Getting there is Half the Fun

Another day...another dollar...

2009-12-29T19:29:00.000-08:00

Ok, so my new job was a position recently created as a full time one. I was hired to help with the paperwork of installing cabinets for commercial jobs. Well it started off with me getting a handle on what was going on and what needed to be tracked. The guy I am working for had done the best job he knew how, to organize the paperwork needed. I even thought that I was getting the hang of things up until today. Then an issue arose that was partially due to me neglecting to add a number to some papers which then led to uncovering a billing issue with the installers which led to a meeting with the accounting head with 4 of us hovering arround a computer screen...which resulted in the assigning of more paperwork to me.
I can explain it like this. I waded into what I thought was a small pool. I tested the waters and swished my foot arround in the pool. The water felt fine and did not move much. Today was like realizing that I had waded in too deep and that the water was up to my neck with a strong current!
Needless to say...I left with a headache. I'll be sure to put my bathing suit on for tomorrow ;-)

Who knew...

2009-12-17T18:43:00.000-08:00

Well, when you start out with a plan, you have a pretty good idea of where or how it's going to end up. Of course things will go wrong a little along the way and you adjust your course and keep going. But every now and then you end up where you least expect. I look around at where I am at now in life and I must say..."how the heck did I end up here?" I suppose things could be worse. My career is on hold and I am now working full time as an administrative assistant for someone, which is the kind of position that made me decide to go after my career in the first place. Starting a new job at Christmas is tough when there are so many extra events and activities happening. I suppose this could be a good thing though. No more homework or late nights at school. I can work and come home to be with the kids. Work during the week and play on the weekends.

The home stretch

2008-07-30T20:50:00.000-07:00

Well, after months and months of crazy renos, I can see the end. Jason and I have been working tirelessly for the last couple of weeks. I think I've even developed some muscle :-) The carpet for the basement is coming on Friday and windows were installed today! There is way too much to list what we have been doing to get ready, but it involved lots of drywall, putty and painting. Oh, and lots and lots and lots and lots of dust!!

On another note, I am greatly enjoying our yard. It is a lot bigger than our last place and therfore a lot more work to keep up with. We planted a big garden full of 3 long rows of corn! We have peas and beans which are ready to pick and tomatoes are coming along. As strange as it seems, I really don't mind weeding my garden and flower beds. There is something satisfying about getting rid of the unwanted and seeing results immediately. There are many, many weeds.
I can hardly wait for the carpet... you won't believe the transformation....

Are we having fun yet?

2008-02-21T20:26:00.000-08:00

Alright, it has been a busy few months and my intentions to update often were at the bottom of the list. On November 25 we moved into what we thought would be a great house. We (or more accurately, I) was filled with many plans and visions for this modest house. As things got underway we discovered many 'money eaters'. Although this is to be expected in any renovation on an older home, these were things beyond even our capabilities.
I will give you a brief tour of our new house...

The front entrance and living room are what you would have seen first. A lovely shade of peach with a floral theme... we have since primed the walls to make it livable until (maybe tomorrow) I will paint it "cable knit" by Benjamin Moore :-).

oh and side note: all windows coverings from the pictures did not stay.

Next is the dining area and kitchen. The stainless steel stove did not stay because there were no appliances included. On the upside, a new stainless steel fridge and stove were bought in their place! The large window covering in the dining area is the large sliding door which is the entrance to a 12x20' sun room I look forward to enjoying when (if!) it ever gets warm again...

We have made some progress in the mean time (while dealing with larger issues like a malfunctioning well!). Both the girls rooms have been painted and they both have new beds to fit their new rooms. I only have a picture of what is Ali's room right now but will post more later. Our bedroom was completed last week,(accessories and all!) and it is now the one place where everyone wants to hang out cause it is cozy and pretty. It is fun to watch movies on our Mac in our room . Everyone piles on the bed .

These green arches is what you would have seen if you walked into our basement a couple of weeks ago. Since we had to remove what we thought was a beautiful fireplace (pictured here) we figured the arches should go while we were in the mood for heavy demolition. :-)

I can hardly wait for spring when we get to use our great big back yard. The roof structure in the back is a covered fire pit (with a hole in the roof). Half the yard is garden. This isn't in the picture. I am looking forward to planting corn.

So, for now... this is our house. I guess we have done quite a bit of changes since moving in. My goal of my blog was to show our step by step progress of design. I will get more pictures of the rooms as they are now and be back to report on yet another day of turmoil at the Thiessen house.

The Move is on...

2007-11-12T17:57:00.000-08:00

Well, another event filled weekend. This one was filled with shopping. We were in Fargo and enjoyed a relaxing (as much as it can be with 2 small kids who are sick of shopping ;-) time. It's a new thing to go to the states and shop for Christmas where the prices are cheaper which they mostly always have been, but even cheaper cause our dollar is worth more. It's great!

I read a little clip about a blog which was all about to-do lists. People sent in their to-do lists to this lady and she said it was funny how personal they were. Everything from buying milk to finding a soul mate. This is an interesting thing to reflect on. Today I made a to-do list for myself and it looked like this...

-buy a stove
-book a moving truck
-fax paper to lawyer
-pick up kids from school

not so personal, but only the stove got bought and the kids got picked up. Other days, more personal things get on there, but I definitely make lots of lists, and sometimes feel I should make more. It helps keep my life feel in order. Even if not everything on the list gets crossed off.

What a Weekend!

2007-11-05T08:19:00.000-08:00

Well this sure was one eventful weekend! It actually all started on Thursday night. One of our neighbors came by to give us the bad news that a friend of Jadon's had passed away on October 30. Andrew was 13. Jadon played hockey with him and they also live just down the street from us. Andrew had been battling a cancer -like disease for the last 4 years. Just recently Jason had talked to his mom who had told him that Andrew was finally completely healed! But about a month ago he had had swelling in his brain and they induced a coma. Although I am not completely sure as to the circumstance, his battle of disease ended on the 30th. Jadon and I are going to the funeral today. It will be very difficult as this is a hard thing to mourn the loss of a life so short lived.

For those of you who did not yet know, we sold our house in the beginning of October with a possession date of December 1. We were confident that we would find something quickly despite the current state of the market. We did find houses that matched what we were looking for but we were constantly outbid. We were feeling the pressure of the looming Dec 1 deadline, so we decided to consider some of the surrounding towns. Fri, we went to look at 2 houses. The one was everything that we have been looking for! We immediately wrote up an offer and they accepted it that night! So we have a house and we are moving in on November 25! So now it's pack, pack, pack! (I will try to post some pics). Thank you to all who were praying for us!

My dear little boy Jadon is having his birthday today. He is officially a teen ager! He is now 13! We threw a party for him yesterday and in the midst of getting everything ready, I discovered that Kyla's very much loved hamster had died! Our guests were due to arrive in 1 hour! I knew that she would be completely hart broken. Jason and I called here to her room where we broke the news. She burst into tears and I shed a few tears also, just seeing here hurting. We found a small box for poor little Hammy, she wrote a note saying how much she loved him and we put it inside with him. Then we had a little funeral where Hammy was buried in Kyla's garden.

The party was a hit! There were lots of kids, cake and fun. Jadon said it was the best birthday ever! (it may have had something to do with the cell phone we got him ;-) And now it's back to packing.....