Bathroom Re-do

Here are a few pictures of our master bathroom update! We discovered that the grout in our master shower was leaking so we were forced to remove some of the tile to investigate. Fortunately the water damage was not terrible, but it definitely needed to be fixed. I have had the desire to remove the exterior tile for some time now because it I felt it made the bathroom appear too dark. Anyway, ripping out the tile was very messy (but fun!) so we decided we would go ahead with a mini-bathroom overhaul. We added bead board to the exterior shower wall (and added it to all of the other bathroom walls). The bead board needs one more coat of paint that I will get around to doing one day in the future! We also added new countertops (we originally just used left over tile when we first moved in). The granite came from Stoneworks of Augusta and I felt their prices were reasonable. I painted the light fixtures black-ish to match the new faucets/cabinet knobs and added a small chandelier over the bath tub. I think the bathroom looks much brighter and cleaner with the updates!

During the demo

Shower before and after

Tub area before and after 

My sink/vanity area before/after

Walls by our closets before/after

Spring Pictures!

I hosted my first mini-photography-sessions on March 16th and 17th. I had 16 children participate, which was wayyyyy  to many looking back! I also did not realize how much time I was going to need to edit the pictures. I ended up taking over 1,500 pictures! Obviously I did not edit anywhere close to that figure. Here are some of my favorites (I'll add more latter -- I only have on SD card with me right now).

LAS VEGAS!

We have been back from Las Vegas for almost 2 & a 1/2 weeks now and I'm just now getting around to writing about it. We had an awesome time and I think we stay just long enough (to spend more money than we planned on spending and eating more than we should have!). Oops! We stayed at Caesars Palace again but this time we stayed in the Palace Towers which were almost identical to the other towers (I think these rooms for just a little bit larger though). Here are a few pictures of our room:

We also went and saw The Beatles: Love Cirque du Soleil show at the Mirage on our first night and it was truly amazing! That was my first Cirque show and I was blown away by how great it was produced and executed. The only thing I wish we would have done differently was going to the earlier 7:30 showing versus the 9:30 showing because we were all dragging by the end of it! They wouldn't allow photography inside but here are a few we snuck in! Ha!

Of course we gambled some too (playing blackjack and penny slots for the most part). My biggest win on the slot machines was $120! We walked across the street to play blackjack at the Flamingo because it was less crowded and the tables were much cheaper! I forget how much fun it can be when you're not losing all your money! We also tried playing craps for the first time and that game was just that ((crap))!

Of course we tried a ton of different restaurants my favorite restaurant was this little chocolate dessert place near our elevators literally everything was chocolate! My least favorite restaurant was Gordon Ramsay's Pub and Grill I thought the food was horrible but that is also because I'm not a fan of European style food; chicken fingers for this gal please!

Serendipity 

I also made a trip to the spa one day while the guys were out gallivanting. It was a beautiful spa but I can't say that it was worth the price of the services; yowza! Drew and Mr. David also went and drove sports cars at the Las Vegas Motor Speedway on our last full day there ((Drew's Valentine's Day present)). Mr. David drove a white Porsche and Drew drove a Red Ferrari. They both enjoyed it and Mrs. Cheryl and I listen to them talk about it for the rest of the day! Here are few pictures for

Great trip, great weather, great family... GREAT time! 

Drew's Shop

After what seems like an eternity of building this shop we are finally nearing completions. I am soooo excited about the completion for several different reasons but my main excitement is to finally get the garage cleaned out! We have been maneuvering around a giant lawnmower parked between our cars since last summer.

Here is the exterior. The roll-up doors should be installed later this week. (Emphasis on should).

Here are the interior walls; smooth plywood. 

Man Shop Update

Here is a picture from yesterday of the progress on Drew' shop. It is moving along... slowly. The roof is finished and the electrical on the inside is basically complete. We still have to finish the tin on the exterior walls, install the roll-up doors, insulate interior then finish the interior walls and pour the cement pad on the front. Now that I think of it, ignore what I said int he post below about it being finished in 2 weeks!

Random Acts of Kindness

I was inspired earlier this year by a blog post I saw on Pinterest that featured a lady taking her 2 children around their community and performing random acts of kindness. Some of the acts were big and costly while some of the acts were small and simple but all were beautiful lessons and experiences that she shared with her children. When I initially started my own random acts of kindness (in November) I had hoped to complete 15 noteworthy acts,  as of today I am only up to 10. 

Here they are in no particular order: 

1.) Donate supplies to our troops. There is a website called www.anymarine.com that enables the commanding officers of deployed US Marines to reach out to anyone who wants to participate and help supply our Marines with things that they cannot get on deployments. I picked a small group of Marines that are currently located in a very remote area of Northern Afghanistan. These Marines were in such a remote location that it was hard for them to get their hands on hygiene products regularly. The regiment had 10 men and 2 women and I hope that my small care package brought them a little relief. Semper Fi. 

2.) Donate to the Good Will. This was the easiest (and cheapest) of all the acts I performed. I dropped of 7 bags of clothing and linens to the Good Will in Statesboro at the end on November. 

3. Purchase a stranger's lunch. When Lori and I get tired of our usual lunch joints we go to the Huddle House on Tobacco Road for something that is guaranteed to give us an upset stomach. There is an older lady that eats lunch at this particular Huddle House everyday, we see her every time we go and she is usually reading a novel while she eats. I had our waitress add her lunch to my check on this day and we creeped out before she realized that we paid for her lunch...

4. On Thanksgiving I brought the firemen at the Blythe Fire Station a few loaves of cinnamon bread from the bakery in Waynesboro. This bread is basically crack and it was a challenge for me not to eat it on my way there! They were all very excited and appreciative of this small gesture. 

5. I also left a treat for Mr. Bill (our mailman) the day before Thanksgiving.

6. Donate to By His Hands Ministry. The church that Drew and I attend is Waynesboro First United Methodist Church. WFUMC has a food bank program (By His Hands Ministries  that helps people in need in our community. 

7. Donate toys to MCG. MCG takes new toy donations year round to give to the pediatric patients of the hospital. Hopefully these toys will help a sick child feel a little better... 

8. Junkie and Pal. This is going to seem like a bizarre act to some... but...  as a lover of all things furry (except wolves) I wanted to reward 2 sweet dogs that I see everyday on my way to-and-from work. I have named the dogs Junkie and Pal (I'm not sure of their real names). Junkie is a golden retriever that lives at an equipment repair shop in Keysville (he is always sleeping near an old junky truck which is why I named him junky). He was without a companion for several years but within the past 6 months another dog has joined him (Pal). I have stopped in the past to give them some scraps left over from lunch but this time I delivered them both 2 giant bones this time. 

Here is where they live (I forgot to get a picture of the dogs!). Note: the man that owns the shop takes really good care of Junkie and Pal!

9. Mail a gift card to a stranger. A week before Christmas I drove around a neighborhood in Waynesboro and wrote down the address of a family (or at least I assume a family lived there) that I thought could use a little pick-me-up around the holidays. Inside the envelope was a Walmart gift card. It wasn't much, but hopefully they bought something fun with it.. like chocolate!

10. Toys for Tots. For almost a decade now my mother and I have been actively donating to the local Toys for Tots drives in the CSRA. Normally we go to whatever local Walmart that is having a toy drive that day and fill up a  buggy or two with toysto donate to our community. This is one of the best experiences that my mother has ever shared with me. This year my Gma, Bev, got in on the mix as well.

 

Each one must give as he has decided in his heart, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver. 2 Corinthians 9:7 

It looks a lot like Christmas!

The day after Thanksgiving is the messiest day of the year at my house. Everything that goes on my tree apparently has glitter on it. Needless to say we still have glitter everywhere even after mopping and vacuuming, but it just seems to make everything a little more festive. Drew and I put the tree up on Friday (well he helped me actually set up the tree but I ran him off when it came to time decorate - no objection from him though). Here are a few pictures of the tree and the mantle/fireplace decorations lit up. It is a very fun and festive tree -- Ho Ho Ho!

This sweet angel-baby wanted to get in on the fun as well! 

Weekend Highlights

I love 3 day weekends! I have attempted in the past  to convince C4 that we need to move to a 4 day work week but no one else seems to be on board - go figure! I especially love weekends where Drew and I get to hang around the house and do as we please!

I got a little bit of baking done; highlights: cheesecake, cookies and some breakfast scramblers that Drew and I like to take for breakfast.

I LOVE CHEESECAKE!

Oatmeal cookies - not my prettiest work, but they were pretty darn tasty.

2 yolks from 1 egg -- that has to be good luck!

Drew and I also did some outdoor activities that included carrying heavy items through the woods, getting into briars, putting up a new deer stand and riding around on the Ranger. 

Carrying heavy stuff, view from the new stand, riding ranger (no clue where that Huddle House cup came from, we definitely did not eat there! wink wink).

I also got a jump on Christmas decorating, hopefully this will be enough to hold me over 'til after Thanksgiving.

I love Christmas! 

Catherine & Lee Lewis

Sunday evening I drove down to he river and met Catherine and Lee to take maternity pictures. Fortunately it was nice and cool out but a little too breezy! Catherine is expecting to deliver in a week! This is the first child for this fun loving couple. Here are a few of my favorite pictures:

Photography Update

This month I was lucky enough to get some additional practice to feed my budding photography interest by taking pictures of our friends (Ryan & Emily and Ryan & Amy's) children along with my nephew West for his first birthday (and some family shots too!). Here are a few of my favorites from both occasions: