Toadfrogs and Elephants

Today started Wade and I’s trip to LA. We have a wedding on Saturday and then are taking a few extra days for vacation. We got up at a normal time and drove to Atlanta to catch our flight. However, when we went to check in our bags, we learned the flight had been delayed about three hours. That was enough time for us to re-park the car in the cheap parking and grab lunch at Chili’s.

The flight was uneventful except that my new DVDs (Roswell – Season 1) won’t play on my laptop. However, I didn’t discover this until we were up in the air. My movie DVDs were packed in my checked luggage. No worries though, I filled my iPod shuffle with music, took a nap, and did some reading.

We arrived in LA and picked up our rental car. I love renting cars. I always pick the cheapest option, which they never have. Meaning I get an upgrade for free. Wade and I are now driving around town in a PT Cruiser with a sunroof.

The typical Wade and Holly part of this trip occurred when we started to get ready for dinner. We had reservations at the Magic Castle, courtesy of Nicholas. However, when Wade started to get dressed, he realized he had his suit jacket, but not the pants. That meant no dinner and a shopping trip instead. Wade still needed clothes for the wedding tomorrow. I think this is how Wade gets new dress clothes, but I’d be fine with him just going shopping in non-rush situations.

We went to 3rd Street Promenade for a little shopping. Wade found new dress pants, a new shirt, and tie. There was also a movie theater so went to see Superman – shockingly a movie we both wanted to see. The movie was good enough. My lingering thought after the movie – Superman looked animated throughout the whole movie. Wade said the post processing was to blame, but he just looked odd.

Wade installed a nice new ceiling fan in my office, but now I have to make a decision. I have four different colored globes on the fan, but can’t decide which one I like best. The walls are yellow, the furniture is white, and the reading chair is red. So let’s take a vote. You can vote for either the blue, white, red, or clear.

While my mom was visiting, we worked a little shopping into the days of yard work. One of things we did was look for pictures to hang in my bedroom. I was shocked when we found two that Wade and I both liked – we have very different taste. We also bought a bed-skirt and added a few things to my shelves. I am starting to feel like the bedroom is almost “finished.” Now I just need a mirror over the dresser and two other pictures I bought framed over the bed.

Wade and I have really enjoyed serving on the host team at our new church. There is a mix of singles and couples, young and old. One of our favorite couples is Kendall and James – about our age, been married about the same amount of time, moved here from Atlanta, previously attended Buckhead church, and did I mention they are just fun? They invited us to dinner at their house, but we had a bit of trouble finding a date that worked for both of us. Wade and I had all of our weddings, they were out of town, and then my mom was in town. We eventually settled on a night and Kendall said she was going to grill burgers.

Now the sticky part. Do I tell her I don’t eat ground beef or do I just tough it out? Wade’s first suggestion was to say we had just had burgers. With my luck, I figured then she would cook tacos or lasagna. I emailed her back, told her of my odd eating preferences, and offered to bring chicken or a hot dog. She said not to bother and added grilled chicken to the menu. We had a great time! Did I mention they also have a new puppy – an 8 week old lab? Now I remember exactly why I want another puppy!

I feel like my to do list just keeps growing and growing. The painting never ends. Things have to be done before and after the painting. Blah Blah Blah

I recently started painting the trim in the hallway. This means all the doors are taken outside. Then I decided that the inside of the closets should be painted too. That means I have to take everything out of the closets. The logical place to put all the stuff is in the dining room, but the dining room is full of all the stuff that goes in my office. It’s not in my office yet because I don’t have a desk built.

Well, I took charge today. I cleaned out the dining room and neatly unpacked my office. Not to mention taking quite a bit of stuff to the attic. For those of you who have never seen my house, these pictures won’t mean much. Mom will get it .

On a side note: You see we have acquired a foosball table. A friend down the street is a fan of yard sales and picked it up for $10. She didn’t have room for it so it now lives at our house. It will most likely stay in the dining room until we have a dining room table. In case you didn’t know, there is no where to buy foosballs in Anderson. However, both John and I picked up some when we were in Atlanta. We now have 12 foosballs so come on over and play.

First Melissa gets a dog and now Jamie. She got the dog from a rescue group that believes it is a 2 year old Shitzu-Pekingese mix. I went over to see the dog after dropping my mom off in Atlanta on Sunday. The dog is really cute, but mostly slept. I think it is getting used to a new place and new people. Jamie still hasn’t decided on a name so the dog is Cody for now.

I had no idea how much mulch to order and did my ordering based on the delivery cost. Twelve cubic yards was the least amount to get the price break on delivery so that is what I ordered. Well that is a ton of mulch! My mom and I worked for four days on the pile. I did most of the shoveling and she did the spreading. Well we finally finished! I have done all the mulching I plan to do. I wasn’t even that far off on how much I needed. There is probably only one cubic yard or so left – go me. Now we just need someone to come take what is left.

Before:

This pile of mulch is actually huge, I am just taking the picture from far away. Compare the two pictures by looking at the fence in the back.

After:

In the process of mulching the yard, I got a wheelbarrow! I have always wanted a red one – no idea why I wanted one. This was the perfect time to get one.

I think I half mentioned this earlier so I will explain. Wade and I have a new roommate – John Maley. (He comments a lot on Wade’s blog for those of you that read it.) Wade knew him at Tech when they were both in the Industrial Design Program. Well, John got hired by Wade’s company as an intern, but they didn’t have a place for him to live. They normally have three interns and put them up at an apartment complex. John was the fourth intern and they were having trouble finding a place agreeable to a 3 month lease. They approached Wade, and we agreed to let John live with us for three months. (He is paying rent.) He’s a nice guy and Wade loves having someone around to play Nintendo with….