Even more tired.

What a full couple of weeks I've had since I last posted.

Today I am just plain tired.

4 hours of sleep last night, 5 the night before, Bill's been out of town, and it's been my week to teach seminary. I just received an email stating that we won't be having seminary next Wednesday due to testing. That's the day my team teacher starts her week, OF COURSE. She's lucked out 3 or 4 times with having an extra day off thrown in. I'm trying not to have bitter feelings about it hahaha.

Hallelujah for Fridays.

 Here's a headless pic of what I looked like after painting for 5 hours today (which I started after cleaning house for 3 hours, which I started after teaching seminary).

 I'm a mess when I do anything. Good thing those are the jeans I detest (from our last family pics haha) and the Legend Guinness World Record shirt from that time we attempted but didn't succeed. Just looking back at the post makes me... tired.
Can I be done yet??

I thought I had a picture of my nearly-awesome half-done bathtub tiling job on my phone somewhere, but I don't, and I'm just too beat to go snap one right now.

I do, however, have a picture of my nearly-done piano.

 There are a few touch-ups that need to be made, but I think I'll do those another time. Like maybe next year. Or maybe never.

I do like it so much better than before, so I'm considering it a win.

Hopefully I will soon get a chance for an extended post about our Fall break action. There's some good good stuff to share.

Tired.

I've been running on very limited sleep lately, and today I'm feeling it. I don't think I've had more than 5.5 hours once this week, and had a couple nights that were around 4. 

I really want a nap. 

But, since fall break starts today, and seminary is done for the day, I'm going to nab a couple minutes hours to catch up on life lately. Then I might take a nap. Or do laundry. Or go to lunch with Mar, who has a half day due to finals.

CV's Homecoming Dance was on Sept. 30th.

You would think I would know more about boutonnieres by now. I ordered from a flower shop in Parker (one I haven't used before, but, upon asking around when seeing cute boutonnieres in the past, had been recommended), but was told they only do red or white roses for Homecoming. I told them Mar's dress was burgundy-ish, and the guy told me he had "deep colored" roses that would look good. Needless to say, it wasn't a match hahaha. I tried. It was also a bit tricky for Mar to pin it on. Talking with her friend Aspen's mom, they ordered theirs from a Castle Rock florist and it was a MAGNETIC boutonniere. You can bet that's where I'll be going from now on. 

I didn't get a lot of great pics on my phone camera, so some of these pics are borrowed.

Aspen is in our ward and turned 16 a day or two before the dance... she's one of those lucky girls that has a date right off the bat.

Mar's friend Mo was Aspen's date, and he hosted dinner at his home... a dinner that HE made (minus potatoes and a salad that Gavin's mom brought). I was super impressed. The only parents that came for pictures were the Mormon kids' (Mar, Aspen, and Gavin). That was pretty funny. Again, it seemed so different than Parker (so hard not to compare to what you've known) where it's a pretty big deal for parents to come for pictures.

This was Bill's idea... obviously.

Mar said it was a good night.

Bill's court date was Oct. 3rd.
He has been losing sleep for weeks about this day, and I was thankful it was finally here and would be over. I had determined that, whatever the outcome, I would be content knowing we gave it our best shot. Prior to scheduling a court day, he had been offered a 1-point reduction to admit his guilt, pay the ticket, and move on. He was taking a risk to fight the ticket. He was taking a risk to represent himself (attorney fees are not currently in our budget haha). We both strongly felt, however, that he was not at fault, so it was worth trying to get others to see that, too. Bill selected to have a jury trial (an extra $25), so a selection of 6 jurors was part of the process.

I found it all very fascinating, and felt very much like I was in the middle of a Perry Mason episode.

Bill had acquired a copy of a 911 call from a woman who had been an eye witness to the accident, and who had clearly stated in the call that the white Mercedes was driving too fast, made a lane change, and must not have seen the cars stopped in front of her. I figured once the jury heard the call, the case would be finished. Bill had tried several times to contact the woman who had made the call, but after initial contact she didn't respond. He found out that day that, since she wasn't present, he couldn't use the recording of the call. Bummer.

The prosecution had 4 witnesses, Bill had 1... me. Since his phone had died two days prior, he had no way to take photos of the accident, so once I arrived on the scene, I snapped away. I was basically there to testify that they were my photos, and also to confirm Bill's injuries to his wrists and arms from the airbag (part of his defense), and to the fact that he did NOT have a phone in the car with him.

A couple of things to note if you read my earlier post about the accident:

The policeman issued Bill the citation because the front vehicle in the accident said he only felt one impact. (Bill used Newton's law of motion for part of his defense.)
The Mercedes was over 2 tons heavier than Bill's car was, and had lost it's front right tire in the accident.
The woman in the Lexus was injured enough to go to the hospital.
The Mercedes driver admitted that she was trying to move toward the median (the crash happened in the far left lane).
The citation was for careless driving. The jury had to believe beyond a reasonable doubt that Bill had been carelessly driving.

Going in, I thought this would be done by noon, if not earlier.
Nope.
This was a full-day trial.
The jurors were so patient, as well as the prosecuting attorney and the judge. Bill received advice from another attorney interested in the proceedings on his lunch break.
Because I was a witness, and Bill had opted for sequestered witnesses (meaning they can't stay in the courtroom and hear the testimony of other witnesses), I spent the majority of the day in the hall... with the prosecution's witnesses. Such a joy.

Once closing arguments were given, the jury went into the deliberation room and everyone else scattered. After having a pleasant conversation with the prosecuting attorney (primarily about Utah... "are you Mormon? My wife and I love Utah. I think it's the most beautiful state in the country, just hard to get a job there." He also complemented Bill on a job well done, and said something to the effect of, "I think you may have got me today."), Bill and I sat in the courtroom and waited. 10 minutes later, the jury had it's verdict. The judge allowed the jury forewoman to read it... and it was NOT GUILTY. What a relief.

I wish this photo wasn't blurry of Bill... but it sums up how we felt as we left the courthouse.
He even gets a refund of his $25 fee for a jury trial.
Manna from heaven.

On Wednesday we went with some friends to a concert at Red Rocks. I couldn't turn down free tickets and a beautiful Fall evening. I didn't know who was performing (my friend thought it was a couple of acapella groups), but we were totally down for it.
It. Was. Awesome.

A guy and a piano... loved it.

This group was super fun, and put an old-fashioned big band sound to current pop hits.

Loved them.

The final group was Straight No Chaser. You may have heard their fun rendition of The Twelve Days of Christmas.

This was a fun spin-off of a few musicals... I tried to get the entire performance, but had the camera on, not the video, so I now have about 15+ pictures taken in burst mode vs. the full piece on video, but enjoy the part I was able to capture:

Last night Mar had her first CV choir concert.
It also was awesome.

She participates in 3 choirs at CV, and had a wardrobe change for each one.
The above picture is a special women's jazz group made up from Red Hot, an early morning mixed jazz choir that Mar doesn't participate in due to attending seminary. She thinks this yet-unnamed group will continue throughout the year, but they have only been meeting once a week before school, so Mar has left the last 10 minutes of seminary to attend on those days.

This concert was much different than Legend's (remember? held in the big church with jumbo screens and a crazy good sound system), but Bill and I felt the CV choirs were more practiced in technical and performance skills, not to mention the majority of their songs were uplifting and happy (in Mar's previous two years at Legend, the choir she was in always sang the most depressing songs at the Fall concert). The choir teachers at CV are pretty darn intense (husband and wife duo). When your child tells you the classes that were harder before (English and Spanish) are the easy ones on her schedule, and her choir classes are the most demanding, you know there are some serious choir directors making it so.

Versailles

Mirinesse
This wasn't their most technical piece, but it was one of my favorites because I loved the message of the song (called The Blessing, btw).


That's all I've got time for today, friends.
I'm attending Time Out for Women tonight and tomorrow. I'm excited, but OF COURSE it would fall on a weekend when we need to knock out basement projects. And I hope I won't fall asleep on my feet... I'm seriously THAT tired.

XOXO

Up to my ears in projects.

This has been the L O N G E S T year.

I'm attributing it's length to the number of house projects I have worked on. I am not one of those people who loves to always have a little something to work on. Nope, that is NOT me.  I love having completed projects done... and well behind me. I'm holding out hope for next year.

The good news is:

IT'S FRIDAY.

My seminary class went well today, and I don't teach again until next Thursday. Not that I don't like teaching -- I love it (most days)! -- it just takes a whole lotta time to study and prepare a lesson, leaving me limited time to do the less-essential-yet-necessary things (laundry, anyone?), let alone make progress towards the completion of my many, many house projects.

Fall Break is coming soon.

The weather has finally turned cooler, and the leaves are turning brilliant shades of red, orange, and yellow. You can SMELL Fall. I love it.

It's Conference weekend!! 

I wish I could just lounge in my pjs all day Saturday and Sunday, soaking in the good news of the gospel, taking notes, reflecting and pondering, but I will be spending much of my day today (writing this blog post may be a brief diversion), and all day tomorrow, priming and painting our basement. I'll be tiling the bathroom throughout next week. And still painting, I'm sure.

Here's a couple of quick pics of how things look right now (minus the wall texture, which is now complete, but I'm using the pics I already have in the interest of saving time today). Note: up to this point, we have not done any of the work finishing the basement... but now, we're up. In an effort to save some dinero, we are priming, painting, and tiling.

 sofa wall

 small wet bar area (to the right)

 bathroom

 bedroom

built-in bookcase area 

toy room under the stairs

(another angle of the wet bar wall...this last pic is post-texture).

And that is not all, my friends. No, that is not all.

I started in on this little project this week:

 Mauri loved playing it disassembled... until I taped it up haha.

I don't know what I'm thinking these days to tackle a bunch of projects all at once. 

I'm impatient. I want them finished. Now.

I've wanted to do something about my "golden oak" piano for a long time. My initial thought was to trade it in for a beautiful satin black one, but once I started shopping around (and told that it would be an additional $4000), I decided that I would "use what I have, and do what I can." Besides, I told myself, this piano has sentimental value. All of my children have practiced the art of music on it. It's in great condition for a 20+ year old piano, even if "nobody wants oak anymore" -- a statement from a sales guys when discussing a trade-in. (I don't think Yamaha even makes oak pianos currently.) It's been a project I've kept on the back burner because... well, I hate projects. And in my old house, this baby was up in the loft, so not something most people noticed. (Not to mention I had oak EVERYWHERE in my old house... until about a year ago... which is one of the reasons -- and projects -- making this year one of the L O N G E S T ever). In my new old house, the only place for this sweetheart is in the small front room (previously an office, now a "parlor" haha), and is the first thing seen upon entering the door. 

The golden oak simply must go.

I will post finished pics... hopefully by next week.

I AM motivated by the fact that MY ENTIRE FAMILY IS COMING FOR THANKSGIVING.

Motivation like that... motivates me hahaha. I'm git'n it done.

Other quick news:

Mauri got asked to the Homecoming dance by her... {boyfriend}.

(these were screenshots from a video, so a little fuzzy)

 That is quite the excited hug, there, girl.

She performed at the Spaghetti Dinner Choir Fundraiser for her school, and did such a good job. 

 Bill and I attended and felt like strangers in a strange land. It's weird knowing so few people at school functions. We were pretty comfortable after 15 years in Parker, so we've I've had to stretch a bit. Why is stretching so hard? We chatted with the mom and dad sitting next to us, I spotted one of my seminary students and said hello, and we saw two families from our ward.

 And this week Mar went from a golden blonde ombre...

 ...to a dark brown (so she can "fit in" with her older sisters)

 (or was it to twin with her favorite guy? hahahaha)

This was "Dad Day" for hoco week. Mar told me Gavin twinned with her, she didn't twin with him. Hmmm... I think she's twitter-pated.

She was reppin' her dad from this day:

Aaaaaaaaand I have the cutest grandkids around. That's all.

Wish me luck as I project like a madwoman.
(And Happy 24th Birthday, Lex!)