700 miles by Dec 31, 2011

So, I was in need of some motivation to get my
butt in gear. Ever since I had to give up my gym
membership, I have had a hard time getting
motivated to get out an exercise. When I gave up the
gym, I asked my hubby to get me a bike so that
I could get exercise that way. It's one of my favorite
forms of exercise. Anyway, I started biking my girls
home from school, but it's not enough. Yesterday, I
attempted to ride for 20 min before picking them up...
still not enough. I planned a route for myself & decided
to do that before I pick them up.
My husband also came home contemplating his health &
needing to get back to his weekly rides. He's in much
better shape than I am, but since our move, has not
gotten on the road.
So, as I was planning my routes, I decided to challenge
him. So, we decided that 700 mile between now & Dec.
31st would be reasonable, but would also keep us accountable.
For some cyclists, this isn't very much, but for us it's plenty.
He has a very busy job & we have 2 kiddos & we just moved
and have lots of new house projects. So for us, this seems
just right.
We wanted to invite any of you that need some motivation or
just want to see what you can do. So, join us, while we try to
kick each other's butts :)
We are tracking this challenge through the Daily Mile.
After you sign up (which is free), you can click on the challenges
& find 700mi by Dec 31st. The picture above is the pic on our
challenge.
If you are already a member, here is the link to our challenge.
Hope some of you can join us!!!

Holy Move Batman

Hey,
I know I've haven't blogged in several months
and I was starting to have withdrawls. We moved
from San Diego to Murrieta in March & our lives
have been crazy busy. This is our very first home
and we're loving it! As those of you who own homes
know...it keeps you very busy. Our house needs a little
TLC and we've been working really hard to get
everything done we can...especially on the outside
of the house before it gets too hot. Here are the pics
of all the before's and what we've been doing...

Back of the house
We have a lot of yard work ahead!!

Guest Bathroom
There was some water damage that happened during
our escrow...so out came some walls, tile & the sink.
Didn't get very many pics of the "before" we tore our
the sink...sorry!

Kitchen
Great little kitchen!

Dining Room
Well, we chose to make this our dining room.
It actually supposed to be a family room, but it
didn't really make sense in the flow of the house.
So, we have a fire place in the dining room :)

Living Room/Entry
Great space...feels huge compared to our apartment!!
This is the day we came to clean & work on the leak
problem...a week before we moved in.

The office/craft room
Oh yes, I got a room for crafting. I'm so excited!!!

The girl's bedroom

The girl's playroom
We decided instead of giving them each their own
rooms, we would give them a playroom. One of my
biggest pet peeves is seeing their room with toys
everywhere. This was actually an bonus room, because
we were only looking for a 3 bedroom. We were blessed
to get this house with 4 rooms! The girl's complained at
first (not having their own rooms) but they are now very
happy to have a place to play & do homework!!

Our bedroom
Love it! We have our own bathroom, a great closet & some
more room! Feels huge to us :)

Here is some furniture that I'm planning to make over
as part of our house decor.

I inherited my grandmother's dining set...and we love it!
I plan to paint & recover these chairs. Can't wait 'til
they're done!

Old folding trays for our master bedroom night stands.

Got this from our old neighbors a few days before we moved.
Wasn't sure what I was going to use it for, but now I'm
making it into an entryway bench/shelving/hook thingy.
It's gonna get a coat of paint & a little make over.

We've had this armoire for a long time! Since we first got married.
I plan to make it a part of our entryway & paint it.

The last thing I wanted to share today was some pics of a little nest
that showed up on our patio. We were so excited to see these little
birds building a couple of weeks after we moved in. About two weeks
later we had these little guys...

Aren't they cute!! Well, there will be more to come soon.
We're making progress & I'll be posting more soon.

Pet Peeves...

So, I'm a little stressed out these days...packing!!!
Which makes me kind of grumpy & everything that
bothers me is like 10 times worse than normal. So,
in honor of my grumpy mood, I thought I'd share my
top ten pet peeves as of late.
1. Marketers who change the words to a perfectly good
song into cheesy crap for their commercial.
2. The Charlie Sheen train wreck-apalooza...need I say more!!??
3. People who don't signal, who slow down when
changing lanes, who talk on their phones & text while
driving (and I'm not just saying that to get on the Hollywood
band wagon, everytime someone sucks on the road...they're
on their phone), people who practically cause an accident
& then flip you off, people who refuse to let you in, and just
people in general acting like no one else is on the road.
4. When my coupons expire.
5. Tripping over boxes, in the middle of the night, on my way
to the bathroom. Can't wait to have a master bathroom!!!
6. The fact that my children can use 100 band aids a week &
not one wrapper or those plastic tabs can make it to the trash.
7. My noisy neighbors...who can't figure out how to talk in a
normal voice & who decide to chop wood at 9:30PM, right
under my kids' window.
8. People who speak super loud on their phones in little coffee
shops or restaurants! This also applies to people who are being
rung up or served & they act like no one is there, chatting away...
so rude!!!

9. The bank who didn't fix the water leak in our new home &
now we have to tear out a wall & a cabinet & spend money
that was designated for paint & a kitchen sink. I need a kitchen
sink people!! Since we are officially house poor, I have to cook
every night, which means lots of dishes & our current sink only
hold about 4 cups & it's chipped.
10. And my number one biggest pet peeve is....drum roll...
PACKING!!!!!!!!!