today

pretty sunset tonight

kitchen tennis with Carson - the hats were his idea

waiting for his "pitch"and I finished my puzzle while watching Project Runway

killing the leaves

These are your "before" pictures of our back yard with the leaves. Ryan took these a week before we actually mulched them up, so more were off the trees by then.

I joined Ryan in the battle for our back yard after waking up at 11:15 that day (hee hee). I kept mowing over and over the leaves until they were gone (or blown into the field the school is responsible for mowing!).

settling

Unloading our new bedroom set at the new house Sunday night!

Ryan testing out our new table. It expands into a square when the leaf is used.

Me getting something out of the new fridge

Later that week . . . putting together our bed

Almost too tired to finish it

Ryan, our bed, and the Crate & Barrel duvet cover. If only we had the duvet . . .

A clean kitchen! This was my goal by Friday night.

The plant was a gift for helping with VBS - not sure if it'll survive.

Some of you with sharp eyes may notice we have a picture hung!

Everything is at least on a shelf and off the floor, even if it's not the final resting place of most of our stuff.

changes

You'll have to look closely at these pictures to see the evolution of my office. I'm really supposed to be packing for my weekend in Collegedale and for Sunday through Wednesday's teachers' convention at Indian Creek. Instead, I got preoccupied. Anyone who knows me well knows that I clean rooms by rearranging my furniture. It's the only way to get things really clean. For instance, I vacuumed every part of the floor in this room tonight. I think that's an accomplishment.

Early October 2006 - The original state of my office (after unpacking). I like the red color, but wished they had spent more than 10 minutes slapping it on the walls. It also shows lots of scuffs and imperfections that could be hidden better.

Late October 2006 - I got curtains! There wasn't really any other change besides the curtains.

August 2007 - Voila! I moved my desk to the wall opposite the door and got all of my scrapbooking/craft junk out of your first line of site when you walk in the room. I still need something better than a rubber band (!) to hold back the curtains.

I put all of my scrapbooking and craft junk together on the small wall between the door and closet. That way it can be messy and you don't see it unless you're in the room. I also need somewhere better for my coolers, but I'm afraid to put them in the creepy basement! They can live below that table for now.

Another tidbit - if you know me, you know I lost 3 softball bats in the middle of my room when I was younger. I didn't find anything interesting today, except $10 in rolled coins. Take that to the bank!

things i'll regret aquiring during my next move . . .

I acquired a new piece of furniture today. Nikie and Chadd were given this entertainment center and they didn't want it b/c it doesn't match the wood on their other furniture. They also don't need it b/c they have built-ins in their house. Anyway, they said I could have it or it was going to Goodwill.

It's in pretty good shape, aside from missing a knob, the left door is cracked all the way down but is being held by some L-brackets, and some gouges where their TV sat.

As you can tell, my TV doesn't begin to fill the space. Maybe I can get 3 more and have some multi-screen action? Anyway, I can hide something there with the door shut. I have to do something about the wires coming down too . . .

The other piece I've had for a while now is this bookshelf. I had to get a floor sample from the store b/c they didn't have any more in this finish (which matches the legs on my couch perfectly). This picture makes the cabinet and bookshelf look like they're a similar color, but they're really not this close. It's an optical delusion.

Here's the front view. Things are just randomly put up there right now. As you can see, Ryan added some items to the shelves too.

I think it's fun anyway, and thanks to all who contributed to my birthday bookshelf. It just took me a while to actually go buy. Too bad you can't tell in this picture how white and shiny my trim is behind this shelf. That's another project I have to finish . . .

Anyway, I've got the munchies after my softball game, so I'm gonna go pop some popcorn.

Shelob

When I pulled my laundry basket out of the closet yesterday, this beautiful spider was crawling along the back wall. I knew what it was right away, even without flipping her over.

But, if you need any proof, I have flipped her over for your benefit. Don't worry Ryan, this is one spider I squished without hesitation!