Where to Start...

So.

Work's the same. Kids are good. I'm fine. Busy, as usual.

Just a few tidbits....

House is coming along slowly. And to really get the full effect, you have to read that slooooooowllllly. I'm nowhere near as far along as I had hoped to be with this place, considering I've been here six months already. I painted Erin's room this weekend and it turned out awesome..she loves it. And yes, before anyone hits me with a comment about pictures, I will take some soon. It's just kind of pointless for me to take pictures (I think) until I have things somewhat squared away. Otherwise, it's just a room with a bunch of my stuff stacked up in boxes or whatever. Here's my stuff! Not so much. I have to admit I've been a bit intimidated with this place. I mean, it's mine, and it's a bit daunting. Had a little plumbing problem that was beyond my capabilities and the thought of this costing me a small fortune had me quite spun up. $145 later, the place was back to normal (and the plumber was the fire chief of the neighboring town..ha!), but still. The "what if", had me worried. And then there's that whole thing of it not quite feeling like home yet. I'm sure it will take some time. Don't get me wrong, I love the place. It just isn't "there" yet.

Hmm. What else? I'm looking into doing some new things. I have a ton of photos to post on Flickr, but haven't seemed to have the time (see previous paragraph), but I've got a few new interests, too. Keep an eye out...coming soon.

I've decided that my number one pet peeve for my morning commute is when people stop 10+ carlengths behind the vehicle in front of them and then slowly creep up. Seriously...what IS that?? There is no reason to jam on your brakes like that, Miss Red Honda and you're lucky I didn't just rear-end your red Honda ass on the basis of principle. I'm watching you.

My mom and sis were here for a quick minute last weekend and it was entirely too short of a visit. It was good to see them and spend some time together, though so I'm not complaining. I am, however complaining about cheese popcorn. They brought me two bags of OkeDoke cheese popcorn (which I flippin' love and you can't get here) from IL. I ripped into the first one immediately and stashed the other one in the pantry. Well, this past week, I returned from work to find the eldest son on the couch and one empty bag of OkeDoke cheese popcorn at the foot of the couch. At that very moment, time stood still. He ate the whole flippin' bag. What the hell, Joe.

Went to the APCO conference in Rehoboth Beach a few weeks ago. Stayed overnight in a hotel and everything. A beachfront hotel. And I had a room that overlooked the ocean. AND I had said room to myself. I know!!! Can you believe it??? Took some pictures and I will post them on Flickr when I get a few minutes (see previous paragraphs). I have to say, I fell in love with Rehoboth. Wow, what a neat town. The ocean there is a bit calm, but still...it was nice. Quaint, even. And most importantly? Not Ocean City. Even typing that, I just threw up a little in my mouth.

The kittens aren't kittens anymore. Lumpkins aka: LUMP! is huge. He's got a good pound and a half on the Stripeytail and he's not quite done yet. He is going to be one LARGE cat. They've certainly got personalities, too. I was worried there for a little while that we had gotten two personality-less cats, but they've proved me wrong, thank God. I have pictures to post, but...well, you know.

And...well, that's it for now. I'm tired and I need to get to bed. Work tomorrow, hooray!

Or not.

Scritch, Scritch, Scritch

Ok....real quick...

The cats??

The "official" names are (drumroll please...)

BW Lumpkins (for the black/white who is indeed a lump...she just foomps down wherever)
and
GW Stripeytail (she does indeed have a gray and white stripey tail)


However....we already don't call them that.

In other news, people are strange. That is all.

Kittens!

Well, we have two new arrivals...they are as of this time, still unnamed. After the Tiggeriffic passed on, I still owed the vet some money. There were x-rays, blood work, etc...and I didn't have all the cash at once, so I had to go back and pay it off a few weeks later. While we were at the vet's office, there were two kittens in a very large cage in the lobby and the kids were horsing around with them. A couple walked in and while I was writing out a check, I overheard them talking about taking those kittens back to the shelter and that they'd have to find a home for them somewhere else.

Here's where I err...


me: "Oh, those kittens need a home?"


receptionist (with great enthusiasm): "Oh!! Yes!! Yes, those kittens need a home!!!"


She called the people over to chat with me and the kids of course overheard her say that they needed a home. It didn't take long for the kids to zero in on that, which was shortly followed by my descent into the guilt vortex.


A month later, and we have two new kitties.

They are still a bit skittish and camera shy but they're warming up...

Hmm....

I've been gone awhile. Well, I've been busy!! I have class back in session, so my days have been pretty full at work and with baseball season in full swing, the past two weeks have been full after school, too. Baseball is officially over this week, though so things should quiet down a bit. Whew...

So I think I more or less have a color palette picked for the house. We'll see though....I could very well change my mind half a dozen more times before I actually purchase the paint. Photos will follow. I know, I know... I keep saying that and NO PICTURES, but everything is still so stark and with the hectic schedule of the past month, I'm embarrassed to say that I'm not even finished unpacking yet. GAH!!!

One thing fo sho I'm digging about this house is energy efficiency. My electric bill? $46 bucks. I have not had an electric bill under $120 in over three years. Now, granted I'm trying. Everything is on power strips that are turned off when stuff is not in use, I have a clothesline that I use religiously instead of running the dryer and there are other small things here and there that we do to conserve, and clearly it is making a difference. I do not have air conditioning at the moment. I know!!! How uncivilized!! But, I really haven't needed it. The house being all brick stays quite cool, and fans in the windows at night to bring in the cool air do a great job of moving the warmer air out and the cooler air in. No complaints, really.

I have some small repairs to make on the place over the next few months, but nothing major. I still feel like we're getting settled...but it's coming along. :)

This, That and the Other

Ok. Well, first things first. I need your help.

My house is pretty much a blank canvas. The majority of the walls are white and there is just about zero artwork up at the moment. I have artwork, but until I paint, there's really no reason to put it up and besides, the walls are all brick so it isn't as simple as pounding in a nail and hanging something up. So for now, I've got naked walls. Here's the dilemma....

I am struggling to choose a palette.

I know, I know. I just LOVE IT ALL.

I love warm colors. They are cozy and well, warm (duh) and I like my house to be calm and relaxing. Plus the wood tones in all the hardwood floors are very warm. And in one half of my heart lurks a traditionalist.

But, on the other hand, I love cool colors. They are full of life and fun and exciting, and when done right look smashing. And I think cool would go really well with the crazy architecture. Part of me wants this house to be surprising and silly and lighthearted. I want this house to be like a carnival. But what I really want is for my kids to look back and laugh when they thing about how cool our house was.

So why not do both? I like to have some cohesiveness to the house, but if push comes to shove, I may have to figure out a way to balance both. Erin's room is already planned and so is the boys, to some degree. And I am leaning towards something trendy for my bedroom, but the rest of the house? Seriously, I've been strugging with this for days, so let me know what you think.

Onto other news...

I'm taking tomorrow off to chaperone a field trip for Joe's class. We're off to DC. Yay!

My bagless vac is increasingly more often becoming a suction tornado tomb for the insects I find INSIDE my house. I don't like ants. I don't like centipedes. I don't like spiders. And, I've found that when I have both tube attachments on the vac hose PLUS the slotted pointy tool on the end, I can maintain a very comfortable distance from said INSECTS and they usually die entombed in the canister therefore eliminating any chance that they might lunge at me when I remove it to be emptied. I am digging that.

Let's see..what else? I love great customer service! Direct TV called to tell me that they were sorry to see me go and could I possibly be woo'd back into having them provide me with television. He started by asking who I had gone with (Comcast), so I told him. And then he told me that DirectTV could offer me twelve months at $34 and some change. I told him that Comcast was doing better than that, and you know what he said?

He said, "That's great, Ma'am. Have a great day and if there's anything we can do for you, give us a call". I stared at the phone in disbelief. But I'll tell you this...it made an impression and should Comcast displease me, you better believe I'll have Direct TV on the phone in a heartbeat.

Now, HSBC? Not so much with the good customer service. In a nutshell, if you can't pronounce my name, which is a relatively common and not-very-difficult name to pronounce, right out of the gate, that irks me. And if you want to sell me something I can live without, ok...that's cool and I understand that you're just doing your job. BUT, if you are going on and on and on and on and I have to interrupt you to mention that we're walking out the door to baseball that we're already running late for, don't tell me that your non-essential information will only take JUST A FEW MORE MOMENTS, MA'AM and then proceed to get snippy with me when I tell you I am not interested. Considering that credit cards are already charging criminal level interest rates, snippiness from a representative is probably not a smart move. Yes, I believe that card is paid off and I also believe it will be promptly canceled. Again, thanks, but no thanks and have a great day.

Now if you'll excuse me, I have some flowers to transplant. It is a gorgeous day... :)

More House

House Stuff

Long awaited pictures ahead. But before that, can I just say that I LOVE that the church bells ring at 7pm every night? I love that! There are three churches within a stone's throw of the house, too. I kind of dig that, as well.

So.

Pics.

The backyaaaaahd. Or part of it anyway.

My quirky front door. Goofy. And very, very heavy.

The front door from all the way in the foyer.

Lookin' up the stairs.

And something I think is WAY COOL....this is written in the concrete in the basement floor. My house is a century old! How cool is that?