Busy, Busy, Dreadfully Busy

Whew! Ok.. let's start with when J's family was here.

It was a quick trip for them, but we had a great time. We did some shopping, watched a movie, ate, and just enjoyed being together. The boys ate at the Seafood Restaurant at the Farmer's Market. We also enjoyed some stuffed pizza. We also introduced them to Red Hots and Cheerwine (both NC things that I don't really care for, ha). It was a great time, and we look forward to seeing them again soon.

I have also started grad school and work recently. Both of those have kept me extremely busy. I had meetings or workshops the first 5 days, then students came Thursday. And I have class Monday and Wednesday nights. So on those nights, I don't get home til 7:30. After getting to work around 7:30 (leaving at 7:00), I am just worn out! Thankfully, I think I will really enjoy my classes. Once I get used to having a schedule again, I think I won't be so tired. But it is an adjustment!

We got our tickets for the MSU-UGA game. We are super pumped to be going! Go State. Speaking of... football season starts Thursday for us! So excited.. I pretty much love everything about fall... the colors, the holidays, the crisp air (you know, the two nights that happens), pumpkin pie, apple pie, a trip to the mountains... ah, can you tell I'm excited?!

Yesterday we had rain and wind from Irene. It wasn't too bad here; we were on the western edge of where it hit. We even had power the whole time even though there were power outages all around us. But for some reason, we did lose power at midnight last night. It was out for about 4 hours. But Irene was pretty much gone around 6, so we aren't sure why the power went out. But we made it through a hurricane and an earthquake this week!

And as always, I promise to try to update more. But with school and work and football season, we'll see how that plays out!

Ch-ch-ch-changes

The painter's came... our house is getting closer and closer to complete! J's family also came this weekend (I will write another post about that later) and helped up do a few things around the house, too.

Our living room is now Weathered Glass. And our IKEA canvas is now in place (permanently). New curtains soon-ish. We have picked the fabric, just gotta buy it and make them!

Our picture half wall

Master Bedroom is now Love in a Mist (blue-gray) and thanks to David for helping J hang the curtains! They make the room seem much more put together now.

New color! It is a light blue-gray.

Our bathroom is Essence of Lilac. Yes, J knows it is purple- in fact he pretty much picked it! We still have a few things left to do in here, but it is all coming together!

Laundry Cabinets! Now you can't see my 9 bottles of laundry detergent! J's brother and dad helped him hang them. I still have to paint the room (Lime Green :)) and get some more baskets for the shelves.

We ordered the Mississippi print from etsy and Marion printed us one of her pictures for our wall. Hers is the middle one; it is based off a picture she took in London. We are slowly replacing our paint chip artwork!

Virginia is for (all things historical) lovers

We ventured up to Lynchburg and surrounding areas for the weekend. We didn't really have much planned except for a nice weekend together.  We drove up Friday night and stayed near Liberty University. Saturday, we woke up and headed to the Community Market, which is the 3rd oldest in the country. It was small, but neat to see.  We decided to walk to the Old City Cemetery.  It started raining on us, then we looked up to see where we were going... it was still over a mile away! We quickly decided to walk back to the car and drive there. Great decision! We got there at 9:56 and at 10:00, they were offering a free walking tour. Sweet! 

Old City Cemetery, including some history you probably don't care about:

Some of the oldest tombstones in the cemetery

A hearse from around 1900- carved out of wood. Of course, only wealthy people would be able to afford this, although children sometimes got it.  When a child was it in, it would be pulled by white horses.

Lotus Pond

One of 2200 Confederate graves. This soldier was from MS!

The only Union soldier buried here. There were about 500 others, but they were taken back to Union territory to be buried- except for this guy. He was in a Union branch from North Carolina and was captured by Union troops who didn't believe he was fighting for the North, so they took him captive.

View of Confederate graves

It was misty as we walked around, but that meant it wasn't hot!  It was a very interesting tour, which I thoroughly enjoyed. Afterwards, we headed back downtown to eat. We ate a Depot Grille, which is built like an old train station- right next to the tracks and everything. We then walked around downtown some more going into some antique stores.  After a quick nap at the hotel, we went to see Crazy Stupid Love. (So good, btw!) After that, we drove back downtown to Water Stone Pizza. It was delicious!

My brownie sundae

J and his cheesecake

Sunday, we decided to head to the Blue Ridge Parkway. We also decided that it was a no technology day. We didn't use our phones or GPS for directions or looking up anything. It was enjoyable getting around without something barking at you to turn left in 300 yards.

We ventured down through Roanoke, Martinsville, and Danville before heading home. A great, relaxing weekend!

Finally!

We finally have painters in the house!  This is pretty much the last day that we could have painters come, so I am glad they are here. After today, the laundry room will be the only one left to paint, and we are waiting to decide on cabinets before we do anything in there.

I passed my class with a B+. I had a 89.5, which apparently does not round up to 90. :( Oh well, it was a really rough class for me, and I struggled a lot. So I am just glad it is finished so I can continue forward. 8 more classes to go!

J's family is on the way here, so we will have a busy, fun weekend! Tuesday I have orientation at NCSU, then Wednesday it is back to work and my classes start. My summer is winding down fast. I will sure miss it!

We got Netflix (streaming) about a week and a half ago so we can watch Friday Night Lights. I have also enjoyed watching movies during the day. We are in the middle of season 2 of FNL. Seriously, one of the best shows ever. I really hope they make a movie!

We had a nice weekend trip to Virginia, which I will cover in another post. It was nice to get away, just the two of us.  It has been a crazy, busy summer- Caitlin and Brian's visit, a trip to MS, my parents' visit, a quick trip to KY and TX for a wedding, and now J's family visit. And 2 grad school classes. Next summer I shouldn't have to take any classes, and I am hoping for a real (more than 3 day) vacation with J!

Remember Me?

It has been a crazy past few weeks. I just turned in my last 4 assignments for my class, so I am DONE, DONE, DONE! Well, for the next 13 days anyway.

What else has happened since our painter didn't show?...

-We hired another painter, who will be here next Thursday!
- I joined the smartphone world thanks to a Target sale. I <3 my new phone. I am now addicted to words with friends.
-My parents came for a visit.  We enjoyed some Sunni Skies, Moe's, a movie, installing a ceiling fan (so, the process wasn't enjoyable, but sitting in our living room now is!), the farmer's market, and grilling out.
-I went back to Kentucky with my parents. I got to meet my two new cousins! They are so cute... and very small. I don't think I want a child that small.. I think we are going to look into renting kids from age 4 months- 3 years, then sending them back. Sounds good to us!
-I traveled to Texas for Clark's wedding. Thankfully, mom and dad now have DVD players in the van, and Caitlin rented The Office, so we got lots of use out of the DVD players! We spent most of Thursday decorating, then rushed to get ready for the wedding, enjoyed the wedding, then undecorated. It was a crazy, busy, exhausting day, but it was beautiful (if I do say so myself) and they are happy. The day, we woke up and headed back to KY, but I got dropped off in Little Rock and caught a flight home. I got home around 1 AM Friday night/Saturday morning. Whew!
-I spent this week finishing up my class. We also decided to have a weekend away. We haven't had a weekend away with us two in a while. We have been busy coming and going! We wanted to go to Charleston, but priceline wouldn't accept my price, so we are heading to Lynchburg, VA instead. I don't think I have ever been to Virginia, so I can cross that off my list, too.


J's family is coming next week, so I will be busy getting ready for that. I start classes and back to work on the 17th, so I will be trying to enjoy what is left of the summer!