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