Dresser Love

I couldn't be more happy! I finally ordered dresser's for Eric and I's bedroom. I cant wait. After much searching and shopping it came down to ordering something that was custom. But lucky for me everyone was having sales! I got around 100 dollar discount on each dresser. Happy day! Here is a similar picture of the one I ordered from Four Chairs Furniture Store below( http://4-chairs.com/shop/ ). A lovely, lovely place I might say..

 This picture is an unfinished dresser/media cabinet but almost exact same design I ordered. Below is about the same finish I asked for. Its an antique distressed white. I also had them take the legs off to make the dresser a bit shorter.

I think it will match very well with my shelf above the bed. What do you think??

Here is the pic again..

The dressers unfortunately will take 4-6 weeks to be done...ughhh...but at least I can check them off my list!

In other news. 

Eric's grandparents came to visit us over the weekend!

Aren't they soo cute! This is a picture from their mission last year they served in Texas on a ranch. It was really nice to get to know them better and hear all their Panama stories from when they used to live there. We are really hoping we can join them in January of next year when they vacation back down in Panama. Eric took them out to J-Dawgz after picking them up from the airport and later we went out to one of our other local favorites, Chubby's.. Yum!! In between we visited, went shopping, and drove up to Bridal Veil Falls and Sundance. They only spent one day/ night with us but it was a delight!

Grandma Jean insisted on buying us some things for our house, she is so sweet! We ended up picking these delightful pieces from Four Chairs Furniture..I think the candlestick is my favorite!

Other things that happened..
On Wed before the weekend last week Eric and I decided to do an early morning jog. We definitely weren't thrilled about it when the alarm went off that morning but we reluctantly rolled out of bed at 5:45 am...blahh We decided to take a short route by our house with both dogs that goes by the lake. Well...little did we know...that is prime time for skunk mania! They were everywhere! Granted we couldnt see them because it was dark but we could smell them! When we got home we noticed Duke had had a brush with one of them and was stinking up the whole house! I read online that mouthwash helps de-skunk so I took him out that morning for a wash. Didnt do much!! But we couldnt deal much more with it so we got ready for work and left the dogs at the house. As usual the doggy door is open for them to go in and out throughout the day. Well...I left the bedroom door open and this is what I came home tooo....!

I know I know...I shouldn't leave the bedroom door open anyway. But Duke likes to sleep under the bed so I couldnt keep him from his little hideout?. Lol I am so dumb. He must have gotten muddy in the yard and decided he would have a roll around on the bed to dry off. Blahhh! So after a long day at work I took all the bedding off and stuck it in the wash. Eric gave Duke this look of  "What have you done"!Duke knew exactly what he was talking about scurrying under the bed with a look of shame haha. Poor guy. We then gave him another bath, well Eric did, with tomato juice. That seemed to help a lot more with the stink but it was still present for sure. The next morning Duke came over to me and I quickly realized we didnt get all the tomato juice off! His fur was frozen in dreadlocks, sonic the hedgehog fashion :(. So sad! 

I decided to brush him out a bit and just get him in to the groomer the next day. He is looking much nicer after being bathed and brushed by a professional...but still a little stinky..

Eric and I went to the Soldier Hollow Classic Monday. One of my favorite things to do each year. We rolled up to Midway around 11am and enjoyed all the festivities. It was final's day so all the competitive dogs were there and it was a blast to watch. I took a pic of the scenery of the sheep herding. The leaves have begun to change so it was breathtaking!

We also ate at this place called Moochies. I wasnt too impressed. I should have stuck to my usual Gyro but as matter of convenince stuck to Moochies because Eric wanted a cheesesteak sandwich from there. Next time I will be smarter! I like this picture of Eric in line :)

Cant wait for the next weekend. St George/ Zions!

Mice!

Now I consider myself an animal lover. I love all walks of life but when a wild animal decides to venture into my kitchen and share a few "snacks" I am NOT okay with it! LOL

About a month ago my cousin Jeffrey who was staying at our home spotted a wild mouse scurrying down the hallway. I was a little freaked to say the least! But Eric came to the rescue and within 10 minutes he had him trapped. What a man!
Well I thought that was over and done but Tuesday morning I had a little surprise in the kitchen. It was super early in the morning because I had to get into work earlier than usual. Sleepily I made my way to the kitchen for my morning medicine. The medicine I take is a homeopathic remedy to help heal my gallbladder. I have to hold it in my mouth for 1 minute to let it absorb into the blood stream. So I set the timer on the microwave and decide to start my morning smoothie. I go to grab the blender on the counter and....A mouse jumps out ! Scared me sooo bad! I tried to scream but realized I had to keep my mouth closed so what my friend Sherrie called it I demonstrated a Mime scream hahahaha! I then made my way to the bedroom in a panic waking Eric up to come to the rescue haha. He set a trap but we figured it was gone for the moment. Totally disgusted to say the least that a mouse had been having his way in the kitchen I told Eric when I got home from work I am gutting the entire kitchen till ever inch is bleached! I know I am a bit over dramatic but later found that pulling out the refrigerator and oven uncovered all sorts of little treasures..ewe. Eric was so sweet to help me after we both had a long day at work and ended up cleaning for two hours! 
We decided to close any holes they may be getting through in our kitchen so Eric stopped at home depot and got liquid foam and steel wool. Here is some pics of the adventure..

Eric trying to make me laugh through all the chaos

Clearing out the hole where the wiring is to get ready to fill

We wore masks because Mice can carry the Hantavirus. So needless to say we didn't want to take any risks!

Hantavirus

www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

Hantavirus is a life-threatning disease spread to humans by rodents that has symptoms similar to influenza. Symptoms: The early symptoms of hantavirusdisease are similar to the flu and include: Chills; Fever; Muscle aches ...

After sealing everything up and cleaning we got into bed exhausted. Sure enough SNAP caught the dang thing. It must have been hiding somewhere waiting to go back out. I am just glad its gone and no more can get in...FOR NOW!

Bathroom Ceiling...Check!

Hey remember when I said back in..cough!.March....Ahem!... that we were going to get our bathroom ceiling painted (http://ericandrochellelopez.blogspot.com/2012/03/master-bathroom.html). Well we finally got it done last weekend!

Here's Eric getting the ceiling taped and ready to go!

Before: Yuck dark paint on the ceiling

After: Not perfect but much better!

Before: 

After:

After:

Yay! So glad we got that done :)

 I still have a few projects to do in the bathroom. I think my next item on the list will be to find a cupboard to fit in the corner of the room to hold all our towels.  Because we do not have any linen closets in our house! Right now I have this blue magazine holder (pic below). I don't like how wide it is in the space and the blue sorta blends in with the wall.

Here is a contender I have been thinking about....

But for now I am moving on to our bedroom to address the much needed extra storage space. I have been scrimping and saving for months to buy Eric and I identical dressers to put on either side of our bed. This will provide us a taller nightstand since our bed is ridiculously high and additional clothing storage. I have been stuffing multiple clothing items in to one drawer at a time and it is driving me crazy! 

Here's what nightstands we currently have..(before they got painted black)

So this Friday my Mom and I are going to start looking around. I am sooo excited!

I know I am looking for a dresser that has two to three small drawers at the top to provide storage for reading books and other eclectic items that make their way to the nightstand. But then the others can be used for sock storage, etc and the bottom large drawers..I'm not sure yet..

Here is some ones I have been looking at online but I'm sure it will be a whole different ball game when I begin looking in the stores!

Pottery Barn

Pottery Barn

Pottery Barn

Crate and Barrel

My overall goal is to get a bedroom that feels light & airy, beachy but comfortable. Sorta like these..

Light..

Airy...

Beachy..

Comfortable...

Baby steps I guess!

Bloggity Blog

Well hello...its been a while! Roughly 3 months and a lot has happened!
I shouldn't make excuses but working a full time job doesn't leave a lot of time to write!
But anyhow..
To bring you all up to speed. Here's some events that have happened since my last post..

Ran Ragnar 

Went to the Parade of Homes

Strawberry Days

(I wish this was me..)

Got really lean and mean with dieting and exercise

Went to Maui, Aloha with Eric and my side of the familia!

Celebrated Eric and I's 1 year Anniversary, Woot Woot!

My Grandfather passed away :(

Completely fell off the wagon with dieting and exercise...

Eric's softball summer league came and went

Erin, Dallin, and Joseph came to visit : D

Katie came to visit :D

That's a whole lotta stuff! Its been a crazy and fun summer. I always say this but I am hoping to be more on the ball with posting, even if it is just once a month. I was scanning over my past posts and its nice to read up about what has happened in the past year. Its like a virtual journal!
So more to come...soon!

Whelp, I have made it through the whole month...almost..without another gallbladder attack thank goodness. I have had pain occasionally and nausea but no attacks. I did have a scheduled surgery for today but I cancelled it two weeks ago. For selfish reasons you could say! I have 3 races this summer (One complete: http://www.t3triathlon.com/race/timp-trail-marathon-a-half) and a trip to Hawaii coming up in July. I have heard that its not too much down time after surgery but getting back into the workout routine can be slow moving. So hopefully I made the right decision by not getting it now!
I have an appointment this Friday with a natural path doctor. He goal is to put me on herbs and supplements in order to heal the gallbladder from the inside. I have been told the gallbladder cannot be healed but hey its worth a try, at least to get me through the summer!
It already feels like summer in Utah. Despite a few rainy overcast days we have started to consistently be on a 65-75 degree streak. I will take it! So with summer here the outdoor work increases. Eric has been working hard on getting our lawn into tip top shape. With our sprinkler system working, the grass has been growing like a race horse! Were so thankful for our lawn mower our siblings got us for our wedding present last year!

Love this picture of Eric posing with our present at home depot.

Eric has also been spraying for weeds regularly and two weeks ago we began laying down sod in the back yard. Its coming along! Next year I would like to put in some garden boxes in the back yard and get our beds filled in the front yard. Here are some of my inspiration pictures I love...
The Front yard-

And the garden boxes in the backyard situated something like this...

Lots and lots of ideas. Exciting for next year! Eric is going to kill me! LOL j/k

Fooood

Food, something we all love. Especially me! Since I was a kid I could eat a ton of food and not have to pay for it. Well until my late twenties....the look on surprise on my face when I feel the cheeseburger hanging off my sides that I ate the night before. It sucks getting older and your metabolism starting to slow down :( I realize I am only 27 but its truly significant the differences you notice year by year. Now I am not totally unhealthy. After I finished skin school in 2006 I began making major modifications in the way I ate. Learning that what you eat impacts heavily on how your skin looks made me think twice about consuming fatty foods all day long. I also came to realize that eating healthy made you feel more energetic and happy!
Now I'm not saying I'm blessed with a skinny skinny waistline! I have always had a little curves but I never felt I looked overweight just maybe "soft" in areas. I have always loved to try to be fit and be active. Growing up the only girl sibling and a very active mom and dad I grew to love being outdoors and playing sports. Being fit is more of a lifestyle than a chore for me. But I do have my weakness's and well just plainly said I LOVE FOOD! hahaha So I was mortified to find out that I m currently suffering from a weakened gallbladder.

Several months ago I started feeling nauseated from time to time but didn't know why. Now nausea is not very unusual for me because I get car sick all the time but this was different. Slowly I began to learn that it was after I ate heavy meals I would get a little sick. I would try drinking apple cider vinegar occasionally and adding it to my water but it was only a temporary fix. Recently this year Eric and I went out to Virginia and North Carolina to visit family. I ate like crazy of course! Trying all new kinds of foods and many fried food goodness. The whole vacation I was very nauseated thinking well I guess it must be acid reflux or all the fatty food. Well come to find out that eating the fatty food wasn't the entire problem, it was my gallbladder! Ugghhh sadness. I know its ridiculous how much a girl can love food. I guess im a food addict lol
But my gallbladder doesn't produce enough bile to break down foods especially heavy or fatty ones.
After a very painful and yucky attack a couple weeks ago I went to my family doctor and tried to figure out whats wrong. After many tests and waiting, a hida scan (http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/hida-scan/MY00320) revealed the problem. Since then its kinda been like walking on egg shells making sure I don't get another attack again, no fun!
However the good thing is I feel even more motivated to eat healthier and maintain my portions. Eric and I have been trying to live leaner since the beginning of this year. At the first of our marriage I went crazy making yummy heavy meals and trying new recipes. I couldn't help it! I was excited to be a wife and be married to the love of my life! Finally Eric was like okay I love ya but maybe we can cut back on the heavy meals for a while and try to eat a lot lighter? haha
We have really researched healthier nutrition ideas and I have made all sorts of healthier versions of heavier meals and it has been a lot of fun. I thoroughly enjoy being healthy and eating healthy I just like to have my occasional "cheat" meal as Eric and I call it.
Here are some of the books and documentaries we highly recommend on clean and healthy living that have inspired us!

I put the Pinterest logo because it is a huge recipe finder for me. You can get an on-pouring of helpful tips and advice on cooking. Bad food or good. So I have been inspired with many recipes from there and some of the healthy ones have been super good. 

Eric and I also started several months ago having a healthy shake in the morning too. They usually consist of water, flaxseed oil, aloe vera juice, acai berry juice, flax seeds, kale, spinach, berries, and some protein powder. Recently we began adding ginger and chlorophyll. The shakes are actually really yummy and have amazing benefits. Were addicted!

I am debating whether I just want to get my gallbladder taken out or try to live with it. The past couple weeks have sort have been testing grounds on what I should do. I have already met with a surgeon and she told me I am in a little bit of a grey area. I don't have to take it out now but I do run the risk of having another painful attack. Also there is the thought of getting pregnant. Gallbladder problems seem to amp up when your pregnant. The surgeon told me she thinks it has something to do with the hormones. So its a lot to think about and I am still deciding. We aren't thinking of getting pregnant for a bit but the thought of having another gallbladder attack isn't fun having hanging over your head either. But Until then more healthy eating with the occasional "small" portion of yummo fatty food. We will see how it goes...