Gummi Bear

     Here we go!  Today we are 9 weeks and 5 days pregnant, due March 24, 2014.  I haven't posted for awhile because I've known for nearly 6 weeks and wasn't ready to let the cat out of the bag.  (Plus, I have been thinking of little else).  But here it is.  We've decided this little picture looks like a gummi bear.  We could see him/her kicking in the ultrasound, see the heart beating, the umbilical cord, and yolk sac.  It was amazing!  We are not finding out the sex.  It's a Kahn tradition that I just can't break, and besides I think the surprise will be exciting.
     I still have a week and a half before school starts, and I'm hoping that the morning sickness subsides before then.  I'm going back as a substitute and have decided to put my teaching credential on hold for now.  Right now we are planning on me staying home with the baby and possibly continuing to substitute on Daniel's days off, if he continues to have his two days off on weekdays.
     Daniel is loving his job right now and we are so grateful we made the move to the desert.  I'm hoping that next summer brings us another move.  Daniel will be promotion-eligible and we both love the thrill of experiencing new places.
     This baby will be grandbaby #8 for my parents and grandbaby #10 for Daniel's parents.  It's awesome that he/she will have so many cousins including one just 3 months older!

Going buggy

     Today, as I went in my bedroom after breakfast to make my bed, I found the nastiest, crawliest bug on the floor.  It was belly up and I couldn't tell if it was dying or just sunning itself.  I couldn't bear the thought of going near it, so I vacuumed it up.  Then I got all crawly and began to wonder if any of the furniture was hatching.  After all, we rescued it from a barn, and it's old.  Who knows what crawled up in the nooks and crevices.  So I've deep cleaned through my morning, and deep cleaning makes one think.
     I didn't expect marriage to come with this awkward phase.  I feel somehow cheated by women before me, by those that "have it all".  Their ambition glares down at me and my sorry lack of ambition.  Nowadays, when I think about working, it's like trying to do a jigsaw puzzle.  Does this piece go here?  Will I be able to afford a nanny?  Will Daniel continue to have weekdays off?  When will I be at the "right place" in my career to have children?  Will we ever be able to live off of one income?  What happens if I become the only breadwinner?
     There are many voices on the subject of women at home vs. women at work.  The more formal arguments come from women at work...naturally.  They get paid to write an article for the New York Times, or they are a top player at facebook who would make for a profitable book deal.  The informal arguments (including possibly this one) are coming from women at home in the form of mommy blogs. For this reason, I wish mommy blogs weren't so nauseating.  I wish stay-at-home motherhood wasn't associated with upcycling every piece of furniture (i.e. painting it teal blue), making gourmet meals for toddlers, etc.  Nauseating as many of them are, they are making a great point.  Many women are finding the working mother model hard to swallow.  For some, it's so great in theory, and so miserable in practice.
     As a babysitter, I have seen many versions of the working mother, from those that work nights or two days a week, to those that work a 9-5 with lots of nanny/hubby help.  Sometimes I noticed a balance had been achieved.  Other times, I witnessed heaps of stress on mothers, children and husbands as everyone tried to share the load.   Don't believe me?  Ask your nanny how many snide remarks she's heard your hubby make, or how many inconsolable "I want my mommy" crying fits she has had to deal with.  I'm not trying to add to the working mother guilt, but I begin to wonder if we as women have more choice than we think.
     As I'm not being paid for writing this, I will keep my argument short.  I think it's ironic that we talk about stay-at-home-motherhood as though it's something new and novel.  It's an old spin on an old classic.  Why the war?  Why the push to get an equal number of women in the CEO spots?  Why does a 26-year-old woman feel like a mooching she-devil when she thinks about the stay-at-home life?  Is there a happy medium?  I hope I find it.

Awkward Beauty

     I had to submit a "professional-looking" photo to WGU for my student teaching portfolio.  Aren't photographs humbling?  I never thought of myself as particularly beautiful, in the words of a high school classmate "You're no beauty queen, Cheri".  (Why do these things stay with us?  It's been almost a decade since high school.)
     Surprisingly, I have learned to accept some of my non-beauty-queen attributes.  I don't think it's because they "add character" as the phrase goes, but because of a semi-defeatist acceptance of some of my awkward features.
     Awkward feature #1:  My eyes are each a different shape and size.  My left eye is larger and rounder.  My right eye is smaller and more almond-shaped.  Freaky, I know, but not that uncommon.  An online search came up with this article: Two Eyes, Two Sizes.
     Awkward Feature #2:  This one only sort of counts, because it is a recent development and is fixable.  My teeth have continued to push forward in the last five years and my left front tooth is starting to angle forward.  I call it my scraggle-tooth.  It doesn't help that I missed putting lipstick on half my bottom lip for this picture.  Clearly not beauty queen behavior.  I also have a funny drooping gum-line on one side that has to be cut back by an oral surgeon ever five years or so.
     Could be much, much worse.  So, I will accept that I am a crazy-eyed, scraggle-toothed non-beauty-queen.  Does that make me an ogre?

Transitional Summer

     In the past, summer has meant job hunting.  Being the introspective introvert that I am, I would typically spend the springtime reevaluating my life, decide that my current job was not aligning with my goals, put my two weeks in, and then spend the summer looking for a job.  Granted, sometimes the change in employment was due to a change in school schedule or graduation.
     This summer is different, yet strangely similar.  I tend to put enormous pressure on myself...pressure to achieve, to be my personal best.  The way I have handled jumping into teaching is no different.  I didn't know I wanted to be a teacher.  I wanted to be an actuary..i.e. I wanted to attain the crown jewel, the holy grail of being a math major.  It was the job that said, "Wow you're really smart, you must make a ton of money."  Then I started taking the actuary exams and stressed myself out, studying for them alongside my senior year classes.  And when I stress, I draw inward.  I began talking to Daniel about what our future family life would look like, and through those talks, the teacher image emerged.
     Upon moving here, employment was key, but also getting on the teacher track.  I found both in being employed as a substitute teacher.  Substituting is good for me.  It is more money than I have ever made and the pressure is over when the last bell rings.  But where am I going with this?...oh yeah, this summer.
     I am stressed again, but slowly unwinding myself.  I started WGU April 1st, and since then I have been on the fast track.  It's a "competency-based" program, which lets me go at my own pace, which in my world means hyper-speed.  The average student completes the program in 18 months.  I was determined to complete it in 12 months, the main motive being to start student teaching in Jan. '14, vs. Sept. '14 (I only have those two options each year), so that I could get a teaching contract for the '14-'15 school year.
     This summer, I was planning to complete most of my program.  I have done a whole lot since I started.  In fact, I am on track to graduate in March '14.  But my aggressive plan means studying for 3 major math exams this summer, and this task has left me paralyzed.  I have reached that point of overworking myself, and have spent the last three days watching TLC and reading psychology books.
     So I am rethinking.  A teaching contract is getting less and less attractive at this stage in my life.  I really enjoy substituting, and I especially love the flexibility.  Daniel's career requires mobility at this stage, and I can substitute anywhere.  I'm not giving up on getting my credential, just considering slowing the pace.

Summer and Family Matters

Summer is here!  Today was the last day of school for most of my district and yesterday was my last day of subbing for the year.  Yesterday I watched the first 45 minutes of A Bug's Life 5 times.  I don't recommend it!  Now that summer is on, I can get to work on completing my teaching credential.  I love working on school from home.  I have a schedule for my day and it's so amazing to get chores and errands done and transition right into writing a paper, without having to work out bus schedules or deadlines.  Loving WGU.

We spent the weekend visiting family in Salt Lake City and sending Taylor off on his mission.  I spent the 10.5 hour drive home thinking on the weekend and reflecting on family.  So often we hear the phrase "Life is too short" but when it comes to family, life is long, especially when you have a big family like I do.

What does that mean and what are the implications?  Think back on the history of your family.  It stretches further than you can think about and someday we'll all be great-great-grandma/pa who did such-and-such. Think about your aunts, uncles, grandparents and how much they have affected your personality, well-being, and experiences.  That's what I mean.  Family life is long, and its effect is far-reaching.  Too often, families can lose perspective and get caught up in short-term situations, losing sight of the long-term effects.

I write the next part of my post, not placing any blame, or making judgments.  Truthfully, it's hard seeing my family these days.  Several factors contribute to this fact, including that several of us live out of state.  I would like to propose some solutions that might remedy our future family relationships.

1. Once in awhile, at least every year or two, we all need to be at the same place at the same time.  We need to set a date in the future that we can all commit to being there. (Taylor's Homecoming? Palm Desert resort weekend?)  Being in the same city doesn't count.  I mean everyone is off-work and attending at least most of the time.

2.  We need to have an itinerary.  If we could all spend all of the meals of only one weekend together, that would be amazing, inexpensive, and doable for everyone's schedule.  Meals need to be planned and everyone contributes.

I was a little heart broken after this weekend.  We spent a lot of time in our hotel room, or walking the downtown streets because we didn't have enough of an itinerary.  We heard about people being here or there, but often two parties invited us at the same times and we felt conflicted turning someone down to see another family member.

I almost didn't write this post.  I am so nervous about offending, but this comes from a place that misses my family so much.  Hopefully we can find a way to get over past issues and create a together family again.

On a much, much lighter note, here are some of my favorite pictures from this weekend.

Adam taking care of sippy cups.

Sweet Adeline

Flashback!  Love this picture that my mom found.  1991?

Daniel's turn at taking care of sippy cups.

Tea Party Crashers

Online Personality

What's your online personality?  I just finished my schoolwork this morning (online) and looked across my Bookmark Bar and realized that I spend a lot of time (but also accomplish a lot) online.  Here's a snapshot of my online personality and how I am developing it.

#1. Blogger  - Why not start right where we are?  Femmecheri has become a journaling outlet for me.  I know people outside my family (or even inside) would only find it nominally interesting, but it is cathartic to me to write a new post and to look back on my past posts.

I am also in the works of forming a blog about Substitute Teaching.  I have a lot to say about this subject like advice to new subs, advice to current teachers about how to set a sub up for success and my view that the whole sub system is outdated and cruel.  More on that to come.

#2. Facebook - There were times that I considered leaving fb.  I was getting tired of seeing who shared "yogadork"'s photo, and some people's almost constant status updates were (and are) nauseating.  But then I started to see fb in a different light.  We are lonely these days, lacking community, and fb provides us with a little bit of that.  My new goal when I log on to fb is to say something nice about someone in a comment or like a few pictures.  That's the whole point right?  Why post a picture if you didn't want the world to tell you they approve?  I do it too, and when people like my photos, I feel a sense of comradery (sp?).

#3.  Pinterest - Announcement, if you're following me on Pinterest and you don't want to see a million "how to use legos in a math class" pins (and the like), you might want to unfollow me and choose a few boards of mine to follow instead... because it's about to get real this summer with the math pinning. I love Pinterest, it's like list making on steroids, and you all know how much I love to make lists!  Enough said.

#4.  Twitter - Twitter is an educator's professional development gold mine.  Don't follow me on Twitter for social reasons.  I'm still navigating the waters, but I'm learning a lot from following some really good, experienced educators on Twitter.

So what's your online personality?  What do you use social sites for?  Are you using them in a way that gives back to you or are they sucking up your precious time?

About Cars

Not many people know this about me but I have a fear of riding or driving a car on the freeway.  I used to drive everyday on the freeway in SLC, but then I rarely drove in Portland and sort of got out of the habit.  I am trying to be proactive with dealing with it.  My drive to work has been on 55 mph roads and I try to remind myself that it's not much different from the freeway.  Our new location makes Hanford a more logistical 5 hour car ride so we will find ourselves on that road more often.  I am looking forward to the drive to Salt Lake because it gives me a chance to stare my fear right in the face.  I also have a few tests to take that require me to drive an hour on the I-10 to Redlands.  I know that many people have similar fears or fears of flying, etc.  I'm only human in the end.

Anyway, I took this picture on our way to Hanford last week and I'm planing on taking my camera for the SLC car ride.  I tell Daniel, "A life where you can't drive to see family is not worth living."  Even if the thoughts linger, every time I get in the car, I have conquered.

Land of Rattlesnakes

The heat has us shying away from hiking these days but this is a hike we took back in March.  It's beautiful but according to another hiker, there were rattlers around.  Glad I didn't see/hear any. I wish I had some pictures of Daniel but as you can see he has mad photography skills.  Glad things have settled down for me and I can blog again!

Home

It's amazing to me how character builds in a home.  You start out with one idea of how it should look but as you welcome different items, it comes together in its own way.  Our home has started to take on an earthy feel.  It's nothing that someone would pin on pinterest with the tag "I want my home to look like this!" but somehow it fits just right for us.  It feels so comfortable and warm.

Our home is too small for a piano and getting the piano from Hanford seemed too daunting of a task so we sold it.  It went to a good home, one where an eight-year-old girl is learning to play and that made me happy.  Someday, after I have settled into teaching a little more, I will take up the piano again.  For now, I am content with finding new pieces to listen to on Spotify and plotting how I will get my students to listen to classical while they do their independent practice.  hehehe

Finally Settling In

Last week I had this grand idea about a new product that I could launch on Etsy, but this morning I woke up feeling disoriented.  I felt this morning that there were so many things on my "to do" list, but that I had no sense of their priority.  So I've used today as a reality check.  I watched the Randy Pausch video on Time Management again.  (I posted it on my blog about a year ago), and I discovered that I have not yet settled in.  So much has happened in the last 8 months, including graduation, getting married, moving to California, starting as a substitute teacher, and in April I will start my teaching preparation program.  I think my brain has been in reaction mode, and now I need to switch gears.

I'm making a few changes, such as getting a desk and getting organized.  I'm closing my Etsy store so I can focus my energy in more productive ways.  After all, I opened the Etsy store when I was out of work for two months waiting to see if we would be moving to California last summer.  Now that I am working, it doesn't serve me to keep it open.

These next few weeks are crucial for me to get my time managed before I start my teacher program.  I'll be posting some of my solutions here so stay tuned!

DIY Art for our Bedroom

I started this art project last weekend and had to put it on hold during a busy work week, but I finished it last night.  I took a few photos of the process so you could see how easy it was.  I bought a canvas from Joann's that was on sale for $10 and spent another $8 on masking tape and paint.  I absolutely love how it looks in our bedroom.  When I see it in the room with our older furniture, it reminds me of a quilting block and I can't wait to get the quilt from Utah that my grandma made for us.  It will look so beautiful folded at the foot of our bed.

Don't think I'm this creative!!  I got this idea off of pinterest.  First I painted a random design.  Then I made a triangle cut out pattern.  I used the pattern to help me place the masking tape and create identical triangles. My plan was to paint the whole thing white, but as I started painting from left to right, Daniel noticed that the ombre (sp?) effect looked really cool.  So there you have it.  Our bedroom finally looks a little more complete. :)

New Stationery Sets on Etsy

I finally posted my new stationery products on Etsy.  I have been working on this project for a few weeks but it took me awhile to list because I had to figure out how to close the stationery cases.  I ended up using a brad-button closure.  I think they turned out great!  Let's see if I get any buys!

Reflecting on the First Week of Teaching

So far, I LOVE being a teacher.  I love choosing my own clothes for work.  I love getting there early and setting up my room for the day.  There have been times this week when my patience has been tried.  I had to give one girl a referral for saying "Shut up b***" when I asked her to move back to her assigned seat.  I issued a quiz to a class of 30 and got 11 papers back with nothing written but a name at the top.  Who puts there name on an empty quiz?  Do they think I offer participation points?  I don't think so.

My students might not know it, but I am learning every day.  I have learned that one class responds to lecture/note-taking while another responds to a discussion format.  Some classes can handle working quietly on their own while others need constant instruction to keep order in the classroom.  Towards the last 10 minutes of one class, there was a boy in the front row that just couldn't keep his mouth shut while we were trying to work through problems as a class.  I moved him to another desk to keep him from distracting his classmates, but it turned into a game of moving the desk forward every time I looked away.  Of course, the class was in stitches and it was extremely disruptive.  I pulled him aside after class and asked him why he was behaving that way.  He showed me his paper and he had the whole homework assignment finished and every problem was correct.  The lightbulb went off in my head.  He's bored!  I talked to another teacher about this and she suggested that I ask him to be my T.A. and when he's finished he can alphabetize class homework by last name to make it easier for me to grade.  I can also have him and another student that's finished play math board games at the back of the classroom.  SO MUCH TO LEARN!  I get so excited to get back in the classroom and try to be a better teacher each day.

There really isn't any other news.  Since I have to get up at 5am every day, I am so tired by 9pm every night.  My feet get so sore from walking up and down the aisles that I have had to postpone my running goals.  But all in all, I am very, very happy.

Daniel showed me this video that one of his friends posted on facebook.  For some reason, this is one of the funniest videos I have ever seen!  Hope it makes your weekend. :)

Jitters!

Tomorrow is my first day of school and I am so excited and nervous.  I know that everything will be great but I can't help but feel the first day jitters.  I have a two-week assignment teaching middle school math and my day will go from about 7:15AM to 2:30PM.  There are seven class periods but I might get a prep period.  It's a little scary not knowing much about the job until a half-hour before class but I chose the two-week assignment so that I could have a little more consistency (not to mention guaranteed work for two weeks!)  Anyway, here goes!

Bump and Grind

Just a few pictures from when Daniel and I hiked the Bump and Grind trail on Wednesday.  It only took a few hours and we started and ended behind Target haha.

Bonus:  Daniel took this picture from the roof of a building and I think it's awesome.

Here's to a healthy 2013!

Maybe because I'm a little hyped up after my barre workout, I have health on the brain.  Sad to say it, but my arthritis is back.  I can see 3 red nodes on my fingers and I have some joint pain.  I guess the desert isn't a cure, but I looked online and found a list of super-foods that might help slow the cartilage damage.

Broccoli, Berries, Pineapple, Yogurt, Brazil Nuts, Flax Seeds, Spinach, Salmon, Tuna, Winter Squash, Olive Oil, Almonds and Kale.

I'm going to try and build my menus around healthy servings of the above and see if it helps.  Onions were also on the list so I'm going to try to cook with them more in soups.  That's about as daring as I can get these days.

And here's something for all you birth-control takers out there.  When I started taking birth control a few years ago, my doctor casually said I should consider taking a vitamin B-12 supplement.  So I bought some, took it for maybe a week and then forgot about it.  As I renewed my prescription, it was never mentioned again.  Then, about two weeks ago, the soles of my feet would go numb especially at night and I would wake up due to a burning prickly sensation in my feet.  The next day, I started getting numb, painful fingers.  I looked online, and after the internet tried to scare me into thinking I had diabetes, I found the culprit:  A lack of B12 causes nerve damage!!!  What?!  Shouldn't this be blaring news when you start a birth control regimen?  Shouldn't someone say, "Damage to the nervous system is very serious and is possible when you're on birth control for an extended period of time."

Anyway, I have been taking a B-12 vitamin twice a day for two weeks and after a few days the prickly feelings stopped.  So...get your B-12!  The consequences of missing out on it is not fun.

New Year's Resolutions

1. Stability.  Now you all know that I have been talking about becoming a Math teacher.  The problem with that statement is the word becoming.  In a different world where bills didn't exist, I could spend my time daydreaming about what I could become and then take my time getting there.  I had a great plan to get myself to teaching, but I've run into some snags.  I haven't received a call back from any of the three school districts to get hired as a substitute teacher.  I did have one interview that I thought went well, but still no call back.  I have been doing a little high school math tutoring to make some extra dough this month and one of the parent's of a student is currently substitute teaching and he is a retired elementary teacher.  It seems that is who I am up against in that job market.  Anyway..I'm babbling.

For now I am going to get a full-time job and wend my way.  I don't see Daniel and I being able to lose my income for a year to do student teaching, but I know that this is a good thing.  Stability.

2. Gratitude.  I'm not an ungrateful person, but I could spend some more conscious effort in this area.  I am so much of a planner that I sometimes neglect to look back or even right in front of me to give thanks for all the blessings I have.  Maybe before dinner, we could come up with something we are grateful for, or I could add it to my morning routine. Gratitude.

3. Routine.  This one goes along with gratitude, but I am mostly thinking about exercising and putting more effort into my appearance.  I am signed up for online barre videos that cost me only $15/month but I have probably only done three videos this month.  I love barre.  It makes me feel strong and healthy.  I want to get up earlier in the morning and do barre.  Daniel and I could add some walking in as well.  We live in a cute little neighborhood.  Plus, our complex backs up against a hiking trail where a beautiful view is just a short hike away.

I have been a little lazy about putting on makeup or even doing my hair since we moved.  I haven't had a lot of days where I have something to do, so I haven't bothered.  But I don't want to spend 2013 a hot mess that no one wants to be with.  This year I want to step it up. Routine.

I have been giving 2013 a lot of thought and I think three resolutions is plenty.  I will keep these three words close by and take time each month to check up and see how I'm doing.  Hope everyone'e New Year's is amazing!

Best of 2012!

I'm grateful I have the chance tonight to reflect on 2012.  It will always be an infamous year in everyone's memory with all the hype about the end of the world.  But it didn't end, by our hands or mother nature's, so it's time to ramp up for 2013.  But not before taking a moment to reminisce.

March - Go Cavs!  This was epic.  And although Daniel's bro's team didn't win the last game, watching them win night after night and climb to the finals was more than amazing.  Hopefully they'll get a chance at it again.

June - Graduation and my mom coming to Portland.  First, graduating is the real deal folks.  Whatever you can do to get to that moment, do it.  After I graduated, circumstances led me back to the same job that I had during college and a friend of mine said to me, "So this is what a Math degree gets you huh?"  But that person doesn't understand the pride that I feel from passing Advanced Multivariate Calculus or the feeling in my soul when I turned in my VERY LAST FINAL.  I'm free!!  My degree will always serve me and I am stoked to pay back every penny that I borrowed to get my education.

My mom took this photo.  It is so rad.  There was too much traffic leading up to the Rose Garden Arena so I got out of the car and walked.


My mom came to Portland!  It was like a staycation for me and we had such a great time.  I got to show her so many of the things that I had grown to love in Oregon and she was so enthusiastic to see it all.  One of my favorite things is that she helped me pick out an iron and we had a walk through my neighborhood.  I can't wait until you come to Palm Desert Mom!

August:  A Kahn family trip to Maine for Daniel's cousin's wedding.  The hotel that we stayed at was not even a mile from George Bush Sr.'s home.  That was honestly the best vacation that I have been on.   We all had such a good time and I would love to go back there someday.

September:  Marrying my man.  I could get all gushy on this part but I'll try to restrain myself!  I love everything about being married.  I love having the same last name because it reminds me that we belong to each other.  I love putting a home together and dreaming about the future.  I truly feel that I married my soul mate.  That September day was the most beautiful day of my whole life and I will remember it forever.

November: Becoming Californians.  I do not highly recommend trying to graduate, get married, and move out-of-state in the same year, but somehow we were up for the challenge.  We love it here.  It has a new set of challenges, but it seems to be a place where we can grow both professionally, personally and as a couple.  It is surprising chilly right now, but from what I hear, I'll be begging for this weather come July.  Hopefully a trip to Utah is in the works when it is 115 degrees this summer.

Here are some pictures that I've taken with my phone since we've been here:

Proud Furniture Owners

I have to say it is a pretty exciting day in a person's life when new furniture arrives.  We have had such aching behinds from watching t.v. on our dining room chairs.  But now they're here!!  We had to buy the whole set from the furniture store in order to get a great deal and I wasn't crazy about all the pieces at first.  But now that I see them altogether in our living room, I love them!

My next project is to get some art on the walls.  I'm going to put up a ledge shelf above the sofa and I have started putting together this collection of art to go up on it.  

As promised, here is a look inside of the wedding chest that we got in Hanford.  Isn't it adorable?!

 

Furnished...sort of

Here are some pictures of our "furnished" apartment.  We bought a couch, loveseat and coffee table, but the delivery date got pushed back until 12/28 so we are not quite feeling settled.  But I love the kitchen and it's nice to have our bedroom and bathroom put together.  Blogger is acting up on me so sorry the pictures are haphazard but there is a story behind our new furniture pieces.

There was a woman that lived in Hanford who was like a grandmother to Daniel's family.  She owned an antique store on her property.  She owned some land close to Daniel's family home where she had her house, antique store, guest house, and some farmland.  Daniel's parent's lived in the guest house when they were first married.  She passed away just a few months before I met Daniel but she was over 100 years old.  A lot of furniture was left to the Kahn family, and it floats around from home to home whenever it's needed.  When we went to pick up our things from Hanford, we also took with us a few extra treasures.

The dresser, mirror, and jewelry box above and the night table below all came from the antique store.  They just needed a little lemon oil and they look so beautiful in our bedroom.

Our "new" bed frame, though not an antique, was Daniel's bed in high school.  Kinda funny, but it was sitting in the barn and I love it.  It has space in the headboard for books and I want to stain it to match the dresser.  The other night table was an antique that we found.

This is one of three hall closets that we have in our apartment.  So much space!  Plus there is a second bedroom (not pictured because it's full of the stuff I don't know what to do with yet).  I am going to put a bed in there though in case anyone would rather stay with us.  Pretty sure everyone will opt for the resort, but you never know.

We got this TV stand for $70 at target.  Probably won't last long but we needed to get our TV off the floor.  We didn't bring ours from Portland because it was heavy and not that attractive.

Loving our dining space right now.  I put the table and chairs on the truck with the thought that they would be temporary but they've turned out to be perfect for us right now.  Plus we can always get bar stools.  I wish I had a better picture of the details of the chairs and of this little wedding chest.  The wedding chest is another new found treasure and I put kitchen linens in it.  I will have to have another post devoted just to that little piece of furniture.  It has little drawers when you open the top compartment.

Only one picture on the wall but we're getting there!  Since we won't have a couch before Christmas I don't feel up to decorating.  Oh well.  A girl can only do so much!!

But Anyway...

Here are pics of our new apartment.  Like I said, I'm a little less than enthusiastic today, but here they are.  As soon as our new furniture is delivered I'll post pics of the furnished version. :)