If You Could See What I See

Some Good News From Our Project Manager!

2012-01-29T13:00:00.000-05:00

I had read a few bloggers talking about how dark the house was the day they moved in since the light rough ins are just that - rough ins. I noticed this happened everywhere in our house we had paid for a light rough-in:

It's a light fixture! I asked my PM if they leave them for a few days or take them out before we get keys and he says they stay! Yes, it's a very basic fixture, but it holds a working light bulb and takes away the need for us to run right in the house and install light fixtures on day one, with everything else going on that day.

Just a little thing, but one which will make a big difference during all the craziness.

*Note to self: Ben would like these back when we replace them - they do not go into a landfill or take up "Just in case we need them some day for some thing" storage space in the basement.

Almost!

2012-01-27T20:50:00.003-05:00

There is not much left to do until our house is ready for action. Frankly, I feel like they should just deliver my appliances tomorrow and let me at it. But alas, Ben (our project manager) is a perfectionist and wants to touch up and retouch and light all the candles before he hands over the keys. Here is what we saw today when we went to see the house:

*In no particular order, because between my computer and blogger I don't know which one is more stubborn. It's a real pain to get things in a certain order and I'm just too doggone tired to deal with it.


Boys Bathroom: Granite: Wheat Oil Rubbed Bronze faucet

Front Door Exterior

Front Door Interior - oops! They are changing this

Kitchen Corner - excuse the dirty floors - we're animals!
Floor: Sugar Creek Maple: Cinnamon
Cabinets: Timberlake Maple Butterscotch Glaze
Hardware: Oil Rubbed Bronze/Antique Bronze
Counters: Black Pearl/Brazil Black

Granite's lookin' good!

Kitchen Sink/Window

Front Bedroom

View from living room - great dumpster!

Blurry Back Bedroom

More floor - Living room

Office - Sugar Creek Maple floors. Color: cinnamon


What's wrong with this picture? Can you see it? On a scale of 1-10 with 1 being "Who cares?" and 10 being "Oh no they di-in't" rate this problem.

Do I need to say I am so happy with the selections we made that 'happy' doesn't begin to do justice to the way I feel? They were working on our oak staircase when we were at the house. One of the guys was sanding his heart out. They are going to be glorious! I keep looking at all the pictures of the house. No matter what I'm doing I just have to stop and look at them. I told my husband today that when I move in I'll probably be sitting in the house looking at pictures of the house.

Lights, Plumbing, Stone!

2012-01-23T18:13:00.000-05:00

Okay, there was a lot of work done since Friday. It was really something to get to the house today and see the progress. The biggest deal is the exterior:

Isn't she beautiful!?

Chandelier in dining room

Entry

I love-love-love (yes, triple-love!) the oil rubbed bronze plumbing fixtures. I'm so thrilled with everything.

Lights and Vents

2012-01-22T12:11:00.001-05:00

Even though we are not moved in yet, there are a few things I already wish I had done.

1. Have recessed lighting everywhere throughout the whole house. If it's in the kitchen and basement and some closets, why did I not get it in the office, bedrooms, living room and family room? I have no good answer for this.

2. Have the dryer vent higher on the wall. It just makes sense.

3. Have the microwave fan vented outside. (I would have done this if it had been an option. I did let them know at sales meetings I didn't like it being circulated back inside - now I know some people did pay the upgrade to have it vented outside.)

4. Insist on one door instead of french doors and have another window on the wall instead.

I really can't think of much. I did spend a lot of time thinking about everything. Plus, it's our first time, so I'm sure there will be things we think of as we live in the house. We'll just have to build another one next year. Kidding... because this was a lot of time and effort. More than I would have ever thought it would be. It's worth it, though. I can't wait to live in it!

Since I Am Not Sleeping...

2012-01-21T05:35:00.000-05:00

I might as well share. I Stopped by the house and almost drove right past it:

Went inside and she was all painted:

Then I went upstairs and saw the bathroom without the cardboard:

And took another picture of the shower:

Then I headed to the basement and saw this little Devil:

The kickplate for this guy is installed under the kitchen sink, too!

I was pretty excited. I think the closer it gets to being done the more emotional I get. I nearly cried.

The roads in our (nearly finished) development were not plowed at all. I found it rather shocking! Anyone else experience this? Isn't it the responsibility of the city?

Tile & Grout Question

2012-01-17T17:52:00.001-05:00

When I started reading all the Ryan Homes bloggers I could find I read about sealing the tile & grout from someone. They might have done a video or shared a video with us. Can anyone tell me what they did to seal the grout? I know it was a miracle how simple it was to do it. Anyone? Ferris? Bueller?

Update:
I'm so good I'm going to answer my own question. I just found the post I was looking for on BD's blog. I should have known. I actually searched several posts on the blog and then found it a different way.

In All Fairness

2012-01-16T12:20:00.002-05:00

I am so happy with the progress on our home. I think this is obvious if you read the blog posts. But there are things which sometimes need to be addressed because they were not done well the first time. Here are some pictures I took yesterday:

It makes me wonder if this guy was doing this work for himself or family/friends - would he do this sort of job? I know very well about gaps between the baseboards and walls. But to me this stuff was plain bad workmanship. I know our PM will take care of it, so I'm not worried about it, just surprised anyone would be willing to do this and leave it this way. Maybe some of it is because I know how things are supposed to be done - my parents did a lot of custom trim work. I spent a few odd weekends and summer days installing lock sets and the like. But I think anyone would see the problems in this. What do you think?

Yeee Haaawwww Doggies!

2012-01-15T20:50:00.002-05:00

We had a lot of new stuff to see today!

Stairs are going to be beautiful!

Bathroom has cabinets, granite, and tile! Pretty, pretty, pretty.

I can not wait to soak in this tub.

Kitchen cabinets are perfect!

View of the back of kitchen.

Front of kitchen. Isn't she pretty?

Upstairs hall from back of hall.

Short part of hall to master & bonus room.

I know, right? This post hardly needs any words. We are delighted to see our selections in the house. I'm so ready to move in right now!

Drywall and A Hipster Llama

2012-01-07T11:33:00.000-05:00

We had to go to the neighborhood to watch the baby yesterday, and since we were there we stopped by the house. The drywall is hung and the mud & tape has been done.

Cabinets, stair railing, lock sets, doors galore, granite tops for bathrooms, and baseboards filled the garage. Literally!

Loaded Garage. Pretty Exciting stuff!

The drywall is up everywhere. Also thrilling. I love my giant kitchen/family room area:

They are keeping my oak staircase well protected.

The catwalk in the Bonus room/ extra groovy bedroom:

My sighing tub, with natural light!

And just for fun, a hipster llama:

We Have A Garage Door

2012-01-01T17:42:00.001-05:00

We stood in this garage the other day and it felt big to me. I can't wait to:

Have a garage
Have a dining room
Have more than one bathroom
Have a garbage disposal
Have a dishwasher
Have modern faucets
Have a third floor laundry
Have a jacuzzi tub
Have that snazzy central vacuum
Have a fireplace
Have ample parking
Have nice floors
Have plenty of bedrooms
Have beautiful windows
Have lots of cabinets
Have plenty of counters
Have an office for my work-at-home husband
Have central air
Have family across the street
Move in!

Pre-Drywall Meeting

2011-12-30T01:23:00.001-05:00

We had our walk through with Ben today. He is thorough. I'm not sure I'll remember half of it, but we covered a lot of information about the house today. Everything seems to be coming along really well.

There were a few exceptions, of course.

Our hot water heater is only 50 gallons. I know we were told we were getting a much larger capacity. Luis remembers the same. I'm not sure who made the switch, but our project manager had a list which didn't specify the exact capacity. Ben is going to check up on this for us.

Our central vac canister was put in a space all by itself, although I had spoken with the sales rep and the supervisor of the installer to be certain it would be in the same corner as the furnace, hot water heater, electric, and low voltage panels. Instead? They put is smack in the center of the one open area. They also did not move the cable/cat5 panels in the two large bedrooms upstairs. I had a call from our sales guy saying it was done, but they were both still in the same place. Ben is going to talk to them about these issues
We went to Lowes after meeting with Ben and bought some soundproofing insulation. We raced back, trying to beat the darkness, and put it between the studs along the one wall in our bedroom which needed it to keep us isolated from the noise of the house. (Two walls are exterior, and one is next to our bathroom.) We installed it in the dark. I was glad to get it done so the drywall crew can do their stuff tomorrow morning. Ben says the drywall process should take a total of about ten days. I hope it goes faster, like everything else has so far.

     While we were in the dark house putting the last of the insulation in the wall a Guardian guy came upstairs to move a cable box. He was smoking a cigarette! He just walked up and started talking to us. I thought he reeked, but once I got done with my work I looked at him and the thing was glowing. That's annoying, since they aren't even supposed to have food in the house. I guess if it's too dark to see the signs he thought he could go ahead and smoke in the house. I put a call in to Ben to let him know about it. If I had to choose one element of the process to give the lowest score right now, it would certainly be Guardian. We've been hung out to dry by them more than once. They are the ones causing me stress right now.

     Ben took care of a few other things for us. If I could only give 10s to one person in the process, it would be Ben. I am also glad that if there is going to be one person who is the most careful, it is our project manager.

     The basement bedroom is as bright and cheery as any of the other rooms since it has a big egress window.

     Because of the extra wall space in our kitchen (we did not want the morning room) we got extra cabinets. Nice surprise, since I was hoping to buy upper cabinets to put there later.

   We also discovered an extra recessed light at the foot of the stair. Another happy surprise, since I was wondering if I should have added a bit more lighting to the family room. I put recessed lights in every room without lights except that room. I even put them in closets and in the catwalk. How did I miss the family room? How? I have no idea!

     I took a lot of pictures, but they aren't even exciting to me. I just needed them so later I would know where stuff was behind the walls.

      By the end of the tour I was about a hundred times more excited than before. I didn't know if I was going to break my face smiling or start to cry. We will be in our new home, soon!

Anyone Know What Happened to MZ?

2011-12-21T20:25:00.002-05:00

Her blog was "Our Future With a Ravenna." I went to see it tonight and *POOF* - gone. :(

Oodles of Progress

2011-12-21T17:21:00.001-05:00

     We went to see our house today. It's such a good thing we did! We walked in to find electrical work being done. (a day early) and Guardian wiring being done. Guardian was also a day early. Unfortunately for us, our Guardian rep never got back to us about the changes we were making, so all the wiring was done except in one room in the basement. I was not a happy camper. I didn't know if I wanted to kick dirt or cry. The installer agreed to help me by changing some of the things which were 'no problem'. The main things were now the two cable outlets in the two large bedrooms. The Master and the Bonus room had the cable placements wrong. I didn't have the heart to ask the guy to change those, since he was pretty much done.

     Fast forward a couple of hours and I was getting calls from the Guardian rep and my PM about the issue. I was going to just be bothered by it and leave it at that. I was going to run tacky cable around my baseboards and door frames. Nope! They're going to make it right. I believe what my Project Manager said about making these homes as if they were for his family. Because he does care about what we want and how we want it.

     Tomorrow they are installing our central vacuum stuff. I am invited to meet them in the morning.
     We have our pre-drywall walkthrough next Thursday.

Click!

2011-12-20T13:01:00.000-05:00

We just locked in our rate and we are pretty happy about it. Of course yesterday had the all-time best offer, but because the offer did not arrive until after 2:00 and had to be acted upon by 4:15 we missed the window. Today was still a fantastic lock! I'm glad this last variable has been taken off the table.

I Wish You A Merry Christmas

2011-12-19T11:54:00.000-05:00

I'm working myself into the right frame of mind to go get my Christmas shopping finished today. I can't help but think about next Christmas in our new house. As a matter of fact I keep thinking about it so much that I am not letting myself get excited about this Christmas. I'm usually as excited as anyone about Christmas. This year has me looking to the future more than any other time in my life. Next Christmas will be so different. But not just next Christmas. Future Christmases. With a house full of family. Five kids from sixteen to twenty-six. Boyfriends, girlfriends, spouses. Grandchildren. I can't wait to watch life unfold!

Here's a picture of some babies from a long time ago, in their Christmas duds:

Merry Christmas to you, whoever you may be. I hope this Christmas is lovely, and your future Christmases are filled with the promise of great love.

Uppity-Up-Up-Update!

2011-12-16T20:29:00.001-05:00

Catwalk


Daughters' room


Fireplace

House Rules

Kids bath up

Master Bedroom


Master 2


Master Shower


Master Jetted Tub


Mikes' room

Crazy picture of view and the back of my phone. (hooray!)

Today we went in and walked all throughout the first and second floors of our house! It's just amazing how fast they do things. They had poured the footers in the basement and garage today. They'll pour those on Monday. We're just rolling right along and it's so wonderful. I'm glad the whole decisions and changes part is over. Now we just get to watch the fun stuff happen.

*Obligatory apology here for the quality of photos taken with my phone.

Shingles, Windows, And Door

2011-12-15T21:19:00.000-05:00

Welcome to our dark day. The house brightens it right up, don't you think?

Not sure why these boxes are strapped to the house. Did my house win a sweepstakes already?

This really gets more exciting every day!

Quick Call

2011-12-14T14:55:00.002-05:00

We just got a quick call from our project manager who told me our roof now has shingles. They work fast!

Today: Roof

2011-12-13T17:02:00.000-05:00

It looks like they put the roof on today. It looks like they put the windows in, too. I can't believe how fast things are coming along!

2nd Floor And A Spacesuit!

2011-12-12T17:27:00.001-05:00

The day I have dreamed about has arrived! My house is wearing a spacesuit! Just yesterday we had a first floor. Today we have a second floor and the spacegirdle is nearly complete. They sure are fast!

Framing, Day One.

2011-12-09T16:37:00.001-05:00

We heard from our PM today. He said everything is going perfectly so far. We have had our lumber delivered and they started framing this morning. We had beautiful weather yesterday, and woke up to snow-covered everything this morning. They started framing anyway. Hooray! We plan to go see the progress some time tomorrow. We will be taking pictures, of course!

*While writing this post I got a text message from Bobby - with a picture. He says they are done for the day.

Overheard This Week

2011-12-02T21:06:00.000-05:00

Me: I have fried chicken and mashed potatoes ready.

Punky Young Son: Is it for now or for dinner? (It was 4:30 pm)

Me: Yes, it's for dinner - now.

Punky Young Son: I was trying to nap.

Me: Sorry, Majesty.

Punky Young Son: I prefer Sir or Lord.

I politely declined his request. He still opted to partake of the chicken and potatoes.

What A Difference Two Days Make

2011-12-02T17:40:00.000-05:00

Today I went back over by the house to keep the baby so I stopped and took pictures before I went in. This is what I saw:

After Babywatch was over I stopped and took more pictures. While I was there I had seen them working on this:

Our lumber will be there next week. I could have a framed house next weekend! I'm excited! We're all excited!

We Have A Big Hole In The Ground!

2011-12-01T13:53:00.001-05:00

Giant mounds of dirt have never been so elating! Yesterday we stopped by our house which isn't a house yet and took pictures of this:

Isn't that some pretty dirt? The footers are poured. The components of the egress window were there as well. Gary said the lumber will arrive next week. Let's hope it's Monday. There sure aren't many trees remaining. They must have cleared a lot of trees.

After seeing our hole and having our meeting we stopped by my cousin's house to see her and the baby. Baby girl was all smiles. She's getting her personality already! No pictures of her, because I was busy holding and kissing.

5 Big Macs Vouchers, 5 Large Fry Vouchers: $13

2011-12-01T06:30:00.000-05:00

Here's a great deal for the starving college students in your life, or anyone who drives by a McDonalds. I wish I could have bought more than one of this deal. One is the limit.

Go buy it today at Living Social Big Mac Deal.

2011-11-22T21:44:00.000-05:00

Today we had our pre-construction meeting. This was a very long meeting. If you are ever going to have one, make sure you eat breakfast. And possibly take lunch. Maybe a couple light snacks. Anyway, our project manager, who I'm going to call "Ben" ('cause that is his name) went through the construction process with us. He shared all kinds of information with us. Lots of it was stuff I had never really considered. We are fully confident in his ability to create our lovely home.

From now on, we wait. I hope I can take it.

Oh Hungry

2011-11-16T12:04:00.004-05:00

I just got a chance to tell about my favorite Thanksgiving dish and a chance to win a prize over at these blogs:
Eclectic Recipes.
Real Mom Kitchen
Taste And Tell
Reluctant Entertainer
Buns In My Oven

Sweet potatoes covered in tiny marshmallows - I'm already dreaming!

Ch-Ch-Ch-Ch-Changes

2011-11-13T14:24:00.000-05:00

I thought I would share a few things here about the Ravenna we are buying from Ryan Homes.

Our sales rep worked hard to get me the oak stairs I want. The final price for those is $1350. It's worth every penny.
We changed the laundry/master closet configuration. The cost for this change is $25.
We asked for a dedicated 220v for our current electric range in Harry Potter's room in the basement. It made sense to quit crying over the double oven they will not do in the Ravenna model and just put the range I already have in the basement for an additional oven. It costs less and allows me to not heat the main floor in the summer.
We added a dedicated circuit in Harry Potter's room for the extra freezer.
We got pricing for laminate flooring upstairs in the hall and bonus room. ($1050 hall, $2185 bonus room) We then changed our mind and went to hardwood floors. Pricing for the upstairs hardwood to follow.
We asked for a dimmer switch and it was explained to us that they can't put a dimmer switch in with the energy saving bulbs. No problem.
We asked for the storage room in the basement to be finished. It came back at $4150, but the wall/door was missing and it was all one big room. We sent it back to them for pricing adding the wall and door. They came back at $4550. This includes the recessed lighting and carpet and padding choices we made. We also needed to add an egress window in the room because we plan to use it as a guest suite. The egress window is $1290. The room came without a closet, so we are asking for a closet as well. I'm expecting it to be around $400 -$500 since the one in the bonus room is $400. We shall see what happens.
We requested an extra 'lane' in our drive to the side of the house. They added an 8 foot apron. The cost of this is $1265.
We added a recessed light in the big hall closet upstairs, and another one in the nook of the bonus room.
We added an outlet in the garage, the master closet, and above the cabinets on the tiny side wall. I asked for the one above the cabinets to be on a switch. I plan on throwing some rope lights up on top where nobody will see them, but we can enjoy the glow in the middle of the night. It will also be fun for Christmas decorations!
We are doing something special with our landscaping as well. We haven't turned it in to them yet, but one of our wonderful sales reps is helping us get what we really want!

We might be changing our granite. We will find out about more about this Monday or Tuesday.

I just spoke to Gary, who says our lot is staked now! It's exciting because it means something is starting to happen!

Many Meetings, Cont.

2011-11-10T20:43:00.001-05:00

     We have had a ton of meetings in the last few weeks. It feels like the house meetings and preparations for these meetings are taking a lot more of our time and attention than we had expected. We went to Rite Rug again and choose hardwood flooring. We met with Guardian again and finalized with them. We added the central vac and surround sound in the basement and family room. We also got a couple of speakers outside. (Now I think there needs to be an option to sound proof the Master bedroom so I can have some peace while everyone is making noise!) Who's with me?

   We did not have our walk through with the project manager yet, since we were changing flooring. Because we are doing hardwood upstairs as well, we have to get non standard pricing for zone 2. (Zone 2 really just means upstairs) There is another meeting with the sales reps where we finalize everything, which they say they want to do this weekend. I guess we'll be doing the walk through with the project manager later this week. Maybe. Who knows?

   We're waiting to hear about closet upgrades. Our sales reps have never had anyone ask about it before. There are quite a few things we are doing which nobody else has even asked to do before. I'm either very strange or very clever! Or a bit of both.

Stairway To Heaven

2011-11-02T18:38:00.001-04:00

Our wonderful sales rep strikes again! I swear, if you live in the area you definitely want me to hook you up with Gary. He has gone above and beyond trying to get me the house of my dreams. Are you old enough to remember "Hold the pickles, hold the lettuce, special orders don't upset us..." from Burger King? Gary is like House King. He has tried to get me all the non standard options I have wished for. He's had pretty good success at it, too. The stairs are one of the most important non standard requests I've had.

At first the powers that be came back with a 'no' on the stairs. But Gary didn't take that lying down, bless his heart. He went to the project manager, shared the blog I showed him, and got the wheels in motion so I could have the stairs of my dreams. After all the machinations, I got a 'yes' on the stairs, And a price. $1,350, baby! I am all the way happy about my stairs, which I will be dressing up in all sorts of ways. Like Sara's Halloween stairs or the stairs of wisdom or some amazing book stairs. Tomorrow we meet with Guardian and have another meeting with Julie. Next week we have our pre-construction walk through with our project manager, Ben. Bayberry Estates, here we come! Hooray!

Colors Appointment Today

2011-10-29T21:53:00.001-04:00

Our colors appointment was today. Boy did we go over a lot of stuff! I'll start with the feedback we received to our non standard requests.

We asked for a full stone front: No
We asked for a double oven and gas cooktop: No
We asked for a drawer stack in the kitchen instead of one of the cabinets: No
We asked for the storage room in the basement to be finished as well: Yes - $4,150

We are still waiting for some information on our stairs and upstairs flooring.

I learned that putting the cabinets I love in the upstairs hall bath automatically puts them in the basement bath. Hooray! I love that I was able to do oil rubbed bronze cabinet hardware, interior hardware, and plumbing fixtures. The brushed nickel will not be residing in my house! The proposed start date is November 23rd. It can not come soon enough for me.

Julie was phenomenal! She's very meticulous which brought me peace of mind. She's a great compliment to Gary. We spent a few hours today making sure everything was exactly the way it should be. While we have a few things to finalize, we're mostly done and I am relieved the decision making part is coming to an end. It's been fun, but also quite stressful.

Thursday we meet with Guardian and finalize our stuff with Julie. After that we have our pre-construction meeting with our project manager, Ben. We have heard amazing things about Ben. I am glad he will be the one looking over the construction of our house.

I'm really praying my stairs come through the way I want. *fingers crossed*

This Just In...

2011-10-26T22:20:00.001-04:00

I just noticed that many of the entries on my blogs fall under the category "Weird true story."

That is all.

Monday Update: Colors & More

2011-10-24T21:55:00.000-04:00

Today we went to meet with Gary and make decisions about colors that we can't make on Saturday during our real colors appointment. (It's a long story) We did a bunch of change orders and it took the whole two hours with Gary. Then, at five o'clock the loan officer arrived and we had our meeting with him. It wasn't as bad as a lot of people said it would be. It lasted a long time, though. By the time we were done we were drained.

The loan officer told us our close date: February 6th! Somehow hearing that made me twice as happy as I already was. We have only a couple of things left to do then it's the waiting. I'm officially excited. I don't know how I'm going to wait until close. How does everyone do it? Thankfully, the holidays will be here so they will make time pass faster, right?

All The News That's Fit To Tell

2011-10-22T19:21:00.002-04:00

Plenty of storage in the kitchen

Since I was in the neighborhood today I stopped by the model home and talked to Gary. Bless his heart, he puts up with crazy real well. I spent a considerable amount of time doing non-standard requests with him again today. He's coming around to my way of thinking because he even suggested one himself today. Yay Gary!

I have answers back on a couple of my non-standard requests:

* I asked them to change the wall of the master closet/laundry room to give me more closet space. Answer: Yes Cost: $25

* I asked them to do a different island for me. I didn't like either island offered with the Ravenna model. Answer: Yes Cost: $2000

Harry Potter's Room

I have a list of other non-standard requests submitted:

* Double oven and gas cooktop - pending

One storage room in basement finished - pending (this was Gary's idea!)

* Seat in the master shower - pending re: cost

Extra outlets in the garage and master closet - pending

* Swap one kitchen cabinet for set of drawers - pending

* Take the stone the rest of the way up the garage for a total stone front - pending

* Wood stairs instead of rough with carpet cover - pending prices

* Laminate floors upstairs instead of carpet - pending prices

* According to the local sales reps these things have never been requested for this model before

I'm sort of waiting for someone, anyone, to tell me I'm not being absurd with the non-standard requests. It's just that I really prefer these things.

Flooring Is Not Boring

2011-10-21T19:16:00.000-04:00

Welcome to today's edition of "House News." I'll be your host, as usual. Today we met with Jessica the floor girl and we choose all our flooring and tile for the house. It takes a lot longer than I would have thought because there are so many options. I went there knowing what I was going to do, but nearly every decision I had already made was changed before we were finished. The one thing I know you are all wondering about ( I mean, really, how did you get any sleep?) is the cabinet choice. We settled it today. We are definitely taking the Rushmore cabinets with the maple buttercream glaze. It looks amazing with the floors we chose (which we upgraded while we were at the appointment. It looks amazing with the granite we chose, which we also changed during the appointment. Frankly, pretty much nothing stayed the same as we said it would be going in except the plain old linoleum we kept in the basement bathroom and the laundry room.

My kitchen is going to be gorgeous! I'm excited about all the choices we made today. We even decided some things today for the colors meeting we will be having soon. We decide hardware, exterior, paint and counter tops at that meeting, as far as I know. Now that the decisions are almost done I'm feeling more excited and less overwhelmed. Thank goodness for Jessica, she helped us a lot.

If anyone else built a Ravenna would you share what non-standard items you requested and how the requests were handled. I don't want to miss out on clever ideas just because I didn't think of them myself.

I Went Back To The Model Home!

2011-10-20T15:23:00.002-04:00

I went back tot he model home to take more pictures today. All of the pictures I named disappeared from the folder. I can not find them anywhere. This is the model of the Ravenna. We have made some different choices.

Here are a few of the things about it I love:

(Super Happy Kitten) Kitchen

We might end up with the cabinets above. Here are the other cabinets I really, really love:


(Super Happy Kitten) Cabinets:Rushmore Maple Butterscotch

What do you think? Am I being totally spoiled about the cabinets? I know I can live happily without them, but it doesn't stop me from super loving them.

Super Sexy Master Bath (I am saying 'super' a lot today, right?)

I might really love the Rushmore Maple Butterscotch cabinets in here, too. Totally reasonable, right?


Master shower & toilet

I have a big old crush on the Master Bath.

Ravenna Floor Plans and House News

2011-10-20T07:35:00.001-04:00

We have an appointment to choose our floors tomorrow afternoon. Things are moving right along! Our house is called the Ravenna.

The floor plans for the house are here:


First Floor

Second Floor


Basement

I talked to my flooring girl yesterday and she said the upstairs is always done in carpet. She doesn't even have the option for hardwood on the stairs or the second floor. It looks like we will be asking for another "non-standard request." I think Gary is going to start calling us the non-standard request people.

Meanwhile, I am still scouring the internet trying to find a blogger who actually took the Rushmore cabinets I want and see what they think about them.

This Is My Happy News!

2011-10-19T18:49:00.000-04:00

Oh boy, I have news to share! We are building a house! It's going to look a lot like the one in the photo. We spent the last two days with our sales representative, going over all the options and putting in our special requests. We still have to choose the flooring and colors and do a few other things, but the structural things are all decided. We are going through Ryan Homes and getting the Ravenna model. I'm so excited that I feel numb. I wonder if anyone else experienced this feeling?

I am very seriously considering a different cabinet color called Rushmore Maple Glaze Butterscotch. They seem to be real wood vs. veneers and oh-so-pretty.

We got to make so many decisions in the past two days that we can hardly see straight. We realize there are still many more choices to make. I got the bathroom of my dreams with a jetted tub, double sinks, a separate shower with a built in bench and a closed off area for the toilet which I will refer to as the toilet closet until I think of an acceptable name for it. I am probably the most excited about the master bath and the kitchen. I plan to spend most of my awake time in those two rooms.

Here are the basics, for anyone who is interested:

5 bedrooms, 2 full baths, and laundry room upstairs.
Living room, dining room, family room, kitchen with dinette, office, mud room/area and powder room downstairs.
Finished basement with two large unfinished storage areas and a full bath.
Two car garage.

I feel like this is perfect for us for now and when the kids are out and start families of their own it will have space for grandchildren to stay. When those grandchildren get too big to sleep over maybe we'll move to a house with less bedrooms and a giant living/dining area. We'll see. That's a decade or two down the line for us.

This is my happy news!

Eating Your Way Through Hilton Head Island

2011-08-28T23:50:00.002-04:00

When on vacation, everyone who is anyone (related to me) knows eating is the most important part. Can I get an 'amen'?

Here are a few of my personal Hilton Head Island eating recommendations:

DO NOT MISS:

1.Charlies L'etoile Verte. (translation: Charlie's Green Star) No idea why they only gave themselves a green star. Clearly they were being modest because we give them a gold star and four enthusiastic thumbs up! We went for lunch on Wednesday and tried to go for lunch again on Friday, but they were closed. This broke our hearts. No, really, it did. The lunch menu was quite impressive. Even more impressive was the food when it was delivered to our table. Amazing. The freshest of the fresh. They do not ignore a single detail at Charlie's.

Sweet tea was right on the money, they brought fresh lovely bread to the table, the mixed greens with a champagne vinagrette was fresh and lovely, the duck was perfect and the fish was yummy. The sides were prepared with so much love and attention to quality that I cleaned my plate. Garden fresh peas and carrots - this from a girl who understands 'garden fresh'.

Top this off with a price you will not believe. We could have paid at least this much for lunch at any casual dining chain.

2. British Open Pub. I had the fish & chips because, duh! My husband had the shrimp & chips. We were both over the moon in ecstasy. The beer batter they make puffs up in grand style and the eats are delicious. Everything coming out of the kitchen looked great. The pictures on their site do not do them justice.

3. Bluffton Family Seafood. I know you have to go to Bluffton to eat here, but you want to do that anyway. Especially on Thursdays when they have the farmer's market. This place has only been open a few months, but they've been running the seafood factory for, like, ever. They know what they are doing. Let them fry you up a basket of your favorites. It will make you happy, I promise. It's small and nothing fancy, but it's worth the trip. Check out the big table in the bar, it's interesting.

4. Catch 22. This place is pretty much a Hilton Head Island staple. The food was amazing. My husband ordered ribs and I swear they were from a brontosauras! I have never seen ribs like them in my life. I only wish I had thought to take a picture, because really, there is no way to describe how big they were. They really should put a photo of them on their website. They were not only huge, but tender and delicious. We had a memorable meal. I'm sure we will be returning to Catch 22.

Hudson's: Another Hilton Head Island staple. Much more friendly than Old Oyster Factory, with better food. Anyone else I know who has been to both agrees.

Fuddruckers: Because every vacation should include one big honkin' burger just the way you want it.

Do not go:

Old Oyster Factory: Probably the most disappointing meal I've had on the island, ever. The wait was about two hours, even though lots of tables were never used. The food was blah at best, bad if we're being honest, and the cost for the ordeal was ridiculous. If you must go, don' t miss the mascarpone souffle. It could quite possibly save your night. I recommend taking it with you and eating it from the comfort of your hotel bed.

The Smokehouse: Maybe my least favorite place on the island. All around disappointing. The service had no love, it was beyond freezing cold inside, and the food took a long time, even though the place was practically empty. Adding insult to injury, I've had better barbecue pretty much anywhere else I've ever had barbecue besides the McRib. Maybe a place for the 'go get wasted' crowd. Definitely not a place for a good meal.

Michael Anthony's: No, no, no, no, no! Don't say I didn't warn you. If you go, it's your own darn fault! I had a tiny serving of the most bland gnocchis the world has ever seen, a disappointing Caesar salad, and an over-hyped dessert which left much to be desired. Skip it. No, really - you'll be better off at the Carrabba's chain restaurant, not that I'm jazzed about endorsing them. To top off the lousy skimpy meal, we had two separate tables full of local women who were their to drown their sorrows and talk about everybody they didn't like. They were there when we arrived and still at it two hours later. Take my word for it, this is not the experience they want you to think it will be.

Please share your experiences, good and bad, while eating your way around the island.

HIlton Oceanfront Resort: Hilton Head Island, SC

2011-08-28T22:38:00.001-04:00

As usual, I used Priceline to bid on a resort on Hilton Head Island. This time my bid got me The Hilton Oceanfront resort. It's in the same plantation as the Marriott Resort & Spa. They are practically right next door. The Hilton Oceanfront is different than the other resorts we've stayed at on the island. Here's my view:

The lobby is smaller than the other resorts. The lobby (among other places) is a free wi-fi area. The front desk staff is much more friendly than the Crowne Plaza but not as friendly as the Marriott. The Concierge, Will, is great. The bellmen are all great. You never have to go through this lobby to go to the pools or other outdoor areas, which is a plus to me.

The room is pretty nice. It has a table with a couple of chairs, a larger than usual fridge for a hotel room, microwave, a few plates, mugs, bowls, and silverware. The bathroom is a bit awkward with door configurations rendering the outer area unusable since it's a tight pass-through to the actual bathroom, but it's nice to have two sinks and counters. In our King bed room there was also a desk with chair, two more chairs, plus a sofa bed. Adding up all the chairs in the room and you have 6 plus a three seat sofa. There was a good sized balcony with two chairs and a table inside, upping the possible seating to 11. No real complaints about the room at all. It has an iron & board, hair dryer, and safe. Two robes are provided as well. Coffee maker with decent coffee. The freezer section of the fridge doesn't keep things frozen. We learned this the hard way with Blue Bell ice cream turned to liquid.

My biggest complaint of the whole stay would be the housekeeper we had. One day of our stay we had a different lady because it was the regular housekeeper's day off. The regular housekeeper returned and the service she provided was just junky. The replacement should replace her permanently. She did the whole thing with love. The regular lady didn't clean a lot of stuff - sinks, floors, counters - all dirty when she was done. Replacement housekeeper had made everything perfect, left the towels all fancy-folded and put toiletries on the tray in an organized way. Regular housekeeper literally tossed the stuff on the tray all willy-nilly, left the same dirt on the floor our whole stay, left the same thing in the sink, threw out toiletries which were still half full, and in general had a nasty attitude when we saw her. She even kept leaving only decaf, even though my husband only drinks regular. I would have to go out in the halls and find other maids and trade after she did our room every day but one.

Room service is totally lackluster. We are usually big room service piggies, but this place left much to be desired, even for us. If my husband says a chicken sandwich was too greasy to eat, it had to be bad.

The layout of this resort kind of wins me over. It's not as high-falutin' as Crowne Plaza or Marriott, but you go down the hall and go outside and you are at the pool. You are almost at the beach. If you want to go to the beach from your room in the Crowne Plaza you have to go through the lobby and walk through a maze of gorgeous to get out to it. I enjoyed the simplicity of being dressed for the beach and being practically there when we got outside. The balconies all allow for an ocean view. Ours was nearly the furthest from the ocean, so it wasn't a perfect view, but you could see it. It beats the views we've had at Crowne Plaza and Marriott. (I don't mention the Westin much because we only stayed there once for a couple of nights and I wasn't impressed. Sorry Westin lovers.)

The fancy restaurant on site was also disappointing to me. Not much on the menu and I felt like it was trying to hard to be 'fancy' and not trying hard enough to be delicious. The desserts were sad looking, so we passed. It just seemed like there was no love.

The pool setup at Hilton Oceanfront Resort was pretty nice. Two pools, one for adults only, which was far away from the family pool. The water was like a lukewarm bath, which was good for me. There are also two jacuzzi tubs, although they were a maze-walk away from the pools. The bartender at the pool area bar was unfriendly to the extreme, but reviews online all seem to agree about him, so I guess it's not very shocking. We kept our encounters with him to two.

There is a little cafe/store downstairs which offers many types of drinks, a bunch of candy, some desserts, and things like microwave popcorn. The cafe serves you at little tables. Burgers and pizza, etc. We used the store part, but not the cafe.

If you go through Priceline you can't use Hilton Honors at this property, which is the only oceanfront resort on the island with this policy. That said, internet is $9.99 a day per device unless you sit in the lobby or other free wi-fi areas. Parking was $9.00 or $10.00 a day with valet parking being an extra $3 per day. Valet parking doesn't seem as necessary in this resort as the others because it seems like parking is readily available, but don't take my word for it because we used the valet.

You can't go wrong with any oceanfront resort at Hilton Head Island as far as I can tell. They each have their strengths and weaknesses.

Go on and visit. Tell them I sent you!

Ten Things I Love Right Now

2011-07-24T13:21:00.001-04:00

1. Library books with the crinkly cover.

2. Snuggles with the dog.

3. Amazing lightening shows in big storms.

4. Hearing all about someone's vacation as soon as they get home.

5. Frying my own corn tortillas. Nothing tastes better.

6. Family dinners.

7. "Fairy Dust" nail polish. (It's from China Glaze)

8. Homemade ice cream.

9. Looking at something you transformed with paint and loving it more each time.

10. Hope.

*the bonus old photo has nothing to do with the content of this post at all. It's my aunt, a cousin, and my mom a long time ago. It made me smile this morning.

Take A Look At This Tree

2011-07-04T16:16:00.000-04:00

I was noting the beauty of the day.

Now I notice the tree:

From Smithville, Ohio. Spring 2011.

Overheard This Week

2011-07-03T16:53:00.003-04:00

By my newly graduated son: "Mom, I already know everything."

*Well, it looks like my work here is done!

Take a Deep Breath

2011-06-20T09:55:00.002-04:00

Name one thing most people take for granted: Breathing.

Isn't it simple? I mean, we aren't all breathing manually, are we? There's a girl named Shelly and she can't take breathing for granted. I saw her Saturday, sitting on the steps, putting all her effort into obtaining oxygen.

So I am asking you a favor. And it's so simple. Make a donation, any donation, even a dollar, but more is great. Give something to help Shelly breathe easy. I promise you, she will not take it for granted. If you've never had a very sick child, give some out of gratitude for your good fortune. If you have had a sick child, give some because you know how it feels.

When you go to the Shelly's Page at the National Foundation for Transplants you can even use your credit card to give online.

We would also accept gift and gift card donations to use at the next fundraising event for raffle or auction prizes.

Please share this on facebook/twitter/your blog/anywhere.

Please put Shelly on your prayer list at church.

Overheard This Week:

2011-06-09T18:38:00.002-04:00

While at the mall, shopping for a dress to wear to graduation, Allison brings me a dress I find hideous.

Me: No.

Allison: Why not?

Me: I don't like it.

Allison: It's good!

Me: No.

Allison: Grunts then asks: What's wrong with it?

Me: It looks like I lost at paintball in it.

Allison: You don't even know what paintball is!

Great Giveaway for Northeast Ohio from Chevy!

2011-06-01T13:14:00.008-04:00

Have you ever wanted to win a trip? This is your chance!

All you have to do is enter the Chevy video contest and you could win a trip for two to Miami Beach, Florida. It's this simple:

Upload a 30 second video of you showing off your favorite Chevy! It can be yours, a friend’s, or a brand new one at your local Chevy dealer. Keep it creative, enthusiastic and fun!

Here is what you'll win:

Airline tickets
three nights / four days hotel accommodations for the winner and one guest at the downtown Marriott, Wyndham, Hilton, or Hyatt in South Miami Beach, Florida,
A $200 debit card.

Full official rules

You must be an Ohio resident, at least 18 years of age to enter. Contest ends June 8, 2011 at 5:00 PM

30 seconds! It does not have to be your Chevy! Go Win!

Ways We Change - Scanning

2011-05-06T22:09:00.001-04:00

     Sometimes things happen and they change us forever. Not in ways we wished to be changed or tried to change. In ways we never expected. Ever since Victoria had her accident I change when I hear the guys ripping into the fire station. I know that when they roar in the situation is really bad. Tonight after the storm I heard them roaring in. They kept coming. I did the thing I do now. I turned on the scanner. And I began to listen. I am still listening right now.

     I learned the site of the accident, which happens to be right near the house of my son's girlfriend. Multiple vehicles. Three life flights. I don't even know how many ambulances. I listened to command, pilots, and whoever else was on the radio. I heard them send people out to several different nearby hospitals. I just heard another ambulance arrive at a hospital. This is the change in me.

     The first accident I listened to like this was a couple of months after Victoria's accident. I listened to everything going on for an accident not too far from the high school. I heard when they said they were going to go to the high school and get the principal. I heard them order two life flights and then cancel one. The kids lost two more classmates that day.

   I'm a changed person. Now I worry over all the calls they go on from the fire station. I pray for them all. I guess at this point in my life it may not be such a good idea to live right next to the fire station, huh?

     Right at this very moment some of the rescue vehicles are coming back in to the station. God bless 'em.

In Flux

2011-04-12T14:12:00.000-04:00

You know how sometimes you just want to freeze time? Yeah? I'd like to freeze time for a while right now. But I can't. So I'm about to see my baby go off to New York City for a choir trip tomorrow. And soon I will see him graduate. And possibly go off to work away from home for the summer, along with at least one of his siblings. The house may turn in to a very quiet place. It Sucks/Rocks. It sucks because they are wonderful to have around the house. Around me. It rocks because life is going forward for them in good ways. In the kinds of ways I want for them. But dang, I raised people who I really appreciate and enjoy. I will miss them while they are off in their own worlds full of new experiences.

Giving them roots is easy. Giving them wings is so doggone hard. And ~~sort of~~ highly overrated.

April 3 in 30, Week 2

2011-04-09T10:43:00.001-04:00

Last week I announced my April goals. I'd been sorely slacking when I was going to get this room turned around in the past. This time, it will happen!

For April I want to accomplish these things:

1. Get all the junk out of the spare room.

2. Get the right stuff from the basement into the newly appointed 'guest room.'

3. Get the furniture stored in the old van into the basement.

I have to say: So far, so good. We really cleared out that spare room. There are still some things to be painted and moved out of the room. Other than that, it's good! Of course, things are never as simple as it seems. While the room is mostly empty I think it would be a good time to clean the carpets. This always happens to me. A task which sounds easy turns into a long list of things.

Things are moving along at a good rate. I give the first week of April two thumbs up!

Making The Cut

2011-04-06T16:17:00.002-04:00

I looked around today for a source for Cricut Vinyl and found a place which sells a lot of great stuff. I like the prices, too! They also carry Silhouette Vinyl in their store.

They sell it in the sizes of your machine, so if you want to buy a 12"x6" piece you can - for only 99 cents! But if you want a lot of a certain color (10 yards!) you can buy it super cheap by the roll! This makes each 6"x12" sheet just under 40 cents!

I can't help being excited about this since it costs more to get it at the craft store and the colors available at my craft store were white and black. Expressions Vinyl has nearly 40 colors! If you own any kind of cutting machine you owe it to yourself to go check out their site.

They also have Printable Vinyl. I know! I can hardly believe it myself. I did not know you could print on vinyl. You smarty-pants types could figure out how to print on it AND cut it, I just know. Then someone can teach me. Pretty please?

*I was not compensated for this post. Mostly, this is just information provided by me to be helpful to you. I did sign up to be an affiliate with them so if people go through my links I can earn $50 when the total of orders reaches $1,000. When that happens I'll likely use it to buy more vinyl!

April 3 in 30 - Week One

2011-04-04T09:10:00.002-04:00

Here it is, a hurried little post. I want to get it before the linky closes.

For April I want to accomplish these things:

1. Get all the junk out of the spare room.

2. Get the right stuff from the basement into the new 'guest room.'

3. Get the furniture stored in the old van into the basement.

This will allow me to be much more organized. It will also allow me to have things the way I think they should be. It will also allow me to get rid of the old van, which at this point merely takes up space in the driveway.

Sounds simple, doesn't it? Now if only I can get it done!

You can join the 3 in 30 group any old time you'd like. Just click the 3 in 30 button on the sidebar.

P.S. Would you take just a moment to click on the Chevy banner on the side and 'like' them on facebook? They are donating to Harvest For Hunger for each like they get.

Around Amish Country In A Day

2011-03-26T12:35:00.000-04:00

      Yesterday we made a trip to visit the Amish. Or rather, buy from people who sell in Amish territory. We like to pretend we think we are buying something from actual Amish people, which certainly did not happen yesterday. We came home with a lot of cheeses, bulk foods, and bloating. All in all, a great trip.

     Our first stop was The Oak Cupboard. It's one of the shops at The Barn Restaurant in Smithville, Ohio. I go there for one thing. Ginger snaps. They haunt my dreams. I've never had any other ginger snap I liked as much. I need these to be happy. Because you think I'm fancy, I bet you think they are some amazing freshly made delicacy, but no. They are little hard rounds like you can buy at the grocery store. But they are way, way, better. I would send you some, but I can't because I am going to eat them all. Sorry!

     Our second stop was The Country Pantry. They have better prices than some of the other places, so it's always my first stop for bulk foods. They don't have a website, so here's some information: The Country Pantry, 8861 CR 201 Fredericksburg, OH 44627. (330)695-4102. They are open Mon-Sat 8-6.

     We were getting hungry after all that procrastinating, driving, and shopping, so we drove to The Chalet In The Valley for some lunch. This is one of our favorite places. You must partake of the golden nuggets. Just do it. You can thank me later. They just opened for the season on March 15th, and this year they have nice pretzel bread they bring to the table. I had to bring home a half dozen, and I wish I had brought more! Look at this crazy dessert they have called the Matterhorn:

I just find this mesmerizing.

We left the Chalet (with my hot pretzel bread in my coat, because it was freezing outside) and walked across the street to Guggisberg Cheese Factory. It's pretty cool to watch them make the cheese through the big windows in the store. I still had my bread in my coat, and they thought I was stealing cheese. I really need a bread bjorn to carry around my goods. Anyone sell those? We got a nice lady to take our picture.

Excuse our outfits, it was casual Friday.

We drove around a while, stopped at a post office, walked through a hardware store, and had a rip-roarin' good time! I love driving around with my husband. We should do it more often.

Our next planned stop was the Ashery Country Store. They have a lot more variety and they really know how to pack it all into a small space.

I realize some of you poor fellas don't live near me, bless your hearts. Go to Discover Bulk Foods to find a place near you. I just used it and found one ten minutes from my house.

We stopped somewhere else. Sadly, I paid no attention to the name so we'll never find it again. They had homemade ice cream. We ate some and brought some home. We're such dorks. We should have written down the name because the ice cream was phenomenal.

We finally got home, around 4:30 pm. We napped. Shopping and eating and driving is very tiring.

Dictionary Dresser

2011-03-14T13:09:00.016-04:00

I got this dresser last Spring when I stopped at a yard sale. The lady had it shoved in her garage with a lot of stuff on top of it and I asked about it when she let me take a look around. There were rabbits hopping around in there, and lots of very interesting old stuff. All of it was treated pretty much like trash, but I loved the shape of this one. I brought it home and dry brushed it, mod podged some beachy looking paper on top of it, and put it in my bathroom. When it was in there my mother convinced me to use blue paint on it. I did it and I hated it. Then I decided I didn't want to leave it in there, so I used Mod Podge and an old dictionary to re-do the top and put it in our bedroom.

A few days ago I decided to change it up and paint the whole thing. I was going to paint the hardware as well, but once I saw it against the creamy paint I loved it. It's not perfect by any means, but it is perfect for me.

Have you done anything you love lately?

P.S. While I was at it I painted the birdcage, too. Much better!

I shared this at:

Birdseed Hurricanes

2011-03-14T12:01:00.007-04:00

I made this last fall with an assortment of dollar tree items. I had filled them with whole coffee beans, but as Winter wore on I got ready for something a little more light and Spring-like. So I poured the coffee beans into a gallon Ziploc and added birdseed. What do you think?

*please forgive the terrible photo quality, it was taken with my phone.

I linked up this post to I Heart Naptime
Tatertots and Jello

I shared this at:

Why I Wont Give My Husband A Ride To The Airport Again

2011-03-10T18:32:00.000-05:00

Every time I give my husband a ride to the airport and come home alone the little dog gets kind of miffed with me. He wont hear me when I explain that it is not my fault. I feel so guilty when he looks around me to the porch and realizes I've done it again. I've taken away his precious daddy. Daddy is the spoiler. He gives copious amounts of treats while I, on the other hand, just ask him if he wants a chicken steak. It's like having little kids all over again. Mommy = drag. Daddy = Rockin'!

Okay, so I'll still give him a ride. But somehow I need to figure out how to get the doggie to blame the mailman.

Chevy Ohio Daily Giveaways $25 Starbucks Gift Card

2011-03-07T18:48:00.002-05:00

They'll be here all week, folks! Chevy Ohio is giving away a $25 Starbucks gift card every day this week.

**Update: $25 Starbucks card is Monday & Tuesday. Something new on Weds. Stay tuned.

All you have to do is go 'like' them on facebook and leave a comment on their page to enter.

Just click that big old Chevy Girls button over there ---->

Good luck!

**********Congratulations to Michele H. for winning one last week!**********

The Melting Pot Gives You The Cheesey 411! Free Fondue For Two!

2011-03-04T14:02:00.002-05:00

Okay my little cheese loving piglets, here's the day we were all waiting for, but we didn't even know it. Cheese fondue for FREE from THE place to go for Cheese Fondue - The Melting Pot. You don't even have to buy anything else, that's how free it is!

As you know, we ate at The Melting Pot just last weekend. It was so good, I am ready to go again. I could eat there once or twice a week.

Call today and make your reservation, you know you want it!

Chevy Giveaway Roll Call: Ohio, Houston, DFW, Oklahoma, Philly

2011-03-02T13:33:00.001-05:00

If you're from Ohio I have great news for you! Every day this week Chevy Ohio is giving away a $50 American Express gift card. It's simple to win:

Click on the Chevy facebook banner over there in the sidebar. ----->
Click the like button
Leave a comment.

Leave a comment daily to be entered daily. Next week there will still be daily prizes, but you'll have to wait until next week to know what they are.

If you aren't from Ohio, there's still hope. Here are the other Chevy spots giving away loot this week:

Good luck!

And Then We Ate At The Melting Pot

2011-02-28T14:24:00.005-05:00

After the Cleveland Auto Show we really needed lunch. We checked out the restaurant week lunch menus and then I remembered I had a $50 gift certificate I won from Melting Pot Cleveland on their facebook page. And I actually had it with me! We were so excited we shot right over to Westgate Mall. Before going in I told my husband to stop me from eating the salad. Even though it's the best Caesar salad I've ever had in my life. It didn't work. We shared a salad and brought the other one home with us.

First we had the traditional Swiss cheese fondue. I didn't take pictures because we were so hungry we attacked it. The cheese course had already been removed from the table before I even realized I had not taken pictures. But to redeem myself, here's a picture of the world's best Caesar salad:

World's best Caesar Salad - with pine nuts!

I will not bore you with all the details, but the meat course was splendid. They gave me the best mushrooms with my filet. I could have just had those mushrooms and left happy. I still ate a lot of other stuff. My husband had the steak/shrimp/chicken combo. I think they call this the land & sea. They bring out red potatoes, broccoli, mushrooms, two breading dips, and four sauces. The dipping sauces are out of this world! Three out of four of them were my favorite. Because when I am at The Melting Pot I am eight years old. I wanted to exclaim "This is the best day of my WHOLE life!"

Meat Course, of course!


Dessert Menu - because we dove into dessert and this was all I had left to photograph.

We took the milk chocolate dessert fondue, like we always do. It's fantastic, why change? I asked them to pass on the marshmallows and cheesecake and give us extra pound cake. Did you know you can substitute pretty much anything during any course at The Melting Pot?

The people who took care of us were very friendly and attentive. The hostess even noticed and refilled drinks twice. We have been to this location before and we had excellent service that time, also.

Now, can I get you guys to enter into a letter writing campaign with me so we can convince them to open one closer to my house? I can see going in a couple of times a week for different courses.

The Cleveland Auto Show. Pretty Neat!

2011-02-28T09:16:00.003-05:00

Wow! What a paint job! I think Chevy wants me to drive this.

I would promise to be courteous and let people out in traffic.

Honest. (I crack me up!)

Those generals look serious.

Aren't you impressed?

The end. Or not.

Sealed with a Kiss.

I just love this part.

Think 'tank'.

Last, and certainly least: A picture of me with the gorgeous corvette.

Also, while we're talking about the auto show, Check out the big Chevy facebook button on the top of the sidebar. If you are from Northeast Ohio there is a new giveaway every day for you. Just click that button, go to their facebook page and leave a comment every day. Each day is a new prize and a new chance to win!

The prizes this week are $50 gift certificates to Tower City Center. Go get 'em!

*Thanks to Northeast Ohio Chevy dealers for giving the Chevy Girls VIP tickets to the auto show.

Oh, Just Giving Kids a Ride to School

2011-02-28T08:53:00.001-05:00

I knew the roads were bad this morning. I heard the emergency services scanner. There are people stuck in cars in water. There are cars collided with trees. There is debris ranging from gravel washed out of driveways to rushing water with big chunks of ice in it to limbs and branches from trees. All of it in the road, making driving dangerous today. The water is rising, streams are cresting, some have already overflown. Lots of schools are on a two hour delay, but of course ours was not. So I made a drive to the high school today. There were a lot of dramatic scenes. The worst of it I wasn't able to photograph because I had to drive carefully through it and get away from it. By tonight we'll be seeing snow again. Lovely.

Decision Making Made Easy

2011-02-22T08:10:00.001-05:00

Pros & Cons list, weighing the options, sleeping on it, and asking the eight ball are all things of the past, people. There is a new way to make decisions now. Brought to you by Marla at Butts & Ashes. All you need is a piece of paper. And some live chickens. Maybe rain and deranged dog help, but I'm not sure. Little kids are a plus.

Friday Follow Up: 3 in 30

2011-02-18T18:31:00.000-05:00

I feel like February is taunting me. Not cool, February, not cool at all. Today is the first day I have felt human in I don't know how long. I actually showered AND got dressed! I went shopping and to lunch with my daughter and it was lovely. I 'should have' been doing different shopping but I can't want to care. (Yes, I said it that way on purpose.)

3rd Friday of each month: "Encouraging words"
Let us know what quote, Scripture, or encouraging words got you through this week?

How did this past week go? What did you get accomplished? What did you not get accomplished? What do you still have yet to accomplish before the end of the month?

I think the encouraging words which got me through this week were "What doesn't kill us makes us stronger." Because when I came through the other side of sickness and weakness I would be stronger and ready to accomplish things.

The week was mostly a waste, but there is progress. I have done well on the stop eating when I'm no longer hungry thing, except for Valentine's Day. I didn't go crazy, but I did eat more than I would have if I it had not been Valentine's Day. I have continued on the kitchen beautification project and made further progress. I still need to get those cabinets painted and the doors hung. I still need to come up with the solution in the kitchen. I thought I came up with it three days ago but yesterday I realized it was just a fever-induced stupor talking, and my brilliant idea was rather dull.

Clever Household Tip Tuesday

2011-02-15T19:12:00.000-05:00

Hello and welcome to my first ever installment of Clever Household Tips from Tammi.

Today's tip: Hide a bunch of chocolate bought at the after-Valentine's sale in a suitcase and lock it up.

Believe me when I tell you: Nobody ever looks in there.

You're welcome!

My Review of International WafflePro Taste / Texture Select Classic Belgian

2011-02-14T12:31:00.004-05:00

Originally submitted at CSN Stores

With a new modern design and a unique "floating" top-plate, the M840 is our most advanced waffle maker yet. In as little as 90 seconds, you'll be preparing the worlds most delicious waffles, effortlessly. The unique Quad baking system lets you select the ideal flavor, textu...

So glad I chose this one!

By tammigirl from Sharon Center, OH on 2/14/2011

I have never had a waffle iron before and after reading reviews all over the internet I finally chose this one. I am glad I did! The timer, lights, and beeper work just like they should. The adjustable dial works just right, as well.

I have to agree with one commenter who said it is not a real belgian waffle. If you want a thick one like you get at a make-it-yourself hotel buffet this isn't the one. For a belgian waffle, it's thin. But it is still delicious, and perfectly cooked.

I find it easy to clean. The only way it could possibly be easier to clean is if you could remove the plates. Honestly, though, just a wipe with a paper towel will take off anything.

It's also quick and quite solid to store upright on its side without tipping.

Cord storage is tedious, however, even for someone like me who usually enjoys little things like that. I've been refusing to twist it up in the storage area because I'm frankly afraid of what it will do to the cord and possibly render it useless before its time.

I would definitely recommend this waffle iron to a friend.

(legalese)

See also: Potato waffles: Taking the awful out of waffle.

3 in 30 Friday Update: Check-up

2011-02-11T16:19:00.004-05:00

I feel like I haven't done enough this month, but today is Friday so it's check-up day. I did some rearranging in the kitchen. It's great, but it's not a lot. I pretty much took one area of counter space and de-crapified it so I could put the Tassimo and the t-disc holders all in one mostly-out-of-the-way place. I took out the giant dish drainer I have always had in that spot and got a tiny one to put in one side of the sink. With lots of people living here and no dishwasher it seemed practical to have the oversized one, but it took a third of my total counter space. No bueno. I have found myself washing dishes many times throughout the day since I made the change in order to keep up with things. If I can get in this habit and keep it this time it could work out well. Usually my laziness wins because it's my most honed skill. We shall see. So far = progress.

I have been doing even better than I thought I would at the 'stop eating when I am no longer hungry" thing. Except that night we went to a Japanese steakhouse. All bets are off it you take me to an expensive, or even moderately priced restaurant.

The final goal is the kitchen project. I haven't moved on it at all this week. I still have half of the month and I have a few laborers who claim they are willing to paint, so we'll see. Someone is still promising to come and take the giant desk in the way in the room where I need to paint. So In my head, I've been kind of blaming her for my lack of progress on that front. It sounds better than "I can't want to." Right?

I've been making lots of waffles, doing lots of dishes, drinking lots of hot chocolate, and I gave the dog a bath. I'm practically superwoman, even if I haven't painted the cabinets yet.

I keep forgetting to buy the pretty index cards and stuff to make Sam's box. When I got home from the store the other day and realized I forgot I was feeling skunky about it. Sam? I think you need to make kits and sell them on ebay and/or etsy. Just sayin'.

Life Gets Even Better When You Discover Groupon

2011-02-10T09:06:00.002-05:00

Please forgive me the potentially lame play on words in the title. I've seen Groupon around internet town. I thought it was pretty cool to get great deals on stuff. I like deals. If I'm being honest, I love deals! So imagine my squeals of delight the other day when I was at my Discover card account online and saw that I can get a big honkin' 20% cash back on Groupon buys. Helloooooo!

What kind of deals have I bought through Groupon? Today I bought a $10 Cold Stone Creamery gift certificate for $5. That's the Groupon deal. If you sign up with Groupon they will mail you the daily deals. You sign up specific to your city but you can click on the city and change it and buy whatever you want. (Which is pretty cool, if you ask me.) Last week I bought a half price family pass to the Akron Zoo and got back around $7 through Discover cashback bonus. I also got a $20 gift certificate to Barnes & Noble for $10 and $2 back through Discover.

Right now you can also get $40 for FTD florists for $20. If you go though Discover - you get another $4. There are often massage deals and other luxury type deals. Today when I changed my city to Akron/Canton I see a fantastic deal for $200 worth of frames and lenses at Novus Clinic for $40! (If you use Discover and go through their site you would get $8 cash back, making $200 of glasses cost $32! That's a great deal by any standards.

Check your city on Groupon. Check other cities nearby. Check cities far away, because some things can be used online or other places. If you have a Discover card go to your account online and shop through their website for an additional 20% in cash back. I love the Discover cash back program. I pay my AT&T bill and cable bill and any other bill I can with my Discover card. I just funnel the cash from our checking account to the card instead of directly to AT&T, Time Warner, and the utility company. Ditto groceries and gasoline. The cash back rewards build up fast and I cash them out for Discover gift cards for no fee.

Now go on, get your Groupon!

* I was not compensated for this post. I am just sharing a good deal. I will get credit for referring you if you click on my Groupon links in this post.

30 Days Of Truth - Day 30

2011-02-08T08:19:00.001-05:00

     Today the list says I should write a letter to myself. But I don't feel like it. If I did it today it would be a mess, anyway. So I'm not doing it.

     Yesterday morning I was going through the list of blog buttons at Funnel Full of Soup and when I saw one I hadn't been to in a long time, I clicked. When I got to her blog there was an odd post where giveaways belong. After a minute it started to sink in. She died. There were lots of comments, so I started reading. She committed suicide. I read comments - some even written by her own mother and niece and just sort of felt stunned.

     Then I turned on the television. A house in Hinckley had exploded and blasted clear off the foundation. It was a big fireball. The elderly couple who lived there were inside. Their dog was found later, a little bloody but okay. The people were not so lucky. Turns out she had been a teacher at the middle school until she retired. From all accounts a well-loved couple, the Martins are now dead in yet another tragedy for our community.

     We had a family upheaval at dinner last night, too. Everyone was upset. Everyone. Things are okay, because we make the effort to work on issues together, but having kids who are 18-24 can be pretty difficult some days. Each one is so different, so much their own person with their own strengths and their own problems. I still have days where I hardly feel equipped to deal with myself, let alone anyone else. Does anyone else ever feel like that? Like these people look to me to be way more than I am?

     Because all I am is a person with all my own foibles and more experience than they have. A person so stunted it can not be measured. A person who loves them so deeply there aren't words to describe it. A person who wants it all to be perfect for them so they can be perfect so their lives can be perfect and they can be happy. Is this too much to ask?

     And these are good kids by any standards. I can't imagine what it would be like if they were not. God, in his wisdom, sent me children who have been able to teach me so much, without it being too much.

   I'm still learning.

30 Days Of Truth - Day 29: Something I hope to change about myself. And why.

2011-02-07T00:07:00.000-05:00

I have to stop myself all the time from being flip with my answers to these questions. So I guess I hope to be more sincere and less flippant. I use humor when I am even the least bit uncomfortable, which is most of the time. Also, I want to stop swearing. Not on my blog, but at home.

30 Days Of Truth, Day 28: What If I Was Pregnant? What Would I Do?

2011-02-06T16:08:00.000-05:00

I guess I would have a baby! This question was a little too easy to answer. A baby is not in our plans and it is highly improbable.

30 Days Of Truth, Day 27: The Best Thing Going For Me Right Now

2011-02-05T00:07:00.004-05:00

     The best thing going for me right now is my family. To feel safe and happy in my own home is not something I take lightly, or take for granted. I know what a gift it is and I am aware a lot of people are not this fortunate. I made an excellent decision when I married my husband. He is someone I respect, admire, and enjoy. He's taught me a lot. (understatement) I can enjoy my children even more because of him. Now I am not claiming he is perfect. He leaves library books all over and coffee mugs on the table as much as (or more than) the next guy. He has his faults. But I just don't care. They aren't important. Because he will always be there for me.

     He will hold me when I cry every day for months over the loss of Victoria. He will find the little knots in my shoulders and take them away, he will celebrate my every little victory. He will get up on stage, at the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame and sing "Every Little Thing She Does Is Magic" even though he can't sing any better than me. He will set off fireworks for me over the ocean. He will support me when I say I want ridiculous license plates. He will get me the little dog I fell in love with at the mall. He will fall in love with the little dog, too. He will have the difficult talks with the children with me. He will take the moral high ground. I can count on him. He can count on me.

     I could go on forever. I sort of did, I know. No apologies. I've only stopped because I need orange juice. And to kiss him.

3 in 30 Weekly Update

2011-02-04T14:18:00.001-05:00

Look out February, here we come! My goals this month are:

1. Complete Kitchen Cabinet project.

2. Brainstorm about the kitchen with the goal of a do-over to make it better. My kitchen is very small and my family is large so we need to use space wisely.

3. Commit to the behavior modification of "Stop eating when I am no longer hungry" so I can feel better about myself and regain self control.

So far I'm going strong on number three. I've been thinking about the kitchen and searching for ideas. I'm still trying to get caught up on other things which fell behind while I was down sick. After I'm caught up we can make the push to get the kitchen completed. Hooray!

30 Days Of Truth, Day 26: Have I Ever Thought About Giving Up On Life?

2011-02-04T00:07:00.001-05:00

Yes, I have. There have been times when I didn't know how to make things okay and couldn't imagine at the time how or why I would want to continue to live through them. I don't feel like some rarity because of this. I think it is probably more common than not. I've never planned on ending my life. To me that's something different. But I've felt the despair which leads up to it for some people.

30 Days Of Truth, Day 25: The Reason I Believe I'm Still Alive Today.

2011-02-03T00:07:00.000-05:00

There does have to be a reason, right? I'm not sure. There are a lot of answers I could give that would seem like a good answer. But each of them omits a lot. So I'm going to go with the most truthful answer I think I have:

I haven't fulfilled my purpose yet, whatever it may be.

30 Days Of Truth, Day 24: Make a Playlist to Someone.

2011-02-02T00:07:00.004-05:00

I've sort of already done this for someone. He knows who he is. Because he's heard it a thousand times. Of Course it has to start with: It's Not Unusual by Tom Jones.

Kiss - Tom Jones
Kiss Me - Sixpence, None The Richer
Love Shack - B 52's
Kiss The Rain - Billie Meyers
Kiss The Girl - Disney, Little Mermaid
A Kiss To Build A Dream On - Louie Armstrong
Kiss You All Over - Exile
Dance Me To The End of Love - Leonard Cohen
Night And Day - (?) - whoever does it on the Red Hot & Blue tribute to Cole Porter cd.
Perfect Love - Trisha Yearwood
Shut Up and Kiss Me - Mary Chapin Carpenter
So In Love - K.D. Lang
This Kiss - Faith Hill
A Thousand Kissed Deep - Leonard Cohen
Underneath Your Clothes - Shakira
Walking On Sunshine - Katrina and the Waves
What I Like About You - Romantics
You Are My Sunshine - many, many,many (like you'd know I'm crazy) artists

Now, I did have an actual playlist, put in a certain order. But that is on the prehistoric "I can't believe it's only three inches thick and only weighs eight pounds!" iPod from when people didn't know what they were. Which I am too lazy to go upstairs and get out of the top desk drawer. Yeah, I know. It's dedication people.

3 in 30 February Goals

2011-02-01T15:29:00.000-05:00

It's time to decide my February goals. I feel less than motivated to do it since I really did not complete any of the goals I started out with in January. But I did things I would not have done otherwise, so it's not a total loss. I will start February with these three goals:

1. Complete Kitchen Cabinet project.

2. Brainstorm about the kitchen with the goal of a do-over to make it better. My kitchen is very small and my family is large so we need to use space wisely.

3. Commit to the behavior modification of "Stop eating when I am no longer hungry" so I can feel better about myself and regain self control.

30 Days of Truth, Day 23: Something I Wish I Had Done.

2011-02-01T00:07:00.003-05:00

Oh boy! Just one? I wish I had listened to that little voice. It's always right. Always.

30 Days Of Truth, Day 22: Something I wish I had not done.

2011-01-31T08:37:00.001-05:00

I wish I had not learned to overeat. I used to go to a restaurant and share an entree with someone. I would be satisfied. Then I learned to eat an appetizer, salad, entree and dessert. Sometimes we share dessert, but if I'm being honest I'd rather share dinner and have my own dessert. I wish I had not learned to eat like this. It's too much and it's made me overweight.

30 Days Of Truth, Day 21: My Best Friend Is In A Car Accident And We Got Into A Fight An Hour Before. What Do I Do?

2011-01-30T00:07:00.002-05:00

For starters, I do not fight with my friends. But if for some reason I had a fight with my friend it would not matter. I would go to her, of course.

Food Pyramid

2011-01-29T22:26:00.001-05:00

Allison got a blog! I borrowed this food pyramid from her. (No idea where she got it)

30 Days Of Truth, Day 20: My Views On Drugs And Alcohol

2011-01-29T00:07:00.006-05:00

Drugs and alcohol have ruined lots of lives. Some people can use either and not lose it. Other people can't. At all. The only way you find out is by trying. Why gamble with your happiness?

Wouldn't You Love To Live Here?

2011-01-28T12:28:00.000-05:00

Yeah, me too.

30 in 30, Closing Comments - January

2011-01-28T10:26:00.003-05:00

January is at an end (as far as 3 in 30 goes) and I'm here to weigh in again.

Week 1 I was feeling like I had set reasonable and reachable goals.

Week 2 I was feeling ten feet tall, despite straying from my original plans. I still thought I would complete my new project and conquer the original three goals as well.

Week 3 did not go at all as planned because I was sick the whole week.

That brings us to week 4. Maybe I should call it weak four. Because it was weak. I did a few things I couldn't do during a lot of weeks two and three because I had been so sick. Like wash dishes and clean the living room and grocery shop and run errands. But my goals? What were they? The thing I am most proud of this month wasn't even on my original list. I have stopped eating when I am no longer hungry. This was a big deal for me. I still struggle with it. The other night we went to dinner and a movie and I had to leave half of my delicious dinner on the plate. My mouth was telling me to eat it all, but I left it. Because honestly, I was feeling full.

Goals: 1: move to wii fit or xbox kinect? Not one time all month. Not one single time. I could have done better. Being honest, I just didn't care enough to do it on the days I felt well enough to do it. 2: purge of the house? I did it when I was working, but I just wasn't working enough. 3: get the spare room made into a cozy guest room? There are still cabinet doors in there waiting to be painted.

I am not writing January off as a failure. It was more of a learning experience. On one hand, I didn't meet a single goal. On the other hand, I met a new goal and worked on things I would not have otherwise done. Success doesn't always look the way we thought it would, and I am okay with that.

My February goals are not set in stone yet, because honestly, I haven't thought about them. Should I do the January goals again or new ones? I have to think about it some more, and decide what I really want from all of this.

I am so glad I am getting to know some of you and I am grateful for what you have shared with me and also for your encouragement. Life is like a box of chocolates... I am not disappointed this month - I got you!

*** side note: A bunch of the 3 in 30 participants have captchas or word verification enabled for comments. And many of those don't show up right away, but after you've submitted for the first time. These can be reset so the captcha shows the first time. You could be losing comments from people who click 'comment' and leave. They never see the captcha. I think I've failed to leave a lot of comments in my day when I thought I had. Also, you can totally remove this option. I recommend removing it since blogger now has a spam filter anyway. It would make it so much nicer for the people who do read and comment. Maybe only put it back in place if you find it becomes necessary? I don't have it and I'm just fine.

30 Days Of Truth, Day 19: What I Think Of Religion Or Politics

2011-01-28T00:07:00.014-05:00

     I think if you want to use your religion as a basis to judge people, you should start with yourself. Once you are perfect, move on to others who sit in your pew at church. Then, if you ever get beyond yourself with your judgment remember to hate the sin and not the sinner. (And by the way, if you get beyond yourself with your judgment, you are wrong. You are not finished with yourself.)

     I think politics, like religion, started with good intentions but power corrupts.

     Be nice. Do what you feel is right.

30 Days Of Truth, Day 18: My Views On Gay Marriage

2011-01-27T00:07:00.003-05:00

My views are this: It's not up to me to decide who someone else loves. Sometimes I wish it was. Lots of people choose partners and they are horrible to each other. That, however, has nothing to do with gay marriage. I really do not like all the reasons people decide they can use to judge each other and be awful to each other.

Let's fight against mean people, bad people, violent people. Let's do that. And let's stay out of each other people's bedrooms. That's how I feel.

30 Days of Truth, Day 17: A Book I Read That Changed My Views On Something

2011-01-26T00:07:00.011-05:00

The Invitation, by Oriah Mountain Dreamer. It was just a right time/right place kind of thing.

30 Days of Truth - Day 16: Someone or Something You Could Live Without

2011-01-25T00:07:00.000-05:00

I could live without asparagus. There. I said it. I don't like it. It smells bad. And when people eat it? I can smell it. You are what you eat and I do not want to be asparagus. No. Thank you.

30 Days of Truth - Day 15 - Something or Someone You Couldn’t Live Without, Because You’ve Tried

2011-01-24T00:07:00.004-05:00

     There is nobody I have tried to live without in order to establish I can not live without them. That eliminates people from this answer.

     I have tried living without Downy dryer sheets. It was not fun. I went to great lengths to obtain them. I pretty much haven't tried to live without anything I think is vital to my living, so this is another question which just isn't easy for me to answer.

     I could not live my life without corrective lenses. I could still be alive, but not really live the life I do now. But again, I haven't tried to go without them. Not unless you count the five minutes I was without them yesterday while Gretchen was fixing hem for me.

30 Days Of Truth - Day 14: Surprises

2011-01-23T09:58:00.003-05:00

Day 14. The prompt for today tells me to write a letter to a hero who has let me down. For the 2nd day in a row I have to say this just isn't me. I don't have that letter inside me. So, I'll share something real and personal again. I'm going to make it about: Something I thought was life-shattering which turned out to be terrific.

     The first thing I can think of which had me scared to death, off track, and just plain old terrified is becoming pregnant with my second child when my first child was a mere year old. I wanted more children, yes. But in my head I had it all planned out, you see. Four children. As a child entered kindergarten I would get pregnant with the next. This way each child would have quality time with mommy, you see. And life said? BWAHAHAHAA!

   This was not the way it was supposed to go. I was devastated. I've ruined both their lives! I've ruin my life! I've ruined everything. I have single-handedly thrown the earth off it's axis. (yeah, that was me - sorry) Now nothing good would ever happen to any of us. Then Allison was born, she was fine, Crystal was fine, I was fine.

     As time passed I realized - everything is better than fine. It's kind of nice when they play together. Crystal doesn't need every second of my time when she has a sister. Oh my gosh I went and made my kid a friend! Who woulda thunk it? Certainly not me just a year earlier. Now they are in college and it makes me so happy when I see them go off to shopping together, or go out with friends together. I love it when they take time to enjoy each other. Even seeing them watching something together in the living room makes my heart squeak.

Also? World Crisis? Diverted.

Vivid Dream

2011-01-21T10:44:00.002-05:00

Back story: I've been sick for two weeks. Yesterday Zack was starting to get 'the cough'. I dropped him off at school with DayQuil, just in case. Yesterday his friend Clay came over after school. They played Yu-Gi-Oh and ate fried tacos. He seemed okay later, too, when he was watching television. This morning, however, he did not get up for school. (I ought to let you know he's a senior in high school - not an 8 year old boy. He gets up on his own)

So a few minutes ago I went upstairs to check on him. Poor thing must feel awful. Here is how it went:

Me: Zacky, you okay?

Zack: Yeah. (sort of deflated, but with that twinkle in his eye)

Me: Well, why didn't you go to school this morning?

Zach: I had a vivid dream that it was a snow day. So I went back to sleep. Then Katie texted me and was all "Where ARE you?" and I was d'oh!

I just stood there, slackjawed...

I was not going to be one of those mothers. You know, the ones whose sons charm them with nonsense and they just think it's so cute/adorable/funny/wonderful.

Sigh

30 Days of Truth - Day 13: Taken For Granted, U.S.

2011-01-21T00:07:00.006-05:00

So the prompt for today on the 30 Days of Truth challenge is: A band or artist that has gotten you through some tough ass days. (write a letter.) Sorry, there's nothing about this which would tell my truth. There is no band or artist who has reached out to me and pulled me through tough 'ass days'. While I'm sure some who know me may disagree, I don't even think I have 'ass days'. So I'm just going to tell some other truth, some real truth.

When I lived in Venezuela I learned about a lot of things I take for granted here in the United States. Here is a partial list. (No matter how long it is, it is only a partial list - you'd have to live it to understand)

Downy dryer sheets. Yes, these are #1. It's weird what things you miss.
Free parking, available parking. Above ground. Safe. Free.
ATMs in English. In dollars. Easy to understand.
Our roads. Wide. Open. Very wide. Well maintained. Safe.
Our neighborhoods. Yards not covered in fences topped with barbed wire.
Not needing an armed guard at home.
Ability to enter sweepstakes. - because yes, I'm lucky!
Grocery stores with so many great options, it's overwhelming - seriously, we have it so good.
The Public Library. Oh how I missed you.
Target, the mall, Sams Club - Makro, Graffiti, and the malls there just were not cutting it. As much as I hate shopping, I love the ability to shop easily.
The United States Postal Service. You are beautiful and I love you very, very much.
Reliable electricity which doesn't go out all the time.
For my sons I have to add: Taco Bell. I think they missed it the most.

Week 3 of 3 in 30:

2011-01-20T20:46:00.002-05:00

Okay. So this week was a total wash. I'm still sick. I have stopped eating when I was no longer hungry. I realized that is something I really needed to do. Since when did my taste buds become the boss of me? Probably somewhere around 2001, if I have to be honest. Well gee old lady, that was about ten years ago! (no, I am not calling you an old lady, I'm talking to myself.) You can probably guess what ten years of eating beyond hunger has done to my body. Instead of doing something radical like weight watchers points and exercise I have decided to stop eating when I am no longer hungry.

My goals for this month are:

To do a purge of the house. -not so much. But I have thrown out a lot of trash and some pizza boxes we were harboring.

To get the spare room in order. - Uh, I bought a gallon of paint and put it in the spare room. Which is actually a step towards this goal since I have to paint the cabinet doors I put in there last week in order to get moving on working on the room again. So in a way, putting another gallon of paint in there was a step towards the goal. In a wacky sort of way.

To start moving with the Wii Fit or the XBox Kinect. -absolutely not, but I have coughed a lot, and am sore from that. I hope to get my strength back and quit coughing so I can rip up the rest of the goals for the month. It can still be done,

Week three was sort of "The week that wasn't" for me. I hope yours was much, much better.

30 Days of Truth, Day 12: Something You Never Get Compliments On

2011-01-20T00:07:00.004-05:00

This one reminds me of my friend Jean, who once lamented in my comments on this post that nobody ever compliments her on her drinking these days. Nobody compliments me on mine, either.

30 Days Of Truth, Day 11: Something People Seem To Compliment You On The Most

2011-01-19T00:07:00.002-05:00

     I get the most compliments on my children. How beautiful, sweet, smart, funny, helpful, kind, considerate, etc. they are. When they were small people would approach us and say how well behaved they were.

   I also get a lot of compliments about my mom and how nice she is.

     Then there's my husband. Oh boy! The ladies all think he's so wonderful!

     I got lucky in the family department!

30 Days Of Truth, Day 10: Someone you need to let go, or wish you didn’t know

2011-01-18T00:07:00.000-05:00

I honestly do not have someone in my life who I need to let go. I also think it would be terribly rude of me to note the name of someone I wish I didn't know. It is not as if it is anyone I see more than a time or two a year. No big deal. They just make people uncomfortable. Oh well, that's life. Besides, you never know when someone you thought you didn't like will show you their wonderful side. Then you'll love them.

30 Days Of Truth, Day 9: Someone You Didn’t Want To Let Go, But Just Drifted

2011-01-17T00:07:00.003-05:00

Sadly, I have an answer for this. My friend Andrea. We were super close and I think we shared everything with each other. We were both young and had all kinds of upset and turmoil in our lives. We complained to each other and helped each other, mostly with emotional support. Day in and day out, we were there for each other for years. Sadly, it's been a long time since I've heard from her. I do not know how to reach her. Andrea Reading, with father named (grouchy) Chuck, two beautiful (grown!) children, and 'babe' hair? If you read this, get in touch with me! I love you!

30 Days Of Truth, Day 8: Someone Who Made Your Life Hell, Or Treated You Terribly

2011-01-16T00:07:00.000-05:00

It's not that I don't want to play along, really I do. But I'm going to sort of skim over this one because I feel these things are in the past and not worth time today. My father made my life hell, my first husband treated me terribly. The first thirty years of my life were pretty much rotten. I'm so glad to be done with them.

Hooray for Today!

30 Days Of Truth, Day 7: Someone who Has Made Your Life Worth Living

2011-01-15T00:07:00.002-05:00

     In the past I've shared about my grandparents. They have certainly helped make my life worth living.

     Then there are my children. They make my life so rich and full and have taught me more than I ever realized there was to learn. Just when I knew it all, I went and had kids. My first baby was colicky and difficult, but I didn't know it. I just held her and loved her and enjoyed every single second. My second baby was her own person. When she was a couple of days old she decided to stop breathing. It took the medics a long time to convince her to keep doing it. She always wanted to be put in her bed to go to sleep. Such a change from the first baby who had to be touched 100% of the time. My third baby was the most smiling, sweet sweet baby I have ever seen. Even the ladies in the church nursery couldn't get over how smiley he was all the time. My fourth baby was always fighting or entertaining. He definitely wanted his way all the time, and would insist upon it. When he did not get his way he would throw a little tantrum, then just go with the flow. All so different. Each one so amazing.

    My husband. I could write a book, really. My life before I met him is such a thing of the past if I talk about it I feel as if I am talking about someone else's life. Not mine. It's weird to try to explain, but it is how it is. I've learned a lot from him. I may not be the best student, or the best at putting things into practice, but I've noticed. I have. I get it. I know when we are in a crowd a lot of women wish they were in my position. Men, take note. My husband can teach you how to be a good husband.

Week 2 of 3 in 30: Win Some, Lose Some

2011-01-14T07:51:00.002-05:00

Friday already? Wow. This was one of those weeks which lasted forever and flew by at the same time. Please tell me I'm not the only one who sometimes feels this way. Ahem. My January goals, as mentioned here and here are:

To do a purge of the house.

To get the spare room in order.

To start moving with the Wii Fit or the XBox Kinect.

Let's see, shall we? I did a purge of the kitchen. I started by taking everything out of the cabinets.I have boxes of stuff purged. About half of it was stuff belonging to my mother which ended up in my kitchen. I also threw away a lot of stuff. We do not need the quart container the sweet and sour sauce comes in, no matter how sturdy it may be. Ridiculous, really. I've started a "Containers without partners" group and oddly enough also a "Seals without containers" group. They will meet elsewhere, because they sure as shootin' aren't staying here.

Oddly enough, by the time I was half way through the kitchen purge I found myself singing. (That's not the odd part) I was singing Closing Time, and not the Leonard Cohen version, the Matchbox 20 version.

Closing time, open all the doors
And let you out into the world...
Closing time, you don't have to go home,
But you can't stay here

   By the end of the day I was singing the whole thing, with lyrics changed to suit the actual items being tossed. I've done this sort of thing since I was a child. Anyway... when I was done serenading my warped 6 qt pot and multiple ice trays (seriously? How does this happen?) and giant box of mismatched flatware we removed the cabinet doors. My son scrubbed those down while I scrubbed down everything we couldn't remove.

     Sadly, the cabinet doors are still sitting in the spare room. Remember it? The one I was going to stop using like this? Yeah, well. Don't judge me too harshly. Where else am I going to paint all those cabinet doors when there's a foot of snow outside? I do not feel bad at all about this deviation from my original plan. There is stuff getting done. That is what is truly important to me. The doors would be painted and replaced by now, but the day of the kitchen purge and reset I got sick. As of last night I am fever free. Maybe today I will have enough energy to head out to Home Depot and get the paint I want.

     A couple of things did actually get taken from the spare room and put in their rightful places elsewhere, so there's a wee bit of progress.

     As far as moving and shaking it to the Wii or Xbox? What? You can't here me snickering? That's a big fat "nuh-uh". But I did shovel about 8 metric tons of snow and do all of that kitchen work, which must count for something, right? Ferris? Bueller?

At the end of week 2 I feel success slowly creeping up on me.

I am feeling ten feet tall. How's it going for you?

30 Days Of Truth, Day 6: Something You Hope You Never Have To Do.

2011-01-14T00:07:00.000-05:00

The thing I hope I never have to do is grieve the loss of another young person. Once is enough. Amen.