This Old House

So this is our first house. I know I put this picture up on Facebook all ready, but it's the only one I have. I really should get to taking more pictures of the house. A lot of people have been asking about it. We are truly excited about our new journey in our very first house. Just yesterday we made our first, large purchase for the house; Windows. Eeeek. Very pricey. BUT, we are hoping that they will help cut back on our heating costs AND we were concerned with any lead-based paint that Gavin may be exposed to. Two very good reasons, but the purchase was (other than the house) the largest purchase we have made as a couple. It's just very intimidating and I will be happy when they are all in. The window salesman thought the current windows were from the 1930s or 40s. Old, right? That's what I'm saying!

Anyhoo, moving on to the reason of this blog.

This house makes me want to be Betty-Friggin'-Crocker. I'm not quite positive what that means, but I want to learn to garden, learn to bake, learn to food process. ????? If you know me or if you don't, it's not difficult to find out that I am NOT Betty Crocker in the slightest. I am quite clumsy when it comes to cooking or baking. I once set a pot of boiling water on fire. How does one accomplish something so awesome? Good question. I sit right now, a house a mess, writing this blog. Perhaps I should shut the lap top and go clean or something. All in due time! This blog will not take long.

The house is like a clean, fresh canvas. It is a bit larger than our last place, so what we had acquired over the last few years does not do much for filling space. Did I mention I want to learn interior design? Haha. I would, in the least, like this place to have style. We don't have much $$ to throw in to this (because as previous mentioned, we just signed our life in to paying for windows), so I would like to get crafty. So many things I would like to look in to! Where to start?!

Everyone keeps reminding me we will be here for many years to come and to take my time, but seriously... it's hard to do. It's hard to NOT get in over our heads, ya know? Matt has his own mental list of projects he would like to accomplish too. What's one of my firsts?? Head to the library, pay my fine (whoopsie) and check out "Gardening For Dummies" (if there is such a book). There is a garden in the back for growing veggies. But.. how to not kill them is what I really need to research. Again, where to start?! I am a train wreck when it comes to common knowledge. Perhaps gardening is common knowledge? Perhaps not.

Second order of business. Become crafty. I would think they have books at the library about certain crafty abilities.

In case you haven't realized, I am a book reader. At least when it comes to the things I want to know. I have read "What To Expect When You're Expecting" multiple times and I do refer to my "WTE: The First Year" on a regular basis. I would check out 4 or 5 pregnancy books at a time and when I got closer to my due date I would check out 4 or 5 "how to not do too much damage to your baby" books. So far, it's worked. ;)

Here are just a few other things that I would like to kick start:

1) Reading the Harry Potter series. Seriously, I love the movies so much. How can I be a true fan without reading any of the books?! I'd like to read them to Gavin.
2) Knitting. This is something I tried several years back with no success. I got frustrated and quit. I would like to knit my son a sweater, or in the very least a scarf.
3) Hemp. I would make necklaces, bracelets, etc. Finding beads I liked was frustrating, but in the last year or so I have been to a couple of shops that seem to have some better choices. I was also able to find some soft hemp that created a more even look. Jewelry making in general intrigues me. I would love to take some jewelry making classes, but that will have to be down the road.

One thing at a time, Kristin. I will have to try and remember that.

Oh, look! A cute picture of the cutest little boy in the world, Gavin Slee!! :D He likes his carrots.

That's all. What a fun way to end things, right?? Hehe.

This Year

This year I intend to do a lot of work on myself. There are many things I want to improve upon and with Gavin coming into my life, it only makes me want those things more. 2010 went by so fast, it seemed, that I almost felt like I was the passenger and not the driver. Does that make sense? Hopefully this year I can take some time to focus on myself and what I can do to make me better.

I know I have said this numerous times to numerous people, but I feel like I was in better shape when I was pregnant than I am now. One of the "resolutions" for 2011 was to get back in to shape. I am not necessarily trying to lose a bunch of weight. I am about 8 pounds from my pre-Gavin weight. Primarily I want to feel better. I know I need to start eating better too. My plan was to start working out on my days off (which have been few lately) and to attempt to eat better. Losing weight while breastfeeding is hard to do because I don't want to compromise my supply right now by cutting back on my calories or anything. Once I finally decide I am done pumping, then I will start talking about trying to get that extra 8 pounds off. I certainly don't feel like I look horrible, but girls.. you know. Things aren't where they used to be. Weight has shifted. I would like to lift a couple of areas back UP to where they once were, lol. So far, so good on this goal. I have been working out on my days off and for the most part eating better.

One of my goals for the new year was to stop procrastinating. It sounds like a popular one, perhaps, but I am just horrible. I put off EVERYTHING from doing the laundry, sending out birthday cards, getting gas. What ends up happening a lot of the time is I put it off so long that the work ends up not being done as well as I'd like or I don't end up doing it at all. So, what I need to do is just get off of my lazy butt and just do it. So far I think I am doing well. If you ask my husband he might think differently, lol, but I am pleased with my progress thus far.

Also, I am wanting to all in all make myself more efficient and reliable. I am so forgetful and there has to be ways I can improve on this. When I was younger, still living at my dad's house, I would put up little post-it notes of things I needed to do. Perhaps I could start doing that again. With Gavin in the picture, there are so many more things I have to remember now! I just cannot believe how much it takes to care for a little baby. (Might I add, the mostest perfectest baby of all flippin' time. You've seen him, right?) Right now on my refrigerator I have a list of Mommy's Things and Gavin's Things to help remind me of everything I need. Now this doesn't always work, because I do often feel rushed in the mornings.

I am kind of liking this blog thing, haha. I just realized that all of this information I am typing is probably super boring, but when I look back on it, it could really do some good. Typing all of this out gets my mind moving.

I think that with the idea of improvement on myself, I also need to learn to accept myself too. I am hard on myself a lot about the things I have and haven't done and at some point I just need to say "Kristin, you really have tried your hardest so try not give yourself such a hard time".
I guess I will give it a try and we will see how it goes :) Wish me luck.

Round Two

So, as it turns out, I have written a blog here before. I looked at the date. November 10, 2009. That was 3 or 4 days before I found out I was pregnant. It seems like just yesterday, although so much has happened since then.

2010 was a busy year for the Slees. First and foremost, came the birth of our beautiful son, Gavin Matthew on July 25, 2010. The event of his birth was so monumental. I could have never guessed some thing or some one could change/impact my life in such a way. The change was immediate. As soon as we met I knew I was a totally different person. I wish I could describe it in a way that would totally convey what I mean, but the love I have for my son is so pristine. I cannot put what I truly feel in to words. Divine. Pure. Natural. Beautiful. As lovely as those words are, they do not even cut it. I could only ever wish for all of my friends and family to know such a feeling.

Also in 2010, we bought our first home. It was a close call for sure. We had to jump through a lot of hoops to get our house. Even explaining it in my mind is exhausting, so I won't bother wasting your time, but I will tell you this: It has totally been worth it. We had been wanting to leave Toledo for a while and have finally accomplished that. We can't deny that living in Toledo has put us in the place we are today. We rented a house on Berdan avenue. It was a nice house, but given the location it was (what we considered) cheap per month. We were able to say money on rent and gas because the Berdan house was very close to Matt's work. That definitely helped us out.

I can't complain much, life has been good. Work, for the most part, has been good. Lately I have found it very frustrating, but it wouldn't be High Point if it wasn't frustrating. One source of my frustration has almost left and I hope that doesn't mean another will arise. I try to take every day with a grain of salt. At the end of the day I love what I do and the people I am surrounded by and I think that is what really matters. All of the other office politics and dramatic crap is not what matter.

I will end with that statement. I hope to start blogging more. I liked that feature on MySpace, but let's be honest- The place is a wasteland. There isn't much of it going on Facebook, so we shall see how this goes. :)