guest bedroom // reveal

warning: this is a really boring post.  BUT. Our guest bedroom is like 80% done.  And this is really exciting news on the Shanahan front because that means we will never have to worry about this room again and our house is one room closer to be finished, furnished, and a big kid house.  I know. I know. but for us it really is the little things in life.  We have this huge house made for adults with all these empty rooms and I know this is a room that is very rarely used – but to have it {almost} fully decorated is a win in my book.  The blue and gray walls look really good with the gray curtains and gray bedspread.  All the steel accents {top of bed. lamps. curtain rod} all just really tie together.  The candle holders are in route to Alpharetta from Pottery Barn.  But… on the need to buy list:  a large, horizontal mirror to hang over the dresser and then some sort of “art” for over the bed – but I have a vision of what I want, but cannot seem to find it.  I want  something round and simple over the bed, but not a round decorative mirror because there will be a mirror over the dresser.  But – there is really no rush on either item since the room is rarely used and just having real life, big kid, not embarrassing furniture in that room is a total win.  And now we are in debt to Havertys since we got new furniture for our bedroom.

Next rooms to decorate: living room needs new furniture. Luckily, the living room is decorated and we really like it. And the couch in our living room will be moved to Kyle’s man cave – then need to decorate the man cave.  The love seat in our living room will be moved to our awkward weird sitting room off the foyer with the coffee table and end table.  We also need to get a table for our formal dining room.  Then the other 2 rooms upstairs will be decorated as bambinos are added to the family.  Plus we want to replace all 5 out of the 6 ceiling fans upstairs.  And add granite to the kitchen. And evidently spend all our money on this house.

Seriously.  Home buying and decorating and making it our own is expensive.  We will always accept Havertys and Home  Depot gift cards for holidays and birthdays.

But… in other news.  Look at this ham that is our dog Kennesaw.  We got a new bed {upgraded to a King from a Queen} and after a little bit of uncertainty, Kennesaw embraced the new bed and decided it is really comfortable and had made herself at home.  At the top of the bed. On my pillows.  And I am pretty sure she only left the bed on Saturday to go to the bathroom, drink water, go on a walk, go outside, and have dinner.  This bed is WAY taller than our old bed and Mulligan {thinking he was small} didn’t know if he could jump up.  Needless to say.  He can.  And now we have two dogs who love our bed and my nap on  Sunday was surrounded by puppies.  I am glad those kids of ours love their new bed.  Because of course, it was bought especially for them.  But seriously, how cute is Kennesaw snoozing in luxury.  and, for the record – there is so much room that it feels like kyle and I are sleeping on different continents and there is plenty of room for 2 dogs in bed, but kennesaw does move to the floor for her egg shell bed. Spoiled.

well. I am out.  I am in Asheboro, NC for work – headed back to Atlanta tomorrow – and need my sleep.  I have been exhausted lately.  just exhausted.

Oh December.

Can you believe that the year is almost over?!  I decided to do a little update on the old blog since I am sitting here watching the SEC Championship {rooting for a Mizzou victory – even though it seems like it will be another win by the barn school down to road from Tuscaloosa} and Kyle J is painting our guest room in preparation for our current bedroom furniture to move into the guest room. Oh the life of a domestic couple living in the burbs.  Picking out paint colors.  House projects pretty much every weekend.  And lots of time spent at the local Home Depot.

I am actually really excited about decorating the guest room – I have lots of ideas.  the room got painted with one gray accent wall and then 4 light blue walls … and well, the walls are a little too blue for my vision – they remind me of a baby’s room blue – but we will make it work.  We have gray curtains to hang and then a charcoal gray comforter for the bed.  My Dad will be VERY happy to know that he will have bedside tables, with lamps, so he can finally put his belongings places. I am trying to decide if I want to put mirrors behind the lamps {like something amazing I saw on Pinterest} or just decorate above the headboard.  Then we have other walls to decorate and what not – so I am hoping the blue will just fade in the background.  You know?

I decorated our Christmas Tree today while Kyle painted.  Pause.  I went to Home Depot to rent a truck to bring Kyle’s Christmas present home …. and they were out of trucks {say what} … so I drove up the road to Lowe’s and got one of their trucks, took it back to Home Depot, and then got Kyle’s grill home.  Needless to say – that was terrifying.  I was driving a BIG Ford F250 around Alpharetta and could not figure out how to “open” the side mirrors on one side.  For real – dangerous and I now believe the average Joe does NOT need a truck that big.  I basically needed a ladder to get in it and then would roll myself out of it.  And, I drove like 15 miles per hour home with a larger than life grill tied to the back.  DANGEROUS.

Back to the tree – I decorated for Christmas even through we will not be in Georgia Christmas – but we still need the holiday spirit in Alpharetta.  Our mantel is REALLY bare and even Kyle thinks it is bare.  So I will be adding Home Goods and Target to my list of errands tomorrow to get more mantle decorations.  But I think our tree is really pretty and that next year we will need to buy one that is a little bit bigger – only because we have a higher ceiling and more room in the corner where we are going to put the tree each year.  Plus – ours is a cheap Walmart tree from like 5 years ago and there are too many big unnatural holes – so I think we will splurge next year and get a new tree that is higher quality.  Oh homeownership – a never ending battle of saving and spending money. …..but at the end of the day, it is all worth it.

I am travelling again for work.  Spent most of last week in the great state of Alabama between both McCalla and Montgomery.  Best part: I got to have dinner with my bestie Heather.  I always love seeing her any chance I get.  This week I am off to Augusta.  Then next week I am off to Asheboro, NC.  Then home to Northern VA for Christmas with Kyle’s family. 

But. I will post pictures of the guest room as the furniture gets moved in and as it is fully decorated…. or I will show the work in progress!!!

 

 

and in other news….

I feel like I did a good job of covering the life events that kept us on our toes {and the road} this fall.  but then there are the other things that are new and exciting in our world.

1. Kyle J is turning into a runner!! And he will probably kill me if he knows that I put this picture on the blog, but I cannot tell you how proud I am of him.  He gets up pretty much every morning before work and runs 3 miles throughout the neighborhood.  When we were in Sanibel, he got up 2 mornings and ran alone.  he is really becoming my little runner and has even asked when our first 5k will be as a couple.  So…. I am scouting.  But as prep for the upcoming race … One recent Saturday I finally got his running butt into Big Peach Running Company to get professionally fit for running shoes.  he had been mentioning running pains and needing new shoes and I somehow talked him into getting the fit test.  And…. he actually liked it and admitted that I was right and that he should have gone sooner. {mind you – he wanted to go to DSW and get a regular pair shoes because he didn’t want to shell out serious money.  I lured him in with a coupon I thing.}  ….if you’re in Atlanta and need a good pair of running shoes – the fit test at Big Peach is well worth the time.

2. We got up one Sunday morning and went to hike the waterfall at apalachicola state park.  And let me tell you, despite the gorgeous weather in the fall – it was hard and rough.  When Kyle asked me if I wanted to go on a hike followed by brunch I didn’t know that I would be HIKING.  My fitbit almost exploded – 1 day, 1 hike = 100 flights of stairs.  Kids.  That hike was legit – we pretty much climbed up a mountain and that is no exaggeration.

3. We had our 1st Halloween in the house and it was not a total let down, but a let down.  I would have thought we would have had zillion of kids, but not really.  Well – we know for next year that we do not need 12 bags of candy.  I am in the process of giving my office a major sugar high.

4.  The dogs are cute and they are good.  you know. just being dogs.  Kennesaw has turned Mulligan’s old bandana into her baby blanket and she takes it everywhere with her and loves on it.  it is a bandana that was around mulligan’s neck.  She is a goofball.

5.  Work is going good for Kyle and me.  Not too much on that home front. For once, I do not feel so overwhelmed that I cannot breathe or move.  being able to get out of the office and hit blast900 has been amazing.

I think that is about it, to be honest – I feel like life is just moving so fast.  can you believe the holidays are around the corner?! I am so so so behind on the holiday shopping.  I gotta get on it – especially for those people who we need to have their gifts home by Thanksgiving!!!

….and I continue

I feel like I am pretty much almost caught up on catching you all up on my life.  a few weeks back one of my friends from college got married in Birmingham – and when I say this was one of the most fun weddings I have ever been to – I mean it. I don’t know if it was the fact that it was (1) a beautiful wedding + reception (2) a reunion from my time in Tuscaloosa (3) the band (4) the amazing food – hello fried green tomatoes with pulled pork on top and mashed potato bar.  or if it was everything wrapped up in one {which I think is the real answer} …. so much fun.

Lindsay literally was so pretty – and so happy – she was radiating, that is the only way to describe it.  The wedding 100% screamed her personality.  The party was too fun.  And the exit to all of us shaking our super sparkly Alabama shakers was a perfect ending.

I spent a lot of the night catching up with girlfriends from college and a lot of the night dancing with my old roommate Ashley Jo.  And her mom was there and her 2 little sisters which made my night catching up with her mom and wondering how the sisters are now college grads or in college.

We danced to Miley Cyrus “Party in the USA” and “Jesse’s Girl” and “Sweet Home Alabama”.  We laughed and I met boyfriends and husbands.  And seriously had too much fun.  Of course – we all thought we were in college again and talked about going out after the wedding for the “after party” and yeah.  that didn’t happen.  after party at the Hampton Inn, in bed by 10:45 PM.  What what! Party Animals!

Kyle won husband of the year and he just followed us crazy girls around and then drove me back to Atlanta the next morning in one piece. but it was just a really really good time – with most of my best girl friends in Birmingham, I do not get a night with the girls very often.  so it was great to just relive those college days, let loose and have a good time.  it is simply crazy how you get caught up in life and things like weddings bring you back together. 

Congrats to Lindsay and Dom!! Enjoy countless years of happiness and laughter and good times.  I hope you love the food chopper thing and the pink yellow hammer cups. ROLL TIDE! =D

Chapter Three – Tuscaloosa Bound

Another 30 before 30 accomplished!  Kyle and I went to Tuscaloosa for the Homecoming Game Weekend and for once, during football season in Tuscaloosa, post-graduation we went inside Bryant Denny for the game.  Normally: we are in Tuscaloosa and just watch the game at a bar with friends.

The trip to Tuscaloosa took pretty much forever and a day due to construction traffic so when we arrived in town, we were exhausted and just wanted major catch up time with my bestie Heather and her momma. Plus – kickoff was at like 10:00 AM or something crazy like that so Friday night was super low key. 

Saturday we got up – ate breakfast at her condo’s clubhouse and went to the sorority house for more breakfast.  Don’t ask. Heather’s little sister’s boyfriend needed to eat and of course my growing husband chowed down on more fun.  Then after a little stroll through the Quad and the required photos in front of Denny Chimes and the Stadium we found our seats. 

The game was boring – we were those fans that Nick Saban is currently complaining about.  It was hot.  It was a blowout.  We wanted Yellowhammers from Gallettes.  We had eaten the required  Denny Dog {hot dog} … so we left right at the beginning of the 3rd quarter.  Bad Alabama Fans – BAD!

But Saturday was less than crazy too.  After a long day in the sun and being up super early after a late arrival Saturday night we were in Heather’s condo – in front of the TV by like 10:30 PM. 

But we were there really to see Heather, her mom, and just to have a little bit of non-crazy, get Kyle in the stadium fun.  I do remember the stadium being WAY more fun and loud as a student – maybe it was the less than exciting game we attended – maybe it is the lame, spoiled student section that didn’t have to live through the Shula days.  Kyle agreed it was “pretty” but then just called it a “stadium”.

We will be back and if you’re reading this Heather – we require a better football game!!!

Life Catch Up–Chapter Two.

{I feel like I don’t even know how to write so much from the past … it is way hard}

About a week after we spent the short weekend in Charleston Kyle and I boarded a plane to Sanibel Island, FL to spend a few days with my mom and dad who were on their long vacation away from the real world.  Needless to say: for me, after a summer of traveling and a crazy workload, the break from the real world for me was much needed.

We had a night flight out of the airport so maximize the sun and pool time.  After an “adventurous” trip to the airport – I forgot my phone at home on the counter, 20 miles later in Atlanta rush hour traffic, I turned the car around to go get it.  Then we had MAJOR traffic until I realized I could drive in the HOV lane. Needless to say – we arrived with plenty of time after I had about 5048059 freak-outs about missing the plane. {FYI – the security line on a Wednesday night in Atlanta is nonexistent}. After learning that Kyle LOVES the moving walkways and turned them into a toy, we had dinner at Café Intermezzo at the airport.  I had never eaten at any of their Atlanta locations and I was not really all that impressed when we went – but it was still “fun” to feel like an adult who flies out at night and has dinner and wine before boarding a plane. Lame. I know.

But – if I had to sum the trip up we pretty much: sat by the pool. read our books. drank wine. and ate food. I read 3 books. 2 of which I recommend (“Summerland” by Elin Hilderbrand & “Fly Away Home” by Jennifer Weiner) and one that I recommend not ever picking up, too slow and boring (“There’s No Place Like Here” by Cecelia Ahern).  I also learned that I have the most uncontrollable obsession with Candy Crush.  I never had enough lives and kept swapping between my iPhone and the iPad.  …. that my friends is when you know your obsession is out of control …..

Meet our view and the huge frog that tormented me.  He was flapping his little legs in the very spot that I would hang out and read my book.

We spent the Friday morning we were there on a boat and in the air parasailing.  We slathered ourselves in sunscreen only to be 100% shielded by some overhanging thing and we got zero sun – which was kinda my mission. Boat = major sun time.  I had been parasailing before and knew what to expect and it was Kyle’s 1st time ever parasailing so we thought it would be cool.  Well – it was cool, but overpriced and kind of meh.  we didn’t see too much from the air – some fish, a stingray, nothing to write home about. Maybe it is one of those things that you just do once and then you do not need to do it again, but hey … we did something with our trip other than lay by the pool and do nothing.  And we got some pretty cool pictures out of it. :)

And of course – we got to take Kyle J to the staple of the Vines Family Vacations – The Lazy Flamingo and as always it was good.  Too much food – but good.   Honestly – we did not do much.  We did was we set out to accomplish – relax, get some fun, and just take a breather from the fast paced world that is our life.  We learned that we are two very very white kids and pretty much used 3 bottles of sunscreen {sorry mom and dad} and a boat load of aloe due to my inability to put sunscreen on my back.  And it was sad to leave the trip.  it only confirmed that we need to vacation more often and get away from the world – if only we had a little more money.  Wah Wah Wah.  But most importantly, we check something off my 30 before 30 list.  Kyle J to Sanibel!!  And he loved it and will be back in 2014 …. if we are invited back.

 

Let Me Write A Novel–Chapter One.

True story. I have not opened this Live Writer program in about um, 2 months.  And I can tell you with 100% honesty that it is not because I have NOTHING to share – in fact, there is A LOT to share.  And Kyle and I have been keeping busy. So. Put on your big kid pants – I am about to give you not one. not two. but three back to back posts to get you up to speed on what has been going on in the world of the Shanahan’s.

Let’s begin.

We went to Charleston to see one of my dearest and longest friends marry her best friend.  Amy May and I go WAYYY back.  And I mean WAYYY back.  I remember playing with my light bright {hello early 90’s} with her, and playing M.A.S.H {you know, mansion, apartment, shack, house} in the back of my parent’s minivan, and our regular shopping trips at Tyson’s Corner. And church camps – where we inevitably got irritated with each other after 5 days together. And then college road trips and New Years Eve parties. Seriously. Longest and dearest friend in the history of my friendships. {If I was in VA I would legit find a picture of us circa 2000 and post it. maybe}

Kyle and I decided to get up and go to Charleston early and explore the town. However, we were straight up lied to and for once I did not fact check. We were told that it takes 4 hours to get to Charleston from Atlanta. The truth: 6 hours.  I probably drove too fast, but I wanted to get there ASAP and explore.  Once we got in town – a beautiful town at that – we only had 1 hour to explore and sightsee. We went down to the water – got some national park stamps for my Mom – attempted to go find the Rainbow Row of houses. Long story short we just did not have enough time in the city and never found those house, but we had to meet one of my friends from my freshman year at college for dinner. 

We met my friend Meghan for dinner at this amazing place called Lana. As cliché as this statement is – good food. great wine. even better company. Her and I laughed and just caught up.  She then surprised me with the mix cd from our road trip to Florida for Spring Break 2003.  We broke out the mix – died laughing – and Kyle J thought we were total nut jobs.  We then headed to this really cool place for drinks after dinner.  Really expensive after dinner drinks + popcorn popped in bacon grease {so.freaking.good}. It was just a good night with good people and sometimes you just need that.

Sunday morning was the wedding and it was simple and pretty.  Very Charleston, SC County.  Cowboy Boots. Wildflowers. Cornhole. Boiled Peanuts. Sweet tea. A rocking chair as a guestbook. And the best brunch buffet.  The wedding honestly was just her. And I love weddings that symbolize the couple and weddings that are not stuffy and done up for show when the couple is not like that.  Amy was gorgeous, her groom was super nice and it was great to see her family {even though I am convinced her Dad still does not like me very much}.  We didn’t stay till the very end – and I hate hate hate doing that – but we had to get back home to Atlanta, our dogs, grocery shopping, and the work week ahead.d

We decided that we will go back to Charleston and do a Pirates tour. Or a ghost tour. Or a historic tour. Or if we are real adventurous, all three!  I have Charleston on my Thirty to do before Thirty list but I don’t think this trip really counts since we didn’t get to do anything on my “to do” list.  And plus, it will give us an excuse to see Mrs. Amy Eddins again and get to know her husband. 

LABOR DAY!

Hello Hello!  Well. Here I am writing from my brand spanking new laptop – one that I wish I did not have to buy, but my wonderful husband dropped my practically new laptop so here we are, with a new confusing Windows 8 loaded laptop. And I think it may take me 5045084 hours to write this since the keyboard is funky and new. Weeeee!

Anyway. moving on. pressing forward.  Kyle and I have been SO busy this weekend but it was fun.  Saturday night we went to the Alabama vs. VA Tech football game and jeeze that was a game.

We sat 13 rows off the field – in the VA Tech section – and since we were not actually killing them this go around, it the VA Tech fans around us liked to poke fun at us. Alabama did not quite play like a 2 time championship, #1 ranked football team so it was frustrating. But… it was still a good time. Well worth the trip downtown and the crazy MARTA overload on the way home. Not a pretty win, but a win. And I will take that.

Sunday I got to mark another thing off my 30 before 30 list. After breaking the news to my friends from work that we have been in Atlanta for 5 years but never attended a Braves game {they were all shocked and couldn’t wrap their heads around that idea} we decided to hit a Braves Tailgate + Game.  and… it POURED.  We spent a lot of the tailgate in the back of my friend’s boyfriend’s truck waiting out the monsoon. Then once the weather cleared, we got to hang out with everyone, grill out, and have fun.

This may be considered blasphemy in Braves Country – but I don’t get the allure of baseball games.  Yes – the tailgate was fun – but the actual game was kind of boring.  Maybe it is because the Braves were getting killed – or that you cannot really hear your friends over the crowd – but it wasn’t really all that fun once we got into the game.  But the tickets were free so you cannot complain about a fun day out with the girls and their boyfriends/husbands when it is all basically free – right?!

Kyle and I actually bowed out of the game early because we wanted to beat traffic and I am grateful we did.  I was ready to get home to the puppies and go to bed.  it was two long days of sporting events.

Today…. Kyle and I have done nothing and it has been amazing.  We have spent pretty much all day catching up on Season 2 of Scandal -  trying to be as low key as possible before the week picks up.

Next weekend is another thing to cross off the 30 before 30 – we are heading to Charleston.  So…. if you have suggestions on places to eat or things to do, I am accepting recommendations!! =D

Catching you up on us.

this is becoming an all too common trend: me apologizing for not writing – explaining that life has been busy – and then breaking down life and blurbing about what K and I have been up to.

Well. Here we go:

1. Work Travel it  officially OVER! For now. So I am home – got to put my suitcase away finally and am enjoying being home and not in the air in a Delta plane that is running  out of fuel. {True Story: happened twice... should have morphed this blog to the adventures in work travels – it would have been a “riot” – and I have stories for days}

2. K and I have been lounging by the pool as much as possible – the weather this summer has been less than ideal, but on the  good days, you can find us by the pool.  We have also been loving our deck furniture and now do Friday night date nights on our porch with wine and shrimp and crackers. We have been loving it because work has kept me busy this summer and with Kyle being SO consistent with working out every night we have been having late dinner and then I crawl in bed.  We just don’t get enough time for each other Monday – Thursday, so we make a point to do something simple and low key on Friday night to just catch up and just hang out together.  We average about 2 bottles of wine and lots of shrimp and cheese each Friday – but it is fun.  And Kyle made some summer fresh black bean, corn, and feta salsa last Friday and it was SO good.  We are gonna be super bummed when it gets too cold to have wine night!! ....but we will be happy when the bugs and flies are gone!!

3. We also live in a real life, legit, must reserve your tennis courts online tennis community so we have decided to pick up tennis and wreck havoc on the tennis pros that are unlucky to have the court next to us. Correction: Kyle causes the havoc – i get to run all over the court after the balls.  I still have some skills from when my dad and I would play on the tennis courts by the pool and when i did 1 summer of tennis camp. Kyle know my back hand is my weakness so he goes after it every.time.he.can. I tell him that he plays dirty. But.... we are having fun – getting a tan – and getting exercise.

4. I went to Justin Bieber last night with my friend Afton.  And we had fun! =D  We had dinner and drinks before the show by Phillips and then headed to our AMAZING seats – seriously, amazing {Thanks Ramy Chawani for buying them and putting them on stubhub} – we were 1 level off the main floor and not too far away from the stage so Justin actually looked like a human. Not an ant. There were a lot of screaming, crying, pre-teens around us who we made fun of and hoped that wasn’t us when we were growing up.  We were kinda disappointed – we thought he would bring out more guests {since he is known to do that in Atlanta} and he claimed he was going out “big” since it was his last show... but he only brought out Ludacris  and there are so many other artists that he has collaborated with that are based in Atlanta. Oh well. Luda was still a fun surprise. But still.  Kyle did not go to the concert – he had a boys poker night at the house and he won!! He walked away $120 richer which was fun and exciting for him.  And I know he had fun having having a boys night, playing poker since he used to do that a lot when we lived in VA.  And thankfully our dogs were not maniacs and after they hopped on everyone they settled down and were good little dogs.   Poker night + Dogs + Strangers = our biggest fear all week long.

5. Not sure if I mentioned this or not – but Kyle and I have been able to participate in the Dine Around program with Buckhead Life this summer so we have had fun date nights at places we normally wouldn’t go to because we can’t exactly afford them. Basically –  the Buckhead Life chain sends out $25 gift cards to 1 restaurant per month and you get to go where your card is for.  We went to Atlanta Fish Market last month and have Pricci this month.  It has been fun to just get dressed up and go on a Sunday night date. We had never been selected till this summer and I hope we get picked next summer too!!!

I think that is about it – we’re getting ready for a LONG fun filled Labor Day weekend – Alabama/VA Tech game.  First ever Braves game + Tailgate. And then our busy September. Hopefully..... we will have some fun filled things to write about!!

Last Day of June

summer is slipping away and i have not spent enough time at the pool! bah hum bug. but – i have a crazy busy july ahead of me with all my work travel. so, if it am MIA for a long period of time ... again ... I now have a documented reason.

3 out of 5 weeks in July I am on the road for work.  I am 100% home this upcoming week and am 100% taking Friday the 5th OFF! ....and i plan on sitting by the pool as much as humanly possible. Right now on the 4th i plan on waking up – hitting zumba & then staying by the pool. But is sounds good in theory – but zumba is at 8:30 AM and we all know how i love to sleep. Then, I head to Augusta {leave Sunday night} ... then Bucks County, PA ... then I have 1 week off ... then off to Oklahoma City.

Best part of all the work travel: meeting a bunch of people who i talk to on the phone a lot but could never point out of a crowd. the hotel and airline points. being able to have the AC on 62* and just snuggle in the covers. finding time to read more than 15 pages of a book in 1 sitting. seeing cities i would probably never ever see.

....but with all that said. i do miss being home with K and the puppies.  And – if anyone has any recommendations of things to do in any of these cities – places to eat – sites to see, i am all ears! =D

September Can’t Come Soon Enough!!

K and I have a fun filled September planned and let me tell you – it cannot come soon enough.

...see for yourself...

{Erin Condren Life Planner}

We are taking a little weekend trip up to Charleston, SC for a friend’s wedding & since a  weekend trip to that city is on my 30 before 30 list we decided to have Saturday be a sight seeing day to see what all the buzz is about.

Then midmonth we are going to Sanibel Island for a short trip. Sun. Sand {pool for me}. Good Book. And I have a hunch that after all my work travels, this will be a much needed break from reality.

.long.overdue.wordy.i blogged.

i would first like to make it known that i am alive. kyle and i are still living. breathing. and having a good time. we are still enjoying our patio furniture with a bottle or two of pinot grigo on the weekends. we LOVE having a pool in our neighborhood {we actually have two but go to the same one. every time}. i am constantly missing sunscreen in spots and getting sun burnt – kyle makes fun of me and laughs. i am traveling A LOT for work. and i mean A LOT. Spent time in Greensboro & Winston Salem 2 weeks ago – then spent time in Birmingham – now I am off to Sarasota. Then I go to Oklahoma City, followed by Langhorne PA.  I have an awesome new girl on my team and I feel like I am neglecting her training & growth since I am out – and I want to promote another girl on my team amidst all my traveling which is a GREAT idea for her and maybe not a fabulous idea for me and my sanity levels ... I feel like the whole team that i manage needs a little bit of love once all my traveling is done.

...but i digress...

Life update for K and me.  A few weeks back we headed home to Northern VA to celebrate the wedding of Kyle’s good friend JL and his new wife Kelly.  What a fun wedding and it was so pretty and just laid back. Kyle had a VERY good time – not only because I was his designated driver – but because he got to catch up with some of his friends that he has not seen in YEARS! Plus... it was fun to just get dressed up and GO OUT.  ..something that K and I do not do nearly enough.  And look at us ... we clean up well! :) HA!

While we were up there we always make time to see our families. My parents were not in town, but Kyle’s were so we of course hung out with them and saw his little sister.  Sadly, the drive up and back down were 10+ hours a piece and we are just getting tired.  We are talking about cutting out our summer trip to VA. My parents are normally gone and it is just SO much traveling and traveling around northern Virginia for not a lot of down time.  Instead – we will take those 3-4 days and vacation together, somewhere low key but away from Atlanta to just RELAX!!

...in between our trip to VA and then me going to Greensboro and then me heading to Birmingham I spent an afternoon at the spa and it was GLORIOUS and so very very needed! ....thanks for the 15% off birthday deal from the spa I LOVE! #highfive #gooddeals {why am i using hash tags in my blog?!} ... Kyle dragged me to some legit boxing/kickboxing class at TITLE Club Boxing where they had to wrap my hands & I had to put on boxing gloves. I pretty much complained about needing hand sanitizer the whole time and my hands probably still smell like those boxing gloves.  Kyle however, loved it and he will be back and i told him that if he joins and buys gloves he needs to Lysol wipe the insides every time because dark damp spaces = mold and i am pretty confident those gloves were growing mold. yuck

Today Kyle and I headed to Montaluce, a vineyard in the North Georgia mountains for a hike, wine tasting, lunch, and me crossing something off my 30 before 30 list {visiting a vineyard}.  And we legit had PERFECT weather – not too hot for l gate June in the southern summer & pretty much NO humidity. We got lucky. The hike was about 2 miles – 2 fairly easy miles, minus 2 killer hills through the vineyards at the end.  The “tour guide” was super nice and educated about the river, the area, the vineyard, and wine. We really enjoyed it. The North Georgia mountains really are rich with history. I think K was a little nervous that I would talk all about the wedding I had wanted to happen there  {since we looked at Montaluce as our venue & it was my top choice, minus price} and I talked a little bit about it, but not too much. Nothing unbearable. Didn’t beat a dead horse. I think K was  shocked.

At the end of the hike we got to taste 5 of their wines and then have a full glass of our favorite and they had some pretty good wines that I had never heard of.  I tried a Viognier for the 1st time and it was amazing – we tried a Mead and it was just too bubbly for us. And we are non-red wine drinkers and were surprised when we liked the Risata. Granted, it was more of a blush, but it was still good. 

Overall. the Hike & Wine Tasting was fun. We talked to some really interesting people {who were for sure vineyard and wine lovers – but they were not pretentious} who made the day just that much more enjoyable.   ...And we capped our “date day” off by dinner at a cute little town near by. 

....despite being exhausted.... I now get to pack my bags! I am off to Sarasota for work tomorrow! 

working from home.

yesterday i got to work from home. this is a rare occasion for me, but after my 46 minute flight out of Greensboro, NC to Atlanta turned into a 4+ hour flight {with a slight detour to Montgomery, AL since we were RUNNING OUT OF FUEL due to circling the Atlanta airport for a hour or so – thanks weather!} and getting home around 1:15 AM and in bed by 1:45 AM ... i was one exhausted lady.  ...and my boss told me to work from home rather than head to the office... so i worked all days. in bed. it was GLORIOUS!

Well. my two doggies have been glued to my side since getting home and they were my coworkers yesterday.

Mulligan: bad coworker. laid on my laptop and my work and me.
Kennesaw: good coworker. laid at the foot of the bed and was out of my way.

They loved it and were so happy to be FREE all day long with their momma! And after a house burned down in our neighborhood this week and the owner lost their pets it makes me wish i could work from home everyday so i can keep a protective eye on them. losing my dogs in any fashion, but as devastating & destructive as a fire is a huge fear of mine.

Scheduling the Summer

Life is about to get busy for me again at work. I get to start traveling back to back again the 2nd week of June (Monday night – Wednesday night). Therefore, I am taking the time to try and “schedule” things for Kyle and me to do this summer. We both want to stop spending all of our time in the house doing nothing on the weekends and want to get out and do things. After all – we have decided to make Alpharetta our “home” – we might as well get out and explore, right?

My birthday is Saturday and we are going to go to Flywheel together – you  fly {ride} for free on your birthday.  Then we are going to spend the day at the pool {with sunscreen since I forgot it this past weekend} and then K is taking me to dinner!

We are headed to Virginia in a few weeks for Kyle’s high school friend’s wedding.  That will be the “kick off” of the summer fun.

Then at the end of June we are booked for a 1 hour hike at Montaluce Winery followed by lunch and wine tasting. We fully understand and know that it will be one HOT hike – 1:00 PM at the end of June, hello sweat fest – but I think it will be fun.

In July we are going to go to a climbing wall and give rock climbing a go. We may die or I may psych myself out and never make it half way up.  Or.... we may find a new hobby. Who knows?

Then at the end of July we are going to go to the zip lining obstacle course place.  Which, like the hike will be hot – but will also be so super fun.  Or, like rock climbing i will psych myself out and be a nervous nelly the whole time.

But I am excited that we will be doing things!  We rarely do anything so it will be fun to have things on the books to look forward to. :)

.birthday wish list.

one of my new years resolutions was to be able to answer the question, “what do you want for {insert event here}” ... and since we’re less than one week out from my 29th birthday I have decided to put together my birthday wish list. And in no particular order, here is what I would knock my socks off.

.up bracelet.
ever since seeing this contraption on Good Morning America I have been intrigued. I always am striving to be healthier and l what makes me the most interested in the up bracelet is the sleep monitoring because i can tell you ... i do not get enough sleep. I would like it in mint or white

.new pair of rainbow flip flops.
the current pair i own are ROUGH and basically falling apart. the soles are worn down, the leather is detaching from the sole. they are l-o-v-e-d and lived in and need to be retired.  i live in these things and it is time to get a new pair. i need them like woah.

.republican tervis tumbler.
the big one for my morning protein shakes. i love love love tervis tumblers. and i love the republican elephant.

.the mint cleaner.
this thing caught my eye when Kyle & I registered for wedding gifts and I still do not have this and want this. something about the ease of vacuuming the floor when i am at work and cleaning up after my shedding dogs.

.spa gift card.
I love Natural Body Spa at the Avenues in Forsyth. I also believe that I should get a massage every 3 months, my bank account feels otherwise. So, you can donate to the stress free Barbie habit.

.flywheel gift card.
another addiction of mine. I spin on a weekly basis so I feel like we’re always “reloading” my account. Feel free to help reload my account.

.a new carry on suitcase.
you know you’re old when you ask for a suitcase for your birthday. but the one that i have currently i got as a high school graduation gift in 2002 – yup it is like 11 years old. I want a nice new one – especially since i am traveling a lot for work now.

Weekend Wrap Up Shanahan Style

it was the 1st weekend in awhile that we had things on the calendar and things to do. it was odd to not lounge around and be a lazy bone all weekend, but at the same time it was good to get off the couch.

I ran my 1st 5k since who knows when. And most importantly, I did not die. Not my best time in my running career – but I didn’t expect a PR or anything earth shattering. :)  But it makes me want to do another 5k STAT to make up for my less than stellar performance ... i had forgotten just how hilly that race is/was – and how many kids run it, but it was fun to get back out there running & racing. but, i ran into my friend’s husband before the race and then the whole cute little family after the race was done. anyone needs good running songs holla at me – I can recommend some songs that will make you MOVE ...

Saturday night we had Kyle’s company picnic at the Gwinnett Braves game and we stayed basically only for the cookout and then headed back home.  It looked like it was going to POUR and we didn’t really want to at a rainy baseball game – maybe if it was the real braves and if we knew more people.... but not the fake braves. :)  And I got my fix of hot dogs and that is all that matters. {I meant to get pictures of the game and us, but yeah.... forgot about that}

We then went home and just curled up and watched a movie. I was EXHAUSTED from having to get up at 6:00 AM for the race – then running – and then running errands

it was nice to do things for a change, but i am not going to lie – i like being on the couch watching lifetime right now {or maybe that is because of the nasty weather outside}

Ermagah – worst.blogger.ever.

This right here is a no duh, but I have been the worst of the worst blogger EVER lately. I’d like to say that I have this big life update to make & announce – but life has been as is. Kyle and I have literally NOTHING going on in our world; however, we’re trying to be more active and get out of the house on the weekend. So I have made a “to do” list for the summer of 2013.

On the list:
1. I bought a TravelZoo for a hike in the North GA mountains and then a wine tasting at Monteluce Winery. This will be done & needs to be booked.
2. I want to go to a Rock Climbing indoor gym thing. I do not know why – but I want to.
3. Skyzone. Indoor trampoline. ‘Nuff said.
4. Go to Downwind for lunch and watch planes land & take off.
5. Treetop Quest – Ropes Course, Zip Wire, too fun.

So, hopefully I will have more exciting things to “blog” about over the next few months. We do have Kyle’s company picnic next week so that is exciting, right? :) ...Oh and I have my first 5k in like 560450 years that weekend too. I just may die. But you gotta start back somewhere! {pray for me. and there will be a recap.}

Oh. And Happy {Early} Mother’s Day to my wonderful & fabulous Mom!  I hope all the mommas out there have a great weekend full of laughter and love!

 

Pray for Boston

My heart is absolutely heavy right now. As a runner, I feel like someone has attacked my friends and my family. As a human being, I am just horrified.  Words cannot even put together how heavy my heart is and how I feel for the running community. I cannot watch the coverage without getting chills and fighting back tears. I am devastated for the runners and the volunteers and the supporters that I do not know and the lives that were lost and the lives that are forever changed.

When I was running A LOT and running marathons, Boston was a goal. A goal that in all reality was probably not reachable. Boston is a runner’s dream, it is the holy grail of marathons for many – runners work SO hard and train SO hard to be part of this race. They voice their opinions when the race sells out insanely fast and when they change the qualifications and make it harder to get in.  But all that is just so small and inconsequential right now. I HATE that finishes were overshadowed by tragedy. I HATE that many runners who trained long and hard had today stolen from them.  Today was supposed to be a day full of joy and pride and personal victories. Not this. As a past marathoner I can say with my whole heart: A marathon is a place for unity and perseverance. Not this. But I can tell you that it will unify us & we will persevere.

Just watching the running community checking in on each other makes me remember that though we may not know each other personally and we refer to each other by our blog names & twitter names until we meet in person at expos and pasta parties we are one big running family. It has been inspiring today amidst the heartbreak and shock and sadness to watch and read the compassion and thoughtfulness just pour our out. We are a family. We care about each other. We just want to know that we are all okay.

We run marathons to test the strength of the human body. What happens after today will show the strength of human will.

three things thursday

i enjoyed doing this last week, so i thought i would bring it back. :) i am absolutely exhausted.

1) this week i was in hazleton, pennsylvania on a sales call with a prospect. it was a great experience. i was with a vp and a svp and got to impress. but, i also realized that i need to read the wall street journal or something! our company’s svp is full of all sorts of fun trivia and facts. on monday he mentioned margaret thatcher dying. and i nodded my head saying that i had heard and almost followed it up with saying, “yeah and lily pulitzer died as well” ... um. hi. margaret and lily ... you cannot even compare the two. and i almost commented that Bethenny’s {from Bethenny Ever After} soon to be ex-husband is from Hazleton and that one of the Teen Mom’s is from the Lehigh Valley area. thank goodness i actually filtered myself.

::: random tangent ::: when on our way to hazleton from philly we totally drove by an amish house and i saw an amish lady in her farm picking veggies or something. now i just need to see a gypsy! =D

2) someone commented on my “happy homeownership” post about how they hope i am paying my mortgage since my standards are so high because of pinterest. or something along those lines – but there was for sure a comment about paying my mortgage. i wanted to respond, but i just deleted it. but for real: how is that any of their business?! and for the record, we are paying our mortgage thank you very much.

3) and this house will be the death of me. #moneypit hash tag, hash tag. we just got a new roof – thanks USAA. And now our AC went out and we’re faced with having to replace our HVAC units. We can officially kiss all our savings accounts and CDs and Bonds goodbye. I keep having to remind myself WHY we bought this house and that we love this house and it is a house we can raise our family in. But it is so hard to not be frustrated.  I never imagined that we would be draining all my savings accounts in 4 short months.

needless to say – tomorrow is Friday and I am looking forward to the weekend. Even though it will be full of HVAC people coming out and giving us quotes {since the one we got today was $12,000} on our repairs. But hey, it will be the weekend.

three things thursday {+1}

I have not done this fun little thing in awhile so why the heck not. plus, i don’t have a lot to say... but i feel like there are things going on in my {our} world. This is nothing exciting, but we got a new roof {whoop whoop, thanks USAA} and it is a beauty. However, the shutters don’t 100% match and Kyle now wants to get the shutters painted, but that has been tabled.  Our bank accounts need a breather.

{one}
I HAVE STARTED RUNNING AGAIN . THIS IS HUGE . SERIOUSLY
and it is getting easier and easier by the day. :) It was on my “new years goals” to become a runner again and it has taken a few months, but i am getting back into it. I even signed up for a 10k {that is far enough out that I can prep for it}. Now I just gotta find a handful of 5k races to run as prep.  I had forgotten how therapeutic it is to just run. ....if only I could figure out why my feet are falling asleep & if I could get over the calf pains.

current favorite running jams to add to your playlist:
1. Run This Town/Posthumus Mix – Jay-Z, Rihanna, & ES Posthumus
2. I Need Your Love – Ellie Goulding + Calvin Harris
3. I’m All Yours – Jay Sean + Pitbull

{two}
One of my “things to do before I am 30” is to spend a full month and not buy myself anything. Well. This month is the month. Is is partially because I have over indulged on ME and I need to get my checking out back to a comfortable level and another partially because I want to see if I can do it. And let me tell you.... it is HARD when you’re constantly getting emails from stores about free shipping & 50% off everything till 2:00 PM and so on and so forth. This is going to be a true test of willpower. I said no lunches either – but I broke down and had lunch with the girls from the office today. I just won’t make it a weekly habit. :)

{three}
Mulligan and Kennesaw’s food has been recalled {gasp} so when I went to get dog food from PetsMart today I had no idea what to do. I guess I assumed the bad food had been pulled & new good food would be stocked. Yeah. That is NOT how a recall works. Evidently, it will be months before Innova is on the  shelves again. So, I had no idea what to do – I couldn’t just buy anything and I couldn’t trust the PetsMart employees.  Kyle and I are crazy – WE have to research their food and make the decision what we’re going to feed them. Therefore, the only logical thing to do was to come back home with dog toys and treats.

{four}
work for me is starting to slow down and go back to a normal pace. I am off to Hazleton, PA next week for a sales meeting {and I am a little nervous} to hopefully gain the 2nd location of the onsite that I implemented in Birmingham.  I am having a little bit of turnover on the team that I manage, but when in the past I would be panicking this time i feel like it is a good thing {more on this later} and am excited for the changes that I am about to make. I have a new boss. Which I am good with & excited about. I am reporting into someone who I admire and respect and know that I can and will learn a lot from. Not that I didn’t admire, respect, or learn from my past boss – he was awesome too – i just think that me reporting into this other person is just better for my career development. And. I am also now the new and first ever corporate recruiter for my company. Which also is okay. And fingers crossed, I may have my 1st official placement as a corporate recruiter. {the headhunter bonuses are an added plus}

.our 1st anniversary weekend.

{i meant to post this at some point last week... but i never actually hit publish...}

i know that all 1st anniversary posts are about to be how wonderful the 1st year of marriage was and how I married my other half and the person who makes me want to be a better person and how we are just so so happy – but that isn’t me. Kyle and I aren’t the mushy gushy couple. Yes. We had a wonderful last year of marriage and it was easy. i attribute the ease of it all not to the fact that we lived together for 4 years before marriage but because we talk – we hash things out, we tell each how it is, we’re open and honest and don’t hold anything back. Plus it doesn’t have to be perfect, nothing ever is – the people who think marriage has to be perfect are the ones who are doomed. In my world, it is the foundation that needs to be good.

I am excited for another year and then another year after that. and after that. and after that.

But we really did have a great anniversary weekend. It was simple and low key. We didn’t make a big deal over it.  We just spent time together – something that we agreed, we don’t do enough of. 

Friday I took a mental health day and Kyle told me to scratch the agenda – he had some stuff planned for the weekend, but that I had to be showered and ready to go by 3:00. Which immediately made my mind wonder what he was up to since we both agreed nothing big and no presents because we wanted to put the money we would spend on a gift towards our trip to the Dominican Republic {whenever that trip may happen}. 

I woke up Saturday morning and went to my 1st ever Zumba class {on my list of 30 things to do before I am 30} and learned that I was a REALLY white girl with zero moves and legit almost sprained my ankle. Not quite sure if I will go back or not.  I spent the rest of the morning & early afternoon bumming around and asked Kyle how I should dress for my surprise. He said, “wear what you would wear to Outback and something you would want your picture taken in.” ..... WHAT?! .....

Well. after getting ready and then driving all over creation, Kyle asked me to open his glove compartment and take out the pieces of paper and to look at them. Kyle was taking me to Medieval Times for dinner. A place we both love {me more than Kyle} and where we got engaged. {you can read the engagement story HERE}.  Kyle splurged and upgraded us to the “Royalty Package” and we got front row action.  We spent a lot of time making up life stories of the people who work there {the man who plays the king, his wife is a corporate lawyer. The green knight, he is the president of the drama club} since that is what was always do. And the best part ... our knight FINALLY won!! I was cheering so hard that I broke the banner that we got as part of the Royalty Package. And Kyle even bought the picture of us with the King, because “it was a special occasion”. Kyle really did well for the surprise dinner {mushy alert}, he never ceases to amaze me. It is the little things that make me realize how great he really is.

Sunday we got up and went to see Oz and then just hung around the house. And then went out to dinner. And again, Kyle’s romantic side that never ceases to amaze me. But he had dinner reservations at the same time our wedding reception started – when we were really truly married. The real 365 days later.  We had a GREAT dinner and stuffed ourselves on desert and then went home to try and find room for cake and champagne. Needless to say – our wedding cake wasn’t bad. but it also was not good. but you have to eat the top {or part of it} out of tradition.

All together the weekend was simple and low key – just the way we like things!! =D

How are you spending your Friday?!

...I am taking a much needed metal health day. =D  So far, I have slept in till a whopping 8:30 AM and then went to spin class at LA Fitness ... which by.the.way I am a spoiled spinner thanks to FlyWheel Atlanta. I suffered through a lackluster instructor and boring music. Thanks FlyWheel – now I think I am spoiled rotten when it comes to spin classes.

Now, I am hanging out on the couch catching up on my DVR – mainly Duck Dynasty – with the little {errrr big} dogs running around.

Next on the agenda: a massage.  I wanted to do FULL spa day.... 2 hour long massage/facial/body scrub combo, but we procrastinated and evidently you can’t book all that much like 24 hours before hand.

Yeah. I am totally spoiling myself, but work has been a little overwhelming lately and I may have had stress overload breakdown on Monday.  So our VP of Payroll {and my Office Mom} demanded that I take today off and so far it has been grand.  I did sit on a conference call that was an update on the site i implemented in Birmingham. But other than that I am 100% ignoring my emails.

And. on another random note. if you attended my wedding last year, be grateful it was last year. This weekend is going to be COLD and MISERABLE and we all know that all I wanted was an outdoor wedding!!

throwback thursday

....this weekend Kyle and I are going to be celebrating our 1 year wedding anniversary. And, I wanted to hop on board with this throwback thursday trend and share this picture:

I posted this picture on FaceBook the summer of 2006 – before i even graduated college. When Kyle and I were just friends.  And the caption on the picture “check out ernie cheesin... and of course my future husband and i look so fabulous”

Yup. the summer of 2006 kyle was calling me his “future wife” and I was calling him my “future husband” ... and we were just summer friends back then, waiting tables at Logan’s Roadhouse.

Crazy Huh?!

...

You all are no fun! No one even tried to guess who took that lovely picture of my husband and me.

Well. I shall tell you. A ROOFER! weeeeee,  And do you want to know why, because our home inspector was HORRENDUS and we have to get a new roof. {he said 3-5 years till it needed to be replaced, try 3-5 months mister} And fix wood rot. And a drip pan. And the siding where the previous owner’s past patch job was shoddy.

Granted. We will fix the roof + the wood rot 1st and then go from there. But seriously, can we catch a break!

...And this is the moment where I thank my parents for taking money from me when living at home since we will be cashing out savings accounts should USAA not cover the replacement.

Let’s play a game...

 

.so. guess who/what person & profession took the picture below {don’t judge us for our less than attractiveness} you don’t need to name him/her specifically, but if you want to get creative and try, go for it. make me laugh. Lord knows we need it.

 

.....and GO!

So happy together... 6 years!

This week Kyle and I celebrated 6 years together [not even counting the years we were just buddies].  It is crazy how our relationship has evolved in 6 years.  We went from being friends who chatted online when he was in VA and I was in AL. To boyfriend/girlfriend. We moved to Atlanta from DC – and I moved him hundreds of miles from his friends & family. I got a job. He got a job. We got a dog. And then got in engaged. And got another dog. And got married. And went to St. Lucia. And then we bought a house.  But I am excited to see what else is in store for us. I feel like we have checked off so many of the “relationship to dos” already.

And for your viewing pleasure. A little glimpse of our relationship.

 

caption. (1) our 1st Halloween @ Kyle’s mom’s Halloween party. (2) at my parents house before an oh so cold redskins game. And kyle bought me a chica small jersey. not knowing that chica = girl child. (3) at the pumpkin patch in VA (4) At WMZQ Fest. Oh the fun that was. (5) At the Zoo in DC. (6) Halloween at my parent’s house. With our 1st pumpkin. The pumpkin kyle almost lost his thumb on when carving it at his apartment. (7) In Tuscaloosa at Bryant Denny. (8) At the Baltimore Aquarium (9) At Blue Iguana watching a Redskins game.

.Bullet Points.

I spent 2 days in Birmingham this week and I REALLY like the client that we gained and  that I am working with.  If we didn’t just buy a house and if I didn’t love my job and if it didn’t mean moving, I would have totally volunteered to go work and manage that site in Birmingham. But, I love the site team I found and we hired. Loving the people I am working with make all this travel totally manageable. Even though, I do miss being away from Kyle J and the dogs.

Evidently, me being away gives the dogs major stress. Kennesaw gets pukey and Mulligan gets poppy. Kyle is a really good single parent. ...And I am heading back to Birmingham on Monday.  The dogs have had a traumatic few weeks.

....speaking of the dogs. Kennesaw is NUTS. She is obsessed with “hunting” mice in our house. But, we don’t have mice anymore. So we think we have domesticated her so much that she has lost her hunting instinct. She loves pushing boxes around and being a menace. and. she loves kyle to pull out the fridge and the oven so she can hang out behind them and hunt. needless to say, kyle is not moving the appliances for her crazy butt anymore.

I have been enjoying the weekends and doing NOTHING since my weeks are so crazy stressful and long. I have LOVED sleeping in too because I do not sleep well when traveling. Kyle actually greeted me with breakfast in bed – a bagel, but it was still so good! I really do need to hop into the office this weekend and do some catch up, but I won’t. I want family time. After all, my family is what is important. We’re making bad for you food for dinner tonight & watching a movie.

Kyle’s birthday is coming up and I NEED to go get his present. I am going to go to FlyWheel tomorrow & then get his gift. I feel like I am getting him something so super lame, but he really wants what I am getting him. I guess as we get older we get really really lame!  ....And, I need to plan his birthday dinner. {must plan.must plan.must plan.}

Speaking of old and lame, but my Erin Condren Recipe cards and dividers came today! Sadly, they were too big, so i got the joy of sitting in front of my DVR cutting 80 cards + the dividers down. WEEEE!!!

It only took almost a year, but I FINALLY took my wedding dress to the drycleaner to get it both cleaned and preserved. Yeah – I am a total gross slacker. I just couldn’t decide what I wanted to do with it.

in addition. We FINALLY got our wedding album. That also took almost a year. And it looks fabulous! =D I really loved our wedding photographer and could not recommend him more.

Kyle finally hung the curtains in our living room and they look great and our living room looks great. So, our bottom floor is finally basically decorated. Now, we need to have for new furniture and then it will really be done! :)

We are planning a trip to the Dominican Republic this summer. I was shocked how cheap it is to travel there. WAY cheaper than St. Lucia. But we figured we need a vacation and a way to celebrate our 1st year of marriage [delayed] so instead of buying 1st wedding anniversary gifts, we’re both transferring money to our “vacation fund”. And then we will have 6 days in the sun! Compromise.

We are also planning our trip home to VA for the summer.  Luckily, Kyle’s friend JL is getting married in June so we will plan our trip around that.  ...speaking of. I need to start buying their wedding gift.

Life for me is passing me by. I have my last beginners yoga class tomorrow and then I get to start taking for real classes – well, i could have been doing that all along, but i wanted to make it through this “seminar”.

I hope everyone is doing really really well!! =D

 

This will be positive. I promise.

Last week could have been the longest week ever.  I spent 3 days in Birmingham – one of those days I worked from 8:00 AM – 10:00 PM – and then had a million and one things going on at the house.  On a positive note: our recruiter started and the girl I identified for the management role accepted the position, so there is now a total sigh of relief that the site team has been identified and is coming together.  All in all, I am LOVING what I am doing and hope to do more in the future.

I had dinner on Tuesday night with my friends Ashley and Lindsay from college.  Honestly, I had not laughed that hard and that long in a LONG time.  I love catching up with good friends and walking down memory lane.  It makes me miss having such good friends in my life.

The house is still coming together.  I need Kyle J to hang the curtains in the family room so I can share a picture with you all.  But, for now you get to see our kitchen eating area.

Look Dad: our kitchen table!! I need/want a new better centerpiece, but for now it is just nice that it has been cleared off!!! =D  Then, there is the buffet that was the hardest thing in the world to find since the wall it is against is so teeny tiny. But, I think it is an excellent addition and I love the picture above it and how simple it is.

I am LOVING the Yoga classes I am taking and have my last class next week.  Then, I get to dive into actual classes.  I like the hour that it is taking me out of the house and the chaos of preparing for the week.  Plus I love how it is stretching out my super tight muscles.

This week, I am in Birmingham again for 2 days and then just have A LOT of catching up to do at the office.  Plus, hopefully I can figure out how to organize our rinky dink pantry and get the curtains hung.  And... I need to go shopping for Kyle’s birthday so I don't forget it again this year.

i hope you all have a great week. =D

STOP THE MADNESS!!

Look what Kyle and I found this weekend. It can be added to the ever growing list of “issues” with our house.  You do not want to know what we have spent thus far on fixing things.

Yup. That is a hole in our wall and ceiling thanks to a “leaking t-joint” – whatever the heck that is!!

But... we are at the point that we just have to laugh at our bad luck and hate our horrendous home inspector and tell each other that it will eventually get better.

Sorry. I was so Debbie Downer.

So. I realized my last post was really really Debbie Downer. I sounded so totally negative about this whole house situation. And, while it is a bummer and it does suck and we have not had the chance to love our house and be in awe that we own a HUGE house, this is life.  Life is unpredictable and nothing that you will expect or plan for.  In fact, you really cannot 100% plan life.

The mice may be gone. We have not seen any traces {aka poop} lately. Nor have any landed on the glue traps. But. We do have some sort of critter problem that we caught early and will only cost us $1280 to fix. Only $1280. Le Sigh. And... the roofer came out and said that we didn’t need a new roof, just a patch.  So rather than $2000 it will be $400. ...but, like I said. That is life. Life happens. Things happen. We have our fingers crossed that we get a good tax return and most of our rental house deposit back.

In other news... I survived my 1st beginners yoga seminar/series/class this past Sunday and have 3 more till I “graduate”. And it was not bad. Different than every other work out I do and love, but I think I will like it – my core was super sore Monday and Tuesday.  I have such tight hamstrings so at the least I am learning how to stretch those bad boys out.

I am going to be in Birmingham basically all week next week. Our site recruiter starts Monday and then I have to start rolling all the temporaries from their old service to ours. It will be a long 4 days of training and working – but this “project” I am on is really a new challenge and I am loving it! :)  And, I get to do dinner with my really good friend from college Ashley. =D

The babies are slowly getting used to the house. Kennesaw likes to make her rounds to “protect” us and she cannot get her paws under her when she is moving fast on the hardwoods so she cries. Mulligan is loving the double doors to our master because he can lay in bed and just watch everything that is happening.  They FINALLY know which bowl is theirs – which is a success.

I will try and get our house together this weekend to take pictures. I promise!!

it’s a money pit.

HEY!!!!!!!!!!!!

Ok. So, yeah.  Kyle and I are 100% alive.  A little overwhelmed thanks to home buying and moving and learning that our house is a money pit. Now, don’t hear me wrong. We love our house. But, it seems to have a million things going on with it.

First: we had to make the garage doors automatic. That was an expensive Home Depot trip.

Second: we move in and learn we have mice. yes. mice. and kennesaw has been hunting them out and leading them to the traps. mulligan has been terrified. i am refusing to cook dinner out of fear and wear my rain boots as protection. Kyle is trying to fix that problem... with the help of Terminex.

Then: the third Terminex guy inspected our attic and  we either have roof rats [gross] or squirrels. both situations suck and are very expensive to fix.

And then: we had a bad storm. tornados. wind. rain. dark skies. the whole shabang. and shingles came off our roof. So, now we’re waiting on USAA to come inspect our roof and may have to either patch it or replace the roof.  Luckily, since it was because of storm damage it will only cost us $2,000 to replace the off. ONLY $2,000 ... which means Bonds will be cashed out.

....all while we are paying both rent and mortgage. so things like new furniture for our  family room have been put on the back burner – the weekend getaway or our 1st wedding anniversary also on that backburner.  Our furniture that looks like it belongs in a frat house basement will last longer than expected.

I may need a part time job and you all should run as fast as you can an invest in Home Depot’s stock. I am serious.

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But. Other than all that. Life is good. We really love our new house.  I am starting a Yoga for beginners seminar tomorrow to find some calm for my life.  Work is crazy busy. And the pups are good {despite Kennesaw escaping thanks to the Terminex guy #1 leaving our gate open. They’re slowly getting used to the new house and love staring out the big front window and barking at people who walk by.  We’re not 100% unpacked, but almost there.  We donated a million and one things to goodwill {hello tax deduction} and will make more trips soon enough. Now, we’re just bracing for the rain tonight and hope we have no leaks in the gimpy roof. {yee haw}

I promise, i will post pictures of the house soon!!!