Demolition Weekend

This weekend has been all about household improvements, some long overdue ones.  Chris wanted to put in some cabling in the living room to boost the electrical flow into the room as well as bring in the network cord since that's where he does a lot of his photo editing (and so I don't have to trip over the cord snaking its way from his room in the back of the house to the living room in the front of the house).  In addition to the massive amount of work that went into doing that, he also installed one of our rain barrels.  Right now it's smurf blue, and I'm thinking I should spray paint that before it fills up...another project...

My project this weekend was to clear out the grapevines that were taking over the yard past the fence in back (I was informed those vines have been there for at least 25 years and some of the roots we pulled up proved that!).  I foolishly didn't take a picture beforehand so you could see how you couldn't see any ground in the back anymore because of the grapevine, but I do have one from much earlier in the summer:

 
Here is what it looks like now:

I definitely could not have done it alone - my parents both came down and my mom helped me tear out the grapevines and my dad helped Chris with the wiring.  Thank you!!!!  The great thing about the Ramsey County compost sites is that anyone who lives in Ramsey County can get free mulch when it's available, and luckily they had a bunch available this week.  My mom and I put a thin layer out back where we cleared everything out and I put a thin layer around the bed against the garage so the dirt doesn't keep splattering up when it rains.  It looks so much better, and I'm planning to get a lot more as I do more and more projects around the yard.

I'm pretty tired and really really dirty at the moment, but I am so glad this project got finished.  It's so great to have this feeling of accomplishment.  I am going to post the small lilacs shown in the picture about on Craigslist (unless any of you out there would like them).  They are all healthy, but they were planted in a silly place and I have all the lilacs I need on the other side of the fence.  My mom graciously offered to give me some of her Stellas to plant in back (they look like short lilies with yellow flowers that bloom all season and have great foliage).  It is going to look fantastic!

I was also really excited to find out that we have a chickadee!  That was one of the few birds I could easily identify as a kid and I love the look of them, but I hadn't seen one here until this weekend.

I also walked around to find some more plants blooming:

Blooms

My experiment with the garden is going well in certain respects and not-so-well in others.  The wild lupine is gone.  It couldn't handle the direct afternoon sunlight.  But the columbine is doing really well and has grown quite a bit.  In the other bed, the bee balm is huge compared to when I got it.  The butterfly weed tried to make me think it had died, but it has come back quite well.  I think it was taken it's time establishing its roots.  And the coneflower is looking beat up because Banjo likes to go through the bed and the rain pounds it down, but it's still growing.

The lilies are blooming too, and it's not a surprise that I love the color!

My indoor plants are doing well also:

Happy 4th

Banjo is not so happy.  He doesn't like the sounds of the fireworks.  He is staying extremely close to Chris and I and won't even go explore outside.  He said, "No thanks."

Chris is "enjoying" the new Super Mario Bros game for the Wii.  I say enjoying in quotes because he seems a bit frustrated with himself at times, and I'm learning my wifely duties by not saying anything.  Sorry for ratting you out Topher! 

I've been getting some knitting done.  I knit a cute little baby hat (looks like a pumpkin), finished a Nalgene bottle holder I started on back in March, and started on another project.  But what I have to balance it against is watching The Wire.  We're on the last season, and while this season hasn't been as gripping as previous seasons, it's still a damn good show.  I've been seeing a lot of the same kinds of budget crises as what happens at the City.  It's really interesting.   

Happy 4th!

We're officially hitched!

I'm now a wife!  Everyone has been greeting me with Mrs. Mitchell, and I keep getting confused - Chris's mom is in the other room...and then I realize they are talking to me!

Our ceremony and reception was absolutely amazing, and the reason it was so beautiful was because of all of you (besides how beautiful Chris and I are of course!).  Here are specific people we'd like to recognize and thank (it kinda feels like receiving a major award: "And now I'd like to thank the following people...":

• My parents:  Thank you so much for all of your love and support throughout my life, and for welcoming Chris into our family (with Pokey's permission of course)!  Dad, the plant stands and cupcake stand you made for us made our day feel all the more special!  Mom, your words during the ceremony made me laugh and reminisce, and it made me more fully appreciate all of your advice and encouragement throughout my life.  Thank you to you both!
• Jamie and Sue: Thank you so much for welcoming me in the Mitchell clan (and for not simply replacing Chris with me!).  Thank you for the grooms dinner and for brunch - it was wonderful to see everyone's reactions to our photos and for the fun stories retold about Chris and the hairbrush!
• Mom Mom, Seanly, Nina:  Thank you for driving across the country to share in our day!  It was fun spending time with you (hope it was fun winning my money in poker!).  I am honored to officially be part of the Mitchell clan! 
• Aunt Cheryl and Uncle Jabbour: Thank you for flying across the country to be an important part of our celebration.
• Kim: Yo Sis!  I would not have been able to get through all of those extremely busy days without your help!  I honestly cannot find the words to say how much I appreciate all of your support and refusal to let me do anything!  You gave me a rocking bachelorette party (I don't know the last time I laughed and danced that hard!).  You gave me a place to relax.  You gave me a saucy makeup job (who would have thought!).  You gave me an out if I wanted it - if you were wondering why I asked you to be my maid of honor, that's why, you are my best friend first, Chris's sister second when it matters most.  You organized and ran around for several days straight to make our day wonderful.  Most of all, you share yourself with me openly and without reservation; you have given me amazing emotional support and great advice regardless of the situation; and you are a kick-ass women.  Thank you.
• Eric and Chanda: Thank you for all of your help on our wedding day!  Your mad decorating skills and height gave us a great stage.  Eric, thanks for being the best man even though you only found out the day before the wedding.  
• Adam, Ildiko, Russ, Lisa, Brent, Autumn, James, Mary, Greg: Thank you so much for all of your help on our wedding day and for being part of it!  You all made the space look beautiful - I didn't imagine it could look that great!  We've gotten comments from several people telling us we have a good group of friends :)  You are all amazing!
• Becca: Thank for being the honorary personal attendant!  Thank you for filling the role even though I didn't realize you'd be put in that position!  You did a magnificent job - everything went more smoothly with you there.  BTW: the Skittles His and Her packs are amazing (I ate the Her pack, working on stealing the His pack)

• Gina and Perry: Thank you for being the photographer and DJ.  Perry - our photos are so much fun!  I am so amazed at how much thought you put into them!  Gina - the music was wonderful!  Thank you for all of your help decorating and setting up/tearing down too! 
• John and Maria: Thank you so much for letting us borrow your van for so many days and for helping with all of the set-up and tear down!  You made everything so much easier!  Sweet moves on the dance floor :)
• Andrea and Greg: Thank you for all of your help during the set-up and tear down!  I cannot get over how beautiful those centerpieces on our table were!  You also have mad cupcake-arranging skills!  Your support before/during/after the wedding was great!
• Gretchen: Thank you so much for all of your help and suggestions before the wedding and for being a kick-ass bartender!  We definitely need to go salsa dancing sometime soon!
• Friends and Family (and anyone we forgot to thank specifically!): Thank you for being part of our day!  Your love and support over the years has shaped Chris and I into the people we are today.  Thank you for traveling so many miles and braving road construction to get here!  It was an incredible feeling to look out over the crowd and see all of your faces smiling back at us!  It wasn't in a creepy way; more like a loving/encouraging way :)  Thank you.

Chris posted some preliminary wedding photos on Flickr.  Enjoy!

I have a husband!

Guess what today is...

It's our wedding day!!!  I'm really excited and a bit nervous about everything running smoothly for the most part.  Thank you all for your support!

Holy s&%# - it's almost here!

That day is just around the corner - I actually got butterflies in my stomach when I logged off and recorded my voicemail at work saying that I'd be out until July 6.  It meant our wedding day was really close.  Holy s%$#.