wil and kris (and gracie and ava)

well, we went to the doctor and found out we’re having a boy!!!

…

for those of you who’s heart just skipped a beat, don’t worry, no baby for us. but dena and josh, on the other hand, did in fact go to the doctor for an ultrasound today and found out they are having a boy! and robbie and karly found out a while ago that they are having a girl! brandi and aaron are having one too! and our friends seth and arley just found out they’re pregnant!

it’s baby madness!!!

i just wanted to say congrats to all and pass along the info to anyone else who’s interested. wil and i are excited at meeting all the new ones over the year…and two more kiddie poos to add to the crazy grandkid mix for unk and anie to spoil! here’s the ultrasound from dena’s appointment tonight:

Hey everyone,

I know you’ve all been dying to hear about this… and i’m sure i’ve told most of you about it already, but a while back (about a month) kris and i got a new computer.

This isn’t just any computer, though. It is probably the most powerful and interesting computer i have ever used.

It is a Dell XPS M1210 It is super portable, and super powerful.

Kris and i sold our other laptops because i knew i wanted to get a new one, (mine was an apple and i just didn’t want to use it anymore… no offense to apple or anything, it’s just not for me.) Kris wasn’t using hers much anymore since she doesn’t have a lot going on with school. I would’ve just upgraded her laptop to vista and used it, but it wasn’t powerful enough, and i didn’t want to deal with upgrading a processor in a gateway… =/ So, we decided to sell both and invest in a new one that would last us a good 4 years or so. I did a lot of research, ultimately deciding that i wanted something with a 12 inch screen or so that weighed around 5lbs. (ultra portable).

The M1210 was expensive, but quite powerful.  We decided to do some extra saving, so we could just pay cash for it.  I was patient and diligent, keeping most of the saved money in an envelope next to the computer; i taped a picture of the laptop on the wall, so i could always see it and dream of the day… alright, that is a bit cheesy.

I remember ordering it, and figuring out what day it would come.  I requested that day off work, so i could just play with the laptop…. it was sweet!

The computer has:

• 12.1 inch widescreen display
• intel core2 duo 2.0GHz processer
• 2Gb ram
• windows vista premium (i love this OS, by the way)
• integrated webcam (more to come)
• 120 GB Hard Drive
• Dvd burner
• 256MB NVIDIA GeForce Video Card
• Bluetooth enabled

Of course, this all could’ve been more powerful, but this was all that i wanted/needed.  It is about as powerful as the middle MacBookPro (which is pretty darn good!)

Some of my favorite features:

The operating system.  Windows Vista is pretty cool, and while there are some things that i don’t like about it (the fact that it uses lots of ram, and that there are still some bugs to work out), it is definately a step in the right direction for Microsoft.  They are working towards a more usable, more integrated (within itself) product.  It is very pretty and has some neat features.

I love the integrated webcam!  I can take pictures wherever i am using the computer with the click of a button.  I have also set up the webcam to work with my web server, so that whenever i take a picture, it is loaded onto the notebook cam page.  Sweet!

I also like that Microsoft has fixed the ’sleep’ capabilities of computers.  On my old inspiron, i could never get it to sleep just right, and it would always mess the computer up.  But now, i can just close the lid, or press the button and it’s snooze fest in compy land! <-(this is one thing i always liked about my mac)

So, overall, the computer is freakin’ awesome!  I am really happy with the purchase, and i’m sure kris is as well.

-wil

our new patio!

my back hurts…there’s no way of getting around a sore back from pulling out weeds and overgrown plants. i have figured out that there really isn’t any way of standing/sitting with proper posture and still getting enough leverage to yank a hunk of deeply rooted weeds out of the clay soil…

but this minor ache in the lumbar is totally worth it when i look out at our patio. in the last two days we have completely transformed our little private courtyard into a slice of heaven. ok, not quite, but it looks great and is very usable.

bit by the spring cleaning fever, we hit the patio: pulled out lots of nasty plants, chopped out a few thick roots (hope we didn’t sabotage the tree next door to death), leveled the soil, laid cool pavers, detailed the edges with stone, potted some pots, and set out some new comfy chairs for future morning coffees.

wil and i had a great time working on the project together- making decisions about the “new” space, pushing a cart through lowes, laying the stone together, and each working on our own tasks to make the patio come together perfectly (we really are a great team and can’t wait for owning and fixing up homes for the rest of our lives). we are also excited about the prospect of the final touches to the space. we plan on getting rid of my rusted bike, throwing out the extra lattice, finding the perfect side table for summer dinners, and getting the interior walls painted the same color as the new siding/exterior (that will be done by the h.o.a. for everyone in the near future- so we don’t even have to lift a brush!). also, we were thinking of staining/painting the original concrete (who honestly thought mint green was a good color choice for that?), but that might be a phase two thing as this weekend has obviously come to an end.

gracie likes the new patio as well…especially since she’s never been allowed out there as she used to immediately go to the dirt to dig. now she loves to sniff, explore, and crouch to look out under the fence at passerbys (she probably could see over the top if she stood up, but she doesn’t know that yet…shh!).

i know it still has a few lingering tasks, but to me, we really did the majority of the work in only two days! woohoo! we are proud. be sure to check out the entire process here (sorry, i came in bit late with the camera and missed the really icky ‘before’ shots).

it’s basically spring break for me…

well, i had today the latter of my two classes, so i guess you can technically say i am on spring break. but, with only two classes that require very minimal mental activity, i’d say every week is a break!

the great thing is that it really feels like spring. and that makes me happy. the flowering trees have not just blossomed but exploded in a matter of only a few days and everything seems to be magically turning green, even without much rain. it’s not permanent yet, but the weather is starting to warm enough to cater to lazy afternoons on a blanket on the grass. yipee is all i can say.

i put bethany on the plane to go back home yesterday. i really enjoyed her staying (can only hope she had half as much of a good time as me). we ended the trip perfectly, walking around the parthenon, rummaging through vintage clothing and used book stores and splurging on some delectable chocolate cake and creme brulee.

wil, rejuvenated after a break from a much too long stretch of working (working 12 out of 13 days- the day off in the middle being his panel), is all ready for some major spring cleaning this weekend. since it didn’t take much to get me excited about organizing things, i was happy to get a jumpstart by pulling clothes our of our closets for the goodwill. plans include some closet organization, throwing away of stuff and most importantly, fixing up our patio (for good!). can’t wait to actually enjoy it on warm nights, or even let gracie nap in the sun during the day.

i don’t know about you, but i am really looking forward to the weekend…spending all of saturday and sunday with my hubby!

it’s about midway into our lovely visit with bethany. it’s been so pleasant seeing her familiar face (not since the wedding) and getting to just have some low key one on one time. wil’s had a bummer of a work week so b and i are sitting at the starbucks, hanging out for a bit to at least be in close proximity to wil, if we can’t actually be with him.

the weather has been delightfully wonderful; we’ve enjoyed walking around downtown franklin, driving to see the civil war sites, breakfast at the best spot in nashville, counting churches along franklin road (over 30 in 17 miles!), taking a walk to the dog park, napping on a blanket in the sun, watching a favorite movie, and making yummy snacks like muddy buddies and nachos. the rest of the plans include more laziness…with spots of sightseeing in between. we still have the rest of nashville to show her…downtown at night, the parthenon, my work, trivia night at our mexican restaurant and a favorite shopping district.

on a completely unrelated note, wil and i *finally* got new glasses. me tired of hating my frames and wil tired of having to use mine since his had broke long ago (definitely not the same prescription!), we got ourselves an appointment and picked some great frames. i absolutely love my pair and i love wil’s on him almost even more (he looks so dang handsome!). we’ve both taken a couple shots on our notebook cam (in the sidebar on the right), but maybe i’ll get a decent shot of the both of us with a real camera to show off our new looks.

and since it’s been a while…here is a picture or two. i loved that i’ve been taking more pictures recently, but been pretty bad at including humans in those shots. oh well…maybe we’ll get one or two pictures of bethany to prove that she really was here in person…

HOLY FREAKIN’ CRAP I PASSED!

I heard this morning from my district manager.  Next steps are an offer over the phone tomorrow and transition into my assistant store manager in late april (when a spot opens up in a store).

WOHOO!

Today was a freakishly awesome day, here’s why:

1. I paneled today and it went pretty well.  I don’t know for sure what the outcome was, but i think i have made it through.  Te’sh [pronounced ‘teesh’(my district manager)] told me that he’d call me or Shiloh (my store manager) within 48 hours to deliver the news.  So, now all i have to do is wait.

2. After my panel, i went back to my store to take care of a few things and had some killer crab casserole for lunch.  I got to eat with David, a friend of mine from work who was recently promoted to a Shift Supervisor. (congrats dave!)  It was a nice lunch where we just sort of sat and chatted, then Shiloh came over and we chatted some more.

3. After lunch, Kris and i took Gracie to the dog park where there were PLENTY of dogs for her to play with and hump (ya!).  We hung out for about an hour and it was so nice outside i wore shorts and Kris wore a tank top! (three billion cheers for spring!)

4. Kris had to go to class at 3:30, so i decided to go to spencer creek (a very close and cheap golf course) to play my first round of the season.  I shot 7 over par with 4 pars, 3 bogeys and 2 double bogeys.  Not bad for the first round!

5. Now i am chillin’ at home relaxing (as if my day wasn’t already relax city) while Kris is cooking some mexican for dinner.

What a day!