We become what we want to be by consistently being what we want to become each day.


Wednesday, July 1, 2009

Another birthday and another move!

Yep...Last week I had a birthday and I officially became closer in age to a 50 year old than a 20 year old...How did that happen? I'm sure it was just yesterday that I was 20 and now I am closer to 50...Yikes! Another year, another birthday, what can you say? Danny and the kids brought me breakfast in bed (yum) with a hand-crafted card of course. I went shopping a few days before the big day and bought some much needed new clothes and make up (Danny's not the best gift-giver, so I buy my own and I am okay with that!) Then on the weekend we went out for a yummy steak dinner without kids...yeah! It was a nice way to celebrate my 36 years.
Now on to the move. We were considering buying a house this year because we qualify for the $8000 tax credit in September. However, things are still a little on the shaky side at work, so we got cold feet and decided to continue renting for another year (can you believe that we have been here a year already? Time sure does fly when you have 4 crazy kids!) But, as a way to save some money and make a dent in our school debt, we have decided to downsize and move into a smaller, cheaper rental. I love downsizing! (that was not sarcastic!) I do not want a big house ever! We are going from almost 2300 sq ft (not so big to many of you, but way too much house for me!) to 1650 sq ft...more my size. I love it. I am not organized enough to have a big house, we accumulate too much junk that just keeps ending up all over the place...and it is just too much. Small, well laid out houses are the best.
Anyway, we will be moving at the end of July. While I am excited to move, I am not looking forward to the packing and moving part! Ugh...didn't we just do that? I am also sad to be leaving an awesome ward. We are only moving a few miles away, but it is a new ward and I won't have the convenience of members on my same street (BooHoo!) But, I will be getting a smaller house in an older neighborhood with trees! Yeah! I love trees. And we are just down the street from a cool park and within walking distance to the Rio Grande River and great walking trails (with more trees!) Oh and the owners are going to put in some grass in the backyard...can you imagine grass and trees! Here are s0me pics of our new place:Front of the house
Looking down the street (see those trees!)
The family room
The dining room that will serve as the office/music room
The kitchen

The backyard is really big and the owners are going to let me collaborate on the design of the landscaping (and I will call upon the experts-my family...for those of you that don't know, my family owns a landscaping company in CA...I was just the bookkeeper, so I don't have the design gene!)
I love older houses, they have so much more character. We are moving out of a new, generic, brown box. This house isn't the most beautiful, but I like it a whole lot more. I'm looking forward to it!

In other news...we are off to visit friends and family in Utah for a week and will post about our adventures when we return next week.

Happy 4th to all!

9 comments:

Dannielle said...

Happy Birthday - and we are getting old. I just can't believe it either! Moving is such a pain but hopefully you can get some help- call the Relief Society Pres. I still remember that time I was packing to go to BYU and I was so overwhelmed and you came over and helped me. That was 18 years ago - we are old!

Laura said...

sorry i spaced your birthday! sounds like you had a good day! your new house looks fabulous. you are so funny about big houses. but, you are a good organizer of small spaces. i'm thinking of your place in simi and how great it was.

Jamie said...

Wow Poppy! Sorry to hear about your move. We will miss you in the ward.

Jessica said...

i hear you about downsizing. the bigger a house, the more space to get messed up and have to be cleaned! have fun in utah!

Karalee said...

I love the 4th in Utah. They know how to celebrate! Sounds like you had a great birthday, you deserved the pampering!! Wow, new house...again. Exciting, but lots of hard work! I keep telling Allen that we need to move out of our house, then move back in. We have accumulated too many things and a move could do us good.

Rosey Posey said...

Good luck moving guys. But that's what the elders are for. I totally agree with you about the smaller house. I would take a small house with a big yard any day. Happy 4th!

Paula said...

Happy late birthday! I totally agree with you on the house thing. I once had someone ask me if I wanted a bigger house (ours has 2400 sq ft) and I said no way. I can't keep up with this one and as the kids get bigger the mess gets bigger! I miss the days of the toys on the floor. Now it's clothes and shoes and books and school bags etc. Have fun in Utah.

Joanne said...

Happy late birthday! And good luck with your move. I had never thought about the benefits of a small house before - I always assumed of course bigger was better, but now I'm realizing you may be on to something - my life in Provo was waaay simpler when we just lived in a tiny one floor condo - I could vacuum the whole house without even unplugging the vacuum. (but I guess I also had 2 fewer kids, so that might have been part of the reason things were easier).

Rebecca Ausman said...

Happy be-lated birthday! Congrats on your move--I like the house! That back yard looks like it is going to be great.