Spring Break!

The last couple weeks have been pretty cushy for me - it's Spring Break after all!
First off was a weekend trip to Minneapolis with a group of friends for a concert at the Target Center.

This past week was a week-long trip to Texas with the family. We drove down and stayed with my uncle and his family in their new house. VERY nice place, and a beautiful neighborhood!

Loved the trees in Houston.
Anything green was especially attractive given that we left Knoxville at the tail end of a long winter! :)

It's definitely a different environment there!

One of my favorite stops on the trip - Central Market by HEB. Probably 100,000+ square feet of great food!
Central Market

Hands down the best food we ate on the trip: pork chop at Perry's Steakhouse.
Perry's Steakhouse & Grille

Nobody lives here without paying rent..

If last year was the Year of the Bat, 2013 will be the Year of the Mouse.

Not in the ‘Chinese New Year’ sense so much as in the ‘Things That Are Temporarily Living in My House’ sense.

Yes, last night – while brushing my teeth – I learned that there was a small mouse in my house. Specifically, in my bathroom. By my foot.

After trying to quickly think of something I could use to catch the little guy, I decided I’d be better served by trying to brutally kill it instead.

Rather than go to bed, I pulled on my coat and shoes and headed across town to Wal-Mart for a midnight mouse trap trip. Of course, now that all the traps have been set (10, to be exact), I’m wondering if I did the right thing. Not in terms of animal cruelty or anything like that…no, eff that. No I’m wondering if this mouse is heavy enough to trip the trap..he’s only about the size of my thumb..

Anyway..this is my life. I’ll report back soon enough if anything other than my finger gets snapped in one of the traps.

Don't unpack, buddy..

Sunday Night Walk

I see our courthouse all lit up every night out my kitchen window - I finally decided I'd go get a picture of it..before it started snowing again!

Lazy Sunday

After a pretty eventful Saturday, I just needed one of these days Sunday to get myself ready to return to work Monday.

After all my activity Saturday during the day, I went and picked up the projector we use for our outdoor movies in the park and brought it home for 'date night' with my lady-friend.
Go big or go home :)
As you can see, we agreed 'Forrest Gump' was probably the best movie of all time.

Snow, snow, and more snow

This is my driveway after running the snow blower three times in the last 24 hours..

Let there be LIGHT!

Lying in bed this morning..checking out our progress :)
This past Saturday was a good one for finishing up projects that have been hanging out incomplete for a while - trimming out the new windows in the bay window, hanging a large shelf in the dining room, and installing a light fixture (not just a bare bulb) in my bedroom!

Same style as the fixture in the living room, just a different color/material.
I wanted something big enough to look 'right' in a room with this kind of volume and this does the trick!
(No mocking my old blanket/curtain...I haven't been shopping for that stuff yet..)

Icicles