Snow Week!

It snowed and snowed, and then snowed some more!

Has it ever snowed this much in Georgia?

I don't ever remember it.

It lasted a week this time, and little piles of it could be seen for

an additional week after that.

It was lots of fun ...for about two whole days!

We, who live in warm weather do not possess boots,

snow pants or other clothes.

Nor do our cities have snow plows, scrapers, sand or salt.

The snow still was beautiful and sparkled brightly every morning,

and we enjoyed it for a week..this one time!

The street

Isabelle sledding down on hill.

Our new house.

Joseph coming down the driveway.

The kids enjoying.

A fried computer

Last week, before the delightful snowtorm, my computer was inadvertantly fried. The electric company trucks were on the street working on something, and there must have been a wee mistake! My computer was a very sad victim of that mishap. Brendon will probably get it up and running soon, but for now I have to check from another computer, and I can't access any photo's right now. I'm just hoping nothing is gone.

We are working hard on our house right now. We need to have the stairs redone and that is taking place on Monday. We want a claw foot bathtub, and are looking for one. Then we need to sand the walls to prepare them for paint. (Oh yes, the wallpaper has been completly removed!) After we get the walls done we can finish the floors. Once all of that is completed we will be able to move in, but we do have enough projects to keep us busy for a year or two, or as I hear from my new neighbors...a life time. They are the third generation living in that house and they have done a great job with it.

House update

Here are some pictures from about the 2nd stage of rip out.

The paneling is off the walls, and we find a fireplace in the master bedroom, and plank walls.

More wallpaper too!

Master bedroom with barewalls. The wallpaper in this room, just ripped off.

The fan is gone now as well.

This fireplace, in the dining room, was the first hidden one we found.
I was ripping out the fake floors, and I saw brick underneath, and this wall backs up to the living room wall, exactly where the fireplace is. They actually covered up the fireplace with those sticks and the ashes in there!
The wallpaper in this room, was very hard to get off, but it only went up 8ft.



The living room! The wallpaper goes all 12'8".
It had a medium difficulty rating to scrap off.
My dogs are not normally inside, but while we renovate we let them in.

Can you imagine living with this? I would be so dizzy!

Inside a Renovation!

Here are some of the very first photo's taken of the new house. A lot has already changed and I will post that as I get time.

Let's just get the worst out of the way first!

The very lovely bath!

The lovely bathroom! It will be completly renovated in every way. The powder blue tub is already gone and well everything else. We found out that 155,000 gallons of water leaked in the bathroom..and you could tell!

The Dining Room


The Living Room

The beautifully carpted stairs. It's your first vision when you enter the house!

Currently the carpet is gone and the stairs will get a complete overhaul, because they are so steep and narrow. Very scary to walk down.

This is a bedroom, but will end up being our closet/bath eventually.

The kitchen, with work stuff sitting out.


The Living Room
These are some of the first pictures we shot.

All the fake paneling, fake floors, and fake ceilings are gone!!!

Also that beautiful wood stove is gone, and someone paid us for it!

Under the fake wood floors, were real hardwoods. Hiding under the fake paneling was sheetrock, under which was wallpaper, and finally hardwood plank walls!!
When we took off the sheetrock we discovered two additional fireplaces for a total of four!


We discovered that there were 12'8" ceilings above the dropped ceilings, and they are hardwood planks as well!

Hmm..We also discovered that they used to burn large amounts of coal, and we are in for a major clean up.
If anyone is looking for me, I can usually be found peeling wallpaper at the new place!

Christmas 2010

Christmas 2010 was very good!

Christmas Eve we went to church and then ate Mexican food!

I think we had a delicious week of eating, but now we need to get back to sensibility!

Christmas Day we cooked a great meal and had lunch with Mom and Dad, Kelley and Lora, and Sven and Majken.

It actually snowed on Christmas Day!!! Can you believe it?!!!

We also had an extended family Christmas and played with cousins!

I wish I had more pictures, but here are a few highlights.

Isabelle

Joseph

Isabelle and Joseph heading out in the snow!

I made a Yule Log
Brendon made raspberry cheesecake

Joseph as a shepherd

Isabelle narrating the Christmas story

A New Adventure!

We have been a preoccupied with our new adventure! We have a new home! This home is an older one, built in 1946 or 47. Certainly, it needs some work, but it has some great bones already!

Edited:  We later found out this home was built in 1913.

Much work is already underway and I will post picutres as we go!

Already we have made some exciting (and a few puzzling) discoveries!

Thanksgiving 2010

I have had this post saved for a few weeks, simply because my computer was acting up and it was taking about 30 min to download a few pictures at a time.

These are a few from Thanksgiving Day!

Brendon and I

Uncle Kelley and Joseph

Dad and Papaw

Lora and Kelley

Granny and Nanny

The Family!

Desserts!

Mimi and Papa

Weekend 6

We had a really nice weekend, but it was cold...brrrr!
The weekend diet was good, but not as good as past weekends. Plus, the whole week was just a little hard. However, I'm back at it!!! I have backed down on the 2lbs a week. That is possible, but I am 5'1" and it is more realistic to shoot for 1.5lbs a week. I have decided that is what I will shoot for from now on. It is especially more realistic considering that these 10 weekends included Halloween and will include Thanksgiving!!! Yeah..who the heck is giving up turkey, dressing, greens, sweet potatoes, cake etc...?!!! Not this chick!

I have been reading up on HIIT (High Intensity Interval Training). I think I will give that a try. Maybe 2 HIIT workouts a week and then 2 other regular jogs or walks. Anyway HIIT is supposed to be great for helping lose weight. Apparently you shouldn't do but a few times a week and then only for a month or two and then just do regualar exercise for a month or so before circling back to it.

I do have some picutres coming up of Halloween and our week of field trips. Stay tuned!

Weekend 7

I just got a little swamped last week with too many homeschool field trips and then Halloween, so I didn't get a chance to post.

Weekend 7 went well. This week though it's been tough for whatever reason. I'm hungry. I will be eating more veggies, and making sure to get in some olive oil or coconut oil and some lean protein. Usually if I eat most of my calories earlier in the day it works much better for me. If I save calories towards the end of the day I end up starving.
There were NO Mounds in the Halloween stash, so I had to settle for Almond Joy. Almost the same except for the dumb nut right in the middle! I do love almonds and nuts, but not in my candy, cookies or cakes! Definetly not in brownies!!!
Do y'all like nuts in your sweets?

Piano Recital

These photo's are really aweful, but I wanted to still document this fall recital.

The recital was set to start at 9:30 and we needed to be there at 9:15, which is a wee bit early to be that dressed up on a Saturday morning! However, I actually didn't mind because it did get the whole thing over with by 11:00 and we had the rest of the day to ourselves. We actually didn't get there by the prescribed time, which ended up being just fine, because the recital hall didn't open the doors until 9:25 anyway...just as we were driving up!

The fall recital went great and the kids both played very well!

Look, Joseph wiggled enough before his turn, and his shirt came untucked!!!

I can't do great picture without flash inside and that is why they don't look so wonderful.

Weekend 8...

is underway!

We are serving in a church community kitchen tonight, tomorrow morning we will attend the kids fall piano recital and hmm... we shall what the rest of the weekend brings!

The leaves are starting to fall and the temperature is just marvelous! We even pulled out the feather duvet to keep us toasty while we sleep.

I would love to eat some pumpkin soup this weekend! We saw a recipe for pumpkin soup with apples in it! YUMMO!

I have to say eating to lose is tough on the weekends! The weekdays are not too bad, but I did need to shave a bit off of the weekend consumptions!

It's been a long day..

relaxing in my comfy chair for a few minutes!


What shall I cook for dinner?

Weekend recap

First of all Brendon did get a little sick on Friday and we were not able to make it to the square dance:(!!! I heard it was fun!

Saturday we slept in! Later we dropped by to take a peek at the latest Korean superstore to open up in the area. There are so many of them now, that I'm starting to give them ratings! This one actually has more than a grocery store and food court though, and it is the building that Macy's was located in. I did not go upstairs, but it is a department store up there. I still like one of the other stores better for food experience fun. However, this is still a cool place to go!

After that we dropped by the new Goodwill store. I did score a few fabulous finds!!! It's either hit or miss when shopping there.

Next we dropped by Whole Foods for a few things! Talk about polar opposite shopping experiences!

Finally, we came home for some chillaxin!

Brendon headed out to cook barbeque at church at 1 O'clock in the morning. I tell you what that is...freakin crazy! It tasted mighty delicious though!

And, here we are..almost time to put some children to bed!

Weekend 9!

The first weekend of the weekend diet went great! It was not easy, but I did it!

Down 2lbs!!!!

I expect this one to be much the same! Heading out tonight for some family entertainment....squaredancing! Hee Haw! At least it's some exercise! Ha Ha Ha!!!

Our new awesome running spot!

When cousins come to play...

it's a blast!

Countdown Weekend 10 begins!

The first of the 10 weekends begins with a challenge!

We are headed over to some friends house tonight. Thankfully they are some of my crunchy healthy friends! Plus, I already know the menu! A whole wheat pizza, salad (I'm bringing) and fruit for dessert. I'm thinking about 1 slice of pizza, lot's of salad and nibble of fruit! The host family usually doesn't drink wine/beer etc..(health reasons) so that should be easy too!

I've been friends with these ladies for five years now! I can't believe it's been that long! Our kids used to all go to the same school. Two of us have moved on, but we have all remained great friends. We usually get together once a month, but this fall has been super busy!

Side question: Do you like croutons? I don't like them messing up my salad! Yuck! I've had homemade and prepared etc.. I just prefer delectable crunchy veggies! They do taste good by themselves, but it's not a food that tempts me too much.

Ten Weekends!

I'm embarking (wish that meant I was on a plane going somewhere!) on a 10 weekend eat well eating plan! I need to lose 20lbs, well really 27, but who's counting? At 5'1" 7lbs ends up being a fair amount, but for sanity's sake and ease of counting I'm going for 20lbs in 10 weeks.
If anyone wants to join me I'd love the company!!!! Alternately, you could just post encouraging words!

The reason for the 10 weekends: Weekends tend to be sneaky little diet disasters!!! You know what I mean??? You've worked hard all week, and your wonderful friends invite you over, and we are all relaxing and enjoying hanging out! The next thing you know you had a little nibble extra of this and sip or two extra of that! Umhmmm! So, I thought I would focus on getting through 10 weekends eating healthfully with modest portions. I'm a slight health nut and eat pretty well during the week, so it is only the weekends doing me in!

The weekends start on Friday and go through Sunday (duh). So, each Thursday I will try and remember to post something to get the weekend started off right! Maybe I should do a Sunday night recap of how it all went down! That should help with the motivation!

I'll be doing some fitness as well and will post more about that later.

I like to workout, and do it fairly regularly, but lately I need a little more of a plan.

This all sounds fun right now, but it's sure to be a challenge in a few weeks!

Star Wars!!!

We take a homeschool class on Mondays. We have our own curriculum, but they go over alot of important things that each kid needs to know. Multiplication tables, grammar, history and a science experiment. A little art/music apprectiation etc..

Today in Joseph's class they were learning the possessive pronouns. His class is all boys that are 8/9 years old. His teacher was teaching them the nursery song The Three Little Kittens so that they could sing the pronouns to the tune. The boys were all sitting there staring at her, probably not paying too much attention at this point. (I was so tired today, and so were the other mom's that I was half asleep in the back of the room) Joseph raises his hand and half stands out of his seat saying "I have a better idea Mrs. Heath" (at which point I come out of my sleepy haze wondering what he's going to say!) She graciously says "yes, Joseph what is it?" He then sings the possesive pronouns to the Star Wars theme song! She laughed and the boys loved it! Imagine each word going with each note of the theme song: " mine, yours, his, hers ours, yours, theirs, possesiv pronouns!"

September

This month we managed (perhaps!) to settle nicely into our homeschool daily and weekly routines. Although it was still as hot as hades for a good portion of the month, the last few days have been heavenly with the cooler weather! Our moods seem to lift and a feeling of carefree elation comes when we step out and smell the fresh crisp air! Isabelle even put on a long sleeved shirt this morning to honor the new season, and well and to keep her arms warm!

Mondays we rise very early. Dress, eat and head out the door for our long day of homeschool co-op classes. It's a fun day and we look forward to being with so many other families. We have close to an hour for lunch and we usually eat and play outside. It seems that I need to get an ant bite each Monday as well! Arghh! Yesterday, it rained and we could not go out for lunch. It definetly makes a difference, especially as we use a church basement to meet for our classes. No windows and no time outside for lunch is a quite long day!

Tuesdays we spend the day studying at home. I may sign up for a science class at a county science and environmental center that meets one Tuesday a month. It is an amazing local place.

Wednesday mornings we are at home studying and the afternoons the kids have an art class. They are studying art through the ages 102. Each year the class studies different periods in history and the art that was going on at the time. I guess they always start with Egypt. That is what they are doing right now, and that is what they started with last year. I know Egypt is huge historically, but it doesn't interest me all that much! The kids, however, really enjoy it!

Thursdays we study at home and have piano lessons in the afternoon.

Fridays are a mix. We always do work at home, but sometimes there is an enrichment day with our co-op, we may start going to homeschool ice skating day and start planning some play dates as well.

Isabelle is running in a homeschool cross country club and they practice on Tuesday and Thursday evenings. We usually only go to one practice because of the driving. I get a little bonkers with driving so much right now.

I know I need to get my camera back into action and post more frequently! I will try!

How's everyone?

I had a birthday!

Brendon had a littl party for my 40th birthday and he did a great job!

I just came across these pictures from my birthday last month.

Little Britches

You may have read these books, but we only found this series a few months ago.

Each evening at bedtime we read a chapter aloud, and have just completed the very first book.

The Moody family travels from New Hampshire to Colorado in the early 1900's and sets up house on a ranch near Denver. An unknown lung affliction has plauged father and is the catalyst for the the migrating family.

Ralph, the oldest boy in the family, is the author of the series.

There are so many good moral lessons while being simultaneously funny and adventurous! Little Britches is a fantastic read for children, especially boys.

One warning: Cowboys talk the way they do and Ralph retells it exactly with 3 and 4 letter words. However, Ralph's family never spoke in that manner. We simply pointed out the difference and noted we would not be using any of those words.

If you can find a copy I highly recommend this book!

PS: I do not know why the word voting is at the top of this post. I can't see it when I try to edit. Perhaps it was part of the picture.