Kitchen Makeover Part "I don't know anymore"! Part B, I guess

This past weekend we worked very hard to get as much done in our kitchen as we could manage. We are almost finished with the counters. Well, technically the counters and back splash are done...we just need to add the stone trim to the front of the counters to finish it out.

We also still have new lights, floors and touch ups to finish in the kitchen, but luckily those are all small projects...except the floors. But those shouldn't be too bad.

Taryne has enjoyed playing and "exploring" the cabinets in the kitchen. During the day (that led to weeks) of no doors on several of the bottom cabinets, she learned what was in each one and now she knows which cabinets to go to and open and start pulling things out. She loves the pantry and the cabinet with all my baking pans. And of course, Taryne's drawer has become popular with all her cups and bottles and other baby stuff.

Until next time...Gig'em!

Run Cheryl, Run!

I started a running program a few weeks ago. I started it for many reasons including being healthier, being in better shape, losing weight and just feeling better about myself. I have always hated running and I think the last time I ran more than a few minutes at a time was in high school....soooo long ago.

I found out about a running program through a friend on Facebook. I watched her post her status updates about her runs each week and I finally decided that I needed to do this too. I would stick it out until the end and then decide if I like running.

The program is called Couch to 5K and it is pretty easy to follow. I will say, if I can do it, then I feel anyone can do it.

I am currently in week 3 of the program and it is 9 weeks long. I can't wait for week 9 to be here and I am running 30 minutes straight. The great part about the program is you start out alternating runs and walks that are manageable and you build on it each week. Week 3 was the first week where I had to run more than 90 seconds at a time and I wasn't too sure I would make it through the second long run (those last 30 seconds were hard), but I did it and I am ready for my next run!

Another thing I like about this program is that I have never felt like I couldn't finish....at least so far! I want to run longer at times, but I am not letting myself get ahead...I want to do it right so at the end I actually enjoy running instead of feeling like I have to do it to get in shape.

I am proud of myself that I have stuck with the program (I realize I am still only in week 3) and I am always ready for the next run. I really want to be in better shape and lose some of this extra weight I have been carrying around for too long.

If you want to start this program, I would suggest downloading the app from iTunes and get going! Let me know if you have any questions or want to share your progress!

Until next time...Gig'em!

11 months...

Today my baby girl is 11 months old...I can't believe in one month she will be a year old. Where did the time go? Well at 11 months she is running all over the house, exploring every nook and cranny she can find, she had 2 teeth, she has not used a bottle in several weeks and is eating all sorts of foods. I really can't say what her favorite food is at the moment because she does not fuss about anything.

Taryne checking out her new nap mat and pillow for school

This is the look I got when I told her "no, no"...she was on her way to splash in the dog water...

Until next time...Gig'em!

Sleeping beauty...

This morning, while Taryne was taking a nap, I went in to check on her and this is what I found...I guess she wants a pillow...maybe when she is a little bigger.

Until next time...Gig'em!

Weddings...

This past weekend we attended family wedding 4 of 4. We are sooo glad the weddings are over for a while. It has just been a very busy summer and wedding year.

Kyle's cousin Jetta got married this weekend. The wedding was in St. Mary's Catholic Church in Fredericksburg...the same church Kyle and I got married in 11 years ago. The church is very pretty and ornate and the ceremony was not as long as I had expected for a catholic wedding but beautiful.

My camera has been acting up lately...here are a few pics of the inside of the church...

Jetta and her dad, Len walking down the aisle.

The cake

Jordana and I did the flowers for the wedding...this arrangement was also used on the alter at the church.

The bridesmaids bouquets...

The Bride's bouquet

Taryne had a lot of fun running around at the receptions...the reception was in a building, but there was no A/C so it was really HOT! 

There were several evaporative cooling fans and Taryne loved standing in front of them!

Running around outside...

Looks like daddy caught her!

Until next time...Gig'em!

Kitchen Makeover Part "I don't know anymore"!

Last week Kyle took off work so we could try to finish up the kitchen. Well, we are not finished and we have a lot to go, but we did get a lot done.

All the doors but 6 are painted and hung with new knobs. The old stove and microwave are out and today we are getting a new stove and microwave installed. We have the new flooring installed where the new stove goes and we will finish the rest of the flooring once we are done with everything else. We have the tile installed on the countertops on the stove side of the kitchen as well as the backsplash on that side. It is looking pretty good...I am glad we decided to go with tile. We have an unusually large amount of countertop space and it was going to cost us a fortune just to replace the laminate with laminate...so we are tiling it ourselves. We saved money on labor and we have already tiled the floors in both our bathrooms so we know how to do it.

Countertops and backsplash after the removal of the laminate and before we started the tile.

The tile countertops are in...

We started the backsplash...we dry-stacked the tumbled tiles

Here is the "finished" stove side of the kitchen. We need to wait for the microwave to be installed to finish the back splash.

The floors...

This side is finished...well the cabinets.

Until next time...Gig'em!

All over the place...

Taryne, that is. Since she started walking a few weeks ago, she has quickly progressed to "running" in the last week or so. She is not full out running, but moving very fast. I am so impressed with how quickly this has transpired. She even has 2 teeth now. Crazy!

This morning she plopped down on the kitchen floor next to Cassie to drink her milk. We have been bottle free  for over a week now and it is great! Sippy cups are much more durable than bottles...she likes to throw them when she has finished the milk or is tired of it. Unfortunately that is how we lost many bottles.

Yes...our kitchen is still under construction...more on that another time.

Every time I tried to get her in a picture, she took off.

Finally caught her!

She was trying to peek out the window to watch Kyle mow the yard.

Until next time...Gig'em!