Race for a Cure - Huntington's Disease

Dan and I are participating in a fundraiser for Huntington's Disease on October 10th here in Houston. We will be walking for a cure!

You can read more about Huntington's Disease here. Huntington's disease is a disorder passed down through families in which nerve cells in the brain waste away, or degenerate. There is no cure - yet.

If you would like to support us in this cause, you can donate by clicking on the widget on the sidebar of this blog, or through our webpage:

http://www.firstgiving.com/chrystalhollingsworth

We sincerely appreicate any and all donations! Thank you for your support!

Another Peek

It's been a busy couple of weeks! We had our good friend Chris visiting from Salt Lake. Dan took the week off (well, Wednesday thru Tuesday) to hang out with him. I wasn't quite as lucky - aside from the weekend, I only took Monday. But even so, we managed to have a great time visiting with him. We packed a lot into Chris's first trip to Texas, and for the most part, the weather even cooperated. Lots of board games and Nintendo Wii-playing, a little travel, and a lot of eating. Which makes everyone happy. :) More on all of that later.

In the meantime, I have another sneak peek into our new house. Yes, we have been here for almost a month, so maybe it is not quite new anymore. But since we still have a good amount of (unpacked) boxes laying around, I'm happy to have one more room I can call "finished." The kitchen.

O! ...Possum!

***UPDATE*** Shortly after I posted this, we had another opossum adventure. Bentley was at his usual spot by the window (surveying "his" territory), when all of a sudden he started barking like crazy and then bolted for the doggie door. Dan got up and followed him outside, and sure enough, Bentley had caught the possum! He had him by the neck and was shaking the poor thing violently. Dan called Bentley off, and we put the dogs inside. Then Dan went back out and caught the possum in a bucket! I was so proud of my little possum catcher! His paw appears to have been hurt (probably by Bentley). We didn't know what to do with him, so Dan released him in the drainage ditch in the front yard. I realize that he will probably be back, but what else do you do with a possum at 10:00pm?!



The dogs were going crazy the other night. We were not sure what to think. So Dan grabbed a flashlight and ventured out into the darkness. He came back a few minutes later and told me to follow him.


This is what we found.



Possum! This is the first opossum I have ever seen in real life. Dan said that he saw one years ago, and threw snowballs at it. But that one was bigger than this little guy.


I just hope he doesn't get a hankerin' to come in thru the doggie door.

Good Speech!

On a day when speeches are the highlight of the news, I though this one was particularly good. He makes a good point: people these days do not know the meaning of 'hard work.'

For the record, I (perhaps surprisingly) agreed with much of what the President told the school kids today. I only wish that the ideas of "personal responsibility" would somehow migrate over to his policies...

the little things

I haven't been posting much recently because my days have been filled with work, and then later unpacking boxes. My goal is to have them all in the house and unpacked (or at least where they will be stored long-term) before Sept 15th. Wish me luck.

In the process of unpacking, I have found several things that make me smile.

One of them is this neat and full pantry. This house actually has two pantries. Be still, my heart. :)

Here was my photo of the day yesterday. I have been trying to catch the dogs actually using the doggie door, which is more difficult than you would think.

I'll post more photos of the inside of the house soon. Right now there are boxes and packing blankets and things that need to be put away everywhere! And I'd rather not show you a messy house.

I'll leave you with my photo of the day for today. Clean dishes in their new home. Sometimes, it's the little things. :) Happy Wednesday!

My Feet Hate Me

That's what Dan said after a long, long day of moving. We all agreed.

We've been keeping busy at the new house. We got all the heavy stuff moved last weekend, and then Brad and Dan finished up some odds & ends on Monday before Dan had to head back to Dallas, and Brad back home to Idaho. We've run into a few small details that aren't hard to fix, just annoying. Like figuring out how to work the thermostat (finally downloaded the manual off the internet!), and changing the outlets from 2- to 3-prong. You'd be surprised at how many devices these days require 3-prong outlets!

There is still quite a bit left at the old house, but I am taking my time and moving about 1 Rodeo load full every night after work. Then we can do the bulk of it next weekend when Dan is here. Mostly I am just trying to get my clothes closet moved, and essentials like bathroom stuff.


I will post photos of the interior soon, but I'll leave you with this one I took today. I love, love how the dining room color turned out! Just like I pictured it in my head - haha! Not much for decor yet, but here you go. Can't have a blog post without a photo, anyway. :)





Oh and I can't forget... congratulations to my sister-in-law Heather and her husband Monroe... just found out they are expecting their first baby!

At the New House

We have been busy busy busy over at the new house the past week. Thanks to Dan's dad, we have been able to cross a lot off of our "to do" list.

1. paint the entire inside of the house. This includes ceilings (white), and 5 different colors:

Honeydew (Master Bedroom)

Tradewind (Dining room)

Grey Matters (Office)

Dover White (Bathrooms)

Softer Tan (all other rooms!)

2. caulk all windows, doors, cracks, etc.

3. install radiant barrier in the attic.

This proved a little more difficult (and a lot hotter) than expected. Afterword, Brad looked like the Tin Man.

4. install a doggie door for the puppies.

5. had the bug guy come and spray inside and out.

My job has been to take off/put back on all the cover plates for the outlets and light switches, and clean.

Left on the list: replace weatherstripping on all doors, tighten screws on kitchen cabinets (some don't close properly), and of course - move in all our stuff!