WEBSITE UPDATES:
Even though there haven't been main updates to the site (namely, this page), I have been working behind the scenes. I moved Greywolf18.com to GoDaddy, since my old server was being shut down. I have been updating the photo album every couple of months, and changed a few pages. The "Dedicated" page is finally complete. I removed the "Chevy Blazer" page and replaced it with Tori's page. So, things are changing, even if I'm too lazy to spend a half hour writing this page.

ON A PERSONAL NOTE:
Since it's been over a year since I updated, there's quite a few things to mention!

Last May, I graduated college. I earned an Associate's degree in Applied Science (Graphic and Web Design), Magna Cum Laude. I worked my butt off, and finally have something to show for it! Now I get to pay the student loans. Yippee. Photos from graduation are in the photo album, though I will tell you up front that I look horrible in most of them. It was windy, and a mad dash to the finish beforehand, since my one teacher never turned my grade in, therefore I didn't even know I was going to receive my degree until the last second.

I gave birth on December 22nd, 2006 to our first child, Victoria Marie (Tori for short). My pregnancy was great until the tail end, but as soon as Tori was born, everything went back to normal. Labor was easy! Okay, not EASY, but easier than I expected. I was induced around 1pm on December 22 (a Friday), my water was broken around 5pm, I got an epidural not long after, and Tori was born at 9:49pm. The doctor made it into my room at the last second - Tori was already crowning when Dr. Miller came in. The nurse had told me that if I felt like pushing to push, but I don't think even she expected my pushing to have such results. We were released from the hospital on Christmas Eve, just in time to spend our first Christmas home together. Mom came up the first week to help me out, then Mark had the next two weeks off. After three weeks, I was kind of glad to have the house to myself, but I was somewhat trepidatious for the first few days. Nowadays, Tori and I have settled into a routine, and I have no worries.

Tori is a great baby - she just turned 5 months old yesterday, and she smiles, laughs, and loves to play. She has just discovered grabbing things and pulling them to her, and of course, when things get that close, they go right into her mouth. She is eating fruits, and loves to squeal for another bite. She sleeps through the night, generally falling asleep around 9pm, and sleeping until about 8am. I'm so lucky! She likes to spend her mornings watching Dora and Diego, followed by a nap, then some playtime. Rarely is she unhappy, and if she is, it's usually because she's overtired. The first five months have flown by, yet they feel like years instead of months, at the same time.

As for the pets:
All good in doggy land. Both did well with the introduction of Tori to their lives. Athena is the bolder of the two - she will give Tori's hand or face a lick when I have my back turned, but neither has tried anything more than that. So, for now, I'll let them live. ;)

The house:
Okay, baby has kept us busy, but there have been a few changes. I FINALLY finished the paint in the kitchen. There was a strip above the cabinets, over the stove, that I had never gotten back to, and finally did it this past weekend. Of course, the rest of the kitchen has been painted for years now. Always the procrastinator. Last summer, Mark installed NICE ceiling tiles (yes, there is such a thing) in the kitchen that really made it feel classy, instead of feeling like I was stuck in some kind of industrial room. We took our ceiling light from the bedroom and installed it in the center of the kitchen, replacing the 24" square flourescent fixture that was just atrocious. He also added three 3" hats over the counter area, which adds great light for me to be able to see what I'm cooking and the dishes I'm washing. Still don't have a dishwasher - still want a dishwasher. All in all, the room has come together. I have my eye on a countertop at Home Depot that's inexpensive and will look really nice. I also want to get some moulding to give the cabinet doors a little style.

Our bedroom got a ceiling fan to replace the light we moved to the kitchen.

The "storage" room is now Tori's room. Mark and Wayne removed the closet, finished the walls, and now there is that added nook of space in a room that was desperate for all the space it could eek out of this tiny house. Her crib sets into the nook perfectly. The room is painted a warm beige, has burgandy curtains on the window, white furniture, and a nice rich laminate hardwood floor that Mark installed. Over Tori's crib, I painted the words "Always kiss me goodnight" and to frame it all out, I installed three curtain rods (one above, center the crib, and one on each wall at the two ends of her crib), then draped a sheer burgandy curtain panel over the center rod, down behind the two side rods, and hung one panel each on the two side rods. The result: kind of a princess, romantic, harem type vibe. Eventually I want to paint more quotes over her changing table, wrapping around the corner of the wall.

The deck redesign (aka curb appeal) is finally going to happen this summer! We are also going to be painting the house, thank goodness. No more red/orange/brown/ick. Woohoo!

Truck stuff:
Well, Mark decided he "hates Blazers," so he bought me a new truck. Fine by me! I now have a 2007 Mitsubishi Outlander. It's so fun to drive - it corners great, accelerates swiftly and smoothly, and has already gotten me into trouble. I got my first speeding ticket in 10 years. I don't know if I'm more surprised at the ticket or the fact that it's been 10 years. I'm getting old. UGH. The truck came stock with an awesome Rockford Fosgate sound system. The tweeters in the front add a great dynamic to the high ends, and the 10" sub integrated in the back puts out great bass. The nice part is, since it's all stock, it all works together to provide a clean, well tuned experience. And no rattles! That was one thing I always hated about my previous vehicles when I'd add my subs - there was ALWAYS a rattle. Mitsubishi did it right when they designed this truck. Of course, I still want to add things, but I'm going all OEM these days. I want the fog lights (I would have had them, but the one I was buying didn't have them on it already, so we decided to wait), HID lights (yeah, maybe, cha ching!), the DVD system (Tori will be wanting that soon enough, too), and maybe the Bluetooth phone system, since the buttons are already there. I could have had all that already in the truck, but I didn't want the higher package because I don't like leather seats and I don't need a navigation system. I know how to get to mom's and the flea market - I don't need a computer to tell me how. All in all, it's a great truck, so if you're shopping for one, take it for a test spin!

Well, that's about it for now, so take a look around, and shoot me an email sometime!

Updated: 2007-May-23