Daily Life

See, the proof that she sleeps just like her dad. I love it!
And, still some more proof!

A few words from Michael

It's Michael again.

I hope Melinda won't mind me taking just a minute on her blog (yes I've hacked in without her knowing) but I feel compelled to write just a few words today.

Just over a week ago I watched the love of my life endure the most painful experience she's ever faced. Since she was high on laughing gas she didn't have the headspace to call for me as she labored into the morning on the 27th of February. I slept peacefully until about 6:30am. I must have been awakened by angels because moments later she began to feel the profound pain that only you mothers have felt. The baby was coming.

It seemed like an instant later Melinda was in excrutiating pain and the only relief was to push. The hospital staff were insistant on not going forward with an epidural, and even removed the only pain relief she actually had (this was probably the one time in my adult life I wanted to strike a woman). There are no words that can properly describe my own anguish as my wife, and best friend cried out "Help me, please help me." Tears washed down my face as I relized that although I was at her side, she bore the pain unavoidably alone. Seemingly an instant later this beautful, living, breathing baby was in our arms.

This video is a compilation of some of the moments I've captured within the first 3 days of Claire's life, and is a tribute to Melinda and Claire. Thank you to Kandice, who recommended the song, it is perfect for how I know Melinda feels about our daughter.

I have an entirely new respect for all of you mothers who selflessly bare, and nurture your children. You're nothing less than heroes.

It may take quite a while to load, so if you care to see it please be patient.

Finally some pictures!

Sorry this took soooo long. I've been working on it. Michael is also done the full length movie, but it's taking so long to upload that we have to go home before it's done, but trust me, it's worth the wait. Let these tide you over until tomorrow when we get the internet at home! Yay!

More pictures

Claire Cynthia Palmer

I can't believe it's taken me this long to get on here and announce her name. I'm sure by now, most of you had already heard it somewhere else. Sorry for the delay, but we don't really have the internet at the moment (the Shaw guy was coming on the 28th, but we were in the hospital still). Other than that, I've been totally wiped. Anyway, her name is Claire Cynthia (Cynthia after Michael's mom). She was 5 pounds 12 ounces, and just over 3 weeks early. They did all they could to keep my blood pressure down, but it didn't work so last Tuesday, after my regular checkup, my doctor told me I'd won myself a trip to the hospital. I went home to get Michael and my things together just in case we needed to stay for a while. We spent about 12 hours in triage before they could decide what to do. Finally, they decided to induce me. They were going to use a foley (essentially a catheter for your cervix, which helps move everything along). I was more nervous about this than anything else I think. It was supposed to take about 4-6 hours to get me to about a 3 so I could offically be in labour. Well they ruptured my membranes by accident instead, and I was off to my own room for delivery. It seemed like a total palace compared to the cot in triage. They started me on a IV of cyntosomething to get me going at about 1 in the morning. I was fully expecting to labour for a while, get my epidural (as you all know I was fully expecting to do), and then have the baby. Well, instead I progressed was faster than the doctor expected and the next time she came into check me, I was at a 10. They were all so excited that I could just go ahead and have the baby. I had had a shot of morphine (which did NOTHING for pain, but made me totally out of it). I also had the gas which saved me totally! I asked at that point if I could have the epidural now, and they said I didn't need one since I'd done all of the really hard stuff already. Michael tried to argue for me and I tried too while I was totally delirious. They said I should try pushing for 30 min, and if I wasn't progressing, we could do the epidural. Well 37 minutes later Claire was here, and I just given birth without the epidural I had planned on my whole life I think. It wasn't fun, but shockingly better than I had imagined. And, I can now say that my recovery was better without it, and next time I'm insisting right away that I get the epidural. I don't really want to do that again.

She was so beautiful to us right away, and we spent forever trying to pick her name. We picked just before we left the hospital (which I was in for 3 days). We love the name now that it's picked, and she's such a Claire to me. We're now at home and exhausted, and completely in love with our girl. I can't wait to watch her grow. She's so tiny that none of the clothes I had fit her.

Anyway, Michael's got the camera at work and I think he's going to try and post some pictures right away. We have some good ones. Sorry it's taken so long, but once I get my internet hooked up, I'll get a bunch more up. Thank you for all of your wonderful comments. We are so blessed to have so many people who care about us!

Baby Palmer Teaser

Michael here. Melinda will have tons to share about this little bean so be sure to check back soon.

More on this little one to follow

The latest!

Well since my last post I feel like everything has changed. We are now living in my parent's basement, which I have to admit is better than I thought it might be moving back home. We are so grateful to them for letting us live there for a little while, it's a big help. We moved out last Friday, and had a normal weekend (although it was hard for me to move out, and I have to admit, there were some tears). I had my Dr's appointment on Tuesday, and I went in and saw another Dr. who was covering for my regular one. Well she took my blood pressure, and it was high, so we did the rest of the visit, and then she took it again, and it wasn't coming down (I have to admit, I don't even know what the number was that day). It was so high that she was concerned and told me I had to come back the next day to check it, and the following day to see my usual Dr. and check it again. She sent me in for blood work, and gave me strick instructions to go home and do NOTHING. I was to lay down the whole day and relax. I was a little alarmed, but trusted that she knew what she was talking about. So, I went in the next day again, and my blook pressure was now 130/100...super high. So the same thing, go home do nothing and come back tomorrow. So the next day, I saw my regular Dr. and she checked everything, and although my blood pressure had come down (now 120/82), my blook work was not good. She told me to go home and do the same thing, but this time to measure my blood pressure 3-4 times a day, and go right to the hospital if the bottom number was over 90. I asked if I could go to church on Sunday, and she basically told me she didn't think I would make it until Sunday without delivering. So, a little alarmed, I went and redid the blood work and waiting for them to get me in for an ultrasound asap. Well, the blood work came back good this time, and we had the ultrasound on Friday, and all is well, and my blook pressure has stayed down so far, but I'm still taking it very easy. It was a little alarming. I didn't have a singe supply ready, so Lara went and got me all ready. So we have another appointment on Tuesday, and then another ultrasound next week, and if the blood pressure goes back up, I'll most likely be induced next week, and if it stays down, we still have some time.
So that's what I've been doing. I've been on a roller coaster of blood pressure. We'll see what comes of it all, but for right now, I'm glad that things are looking better. I'm not quite ready to do the whole delivery thing I must admit, but if I need to, she looks like she'll be ok to handle it. I'll keep you posted!

Update

I have no new pictures to post, but I figured, writing without pictures is better than no writing at all right? Right now I sit here as I wait for my laundry to finish. I have a few more loads, and I'm hoping to make the most of my time before I go to bed. Michael and I move out of our home tomorrow and in with my mom and dad. I have to admit, I'm very sad to leave my home. I love it. I'll miss it a lot I'm sure, but I'm not not sad to be done moving out of it. I can't even believe how hard it's getting for me to move around. In the past 2 weeks I feel like I've been doing random tasks all the time. We have painted another room, packed up everything we need to live with, and now I'm doing the last of the packing and cleaning everything up. It's so much harder to clean the floor than ever before I have to admit. I've had to do it over such a long time because if I do too much, but stomach just becomes one big contraction, and it's not that comfortable I have to admit. I just keep telling myself that after tomorrow, I can relax, and prepare for this girl to arrive.

I'm now down to 5 weeks to go, and after next week, I start going to the doctor every week until she's here. I cannot even stand how excited I am to meet this girl. Labour terrifies me, but I try to think of the end result, and take comfort in the fact that I don't have to do it all on my own. I'm for sure not the kind of girl who will forego drugs. I mean, I wouldn't go to get a filling done on my tooth without freezing. And, who am I kidding, I'm a wimp. I just hope all goes well, and according to plan for me.

We still don't know a lot of details about moving, and it's driving me a little crazy. I'm just rolling with it though, and as soon as I have more details, I'll be sure to fill you in. I sure have settled down about planning things since I've been married. For those of you who knew me well before I was married, you'd be amazed at how well I can just wait patiently. It's shocking!

Anyhoo, I'm now going to finish another load, and get into bed. Tomorrow is a busy and tiring day for me, as usual.

Some new developments!

Well I don't have any pictures to add to this post, but since I always enjoy a new post from others even if it doesn't have pictures, I thought I'd take a chance and do it anyway. Well there certainly have been a lot of things going on with us lately. First, my birthday was last Monday, and I'm now 26...wow...I still feel 16. I had my gestational diabetes screening, and I failed it, so on my birthday I had the glucose tolerance test, and I'm still waiting to find out the results on that one. I'm guessing I don't have it, since I know the doctor has seen the results, and I haven't gotten a phone call, but I do have an appointment on Tuesday, so maybe she's waiting to tell me there. Who knows...but until then, I will continue to eat my dairy queen ice cream cake leftovers without guilt! I am now 31 weeks along, and I can't imagine her getting any bigger in there, but from what I'm told, she will. I'm a little nervous actually. Last night it felt like she was trying to break her way out of my stomach. Not so fun, but I still love her.

I finally went on Mat leave!!! YAY! I know it seems a little early, but I met the requirements to get it, and with all of the other stuff (I'll get to in a second), I felt like I had so much to do and so little time! So last Tuesday was my official last day of work, and so far it's been so great! I've spent time with my mom and sisters and the kids the last few days, and that's always so fun! I've slept in, and that's been wonderful. Especially when Michael gets into bed at 7:30am, and I used to get out at 8:00...it stunk. Now I get to stay a little longer, and I haven't let myself sleep as late as he does, even though I've been tempted. He works so hard for us, and I'm so grateful for the sacrifices he's making working nights to provide for our growing little family.

And now for the big news! We're moving in with my parents on February 15th!!! Can you believe it? We're moving in with them because we're leaving the country entirely a few months after that, and we found GREAT renters who wanted our place, and we couldn't let them get away. So now about leaving the country. Michael's new job is taking us over to Europe for 6 months in order for Michael and his co-workers to finish up some training. The destination is not entirely set in stone. It's been a few places so far, but we're pretty confident in saying that we at least be spending some time in an Italian town in Switzerland called Campione d'Italia. It's a very small little town right on Lake Lugano, and from what I can figure out, it's about half way between Lake Como and Milan. We've seen some pictures, and it's honestly breathtaking. We can't believe that we'll get to go there! We may stay there the whole time, or we may end up going to another destination somewhere over there, but the idea is, we'll be gone for 6 months. We'll leave sometime after the baby is born (Michael might have to go a little early without me). But for now, we're moving into my parents basement for a few months before we go. I really didn't want to have to move out entirely, just to move back in, so we're leaving our place furnished, and taking our personal stuff, and bunking in the basement. I was planning on moving in anyway when the baby was born, so it's all good with me!

A lot of people have asked if we're really ok about this, and our answer is that if we weren't having a baby right at the same time, we'd be thrilled! The only downside is that this all needs to happen in the spring, and there are so many unknowns with the baby coming. At first they were thinking they wanted to go BEFORE the baby was born and I would have her over there, so now, with this new plan, I'm much more relieved! Anyway, just so you know, as with any plan, things don't always go the way you hope. We are about 99% sure that we're going, but we just don't know the dates. So don't be surprised if something in my explanation has to change! I'll keep you updated that's for sure!

Here's a picture off of the internet of where we'll be living. The town on the right is Campione, and the place across the lake is Lugano! Beautiful hey!??

Christmas

Well since it's over, I'll just give you the brief version. This year, my entire family was here for Christmas. Something that hasn't happened for 4 years. It was so fun to have everyone all together. We all got matching pajamas (for pictures see Scott's blog). I was sick most of the time, which stunk. So for the first time since we've been married, we slept at our own house on Christmas eve. It wasn't so fun, but I needed the sleep. Us Melchin girls and our dad also have a tradition of going shopping for mom on Christmas eve, and this year we had all of us there, so I documented with a a picture. Anyway, it's now late, and I'm tired. Christmas really was wonderful. I miss everyone already. Next year, we'll have our own little one to buy for and I can't wait for that! Here are some of the pictures we got. We didn't really take any and I always regret that when I do that. Oh well...next year.

This is puffy me and my beautiful sister's shopping with our dad on Christmas Eve.

Christmas morning.

More BS'07 pics

Some of the beautiful scenery. The giant herd of elk. There were way more than this too.
The end of the ride and everyone is freezing.

BS'07 Pics

I did all of the writing backwards, so read the post below and here are the pictures.
This is us right before stopping at Starbucks and heading out to Banff! Erin and Judy on the sleigh ride. We actually go them to come out from their little blanket tent for the picture.
Mom all bundled up.
And puffy me!

Another new year!

I seem to be really bad at this whole blogging thing. We've been so busy doing so many things, that by the time I get home, I go right to bed and ignore the computer. But I'm starting to get into trouble again, so here I sit at 10:16, instead of being in my bed. Oh the sacrifices I make.

Well the first big highlight that I missed posting on, was BS'07 (Banff Springs 2007) for those of you who don't know what I'm talking about. Mom, Lara, Judy, Erin, and I went out there for the night, and it was as fun as ever. Except this time, since I'm getting huger by the day, I didn't feel like taking as many pictures. But we did new things there like ate at a new restaurant in the hotel. The Italian one, and I don't remember what it was called, but it was good! Then we had room service bring us our breakfast, and we skipped a lot of the shopping and went for the sleigh ride instead. It was freezing, even for me, who's never cold these days. It was also very beautiful. There was a huge herd of elk, just sitting in the wilderness as we drove by, and they were not afraid of us at all. There were so many. Way more than I've ever seen at one time. It's always nice to get away for this trip, but I have to admit, it was hard to leave Michael when that's 1 of 2 nights a week we get to actually sleep at the same time, but it was worth it!



Judy reading us the breakfast menu (we hadn't had dinner yet, but we were planning ahead)
Right before going out to dinner.
The beautiful tree outside of the hotel. We were there too early last year to see it lit.

The beginning of the sleigh ride.

Christmas is Coming!

Well I figured it was time to get another set of belly shots up. It's getting harder and harder to take a picture that I like. Camera's don't lie, and I didn't realize that I was getting bigger...but I am. So, thanks to the help of Heather's photoshopping skills, I actually posted the pictures instead of hiding them forever. I'm getting scared to see what will become of me.

I'm getting very excited for all of the things that are going to be happening in our world in the next few weeks. December is my favorite month by far, and I feel like there's so much to do, and we have such a short month. I guess it is only the 2nd. As for the fun things I'm looking forward to. This week we have the beginning of the Christmas parties. Starting Wednesday with the R.S. one...then Friday for the work one...then Saturday for the ward one. The following week we have the arrival of Judy for BS'07 (our annual trip to Banff Springs Hotel for the night). We leave Friday for that. Then Heather and Gannon and the kiddies get here the next day. Then, it's my last week of work, the arrival of Kerri and Luke, and the Palmer's open house. Then the arrival of Cade and Amy and Brad and the kids. This Christmas will be crazy with family, and I'm so excited. The last time we were all together for Christmas, was before I was married...that's way too long.

As for new things in our lives. Michael started a new job. He's trading foreign exchange at night. It's HORRIBLE for right now. I go to bed alone and wake up and get off to work before he's awake. Then, we have a few hours at night together, unless I have other commitments...which I usually do...then we barely see each other. It stinks while I'm still working, but once this baby comes, it'll be WAY better. We'll get most of the day together. So, we're toughing it out until February when I can quit work. It's definitely a sacrifice, but it will pay off in the end. Baby girl Palmer is growing well and kicking me like crazy. My latest fun thing is to watch my stomach when she's doing this, and it's insane to see how much it moves. I LOVE it! We have most of the Christmas stuff up, but Michael insisted on restringing the lights, so the tree isn't decorated. This is the week to finish it though! I'm excited.

Well, I've rambled long enough. Michael's gone to work so I'm alone and bored. Can you tell?

Yes, these were both taken on the same night, but I like this one better, and the one below is better of the belly...so, you get them both!

Vinyl orders for Christmas

Just so you know, if anyone is interested in ordering anything for Christmas...get your orders in right away. We're facing a busy time, so inorder to have everything done BEORE Christmas, please get your orders in right away!! Check out our website for some really cute Christmas decor ideas!! putitinwriting.ca

Update on baby girl Palmer

I think we have a stubborn girl on our hands. Michael and I went for our second ultrasound today. We had to go back because last time she wouldn't move so that the tech could see all of her heart. So this time we booked into one of those places that does 4d imaging. I was so excited to get in there and see her little face. Well, what did she do? She kept her face to my spine the entire time. We couldn't see it at all. The most we saw in 4d was the back of her head. She had her hand on her head again (she did that last time too) and she kept patting her head. It was really adorable. We opted not to buy the cd though. What we could see really wasn't worth the money. I guess she just wants her looks to be a suprise. I really am sad though. I wanted to see all of that so badly. Other than that...I'm growing and feeling more and more puffy each day. I'm afraid for what I'll look like in a few months. Oh, and there are no names that we have picked in case you were wondering. We have a growing list that we add to, and take away from. We know we'll have to see her before anything like that is chosen. Just thought I'd tell you that since people always seem to want to know that.

We had our Super Saturday last Saturday and I taught some vinyl classes. I'm glad it's done...it was stressing me out. But, it went well and I think everyone was pleased with what they did. Tonight is Young Women in Excellence and I have to speak. I'll be glad when that's done too...I don't like speaking. I sure love the girls though, and I hope it's fun for them. As for the rest of the week, just work and then this Saturday I'm putting up Christmas stuff! I can't wait.

Tagged...a while ago...

Things people don't know about u.
I'm totally OCD. I don't really like to have people know this about me, because I can control it enough to the point that they wouldn't ever know. But I know just how I left a room when I leave, and then when something isn't the same when I'm back, I know someone's done something to change it on me. Michael calls me a detective because when I come home from work, I know if he's cleaned something, what he's eaten. It came in handy when I was away at school because I always knew if someone had been in my room.

What is the silliest prank you ever played on someone?
I don't have a lot that I can recall. We took all of the pillows off of some guys' apartment couches and hid them from them for a long time. I do have the best one that was pulled on us. We woke up one morning and opened the front door to find that all of the cinder blocks that made up the retaining wall right outside our door had been piled up in front of it. We had to crawl out the window and take them down and rebuild the wall. That was awesome!

If money were no object what would you do with your life?
Have a million kids, learn tons of musical instruments. Travel everywhere. Go around giving money to others when they least expect it. Really...what wouldn't I do??

2 Favorite vacation spots
Haven't been travelling a ton. Our cruise was AMAZING. Any of the stops there. Anywhere with Michael. I love travelling with him. No matter where we go, we have the BEST time!

What is the wierdest thing you'd ever admit to having done in the past?
I once convinced some guys in my student ward that I was a black-belt in karate. They'd always try and get me to show some stuff, and I'd always refuse. I honestly to this day think that they believe me. That was a good one. I also remember that one night when they were trying to get me to demonstrate, Jeni offered to show them her stuff, and she split her pants doing a high kick!! (remember that Milla???)

What song best describes you in the morning?
I really have no idea, nor the brain power to remember song titles at this point in my life.


What US destination would you be most likely to visit & why?
Church history sites back east. New York. The southern states...any of them. I'd really go anywhere.

Is your calendar always on the correct month?
If I'm working yes...if not, there is no calendar.

Desk Messy or organized
Usually messy as I work, but always clean before I go home. I sort of like having a messy desk, it makes me feel very busy.

Pet ownership - which is better; dog or cat?
NEITHER - no pets EVER.

Are you always early or late?
I used to be early, but now I'm always late it seems. I won't get into why.

Favorite childhood memory
Dancing to The Nutcracker with my sisters at Christmas time.
Trips to Utah and Arizona and singing in the car.
Christmas morning...trying to sleep the night before and thinking everything I heard was Santa.
Playing in our condo with Murdocks and Heningers...especially at night in the summer...playing capture the flag and 1.2.3. The summer night was awesome!

What talent would people be surprised to hear you have?
I used to take singing lessons. I hate singing solos...love choirs and groups.

Have you ever broken a bone?
2 actually. I broke my arm falling off of my bunkbed while I was sleeping. I also had a girl fall on me and break my colarbone.

What is your favorite way to relax?
Watching something on tv and falling asleep to it without have to wake up for anything later on. This is especially the best when you're in front of a lit Christmas tree and no other lights are on but those! Oh, I can't wait.

I now tag all of my sisters who are worse at blogging than I am. You know who you are!

IT'S A GIRL!!!

Well we had the ultrasound today, and as far as we can tell so far, we're having a baby girl. She gave us a pretty good view, and so the ultrasound tech was confident in letting us know what she thought we were having, so we'll go with that! First of all, it was so AMAZING to see her moving all around. She still seems so tiny in my stomach but when you see her moving around, she seems so big. At one point, we saw her foot and it looked huge, but when the lady measured for us, it's a mere 3.5 cm. Not too big at all. But, those little feet sure like to kick me a lot now. I'm feeling her move more and more and I LOVE it. I find myself just watching my stomach for the little movements I can see. I try to make Michael watch too, but he seems to always turn away right as she kicks. Anyway, here are some of the cutest pictures. I'll post the rest of them in an online album if you care to see, but for those who just think it all looks like an alien (Michael would agree with you), I put the best ones on the main page.

Is is just me or does she look chubby already in this picture?

Here she's resting her hand on her face! SO cute!

Similar to the last one, but her mouth is open!

So I guess there is something new!

First, and foremost, let me say sorry for not doing better on my posting. I guess I just felt like there wasn't a whole lot new to talk about. But, after taking new pictures of me, and looking at the old ones, I realized that YES, there is a difference now! So after many scolding comments and threats about not posting, I finally did it!

I'm now 18 weeks along, and 1 week today from my ultrasound! I'm super excited, although very nervous about the whole drinking a lot and then sitting there and waiting for someone to press on your bladder. I'll be ok though, I know I will! Michael and I have both decided that we want to find out what we're having for sure! Now, the baby just has to cooperate and let us get a look. We want to know because we have to plan...or I guess I have to plan for the baby! Getting all of the things set in order before it's arrival. We got to hear the heartbeat for the first time a few weeks ago, and I have to admit, that's one of the coolest things I've ever heard. That made it all real. Michael was pretty amazed too, and just kept saying "WOW". It was pretty cute.

Other than baby, we've moved into our house practically all of the way. We have a little bit of stuff still at the condo, but since the room it's supposed to go in is full of random boxes, we'll have to wait a little while before we can get everything out of it. The condo is still not sold (another huge story by itself) so we're going to rent it out for a few months until we can get it sold.

Our new house is really coming along. We've had some guys in doing the renovations in the basement kitchen, and putting in the washer/dryer upstairs, so that's coming closer to an end too. We'll all be so happy when that's all finished. I'm trying to get to fully decorating too, and it looks A LOT better than it did, but I'm still not close enough to putting pictures up. Soon though, very soon!

Oh, and I forgot to mention. I'm back at work again, and I'm right back where I left from. I'm back working for Sean again. The girl who replaced me left right before I was supposed to start a new job, so I turned down the other job, and went back there. It's been nice. No new training, or people to get used to. And, they for sure won't fire me before I get my maternity stuff done, so I'm guaranteed to get those benefits. It's been hard to be back only because I'm so tired. I'm going to be a lot earlier now, and still I'm tired, and I'm sure it's only bound to get worse. Oh well, it'll all be worth it in the end! I'll be sure to post again after the ultrasound. Any guesses??

Nothing new

Well I just thought I'd update something since I'm getting bored of the old post. I had my Dr's appointment and all looks good. She said the due date is March 22, so I wasn't too far off. I seem to be feeling much better the last few days which is so wonderful. I was actually able to clean the house a little...wow! The condo still isn't sold, and I'm getting anxious about it. I think we're going to move into the new house anyway. We'll just leave enough furniture here that it looks lived in, and then live in the new house. The condo smells bad to me for some reason, so the sooner I get out, the better. We just have a tiny bit of painting to do, and we'll have to clean it up before we can move, but I love the idea of going over there! It sounds so wonderful. Other than those things, next, I have to find a job. I need to get on that right away, but I just don't really want to which makes it hard to be motivated. Anyone know of anything? Well I just finished a bunch of vinyl orders, and now I'm going to get ready for the day. Not sure what I'm doing yet, but it always helps if you start out clean!

Another one I liked!

I just loved this picture too, so I thought I'd share.

Michael's Baby's Momma

Well it is indeed true...if you can't tell by the picture.  I'm going to be a mom!!  I'm thrilled...except for the whole morning sickness, superhuman sense of smell, nothing sounding good, tiredness, and the strange need to eat all the time.  Just kidding, I really am so happy, just not feeling too well right now.  The duedate has yet to be confirmed...first appointment is this week...but the online calculator says it's March 21, 2008.  Anyhoo, we're just running out the door, but we just took this picture (it's how I'm going to measure just how big I get) and we wanted to post it!

My house!!

Here is the front of the house in all its glory. It really is decent looking from the outside. I love it and am so excited at the prospect of living in it. We are still in the condo as we haven't sold it yet. Anyone interested?? The picture below is a sample of the garden. I have a HUGE garden. I love to take care of it. I water it and weed it, and pick the strawberries, which is the only edible thing right now, but I have raspberries, peas, apples, currants?, and a ton of other things that I don't know what they are. Michael and I acutally got to spend a Friday afternoon working in our garden. I didn't think I'd get to say that ever in my life, but I really like it. Actually as I'm typing I'm realizing that I should have gone to water it today and pick the ripe strawberries...oh well...please stay alive little berries. I'll get some pictures to prove it all! Anyhoo, this week will consist of more painting, and then the greatest movie ever is coming out, and I just need someone to go with me on Tuesday night at 12:01 to see Harry Potter. I'm rereading the 6th book again to get ready for the 7th, and the movie is just so exciting. It was Michael's birthday yesterday and I actually got him the Harry Potter game for the Wii, and I won't even tell you how long I've played already...I'm ashamed. It's really fun, and just as fun to watch someone else play. Well I'm now getting carried away, and called to by my book, so I'll go get some painted rooms pictures and show you that underneath all of that hidiousness, there really can be beauty!

It's coming along!

Well contrary to my way of thinking, it looks like we will actually be able to live here soon. It's really coming along...this room is now completely painted. It looks so much better I can't even believe it. I hope one day I can move into a house that I don't have to transform first. It really is a ton of work...and I am proud to say, I have done most of the acutal painting all by myself. Michael did all of the prep work, which I find very annoying, but it really does make a difference in the painting!

This happened really late one night, and therefore seemed funnier at the time. He was using his t-shirt to protect the wall, and it didn't want to come back down.

This is how we really feel about the work, although when people ask us, of course we say we're doing great...not the truth!

Gannon so kindly redid a little bit of tile in the bathroom, and Michael and Nixon were good helpers. Hopefully we can tile some more in the future...it would help the look of the place a lot.