Home Sweet Home...on March 17th

In fear of losing my "favorite daughter" status with my mother, I am posting some pictures of our new house!! We had our inspection last week, so Mike and I took a ton of pictures to get a feel of what rooms we want to change or not change, and I'm posting just a few of those pictures.




This is the master bedroom with an on suite bath AND three, yes three, closets! Woo hoo! PLUS, there is a walk-in closet in the hallway- I don't know what I'm going to do with all the space- guess I'll have to go shopping!


This is the living room that will be our "reading room" because the basement with be the TV room. The kitchen and dining room are to the left of this picture.


This is the quest room where all our friend will lay their heads when they come to visit. I love the yellow, but I'm pretty sure that we are going to make this room a navy and white room, and give it a nautical feel.


And last, but not least, is our dining room with the deck right off it- which is great because we're gonna get a BBQ, and it's convenient to have it right there. Now all I need to do is learn how to barbecue!

So all the bedrooms are upstairs (there is another bedroom that is just like the guest room shown), along with another full bath for guests, and the living room/dining room/kitchen are on the main floor along with a half bath. And downstairs is the basement that we're going to finish, and there is also a place for another half bath, but we're not sure if we want to finish that just yet. Our closing date is March 17th, but the people who live there now won't be moving out till the next day. But it's all good because we prolly won't move in till after Easter because we have the apartment till the end of April.

We are so excited about our first house, and Mike is especially excited about decorating the place, and making it our own. He is OBSESSED with watching HGTV (you must be so proud, mom!), and for date nights we walk through Lowes and Home Depot and just dream! Can't wait for ya'll to come down to visit (and help us paint?! Doesn't that sound fun?)

Updates from the Artist Formally known as Freer

Aren't we so cute!? This is Mike and I at the resort that we went to this past weekend with our friends, Ashley and Ryan (not the Kirnans, but just as fun to be around). They treated us to a weekend away at this five star spa and resort, and we were SPOILED silly. It was two days full of massages, facials, amazing food, and tons of fun. The place is just a little south of here called Nemacolin, and if any of you get a chance to go, you won't regret it!




This is the room we had at the Falling Rocks Hotel. The bed was the most comfortable bed I've ever been in! If you opened the curtains, you over look the golf course where they play the 84 Lumber Classic (that's where really good golfers play....Sorry John!)


This is the four of us getting ready to go to the hot tub. We had the BEST butler (his name was Billy, but we called him Billy the Kid), and he brought us wine and hot towels to use. We just had the most amazing time there, and we were so sad to leave!

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So my cousins are having a baby, and I'm so excited for them. I can't wait to shower that baby with affection when I see him/her (I'm betting it's a girl). But I'm having a bit of a dilemma.... what relation is this baby to me? Is it my second cousin? Will the baby call me Aunt Rachel? Or am I not really related? Explain this to me, people!

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Speaking of babies, a good friend of mine, Marcy, is expecting her own bundle of joy (again, I think it's a girl!). I find it rather amusing because her husband, Jeremy, is 100% sure that they're having a boy, and he refuses to even think about a name for a girl because he is so sure. But I beg to differ. When I've had other friends who were pregnant, they dreampt about the baby, and whatever sex the baby is in the dream ends up actually being the sex of the baby. Low and behold, she has had 2 dreams about the baby, and it's been a girl in both! Could I be on to something? Is this really the way to find out the sex of the baby? You're thoughts on the subject?

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Though I am not expecting a baby, nor do I have baby fever, but what I do have is doggie fever! One big reason why I can't wait to move into the house is so I can get a dog! I want one so bad, and I'm really hoping that Mike will get me one for my birthday. He isn't too thrilled about the idea, but hopefully a little batting of the eye lashes, and some heavy whining will change his mind. I've already decided that I want an American Bull Dog ( just like Amy and Shane's), and I want a girl so I can name her Sydney in honor and in memory of Sydney Bristow from Alias (the TV show, which sadly is not going to be on anymore). And no, if I get a boy dog, I WILL NOT name him Kemper, because that will be MY SON'S NAME!

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Mike and I are so proud because between the two of us, we've lot over 10 pounds since the new year! YAY US!!! I never realized how hard it is to stick to a workout plan, AND change what you eat! But it's been so much easier to do it together, because we keep eachother motivated! Just like Becca, I too want to lose a few pounds this year, and I just gotta stick to it!

WE DID IT!!! YAY STEELERS!

Greetings from the Steeler Nation!! I'm so proud of my Steelers, and if you ask my dad (whom I called many many times during the game), I took the whole Super Bowl thing WAY too seriously. Becca (whom I also called quite a bit) reminded me that my life would go on if they lost, and that Jesus would still love me the next day. So wise, sis....
But luckily I didn't have to go to bed with disappointment because THEY WON!!!! But to be honest- I'm kinda glad it's all over because this town has been turned upside down for the last month. John touched on some of the insanity in his blog (and by the way, that woman who induced labor so she wouldn't miss the Super Bowl named her child after Steelers players- they're JUST a football team!), and it got crazier after they won. Downtown was taken over by drunk fans parading in the streets and burning park benches, screaming, and setting off fireworks. Then on Tuesday we had a huge parade in honor of the players, and almost a quarter of a million people flocked to the city streets to catch a glimpse of the team. Schools were actually closed so students and teachers could go to the parade. MENTAL! It got so out of control that the police couldn't hold people back, and they were mobbing the players...even the reporters who were just trying to do their job we're getting run over! I'm glad the season is over, and the city can go back to normal until next year.

Anyhoo- enough of that.

Life has been pretty uneventful these past few weeks. We're just trying to get all the paperwork done for the mortgage, and it's all just one big headache. I can't wait until it's all over and we can just enjoy the house!! We had our home inspection on Monday, and there is nothing major that needs to be fixed, and that's what we thought since the house isn't that old. We close on March 17th, and we can't wait to get started on decorating the place.