Wow.

Are you guys still out there?! :) I know it has been ages, but believe me, I've had good reason. I know you're all waiting for pictures of the house, and I hope to have those up on Facebook by Sunday night. So much has been happening in my life recently that it seems a little crazy to try to compress it into a blog entry! It's not that I haven't wanted to be blogging - it's that there's TOO much to talk about and I've been overwhelmed about where to begin.

So.

I'm going to start small.

First thing I wanted to mention: I don't know if any of you are still into the CVS thing (I know you're trying, Kathy! Whoo hoo!), but I have a good idea for you if you want to get into the the extra-care bucks thing but didn't want to cough up initial dough. For the month of October, CVS is offering 5 ECB for $15 purchase of assorted Starbucks products. I don't know about all of you, but there are TONS of people on my Christmas list who are coffee/Starbucks fanatics. This is a great way to get some shopping done early, and then have 5 left to spend at the store. With those 5 ECB, you could pick up some cute fall decorations that are on clearance right now or you could roll it over to buy something else that will give ECB.


Second thing I wanted to mention: One of my all-time favorite blogs, 4 Reluctant Entertainers, is doing another giveaway. I'm mentioning her here because she will put my name in twice in the drawing and she gives away the most amazing gift baskets! I have entered quite a few of her giveaways but haven't one yet. However, this one is a fall giveaway and since I am a fall fanatic (ask my husband), I would LOOOOOVE to win it! If you've never checked out her website, well...you're crazy. It's awesome. So go! Hurry! :)

That's all for now. Valspar's "Churchhill Hotel Maple" is calling my name (we're going to paint the living room tonight! Gooood times.....)

Hellooooooooooooooooo bloggy world!

I have been meaning to update for a while but my life has been whirling out of control (yet in a good way, lol).  We officially got our house on Aug. 15th, and have spent every day since then working on it! Chris and I like to joke that in 3 weeks we have brought the value of our house down about $30,000.  haha  This is because that a lot of people in our area (I'm not trying to be mean, but socioeconomically it is a little lower here) would have just moved right in to this house, paneling and smelly carpet and office-tiled ceilings and all.  We just had a big vision for this place, and so a ton of stuff has been ripped out and thrown out and changed around.  

We actually moved in on Saturday night.....it's really more like camping out, because we have two functioning bathrooms and our bedroom is liveable but we don't have any appliances.  No fridge, no oven, no washer, no dryer! Oh, the things that get pushed out of your mind when you're a first-time homeowner working night and day on renovating your house! lol  We went in Saturday to buy our fridge, thinking they could probably deliver on Saturday.  Oh, no - it's definitely back-ordered til Friday! It's okay, you can laugh...we laughed at ourselves and our stupidity! haha

So we are living out of a cooler, a microwave, and a toaster.  Did I mention we haven't moved our kitchen table in yet?  So we eat on the floor.  And did I mention our kitchen is completely being overhauled?  So we can't currently use the sink.  So we use paper and plastic for everything.  (Yes, I do feel a tiny bit guilty about that).  

So, besides living in chaos right now, we've both also been working full time.  I also got a cold for four days over Labor Day weekend, which really added to the fun! hahaha 

Honestly, yes, it is a little overwhelming, but each day we see progress and thankfully we have a large house with a garage to store most of our things.  As soon as the kitchen is put together (hopefully by the weekend), life will be a little less weird.  

So............THAT'S why I haven't been posting! 

Pictures will come after my kitchen is fixed! :) Stay tuned!  

And I currently have 3 gray hairs in my head....so maybe pray for me! lol :)

I am a happy homeowner! :) We closed at 3:00 today, and let me tell you, I think Chris would have driven home on two wheels were I not in the car - that's how pumped he is (and me too). We worked on the house as soon as we got back, took a quick dinner break, and then went back until about 9;30.

Our house was fully carpeted (except the kitchen and bathrooms), and there were hardwood floors underneath (Chris and I love wood floors, so to us, it's just stupid to cover up all that beauty!). We spent most of tonight ripping up the carpets throughout the house, and it's pretty ridiculous that now the house looks about 200% worse! hahaha Things just have to get worse-looking before they can get better, unfortunately.


I'm not sure how much I'll be on in the next two weeks....I might have time and I might not, between the house and school starting. I will definitely be posting pictures, so keep checking back! I love blogging and I promise, I will be back.

Have a great weekend, everyone!



P.S. Did you all see Michael Phelps's crazy win tonight?! I seriously got goosebumps. :)

I Really Should Play the Lottery.....

.......because Chris and I are also going to be closing on our first house on Friday! Our loan came through and everything's all set now! We are so thrilled with this good news.

It is funny how my life usually tends to end up.....it's generally all-or-nothing, and this is definitely no exception. This house has given us a bumpy ride, but we are SO thankful that God chose to see it through for us and it really seems to be His plan, given all of the things that seemed to go wrong at first with excess paperwork and needing to fire our initial realtor (long story, but it was definitely merited).

Some of you know Liz P. from school, and she's home from teaching in Korea for only about 9 days before she heads back. I'm going to Staten Island tomorrow to visit her for the day, and we're also going to the Korean Consulate! I'm sure Consulates are actually very boring, but I'm excited to be in the inside of one! lol Oh, and to see Liz again. haha

My days of relaxation are quickly coming to an end.... :)


But I think I'm okay with that.

I Got a Job!!!

It has been two years and three months since I graduated from school (wow, exactly three months), but yes, I FINALLY HAVE A CONTRACTED JOB!!!!! God is faithful!!!

I got the call this morning!!!!!!!! I finally get to do this! :) Even though I've taught music in a public school before, that was always a long-term sub position. It was mine, but not really. This is my classroom(s), my kids, my program, from the beginning of the school year 'til the end!

I am just...giddy with excitement. As my mom said, "This has been a long time coming!"

Praise the Lord!!

The high-school music teacher (who is super sweet) left me with her number the other day, so I called her back. She is going to take me on a tour of the campus (K-12 is on the same campus) and show me my classrooms and introduce me to the principals and let me ask her questions. :) Then on the 19th I go in with the other "new hires" and sign my contract and learn about the district, and then on the 26th, THE KIDS COME!! I can't wait!!!!

Thanks for praying! :)

August 5, 2006................

I've been married for two years today! Craziness!


It's truly remarkable how much deeper my love for Chris has grown since our wedding day. We have both changed so much over the past two years of our lives.


I have more respect, admiration, and love for this man than ever before.


I am so blessed.

Craaaaazy Times

Well, this is shaping up to be quite the week! On Thursday (our home phone had conveniently bit the dust Thursday morning) I received a call message from the superintendent of the school district that interviewed me two months ago. He said that there had been a job opening with two applicants, and I was one of the applicants (I didn't understand at first, either) and could I please call him back at the office or at home? Well, we hung out with one of our best friends from college on Thursday (and saw Get Smart, which was hilarious), and bought a new phone on the way home (late that night) and plugged it in when we got home.

Early the next morning, our new phone rings while I'm eating breakfast. It's the superintendent, asking if I got the message! I explained about the phone dying, and he proceeded to tell me that the position I had previously applied for was now open and that he wanted me to come in and have a second interview. He mentioned salary and how he could make me "very happy."

So, I went in for my intereview today. Of course I was terrified! :) My head knows that God is totally in control of this whole thing (after all, I had already put it out of my mind), but that didn't help the butterflies in my stomach. I think the interview went well, and he told me that the board members had all given me excellent ratings on my past interview and that he really liked me. He also told me the salary, which is lovely. At least in my opinion. For a teacher. :)


Unfortunately, my competition (lol) is interviewing again tomorrow, so I won't know their decision until sometime after that. So if you feel led to pray that she oversleeps her interview or decides not to show up or something, feel free. hahaha

But seriously, if you want to pray that God leads this man to give me the job, that would be much appreciated!!!

Oh, the other news: At 2:00 today, Chris is signing the new contract for the house we've been looking at. He's bringing it home, and I'll sign it tonight, and our realtor thinks Fannie Mae will be willing to close by August 19th!!!! I could be a homeowner in two weeks or less! Which would really be amazing, because I haven't shared a fraction of all the troubles we've had with the search for a house.

So, by the end of this week, I could have a brand-new house coming and a brand-new job to start!!!!!

(Or I could potentially have neither. Which would be a real mood-killer. lol)

I'll keep you "posted"!! (Aren't I hilarious?!)