Just because I feel like making a note of it, the following are the home-related tasks that were done during my leave (not by us, but by other people who took our money to make our abode better):
- Heating and air conditioning checked for the first time in the over-seven-year period I have owned the condo;
- Several new windows and window parts were replaced (this took awhile and a couple of trips and a bizarre greeting to the GAOOG — “Namaste,” the window guy send upon their meeting);
- Dryer maintenance (this also took multiple trips and was probably necessary because of cloth diapering, which has led to unprecedented amounts of laundry); and
- Bamboo flooring put in on the rest of the first floor (we had put it in our bedroom in early 2011, if you recall).
Now, since Aaron has been on leave, we have accomplished even more. And, by ‘we,’ I again mean that AO & I have accomplished it by asking other, more experienced and talented people to do the work:
- A walk-in closet was built with new shelving (ordered from Easy Closets, a company I could not recommend more) and racks and lighting;
- A remodeled bath, which includes new floor tile, a tiled shower, a new toilet and sink, new towel bars and shelf and accessories; and
- New carpet for the downstairs.
Essentially, we have a whole new house! Now, who wants to see pictures?
life and puppies 
Me! Me! Me!
Wellll…maybe I’ll just swing by for a visit and see all of it!
Hee hee! Rao, you want pics of the furnace, the windows or the dryer?
I want video!
Me – closet!
I will get on this asap. I warn you, though, that because I am not a very good blogger or photographer, I don’t have the right *before* pictures to make the whole thing super cool. That reminds me that when I was 15, someone told me I was like a before picture. Nice.