Lots of updates...

First off, happy birthday to my wonderful Dad!! He is 64 today, but he certainly doesn't look it! I'm very lucky to have such a great dad :)

Way back when :)

Dad and me on Father's Day this year

Travis and I are planning to head to Trussville this weekend to celebrate my dad's birthday a little late!

Mom update: Mom had her port put in yesterday, and she's doing pretty good. She said this surgery has been more painful than the last one (which was kind of surprising), but apparently they had a difficult time getting the port in place. Hopefully the pain will start going away pretty soon. She also had an echo-cardiogram done today. Her first chemo treatment is this coming Monday, so this time next week, she'll have 1 out of 8 behind her!

House update: We actually stayed at home the past THREE weekends, which I'm gonna say is definitely a record. It's amazing how much more we get done when we actually spend a little time here! A few weeks ago on a Wednesday night, we had a pretty good storm come through with a lot of wind and lightning. The next day, we looked outside in our backyard and saw this:

Uh oh!

Now, a lot of the other sections of our fence had been leaning since the April storms, but this was the first piece to actually fall completely apart. So we spent several hours one Saturday screwing the fence back together in all of the loose places. It looks much better now! 

Last weekend, we hung pictures in our bathroom and some in the guest bedroom. This was the first time we'd hung any pictures since the end of May, and I'd forgotten how much "fun" we always have! Needless to say, it's not a quick task, but it always looks good in the end! 

The only things still missing are blinds and curtains!

Pictures!

Other side of the vanity

 

I love this picture above the bed!

Cute picture frame hanging in the guest bedroom

I went to Nadeau over on Whitesburg Drive for the first time today, and it is the neatest store! I was looking for some furniture for the guest bedroom since the only thing in there is the bed and a small bookshelf. I found a nightstand that I really liked that would match the picture above the bed really well. I may go back and get it later this week or next week. Hopefully it will still be there.

Love it!

One room still in need of major work is the study/guest bedroom #2. Before the lingerie shower, I stuffed everything in the closet to make it look better, but we pulled everything back out this weekend to try to get it organized. There's still a long way to go. Once we can actually walk in there again, we'll hang pictures up too. Those Daniel Moore prints have spent too long in the closet!

Yikes!

Double yikes!

 
Probably about the time we decide it's time to move, we'll have everything in its place! Isn't that the way it usually goes? :)

Well, that's all for now. Please keep praying for Mom, especially that she'll do well during her first round of chemo. Thanks for your prayers so far!!!!

The last week in pictures

Since the next week and a half is going to be ridiculously busy, I am going to make this post short and sweet. Nothing has broken since my last post, so yay for that! We've replaced the thermostat that was melting (long story there about what was wrong...), ordered a new garage door opener, hung a bunch of pictures in the house, and wired a sub-woofer into the surround sound that Travis got from his boss at work. I say "we"....mostly Travis has done all of that, with my moral support :)

Next weekend is Alisha's lingerie shower, so I've been trying to get the house in order and do last minute planning. Should be a lot of fun! Next week is also Matt and Maggie's wedding, so it's going to be a crazy time. If I survive until Sunday the 5th (which also happens to be Travis's birthday and another shower for Alisha), then I'll be doing good :)

So, here are some pictures of what we've been up to in the past week or so:

Friday night, we went to a high school graduation party for Aubrey and several others from Gooch Lane...

Yay Aubrey! So excited for you :)

 Saturday, we spent most of the day hanging pictures around the house. So far, the dining room, kitchen, and guest bathroom are pretty much completed. We've still got the other rooms to go...

My bargain find from Kirkland's...paid about $37 and it was originally $129.99!!

It's starting to look like a real dining room!

"Knick-knack" shelf and mirror

Better shot of the mirror...which goes with the china cabinet perfectly!

 

Leaf picture in the kitchen

"Coffee" pictures that I got for about $6 each at Kirkland's!

ignore the messy counter :)

Another shot of the kitchen

Sunday night, we ate supper with some of our long lost friends at Ruby Tuesday :)

The almost married couple

The 2+ years married couple

The goofy couple

The normal couple :)

We had a great time! Then, Monday it was time to celebrate Emily's high school graduation!!!

Walking across the stage...in high heels! :)

Congratulations, Emily!!!

The whole fam

Somewhere in the middle that busy day, we also found time to buy a table at Encore Furniture to go in our foyer. I am so excited about it...it was in great condition, so I think we got a great deal! 
We've still got to hang a mirror above the table, so I may rearrange the stuff on it, but this is the way I put it for now...

Yay!!!

So excited!

Well, I think that's about it for this update. Once we get the rest of the artwork hung on the walls, I'll post more pictures. Eventually, we'll hang curtains too, but that may be a while :)

Hope you are having a great week!

Living in a Mess!

Well, we really haven't made much progress on unpacking since my last post. We got the TV/entertainment center set up on Friday night--which is a several hour project b/c of the surround sound and all the cables--but other than that, things look about the same around here. Travis has been slowly getting his study organized, but it's still got a way to go. 

There have been a couple of reasons for our lack of productivity:

1.   Saturday, we spent all afternoon running errands (and spending too much money!). We went to Kohl's, DSW, Target, Men's Wearhouse, and Encore Furniture. By the time we got home, we were both tired! So, we ended up watching the A-Day game and lazing around on the couch that night. 
2. Sunday night, Travis left for Nashville and was gone until Tuesday night. And it's hard to start unpacking and putting stuff away without his input on where it all should go. Of course, the kitchen is finished, and the bedroom mostly is, but a lot of the stuff that hasn't been unpacked yet is mostly "junk", and I'm not sure where it needs to go (probably in the trash!). 

Here are a few more "before" and "after" pictures. As we become more organized, I'll post updated pictures...

Dining room "before"

Dining room "after"

Living room "before"

Living room "after"...the color is different, although you may not be able to tell from this picture. Excuse the mess! :)

Travis's favorite purchase so far...our comfortable couches and recliner!

Guest bedroom "before"

Guest bedroom "after"...still a work in progress!

Guest bathroom "before"

Guest bathroom "after"

Master bedroom "before"

Master bedroom "after"...ignore our "beach towel" privacy curtain :)

The study is not picture worthy yet, so I'll have to show you that later. It's the same color (taupe) as the guest bedroom, so there's not much to show. 

My big exciting find this week was a china cabinet! I wasn't dead set on buying one this soon, but I found one at Encore Furniture Saturday night that I really liked. It's not new, but it's new to me, and it's in pretty good shape. Here's a (bad-quality) picture of it in the store:

Yay!!

It has lights, which is one thing I really wanted, and I love how it has glass doors on the bottom as well as the top. From looking at a lot of different china cabinets online, it seems to be a pretty unique one. I'm excited! We're planning to put new handles/hinges on the doors and possibly new lights depending on if/how well they work. Should be a fun project!

Update: They just delivered it a few minutes ago, and I love it even more here than I did at the store. It's a good bit darker than I thought it was, so it's actually darker than my table. (I thought it was going to be lighter). Here's what it looks like in the dining room:

Here's my china...still in the box after 3+ years...but not for long!!

Another new development in my life is that I'm planning to run the Cotton Row 10K with Mollie on Memorial Day. I'm excited and scared at the same time. I'm definitely not in the shape I used to be in, but I hope I'll still be able to finish. That's 6.2 miles, and apparently there's a pretty big hill around mile 3 or 4. I've run plenty of 5Ks in the past, but a 10K will be a new challenge! I've been trying to run about 2-4 miles several times a week for the past couple of week, so maybe by the end of May I'll be up for it! :)

Travis had a good trip to Nashville for "Quad A" or "AAAA"--not sure which way it's supposed to be written...haha. That stands for Army Aviation Association of America, and they had a big expo at the Opryland Hotel for companies that work on army aviation to network and meet with each other. He came home with a few freebies and got to "sleep in" for a couple of mornings...they didn't get started until 10 or 11 AM either day! This is also his week to have Friday off, so he really only had yesterday and today as "real" work days. 

Well, I've got to get busy. I'm making this dessert for my "birthday buddy" at work to take tomorrow, and before long, it will be supper time. Gotta run! 

Hope you are having a fabulous week and staying dry in all this rain! :)

Making Progress

The painting has begun! We started last Friday with the master bedroom, and it's pretty much finished. We may need to roll it again (at least in a few spots) to make sure it covered well, but I definitely love the color!!! It's a really pretty caramel color called Butte Rock. It's darker on the walls than in that sample picture, but it's just a very warm, inviting color. Definitely beats the pale blue color that WAS on the walls...


We also got started painting the master bathroom last weekend. It will need to be rolled a second time, but I already love love love the color (Adobe Beige). It's hard to tell from looking online, but it's basically a lighter shade on the same strip as the paint in the bedroom. It really looks great with the dark cabinets and the cream-colored tub and shower. I'm so excited!!


Next up, I think, will be the kitchen. It's going to be a really great shade of green that I found. I think it will look good with the floor and cabinet colors. 


La-Z-Boy is having a one day sale today on the living room furniture that we've picked out, so tonight, Travis and I are going to go up there and order it. We're going to get a 3-piece set (sofa, loveseat, and recliner). We measured our living room (even spread out sheets and towels in the floor in the size of the furniture pieces), and I think there's room for it all, so I hope it looks good and not too crowded. The furniture itself is really comfortable, so it'll be a nice upgrade from the old stuff we have now :)


Yesterday, I picked up my ring from Kay Jeweler's. I'd been without it for about 2 1/2 weeks! When I took it to have it inspected a few weeks ago, the girl told me that it needed to be re-rhodium plated. I had no clue what she was talking about! But, she held my ring up next to a ring in their display, and my ring (which is white gold) looked really yellow next to theirs. Apparently, all rings made of white gold are dipped in rhodium, another metal which is used to make the white gold look more white. Eventually, the rhodium wears away and you need to have your ring re-dipped in it. I asked the girl how often I need to do that, and she said that it really depends on your skin (I guess your body chemistry differs?). One website I read said that they recommend the re-rhodium plating every 12-18 months! I don't know why I'm just now figuring this out; after all, I've had a ring on my finger for 4 years now!! Actually, I've gotten my ring re-sized several times, and one of the prongs had to be tightened once, so I think they must have re-rhodium plated it every time, and I just didn't realize it (although I knew it came back looking great!). So, now my ring looks all white and sparkly again. I'm so glad Travis got the extended warranty on my ring though! Who knows how much money I would have had to pay every time I got it re-dipped or re-sized!?! 


Travis got back yesterday from a quick trip to Tuscaloosa. He went down there Tuesday afternoon with his boss, Danny. They spent the night Tuesday night in a hotel, and then they spoke to two freshman EE classes Wednesday morning about the PIF and the co-op program. Travis said it was a good trip. They ate at Chuck's Fish for supper Tuesday night. We never went there when we lived in Tuscaloosa, but he said it was really good. Breakfast Wednesday morning was at the Waysider (I'm jealous!). The presentations apparently went really well though--one of the ladies in the co-op office emailed Travis and Danny to thank them for coming and to tell them that they had kids lining up outside of the office after the presentation was over. I'm figuring that this won't be the last time Travis goes down there for something like this :)


Well, gotta get busy! Hope you're having a great week so far :)