We are so happy we decided to move, I can't even count how many things are so much nicer in this house. I worked really really hard painting, bargain shopping, and decorating for this place. I want to document all this hard work, so I'm gonna take you through a little tour of our house, one room at a time!
So here we go.....
HA! I WISH!
Pulling up in our driveway, you'll see Phoebe to your left, peeking out the window to see who is coming. Then you'll see her freak out at the window when she realizes she has a visitor. There will be lots of tail-wagging, jumping, and if she really likes you, maybe even a bit of tinkle.
When you walk into the house, you'll see Phoebe's bench. Purchased especially for her, it's just the perfect height for her to monitor and give her disapproval of every dog that dares to walk by her house.
(Anyone know how to get wrinkles out of silk curtains? I started to steam them then I got scared!)
Straight ahead, you'll see my bright blue desk! Yes, it's really THAT blue! I painted it myself. :)
I love the luxury of having somewhere to keep my Mac when I'm not using it (besides the coffee table). I hung a few clipboards covered in scrapbooking paper to display cards, bills, mail, etc. If I ever get around to the bajillion scrapbooking projects I have on my list, this is where it'll happen.
So, that's the "entryway" of our house. I'll continue with the rest of the living room soon.
Hope you guys will enjoy seeing our new home, but if you don't, we are enjoying the house enough for everyone. :)
(Obviously written right after the super bowl, but I forgot to post.)
I can NOT BELIEVE it's already February. Which means, Super Bowl time! We weren't huge fans of the Steelers or the Packers, but we thought it'd be fun to have a few people over and show them our new house! I've been working all month to paint, decorate, and fix up our new house. Finally, the house is almost like I want it!
My first "real party" went pretty well! I fixed lots of food which everyone seemed to enjoy, and the game was entertaining, right down to the botched national anthem.
It's been a long time since I've posted! So what's my excuse, you are asking? I don't really have a good one, but I'll update you on what we've been doing the past two months.
In November I had a pretty hectic rotation, and my spare time was taken up with running and working. Brandon and I trained hard for our St. Jude race the whole month, and it payed off!
Brandon finished the half marathon in 1:54, which was six minutes faster than his goal of 2 hours!
Kelly and I finished in about 33 minutes, which was quite a bit faster than we had ever run before. It seemed so easy, too. (Except for the part when I almost blew chunks after smelling the Wonder Bread Bakery at mile 3. Luckily almost doesn't count.) We had heard that race day adrenaline helps your time, and that was definitely true for us!
December is always a crazy month for everyone, and it was no different for us. Brandon finished up his finals, and I am proud to report he made straight A's! I finally got a Macbook thanks to my awesome family for giving me my graduation present early! Brandon and I both worked most of the month, and then visited everyone for Christmas.
It was a difficult Christmas after the losses our family has suffered this year, and those loved ones were definitely on our minds. But I also thought a lot about how fortunate we all are to have each other. We couldn't have made it through all the hard times without each other. Kelly and I have always known what an awesome family we have, but this year proved how lucky we are to have each other, and to have such amazing Brandons. Er, I mean husbands. I'm so thankful for my sister and my Brandon.
After Christmas, we started getting ready to move. 17 houses down the street, to a much bigger house. I'll update soon on all the decorating, organizing, and DIY projects I'm working on.
But for now, I just have to express my love for this book series I've recently discovered, called "The Millennium Trilogy".
"The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo" is the first in the series by the late Swedish author, Steig Larson. It is followed by "The Girl Who Played With Fire", which I am in the process of reading, and "The Girl Who Kicked The Hornet's Nest". They've taken the NY Times Best Seller List by storm, and the first Hollywood movie is already in the works.
Larson has woven a very complex, intriguing plot of mystery and murder together with a set of unconventional but fascinating characters to create a suspenseful nail-biter that I can't put down! (Or I can't stop listening to, in my case, since I downloaded the audiobooks from Audible.com for my commutes back and forth from Memphis to Jackson.) Being a long-time murder/mystery fiction fan, I've gotten to a point where I can predict a lot of the endings and twists in many books that I read. Don't get me wrong, Mary Higgins Clark is a quick, enjoyable read for me, but sometimes I just want to be knocked off my feet!
That's exactly what this book delivers.
One of my favorite things about this book is the heroine, Lisbeth. She's not your typical "I'm beautiful and smart, but I just don't realize it" or "My parents divorced when I was young, so I've never trusted anyone... until now" type of heroine. She's rough, in the way she looks and the way she acts. She's the girl you'd stare at and judge if you passed her on the street, but she'll surprise you.
I love her for many reasons. She's not a victim, even though most people in her situation would be. She moves ahead, and takes care of business. She's an absolute genius, and extremely talented, and could easily use her talents to her advantage. But she's incredibly and surprisingly moral, so she only uses her gifts to give people what they deserve. There is lots of bad-guy butt-kicking involved! I can't help but cheer for her the entire time, and feel oddly proud of her as she evolves and "grows up" from the end of the first book and into the second.
I tweeted right after I cut my hair shorter and dyed it darker that it make me feel like Lisbeth! Of course, I don't want to be just like her- I'll pass on the piercings and tattoos and terrible goth clothes she sports in the first book. However, she has a mental toughness and take-charge-of-her-life attitude that I wouldn't mind sharing!
The American movie "The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo" is filming now, and set to be released in late 2011. I. CAN'T. WAIT. For now, I've watched the Swedish version several times, and "The Girl Who Played With Fire" is on it's way to me from Netflix. Here's a trailer of the Swedish movie if you are interested!
**** Obviously, these books are only suitable for adults. I find the crimes committed particularly disturbing, even though I have read countless thriller novels and I don't scare easily. (Wikipedia the book or ask me if you are curious). If you can handle this, I highly recommend reading them, because it makes Lisbeth's butt-kicking even more awesome and justified!****
