Couch Potato to 5K, the beginning

Joey and I have just completed our second week of the Couch Potato to 5K running plan. Thanks to the coolrunnings.com folks for putting it together and to Robert Ullrey for putting it in podcast form so our only job is to run and walk when he says to do so. And, thanks to all of our friends who have done this before us and inspired us to lace up the sneaks again. Joey and I were both runners at some point in our past competing - well maybe completing is a better word choice - in 5K and 10K races and would like to get to that point again. Our almost two years of marital bliss has resulted in a few extra pounds, which hopefully running will get rid of. And with the holidays quickly approaching and a calendar full of parties to attend, this is the best time of year to commit to a serious exercise program. Wish us luck and hope to see you at the Y.

Fruit of Labor

Joey's been working so hard in the yard. We've planted a lot of new things (thanks to many of our friends and family for giving us plants and offshoots from their collection). Joey's eyeing a portion of our backyard for the Hall victory garden. This year however we only managed to plant strawberries. This is our first edible plucked from the grounds of 615 Summit.

House Update

We recently had our Sunday School class over for Breakfast. The house looked as good as it has since we've had the house. Here are the pics - also you can see the completed bathroom renovation.

The Bathroom

The bathroom is taking a little longer than expected, but we're finally starting to see some great results. We've taken up more flooring (that is not our favorite job), put down hardibacker and installed the tile. We're 10" and few corners short of completing the grout...those buckets of grout at Lowe's don't go very far! After a couple days drying time, we're on to toilet and vanity installation...the end is in sight!

Christmas at 615 Summit

This Christmas is really exciting as it is our first as a married couple and our first in our new home. We have so much to be thankful for! Look in the mantle picture above, I knitted and felted the red and green stocking (It took many hours of work!) then I found the red and white one for $10.00...can you believe that!? After the festivities are over, we will hopefully be working on our bathroom and maybe installing our microwave.

Halloween...1.5 months late!

Halloween was our first holiday at 615 Summit. Unfortunately this year it fell on a Wednesday when Joey had to teach. So, our friend Kirbie came over to greet the trick or treaters with me. My favorites were the two matching hispanic girls wearing snow white costumes...they were so cute!

The Kitchen

When we bought the house, the kitchen and appliances were in pretty bad shape. The range had a crack in the glass, the dishwasher had a tremendous leak (I'll get back to that), and the refrigerator was outdated. We purchased new appliances and our goal was to install new ceramic tile floors before delivery day. Pulling up the first layer of flooring revealed the dishwasher leak, the wood backerboard under the linoleum was soaked all the way across the kitchen. Luckily however, former residents were lazy and there were 5 other layers of flooring to protect what we thought was subflooring. As it turns out all of those 7 layers of flooring were on top of 3" heart pine hard wood flooring (whoo hoo...major score!). After scraping up black tar like material off of the wood, we were able to bring in a floor refinisher who did a great job making the 60 year old floor look new again. Our appliances have been delivered and our new countertops installed. These are our progression pictures.