easter... reno... and other obsessions

easter this year was fun... i had been telling chris for a couple weeks what my mom used to do for us kids on easter... she would put together a scripture scavenger hunt with each scripture clue leading to another with a fun easter basket at the end.  i remember one year it having a big white easter hat and some other goodies... so when chris went to bed saturday night i set out hiding the eggs around the house... with the first one sitting on his night stand.  at the end of all the clues there was a easter basket with some candy, socks, a new polo shirt, and some other things he needed. it was so cute when he woke up in the morning and looked over at me with a big smile on his face saying "you hid eggs!"  it was really fun to do that for him... the rest of easter was really nice we just spent it by ourselves and i made dinner and then we packed our suitcases for reno as we were leaving in the morning.

chris had his 2 weeks semester break.  the first week we lazied around the house and he played golf a couple times... rough life i know! then the second week we headed up to reno to visit his family.  we hit the road monday morning and got there at like 4 pm.  the first night we had mini english muffin pizzas a tradition from chris' childhood. we also went for a little drive around and visited the hicks family and their new home where i totally coveted judy's new sewing room!! someday.... i will have that room too!  then on tuesday morning we got up and headed up to lake tahoe to go snow shoeing.  chris' mom does it with her girlfriends all the time and wanted to take us.  i was nervous about being cold and out of shape but it was actually easier than i thought and not that cold!  we had a good time chatting and talking the whole way up to the beautiful view from the top!!

(click to enlarge)

we also stopped to feed the chickadee birds. we put a little bird seed in our hands and held them out and sure enough they come flying right to us... i was freaked out at first.  they land lightly and peck at the seed so nothing hurts... its just bizarre, but we had a really good time doing it.

(click to enlarge)

after we drove around reno to visit susan's friend and to take a look at the dentist office jeff will be working at when he graduates in june... i totally fell in love with this part of town... they called it the south west side of town... older homes but really nice with yards.  i could live there!  on wednesday we headed out to washoe valley to have dinner with chris' dad and his girlfriend karon, and chris' sister catherine and baby scarlett.  it was really fun... i got to hold scarlett for an hour while she slept in my arms... so sweet!!! and dinner was really fun.  we had spaghetti and bread and just talked for a long time.  it was all really good company.  on thursday he mostly relaxed and shopped a little and then visited zach, chris' best friend and his wife katelynd who is prego with twins.  i played games with their daughter Addy who is 3.  she has a very fun imagination and loves to tell stories.  she is so cute.  that night chris played basketball with zach and his dad some other church guys... not fun to watch older guys play basketball... they whine and complain too much. but chris looked good :)  on friday we went and saw a movie and walked down by the truckee  river downtown.  that night we went up to lake tahoe with zach and katelynd to this fun hamburger place... then we drove all the way around the lake... beautiful view!  the next morning we packed up the car and picked up katelynd and addy (who we were giving a ride to indian springs)  and headed home.  the trip was really fun and it was awesome to see everyone again.

once i got home i had to jump right into some projects... i really want to start working on my new bed quilt, but i bought a new dresser for chris at the place i obsessively shop at a couple times a week... opportunity village thrift store... and needless to say there is no room for excess furniture in our apartment... soooo i had to redo this dresser now so we could get the old one out... i had gotten the ideas from some other blogs... here is how it started out....

(click to enlarge)

i began by lightly sanding the whole thing... and then i primed the whole thing... and then i added this texturized wall paper to the sides... the veneer was peeling off on one side and this was an awesome way to cover it up with out too much mess!  after that was dry i painted the whole thing green... the same color i used on the chair a couple weeks ago... after a couple coats i added my favorite antiquing black glaze.  this is what made the wall paper design really stand out and look awesome!! it also just really gives the whole thing and antique feeling and a lot of character.  after that was done i decided to add something to the front cause it was a little flat... so using texturized stucco and a stencil.... i added a design to the bottom 2 drawers... after the stucco dried i painted it green and then glazed it... i put the original nobs back on and voila!!!!  brand new AWESOME dresser... i am soooo excited how this one turned out!!!!!

(click to enlarge)

i'm bummed chris gets to use it... but oh well... i still have one more desk to redo and i need to find a new nightstand and a new tv stand... but it will be fun whatever they are!!  next i am making a little quilt for my niece amanda and her 6th birthday... she asked me to make her one... and then i am making a quilt for my bed... yep... chris is back in school and i am back at work on all my projects!! busy busy... just how i like it!

  

how i keep busy...

chris and i went out to dinner with a couple of his friends from dental school to celebrate the semester being over... we are now on 2 week break (woo hoo)  but while we were at dinner i kept getting asked "what do you do?"  which is a normal question... its how you get to know people, but i sometimes have a hard time explaining what i do to people who are doing things like working as a high powered exec at a big hotel... or are going to dental school to become dentists and much more... what is my answer?  i'm a house wife.  i keep busy grocery shopping, and cleaning the house, and cooking dinner every night (almost every night... but not this week), and doing laundry and fixing things up around the house.  I go walking with my mom most mornings for 30-60 min.  i visit with my mom often and we often go visit my grandma who is in a home... so i keep busy.  i am also taking a class online.  i also have things i do with the youth of the church every week... etc.  i feel fulfilled in doing these things and someday we will add children to the mix and i will be happy be mom and wife... i guess i just feel insecure about it when talking to those who are on a serious career path.

but... i do love staying home... cause then i get to do crafty stuff!! for example... my sister in law stevie is about to have her 2nd little girl and i decided it would be really fun to sew her a quilt for the baby.  i have never sewn a quilt by myself like this before... i have helped my mom in the past and watched her do it... but not done it by myself... i consulted with my aunt joan first... who is the baby and quilt guru... she makes them often and soooo cute... so i borrowed a book from her chose my pattern and bought the fabric.  it took me a couple days and a huge mess but the finished project turned out pretty cute.

i also decided to sew a little lovey... the tiny blanket... my niece gigi always cuddles with one when she sleeps... i also made a little one for gigi for her 1st birthday and when my 5 year old niece amanda saw it she got all excited and asked if i would make one for her too... luckily i have lots of fabric left so i'm going to make one for her birthday which is the end of may.  

i also worked on a project of something to hang over our bed... it has been an empty space and driving me crazy so... i found these frames at goodwill and decided to paint them... then i found the wood letters at joanns and the giant S from joanns... luckily i get a ton of 50% off coupons to joanns so none of these projects get expensive... anyway... i bought some fabric to cover the giant S and now i have something over our bed!  

in case you don't get it the m is for marilyn and c for chris and s for spillers... haha.  chris asked me why it was cSm and i said cause i sleep on the left side of the bed... it just made more sense to have the M above where i sleep. haha.  i'm actually going to use the same brown fabric (and a couple others) to make a new quilt for our bed... the one we have is too hot especially with summer coming up... 

the last project i did is a little chair i found.  i bought a desk the other day to use as my new vanity... it matches the desk i got from my mom's childhood... way exciting... but i needed a chair for it... when i was at opportunity village thrift store last week i found this super cute little chair and thought it would go perfect!  it reminds me a little of the chair/bench my grandma has used while sitting at her vanity.  i painted it with green paint i had left over from painting my bathroom last year and then put this cool black antiquing glaze over it... the pictures dont do it justice... but it looks way cool... i also had to recover the seat and get new padding... the fabric was on sale at joanns... and vwala! 

i'm sure there will be many more projects to come... as i do like to keep busy and crafting is fun cause it makes your house look better... plus i am addicted to thrift store shopping... seriously.  its a good thing our apartment is tiny or else i be buying furniture all the time!! but for now... i'm only hunting for things we need... 

i am a sewing machine...

this month has definitely been craft month for me... i have had so much fun doing various crafts that include painting, sewing, sanding, and cooking... i have also discovered a new love and obsession for shopping for thrift stores.. i don't go for clothing... i go for furniture and other home furnishings... opportunity village has a huge thrift store right be my neighborhood... and its awesome... its big and clean and has TONS of furniture that is awesomely priced! but i will get more into that on another post... i bought a desk there... but haven't begun working on it... stay posted for that one.... but a couple weeks ago there was a yard sale in my neighborhood and they were selling some fun stuff... i bought this random mirror wall thing and decided it would be fun for my kitchen... it needed some serious love and paint! here it is:

(click to enlarge)

i really like how it turned out... i also went to another thrift store and found this window curtain that i decided would be pretty for a table cloth... i have a small 2 person table that you can't find table cloths that small in the store and i didn't want one to hang down on the sides where we sit... to hard to sit in the confined space... so i cut the curtain up and sewed it into this: 

(click to enlarge)

i have another big project i sewed but that post will have to wait till they receive it in the mail this week :) 

chris has also been busy around the house... he fixed out leaky faucet on our kitchen sink by replacing it.  he had a lot of fun figuring it out for himself... plus it worked when all was said and done!!

 (click to enlarge)

when we got married my sister in law stevie gave us this awesome baking pan set... cake pans, cookie sheets, brownie pan... etc... but she also slipped in one of chris' favorite recipes his mom makes... pistachio dessert... he got all excited when he saw the boxes of pistachio pudding mix and saw me mushing up butter and nuts and flower... he knew what was coming but i made him hide in the bedroom till it was finished... it turned out pretty good... i needed to beat the pudding a little longer... but it didn't matter to chris... he still ate it for breakfast and dinner for the rest of the week...

(click to enlarge)

last thing for this post... i was having a rough weekend and bad day monday... nothing serious... just not having a good couple days... i had gone to the grocery store to get food (mostly cereal and milk cause chris had eaten all we had) and when i walked in the door i found the sweetest surprise... right there bam! i walk in the door and get tears in my eyes cause my sweet husband totally loves me.... he had gotten home from school early and just left it there right in my path... no way i could miss it... and now i still have it to look at for a couple days... and smile... here it is: 

(click to enlarge)

aren't they pretty?? i thought so too... i'm so lucky to have such a sweet guy in my life!

i have some other really fun projects that i'm working on and will post when they are finished!!

the dreaded trip home... cancun honeymoon... over

the morning came... i was tired so i stayed in bed a little longer... chris wanted to go out to the beach one more time and swim so he went by himself.  after maybe 30 min i was awake and got dressed... went down and grabbed a little something for breakfast and took it out by the pool.  i sat under the gazebo to read a book for a while.  it was the best shade i could find cause i didn't want to have to put on sunscreen.  after a while chris and i decided it was time to go ahead and check out.. so at noon we check the room one more time for those things you always leave behind... and left the room.  the front desk was really nice... we had to check out at noon but our airport shuttle wasn't coming till 2:20 so the front desk offered to take our bags and hold them for us and they let us keep our wristbands which gave us access to food and the rest of the hotel... we grabbed lunch and finally it was time for the shuttle to come... we loaded up and got to the airport pretty quickly.  our plane was leaving at 5:30 so this gave us 3 hours to get through customs and security... which was WAY fast! no big deal... it was only a bummer when we got inside and then had 2 hours to kill... we ate lunch and then decided to buy these giant candy bars because... well they were so giant! we couldn't resist... who could?

(click to enlarge)

the time finally came to board.. no big deal... the plane ride was fine as well... 5 hours went by fairly quickly... things didn't get bad till we got to LAX... let me just say... i hate LAX.. here's why:

when we arrived we arrived at the regular terminal... but since we were international flight we had to walk down these stairs to the outside and board a bus to take us to the international terminal... like a mile or so away.  weird... why didn't we just land there??? we get in line to go through customs... it was a long line but went by fairly quickly.. when it was our turn the guy asked us a few questions including... "christopher, where were you born?"  chris "casper, wyoming"  the guy "oh really?? this says you were born in reno, nv" chris "really huh... thats wrong..."  luckily the guy let us through... but we both looked at each other a little panicked... how is it he got this passport like 5 years ago and just now we are noticing it... he took it to europe and back with no problem... well next time they ask we will just say reno!   

then we waited to grab our bags... they came pretty quickly.. but then we had to wait in another long line to get through another check point.  after this things got really weird and confusing... there was a wing that said connecting flights... that was us! but it was closed... we figured maybe because it was now midnight... so we asked someone how we got back to the regular terminal for our connecting flight to las vegas... we had to go outside... again.. and walk... back to the main terminal... so lame!!! once we got there we printed out our boarding passes and went to check our bags... where the lady informed us we had to pay $50 to check our bags... we were like... um no... we haven't had to pay for our bags yet and we have been to cancun and back all flying with delta.. why would they charge us now?? lame!! we were not about to pay $50 for our tiny 45 min flight back to vegas.. after 20 min of her looking at it she decided to wave the charge for us... thanks! and then she looked at us confused because our flight was for the next morning.. yes we know it was the soonest flight you had back to vegas... we had always planned on sleeping in the airport... no big.. so she took our bags... we walk up to security... and they let chris through but look at my ticket and say sorry this is for tomorrow you can't come in...  close the airport from 1:30 to 4... i was like... you just let my husband through... so they made both chris and i leave... finally someone told us we had to just stay downstairs where you first check in... gross! it was cold and noisy and i was just so tired... 

we found a seat and i just broke down.. i was tired and gross and so frustrated with the whole thing that no one had explained anything to us till then... but i did finally fall asleep.  when 4 finally came we went upstairs only to discover like 30 people up there sleeping... yeah... they had probably come in late and had a connecting flight from the us... so they got to stay!!! so lame! we found our gate and i went ahead and sprawled out on the floor exhausted and annoyed... i quickly fell asleep... we got on our plane and went home... chris was asleep before takeoff and woke up just before landing... he said it was the shortest flight ever... ha! i slept a little... i was so glad to get home and shower and then we spent the rest of the day in bed... not even kidding... all day sleeping... much needed.  the whole trip was so amazing!!! it was sad to have this last bit put a damper on our fun... nevertheless we got home safely... and with all our stuff.. and we had a good time the whole week.. it was fun to have people call us honeymooners in their mexican accents and fun to play on the beautiful beach and just relax and enjoy each others company.  chris and i get along perfectly... and the trip was perfect (minus LAX) .

day 5 of cancun honeymoon...

day 5 was a pretty fun day... it was also our last full day in cancun... we took our time getting up and eating breakfast in the morning and then ventured off the hotel property by ourselves for the very first time... we walked maybe 5 minutes to this little place called sunrise marina... here we were scheduled to take a little 2 person boat out across the lagoon and then out into the ocean to go snorkeling... chris was so excited. he had never been snorkeling before and was really excited to get out there... i was excited but had been snorkeling before with my family when we went to hawaii in x-mas 1997... i was more excited about riding out in the little speed boat.  we arrived in typical marilyn and chris fashion... WAY to early... like an hour early.  we hung out and i made chris put sunscreen on... especially on our backs since it would be facing the sun for a while.  it was finally time to go... there was our guide in one boat.. the two of us.. and then another couple in their own boat... we followed the guide across the lagoon and out into the ocean... it took about 50 min to get to the place we were going to snorkel... this part was soooo fun!  the whole trip... every time we hit a big wave i would get splashed in the face... the salt really bugs my eyes after a while... but it felt really good to have the cold water splash my face and the breeze blowing the whole time...

once we "docked" with a big metal bouey... we put on our flippers and snorkel mask... and life jackets and jumped in the water... i had a little bit of a panic attack.  i have always had problems putting my face in water, but then trying to not freak out as i breathe with my face under water.. yeah i panicked. i didn't say anything to anyone because i knew it would pass... but it probably took 5 min or so to slow my heart rate and get back to deeper breathing... after that we had a great time!!! we swam around for 45 min.. what we saw?? it really looked like a dessert of coral reef... it was mostly brown and tan colors and the fish were brown in tan... in hawaii its all rainbow colors... but it was still really cool!!! we saw a huge fish... like 3 feet or so.  after that we got back in the boat and took a scenic route home... this time chris got all the waves splashing him in the face... pay back for him calling me a wuss for saying anything about the waves splashing on me.. ha!

once back at the hotel... we slept.. took naps for an hour or so.. then at 5 we were scheduled for couples massages... we were not going to do anything at the spa... chris had never been massaged before and i didn't want to spend the money... that all changed when we got a bunch of coupons and it was really cheap... we were in a dark room... i had a lady massaging me and chris had a guy... mine was super relaxing and awesome! i loved it... chris on the other hand... he thought it felt good except for wanting to scream bloody murder when he massaged his calves and forearms... apparently it was too much pressure and hurt really bad.. hahaha... i told him he should have said something.. but lets be honest... he's a man... he's not going to say anything and sound like a wuss.

after the massages we got ready for dinner and went back to the old barn restaurant.. this time i ordered beef juice soup and chris had cream corn... ha! much better this way.  after we finished our steak we went to the show for that night which was a "retro show"  meaning it was american music from the 70's.. mostly... lots of dancing and lip-syncing.  it was pretty entertaining.. and short... thanks goodness cause we were wiped out and wanted to pack since we would be leaving the next morning...

(click to enlarge)

i had no problem falling asleep... but was really dreading the trip home... little did i know it was something to dread!!!

day 4 of cancun honeymoon...

cancun... or as our tour guide had told us... "snake pit".. the word comes from mayan word kan kun... which means snake pit... appropriate for the place where many college craziest go for spring break to party and what-not... luckily we didn't see too much of that.  chris and i were hanging with the old timers... we were up earlier.. like 8:30 and down to the beach... usually first there... and then left at 3 when the sun got too hot... then we would shower and go to dinner at 6.. usually first ones there... and in our room by 9... about this time the "spring-breakers" are just getting into cabs and buses to head out to nights clubs for the rest of the night.  we are only 26/27... but we apparently live like the old people.  on the fourth day we just did the beach thing again... all day... at the beach... slathering on sunscreen and staying mostly covered.  chris was really frustrated because the waves were huge and the life guards wouldn't let anyone go out very far and play in them... it was a little overcast and windy... but i guess the undertow was really bad or what ever... after a while chris decided he didn't want to play in the water at all if he couldn't play in the biggest waves... ha! i just laughed and read my book :)

 the best part of this day was going to dinner and the show... for dinner we went to "the old barn" which was an imitation american bbq restaurant.  it had antler chandeliers, country music videos playing, and pictures of john wayne on the walls... the food was pretty good.  we started with soup... i ordered creamed corn.. and chris orders beef juice soup... when we got them he stirred his around for a minute with a very confused look on his face... he finally asked me... where's the beef???? i busted up laughing... and asked what did you think it meant when it said it was beef juice?? it meant it was just the juice of beef not beef stew... haha! he was disappointed in his beef broth and i didn't love my corn soup so we traded and were both much more satisfied... but i couldn't stop laughing at chris and his beef juice! haha after that we had steak. it was pretty good. mine was too big and i couldn't finish it.

after dinner we went to the highlight of the night... the michael jackson show!!!!! i was so excited... i have always michael's music and his dancing and what not... i was a little sad when he died... but was very excited to know he wasn't dead... he was living in cancun as a mexican!!! this guy was awesome! he had the perfect wig with curly hair hanging in the face... something on his nose to make it small and pointy... and make up on his face to make it look more angular... his dancing was actually really good!! he put on a good show... i loved that he was lip-syncing... but since english was obviously not his first language... he wasn't quite getting the words right.. haha... he was using wrong consonants... but... i still loved it.  they did thriller and beat it and my favorite... the free willy theme... which brings back my own fond memories of dancing to that song at bunker dance... but now i realize we shouldn't have worn those hideous white spandex dresses... but outfits the represented the world... like a junlge man and uncle sam... and a cowboy... as they had done in this show!!

(click to enlarge)

i have included this short video so you can get a taste of the awesomeness that was michael jackson in mexican form...

day 3 of cancun honeymoon...

on day 3 we decided to get out and go see one of the mayan ruins that was near us... so we got on a tour bus and headed for chichen itza... as our tour guide stated several times... its not chicken pizza... its chichen itza.. ha! we got up bright and early like 6 am grabbed some breakfast to take with us and waited for the bus to pick us up.  once on the bus we drove for an hour and a half till we reached this natural sink hole in the middle of some mayan village... people could jump into it if they wanted... the sink hole was like 20 meters down and then the water was 12 meters deep... i think... ??  but anyway you can walk 112 steps to get to the bottom... it was really pretty.  we didn't swim... it looked like a bath with 200 people in it... then we shopped a little... chris saw this really neat chess set that was like 80 bucks... but we decided to wait and get something at chichen itza instead... but i did buy a really pretty green necklace...  then we went to lunch at some buffet place where all the tour buses go... it was ok... chris didn't care... he was hungry and had seconds.. haha.. typical...

(click to enlarge)

i was really excited once re arrived to the ruins... they are sooooo neat!! sadly 4 years ago they decided you aren't allowed to climb up the steps anymore.  apparently its the new 7th wonder of the world.  but there we some really neat things about it... the place was huge with the temple itself being this giant calendar... 91 steps on each side (equaling 4x91=364) plus the big step on top made 365 for the days in a year... it also has this crazy snake shadow that appears ONLY on march 21st and september 21st... how did they know that stuff?? crazy!  but they also did a lot of really weird stuff.  they were required to sacrifice their first born baby... and throw them into this other sink hole filled with holy water... they say they sacrificed 400 babies a day! and they also made daily slave sacrifices on top of the sacrifice tower which was across from the temple..  they say the sacred sink hole is filled with like 9 meters of bones... creepy!! when we were visiting the sports arena there was this tiny mayan woman waling around selling little hankie... hand stitched... but i could not believe how tiny she was!! she is in the picture above... i am 5'2 and she barely comes to my shoulder... she was under 4 foot! so i bought 2 from her just cause she was so cute! 

the sports arena was way neat... it was built like a natural amphitheater... you could hear the other side talking and it was really far away!! 

(click to enlarge)

by the end of the day we were super hot and sweaty and tired... we slept a lot of the bus ride home... and then once we got back he got ready and went to dinner... we went back to the fancy shangri-la... this time was terrible!! our waiter was sooo scatter brained! he forgot to get our drinks and then didn't bring the bread... and at the end he asked if we wanted dessert... we said yes, he took my plate... and walked away... not taking our dessert orders... and then never came back! haha needless to say we didn't leave a tip that night... and didn't really feel bad about it considering he had totally forgotten us... we had no problem falling asleep after the longest day and longest dinner....