Tuesday, August 10, 2010

The Room Where Everything Goes To Die.

You know you have one. Maybe yours is a closet, but you know you have a place where you put stuff until you have time to put it away- and you never have time to put it away so it ends up looking like this:


This would be my craft room after returning from a long vacation. I swear things in this room reproduced while we were gone for 2 and a half weeks! (Not that I would mind more craft stuff, but I don't think the JoAnn fairies visited me.) How does stuff pile up so fast??


This is where you come in. I NEED HELP! How do I organize/de-junk this room? I don't know where to start. It is OVERWHELMING and it needs to be done. My mom is coming for a visit and I want to show her that despite my entire childhood, it IS possible for me to keep a room clean! I am on a VERY tight budget... (as in NO budget since my husband would have a COW if I spent any more money on this room.) Got any ideas? (other than getting rid of it all.)

Monday, August 9, 2010

Atlanta Aquarium

When we were in Georgia, one of the things I REALLY wanted to do was to visit the Atlanta Aquarium. It was AMAZING!!! Taking pictures was a challenge because you can't exactly get fish to pose for the camera, but I think I got a few good pictures.
These jellyfish were all tangled up together.

I wonder who is going to win....



Yes that is a SHARK in the tank. It's a whale shark and it's the size of a small bus!

Big fish. The divers said they are actually more afraid of these fish than all of the sharks in the tank. Apparently, they are very territorial. (Like they are the only girl in the family or something.)


This is the underside of a sting ray.. cool huh? I told him to say cheese, but I am not sure he could hear me through the 2 feet of glass.


You know I had to get fish and chips for lunch! Jonathan called me a murderer because we ate right in front of a fish tank.



I pet the shark! It was really slimy!

I was more nervous about touching the sting ray than the shark, but since little children were doing it, I thought I would take the chance.

If you are ever in Atlanta, I HIGHLY recommend going to the Atlanta Aquarium. It was breath taking! (and soon they will have dolphins too!) Be sure to go EARLY in the day because it gets PACKED!

Kentucky!

Jonathan and I don't LOVE Idaho. We have DREAMED of moving to Kentucky for some time now, and we thought that it might be a good idea to check out the state before we up and move there. Why Kentucky? A few years ago, Jonathan and I got got out a gardening map. We had a LONG winter in Idaho and were SICK AND TIRED of all the snow and NO gardening season. We knew that we didn't want to live in Idaho forever, but as far as where we moved next, the sky is the limit! While looking at the gardening map, we said that we should both pick a state we wanted to live in and then we would say them at the same time. Then we would try and find something in the middle of the two. We both said Kentucky. After laughing for a LONG time, we really started to think about it. After visiting, we KNOW that is where we want to be! Don't worry our Idaho friends... we have a while before Jonathan finishes school, but as soon as he does... we are out of here!
We thought it might be a good idea to check out some houses in KY. In reality, we REALLY like to dream! Jonathan found this one.. the location is perfect... but we just need to talk them down on the price... A LOT. The streets around it were lined with parks and it over looked the Ohio river. ::sigh:: I heart this house. I know it needs TONS of work, but I am a Randall now! (You can click on the house and see the listing... but if you buy this house before me, know that I am going to move in with you.)
Kentucky is horse country! We had to stop by Churchill Downs and check it out. I can't wait to go to a real race someday!
While driving around, we found this "house" in the middle of the road. Kind of random, but I guess you wouldn't have to worry about too many house guests!

While in Kentucky, I FORCED Jonathan to stop at some antique shops. (He would tell you we stopped at ALL of them, but you know better than that!) I LOVE looking at all the old stuff and thinking about the history behind it all. I found one store just off main street and told Jonathan I HAD to stretch my legs... and my evil plan worked! I found this AMAZING set of Noritake dishes for only $19! Service for 8!!! I had to talk my hubby into it, but I LOVE it! I can't wait to have a dinner party with it!


I had WAY too much fun shopping, and only got to bring back a few treasures, but I will always think about our trip when I use my Kentucky treasures!

It was a VERY long trip, but I loved almost every minute of it! Other than spending WAY too much time in the car, I loved visiting with our families, seeing so much of the country and spending quality time with my sweet hubby.