The Deck, Boogers and The Garden

Matt had a pretty good weekend, mine could have been better. A few of us from Hughes met at a local restaurant for an adult beverage right after work on Friday. While sitting outside on the patio having a Long Island Iced Tea, I could feel my throat start to sting. I ignored it. As I was leaving, Matt decided to meet me in Alvarado to have dinner. We had a nice dinner and discussed our plans for the weekend. By the time we got home, my throat was on fire and I could tell I was getting sick. I took a bunch of medicine and went to bed.

Matt had to work on Saturday morning so I slept in...and then slept some more. We really wanted to start the deck so I pulled myself off of the couch and got ready for company around 2:30. My Dad came over about 4 and helped us decide what we wanted to do and how we were going to do it. My Mom, Dennise, Isaiah and Audra came over about 5:30. Matt grilled hamburgers and hot dogs for dinner and by the time we were done eating, Dad and Matt started staking out where the holes were going to go. Matt finally started digging around 8:30ish. He got three holes dug and called it a night. I was not doing so well, so I took a bunch of medicine and went to bed.

Sunday morning, I was already on the couch when Matt got up. I was in and out of consciousness most of the day. Matt mowed the yard, edged and dug holes....he also came in every now and then to pour medicine down my throat and check on me. I was up enough in the evening to eat some Chinese food and take some pictures. I didn't even have enough energy to water my garden...but I did get some pictures. :)

Here is Matt digging the last few holes.

The deck started out as an 18 ft by 10 ft one level. Now it will be 28ft by 10 ft and two levels. It is going to be huge but beautiful.

You can kinda see where the deck will be. My garden! You can see the corn (far left) growing and the spinach and broccoli in the middle. The peppers are doing well but there are not any actual peppers growing yet. The strawberries are doing very well.

The TAKS (Texas Assessment of Knowledge and Skills) test is this week. The 6th and 7th graders will be testing on Tuesday and Wednesday and then my 8th graders will test in Science on Thursday and History on Friday. We have taught, tutored, reviewed and beat this information into these kids. I think we can only cross our fingers now! 8th graders took the Math and Reading tests about a month ago because they must pass these to go to 9th grade. This gives them time to study and retest before the end of school. If they still do not pass they must attend summer school and then test again. As an 8th grade class they had 93% pass Math and 96% pass the Reading TAKS. We are hopeful that the Science scores will be just as high!

I am still a bit drugged up and full of snot, so I am hoping that this blog makes sense. Y'all have a wonderful week!

Spot Lights and More

Matt and I had a great weekend. Matt came straight home from work on Friday night to meet our neighbors (Wayne and Allison) so they could drop off Murphy. Wayne and Allison are spending the week in Florida so we are watching their basset hound, Murphy. He is a handful but super cute. I got to go to Benbrook and play keno with my monthly keno group. I got home around 11 and Matt and I went straight to bed. ...because we are party animals....

Saturday morning Murphy woke us up around 8:00. Matt made me breakfast and then the TV repair man came out. Matt's big flat screen TV started to get little white dots about a month ago. Matt was really excited because he thought this meant he would get to shop and buy and new TV. WRONG! I told him to find a way to fix it for free or we would just use it until it went out and use another TV that we had in the house. He actually found a way for it to be fixed...for free. It turns out that there was a defect in this particular TV! The company came out to fix it a couple weeks ago but the part to be replaced was also defective. This time, everything went well and our TV is as good as new.

Shortly after the repair man left, we got ready and headed to Waxahachie. We visited Lowe's, Olive Garden, Home Depot, AT&T and the Dry Cleaners. Matt finally got his iPhone and I got my case replaced (for free). Matt's dry cleaners lost 5 of his shirts so there was some drama there. Later that night, the owner called to let us know that all 5 were in the back soaking. We haven't picked them up yet, so hopefully they are okay.

I convinced Matt to drive through Maypearl to Grandview to visit Antique Alley. Antique Alley is a stretch of road that starts in Maypearl and goes through Cleburne where people set up booths and garage sales. I could tell Matt was not very excited about it but as soon as he started bargaining for stuff, I could tell he was sold. Unfortunately, it was very rainy so there was not as much activity as normal, but it was still pretty fun. We bought this cute concrete horned frog that is painted purple. I'll have to post pictures so y'all can see!

Since we ended up in Cleburne, we stopped by my parents' house in Joshua. Matt and I are working on plans to build a deck so it was nice to chat with my dad about it. We drew lots of pictures and at one point my dad got out toy blocks to model! We grilled steaks and had a nice visit. Matt and I got home early and tried to watch a movie but ended up falling asleep. ...because we are party animals....

Murphy woke us up before 8 on Sunday morning too. I was up, ate breakfast, took an hour nap and showered BEFORE noon! It was so nice to feel like it was late afternoon but still have the entire day ahead of us. We headed to Waxahachie again so Matt could get his hair cut. We ate at Ta Mollie's and then browsed at Lowe's before Matt's hair appointment. We found some spot lights that were on clearance and then the manager marked them down even further so we picked them up! After Matt got his hair chopped, We stopped at the Walmart in Midlothian to look at a patio set that we really like. Walmart is having a deal that if you buy certain items you get a $50 gift card and our patio set is included. We still have a lot to think about so we didn't buy it yet...but we shall see.

As the sun set, the rain slowed and Matt and I decided to put up our new spot lights. It was pretty easy! Here are some pictures!

Y'all have a great week! The TAKS test is next week so everyone cross your fingers! I have promised my kids that if 90% of them pass, I will let them shave my head into a mohawk! I can't wait!

Our New Hobby

Matt and I had a great weekend. I met him in Waxahachie on Friday night and we met Brittney and Victor for dinner at Corino's. We had a lovely time visiting and catching up. Of course, since we were in Waxahachie, we visited Lowe's before we drove back home. I got some miracle grow and some bug spray for my garden!

Matt had to work on Saturday morning but when he got home we went next door for Sophie's 5th birthday. We could only stay for a bit until we had to get ready for Jean and Steve's 50th wedding anniversary. We met my parents in Burleson and drove into Ft. Worth together. It was an awesome experience. I mean, the valet parking alone was pretty fancy! We ate an expensive yet super yummy dinner and celebrated with friends. We were home by 10 and in bed shortly after that. Yes, we are party animals!

Dennise and I went to Sam's to shop on Sunday morning. Matt stayed behind and cleaned like a crazy person. I told him not to but he did it anyway. It was really nice to come home to a clean house. When I got home we decided to dig out around the tree in the front yard to put in a flowerbed. All of our neighbors were out fixing up their yards too! It is so nice to live in such a friendly neighborhood. Our neighbors across the street, Wayne and Allison, are very knowledgeable on gardening so we took them to help us buy flowers. After fixing up our new flowerbed (Thanks Allison!) they invited us over for dinner (Thanks again Allison!). After dinner the four of us took a walk around the neighborhood. We all enjoy walking into the new houses as they are being built!

I don't think we have a lot planned for this week. Matt is finally off this Saturday and is hoping to get some crown molding put up in the kitchen. We shall see!

Our new flowers around the tree!

Another front flowerbed picture!

My garden is starting to sprout! These are the spinach seeds that I planted last Monday! YEA for miracle grow!

You can also see the broccoli start to sprout on the left side! Yea!

I thought y'all might like to see my strawberry again! It is so cute! The little white dot up and to the left of my strawberry is another strawberry starting to bloom! YEA!!!

The House

Matt and I have been working in the yard a lot. Last night Matt finally hung our big star in our front walkway. We both love it!

This is our front yard. Matt spent most of Thursday pulling weeds and then he sprayed for weeds. He has fertilized and now it is slowly getting green! (You can't really see my flowers.)

You can barely see the star hanging.

Allison and I were playing with the gnomes last night. I thought this was a super cute picture. We went to look at the garden last night and I have a strawberry! It is so cute! None of my other vegetables are doing very well, they don't look very perky but we shall see!

Matt and I have a very busy weekend. Tonight we are going to dinner with Brictor. Brittney and Victor lived above Matt when he was in the apartment. We always mess up their names and end up morphing them together so we just combined them! We haven't seen them in a while so we are super excited about seeing them!

Matt has to work tomorrow until 2 so I'll be going to Sophie's birthday by myself. Sophie is the little girl that lives next door. In the evening we are going downtown to the Riata for Jean and Steve's 50th wedding anniversary party! Jean and Steve lived on the street where I grew up. We moved to Everest Drive when I was just a few months old. My parents have kept in touch with many people from Everest Drive and we are looking forward to celebrating with them!

As of right now we do not have plans for Sunday. However, I am going to try to convince Matt to go with me to see the old Cowboys stadium be imploded! We will probably just watch it on TV.

Y'all have a great weekend!

Easter Weekend

Matt and I started our Easter weekend by celebrating our 8 month anniversary! We are having a great time being married. I could put some corn-ball stuff in here about how we are learning more about each other everyday as we grow together as a couple...but really, we are just having a great time together.

My friend Tracy rescued a brother and sister puppy from a busy intersection in Venus on Tuesday night. We found a home for the boy but I took the girl home in hopes of keeping her. After many long discussions, Matt and I decided that we would find a home for the girl too. She was so sweet, loved to cuddle, and never had an accident in the house. Thursday night (4/01), we met up with her new parents and gave her away. It was really hard for me but I know it was for the best.

I got an email from Gracie's new mom today. She says she is doing great and sleeps with her 7 year old boy every night. I'm glad she found a good home!

Matt had to work on Friday so I spent the day doing absolutely nothing. Well, actually I caught up on my shows from the week. When Matt got home we went to dinner and a movie with our neighbors across the street. We ate Mexican food at On The Border and saw The Clash of the Titans. It wasn't a movie I would have ever picked out but it was good!...I'd see it again.

Matt had to work on Saturday so I decided that I would start a vegetable garden. I started digging a trench to place landscape timbers and then went shopping for seeds and plants. I also got some pretty flowers for the pots in the front yard...that have been empty for a year now.

This is the before picture.

The After Picture

I planted corn, broccoli, spinach, onions, jalapenos, serrano peppers and strawberries!

When I built this house, I did not pay extra to sod the back yard. They had sod left over from the front yard so some of the back has grass and some doesn't. This side of the house does not get much direct sun but we are going to give grass a try.

The rest of the weekend is a blur. Matt and I celebrated Easter at my parents' house by coloring eggs, hunting eggs, eating...a lot...and just hangin' out! We finished the garden Sunday evening and started cleaning up the backyard in order to lay sod. I'll keep sending pictures as we finish the sod and begin our deck!

This poor egg was broken so I made his broken head into a hat!

Lots of eggs!

Monster Egg!

These are a couple of Matt's eggs. The yellow one says Matt hearts Dianna. hee hee

He is very talented in his egg coloring!