Renovations post #1:What the heck did we get into?!?!

Something you might need to know before we start this adventure. Us, Lefebvres, are not the DIY type of people. We need to buy it ready to go, or hire somebody to do it for us. So I did not grow up learning out to reno because it just didn't happen at our house. If you can recall the bathroom project of '09.
So, this project is a big deal. It's going to take a lot of work. A lot of money. A lot of "don't you dare take another coffee break, you have only been working for  ten minutes!". And since we don't know how to do any of this stuff it might be a little trial and error as well :).

Behn and I had been planning these renovations for a very long time. Well, I've had it in my mind for probably about a year, but I made him aware of it last time I was home for a visit :).
We put it off until now, since our family(part of it at least) is out of town so we didn't have to worry about Matthew being in the way and Behn can come over to the main house for showers.

A couple reasons why this needed to happen.

1. The bathtub. I usually have a pretty good stomach when it comes to cleaning the boys house. But the tub is one thing I couldn't handle. I only remember cleaning it once in the fourish years Behn has lived there.
2. It has carpeted floors. Need I say more?

My morning started a little bit rocky. I woke up at five thirty and could not get back to sleep for a couple hours. When I finally dragged myself out of bed at 9:30am I told myself Behn deserved to sleep in so I wouldn't go over until later.
I texted him at 10:50 giving the half an hour warning.
When I showed up at 11:30 the lights were on and tv was going but he was no where in sight.
I went upstairs to find this:

I gave him a three minute warning and went back down the stairs.

I'm actually not really a part of the reno crew. I'm just more like a cheerleader. I also clean and am very supportive when picking out bathroom appliances, we'll get to that.

So, for the first 4 1/2 hours, he demolished, and I cleaned.

I would now like to introduce you to my best cleaning friend.
Don't get me wrong, I have a lot of great friends that have helped me clean before (the fact that they would clean this house proves how great they are.), but this one tops all.

Today I discovered a relative of his, let me tell ya, we hit it off quite nicely.
*pause* the fact that I am talking about a bleach's family might show you how much of this stuff I inhaled today, wasn't pretty.*
I used that stuff EVERYWHERE. Not too sure if it was meant for linoleum though, so we might have to redo the main floors too :D.

A cautionary note though.
Your best friend does have the capability of back stabbing you, it's the hard, sad truth. So before you get down to work please change out of that new shirt you just bought yesterday :( :(.

About ten to four we had to get the show moving since we had a truckload full of garbage and the city landfill closes at four thirty. It is kind of satisfying getting rid of all that stuff.
Out with the old, in with the new.

The next part, I don't even want to think about.
SHOPPING.
Not my favorite activity.
Especially when in a place like Home Depot. Boring.

We spent two hours in there.
I had a headache within the first ten minutes.
That's all I really want to say about that.

When we came home, I then had to make dinner. Now I know what it feels like to be mother. I am definitely willing to hold that off for a couple more years.

I don't really have any energy to type out all the funny little anecdotes that I was planning while I scrubbed the counters so I will just leave you with the before pictures and go curl up with a chick flick and ice cream. Don't worry, I'll be back tomorrow with maybe a little bit more optimism.

A before of the vanity.

Before: The tub.

The carpet. Ew.

:) a nice little 'during demolition'.

"Oh my gosh, I don't know if we can do this!"

All ready for the new.

Not looking so bad after all?

To be continued...

These shoes.

These Shoes.
(a Haiku* by Hannah)

these shoes like to dance.
these toenails like going out.
they are very sad.



*haiku in the very loosest of terms. I am sure there is more to it than 5/7/5.

Guest post from Reggie.

Things are getting pretty bad over here guys.

First she buys a water filter for me. Disguised as a gift, but I've noticed this way she doesn't have to spend as much time catering to my every need.

Now she's forgetting to give me my three square meals a day. She tries to make herself feel better about this by providing me with a new tank seeing as she broke the last one.

And now this! She's been fraternizing with the ENEMY!

I don't know when or how everything will be going down but, trust me, you'll be the first to know.

My brain is smarter than I am?

I guess it possible, and probable.


While texting someone today I wrote out a word.

I didn't know what that word meant.

I had to look it up in the dictionary.

FYI: Dictionary.com is one of my favorite haunts on the world wide web.

To my surprise, the word meant exactly what I had wrote it out to mean.


I guess this comes from my years of learning new words through crossword puzzles.

I'm definitely not a "lol haha :):):) how r u?!" When it comes to texting.

My word?

tor·tu·ous

   [tawr-choo-uhs]  Show IPA

adjective

1.

full of twists, turns, or bends; twisting, winding, or crooked:a tortuous path.

2.

not direct or straightforward, as in procedure or speech;intricate; circuitous: tortuous negotiations lasting formonths.

3.

deceitfully indirect or morally crooked, as proceedings,methods, or policy; devious.

My day.

When you have the time like I do, you just have to learn to enjoy it, rather than stress.

Relax.
Enjoy your favorite tea.

Pull out your camera and take a couple shots of your favorite model.

Take the whole afternoon to bake a batch of cookies.

From the personal notes of H. Lefebvre

Dear Diary,
Today I was super excited about life since I had a hair appointment to get a dye job.
Would you like some back story first?

My hair grows super slow. Imagine normal hair growth and then press slow motion x5. (note:this may be a slight exaggeration)
So, I should really think long and hard about ever permanantly dying my hair since I have to deal with the effects of it for about three years, that being around the amount of time it takes for my hair to grow out a decent amount.
But do I ever give it much serious thought? Well, meh, maybe some.

For the past 8 ish months I have been dealing with layers. Not the good kind of layers that you want a hairdresser to put into your hair. No, I am talking about the very defined layers of color that can show you the recent history of what I thought would be a good idea to have atop my head.

Starting at the very bottom we have the remnants of the black of many years past. Then a very dark brown, followed by a red, followed closely by a blonde which really should never have been there but I got crazy with the sun-in for a couple of days. And at the very roots you could somewhat(or I thought) see my natural which is a lighter brown.

All year I have had to deal with the mess of different shades, and all year I have been waiting for the day I could come home and book an appointment to get it corrected.

That day was yesterday.

I go in, she somewhat explains what is going to be happening. I really have no clue how this all works so I took her word and sat down to enjoy the process.
The process was enjoyable for the first half and hour while everything seemed to be going as planned but once things started to take a turn for the worse, I was not finding everything as relaxing as before.

Going into detail in a blog post is not really my idea of fun so I'll just give you the gist of it.

I went in to have her match my natural colour as close as possible and get rid of all the different shades I have. While at the same time getting rid of as much red as can come out.

I came out over two hours later. With a dark brown in my hair that is so dark it is black..and when the light shines on it it goes red, way more red than I had before.

I'm disappointed to say the least. But more than that is the fact that I will have to put up with it for the next three years while I wait for it to grow out.

It doesn't look bad. But it's just not what I wanted.

Before

After(!)

Hello Kamloops! Goodbye Kamloops!

Well, I thought I liked solo road trips.
But. Yesterday was agony.
Maybe it was the fact that all I wanted to do was get home.
Can't lie, I definitely went faster than is legal...in any province.

Another thing I didn't like about it was the amount of time I had to just think.
I mean, having time to think is probably a good thing. But not when you are coming off the tail end of summer camp with so many memories and having to leave so many good friends behind.

But I made it through. With the help of several things.

My new little friend.

LISTS! Can't live without them. Definitely would have forgotten one to do one of these vital (or not so vital) things.

I haven't gotten very far so this is not a recommendation at all.

I tried to start unpacking last night but my stuff which seemed like the equivalent of a small elephant when in my car grew to a giant elephant when in my room. There is just not space to put everything. And I really just want to downsize and get rid of most of it, but the sentimental/packrat side of me cannot let go of all the 'things'.

So if you were to walk into my room right now it would like a bomb went off. And there is no semblance of order. I'm not going to worry about it. Instead I'm going to head off to the cabin for the long weekend.

So. Excited.

I have not been out there in the summer for a very long time.
Exactly a year. And even then it was just for a night.
This time I get to spend four days out there.!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Cannot contain my happiness right now.
I'm going to learn how to wake board.

P.s. Three hours later: I couldn't deal with the mess anymore so I cleaned and unpacked everything and now I will finally post this.

Happy long weekend everybody!

The little things (version two)

Not only can little things make me very happy, but they can also make me very upset.
Maybe a little explanation is needed on this one.

Have you ever had one of those days where technically you should be happy cause nothing majorly bad has occurred but on the other hand, a whole bunch of little things went wrong and they stacked on top of each other and by the end of it you just want to crawl into bed for a couple hours and cry?

If it's not the fact that I stupidly gashed my thumb it could be...
People giving other people stupid haircuts just to annoy me (you don't deserve to have your name mentioned,hun)...
Or maybe having to stay awake 'til two when I wanted to go to bed at nine...
Getting pushed into the ocean with my clothes on...
With my cell phone in my pocket...
Being told(and honestly at that) that I look like I'm 8 years old.

Sometimes it's just too much for a little Hannah to handle.

On a day like this I just want to take my car and drive really fast for a really long time.
But the fastest you can legally go on Quadra would be 60 and I really don't want to make my day that much worse by getting pulled over and ticketed.

So this is me in my grumpy pants.

P.s. Mom, if you read this...my cell phone is not working. I put it in rice but...it might be dead. So I prolly won't be calling you until the day before I leave. And it will be call collect. Be ready.

These are the facts.

I was in a bad mood.
For most of the day.


I am terrible at starting fires.


Here is the story.


So, we as support staff(story on that coming later) had to make fires around the camp for hobo dinners.


*pause*
A hobo dinner is where the children put together potatoes, carrots, meat and a few other items together into a fire proof tin foilish type dish and they put it straight into the coals of the fire to cook.


Again I repeat, I am terrible at making fires, so I had to get a CIT to help me.
The bell had just rung and I was freaking out because our fire had not even been started yet and to properly cook the meals you need just coals.
I sent the CIT to start the fire with the little kindling we had made and I would chop some more and follow.


Again I repeat, I was in a bad mood.
A lesson for all you kids out there: Please don't try and chop kindling while you are mad and frustrated.
I really can't recall how it happened exactly, and the fact that the axe I was using is quite dull scares me.
But all I know is I gashed my thumb with the axe, and it's a good thing that Josh was downstairs cutting wood with me or else I might have just crumpled into a ball instead going to get it cleaned and checked out.


Blood freaks me out. This is coming from the girl who when she was 9 wanted to become a nurse. I guess it's a good thing that in the 9 years since I have convinced myself otherwise.
When it is my own blood it is made just that much worse, I have to deal with the pain and blood at the same time and I always blow things up to be bigger than they seem.


Maybe not so much in this case, cause apparently they were that bad. Not as bad as they could be, of course. But bad enough that both Josh and the nurse agreed that I needed stitches.


So that started the adventure of three friends hanging out for the last time.

Me.

Joel.

Jolene.

Although for this story I almost feel as if I should call them Mom and Dad, cause they certainly acted the part.


We managed to leave camp with enough time to catch the ferry(one of the down sides to living on an island, you kind of have to plan your accidents around the BC ferries schedule.


Straight up to the hospital we went.
I had been doing pretty well up 'til that point anxiety wise, but arriving at the hospital kind of got my heart racing again.
It's not really the stitches I was concerned about. It was the Anesthetic. I have a pretty big problem with needles. It didn't help when he told me it would hurt alot. Haha, what kind of doctor says that! He already knew I was uncomfortable with the idea of him sticking a sharp object into my body. But once the freezing took effect I was fine and dandy, and I actually spent the time he was stitching me up...laughing.

As a nice consolation prize for getting 5 stitches in the side of my thumb, we went to McDonalds for supper.
Let me tell you, a hot fudge sundae has never tasted so good.

Waiting for the Doctor to work his magic.

P.s. I really wanted to show you a picture of it, but I felt that might be to much. It does look pretty bad.

Also, blogger is not being my friend so I'm sorry if there are large gaps or the pictures are all over the place. I'll try to fix it once I have more sleep in me.

It's the little things...

Its the .83 cent blow up water toy that you just can't get over.
It's reading a book for the second time but still enjoying it as much as the first.
It's having naps everyday.

It's receiving a text that really isn't all that spectacular but it still makes you smile for the whole day..and several days in a row.

"When you are embarrassed you smile and I like when you smile."

Happy Friday Everyone!

Things I love Thursday!

1.Clannah
2.Seeing friends after a long time.
3.Cleaning.
4.Reading.(rereading a Harry Potter, so good.)
5. Discovering new music that I fall in love with.
6.SLEEP! A big hurrah for two hour naps.
7.Daydreaming.
8. 10 painted toe nails.
9. My loverly tan line.
10. Original Burts Bees.
11. Mail. Especially the unexpected time. (is it just me or does it seem that I blog about loving mail alot?)
12. Swimming in warm lakes.
13. Surprising people. Like me..surprising people, in case you were confused.
14.Inpromptu dance parties with myself...brb :).
15. Crayola Scentsations.
16.Panic season discussions in the kitchen.
17. Rice Krispie Squares.
18. Canoeing at sunset with super calm water.
19.Working.
20. Well, I was going to say reading Harry Potter, but apparently I already have that covered.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
I'm very sorry that I have not been keeping you updated.
I don't really have an excuse.
As a matter of fact, I have sat down and opened the computer several times for the very purpose of blogging, but I never actually post my writings. Just not in the mood.

The thing I like the most?

K, a little bit of a lie since I have many, many things that I like as much as this.
But this is the one on my mind right now.

MAIL!

Especially when it includes my new drivers license AND a Starbucks card.
Thanks mom!

I think getting fun stuff in the mail is going to be the thing I miss the most when I move back to Kamloops.

I heart Ranch Camp.

We are almost done July already. Crazy.
And it doesn't even really feel like I have been a part of many camps yet, but I know is HAS been a steady stream of busy, and I'll try and give a brief update here.

The first camp was Eager Beavers. Roughly ages 6-8, although why any parent would want to send away their 6 year old is beyond me.
I was so excited for this camp.
Ask anybody here, I had been talking about it for all of spring pretty much.
But then it came.
And it wasn't really as great as I had hoped for.
Okay, to be honest, it kind of tanked.

I'm not sure if I just wasn't prepared in the right way, but it just seemed for the most part that I was always have to deal with problems and never had time to just enjoy my girls and have fun.
So by the end of that short week I was feeling pretty discouraged. And when the opportunity came to be Crew Chief rather than be a counselor for the day camps, I jumped at the chance.

As Crew Chief I did my favorite thing, CLEANING! And I even got to boss people around, so I thoroughly enjoyed myself during the rest of the week.

The next week we had our first family camp of the summer. And it was a lot of fun. I didn't really have much to do besides helping out in Chapel group ages 5-8, oh and I taught my new favorite activity PLASTER MOTTOES. Pretty sweet since it's pretty straightforward how to paint them, so I just sit around talking. Best. Job. Ever. :D

But also during the week I was able to see some familiar Kamloops faces which of course made my week that much better. Nothing like seeing a little bit of home to make you smile.

But in the way of best weeks of camp ever, I would have to say that this week might top the list. Although I better not say it now since we are only two days in and I might jinx it for myself.

Before I explain how sweet Ranch camp is I will pause here for a commercial break.

"Have you ever wondered how it possible to run a summer camp on a tiny island that is only commutable by ferry? Wonder no more! With just one simple click you will be redirected to the camps very own blog written by the one and only Rita Harder who just so happens to be the wife of the camp director. In the particular post you will be able to read about all of the four different camps going on right now, and how we manage to keep it organized."

So. Horses.
Before I came to camp I had not been around horses much at all. And I was quite fascinated by them. I would up to the barn as much as possible to help out and to ride them. Then in April I had a not so pleasant experience and I hadn't been up to the barn since. Quite sad if you ask me.
But Monday I went up there for the first time. It was...a bit of a stretch but I made it through and I even petted some of the horses. I hope slowly I will be able to get back to being comfortable enough to ride again.

But yeah, my girls are super sweet. And for the most part well behaved. And they are old enough that I don't have to be worrying about them or instructing them through a step by step process of getting ready in the morning. I've had so much fun already and we have not even had two whole days together yet.

Probably my favoritest wrangler ever.

Wearing my own cowboy hat. Thought I would never see the day.

A little bit of an addiction?

I brought this game to camp.
It's called Munchkin Booty.
We have played it every night this week.
It's just that fun.

p.s. I'm sick.
p.p.s. Mom, I tried phoning you once but I think you were having bible study.

Vents? Yes please.

Girls frustrate me so bad.

Okay, don't misunderstand me. I am not frustrated with any particular girl right now, but the gender in general. Especially me. Actually just me.

Dripping taps also frustrate me. The place where I am living right now has three sinks and two showers and no matter how hard you twist the faucets when you go to turn them off they will always start dripping, but not at first of course, it has to be ten minutes later when you are already in bed and then can't sleep because of the continual dripping.

I guess in general I am getting frustrated with just seeing all the qualities about myself that are less than pleasing that I would dearly love to change in an instant but it just isn't that easy.
And the way I keep telling myself I will change things but it never happens.

Okay, Debbie Downer, enough negativity.

Happy side of life:

I sent the down payment of my bible school tuition today. It was a big moment. And now my bank account is feeling a little bit...emptier.

One of my bestest friends came home today after being gone a week. And I hadn't really realized how much I missed her until I heard her voice and saw her face. And I couldn't stop hugging her for the rest of the night :).

I cleaned today. That always makes me feel good. Although it makes me miss cleaning my brothers house, cause that is one of my most favoritest things to do.

I realized today that I am super shy.
Well, when I am getting to know people. And it's a little annoying cause anybody at home would not believe that I'm like this. But anybody here would not believe that I am as outgoing as I am in Kamloops. It's just a complicated mess of things.

Anyway. This is probably the last time I will post anything for a couple weeks. Eager Beavers starts up in two days and then the summer is just jam packed with all sorts of crazy adventures.

I will just end with one positive statement.

The last 5 1/2 months have been interesting for sure. Growing up, moving out, learning to deal with things whether I want to or not, sticking it out even though all I want to do is give up. Let's just say it hasn't all been happy happy happy. And even now I'm not far enough past it that I can see the all positives but I know that day is coming. Day by day I am learning a little bit more and even though it might not look like it at this exact moment, I know those good qualities I'm hoping for are getting formed.
So, yeah. I know that God is working in me as I write this and I am super stoked for this next year because honestly, traveling in Europe for 2+ months...I don't think there is anything much better than that.

Except babies. I was holding Tate today...and my love for babies was just huge.




p.s. I'm ready for my braces to be taken off. Too bad I have to live with them for another couple months.

Possibly the worst...

So, if you know me at all, then you know I love to cook, and bake.
But not for large amounts of people at one time. I found this out today.

Our cook went away for the weekend and a bit and he left his 'favorite kitchen helpers' in charge.
I just happened to be a part of that happy lot.
So we divided up the meals and all that.

After which I realized that whilst everyone else had the easy things like premade lasagna where all you have to do is stick the pan in the oven, I had the only thing that required at least two hours of work. Great.

Let's just say I have a deep respect for chefs. I actually did have this respect for them before but it has only deepened with actually experiencing what they go through.

I was definitely freaking out the whole time. Worrying there wouldn't be enough, or wasn't cooked enough.
And Dan, who was helping me, just laughed at me the whole time. I guess I'm glad that I offered entertainment.

Yahoo!

Now you see it.

                                                                 Now you see me looking especially happy. Because...

My car needs a wash!
Or because I have officially been removed from the graduated licensing system!

I actually passed that stupid road test.
Not without worry or frustrations.
But I told myself I would only talk about the bad stuff if I didn't pass (trust me, I had started that blog post in my mind before I took the test.)

So I will only talk about good things right now.

Like the fact that I got accepted to the Bible school I applied for. SO STOKED! There is still a lot I have to do for that before everything is completely worked out...but I'm at camp so I'm not going to worry about that right now.

Speaking of camp,  we just finished Homeschool Family Camp. That was a delight.  I had some great times teaching Riflery and hosting talent shows and having great slip and slides.

We are starting staff training tomorrow. I'm pretty excited to learn how this camp works, and to get to know all of the new staff coming in.

But I should probably go now...since the weekend is supposed to be the time to catch up on sleep.

Sunburnt and happy.

What is not fun: Drunken men paying way too much attention.

What IS fun:
A Saturday that I actually sleep in.
Doing nothing ALL day.
Suntanning.
Getting burnt.
Iced coffee and watching shows.
Getting dressed up.
Eating yummy desserts.
Laughing. Lots of laughing.

Hypocritical speech, anyone?

So, I'm not very good at this sort of thing. But I have had it on my mind for...like months now and my theory is that if I actually write it down and get it out there than it will float away and never return again.

It's like a combination of God and spelling...okay and pet peeves.
Bah.
This is already going downhill.
:).

I would have to say that English was my favorite subject in school. Either that or History. And I like to think that I am pretty good at spelling and words and such. So, it's pretty annoying to me when people misuse or misspell words.

There is one word in particular that when misused I want to stranglehold the speaker. And this is where to hypocritical part comes in because, honestly speaking, I use this word all the time too. But I do usually cringe when I say it, and I say it for lack of a better exclamation.

Awesome.

There. It's not that big of a deal, eh?
But let's pull out some Greek and Latin.
Just kidding.  Maybe just some dictionary

awesome
[aw-suhm]
-adjective
1. inspiring awe: an awesome sight
2. showing or characterized by awe.

Okay...so what's Awe?

awe
[aw]
-noun
1. an overwhelming feeling of reverence, admiration, fear, etc., produced by that which is grand, sublime, extremely powerful, or the like: in awe of God; in awe of great political figures.
2. Archaic. power to inspire fear or reverence.
3.Obsolete. fear or dread.

Somehow I'm thinking the new movie that's at the top of the box office sales is no longer in that category. I'm sure there are those who would argue with me on that though :).

It just frustrates me when people use the wrong words for things. And sometimes just plain not knowing what they are saying.
Guys, I never went to school a day in my life and even I know these things!

Okay, Hannah's pathetic rant is now done.

p.s. this is what is truly awesome.

Pictures!

My life update through pictures.

Applying for school and thinking about sailing.

Having my first dip in the Homewood Ocean.

Playing guitar, taking pictures.

Playing lots of hearts. And I mean the card game when I say that.

Wishing for my Kamloops library.
I went to the Quadra one and was disappointed. So I tried the Campbell river one...more disappointment.

Making some fun new friends.

Watching people play Settlers of Catan ALL THE TIME.

Pet peeve.

I'm not going to say much on the matter.
One simple question should suffice.



Does it not annoy the crap out of you when you find the perfect scent of deodorant and you get all comfortable with it and then All of the sudden they go and change it on you?

I'm very upset about this. But I did find a dwindling supply of the old stuff at Superstore tonight so I stocked up. That should last me while my complaint letter makes it to Colgate-palmolive canada headquarters.

TILT on Thursday.

1.Cleaning to j biebz. (it's like an angel came by and took me to heaven,cause when I stare in your eyes it couldn't be better.)
2.Serious conversations...when I'm in the mood.
3.having time to nap.
4.watching twilight with friends.
5.hanging out with kids.
6.getting mail.
7.going to bed at a reasonable hour.
8.the  uncertainty of the future.
9. discussion
10. make sweet random cards for people.
11.LAUNDRY
12.Having weekends off.

...Sometimes I get homesick.

Okay, that's a lie.
I don't get homesick.
So this is a first for me.

I miss my fam jam.

Knock on wood?

Yesterday I jinxed myself.
I told someone in the morning that I was really happy and nothing could change that.
I spoke too soon...way too soon.

I had to instruct some children on Archery in the afternoon, and while I was stringing one of the huge bows it sprung back and smacked me in the face. It hurt so much that I thought I was going to have a huge egg stucking out of the side of my chin. If that wasn't enough I starting playing with a hangnail and it began bleeding. Of course it didn't stop bleeding for like another hour and a half. On the way back down to the lodge I tripped and stubbed my toe really hard, and later when I was playing games I collided with another girl full force and all of her weight went itno my stomach and left me breathless for 15 seconds, scary stuff. Oh, and I went for a run after that so my body was sore from excercise and my shin splints starting acting up again.

Some days just aren't my day. Hopefully today will end better.

Happy Birthday/600th post!

*Reggie with his bd present in his new residence 'the bunkhouse'.

One year later and the babe catcher is still alive.
This is definitely an item to put in the history books, folks.
Hannah actually kept a living thing alive for an extended amount of time!

Now, I know I don't treat Reggie as well as I should.
Heck, I joke about eating him every other day.
But in my heart of hearts I have a deep love for him. Not deep enough that I would cry at his death, though. We haven't gotten there yet...maybe at two years.

Oh, and 600 posts. W00T.
I sure only about 50 of those are decent, but what can you do.