Schnakenblog

Rob's Bday Part 3

2010-10-30T08:25:00.008-07:00

The next day of riding was the longest. Our route was 52 miles. I was a little nervous about his because I wasn't sure I could finish. I was comforted by the fact that I could always call the SAG wagon to come pick me up if needed! Rob, however, was ready to ride! After breakfast we went out to our bikes (which were locked up and covered with a tarp) and someone had added their bike. Rob decided he would give it a try: Unfortunately, this bike was not a good fit. Rob decided to stick with the one UDC tours had instead. The weather was beautiful and we hit the road. There were a few tough hills I ended up walking, but I made it to the top just fine. Our first stop was at the Martin Ray Winery. We had snacks and visited their tasting room. I didn't do any tasting since we had a long day ahead!
Look closely in the middle of this picture and you'll see a sheep grazing on the hillside.
This is the picnic area at Martin Ray.

After our snack stop we continued on. We rode through Healdsburg, which is a very neat town. They had a very cool Bike Shop called Spoke Folk. Not to long after Healdsburg we arrived at our lunch spot: Hop Kiln Winery. We had sushi for lunch (provided by Terry and Mary) and wandered through the great shop they had in their tasting room.

The Hop Kiln Winery used to be an actual hop kiln- as in hops for making beer. Here's Rob in front of the main building. We gathered around the UDC SAG wagon to fill up on water and snacks. We were a little more than half way on our route. It was a little warm- almost 90- but there was plenty of shade on the tree lined roads. Rob rode most of the day with Ben and Sarah from Tennessee. They were more his pace. This was one of the lovely views. I appreciated the scenery so much more than I would have in a car. You can experience the smells and the sounds of your surroundings on the bike. I managed to ride all 52 miles. The last 5 were a little slow, but I was determined to finish!

Each night, we ate dinner at the Village Inn Restaurant as a group. The food was excellent and we really got to know Terry and Mary and the other cyclists. The second night several of us decide to try the loaded twice baked potato. Here's a photo:

I earned that sucker! And it was GOOD- bacon, cheese, scallions, sour cream- Mmmmmm! Delish! Next post- our last day and our awesome ride on Hwy 1.

Rob's Bday Part Two

2010-10-22T20:01:00.002-07:00

We left from San Fran and drove about 2 hours up to a little town in Sonoma County called Monte Rio. We stayed at a bed and breakfast called The Village Inn. Romantic weekend? Not really. You see, my friends, I had arranged for an 'active' vacation. I booked a cycling weekend with Undiscovered Country Bike Tours.

This was the view from our room at The Village Inn.

UDC Tours is a company run by 2 great people named Terry and Mary Morse. I booked the 3 day Sonoma Wine Country weekend tour. I found UDC Tours on-line and they were very well reviewed on several travel sites. I can tell you that they lived up to every positive review and then some! We were fortunate to have the owners, Mary and Terry, as our guides for the weekend. I was worried that Rob wouldn't like the bicycles provided by UDC, but all of their bikes are made by Scott with Shimano Ultegra components. About a week before the tour, Terry sent us an email asking for some detailed fit measurements so the bikes were ready to go the first day. Rob and I brought our own shoes and pedals which Terry put on our bikes. We also had these cute little license plates so we knew who's bike was who's.

Notice the little clip holding our route for the day.

So Saturday morning, we got up and went down for breakfast. We had met Terry and Mary the night before when we arrived, but we got to meet the other people on our tour. There were 2 other couples- Don and Joan from Alaska, and Ben and Sarah from Tennessee. (Both couples were very nice and we got to know them much better as the weekend progressed.) Terry and Mary gave us a little briefing about our weekend. We got these awesome goodie bags with all kinds of stuff we might need like sunscreen, lotion, snacks, and UDC socks. UDC gave us each two water bottles that had our names on them so they didn't get mixed up with anyone else's. They also explained that one of them would ride with us and the other would be close by in the SAG wagon. (I think SAG stands for Support and Gear). If at anytime during the ride we needed something, the SAG wagon could come help us out. We could also keep personal things in the wagon that we might need in our bags.

Our ride the first day was great! It was about 37 miles with a stop for lunch at a winery. I had one very scary moment, when I thought Rob had crashed going down a steep hill, but it turned out to be another rider. Thank goodness for me and Rob, but the poor rider had to be AirEvac-ed to a hospital. I hope he is ok. When I was able to pull myself together, I took this picture of Rob to confirm he was ok!

Lunch was at a neat little winery called Harvest Moon. We had lunch and then a short wine tasting. ( I was very judicious with my wine consumption because we had about 15 miles to ride after lunch!)

Here's our group, drinking wine and enjoying the beautiful weather and scenery.

Harvest Moon had a sweet chocolate lab wandering around. Turns out her name was Charlotte! Don't tell Sunny!!

We got back to the B&B and showered up. Terry and Mary provided some delicious wine and cheese on the patio and then we had a great dinner at the hotel restaurant. It was off to bed to rest up for another ride tomorrow!! Stay tuned...

Rob's Bicycling Birthday: Part One

2010-10-15T18:53:00.007-07:00

So my next trip out of town was very special. It was a gift to my fabulous hubby for his birthday. This wasn't just any birthday- it was the dreaded four-oh. That's right people: 40! I'd been asking Rob what he'd like to do for his birthday for at least 5 months prior. He couldn't come up with anything, except what he didn't want. "No parties!" So I decided to come up with a birthday gift all by myself that I thought he might enjoy.

Rob set aside a 4 day weekend for his surprise. On Day One- Friday- we flew into San Francisco, CA. Sounds like fun already, right? The best part of San Fran is that our wonderful friends Duncan and Cathleen live there!! We were fortunate enought to get to see them AND we got to see the new home they are moving to soon. They are going to live in a town home at the base of this building:

Wow! Pretty friggin cool, huh? And they get this beautiful view from their balcony:

They also have this really cool common area with views of the city. Thats the base of the Bay Bridge in the background. As we are hanging out with our awesome friends, whom we haven't seen in a long time, we hear the sound of a jet engine. Well, turns out it was Fleet Week and the Blue Angels were doing a little practice run for their show that weekend. Check out one of their fly-bys:

Very Cool! We got to have dinner with them at a great italian place and then Rob and I took off to our next destination. Stay tuned for our next stop!

San Antonio

2010-10-12T15:02:00.006-07:00

So sorry about the absence, but I've been traveling! First up is San Antonio for the Emergency Nurses Association Conference. I had never been to San Antonio before and I had never attended an ENA conference. The best part about new places is experiencing them with some good friends. I was fortunate enough to be with some great girls!

Our first night in town we had dinner on the Riverwalk. A Mariachi Trio joined us for a song! :)

That's Kelly and her new friends!

AND - we got "Fortune Tacos" for dessert. It seems pretty cheesy now, but I had consumed 2 margaritas at that point and I thought it was cute. Here's Julie nibbling her cookie!

The next day was the conference kick off. We spent the next few days listening to ER nurses from all over the country. It was great. Janet and Rhonda show off their conference badges:

This was one of the slides from an educational session: Yes- We managed to learn something!! :)

The exhibit hall was awesome. We got all sorts of free stuff and saw lots of new products. There were some fun booths too- with jewelry, food and other girlie things. I caught Janet at the scarf booth!!
I think she bought like 10 scarves!!

We also managed a visit to The Alamo. Its a really cool place, but much smaller than I had imagined.

Our last night we had a great dinner and then we rode the river. Our boat captain was kind of sarcastic and his mike didn't work, but we had a good time anyway!

Next year the conference is in Tampa, FL. I haven't decided if I'm going or not. Any thoughts??

I'm Baaaaack!

2010-09-12T20:18:00.003-07:00

So I took a little blog vacation and now I'm back!! It was a great summer and I am ready for the temperature to start dropping. Hubby and I took a couple trips- one back to see the family in Illinois and our friends Matt, Melissa and Kennedy. (Who by the way just gave birth to a bouncing baby boy named Cameron! Well, Melissa did the birthing part. Their blog is on my blog list.)That's my nephews playing baseball in my parent's backyard. So cute.

Anyway- We've done a few things around the house. We removed a tree. I was really conflicted about taking out the tree, but it continually dumped junk into our pool, making it virtually un-swimmable. It was a tough decision, but the tree came down. The backyard looks so much bigger and the pool is much cleaner and usable! I'll post some pics another time.

We also took a trip with the cousins up to see Nick and Elaine. Jack Henry got to see the "train room" for the very first time. It was great to up in the cool weather.

Nick, Jack Henry, Corbin and Tammi. I love the concentration on Jack's face.

I have some Happy Birthdays to send out! Here's the list:

Cousin Ryan

Cousin Corbin

Dad

Mom

Jason C (Happy 40!!)

Sara

Hope you all had a great day!! That's all for now, folks!

The 80's Party!!!!!! Totally Tubular!

2010-06-27T22:11:00.003-07:00

Cousins Tammi, Paulie and Brain decided to throw an 80's party. We all dressed up like it was 'back in the day' and we had such a great time! On the way to the party, I had to stop at a restaurant to pick up a platter of food. I was all dressed up for the party and the look on the waiters face was priceless. I said "I'm here to pick up a platter. For an 80's Party." She started laughing out loud! Everyone in the restaurant was looking at me like I was a freak!

Crockett & Tubbs from Miami Vice

The Jazzercise girl and the Prom Queen

I found this hottie in the kitchen:

Preppy, Madonna, and OP shorts. Check out those popped collars!! Whoo-hoo!

Yep- that's me in my concert t-shirt, side ponytail, and Pop Rocks! Bitchin!

We had so much fun! Thanks cousins! And thanks for the birthday cake! It was delish!

FUn with cousins: 175 Baby!

2010-06-13T21:19:00.006-07:00

Sorry I've been away for so long. I'm working like a dog these days!

First- Congratulations are in order. My nephew has somehow managed to graduate from high school!! I'm just kidding about the "somehow managed" part. He's a pretty smart kid.

So Congratulations to Alex!! We are proud to have such a great nephew. But- just in case you think we're getting soft, here's an embarrassing baby picture:

Second: June Birthday wishes are in order for a few people we love, as well as a few May peeps who didn't make it into the May bday post. (Oh wait- there was no May bday post cause I'm a slacker.)

Aunt Mary Lou

Madison B

Kelly

Sam

Heather

Michele
Uncle Rich
Chris K

Eric B.

Happy Birthday everyone!! Here's to one more trip around the sun!

When I'm not working I've managed to spend a little quality time with the cousins. I always have the camera with me, so let me share a few shots. Here's a few from the Memorial Day BBQ:

a girlie moment

What bucket?

Yes- that's cousin Brian, and yes- He's on the roof. Is anyone really surprised by that?

We also went bowling one afternoon. Jack Henry is the cutest bowler I've ever seen. Check him out:
Here's the approach....

Here's the toss.....

And here's the wait...... Most of the time he knocked down quite a few!!!

And here's Rob in action:

And for the record, I am a kick a** bowler! Check out the score of the last game. The top score belongs to me! Whoo Hooooo!!

The Movies

2010-05-23T18:48:00.004-07:00

On occasion I am able to drag my husband to the movie theater. He is not a big fan of the theater and sees no big difference in watching a movie at home vs. watching a movie at the theater. I like the "theater experience" and the popcorn. Yesterday, we decided to grab some lunch and then go to a matinee. For lunch we went to this great burger place called Delux burgers. Delish! I highly recommend a visit, but beware, the burgers are BIG and we both brought 1/2 of ours home.

So onto the movies. I managed to convince my husband to go see.... wait for it.... a foreign film with subtitles!! AND He actually liked it! The film is called The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo.

I read the book of the same name and it was very good. I also read the sequel- The Girl who Played with Fire- and I can't wait to read the third book- The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest. The author is Swedish and is unfortunately deceased, so there will be no more books with this story line. I highly recommend the books. The movie was good, too. But I will say that is definitely for adults only. The sex and violence in this one is not for the timid. But I thought the movie was pretty true to the book's story line. And the subtitles weren't even distracting. It's only playing at one theater in town, so hurry up and see it!!

House update

2010-05-22T18:46:00.004-07:00

Hello neglectorinos! Sorry I haven't posted in awhile. I've just been busy. And I've also been neglecting our progress on the house. But I'm trying to get back into the groove. I started by finally ordering blinds for the windows. We've been living with this window covering in the bedrooms:

(It's a curtain tacked up with push pins.) After a few people recommended blinds.com, we decided to give them a try and I must say that our blinds look great. They arrived like this:

Thank goodness I have a super handy hubby to put them up. I, of course, supervised the installation.

Here's the newly 'blinded' spare bedroom window:

AND.... The spare bedroom was lacking a light fixture. We found a ceiling fan that works nicely for the room:

Now... I still need to address a few things in the house and one big thing outside the house- namely, the back yard. Its a disaster. Not quite sure what to do... But I know we need to bring in some experts. Does anyone have any suggestions??

Cooking Class with Mom

2010-05-02T17:32:00.003-07:00

My Mom was nice enough to take me to a cooking class this week. We've been to a couple of other classes at the Sweet Basil Shop and Cooking School before. This one was all about chicken and the many ways to prepare it. I really like the instructor because she doesn't try to teach us wacky 'froo froo' recipes. She teaches practical recipes and tips for saving time or changing things up with other ingredients. The first part of the class the instructor goes over all of the recipes and then everybody decides which one they'd like to work on and we make them. The best part is at the end when we get to sample them all!

Mom decided she would work on the poached chicken breast. Keep in mind that the poaching liquid was scotch. She joined up with 2 very nice men in the class. (Hmmm.. Men and scotch? I'm just sayin...) I tried the pretzel crusted chicken breast with honey mustard sauce with another lady from the class. It was very fun and we both had good recipes. I really want to try making the chicken fried chicken with cowboy mashed potatoes recipe at home. Here's Mom and me with her poached Asian chicken on a bed of Thai noodles:

And here's a few of the other recipes. The cowboy mashed potatoes & chicken fried chicken is the plate with the giant mound of potatoes in the middle.

The pretzel crusted chicken was really good, too. I think Rob will really like that one. Does anybody wanna come over and have dinner? I have all these new recipes to try out!!! Thanks for a great day Mom!

Girls Weekend

2010-04-26T19:44:00.002-07:00

I had a fabulous girls weekend! A group of us hit the party capital of the world: LAS VEGAS!
We had a great time! Check it out:

Ok- Did you really think I'd post pictures???? What happens in Vegas, STAYS in Vegas!

What a month!

2010-04-13T20:21:00.002-07:00

We have so many friends and family members with important days in the month of April! This post is dedicated to all those people:
Alex
Elaine
Aaron
P
Markie
Michele
Nick and Elaine
Duncan and Cathleen
Nicole
Nicole
Abbey

and (most important to me) is my anniversary with my awesome and loving husband. I love you honey and I can't believe this is number 11. It seems like yesterday that we said 'I do' and I still 'I do'. Love you!

And hugs and kisses to everyone else celebrating in April! Cheers!

2010-04-11T20:42:00.002-07:00

I need to add an addendum to my Easter post. On Easter Sunday, after I had done my first post, we headed out to see my parents. My brother was visiting with my niece and nephew. They had lots of fun in my parent's pool:

Aren't they cute?

My Mom made a lovely feast and I took care of dessert. I made these awesome cupcakes which turned out a little larger then I had planned:

That's right- Peeps on flower shaped cupcakes! Nothin says Easter like Peeps!

Yum! It was a great Easter Sunday. Anyway- We had beautiful weather again for this weekend. On Saturday we did one of those things we'd been meaning to do for a long time: We had a Yard Sale! Cousin P was nice enough to host it at her place, which is a great location for a yard sale! Check it:

We sold a bunch of stuff and had lots of fun hanging out with cousin P and Aunt Mary Lou. It was a lot of work, but overall a very good sale! I'm good for another ten years in the yard sale department.

This week my husband surprised me with a present. Its sort of an early anniversary present. He got me this awesome road bike!

Isn't she purty? Today I went on my very first road ride with Rob and our friends Sara and Eric. What was supposed to be an "easy first ride" (I'm quoting my husband), turned into a 3 hour ride! It was a great ride, but a bit much for me. We rode 35miles. THIRTY FIVE MILES!! Whew! I am beat. But I did enjoy the company and it was another great Spring day! I've decided I need to get a bell and a more comfortable seat for the new bike. My toosh hurts!

Happy Easter! and Happy Birthday Elaine!

2010-04-04T09:21:00.005-07:00

Happy Easter everyone! I woke up to a beautiful sunny day. Easter is such a hopeful holiday!

Today is Easter Sunday but it is also Elaine's birthday. Yesterday, Elaine got a very special birthday present:

WOW! A new VW Jetta!! Its very cool! Elaine drove us to dinner in her new car. It has a sunroof, leather interior, Bluetooth- the works! Here's Rob in the front seat:

And here's Nick and Elaine all dressed up for dinner and ready to take the new car out on the town. Aren't they a cute couple??Happy Bday Lainey!

Fun Weekend: A B-day and The Belgium Party!

2010-03-28T10:06:00.006-07:00

We had such a fun and social weekend! On Friday we met some friends at the new location of "The Vig" for our friend Rob's birthday. The restaurant was really cool and we had a great time! Happy Birthday Rob!

Rob, me,and Rob! I obviously came straight from work.

Check out the awesome caramel brownie birthday dessert! It was delish!

That's Rob's sister Kristen and friend Max

There were some trivia cards on the table and we all tried to answer the questions. There were some interesting answers- which were a direct result of the celebratory beverages. :)

this is Brian reading a question- I kinda caught him by surprise!

Now onto Saturday night... First we met up with some cousins for a cocktail. We went to a really cool place called Hula's. Check out cousin Brain with the tiki glass.

Cousin Tammi bites! (But only when you make her mad) That's her drink!

Tammi's friend was nice enough to take this picture. For some reason, cousin Brian's head looks quite large and I look like I have square hair because of the building in the background!, and Rob looks like he was "photo-shopped" in later!

I love my cousins!

And Congratulations to P on the purchase of her new car!! Whoo-hoo!! Its really pretty!

So after Hula's, we hopped on over to Sarah and Eric's for "The 2nd Annual Belgium Party". This party is a tribute to all things Belgian! Check out the chocolate covered waffles:

Mmmm. AND there were delicious Frites served Belgian style with mayonnaise for dipping. (There was ketchup available for the less adventurous.) Check out Shawn and her plate of frites:

And, of course, we had to have something to drink! Here's Eric with a tasty Belgian Beer:

There was also some great music and great company. We ran into our old friends Janice and Charlie:

A little music:

That's Sarah and Rob towards the end of the evening! Sarah is enjoying some Belgian beer. (The hat is not Belgian. It got a little chilly at the end of the evening.)

Thanks to Sarah and Eric for having us! We look forward to the 3rd annual Belgium party!!!

Bahamas: Rose Island

2010-03-05T15:15:00.005-07:00

We were able to take a little trip to an "out island", as they call it in the Bahamas, to Rose Island. An out island is one of the smaller, undeveloped islands. There are hundreds of them in the Bahamas. It was a short boat ride from Paradise Island. Our boat captain, Duran, gave us a fast and fun ride to the island:

We arrived at a small wooden dock that lead to some stone stairs. The stairs led us up and over the island to the beautiful beach on the other side:

It was so pretty and peaceful. No resorts, no people except our small group. Rob and I brought our snorkeling gear. The water was a tad chilly, but not bad for February. We saw some awesome fish and coral. The water was pretty shallow- maybe 12ft deep- and it remained shallow for quite a distance from the beach. You can see another small island in the distance:

After snorkeling we had some lunch. The crew brought coolers full of snacks and drinks and we ate on benches underneath this "patio".

I guess its a work in progress. We headed back to Atlantis shortly after lunch. On our way out I noticed this little house on the island. I asked Duran if anyone lived there and he said that the owner comes every weekend. What a life. You can't see it, but there's a satellite dish on the side of the house.

The ride back was fun! Duran really likes to go fast! We passed this cute colorful lighthouse. I don't know if you can see it in this picture- but its accent colors are pink, yellow and blue:

We made it back to the island and then....... Rob had to leave. That's right. He had to fly to Atlanta for some important business. (sniffle) I was a very sad. We were having such a great time! But this trip was technically work for him, so if he was needed elsewhere, he had to go. Did I go with him? Heck no! I chose 2 more nights in paradise! It was lonely without him, but I managed. :) Atlantis has a spa, shopping, and a beach. What more did I need?

Chihuly at Atlantis

2010-03-03T19:53:00.003-07:00

In the casino at Atlantis there were some beautiful glass creations by the artist Chihuly. The first two are the Sun and the Moon:

This chandelier looked like luminescent sea shells:

And this sculpture looked like icicles:

Aren't they lovely? I wonder what it would cost to have him make me a sculpture for my house?

Bahamas Day 2

2010-03-01T21:28:00.004-07:00

On Monday Rob and I woke up to overcast skies. But that didn't really stop us from enjoying our day together. We decided to explore the resort (and that alone could have taken up our whole day!). Atlantis has some truly awesome aquariums and lagoons. Here's Rob in the predator tunnel. (He looks so happy!)

Here is one of the many waterfalls. This one was right by the sea turtles and I love sea turtles!It started to sprinkle a little, but it was still very warm outside. We decided to make the best of the weather and try the Lazy River. We grabbed a tube for two and hit the 1.25 mile long journey.

After a few sections of "rapids", we decided to try the water slides. They were super fun! We were the oldest people on the slides by about 20 years, but we didn't care. I had to draw the line when Rob started shoving 8 year olds around to get to the front of the line! (just kidding- those kids were at least 10!) There's a reason kids love this stuff- because its really fun! I felt like such a dork shivering in line with the 8 year olds, but not dorky enough to get in the way of having fun. The first slide was on the inner tube, but the next one looked like this:

That one was so much fun, we decided to try the "mac-daddy" of them all. This next slide has a huge drop and then shoots you through a glass tube that runs through a shark tank. I screamed bloody murder the whole way.

See the sharks in the water?? After our fun afternoon we went back to our room to get ready for dinner. Dinner was 'work' for Rob, but I just ate and chatted with really nice flooring people! After dinner we walked around "The Dig", which is another aquarium, but it was built to look like the Lost City of Atlantis. Here's me with some colorful fish:

And I loved the jellyfish tank. They are so cool!:

After The Dig, I gambled $10 in the casino and won $27.50. Whoo- hoo! My winnings almost covered the drinks we had the night before! (but not quite)

The Bahamas!

2010-02-26T18:36:00.005-07:00

That's right folks! Rob and I went to the Bahamas! Rob had a work thing and I somehow convinced him to let me tag along. Sunny got to stay with Cousin Paulie- Thanks P! We left early last Sunday and began our long journey to Nassau. 9 hours later (with the time change) we saw this out the airplane window:

Gorgeous from the air! (Rob was embarrassed that I took pictures on the plane.)We got off the plane in Nassau and rode a shuttle to Paradise Island. We stayed at a resort called Atlantis. http://www.atlantis.com/ Its probably the largest resort I've ever been to. I mean this place is downright HUGE. There are 6 different towers you can stay in. The resort pretty much takes up the entire island. We stayed in The Reef tower. We walked in and the lobby was really pretty. We got our room keys and took the elevator up, walked down the hallway to the room on the end. We stepped into our room and this was the view from our balcony:

OMG! It was so beautiful! The great part was we had a wrap around balcony that gave us a view of the entire resort- the beach, the Royal Towers, The Dolphin Cay, and the Lazy River. The Dolphin Cay is where you can pay to swim with Dolphins, so everyday we got to watch them frolic in the water.

The Royal Towers

The Dolphin Cay

After settling in we had an awesome dinner at Nobu. It was absolutely delicious. The black cod with miso glaze melted in my mouth. Mmmmm. Rob actually had a little cold Saki. That was enough alcohol to get him to take a picture with me in this chair after dinner:

Don't we look cute? We stopped and had a drink on our walk back to our room. Its a big resort and we got thirsty on the long journey back! We had 2 drinks- a martini and a rum and coke. With gratuity, our bill was $25. Atlantis is beautiful, but it is equally expensive!!!

I'll post more tomorrow about our Bahamian Adventure! Stay tuned!

Gates are up!

2010-02-14T14:39:00.005-07:00

Happy Valentine's Day everyone! I'd like to wish my parents a Happy 51st Anniversary!! That's right- 51! And thank you to my hubby for being my Valentine.

And Thank You to everyone who had warm wishes for Sunny. He is pretty much back to his old self, with the exception of some "cha-cha-cha's".

Remember the Christmas present I got from Nick? The Gate? Well, this week the gates went up on the new fence! They are not painted yet, but they look good:

I think we're going to paint them the same color as the fence.

We also had the fascia board on the house replaced in a few areas and its looks much better than before. The house looks clean and refreshed.

Rob is putting up new curtain rods and curtains today. Here's a sneak peak:

I'll post some pictures when its all done. I'm very lucky that my Valentine is handy around the house!

Poor Sunny.

2010-02-11T19:40:00.003-07:00

Last night I came home from work and I opened the door from the garage to the house expecting Sunny the dog to greet me with a wagging tail, anxious for his dinner. Instead there was NO Sunny. I called his name and around the corner came a slow moving Sunny. His ears were down. I figured he either did something bad, or he was sick.

It turned out to be sick. He managed to eat his dinner last night, but it took him 15 minutes and it usually takes about 50 seconds. He drank some water and I expected him to throw up, but he went to bed and slept until 7am. That is also unusual, because he usually wakes me up around 5am for breakfast. So I called the vet this morning and got an appointment for 8am.

I brushed my teeth and threw on some sweats. I took Sunny out and he has an episode of the "cha-cha-cha's". Poor guy. I put a towel down on my backseat because Sunny sheds like crazy. I get him in the car and off we go. I'm cruising down the freeway with Sunny lying in the backseat. All of the sudden I hear a Gwwasshh! Sunny projectile vomits all over the back seat. I can't stop the car, cause I'm on the freeway! Poor Sunny is covered in vomit, as is my backseat. Thank God I put down a towel. He sat there looking at me like "Fix this mama!", and I just kept driving to the vet. The smell was awful and I had to roll down the windows. I called the vet and asked if they'd like to meet me outside the office with some towels. They said to just bring him in and they'd clean him up. I park the car and walk around to let Sunny out of the backseat. Sunny hops out of the car and I notice a rather large object in his emesis. I took Sunny inside and the vet tech and I clean him up a bit. He, of course, gave a big shake a soon as we got into the treatment room, splattering the walls. Nice.

I got a specimen bag from the vet tech and go back out to the car. I find a big glob of something about the length and width of a hamster on the towel. I scoop it up with the bag. I picked up the towel and threw it away. Yuck! I brought the bag into the office and tried to figure out what the heck it was. I think it was one of Sunny's stuffed toys at some point, but I'm not sure.

So Sunny got an xray to make sure he didn't have anything else stuck in his stomach. He got a bath when we got home because the smell was unbearable. Poor Sunny- Puking, The Vet and A Bath all in one day. His worst nightmare! Lets hope he's back to normal tomorrow!

The fence is finished! Hooray!

2010-01-30T10:10:00.005-07:00

I left for work on Tuesday morning and this is what the backyard looked like:

I came home on Tuesday afternoon and this is what it looked like:

And by Wednesday, the fence was finished! Its great and much more private than the chain link! They fixed the portion of the wall that was damaged and added a layer to the existing wall. Very nice:

Now we need our gates put up! Nick was nice enough to bring them down:

And then we'll need a little landscaping....

Farewell Aunt Gen

2010-01-29T11:14:00.003-07:00

I got some sad news this week. My Great Aunt Gen has died. Aunt Gen was 93 and in recent years she suffered from Alzheimer's dementia, but I will always remember her as part of a duo. She and my Great Aunt Jessie spent their entire lives together. Neither married, and they lived and worked together for most of their lives. Aunt Jessie passed away several years ago and I think that Aunt Gen wasn't the same without her.

When I was young they lived fairly close and came to visit for holidays with my Grandpa and Uncle Ted. I remember the big hugs and how they doted on me and my brothers. I also remember when we all went out for pizza one night, but we had to rush home so Jessie and Gen could watch an important episode of Dallas! And the Christmas they sat giggling on our couch reading "Real Men don't Eat Quiche" and drinking wine.

I fondly remember spending two weeks with them one summer when my parents and my brothers went on a trip to look at colleges in the west. My aunts took me to see the musical Peter Pan and to a Fourth of July parade. I realize now what a change it was for them to have a 10 year old living with them for two weeks. They taught me to knit those two weeks. I made a small blanket to use for my dolls. It was pink and my aunts really made most of it, but its a nice memento of that stay. I still have it.

The first picture is of Jessie and Gen with my parents at my wedding. I always appreciated that fact that they and Uncle Ted made the trip to see me get married. Jessie is in the ivory and Gen is in the blue. Its a big trip from Illinois to Arizona when you're in your 80's. The second picture is of Aunt Gen a few years ago. I'm a little ashamed that its the last time I saw her. It was so hard that she didn't really remember who I was.

Rest in peace Aunt Gen. and Aunt Jessie. I miss you. I hope you're both on a couch in heaven watching Dallas, or drinking wine and giggling!

Our new Fence! Finally!

2010-01-25T20:02:00.003-07:00

We are so very excited that they started putting in our new block fence today!! The chain link will soon be gone and we will have a lovely (and private) wall in its place. Check out the pictures Rob took today:
I know it doesn't look like much, but it will be soon! I'll keep you posted!

Happy New Year! (and a little ranting)

2010-01-10T09:17:00.006-07:00

Happy New Year!!!! I can't believe its 2010!

I took a little break from the blogging, but I'm back! I've been working quite a bit these past few weeks. I have a new job and I'm trying to wrap my head around all the new stuff on my plate.

Anyway- Here's an interesting story. I've always been a Target shopper. I like Target better than Walmart. When the time came to order some gifts for my nephews for Christmas I turned to Target on-line. I selected and paid for two toys and had them gift wrapped and shipped to my nephews. The packages arrived and my sister in law placed the wrapped presents under the tree for the boys. Chrsitmas morning arrived and my first nephew opened his present and was delighted with his toy. My second nephew opens up his present, says "Oh." and tosses it aside. He was already on to the next gift when my brother said- "Hey- what was that gift?" My nephew says "I don't know. It has a bug on it."

Turns out Target wrapped and sent my nephew a screen cover for a garage door!!! My nephew handled it pretty well. Thank goodness! I could have been responsible for long lasting Christmas morning trauma!

So I called Target customer service. They were the most unhelpful people. Their 'solution' to the problem was to give me my money back. I didn't really care about the money- I wanted my nephew to get his gift. All I got was "Sorry. That item is out of stock. Can we help you place another order?"

No! I want you to FIX the order! I barely even got an apology.

It ended up that my brother and my nephew went to Target and returned the garage door screen. They were given a credit for the amount of the gift. (Turns out the bar code sticker stuck on the garage door screen was actually for the toy I ordered.) So my nephew will get to pick out his own toy.

But I will not be ordering from Target on-line again!! Buyer beware!!!

Merry Christmas!

2009-12-27T09:38:00.004-07:00

Well, another Christmas Day has come and gone! It was a lovely day, opening presents and stockings in the morning. Then Rob and I were fortunate to have a house full of family in the afternoon! Its nice to finally have some people over to "break in" our new home!

Look at all the presents!!

Nick and Elaine got me a GREAT Christmas present! A Gate! That's right- a Gate for the new (not yet put in) fence! Thanks guys!! Check it out:

Sunny got a special pair of slippers that mop the floor while you walk from my Mom. He wasn't too happy when I made him put them on:

He got back at us by plucking his new toy out of his stocking without asking permission: (You'll have to turn your head to watch this)

He's so sneaky!! Merry Christmas everyone! Hope you had a great day!

So thoughtful.

2009-12-22T09:52:00.003-07:00

Last week Aunt Lorri and cousin Tammi stopped by. I wasn't here, but Rob was. The house was an absolute disaster!! Boxes and stuff everywhere! Rob gave them a quick tour of our new digs. Aunt Lorri left a lovely housewarming gift. I was so touched when we opened it. Look at what an awesome quilter she is!
She made us a beautiful Christmas table runner:

An adorable fall colored quilt:

And these awesome place mats, with apron and hot pads to match!! So Cute!!

We will treasure these for years to come!! Thanks Aunt Lorri and Uncle Rich!

Bye Bye Oleanders! and the Christmas Stocking Saga

2009-12-19T11:16:00.007-07:00

Sorry its been so long since my last post. I've been running around getting ready for the holidays and settling in to my new job at work.The house has significantly less boxes these days. I'm trying to find a home for all of our things. A few pictures have made it on to the walls and its looking more like home everyday!

Our latest project was getting rid of the oleander stumps. If you remember, Nick took a chainsaw to all of the oleanders in our backyard, but in order to put in a new fence, we needed the stumps out, too. Sooooo, we rented a backhoe!! Nick happens to own a backhoe and he is really great with that thing! Check out how large those darn stumps were:

Look how much fun he's having!

Dan (Sr.) came over to give us a hand, and he lent us his dump trailer. Thanks Dan!!! I went to the dump with Rob, and all you have to do is push a button and the stumps slid right off!

This is the dump. Looks like a dump, huh? Some guy looked at me a little funny when I was taking pictures. Doesn't everyone take pictures at the dump?

So now our backyard has a lovely temporary fence and it looks so much bigger without those oleanders!!

side yard

Now, the Christmas Stocking Saga: I really love to decorate the house for Christmas. This year, I was especially excited to hang our Christmas stockings on our fireplace! I was able to put out a few decorations and as I went through my tubs of Christmas decorations I kept an eye out for those stockings. After going through ALL of the Christmas bins, NO stockings. I found the stocking holders, the ornaments, the lights, etc. I tore through all the bins again and NO stockings. Finally, this morning I was cleaning and wrapping presents. I went back to the storage area and I noticed that one of Rob's bins on the top shelf had red tissue paper in it. Hmmm. Sure enough, that wasn't one of Rob's bins- it was a Christmas bin!! Stockings have been located and hung!! We are ready for Santa!!!

I think I need to add some greenery or something, but I'm just so happy to have located our stockings!! Merry Christmas!

Very funny video!

2009-12-08T22:40:00.002-07:00

If you have ever worked in an ER for any length of time, you've seen this patient at least once a day!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KCn70UYombc

"Kinda like a skateboard!"

2009-12-06T21:17:00.004-07:00

So we are all moved in, but not totally unpacked. It feels so good to finally be living here. I feel a little exposed because the block fence is not up yet, but all of the oleanders are cut down. And adding to that is the fact that we haven't purchased window coverings yet! A few well placed sheets are serving as cover for now. Here's Rob on one of our first nights in in our new bathroom!

A large portion of our furniture had been in storage for almost a year. One piece I was really looking forward to having out again was my round pedestal table. I was really excited when Nick and Rob brought in the large pedestal and then placed the top on. And then..... I wasn't so excited. It seems that the table top has lost its moisture, which resulted in the sides curling up. In others words, the top of the table is curved like a friggin taco shell! Ok- its not that bad, its more like a skateboard, but it is noticeable, especially when you are sitting at the table.

In an effort to flatten out the table top we placed the top on the floor and the pedestal on top of it. Nick placed some heavy boxes on the edges, but its not working. A friend suggested a tarp and a humidifier, since the wood needs moisture. So we're going to try that. I'll let you know how it goes!

Its not very functional right now!! We are eating on the card table.

Happy Thanksgiving!

2009-11-25T15:39:00.002-07:00

This Thanksgiving I have so much to be thankful for- a supportive and loving family, a great new house, boxes (and boxes and boxes) of possessions, food on my table, and a great job! In these lean economic times it is so important to focus on all of our blessings. Most of us are very fortunate and sometimes we take that for granted.

Have a Happy Thanksgiving! Say a prayer for our troops overseas, and another prayer for the families dining without them this Thanksgiving. God Bless the USA.

Packing Sucks.

2009-11-19T20:40:00.006-07:00

Yep. I'm packing. Getting ready to make the big move. Did I mention packing is one of my least favorite things?

I was packing today, and Sunny was helping. By "helping" I mean every time I sat down on the floor to wrap things, he would come over and lay right down on the packing paper. Then I noticed he wasn't around and I went looking for him. Here's what I found:

It seems I dropped this Chik-Fil-A Cow toy on the ground and Sunny decided it must be for him. Elaine brought me that cow from Virginia when she went to visit Aunt Jan. I'm sure she won't mind that Sunny has adopted it. Its 9pm and the cow still has its head intact. A rare occurrence for Sunny.

"What? It was on the ground!"

In my last post I forgot to show you the awesome shelves and new light in the hall closet. Remember this closet looked like this when we bought the house:

It didn't even have a full door and that's an ironing board hanging on the door. Now it looks like this:

I know you can't see the door in this picture, but trust me its lovely!

What a weekend!

2009-11-15T20:34:00.006-07:00

We are so close to moving in I can smell it! However, this weekend required a bunch of work to get to that point. Nick and Elaine came to help us again, and Don and Judy helped us out on Sunday. Thank God for family! A BIG Thank You to all!!

How exciting are the shelves Nick and Rob put in the pantry?!! I can sleep 4 small children in here:

This is what the pantry looked like when we bought the house:

Its so much better now- way more storage than before. And it has a much better light!

Today Nick brought out the chain saw and down came a TON of oleanders. We'll be putting in a new fence and the oleanders had to go. Check out the massacre:

Mom tidying up the front landscaping

Nick just getting started

Thanks for helping Dad!

Like Sherman marching through Atlanta!
You can actually see the fence!

Rob also finished the baseboard touch-ups which he just LOVED doing! See his happy smiling face?

And last but not least the carpet went in this week. Its called "Prada" and its made by a company called Moda carpets (http://www.modacarpets.com/products.htm) and I LOVE it! It looks so awesome and it feels so nice under your feet:

I can't wait until I wake up an plop my toes down on it! More oleanders come down next week and we'll be cleaning in preparation for moving day! WHoo Hoo!

On a happier note...

2009-11-08T20:47:00.003-07:00

I was able to put the first coat of paint on the fireplace! Its a beautiful ivory color. I still haven't decided what I'll put in the inset, but I've got a few ideas! Remember, this is only the first coat and the painter's tape is still up:I need to say a HUGE Thank You to Nick and Elaine for spending the weekend helping us out. I don't know where we'd be without Nick's years of experience in construction, (not to mention a few remodels of his own). Thanks again guys!

Nick fixed the outlet in the pool bath for me! Unfortunately, Elaine was in there helping him and he "passed gas". Poor Lainey! Don't worry- she's recovered!

We are really close to actually getting to live in our house! How awesome is that??

Red Flag. Sooo Sad.

2009-11-07T19:57:00.006-07:00

Good news and bad news. What's that you say? You want the good news first? OK. The good news is we got our Certificate of Occupancy from the city. The bad news is it has a BIG RED FLAG on it!! The red flag is for the water line leading from the street to the house. The city inspector says it needs to be bigger because we added a bathroom. ***Rant warning!*** Don't ya think they could have brought this sh*t up in their previous inspections? They've been out to the house several times before now and the final inspection is when they choose to say something?? Losers. Oh and by the way, Rob had to spend 4 hours and $700 dollars to get a permit for said water line. Hmmmm, sounds like a frickin' racket to me! Stupid city inspectors. You suck.

Ok- I'm done ranting now.

So needless to say, we spent our Saturday replacing the water line. We could have paid a plumber to do it, but they wanted WAY too much money. Rob and Nick were able to get most of the work done today and it was less than half the plumber's quote. and we need the extra moola for the stupid permit! Here's some pics from our day. This is the "old" water line:

This is Rob and Nick with the "Ditch Witch"- a handy little piece of equipment designed for trenching front yards for water lines. Its obviously BIG business, this water line thing.

This is what I call a group effort:

This is what Elaine and I were doing when we weren't watching Rob and Nick- painting. Those are the spare bedroom closet doors which turned out lovely. You'll see them up after the carpet goes in.

Sodering the last few pieces:

And finally- the new water line. Tomorrow we fill in the ditch. I guess they haven't made a fancy machine for that, yet. Unless you want to call "shovel" a fancy machine.

Stupid inspectors.

Paint, Doorknobs and shelves! oh my!

2009-11-03T19:16:00.004-07:00

That's right folks! This past week my husband, Nick and Elaine have been very busy at the house. Rob and Nick did these awesome shelves in the laundry room:

storage galore!

Did you notice the room is also painted? The color is called "Golden Gate" and I love it. This is the living room. Notice the awesome baseboards my hubby spent all weekend doing!

And the cute new light fixture which is way better than the old one. Look at the same wall just a few weeks ago:

The new doorknobs are on the doors and they look so great! Nick did all of the doors for us! Thanks Nick!And a big shout out to Cousin P! P is living with us because she is the next tenant in the house we're living in! (We just happen to be taking a little longer than we thought to move out, so P moved in!) I have been working like crazy lately and P has been so awesome! She cleans, she helps out with laundry and she does this:

That's right. Sunny wants to adopt her permanently. I haven't told him that P will be staying behind when we move, so don't tell him!

Update and another Birthday for Nick!

2009-10-26T20:48:00.003-07:00

What a weekend! We celebrated Nick's birthday and worked on the house! Check out Nick with his strawberry shortcake and one candle:

The house is coming along nicely. Rob and Nick worked on the spare bathroom. The had some issues with getting the wainscoting to adhere to the wall, so they came up with this nifty apparatus:

But it turned out great- see?

Ingenious! Here's what the bathroom looks like now:

We still need to remove those white things and get the sticker off the toilet. Check out the awesome dual flush toilet. One's for yellow and one's for brown and its all eco friendly!

We're getting close!!!

Countertops!

2009-10-20T21:28:00.004-07:00

Look at our awesome marble counter tops in the bathroom:

So pretty! Now we just need the back splash! And the tile is finished in the shower!:

And since there was leftover tile from the master bath we were able to do the spare bathroom also!! I love it!

I know it looks a little sparse because the fixtures aren't there, but believe me its a vast improvement from before:
I promise you it will all come together soon! The finishing touches are right around the corner! Paint, fixtures, lighting etc. I can't wait!!

Reading reccomendations

2009-10-18T19:37:00.009-07:00

I like to read. Pretty much every night before I go to bed I read a book and I've come across some really good books lately. So, I thought I'd share my recent favorites with you.

First up is "The Art of Racing in the Rain" by Garth Stein:

I LOVED this book!! If you don't fall in love with Enzo, Denny, Eve and Zoe, I'll eat my shoe! Warning: tear jerker alert!! I think this book is even better than Marley and Me. Gasp! Better than Marley you say? Marley was a story about a dog. This book is a story told by a dog. Give this one a try. You will not be disappointed.

Next up is a very fun read by Sophie Kinsella. She wrote the Shopaholic series, which I also loved. This new story, "Twenties Girl", is full of fun and an easy read:

You'll enjoy the wacky family dynamics and I loved the ghostly aunt!

Next is a book my Mom gave me for my birthday. The story is told in a series of letters:

When you are finished with it, you'll want to visit the island of Guernsey the same way I want to! I had no idea the Channel Islands were occupied during WWII. Thanks Mom!

Lastly, a book about a girl who receives a kidney transplant and sets off on a road trip to find out about the guy who donated it to her. "Driving Sideways" by Jess Riley

She encounters some people and adventures on her trip, and finds all kinds of things she's not looking for! Isn't that just like the journey of life?

Hope you enjoy them as much as I did!

Sunday Sunday Sunday!

2009-10-18T17:45:00.004-07:00

Don't you just love Sundays? Today we went to cousin Tammy's house to watch football. Check out the game day faces on Jack Henry, Rob and Brian:

What is that thing behind his head?

They watched the whole game like that! And the Cardinals tromped all over the Seahawks! Go Cards!

In other news.....I got an itch to bake something this week, so I made some peanut butter and jelly cookies. They were delicious. This is how many were on the plate on Wednesday:

This is how many are on the plate now:

They were Yum-meee. If you want to try out the recipe here's a link: http://www.marthastewart.com/recipe/peanut-butter-and-jelly-thumbprints
They are delicious with coffee or milk!

I can't do a post without a little remodel stuff. Here's the shower tile. No grout yet:

I can't wait to take a shower in there!!

The bathroom & Happy Bday Suzanna!

2009-10-15T18:29:00.002-07:00

First things first: I went to a lovely little soiree last night for my friend Suzanna's birthday. It was a great time! Thanks for having me! Here's Suzanna with her daughter:

Aren't they cute?

And now, the bathroom: I was thrilled to see that they started tiling the floor and the shower!

The floor:

The shower walls:

And they put some tile at the outside entrance to the master bedroom so we don't trash the carpet going in and out to the porch: (when I say "we" I mean "Sunny the dog")

AND- There was enough tile to do the pool bath floor! The tile is set but not grouted:

Its so fun to go to the house everyday and see all the progress. With any luck, we might have Thanksgiving turkey in our new home!! **Fingers crossed**

Tile and Cabinets!

2009-10-13T19:33:00.003-07:00

Sorry its been awhile since my last post! So much is happening at the house. We got the beautiful bathroom cabinets!!

I love the color! (They are a little dusty- but they'll get all cleaned up after the tile/counter tops are in!)

And - even MORE exciting is the new flooring! The tile is all set- it's getting grout today! Here's a peek of it without the grout. Laundry room:

Remember that fireplace? I'm still workin on it!! I'll keep you posted.I just love that the toilet is in the bathtub! Awesome. Remind me to thoroughly scrub that tub!!

Closets and doors!

2009-10-07T13:48:00.003-07:00

Get excited, people! The new interior doors went in! They look so great! This is the entry coat closet:

The doors still need paint and doorknobs, but they make the whole house look new! And the exterior bathroom door finally arrived! It looks great, too!

The closet shelving is going in and I am thrilled! I am so ready to fill the closets! This is the existing closet, (which we took a little space from for the linen closet in the pool bath). It only had a single bar before:

(Those tools belong to the carpenter.) I addition to the existing closet, we have the new walk in in the addition! (I think this is reason enough to go shopping. Rob disagrees.)

I'm gonna hit the mall today!!! (Just kidding, Rob!)

Blast from the Past

2009-10-03T22:06:00.003-07:00

Ok- Imagine its 1966 and you've bought a fabulous new John F. Long home. Its on a big cul-de-sac lot and your ready to move in! Your stroll through the front door and you spin around like Mary Tyler Moore! And then you discover THIS is your flooring:
You Shriek at your husband to "Make it go away"!! He tears off his polyester pants, puts on his coveralls and gets to work:

Whew! Ok- back to 2009. This flooring was in all of the bedrooms, underneath the carpet and pad! It was so old and brittle it popped right off the floor.

Fear not!! The old pukey brown tile is gone and this was delivered today:

Those boxes contain our new flooring which will begin going in this week! I can't wait! Lots of big things are in store for this week, and I'll try to keep up with my posts!

Drywall!

2009-09-28T20:12:00.006-07:00

The bathroom door is no more! The entrance to the existing master bath has been closed up! This bath will become the pool bath with an door to the backyard. We added some shelving since there was no space for linen storage in there! This is the patched doorway before they finished it with plaster:We took some space from this closet in the Master for the linen shelving in the pool bath:

This is the view of the old (now patched) doorway and the new shelving:

The pool bath is small so its hard to get good pictures!

The new bath has walls now! Its very exciting! This is where the vanity will go:

This is the new door from the master to the porch:

The walls in the living room have been patched where the new slider is and where we filled in the step. It looks so good and I can't wait for paint!

Things are moving along nicely! Every time I go over to the house something else is done. We're getting closer to moving day!! :)

2009-09-25T20:43:00.003-07:00

Yesterday my heart was filled with joy! Why? A new Costco opened near our house! I love Costco! And it is right next to the library I go to every week.

Its the little things in life, people! :)

Hot dog and soda anyone?

Back to reality!

2009-09-24T21:53:00.004-07:00

Our vacation is over and now its back to reality! The remodel is still movin' along. Today was a big day: Windows and doors!! Whoo-hoo! Check out the master bedroom. It has a new window and a new door to the new porch!

Here's the snazzy new slider in the living room:

And the new bathroom window:

And here's a pic of one of the skylights in the bathroom. (The view of this picture is looking straight up into the ceiling of the bathroom.)

Love those skylights! If you scroll back up to the first picture, you'll notice the skylights on the roof. It's so exciting to go to the house and see one more thing being accomplished!

Victoria, British Colombia

2009-09-22T20:25:00.008-07:00

As the ship sailed out of Skagway, I forgot to tell you that we celebrated several occasions at dinner that night! Dave's 60th Birthday:
Notice the sweet guitar our waiter Benito has! (Its a pepper mill and a plate cover

Our 10th Wedding Anniversary: (Its only a picture of the cake because I was the one taking all the pictures!)

And Nick and Elaine's 40th wedding anniversary:
Elaine is singing "Let me call you sweetheart" with the wait staff! :) Awwwww!

The next day we docked in Victoria,BC around 5pm. This is the view of Victoria from our balcony as we pulled in:

We headed out by bus to see the Butchart Gardens. Victoria is a beautiful city and just about anything will grow there. There are gardens and flowers everywhere! We arrived at Butchart with high expectations. (Elaine got lots of ideas for her garden next year!)

We were not disappointed. Butchart Gardens is truly stunning. http://www.butchartgardens.com/ There are 2 acres of beautifully, blooming flowers, plants and trees. (The garden is actually 55 acres, but a lot of the land is used for behind the scenes growing.) We made our way from the entrance of the park to the "Sunken Garden." This garden is the one that started it all. The Butchart Family owned Portland Cement. Mrs. Butchart decided to make one of their old limestone quarries in Victoria into a garden. That was 1904. This is the result:

Not bad for an old limestone quarry, huh?

That's me in the rose garden, which had hundreds of varieties of roses. It smelled so good! The Japanese Garden was added around 1908.

Not long after this it started to get too dark to keep taking pictures. I wish we could have stayed longer. Our bus headed to Church and State Winery for a little vino! http://www.churchandstatewines.com/

We had a fabulous tasting of 6 wines paired with chocolates. Delicious!

You can't get Church and State wine in the USA, so I brought home a couple of bottles! When we got back to the ship I noticed the flower baskets they had on the entrance to the gang plank. The whole city was like this!
Back on the ship we went and onto Seattle tomorrow which completes our trip. All good things must come to an end! :(

Skagway, AK and Carcross, Yukon Territory Canada

2009-09-19T20:37:00.014-07:00

Hi! Sorry I'm a little late with the Skagway post! I got busy with work and I was just too tired.

We were very tired after our Juneau adventure. We had high hopes that Skagway would be less stressful and much more fun. And that is pretty much how things were! Skagway is awesome. The first part of our trip was a train ride on the White Pass and Yukon Railroad. The railway was built in 1898 during the Klondike Gold Rush and still operates today. Here's a link to their website http://www.wpyr.com/history/ . The scenery from the train is gorgeous! Here's a few photos from the train:

That bridge is the 'old' bridge. Our train was on the 'new' bridge. The railway leaves from Skagway and takes you into CANADA! (I had never been to Canada before.) We were lucky enough to see a bear from the train. We only saw him for about 10 seconds, but everyone on the train went nuts! Our train ride ended in British Columbia where our guide for the day picked us up in his bus. This was the view at the end of our ride:

I must say that our day on this tour was fabulous because we had an awesome tour guide. His name was Bruce. He is an artist and a year round resident of Skagway. He is a wonderful storyteller and we enjoyed his tour and his knowledge. Bruce is a unique kind of artist. He carves ivory. I can hear you shout "That's illegal!!! That's animal cruelty!!!" But Bruce carves Mammoth ivory- tusks from animals who roamed the earth thousands of years ago and are now extinct. He gets them from miners who find the tusks while digging for ore. His creations are really beautiful. Check out his website: http://www.aptalaska.net/~schindlr/index.htm Thanks for a great day Bruce!

Bruce drove us further into Canada to the Yukon territory. He was nice enough to take this picture: (and he took pictures for everyone on the bus, which was like 40 people)The road we traveled is sometimes impassable in the winter because of avalanches. I loved that we stopped here. So rebellious! :)
Here's another beautiful photo from a "picture spot".

Bruce took us to a small town called Carcross, named for the large herds of Caribou that cross through that area every Fall. Our tour included lunch at this fun place: (and Yes, it was raining. Again.)

They fed us a hot lunch of barbeque chicken, coleslaw and biscuit. (Canadian cuisine, of course). They had fresh warm donuts for dessert. Yum. Nick was devastated when they ran out!

Seriously though- I saw some lady jamming 6 donuts wrapped in a napkin into her purse. Seriously? We're on a cruise with a 24 HOUR BUFFET, LADY! I THINK YOU'LL MAKE IT BACK TO THE SHIP WITHOUT STARVING! Crazy people.

Our lunch spot had some really cool 'tourist trap' stuff. Here's Nick with the Bison at the taxidermy museum:

Yes, that's right folks! He's picking its nose. Can't you just hear him laughing? And can't you just see the curators of the museum cringing? Such fun!!

There was also dog sled rides and (my personal favorite) PUPPIES! Muddy,wet puppies. And boy, did they know how to work us tourists! Look at these guys:

This guy said: "Gimme the treat, lady, and nobody's pants get muddy." I swear. Ok- he didn't talk. But if he could that's what he'd say.

Rob saw another bear! Scary!

This place offered dog sled rides. I took a quick video of the dogs. They are so strong and all they want to do is run! Check it out:

After lunch we ventured into the small town of Carcross. It took about 5 minutes to tour the town. Its pretty tiny. This was my favorite part:

That's right. Sushi! If your wondering why we didn't have lunch here, this is why: Kinda small. Here's the Carcross Post Office. After our short stop we headed back to the USA. We made a couple stops for pictures. And whatta ya know? Another rainbow!

We made a stop at this neat place so we could photograph these trees. Bruce educated us about coastal tundra. These trees, although small, are anywhere from 5-700 years old. They survive the frigid, snowy winter by getting buried in snow.

This is one of those places where tourists like us stop and stack rocks. Its a way of leaving your mark behind without trashing the ecosystem. Bruce says that, in his experience, there are 2 kinds of people in the world. Those who stack the rocks, and those who knock them down. Look what I caught Nick doing:

LOL! We hit the road again. Bruce had a rule that no one can fall asleep on the bus. Look at these rule breakers!!!
We made it back to the ship with little time to spare before all aboard. The rocks along the pier are painted with the symbols of the ships that have docked here over the years. Check this one out:

Such a great day! On our way out of port we were fortunate enough to see 2 humpback whales. They were cruising along, spouting out of their blowholes. It was really cool. I couldn't zoom in enough with my camera to get a good picture, but here is where we saw them.

A little bit further down the fjord, we saw Twin Falls- named so for the split at the bottom.

Lovely! Tomorrow is a day at sea and next stop is Victoria, BC!

Juneau, AK "The Capital City"

2009-09-17T19:06:00.016-07:00

Juneau was by far the most adventurous stop on our trip! We signed up for a river rafting adventure through the cruise line. We were a little leery when we arrived to rainy (no surprise there) Juneau.

We thought the rain might create some crazy rapids. Like this:

Ok- that's Niagara Falls, but we were a little concerned. No worries, though.

We took a bus ride out to Mendenhall Lake, which is at the base of the Mendenhall Glacier. Very pretty! Check out our rides for the day!

That's the glacier under those clouds! :) They gave us some really great rain gear (also a theme this trip) and a guide.

His name was Evan (pronounced EEEEvaan) and he was 19 years old. He took this picture of us just before we shoved off. In case you can't find me, I'm the blueberry in the front with the life jacket on. Nick and Elaine are right behind us. We look like a basket of bananas. And one blueberry. With life jackets on. So off we go into the 34 degree water. Our guide paddles us out onto the lake and towards the rapids. At this point its really cold. My toes are already somewhat numb and we are 5 min from shore. But it was beautiful, and scenic, and I'm really excited to hit those rapids! Evan gives us some basic instructions- one of which is how he will rescue us if we fall into the frigid water. (scary)

So we head towards the rapids, which are not all that rapid, but look like fun. We start to speed up and Whoo Hoo! Splish splash! Fun! And then...... STOP. We hit a rock. We are stuck on the rock. Evan tells us, no problem- he can get us off the rock. He asks us to all bounce our feet and some of us to shift our weight by rocking side to side in our seats. After about 15 minutes of bouncing and rocking, we are still stuck. We ask Evan if he has a radio, or a cell phone so he can call for help. The answer is no. (WTF EVAN?) We happen to be stuck directly in front of two homes on the river. A lady comes out of one of the homes and asks if she can call someone. (that sounds smart) Her son tries to help by tossing us a rope, but the rope is way to short and her son can't get it to us. After about 30 min the lady is smart enough to call 911. Evan didn't call anybody because HE DIDN'T HAVE A CELL PHONE OR A RADIO!! Isn't that something they teach you on the first day of tourism school?? "Don't take a group of cruise ship tourists on a raft who have no idea wtf they are doing with out a way to call for help!" I digress.

So the lady from the house calls 911 and tells us the fire department is coming. Evan says - 'oh great. That's like a $12k charge. I'm gonna get fired.' His 19 years are really starting to show at this point. Nick was really good at keeping him focused on the fact that the safety of the people on the raft is the first priority and his job is a distant #2. Now 35 minutes have passed and we are cold and tired and not having fun anymore. And then AL appears!! AL! Al was one of the guys who helped us out on the shore before we left. YaY AL!!

Al proceeds to try and throw us a rope while wading into the water up to his thighs. On the third try, Rob catches the rope!!! An then Al accidentally lets go of his end and we are right back where we started. Nick was laughing so hard I thought he would pee his rain pants! But - Good News- The Fire Department is here!! A big Fire truck pulls into the house's driveway. ..... And ONE guy gets out. ONE GUY. The fire department sent ONE GUY. At this point, I figure we are never getting off this rock. Fortunately, Al, the fireman, the lady's son, and now her husband, successfully toss us a rope. It took 4 tries, but Rob catches it, and is able to tie it to the raft. The people on shore start tugging, and we start bouncing our feet, and the raft begins to move!! A few tugs and a few more bounces and we slide back into the rushing water! YAY!! We were stuck for almost an hour. This was our view while we were stuck: (I figured since we were stuck, I might as well take a picture.)

The rest of our ride was uneventful. We did see 2 bald eagles and some great scenery. Evan told us all about the bald eagles and the history of Juneau. Did you know they named Juneau after Joe Juneau? The night before the town was going to vote on its official name, Joe Juneau bought everyone a round of drinks at the local saloon. Smart man. (I'm not sure if that is a true story, but I like it!)

Here's a picture of the duration of our river raft trip. It was misty and quiet and lovely. :) Bald eagles are majestic and beautiful.

Our ride ended and we gave back our awesome rain gear. We made our way back to the ship, had a quick dinner, and went to bed. What a day!! Here's all of us as we are about to head back to town: (sorry about the poor quality, but it was almost dark. oh, and it was raining.)

Rob has on his "happy" face. LOL!

Tomorrow is the awesome town of Skagway!!

P.S. No. We did not see Sara Palin. :)

Tracy Arm Fjord

2009-09-15T20:42:00.009-07:00

Around 6am our ship ventured into Tracy Arm Fjord. Our room had a balcony so we spent the morning in our pj's 'ooh-ing' and 'aah-ing' at the scenery. A fjord is basically an area where a glacier has carved away the earth and left a deep inlet, which is filled with sea water and melted glacial ice. The water contains glacial 'silt', and is the most amazing blue turquoise color. The fjord "dead ends" at 2 glaciers (which used to be one glacier before it receded) South Sawyer Glacier and North Sawyer Glacier. There are dozens of waterfalls along the coast, and you can hear the rushing water on the ship. Notice how there is no "beach". The glacier carves the land and creates this solid rock face. This is Sawyer Island and in the distance is South Sawyer Glacier: Our ship coasted slowly through the fjord, with icebergs gently bumping against the sides. You could hear a "tonk!" when one of the larger ones hit the hull. Rob shouted "Iceberg Dead Ahead!" in an English accent from the movie Titanic. (Ok, maybe I said it, and the guy from Rochester on the balcony next to ours looked at me like I was crazy.)

The icebergs themselves are so pretty. They reflect the color blue. They call the larger ones like these "growlers". Remember that 90% of an iceberg is under the water, so this is a pretty big chunk of ice. I was amazed at how close we were to it. This is another iceberg:

This is me, bed head and all, in my jammies and a jacket on the balcony! Rob was a bit more put together in his turtle fur and vest.

We drank lots of hot coffee that morning!! Here is a short video taken from our balcony:

Tomorrow is the Alaskan capital city of Juneau and our river rafting adventure!

Ketchikan, Alaska "The Salmon Capitol of the World" pop. 7500

2009-09-14T18:19:00.010-07:00

Ketchikan is a great little town in southeast Alaska only accessible by boat or sea plane. It gets 15 ft. of rain per year. That is not a misprint - 15 feet per year. So, can you guess what the weather was like? Yep. Rainy! This part of Alaska is a temperate (or coastal) rain forest. In the summer months it rains an average of 28 days per month.

This is a view of the town from our room on the ship.
This tunnel was made after the houses on the hill were built. I imagine that the home owner's were a little nervous when they were blasting away the rock! Ketchikan has "Stair streets". One example is the stairs running alongside that tunnel. That set of stairs has a street sign- it's a street. This means it is maintained by the city, and it gets snow removal and trash pick up! Sometimes there are several addresses on one set of stairs. Kinda cool, huh?Rob encountered this bear when we walked through town!! Scary!

We had a fun little excursion, which was a Jeep tour and short canoe trip. We were given some really attractive rain gear and Green Jeep #103.

We drove out to the lake, suited up, and got into the canoe. Right after our guide bailed out the rainwater. (sweet milk jug bailer)

Look at Elaine in her rain gear!
We paddled- and when I say 'we' I mean me and Elaine. Rob sat in a middle seat, and Nick was too busy horsing around to actually paddle- across the lake to this little dock:Waiting for us was a warm fire, hot cocoa, coffee, cookies, and some seafood chowder. This was Nick's favorite part! :)

We took a short guided nature walk and our guide talked about the trees and plants.

Then we paddle back across the lake (and this time I was the only one paddling because Elaine can't paddle and laugh at the same time), ditched our rain gear and hopped back in our Jeep. I was able to talk everyone into letting me drive! Whoo-hoo! Our guide took us on a couple of muddy, bumpy roads and it was awesome! (Rob almost threw up!)

On the way back to town we had a "corny joke" contest. Here's the winner:

"How do you catch a polar bear? You carve a hole in the ice and sprinkle some peas around it. When the bear comes up to take a pea, you kick him in the ice hole." ha!ha!

We then headed back to the ship for a 430pm all aboard!

Tomorrow: Tracy Arm Fjord at 6am!!

Seattle, WA and onward to the sea!

2009-09-14T17:08:00.009-07:00

The first "stop" on our cruise was Seattle, WA. We flew into Sea-Tac and took a bus to the Pier to meet our ship. The ship was called the Star Princess. It was raining in Seattle when we arrived, (rain was a theme on this trip!)but by the time our ship set sail the rain had cleared. However, it was windy and cold! I insisted we stay on deck to see the Emerald City from the ship. It was VERY chilly. Elaine was wearing sandals, and at one point her toes were blue.

You can see how windy it is by looking at the pool:

Rob ditched me and went inside the Skywalk. You can see him in there and Elaine joined him for a little while.

But there was a rainbow! A beautiful rainbow that curved right over the space needle! I got this great picture:

Isn't that awesome?

Dave and Mary (friends of Nick and Elaine's who also went on this trip) joined us on the bow of the ship for an "embarkation cocktail". Then we all went inside because it was so darn windy!

Onward to the sea. We sailed thru the night and the entire next day. But don't you worry-there was plenty for us to do on the ship:

Like Bingo in the 'Vista Lounge'. (Mary won!!)

Nick explored all the places to eat, (which was pretty much the whole ship). He continued to 'explore' throughout our journey. I think the buffet staff knew him by name.

There was this Russian guy in a leather outfit doing tricks with this metal cube: (the cube is spinning in this shot.)
At one point he removed the leather coat and was just in leather pants. I'm not sure what that had to do with his cube tricks, but that's OK.

Our ship encountered a bit of rough sea. Look at the sway of the pool water in this video:

I'm not sure why those people were still in it. It was so rocky, people would sway as they walked down the hallway. It was like the whole ship was drunk.

Dinner that night was formal dress. Isn't my husband handsome??

Tomorrow we arrive in Ketchikan, AK at 6am! Can you guess what the weather will be?

We're home!!

2009-09-13T20:17:00.003-07:00

You may have noticed my lack of posts this past week. This was due to the AWESOME vacation Rob and I took with his parents to Alaska and Canada. It was great!! I've decided to do a post about each port we visited. Alaska is so scenic -I took over 500 pictures! We are happy to be back home. A HUGE Thanks to Cousin Paulie who took excellent care of our house and our dog while we were away. (despite the fact that Sunny woke her every morning at 430am for breakfast!) Thanks cousin! We love you!

Meanwhile.... back at the remodel....Lots of things were done while we were away. Look- there's a roof !

And a porch!! The window was removed and the space for the door was cut.The window on the inside was removed, and this will be the entrance to the new bath. You can see the framing of the walls that has been done inside. (Yes, the curtain rod will be coming down.)

This will be the door to the 'pool bath' (which is the old master bath). The saw cut of the block has been done. Now the window and the block need to be removed and replaced with a door. What a difference a week makes! Next post will be all about Alaska. Here's a taste of the beautiful scenery:

Beautiful, isn't it?

Our friend King and New walls... all in one week!

2009-09-04T17:55:00.003-07:00

This past week our friends Jennifer and Eddie went on a vacation. Their dog King came to stay with us while they were gone. King is very sweet and very cuddly. (Rob called him "needy", but I think King just liked us a whole lot!) He and Sunny had a great time together. Sunny is not as young and fast as King, but I think they liked hanging out together:

And look at the pretty seashell platter Jen and Eddie brought us from Virginia Beach!

On the remodeling front: This week our addition got some walls! Who knew cinder blocks could be so exciting?! Ta-da!:

This is the view from the Master window which will soon become the entrance to the bathroom. You can see the opening for the new window.

One step closer to moving day! The journey of a thousand miles begins with the first step. :)

Slabs!

2009-08-31T20:29:00.003-07:00

Today the contractor poured the concrete slabs!!! Here is a picture of the living room floor - step no more!! All one level: (the concrete is still drying so its much darker than the existing floor)

Here's the alcove. (yes- the purple paint will be going away.)The slab for the bathroom/closet: Here is the NEW Porch off the master bedroom where Rob and Sunny and I will be drinking coffee and reading the Sunday paper. (But first the window has to become a door, and the 'roof' needs to be put on.)I'm so excited! I can't wait for it to be done! (I know, I know, - we have a long way to go. Just let me revel in the moment!)

Pomegranates?

2009-08-27T19:48:00.003-07:00

I think we have a pomegranate tree - or is it a bush? Here's a couple pics of the fruit growing from it. Looks like pomegranate to me. What do you think? Will I be mixing pomegranate martinis at the housewarming?? :)

Movin along...

2009-08-26T16:31:00.003-07:00

In addition to our addition, Rob and I decided to remove this step in the living room floor:

This will involve moving the sliding glass door, pouring in concrete, and then replacing the door. Today the floor was being prepped and the sliding door has been removed!

Things are progressing on the bathroom which is also being prepped for concrete footers.

And here is the view from the master bedroom window-( soon to be a door!)- to the side yard where the new porch will be!

They are hoping to pour concrete on Friday! Can't wait!

Very Exciting!!

2009-08-20T18:39:00.002-07:00

When I pictured a third bathroom this isn't what I had in mind:

That's right! An outhouse in the front yard!! But seriously, the work has begun on our addition! Here are a few pics of the 'groundbreaking":That trench is the outline of our new master bath and closet:
And the two holes here are for the posts of our new porch:

That window will soon become a door! I can't wait!

Paint, Paint and more Paint.

2009-08-16T20:49:00.003-07:00

Today was a day of painting. And there is still more painting to do. Rob hates painting, almost as much as he hates yard work. Here he is painting the new wall in the garage and the new garage ceiling.

Notice that I did not show his expression.

I did lots of painting, too- both bedroom ceilings. My arms are really sore tonight! I also mowed the yard, took care of the pool and cleaned up some leaves. I want things to look nice for the contractor when he digs in on Tuesday! (So exciting!)

We also picked up some new doors- 2 for the hall closets, and one for the entrance into the house from the garage. They are gonna look great!

Lots should be happening this week so I'll be posting again soon!

Yippee! Progress!!

2009-08-12T17:18:00.006-07:00

First things first: A big Happy Birthday to my Dad and to Cousin Ryan!!

Now on the remodeling front:

This past week the popcorn ceilings came off and some drywall work was done. We are very pleased with the results. The man who did the work is named Nery Palma. He came highly recommended by our friends Pat and Kirk. Thanks for the great recommendation!

Here is a before of the gap where we took the wall out:

Now keep in mind we haven't painted yet! Here is the completed wall/ceiling:

Remember the linen closet in the bathroom?

Here it is with finished drywall:

And here is the former air handler closet:

And here it is with finished dry wall. Now it needs paint, shelves, and a new door:And here's a photo of the old popcorn ceiling:

And the new smooth (unpainted) ceiling:

Now we have lots of painting to do!

The Snuggie for Dogs? Really?

2009-08-04T14:19:00.002-07:00

I could never get Sunny to wear this. Never- unless it was dipped in beef broth first and then he'd just eat it! Check this out:
https://www.snuggiefordogs.net/

Back to the remodeling:
Today the garage wall is getting insulation and new drywall, and the popcorn ceiling is coming off!! I'll post some pictures next time!

Farewell Uncle Bob

2009-08-02T19:40:00.002-07:00

My Uncle Bob lost his battle with lung cancer this past week. He was laid to rest today in Indiana. Rest in Peace Uncle Bob. We'll miss you. Here is a link to his obituary. He lived a long, full life!
http://www2.indystar.com/cgi-bin/obituaries/index.php?action=show&id=106785

Let there be light!

2009-07-31T22:10:00.004-07:00

I am fortunate that my husband is an amatuer electrician. He is really very handy with the little things that make a BIG difference. Example: He moved the switch (that was on the wall we demolished) to a different wall and he changed it to a rocker switch! :)

He also put in a triple rocker switch in the guest bathroom. The first one is the light, the second is the fan and the third is........A new light in the 'soon to be' linen closet! Fabulous!

A Big thanks to Nick and Rob for all of their hard work! Next Post- the acoustic 'popcorn ceiling' comes out next week! Yay!

50 years

2009-07-28T08:17:00.003-07:00

This past weekend the whole family gathered in northern Illinois for a celebration of my parents 50th wedding anniversary. Yep, 50. Here is Mom and Dad on their big day:

And 50 years later with all their grand kids:

Fifty years of marriage is definitely something to be celebrated! I really enjoyed seeing the whole family together, watching the cousins play, and catching up with all my brothers. Mom and Dad raised some great kids (if i do say so myself) and they taught us a lot about the value of family. Kudos Mom and Dad! :) In honor of the event I am posting my own Top Ten list of "quotes from our family":

10. Go to your room and wait till your father gets home! (doesn't every family have this one?)

9. Burn, Burn, Crispy Bacon! (courtesy of brother Dennis)

8. Dad: "What have you boys been doin?"

Andy: "Nothin"

Tom: "Nothin"

Dennis: "Nothin"

Dan: "Eatin' Melon!"

7. Use credit cards for convenience, not for credit.

6. Different Strokes for different folks!

5. Kid: "Dad can I have a ____________?"
Mom/Dad: "Save your allowance!"

4. I hate this family! (step, step, step, SLAM!) (this was me in my tormented adolescent days!)

3. I may not always be right, but I am never wrong!

2. An apple pie without the cheese, is like a kiss without the squeeze!

And number one.......

(drum roll please)

1. Don't like it? Can't eat it? Eat it anyway!

Congratulations Mom and Dad!

"Who takes care of your Pool?"

2009-07-17T08:01:00.005-07:00

ME! I'm the "pool guy".

Our new house has a pool! I look forward to using it when we finally move in, (which may not be until I'm 87 at the rate were going!) We've never had a pool before, so there's been a bit of a learning curve on how to care for it. Rob and I went to 'Pool School'- a free class at the local pool store. That gave us some basic knowledge, but we're still learning. I've been put in charge of pool maintenance for the duration of the remodel. Our sand filter:

Yesterday I back washed my filter for the first time! All by myself! Ok- I had a little coaching from our friend Mark. But I cleaned it successfully and my filter is happy. Little did I know you need to back flush once a week in the summer. Here's our pretty pool: (The kid fence is removable, but it will stay up for the duration of the remodeling just in case!)

Hope you are all staying cool and enjoying the summer! Pool Party at my house next summer!! :)

Pluggin' along

2009-07-09T11:47:00.002-07:00

I've been working a bunch lately and I haven't had much time to spend on the remodel. The good news is we have plans and permits!! Let's hope for a ground-breaking soon! There was also the small matter of our pool turning GREEN this week. Ick! After a visit to the pool store, we are back to a beautiful sparkling blue! :)

Here is my progress on the fireplace stripping. I'm having trouble with the stripper sticking to the sloped areas - it slides right off. Here's the latest:

I plan to do the hearth tomorrow. Wish me luck!

Happy Independence Day!

2009-07-03T21:41:00.001-07:00

Have a SAFE and Happy 4th of JULY!! Please don't drink and drive.

I'm Strippin'!

2009-06-30T20:18:00.002-07:00

So I decided to strip the fireplace. I'm still going to paint it, but I think it will be easier to strip it than to try and cover the brown and black. (for my previous post on this mantle, scroll down.)What have I gotten myself into? Its going to be a big, but worthwhile, venture. I started today. Here's my progress:

The first coat of stripper came off really easy. There's ceramic tile under there!!!:

I got so excited, I started on the hearth. See the concrete under there?

We are looking better already! More strippin tomorrow!

It looks like there are 3 coats of paint on the mantle. One dark brown, one mustardy brownish yellow, and one white. The paint actually comes off pretty easy, but I don't think its going to come out of the grout so easy. Stay tuned!!!

A Fabulous Party!!!

2009-06-28T14:58:00.006-07:00

A little break from remodeling to spend a day with family!

Cousin Michele and Cousin Ryan came to the US for a visit. (yay! They've been away too long!) So all of the family gathered to celebrate Ryan's 4th birthday and Michele's 40th birthday and, (surprise!) the anniversary of my 29th Birthday!! :) The party was awesome! Here is the birthday boy in his mouse ears:There were fun games:

Birthday Cupcakes (homemade!):

Juice for the kids with really cool Kool-aid Ice stars!! (courtesy of Cousin Michele! And the adults had Pimm's & Lemonade!)

Face Painting: (Madisen the Kitty-Kat)

Cousin Katy has talent! :

Sack races:

Dinner with some cousins we haven't seen in awhile: (little smokies and mac n cheese!)

A short kid's fashion show: (Yep- that's cousin Nicole in a 5T!)

Swimming: (Jack Henry workin' the goggles!)

And - SURPRISE! - A cake for my b-day! Homemade by Michele! and it was Yumm-mee! Thanks cousin! (check out Ryan in his cool bathing suit!) PS- my eyes are closed because I am making a wish!

What a great day!

The Outside of our House (by request)

2009-06-24T16:37:00.006-07:00

As requested, here are a few pictures of the outside of our house! We won't be doing much to the outside for now, except for a new roof in the back.

I'm not sure what to plant in those brick planters. I'd like to do some colorful flowers.

Our front porch:

I'll save the backyard for another post. It's going to change a little with the addition. I think Jeremy is all done with the plans, so we hope to have permits soon! Have a great day!

DEMO! Woo Hoo!

2009-06-20T20:41:00.005-07:00

More demo today! We took apart an old closet where the air handler used to be. The previous owners threw some shelves in, but it still had the old sheet metal and the door didn't go all the way to the floor: and it had a sweet fold-down ironing board! :)

Here's what it looks like after a little Demo:

Now it needs the walls patched, a door and some shelves. I'm not sure what we'll use this closet for, but I have a few ideas! Cousin Brian was nice enough to help us today! He pulled up the tile in the spare bathroom. Thanks cousin!

We also started the demo of the kitchen wall! Very exciting!

Brian was ready to knock out the 2x4's, but Rob needs to move some electrical stuff first. :)

We met with our designer Jeremy this morning and the plans for our addition are almost complete and ready to submit for permits! If any of you plan to remodel your house Jeremy is really great! www.granger-phoenix.com

So long for now!

Open to suggestions!

2009-06-16T19:09:00.002-07:00

Our house has a really cool two-way fireplace. I like the tile that is on one side, but the other side looks like this:

The mantle is made of concrete and it has some lovely details:

I don't like the brown. I would like to paint this mantle a different color. I was thinking of going to a light color- ivory maybe? But what should I do with the inner section that is painted black? Do I paint it, too? Same color? Different color? (fyi- we will be painting the area above the mantle, also.)

Can you help? I would love some suggestions!!! Thanks!

Just Getting Started

2009-06-14T18:32:00.007-07:00

Hello all! This blog is a great way to share what's happening in our lives. I've decided to blog our journey as we remodel our house, so you can all share in our ups and downs! It's already a great house! It just needs a little tweaking! We are waiting on the plans for our master bathroom addition, but we've been doing some 'demo'. I love demo! Its fun! Anyway- this weekend Nick and Elaine were nice enough to give us a hand. Rob and Nick started with the garage:

Before paint:

After Paint:

Now I know that you are probably thinking "The garage? They painted the garage?" But the garage is Rob's mancave, and he likes a clean mancave. We also painted the pantry, which is getting new shelves and we demo'd the bathroom closet, which at one time had bright turquoise and /or lilac paint! Yikes!

Here's what it looks like now:

My 'consultant' (aka Nick) assures me we can make a fabulous new linen closet! :) I'm very excited! I'll post more soon! Please feel free to leave your comments and ideas!

The remodel

2009-05-27T21:28:00.003-07:00

So- DH and I bought a house. Its a great house, but it needs little 'tweeking' before we move in. Its going to be a long, hot summer, but I know it will all be worth it in the end. Here's a picture of our new electrical panel! Woo Hoo!! :)

Memorial Day

2009-05-24T11:27:00.000-07:00

Happy Memorial Day!! I am thankful for all the people who have given their lives so I can live in a democracy. God Bless America!

2009-05-21T21:48:00.000-07:00

My first post! yay! Welcome to Schnakenblog. I'm ready to join the world of bloggers!