Friday, September 9, 2011

End Of The Week!

I am not sure how Friday arrived so quickly but I will welcome it with open arms.  Caitlynne made the school basketball team!  Yay!  She was so happy and called me during her break to let me know.  She thought she played really well during the tryouts on Wednesday and Thursday but wasn't sure what the coach would decide. 

Another busy weekend in store for us... Christopher has a basketball game tonight & then a dinner out with the team.  Caitlynne has her first basketball game in the community league tomorrow.  We are going to try to quickly shower and change after her game so we can go downtown for a late lunch/early dinner at the Hard Rock Cafe and then go to 5:30 Mass.  We have been wanting to do this for a few weeks now but always seem to run out of time.  Christopher has baseball practice Sunday morning and then basketball practice in the afternoon.  Caitlynne has a major science "assessment" (the politically correct way of saying "test") on Tuesday so we need to devote some studying time for that as well.  Kevin and I were invited to a reception at the Ambassador's residence on Monday evening but I might not be able to go because now Caitlynne has basketball practice in the evening for the community league and she will need to do a final review for her assessment.  I will see how studying goes over the weekend and make a final decision Monday morning.  I am a little bummed that I might miss it.

Good news on our HHE!  Kevin was notified yesterday that our shipment has arrived in country and is now going through Customs.  Based on the time frame that we have seen with other families here, everything should be delivered to us in about 2 weeks.  Maybe sooner.  Fingers crossed.  Our car is to arrive on September 13th and that, too, should take about 2 weeks to process and deliver to us.  I am hoping the inspections go smoothly and we will be settled in the house with our "stuff" and have automobile transport by the end of the month.  Kevin is leaving for a two week trip on October 2nd and, if our HHE delivery is delayed, he will miss all the fun of unpacking, arranging and what not.  I will save the empty boxes for him to break down and dispose of (my least favorite part of moving!).

In anticipation of our HHE arriving, I am taking lots of "before" photos of the house.  I tried to do this 360 degrees so you could get the full effect of each room.  Today was the master bedroom and bathroom and our family room (downstairs).

This photo is taken from the entry door to the master bedroom.  I was absolutely mortified when I first saw the linens on the bed - a lime green sheet set paired with a brown comforter.  In addition, all of the linens seem to be sized for a single bed so when one of us rolls over at night, the other loses his/her share of the sheet/comforter. The mint green rug adds another color to the disgusting mix.  Now do you see why I am so anxious for our HHE to arrive?  I cannot wait until I have "after" photos to post!
In the photo below, the window to the right of the dresser overlooks the entry/staircase/living room area. 
The master bedroom entrance.  The door to my closet is to the right.
My closet.  I was able to "steal" these two dressers from the kids' rooms and stack them in the closet for additional space. 
At first glance, the closets look very big and like there will be enough storage space.  However, I have found that the addition of the cubbies, drawers and shelves is very limiting - nothing is really the "right" size or large enough. 

Not just another Hefty garbage bag... also known as our laundry basket.
The view to the East from the master bedroom balcony. The sun rises right at the end of that street.
 
The view to the North.
The view to the South.
An aerial view of our front yard.  The landscaping is beginning to fill out and the trees have a lot more leaves on them than when we first arrived.
Another aerial view - the front door is in the bottom right corner of the photo.
The master bathroom.  Not much to explain here.
The photos below are of the family room downstairs. 
We plan to put the weight bench and recumbent bike in this area.  The big chest is what held our "Welcome Kit".  I cannot wait to pack all of that stuff up and give it back.
 This door leads out into the front door entry area. 
The downstairs bathroom. 
To close out, I shall leave you with photos of last night's dinner.  Kevin and I went to Open House at ISB so we didn't even sit down to eat until almost 8.45 pm. 

A beautiful salad - lettuce, mango, oranges, yellow pepper, tomatoes, and Gorgonzola.  Delicious!
We don't eat a lot of red meat in our home (mostly because I can't stand to touch it) so this dish was definitely a treat... thinly sliced steak, red onion, basil, garlic, mint, and chilies in some kind of vinaigrette. 
A fun display of fruited fried rice.  Kevin and Christopher both dislike cooked fruit so this was not such a hit with them.  I loved it though - the pineapple and raisins were interesting additions.
Have a great Friday everyone!

1 comment:

Beautifully Seaside // Formerly Chic Coastal Living said...

Nice dinner and I am looking forward to the "after" pictures!