What I am doing with all my free time

Since October I have had a lot of questions about what I am going to be doing with all my “free time”. I had announced my departure after three years as president of the Historic East Nashville Merchants Association (HENMA) and people who know me well figured I had something else planned. Well I did have some things planned, but wasn’t ready to announce anything. But then I was thrown for a loop. We found out in November that we are expecting our first child this July!! This week we got to see the ultrasound and came home with a DVD of everything we saw.  What a miracle, I could have watched for hours and hours.  Our daughter even waved and pointed at us.

In January/February my father-in-law and I gutted our kitchen down to the joists and studs. Drew McDaniel, who I met at a HENMA mixer, did a spectacular job of helping us put it all back together. There are a ton of pictures on his blog as well as on Wendy’s. I keep going in there for no reason whatsoever, just to bask in the awesomeness of it. We used to be quite embarrassed of our kitchen and now I want to invite people over just to see it.

In February at the HENMA meeting, they called me up front and presented with my very own chair from Ugly Mugs, with a plaque on the back with my name on it. The catch is that the chair belongs to Ugly Mugs and had to go back that night. They did this partially because they know that I spend a lot of time at Ugly Mugs, meeting clients or just getting work done. Anyway it was very flattering, quite funny and much better than a gold watch.

Next up, we are turning our den into a nursery. This means picking paint colors, finding a new home for the furniture, and moving in a crib and changing table and what-not. I have no idea what we are getting ourselves into.

I really am hoping to have some free time, maybe just a little before July. For now though I will hang out in my kitchen, think about the new little girl headed our way, and spend some time working at Ugly Mugs. I probably won’t kick anybody out of my chair though.