I think i have a problem...

I can't stop decorating!!!

And except for a few pieces and the daunting bed dilema, I'm almost done. :)

I moved my desk around so that Andrew and I could each have our own side. It takes up a bit more room but it also makes me feel like I have my own space to work at when I need and Andrew and I are cramped sitting next to each other. I may talk to  my dad about sawing off six inches or so on the end to make it the perfect length, but i'm not sure yet. I'll see how it functions for a while and then decide...

I am still looking at chairs to put on my side of the desk so I'm using one from our dining room table. If i get time on Thursday I'm going to move my painting up about a foot so that it isn't covered by my lamp.

Speaking of! I got a new lamp! I've been trying to choose colors in my room based off of the ones in the painting and I love the greens so I have been looking everywhere for a green lamp and I found this one today at TJ MAXX home goods. I have never been there before but a girlfriend suggested it. I think it is one of those places with lots of crap and a few hidden treasures (like my lamp). Here's a closer picture of the lamp and my painting:

Don't you think the greens match well?

I'm sure alice is thinking "boy her desk is messy!"Well that's because I have no storage space right now. I found a perfect leaning ladder bookshelf from target but they are out in the store and it is twenty bucks more online so i'm waiting till customer service opens tomorrow morning to call. It's a dark chocolate brown which I like but am also nervous about because it'll be right next to my oak frame. I know they are both neutrals but does that matter? IDK... We'll see when it comes.

I also bought new curtains and bamboo shades for my window! I can't tell you what a difference they make. It really lightened up the room and made it feel a lot bigger.

I bought a similar pair in a dark walnut brown to hang in my bathroom but haven't figured out how to put them up yet since the window is over the tub and i can't fit a barstool in there to stand on...

Now all i need is my beautiful new bed.... ah!

On another note, Lucy is getting SO BIG!!!

Here she is standing on Andrew:

And here she is making a Brewski face:

And she was getting VERY jealous of the time I've spent on my computer looking at interior design sites and decided she wanted to look too:

Yes she is sitting on my lap.

Well that's what i have been up to. Nothing special but I thought I would update you.

xoxo

Janaya

A Great Day in Flagstaff

Just making a quick post (my first from Joe Hitzel, #4).

I was at a board meeting and annual convention with the Arizona Builder's Alliance up in Prescott last Thursday afternoon, Friday and Saturday. The convention was suppose to end Saturday at 11:00. I left early ~9:30 so that I could have lunch with Joey and Michael, before Joey had to be at work.  So I drove from Prescott to Flagstaff on a lot of twisty, turning roads, doing a lot of acceleration, shifting and braking on one of Arizona's prettiest state highways. Did I say that I drove the yellow Corvette? It was a fun drive. Sorry, no one took any pictures.

We had lunch at Granny's Closet. Talking at lunch, we had a bunch of hours to burn before dinner as I had planned on being up at Joey's restaurant for dinner. I suggested to Michael that maybe we could go mountain biking if we could find another bike. Joey jumped in and offered to call Brian, his boss and asked to borrow his mountain bike. Joey's helped pick up the bike and then we dropped him off to get to work.

Michael and I drove to the foot of the mountain and from there we road up hill. We road up hill for about two plus hours stopping intermittently before reaching an overlook with a great view. We road uphill 5.75 miles, averaging only 6.32 MPH. We reached a shoulder over looking Flagstaff, sat and drank some water, took some picture, rested and texted back and forth with Pam and then bombed our way back down the hill. Michael will have to comment on the down hill stats as I did not record them. Here are some pictures. We will have to do this again, going higher.

After the bike ride, we had dinner at Black Bart's. All that riding, worked up a good appetite. Here is a picture of Joey's slicing a few mushrooms for my buffalo burger. Dinner was great and it was terriffic to spend the day with the boys.

Until next time.....

Nothing Worth Reporting

Hi Everyone,
The Regan family had a pretty boring week.  All of the kids had school.  Mary had picture day. Brian had crew practice and Connor had a cross country meet.  Jim traveled on Thursday and Friday.  I got my two front teeth bonded.  Six hundred bucks and they look really fake.  I need to find a better solution. 

Saturday, Jim and I went in to see Fordam University in the Bronx.  It is a beautiful campus, and Connor would get an amazing education, but it is very expensive.  Today we went to see Villanova on the other side of Philly.  Again, great school, but expensive.  Define expensive=$47,000.  I so wish someone had told us how important the PSAT was towards a scholarship.  Many schools give out full tuition merit scholarships based on the PSAT score.  We didn't know this when Connor took the test. I believe with the help of a tutor Connor could have been eligible for a Merit scholarship.  Lucky for Brian, I know now:) 

Oh, I made my reservation to go out to AZ on Oct. 9th.  On Oct. 10th Janaya and I are doing the Walk for a Cure.  Then I am flying home on Oct. 12th.  It will be a quick trip, just long enough for a Hitzel hug. 

I hope your week was a bit more exciting than ours. 

Love,
Pam

Update form Brian

Hey guys its Brian. I thought that it would be a good time to update everyone on how everything has been going. School officially started on the seventh and it is going great. So far I am enjoying all of my teachers and im having a good time with all of my friends who I havent gotten around to seeing. Also fall crew started last wednesday and I am having the a really great time with everyone. So thats all thats really been happening on my end so far but if anything interesting happens i'll make sure to keep everyone updated.

Carl Sagan - Pale Blue Dot

Making our house a home!

Psst. It's Janaya :)

So Thursdays are my day off of everything. No School. No work. And usually I still fill my day with stuff related to one of the two but I decided I needed a break! 

Inspired by a blog I've become addicted to (www.younghouselove.com) I decided to fix up my house! It is definitely still a work in progress but this is what I did today:

The first frame is an Ace of clubs card. The A is for Andrew. I used the playing card because he's such a big fan of poker. The &.  Then J (can you guess what that's for?)!

They hang over our bed like this. I think they look kind of far apart right now but I'm hoping once we upgrade to a king it will look better. Also my bed is not usually that messy. I was standing on it to hang the frames and Lucy was jumping around me like a crazy person while i was doing it.

This is the bed frame I LOVE! And hope to get in the near future (how long until christmas?!?)

These are my new bathroom curtains. I think I'm going to go back and get sheer white ones to go between the blue.
I also hung the gorgeous sunflower picture Carol gave to me in the bathroom!

Then I hung a curtain over the kitchen sink. It used to have those ugly plastic blinds.
And now our kitchen will have a lot more light in it!

Here are some cute mason jars I got ON SALE at target! :) I also bought 97 cent ribbon at walmart to tie around them!

This is our new puppy gate. Lucy was getting in to too much trouble upstairs while we are gone during the day so this helps condense the mess when we get home!

This is Lucy stuck behind the gate.

And my final purchase for the day! I found this cute basket to hold all of Lucy's toys!
She already doesn't like it! Once I picked up the toys and took a picture, she proceeded to remove every toy from the basket. Oh Lucy!

Whoo hooo!! I'm crashing this party!!

OK, so I heard there was a party!  What... where?  Here? Oh, ok.  And I have homework??  I have to write!??


OK, so how many of us remember our knot-tying lessons?  Stay with me...  I think someone was missing from the class!  ;)


News of the day....  remember this little piece of paradise?

Well, today, as this was blowing across the east coast.....

Jon Sr. was at work, and he got a call from our Canadian neighbor Klem, (the guy that owned the place by the boathouse).  He said in the middle of this massive storm, he got a call from the guy down on the opposite side of the Beer's, from Looney Tune Lodge as it's called...  and "our" pontoon boat had come untied and was now loose, down in the bay between his place and the Generals!!  He told Jon he would take some guys out after the rain stopped and bring it back to his place to tie up.  We haven't heard from him yet, he'll probably call tomorrow.  Oh vey!

Funny, but not so funny, as George and Al were motoring back to the island during their stay, the "friggin" (can I say that on here?) the friggin propeller flew off the engine of the pontoon boat!  Never to been seen from again....  although if anyone can find it, SIM CAN!!

OK, that's the news of the day from me.  I'll see if Katie or Jon want to contribute some time soon.  Hope your studies are all going well!!  Love ya!!  Sue

My new kitten!!!

Hey guys it's Mary,

                  So if  you haven't heard yet I just got a new kitten. Her name is Butterscotch but some people in our family haven't learned her name yet (cough cough mom). Over the last few days i've heard the name Buttercup, Salem, and Little foot. Butterscotch is a very cute kitten.

She is also very playful



After a long day of play she is tired

As you can imagine she is not getting along well with the dogs. Whenever she comes in contact with one of the dogs she runs, over the last few days it has gotten better and she has started to like them I have a fealing in a few weeks they will be good friends. She is a sweet kitten and i think she will fit into our family nicely. 

I love you all 

Mary  

Dorm Life

Hey, It's Michael!

This weekend, I went down to the valley and visited with my family and friends. Friday, I had pulled pork leftovers with my grandparents and dad, which were delicious. After, I hung out with my high school friends and caught up. The next day, I went with the same group to the ASU vs. NAU game, where I got to see Janaya for a short time tailgating. I sat in the ASU student section for the first time, which was very fun. I was surprised at how close NAU stayed to ASU for the first 3 quarters. After the game, I hung out with everyone for a short while then went home.

The next morning, I got up at 6:30, gathered my things, and my college hall-mate picked me up. We wanted to get back to NAU before the NFL games started. A few minutes after arriving back in my dorm, I  got set up for the day. Wearing my Tennessee Titans Jersey, my fantasy league pages open on the computer, two games playing on my computer, and a game on the TV. It was a successful morning as I gained the league in my fantasy leagues, watched the Titans deliver a devastating loss to the Titans, and snacked on Chips and Salsa.

My set up for the day

Top right: Titan's Game
Bottom Left: Colt's Game
Bottom Right: NFL Fantasy Leagues
Top Right: ESPN Fantasy League

It was an all around great weekend!

Our First Week of School

Hi Everyone,

All three kids started school on Tuesday.  Connor is a senior, Brian is a sophomore, and Mary is an 8th grader.  I no longer get to drive Connor and Brian to school because Connor is driving.  Since I am only driving Mary to school she gets to sleep a few extra minutes each morning. 

<>

The guys backing out of the driveway.

Bye, Bye

My Cutie

Eima realizing that summer is over

Janaya's Labor Day Weekend!

I'll start by saying that my labor day was not exciting enough that a ! mark was deserved in the title but I figured my first blog entry would be more appealing this way :)

I worked friday night at TXRH and to say it was slow is a major understatement. Luckily they let us cut the server on the tables in the bar area and we got to work both the bar top and the tables so the money ended up being ok. 

Saturday was my day off and I filled up my social calendar. I started by going to lunch with Andrew's mom and his sisters, Catrina and Sabrina. One of the best parts is we got to go to Kona Grill for sushi! A rare treat for me because Andrew won't even walk past a sushi restaurant. Sabrina (Andrew's youngest sister) is dating a man in the military (par for the course in his family) and the guy is off training somewhere but she recently moved out of her dad's house and in with this guys sister. Quite a shock to all of us. Andrew's mom was giving her a playfully hard time about it when she says "Why would you wanna hang out with your boyfriends family?!?" I looked around and realized I was hanging out with my boyfriends family! Once i pointed this out to them everyone laughed. 

After a little shopping at the mall nearby I left and ran to target because in the evening I was going to my girlfriend Stacey Hollis's birthday party/labor day bbq and needed a present for her. Now gift giving used to be the hardest thing ever. Trying to figure out a suitable gift for a person that looks like you put in effort without actually putting in effort. Now that all of my friends are 21 it is the easiest thing EVER! BOOOOOZZZZEEE!! :) haha You can't get much better than $8 wine at target. So I bought Stacey a few bottles of wine and then headed to the gift bag section. I'll start by telling you that Stacey is the BIGGEST disney fan you will ever meet. I must attract these kind of people because my roommate Kiera is all so the BIGGEST disney fan you will ever meet. The two of them have a very fierce "Seen it -the disney version" competition planned. So I bought a disney princes gift bag. 

Not until I got home did I realize how inappropriate it is that I'm giving someone wine in a disney princess bag.

Today (Monday) I had the afternoon off and Andrew and I went to Giant hamburger for lunch! They have the best burgers and milkshakes around! I also bought a puppy gate to keep lucy out of the upstairs while we are gone. She has gotten in a lot of trouble recently. And the bigger she gets the higher I have to put things to keep them out of her reach. She is becoming quite the spoiled brat ad hellion. We also have had brewski all weekend since my dad took my grandparents up to the cabin. They have had so much fun playing. Here are a couple pictures of them:

This is lucy looking like a vampire dog while wrestling with brewski

They look so innocent. Trust me they aren't.

Brewski blinked.

Labor Day

Well, today is the last full day before the beginning of the new school year.  The weather has taken that timely dip in temps to mark the beginning of fall.  My morning coffee tastes just a bit better when it is cool enough to wear slippers.  I hope everyone is enjoying their day off.  Below are a few pics marking out final weekend of summer. 

I found this at the grocery store for $2.99 and I just had to have it.

Brian's puffy cheeks after getting his wisdom teeth remomved.  Not the best way to end summer.

These are some of the clippings from our very over grown yard.  Notice that Jim and I are working and one of the kids is taking the picture. 

A well deserved Coors Light after a hard days work.  This is a special glass because I really liked it and Martha bought one for me and one for Jim. 

My First Blog Entry

Hi Everyone,
Martha did such a wonderful job with her blog, Celebrating Life, One Day at a Time, that we decided to continue celebrating life with a blog.  So, here is our new blog.  Joe, Janaya, Joey, and Michel Hitzel and Pam, Jim, Connor, Brian, and Mary Regan will be making posts on our day-to-to day activities.  The blog will help keep all of us close across the miles and it will help our family and friends know what we are all up to.  So expect to hear from each of us.  And, as Martha always said,
Love you all tons,
Pam