Friday, March 30, 2007

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?
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Tuesday, March 27, 2007

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!!

Sunday, March 25, 2007

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....

Thursday, March 22, 2007

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????

Sunday, March 18, 2007

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....

Friday, March 16, 2007

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...

Wednesday, March 14, 2007

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...

Friday, March 09, 2007

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??