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...