More House Pictures

For those of you who read my last post, I told you that I broke my camera in the process of taking pictures. To be honest, I was actually getting in the shower to take a picture of the master bathroom when I dropped it. Oops! BUT, I have to brag on myself and tell you that I performed "camera surgery" and got it working again! It isn't in 100% tip-top shape, but it takes pictures, so it'll do for now! Anyway, here are more pictures of the changes we've made to the house.

Here's the dining room before...

And here it is now. We've probably done the most in here. Thanks to Ryan and the guys for putting in our new floors, baseboards and light fixture!

This was the study...the dark maroon was so morbid and creepy! It made me claustrophobic. My mom was waiting here as soon as we closed on the house and helped me paint this room first!

Now it's Ryan's "man room" complete with Marine Corps, Dallas Cowboy, and cigar paraphernalia. The pictures didn't really get the color right...it's kindof a dark olive green, which turned out pretty cool.

The kitchen before...

And now...

The living room before...

We actually didn't change anything in the living room except for putting our own stuff in.

The master bathroom...

And the guest bathroom...

So that's what we've been up to the past month. Our door is always open for anyone who wants to come visit!

New House...New Camera?

Well, I met Molly, Brittney & Quinn in Southlake today, and I was reprimanded for not having posted any pictures of what we've done on the house so far. My excuse was that I hadn't unpacked my camera charger until 2 days ago, and it was out of battery. So, I came home right away and started taking some pictures. I got through the guest bedroom, part of the master bedroom, and started on the master bathroom when CRASH...yep, I dropped my camera right on the lens on the bathroom tile and broke it. So, I managed to download these few pics before I threw my camera away. I'll go buy a cheap camera later and finish the "photo tour" of the house, but for now this will have to do. Oh, and the pictues I did get don't really do it justice. Oh well, here goes...

This is the guest room before:

We painted over the pink, and here it is now...

We also got rid of the lovely "periwinkle" in the master bedroom...

NOW...

You can see a glimpse of the aqua we painted in the master bath. That's the only shot I got before I broke the camera. :-(

So far we've laid wood laminate in 2 rooms, changed out all of the baseboards in the living areas, painted 5 rooms, installed a new fridge & dishwasher, and done lots of tedious "fixing" that needed to be done. Next step is putting in new lights in the entry, dining, and kitchen. After that, I'm afraid I'm going to be "cut off" before I can get new countertops. Until then it'll just have to be a work in progress. We really love being in a house again though, and it's great to be so close to everyone! Ryan hasn't gotten to enjoy it much because he's been out of town Monday thru Friday 3 weeks in a row. His new job is just about as crazy as the military was as far as travel goes. At least he's SAFER than in the Marine Corps days, so I can't really complain. OK, I'm off to justify buying a new camera!

Consider me Tagged...

O.K. I was tagged by Tiffani to do this at least a week and a half ago (I haven't forgotten!), but seeing as how I'm finally not living out of boxes and I actually have internet, here you go...

The Rules:
1. I have to post these rules before I give you the facts.
2. Each player starts with eight random facts/habits about themselves.
3. People who are tagged need to write their own blog (about their eight things) and post these rules.
4. At the end of your blog, you need to choose eight people to get tagged and list their names.
5. Don’t forget to leave them a comment telling them they’re tagged, and to read your blog.

8 Random facts about me:

1. I am DEATHLY afraid of sharks. No, not just a little scared...I'm talking full out "selacaphobia", which is a clinical fear of large sea creatues. I can't look at a picture of one in a magazine without having a panic attack, much less watch a documentary on Shark Week or see a real live shark. Cartoon sketches are okay as long as they're "cute" sharks and not scary ones. I've stooped so low as to walking through an aquarium with my eyes closed and holding my mommy's hand when I was in high school. I've also passed out in the shower while listening to the water and imaginig a shark while I was washing shampoo out of my hair. Yeah, it's ridiculous. Did I mention that my husband scuba dives for a living?!?

2. I don't know what I want to be when I grow up. Seriously, I graduated college over 5 years ago and couldn't tell you what on earth I "do" for a living. We've moved so much over the past few years that I've always just plugged in and found something to do wherever we were. I am a free lance pianist/piano teacher who wants to open up a gift store all while being a real estate agent and staying home with my kids once we have them. Hmmm...I'm a little confused.

3. I am a "Ross-Stalker". Actually, I'm a Ross/Marshalls/TJMaxx/Tuesday Morning Stalker. I love bargain shopping, and I have been known to watch an item over the course of a few months to see when it goes on clearance. This may require hiding the item somewhere else in the store so that no one else gets it before me, and then going back repeatedly until either A.) I can afford it, or B.) it goes on clearance. I'm pretty much obsessed with it, and I attribute it all to my mother-in-law and my Aunt Julie. They are the QUEENS of bargain shopping!!

4. I love my puppies!! My two Jack Russell/Rat Terriers, Jack & Harley, are "people" in our house. They each have their own voice that Ryan and I have created for them, and because of that, neither one of them can say their R's very well. We have tried at least three times to get them to stop sleeping in our bed, but they finally won. When we moved into this house, we didn't even move their dog beds in. Instead we bought a bigger King-sized bed for all of us to share. Actually, they don't share...Ryan and I get the 1/2 of the bed that they aren't sleeping on. People tell me that this will change when we have children, but I'd like for someone to tell Jack and Harley that!

5. I love making lists. I make lists of things I've already done just so I can check them off. My family makes lists to occupy time on long road trips. We'll get out a sheet of paper and just start listing cars, or hotel chains, or restaurants, or cities in Texas. My brother and I used to make lists of all of the professional sports teams, and we would categorize them into their appropriate division. I could still probably name all of the MLB, NFL, and NBA teams and their divisions off the top of my head...thanks to making all of those lists with Brad! We're nerds. Ryan has not bought into this family tradition as much as I had hoped.
(FYI: There is a book called The Book of Lists. I should've written that book!)

6. I have many Obsessive-Compulsive Behaviors, but to name a couple: I type all the time...I type things that I see on a billboard, hear on TV, read in a magazine, think in my head...I type ALL THE TIME. I usually just type on my leg or the steering wheel or the table. I even backspace and fix it if I make a mistake because I'm too OCD to let it go! I also play the piano constantly. If I hear a song on the radio or in church, I try to figure it out and play it. A lot of times I make up my own part that would sound great if I was playing on a real piano instead of my leg! They're both just second nature, so I don't even notice it much. Sometimes I'll be holding Ryan's hand, and he will think I'm being sweet tickling his hand, but I assure him that I'm just typing or playing the piano! :-) Weird, I know.

7. I have cut DOWN to only 2 Diet Cokes per day. At one point in my life, this would have seemed impossible. If I had an IV of Diet Coke, I would be happy, but then again...I hate needles and pass out when I see them. (Does that fall under the OCD one before?) When I cut down to 2 Diet Cokes per day, I lost 7 pounds in 2 weeks. Amazing.

8. I am part of a Hardin-Simmons University cult that started in my family a long time ago. We seem to think it's the only place to find a spouse. I tried to be different and go to TCU instead of HSU, but after one semester I was sucked back in. My grandad went there and later taught there and met my grandmother there. My parents met there, and now my dad works there. Ryan and I met there. My brother & Kendall met there...and the list goes on 20 family members long. For a small Baptist school in West Texas, that 's a pretty long list, but I'm very proud to be on it.

OK, so there are my random things. I tag Robin, Andrea, Laura, Mav, and Brittney (although I think she's already been tagged) I know that's not 8, but it seems like everyone else has already been tagged, so if you haven't, consider yourself "it"!

Graduation, Goodbyes, Boxes, Boxes, and More Boxes

First, I have to say Congratulations to my husband, who is now officially a "Master Scuba Diver"...the highest classification you can have in the diving industry!! He took his final yesterday, and finished #2 in his class, so Woo Hoo!!!! for Ryan. I'll post pics of his graduation (which is tonight) eventually, but we're going to be internet-free for the next few days as we turn off our utilities here, set them up at the new house, etc...you know how that goes.

This past week has confirmed for me that I HATE goodbyes. It doesn't matter how long, or short in this case, you live somewhere...you always become attached to something. On Sunday, we went to our last service at Crosspoint Church, which has been the hugest blessing during our time here in Houston. I will really miss playing for that early service that I always griped about having to wake up at 6:30 for. On Tuesday, I had to say goodbye to a perfect job and all of my wonderful co-workers, who I will truly miss. On Wednesday, I had my last "Jason's Deli Lunch with Rachel". We've been meeting for lunch every Wednesday for the past few months, and I am SO going to miss our girl talk over her turkey wrap with no sprouts and my chicken panini. ha ha! I guess it's always bittersweet to move, but it's nice to know that we made some great memories while we were here.

Anyway, I guess when we moved from our 3 bedroom house to this small apartment, I didn't realize how much we put in storage. I can't walk around my apartment there are so many boxes! HOLY COW...I don't know how it's all going to fit into our Uhaul on Sunday, but I'm praying for a miracle. Ryan's parents are coming in tomorrow to help us load and to drive Ryan's truck back to the metroplex so that he can drive the Uhaul truck Monday morning. I'm not sure how it's all going to work out yet, but I do know that by this time next week, we will be in our new house! I'm really excited to get settled in and finally make a place HOME. We've been looking forward to that for the past 5 years, and it's finally here!!! WOO HOO!!

Spoiled Rotten

Yep, that's me...I was TOTALLY spoiled rotten on my birthday this year. Since Ryan was actually in the country for the first time in 3 years, he went all out. From a suprise dinner party, to breakfast in bed, to MORE presents than I needed, he gets an A+ in my book! Here are some pictures of me ringing in year #27!!!

A few couples from our life group surprised me at Carrabba's...I love, love, love their spaghetti and meatballs!! From left to right: Bill & Elisabeth, Steve & Diana, Ryan & me, Amber, and Rachel & Justin

I had 3 of these Sid Dickens tiles already, and Ryan completed my collection so that I can have them above my piano in the new house. I was SO excited...I can't wait to hang them up!

We went to Ryan's parents' over the weekend to take our first load of stuff (Woo Hoo!!) and celebrated mine & Kendall's birthdays in downtown Fort Worth Saturday night. I cannot wait until we're living so close to them!!

Brad goes broke in July because mine & Kendall's birthdays are 5 days apart. Lucky him. :)

Kendall's brother, Ryan, and his wife Emily. They live one neighborhood over from our new house!

Movin' on Up

Wow...it's been a month since my last post. That is so irresponsible of me. It's not that I haven't had any news to blog about. It's just that I've been nervous to say too much about it for fear that something might go wrong. But, I'm taking a leap of faith and posting pictures of our NEW HOUSE!!!! 3 weeks ago, I went house hunting in Burleson with my mom, Kendall, and Kathy (Kendall's mom). Ryan couldn't go because of school and work. After looking at house after house after house of nothing that I really loved, I found it. I called Ryan when I got back to my brother's apartment and told him that I knew he'd love it and that I could see us making it home. It is a newer house, but in an established neighborhood with lots of trees and NO CONSTRUCTION going on around it! That's really hard to find these days! I showed Ryan pictures, and without ever laying eyes on the house, we made an offer on it. Talk about trust!! We were looking for a house that was move-in ready, but that we could still invest in making a lot better over about 3 years. There's something about blood, sweat, and tears that Ryan and I really love, so we're excited to get to work on it. You'll have to keep the "before" pictures in mind, and I'll be posting updates as we re-do a lot of things. The craziest, probably stupidest, thing about the fact that we already bought this house is that Ryan still hasn't signed on the dotted line about his job in Burleson yet. Yep, I guess that's what you call putting all of your eggs in one basket. We really did just take a leap of faith in purchasing it before all of the details are official, but I know that it's going to all work out. It's not the first time we've done something spur of the moment. So after lots of repainting, new floors, changing fixtures, and some other things, we hope to move in late this month, or August 10th at the latest. We have our apartment until then, and we can't afford a mortgage and our rent at the same time for too long. We can't wait to be closer to all the people we care about! You'll all have to come visit us!

Here are some "Before" pictures:

Here is the entry...where you see carpet, we'll be putting in wood floors to match the floors in the living room. We'll also get rid of the ugly brass light fixture.

Some things I love about this house are the windows, the molding, and the fact that none of the ceilings are square. This is the dining room...The ceiling fan will go away, and we'll put a chandelier in...wood floors in here also.

Our "maroon" study won't be maroon for long either...it'll get painted.

Lots of updating to do in the kitchen, but I'm excited about it! I love buying new appliances. And that light in the eating area has to go...it reminds me of a cheap pizza parlor or something.

My realtor, Bill, in the living room.

This is one I got off the internet, so all of the owner's stuff is still in there. We don't have to do much to this room...I actually like it the way it is! They did a great job with the molding and flooring, and I like the paint color too.

This pink room will be the guest room, but it won't stay pink.

Guest bathroom

This is what we are calling the "empty room" because I won't let anyone call it the "N" word. (aka. nursery) Perhaps it will be an "N" word while we live here, but for now, it's just the empty room. Nuff said about that.

My master bedroom, which will also get a paint job. Periwinkle blue just isn't my color.

The master bathroom...not huge, but really nice and bigger than any I've had so far!

Sorry, but you won't be able to swing on this swingset when you come visit...the dogs need their running room, so we're getting rid of it. We'll buy a nicer one when the time is appropriate. :-)

My golfing family is WAY excited about the golf course that is literally right behind the house. There are lots of walking (for me)/jogging (for Ryan) trails too, which is going to be really nice.

So, there you go. The pictures don't do it justice, but I'll keep you posted on all the changes we make. Please keep praying that nothing falls through!! :-)