Toadfrogs and Elephants

A little over a year ago, Wade and I bought our house. One of the first purchases was a new fridge, which I talked about here. Well this week, something went wonky with the fridge controls. At first we just thought the door ice and water was out. Nope, turns out the fridge isn’t cooling. Wade had called a repairman the first day. Evidently our warranty was only for a year (we are three months past that) and the necessary part is back-ordered. In the interim, Wade now has a mini-fridge for his shop (after we get the kitchen fridge back up and running). Maybe the reason the Maytag man always looks bored is because the repair parts are never in stock!

Happy Birthday Buddy!

Wade and I planned to go to the movies all weekend and we finally made it. We had dinner with Nate and Michelle and then went to see the latest Pirates of the Caribbean. We loved the first one, were “uh” on the second one, and loved the third one. I guess if one of them had to be “uh” it was best for the second to be. Anyway, if you are into pirate movies I definitely recommend “Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End”. I doubt there will be a fourth, but they sure left the story line open.

Wade decided to break out his new paint gun this weekend. I now have black rocking chairs – anyone who has visited recently will appreciate this. I also have a freshly painted bedside table and rocking chair in my guest room. Wade is really knocking projects off the list right and left. Guess I need to get to work on the mudroom.

Wade and I decided to return to SeaCoast church today. We took Emily and met Uncle John and Aunt Louise there. Surprisingly, none of our friends were there – maybe everyone is out of town for the holiday weekend. After the service we all went out for Japanese and then Emily went home with Uncle John and Aunt Louise for some family bonding time. Wade and I returned home to do house projects.

Kendall and James called and invited us out for a few hours on the water. Kendall’s brother recently bought a boat and wanted to take advantage of the perfect weather. I was so excited to be on the water. I love the lake! Due to my recent working out my legs were too sore to attempt surfing or wake boarding, but everyone else seemed to have fun.

Kendall and I enjoying the ride

Emily arrived late last night. We spent the day in Greenville running errands and showing Emily the towns (Anderson and Greenville). We all took a late afternoon nap and then cooked a low sodium dinner of beef kabobs.

While in Greenville, I picked up an item I have been wanting for a while. When Mom came to visit a few months ago we did some shopping in Greenville. I found a teapot that I fell in love with, but I don’t serve tea and I didn’t really have a place for it. I didn’t buy it, but it arrived in the mail as an Easter present from Mom. I loved it but still didn’t have a place for it. When I saw mom in Atlanta for Dorothy’s funeral, she gave me a table she had found. It goes perfectly in my dining room corner with the tea pot sitting out. Then I decided that I needed the matching tea cups. Now I smile every time I look in my dining room.

Our company is awesome – we get both the Friday before and the Monday of Memorial Weekend off. I spent most of the day running errands and getting ready for Wade’s sister to visit. I also started my next project – stripping all the paint from the mudroom. A quick lesson in painting – NEVER USE LATEX PAINT ON TOP OF ENAMEL. When latex paint is used on top of enamel, it eventually peels off and is a mess to correct. That is why I am having to scrape and strip so many parts of our house. I got quite a bit done, but this small room is going to take forever!

When I got married, Dabney gave me a Flutterby (drawings by a local Paducah artist) that showed Leland, Mary Marshall, Melissa, and I as kids playing in the backyard. The caption was a quote I made long ago saying “I will do cartwheels down the aisle.” I had it framed and hung it in my guest bedroom. For my birthday this year, my mom gave me a second Flutterby depicting Ben, Matt, Melissa, and I and captioned “Toadfrogs and Elephants”. I finally have the second one framed and hung in the bedroom.

The gym I mentioned a while back is now open. Wade and I joined and even got a couple sessions with a personal trainer as part of the deal. I was excited about this until I realized a big part of it is diet – a low sodium diet. I could be committed to eating healthier, but not eating anything prepackaged is a stretch – no boxed rice, no cookie dough, no Rice Krispies, no corn flake chicken, no pork chops, no cheese, no butter, no chocolate chip muffins. There are about 10 items that are on the approved list. Wade and I decided to give it a shot, but I don’t think we are willing to make a lifetime commitment. There are too many yummy foods out there.