if he asks next saturday, i think i'll keep my mouth shut

This past weekend was supposed to be our last soccer event of the season...a tournament in Greensboro, NC. But last Monday we received word that one of the other teams had pulled out, leaving only our team and one other. Not exactly the season ending tournament we were looking for. So our team decided not to go, which left us in an unfamiliar situation. An entire weekend with absolutely no plans whatsoever! First on the agenda was resuming Pizza-Movie night, which we had to abandon several months ago to accommodate Friday night soccer practices. We woke up on Saturday morning to the sun shining and the birds chirping and the air crisp, but not cold ...and we were still plan-less. Doug looked at me and asked, "Well, what should we do today?" And knowing it was supposed to be a gorgeous weekend, and probably one of the last of the season, I replied, "Well, we could repaint the shutters..."

Now, don't get me wrong...it's not that I really wanted to paint the shutters. It's just that we've been talking about painting the shutters since we moved into this house. And every year when we get the letter from the Homeowner's Association detailing things we can do to keep up our curb appeal, like giving our shutters a fresh coat of paint, I know the letter goes to everyone on the street, but I always feel like they are really talking about us! And after we (and by we, I mean Doug) got the garage cleaned out last weekend, I felt like we could be on a roll here...tackling projects left and right! And besides, it's not like it is a really huge project...just 10 shutters to take down, clean, paint and put back up! So, yes, I suggested it and Doug jumped on it. Within minutes he was up and off to Home Depot for the paint and a scrub brush. As soon as he got home, we got down the ladder and he started up with his screwdriver to take the shutters down. And after he removed one screw, he remembered how much he really hates to be on a ladder. I'd kind of forgotten about that part. Doug doesn't do ladders. But I wasn't going to let that stop us! I told him he was just going to have to man-up and get it done. No, I didn't really. I told him I'd be happy to get up there and take the shutters down. He seemed very reluctant to let me, but hey, I haven't been playing those balance games on the Wii Fit for nothing! And I know you probably don't believe me, but yes, I did get up on that ladder, I took down every shutter and after Doug and Emily cleaned and painted them, I got back on that ladder and hung them back up. And you know what? It was actually kind of fun. It's not very often that I get to get up on ladders and wield power tools (the drill to put the shutters back up) and while it's not like I want to quit my day job and become a contractor or anything (STOP LAUGHING), it was kind of empowering for me to find out I can do things like that if the need arises.

I really wish I had taken a "before" picture of the house...but I did manage to take a "before" and "after" of the shutters:

And then I remembered I did have a picture of the house. This is from September 2007, right after we moved in...

And here is the house now:

Not bad, eh?