i'mmmmmmmmm BACK!!!!!

yes it is me....arisen from the pile of sawdust and scraps that the renovation has provided and slowly things are coming together.

The last little bit of the kitchen renovation is almost done...just 3 more things need to be done

• Panel addition on the end of one of the cabinets
• cutlary drawer installed (cabinet didn't arrive with it as ordered)
• fix the kitchen faucet

That last one - fix the kitchen faucet - well this is our 2nd faucet we have - the first one didn't work - well it worked but for some reason you could only get either hot or cold water out of it - depending on which way you switched the hoses - after my contractor placed calls to a plumbing place, a plumber and to Koehler directly the outcome was we got a bum faucet and to take it back to where we bought it - so we did and I ordered a Mac-Daddy Delta faucet from on-line...

Got it - installed it - hot water, cold water, warm water....that's all good...what is bad is that it has no pressure...the water dribbles out - so my contractor is suppose to bring over a master plumber to take a look at it...this doens't surprise me - as we have also already had 2 visits from the from the GE repairman for our brand new fridge...stupid icemaker....and the fancy instahot I wanted - damn tank didn't fit under my sink - so we had to go to the basic shiny chrome and black plastic model...

one day....one day everything will be in proper working order - but I must admit the renovation is spectacular and I look forward to using my new kitchen and my new 3 seasons room for YEARS to come...

Want to take a peek - then just click HERE

still alive...

some of you have my e-mail address and for the second time in a week I received an e-mail asking if I am alive...

I am - just buried under the house renovations - yeah...that promise to never paint again...I spent 3 hours last night painting my laundry room a color called Junebug...wrong name for the paint it should really be "1986 Neon Green Hue # 3" - oh well at least I will be able to see what I am doing by the glow of the walls

Renovations are going along great - I should have some pictures posted by the end of the week.

Work training....let's just say if you ever have any desire to learn about the Radial tire and how it came to be - ask me and prepare to be bored....

oh and one of my friends sent me a link to join Facebook - so I did...bad bad bad decision...another thing to waste time on....

gotta go and read more about tires...joy

Bad Blogger...bad bad blogger....

Yeah I know - life is hectic and busy and full of crap...even more so when you are renovating...

When you say to yourself while in the middle of a renovation...

"Self you could save a few bucks if you do this project yourself"

DON'T LISTEN...seriously just don't....

So this past holiday weekend - DH and I decided to tackle the downstairs guest bathroom...really shouldn't have been so hard - new paint, a new sink and a new faucet...yeah well....

The room did get painted - along with lots of swear words tumbling from my mouth...and the sentence to TC "whatever we are paying the painters to paint upstairs is worth every single penny...I am NEVER painting again"

My thought was to put molding around the top...so we went to Lowes and picked it out...and well now I need to find a cool, funky border because cutting angles just ain't TC's thing....

And moving onto the sink...we got it sort of put together...well we got the faucet on the new pedastal sink...the sink however is still in two pieces in the garage...I have a distinct feeling that we will be having our contractor install the sink as orginally planned...

Painters are coming next week to paint our upstairs - the master bedroom, Rec Room and upstairs hallway...got all my craft crap out of my bedroom and actually sold my desk...now to start moving all the crap in the Rec Room...we have to have everything away from the walls - which wouldn't be such a bad thing if half the walls weren't covered by heavy bookcases filled with books, knick, knacks and other assorted junk...

Slowly but surely the renovation is moving along...

We have been taking some pictures - hope to post some soon...

On a sad note - my girls started SECOND grade this morning...seriously SECOND grade - they are growing up way way way to fast for me.....{sniff, sniff}

I survived....

So I had my surgery last Friday and I am all fixed now…the Dr. stated that he does think it is that darn scar endometrioma – which would in fact put me in a rare group – since only 0.01 – 0.03% of women who have had a hysterectomy or a C-section wind up with this “situation”

Is it really bad of me to say “It’s because of you” when my girls ask “Why does your belly hurt mommy?” - I mean because if we are being honest here…it is because of them…well…really now I guess it goes back to TC fault really because

TC = sex = 2 fetuses (would that be feti??) = there is no way in hell 2 babies are passing through my va-jay-jay in the same day = C-section = scar endometrioma

Anyway I got a whole days rest, a new toilet and some kick-ass drugs out of the whole thing so I will call it a wash right now…

And no I am not currently under the spell of the kick-ass drugs…I did in fact write A NEW TOILET…

You see apparently when I go to a hospital my parents buy me a new plumbing fixture…

When I was in the hospital on bedrest while pregnant I came home to a brand new Insta-hot…

***Tanget – for those who don’t know what an Insta-hot is – it is a unit that goes with your sink so that when you push the lever you have instant hot water – it is one of those things that you can live without until you live with it…then it becomes a MUST HAVE item…I actually grew up with one in my house and when my mom came for a visit while I was in the hospital in pre-term labor she stood at the sink and asked TC where our Insta-hot was…ummm we don’t have one…well…later that day guess what my dad and TC tried to install….yes an insta-hot…and well 3 weeks, one electrician visit and a $150 fee it was properly hooked up :)

Anyway on Thursday night my parents, TC and I were talking – my dad got up and went to the bathroom and came back…the conversation went something like this…

Dad: When you are doing the remodel are you getting a new toilet?
Me: nooo why?
Dad: cause your toilet is sort of low and for us older folks it is sort of hard to crouch…
Me: STOP…images…bad bad images….stop talking please
Dad: I’m just saying a higher toilet would be nice
Me: Well stick a bow on one and leave it under my Christmas Tree

So off we go to the hospital on Friday morning at 6am for my surgery…yes 6 am…actually more like 5:50 because TC wanted to stop for coffee…yes he is so nice…let’s drink coffee in front of the woman who can’t eat or drink anything and has a hard-on for caffeine…I should have expected no less from the man who chowed down on fried chicken in front of his wife while she was in preterm labor for 10 hours and was not allowed to eat anything heavier than occasional ice chips.

Anyway – surgery went well and it turns out I was my surgeons last patient EVER…yep he retired as of last Friday afternoon – when was I told this – right before getting the sleepy juice…I just hope he saved his best work for last and wasn’t like…well shit I’m never going to be doing this again let’s just go the basic route…

Anyway got back home and got into bed and passed back out for a while…then I was awoken by loud banging…opened one eye and saw my mother…

Me: - what in gods name are they doing down there
Mom: Don’t take the lords name in vain
Me: it’s the drugs talking
Mom: They are installing the new toilet
Me: what??? (pass out again)

So now I don’t have a thing in my belly and I don’t have to crouch as much in my downstairs bathroom…

Next time they come I am going to set up the 13” TV for them to watch…maybe then I can have this conversation with my dad

Dad: Are you going to get a bigger TV
Me: nooo why?
Dad: cause your TV is sort of small and for us older folks it is sort of hard to watch the good parts of Real Sex on HBO…
Me: STOP…images…bad bad images….stop talking please
Dad: I’m just saying a bigger TV would be nice
Me: Well stick a bow on one and leave it under my Christmas Tree


Renovation News....

I am sure you all are waiting for updates with baited breath...

Guys came on Wed and put in my new storage cubbies and desk area in the rec room - I forgot to take a before picture...but I will be taking after pictures...and on Thursday they dug holes for the new piers that will support the three-season room...so next step is to get the holes inspected by the county and get the piers built and then they will be off building up the 3 season room...

and on to the colors....

OK so i have to pick out colors...this is what I have...

My 1st floor is very open without a lot of closed off "rooms" - right now we have a front sitting room (suppose to be a dining room) that is painted in the color dillweed (I must admit the name played a big part in chooseing the color - come on Dill Weed) - we are keeping this color

the rest of the house is a very very very light tan color and up stairs it is still builder off-white...

so our plan is to leave the sitting room the green dillweed color and paint the rest of the downstairs and upstairs hallway - Stone house


Except one accent wall (couch is up against it) will be in Rust

we also plan on painting the downstairs bathroom Rust too

Our bedroom we are thinking - Waterfall


we have a cathedrial ceiling in our bedroom with cherry color and satin nickel furniture - figured I would accent with chocolate brown (i.e. try and find a quilt with brown and similar colored blue)

and for our rec- room which also has a higher ceiling (not as high as our bedroom and it is a fairly large room - 2 car garage big)...something a little bright and cheery but fun and funky too - Summer Lime - soft yellow with just a hint of green???


What do you think...

P.S. - 25 more hours till I get to pick out my new cabinets...... {squeal}

2.5 more days....

til I get to pick out my new kitchen cabinets...

Now I have told you before that basically my new kitchen is like PORN to me...

Give me a Kraftmaid cabinet book and I am one SAT-IS-FIED individual...

So we meet on Wed afternoon - cabinets here...drawers there...

High back pull-outs....keep talking
Dual Trashcan Storage...oh baby
Pull out tray divider....YES....oh YES
Divided cutlery drawer....that's the spot...keep going
Dual Lazy Susan...yes yes yes yes yes yes
Flip out spice rack .....{high pitched gurgle}

and I'm spent....

Hopefully I can control myself during the planning...cause if I can't I'll leave "happy" in more ways than one...

Oh and the other day TC pushed me OVER the edge...I have been jonesing for a nice big Kitchen Aid mixer for oh about 14 years now...the cost has been too prohibitive - and TC has complained about the cost so I have tucked it away to the point where I just have learned to deal with my handheld mixer...well appearently TC learned that some of the models of the Kitchen Aid mixer allows for a meat grinder attachment... so let's see...TC is a hunter...who has a freezer full of deer meat...and likes homemade sausage...

If I am remembering it correctly it went something like this

"when you buy the Kitchen aid mixer make sure it is the model that can have the meat grinder attachment"

what....WHEN YOU BUY....

hells bells babies...I'm getting a new mixer, I'm getting a new mixer....

how sad that is all it takes to get me excited...

It's just a stinkin' dishwasher

Sorry I haven’t written lately – been up to my eyeballs in going-ons…

In addition to meeting with a general surgeon about the "unknown mass" that is currently in my lower abdoman and finally getting my sister married off last weekend with only a few minor problems (well ok some not so minor...like the caterer running out of food...to the tune of running out and still having 30 people not served yet...needless to say my parents aren't paying for ANY of the food...darn good thing they had a free-flowing open bar)

Last week we finally met with our contractor with his final budget numbers…looked at our wallet and said – no can do…so for the 132nd time our plans are being revised….

Goodbye breakfast nook addition…hello Three Season Room on current Deck area…

All well and good you say…

Yes and no.

See revising our plans means we now have breathing room in our budget…it means we are a good chunk of change below our budget…and here is the kicker – everything is a flat rate…so no surprises for us, meaning for our Three Season Room it will cost is X amount…no more no less…

Having breathing room in our budget is not a good thing…because I look around and think – well since we have extra room in our budget let’s do this and this and this…all little piddly things – like replacing the vanity in the girls bathroom, changing out the god –awful white and gold ceiling fan in our room, creating some shelves from dead space in our rec. room.

It means decisions…and now that we have extra $$$ floating around in our budget I am starting to rethink my appliance choices…

See the only thing I really cared about was my range…I am getting the mamma-jamma GE Profile double oven range…but the rest – the fridge and the dishwasher – as long as they were stainless I didn’t care…so I choose the lower end GE French door fridge…hey does it keep food cold – then that is fine with me…and for the dishwasher I choose a basic GE dishwasher…not the cheapest out there but not one that costs 1K either…

But now I wonder…maybe I’ll see how expensive the next model fridge is (which really only has a few differences – like they give you a wire can holder and the drawers on the side have clear fronts instead of all white plastic…) and then I started looking at dishwashers – thinking maybe I’ll go up to the next level…

Do you know how many stinken’ models of dishwashers GE has…really now...FORTY-SIX different stainless steel models of dishwashers...there really should be a law...each manufacturer should only have like 4 models available... $400, $700, $1000 and the I don't care what it costs because I light my candles using $100 bills...that way I can say give me the $700 and be done with it...in the price range I am looking at there are no less than 16 different models...oh the humanity...

In a few days I will be in a padded room and Dr’s will come by and ask “What happened to her” and all TC will be able to say is “I don’t know she keeps mumbling “dishwashers…dishwashers””

The real fun will begin next week when we kick off the plans with the all important “picking out the cabinets”…yes we are meeting with the cabinet guy and supposedly he can plot our measurements and we get to go to town…TC is coming with me – I’ll pretend to let him have a say but come on now…we all know I will be making all the choices…we did pick out the door style and color...well I picked it out and made it seem like TC had a choice - cause really after 14 years together you learn these sorts of things...how to make the man think it was his idea or decision...

So once we pick out the cabinets - what is going where, what pull out of other special features we want... we can set a timeline for the rest of the project so I am not without a kitchen for 3 months…

Oh yeah…during the middle of all of this I am scheduled to have surgery…on my abdomen. If everything goes alright I should only be down and out for about 4-5 days after the surgery but won’t be able to really pick anything up for 3-6 weeks – joy…So I will be busting my ass for the next 3 weeks to make a blitz through my house to get everything picked up and basically packed away before my house turns into a construction wasteland…and since we are redoing all the floors on the first level – this means EVERYTHING on the first floor has to be packed up…

Oh yeah and we plan to have pretty much every wall except for the girls room and the guest room painted…so we have to move everything away from the rec room walls (including a huge computer desk and a huge bookcase) and our Master bedroom (bed, dressers and oh yeah my ENTIRE craft area…)

So pray…pray that I make it through the surgery with flying colors and that I don’t have a mental break because I can’t decide which ceiling fan I like better.

And yet the week isn’t over yet….

So last time I wrote I was without air conditioning and we had already been through 2 days of RECORD heat with more to come…

So Friday TC and I dropped the girls off at Girl Scout camp for the weekend after coming home early to meet with an HVAC guy…and excitedly ran out of the camp when the girls barely acknowledged our existence when we were leaving.

We ended up going to see the Indiana Jones movie as the thought of going back to the fiery pits of hell a.k.a our home did not appeal to us. Luckily when we got home it was cooling off so we managed to get some sleep.

Saturday we got up early and headed out…we managed to get a lot of things done as far as the house renovation goes – picked out countertops, appliances, cabinets, faucets. We also heard back from the HVAC guy – ummm pass – he wanted 9K AND told us it would be up to 3 weeks before they could install it…we managed to spend the rest of the day milling around here and there (I managed to snag some fabric at a yardsale for $1…the pattern is OK – I think I might make some simple totebags with it – to take to the grocery store and whatnot) and wound up at the $2 theater where we went to see Forgetting Sarah Marshall…funniest movie I have seen in a long time…if you are a fan of the Knocked Up – Superbad genre of film you will LOVE this one.

Got home Saturday night and quite frankly it was cooler outside then inside our home. I spent the night feeling like something was crawling all over me and trying to eat me alive…must have been having some flashback to the Indiana Jones movie (those that have seen it will know what I am talking about).

Sunday go and pick up the girls from camp and off to a BBQ at a friends house…an “inside” BBQ because it was too freakin hot outside for anyone to stand. On the way home we stopped at Target and bought fans…yep fans…

By some miracles of miracles TC and I were outside on Sunday evening in our front yard and a neighbor drove by…he stopped to chat and we told him of our misery and then bid him farewell – or so we thought…15 minutes later he shows up at our door with a heat pump motor – he just happened to have one at his house (I didn’t ask)…oh did I also mention he is an electrician by trade…15 minutes later sweet, sweet cool air is blowing through my vents…I owe him ALOT...

So we are living on borrowed air. We got 2 more quotes on Monday and think we have found the right company…who has an excellent reputation and is almost 4K BELOW the first estimate….see it pays to get multiple quotes….

One crisis averted…another takes it place….

So I have been having some pains in my lower belly for a little while now along the left side of my C-section scar – I had bad intense pain about 3-4 years ago that I went oto my GYN about and she preliminary diagnosed it as endometriosis…over the years the pain faded away except for occasional twinges here and there so it got pushed to the “back burner” as I dealt with lifes other issues–

Well it flared back up and it got more intense and consistent after a night of playing Wii Fit for an hour (stupid free step) last week…I HATE Dr’s – I can literally count on one hand the number of times I have been to the Dr for myself in the past 6 years…so needless to say I don’t have a primary Dr…a friend of mine gave me the name of a Dr and I called Tuesday…lo and behold they had a 3:45 appointment for Tues…so I go and get poked and prodded and told I might have a possible incisional hernia – great…

So he gets me set up with an abdominal ultrasound for Wed morning at the hospital and an appointment with a general surgeon for next Thursday.

Go to the US yesterday and good news is I don’t have a hernia…bad news is I have some sort of mass…not really sure what it is but whatever it is chances are it is coming out surgically…personally I am *thinking* it is Scar Endometrioma

Scar endometrioma is an uncommon condition following caesarean section. It presents as a lump on the caesarean scar and can often be painful.

In reading more about this I was surprised to find that in many cases patients who are ultimately diagnosed with Scar Endometrioma are preliminary referred to general surgeons for possible incisional hernias…things that make you go HUMMM - and yes the "uncommon" would be right up my alley...

So hopefully next Thursday I see where I stand…what is it? will it get removed? If it is removed will it come back?

Such an exciting upcoming summer…house renovations and surgery

Jumble of Thoughts

First off – I wonder if we can get Congress to pass some sort of bill standardizing Tooth Fairy money. The other day I was grilled by TW why she only got $1 for her first tooth and Matthew got $5 for his first tooth…umm I didn’t know really what to say so I told her maybe the Tooth Fairy had a good night at the slots before Matthews tooth fell out…

I propose $1 for the first tooth and .25 for each additional tooth…

While we are at it maybe add a rider so we are all on the same page when it comes to the Big Guy…you know Santa…1 or 2 gifts per kid – rest comes from family and friends…

Secondly – after volunteering at my daughters Field Day I am once again glad (for now) that I only have girls…I was in charge of “Dancing with the Stars” (Hollywood theme this year) and the boys…oh the boys…running, jumping over each other, attempting to break dance in the grass. I did learn 2 things – the Robot seems to be making a comeback…at least in the 8 and under set and apparently “Who Let the Dogs Out” is about fugly girls at a party? Listen to the lyrics…I had to about 15 times because that is all the kids wanted to hear…I tried to fast forward to “Cotton Eyed Joe” but that song made me nostalgic for a beer, a smoke filled bar and the year 1994.

Third – I made more purses…want to see them…well it is a rhetorical question because you are going to see them anyway. I also made something else but I can’t show that until the person actually gets the item :) The top three are ones I was commissioned to do...the bottom ones are the ones my daughters teachers are getting for their year end gifty.





I had to put my sewing machine away so I wouldn’t be tempted to make more stuff – I have a very busy week that involves sitting through the 1st grade play (TWICE – uggg), kiddie Dr. Appointments, hair appointments, baking a strawberry-rhubarb pie and packing the girls up for their 36 hour camping adventure this coming weekend

Forth – KITCHEN ON!!!!!! – we met with our contractor again on Friday and hammered out a few more things and the ball is starting to roll…TC and I are going to start looking at a bunch of little things and hopefully we can make some decisions without too much bloodshed on either of our parts– Granite, sink , faucets, tile, cabinet style, cabinet color, etc…..

Fifth – I got a ME ME ME day…I went to an all day stamp fest (another of my many hobbies) on Saturday and had a great time making a bunch of cards…I even won a great door prize – THESE stamp sets - Sushi by Stampendous


Aren't they stinkin' adorable...now to find time to ink them up and make a card...and if anyone can give me an idea for using the fish in the washing machine - that one has me scratching my head a bit - they were generously donated by Eclectic Paperie

That's all I got for now folks - over and out

the DREAM is dying a slow death....

Remember my post about my soon to be orgasmic new kitchen....My New Porn

wellllll....maybe not so orgasmic...

I have spent the past week crunching numbers and figuring out if we can really do what we want to do...basically adding on a big addtion to the back of the house with a brand new big pantry/laundry room and huge new kitchen...the answer is yes...but with a huge problem

We could do what we wanted but it would leave us very little wiggle room in our budget to do anything else for the next 15 years or so....like going on a nice vacation every once in a while...or being able to afford a newer car in a year or two...we would in effect be house poor...

So last night TC and I sat down and talked about revamping our plan...oh don't get me wrong I'll still get a new kitchen...only it won't be as big - with a big huge island and TC won't get his man room....

So the new plan is something like this -

We would have the money to have a nice kitchen - albeit with the same floor plan but with the appliances I really want and the nice Armstrong flooring we really love and the to die for granite countertops....

We would have the money to convert the idea of a screen porch into a 3 -seasons room that would give us extra living space and a room for TC Poker nights with the guys...

We would have the money to buy really nice vinyl replacement windows that will last for a lot longer than "budget" replacement windows and maybe even afford the hot-diggidy-bomb Pella - with the blinds inside- windows for our bay window...

We would have the money to really make our Bonus/Rec room a lot nicer - big screen TV with surround sound, big plush lounging sofa, nice storage cabinets.

and there might even be a little money in the budget for a tummy tuck for me....

I especially like the last part...

***Don't forget to post a comment on my BLOG CANDY post

My new Porn...

Screw naked chicks and men with big ummm FEET?

I have a wonderful new version of Porn in my life...

Pictures of kitchens...

not just any old humpty-dumpty kitchen...all sagging and crusty around the edges.

But pictures of bright NEW kitchens with BIG bold countertops and all sorts of shiney knobs.

Where brand new french door refidgerators humm along and shiney new dishwashers just scream "look at me - aren't I fancy"

After taking a long look at our finances Third Child and I decided to see what a contractor might say about putting an addition on our house...and not just any addition...a new kitchen addition...

{swoon ... faint}

So we meet with the contractor and go through the basics of what we want...

See this wall here - push it out about 12 feet...rearrage the kitchen, make the Utility room bigger and if you can make it happen a nice Man cave underneath the addition...as in a few years TC is going to be dealing with not only pre-menopause PMS from me...but the teen agnst of two teenage daughters...

So he comes back and says - well I can't give you a closer figure because we need to get a structural engineer out here but I think the cost is going to be somewhere in this neighborhood...

And that Neighborhood is quite expensive...but within the amount we could spend...

SO let the fun begin...

Really is it so wrong to get all hot and bothered by a GE Appliance catalog...

I am sure someday soon TC will be calling me from our bedroom and when I get there he will be stark nakkers holding just a Kitchencraft cabinet catalog and saying "Here honey let me read to you all the different cabinet pull out options...."

Oh yeah baby you know just how to get me in the mood....tell me more about knob options too