New floors...new house?!

When I opened my eyes this morning afternoon, I realized that my body felt like it had been hit by a truck.  I knew today was going to be a slow moving day.  Ben and I have been putting in new flooring in almost the entire first floor of our house over the last week.  We just finished the last board last night, still have baseboards and some minor painting to do, but in all the transformation is incredible.  We are only the 2nd owners of our 1984 house--the previous owners lived in it for a while, then rented it out for a few years.  Yes, our house was a rental.  And you could tell when we moved in, too.  But we were attracted to the "bones" of the house.  We knew it would be easy (and time-consuming) to make it our own.    Some discoveries we made this last week:

• the first floor was re-carpeted at least once: from an ugly yellow color, to a more neutral (and more dirt-filled) beige
• the kids who lived in this house REALLY liked hiding things behind the built-in bookcase in the living room (and they also REALLY liked pokemon...)
• the smell is completely gone now that the carpet is gone; it wasn't too offensive--after I sprayed it a few thousand times with Febreze over the last 2 years
• there was an unbelievable amount of dust and dirt underneath the carpet.  Like sickening.  Like somebody could get sick breathing it in every day (oh that would mean me....)

I am SO excited the carpet is gone from the first floor.  It smells better, it feels cleaner, and It. Looks. Incredible.    Also, our living room was awkwardly positioned due to the large bookcase at one end.  It allowed for no conversation area.  One couch was along one wall (blocking the closet), and the other was 10 feet away on another wall.  Now our couches are next to each other, and bonus: nothing is blocking the closet.  I will add some before/after pictures soon, once we finish up the baseboards and painting touch-ups.

In other news: tonight I am making a real meal.  I am actually sick of Bertolli's.  (I know, I can't believe I am saying it either.)  Bertolli's are AMAZING and so quick.  The last few nights Ben and I have been working for hours on the floors, and we couldn't devote any time to cooking, so in ten minutes we'd have a meal from a frozen bag.  Today, however, I am whipping up this little treat.  (To be followed by this little treat.)  And wow, does it smell good!!!!!!

My Return

It has been a while since I've been on here...to say the least.  I didn't mean to neglect anyone, and I wasn't going through anything traumatic.  I just didn't feel like posting.  It takes me such a long time to write a post because I rethink everything I say before I make it public knowledge, and the last few months I just didn't feel like putting that much effort into my blog.  However the good thing about it is that if you leave, you can always return.  So here I am.  :)

 Let's see...a quick re-cap of the last few months: I'm still technically a substitute teacher in my area, but since the economy is so low almost no one is calling out sick, so really I am jobless (which, of course, I don't mind).  Ben always jokes that I'm retired now and later on when he retires from the Navy I'll be working to support us.  Probably true.

Ben just returned home from a 5 month deployment a couple of weeks ago. This was our second deployment, and we're about to hit our third before the end of 2012.  In just 3.5 years of marriage we will have endured 3 deployments.  Yes, you read that correctly.  And no, it is not that common, those are just the cards we were dealt.  However, we are still going strong and making the most of our time together.  Here are two pictures of his homecoming (at the airport), taken by my sister-in-law, Holly:

Georgia, our vizsla, is wonderful.  She grows more precious to me everyday, and I was especially thankful for her during each deployment.  It is so nice to always have someone to go home to.  She still has lots of energy, but always loves to cuddle.

Our Big News: we are getting a new addition to our family....another vizsla puppy!!  (Haha, you thought I was going to say a baby).  More on that later once things become final.

In the last week we've started putting in wood floors on our whole first floor.  Ben is a seasoned pro at that, so we will probably finish up in the next week and I will add some pictures.

So now we are about caught-up!  Our lives have been very exciting the last few months, I can't wait to see what's in store for us next.