Made it!!!

I know, it has taken me a couple of days to post since we have been here, but we made it it Texas. The drive was long, as usual, but we had no problems. We got away from Denver about 11, which was after the diabetes walk, and got here about 11 that night. The new car did great as did the pugs. We rigged up a sheet on the back seat so that there would be no hair all over the upholstery and that really worked out well. I am pleasantly surprised with the gas mileage. When I checked it, we were getting about 29.5 mpg on the highway, and that is with a 6 cylinder. Oh, I think I am going to fill up some barrels of gas before we leave to take with us. We saw gas today for two twenty something. I have had a few new cultural experiences. Yesterday after church, we went up to OK to have fried catfish and today we were at a cross-country meet and stopped for chicken fried steak after leaving the small town. So far, it has been a great trip and tomorrow we get to have some fun going to Abilene and Dallas. I will see and talk to ya'll soon!!

Slow paced life

We are leaving for Texas tomorrow in our new auto. I have everything all packed up and ready, so we should get a decent start. I am having fun finding all the new stuff on this car such as oil capacity, tire pressures, etc. and I keep finding new things out about the car. For instance, we have automatic dimming rearview mirror. Instead of reaching up to put and end to blinding truck headlights, it dims by itself. I guess that may be nice. We also found we have a rear window washer. I didn't know they made such things. It is kind of fun coming into the new age of technology.

We went out to the house today. They seem to be really making progress now. They only have 3 weeks until our final walk through, so they better be moving. As of now, we have all walls finished (texture and paint) and all the floor tile is in (kitchen, fireplace, bathroom). It will be exciting when we come back from our trip to see what has been done.

I wish I had some pictures of our house, but I forgot my camera. I don't think the inside is all that impressive yet. I was amazing to see the house go from dirt to a house with a matter of a couple of months. I think once they get in the kitchen, lighting and flooring, then it will start to feel like someone could live there. Oh, I almost forgot. Across the freeway (still the old Stapleton airport property) they are building up a bunch of stores. That side is going to be more commercial and the side we are on is mainly residential. Anyway, we have a new SUPER TARGET that just opened. It was pretty exciting, at least to us. I think we went last Sunday, and there was hardly anyone there. It was great. Right next door, they are finished with a Bass Pro Shop and Circuit City. Yippee!!!

I feel like I have spent the whole week on the telephone. 1) I decided to fire my insurance company because I was not impressed with their claims service so now I am finally switched over. 2) I found out there is a bunch of paperwork when you buy a car. 3) I have been making sure our financing for the house will not have any problems so I keep bugging people about that. One guy in particular must be getting tired of me because we are within 60 days of closing so I can lock in my interest rate. Even with the fluctuations, my payment won't really change all that much, but I think it is a challenge to get the best rate I can find. Therefore, I keep calling they poor guy about once a day just to check rates. Well, I don't feel too sorry for him - he just go back from a 10 day trip to Aruba. Must be rough.

I guess I have babbled long enough. I will hopefully put up a post on Sunday so that everyone knows we made it in to Texas ok. It is such a great drive across Texas (hahaha), but it will certainly be nice to see family again and have a week to not have to think about anything.

The Green Bean

Well, we made a big purchase this weekend--we bought another car! Jason had a really hard time driving the Camaro in the snow, so he decided we needed another car sooner rather than later. So here it is! Sorry to steal your name, Sharla, but it is so perfect. The car is a light green 2001 Subaru Outback LL Bean edition--hence the name Green Bean. We bought it Friday night and have really enjoyed driving it. We are excited to have a new fun car to drive to Texas, which we will be doing this coming Saturday. Can't wait to see you two sisters and your families!!!

Mark Your Calendars

Well, today we found out the close date for our house. We have our final walk-through on November 14th and close on November 21st. So anyone who wants to come and help move, it will be the week of Thanksgiving. I was hoping it would be a little sooner, so we could be somewhat settled when my parents come, but oh well. Fun!

Winter Wonderland

Here are a few pictures from the snow day yesterday. They aren't great--I took them as I was driving to work (sounds safe, doesn't it?). It was in the 40's today, so much of the snow melted. But it was beautiful while it lasted!

"I Want To Help!!!"

This weekend, when Jason was priming, Daisy wanted to help. She ended up with primer on her face and ear, and it was pretty funny against the black. You can't see it well on the pictures but you get the idea. I leave the dogs with Jason for two days and this is what happens!!!

Good weekend

Sorry I didn't post anything over the weekend. Since Leah was out to a women's retreat, I used that time to tie up lots of loose ends. First of all, I finished the furniture (except for the knobs) yippee!!! It didn't turn out perfect, but good enough for us and at least it is done. I also, since we are moving out of our apt., primed the walls of our living room. We have to paint all the walls back to boring white so, in order to cover the red, I primed the room. The walls should all be done next weekend. I made my first semi-major house purchase. I bought a ladder! It is similar to the "little giant" but the cheaper Lowes version. It's the kind of ladder that is a step/extension multipurpose thing. I am pretty excited about that. This is the style: click here.

I have decided to get rid of my car insurance company. They did not stick up for me and paid out for the entire damage to all cars involved in the accident. The police report states that I am not at fault for all that damage, but they were too lazy to even get the police report. So, I have already called to talk to another insurance company. So long!

The house- nothing exteriorly (is that a word?) has changed, but the whole house has all plumbing, insulation and the downstairs/garage has all the drywall up. I talked to the mortage broker and he said the house will be done next month for sure. So, now I am watching rates and can lock in my rate anytime. I found out some interesting things about building materials. They are building so many houses these days that the manufacturer of cabinets can't keep up so there is a shortage. Our builder was smart though. He looked into his crystal ball, saw the shortage coming and has been stockpiling cabinets in the model home garages. Also, there is a shortage of concrete so they can't put in the sidewalks on time and some people don't have mail boxes because there is nothing to anchor them with. Kinda funny.

The car- since we had our first snow today, I experienced how much fun it is to drive a sled/intertube car to work. The roads were just slushy, but I was still sliding and spinning my wheels. When I got out to my car this morning, there was a good 4 inches or so of snow on it. It was about the consistancy of peanutbutter or Seattle snow. I thought Colorado was known for powder?

Speaking of cars, we have decided to replace the Cavalier with a Subaru Outback. We went out to test drive them tonight and I was impressed. They are the best selling car in Colorado and the all wheel drive was great. I hit the gas hard on mud/snow/puddles/slush and no spinny tires. I would say it's the perfect colorado driver. Leah likes them because there is lots of room in the back for pugs. I have a few phone calls pending at different dealers, but one dealer gives us a discount below there "no haggle" price, discount on maintenance, discount finance rates all because Leah's work has some sort of business deal with them. But, who knows what we will do.

I guess that is all the exciting news for now. I'll talk to you later!

Snowing!!!

It is snowing here in Denver! It rained all day yesterday and turned to snow over night and has been raining/snowing all day today. I love the snow, until I have to drive in it or take the dogs out. I literally had to carry Oscar off of the porch today and set him in the grass just for him to potty. He never did go #2, so I fully expect to find a surprise when I get home today. He just doesn't like the cold!

For all of you who voted in the costume contest, Yoda and Princess Leia won. I ordered the costumes yesterday and will post pictures once they come in. You know I won't be able to wait until Halloween to try them on. I am working with one of my co-workers/neighbors to try and set up a doggie trick-or-treat in our apartment complex.

Hope the Greens and Brannons are having fun with your Mom. I am jealous!

Worse than Kids

Okay, so I have never really had any kids of my own, so maybe I am not qualified to make the above statement. But sometimes I think my dogs are much worse than kids could ever be. Today started out exciting. Oscar was chewing on a rawhide bone and, being the pig (not pug) that he is, swallowed a really big piece of slimy, half-chewed rawhide. I am pretty sure it got stuck on the way down, because he was breathing very loudly and kept swallowing hard to try to get it down all the way. I thought I would have to take him to the doggie ER! He finally got it down and all was well. But what really got me happened this evening. I was working on the computer, doing some research, and I hear Daisy growling like she does when a firece game of tug-of-war is occurring. Now tug-of-war is typically an okay game, but tonight the pugs were in big trouble. You see, I bought a very cute, yellow knitted hat at a craft sale yesterday. I laid it on the coffee table along with my other purchases. I decided this evening to go investigate the tug-of-war and you guessed it--the object being tugged was my cute new hat! Thankfully, it is still intact but two pugs were in big trouble. Of course, they didn't care. At least they didn't eat any animal body parts. Ewww!!!

Halloween Costume Poll

Okay, I want to know what you guys think. Please check out this website and let me know...what should Daisy and Oscar be for Halloween? (Daisy was a hula girl last year.)

It's October!

Happy Fall!

I tried to get a good picture of Daisy and Oscar this weekend with the pumpkin, but taking a good picture of pugs is worse than taking a good picture of kids. So this is the best that I could do. I think I may try a bigger pumpking next time!






We had a very good weekend. Jason led singing on Sunday and did a wonderful job, as always. He also did a lot of work on our bedroom furniture, which is very exciting. It is almost done! But the best part of our weekend was probably the corn maze. Saturday night, we went through a haunted corn maze with some friends from church, and it was so fun! It took about two hours, which means we weren't even done until 11 pm, but it was a really good time. Fun fun!

I think I may have decided that this is my favorite time of year. It used to be spring, but fall is wonderful. The weather starts to change and the cooler air moves in. In Texas, we never really had fall--it was just really hot and then really cold. So it is wonderful to feel the nice mild weather and see all the leaves changing. And the anticipation of Halloween and Thanksgiving is fun! Have a blessed fall!!!

(Our house now has bricks!)

Happy Birthday, Jason!

Happy Birthday, Jason!

Please join me in wishing Jason a very happy birthday. He turns 26 today! He is working until late tonight, so we celebrated yesterday with a red velvet cake and presents. He didn't get to have as much fun as Addison, but maybe when he turns 40, we will think about it. Happy Birthday, Jason!