July

July was a whirlwind and I didn't make time to blog much throughout it, so I am going to try to catch everyone up to speed.

We have been doing a lot around the house: fixing, moving, changing, trying to get things just the way we like them (although I am beginning to think that the process will never end! Good thing we still think it's fun most of the time...) Here are the most recent pictures around the house:

I think I have mentioned before that my Dad is trying to sell his house. Well, it is finally under contract (hooray!) and the final push has been under way. Many car-fulls of stuff have been brought home to sort through. It's really fun to have a few things that were around my house growing up incorporated into my home as an adult. It's all very warm and fuzzy. Going through some of the boxes, I have already found some real treasures, including a collection of my schoolwork throughout the years. One favorite is an essay entitled, "How to Ask Your Parents for Money." It's a winner, trust me.

The only downside of all this is the current state of our shed:

At the first sign of fall, I am going to empty it all out and have a serious day of organizing. It's just too hot right now to take on such a huge project in a shed with no a/c

Mid-July, Mike and I spent a wonderful weekend with the Mac crew. We went to a baseball game, shopped at the Farmer's Market, had a pizza-making class with Mike, participated in watching Eli so that Missy and Lance could travel overnight to a wedding, and had a little birthday party for Frank, Missy and me.

The Macs gave me rocking chairs for my birthday and they are amazing. Mike and I sit out on the porch every night now, and I have also found that it's the perfect place to chat when one of my girlfriends comes over to visit!

View from the chairs:

My birthday was absolutely wonderful this year and basically turned into a week of celebration. It started with the party at the Macs, continued with a father-daughter dinner date at my favorite restaurant mid week, brunch with Alissa, Julia and Mike on my birthday...followed by dinner with Mike's parents and Wiene and Phil, and then ended with a decadent breakfast of homemade eclairs at Kat's house on the morning after. Thank you to everyone for making my day so special this year! I had no expectations for my birthday, and it was just one of those times where everything played out in a really, really great way. I feel very grateful for being able to have spent my birthday with so many people I love.

(This was supposedly a gift from Rosey, but she didn't really look like she wanted anything to do with it.)

(Wiene and Phil gave me these incredible pearls)

So, after a week long celebration (and a year of bad decisions about food) Mike and I started Weight Watchers on the 26th of July. We are really liking the program and have both lost a little weight. It's too soon to say too much about it, but so far I think it was a really good move for us.

Well, I think that about does it for our progress report. I will try to post more in August! :)