i almost missed it!!!

i am not sure how i let it get by me... but weeds has already started. luckily i have been able to record the 1 episode that already aired and i am on top of it for the rest of them... Weeds night, anyone?

obama

one of the dad's at ryan's school is selling these shirts....



check out the website if you are interested.

feel free to share with your friends!

hot weekend

we went to the pool this weekend for a birthday party. it was the perfect day, since it was so hot out.

we happened to be in the ryan's dad's neighborhood so we stopped by to see the kids...


amalya, novia, ryan, noriah

ryan hasn't seen the new baby since she was born, so she just held on to her the whole time we were there...


and she didn't seem to mind.


novia who is not shy at all loved taking pictures, and amalya who is generally shy with me and ryan, what not so shy this time!

our fairy

tonight was a nice evening. after we finished dinner, we decided to go back down to the beach to fly our kites. we have had our fairy kite since last year, but didn't really get her up in the air until yesterday. it was very exciting!

well, today... i lost her. i had it hooked to my chair and i moved to take a picture and she flew off, into the ocean. it was very sad to see her go.



ryan flying her spongbob kite!

we luckily found a website that sells them and were able to find another one just like her. so she is on the way!

beach day one

we claimed our little spot.


we flew the kite.


we went in the water, but there were lots of jelly fish. this was most relaxing...


we wore matching hats!

coney island

on our way back from connecticut we stopped in at coney island. here are some things that i saw...

astroland...


not sure i really want to ride this... but just might have to this summer!


i do want to ride this one!!

hmm? this could be interesting

this was a show for sure!!

my camera's zoom rocks... (i pretended to take a picture of my mom for this one)

of course we had a nathan's hotdog while we were there. we actually got it from the board walk instead of this one, but i hope to go back and get one from the original shop!

long weekend

this weekend i got to spend with my sister! we made the trip up to connecticut to be with her as she graduated with an MFA from Yale School of Drama. we are so proud of her!




sarah, lisa, jo, danielle

on saturday night we listened to the YSD no name band play at sullivans, (which was the first place we ate, when we moved her up there). it is where she frequented the most, we believe!



ryan left her mark (a sullivan's tradition) for when she goes to Yale for school....



the graduation ceremony was nice. it was outside in old campus and there were thousands of people there. the ceremony was projected on to 3 or 4 jumbo trons for us (the people in the way way back) to see. sir paul mccartney was honored with a doctorate in music. thanks to the jumbo trons, i got to see him.



nana j and jojo...



jo also made the newspaper the next morning!

mother's day

ryan and i planned to spend the day at busch gardens for mother's day, in hopes that most people would be at home with their moms. well, we were right, it wasn't busy at all, although the gloomy weather probably had a little to do with that. it was a great day to ride the rides we would generally have to wait in REALLY long lines for. so we went the extra mile and waited in the lines for front row.



last week when we went we started to get in line for the griffon, but being really tired (or really scared) we quickly got out of line. this week, we were determined to ride it. but not front row. so we got in line, and were able to get right on, giving us no opportunity to change our minds. we loved it. so we decided to get right back on, but wait for front row. the view was awesome

we also waited for the front row of the big bad wolf, and torrential downpours started just as we loaded. just so you know, going at the speed we were going, rain really stings the face. and we got soaked!! but we laughed the whole time.

berries...

today is the day... for the strawberry street festival. i have been spending the last couple of weeks coordinating the volunteers. this is usually a bit stressful, and i have to say that i was not as stressed this year. i did get a little worried earlier this week when i had an abundance of high school and middle school students. but i think we are going to be fine!! we have extra people and i am hoping that there are people that will just show up.

i am looking forward to the festival being over, but not before i get some spicy noodles and strawberry shortcake!!

keep your fingers crossed for NO RAIN.

quick!!

so just 2 weeks after i was notified that ncarb was going to finally transmit my application. i received my letter of approval from the state AND the letter from prometric! that is efficient. (ncarb actually sent my record to the state on the 22nd.) the letter from prometric allows me to test.

i am waiting until july when ARE 4.0 releases. but this gives me plenty of time to study.

camping

trooop 55
Originally uploaded by sarahmac74

yep... that's right. i camp!

this weekend we went camping at camp pumunkey in hanover, VA, just past kings dominion. saturday, we had a full day of games, crafts, canoing, fishing and hiking. we even made it back to richmond for a soccer game... (4-1!!).

the rain didn't ruin our campfire plans, as they have a big pit in the dining hall. we were able to make our s'mores and burnt marshmallows (my favorite) without any worry.

the girls were fantastic and are really getting the hang of camping. we have plans for 2 more trips this summer.

check out more photos of our fun...

ncarb

after months and months of waiting... i was notified on friday that ncarb has approved my idp and they will submit my record to the state. i am not sure how much longer i must wait, but there seems to be a little bit of light at the end of the tunnel.... time to start to study. yikes.

viewer

IMG_3083.jpg
Originally uploaded by sarahmac74

from the top of the empire state building

chillen...

i have been chillen, and enjoying my clean house!! i have to finish up my bedroom and had every intention of doing it this weekend but that didn't happen.

i will finish the room after next week. there is not much work to do at all....

here is my to do list:

take down curtains and mini blinds
hand new roman shades
get rid of the last of the outbox
install pulls on dressers
install lack shelf
put away the last of the laundry

http://flickr.com/photos/9566101@N06/1394436576/in/set-72157601935270229/

here you will find before pictures... it is not quite this bad... really, i swear.

dining room: after

a summary of my dining room!

before:


after:




with all the books on the shelving unit, the shelf is nice and clear. the major work in this room was the plaster work on the wall. it was the most time consuming and messy part of the room. the chocolate brown paint went on really smooth and didn't require too many coats. my favorite thing in this room is the buffet. it holds my microwave!! it also holds my serving platters, extra dishes, and other utensils that don't fit on the kitchen wall. (i do not have any drawers in my kitchen).

before:


after:




the picture wall!! this is so much harder than it appears. i am pretty happy with how it turned out. (i recently discovered how to nail into plaster. duh!) i used a drafting dot, but any tape will work fine. then hammer as usual. the last time i had to nail something into plaster it just crumbled. i didn't have any troubles at all. i also put my beetle collection back on display!!

before:


after:


this corner makes me happy. you can see a bit of the buffet... (i need to add more pics.) i got rid of the mini blinds and hung new shades. oh, i finally added a battery to that clock... it only took me a year.

before:


after:


this is still my temporary desk but it works well for now. i also hung some more pictures, frame less photos of my daughter.

living room: after

here is a summary of the living room!!

before:


after:


i added the expedit shelving unit, which now holds all of my books. funny it seemed like i had more! my old tv stand is my new coffee table. (it is still in need of a coat of paint). it fine cabinet also holds my knitting basket, my box of photos, my to be filed basket (which needs to be emptied.), and my wireless speakers. i got some little plants for the new vases. the top of the unit is where i have my weekly flowers, since my cat, eddie, hasn't figured out how to get up there yet.

before:


after:


other than cleaning up all the junk... the biggest thing i did in this picture is frame my Matisse poster that i got in Venice, Italy in 1997. it was hung in my last apartment but it has been waiting for about 4 years to have a home.

before:


after:


first i moved the desk into the other room. huge difference. this expedit shelf has been a wonderful addtion to my house. it holds all the extra dvd's, cd's and magazines. the 2 chairs are so comfy!!

they're up!

check out my new photos on flickr....

http://www.flickr.com/photos/9566101@N06/collections/72157602200149871/

i added a smaller set that is before and after, but you should really check out the progress pictures that are in sequence in the apartment thereapy cure set.

enjoy!

all in a day's work...

let me remind you of what the bathroom looked like before...

notice the broken mini blinds, boring color, unpainted window sill, and the stack of products over the teeny tiny shelf.



today i painted it!

i also installed a new shelf that has a movable mirror. it also partially hides stuff behind it. i installed new roman shades and painted the window sill. i got rid of the blue circle rug and got another brown one.



here is a close up of the shelf. it is hung low so that me and my daughter can use it at the same time!



the dining room is next.