Changes Happening

So Jason and I have some changes happening. Jason will be leaving the University after 14 years to work at the University seven miles away in Washington State. .

This is a change for us because we won't be commuting to work anymore, or at least not every day.  I am hoping to start walking to work as part of an improvement plan I have for myself. Nor will I be able to see him throughout the day as I can now since we both currently work for the same department.

I also decided to go back to school and work on another degree. This is not a Master's Degree which probably would have been the smarter option, but I am okay with that. I also didn't feel like studying, paying for and taking the GRE.

So I will be working on another Bachelor's Degree, this time in Child Development/Family Relations. I get to take classes at a reduced price since I am an employee of the University, with the stipulation of not taking more than 6 credits per semester.

So the plus is, since I already have a piece of paper (still unframed, or even out of the envelope it came in 10 years ago), I don't have to do all the core requirements, I just have to focus on the classes for this particular major.

If I finish the degree that is great, if not that is fine too as I already have a piece of paper.

Classes started today for me, I am taking two classes and both just happen to be on Tuesday/Thursday. One is a 100 level class, and I think I am older than the professor, but that is okay. I know the information is priceless and the professor seems fun.  The other class will be more of a challenge. It wasn't the class I was first signed up for, but found out since I had already had the class for my original degree they wouldn't count it again. Okay, fine....that just took 2 more classes off the list to take, which is fine with me. However the new classes will require me to do a lot of reading to just catch up. The class is on Theories and while I know some of the theorists names, I can't recall anything about their particular theory since it has been so long. But I know I can do it, it will  just require some extra time on my part and that is okay.

I am sure the question is being asked,"What is my plan?"  Honestly, there isn't one that is set in stone. Right now my goal is to be able to stay at home when we have a family, is that a viable option for us? Yes and no. Could I do something like watch a few kids every day, yes.   I have the space for it.  Do I need this degree to be able to do any of the stuff mentioned above, no, but the information is still priceless in many ways.  I could also work for the hospital in some capacity when it comes to Family Relations, we will just have to wait and see and is in store for me.

Kitchen Cabinet Handles

Our kitchen cabinets did not have handles or knobs on the cabinets or drawers when we purchased the house. We had decided that we wanted to add some and would be on the lookout for ones we both liked and went well with the house.

We found some pulls and knobs almost two years ago at a local store. Jason installed a few of the knobs just to see if we liked them. Honestly I hadn't given it much though since then.  Fast forward to about two weeks ago and Jason decides he wants to install the handles, this may or may not have anything to do with trying out the new drills he got.  Anyway, he installed the handles on some of the cabinets and we decided we liked the handles better than the knobs and wanted to install those on all the cabinets and drawers, even though it required ordering I believe 10  more handles.

It is truly amazing what a little change like changing cabinet hardware or in our case adding hardware can do for a space. 

Here is a before view of a cabinet.

Here is the after-same cabinet. Not the greatest picture, but you get the idea.

This is a close of up the handles

Here is a view of the kitchen cabinets without the hardware (taken April 2014 when my dad was painting).

Here is a view of the lower cabinets with the hardware installed- see amazing what a small change can do. (Don't ask about the missing tile)

New Curtains

In a previous post, I talked about doing things around that house to just make it more welcoming, homier, whatever.  Yesterday Jason hung curtain rods and thus, this allowed me to hang curtains I have had for at least 2 years. I won't mention how long I have been asking for the curtain rods to be hung.

This action was spurred on by our air conditioner deciding to quit working on Friday. Of course this happens when it is 95 degrees outside. We have been trying to keep the house cooler by shutting curtains and keeping fans running, though that doesn't seem to help too much. Hopefully we can get the air conditioner fixed soon.

So anyway, back to the curtains. We had bought a double rod so now, what do I put on the front? I am in a small town and there are two places to shop for curtains, Bed Bath and Beyond and Wal-Mart.  I bought some curtains that are suppose to block out sun, though white curtains don't do that so well. I should have bought longer length though, oh well, I was in a hurry and didn't pay attention to see if they had 96" length.

However my favorite curtains are the sheers I bought what feels like forever ago and am finally seeing. These came from Cost Plus World Market, and can I say I just love them. I love the clear "burnout" and the birds are green, but since there aren't that many birds it is just a pop of color. Very happy with the purchase and even happier with finally getting to see them hung up. Love the white next to the dark purple of the master bedroom walls. Simple things that make me smile.