Status update

So many things going on. So many stories to be blogged and yet I can’t bring my sorry, tired self to open up the computer at night. I am itching to getting back to posting more regularly. There are so many funny things that happen each day. Funny to me so therefore I want to tell you about them. I think once we get the house settled and are back into more of a routine that my blogging will increase again.

So, I promised updates right up there in the title.

• The house actually looks inhabitable now. The main level is pretty much complete. A couple of pictures to hang and one stand mixer to find a home for.
• The upper level, the bedroom level, is almost complete. We still have to hang pictures there as well. The bunk beds are assembled (by me btw) and we now have two mattresses in there. For a while the poor girls were sleeping on blankets because we couldn’t find mattresses to fit the odd size of the bunks. We adapted and overcame and hopefully everyone will stay safe. Enough said.
• The basement no longer looks like a home invasion victim. The guest bedroom is completely set up and ready for guests (hint, hint) and the play room has a floor that you can actually see. We’ve gone vertical in that room, as vertical as you can go in a basement room. There are shelves lining almost every wall. And they are all full. Lots of books (and since we homeschool we have an inordinate amount), lots of craft supplies (and since I have Sew Petit we have an inordinate amount), and lots of toys (and apparently since we have two girls we have an inordinate amount. That will soon change).
• The back patio no longer has a couch inhabiting and taking up 50% of the space back there. We finally got rid of that behemoth tonight.
• What’s left? We need to hang curtains and create more storage options outside. We’ve got ideas for both and now we can finally act on both. ALSO, I am excited about gardening, in the ground and container. Our back is shady and gets morning sun, not the ideal setting for a garden, I think, but we’ll make it work. The girls next door have a whole farm going, so I know we can get something to grow.
• We’ve been able to meet up with a couple sets of friends.
• We’ve been able to meet up with some of my cousins.
• I’ve taken the girls into the city a couple of times. They love riding the Metro buses and trains. They ask to do it all the time. Last week I took them to the US Botanic Gardens, right by the Capitol. Today we went swimming at my cousin’s pool…on a roof overlooking the city.

This is where we watched the 4th of July Fireworks

• I’ve started running again. No, I didn’t stutter. I really am running. All of two miles, but still. I’m realizing that I’m not going to start out running 5Ks again and that I must start somewhere and build. So, right now I’m running between a 10 and 12 minute pace (in college it was around 7:30) and I pretty much feel like I’m about to die. As soon a my feet hit the pavement. I really hope it gets better soon. Consolation for me is cute running clothes, good music and a good tracking program that tells me how poorly I’m doing and then shows me the route I almost died running on.
• I love our neighborhood. I’m pretty sure I’ve said that before. So you can believe me. It’s close to oh, everything. The yuppies in Arlington. The tree huggers in Arlington. The chic people and the tourists in Old Town, Alexandria. The “taxation without representation” people in DC. The monuments. The museums. The food!!! We are surrounded by international restaurants (most of them not Mexican, which is bad when you have a craving and can’t find one).
• I love driving around here and secretly (whispering) I don’t mind the traffic. Most of the time. The traffic in Arlington and Alexandria isn’t bad. It’s city traffic. It allows me to people watch. The traffic I hate is the congestion that causes us to take 6 hours to get down to Hampton instead of 2.5 to 3. I was ready to mangle the brains at VDOT who still haven’t concluded that widening I95 and I64 would be a good idea. Anyway.

This is getting way too long. Please wipe the drool from your chin. Go take a walk and get some fresh air. See what happens when I don’t get to blog a lot? Diarrhea of the fingers.