the doma diaries: kitchen demolition!

I'm gearing up for the mission trip as I type this {doing laundry} but wanted to get in one more post before I leave tomorrow morning!  I mailed off more Peace Corps paperwork today...remember the application process and how it never ended?  Well, the COS process {close of service} is just as intense.  I'm super excited to leave tomorrow and get on the road.  But first...

It's time for some kitchen demo pics!  

Remember what the kitchen looked like before?  

the awkward brick column in the middle...housing the double oven.

and a cute little desk area {complete with locking medicine cabinet} 

and the really old {space-age} cooktop...

Time to say goodbye to the column!

The Jetson's called.  They'd like their oven back.

Doesn't it feel more open instantly?

If you look at the ceiling, you'll see two different types of texture where the brick column went up.  Very interesting...

This is Rick, the jolly green giant :)  He's the one doing all of this handy dandy construction/demolition work.

So. Old.

Remember the original cooktop?  I'll refresh your memory...

Before...

After! {a new slide-in range will go there, along with a hip new vent hood}

Before...

After! {notice the bottom part of the upper cabinetry}

Before...

After!

Ta da!

Time to go start packing now.  Good thing our luggage didn't have to be at the church today! :)  Not sure what internet will look like on the trip, but if there's time, I'll try to throw in a blog post or two.  Happy Wednesday!

the doma diaries: pops's study!

Happy Friday!!  A week from today, I will be in Chicago with the high school kiddos on our way to Toronto for the summer mission trip.  In preparation for the trip, I needed to get certified to drive one of the church mini-buses.  I've waited 10 years to be able to drive one of those babies (you have to be 25 years old) and the day finally came!  Scott took me out for a test drive...and it honestly wasn't that bad! 

stolen instagram photo

Let's get down to business though.  Next stop on the tour of the new house is my dad's study.  My dad has dreamed of having built-in bookshelves in his study for a long, long time.  That day is finally coming {soon} and we're all quite excited to see how they'll turn out.  

one of the front bedrooms--soon to be a Boomer Sooner Study!

other direction

the closet {which will also get special built-ins! more about that later...}

first order of business: take out the old carpet {the built-ins will be built directly on the floor and new carpet will go in around the built-ins}

sayonara! 

bez carpet {a little Russian for you today. I think you can figure out what it means...}

without carpet!

all sorts of secret messages were left for us...more about that later too :)

no more hanging rods!

That's all the sneak peak you're going to get today.  I also need to say hi to all of my friends at Camp HEAL {an HIV/AIDS educational youth summer camp in Ukraine}.  Hope y'all are soaking up the rays on the beach and teaching the kids lots of stuff.  Wish I were there with y'all :)

the doma diaries: the kitchen.

Hoping everyone had a lovely 4th yesterday :)  I've been slacking on the house front...so it's time for the tour that I promised you.  We'll start with the kitchen...because it's got the most work to be done.  You'll see why in a second...

This house is a little over 40 years old.  The kitchen is ORIGINAL.  We aren't sure if it may have been closed off at one point (because the ceiling has been redone and needs to be done redone again), but you'll see how dated it is now.  It's got great bones, she just needs a little facelift!

the kitchen and breakfast room

It's a little hard to get a good shot of the whole kitchen because it's quite large. And the above photo is the best shot overall I've got of the "before."  Whoops.  

You see the odd island/chimney in the middle?  It's coming out...

that desk area on the left is also coming out...

somebody tried to cutesy it up with a fun chandelier...I'll give them an E for effort!

the opposite side of the chimney

I feel like the oven belongs in Back to the Future...but you know that it was a prime machine back in the day.  

storage above the ovens

there was barely room to put a large pot on the back burners of the stove...maybe 12" of clearance under the microwave.  Definitely not to code...

don't you love the olive green countertops? :)  And matching sink.  I had that at my college house and oddly kind of liked it...but they'll be getting replaced in this house!

the curly-cues under the top cabinetry is also coming down...but all of the cabinets are staying.

Mom is excited for all of the storage in this kitchen.  Props to the original designers for the size!

So, that's most of the kitchen.  It's actually been massively overhauled already, so I guess I'll give you a peak to see what she looks like now.  Here she is before...

and here she is as she stands now!  Still more to come :)

I've got to get ready for the day now.  On today's agenda: learn how to drive a McFarlin mini-bus for the upcoming high school summer mission trip to Toronto.  I've waited 10 years to be able to drive one of those things...and the day has finally come!  

Two month mark of being home in 'homa...'

Two months ago, I left Kiev on a very early flight, eventually heading for Oklahoma City {Kiev-->Paris-->Atlanta-->OKC}.  I was being medically evacuated by Peace Corps so that I could recover from having mono.  Because mono can take months {and months} to recover from, I wasn't able to make it back to Ukraine in the 45 day allotment they give you for medical evacuation.  On June 11, 2012, I was medically separated from the Peace Corps and am now a RPCV {Returned Peace Corps Volunteer}. I'm still getting better from having had mono.  Most days now I have a decent amount of energy...but I'm still easily sleeping 10-11 hours at night.  

So, what have I been doing since being home in Oklahoma?  Enjoying a few of these...

Nothing beats an Oklahoma sunset.  

I received my two 50-pound bags from Ukraine.  Surprisingly all in one piece and pretty much unharmed!  Kudos to Dan and Vicki for packing those things...

I am in the process of washing everything that was in those suitcases...mostly winter things that had only gotten one season's use during my first real winter {ever} in Ukraine.  There are days that I'm here and forget about the use of a dryer...and the fact that if something is dirty, I don't have to wait 3 days for it to dry if I wash it. 

Also during my two month span of being home, my parents have purchased a new home here in Norman.  So random and such odd timing...but the perfect one came on the market and we all love it.  That's probably what a lot of blog posts in the future will be aimed towards :)  More about that later.  But, demo work has finally begun this week.  The kitchen is 40 years old...and in need of some major TLC.  

More about kitchen projects soon...and don't worry, I didn't lift a hand in there.  

I got my teeth cleaned for the first time in over a year today.  No cavities!  So, I celebrated with Chick-Fil-A breakfast because I'm usually not up in time to enjoy their breakfast menu...love me some chicken-minis :)  I'm almost done with all of the Peace Corps paperwork for closing out my service...I will be so happy to be done with the mounds of paperwork they send you.  And medical and dental stuff you have to do as well.  

I miss blogging, and hope to start doing it more.  It's really therapeutic for me...but I haven't been in the mood the past few weeks. And, because I never replied to all of the emails and text messages and sweet words people said to me after my last blog post, thank you all :) I plan on responding to them, but it still may take me some time.  

And, because I probably won't end up blogging tomorrow, I need to wish Mr. Matthew Schlegel a very happy birthday :)  We've traveled many a mile together...from Mexico to Canada and beyond.  Hope you have a wonderful day Schlegel!

Way-Back-Wednesday #26: Happy birthday, Nora

Hello blog world :)  I've been MIA for the past month.  Sorry about that.  There are lots of reasons why, and I have been avoiding blogging to avoid having to deal with questions.  BUT, since Way-Back-Wednesday fell on one of my dear friends birthdays, it was too good an opportunity to pass up NOT to post some old school pics.  I hope to start blogging again tomorrow....with a long explanatory post. For now though, it's time to wish Miss Nora Hall a wonderful happy birthday :)

Meet Nora.  

I don't remember when I actually met Nora...sometime freshman or sophomore year of high school.  My guess is that it would have been at church.  And ever since then...we've done a lot together :)

if you need help remember the outfit I'm wearing, you can go to this post

There are so many things to comment on in this picture of Semi-Formal from sophomore year.  I'll just let y'all decide...

This picture is a precursor to the video below.  This is what my friends and I did in high school...we had dance parties at each others houses.  You think I'm joking...

but I'm not.

Rose, Jace, Anna, Amy, Lydia, Nora

Row, row, row your boat...

Nora, Rose, Lydia, Anna

North vs. High football. Amy, Lydia, Nora

Just hanging out in Seattle on the Space Needle

Anna, Nora, Lydia

Mission trip to Camden, NJ

Tayler, Gracie, Lydia, Nora

Mexico one year...note my shirt and Nora's bandana

Mexico the next year...note my shirt and Nora's bandana. 

Niagara Falls.  NBD.

Hanging out in Toronto

Brycey, Nora, Pirtle, Lydia

Mount Rushmore

Tayler, Kendall, Lydia, Nora

Club 69er--aka TLC.  

Just another fun time in a McFarlin mini-bus.

Glacier National Park in Canada

painting in Montana

Dress-up time with Nora and Rosebud

When I came back to the states, Nora was one of the people that I surprised.  I scheduled a "Skype date" with her even though we wouldn't really be skyping.  Instead, I rang her doorbell just as she was supposed to be signing on to Skype.  After many persistent knocks and doorbell rings {while she was sneaking around the house trying to see who was at her door}, she finally answered :)  Nora, I hope your birthday is filled with lots of fun times and laughs.  Love you dearly :)