March 28, 2012

Tragedy Strikes Home


I really hate to do a sad post, however something positive has happened since a horrible incident happened so close to my home.  I haven't talked about it yet because I was a bit too emotional and I was wanting to try and focus on more positive things.  I always thought I'd be safe at home, especially in the small town of Danville, VT.  I mean, I grew up around Youngstown which was once rated as one of the most dangerous cities in the US.  The small town of Danville seemed like one of the safest places to be.  But after this past Sunday, I began to wonder if that was in fact true.

This past Monday morning I woke up to some extremely disturbing news from my husband.  He had just got word from his sister that a longtime friend and co-worker of his had gone missing.  Of course this news was most shocking, but the most shocking part of it all was the details which unfolded further.  She lived in Danville on a back road which is frequently traveled by people trying to avoid the busier main road traffic.  Not far from her home, her car was discovered still running with hazard lights on and she was nowhere in sight and her 2 year old son was still in the back seat! That last bit of information probably struck my heart the most.  That poor sweet little boy!  I'm not going to go into much more details but just say that she was later found Monday afternoon and it wasn't a good outcome.  You can read more about it here.

Now this is a horrible tragedy but the worst part is that this is someone I knew and that Andy was good friends with.  He had worked with her for about the past 12 years.  She was one of the sweetest people I had met here.  She has the most adorable little boy, Ty, which she loved more than anything.  Such a generous person she had been giving us toys, dvds, and clothes for Noah that were passed down from Ty.  It's just such a shame that something this horrible had to happen to someone with such a big heart.  She and her son definitely didn't deserve this.

These past few days I've been extremely sad and emotional but also scared to be home by myself wondering...was it something done to her for a reason or just a random thing?  Will they strike again?  Am I safe?  It's a very scarey thing!  I can't even begin to explain how horrible it's been to see so many people I know just completely heartbroken about this!

Now you're probably wondering what the positive is that has come out of this.  Well it's not much but the police have finally found 2 people, a husband and wife, and arrested them.  I know that one thing that I and everyone else around here want is for whoever did this to be found and caught.  So since that's happened, it's at least a step in the right direction and might ease my mind about being home alone slightly.  Well...maybe... 

You can also check here for more on the arrests.

I just ask if you can please keep everyone involved and the town of Danville in your thoughts and prayers!

March 26, 2012

Our First Home

I was going through files on my computer and came across pictures from our first apartment.  It hasn't been that long, about 3 years, since we lived there.  But looking at these pictures and thinking of everything that has happened since then, I got my first professional job, we got married, and then had a baby.

It definitely wasn't a big place and I wasn't able to put holes in the wall to hang stuff up.  So most of the things I did get up on the wall were on command hooks.  It had 2 bedrooms and neither one of them had windows because half of the apartment was underground.  One didn't even have a closet and ended up being used as a storage area.  We were also up a very steep winding hill.  And when you live in Danville, VT that means it will be near impossible to get up once the snow starts to fall.

But we LOVED this place!

Andy and I use to live in 2 completely different states miles and miles away from each other.  Most of our dates and time together were done by phone calls or skyping on the computer.  Once in a while we would be able to come visit each other.  Until we had to do the most dreaded goodbye until the next time we would see each other .  It was tough!


But eventually Andy got a temporary job in Ohio so he could come be with me while I finished school.  As soon as I was done, we started our plans for moving up to Vermont.  Right before we left Ohio is when Andy proposed to me.  We stayed with his sister until I found a job and we could get a place of our own.  And when we did, it felt like a HUGE accomplishment.  Many thought we would never last because of the distance, but we proved them wrong.  So this is the place I say we really started our life together.

March 23, 2012

A Primitive Place "Just Because" Giveaway!

Tammy over at A Primitive Place has an absolutely adorable "Just Because" giveaway.  This is for this primitive rag doll handmade by her!  Check out her giveaway here!

March 22, 2012

Chair Tastic Find and Negotiating!

It's definitely been a busy busy week for me and it isn't slowing yet.  Tomorrow will also be jam packed and then it's the weekend. Yay!  That's why today I decided to take a nice breather at lunch and catch some good old vitamin D while strolling to the local thrift store.  The last time I was there I spotted this chair and had that huge inclination that I just HAD to have it.  It was originally marked for 20 bucks and since that day I didn't have any cash on hand and the store didn't take a debit card, I decided that it just wasn't something I needed after all.  Well today as I approached the store what did I see outside just waiting for me?  Yes that wonderful chair!   

When I walked up I saw that it still had the 20 dollar price tag.  Not that 20 dollars would break the bank or anything.  I just knew I could get it cheaper by just negotiating with the guy.  I, however, am not a good negotiator.  If someone is asking 30 bucks for something and I offer 15, I'd usually probably end up paying 40 after all the negotiating.  That's how bad I am.  Since I knew I could get this cheaper, I decided that now was the time to practice.  When the owner of the store asked if he could help me, I reponded by asking if he would take 10 dollars for that old blue chipped painted chair outside.  Trying to make it sound like it was really just a crappy old chair but secretly dying to take it home.  He didn't remember off hand which chair it was so he went outside to look and quickly said, "Sure!".  So I guess it wasn't really that good of practice since he probably would have taken even less for it.  I mean he didn't even remember having it.  I was just proud of myself for getting the courage to try negotiating.  Either way I was successful at getting this for half the asking price and I'm pretty happy.  I can't wait to put it in my dining room! 

March 20, 2012

Busy Busy Busy


Well it's only Tuesday and it's already a busy week for me.  So I may not have many posts this week but I will try to sneak one in when I do have a chance.  On a positive note, this past weekend and this week is suppose to be filled with such great weather, yay!  And on an even bigger positive, Noah finally rolled over from back to tummy last night and I caught it on video!  : )
Ok I need to get back to work, have a great day!

Hi Ho, Hi Ho, it's off to work I go!

March 17, 2012

In Need of Some Bay Window Advice!

First of all, Happy Saint Patty's Day to everyone from this Irish gal to you!

I'm currently in need of some advice and ideas.  I've always said I wanted a bay window and was so excited about having one in the bedroom and in the living room.  Now my problem is that I have absolutely no plan on how to decorate it/them.

This is the living room one and as you can see below, very boring!
Sorry for the poor lighting in these photos.  No matter what I did (flash, no flash, and automatic) they all came out pretty poor.



I've tried coming up with ideas by making a cover/case for the cushion that's there as well as just getting rid of the cushion all together.  I've also thought about getting big pillows but I'm just so unsure and indecisive.  I seem to currently be creatively dry :(

I haven't even begun to think about what to do in the bedroom yet, I first want the living room done.

Any ideas would be greatly appreciated! :)


March 15, 2012

It's Already Starting!

When I first got pregnant one of my rules was that Noah would not watch tv until at least 2 years of age.  I heard it's not good for their brain development or something, so I said not happening! 

As you can see that Noah has not only watched some tv from time to time, he just loves baby einstein and Sesame Street, but from this picture you can see that he's also helped daddy with some video games.  Definitely not the plan I had but when do plans ever follow through exactly how you expect?  I must add that this was not a violent game but this was taken close to 10pm.  Way past his bedtime!

Another Great Giveaway! - Rusty Thimble March Giveaway



Here' a chance for another great giveaway!

Enter to win this great prim rabbit here!

March 13, 2012

Nice Weather for a Nice Walk

Yesterday the weather got significantly warmer than it's been.  In fact all this week it's suppose to be warmer.  Even most of the snow is gone, at least until we get a March snow storm after this little hint of spring lol.  That's ok because I will enjoy the warmer weather when it comes.  Since yesterday was nice and we now have an extra hour of light, we took advantage of Andy's day off and went on a walk after I got home from work.  It was so nice to be able to walk outside and get some fresh air without wearing a winter coat and worrying about slipping on ice.  Noah also enjoyed his ride in the stroller.  I can see many of these walks in the future!

                              He tries to act like he hates it when mommy takes pictures of him.

                                     But sooner or later he gives in and cheeses for the camera!

 Andy and I on the other hand were trying to get a nice picture together.  We took probably 5 pictures and either Andy and I would complain about how we looked in it.  After the 5th picture and because we didn't want to waste anymore precious daylight we finally said, "This is the last one and we're keeping it no matter what!
I have no idea what happened to this picture to make our head and faces so distorted.  It's kinda creepy but I think I kinda like it!  I guess that's a lesson we learned from being so vain.  New rule, one picture and we keep it no matter what!


March 12, 2012

My Favorite Store

This weekend was such a great weekend.  Not only did I get to spend some time with the two main men in my life. We had such nice weather and I got to go to my FAVORITE store of all time.  I'm pretty sure that if I won the lottery a good chunk of cash would pass from my hands to theirs!

Noah had a blast too.  He kicked along in his stroller while smiling at everyone passing by and playing with his toys.  While daddy was off picking up stuff from his 2 favorite stores, fye and gamestop, Noah helped mommy pick out some goodies.

 I can seriously buy everything from here.  If I was significantly wealthy of course!  The little bit of time Andy was in the store with me I just kept saying, "We should get this hutch!" or "Wouldn't it be nice to have this dining room table?".  To that Andy responded "We just bought one.".  Plus I guess our small suzuki wasn't going to fit any furniture in it along with us and Noah.  Oh well it just make it more necessary for another shopping trip! ; )

I'm still super happy with the things I did end up bringing home!

March 9, 2012

My Questionable Experience

Photo completely unrelated but added for the sake of having a picture.  Here Noah is questioning my sanity as I'm singing and dancing for him in the hopes of making him smile.  You can see how productive I was with that!

I almost titled this post, "The Ghost That Intrigued Me", which I finally decided against as that would make it sound to cheesy and "unreal".  This is in no way and will never be a paranormal or a ghost hunting blog.  More of a blog about me, my life, and the things I like and care about.  This happens to include the paranormal and ghost hunting.

This particular experience of mine is the one that initiated my love for all things paranormal, spooky, and unknown.  I was between ages 8 and 10.  At some close friends house a tragic event happened to their brother.  I'm not going to go into too much detail for the sake of the family's privacy.  Not that no one knows about it because that's not true.  I'm just sure they wouldn't want someone like me talking about it in detail on a blog. 
Anyhow, after this thing happened my friends told me of some strange things happening at their house shortly after.  Tires which were being bought during the time of this particular event all of a sudden went flat, lights flickered, noises were being heard, etc.  My friends always said it was their brother watching over the family.  At my age I didn't think too much about those kinds of things.  I guess it was too much for my little brain to handle and I defnitely didn't believe in ghosts in any way shape or form.  One night I was spending the night when everything that I had believed full heartedly started to in a way disintegrate.  I wasn't so sure of some things. 
My friends and I had a little slumber party in the living room.  I have to mention that their mom was also there and slept on the couch.  She slept there every night particularly because of the incident with her son.  Again not too many details.  Sometime in the middle of the night I woke up while everyone was asleep.  I usually did this when staying somewhere other than home.  I sat up and immediately looked around to see if anyone else was awake but they weren't.  The girls were past out next to me and their mom was still on the couch.  I was about to lay back down to go back to sleep when something caught my eye.  I saw a shadowy figure of a fairly tall male form.  This is especially weird since the room was dark to begin with but this seemed completely void of light.  I just starred and assumed it was my friends' dad and went right back to sleep.  Since I found it weird that their dad was starring at everyone in the middle of the night and didn't say anything to me while I sat up and starred at him, I mentioned it to the girls. 

Me: "I woke up last night and your dad was standing in the doorway just looking at everyone and didn't say anything to me."

Friends: "You saw our dad in the middle of the night?"

Me: "Yes"

Friends: "But he's never home at night because he works midnights."

This naturally was confusing to me but I at first didn't think much about it.  Until I heard them and their mom say not to worry, it was just their brother watching over us.
From then on I have always wondered what actually happened.  Could I have been dreaming? Maybe.  Was I hallucinating? I guess so but I don't think so.  Could someone have broken into the house while we were sleeping?  Goodness I hope not but I guess that's also a possibility.  Was it a ghost of their brother?  I now can't even rule that out!
Since then, especially since I started ghost hunting I've had very questionable things happen to me.  Voices that weren't heard by anyone while we investigated but suddenly appeared when played back on a voice recorder, flashlights turning on and off on their own, and even quarters that enjoyed jumping off the kitchen counter.  All events along with my very first experience make me question and search for that possibility of someone who was once a living human being coming back to watch over their loved ones.  I wish I could go back to relive that experience.  I would say something or even get up and walk towards it.  That's impossible to do.  So for now all I have are my many nightly adventures to search for some truth.

And before anyone questions, yes I am a christian and believe in God.  It's just one of those things I try to understand.  But maybe it's not meant to be understood.

March 6, 2012

Why I Fell In Love With Vermont

I just love living in the mountains!  When I was younger I would have never thought I'd be here and enjoy it.  It was always in my plans to live down south in the warm and close to the beach.  And at times, like now when it's snowy and cold, I still think of how nice it would be.

However, there is nothing like driving by this view every morning.  Even when I'm cursing that winter is still here and spring has yet to arrive, this cheers me up!

March 3, 2012

Baby When the Lights Go Out!


One of my favorite things is when the power goes out and I have to light candles all over the house.  I know that might sound strange.  Maybe it's the same thing that causes me to enjoy bumping around in the dark looking for ghosts.  Something about creepy darkness and candle light that gets my adrenaline going!  All of Danville lost power for about an hour or so and I lit a bunch of candles and made the house look like a seance was about to happen lol.  Too bad the power is back on but I did enjoy my hour of creepiness!

Home Tour : Kichen

Here's the kitchen.  This was probably the first room completely unpacked and done but I've just been waiting to take pics until it was clean and not filled with dirty dishes.


This house as built in the late 1800s and was recently completely remodeled.  This is the original sink and I just LOVE it! 






March 1, 2012

A Big Lesson from Such a Big Tragedy


Just about an hour away from my hometown a tragedy struck a high school in Chardon, OH this past Monday.  Three innocent kids died from a school shooting while 2 other were seriously injured. I guess realizing that this happened so close to where I grew up, really hit me hard.  Plus it's also a town that I went to for church camp when I was younger. The tragedy of a school shooting, I feel, hits everyone hard.  It's the place you expect to see your kids safe and to get an education.  Just thinking of my little boy who is at home and safe now really gets me thinking about how difficult it will be for me to let him go to school for the first time.  I've even questioned about home schooling.  I know, however, that eventually when he's an adult I will have to cut the strings and let him make his own choices and his own way in life.  It just saddens me to think that tragedies like this can happen at such a seemingly innocent place.  Not just here, there's also the Kent State shooting, Virginia Tech, of course the Columbine shootings, and more. 

Today I was reading an article and in it the mother of one of the victims made statements that really hit home with me.  She actually FORGIVES this troubled person who felt the need to create these tragedies.  When asked what she would say to the kid who committed these murders she stated, "I would tell him I forgive him because, a lot of times, they don't know what they're doing. That's all I'd say.".  She continued, "I taught Demetrius not to live in the past, to live in today and forgiveness is divine. You have to forgive everything. God's grace is new each and every day," she said. "Until you've walked in another person's shoes, you don't know what made him come to this point."   It's just amazing to me that someone who lost someone so close and special to her can actually say she forgives.  Not that I don't think she should because I definitely agree that God wants everyone to forgive everyone no matter what.  It's just it seems easy to say that you would but when and if something this extreme happens, how will it really be?  I know for me it would be near impossible.  At least at first.  I mean to be honest, it's hard not to get angry and upset over the person who cut you off on the road, or the cook who forgot to cook your food all the way through.  Even more, I think of how many times I get angry at family and/or friends.  I've gone days without speaking to some because of something they did or said that upset me.  I eventually forgive, but even then it sometimes takes me a couple days.  I can't imagine how I would feel under these circumstances. 

After reading this, it made me take a good hard look at how my outlook on life has been.  I need to focus my life on those that matter most and forgive as often as the lord would.  I know being human and sinner such as myself that it will not always be easy, but I will definitely try.  After all everything is in God's hands.  I may not always understand or agree with what happens, but I need to trust God.  I also need to try my hardest to live the way our Lord would.  Which means to forgive even when it seems like the last reasonable thing to do.

Thoughts and prayers go out to all those affected by the Chardon shooting.

You can read about the article I referenced here