Fall has Arrived!

So glad its finally fall. The mornings have been crisp and with the cooler weather I have been able to get to some much needed yard projects I've been putting off (more on that later!). I have also taken out my fall and winter clothes that I have missed so much! I never thought I'd be so excited to see long pants again. :)

Before big project news, an update on the painting projects. I finally finished off the basement laundry room in what will most likely be the last house-painting project for quite some time. The paint in this room was no better than any otherpaint in the basement, and there was an unusual color I can only describe as "dirty teal" on the cupboards. Much better with new paint!

Now for big project news...ever since moving into this house the lawns have needed some serious work. I dug and seeded the front lawn this past spring and now this weekend rented a tiller and did the entire back yard. It was one full day of work that left me tired, sore, and very satisified with my new lawn. I keep checking every 20-30 minutes to see if the seed is starting to sprout...but so far no luck. I'm pretty pumped for the first signs of grass though, and perhaps next month's picture will show some progress in that department.

In other news, it was Jason's 29th birthday today. A few weeks ago we went to see Jim Gaffigan as his official birthday present, however I also made him a ginormous cupcake with the help of a mold I borrowed from a co-worker, a cupcake shaped card, and a nice breakfast and lunch today. I also did all of his ironing while he was at class, which should score me some major bonus wife points. It's too bad when you get old enough that you still have to write papers and take tests on your birthday, which is what Jason spent most of his weekend doing. I think overall he still had a pretty good birthday though.

Tomorrow is my annual review at work. I'm trying to decide if this will be a good day to tell my boss I feel like I need to cut back on hours in order to finish school this millenium. Probably not. I'm also burnt out tracking data day in and day out. Problem is, right now there isn't anyone else to do my job which leads to great job security along with the monotony. If someone else could pick up some of my current duties, I feel like I'd be able to expand and do bigger better things, but for right now I'm stuck. Sounds like something out of a Dilbert cartoon I think.

On a somewhat brighter note, in a move towards mental sanity, I officially renewed my gym membership. My first workout last week was physically and mentally punishing, as I was brought face-to-face with how out of shape I've really become over the past couple years. It's going to take a lot of hard work to get back at it, but I'd like to think I'm up for the challenge. I've got all winter to make sure Jason isn't able to hike the wind out of me next spring. ;)

I am reminded again how fast time flies as I realize Jason and I have now been married 5 months. It's a little crazy to think about. We really should get around to ordering that wedding album one of these days however we're having one of those months (or a couple of months) where everything breaks. After discovering a flat tire several weeks ago at work I ended up with a complete set of brand new tires on my car. Then after sitting in line at a broken car-wash (another story completely) my car almost didn't start and I ended up with a new car battery. I went to make steaks one night for Jason after class and after 20 minutes under the broiler the steaks were luke-warm...leading us to discover the top heating element in our oven no longer works. Add that to the dishwasher making dying noises (don't worry the time it flooded the kitchen seems to have been a fluke), and we're having a very unlucky (and potentially expensive) several weeks.

I think that's the extent of news from here. I know I've rambled a bit this time, but hopefully you enjoy it nonetheless.

Take Care!
S.~