Project #1 is FINISHED!

Well, the painting part of it is. I still have all the stuff to put away (or at least hide until I start the dining room.) Tomorrow, John has to replace the light switches and outlets, and then we can start moving stuff back in.

I took a break for a few hours this afternoon and rode to Opelika. I wanted to go to Kirkland's and to Hobby Lobby to get a few things (and to Dick's for a new pair of Crocs.) I got a pretty set of sconces that I'm going to use on either side of the mantle and a decorative plate and a bowl to use on the mantle. I found a gorgeous arrangment at Hobby Lobby, but they wanted 60 bucks for it. I have a really pretty vase in a stand already, so I just bought the stuff to do the arrangment myself! I may not be able to come up with decorating ideas myself, but I can sure recreate something. :)

My curtains came today, too, so I got rods for them. The door panels are on backorder until August 1, but that's okay. I can live with the one already on the door until then. I did go ahead and get panels for the French doors between the living room and dining room and one for the door between the living room and the hallway. I haven't had anything on these doors in forever, but I decided to put something back on them. I especially want something on the door at the hallway since you can see straight into our bedroom from outside! I didn't get sheer panels to use with the curtains, but once we get them up, I may decide to get the sheers. It just depends on the way it looks without them and how well the panel on the hallway door hides the bedroom. lol

I'm taking a break from painting for a couple of weeks. I really wanted to try to get it all done at the same time, but it just ain't happenin'! Mom will be here from Monday until Wednesday. My jewelry party is Tuesday night, and on Thursday, Susan and I have a spa day planned. I'm staying at her house Thursday night so we can do a pool day on Friday. I'll head to the lake from there, and then John and the pups will come when he gets off work. The pups and I will stay the next week, and then John will come back the following weekend. Then, I'll get back to painting.

Fortunately, after the dining room is done, the only thing left will be to repaint our bedroom, and that really won't be hard. The ceiling and trim work won't need anything done--just the walls. Actually, that won't be the last thing. We'll still have the bathroom to do, but there is more to do there than just paint. That will be more of John's project than mine. :)

Will it NEVER end??

John swears it won't, but I swear it will. Just not as soon as we'd like! We have just finished the first coat of paint on the living room walls, and it looks pretty darn good! I'll do the second coat and the baseboards tomorrow. When John gets home, he'll replace all the outlets and switches. Except for the floor being redone, we'll be finished with the living room. Then, we'll start on the dining room. Not until AFTER a little R&R, though!! Hopefully, before the summer is over, we'll get an estimate on having the hardwood floors redone in the living room, dining room, and hallway, and maybe we'll even get that done before school starts back.

I'm having my jewelry party Tuesday night. Mom is coming down for it, but I'm not sure yet if she'll be here Monday or Tuesday. I hope Monday (um hum--Mom, I know you're reading this! haha) I had hoped to have the dining room painted before the party, but...Unless Norm and his crew from This Old House show up, I don't think that's gonna happen.

It's late (for me, anyway) and I'm hot, stinky, and sore, so I'm going to go take a nice, long, hot shower and call it a night.

Ciao!

I Blew Out My Flipflop

I did NOT step on a pop top, cut my heel, and have to cruise on back home. :) I seriously did blow out one of my Crocs, though, and I love them. Guess that means a trip to Kinnucan's or Dick's to get a new pair. I think I'm going to bill Danny and Linda's neighbor since it was his boat dock on their anchor line that caused their walkway to separate from their dock, and I was stepping across that spot when it blew. lol

John and I got up Saturday just like it was a work day so we could get an early start. We left home a little before 6 and got to the lake about 9. Misty, my cousin, got there about 10.

I have to digress for a minute...I have Misty to thank for John and me getting together. This is one of those "What if..." deals. After college, I was in between jobs. A friend of my mom's told her they were hiring at the hospital, so I went to put in an application. All of the jobs posted were those that I really didn't want, but at this point, I couldn't be choosy. I had rent, utilities, a car payment, car insurance, and medical insurance to pay, and my last paycheck was coming up fast. When I turned in the application, the HR receptionist, whom I've known most, if not all, my life, looked over it and asked me to have a seat. A few minutes later, the HR director called me back to her office. An opening for a receptionist/clerk in the radiology department had just become available but wasn't yet posted. Would I be interested? Uhhh--YES! She took me down to interview with the supervisor. After the interview, Pam showed me around and introduced me to several people, one of whom was the assistant director, a nice guy named John. A couple of weeks later, I was offered the job, and I took it.

Fast forward about 3 months. Misty and her best friend Monica stopped by my apartment one Saturday night. One of the guys from the X-ray dept. was having a party, and they wanted me to go. I really wasn't in the mood, so I told them I'd just stay home. They kept on, and finally Misty told me John was going to be there. Suddenly, I was a little more in the mood to go to a party. (I'd decided that I kind of liked him just a little bit.) :) Much later I found out that Misty and Monica had made up their minds that John and I needed to get together, and they were not going to take no for an answer that night. Sixteen years later, here we are. So, what if I hadn't put in an application at the hospital? What if I'd waited a couple of weeks and the receptionist job had been filled? What if I had been insistent that I would not go to that party? I think John and I still would've found our way to each other, but it might have taken a little longer.

Back to this weekend...After I fed Misty and John a delicious, gourmet lunch of hot dogs and chips, Misty and I headed down to Danny and Linda's swim pier for a little R & R and some sun. We had a really good talk--caught up on a lot of stuff. A couple of hours later, Ron and Cindy pulled up on their pontoon.

Ron and Cindy are the first friends of John's that I met, and we clicked from the beginning. Cindy and John have been friends since their school days, and he and Ron met after college. Ron was kind of John's lifesaver after his divorce. Ron let John stay out at his house on the lake for about 6 months or so. John has said so many times how he enjoyed living there. He would get up early and fish before getting ready to go to work, and then in the afternoons he would just sit and enjoy the solitude. Ron was calling me "the wife" before John and I ever even used the "L" word. :) Guess he saw something pretty early on. After they left, Misty, John, and I headed back to the trailer to clean up for dinner.

John grilled chicken for dinner (YUM!!) Danny and Linda had come down Saturday afternoon, so the five of us had a good visit.

Misty left pretty early Sunday so she could get home to see Hudson before he had to go home. John and I walked to Danny and Linda's, and then I was back in the sun. Two days of REAL sun!! Much better than a tanning bed tan for sure. Last night, John fried up some fish that Danny and Linda had caught with Tim. Talk about good. I'm surprised I didn't sprout fins overnight from eating so much.

We left about 3 today and headed home. Coming home this time wasn't quite as depressing for me. I guess it's because I know that if I wanted to, I could get up in the morning and go back. (Ah, summer vacation...) Unfortunately, my classroom still has a little that needs to be done, and the living room and dining room won't paint themselves. I hope I can get that done before the weekend gets here, but if not, I know how I'll spend this coming weekend, and it won't be in the sun.

Just waiting...

Today was just a work day--finish with grades, clean, etc. I had all my grades done and in the computer yesterday, so all I had to do today was to wait for the registrar to run the averager at noon, print my grades, and I'd be done with that part. My plan was to clean this room and to get rid of books I inherited when I moved into this room. If you are a teacher, you know exactly what I mean. You move into a room and you have tons of stuff, but none of it is relevant to what you are teaching, or it is so old Noah probably used it on the ark. I had a cabinet FULL of old textbooks, sample textbooks from previous adoption years, workbooks, you name it. None of it has even been looked at in the two years I've been in this room. With this being our lit. adoption year, we are getting rid of all the old lit books. A company is coming in to buy them. What can be used will be, and what can't be used they will buy at tonnage. Hmmm--perfect time to clean out the old cabinet! Needless to say, right now I am covered in dust, I'm hot, and I know I'm in need of a shower! All I need to do before I can leave is to print grades. I had just started when the principal announced that we had to shut down STI for about 20 minutes because of something they needed to do system-wide. Crud. So, I'm sitting here. Just waiting.

On a more fun note--we are going to the lake tomorrow, and my cousin is coming to stay tomorrow night with us! Yea!!!

Ahhh--a little RT

Retail Therapy--one of my favorites! It wasn't just shopping for "therapy" though. We have graduation Friday night, and the senior advisors will be sitting on the field. They want us to wear something that "blends" with the students--either something in school colors or conservative. Our graduation ceremony is by far the most dignified ceremony I think I've ever attended. Everyone in the community understands that this is the chance for the seniors to have their moment, and they abide by the rules. The seniors may complain and grumble at first, but they always come back to say they appreciate it.

Anyway, since all my school color clothes are golf shirts, T-shirts, etc., I don't think that would be quite what they have in mind. The dresses I have aren't really what I would consider conservative, either. Those of you who know me know that I'm MUCH more comfy in casual stuff--jeans, capris, etc. I'm not a "suit" person!

After work, I headed to Auburn to Dillard's. (Oh, how I miss Parisian!!! I'd have gone to Birmingham if Parisian were still around.) The stuff they had just really didn't appeal to me, so it was off to the other stores I shop in. Chico's had a cute dress, but it didn't fall into the conservative category. I love, love, love Coldwater Creek, but their stuff is a little too perky for a dignified graduation ceremony. Fortunately, there is a Talbot's in the mall. I found the perfect outfit--navy blue and definitely conservative! Of course, that meant I had to have jewelry to complement, and since I didn't have navy shoes, a stop at the shoe department in Dillard's.

Today was the last day for seniors. My advisement gave me a picture of all of us. They had matted it and put my name above the picture and "We Love You" under it. They also gave me a coffee mug with my name on it. They KNOW I love my coffee!! My next group has a lot to try to live up to. I'm not sure they will have it in them, because these young men and women are without a doubt some of the most wonderful I've ever known.