Easter and Another Construction Update

So the White House may have the Easter Egg Roll, but the Howes family has The Easter Egg Hunt and Wii Bowl.

I spent Easter Sunday with my family in Huntersville, NC (outside of Charlotte). We had a fun afternoon of looking for Easter eggs and watching MacKenzie and Granddaddy play Wii bowling.

Before I headed to my parents, I stopped by the town home and checked on the progress. They got a lot of work done this past week.

Check it out: http://gallery.me.com/gwendolyn.howes#100045

Construction Update

Construction is moving along really smooth. The town home did not sustain any damage from this weekend's storms in the area. I have gone a few times over the last two weeks to check out the progress.

The drywall is up and finished. The molding is in place. The cabinets are in along with the granite countertops. The tile is installed in the master bath and the vinyl flooring is down in the guest bath. The pedestal sink and toilets are in. And the microwave and dishwasher have even been installed. You can get an idea of what the hardwood flooring will look like in the pictures of the half bath.

Here are the links to look at the pictures.

http://gallery.me.com/gwendolyn.howes/100033

http://gallery.me.com/gwendolyn.howes#100023

http://gallery.me.com/gwendolyn.howes#100016

Let me know what you think. I am also looking for color ideas for the walls.

My Version of Spring Break 2011

Ferry Ride to Ocracoke Island on the Outer Banks

So I have been a little busy the past two weeks with a visit from someone who has become and will always be a very special person in my life.

Back in September I met this really great guy named Brandon. We met when he gave me a tour of what is now my apartment in Brier Creek. We would see each other occasionally around the apartment complex and talk and finally back in November he got up the nerve to ask me out on a date. So from November until January we had a lot of fun going out, cooking together and getting to know one another.

Our time together ended at the end January when he moved back to Michigan so that he could go back to school full-time. However on April 5th, he arrived back in Raleigh for a 10 day visit.

Brandon's visit included: dinner at Char-grill, a Carolina Hurricanes/Detroit Red Wings hockey game, a few trips to Goodberry's, grocery shopping and cooking together, eating at Chick-fil-a (they don't have them in Michigan), a visit to my new townhouse, an afternoon at the NC History Museum, beer and hotdogs at a Mudcats game, a road trip to the Outer Banks, a day hike in Umstead Park and concluded with a nice dinner at my favorite place downtown, Gravy.

Whew....good thing I took last week off of work.

Overall our time together has been amazing. He taught me how to cook an omelett and I taught him all about wine. Brandon also taught me a lot about my self but more importantly helped me realize that I deserve so much more in life. He showed me how a guy is supposed to treat a woman and gave me hope that one day I will be able to allow myself to love all over again. He also showed me that I do remember how to smile, laugh and have fun. And he showed me that great guys do still exist and that one day I will find one to spend the rest of my life with.

But in the meantime, it has been fun learning how to live, laugh and love again these two weeks with such an amazing and wonderful guy named Brandon.

Social Saturday, Shopping Sunday and Sunshine

So I had a pretty busy social schedule on Saturday. My day started off watching my favorite soon to be 4 year old, Caleb, play soccer. Then it was lunch with his family and then some girl time with his mommy and sweet little sister, Emily.

Caleb scoring one of his many goals!

Then that evening I went to a cookout at Jack's (and Ely's) with some friends, both new and old. It was a great night filled with brats, burgers, beer, brownies and rice crispy treats.

Today started with church, then a visit to the construction site to check on the status of my townhome and then a little shopping.

And now I am sitting outside enjoying the sunshine after a walk/jog around the neighborhood.

Whew....busy weekend and the week is only going to get better.

I think this weekend was full of learning how to live, laugh and love again.

Milestone

So this week marks the end of 6th month that I have back in North Carolina. One thing that helped me realize that it had been that long, is the arrival of my auto insurance renewal cards in the mail. At first I was puzzled as to why I was getting an envelope from my insurance carrier and then it dawned on me. Auto policies renew every 6 months.

WOW, 6 months. I can't believe that it has been that long. Time sure has flown. I guess that means that I have been having a lot of fun.

That means, 6 months of living on my own, working at my favorite place, doing what I want and most importantly.... it has been six months since the huge step that I took in the process to be able to start to learn how to live, laugh and love all over again.