The tour continues

I got sick of dragging images down and screwing up the formatting. (Excuse my illiterate-photo-inserting-blogging skills)

Some shots of the kitchen; tile backsplash, good space, enough for an island or a table in the center of the room. Note the builder model dishwasher that we'll need to replace. door to backyard on the right.

The paint colors in the kitchen: drab olive and this burgandy/maroon color. Like them separate but not together. Not sure what to do there. Door to backyard on left, garage door to the left, and dining straight into that yellow.

Because our dog is the coolest ever.

Congratulate Me: We're selling our souls for a house!

That's right, we've finally gotten a contract set for our new living space. The inspection went rather well yesterday and we did not discover any super creepy crawly things living under the bed, nor hidden corpses in the closet. I'm not certain that the latter is a violation of any building code, but needless to say, we're pleased the house is liveable. I'm so punny...

Anyway, a lot of people are asking, and I figure I should just post some photos of all the stuff we're going to be changing when we move in early October. Let the tour commence:

Le Outside of our new digs

Inside the front door looking left.

Check out that fireplace. (wood burning gas starter)





Standing in the living room. Door on the left goes into kitchen.






Hallway on the other side of the kitchen, the rockin' pantry doors & the linen closet at the very end.











Bedroom #1. It is much bigger than it looks here. Have not decided how to decorate it.








Guest Bath.

Sort of ugly paint & grout to clean/avoid on the tile bath! Excellent! :/






Bedroom #2: My favorite wall in the house. Unfortunately the current owner is perhaps the biggest GB Packer fan that has ever lived. As will be evident in later photos.








Master Bedroom. That's a king size, so our tidy "little" queen should work nicely. I'd like to paint it different than this ooky tan/yellow color but haven't decided what will be most calming...

Boring master bath & with shower...

To be continued....

Latest and Greatest

I did end up finishing The Poisonwood Bible. It was very well written, but it could have been about 100 pages shorter and I would still have been satisifed. Speaking of levels of satisfaction, my stomach is growling and I can't wait until lunch.

I'm almost a third of the way through a giant brick of a book called Pillars of the Earth by Ken Follett. Been listening on audio and enjoying it. I had to bring the cd's back to the library instead of renewing when I was smack in the middle of it because someone had requested it. Wouldn't you know, they brought it back within days and it's now riding along in my car again. I rented the hardbound copy in the meantime so I could catch up to part two of the audio and that bumped me up in timing. The story itself is about three characters; Tom Builder (the cathedral architect, Phillip, a Prior, and Lady Alieana, some earl's young daughter I don't know much about yet. It's really interesting because Follett combines drama with historical and technical material very well and I can't wait to see what happens next.

I am also beginning Along for the Ride, a predictable young adult novel by Sarah Dessen, and The Red Leather Diary by Lily Koppel. Red Leather is a biography using a woman's diary from early 20th century New York City. Waiting to begin at lunch but sounds great.

In the housing arena, big fat fail for our first offer. The sellers didn't counter our reasonable offer but wrote a very strange letter about how great their house is. We told them either counter or we're walking. 'Nuf said, I'm not heartbroken and we've got time to look for something better for us.

I got my heart rate monitor for the gym. I really like it but am torn about what zones I should stay in. The gym says they matter, other sources say they don't. I want to do what's best for my body and don't know what that is yet. Also trying to eat better, but it's hard when we've got awesome bacon cheeseburgers to eat from leftovers. Last night I ran farther and longer than I ever have before. I ran 3.25 miles in 45:30. I walked about 10 minutes of that, equaling about .6 miles of it. This makes me a lot more confident in my ability to do that and not pass out. I stumbled off the treadmill for a potty break and ended up rolling my ankle to the point of discomfort but not injury. If I hadn't done that, I could have gone longer. I did 3 miles in 41:40, which as I told my husband beats his recent run time. Anyway, today I'm meeting with a trainer and setting a good strength training plan for me. I should meet with a nutritionist too, but I feel like that isn't too necessary right now. Maybe if I get bored again I will use it to motivate me.

Wow, totally serious post here. Signing off.

Giggly Girl

Apparently I am making this a monthly blog. I just haven't had time in the last two months to either read, or stray from my hectic work schedule. Amidst all the economic turmoil, I'm trying to stay as current & valuable as possible. I finally finished a major grant application and celebrated by dancing in front of my boss' office. He did eventually ask later, but I appreciate the fact that he accepts that I would normally do that kind of stuff and is okay with it. Now, it's onto CDBG & green(er) grants.

In book news, I finally finished The Count of Monte Cristo!!! Jimmny Christmas, it.was.worth.it. Lots of characters to keep straight but the way it all intertwines is genius. I have already put other Dumas books on my to-read list. I just need a break from the super long period pieces. To break it up a little, I read Murder on the Orient Express, one of Agatha Christie's top Poirot stories. I do understand that it was written in a different time, but the racial stereotypes were very exaggerated. The plot & eventual solution was so crazy. Christie is definitely a master of her craft & her books are great for a little light mystery.

Now I am a couple of chapters into The Poisonwood Bible by Barbara Kingsolver. It is on the list of 1001 books to read before you die, and appears to be a recommended favorite. From what I gather, a family of missionaries go into the african jungle to live for a year. We'll see how this shapes up, it's a little churchy for me yet, but not to

Love how I ended this in the middle of a sentence. More in the next post.

Running Update #1 & Dairy Queen (the book)

Last night's run was tougher than Monday's. I ran my first mile in the same time (14:15) but ended up running the whole circuit about 45 seconds faster (28:26). I forgot my headphones at work and didn't have a spare. I had to strain to hear the music they pipe in and none of it was remotely motivational. While I do choose to run on equipment where I can see the TV with music videos playing, I swear if I ever have to hear any Jonas Brothers song ever again I will stab out my ear drums with the closest sharp utensil. It.is.so.terrible.

Reading a YA book called Dairy Queen by Catherine Gilbert Murdock. I am enjoying the Midwestern take on things and it is very interesting hearing about the average life on a farm. Generally though, I am somewhat irritated by the female narrator's teen angst and can only take so much of the whiny, "oh my life is so awful but I will be sarcastic and snarky so my complaints won't seem so annoying to the reader". I am also incredulous about her idea to join as a player on the local high school football team. Adding to this is the idea of her training (and maybe dating) the QB of the rival football team. If a young adult novel can't be far-fetched, what can these days? Some review said this book rivals Twilight but I have yet to find that an accurate statement.

The un-reading

I've been super busy between working through hectic lunches and working up a sweat at the gym, I have been neglecting my reading. I am happy to announce that I am now over halfway done with Gone With the Wind. While it is enjoyable, I feel like I have been reading it since before I was born (I began it in late March...yeah). I won a book on Goodreads called In the Kitchen by Monica Ali. Despite its neat-sounding description on the book jacket, it is too boring to read and therefore I will not be describing it further.

Since my reading habit has taken a slide into a bottomless well, I can talk about my get-healthy efforts. I am working my way through the Couch to 5K running program. I've always wanted to be able to run without feeling like I have a baby alien in my side or going to spew blood from my lungs. This is a good start because it is a solid, tested program that people use to slowly build their way into running. I will benefit from cardio, no doubt, but also the heart & lung-healthiness of the whole thing. I'm on week 4, day 2 tonight, meaning I will run 3 minutes, 90 second walk, 5 minute run, 2.5 minute walk, repeat once. Pretty simple, but I am happy because two and 1/2 weeks ago I was having trouble running 90 seconds let alone four times that amount now. I find it incredible what our bodies are capable of and that makes me feel better when I am running a tough one.

I want to keep track also of how fast I am running my miles, so Monday, I ran/walked my first mile in 14:15. Mile #2 pulled in at 29:48. If I do even a little better than the last day, I feel pretty good about it. No particular goal yet, just to get a little faster and not feel like I want to die afterward.

Vegas in T-minus 8 days. I shall be gorging myself with Mesa Grill and delicious French crepes (ooh lala) before we know it... I'll probably bring a new trip journal, just because snark is always most fun on vacation. Plans are a massage & fitness day at the Paris, lots of food, walking, and trying for a run on the Strip in early morning. We'll see if all my vegas dreams come true...(and the daydreaming harp music plays on).

Oh Where oh Where has thisinquiringmind Gone?

Where can she be? That is the song that anyone who reads this could have been singing for the last month and a half. Anyway, I've got new pursuits on the horizon: Working Out. Yep that's right ladies and gents, the husband and I joined a gym a couple of weeks back. While I don't find the locker room clean enough for me to shower without shoes, the rest of it is pretty nice. After my muscles were rendered incapacitated post "team fitness" class, I had my doubts, but the classes are pretty motivational. They are also really full. I have never been in a gym class with over 75 people, wingspan room only- this Dance Jam class was crazy. I am beginning the "Couch to 5K" program today. I guess it's a step-by-step method of building running endurance- it's like it was designed for me.
Today's plan:
5 minute warm up walk, intervals of 90 seconds walking, 60 seconds running for a period of 20 minutes.
I will also be doing 2-3 lifting exercises. I get soooo bored lifting but it needs to be done, since I haven't done it yet in two weeks of gym membership [blushes].

In book news, I've been slogging through Gone With the Wind for the last three weeks. I figured that reading a 1000 page book would be a breeze, however I am just hitting the 350 page mark. I've read at least a chapter everyday but there is just so much detail that it's taking forever. This is not to say that I'm not enjoying it, because I am, it's just not an easy read.

I polished off a Sarah Dessen book called Keeping the Moon, about a teen who was fat and finds friends who build up her confidence and ultimately change her into a different person. While elements of this story were fun, I just couldn't relate to almost any of the characters, therefore I enjoyed Dessen's later work more.

I am departing for Las Vegas in less than 27 days and it will be glorious. In addition to undoing all of the great things I'll have accomplished with my body in the next few weeks, I will be spending money on lots of fun things. My must-do's are eating at a couple of specific restaurants, doing a little shopping, going to the pool once in my new bikini, and surprisingly, I want to treat myself to a day at the spa and fitness center there.

When we come back from our trip, we will then be out looking for a house to buy. Hopefully we can officially be homeowners prior to the year-end incentive to purchase. An even bigger "hopefully" on my part would be to move while there is still no snow in sight. Scraping snow & ice off of my car last year went quickly to the top of my "hate" list and I would like to avoid it if at all possible. Plus, how awesome would it be to move in 17 degree weather?! (So awesome that I won't be participating it- that's how awesome.) So we've narrowed down the area to four different villages, all of which are connected and about 30 minutes from work. Here's to wishing for a nice affordable place with little to nothing wrong with it.

Finally, my job responsibilities changed at the beginning of April and I've been running around like a chicken with its head cut off trying to learn a new position (hence no real new entries here). While I enjoy what I'm doing now even more, it's been crazy. An update to that whole wilderness-store-cultural-potluck-gift-card debacle: After wandering the giant store for an hour considering everything from dog toys to bicycle helmets, I spent it yesterday on fudge to share at work and beef jerky for the husband. I'm so awesome.