Highway to Home

I know it's not big family news or anything but the new exit on I-264 was completed last week. It's rocking Kyle's socks. It is exit 19C and it's shaving some good time off of Kyle's work commute.

So yeah it's nothing huge but it's a little something that's good for us.

Doctor, Doctor Give Me the News

...I've got a bad case of diabetes (me), high blood pressure (both), & COPD (Kyle). 

We're glad to have insurance and depressed at the state of our health. to be fair, it's not as if we were completely unaware that we are in bad shape. It's just now that we've heard it plain spoken by a medical professional there's no excuse not to get our butts in gear.

Now I've got an appointment with an eye doctor next Wednesday and we both go back to the doctor in a month. Hopefully then I will get medication for by diabetes (yes, I'm a bit bummed that I didn't get a prescription today).

For now any baby plans are officially on hold until I get better. Guess I really better get on that whole 'eating better & exercising' lifestyle change.

Take Me Away on a Tuesday

I would finally get around to blogging about my Tuesdays with Eric & Krystal on a Tuesday when we didn't get together. It has become customary for them to come and 'kidnap' me on you guessed it, Tuesdays. They both have that day off and since I'm always home they started giving me some fresh air by getting me out of the house. Never before has going to Sam's Club and Wal-Mart been so refreshing. Oh yeah, Miss Alexis needs a car. Wal-Mart has become a welcomed change of scenery?! I've also been getting a bonus of lunch too, so as you can imagine Kyle is extra super jealous since all this is on top of my Daddy-Daughter days. Wonder what next Tuesday will bring?

Saturday Night's Alright for Laughing

OK so I really gotta work on that blog resolution because I'm already behind. Which is why I'm telling you on Tuesday afternoon about our Saturday night. Our friends, couple Eric & Krystal treated us to a night out. I guess you could call it a double date and that idea just now dawned on me. Haha. First we went for dinner at a local restaurant called Atlas. The food was awfully good and I had my usual, which is a cheeseburger for those who don't know how I do. For anyone wanting to know they seemed a bit busy when we got there and the hostess was MIA but once we were seated we didn't have any problems. I also got a kick by referring to our waiter as 'anonymous waiter man' since he didn't have on a name tag.

epic face.

The main attraction was going to a comedy show here in Virginia Beach at the Funny Bone. We should probably add getting out of the house more often to our resolution list because Kyle had never been to a comedy club before and I hadn't been in a decade (a DECADE, people!). We saw J Medicine Hat, who I can't recall having ever heard of before but he was insanely funny. He is a comedic hypnotist & I'd tell you some of his act but it's not family friendly. Getting out was something we needed very much, we need to remember that we are still young so we don't have to stay in the house every night.

February 1st is Good Enough

Happy New Year! Oh wait, that was January 1st... I'm way behind, huh? A month ago I was supposed to come up with resolutions as per the usual tradition. We're no different than most in that our goals stay roughly the same. Here goes nothing!

1. Lose weight (told ya, not original) & general better health. - I successfully gave up chocolate & soda for the month of January. I'm back to my vices now, but going without helped me to realize that I could do without and be okay. Yay for not being a slave to my cravings.
2. Buy a car - Now this is definitely a familiar goal. Kyle's truck died some time ago leaving him with the car that was to be mine, so we're now back to still needing a car. We're torn between getting a sedan, an SUV & a truck. Kyle wants a truck, I still want an SUV, but a sedan would be best. If we get a sedan it will be Kyle's to use for work and I'll get Sydney back.
3. Make & stick to a budget. - I've made budgets before, but we never stick to them. That needs to change.
4. Keep up with the family blog more often - We don't lead the most exciting lives but there are plenty of things that I'd like to mention and I've been doing a not-so-good job of posting.
5. Speak Up - I have an awful habit of not saying the things that are on my mind or that bother me. I always fear hurting people's feelings. I'm so cautious to avoid confrontation that I end up with resentment.

I'm sure there could be even more but those are the main things we concerning ourselves with.

Not Blogging is No Bueno

I have been so lazy and just kept putting off making blog posts. The sad part is that I've actually wanted to post, so needless to say I have been a bad girl.

We rang in the new year by hosting a New Year's Eve party. It was the first time we'd done so and I gotta say I want to do it again. It was nice having or own party instead of going to one.

All my resolutions are in my head, waiting to be written down. It's just like my posting in that I've had some writing to do that I've been lax in doing. To be sure they're pretty much the same as last year. Possibly expect a  resolution post in a day or two (hopefully not any longer than that). 

Kyle & I celebrated our 3rd wedding anniversary this past weekend. We took a day trip to Richmond. We really need to get back up there because half a day isn't enough time. I want to see more of what people love about Richmond. We went to 2 thrift stores, a museum and had lunch at a pizza place referred to as the 'best pizza in Richmond.' And yes, we considered trying to find John & Sherry's house, but we remembered that that'd be crazy and no way to meet them, only a definite way to scare them.

The major change in our house is that Blaze & Mariska are moving in (well have moved in, though they weren't supposed to until February 1st). Life was ...difficult for Blaze at her place and she asked, well kinda begged, to live with us. We softies took pity upon that poor child and said yes. So, Isaac gets a roomie and hopefully a refresher course on sharing, along with Introductory to Siblings 101. Blaze gets a primer on Keeping a Clean House and the real world experience of my (helpful) nagging reminding.

I have finally, finally, FINALLY bought a new camera! My trusty Olympus died suddenly in October 2010. It's a shame I took over a year to get a new one. I'm cheap but it wouldn't have been so hard to come up with 100 bucks that it should have taken me this long. The real tragedy of waiting so long is that I know I've missed out on lots of picture taking so my 2011 photos are sparse.

I leave you with a picture from my new camera (a Canon Powershot ELPH 100 HS btw).

Squeezing It In

Last post of the year!!!! 2011 has been good to us, so I'm looking forward to 2012. I've got my fingers crossed for the best.

Happy New Year!!!!!

Christmastime is Awesometime

Look at all those presents.

For Christmas Eve we went to Linda and Dean's for good eats, presents and family time. We came home with a huge pile of presents and full bellies. Kyle got the video game he really wanted (Modern Warfare 3) and a Wolfgang Puck cookware set. Among many things, Isaac got a Pogo stick, which I can't wait to watch him fall off of learn to use. Back at home, Isaac opened his gifts on Christmas morning. He got 3 Lego sets, a Nerf gun and extra bullets and a bunch of other goodies. I don't even know what other things he got as he still had more presents to open with Carissa and her parents.

The day after Christmas was still filled with friends and family. Eric, Krystal, Blaze and Mariska came over. My parents dropped by for a little while too. Blaze couldn't stay for dinner, but since I'll be babysitting Mariska for a few days she stayed over. Kyle made the big Christmas dinner spread, turkey, corn, green beans, stuffing, drop biscuits. This was one of the best Christmases!

The look of pure joy!

One Day, One Day

Now for the list of things we want to do around the house. Le sigh.

• Paint the dining room
• Replace the globe in the dining room
• Paint the buffet
• Paint the ceiling fan blades in the dining room
• Paint the short bookcase
• Paint the ladder bookcase
• Repaint the kitchen
• Install tile backsplash in the kitchen
• Replace the flooring in the kitchen and laundry nook
• Replace countertop in kitchen (not likely)
• Replace kitchen sink (not likely)
• Repaint Isaac’s room
• Paint vanity in half bath
• Repaint master bedroom
• Paint Isaac’s bookcase
• Paint doorknobs
• Paint front door
• Replace screen door
• Replace medicine cabinets in all baths
• Replace light fixtures in all baths
• Paint light fixture in kitchen or replace
• Replace light fixtures in hallway

Dead in the Bank

My Thrifted Home is pretty much dead. Which I’m sure you could tell (or probably not since I don’t really have any readers, but if I still do I love all of you dearly) by the lack of posts. There hasn't been much activity on the thrifty home improvement front. After four (shameful) months I did finish my plant stand, now I just have to decide where to keep it. I’m pretty sure it’s going to live in the front yard, but I've yet to decide whether to use it as a table or a plant stand/outside entry way /dumping ground table. The Hubs finished painting my roll top desk (which no longer has the roll top) a shiny black that I love. I've already replaced 4 knobs, now it just needs 2 drawer pulls to be complete. And that is pretty much the end of our finished projects.

We have so, so many unfinished projects in the house. Ready for the incredibly long list?

·         Touch up ceiling in kitchen
·         Touch up wall and trim in guest room
·         Touch up wall in Isaac’s room
·         Paint trim in stairway
·         Touch up or repaint the kitchen cabinets
·         Finish painting countertops
·         Pull down wallpaper in the dining room
·         Finish spraying texture in dining room
·         Paint dining room
·         Repaint the coffee table legs
·         Stain coffee table top
·         Finish painting old nightstands
·         Take down wallpaper in half bath, then paint
·         Mud walls in full bath
·         Put up cabinet door in full bath
·         Paint art on canvases
·         Take down wallpaper in master bath, then paint
·         Paint banister (has overspray, 1 year old overspray)
·         Repaint laundry nook

Later on today I'll be posting another bulleted list of one day hopeful things to do in the house. Our financial life is in such disarray right now that they are all things I look at wistfully.