The 2013 Yuletide Blog

I certainly have not been keeping up with blogging - life has taken over! But I did want to update it for our friends and family that live near and far that don't keep up with us on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and even the telephone!

It has been a busy, busy year for all of us - and one filled with many blessings. I think, hand's down, we would all agree that the highlight of our year was a family cruise with my parents, sister, brother, sister-in-law, nephews and nieces.

My parents graciously paid for the cruise for all of us - and we all paid our own expenses, airfare, etc. We all met in San Juan, Puerto Rico and got on the cruise ship there. We went to St Thomas, Barbados, St Maarten, St Kitts, and St Lucia (not in that order) and then back to San Juan. We had a wonderful time together and seeing all the fun sights. And what a great gift from my parents - memories that will last a lifetime!

No sooner had we returned from 10 days in the Caribbean, Trey, Paige and I headed to Orlando for a whirlwind trip of 4 parks in 3 days...don't think I'll ever be doing that again, no matter how fun it was!

And when we've not been traveling, or working to make up for all the time gone from the office, this is what we've been up to...

Bella

Bella finished her freshman year at La Cueva and is halfway done with her Sophomore year - which is going a lot better than last year! She is studying hard and doing very well in her classes, bringing home all A's and B's. She just finished her driver's ed class and is now working on fulfilling her required practice driving hours. She does a great job and I can't understand why I've been so nervous to let her drive - you'd think after the two boys, this would be a piece of cake. However, it is not!

Speaking of cake, Bella's cake business is booming - to the point of us having to sometimes turn away work so she can work on homework and have a life. This year, she did her first two wedding cakes ever - and made some very nice money by doing so. One of her cakes (in the photo below), will be featured on "The Knot" blog sometime soon.

Bella will be turning Sweet 16 on New Year's Eve and I have been doing a sixteen day countdown for her - a small gift every day, with a picture from each year of her life, with a message on the back. It is sure fun going back through all the pictures of her and seeing how she has changed through the years. She is such a fun girl with a funny sense of humor and, most times, a sunny disposition. She has taught me so many lessons about myself and being a mom...and always knows how to make me smile and laugh like a 12-year-old girl at a slumber party!

Paige

Hard to believe our "baby" is growing so quickly...and moving right along through life, and we're watching her blossom right before our very eyes!

In May, Paige moved on from elementary school (after 17 years of elementary school, I am finally done - woo hoo!) and started middle school in the fall. She continues to excel at school and earn A's and B's, just like her sister; she studies hard and is a very conscientious student.

Paige is a lot of fun - even though she is entering her "tween" years and we get a little bit of an attitude every now and again, it is rare. She does, however, have very definite opinions, some of which just make us laugh. Last year she finished up swim team, as she got an upper respiratory infection that she just couldn't shake, and the pool water was not helping. But she went out with a bang, when she finished 7th in butterfly in the UNM Holiday Classic. I miss watching her swim and hope that she will go back to it - she is such a talented swimmer.

She is a sweet, sweet girl and I love that she still thinks I'm cool, that she likes to spend time with me and even comes for a cuddle on the couch every now and again. I'm sure these times will grow few and far between, so I will enjoy them while I can!

Trey

Trey still owns his own business, Lobo Wealth Strategies, and it continues to grow and prosper. He has worked hard over the past year building his business in Farmington, New Mexico, and travels there every other week to meet with clients.

When he's not busy working, he likes to golf, camp, fish and, of course, hunt! This year was no exception and he got in a couple of turkey hunts, an elk and a deer hunt. Unfortunately that was it for him this year - hopefully more next year. Trey also loves to garden and right about March, he can be found out in the yard doing what he does...and the results are FABULOUS! We love to hang out in our backyard, as long as the weather allows us to.

Trey is a great dad and husband - he is still trying to get used to being the only male in a house full of women...poor guy! But he handles it pretty well and likes to spoil his "girls"...and our dog, Max!

alicia

As for me, I am staying very busy with work and working towards another promotion. Human resource consulting has certainly taken off and I find myself with more work than I can do, so hopefully they will hire someone to help! I did get to take an exciting business trip to Sitka, Alaska to meet with a client in December. It was actually warmer in Sitka than in Albuquerque...although very rainy and dark.

I am also on the Heroin Awareness Executive Board and spend a lot of time volunteering for this awesome organization, which provides education and support to our community. As many of you know, this is something that I hold very dear to my heart due to the experiences that we've had. Helping others has helped me to heal from our own personal situation and, when I speak to a group of kids, I always think that if I can touch one person to not use drugs, then I have done my job. Recently, our group, along with Christopher Productions, won an Emmy award for a documentary that we created and that is currently being shown in all high schools throughout New Mexico, and some in California. It was such a huge honor to go to the ceremony and to have our work recognized - a true testament that a small group of people CAN and DO make a difference.

When I am not busy working or volunteering, I am busy crafting and spending time with my family and friends. I am fortunate that I have a career that challenges me, and I am also fortunate to have learned how to balance that with fun things in my life. As Trey and I always say, "we work hard so we can play hard."

And play hard this year, we did!

You're probably noticing we're missing a couple of people from our card...I'm still trying to wrap my head around that too! Travis and Andrew, who are 22 and 20, respectively, are now out of the house and living their own lives. They both have girlfriends, and jobs and are just doing what kids their age do. I guess them being missing from the Christmas card is just a natural progression of life - but they are still a part of our lives...just not every day. But they are both happy and healthy!



 

As I reflect back over the past year, it is not without some sadness and some trials, but we have truly been blessed beyond measure. Our lives continue to change and move at a rapid pace and we sometimes struggle to keep up, but eventually we get there. And the reflection always enables me to see our Heavenly Father's hand in all aspects of our lives.

We wish you and your family a wonderful New Year's filled with blessings, love and laughter.

Love,

Trey, alicia, Travis, Andrew, Bella & Paige

Be Our Guest...

 

Well, they say (whoever "they" are)..."if you build it, they will come."  I guess we'll see, what this post brings...

Handsome went hunting in November and, as many of you know, that means {project time} for moi. Our 21-year-old son recently moved out (this is after moving out, two room redos, moving back in and now moving out...I know, it's hard to keep up with but that is another story).

I've thought long and hard about what to do with this room...here's the before picture:

 

 

Truth be told, I had no idea what to do - I drew up some plans that included a sofa that would fold out into a bed, a built in desk area with a TV mounted on the wall and space for me to craft. I must have thought I had a MUCH bigger room (and imagination)...there's no way that would all fit in this space. And, I couldn't find a sofa (that I could afford) that had function and form...it's all about style, you know!

And, after getting rid of all the extra beds, literally a week before Tlo moved back in, we just improvised in that room with a twin bed on the floor (no frame), a dresser and a chair. The bed was too uncomfortable so I traded out some graduation announcement design work for a queen size pillow top bed.

Also last year, we sprung a major leak out front where the hose spigot is...it still has not been fixed and I was waiting for the wall to be fixed. (as you can see from the pix...it is finally fixed and Handsome just textured it today. I did threaten him with..."You cannot go hunting this spring until you fix.that.wall - amazingly enough, it got fixed, but I have not yet painted it, so igore!)

Handsome had a week-long hunt planned in the great state of Kansas...for deer and pheasant. I have to admit, I panicked a little bit when, the day after leaving for Kansas, I received a picture of him with his recently shot 10 point buck...talk about springing into action! Should have known better...he wasn't going to come home any earlier than necessary!

So, one element of this room is his childhood furniture. Now, don't go getting all upset with me...I could have very well sold it and purchased something else...but that is not how I roll and that is not what up-cycling is about. This piece of furniture is solidly built - I mean, it has withstood 3 teenage boys...there's something to be said for that!

It just didn't "go" with my idea, and it's not very modern looking.

I've always said..."forget the little black dress...all I need is a little black can of paint."

And I will continue to say that until I die!

You be the judge: first photo = the original furniture....second photo = painted furniture

{and oh I miss this room...it was my favorite, really...or maybe it was because of the boys that lived in it. Nonetheless, I miss it}

I, know, right?!

And the best part? We still have his furniture, to which he is very attached, and it looks better!

Oddly enough, when Handsome came home and said, "Is that my furniture?" I had to crack up...HE didn't even recognize it! The jury is still out on whether or not he "likes" it...but I know he likes having it around. And, as I said, it's well built and functional.

My jumping off point for the room was this serigraph that I bought at a gallery in Sydney, Australia 21 years ago...I happened to wander into the gallery, saw the original painting, titled "The Arrival" and LOVED it...so I bought the print. As luck would have it, the artist, Charles Billich, happened to be in the gallery and signed the piece for me; I also have a smaller piece of Perth. It wasn't an inexpensive purchase at the gallery...and since it is signed, it goes for about $2,500-3,000.

I have been lugging this piece of artwork with me for the past 21 years...and it has been in a closet for the past eight. Well, I decided it was time to honor it and hang it up...so it was really the inspiration for this room.

And the rest, it's history...I love animal print and I tried to pick colors that were warm and inviting, but not too feminine (apparently I missed the mark on the "not too feminine" part). Alas...the room.

Handsome constantly teases me that I've created a nice room for myself. ha ha

Truth be told...it is VERY different from the rest of the house. But that's why you have rooms, right? So each room can be something different? Our bedrooms are Paris, and zebra diva and now this room. Each have a different personality - just like the people that live there. I wanted to create a space that was warm, inviting and comfortable to those who come visit.

Besides painting, which is an obvious for me, I up-cycled {my new "thing"} this chest I nearly jumped an old woman for at Goodwill ($15 people, $15!). I needed a bedside table and everything was too wide or ugly. I found this piece at Goodwill and knew it was perfect - not only the right size, but storage too!

And then there is the chair and ottoman, which I PAINTED, people, YES! And it is gorgeous...if I do say so myself. There is going to be a whole post on this, so stay tuned. It turned out lighter than I wanted, but I am not re-doing it...and I like it...I LOVE it. Sometimes I just go in the room to see it...is that wrong? This was a major up-cycle job for me and thanks to my blogger-friend, Mandi, for the instructions overat http://www.vintagerevivals.com/

Another thing I like to do is steal BORROW ideas...is that wrong? Here are a couple of examples...I recently re-decorated the master bedroom...found this mirror at Target. Now, it was only $40, but seemed a little too high-priced for me (okay, I'm cheap sometimes)...so I "knocked it off" - $4 mirror from Michael's and the rest is made from...wait for it...skewers! I measured them all out, spray painted and then affixed them to the mirror and Viola! Cost me the cost of the mirror.

So two weeks ago I was in HomeGoods looking for "stuff" (you know how it is) and I came across this beauty for $50...$50, are you kidding me? And here comes the knockoff...

Mine cost me $20 and I was able to pick the exact colors I wanted. Why pay good money for what you can create in 10 minutes by yourself?

So that's our new guestroom...

Won't you be our guest? We're taking reservations...but I am holding a spot for my parents at Thanksgiving this year...hoping they'll come for a visit.
 

{alicia}