Saturday, December 31, 2005

Yes, We're Crazy - Bathroom Remodel!

Friday afternoon, we're the home improvement store, just picking up a few things, and then....

...we decide to redo our bathroom (the powder room).

We choose new floor tiles, picked out a new sink cabinet, mirror & medicine cabinet.
Talk about spur of the moment project! :) Most people would plan this out well in advance...not us...especially the weekend of the New Years!

So I cleaned out the cabinet, removed the shelves and everything....

Bobby had already replaced the standard sink faucet with the silver one, with the extended handles. He replaced the electric outlet with a grey one then put on my pretty silver plate (also did the light switch which isn't shown). We also had my "Paris" Towell Ring, and Toilet Paper Holder (also not seen in this picture). I'll show a picture of them in a close up later once the room is completed! :)



We got the toilet out, the sink & cabinet and the mirror down. Then we started removing the old floor tiles. Whew....what a job!


Next, I painted the room with Behr's "Gobi Desert".
There's more to be touched up, and the trim needs to have a fresh coat of white.



We're going to replace the light fixture (we'll pick it out tomorrow) too.

The floor will be a really beautiful travertine tile. We plan to install it tomorrow too.
Monday we're planning to put in the big fixtures.

I can't wait to show you the finished product...it's going to blow you away! :)
The sink cabinet is black (so is the mirror and the medicine cabinet!), it's going to look so sharp against this wall color and splashes of Red! :) WooHooo! :)

Friday, December 30, 2005

Year in Review

Shan had this great Year in Review from 2Peas... If you're reading this, make sure to add it to your blog! :)

2005 In Review

JANUARY
1. Did you have a new year's resolution this year?: I don't really do resolutions, but try to improve a few things (being more organized, eat healthier, excersize more, etc...)
2. Who kissed you at midnight?: Bobby, my DH
3. Did it snow where you live?: Yes
4. Have you ever been to Times Square to watch the ball drop?: No, I wouldn't appreciate that size of a crowd.

FEBRUARY
1. Who was your valentine?: See Jan #2! :)
2. What did your valentine get you?: We don't really do Valentines...who wants to be told when to "dote" on your loved one! :) It's the rebel in us! :) I get flowers all the time just spur of the moment...that means so much more to me!
3. When you were little, did you buy valentines for your whole class?: YES!!! I loved creating a themed "mailbox", selecting the valentines or making them...then putting in the candy hearts in them and handing them out. They were so cool!

MARCH
1. Are you Irish? Yes, part Irish! (Irish, Scottish, French & German)
2. Did you wear green on St. Patty's Day?: Of Course, I don't want to get pinched all day! :)
3. What did you do for St. Patty's Day?: We got our new treadmill from Sears! LOL - really!

APRIL
1. Do you like the rain?: Sure, it's refreshing...just not days upon days of rain, or every weekend (We had 6 weekends in a row in 2005!)
2. Did you play an April Fool's joke on anyone this year?: No, I leave that up to DH!
3. Did you get tons of candy on Easter?: I didn't but the girls did!

MAY
1. What's your favorite kind of flower?: Hydrangia, Lilac, Hyacinth & Old Fashion Pink Roses
2. Do you like the spring? Love it! It's my Fav!
3. Finish the phrase: "April showers bring...": May flowers!
4. What would you think of as a spring color?: Pastels of course

JUNE
1. What year did you graduate from school?: 95
2. Did you go on any vacations?: None in Junebut we had VBS for a full week.

JULY
1. What did you do on the 4th of July? Family Picnic, Watched Fireworks, time w/family
2. Did you go on any vacations during this month?: Yes, we all flew to Georgia/Alabama for the 4th. We also went camping.

AUGUST
1. Did you go swimming a lot in the summer?: not really, but friends took Catherine to the pool a lot.
2. Did you go to the beach a lot?: Not this year, we were about in Deleware in Sept, and so close to the ocean, but never made it over there...it just about killed me!!!!

SEPTEMBER
1. Did you attend school/college in '05?: No, but my DD started Kindergarten, so I'm finally a PTO Mom!!!
2. Who is/was your favorite teacher?: Mrs. Terry my 2nd grade teacher, she was wonderful!
3. Did you like fall better than summer?: Sure

OCTOBER
1. What was your favorite halloween costume ever?: Being a Baton Twirler! :) I was 6 maybe, and so proud of myself in the parade! :) LOL
2. What's your favorite candy?: Twix or Sneakers
3. What did you dress up like this year? I didn't dress up, but I took the girls T-or-Ting

NOVEMBER
1. Whose house did you go to for Thanksgiving?: Good friends Joe & Jenn's house
2. Do you like stuffing?: Yes, but never dressing - Yuck!
3. What are you thankful for?: God/Jesus, My husband, My girls, My family, My friends, My health, my home....so many things.

DECEMBER
1. Do you celebrate Christmas?: Absolutely! Celebrating the reason for the season too! :)
2. Have you ever been kissed under mistletoe?: Yep, my hubby!
3. What do you want this year for christmas?: Kitchen Aid Mixer :)
4. What's the best present you ever got for christmas?: Diamond Earrings
5. Do you like cold weather?: Yep, it's so much better than the hummid summers in KY!
6. How would you rate your year on a scale of 1-10?: 10

Thursday, December 29, 2005

Holiday Tagged

Thanks Maureen! You're the first person to EVER Tag me! :)

Hot Chocolate or Egg nog?
-Both

Does Santa wrap the presents or just set them under the tree?
-All presents are wrapped!

Colored or white lights on the tree/house?
-White lights outside (always!). I'd love to have white lights on the tree, but hubby and kids all love the colored lights. How could I not let them have them? BUT...someday I'm going to have my own tree with white lights, and just sparkly ornaments that are white/silver/crystal, etc...

Do you hang mistletoe?
Some years we do. We didn't this year.

When do you decorate?
Anytime after Thanksgiving. I like doing it that weekend or the first week of December.

What is your favorite holiday dish?
This was the first year that I actually cooked a Christmas Dinner (normally we go to someone's house and I just bring a dish along). I'm not sure what everyone eats traditionally, we had a ham and lots of sides that I made for Thankgsiving. So....my answer is my sweet potatoes with caramel sauce.

Favorite Holiday memory as a child?
You know, I have so many wonderful memories, here are a few...
  • Sitting infront of the fireplace on the raised hearth with my Dad, drinking hot chocolate and just talking
  • Big Christmas Eve family gathering at our house, Dad's side of the family would come over...all of us cousins played and had a blast...lot of food!
  • Decorating Christmas cookies with Mom and my sisters
  • Driving all around looking at the lights and Christmas Decorations, singing Christmas Carols
  • Christmas Morning opening presents
  • Christmas Afternoon till late at my Grandparents house, playing with all my other cousins (My mom's side of the family)

How and when did you learn the truth about Santa?
I actually never believed. We weren't taught to believe in Santa....it was just fun make-believe that we played into though.


Do you open gifts on Christmas Eve?
We've always opened 1 gift on Christmas Eve


What kind of cookies do you set out for Santa on Christmas Eve?

Decorated Sugar Cookies


Snow! Love it or hate it?

Love it! Except for driving on it....ice is a scary thing!

Can you ice skate?
Sure Can! Up until last year, I had never fallen either! I'm also no where near Pro!


Do you remember your favorite gift?
Years ago when Bobby got me beautiful Diamond Earrings...and this year's KA Mixer!

What’s your favorite holiday dessert?
Anything! Pies, Cakes, Cookies, you name it!

What’s your favorite holiday tradition?
I love so much about Christmas...setting up the Nativity, decorating the tree, playing Christmas Music & singing, Wrapping gifts...If I have to choose 1 thing, it's doing something nice for someont that doesn't expect it!


What is your favorite Christmas Carol?
Again, there are so many...it's hard to choose just 1. I'll go with Away in a Manger....it's one that I've always loved.


Are they fake or real? Er, I mean...What type of tree?
LOL :) Real all the way!


.....and I'm going to tag Cami (I know Maureen tagged her already...but I don't see that she's done it yet!) :)

Wednesday, December 28, 2005

Merry Christmas!!!!

I hope everyone had a fabulous Christmas! We sure did!

Abby loved the big doll house we got her. Catherine was excited about getting all the Barbie movies. They both were gracious and not greedy or envious of each other (how wonderful is that!?)


I surprised Bobby with getting him a gorgeous pocket watch, that you wind up, and you can see the inner workings of the timepiece.


I had a fabulous day, we stayed in our PJ's all day. We had our traditional cinnamon rolls for breakfast. We rented good family movies this year and watched them together. We played games with the kids (Catherine got lot's of new ones). :)

I hope you all had a good time with family and had safe travels if you had to go anywhere!
Here's a picture I thought I'd share. We've been so busy this month, with so many parties and tons of stuff going on. I handed my camera off so I could get a picture of me and a few of my friends. We attended a really nice dinner.......
Laura, Jenn, Me, Lisa - at a Ladies Christmas Party that my Church held, I invited 3 of my friends. Ruth isn't pictured, she's at another table with her Mom.


Tuesday, December 13, 2005

Picture with Santa


We got a picture of the girls with Santa on Saturday. The mall had a great Santa, he was very nice and sat infront of the gorgeous North Pole Sand Castle.

I need to get some picture of all the decorations of our house. I also want to get a good family picture.

I posted a question on 2Peas hoping to get some good advice on how to get some good shots of the Christmas Tree/lights. I posted on the general board today, since yesterday I only got 1 tip on the photography board.

I need to take a photography course. I've got this nice Canon Rebel G camera and I don't know how to use all the manual functions. There's so much potential with this camera! :) I've had it for 5 years...it's a shame!

Saturday, December 10, 2005

Christmas Shopping

I've made my list, I've checked it twice.
Now I'm off to do some shopping! :)

We'll be getting our tree today too!
I'll make hot cocoa, play the Christmas Carols and we'll all decorate the tree!

What fun we'll be having today!!! :)

Yesterday we woke up to 10" of snow, and we played outside all day long.
Lots of sledding and throwing snowballs and playing with other kids in the neighborhood.
The girls loved it!
I loved coming inside warming up to the fire and drinking lots of hot chocolate w/cream! :) Yumm!

I hope everyone's having great fun!

Tuesday, December 06, 2005

I know, I'm slacking!

I haven't had a post on here in awhile. It's been so busy here. Last Friday night we had our annual Christmas Party. Which of course took a lot of prep work. This year I did everything myself and didn't let friends bring anything. (I thought it'd be nice for them)

  • Herb roasted red potatoes with sourcream/horseradish pipped on.
  • Mini dough sausages
  • Stuffed Cherry tomatoes
  • Bread bowl with Spinnache/herb dip
  • Shrimp & Cucumber dip & Crackers
  • Cheese & Sausages
  • Chicken & Veggie Soup
  • Chilli
  • Tripple Espresso Brownies
  • Peppermint Moment Cookies
  • Coconut Macaroons
  • Ghirardelli Chocolate Fondu w/Strawberries, Cherries, Angel Food Cake, Pretzels & Marshmallows
  • Cranberry/Rasberry Punch
  • Eggnog
  • Coffee
  • Soda

It was a lot of work, but well worth it. Everyone seemed to have a great time. :) The house was beautiful, the Chocolate Fondu was a hit!!!

Yesterday afternoon I helped out at school for the Kid Writing, then had our "Coffee" with "the girls" then it was dinner time, then PTO meeting.

I'm helping at the school for RIF (Reading is Fundamental) today and tomorrow are the distribution days to give every kid in the school a free book to take home & keep. In January we're having a Mega Huge event, where our school has been selected to give out the 300 millionth book that RIF has given. It's huge...I'm talking national media coverage here!

I've got to go get my nails filled in, we've got to get our tree this weekend (it's the only Christmas decoration not up), next week I've got a Ladies Christmas Candlelight dinner, Christmas Concert, Girl Scouts, my final MOPS meeting for this session, and there's something else I can't remember right now. Whew! Lots going on!

Oh, I have to make phone calls to plan the Class Christmas party at school and make calls to get parents to send in a few bucks so I can get the Teacher a Christmas gift. :)