So Here's My Life

The things we make,
the food we eat and
the shenanigans in between.

A blog about making things by
MICHELLE SEXTON

Thursday, January 31, 2008

So tonight I watched one of the most insane news clips ever. A man rammed the reporter's car. The reporter was ok. But what the heck? How ghetto can you get? What is wrong with people? Honestly, it was pretty amusing. And I was shocked. Here's the video. Watch it. It's insane.

This picture has been selling like crazy on iStock. Well, maybe not like crazy. But it has been selling steadily. And I'm way excited....now if only I could take like 50 more pictures and make them do the same thing....

I'm sick. I've been sick since Tuesday. I caught it from everybody else. I've been trying to do absolutely nothing but sleep and lay on the couch and watch TV....since you know....I'm sick. Ok but seriously. I have way too much to do this weekend, so I would prefer to not drag out this sickness very long and be miserable. So hopefully all of this rest will pay off and I will be feeling better by tomorrow.

I realize that my blogs of late have been lacking in substance. I have a couple of topics swimming in the back of my mind to write about, but I would prefer to do it when I'm feeling better.

Sunday, January 27, 2008

One Month

So we've been here for a month now. We are definitely feeling settled these days. We've made some friends. We've connected with some of our extended family nearby. Joel likes his new job. We like our church. It's fun. I play the piano on the worship team. We've gone out to eat waaaay too much...it's kind of like...we are finally in a place where we have more choices than McDs and local mexican food resturants...and well...the temptation is just too much! It's so exciting to be able to eat somewhere different after 5.5 years of the same thing. But the newness will wear off. Everything is going pretty well. We like it here. It's pretty sweet.

One thing that I didn't foresee coming after we moved, was the question, "What am I supposed to do here?" I spent for the last four months or so, all of my focus has been put into getting out here, that I didn't stop to think about what I would be doing here. So now that I'm here, and settled, I'm kind of like....ok...now what? I have so many interests and talents, I'm not quite sure what to pursue. Should I finally go back to school for a Masters like I've been planning for so many years? But do I really want to get into more debt with student loans??? Hmmm... How much time should I put into teaching piano lessons? I really want to do more photography. I know I can do it. Lots of competition out here...but I'm competitive, and I have the desire and passion do what it takes to be successful. I know I can do it. I've had a couple of potential employers show interest in my photography skills...but I'm just not sure if I what I want to pursue right now. You know what? I don't know what I want. I think.....I need to ask God for some direction here....that would be a good idea. yes it would. I think I'll do that.

And so this is our house. It's cute, but we've decided not to buy it. But it's fine for now.

Thursday, January 17, 2008

So lately...

this is what's been happening.

Our washing machine broke again. This time I didn't shove a queen sized blanket inside. It just stopped spinning during a load of towels. Apparently our washing machine wasn't fixed very well a couple of months ago. Sadness. We have two options: 1. fix it or 2. buy a new one. We haven't decided which one we'll do yet.

I've decided to get a job...I think. I'm getting a little stir-crazy in the house. I'm not quite established yet in this new place, so I think a job would be a good thing. (Although I'm a bit hesitant to give up my freedom) I'm planning (or maybe I should say hoping) to get a job in a photography studio of some sort. I would like to gain more experience to become a better photographer. I started calling up photography studios the other day to find a job. I had a couple of bites and they asked to see my portfolio. So I've been putting one together. And speaking of which, I have now sold 13 photographs on iStockphoto! Woo Hoo! I'm so pleased.

Today I went walking for exercise. It was 19 degrees outside. I was so cold...even though I dressed warm. I should have dressed warmer. Dang it! It's SOO cold out here this year. I'm totally freezing this year. This morning I went outside to feed the dog and found his water dish completely frozen. Solid brick of ice. So I dumped it out and filled it with hot water. That froze too. It's cold out here. I think I prefer my cold weather to be about 40. That works.

I know I said I would never let the dog in the house again, but I had a slight change of heart, considering our recent frigid weather. Brody is now allowed in the kitchen under close supervision. He's a lot more timid in the house these days too. And more obedient. That's nice.

Here's the view from the window of our front room. No joke!!

I should put up a picture of our house too. I'll do that soon.

Thursday, January 10, 2008

Brody is so fired.

I've been a negligent blogger lately. I admit it.

Brody is so fired. I have decided that he is no longer allowed in the house. Ever. The other night he sneaked into the spare bedroom and peed. Why? I have no idea. He knows better. I think he just did it just because he wanted to...if only dogs could talk...anyway, I didn't find the spot until the next morning...about 12 hours later. I was so stinkin' furious. We are RENTING this house!!! I can't have my dog run around and pee on the off-white colored carpet any time he feels like it!! I tried to take him to the spot where he peed so I could correct him. He wouldn't even go near the room. He KNEW what he did was bad.

I don't know how to get pet urine off of carpet. Animals weren't allowed in my house when I was growing up. I have ZERO experience cleaning up urine in carpet. (Our previous house had tile floors). So I did some research online to find out how to remove urine from carpet. The instructions said to "gently blot" the carpet, not to rub and to be "patient" when removing the stain, and to make sure to to thoroughly rise the soap from the carpet or else it would leave a yellow spot. (sooo....do I dump a bucket of water on it???) After about 5 minutes of little success with gently blotting the carpet, I lost my patience. (How long do I need to be patient here? 2 hours?) This is ridiculous. At this rate it was going to take all day to remove my stupid dog's urine from the carpet.

I called a professional carpet cleaner. He came and cleaned my carpet today. He gave me a good price. I paid $48 to have him remove the urine. However, the carpet now has a permanent spot on it where Brody urinated...something about the urine soaked into the carpet too long and the acid from the urine ruined the color...stupid dog. We have been living in this house for a little over a week, and have already put permanent damage into the house. Arg! And for this reason, I have banished the dog from the inside of the house...forever. I personally do not wish to run around behind the dog every time he is in the house to make sure that he doesn't pee. Nope. And I definitely do not want to be the carpet cleaner's best customer either.

Monday, January 7, 2008

Here I am!!

So. I'm back. We have moved into our new house (well, we're renting it for now). The house is great...dish washer, garbage disposal, garage, walk-in closet, central heating/cooling, back porch, 2 bathrooms, lots of space, and an amazing view of the mountains from the front bedroom...everything we didn't have before. It's terrific. I so love living here. Walmart is about 2 minutes from our house, there's a mall nearby, Starbucks is a short walk from our house, plus all kinds of other stores. It's so nice to be in a big city again! Our new church is terrific. There is no doubt that this is where the Lord wants us to be. And my heart is so happy and elated. I'm so content.