These are a few of my favorite things......

....before I start channeling my inner Julie Andrews ....here's my current list

Schuyler Fisk

I hardly download entire albums anymore...but I have loved her since hearing her song with Josh Radin on "The Last Kiss" soundtrack...now she has her own album. Love it.

(Bonus points if you know what AWESOME movie she was in as a kid)

The Slingbox

Even the hubby agrees, this might be the best $$ I ever spent at Best Buy. With this lil baby, I in Alexandria, and Geoff in Savannah, can watch shows TOGETHER! It's crazy. Soo all my DVR'd shows I can watch while I am away from home, via the Internet. Don't let me get started on the cell phone option!

Morning walks

Why did I choose this picture you might ask....cause this is one HELL of a hill (doesn't look like it from this angle, but you're only seeing a hump of it...even driving my car up the road takes effort. Last year at this time, would have never made it, let alone want to do it again! It's kicking my butt, but in a good way :)

Groomed Charlotte

(with new ID bling) Organization at it's best (and on clearance at Target) Yup, I'm "that person". Having been through what I have been through with my mom, I don't want anyone else to have to muddle through paperwork and be clueless to were everything is. Heaven forbid something happens to me, Geoff will know where everything is.

For Jen

Bakery Up the Road

....all hand made. Fresh fruits on top. This is just one section. They also make sandwiches, breakfast items. Heaven.... (and why that morning walk with the hill is needed).

New furniture on patio

Heaven part 2 :) I just need to get some Sunbrella material for some curtains to make it look elegant. (No way am I paying 110 bucks a pop for 1 panel of curtains. I need 8!!)

They like me....they really like me!!!

Sure, I'm channelling my inner Sally Field, but it's nice to feel welcomed into a neighborhood. Sometimes, I'm one of those darn people pleasers at times. Sometimes I want people to like me....especially if it's people I plan on living next too! I wasn't expecting the Welcome Wagon (which we got when we bought our first house in Cary, NC). I wasn't expecting a pie (which we got when we moved to Savannah, homemade Turtle Pecan...yuuuummm). I just wanted a friendly face to say "hi". When Geoff came up last week (almost 3 weeks into living here...on and off) he FINALLY got a "welcome to the neighborhoods". I missed it :( And then today I got, not 1 but 3 "Welcome to the neighborhood". All the neighbors seem very nice!!! And we have a potential dog sitter next door! Icing on the cake, handful of the kids go to public schools here and take the bus. Brought tears to my eyes since private school here is equivalent to buying a new car every year! Yes people, this makes me happy.... And to think....it only took a traffic accident at rush hour to bring us all together :) Oh, did I mention the bakery up the street? If you don't know right now...sweet tooth the size of Alaska over here! Thank goodness there are hills EVERYWHERE to walk off those sweet treats! I think I'm REALLY going to like it here....

Staycation

This weekend Geoff and I were in Alexandria, in home 1 of 2 (my skin is crawling thinking that we have 2 places right now...ugh). So maybe it wasn't technically a "staycation" since we had to drive 570 miles (but who's counting) to get here. After a couple days of even more painting, electrical, cleaning, etc., we decided to go to Mt. Vernon (just 8 miles down the road). Little did we know everyone else in the DC Metro area thought this would be a fabulous idea also (mental note: we do not live in a small (ish) place anymore, need to bring back the big city mentality and plan accordingly).

Just inside the visitors center They REALLY went all out at this place! They must have spent a bazillion (yes, that is a word) dollars to make it so nice and new. Wonderful teachers center too!!!!

Right before our mini "cruise"

Horrible cell phone picture of Mt. Vernon from the Potomac

16 sided barn Geoff was sooo impressed with :)

Don't check your eyes....you're not seeing things. This was a King Charles Cav. gathering on the dog friendly grounds of Mt. Vernon.

This is my best "take the damn picture the sun in BRIGHT and in my eyes and it's HOT" face :)

Side note: look VERY closely on the left hand side and you'll see a LONG line to get inside the mansion. It actually curved out close to where I was standing for the picture. Needless to say, we did not wait in that line. Mt. Vernon is not going anywhere!

We are now proud owners of the year long pass :)

Walk down memory lane...

I finally got the "guts" to do something I have been dreading for a couple years now. You see, my mom took a TON of pictures of me (one of the perks of being an only child).

On the flip side, my mother was also one of the most disorganized people I know. So while a picture of me at my first birthday might be be by my 8th grade graduation. That's if she could even find the pictures :)

I love my mom, but now you can see why I might be a bit OCD about putting things "in order" and "in their place".

Unfortunately the majority of my albums when up in a fire my freshman year of college. So I only have a handful of what should be dozens upon dozens of albums.

Back to the part I dread.....scanning these pictures and putting them in an album. Why? Cause it's a dreaded walk through memory lane that I have been avoiding. I cry every time I go through the darn albums.

But it has to be done...and little by little this makes me less sad, and more happy. Here are some of the faves (or the ones too funny not to put in).

Our kitchen about in 1980.....the horror...

For my 1st birthday I had a Strawberry Shortcake themed party. Complete with handmade dress by my mom.

My baptism. Great parenting on my dad's part. Who lets an 11 month old balance on his hand?

What can I say.....I loved to play piano as a baby :)

Yikes.....that was my nursery back in 1980. Orange and mustard???!!! Really??!!!

Once a dog lover, always a dog lover

Thanks to my mom I still have this dress...

Days like this....

Sure, it's been a busy week, trying to jam pack a bunch of dr/vet/hair/ "insert any other appointment you can thing of" this week.

And yesterday was just what I needed.

After a morning full of appointments....Lunch with the fabulous Kristy.

And then later in the afternoon (after being stood up by the doctor)....chick flick and pizza with fabulous Brianne.

Tons of catching up....great company....what more could a girl ask for!

(yeah, yeah, yeah....I'm backed up on posting....but anything that makes me this happy deserves it's own post)

Bob Villa and Martha Stewarts love child?

I was on gmail chat last night, and an old friend happened to be on. We chatted about recent changes in our lives and how I was semi moved in Alexandria.
She asked me how I spent my days, and I told her the list of things I got accomplished (yes people, list....it's a sad thing, but I have about 5 lists floating in my purse as we speak).

Here is is just a highlight of my last few days here

• Install wall switch timer for porch lights (wohoo my first electrical project all by my-self).

• Troubleshoot front yard landscaping lights, replace bulbs, trip breaker (in the rain no less)

• Replace entire toilet stopper/valve etc for a quiet flush.

• Replace all brass switch plate covers with new satin nickel ones

• Paint living room and finishing 2nd floor hall (8 hours of my life I will never get back)

• Install double curtain road in living and dining room (oh yeah, power tools were involved)

• Switch out more electrical boxes

• Pull weeds, weeds and more weeds

• Decorate, Decorate, Decorate

• Clean, Clean, Clean

Total trips to:

Target: 6

Total trips to:

Lowes/Home Depot: 9

Turning a fixer upper into something that resembles a home.....priceless :)

After hearing all this, that is when my friend said "Madeline, you are like the girl version of Bob Villa, mixed with Martha Stewart. You know, like their love child!"

And then I spit out my coke all over my nice light blue sheets...

Martha would not approve :)

Busy Bee

Still can't get pictures to post in the fast way I am used to. So this will be yet another picture heavy, word "light" post :) Yesterday I was busy painting this....

Love this color....I HATE painting, but I love the outcome. I also miss Geoff :( We are such a good painting team. He's tall and gets the top and I do all the bottom stuff.

I installed this all by myself...I love power tools :)

Installed this soap dispenser

Tried to decorate this bathroom and installed 2 toilet seat covers ......and cleaned. For those that are saying "Madeline, it can't be THAT BAD. You're just a clean freak"....here is a taste of the grossness

All baseboards and trim look like this. Sticky, dusty and full of fingerprints and dog hair (not my dogs either!!)

This is under the microwave/over the stove. I'm sorry, does this seem OK to you???!!!!

Since it is a BEAUTIFUL day...I went for an hour long walk in the neighborhood (LOVE IT). Found out that Denise Austin (you know, the work out video queen) live 2 blocks away and is always out and about. Great, just what I need....the fitness guru watching my huff and puff up the hills!

Drum Roll Please.....

Please note 1: I still can't get my blogger draft to work, so I'm kicking this old school. And since it take FOREVER to do it this way...lots of pictures, very little text Please note 2: All pictures are from my camera phone Please note 3: All pictures are pre-landscape clean up Last but not least Please note 4: 8 hours of driving with 2 bored dogs, in the rain, in DC traffic should have made me pass out by now. But I love you people so much I am sacrificing sleep to post (that and it's thunder and lightning outside)

These flowers look fake!!!! What the heck are they???!!

Breakfast nook and powder room

GRRRRRR

Still can't upload any pictures!!!! Keeps wanting me to Find or Save a program with a .do extention (instead of jpeg etc).
Upload failed everytime!!!

HELP!!!!!

Veni.Vidi.Vici

This weekend Geoff and I: Came, Saw and Conquered(For those of you that didn't have to take Latin in Jr. High/High School)

...well...we tried our best that is.

We had big plans of painting all the rooms once Geoff drove in Friday afternoon.  I flew in late Thursday night and stayed at the Double Tree a few miles away for a day full of appointments at the new place on Friday.

Let's just say we are EXHAUSTED.

To say I cleaned all weekend would be an understatement.  The place was to be professionally cleaned before we got there.  Ummmmmm NO.  I will spare you the gross details, but it was BAD. Skin crawling bad. I don't care what's "inside" the Magic Eraser....it could kill me with toxins in 10 years...but if it takes all the grossness away, I will use it!!!  (I went through 16 total).

Since it might be awhile till we invite ANYONE over....here are your first looks


UPDATE: Can't for the life of me upload pictures!!!!  Is anyone else getting this error??!!! Grrr....

UPDATE 2:  Tomorrow I'm off to DC again until Sunday evening....these 8 hour drives suck!