March Update

It has been a few weeks, so figured it was time for an update before I start getting the "time to update your blog" texts.  Not too much going on, but maybe that's a good thing.  Rob has been busy with class projects and studying, but luckily he only has 5 more weeks left in the semester.  Then he'll get a break in May, have to take a summer class in June/July, and have one more semester in the fall before graduating in December.  He hasn't been able to run for a while now because of a long-standing foot/ankle injury.  He has been seeing multiple doctors, a chiropractor and recently got an MRI, so hopefully someone can give him some encouraging information or solutions soon so that he can get back to running, which I know he is missing.  Rob has also been doing random odds and ends around the house, like inspecting the crawl space, fixing the front door knob and sealing up some cracks.  A couple months ago he painted the doors to the deck and garage and trim in the kitchen eating area.  It really brightened up the space.

Before:

After:

Roxanne is doing good, besides her recent poodle-like haircut she got at Petsmart.  She really seems like a totally different dog to us looking like this, but at least she is cooler now without all that fur.  She is looking forward to seeing her boyfriend Bailey tonight when we go to Ann and John's for dinner.

Last weekend we had some really nice weather, as opposed to this rainy, chilly weekend.  Sunday we had Ann, John, Tom, Linnea and her parents, Lorrie and Pekka, over for dinner.  It was great being able to grill- a marinated pork tenderloin was on the menu- and have drinks on the deck.  Lorrie and Pekka have had us over to their home for many wonderful dinners over the past few years so it was nice to be able to have them over to our house for a meal.  The only other time we used the dining room table for a large group we had a hodgepodge of place mats and paper napkins, so I figured it was time to get a new set of 8 place mats and cloth napkins.

This week I went to the gym 3 times.  This is huge considering I haven't been to the gym in about a month.  Rob and I joined Planet Fitness back in early December and I was going somewhat regularly for a while, until I got sick with a bad cold and cough last month and I avoided the gym ever since.  I hate going to the gym, and the Chick-fil-a that I can see from the elliptical that taunts me, and having to shower twice in one day if I decide to go to the gym after work, and having to leave Roxanne at home stuck inside while I go do the treadmill when I would rather be taking her for a walk instead but knowing walks with her are never very productive with all the stopping and smelling she does.  But from past experience I know that I will like the gym more the more I go, so I'm really going to try harder to make that happen.

Last week and this week the goal is to eat out of the pantry/freezer and go to the grocery store as little as possible.  We are now on a monthly budget, trying to save more money each month, and with it being the end of the month I'm really trying to stay within the March budget.  So far I've been doing a pretty good job of using random things up from the pantry to make dinners and lunches.  This has included a 1/2 box of orzo, some slivered almonds,  1/2 bag of craisins, chicken broth, box of hamburger helper, pasta and sauce, a couple bags of Lipton side dishes, sun dried tomatoes, jar of olives, rice pilaf, bag of mushroom chowder soup mix and some pecans.  Not sure if the meals this week will be as good as last week, but at least I'm cleaning things out of the pantry that otherwise might not get eaten.

Family Room Facelift

Our family room recently got a facelift with new couches and a wall of framed pictures!  We had been wanting new couches ever since we moved to Atlanta, so it's pretty exciting that we were finally able to get them.  It did take a week or two to get used to them though, because it was such a big change from the blue leather couch and chair.  These couches feel so much bigger and really fill up the room.  Plus it took some time for the cushions to get broken in and feel as comfortable as they did in the store.  Roxanne isn't as happy with the couches as we are, which may be because she gets static shocked whenever she jumps on or off of them, but she still has the old furniture she loves to lay on in the front office room.  Next on the shopping list is a new coffee table, lamp and colorful pillows for the couches.

I'm very happy with how our wall of pictures came out.  Each frame is filled with our favorite pictures from our Spain/Italy/France trip last May.  It took a while for us to go through all of our pictures and decide which should go where, but we did know right away that the picture from Cinque Terre would fill the large frame in the middle- such a unique and beautiful place. 

 

And this cute pup just got a good brushing and bath today, so thought I'd take her picture as well :)