Controlled Chaos & Creative Construction

Look what my man did...

While I was gone getting more sundries from Home Depot, he was busy framing out the doorway!

Here he is hard at work...

Here is the beautiful door that will installed into the lovely framing!

And here are the various tools, a lot of sawdust, and nails without number!

Home improvement sure is chaotic!

Getting There...

My industrious man finished laying the floor!

Here he proudly sits on his handiwork...

Just to give you an idea of the size of the room...it is HUGE!

I am so excited because when he completes the family room, the kids will have a large playroom/ schoolroom. Not to mention that when we have large groups of people over, we will have an overflow room.

He is working so hard on this...I am so PROUD of my Mr. Querido!

The Makevoer Continues!

I finally remembered to take photos of my room after everything was put back together! Please excuse the really poor lighting..it was just a dreary, rainy day today in the Pacific Northwest!

This is a shot of my side of the bed. Yes, the alarm clock is ugly and has to go! My hubby has had that thing longer than we've been married! I love the picture that we took of us at the beach :)

My husband's side of the bed and nightstand...that big goblet thing has tiny decorative rocks and votive candles in it.
Oh and this bedding won't be staying. Although if you had told me that brown and grey went together, I would have thought you were nuts! For some reason though, they look very harmonious...

The lovely unfinished closet doors...
Priming isn't as motivating and gratifying as painting is!
Oh and my husband and I can't agree on whether to paint the doors grey or leave them white (I will of course slap some paint on them instead of just primer!)...help us decide! Cast your vote in the comments please! :)

Here is a nice profile of the unfinished door! The dresser will become a lovely espresso color after my husband finishes our family room remodel!

Family Room Sneak Peaks...

Our house was built with a four-car garage. Why a 1970's house would be built with a four-car garage is beyond me...

Anyway, when we first bought the house we really wanted to turn a portion of that oversized garage into a family room. Up until this year we never had the funds to realize that dream. God has blessed us abundantly despite the economic downturn and we were finally able to start the renovation!

My husband started laying the footers (?) for the subflooring...

Close up of his handiwork

This was the finished portion as of last night!

Did I mention he moved this FULL fridge all by himself? He is a bit crazy...

Oh, and he started this project a week ago. Yes my man is a motivated individual! He is doing a wonderful job and I can't wait to show you more photos of the process! For now, you'll have to be satisfied with this is sneak peak :)

Frugal Failure

I am, admittedly, a person who likes to eat tried and true favorites. I very rarely like to branch out and try something new.

So, when I decided to try Cabbage Rolls, I surprised even myself.

Unfortunately, what someone else deems as delicious I could classify as "Gag me with a spoon...or a cabbage leaf...." No offense meant to cabbage lovers out there. Only my husband liked the meal. The kids picked out the filling and ate it with rice...so did I.

A failed attempt to plan a meal around what is on sale that week.

At least I haven't bombed like this in quite a while...so that is comforting. I'll make up for it by serving something really yummy tomorrow.

Biscuits Anyone?

You know how things you learned as a child come back to haunt you later on in life? I'm not talking about some scary or evil thing...just stupid things..such as campfire songs.

Or, maybe not campfire songs, but a song that someone once taught you that, try as hard as you might, you CANNOT erase it from your memory. It uses up valuable memory space and waits to surface at inopportune times.

Like when you're cooking...

Ever heard this one?

Grandma's cooking in the cellar
Oh Lordy can't you smell her
Burnin' biscuits on her durndled dirty stove
In her eye there is some matter
That keeps dripping in the batter
And she whistles while slggghhhhh (make the sound of slurping something) runs down her nose

Down her nose
Down her nose
She whistles while the slgggghhh runs down her nose
In her eye there is some matter
That keeps dripping in the batter
And she whistles while the slggghhhh runs down her nose

I think I've lost my appetite....

Choice Tidbits From the Marriage Retreat:: Four Commitments

You can read the first part here...

Four commitments that will make my marriage what God ordained it to be:

1) Commitment of priority:
This commitment says "Next to Christ you are my highest priority."

What are my priorities? It doesn't matter what I say my priorities are, what matters is does he feel valued?

A) Practice the priority
B) Protect the priority
Does he feel like my priority?

To protect the priority:
1) Date. Get creative.
2)Get time out of town
3) Limit the kids' activities so you aren't slave to the soccer/ gymnastics/ football schedule
4) Limit social activities. Learn to say no
5) Get out from under financial burdens

Next to my relationship with God, my relationship with my husband is the most sacred.

This one really struck me. I had not ever considered the sacredness of my relationship with my husband. It is something holy. Am I treating it as such? Am I interacting with my husband in a manner that lets God know that I highly revere this man He gave me? That I respect this person He created to complete me? That this relationship honors and mirrors the very sacred relationship that Christ has with the Church? Marriage is sacred, a holy thing, in God's eyes...do I see it the same way He does?

I will be posting the next commitment later on this week

Master Bedroom Makeover In Process!

Here is a photo of our new dresser...this behemoth is too wide to fit in the picture! It won't stay this lovely warm color for long...my hubby has varnishing on his mind! I love it because I have been looking for a dresser that we can BOTH share. Now I know that this sort of thing is commonplace in most households--the husband and wife share ONE dresser--but we weren't able to afford fancy furniture like that in the beginning stages of our marriage. So he got a five drawer dresser and I got a wicker dresser. Yeah, not so great to keep clothes in. Anyway, I found this on Craigslist for $50...we asked them if they would take $40 cash and they agreed! We got a NINE drawer dresser, solid hardwood (no veneer here) PLUS a huge mirror for $40!
Halfway done with the painting!
All the way done...please excuse the clutter on the dresser! (And I have no idea why the toilet paper is in my room...ah the joys of having children!) I really like how the grey makes the white trim really pop!

When I first started painting this room, the grey looked lavender up against the celadon that was there before. I panicked and prayed "Oh God PLEASE let this dry darker and look more grey. Otherwise my husband will have a fit! He will not appreciate a lavender room, Lord."
My fears were unfounded because by the time my hubby got home the paint had dried into the lovely mist grey that I fell in love with on the paint chip card.

(The color is Anonymous by Behr)

I always thought it would be such a fun job to come up with the paint color names! How does one go about applying for that?


Anyway, I LOVE the new color. It is so soothing and restful..exactly what I was going for! More changes ahead...this is just the beginning!

Total cost so far: $117.45 (And no, I most certainly did NOT pay that much for paint! Those extra expenses are for some pieces of the puzzle that I will reveal later on!)

Adios Albertsons

Ok, so as I have thought through Albertsons decision to no longer honor competitor's coupons, I am realizing that my little money-saving strategy has been blown out of the water!

Today as I picked up the FoodDay and saw the great $10 off a $50 purchase coupon from Thriftway I almost wept. I loved using those coupons on my purchases at Albertsons. I would use Safeway, Thriftway, Fred Meyers and Haggens coupons in one store and cut my bill by at least half! Now I don't see any great deals at Albertsons. I will keep in mind that this is the first week of the new policy, and I could just be a slight bit bitter.... BUT I really hope that they start putting out new deals soon or they will lose a valued customer!

On a secondary note, I am contemplating writing Albertsons corporate and informing them of how I felt when I found out at the register with a cart full of groceries that they would no longer honor competitor's coupons. Personally, I think they could have handled that situation a lot more professionally and sent out a letter to regulars to inform them of the policy change. I think it is a bit rotten that they are waiting until the unsuspecting couponing customer loads up his/her cart and then ambush them with the new policy. I am so grateful that my cashier had mercy on me...because I probably would have walked out after an hour of shopping if she hadn't!

Ok, my pity party has now ended. We all must adapt to changing circumstances I guess. I don't do well with change. Especially when it has to do with my grocery store! I loathe shopping elsewhere because it takes me twice as long to find everything. Plus, I love the Albertsons employees...they are the best and they always make my day. And I cannot abide poor customer service, that turns me off to shopping at a store quicker than weak sales!

So, now I must form a new strategy...as if I didn't have enough to do!

Choice Tidbits From the Marriage Retreat:: Investing and the Dividends

These are my own personal insights from our marriage retreat. Please take what you want from here and apply it to your own marriage!


Reverend Tony Cooke was the guest minister at our marriage retreat. He started off the first session by giving us a Bible pop quiz. Could we tell him what I Cor 7:28 says about marriage? Well, I knew that I Cor 7:25 said "Don't deprive one another..." but I was stumped about verse 28! So was everyone else in the room!

What does I Cor 7:28 say? "But those who marry will have trouble in the flesh." What a great start to the retreat! I was beginning to wonder if we should get our money back!

He went on to say that it's not a matter of if I am going to have tension in my marriage, the issue is how to resolve it.
Prov 24:3-4 "Through wisdom a house is built, and by understanding it is established; by knowledge the rooms are filled with all precious and pleasant riches." I have to choose to live a life of investment in my marriage if I ever hope to get anything out of it.

As I thought about the above verse and statement, I realized that this whole time I have been living as a expector (someone who takes) rather than an investor (someone who gives). I had been expecting my husband to fulfill me and satisfy my desire for belonging. Which he does, to a certain extent. But it is not his job to do it all. I have to learn to rely on Christ and to find my identity in Him. And, just to be clear, I am not a little princess expecting my husband to grant my every whim. He isn't that type of man! And he wouldn't put up with a wife who was like that for very long! :)

Prov 11:29 "He who troubles his own house will inherit the wind.." People don't change until the pain is sufficient. I must learn to be proactive instead of reactive. What seeds am I investing into my marriage?
Prov 14:1 "The wise woman builds her house, but the foolish pulls it down with her own hands." (Emphasis mine) Do I have an investment mentality? Be 100% not just 50/50.

What investing are you doing into your relationship with your husband? I realized on our marriage retreat that we had both stopped investing in our relationship. The first five years of our marriage we were just in survival mode, struggling to make it work. When you are in a crisis mode like that for so long, you focus on the larger problems and everything else gets shoved aside. Well, the fun in our relationship--our companionship---was the first thing to suffer. On our way up to the retreat, Mr. Q and I were discussing what first attracted us to each other. (Contrary to popular belief, it wasn't because of looks (although that was a nice bonus!), or money, or status.) It is sad to admit, but we both had kind of forgotten what had drawn us together. We talked some more and realized that our dates weren't extravagant (taco cart anyone?), weren't activity laden (walking on the beach, hiking up a waterfall), the only common thread between them was we spent them together. We rediscovered that we liked spending time together. That was what made our times together enjoyable. In the whirlwind that is raising children and eking out a living, we had lost sight of the togetherness factor. We purposed that we would reinvigorate that part of our relationship. We would find ways to spend time together even if we couldn't get someone to watch the kids. We are going to make our marriage a priority.

You are investing into a part of your marriage right now, whether or not you are aware. Whatever we give our time to, our resources, ourselves, that is what is truly important to us. Does your life declare that your marriage is a priority? We were told to take a look into our checkbook and see what it was we truly valued. What would your checkbook say about you? While I am happy to say that our checkbook reflects tithe checks, offering checks, and the basics such as utilities, clothing, groceries, etc.; I am ashamed to admit that prior to the marriage retreat if you had based our relationship solely on what could be found in our checkbook, you would have not even known that we had a marriage!

What are the dividends that your relationship will yield?

Struggling Economy....Strong Faith

Apparently, the economy is really bad. I feel like we are in a bubble that prevents us from being effected. I know that bubble is God's Grace. I also know that without His intervention, we would be in a very tight situation.

But tonight, as I went shopping at Albertsons, I realized for the first time how bad things really are.

As I pushed my heavily laden cart up to the register, I handed the cashier my wad of coupons. She politely informed me that she would take the competitor's coupons this once but now Albertsons was no longer other stores' coupons! The store was losing too much money. I am grateful for the favor of the Lord on me so that they honored the coupons I had.

I am so bummed. Now if I want a good deal I have to go to three different stores! Thriftway and Safeway don't honor competitor's coupons and now my beloved Albertsons doesn't either. Sigh. Sniff. Sniff.

She did mention that Albertsons was going to be sending out their own coupons in the mail. And that they would have their own doublers and deals. But I am skeptical as to how much money I will be able to save that way...

Oh well, as I told Mr. Q today when I got home : It doesn't matter if all the coupons in the world disappear, God will find a way to provide for our grocery needs anyway! Because our trust isn't in my husband's paycheck, store deals, coupons or even my ability to shop frugally. Our trust is in the Unchanging, Ever-Present Provider....He won't cut back on His blessings because of the economy! :)

Flying High!

One of the activities we really wanted to try on our getaway was a helicopter ride. God gave us perfect flying weather and so on our way home we stopped of to take to the clouds!

Here is my happy hubby sitting up front with the pilot as we take off.
Here I am about halfway through our flight...at this point I was starting to feel a bit ill. I am not one to get motion sickness but I think it was a combination of the vibrations from the engine, dramatic changes in equilibrium and slight nasal congestion. All together a recipe for airsickness! As I realized that the rising temperature was just me, slight panic set in. As inconspicuously as possible I searched for an airsick bag. Would you believe they didn't have any?! So I focused on keeping myself from hurling over the back of my hubby. I am pleased to say that I didn't end up puking but it took me quite a while to get my stomach back to a happy normal!


Isn't the coastline amazing from 2,500 feet?
The people literally looked as small as ants! It was so weird!
Here is a lonely, decomissioned lighthouse. Could you imagine living there? And yet lighthouse keepers did for over a hundred years!
Majestic mountains and rolling valleys.

The helicopter ride was amazing. But I won't be doing that ever again. I prefer large airliners for traveling.

My honey had a wonderful time and didn't get sick at all. He was hoping we could get a longer ride. I am sooo thankful we didn't! :)