New House!!!

She accepted my offer!! Below are the pictures that were posted on the realtor's site. I'm so excited!!

The Saga Continues!

Well, the house I put my first offer on did not go through. The family decided to withdraw the home from the market and continue living there. So.... I went house hunting again this afternoon and found another home that I liked even better than the first!! God is Good! I submitted an offer on that house and am waiting to hear back from them. Since tomorrow is a holiday, I am not sure how long it will take... but I'll just be patient. What is the old saying...?... a watch pot never boils? :)

Everyone stay safe tonight! Best wishes for an awesome 2010!!!!!

:)

Progress and Updates...

Well, the buyer and I finalized the agreement today following the inspection, so now, we are all ready for the closing process in February. I am so grateful that this process has gone so smoothly so far.

I also think I have found a house to buy in McKinney. I have made an offer, so I am now waiting to see whether they accept it. I love the location and I've heard that the three most important things to consider when buying real estate are... "location, location, location!" So... hopefully, this is a good decision. :)

I also got to go see my new office today. It's going to be really nice. Below is a picture taken from the 4th floor looking down to the atrium floor. There were workers everywhere, but it is coming together and looking really beautiful.

Below is a picture of my new office. It's nearly finished and we get to move in late January/early February when all the furniture has been delivered and installed. YAY!!

Below is a little better view of the windows from my office. You can't see it from this particular photo , but I get a bird's eye view of the "mixmaster" at 121 and 75 (and the stalled construction of a high-rise hotel that was going to be built next door before the economy stalled!) Hopefully, things will come around and a beautiful hotel will be constructed there soon!! :)

My house sold!

It's not final til someone sings (you know the old saying...), but I have a solid offer on my house! I can hardly believe it.... If the inspection goes well and their financing gets confirmed (etc.), I will close on 2/13, which means I have to move QUICKLY to find a new house and close on it by then, too. Yikes!! Keep the prayers up and think good thoughts that if this is what is supposed to happen, that it will all proceed smoothly.

Thanks, y'all!! :)

Made me laugh!

A friend posted this photo of a Christmas present they had received. Guess what they are made of? I just laughed and laughed!

Avatar!

I saw Avatar this afternoon in 3D. It was really a good movie and such fun to see it in that format. It felt like you were almost in the middle of the movie. I would probably even see it again (if anyone else wants to go!) :)

Random pics... Catching Up!

I had gotten so far behind with uploading pictures from my camera, so a few of the pictures below were from November. Hope you enjoy!! :)

Jen and Queso on Christmas Eve (before surprising Ryan on Christmas morning!)

Ryan, Jen and Queso on Christmas morning (Poor little Scout missed all the fun that morning!)

Christmas breakfast... ready to eat!

(I'm loving my new Norman Rockwell collector dishes from 1975, 76 and 77) Fun!!!

Below are a few pictures from our girls trip to San Antonio where Jeri, Christen and Susan ran in the Rock 'n Roll Marathon.

Sally perched on the window ledge "looking" out the window in our hotel room. Those of you who know our family very well understand that Sally has joined in many trips and vacations. She is very well-traveled!! :)

Jeri and Jen

Below is a pic of Jeri, Susan and Christen REALLY early before the race began... They had to walk about a mile to get to the starting line. There were THOUSANDS of runners joining them that morning. (Unfortunately, I just don't "get" the joy of running, but I'm happy to be the one to drop them off so they could sleep a few extra minutes and avoid riding the bus with the other gazillion runners!)

Back to Christmas Eve... It started snowing earlier in the day on Christmas Eve, and this is what it looked like when we got home from Kobe's that night. Beautiful!!

The bushes in the back yard were so delicately covered with snow. It was so pretty!! It was so special to have a white Christmas for what will probably be the last Christmas in this house. It's been 26 years (1983-2009). Unbelievable...

Old friends came 'round to visit on Christmas Eve... Zach, Sierra, and Jon.

Just like old times!! My dad has a picture of Jon and Sierra from Homecoming when they were in high school. Of course, he doesn't know Sierra very well, but when she was walking through the house, he said... "You know... that girl looks a lot like the girl in the picture on my refrigerator!" I laughed and said... "Yes, that's because it's the same girl! It was really cute!!

Birthdays and Christmas

We had a beautiful snow that started on Christmas Eve... (this picture is after it first started) Then, it continued pretty much all night and we awakened on Christmas morning to a beautiful white blanket of snow across everything!
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These flowers were a beautiful present from a colleague and I have enjoyed them so much... they added a really special touch during the holidays!

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On Christmas Eve, a group of about 25 family members met at Kobe Steaks for our annual birthday celebration. Below are a few pics from the evening. The cooks are such fun and provide so much entertainment as they cook. And the food is just delicious!! A true family tradition and a favorite memory each year. :)

Blowing out her candle!

Dessert for everyone!

The birthday girl and hubby!

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Our big Christmas morning surprise was when Jennifer gave Ryan a precious kitten... named Queso. He's a beautiful kitten and such a bundle of love. He is fiesty and cuddly and just plain cuteness all over! Below are a few pictures from this morning. As you can see, he was fascinated with the studs on Jen's jeans.

Hope everyone had an incredible Christmas!!

Merry Christmas!!!

Looking forward to a lovely Christmas breakfast with Jen, Ryan, Jon, and my dad!!

Merry Christmas, world! May you experience joy, peace, love and all good things on this special holiday celebrating the birth of Jesus!!

:)

House For Sale

Just put my house on the market so I can hopefully move a little farther north and be closer to my new office location. I'm looking forward to this process and hope I can find a new place that will feel like "home"!! :)

Here are the pictures being posted to sell my house. Lots of wonderful memories here....

Christmas Lights...

When I was on my way home this evening, I saw this beautiful tree in my neighborhood. I thought it was sooooo pretty. I just wanted to share with everyone!

I love productive days!

After being "out of pocket" most of this week, I'm happy that today is being such a productive day... For some reason, I woke up really early and was full of energy, so I got started on my "to do" list. I started putting everything back in place from the painting process, re-glued the frame of a dining chair that had wiggled loose, etc.

Then, I treated myself to 10 am movie, "The Blind Side," which I believe is now one of my all-time favorites. It was such a heart-warming story!!

The movie was over by noon, so I hit Walmart and Lowes and picked up a few additional necessities. I can't believe how many switch plates it takes to re-do them all throughout the house. They look so nice, but every time I turn around, I find a new plug or switch that I haven't changed yet!! Hopefully, this will just about wrap them up.

I'm now getting ready to press new curtains and bedding for my room to freshen it up a bit. I'll post photos as soon as I've finished putting it all together.

Tomorrow, I'm going to work outside a little and arrange the outside furniture to spruce up the patio and deck... and then get ready to go back to work on Monday.

Hope everyone is having a good day, preparing for the holidays!!! :)

It's December!

I hope everyone has a wonderful month and a blessed Christmas season!!!

:)

Talking to India

I spent about six hours on the phone today with a really nice Microsoft tech today from Bangalor India. Dad was upgrading his operating system from Vista to Windows 7. Of course being in a small town with less than adequate Internet download speeds, each step took a looooong time. Through it all, Shoubik was so nice, helpful and patient. I'm sure he will never see this, but here's a little "shout out" to him with a grateful heart for helping us get Dad's computer up and running right. :)

Happy Thanksgiving, Everyone!!

It was a beautiful day in White Deer today... Dad and I enjoyed a great dinner with a Greenberg Smoked Turkey (YUM!!!), our favorite cherry salad, green bean casserole, dressing and gravy (thanks to Luby's), and pecan pie. (I wish I could say it the way Harry said it in "When Harry Met Sally" PE-Caaan PIEEEEE... (Just makes me laugh to think about that movie!)

Anyway, we enjoyed our day and I got to visit a little with my long-time friend, Miriam. It's always nice to be "home" for a few days!!

If anyone is planning on hitting the stores early tomorrow morning, have FUN!! :)

More Progress!!

The progress continues... Sparkly, clean windows; fresh paint in most areas of the house; fence and deck stained and sealed; new light fixtures in the hallways and study; cleaned out linen closet; another "run" to Goodwill; everything that was moved while they were painting is nearly back in place (except for pictures...I need help with that!); Indy and Ollie have fresh water and clean tanks; and groceries bought for Thanksgiving dinner with dad! Progress feels GOOD! Have a wonderful holiday everyone!!!

Fun Weekend!

Just returned from a fun weekend in San Antonio with Jen, Jeri and Christen. Jeri and Christen ran a half-marathon this morning and did great! Jen and I enjoyed a more relaxing morning, but still relished in their success in finishing a fun race. We had a really fun "girl" time all weekend!! Love my family!

:)

So exciting...

Plans are well underway for the move to our new office... The upholstery has been selected, furniture ordered, and the movers have been scheduled. It's all coming together!

On the other hand, I was in McKinney for an event late yesterday afternoon and drove back to Dallas during normal rush hour time and traffic was TERRIBLE due to an accident on US75. It just solidified my desire to finish up the house and get it ready to put on the market.

Getting motivated...

Today, I'm having a hard time getting motivated. You would think that fresh walls would do it for me, but for some reason, I'm just not getting "into it" yet. I think I need some decorating advice!!

Up Early!

I'm up early today to go get new drawer handles and pulls for the back bathroom and to get new swtchplates for the rooms that are being painted. I can't believe how much better it's looking! Unfotunately, they painted the ceiling almond instead of white so they will have to re-do that in the hall... But it's looking so fresh!!!! Yay!!!

(Now... I have to go through all the STUFF that I took out of the rooms before they painted to decide what to keep and toss before I put the rooms back together!!!). Oh well... It's well worth it! :)

Fridays...

You know, there is something magical about Friday nights!

Painting progress...

Well, I'm back at it... the remodeling and fixing up the house continues!! Today, the painters came and finished taking down the blue wallpaper in the entry way and they repaired and textured the hallway walls and ceiling. It is looking much better and I can't wait to see it when the paint starts going up. Of course, the fresh look is making everything that hasn't been painted lately look distressed... Next on the interior is the red room (the study). It will be primed and painted the same lovely shade of "Toasted Almond" with "Off White" trim. It's going to look a LOT different!! I'm trying to get "stuff" cleaned up in there tonight so they can tackle it next.

Then, outside, the fence guys are washing, staining and sealing my beautiful fence this week. It had really started to fade, so I am looking forward to a fresh look outside, too!

I'll post pictures when they take the next step. :)

Beautiful Sunset and Fall View

I am blessed with a gorgeous view from my office window tonight. :)

Vote!

Get out and vote today...!

It's November...

I have this fun little app on my iPhone that basically is a countdown to Christmas... and guess what??? It's 52 days til the big day! YIKES! This is the first year that I haven't made significant shopping progress by this point in the season in a long time. I better get my act together SOOOOON!

Remembering a warm sunny day in Hawaii!

Jon's 22 Today!

I can hardly believe Jon turned 22 today. I could post all kinds of cute, gushy kid stories about him when he was little, but suffice it to say he was soooo cute back then and is a talented amazing young man today. I'm a lucky, blessed mom. :)