memorial weekend

Don't you wish every weekend had an extra day? We made the most of Memorial weekend and squeezed in as much down time as possible. Monday was spent mostly outside. Our friend Chris walked in a charity event meant to honor those in the military so we went out to support him and others. We cheered on folks walking in from the overnight, tired from the big blazing sun. Some even had on their uniforms and packs and weights - "carrying the load" of fallen soldiers. It was really cool way to acknowledge the meaning of the day. Then, we got the grill cranked up finally and had us a proper meal. There's just something about a grill burning that really makes it feel like summer.

Baby girl got all dressed up for her last day of school today. If you ever find yourself in Plano… probably not, but never say never… I can sincerely tell you Preston Meadow Lutheran Church is a gem. You wouldn't know it passing by outside, but inside is a wonderful group of people that love your child like their own. Miss Alison & Miss Frances…mmm I adored those ladies. They were more than accommodating and always made us feel at home. Lovely little spot and Miss Moosh is sure going to miss her friends there. Onward we go though and next step to really settling into Dallas is starting in a day school here in town. Summer school starts next week and she'll be with her buddy Belle so what could be better? Those two girls are gonna liven up the place for sure.


One more tidbit… today is our 4th wedding anniversary. We're heading out on the town tonight, just us two, for the first time since we moved. Yahoo!

now you see it, now you don't

Hello my friends! We're finally coming out of that deep, dark hole we were in with the move. While I'm at it I'm trying to befriend the black cat that insists on being in our driveway at all times. He's been here since the beginning and I'm quite sure it's a sign, but by golly, we're gonna be buddies. Gotta get rid of any bad ju-ju going on around here.

Seriously, I don't ever want to move again. Unless it's back home of course, and then I'd be high tailin' it at the drop of a hat. But, since that's not the case, I do believe I'll be staying put in Texas for a while. The boxes are unpacked, art is slowly making it's way on the walls, and even a couple lucky curtains have been hung. Even Miriam has come around to the place and doesn't cry when we pull on the driveway. Progress! She does love it. She loves pushing her animals in the baby stroller down the sidewalk and loves pushing her lawnmower. The best is she can just be outside and play with sticks and push some rocks around. I also discovered the Hee-Haw overalls I'd put in storage and good thing, because they're almost too small! Have I mentioned my Moosh is going to be 2 next month? How does that even happen? Her latest thing is when she does something naughty, like throw her milk on the floor, she says "Miriam Cross" all serious. She'll look down with those big "sad" eyes and then break into a big smile like it's all hilarious. You can tell exactly just how much control I've got around here.

Here's my bathroom re-do update : My beautiful tile floor was ripped out yesterday. Ripped out and soon to be replaced. Ya see, our contractor took us to this warehouse place that sells "cheaper" tiles. It looked great and we were all set. That is until we realized once barefoot that it wasn't flat. Meaning each little piece wasn't the same height. Some big sections of the tile were fine and flat. Others were not. There were rough edges poking up… not ok. We tried polishing it, but it just got super slick and we quickly realized the tile itself was totally faulty. Guess you get what you pay for. Luckily, we got our money back, but now we've had to upgrade to get what we really wanted. Budget? What budget? So now everything is on hold until the tile comes in. In the meantime we've dug a giant hole in that same bathroom to see if we can access our sewage line from there as opposed to jack hammering in our rec-room through the slab. This way we can access a portion of the pipes under the original foundation. If it works, it may just be a big happy accident that the tile had to come out. For now I just pretend like that whole part of the house doesn't exist. Oh and you better believe I'm going to use gray grout this go round!

the move

Ever had a really bad week? Like everything keeps going wrong no matter what you do? I'm trying to block out my bad week. "Lord, grant me the serenity to be at peace with things I can not change". I've been saying that a whole lot lately. Moving is brutal. The big day was last Monday and it was so surreal to finally see our stuff coming off the truck and into our new home. Our excitement wore off two days later when we were all hit with a nasty stomach bug. Poor Moosh threw up in our bed, threw up all over the car, and threw up on moi as I was kindly showing the plumber which bathroom was stopped up. Did I mention our sewer backed up all over our new bathroom tile floor? Oh yes it did. So, not only was our house in chaos… kitchen on hold until the cabinets could be repainted, boxes everywhere, bathroom renovation ongoing, Miriam violently sick, hubs sick all weekend, and me having a nervous breakdown… our darn pipes were in need of repair. Apparently, Texas gets so dry that tree roots go searching for water and cause some problems with old pipes. Yay. Aren't I just full of good news? It was a tough, tough week. It made me miss home and miss friends and miss having someone, anyone to call for help. I think my mother and Lauren were seriously ready to fly down the next day I was such a wreck.

But… we'll get through it. We'll get settled and by gosh, things will get easier. Want to hear some good things after all my venting? My friend Whitney brought us dinner the first night. Lasagna, salad, crusty bread, and that oh so important bottle of wine. Good thing I'd thrown the wine opener in my purse last minute. You can see where my priorities lie. My mom and I were talking and she asked me if anyone had brought us a casserole yet. I said, "of course not, we don't know a soul here." Low and behold that very night we had a knock on the door from a new neighbor with warm cookies tied up with a bow & monogrammed stationary. Good ole southern hospitality is not dead my friends and we were so thankful to receive a small dose of it.

Marble picked out, Willie covering Eddie Vedder on the radio, flowers from the grocery, a chicken biscuit, almost dry kitchen cabinets, and a lotta green lights this morning, … today is a better day.