Salt With a Side of Turkey

First Thanksgiving dinner in our new home.

Turkey came out beautifully...extremely moist. I used Alton Brown's recipe.
(http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/alton-brown/good-eats-roast-turkey-recipe/index.html)
Reminder...for my next turkey dinner...when the recipe calls for adding a gallon of ice -> be sure to add the ice into the brine (as to dilute the mixture). It might come out a little salty if you don't.

Thank you for all that shared in our first thanksgiving dinner in our new home. We had so many side dishes: mashed potatoes, spinach&mushroom, stuffing, steamed vegetables, cornbread, and greenbean casserole.
For dessert: gourment chipotle chocolate chip cookies, pumpkin pie, and CANDIED YAMS (that's right...I put the candied yams in the dessert section and not the side dishes section)

Sarah Palin Battles the Bear!

It will be the first time that Glenn and I will have the opportunity to pass out candy and really celebrate and participate in the Halloween traditions. I'm excited...1st house...1st Halloween celebration. Thanks to everyone that came and shared in the experience!

Best Costume...

(Kendra as Sarah Palin...after battling a grizzly)

Lamest Costume

(Tom as an angel???)


(NMCI Help Desk Employee)


(Binh...typical morning before coffee)

Other fun pix...

(Harry Potter vs skeletor) (Scarecrow n' Dorothy) (Skeletor and the accidental tourist)


(the crew...just hangin')

Climaxing Point

FINALLY!!! All this work, tears, and sweat has led up to this point.
Before:


After:


View into kitchen from family room.

The End is Near

Before... After...


Sweat and tears included:
* Carpet/tile removal -> new laminate floors
* Textured and painted walls
* Removal of mirrors and brass fireplace surround -> new granite fireplace surround

New Edition to the Family

Deforestation

Finally working on the front yard...

Getting Laid: Part II

The floors are about 90% complete. We are waiting on the base molding and transition pieces to arrive...But for your viewing pleasure...





Stay tuned for Getting Laid: Part III.
To do:
* base molding
* transition pieces
* toe kicks (bottom of kitchen cabinets)
* fireplace
* furniture

Our Backyard Cancun Vacation

I had mentioned previously that we took a little excursion to Mexico where we enjoyed diving into cenotes and zip lining through the Yucatan jungles. When we returned we discovered that we had our own backyard Mexican vacation. Once we clean the pool filter we will have a beautiful pool...


At the rate of the growth of the weeds in our backyard we planned on building our own towers and creating a mini-zip line for our guest.


ahhh...the luxuries of home ownership!

Getting Laid: Part 1

It's been awhile since my last blog. As first-time-home-owners we've discovered that just the general upkeep can be just as time consuming. Between the pool, landscaping, and the leaky roof we hadn't had much time for anything else. We needed to take a little break and took the time to vacation in Mexico. We are re-energized now and finally decided on the flooring for the kitchen and family room. To recap, we took up the existing tile and then the existing linoleum under that and another layer of linoleum under that. So here are some pictures...stay tuned for Getting Laid: Part 2 (should take us about a week to complete)

Gourmet Kitchen Trumps Borat

Hi all,
We have taken a little break from renovating but did manage to finally put the hardware and side panels in the cabinets. Here is the updated kitchen w/black granite counter...




To do:
1) range hood
2) floors