So we are finally homeowners! We are so excited! I am putting the before pictures up now. I will add pictures as we go. We are installing our laminate floors ourselves. Carpet is coming from Home Depot and being installed..paint will hopefully be done in 3 weeks. We had the painter come look at the house today to get our quote. I can't wait to move in! We got our kitchen appliances today. We got a fridge, gas/oven stove, over the range microwave, and dishwasher. All stainless steel from GE. Hopefully those will arrive after all the flooring and paint is done.

our family room (it's huge)

our kitchen (also pretty big)

kitchen

living room

guest room

our office

Our 2nd bathroomhallwaymaster bathroommaster bedroom master bedroom closet

Soon to be homeowner!

OK....so in hopefully 10 days or less (probably more), Anthony and I will own our first home. Let's cross our fingers! We have been waiting for about 3 months now for this house and cannot wait to move in. It's located in Carol Stream and has a much better commute than I'm doing now. About 20 minutes less! I'm not a car person. I can't stand driving to and from places. Pretty much any time Anthony and I get into the car, I walk to the passenger door. He also "claims" my driving makes him sick. Which I think is a lie because I'm a fabulous driver. But more about the house..

It is a 3 bedroom, 2 bathroom home. It has a living room and family room. A 2-car garage. It doesn't have a basement or crawl space, so we'll see how that works out. We will have to do some remodeling, but we will have to wait on that. The kitchen cooking area is pretty narrow, but we can definitely fit a pretty big table in the "eat-in" part.

We will be getting new appliances for the kitchen, but I know that we can't get them ALL at once. Or at least that's what Anthony tells me. I really want to remodel the kitchen, but I know that costs lots of money, so we'll see what he let's me do. Men could basically live in a basement with a T.V., a fridge filled with beer, and a recliner and be happy. Women on the other hand want a little more class than that. So we'll see what I can get out of him.

I'm not one for painting, or using power tools... so I know that can get pricey hiring people. Any one know of any good painters that can get the job done well at a low cost? We also need to get new carpeting and possibly wooden floors in parts of the house. We'll see what happens. Let's just hope that everything turns out for the best and we get this house soon!

For now.. I have a picture of the outside of the house! :-)

Not too shabby eh? And the best part is...the address is the same numbers as my birthday! Woohoo! So now Anthony can't forget my birthday.

End of the world?

So today I went to breakfast/lunch with my family and we started talking about the end of the world. We were discussing all of the crazy things that we have heard about the world ending in 2012. First, we talked about how our cousin didn't buy Christmas gifts for his family because he was stocking up on canned goods and water because the world is going to go to shit. Apparently, my Dad must be into this idea or some kind of idea of making Mazel Tov bombs with alcohol. My Mom said my in-laws will be set because they have tons of wine. My sister and I both agreed that they wouldn't use it for anything other than drinking it. Then we started talking about the things that we heard about such as solar flares and plates shifting. I guess we'll see what happens when that time comes.

My sister claimed that she's going to be rich and send us all to some island so we can all die together.

I hope she sends us to Bermuda,

because I've never been there and I would love to go.

I mean look at it...

So if the world is going to end, who is with me? Who wants to go to Bermuda? Sounds like an awesome time to me!

Happy New Years!

So long...so little time

Well let's see, it's been about forever since I've written on here. Pretty busy with life shall we say. Now that things are dying down, I hope that I can update on the crazyness that is my life. Right now living with the in-laws...waiting for a house that is going through a short sale. Let's hope we get it and it happens quickly!

But anyways, I saw trailer for the movie Beastly. I think it looks pretty good, minus the leading female character. Not to bash Vanessa Hudgens or anything, but she isn't very real when on the screen. I am going to try to read the book and see if I enjoy it. It sounds like it would be good.

One week until Winter Vacation...can't wait! :-)

Wanted (A Pretty Little Liars Novel #8)

Wanted (A Pretty Little Liars Novel #8) by Sara Shepard
Published by Harper Teen

Rating: 4/5 Stars


In Rosewood, majestic estates sprawl for acres, and Tiffany toggle bracelets dangle from every girl's wrist. But not all that glitters is gold, and the town harbors secrets darker than anyone could imagine—like the truth about what really happened the night Alison DiLaurentis went missing. . . . Back in middle school, Ali plucked Emily, Hanna, Aria, and Spencer from obscurity and turned them into the beautiful, popular girls everyone wanted to be. Ali was the best friend they ever had. But she also made them do terrible things and taunted them with their worst secrets. Now, three years later, all their questions about Ali have finally been answered and they can put this awful chapter of their lives behind them. Or so they think.Not every story has a happy ending, especially when four pretty little liars have done so many wicked things. In the dramatic conclusion of Sara Shepard's bestselling Pretty Little Liars series, Emily, Hanna, Aria, and Spencer could get everything they've ever wanted—unless A has one more horrifying twist in store. (Summary from Goodreads)


The final installment in the Pretty Little Series brings it all together into one deceitful little bow! I couldn't believe the outcome of the book. Sara Shepard has a way of pulling in different elements into a story and keeps her readers on their toes! This book starts off like all of the books with a flashback of the bff's in 7th grade. It is the night that Ali disappears and there is a new little angle that we are now learning about. The girls are all inside the barn allowing Alison to have their way with them by allowing her to hypnotize them. While this is going on there is a snap..then another one..then a snap and a whir..you get my point. This carries on the entire 100 seconds of the hypnotizing..well almost 100 because Spencer finally sticks up for herself against Ali. When Ali glances out the window fear flickers across her face..could she have seen who was out that window? Was it her killer? Was it her pervy boyfriend looking in on the girls? Is Toby Cavanaugh back spying on them? Ali turns back to Spencer and gets back in the argument and ends up leaving the girls to go meet her fate with her killer.

The story picks up 2 weeks after the last book. It's crazy how the girls go back to their little lives and hardly talk to each other. All over the news talks about the new alleged killer...Billy! The girls are still being followed around by press. Then Mrs. DiLaurentis contacts Emily at school and tells her there is a press conference that the girls need to attend. Basically there is a HUGE secret which I'm not going to spoil and this throws EVERYONE for a big loop. Let's just say that I think it's a little unrealistic.. but I still enjoyed it. Meanwhile, the girls stop received notes/text messages/e-mails/etc. from "A". Their lives get better because of that "secret".

I think this book is great at keeping the suspense level that Shepard has had throughout all of the series. I wish that there were more questions answered..as far as characters go. I wish we found out more about Jason, Jenna, Wilder, and Iris. But hey...what can we do. I felt that this book also had so much crammed into one book..it could have easily spread out into 2 books. So many NEW elements are added to this book and it's almost a lot to take in for one book. All in all, a great book and I would recommend to read it!

ENJOY! :-)

3 cops were outside my house today...

So I'm sitting in my living room and I hear the little cop siren go off to pull this girl over. So I'm thinking maybe speeding or what not and then I hear him get on the microphone thingie and he tells her to turn off the car...then to through her keys out the window. This is when I know it must be serious..basically 3 more cops show up and they make the girl get out of the car and cuff her. They start asking all of these questions..and I can't hear so I open my window..but that still doesn't do the job. They question her for like 20 minutes and then basically let her out of the cuffs. They make one cop drive in front of her car and the other behind her car. So maybe police station?

Let's just guess what it was all about...

maybe she stole the car because it had temporary license plates on it.

or maybe she was drunk (I kind of doubt it..but let's pretend)

..back with the stealing the car.. maybe someone like a boyfriend stole it and said she could have it, and she didn't know it was stolen.


I don't know..crazyness. I just love that it happened right in front of my house! Good start to the day!

Pretty Little Liars by Sara Shepard

Pretty Little Liars by Sara Shepard
Published by Harper Teen


Rating: 4/5 Stars

Everyone has something to hide—especially high school juniors Spencer, Aria, Emily, and Hanna.

Spencer covets her sister's boyfriend. Aria's fantasizing about her English teacher. Emily's crushing on the new girl at school. Hanna uses some ugly tricks to stay beautiful.

But they've all kept an even bigger secret since their friend Alison vanished.

How do I know? Because I know everything about the bad girls they were, the naughty girls they are, and all the dirty secrets they've kept. And guess what? I'm telling.(Summary from Goodreads)

I decided to read this book after I saw the pilot for the TV show Pretty Little Liars on ABC Family. Let me just say that I devoured it in a few short hours. It was a great book. I liked how the author kept your interest by having a character like "A". I think that it was very engaging and pulled me in for more. The author described each character so well that you really had a feel for them. I liked how it the chapters went from character to character.

The only thing I would have to say that I didn't like about the book was the age of the characters when all of the dirty secrets went down. I felt that they were too young to be in 7th grade and then all of a sudden 3 years go by with no problems. It seemed a little crazy to hear some of the problems the girls went through and how they acted when they were in 7th grade. I enjoyed reading the book when it brought it up to current times and the girls were in high school. I still don't understand how Aria who was only 16, got into a bar and drank without being carded. But hey...it happens.

Overall, great read and I would definitely recommend if you're looking for a fun light read for the summer!