Don't fall over

Don't fall over folks; I'm back! It's been S E V E N months since I last posted anything here. Despite good intentions to chronicle the entire home-building experience, the stress got the better of me and I dropped out of the blogging world all together.

That's not to say that the stress of a new house has past, because it hasn't. It's just a new kind of stress now that we've moved in and are trying to get settled. This stress is much more tolerable though. I have ideas about how I want to decorate and new furniture that I want to buy - a whole aesthetic that I want to create, and my stress now stems from not being able to do it all at once.

And it's not just the inside that is consuming my thoughts these days. Now I'm starting to day dream about the landscape, especially as the days are getting longer and the weather is hinting at Spring just a short time away. I want to put on my gloves and start moving some dirt.

Like with any other project that I take on, I want to plan it all out before I actually start doing anything but I'm having a heck of a time finding the tools I want. I'm not talking about spades and shovels; I want some landscape planning material. I want the yard to look like it was laid out with a purpose, a plan, but I can't find any adequate software or even a simple publication. Too bad I can't just hire a landscape designer to tell me where to put certain plants, trees and shrubs to achieve the best outcome.

Anyway, I just wanted to say hi. I'm really going to try to be better about blogging - cataloging the happenings of the Houston household. I'm not going to make any promises about how often you'll find me here (because we know how that works out) but I will make it a point to stop in every once in a while to give you all an update on life as I know it.

On that note, I'm going to go check on my husband. I hear some kind of power tool and I'm slightly worried about what he may be doing to "modify" our new home. Until later, my friends....

Let the FRAMES begin!

Weekend Recap

I spent the majority of my two days off – and a large chunk of my last paycheck – landscaping the yard. I replanted flower beds, cleaned out from under trees and even killed a few creepy critters. The two days of composting, tilling, weeding, planting, watering, mulching, bending, stooping, climbing, digging, and raking left me with a sore body, scratchy eyes, sniffling nose and dirt in every conceivable place on my body, but I’d give anything to be doing it again today. I have no motivation to be trapped in this little box called my office.

Call me crazy

Seriously. With all that's going on in my life these days, well, you might as well rename me.

I hope I'm not jumping-the-gun by making this HUGE announcement but, sometime this afternoon, we should have a brand-spankin'-new contract for our house. Finally. And with it comes a builder who is quite possibly just as anxious as we are to get started. So, after only SIXTEEN months of designing, redesigning, planning and discussing every single detail 10 million times over, we may actually break ground in the next couple of weeks.

Even more exciting is the fact that, barring any unforeseen delays, we should be able to move into our new house sometime in September. Who wants to help?

Since the whole process began, I've been envisioning the tile, the carpet, the paint colors - every aspect of the interior. But here in the past two months, I've been obsessed with mentally landscaping the place. It's been quite a struggle not to buy up every pretty flower I see. I can't wait to start that project!

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Onto other news...

Since the end of January, Chad and I have really been watching what we eat. I've cut out most sugar and breads, pastas, etc., from my diet.  To date, I've lost between 10 and 15 pounds, depending on the day. Chad, on the other hand, has lost more than 30! To his credit, he's worked for it. He's 60 days into the Power 90 program and he's in better shape than I've EVER seen him.

Naturally, my competitive nature refuses to let him reap all the rewards of this little venture, so this past week, I began my own gruelling fitness routine. I worked out with Jillian for a while, and I've done other DVD programs but this time I decided to try a program called Insanity. (Yes, you read that right.)

Watching the DVDs beforehand, like I always do, I couldn't imagine why the participants were so out of breath. Jumping jacks and push-ups...so what? It's nothing we didn't do in 3rd grade P.E. Folks, let me tell you that after only three nights of this program, I am absolutely amazed that I can even walk. It's that tough. I'll try to do a recap of the workouts so far, along with my progress, in subsequent posts.

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Finally, because, just like me, my shoe obsession will never completely go away, I wanted to share with you the most recent object of my desire:

Aren't they fun? I'm already imagining an outfit with which to wear them, to justify the purchase. Ha! Like I really NEED a reason to buy shoes! The real problem is that I don't actually own the pieces of the outfit that I've put together in my head, so I'd have to buy those too.  Anyone feel like shopping?
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I have so many other thoughts in my head right now that I'd like to share with you, but unfortunately, I just don't have the time to get them all out right now. Have no fear, I'm making a list of posts to start writing. Maybe this dry spell on my blog will come to an end soon.

Happy Friday friends!

Happy Easter!

I've been listening to this song quite a bit lately and I never cease to be moved by the lyrics. I'm an emotional person anyway, but this song really moves me. I nearly bawled the night my three-year-old excitedly explained it to me. She came running into the kitchen exclaiming, "Mommy! Mommy! This is about Jesus. He was in the tomb but he's not anymore!"

Happy Easter everyone!

Pure Evil

The following websites are pure evil - at least if you're like me and have spent the last five and a half weeks struggling to give up sugar (I'm proud to say that I've been [mostly] successful).  Click on the links if you dare...and don't say I didn't warn you.

Cake Balls / Cake Pops

Oreo-Stuffed Chocolate Chip Cookies

Cake Ball-Stuff Chocolate Chip Cookies

Are you licking your computer screen yet?  I promise I will be testing these recipes in the near future.

To all my friends...

...even the ones I've yet to meet.