Recently

It's been a while since I've blogged, been too busy livin life, so no complaints here =) I still can hardly believe it's the middle of JULY! Asking "where has the time gone?!?" is definitely a reoccurring question on this blog!

We've really been enjoying our summer in the Amador household! It's so nice that Miguel gets a break from school! Spending so much time together is so much fun! The past couple of weekends we've really made an effort to relax and not put too much pressure on "getting things done". Weekends like the past one make me really appreciative of living at the beach. It really is awesome to wake up and just decide to go spend the afternoon relaxing and soaking up sun next to the ocean waves.

We haven't been completely lazy though! We've been doing a few things around the house too. A little home improvement here and there. Most recently Miguel installed some much needed cabinets in our laundry room. We're really pleased with the improved storage space. I've said it before and will say it over and over again I'm sure, but I am so thankful that Miguel is such a good handyman!

The puppy dogs are doing well. Miguel has been taking them on late evening runs around the neighborhood. They love coming back from a run all dirty and panting and have to jump up on me to "tell me all about it". =) I can't believe we've had Jack for over a year now! I love that dog! I can't help but roll my eyes every time I think about him. But with each eye roll comes a grin. He cracks me up. What a nut!

I've been staying busy, but when I sit down to think about what I've actually been doing nothing too terribly exciting comes to mind. Work has been keeping me busy and I've been having to stay an hour later most days. That extra hour really makes a difference in my evening routine. I enjoy work though, so it's not too bad... even though summer camp seems to bring out a lot of wacky people and situations!

One recent highlight that comes to mind, however, is an Art Bash party I went to last week. My co-workers and I had done a party a couple of months ago and had so much fun we did it again. This time was especially fun because we painted our pets! Originally the plan was for me to paint one of my dogs and Jennifer paint the other, but due to last minute babysitting issues Jennifer couldn't attend. I ended up painting the Emma-doodle. I honestly felt bad painting one dog and not both... like I was a bad puppy-parent and Jack would think I loved Emma more! Ha! I'm so silly, I know. Luckily, Jack seems unfazed ;) We had a fun time at the party. Emma's nose gave me some trouble, but I think the painting still turned out cute!

Ohh! The ever so talented Izzy from Izzy Hudgins Photography finished editing the photos from our anniversary session! I'm so thankful that my parents gifted us this fun experience! Miguel and I haven't found the time to sit down and decide exactly what prints we want yet (I think we are just living in denial that we can't afford every single one)... there are so many we like! Izzy posted a bunch to her facebook page that you can check out if you want. These here are screenshots, so, of course, I'm sure the quality doesn't do them justice.

 

Well, thats pretty much all the "update" I can think of right now. Super, super, super excited for our family vacation coming up... most importantly because I get to spend a whole week with this cutie pie!

Bad Beryl

Tropical Storm Beryl visited us in Savannah today. Holiday weekends + tropical storms shouldn't mix together...

Thankfully, Beryl was a good tropical storm  and didn't mess up our weekend with friends though! 

We've had really lovely weather - though it's a bit more windy than normal =) Smiles for living at the beach!

Saint Patrick's Day Savannah Year 2

St. Patrick's Day in Savannah is crazy. This year we had an estimated 1 million people in town to celebrate. Normally that would send me into a panic... okay I was sort of in a panic... but I really HATE crowds... anyways...


My best friend came into town along with Miguel's twin brother, Juan, Juan's girlfriend, Jessie, college friend, Jacob, and Jacob's fiancee, Katie. We did our fair share of contributing to the tourists =)

My bestie and me!

Friday night a bunch of our friends and their multiple house guests got together at our friend, Jason's, house. When Miguel and I pulled up to Jason's house this is what we were greeted with:

Friends on the roof

Such silliness! Miguel and I didn't climb up on the roof... but we got into the party spirit by wearing some green and a leprechaun hat. =) We didn't stay too late because I had to get up early the next morning...

One of the big draws here in Savannah is the St. Patrick's Day Parade. It's a lonnnnnng parade and in many ways feels very small town to me. The allure of parade isn't necessarily watching the parade, but more of the tailgating that goes hand-in-hand with it. This tailgating part of the equation is what had me waking up at 4:30 in the morning! People set up "tailgating" in the squares along the parade route. The squares don't "open" until a whistle is blown at 6:00 AM the day of the parade. This doesn't mean that people don't show up way before that to wait it out though... once that whistle is blown it is a full out race to get the coveted spots. People are nuts about it. Some have had their family "spot" for years, and will fight to make sure they retain that special location. I was determined to get a spot this year, especially since we had such a large party of people when you added all our friends up.  The night before Miguel and I parked one of our cars along the square we decided on. We packed it full of all our big items and non-perishable things we might need the next morning. This was such a great suggestion from a co-worker and Savannah native who has many St. Patrick's Day parades under her belt. It took a lot of pressure off of me to know that all I had to do the next morning was be dropped off (instead of fighting for street parking) and run to a spot. Though we thought we were prepared, the rush of the crowd running at 6 AM startled us a little bit and we were a little late to the game. We didn't end up with a spot along the street with good parade views, but we did claim a good section of the square. 

People setting up their tailgates at 6:00 AM

After Miguel dropped me off and helped me carry stuff out of the parked car, he headed to Jason's house to wake up friends and bring them and coffee back to me to wait it out till the parade started at 10.

A couple of hours before the parade started... getting busier!

I was so thankful for friends coming to keep me company! While we waited Miguel then headed back to our house to wake up our house guests and drag them out of bed to the parade. Miguel was so busy doing all that driving! He's the best!

We had a really fun time hanging out during the parade. We played corn hole, drinking games, and spent time with new and old friends! We didn't end up leaving till 3 in the afternoon... I was pretty sleepy. We all ended up taking naps when we got back to the house. But hey, that's why you visit Savannah on St. Patrick's Day right? To partake in the festivities? If you don't want to be in Savannah and enjoy the events that makes St. Patrick's Day here famous, then please don't come... stay home and go to bars in your own city ;)

Juan and his girl friend

Miguel enjoying spending time with Greg and Juan

I love how much the city gets into the holiday. Everywhere you looked there was green. You looked absolutely ridiculous if you weren't wearing green. I love themes and green is my favorite color... what a fun holiday!

Among the hundreds of thousands of visitors we had this weekend, we happened to set up our camp in the same square as my best friend's little brother, David!

Family love!

So much fun! I watched David grow up from diapers! Now he is starting medical school in the fall! I'm so glad we got to see him!

Look! He's wayyy taller than me now... still strange in some ways ;)

Like I previously said, I was pretty tired later that evening from being up so early, so I didn't want to do much Saturday night. After everyone eventually woke up from their naps, we headed to dinner and then I took Miguel and our guests downtown and then I came home and crashed into bed! Ahhh it felt so good! You know that feeling when all you want to do is shut your eyes and have a heavy, deep sleep? Mmmmm... =)

All in all I had a pretty good St. Patrick's Day... huge crowds and all! And I feel better prepared for next year! Bring on round three, Savannah! One of these years will have St. Patrick's Day here nailed down!

Shamrock

Friday night Miguel and I participated in the March of Dimes Shamrock Run 5k. This was my second ever run. Some friends of ours asked us to run it with them and we agreed but I was super nervous about it. I knew that I would be on my own during the run this time and I was scared I wouldn't have the self motivation to keep going. But I ended up doing just fine! I still had to walk at times, but I finished just shy of 3 minutes faster than the first 5k I ran. =)

This race sort of kicks off all the St. Patrick's Day festivities here in Savannah. It was so much fun being around the buzz and excitement. The city is definitely ready to get the party started! As you can see above Miguel jumped into the holiday spirit and dressed up for the race. =) Oh to have his confidence... 

We got to the race a little early and got to see the event get set up... well I watched as Miguel warmed up. 

City Market started to get more crowded...

I love how people really got into the dressing up part... there was even a dog costume contest which was pretty cute! Among the crowd was a fairy, a leprechaun, men playing bagpipes, and people running around in kilts.

Unfortunately, it rained during the race, but surprisingly I didn't really mind. I generally despise being wet and running so I was pretty sure I was going to be miserable during the event. I'm happy that wasn't the case though!

Before the race

Crossing the finish line... photo credit here

One of the reasons this race is so popular and fun is that it's a big party afterwards, complete with a glass of beer when you finish. Nothing could have been less desirable to me after I ran, but I was in the minority there.

Here are some of the dogs who dressed up... =)

I had a good time last night! After the race we were all wet but happy and met up with some friends for dinner. I can't believe I'm going to say this, but I'm actually kinda, just a little bitty bit, looking forward to running the next 5k!

Happy St. Patrick's Day Yall!

Why I Will Look Under The Couch More Often...

One evening a couple of weeks ago I crouched down to retrieve a dog toy for Emma that had rolled under the couch. Under our couch is a scary, dangerous place where dog toys, dog hair, and dust collect at rapid rates. Something out of the ordinary, though equally as scary, caught my eye that night. I quickly grabbed the couch and pulled it away from the wall... and this is what I discovered:

Obviously we had bad water damage. Things that started rolling through my mind: "I hope it's not a leak from under the slab", "How have we not noticed this?", "OMG mold!", "Thank God Miguel is here!", "Not the hardwoods!", "We have been living with this right under our noses?!?", "No, Jack! Don't lick that!"... 

We started walking around the house and started to notice water stains in both the bathrooms as well. It seemed pretty clear that one of the showers had the leak. Unfortunately, both showers back up to about four different walls/rooms in the house. Wonderful. 

Miguel started pulling off the floor boards and threw away the molded pieces of wood. We called our insurance and made a claim. On that note, I would like to say that I was very pleased with the timely and professional manner of Cotton States Insurance. As far as insurance companies go... with their reputations akin to that of lawyers and con men... they did very well in their response. 

Long story short... The next morning a plumber came out to assess the damage and find the cause. Thankfully there was no leak under the slab. Turns out we had a small leak in our master shower. The cold water pipe slowly dripped every time it was in use. Of course this was all behind the tiled wall so we never saw it. After the insurance adjuster came out, it was determined that we would have to replace the majority, if not all, of the hardwood in the living room, a good chunk of the drywall in the living room, and patch up pieces of drywall in both bathrooms and our laundry room. Cotton States recommended a general contractor and we moved forward with the repairs. The contractor came and removed some of the floor and the wall and left a fan for a couple of days to air and dry it out. 

Next, the majority of the floor was removed and patched. Luckily, due to the hardwood being new - it was only put in last summer - it was easy to match and we only had to replace half of the room. I have to mention (and anyone who has had work like this done in there house knows what I'm talking about) it is so annoying to live in a house in such a displaced state! Also, to have people, who are strangers really, coming and going in and out of your house is a pain as well. It is no fun to feel quarantined in your own home. Also, as an added bonus, having this disruption caused the dogs to believe that they had free reign and all the old, regular house rules no longer applied. That was fun. 

There was a layer of white dust EVERYWHERE in our house after the work was completed. And I do mean everywhere! I keep finding dust I have somehow missed when I'm in a room and the light is shining at a different angle though.  It was costly and I am very thankful for home insurance! However, all in all, well as far as this sort of situation is concerned, it was generally as hassle free as it could be. And there is no greater feeling than getting your house back to yourself, all clean, and in order once again!

Ahhh, back to normal!

Just Another Reason Why I LOVE the South East...

I L.O.V.E the South East. It's the end of January, pretty much the middle of winter, and we spent Saturday afternoon hanging out at the park with friends and enjoying the 70° weather! I also love Savannah. I love Forsyth Park. And I love hanging out with friends and relaxing on the weekend! 

A group of friends got together yesterday at the park just to hang out. It was almost like going to the beach but, in my opinion, much better! We didn't have to carry our stuff a long distance, there was no sand, and I didn't have to wear a bathing suit... ;)

It was great people watching too! There were games of soccer, ultimate frisbee, and fantasy sword fighting going on, loads of loungers just enjoying the sun, family picnics, readers, sunbathers, musicians freely playing their guitars, and many well behaved dogs enjoying the park.

I spent most of the afternoon lounging and talking with friends. And as I'm sitting here writing I am noticing I am sunburned on the legs... next time I'll take sunscreen along with me!

We played some corn hole and frisbee too... I say "we" because I played a round of corn hole, but it was really the boys who took advantage of the games. 

I was so happy that the Finnegans came to the park! I enjoy their company but don't get to see them often, plus I adore their kids, Cambria and Ezra! Too cute! I couldn't help myself and took loads of pictures of their sweet faces.

 

I love this picture of Ezra because it looks like he is intentionally posing! =)

I really did have the perfect afternoon yesterday! I'm really considering going back today with a book and some simple snacks. Too bad our dogs aren't calm enough to go chill too. I think I'll bring sunscreen and a hat this time... and keep my shoes on... because, thanks to Brandon, I have learned what happens to your feet if you do not... =)