Screened in Porch

So, apparently the people I bought my house from LOVED indoor-outdoor carpeting.  Loved it so much in fact, that they did put it both indoors and outdoors!  The screened in porch had it glued down over every inch (as did my breeze way, but that's another post).  Anyhow, with a little elbow grease and some sanding, staning and painting, this little porch truly shines now!

Here is my one, sad picture of what it looked like before the process:

I wish I had taken more pictures of it, but you kind of get the idea, right?

Here the carpet is gone and I'm prepping to spray the ceiling a nice warm peanut butter color (that I got for $5 from the OOPS section at Home Depot.

Before shot of the ceiling

And. . . .  . .after

Clear coat of stain on the floor.  The furniture came from Target when it went 75% off!

What a difference, huh?  These were taken a couple of years ago and it looks a little bit different these days.  I bought an much larger outdoor rug at summer's end about 2 years ago, so that's changed the

space quite a bit. 

Quite possibly one of my favorite "rooms" of the house!!

Spring Has Sprung

Doesn't this warm your heart?  Yeah, me too.

I don't know about you, but the older I get, the longer winter seems.  Why is that?

Tomato seeds and basil have been planted and are doing well. . . .

Obviously I don't bother with those little individual pots to start my seeds. . . .

Just throw them in a planter and I'm good to go.

I'm dreaming about a yummy tomato, basil and mozzarella dish.  Heaven.

Thank You!!

Someone brought me flowers today. . . .

My Do Not Read List

Short post because I have a lot to do tonight, but just wanted to comment on two books that have officially made my "Do Not Read List." 

First up is The Superior Wife Syndrome.  Do me a favor, ladies.  Google this book and then read the excerpt.  I was excited to read this book.  I thought it would do me some good--some straight up healing.  You know, divorces and all can make you question the entire population of MEN, especially when your ex-husband bluntly says in counseling, "Yeah, I just want to sit on my ass and drink beer and watch TV."  Anyway, I can't stress enought just how excited I was to read this book.  Until I read the first chapter.  And then I was just pissed off and started picking fights with Country.  Back to the library it went.

Second is Fast Food Nation.  Sometimes I think ignorance really is bliss.  The very little that I read of this book disturbed me so much that I actually thought about giving up meat.  And then I was bitch slapped and snapped out of it. 

Ahhhh, Mother Nature is flirting with us here in Illinois.  It's been in the low 60's the past couple of days.  You know how that goes.  We'll probably have a foot of snow by Saturday.

Hope your week is going well and you've felt the sunshine on your face.

A Little of This, A Little of That Part 2

Well, it's official--Country is back to work!  Yeah!  He is so happy to be back out there doing what he does best--building houses and so am I. 

So, the new downstairs bathroom is coming along nicely.  The tile is in and ready to be grouted.  We picked up a door for super cheap at Home Depot.  Cool story behind the door actually.  We went to Home Depot and talked to a great guy named Tom in the door department.  We told him what we were looking for; a solid wood, louvered door (this door leads to the 'furnace' room) with panels on the bottom.  Since this is not a door that they stock, we would have to custom order it.  So, he puts all the specs in the computer to see what the price would be and tells us $270.  Yikes.  For a door that leads to the furnace?  So, Country starts brainstorming and thinks we can just get a regular door and he can build the louevers himself, but we're both thinking what a pain in the arse this will be.  So Tom says, "You know, I think we have one of these up front in the clearance section."  Clearance section?  I've been to this Home Depot about a millions times, can smell a bargain a mile away and I've never even seem the clearance section.  So we go up there and sure enough, there's our door.  The best part?  They knocked some additional money off and we got it for 75 bucks!  Can you believe it!? 

So, why I think this is so cool is that on that very morning, I had donated a big box of food to the food pantry and a big bag of clothes to Goodwill.  I like to think that this is good karma coming full circle and that if you live your life the best way you can and are generous that it can and it will come back to you.

Let me give you a little background on this new bathroom.  The room started out like this:

It was a furnace/dungeon when I bought the house.  So, I put in new flooring and painted the walls a fun purple color and the workbench blue and green and turned this room into a craft room.  Shortly after, the basement flooded and all that work went down the tubes.  With that being said, we had to cut into the concrete to get to some pipes, blah, blah, blah and then we decided to put in a full bath since the floor was all cut up anyway.  Then life got in the way and this room sat for several years untouched.

Fast forward.  Here's the transition:

(When it's finished that will hold shampoo bottles, not beer bottles)

River rock mosaic tiles.  LOVE them.

This room sure has come a long way. . .almost there!  Hopefully we'll get it grouted this weekend.

On another note, I have been day dreaming about my garden all. the. time.  I can't stop!  I am soooo ready for winter to be over and I'm drooling just thinking about tomatoes.  I picked up some seeds yesterday.

What do you think?  I still have to get some onions.  What else?  Hmmm.  I can't wait.  I wish we could grow avocados here.  That would make Country and I very happy.  We've been eating a lot of 'em lately.

Also want to congratulate Tasha and Jeff on their pregnancy!  It's been a long road for them and I can't think of another couple as deserving!  Congrats you guys!  xoxo

A Little of This, A Little of That

Old Man Winter decided to give us a little gift this week--about a foot of snow.  Growing up in the midwest, I've learned to embrace winter.  You know--winter sports, fun accessories such as hats and scarves, that kind of thing.  I mean, what are ya gonna do?  This is my home, so make the best of it, right? 

But a foot of snow makes for an ever loooooonger commute and I am so done with winter thankyouverymuch.  Done.

I swear, the only thing that seems to be getting me through winter are these little cuties:

I am being totally for real when I tell you that I have single handedly eaten 20 lbs of these little gems in the past month and a half.  They are like candy to me.  I suppose it's better I've eaten 20 lbs of clementines than candy . . . . .hmmm. 

Speaking of winter sports, Country got to try his hand in a variety of winter activities.  First up was ice skating with his sister and neices.  He said he went once before but it had been a very long time.  He skated pretty well.  Until he fell on his wrist.  Whoops!

Then we went to central Wisconsin to visit my grandparents.  We all geared up and brother #2, Country, Papa and I all headed out on the snowmobiles.  Driving a snowmobile is as natural as me as driving a car.  I think my mother gave birth to me on a snowmobile.  And then put ice skates on my feet.  But anyway, since he drove a jet ski once, I figured he was ready for the challenge.  Don't worry.  Brother #2 went out to find him when we realized Country wasn't behind us anymore.  He was fine and so was the windshield of the snowmobile.  Just a little crack.  Nothing a little duct tape won't fix.

I don't think we'll go skiing anytime soon. 

In other news, Country will be back to work full time in less than 2 weeks!  Woot woot!  We are so very happy. 

And, OH!  How could I forget?!  Little Man turned 1 year old last week!  Brother #1 and Sister-in-Love threw a lovely little shindig.

You're in My Spot

So let's talk parking spots.  I've been at my job for oh, 13 years.  That's a long time.  And during that entire time, I've been parking in either the 2nd or 3rd spot, depending on what time I arrive.  Another coworker parks in the 2nd or 3rd spot as well, depending on who gets there first.  It's the way it's been for years.  Years, people.  Now all of a sudden during the last couple of months, there has been an intruder.  Now this is not a new employee.  She's been working there a pretty long time.  Except now she has decided that she wants to be closer to the door. 

Now, rationally speaking, I know we don't have "assigned spots."  Technically, it's first come, first park.  But.  There's just an unspoken kind of rule, you know what I mean?  What makes a person all of a sudden decide, "Hmmm.  I think I'll park here instead?" (even though you just know it's someone else's unofficial spot). 

So, this morning, I woke up 10 minutes earlier so I could get to work before the parking spot offender. Since it would make me look like a total asshole to say anything, I figure my options are:


1.) wake up 10 minutes earlier so I can get here before her and be happy

2.) sleep those extra 10 minutes and arrive at work to find her car in "my" spot, which leads to:

            a.) ultra crabbiness that lasts the majority of the day

            b.) me ramming her car with mine, which leads to:

                    1.) possible arrest

                    2.) damaged vehichles

                    3.) increased insurance premiums


I'm going with option 1.