Friday, April 24, 2009

Sometimes LIFE just gets in the way...

Soooooo.......
Where to begin?? With an apology seems appropriate....So sorry to all of my blogging friends....what was supposed to be a brief vacay turned into an extended absence with no explanation...go ahead, call me a bad blogger- I can take it....

I'll just pick up where we left off , shall I? In an abbreviated version, of course....I will "Cliff note" the past two months (has it really been two whole months??)...

As of my last entry, dated February 13th, Mr. Sunshine had gotten home and we were enjoying some much needed, highly anticipated family time. The next day (yes, Valentine's Day), my one true love, not being acclimated to an Upstate New York winter, forgot where he was and entered a foot race with Junior (you see where this is going, don't you?)....boychild won and Mr. Sunshine got the booby prize- a spiral fracture of his right ankle, courtesy of a nice little patch of black ice.... I have pictures of his swollen and bruised appendage, but I won't go quite that far (you are welcome)...

Needless to say, I got to play nursemaid to a cranky soldier who had come home from a war zone after nine months without so much as a scratch, only to slip on a patch of ice five days after his return and fracture his ankle. The good news is that he had to stay home an extra three weeks, so instead of eighteen days, we got him for almost a month.

But all good things come to an end and Mr. Sunshine did return to Iraq. At this point the countdown is in the double digits, less than a month to go and he should be home for good....

Yes!Which brings me to part deaux of my excuse note....another big thing that happened while Mr. Sunshine was home was that we found out we were moving.....yes again. This was a good move though, from our cozy but extremely dated ranch duplex to an almost new free standing, bonafide, no neighbors to share a wall with house. Best part: I get my own work space back (who needs a dining room?)!! No more sharing with a wii and a playstation and two kids and their friends.


Yay!
Wahhoooo!!
H-a-p-p-y D-a-n-c-e!!

The bad part (or at least I thought it would be)?
I had to do this move on my own, as Mr. Sunshine had already returned to Iraq (not that he would have been much help with his bum foot anyway).

At this point, after almost nineteen years in the Army and eleven moves, the Butler family is a well-oiled moving machine. Everyone has a job and when they do it, everything goes smoothly.

When part of the machine is missing....well, things tend to, at the very least, go more slowly (forget my comment a few lines ago- bum ankle or not, I seriously missed his help)....

So moving in has been a little s-l-o-w....

Stuff everywhere and it all needs a home....my workspace is not looking so cottage chic right now...

But, somewhere amidst the boxes and packing paper, I managed to do a little Target Clearance perusing...Aren't theses plates adorable? I think they will be the center of attention on my studio walls...bright and cheerful...how can you not feel a tiny bit happier just looking at them?

And shhhh...don't tell anyone, but they are melamine! I got all of these dishes for less than $10...TOTAL!

Since I'm still not at the point where I can be creating new things (the studio is in *slightly* better condition than these photos, but not much), I think I will share the progress with you...hopefully it will morph in to a bright and cheerful work space...

Until Next Time,

10 comments:

Anne said...

Hi, Steph! Welcome back! So glad to hear you got an extended visit with Mr. Sunshine, although I sure wish it could have been under better circumstances! And glad the count down to his final return is getting closer, too! I can't imagine planning and executing a move with kids and no other adult help. My hat's off to you! :-)

Laurie said...

Wow -- what a crazy thing to happen, that slip on the ice! Poor Mr. Sunshine. I wish he were back for good, and I know you're counting the days! Congratulations on your new house! Don't worry, you'll have it all organized in no time. I'm glad to know you're all right and look forward to more updates as time allows!

Kristal said...

Stephanie,
Glad to see you are back and a BIG congratulations on the new diggs! We've moved a lot too (non-military) and I am still working on the "a place for everything and everything in it's place". I guess it's the draw-backs of being a pack-rat extraordinaire!! Love the plates. Sad to not have a Target in this town.
Take care,

Kathy-Catnip Studio said...

Steph, So nice to hear from you!
I love, love, love those little plates, and I'm looking forward to your work space progress reports :-)

Someday I want to repaint the interior of my studio, and put in a real floor (just plywood sheets for now) with baseboards...sigh.

I've also been lax with my blog - there is just so much to do when the weather is nice!

Mel said...

Good to hear you are back online! We all missed you and your lovely posts..but we missed you more!! Loveeeeeeeeeee the plates! They make you smile:O)
Take Care,
Melissa

Cottage In The Sun said...

Definitely happy plates! In some of my favorite bright colors! So fun to get a peek into your work space even if it's not ready yet. Glad you are back!

Jemjoop said...

Welcome back, Steph! Congratulations on the new house. Not much fun to move on your own but sounds like you're going to enjoy the new place. Love the Target finds, so Spring-y.
Jen

Deb said...

So glad you're back!

Lori said...

Steph, how nice to hear from you:) i'm glad you got a little extra time with your sweetie...sorry about the way it happened though...i hope everything goes smoothly with your move!!!

Mockingbird Hill said...

Yikes-A-Mighty!!! So good to know you are all safe & sound (well, almost all of you are sound) and that the time away has given you some good things. :)

Welcome back, Sistah!!

Cassie