Happy Labor Day!

House building has been fun and all - but as I have mentioned lately, I have missed my summer days at the lake. Last weekend I tried to make up for lost time by spending the whole weekend at the lake and that is what I plan to do this weekend.

My pals Kristina and Shandon are joining us again this weekend. They are troopers - they live 4 and a half hours away and are returning today for more weekend fun - after just leaving on Sunday. My other pals, Ryan and Melissa, are heading this way too from Kansas City. (Cue music - "Party Like a Rock Star..."!)

(See photo of last weekend's fun - Lora, Kristina & I at the boat races.)

Although last weekend's boat races kind of sucked, it was a sunny day with friends and that is what mattered most. We joined the Watts' on their ride and what a ride it was! Their "Go Fast Boat" called Thunderstruck kept up with the Cats and other Go Fasts on the water...it was awesome as we hammered down towards our destination.

Many at the lake say this is their last weekend of summer fun. Not us - we will be boating as much as we can until October. Sure, my goose bumps will grow bigger, the shivers may become a staple in our evenings and we may have to break out the hoodies and mittens, but there are plenty of sunny days ahead.

Shania is going to join me next weekend for an overnight at the lake. I look forward to taking her out on the water, swimming and just having some "little sister" time! See you soon, Nia!!!

There is no place like home...

Katie went for a haircut and bath this week at Petco. She wasn't nearly as excited as I was as we walked into the doors. When we left the house that afternoon, she anxiously ran to the car and did three circles around it before I could open the car door for her to jump in. However, after the sight of other dogs getting bathed, sheared and brushed, she trembled. But I handed her over anyway with the little look of "mommy, don't go!" in her eyes.








Much to my surprise and hers, she came home with Ruby Red (& sparkly) toe nails. How precious. They look much like Dorothy's ruby red slippers on the Wizard of Oz. How fitting for Katie on this day. She realized that there was no place like home with her dazzling ruby red toe nails.

She wouldn't have too much to do with me once we returned home - and that is unusual. She is usually right at my heels. Blaine blamed it on the toe nails - "I would be mad at you too if you had my toe nails painted. I don't blame her." I just laughed - and Katie finally came around. I think she loves her toe nails. Besides, those flashy toe nails match her red Kansas City Chiefs collar - what could be better than that?

Is it really raining?

With the whole house building going on this summer, I feel like I have missed out on the dog days. And today - rain. Why? I don't need rain. I need 90 degrees and lots of sunshine. I found this photo today and decided this is exactly what I needed for a day of rain that was not appropriate for my hot pink Hunter rain boots:
Yes - those are heels with their own personal umbrellas. A little ironic and maybe a bit inconvenient, but very funny - to say the least.

Wait - do I see the sun peaking out? I do, I do!! I better get outside to play!

House Update!

This may be my last house photo posting for a while until I get everything done. So many things are still changing and are exciting. We are still missing a few minor things, but loving living there. Katie (my pooch or doghter as I like to call her) is finally adjusting as well. She has sought out new hiding places to keep me on my toes trying to find her every morning when I go to work.

Although the outside isn't complete, the yard looks hideous and the windows are dirty, here she is: (I have still have to put up wooden shutters on the windows, flower boxes below some windows and other wood accents. Oh and yes...I still need a yard.)

My most exciting moment late last week, however, was my bedroom light. We bought it months ago along with several other lights and it has been like Christmas everytime one gets hung. I love it. Here it is.......

I will admit - before we began moving last Friday, I drove to the house just to see it. I was afraid that 1) I was going to hate it or 2) I was going to love it. Either way, I knew tears would flow. In my defense of being a complete crybaby, it had been a rough week and I was exhausted. Anything probably would have made me cry - but I wanted to do it on my own time without the guys that were helping Blaine and I move witnessing my boo-hooing.

The other excitement of last week was all of the other things that were finished: the custom concrete range hood, the half bath sink and faucet were installed, the master bath began to really look like somewhere I could get ready every morning and just this week, but deck has been coming along nicely. See below for pics:

At last...

After 1 year and 9 months of preparation for our new house, we are finally in! We purchased our lot in October 2006 - believe it or not - and finally made the big move this weekend. Although we have lots yet to do to the house and tons of unpacking to do, we spent all weekend under a new roof with no neighbors above us doing Lord only knows what.

As we lay in bed on Friday night, Blaine said, "Did you hear that?" I didn't - but getting used to new noises always makes me a little jittery. "I didn't either..." said Blaine. He was just happy that we didn't hear the pitter patter of feet above us, a very large dog barking above us or the "CLUNK!!" that we heard on a daily basis. Finally, peace and quiet.

So...now we are left with mounds of stuff to unpack, but that is the fun part, right? And lots of shopping to do to find the perfect picture for the living room wall, the "just-right" flower arrangement for my window seal and the most fabulous centerpiece for my kitchen table.

As soon as I get the mess cleaned up, I will post photos.

I am tired, ya'll!

Only five days left until the official moving day and, boy, am I getting tired. While all of my friends were enjoying the lake, birthday celebrations and great, fun concerts this weekend, Blaine and I were working like crazy to get things done. Along for moral support and some gosh darn hard work were Mom, Dad and Shania. They volunteered to help - and I took them up on it. I don't think that they knew what they were in for. But hallelujah, thank the Lord, that they showed up.

Mom and I spent the weekend wallpapering, dusting, cleaning, and more wallpapering. Dad saved the day by installing all of the door handles in the house. What a chore for Mom & Dad. Luckily Dad got to work in the peace and quiet while poor Mom had to listen to my venting and stress releasing. Blaine and I counted the hours that we made my parents slave away at the house and we managed to come up with 18 hours of backbreaking work. Shania was even a trooper. When asked, she jumped up away from her laptop and music and helped with wallpaper, took care of Katie and did just about anything we asked. Thanks for wasting a weekend with me, Nia. And thanks Mom & Dad for making our lives easier - again! I am certain that the wallpaper would never get done and my door handles would have made it up sometime in December if it were not for you two!

The highlight of the weekend is my new range hood. I haven't taken photos yet, but I will soon. Jerry the concrete guy (different than Jerry the tile guy) came and spent two and a half days building my range hood out of concrete - and I love it. I will have to admit spending hours last week watching his work made me very nervous. What if I didn't like it? What if it didn't turn out like I had dreamed? But it is awesome. You can definitely tell it is a custom job and perfect for our kitchen. Photos will come soon.

Upcoming events - Monday is driveway day, Tuesday our tile will be complete in our master bath, Wednesday is carpet day, Thursday is final plumbing and lighting and Friday we begin the big move.