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?