A few things

1. I just signed up for the St. George marathon!! I've been thinking of running a marathon for a while. Now is the time for me to do it! Only 7,400 of those who register will be selected, by lottery, to participate. Cross your fingers for me that I'll be chosen! The race is October 1st. If you want to run with me or come cheer me on, I'd love it!

2. I'm completely excited about something. It's my vacuum and mop! Long story, short: I've had tile woes since I moved here 4 1/2 years ago. Nothing to properly vacuum/sweep and mop my hard floors. Our new house has a lot of tile, and it's textured. So I need something good.

Well, my genius husband found the perfect solution: our shop vac! It's been sitting in our garage all these years and I haven't thought to use it on the tile. He tried it and it works like a dream! It picks everything up! I love that my problem is solved, and didn't have to spend money on it.

As for the mop, I got an industrial mop and bucket. I love them. They make mopping so much easier and pleasant. The mop was inexpensive and the bucket was a bit more, but so worth it!

3. I'm going to make my blog private. I'd love for you to keep looking at my blog, so pretty please leave me a comment with your email address and I'll send you an invite.

How do you? round 2

First a little update: We attended a nice funeral service for Dean and his mom last week. God is a God of miracles, Dean's little brother is recovering very well.


Here's another "How do you?" post:

How do you store extra bags and purses when not in use?

and

What do you eat for breakfast on Christmas morning and at what point in the festivities do you eat it?

How do you?

Hi gals. I love learning from other people who've been there and done that. So I'm putting out some questions and would love to learn from you. What organization tools, tips, processes do you use to keep your household running smoothly? I'm brainstorming how to organize my new house and would love to get ideas from friends. What works for you??

Right now I'm particularly wondering:

1. How/where do you store your family's shoes when they enter the house?

2. If you have a pool, how/where do you store pool toys, swim suits, and beach towels so they don't end up all over the house?

3. How do you organize all those papers that come into the household and clutter up the counters?

4. If you have tile floors, do you sweep or vacuum? What kind of vacuum do you use? How do you clean or mop your tile?

5. Where do you keep all your bags, backpacks, and purses that get used daily?

Please, please, please share!! Thank you!

Home

I don't have words to adequately express how I feel right now. "Thankful" is most succinct. This is our new home!!


We have been waiting years to buy a house. We moved here after college, right around the peak of home prices. They were incredibly high. There was no way we could purchase a home at that time. When we started to rent in 2006, I would have screamed if someone told me we wouldn't purchase a house for four more years. But it turned out, we were in the Lord's hands and were so blessed while we waited.

I love, love, love this home. I love the huge pantry that fits all our food storage!!! (Our food storage used to be in our master closet!) I love the comfortable kitchen. I love that it has a living room so I'll have one room in the house that is always clean. I love all the windows that let in light, but are covered with sunshades. I love the soft carpet. I love the open stairway that looks into the living room. I love the big family room. I love the loft upstairs that is full of toys! It'll be a constant mess, and that will be okay! I love the kids' bathroom. I love that I will have a craft room!! I love the three car tandem garage that will provide storage and a place to park both cars. And I love the pool!!

When we first moved here, Lily was 2 years old. Her request in a home was that it have stairs. She quickly added a request for a pool. Luckily for her, our new house has both!

I am so thankful to Heavenly Father for His loving kindness as He helped me wait for something I wanted so badly. And I'm extremely thankful to my wise husband whose knowledge, patience, hard work, and desire to follow God have brought us to where we now live.

The house is full of boxes. I'm slowly organizing. I'll slowly post interior pictures as we get the place in order. If you can't wait for those posts, come on over and visit!