KateSpot: The House Archives

April 17, 2008

A Little Visitor

I had to drive Youngest to school this morning. She had a recorder lesson before school started. God bless the music teacher. She must go home and slam back tequila shots every night.

Once I got home, I needed to bring my recycling cans - all three of them - to the street. Occasionally, we forget to bring the cans to the street so all three cans were pretty full. Now, we have a lot of nature racing around the yard (squirrels, chipmunks, birds) so I am not that freaked out with them running past me. At night, well, that's a whole different ball game. WHile Husband was out smoking late one evening, he got a late night visit from a possum (ewww!) and the occasional neighborhood dogs that escape their yards.

As I moved one of the cans, something rustled the grass for a moment then stopped. Upon closer investigation, I discovered this little guy:

Luckily, I had my cellphone and I snapped a few pictures.

He tried to hide

But, I found him again

I think I scared him so this was my last picture before he hid behind our shed

He was definitely a little guy and so very cute. I was able to pet him once when he thought he was completely hidden (see photo above with his bunny bus sticking out)

I'm off to my Mom's place for a visit. Catch ya later!

Posted by Cate at 10:33 AM | Comments (3)

December 13, 2007

A New Baby

Paul and I are just so excited about our new baby! I'll give you all a sneak peek....

Bosch Baby.jpg

Isn't she beautiful?

Posted by Cate at 09:13 AM | Comments (3)

February 23, 2007

On It's Way

Fronty 2 should be here in about 30 minutes. When I was younger, I never ever imagined that one day I'd actually be excited to get a washing machine!

Posted by Cate at 09:03 AM | Comments (2)

September 19, 2006

Well..

We certainly had one helluva weekend. Thank you so very much for all the kind words of support. Luckily, we are ok. We didn't lose too much at all. There are several families in my town who have over $50,000 worth of damage. $50,000. That's just horrible. Here I am complaining about petty crap and these people have lost so much. I'm going to try to see what I can do for some of them. I think the two Girl Scout troops will be able to help out in some ways. We can't fundraise money but I am sure we can collect supplies and food for them... I don't know if that's enough...

Posted by Cate at 07:06 AM | Comments (4)

September 17, 2006

Flood pics

<<------ Check out my Flickr page

Posted by Cate at 10:41 PM | Comments (3)

September 16, 2006

Movie

I shot this video yesterday afternoon. One of the township IDIOTS decided to zoom his big truck down my street, causing WAVES to spash up on my house. He got to the end, turned around and DID IT AGAIN!.
Keep in mind that I do NOT live at the beach.

Ignore my yapping throughout the video - I don't normally sound this manic.

Flood Wave

Posted by Cate at 09:06 AM | Comments (8)

September 15, 2006

Fucking rain

My crawlspace has about a foot of water in it. STANDING water.

Thanks to the wicked ass flash rainstorm we had this morning, my street flooded. My car was about 30 minutes from being ruined. Thank God no water got inside my house but, for a an hour, it was very scary to watch the flood waters rise.

Will post pics later..

Posted by Cate at 04:07 PM | Comments (1)

August 20, 2006

MORE home improvements

This turned out to be a great weekend for ripping up the original bathroom. Goodbye tacky linoleum, goodbye ugly (and leaking) toilet, goodbye vile, disgusting, putrid formica countertop. God, I hated that countertop!

All those horrible items are being replaced by Home Depot specials but at least they look a lot nicer that their previous counterparts. We didn't bring home the vanity and sink. That's going to happen later this week. Today, we picked out paint, vinyl tiles, luan, and a toilet. The paint colors are very neutral - some sort of beige. Not my first choice but it was a mutual decision. The other colors I chose were quite dark (I loved the raisin color!) and this bathroom does not have a window. Let me correct this startement - it HAD a window but the previous owners covered it up when they installed a shower/bathtub insert. Idiots.

So, Husband is busy laying the luan ::snicker:: while I assist him with other little helper duties. Plus, I am trying to get the girls to finish their rooms because tomorrow we will be at Six Flags Great Adventure. All day. According to the forecast, the weather is supposed to cooperate with us and stay somewhere in the high 80's. I hope the humidity is under control. I've got to remember to pack sunscreen.

I've got to run and finish "helping" Husband. Have a great day!

Posted by Cate at 02:33 PM | Comments (1)

July 17, 2006

Slowly but surely

Husband and I are have been in the addition for about three weeks now. Of course, there's no other furniture than the bed (click for images). It looks like a small basketball court. When we speak, it echoes (echoes... echoes...). My inlaws have offered us a very nice bedroom set. Husband is picking up one of the bureaus on his way home from work today. We will be getting those bureaus while the girls will get our OLD bureaus and my mom will be getting THEIR old bureaus. Confused yet? No? Good! I will be doing the bureau swap for the rest of the week, purging old clothes and attempting to make room for everything else. I know the girls are just going to love helping me with this massive job. Good times, my friends, good times.

Since we have been in the room, we have slowly started to incorporate things into the new bathroom, like Qtips, washclothes, spare toilet paper and medications. We had SO many prescriptions that we stored in the kitchen that we decided to move out our meds to make room for the girls stuff and get the little bottles off my counter. We went through everything. We were shocked at the amount of medications we had in there. Incredible. PLus, a bunch of stuff was expired - and when I type the word expired, I really really mean E X P I R E D. Like 2001 expired.

Yeah, that's bad.

We flushed, dumped, poured out all the medications. Then, we came across old epi-pens. We couldn't just toss out needles with epinephrine still in them. I had never had to use one (knock wood) and decied I was going to test them out so I grabbed an orange and WHACK! Dosed it with an epi. Man, that pen has a wicked little kick to it! Husband decided to get in on the action and got to shoot an orange up as well. By the time we finished, we had ~~a ton~~ several (more than 6) epis ready for disposal. That poor orange was just oozing. Nasty.

Well, off to tend to the kids before I seem like an unfit mother. I care, really! I do!

Ciao!

Posted by Cate at 04:05 PM | Comments (2)

July 02, 2006

House Pics

I know you're dying to see 'em!

This is my bedroom - all full of nothing but a bed!

This is the new french door and access to the back yard.

This is the outside view of the new window in my kitchen (right) and the windown in the new bathroom (left) which is in my new bedroom!

Here's what it looked like last year!

and

This is part of the new fence which is near where the new well was drilled last year. ::link to last year's entry with photos:

Before:

After:

Posted by Cate at 04:09 PM | Comments (11)

June 07, 2006

Rainy day = Laundry

I swear, I don't know how only four people can generate so much laundry!! But, it's still too chilly to be naked and the kids are still wearing jeans and capris.

I've been trying to clean up around here. It's hard to organize because I still have boxes piled up but, there are less and less of them each week. I think we will be having a yard sale next weekend, just to try to cash in on some of this stuff!!

Husband and I have been having our own House marathon these past few days. I am in Hugh Laurie heaven. We managed to finish up all six dvs of Season One. Booyah! Now, thanks to Fox's summer reruns, I can catch up on Season Two.

Ok - I'm off to the butcher shop to pick up my deli order. I have a Girl Scout leader to interview tonight at 6pm. So, dinner tonight will be open faced club sandwiches with gravy, steak fries and broccoli. Yum!

Posted by Cate at 03:05 PM | Comments (1)

February 19, 2006

Home Depot Trip

I picked up 18 packages of laminate flooring for $30 each AND (this is the best part)each package covers 23.77 square feet. Booyah!

That is all.

Posted by Cate at 01:18 PM | Comments (2)

January 02, 2006

Home Improvements!

My FIL is here, helping Husband hang sheetrock! EXCITING stuff happening here. I am woefully behind on posting pictures of the addition. It's slowly coming along - but it's coming along indeed.

I'm going shopping/returning/banking while the girls stay at home with Husband and Grandpa. WOOHOO! FREEEEEEEEEEEDOM!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Posted by Cate at 10:24 AM | Comments (3)

December 06, 2005

He's da MAN!

Husband is in the process of fixing my washer. God, I love this man.

Posted by Cate at 08:59 PM | Comments (0)

November 30, 2005

A present!

Check out what Husband just bought for me last night. Ohh man, I am SO excited to get this too.

View image

Nice, huh? No, it's not rims for the car. It's the parts needed to fix my washer.

That's hot.

Posted by Cate at 07:32 AM | Comments (5)

November 22, 2005

Inspection

We had our plumbing inspection today and we passed!!!!!! Wooohoooo! Now, we can go on to the next project - insulation and sheetrock.

YAY for sheetrock!

I'm thankful for a successful plumbing inspection!

Posted by Cate at 11:59 AM | Comments (1)

November 05, 2005

B Day

My father in law and brother in law will be down today to help Husband work in the addition. Looks like plumbing is the goal of the day. My job is to keep the girls out of their way and feed them.

I can to that!

Posted by Cate at 07:50 AM | Comments (2)

October 15, 2005

Fun Filled Day

The rain stopped and the shine was shining.

It was a beautiful day.

Watch for pictures!

Posted by Cate at 06:31 PM | Comments (1)

October 14, 2005

Raging

One of the contractor's ~~flunkies~~ job supervisor is on his way down to look at the roof and possibly tarp it. He had better do something because this is totally unacceptable. OMG - I am so out of my mind right now that I can barely see straight.

GAH!

Posted by Cate at 08:49 AM | Comments (8)

October 13, 2005

A leak

There is a leak.. no, make that MANY leaks in my new addition, mainly where the new roof connects with with old roof. I am apoplectic, to say the least. I had one of the guys here today and, while he tried to fix it, he seemed to make it worse. I now have leaks IN MY KITCHEN ceiling and walls due to the framing and roofing fuck-ups.

He had best be here tomorrow am or I am going to pop a vein.

Posted by Cate at 10:19 PM | Comments (5)

September 28, 2005

Just popping by

I'm cleaning today. I made it to Curves and I guess I've still got an energy kick. I tore up my bedroom and dusted everything and even managed to throw away a pile of stuff. Go me!

Husband's got school tonight. The bad news is that it's a two hour drive to get there for a three hour class then two hours BACK home. He won't be home until almost 11pm. AND - he'll be doing that twice a week until the second week of January. Poor guy.

Well, I'm off to clean some more and try to figure out what to create for dinner. Ciao!

Posted by Cate at 01:54 PM | Comments (3)

September 26, 2005

Tick tock

I'm still waiting for Lowes to show up with all my stuff. When I arranged for delivery, I was told it would be there in the morning. The delivery guy called me about 40 minutes ago and told me that it would arrive between 2pm and 4pm. Well, that sucks. Husband is leaving for school at 4pm. I hope the delivery guys get here closer to 2pm. If he's not here, I get to cover everything with a tarp and leave it in the yard.

Yeeehaw.

Posted by Cate at 11:36 AM | Comments (0)

September 24, 2005

Another Home Depot Day

Mary is coming down today for a lesson in sheetrocking. Boy, do we have sheetrock.. and plywood... and spackle... She's gonna be busy today!

Posted by Cate at 10:48 AM | Comments (5)

September 18, 2005

Lowes

Husband and I are heading over to Lowes to buy the bathroom furniture, sheetrock, insulation and other bits of stuff. Thank you Lord for a wonderful set of inlaws who are helping us out by watching the ~~demon spawn~~ girls while we shop.

Grandparents rock

Posted by Cate at 11:36 AM | Comments (1)

September 16, 2005

Guessing game

What's big, black, shiny and in my house?

What, it's this, of course!

Posted by Cate at 02:54 PM | Comments (9)

August 31, 2005

It's gone!

My porta-potty is gone!

:::happy dancing:::

Posted by Cate at 09:08 AM | Comments (3)

August 30, 2005

Oh - why not?

You know you're dying to see more house pictures!

Posted by Cate at 10:39 PM | Comments (3)

August 27, 2005

Family Fun

Hi Ho
Hi Ho
It's off to Home Depot we go
From hammers and nails
to the girls' cries and wails
Hi ho
Hi ho, hi ho, hi ho

Posted by Cate at 11:29 AM | Comments (5)

August 25, 2005

No workee today

Well, the siding guys never showed up today. The general contractor called and said that the siding would be delivered today and they guys will be here tomorrow to start work.

YAY!

The girls are in the pool and Mom is out there with them, on the side, just goofing around and being silly. Of course, the girls are practically delirious with goofiness. I'm so glad she and Dan are moving closer to us. They will only be about 10-15 minutes away instead of 45 minutes.

It's a good thing.

Posted by Cate at 01:20 PM | Comments (2)

August 17, 2005

A few pics

Everyone had a great time yesterday. Youngestloved going to McD's and Build A Bear and we even stopped to visit my Mom. Husband and Eldest surprised us by also showing up a little after we arrived. The science center was a HUGE hot with Eldest. She loved the IMAX theater and really enjoyed herself. I can't wait until they reopen so we can bring Youngestthere as well.

Here's a few house pictures. They knocked a hole in my dining room wall and added an Anderson glider window. It's gorgeous. I love it. I need to get a nice clear shot of it from the inside and the outside too. I will post them as soon as I can.

The girls and I will be meeting up with Liz and her crew tomorrow at a park. It's going to be a lot of fun. I haven't seen Liz since the NJ Blogmeet and I am looking forward to relaxing and chatting with her while the kids all play. Maybe I'll even snap a few photographs too.

Maybe.

Posted by Cate at 11:38 PM | Comments (7)

August 11, 2005

How about some more?

More what?

House pictures of course!

Posted by Cate at 04:39 PM | Comments (12)

August 09, 2005

More pics

I know it must be boring for all you guys but I am so excited about the addition. I'll put the pictures in the extended entry. These were taken around 530pm when Youngestand I got back home from her playdate.

This is the view of the addition from the corner of the yard by the pool.

This is another shot of the addition, obviously from the other corner.

A straight shot from the back of the house. Note Husband in the future "mudroom".

Husband standing in the doorway of the future bathroom.

This is where my french door will be placed. Oooh - I can't wait for that!

This is the view of the addition (the bathroom) from the top corner of my driveway. Note the window on the side - that is in the bedroom.

My nice big walk-in closet. Hooray! I've got storage! The sliding door will be gone, praise Jesus. I've always disliked that door.

Posted by Cate at 07:38 PM | Comments (6)

OMG! It's really real!

Woohooo! I'llpost more pics later. I can't get into the backyard yet.

Posted by Cate at 02:59 PM | Comments (5)

August 06, 2005

Framing!

The crew is here to start with framing the addition. So far, one guy has injured himself but other than that, things are proceeding smoothly. I'll have more pictures up today.

Posted by Cate at 10:19 AM | Comments (0)

August 01, 2005

No work today

What do you know? I don't post for a couple days and now you - my lovely readers - are treated to three posts THREE in one day. Don't say I never give you anything... ::grin::

I haven't seen anyone working today. I think the foundation needs to be inspected before anything else gets completed. I think the next step is framing. But, we don't have the lumber here - yet.

We had to shock the pool last night. It was uber-icky. It hasn't been getting much use these past two weeks. I am not bringing the girls swimming while the guys are working ten feet away. Of course, the chlorine level is really high so we can't swim in it today. I think we are going to hit the library and maybe stop at the park or something, just to have them run around for a little while.

Have a great day!

Posted by Cate at 10:29 AM | Comments (3)

July 30, 2005

Random Home Improvement Photographs

View image

I can't wait for my new bedroom!
View image

Posted by Cate at 01:40 PM | Comments (7)

July 27, 2005

Cement

The footings are being poured right now. I still can't believe that I am having an addition put on my house! My Anderson french door, screens and Anderson windows arrived yesterday. A little early but here nonetheless.

Yesterday was another busy day. I registered my Junior GS troop at council and bought all the essentials: books, vests, t-shirts, troop crests and numbers and Youngest's Daisy tunic. It's SO CUTE! ::View image::. I had some time to kill before we met Husband at Lowes so the girls and I stopped in Target. They had school supplies on sale so the girls got some 2 pocket folders, crayons and I snagged a ton of glue sticks and three 3 subject spiral notebooks for Scouts. I also bought two 10-packs of spiral notebooks. C'mon, they were a $1 for each 10-pack! Whatta bargain! I picked through the clearance racks and found a pair of jeans for Youngestfor $5.38. Woohoo! I love bargains.

After we made our purchases at Target, the girls and I drove to Lowes to meet Husband. He and I wanted to take a look around and see what was available there. We have a Home Depot about 5 miles from the house and I didn't like anything there. The girls were bored and got a little antsy but they survived it. Husband and I didn't have to kill them. Maybe remembering that we would stop at McDonalds AFTER we finsihed at Lowes helped. Of course, the girls did make it to Mickey D's and then we headed home. They took off to play with the neighbor kid for about an hour while Husband and I relaxed and watched tv.

Today - I'm still running around.. gymnastics, scout stuff, tons of phone calls, the water test for the well... and I still have to go to the supermarket and work on laundry.

Blah.

Posted by Cate at 10:56 AM | Comments (4)

July 26, 2005

It Just Keeps Getting Better Folks

This and This.

Posted by Cate at 08:43 AM | Comments (7)

July 22, 2005

Giant Hole

Edited to add the pictures in the extended entry

It has begun.

I have a giant hole in my backyard.

Good God, what have I done?!

Posted by Cate at 12:37 PM | Comments (8)

July 21, 2005

The construction begins!

Actually, it begins tomorrow but we had a lot of last minute work to do yesterday, like removing a ton of branches out of the trees. I didn't remove the branches - my wonderful husband and awesome FIL did all the work. I had brought the girls to a magic show that was held at one of the library branches last night. On Tuesday night, we all went to a different library and saw a great presentation called Snakes-n-Scales and Turtle Tales. That was SUPER cool. Plus, I found out that the guy was local and does presentations to boy and girl scout troops. I passed his info on to the Service Unit Manager asap.

How about some random pictures instead?

Me and Harry: Uhhh - disregard the gray hair. Tis no more.

Youngestin her Harry Potter glasses:

My backyard:

Posted by Cate at 09:32 AM | Comments (5)

July 18, 2005

Fantastic news!!

I just got off the phone with the builder and I found out that all of our plans were approved!! I'm getting my addition! The builder is arranging for markouts and the mason will be out at our house soon!

I'm SO excited!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! My own bathroom!

Posted by Cate at 05:26 PM | Comments (9)

July 15, 2005

COOL!

I have a large crew of men here at my house and they are all ready to do some drilling for me. Yep - it's the crew to drill out my new well.

What? Were you thinking something different?

Perverts.

UPDATE - Check out the photos below!

Posted by Cate at 08:57 AM | Comments (2)

July 04, 2005

Trampolines

Husband and I are putting up a trampoline today.

Holy crap - hooking the mat to the springs is hard. My hands are killing me. Plus, it's freakin' hot today too. Now I am sweaty AND dirty.

Eww.

Posted by Cate at 01:11 PM | Comments (2)

June 28, 2005

Finally!

Husband stopped at the contractor's office today and signed off on the plans! Hooray! They will be submitted to the township tomorrow and we should have an approval (fingers crossed) within 30 days. I am SO excited!! Check out the extended entry for pictures of the proposed addition.

Posted by Cate at 11:27 PM | Comments (11)

Ewwwwww

I'm cleaning the carpets today.

Yeah - it's that gross.

You know you wish you were me right now.

Posted by Cate at 01:56 PM | Comments (3)

June 22, 2005

Yay!

The pool passed inspection! The building department gave me a a rather large time frame in which the inspector was to arrive. Any time between 9am and 2pm.

Thanks a lot.

So, of course he showed up at 130pm. But, I had a lot of time to work on the laundry. Ugh, I lost control of it these past few days.

I have some pictures to post of our fun day yesterday. All the last day of school pics as well as the afterschool party at my friend's house. Woohoo!

Posted by Cate at 04:30 PM | Comments (1)

June 07, 2005

My grill

Mom stopped over for a quick visit today. It's always nice to see you Mom! ::waving:: Eldest has her swimming lessons and she's doing really well. There are a couple younger kids in her class that I would like to see go the hell away. Little pains in the butts. We finally got a new grill tonight. YAY! I hate making hot dogs, steaks, and burgers on the stove or under the broiler.

Ew.

It was fun trying to wrestle the damn thing in the back of my Santa Fe. Luckily, it did fit and the girls weren't too squished. When we got home, they ran around outside for a while and then I brought them inside when they got all sweaty and buggy. Watermelon for dessert and then OFF to bed.

Oh yeah, it's nice and quiet now.

Posted by Cate at 09:28 PM | Comments (3)

May 10, 2005

Hurry Hurry

The appraiser is arriving here in about an hour. Of course, I am cleanign up like a freak. LOL. I can only imagine the messes he must have seen. I just don't want to be like one of "those people" or like this woman.

Eeek.

Posted by Cate at 08:45 AM | Comments (6)

May 05, 2005

Paperwork

The loan agent emailed all the loan documents to me. All 60+ of them. Husband printed them out this morning. 620am to be exact. Did I mention that my printer is hooked up to the computer in the bedroom?

Oy.

Posted by Cate at 08:46 AM | Comments (2)

May 04, 2005

Refinance

Husband and I applied for a loan through Di*tech Saturday night. I spoke with the loan officer tonight and we've been approved for a rather large mortgage. Looks like this addition will soon become a reality! I am so psyched about this. I'm going to have a big bedroom, a walk-in closet and my OWN bathroom. YIPPIE! When I get a chance, I will scan the plan that Husband drew and put it up on the blog.

I'm off to bed.

Posted by Cate at 11:44 PM | Comments (5)

April 16, 2005

Jackhammer baby!

Husband is using the jackhammer today. When he removed the deck, there was this big stone and brick.... well.. mess underneath. I have to idea what it was. Perhaps a small porch or step to get into the house. Seems like a lot of damn work to put it there. Stupid original owners.

Off to Mom's place. Catch ya'll later!

Posted by Cate at 10:07 AM | Comments (2)

April 10, 2005

Workin'

Husband and his dad started ripping our deck off the house yesterday. They did a pretty damn good job and got a lot of it removed. Husband worked solo for a while after my FIL left for the day. We're saving the lumber for a small playhouse for the girls. The deck needed to be removed before the addition could get started. Cross your fingers for us in hopes that the addition falls nicely into place!

I'm going food shopping in a little while. Whee - food shopping on a Sunday - NO ONE goes on Sunday morning. LOL. I'm going to get everythign ready for tonight. I am SO excited for this concert! I', even going to get dressed up in a skirt AND heels. Woohoo! No jeans tonight!

Gotta run!

Posted by Cate at 10:03 AM | Comments (0)

March 14, 2005

Forgot to mention

The contractor stopped over on Saturday to give us a quote for our envisioned addition. He quoted us $92/sq foot - roughly $43,240.

Wow.

We figured out a price and this number was pretty close to what we planned. Still - that's a LOT of money. It will boost up the resale value of this house if and when we do sell it so I am not worried about recouping it back. The kicker - we still have a lot more work to do around the house and yard. The $43k is just the tip of the money iceberg.

I need to win the lottery.

Posted by Cate at 11:53 AM | Comments (4)

February 22, 2005

A moment of silence

Eldest made a very sad discovery this afternoon.

We had a floater.

One of our fish had died. It was a very pretty red platy. We've had it for a little over two years. Frankly, I'm surprised it lived this long.

We had a lovely little ceremony over the toilet bowl. The kids argued over who got to flush. Husband flushed and we all watched the poor fish just swirl around and around before finally making the trip into the pipes and disappearing from view.

Then, it floated back into the bowl. The kids freaked out. Ewww! Gross! The inevitable. "Can I flush it?"

We dropped some toilet paper in the bowl and flushed again. This time, it worked. No more fish.

Sayonara. Adios. Au revoir. Auf wiedersehen. Arrivederci. Buh bye.

Now the girls want us to buy more fish.

It never ends.

Posted by Cate at 08:53 PM | Comments (7)

February 16, 2005

I conquered it!

I have washed ALL the laundry. Every.Last.Bit.

Go me!

Posted by Cate at 08:43 PM | Comments (8)

February 13, 2005

Break point

Husband and I have been busting our asses all day - painting and priming and more painting. Eldest's walls are this color and her bed will be white with this color as a trim. I'll post some pictures tomorrow. For now, Eldest is sleeping in Youngest's room. We put her mattress on the floor (yeah yeah I know it's trashy but there's no where else to put her!) and she'll be there for a couple days.
I'm off for a desperately needed shower and a cup of coffee.

Later!

Posted by Cate at 09:06 PM | Comments (0)

Off to the depot

Off to pick out some paint colors for Eldest's room and loft bed. Think light pink, white, and light blue.

Fun fun!

Posted by Cate at 09:00 AM | Comments (0)

February 04, 2005

Doncha hate it when...

the heater craps out at midnight?

Yeah. Me too.

Posted by Cate at 01:50 AM | Comments (2)

January 31, 2005

Happiness is

a new shower cutain liner.

Posted by Cate at 09:20 PM | Comments (4)

December 09, 2004

Real Estate

Husband and I will be looking at houses tomorrow. I am so excited about this. I hope it all works out and we can find what we are looking for without totally going broke (more broker?). We have a good idea about what we want and don't want.
Well, off to finish dinner and maybe even have a beer.

Mmm... beer.

Posted by Cate at 04:45 PM | Comments (5)

December 07, 2004

Christmas Cleaning

I tore apart Eldest's room. Oh man - I can't believe how much crap an eight year old girl can collect. I managed to fill up a garbage bag with little bits of paper, scraps of yarn and just broken pieces of plastc and a few broken toys. She has so many little trinkets and treasures that I had to really be careful about what was getting tossed. I vacuumed, opened her window and even lit a nice stinky candle in there. I cleaned Youngest's room too. It didn't require nearly as much work as Eldest's room.

See - it's fun to be a stay at home mom.

Posted by Cate at 11:04 AM | Comments (2)

August 07, 2004

Garage Sale

Today was quite successful. We cleared out a LOT of stuff and even made some money too! It was a beautiful day - clear, cool and sunny. A top ten sort of day.

Posted by Cate at 07:13 PM | Comments (3)

July 28, 2004

Cleaning

I am now attacking my laundry/craft/junk room. Oh my - talk about a mess! am trying to be merciless and throw out the *junk* and boy it ain't easy!

Posted by Cate at 12:57 PM | Comments (2)

July 27, 2004

Papers

I am trying to organize my files and I am in the process of purging papers. I am drowning in school papers! HELP!

Posted by Cate at 04:44 PM | Comments (1)

June 26, 2004

Ugh

I hate cleaning. HATE it.

I cannot understand people who enjoy cleaning the house. That is just sick.

I gotta get back to cleaning my living room now.

****.

Posted by Cate at 03:39 PM | Comments (8)

June 18, 2004

BeeSlayer

<a href="http://www.katespot.com/archives/P6180178.php" onclick="window.open('http://www.katespot.com/archives/P6180178.php','popup','width=404,height=342,scrollbars=no,resizable=no,toolbar=no,directories=no,location=no,menubar=no,status=no,left=0,top=0'); return false">Spotted. Sprayed. Dead.</a>

Kate - 3
Bees - 0
Bonus - nest

Posted by Cate at 10:20 AM | Comments (6)

May 25, 2004

Neighborhood Memo

Attention Neighbors:

Keep your filthy freaking felines out of my gardens. In fact, keep your goddamn cats INSIDE. I know that's a tough concept for some of you to understand but MY garden is NOT a litterbox. My children help me plant flowers in the gardens and I don't want them to touch any piss-soaked soil or stinky turds left behind by your precious kitty. *IF* I find your cat in my garden, it won't be pretty. They will be trapped and Animal Control will be called. Trust me, that's a lot nicer than what Husband wants to do with them.

Sincerely,
A friendly neighbor

I love cats - heck, I even own one. But, letting them roam around the neighborhood, putting them at risk for animals attacking them, getting hit by a car or just leaving their waste in other yards, well, that's just disgusting. And yes, you can quote me on that.

Posted by Cate at 12:06 PM | Comments (5)

May 13, 2004

F'ing pollen

I was only outside for 15 minutes, planting a few tomato and pepper plants, when I looked down and saw that I had pollen all over my feet and ankles. It was even between my toes.
Gross.
The girls are playing in the back yard and they are also covered with pollen. ::sigh:: I am hauling their butts in the house soon and hosing them down before they have full blown asthma attacks.
Joy.

Posted by Cate at 06:18 PM | Comments (0)

May 08, 2004

Yard Sale

Made about $100 selling kids clothes and assorted stuff. Not bad for a badly planned yard sale. Next time, we are going to let a few other neighbors know that we are having one and maybe it will drum up more people.
More work to do so I gotta run..

Posted by Cate at 03:09 PM | Comments (2)

May 02, 2004

Vintage!!

While emptying out some boxes in the attic, I found my <a href="http://www.squiggly.com/swatch/p/product/i/5068/code/BB101/name/Jet%20Black"target=_blank>Pop Swatch</a>!! Oh my God - I loved this damn watch, I used to pop it out of the band and wear it on my shirt ALL the time. God - I was SUCH a dork! LOL!
I also found my first address book - from when I was 9 years old. Hey <a href="http://www.gigglechick.com/erin/blog/003215.php#003215">Er</a>, do you still remember your old phone number? How about your room phone number? I have 'em both! My first boyfriend **blushing**, my second boyfriend, my third.. well.. you get the picture.
Another treasure was a small plastic item photograph holder from <a href="http://www.sixflags.com/parks/greatadventure/index.asp">Six Flags</a> - back when it was *just* Great Adventure. It holds a picture of me and a former boyfriend. I have to see if I can even get it set up as a regular photograph. It is SO tiny - smaller than a postage stamp. But, the picture is slightly magnefied if you look at it through the plastic holder thingie.
Man - I feel old.

Posted by Cate at 04:19 PM | Comments (2)

April 15, 2004

Buy a tree

P and I are tree-shopping. If anyone is interested in purchasing trees, I want to suggest <a href="http://www.arborday.org/index.cfm">The National Arbor Day Foundation</a>. The prices are just incredible and it allows you to search by your zone and types of trees and soils.
Go on, buy a tree.

Posted by Cate at 12:34 PM | Comments (4)

April 12, 2004

Trees

I love trees. But, the trees on our front lawn were nasty old trees. Two of them were dead - never bloomed or grew leaves since P and I have owned the house. The other two trees would drop, every spring, drippy freaking things off the thier branches. One tree dropped green pod looking things that would dry up and get white and fluffy. Then, once the wind would blow, the entire street would be treated to "snow". It was like someone blew on a million dandelion seed blossoms at once. My neighbors hated those things and I can't say I blame them. Hell - I hated that tree too. The other drippy tree would drop nasty berry-like things all over the driveway.. the rocks.. the grass... the girls' toys.. Then the birds would eat them and **** all over our cars... the girls' toys... my deck... Oh, did I mention that before the berries would drop, it would blosson? Of course, with most blossoms, you would get bees.. and we did. Tons of bees. They would crawl all over my car. They would stick around all summer too. Nasty things.
M is heartbroken that we cut down trees and had several miscellaneous stumps removed as well. She has been crying for the past hour ::sigh:: I promised her that she would come with us to pick out new trees for the yard. I feel so bad for her - she is so passionate about so many different things. She just hates sudden changes.
You aren't the only one kiddo... not by a long shot.

Posted by Cate at 09:57 AM | Comments (3)

February 07, 2004

Wacky day

I have been on a cleaning frenzy today. I tackled my bedroom and, even though I didn't get a chance to do the curtains, moldings and my collector plates, it looks pretty freakin' good in here. Even a little bigger.
I also cleaned out my bathroom cabinet. I have a tall and "skinny" stoarge cabinet and our stuff was just falling out all over the place. I threw out all kinds of crap - old medications, half used tubes of creams, old make-up.. all that ****. I collected up the bazillion hair accessories - pony tails, barettes, hair clips, scrunchies and condensed them into one container. We have a lot of hair stuff. A LOT. I don't know what the hell is wrong with me - it's like I am possessed or something. I have no idea what caused this cleaning and organizing frenzy.
I think I will be heading to bed shortly. I have to teach Sunday School tomorrow. G'night!

Posted by Cate at 11:23 PM | Comments (2)

Liberating!

I just shredded 3+ years old old checks. Thank goodness I have a shredder or it never would have gotten completed. It filled up one decent sized garbage bag. Some of these checks were from M's preschool days!
I am off to clean and organize some more.

Posted by Cate at 12:37 PM | Comments (0)

February 03, 2004

Chaos

My kitchen is in total disarry. Craft supplies everywhere. I am consolidating all my stuff. Good God - there is a lot of stuff. I will have to post a pic of all the craft stuff in my possession.
Right now, it's storytime for the kiddies. See ya later!

Posted by Cate at 08:04 PM | Comments (0)

February 02, 2004

Gettin' busy with it

P has spackled and primed the wall in the laundry room. I want to put up longer and better shelving. Originally, it was white coated wire shelving, the kind you can pick up at the home improvements store. I have always disliked the shelves. We are tossing them out and replacing them with (3) 1x12x8 boards and (1) 1x12x6 pine boards. This way, my back room will be able to hold much more than it was originally holding. All my craft supplies are in clear plastic shoeboxes and I will be able to stack them easier as well as the other zillion supplies we have - laundry detergents, small appliances, P's r/c planes, his N scale trains and supplies and other things.
I cannot wait until spring. We are having the MOAYS - The Mother of All Yard Sales. We are talking cleanin' out the attic, all the bedrooms and the shed. Stuff has GOT to go and go far. May as well try to make some money off it.

The girls and I will be going to the library for a while. Should be fun!

Posted by Cate at 02:56 PM | Comments (0)

January 16, 2004

No power

We lost power for about 30 minutes today. Did I mention that it's COLD outside?

Posted by Cate at 11:15 AM | Comments (1)

January 02, 2004

Back to the grind

It's laundry time. Eeeeek.

Posted by Cate at 10:55 AM | Comments (4)

December 23, 2003

So far so good

The living room is done as well as the kitchen. I still have to clean the bathroom and the girls' rooms. Eeek.

Posted by Cate at 04:05 PM | Comments (3)

Cleaning

Cleaning the house is a lot more tolerable when listening to Christmas carols.

Posted by Cate at 02:16 PM | Comments (4)

December 02, 2003

Baby steps

Well - the tree is set up. Not decorated but it's set up and ready to BE decorated.

Posted by Cate at 09:49 PM | Comments (4)

November 23, 2003

House Work

Oh my GAWD! Where do I begin??

Husband was basically in the kitchen for the past two days, working his fingers to the bone. He has been taking down and cleaning the cabinet doors, drilling holes for new brushed nickel knobs, priming, sanding, painting.. it goes on and on.
Eldest had a roller skating party and was also invited to sleep over at the birthday girl's house. I got back home last night and kept Youngestbusy while Husband was working. She didn't get to bed until 10pm. She kept me company while we waytched Trading Spaces. Husband and I didn't get to sleep until almost 2am.

As I opened my eyes this morning, Olivia, while standing right in front of me, said "I'm hungry". She scared me half to death. I managed to convince her to climb into bed with me so we could snuggle for a little while. We got up, ate breakfast and I took off to the stores. Alone! : - )
First stop - Kmart. I picked up some pj's for Youngestas well as a new bathmat and bottled water. A few other little things for Christmas for the girls. Next stop - ShopRite. OhMyGAWD. PACKED. At 1015am on a Sunday morning. Completely packed. You should have seen the people gathered around the free turkey case. They were like animals. I just grabbed the first turkey I could get my hands on and bolted. I managed to pick up the rest of the items I needed for Thanksgiving dinner as well as the usual stuff. I stood in line for 20 minutes to be checked out - all the lanes were open too. I was happy to make it out of there alive! LOL! Last stop - Brunos. I picked up the breakfast sausage (they make it for me) as well as the deli items I needed for the rest of the week.
When I got home, I unloaded the car and got everything put away. Youngestand I went back out to pick up Eldest. When we got back home, Husband and I worked in the kitchen while the girls essentially tore up the house. I finally put in a DVD so they would just stay STILL for a little while.
Dinner was just burgers and fries with carrot sticks. My kitchen was still slightly trashed at that point and a big Sunday dinner just wasn't gonna happen today. After dinner, Husband worked in the kitchen while I got the girls bathed and ready for bed. They were in bed by 830pm and not a peep out of them either.
Husband and I did some more work, finally calling it quits by 930pm. He had to rewire the range hood light and fan and he got that all put back together and working just fine. I am making my second loaf of bread for my Mom. She is going to make stuffing out of it. Ummmmm - stuffing. ::drool::
Whew! My fingers are tired! I am going to try to catch up on some of my reads but please forgive me if I didn't stop by and say hello. I hope you all had great weekends. ::smooches::

Posted by Cate at 11:04 PM | Comments (1)

November 21, 2003

Radio Contest

Well - they are announcing the winner of the <a href="http://sugar-plum.net/kate/archives/004288.html">appliance makeover</a>.. and it's not me.... CRAP! Oh well - the winner's appliances must be pretty damn disgusting. Yeah yeah... so I am sour graping...

Posted by Cate at 08:53 AM | Comments (0)

November 16, 2003

My kitchen

Yeah yeah - I know you are all sick and tired of hearing all about my kitchen. But, I just love the way it has been turning out. SO much work has been put into it - it's incredible. P just replaced another kitchen wall cabinet. I am getting so much storage space that I am freaking out! Now I have too many options. Gee - my life is so difficult!

Posted by Cate at 11:18 PM | Comments (3)

November 12, 2003

Parts

The parts for my dishwasher showed up today. Oh - happy day. P is putting that back together and it will look so much nicer now. Yay!

Have you noticed that it doesn't tale much to make me happy? LOL. I guess I am easy..

Posted by Cate at 10:39 PM | Comments (2)

My house

This is what it used to look when you walked in my front door one year ago:

I will post more pics later.

Posted by Cate at 02:55 PM | Comments (3)

November 11, 2003

Kitchen

Ok - some pics in the extended entry!

This thing was a bitch to put together. Add that with a kitchen floor that is not level and it makes for an exciting day with a lot of work for poor P. I want to publically thank him for a job very well done ::smooches:: We still have some minor things to finish up - the wainscotting for the back of the counter, base moulding around the counter, rearrange the kitchen, replace parts on the dishwasher and a few other odds and ends.
I will try to take more pictures of the floor tomorrow.

Posted by Cate at 11:53 PM | Comments (10)

YAY!

P is home today. He is putting together a new counter for me. MORE storage - praise the LORD! I know I need to post pictures of my kitchen. Soon, very soon. I promise!

Posted by Cate at 09:03 AM | Comments (4)

November 09, 2003

Yaaaawn

I think P and I raked/mowed/blowed/bagged <strike>a million</strike> billions of leaves. I have had enough fresh air and now I just want to take a nap. Too bad I have to cook dinner for a starving husband and children.
I might be back later - if I manage to stay awake. LOL.

Posted by Cate at 05:13 PM | Comments (3)

November 03, 2003

Gettin' Laid

My floor tiles - that it! I was helping P and we managed to bust out quite a bit tonight. I will post more pics tomorrow. I am tired and I know P has got to be hurting. He's been on his knees all day and night.

Posted by Cate at 12:35 AM | Comments (1)

November 02, 2003

Picture Night

More floor!

(click below)

The subfloor:

P priming the floor:

My tiles:

Posted by Cate at 10:09 PM | Comments (7)

YAY!!!!

I LOVE MY TILES!!! They look AWESOME!!

Posted by Cate at 09:53 PM | Comments (0)

October 29, 2003

Not motivated

I have so much stuff to work on and I don't feel like doing CRAP! I have to drag myself away from the computer.

Posted by Cate at 09:53 AM | Comments (1)

October 28, 2003

Yay

I picked put my tile pattern/color:

by <a href="http://www.depot-tile.com/product/TM379.html">TrafficMaster</a>. It's not as orange-y as it looks on the page.

Posted by Cate at 07:37 PM | Comments (7)

October 17, 2003

I am such a goddess

M's room is spotless! Go me! Go me!

Posted by Cate at 02:46 PM | Comments (3)

Even more cleaning

Now I am in M's room today. I **** you not - she must have at LEAST 300 books in here. Oy.

Posted by Cate at 11:11 AM | Comments (3)

October 16, 2003

Arrggh!

Oh man - I have been tearing up my house - cleaning. What the hell is wrong with me?? It's like I am nesting or something. And - NO - I am NOT pregnant! LOL!

Posted by Cate at 03:08 PM | Comments (3)

More cleaning

I just tore up O's room. Man - there were some scary things in there!! Of course, we are listening to kid music today - an Arthur cd and Veggie Tales. Again.

Posted by Cate at 01:08 PM | Comments (2)

October 15, 2003

Cleanin' and Singin'

I just tore up my living room. It is totally cleaned and dusted. Of course, I was motivated by <a href="http://www.bigidea.com/books/veggietales/helpinghand.htm">Bob and Larry</a>.

If you like to talk to tomatoes,
If a squash can make you smile,
If you like to waltz with potatoes,
Up and down the produce aisle...
Have we got a show for you!
Veggie Tales! Veggie Tales!
Veggie Tales! Veggie Tales!
Veggie Tales! Veggie Tales!
Veggie Tales! Veggie Tales!
Broccoli, celery, gotta be Veggie Tales,
Lima beans, collard greens, peachy keen, Veggie Tales,
Cauliflower, sweet and sour, half an hour, Veggie Tales.
There's never ever ever ever ever been a show like Veggie Tales.
There's never ever ever ever ever been a show like Veggie Tales.
It's time for Veggie Taaaaaaaallllleeeeeeessssss!!!!

Posted by Cate at 12:45 PM | Comments (5)

The game

I am disappointed about the ball games last night. I wonder how much of a beating that one Cubbies fan will get for snatching that fly ball away from Moises Alou. From Fox Sports:

<a href="http://www.foxsports.com/content/view?contentId=1752476">Ballpark guards escorted the man, who was wearing a Cubs hat, from his seat along the low outfield wall and into a security office as the game ended. He covered his face with a sweater as he walked past fans who pelted him with cups of beer and shouted obscenities. Some chanted "kill him." </a>

<a href="http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/playoffs2003/columns/story?columnist=stark_jayson&id=1638390">Even the Marlins feel sorry for that guy</a>:

"We'll be talking about that guy for a long time," Mike Mordecai (Marlins infielder) said. "We need to send that guy a box of chocolates."

and:

Asked if he was worried about The Fan's safety after the way he was berated, cursed and abused by his fellow Wrigley-ites, Florida's Jeff Conine said: "Yeah. I am. We're all concerned about that fan. Seriously.

Here's the kicker: And as that eighth inning careened onward, things got so ugly that security went from trying to protect The Fan to trying to persuade him to leave. Eventually, after resisting, he agreed to be escorted to a holding area inside the stadium. And he didn't even wind up with the ball.

This from <a href="http://sports.yahoo.com/mlb/news?slug=ap-cubs-foiledagain&prov=ap&type=lgns">Yahoo</a>:

And lastly, I have to leave you with <a href="http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2003/baseball/mlb/specials/postseason/2003/10/15/bc.bbn.cubs.foiledagain.ap/">this image</a>:

Posted by Cate at 08:54 AM | Comments (2)

October 01, 2003

Feelin' High

Ugh - I've OD'ed on bleach. My kitchen looks great but the bleach STINKS!

Posted by Cate at 12:25 PM | Comments (3)

September 25, 2003

Nooooooooooooo!

My coffee pot is broken. Not a good thing in the morning. Not a good thing at all.
Is this bad karma??

Posted by Cate at 07:22 AM | Comments (3)

September 12, 2003

Block Party

Our street was going to have a block party tomorrow. But, judging by the <a href="http://www.weather.com/weather/local/08050">weather conditions and forecast for tomorrow</a>, it looks like it might not happen. Crap.

Posted by Cate at 02:06 PM | Comments (5)

September 09, 2003

Awesome website

<a href="http://www.dlawlesshardware.com/index.html">This guy</a> has the best prices around for cabinet, kitchen, furniture hardware. Heck - I bought <a href="http://www.dlawlesshardware.com/clearglasbar.html"target=_blank>my knobs</a> from him last year and I could not be any more pleased!

Posted by Cate at 11:15 AM | Comments (5)

September 07, 2003

Disgusting

If you ever have the opportunity to look inside your dishwasher - and I mean really look - I have 3 words of advice. Don't do it.

I feel sick.

Posted by Cate at 02:00 PM | Comments (3)

September 06, 2003

S A TUR DAY NIGHT!

How we spent our Saturday - day and night
by Kate and P

Posted by Cate at 11:53 PM | Comments (11)

August 09, 2003

And - we're off!

The good news -We're priming the ceiling! Yippie!
The bad news - P and I have to work together.

We work together very well - in different rooms. Wish me luck.

Posted by Cate at 01:58 PM | Comments (1)

Can you say unmotivated?

I knew you could.

It's raining. Blahblahblahblahblahblahblah

I think I have the blahs...

Posted by Cate at 10:46 AM | Comments (4)

Saturday

I have to clean the house today. It's not BAD just really messy and sloppy. Plus, I have to scrub the bathroom (always a fun job) and the kitchen. Don't even get me started on my own bedroom aka storeroom. Everything that doesn't have a home ends up in my room. Oy.

Posted by Cate at 10:23 AM | Comments (1)

August 08, 2003

Caught!

We caught the scuzzy little bastard!! He's stuck in the glue trap and it's making a lot of noise. My worthless fat cat is eating out of her bowl and occasionally glancing over at the cabinet. Lazy bugger.
I just looked at the package with the glue traps and it says, in small letters, that it does NOT have poison in it. OMG!!! That means I have to listen to this thing scrape around in my cabinet all night (cuz you know I am NOT sleeping!!) OMG! OMG! OMG!! I am offically freaked out!!! I freakin' HATE rodents! :::shudder:::

1253am update:
P just took the trap and mouse out of the cabinet and "disposed" of it. Thankyou thankyou thankyou.

Posted by Cate at 12:42 AM | Comments (4)

August 06, 2003

My kitchen

It's coming along nicely. I moved some stuff out of the backroom and onto the shelves. I put all my craft stuff in those clear plastic shoeboxes (2/$1.00) in my backroom, on the shelves back there. I managed to put all my small appliances like my Foreman grill, bread machine, Kitchen Aid mixer, food processor, blender and small chopper up on the very top shelf. I think it is starting to look pretty good. Well, good enough until we paint!
P went to bed about an hour ago. The girls are asleep. The house is nice and quiet. I am taking a break from organizing the kitchen. I still need to empty and reload the dishwasher, run another load of laundry and reorganize my computer desk. ::sigh:: I need some speed!
M is going on another playdate tomorrow, up at my Mom's place. Her neighbors have their 6 year old granddaughter visiting and she and M hit it off when they met a couple weeks ago. Mom promised that they could have a playdate. Fine with me! Mom will be down tomorrow morning to pick up M. O and I have a few things to do and then <a href="http://www.bookblog.net">Mary</a> will be down for a visit too! Yay!

Posted by Cate at 11:17 PM | Comments (2)

August 05, 2003

A MOUSE!

I have a ****ing MOUSE in one of my cupboards! EW EW EW EW! I HATE mice. In fact, I despise all rodents. ALL of them. It's those little freakin' teeny claws.. that pointy face...those beady eyes ::shiver:: Auugghh - they freak me out!
I pulled everything out of the cupboard and stuffed as much as I could in the dishwasher and cranked it on the hottest cycle. I washed the rest of the pans in really hot soapy water. My hands are killing me - I had that water SO freakin' hot. I will be bleaching the cabinet next. GAH!!! I have the heebie jeebies now!!

Posted by Cate at 02:56 PM | Comments (13)

August 03, 2003

A light?

OMG - I think I see a very faint light at the end of this very long tunnel of kitchen remodeling 101

Posted by Cate at 03:23 PM | Comments (2)

August 02, 2003

Pictures

I didn't title any of them... these are all shots of my kitchen walls, ceiling, taped off areas, the paint chip of the color I want to use, my broken hutch thingie and general disaster shots! <a href="http://www.picturetrail.com/gallery/view?p=999&gid=2542617&uid=446796"target=_blank>My Kitchen</a>

::update 1128pm::
I put in a few more pictures - check them out

Posted by Cate at 10:18 PM | Comments (5)

Back from the depot

Just got back from a nightmare trip to Home Depot... The girls were so ill-behaved I was thisclose to giving each of them a crack on the butt.
While the girls and I were out, P had moved my microwave/hutch/storage thingie. It started to slowly collapse and break apart. Of course, I have tons of things in it because I don't have any really good storage solutiond in my kitchen. This afternoon, I went to KMart and Wal-Mart to try to find a new (and cheap) microwave/hutch thing. No such luck. So, we now have nice pine shelves and bronze finished scrolled brackets. The brackets cost more than the damn shelves.
I will try to post some pics... it's really a sight to see...

Posted by Cate at 08:38 PM | Comments (1)

My kitchen

::whimper::: It's in total disarry ::sob:: I'm scared...

Posted by Cate at 06:19 PM | Comments (1)

August 01, 2003

Big Plans. Busy Weekend

Did the usual batch of errands today. Getting things set up for the weekend. M will be spending Saturday with my brother. If the weather holds up, they will go to the beach. If not, I am sure he will take her to the movies or something fun.
We had a BBQ scheduled for Sunday but my Mom suggested we cancel it due to thunderstorm/rain predictions. Frankly, I am relieved as we have so much to do in the kitchen. This way, I don't have to worry about really cleanign for company.
I have a huge headache. I am going to lay down in the bedroom with the kidlets. I'll doze and they can watch tv.
Later!

Posted by Cate at 03:34 PM | Comments (4)

July 31, 2003

Still scrapin'

The girls are in bed. P and I are tag-team scraping. Of course, he is no help to me when I am scraping the ceiling as he spends his time oogling my boobs when I scrape. Apparently, they "jiggle" a bit. Oh, he was also pretending he was going to use the spray bottle and squirt water up the back of my shirt. Lucky me! My right shoulder is pretty sore. This is very slow and tedious work. The person who came up with the idea of popcorn ceilings should be beaten. Severely. You may be asking "So, why are you scraping the popcorn down? Why not just paint or cut it down it?" Well, the ceiling is pretty nasty looking and it is in my kitchen. We can't really afford to just tear off the ceiling and put up new sheetrock either. So, we are scraping.
I haven't read many blogs today. I hope I can catch up sometime tomorrow.

Posted by Cate at 09:50 PM | Comments (3)

Taking a break

Man - this is freakin' messy...yuck.. I'm covered in soggy ceiling goop.

Posted by Cate at 04:05 PM | Comments (0)

Scraping the ceiling

Sorry about the lack of posts... I am busy spraying the popcorn ceiling with water and then scraping it off... Talk about messy work. Yuck. My kitchen is all taped off and has plastic dropclothes hanging all over the place.
M has a buddy coming over today so hopefully, there will be no problems. Well - back to work!

Posted by Cate at 01:32 PM | Comments (2)

July 21, 2003

It's Done!

This is a picture from 'net. We based M's bed on this:

The bed P made:

Isn't he the bestest?

Posted by Cate at 04:32 PM | Comments (12)

The Bed

M's bed looks SO cool! Of course, my rechargable batteries died ::eyeroll:: so I can't post any pics until later.. P has done good this time! M loves the bed!

Posted by Cate at 03:20 PM | Comments (2)

July 19, 2003

Well

P and I finished the work on the well. All we have left to do is fill in the hole. The kids have been playing in the pile of dirt all afternoon. They are filthy - they look like street urchins, except dirtier!
It's a good thing I made the sauce and sausages early this morning and chucked it all in the crockpot. I am so tired and P looks like a zombie. Poor guy - he really busted his ass today. I am going to make a nice tossed salad and toast some rolls with butter and garlic so we can all stuff ourselves silly.

Posted by Cate at 05:51 PM | Comments (1)

Phew

Luckily - it's only the check valve that's broken. I ran out to Home Depot for P and picked up some spare parts. We only had to dig down about 20 feet to get to the well parts. I took some pics that I wil post up later tonight. Ugh - the joys of home ownership!

Posted by Cate at 02:33 PM | Comments (0)

Well troubles

::sigh::
We are having problems with the well. There is a broken part down by the well. P and I will be digging up the well and replacing the part. It's not allowing the water to stay pumped up to the holding tank and it's draining back down to the well. Jeez - I hate this well. Ugh. Luckily, the weather is cool and not too sunny.
See ya later.

Posted by Cate at 11:02 AM | Comments (0)

July 14, 2003

Carpet guys

are on the way. Yippie. I have a ton of things I need to do today so the faster they get here, the better. Speaking of better, I'd better get some make-up on this face!

Posted by Cate at 09:50 AM | Comments (2)

June 28, 2003

Pool Saga

The pool! Yeah - it's a little green. See how happy P looks?

Finally - a working f'ing pump.

Posted by Cate at 12:01 PM | Comments (5)

June 26, 2003

Damn Pool

June 25, 2003

Damn Pool

Damn Pool. MF'ing DP.
We finally found what we needed - at Branch Brook. There was another one, also for sale, for $30 more. Unfortunately, the power went out in the store when P arrived. He sat in the parking lot and waited. He vowed he wasn't leaving without the filter. From 430pm to 6pm, he waited. Finally, the power came back on and he was able to purchase the crap we needed. He gets home, drags all the stuff out of the truck (for work, he's on call this week), hauls it to the backyard, opens the boxes, pulls out some parts and finds the hose connecting the control valve and pump is broken. It's goddamn broken. The fittings were cracked.. lots of little pieces. I thought he was going to have a stroke. The pool has become a frigging HUGE pain in the ass. He called the pool store and one of the guys in parts said he could just bring back the broken part and exchange.
P wasn't about to take any more chances. He packed everything back up in the box and loaded it in the back of my car, just in case. You can damn well bet I will be getting a new hose tomorrow. I want this damn pool operational ASAP!
/rant

Posted by Cate at 09:04 PM | Comments (2)

June 24, 2003

YEAH baby!

Woot! The inspector - who was a FINE looking piece of man - just left - we passed everything! Heh. He had one helluva nice butt too.
Now I can escape and do my errands.

Posted by Cate at 11:04 AM | Comments (2)

Still here

Hmm - surprisingly, the inspector is not here yet. Ugh - more work to do!

Posted by Cate at 10:39 AM | Comments (0)

TRAPPED!!

Well- here I am... sitting and waiting for the pool inspection. I hope to God he gets here before noon. I have a LIFE! LOL.

edited to add - I was told the inspection would be anywhere from 9am - 2pm. Lucky me! I supposed I COULD do laundry while I wait. Yuck.

Posted by Cate at 08:33 AM | Comments (2)

June 23, 2003

Ugh

We worked out in the yard for a little while this morning. The pool filter (full of sand) cracked. Damn. We decided we needed to purchase a new filter/pump combination. We found what we were looking for at Branch Brook Pools - about 40 minutes from the house. We load up the kids and, after dining at McD's for lunch, head to the pool place. They are sold out of the pump we need. GodDAMN it. We drove ALL over and stopped at no less than 5 other pool supply stores. NOTHING. Oh wait, the last place we stopped had one - for three times the price of the BranchBrook filter/pump set. **** no.
We are all tired and cranky today. I am so pissed about the filter. The ****ing inspector is coming tomorrow to finish the final pool inspection...somewhere between 9am and 2pm. ARGH!

Posted by Cate at 07:03 PM | Comments (1)

June 15, 2003

Home Improvements

<a href="http://mrPtoyou.blogspot.com/">P</a> and I are (once again) discussing how we can improve and add more space to our house. We came up with possible solution - add a master bedroom and bathroom to the back of the house, make part of the dining room a utility room, eliminate the current bathroom and add that to my kitchen space, move M into our (old) bedroom, move O to M's old room and split O's bedroom - adding 1/2 to M's old room and making a bigger closet and the other half would become a new full bathroom. Hmm - I think I need to call my mortgage company and see how much we can borrow!
Well - off to read some blogs!

Posted by Cate at 09:23 PM | Comments (1)

June 01, 2003

My bathroom

Oy - <a href="http://mrPtoyou.blogspot.com">P</a> tore up a part of my bathroom! I don't think he meant to do it either. The previous owners of this house were (and possibly still are) idiots. Everything was installed incorrectly.
In happier news, my step-mom was sent home on Friday. She is so happy to be back home. Hospitals really suck. She will have to have another procedure done on June 17th. It's called <a href="http://my.webmd.com/content/healthwise/39/9654"target=_blank>extracorporeal shock wave lithotripsy.</a> From WebMD:
The person lies on a water-filled cushion. X-rays or ultrasound tests are used to precisely locate the stone. High-energy sound waves pass through the body without injuring it and shatter the stone into small particles. These small particles move through the urinary tract and out of the body more easily than a large stone.
The bonus - it can be done as an outpatient procedure. Very cool!
Well - off to finish making dinner. Really simple tonight - meat slop (browned chopped beef cooked with onions) with gravy, rice, veggies and I have a pumpkin pie baking in the oven. Smells yummy here!

Posted by Cate at 05:01 PM | Comments (1)

April 02, 2003

Yay!

My ChemLawn guy is here! Hooray! His co-worker was headed into the backyard when I realized that I had a small rack on the back porch - all loaded with my bras!! I didn't want to put them in the dryer! Ai yi yi! :blush: I ran through the house, almost knocking over O, and hauled the rack in right before the guy got into the backyard. LOL! :blush:

Posted by Cate at 12:45 PM | Comments (1)

March 26, 2003

Much needed break

My gardens look a lot better now! YAY! My hands - well - they look pretty crappy. I can't wear gardening gloves, they flop around on my hands. I hate that. I think I will need to find and invest in a good pair of gloves.
O and I came in about an hour ago to eat lunch. Man - I was hungry! It's not like I miss meals but it must have been something to do with all that fresh air and good hearty work! I found a lot of worms when I was turning over the soil. O was so excited to see them worms. I would hand her worms and she would laugh when they would squirm around in her hands. :laugh: Silly kid.
Well - back to the garden. I don't have much left to complete, just to rake up the last of the cedar mulch and get rid of it. I decided that I didn't like it anymore and I am going to go with licorice mulch. It stinks to holy hell when the bag is opened and it looks a lot nicer than the red cedar.

Posted by Cate at 12:48 PM | Comments (3)

January 10, 2003

Finally

The furniture has entered the building...

Posted by Cate at 02:03 PM | Comments (8)

January 08, 2003

Reorganizing

I am currently taking a break from unpacking my stuff. I have to go to "The Shack" (aka Radio Shack) to get a cable for my cable modem. P will be setting up another outlet but until he does, I need a longer cable. Heh. Cable for my cable.
O and I went food shopping and I bought a lot of healthy foods. I hope I eat them. :cheerful: I have a few goals that I set for myself this year. Eating better is one of them. P has a super fast metabolism and I .. don't.

Anyway - I am gonna read a few blogs and then get back to work!

Posted by Cate at 11:57 AM | Comments (1)

January 07, 2003

It's Here! It's Here!

At 1115am, 2 guys showed up to install my carpet. They were finished, cleaned up and gone by 130pm! Talk about kicking ass! I love my carpet!!
:cloud9: :cloud9: :cloud9: :cloud9: :cloud9: :cloud9:

Posted by Cate at 01:58 PM | Comments (7)

January 06, 2003

Well - this is it..

P will be disconnecting me in about 20 minutes. :sigh: Wish us luck with the carpet tomorrow and hope they come early!! This way - I can be back online within 24 hours! Woohoo!
:puckerup::puckerup: Love you guys!

PS - Don't forget to leave me book suggestions in my comments!! I will have plenty of time to kill at the library 3 days a week.

Posted by Cate at 10:35 PM | Comments (4)

January 03, 2003

Dust everywhere!

I have been so busy around the house today. Laundry was a biggie as well as cleaning out M's room and cleaning her DESK! My kid is a packrat! I bribed her with a new file for her desk and managed to get her to throw out bits and scraps of paper. I let her keep some bits (hey - I'm not a total ass) and we chucked out the rest. Now, she actually has a place to write! I found a ton of notebooks/journals that she writes in occasionally so I stuck them into some bright yellow file holders and got them on her desk as well.

I even worked in O's room and cleaned off her desk as well. I had to re-arrange a lot of her stuff to make room for .. well.. MORE stuff! I need a bigger house to hold all my stuff!

Living Room Update:
The old entertainment center is being decimated as I type. Hooray! I always hated that thing. It has served it's purpose and now it's goin' goin' GONE!

Well - off to attemp to do some work.

Posted by Cate at 11:56 PM | Comments (2)

December 28, 2002

Home Improvements

More pics <a href="http://www.picturetrail.com/gallery/view?p=999&gid=1501776&uid=446796">here</a> baby!

Posted by Cate at 10:26 PM | Comments (7)

December 27, 2002

Thank GAWD it's Friday

Man - I am just SO freakin' tired! I am recovering from Christmas. Thanks goodness it only comes once a year.

I never hooked up with Scott and Shelley today. They were supposed to call me when they got to NYC last night. I was concerned when I didn't hear from them. Thank goodness Scott called me this morning, around 11am. Talk about missed flights, delayed flights, flights that never even showed UP! I will let him recap that. I know he will be calling back tonight so I am hopeful we can at least meet for lunch tomorrow ::crossing fingers:: I have the bus schedule all printed out and I am SO ready!

Husband has been working SO hard today. We (I helped a little!) framed out the doorway to the dining room. He also painted a lot of the molding and is curently in the process of installing it along the hallway floor. At least we were able to borrow my brother in law's chop saw. SO much faster! I took a few pictures today and I'll post them up ASAP.

I've got dinner in the oven.. meatloaf. Rice on the stove. Eldest will be leaving at 5pm to sleep over a buddy's house. Woohoo! 1 kid down! I want to go to Blockbuster to rent a couple dvd's...maybe I'll run over after dinner..

Gotta run..catch ya later!

Posted by Cate at 04:13 PM | Comments (2)

December 23, 2002

Updated Home Pictures

Check 'em out <a href="http://www.picturetrail.com/gallery/view?p=999&gid=1460684&uid=446796">here</a>

Posted by Cate at 10:52 AM | Comments (0)

December 16, 2002

Uploaded pics

I uploaded a bunch of pics to PictureTrail. If anyone wants to check out my living room and see all the work we (well - mostly P :mischievous: ) have done, check it out <a href="http://www.picturetrail.com/gallery/view?p=999&gid=1460684&uid=446796"target=_blank>here</a>!

Posted by Cate at 09:38 AM | Comments (6)

December 15, 2002

What a day!

Long day today but we got a lot of stuff accomplished.

Husband pulled up some ceramic tile by my front door. The previous owners had put them in - I always hated them. Too slippery. Well, after he pulled them up, a bunch of the plywood underneath them was wrecked. Off to Home Depot I go - purchasing plywood and electrical crap. We also had to replace the sheetrock in my hall closet. The old front door must have leaked and water wicked up the wall via the shitty carpet. So - I put up the vapor barrier over the insulation and Husband installed the sheetrock.
We finally set up the Christmas tree. Oh - it's not decorated or anything like that! I have Bonkos tomorrow night so Husband and the girls will put up the lights and the garland. On Tuesday, we will decorate! Woohoo!
I am going to surf some blogs - I need to catch up!

Posted by Cate at 11:00 PM | Comments (1)

December 14, 2002

It's all gone!

Well -my furniture is GONE! What the hell was I thinking?! :crazy: But, the family that was going to get the furniture was so happy. They were from <a href="http://www.liberia.net/">Liberia</a>. This family won a lottery so they could come to America. Wow. They have been in my town for 3 months and their one daughter (13/14 years old) is already on the honor roll in school. I am so glad I was able to help them.

Before:

(the loveseat, 2 green chairs, recliner and end table were going to be donated. They also got 2 chair slipcovers and 1 for the loveseat as well as a queen size comforter and sheet set)

<img alt="PC140030.JPG" src="http://sugar-plum.net/kate/PC140030.JPG" width="640" height="480" border="0" />
(sorry - really crappy photo)

After:
<img alt="Where's my stuff??" src="http://sugar-plum.net/kate/PC140033.JPG" width="640" height="480" border="0" />

Wide empty space! Now we can put up the tree! Woohoo!

Posted by Cate at 07:51 PM | Comments (3)

December 04, 2002

Home Improvements

More pictures

Welcome to my mess! And, no, my walls are not pixelated! :laugh:

Posted by Cate at 10:27 PM | Comments (2)

December 03, 2002

Reunited

Piglet's home!

Posted by Cate at 12:47 PM | Comments (8)

November 26, 2002

Bills bills bills

I just paid all my bills.. :ugh: :arg: :banghead:

Posted by Cate at 10:55 AM | Comments (3)

November 22, 2002

Show me the MONEY!!

We finally got our payoff checks from <a href="http://www.ditech.com/home/">Ditech</a>! YAY!
They are going out today, Priority Mail, with tracking numbers.

Thank Gawd.

Posted by Cate at 12:44 PM | Comments (0)

November 19, 2002

&@#$@^!!!!

:banghead:
I think my microwave just decided to *%#$@^&! break.
Piece of ****.

Posted by Cate at 12:10 PM | Comments (2)

November 11, 2002

Whatta mighty mighty good man!

Walls are up and spackled. Corner bead, taping and painting will commence Tuesday and Wednesday.
P has worked so darn hard these past couple days. I just adore him! :kiss:
Check out the pics!

The doorway, as you walk into the kitchen/dining room. See P peeking at me!
 
<img alt="PB110001.JPG" src="http://sugar-plum.net/kate/PB110001.JPG" width="640" height="480" border="0" />
 
Looking towards the front door
 
<img alt="PB110003.JPG" src="http://sugar-plum.net/kate/PB110003.JPG" width="640" height="480" border="0" />
 
Spackle Man!
 
<img alt="PB110004.JPG" src="http://sugar-plum.net/kate/PB110004.JPG" width="640" height="480" border="0" />

Posted by Cate at 09:52 PM | Comments (1)

We have Walls!

I know - MORE damn pictures!
:biggrin:
Oh - please don't think my house looks like this all the time!

Posted by Cate at 02:52 PM | Comments (3)

November 10, 2002

Home Improvements

Pictures!
:coffee:
Lordy - I am tired.. and I didn't do all the interior work!

Posted by Cate at 10:41 PM | Comments (2)

November 09, 2002

Home Improvements

Well - construction has begun. Actually - he started last night, scoring and removing sheetrock. Did I ever mention how much we both HATE popcorn ceilings? ICK!

We decided to build a wall - dividing the large space that is my living room and dining area..

Original layout (which I never liked anyway)
 
<img alt="P9190020.JPG" src="http://sugar-plum.net/kate/archives/P9190020.JPG" width="640" height="480" border="0" />
 
Where the wall will be placed - with a 4' space as the doorway
 
<img alt="PB090001.JPG" src="http://sugar-plum.net/kate/archives/PB090001.JPG" width="640" height="480" border="0" />

Where the ladder is leaning is where the wall will start. P is at Home Depot now, buying studs to frame out the wall. Whee! My computer desk will be on one side of the new wall (in the living room area) and the hutch will be on the opposite side. I will lose some natural lighting but that gives me the excuse to buy some wall sconces for lighting.
::crazy::
My house is a mess!

Posted by Cate at 01:52 PM | Comments (7)