Another amazing but true story

One would think that if you were in the business of selling and installing kitchen cabinets you could actually complete the job. Especially in a kitchen that is my size. Amazing but true story:

The cabinet guy measured our wall and somehow measured wrong. Therefore the three inches that he measured wrong translated into him ordering a 2 12 inch cabinets instead of 2 15 inch cabinets... Three inches may not seem like much but again in a kitchen my size that is alot.... And to top it off the bottom cabinet he ordered is a bank of drawers.. drawers like the ones in Amandas kitchen... Worthless so small that putting two spatulas in them fills them up. Never did I ask for a bank of drawers.

Then if that is not enough... The sink wall cabinets are 8 1/2 inches short... even though he did measure correctly and on the plans it reads correctly... The last cabinet should be 39 inches.. somehow I go a 33 inch base.

I know you are thinking oh they made a mistake they are sorry and they will quickly remedy this... HA!
1) Cabinet guy: Alot of people like that bank of drawers
2) Cabinet guy: They don't make a larger base cabinet (liar)
3) Cabinet guy: It would be hard to reach into that base cabinet if it were bigger
4) Cabinet guy: Well we could customize it... it would only cost YOU $200.

5) Me: If you don't resolve this by Tuesday you can remove all the cabinets.

Did I mention that we have no water in the kitchen... and I totally have fallen in love with:
1) eating off of paper plates
2) Washing dishes by hand
3) Washing dishes in the BATHROOM

On other fronts:
The countertop guy arrived as scheduled to measure for the countertop that we can't put in now because the cabinet guy is an idot. Oh... and the countertop guy could have had my counters in on WEDNESDAY... which means I could have had water on Wednesday... and even though his english is well... nonexistant he assures me that he will be in and out of my kitchen in one hour. Yes folks ONE HOUR!

And amazingly I lost the bet with Mike on who would arrive first the painter or the countertop guy... seeing as our painters seem to be on the sleep in til you have bed sores time schedule... Yea Vern arrived at 9am... although his first words to us were "I gotta be in my driveway no later than 2pm today"... so much for finishing...
Guess we get to see him again... Funny when he left he mentioned he would be back today... but I am not holding my breath.

Being alittle angry does have its perks... I raked and raked and raked the back gardens... Mike and I moved a crape myrtle tree from by the garage to by the deck and I moved about a dozen tall phlox plants... then we moved landscaping bricks to enlarge the garden by the pond because we can't seem to cut the grass on the hill....

I leave you with a picture of what could be.... Loving the cabinets I did get!

Echos in the kitchen

Its amazing the amount of stuff that kitchen cabinets hold. And when you have it spread out on your dining room table, boxed up in the living room and stashed everywhere in between it looks like even more. Is all of this necessary to cook? and does it make your meals taste better? Probably not--
As I emptied the cabinets I didn't even bother sorting it or purging--Like most tasks-- I know just because it came out doesn't mean it will fit back in-- at that point I will make some harsh decisions and decide the Jello Jigggler easter egg mold that hasn't been used since Amanda was in elementary school can be disposed of. Until then It can stare at me from a box in the living room.
Its been a long process recovering from the smoke and fire damage. Finally Thursday they removed the cabinets.Over a month since we began this odyssey. Kinda sad looking without anything in there. And Corey's comment summed it up-- "is it possible your kitchen looks smaller with nothing it in?" Funny it does-- Which makes you realize all those decorating magazines and shows are right when they talk about color and size-- The cabinets on the wall give the room height and even in a small space larger pieces can make a room feel larger... I am still struggling with deciding on a color for the room... Light green seems like a logical choice since I have so much of it in the adjoining rooms. But is green a good food color? Light green certainly isn't a happy color--- And I am all about happy colors , heck I searched for months for a happy couch for the family room... (don't ask how an eggplant couch fit that criteria) Hmm is light green going to make me hungry? will it make my lackluster cooking taste better? Why is color such a hard choice?

Public Service Announcement

Just alittle PSA:

Amanda is once again doing the MS walk-- Unlike many others who volunteer for worthy causes she doesn't do it because its a nice thing to do, or because she wants to be helpful-- For my daughter this is purely selfish.. she wants to find a cure for her father.

Like her I want to see a cure for Multiple Sclerosis-- and I know with all the research that is out there that the cure is coming and its coming soon... As with most good things it does take money. I would like to think that the one dollar needed to fund the cure came from us... one of us who wanted to help Mike.

So today I ask you to dig into your pocket.. make a donation and be part of the cure.

You can make your donation here at this website:
MS WALK 2007

And if your going to be at Virginia Tech on April 14th-- I know she would love to have you walk with her!!

Looking like home again

Its starting to look like home again. This weekend we made a big push to get the house back in working order... a few hours in the basement, a hammer and nails to hang pictures and 2 trips to the dump and I think we can resume normal life. (that is until my kitchen cabinets arrive and then there will be chaos again)

We did accomplish alot for one weekend:

• Visited a carpet wholesaler to pick out carpet... I think we have narrowed it down. 2 samples are being mailed to us
• Mike picked up the new stove and the microwave that will hang over it (a first for us)
• Kitchen floor got mopped
• Iron Railing got painted
• Pictures are hung in the family room
• Wine cooler got moved downstairs
• Desk in the family room is now in the basement waiting for a rebirth in someone elses home
• Books that I decided to get rid of are in my car so I can take them to the used book store
• Took 2 huge bags of "stuff" off the basement shelves-- off to the dump with them
• Grass seed put down and yard fertilized
• Laundry Done (not put away as of this moment)
• All the glass removed from the collage picture frames, cleaned, pictures retaped and ready to be put on the wall (on a night when creativity returns to my body)

And we managed to watch some of the March madness and yesterdays Busch race in Bristol...

What more could one want out of a weekend? Next week... gotta turn in my final payment for the ALASKA 25/50 cruise-- alittle over 2 months to go! Still have some planning to do.. and shopping ofcourse!

And then of course I am still mulling over choices for the kitchen wall color and new lights....and I need to find curtains for the family room....

Funny of the weekend: Christopher came home... surprise visit... He was a big help in hauling stuff out of the house-- BIG THANKYOU! but as we hauled stuff out... he was hauling stuff in!! HAHA-- a few boxes.... kitchen stuff he said... and then I saw the box of hats that I thought went to the dump.... oh well some things are just not meant to leave....

random thoughts

Exactly what is the deal with gas prices? Monday I drive down Main Street and everyone has the same price –The going price??…. $2.39—The next morning on my way up Main street I can’t help but wonder what happened overnight—Gas has suddenly risen to $2.46… now I have this new method of staying ahead of the high rising gas prices… I only run down my tank to the half way point which means I put about 10 gallons – that way I never have to fill up on a high price day… but seriously 7 cents overnight is ridiculous. That’s an additional 70 cents just for gas--- By all means I know I squander away much more than that on chocolate bars and McSausage breakfasts but that’s still my choice right?…
So Wednesday as I cruise past the gas stations… guess what?? They are all back to $2.39???? Are the gas stations owners having fun changing the signs? Is someone in a turban somewhere laughing watching the silly Americans climb up and down the ladders to hike up the prices??? And again I ask what happened overnight that made everyone go back down????

Jewels

Main Entry: 1jew·el
Pronunciation: 'jü-&l, 'jül also 'jul
Function: noun
Usage: often attributive
Etymology: Middle English juel, from Anglo-French, diminutive of ju, jeu game, play, from Latin jocus game, joke -- more at JOKE
1 : an ornament of precious metal often set with stones or decorated with enamel and worn as an accessory of dress
2 : one that is highly esteemed
3 : a precious stone : GEM
4 : a bearing for a pivot (as in a watch) made of crystal, glass, or a gem
- jew·el·like /-"lIk/ adjective

Somehow I get side tracked-- one project leads to another totally unrelated project. While trying to get order in my life, I was putting away laundry and making my bed--minding my own business and before I knew I was cleaning out the jewelry box. Ahh the jewels I found! I think one could say my Jewels fit #2 on the list of definitions... While not worth alot of money--the Gems I have stored away are highly prized possessions that are a walk down memory lane... My PTA president pin, my world cup soccer pin, my highly ornate necklaces Amanda bought for me at the Christmas stores while in elementary school, the Cubscout pins, the earrings that lost their mates many years ago... all stored lovingly, collecting dust in various jewelry boxes. Yes I have stuffed these jewels in cigar boxes, hand painted Popsicle boxes, dresser drawers and even my jewelry box.
Today I am one Foodlion bag lighter.... Score one for me-- Less is more.

Top 5 reasons DIY is better

Just alittle rambling... My Top 5 reasons why Doing it Yourself is better then hiring a contractor

1) You always show up to your own project
2) You would never just lay cables around the wall to connect the TV to Dishnetwork
3) You realize that life is short and you can paint a room in a day
4) You stay til the job is finished
5) You can change your mind without inconveniencing anyone...

We (ok So Mike) finished painting the family room this weekend.. It looks really good. Now we have to move the furniture back and hang pictures etc.
The painters never showed up yesterday to finish the upstairs. And yes I was mad enough yesterday that I moved the furniture back and started putting the living room back together. Seems to me they can move it all when they finally arrive. I just couldn't see going another week living like this.

Mike also took time out yesterday to rewire the basement so the cables are all hidden behind the walls and ceiling that Dishnetwork and laid against the baseboard. He also hooked up our phone downstairs.... for some reason its been a cord coming out of the wall for years with no jack... don't ask... never seemed important...

Oh and we had to call the ductcleaners to come back out... Mike has been complaining about the dust in the house for a week now.. Well he went and looked at the filter-- which they changed when they cleaned the ducts 2 weeks ago... IT IS BLACK!! kinda amazing since usually we only change the filters every 3-4 months and it never looks BLACK. Seems they didn't do the stellar job they thought they did....

Thought of the day

Just a thought for the day.... seems to fit alot of circumstances... Its snowing again.... just when we though winter was over....
the state of my house and its painting projects....
oh well.... ponder the thought...

Just Tired

Being Tired is becoming part of my daily mantra....it seems that trying to catch up on sleep is just not doable unless you have a full day of sleeping in.... Sunday night Amanda's Midnight flight got delayed and delayed and delayed until it became a 4AM arrival... which meant from 3am-5am I made the trek to the airport and back to pick her and Corey up..... And now its Wednesday and I am still fighting lack of sleep- Despite the last few nights of eary bedtimes and doing absoulutly nothing when I got home from work I am still TIRED.

The painters are still not done--- and adding to my malise is having the house torn apart for yet another week. Finally on Monday we told them that they would have to come back Saturday as we were done taking time off of work-- So the plan is they will finish the orange walls on Saturday and be done with painting until the cabinets go in the kitchen.
Meanwhile down in the family room.... The insurance company paid for the ceiling to be painted and the walls wiped down...The ceiling looks great!! (I guess after 18 years of not being painted it would have to!!) But Mike and I both agreed it was a shame to have that newly painted ceiling in Bright White and not have walls to match so guess what we did started Sunday??? Yup we got two of the walls done-- Behr paint Havana Cream is the color. It has a nice warm yellow tint to it-- although it may require the purchase of new curtains...

Did I mention we had snow again???

Yes indeed-- winter is not over... had alittle snow this week... at first Madison decided that piddling on the deck fulfilled her obiligation of "going outside" but with alittle coaxing and a tennis ball she got into the swing of things...

Its alittle like ground hog day

I swear I have lived this day already.... once again there are tarps and plastic covering a fair amount of the house... and really my bedroom and the bathrooms are the only rooms of refuge!
The painting has begun and what a smell!! They have to seal the walls with the stinkiest paint known to man... so bad that it is really slow going as the painters can't stand to work in the room for very long while applying it.. We have to shuttle the dogs outside in fear of brain damage and to just catch some fresh air ourselves.
With all the painting and such comes alot of decisions too... yes I thought I made the choice on the countertops.. but that has changed. We found a better counter at a better price. Now we will have granite... pretty swanky for our small kitchen but it actually will fit better in the budget. Next up comes a new sink and faucets-- We have picked out one that looks similar to this one The faucet is a harder choice as I really like the one I have... but there are some new very stylish models out there-- What I want is style with a built in sprayer and a matching soap dispenser with an arc that will work with both sinks...too much to ask for??

So the cabinets are ordered and so are the countertops... We went with corian... it exceeded our budget but I think it will look nice. (Fingers are crossed) The Stilestone was one of my choices and Toni gave it great reviews but the checkbook said otherwise.. Now we wait 3 weeks for the fun to begin.

Since I was spending money I didn't have I also ordered a photo storage box from Croppin Companion.. and I must say It was well worth the twenty bucks. Sturdy, looks nice and is functional.. And the best part it comes with dividers that come out incase I decide not to use it for the pictures.

In true fashion Amandas passport finally arrived today... just in time for her to head off to Mexico on Sunday... Nothing like stressing out over what to do if it didn't arrive in time. But her in Mexico means my little friend will be coming to visit!!! Nothing says spring break like having a puppy to curl up with.

While the snow is melting away nicely with our 40 degree days it was just a few days ago that Christopher woke up to his first snow of the season... seems Richmond does not participate in all the weather we do... As promised here is a picture of his BRAND NEW TRUCK-- Not bad huh?

WAKE UP

Look what we woke up to.... More snow... and its still snowing...

Christopher bought a new car.. I mean truck yesterday.. but due to SNOW I don't have a picture yet to show you... but I can tell you its one fine machine... 2007 Toyota Tacoma

Countertops

Spent the day trying to figure out countertop colors and what kind of material it will be made of. As of today I think we are going with HI-MAX which is a solid surface... much like the old Corian but a newer product... and color??? well thats hard for me.. I like color---but I am trying to keep myself in check---I visited three different stores to see countertops in person and finally decided on beige tones brought home about 8 paper samples (thats how they do it now) only to have Mike speak up and say brown floor, brown cabinets, and brown countertops??? So we looked at a color called verdez quartz (almost a hunter green)-- will that be the final choice??? thats anyones guess

the meltdown

The snow has finally started to melt, I can see the grass again. Which means I can turn in the uniform I have been wearing for the last two weeks... These shoes have got to go! and really how many days can you wear the same coat... albeit its warm pink and has sheepskin but please this girl is dying to wear something different for a change.

We finally convinced the insurance company to see things our way...took about a month but they are going to replace the kitchen cabinets... top and BOTTOM. Way to step up and do the right thing nationwide....

Speaking of insurance, Christopher had alittle accident in his car this past weekend. His tire blew out just as he was turning on a on-ramp-- which in turn caused him to hit the concrete barrier. No damage to the body of the car but apparently it hit square on the tire causing major damage to the wheel and steering mechanism. Anyway he just heard from Nationwide that because of the age of his car they are totalling it... so between now and Tuesday he needs to go buy a new car. He has been thinking about doing this for awhile now... but now he has no choice... unfortunatley for him he has no idea what he wants to be driving... He is taking suggestions. I assume he and Mike will be hitting all the local dealers this weekend to see what kind of deals are out there.
So the big question is weather Nationwide will drop us cold after two claims in one month???

On a brighter note, Sunday we went to look at the new home that Corey is buying. Its a very cute townhouse out in Haymarket. New construction which will be ready in July. Right now Christopher is planning on being his roommate if he can find a job up here. Apparently working nights isn't a life long plan.... It will be nice to have him alittle closer if all works according to plan.

Get Croppin

I so meant to share these pictures last week... but time got away from me. These are a few shots of the get croppin event that Amanda and I went to. Lots of fun! Got a chance to chat with some old friends from our old book club-- take 2 classes and work on some layouts. But what was even more fun was having Amanda to share it with, And to see her get excited about a hobby that I love. Of course she was totally in her element when it came time to visit the shopping booths... This gal can shop no matter where we are!! But her creative eye is dead on-- she made some great choices for an album she is making for a sorority sister. And of course she had to have a few goodies for herself. Me? yea I found some stamps that I had to have... Nancy is a bad influence-- but I think I got some stamps that are versatile enough to show up on my pages again and again.





Speaking of stamps D. Johnson's class was totally awesome. Made we want to use my stamps more. I seem to collect them and not use them but she had some wonderful ideas- And I even already own some of her stamps... Gotta remember to pull them out and use them alittle more often. Of course there were plenty more that are now on my list should I run across a good sale! As you can see we worked hard in our class-- haha neither of us finished our projects on time-- as a matter of fact we didn't even finish them before we went home at midnight! But thats ok... (alittle Ali speak)

winter disguise

It looks like snow, its cold like snow but hold on because this is Sleet! Talk about an odd storm we had last night. We got snow for a good part of the morning and then last night you could hear the sleet hitting the roof, the deck and the ground. And this is what we woke up to! Looks like a winter wonderland of Snow but one step outside and you realize its all ICE. So after staying home yesterday because of the threat of freezing rain I took the morning off to wait to see if this would melt away-- it did not-- but the plow trucks worked all night and made the roads passable in most spots. As a matter of fact Mike has been out there since Midnight...18 hours and counting...

Ms. Bonnie who has always hated the indoor life is refusing to go out.. I guess she doesn't like the crunch under her feet or the slippery deck stairs.. I thought I could shoval it tonight... but its rock hard and not budging. Spring is coming right?

Kinda liking this picture I took this morning... with the trees in the foreground and the snowy garage in the back.....

I am alive

My father was quick to point out that I haven't been blogging this month...to be honest its not due to lack of material to report on in my life its simply a lack of time to sit and type.... so a quick recap -- I think I last left you with the news that my kitchen suffered alittle fire... Well it seems where theres fire there is alot of smoke. And the more we looked around (and smelled) the more we realized that just about every room in our home had smoke residue in it. Something the insurance adjuster should have known and told us. So after many phone conversations the cleaning crew that was to come and clean the carpet in the living/dining room and the totally clean the kitchen ended up doing the whole house. What an undertaking that was. Now throw into the mix that I had a scheduled business trip to Houston Sunday-Tuesday and you now have a schedule nightmare. I went off to Houston-- which by the way was lovely--Warm, Green, and clean.... meanwhile Mike was left to work out the details of how they would clean.
Of course I got stuck in Houston-- due to Snow in Chicago-- Then I got stuck in Chicago due to snow in VA-- when I finally arrived at Dulles-- umm very late-- I waited and waited and waited for my luggage... seems it did not make the plane. The last time I saw my luggage it was getting snowed on.... Finally after midnight Mike and I pulled away from the airport into the snowy night for the long ride home. Amazing to me the amount of traffic at 1am.... and none of them doing to well in the snowy conditions.... My luggage did finally arrive home around 4:30pm on Wednesday-- Nice-
For the next three days Mike and I did split shifts in the house and at work. The cleaners literally touched every object we owned as they wiped everything down... The walls the ceiling, the furniture, everything on and IN the furniture... they emptied every drawer,cabinet and closet.. The bedspreads and coats were sent to the drycleaners along with any peices of dry clean only clothing (luckily I don't own much that isn't wash and wear...) To say that we are exhausted is an understatement... trying to keep up with work and then come home and keep up with the 3 ladies going through our home was a bit much... The good news is yesterday the carpet cleaners came and cleaned the carpets and the furniture... WOW does the house look great....and smells good too! except for the poor kitchen which has had its cabinets emptied into boxes--The frustration of finding things in boxes is high-- And because the insurance company feels their only obligation is to replace the upper (damaged) cabinets this could take awhile to get sorted out as I refuse to have mismatched cabinets. I mean really do they think that is acceptable to anyone?????

My weekend did have some high points... Both kids came home... I'll tell you about that tomorrow... after I get some much needed rest...

To do lists

It was supposed to snow today but it didn't
The contractor was supposed to call yesterday but didn't
My project at work was supposed to be done today but it isn't... lots of stuff hanging out there.
My to do list is growing by the minute and I refuse to give in and start panicing that it won't be done.
I have Bonco here next week... finally got the prizes last night but still need to shop for food and wrap the prizes. I have a trip to TX Sunday for work that is putting alittle crimp in my timeline for getting things done.. needless to say its adding to the list-- sometime in the next two days I have to pick up the tables for Bonco, do laundry and pack.. And then theres this little mess that I call a kitchen hanging over my head... Hopefully I can call another contractor or two and get them lined up to come look and give estimates while I am gone and then maybe just maybe someone can get the blackened look out of the darn kitchen... The good news is that the insurance guy agreed to clean the carpets-- between the big grease spot by the door and the smell of smoke that has permeated them they really need it.
ohh and The Get Croppin event is next weekend that Amanda and I signed up for. Gotta get pictures printed for the classes we are taking.
Hmmm no reason to panic yet-- Right?

Where theres smoke theres Fire

Today started out pretty normal. Alittle laundry, alittle dusting and vacuuming, Mike was working on Amandas laptop and then poof-- we had a fire in the kitchen...thank goodness for the smoke detector.. It all happened very fast and that annoying sound was enough for me to get up and see what Mike was cooking. It turned out to be a grease fire in a pan on the stove. Lots and Lots of smoke, my range hood literally melted and that smell of burnt plastic has now permeated the entire house. In a matter of seconds you couldn't see across the room the smoke was so thick. Very scary! We used the fire extingisher and as quick as the stove engulfed in flames it was out.

What totally amazes me is that my insurance company (Nationwide) still hasn't come out. I called them immediately and then 4 hours later called again to be told to take pictures and save the burnt peices and any reciepts and they would eventually come some time next week!! I'm not sure where that leaves me.. I tried to clean up the blackened cabinets and the counters etc to get rid of the smell but it doesn't seem to be working to well. Everything is covered in a film of extingisher stuff and black smoke. And the more I clean the more the black stuff just moves around.
Tomorrow I will try and tackle somemore... perhaps a good nights sleep will have me better prepared to deal with the mess. And maybe just maybe Nationwide will show alittle concern for their customer...

New Hair

 

Finally got around to getting my hair cut. And it feels great! Not sure why but I only seem to get my hair cut once or twice a year... its part of my anti-high maintenance attitude I guess... one less then to do.. one less thing to worry about... but with the blah weather and bangs hanging in my eyes --today was the day. Not a bad experience on whole. Although at the end after the girl explained that I could acheive the look at home with a simple brush (she thought a round brush was beyond my capabilities)and alittle mousse she asked the Question--
"would you like alittle hairspray?" HA!
ME: Umm yes-- I'm an 80's gal... you know big hair and lots of hairspray
Her: Blank look
The lady in the chair behind me: BIG LAUGH
as I turned to look at her-- ME: lots of hairspray
The lady in the chair behind me: Ohhh your hair looks great!
Me thinking to myself: Its not often that a stranger comments on your hair...maybe the cut is ok....
Me outloud: Thankyou
Hairstylist-- I like big hair I just don't think I could do all that hairspray...
Me thinking to myself: well in 1980 the only hair products were dippitydo and hairspray...some things you learn to embrace...
Me outloud: More Hairspray please-- gotta make sure this new do makes it to home...

So here I sit-- alone... have no clue where Mike is-- with my new hair--
On second thought... maybe Mike is downtown... isn't the president speaking tonight??? hmmm might need more hairspray if this is gonna last that long...

Good Morning

 

Kinda says it all---

Don't blink

 

In a blink of an eye shes here and gone-- Amanda came home for the weekend to go to a holiday party at Coreys work-- when they mentioned it before christmas it sounded like a good idea to hold a company party after the rush of Christmas.. but now it seems sooo late to be holding a holiday party. Anyway heres a quick shot of them all dressed to hit the town... looking mighty fine if I do say... Anyway she arrived this morning and evidently will be heading back out tommorrow..

Monday musing

Restful weekend but its back to the grind today... gotta love holidays where you don't get to participate-- at least there was no traffic.
I'm feeling pretty good right now about our trip to Alaska. I spent alot of time this weekend sorting out exactly what we wanted to see. Contacted alot of tour guides and amazingly heard back from them all. Trying to maintain a balance of squeezing everything in and still getting enough down time to enjoy the cruise.

I haven't heard from Amanda this weekend... thats usually a good sign... ZETA must be keeping her busy. Madison is missing her terribly-- we go through this a couple days after she leaves each time... it usually lasts for about a day and then shes back to her normal highspeed self....

I did find time to work on my new Planner... I caved and bought the Mybook planner and spent a few hours yesterday filling in dates and making 4x6 mini pages with some of my favorite pictures from last year... Still want to put tabs in it and need to work on the cover.

Mike spent the weekend doing car stuff... I needed a heater core in the Jimmy, and apparently another oil change in the corvette, then he and Corey worked on the Red Car doing who knows what... hopefully getting it ready to sell... its sat in the same place for so long that its become garden art! anyone need an old beater??? let me know... have I got the car for you!

Too cold to type

Exactly 5 months from now I will be in Ketchikan Alaska and with todays weather it seems like Alaska has come to me. So darn cold here-- so much for the global warming theory-- now its more like an apocolypse....

With cold weather-- its offically winter so maybe we can start on some of our "winter projects"??? Today I ran out to the Walmart and picked up some refills for my photo albums... I have about 5 that are the old magnetic kind that I know are not archivally safe... as a matter of fact I have known for a few years now that they are slowing eating away at my memories... So following along with.Stacy Julians BIG PICTURE theorys I am slowing planning on working on getting these photos out of the bad pages and into new ones... as well as tackling an old cardboard box down in the basement filled with pictures that no one ever saw fit to do anything with.
I have spent the last few days researching our upcoming adventure to Alaska.. The BIG 50/25 trip as it will be known for generations to come I am sure... My parents are celebrating their 50th wedding anniversery and Mike and I will have accomplished 25 years of marriage. An awesome feat if I do say so myself!-- anyway the trip has taken on a life of its own... the more I read the more lists I make... I keep asking my traveling companions what they want to do on this Big ol vacation of ours and the answer is always the same... Whatever you plan will be fine... If their not careful all three of them will be zooming down a zipline in the rainforest!!
HAHA! I of course will be at the bottom with my trusty camera--- Which brings me to my next little dilemia... is my camera good enough for this trip??? I think not!!! but then again... that would mean more research and more lists to make...

Dead Presidents

The first President I can honestly remember was Gerald Ford... Sure I was alive for a few more but I have no memory of any of them. So when he died I actually thought I might want to go downtown. I missed my opportunity with Reagan, even though Mike said he could get me in without the long lines... Not sure what was happening at the time but it didn't seem important... This time, it did seem important.... to make a long story short due to the time of year (holidays) and the newly elected being brought into office Mike wasn't able to find me a way of going without the lines.. And while I wanted to go ... I didn't want to go enough to stand in line!!
But last week he brought me home a souvenir-- The program that the dignitary's received. Very cool.... and yea after the fact someone told him they could have gotten me in.... oh well

Global Warming

So if you are living anywhere on the East Coast the words Global Warming had to have gone through your head at least once this weekend... We woke up Saturday to a Bright Sunny day in the mid 70's--no joke-- we opened all the doors--put on shorts and pretended it was spring and not January.... Yes something is just not right when your summer flowers.. in my case pink Dianthus have new blooms on them???? My daffodils are sprouting up and my fish are hungry! But I am not complaining-- we did some chores that normally are reserved for spring... Mike worked hard on framing out his windows in the garage... and then moved into cleaning it (shocker I know)-- he also found time to clean the grill (yes in January) I decided to air out Comfortors and steam clean the carpets downstairs since it was warm enough for them to dry Quickly.... I looked long and hard at the christmas decorations they seemed out of place with birds chirping and the sliding door wide open... but in the end I decided to only move the furniture back into place and give the Santas and tree one more week. Hopefully by the time I am ready to move the Snowmen back in their boxes they will have seen alittle snow!

Amanda goes home tomorrow... but Madisons extending her winter vacation two more weeks until after ZTA rush is over and her Momma has had a chance to get her school and work schedule into a routine.
Christopher moved out of his home this weekend-- more details on that later I am sure....His work schedule looks like it is changing too-- moving more towards days... January is a good time for change, a logical time to get our lives into order.

TGIF

Friday is finally here... I have no idea why short weeks always seem like the longest. Glad its over though... Totally feel the need to organize my life... Need to clean out files, clean off my refrigerator..clean out closets.. just make it ....organized.... Going back and forth If I need to buy a new purse calendar/organizer... I used to live by mine but now not so much...

Totally happy to see that
Cathy Z is back up blogging... missed reading her daily musing while drinking my coffee....

anyway... off to start my weekend!

computers friend or foe?

At some point computers became more than just a toy at home and became an intrical part of our lives. Much like electricity and water its something that we have come to rely on. Add internet into the mix and it might as well be the air we breathe...
With Amanda going back to school next week we started the task of "cleaning" and repairing her computer. She needed a new CD reader/writer... easy enough task for Mike just to pop one in... but then we realized that her computer was so full that it could barely operate... no defraging, or cleanup program was going to help the mess she had created with pictures and music... so off to the store again for some additional hard drive space.... Then the fight began trying to move and copy data with a machine that was literally screaming in pain.... somehow my girl never really learned the lessons faced by Mom about how important back up CD's were... (if you've ever lost data due to a computer failure you know what lessons I mean) oh she heard me say it.. and she meant to do it... but never got there... We safely extracted her photos... and her music... well she had alot of it.. and sadly we think she has less now. Itunes didn't like moving drives and Mom and Dad are uneducated in IPOD/Itunes-- so trying to figure it out was futile.... but with all this computer teardown and revamping Mom got lucky... I got a Buffalo!! go ahead a tilt your head now... its an external hard drive! Now my pictures and digital creations have a home of their own. Now more worrying if I am saving way too much!
The gadgets in life that make us happy are the ones we don't understand but somehow make life alittle easier.

New Year

Ringing in the new year... slow start to a new year... comfortable weekend that we had no obligations other than to rest. Looking so forward to the short week coming up.
Trying to think of New Years resolutions.. seems almost important to have something to work towards.. Theres the obligatory loose 10 -- hmm no 15 lbs... but after that I'm stumped. I'd like to work toward downsizing in a few other areas...the attic and basement and finishing the painting before a new season starts would probably be a good idea...that and updating the old resume... I guess there is lots to do in the upcoming year. But for now... I think I'll just enjoy whats left of this three day weekend... and put off my list for another day!

Blogger hates me

This week I haven't been able to post photos here on my blog-- I had more xmas photos which I wanted to post in my last post which I just couldn't get in there... Still can't doing it the normal way. I have now had to resort to uploading them into a web album and then linking them back... much to work for me.... Blogger just hates me....
I have tried contacting their help groups, emailing and no response!! (other than they left me a picture... alot of help that was)
Anyway I am working on it... really I am!

Christmas

Christmas is over and we are left with alot of leftovers, a pile of returns and alot of trash-- What fun we had though!
Nothing like baking cookies at midnight

Unwrapping gifts

or unveiling them-- Christopher decided that wrapping paper was indulging in the "establishment" and he was not buying into it(or buying wrapping paper)

Dinner was a blast-- totally loved having a sit down dinner with family and friends and having even more company for dessert (Coreys Mom and Dad joined us) We will be eating Turkey and Ham for days to come! but thats the best part of the holiday isn't it? Christopher took over as Mashed potato maker and Mike fried up a turkey, and Merv brought us shrimp to snack on with Mikes mushrooms.

However when did the "kids" become adults??? My house isn't big enough for everyone to hang out in the living room... I thought they would have all run down to catch alittle football-- isn't that what boys are supposed to do?... no my tv saw no action--

Alittle photo session with the "kids" provided even more amusement...

Birthday Boy

 
 

Christopher came home yesterday morning after work about 6am-- and after a few hours of sleep and little shopping trip with Mike we finally got to celebrate his birthday... albeit quickly as he had friends to catch up with and holiday celebrating of his own to do-- We got lucky the winter coat I got him fit & looked good and the bowling gift certificate that Amanda got him was the perfect gift.

Today the weather is feeling alittle more like winter... cool and breezy-- but still in the upper 50's-- I am not seeing that we will get a white christmas... but since today will be spent cooking and getting ready for tommorrow I'm happy that its not as nice as it was yesterday.

We've already altered a skirt for Amanda to wear to church tonight... the mushrooms are on simmer, the cheese cake is in the oven and the sausage is frying for the stuffing.... its gonna be a long day....