Happy Surprises

Don't you just love when something exciting happens that you are totally not expecting!?! The kinds of things that just catch you by surprise and make your day? Well, I've had some happy surprises in the past week.


Happy Surprise #1 -
Just to give you a little background to the situation...our TV got messed up during our move. This TV has been a pain in the side since we bought it. We bought it refurbished, and luckily it came with a 3 year full service warranty. We called the repairman to come fix it (yet again) after the move, and they had to take it for a week to fix all the problems it was having (that was not a happy surprise...). Well, the TV repairman called the other day and said that instead of repairing our TV, they were just going to give us all our money back in the form of a store credit! So 2.5 years after buying the tv, we got all our money back to go buy a new tv (and of course with technology you can get a nicer one...see below). I love it when people give me money and tell me to go shopping :-)



Happy Surprise #2 -
I played volleyball last night as a sub for Kevin's team. I was so sore this morning that the last thing I wanted to do was get up...much less go to work! Well, I got to work and I was surprised to find out that it is "Administrative Assistant Day," and my boss and co-workers were taking me out for lunch. They also sent me an edible arrangement...those are too cool!!!


Have you had any happy surprises lately? I would love to hear about them!

Stomping Grounds

Well, this weekend we are headed back to our old stomping grounds! We haven't headed that way in a while, and we have to get some stuff out of storage (AKA: our parents' sheds...). I can't wait! I love going down there! Kevin reminds me that it is no longer "home" for us on a regular basis, but I think it will always feel that way! I hope that all of you have a great weekend!!!

Growing Like a Weed

I now understand the expression "Growing Like a Weed" just a little better than I did. Upon coming home yesterday, I noticed (again) that our yard was pretty covered in weeds. I was not surprised by this fact because the previous home owners moved out last July. If you don't want to do the math, that gave the weeds 9 months to grow and mature...use your imagination. We had what I like to call tree weeds in our yard (you know, the kind you have to use both hands and pull with your legs, not your back... :-) So I decided to tackle them when I got home from work. I started pulling weeds around 5pm. When Kevin got home around 5:45pm, he joined me in my pursuit. We pulled until we could no longer see, and then we turned on the flood lights! 3 1/2 HOURS and 96 GALLONS of weeds later...we finished! You may wonder how I am measuring my weeds...good question! We filled up our city trash can. When I say that we filled it up, I mean that Kevin acted as a trash compactor the whole time we were filling it - making it pretty much 96 gallons of solid weeds!!! The yard looks great, and I feel very rewarded (and sore!).

Hardware is Essential

Kevin and I are having a hard time getting back into the idea of painting after our 2 week marathon.... So we've been getting other things done around the house that have absolutely nothing to do with painting. We've straightened up the garage, so I can now park in there. I was dying to park in the garage with all the rain, hail, and bad weather we've been having.

Last night we were trying to put off painting (and finishing up taxes) just a little bit longer, so we headed to home depot and bought some kitchen hardware. Before our hardware was gold and cream. Needless to say, that did nothing to tone down the yellowish color of my oak cabinets. I'm trying to bring out the darker, browner tones of the cabinets, so I chose an oil rubbed bronze hardware. It did exactly what I was wanting....blending in and bringing out darker tones. It made a HUGE difference! Take a look:

As for the taxes....they'll be finished tonight (we like to live on the edge:-)

Closing, Painting, Moving

Long Time, No Post!!!

Hello to all of you out there who probably don't even bother checking my blog anymore :-) I know it's been a long time!!! A lot has happened in the past month for me (not to mention blogging has been blocked by my work for the past month:-)

We finally closed on our house and have been in "reno mode" ever since. We've painted and painted and painted and....well, you get the idea. Here are some before and after pics of the painting.

Breakfast Nook Before

Breakfast Nook AfterRight Kitchen Before

Right Kitchen After

Left Kitchen BeforeLeft Kitchen After

**The main attraction here is my first new fridge:-) ***

Living Room Before

Living Room After
Master Bedroom Before

Master Bedroom After

Let me tell you that this color was terrifying! I thought it looked like a baby boy's nursery at first. After a few days and a ruined gallon of paint (added too much yellow and turned it bright green...), I now LOVE this color!!!

Master Bath Before

Master Bath After

Office Before

Office After

We still have a long way to go (3 guest bedrooms, dining room, 2 baths, and trim, trim, trim...), but we've really accomplished a lot! I am loving ever second of home ownership, and it's even better now that we're all moved in. Notice:I did not say all set up! That would be because our stuff is in piles everywhere!!!

I'm having such a hard time concentrating on work because I'm so busy setting everything up in my head! I really actually love setting a house up (in an obsessive kind of way)! I love how everything gets dusted and cleaned up before being put into place. I love the way everything seems to fit in place like it's been there forever! Honestly, I was expecting the house to feel a good bit smaller after we got all our stuff moved in, but it does not!! In fact, I could swear it shrunk all of my furniture! I look in my living room and all I see is dollar signs...sigh..... I need a rug, occasional tables, more seating, wall hangings, etc.... It's going to take a while to buy all those things! However, I LOVE it just the way it is now!

We've slept there 2 nights, and both nights I would wake up throughout the night and couldn't believe I was actually sleeping in my very own house!


One thing that moving did make me realize was just how blessed I am (down-right spoiled in fact). I have more stuff than most people will ever have or even dream of having. The crazy thing is, I walk into my empty rooms wanting/planning to buy more!!! It made me feel very selfish, humbled, thankful! So this became my moving day prayer:

"Thank you Lord for the ways that you have blessed me and my family, and I pray that you would help us use all this stuff and this beautiful house for your glory. Help me not become materialistic and always realize that these things belong to You!"

It's not just a moving day prayer...it should be an everyday prayer. I am just a steward of what the Lord has blessed me with!

So, that's all for now... I promise to be better about posting little posts every now and then (rather than huge posts once a month:-)

For more pics go here!