TA DA!!!

Here she is!  I love it!  It's ginormous and probably too big for my space but I don't care.  And it only took 2 hours for them to bring it in and install. That was a saga in itself. 

So first of all, they called at 7:30 AM to give me my delivery window (2-4).  Then they called back and asked if there would be clearance for delivery.  I measured and the smallest space they had was 29 inches.  I knew that wasn't going to be enough so when I got off the phone, I removed a small strip of wood that was on the door frame.  They called BACK and said 29 inches wouldn't be enough.  I told them what I did and that we now had 30 inches.  They said that would work (the fridge measured 29 1/2). 

At 3:00 they called and said they were on their way.  Then they called back to say that they had to go a different route because a road was closed.  Then they called back and asked directions.  They arrived at 3:30.  They then proceeded to measure, measure, measure and hem and haw.  I told them there was an alternate route in (through the gate at the fence, up the deck stairs, into the Florida room and through the family room into the kitchen).  They were all, "Oh, no, the front door will work - we don't want to have to make that long trip through the back."  So then they start taking apart the fridge (the doors had to come off to get it in) and they realized that there was a drawer track that stuck out an inch or so and made the depth now 31 inches.  I said, "Well, that sucks. I guess you'll have to go through backyard."  They then hemmed and hawed for another half hour and finally brought the damn thing in.

Installation was another marathon for them.  And by the way, the fridge fit like a damn GLOVE.  I'm telling you, one millimeter more and we would have been doing some cabinet reno.  All in all, they left at 5:30...the ice dispenser/water line didn't get hooked up because the nut and something else on the copper tubing had to be replaced.  Jim picked those pieces up on the way home...we hooked up the water line after dinner and bing bang boom - all is complete! 

 By the way - I got up at midnight and snuck downstairs to look at her (and check the water line to ensure it wasn't leaking). She's awesome.

K - and now the last part of the kitchen - base boards - will go in tonight and all parts kitchen will be complete.  I'm sure my readers will be as happy as I...I know I'm sick of talking about it.

K - I have massive amounts of shit to do at school today...best motor.  Later!

Guess What!?

I GET MY NEW FRIDGE TODAY!!!  I'm so excited!  I'm supposed to get a call from Lowes between 7 and 8 this morning (they have 38 minutes) with a window for delivery and I'm telling you, if I don't hear from them by - latest - 9, I'm going to start calling.  I'll be spending most of my day painting.  Jim sanded some areas in preparation for base boards so that needs a new coat.  I'll do that until, of course, my fridge comes and then I'll be putting things away and opening and closing the doors and reading all about MY NEW FRIDGE!!!

Ooh, they just called and I have delivery between 2 and 4!  YIPPEE!!!  YAHOO!!!

In weather news - things were okay here at the Hanke household.  We didn't really get much wind nor did we get storms.  The sirens went off around 6:30 and we headed to the basement but it passed quickly and there were no issues.  Sami and Bubba seemed to enjoy the excursion to the basement and sniffed around the area and checked out the new water heater.

Speaking of the water heater - it's working like a charm.  I took a nice long bath last night after the storms passed.  We should be all good for the next 12 years in that area.

Had a dream last night that I went back to Boston for college.  I have this dream a lot and I'm always the age I am currently when I go.  And I'm always living in the dorms.  Last night I had to share a dorm room with 4 other girls and I mean GIRLS!  18 year olds.

And that's all I've got.  Best mosey.  Maggie's currently calling me a liar.  She's so mean.  K - later.

The Shit Hits The Fan UPDATED

Not to bitch, complain and pout but could things go smoothly just once?! I feel like the events over the last 72 hours have been a bit of a parody of the saying "When God closes a door, He opens a window". More like "When God closes a door, He opens a window and then as Muir climbs through it, He slams it down on her back!" Things had gone so well with the tiling - even though the timeline I had for the floor got a bit whacked.  And then I got sick.  Okay - no biggie - I can deal...most of the stuff that needed to be done got done.  And then the water heater goes out.  No hot water in the Hanke household presently.  And I was so looking forward to a bath last night after slaving away moving the fridge, painting base boards and working to remove leaves.  And then it starts raining and the leaf removal is put on hold.  And then I look at the weather and I hear "moderate risk" for severe weather and "sheer winds" of up to 70 or 80 mph.  Is this a joke.  I can't tell how horribly nervous I am. The next 24 hours are going to SUCK!  I've already told Jim to get the basement ready.  I just don't want a tree through my roof.  UGH!  I hate this bullshit!

Can I start drinking now?  Would that be bad?

And truly I'm trying not to freak out but watching TV isn't helping because everyone on every channel is talking about the weather and all the shit that's about to hit the fan in the tri state area. ARG!

Okay - so I guess I'll go make breakfast.  Doing the dishes should be fun without hot water. 

Later!

UPDATE:  Hot water heater is purchased and Big Al of Big Al's Plumbing will be here after noon to install (about $800 later).  Someone is looking out for Muir.  God probably figures he might as well throw me a bone since he's going to wreak havoc on me later with the weather. 

Turning A Corner

I hope I've turned a corner to wellness.  My fever is gone and that's good.  I'm not as achy.  My nose is still a snotty mess and I've still got a cough but I think things are getting better.  Unfortunately, my plans for tonight are going to have to be changed.  Jim and I were supposed to go to a party that our friend Bev was having but I don't think it's a good idea.  I think I need another day on the couch.

That being said, my plans for the day are:  I have to get this house cleaned.  I won't do too much but with the tiling going on these last two weeks, my house has been neglected and there's a layer of dust that needs to be taken care of .  I'll have Jim do that while I go grocery shopping.  We also need to switch our the refrigerators.  We'll move the one that's in the foyer, into the garage and move the garage one outside so it can defrost and be ready for pick up on Monday...so excited.  Other than that, we'll get base boards today and paint those so we can install tomorrow.  Jim also needs to get to the leaves.  Our front yard is ridiculous and an embarrassment and our neighbors are bitching.  Every time the wind blows, our leaves go into the neighbors' yards who have already done their leaves.  I think after that, it will be nap time!

And I better get a move on now since I seem to have the energy.  Get while the gettin's good.  Later - happy Saturday!

Flu?

Not sure what this is that plagues me.  Severe cold?  Flu? Not sure.  I had to leave school yesterday because I was just too illin'.  I came home, made lunch and managed to sleep for a couple hours.  I didn't have a fever yesterday (I do now...just 100 degrees) but my body ached.  I slept fitfully last night because my throat thing has turned into a cough. Obviously I'm not going to school - I called in yesterday but apparently there are 16 teachers out and my absence is unfilled.  Not much I can do and they'll figure it out.  It's an easy day in my class regardless. 

And that's about all I have the energy for.  I think I'll go make some toast (can't taste anything which bums me out...Graeters last night was not exciting) and lay on the couch to watch the Today show.  Later!

Cold

And I don't mean the weather or the temperature.  I have a stupid cold and it's making me feel miserable.  I was FINE yesterday and by fine I mean there was NOTHING wrong with me.  And then there I am, working alongside my husband, grouting and I felt a little something in my throat.  I said, "Hmm...Jim? I think I'm getting a sore throat." Sure enough, within an hour, it was full-blown sore, hurt to swallow and now I've got all kinds of crap draining from my head.  I just took some medicine and it's making me nauseous.  I'm hoping my English muffin will help with that.  There's no way I can call in sick because I have NO plans ready.  I'll muddle through though and hope this thing is just a 24 hour thing. 

And that's all I've got.  I don't feel like writing anymore.  Happy Thursday...later!

Cupcakes & More Tiling

How cute is she with her "Eva" apron?  Eva and Maggie made cupcakes for Charlie's birthday yesterday...Eva didn't want to lick just one and I don't blame her!  I can't wait to be up there to make Christmas cookies!  We are going to have so much fun!  (When are we doing that Maggie?  The weekend of the 13th?)

In tiling news, Jim finished ALL the tiling last night when he completed the pantry. While he did that, I painted the area behind the fridge and some touch ups here and there. The next project will be the grouting.  I'm not sure we'll do it all tonight...just depends how fast it goes.  Plus, Jim sort of committed to getting the neighbors kitchen painted (they are moving and need it done lickity split so they can put it on the market). I went to Home Depot yesterday and got rubber base boards for under the cabinets.  They had a fawn color and it blends spectacularly.  Only cost me about $25.  Additionally we need to do baseboards around the breakfast area, sand some places and re-paint/paint around cabinets.  I'm thinking all will be complete complete on Sunday.


And that's all I've got.  I'm running late and still need to finish my toilette and whatnot.  Happy it's Wednesday...early release...short bells.  K - later!

The Saga Continues

For those of you sick of hearing me drone on and on about my kitchen, just think, this time next week will probably be the LAST post about it (I will have gotten my fridge on Monday and will certainly want to talk about it).

The update:  Well, it's not done yet.  Jim got the whole thing complete EXCEPT for the pantry and tiles just outside of it.  He was working until 11:00 last night (that's about 14 hours...thank God he called in sick yesterday) and ran out of tiles.  So - I will head to my new second home, Home Depot, after school and pick up another box.  He can crank out those tiles tonight and then Wednesday we will grout.  That shouldn't take too terribly long.  After that, it's just a matter of doing the finishing touches - base boards and strips at the top of the threshold down to the FM and into the DR.  Jim also wants to paint the area behind the fridge because he doesn't want to put in baseboards there (really what's the point - no one will see them).

I will say this - I know this will all be worth it in the end but the disaster that is my house right now is making me CRAZY!  Sami's under foot all the time because it makes her nervous so I've tripped on her and caused her to yelp about 37 times.  Bubba's not affected, really.  He's jonsin to hang in the kitchen and nap in the middle of the nice new cool ceramic tile so every chance he gets he sneaks in there but other than that...no worries. Unbelievably, Jim's been a champ.  He hasn't been irritable or short with me and he didn't bitch once that he worked yesterday for 14 hours.  He's a good boy.  I owe him BIG!  Hmm...wonder how I should repay?  Anyway - I guess I'm the only one bitching about this whole thing...but not really.

In weather news - it snowed.  Just a dusting and nothing really on the road that I can see but the news say the roadways are slippery.  Awesome.  I hope they're wrong.

In other news HAPPY BIRTHDAY CHARLIE!!!  Hope you have a great day (although you don't read this). 

And that's about it.  Today I start showing Hunger Games in my LA classes in preparation for reading Catching Fire.  Look forward to...I can certainly use some down time from teaching to get some IEP shit DONE!

K - I'm out...later.

Not To Complain...

...but I'm sick of having my house in disrepair.  I've put my microwave, toaster oven, and blender in the dining room just so I can make breakfast and some sort of meal for dinner (we reheated pasta fagioli and had sandwiches last night) but it is now officially OLD! I'm ready to at least have access to my kitchen sink! 

That being said, Jim thinks we'll finish tonight.  With laying tile, that is.  Grouting will come Tuesday. I'm not so sure this is realistic but then I didn't think we'd get to laying tile this weekend after seeing what we had to remove. And Jim has incentive because he just committed to painting the kitchen of a neighbor across the way on Wednesday.  I guess if I have to do grouting by myself, that's okay. 

So the progress made:  We've gotten all the whole tiles laid except for the small path up from the family room.  I blocked the kitchen off so that we still had that access so we could get in an out of the family room and let the dogs out through the Florida room.  By the time I get home, the tile should be set for light traffic.  I actually can step in on  untiled areas and climb on the counter to get to the dishwasher so that's good. Tonight, we'll do all the cut stuff...we shouldn't have to use the wet saw too much because tile this large is best cut using a scorer.  I just keep thinking, "This time next week I'll be sleeping, this will all be done and my new fridge will be coming." That keeps me going.

In school news and I know I've said this before but I have absolutely NO idea what I'm doing today in LA.  I really don't! I just finished a project with the kids but I'm not quite ready to start our next book (Catching Fire) and I forgot to go get Hunger Games (the movie) to show prior to reading Catching Fire (for those who haven't read HG).  UGH!  I may just have the kids do their Wednesday work today and go get the movie today after school and start the movie tomorrow.  Ugh! 

K - well, I better go and figure all this out.  Later!  Happy Monday.  Can you believe Thanksgiving is two weeks from Thursday (as is my birthday!)?  K - Later!

My New Fridge

 

Isn't she pretty!?  I can't tell you how excited I am to have this fridge!  It will be delivered next Monday.  This fridge is normally $3100 and I got it for $1800 (Black Friday Prices sale).  The middle drawer?  It has it's own temperature setting: Deli, wine, veggies etc.  It makes me so happy.   



Slowly Coming Together

Notice Bubba sitting outside?

Is everyone sick of hearing about my kitchen?  Well, sorry about that but it's all I have going on right now. 

So - progress:  Yesterday Jim and I removed about 3,000 staples from the original linoleum.  That was time consuming and tough on my hands.  Why my hands?  Well, I have several cuts from Friday when we were ripping up the floor and I wasn't wearing gloves.  Then, while removing staples, I kept slamming my knuckles into the floor, often on top of a staple not yet removed.  Beyond that, all the gripping, pulling and twisting has left my hands raw and nearly blistered (you know when your skin is just on the verge of developing a blister?)

After the staples were removed, we were able to easily pull of the linoleum.  From there we discovered some rotten sub floor near the slider so Jim had to rip that up and replace it (took another couple hours).  Following that, we were able to start the cement board and we're nearly done with the that.  First we put down all whole sheets before having to cut pieces.  I drilled, Jim screwed (sounds dirty...wish my life were that exciting right now). Jim started some of the cutting last night but we ran out of light and I was just about to fall over. 

Seriously - I don't even remember eating dinner last night (and not because I had had too much to drink). I know I ate Indian but it's fuzzy because my mind was dead. I also know I took a bath, telling Jim to check on me, but that's fuzzy too.

Today will be more of the same.  I plan on making a quick stop at the store here in a minute (before the damn church crowd hits)  and then come home to finish with the cement board. We'll be able to get all the whole tiles set today but we won't be able to do the cut pieces because the whole tiles need to set for at least 24 hours.  Tomorrow, after Jim gets home, we'll work on the tiles that need cut.  We'll then have to wait another 24 hours, at least, and hopefully by Tuesday or Wednesday we can grout but who knows.  We'll also need to do baseboards...man oh man I can't WAIT for this to be done.  It better look good.

Oh, and I still plan on going to get the fridge today.  I'll shoot for a 11/18 delivery and just call in next Monday.  I'd like to get this done before the Bengals game...who knows.  I'll probably leave Jim here to get shit done.  Actually, Lowes opens at 8 AM so I'm going to get up here and head out. 

K - well, that's all I've got...wish me luck today.  Oh, and so far, there's been no fighting here at home...just gotta keep Jim fed so he doesn't get grumpy.  K - later!

Plans Thwarted

Man oh man oh man.  This floor might just kill me.  So, as you can see, my well-laid plans have not quite panned out. Things last night were going swimmingly.  After we ate dinner, we got the table and rug out and then hauled the fridge out of the kitchen - set it up in the foyer - and started removing baseboards.  As I did this, Jim tested out the linoleum and realized that there were two layers on TOP of a sub floor on TOP of the original flooring.  Prying up all that was back breaking and took about 2 hours. Once that was complete, we started the process of removing about 301,000 staples.  All this before we can even THINK about somehow scraping up the glued-down heinous shit at left. It is going to be a LONG and tough weekend.  I'll just be happy if we can get the cement board down by Sunday.  From there, tiling will just have to happen during the week. 

Unbelievably, I'm not that irritated, annoyed, disappointed or freaked out that my plans have been waylaid.  I know that the end result will be worth it and we just have to muddle through.  I'll probably be singing a different tune by the end of the day today...I'll just have to keep popping the naproxen and drink plenty of fluids (beer and wine). 

K - well, it's nearly 8:00 AM and I best walk Sami and then start pulling staples.  My hands are so sore already and with all the cuts I've gotten already, I'll probably end up with lockjaw by the end of this debacle.  K - later!

Indecision

So first of all - so excited for my new cabinet pulls.  And we got a new pantry doorknob.  The pulls came yesterday just as I got home from walking Sami.  I ripped open the box, pulled out my screwdriver and realized the two different size screws that came with the pulls didn't work for my cabinets.  I figured this would happen.  Since we were going to Home Depot anyway, I added that to our list.  Of course HD didn't have the number of packets of screws needed in stainless steel so we had to buy some brass ones.  I tried to do the brass ones in places you wouldn't see the but alas, some of the cabinet doors had to get them.  No biggie though...I mean, who sees the inside of your cabinets?  Not like we leave them hanging open. 

So like I said, we went to Home Depot when Jim got home last night to purchase the tile.  Getting there and looking at the tile we switched to, I wasn't as thrilled with it.  It was really, really dark and didn't match the back splash as well as I thought.  Plus it was a bit too busy for my taste AND they only had about half the boxes we would have needed.  SO!!!  We went back to our original plan and got the Pacific Sand 12x12 tiles.  I have to go to the HD near school today and get a few more boxes too. I hope I made the right decision.  I think I did.  I mean, I know it will match the wall tiles (they are from the same line) and it can't look any worse than what's there now, right? 

The plans for the weekend (I'm not sure we'll get it all done but I'm sure going to push): Tonight we'll eat and then clear out the kitchen - including the fridge which we will move into the garage.  We will then (hopefully) pull up the flooring.  I'd really like to put the cement board down as well but I don't know that Jim will be up for that.  If not that will happen in the morning.  We can then lay tile.  The tile needs to sit for at least 24 hours so the grouting might have to wait until Sunday evening.  Not sure.  If that is the case, I was thinking of going fridge shopping on Sunday morning/afternoon for a Mondayish delivery.  If that is the case, I may just call in "sick" Monday to have it delivered.  Plus I can then finish up any last minute crap with the flooring.  This is all with the hope that things go as planned.  There's always a monkey out there (named Jim?) who likes to throw wrenches at me.  Anyway - I'll have Monday plans ready before leaving school today, just in case.

And that's all I've got.  I best head up and out.  Can't wait for the school day to be over.  Later!

Let The Floor Tiling Begin

So tonight, when Jim gets home from work, we'll head out to Home Depot to do the purchasing for our floor.  We'll need to buy the flooring as well as grout, thin-set and cement board (they recommend this when doing flooring).  Not sure of the cost but I'm estimating about $500.  That's not too bad.  I'll go this weekend or next week to purchase the fridge.  Most places do next day and even same day delivery so we shouldn't have to wait too long.  Can't wait for this time next week when all things kitchen rehab should be complete. 

In other news - Safe travels to Maggie, Charlie and Eva who are heading south this weekend to see Nana and Grandpap in Tennessee.  Wish I could be there as well...have a ton of fun!

School news:  After the shooter training on Tuesday, I decided to send one last email to the administration regarding the student that scares me.  I just reiterated my worries about him as well as the fact that he shares about 7 of 8 shooter characteristics. I then got an email back itemizing all the things they have done and are continuing to do with this student.  Here's a question: Why didn't you let me know all that after my 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 5th etc. email? This kid is on MY caseload...did they not think it reasonable and their responsibility to let ME know about this.  Especially after I (and another teacher) sent email after email after email.  Kinda ridiculous.  I will continue to monitor and be ever vigilant. 

And that's about all I've got.  Happy it's Thursday...wish it were NEXT Thursday.  UGH!  K - well I'm out. Later!

Worried

Ugh...so it was election day yesterday and the voters in my school district elected a cuckoo bird to the school board.  This is a woman who has stated on her website that she wants to bring accountability and transparency "back" to Kings and yet when given the chance to participate in last Wednesday's forum to meet the candidates, she declined to come.  She was apparently advised not to because she was going to have to answer questions she didn't want to answer. This is a woman who supposedly wants to "save taxpayers money" (and keep teachers from being paid fairly) and yet she brings lawsuit after lawsuit against the district she now is sitting on the school board for.  (Sorry for ending that with a preposition). She recently, supposedly subpoenaed all kings emails for any one sending a message with her name in it. I'm not sure that an upstanding citizen who is transparent herself, would be so paranoid.  This does not bode well for my district and I think the voters are going to rue the day they made this mistake. Idiots.

In other news - my meetings yesterday were good and bad.  The morning session was very good, interesting and disturbing.  It was an Active Shooter Training...helping to prepare us for a possible shooter in our building.  There was a lot of information from the Columbine and VT shooting...scary stuff but stuff that we should know to try and prevent these things.  I have a student currently that scares the shit out of me and meets all the characteristics of a shooter.  UGH.

The other meetings, in the afternoon, well, two of the three were a complete waste of my time.  I will be telling the admins this but of course they won't listen and we'll deal with the same thing next year.  What made my meetings yesterday worse, however, was being in the meetings with one particular English teacher who is just rude, stupid, and LOUD!  I don't know how people deal with her.  She acts like a 5-year old most of the time and the rest of the time she's condescending...though she has no right to be.  I'm just glad she is retiring after this year. 

K - well, that's all I've got.  I'm going to hit Costco after school today and maybe Home Depot as well to get the floor tile...depends what the weathers doing.  K - Later! (Spell check isn't working...sorry if I've effed something up.)

Election Day/In-Service

So a nice day off for the kids and aides (butt heads!).  No jealousy here...none at all.  I love having to work on a MONDAY until 7:30...don't get home until 8:00 and then have to get up and sit in meetings all freaking day long.  UGH!  Whose idea was it to do parent/teacher conferences on a Monday!?  I call them douche bags.

Actually - last night wasn't too bad and I managed to get one whole IEP pretty much written.  I just have to add a thing or two about what the kid wants to do after high school.  I also managed to get a test modified and a study guide complete.  I met with two parents, I bitched here and there to Lisa about random things and that's about it.  Seems like I used to get more done on these nights.  Oh well, at least I didn't waste my time.

Lets see...what else...um...I got nothing.  Bubba woke up at 4:30 whining.  I smacked Jim in the head and told him to get up and let him out.  It's the least he can do since I make him breakfast every morning, don't you think? 

Speaking of Bubba (I accidentally typed "spanking Bubba"...I didn't spank him!). Speaking of Bubba, have I mentioned that he's deaf as a post?  He was sitting right next to me just now as I ate my toast (I LOVE toast)...I always give him and Sami a nibble...and he was gnawing on his paws so I called out, "Bubba!"  Nothing.  Louder: "BuBBA!"  Nothing.  "BUBBA!!! (as I stomped my foot) and he jumped about a mile and then was like, "Oh, yum" CHOMP!  Bubba loves toast too.  I love Bubba.

Okay and I think that meets my quota of rambling for the day.  Oh, and shit I need gas.  I better motor.  Gotta get to school so I can sit in meetings that have no bearing on my life with people I, for the most part, don't like (and lets face it, they don't like me a whole lot either).  POSITIVE ATTITUDE (no one likes someone who bitches all the time).  Later!

Tile - Complete

Before

After

 I can't tell you how happy I am with the finished product.  It just warms the place up, don't you think? I never really realized how stark the kitchen was.  Of course my "before" picture is minus any décor but still...very cold. Can't wait for the cabinet pulls to come...should be today (of course they'll come on the day I don't get home until 8 PM). When the floor is complete it's going to be even nicer and all the hard work Jim and I put in is going to be more than worth it.  I'm just so proud that we didn't fight during the process. 

One outcome from the tiling that I didn't expect:  Jim now knows all the words to Miley Cyrus's Wrecking Ball.  I think we heard that song 15 times...not that I mind...I really like it. Here's a funny, having to do with that: I always poke Jim in the bum when I pass him (I know, more than you wanted to know) and last night as I was going to I, inadvertently was singing, "You came in like a WRECKING BALL..." and Jim says, "Please don't sing that song while your violating me...scares me."  Hee hee.

Here's another funny (having nothing to do with our kitchen except that it occurred during dinner while we were EATING is said beautiful kitchen): I made spaghetti last night and found out something disturbing about my husband.  He twirls his spaghetti with his fork COUNTER clockwise.  It's like I don't even KNOW him!  We proceeded to have a long discussion about the WORK the hand must do in order to twirl counter clockwise.  Jim did not see the logic.  I think he must be living (in his mind) south of the equator.  (You know cause they say the toilets flush counter clockwise.)

Okay - well, I'm sure I have a ton of shit to do at school since I was "sick" on Friday.  AND!!!  I have no clue whatsoever what I'm teaching in LA today.  Huh...I probably should have taken some time to think about that.  UGH!  Better motor...later!

Slow & Steady

Jim and I made good progress yesterday but of course, the tiling took a lot longer than I thought it would take.  I thought we'd get the tiling and grouting done yesterday but alas, tiling is a pain in the ass!  As you can see, we didn't quite finish the tiling above the cabinets.  We worked until about 8:00 but by then it was dark outside and hard to see the saw while cutting. The line of tiles needed at the ceiling are all tiles that need cut so we saved that for today. Additionally, Jim needs a pair of tile nippers to cut the tiles around the outlets (they need 3 cuts rather than two and the saw can't do those). After that, we will grout.  I'm hoping that doesn't take too long because I'd REALLY like to relax today and actually cook a meal. (Had to get take out Friday and Saturday).

Sami and Bubba are a bit sick of us NOT lying on the couch and cuddling with them.  Seriously - I don't think Sami slept yesterday because she was keeping a constant eye on what the hell we were doing.  Poor girl.  She's going to HATE when the floor gets done.  I'm not - look at that heinous mess of a floor!  Can't wait to replace that mess.

In injury updates: I cut my thumb - don't know how. A small sliver of ceramic tile must have slip my thumb knuckle open and it bled like a sieve. Barely a mark there but man did it bleed.  I also got many fiberglass splinters in my fingers.  Those hurt like a motha! To get rid of I had to soak my hands in ice water and though that works like a charm, it hurt like hell. Pretty sure I also got fiberglass in my eye and of course it then pinked up prettily and I woke up this morning with it sealed shut.  I'll have to use drops for the next few days to ensure I don't get my typical infections. UGH!  Other than that - I have no complaints because I LOVE my tile.  I just can't wait until this is all DONE!

So how cute is my girl Eva!?  She is now obsessed with makeup, thanks to Lynne.  Hee hee.  I don't know if you can tell but she did her own makeup in the picture.  I keep telling her she doesn't need makeup because she so pretty naturally but the girl likes her eyeliner (just like her mamma!).  Man oh man do I miss her.  When am I going to get to see her!? 

K - well, I woke up at 5:30 this morning (thanks to Sami) but I thought it was 6:30 because I forgot to change the clocks...so I'm ready for a nap already.  But I need to get crack-a-lackin' on the tile.  Happy Sunday.  This week will be a doozie at school.  I have P/T conferences Monday and in-service on Tuesday.  Monday will certainly suck but I can actually use about 3 hours of uninterrupted work time so that I can write the 6 IEPs I've got coming up in the next month or so. 

And that's all I've got...I'll post completed pics later.  Later!

Making Headway

So we've finished the paint and went to Home Depot to get the grout and new face plates for the outlets.  While there - we found a floor tile that we liked better than the one we had originally picked out. This one is actually a 16x16 instead of 12x12.  I wanted a larger tile and I'm so happy Jim spotted this one.  It's a bit more intricate and a little darker than the one we originally chose. Anyway - we'll start the tiling once I go to the grocery.  We'll be able to do the grouting today as well since the tile will go on with an adhesive you roll out and stick on the wall.  I'll take pictures when it's all complete. 

Got this pic from Maggie.  Her friend Lynne is visiting and it looks like Eva got a hold of her makeup bag. She may want to tone down the eyeliner a bit.  She's so cute! 

And that's about all I've got.  I need to get a move on so that I can get this tiling DONE!  I'll be so happy if tomorrow we don't have to do anything except sit around and gaze at our hard work. 

K - Happy Saturday...oooh, and we gain an hour tonight!  Later!

Getting Ready

Jim just went to get a can of paint so I can finish painting the cabinets.  We've got the paint for the walls and Jim will do that when he gets back.  Hopefully we'll be finished with the painting by this afternoon and we'll head to Home Depot to get the final materials for the tiling.  That will happen tomorrow.  I can't wait, wait, wait!!!  I pulled a couple of the tile sheets out and held them up on the wall and I got a little flutter in my belly.  Isn't that funny!?  Doesn't take much to get me all hyped up!

Here's a "before" picture.  Sorry for the mess but we have a ton of shit that had to come off the walls and off the top of the cabinets to prepare...we threw stuff where we had space.  As you can see the floor is in dire need as well but that will wait for next week.  I think we'll also order the fridge next week too so that it can just go in when the tiling is complete.  I hope my timeline doesn't get all effed up...it isn't the kind of thing where you can be flexible because it just needs to get DONE! I'll be so happy when this is complete!  Hopefully Jimmy and I won't kill each other in the process.

K - well, I'd best crack-a-lack.  Need to get my painting complete.  Later!