I WAS TAGGED BY REALRACH

I WAS TAGGED!!!!

The tag how-to...

Go to the photos folder on your computer. Go to the seventh folder of photos. Go to the seventh photo. Put the seventh photo on your blog along with a description. Invite seven friends to join.

This was my 7th photo in my seventh photo folder. It is from the 2008 Baguette Golf Tournament in Hudson, MI. (Deb Bruen, Amy Sallows, Bonnie Shaw, Carole Shadbolt)

Now, I'm supposed to tag 7 people, but I only really have one person to tag.......So, Kate Edwards.....YOU'RE IT!!

Cold Season

Just when I thought I had made it through cold season.......You know, the scratchy throat, plugged nose, sneezing, watery eyes. This was me late Saturday afternoon!

To any of you who can catch your cold within the first 24 hours I recommend this..........

I started taking it on Sunday about noon and by this morning I felt a hundred times better. It is supposed to reduce the duration and severity of the common cold and so far it is doing the job. I'll check back in a few days with another product review......let's pray my cold is gone by then!!

Happy Monday!

Flowers - DIY

Okay, so the further I get into wedding planning process, the more things I think we should try to DIY.....I'm not having floral centerpieces, really not many flowers at all except for the bouquets. Knowing that I'm not very artsy or creative......do you think I could do this?

Real Simple Weddings has some pretty cool DIY bouquets....love the carnations (weird, I know)

Big Wedding, Tiny Budget had some great advice on DIY Flowers and some great tutorial videos

I guess one of the cool things about the year and a half left of our engagement is that we have lots of time to test things out. Any volunteers would be great!!! :)

You Tube.....

OMG....You have to watch this video. I can't imagine what I would do.......probably cry! And then probably cry some more.

Wedding Inspiration Board

I've been reading a lot of articles that say a bride-to-be should have an inspiration board to inspire and to serve as guides during the planning process. Skeptical as I am of the fancy name and formality of The Wedding Inspiration Board (gag!), I still recognize a fantastic idea when I see one, and this is most certainly a fantastic idea. For example, when you visit your florist you'll show her pictures of flowers you like. However, instead of just plucking out the flower pictures from your notebook, you show her your inspiration board. By using a board that gives an impression of what you're looking for overall, she might be able to make suggestions to elaborate on an emerging theme, and, voila! Your wedding just got even more spectacular.

This will also give you a good overview of things that work well together (and things that don't). Sometimes, when planning each little detail, it's hard to remember the overall effect. If you include pictures of everything from food to flowers to dresses to lighting, you'll have a better idea of what your guests will see on your wedding day, when all of a sudden they walk in and see it all put together. And, as you'll know ahead of time thanks to your inspiration board, it will be fabulous! And, as extra credit for your hard work, if it's really pretty, you might even consider framing it as a memento of the days you spent planning your wedding. Or, if you didn't do such a fancy job, you can burn it as soon as the wedding is over and be released once and for all from wedding details. Your call!

As of today....here is my inspiration board (be aware, it will most definitely change as my ideas change). Please feel free to leave me your comments on what you like, what you don't like or what you think is a better idea!

Happy Friday!

Broken Record

Do you ever feel like sometime's your a "broken record"?? You keep saying the same things over and over again......almost to the point that it is more out of habit then anything else. Well, here is my broken record........I say these things daily (and most of the time more than once per day).

• I've got to change the sheets in the spare bedroom
• We need to pick up our hood from ABC Warehouse
• I've got to get online to see how to clean our stove top
• My purses need to be upstairs instead of the basement
• The plant needs sunshine
• The boxes in the basement need unpacked
• The yard needs raked
• The dishwasher is leaking again
• The fish tank is disgusting (please Lord, let him just die)
• The poo in the backyard needs cleaned up
• My car needs washed and/or detailed
• We should get an estimate on adding on to the driveway
• The garage needs cleaned out
• The fridge & stove in the garage need to be placed "For Sale"
• The washer needs to be leveled
• The toolbox needs put together
• We need a power drill
• I've got to start packing my lunch every day
• I'm so tired
• I have nothing to wear
• I hate winter
• I'm so cold
• Where are the cats
• Stewie.......NO
• What's for dinner
• Don't forget to buy a tarp
• These dishes clean or dirty
• We need vacuum bags
• Should we buy a canister vac instead
• Where does all this dust come from
• Who messed up the curtains
• Did you get the mail
• The window screen needs popped back in
• I need to pay my city taxes
• I'm hungry
• We need to see if the cable works in the workout room
• Remind me to _______ (fill in the blank with any of the above)
• AND LAST, BUT NOT LEAST.............ARE YOU LISTENING TO ME!

Font

Check out this website. It turns your handwriting into a font that is usable on your computer. I'm unable to try it due to the fact that my scanner only saves in pdf. format and they won't accept that. Hopefully you can try it though......let me know what you think!

Rehearsal Dress

Just shopping around and found this dress. Wouldn't it be so cute to wear to rehearsal dinner? I love it! Then again...I also love this one. And this one looks so comfortable.

OMG....I would like to add this dress as one of my favorites.....Can you believe the damask print....too bad it's not available for sale anymore!

McCamly Plaza

Hallelujah......I think we've found it........we are 99.99% sure that the wedding and reception will take place here. The accomodations are so nice and the physical space is exactly what we have been looking for. We are going to do the ceremony in the Miller Room

And will have the reception in the Branson Ball Room

I know, I know.......these pics are horrible!! They were replacing some of the bulbs in the chandeliers so it was pretty dark in there.....if only I had my sister's photography talent and knew how to run the camera to get a better shot.

The other option we had was to have the reception in the newly renovated Penthouse Banquet Room, but the room was rather long and narrow which didn't leave us a lot of space for Don.

Well, that's the update for now....hopefully, things will work out and we can get ourselves booked for October 9, 2010.

Happy Wednesday!

100% Contemporary

I took this quiz http://www.sproost.com/StyleEngine

I would have to say it was pretty accurate....how about you?

Contemporary
So fresh and clean! Antiques? No thanks! Vintage collections and clutter of any type? Not for you! You like your space new and sleek. Each piece is chosen carefully as though it were a piece of art, and your love of minimalism is expressed throughout each room. Furniture has clean lines and geometric shapes are preferred.
You're not afraid of color — in fact, bold color options only highlight the minimal items you choose for your home. But the key is clean. To master the minimalist interior you not only have to be selective in the few furniture items you bring into the space, you must also find a way to hide all of the real-life items as well.

What a Glorious Day....

So for a Monday today hasn't started off too bad :) I feel well rested, the sun is supposed to shine and Don no longer has pool league on Mondays....Yippee! Let's hope that by this afternoon I'm still this positive.

This weekend was great. I could use more of these. I got caught up on some laundry but as you can see in the pic below my cats don't make it very easy. Every time I start to fold a load of clothes they have to lay on them. I know they think they are "helping" but sometimes mama doesn't need help.

I was also able to sell one of our mattresses from the bunk beds. Again, as I'm trying to carry the bed through the living room to the front door, the cats have to be involved!!

I spent the day with Kevin and Kerri yesterday. They are still adjusting to being back in Michigan. Hopefully once the weather gets nicer it will make their transition a little easier. Makenzie is adorable. She is now walking and starting to talk. I'm almost sure I got her to say "Mamy" yesterday.

No big projects this week on the house so it will be nice to relax and take the time to enjoy the house and enjoy some much needed time with my fiance :)

Happy Monday!!

Oh, what a day.......

OMG.....I've only been in the office 1 hour and already my day is C-R-A-Z-Y!!! It actually started with phone calls at 6:30 this morning from work and has escalated from there. TGIF is all I can say....TGIF!!!

Not a whole lot new going on. The week has been horrible (for multiple reasons) so I'm really looking forward to a nice relaxing weekend. We have the company flying in on Saturday to hook up Don's electro bike so that will be cool! So many cool things happening for him :)

Happy Friday!

Grumpy....

I'm pretty grumpy today....No specific reason, just grumpy! I'm REALLY sick of this wintery weather and if Spring doesn't come soon I just might lost it. I am sick of the cold, the wind, the snow, the frost........please just a little sunshine and blue sky is all I ask.

My "to do" list is about a mile long for this week and so far I have accomplished NOTHING! Monday night I did nothing but make dinner and then go to bed and last night all I did was make dinner and then go right to bed. I just have no motivation. And I wish I could explain why I'm so tired all the time. By the time I get home from work it takes all I have just to get us something to eat and then it's in my pajamas and off to bed. I just can't seem to find the energy to do anything else. I seem to think I may be fighting off some illness, but god only knows. I just think I'm really exhausted from my job and then this weather just makes me feel blahhh.

Hopefully one of these nights I sum up the energy to get the workout room done in the basement since Restorative Therapies is flying in someone on Saturday to do the install for Don's bike. The room has to be emptied and rubber matting laid down. Urrrggghhhh........it makes me tired just thinking about all the work that lies ahead of me. Wish me luck!!

Happy Wednesday!

Rain, Rain Go Away

Wow....I thought we got a lot of rain this weekend, but that doesn't even compare to what we've gotten just overnight. It's almost 9:00am and it's still just pitch black outside. It's days like this where I wish I could have just stayed in bed.....especially since I didn't get a wink of sleep last night. You know those skylights in our house that we love so much....well, I now hate them! You should hear the sound those suckers make when the rain hits them. Honestly, there were a couple time throughout the night that I thought our roof was going to crash down on top of me.

Then I get to work and my boss's office is flooded with water from the rain so we are dealing with that and my ceiling is leaking water......leaking water right over our main board that controls our computers, phones, fax, etc! urgghhhhh........rain, rain go away!

Happy Tuesday!

Daylight Savings Time

DST......I love it in the fall when we gain an hour, but losing that hour in the spring makes it so hard to adjust. I'm so tired........

We had a BUSY weekend so I'm looking forward to a nice quiet evening at home tonight. Tonight is Don's last night of pool league (thank god). I'm going to take advantage of having the house all to myself tonight.

Here are some pics from the weekend..........I got to hang with the girls and spend some time with my precious MIA. Isn't she adorable!!!

New Floors

I almost forgot.......here are a couple pics of our new floors.......Love Them!!!

Stair Lift

What a memorable day.....the stair lift was installed yesterday! For the FIRST time Don was able to go down to the basement. And if I must say so, the look on his face was PRICELESS! It was such a great moment for him and my heart could just explode when I picture his face. I video taped the entire thing and we've watched it twice already! He said to me last night...."Now I can get anywhere that you can get"! I'm just so happy. I would have to say that it was money well spent :)

Here are some pics of the install and the finished product

Happy Thursday!

Big Day

Today is a BIG day at 34 Sycamore Ave......the Stair Lift gets installed.....yippee!! They are supposed to start the install at 9am but I'm not sure how long it will take them. Hopefully not as long as the floor people took. That guy was here until 10pm last night finishing our floors. But, who am I to complain when the results look this good!

I'm home today for the install and also to clean. I think there is sawdust on EVERY thing in this house from them cutting the trim pieces. I wish my camera was working because I would have loved to have taken pics to prove to you how bad it is. Note to self: Buy new camera.

Off to clean............

Happy Wednesday!

Feeling Fresh......

I don't know what it is, but today I feel so refreshed. For the first time in a long time I'm not feeling sluggish.....Yeah, for me!

They started our new floors yesterday and OMG...they are amazing! They worked from 9am until 7pm last night and only got the kitchen and laundry room done. They are coming back today to finish the bathrooms. So looks like I have another surprise to look forward to again tonight. The only regret I have about the new floors is that they look so nice that it makes everything else look so "bad". Our cupboards, the countertops and the walls definitely need some upgrading in order to match the quality of the floors. In due time though........I just can't get myself started on another big project right now.
(I will post pics of the new floors once they are finished)

I'm thinking about taking tomorrow off so I can be home when they install the stair lift for Don. I really don't want to miss this. It's a big milestone for us to have him be able to access the basement and I want to be a part of it. I want to be there when he sees it in "real life" and not just by me taking the camcorder down there. We'll see if I can swing this.....worst case scenario I will have to work from home by logging in to my computer at work, but that's okay...at least I will be present for Don's big day. I'm so excited for him!!

Last night my mom came over and helped me get the family room in the basement put in order. Once I can get some wall decor put up I think it's going to make a huge difference. Now, if we could only get some heat down there so we could enjoy the space it would be perfect....but who wants to live in a perfect world anyway! LOL

Happy Tuesday!

PS....

I forgot to mention that our new kitchen floors are being installed today....Can't wait to get home to see them :)

Monday, Monday

Sorry about not posting yesterday....it was a rough day! I don't know if it was something in the air or what, but I'm glad the day is over. Hopefully today goes better because I'm not sure I could handle 2 days in a row like that.

I had a weird weekend. I feel like all I did was work, work, work but yet my to-do list is still a mile long! Looks like I'll be able to keep myself busy after work this week.

Happy Monday!