Playroom Remodel

March 16-18 we planned a work weekend at my parents house.

First up though, Brandon and my Dad went to the High School State Basketball Semi-Finals in Lex.  

Before the games started (they had tickets to two sessions of two games each - 4 games total) they got to see Joe B. & Denny in person doing their radio show:

They ate at the food court during the radio show (isn't my Daddy cute?)

Between these semi-finals and all the March Madness, I'm surprised they didn't dream about basketball!

Meanwhile, as they were watching lots & lots of games, I was driving to the Ville to spend Friday evening with my Momma.....look at the sunset I enjoyed on the way there!

Dad & Brandon arrived back in the Ville late Friday night.....and then Saturday and Sunday, we all got to work on the playroom at my parents house.  

A few years ago, the ceiling and one wall had to be patched (for various reasons) and they were never really finished.  So, we went to help them mud, sand, mud some more and start doing some painting (after tracing all the characters to re-use later).  

The playroom is my old bedroom and it's needed a good paint job for years.  There's a few "Peanuts" characters here and there and some clouds on the blue walls so we're going to repaint those to some degree on the newly painted walls after it's all said & done (did that even make sense?). 

I'll post before & after pictures once it's all done (which may be a while) but here's the "Peanuts" characters that are there now:

Lucy (her feet are covered by a toddler bed)

Charlie Brown & Snoopy (this is where one of the walls had to be patched)

And Schroeder

Visit to C-ville

March 9 & 10 we spent the night in C-ville with Brandon's folks.  I didn't take too many pics, but here's a few....

Brandon and his buddy, Laredo (his sister's doggie)

Jimmy (B's Dad) watching races.

We also played lots of Hand & Foot!  We're practically addicted to that game!  C-ville is always fun & relaxing.

We left later on Saturday evening and on the way home, the moon was low & full.

Runnin Man

My man is runnin, running, runnin these days!  He did 23 miles this morning....training for a marathon in April.  And now he's currently sleeping on the couch....while I get crafty and work on my YoFS list.

I was a little worried about him lately, some of his long runs have been kinda bad....having to walk some during the run, coming home with leg cramps...visibly shaking and obviously dehydrated....kinda scary, I have to admit.  But this morning, he had a GREAT run!  We really made sure yesterday that he got a ton of carbs (he ate at the Chinese buffet for lunch & we had fazzoli's for dinner) and he made sure to hydrate very well before this morning.  Another thing that I think was very pivotal in him having a very successful run today was that he chose a route that allowed him to come back by the house at his half-way point....so he was able to fill up his water/gatorade bottles and use the restroom.....gave me some peace of mind too to see him doing okay half-way through his run.

I'm proud of him for having so much discipline and dedication! 

Isn't he *so* cute???

European Adventure Recap - Dinner in Paris

Today's Throwback Thursday is simply another recap from my 2009 European Adventure...enjoy!

Sunday October 25, 2009

Paris, France

After watching the sunset along the Seine, we found a place to eat dinner.  Since we had Rachel with us (and she speaks French) we went to a real sit-down restaurant instead of going to a deli (which is what we had been doing - we could point at baguettes through glass cases there).

I don't remember the name of the restaurant or where it was really, but we really enjoyed it. 

Here's Rachel & Shannon at our table:

I got Duck (which was very good) and home-style potatoes

Shannon got Chicken and REAL French Fries (maybe they just call them Fries there?)

I indulged and got some divine Crème Brûlé!

 Shannon got Pie a la Mode

Although I can't remember the details of where the restaurant was, I do know it was close to the Eiffel Tower - here's a view between buildings of it, lit up in blue-purplish lights.

Long Weekend

Friday March 2, we had quite a day - Tornado Warnings were everywhere and the sky was just about black!  Brandon was released from work early and after unplugging all the electrical stuff at our apartment, we hunkered down in a friend's basement until things blew over.  Luckily, nothing came all that close to Lex, but several areas within a few hours of us were completely demolished.

After waiting out the warnings, we loaded up for an over-night in the Ville with my parents.

Saturday morning (March 3), we all participated in a 5K race.  Dad & Brandon ran the race (finished in about 30 minutes) and Mom & I walked (finished in about 52 minutes).

That afternoon, after the race, we had lunch at Qdoba and then almost all of us napped in the Living Room.  We also played some Hand & Foot...then Brandon and I headed home later in the evening.

Sunday (March 4), Brandon and I attended the KY Crafted Market Expo and saw some really neat pieces of art.  We didn't purchase anything, but had fun "booth"/window-shopping.

Monday (March 5) we woke to 5 inches of snow!  Only in KY can you have tornadoes blow through and three days later have 5 inches of snow on the ground!

Brandon played Hookie and took a Snow Day with me.....

He even cooked me breakfast!

One big reason Brandon took the day off is because I would be starting work the next day and he wanted to spend my last day off together.

That's right - after almost a year of unemployment....I'm now employed!

It's a 60 day contract position for now (with the likelihood of it turning into a regular, full-time position) with an architectural firm about 5 miles from our place.  With the tornadoes that came through, they needed someone immediately and luckily I had just sent them my resume a couple weeks before.  With a quick check of my references, they hired me sight unseen - not even an interview!  So, needless to say, it was really crazy to have a job to go to within a matter of a couple days and without having met anyone at the firm, but I'm thankful the Lord has provided for us in this way.  It's been a hard transition from being at home all the time, but it's getting easier as the days pass.

Our First Overnight Guests

On February 27-28, my brother had a conference to attend in Lex, so he came in for an overnight stay at our place and brought his two older kiddos, The Tank & Goose:

Since Tank's Birthday was just around the corner, we had some fun basketball decorated cupcakes for him - he was surprised!

We all had fun playing lots of games, including Life....

....Yhatzee.......

......And Uno Attack!  :)

The kiddos also enjoyed some cartoons - thank God for Netflix!  We don't have cable, but we quickly found some things they like.

Aren't they so sweet?  Poor Tank had a fever most of the time he was here, but once his medicine kicked in, he was bouncing off the walls and ready to play game after game!  Goose is getting to that age where she can keep herself occupied for quite a while by reading or pretending, but she played lots of games with us too.

I'm so glad they (and my brother - who Brandon and I talked to til midnight one night) got to come in for a visit and plus it was the first time they'd seen our apartment...and they were our very first house guests!

Don't let them fool you - they're a little bit crazy....maybe they get that from their Aunt Mel?

Throwback Thursday

My First Formal Dance - 8th Grade - May 19, 1994