Yet another trip to the cabin..

We went exploring up the river at Smith & Morehouse near the cabin last week, and it was absolutely gorgeous. Very picturesque. I could never get sick of that place. In fact, it's Derek and I's dream to eventually live somewhere like Oakley, Kamas, etc. I'll just keep crossing my fingers...

All things new..

I have an announcement - I (Jen) started a new job this week! (nope, not as a mom, but hopefully that will be sometime soon (relative) too.) I now work for a large internet retail company in their marketing department. Pretty sweet, huh? Here are several reasons why I'm a fan:

• I pretty much shop all day without actually buying anything. I pretend as if I'm a customer and think of how, as the customer, I would want the items sorted, categorized, organized, etc.. Then I make the changes, and waalahh... the changes appear the next day
• The "stores" I've been assigned are Bedding, Health & Beauty, Baby, and Crafts & Hobbies. Doesn't that sound like so much fun? Deke thought it was a little too girly. He wanted me to do Sports. I had to remind him, that I am infact a girl, and those things are exciting to me. It's just a tad more interesting than, say, natural gas (here's looking at you BP).
• Everyone has an 8 hour work day which includes an hour break for lunch, so technically you're really only working for 7 hours
• You can listen to your ipod all day if wanted (if I had an Ipod, but still... )
• I don't feel like people are looking over my back all day long
• Employee discounts and free shipping always! Wahoo!
• I actually feel like an important part of the company - Changes I make/do directly affect how millions of people globally are viewing the site. Scary, but at the same time exhilarating.
• I can still wear jeans to work. Very important.
• 2 words: Sample Sale. This actually happened my first day on the job. They bring in a ton of samples they've received and then mark them down atleast 90% off market price. If we want the item, we put our name on the list and if they draw your name for that particular item, it's yours.
• Hot chocolate and Apple Cider in the kitchen. We're talking the real thing too - none of this sugar free stuff

So, yup. I'm already enjoying my job. In fact, I think I won't actually dread going back to work come every Monday morning. What a novel idea!

Here's to new beginnings!

DIY: Jenerek Edition

Part of the reason I haven't made too many posts lately is because we've been up to a little project. Well... a little project that turned into a BIG project. In our upstairs there's an area we call the loft - too small to be considered a room, but definitely bigger than a hallway. This is where we have our office.

This is what it looked like before: (sorry the images are a tad dark)





And, after 3 paint cans, a few mistakes, 1 1/2 mental breakdowns, lots of laughs, a choice word here and there, too many hours, a cut here and there, and some serious fun, this is what the end result is...



How do you like the blue? This was completely Deke's idea. I was hesitant at first - I wanted to go with a lighter green, but I am sooo glad we went with his idea. I need to listen to him more often. We wanted to add some color, and I love the result!!



I really like the doors we put in too. We used to have these really old 70's style board doors with gold knobs. I think these are just a tad better..



My very, very favorite part of the whole remodel are our floors. We chose a wide plank (5") maple wood. I love the grain of these babies!



We ended up doing new flooring, crown, chair and floor molding, 3" planking on the walls, new door casings and molding, new doors, hardware, and of course new paint. It took a little (a lot) longer than we expected it too, but the end product is totally worth it. Kudos to Deke - let's be honest... The only thing I could really help out with is paint and little calking here and there. He definitely had the brunt of all the work to do and he did a fantastic job! And, I really don't think he minded putting all his shiny tools to good use.

I'll leave you all with my best foot forward..



Ok...that was corny, but come on.. you love it. I can't tell you how many times I stepped on that stupid paint can lid. Arrrgg...

It's been awhile, but here I am!

Pre-post note: So, I’ve been in a blogging rut lately. Mostly because I feel like I haven’t really had anything blogworthy to share. Sure, I’ve had a few post ideas here and there, but really I’ve just been too lazy to materialize those ideas. I’ll try and be better from here on out…

It’s coming..

Fall, that is!! I love everything about the fall. The crispness, coolness, aroma-ness… Everything is full of rich color and warmth. Labor day weekend kicked it into full force for me with the first hints of changing leaves at the cabin. In fact, Monday morning it actually SNOWED. Yup. That fluffy white stuff made its’ presence known. Can you believe that? Where in the heck did summer time go?

Luckily for Deke, something about the fall makes me want to cook full course meals and bake gooey treats full of cinnamon, nutmeg, chocolate, etc..

Fall is harvest season when the fruits (and veggies :) ) of one’s labors are gathered in. My Book of Mormon professor at BYU pointed out a really interesting correlation in regards to the harvest that I find to be a little more than coincidence. The angel Moroni appeared to Joseph Smith to tell him about the gold plates on Sept 22 – the autumnal equinox, or, first day of fall. This event marked the beginning of the road that lead to the Book of Mormon being translated. Fall signifies the beginning of harvest, but in this case, the first day of Fall represented the beginning of the harvest of souls. Isn’t that so profound? I absolutely love symbolism like that.

Here’s to Fall!