Easter Weekend

I was lucky enough this year where our every-other-Friday-off fell on Easter weekend, which gave me three full days out of the office. I really haven't taken advantage of that Friday-off thing for awhile, given the year-end closing responsibilities and all of the unusual events such as surgeries/procedures, doctors, appointments, and everything with my mother-in-law. I might not have always been in the office, but was definitely working remotely on my "Friday off" and weekends to keep caught up with everything. I haven't really gotten a break, and while this weekend was busy it was a good time to mentally reset and gear up for quarter-end close and other items that typically occur this time of year.

Though time went by too quickly, it was a good mixture of productivity and fun. Brad and I picked out tile for our kitchen, dining room & downstairs bathroom, and put together our "Lowes purchase list" that included six-panel doors, a new kitchen sink & garbage disposal, and new toilets. Our house is only four years old, but we would like to sell it within the next year or so and are working on affordable upgrades that will give our house a little something extra in hopes that it will appeal to someone enough for them to make an offer. We picked out new door handles, and knobs and crown molding for the kitchen cabinets. We still have some painting to do upstairs, along with the daunting task of painting all of our woodwork white, but once it's completed I think we'll have a pretty good looking house. Oh, and we do have some basement work to complete but that will likely be last on the list. The goal is to get this completed sooner than later so we have some time to enjoy it before we try to sell it during these difficult economic times.

When we weren't out looking at home upgrades, Brad and I spent the time together just being out and about. For Easter we went to my parents house for a low key dinner with steak, potatoes, green beans and rolls. It was nice to have just the four of us, though I wish my brother could have made it home. I texted him a message before dinner, and he called us during it and we took turns talking to him. After watching some golf (and almost falling asleep as I'm just not that into the sport), I had this urge to go bowling. I haven't been bowling in years with my back, but it just sounded like a lot of fun, and something I could actually handle. It didn't take much arm twisting, and before I knew it the four of us piled into the car and drove to a bowling alley in Norton. One of two families there, we put on our bowling shoes, picked out the ball that would lead us to victory and played two rounds. My mom decided to wisely sit out and just watch, and though my father and husband beat me in both rounds I managed several strikes and spares. Considering I was concerned about slipping on the floor with shoes that had no grip, I adjusted my style a bit so I wouldn't injure myself. It was definitely not how I was taught to bowl, but I did well; I believe I hit 120 in my second game. Not bad for someone who hasn't played in 10 years, has had four back surgeries and played with a 12-pound ball. Sure, I'm sore today, but it was worth it. It might be something I try to do on a more normal basis, as it is good exercise.

On another positive note my cousin Gina and her husband Anthony had a baby girl, Josephine, on Easter Sunday.

All in all it was a good weekend, and a nice break from work.