Mark and I did a lot of packing this weekend.  We pretty much have everything packed that we can pack.  The problem is that we still have a lot to pack that we can't yet.  We have to wait on food, kitchen stuff, and of course clothes.  Tomorrow, we are going to Shedd Aquarium and The Art Institute of Chicago.  We are going to the Shedd in the morning, then meeting Michele for lunch, then heading over to the Art Institute.  I'm really looking forward to it. 

I cannot believe that we close on Friday already!  It seems unreal.  We plan on having our families over the weekend of March 19th to celebrate Easter.  My mom works the weekend of Easter, so we figured this would be the next best thing.  I haven't seen my family since Christmas so I'm looking forward to seeing them.  With house hunting and everything we just haven't been able to make it down there. 

Have a wonderful week!

Well, once again we have neglected the blog.  We close in 10 days on our house.  10 DAYS!!!!  I am going to throw the best shindig this side of the Mississippi to celebrate.

Work has been busy as ever, but I love my job.  It is excellente, by far the best job I have ever had.  Wonderful mix of web development and hardware and software administration. 

I have been toying with the idea of creating a new version of our site (as if I have enough time).  I need some feedback from everyone. 

The way that it looks now, we will be moving our big stuff the week after closing.  Anyone who wants free pizza can come and help.

April and I bought each other something very nice for V-Day...a house!  People ask us what we got for each other, we just simply reply, "You think we have money after this!" HA

Take care everyone!

M

I just filed my taxes online and it is soooooo easy!!  If you go through www.irs.gov and use turbotax it is free of charge and it does everything for you.  Don't do your state taxes with that because it will charge you $20 dollars.  Once you have done your federal taxes go to www.iltax.com and file your state taxes for free!!!  I have always done my taxes myself and it is so much easier to file them online.  Plus you can get direct deposit.  I will get both of my returns within in 10 days.  I am very excited by all of this. hehe 

Using some Christmas gift certificates I bought paint brushes and some canvas to do some artwork for our house.  I sure hope that it turns out well!  Now I just have to figure out what type of paint I'm going to use. 

I bought a picture frame from Kohl's that has 3 5X7 slots for only $10.  I'm using it for my siblings school pictures.  That way instead of having the pics lay around I can actually put them up on the wall. 

I have been reading the book "The Rescue" by Nicholas Sparks.  He is an awesome writer.  I have 3 or 4 of his books and every single one has been hard to put down because it is so good.  Nicholas Sparks is the one that wrote "The Notebook."  To be honest, the other books that I have read by him I have liked better than "The Notebook."  I want to see the movie so that I can see how similar the movie and the book are.  I had to wait to see the movie until after I read the book. :)

Mark and I went out to Rock Cut State Park.  It was so nice out there.  I really miss riding bikes and just enjoying nature.  We got there and the lake was beautiful!  There were a ton of geese and ducks right around the small area of the lake that was not frozen.  We took some pictures and will put them up on the site very soon. 

April and I have been talking about paint color and the other fun things you talk about when you are going to be moving into a house.  We are painting the master bedroom a grayish blue color, the office a tan color, and the smallest bedroom a sage green.  It should turn out nicely.  We are also cleaning all of the carpets before we start moving in. 

The more people coming over to help move the better.  I will even feed whoever helps.  You can't beat that!!!

We close February 25, so we are only 23 days away until we are first time homeowners.

We also want a dog at some point once we settle down after the move.  That probably won't be for a while though.

Have a Happy Feb everyone, and as always, get on April to write a blog :)