Friends

This weekend was fantastic. Not only because I got to visit with family and friends that I have seen in a while but also because one of my oldest and bestest friends made the trip with her daughter to come down for the weekend. I haven't seen her in about 3 years and although we talk on the phone about once a week it was so nice to get that hug and be able to talk face to face. I consider myself very lucky to have friends still from when I was in middle school and although the distance means that we can't see each other as much as we would like we definitely can pick up where we leave off when we do see each other.
Her daughter is one of the most adorable kids I have ever seen. She played hard this weekend and is talking up a storm. Those are the things that I miss the most about not living closer. The milestones of having a baby, birthdays, anniversaries, etc. that you miss because you are not closer. She is almost 2 years old and this is the first time I met her. I am glad that I got to see her and although I think we are both still catching up from lack of sleep from the weekend, every minute was well spent catching up and just enjoying being in the same room with each other. As I think back to the friends I have had, who I have lost touch with, who there was a one sided attempt to maintain the friendship, I am truly blessed to have friends that I share a significant history with and who will be there no matter what.

Surprise!!

My sister's 30th birthday is tomorrow. We flew to Maryland for the weekend to surprise her and help my mom with the party that she was throwing. We got in Friday night and were up late getting things ready for the next day. Now anyone who has looked at the news lately knows that the temperatures in Maryland have been unbearable for the last few weeks and yesterday held the same promise. After spending almost two hours to get to the parks that we were holding the party because of traffic, we made it and were thankful for the breeze that was blowing. We decorated the pavilion in a Twilight theme, complete with a life size cut out of Edward, Jacob and Bella. Fun was had by all despite the heat. My sister was surprised by the party and everyone who came in from out of town. It was a great day, spent with family and friends. We are currently getting ready for the brunch that my mother is hosting this morning. My mother is amazingly gifted and very stressed out at the moment so I am going to go see what I can do to help. Awesome trip!

Acupuncture

My acupuncturist had me come for a late appointment today. The appointment wasn't until six pm so I was able to put in some extra time at work today. I am really trying to make sure that I am spending time away from my desk during the day. We get breaks throughout the day so I am trying to take them. My acupuncturist was a little concerned today because I am getting head aches again. He is working on them, I think he is a little frustrated because he is not able to isolate them and make them better. He is really trying to help. We discussed meditation tonight and I am reading up on it. I am trying to get the most I can out of the time that I am there. He told me that he thought I was sad today. I guess he is right, I just feel like everything is out of balance right now. There are a whole bunch of projects started and nothing is finished. It is amazing to me that he recognizes the symptoms and is asking questions to make me think about everything that is going on and bringing the subconscious feelings out in the open so that I know what is going on beneath the surface.

Home improvement

The deck framing- Success!! the kitchen projects that I was supposed to get done- FAIL!! We have decided to put more electrical outlets in the kitchen so we can't put up the backsplash. We also found out that the only thing that really works to strip vinyl peel and stick tiles is ammonia. Not in my house this weekend...it was too hot to keep the windows open....so instead

My mother in law and I made nine and a half gallons of pickles. INSANITY is what got into my husband when he ordered two bushels of pickling cucumbers. We used up one bushel on nine and a half gallons. My mother in law took the other bushel home with her. She did leave a few of the larger pickles with me and David decided last night that he missed out on the pickling fun so we did another three gallons. We have enough pickles for the rest of the year...and probably some of next year!
This is the first time I have ever done any kind of canning. It was kinda fun. I am going to try to do jam next. Don't even know where to start, but like doing the renovation ourselves, there is something quite satisfying about knowing that we have cut one thing off our grocery list cause we did it ourselves.

Progress

The kitchen counters are almost done. We ran out of grout to finish them so another trip to the store is in order to get them done. The guys are building a deck this weekend...so major home improvement will be done after this weekend.
There really is nothing that is as satisfying as working up a sweat while working on something that literally transforms the space where you live. It would have been easier to hire someone to come in and do the counters (and probably a whole lot less stress) but it is something that is actually relatively easy to do. Time consuming absolutely but easy none the less. My house is a mess and I can feel it messing with my balance, but I scrubbed dried grout off the counters last night and stood back to look at it and was amazed at the change. The kitchen was the one room in the house that we hadn't really changed since we moved in 2 + years ago and by the end of the weekend it will look completely different. This is the part of owning a house that makes me smile.

Red Door

I painted my door red this weekend....we are in the middle of some crazy home renovation projects including a kitchen sort-of remodel and building a deck. Nothing went the way it was supposed to go this weekend as far as scheduling was concerned (primarily my husband had to work all day on Saturday) so I decided to venture to the home improvement store all by myself. I generally dislike these stores because it is usually too much testosterone for me. This weekend was great at the store. I found the things I needed for my kitchen without too much hassle and I decided that I was going to paint my front door red. Bright fire engine red. So I painted, in the insane humidity that made the paint take FOREVER to dry but there are three coats on it right now and it needs one more. I am going to give it one more day to dry completely and then this will be the final coat.
What does the red door mean? I don't know. It means that the people who live in the house don't take themselves too seriously? It means that they want to be different from everyone else? You don't really know what to expect when you walk in the house? I don't know, but I have gone in and out of my house a dozen times since I painted it and the door has made me smile every single time I have walked through it. To me, the door means that I am home.

Last day of the month!

I work a sales job- our last day for the month is the first day of the following month. This means that we need to make our goals by this day. Last week it looked like the month was going to be lost and that there was no way that I was going to make it. Today- I am 33 cards away from making goal. It is very satisfying to know that there is a potential to pull it out. It makes me smile to think that I will be working as hard as i possibly can to pull it out today. Also tomorrow starts a brand new month...a chance to start over and get going all over again.