trip

even though we have 4 million things to be doing, we planned a trip a long time ago for this weekend.

so rather than work, or worry about our jobs and the house, or run around like crazy people, we are meeting some of our favorite charlottesville folks at a cabin in the middle of us....which is literally the middle of nowhere. 

can't wait to see (most of) these fine folks....

hello hardwood

the first time we walked through the house, we both commented on how horrible the carpet was. and not jut ugly....dirty and gross. we knew it needed to come up, so the realtor let us rip up a corner in a closet to see if there was hardwood underneath.  from what we could tell, there was. but in some places, it seemed like the boards were really far apart.  we just weren't sure if they would be in good enough shape to use (and we didn't have the money budgeted for new floors).

the first thing we did last night was start ripping up carpet. we started in the bedroom (not a great "before"... we got ahead of ourselves and just started ripping!).....

after about an hour, brian had the carpet, padding, and tack strips ripped up, and my mom and i were finishing ripping out the millions of staples that were holding the padding down. and HELLO HARDWOOD!!! this room is in pretty good condition...some discoloration here and there.

my brother arrived to help out, so we moved to the living room....

the living room is almost done...just a few staples here and there. this room will definitely need to be refinished because of stains and a stripped finish in many places. but it is pretty amazing how much it has transformed the room already. i can't WAIT to paint in there (the dark blue trim is terrible!).

and in the meantime, boo was helping us clean all of the corners with her face...

homeowners

we are officially homeowners! is it normal to have the feeling of "what have we done" right after signing all of the paperwork? HA

we went to the house last night to make a huge to-do list. by item 1789, we decided to prioritize....ripping up carpet and the laminate bathroom flooring...in order for it to be livable (and not totally gross)! my brother helped and took our inaugural picture with the house (sorry it's blurry)....

examining this picture more closely made me laugh.  here are all of the things i saw...

we have LOTS of work to do! more pictures (and, hopefully, home improvement success stories) to come!!!

nightmare

i had a nightmare last night that someone stole our cards and drained our bank accounts....only to discover that our accounts were drained the morning of closing!

yep, didn't sleep well last night. but, it's finally here. 

we are planning to go to the house right after we close to start making a huge to-do list. in all reality, i may just sit in the middle of the floor and have a nice long cry. it will be a happy cry though..maybe with a little exhaustion mixed it....but happy.

that yard is going to look so much better without the "for sale" sign in it (and after lots of yardwork!)...

the weekend

brian's family had tickets to the wvu game on saturday, so they got to hang out with us at the mcquaid homestead before they left.

our nieces were particularly excited to play with boo. apparently they don't come to see uncle b and aunt jo jo anymore...just boo ;-) haha....i completely understand!

mimi is a regular dog whisperer...and boo knocked maddie (the baby) down a couple times, but all maddie did was giggle while saying "no boo"!

aunt jen got the girls ready with flying wv tattoos... (doesn't aunt jen's hair look awesome...she used wen shampoo...i'm going to have to try it!!)

holy cow...these girls are gorgeous...and love west virginia!!!

...and we got an awesome family picture in the yard with the beautiful leaves! too bad the game sucked.

my home among the hills

today is the kickoff of homecoming weekend at wv wesleyan college. one of my favorite things about wesleyan is homecoming convocation. students and alumni attend, sororities and fraternities dress up, faculty enter the chapel in their academic regalia, and the concert chorale opens up the festivities with "my home among the hills".  every time i heard the chorale sing this as a student, i got a little teary. hearing it today, for the first time as a faculty member, will likely be no different.

check it out....it is incredible!

view

the crazy gorgeous view from my office window this morning....this place is beautiful in the fall!

shocked!

we have a closing date!!!!

our (new) banker called this morning and said according to his schedule and the attorney's schedule, we could close next tuesday! i am shocked. this is my shocked face....

a standard picture amongst us college roommates...taken in college...man, i was really blonde here

i will not be completely satisfied until we have keys in our hands (at which time i am sprinting out the door and not looking back)...but i still might have done a happy dance while on the phone ;-) we'll keep you posted!!!

an unoriginal but totally necessary DIY

my mom has a very well-equipped kitchen...the lady can do some SERIOUS cooking. over the years, she has accumulated lots of platters, baking sheets, cutting boards, etc. though mom has plenty of storage for these items in a nice, big cabinet above the microwave, anytime you try to get something out, the whole mess comes crashing out at you.....and i couldn't handle it anymore!!!

so, my unoriginal by totally necessary DIY project was based on some pins from my organization board on pinterest. it was obvious that these things needed stored vertically, but i didn't feel like cutting dowel rods or making custom vertical inserts. 

enter small $4 tension rods from target. spaced 5 or 6 inches apart....

 

TA DA! now everything is easy to find and easy to retrieve. phew. that was bugging me.

fall break

fall break was last thursday and friday. hallelujah! i needed the rest.

i brought home ridiculous stacks of grading but didn't remove them from my bookbag once :-)

the break consisted of a lot of pajama wearing, nap taking, movie watching, and cooking. the puppies were all about the nap taking right up against me....emma has finally quit trying to avoid boo at all costs...

yes, i'm wearing some sweet pajama pants

 i think everything i cooked was from the pioneer woman...surprise, surprise! thursday night was spicy beef with cheesy mashed potatoes. friday night was chicken spaghetti (a favorite). and saturday i made her tres leches cake....my mom wasn't sure about this cake at first, but i think she's fallen in love with it!

a good weekend

the webbies had a great weekend! brian found out on friday that he got a permanent job in upshur county! YAY!!!!!!! he will be a special ed teacher and will travel between the elementary and high schools. 

we napped and played with boo most of saturday. she was thrilled to be out of her crate for a full day. then we watched the mountaineers spank the longhorns.

sunday was another lazy day.  i finished writing my second test of the semester (which i am giving today).  we caught up on laundry and straightened the house.  mom and i whipped up two big pots of meatballs and two pumpkin pies (brian's belated 'birthday cake'...the man LOVES pie)!

i like to think that i am pretty good at making pies, but i still have a lot to learn. i can't bring myself to use store bought crust because martha's pie dough recipe is the best (and easiest....toss everything in the food processor). i also just use the filling recipe on the back of the libby's pumpkin can (but i half the amount of ground cloves). these crusts turned out a little wonky....i was rushing and didn't let the dough chill before rolling it out....but they were still absolutely delicious.

cold pumpkin pie is the best breakfast.

no news is good news?

bad news...i am pretty sure that after this process (whether we get the house or not), we will never want to buy a house ever again!  we have updates on the house, things i could go on and on about, but i won't. not until it's better news.

good news....brian is subbing for a teacher for the next three weeks. he has gotten consistent work for a couple of weeks now. he also had an interview for a special ed position. it could be a long-shot since he isn't technically qualified (but has tons of experience), but just getting the interview was exciting. it's also nice that he is working because we get to ride together. two hours in the car each day is too much alone time, in my opinion....so some company is awesome. 

bad news....little boo hates being in her crate all day now that we are both working. she seems to have her days and nights mixed up and has been whining all night long. we are about ready to stick her out in the garage.

good news....she is so entertaining and makes us laugh. she finds the biggest stick in the yard and prances around with it like she's really got something. she's a trip.

 

a no-no

after having a few weeks of class under my belt and seeing lots of things around campus, i have decided that skin-colored leggings are a very bad idea....no matter the shape or size.

see what i mean?