DIY Weekend!

or

???

Instead of going to the beach or having a lazy, relaxing Memorial Day weekend, Billy and I are planning to have a major home improvement weekend. I am very excited about it, since we love working on projects together and continuously trying to finish/improve our house! We are probably being overly ambitious, but here is the plan for now...

GARAGE: Clean out, organize, get rid of things we don't need, and make space for our foosball table (which hasn't seen the world outside of our office attic since early 2007). We figure we'll have some fun getting to use the table again, and that area will be great for parties! (I'll post before and after pictures later :))

PATIO: Still not sure if this will work or not, but we'd like to put in a brick patio in our backyard. We've been toying with the idea of doing this for over a year now (hate to spend too much money when we'd like to be moving out of this house/area ASAP!), but it would be so nice to have a little outside living space other than when we bring the hammock outside and have a few cocktails on it.

PLANTING BED: Behind the porch, we'd like to add a little planting bed possibly filled with hostas, as that area just doesn't seem to want grass to grow in it. It's kind of an eyesore, and a small planting bed would be a nice addition, softening up the brick skirt on the house there as well.

COMPOST: I'm going to start a compost pile this weekend as well, following the directions from this great house-related blog that always has awesome tips for home improvements that save dollars. That will cut down on the amount of trash we generate (we eat lots of produce, which is perfect for composting), helping the environment, cutting down how many trash bags we go through (saving $), and giving our planting areas a little boost as well.

TV STAND: Our big TV in the basement is currently sitting on a little bench that we inherited from Billy's childhood (which would actually look good at the end of our bed with a new coat of paint...don't think that will fly with the husband though :)), so we're looking to replace it with something that will have a couple of shelves for our DVD player, receiver, cable box, etc. and a couple of baskets for clickers, DVD cases, and extra cords. I definitely think we can build one, so that may be in the plans for this weekend as well. This is sort of what I envision (although we'll probably keep it simple and avoid doing doors for now :)) only in a stained wood rather than painted...

(photo from potterybarn.com)

CLEAN OUT THE ATTIC: I haven't done this for at least a year, so it's time again to sort through everything in the attic, organize it, and make trips to Good Will, consignment stores, etc. We have a great walk-up attic with tons of storage room, but that also allows us to put stuff up there without being super-organized or going through things regularly. I dropped the first two bags of clothes off at Good Will today already...first small weight lifted! (before and after pics of the attic to come as well)

Not sure if we'll get through all of this, but we have high hopes of being productive this weekend. I'll post some "after" pictures of what we get done (which may very well just end up being a trip to the beach or relaxing around the house :)). Happy Memorial Day!!

C-ville Weekend

Last weekend, we made the all-too-familiar trek to one of our favorite places, Charlottesville, for my sister-in-law's college graduation. Billy's cousin's wife (cousin-in-law?) also graduated from a master's program, so it was a double-celebration weekend!

Graduation weekend is always fun but also kind of weird...both Billy and I remember it as being a kind of surreal time that flew by but was filled with lots of trying to see everyone that you may not see for several years, hanging out with family, eating and drinking too much, and remembering so many fun times at UVa. It definitely does not seem like I've been out for 5 years (and him for 6)!!

Here are some pictures from the weekend...

Family on the lawn

Hunter & Mika after she "got her hood" :)

At Kendall's graduation ceremony on the lawn

Yay Kendall!!

Jefferson went swimming in the fountain by the Rotunda...he was obsesssed with diving for the plastic lobster!

Victory!! He cried when we had to leave the lobster behind :)

Yay Kendall and Mika! And yay for going back to C-ville in 2 weeks for my 5th year reunion! (even though that makes me feel old :))

Softball!

I've never played on a church softball team, and I haven't played softball since college intramurals, but tonight, we're changing that...Billy and I are going to play for the WRPC softball team. Our friends, Pete and Mollie, talked about the fun they had last year doing it, and we've thought about it in the past but haven't ever made it out to any games, so this should be fun. Now I just need to find my glove and cleats.

I don't totally know what to expect, but it's another way to get plugged into our community here and have a little fun doing something active other than running and going to the Y. Apparently the after-parties are going to be good too...that'll be a little different from high school and college! All I know is First Baptist II better be on their toes :)

One downside to this...Billy found out that on my high school softball team, I was sometimes called "the machine", so I really hope that doesn't come up tonight! I don't think he'll ever let me live that one down :)

And, on a strange side note, my husband who has a seemingly endless supply of funny links to send me during the work day just now sent me this link/picture below that involves some new goings-on at a local waterpark. Can we please get out of this area soon...at least before we have kids who want to go there!!

Spring is here!!

...at least we hope! It has been so nice to come back after being pretty cold in Boston to temperatures in the 70s and 80s this week. And lots of sun!! Finally I feel like spring has sprung in our area. Our neighborhood is filled with azaleas, which are in full bloom, and it's so nice to walk Jefferson in the morning and hear birds chirping and not have to wear gloves!

Here are a couple of pictures I took today in our backyard:

Yay for spring! I think we'll make a trip to Busch Gardens this weekend and try to be outside as much as possible!

Back in town...

We got back from our week-long whirlwind trip late last night after a 2-hour delay out of Boston. We had a great week, though, getting to see lots of friends and family, celebrating a friend's wedding and Billy's b-day, and watching Billy run the Boston marathon.

Trip started out in ATL...we arrived on Wednesday afternoon after almost missing our flight, grabbed a quick early dinner with my mom and Laura, and headed to the Braves game, where Bryan's college roommate/teammate was starting for the Marlins. Thursday, we had a meeting at the AAC, worked out, and went to dinner for Billy's 28th birthday at the Georgia Grille.

Friday, we got up bright and early to drive to Nashville for the wedding festivities - bridesmaids luncheon at Stoveworks Restaurant, lingerie shower, rehearsal, and rehearsal dinner at Maggianos. Apparently Tim McGraw and Faith Hill were there, but we didn't see them :(

Saturday, Billy and I did a little exploring around Nashville, going to Opryland, the Grand Ole Opry, and driving around downtown before he took me to the church to get ready with the other bridesmaids and beautiful bride.

Billy and Jack

Grand Ole Opry

Jennifer's wedding was so sweet...she and Tommy were both sooo excited to get married and were just glowing throughout the entire ceremony and reception. The weather was perfect, her dress was absolutely beautiful, and everything went really smoothly! The reception was at Hillwood Country Club, which was a great setting with the ballroom and a large patio overlooking the golf course. It was so fun to catch up with friends from college, most of whom I hadn't seen in a few years, and my parents came as well, which was fun (since we had only seen them for about 24 hours while we were in ATL). Now J&T are in Hawaii and I'm sure having a wonderful honeymoon!

After the wedding, we made the trek back to ATL, packed up our stuff, headed to bed, and left again at around 8AM for our flight to Boston! Crazy busyness but lots of fun!!

Our Hotel, The Westin Copley Place (we later discovered this was the site of the first "Craiglist Killer" attack - very creepy!)

Once we got to Boston, Billy and I grabbed lunch and headed to the race expo before meeting up with his parents after they arrived. We walked around a bit that evening, ate dinner at Joe's in Copley Square, and got to bed early in anticipation of our early rising for the race. We got up around 5:35AM on Monday and were out the door by 6 in order for Billy to catch the bus to Hopkinton. All of the runners were lined up like cattle being herded onto the buses, which would drop them off 26.2 miles away with only one way to get back :) I walked around a little bit after leaving my runner and got to see Boston Commons, the Swan Boats, and the finish line before the masses arrived. Then, I worked out, showered, got room service for breakfast, and went to watch the race start with my in-laws.

6:40AM Raceday

Getting ready to bus it to Hopkinton

Sun coming up over Boston Commons

Swan Boats

Boston Marathon Finish Line (my husband would see this about 5 1/2 hours after I took this picture at 7:15AM :))

After watching the race start on TV, my father-in-law and I left the hotel and walked around for a little while to try and stake out our spot for watching the race. It was already pretty crowded, but we managed to get a great spot right next to the fence about 1/4 mile from the finish. It was a pretty chilly, windy morning but a perfect marathon temperature (wind was a different story for the runners). The wheelchair marathoners began finishing just before 11AM, and the excitement continued for the rest of the time we watched the race, with people coming in pretty continuously for the next couple of hours we watched. It was so fun to see the elite runners racing toward the finish line, with the top American man and woman both finishing 3rd. The highlight, though, was seeing Billy running in his fluid, seemingly effortless style (I have watched my fair share of races, and it's always crazy to me how the faster runners seem so casual and relaxed in their motion) that I have come to recognize from a good distance away! He raced towards the finish line, looking totally at ease and content in his stride, and finished with the great time of 2:51:07 (second fastest person in Hampton Roads and awesome time, especially given the windy conditions)!!

It took us awhile to meet up after the race, but we met in the hotel lobby, where we happened to run into one of Billy's running role models Brian Sell (professional runner for Hanson-Brooks team), so he couldn't resist getting a picture with him. Brian was pretty disappointed with his 2:16 finish time (we still think that's pretty impressive!), but he still managed to smile for the camera :)

After Billy got a shower and we relaxed for a few minutes, we grabbed lunch and went to the Brooks post-race party, since Billy is currently a Brooks "I.D. Runner" (i.e., sponsorship that gives him a big discount on Brooks products, free gear sometimes, and access to fun things like the post-race party :)). He was able to meet his "handler" Steve and a few other people from Brooks, and we grabbed a few beers and bowled (the party was at a bowling alley, which was packed with Red Sox fans just having left the game). We headed from the Brooks party over to the North End of the city, where we walked around and saw the Old North Church and Paul Revere's house before dining at Assagio.

Bowling Fun

Paul Revere's House

Paul Revere Statue and Old North Church

After dinner, we walked over to Faneuil Hall and Quincy Market, where the post-race party for all the marathoners was held, and hung out for a little while before heading back to the hotel absolutely exhausted.

The next morning, we got room service breakfast and left the hotel by 9:15 to get to Fenway Park for a stadium tour.

Foggy day at the park

Above the Green Monster

We want to go to there :) (apparently it's really tough to get tickets to that section though)

After Fenway, we took a cab to the Sam Adams Brewery, which was great! We got to tour the brewery before tasting a few different Sam Adams beers and then headed back to check out of our hotel.

Beer Tanks

So, it was definitely a whirlwind trip but included so many fun things! We look forward to going to Boston again next year!!

Pictures from weekend before last...

Here are some fun pictures from the YMCA Spring Stride 5K a couple of weeks ago that I just receive from one of Billy's running buddies and wanted to post...

Jefferson and Ally

Jefferson enjoying the beautiful weather and lots of people at the race :)

Post-race

Our little family

Next race pictures will be from Boston!!

Easter & More!

We had a very nice Easter...breakfast with friends from out of town, good church service, and lunch/egg hunt with Billy's family. Yes, his family still has an egg hunt even though we are all in our mid/late-20s. We're thinking this may stop when we have our own kids, but we may very well be egg-hunting with them :) His aunt, uncle, and cousin were in town, so that was fun to see all of them as well. Once family activities finished up, we went running and took Jefferson walking on a trail leading to a lake, where we unsuccessfully tried to get him to swim. Probably a good thing, though, since the water was covered in pollen!

On Saturday before Easter, we went on a 11-mile run/bike, then cleaned the house, and later Billy went to shoot guns with his dad, uncle, and cousin. So I finally had time to start cleaning our attic and make my winter-to-spring clothes transition...just in time for the cold spell this week! Oh well, I am so ready for spring clothes - lots of bright colors, dresses, and skirts! And more fun shoes :) Hopefully by the time we get back from Boston next week, it will have fully transitioned to warm weather here!

Tomorrow we leave for almost a week of fun traveling. I am so excited to see my family and friends, then to watch my running-stud husband in the Boston marathon!! We get to meet my family's new dog too, which I am super excited about. I've been telling Jefferson about his "Uncle Sam", so he'll be excited to meet him this summer :)

I'll post pictures of our trip next week!