Wordless Wednesday

A New Living Room!

Frank and I went furniture shopping this weekend and we decided on a new couch and a pair of chairs. The couch has been ordered and will be ready for pick up in a couple weeks. We chose the one pictured below, in "chocolate" leather. We're hoping the leather will be easier to keep clean and will hold less dander for our dog allergic friends.

And I ordered two of the chair below last night - hip hip hooray for Overstock.com and their $1 shipping! - so they will be here in 5-10 business days! The plan was to maintain or increase seating (check), maintain the current color scheme/no painting or new rug needed (check), and stay within the budget (double check).

I can't wait until it is all in place! I'm really glad we were able to find what we were looking for, and we'll even be able to keep some of the couch pillows that we already have. A side table for between the chairs and curtains will be the final touches for our living room, and then it will be complete!

I'm Excited About: The Laundry Fairy

Mom used to tell us "the laundry fairies aren't coming this week" or "the kitchen fairies aren't coming today" when we tried to put off chores...turns out she was on to something. That something being that sometimes laundry and dishes DO take care of themselves!

The laundry fairies visited my house while I was at work yesterday! When I came home from work Frank and I went on a date, and when we got back I was greeted with three loads of clean laundry - without lifting a finger!

I'll count that as a point in the 'win' column for the week!

(Real credit goes to my wonderful husband who is willing to do silly things like laundry to show me how much he loves me!)

My Amazing Day

There is a reason I chose that photo for yesterday's Wordless Wednesday. On Wednesday afternoon, that is how I felt! Want to know why?

1. USA soccer won

2. I scored a major victory at work, or at least scored a potential for a major victory! I'm getting to put together a proposal for changes that I think need to be made to a certain system tha we use. It is a pretty big opportunity for me to step up and address a major function of our office and I am very excited!

I think there were more reasons, but shortly after I came home and posted that picture (from my friend Catherine's wedding) Frank and I left for small group and my Amazing day took a different turn. Our car was super overheating and we were still a few miles from where we needed to be, and the dealership was closed, and no one carried the right kind of coolant, and I did my best to laugh it off and maintain my Amazing day.

It is funny now that it is over; we'll take the car in for service and only be out $100 or so and the entire thing will be forgotten. But what won't be forgotten is my Amazing day! And if I remember the other great things that happened, I'll let you know.

*update: 3. after car trouble I got to snuggle with a 3 week old baby girl 4. the Porters make a mean corn casserole

Wordless Wednesday

World Cup Fever

In our quest to be frugal, Frank and I gave up cable back in March. It has worked out fairly well since we replaced it with Netflix and also got a digital receiver so we still get the basic ABC/NBC/CBS content. Our biggest concern was the lack of ESPN and baseball over the summer, but we've solved that problem with a combination of MLB.tv and the SlingBox.

And then there is the World Cup - what to do??

As I flipped channels during the first week of the World Cup, I stumbled upon a channel that I usually don't stop on - Univision - and they were carrying one of the matches! Turns out, we are getting almost every World Cup match on digital broadcast, in Spanish no less which is way better than watching it in English.

This has lead to even more World Cup Fever than we were anticipating! We knew we'd be into the Cup, watching every USA match we could, but now we're watching two or three matches per day every day! And I love it!

I hope you are following the USA, too - the big day this week is Wednesday at 9:30am. All 4 teams in our Group are playing at the same time, and it is vital that the USA beat Algeria outright and that Slovenia ties England. There are other ways for the USA to advance, but the easiest is for us to win and England to lose or tie.

So, in summary: Yay World Cup! Go USA!! and Go Slovenia!!

What a Week

This past week was a marathon! Here is a rundown of my wonderfully busy 5 days:

Monday - work, ultimate frisbee

Tuesday - work, softball, NBA Finals game 6

Wednesday - work, lunch with Megan, small group

Thursday - work, lunch with PAC group, date night, NBA Finals game 7

Friday - USA v Slovenia, lunch with Kylie, work, Taco Night at Nat'l Press Club

Whew! All of it was fun (except for game 7) and I'm glad I did all of it, but I am hoping that this coming week will be a little less full! Mostly because I have a lot of laundry that needs to get done.

I'm Excited About: Home Updates

We have had a couple of updates to our lovely home in the last week or so, and I couldn't be happier with the results!

I found a hutch on CraigsList that matches a lot of the furniture we already have, and the price was perfect! We managed to get a wall shelf in the deal, too, and two small corner shelves!

The real hutch has replaced the bookshelf that I turned into a hutch. While I loved that shelf and it held everything well, it was a little wobbly and the puppies made me nervous every time they ran by a shook the shelf.


I love that it still has the top shelf where I can display some of the more decorative pieces, while keeping other pretty things in the glass cabinet where they won't get as dusty as they were before.


And it has lights under the glass cabinet over middle shelf (with my cook books and set of mixing bowls).


We're still undecided on where the wall shelf will go - a tie between the dining room and kitchen, and I'm starting to think it would work in the living room, too.


And what to do with the little corner shelves. Those may end up getting resold or given to charity, but I'm so happy with the hutch that I don't mind!


Another big win is that I finally recovered our headboard! It is no longer white and black, it is now khaki with navy palm trees. Now I need to get moving on a new duvet and curtains....we'll see how long that takes.

Summer Reading

Last week I finished the newest Pat Conroy book, South of Broad, and as usual I loved it! It felt different than many of his other books in some ways, but very much like them in other ways. As with his other books I highly recommend this new one, though watch out for the end - it gets kinda scary/suspenseful at times, enough that I had to tear myself away so that I could finish it in the safety and security of a Metro Bus rather than right before bed.

Disclaimer: Mom, I don't recommend this book to you - it is not a happy book and you would hate it.

Speaking of Mom, she gave me a hard back copy of The Lords of Discipline (my favorite book of Conroy's as well as my favorite book overall) that was signed by Conroy himself, personalized to me! I love seeing that book on my shelf so much that I purchased an older paperback version to be used as a loaner to friends. I won't part with that book for anything!

Conroy's work is very Charleston-heavy, and it makes for interesting summer reading. It is leagues above the other stuff I read at the beach, this actually qualifies as literature! He is pretty verbose, but if you have a love or an interest in Charleston or any other similar sea-side town I think you will appreciate his work.

If you aren't sure, I'd start with My Losing Season. I loved this autobiographical account of his time at the Citadel, and I seem to remember it being a little less verbose than his fictional pieces. Although I don't have a paperback copy of that one so you'll have to check it out of a real library.

Wordless Wednesday

Advice

Everyone loves to give advice, few people actually like to hear it. I usually count that to be true for me, but as I've been to my zillionth baby shower and I'm still learning things, I think I'll be glad to have a gaggle of women in the area that have 'been there, done that' and already tried all of the brands of all of the swaddles and diapers and butt pastes.

Baby showers take up a lot of my time, I guess that comes with the territory of being friends with late 20's-something couples, almost all of whom are married. A friend recently had her shower and a few months ago she had the brilliant idea to gather all of the tidbits she could from the moms and compile them into a book.

I've decided that I'm going to get my hands on it, package it, and start giving it as a gift to my pregnant friends both here and elsewhere. I know there are millions of books on parenting and pregnancy and babies and baby products, but what could be better than true blue "I tried this and it was awful" or "I tried this and it saved my sanity" from someone you know?

I can't tell you which baby bottle is best for weening, or which cloth diaper brand is best for nursing babies, but I can certainly point you to the women who can - and I know I'll be knocking down their doors one day with questions and looking for hand-me-downs!

What a gift to have such great fellowship and to have the luxury of so many of them going first!

Oh, and another benefit: I just received a great stash of gender neutral baby gift bags from a pregnant friend - it will save us some money for a while, but I bet you $20 I'll run out by the fall!

I'm Excited About: Outdoor Sports Edition

I used to play softball on the Mall - it was a nice weekly reminder that I live and work in the immediate vicinity of our Nation's Capital. I loved it, and I've missed it ever since I stopped playing 3 years ago.

Well, great news friends! I'll be back on the Mall in no time!

I've signed up for an Ultimate Frisbee league and I've been told that most of our matches will be on the Mall! I'll be playing for the Federal Reserve's team, thanks to a friend's husband whose team is in need of more girls. I'm pretty excited, both for the chance to play ultimate and for the chance to spend more time on the Mall.

I was also asked to play softball again, also on the Mall! I enjoy being outside so I'm hoping that the softball and ultimate nights will no coincide often - just think, two evenings outside each week! I hope I still have my 'pitching arm,' though I'm more worried about getting a pair cleats broken in for both sports - the Mall can be very dusty and lacking in grip, especially if it has been dry.

I hope I still get the "I live where?!" feeling when I head out there, it is one of the best things about living here.

Wordless Wednesday

Herbivore

One of my dogs thinks he is a herbivore. I'll give you some hints:

1) I bought begonias and a hosta before Frank's graduation cookout. That was almost a month ago.

2) My begonias and hosta have been thriving in my lovely "patio garden."

3) Over the past 7 days, something has been waging war on my plants.

4) We got a new puppy 7 days ago.

5) I won't just tell you which one it is, but it starts with "R" and ends with "utledge."

This is what I found last night when I came home from sewing.

I think he actually ate what he could, then possibly climbed in for a nap. The stems are all broken or gnawed off, and it looks like someone flattened everything.

This hosta had at least 8 stems and leaves on it this morning. He had already taken of 4 or 5 in the last couple days, now this is all that is left.

It is adding insult to injury, really, considering that the pot this plant is in was broken by the other dog months ago and I carefully glued it all back together in order to bring it back to life. (The planter was a wedding gift from a wonderful family and I couldn't just let it meet such an early end!)

What I've Been Up To

So, this post isn't so much 'exciting' as informative, but I've run out of things to say because I've been sitting on a couch since Wednesday so here goes:

On Wednesday I went to Holy Cross Hospital for outpatient surgery to clear out my endometriosis. I was having lots of pain again, so after 3 years it was time to address the problem again. This is something I'll likely have to do every couple of years, so we'll call this the second of ___fill in the blank___.

I was scheduled for surgery at 2:40pm, but ended up going back just after 2pm - I've never even heard of a surgeon running ahead of schedule, but maybe that is what makes him one of the best! I think I was rolled back to recovery a little over an hour later. I was pretty sore right away, I remember asking the nurse if I could lay on my left side and taking about 5 minutes to manage that. I think I drifted back off to sleep after that, but it is hard to know what is "sleep" and what is "out of it."

The RNs gave me some pain meds because I kept making faces, and my surgeon came to check on me and tell me that it all went well. Frank and Katie came in some time after that, and my surgeon stopped by again - which is good cause I was doped up and Frank remembers more than I do.

I stayed in recovery for a couple hours I think - I was really sore and really tired. Katie headed off to pick up cupcakes, half because I wanted one and half because she wanted one. Frank stayed and waited as my anesthesia wore off. The nurse was nice, but was obviously charged with emptying the recovery wing so I did my best to get moving. After a little nausea, I managed to get dressed and into the wheelchair to go home. That was the bumpiest ride home I've ever experienced - at no fault of Frank's - the roads were pot-hole ridden and every stinkin' one of those made me ache.

We got home a little after 6 (again, I'm guessing) and I went straight to bed. Not kidding about the "straight" part - I went from the car into the house, up the stairs and into bed. I think I kicked off my shoes but that was all! That afternoon/night/morning/midday, my navy polo dress (no waistband, can you tell I've done this before?) served as my pajamas. It was comfy, too! Next time I have to have abdominal surgery I may go buy a knock off polo dress, one size too big just because.

I've been pretty sore, but things are beginning to get back to normal. The worst part was the gas that they used to inflate my abdomen - that stuff stuck around for days and spent most of its time in my shoulders and around my right lung. Nothing like having sharp gas pains in your shoulders to disinsentivize moving!

There have been ups and downs since Wednesday, but I'm almost back to normal now. The worst of it at this point is the itchy 'new skin' that they used instead of stitches - next time, I want the stitches!

Wordless Wednesday

1/22/09

5/15/10

5/31/10

Welcome, Rutledge!

Frank and I have talked about getting a friend for Hamilton for a few months now. We knew we wanted another full-blooded basset, but we weren't ready for the financial blow that one of those brings. Then, after some crafty internet research, I found a 12 week old basset hound puppy that was currently with an animal adoption group in VA.

Adopting dogs is less pricey than buying them for a few reasons: 1. they are sold "at cost" because there isn't a breeder hoping to make a profit 2. adopting usually means a free neuter, or at least a steep discount 3. adopting usually means some of training has already begun because the dog is a little older

After meeting "Dopey" (he was the last of 7 litter mates, named for the 7 dwarfs) we did two interviews, filled out an application, passed a home inspection, and prayed that if this were the right time to add the second hound to our home that it would work out. The stipulation in my prayer was that having it "work out" didn't include us taking our new puppy to the beach with us this past weekend.

We 'passed' the interviews and home inspection, and they were happy to have us bring our new guy home after we returned from the beach! So without further delay, I'd like you to meet our newest (and final hound) addition, Mr. Rutledge Webb!

He is named after John Rutledge, the 1st and 3rd governor of South Carolina and a signer of the United States Constitution.

Hamilton seems pleased with him, though a bit confused I think. As far as I know, Hamilton has not seen a basset puppy since he himself was one. H seems much bigger now that there is a smaller version running around!

They did a lot of playing and wrestling once we went back inside, but the cutest pictures were of the two of them when they finally caved to their basset instincts.