/// ItS a ScOrChER ///

"What dreadful hot weather we have! It keeps me in a continual state of inelegance."

~Jane Austen

(Add 25+ lbs for being pregnant and it's a recipe for disaster)

My hair is something you'd see in a Jackson 5 music video from the 70's. My makeup hasn't even been thought of in days, knowing that the melted makeup look is not for summer and more for Halloween to scare small children. My deodorant is getting it's fair share of usage and applying and reapplying is not in my normal daily hygiene regime. My skin is tanned and "glowing" but in all actuality it's sweat. They say ladies don't sweat, we "glow". I assure you now...this is not entirely true. I can't help but sit and sweat and even small tasks that seemed not far out of reach are certainly using every bit of energy I have, and making me sweat in quanities I don't want to admit. Ask my husband, I'm not much of a "sweater". I work out fully at the gym and don't feel accomplished because I have't the ring around my neck like others do. I push myself further the next day and still nothing. NOW?!?! In this HEAT?!?!...ask me again! ask me again!

In the midst of the heat and humidity, I find myself in a constant daze; entangled in an ongoing day-dream of anything cold, frigid, arctic, chilling to it's core and wishing I could perhaps have a hint of the icy blessing to hold near and dear to my heart.

Being 8 months pregnant, caught in the middle of this heat wave, I find myself halfway alive; going through the daily motions and the other half of me is quickly on its way to having a stroke. So long as half of my body is still fully functioning in order to intake any icy cold beverage (even through a straw---beggers can't be choosers and this point). The need to ingest it, to assist in bringing my body temperature down to the normal 98.6 degrees would be gratefully appreciated. Anything in these digits is just ridiculous at this point and I've had enough.

I never was a Rocky Balboa fan. Never have I sat through a marathon on TBS or even sat through an entire movie and witnessed what all the fuss is about. However, I have seen tidbits of the many movies that have been made with Mr Sylvester Stalone and "Eye of the Tiger" and a meat locker come to mind. Never before I have actually thought much about it, maybe that it was disgusting and you couldn't pay me to enter into a place that slung their slabs of meat from hooks that suspend out of the ceiling. However, being suspended from the ceiling in an iced down meat locker doesn't sound half bad right about now. I can feel the cold cement on my feet as I approach the apparatus and the chill slowly tracing it's way down my spine as it leaves the vents and enters into the open space designed specifically for icing meat down. That's exactly what I am at this point. A pregnant slab of meat needing to be iced down to refrain from spoilage.

My favorite childhood beverage is the slushy cups that any local 7-Eleven had in an array of colors and flavors. The cups with the dome shaped lid so you could overflow and not have to worry about wasting any of the goodness. Blue Raspberry was always my ideal chose. Slurp and slurp until your tongue was numb and completely blue, making it impossible to convince dad that I did NOT spend my last dollar of allowance on a slushy from the gas station. In the movie Half-Baked gets stoned out of his gourd and images this cup large enough to swim in like a giant slushy pool, completely enveloped in the icy substance. Could you imagine this utopia? To dive into the blue liquid and then enjoy drinking your way out. Ahhhh...why not me?! Why haven't I been so lucky?

Omaha area pools are actually contacting ice companies and ordering blocks of ice to toss into the pool to cool down the water. When temps reach the triple digits and the heat index surpasses our wildest imagination, it makes sense that water temperatures were rise making it not so refreshing to enter into the water, thinking you are going to cool down, only to be swimming in your own sweat. Mmmmm...delightful thought huh?


I'd like to rent one of such said ice trucks, preferrably with windows. I never was much for small, dark, closed in spaces. I'd throw a party. Everyone can wear fur bikinis and boots, maybe even a hat. So long as the hat is cute and perhaps in a nice plaid that reminds me of something you'd bought out of a giftshop in Alaska while you were vacationing there last year with your deadbeat boyfriend that loved to hunt for wild moose. You didn't think it was such a good idea then but now?..You're wishing you wouldn't have been so rash and dumped him for taking you on a terrible vacation after all. Maybe he'll take you back and you can plan a trip to Northern Canada where the roads are iced over and you can only get to the fishing cabin by helicopter. Canadian Walleye being prepared over an open flamed fire in a cabin tucked back in the woods where the running water is pretty much non-existant due to the freezing of the pipes. Sticking my tongue on a frozen pipe (a scene straight out of a movie) isn't the smartest idea I have come up with, however, I'd do it! Don't tempt me.

(Doesn't that look lovely?)

While in Vegas this past February, my husband and I were approached by these lovely eskimo dressed bar wenches working at some new-age establishment that allowed you to rent winter gear and dress from head to toe in fur and Northface styled winter garments and sit on blocks of ice and enjoy alcoholic beverages. At the time?...it was absurd. 1) I'm pregnant and would not have been able to fully partake in the true experience of this joint which saddened me 2) the thought of PAYING to literally freeze my @$$ off just didn't seem like my cup of tea (nor my snifter of thoroughly aged brandy). However, I could kick myself in the sweaty rearend for allowing this opportunity to pass right by me. Doh! Perhaps I'd still be frozen from the episode and thankful of the bar wenches whom talked us to what seemed like such a crazy idea.

Situated in a village in Jukkasjärvi, Sweden there is an ice hotel. The worlds largest Ice Hotel. I.C.E.  H.O.T.E.L!!! Are you grasping this concept? Sleep well in -5*C hotel made entirely of ice and snow. I'll let the pictures do the talking...

If someone were to ask me, "Where would you like to go on vacation at this very instant?"..I'd most definitely have to say someplace cold (which would be a first for me). Flying is completely out of the question this far along in the pregnancy but I suppose I could try to make my home a freezer that would allow everyone to be cool and comfortable by turning the thermostat WAY down and lounging around covered in blankets and snuggling close to capture body heat.

I'm certain it's hormones. I'm certain that when winter comes I'll be complaining of the cold (like I normally do). I'm usually always cold yet this heat wave has got me all sorts of twisted and living an out of body experience. A sweaty, over heated out of body experience no less. I could literally explode...

Death leaves a heartache no one can heal, love leaves a memory no one can steal.

My cousin has passed on. Although we mourn his death I imagine that others are lifting their veils upon his arrival to wherever it is we go upon passing. It's hard to swallow. It's a tough situation for me. It's a difficult situation for my family, (for any family) but it's something that happened. And especially being in the situation he was in, knowing he had such a tough time getting ahead in life, knowing that unexpected day would come. ... Death is always unexpected and can never be prepared for nor easy to swallow.

He didn't die an honorable death. He wasn't shot in combat or during the call of duty. He was shot because guns kill people and uneducated people holding guns shoot people because words are beyond their comprehension. Living the rest of their lives behind bars is what the future holds for them and they are content with that. Whether behind bars in an institution, their minds are behind bars while out in the world, not knowing how to be an upstanding citizen in the community, in this world. Pathetic really. They probably grew up with either no fathers or terrible fathers that taught them such things in life.

My thoughts are with his infant son. I don't want to imagine a world when children are growing up with no father, with no guidance, with no man to look up to and find comfort in. How will this young man learn to be a man in society? Will he escape into the world he was brought up in? Most likely. It saddens me to the depths of my core and being pregnant doesn't help with the sensitivity towards any small child in this world.

It's unfair. It's unfair for many. For my cousin Blaise, for the family he leaves behind, for his infant son who will never know the sparkle in his father's eye nor the pitch of his laughter that could make you smile at your worst. He had a bright soul and if he could have helped others, he would have. I wish he could have helped himself.

He was raised by my grandfather (aka Uncle Ted-whom I refuse to call by Uncle Ted because he was a grandfather, a saint, a wonderful man), and had the spirit of the old Polack man he was so very fond of. They are surely together now, drinking red beers and watching Sylawn (the old German Shepherd) prancing around, perhaps playing cards and watching over the rest of us.

We enjoy warmth because we have been cold. We appreciate light because we have been in darkness. By the same token, we can experience joy because we have known sadness. We'd be selfish to believe he belongs here with us.

(: The world always looks brighter from behind a smile :)

"It's easy to be pleasant when life flows by like a song, but the man worth while is the one who will smile when everything goes dead wrong. For the test of the heart is trouble, and it always comes with years, and the smile that is worth the praises of earth is the smile that shines through the tears."

At some point in our lives, and for some of us at several points, we all endure some kind of hardship, those things in our lives that turn us upside down and inside out and leave us trampled underfoot. Whether it's an illness, a problem in a relationship, financial issues, death of a loved one, worry over a family member, or any of the other multitude of things that come into our lives bleak and uninvited, they are trials which we must endure and try to make sense of.

Sometimes, the true test may be letting go of the control you think you have of any circumstance and leaving into the hands of someone other than yourself. This may be the most difficult task yet. Control is a powerful trait that we hold. Sometimes just letting go might make the worry or hardship that much easier to tolerate, more manageable. Knowing it's out of your hands and knowing that worrying and fretting over whatever trial or tribulation is currently paralyzing you, just might be the silver lining we all need now and again to know that tomorrow may be a bit brighter.

I suffer greatly with control. My dad always use to say, "You can't control other people and you will die trying." Most of the time I do feel like I am dying trying. Combine that with a bit of anxiety, being overly sensitive the majority of the time and top with pregnancy hormones, let's just say it's not an easy battle to fight. Trying to describe to others around you what you may be going through is like shouting at a brick wall. They can't possibly try to understand, or don't really care to take the time to listen, let alone notice. People are too enveloped in their own world to worry about others. It's a tough pill to swallow but again, we all walk alone in this life. Hasn't been the first time I have stated such, and it most likely won't be the last.

You have to believe that sooner or later, the gray cloud will be lifted, and sunny skies will shine upon you once again. In the meantime, try not to get locked inside yourself. Although we walk alone in this life, being paralyzed or stagnant due to your own self is prisoning and unhealthy. Do things you enjoy, fade out the negative, breathe deep, pray to whomever you find sanctuary in, and SMILE! This last part is important. It will lift your spirits; confuse those around you; and yet, it's proven to be contagious. Spread it around, no matter how many tears you are fighting back in the process.

The world always looks brighter from behind a smile!

::: Hedonist(as) Must Haves :::

Ten Essentials of any Women Centric Home

When it comes to enjoying your favorite pleasures, the right ambiance can enhance the experience immeasurably, and there are certain atmospheric essentials that no hedonist (he.don.ist : [heed-n-ist] -noun ::: a person whose life is devoted to the pursuit of pleasure and self gratification) worth her salt should be without. Just a few household basics will go a long way toward transforming any home into a smoothly running pleasure palace. Remember: it's all about comfort, beauty, and continuous intoxication of your senses, no matter how subtle.

1: A fireplace in the winter

2: Candles when it rains

3: Air Conditioning in the summer

4: Soft Lighting

5: Good Music

6: Multiple Pillows

7: Clean Windows

8: A warm, cozy bed

9: Plants and flowers

10: Art that you love

And find a quiet place that you can sit, relax, and enjoy all the pleasures of your life. Whether your abode is mansion on top of the hill surrounded by rod iron gates and a winding driveway or a small quaint bungalow with wooden details and a fronch porch used for reading the newspaper and sipping your latte while the sun says "Good Morning." Your home must reflect your inner style, your personality. It should scream with character that friends, family, and guests appreciate because it is a direct reflection of your uniqueness.

Find a quiet corner, an alcove, an extra space in the basement tucked away under the stairs or in the attic under the infinite abyss of ornate Christmas decorations you've been meaning to go through. Some place clear of clutter, with workspace designated to YOU and your creative self.

In this space, make a shrine. Your most loved personal belongings. A shelf hung above with pictures of your children from that fun fantastic day at the beach. A vase to hold your fresh flowers. Candles to light at your leisure. Post up quotes and/or poems that inspire your creativity or touch your heart. Do whatever makes you happy in your space and don't allow others to influence it. Put a radio that plays your favorite music and play it to soothe your mind. The options are limitless.

And most importantly: ENJOY!

sOliTuDe

I owe my solitude to other people.
There are days when solitude is a heady wine that intoxicates you with freedom, others when it is a bitter tonic, and still others when it is a poison that makes you beat your head against the wall.



Having a large family, an adequate group of acquaintances, a small group of friends, howbeit, we all walk alone in this world.
 
Is it what we expect? Not usually. Is it what we hope for? I'd like to believe no. Only so much solitary confinement is healthy. It's a slow process. It starts off a good idea:
I think that I cannot preserve my health and spirits, unless I spend four hours a day at least - and it is commonly more than that - sauntering through the woods and over the hills and fields, absolutely free from all worldly engagements.  Inside myself is a place where I live all alone, and that's where I renew my springs that never dry up. 
 
Solitude never hurt anyone.  Emily Dickinson lived alone, and she wrote some of the most beautiful poetry the world has ever known... then went crazy as a loon. 
 
It's good in small doses I assume. Only so much at any given time and it has to be YOUR idea or you'll completely drive yourself mad. It's like absinthe or any hallucinogen. ::: snickering to myself::: (((nobody is around so laughing at my own jokes is an absolute must when trying to enjoy my seclusion from the rest of the world)))

I suppose I would consider myself a "people person" (and often a people pleaser) so having complete silence and being enveloped in nothingness around me (no kids laughing, nobody in the house asking for anything in particular, just the sound of the washer and dryer doing what it does best) is quite a shock compared to the actual grind on any particular time and day. 


As often as I need a break and being able to sit in my completely still home with nothing going on around me, it made me realize how much my soul is fed by the family life, by being around people I enjoy, like sunshine to a flower when the petals have begun to wilt and you've lost all hope that it can continue forward but it struggles through the rays, absorbs the vitamin E and starts to rise against the impossible and stand tall, basking in the glory. I suppose my demeanor may have resembled this the past couple of days while my family has not been around. I am looking forward to the weekend, engaging in those events that keep us going, keep us busy, and mostly having my son return from vacation. 


I want to start a women's group in my community. Surround myself with positive uplifting empowering woman that do the same as the sun does to the flower. Fills my entire being with much needed information and goods to continue down a solid path. Its a Seed that Grows into something bigger than oneself and I believe fully in it. I believe that woman can do so much in groups when they band together and focus on a similar goal or destination. One day.... I will make all this possible. 


While in my "time-out" I jot down notes, reminders, anything I can do to take my mind off actually being by myself and soon will implement everything when I get over the hurdles I am currently jumping. Only so much can be on the plate at once and I suppose that getting through my education, moving the entire family into a new residence, all while finishing out this pregnancy is enough for the moment. 


So many things to do, so very little energy to do much of anything. Keep trekking and pushing on... always something to do (alone or not)

~Today's Tidbit~

Who knew?

Contrary to popular opinion, there actually is rhyme and reason to ever-fluctuating hem lengths. In the 1970's, a psychologist found that skirt lengths actually move with the Dow Jones. As stock prices surge, ladies show more leg; as they plummet, we cover up.



You could call this the real reserve

.

*..*..Spring ~into~ Staging..*..*

springtime- [spring-tahym] –noun

1. Also called: springtide the season of spring

2. the earliest, usually the most attractive, period of the existence of something

"Rise and put on your foliage, and be seen to come forth, like the springtime, fresh and green"
 
Springtime brings sunshine, showers, and plenty of opportunities for home staging. If you're selling your home in the Omaha area, it is time to brighten things up with these fresh updates that are sure to attract buyers.
 
The first and most important thing to remember is the first impression. You wouldn't want to continue doing business with a person that did not keep up with their appearance. Why shall buyers be attracted to your home if the outward appearance is not appealing to them? Get outside, roll up your sleeves, and spruce things up. Raking up anything with traces from winter such as anything brown and no longer fortunate enough to be living on this earth with us, power washing the house (and deck or outside spaces) gets rid of any grime that those harsh winters leave behind.
 
If you are feeling risky, you can get into gardening. Something simple such as adding mulch or rock to flower beds or lining the walkway and drive for added curb appeal. If you are not a green thumber, think about inviting friends, family, or even neighbors over for a garden party. If they are not up for offering the extra hand, offer some lemonade just for some tips and techniques. Who knows?! It's almost certain that people are looking for ways to assist and having an excuse to get out in the beautiful weather is an added bonus.
 
Spring is nature's way of saying, "Let's party!"  So get outside, look around and be optimistic about how you can transform your listing into a fresh, light and bright, pleasing house that anyone would want to call home.
 

 
Walking into the entry...let your home make a statement! If your old doormat is rugged and ragged from the long winter season, pick up a new one, sweep off the stoop, maybe add a spritz of febreze before a showing or Open House, and bring in those buyers. A clean, pretty doorway will set the stage for the entire showing.
 
Next...scrub! Cleanliness is next to Godliness and everyone will appreciate walking into a shiny clean disinfected space that welcomes them with open (purified) hands. Scrub away. A sparkling home will impress buyers and make your home more appealing.
 
Get rid of clutter. Box up anything you don't need (winter coats, extra blankets, etc). If you empty out the closets, cupboards, drawers it will appear larger and more welcoming to the potentials. And trust me...they snoop. They look for closet space, extra storage, places to put their stuff. The less of YOUR stuff that is in their view, the more their imagination runs wild with all the things THEY could use that space for.  Buyers will be impressed with all that space.

Bring spring aromas indoors. Spring is not only a colorful season, but a fragrant one, too. Bring the aroma indoors. Scents have a profound effect on mood, so infusing scent into your decor with diffusers, candles, fresh cut plants/flowers, or incense can change the overall feeling of a space.

Bring out the bright colors. Tuck away the heavy, winter flannel comforter and pull out crisp linens with accent throws for color. Bring in the spring with floral-designed spreads or colorful solids. Don't forget accent pillows for added style and comfort.


Use glass in your decorations whenever possible. Glass decorative items, like vases, glasses, attractive or unusual bottles and clear glass jar collections, will make your spring home decorating look lighter. Shiny glass decorations increase the amount of spring light, reflected from light sources and windows into a room. Nothing says "light & airy" like clear reflective shining glass.


And remember!...nothing in excess. Just because you love the way the bookshelf in the library looks with all the collections you have accumulated over the decades, does not mean that the potential will be able to imagine the size or space usage with all the distraction.
 
And when potential buyers give feedback on what they thought of your house, you want them to say:


  ***followed up rather quickly with an offer :)

Happy Spring to all of you!!!

 

~~~Make Room for Baby~~~

It's no surprise that I am completely dominated by design. Not just design but classic design, good "all the way to the bones" design, changes your entire mood design. I jot down notes in my journal about things that I come across or see, I take mental notes when something reaches out and snatches my attention, I lay in bed thinking about it until I doze off to then dream about it.

It consumes me and I do my best to keep it at bay. But those of you that LOVE something should love it unconditionally, thoroughly, at all times. This is me with ANY love I hold near and dear to my heart and design is no different. (It tends to love me back so that assists in our relationship).

I take my classes at the local community college, eventually hoping to get a degree in it, but knowing its not necessary to hold a degree to do what you love (aside from such things as practicing medicine-you may want a degree for that). I take any workshop that I come across that can assist and let my imagination run wild. I avidly watch HGTV and DIYnetwork. I read all my magazines from Architectural Digest to Flea Market Finds. I am constantly thinking of ways to arrange and rearrange and revamp and give new life to either the rooms my family lives in OR bookshelves that line the walls of the rooms my family live in.



However...

(and this is not be taken lightly)

We currently live in an apartment and it's not as though I have adequate amounts of space to make room for baby. I have succeeded in accomodating the rest of the household. But baby?!?! ....

It's not my first rodeo (nor baby) so I am completely aware that infants do not come with the load that some might deem necessary. (That load comes later on and we are hoping to be in a house by then). I am organized. Obsessively organized. I love orange, green, brown, golds, dark reds. Colors from the old country (hehehe)


Nothing strikes panic into the heart of a decorating diva like the arrival of a little brood of chick(s) and ensuing bushels of plastic that seems to ooze from every container. Little plastic, big plastic, munchkin-size plastic furniture and playground equipment-there's no end to the size and variety of the kiddie accoutrements. And the primary colors they insist on coming in clash horribly with every tasteful color scheme I am trying to maintain here. Just how does the playmat dangling with farm animals incorporate into my electic Old World meets French Country living room?

I have done a good job of maintaining my homes--enough so to appear that Elle Decor and the photography team has just left upon my visitors entrance. I have heard remarks like, "I am amazed a toddler lives here" or "How do you do it with the kids?" Howbeit, when cramped for space I am assuming that bins and crates and storage cabinets are now highly placed on my "things I cannot live without" list.

I suppose I can manage. As soon as the arrival I will bend (instead of breaking) to ensure that every base is covered (and hopefully not consisting of spiddle or that ever present stickiness that comes with little ones).

Our lives are museums of private experiences and at worst, a house unkept cannot be so distressing as a life unlived. :)

The next couple of months, while entertaining the "nesting period" of the pregnancy, I look forward to coming up with new, inventive ways to continually maintain a clean, streamlined, happy home full of "stuff" and love :)

In the meantime...I must bake some brownies

Love: We can't give it if we do not have it



Unconditional love is a term that means to love someone regardless of the loved one's qualities or actions. The paradigm of unconditional love is a mother's love for her newborn.

~*~*~*~

Unconditional love is often used to describe the love in an idealized romantic relationship. It may sometimes also be used to describe love between family members, comrades in arms and between others in highly committed relationships.

When the word "happiness" is used, it is not meant by the fleeting pleasure we get from money, sex, & unconditional approval. Nor does it mean the belief or even relief we experience during the temporary absence of conflict of disaster. Real happiness is not the feeling we get from being entertained or making people do what we want. Genuine happiness is a profound and lasting sense of peace and fulfillment that deeply satisfies and enlarges the soul. It doesn't go away when circumstances get difficult. It survives and even grows through hardship and struggle. True happiness is our entire reason to live and that kind of happiness can only be obtained as we find real love and share it with others.

"With real love, nothing else matters; without it, nothing else is enough."



It simply does not matter how smart or pretty or successful you are. You don't have to do anything to impress those that unconditionally love you or get them to even like you. They don't care if you say something stupid or make a mistake. It eventually occurs to you that it's impossible to be embarassed or ashamed-they love you no matter what. That is undconditonal love.

We are made by love, we are made of love, and we are made for love!

I believe the very first instance of unconditional love it at the time of birth. Both parents and newborn receive an overpowering sense of love. Parents are in shock in awe and over-taken by a sense of relief. So patiently they await the arrival of the baby. Upon first glance, it's love.

While baby gets to snuggly envelope in the womb, feel the vibration and beat of the heart from within, hear the voices from the distant outerspace unknown world they also await upon and then they are welcomed into a world where familiar sounds and smells will greet them with open, loving arms.

---True, Complete Unconditional Love---



"Unconditional Love is love for no reason. It is linked to your heart (in your heart) and doesn't depend on (is not directly linked) the object of your love. It's there for you to share." ---Marci Shimoff

Unconditonal Love can come in so many forms and be the definition of many relationships in our lives. It could be the feeling you hold in your heart for your child(ren), your spouse, your parents, your family, your friends. It's easier to have the relationships in your life full of love if you, yourself is filled with love.

Our hate is love turned sour, our jealousy is love turned bitter, our fears are love standing upside down, our greed is love gone overboard, and attachment is love gone sticky.

Find the love within and all other will fall into place. Write yourself inspirational post-its and hang them around your environment. Perhaps place one next to the alarm clock so it's the first thing you see in the morning when you wake up. Place "you are loved" on the mirror in the bathroom so you are reassured that the love you feel inside reflects on the outside to those around you. Anything you can do: meditation, nature walks, praying with your children. Bring happiness into your heart where love can live and lead you down your path.





ReAl EsTaTe ReNdEvOuS

It has taken a tremendous amount of time to get here. I am not certain what took me so long or why I have hestitated for so many years. I often come up with excuses to put off doing almost anything. Regardless of my skills or education regarding certain subjects, my confidence is often overbearing and riquochets thoughts through my brain, always doubting my true abilities.

Dating back as long as I can remember, most kids in elementary school were getting letters from the teachers sent home for passing notes or even riff raff taking place during recess. Neatly written (all elementary teachers have great penmanship. I always took notice of this. It's like one of the classes they have to pass in order to get the degree) and slipped into the backpack to warn parents that their children aren't living up to their end of the bargain.

I, on the other hand, didn't get letters for passing notes (I never got caught) however, I couldn't stop my mind from wandering. But in my mind: floorplans. I would come home with that note in my denim backpack with keychains and charms hanging from every possible corner of fabric and filled with Trapper Keepers (to store all my notes passed in class).

It all started with Mrs. Nelson. She was my absolute favorite white haired teacher with pearls adorning her neck and floral prints from head to toe. She usually smelled of gingerbread and I often fantasized that she worked with Santa Claus, if she was not in fact actually married to the jolly man himself. Growing up in a small town, we knew where everyone lived. Her house was white as snow, built of brick with a bright red door and black shutters. It just screamed North Pole.

She was a pleasant old lady and even after graduating from the 2nd grade and moving forward in my education, I often went there during the mornings to visit, apple in hand and a smile on my face. She knew all my secrets. Sunken great rooms, open atrium foyers filled with antique rosewood furniture upholstered with red velvet cushions and the greenest of plants that the owner of any house would be proud to brag about, hanging from vintage hooks by macrame in a rusty orange color that reminded me of my childhood.

I am not certain why this memory stuck with me. I wasn't born in the 70s, nor lived through any of the years that macrame was in fashion. I don't remember actually ever seeing it in my entire life. I just imagined this fabric, woven together and I could describe to you the texture and smell as though I was dressed in it from head to toe like some sort of a hippie flower child.

Not me (or of any relation)---but possibly could be :)

Granted, at this time of my life, I didn't know that actual names of such things ie: sunken living rooms, atrium foyers, macrame. This was the time of "Ice Ice Baby" and Barbie Dolls. I didn't know that such things had been thought up and created by masterminds decades (or even centuries) before. I was, by my own definition, an absolute genius.

My father, whom I assume I get this quality from, is also very interested in my same tastes. He differs in the aspect of his ruggedness, which I am not so much in tune with the wild within me. You can find him in some small quaint cottage made of cedar filled with treasures that he collected from his travels while scooting across the country on a motorcycle when the idea of wearing a helmet wouldn't possibly exist, when rebellious men had Pert Plus hair that waved in the wind while "Bad to the Bone" played in their heads down the open highway. He grows goatees, smokes from a wooden pipe that I am certain he received from Moses once upon a time on a fishing trip where they told jokes and laughed about the "good ol' days."

My style is eclectic. I love anything with good structure and form, solid bones. I find as I get older I take such pride in older things *cough* that some might refer to as antiques. Nah. I appreciate the quality, the time it took for the man carving the wood to complete. His rough hands smoothing over anything with sandpaper and then staining the masterpiece for what seems only my eyes to flicker with appreciation. Now: such said "furniture" and even "houses" are built with assembly lines. Just set the sides together and find something ANYTHING you can get your hands on to make those pieces stand up together. Doesn't matter how long, so long as it gets sold, then its the owners obligation. *wiping my hands, freeing them of the "hardwork" that I wish was actually done*

I live for arts & crafts. It's like a melody that floats through my blood stream and keeps a bit of a skip in my step. Battered columns, beveled glass in built-in bookcases, ceramic tile fireplaces and hearths with built-in banquets that you could just imagine a family playing games or reading books around on cold winter nights. And possibly my favorite: amber laterns. I think that amber glow that reflects off the warm wood and fills the home with a romantic ambiance is just so special and lacking in todays flourescent filled boxes we call rooms.



Seriously?!?! Need I say more?!?! Why don't we build like this anymore? Why not take PRIDE in the things that are being manufactured for our lifestyles? I mean, c'mon. Nowadays while instructing friends on the exact location of your new place, the one you took a small fortune loan out on to help finance, the one you imagine your kids growing up in, thinking back years and years later when they have children of their own, collaborating all their memories into a photo album or slideshow playing images of their childhood in this spectacular house they were so lucky to call home for so long.

The house you want to move into while still young enough to chase the kids up and down the stairs and move out of when arthritis has set in as empty nesters and you can't barely get out of bed without some sort of support. The house you took time to plant the trees on Arbor Day with the kids and you have progressively watched as they turned into massive maples that shades the entire yard, making dinners in the hot summer sun relaxing and pleasant while enjoying the breeze that whistles through the leaves like an old train making its way down the track and onto its next destination.

We are building memories, lasting memories here. And yet: "Come over for dinner friends. We are the 12th beige house on the left. You might want to pay attention to the number hanging outside our door. Its like a corn maze in this place."

No distinctive oak tree or rose bush yet, no trees or shrubbery at all for that matter. Pshh...greenery?! Who needs it. Our house is beige for crying out loud! What more could you ask for? And no shutters or houses painted green or a mustard color with white trim. Here: we have convenants and they don't allow being original.

And again, 3 floorplans so you can you can be almost certain that you and your direct neighbor do not have the exact layout. Phew! Only you and the guy 2 houses down, and across the street, and behind you, and 2 doors down from him, and the guy 2 doors down from him.

And the insides? We take no bragging rights for these boxes that couldn't possibly be assembled better than the biggest Star Wars Lego apparatus known to man by our 7 year old spectacle wearing whiz kid that even has the brain to GLUE the pieces together to withstand the test of time. I shouldn't knock the homes (they might fall over) in all actuality. Given the economy today and the way Omaha builders are "building" nowadays, this is most likely where we will end up. Cracked foundation because they build them at such a fast pace they don't give the dirt the time to adjust or settle. Brand new house, cracked foundation. Sounds just lovely.

Anyhow...I have lots of ideas. I have images of greater times in the past and even stronger times in the future. A time when we didn't appreciate picking our houses out of a catalog like we are ordering an answering machine from the Finger Hut catalog.



Meanwhile, as I am enrolled in real estate school, I take a good look at the text I am to study and learn and get tested on. I do my work diligently and am so very excited to get out there and see what I can do. I want to place families, couples, singles, whoever into someplace that fits them as well as they fit there. Someplace that they can come after a long day at work, take off their shoes, pour themselves a drink to wash away the worries of the day, and kick their feet up and be proud to call the place home. (Even if it is the 9th beige house on the right) :) It's all in what you make it anyhow.

A house is not a home until it is filled with happiness and love.

So? In conclusion, I am so extremely excited about this new endeavor. Although the economy is not where it once was, I have total faith that with compassion and a little hard work, anything is possible. I look forward to making a living doing what I love.





~The New Family Dynamic~

The family structure today has changed more in the past 30 years than at any other time in history. Gone is the tradional family unit where the father works, the mother takes care of the home and children (although personally I am working to bring this aspect back into play), the kids obediently toil at school until they leave the nest soon after adolescence. And it hasn't been replaced by another basic structure-instead, families now come in a variety of combinations that pose new challenges to parents and children alike.

Today, almost 50 percent of parents are single. Often, both mother and father will commit to co-parenting, with the children spending periods of time with each. Although it's certainly not the perfect solution, children do adapt when they know that they're loved by both parents; and also step (parents and siblings).

Obviously, divorce has played a significant role in the development of "the new family." But there are variations to even the divorced/single-parent style of modern parenting. Many woman whose biological clock is ticking away are now deciding to go ahead and have a child without the support of a partner at all.

And then we have "patchwork families" - or "blended families."

blend·ed family (blĕnˈdĭd): a social unit consisting of two previously married parents and the children of their former marriages; A stepfamily.
 
Patchwork and/or blended families, where stepchildren and half-siblings come together to create a new family unit. Keeping the continuity of family is difficult in these situations, but crucial for the stability of the children.
 
Because of all these changes, the pscyhology of the family is venturing into new and unknown territory. However, the basic challenge remains the same: how best to raise a healthy, happy child. There are lots of theories out there, but there are no hard and fast rules, except to use your best judgment possible and treat your entire family-children, stepchildren, parents, and partners-with love, respect, understanding, and kindness.
 





~~~Spring is in the Air~~~

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Has winter abandoned us? This voice not coming from a sad place inside but a place long remembering and longing for open-toed wedge slingbacks and short summer dresses (perhaps paired with a wide brim hat and excessively large sunglasses). Hanging halfway out the window of the car, sunroof open and reflecing rays upon the natural highlights rooting from the season, singing loud and smiling. It seems everyone is happier when it's sunnier. Is it the sun that controls our mood entirely?



Did winter pack it's bags and head to the south for some fun in the sun? A long sought after vacation it just so happened to get a steal on with priceline.com? I've been having that feeling all winter long. The feeling of escaping, getting away, heading for warmer weather regardless of where. Just take me there!!

We haven't had it tough. It's been a fairly mild winter and we must consider ourselves lucky. I mean Nebraska winters are NEVER any fun, let's be honest. I believe it's also a combination that clashes with our age. When we were younger, and as I see the kids playing in the snow and not minding the chill whatsoever. However, I am shaking to the core and my bones are frozen solid. I feel I wasn't this bad when I was younger. I could build snowmen with the rest of 'em and go in to warm up to a hot cup of chocolate (with marshmallows of course). It now takes me days to warm up...suddzy hot bubble baths included.



However, is this the end of the cold and the beginning of breezy and sunny days ahead? Shall we pack up the coats and winter attire and get ready for the SPF and bathing suits? I am just not QUITE convinced yet.

What do you think?

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