Catching Up

Sorry if you've missed me this past week.  I feel like a broken record, but it's true- we're busy!

Anyway, here's a recap of what's been going on.

Painting the kitchen has been put on hold for another week.  I know I promised pictures of the completed project this weekend, but JD isn't feeling well today, and I need his help to move the appliances so I can finish up.  I can't say I'm completely disappointed because it means we can actually have a relaxed Sunday.    Hopefully we'll finish up next weekend (for real this time).

My company has instituted a "Social Hour" every Friday at our corporate office (10 minutes away from my office).  The invitation said, "snacks and beverages will be provided, including beer, wine and soda."  I think we were all a little floored when we saw that.  Beer and wine?  At a company event?  For REAL?!  Most people in our office are hesitant.  Not only are people in a hurry to get home on Friday, but the stigma surrounding anything happening at corporate is "stuffy."  I had visions of making small talk with executives in business suits over a very small glass of wine.  But, after a very long work week, a couple friends and I decided to check it out anyway.  We felt a little conspicuous as we walked through the doorway, because almost everyone there was from the corporate office, but any hesitation we had was quickly dissolved when we saw the fridge stocked full of beer and the bottles of wine sitting on the counter.  The NCAA tournament was on, the mood was light, and there wasn't a business suit in sight.  We will definitely be attending again, and spreading the word around our office :)

Yesterday morning around 7am, I was happily snuggled up in bed when JD shot up and announced, "we're late!"

"It's Saturday," I replied, thinking he thought he was late for work.

"No!  The REI sale is today!"

He was right, REI (outdoor store) was having a big sale for their "members" that included huge discounts for camping and hiking gear.

"Do we have to go?" I asked, pulling a pillow over my head.

"Well, we paid for the membership, and there's stuff we need," he reminded me.

So, we dragged ourselves out of bed and got in the long line of people, a lot of whom had camped outside the store.  We sat in line, chatting with the people next to us until about 8:30 when they handed out numbers.  We were 117th in line.  They opened the doors at 10, and we were invited to browse the garage sale area at 10:30.  Most of the bigger items we really needed were already gone, like sleeping bags and a new backpack, but David got some new workout clothes and I got a pair of Five Fingers (also known as "toe shoes") for $40.

A little background on Five Fingers: David has been wearing these for a couple of years and swears by them.  They look goofy, but there have been a lot of studies that say going barefoot is better for you (think about it, at the beginning of time, did we wear shoes?).  He has had 2 major knee reconstructive surgeries, but says that he has little to no pain after running in his Five Fingers whereas regular running shoes do bother him.

After trying them on, I admit that they are super comfortable.  He wears his all the time, but I will probably only wear mine for hiking and walking the dogs.

And my final piece of news is that we finally got rid of our crappy point and shoot camera and upgraded to a Digital SLR.  It was nearly impossible to get a good picture on our old camera, and we've both been wanting a new one for a while.  We're still learning how to use it, but here are some of the pictures we've taken while playing around.

As you can see, we're still having trouble growing grass.  But the tree is pretty!

Sadie is trying to figure out what's going on.

Boyd looking lost.

Love this action shot of Harrier.  He always looks so happy when he's playing in the yard.