Caleb and I woke up this morning determined to clean the garage out. Over the course of the last month and a half, our garage turned into a clutter zone. It was filled with emptied boxes, paint supplies, and of course all of the stuff we will be storing there. It was very hard to walk around and we wanted to at least get it cleared so we could have room to put shelving in. I am a huge organization freak and everytime I would open the door to the garage I could feel the panic creeping up my chest. It was time to do something.
Caleb got started while I finished up some paperwork for work. I was on the phone with my dad trying to figure out the best benefit package to choose and I hear a loud crash from downstairs followed by Caleb dashing up the stairs. It was so loud my dad heard it on the other end of the phone. I thought Caleb had hurt himself but as soon as he got to the top of the stairs he stopped and just stared at me. I asked him what was wrong and he got one word out of his mouth....."SPIDER". I laughed because I was thinking it was just a small spider that I would have to go and kill. Caleb HATES spiders and wont ever go near them. I am not a big fan of spiders myself but I will kill the occasional spider that makes its way into the house.
I told him I would be there in a minute and the next thing I know, Caleb is at the door again with his paintball gun gased up and ready to go. I laughed again telling him that I would kill the stupid spider and he did not need to worry about shooting the poor thing. Then it hit me, what type of spider was this?
I took one look at this spider in the corner of the garage and said..."shoot it". It was a black widow and I drew the line there. One black widow to kill is not a huge deal but the next thing I know, Caleb turns around to find two more black widows right outside the garage. Now, I am not opposed to sharing my living space with furry members of our animal kingdom (aka, dogs) but cohabitating with arachnids, especially those deadly ones...no thanks.
After our lovely encounter, we cautiously removed boxes from the garage to load into Caleb's car. We had made a pile right outside the trunk and as Caleb put the last box down, we noticed a nice little black blotch with a red spot on its back about a foot from his hand....yep you guessed it, ANOTHER BLACK WIDOW.
4 black widows in one day was more than enough for me and we took a trip to Lowes where we purchased Home Defense Spray and Insect Killer for your yard. We probably overdid it but the only time I intend on seeing a black widow ever again is....NEVER! I guess I should count my blessings though...at least it wasn't a snake...or 4.
Sunday, August 17, 2008
Wednesday, August 13, 2008
Our Mini Vacation
At the end of May, Caleb and I took a long weekend to go to Massachusetts to visit some very close family friends, the Birenbaums. Their oldest son, Justin, was graduating from highschool (this makes me feel very old, he was only 4 when I first met him) and I absolutely could not miss seeing him walk across the stage. Of course I loved seeing Marisa and Corey too. They have grown up so much.
Justin Getting ready to graduate
Justin Getting ready to graduateThe Birenbaums have a beautiful home and were nice enough to welcome us to stay with them. Our first day there, Adam took us on a nice hike up Blue Mountain where we had a great view of Boston. Unfortunately, he failed to tell us about this view and we left the camera in the caaaaa (car for us southerners). Of course then Adam had to take us by Gillette Stadium and try to convince us to become Pats fans (HA...never...GO FINS).
Laughing at the thought of being a patriot fan
Gillette StadiumCaleb had never been to MA before so I was so excited to take him to my most favorite city ever, Boston. The Saturday before we left, we took the T into Boston with Corey and the three of us walked the entire city from, Fenway to the North end. Adam, Janet and Marisa met us for some more walking (including Adam's famous tour of all the historical spots) and a GREAT dinner at a small Italian restaurant and then of course desert at the pastry shop. Caleb absolutely loved Boston and although the Sox weren't in town, we did take the tour of Fenway. Caleb was in seventh heaven! I had been to Fenway before for a game and while that was a great time, the tour was a lot of fun as well. There was even a couple getting married in the stands behind home plate while we were there. Now that's a way to get married!
Corey and Caleb in the park
Caleb taking it all in
Caleb and I at Fenway
Marisa, Corey, Caleb and I at Faniel Hall
Marisa and Corey
They love eachother and I love them!We had a wonderful time in Boston and I cannot wait to go back!
As promised...
Here is a picture of the outside of our house and one of part of the family room. I thought that I had taken more of the inside but I guess not. The living room is still a very big work in progress but we LOVE our new furniture and the color we chose to paint the room. It gives it a very Florida feel and you know that I love that! :)
We are planning on doing some different things with the outside landscape but for now it works. Little by little, things will really start to come together! 
Monday, August 11, 2008
Back on Track
Ok...so I know that I said that I was going to keep this thing updated but I did not realize just how little free time I was going to have the past few months. My summer has been completely taken up by moving, working and trying to find a job within one of the county school systems. I am happy to say that moving and finding a job have been completed....WOOHOOO!
I will preface my update on the new house by saying....Caleb and I will NOT be moving again for a VERY long time....HAHA! Moving is so exhausting and it seems as though it never ends. We are still swimming in boxes trying to find each thing we own its new place ; however, I can finally say that our house is starting to feel more and more like a home. We started by painting the kitchen and family room and are SO happy with the colors that we chose. The kitchen is my favorite room in the house and for those of you who know me, that is a BOLD statment! HAHA! Caleb is loving the fact that I love my kitchen because it means that he is not cooking as much as he used to at the old place. Well, I take that back, he is still cooking a lot but now he has a cooking partner which both of us are enjoying.
The first weekend we were here, Caleb, his dad, Evan, Stephen, and Jerry all built our fence. It was a huge project and I know for a fact that it is the last fence that at least 4 out of the 5 guys will ever build themselves. They did an amazing job though. Our builder came by and said it looked like it was professionally done. Our backyard is huge and I cannot wait until fall when we can finally get some good grass seed down. Right now, there are huge patches of red mud in between weeds. We can use the backyard only when it has not rained for 2 or 3 days otherwise our dogs are being walked around the neighborhood. Cleaning the red mud off of our new carpets is not my idea of fun!
The house is really starting to come together. Of course we have a list of projects we want to do but owning a house is an ongoing process and they will get done little by little.
On another note, I finally got a job! YAY! I am teaching in the Orange County School system. I am one of three new Pre-K teachers in the system. The program is funded by Title 1. This means that the children who qualify for this program are at risk of failing school before they even start. This can be because of the child's family's socio-economic status, if the child does not speak english or many other reasons. I am really excited about this job and cannot wait to start next week. I actually have workshops and training starting tomorrow but the 18th is my official start date. I don't think the kids will be coming to the classroom until the 1st of Septemeber but I will be meeting them at their homes before we start.
Caleb is doing really well. He stays busy at work but is not the happiest there. Once I get established in my job in a few months, he will start to look for another job. He has his degree that Timco does not recognize and he is just frustrated with the situation. Hopefully something will come his way. He definitely deserves it.
I have pictures on our camera of the new house and all of the progress we are making that I promise to post as soon as I find the transfer cord. I am going to go through the office boxes now and hopefully within the next hour, I will have pictures! I am really going to try to keep on top of posting. It is definitely a great outlet.
I will preface my update on the new house by saying....Caleb and I will NOT be moving again for a VERY long time....HAHA! Moving is so exhausting and it seems as though it never ends. We are still swimming in boxes trying to find each thing we own its new place ; however, I can finally say that our house is starting to feel more and more like a home. We started by painting the kitchen and family room and are SO happy with the colors that we chose. The kitchen is my favorite room in the house and for those of you who know me, that is a BOLD statment! HAHA! Caleb is loving the fact that I love my kitchen because it means that he is not cooking as much as he used to at the old place. Well, I take that back, he is still cooking a lot but now he has a cooking partner which both of us are enjoying.
The first weekend we were here, Caleb, his dad, Evan, Stephen, and Jerry all built our fence. It was a huge project and I know for a fact that it is the last fence that at least 4 out of the 5 guys will ever build themselves. They did an amazing job though. Our builder came by and said it looked like it was professionally done. Our backyard is huge and I cannot wait until fall when we can finally get some good grass seed down. Right now, there are huge patches of red mud in between weeds. We can use the backyard only when it has not rained for 2 or 3 days otherwise our dogs are being walked around the neighborhood. Cleaning the red mud off of our new carpets is not my idea of fun!
The house is really starting to come together. Of course we have a list of projects we want to do but owning a house is an ongoing process and they will get done little by little.
On another note, I finally got a job! YAY! I am teaching in the Orange County School system. I am one of three new Pre-K teachers in the system. The program is funded by Title 1. This means that the children who qualify for this program are at risk of failing school before they even start. This can be because of the child's family's socio-economic status, if the child does not speak english or many other reasons. I am really excited about this job and cannot wait to start next week. I actually have workshops and training starting tomorrow but the 18th is my official start date. I don't think the kids will be coming to the classroom until the 1st of Septemeber but I will be meeting them at their homes before we start.
Caleb is doing really well. He stays busy at work but is not the happiest there. Once I get established in my job in a few months, he will start to look for another job. He has his degree that Timco does not recognize and he is just frustrated with the situation. Hopefully something will come his way. He definitely deserves it.
I have pictures on our camera of the new house and all of the progress we are making that I promise to post as soon as I find the transfer cord. I am going to go through the office boxes now and hopefully within the next hour, I will have pictures! I am really going to try to keep on top of posting. It is definitely a great outlet.
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