I am still here!

Here i am almost two months since my last post. Still don't have a new computer but my daughter has let me use her iPad since she doesn't use it much anymore. It is so much harder to  write a blog post on an iPad instead of my computer! So, I have been enjoying reading everyone else's blogs, while I have neglected mine!
Life is good.
Getting geared up for Christmas. We decided to do a family trip to NYC for Christmas this year. I'm pretty excited. College son has never been and it's been almost seven years since I've visited! We fly up on Christmas morning and come back before New Years.
Teen daughter has submitted all her college applications and now we wait.
Are you ready for Christmas? Anything fun planned?

MIA

I think the last time I posted we were getting ready to go to a wedding...

in the meantime I get home after said wedding to find that my husband had a slight problem with my laptop and he tried to "fix" it for me. That didn't work out very well!

I am now without a computer and I am not sure when I will be online again! UGH! 

I can occasionally try to get on teen daughter's macbook, when she isn't using it, which is not very often!

So until I am in possession of a fully functional computer, here is a photo of the college son and teen daughter, from Sunday after my parent's 50th anniversary and the renewal of their wedding vows at church:

Aren't they the cutest?

Someone Turned 18!

Yesterday the youngest turned 18! That just seems crazy to me. I can remember the day she was born like it was yesterday! This time next year she will be a freshman in college! Yikes!

She doesn't like cake, so she found a recipe for a cookie cake. It was so simple but really turned out good! You make a sugar cookie dough and add sprinkles, press it into a pie plate and bake. Then I whipped up some frosting and piped it around the edges and sprinkled with those little colored nonpareils. 

We are hitting the road tonight to head to Pittsburgh to my cousins wedding. I am dreading the drive, but I can't wait for the wedding! It's an Italian/Polish wedding, so you know it's going to be a great reception after! Plus there is going to be a cookie table! Anyone familiar with those? I'll tell you all about it when I get back.....

Catching Up

Whoa, I didn't realize it had been so long since my last post! 

I feel like my life is just a whirlwind right now. 

I have been working on a few projects for the house:

This desk used to be in college son's room. It was a MESS! He had written on it, carved stuff into it and just about anything else you can imagine. Since we turned the old home office into our new closet, I decided that a makeover was in order! So I have started painting it with Annie Sloan Chalk paint. It's not done yet, much to husband's dismay (what can I say, I get easily distracted!) It should be finished this weekend!

Last weekend we headed to our cabin and to hang out in Clemson during the Clemson/GA game. 

We made a stop by college son's apartment:

I noticed that the vacuum I bought him was still in the box! I have hopes though that it might be used one day! ;) 

"Why sure I'll take your picture by Howard's rock":

We did a lot of hiking on Sunday. Oconee county has tons of waterfalls and we are trying to make it a point to visit each and every one! :

Though it would be nice if we could remember which was which!

By the last one I decided to opt out and stayed back at the car and read a book I happened to have with me:

This week is fraternity rush at Clemson. College boy has decided to do it! This mama's heart can barely take it! Today bids go out.... fingers crossed for him!

Today is husband's birthday, so I have a cake in the oven and planning our little family celebration! Gotta make another cake later today for he and daughter to take with them to Clemson tomorrow since Monday is son's birthday! How is it possible I have a 20 year old? 

I have to work tomorrow and Sunday, so no trip to the upstate for me! Boo! :(

So husband and daughter will make the trip without me. I think it will be good father/daughter time for them! 

Have a great weekend! 

ETA: Just received a text from son and he got a bid to the fraternity that he wanted! Whew!

The New School Year Has Started!

I am slowly recovering from moving the college boy back to school!

He and I left on Wednesday afternoon so that we could be up at Clemson and ready for orientation bright and early Thursday morning. If you recall, he was in the Bridge to Clemson program last year; he lived with about 700 other Bridge kids and took classes at Tri County Technical School, had all the benefits of being a clemson student except he didn't take classes on their campus and couldn't join a fraternity. He earned the required 30 hours and had a 3.0 GPA so he became an automatic sophomore at Clemson this fall! 

So, Thursday was orientation. He did his thing and I did the parent thing! He is all signed up for classes, which start this Wednesday. 

About a week ago he informed husband and I that his computer didn't work. What he didn't tell me right away was that he had spilled something on it. Four months ago! So, we take off for college with NO computer! So, to just help him get by, we stopped at Staples after orientation and bought a cheapy computer, which was not really cheap, and he can use it until his computer is repaired. Well, in the meantime I got the call from the computer fixing place and it would be just a little more for us to buy a brand new computer! UGH! It's always something! 

Husband had some big jobs going down at work, so it was just son and I doing all the moving in to the new apartment. My car was packed to the hilt with his stuff and we even had loads stored at our cabin that is about 23 miles away from Clemson. So we first made a trip to the apartment to unload my car. This was our first in person visit to said apartment. It is definitely interesting! Last year all the Bridge kids lived in a condo complex that wasn't very old, meaning it had granite counters, stainless steal appliances, tile floors, laundry room in each unit, etc. Let's just say this year's place doesn't. When we first walked in he said "it smells weird in here". I told him it was just old. I really wasn't sure what the smell was but I figured we could fix it with a few glade plugins! I wish I had taken pictures of the inside, but I was so focused on getting things unloaded that I only got one of him outside of the new place!

We've had a few bumps, like the internet is still not working and the key won't really open the front door... all that fun stuff that is so hard for me to take care of from down here.

Today was the first day of school for teen daughter! 

How did she get to be a senior? I think this year was much harder for me than even last when she left for France for the year! Now I realize that our little family is really going to be changing by this time next year and I am starting to really freak out about that!  

So how was your Monday? 

Anxiety

When I have lots on my plate I begin to feel very anxious! And man, do I have a lot on my plate!

College son moves back to Clemson next week! He will be living in an apartment off campus and we pick up the keys on Friday. I am ready for him to be back at school!

Our new closet is finally finished! I am slowly getting things transferred to it. 

I posted the before photo a couple posts ago. Here is the after:

I won't even show you what one of the spare bedrooms looks like! I moved everything that was in our office in there and it looks like an episode of Hoarders! We did sell the big, ugly, roll top desk that we had, and for that I am thankful.

Last week I hosted my Book Club. We read Orphan Train. It was a good book and if you are looking for an easy read, I highly recommend it!

I posted this photo of the wines I had for that night on IG and someone asked if it was book club or wine club? I said a little of both!

Today teen daughter registered for her senior year of high school! I don't know if I am ready to tackle this! I may need to replenish my stock of wine! ;)

If you don't hear from me, you'll know I am busy getting two kids ready for school, or I have been buried alive in the spare bedroom! 

27 Years

Today is our 27th anniversary! And they said we'd never last! 

oops...

A few days ago I was cleaning up some things on my phone and I deleted all the photos in the picasa album. Which in turn has deleted all the photos off my blog! Dang! That explains all the weird objects where the photos used to be.

Pittsburgh

We are home from our trip to Pittsburgh! 

We left on Wednesday evening and drove to my sister's house at Lake Norman. We spent the night and hit the road the next morning for the rest of our drive. I really hate riding in the car, so this was a big deal for me!

We had made pretty good time and only had one delay outside a tunnel in West Virginia! I was just thankful I wasn't stuck IN the tunnel!

Thursday night we ate dinner with my cousins and then sat out on their deck until it got too cold! Yes, I said cold! The weather was perfect the whole time we were there. Well, it did rain all day on Saturday but it was so cool, I was more than happy to deal with the rain!

Friday we got up and met my other cousins for breakfast and then a trip to the bridal store for teen daughter to have a fitting for her bridesmaid dress. 

The dress is so pretty! And, it looks really good on teen daughter!

After the fitting we hit up a few stores just to kill some time. I had decided that I wanted to try the new Bare Minerals serum foundation and went a couple weeks ago to try out colors. I found the perfect match, but of course so did everyone else apparently, because that color was sold out everywhere in the Charleston area! So I decided to check out the local Ulta in Cranberry Township and bingo, they had it in stock! But, would you believe I got the last one they had? 

Friday night we went to dinner at another cousin's house and were able to visit for awhile. They had all the windows open it was so cool outside!

Saturday we went to the Bridal shower for my cousin. It's always interesting to see how different regions do things differently. Around the Pittsburgh area it is normal to have one large shower hosted by the mother's of the bride and groom and the bridesmaids. It normally includes a sit down brunch or lunch and lasts for several hours! 
To add a southern touch, my mom and I both made cheese straws! We had them on platters by the drinks so that people could nibble when they first arrived.

A photo of the Bride-to-be and her bridesmaids. 

Saturday night was the bachelorette party. Daughter asked if she could go too and once I found out how low-key it was going to be, I said "Sure". Since a few of the girls are under 21 they decided to just go have dinner at The Cheesecake Factory and then go to one of the girl's home for a bonfire. I think perhaps some jello shots were planned for around the bonfire, but teen daughter came home after dinner.
Sunday morning we hit the road bright and early and made it home in about 11 hours! Ugh, I don't want to get in a car again for awhile! 

This week we are having some more work done on the house. This time we are converting our old office into a new closet for the master bedroom. The room was located right off our bedroom and would have been a great sitting area or nursery. We used it as an office and storage area for all my old interior design stuff from when I had my business. Our present closet is off our bathroom and while it is a good size, I would like to expand the bathroom and make our shower larger. 
So, this is the before:

Excuse the mess. I didn't think about taking the photo until I had already started taking it apart! 
Stay tuned for the after!

Road Trip

Daughter and I are heading to Pittsburgh tomorrow. 

~Later

Guess Who's Home?

Our little foreign exchange student! This photo was taken in the early morning hours this past Monday at the Charlotte Airport. Do you think she looks european? ;)

We left last Thursday to go up to our cabin for the long weekend. I figured we could just leave from there and go to my sister's in Charlotte on Sunday, pick up daughter, spend the night and head home on Monday.

The weather was looking a little iffy as we approached the upstate of SC!

Can you believe those clouds! Just a few minutes after I took this photo, the bottom fell out and the wind started whipping around! It was just a little scary!

We got to the cabin, unloaded the car and headed to the neighborhood clubhouse for dinner. The weather was perfect! We left temps in the 90's with very high humidity in the lowcountry, but we were greeted with temps in the 80's and little to no humidity in the upstate! Yea!

Friday we got up and decided to do some hiking and try to find some local waterfalls. We got lost a few times and at one point I actually ate ice I found on the side of the trail that someone had thrown out! But, as I told college son: look,  I am still alive and I wasn't thirsty anymore!

That night we grilled out and then headed to the clubhouse for fireworks and $3 margaritas! Again, the weather was perfect! (I could get used to that!)

Saturday husband and college son went to play golf and I cleaned the cabin. When they got home after a few games of ping-pong at the clubhouse we decided to drive to Dillard GA to eat at the Dillard House Restaurant. It's one of those places you have to try once! It's a family style, all you can eat, southern food place! And, really as a once in while or ever treat, it wasn't that bad! The food tasted like someone's southern grandma was back in the kitchen cooking! Not what I would choose everyday but a fun experience! 

I have become obsessed with sunsets lately:

We saw this on the way back to the cabin. Isn't is gorgeous?

That night we watched the movie A Simple Plan. If you've never seen it, you need to rent it! It is really old, I think it came out in 1998. Billy Bob Thorton, Bill Paxton and Bridget Fonda star in it. Great story and even better lesson!

Sunday we headed to Lake Norman, where my sister lives. Of course you can't make a visit without going out on the boat!

College son and his two little cousins had a blast on the tube! I decided that I would just sit on the boat and enjoy the ride!

Daughter's plane was delayed so she didn't get in until after midnight, but she is HOME! So excited to have her back with us, but also a little sad that she had to leave the host family that was so wonderful to her! She has talked to them everyday since she has been home, so I think we don't have to worry about that relationship! 

Oh, and I DID get her room done! I'll have to take some photos and show the before and afters!

Have a great weekend! 

It's Been A Couple Weeks

One week from today and our  girl comes home from France! I am so excited! She sent me a text this afternoon and said that the going away party last night was fun but also sad. She has formed such a great bond with her french 'family', I know she is sad to leave them! 

I am still working on painting and getting her room ready for her. I just absolutely hate to paint and can find a million other things to keep me busy.

Last Tuesday we had a run-off election as a result of the primary that was on the 10th. Of course I worked, I love doing it! But, it was really disappointing how few came out to vote. That night after I got home at around 7:30 husband came in from TKD and wanted to know if I wanted to ride over to Shem Creek and go to Red's Icehouse because some up and coming country singer was playing there. I was pretty tired, but he seemed so excited to go, I said sure, plus there was bound to be beer involved! It was a beautiful night and we enjoyed the music and the sights, and a few beers for me! We ended up getting home around 11:00 and after I read for awhile it was after 11:30 before I went to sleep. The next morning he sent me an email from work and said "are you tired this morning? I don't know how people do this all the time!" I told him I think "they" can do it because they are half our age!

Not a great photo, but I took it with my phone and lightened it up, it was pretty dark when it was taken!
I guess I had better  get to work painting! The final countdown is on!

Family Girls Weekend

I am in major overhaul mode, trying to get daughter's room done before she gets home from France! I have less than 3 weeks..... eek!

But, I wanted to quickly write about my weekend:

Last weekend my mom, two sisters and I got together for a girls weekend to celebrate my youngest sister turning 40. Mom so graciously offered to take us to their condo near Lake  Junaluska in NC. 

So, I drove up to my hometown on Friday afternoon and met my mom. We then scooped up my sister and headed for the hills! 

I found the photo above hilarious, that is the stuff we took for two nights and you don't even see the back seat that was filled on one side! My sister and I kept asking my mom if she was planning to stay for a week.

The weather was beautiful while we were there. I am so used to 90 degree days and lots of humidity. It was in the low 80's and no humidity and it was in the 50's at night! That's my kind of summer. Husband and I own some property about 20 miles from where my parent's condo is located and I am seriously thinking we should build a house on it!

Of course we had to make sure we had enough wine! There were two bottles of white already in the fridge.

On Saturday we went into Waynesville for lunch and to walk around the town. There was an Appalachian Lifestyle Festival going on and it was fun looking at all the booths that were set up. 

Saturday night we took the birthday girl out to the Sweet Onion for dinner. It was so good! We ordered a bottle of wine that I had heard good things about:

It was really good! I noticed that Harris Teeter carries it around here.

We enjoyed some really good food! 

After dinner we went back to the condo for cake and presents!

My new gift I am giving all the women in my life is Thrive by Ariana Huffington, it's great!

The birthday girl and my other sister. All the photos of me are on everyone else's phones!

We ended the night sitting on the balcony drinking wine and talking and laughing hysterically!

Sunday I got back to hometown and spent some time with my dad. He's 82 and I know one of these days he will be gone so I'd better take advantage of the time we have left.

Hope you had a great weekend!

Heartbreak

Yesterday was Primary Day in our good 'ole state. I worked at the polls again: got there at 6:15 a.m. and left at 7:20 p.m.! That's a long day. Happy with the results, but we will have a runoff in two weeks and I will be working that day as well!

Remember back in March when college son was home and one young man he knew died? Well, Friday night another kid he knew was killed in a car crash! 19 years old and had such a wonderful life. He made one bad choice, in my opinion, and it cost him his life! College son went to the 2nd funeral, in two months,  for a young person  yesterday. I didn't know the young man other than remembering him from middle school and the pick up line, but this has made me extremely sad. I can't fathom what his parents must be going through! I really hope this is making those young people rethink some of their behaviors. Unfortunately I think it will have only a short term effect. I remember when I was the same age as college son and one of my dear friends from my hometown was killed in a car crash along with her boyfriend. They had been drinking and it was actually a friend of theirs that hit their car! We all were careful about our alcohol consumption for about a week or so, and then we were back to our old ways. Because you know, we were young, and nothing was going to happen to us! 

I have a girls weekend this weekend with my mom and two sisters. We are heading to my parent's condo up near Asheville NC to celebrate my youngest sister's 40th birthday. It should be fun and nice to getaway. I am hoping for some nice weather.

We talked with our daughter on Sunday afternoon. She will be home in less than 4 weeks! I am so excited to see her! Though, when husband asked her if she was excited to be coming home, she said, not really! I know it is going to be hard for her to leave her host family. They have become really close, but I told her they will be her second family now for the rest of her life! And, I would really like to try to plan for our family to go to France during winter break and meet them!

Hope you are enjoying these long summer days!
 If you are on instagram, follow me and you can get a better glimpse into what is going on in my life, I am nancybinsc. It's so much easier to post a quick photo there! 

Nothing...

That's what I have accomplished this week! Ugh, Monday being a holiday just totally threw me off!

I should have painted one of the bathrooms upstairs. I just barely started and then called it a day!

Teen daughter comes home in 5 weeks. I am excited, but I promised her I would redo her room while she was gone and I haven't even started! Well, other than ordering new bedding from Pottery Barn... man, I've got to get moving!

I just got my work schedule for June and I work 9 days. I took this job and it was supposed to be a 2-3 day a month job! I'm not liking this working on the weekends and many days!

College son still doesn't have a job for the summer! 

I did buy a Clarisonic brush on Wednesday! I used it for the first time last night and I know it might be my imagination, but I swear my skin felt squeaky clean! I can't wait to use it again! 

Last night I made fish for dinner. Husband is not a fish eater but I told him we are going to start eating it at least once a week. I bought some cod at Harris Teeter and put it on parchment lined baking sheet. Then spread a light coating of mayo on top and topped each fillet with crushed potato chips (I used Cape Cod Kettle Cooked Asiago Cheese and Italian Herb chips). I just crushed a small handful, which probably equaled a tablespoon or two on top of each fillet. It was really good. Husband liked it too and I told him that was good since I have more cod in the freezer!

Hope you have a great weekend!

The Weekend

I was so happy to have the weekend off! The weather here has been absolutely gorgeous. 

First up, a trip through the drive-thru on Saturday morning before running errands!

Saturday evening husband and I went out to grab dinner. We went to our favorite burger joint here in town, even though I no longer eat meat! They do make a mean grilled cheese! The weather was so perfect we ate outside, though we were the only ones and I think the waitress wasn't happy to have to come all the way outside to check on us!

That night I gathered with some girlfriends to visit with one of our group, who now lives in Mississippi, and was in town for a visit. It was great to sit around outside and talk while watching the fireflies blink in the woods behind us! That is such a rarity for us, I think because of all the pesticide use in our yards!

Sunday afternoon I made these cookies:

They are called Gaia Cookies. You can find the recipe if you do a google search. They are really good! 

Teen daughter sent me some photos from her weekend:

They went to Reims and  took her around to see the sights. While they were eating she noticed some US military people at a table behind them! She went over to speak to them and learned they were from Pennsylvania! 

How was your weekend?

Finished, Sort Of...

I don't know how anyone can build their own house! All I was doing was having built-in bookcases put in and I thought I was going to lose my mind! 

The guys started on Thursday and told me they would be done on Monday. 

They weren't.

If you recall, this is where we started:

Monday they were only halfway through!
And, they still had the painting to do.
Finally, they completed their task at 5:13 on Wednesday evening!

I have started putting the books, etc on the shelves and realized I don't have as many books as I thought I did! 
This is where we are today:

I am happy, just have some more to do on them! I think I need to make a run to the lake house and pick up some books that I have up there.

We made it through the first week of college son being home for the summer. Many jobs have been applied for, one interview has been completed, and now we are waiting! Hopefully we hear something soon.

Last night was book club. We read The Invention of Wings by Sue Monk Kidd. It was really good! If you are looking for a summer read, you should check it out!

So how has your week been?

That Was Fast!

Whoa! That was so fast!

Today husband had to do some work in the middle part of the state and when he was finished he headed to pack up college son to bring him home for the summer. Freshman year is finished! 

It is kind of a bittersweet feeling. On one hand you feel happy that he completed his first year of college but on the other, you feel sad that time is going by so fast! And maybe kind of sad that he is coming home for the next 3+ months! ;)  

We have a lot of adjustments to make, and some aren't going to be very fun for the college boy, who has been used to coming and going as he pleases and not reporting in to anyone!

Wish us luck! 

Finally!

I have wanted built-in bookcases in our living room along this wall forever:

I don't know why it looks darker over there to the right, must be a shadow.

So, bright and early tomorrow the guys will be coming to start their work! I am so excited! 

I even went ahead and moved the furniture out of the way. And now I have to decide where the secretary is going to go!

I will post a photo of the results on Monday! 

Weekend Wrap Up

How did it get to be Tuesday already?

These days are flying by! This week is college son's final exams and then he will be home for the summer! Freshman year complete: Check!

As much as I love my children, I am not looking forward to him being home for over 3 months! It's a weird dynamic once they leave for college and then come home for a bit. He thinks he is grown and has been used to being "on his own" and has a hard time moving back into "child living in his parent's house, with his parent's rules" mode! I foresee many bottles of wine in my future... for me, not him!

I didn't have to work at all this past weekend, which was nice! 

Saturday husband and I went over to the Home and Garden show. Waste of time. But, then we decided to have lunch over at Shem Creek at Red's Ice House.

That's always a fun place to go. I had the shrimp burger, which is awesome! 

Sunday I had a going away party to go to for a friend that is moving to NC. It was nice, but sad that she is leaving our neighborhood!

Yesterday I met with a carpenter who is going to start on built in bookcases for our living room! I am so excited! He is starting tomorrow! Yea!

Hope you are enjoying your Tuesday!

Photos from France

Teen daughter's french "brother" likes photography as much as she does. They are on a break from school so they spent a few hours at a local park taking photos! I told her I wish she would do some without the sunglasses. She said she doesn't like the way her eyes tend to squint so that you can't really see them when she smiles. 

Hope you are enjoying your Sunday afternoon! It's gorgeous here in the Lowcountry!