Storage!

I'm sure you are all pumped to read this post, given the thrilling title.  It may be a little anti-climatic, but it's my life, so I'm posting it anyways.  

I've been a bit worried about where we are going to fit baby stuff.  Our storage areas are pretty much packed.  So, we bought some more storage!

And here we are putting it together.  I would like to point out my classy outfit.  I really am looking good in my pregnancy days.

Voila!  Yay for storage!

Flush

7:03 AM and I have visited the bathroom 4 times.  Thankfully, these trips have not been due to morning sickness as I only face slight sickness at nighttime.   However, that doesn't stop me from oh so FREQUENT bathroom stops.  After one of these particular moments, I found myself greatly annoyed by how much time I have to spend at the throne.

And then I thought,

"I'm sure glad my time is spent HERE...

...and not HERE."

http://www.google.com/imgres?q=outhouse&um=1&hl=en&sa=N&tbm=isch&tbnid=jeN91hkWp8tP6M:&imgrefurl=http://www.continentalranchatcreede.com/id1.html&docid=YngLafaMd5LpDM&w=327&h=490&ei=hppKTr2nOK7SiAKH6I2oBw&zoom=1&iact=hc&vpx=194&vpy=146&dur=2077&hovh=275&hovw=183&tx=124&ty=189&page=2&tbnh=180&tbnw=134&start=22&ndsp=14&ved=1t:429,r:7,s:22&biw=1280&bih=525

Shelves are for people who have a lot of stuff.

Being the good student wife that I am, I decided to come up with all sorts of projects to do while Luis spent Saturday studying.  One of these projects included putting up a shelf.  Because of the good Mormom wife that I also am, I needed more shelving for my hoarding.  I bought the shelf weeks ago, but it took this long to get around to it.  And also, I had no drill until the Mailmans let us borrow theirs.  Thus, "project put up shelf" was finally a go.

Tools:  Check

Power Drill:  Check

Instructions:  Check

Markings on the Wall:  Check

My Husband: 

What the?  What's he doing here?  Oops:)  I guess I'm still not a great student wife.

I can't tell if he's concentrating here or if he's picturing me on the wall he's pounding.

Look!  Ain't she a beauty?

If only I had one more shelf...

Laptop Revival

Out of the blue, Luis gets this sheepish look in his eyes and says to me, "Ashley, you're wonderful.  I love so much."  Not that I don't love that, but I knew something was up.  We can't mask things very well at our home.  He then tells me a little story about my laptop that I have so generously allowed him to take to school every day.  One morning, he was at school using his computer when he realized he had to book-it to class.  He flipped the lid shut, grabbed his gear, and headed off...clueless to the fact that he had done something very wrong.  Can you guess?  Once he arrived at said destination, he took out his laptop, pried it open, and "Oh no."  He had accidentally left his pen cap on the keyboard when he shut the lid, which resulted in a cracking of the screen pigments...or whatever (the screen broke).  Apparently, Lu was worried about the reaction of his occasionally emotionally unstable woman.  Well, I'm proud to say, that I reacted very sweetly and calmly (right after I threw a chair out the window - he he he). 

Instead of deciding to buy a new laptop, he chose to get it fixed.  However, after talking to a Best Buy associate, and finding out they would charge $300, he opted to do the fixing himself.  Since he is the wrong kind of nerd (science, not electronics), he began by watching some online tutorials.  He then purchased a new screen, a few tools, and we went to work.

As you can see, I was his assistant.  So of course, the outcome was successful!  We're pretty much experts at laptop screen transplants now, so if you ever leave a pen cap on the keyboard, shut the lid, and crack the pigments...give us a call!

Rainbow Brites

A few months ago we received notice that our entire complex was going to be painted.  We got a sneak peek of possible color options when they tried out some of the possibilities on one of our neighboring buildings.  I was really excited for the new look.  That was until I saw the paint color winners.  Here are two shots of the BEFORE look.

 And here are the AFTER shots.  I really hated these new colors.  Every time we walked by Luis got to hear me murmur, "ugly ugly ugly!"  It was one of my main topics of choice whenever I saw a friend from the complex.  "Don't you just HATE the new paint?"  I must say though, I am getting used to the new look.

And this is my black door.

Speaking of paint, here's a paint job I don't think I've blogged about yet.  It's very possible I have posted this, but since I can't remember and am too lazy to check, I thought I'd just throw it in here.  When Luis and I got married, we needed a table.  Since none of my siblings would "hand-me-down" their tables (which I thought was quite selfish of them), I had to buy my own.  So, mom, Luis, and I began to frequent DI.  Fabulously, we happened upon a pretty junky-looking table which we were able to FIX UP with paint.  One move later, it looked like this.

Since we brought the paint with us to California, I decided to fix it up so it wasn't so disgraceful.  Isn't she pretty now?  The bad news is that the finish we put on it isn't great.  Some of the paint has already peeled off again.  Drat!



(By the way, if you're wondering what my title has to do with this post, you're not alone.  I myself am quite confused.)

Weekend Game Night

Luis and I LOVE playing games.  And since it's free, it is a frequent date activity around our place.

Since we don't have many games for two, we usually end up playing STRATEGO, our favorite. 

Luis usually wins, darn it.

 Another fav is Qwirkle.  The name itself bespeaks greatness.

We received several bags of MaRsHmAlLoWs for our wedding, so our treat usually involves roasting s'mores over our stovetop.  This is a version we ESPECIALLY enjoy.  You should try it!

Life as a Hoarder

As I was watching the Nate Berkus show today, he featured a woman on his show who, according to Nate, had an out-of-control pantry.  As I watched, the dialogue in my head went along with the show a little like this...

Nate:  Let's welcome a woman who has a major problem.  She has a pantry that is literally out-of-control.
Me:  My pantry is not out-of-control - it's stocked.

Nate:  Let's look at her pantry.

(And then he revealed her pantry.)

Audience:  Gasp!

(The picture looked a little like this)

(Only, this is MY pantry.)

Nate:  Pantry woman, why do you have so much stuff?

Me:  She shops too much.
Pantry Woman:  I like to be prepared.

Me:  Oh.  Me too.  But, at least I know where everything is.

Pantry Woman:  But at least I know where everything is.

Me:  Um...

Then, Nate brought on a hoarding specialist.

Hoarding Specialist:  You have too much stuff when your family finds it a problem....

Me:  Luis doesn't mind our stuff.

Hoarding Specialist:  ...or if you find yourself buying more than one of an item to stock up...

Me:  I find good sales.

Hoarding Specialist:  ...or if you find yourself shoving contents onto a shelf to fit it all.

Me:  I have a very teeny pantry.

Hoarding Specialist:  That's called hoarding. 

Thinking about these qualifications and conducting a brief runthrough of the items currently in my home,

I came to one realization...

I guess I'm a hoarder. 

I guess it makes sense that anyone who has a collection of mini shampoos and soaps

really is a hoarder.

Oh well!

El Hogar de los Moreno's

I have put together this tour so that you can see what mi casa is like. Now, you can picture me here when you're feeling lonely for me...and Luis. (Also, the tour is bilingual for those of you who are bilingual.)

This is the view of our complex from our stairs (los escalones). The sky looks blue, which is nice. It is often not blue.

This is our patio 3 stories up. We had to search a long time to find just the right patio furniture (los muebles) to fit in with our sheek style.

Okay, come to our door (la puerta), open it up, and this is what you'll see. WELCOME!

Living room (la sala).

Do you remember that adorable nook I was gaga over? This is it (esto es). Jealous?

This would be our kitchen (la cocina).

Our large and spacious dining room (el comedor). We fed the sister missionaries last night and had plenty of room to pull out the table (la mesa).

At the end of the hall (el corredor), you have 2 choices. Turn right...

...and you'll find our bedroom (la recamara).

Turn left....

...and you'll reach the bathroom (el bano) and closet. At first I thought having so much unused space in the bathroom was wasteful. But now, well, loving it!

This door is at the end (el final) of the kitchen. Open it up and we have...

...our washer (la lavadora)

...and dryer (la secadora). Horray!
Of course, no home is complete without a dumpster (el basurero). And this one's ours.

And finally, we also spend many days down at our pool (la pisina) since we are bums.

So there you have it. Our new home. We are loving it here and look forward to many fun days (muchos dias divertidos).