Honesty

Two things I prize in others: honest and a sense of humor.  A sense of humor about your self and the world.  Ellen DeGeneres wins on both.  We should be BFFs and hang out!

 We're already friends on Facebook.  https://www.facebook.com/ellentv

~Lacey

Love and MARRIAGE in MARRYland!

I nearly forgot, one of the most exciting recent developments...

Maybe we had foresight wise beyond our own dreams, but it seems as thought we chose the perfect place to live.

Yes, the fifth house on the left is a nice place to park our cars and lay our heads to rest each night.

Yes, our dogs are loving the yard and lots & lots of places to lay down and get comfy.

Yes, our neighbors have been nothing but pleasant.

BUT, best of all, these neighbors of ours have voted to acknowledge our civil rights.  They have voted to affirm our right to marry in the State of Maryland, and for this we are eternally grateful! 

I would like to put out a huge THANK YOU and CONGRATULATIONS to the people of Maryland for their historic vote on Question 6.  Also a huge thanks and congrats to the voters in Maine and Washington for doing the same... and to Minnesota voters for voting against the proposed constitutional amendment that would limit the definition of a marriage to one man and one woman.

I don't like to post political things but I think this one gets a pass :)

Toodles!
Lacey (a very, very happy Lacey)

Oh the places we'll go (TOGETHER)!

As Kim mentioned, we've done a lot in the last few months!

We closed on the house (despite the nightmare of the investor who was selling it trying to get the repairs right).

I almost immediately left town for a couple weeks to play Army in the field and graduate grad school (Kim was sweet enough to make it to Texas for that!).

I returned to wonderful Maryland, one of my best friends (Fancy Pants) moved away to Germany, and we dog sat for a few weeks until her dear pup could make the trip across the pond.  We need to visit!

Fancy and Samson, our surrogate pup

 

Of course during all of this craziness I started my new job (still in the Army just elsewhere in DC) and we got engaged.  I know!  I know!  Kim told you all about it, but I'm still excited, so here's the bling for y'er eyes!

 

  "If you liked it then you should'a put a ring on it!"

Swiss family heirloom... am I a lucky girl OR WHAT?!

 

I can't wait to put the perfect ring on her little, tiny finger (but that is yet to come!).

 

We also survived Sandy with flying colors.  Well, actually, it wasn't very colorful.  It was just cold and rainy, but luckily we didn't get any damage this time (we're still thinking about our peeps in NJ & NYC who are without power!) 

ANNNNNNNNNNNNNNND through all that, another momentous event, Kimmy came home with me to Idaho to meet the fam.  She was quite a trooper :)  Kim had already met my parents several times (beginning before we were even dating... they loved her from the beginning), but to make the trip over 2000 miles was quite sweet of her.  

 

We managed to make it the week of my niece and nephew's birthdays (ages 4 and 6 makes Princess and Spiderman gear a must), and of course the two of them loved her.  She played way better than Aunt Lacey does, she's amazing with kids!  

 

Not only did Kim survive the hours of plane rides and layovers and the scrupulousness of my niece and nephew, but also a 20-person dinner with my mom, brother, sister-in-law,  grandmother, aunts, uncles, cousins... you get it.  Of course they all enjoyed her company, and I think she may have enjoyed them as well.  She also willingly committed to meeting more of my cousins, high school friends, and several sorority sisters at a shindig the next night.  Less than half the people at this little party had the slightest clue as to the nature of our relationship, so it was kind of fun seeing the shock on their face when I broke the news that we're getting married next year.  Oh the sorority squeals :)

Two bad things about the trip:

1. Auburn lost yet another football game.  A complete blowout (congrats to Georgia).

2. We didn't take ANY pictures!

We barely arrived home yesterday in time for Kim to head out to Orlando for a week of work, and I am already anxious for her to come home so we can celebrate our first Thanksgiving in our home together next week!

Much love!
Lacey

June Cleaver and Rosie The Riveter

A few last minute costume ideas turned out to be a big hit!  

Lace was able to make a great June Cleaver with some fabric, sewing machine and a Goodwill trip!  She even had a platter in her purse to "serve" candy to everyone.

I was Rosie The Riveter for about $25 total with only a Goodwill and fabric store trip!

We didn't have big plans, but just to find a fun bar that was having a Halloween Bash of some sort.  We met up with some friends to watch our poor Auburn Tigers get slaughtered by Texas A&M.  Then we checked out the gay bar next door.  

I had no idea Rosie the Riveter was going to be such a big hit.  Lacey made me sign up for the costume contest and I managed the get 5th place.  People loved our costumes! 

Now that this Hurricane is heading our way...we sadly had to take down our Halloween decorations and the rest of our outside items.  Bought a few bags of ice, food to survive a power outage and of course some booze!  I have a feeling we're going to get lucky and only get some rain and wind.  I really hope nothing bad happens to anyone but it's really hard for me to get worried about storms.  Especially since I grew up in Charleston, SC.
Unfortunately, Lacey had to go into work today and they are keeping her there overnight....booo! So it looks like it's just me and the animals holding down the house for the night!

Stay safe and I hope Sandy doesn't mess up everyone's Halloween!

~Rosie The Riveter

YES!!!!

So it's official....WE'RE ENGAGED!!!

Details...
Answer: She obviously said yes!
Ring:  My grandmother's ring that I inherited
Location:  On the front step of our new house
Wedding: Sometime in 2013
Who proposed to who and why: We don't have any rules or "roles" when it comes to this stuff.  It was whoever popped the question first.  I already had a ring to give her (we both will wear engagement rings) and since I don't do well with surprises (I always ruin them)...I secretly decided that I would make sure I'd propose first!

Preparation and planning...

The carved pumpkins were probably my 4th or 5th idea!  This idea was more controllable and in my hands.  I was so nervous that something wouldn't work out!!

I was able to work on these guys all morning (ps - I ruined one poor pumpkin and had to go out and find a replacement...so needless to say, we'll be eating a lot of roasted pumpkin seeds).  Thank goodness for the days I'm able to work from home!

I took both the pumpkins outside to clean them and I accidentally broke off the center piece of the U...before I could even reach down to pick it up to try to add it back on with a toothpick...my lab mix was already eating it! Beast!!

Anyways,  I sat in front of them as Lacey pulled in from work. She had no idea until she walked up to the front porch.  4 watering eyes, so many tight hugs, tons of kisses, at least 20 OMGs and 1 big yes!

We couldn't be happier!

~Kim

LIFE

-Bought a new house
-Moving & unpacking...ugh!
-Painting, DIY projects, yard maintenance & 2398 trips to Home Depot!
-Weekend visitors
-Dog sitting for 2 weeks
-Flag football season & a sprained ankle to go with it
-Trying to cope with Auburn's horrible horrible horrible football season


To say the least...things have been a little hectic lately, but it's been a blast!  Now things are finally starting to settle in and a daily routine is slowly coming together.

We will be working on revamping our poor blog now!  So look out for more pictures & posts (especially some before's & after's of the house and projects)!  OH and I'm hoping to post some BIG NEWS very soon!!!!

HAPPY MONDAY TO ALL!!

~Kim

"They don't know who they're dealing with..." Another Trip to Home Depot

Another day closer to home ownership... maybe.

We stopped by the house this afternoon to take a look at the work that's been done.  We're supposed to have our final walk-through tomorrow, but there have been some issues with the work we've seen along the way.  So, we wanted to be prepared for what to expect.  Closing has already been delayed almost a week, and, if it weren't for our urging, we suspect things would have been accomplished even more slowly.

Again, we were disappointed with what we saw (sad face!!!).  A very simple drainage issue has been botched (again!), and it is obvious from the ground that some small holes in the siding on the second floor have not been touched.  I'm beginning to get concerned that they haven't paid attention to any of the things in the post-inspection contract addendum.  Don't get me wrong, if the investor would have said "No, those are things we aren't willing to do," when we originally requested them after the inspection, we would be cool with some sort of compromise, but these are things they agreed to have accomplished.

So, of course, we headed to Home Depot (again!).  I am bound and determined to inspect every contractual line-item with my own eyes.  How will I do that?  With a ladder... A very.big.ladder.  It's an investment, right?

After huffing and puffing out our frustrations (my Shrimp is thinking about seriously giving the realtor a piece of her mind about the whole thing nice and early tomorrow -- eek!  My easy-going Kimmy is M-A-D mad!), we headed to the ladder section of the store, where we haggled over features and reviews for a good 30+ minutes.  We settled on a 16-foot extension ladder for the time being, just to make sure I can get up on the roof.  It's quite comical seeing it filling up the entire length of Kim's Honda Element (I'd throw a pic up if it weren't raining and dark).

"They must think they're dealing with a couple little girls who don't know any better."

"They don't know who they're dealing with... they're dealing with LESBIANS!"

"They're dealing with ARMY lesbians who know better and come with tool."  (actual conversation)

We had a good laugh at ourselves... but it's true.  We may not be contractors, but it's pretty hard to pull the wool over our eyes.  They're going to hate my ladder, level, measuring tape, and camera... I can just feel it!  We fully plan to re-do the drainage issue ourselves after seeing them botch it multiple times, but at this point I can't see signing the closing papers if they can't manage to re-hang a gutter properly, patch a couple holes in siding and the roof, and the other somewhat minor things on our list.  It just makes us question the quality of work that might have gone on under the "skin" they put on this property to flip it.

Now, I need another glass of wine.

<3 Your ladder-toting new neighbor,

Lacey