Latest Faves.

With spring just around the corner, who wouldn't

love a pair of these babies?!?

Getting excited for "all things new house", I am

loving one of the latest Moda fabric collections

"Circa 1934". I so love retro fabrics and have

been waiting to see these in person. I RAN

into the fabric store with the car running to

take a peak at these today . . . Wouldn't this

fabric make a dreamy quilt for the great room?!?

Pioneer Woman cookbooks are my all time

favorite cookbooks . . . My family loves

everything that comes out of her amazing

cookbooks. She has a new one out and I

am excited that I have a birthday that is

just around the corner . . .

The Old Home Stretch.

Yes indeedy, ladies and gentlemen, we

will indeed be ready for inspection

and obtain our Certificate of Occupancy

in the very near future. In fact, we are

praying that that monumental event

will happen sometime within the

very next week.

Punch List:

*hot water heaters

*water in the house

*kitchen island

*kitchen appliances installed

*exterior doors installed

*stair railing in place

After that, we will, of course

have a list a mile of long of other

must dos, but we are excited that

we are getting close to ending the

house project. I, for one, have

about a bazillion other things to do

and will be grateful when the house

is all done. Here is to an exciting

week to wrapping up a very

long and intense project!!!

My Survivor Man.

Luke is bound and determined to develop

the best survivor skills EVER!! He spent

his CHRISTmas cash from Grandy on

survival books, gadgets, and necessities

for surviving in ANY situation. For the

past three days, he has immersed himself

in all of the literature on the subject and

can tell you how to survive in any situation

from a plane crash to being abandoned in the

wilderness. He has so much energy and

zest for knowledge, it is fun to watch him

and support his endeavors. He truly researches

and documents all that he is interested in.

As for now, we are in the Daniel Boone/Explorer

stage . . . It is great fun and one of the things that

I love the very most about my Luke.

Happy Hump Day!

Holy Cow! Keep in mind, that moments before

delivering this baby, they hauled away a 40-yard

dumpster TWICE this size!!

Hump Day Tietjen Style included:

*filling the 20-yard dumpster, COMPLETELY!

*staining doors

*running to Home Depot FIVE times

*eating Nacho Cheese Doritos

*hauling metal roofing that had blown

down the gully clear across the street

*making Chicken Parmesan for dinner

*working on my dissertation

*cleaning kids' closets to try and

weed out some of our "stuff"

*eating "hot balls"

*homeschool fun

*cleaning the garage over at

the new house

*oogling at the new wall faucets

*laundry

*working on my dissertation

*snuggling with my peeps when it

was all OVER!!

Hump.Day.gotta.love.it.

Action.

One of my main men was on deck to

help me with the staining project today!

We have sanded, sanded, stained, and

stained way more than ordinary folks

should have to in an entire lifetime.

Cabinet boxes are arriving . . .

I so love the color of the stain and

they compliment the floors so beautifully!

Ignore the tromped on floors, but adore

those be-a-utiful cabinet boxes.

I can hardly wait to see the doors and

drawers . . . Everyday is a surprise.

Yes, these are windowsills that have

been sanded and stained . . . Holy

Smoke!! What was I thinking when I

envisioned this "mountain style home"?!?

Morning Drive.

One of my very favorite parts of my

early morning drive to the house

project is the view of the river all

the way up Fourth Street. The Truckee

River is so pretty and the trees change

with each season. It is fun to watch

floaters in the summer and ice

skate down the river in the winter.

There has not been any rain or

snow this winter and so the river

is low, which is a great thing for

inexperienced floaters such as our

crew. We are excited to make raft

trips down the river this summer.

There are some really pretty homes

along this river! Some of Sam's friends

live at this point of the river and float

their way down to the movie theaters

about five or six miles away. They put

their tubes outside of the theater and

float home after the flick.

Happy Sunday!

Eeek! Remember when the house

project looked like this? Scary!

This week's goals:

1. Begin dissertation courses.

2. Back to homeschooling and

routine.

3. Look through new Pottery

Barn catalog.

4. Plumbing fixtures in house.

5. Appliances in house.

6. Finish cabinets.

7. Countertops.

8. Trash hauled away.

9. Baseboards caulked.

10. Electrical guys.

11. Sidewalks and front

porch poured.

12. Concrete stained.

13. Exterior doors put on . . .

14. Snuggle with crew.

15. Pray lots.

16. Read Bible more.

17. Contact dissertation mentor.

18. Mike's blood work.

19. Help Mike manage meds.

20. Smell the roses . . .

The list continues, but is slowly

becoming much more manageable!

Praying that you had a wonderful

family Sunday and are ready to

tackle the brand spankin' new week.