MarchSnow

Last week, while at work, I get a text from Jordan that he's "buying a little sod" for the front yard.  I'm thinking "okay, cool!"  Sounds like a productive "little" task!  When I get home, I quickly learn that a "little" sod is actually an entire truck bed full!  Jordan was kicking some home-owner booty! Last September, I wrote Dirt Road Prayer and told you about all the weeds we had in our front yard.  We'd attempted to lay grass seed but it was unsuccessful (maybe the seed washed away in the rain). Then, life got busy and we had a dirt patch in our front yard for longer than we'd anticipated.  Hopefully, the sod will take root and fill those dirt patches! Here are a few pictures of the process: Left: This is the easement between the sidewalk and the road before the sod. Right: This is the same area mid-way through laying the sod. Jordan had started this little project in the late afternoon so he was wo...

Do I talk about the weather a lot in my posts?  I feel like I do.  Oh well.  Truly, you had fair warning when you read about the history behind the name of our blog, MarchSnow .   At any rate, I'm just popping in to say how CRAZY it is that the weather has been so glorious in the Dallas area!  Seriously, this is my kind of weather!  It's breezy, still a little crisp smell in the air, but the temperature has reached the mid 70s lately.  We've had our doors open and have been spending a bit more time outside.  It's just hard to believe this is February weather (even if we do live in Texas)! Hopefully this isn't an indicator of a sizzling Summer (knock on wood). Earlier this week, Jordan and I just sat outside after work for a good hour just reading and chatting.  The weather was perfect and Abby was excited to have us hang out in "her" backyard. Then, the following day, I popped home during my lunch break and we squeezed i...

Hi everyone!  I wanted to tell you about our awesome weekend with my brother, Scott, and his wife, Elizabeth!  You'd think we would see each other all the time since we are all in the metorplex but an hour drive makes a huge impact on visit frequency.  I wish we lived closer to them.  At any rate, it was wonderful to have them over for the weekend! We all share similar interests so the four of us decided to book a trip to the Red Door Escape Room .  Jordan and I have been there once before (last April) and had a fantastic time!  If you don't know what an escape room is, you can read about it in our blog post " Under Lock and Key ."  At a high level, they put you in a room and you have to look for clues and problem solve in order to get out of the room.  Don't worry, it's very safe (and that's saying something coming from a person who dislikes all things Halloween).  The Red Door Escape Room assigns a "game maker" to watch your activity, ...

Hi y'all!  This particular post is a little off from my normal blog "voice".  I debated for a while whether or not I should talk about something like this because the topic of "money" can be such a sensitive subject.  I'm referring to the "adult" stuff in life: budgets, money, and all the emotional stuff that comes with it.  After hemming and hawing (per my usual) I decided that while this post is not the most glamorous, it might help someone out there.  It's really personal to talk about finances but I think we make the subject too taboo sometimes.  As you're reading this, please keep in mind, Jordan and I are NOT perfect and we still have MUCH to learn in the world of finances (well, not so much Jordan since he has an Masters in Personal Financial Planning).  Also, just to be clear, this NOT a paid advertisement; these are organic opinions.  For more than a year now, (since Nov 2015) Jordan and I have been using the Dave Ramse...

Lesson #56,788,404: Garage sales are a LOT of work! The last several months, Jordan and I have been cleaning out our house.  We have a beautiful and comfortable home but I started feeling a little claustrophobic every time I tried to find something or put something away.  Together, we've managed to clean out every single closet in our home and alllllmost every drawer in the house.  That's 5 closets, cabinets in 2 bathrooms, kitchen cabinets, our china buffet, my car, and 2 sets of drawers!   I did not get any progress pictures of the cleaning out process but you can trust me that it was an ugly messy ordeal.  The only cleaning pictures I have are of our master closet when we were done.   We got rid of 100+ items of clothing.  There was just too much stuff.  These are pictures after all the hard work.  I can actually find things I'm looking for and it's not a disaster. After all that sorting and cleaning (and sneezing from th...

YAY!  Our tile is finally done!  The last two years Jordan and I have had a strange tile issue in our kitchen.  The tile was "tee-peeing" or "tenting" in several spots which we think was caused by three factors: 1) a poor installation job by the previous homeowner and 2) a slight shift in the foundation of the house [even though the foundation is well within the threshold of variance] and 3) leftover glue from laminate flooring that was at one point in the kitchen.  Sometimes, we would hear loud popping noises which turned out to be the tile adjusting/settling/breaking.  That noise was loud enough to hear across the house and strong enough to make grout fly 10 feet away!   The whole process has been an education.  Over the years, we've spent a lot of time talking to foundation companies, measuring moisture levels of the floor, and arguing with our insurance company.  We even had a certified engineer come out to inspect the floor which resulted...

Last weekend we had a great time at the lake visiting with Mom and Dad and Mandy and Chris.  The weather was a bit cold (especially on the jitney) but we had a warm cubbie near the fireplace under the pavilion. We started Saturday with a project to put together Mom and Dad's new island/work bench.  The boys did the heavy lifting while us girls watched. Isn't the quality of this table awesome?  I'm pretty sure Mom found it at CostCo.  If I had the space, I would definitely purchase this beauty! Above pictured is Dad, Jordan, and Chris doing the manly building.   The directions looked somewhat complicated but it didn't take them long to put together.  Maybe an hour tops!  At 72 inches in length, you have to have a large space to work in. Here are a few pictures of the finished product. This storage table features: a chocolate stained top, attractive angled drawers with flush hardware, extra storage at the base, and lockab...

Hi everyone!  I have a very short post to share with you today.  I just couldn't resist sharing these hilarious pictures Jordan took.  You know, when you're having a rough week, these are the stories that give me a giggle.  And don't worry, I'm sharing these pictures with Jordan's blessing. Cookies...  I made a big batch of cookie dough in January so that I could bake just a few cookies at a time.  I even went through the trouble to individually ball the cookies before freezing. Despite my easy-bake intentions (and warnings), one afternoon Jordan really wanted some warm homemade cookies so he decided to bake them himself.  After all, the hard part was already done ahead of time! I had previously cautioned him against putting too many cookies on the tray at a time (so as to avoid something that resembles the continent of Pangaea).  And also cautioned against removing them from the tray before the cookies had a chance to cool.  But no,...