A year older.

Well So much for the Saint Augustine trip. Jerry and I were so exhausted we ended up sleeping in Saturday morning. So we decided to just stay home. We did go out for lunch and movie though. It felt like a date! We never get to go out on dates because we usually have the kids. We saw the movie The Hangover. It was hilarious! Zach Galifianakis was my favorite. I'd definitely recommend seeing it...not to my mom though. It was pretty vulgar as she would say.

So Sunday was my 28th birthday. The kids were really sweet and brought me their presents to open. They picked out their own cards and gifts and were really excited to watch me open them. Then they did a little Happy Birthday song and dance with their stuffed animals. It was really cute. They also picked out a yummy birthday cake from Publix(my favorite). Jerry and the kids made it a really special day!
I did get a birthday phone call from my Dad. He told me a joke:

Dad- "Knock Knock!"

Me- "Who's there?"

Dad- "30!"

Haha very funny Dad! Yes, I know my thirties are getting closer and closer. You don't have to remind me!
I don't feel 28. Still no wrinkles or gray hair, so I'm good.

Saint Augustine here we come!

Tomorrow Jerry and I are going to drive up to Saint Augustine for the day. It's about a 2 hour drive(1 1/2 if Jerry drives). We really wanted to stay the entire weekend but we need to save our money so we're just making a day trip out of it. I'm also taking this opportunity to check out some wedding venues up there. Jerry and I both like the idea of getting married in Saint Augustine and there are a lot of different venues up there. So I will be taking lots of photos. I know it's probably going to be 1000 degrees and we'll probably get rained on throughout the day, but I don't care. We need to get away and spend some time together. We deserve a break!

And so it begins...

I have been interested in Letterpress for a little while now. My plan was to take a class and then save money to buy a letterpress. I figured it would probably take a while before I'm actually printing on my own...well I guess that it's happening sooner than I thought!
Jerry and I have been checking out local antique stores for anything related to Letterpress/printmaking. So far I have found a couple sets of type and a Ludlow cabinet. I doubted highly that we would ever come across an actual letterpress at any of the stores we visited. Well last Friday Jerry stopped in at an antique mall in Mount Dora and there it was! A Craftsmen tabletop letterpress. We went back on Saturday so I could check it out. It's the cutest letterpress I've ever seen...it's actually the first letterpress that I've ever seen up close and personal. I fell in love. The owner said he found it years ago in New England and he had it displayed in his living room for a long time. He decided about a month ago to sell it. He didn't know much about it, just that he thought it was a Craftsmen Imperial 5x8.
Once I got it home I started doing some internet research. I couldn't find much on Craftsmen Imperial and the info and pictures that I did find really didn't look like my press. I thought I would try posting some info and pictures on Briar Press and hope that someone there might know more about it. I had a couple people respond and one of them suggested to measure the chase because he thought it looked like a Craftsmen C1. Victory press. Ta da! It is! It's smaller than the Imperial, it's a 4 1/2 x 6 1/4 or so. I'm glad that I now know exactly what kind of press it is so I can begin buying the parts that I need. It will definitely need new rollers, trucks, and grippers. I would also like to find a feeder board for it. I also need to find out how to start restoring it. I don't see any rust on it and I'm not sure if it's been painted or not. It needs to be cleaned up though. I can't wait to get started. I emailed Craftsmen Machinery Company about parts and I'm still waiting to hear back from them.

Let me introduce myself.....

Hi! My name is Kim and this is my very first post!

I'm not sure exactly what this blog will be about. Probably just family, and life, and things that really bug me. I promise I'll try to make it really entertaining for you.

I live in central Florida. I'm a native actually, which is kinda rare. Most everyone here is from New York or Massachussetts. I'm serious. My boyfriend, Jerry, he's from New York...see, told ya. I have two kids, Andrew and Bethany. I love them so much! Bethany started 1st grade this year, and Andrew is in 3rd grade.

That's them, they're great kids!

I work full time for a General Contractor in Orlando. I've been there for almost two years now. I work in accounting with the Office Manager, Kerry. I'm basically her assistant. I'm really lucky to have such a great boss. She looks out for me.

That's just the basics for now.