32 for 32

I just read something online about a lady trying new things in her life and she was using her age as a guide. For example, I am 32 years old, so this year I need to try 32 new things. These things don't have to be monumental, but just fun and noteworthy for you, specifically.

They could be as silly as 'jumping on a bed' if that's something that you haven't done since you were a kid and it brought back memories and giggles and made you feel good. It could be picking up a new hobby, doing something you have been meaning to do or learn, traveling to a place you have always wanted to go, finally reaching a goal you have wanted to achieve, or just something new that just kind of happened by accident that you really enjoyed or were proud of yourself for.

I love the idea! I'm going to start my list of 32 things, but I better get going on it since we're already 2 months into the year!

Thankful Thursday

It's Thankful Thursday, everyone! Here we go:

1. Diet Mountain Dew - Yes, I know, I'm going to die because diet pop is just full of horrible chemicals....but I refuse to stop drinking it. I don't smoke, do drugs and I rarely drink any alcohol. I wear my seat belt, get yearly physicals, eat whole grains and regularly pray. Basically, the only other drink that I ingest is water - and yes, I do drink at least 8 glasses a day. But I guess I will just die of Diet Mountain Dew poisoning because I'm not giving up my ONE vice in the morning!

2. Sharpies - I LOVE Sharpies. I love the smell, the thick writing, the sound of them writing, all of it. I know - dorky and nerdy, but I just really enjoy them.

3. The kindness of a stranger - It's just a great feeling when a stranger says something nice or does you a favor. For instance, when someone lets you in on the freeway, allows you to go ahead of them in line at a store when you have only one item to buy and they have a ton, when someone goes out of their way to hold the door for you, etc. It just makes your day just a little brighter and I love that. I try to do those things for others in return as well.

4. The KQ Morning Show (through the Internet) - I grew up listening to the KQ Morning Show (KQRS 92.5 - in Minneapolis 5:30am-9:20am: Check it out!) and even got my Dad hooked on the show when I was in high school. I have lived other places (Wisconsin, Ohio and now Texas) since high school and always missed the show (the same basic crew has been on the air all these years!). Now they have it posted on their website for download - free. I have been listening for the last couple years through the internet and I love it! It keeps me updated on what's going on back home in Minnesota and they are HILARIOUS!

5. Body pillows - I have never had one or had the desire to get one, but Chris kept talking about how great they were, so I went out and bought one. Now I'm hooked! I bought one and even did surgery on it to make it more firm (bought filler at Joann Fabrics and stuffed it in the pillow and then sewed it shut again). I love it and it's good for my back too.

The Big Apple

In a few weeks, I will be making my way to New York City for the very first time (only took me 32 years!). I could NOT be MORE excited about this trip! It's with a tour group arranged by Mayce's brother in San Antonio (for his high school students). Mayce's Mom is also going and that will be a blast.

Below is our itinerary - I get butterflies in my stomach just thinking about all of the adventures and photo ops there will be in The Big Apple!

NYC Itinerary

5 Day New York City Drama/Broadway Tour

Friday, March 12, 2010
6:30 AM Depart from San Antonio Airport for Newark Airport on Continental Airlines Flt. # 561
11:03AM Arrive at Newark Airport - Join Tour Escort and transfer bags to private motorcoach
Check into Sheraton Hotel* (if rooms are ready)
1:00 PM Orientation tour to include Radio City Music Hall, Diamond District, Lincoln Center, Madison Square Garden with time for a lunch stop at group’s expense
3:00 PM Admission to Madame Tussaud’s Wax Museum
4:45 PM Free time in Times Square- ESPN Zone, M&M World, MTV Store, etc
6:00 PM Dinner at Mama Sbarro
8:00 PM See Broadway Show “In the Heights”

Saturday, March 13, 2010
8:00 AM Breakfast at the hotel
10:00AM Visit Rockefeller Center, NBC Experience Store and St. Patrick's Cathedral
11:00AM Browsing along famous 5th Ave - H&M, NBA Store, Trump Towers, Tiffany's, Sak's, with time for lunch at group's expense
2:00 PM See Broadway Show “Mary Poppins”
6:00 PM Dinner at Planet Hollywood
8:00 PM See Broadway Show “West Side Story”

Sunday, March 14, 2010
8:00 AM Breakfast at the hotel
10:00AM Statue of Liberty Boat Ride to visit the "Grand Lady" and then on to Ellis Island and the Immigration Museum - Lunch at the group's expense on the Island
3:00 PM Walking tour of the Financial District - New York Stock Exchange, Federal Hall, Trinity Church and South Street Seaport and 'Ground Zero'
5:30 PM Dinner at Puglia’s
8:00 PM Admission to Top of the Rock Observatory overlooking NYC

Monday, March 15, 2010
8:00 AM Breakfast at the hotel
10:00AM Tour of Jewelry Production House /Grinnell Design’s and meet with Jewelry Designer
11:30AM Visit Mood Fabrics…with time for lunch at group’s expense
1:00 PM Visit SoHo / Greenwich Village / Chinatown
4:00 PM Drama workshop
6:00 PM Dinner at Evergreen Chinese Restaurant
8:00 PM See Broadway Show “The Addams Family”
10:30PM Group photo in Times Square – optional purchase at group’s expense

Tuesday, March 16, 2010
8:00 AM Breakfast at the hotel and check out
10:00AM Admission to the Metropolitan Museum of Art
12:00PM Self guided visit of F.I.T. Gallery
1:30 PM Check into airport – Continental Group room available (lunch at group’s expense)
3:00 PM Depart from Newark Airport for San Antonio Airport on Continental Airlines Flt. # 360
6:19 PM Arrive at San Antonio Airport

*Sheraton Newark Hotel / 128 Frontage Road / Newark, NJ / 973-690-5500

Immaculate Transformation

This is SO COOL - a couple turned this OLD church into a home - see below for pics!

A couple purchased an old church in Kyloe, Northumberland. They invested a lot of money on the interior but the exterior remained almost completely intact. They did more of a restoration rather than a renovation which would have cost them 3 times less.

Had they not purchased the old church who knows what would have happened to it as it was in very bad shape. The couple however adapted very well to the interior while leaving the outside with the minimum appearance of a house.

This is a freaking awesome living room - I LOVE the high ceilings and woodwork!!

Talk about a majestic bedroom!

I love the 'church' touches that they kept intact. It is a great combination of the church's past and the house's future...

LOVE the bathroom!!

Not sure if I like that big huge skylight....but it WOULD be cool to look at the stars at night when you are laying in your bed.....

Ladies & Gentleman: Meet My New Shower!

This shower project in my master bathroom has been going on for some time - over a month and I am happy to say that it is basically done! Below is the progression:

Here it is half-tiled.....

There were some issues with getting the old plumbing apart, so Chris had to do some fancy footwork to get it all taken care of. I'll be honest - him using that blow torch thingy in my bathroom made me a little nervous...

And that hole is where the new soldered pipe went - for the shower head.

Lots of messy ingredients. I think the grout and the dry wall made the biggest mess of all the stuff we had to use.

Here's Chris tiling the second wall.....

Basically done - except he had to go get his hole saw to cut a perfect hole in the last tile for the shower head....

On to grouting - yuck!

And then comes the glass....

And we had to replace some floor tiles since they got ripped out when the floor was repaired. We couldn't find the exact tile that was already in the rest of the room, but we went to 5 different stores and this was the closest match we could find. You really can't tell unless you're looking for it.....

More glass - almost done!

And here's the shower - in rough form - lots of little touch-ups and finishing touches to do.....

I love the new shower head and everything looks fabulous! He had to seal the grout and do some caulking to finish it. I can't use the shower until at least Tuesday night - to make sure everything is sealed and cured.

Since this was just tile and glass, I ended up with the same problem that I had with the previous shower - no foot rest for shaving! So Chris cut some 2x4's and extra tiles to make this very cool corner foot rest for me! It's still adhering and being sealed right here, so that's why it's resting on the box.

I love the new shower - just LOVE it!

We still have to put the wood trim back on, put the bathroom door back on, touch up paint around the top (above the tiles) and other little things, but I will post pics of the FINAL FINAL shower when it's all ready. I'm so excited for the shower to NOT be in my living room anymore!

Thank you, Chris, for doing all this work - it looks great!

Random Purchases

Today's post is kind of random, but I bought two cute things that I just had to share with the blog-o-sphere. The first is a new stainless steel water bottle. Here it is:

I found it at Kirkland's on clearance (it was the very last one and it just HAPPENED to be an "L" bottle), so I just HAD to get it! My Mom bought me a cool red stainless steel water bottle for my birthday last year because she said that I shouldn't be drinking out of plastic bottles because it's dangerous.

OK, that's fine - and I love the red color - but my only complaint is that the water tastes a little metal-y. Oh, and I have a pet peeve with these metal bottles: the lip of them where you put your mouth on the bottle to drink is EXPOSED to the air even when the cap is screwed on. So that means that when the bottle is in my laptop bag, in the car, when I'm touching it with my hands - all of those germs are touching exactly where my mouth touches when I drink! I haven't found a metal one that has solved that problem, but now I have two of them that are like that....

OK, the other purchase is kind of monumental for Maggie. When she was a puppy, I bought her a puppy bed to sleep on in her crate. But since she was a very naughty puppy, she chewed it up, pulled the stuffing out, and dragged the bed all over the house. I eventually threw it away. This happened about 2-3 more times, and eventually I just stopped buying puppy beds and she was forced to do without if she couldn't handle leaving them alone in there!

Fast forward 5 1/2 years: I saw a really cute puppy bed at Walmart a couple weeks ago and thought to myself that MAYBE, just MAYBE she could handle it, now that she is 6 years old. Part of me said NO, she will never outgrow her playfulness and her need to 'de-stuff' things (she still de-stuffs all of her stuffed toys - never got sick of doing it!). But it was so cute that I just bought it and was curious to see what she would do....................

Well, lo and behold, Maggie has matured! She hasn't messed with the bed since I bought it a couple weeks ago! She loves it and sleeps in it when I'm not home (she's confined to the kitchen/laundry room/outside when she's home alone) - I know this because on the first few days I gave it to her, I felt the bed when I got home and it was warm - she was laying on it right before I arrived home!

And now, she even lays down in her bed before I leave for the day! I'm in shock - she is getting used to her cozy little bed and is treating it very well! YAY!

And one more random pic for the week.......When I got home from work the other day, I found a card and beautiful flowers from Laura (my fabulous new Texas friend that just moved here from Minneapolis and was staying with me for a week). She left a 'thank you' card and gorgeous flowers when she left to go move into her apartment. What a sweetheart! I can't wait to explore and hang out together once she's settled. What's cool is that her apartment is right by my work, so we can easily get together and catch up on life!

Thankful Thursday!

OK, it's Thankful Thursday, so here we go!

1. The ability to work from home - We had a wild end of the week last week - the most snow in Dallas/Fort Worth history! Anyway, I was able to work from home and avoid the dangerous roads and crazy Texas drivers and get a lot done at home. And what's better than working in your pj's with your dog on your lap?!

And here she is, retiring to the floor next to me while I worked:

2. Southwest Airlines - They are great! I booked 2 different trips with them last week (late Feb to see my Mom in Harlingen, TX and mid-April to Orlando for a girls weekend) and the prices are amazing - $99 each way and 2 pieces of luggage fly for free - no charges for bags!

Mayce and I will also be using them to get to San Antonio in March to meet up with her brother's group for the New York City trip. So that's 3 times in 3 months and I am looking forward to it. They are a great airline, I have had GREAT experiences with them in the past and they are always friendly and helpful. Plus, Dallas Love Field (where Southwest flies in/out of) is much less crowded of an airport than DFW.

3. My Mom - It's her birthday today! She is a very strong woman who has lived through some hard things in her life, but has never wavered in her commitment to us.

She was a Sunday school teacher, Girl Scout troop leader, she gives blood on a regular basis, volunteers with a local school in Harlingen (helping 1st graders with reading), volunteers on a crisis hotline, donates to her church, helped with her grief group in Minnesota, volunteers to clean her church bathrooms, helps with her garden club, and the list goes on and on.

She was a very involved Mom growing up and has always been there when I need her. KUDOS to you, Mom! I'm proud to be your daughter!

4. Chris' help with my home improvement projects - Chris used to remodel homes and has done a ton of projects in his own home, so he is very knowledgeable about all-things-house.

He has demo'ed my shower, replaced my bedroom ceiling fan, mowed my grass when it was super hot last summer, fixed weather stripping on my door, etc. etc. etc.

However, the most meaningful thing he has done was to build a beautiful custom memory box to store my Dad's ashes in. And now, he's basically building me a new tile shower! I am so very thankful for his help, advice, time and talents. I'm a lucky girl!


5. A crackling fire in the fireplace when it's snowing outside. It's just that smell, the warmth, the flickering light. VERY COZY and I love it!

I love to get those fire logs that come in a bag and you just throw it in the fireplace and light the bag on fire. They last 4 hours and that's it. Easy and clean! I'm a 'set it and forget it' kind of girl, so they are the perfect solution.