Outdoors
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It was a doozy!
Thursday afternoon I was standing on the screen porch watching the neighbors film House Hunters, when a loud clap of thunder boomed. Made me jump. It had started to sprinkle and that probably kept me and a few other neighbors from being a bit more obvious with our stalking. 😉
I finally went inside and the rain started to pick up. Then the lightning started. Matt called me to come upstairs to the “viewing room” to see the show. I took a few pics as the storm started to roll in but I had no clue what we were in store for. A little while later the rain and wind picked up. And then the bottom fell out. The wind was howling, the rain flooding the yards and street, thunder and lightning and then hail. It was pretty crazy for a good half hour to hour.
The storm rolling in. As I was texting my friend who lived a few minutes away and she’s telling me the storms are normally pretty bad here, I notice there is water running out of the front door. Not around the front door but literally out of it. The front door has a screw on panel and the water is coming through. Then we notice water is also coming under the quarter round. Matt and I are trying to keep as much water off the floor with towels and paper towels.
Water running out of the door panel. This is the bottom of the door. 
Water coming in from the quarter round. Once the winds died down, Matt opened the door to wipe it off and see what was going on. We could tell the panel wasn’t sealed properly. I begin taking pics of the door and the floor and email them to our warranty guy. He responds that someone would be out the next day or the following Monday. When the storm is finally over, we do what we can to clean up the water and wait.
On Friday, the forecast calls for more storms so I email the warranty guy again and ask that someone come out that afternoon before anymore damage is done. Around 5pm the builder meets us at the house and we show him what’s going on. He goes ahead and adds some silicone to the outside of the door but tells us that since the door now has water in it, it will have to be replace. Talk about good news! I really wanted a full glass door without the crossbars so now is my chance to get one!
After he finishes his inspection he tells us that the sweep and part of the floor will also need to be replaced. The floor boards had already started to buckle. We’re not sure it was all from the storm. It’s possible it had been leaking for a while and no one was aware. Now we are just waiting for everything to be scheduled to be replaced.
~k
More on what I plan to do with the new door soon.
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Kelly Golf – Round 1
One of the main reasons Matt and I chose the neighborhood we did was because it was a golf course community. Matt plays golf a good bit and we knew he would play even more if we lived on a golf course. The only condition was that he had to get me a set of clubs. I refused to live on a golf course and not have clubs. For Christmas Matt gave me a set of golf clubs and some golf shoes.
We were able to join the golf course when we went under contract on the house back in November and Matt has played numerous times since then but I had only been to the range twice. Tuesday Matt said he was going to play a quick 9 after work and asked if I wanted to join him. It was a beautiful day so I decided to go. Matt grabbed a few of my clubs and threw them in his bag and we were off. We ended up playing the back 9 and it amazing! We didn’t run into another player until we got to #16.
So what exactly is Kelly Golf? Kelly Golf is where I hit the ball from the ladies tee, see where it lands and decide if I want to play from there or pick my ball up and play from where Matt is. This also includes me randomly throwing the ball on the green to putt from. Basically I just make up the rules as I “play”. It was fun and I really enjoyed myself. It was nice being able to take our time and not worry about holding people (or Matt) up. It was also nice there was no one around to see just how bad I am. I feel like we might do this often. There is a guy Matt has started playing with and I think his wife might play about like me. I told Matt we might have to play with them sometime. The boys can play for real and the girls can drink wine and play. 🙂
Overlooking #11. There is supposed to be a Bald Eagles nest somewhere over here. 
Sunset over the course -
Sunrise, Sunset
Wow, I didn’t realize it has been quite so long since my last post. We have been in the new house for almost a month and so far so good! We are just waiting on the new sofa to come and then I have to persuade Matt to buy a dining room table. My craft desk is on the way and then I can start working on that room (which I’m really excited about)!
Yesterday Matt was sitting on the screen porch and I was inside on the sofa. I hear him tap on the window and motion for me to come out. I figured Julio was doing something cute. I wasn’t prepared for what I saw. The sky was filled with blues, pinks, and purples. It was AMAZING! I knew if the back yard was that pretty, the front would be even more amazing, and I was right!
I grabbed my camera and we both ran upstairs to the Ensuite. The windows are almost even with the roof so we opened the windows and I sat on the window sill and took some pics. The sky was just beautiful.
It’s not just sunsets that are amazing at the new house either. Sunrise has been pretty good since the time change (when I’m actually up to see the sunrise). I took these pics the other morning as I was leaving the house. Needless to say, I think I’m going to like it here!
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Keys to the Casa
Well, it’s OFFICIAL! We have a brand new house!
Due to weather concerns, our closing attorney pushed our closing from 10:30 yesterday to 2:30. While I would have preferred to close a little earlier in the day, this allowed us to sleep in and take our time. We met the builder and warranty guy at the house at 12:30 to make sure everything on our checklist was complete. Once the details were finalized, Matt and I headed to lunch before going to closing.
Closing went smoothly and an hour later we had keys in hand. Since the locks are contractor locks we had to run back out to the house to re-key the locks. I also wanted to put down some contact paper under the cabinets in the bathrooms and “frost” the bathroom windows – let’s just say that was a disaster and move on. 😉
Gift basket the builder left at the house! I thought it was great they put some TP and paper towels in the basket. I was smart and brought those items but it was really fun to walk into the house and see our house warming gift! As we were leaving closing it started to snow. Once we got to the house the flakes were much bigger. It snowed pretty good for a few minutes and then let up. A little while later, I looked out the windows and the snow was really coming down. Big, huge, flakes. It snowed like that for 10-15 minutes and then quit.
I don’t feel like the pic captures just how hard it was snowing at this point. Matt worked on our driveway for a little while but didn’t make much progress. It’s pretty much just a big sheet of ice. Our driveway doesn’t get much sun and the concrete is too new to use a de-icer.
Temps will continue to fall tonight so tomorrow morning should be fun. Thankfully we hired movers and I can just direct traffic.
Sunset after the “storm”. I should mention, the new ‘hood looks beautiful with snow! Unfortunately I didn’t take any pics. My camera was at home and it was starting to get late.
~k
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Fourth of July Weekend
Due to a competition at work, I ended up with July 3rd off as well as the 4th. Matt and I both decided to also take Monday off so we could have a long weekend at the beach. As the week started, a tropical storm formed off the coast. By Wednesday it was headed for the beach but looked like it should pass by late Thursday and be out of our way for the weekend.
Thursday morning we woke up to discover the storm was ahead of schedule and it looked like we would probably end up driving through it. Ooops. We got the car packed and the kiddos in and we headed out. We hit one really rough patch of rain about an hour outside of Raleigh but it was over about as quickly as it started. By the time we got to Wilmington though, Hurricane Arthur was getting closer. We drove into the rain and a tornado warning. Thankfully the rain wasn’t too awful and we never saw the tornado. We arrived at Matt’s parent’s house around 2:30ish and sat back and watched the storm. And by watch the storm, I mean we watched the rain. It wasn’t until about 6:00pm that the winds really picked up but at this point, we were only getting the backside of Arthur. Seeing as we had driven through a hurricane to get there, I was determined to go and check out the beach. About 7:30 the winds had died down enough for us to head out. I was pretty disappointed at how calm the sea was. I mean it was rough, but not what I expected it to look like right after a hurricane.
Friday was just gross hot. Matt and his dad played golf while his mom and I went to the pool. We only stayed about 2 hours before it was just too hot to stay out anymore. Saturday and Sunday were both amazing, low 80’s and partly cloudy. Matt and I lounged on the beach most of the afternoon both days. I didn’t get quite as much sun as I had hoped for. I was a little overzealous with the SPF 30. 😉 I do at least have a bit more color though.
I managed to remember my camera this trip so I have quite a few pics to share. The first few are driving into the storm and after the storm.
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Flowers! I have flowers!
A few months ago I came across a bag of Gladiolus bulbs at Costco. When I lived in Austin, I used to always buy Gladiolus from the grocery store. The H.E.B would always have bundles for around $10.00. It was a great way to keep fresh flowers in my apartment, so when I saw them at Costco I couldn’t resist myself.
When the weather warmed up I planted about 15 under our deck and a few more on the side of the house. Well the ones under the deck, which receive almost full sun, have done GREAT! For the past week, I’ve been waiting for them to start blooming in full force. As of yesterday they were getting there.
I can’t decide if I’m going to resist the urge to cut them and bring them inside or leave them outside. Part of me thinks it’s a waste to leave them outside since they are on the back of the house under the deck. No one (ie me) will ever see them. But there is the other part that feels they should get to grow outside. Who knows what I’ll do. Probably cut them! 😉
I also have a Gerber Daisy that is taking off. Mom gave it to me last year and I keep it in a pot on sidewalk. It gets full sun most of the day and in the past few weeks it has really started to grow. I told Matt I had a blooms on the Gerber Daisy, to which he responded “the weed looking thing”. HAHA! Yes the “weed looking thing”! I know I’ve said this a few times but I am super proud (and slightly impressed) with my gardening skills. Mostly I’m just happy I can plant things and for the most part they live.
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Spring has sprung!
I feel like I only recently discovered the beauty of Peonies! As it happened, I stumbled upon them while looking for flowers for my wedding bouquet. Since the flowers included in our package sucked, and buying real flowers while in St. Lucia wasn’t really an option, I opted for fake flowers. *GASP* I was lucky to find a website that sold very realistic looking fake flowers and I was able to get a family friend to put them together. I think I spent under $75.00 for the whole thing. Not too shabby!
Where I’m actually going with this post is, I finally bought a peony bush this weekend! I’ve wanted one for a while and last year they were a little more than I wanted to spend. Yesterday I found one at Lowes for $24.95. I didn’t really have a place for it, you know since we don’t really have a yard, but I just HAD to have one. I ended up planting it on our side yard next to a holly bush. This probably wasn’t the best place to put it but the tag said it needed partial sun. Originally I thought about planting it under the deck but that gets a lot of the hot midday sun. So for now this is where it will live. There are already some buds so I’m hoping it will bloom pretty soon.
In other yard related news, I have 6 iris about to bloom, my azaleas are also about to bloom, and my gladiolus are coming up nicely. All in all I am very happy with the current state of the yard. I planted the gladiolus about 4 weeks ago I think. I bought a bag of 60 at Costco over the winter for $12.00. I didn’t plant all of them though. I gave a few to mom and I’ll probably give a few more to a co-worker. I mean 60 is kind of a lot. Haha
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Sledding!
Okay so I couldn’t post that I went sledding and there is video and not upload the video! Enjoy!
Happy Friday!
~k
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Snow day part deux (365 challenge)
Work has been crazy busy the last week or so and I haven’t had a chance to write about the snowstorm that hit Raleigh last week. Predictions were 4-8″ and I would say we definitely got 4″ plus a little more.
The snow was due to start around lunch on Wed so Matt decided to ride in to work with me and work from the Hunt Library on campus. It is about 2 blocks from my office and he hadn’t been there yet. A little before noon he walked back to my office and waited for me to get out of a meeting. I didn’t really take the snow seriously and about 12:15 he texted me and told me we had to leave that the snow had started. At this point my meeting was running long anyway so I grabbed my things and left.
By the time we got out the door the snow was already starting to stick to the ground. We hopped in the car and headed home. We got to Western Blvd and sat through the light a few times before I encouraged Matt to hop the curb and go a different way. Traffic was already starting to suck and the snow was sticking more and more. Within 15 mins or so of the start the roads were covered. We finally got off campus only to get stuck about 8 miles from the house. A drive that normally takes me about 5 minutes took us almost 45! Not to mention I was starving at this point. We finally got past all traffic but the roads were getting worse. About an hour and a half after we left the office, we finally got home. We only had one instance of sliding, like really sliding while trying to stop.
The snow continued into the night before turning to sleet and freezing rain and by the time we went to bed we had about 4″ of snow with ice piling on top. Clearly we worked from home on Thursday and Friday. I even managed to go sledding Thursday afternoon. Matt was a snow humbug and wouldn’t sled but he did take a few videos of me sledding. 🙂 It was fun!
By Saturday the roads were back to normal and I made Matt get me out of the house. At this point I am DONE praying for snow! 😉 I’ve gotten my “several inches” and I am ready for spring.
Now for the photo overload! Enjoy!
Happy Thursday!
~k
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Snow Day – 365 Challenge Week 5
I’m totally cheating and using some of the snow pics from last week for my challenge. 🙂
Last week the news started calling for snow on Tuesday and into Wednesday morning. I got to work and waited for the flurries to start. By 4:00 pm there was still no snow in the Triangle. I waited another half hour and decided to head home anyway. Matt and I laid on the couch around 5 and I told him it would be snowing when we woke up. Sure enough around 6 it was snowing. It snowed for most of the night however when we woke up on Wednesday we only managed to get about 1.5 inches. Since there was snow on the ground, there was no way I was going in to work. I emailed my manager to let him know I’d be working from home. I threw on some clothes and headed outside to take a few pics before the snow was ruined!
Matt is a snow fuddy duddy and wouldn’t go out and play with me but around 10:30 he decided to de-snow my car and clear off the driveway with his new snow shovel! Hehe. I bought him a snow shovel for Christmas. 🙂 Anyway, I decided to go out and help him but boy was it cold. At this point it was only in the teens out. I helped clear off some of my car and then took a few more pics. It was a gorgeous day but it was so cold out. I finally headed back inside to do more work and to warm up.
Thursday I went back to work, though I went in a little late since the roads were still a little icy. Even this weekend we still had some snow in our yard. It didn’t really all melt till the rain started last night. And while I do love me some snow, it was very very cold. I’m glad the temps rose some over the weekend.
~k
