Tuesday, September 29, 2009
Kittie Favorite New Spot
Sunday, September 27, 2009
Another Day, Another Check Off The To Do List
I had to get up super early Sunday to return the pneumatic nail gun to Home Depot so we wouldn’t get charged another 3 hour min. rental fee. Since I neglected to check the Sunday hours I had to find a way to entertain myself for an hour and a half until doors open at 8am. Luckily for my belly Ihop was directly across the street.
Even luckier, when Home Depot did finally open, the first person I saw was the one and only John Kraynak (Pamdemonium’s hubby). John is the Woodbridge manager and one of the nicest and most helpful people I know. Not only did he make sure there were no additional rental charges, he spent an hour helping me get a few things on the HD shopping list. Greg and I were so bummed when he left the Springfield store for the Woodbridge store.
One of the things on the list was the ¼ rounds for the floors. Greg wasn’t too thrilled with the fake wood and wanted to put in real wood instead. Since none of the pre-stained trim matches Golden Teak, I now have to stain 30 12’ pieces of trim. Two weeks ago in full on steroid medication, I would have been thrilled for the extra work, but as the meds taper off and the To Do list continues to grow, I am getting tired just thinking about all that work.
But yesterday my energy level was in full gear. One of the things we were able to check off the list was painting the computer room. Thankfully, Mom offered to help and since I had a couple minutes until she came over – why not weed & mulch and plant some grass?
Mom brought Diva with her. I do love that dog, but mostly to look at and play with; not so much with trying to stop her from tormenting Benny and keeping an eye on her. But when we were bringing everything upstairs, goofing around, I put Diva into the laundry basket to transport her.
This turned out to be the solution to getting things done with a dog in the house. She loved being able to see everything going on and didn’t mind being confined.
Even Greg didn’t mind Diva this way. :)
Mom was very surprise I went against my rule to never paint a room white, but as it turned out, I still haven’t. Even though I had the paint color matched to the exact room color before – it wasn’t white as we were putting it up. I was a little irritated cause it was more beige and why the heck is painting a wall to look like a dirty old white? But then mom said it looked more like linen than beige and that the slight contrast works. It’s amazing how psychologically changing a word helps. I say psychologically, Greg would probably go with mental.
Greg was so funny yesterday before he left for the grocery store he pulled me aside and said 'can we please be done when I get back' which was fine by me. I am a bit bummed facing life without steroids – this stuff is wonderful. I can focus better, tons of energy, heck I even lost weigh and am not hungry all the time. I wish there was a way to have a steroid daily vitamin.
Even luckier, when Home Depot did finally open, the first person I saw was the one and only John Kraynak (Pamdemonium’s hubby). John is the Woodbridge manager and one of the nicest and most helpful people I know. Not only did he make sure there were no additional rental charges, he spent an hour helping me get a few things on the HD shopping list. Greg and I were so bummed when he left the Springfield store for the Woodbridge store.
One of the things on the list was the ¼ rounds for the floors. Greg wasn’t too thrilled with the fake wood and wanted to put in real wood instead. Since none of the pre-stained trim matches Golden Teak, I now have to stain 30 12’ pieces of trim. Two weeks ago in full on steroid medication, I would have been thrilled for the extra work, but as the meds taper off and the To Do list continues to grow, I am getting tired just thinking about all that work.
But yesterday my energy level was in full gear. One of the things we were able to check off the list was painting the computer room. Thankfully, Mom offered to help and since I had a couple minutes until she came over – why not weed & mulch and plant some grass?
Mom brought Diva with her. I do love that dog, but mostly to look at and play with; not so much with trying to stop her from tormenting Benny and keeping an eye on her. But when we were bringing everything upstairs, goofing around, I put Diva into the laundry basket to transport her.
This turned out to be the solution to getting things done with a dog in the house. She loved being able to see everything going on and didn’t mind being confined.
Even Greg didn’t mind Diva this way. :)
Mom was very surprise I went against my rule to never paint a room white, but as it turned out, I still haven’t. Even though I had the paint color matched to the exact room color before – it wasn’t white as we were putting it up. I was a little irritated cause it was more beige and why the heck is painting a wall to look like a dirty old white? But then mom said it looked more like linen than beige and that the slight contrast works. It’s amazing how psychologically changing a word helps. I say psychologically, Greg would probably go with mental.
Greg was so funny yesterday before he left for the grocery store he pulled me aside and said 'can we please be done when I get back' which was fine by me. I am a bit bummed facing life without steroids – this stuff is wonderful. I can focus better, tons of energy, heck I even lost weigh and am not hungry all the time. I wish there was a way to have a steroid daily vitamin.
DJ In The House
As everyone does who comes into the house, DJ fell in love with Benny pretty quickly.
He was particularly mesmerized by how much Benny LOVES water.
If you have a bottle of water, Benny is going to try to drink it. I pour some water out for him now and then and DJ wanted to do it too.
Here he is trying to keep Ben away long enough to pour the water
He was particularly mesmerized by how much Benny LOVES water.
If you have a bottle of water, Benny is going to try to drink it. I pour some water out for him now and then and DJ wanted to do it too.
Here he is trying to keep Ben away long enough to pour the water
Taking a picture for his scrapbook
This kid is so cute and so well behaved. He can come visit any time.
I tried to send this picture to the blog from the concert but it didn't make it for some reason. Probably user error. It's too cute not to share.
Sun Is Coming Up - So You Know What That Means
Another trip to Home Depot for me. Seriously people, an intervention might be in order. I do have a legitimate reason - I have to return the pneumatic nail gun before being charged another 3 hours minimum. But don't think my mind isn't spinning about another piece of the project to expand on in Operation Do Work. Greg thinks my to do list is a bit mental - but that's how they do it on Man Cave.
I have been trying my best to keep the tangents in check, but after finishing the hardwood floors yesterday, it became painfully clear that we were going to have to paint the computer room after all. We have to touch up the trim, and doing that would only highlight the fact that the walls are a mess. I am also going to do something I said I would never do - paint the walls white. I have maintained that if you are going to paint a room, why paint it white when there are so many wonderful colors out there. But I like the room white, and honestly, the thought of making yet another decision on a color could be the thing that pushes us over that edge. Not like choosing a white is an easy task either - there are about a hundred shades of white. Ugh.
Just in case you glossed over it in the paragraph above - let me go back - We Finished The Hardwood Floors Yesterday!!! So flippin' excited. It was so much work - but I had a blast working with Wade, and it looks so good. Plus now I have some new trade skills in case I ever leave the circus.
Just a couple quick pics because I want to finish painting and doing the trim & edges before the great reveal.
I think Wade, Greg and I work pretty well together.
I have been trying my best to keep the tangents in check, but after finishing the hardwood floors yesterday, it became painfully clear that we were going to have to paint the computer room after all. We have to touch up the trim, and doing that would only highlight the fact that the walls are a mess. I am also going to do something I said I would never do - paint the walls white. I have maintained that if you are going to paint a room, why paint it white when there are so many wonderful colors out there. But I like the room white, and honestly, the thought of making yet another decision on a color could be the thing that pushes us over that edge. Not like choosing a white is an easy task either - there are about a hundred shades of white. Ugh.
Just in case you glossed over it in the paragraph above - let me go back - We Finished The Hardwood Floors Yesterday!!! So flippin' excited. It was so much work - but I had a blast working with Wade, and it looks so good. Plus now I have some new trade skills in case I ever leave the circus.
Just a couple quick pics because I want to finish painting and doing the trim & edges before the great reveal.
I think Wade, Greg and I work pretty well together.
Hives aside, this project has been one of my favorites. But then again, if it wasn't for the hives, I might not have been motivated to do as much as we did.
AHK and Adrienne came over last night to see KJR and the floors and stayed for dinner. It was nice cause it forced me to sit for a bit and relax. And it was a great excuse for Five Guys. ummm, Five Guys. Benny and Chewbacca were thrilled they came over - because I have been running around so much lately, there hasn't been much time for putting the legs up. So when the opportunity came for some lap time, the boys were all over it.
AHK and Adrienne came over last night to see KJR and the floors and stayed for dinner. It was nice cause it forced me to sit for a bit and relax. And it was a great excuse for Five Guys. ummm, Five Guys. Benny and Chewbacca were thrilled they came over - because I have been running around so much lately, there hasn't been much time for putting the legs up. So when the opportunity came for some lap time, the boys were all over it.
Friday, September 25, 2009
Bring On Snow Patrol!
For Dominic's first trip to DC, we thought we would give him the full experience. So we got lost and spent forever trying to find a parking space. I always try my best not to curse around kids, but driving in DC will quickly make me break that promise. Welcome to the Nations Capital. Where you will very quickly know what don't block the box means.
We finally made it, and in time enough to see the opening act. which was Plain White T's - so we passed.
Once Snow Patrol came on we were much happier.
He would clap half unconscious after each song, but he got up on his feet towards the end and enjoyed a good portion of the concert. Poor kid has been up since 6:15 for school, it's been a long day. I am spent myself - falling asleep mid print trying to finish this post.
Karen and I realized an interesting coincidence at the concert. Both of our first concerts were the same show - Constitution Hall to see Ah Ha. And this was before we even met. It's like we were meant to be. :) And now DJ's first concert was at the same place with us. Love it.
Look Out - Sophia has an email account
Mike & Melis got the girls their very own desktop computers. So now I can Webkinz with all three at the same time.
Mo also set them up with their own email accounts.
Here is Sophie's first email to Aunt Karen:
From: Sophia Eagney
Sent: Friday, September 25, 2009 5:51 AM
To: Beck, Karen
Subject: Re: HELLO
karen, when u get down here im going to kiss ur neck before u kiss mine.
And her is her first email to Uncle Greg:
> Subject:
> From: sophia
> To: gfissell
> Date: Fri, 25 Sep 2009 08:54:16 -0400
>
> dear gregory
> you are such a fartface
> love soph
>
At least one of the three likes me better - actually one out of the four including Tatum.
Mo also set them up with their own email accounts.
Here is Sophie's first email to Aunt Karen:
From: Sophia Eagney
Sent: Friday, September 25, 2009 5:51 AM
To: Beck, Karen
Subject: Re: HELLO
karen, when u get down here im going to kiss ur neck before u kiss mine.
And her is her first email to Uncle Greg:
> Subject:
> From: sophia
> To: gfissell
> Date: Fri, 25 Sep 2009 08:54:16 -0400
>
> dear gregory
> you are such a fartface
> love soph
>
At least one of the three likes me better - actually one out of the four including Tatum.
I Want Out!
Hostess With The Mostest
I am picking up my girl Karen Ransom and her brilliant nephew Dominic (DJ to me) from the airport in 8 hours. So excited. They are flying in to see Snow Patrol with me tonight at Constitution Hall. DJ is all of 9 years old and already has the best taste in music. No Miley Cirus for that kid. It's all Placebo, Kings of Leon and Snow Patrol. I will be wearing my Snow Patrol t-shirt that DJ got me for my birthday 3 years ago.
Here's hoping that when we get back from the concert there will be a place for them to sleep. Because as of 9am this morning - the guest room looks like this:
Oh yeah - and here is her bed (what the 4 foot pile of boxes are sitting on).
Do I know how to pamper guests or what?
Wade and I have quite the day ahead of us. But I am totally stoked. Everything is all organized and ready to go, there isn't going to be a lot of angle cutting, and we are pros at this point. So fingers crossed.
Not sure if we will be able to get to the computer room today.
Notice the lovely hole in the floor? The people who owned the house before us were unbelievable. Benny wouldn't live like they did and he is an animal. An incredibly spoiled one, but still.
Here's hoping that when we get back from the concert there will be a place for them to sleep. Because as of 9am this morning - the guest room looks like this:
Oh yeah - and here is her bed (what the 4 foot pile of boxes are sitting on).
Do I know how to pamper guests or what?
Wade and I have quite the day ahead of us. But I am totally stoked. Everything is all organized and ready to go, there isn't going to be a lot of angle cutting, and we are pros at this point. So fingers crossed.
Not sure if we will be able to get to the computer room today.
Notice the lovely hole in the floor? The people who owned the house before us were unbelievable. Benny wouldn't live like they did and he is an animal. An incredibly spoiled one, but still.
Thursday, September 24, 2009
Tuesday, September 22, 2009
Oops.
I think i might need more 5 hours me sleep because I was halfway to work before I realized I still had my crocs on. I hope I have an extra pair of shoes at work.
Sunday, September 20, 2009
Very Sneaky Greg
We went to Tim & Jenel's to watch the Eagles play today and 7 hours later we went home! Partly because the Eagles played so poorly that I ended up taking a 2 hour nap which was nice (the nap, not the losing), also because Tatum was a hoot as usual, but mostly because Greg's saw it as a way to keep me from overworking him again today. Big thanks to The Becks for an excellent excuse for a break, but a bigger thanks to Jenel. Not everyone would be so gracious to visitors for such a long period of time - and on top of that, Tim didn't tell her we were coming over until 15 minutes before we got there.
While Mike, Tim and I napped, Greg ran around with the Tot. This is the Trash Can Girl going around the neighborhood on her scooter picking up handfuls of grass for her basket from the front of every neighbors yard.
Below is a quick show of some pictures today. But this one is my favorite.
Check back later for a video we are posting of Tatum entertaining everyone with an impromptu dance party.
While Mike, Tim and I napped, Greg ran around with the Tot. This is the Trash Can Girl going around the neighborhood on her scooter picking up handfuls of grass for her basket from the front of every neighbors yard.
Below is a quick show of some pictures today. But this one is my favorite.
 |
| From Hanging with Tatum (Eagles vs. Saints) |
Check back later for a video we are posting of Tatum entertaining everyone with an impromptu dance party.
Fur Babies
We are happy to report that Benny has fully recovered from the dentist incident. He is just as curious as ever, plus we both think Ben is a bit more feisty lately. And take a look at him in this photo - I don't think he is looking his age at all.
Benny and Chewie were looking so sweet cuddling during a nap I had to take a picture.
Benny and Chewie were looking so sweet cuddling during a nap I had to take a picture.
They were actually even cuter than this photo does them justice. Chewie is such a spaz that when he hears the camera turn on, he gets up. But alas I am still able to get pictures of Chew. I think Kittie believes that cameras steal your soul because it is impossible to get a good picture of her. So frustrating.
Saturday, September 19, 2009
Feed A Cold, Starve a Fever, And...
Manual Labor For Hives.
To add to the ever evolving fun with itching life that I am leading, somehow the medication I am using to treat the poison ivy caused an allergy reaction. I now have hives all over my legs, arms and chest. So if you are keeping score at home... I have been uncomfortable and itching all over - every day - for 4 weeks now!!!
I lose.
But on the other hand the house wins cause the only thing that keeps my mind off of all this is by keeping busy. And since I cannot sleep, that is ALL THE TIME, so I am getting A Lot done.
Mike, Chris, and Tim came over to help move all the furniture out of the next two rooms to get ready for Round 2 of installing the hardwood floors next Friday. Mom and Shell came over to help too, but with all the muscles the rooms were cleared in no time. Wanting to still be helpful they picked up some food for everyone. And since people are felling kinda sorry for me, I get my favorite - Pho Bowl. That is twice in one week! Yes, even Greg agreed to Pho Bowl the other day, he must really be taking pity on me.
That was last week, this week I don't think I will be getting Pho Bowl ever again for the rest of my life; because this morning I found a new distraction. The Laundry Room.
We bought a shelving unit to organize the laundry room - a year ago - and this got under my skin more than the hives. Plus, Wade left all of his tools over here and I want to use them all! All the time. So far my Christmas list is already half full with just things that Wade has that I want.
The shelf that came with the house was embedded into the wall and took half the drywall off when removed. Plus, Wade had to cut a bunch of holes when the pipe broke last year and when he did that we realized that the pipes had no insulation.
Since the thought of that keeps Greg up at night worrying that the pipes are going to freeze, why not pull out the entire wall and see what's going on back there? Between Wade's tools, my insomnia and Benny's help, the wall came down with ease. Ok, I needed a little more than Benny's help, so Greg ever so sweetly came to my aid.
In addition to taking action photos...
A majority of his time was spent in awe at how crappy this house seems to have been built. Once we pulled out the wall, and were able to really see what was going, on our day kept getting longer and longer.
The water damage ruined the insulation causing it to fall to the floor and collect a wee bit of mold. No surprise there is so much water damage - they cut a square out for the dryer vent - which is a circle.
There was so much of a gap, Benny was doing his best to see if it was a secret way outside.
Greg's day that began with a trip to Home Depot for a tiling class at 11am ended with a run to Home Depot for drywall, getting home at 11PM! No wonder Greg was ready to kill me. It didn't help that after buying the drywall we realized there was no way it was getting home in the Cougar. Luckily we have an awesome neighbor, Lindsay, who came to our rescue. She was kind enough to let us attach 75 pounds of drywall to the roof of her car.
While Greg was slightly annoyed with my antics today, I couldn't have loved him more - or so I thought. And then Greg said "Do you think we can also replace the floor?" and my heart did a flip. I was thinking how much I would love to fix the floor too, but didn't want to push my luck. What a nice bonus for my day because to prep the floor I had to take off the shoe mold off the trim, scrape off all the grout, and clean the floor. Greg can sleep until noon tomorrow if he wants after everything today. I alas, will most likely be wishing I was taking the sander to my legs rather than the wall.
All in all - not a complete waste of 20 hours.
Before:
After:
Even with the 20 leftover colors from previous paint jobs, we decided on another color all together - Lime Light. And we haven't committed to that floor option - but it's looking good as of now. Will match both the bathroom color and the laundry room. Chewie likes it.
To add to the ever evolving fun with itching life that I am leading, somehow the medication I am using to treat the poison ivy caused an allergy reaction. I now have hives all over my legs, arms and chest. So if you are keeping score at home... I have been uncomfortable and itching all over - every day - for 4 weeks now!!!
I lose.
But on the other hand the house wins cause the only thing that keeps my mind off of all this is by keeping busy. And since I cannot sleep, that is ALL THE TIME, so I am getting A Lot done.
Mike, Chris, and Tim came over to help move all the furniture out of the next two rooms to get ready for Round 2 of installing the hardwood floors next Friday. Mom and Shell came over to help too, but with all the muscles the rooms were cleared in no time. Wanting to still be helpful they picked up some food for everyone. And since people are felling kinda sorry for me, I get my favorite - Pho Bowl. That is twice in one week! Yes, even Greg agreed to Pho Bowl the other day, he must really be taking pity on me.
That was last week, this week I don't think I will be getting Pho Bowl ever again for the rest of my life; because this morning I found a new distraction. The Laundry Room.
We bought a shelving unit to organize the laundry room - a year ago - and this got under my skin more than the hives. Plus, Wade left all of his tools over here and I want to use them all! All the time. So far my Christmas list is already half full with just things that Wade has that I want.
The shelf that came with the house was embedded into the wall and took half the drywall off when removed. Plus, Wade had to cut a bunch of holes when the pipe broke last year and when he did that we realized that the pipes had no insulation.
Since the thought of that keeps Greg up at night worrying that the pipes are going to freeze, why not pull out the entire wall and see what's going on back there? Between Wade's tools, my insomnia and Benny's help, the wall came down with ease. Ok, I needed a little more than Benny's help, so Greg ever so sweetly came to my aid.
In addition to taking action photos...
A majority of his time was spent in awe at how crappy this house seems to have been built. Once we pulled out the wall, and were able to really see what was going, on our day kept getting longer and longer.
The water damage ruined the insulation causing it to fall to the floor and collect a wee bit of mold. No surprise there is so much water damage - they cut a square out for the dryer vent - which is a circle.
There was so much of a gap, Benny was doing his best to see if it was a secret way outside.
Greg's day that began with a trip to Home Depot for a tiling class at 11am ended with a run to Home Depot for drywall, getting home at 11PM! No wonder Greg was ready to kill me. It didn't help that after buying the drywall we realized there was no way it was getting home in the Cougar. Luckily we have an awesome neighbor, Lindsay, who came to our rescue. She was kind enough to let us attach 75 pounds of drywall to the roof of her car.
While Greg was slightly annoyed with my antics today, I couldn't have loved him more - or so I thought. And then Greg said "Do you think we can also replace the floor?" and my heart did a flip. I was thinking how much I would love to fix the floor too, but didn't want to push my luck. What a nice bonus for my day because to prep the floor I had to take off the shoe mold off the trim, scrape off all the grout, and clean the floor. Greg can sleep until noon tomorrow if he wants after everything today. I alas, will most likely be wishing I was taking the sander to my legs rather than the wall.
All in all - not a complete waste of 20 hours.
Before:
After:
Even with the 20 leftover colors from previous paint jobs, we decided on another color all together - Lime Light. And we haven't committed to that floor option - but it's looking good as of now. Will match both the bathroom color and the laundry room. Chewie likes it.
Monday, September 14, 2009
Sippy Cup
He Works Hard For The Money
I am going to the Dr's yet again for this flippin poison ivy. The office is in Ballston which is along Tim's FedEx route. I had a few minutes so called my bro. Two right turns away and there he was loading the cart. Interestingly, he was delivering to the hotel where Greg and I were married.
Sunday, September 13, 2009
Benny Boy
Greg and I have been a bit neglectful in our parenting duties to the kitties - one of the reasons we only subject our skills to 4 legged creatures - that and that I am so immature that typing duties makes me giggle out loud.
We finally took Benny to the vet for a teeth cleaning - who knew that the vet's interpretation of cleaning meant extracting 12 teeth!
I guess if I went to the dentist for the first time at 15 years old I might loose a tooth or two, but twelve? Poor Benny. Interestingly cats have 42 teeth so he is not looking like an old man without his dentures as I feared. See - there are still a few in there.
Of the twelve, 9 were wee little guys that pretty much fell out. The remaining three were considered medium size teeth that required a stitch or two.
One of the reasons we were a bit wary to take him into the clinic in the first place was not knowing how Benny would take such a major visit given his advanced years; so I was freaked out worrying how he would feel. I was quickly relieved when he begged for food immediately upon walking in the door and then proceeded to eat an entire can by himself. Ben loves food so much that he would probably have been fine if he lost all 42.
He gets a bit sleepy in the morning after his antibiotic, but other than that he is doing well. So well he had no problem keeping up with Chewie and Kittie in an all night rampage on the new floors. They woke us up 3-4 times Friday night pounding on the particle board and inspecting every new piece of equipment. Apparently our bed was home territory because they would leap up and strategize about their next adventure. The bed was covered in dusty paw prints.
This should have bugged the crap outta us, but we were so happy that Benny was playing and running around who cares if we wake up a few times, I guess we are not such bad pet owners after all.
Even with all the missing teeth he is still as handsome as ever.
Ignore all the painting supplies that still need to be put away - still have a few touch ups after putting in the floors.
We finally took Benny to the vet for a teeth cleaning - who knew that the vet's interpretation of cleaning meant extracting 12 teeth!
I guess if I went to the dentist for the first time at 15 years old I might loose a tooth or two, but twelve? Poor Benny. Interestingly cats have 42 teeth so he is not looking like an old man without his dentures as I feared. See - there are still a few in there.
Of the twelve, 9 were wee little guys that pretty much fell out. The remaining three were considered medium size teeth that required a stitch or two.
One of the reasons we were a bit wary to take him into the clinic in the first place was not knowing how Benny would take such a major visit given his advanced years; so I was freaked out worrying how he would feel. I was quickly relieved when he begged for food immediately upon walking in the door and then proceeded to eat an entire can by himself. Ben loves food so much that he would probably have been fine if he lost all 42.
He gets a bit sleepy in the morning after his antibiotic, but other than that he is doing well. So well he had no problem keeping up with Chewie and Kittie in an all night rampage on the new floors. They woke us up 3-4 times Friday night pounding on the particle board and inspecting every new piece of equipment. Apparently our bed was home territory because they would leap up and strategize about their next adventure. The bed was covered in dusty paw prints.
This should have bugged the crap outta us, but we were so happy that Benny was playing and running around who cares if we wake up a few times, I guess we are not such bad pet owners after all.
Even with all the missing teeth he is still as handsome as ever.
Ignore all the painting supplies that still need to be put away - still have a few touch ups after putting in the floors.
Aaaaarrrrrrgggggghhhhhh
Everyday of my life I have issues with itching due to allergies. I know I don't help matters by having 3 cats, but I do try to do everything I can to make it better. I drink a ton of water throughout the day, moisturize like crazy and take a daily allergy pill. For the most part, these efforts work pretty well; and I love my fur babies, so I can take a little itching.
But adding poison ivy to that mix is about to make me lose my mind. I am perilously close to flippin' the switch and let a split personality take over the suffering while I black out on the inside. Before you judge - look at this mess.
Luckily I have been super busy with our floor project. Every spare minute - and a few days off of work - has been spent prepping, painting, cleaning, lifting, hammering, cutting, and building that I have literally been too tired, sore or mentally spent to let it get to me. Not that I haven't been dealing with it throughout -saw dust and poison ivy is not pleasant, believe me. But being busy is an excellent distraction. Or rather was - we finished up Round 1 last night - got through our bedroom, closet and most of the hallway so we have a bit of a breather before tackling the 2 guest rooms. Barreling in with the breather - you guessed it - ITCHING.
Greg was getting motion sickness at how much I was moving the bed scratching throughout the night - which leads me to how I am already up and showered and posting to the blog at 5am. I need a distraction.
What better distraction is there then to marvel at how awesome our efforts into the floors have turned out. I have wanted hardwood in the bedroom since we first moved in - aside from how gorgeous they look, by getting rid of the carpet Greg can get some relief from my constant sneezing. But one of the drawbacks of living within a budget is weighing the costs/benefit ratio and for the past 7 years the floors lost. That was until Michele ever so sweetly suggested Wade could help with the floors. And Wade agreeing of course. If it wasn't for The Clausson's this would still be on the wish list. The budget is taking a bit of a pounding still with all the Home Depot runs, but I am thinking that over time, the money we save on all the tissues I go through sneezing might balance out.
If there was an award for best brother-in-law Wade would win it hands down.
This is Hard Work and I don't mean just spending two 12 hour days with me. It has also been fun. I love, love, love manual labor and Wade has some of the best toys - um, I mean tools - EVER. And better than that - he lets me play - um, I mean use the power tools! I love power tools. But even better than all that is to look down and see floors we installed with our bare hands. The person who understood that best in my life and encouraged it was Dad - he was such a cheerleader when it came to our projects around the house. It bites that he isn't here to see it, but I can hear him clear as a bell say 'shit hot Karen' and beam that smile of his.
But less talk, more photos...
Amanda has been by helping too. She is a fan of the manual labor and like me. she likes to learn new skills. Mentally she has been super too and I get to think of AHK when I am in the walk in closet she helped finish.
Greg, not as much of a fan of the manual labor as I am, has been instrumental behind the scenes. Keeping us feed, steady supply of water, running to the store and resetting the circuit breaker for the 50th time. Plus he is good with my least favorite thing with any project - the clean up. Mom was a huge help with the prepping. She spent Friday helping me pull up the carpeting.
Round 1:
The cat's are enjoying the new floors too running around with endless energy at all hours of the night playing chase. Hopefully it was only as loud as it was because there was still some particle board exposed.
But adding poison ivy to that mix is about to make me lose my mind. I am perilously close to flippin' the switch and let a split personality take over the suffering while I black out on the inside. Before you judge - look at this mess.
Luckily I have been super busy with our floor project. Every spare minute - and a few days off of work - has been spent prepping, painting, cleaning, lifting, hammering, cutting, and building that I have literally been too tired, sore or mentally spent to let it get to me. Not that I haven't been dealing with it throughout -saw dust and poison ivy is not pleasant, believe me. But being busy is an excellent distraction. Or rather was - we finished up Round 1 last night - got through our bedroom, closet and most of the hallway so we have a bit of a breather before tackling the 2 guest rooms. Barreling in with the breather - you guessed it - ITCHING.
Greg was getting motion sickness at how much I was moving the bed scratching throughout the night - which leads me to how I am already up and showered and posting to the blog at 5am. I need a distraction.
What better distraction is there then to marvel at how awesome our efforts into the floors have turned out. I have wanted hardwood in the bedroom since we first moved in - aside from how gorgeous they look, by getting rid of the carpet Greg can get some relief from my constant sneezing. But one of the drawbacks of living within a budget is weighing the costs/benefit ratio and for the past 7 years the floors lost. That was until Michele ever so sweetly suggested Wade could help with the floors. And Wade agreeing of course. If it wasn't for The Clausson's this would still be on the wish list. The budget is taking a bit of a pounding still with all the Home Depot runs, but I am thinking that over time, the money we save on all the tissues I go through sneezing might balance out.
If there was an award for best brother-in-law Wade would win it hands down.
This is Hard Work and I don't mean just spending two 12 hour days with me. It has also been fun. I love, love, love manual labor and Wade has some of the best toys - um, I mean tools - EVER. And better than that - he lets me play - um, I mean use the power tools! I love power tools. But even better than all that is to look down and see floors we installed with our bare hands. The person who understood that best in my life and encouraged it was Dad - he was such a cheerleader when it came to our projects around the house. It bites that he isn't here to see it, but I can hear him clear as a bell say 'shit hot Karen' and beam that smile of his.
But less talk, more photos...
Amanda has been by helping too. She is a fan of the manual labor and like me. she likes to learn new skills. Mentally she has been super too and I get to think of AHK when I am in the walk in closet she helped finish.
Greg, not as much of a fan of the manual labor as I am, has been instrumental behind the scenes. Keeping us feed, steady supply of water, running to the store and resetting the circuit breaker for the 50th time. Plus he is good with my least favorite thing with any project - the clean up. Mom was a huge help with the prepping. She spent Friday helping me pull up the carpeting.
Round 1:
The cat's are enjoying the new floors too running around with endless energy at all hours of the night playing chase. Hopefully it was only as loud as it was because there was still some particle board exposed.
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