Expectation

Amy and Andre came over last night for a couple of hours, and while we were talking, Andre asked how I was enjoying being back.  I said it was great, and he asked what was different this time.

Fair question, I suppose. 

Last time, I expected not to like it here.

I didn't want to move here.  I wanted to be in Arizona.  This was just a bump in the road because there were no jobs available in Tucson.  Someone had told me it was yucky, and that's what I saw once we got here.  A yucky place that wasn't Arizona.

This time, I expect that I will like it here, because I know what to anticipate.

Two words in that sentence are key:  I Know.

I know that there are not-nice areas of town.  I know that the roads will make you seasick.  I know that it can be cold and windy one moment, sunny and warm the next.  I know that my face will be so dry in the winter that my skin will peel off in sheets. I know that there will be things that I won't like about being here.

But I also know that I expect to like it this time, because I can focus on all the good things about living here.

That's the difference- my expectations.

First New-House Project

This was what I wanted to do in our new house.  Thank you, Pinterest, for filling my mind with visions of perfection that I will never attain.  But anyway...

I found some gorgeous framed bulletin boards at Hobby Lobby.  And they were 50% off.  So they came home with me and I started laying them out where I wanted them. 

My wall is not as long as I imagined. 

The frames were two inches too long for the wall.  I tried staggering them, but the symmetry in this picture wouldn't allow me to have everything off-center like that, especially since there were four frames.  Five, I might've been able to handle.  Not four.  The peanut gallery -- that would be David-- might have rolled their eyes and huffed away in disgust that I couldn't just live with non-symmetry.

Back to Hob Lob, minus small people this time.  I walked every aisle, looked at every bulletin board, frame, mirror, and picture.  I took pictures.  I considered pretending I only had three kids so my original frames would work.

After I found my initial beyond-awesome frames, I went down the wall hook aisle.  The troops were getting restless by this point, so I couldn't browse for long.  But the door knobs and drawer pulls in the same spot grabbed my attention.  Hmmm, I also have a Pin about using drawer knobs as wall hooks in an entryway....

So this is what I ended up with. Not really even close to the original inspiration, and probably girlier than the boys will like in coming years. 

Aren't the knobs pretty? 

 

 

We had trouble with two of them because they were smaller than the rest, but it finally worked.

With about 17 holes drilled in the walls, I sure hope these things work for awhile.  I'm going to paint this area of the house at some point, so if I end up hating it, I can fill everything in before we repaint.  And keep my eyes open for tall, skinny framed bulletin boards.