Day 3: Projects

Today was the day to complete some projects. (I'm posting early today because we have plans for tonight). The first project to get finished today was one that has actually been going on since Tuesday! It's been a lot of fun but I'm glad we are done.


As you can see, we started with lofty expectations for the amount of things we were going to do.
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And after days of baking, the cookies were finally frosted and we were ready to make our Christmas presents: Baked goodie trays!


Each tray includes:
Pretzel Turtles
Butterscotch Haystacks
Rocky Road Fudge
Maple Walnut Fudge
Peanut Butter Fudge
Peanut Butter Cup Cookies
Sugar Cookies
And, a Gingerbread Cookie.

Now, the other Project for the day is actually one that makes me proud! I built it all by myself! Well, with a little help from my munchkins - passing me springs and counting.

My parents actually bought this as a Christmas present for the kids and had it shipped to us via the internet. When we woke up this morning, it was actually sitting in front of the front door. It's a good thing we were expecting it in the next few days - cuz I never even look out the front door. I had decided I wasn't going to even try to put it together without help, but Bri is leaving for her dad's in the morning and I felt bad that she wouldn't get to try it out. After reviewing the instructions, I decided I could possibly, maybe give it a shot.


And well, as you can see - I built it! The kids have been jumping on it on and off all day and so far it appears that I even did a good job. My hand is killing me from pulling 64 springs into place - but it was totally worth it!

I personally haven't taken a jump on it - the weight limit on the instructions is way low - so I'm afraid I'll take one big jump and crash through the middle or something! But for now - the kids are having a blast!


It's amazing the things you can do when you put your mind to it. One thing that I am learning being down here in Arizona is that I can do anything I want to do. I feel renewed and strong and independent again, something I really felt I lost (or got sucked outta me) back home. I think that I got so used to asking for help, that it became a crutch for me to not have to take care of myself. And in the process I started losing myself to. I started to feel ashamed of the person I was, the things I liked, the way I lived.

But it turns out - I really like myself and who I am.

And building a trampoline by myself, as silly as it is, reminded me of exactly why I came here and renewed my resolve to be me...and only me...for the rest of my life.