MIA

So I've been missing in action for the past couple of weeks. In that time I've been to Utah, Arizona and California- two trips for work, one for fun. When my parents moved out to Tucson I promised my mom that I would come visit her sometime around my birthday every year. This year my friend came out with me, so we did some touristy things like the Desert Museum and horseback riding at Colossal Caves. It was nice, although I don't think I'll ever be sold on Arizona.

We spent the entire day today going back and forth to the paint store, getting samples. We were trying to settle on colors for the exterior of the house. Started with blue, moved to green and about 5 different greens later I think we have a winner. The trim color remains a mystery. P wants to paint the shed tomorrow so we can get an idea what things will look like. Figuring out colors was way, way harder than it should have been. I have also decided that I am going to re-paint the kitchen- yellow, instead of green. We are starting to have way too much green going on around the house, and I just have always wanted a warm feeling kitchen. The green just was not cutting it. I think I have also settled on the tile for the backsplash- yellow and orange with bits of red 2"x2" glass tiles. I think it will be beautiful. Now, where to find the money to buy these things???

Next week the new sprinkler system is going in and the two ugly overgrown bushes in front of the house are being cut down- finally! I have also gotten a bid on re-building the retaining wall in front of the house and preparing the back part of the lawn for sod. That was a bit of a shocker- they quoted me $675, which I thought was pretty high. I am going to get a couple more bids but unfortunately this is not a job we can wait on- we need to get grass in there soon, and I am definitely not going to be the one to rake up all the rocks and trash back there.

Today I learned how to use a spline roller. (I had the same puzzled look on my face when I heard that term too.) We replaced the screen in our sliding door and it's kind of sick how happy that makes me! Tomorrow, we are taking P's mom out for brunch at the Broadmoor. I have high hopes to complete a couple more projects, like finishing the floor in the hallway and prepping the side yard for the sprinkler invasion. I am so excited to get these sprinklers done since it means I can start gardening! Here's hoping I can stick to my guns and get some work done tomorrow...