main living area 'tour'

The main living area has been a lot of fun to do.  I went with warm grays (3 shades to be exact) through out and a pop of orange for contrast (and to keep it warm).  I did ALL the interior priming and painting.  That was a big job.  I spent many evenings over in the the house alone on scaffolding  listening to my high school students basketball games.  I also did all the art work through out this main living area.  

Dan did all the finish work inside (and outside).  He did a great job on the wood floors.  He also did all the trim, baseboards, hung the doors, did the fireplace stone, mantel, and hung the cabinets.  I did help with it all but he was the brains behind it.

This hangs above the bench in the entry

Yes this is an old record player that has been "spruced up" as our entertainment center

LOVE the wall of windows in the kitchen!!!!!!

I LOOOOVE my pantry!!!  Sorry there is not better pictures but it is a hard room to photo.  We have plans to fix it up nicer but for now this set up works great!  I think my electrician thought I was crazy when I told him that I wanted 4 outlets in this small room all at outlets counter height.  I use my walk in pantry as a mini butlers pantry.  That is where my Keurig, toaster, and crockpot/instant pot all stay.  They sit on the counter behind closed doors so my kitchen counters are never cluttered with them.  I love stepping into my pantry to grab my coffee and having a roast going all day in there and it not out on the counter.  This is my favorite part of the whole house!!!

This hangs in the hallway outside of the the pantry (at the top of the stairs)

Painting the ceiling orange was a cheap and easy way to add color to a simple area.
Our dining table and hutch were bought with wedding money in 2005. 

This portion of the house is where I enjoy my coffee every morning.  We call it the sun room because when we originally drew up our plans we had it designed as an actual sun room.  But when it was being framed we decided that we really wanted to keep the long lines of the ceiling.  The visual when you first walk into the house was too cool  we didn't want to lose that!  I really wanted a couch table but was having a hard time finding the right fit so once again dan hooked me up with a custom piece. 

Dan made me this perfect sized couch table out of old corral boards from the old place.
Those orange chairs are an auction find for $5....SCORE!!!

The candle holder is an old chandeliers I found at the grandparents farm.

Looking back at the entry

I came across this fabulous rug 2nd hand locally.

The sun room leads out onto the deck.

Here is the basic breakdown of the the main living area.... 

We once again got all building supplies through Mead Lumber.

For thing Mead does not carry we did our best to buy local!!!

We are very lucky that we have some great shops in town.

General Contractor: Dan Campbell

 Building Materials Provided by Mead Lumber

• Floor: Hickory Engineered Wood Floor
• Cabinets:Custom Woods
• Countertops: Granite
• Fireplace: Stone
• Fireplace mantel: Reclaimed barn wood 
• Cowhide Rug: Bow Family Furniture
• Appliances: Lyne's Appliances
• Couches: Bow Family Furniture
• Lights: THE HARDEST PART FOR ME were bought all over.  I ordered the dining chandelier and pendents online from Amazon

I plan to do the main floor bedrooms and bathrooms next 

(then I'll do one last post of the basement).

I hope you are enjoying my "tour"

~Suzi

exterior "tour"

I am going to start the tour with the exterior of our home.

OK I know it’s probably not the most exciting part but I have to start someplace.  :)

Here is the basic breakdown of the the exterior...

General Contractor: Dan Campbell

Materials Provided by Mead Lumber

• Siding: LP Smart Side in Terra Bronze
• Shake Siding: LP Smart Side (in Custom Paint Color)
• Shingles: Heritage 30 in Rustic Black
• Windows: Anderson 100 series Casement
• Front Door: Bayer Built Acclimated Fiber Glass
• Pediment: Made by Dan
• Shutters: Black
• Patio Doors: Anderson
• Deck: TimberTech
• Railing: TamRail

I love the wrap around catwalk on the deck.  

We still have some work to do on this side slop.  

We have plans of a grilling station and terraces but that will come with time. 

Our flowers out front. I made the dry creek bed and used a lot of old junk to use as planters

The coop.  Yes I of course brought it over!!!!  

It gave it a fresh coat of paint to match the new house.

(I still need to get the shutters back on)

I have sunflowers planted behind the cute little fence and and I can not wait for them to be peeking over!

Come back to see the main living area tomorrow!!!

~Suzi

Virtual tour

We have been in our home for over a year!!!  

I have been asked OVER and OVER to share images of my home and do a virtual tour!  I have to be honest I have been putting off sharing photos of my house for a couple reasons.  One reason was because I felt like I was not done decorating so I thought I should wait till I finished.  Also, the grass/lawn is not in like I would like it to be.  But the truth is that it is never finished and the lawn, flowers, and landscaping are always evolving.

The main reason though was because I felt like I would look like I was bragging.  I have a beautiful home and we have worked VERY hard to get this home.  The Hub’s has put in A LOT of hard work on the construction side.  He did so much work himself and put in some REALLY long days (he still does with all the maintenance)!  Not only that but we also worked hard to save the money to build this house.  I just worried that people would think differently of me once they saw my home.  I pride myself on being a “normal” person who doesn’t need big fancy things! Don’t get me wrong I like nice things!!!!  But I can make anything nice.  It doesn’t have to be new!!!  As you see from my blog I love to take old things and breathe new life into them.  I have a those things in our new home.  I used a TON of old pieces that we had in our old house, pieces I had been storing in the barn, and new (to me) pieces I have found at flea markets, garage sales, and antique stores!

When we bought our little country home we always planned on building on the land.  It was always our goal.  We settled into our little country farm house and fixed it up and made it our home.  It worked great and served its purpose.  It is where we brought our littlest cowgirl home from the hospital. I was very happy in that home and there are things I miss about that house but honestly we out grew it.  One bathroom and no tub (yes 2 young children and NO TUB) was hard! 

I have decided to finally share pictures of my home because I am PROUD!

Proud of my home!

Proud of the work we put into this house!

Proud of my talented husband!

Proud of us saving up to afford this home!

So, starting tomorrow I am going to share the house.  I think I’ll break it up into a few different posts to keep the photo manageable!  I hope you enjoy!
~Suzi

Transverse Myelitis…My story

About a month ago I was a typical healthy mom and teacher.  We were just getting back into the swing of school.  Things were busy as they always are that time of year.  I had spent my summer working VERY hard to lose weight and I was feeling great.  I had a ton of energy at school and was enjoying having a nice new home to be taking care of.  I worked out every morning before school in my basement gym and was always running up and down my stairs doing house work.  Then one day it all changed…..

It all started with my left leg feeling a bit numb one morning.  I thought I just slept wrong but it never came back all day.  Monday I went to school and told our AD that my one leg was numb he recommended it see the trainer.  I thought it was silly but he offered to watch my class as I went to meet with him.  The trainer noticed that my right leg (that was not numb) was weaker.  He recommended I see a Dr.  I went back to my room and made a phone call to the local clinic.  They turned me down and said they were not accepting any new patients. So I called another clinic and they said they could see me the next morning.  Tuesday morning my left leg was still numb/tingling and I had a hard time moving my right leg but I was able to walk with a little assistance (wall, hand rail, holding a hand).  The Dr was unsure what was causing this but made me an appointment for a neurologist that Friday.  He did think that my weight loss may have triggered a vitamin deficiency so he ordered a bunch or blood work to be done for that and a multitude of other things.  They all came back negative I had no answers but every day I was waking up with less and less movement in the right leg.  By the time I went to the neurologist on Friday I was barely able to move my right leg at all.  She immediately sent me for my MRI’s.  I had a lesion on my spinal cord and I was diagnosed me with Transverse Myelitis.  They originally wanted to admit me to administer hard core steroids but luckily I was sent home with a home health nurse to put an IV in and Dan helped me administer the steroids with a infusion ball for 4 days (I was even able to go to work with the infusion ball).  Seriously it was the coolest thing ever.  I got worse before getting better….but I got better, which after reading up on my diagnosis I am VERY LUCKY!!!!!  I am not back to where I was but I have made major improvements.  I am now able to walk with almost no limp and I can also take stairs again but I have to go slow and be careful.  My knee still gives out on me occasionally, my strength is not back yet, I get fatigued very easily, and I also have random numbness throughout my body. I am doing physical therapy and still seeing improvements! I go back to December for more MRI's.

This little ball kept me out of the hospital

So what exactly is Transverse Myelitis???  Well I have done a lot of research after being diagnosed.  Transverse Myelitis is a rare autoimmune disease causing injury to the spinal cord with varying degrees of weakness, sensory alterations, and autonomic dysfunction.   Normally, the cells that are a part of the immune system have the ability to distinguish an infectious agent from a person’s body; however, sometimes some of these cells become ‘confused’ and mistakenly attack an organ within a person. This is known as autoimmunity and when the spinal cord is affected it is called Transverse Myelitis.  The signals are not able to be sent correctly and the person has numbness, weakness, and difficulty walking (or completely paralyzed).  1/3 of individuals recover with little or only minor symptoms, 1/3 are left with a moderate degree of permanent disability, and 1/3 have virtually no recovery and are left severely functionally disabled. Most show good to fair recovery!

Transverse Myelitis is very time sensitive!!!!!!  The faster you catch it the better chance you have for a full recovery.   Anyone who knows me knows that I never go to the Dr!!!  It still amazes me that I went when I did but if it were not for our school AD, Trainer, my coworkers, and my husband I probably would have put off seeking medical help.  This whole experience has been very humbling!!!!!  To not be able to physically do the things I was able to do the day prior has been a crazy experience.  I no longer take my basic health for granted and praise God for teaching me this lesson.  

it's that time...Outside my classroom

It is officially time to stop denying that soon school starts! since teacher report this coming Thursday!!!!! 

I have started working in my classroom and have actually made a lot of progress but finished very little other then my door and hallway display.  Every year I do a yearlong theme outside my room.  I don't change it (other than for Christmas) because I am always rotating out artwork displays.  So I figure I get a free pass on doing monthly bulletin boards like other teachers do!  Or at least that is how I justify it to myself.

I teach k-12 art and my room is located all by itself next to the lunch room, at the end of the Elementary wing, opposite from the High School, and room across from the Gym (I am kind of on an island and I LOVE IT). My room is actually the only room sport patrons see when they come to games.  So I decided to do a South Loup Bobcat theme this year!  I am pretty pleased with how it turned out.

My bobcat door hanger.

I drew the bobcat on a piece of underlayment and the hubs cut it out.  
Then I painted it up and added the ribbon.  

(I have one more drawn up I'm thinking art club fundraiser!?)

A friend of mine from high school cut out the vinyl for me. 

I LOOOOVE how it turned out!!!!!!

I also painted up this chair bobcat blue and covered the seat in some left over fabric from the oldest cowgirls nursery

(yes she is almost 8 and I still have it laying around!)

I also added my schedule, a logo, and a saying I really enjoy.

Now to tie up ends inside my room!!! 

It will all come together.  It always does!!!!

Have a great school year to all teachers, students, and parents!!!!!

end of year teacher gift

School is out for the summer!!!!!

Once again this year we had amazing teachers for the girls.  

We chose to give a little parting gift.

So...What do you give a teacher for an end of the year teacher gift?

This year we gave beach towels.  

Rae's teacher spends a large portion if her summer at their lake house.  

Hers said,  "Have a great summer at the lake".

We often see AJ's teacher at the pool.  

Hers said, "We hope to see you at the pool this summer".

The gifts we gave were not expensive or anything fancy 
but the girls were so excited to give their teachers a gift to say thanks.

*********************

Now that school is out I am planing on blogging regularly again.  

I can't wait to give a home tour!!!!

Suzi

the importance of the arts in education

I love my job.  I get to do what I love every day.  I am blessed by this but not only am I doing what I enjoy I am also making an impact.  Last year I wrote a blog post (you can read it here) about how I feel as an art educator.  All of these things still hold true but just yesterday I came across this visual and I LOVE IT!!!!  I knew my job mattered but it was awesome seeing the actual statistics.  Pretty impressive!!!

I know the arts are not everyone's passion but I truly believe that everyone can benefit from some aspect of the arts in their life.  Visual arts, music, theater, and dance are all great healthy outlets for our youth AND adults.  I ask you to please encourage these in the young people in your AND I encourage you to incorporate some aspect of the arts into your own life!  I promise you won't regret it!

In 2016 I will...

It is that time of year again.  

Time to reflect on the past year and time to look forward to the new year ahead. 

This year my overall goal is to see everything as a blessing and not a burden.
It is easy to get overwhelmed and get bogged down by it all 
and have those blessings feel like burdens.

All my stresses are really my blessings....
3 busy healthy children
Amazing husband
We are building a new home
I have a job {that I LOVE}

Each year I set goals or resolutions for the upcoming year.

This year I am making "I will" statements

Do you make resolutions? 

What are yours?

Have a fabulous year!!!!!

~ Suzi

Happy New Year

We had another busy year 

Everyone says that right? 

I’ll quickly hit the highlights and let you keep moving with your own busy life! ;)

(I am sorry I don't update here more often follow along on Instagram to see what I am up too daily) 

The Hubs is still at the lumber yard.  He has been with the company for 15 years now.  

He is keeping very busy working on building our new home!!!  

He still tries to fit in golf whenever he can. 

Suzi is in her 2^nd year of being a k-12 art teacher in a small rural school.  

She and her friend have started teaching painting classes/parties. 

She is also excited to start working on the “fun stuff” in decorating their new home.

S is a Sophomore in High School.  

He is probably the busiest of us all.  

Between football, wrestling, track, lifting, camps, working, 

and fitting in time for friends an family he is always busy!  

He is doing great in school and we are super proud of him.

The oldest cowgirl is a 1^st grader and is excelling in school!  

She loves to read.  she is becoming quite the talented artist!  

This year she started  gymnastics and basketball.  

She is also helping mom decorate the new home and is excited to have her own room soon.

The little cowgirl started preschool this year.  

She is having a great time and enjoying it very much.  

She loves her animals and to be outside.  

She is excited to be a “big kid”.  

This year she finally gets to go to church on Wednesdays nights and gymnastics 

with her sister. 

God Bless You,

Suzi {and family} @ chores and chandeliers

step parenting {the blend}

I love being a step parent.
I honestly believe that having a bonus child is just that, A BONUS!

This video is a must watch...WOW
The biological parents are a great example!!!
I feel as if we have a similar situation and unfortunately this is not the norm.

The Blend
What happens to a family after divorce and remarriage?
Posted by SoulPancake on Thursday, December 24, 2015