A Trio of Befores and Afters

Whew! This house stuff keeps us busy. We are still loving the house and having fun with making it our own.

The first of our tasks was to remove some small shrubs that were in the front of the house. They weren't very pretty!

Bryan was less than impressed with my removal strategy. While he was mowing, I started digging on the first bush next to the driveway. When I couldn't get a good angle on it, I decided my best option was to cut off the whole top part with our hedge trimmer and then just work on the roots. I later learned that this was not the best approach. Three hours, several blisters, and a broken shovel later it was out! Unfortunately we still had three more to go. We saved the next three for another weekend and found that practice makes perfect. We had the last three out in the same time it took to do the first. You live and learn, right? Here is the empty bed. Ahh....Perfect for planting Tulip bulbs and Mums. I did do this but my procrastinating self didn't get a picture while the Mums were still pretty.

(That reminds me! I saw a sign at The Growing Place, a wonderul nursery by us, the other day that said "My garden was in bloom yesterday. Sorry you missed it.") Funny stuff. I'm a sucker for signs.

Next on the agenda was the dining room. The first two rooms in our house were empty and blah. It was driving me bonkers.

So, a couple Tuesdays ago, I decided to paint. I bought the supplies on Wednesday and painted on Thursday after work. A few days later we had furniture delivered! Ta da!

Our (actually just mine, Bryan couldn't care less) last room was the downstairs bathroom. It was a very bright shade of yellow first.

On Friday night of the same week I painted the bathroom. It still needs a lot of touch up but the overall appearance is better. Just don't look up if you come to visit. I'm still learning :).

Looking at the pictures now, I can see that an investment in a nice trash can for the bathroom might be a good idea. The one there now is a little bit of an eye sore. Sigh.... Ohhh, maybe a nice tissue holder too!

You'll have to come and visit to see for yourself!

Once Uopn A 4:01

Once upon a time there was a girl named Meredith who decided she wanted to run a marathon. In June, she started training and ran A LOT to prepare for it. Come race day she was very, very, very nervous so her friends were there to provide support. They wanted to make sure that she knew how awesome they thought she was. After a long night of T-shirt making, the friends got up at 5:20am and headed to the city. One friend had to return home after noticing the symptoms of a migraine at the train station. Luckily he made it later!

Once the friends arrived in the city, they waited for Meredith at the 13 mile mark. There were 45,000 runners so finding her was hard. This was the view for about an hour. It was about 35 degrees.

Once the friends saw Meredith, they yelled and screamed for her as she passed. She looked like she had all the energy in the world. The man in front of her didn't look so good.

After Meredith ran by, the friends went to the finish line at Grant Park and waited for her. They cheered loudly as they saw her with two other friends who had jumped in to join her for the last 7 miles. Her green shorts made her easy to spot. Four hours and one minute after she started, she crossed the finish line.
After the race, Meredith used the help of a friend and her mom to put on her track pants. Her legs and back were really hurting and lifting her legs to put her pants on was quite a chore.

Luckily she had enough energy to pose for a picture with her friends.

After some food and a little rest, Meredith was all smiles for the train ride home.

Her friends were so proud of her and Meredith went home to sleep....happily ever after.

A Midsummer Night's Dream

It couldn't have been more perfect. Shawn and Carrie were wed on September 26th and it was a beautiful wedding. After decorating Shawn's car......

we walked through a wooded path and found this.
Bryan walked with Carrie's Sister-in-law. All the bridesmaids looked beautiful. Carrie designed the dresses herself.

The ceremony was really personal and I think I cried more than Carrie. It was magical.

The reception was in a white tent next to the ceremony and was catered by Jack Stack Barbeque. It was delicious! A sure sign of our group getting older was the dinner conversation. We talked about having babies and how to lower our cholestol. It was a pleasant conversation so I think that means we really are adults!

Winner

Nadia guessed it first! I guess if you know me it wasn't hard at all. I did throw them over the railing. Who needs a laundry chute? And mom, not ALL the clothes were on my floor. Some had made it to the hamper. So, as I promised, give it up for Nadia.

Nadia- Remember when we met at band our freshman year? We became friends right away. Especially since we had so many education classes together. The best was the time in statistics class when that little worm thingy was crawling on the shirt of the girl in front of us. She may have been studious but she had a BUG on her. We win! You are such an honest person and I know I can always count on you to tell me how you feel. You have a way of making me more content with where I am instead of always waiting for "the next thing". You are my tie to my favorite job of all time. Getting up at 7am on Fridays for work wasn't that bad when you got to hold babies all day. I'm lucky you are a city girl at heart now that I live close (relatively speaking) to Chicago! Thanks for being my friend!