it was a month before the day after christmas...

I don't consider myself a very materialistic, extravagant, or even unreasonable person, but tonight I had a bit of a wakeup call when reflecting back on my day.

My Saturday morning began early because I had to be up to welcome the furnace cleaning professionals who were coming to clean the furnace and ducting of our NEW HOUSE. I got one heck of a deal for this service through the GROUPON app on my iPHONE. The guys were incredible and delivered service with a smile - the house just got a little cold because our FRONT DOOR was open.

Mr. Hall and I then decided to find the 'perfect' RUG for our living room. We began our hunt at Home Depot but were disappointed when the colours of the rug didn't match those of the images on my MACBOOK. We continued on our hunt, but not before stopping at Tim's and complaining about the number of VEHICLES in the drive-thru. Here we picked up our favourite HOLIDAY FLAVOURED BEVERAGE - and then we were on our way to IKEA. 

At IKEA we continued in search of the 'perfect' RUG. We ended up finding one that we thought would work - while also picking up a few other ESSENTIALS (yeah, right...). We drove home and parked our CAR in the GARAGE and unloaded our PARCELS. We soon found our that the RUG didn't work. It wasn't large enough for our LIVING ROOM - despite the colour being 'perfect'. 

Before heading to my hair appointment, Mr. Hall and I made LUNCH. We complained that we had to eat LEFTOVERS again - so much BEEF this week. But shortly after, I was off in our CAR again.

When my HAIR hadn't turned out as well as I had hoped, I decided to head out in the search of more Christmas decorations. I spent over 3 hours looking for the perfect shades of DECORATIONS in blues, pinks, purples, greens, oranges, and reds. Then I came home and decorated our lit CHRISTMAS TREE. I was, again, disappointed in my CHOICES. I had purchased too many ITEMS of the same shape and size.

I was soon getting frustrated and disappointed that the Christmas tree hadn't turned out the way I had hoped - I was even starting to resent that I had to put it up this weekend so it would be up when we got back from MEXICO.

That's when it hit me. I had spent the whole day complaining about small, insignificant details. Beyond insignificant these details weren't even necessary! 

I had complained about having to get up early for the furnace cleaners, so that my house (which I am so lucky to have) stays warm this winter. I have SHELTER AND HEAT! I had been disappointed that my technology (which I am so lucky to have) was not up-to-par with reality. I had complained that there were too many people in the drive-thru and that getting my coffee (which I was so lucky to have) took "too long". I had complained about the rug that we didn't really NEED. I had complained about lunch because I had to eat the same thing more than once in a week. We should be so lucky to have FOOD. I complained when my hair wasn't as great as I wanted it to be. I frustrated myself looking for the perfect shade of pink?!? I had resented that I had to set the tree up early because I SAID SO (because I was going on vacation) - because I felt the pressure to have everything PERFECT for CHRISTMAS.

LIKE REALLY?!?! WOW!?!

When did I become this person? When did stuff like this consume my mind, life, energy, spirit so much that I had to slap myself in the face and give myself a wake-up call.

I'm not really proud of the way I acted today. My thoughts, my words, my actions. I am a better person than who I was today. 

The reason I shared this is I just thought that some of you, too, might have been having a day similar to mine. Looking for the perfect present, the perfect holiday outfit for your Christmas, your perfect recipe for a party, or something of the like. I know that tonight I am going to spend some time being truly grateful for the life I have - including the parts I've created, the parts I've been given, the parts I've yet to create, and the parts that I have yet to give.

Our first Christmas tree in our (warm) house.

In a month, so much of this won't even matter - so remember what does.

how clear is your mirror?

So far our bathroom has been the main source of "homeowner repair."


Soon after we moved in we realized that our main bathroom toilet was perpetually running water. Regardless that a few of our family handymen checked it out we couldn't find a long-standing solution - so Mr. Hall and I decided we needed to replace our toilet.


Now, we definitely have a few plumbers in our family that would have been able to do the job for us - but it was my dad that came to the rescue the fastest. He and Mr. Hall headed to one of our local hardware shops and picked up a new high efficiency toilet. It was Dad's first toilet insulation too, but he did great! Dad and I were especially surprised at the speed of the water exchange from the bowl - super fast!


Now, this was an early and rather unexpected expense that we didn't foresee, but my mom assured me that replacing the toilet would helped with our water consumption - effectively lowering our water expenses. I decided to check out some stats on water conservation. According to this site, "replacing an 18-litre-per-flush toilet with an ultra-low-volume (ULV) six-litre flush model represents a 66 percent savings in water flushed and will cut indoor water use by about 30 percent." Pretty incredible!


To top these savings, the best part is that Strathcona County provides a $50 rebate for residents who purchase low-flush toilets - check out more about this here! Helping the environment is always great - and hey, the rebate helped us purchase other items for our house! Yay for savings! Check out your local city or county for possible rebates in your area.


The second repair that we embarked on with our bathroom was replacing the bathroom fan. Again, shortly after we moved in we realized that the bathroom fan just wasn't going to cut it. Once we removed the fan's grill we realized that the bathroom fan was probably original to the house. The fan rotated at about 50 turns per minute and sounded like a 747 taking off the tarmac - it was rather pathetic (I really wish I had thought to take a video of it to show you all). Now, I know that this wasn't something that was considered "urgent", but having lived in a couple apartments where the bathroom fan was a little less than functional, and seeing the consequences, I told Mr. Hall that this was a priority.


Now, I said that "we embarked" on replacing the bathroom fan, but really, it was almost entirely Mr. Hall. I have to take some time and really brag about my husband here. Now, anyone who knows Mr. Hall knows he's one smart dude. He also possesses brute-like strength.  And who can deny his heart of gold. I guess you could say he's kind of like a bull in a china shop - but a bull whose delivered the tea to the china shop and can tell you interesting facts about the Boston Tea Party, and even share in a little family story about the origins of "silver tea." Yep, I "heart" Mr. Hall.


So while I've know for years many of his trademark qualities, I've come to learn a few new things about this husband of mine. For one, he's a pretty independent guy. Last weekend, when I was spending the day with my mom shopping, Mr. Hall decided that this was the day he was going to tackle the bathroom fan. On his own, he went and prepped the attic with planks to create a workspace. He turned of the power, disconnected the fan and ducting, and cut a larger hole in the ceiling for the newer fan. Then, he mounted the new ceiling fan, re-connected the electricity, and formed new ducting for the exhaust. We have a new bathroom fan! Who knew my husband was so "handy"!

Mr. Hall up in the attic! 

I'm so proud of him! I know that this may seem like a rather small feat for most people, maybe not even noteworthy, but for the both of us this is rather new terrain. It's great knowing that we're continuing to grow together.


So, I know this post has been a little less than interesting - but check out these before and afters!


Before my morning shower:

After my morning shower:

I have never in my life seen a bathroom mirror stay steam/ fog free after the course of a shower! 


Here is our old bathroom fan:

This is the bathroom fan that we purchased. I have to say I am very impressed with the quality of this fan considering the price we paid ($39.99). We used this guide when purchasing our bathroom fan and it seemed to work out for the best!


So our new high efficiency toilet has been saving us money on our water expenses and our new, quiet bathroom fan is keeping our bathroom moisture free! Not the most exciting purchases for our new home, but practical and efficient!