True Story...

Have you ever had one of those days that you have to ask yourself, "is this fake planet?"  Well not only have I had one of those days, I have had one of those weeks.  It all started when our hot water heater had to be replaced last week.  Luckily SJB's dad was able to get it taken care of in a very timely manner.  Next up, every shelf in my closet decided it should be in the floor.  And even better... this happened as I was getting ready for work on Monday morning.  Just so you get the point, let me provide a visual...

Yes.  This happened.  True story.  At the time, seeing that I was already running late for work, I decided to just leave it and deal with it when I got home.  Luckily, I have a handy husband who is excellent at building and fixing things.  He hit the road to Home Depot and gathered some supplies to whip up a closet organizational system.  While he played Bob the Builder, I went through all of my clothes (since I was told they were too heavy for the closet), and made quite the donation to Goodwill.  Once the shelves and everything were all installed on Tuesday afternoon, I slowly re-organized my closet until it looked like this.

What you don't see.... is as this picture was being taken, the left side of the shelf with 2 layers of hanging clothes decided it needed to be back on the floor.  Once again, clothes were everywhere... and I simply didn't care.  I decided it could wait until Wednesday, as I simply didn't have the energy to deal with it.  As SJB and I were settling down for a long night's nap, we hear the faint noise of water dripping.  SJB investigated and found the H2O dripping in our air return vent.  We He decided it would be best to turn off the air for the night until his dad could come back and check it.  I definitely do not favor hot conditions, but surprisingly, slept OK.  Thankfully, we are back in business with cool air, a closet that is put together and hot water.  Is it too much to ask to space out the problems?  Needless to say, as I grab my pajamas out of my organized closet, after a nice hot shower  and go to bed in my air conditioned room, I am thankful things were not any worse than they were.  But I definitely still ask myself... "was that fake planet?" 

House Hunting 101

Little did I know just how stressful house hunting would be.  We put a contract on a house that SJB and I both fell in love with and were riding on cloud nine until the inspection.  Inspection is now a word that I will be terrified of.  While we felt that our house would be perfect for us, the wall's insides and wiring had a different plan.  I am very thankful and relieved that we discovered this while we could still get out, but disappointed as I had my hopes placed on a pedestal and then knocked off with a bang.  I guess it's back to the drawing board for us!!

In the meantime, SJB and I have stayed super busy, getting back in the "school" swing of things (SJB, not I) and staying pretty busy.  We are both very excited to see the Auburn tigers kick off the season in Atlanta.  Also, I just returned from a trip from Chicago, helping host a DTreat Conference.  It was a great time and very exciting meeting new Dfriends and catching up with the old ones.  I am already excited for the future of our programs and feel proud to be on a team with such great friends!!  I also got to go to Huntsville for less than 48 hours to help my mom get out of the house (for the 2nd time since July 12).  While it was no easy feat, we were successful in our outing and even started some Christmas shopping!!

While this weekend doesn't include much, it will allow me time to dive back into the world of house hunting and hopefully find a few more appropriate prospects for us to peek at.  Cross your fingers and wish us luck!!

What DTreat means...

DLeaders at "The Bean"

The whole group.... by our school bus, on the way downtown!!

Just another weekend...

What a lazy weekend.  SJB and I semi-relaxed with the last weekend we both have before school starts... as if that matters with me.  We were able to meet with the realtor on Friday and see the house we are interested in.  It was fantastic and we both REALLY liked it.  And by really, I mean smiling, anxious and already talking about where we could put stuff really.  We actually met with the realtor again on Saturday to talk more detail with him and see if the seller would even consider some of our requests.  So, we will see shortly if we will proceed with this particular house.  It would be fantastic if we could, since it has everything we are looking for in a house!  Make sure you cross your fingers that everything works out!

Today, SJB and I went shooting.  This is something that I have never done with him, but it was actually fun.  I wasn't a huge fan of the people next to us having sonic boom-ish guns, but I excelled at the 9mm.  I felt better leaving, knowing that I could actually use it if I had too.  I feel that I will even improve as my hand heals from my surgery.

Coming up this week, I have a trip to Chicago planned on Thursday to help host a conference with some of my DFriends!!  We have spent many months putting together this event and I am really excited to see how it turns out and see everyone!  I fly out super early Thursday morning, so I will head to Birmingham to stay with Brett and her precious family!  I am ecstatic to see (and meet) her children!!  It will be a good time catching up with her and spending some time with them.

Sorry I don't have any pictures to share in this blog, but I should definitely have some in the near future.  I will also plan to update on our house hunt as we work our way down that road.  Feel free to shout out a prayer for things to go smooth!!

Home is where the heart is...

SJB and I have recently been on the house search and let's just say... it might be more stressful than planning a wedding.  We are looking in the Lee County area, more specifically, Smiths Station.  This would serve as the median for our places of work, as well as providing a great school system (for waaaaaayyy down the road in our future:))  I am not quite sure what I thought the house hunt would be like, but it is not easy.  Luckily, we have a realtor who is very honest with us about builders, locations, etc and it helps that SJB is familiar with the area. 

It seems that house hunting has brought out my OCD in full form.  I see a house I like, but then notice a small imperfection.  I guess that could be a good thing, but it probably stresses SJB out, as well as adds time to our search.  So far, we have only gone to 2 houses, but hopefully we will get some more scheduled in the next week.  Luckily, SJB and I have very similar interests in houses, including don't want a "cookie cutter" house, don't want our neighbors too close, no above ground aquatics, and definitely don't want to have to "flip" a house before we move in.  We are not excited when we see wallpaper or fluffy carpet, so it has been easy to make cuts off of our "to see" list.

I think that both of us are getting antsy in the condo.  While it has been a great space for us to spend the first 2 years of our life together, both of us are ready to move forward.  I am ready for a laundry room and having space for my fine china and SJB is ready for his shop, man cave and most importantly, yard work (this is actually the truth)!  I am most definitely not excited about the actual moving process, since I moved every year that I attended Auburn, but am definitely ready for the final result.  Feel free to cross your fingers that the perfect house falls right into our lap and exactly the right time. 

Regardless if we stay in our lovely and petite abode for the next 40 years, it will be complete, as long as we are together.  Simply stated.... home is where the heart is.

                         

Just pecking away...

Let's just say that I have never been more thankful for my seventh grade typing class.  Let me explain as I peck my story away...I recently had surgery on my right hand (my VERY dominant right hand) to correct my "trigger finger."  I have definitely had to rely on SJB to do everything from household chores to cooking and even playing beauty shop to help me wash and fix my hair.  None the less, I am thankful it is over and I am looking forward to a complete recovery and better use of my hands and fingers.

But to fill you in on the past few weeks of the Browns.... I will provide you a bulleted list of the high points.

SJB finished up his tenth week at Camp ASCCA. Thankfully, he was able to make it home in time to play nurse/babysitter for my surgery.

I was able to go to camp and help out with Prom, which was amazing. I was able to channel my inner "Ms. Gaye" (of course with the help of Mollie and Big E) to help with decorations and flower arranging. Stuart and I got to experience another prom at the greatest place on earth!! It was fantastic!!

Our traditional prom photo:)

Zoe & Andie!!

The  cutest Eli ever!!

 

• SJB, my dad and I attended the Neshoba County Fair in Mississippi.  While it was my first trip back to the fair in 20+ years, SJB and my dad were able to show me the ropes.  It was incredibly hot, but a good chance to see family I haven't seen in ages and have a nice little vacation.
• SJB and I celebrated 2 years of marriage!!  (can't remember if I already blogged about this or not...)
• We have gotten ourselves knee-deep in house hunting.  Now that he is home from camp, we are planning to buckle down on our search and hopefully the perfect abode will fall in our laps!!

While I know we have had much more going on... my mind is blank.  It is hard for me to think about the past when football season starts 4 weeks from yesterday!!  Yahoo!!  We are very excited about the upcoming season and crossing our fingers for the best!!  Until then....WAR EAGLE!!