Passing A Few Minutes

I am waiting for my lasagna noodles to cook and figure there is no better way to pass a couple minutes than blogging! I got the garden planted today (finally!). I put in my lettuce, peas, and radishes. In a few weeks, I'll be able to add the rest. Today, when I walked out back, the snow fountain cherry was in full bloom. I didn't get to see it last year in bloom, since we didn't move in until late spring.



It's quite nice. I wonder how long the blooms will stick around for. Probably not more than a week, but maybe by then, something else will be in bloom! Well, I've got 1 minute and 53 seconds left on the timer. Better go check those noodles.

The Chopper Doodle Do

I had my hair appointment yesterday. I used to go to (and I use that term very loosely, seeing as I visit a salon maybe 2 times a year at most) this girl in Weston. I just walked in one day, and happened to get her, and she was really good, so I've made it a point to go to her ever since. Well, last fall, she changed salons. Her new salon is in a new development, in a pretty expensive part of town. Jesse knew that I really liked this girl, but wasn't too sure about the new salon, as I knew it was going to be a bit more costly. After hearing me whine and complain one day that I couldn't afford a hair cut, he (very thoughtfully) bought me a gift card to this new salon. That was actually way back in December. Anyway, I finally decided it was time to redeem the card. So my mom and I walk in (she took me shopping yesterday and spoiled both Jesse and I - thanks mom!!) - we walk in, and sit down. Shortly after, someone comes over and asks if we'd like any wine, coffee, etc. It was that moment that I knew I was out of my normal social class. Anyway, then my hair girl comes out and walks me over to this "consultation bar", and offers me some pastries while we talk about what I want for my hair. Then I go back and get my hair washed. She puts on conditioner and then wraps my head in a heated towel, and begins to give me a hand massage as the conditioner is soaking in. So that goes on for a bit, then I got to the chair, and as I'm getting the cut, 2 other people check on me just to make sure that I had been offered some wine or beer. All in all, it was the longest hair appointment I have ever been to, and also the nicest one. And actually, considering the luxury treatment, wasn't even that much more expensive than other salons. Anyway, so that was my big enjoyable splurge yesterday. As you can see, I decided to go for the bangs. I am still figuring out how to style this and what to do with bangs. I really like the back, but I am still figuring out how to do the front.

The Final Kitchen Update

As you may have gathered, by the "how to install a floor" post, the kitchen is finally completed. It's not a terribly drastic change from the before, but it's just enough to update it and make it look a little less bleck.

I Don't Know if I Could Ever Be a Stay-At-Home Parent

Today, Abe has been driving me INSANE. He caught a glimpse of the mailman across the street, which set off a crazy barking spree, which set off a power battle between the two of us which has gone on for the last thirty minutes. Somewhere in the middle of it all, feeling tired and exhausted and frustrated at this furry thing that I love so dearly, it struck me - stay at home parents have to deal with stuff like this every day. Except of course, instead of a 100 some pound hairy beast barking, it's a 40lb adorable child disobeying or crying incessantly because you walked up the green stairs at the park instead of the coveted orange stairs (whoa, babysitting flashback). And after this power struggle, you know you still need to do some grocery shopping, and catch up your checkbook, and get some cleaning done, but you are so fried over this little incident, that you just don't want to do anything but take a long hot bath. Anyway, the responsibility is obviously much greater for the stay-at-home parent, and I'm not trying to say that taking care of a dog can be even comparable to caring for a child, who you can't grab by the collar, snap your fingers at, and push down on their bum while yelling "I said SIT" without getting charged for child abuse. (Sigh...Cesar Milan would be so disappointed in me this morning.) Anyway, all I'm saying is that I don't know how any parent (male or female) keeps their sanity while dealing with various power struggles all day long over the simplest of things, such as a mail delivery or which set of steps at the park you walk up, and then still manages to run a house successfully. So, today I salute all you stay at home parents!!!! You are amazing!! And now it's time for me to resume my power struggle, as I can hear Abe barking non-stop outside and it's giving me a headache inside.

How to Install A Kitchen Floor

Step One - Try to think of any project that would help you avoid cleaning the house.
Step Two - Decide installing kitchen floors counts.
Step Three - Begin removing wood reducer between dining area and kitchen.
Step Four - Realize using a screwdriver to pry is only cracking the reducer.
Step Five - Rummage through husband's tool chest and decide a chisel is the closest thing to a pry bar that you own.
Step Six - Remove dog's butt from reducer.
Step Seven - Grunt while trying to pry up reducer and cheer loudly when it finally plucks up and makes you fall onto your bum.
Step Eight - Stare at fridge, wondering where you can move it to that will allow it to stay plugged in.
Step Nine - Grab an extension cord to use to plug in the fridge.
Step Ten - Realize you are stupid for using an extension cord on a large appliance.
Step Eleven - Unplug extension cord and move fridge into new spot.
Step Twelve - Vacuum and sweep floor.
Step Thirteen - Grab mop bucket and realize it still has dirt in it from when you were using it to pull weeds. Decide kitchen sink will do.
Step Fourteen - Begin mopping floor. Move oven to mop under it. Regret that you were so messy when installing a new back splash and begin picking up chunks of grout and mastic.
Step Fifteen - Wait for the floor to dry and wonder what the heck you were thinking in beginning this project alone. Wish your dogs knew how to administer Swedish massage.
Step Sixteen - Realize you forgot to remove baseboard trim. Refrain from cursing when you break it in the middle.
Step Seventeen - Mop floor again after dogs have walked across it with muddy paws.
Step Eighteen - Begin with first tile. Realize you put it on slightly crooked and desperately try to straighten it despite the strong adhesive.
Step Nineteen - Continue until you need to score. Dig through garage looking for utility knife. Give up and decide kitchen shears will do just as well.
Step Twenty - Bend your fingernail back as you are trying to break a tile where you scored. Pause and cringe face.
Step Twenty One - Reach behind you to grab a new tile and realize the dog is standing on your pile. Kick dogs outside.
Step Twenty Two - Finish laying tiles and nail trim back in.
Step Twenty Three - Grunt loudly lifting the edge of the fridge back onto the slight incline you've created with the tiles.
Step Twenty Four - Sit in the corner admiring your hard work.
Step Twenty Five - Realize the house still needs to be cleaned.

Color!

I feel tired and already sore from pushing the 400 pound cart and should be winding down for bed, but now that we have everything picked out for the bathroom, there is just one problem - I still haven't picked out the paint colors! As such, I'm flipping through my booklet and am thinking about going with "autumnal" on the walls, and "terra brun" for the vanity. (It's ugly 80's oak stain right now.) Autumnal is the 3rd one up from the bottom on the orange swatch, and terra brun is bottom on the browns. We bought a mirror with a pewter edging, and the faucets and such are silver. I don't want it to be too cold in there with all the silvers and the white tub and such, so that is one reason I'm leaning toward the orange and brown. The terra brun might have too much purple in it though....maybe a new brown is in order. I don't know. Maybe I should take my swatch book to work in the morning and analyze it there.

Life Lately

Jesse is now on his new work schedule, which means we no longer have any days off together. I am slightly worried about how we will deal with the shift. One of my bigger concerns is scheduling with N. I won't spell out the boring details of each of our daily schedules, but I will say that there are now only two very tight windows in which we could see N each week. The next few months will be a lot of trial and error with time and priorities. Starting Monday, Jesse is an official student, which means an adjustment for him in balancing work and school, along with the adjustment for us in balancing time together, and figuring out when to see N. It's odd really, because we aren't terribly busy involved in a million activities or anything like that. It's just that we run on a very weird schedule, which makes lining up with the rest of the world a bit challenging. Oh well, we will survive! Besides that, if Jesse decides to pursue his degree (which I am already pretty convinced he will), then he will probably go back to part time at work and would be able to get a better schedule that route.

Anyway, over in the "house projects" area, we are making slow progress. The tax refund check arrived yesterday (and I jumped up and down). I think we will go shopping at Lowe's on Tuesday or Wednesday evening. We have a "10% off entire purchase" coupon, so we have this huge list of everything we will need for all the projects, hopefully down to every last detail if we've done our planning right (which I'm sure we haven't). The plan is to finish the kitchen floors, then do the backyard, then the bathroom.


I spent last weekend digging. We are hoping to make the corner of the backyard a cozy little spot for the swing that we bought on our anniversary. We want to put in some pea gravel and then plant some ornamental grasses along the fence to gain some privacy. So far, I have only managed to dig up the perimeter of the area. I also spent some time digging out the raised bed. I have yet to get my seeds planted...ho hum. Definitely this week. (I hope.)

Jesse surprised me a few days ago with a weed hound that I have been wanting. This thing is a total back saver and it does get somewhat addicting. It cuts weeding time easily in half, and I can actually get those weeds that I couldn't pull up by hand. It is my recommended luxury product of the week.


We also bought yet more seeds for the garden. Abe inspected each packet, and gave them the thumbs up.


Horton has been loving the weather. He sits outside for hours now. He likes to play this certain game. Here's how you play: You want Horton to come inside, so you call his name. He comes trotting happily to you and stops about a foot away, then gives you this mischievous look. You reach your hand out to grab his collar and escort him in, but as soon as you do, he jumps back just out of your reach and wags his tail. You step closer and reach again (much to his delight). He again jumps back. You get serious and tell him you mean business, so he gives in a little by taking a step toward you. You reach out your hand, and he sprints away, wagging his tail and looking back at you. It's a real fun game, especially when you need to leave for work right away. =)

Anyway, I recently decided that I need to start getting more adventurous during meal time. I have this problem of food cycles. I find one food that I like, and then latch onto it and eat insane amounts until I burn out and never want to eat it again. Recently, the cycle is toast with butter and parmesan cheese on top. I am going through about 2 loaves of bread and 1 cannister of parmesan a week all by myself. Probably not quite a "balanced diet". Anyway, so I have been on a search to branch out and break this vicious cycle! This week the new recipe is tasty lentil tacos. Definitely out of our norm. I am hoping they are a success.


I also tried my hand at making whole wheat pitas. They turned out pretty well, except I had trouble getting them to balloon out through the entire pita. The bubbles are in random spots. I think I may have rolled them too thin. (Don't ask me why I took a photo of the pitas...I'm being influenced too much by a blog that I check called Not Martha and she always takes photos of her entire baking process. It always seems so nice and lovely.)

Anyway, this is our life recently....

How to Love Well

The other day at work a man in his 70's came in, and mentioned to me that he is getting a divorce. Last week, a woman, who was also older came in, and was in the same situation. In fact, a lot of people come in buying furniture and volunteer to me that they are in the middle of a divorce. Surprisingly, a lot of them are older, and have been married for years. This combined with some other things have made me wonder a lot recently - why do some relationships last and others don't? One of the simplest answers I've ever received regarding this was from my work study supervisor in Kona. He told me, very simply that "Any problem in any relationship can be traced back to one thing - at least one person is not right with God." I see his point and agree, yet in the "messiness" that is life, what does that actually mean and look like? Why has a man in his 70's not yet learned to be loved and to love well? Why do relationships ever end? And for that matter, what even makes them begin with select people? I personally don't believe in "soul mates" and I think "chemistry" means nothing. So is it just commitment? Surely it can't be, because even then, how many relationships are virtually "broken up", but just legally called "married"? What makes a relationship "good" or "bad" and who decides this?

Spring Has Sprung!

Last fall, Jesse and I planted an Autumn Blaze Maple together. It's always hard to tell whether or not plants make it through the winter when there are no signs of life. As such, I was pleasantly surprised as I was leaving for work a couple days ago, and saw new growth on our little tree. I have more to blog, but I thought this photo was so pretty that it deserved its own post. More later.

Fun Things

Our grass is starting to turn green.

I made an appointment to get my hair cut. (Still 2 weeks out...ho hum...)

I took my finals yesterday and turned in my last big paper of the semester today.

We buckled down and bought an air purifier.

We tracked our tax refund check online and it's supposed to be mailed next Friday.

I re-stained our deck in anticipation for another summer of heavy use.

Horton got to go roller blading with Jesse yesterday. (Abe and I walked.)

Next weekend is officially far enough into March to sow snap peas and lettuce.

Innova has released a new line of grain-free dog treats - yay for Horton!

Some Stuff...

Well, obviously Jesse and I didn't make it to BC for our anniversary as we were originally hoping. We are now hoping that maybe we can go there for a few days this summer, then hop over to Alberta to say hello to all of our very cute nieces and nephews for a few days. We will have to see how work schedules and money are. Jesse just went through a shift bid at work and now has Monday/Tuesday as his "weekends". Unfortunately, I work both of those days, but I'm trying to see if I can get on a new work schedule that will give me at least one of those days off as well.

Otherwise, we are still eagerly anticipating our tax refund check. We have bumped "air purifier" to the top of our list. This was aided by two discoveries. One would be the mold growing all over the bedroom windows. We have them covered with curtains, and then we also hung up fabric across the entire wall, covering the windows. It makes for better sleeping since the windows are on the east side of the house, and it also balances out the room aesthically (or so I tell myself). Anyway, Jesse just happened to look behind them one day, and discovered mold just happily creeping up the window. The condensation from the windows never dries out since we have the fabric up. Anyway, we lysol'ed and cleaned it off, and told ourselves we'd have to start wiping the condensation off every couple days from here on out to prevent another mold attack. Our other realization regarding air quality in our home (besides the two big doggie dander creators) comes from the top. In our bedroom and the office, there is the infamous "popcorn" ceiling. In our case, it's cracking and peeling off everywhere. We noticed one huge chunk looking like it would fall down any day, and decided we better pull it off before it falls on top of Horton and traumatizes him even more than he already is. (He is scared of things up high, or anytime you touch something up high.) In any case, Jesse pulled it off, no big deal. A few days later, however, he had the epiphany that there is a good chance our ceiling has abestos in it. The popcorn celing was obviously sprayed on sometime after the house was built, but definitely sprayed pre-80's, jugding by the shape it's in, so we google'd it and our suspicions were confirmed that it is likely. We've decided we should send a chunk to a lab and have it tested so we know for sure. If it does, we will start taking a lot more precaution when we are ripping down these pieces. We may even make it a big project and just get it all out of there, in which case, we would get to wear those astronaut looking white suits and big masks. Not so much fun. I am just hoping that maybe we are clear after all. Regardless, I have decided that I am very happy that I have not been pregnant during our time thus far in this house. Lead paint, mold, abestos...all the makings of a healthy fetus!

Next week I am going to plant my sugar snap peas. This is very exciting for me. I am working on figuring out what I will plant, and where. I have 5 big pots, which I think will be taken up mainly by herbs. Then, my bed, which will have the snap peas, tomatoes somewhere, watermelon, peppers, radishes, lettuce...and maybe some other stuff. Hm. I might need another bed.

I am at work right now, which means I am on dial up, so I am not going to spell check this and wait it out. However, my disclaimer is that there were a lot of words that I was unsure how to spell in this particular post. My other disclaimer is that my boss doesn't care what I do at work, so it is okay that I am using comany time to blog. (He even told me on my first day to bring in some books or magazines to read for when it's slow!) Obviously, this is a great job for a student like myself, who can study and do homework, and still get paid for it.

Well, I guess that is about all I have to say for now....it's almost time for lunch anyway.

Spring Fever

A week or so ago the weather reached about 60 (Canadian translation = 15 or so). It only lasted about a day, but it made me convinced that summer is just around the corner. As such, I've been going nuts reading gardening books and looking at seeds and plants online. Last year, we put up a dinky white picket fence around my garden, which Horton happily jumps almost daily, and Abe nearly impales himself on when he tries to follow. Needless to say, it didn't quite work out. Anyway, so this year, a raised bed is the solution. Jesse has been looking for a project, so I happily asked him to do this one. He had it up within an hour or so and now I've got new plans for him to build me a compost bin too. =) Here's the handy guy in action.

5 years!

At this time 5 years ago, we were at the Loretto eating some yummy food and I was wearing a big white dress. Now I'm just wearing jeans, and I have to say, I am much more comfortable...lol! Jesse and I went out for lunch and then spent about 3 hours at Lowe's. That may not seem like much fun or romance to anyone, but for us, it was a very good time. We purchased this swing for our anniversary present. It's still a bit too chilly/rainy to set it up, but give us four weeks or so and I will be beaming in our backyard while sitting on it. Last summer, I don't know how many times we said "If we only had a hammock or swing back here..." The cool thing is, this swing folds down flat, so we could both nap on it, which we definitely plan to do this spring. Now, Jesse is out picking up a movie and the ingredients for banana cream pie. Yum. It's pajama pant, veg out time!

In keeping with the tradition of snapping a photo each year on our anniversary, here is what year 5 looks like for us...

Just Some Thoughts While I Eat my GrapeNuts

I blogged this a couple days ago and forgot to post it.

Why is it called GrapeNuts anyway?

I am thinking about cutting bangs. Do you (meaning the cosmic void that is cyberspace) think this would be a bad move? My problem is, I have had the same hair cycle since, oh 1995. Let it grow out, cut short layers, repeat. Over Christmas, I met up with friends from camp - some I hadn't seen since high school. They all said "You look exactly like I remember you." Which at first, I thought was a compliment, but then I realized, if ten years have gone by and I haven't changed at all, am I doomed to become one of those women who wears "mom jeans" that are washed out and skinny at the ankles, with an elastic waistband, who seem completely oblivious to the fact that not only are those pants really out of style, but they also make your stomach look perpetually ponchy and your bum look wider than your car? I mean, I am no fashion diva, and most fashion trends just seem sort of ridiculous to me, but perhaps in being this way, I teeter on the edge of becoming a "mom jeans" wearer.

We have N Thursday night and I am trying to brainstorm ideas. Anyone know of good, cheap kids activities? I am always caught off guard when we are with him and people think I am his mom. I suppose it's possible that I could have given birth at age 15, but still, it gets me every time. Funny too how kids have no real sense of age. They just know if you are over 20, you are "old". Jesse said something about age, and N said "You're 45?" with complete sincerity. I just laughed.

I painted some over the weekend. I hung up some painting as we were cleaning out the garage, mainly to get them out of there and into the house. They aren't exactly "hang up" worthy, but with a tiny house, sometimes the best storage is on the wall. Anyway, it's actually kind of nice, because I can just whip out the paint and go for it on the canvas, without having to set up an easel or clear off the table. Now that they are so easy to paint on, the wall of paintings may be perpetually changing until I can get at least one good one out of it. Sometimes it's nice to have paintings that you don't really care about anyway. It's so much easier to paint that way. When I have something that I actually like (rare!), I get nervous working on it, for fear I'll mess up the good things I've done. That makes it hard to complete a piece.

Well, my brother's girlfriend will be here in about 30 minutes and I need to put in a pizza for dinner. The GrapeNuts were my appetizer I guess. Oh! Speaking of pizza, exciting news - Freshcetta is now also making wheat crusts!! That is probably only exciting to me, but still I will share.

Brad Nailers and Air Compressors

Today I got my first taste of using a brad nailer. I think it's my new favorite tool, surpassing the hand sander. We put up some trim in the bedroom to finish framing out a block of paint that I had done a few months ago, then we also finished up some kitchen trim. Here's a pic of my handywork (the white trim around the edge):

Jesse's mom doesn't know this yet, but she bought him an air compressor for his birthday. Too bad the brad nailer isn't ours...

Horton wasn't too sure what to think of the brad nailer. He did, however, enjoy his time snuggling with his "cow cow". When we very first got him, our friends bought Horton some presents, one of which was this little stuffed cow. He likes to keep it on his bed and sometimes snuggles up with it. It's cute to see him chew on it, because he is so gentle with it.

And since I can't leave Abe out, this is a photo of him from a few weeks ago when we got a good snow. He was happy to just lay around in it.

Calling All Canadians!

So one of my classes this semester is "adult development and aging" and I'm working on my big final paper. Part of the requirement is to compare cultural values/public policies, etc. So, if any Canadian would like to give their opinion on any of the following questions, I would not be sad. (If you do give it, know that I may quote you in my paper.)

Ahem, here we go:

Do you like/agree with your government's policy regarding "social security" (i.e. Canada Pension Plan, stuff like that)?

Do you ever worry about having enough financially after you are retired?

Overall, how much does your culture value (or not value) its elderly population? Why?

Anything else you want to tell me (related to aging that is!)?

Wanting

I always kind of think that there are just a few things that I want, and once I have them, I'll just be done wanting. Tax season has made me realize that is not so much. We are actually getting a good sized refund this year, and have been planning what to do with it. Funny how a month ago, I mainly just wanted the kitchen and bathroom redone, and I was willing to wait to finish both of them, as I knew it would take a good amount of time to save up the money. However, now that this refund is coming, I want the kitchen finished, the bathroom finished, a little covered parking spot addition next to the garage, more landscaping, a new little patio spot out back, a chiminea, a swing, crown molding in the living room, and gee, it would be nice to have a little point and shoot digital camera too. Oh yea, and since Jesse is going to start school now too, it would be great to have another computer. And wouldn't it be nice to put some into savings too, say for a vacation down the road? Funny how this chunk of money, big to me, small to others, makes me suddenly long for things that I had never even considered wanting a month ago. It has made me see an ugly core thought in myself - I want life to be easier for me, and once it is and I have everything I want, then I guess I'll help others too. I struggle so much with what it means to be generous, and how wealth should look. I know I'm far from "Western wealth", but compare me to the entire world, and I'm sort of loaded. I've got a house, 2 vehicles, 2 dogs, and I can buy whatever kind of food my little taste buds desire. So why in the world would I need more? The answer is I don't. But I want more. And I just plain don't know what to do about it, if anything.

Highlight of the Mailbox

One thing that not many people know about me (don't get too excited - it's nothing deep) is that I have a very profound love and appreciation for good advertising. If I was a collector, this would definitely be what I would choose to collect. It's an art that few seem to succeed at, thus I take note when I see something quality. Today, I was cleaning and started going through the mail, expecting junk to throw away (minus the birthday card for Jesse from my Grandpa), when I was so pleasantly delighted to open this:

This is the single best piece of advertising I have seen in ages. It's from our bank. All banks down here are going nuts competing for business, and I've seen gimmick after gimmick. This, however, is just genius. It's a "Best Friends Forever" kit, a great 80's throwback reinvented. It comes complete with friendship bracelets (just like the ones I had in 3rd grade!!), fake tattoos, and "BFF cards" such as "Free ride to the airport", "1 Free Day of Moving" or "Free Kidney". The actual gimmick of course, is just the same as all the other banks - you refer a friend that opens an account and you both get 50 bucks - but the packaging is amazing!! I hope the person that worked on this campaign got a raise.

Back to the Kitchen

Well, Jesse and I got the kitchen about 90% finished (except the floor, which hasn't even begun) before he left on his trip. I meant to post these photos before he left, but in the rush, never got around to it.

Jesse's cutting the new counters to fit.Hooking the plumbing back up.
The grout kind of looked like baby poo when we were smearing it on. Thankfully, it dried much nicer/lighter.
The finished product!

Thanks Jesse!