Ok, so either nobody really is looking at my lil' b-log-izzle, or you couldn't figure out how to comment (the few of you that do), or you didn't want to comment.

Any of those ways left me feeling very needy and realizing how much my blog-esteem depends on viewership and occasional commentary. So I switched up the layout again to hopefully encourage readership/feedback.

The kids are up here for the long weekend. I had to go into work on both of my days off. And my sister, Zoey, go her license and has continued to ask for a car every 2.9 minutes since. Other than that, the news isn't much.

Here's my little foyer:

Pictures from mom's 49th birthday will be up sometime this week. Get excited.

hello?

... anybody out there?

(just checking)

video phone

my crib

finally, the photos I promised long, long ago.
I've been working on getting it feeling more like home, but these are the pre-move in shots.

I have my own mini-foyer! 

The living room is ginormo compared to the tiny hallway I moved from in Utah.

This is looking into the spacious kitchen from the living room. There is a bar-type thing separating the two spaces.

A tub that I feel fairly certain I won't get an STD from. Excellent.

 Shut up. A linen closet?! Lucky.

 

One of the two bedrooms. They look essentially the same, so I'll spare you the other.

I have big plans for the kitchen. Like painting the cupboards gray. Shh, don't tell Rocky and Bullwinkle (aka my on-site managers who happen to have a peeping tom window directly across from my front door).

And, for a sneak peak at how the unpacking/decorating/home-ifying is progressing.

friends

these people i miss,

you are all off doing courageous things, and i love you for it.

construction

I'm working on slightly revamping ye ol' blog, but all my nifty stuff is on my Macbook and I can't get a decent connection until Thursday when the Charter guy comes to install my net and cable. So, bear with me.

I'm currently at work. Leaving in t-12 minutes. But, for fun, here's a picture of some of what I did today.

Went on a newspaper stakeout. Yes, we do those.

.... or at least I do. Nothing exciting really happened, unless you count a low blood sugar attack and me leaving to go to lunch.

As promised

Here I be, at the McDonald's in Hermiston, "getting quenched" and using their free Wi-Fi. Oh the life of a gal in transition.

Anyway, thanks to everyone sending good karma my way, we got into the apartment Tuesday evening. When Ma gets off work this evening we are picking up a Uhaul trailer, heading back to La Grande, and rounding up the last of the essentials (i.e. chairs to sit on).



I promised photos of my humble abode. And I have them. But, apparently Mickey D's doesn't support large file uploads, because it is taking FOR-EV-ER.

But, you should all know things are looking up on this side of the Blue Mountains. Mom and I miss the brats (imagine that) and our nightly HGTV viewing ( I can't decide which we miss more....).

Luckily it is still close enough to feel a bit like home. I'm excited for my next pay check. My first one, while pleasantly surprising, is gone. Moving is expensive, in case you were unaware. I look forward to getting cable and wi-fi installed at the apartment with my next check as well as hitting up Farm Chicks the first weekend in June! I was relieved to learn that the Eastern Oregon Livestock Show was the second weekend in June, so I won't miss it! Yeehaw! I need me a rodeo, bad.

Elly or Daisy?

This weekend I packed up the back of the pick-up truck and headed to Hermiston. Mom got that job in Boardman and I think (fingers crossed) I have an apartment. Only problem is, they are replacing a part of the tub, and so the earliest I can be in will (again, fingers crossed) be Tuesday. Until then, Mom and I are Motel 6ing it up.

I need to take a picture of the truck for you to see, but until that happens picture the Beverly Hillbillies' truck (minus three other hillbillies). 

I'd like to say I was the "curvacious tom-boy Elly May" in all of this, but I think my wacky sleeping patterns and stress of job/moving makes me more the Granny in all of this.

When (and if) I get into the apartment, I'll be sure to post pictures and take you along for the ride of outfitting it Lexy style. Until then, cross your fingers (or your arms) for me! Thanks!

The pits.

Things are a bit on the side of stressful in this household lately. 

Many of you may know that my step-dad moved out in March. With my mom unemployed and four kids still in school ... let's just say the timing wasn't ideal. 

So money has been more than tight. Plus, Mom has some health concerns that we would all feel better about her getting checked out sooner than later. The only problem is she is uninsured. 

Plus, I started working full-time in Pendleton/Hermiston. Which, depending on the day and destination, can be a 50-80 minute commute to work. Sometimes I'm not home until almost 9pm, only to be exhausted, hit the sack and wake up to do it all again. And, my job isn't quite what I thought I would be. I'm not feeling great about it, but I should be so grateful to even have a job in times like this. So, I'll keep working for awhile, but I'm also always brainstorming - trying to figure out what it is I want and where it is I'm supposed to be.

Fortunately things look like they could be on the verge of getting better. Mom has a serious job prospect ... in Boardman. Which is some 90 miles away from where we currently live. The kids are still in school. I'm working over the mountain, Mom may be ... so, anyway, we can't really afford to stay in our home. Which means we are all splitting apart, and I hate that. It is not what I wanted when I decided to move "home" for awhile. Hopefully it will all work out like it should. 

Also, by some small miracle, Mom was reconsidered and now has health coverage. Which means I'll be making her an appointment asap. 

Things are just really hard and not ideal right now. 2010 has not been so great. It feels like it's been this long, dark, dreary, cold winter. Maybe the last half of the year will make up for it. I'm hopeful. 

Anyway, enough of my pity party. Look what I've done recently to the trailer:

I made these curtains for the window over the sink. The green stuff is fabric I chose at Joann's and the top material is from curtains I altered previously.

If you'll recall, I had two sconces hanging by the bed area. They were black and electric. Well, with my handy skills, I was able to detach the sconces from the wall, cut out the electric stuff, paint the base, flip it, re-attach it and then turn the glass upside down so that I can put a small tea-light candle instead. I love them! They make it so cozy at night. Especially listening to the rain pattering down on my (so far so good) leak-proof roof. I will try to take some cozy pictures of them lit to post later.