Paint!

Want to see our house with the new paint?!

Us, too. The painted did not show up and is not returning calls. We have no idea what's up, but we are pretty bummed. We had moved all the furniture and taken all the outlet covers off. We have all the paint... just no painter. Hopefully we can find someone else and get it done this summer...

2/5ths there

As of yesterday, I am 2/5th finished with my class. I really, really cannot wait for it to be over.  It requires lots of work. This past session, we had to answer 3 questions for our discussion. Each answer was 500 words+. After we read 3-5 articles. Then we had an assignment on top of that, which was 600+ words. In 3 days. This happens twice a week. Although next week I have two videos to do instead of writing things out... joy! Just 3 more weeks...

So with my class, I haven't had a whole lot of free time. However, this week I did manage to sneak in Harry Potter 1-5 and three trips to the gym. I also made zucchini bread and strawberry bread. Yummy! We still haven't hung the curtains I bought at Dirt Cheap, but they will be hung before Thursday... because my parents are coming! They are also stopping at IKEA for us on the way here, so hopefully I can update with what they bring.

Our Mississippi trip was great! We swam everyday, went to 3 Dirt Cheaps, and ate. J had 2 golf lessons and played twice. I got to eat Abner's! How I miss the grilled chicken tenders....  It was so good to spend some time there. We haven't spent that much time there since we moved. As we were packing up, I checked our flight and saw it was delayed. I called and they said it might arrive earlier, so we should head on over, but they would switch our flight from ATlL to RDU to the later flight.  All was well... until I started checking online that the place flying INTO GTR was being delayed over and over... then. Cancelled. Ugh! That was the last flight of the day. So after talking with an agent, we booked a 5:30 am flight out of Birmingham (J needed to get back to work!). J's parents had waited with us at the airport, so we just drove straight to Birmingham.  We stayed in a hotel pretty close to the airport. We took the shuttle to the airport... and we couldn't check in??? It took us almost 30 minutes to check in since our rebooked tickets weren't done correctly. Then the security line... how I loathe it. The line was insanely long and we had 20 minutes to catch our flight. As we finally made it through (me being on the verge of a meltdown) here the final call for our flight, so we book it and just barely caught it. Whew! After that, I wanted to be done flying for a while, but things pop up, which I will discuss later.

We finally made it to Krispy Kreme here! It opened right before we moved and we have never been. No clue what is wrong with us. But now all is right with the world.

Last Friday, we went to eat at Barry's Cafe in Cary.  J had won a gift certificate there during a golf tournament. It was in a shopping center, so we didn't have high hopes. But it was so good! It is the perfect place for us because they serve breakfast all day everyday, but they also serve burger type stuff for J. I had the best French Toast! We will definitely be going back. After we finished up, we headed to the mall to buy J some more khakis and polos since he doesn't have to wear a shirt and tie anymore. Exciting!

Saturday after J played golf, we rented How Do You Know?. It was pretty good!

We also found out this week that my brother is getting married in 2 weeks. In Texas (hence more flying for me.) J doesn't have any more time off built up after our trip to MS, so he isn't going. Since my parents are coming here next week, I am riding to KY then to TX with them. Then they will drive me to Little Rock so I can fly home. They are going to be some serious road warriors!

And finally, a small house update. While Caitlin and Brian were here, I bought a few new colored glass pieces at TJ Maxx Homegoods.

The purple (My fav!) was $6, and the blue and pink ones on the left were $5 each. Not bad! And you may notice the blue color in the middle there. Well we were making sure we liked that color since the painter will be here in the morning! It is called Weathered Glass, which goes well with our dining room (Sea Glass). Super excited to be getting everything done! And once my parents stop by IKEA, we will have something for over the mantle. It's all coming together slowly.  I will try to do an update once the painting is complete.

I know, I know

I haven't updated in a while. My class is kicking my butt! It requires lots of time!

Here is a quick overview of the past couple of weeks.

-Sh'Bam!
-Mississippi was awesome
-Love dirt cheap!
-hate canceled flights
-J hit our ceiling fan while swinging a golf club. It still works, but has a dent :(
-Krispy Kreme!
-No more shirt and ties for J! Clothes shopping!

1 Down 9 to go!

I just completed my first grad school class. I turned in my final project about 3 minutes ago! It feels great. I am anticipating an A in the course, but I guess I will find out Wednesday. I believe my next class starts Thursday, so I am glad for a 3 day break!

Now let's backtrack a little...

I have now joined a gym in town. I have only been a few times, but I like to so far. They offer more classes than our last gym, which I will talk about more in a few.

We had some friends over for supper last week, then I babysat their little girl Tuesday. We hid from monsters, watched Beauty and the Beast, and ate ice cream. It was fun, but I don't know that I could do it all day everyday!

I have been keeping busy reading, doing laundry, doing house stuff, going to the gym, etc. Last week, I went to the doctor about the knot in my knee (that has been there for over 2 years.) It is bursitis, and there is not a lot to do about it. Right now I am on medicine to shrink it, but beyond that they can only continually drain it forever. Not sure if I want to commit to doing that! Let's hope it shrinks.

Caitlin and Brian got here Wednesday and we had a fun time. We did some shopping, ate with J, got ice cream, got cupcakes, and watched movies. J and B played a little golf. C and I got mani/pedis and went to a couple of classes at the gym. We went to Zumba, which was okay. I couldn't really keep up and the instructor didn't really explain how to do anything, so I basically just twitched for an hour. Friday, we went to SH'BAM. SO. MUCH. FUN. It was simple, but not easy. I think I am still a little sore. I am hoping to go again tonight. I hope C and B enjoyed their trip... they never really told us if they did. Ha! B also did some photoshopping on our wedding pictures. They look so much better! Once he sends them to me I will have to get some printed now that I don't look so much like a ghost! Thanks, B!

J played in a golf tournament this weekend. He did pretty well and won $16 to the pro shop in Sanford. Woo hoo!

I have a pretty busy few days. Both cars need oil changes. I have a dentist appointment. Have to catch up on the laundry from the weekend. Trip to the grocery. Trip to the bank. Have to return a library book. Go to dry cleaners. Appointment with the personal trainer (don't worry, it's free :)). Put car in shop (check engine light is on...) And have to pack since we are leaving for MS Thursday!

Entry and Office Update

We have been busy this weekend. Since Caitlin and Brian are coming this week, we figured we should get everything looking more presentable.

We started a gallery of sorts in the entryway. This is the view from the laundry room. It will be a work in progress, adding frames and hopefully adding some art instead of paint chips. We played with the arrangement for a while and finally landed on this. We are excited with the result! It was still scary putting holes in the wall though!

And the office was painted Saturday. J even helped this time! It was nice not to have to do the entire room myself. It is Pebble Gray. J picked it, but I like it, too. This will also be the Mississippi State Room; we just haven't gotten around to hanging pictures and decorating just yet. This will be the air mattress room when we have visitors. (Say hi to your room, Brian!)

So it has been another busy weekend here at the casa! Getting closer and closer to complete (if there is such a thing.)

Guest Room Update!

Ta Da! A can a spray paint can change something quickly!

 

Grannie gave us this mirror before we moved to NC. In our last house it looked like this (man, how I miss that wallpaper): 

I used the same spray paint that we used for the knobs when we redid the dresser. A couple of quick coats, then a sealer (that we already had) and this makeover cost us $0! Yay! I love quick, free fixes. It adds a mirror to the guest room (which it needed), adds some interest (which it also needed), and  helps tone down the green walls. Win-win-win. It was also the first thing that we hung in the house! Kinda scary to puncture our new, green walls. So thanks, Grannie, for the mirror. It lives on in blue glory!

First Day of Summer

We have been super busy lately!

In the house we have:

Installed the ceiling fan in our room. This took us a lot longer than planned! Since we don't have a ladder, we stood on a stool on the bed. We are still a little too short to put the canopy on, but we are hoping to try again when we aren't tired of trying!It is controlled by a remote, and the first one didn't work. Thankfully since we ordered 2 fans, we used the remote from the other one and it worked. Now we have to take the other one back, then we can put the other one up in the living room.

Painted the entryway (don't forget you can click a picture to see it better... I need to work on the opaqueness of the blog!)

before

after

I am hoping to get some pictures put up this week so it doesn't look so bare.

Painted the dining room

before

after

I am in LOVE with the color of the dining room! I can't wait to get everything else painted.

In other news...

J had a birthday! We celebrated Friday night with steak, baked potatoes, and cake (yellow with chocolate icing.) Saturday, J got up early and played golf with some friends, then we made ice cream with his new ice cream maker. It was delish!!! I think homemade ice cream might become a staple in our house!

Happy Birthday, J!

I have been busy working on my online class. In fact, this morning I have been working on a project that is due tomorrow (don't worry, it's almost complete.) I have 3 more forum discussions and 1 more project until I am finished with my first grad school class. My next one starts July 3, I believe. I am so glad I didn't take two at once. I would have been so overwhelmed especially at the end of the school year. I don't even want to think about taking two classes and working in the fall.

Today is my first day of summer, and I have a list of things I need to get done. Not all today though. Since we are having people visit us soon, we would like to get the house a little more put together. Caitlin and Brian will be here next week, so I need to get busy! I also need to get a library card here in our new town because I have been driving back to Lillington to get books. (I still need to take one back!)

My check engine light came on yesterday, so I need to take it to the shop... thankfully, it didn't come on during the school year!

We have had a few spiders (google wolf spiders to see what we have been dealing with- I can't look at them!) We had the bug man come and so far, we have seen fewer spiders. Hopefully we won't see any anymore!

Our neighborhood is coming along. There are 6 houses under construction right now. 2 are almost complete and are sold. 4 more were just started. None of them are next to us yet, and I hope it stays that way for a while! At least until school starts back. I want to be able to sleep in!

That is all I can think of for now... hopefully I can blog more regularly during the summer.

One Day...

I'll be better about updating. Between the end of the year school stuff and my class it has been crazy! I will come back and update soon, but I did want to say this...



SCHOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOL'S OUT FOR SUMMER!

Well, except for my grad school classes. :) But since it's only out for summer.... I signed my contract today for next year. I officially have a job next year! yay!

It's Almost Winter Somewhere

It has been so hot here this week. Just last week it was perfect. I am excited about summer, but not about the temperatures that some with it!

Last weekend we had an amazing time in South Carolina. We had a lake house with J's family. We fished. We ate. We fished. We did a puzzle. We fished. I read. We fished. We kayaked. We ate. And we fished. J also played golf. :)

With all that fishing, you'd think we would have caught a boatload- but nope! I was the weekend's winner with 2 fish. Everyone but J had 1 fish. There are apparently few fish in Lake Hartwell. It was still fun, and I managed not to get sunburned again. I did finally start peeling from our beach trip though!

This is my fish. I just don't touch fish. :)

On the way home, we stopped at IKEA. It was like Disneyworld for furniture. I could drop some serious money in there. We managed to only buy a few things, and I am very happy with the purchases. :)

Yellow vase from Ikea, clear bottle had Blenheim Ginger Ale in it

white and blue vase from Ikea, green bottle from World Market

I have now completed 2 weeks of my first 5 week grad school class. It has been intense. I already had a project due last week. It is hard, but at the same time, it is almost halfway over. I am so glad I didn't sign up to take 2 classes at once!

Tomorrow night, we are going to see the Hangover II. I am super pumped. Then Saturday, I am planning on painting while J plays golf. Hopefully pics coming soon!

Over Two Years...

We have had a busy week! The highlight was spending the weekend in the Outer Banks, or the OBX as it is referred to around here. We went Friday night and stayed with some friends in a big house. We played games, ate, and played at the beach. I read a whole book! And my legs are red, red, red (with the occasional white mark?)!

I started my online class yesterday. I have almost finished this week's assignments since we will be gone for the weekend (again!)

This week is state testing at middle and elementary schools. I am administering the test to one of my students. He finished in about 1 hr, so we sat there for about 2 more. BORING! 15 work days until summer (2 of those days I have workshops.)

I had my meeting yesterday with the director. At this time, I have a job next year. Hopefully it will still be that way at the end of the school year.

Bodie Lighthouse

730!

It's been another year- with more big things happening!

-We bought a house and moved to civilization
-I completed 1 year teaching in February
-J got a new job!
-We took an autumn trip to the mountains
-We traveled to NYC!
-I decided to go back to school to get a Master's degree
-We placed membership at a church


We have been so blessed the past 365 days. We are looking forward to the next 60ish years!

The Week Review

I can't believe we have been married for 2 years! It seems just like yesterday we got engaged, much less married!

We have been busy this past week. Wednesday, we ordered ceiling fans for the living room and our bedroom. They arrived yesterday. Now we just need to find someone to install them!

I do want to brag on the meal J made for us Thursday... it was SO good!

Tilapia J made for supper Thursday

Friday, we rented Unstoppable thanks for a free code at the Blockbuster Express. It was pretty short and undramatic. We wouldn't recommend it.

Saturday, we were celebrating our anniversary. We woke up early to find that the threat of rain was gone! Yay! We headed to ZipQuest in Fayetteville.

Getting ready to zip-line!

It was pretty up in the trees, but not really that exciting. So glad we had a groupon and didn't pay full price! We came back home and ate at a local pub that we had heard good things about. Unfortunately, didn't quite live up to the hype. Oh well. After a cleaning up, we headed to Cary. We ate at Chatham Street Cafe. Seriously. Amazing. We even topped it off with dessert. J had carrot cake, and I had a 3 layer banana cake with honey cream cheese icing. We will definitely be going back! Then, we headed to see Everything Must Go. It was a good movie, just wish I wasn't so tired by the time it started!

Sunday, we had lunch with Anna at Jason's Deli before she leaves for Mississippi for the summer. It was good to catch up with her. Even though we only live 30 minutes apart, we are all so busy it is hard to see her.

My summer class starts next week. It is 5 weeks and pretty intense. A lesson is only 3 days, with 2 sessions per week. I have a project due next Saturday! Thankfully, the teacher allows you to work ahead, so I am hoping to have it done since we will be out of town!

I found out yesterday that the director wants to cut one of the itinerant teaching jobs. We are supposed to meet with her soon to discuss this, but prayers for me still having a job would be appreciated!

We are headed to the beach this weekend and South Carolina next weekend... keeping super busy around here!

Spring is Here!

The past week has been amazing weather wise. Not too hot- not too cold. I could get used to this! Sadly, I know it will be short lived, and we will be in the 90s before we know it!

Not too much has been going on. We have been super busy between work, church activities, and school.

I am going to end up taking 2 summer classes. One starts on May 23 and goes through June 28. The next one starts July 3 and ends August 3. Both are online, so hopefully they won't be too bad. Time will tell!

J has been enjoying playing golf with friends. Last Saturday he went with 3 other guys from church. He hasn't played in a while, so his game is a little rough, but I know he will be doing well in no time! He sure swings his golf club around the house enough. (Now that we have high ceilings, he can actually swing in the house. Although he is not allowed to hit the carpet! He also has a putting green inside, too.)

I have 4.5 more weeks of teaching left before summer! I cannot wait! I plan on spending my summer doing school work, reading, swimming at a friend's house, and working on the house. Oh, and relaxing!

This weekend we are headed to the zipline for our anniversary. Then we are gonna do dinner and a movie. Dinner where? Not sure. What movie? No clue. But it will be fun! Then the next weekend is the beach and the next South Carolina. Whew!

More Stormy Days

We had a great trip to Kentucky last weekend. We got up early Saturday morning and flew to Nashville, where Clark and Amy picked us up. We drove to Kentucky where mom had prepared a big breakfast- including coca! (And somehow, I did not take a single picture all weekend!) We made a quick trip to the DQ before the cousins came over for supper. I hadn't seen them in over a year, so it was really good to catch up with them. Sunday we had church and moo-peep-oink and some family pictures despite the rain. Clark and Amy took J back to the airport while the rest of us took a nap. Caitlin and Brian headed back to BG, then momma, daddy, and I went to Snappy Tomato!

J got stuck in DC (on a place) for a while due to weather. Poor thing didn't get home until 1 AM and had to get up for work the next morning.

Monday, Momma and I went shopping. I got some cute new clothes with my birthday money. When daddy got home, we went to the wellness center. I hadn't been running since my last 5k at the beginning of April, but I still managed to run 2.5 miles without stopping... now we just need to find a gym here!

Tuesday we woke up and were getting ready to head to Nashville so I could head home. We knew the weather probably wouldn't be good, so we wanted to leave early and take our time. We soon found out that we had had bad weather that night and we slept through it. 100 mph straight line winds ripped through town. Power was out, school was canceled, and several buildings were damaged. To my knowledge no one was hurt.

We made it to Nashville in plenty of time, and even stopped to eat at Cracker Barrel. Yummy! My flight for DC left on time, but unfortunately, my flight to Raleigh was delayed. However, I got to stay in the airport instead of on the plane, so that was good. Here was my view from the airport:

Sitting on the plane waiting to take off

(I got to see the entire National Mall flying in... so cool!)

J picked me up from the airport and I began the rest of spring break at home. Wednesday, I went to the eye doctor and cleaned the house (woo hoo.) Thursday, I just relax and enjoyed the day at home. I watched several episodes of Gilmore Girls (we have been watching them since right before we moved.) Friday after I watched the Royal Wedding, I ran out and did some errands, including getting my small garden stuff. We don't have a good place for my raised bed garden, so I am just growing a few things in pots this year. Hopefully this year will be fruitful! I have tomatoes, jalapenos, yellow bell pepper, and eggplant. Friday night, we had a date night in. I cooked a roast and we ate off our china for the first time. Hopefully now that some of it is clean, we will use it more!

Saturday, J played in a golf tournament for charity and I got my birthday massage. It wasn't that great, but nice to have. Then we had a young marrieds get together, which ended up with just 2 couples and half of another. It was small but fun- and we had breakfast, which is the most important meal of the day, you know.

And of course, this week was also the devastating tornadoes across the South. Thankfully, all our family is okay, but it was so close to home. I have been to many of the places that were hit, and the pictures just make it seem unreal.  Our thoughts and prayers will remain with those who are rebuilding and/or have lost loved ones.

On deck for this month:

Beach trip with friends

Trip to SC w/ J's family

Zipline!

2nd anniversary (we decided not to take a trip, but we'll do something!)

Stormy Days

It has been quite the weekend here. Thankfully, everyone we know here is okay, but many people aren't that fortunate.

Two tornadoes ripped through here Saturday afternoon- one in Holly Springs (5 miles from our house) and one in Fayetteville and Dunn (I have schools in Dunn.) To my knowledge, none of my students were impacted directly. Many homes were destroyed though, and the damage is incredible. We were very fortunate that we were only without power for a couple of hours. Our friends in Holly Springs still don't have power!

Here is a video of the tornado headed for downtown. (The one that went through Holly Springs.) Shaw University downtown had to close for the rest of the semester!



Other than that, it has been a low key week for us. Spring Break is next week, and our weekends are quickly getting booked for trips/activities!

April 23/24- KY
April 30- J has a golf tournament and we have a young married's activity
May 14/15- Trip to ??? for our anniversary
May 20/21- Nag's Head with friends
May 27-30- South Carolina with J's family

House Update below!

House Update!

We still have to hang artwork, curtains, and do some finishing touches- but this room has kept us busy! During the bad weather Saturday, we were busy painting the guest room. (Although once I heard that a tornado was headed towards Wake County, I did run and take a quick shower. By the time I was out, I knew we were in the clear.)

Move-in Day

4 days after move-in

Today

(The color in this one is more true to life than the others I think)

The color is Corn Husk Green, but it turned out a lot more lime green than we had planned/imagined. We hope that with some accessories, we can tone it down some. :) We moved our old comforter set to the guest room since I like it so much! We also painted J's old furniture- which was way more work than we anticipated. We read online how to do it, so I spent my afternoons sanding the drawers. Then J and I were going to sand the bodies, prime, and paint them and that would be that.... Well we couldn't get any sand paper to really work, so we went and got some paint stripper. 3 coats later, the sides looks okay, but the tops looked untouched. J sanded down the sides and we just went with it. Primed. 3 coats of paint. And we aren't really happy with how they turned out, so we might redo them in the future, but they are done enough for now! Our weekends are going to be pretty busy for a while, so I don't know how much more progress we'll make any time soon!

House Update!

We've been busy...

(click any picture to make larger)

Master Bedroom 4 Days After Move-in

Master Bedroom Today


Move-in Day the Guest Bathroom looked like this...

Bathroom with the decor we had previously

It is now Homestead Apricot with a cute woodsy shower curtain!

Sink Area

Close up of shower curtain

Long Over Due Update...

Well we have been in out house two full weeks, and it already feels like home... but let's backtrack...


We closed March 25, and everything went smoothly. During our final walkthrough, the builder was installing the bathroom window and doing finishing touches. We then drove to Cary and sign lots of papers! Now, we just had to wait for the keys. We were told it would only be around 2 hours, so we decided to stay in Cary until time to get the keys. It only took 1 hour! We grabbed the keys, then drove back to the (rental) house, loaded up our cars and headed for our first house! J carried me over the threshold (of course), then we began unpacking our cars. J made another trip and we called it a night.

That Saturday morning, we woke up early to finish packing. We had a Budget truck reserved at 8, and our friends were coming at 8:30. J went to go pick up the truck while I packed some smaller things. 8 came and went, with no sign of the place opening so we can get the truck. After a few phone calls, we ended up with a 14 foot U-Haul. (Reminder: We moved to NC in a 24 foot truck.) Somehow, our friend Allen got everything in the rental truck and his SUV besides some small stuff we could get into our cars. It took less than 2 hours from the time J got the truck until it was unloaded! Just as our friends were leaving, hhgregg came with our fridge! Perfect timing... except not. A handle screw was stripped, so they couldn't install the handle. Back to the store our new fridge went. Along with my dreams of filling it. (We sold our fridge from the rental Monday. 6 days without a fridge is ZERO fun!) We spent the rest of the day unpacking, and got most of it done!

Whew!

In the past 2 weeks, I have also been accepted into grad school. It looks like I will only take one class this summer (and one next). Hopefully, I will be registered by the end of the week!

I have also aged a little... I had a great birthday! I got another chair for the living room and a pretty indoor plant (fingers crossed I don't kill it). J surprised me with green hydrangeas, an eggplant plant, and some cupcakes. And come Spring Break, I will be getting a massage! I also got some money, which will go toward house stuff! Can't wait to use it to decorate... just have a decide how first!


Spring Break is in 2 weeks. It has been way too long since our last break- Martin Luther King, Jr Day was our last break. We are headed to KY for Easter. And for Memorial Day, we will meet J's family at Lake Hartwell in South Carolina. We are going to be busy!

It's Been One Week...

We have had a busy week getting new things for the house, working, getting into grad school, etc. So I thought I'd make a list of the reasons we LOVE our new house.

-DISHWASHER!
-Garage we can both park in
-Pantry
-Counter Space
-Creek in the backyard that we can hear bubbling after a rain
-Two bathrooms
-HUGE shower
-Separate bathtub
-All our clothes fit into one closet
-All our bedroom furniture fits into our bedroom!
-Kitchen Island
-No water heater, washer, or dryer in the kitchen
-Fireplace
-Tons of Natural Light

I am sure there is more, but this is all I can think of off the top of my head!

We've Only Been Here 4 Days House Tour (excuse the mess)

More details to come.. here is a quick tour of the house from around 6:00 p.m. today:

Come on in...

Entry

Master Bedroom (left door in entry)

Master Bathroom

Laundry Room (door on the right from entry pic)

Garage (off Laundry)


Back Patio off Dining Room

Kitchen from Dining Room

Dining Room from Kitchen

Back Patio off Dining Room

Kitchen looking into Living Room

Kitchen from Living Room

Living Room

Living Room

Hall Bath

Guest Room

The Office