Dad's Pin Win

Researching advice for selling a home, I ran across one recommendation to have your address numerals somewhere near the front door for potential buyers to remember.  I immediately thought of something I'd found on Pinterest earlier (originally from the blog 9 o'clock Dance of Joy!), so I showed it to Dad to see if he'd like a small project...

The inspiration

Dad's version (before adding the hook)

The finished product

Dad even added little rubber feet on the bottom so it won't sit on wet concrete when it rains!  I was originally going to use metal numbers, but the hardware store didn't have any small enough to fit the sign.  I decided to go with chalkboard paint instead (and since I had an entire can of it, I painted the base to match), which makes it super easy to update when we move!

Painting & Packing Pins

Now that I'm voluntarily unemployed, I'm busy getting our house ready to sell.  That means lots of painting and lots of packing!  While preparing for this insane two weeks before the house goes on the market, I found a few tips on Pinterest that have been insanely helpful.

1. Run a lint brush (the sticky roller type) over your paint roller before using it.  Last time I painted, the patch of fuzzies left behind on the walls bothered me until I painted over them this past week.  Thanks for solving that problem, Home Depot!

2. Press and Seal plastic wrap is pretty nifty to begin with, but this tip made it that much better.  FamilyHandyMan.com recommends it to cover tight spaces (like toilets) while you paint.  I also used the website's tip about nuking old painting tape in the microwave for a few seconds.

3. Use a paper clip to mark the end of a roll of tape.  No more trying to pry the end up off of the roll fifty million times as you pack and seal boxes, and you don't have to buy a fancy dispenser for each roll...

4.  Each roll?  Yes, I have about six different rolls of packing tape right now because Smart Move Tape is the most awesome invention ever for organization freaks like me.  It's way better than just color-coding your packing tape.

Counting My April Blessings

I've learned that I can't keep up with a weekly blog post, so let's try counting my blessings monthly!

• Between the book club for In the Sanctuary of Outcasts, dinner at Spice Brick Oven Kitchen with college friends, and lunch at Mykonos Taverna with old book club friends, I had a lot of great "girls only" time!
• I spent a lot of quality time with my husband as well with a week-long trip to Tennessee, no more overtime at work every night, and only one Sunday working from home.  I've also gotten him addicted to Castle in time for the season finale in May *evil grin*
• Unfortunately, we've learned that Dave's new office is not far enough away to be considered a "hardship," which means we will not be able to rent out the townhouse if it doesn't sell.  The bright side is that home improvements are coming along slowly but surely (and within budget), and our realtor is optimistic that we may be able to sell for more than our appraisal value.
• Less than a month left of work for me!  May 17th is my last day, and then I become full-time housewife with the mission of getting our house on the market and sold as quickly as possible.  After four years working at the same school, I'm ready to graduate!
• After too many months of procrastination, I took my "To Finish" bag of knits to our monthly PINS group and wove in the ends of almost a dozen projects.  Now to motivate myself to hand wash them all...

Counting My Blessings #7

Yes, I realize it's been three weeks since I last posted.  I have no better excuse than I am a slacker, but I'm still thankful for all the blessings so far this month!

• With all of the chaos up in Boston following the bombings at the marathon earlier this week, I'm praying that the extended families of my BIL Robert and soon-to-be BIL Paul up in Boston are okay and thanking God that my family is safe and sound
• A relaxing week of vacation at a Bed & Breakfast in Gatlinburg spoiled me with no work, no chores, and lots of together time with my husband!
• A Friday night out with the girls last week to catch up with friends I haven't seen in a while
• Continued progress on getting the house ready to sell--the ceiling fans have now been swapped out, there's an epic case of spackle spots throughout the house (still motivating myself to prime and paint), and the new kitchen faucet is in the mail
• A resurgence of my former band geek thanks to the band director where I work asking faculty and staff to volunteer to play for the encore song at the spring concert next week; I thought it would be a fun way to end my (almost) four years as Donor Relations Coordinator before we move this summer

 

Green Acres Middle School Charger Band

Counting My Blessings #6

• Our book-less book group met up for our monthly lunch date last weekend.  This month we tried a German place that had a brunch menu worth drooling over.
• I read the first book toward my Pride and Prejudice Bicentenary Challenge goal, Wickham's Diary.  Of course it wasn't a book on my original challenge list, but it's still progress.  Not the greatest P&P spin-off, IMHO.
• I finished two knitting projects this week--detailed post to come later.  Both were supposed to be Christmas presents, but there's always a birthday or next Christmas for finally gifting them!
• One of my co-workers who has been out on medical leave since December will be back part-time next week.  It will be good to have her back--I've missed our morning tea time!
• As March comes to a close, Dave and I can be grateful that we both survived his first quarter project at work that required him to work insanely long hours during the week and every other weekend.  Hopefully by the end of next quarter, we'll be selling our house and preparing to move near his new office!

Georgia Peach and Pecan French Toast...
with whipped cream in a gravy boat!

Counting My Blessings #5

• It's been a long week of obnoxious work hours for Dave, but I am thankful he has a job and his big project at work is almost over.
• Tuesday we were both able to get a day off together.  Our plans?  We slept in, then had a big lunch at Mimi's Cafe!
• We had a contractor look at some of the cracks in our ceiling upstairs to get an estimate, and he advised us to wait till an interested purchaser has an inspection done.  Then he can take care of everything on the "fix list" at once, and the cracks may not even be an issue!
• I sped through the book club choice for March, A Grown Up Kind of Pretty, in three days.  After book club on Wednesday night, I got to stock up on new books for the next few months: In the Sanctuary of Outcasts, The Magician's Assistant, and The Dovekeepers.
• I'm finally healthy enough to be getting back on the treadmill again.  While not the most thrilling thing in the world, I'm just happy to have the energy to work out again and take advantage of that outlet for stress relief.
  

Dave texted me this picture while we were both home on Tuesday...

Counting My Blessings #4

1. Last weekend was an Alpha Gamma Delta reunion for our Theta Delta chapter's 30th Anniversary.  It was a great to catch up, meet new sisters, and relive college memories.
2. Dave and I are done with our taxes, and we're getting refunds this year (which will probably go to pay moving costs)
3. My sister's fiance started a new job this week, and a good friend's husband starts his new job next week.  Both have been unsuccessfully job searching for months, so this is wonderful news!
4. Habemus Papam!  Pope Francis is the first Pope from our hemisphere and the first Jesuit to be Bishop of Rome.  I look forward to seeing how he guides and inspires the Church during his pontificate.
5. We finally know where we're moving this summer!  Now that Dave's job has decided where their office is going, hopefully they'll narrow down when we're moving so we know when to put the house on the market...