Ode to CBO

CBO is the company I have the great privilege of working for. I have never worked anywhere quite like it. We are just a small company with 16 employees and we do medical billing for over 20 doctors. It is such a unique environment and I am thankful everyday to be a part of it. This is what I mean  . . .

We party together.

Pets and kids are always welcome.

We do way to many things together outside of work.

We take classes together.

We even go on a company vacation once a year.

Some might say that this is excessive, but I think it is wonderful. I love going to work everyday with friends.

The Book Thief

FINALLY! A good thought-provoking book. It had been far to long and my passion for reading was beginning to deteriorate. Thankfully this book may have rekindled it. I highly recommend it. What good books have you read lately?

Happy 25th!

I am one lucky woman.

Bread Box

We have a fairly large open kitchen but where it lacks is in counter space. I use my table to prepare most all our meals because the counter tops are covered in containers, microwave, my kitchenaid, and a toaster oven. These things pretty much cover every cubic inch of open counter space. We had our bread and some treats that we just left siting on the counter but every time I would get the kitchen all clean it would bug me to no end seeing them just sitting there. So I stated looking at the DI for a bread box. I found one for $3.00 there were nicer ones but I wanted it to look beat up so this one was perfect for me.

Of course I didn’t take a before picture but it was just your average wooden bread box. I scrubbed the heck out of it and sanded it really well. Then I did two coats of yellow paint. I printed out the word  bread onto some cardstock and cut it into a stencil with a craft knife.

I sanded it down on the edges to make it look more used. After all that it still didn’t look as beat up as I wanted it too. I wanted it to match the scratched and dented green cabinets. I had read on a few blogs that people use a smoke glaze to make this look antique I am too cheap to go buy anything so I just used brown acrylic paint I had on hand. I would wipe it on then take a wet rag and wipe it off.

Of course Matt didn’t love it he said it looked “used,” so I guess I accomplished my goal.

My Last Garden Post

We picked our last harvest last week. We pulled up a wheelbarrow full of red potato. This is just day one of the picking it took two days after work to get them all picked.

We also picked all our pumpkins! This year we planed sugar pumpkins so we could freeze some of the pumpkin.

I didn’t take picture of all the bags filled with the pumpkin but we got about 15 bags with 2 cups of pumpkin each.

It was bitter sweet plowing the garden into the ground last week. It felt good to know that we won’t being eating dinner after dark each night and that I wouldn’t have to pull a single more weed. But I will definitely miss the fresh produce.

We had so many pumpkins that I didn’t end up canning that I just threw them up on the porch. Some of them I left alone and some I made into lanterns.

No I did not cut all those hole by hand I used drill bits. It probably took less than ten minutes to do all 7 that I did.

So there you have it the last garden post until Spring!

Halloween Wreath

I looked for a fun Halloween wreath at all the craft and decor stores around and everything was WAY out of my budget so I took matters into my own hands.  I came across this grapevine wreath at the dollar store a long time ago and had it hanging on our backdoor. I figured it could use a little revamping. I found rolls of black and orange tulle at JoAnns in their dollar section.

My wreath took two orange and two black.  Cut the tulle into 5 inch strips.

Fold one piece of the tulle in half and threaded it under a vine on the wreath. Then  just pull the ends through the loop and pulled tight. Pretty simple.

Then just keep alternating between the two colors until you have filled the whole wreath. It is a little time consuming but you can eaily do it while oyu watch you favorite TV show.

The finished product!

My Craft Room

I am lucky enough to have my own room to mess up when I scrapbook. I used to scrap in the office where the computer is on the main floor but if you can remember the mess I make when I scrapbook you will see why I moved to a room upstairs that was just sitting empty. Now I can make a huge mess and no one ever sees!

When I scrapbook I spread my stuff ALL OVER, so I usually just sit on the floor. A desk just wasn’t going to be enough room for me to spread out so I looked for a table I could put in my room to scrap on. I found this beauty at the DI for $10.

This is halfway through its makeover. At this point I had already sanded the whole thing and done one coat of primer. The table was just your average wood table, but it had huge gashes in it. The legs were a grayish color that I also painted.  I love the end result

It is a really fun room it is dormer style with the sloping ceilings. Matt doesn’t venture into this room because he can barely stand up in it. In case you are wondering, yes I did clean the room just for these pictures.

Today I am thankful

I don’t know if it is the change of seasons  but lately I have been feeling very introspective. Today I am feeling overwhelmed with gratitude.

I am thankful for a loving husband, a wonderful family, a house to live in, a job I enjoy, my health and my testimony that God lives.

I am very blessed and I know I take advantage of the simpliest things in life.

.

If you are still in the process of

raising children . . . be aware that

the tiny fingerprints that show up on

almost every newly cleaned surface,

the toys scattered about the house,

the piles and piles of laundry to be tackled

will disappear all too soon and that you will

-to your surprise- miss them profoundly.”

President Thomas S. Monson

I don't remember where I ran across this but I reread it this morning
and was touched by its message. I am not raising kids right now
it is just me and my wonderful husband but I love the reminder to
live in the moment and savor what you have. Whether it is the
progression of life or tragedy that takes things out of our reach
it happens and sometimes we look back and realize that we spent so
much time looking forward that we forgot to just live. Right now is
perfect time for this reminder as we have lots to look forward to in
the coming months. Thanksgiving, Christmas and a New Year are right
around the corner but I urge you to stop even for a few moments, watch the leaves change
color, enjoy the last few warms nights of a fading summer and look
at the ones you are lucky to be surrounded by. Don't think about
tomorrow, Christmas or next year think about now and be happy.  

Today’s Harvest

So much for taking a break.