{Weekend Recap}

It's Monday already.  Dang these weekends go by fast!!  Of course, this does mean I am one weekend closer to putting up my Christmas tree.  No, it's not going up yet - I am going to enjoy my pumpkins a little longer...but it will go up sooner than later.  I didn't get to put one up last year, remember??  I have to make up for lost time!! =)  Thankfully fall has finally returned today.  I was really over those summer-like temps in October.  High's this week in the 70's & lows in the 50's...this makes me HAPPY!

This past Friday night was the 13th annual Washington County Relay for Life.  With the exception of a year or two break, I have been involved in the event every year either as a team captain, committee  member or event chair.  I know from experience that putting the event together is a lot of work, and it makes me sad to see so little community involvement now.  Cancer affects everyone at some point in their life, either personally or thru a friend or family member.    Even though there may have only been 8 teams out there, we raised over $84,000...and every dollar counts.  I was the team captain for the Blue Bell team & we raised $7188!

 

 

 

{we were 1 of only 2 teams that stayed til it was over at midnight...but we aren't 2%ers - there was no going home early!!}

I took a "break" from house stuff on Saturday - no cleaning, decorating, unpacking or organizing...it was all about college football all day long.  Texas vs. OU, Mississippi State vs. Auburn, Baylor vs. TCU, Alabama vs. Arkansas...there were LOTS of good games on.  Unfortunately I probably got to watch the worst game of the day in person.  Seriously - there are no words for the way we played Saturday night.  I thought the Arkansas game was bad.  And then we played Mississippi State.  I thought that game was bad.  And then we played Ole Miss. I am going to chalk this up as a rebuilding year & hopefully next year will be better. It does make me feel somewhat better that Mississippi State ran over Auburn and that Alabama struggled with Arkansas.  It gives me a little hope that we might can beat bama this weekend.  We are roadtripping to Tuscaloosa so all I am hoping for is a good game...and NO RAIN!!

The good news is that I FINALLY got to see the new stadium and it's pretty darn awesome.  It's hard to even remember what it looked like before the redevelopment; I can't wait to see it completely finished next year...I think it's going to be incredible!

 

It is crazy loud in there now & despite the outcome of the game - it doesn't get much better than game day in Aggieland!

  

If things work out, I am hoping to finally be a season ticket holder next year & I cannot wait.  See those 2 seats in the very top corner in the new south end zone?  Or maybe the two below the giant screen that will probably cause me to go deaf & blind?  Yep, that's probably where I'll be.   But that's ok - at least I'll be there {and hopefully we will be having a better season}! 
But for now - BTHO bama!!

{National Night Out}

Last night, my neighborhood had our first ever National Night Out block party!  I hosted it at my house; I am kinda in the middle so the location worked out great {plus, I NEVER pass up the opportunity to host a good party}.  The weather was nice & we had LOTS of yummy food {these people know how to cook!}.  

{thanks Laura for the cute welcome sign!}

We had about 25 adults & 15 kiddos...not bad considering it was our first one & only about 1/3 of the residents are currently living on the street.  We had several families join us who haven't moved in yet, but are in the process of building so it was really nice to meet all of them. We discovered that if there is anything we need - we have the hookup in the neighborhood...we have {lots} of law enforcement, paramedics, teachers, lawyers, pie people, mechanics - you name it, we have it. =)

  

Living in the country for over a year was quiet & peaceful and I did enjoy it for a while. But I realized last night how much I missed living in town in a neighborhood surrounded by people. And GREAT people at that; despite age differences & marital statuses, kids or no kids - we all became friends instantly.  Several of us were discussing how we loved our neighbors in our old neighborhoods & how we were really sad to leave. For me, I was the last of the "original" neighbors to move so it made it a little easier, but I was very fortunate & lived by some pretty awesome people for over 5 years.  Someone said it perfectly when she said "it looks like we lucked out twice!"  

I did indeed.

{What. A. Game.}

Let me first start by saying that being an Aggie fan is not for the faint of heart.  It can be bad for your health.  It can be rough.   We have lived thru seasons where the losses out numbered the wins.  Then there was that season in which we would be ahead every game at halftime...only to go on & lose the game.  Every. Single. Time.  Since moving to the SEC - things have kinda been looking up the past few years with lots of big wins, several of which were come-from-behind, thrilling wins.  We have experienced it all...you just never know what to expect.  It all depends on which team shows up on any given game day.  But for the record - regardless if we win or lose - there is nothing quite like Aggie football {in my opinion at least}.

Saturday was another perfect example.  The Aggies had an impressive first win against South Carolina back in August, but we really haven't played anyone since so we knew Saturday would be a test. Some of my traveling Aggie football friends & I made the trip up to Arlington to AT&T Stadium to watch the Aggies hopefully BTHO arkansas.  {Debbie & Connie - we missed y'all!}

The game started off well...A&M got the ball first & scored quickly.  Unfortunately, Arkansas answered on their first drive & it was tied 7-7.  The rest of the game was pretty much all about Arkansas {with the exception of halftime...we did win halftime}.

 

I'll admit - it was hard to watch.  A&M couldn't do anything right.  Our offense sucked.  Our defense sucked.  It was a LONG game...I got so incredibly tired of hearing Arkansas "call the hogs" - Woo Pig Sooie...really?!?  Thankfully they served alcohol because we needed it. 

The Cleveland Browns had an off week this week so Johnny Manziel was at the game {he was presented his Aggie ring}. I really wonder if Arkansas would have noticed if he would have suited up & played...and I am fairly certain that thought crossed every other Aggie's mind in that stadium as well.  We needed all the help we could get.

 

Going into the 4th quarter, the score was 28-14.  Considering we had done nothing since the beginning of the 2nd quarter, things were not looking good.  But, a quick score made it 28-21 & gave us a very teeny, tiny glimmer of hope.  With time very quickly ticking off the clock, we somehow managed to come back & tie the game 28-28 to send it into overtime.  I am not sure where that team came from that played the last half of the 4th quarter, but that's who I want to see all 4 quarters from now on!  Maybe they did suit up Johnny Football after all...  

 

 

By some miracle, we ended up winning the game 35-28 in overtime.  It was the worst game I have seen in a while and the best game I have seen in a while.  It was C-R-A-Z-Y!  I think us Aggie fans were just as stunned as the Arkansas fans.  It was ugly, but a win is a win.  Hopefully, in less than 3 weeks, we will be road trippin' to Bama & I CANNOT WAIT!!

 

**Update: I only THOUGHT the Arkansas game was the worst game I have seen in a while.  Then we played Mississippi State.  Nope....THAT was the worst game I have seen in a while!!  

{Where Do I Begin?!?}

As of 10:00am on Friday, August 29th - I officially became a homeowner again!  And since then, it's been C-R-A-Z-Y!!  

 As soon as I finished signing my life away, my family & I left town to head to Cayuga to watch my baby brother coach his first football game.  Unfortunately it rained for the first quarter {you are shocked I know...remember my luck with football road trips?!?} and they lost by one point, but it was still fun to watch.  He lives on a lake nearby so we spent the night in some cabins and then I headed home Saturday afternoon.

 

Throughout this whole house building process - if it could happen - it has happened to me.  But, I have learned to not sweat the small stuff & just kinda go with the flow on most things.  I have most definitely learned to have patience.  After closing on Friday, I was supposed to go to the sale's office to get the keys to my house.  When I got there, they couldn't find them.  Since I was leaving town anyway, it wasn't a big deal & they assured me they would have them when I got back to town on Saturday.  Well, when I got back to town on Saturday evening - still no keys.  They were officially lost & the real kicker?  The key maker was on a hunting trip!  I won't go into all the details, but the next hour or so was not my finest moment...the key issue combined with lack of sleep & walking into what I thought should be a finished house that wasn't - nearly drove me over the edge.  The locks were finally replaced the following Wednesday & I am still working to resolve some of the unfinished things, but it's getting there!

Before moving in, I wanted to repaint most of the interior, replace a few light fixtures & add ceiling fans in the guest bedrooms.  Yes, I realize the house is brand new, but they paint everything - walls & ceilings - the same color.  I knew I would want different colors in different rooms & now was the best time to do it.  Saturday night I painted the laundry room & then my Aunt Sandra joined me on Sunday.  For 2 straight {long} days, we painted.  And painted.  She did all the cut in work {she can paint the straightest baseboard line I have EVER seen} and I rolled.  We painted the master bedroom & bathroom, hallway, living room, kitchen & breakfast room.  13 gallons of paint.  It wasn't as bad as I anticipated & we still have a few walls that need a second coat, but I am SO THANKFUL we did it before I moved everything in. It completely changes the look of the house & I LOVE it!  Once I get everything decorated, I'll post much better pictures but here's a few iphone shots.

I spent the next week making 5,634 trips to storage.  Seriously.  It felt like at least that many...if not more.  I am fairly certain I could drive from Timberline Court to Westbrook Storage on North Dixie with my eyes closed. I finally made my last load on Sunday afternoon & this was the best sight EVER!

On Monday {September 8th}, the rest of my appliances & my mattress were delivered so that night marked my first official night as a resident of Timberline Court!  My bed never felt so good.  Although I am fairly certain that by that point, I probably could have slept on the concrete in the garage without a problem.  After 11 days of painting, moving, & unpacking - I was thankful to go back to work.  And, be jealous...my commute {with school traffic} is 3 1/2 minutes. =)

I have spent the past week unpacking boxes & trying to get things organized.  Living like this is kinda driving me crazy.  There is stuff EVERYWHERE!  I know it's going to take time and slowly but surely it's getting there.  And I have only gone thru one bottle of wine...I haven't even had time to drink!  I did take a break from unpacking yesterday & decorated for Fall.  I couldn't take one more day without pumpkins...especially with temps in the 60's this weekend! By late last night, I had finally cleared out all of the boxes & extra stuff in the living room and kitchen.  I am still sitting on patio furniture because I haven't found a couch that I like yet {or lampshades}, but at least it's clean & organized. And, this past Friday night, I had my first official overnight house guests...my 2 favorite kiddos!

 

 

Now my room...that's another story.  At least the ladder isn't in the kitchen anymore & I can shut the door to that room.  It's on the agenda for this week....along with clearing out the boxes on at least one side of the garage.  I must say, I have gotten really good at parking my vehicle in there with only about 6 inches of room to spare on either side. If you are ever in the neighborhood, please stop by...I would love to give you a tour {boxes & all}.  

OK, enough procrastinating...back to unpacking!