Baby Jackson's Nursery

We finished the nursery!  It's all ready for baby, now he just needs to hurry up and get here!

Warmer weather...

Hey friends! :)  I know I've not been doing well updating often, but I'm about to post like 3 in a row so maybe that makes up for it???

Well since the weather's been warmer, and I've had a few days off- (for a little while I was working every single day)  I've had time to tackle a few things I've wanted to for a while.

First- I'm trying out my brown green thumb and I actually have flowers.  Surprise!  They are looking good!  LOL.  (Those that know me well know I'm no gardener.)  Though I was unable to put a flower bed or vegetable garden in.  (Those are long term goals haha)  This year I got a few hanging flower baskets to pretty up my otherwise white-trash looking porch.  (Sorry if that offends anyone-- but well, obviously the broken screen door propped open by a broom isn't the nicest looking set up LOL)

 

Next- I actually did this a few months ago but never posted the final product.  I made this collage of pics from our honeymoon with Picasa, ordered a 11x14 print from Shutterfly, used a frame from Wal-Mart and a cute decal (that says- "Always Kiss Me Goodnight") from the dollar tree of all places.  I literally have less than 10 bucks in this and I love it!  <3  It's in our bedroom :)

 

And lastly, I reorganized our bedroom closet.  Our closet is shared with the 3rd bedroom (which currently has a bunch of random junk belonging to my uncle and us in it-- but will eventually be a nursery when that time comes)

Before, we had just been using the entire closet for our stuff.  Well, I bought those plastic drawer carts for some of our clothes, shoes, hats, purses, belts, etc, and also used some milk crates on the left (you can't see them) for things we seldom to never use, and on the right (again, behind the wall- can't see it) I have our bigger duffel bags and stuff stacked.  So we were able to consolodate our clothes to one rung, and I'm planning on buying drawer carts for the other side as well, whenever a baby does come along, and doing the same for their closet. :)


So I still have lots of things that I want to accomplish around here, but at least I've gotten something done :)


And before I go, one cute Duke pic- taken today!

Mom's Day/Weekend Recap + Spring Projects...

We had a great weekend with our mamas! 

Saturday I went flower-shopping with my sister in law Mandy.  We bought Brew's mom matching hanging flower baskets for her porch.  In the evening we went to Brew's parents house for a combo Birthday (Brew's and his brother in law AJ's birthday are May 1st and 4th) and Mother's Day dinner/get together.  So my mom-in-law's yummy lasagna, cake, ice cream, and family-- can't get any better than that!!!

Sunday was great too... my aunt & uncle & little cousin came in from Columbus to visit, so after church we went to lunch at Outback.  (Party of 14! lol... Mom, Dad, my brother Mason, my other brother Matthew, his wife Amanda, my grandparents, my aunt, uncle, and cousin, AND my brother's wife's parents came too-- since they also attend our church)  Yeah crazy bunch LOL.  Then we went to my brother Matthew's house in the evening.  We brought Duke along and he had lots of fun playing with his "cousin"- my brother's dog- Gibson.

So yeah great weekend :)

Inspired by Mandy, I went out today after school and bought three hanging flower baskets for my front porch.  I can't really put a flower bed in yet (we need new gutters and if we aren't going to stay here very much longer- I'm not going to pay for them).  And if anyone knows me I have NO green thumb lol.  So we'll see how it goes.  Brew's putting them up for me when he gets home tonight.  I'll get a pic and post it! :)

Maybe it's the really warm weather but I'm getting Spring fever.  I've got all these projects I want to get done.  I want to get the porch spruced up ...with flowers and I'd LOOOOVE to have one of those free standing swings- like this:

I'm also going to get some plastic drawer closet and organize the closet in our bedroom.  It's actually shared with the 3rd bedroom- which will be our future baby's nursery- and right now we're taking up the whole thing, I'm hoping to reorganize it so that the other room can use it too!  And THAT room needs cleaned out too... my list is getting bigger!!!


Alright well that's enough rambling!  Until later!

October is here...

Can't believe October is here already-- though I guess I can definitely feel it in the chilly air! It's gotten soooo much cooler here the last week or so. Insane. I don't mind the cooler weather, I just wish it didn't have to be rainy and gloomy. I feel like I forget what the sun looks like...

We FINALLY got furniture moved!!! My bookshelf, dresser, and Brew's old bed are now residing in the guest room/computer room where they belong :) I promise as soon as I get my house clean- I will take pics and put some before/after pics up here and facebook, of the entire house- in case you don't want to listen to my rambling video tour I did the other day haha. But I'm still unpacking stuff and cleaning the regular usual mess so as soon as that's done there will be pics!

I've been busy lately-- I had an interview last Thursday at Pleasants County Middle School for an 8th grade WV history teacher. I felt good about the interview, but I KNOW better than to get excited about it because I will most likely be trumped by someone w/a Master's degree and/or more teaching experience. Haven't heard anything yet so we'll see... But I've been getting regular subbing work, usually 3-4 days a week, which is good.

HOWEVER-- annoyingly I was summoned for Jury duty today (super fun right? LOL) so I had to cancel a job I had for tomorrow. That bums me out. I know you get paid for Jury duty but I don't particularly want to do it. Tomorrow is just the pre-screening thingy so I'm hoping I say something they don't like and can get out of it! Haha.

I was productive this afternoon too-- I made Duke's first vet appointment (yes- I've been slacking-- but he already had his first shots/deworming), so we're taking him there Thursday evening.

Annnnd guess what- Brew (and I) FINALLY have health insurance!!! wooo hoo! Mind you it's costing us $300/month which is ridiculous but hey it's insurance. So I finally made an appointment w/the hematologist I was supposed to go see last Spring. (In case you're wondering- my mom had a pulmonary embolism which they contributed to estrogen birth control, so when I got married, my gyno put me on a progestin-only pill, and wanted me to get further testing to make sure I didn't have a genetic clotting problem that could be caused/made worse by excess estrogen. If I DO- that means no estrogen bc for me AND when I get preggo, I might have to be on blood thinners and such. But that's like worse case scenario- I may not have anything wrong, but she just wanted me to get checked to make sure). So I have that in a few weeks, super fun (not). I'm not too much of a wuss when it comes to needles but I don't exactly look forward to it. I am going to have her type my blood-- because I don't even know my own blood type lol.

So that's pretty much what's going on in the Dean house now. I'm super pumped for this weekend. Saturday we're going to Morgantown for the WVU game :) WVU football games are always fun, but it's also going to be nice to get away w/my hubby for the day. Duke is going to stay w/his "uncle" Matthew & "aunt" Amanda and play with his new cousin "Gibson" (lol- my bro & sis in law got a dog this past week) while we are gone. So predictably this week is going slow!

Alrighty well I'm going to get off here and head to bed soon! Until later!!!

Our House before & after!

Just a quick one...

Ok so it's incredibly late (or early I guess... haha) and I'm utterly exhausted. Brew & I spent the WHOLE day working on the house. We moved the living room furniture that was my uncles to my parents (my brother is taking it for his "man cave" & will move it when they close on their house). Then we moved furniture that we are inheriting from Brew's aunt's house to our house. We also ripped up ALL the carpet in the living room & hallway. It's amazing how much better it looks (and smells) in there!!! Here's a couple pics:



I kid you not we were at it today from 7:30/8 till almost 11pm. I'm happy w/what we got accomplished!

The list of what remains to do before we can move in our stuff...
1- pull up carpet in bathroom & install laminate tiles
2- have my dad install the new range hood in kitchen
3- sand & paint kitchen cabinets
4- install new countertop laminate.

There are several other "projects" remaining but we will take care of those AFTER we move in.


Also-- I didn't post on here yet that Brew got a NEW JOB!!!! *Finally* It's a service rep for a medical supply company called Lincare. Better hours, pay, benefits, etc. It's really what we've been praying for. Not to mention he just put in another application with the railroad for a track worker job in Ravenswood. Which that's even BETTER if he happens to get something like that. So things are really coming together. "The Shepherd will supply my need..."

K I can barely keep my eyes open. Goodnight one & all!

One month to go...

Well, actually a little LESS than a month! I'm getting super excited. I think we have everything ready, it's just the act of putting it all together that lies ahead (and makes me a slight bit nervous). I'm really not nervous at all about actually getting married. Just pretty psyched. (Haha there's a 90s word for you!)

House is coming along slowly but surely. The kitchen is nearly painted. We're waiting on a new range hood to arrive before finishing the painting & working on countertops and cabinets. I'm hoping tomorrow we can take up some carpeting (haha I can be destructive ;) )

The other day we put a new light fixture in the kitchen and took a picture. LOL I never thought we'd be excited over a light fixture! Here it is! Haha...




Well that's all for now... more soon

Passing some time...

So I have a double plan period today, which is nice when you are a full time teacher, but slightly boring as a sub. I actually have this job all week. Teaching PE and Art. Pretty easy gig. But needless to say, I'm a little bored sitting here...and school computers don't allow facebook or anything so here I am!

As far as house progress goes, we haven't made much more progress since my last post. I started on the kitchen- wiped down walls and managed to get the dining area part primed. But I haven't had much time to work on it since. I've been workng during the week and then my weekends keep getting packed full of things to do, between work at the Y and other stuff. I'm hoping maybe to get over there this evening but that's about the only time I'll have till next week. My uncle is slowly working his way through his stuff to move out. I'm anxious for him to get out so we can start getting our stuff in!

Speaking of which.. there's only 39 days till I'm a married woman! =O Yikes! I'm super excited though! We pretty much have all we need done. Our cake topper came the other day :) It's a silver cross w/two rings interlocked in the center. Pretty simple but that's what I wanted. I'm not a fan of the cliche bride & groom or goofy hearts and tulle and what-not.

Brew's job search still continues. He was offered a pretty good job at Orkin, however he can't take it. It's pretty much 100% commission and no benefits. Which, if I had a full time job, he would've taken because he thinks he'd be good at it and probably make a lot of money. But unfortunately I don't, so it's hard enough budgeting w/one variable income- we couldn't do that w/two.

We've also started sort of looking at a new vehicle (well, a new used vehicle lol) We want something 4-wheel-drive, either an SUV or a truck depending on what deals we can find. We have a pretty strict budget though because we can't have the payments being much more than Brew's car payments are now. So we'll see, we're not in a hurry, as a matter of fact it'll most likely be after we're married.

Ok well I've run out of things to talk about... so until later!

More house progress...

Got two bedrooms primed & painted today!!! Now all that's left to paint is the kitchen! (And, the 3rd bedroom, if my uncle ever gets his stuff out lol)

Got some more pics, these were taken w/my cell so they aren't the best, but...

Here's the guest bedroom before:

Gotta love the dark 1960s paneling LOL


And the guest bedroom after:

Much brighter in there & pretty light blue!



And our bedroom before (this pic was taken before Darren moved out)


Our bedroom after a new coat of paint! (this is like a springy green, will match our quilt bedspread)



Yay! :) Next on the list- is the kitchen (that will be a big job- wipe down walls, painting walls/ceiling, sand & paint cabinets, put new countertop laminate on) taking up the carpet & cleaning the wood floors throughout the house, and re-doing the bathroom floor.

It's coming along!

Progress on the house!!!

Ok so we have made some progress on our house! :) Lots of cleaning, and now we're in the painting process.... here's the living room before:


Here's a pic from my cell phone after we finished painting... it's not the best, I will take some pics w/my real camera after we totally finish...



You can't really tell from the pic, but this is actually the paneled wall on the left, we primed & painted over the 1960ish panelling :) And-- the wall color is like a medium beige color.

Next on the agenda for the LR and Hall is to take up the carpeting (there is hardwood floors underneath!)

Oh and I'll leave you with a cute pic of Miryan helping paint ;)



Many more to come!!!

March post

So it's been a long time so I thought I'd make a quick post/update!

Wedding planning is coming along- I have the invitations (just need to send them out), my dress, and bridesmaid dresses and flower girl dress. I also have those random little things (guestbook, etc) and flowers. I'm in the books for a cake but I need to get down there & make some decisions on the design. And the only major things left to take care of is the guys' attire, music, and reception decorations. I feel like I am on top of things as far as that goes. Maybe it's because we're having an "economy" wedding. I'm super excited though-- after today there's 100 days to go!!! <3

The other big project that awaits us is our house! We will be living in the house that used to belong to my grandparents, when they passed away they left it to my aunt, uncle, and dad. It is paid for right now, and my uncle had been living there. But he's getting married in a couple weeks so after that it's ours! We just have to pay utilities, taxes, insurance, and minor up-keep. It needs some improvements before we move in though. Kitchen counter tops need covered, carpet needs pulled up (yay for hardwood floors underneath!), new linoleum in the bathroom (and eventually kitchen) and all the walls need primed and painted. So it's a lot to do-- I'm hoping to get a lot done during Spring break when I won't be working, and hopefully we'll be done w/everything by the time the big day rolls around!

Speaking of work, I've been getting a good amount of work lately so I'm really happy about that :) Brew is currently on the job hunt. Advance is ok for now, but there are no opportunities for advancement, the pay's not great (not to mention raises are non-existant), and he's tired of dealing w/the people he works with. So he's on the prowl for a new job. I'm praying he finds a good one relatively soon, simply because he's unhappy where he is right now.

He's also hopefully going to be graduating either in the Fall of 2010 or Spring of 2011. The last couple years have been tough as far as school goes- so when he gets that associate degree we're having a party! As far as my schooling- I've decided to pursue grad classes at WVU. I decided on doing a Master's in Special Education with my K-12 Multi-Categorical Certification. (Basically I can work with students with learning disabilities, behavior disorders, or other health classifications) It's what I did during my long-term last Fall. Granted the paper work sucks and I don't want to do it forever-- but it will get my "foot in the door" so to speak. And once I have 6 hours toward the certification, I'm considered "permitable" which means I can be hired into a Multi-Cat. position. Because of the changes they are making w/Special Ed, Multi-Cat. is in high demand so I'm hoping that I can snag a job there, then transfer into regular ed whenever I can! That's the plan at least. I'm not certain how I'm going to pay for this though... that we shall see I suppose! I'm going to try and take one or maybe two classes in the Fall. I was going to do the summer but I figure w/the wedding and house and all that I'd better wait till August to start taking classes!

Ok well I'm off-- handbell practice, church, then out to eat w/Brew! <3 Until later!