Let it begin

So after a 6 month hiatus from blogging, I'm attempting a return to keep loved ones abreast of all the changes going on with the Branch crew. So- to give a quick summary of what's going on/what went on in the last few months...

1. Byron and I are expecting a baby in December. (the 28th to be exact. Let's hope it doesn't arrive on Christmas. That would just be so sad. But let's also hope that it arrives before Jan 1. Tax break people. Don't think we're shallow. (sorry for the bad photos- it's a pic of a pic)




2. I started graduate school at the Health Science Center. This is going to be a crazy few months. But- school will keep me occupied and busy as we await our new addition.

3. Byron is now on his pediatric NS rotation and the hours are AWESOME. for now. He still gets called in, but the hours and general pace of things are much much better.

4. We had a family reunion up in Boston to celebrate my great grandmother's 100th birthday! Five generations were present. Amazing. (Great Grandma= generation 1 and generation 4 (me) and 5 (baby); for some reason I don't have a copy of the whole one with my mom and grandma.)




5. Taryn got married and the wedding was awesome. So wonderful to see my friends marry such wonderful people and be truly happy.



6. We had our counter tops redone. They are no longer bright yellow! (excuse the mess on the counters. it's no the best pic but you get the idea). They are a tan color now. We also had our bathroom counters redone. Pics to come soon.





That pretty much covers the major events of the summer. I hope to update more often, especially once baby branch comes!

The Most Wonderful time of year....

MARCH MADNESS! I loooooovvveeee this time of year. Even more so now that we live in Texas. I don't think this much basketball has been aired ALL season. I've had the tv on all day- watched four games all the while cleaning the house. March madness makes housework a million times more enjoyable!

It has been a great Saturday. Normally- there are millions of errands to run and things to do. But- I was able to run most of errands after work this week so all that was left was a little light cleaning at home. And Laundry (that never ends). But- Byron finally had off! So- we slept in, went to breakfast with friends, drank coffee, played on our computers, and watched basketball all day. Glorious!

Last weekend I played in a volleyball tournament that about killed me. I'm just not that limber anymore. I really enjoyed being competitive again- even if I payed for it in pain the next day. Byron took the boards. Ewww. One of his Attending's had everyone over for dinner after the boards which was fun but I had to call it a night at about 9. I just couldn't keep my eyes open after all that volleyball!

Last Sunday we went out with most of the residents to a famous (somewhat) restaurant here in SA called "The Magic Time Machine".


It was interesting. Food was overpriced, but I guess you're really paying for the atmosphere. We had the joker for a waiter. He was crazy. I know the little girls at our table were soooo hoping for a Cinderella or Tinkerbell or anything less frightening than that Joker. They were troopers though and the residents got some good laughs!

More updates on the house to come. We tore up the backyard and laid a bunch of sod. It looks much bigger now. I just don't have the green thumb the old owner did. SIgh.

Kitchen Transformation

Well- I promised some before and after pictures and figured that going room by room would be the easiest way to accomplish this. As I mentioned in a previous post- we took 6 weeks before moving in...and flipped this house. Every inch of it has something new: flooring, paint, carpet etc. The result was a nice sharp, clean, fresh- not so 70's looking house.


So- because it's the most drastic change- let's start in the kitchen.

Before: (note...if you're on any medication that could make you hallucinate...do not look at these "before" pictures.)








And During:










And after:









Future plans:

While the kitchen still seems very yellow- we have a long range plan in mind. We are planning (aka: saving) to put in butcher block countertops. We hope the light yellow walls will go nicely with the butcher block accented periodically by all my lovely polish pottery! We also plan to change the hardware for the cabinets and update the appliances at some point. All in good time- when our bank account recovers!

A few other things you might not be able to tell from the pictures:
1. we stripped the ceiling completely of popcorn, retextured it, and repainted it.
2. We (and by we...I mean Justus, Jake, Alisha, Byron and myself....thanks Yocum clan!) took down, primed, and painted all the cabinet doors and base frames by hand.
3. Replaced a damaged wall (near front windows). This will be a whole separate post!
4. Added bead board and trim
5. Replaced the front windows with energy efficient brushed bronze single hung windows. Beautiful!

So....we bought a house!

This post is about 4 months overdue, but to sum up....Byron and I bought our first house back in October. We'd been eyeing the neighborhood it was in for more than 6 months. Finally this gem popped up! The former owner kept excellent care of the lawn (which I managed to let die in about 6 weeks. but hey...it's winter anyway right?!?!). She also took great care of the inside of the house. It was just MAJORLY outdated. We're talking funky psychodelic wallpaper, olive green and brown shag carpet, and disco bar in the living room outdated. See the sample pics below. Yikes. I'm sad to say I didn't snap some pics of the carpet before we ripped it up, but trust me: it was awful. The wallpaper and carpet were the first things to go and I promise to post pictures of the progress and final product!






After 6 weeks of hard labor, we flipped our outdated house and successfully spent all of our savings! There are many many things still of the list of changes we'd like to make- but the major issues have been knocked out.

Just a sample of the things we accomplished:

1. Ripped out all carpet.
2. Remove all wallpaper (kitchen, two bathrooms, and laundry room)
3. strip ceilings of popcorn in whole house (save hte master bedroom- we got tired out by then) This is WAY more work than you'd ever thing
4. Spackle and prime ceilings
5. Repaint all ceilings
6. Paint all walls (we painted a fresh coat in the entire house which gave the house a fresh, new, and CLEAN feel.
7. Chisel out tile in hallway
8. Lay wood floors
9. Laid baseboards
10. Fixed small problem areas on Roof (flashing and water diverters etc)
11. Installed carpet (we didn't do this one...it wasn't too expensive to have someone else come in)
12. prime and repaint kitchen cabinets. (Thanks Yocum family!)
13. replace all windows in front area with energy efficient models.
14. Repaired damage in Kitchen and bathroom area walls (this involved taking out an ENTIRE section of wall and studs.
15. Removed sliding glass door in bedroom and converted the area into windows. This also involved taking out a whole wall and having another rebuilt.

Thanks to all of our friends and family for the blood sweat and occasional tears you put in! we couldn't have finished it without you!

thoughts

I found this old post when I was 'cleaning' out files from my computer this morning....

I recently traveled home to good ol' Thurmont for a dear friend's wedding. Everything was simply beautiful and it was wonderful to see my friends and family. But- As I read a book last night I came across this paragraph. I've adapted the pronouns to fit my life.


Sometimes without conscious realization, our thoughts, our faith, our interests are entered into the past. We talk about other times, other places, other persons and lose our living hold on the present. Sometimes we think 'if we could just go back in time' we could or would be happy. But anyone who attempts to reenter the past is sure to be disappointed. Anyone who has ever revisited the place of his birth after years of absence is shocked by the differences between the way the place actually is, and the way she has remembered it. She may walk along old familiar streets and roads but she is a stranger in a strange land. She has thought of this place as home, but she finds she is no longer here...even in spirit. She has gone on to a new and different life and in thinking longingly of the past, she has been giving though and interest to something that no longer really exists. This being true of the physical self, how much more true it is of the spiritual self.
~ The Color of Water, McBride






Funny how fitting those words really are. Thurmont is exactly the same, Save for a few new restaurants and an additional stop light. But, it has changed for me. I used to feel famous there in that small town.... in the sense that I knew everyone, everyone knew me and the town raised all us kids collectively. It was wonderful...well...not if you were causin' trouble I guess- but in general- it was great. The town was so big and it was our whole world. We had to come up with some seriously elaborate plans to even think about getting away with stuff since EVERYONE in town knew what you were up to. If you said a bad word, skipped school, or cracked a beer under age etc, you can bet your parents knew about it 2 minutes after it happened and were on their way to drag your butt back home for due punishment.

This small town looks and feels different than I remember. It's still beautiful, and it's still the kind of town I want my kids to grow up in. The people are still kind, and passionate, and involved with each other. It still has a sense of community. But I've come to realize/admit it is no longer home. I've started a new home in life with Byron. Maybe that's the difference. Home is no longer a place- but a person. Standing in the bridal party really put that into perspective.

You see- the bride and groom are the only 'surviving' couple from high school and they are ever so cute. They are steadfast and loving people that have held up through the storms of relationships when most of us packed up and headed out. They are made for each other. How lucky to find your true match so early in life!

The bridal party consisted of all the former couples. It was only slightly awkward. (Just kidding....we're all adults. Mo was kind enough to not recreate the past and have us matched up together). I couldn't help but stand there and imagine how different our lives could have been.

Have you ever heard the song "Unanswered prayers"? Thank you Lord, for unanswered prayers. God has a plan for all of us- and for many of us...it doesn't include our high school boyfriends. We found happiness elsewhere. My definition of happiness has changed drastically since high school. The definition of a "full" life in high school is completely different than it is now, as I'm sure it'll continually change as I enter other chapters of life. Getting asked to the Prom, or having cool clothes, or getting your braces off, or making that zit on your cheek go away, or managing an invite to Wiley's house on a friday night after a football game once ranked supreme on the proverbial list. Things are different now you might say.

A disclaimer: I don't want to give the impression that I (or anyone) turned out 'better' than another. That's not what I'm saying at all. All of us have found great people to share our lives with (most of us are married) and are all leading very blessed lives.

I got into the car after the ceremony and couldn't stop thinking about how in love I am with Byron. I couldn't wait to come home to him. Because he is my home. Taryn and I exchanged looks and I could tell- she was thinking the exact same thing about Mike.

It was strange (and wonderful) seeing so many people from my childhood. Parents of old friends, old coaches, even friends of my youngest brother that are grown and married now. These are kids I used to babysit- for cryin' out load. Married! Crazy. Crazy. One of my brother's friends' Dad (did you follow that?) came up to me at the reception and said-

Mr. Keith "Sarah, I had no idea who you were coming down the aisle. No idea. I was looking in the program for some semblance of a name to recognize and....nada. I had to ask Adam (his son).

Adam:"Dad...that's Sarah Yocum" (Obviously my name has changed hence his failure to place me in the program)

Keith: "No way! She looks totally different."

Now...mind you- this is probably because the only times he's ever seen me was on a sports field/court in a uniform with my hair in a pony tail. This time- I was in a dress- with hair, makeup, and nails freshly manicured. I didn't even recognize myself!

Anyway- I though that summed up the experience well. The old self is still there- those old experiences helped shape us into the people we are today. Hopefully- for the better.

Annual Fish Fry Labor Day event

Every year, the Branches and McCaulley's have a fish fry up at the ranch. People bring their best dish and we all sit around for an afternoon visiting on the front porch.


Ava is about two now. (Her Mom Ashley always tells me her age in months...which I then mentally convert into years to even make sense to me, which ends up being like 1.8 years...and then I just round up). Anyway...she is super cute now and fully animated. She LOVES her some icecream, chocolate cake, cookies....anything sweet.


She beelined for Mr. Roach when she saw that cake. After she ate Sofia's icecream.... and a cookie of her own.




"I'll take it from here"



Anyway- I thought these were cute of her.... o the things you can do when it's not your kid and you don't have to put her to bed. Extra prayers for Ashley tonight:)


We also spent the week housesitting for Warren and Melissa. It was fabulous staying in their house. They have a HUGE kitchen with all the latest and greatest gadgets. I really enjoyed cooking there (we have a teeny tiny galley kitchen where you can have two cabinets open at the same time). We could turn up the AC as much as we wanted, and watch as much bad CABLE tv as our little hearts could handle. Pure. Bliss.

They live in a cute area of San Antonio that has all kinds of little boutique shoppes. One of my fav's is a french bakery right around the corner. The owner and all the cooks are french. The food is amazing. And doesn't this store front just invite you in for breakfast?!?!

Beach weekend Part II

So...one week later Byron and I packed up the car again and headed back to Port A. This time the Brown's let us use their condo which was actually only a few doors down from where we stayed last week! It was nice to already know the route. It makes the trip go faster. Byron wanted to stop on our way into town and hit the good fishing spots for dusk. He stayed in the water for almost 3 hours.



I had a good book and a beach chairs so I was happy as a clam for most of it. . I even caught a beautiful sunset.
However, I was REALLY ready to go when Johnny called to have us pick him up. I was sooooo hungry!

Johnny was in Rockport for a business trip and was dropped off by his buddies at the ferry. Byron and I picked him up on the other side. He was waiting for us- suitcase and fishing poles in hand under a gas station sign. Funny sight. I wish this picture wasn't blurry. I'm sure he felt super cool. He said he was the only guy walking....on a ferry full of cars. Funny image.

We decided to try Trout's seafood for dinner and it was delicious! Once again- expensive- but at least this time- the service (& food) was great.


Saturday morning started off with a lazy breakfast and the sounds of excitement from Byron. Cup of coffee in hand...Byron and Johnny headed out the door with all their fishing gear... while I -book in hand- headed to the beach. Genevieve was on the road (Poor girl....had to work late Friday night). O the bliss.

Genevieve arrived around lunch time and the boys stopped in for a quick bite- on their way to the OTHER side of hte island to try the fishing there (These boys love to fish!). Genevieve and I headed back out to the beach for a few afternoon rays and some good catching up. It was heavenly. We headed to Snoopy's for dinner (A highly recommended place) and it was AWESOME. Cheap, fresh and casual. O man..it was delicious. MElt in your mouth fresh seafood. Yummo!

After adequately stuffing ourselves...we headed home for some homemade cookies and a good movie. and by good movie...I mean TWILIGHT. Yeah- that's right. Your read that correctly. I reverted back to overly dramatic high school television as my recreation of choice for just one night. Don't judge me. Byron was asleep in about 30 minutes, but the rest of us were lovin' us some teenage love drama:) O high school....how I miss thee.

Sunday morning we awoke to the smell of homemade cinnamon rolls courtesy of Genevieve. Yum. I'll say it again...That's what vacation is for right? Eating lots of yummy food you don't/ shouldn't normally eat.

We all hit the beach for a few hours before leaving and Byron and Johnny attempted to catch a few waves.




All in all it- was a GREAT weekend.