Monday, March 23, 2009

New Kitchen

As planned, I painted the kitchen this weekend. I'll be adding pictures soon, once I get home to take some :-). It is green, the same color as our living room, and I think it looks much better. It was so much work! We also painted the ceiling, as it was in dire need of a new coat of white. That made the whole process more difficult, but Scott helped me out significantly with that part. We ended up having to do 2 coats on the ceiling, which made it even more time-consuming and difficult. But, it was worth it. I also took the opportunity to clean the kitchen while all the stuff was moved out of it. So everything looks nice and clean now.

Speaking of cleaning, I'm considering hiring a maid service to come in and "deep clean" the entire house. They will do in 2 hours what would take me 2 weeks, and I think it would be worth it. Originally, I wanted to hire a service on a monthly basis, but I got some quotes and that is too expensive. So we are thinking of maybe 2-4 times a year. When two people are working full time, I don't think its unreasonable.

I finished the itineraries for Texas today and sent them to the family. I think its going to be a fun trip! I have a lot of history to read up on before we go, like the Alamo, JFK assassination, and king Tut.

I sent out Evites about a week and a half ago for our 2nd Annual Tindall Cookout, so be sure to remember to reply. I'll send out a reminder as it gets closer, since it is 2 months away now. If anyone did not get their Evite, let me know - I may have used an old email address. Hopefully we will have a good turnout - last year was so fun!

Thursday, March 19, 2009

Goodreads

Last week, thanks to my friend Angela, I discovered a new website called Goodreads.com. Anyone who loves to read will love this site, so I encourage you to sign up (and add me as a friend). The best way I can describe it is "Facebook for Book-Lovers". You make an account, and then you start rating books you've read, adding books you want to read, giving reviews, making recommendations, etc. The more friends you have, the more fun it is, because each time you log in, you get a "news feed" similar to Facebook that tells you what your friends are reading, what books they recently reviewed, etc. It's a great way to get new ideas for books to put on your list and to compare opinions about different books. It's quite addictive, and I love it. So go sign up!

This weekend, I'm thinking about painting the kitchen. We painted it orange when we moved in, with the intention of eventually painting or staining the cabinets, but after 2 years, we still haven't gotten around to it. So I'm thinking about painting it the same color green as our living room. Scott thinks it will be "too much green". I'm a little worried about that myself, but I think the kitchen would look so much better that color. For those who have been to my house, let me know what you think. Will it be too much green?

I came home yesterday to sunshine and warmth. It was GREAT. I went outside, filled the birdfeeders, and walked around the yard to check my up-coming spring blooms. The roses are growing already (not blooming yet), the azaleas have buds, the cherry tree is starting to bloom, daffodils are coming up, and there are little sprouts where my lilies will be growing soon, too. I absolutely LOVE the spring, its the best season! I'm a little worried about the Bradford Pear out front, as it seems last weekends flurries might have killed some of the buds. It's not as pretty as it usually is, but I'm hoping it just hasn't fully bloomed yet.

I've been reading the Twilight series, and I have just started the 3rd book. I liked Twilight, but didn't care much for New Moon. I don't think I'm as crazy about the books as most people are, but they are easy to read and enjoyable enough. They have quite a bit of fluff and too much mushy talk between the main characters ("I love you more...", "No, I love you more....", "Noooo, I love YOU more...") It's not those exact words, but that's the gist, and it gets annoying.

Well, that's all that is on my mind at the moment. Have a great weekend :)

Wednesday, March 4, 2009

Snow!

On Sunday, before Shane & Mandy left, we heard reports that there was supposed to be a snowstorm coming through the area. Scott and I scoffed at the news, stating that Richmond never gets snow. It's true - we've been here for 5 years, and it has only snowed once (and stuck for more than an hour). So imagine our surprise when, about 5:00 that night, we looked out the window to see this:We couldn't believe it was actually snowing AND sticking to the ground. Amazing! It just got better and better (and deeper and deeper) as the night went on, and by 8:00 I had already decided that I was not going to work the next day.

To my delight, this is what I awoke to the next morning:
I'd say it was a solid 8 inches, if not more. Check out how the bushes are buried! It was absolutely gorgeous, and continued snowing throughout the morning. My office closed, but I would have taken a PTO day if they hadn't. It's the first time I've seen snow like this since I was in Blacksburg, and all I really wanted to do was go out and play in it. Unfortunately, Scott had to work from home, and playing in the snow by yourself is no fun. Oh well.

Most of the snow has now melted, as the temperature is gradually warming up this week. By Friday it's supposed to be 63 degrees, and then 71 on Saturday. I am excited! It will be like the first "Spring" weekend. Hopefully there will be yard sales.