a monumental day.

Wednesday was one for the record books. And I'm not just talking about Bakersfield setting a new high temperature for the day (110...in the shade, of course).  Wednesday was an important day for two other reasons: I started my first day of going back to school and Papa came home for the first time since he left at the beginning of June! 

I got on the road to Biola right at 11 and I made it down there right around 1.  Class didn't start until 4:30, so I had a little time to kill.  I tried to hang out with a couple different friends, but it didn't work out this week, so hopefully in the coming weeks we will make that happen.  Anyway, I decided to "tour" the area, visiting some of the places and stores I had frequented not-so-long ago.  In case you're wondering, some things were different.  Most notably was the Panera put in right by my old apartment.  That would have been lovely.  And, of course, my favorite stop was at Berry Cool (awesome frozen yogurt).  I journeyed back to campus around 3:45, got a parking permit and my ID card, and had just a few minutes to waste until it was time to go to class.  Class was good, my professor is great, and I was thrilled to see some familiar faces.  We got out at 7, about 15 minutes early, and I got on the road.  I think I set a new record, at least my personal best: I made it through LA in record time, literally tapping my brakes once between La Mirada and Santa Clarita.  I'm praying this traffic was not a fluke and it will be similar each week. 

As I mentioned, Papa made his first trip home to Bakersfield since leaving at the beginning of June.  He and Gramma were looking forward to a few days of doing their own thing, running a few errands, and just being home.  After arriving home with my aunt, they dropped off their bags, turned down the a/c, and went to grab some dinner, giving the house a chance to cool off.  When they got home, my aunt left and they decided they should run to the grocery store to get a few items for the long weekend home.  When they returned home after that, they discovered the house was hot and the a/c was no longer working.  Please bear in mind that Wednesday was the hottest day of the year, at least here in Bakersfield.  Anyway, my grandma calls my dad, he goes over to check to see if he can replace the fuses, hoping that would be the fix, even if only temporary.  After an unsuccessful attempt, Gramma and Papa loaded their bags into my dad's car and headed over to our house for the night.  It really wouldn't have seemed so bad, except for them wanting to be home so badly.  At least they were in Bakersfield, right? ;)  Our neighbor across the street, Matthew, who was our saving grace a few weeks back when our own a/c went out, went out to their house Thursday morning, fixing it temporarily, and then went back on Saturday morning to fix what needed to be fixed.  It was good to see them, though, so at least it provided us that opportunity.  (By the way, Papa is doing much better.  However, last week, or maybe two weeks ago now, a brain scan revealed a small blood clot, which, if not better on another scan that will take place tomorrow morning, will require surgery this week.)

the transformation: final product.

Finally, the room is complete with finishing touches. The following pictures are taken from the doorway of my room and scanning around to the left:

You may notice that I love pillows. Also, the new dresser is on the right.

Moving to the left, please notice the curtains that, after much comparison, are almost perfect.

Again moving to the left, the new bookcase. One of my favorite parts of the room are the pitcher, vase, plant, and books sitting on top.

This painting is one of my absolute favorites.  It worked out nicely that it is hanging next to my favorites on top of the bookcase!

For the final shot, I stepped back next to my bed to get a better view of the desk and wall above it.

Well, there it is. I love my new room. This is the first time in my life I've had all coordinating furniture, which makes me feel so grown-up. Hope you enjoyed the tour!

Next projects: Continuing the closet saga, as well as redecorating Lindsay's room...eventually...

the transformation: it's a process.

Saturday was the big day, full of cleaning, moving furniture, putting up new blinds, rearranging, organizing, and reorganizing.  As an added bonus, I got two new pieces of furniture, both of which needed to be assembled.  It was a long day, but worth it for the results.

This picture was taken 8:15 on Saturday night. As you can see, we are in the midst of putting together the new dresser and my bed is covered in drawers.

Fast forward about a week. My room is nearing completion with all of the finishing touches. I bought new curtains, as you can see hanging. As you can also see in this picture, the pattern runs horizontally, but the four panels I bought didn't match up. Call me anal, but I knew this would drive me crazy, especially since the two windows are so close to one another. So, I pretty much bought every panel in existence, at least in Bakersfield, and began matching the pattern until I successfully found four panels that line up almost exactly.

Stay tuned for the finished product.

the transformation: before.

Awhile back I promised to show you pictures of my room since I've rearranged and somewhat redecorated. This has been a long time coming, I know, but I finally remembered where my camera cord was. I'm having a hard time uploading all of the pictures in one post, so I'm going to have to do separate posts.  Here are the before photos:

This was Wednesday, July 28. This was pretty much Day 1 of the process, although some stuff was already moved out at this point.

This was Friday, July 30. As you can see, most of the excess junk has been removed from the room to prepare for moving day tomorrow.

Also Friday. Same day, slightly different view of the "Before" room.

The transformation continues in my next post.

mixed up.

I try to be content, I really do.  But there's part of me that can't stand it.  I need to go somewhere new, do something different.  I wish I could be irresponsible for a week or two and just go.  I'm happy where I am.  I really am.  I just need to shake things up, do something different.  Or something.

Maybe I'm just anxious for the changes about to take place in a little over two weeks.  That's when I become a student again.  I'll also become a teacher again (substitute, of course) as soon as my begins to ring again.  My mom recently observed that my life is going to be so busy as I go to school as both a student and a teacher again, as well as continue to work for her.  Maybe that's what I need for awhile. 

I have only a couple of friends here, and I'm anxious to see the ones down in LA again.  Sorry to the friends here, as I've been MIA this summer as life took over.  It happens to the best of us, you know.  I need to get out and be more intentionally social.  Maybe then I won't feel so discontent.

a weekend of changes.

Saturday was the big day...rearranging the furniture in my room, that is.  What started out sounding like merely a chore turned into a huge, all-day event.  Since Wednesday I had been taking stuff out of my room, moving the items to various locations around the house, mostly to my sister's room (thank goodness she's not here!), or stashing them into an ever-growing pile inside my closet.  Which, by the way, looks like I never even touched it back in June.  Oh well, round 2 will see better results, I'm sure.  Anyway, by Saturday morning, I pretty much had the clutter cleared out and was on to the things I used everyday.  When I had everything out I could move myself, I called in the troops, better known as my parents, and got things moving.  We took out the furniture that was being replaced and cleaned everything.  My dad hung the new blinds we've had sitting in the box for awhile now.  New curtains were hung, the cable I need for my TV was run around the perimeter of the room, and we were in business.  My bed and chair were set in place.  Now it was time for the real fun to begin!  We exchanged the tall dresser/shelving unit I had previously for the dresser I had in my apartment...it's been sitting in the garage waiting for this day to arrive.  I also decided to switch the desk I had in my room already for the desk that matched the dresser (also from the apartment).  By the time we had that in place, it was decided that the other long, old oak dresser I had in my room needed to leave.  My mom and I took a break, got cleaned up, and went furniture shopping.  My preference was for one of those lingerie chests...tall and not too wide.  We found the perfect one at World Market and got a really good deal on it, too! We brought it home for my dad and I to assemble later that evening.  We started on it just before dinner.  At 8:30, I still had pieces strewn about my room.  I was wondering if I was going to be able to sleep in there!  After my dad finished up some work he needed to get done, we started working again, this time moving fairly quickly through the second half of assembly.  We got everything screwed in (much more difficult than it sounds) and turned it over to put the back on.  It was then that we realized that my dad had put one of the pieces in backward earlier.  Which meant that the small cut-out groove the back was supposed to rest inside was not there.  Seeing no other way to resolve the issue, we then got to unscrew all of our hard work enough to pull that piece out and turn it around.  Then we screwed everything in...again.  We finally finished assembly a few minutes after 11.  Oh, and I should mention that earlier when assembling the drawers, one of the pieces was manufactured incorrectly, so we only could put 4 drawers together.  (I was thankfully able to get the piece I needed at World Market Sunday and all is right now!)  After a long, exhausting day, we were all worn out.  But my room looks good and I'm slowly getting things put away in their new homes.  I got a new bookcase on Sunday, as well, which was assembled last night.  I was going to post pictures of the transformation, but I currently cannot locate my camera cord.  It's been moved with the rest of my belongings, so I'll post the pictures as soon as things are more put together.  I still have to take all my pictures down off the wall and move them around to better suit the new arrangement.  I'm not holding my breath for that to get done too quickly.  Hopefully soon, though, and pictures will follow shortly thereafter.

P.S. Feel free to leave a comment or two.  I love to hear/see/know people are reading...

officially official.

Well, it's official! I just completed registration for my Fall semester return to school.  Classes begin 4 weeks from tomorrow.  I have mixed emotions about going back to school to say the least.  But, now that I've been planning on it for a few months, I'm getting used to the idea and I'll admit, a little more excited.  I know that in the long run, this work will pay off.  And, hey, what's a little more debt, right?

The other great accomplishment of this week so far is that the elliptical we bought mid-June is finally put together.  It was started the day after it arrived and has since been stalled in the living room, pieces strewn about everywhere since then.  Until Sunday, when my dad finally decided he had some time to put it together.  Once we got going, it was no big deal...obviously it was just a matter of getting going!

My room is now in the process of being emptied.  I have a plan as to how I want to rearrange the furniture.  The first step to that, though, is emptying the room of all superfluous items so that furniture can be moved around.  My hope is to move things around on Saturday, but I'll keep you posted on my progress.

In other news, I'm happy to announce that I am still continuing on with my read-through-the-Bible-in-a-year reading, and almost caught up to where I should be today...just a couple of weeks behind now, but I'm still making strides to catch up.

Please continue to keep Papa in your prayers.  He is doing well, but still has room for improvement.  my parents spoke to him on the phone last night and he sounded just like himself.  However, he still has moments where he is confused or just not himself.  His follow up appointment at UCLA is this Thursday, where adjustments to the shunt will be made if necessary.

Well, I think that's all my news for now...