a long awaited kitchen report

I love looking back to these two pictures taken on the day I first used my key to enter our new house. So much has changed and I sometimes forget how far we have come until I pull these out as a comparison.

The last time I posted about the kitchen was in 2013 after we had just had new counter tops installed. Oh, they are so beautiful. As much hype as granite gets these days, I feel these deserve that hype. I'm pleased with the color and the detail and - well, they are just so much better than the faux butcher block laminate that was there before.

We installed a new 5 burner gas cooktop and couldn't be more pleased with it. I had to take a photo of the first meal I cooked in more than 6 months. We were so tired of microwave meals and crock-pot meals and eating out and mooching meals off of our parents. It was so nice to even cook ramen noodles on the stove. What a blessing to have a stove!




And then Scott broke his arm in July and things slowed way down while he recovered from the surgery that pinned his arm back together. A nerve was pinched in the accident and the resulting nerve damage meant that his right wrist and hand were paralyzed, which as a right handed person, put a heavy cramp in his style!

(Luckily, as I write, he has probably 85-90% functionality back in his hand, I am constantly amazed at how miraculous our bodies are and how they are able to heal themselves.)

At least with the ovens, stove top and sink, we could now cook in the kitchen. So, months went by moving along slowly with the tile back splash (two versions before ending with the white subway tile I had envisioned from the beginning).

We've added a new dishwasher, double ovens and upper cabinets, the new sink and faucet, and then finally in February added the new floor tile. Before Scott had a chance to grout and clean it I was worried that it almost looked the same as the cement underlayment. However, now that it is all clean and finished up, I am very happy with how it turned out.

We installed some board and batten trim around the walls and new casings around all the doors, windows and openings - with a craftsmen style inspiration.

In went a new pendant over the sink and hanging light over the stairway and chandelier over the kitchen table.

Crown moldings were installed just a week ago and now all there is left to do is for me to finish caulking, puttying and painting all the trim work, touch up the original gray wall color, and stain the banister. There are the few little tiny things that have to be done here an there (a new switch plate cover, a weird shaped tile, the trim on one can light) but for the most part the kitchen project is coming to an end. We do have to spend a little time now on the family room side of the wall where we need to texture and paint and put the moldings around the opening, but we can see the light at the end of this tunnel. 

And then there are the back yard tunnel and the basement tunnel still to come, but I will just be happy for now that I'm almost out of this tunnel. At least we don't have to "live" in those other renovation projects on a day-to-day basis. If I can manage to clean my kitchen I might post some more "final" pictures of the room, the above pic was to show dad the crown and is not the best angle for showing off the whole room. Yippee!

March in review

March is a big month for this girl. Particularly this March since her birthday was celebrated while we were vacationing at Disney World.

But, that post will take more time and be many more photos than you ever wanted to see. So I'll tell you about the rest of March . . .

Once a year the Young Men and Young Women have a Chili Cook-Off and Auction as a fundraiser for the coming year's activities. The Youth auction off services and baked goods. Other members of the ward donate services (last will and testament, dance lessons, weekend boating excursion) and elaborate cakes and chili and soup for judging.

They decorate the cultural hall and bring activities for the kids. They set up a photo area and encourage everyone to come in western wear. It is one of the best activities we have all year.

This year, Scott made a chili that was VERY hot and bean-less. His "No Beans About It" chile took first place in the competition!! There is a panel of judges that taste each submission and vote. There is also one crowd favorite. I think next year I need to submit my (well, Sarah's) can-opener chili and also Aunt Dawn's white bean chicken chili because with one of those I think I could maybe win the crowd favorite.

March was also a big month for the kitchen. In the past two months I've spent many weekends taking my turn. Scott does the big construction stuff with the drills, and nail guns, and skill saws - and then I come in with the caulk, and putty, and paint brushes, and do the finish work. In March I finally painted out the built in coat nook. 

We've turned that old laundry closet had no doors into a walk in pantry and a coat area. I love the way it looks and actually hate actually hanging anything up on the hooks. That of course defeats the purpose so, up the coats and shoes and purses and bags go. A much more functional space for sure.

From the week we moved in

February in review

In February, I was pleased to have opportunity to work again with Lex de Azevedo in his recording studio. I joined  the UVU Institute choir and Katie and Georgia in the soprano section recording a song that will someday be on the album Alleluia: The Life of Christ Part 2. Lex is living in Brazil these days but all that sand and surf has been inspiring him and he is writing this final piece to go along with Gloria, part 1 and Hosanna, part 3. Recording a song that will be one day on a CD is such a neat but also humbling experience. Each voice is scrutinized and each entrance has to be perfect. I am constantly checking myself "Am I sticking out?", "Do I have enough support?", "Am I keeping vibrato in check without sounding to young and breathy?" It is full of long hours but I drive away late in the day thinking to myself "what would my high school self say about one day working in a recording studio!" I realize, I'm no 'recording artist' or anything fancy like that, but it is a privilege to be able to add this new facet to my singing experience repertoire. It does give me insight into what goes into making an album so what I enjoy when I play a song on my CD or iPhone means a bit more. 

Also on the music front, I spent every Sunday night directing the Stake Choir in preparation for Stake Conference. After singing in the stake choir I had been itching to try my had with the group since there were such great men! So when the Stake Music Chairman called and told me that she had shingles and asked would I fill in, I was pleased to take on the added stress. It made for very busy Sunday's and lots of planning and thinking during the week, but I told Scott this was good stress. Yes, it kept me a bit on edge, but I believe that if I always accept assignments and callings in the church I will not only be blessed for obedience and willingness, but I will learn and gain personal, spiritual insights and enlightenment which, through the stress, will manifest in joy. Joy and happiness are not synonymous, neither are joy and relaxation. In fact, probably not even joy and fun! That is definitely evident when looking at parenting. Lots of joy, not always happiness and relaxation and fun. It was a great experience, the choir scared me for a bit because we didn't have a huge group, but it the end people came, and sang beautifully, and I was pleased with them, and I felt joy.

In other news, Mom and Dad and Scott all had birthdays. Maddy and took presents to grandma and grandma scooter-ride and they showed us the wonderful cake and cupcakes that Katie and her crew had brought over that day. Where there is a cake, Maddy feels there should be a candle, so they kindly fulfilled her wishes by making their own.   

Scott also had a birthday and we went to Franck's - his favorite French restaurant. We were sad to hear that Franck Pissel is  no longer the head chef at Franck's. Franck's not run by Franck - go figure.

The food still looked as pretty as ever and was very good but not quite the same. Still Franck's ideas, but not done with quite the perfection we are used to. Bummer. Scott is feeling disillusioned. I feel like I've been cheated on. Apparently he hasn't been the chef there for several months! Boo.

We actually had a big trip at the end of February to DISNEY WORLD but that deserves a post in and of itself so, thus ends another monthly update.

January - we meet James

Rachel and James came from Atlanta for a visit in January. What a wonderful way to start out the new year! Maddy is no longer the youngest grandchild but she was more than happy to meet the usurper and loved him so much I don't think she'll mind!

We all spent a long, leisurely lunch at Schmidt's bakery being silly girls with our mommy. The good think about being grown ups is that mom can join in with our adult silliness when as young girls at a restaurant, she probably just tried to reign it in.

Oh how I love, love, love my family!! These women are my best friends, my challengers, my role models and my teachers.  We talk fashion, parenting, and neighborhood drama. We read the same books, we love the same music. We learn from eachother's mistakes and we support eachother in weaknesses. And at the end of the day, we just like sitting around being together even if we aren't talking to eachother at all!

December in review

Merry Christmas 

December brings Sally Bytheway Concerts. Music of course is the best part of Christmas in my opinion and performing that music is the icing on the cake. Dad joins us in Chorale now so there are five of seven Daltons singing together. We sang at The Joseph Smith Memorial from the rotunda and it was a different but neat experience being the background music for some visitors to Temple Square rather than the main attraction for our usual concert attendees.

 We had lunch with our Millennium singing friends and dressed for the season.

Aunt Jana's annual Christmas party was moved to December this year from its usual place the Friday after Thanksgiving in order to accommodate several schedules. We also had the party at a clubhouse nearby rather than at Aunt Jana's house due to our numbers. Mom came to help and since the storm outside was getting worse and worse as the night went on, I brought dad with me so that mommy wouldn't have to drive home in the storm by herself. We got a little bit silly and missed Mary and Rachel so much!

This party has evolved through my lifetime from when we girls were young and Aunt Jana would have us over to her apartment to help her decorate for Christmas and bring the joy that only a gaggle of giggly girls excited for the season can bring. Boyfriend Craig became Uncle Craig over the years and Gwendolyn and Richard came along and decorated their family tree without our help but still we would get together to make homemade ornaments and have a talent show. Fast forward and now we have children of our own and some of them are getting ready to go to Prom and to college and we are getting older, but this is still one of my very most treasured traditions.

November in review

November was an interesting and busy month. I was promoted to be the Chief Financial Officer at work. While I was, and am still, so flattered and honored to be promoted, I am still trying to find my way in this new role. There were a few big fires left to put out when my predecessor left and then the controller quit and so it left me looking to find a tax director and a controller and doing three jobs, the big one being the shoes I was least comfortable filling. So, some really great November activities of course helped to keep me on track and happy and remembering that there is more to life than late nights at work.

Niece Rebekah sang the national anthem with her Davis High Madrigal group at the Grizzlies hockey game. Sarah and Lilian, and Maddy and I went to watch the game and to support the singers. We dragged Scott along with us to be the commentator for the game. I have to admit, hockey is definitely more interesting with him to tell me the rules and explain strategy behind the fights. Believe it or not, they are not just because hockey players are all angry or because it brings in the crowds (though it does bring in the crowds unfortunately).

 

The Saturday after Thanksgiving Sarah got tickets for me and mom and her to the Messiah Sing-In with the Utah Symphony in Abravanel Hall. I so enjoyed singing the choruses with the big orchestra and while I did know a good number of the songs, I learned that it's no so easy to sight read your way through Handel! Luckily, Mom sat between me and Sarah and she sang soprano so I leaned on her to keep me on my part. I was super impressed with how well she knows this music and how well she did singing those high soprano notes considering she sings alto in choirs these days. My Mom rocks!

  

And the best for last! (that makes me feel like singing the Messiah with my mom and sister wasn't the best, which it was - but, well . . . we're talking about The Bubbley!!!)

 

The Michael Buble concert. Oh, this boy can sing! I have about a hundred pictures that I took but they are all on another computer so this quick iPhone photo we will have to suffice. Sarah is my Michael Buble companion. She of course is a bigger fan of Josh Groban but The Bubbley wins out in my book. He sings with that Frank Sinatra style that I do so love. It was such a fun concert and we had some great seats. So glad that my best friends are my sisters so we can go do these fun things together.

 

October in Review

Since I am so far behind maybe we should do a Month at a time. Shall we? 

We begin with . . .

 

Happy October!

As usual, the XANGO Halloween party is the biggest event of the year. We had skary-oke and to make sure that others would particiapte, the culture team started things off with a cover of "Sweet Child O' Mine" by Guns and Roses with yours truly on Axl Rose lead vocals.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Between sessions of LDS General Conferenence we went up the canyon as a family to do a little leaf gathering. Unfortunately, the colors were not great and we had a rough time finding all the reall good colors. We did gather a few to bring home and press in our book nonetheless.













Maddy has decided that she loves Japanese food. Scratch that, she loves steak and fried rice and the cooking at the table that comes with the Japanese restaurants Tepenyaki and Benihana. I can support that because there is nothing better than their onion soup, salad with ginger dressing and ham fried rice. She is also getting to be fairly good at eating with chopsticks.
















It is clear that I am no good at cutting a straight line when it comes to bangs. So, Maddy and I tend to take quick trips into the salon together for a trim. On this occasion, since I was getting color,  she needed it as well. Theyobliged by put a stripe of pink chalk in for her. She is in love!

The best part of the whole trip was when she laid down at the sink and they started to run water over her hair and she let out the most adorable, contented sigh I have ever heard. I thought "yes, that is exactly how I feel when I get my hair washed and massaged at the salon!"

What a girlie girl Maddy is becoming.