Sunday, June 28, 2009

Happy Birthday, dear J

I just wanted to post a quick public Happy Birthday to J, the best husband a girl could ask for!! Special thanks, as well, to his buddies D and E for giving up their weekend to spend some quality time with J--poker, golf, and a long afternoon of work on our deck, followed by some great steak and sushi made for a great weekend! Thanks guys!

Title: Happy Birthday song

Thursday, June 18, 2009

I dig my toes into the sand

When J and I married, we honeymooned in Canada. When people expressed surprise at our location choice, we generally responded, “we're just not beach people”. This week, for the first time in years, we find ourselves at the beach (Gulf Shores), and we're definitely feeling the beach vibe!

First, understand that J doesn't like to miss work. In fact, other than a day here or there and the two weeks we took for our honeymoon, I've never known him to take vacation. Knowing this, you won't be surprised to hear that we didn't take a whole week. Though J's folks rented a house on the beach for the whole week, we agreed we could only take three days off and planned to drive the eleven or so hours down on Wednesday. In the interest of a few more hours with the family, I suggested we drive part way after work on Tuesday (“to Nashville” I think I suggested) to get a head start on Wednesday. J suggested that if we were going to drive that far, we should aim for Birmingham and at least get half the drive out of the way.

We arrived in Gulf Shores at 5:00 a.m. Central time Wednesday morning, an even eleven hours after leaving home. So much for stopping...

The beauty of arriving so early on Wednesday is that we have an extra day to spend with J's family, all of whom made the trek from Western Kentucky. With a couple of long naps yesterday, we're about caught up on our sleep (waking up at 5:30 this morning to run didn't help, though it does keep us on track to finish our 5K in August—see previous post), and we're having a great time.

Stay tuned for more pictures, and as the song says: [We] wish you were here!

Title: Wish You Were Here, by Incubus

Saturday, June 13, 2009

Running just as fast as we can

J and I started another attempt to become exercisers this week. Yes, another. We're both genetically pre-disposed to survive drought and harsh winters, which apparently also means we lack the drive and ability to run for the heck of it (Much less because we "crave" it or because it just feels weird when we don't. We know you people, and we think there's something wrong with you.)

Anyhow, because we know that we're likely within a few pounds of medication for the rest of our lives, and because I've lost some weight recently due to my diet, but plateued due to lack of exercise), we're trying again. And because we hear that signing up for a race and telling everyone about it will hold us accountable, here we are, announcing it to the world.

Join us, if you'd like. We're using the "Couch to 5K" plan (learn more here: http://www.c25k.com/) which offers a nine week plan. Conveniently, Lexington's Midsummer Night's Run is August 15, nine weeks from today. So put on your walking/jogging shoes and make plans to join us on August 15! (Or at least make plans to ask us regularly how our traing is going!!)

Title: "I think we're alone now", by Tiffany

Sunday, June 7, 2009

Payin' yardsale prices for each golden memory

J's mom came to visit this weekend, and we were at a bit of a loss as to what to show her about our adopted hometown. In general conversation Friday evening, she mentioned something she'd picked up at a yardsale. Now, I've never been a big yard saler (not a word, I'm sure), but many of the bloggers I read regularly show off their fabulous yard sale finds. In fact, the Nester posted her recommendations for yard saling (another non-word, I know) just last week. So when D mentioned yard sales, I remembered the Nester's post and the signs I saw in Paris, KY, on Friday advertising the Highway 68 400 mile yard sale this weekend, and our Saturday plans quickly fell into place!


Lucky for us, Saturday was a beautiful day, and J was happy to drive us down to Wilmore with the top down. I found a pretty hobnail lamp at the first sale (talked them down to $2) that will look great in our guest room with a new lamp kit and shade. Then, we hit the jackpot at the home of an artist with an old barn packed full of old chairs and pottery. J's mom bought a few McCoy pottery pieces, while I picked up these copper mugs. Then, I dragged J out of his napping place in the sun to check out this chair and dresser. The chair, which needs some minor refinishing and a set of casters was a steal at $15. The dresser needs more work, but at $25 was too good to pass up, too. It's just the right size to replace our bathroom vanity. (And doesn't it look great with the small apothecary jars I picked up for $4 each at Michael's today?)

After buying the dresser and realizing it wouldn't fit in the car, J dropped us off at the next yard sale and returned home to get D's truck. I didn't get much at the last sale, but paid only $2 each for this mirror and silver Paul Revere bowl, so I can't complain there, either.

In all, a great day, and I've got a couple more projects to keep me busy this summer, too!

Title: Yard Sale, by Sammy Kershaw

Monday, June 1, 2009

Buildin', buildin', buildin'

Progress is moving rapidly on our new fence, with just one (expected) day to before the fence is complete. Pretty impressive given that we just hired the company on Wednesday and they don't work weekends. Here are a couple of pictures to show the progress (first from Thursday evening when J arrived home, and second from this evening which show the two finished sides). As long as the weather holds, they will finish tomorrow!

The other big news from the weekend is that I survived my second Thin Mint Sprint at work. Both races exceeded my goal number of participants and we received several compliments on how well organized both events were. Despite making May a stressful month here at the Melton Point, the success and praise totally re-enforce my job satisfaction! Here is a picture of Thin Mint Millie, the race mascot, which I made. Not the greatest job, but I'm pretty pleased with her. You can see the picture I modeled her after at the race website http://www.thinmintsprint.org/

This week we're getting the house reorganized (tough when parts haven't been organized to start with!) in preparation for a visit from J's mom this weekend.

Title: my version of Rawhide