The Coffey Grounds

I’m sorry for the lack of posts lately!  Thea last month or so has just flown by!  Mainly we have had a trip to Dallas to celebrate the TX/OU game and throw a baby shower for our dear friend Summer and Paul.  I have posted photos in our Picasa album.

Last weekend we traveled to north Louisiana for the annual Hampton Family reunion.  It was an absolute blast as usual and we had so much fun.

School has been crazy lately and needless to say I am VERY ready for this semester to be over.  And to add to the craziness….we are in the process of buying a new home.  Yes…I know what your thinking…but you’ve done so much to the current home.  And you are correct.  While it kills us to sell this place as we love it dearly, we found a good deal on a home less than 5 minutes away.  It’s larger, a GREAT layout for the future kiddos, and is on one acre so we have tons of room to spread out and Mike can build his workshop.    Our offer was accepted yesterday and the inspection is scheduled for next week.  Baring no major issues on inspection, we are ready to go. (A HUGE thank you to Mom’s boyfriend Ken for helping make this all possible!)

We will hopefully close in December and put our home on the market in mid January.  We plan to make a few changes to the  new house BEFORE moving in this time (a lesson we learned from this place.)  Nothing major, just installing some new flooring, major painting (I can’t stand white walls), and changing a few fixtures.  There are plenty of projects to tackle in the future (refacing the kitchen cabinets!!!) but all of it can wait and be done over time without major disruption (woohoo).  And since we plan to be adding to our family relatively soon…that is a VERY good thing.  I’ve posted some photos below.  They aren’t the greatest, but you can get the idea.

This is a horrible shot of the front - it nearly stopped us from looking at it. But, it does look a bit better in person.

View from dining room into entry on left and living room in back.

The kitchen....so much potential!

From living room looking to entry. Yes...the chandalier is one of the first things to go

From the living room looking into kitchen.

Back of home. LOVE all the windows! There is SO MUCH light in the home.

The HUGE backyard

Needless to say, we are super excited, but sad and scared at the same time.  Sad to leave our first home that we truly love and have put so much of ourselves into.  And scared about temporarily having two mortgages.  Yikes!  But, we will price our home well and its one of the few completely updated homes in the neighborhood, so we are pretty confident it will be okay.  Also, we are VERY happy that the step-up tax credit was approved by congress.  Our current home isn’t really a “first time” home for most people, so we are happy to hopefully have some people that will be interested in purchasing a home by April (and hopefully sooner!).

I’ll keep you updated!

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Hey there!  Wow – this week has flow by as always.  We are LOVING this cooler weather and I’m looking forward to tomorrow’s UT/Colorado game in cool weather – woohoo!

John and I chillin with our Kings of Leon neighboor - local news anchor Olga Campos! (She was hilarious!)

ACL was a blast last weekend (minus the rain and mud.)  Friday was gorgeous!  Saturday had great shows, but the rain was pretty frustating.  By the end of the Dave Matthew’s Band on Saturday night, we were knee deep in mud.  After that, John and I decided that if it rained that night, we were not going to go to mud pit awaiting us on Sunday.  And of course…it rained three inches that night.  I was sad to miss some good shows on Sunday, but Saturday had most of what I was looking for.  Flogging Molly, Zach Brown Band, and the Decemberists were especially good.  DMB was good, but I was hoping to hear more of their “classics” (they didn’t even play Crash.)  All in all, it was a great time.

Here are a few pics from the weekend.

Hangin' in the rain waiting on Dave Matthews Band

Waiting on Flogging Molly.

Me, Steven, and John before Zach Brown Band. (We all went to high school together.)

Our ACL group. Me, Nita, John, and Melissa (John's sister.)

The muddy aftermath...and this was a good area on Saturday night!

John, Melissa, and Nita's shoes after we tried to "clean" them off. (I had my mud boots on!)

Mom also sent me some pics from last Friday’s St. John’s tailgate before the big La Porte vs Deer Park game (LP won 7-3!).

Mom and Ken

This weekend we are going to try and take it easy a little, with fun, work, and school mixed in between.  Tonight we are just hanging out.  Tomorrow I have some things for school and if the weather holds out, Mike will work on his car.  Then Sunday I’ll catch up on school stuff while Mike works.  But, we are getting excited for next week’s trip to the big D for TX/OU weekend.  I’m not sure yet if we are going to try and get tickets at the game or just watch it at a friend’s house, or just go to the fair.  Any which way – it will be fun to spend Friday and Saturday night with some long distance friends!  I hope everyone is doing well and enjoying this GORGEOUS Fall weather!

Hook em!

Jamie and Jay.

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Mike finally updated Word Press which seems to have fixed our little photo uploading issue! I’ll try to go back and insert some pics. Things are going well here! I’m staying super busy with school and Mike has done the same with work. But, we are managing to have a little fun on the weekends. Honestly…the past month has flown by, but I can’t seem to remember anything we did! How does that happen?

This weekend I’m headed to ACL (that’s the Austin City Limits Music Festival for all you non- Austinites   )with John and Melissa H. while Mike stays here and veges (sp?) a little and gets some stuff done on his list. I’m looking forward to a little fun. I’ve been trying to get everything on my to-do list done so I can take 2 days off. With a big exam on Monday, I’m afraid I won’t get a whole weekend off. But, I’m sure we’ll still manage to have fun!

Other than that, not too much is new. We have TX/OU weekend in the big D coming up in a few weeks and the Hampton Family reunion in early November. We are looking forward to both trips! Also, I think we have decided to possibly get away over Thanksgiving. We have been trying to fit a trip in before I start working (hopefully) in December, but nothing seems to be working out. So, we are going to see if Thanksgiving will work out. We are so burned out and need to GET AWAY! Not sure where yet, so feel free to make suggestions! I’m thinking something tropical…hmmmm…so many choices!

I’ll try to post some photos this weekend from my iPhone app. Lots of friends are going, so I’m hoping to catch up with some old faces. Have a great weekend!

Tags: Mike and Michelle

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Yep – that’s my new official title!  We found out last Thursday that I passed my boards and am officially a registered nurse.  Needless to say, that was a load off!  If I had not passed, it could have presented a serious issue coming up in the seemster.  In our advanced assessment class we are doing things like pelvic exams and other things where a license is required.  Also, it’s much easier now to concentrate on school.  I felt like I was just getting through day in class and not giving everything my full attention.  So, now I can just concentrate on schoolwork.  That feels great! I celebrated with a facial and haircut Friday afternoon, then Mike took me out to fabulous dinner at Perry’s Friday night.  It was wonderful to just relax a little and enjoy the success of a hard year’s work!

This weekend, we caught up more on our to-do list and put the finishing touches on the new shed,  got the yard back in shape, and even cleaned up Mike’s office!  It felt good to catch up on stuff around the house.  I want to decorate for the fall, but it seems a little premature given that it’s still 90+ degrees outside!  I’ll definitely do it next weekend.  I haven’t gotten too much studying done, but will be back to that full time tomorrow.

Mike is doing great.  He’s been enjoying a little more free time lately since work has settled down a little.  He’s been catching up on things around here and working on his car most weekends.  Other than that we are just living life and planning the upcoming activities for the Fall (which seems to be packed already…how’d that happen?)

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Sorry for the lack of posts lately.  The past month has just been crazy.  Let’s see…last we caught up  I was doing my last bit of RN preparation at a Cardiac ICU.  I absolutely loved that experience and it definitely confirmed where I want to be – critical care.  I have since become a Graduate Nurse (I can work as a nurse but am not licensed)  and I take my boards next Wednesday (yikes!)  So, by this time next week, I’ll know if I’m an RN or not.  I have also started the Fall semester yesterday and am now working on the Advanced Practice part of my Masters.  It’s pretty tough course load, but I’ll survive.

Unfortunately, I cannot report that I’m employed.  One of the frustrating things about living in such a great city is that everyone else wants to live here too.  Thus, there is not a real nursing shortage.  And since there isn’t a shortage, the local hospitals prefer to hire new nurses that can work full time at any schedule they dictate.  With my wacky Mon/Thur class schedule, it is proving difficult to find anyone willing to work around my schedule.  If I was already a nurse with some experience, it wouldn’t be a big deal.  But since I’m new and need facility orientation and some training, it’s an issue.  Oh well…we’re not homeless or anything without my income, but it would surely be nice to have some extra funds around!!  And frankly…I’m ready to work!

We spent some of the summer break doing some fun day trips around Austin.  The first trip was part of the Texas BBQ Trail followed by a tour of the Spoetzl Brewery in Shiner (where Shiner Beer is brewed.)  The first BBQ stop was Black’s in Lockhart.  While Blacks isn’t the well known Smitty’s, it does have excellent chicken.  After this, the next stop was the legendary City Market in Luling for some amazing brisket and awesome beans.  Yum!!  Finally, it was time to tour the Spoetzl Brewery and partake in free tastings (darn!)  It was fun to visit…Mike was facinated by the brewery and bottling process while my favorite part was the sampling!  On the way home we swung by Gonzales to stop by the amazing Discovery Antiques Store.  I absolutely loved all the historic homes in Gonzales.

The next day we slept in then went to one of our favorite trailer food (Mike and I LOVE Austin trailer food) Flip Happy Crepes.  After lunch we headed to Barton Springs for a nice dip then to our favorite so cone place – Sno Beach.  A quick shower later and we were heading to see Harry Potter on IMAX 3D.

And while we had a fun time on our various day trips, it was even better just to spend a little time together.  For the previous month, I had been working weekend nights and Mike had been working crazy hours during the week.  So, we didn’t exactly get to spend much time together at all.  It was more like a “hi” in passing on our way to work.  It was great to just catch up.

During the break, I also got to catch up with some great friends!  One day a frind of mine from high school was in town, so we met up for brunch at Kerbey Lane and then headed out to Krause Springs in Spicewood to relax and catch up.  It was great to Natalie after so many years – and relaxing at Krause Springs was fabulous.  After that day, I started cracking down on studying and hit the books hard during the day.  But that didn’t deter a fun and fabulous girls weekend last weekend.   Cath, Mel, Lauren and I hit the Lakeway Spa and Resort for some fun, sun, and great girl time.  We also indulged in some great spa time at Spa at the Lake.  I have some great photos from the weekend, but I’m having issues posting them on the website.  Hopefully we can get it fixed in the next few days and I’ll post them.

Mike also used his wife-free and wife-studying time to work on his car restoration project with his Dad.  I posted a few more photos of the car in our Web Album.  Needless to say, it’s slow going and will definitely  be a few years before completion.

Other than that, it’s just study, study, study, and work, work, work around here.  Hopefully I’ll have a good post next week regarding my boards!

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About to leave for a much anticipated (and needed) girls getaway with my ladies.  I’m sorry there have been so few posts lately…between the crazy school schedule and studying for boards (on Sept 2nd!) I haven’t had much free time lately except for some fun day trips we’ve fit in here and there.  I’ll post pics from those and girls weekend next week.  Have a fab weekend!

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So I’m sorry for the lack of posts lately.  This work/school schedule has been a little nutty.  But, it’s going really well.  I’m loving Cardiac ICU!  This is my last week of night shifts, so hopefuly some normalcy will return soon.  I absolutely love the night shift, but there is no way I can do it with a full school schedule.  Speaking of shifts…I have a job interview tomorrow!  Its at the location I’m interning at.  I’m really excited, though I’m still not sure how it will work with school.  I think I’ll be asking as many questions as they will tomorrow .  But, I’m hoping it will go well.  I’m really ready to start putting my knowledge to work!

Next week should slow down a little, so I’ll post more updated information including photos of our latest project – building a shed in the backyard.  We are finishing it this weekend (just painting and trim) so that will be great to put that to use.  Other than that…not too much is new.

Hope you are having a good summer.

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Today is Mom’s 50th birthday so we are all wishing her a very happy birthday and many more to come.  Mom and Ken are spending the weekend at Coushatta in Louisiana to celebrate.  We celebrated with friends and family last weekend with a big shendig at Mom’s house.  We did it last weekend because we weren’t sure what my work schedule would be this month.  Since we did that, of course I was off this weekend!!  Oh well…. The party was a blast.  But, I am an absolutely horrible daughter and did not take one photo!  I know…so bad.  I even took my fancy new camera.  But, I guess that it is a good sign that we had fun time.  I really regret not taking photos, but there isn’t much we can do about that now!  I’m sorry Mom!

Mike and I went down last Friday morning to prep for the party (a HUGE thanks to Mom’s sisters Penny and Brenda for helping Jamie, Jessie, and me!)  Cousin Lynne from Georgia was in town, so it was wonderful to see her.  We had a good turnout Saturday night so it was fun to catch up with friends and family we haven’t seen for a while.  And in honor of Mom’s famous margaritas, we got a margarita machine for the night.  That added alot of fun to the party

On a sad note, Monday (the 13th) would have been Dad’s 52nd birthday.  That’s always a tough day.  We miss him so much.

This week Mike has been working crazy hours on his contract job.  But, it works out because I started the Integration portion of my program.  Basically, it’s where we pay the school to work for a local hospital full time.  I worked my first night shift in the South Austin Hospital CVRU (basically an ICU for cardiac patients) on Tuesday.  Then, I have 8 days off (don’t ask me how that happened – but I’m not complaining) and start working weekend nights next week.  Not looking forward to that, but it’s only for 3.5 more weeks, so that’s not bad.  I actually love working the night shift – things are much quieter and there aren’t people in your way all the time (its a GREAT atmosphere for a student).  But, I don’t like how it’s so hard to adjust on your body.

Today we woke up early to start putting up our new shed with Mike’s parents.  They had to leave around noon to go to a party, but that worked out well for us becuase it’s to hot and humid to do much of anything outside.  Also, we are at the point of the shed where it’s much easier with 3-4 people.  They will be back tomorrow and hopefully we will be able to knock most of it out.

Later today we are going to go watch Cameron’s last basketball game of the summer.  Aunt Carol and Uncle Joe are in town, so it will be nice to see them (for two weekends in a row!)

Other than not…not much is going on.  I’ve been studying for my boards during my days off and fighting a nasty chest cold (no fun there) and Mike has been working way too hard on various work projects.  Hope you are having more fun in your spare time than we are!

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So it’s just been way too hot here!  We got a little relief last week with a 1/2 inch of rain.  That at least perked up the yard for a while.  We’ve had a good past few weeks.  School has eased up a little which has been so nice!  Of course I haven’t exactly used that extra time to study for my boards…but I have enjoyed the break!  Last week was great with Joey’s arrival.  He is just too cute!  We also did a little babysitting two weekends ago for some friends of ours.  They have twin six month old boys and a 2 year old daughter.  We had a blast with them – they are great kids!  Last weekend we had a nice time on the 4th.  Unfortunately, Mike had to work all day Friday, but it was contract stuff, so that is good.  On the 4th we went and looked at land for much of the day, then went to Town Lake with John, Melissa and some friends for a picnic and the Fireworks.  On Sunday Mike worked on his car with his Dad while I did some school work and went to a friend’s birthday party.

In much of our spare time lately we have been packing on the miles on the car driving and looking for land.  Lot prices are slowly coming down a little, so we’ve resumed our search for land to build on in 5-7 years.  We have a few possibilities, but have been having to spend alot of time reseraching the facinating subject of MUD districts.  And it’s not getting much more clear!  Argh.  We’ll keep at it…no hurry.

In other exciting news, I finally found out where I will be working for the next month…I’ll be at South Austin Hospital (nice and close!) in the Cardiovascular Recovery Unit (CVRU) and ICU.  I’m really excited about the location and my preceptor seems super nice.  The only tough thing is at that it’s nights!  Ugh… Anyone that knows me knows that i’m NOT a night person.  Needless to say, it will be a tough adjustment.  Oh well…it’s only a month…it’s only a month…it’s only a month…

Hope your summer is going well and is a little cooler than ours!

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The family expanded today!!!  Joseph and Jane wecomed Joseph “Joey” Martin V today at 4:32pm.  He was 6lbs 15oz and was 20 inches long.  He is absolutely adorable and a great eater.  Both Mom and Joey are doing great!

Just thought I’d share the wonderful news.

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