January... here and gone!

January has just BLOWN by, right???

Dustin and I just celebrated 11 years of marriage!
Well not celebrated, because he was in Alaska, but we live like we are celebrating something most of the time so it's all good! 11 years! So exciting! Dustin was such a rebellious stud "back in the day" (not that he still isn't, but my point is he was a bit of a risk to fall in love with) that when he asked me to move up to Alaska 16 years ago, there were doubts and fears expressed by several people... I had no choice or room to ponder those risks too much, I had fallen deeply in love with my old high school friend so off we went!! To this day I have to laugh that I married "Dustin Berry" as I would have never guessed he could be husband material, much less MY husband! I am so glad I was less fearful in those days though because he is the best thing that has ever happened in my life!

So obviously New Years was "just another night" seeing as I still don't know anyone around here and my hubby was gone. It might be my age bracket but I feel like this last couple years the trend is to brag about a "quiet night at home". I love it! I am truly a homebody... my home is where my heart is, always has been. I get giggly when I climb into my own bed, I love to get comfy clothes on and snuggle up on the couch with .. well preferably Dustin, but if he's not home, a kid or dog will suffice. With that being said, I hate to miss out on anything, so an uneventful New Years Eve brought me a heaping amount oh relief with an anxious side dish of possible regret. Much to my pleasure though, according to Facebook at least.. haha friends and family bragged about a nice quiet night bringing in New Years at home! I did end up brushing my hair and putting on mascara (this doesn't happen everyday you know.. haha) to walk across the street to our neighbors house for a glass of wine and some appetizers, she had a friend visiting so we made a raging party of 3! I was home before midnight though for a sparkling cider toast with the boys... and then we all promptly went to bed... midnight EASTERN time.. it doesn't get much better than that!

So one good thing about this smaller home is that I was able to get Christmas put away in about a day and half! Of course I only had a fraction of my normal Christmas Wonderland on display, but it was still nice and cozy and a lot less work!

After I got that all wrapped up I decided this was the "rotation" (how I refer to my 3 week increments of lonely time) I would tackle my entryway! The entryway had a textured wallpaper that had been painted a lovely color of tobacco stained almond... no, this was not a smokers house but the running theme of this color reminded me of that. So strip the wallpaper.. sounds easy enough, except it's also the stairway to the basement which is small steepish stairs.... and a tall ceiling above those stairs. I'll just get to it.... I am not good with heights (at least heights on ladders!) I know myself well enough though to know I will find something to fret about so I decided to suck it up and go for it! First off there was this big flower thing that had been screwed to the wall and painted over that had to be removed... "why?" I thought, "would someone screw this metal flower to the wall and then paint it to match the wall!?!? Weird!" Well duh.... there was a huge hole under it! Gotcha! Called Dustin, got Sheetrock patching instructions... move on.... first and second layer of wallpaper came off like a dream! Appeared the 2nd layer was very similar to the 1st but not textured... exciting decorators they were! haha! 3rd layer was awesome! I wish I could have salvaged it! It was a metallic mirrored wallpaper that also came off nice enough... (I was feeling like a rockstar of wallpaper removal about this time because I have encountered some nightmare paper before!) and then there was the pepto-pink flowery wallpaper.. Welcome to HELL! 

This layer engulfed about 3 days... not that I worked diligently on it, I walked away from that wallpaper so many times that it inspired me to write a blog post about using my time wisely and staying productive! haha! It's quite possible I have adult ADD. ;) Anyways, finally got it all off, I lost a day of work when I came across some moldy spots under the wallpaper (it is very humid here) and that day I got a headache and my throat hurt, I was pretty sure I was dying of black mold toxins, so of course I turned to Google.... yep! I'm dying, quickly accumulated several more symptoms within minutes so I called Dustin to tell him I loved him and went to bed. The next day I was still alive, so I bleach-scrubbed the moldy area & started to kilz everything, I had to patch the texture on part of the ceiling which I do not think shined my artistry skills.. but whatever at this point, right? Next was texture... I do not prefer most power tools, we have one of those hopper things that shoots texture on the walls, but I prefer to hand trowel. That took forever and a day, but was fun... So I painted the ceiling, painted the trim, then painted the walls. Yesterday I got the hand rails put back on and started cleaning.... Today I am excited to put the finishing touches on it all! 

So in other news of this "rotation".... Peyton and I took Black Betty (my Subaru... LOVE it btw) to Knoxville for a day. The things we love about road trips.... chips, candy, comfy clothes and music, so we stopped for snacks, Peyton had his blanket and we chatted and had a sing-along or two. As we drove into Knoxville it started to snow so that was exciting. Winter here has been really mild... awesome... but uneventful. Even when it's freezing temps it's not so bad outside (no wind). So snow was exciting! We had no agenda so we drove through the University of Tennessee, found a beautiful old cemetery to walk through (unfortunately it was FREEZING and had some shady people hanging out so that was a quick stroll), then we had lunch in Market Square and drove by the World Fair Park to get a closer peek at the Sunshpere Tower and aimlessly drove around just to see what we could see, then headed back home! 

Nick finally got enough time off work to take his drivers test so he is now a legal driver and all that is left is to get his truck registered (on the agenda for tomorrow).

So yesterday was my mom's B-day. 

She is amazing and I admire her very much. Every time I think about getting anxious about turning 40 (where oh where have the years gone!?) I look to her and remember age is only a number, unless I allow it to dictate who I am and what I'm about. She has always been a good source of grounding me in some way or another... so HAPPY BIRTHDAY (again) MOM! Oh wait, I have to throw in a piece of advice my mom has recently taken on and shared with me. I am a worrier... it's a growing problem I am battling and my mom gave me some easy straightforward advice.... Mind your own business. haha! I love her.

Things I am looking forward to... Dustin gets home on Wednesday!!! Woohoo! I've stayed crazy busy so time zipped by but it feels like forever since I've seen my Love! On Friday our friends from Savannah come and visit for the weekend! Ever have those people who you get around and you don't skip a beat? Everything falls into place and you always have fun together? Well that is this couple for us so I am seriously looking forward to their visit! (Update: they didn't get to come due to a health scare in their family.. boohoo) Then our buddy JP gets here and is visiting for a few days, Dustin and him are going to see a concert in Atlanta and after all the guests have gone we will be putting our new garage up! YES!!!

Well that is a wrap on today's ramble I suppose! I hope everyone is having a good start to their new year! 2016... crazy huh? I feel like it was only a couple years ago we were fretting over Y2K and now we are on the downhill slide to 2020! That is some futuristic sounding stuff, right? (ok, technically it is futuristic, but you know what I mean... I hear 2020 and I think of teleporting and flying cars!)

Much love from the Berry Family to you and yours! 

More Updates: So since we have had 4 days of Dustin home since I wrote this email, I'll fill you in on our fun real quick. Tennessee gets REAL wimpy in the winter... which with the road options I have in leaving my home... I am grateful! Last Monday.. no school for MLK Day, Tuesday school was delayed 2 hours because of cold temps!?!? The recording said this would allow enough time for maintenance workers to make sure everything at schools were working properly! strange... Then Tuesday night it rained so school was canceled on Wednesday because that rain could have frozen on the streets.  Wednesday school was canceled because it was forecast to snow that day... but we only got a tiny bit of sleet and roads stayed clear enough. (This was the day Dustin flew in) Thursday school was canceled because we got that tiny bit of sleet the day before and FINALLY Friday Peyton went to school but they called and closed early because of the storm quickly approaching (he was out at 12:30... it snowed like 11 hours later!) haha! So in all that free time we took the boys to Terminal which is the old train station turned restaurant/brewery, then we got touristy and checked out the Chattanooga ChooChoo! The entry was beautiful! 

Then we did some shopping at a resale shop called Refindery (awesome)! Here are a few of my favorite finds there... anybody know what this first picture is???

 That.... is some sort of perm machine! Like, you clip those electrical thingies up top to your curls and crank it on! YIKES!

 I have NO idea why someone would buy a hornet's nest.... but it intrested me more than anything else in the store! haha! Loved it

 beautiful collection of architectural columns

 great display by front window

Peyton had a friend come over and they "snowboarded" down the side yard
 and finally we have started building a laundry/mudroom down in the basement so I don't have to go full creepy basement to do laundry! Yay! 

Oh and of course we have been building campfires outside the garage to add to the fun! haha

Adding a youtube link of our hilarious video from a couple days ago in case you missed it on Facebook  Marshmallow Toss Funny

				Marshmallow Toss Funny
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Tina Berry

Being a housewife takes a few mind games

The struggle is real people! Most everyone I know has a career, and if not a career, at least a "real job"... me.. my heart is at home, especially when my husband is here. When my husband is not at home, my heart is to make our home a place he is eager to get back to! I want him to walk in and feel good about what he has worked so hard to provide. I am beyond grateful to be at home and wholeheartedly want to make the most of each day as to not take advantage of this blessing, but finding the motivation without the accountability can be a real struggle! A struggle you might sneer at, but imagine going to your job each day and not having coworkers to lean on, not having a boss to keep you in check, not having an assignment, and not getting a paycheck or feedback. That might sound good, but when trying to be your best without any of these things, motivation can get tricky. I have been reading some articles and testing some suggestions out, as well as paying attention to myself on my most productive days to see what makes them different and I thought I would share!
First and foremost for me is a LIST! haha! It is in fact a form of accountability for me. I read an article stating a list is just a list until it becomes a scheduled assignment. Well call it what you like but when I start my day with a to-do list, it gives me side eyes all day until I put a line through each item. As I can easily get distracted, it brings me back into focus of what I expected to get done. I found an app called 30/30 years ago, it worked great and then I started finding it a pain to set up everyday so I decided to use the ides of it on my written list which just means I either set a time frame for accomplishing each task.
Clean Floors (vacuum, sweep, mop) 1 hour
If I'm feeling hardcore, I will put an actual time on it, so if I'm allowing myself an hour to get it done, I look at the clock and say, that all must be done by 9am and then I can't squeeze in getting lost staring mindlessly at an electronic screen before I start it. Does anyone ever set their gps to map them to their destination and when you see the arrival time, you feel like your accepting a challenge to knock a few minutes off that time!?!? haha! Same works for timed lists.. the competitor in me rises up and if I finish the floors is 50 minutes!?!? YES!!! I am a winner!!! And winners have 10 extra minutes to use as they please.
Back to mindlessly staring at an electronics screen, surely I am not the only one who gets sucked into the Facebook or Twitter vortex and wake up an hour later to find myself watching cat videos and reading "news" articles about dead rats found in a bag of firewood purchased at the local grocery store, right? So I have turned off all notifications for social media and giving myself set time windows to be an internet bum. HUGE time saver!
Recognizing the time of day you are most likely to kick some butt and what time of day you are most likely to sit on your butt is important as well. This one is taking some work for me because I realized if I start my morning strong, I have the most productive days, even if I fizzle out early. The problem is once I get Peyton off to school and Nick off to work, I come home and look at the breakfast mess and think, "I'll take a moment to have a cup of coffee before I clean this up". Half a pot of coffee later I am still not ready for the day, the kitchen is still a mess and I'm already thinking about what I will eat for lunch! So I still have to figure out what works for me on this one because I love my coffee time! Maybe I'll make a smaller pot or get a nice mug with a lid that can easily move around the house with me as I get my day started.. 
Finally is something called the 20 second rule... what I took away from this idea is to get a 20 second jump start on things I typically procrastinate. Need to make a phone call tomorrow that you put off today? I write the number down as well as gather the info I will need when making that call, then tomorrow it can't be THAT hard to push the numbers on my phone and speak..... right???? Meant to work out today and promising myself I will tomorrow? I lay out my clothes, athletic shoes and a water bottle the night before.. seriously, I'll have to come down with pneumonia overnight to ignore I promised myself I would workout! 
So that is all for now.... my scheduled computer time is up! ;) Have a productive day!!!

Eleven is my lucky number...

I don't believe much in luck as I am a believer in prayer but THIS year my "lucky" number is eleven. Eleven years and 11 days ago I sat on my living room floor watching my kids Nick & Peyton (then 10 & 3) tear into their Christmas stockings  with the enthusiasm of the Cookie Monster at a Keebler tree house loot. Dustin had the foresight to set our video camera up the night before in the entryway aimed down into our den to catch the Christmas frenzy. I slowly pulled things out of my own stocking but focused on the fine chocolates Santa had littered my stocking with, while watching the kids and sharing in the shock of how awesome Santa was with each new goodie unveiled. Dustin & I kept exchanging winky type smiles that he would follow up with an urging nod for me to explore my own stocking more, which I would respond with an urging nod to pay attention to our kids and let me eat my candy in peace.
Dustin and I had a long history already at this point that was full of mischief, spontaneity, romance & adventure that I might possibly share bits and pieces of eventually. The short version is that we were high school friends & he showed up again later in my life & swept me and my son Nick off our feet over 5 years prior to this day and had been nothing short of a father and husband from day one. 
So back to Christmas morning 2004... I get to the bottom of my stocking to avoid anymore of his eye balling nudges, you see my burly studmuffin is actually just a giddy kid himself & my thinking was, lets ride this out and take our time but I guessed he was dying to tear into some gifts, so fine... 
I 've emptied my stocking... give him a bug eyed "happy?" face and all that is left is a sticker or something wadded up from Christmas past, but before I toss it in the trash pile I feel something hard in it so I mindlessly investigate. I realize it's masking tape and not a sticker so I pick at it while I watch the kids play and munch more chocolates. Eventually I get it out of it's sticky tape wad and inside is a ring.... a beautiful diamond ring!?!? I'm like "what the... huh....?" Shocked (and clueless) I hold it up to share my findings with Dustin as if I have found an ancient lost treasure. Why is he smiling and crawling towards me??? Then it hits me and my mind starts racing! HE put this in there!?! But how?? WHEN? Why was it in masking tape? How did he get this past me? I just paid bills.. when and how did he buy this??? I don't know what I was thinking but for some reason I was skeptical & let's just stop there to state the fact that I am terrible with surprises! I don't know why, I am truly an excitable and grateful person but when you shock me, it takes a minute for facts of reality to sink in... so surprises are usually not as storybook as they should be with me..  I think he laughed or something... yes it was all on video but I've only seen it once or twice... forever ago & I've tried to block it out of my memory. The jest of the video is I am sprawled on the floor like an orangutan cud chewing one chocolate after another while Dustin side-eyes me with a giggly glow about him. This goes on for a good 15-20 minutes up to the point of my mouth gaping Simba raise of the ring and then appearing skeptical that he knew about this prize in my stocking trash. He must of asked me to marry him but my memory goes blank from shock... Of course I said yes, I had secretly (ok, maybe it wasn't THAT big of a secret) wanted nothing more for several years but we in fact already lived a "married life". I guess he dismissed my lack of tact & for soiling the moment (in all fairness, this was not our first rodeo of him giving me a jaw dropping (wonderful) surprise and me behaving like an electrocuted cat) because 10 days later we were sitting at a blackjack table in Vegas. I think we had been there 2 days and this was our last day to get married & the clock was ticking before the courthouse closed... we cashed in and bolted at the last minute, flustered and maybe even a tad frustrated (hey, we were having a good run!) So here we are standing in Chapel By The Courthouse which happens to be where my dad and older brother both married their current wives. It was not a romantic setting, stains on the carpet & chairs, years of dust on the tacky fake flowered walls.... & inside I began to panic. I LOVE this man, why are we at this filthy place in this filthy city?! We were raising 2 sweet boys and had wonderful families, we should be having a proper wedding, not wishing we were carrying hand sanitizer!?!? But then the lady!?! I think it was a lady???.... came out and called us to the front and asked us to face each other.. (too late I think) and I looked into his eyes planning to beg we make a run for it with my saucer eyed stare. Instead I got all warm & fuzzy, I instantly calmed and the room disappeared around me as I looked into those mesmerizing green eyes & I realized that as long as we were together, everything would be right in my world! By the end of our vows my heart felt like it would burst. I was wearing slacks and a sweater, none of our friends or family was there, I didn't hold a bouquet of flowers, nobody took pictures.. it was just for the two of us and nobody else. Since that day God has grown something so deep in me for that man that the word "love" pales to how I feel. He never ceases to amaze me, surprise me and inspire me and I am in fact the luckiest girl in the world as far as I can tell!  Happy 11th Wedding Anniversary Babe! Officially Mr & Mrs. Berry since 1/04/05

Happy New Year

Wow, so am I the only one who feels like we just experienced a warp speed year? To look back on this year I visualize myself waking up from a sound sleep only to find myself in the middle of a busy intersection with cars racing by me in a million directions. Who? Huh? What the...... (think Quantum Leap here... that was my 2015)

Does anyone do New Years Resolutions? I used to laugh at people who asked what my resolutions were.... Uhhh, keep living my exciting fabulous life JUST LIKE THIS!!! And then I got older.... and wiser (so I tell myself) and I would face a new year and think OK... What CAN I do better? What are my goals? This unnamed "wise" year must of been when I started list making. lol. My husband is rolling his eyes as he reads the word "list" I assure you. I make lists of things I need to make lists of.

Example List: 

1. plan meals (which will be a list of days and meals.... that I never stick to)
2. make a grocery list
3. goals for while Dustin is gone (this turns into an unrealistic list that has to be broken down a few times, first into the week by week goals list, then the day by day list and then the revised "I haven't got crap done off that list so lets see what I can do quick with the biggest impact" list. haha!

The problem is I am a sanguine at heart with a little melancholy sneaking in on me .. HECK, I'm supposed to be cleaning house right now and here I am in front of my laptop! If you have seen UP (the adorable kids movie) then you probably remember the funny dog with the collar that helped him talk... well he was constantly distracted by spotting a squirrel. Dustin sees me get off track 10 times a day and he loves to say "squirrel!"

 Anyways...

 Ya, so what I learned by making New Years Resolutions is that it's all a mind game, right? I mean we are coming off the Christmas high of overspending & overeating (sometimes over-drinking) and we see a fresh 365 ahead and seems like a good time to grasp control of ourselves. It's like a faux fresh start, though I tend to look at every Monday like that as well! THIS year, I'm going to lose some weight or work out everyday or get organized or quit drinking or quit sugar! I am an overly vocal being and I'd like to advise those like me from making New Years Resolutions out loud. I mean all of those things are good goals but the second I say I'm quitting something like sugar, I know I'll find myself hidden in the corner of a dark closet with red rat eyes nibbling on a Snickers bar and hating myself for it! Organized?!? Oh please, I mean, filing is nice and all but I pretty much know which pile to look in for whatever your looking for, just don't touch my piles up! Lose weight? Who doesn't put that pressure on themselves!?!? Ok, so a few of you meat heads are looking for "gains" but you are not average human, so let's get that straight before the argument begins. When Dustin is about to head back to work we usually have a conversation that goes something like this. Me "Ugh, I am going to get back to working out while your gone this time!" Dustin, "Uhh ya.. me too for sure!" When we catch ourselves having this same disgusted convo now, we kind-of giggle about it.. we DO need to work out, we DO need to eat clean.. honestly though (premeditated excuse coming your way) we live our lives in 3 week increments and it feels like we should go out to eat and treat each day as if we are on a fabulous vacation together! haha! So maybe 2016 we will find new ways to stay-cation together trading enchiladas and margaritas for bike rides and fresh air! (ugh... maybe bike rides and a glass of wine..... nooo how about a glass of wine and fresh air! Now that is a resolution I can do! Good for me! I shall trade in enchiladas & margaritas for wine & fresh air!! Sometimes... )

So Christmas in Chattanooga was awesome! It poured rain for days so even though it was in the 70's it appeared to be cold outside and felt festive! Dustin knocked my socks off for those of you who don't know! Christmas Stockings have always been my favorite part of all the Christmas traditions. I like shopping for fun little goodies and the boys can't preshake and feel these items over and tell me they know what it is (ANNOYING, right?). Dustin gave me my ring in a Christmas stocking many years ago.... wrapped in masking tape!?! I seriously thought it was trash from Christmas past and mindlessly picked at the tape to see why it was hard before tossing it in the trash pile! I was clueless and shocked! Even after I saw it was a ring, I was like "what the...... look what I found!?!?" and then realized he was crawling across the floor to ask me to marry him! What a guy! So this year I kinda knew what all was in my stocking.... because I pretty much gave it to him to put in it! lol. So I'm like, "ooooh, wrinkle cream! Ohhhh, a new lipstick! yay Santa!" and then I realize one of the things I pulled out was foreign.... it was a key fob! I got a new car in my stocking!!!! I have NEVER had a new car! I was raised in the car world. My dad had a used car dealership and it was inbred into me that a new car was for fools! "Just flushing money down the toilet the second you pull it off the lot" And then my dad got older.... and he started buying NEW CARS! haha! I'm sure he was still coming out ahead somehow because he's pretty smart like that, but every time Dustin and I toyed with car shopping I couldn't swallow the idea. I mentioned in a past email I got a 2007 Jeep Commander (instead of a new car which we shopped for) I love it and it was/is reliable but I realize I was kinda fearful in it, if I heard a weird sound I would park it and drive Dustin's truck until he got home because I was scared to breakdown in a town where I barely know anyone to help me!!! Anyways, taking me out of the purchasing process was as much of a gift as the car and the second I sat in it I felt so cared for and safe! Sometimes Dustin asks me to take care of things and I get the deer in the headlights haze.... like WHAT?!?! I'm not capable, you need to do that for me! Well his work doesn't allow me to be that "kept" of a woman, plus I'm annoyed at myself when I act like that. So often I have to push past my fears and usually end up quite proud of myself. This car made up for all those times I felt thrown to the wolves for something I was uncomfortable doing on my own haha... I cried every time I drove it for the first 3 days! Seriously! Well I'd start out crying and then it would turn into laughing because I couldn't believe I was crying again! It was such a smart and thoughtful purchase for our family at this place and time!!! The car itself frighteningly smart too! I could seriously push a button and it will steer itself inside the lane! That's kinda scary, right??? You might be next to someone in a car like mine who is facebooking while their car is steering itself! Yikes!

Let's not even talk about what I got Dustin because it all sucked in comparison (obviously), the PLAN was we would not blow a bunch of money on Christmas and get our conex purchased and delivered up at the "ranch" as well as our new garage for here at the house. Well, I followed the "plan" and he did not! haha! Peyton got a big boy RC car and a very cool futon for his newly remodeled bedroom. Nick got new exhaust, a new starter and a windshield wiper motor installed on his truck as well as some fancy work boots. Everyone's hearts were full of joy & we did a crab boil! On Christmas Eve morning Dustin took the boys hunting while I baked and cooked all day for our Christmas eve smorgasbord feast, which we think will be an annual tradition. It was hard being so far away from all of our friends and family but this move has strengthened our family bond for sure.

I hope everyone had a very Merry Christmas and I want to apologize to many of you who did not get a Christmas card from us!!! I meant well but I could not find my new address book so I was limited on the ones I had and THEN I ran out of stamps so I still have a stack of filled out cards with no stamps sitting in one of my "organized piles". You will just have to make a New Years Resolution to forgive me if you did not receive one! 

No pictures this email because..... well... I'm supposed to be cleaning house. haha! I'm dieing to show off Dustin's hard work in Peyton's new room too and I need to get pics and he needs to clean his room! So... pics to come next time!

Wishing everyone a safe and happy New Year to you and your family!

Much love!!