Uhm, There's A Hole in Our Wall

We did lots of work over the weekend. Originally our plan was to go camping or canoeing this weekend because we were going to go the New Orleans for my birthday next week but since that didn't work out we are going to go camping or canoeing next weekend. So this weekend we got to do a lot of work on the house. Granddaddy came over Saturday and he and Lucas finished putting up the last bit of base boards and trim and the quarter round. After a long day of work, granddaddy and Lucas cut a hole in the wall by the doorway that we planned on widening. They ended up just taking down the entire wall and preparing the doorway that night. So we went to Home Depot and got all of the supplies we needed for the next day of work.



That night, Lucas and I started taking doors down to sand, prime and paint so that they would match the trim. I used a Benjamin Moore color called "Navajo White" which is a little more creamier than a true white. It is just a much more rich color than white. But with white, cream, and brown, there were just too many colors. What a world of difference. I didn't get a picture of this but I did get some of Lucas and I working.

Here he is sanding the door.


And here is Rafa helping me touch up the trim.


Now on Sunday, grandmother and granddaddy came over to help. Grandmother helped touch up the trim while Lucas and granddaddy worked on the wall. Almost all day while we were working we were watching the Wimbledon finals. It was a long match. But Rafa pulled it out, beating Roger on his run for his 6th straight Wimbledon title. Wow! Go Rafa! I seriously would have been happy with either winner. They are both my favorites. But grandmother really wanted Rafa to win and kept stressing out everytime Rafa got close, just knowing that Roger would pull it out. She couldn't even watch! Oh, well. By the end of the day the boys had accomplished a lot. We still aren't done. Still to go: door facings, trim work, base boards, patching the floor, etc. Many more things to do but you can already tell what a difference it is going to make. These pictures really don't do it justice but in person this 7 inches is amazing. Trust me.

Before


After
(not the final after, of course, but the after as of now)


Still lots more to go on the house but it is coming together nicely.

Speaking of houses, we went with Brandon Sunday late afternoon to look at our prospective lot at Lake Forest. I think Lucas wants to put an offer on the lot this week. What a birthday present! I better not say that b/c then it will actually be my birthday present and I really want an elliptical machine.

P.S. I have talked Lucas into buying an elliptical machine for my birthday. We found a great deal online at Sears and bought it then got an email saying "oops! sorry! we don't have it!" What a let down. I'm very disappointed in you, Sears. I'm going to Dicks, Sears, and Wal-Mart after work today to look (Lucas is leaving yet again for another business trip to Indiana). Lucas said if I found a good deal on one I like that I can go ahead and buy it but I can't open or use it until my birthday. We'll just see about that. ;)

4th Festivities

Lucas and I had a pretty good 4th of July. Thursday night I stayed up late cooking for our activities on the 4th. And wouldn't you know it, the first major cooking I've done since blogging and I take no picture. Well let me just tell you. For lunch, I took green bean casserole, pizza pasta salad, chicken chile cheese cups, and the crispy cheese stars I mentioned earlier. Every thing turned out great except for the crispy cheese stars. They were down right horrible. Oh, well... live and learn.

We went over to Amy's parents' house that evening and I took some more of the pasta salad and these cake balls. I did manage to get a picture of these.



These were absolutely delicious! However, I didn't follow the recipe exactly. I had some left over butter cake mix and some vanilla icing from the baby shower so I mixed these together then dipped them in the chocolate bark. I didn't want to mess with drizzling other flavors over them so I just sprinkled some confectioners sugar over them. I think they turned out great! I will definitely be making these again BUT only for special occasions b/c these are very dangerous.

At the river we ate lunch then a storm blew in so we didn't really have time to enjoy the day or take any pictures so I had to get a family pic when we got home. Rafa looked so cute in his American bandanna!




Later that night we went to hang out with Amy and family. We had some great food and fun. Their neighbors shot loads of fireworks which would rival at least the Stars game fireworks. We got to watch from the backyard.... didn't even have to go anywhere! Amy and Dan brought over their beer pong table. Lucas and I played together but we were made to throw the ball, not bounce as we normally do. We got off to a rough start but ended up doing pretty well together! I still prefer to bounce though. Later in the night, Amy's parents actually played! Wow! It was fun! Lucas got her mom to play with him and later Amy played with her dad. Here are a few pics.




The night ended (for us anyways) with Amy's mom challenging Dan and he ended up having to take a shot of some pretty rough alcohol. Great pic!



It was a great 4th! Next year I hope rain is not a factor so we can enjoy the river with Rafa a little more. I was so looking forward to watching Rafa attempt to swim. Ha!

News Worthy Day

Today has been a news worthy day and I couldn't let the day end without sharing all the great news!

First of all, I found out that my cousin Tommy and his wife Kristina will have their baby on Thursday, July 10th. They are going to induce Thursday morning so Karson Thomas will be here soon!

Also, Lucas's boss Chris proposed to his girlfriend during their vacation to Canada over the last week. Congratulations you two! One of Lucas's friends, Melissa, also got engaged over the holiday weekend.

This morning Amy let me know that she got the job she has been interviewing for with the Girl Scouts. Yay! She was in desperate need of a way out of her current job so this couldn't come at a better time. And this has to be their lucky day. Dan, her husband, just got offered a job offer that will further his career along. Good job Welches! I see that Huntsville is really liking ya'll! I think it's about time ya'll move on over here from Athens.

Wow! What a day! Congratulations to everyone on all the great news!

New Blog Design

I hope everyone likes the new blog design. I was getting tired of the plain old white. If I had the formatting knowledge for Blogger I would have designed a better page that I have in my mind but I'm just not capable of producing it. Blogger is a little trickier than straight html so my Dreamweaver skills don't help me much. Just a little Illustrator/Photoshop work for this one.

I used the Olivia Collection from The Shabby Shoppe. I really wish I had more time to mess around with digital scrapbooking because it is just so awesome. One day I'm going to get really into it, but not today.

More posts are soon to come with all the info from this weekend's festivities and work.

4th of July - Food Options

So after looking around for a little while I have found a few options for the 4th.



Texas Blackberry and Strawberry Empanadas looks delicious! May be a bit challenging but I might actually be up for that challenge!



This Red, White, and Blue Tart is beautiful. I'm not sure if I'd actually like it but it is so pretty.



These
Watermelon, Lemonade, and Blueberry Ice Pops look tempting but might be a strategic nightmare on a hot July picnic.



These Crispy Cheese Stars look quick and easy. I might have to do these along with whatever else I decide to cook.

Also, some old standbys are cornbread or the best food ever... green bean casserole!

I'm off to the Patio Party now!

Finally, Progress

I haven't had time to fill you in on all the happenings of the weekend. Friday night we went to the movies in the park that I talked about earlier. Unfortunately, we missed Pretty in Pink because I was in Mobile but we caught this week's showing of Stand by Me. We took Rafa and also took along a nice pasta dinner with a salad and wine. We ran into one of Lucas's soccer friends there and watched the movie with them. It was such a nice night.

The next morning we got up early to run in the Spirit of America 5 Mile Run in Decatur. All in all it was a pretty poorly run race but it was only $10 each ($13 after their "processing" fees) and we got a pretty nice dri-fit-like shirt. They had progressive start times so I didn't start until 14 minutes after the beginning and Lucas didn't start until 20 minutes after the beginning (the last group). Then, we had no idea what our run times were. We crossed the finish line and there was no time clock and no one telling you your times. There were also no people calling times throughout the race. It was a very poorly run race but at least we got some exercise. I ended up finishing in 50 minutes (I just found out yesterday by looking online) and Lucas finished in 58 minutes. At least Rafa got to watch us run. Mom came to cheer us on and watch Rafa! She took a picture of us before the race so once I get it I'll post it for you.

After the race, Lucas and I went to Hartselle and met my granddad. We loaded up the saw and wood and went to work on our house. We got almost all of the base boards and door facings put up! Grandaddy came back on Sunday to finish up a little. We still have a huge project although it isn't that big... we are widening the entrance to our living room. It is probably only 6 or 8 inches but I think it will make a big difference. Once we get this hole fixed, we can finish up that door facing and the connecting base boards. Also, Lowes by our house was out of the quarter round we use so we had to go to the Lowes on North Parkway to buy more. Our job is to prime and paint this quarter round and hopefully get it up on our own. This will be our first job with the wood, saw, and air nailer by ourselves. Help us! Haha!

Mom stopped by while we were working and gave me an early birthday present... a pig flower waterer! I'm not sure if this actually has a name or if it is just failing me right now but it is a pig and I can water my flowers with it. It is so cute! We saw a very expensive one at this uppity garden store (by uppity I mean expensive) at the Summit in Birmingham but we weren't going to spend $70 on it. Mom said she got a good deal on it but it looks just a cute! I can't wait to take a picture and show it off!

Monday night we had a 9.0 mixed match and Lucas and I made our debut together. And we rocked! We won 6-0, 6-3. Lucas is really fun to play with because he is so good he gave me a lot of easy put-aways. And it helped that I was playing really good, too. I played 8.0 last night and had another easy victory: 6-2, 6-1. Again, I was playing really well. I feel it all coming together. I'm playing better now than I have in a while... probably better than I was playing in college. So that's nice. But it is also easier to play better when it is just fun and not so much pressure.

I just made Rafa an appointment with the groomer for Monday. I was hoping maybe tomorrow before the 4th but I understand that is a little much to ask. He is a cutey either way. I can't wait to see what he looks like after a cut. We are taking him to the river on Friday so I need to go buy him a little doggy life jacket. Speaking of Friday, I have to find a good recipe to take on the 4th. Any good ideas? Brooke, I may be scrolling through your "What's Cooking Wednesdays". Any good recipes for the 4th?

I'm hoping for another Patio Party tonight with Amy and Debbie, possibly Mary Beth if her trip to the dentist goes well. We are super busy at work so it will be nice to relax with some $2 Long Islands!

1st of the Month

and you know what that means.... New Desktop!

This month is dedicated to my little Rafa!



Get this for yourself at Shabby Princess Scrapbooking