Backyard Remodel

Just when my hubby thought we were all the way done "remodeling" things in our house.... He should never let his guard down. ;-)

Our one project, the only one left, for this summer was to redo our back yard. Formerly known as the Zeus Potty Zone, it is now a "no- dog- ever- pottying- here- again- zone"!!!

It started with a few weekends, who am I kidding, months of planning, discussing, analyzing, planning, putting off.. well you get the idea. We got started last weekend, but didn't get very far. Let's just say... lots of trips to Home depot and places of the like, buying things, returning things, it consumed a lot of time we didn't account for.

Here's what she started out as..

Please ignore my face hiding in the corner... see I'm deep in thought...

We cleared out old cement bricks, attempted to level out parts of it, pulled up roots and power washed the very neglected patio.

 We even had a supervisor.

Let me just say.. power-washing is my new favorite hobby. I love the instant gratification you get from it!! Now don't go getting any ideas.. I'm not up for hire.. just yet that is.. hmm.. maybe I should start a business..

Anyways back on track...

Hubby was so kind as to build me 2 raised bed garden boxes!! (I knew I loved him for a reason!)

Isn't he so handy?! And handsome too I might add!

After this last weekend, we were able to get a load (or 2) of dirt, and a load of gravel. Our back yard is now complete!!! I even stopped and bought us a fire pit to go back there! 

What a transformation!!! I'm so proud of my hubby for all his hard work, and for putting up with me and my indecisiveness. (Love you!!) 

I love looking at the before and after right next to each other.. such a great sense of accomplishment!

All is a day's work.. err.. a couple weekend's work. 

Now we can relax this summer.. until I conjure up another project that is... shh.. don't tell Steve.

An Update.. In Photos

 Izzy had another trip to the beauty parlor.. promptly followed by a trip to the vet. Apparently she needed a steroid shot to get rid of a dandruff problem. And go on a slight diet... Poor girl is going to develop body image issues before long. Luckily it doesn't seem to have hit her yet.. she's still running around like a mad woman.

 Nothing like a screw in the ol' tire to throw off your day! Thanks to my hubby for a quick and painless fix!

Holding baby chicks makes me one happy lady! (I WILL own some one day..)

 My hubby knows the only thing needed for this girl to celebrate Easter properly! ;-)

 There is nothing sweeter to me then getting dandelions from a student on a sunny spring day. It's the thought that counts.

 My first attempt at making Chicken Parmesan, and quite a successful attempt at that if my tummy does say so!

 I snuck out and bought my hubby some new summer toys! A new (huge!) tent and a pretty awesome lantern. He's like a kid in a candy store! Can't wait for camping this summer!

 I had insurance for a short while through my long term position and finally was able to get my eye balls checked out.. sure enough, glasses needed. Don't worry, they aren't too bad... yet.

 We had an evening of pretty nice thunderstorms in our neck of the woods. However it was nothing compared to our family down south!

 The last lingering bloom on the Christmas Cactus.

 Last weekend was the start of our back yard project. It didn't go as well as planned but at least we had coffee to kick start our day!

 Book Sale= Heaven for me! 

 Fresh strawberries!! I love the start of spring and summer! 

Found this treasure at Chuck's Produce. Amish Popcorn. FABULOUS!! 

Change

I don't deal well with change, of any sort. Don't get me wrong, I can definitely do the "fly by the seat of my pants thing" if it has proper planning time. I like to know what I'm doing, where I'm going and how I'll go about things once I get there.

Well here's the problem.. My long term sub job is ending next Friday. This, in my world is a tragedy. Not only will I miss all of the students and staff, but I will also miss the routine! And the simple fact that I will know where I am going everyday, what I'll be doing that day and have had time to mentally prepare for how I'm going to get it done. Once this is over, I will have lost all control, literally.

Help!!

So here's what I'm going to do.. I am going to start something new. Something that might allow me a bit of control. Who knows? What am I really saying.. I just need something to not allow myself to fall back into a "sub pool funk."

I am going to start the "Couch to 5K" program. Not only will I have something to get me back in shape for the dreaded summer, but I will also have something to keep my mind off of my lack of control in other areas. Now here's the other key, I need to stick with it. I am not a fan of working out. I'd much rather curl up after a hard days work and read a good book, clean the house, do laundry, yes that's right, just about anything BUT workout.

It's 3 days a week, I can do that right?! Let's hope. Here's to starting something new... in one week...
What you actually thought I'd start tomorrow?!

Back to the Daily Grind

Spring break is over, know how I know?? The alarm went off, blaring, bright and early and this time I didn't get to roll out of bed and help hubby get ready for work, I too had to get ready today. But I do have to say, I went to bed last night feeling so accomplished for a week off. Not only did I take time to meet up with a few friends, get a few appointments out of the way and celebrate a few birthdays, I also got A WHOLE LOT done!!!

Here's a run down of my "Spring Break To-Do List"

-Clean out "cleaning closet
 Clean and organize office
 Clean out bathroom cabinet
 Clean out nightstand drawers
 make new coasters for living room
 Organize recipe book/binder
-Go through magazines
-Get filing ready
 Clean and organize spare room
 Make dog treats
-re-do window into office organizer
-Clean out baking cabinet
 replant house plants in new pots
 paint pots in back yard
-weed front yard

And we added a HUGE one to the list yesterday... drum roll please....
-Clean out garage

It was definitely something I didn't personally put on my to-do list because I knew i needed hubby's help with it all, but we DID IT!!!! It's so wonderfully clean and organized! There's just a few things that need to go and be picked up, but for the most part.. it's like a brand new garage!!


We had a great Easter, full of cleaning, dinner with family and nice walks with our dogs. We hope you all had a great Easter!!

Happy Spring! (Will it stick around this time....???)

InstaFriday!

This is a first for me. As mentioned before I had always been envious of my iphone friends and their instagram photos, but now I can join in!!! Here's a first attempt at an InstaFriday aka "My week in Photos".

First photo!!!! (can you tell how exciting I am about this app?!?)

This is a chair that was originally my Great Grandmothers. I just love the shape and design of it, but not so much a fan of the fabric covering it. I want to get it recovered, but after calling all around town.. it's a bit pricey for my pocketbook. Guess I'll be learning something new soon...

Lunch with 2 of my favorite girls at Olive Garden Wednesday was a great way to celebrate spring break!

Izzy has a thing for sweatshirt strings, obviously. Enough said.

I found a great steal at TJMaxx... this was $20, regular $55!!! and it's Huge!! I've been searching like a mad woman for a new tea kettle... now I can rest happy. And it whistles so quietly. ahh, music to my ears.

My "helper" being not so helpful while I'm cleaning out things. Guess I can't quite get rid of this blanket yet...

I love Friday Coffee Day (long story...) But little did I know just how much I'd be needing this today. Took Izzy to the groomers and let's just say, that girl can throw a tantrum and put up quite the fight.


Well there you go, that's my week in photos!! I'm loving this whole instagram thing!! And sadly, spring break is coming to an end for me, but I am feeling so accomplished. A rundown of my "list" is soon to come!

More Cleaning, Sorting, Celebrating

Yes that's right, I've actually stuck to it! Spring cleaning has so far been a great success! I've crossed a few things off of my list.. and as my hubby says "... and those are the big jobs! The rest will be easy!"

Yesterday I started the day by going through some old magazines, drinking a cup of tea and listening to the rain. Windows are shut back up and heaters turned back on. Let me pose a question however... how does one human being accumulate so many magazines?! Lack of time, motivation? Who knows. Either way, I love them and have loved looking through them, but it is my goal from this point forward (well after I finish sorting through the pile I have out in the living room) that I will not accumulate this many magazines, EVER AGAIN. When I get them, I will make an effort to look through them, rip out what I want to keep and move on. Phew, feels great to say that out loud! And no, I will not show you a photo of the pile. No one needs to see that.

I also cleaned out and organized the spare room. Someone could actually sleep on the bed now and our winter clothing items are all neatly stored away, together, in one place. (now please I beg of you, don't have a sudden April snow storm...)

I spent a lot of time catching up on laundry yesterday as well. Isn't it funny how that stuff just piles up!? Who wears all those clothes?!

The hubby and I also went over to a friends house to celebrate her birthday in the evening. It was a fun night of stories, laughter, good food and good company. Happy Birthday Nicole!!... Sorry It still feels weird... Happy Birthday Nikki!! There much better.

My last tid-bit... Something sooooooo exciting....!!! Android phones now have the app Instagram. I could not be more excited. I had such envy watching all my iphone friends upload these fun photos... and now I can be one of them! And I can also link up with "InstaFriday" (<--- stay tuned!!).

Happy Hump Day! (Spring break is going tooooo fast...)

Embarrassing!!!!

It sure does take a lot for me to get embarrassed, but today I am fully embarrassed to admit something to the world.. This is what our office looked like after a year of wedding planning, busy work weeks, shoving piles of unwanted/unsorted things from other rooms and pure neglect.

How bad is that?! See.... This is me, completely embarrassed. I'm starting to feel quite warm as I type this.. Ignore Izzy, she was snooping. And has every right to. The door to this room is more often then not closed due to the natural disaster occurring in here. It's like a room of the house she never knew was there!

Is it just me, or does she look embarrassed too!?

Now, keep in mind, I forgot to take photos before I started. I had removed a few things from the room and then realized that I had wanted to take before and after photos.

In the hallway I had started to make a few piles of things. Games, puzzles, magazines etc. And I hauled out my box of wrapping stuff (ribbons, tissue paper, bags) Not so organized...

But.......!

I am happy to report that after a Looooooooong day of cleaning, organizing and sorting. I have officially conquered the embarrassing office!

Here she is, all spiffed up!

You can actually walk into the room without attempting a balancing act! The dogs love it, they literally haven't left the room since it's been clean. Zeus is laying at my feet as I type. I could not be more proud!!

Yesterday was also quite the sunny day in our neck of the woods. It was so nice, I tore the plastic winter covering off of our windows, opened 'em up and let the fresh air flow through our house! I even snuck outside to replant some of my house plants into new pots. Whew! What a day! I got A LOT accomplished and felt great, tired, but great after all my hard work yesterday.

Day 3 of spring break is in the books.

Spring Break- Day 2

Day 2, does it feel like it's going by too fast already!? Remember that list.. it's staring me in the face as I type... I'll get right on that.

Day 2's adventures:

I started the day by waking up at the crack of dawn, literally, 5am. Who does that on a day off?! and when you have the whole bed to yourself?! Me. That's who.
Pot of coffee, 2 dogs fed and walked, let the cleaning commence.
Hubby arrived home in time to help finish up the cleaning, oh how I truly appreciate his help. And his understanding of my need to have EVERYTHING spotless whenever we have ANYONE over, even family. (Thank you for allowing me this insane trait Hubby!!)
Steve's mom and her boyfriend, Mike, showed up not too long after to get some help with one of their rigs. Stupid starter. I made creme brulee and chatted with Mama T while the men did the car thing.
After a lot of effort and man time, fixing the car turned out to be a failed effort. (Sadly it is at the shop with Steve this morning, hoping to be fixed)
Car, mom-in-law and boyfriend left for a few hours. Steve and I enjoyed lunch together and watched a show from our mass amounts on the DVR (Body of Proof.. Have you seen it?!?! Hooked! And can't wait for this weeks!!)
Steve and Izzy napped peacefully.
I started dinner, woke Steve up (hehehe) and prepared for Mama T's birthday dinner! Creamy Chicken Enchiladas (What a hit!!) and Creme Brulee (always a hit!)

Happy Birthday!!

Much of our time was spent chatting, laughing, telling stories and trying to figure out words to pay on the good ol' phone. Oh technology...

  Such Thinkers!

  

 Even Izzy enjoyed having the company. So much so, that she was a bit worn out from the whole event. 

  Such a pretty girl! (She appears very well behaved in this photo, don't let it fool you!)

Ending the evening with walking the dogs and an early night to bed.

Couldn't have asked for a more perfect weekend and start to spring break.

Holy Spring Fever...

Yes that's right, me, the girl who loves rain.. is officially saying I'm Ready For Spring!!! I need a little sunshine in my life, and I need to be able to walk outside for more then 2 seconds and without getting completely drenched. In the meantime however, while it still decided to pour outside, I am on spring break. And instead of laying out sunbathing somewhere much warmer and sunnier, I have made a list of things to clean/clean-out. Can anyone say "spring cleaning"??

Let's see if I can actually stick to my list though.

Here's a few examples from my list (maybe it will help keep me accountable??)
-Clean out "cleaning closet" (makes a whole lot of sense right?!)
-Clean and organize office-- this is quite the task, believe me. Maybe some before/after photos? oooh that'd be so embarrassing to share..
-Clean out bathroom cabinet
-Make new coasters for living room (our current ones still have penguins dressed in scarves on them..)
-Make dog treats

If weather permits:
-Weed front yard
-Paint pots in back yard
-Replant house plants in different pots


I love making lists.. I love the feeling of being able to cross things off and see all that I have accomplished. Here's to hoping I get to cross a whole lot off!


On another note.. yesterday was day one of spring break, here's how it went down.

Day 1
The morning started off with saying goodbye to my hubby for 24 hours. (He was on shift at the fire station.) Then what's a girl to do?! Why go thrift shopping with her mom for the day, what else?! Although I'd love to be able to tell you that we found some great bargains, I however sadly cannot. We did, however, get lost quite a bit, had a lot of laughs, found some great books and a few other odds and ends.
I came home after our shopping excursion to an empty house and dogs that appeared and acted as if I had starved them for days before returning. I did my nightly duty of feeding them and taking them outside to do their duties. (by the way, I managed to do this in between rain storms!!! is it sad that that is quite the excitement and accomplishment lately!? Hence the spring fever I suppose..)
I then sat down to a piece of leftover pizza for dinner and managed to meal plan for 2 weeks and make a grocery list. Then it was time for me to head off to the ol' grocery store. While grocery shopping, apparently I managed to miss yet another massive rain storm. Yay me!
Then it was home to unload, put away and clean up the mess I had made. Is it time for bed yet?!
Remember when I said my day started with saying goodbye to my hubby?? Well that also meant that it would be completely acceptable to go to bed early right?! Wrong... I ended up finding other odds and ends that needed to be picked up or cleaned before hosting a birthday dinner the following day.
By days end, I was exhausted. I put the dogs to bed, got myself ready and imagined a restful nights sleep. Wrong again. I have such an issue sleeping when Steve is gone. I think the dogs do too. They pace, scratch, lick and anything else they can think to do to keep me awake. (Keep in mind, I write this as Steve and Izzy are taking a restful nap.. Nice huh? I kid... I know they need it and my mind is way too busy to nap..)

Quite an eventful day one. Day two holds a birthday dinner, massive cleaning of our house (before said dinner), and other various adventures.

Oh spring break.. you keep me so busy..