Leap Day

Happy Leap Day...hope you enjoy the extra day and haven't filled it with everyday stuff!! I have finally made it out of the house for a bit!

Hardwood planks are down so we at least have a solid floor. They will be sanding and restaining everything whenever we give them the go ahead (we'll have to move out for several days!)

Have a great day!!

New Blog Title and Background

So, I was looking for something new for my blog since I was going to change the name....I think I like this new template because it keeps with the old layout...what do you think?

And so, the story behind the new blog name.....

After we decided to move to Atlanta, it became apparent that we would have many visitors. Our family members all said, "we can stop there on our way to/home from _____" So we have decided to call our home the "Halfway House" because we will be the halfway stop on many trips to Florida and other locations in the south.

So, welcome to my new blog about life in our "Halfway House"

HELP - Visitor Tracking

How do I add a tracker to my blog?? I see them on all the other blogs and want to add one to mine. Also, I want to visit the blogs of all my visitors!!!

Thanks in advance for your help!

Flooring Update

They took out the cabinet on and ripped up some more flooring on Thursday. After mentioning that I had already cleaned the kitchen twice and wasn't real excited about doing it again, they decided to send in a cleaning crew. They came on Friday and did a FANTASTIC job. The clean living/kitchen area motivated me. So, I spent a couple hours cleaning up and making the beds in the guest bedrooms. There are no boxes left out in those rooms (well, there are some in the closets, but that doesn't count, right?!?)

Yesterday they laid the plywood and brought the flooring planks into the house to acclimate. Once the moisture in them match the moisture of the current flooring, they will install them. THEN when we are ready, they will kick us out for about 3 days (yes, Barley and all) to sand the entire floor on the first floor (minus the office and the guest room) and stain the entire area. They want the stain to match. So, we'll still be in a bit of a mess for awhile, but at least the fans are not running any longer!

Photos of Floor Mess

I wanted you all to be able to see our floor mess BEFORE they showed up today to rip up more flooring. Unfortunately pictures do not share with you the noise of the fans and dehumidifiers. Anyway see below shots of our ripped up floor:


Yes that is my nice PB light fixture hanging in what will be the breakfast area. Notice the refrigerator pulled out...
They are removing the cabinets on the right today.
They removed the dishwasher yesterday.....

Yep...living in a mess in a brand new house! (Thank goodness we did not install the refrigerator our selves...)

Weekend (and flooring) Update

We had a fun weekend. The couples dinner party was great! There are a bunch of fun couples here in the neighborhood.

Also on Saturday they ripped up more of our flooring. (I think I will need to post some pictures so you all can see it. My house is a disaster! The floor plan is very open in the kitchen, breakfast area and family room. Imagine the wood flooring entirely ripped up in the breakfast area and the refrigerator pulled out of its cabinet. They are coming tomorrow to take out a cabinet so they can rip up more floor. Needless to say this is not what I was looking forward to in our new home.

Updates and pictures to come.

Furniture, Hardwoods, etc

This has been a fun week....
On Tuesday, I was supposed to get cable hooked up and a spot in our hardwood floor repaired. But what I got instead was no cable (the hookups on the street were all DEAD) and a water leak from the refrigerator. Now, I have a whole breakfast room with the floor ripped up. For the past 3 days we have had 5 fans and 2 dehumidifiers running. They just came today to check the status and realized there was a barrier holding the water in. This barrier is meant to keep water out so it has trapped the water in, so no matter how many fans are running, the moisture is not coming out of that wood. So tomorrow they are coming with saws to rip up the plywood and other patches of hardwood. Who know how long this mess will last. (On a positive note: They are hooking up cable tomorrow morning!!)

Yesterday they delivered our furniture! The container finally arrived and made it through customs. So while I have my furniture, I also have a mess on my hands. We need to get everything unpacked and organized. So, you know what I will be doing this weekend!!!

Shew, what a week!

Valentine's Day

So, last week I posted about Valentine's Day. I mentioned that I wasn't that into it, but posted things I would like if I were into Valentine's Day. So, hubby takes that as a blunt hint and buys one....now I love the purse. It is fabulous and I had been eyeballing it for awhile. But, what I didn't say in my post was that we weren't really in a position to do nice gifts this year. I did not expect anything fantastic, just some quiet time with hubby as he has been busy getting this business off the ground. So, now I know I have a fabulous hubby, and a beautiful purse, but have receiver's remorse (is that such a thing, like buyers remorse??).

So in the future, I will include comments such as: I don't really need it, was just looking and liked, etc so that my blogging friends can see what I like and my hubby will know that he doesn't have to buy it (at least right now!!)

Anyone else get a fabulous surprise for Vday?

(Oh, I also got a sushi dinner, so no cooking for me!!)

Valentine's Day

I am not a big fan of Valentine's Day, I think it is kind of cheesy. However, if I were, I would definitely want one of these: (purses from www.bananarepublic.com)

On another note, I am looking forward to our neighborhood Couples dinner on Saturday! It should be very fun. I am making Smoked Gouda Cheese Grits (with a side of sauteed shrimp for the seafood lovers). Should be a good time!

Now, if I could just decide what we want to do on Thursday!

Lipstick Jungle

I have been browsing other posts to see who watched and what they thought of Lipstick Jungle. I watched it and have decided that I will continue to watch it. I had read the book awhile ago. They did a great job of bringing the characters to life. I look forward to watching more episodes and lusting over the wardrobes!!

So, what did you think?

Grammys

(picture from www.people.com)

I only got to watch a bit of the Grammys (I have been very tired lately), but this was the best performance I saw. I am not sure if anything could have beat it. WOW!

7 Weird Things

So I have been tagged by Kerry (not sure how to create a link on her name that will go to her blog. I still haven't quite gotten down all this blogging stuff!) to list 7 weird things about me....

1 - I have an order for the shower - shampoo, face wash, rinse, conditioner, body wash, rinse. If shaving, that goes after body wash and before rinse.

2 - I love pineapple, but not mixed with anything. Plain pineapple, pineapple juice....fantastic, pineapple upside down cake...NEVER.

3 - I prefer to work out first thing in the morning (5:30 AMish). Now, that might not be to the early birds, but most of my friends thinks its awful to get up that early! (wishing I could get back into that schedule since I am back in the US)

4 - I can only eat a banana if it is just ripe. If there is any brown on it, forget it.

5 - I do not eat any melon....not even watermelon on the 4th of July.

6 - Not really weird, but my mom and I are 20 years apart and graduated high school 20 years apart.

7 - I am the oldest grandchild on both sides of my family. Again, not really weird, but I'm having a hard time coming up with things this morning. I am sure if I had had a workout (see #3) I might have been better at coming up with something.

Now, I am supposed to tag 7 people, but I don't know 7 people in the blog world, SO.....If you are reading this and have not done the 7 weirdest things meme, consider yourself tagged!!

Happy Friday!!!

Working at Home

I am not sure how many of you out there work from home, but I have just started doing it. (I know Kerry does from More, More, More) It is only a temporary arrangement, but I am not sure if I enjoy it. I miss the people interaction. Maybe it would be better if I could have the TV on for background noise, but without cable and even local channels, the only noise I would get is static. Even though its temporary, how do you all do it? Staying focused and motivated throughout the day????

I'm Back

In the US

We are finally here! Well, actually, we were here on Jan 17. But the chain of events from the 17th to today, WOW!! I am not sure where to start. We arrived at our house to pick up a car and stay downtown (yes this house was all packed up as well) and the car wouldn't start. After 1.5 hours waiting on AAA, we called it quits, hailed a taxi (ok, so maybe it wasn't that glamorous in LEX) and went to the hotel. Given the car situation, we decided maybe we ought to just look at getting our own car (we were planning to use my MILs car), so we spent Friday looking at cars. On Saturday, we got massages (yes, one was required before the heavy lifting) and did some final packing in the garage. After picking up our car, we went to dinner with Mom and Dad who were in town to help us load the big 26 foot truck. Sunday we loaded the truck in FREEZING weather. I had no idea we had so much JUNK at that house. (This JUNK is sitting in my new garage and needing to be dealt with.) On Monday we drove to ATL, James drove the truck and I drove our new car (Acura TL and I love it!!!). After closing on Tues, we unloaded the truck. Now, I can't complain because ATL definitely needs it, BUT we had to unload in the RAIN. Yes, that's right, we packed in freezing weather and unpacked in rain....I just hope I do not get sick.

After arriving in ATL, we got settled best we could with what we had. We did not have telephone or internet until the following Monday (you never know how much you depend on the two until you don't have them). These were hooked up right before I left for Europe. Yes, that's right, after being home for 10 days, I got back on a plane and headed to NL. I worked for 3 days and got back on a plane for home (which is ATL now). So, it seemed like any other weekly business trip, but with a bit of a time change!!

I am back in ATL now and getting settled...just waiting for our 40 ft container to arrive!! Yes, with the truck and container, we have filled 66 feet of space with our stuff. I never imagined I had so much!!

To the BLOG
Since I am back from travelling and the wireless internet is all set up, I am back to the world of the blog. I have been reading a few in my absence, but have not had time to post! Hopefully I will be able to post more regular random (and sometimes important) thoughts. I'm still trying to come up with a new name for this (and suggestions are definitely welcome). I have an idea, but am now sure how it will sound. More on that later!

Well, off to work. I am working from home for now. And right now I am listening to yet more rain here in ATL....maybe we will get to use the swimming pool after all!!