I wish I could say that my absence from the blog for the last two weeks was due to the fact that I was soaking up the rays on a beach in Bora Bora. So. Not. True.
In addition to all of my many "stay at home wife & mom" duties, I have been unpacking and organizing our stuff from the move. Everything is slowly coming together - for some reason, it seems like it is taking me a lot longer to get the house together than it has after previous moves. Yet another thing I can blame on the aging process.
As of last week, we had another bathroom fully completed.
Upstairs, other than the vanity (which should be delivered any day now), the powder room is painted and ready to go.
I am playing around with the placement of the wallpaper pattern on the wall...
Unfortunately, Dan and Mimmo do not "do" wallpaper so this project is all mine. I have watched several "how to" videos on youtube.com and it definitely looks do-able. Even for me.
Dan had told me that the trick is to make sure I have a perfect line drawn on the wall to install the first piece of paper along. I spent probably way too much time with Kevin's level trying to accomplish that last night and I think the line is as perfect as it is going to get. I have also measured, cut and labeled the lengths of the wallpaper that I need and have gathered all of my tools and supplies. (At least it sounds like I know what I am doing, right?). Now, I just need to bite the bullet and begin to hang.
Caitlynne is on the crew team at her high school and this is a photo I took when I dropped her off at practice yesterday afternoon...
I am so envious that she gets to row in that setting! Of course, when they begin their regular "on the river" practices in February (brrrr!), I will watch from the comfort of my warm car. With a mug of hot cocoa.
Lastly, I had a somewhat good run in the Army Ten Miler on Sunday.
My finish time (1:45:00) was much slower than I wanted it to be (1:35:00) but, given the race conditions, I was not surprised. Both Kevin and I agreed that, for a variety of reasons, we most likely would not run this race again. For starters, with about 35,000 "runners", this race was just way too crowded. The start gun for the first wave of runners went off at 8:00 am. The start gun for my wave of runners (the 6th and last wave) went off at 8:25 am but I was so far back in the corral that I didn't even cross the start line until almost 3 minutes after that - and then it was another 2 minutes or so before I could even pick up my pace to a very slow jog! Going by the official clock (and not my timing chip), it took me almost 42 minutes to reach the first mile marker. My clock time for the race was about 2:15:00 - which made me very happy for the invention of the timing chip! It was really hard for me to get in a running "groove" and keep a steady pace during the race because I had to constantly maneuver around slower runners and walkers. There were so many people and never any room to just run.
And now, my rant. The race rules clearly stated no electronic devices (including iPods, MP3 players, cell phones, cameras) were allowed on the course. In order to not know about this rule, you would have to be blind, deaf or dumb (or not read any of the race information). The rules were published and posted everywhere! I did all of my long training runs with my iPod and was planning to run with it until I saw the rules - and I left the iPod at home. I didn't even carry my iPhone because I was afraid it would have been confiscated if I had to go through some type of security and it was detected. That being said, I cannot tell you how many times I had to stop running suddenly or swerve to avoid another runner who stopped right in front of me to take "selfies" or photos of the monuments or to change the song on their iPod. It was unbelievable how unsafe the running conditions often were. I was shocked not only at how many people blatantly disregarded that rule but also at how lax the race organizers were about enforcing it. Why have the rule if it is not going to be enforced?
I am going to try and post some more this week but who knows what tomorrow will bring (maybe the delivery of the windows for the sun-room?!?). Please know that my intentions are good but, unfortunately, when things get busy and crazy around here, the first thing that is impacted is my blog.
Have a great Wednesday!
In addition to all of my many "stay at home wife & mom" duties, I have been unpacking and organizing our stuff from the move. Everything is slowly coming together - for some reason, it seems like it is taking me a lot longer to get the house together than it has after previous moves. Yet another thing I can blame on the aging process.
As of last week, we had another bathroom fully completed.
At some point, we would like to add glass doors to the shower - the tile work is really too pretty to hide behind a shower curtain. However, at a cost of $1,100.00+ for the glass doors, the shower curtain works just fine for now.
I just love how the vanity turned out - it was definitely worth the wait. There are three shelves on the left side and a large cabinet underneath the sink. The color of the wood is called "cherry java". It is dark brown with a very subdued burgundy tone. .
The photos below do not do the granite any justice. I will try and find the piece of paper that I wrote the pattern on. It is Italian and, although a bit pricey, I think it adds so much to the bathroom.
Unfortunately, Dan and Mimmo do not "do" wallpaper so this project is all mine. I have watched several "how to" videos on youtube.com and it definitely looks do-able. Even for me.
Dan had told me that the trick is to make sure I have a perfect line drawn on the wall to install the first piece of paper along. I spent probably way too much time with Kevin's level trying to accomplish that last night and I think the line is as perfect as it is going to get. I have also measured, cut and labeled the lengths of the wallpaper that I need and have gathered all of my tools and supplies. (At least it sounds like I know what I am doing, right?). Now, I just need to bite the bullet and begin to hang.
Caitlynne is on the crew team at her high school and this is a photo I took when I dropped her off at practice yesterday afternoon...
Lastly, I had a somewhat good run in the Army Ten Miler on Sunday.
And now, my rant. The race rules clearly stated no electronic devices (including iPods, MP3 players, cell phones, cameras) were allowed on the course. In order to not know about this rule, you would have to be blind, deaf or dumb (or not read any of the race information). The rules were published and posted everywhere! I did all of my long training runs with my iPod and was planning to run with it until I saw the rules - and I left the iPod at home. I didn't even carry my iPhone because I was afraid it would have been confiscated if I had to go through some type of security and it was detected. That being said, I cannot tell you how many times I had to stop running suddenly or swerve to avoid another runner who stopped right in front of me to take "selfies" or photos of the monuments or to change the song on their iPod. It was unbelievable how unsafe the running conditions often were. I was shocked not only at how many people blatantly disregarded that rule but also at how lax the race organizers were about enforcing it. Why have the rule if it is not going to be enforced?
I am going to try and post some more this week but who knows what tomorrow will bring (maybe the delivery of the windows for the sun-room?!?). Please know that my intentions are good but, unfortunately, when things get busy and crazy around here, the first thing that is impacted is my blog.
Have a great Wednesday!
1 comment:
There's a race here that between walkers and runners there are about 55,000 or maybe more as it grows every year. I like running it for the atmosphere, but it is a logistical nightmare now that we have kids and as its in April, about every other year it rains. I skipped it this year. I understand your frustration with the big races! Glad to keep seeing the updates!
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