First Meet

Today was Andrew's first official cross country meet. It was a large invitational meet with 70 schools participating. The entire team did really well ~ both the boys and girls varsity teams took first place in their division. Andrew ran in the junior varsity portion and he amazed us with his finish. He ran a 5K in 19.51 and placed 13th out of 148 runners!! We did not know what to expect but were so surprised with his performance. He was pleased as well and now has a starting point to gauge his upcoming season and personal times.

Girls Day Out

Maggie had a half day of school today { yes, they are only in their first full week of school} so we had a girls day out! The afternoon started with the two of us going for haircuts...hers looks very cute. We then went to the nail salon and had pedicures ~ she has always wanted one so today was the day. The place was not busy so she also got a manicure too. After all, your fingernails should match your toenails :-} I also must admit that when Diana and Denise say something is GOOD, they are SO right. After Maggie and I had beautiful feet we went to Tropical Smoothie for what else ~ smoothies. I ordered the cranberry crush but they made the cranberry truffle instead - I told the worker that was fine and OH MY GOODNESS it was FABULOUS!!!

XC time trials

Andrew had his time trials today in preparation for the teams' first meet this weekend. It was a great day to watch the kids complete a 3.2 mile run. I think he did pretty well considering this is his first year and I was very proud of him ~ he seemed pleased with his performance too!

Finally...

I have been unable to use photoshop on the new laptop and I have finally gotten it to work. It is not working to 100% functionality but it is a start. I was getting BORED with the old header and it was time for an update. Hopefully I can get it all straightened out so I can get working on the headers of some friends. PLUS at this time I will do almost ANYTHING other than continue to unpack all of our stuff...it is never ending.

Closing Ceremonies

As I was folding laundry I had the Olympic closing ceremonies on and was able to see the presentation of the Olympic flag to the Mayor of London. Did anyone else see it?

To me it looked like he, the Mayor, just came out of a pub. He could of at least buttoned his sportcoat ~ he did not look as polished as the other men who were on the stage with him. I hope those who plan on going in 2012 bring warm clothes and waterproof coats :-}

Quick post.....

Nothing much exciting has been happening around here. The kids are settling back into school and seem to enjoy it so far ~ as much as one can with school. Andrew is busy with the cross county team and really likes it. Christopher likes his classes and has met some nice kids. Maggie loves school so she is doing great. I am still unpacking boxes and getting things put away ~ it will get there in time! Tim is back in the UK after spending 2 weeks in Beijing for meetings. He had a nice time at the Olympic events he was able to view and the venues were 'spectacular' according to him.

Just HAD to share....

The kitchen is painted!! There are a few touch ups to address but otherwise it is all done. I also spent time getting the wall in the breakfast room decorated. Don't you just LOVE my designer kitchen table and chairs?? LOL

The wall color does not come across as it actually is but you can get the general idea of how it looks :-}

Going to the NEST>>>>

Tim is currently in Beijing for meetings and today he was given 2 tickets to see the Men's decathalon Olympic events at the Beijing National Stadium {the birds nest} next Friday. He originally was planning on leaving that day but has changed his tickets so he can go and not only see the events but the amazing stadium. I am sure he will have a great time! I did ask him to do some souvenir shopping while he was there ~ hope he finds some great stuff.

Back to School...

The kids are off to their first day of school! Andrew is in 9th, Christopher in 8th and Maggie in 3rd. They were all quite excited and a bit nervous as well. The schools are new to each of them and being in larger schools is so much different than back in the UK. Maggie is going from a class of 12 to 23!! I know they will all have great days and will have lots to share when they get home.

Yet MORE Painting...

The living room was the one room that we had no intention of painting anytime soon. WELL.....that all changed when the wall was taken out! I could not decide on a color ~ as you can see in the photo.

I finally did make my choice and I really like it. I know I say that with every project but it is true. Here is the room with one coat of paint.

The photo does not show the true color of the wall so here is another one that you can see it a bit better :-} The color is called cargo pants and is a very subtle light green {my favorite color}

The painters will be back tomorrow to paint the kitchen ceiling and the walls...I cannot wait. This will be the final bit of painting in the house for now ~ until I get bored with a color!! The floors will be done in early September and we will be FINISHED with the main projects we wanted to get accomplished.

A Big Day....

Today was an eventful day for Maggie. It started off with a visit to the ENT doctor to evaluate her tonsils ~ which are HUGE! The decision was made to have them and her adenoids removed in September. Any way, she now has a nasal spray to take for the next few weeks leading up to her surgery to hopefully help with her nasal passages. Then, we were off to the mall to have her ears pierced!! She decided that today was the day and we went to have it done. She was very brave and had herself all psyched up for it until she saw the piercing gun. So after a few moments and a lollipop later she DID IT! I took the photo while she was on the phone with Tim telling him all about her eventful day.

Blue & White Night

Tonight Andrew's school had their blue and white night at the football field. Basically, it was a small pep rally for the fall season athletes and their parents. All of the teams were introduced with each students' name being called out over the loudspeaker! It was not a huge deal but it was a nice thing for the kids and parents to attend. The cross country team ran a timed mile during the half time of the football scrimmage. Andrew did well and improved his personal best time since training began so he was pleased ~ he ran a 5:20!

The funniest part of the whole evening is the 'gift' each student received. The athletic department ordered these and when they were delivered there was a slight error and it was too late to have it fixed by tonight.....notice the problem??

Simply Amazing....

Have you been watching the Olympics opening ceremony? We have and I am simply amazed at the planning and the difficulty of things that were made to look so simple. Watching everything in High Definition makes a big impact ~ OK Tim....you told me so!! I would have to say so far our favorite was the drums at the very beginning marking the countdown to the official opening at 8:08! We are awaiting the entrance of the US team and can't wait to watch the various events over the next few weeks.

Ever wonder what the order is for the parade of nations? I did and looked it up :-} The list of countries entering the stadium is in Chinese alphabetical order. It’s an IOC rule for countries to enter the stadium in alphabetical order of the local language. Australia for example, is usually one of the first countries, but will be the 203rd country. Greece always leads the procession with the host country entering last. SO, this year the USA will enter at the 140th spot out of the 205 nations represented.

Tim will be heading to Beijing next week for business so it will be interesting to hear his take on things while there compared to his past trips to the area.

Project Update

Just a quick post to show the progress of the construction project in the house. It is looking better each day. The drywall guy was here this morning to put another skim coat on the wall and will be back again tomorrow to sand it all down ~ then we will be ready to paint!!

Look what we got.....

Our sea shipment was delivered today and WOW we have a lot of stuff!! It has been kind of nice living with the bare minimum BUT I am glad to have everything here at the house. It is going to take a while to get everything opened and put away but I hope to have it all done by the end of the month. So far there has been minimum damage to things so that is good.

Here is our sea container being put in the driveway to be emptied:

Check out all the paper from our furniture and other items...it was a good thing the movers put it back in their truck to dispose of it all. :-}

Paul the Builder ~ can HE fix it? Yes he can!

Today the demolition of the wall between the breakfast room and the living room began and it is amazing the difference it makes already. There were a few surprises behind the wall which I guess is expected with any remodeling project. I have had to call Tim a few times with questions but otherwise the day has gone smoothly. I am looking forward to seeing it when completed.

BEFORE:

HOW IT LOOKS NOW:

Tag I am IT!!

Well, thanks to Kathy, I have been 'tagged' and need to write 7 random things about myself. I am not as witty of a writer as she is but here you go:

1.) Sometimes I actually think about going back to school to get a degree in something completely new and random ~ n.b. the thought then quickly goes out of my head as I know I don't want to go back to school or fulltime WORK!

2.) I thought being here while Tim is still in the UK would be easy, no it is not and boy do I miss him :-}

3.) I LOVE baked potatoes with cottage cheese

4.) I'd like to go to Alaska and Hawaii one day ~ don't most people??

5.) I am really bad at keeping in touch with those that are closest to me

6.) Getting a tatoo on my ankle or toe would be cool but not sure I could go through with it

7.) See I told you I was BORING

Team Building

Andrew's cross country season is about to officially begin! He has been attending the 'unofficial' practices for the past few weeks and tonight they had their first team event. A member of the team had everyone over for a pool party at their house and at 11:30pm all the kids will be heading over to the high school for the traditional MIDNIGHT mile run. This is an event that is run each year the night before the week long mandatory team camp ~ which begins tomorrow -he will be back on Saturday morning.

1/2 Bath makeover

I have spent the past couple of days getting our main level bathroom painted and organized and I am almost done. I painted it the same gold as the kitchen and then used a lime wash over it to add texture and dimension {ohhhh...that sounds so HGTV}. I even replaced the light and the mirror ~ I am thrilled with how it looks so far. The color in the first photo looks too light, the second photo is the actual color of the walls. We will be replacing the vanity top with the same granite as the kitchen so it will all blend together.