A New Year

Well we are now almost a month into 2010. Last year was another interesting year for Mike and I. Mike found many soccer coaching opportunities and now is the JV coach for both the Pioneer high school men and women. He also continues to be the director of the Rush Academy. Due to Mike's schedule he was able to get a lot of work done at our house and we are so proud of it.

In December I was looking at my goals for 2009. One was to buy a house... well I think I can put a big check mark by that one! My other goal was to run at least 2 races. In 2009 I ran four races! I think that calls for a check mark with a lot of stars around it! I have already begun to plan my races for this year. I may even start in February.

I also have revived my love of knitting. Yes I was knitting a little (now a little for me may be a lot for others) but I am now knitting a lot... joined an international shawl exchange and I am going to try to join a knitting group or two this year.

It is time for me to get out there and meet more people. I have even started playing in a coed soccer league with Mike. We will see what this year has in store for us.

Here are a few pictures. The first is just a cute picture of Mike and Drew at Bona family Christmas. The other two are from Mike's Christmas present... we went to a Red Wings game.

Merry Christmas to all! And to all good knitting.

I decided to knit a last minute Christmas present. I am sure not many of you are surprised. In order to get this Christmas present done I decided to knit on the bus from my car to the hospital in the mornings and evenings. For all of you knitters out there you need to knit in public because the looks you get are priceless! People on the bus were trying not to stare but seemed not to be able to help themselves. One woman would stare at my knitting and then when I would look at her she would quickly try to make it look like she wasn't staring. It all made me giggle as I knitted away.

Speaking of Christmas I hope all of you have a wonderful Christmas. May it be filled with good memories, love, and a sparkle of hope. I also want to wish everyone a Happy and Healthy New Year.

Thanksgiving and Turkey Trot

Sorry for the late post. We don't have internet at home so I haven't been able to post in a timely fashion. Mike and I went to NY for Thanksgiving. We had a good time hanging out with the Johnville and Ellis clan. Kathy and I also ran another race. (Yup we are a bit nuts!) Kathy had her best time to date even with hurting her ankle. We even took a trip to the ER but no broken ankle for Kathy but a very bad strain. I had an OK time for not running in awhile. While we were in NY we went to the museum with Jacob and Evan, helped Kathy get a Christmas tree, and saw Jenny and the kids. All in all a good visit.

Home Sweet Home

We brought Zoomer over to our new house on Wednesday night. He is exploring but isn't too vocal (at least for Zoomer). Bringing Zooomer over meant that we finally stayed over night at our house. Hurray! We still have a bit of stuff at the in-laws house but hope to have everything at our place by the end of the weekend. Now if only everything could find its place... Mary Poppins style...

More After Pictures

New shower curtain in the bathroom

The Master bedroom after painting and putting together some IKEA pieces.

The Master Bedroom after painting

Furniture in the Master bedroom

Another view.

Mike's new deak all set up.

The new lighting in the Office.

Wallpaper Glue

Wallpaper glue has been my nemesis for the past week. The wallpaper in the master bedroom came off quick and easy. I can't say that much about the glue. How many layers of glue do you need anyway!? So in my attempt to get the walls prepared for the paint I learned a thing or two about getting the glue of the wall.

1. Do NOT do big sections at a time. You can't work fast enough (unless you are the Flash) to get it off before it dries.
2. Scraping the glue off isn't always the best. We got a wallpaper scrapper that I tried to use to get the glue off... I may have gotten the glue off (with a lot of struggle) but I also left a lot of holes for Mike to putty.
3. Scrub brush and putty knife work the best!

Here is what I found that worked the best if you have to take stubborn wallpaper glue off your walls:
* Dissolve TSP (Trisodium Phosphate Cleaner) in HOT water (according to the directions).
* Using a sponge apply the TSP solution to a small section of wall.
* Take your scrub brush and scrub in circular motion on the wall. (You will notice the glue coming up.)
* Now you can do one or both of these things:
1. Take the sponge and wipe off the glue and continue to use the scrub brush till it is all off OR
2. Take a putty knife to the scrubbed area to take the glue off the wall.
* When finished wipe the walls with a clean sponge and warm water.

Note: This will not be hard work but tedious work! Also dipping the scrub brush in the TSP solution works well too.

After Photos of the Spare Room