A Sneak Peek!

Obviously my posting has been sparse lately.  We have been quite busy around our house and were without a computer for a while which has made for less frequent blog time. 

But, as I mentioned things have been progressing on the home update front.  The trim is painted and we finally got some color up on the walls.  Here is a little sneak peek of the living room via pictures from my cell phone!



{excuse the mess....which translates to the mess is DRIVING ME CRAZY!!!!}



Both of these photos were taken at night so the color, which is Sherwin Williams Dovetail mixed up in Benjamin Moore paint, appears a bit dark.  I'm in love with the contrast between the walls and the trim!  Now if only we could find drapes so we do not feel like the nightly neighborhood entertainment...

Next up on the list is to paint the entryway and dining room.  We have extremely tall ceilings in the entryway so we are going to have to get creative when it comes to painting those walls.  We will also be installing our new wood floor next weekend, which will make a huge difference!  I get to finally say goodby the kitchen carpet and hello to the lovely, warm wood floor (and visible dust and crumbs...I know!!)!

We are still planning to paint the kitchen cabinets and get new countertops and a new backsplash but we need to save a little money before we start that project.  However, my father-in-law pointed out that once the new floor is installed next to the cabinets that the cabinet painting will be on the fast track because we are not going to like the way the cabinets look with the floor and he's probably right!

Fun Phone Photos

This is a picture of the the temperature around 4:00 p.m. yesterday afternoon.  Ughhh!!

Due to the extreme heat, I took the dogs on a ride in the car the other night rather than taking them for a walk and this is what Koby did the entire car ride.

 

Speaking of Boston Terriers, I got this super cute magnent in the mail the other day!  Natalie, you know me all too well!

I bought these flowers for myself last weekend.  I told Brandon they would cheer me up while he was away.   Aren't they neat?  I don't remember what they are called, but they were in the loose flower bunches at Dillons.  I love them!

If this isn't a pitiful, face I don't know what is.  He was begging to get on the (unmade) bed.



Fun Phone Photos - Vacay Edition

I'm still working on a full NYC vacation blog, but in the meantime here are a few fun photos from my phone:

• Here are Brandon and I at Top of the Rock, our first official NYC sight of the trip.  I had been to the top of the Empire State Building before, but never to the Top of the Rock. 

• Here is a view of Central Park from the Top of the Rock.  It was pretty neat to see the city from this vantage point at night.



 

• This is a picture of the intersection of Broome and Greene streets in SoHo.  Maks' dance studio is located at this intersection so I was going to tweet this picture to him (yes, I follow him on Twitter!) and say something cheesy, but then I chickened out because I felt like it would have been a tad stalker-ish.  I later realized he hadn't been tweeting the whole time we were in NYC so it wouldn't have made a difference anyway (see...stalker-ish!).

• And this, my friends, is a picture I snapped in the car after we picked up Koby from my parents.  I was trying to get him to come in the front seat with me (while Brandon drove) and he was having NOTHING to do with me!  Needless to say, he really enjoys his time in the "country".

Fun Phone Photos and Random Thoughts

 It's time for some fun phone photos and a few mid-week random thoughts:

• This is pretty much how I cook these days - accessing my favorite food blogs on the iPad (from work, not our own).  I wasn't making this particular recipe, but it I do love this site.

• We did a little shopping over the weekend and I came across this bracelet in Dillards.  I have been eyeing this type of bracelet for a while because it has a closure similar to a drawstring and it doesn't clank around when I'm on my computer, etc..  I think I've even heard them called the "No Man" bracelet because you don't need a man to get it on..ha ha!  Anyways, it is fun and it doesn't annoy me when I'm at work!

• And here is sweet Koby looking out the window as he watches his daddy hit practice golf balls without him.  Koby loves to chase the balls and bite at the end of Brandon's golf club, and as you can imagine, Brandon doesn't love the activity as much as the pup does.
  
  
• We had a going away party for two girls in our Bunco group on Monday.  Instead of playing Bunco, we had yummy finger sandwiches and cupcake fondue (such a fun idea) and played a charades game where we had to act out and describe famous people.  It was pretty entertaining!
  
  
• My weight loss is starting to plateau, which tells me it is time to step up the exercise...ugh!  I really do not enjoy exercising so it is hard to get myself motivated.  However, I do NOT want to gain the weight back so I'm pretty determined to get my hiney in gear!
  
• I've been missing Manhattan lately.  I tried talking Brandon into taking a day trip this past weekend but we obviously didn't go.  I know we visit Manhattan a lot in the fall because of football games, but we never spend very much time just hanging out at our favorite spots or enjoying the town we both love so much.  
  
  
  
  
  
  



Fun Phone Photos

It's time for a random post full of stupid pictures from my phone and iPod:

Late last week, our friendly duck couple showed up at the office.  These ducks come waddling around about this time every year.  They often stand guard at the doors leading into our lobby and quack at all of the guests who are attempting to enter the building.  I sort of felt like the duck papparazzi as I was trying to get a good picture of them.  They kept turning their backs to me and quacking something to themselves as they tried to get out of the way.  Now if only I could catch them taking the babies to the nearby river!!

 

You know what they say about the tube of toothpaste during pre-marital counseling, right?  Well, after four years and 11 months of marriage (technically yesterday), I still choose to not make the squeezing of the toothpaste tube a big deal.  I know of some couples who buy and use two completely different tubes of toothpaste in order to avoid an argument...YIKES!

 

 

 

This is where Koby decided to settle in for a movie the other night.  My mom always jokes that he finds the softest spot in the house to sleep and I must say, I can't argue with her.  But, he's so darn cute that it is hard to make him move!!

 

 

 

Quick Trip has finally decided to offer styrofoam cups as an alternative to their plastic cups.  This is a big deal because we have a QT that is just about three blocks from our office and we have a Sonic, which  also provides styrofoam cups, about two miles away.  I often find myself going to Sonic to take advantage of the foam cups because the drinks stay colder and don't get watered down like they do with the QT plastic cups.  Yes, the foam cups at QT cost more than the plastic cups, but I don't end up throwing away half of my drink.  Also, Sonic charges significantly more for their drinks (with the exception of Happy Hour) and with the cost of gas, my drive to QT will cost less than my drive to Sonic (Brandon you should appreciate my rationale here!).  So, next time you are in QT, thank the kind clerks for bringing foam cups to their store!

 

 



Weekend Wrap-Up and a Few Phone Pics

Before I get to our weekend happenings, I thought I would share a few random phone/iPod pics with you.  I've seen this feature on other blogs (and as you know, I like to steal ideas from other bloggers) so I thought I would start sharing, too.  It's a fun way to see what we've been up to during the week.

I had a minor operation about a week and half ago and received these beautiful flowers from my siblings and I just threw them out last night as the purple flowers were starting to shed. I couldn't believe how fresh-looking the stayed all this time!  Major props for Susan's Flowers here in town!

While perusing Target this weekend, I saw this fun patio bistro set that I think belongs on our deck!  I took this pic to send to Brandon, but right after I took the pic I saw a little flyer for the set so I grabbed it instead.

Brandon was given a couple of tickets to the Shocker baseball game on Friday so we took advantage of the nice weather (and the generosity) and spent the evening at the ballpark.  It was a beautiful night and our seats weren't too bad either...

And finally, my friend from work has started making the most adorable bags ever!  I was lucky enough to receive one and I just can't get over how cute they are!  I think they are perfect for hauling stuff to work, in the car, etc. (which is how I use mine), but they could also be used as purses, gym bags, baby bags, etc. etc.

Now, for our weekend wrap-up!  I had the day off on Friday so I took advantage of my day by sleeping in, making a grocery list, running errands, meeting a friend for a pedicure, and shopping for an Easter outfit.  When Brandon got home late that afternoon we debated about running to the garden store to take advantage of the fill-a-flat sale and finally decided to go check out the selection of plants.  Well, we left with two flats of cosmos, marigolds, some cute little purple flower, and salvia (no, not the type Miley Cyrus was caught smoking). but we didn't have time to get them planted since we were heading the the baseball game so we just set them on the deck until we could get them plated on Saturday morning.  When we got home from the baseball game late on Friday, we decided we should just head to the grocery store since we'd be planting flowers on Saturday morning and heading out of town Saturday afternoon.  I think it might have been one of our quickest trips to the store!  I'm beginning to wonder if we should do late-night shopping every week...

On Saturday morning, we got up pretty early to get a head start on the planting.  However, digging 36 tiny holes took much longer than we anticipated so we didn't get all of the flowers in the ground.  Once we got one flat finished, we headed inside to shower and run a few errands before heading out of town to my parent's house for Easter.  When we got to their house, we grabbed lunch and I ran a few errands with my mom and we did some cooking, while Brandon and my dad went to my dad's office for a bit and then played golf.  That evening we watched a movie and played a game (which I won twice!) and hit the hay since we had early church the next morning. 

Easter Sunday turned out to be a beautiful day, despite the weather forcasts.  We went to church with my parents and listened to great music and a great sermon and then we enjoyed a lovely lunch with them, my aunt and uncle and their girls, another aunt, and some family friends.  We made a few Weight Watchers recipes that turned out to be DELICIOUS, so I will share those later this week.  Once we got all of the dishes put away and made a trip to our friend's natural food store to get a few things, it was time to pack up the car and head home.  We had intended to plant the remaing flowers when we returned, but it was getting cold and yucky outside so they will just have to wait.

It rained early this morning which made it soooo hard to get up for work (for me at least).  Brandon had a golf tournament today so he was up extra early checking the forcast and hoping and praying the tournament was still on for the day.  He lucked out and it was going to go on as planned. 

We hope everyone had a wonderful time celebrating the death and resurrection of Jesus!!  The resurrection story still leaves me with chills every time and reminds me to be so thankful for the sacrifice that was made on our behalf.