Productive weekend!

I got SO much done this weekend, and now, at 8pm on Sunday, I'm tired! Here's the rundown:

Saturday I cleaned like a mad woman! I realized I'm not the best housekeeper when I thought "I should take a picture of this!" I do generally keep things clean, but this weekend I also mopped the hardwoods and the kitchen. Here's my room (soon to be Bryan's room too) all clean.

From April 2007

From April 2007

In these pictures you can also see his new Ikea dresser and the newish curtains I bought. I tried to make some to "save money" and then ended up at Target, spending way less.

Sunday I got up bright and early (8am, early for me on a weekend!) to wash and wax my car before the day of fun with Sherri and the kids. Here is what happened when I dragged out the hose for the first time this year :(

From April 2007

Yes, I had kept it in the garage, so it didn't freeze. I have no idea what happened, but I quickly felt like the smart homeowner. "I'll just use my handy duct tape on it and it will be good as new." Here is the result.

From April 2007

It's a good thing my dad knows nothing of the internet, or he would be shaking his head at my stupidity! For now I just used it leaking, and the wash and wax are done. It was a beautifully sunny day and was nice to be outside.

Then I went to Sherri's, and she, Lani, Cassie, Peter and I went to Simply Crepes Check out the menu. It was fabulous, and Sherri kept saying "this is my new favorite place."
My food (after I started cutting it up!)...nutella, raspberries, and grand marnier sauce.

From April 2007

Lani got a traditional fruit one:

From April 2007

It was really good, although mine was technically a dessert one :)

Then we walked along the canal, and Lani and I fed the ducks (Cassie refused because she thought I would throw her in the canal!).

From April 2007

We then had ice cream, where I realized with much chagrin (and much too late), that I cannot eat a cone with braces :( It is just too painful and I am unable to bite anything like a cone (or a clif bar, or rice krispie treats, or just about anything!). I can eat them if I tear them into little pieces, but that wasn't going to happen with a cone full of ice cream. Oh well, Lani happily took and ate the rest.

I then felt the urge to get some plants, since it was so nice and sunny today. Here is the result so far. I clearly didn't buy enough mulch!

From April 2007

From April 2007

For now, the white picket fence had to go, since you couldn't see the new mulch and the flowers. I'll put it up once everything dies. In the new section are some annuals, and two rose bushes that I bargained down to 50% off of each of them :) There are also some mysterious things that are just sprouting, so I'll give them a chance and see what they are, and the bushy plants were already there. On the right is what I just learned is a forsythia bush. I'll plant a few more plants over there and mulch it soon.
Anyone who really knows me knows that I have always wanted a magnolia tree. I think they are so beautiful. I finally bought one! It will wait for Bryan to plant it in the back yard though. It is going to need a decent sized hole!

From April 2007

In a tribute to Portland, I also bought a rhododendron, a purple one. It will be planted on the side of the house soon. I ran out of steam, and my plastic hand shovel doesn't really do the job very well!

From April 2007

That's the update on my weekend! Next weekend is home to Portland and then the drive out here, so there won't probably be any more posts for a couple of weeks. I'm so excited to go home and see my family and the dogs, and to see my new "nephew" Sebastian Bradley who was born April 23rd!

I should also add that Bri (and her boyfriend Rich and his friend Donnie) left for Portland today. I wish them the best of luck in my favorite city, and I will forever be grateful to Bri for stepping in and taking care of my house and my pets so I could put my thoughts and energy towards my dad. Even though she wasn't around much, I'll miss our sometimes VERY long chats, and I hope her mom sees past her anger of Bri living with a boyfriend and gets to know Rich for the good guy that he is.

Spring part 2

I was motivated to put together the swing today (it also folds down into a bed). I'm loving the 78 degrees today!

From Spring

From Spring

From Spring

Spring!!

Last week snow, today sunny and 70! It was so nice. It also means that the lawn mowing has begun...belch! I did at least get the back done today.

I put together the new furniture I got for the Florida Room. I love it! I got the pillows and the enormous candle at Pier One today. They were having a great sale, and those 4 pillows retailed at $30-40 each, and the candle was $50. I paid $25 for all of it! Now to decide where to put the new 3-person swing. I think that project will wait for Bryan though.

From Spring

From Spring

From Spring

We also got new bikes today. I was going to get my old one all fixed up, but the bikes were so cheap at Target. These were only $53 each, and I negotiated 10% off of one of them because it had a slight chip in the paint. Yeah! Now to just convince Bryan he can't ride without a helmet :/

From Spring

For those that have been asking, I'll be heading out to Portland May 5th, spending the 5th-8th at home, then leaving Tuesday around lunchtime with Bryan for the drive back to Rochester. I guess I feel I need to do this drive annually! Bryan was smart though and suggested we take a different route so I can see something new, so we'll be going more northern (Washington, Idaho, Montana, one of the Dakotas, Wisconsin, etc). May will be a nice time to do the drive though, and we'll have lots of good tunes. We should start taking bets about how long it takes before we run out of conversation! I'm excited to have him out here though, and I know he's ready to get school started. But first, I need to continue on with my cleaning and organizing to make room for him!

Sun and Wegmans

Today was sunny and 60. Hallelujah! I wasn't in the mood to go to the gym today, so instead I decided to walk to Wegmans (3 miles RT) to get a few groceries. The walk was beautiful, and I was jammin' to my iPod (still quite possibly the best gift I have ever gotten!).

Wegmans recently won the best grocery store award by the Food Network (it was up against Trader Joes and Whole Foods). As a side note, while I do like Wegmans, I don't miss it in Portland. However, I do long for Trader Joes when I'm in Rochester.

While I was there, I got this, which Bri eats all the time:

Pesto Bruschetta Chicken Breast
Boneless chicken breast cutlet topped with Pesto, 3 cheeses, and roasted & fresh tomato.


Holy divinity it was good! I had that with some steamed asparagus and broccoli in a hollandaise sauce, and some strawberries. Yum! I felt so healthy that I decided to have a Coke :) Probably the first soda I've had in a month or so.

Nice weather, lovely walk, yummy dinner, new Grey's Anatomy tonight, finished up a report today for a bitchy client, and tomorrow is Friday. Life is good. Not long until home!

Easter!

First off, this is what I woke up to Easter morning! I'm beginning to think it snows here year-round.

From Easter 2007

Saturday I was dragged out of bed (at 10:45am :) by a phone call from Lani. "Miss Tia, when are you coming over to color eggs with me?" Although I hadn't originally understood that I was invited over Saturday AND Sunday (for Easter brunch), I quickly decided a day with the Lauver-Biglan family was way better than my planned day of cleaning.

Here is us coloring eggs with the stuff my mom sent. The kits are SO much cooler than when I was little! You can see I wrote my name on one with this wax crayon that makes it so the dye doesn't stick. I like Sherri's with the polka dots!

From Easter 2007

From Easter 2007

From Easter 2007

That afternoon also involved making necklaces (after I asked Lani if we could do something else when she asked me to play Barbie's. I'm just not good at pretend!). I put the one I made in Lani's Easter basket, and when I went over this morning she ran to me and said THANK YOU FOR THE NECKLACE. She was so excited. It was quite cute. We (Sherri, Lani, Cassie, and I) also had a hilarious time playing Go Fish. The girls understand the idea of the game, but not the subtleties of it. After Cassie asked Sherri for a 2, Lani says loudly, "You should have asked me, I have a 2" and then doesn't ask Cassie for her 2 when it's her turn. We'd tried to explain it, but I don't think they quite got it. It was funny nonetheless.

From Easter 2007

Peter and his trademark smile. He is the happiest baby, just over 6 months old now.

From Easter 2007

Here is the gang in their Easter getup

From Easter 2007

I can't figure out how to post a video on here, but Peter has the latest craze in baby toys called the "Jumparoo." I think it is so funny to watch him jump around in it. This link will take you to a short clip. I do have to say that it's much funnier in person. He looks like a little kid on a bull ride!
http://picasaweb.google.com/tia.neely/Easter2007/photo#5051174790132639202

Today I also took over these bubble things on a stick that I used to have as a kid (mom, you'll have to show this to dad because I remember doing this with him). You take this goo stuff and put it on the straw and blow it up. Elena LOVED it and squealed with glee every time she made a bubble. Good times!

From Easter 2007

In non Easter things:

The flowers my ortho office sent me at work. Creepy! How about you just take the $40 off of my bill???

From Easter 2007

Speaking of ortho, my mouth still hurts, but it's getting a tiny bit better and I can now eat solid soft food (I had a fritatta today at Sherri and Kevin's, and muffins. Soft fruit is okay, but even cut-up apples were not doable yet). I also went to get a wire fixed that was poking me, and the stupid lady broke off the entire bracket :( It doesn't go back on until the 16th because the dentist is out of town. I'm starting to get used to seeing myself with braces though. Two more co-workers didn't even notice I had them, and even Sherri didn't notice (and she knew I had gotten them) until 2 hours after I got to her house! They must not be as horribly ugly and obtrusive as I feel that they are.

From Easter 2007

I got a patio set! Yay! Sherri recommended Big Lots, and I got this:

From Easter 2007

Regularly $199, on sale for $149, and it is really comfy.

And no one else cares about this except my mom, so mom, this is just for you :) My new shoes from last weekend. Marshall's here has an entire shoe shop. I'm now in love with Liz Claiborne Flex, as all 3 new pairs of heels are those. So comfy! And at $34.99, they didn't break the bank. Here are the two new pairs.

From Easter 2007

From Easter 2007

I guess that's all the news from out here. Four weeks until I come home. I'm so excited!!!!

It's the end of the world as we know it

Braces....not much more to say except my mouth hurts like hell and I look like I'm 12. I must be good at hiding them though, because 3 co-workers didn't even notice until I told them. Three cheers to my co-worker Katie who said "I can see them a little bit when you talk, and you look cute in them." I wanted to hug her!

Me the morning before:

From Braces

Me the evening after:

From Braces

From Braces

This morning I woke up to this. It's APRIL for crying out loud! It was 25 degrees on the way into work.

From Braces