Winter Fun

We've managed to squeeze some fun in between doing home projects and going to work.

- Kings of Leon concert with friends.  Our seats were great but the sound was a little off.  Great performance, energy, and people.  And it was on a work night!  I feel so young and less boring when I go out on work nights but usually regret it the next day.  YOLO!

- Daisy turned 4!  We gave her a doggy ice cream to celebrate.

- Made banana bread to test the oven.  I'm not used to using such efficient appliances.  It was done in less time and tasted great!

- Family came over for dinner.  Ivy, Carter, and I played Scrabble until Daisy decided she wanted a turn.

Paint Like Nobody's Watching ;)

Painting will definitely be an on-going activity over the next few months.  The living and dining rooms (technically one room) was the first space we attacked with paint.  There was no holding us back - we started and didn't look back until it was done.  It took all weekend but now the walls are alive with color and the ceiling is brighter!

Up next: molding, touch-ups, plugs, and switch plates!

One thing I want to remember about this weekend: Thomas sprang out of bed to start this project and sang and hummed most of the morning.  His eagerness and motivation to tackle these projects has been so enjoyable and infectious.  Love it!

First Week as Homeowners in the Books

We survived our first week as homeowners!  In the last week, we've done everything from ordering oil to moving to shoveling a serious amount of snow.  I didn't think our driveway was very big until I had to shovel it.  My arms are still sore!

Happy/Flustered/Excited/Terrified Homeowners

Shoveling our driveway gave us an opportunity to meet some of our neighbors.  I learned so much about the history of our street and the neighbors who've lived on it.  Everyone has been so nice and approachable.  A man passing by on his morning walk told me how lucky we are to have found this house and street.  It seems like there is a strong sense of community and a deep desire to preserve the great qualities of the neighborhood.

I already know some things I want to change in the house.  The oven was at the top of the list until I used it last night to heat up Spaghetti-O's (the culinary joys of moving and living among mountains of boxes).  The electric stove plate was effective and efficient.  We used it again tonight to make dinner and was really impressed with its performance.

Our sink is both killer awesome and killer awful.  It's a relationship in progress.

Running update:

I got into the Broad Street Run.  I have to establish a running routine again so my plan is to start slowly by doing three easy runs per week now through the end of February.  Once March comes, I'll need to follow a training plan.  I'm really excited about this run and can't wait to get back into the swing of running.

Have You Heard of "Snice"?

It's a combination of the words "snow" and "ice."  Also known as the only two things that have fallen from the sky this winter.  And wrecks havoc on daily life.  Thanks, snice.

The only silver lining is that snice is quite pretty after it falls and before it's disturbed by people ... pictures from last week's snice events:

 

Packin' Up

We're one week closer to becoming homeowners!  And we still need to pack... yikes!

My favorite part of moving is the weeding process.  It feels so good to trash/donate/sell material items and move forward in life with less stuff.  It amazes me to see how much stuff I've accumulated over the years.  It seems like it was just yesterday that I could fit everything I owned into four bins.  Sometimes I dream about owning just the bare essentials, but so much of my life and the activities I enjoy doing involve things.  Oh, it's a double-edge sword, it really is.  I think as long as I derive happiness from the result of my interests and activities that involve things and not from the things themselves, then I'm OK.  Does that make sense?

Anyway, my least favorite part of moving is packing.  One would think weeding and packing go hand-in-hand, but not to me.  I need to stop whining and start packing.

I think we have enough boxes...

Some other things I want to remember about this week:

Morning walks with Daisy girl.  She's such a sweet dog.

Our hike at French Forrest

And what's turning into my weekly outdoor run.  Easy three miles were pretty easy except for the hill in the third mile.  That almost killed me.

Splits according to RunKeeper

A Very Cold Weekend

Our friend Ashley is staying with us this weekend.  So far we've spent this weekend around the dinner table enjoying homemade pizza (delicious!) and red wine, running, and doing a little retail therapy.  Ashley and I decided to brave the cold and headed outside for a run, which felt great!  I think I'm turning into a winter runner because the cold weather (above 15*F) doesn't bother me as much as it used to.  I'm not a fan of running on crappy roads but I love running with friends, so I was game!  We were very careful with our footing, focusing on traction and dodging patches of ice and snow.  At some points we were tip-toeing and speed walking to avoid falling, but in the end, it was a rewarding and refreshing run.  We made it back just as it started to snow.

We made it back safely!

   

Our splits according to Runkeeper.

Sunday was even colder but that didn't keep us inside.  We went for a walk at Valley Forge where we shared the path with many snowshoers and cross-country skiers.

Winter is Here

There's no doubt about it.  Daisy loves the snow.  I'm over it.  The first few snowfalls were exciting but now the perpetual grind of winter is becoming monotonous.  Only two months until spring begins!

My running schedule has been pretty non-existent this winter as I like to run outside but early nightfall and poor road conditions make it near impossible to run outside.  I can feel the progress I made in running slowly fade away, which frustrates me.  I'm trying to be positive and tell myself that inconsistent running is better than no running, and that daylight and road conditions will soon improve.

I had a half day at work last week and managed to get out for what was suppose to be an easy 3 miles, but it felt much harder and took a lot longer than I had hoped.  Looking forward to getting out there again this weekend.

Welcome 2014

We welcomed the new year with family and friends at Mom and Ben's new home.  The traditional meal of pork and sauerkraut was had along with delicious chocolate lava cakes.  Yum!

Their new home is wonderful!  I love that it feels like home and not just a place with four walls.  It definitely has a comfortable feel to it and lots of natural light.  I love visiting them and spending time getting to know the area once again.

Speaking of homes, we are in the process of buying our very first home (!).  The process is very exciting and overwhelming, and has been a huge learning curve in many ways.  I've had so much fun documenting our experiences on this blog that I decided to create a separate blog just for our journey as homeowners.  You can read more about it at www.lifeonoak.blogspot.com.

We also celebrated Bema's birthday this month with dinner, desserts, and birthday cards.  It was another great night around the dinner table with family.