Weekend Re-cap

So it was a busy but fun weekend!!! My parents and sister got here Friday late afternoon. We had a crawfish boil Friday night with lessons from Devlon on how to peel/eat the crawfish. We even added some live crawfish to our fish tank.

Saturday, we got up and made breakfast. Mom, Bethany and I walked for about 40 minutes. The girls then got ready for the Lingerie & Linen shower for Tracy Null in Southlake. Cheri cruised with us. It was a very nice shower, she got some racy stuff and some tame stuff. We then headed to meet up with all the girls for the Bachelorette fun. We were all instructed to change into yoga type clothes, and oversized shirt and heels. We proceeded to GoodBodies to take an Exotic Dancing class......you know, the type of dancing you only do for your significant other in the confines of your own bedroom? Fun stuff. It was a bit embarrassing, but fun for all the girls. We then gathered for drinks, dinner, and some games. I won't go into details here since Josh reads this! The girls then headed out on the town around midnight, but we called it a night and headed home. We thought she needed some time with just her girls and not her future sisters-in-law. Plus Bethany had a 7 hour drive ahead of her back to Missouri!

While we were at the shower the boys went skeet shooting and then Devlon entertained the parents at Carabba's. Ryan and Laura joined them and I know my parents enjoyed spending more time with Devlon's parents.

Sunday we got up, had breakfast, and then everyone hit the road! Devlon and I took a 2.5 hour nap and then headed to his brother's and wife's house for dinner. Tonight we are headed to see Delirium, a Cirque de Soliel show, and we are so excited. Later this week we see Phantom of the Opera.

I will try to post some pics from this weekends festivities, once I transfer them from Cheri's snapfish page. I will leave out the incriminating ones! :)

Oh yeah, my realtor showed my condo this weekend! I don't think it will amount to anything, but I am excited people are looking at it!

Weekend visitors

My parents and sister are coming to Dallas this weekend to visit! Tracy's lingerie & linen shower is on Saturday in Southlake and the all the girls are partying it up for the bachelorette party. I don't know the plans exactly, but I know we will all have fun. Cheri will be cruising around with us, so that will be so fun!

In preparation, I have been cleaning. Sweeping, mopping, bathrooms, etc. Most of my "stuff" (pictures on the walls, furniture, etc) is still at my condo. So even though I am living at Devlon's, it doesn't quite feel like it's mine just yet. We have big plans to make the house ours, we just aren't there yet. So the guest room only has a trundle bed in it. No curtains to warm up the place just yet. No area rugs.....his house (except the bedrooms) is tiled and I think some rugs will warm it up also. So much to do! It still pretty much looks like his house with a few of my pictures thrown in. I can't wait to get it all over here.

So, sorry weekend visitors that this house is still in disarray. Maybe someday soon it will feel more homey, but until then it's just bits and pieces of us waiting to come together.

One Month

Today is offically one month until Josh & Tracy's wedding!!

So exciting!

My carpet and tile was cleaned today and it looks GREAT. The carpet looks brand new! Jayne (our realtor) did an office tour on Tuesday and got very positive response from 35 realtors. Some even mentioned e-mailing some of their clients with the information. I know this will take some time, so I've got to learn to be patient!

Finished Condo Pictures

Well, here they are! The "finished" pictures. I love the way everything turned out. I have a very talented boyfriend!

I went this morning for my carpet/tile cleaning. It didn't happen.........Dallas had almost 10 inches of rain yesterday in a short time, so there were many emergency calls for flooded houses that needed their carpets dried out. Much more important that my need, but it did set us back a bit. So, they are cleaning them Wednesday from 4-6pm. The lockbox is on and it should officially be listed either Tues or Wed of this week. I'll keep you all posted. Everyone cross your fingers for a quick sell!

I took today off work and spent all darn day shopping. For the bachelorette party, lingerie shower, etc etc. It was fun but I am tired of trying on clothes! I still need to find shoes and jewelry for the dress I am wearing to the wedding, and I need to finish my outfit for the rehearsal dinner. I'm glad we still have a month!!

It's Official!

Well, the condo is done. The only thing left is:
1) cutting down the bolts on the toilet
2) cleaning the 2nd shower
3) getting the carpets cleaned

We had the realtor we are using come over last night and we signed the listing agreement and all the paperwork that goes with it (sellers disclosure, etc). The realtor we are using is a close friend of Devlon and his family. I think they all have used her at some point to buy a house! She is so nice and I am so happy to be working with her. She is giving us a decent discount too! She gave us a lot of good tips to try and get it to sell. The other reason we picked her (other than the fact that she is a friend of Devlon and his family) is that her office is in the heart of Lakewood, an area close to where my condo is. She knows the area very well and will be able to bring in some good traffic to see the place. We didn't want to use a realtor that didn't specialize in the area (ie: if their business was in Plano, Carrollton, etc) because it just didn't make sense! This way, I think it will get shown more often and people that want to buy down there are more likely to use an agent that knows that area.

Anyway, so the paperwork is all signed!! I am having the carpets cleaned and the tile in the master bath professionally cleaned Monday morning between 8-10am. Then I will clean the shower and get it all "ready". Jayne (the realtor) is doing on office tour on Tuesday with all her realtors in her office and then the MLS tour (multiple listing service) on Wednesday. She is putting a lock box on it Monday afternoon. Now all we have to do it wait!!

We are both SO excited. SO excited.
I forgot my camera, so I will take pictures Monday morning and post them tomorrow night. It looks GREAT!!

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

Pearl is wishing everyone a Happy St. Patrick's Day! She wishes she could show off the clover necklace better, but looking good all the time is hard!!
Hope you can see the necklace anyway!

I fear the Dentist

I had a Dentist appointment today. For some reason, the dentist totally freaks me out. I get nervous and my heart races while I sit in the chair. I think part of it is the noises you hear........the scraping on the teeth, the drills, the whirring of the cleaning tools. Yuck. I think the other part is they tend to give you bad news.

No matter how hard/often I brush, floss, use preventive stuff and pray, I get cavities. I don't drink sugar drinks, rarely eat hard candy, and I drink a ton of water. What gives! So he tells me today I have cavities on the teeth he has been watching since last year. I can't remember how many.......not a ton, but anything over 2 is too many. I think I stopped listening. I started sweating, adding money in my head, thinking about how long these teeth are actually going to last me. It's not like I am a bum with poor oral hygiene! I think they could tell I was upset. The against said some people are just more susceptible to cavities.......something about the bacteria in my mouth. Didn't make me feel any better!

So, I have to schedule a time to get the cavities filled. I need to wait until I get my income tax. The only nice thing is that my dentist uses laughing gas........so it makes me far less anxious. Last time when he filled a cavity, when I was alone in the room I sucked the gas down as fast as I could! Guess I will use that same strategy to get me through this next experience.

I am off to start dinner, so it is hot and ready when Devlon gets home!

True Colors

Isn't in interesting when your "friends" show their true colors and you see what they are really about?

Almost finished condo pics

Close, but no cigar!

We are nearing the finish line! We had a few snafus come our way, which held us up a bit. When we got to the condo this morning, the grout in the white tile had bubbled. The only thing we could figure out was that it was a non-sanded grout and maybe the grout joints were too big?? Well, actually Devlon figured that out. So we had to re-grout that tile. Then we grouted the other countertop and floor in the 2nd bathroom, installed the garbage disposal and got the plumbing all together for the sinks. Because the grout was too soft, we couldn't install the sinks or toilet. So, that should happen next weekend. And, a ton of cleaning in the bathrooms.

I was a cleaning fool! My room, the kitchen, the dining room and living room have been cleaned top to bottom. Furniture put in place, knicks knacks arranged to look lived-in but not too personal. The last of the things coming to Devlon's was loaded and we called it a day. Devlon's parents have been a great help through all of this.

While watching Grey's Anatomy, I realized we left the hose splayed out in the courtyard. So, I don't have to be at work until 11:00am tomorrow, so I will be heading by my condo to fix that (since the courtyards are community space and many people knew I was working on my place.......so I need to fix that ASAP!)

Well, I am off to bed! Good night and happy week to all.

TIRED

Yep, it's official. We are tired. Not just sleepy tired, but worn out can't hold your eyes open tired. Devlon is already sleeping and it isn't even 10pm! We got a lot done today!

Devlon got up early and replaced his brake pads and did some other important brake maintenace. I am impressed he even knows how to work on brakes. I thought you took your car into a place and pay someone to do that for you. Who knew!

Then we met for lunch and headed to the condo. Devlon and his Dad were hard at work all day. They got the floor tiled in the 2nd bathroom, the oven installed, grouted the countertops in the master bath, disconnected the old disposal, and one of the sinks put in place. Tomorrow's list includes:

Grout floor and countertop in 2nd bathroom.
Install sinks and relevant plumbing.
Install garbage disposal. (this is going to be a hard task....taking the old one off proved to be a feat in itself)
CLEAN CLEAN CLEAN
We are thinking we will make it back next weekend for any touch ups and last minute stuff (ie: put the toilet back on, clean, etc) and then it should be ready to go! Oh, and I need to get the carpets cleaned.

I was busy too, just in a different way! I picked up the oven from the Conn's clearance center while the men began their work. I made a trip to Good Will, and then cleaned all damn day. I rearranged my room to "open it up" (realtor request), made my bed, dusted and arranged decorative stuff to make it look pretty but not personalized. Packed up my books, yearbooks, etc and we loaded Devlon's car. Tomorrow we should bring over the garage sale items and then no more moving stuff until it sells.

We stopped at Central Market (I will miss living so close to that place!) for dinner items. Devlon wanted steak and by god, the boy deserves some steak! We had steak w/ mushrooms & onions, spinach and rolls. Good stuff. I should have some pics tomorrow night of our completed tasks............good night to all.

Ode to Coolio Fat Pants

I got some very sad news this past week. Cheri & Larry's cat, Coolio, died in the middle of the night on Wednesday. A bit unexpected to say the least, thought I guess you are never really ready when it happens. Coolio was an interesting cat, who had a way of speaking to you. I'll never forget going to check on him while Cheri & Larry were out of town and he made me feel so bad when I left. I will also remember his love for my shoes.............particularly my flip flops. He always made himself at home while laying on top of them......sort of saying "Ha! Now you can't leave if you are barefoot". Great cat.

I know Cheri & Larry are sad and I am sad too. He did give us some great laughs, memories and joy. Love you Mr. Coolio Fat Pants. You will be missed!

Updated Condo pics

Here they are.......plus a weekend re-cap! In order, I'll describe the pics.

#1 - new floor that Devlon built in my 2nd bathroom, now ready for tile. The tile will be the same color that is on the countertop, but will be an octagon shaped.
#2 - Devlon working on new countertops in master bath
#3 - New matte 2x2 inch tile on master countertops....waiting for grout!
#4 - New tile 2x2 inch on countertops in 2nd bathroom, a tan/stone color....waiting for grout!
#5 - New bathroom hardware on cabinets and drawers
#6 - New light in 2nd bathroom

This weekend was crazy busy, but we got alot done. I bought a new oven, we are picking it up and installing it next weekend. I have the majority of my stuff (minus the furniture) over at Devlon's now (pictures, clothes, jewelry, etc)....in a million boxes and bags. All that seems left is books, a few random kitchen things, blankets and stuff in drawers...like t-shirts, socks, etc. Devlon's Mom was a big help. We loaded up 2 cars and we just unloaded everything. Devlon and his Dad were busy, but as you can tell, alot got done! They even made a trip to the city dump. We *should* have it complete next weekend. I put new hardware on all the closets, replaced the drip pans on the stove, and a few other cosmetic touches around the house. It all seems to be coming together! Now I just have to unpack here.......ugh!

Well, I am off to bed! Look for new pics next weekend. Happy Monday!

Taken from Mrsg

The Keys to Your Heart

You are attracted to those who are unbridled, untrammeled, and free. In love, you feel the most alive when your lover is creative and never lets you feel bored. You'd like to your lover to think you are stylish and alluring. You would be forced to break up with someone who was emotional, moody, and difficult to please. Your ideal relationship is open. Both of you can talk about everything... no secrets. Your risk of cheating is zero. You care about society and morality. You would never break a commitment. You think of marriage as something precious. You'll treasure marriage and treat it as sacred. In this moment, you think of love as something you thirst for. You'll do anything for love, but you won't fall for it easily.

What Are The Keys To Your Heart?

Changes.....

So there seem to be alot of changes happening around me these days!

My bestest friend, Melissa, found out today that their family is moving to Utah (Salt Lake City area) in mid June for Ben's next Air Force assignment. They will likely be there a minimum of 3 years. I've been lucky having them so close now........just 3 hours to Oklahoma! It has been great to watch the girls grow up and them really know who I am and how much I love them. I love that they call me Aunt Tracy and that Brooke wants to talk to me everytime I am on the phone with Mel. It has also been great to take long weekends and get together with Mel and hang out. It seems time never passes when we get back around each other. We safely know everything about each other and have made it this far (25 years!). Her friendship has been a blessing in my life. I am SO excited for them and this next move in their life! Even more excited that they won't be in Alaska or Japan as previously thought. My long weekend trips will have to turn into weekly visits, for sure! You guys better get a house with a guest room! :)

My brother's wedding is coming fast! Seems there is a lot to do for that. My parents are getting ready for the rehearsal dinner, I need to figure out when I am heading down there the week of the wedding, etc, etc. Oh, and I need to find a dress! I think I have one that I like, but I'm not done looking around just yet. Plus, I need to get with Tracy and plan what I am going to read in the ceremony so I can practice! Speaking in front of a crowd greater than 30 makes me sweat a bit!

The work in the next few weekends on my condo will hopefully get it ready to list! I got a call yesterday from a realtor that is trying to rent the unit under mine. He says they have noticed some water stains on the ceiling in their dining room. I haven't slept or run any water in my house in a few months (other than a toilet every once in a while), the air/heat has been off, etc. I headed to my condo yesterday and Devlon's Dad met me to check it out. There is no evidence of a leak in my house, as far as I can tell. I talked to the guy and I guess he is going to investigate it further and keep me posted. As far as I see, nothing can be figured out until her gets into the ceiling and sees if they can locate the leak. Ah, the joys of home/condo owning. :) Hopefully it will be nothing. I'll post some pics this weekend of the work we get done. I am still working on bringing my things over to my new house. It has taken me a bit to get used to saying "our house", "our things". I think until all my stuff is fully over here, I won't feel quite settled. All my furniture is staying until the condo sells.........it just shows better furnished. But I am definitely here, at my new home settling into my new life with my wonderful guy.

Larry and Cheri, my cousin and wife, are looking at buying a house!! They have started the process and hope to find the right one by the time their apartment lease is up. Best of luck guys!I better get to see some of the choices so I can help you make a decision!

Changes all over!