garden gnomes and other interests

Today I bought something that very much excited me. It was a spesh that Scot said we could get for the new house. I'm very much into items that are a bit whimsical in nature and add personality to our home. However, because we're afraid someone would steal this beautiful treasure, I'm going to put it somewhere in the house. I haven't decided where it should go yet, but I'm thinking somewhere in the office or possibly in the living room. He does look very sweet on the grass though. He's such a little cutie! Any name suggestions?




We're still in the process of beautifying our home...




The shower has been completed, and the wallpaper is all gone. Scot scraped the popcorn ceilings off this afternoon, and we're well on our way to a completed bathroom! It's just going to be lovely! If you'd love to see the entirety of our home, maybe you should come see it...

In other news, Scot's busy season at work seems to be over. I've very much been looking forward to that! Friday evening, we watched a movie and ate chili that Scot made. He makes the best chili! It's not too spicy, but still flavorful. It's his secret recipe. We enjoyed just spending time with each other. Neither of us worked on stuff around the house, and it was a great time had by all involved. Sometimes, I wish we could just spend everyday all day together. I sure do love him!

Speaking of work, we've just completed a series of lessons at church on working and the purpose of it. It was very insightful, and prompted much discussion at the Jackson household. The last lesson in the series was this morning. He talked about the idea of your work not defining you as a person. Sometimes it's easy to get caught in the "Taylor: the photographer" trap. My work becomes so important, that I forget to be the person God created me to be. Although being a photographer is definitely what I do, it's not who I am. I AM a child of God, created to bring Him glory. If I can do that, then I'm fulfilling my purpose.

Something very random - right now, Scot is over speaking to our neighbor whose dog has been barking for about two hours straight. Can people not hear? We just watched "Marley and Me" this afternoon, and all of those warm fuzzy feelings that it gave about being a dog owner have been completely yanked away over the past two hours. If you can't keep a dog quiet, you don't need a dog.



It was a pretty amazing movie though. I cried a lot. Even if you're not a dog person, you should definitely rent this tear jerker.

I'm back :)

SO I haven't been the best blogger as of late. Lots of things have happened! I've been blessed with a job working for a church. Let me just say that I LOVE IT. Also, we moved...into a house :) Pictures of that are to come. Right now, we're still trying to put our heads back on straight. I'll give you a little teaser -- we're remodeling the bathroom:



Here's Scot destroying things with his hammer. So handy! I'm just glad that he does the heavy lifting. I'm in charge of removing the wallpaper :) We also are very safe in our home renovation, hence the gas mask. No lung cancer for us!



This is my favorite feature of the new bathroom! Our very own claw foot tub :) I thought I'd put a picture of me in it...then thought that would be a little inappropriate.







Nice right? Don't you just love wallpaper? That is why pictures of the rest of our house are to come. I'm not really an organizer and never have been. In fact, it kind of makes me feel slightly helpless...almost like a child, because my skills in this area are so inadequate. If anyone has any tips that would help me, I'd love to hear them. Having said this, it might be a while before you see the finished product. Maybe the end of the summer?

There are some MAJOR bonuses to having your own home. We absolutely love the fact that we are getting to make this place our own. We're picking paint colors, choosing vanities, selecting tile, and deciding on furniture placement. It's nice to finally not be scared to use nails in the wall or worry about our security deposit. We listen to music as loudly as we like and we are no longer concerned with what the neighbors will think if we're vacuuming at 6:00 am -- (we're weird.) I love this time in my life. However, things are very busy at the Jackson household. I know that people say that it will only become more busy with time, but I sure hope that's not really the case!