I love shopping! For some reason, I hardly come home with anything for myself but I don't mind at all. I love going shopping then coming home and telling Russ and Mom about my great buys. Mom listens and Russ just says that's great. I would really like to be a personal shopper for people. At Christmas time I do all the shopping for my Grandma for my family, all the shopping for the gifts from Russ and I, and I assist my Mom with almost ALL her shopping for others. I love it! My new thing is to make packages. Instead of giving just one big gift, I like to do themes or a package of items then put it in a cute box, basket, or arrange it all cute. Lately, I have been doing this for Mom's clients. Her last one was a couple from UT so we did an orange and white basket...it turned out so cute! (I will have to get pictures from Mom)
Now that I am 90% healed and the weather is nice, I have been working in the yard a lot. We pulled up all the ivy in the front and side of the house, removed six trees, and planted some flowers. Dad built us a deck and our next project will be a stone patio off the deck in the yard. We looked at tons of different stones over the past year and we found the one we list. It was on sale at Lowe's last week for a $1 off so I went to order the stones then I found a coupon for 20% that stone. I ended up saving $500 for the stones for my back yard!! I have to say that's one heck of a deal!!!
Thursday, May 6, 2010
Don't Drink The Water
Everything happens in waves...you graduate with your friends, start new jobs, get married, buy houses, adopt pets, start a family, and the cycle goes on and on.
The past couple of years our summers were filled with wedding after wedding. Don't get me wrong, I love weddings! Its a great time to celebrate your friend's relationship with their significant other and a reunion for everyone. With weddings you have the dress fittings, bridal showers, bachelor/bacherlorette parties, Bridesmaids luncheons, rehearsal dinner, and the big day...countless activities and times with your friends.
The next wave was house buying, Russ and I participated in this wave as well in July 2008. You and your friends go from wedding talks to your latest home improvement project. Your shopping trips go from finding dresses to finding knick-knacks for the home and visits to Home Goods. I love this hobby, I like making a home reflect who we are and it gives me bonding time with my Dad.
After home buying, you now have a fenced backyard or the space to adopt a pet. We adopted Willie in January and now our lift revolved around taking him on walks, playing with him, talking to him like he is a child. My shopping trips still have the weekly trip to Home Goods but now I spend time in the pet aisle or swing by PetsMart on my way home! When you talk to your friends, every conversation has something about the pets in it!
The next phase includes children. If you all get married together usually this stage happens around the same time as well. No we are not pregnant but everyone else seems to be. In the past two weeks, I have found out that 5 people are pregnant and of those, 4 are at my work. We are starting to think there is something in the water at our work, so pre-packaged beverages it is! This wave will happen in the next couple of years with my friends and our conversations will be around getting the nursery ready, how to raise a kid, advice, buying baby things, etc... but for right now I will focus on getting my house 100% perfect and pretending Willie is my baby!
Tuesday, April 20, 2010
Never Too Late...
Forgot to post the Easter pictures, so here they are. We celebrated Easter with my parents. They joined us for service at our church followed by Easter Lunch at our house! It was a great day with the folks and Willie got lots of attention especially from his Granddad!
Spring Time!
Spring brings beautiful flowers, great weather, and happiness! My favorite time of the year is Fall with Spring being second! This year, the pollen has been full force so have we. With the beautiful weather, it allows for great days of working in the yard. Over the past week, we bagged 76 bags of leaves and ivy from the side yards of the house. If you have ever been to my house, the outside needs a lot of love and we finally have the time to get it the love it needs. With my surgery this past Fall, I could not do anything in the yard and law school consumed all of Russ' time so an already overgrown yard over grew even more! Dad has come over to assist us in the ivy removal process, he cleared/pulled up all the ivy on the side of the house with the bedrooms. This was a complete jungle. We then proceeded to the front yard and pulled all the ivy on the side of the house and trimmed all the trees, we can actually talk to our neighbors and see them! For a while, I was feeling like Home Improvement's neighbor Wilson where you could only see the top of their faces. Also, when you drive down the street you can see the side of the house!!! I had no idea, we had so much yard. Almost a year ago we had a side driveway poured on the side of the house. This literally was a jungle, over grown trees (bushes), ivy everywhere, you could not see the side of the house nor our neighbors. The driveway helped clear some of it but this past weekend we completely removed all the ivy and bushes, I saw sunlight coming down!!
We also had some trees removed last week, we had those darn sweet gum trees. These trees are not good for anything but being a pain in the butt. Willie loved to chew on the sweet gum balls but I don't think that was ideal for him. They hurt to walk on, you could hardly rake them, basically they are pointless and useless. When Russ mows the yard, I can't be in the back since one time he hit one with the mower and it nailed me in the chest. Needless to say, we quickly got those removed this past week. They came and removed three sweet gums, one pine, and what we thought was a tree but they said it was an overgrown bush! We now have sunlight in our backyard, extra yard on the side of the house, and a nice driveway on the other side. Our next step is to build a deck/patio complete with a firepit, paint the house (brick included), and build a shed! We have our work cut out for us the next couple of months!
Oh yes, I can't forget my Mom's help. She came over and helped me plant flowers in my pots for the front of the house while I prepared the white benches Russ' Grandfather gave us. What used to be somewhat white and rust are now pure white and sparkling! I never thought I say this, but I really do like working in the yard, you see results instantly!!!
You can see the neighbor's house now!
We also had some trees removed last week, we had those darn sweet gum trees. These trees are not good for anything but being a pain in the butt. Willie loved to chew on the sweet gum balls but I don't think that was ideal for him. They hurt to walk on, you could hardly rake them, basically they are pointless and useless. When Russ mows the yard, I can't be in the back since one time he hit one with the mower and it nailed me in the chest. Needless to say, we quickly got those removed this past week. They came and removed three sweet gums, one pine, and what we thought was a tree but they said it was an overgrown bush! We now have sunlight in our backyard, extra yard on the side of the house, and a nice driveway on the other side. Our next step is to build a deck/patio complete with a firepit, paint the house (brick included), and build a shed! We have our work cut out for us the next couple of months!
Russ taking a picture of the house that we are going to paint our house after.
Oh yes, I can't forget my Mom's help. She came over and helped me plant flowers in my pots for the front of the house while I prepared the white benches Russ' Grandfather gave us. What used to be somewhat white and rust are now pure white and sparkling! I never thought I say this, but I really do like working in the yard, you see results instantly!!!
Benches Before and After
Sunday, April 18, 2010
Westerly Platinum
One of the great things about getting married is all the gifts people shower you with as their sign of love and excitement about your marriage. It is probably one of the few times in your life you will get to replace all your old cheap stuff with nice matching things! Russ and I both had just graduated from college when we got married, so we had cheap stuff or nothing at all. In today's marriages, not very many people register for formal china. There is nothing wrong if you do or don't do it, it is simply up to the couple.
I grew up where we ate on the nice china for all the major holidays (Thanksgiving, Christmas, and Easter). We would have over 25 people at Christmas and still had to eat on the china, paper plates were not allowed. My Granny had three different sets, my mom had two sets, my Grandmother had a set, and everyone I knew in the family had their own set. When Granny passed away, my Mom got a lot of my Granny's china and crystal. I think that's where I got my love for china and crystal from. Now, I am not as big of a fan of silver like Mom and Granny since you have to polish it all the time. My favorite is crystal, it can be used for all kinds of things.
When it came time to register, I had to make an important decision, what kind of formal china was I going to register for. I knew this would take me a while, as I wanted something that said my style and hopefully would not go out of style in 30 years. After looking at over 50 different of patterns, I had it narrowed down to three. All were with with some type of silver on them. I brought Russ along to help me make the final decision, he knocked out one right away saying it was too girly so we were down to two. He could not make a decision, we thought about price and we finally decided on one and called in the expert to approve our final decision...Jacki aka Mom! She agreed with our decision, so we knew we were good to go. Lenox Westerly Platinum it is! Then it was on to the stemware (Lenox Firelight), this was not a hard choice at all and it matched our china! Plus it coordinates with Mom's in case I inherit hers :)
A lot of people, could not believe we were registering for formal china, but it was something I wanted. I wanted a set that I could use for the big meals with the family later down the line. We may only use it a couple of times a year but it will hopefully create memories for our kids as well. Also, it will provide as nice dishes for dinner parties when all the attornies in town (haha).
Well, it has been two and a half years and the china has patiently sat in storage containers in the laundry room and it got its first debut on Easter! Since Mom and Dad come to church with us on Easter, I thought I would host Easter lunch this year. That meant, I provided the meal and all the tableware! I was so excited, I pulled out all the dishes, matching serving pieces, cleaned the sterling silverware that was Russ' Grandmothers and cleaned it, and completed the table with the new white placemats. We took the table from casual to formal just like that (excuse the paper napkins, we realized we didn't have cloth ones just before lunch)! Not only did we have a great meal and company but it was nice using all the wonderful wedding gifts and saying do you remember who gave us this.
I grew up where we ate on the nice china for all the major holidays (Thanksgiving, Christmas, and Easter). We would have over 25 people at Christmas and still had to eat on the china, paper plates were not allowed. My Granny had three different sets, my mom had two sets, my Grandmother had a set, and everyone I knew in the family had their own set. When Granny passed away, my Mom got a lot of my Granny's china and crystal. I think that's where I got my love for china and crystal from. Now, I am not as big of a fan of silver like Mom and Granny since you have to polish it all the time. My favorite is crystal, it can be used for all kinds of things.
When it came time to register, I had to make an important decision, what kind of formal china was I going to register for. I knew this would take me a while, as I wanted something that said my style and hopefully would not go out of style in 30 years. After looking at over 50 different of patterns, I had it narrowed down to three. All were with with some type of silver on them. I brought Russ along to help me make the final decision, he knocked out one right away saying it was too girly so we were down to two. He could not make a decision, we thought about price and we finally decided on one and called in the expert to approve our final decision...Jacki aka Mom! She agreed with our decision, so we knew we were good to go. Lenox Westerly Platinum it is! Then it was on to the stemware (Lenox Firelight), this was not a hard choice at all and it matched our china! Plus it coordinates with Mom's in case I inherit hers :)
A lot of people, could not believe we were registering for formal china, but it was something I wanted. I wanted a set that I could use for the big meals with the family later down the line. We may only use it a couple of times a year but it will hopefully create memories for our kids as well. Also, it will provide as nice dishes for dinner parties when all the attornies in town (haha).
Well, it has been two and a half years and the china has patiently sat in storage containers in the laundry room and it got its first debut on Easter! Since Mom and Dad come to church with us on Easter, I thought I would host Easter lunch this year. That meant, I provided the meal and all the tableware! I was so excited, I pulled out all the dishes, matching serving pieces, cleaned the sterling silverware that was Russ' Grandmothers and cleaned it, and completed the table with the new white placemats. We took the table from casual to formal just like that (excuse the paper napkins, we realized we didn't have cloth ones just before lunch)! Not only did we have a great meal and company but it was nice using all the wonderful wedding gifts and saying do you remember who gave us this.
Second Time is the Charm
Six months ago, I had to have surgery on a cyst in my lower back. Well, after five months of trying to get it to heal the doctor decided it was best to do the surgery again since nothing was working to get it to heal. I was not happy with the news but the doctor knows best. I had surgery again in early March, well five weeks later...I AM HEALED! I had a doctor's appointment on Thursday, April 15th (exactly six months from my first surgery), and the doctor said the magic words "Well you know where to find me if you need me, but I hope I don't have to see you again. You are healed!" I was so excited, I called Mom and Russ and sent messages to friends.
I can finally sit in a chair without hurting, lay on the couch, sleep on my back, and bend! Now it only took 6 months, 2 surgeries, over 550 badges, 6 rolls of tape, countless doctor visits, and tons of money, but I am HEALED!
To celebrate being healed, I worked in my yard the past two weekends none stop. I have not been able to do yard work since my first surgery and boy did it feel good to be out there again. Now I can go on walks with Russ and Willie!
I can finally sit in a chair without hurting, lay on the couch, sleep on my back, and bend! Now it only took 6 months, 2 surgeries, over 550 badges, 6 rolls of tape, countless doctor visits, and tons of money, but I am HEALED!
To celebrate being healed, I worked in my yard the past two weekends none stop. I have not been able to do yard work since my first surgery and boy did it feel good to be out there again. Now I can go on walks with Russ and Willie!
I'm a slacker!
I know, I know, it has been way too long since I have blogged. I think about doing it everyday but when I sit down to write I think of 100 other things to do instead or I will forget what to blog about. When I take a shower I often write my blog in my head, then I go to blog and the words do not come to me anymore. I know, none of these are good excuses but I promise to try harder.
Let's see where did I leave off....
Our new addition to the family has been the center of our lives (I know you all are thinking, that's no surprise). Willie has doubled in size since we got him three months ago, don't worry he is still cute! Right now, he is teething so he is chewing everything in site, including our wall! That's right, he decided to chew the sheet rock and window seal. We try to keep him occupied with toys to prevent that. He has also gone through two beds already and his current one does not have the stuffing in it since he decided to pull all of that out for us. Other than that, he is a great dog! Willie is crate trained, loves the backyard (including digging tons of holes), and tells us when he needs to go outside.
We have also taken him on a road trip to visit Russ' family in Hendersonville. Neither one of us knew really what to do with a dog in the car, so we fed him, packed all his toys, and crate and headed to Tennessee. Within the first ten miles, Willie threw up twice! So he sat in my lap the rest of the trip. He had a great time getting LOTS of attention and scaring Boomer. A couple of weekends later he went to spend the weekend with his Grandparents' House. He had a great time playing with Dad (especially licking his ears) and leaving surprised on Mom's rug since he decided that if he doesn't have ivy he won't go to the bathroom. They still enjoyed his company though! Mom even calls and asks about Willie, so you know she really likes him!
I guess that is enough about the dog! Like I said he is the center of our lives, and brings such joy to all of us when he is behaving :)
Let's see where did I leave off....
We have also taken him on a road trip to visit Russ' family in Hendersonville. Neither one of us knew really what to do with a dog in the car, so we fed him, packed all his toys, and crate and headed to Tennessee. Within the first ten miles, Willie threw up twice! So he sat in my lap the rest of the trip. He had a great time getting LOTS of attention and scaring Boomer. A couple of weekends later he went to spend the weekend with his Grandparents' House. He had a great time playing with Dad (especially licking his ears) and leaving surprised on Mom's rug since he decided that if he doesn't have ivy he won't go to the bathroom. They still enjoyed his company though! Mom even calls and asks about Willie, so you know she really likes him!
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