.
4. In a small saucepan, melt the butter with the brown sugar over medium heat. Boil for 1 minute. Pour over the layered biscuits.
5. Bake for 35 minutes. Let bread cool in pan for 10 minutes, then turn out onto a plate. Let cool, then pull apart and enjoy!

Icing:
Ingredients:
1/2 pound cream cheese

1/2 pound butter

1 pound powdered sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 teaspoon lemon juice

Directions:
1.Allow cream cheese and butter to get to room temperature.
2. Beat butter and cream cheese together in a large bowl with a mixer.
3. Slowly add in the pound of powdered sugar.
4. After all the powdered sugar is added, mix for 12 minutes.
5. When almost done, add in the extract and lemon juice.

Enjoy them!

Weekend Wafts of Wackiness

Happy Easter!

(This post is by Noelle. Who am I and why do it write it? Click here)

Sorry I didn't post last week! I never got to it on Saturday(as usual, I'm such a procrastinator) and Sunday I was cleaning all morning for general conference and watching it then after I HAD to read or I would have died. I can not go very long not reading something and still stay sane.


At General Conference we had a big pot luck lunch as usual, and it was delicious! Monkey brains, cookies, chili, corn bread. I told myself afterwards " I am never going to eat again." Funny, I ate the next day.

Today was Easter so naturally we had a big dinner. I told myself again, "I am never going to eat again." Sure enough, about 1 or 2 hours ( I can't be quite sure because I read for awhile after dinner) later I was eating Easter candy. :) Come on, admit it, You would have to.

Not much excitement has happened around here. hmmm... think blogger... (ha ha, memories)

Unicorn!

Crazy Frog!

I must be really desperate for something to write about. Let's see... school, boring. home, nada. I don't really know what to write about. That's sad considering I'm writing about 2 weeks this time. Spring break, I didn't go anywhere, because it snowed all week, so I just read.

(OK this is Noelle's mom. . . Noelle played with the babies, went to the Pinewood Derby, and also the baptisms. She also colored the easter eggs (check out the pictures in my previous post) and she had an awesome Easter lesson in Sharing Time today. Then she also hunted for Easter Eggs. For a smart girl, she sure has selective memories. I should ground her from books! . . . That's all she can think about! JK)

Crazy Busy Easter Weekend

This weekend so far we have:

Watched the Grand-babies. . .

This little boy can sleep anywhere. One minute, he's playing, and the next, (silence)

Riding in the car on the way to. .

Cheering Isaac on at his first Pinewood Derby. . .

uniform check
Sorry, someone else took these fuzzy pictures - but you get the idea
Went to two youth Baptisms . . .

(not our kids this time)

Did some finish-up and clean-up work on our investment property in Kellogg. . .

(what the heck's a pop-off valve, anyway? Good thing Mark knows!)

And Colored Easter Eggs. . .

their egg-nificent masterpieces!

this is what happens when I try to get Noelle to pose. . .

And that was only Friday and Saturday!

Have a Wonderful Easter, Everyone!

Confessions of a Missionary. . .

Once in a while I send a copy of my blog posts to my son Chad, who is on his mission in Rancagua, Chile.

One of those was this post, part of which was about how messy my kid's rooms get. He read the story, and this was his reply: (you can really see the Chilean Spanish influence in his grammar, I think)

Well, mom, if little messes like that get to you, you'd go crazy here. Imagine four-20-year old guys in the littlest house ever, a house that has had guys like us in it for years now, and everyone leaving stuff when they leave. We had mold on our roof, and a walled-in back yard filled with junk, dirt, and weeds. Walls that I thought were brown, and a brown dirt floor. I could go on for hours.

But you will be proud of me. There has been a huge effort the last 10-12 weeks to clean the place up a bit. Now it actually looks like house. There is a lot less mold on our roof than there was. We actually have a back yard, with a club house that has fully working electrical. The walls are blue and white. The floor is still brown because the tiles are that color, but they are dang clean and free of scratch marks. What was the worst house in the mission is now one of the best. We just have to keep it that way, but it is a bit harder here than in the states. First off, there is no central air conditioning, which would keep the dust down a lot. Houses here aren’t built airtight, so dust can come in from the streets at any time. And we are lazy and want to sleep. But we are doing pretty well.

As for the work this week, it has been good and bad. First we had a day that we couldn’t teach anyone because no one was home, and then we had a day that the President told us that he wanted us to be in the house at 6, hours early, and it is hard to do much before 6. We also had a meeting, so that day was lost. The next day I was sick and couldn’t talk, so we lost another day. And Sunday we had a lot of meetings, because they changed the branch president, and missionaries have a lot to do with the work in branches. But right before the meetings the leaders were asking me how I was finding so many people in such a hard sector. So apparently I’m doing pretty well the rest of the time, even though my companion can’t speak Spanish or teach, and he is always ready to leave the house hours late.

On the up side, we have 4 people that are going to be baptized. We have been working a lot with old inactive families that include non-members. It is going really well. Before, the branch had about 20 people every week but now we have had an average of 60 in the last few weeks. It helps a lot that we have confidence with the members and we work a lot and have fun doing it.

But I really should get better at writing in my journal. A lot of funny stuff happens and a lot of spiritual experiences, but I never have time to write them down. The biggest experience I’ve had here is probably the difference I have seen in myself, all that I have learned, all that I have experienced, and the truth is, I wouldn’t trade it for anything. Any person that gives up the mission for any reason is missing out on the greatest and most important time of his life.

Oh, and before I finish this letter, I have a few favors. Can you send me the recipe to make Apple Cobbler, and a recipe to make brownies from scratch, if you can. The members are always begging me to teach them how to make something from the states. Also they are begging me to start a class and teach them English, but I need to talk to the president about that one.

And don’t worry, I’ll send pictures one day. I have like 2000 waiting.

Love,

Chad

So, all you good cooks out there, I need a brownie recipe. . . since the only delicious brownies I've ever made were out of the box!

(And you can be sure that I will post some pictures when I get them!)

Who's My Favorite American Idol?

I don't know about you all, but watching the contestants on American Idol this season has been kind of ho-hum. Oh, I like several of them,

like the bright red-headed Allison,

and the cute one with the unhinged jaw.

But there is only one contestant who's performances I will go back again and again and watch:

Adam Lambert.

Even though he's a little more, shall we say, feminine, than I am comfortable with, his voice transcends all. The song choices, the arrangements he chose

(you will notice I said chose - they weren't necessarily his own, and I don't care- they still were new and fresh, and versions that we have not heard

again

and again

and again)

-and the emotion that he puts into his performances

-especially the emotion - have you looked into his face when he sings?

And last night, when so much of his performance got cut

(by those who set their DVR's to only record an hour of Idol - don't you know by now what a BIG mistake THAT is. . . )

when the show ran way way over after the judges went yammering on and on at Lil Rounds (a great singer, but not at all original), will that hurt his chances?

Will he still get enough votes to keep him in the running?

I could be wrong, but. . .

I think that Adam is THE Contestant that the judges would use their Judges Save for.

But I think he'll be voted back, anyway.

We'll see. . . only 2 and a half hours until the Results Show. . .

(am I addicted to this show, or what?

and you're not?

Rrrrrriiiight. . . )

This is What Heaven Must Look Like Every Day. . .

The beautiful blaze of the Northern Lights, or Aurora Borealis, is caused when material thrown off the surface of the sun collides with the atmosphere of the Earth. The photos below were seen in Yellow Knife, Yukon, Canada

Except for the FREEZING COLD temperature!

THIS NEXT PICTURE IS A FIRE RAINBOW.

IT IS THE RAREST OF ALL NATURALLY OCCURRING ATMOSPHERIC PHENOMENA.

THE PICTURE WAS CAPTURED TWO WEEKS AGO ON THE IDAHO/WASHINGTON BORDER.

THE EVENT LASTED ABOUT 1 HOUR.

CLOUDS HAVE TO BE CIRRUS, AT LEAST 20,000 FEET IN THE AIR, WITH JUST THE RIGHT AMOUNT OF ICE CRYSTALS, AND THE SUN HAS TO HIT THE CLOUDS AT PRECISELY 58 DEGREES.

Happy Birthday, Dillon!

Where has the time gone? I can't believe it has been 4 years since our first little grandbaby was born.

Proud Grandpa

Dillon James Carey in my arms, with his late great-grandma Evie looking on

'Big Boy' Dillon holding his baby sister (Christmas 2007)

We sure love this adorable little boy. . . have a great day, Dillon!

The Accidental April Fool's Joke

In honor of April Fools Day, I am not going tell you silly jokes, leave silly comments on your blogs, or play a prank on you. . .

Instead, I am going to tell you about the best April Fools Day EVER!

that happened accidentally.

First Week of February 2002

My then almost 16-year-old daughter Kayla got up one morning and told me that she had dreamed that I was pregnant with twins! I looked at her like she was crazy, which was exactly what I was thinking. After all, I had 6 kids already, and my oldest was approaching 20 years old. Not to mention how old I was.

But I didn't tell her then what I already suspected: that I was pregnant.

Sure, I was in denial. I even thought it was possible that I was entering menopause. Women in their late 30's - it could happen, right?

Late February

A quick home pregnancy test confirmed what we already knew. My husband and I were a little freaked out, but we knew that if this is what Heavenly Father wanted for us, then we wanted it for us, too.

Early March

Talked about telling the kids. Decided to wait. Spent my time laying around on the couch, dead tired and nauseous.

Mid March

Talked about telling the kids. Decided to wait. More couch time. Too tired to even read. TV was my friend, but I don't remember anything I watched. Found out later that Kayla seriously thought I was sick, as in possibly terminal, and was kinda scared.

Late March
Talked about telling the kids. Decided to wait. Tired and grumpy all the time. I'm sure by then my kids were wishing I was dead. . . JK

A Few Days Later

Woke up one morning; didn't consult the calendar.

Decided that this was the day that I'd tell the kids.

Told Kayla first.

She looooked at me, and then surprised me by starting to laugh.

"Good one Mom. You really had me going for a minute."

I looked at her blankly, not knowing what the heck she was talking about. "What a good April Fool's joke. . . right, Mom? Mooommmmm?!?"

She finally believed me when I told her that I really was pregnant.

Then she went to school all freaked out, and had to take a psych exam.

So, a little later that day, I told the rest of the kids. One by one. They all thought it was a really funny April Fools joke. I was too sick and tired to try and convince them.

8+ months preg with #7

April 2
Kids heard us talking about the baby. Some more.

"Um, mom, dad, that was just an April Fools joke, wasn't it?"

Took us all day to convince them that the baby, now affectionately known as Tanner Alexander Carey, was for real!

And Kayla's dream about twins? I think it was a warning. . . this little guy was (and still is) busier than all six of my other kids put together!


Hair Update!

That Risk I took on Monday? It paid off. My husband really did like it! I was very surprised (and so was he!)


And thanks for all the nice comments! That made my day!