Hooray!

Just like that (and about five hours of work for the installer and Reid each... I was at school last night until 9:15 because Reid was here with the guy getting it to work... don't ask apparently), we have internet at home again!! Hooray!!

Our weekend

At the beginning of last week, after spending a good deal of money and ALL weekend painting the laundry room/buying a washer and dryer) Reid and I agreed that we should "stay low-key" this past weekend, and try not to spend any money.

By Wednesday we had revised that plan, thinking we would just buy a few necessary items to steal some of the dirt that they had dug out of the drainage ditch in front of our house (okay, so it's not stealing... the dirt was on the road in front of our house, so I'm pretty sure no one minded our taking it). We wanted to fill in some holes near our front door and around the perimeter of the house that were sloping towards the house instead of away.

On Friday after work we stopped at a local hardware store, where the very nice people working inside allowed us to spend almost $200 on a wheel barrow, shovels, a rake and hoses to hook our new washer and dryer to the wall (since where we want to put it is farther away from the hook-ups than the four feet of hose that comes with the W/D). Of course, as soon as we got the stuff to the parking lot it became clear why everyone has been telling us we need a pickup truck. There was NO WAY that wheel barrow was fitting in a Taurus... Luckily the woman inside saw me standing and laughing hysterically and Reid huffing and puffing and came to our rescue with a pair of plyers. We then had to take the darn thing apart, fit it in and then put it together the next morning.

We woke up Saturday morning, and got to it... unfortunately the winds were not in our favor. Gusting horribly, they made the work infinitely more difficult (a runny nose and dust in your face is not a good combination). We (mainly Reid) got lots of dirt moved. We decided that if we wanted to put down grass seed we should rake up the yard, removing the chico-type plant spread and getting more ground surface area. We scratched, and scratched, and gathered barrow full after barrow full of chico... and had barely done a quarter of the yard. That's when I decided we should check into renting a tiller, to make the job go faster. And, for the second day in a row, it was brought to my attention that we need a truck for both of the rental places told me that we could not get a tiller in a Taurus. So... we're back to scratching. However, we talked to our neighbor (who came by later to start removing the dirt from the road in front of our house... thanks neighbor!) and he suggested that we wait another two weeks to plant grass seed until the winds have ceased.

Sunday morning we woke up and Reid's back hurt and my shoulders were sore. Country folk, we are not yet. I went and did laundry (hopefully my last trip to the laundro-mat for a long, long time), washed the car and went to the grocery store. Reid gave Tater a bath, did a little more yardwork and picked up the house. We also applied paint stripper to the poorly painted windows of the living room and they look so much better now. In the evening we had a couple over for dinner and enjoyed ourselves, in our house.

And that was our weekend.

Quick Update

I'm still not sure when I'll have internet at home... Reid is going to call tomorrow.

This past weekend Reid and I were very productive (and spent a lot of money in the process of being so productive). We bought a washer and dryer and then decided that we should paint the laundry room before we have them delivered. Long story short, it was not as easy as we thought it would be (and constituted Reid driving to Walmart at 8:30 Saturday evening to buy the stuff to patch holes in plaster). But it is painted and a beautiful yellow color with white trim. I'm glad we like the yellow color too because it's the color we're going to paint the dining room and kitchen! I'll post pictures someday, but until then use your imagination with the name of the color as "Ripe Oats," and it resembles a cheery sunshine!

Neglectful...

I have been quite neglectful of my blog recently, though in my defense the only time I can currently post is at work which I generally feel a little strange about doing (not that I don't check other people's blogs at work). But today, I am giving myself the freedom to do so... mainly because it is my birthday! I have to change my profile age. And do you know what Colorado has decided to greet me with on my birthday? SNOW!! It was snowing when we woke up this morning, and had already accumulated about 1/2"... and as I sit at my desk in my office looking out my window, it is still snowing. How crazy is that? Snow in the middle of April. Reid is certain that it will all be melted off by tomorrow evening. I hope so, as we've made a long list (13 items and we're still adding) of potential home improvement projects and most of them involve outside without wet precipitation on the ground.

In other news, Reid called and set up our internet for home yesterday. They are going to call next week to set up an installation time. So, it won't be too much longer before I can post pictures and post more frequently.

And again unrelated, I have been accepted as a CELT (Center for Excellence in Learning and Teaching) Fellow. It is a program between Adams State and two junior colleges. Those of us selected will travel to Taos, NM for a week in May and participate in workshops and presentations on all sorts of issues, mainly focused on diversity and inclusion. It sounds like it should be a great program for keeping us as professors focused on how we can reach out to and support all of our students, not just those who have the easiest time excelling. And of course on a side note, it is a good thing for retention!

And does it say something about my age (or my mental age anyway) that when Reid asked me this morning what I wanted to do for my birthday, my reply was "Go to Dairy Queen!" ***UPDATED*** I wanted to clarify that I already know Reid is making me a yummy dinner... and I really love blizzards for dessert... there are just so many different flavor options/possibilities!

First Week in Our House

We are nearing the one week mark of moving in and have made great progress in the unpacking/setting up of our home. In fact, we were so ahead that after dinner last night we hooked up the tv with the dvd player and watched a Netflix. Honestly, I think it was exactly what we all needed, especially Tater who slept the whole time on the sofa with his daddy.

This weekend is the Monte Vista Home and Garden show. Reid and I are planning to go and peruse ('cause we're pretty sure we can't afford anything)! Our hope is that by the end of the weekend we will be completely box free downstairs, have made a good headway on the boxes in the garage and at least somewhat sorted my craft room.

In somewhat related news, Tater has been very good this week seeing as it is his first full week being alone for long hour stretches. We came home one evening to spots all over the floor (unfortunately including our cream carpet in the living room) made by both ends of Tater (enough said). After quite a bit of cleaning and griping Reid and I both took reality pills saying we have pets and are going to have children... these are just the first of many spots. And very funny... on Monday the only thing Tater appeared to have upset was a 5lb bag of potatoes, which he drug from the kitchen to the main foyer, tore into and rolled the potatoes all over the floor! He didn't eat them. He was just trying to tell me that he wanted more toys/balls I guess!

As I still don't have internet at home I hope that you all have glorious weekends and I'll be checking in with you on Monday.

We Are Moved!

Our stuff was all at the house by 4pm Saturday. We finished cleaning our little house at about 9pm Saturday. We unpacked most of the day yesterday (I love my closet!) and will be doing so for the next several nights/weeks.

School is going along. We're hoping that Tater does okay with these long days at home alone (he's used to someone coming home at lunch to "spring" him).

We don't know when we'll get interent at home... probably not for a little while. So, now that we're here and plugging away. You just might not hear a lot from us.

One more thing...

Before I lose my home-internetting privileges for awhile (we're not sure what providers service where we live and haven't called to find out yet) I wanted to tune all of you into a blog that I have recently discovered that I think is great! The Blog is entitled "Give It Away." You can read all about it, but the jist is donating all (or a part) of your Economic Stimulus Refund to a charity of your choosing. It's money you didn't expect to get. You didn't budget to get it. And yet think how much good could be done if people donated just a small percentage of it... it would be better than an economic stimulus... It could be a charitable stimulus.

Reid and I have certain things we need to purchase for our home and we need to buy a new car, since our Saturn died and our Taurus in high on miles. But I have decided that we will be donating at least ten percent to charity. So I thought I would ask... what are your favorite charities? Who would you give to if you had a sudden windfall? You can either leave a comment on this post or post about it on your own blog and then let me know so I can come read about it!

The Calm Before the Storm

Today is so peaceful. The sky is clear. The wind is almost non-existent. You can almost hear the birds chirping outside over the men drilling to fix the water or run electricity or something else outside (they're very industrious but quite noisy). There is no hint of what is to happen in the next fifty-six hours. But mayhem is about to happen... because we are moving.

I am picking Reid up from work early and we are then both going to pick up the Budget truck that we have rented for the move. It is a big one so we hope to get everything in one trip. We're planning to make one more run to the house tonight dropping off the last of the breakables, a first round of food and the folded clothes that are just in laundry baskets 'cause we're running out of boxes. Then tomorrow we'll wake early and begin the big load-in. We have a few friends who have volunteered to help us move. They'll hopefully get there in time for the big stuff. Then they'll drive to the house with us where the real work begins. I find it much more difficult to unload than to load.

And by tomorrow night we will be sleeping (soundly I'm sure!) in our new home. God willing anyway...

We Own a House!

The closing went very smoothly yesterday. Reid and I (and Tater) went over to the house last night and cleaned some. We also sat around (on the floor of course) and talked about where our different furniture pieces will go.

It all still seems very surreal. I told Reid that I'm like Tater. Where ever my furniture is, that's where my home is. So I don't think it will feel like my home until our furniture has moved. And I don't think it will feel like a house I own until I paint... but all good things will come in time.