Happy Halloween!!.. We got lazy this year and didn't do a pumpkin so I'm reposting the one we did last year since it turned out so nice;-).. haha.. Not doing much tonight. Just going to go home, and wait for the little trick o treaters. Stanley won't be happy I'm sure but he'll be okay
This is my 2nd day back in the office after a whole week of global meetings and dinners, events, etc.. glad to be back actually - back to the routine, the norm..

What a relaxing weekend!! Lots of family stuff, ran errands.. thats the way I like to spend a weekend:-) Boring probably to some people but really nice to me.. Saturday we had lunch with my family then had John, Jessica, and Stitch over for dinner... Sunday helped out my uncle in the morning then Brian and I ran to JoAnne fabrics and I found the fabric for my cushions! Wooohooo..only 8 months later and the best part.. it was 50% off;-).. nice.. and I learned to knit.. off the internet! got to love the internet.. If I dont' give it up its scarfs for everyone! hehe... its actually kinda therapuetic to knit.. same stitch over and over again.. but also satisfying to see your progress... we'll see how long this lasts.. I think I did crochet about 2 years ago.. that lasted half an afghan.. never did finish:-) but... I'm about a third of the way towards my first handmade scarf.. so that wasnt too bad.. apparently if I buy bigger needles it'll go faster..hmmmm

Last month has flown by... not exactly been a great month.. work is stressful, home is stressful.. can't wait until this is all over and things go back to normal:-( Until then I will try my best to be positive. Stanley had his 1 year birthday over the weekend..amazing - I didn' t know if I could deal with him! haha.. but he has been so good.. he has free run of the house now and has done a relatively good job.. He's all in all a great dog and we're lucky:-)... Weekend before last I went to a tupperware/housewarming party with some girls .. I didn't know people still did these but we had a good time.. got some tupperware to organize my pantry. Hopefully I wont' get hooked - who knew but tupperware can be pricey! Last couple of weekends, Brian has been spending a lot of time over at my aunts new home.. he and John have put in a new bathroom for them... she's very appreciative and I'm glad we were able to help! her new home is looking awesome..

This coming Saturday, Brian says he promises to put in my garden..hmm..how many times have we heard that now? hehe.. oh well, whenever... Oh and this Sunday, a lady who used to live in our home in 1940 stopped by to say hi.. She's so sweet - she brought old photos and gave us more information about how the home used to be .. basically not a lot of changes other then the new bathroom upstairs and losing its basement.. but she's very pleased with everything we've done and I'm glad:-). She's going to stop by again with her daughter so she can see where her grandparents lived.. how neat.. a little piece of history

Fall is definitely in the air.. The temperature outside has taken a dip since about a week ago..we're looking at low 60s for highs now.. windy, lots of trees turning, leaves falling... more rain.. We had a great summer but I'm excited that Fall is here as well. I love this time of the year.. get out the sweaters, boots.. the holiday season. Maybe I will once again attempt to work part time at Pottery Barn so I can save some money on furniture..hehe.. I say that every year but work gets busy, life gets busy...
As I mentioned we're taking a little break from the home improvement and jsut doing little things here and there.. have to pay off the bills we've racked up first;-) but we do have plans for more plantings, the veggie garden and of course the bedroom!

But the year has really flown by.. John and Jessica get married in about 10 months.. seemed just like yesterday when we said it was so far off and not so much anymore.. the whole family is so excited for them.. can't wait.. it should be one good party!

Been busy couple of weeks.. Wrapping up yearend reviews at work plus Brian's parents were in town:-) We had a great time.. ate out a lot, shopped a lot.. and now its back to normal and back to the grind. Not a lot happening.. got a rug that I've been wanting for a long time for the dining room.. and I'm loving it! it definitely adds some color into that room. Next I want to redo the master bedroom. Not sure I like the way its set up and definitely want to change the color so we'll see if Brian's up to the repainting. We also spent some time this weekend at my aunt and uncle's new house.. - our new neighbors.. I think Brian's going over there next weekend to help them remodel their guest bathroom.. just putting in a new sink, mirror and floors.. so not a huge project. Some pictures of the rug from the Pottery Barn website.

Brian, Aaron and John got back from their camping trip and what a trip it was.. They took off Friday evening and got home laaaattte on Sunday. They basically did a 4 day trip in 2 days. Sunday night, everyone was starting to get a little worried when 9pm rolled around and no word from teh boys.. bears, canoes, I don't know.. it didn't sound so good.. but they did call finally and got home around midnight. They looked exhausted but sounds like it was a great trip and the photos are amazing! I want to go too but not sure I will try to summit Desolation Peak. But a speedboat to the campsite would be fun:-) Enjoy the pictures!

First campsite.. beautiful..

canoeing to the campsite.. 20 miles away.

Ahh..finally.. Desolation Peak 6100 feet up - where Jack Kerouac stayed for 60+ days

Some photos finally! Brian tearing down the neighboring fence.. I think they put up over 500 boards with 5 nails a piece by hand! YikesOld Fence.. we kept a small amount of the boards for the veggie garden that will be added shortly.. or Brian tells me.. he told me that last year too..hmm.. I swear I'll grow lots of organic veggies and save us lots of money:-) New Fence - looking nice.. 6 feet.. no way the dog can escape now.. Its kinda sad though. Stanley can no longer stick his nose through the cracks to say hi:-(


And Kitchen.. ahh the kitchen.. what to do say other then that it took 8 months to fully "finish".. now trim, sliding door, paint is all in and it looks good:-)

Its Friday!! It has been a "looong" couple of weeks.. Review season at work is just killer.. All these meetings, paperwork, questions have really gotten me down.. Been sick the last week too but had to work through it:-( I'm starting to feel better but still quite achy all over.

But the weekend is here and Brian, Aaron and John are off to desolation peak or something to camp for 2 days so its just me and the dog.. it'll be nice to have the house to myself.. going tomake some cards, clean up a little, cook, and just relax.. well not all weekend.. My mom, aunt, are coming over on Sat so we can hit up the outlet mall then back to my house for dinner.. I think Jessica and Jamie will join us.. I think we may attempt to grill..

Been too lazy to post pictures but will soon.. I think the house is pretty much done for now - at least no more big projects. I think Brian has some crown work to do in the bathroom and some trim painting but we are set. the kitchen is done, the fence is done, upstairs is painted and the bathroom:-) It looks awesome and we'll be taking a little break from this house stuff until at least next spring or summer.. We are still going to put together my veggie garden but thats not a huge project:-)

This weekend Brian and Aaron and John are off camping.. forgot where they were going but they need a canoe in order to get to their camp site. sounds like fun if they don't run into any bears.

Its been a busy couple of weekends for Brian and Aaron.. Last weekend they put in a new fence for the backyard and theres still the side yard to do. That'll be a little harder since we need new fence posts.. This weekend Brian got his wisdom teeth pulled but luckily it didn't bring him down too much:-) He was already feeling better on Saturday so he and Aaron started the painting .. the upstairs, stairwell and downstairs hall are all down! and it looks awesome of course - amazing what a fresh coat of paint can do. Next is the kitchen. We have it all taped, caulked and ready to go. Don finally put in the finish work so now we can paint. They thought they'd be able to get to it today but the stairs took a lot longer then expected so next weekend is the kitchen.. then the inside of the house is pretty much done - except for crown in the bathroom which Brian is struggling with. He put up the ones in the kitchen and forgot how he did it..hehe.. If I don't get too lazy I'll put up some photos. This will be a looong week.. have to work all day Saturday for this yearend review stuff but oh well. Glad we're being proactive and getting it done.. Oh and Markane is back in town. Welcome back Markane:-) and Elaine comes into town on Saturday.. fun fun

Well after much thought we decided no deck for now.. waaaay more money then we had expected even to do it ourselves.. so we're moving on and working on the fence I think thsi weekend.. instead we're going to landscape and fill the backyard with color and plants:-) Can't wait.. Stanley seems to be doing better..still shedding but his skin is definitely more healthy and he's as playful as ever. I went to doggy class for the first time last week and boy did he embarass us.. haha.. apparently he only sits for treats so the trainer instructed us to use a pinch collar and what a difference... We had such a pleasant walk the other day because of this collar!

This month has been pretty hectic.. 2 weddings, housework, Lavender festival, BBQs.. yikes.. but the summer is going by really fast so much enjoy this weather while it lasts:-)

Will upload pictures later but the bathroom is done and operational:-) has been for about a week now.. it looks awesome and sooo much nicer then what we had.. The toilet was set just in time for the 4th BBQ at our house.. thank goodness. With 20 people, it would have been a pain to share just 1 bathroom in our master bedroom.

So next on the list is the fence, awning, and possible deck. I think Brian and Aaron are going to start on that this weekend.. I will be at the Lavender Festival so wont' be much help:-( Stanley is still balding and we don't know what to do.. We'll just give it some time and see how he does. If he doesn't improve by next month, its back to the vet.. He still acts normal, eats, sleeps, does not itch.. they've ruled out all the ugly diseases so thats good.

Oh and Brian has decided to take up rock climbing. He went for his first climb last week and I think he climbed 40 feet or something..but he loves it so far. I dont' think I will be joining anytime soon..

We are moving again with the bathroom!! Brian ran into some minor problems with the drywall so we were a little delayed.. then Aaron came into town and the tile work has began and will probably finish by end of day today:-) They worked all day yesterday then we hit Chef Liao's for dinner then back to work until about midnight..yikes but I have to say it looks AMAZING!! So professional.. especially the sub tiles.. some photos...

Woohoo! I won 2 ebay auctions in a roll! Yipee.. I got these 2 McCoy Floraline white vases.. I've been collecting these for the last 2 years:-) ..I dont know anything about the history of these but I just love how they look.. pretty inexpensive too..I usually pay about 15 to 20dollars a piece for these .. The green ones are a lot less. I thought I heard somewhere that they used to be used for delivered flowers.. like FTD..etc.. who knows. They're just pretty..simple, clean lines This one I won about 3 weeks ago... last minute bid:-)

This one I won today..

Can't believe its already Thursday. Monday we couldn't work on the bathroom..had grandma's birthday dinner..we ate so much food at my uncles:-) so on Tuesday Brian continued with the drywall and yesterday he put on the first coat of mud.. sounded like it was pretty fustrating for him but I think he's finally got a hang of it so tonight is sanding then 2nd coat of mud.. Tomorrow Brian is off to Jimmy's for a guys night so it looks like the bathroom won't be done before Aaron gets into town:-( Oh well.. Poor Aaron will be stuck helping us tile I think..hehe

Stanley is also going back to vet on Sat.. He's taking his antibiotics and handling it okay but still losing lots of hair and getting more bald spots:-( makes me so sad. I hope he's okay..... and crazy as this may sound but we're thinking of getting another dog.. a friend for Stanley.. a smaller dog.. a lap dog:-).. we'll see.. wait, I said Stanley would be the last dog I get ...hmm...

and finally got a chance to upload some photos.. Brian's new truck and wisteria blooms:-)

Lots of progress this weekend.. the drywall is now up and we are set to mud and tile:-) Next weekend we tile.. I think the floor is going to be a hex tile in a natural stone color (with a bunch of color variations in it).. and the tub is being surrounded by white subway tiles. the room will be painted khaki I think.... thats what we have in mind so far but it'll change I'm sure:-)

Some pictures

No wonder its taken 6 months:- insulation goes up
vapor barrier going up with the help of Johnny

drywall.. starting to look like a room again

The bathroom remodel is back on track! So far, Brian has poured down some sort of concrete to "float" out the floor..whatever that means.. then he put hardiboard down and last night, he moved the outlet and switches and started insulation and tonight I think he's finishing insulation and starting on drywall:-) which means that this weekend we can tile..yippeee.. after that, it'll be pretty close.. trim work, detailing, installing fixtures and we should be done!

This Sat we have to go to the vet too.. poor Stanley has some skin problems and losing hair in patches:-( So sad.. I feel horrible but he seems to be acting normal.. playing, eating, sleeping so not sure whats going on. He seems to sneeze alot which could mean allergies.. man dogs are just like humans. So hopefully the vet can diagnose and treat it. I hate to think that he's itchy and in pain all the time.. poor guy..did I already mention this is the last doggee I get?? haha.. well nothing against Stanley but it is stressful..especially for someone like me who worries about every little thing:-)

Its time for a new phone and what do you know, the phone I've been eyeing now comes in 4 different colors!! It was meant to be! Theres the basic black then these 3! Yes, color phones have finally made it to the US.. so now the problem is I like them all.. I definitely want one of the colored ones but not sure which one.. leaning towards green or orange. Markane thinks the green is more "me".. I tend to agree... especially this sage green but the orange is so bold.. and blue.. sigh, decisions, decisions.... well I have 2 more weeks before I can order( I have to wait out my SPrint contract) so maybe it'll come to me before then:-)

Just got back from Vegas..another company meeting out of the way!! ... Its been really busy lately with work, home and this crazy meeting that happens every 6 months but its over. Right before I left, we hired a plumber/electrician to reroute the bathroom and install the sconces.. that worked out well. So now its all up to Brian. While I was gone he went ahead and put together the new vanity and it came out AWESOME..better then we thought so going well so far. This weekend Brian patched in the floor and cleaned up the rest of the plaster and took off the casings for the windows. I think he's going to set the hardiback boards or whatever they're called today then its on to drywall and tiling! .. its finally getting done:-) We also bought Aaron's tickets last night and he'll be in Seattle 6/28 to help us do the fence and deck.. it'll be done probably by end of summer so I guess we won't get to enjoy it much this year but next year it'll be great. .. some pics that Brian sent to me while I was in Vegas...