Where have I been?

Well, July has come and gone and I haven't spent too much of it on the blog.  That's probably because I've been all over the place!  I definitely owe posts about Jess and Ryan's wedding and my Around the World Birthday Party... but those will have to wait for whenever it is that I have more time on my hands.

For now, I thought I'd go through my phone and pick out a few pictures that depict what my life was like this July 2013.

Starting with July 4th: I managed to take zero pictures of the actual party... We had a "Jorth of July" party in which we and our friends wore and created various things out of denim.  A Love made koozies-oops, I mean "joozies" and "joasters".  And her dogs came and they wore "jollars".  The party grew bigger than I thought it would which made it that more awesome.  We had a great time under the watchful eye of this "Juper Hero":

Shortly after July 4th weekend, Joey left for an entire week for a trip to Georgia for work.  I've traveled for work before but Joey has not.  (Well, once he went to FL for a couple days with Best Buy and he ended up in Disney World and I was reallly bitter.)  So he was gone for a whole week but I can't complain because he is not in the military and I know plenty of awesome Mil Spouses who deal with deployments and this was no comparison whatsoever. Apples and Oranges.  I will say, though, that it is a little scary without him in the house at night.  I was really glad to have the dogs there as my extra pair of eyes and ears.

The first night was probably the worst.  I was just a little freaked and so I decided to booby trap the house so if someone decided to break in and "get me", I'd hear them coming.  Of course I had nothing to worry about since Chloe took it upon herself to guard the door all night.  She woke me up every hour or so 'boofing' at something... Thankfully the next night it was Doc's turn and he is a much better watchman.

The third day Joey was gone this guy (below) decided it would be a good idea to park his car in front of my house and take a bunch of pictures of it.  It was so weird... I heard the dogs barking out the front window and I went to look.  He stayed there for a good 15-20 minutes, taking pictures of the outside and interior of the vehicle, maybe to sell it?  I have no idea who he is or why he thought my house would be a good backdrop.  I was a little weirded out and definitely glad when he drove away.  

After Joey returned from the JAX area, it was time for the Warner-Wolowski wedding!! This event deserves a post of its' own, which it will get, eventually.  It was a beautiful day and everything was amazing!! I love these two and I wish them the best of luck on their move to Raleigh and their new life together.

Friendshipsss

If you live around these parts, you'll know that the temps got up to some really ridiculously high numbers this month.  The below used to be a tall citronella candle...

Another thing we Joey accomplished this month was the beginning of the back deck reno.  He got out the power-washer and spent 5 HOURS on the first round. It looks much better but it is far from finished :(

 Finally, the last thing that happened was my annual Birthday Bash, which is always themed and completely out of control.  This year, we went with the "Around the World and Epcot World Showcase" theme.  I went completely overboard as per usual, spent a TON of money on booze, and we had a fabulous time.  This one also deserves its' own post.

Backseat passenger

Just some of the fun...

So, July has come and gone but it doesn't mean I've been sitting around doing nothing! I've also been enjoying my book club, got another Stitch Fix, and have big plans for August.  So I promise to be back with more thrilling entries (and more pin pics) soon!

~SG

Day Trip to Gettysburg

A couple Saturdays ago, we woke up bright and early, packed up our bags as if we were going to Disney World for the day, and made the ~2 hour drive up to Gettysburg, PA.  The 150th Anniversary of the Battle was this year on July 1-3, and they were celebrating and doing reenactments through the weekend/month.  

Since I've never seen a Civil War reenactment, I decided this would be the perfect time to go, being the 150th Anniversary.  As with everything, there are rookie mistakes...

Here are some things I thought we did well:

Leave Early

Do research ahead of time on where to go

Wear sneakers

Bug spray

Bring mini backpack instead of purse

Here are some things we failed on:

Not buying tickets ahead of time (for the grandstands/also WAY cheaper)

Not wearing sunblock (i KNOW...)

Not bringing water bottles

Not bringing chairs/umbrellas to sit under/setting them up early by the field

I don't think I'd recommend going on a anniversary weekend, although it was cool to be there. The crowds were crazy and there was no parking anywhere.

The reenactment experience was unlike any other I've ever had. I absolutely LOVED it.  I am a huge history nerd as you know from last year's birthday party.  We arrived nice and early and took the time to walk through the tents and the living history area.  We even got to see Gen. Longstreet talk about his battle plans!   It was very, extremely hot, even though it was only 10 am.  We started chugging water and sweating immediately.  I have never been so sweaty, and so OK with it, in my life.

In one of the tents, piece of a tree that witnessed the battle and Gettysburg Address

View of camp

Tons of people were walking around in period clothing. IT WAS SO HOT.

Gen. Longstreet gets ready to talk to the crowd

He was pretty awesome. Did you know that he was in Ulysses S. Grant's wedding?

CSA dude on a horse. He posed for me. hahaha

The battle we saw was a cavalry demonstration, which is actually very rare to see because of all the horses involved.  Because of the live horses, nobody really "died" in the battle- they simply ran off the field.  This was done for obvious safety reasons.  Also, there was no real winner, although the battle was loosely based on Gen. Stuart arriving at Gettysburg.  It was also very, extremely patriotic.  We began by reciting the Pledge of Allegiance, the National Anthem, and "Lincoln" recited the Gettysburg Address.  I ate it up.  Joey and I walked around quite a bit trying to find a good spot to stand, and we finally decided on a hill in front of the "camp".  It was one of the better spots, next to the main grandstands.  

Lining up for battle

If you look closely you can see Lincoln

The Confederates run across the field in a disorganized line to get set up. Very authentic.  The Union soldiers were much more organized and put together.

Confederates get set up for the battle

OMG we're here! (and sweating)

Gun powder in the air

Union soldiers line up behind the fence

The battle ensues, the Rebel Yell is heard!

The cavalry charge!

After the battle was over, they paraded around the field so everyone could get a good look.

Which is when I got this awesome picture.

Btw, there were TONS of cheers when the Union soldiers came by.  Joey said it was only because we are in the North ;)

There were several more battles that day that our tickets were good for, but I had never actually been to Gettysburg (so weird).  So I wanted to go over to the battlefield and see the museum and the monuments.  Reenactments are always done on private land, as the battlefield is a memorial and it is illegal to do reenactments there.  So we headed over to downtown Gettysburg.  It was SO CROWDED.

After grabbing some lunch at Wendys and driving around FOREVER trying to find parking (next time we go, it will NOT be on an anniversary weekend), we finally found a spot and walked over to view some of the monuments.  

Gen. Meade on his horse

Confederates who died in the spot below, notably Gen. Armistead.

The spot where Gen. Armistead fell during Pickett's Charge

Meade again, looking over the battlefield.

Looking out from the Union position in the direction in which the Confederates came across the field during Pickett's Charge.

Looking back from the opposite direction, from the Confederate position.  Can you imagine walking across that entire field?!

Gen. Robert E. Lee monument

Gen. Lee looking out over the battlefield

We also visited the museum, although I don't have many pictures from that experience.

Faces of the Union

Faces of the CSA

Gettysburg Address

It was so hot out and so crowded, but we wanted to do as much as possible.  We finally threw in the towel after a full day and what we guessed was 3-5 miles of walking.  Once we got that parking spot we didn't want to lose it, so we had walked everywhere.  

Being there over July 4th weekend made me extra thankful for all of our troops, past and present (and future) that have given us the ability to live the way we do today.  Without their ultimate sacrifice, we would not be able to celebrate with our BBQs and beers.  

I can't wait to go back to Gettysburg.  I know there is much more to see and I can't wait to see it.

~Sg

Basement Bathroom Reno

It's been a while since we've done anything major with the house.  As most of you know, we bought the place 2 years ago this August.  It was not a regular sale, and the place needed quite a bit of work.  I can't believe it's been almost 2 years, and we've done a TON since then... but we'd taken a bit of a hiatus as of late. When we realized it was almost time for my annual birthday themed bash, we decided we needed to step it up a bit to show folks who were here last year (right after the carpet was put in the basement!) that we were still actively working on making the man cave a better place- namely giving them a working bathroom down there!

We received all the pieces for the bathroom for Christmas from Joey's parents.  I'm not kidding- we got a vanity, mirror, light fixture, towel/toilet paper racks, and a sink fixture.  All we had to do was open the door to that disgusting room and get to work.  I'd started peeling off the ugly wallpaper border sometime last fall, but quickly lost interest.  Joey was waiting for me to peel off the wall paper and clean up the grossness before he could start working.

You guys.  It was DISGUSTING.  Whoever used this bathroom before us clearly was blind and didn't know where the toilet was.  We actually removed the toilet and bought a new one within the first few weeks of owning the house.  But it was so gross in there that we quickly condemned it and closed the door.

A couple weeks ago, we felt motivated and decided to get to work.  Joey did a GREAT job as plumber, electrician, and overall work horse.  I felt I did a good job motivating, watching, holding the light and the fan, and bleaching.  Everything.  Multiple times.  I'm talking pure bleach, people. I probably burned my lungs but after the 5th time I felt OK walking around barefoot in there.

Now I'll share some pictures... this is where I should warn you- some of it is pretty gross.  But, I've always said I want to be real on this blog so here we go!

The first step, after I pulled off all the wallpaper and cleaned up, was to remove the original vanity.  This included quite a bit of plumbing work since the vanity was built with the house, and the plumbing was done afterwards...

Here's a shot I took of the tub before we cleaned, re-caulked, cleaned again, and cleaned again:

Gross dirty walls, broken light.. just nasty all around.

This is what it looked like after Joey removed the vanity.  I told you it was gross.

Time for painting!

Faithful companions guarding our exit

Installing the new toilet

Quick plumbing fix. Maybe someday Joey will let me tell you that story.

Putting the sink together while the pins look on.
You can also see in the left corner of the pic a piece of missing drywall.  This was the cover to the sump pump and that day I finally pulled it out and painted it to match the rest of the walls.

"Watching paint dry"

Before....

AFTER!

 The entire project took us about 24 hours to complete, with some sleeping, IHOP and a couple trips to Lowes.  It also took about a week for everything I ordered online to arrive.  I was soooo excited to put it all together, and now I get to share it with you!!!

LADIES AND GENTLEMEN, I GIVE YOU "THE GISH MAN-CAVE BATHROOM":

YAYYYYYYY!!!!

HAPPY MONDAY!

~SG