Gaudi

Since today's Google logo is celebrating Antoni Gaudi's 161st birthday, I dug up some pictures Mary and I took when we were in Europe in 2005.  Gaudi was a Spanish architect who produced some very unique works (think Salvador Dali with buildings).  On the left is the perpetually incomplete church, Sagrada Familia, on the right is is Park Güell, and in the middle are a couple more examples of Gaudi's architecture in Barcelona.  I would love to go back some day to take more time to see these again!

Welcome to Summer

May Blessings

Yes, I'm running a week late on this post for May.  I've kinda been busy getting the house ready to sell, so without further ado, here are the blessings I'm counting from last month:

• Mother's Day brunch hosted by my sister Mary and her fiance Paul with lots of enjoyable conversation on the back porch on a beautiful afternoon (plus entertainment provided by one particularly adorable dachshund and her pink racquetball)
• My last day of work (May 17) and the beginning of voluntary unemployment, which for the first two weeks consisted of back-breaking work like painting, yardwork, packing, moving boxes into storage, and cleaning just about everything in our house.
• Girls' Night Out at the Shakespeare Tavern in Atlanta and lots of fun comments about taking Hot Hamlet home in our trunk...
• A pleasant birthday afternoon spent stitching with the ladies at PINS and a birthday date night with my husband to see Star Trek: Into Darkness in 3D on the IMAX screen.  Yes, I am not ashamed to be a Star Trek fan!
• Brunch with my in-laws at Ray's on the River (my first time there) to celebrate the May birthdays of me and my SIL--any excuse to get together with family and to see our three adorable nieces!

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