a true milestone...

all of my life

i have dreamed

that somehow love would find me

now i can't believe you're standing here

if beauty is all

in the eye

of the beholder then i

wish you could see

the love for you that lives in me

and you would know you have my heart

if you could see, what i see

that a treasure's what you are

if you could see, what i see

created to be

the only one for me

if you could see, what i see

you're created to be

the perfect one for me

if you could see

what i see

if beauty is all

in the eye

of the beholder then i

am beholding...

true beauty

--sung at our wedding 10 years ago, June 1998

Happy anniversary, babe! These last 10 years have been the absolute best -- I wouldn't change a thing. I'm so proud to call you my husband, my lover, my best friend. And I love you with all that my heart can hold...

enjoy our cruise with us!

Make sure your sound is turned up before you start it...you need it to get the whole "experience"! It IS just over 8 min long, too, so make sure you have enough time to see it all. Enjoy!

we're back! [but we don't wanna be...]

Okay, okay, okay. I know you all have been waiting (some patiently, some maybe not so patiently) to see photos from our fabulous cruise. I have chosen just a scant few from our trip, out of the myriads & gazillions of photos we took, to share here. I do want to say that I'm putting together a slideshow of sorts to "showcase" our trip and you three or four that check this blog will definitely get a link to that when I get it put together. :)

To whet your appetite in the meantime...

Our first port, Cozumel, Mexico:

Our second port, Grand Cayman:

Our third & final port, Ocho Rios, Jamaica:

We really enjoyed each place that we visited and had great weather the entire trip. We had a great time on all the excursions we chose. Of the three ports, surprisingly, Jamaica was the most beautiful to me. The water was such a beautiful aquamarine and the vegetation was absolutely lush. We got to experience both as you can see from my photos. Grand Cayman was also very beautiful; very clean with beautiful waters and scenery. The people there were very nice & friendly, too. Cozumel was probably my least favorite stop, although we still had a good time there. I had my first snorkeling experience there and it was a lot of fun.

The cruise ship was incredible and there will be lots of photos of that in my "showcase" when I finish with it. Jeff and I had a really great time hanging out and making lots of memories, going to places we've never been, experiencing things we've never done before. It was a wonderful trip, one I won't ever forget, and the perfect way to celebrate a decade of marriage with the one my heart will love forever...

do we have everything?

Finally, I think we're all packed and ready to go on our cruise. I spent all day doing laundry, making sure everything was clean for our trip, and packing everything. I'm a pretty good packer (I get that from my Daddy) so I usually pack for any trips we go on. Jeff lays his stuff out and I pack it all up. We had A LOT of stuff to pack for this trip because we'll be gone for 7 days and we probably won't wash anything while we're gone (I'm pretty sure they'd charge us for that...). We had lots of sunscreen & bug spray to pack (smart, huh?), we had beach towels to pack, and lots of clothes -- casual clothes, bathing suits, formal dress clothes (I actually talked Jeff into that!). We got it all into 4 bags so I think we're good. We weighed them and they're under the limit, so we're good there. Whew! :)

WE ARE READY! Leaving on a jet plane tomorrow morning...

guest bathroom addition...

Ha! I know you all were thinking I'd only be posting "cruise stuff" from here on out until we go, but we do have 7 more days (!) until we leave, people. I mean, come on...do you think that's ALL that's on my mind these days?? (Yes...you are correct in your assumption...)

I got an itch Friday night to start really going through the boxes we have still kicking around here and either do something with the stuff, or get rid of it. A lot of the stuff in the boxes is decorative stuff that I haven't decided where to put yet or am waiting on a piece of furniture to be built first (ahem, Jeff...) -- that sort of thing. But it occurred to me that we're less than 3 months away from our 1-year anniversary being in this house and I personally, think it's silly to have this many boxes sitting around with stuff still in them. I mean, really, how much can I actually need the "stuff" if I've been without it for almost a year?? So my goal this long weekend is to at least condense things down into less boxes (or even one box).

Having said that, another thing that's been kicking around here is the cabinet Jeff made me for the master bathroom at our other place. He did a fantastic job on it -- all I did was find a photo of what I wanted (with a few "tweaks" that he took note of) and he built it. He's really very handy with wood... :) Anyway, because we had it hanging in our bathroom in our other place, I naturally assumed we'd do the same in this house. Plus, we need all the storage we can get in our bathroom here since all we have is a couple drawers and the cabinet under the sink (I don't know why one has to have so much "bathroom stuff" to function, but we do...). However, there really isn't a place in our bathroom to hang this cabinet.

I finally came to that realization Friday and decided that we should hang it in the guest bathroom. I don't really need an extra cabinet in there since I do have the cabinet under the sink and a linen closet but I'd rather hang it in there (and let people admire --er, I mean, see my husband's handiwork) than not use it at all. So we did. Saturday afternoon. And I must say, I really like it. It makes the bathroom look more finished or something...more lived in? I don't know why -- no one really uses it unless we have guests. But that's okay. I really like the cabinet in there. And that's enough. What do you think?

first time for everything...

There IS a first time for everything...and this is a big year for us. If you remember this post, I mentioned something about a trip to celebrate our 10-year wedding anniversary...

And celebrate we will! WE'RE GOING ON A CRUISE! Our first (and hopefully not our last) cruise. We sail June 1 to the Western Carribean on the Carnival Triumph and I can't even begin to explain how excited I am. 7 glorious, fun-filled days aboard this massive ship with everything in the world to do. We'll visit Cozumel, Mexico, the Grand Cayman Islands and Ocho Rios, Jamaica. I'm starting to sound like an advertisement, right?

I've been told by all of our friends who've been on cruises that it really is a spectacular vacation, the only way to travel, really. Well, it would be the only way to travel if we didn't have anything else to do with our money! But this is a momentous occassion and one I didn't want to get by us without doing something really grand to celebrate. This qualifies.

I spent countless hours online researching cruises, deals, places to go -- I must've exhausted at least 10-12 different websites that boasted of "the best cruise deals", "rock-bottom cruises", etc. In the end, we enlisted the help of a travel agent that we trust and she found us a great, all-inclusive deal. When we leave ILM (Wilmington, NC airport) on June 1, we will be carted to-&-fro by air, land & sea for 7 days. No worries. Our airfare, ground transport to the ship from the airport and back, as well as the cruise fare all included. Done.

The next thing to think about was shore excursions. Oh, my heavens! So many options in each port. I spent several more countless hours online researching these & comparing and calculating the best deals for our hard-earned cash. I'm happy to say we booked our excursions last night, one on each island, and I feel sooo much better with that done. We got the ones we wanted (they weren't full yet) and we kept the cost relatively low. We won't have to get up really early on any particular day and we'll have "down-time" each day, even in port, to do our own thing.

I'm compiling basically a notebook of "stuff" to read through or to have on hand to make the experience smoother. I have our travel documents and "FunPass" printed out; I have emails in which I've gotten feedback from friends who've been on this exact same cruise and those who've been on other cruises. I found out what shore excursions they went on & what they thought of them (I used those emails heavily to help me make my decisions about our excursions). I've asked general questions about the cruise itself and they've all been just so sweet to pass on whatever information they learned from their experiences.

So now we wait. But not for too long...17 days (and counting)!

exciting times...

These are exciting times...for the very first time, I am going to be an aunt. I know you're thinking I'm already an aunt, and you're right. I have a niece & nephew on Jeff's side of the family, Brittany & Brandon, and I love them dearly. BUT -- this is completely different.

My "little" brother, Daniel, (he's only 2 years younger, but it seems like so much more than that to me...) and his sweet wife, Brandi, are going to welcome a darling addition to their family in about 2 1/2 months. And this will change lives, people.

It will change their lives -- they will no longer be a couple; they will be called a family. They will not only be "husband & wife", they will become "mommy & daddy" to a precious child. A child who will watch their every move, listen to their every word.

It will change the lives of my parents -- they will not only be parents, they will (finally) be called "grandparents". They will experience the joys of grandparenting which I've heard is so much different than parenting...they are absolutely beside themselves with excitement.

So Brandi's due date is July 23, a mere 6 days before they celebrate their 2nd anniversary. So she is just about 2 1/2 months away...has it really already been 6 1/2 months? That's crazy. And she's just the cutest little pregnant woman -- you'd never guess she was pregnant if you were looking anywhere but her stomach (it kinda makes me sick...). And guess what they're having? Oh, I just can't wait!

We had a baby shower for them a couple weekends ago in my hometown, Lexington (NC). All of Brandi's family is around the area and they have a great support group at their church so we had good attendance that Sunday afternoon. I made little corsages (out of socks & such) for both of them to wear, the mommy- and daddy-to-be. And then the unveiling of "THE PINK" began! Yes, they got loads of girlie, pink stuff, much to my brother's chagrin. But, they are having a girl. That is the natural tendency. They did get a lot of nice things that were NOT pink and he was thankful for that. Let me just say, the child will NEVER be naked for lack of clothes! But how can one resist those little dresses, onesies & jeans that are only 7 inches long?! Oh, and don't even get me started on the shoes!

Tell me...do you think he looks ready? :)

"Train up a child in the way he should go and when he is old, he will not depart from it."

--Proverbs 22:6

hurricane season already?

Not quite, but close. However, we have had some serious downpours here & there, including this one today that kept me sitting in my car in the driveway after I got home from work for about 5 min, waiting for any kind of letup so I could dash to the porch. I got a semi-letup, but still got drenched.

Our yards definitely need the rain, and Jeff was really excited to see it -- he's been fertilizing the yard & such. Well, I think our yard got a little more than it bargained for today! There were some serious puddles in the backyard before it was all over.

We finally got gutters put on the house so the front yard did fairly well through the downpour. We haven't done any kind of landscaping yet so I wasn't terribly upset with all the water gushing into what's there.

I did notice the "flood 'o' mud" running down our street, almost flooding it all the way across. It's lovely, isn't it? They are (blessedly) almost finished with every home on Rose Bud (our street) so hopefully we won't be seeing too much more of that.

**note: I'm seriously embarrassed by how long it has been since I last posted. I have had a lack of time on the one hand and a lack of activity around the house on the other hand. Both have served to give me absolutely nothing to blog about in terms of the house. I'm having to resort to blogging about the rain? For pete's sake! I plan to blog about some things that may not necessarily have to do with the house but are things happening right now in our lives, but I don't want to get too far off "the beaten path" of what I want this blog to be about. So stick with me, folks. I appreciate everyone who still checks the blog from time to time. I've said it before, and I'll say it again: I plan to continue this blog for a while.

weekend warriors!

Jeff and I endeavored on a project together this weekend...we were the "weekend warriors"! We redid the inside of the guest closet. We had decided that we wanted to take down the one wire shelf that came with the house and put in a different wood shelf with another shelving unit to give us options. Jeff said we pretty much had everything we needed (with the exception of the hanging rod -- it was a "one-tripper"**) to complete the project so we got to work about 11am on Saturday.

Jeff had drawn out the plan with measurements and everything the night before so the first thing we did was take down the wire rack that was in the closet. We then had to putty the holes. Jeff brought out this hot pink/purple stuff and started putting it on the wall and I. freaked. out. He assured me it dried white...and thank goodness, for his sake, he was right. :) So we eventually would apply 3 coats of putty with sanding in between each coat. And then paint.

While we waited for the putty to dry, we went to work cutting our pieces of wood to create our shelving unit. I got to use a circular saw for the first time...not quite sure if I like that so much, but I did fine with it. My daddy would be proud -- I'm pretty sure Jeff was. :)

I have to say, it was a lot of fun to work with Jeff on this project. We got along great and he mentioned that night after all was complete that he'd had fun with me that day. It was such a great feeling to have knocked this project out in one day. We both went in one more time before bed to just look at it...our creation. Kinda funny. :) See what you think...

Before...

...After

I might post before & after photos of the "stuff" in the closet later...

**"one-tripper" means only one trip to Lowe's was required

daylight savings time...

We're taking advantage of this time of year where we lose an hour of sleep, but gain lots of light at the end of the day. It was so nice to come home tonight after working until 6pm (it's tax season, people), getting home around 7pm and STILL being able to go out and take a walk with my husband. Ah, yes. Even at 7:30pm, when we got back to the house, there was still plenty of daylight left.

And now, they've made so many roads throughout our neighborhood -- some are paved, some are not. We just went exploring tonight. They're building some different styled houses in another section of the neighborhood (Phase 3, no doubt), so we walked down that road to see how those were coming along. Houses are just "poppin' up all over" around here! Even our own street looks so much different than when we first moved in, with upwards of 10 houses now lining the road to our left (only the house to our left was there when we moved in and there were only a couple of lots being graded). Crazy.

Anyway, we're enjoying the daylight, some "together-time" and getting in shape, too. Our ten-year anniversary looms in the not-too-distant future and I suspect exciting things are coming...a trip, perhaps...

"kitty kloset"...

We love our cat...but we love our house being clean more. :)

For awhile now, it has really bothered me that we had Kassie's litter box sitting, in plain sight, in the kitchen. That, to me, is just rude when we have guests come for dinner. And it's just gross.

So my handy husband installed what we're personally calling the "kitty kloset" (spelled with k's in keeping with the whole trend there...Kassie, kitty...). He cut *gasp* a hole in the wall of the hallway where the linen closet in the guest bathroom is and attached a frame that has a clear plastic flap that swings in or out (the same kind of concept as a "doggie door"). We put Kassie's litter box in the closet. Now she has a "doorway" into her "bathroom" and we don't have to see the litter box. It's out of the way and not grossing anyone out anymore. :)

It was a test to figure out how to get Kassie to use it. Jeff put it in Friday (he worked from home, lucky thing) and every 20 min or so he would put Kassie in the closet and close the door so the only way out was through the "doorway". It took her a few times to figure out that it opens if she pushes on it from the bottom. She would figure it out and then forget the next time Jeff put her in the closet. So she finally got used to getting out...now how to teach her how to GO IN to the closet?

We enticed her by putting a few bits of food on the ledge and then another small container of food inside the closet. She was pretty hesitant and actually only ate the food on the ledge; she didn't even try to go inside the closet to get the other container. So we decided we would open the closet door and keep the bathroom door to the hallway closed, and we'd put her whole food bowl in there (we have an automatic feeder that drops food twice a day). If she wanted to eat, she was going to have to get in there somehow! And the only way in was through the "doorway".

She's such a smart cat...she figured that out a lot quicker than the coming out part. What a relief! I'm so glad to have that litter box out of the kitchen! And the "doorway" in the hallway doesn't look near as bad as I thought it would when Jeff first posed the idea to me back before we even moved into the house.

So the plan is to somehow block off the bottom portion of the closet so that when a guest opens the closet door to grab a towel or washcloth, they don't see the litter box. The challenge is to make it accessible enough for us to be able to get to it to clean out, etc.

We're still working that plan out in our minds...

a "heart"-full of love...

Found this cute door hanger for our door at AC Moore (I LOVE that store!)...


"Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God, and whoever loves has been born of God and knows God. Anyone who does not love does not know God, because God is love. In this the love of God was made manifest among us, that God sent his only Son into the world, so that we might live through him. In this is love, not that we have loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins. Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. No one has ever seen God; if we love one another, God abides in us and his love is perfected in us."
--1 John 4:7-12


Hope you all are surrounded by those your heart loves this week and for Valentine's Day...

so sweet...

I just had to show you these sweet towels I found in Target on Thursday...aren't they darling?? I'm not one to really get into "decorating" for Valentine's day (I save that for Thanksgiving/fall & Christmas) but when I saw these towels, I thought maybe I'd change my mind about that... :)

Now I'm thinking I'd like to get some kind of "heart thing" to hang on my front door (since I have such a nice front door now). I could definitely have something "lovey" sitting on my coffee table, should I see (or make) something that would be "just perfect".

After all...what the world needs now is love...sweet love...

shop drawers...

Forgive me. I hope you guys haven't given up on me posting any more to this blog... Those of you who know what "line of work" I'm in, you know it's already getting busy for me. That's the true reason I haven't posted in awhile (that and the fact that there hasn't been much going on around the house in the way of projects). I work in a CPA office so I'm up to my eyeballs in quarterly payroll reports, W-2s and 1099s. And it's only going to get worse, so just be aware that my posts will probably be few & far between...don't give up on me!

With that being said, there is one project that's being worked on more frequently than all the rest and that's the setup in Jeff's shop (a.k.a. the garage - where my car should be parked...). You've seen the cabinet structure he's put in place in this post; well, now he's working on drawers to put in for all his "stuff". They're turning out pretty fast because he cut all the pieces first:

Then, he worked on putting them all together, one right after the other:


When you do that, they go together pretty quickly and you end up with this:


Nice, huh? I got him a drawer jig for his birthday in October and it has come in pretty handy with all these drawers he's installing. The drawers give him options and are a nice way to store things since he can pull them out to see what's stashed in the back...you can't always do that with a cabinet.

I'm really proud of how often he's been going out there to work on this project. I know he'll be so glad to have drawers & cabinets in place to put his stuff. He'll have a better handle on where everything is and he'll be able to work much more efficiently on his woodworking projects. What woodworking projects, you ask? Oh, believe me...he has quite a "list" of things...he'll got LOTS of practice on LOTS of different things... :D

drawer pulls...

We accomplished another (very) small project last night...we attached drawer pulls to the 2 drawers we have in the kitchen. Up to now, we've just been pulling on the bottom of the drawer (there's a notch cut out) to open them, but I really wanted to get drawer pulls for them at some point.

Well, we were in Lowe's the other night and Jeff was looking at hinges for some of his cabinets, etc. in his shop. The drawer pulls and knobs were on the same aisle so I just browsed to "see what I could see". I was originally going to go with brushed pewter/nickel because I really like that look, but I found these brushed copper-colored pulls that I thought would look really nice with the mocha color of our cabinets. We got them home and they were perfect!

So last night we put them on and don't they look nice? I'd really like to have knobs (in the same brushed copper) for the cabinets but some of the doors, if you don't keep a hold on them, they bang into some of the other cabinets and the last thing I want is dents in our cabinets from the knobs! Guess we'll hold off on that for now.

I do love those pulls, though!