What I'm Reading This Week #9

Good Friday to you all!  I hope you've had a good week and are ready to get into some tomfoolery this weekend.  I got some of the priming done on the first floor.  We still need to pull out some bigger furniture and spackle, sand and prime there so we're ready for the ceiling guy when they spring that on us.

Now let's spring into...

Is TMJ Disorder the Culprit Behind Your Regular Headaches?   (I can vouch, this sucks.)

11 Of The Funniest Tweets About Job Interview Questions  (#1 made me crack up)

Are there warning signs before an aneurysm? How to know your risk   (Good info to know)

15 Secrets of People Who Always Have a Clean Kitchen   (I'd better put these into practice once ours is finished.)

Here’s What It’s Really Like To Work In A Funeral Home  (This is fascinating.  God bless those people.)

How to Throw a Punch  (Asking for a friend.)

The Surgeon Who Wants to Connect You to the Internet with a Brain Implant  (HELL to the FRIGGIN' NO!!!!!!!!!!!)

Outdated Nutrition Advice That Dietitians Want You to Stop Following STAT  (Halleluyer!)

How to Start Walking for Weight Loss (Even When You Have 50+ Pounds to Lose)  (I may be relegated to kickin' it old school for a bit.)

This Groovy Green "Time Capsule" Condo in California Is on the Market for $375,000  (Pretty neato but I'm not necessarily green with envy over it.)

Since the window trim has officially been added to the punch list, it's our responsibility to buy the materials for it this weekend.  It's specialty material, of course, so I'm hoping we can find it relatively quick. 

What are you up to this weekend?

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We're The Renegades of Creep

Sorry, I had Renegades of Funk in my head and am writing about our latest scope creep so the two collided.  (Mr...Renegades would be a good battle ropes workout song, yes?)

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Ahh, I remember when I started the month with nails.  Now?

(They're worse now)

I did it.  I added another friggin' item to the punch list for the kitchen.  I must have the window sill in the kitchen replaced and framed.  It's a moral imperative.  We're spending all of this money and it would be the one thing to haunt me if I didn't have it taken care of.  It'd be like putting on a full face of makeup sans lipstick.  The more I look at the shitty job those jerks at the window place did, the more I want to call them back to have them take care of it.  This was after cutting back our tree out front and seeing all of the debris leftover from them taking out the windows.  The indoor guy did a good(ish) job but the outside guy was atrocious.  I remember he left ALL of his debris on our new patio and I was ticked.  If the owner came out to do the final inspection like he told us he was going to do, I don't know how that would've passed for the "superior quality they pride themselves on."   I have faith our kitchen dude will come through and give us something we can be proud of instead of us hoping people don't look at the window.  I'm getting a nice, new valance from some Etsy chick in Serbia and it will look pitiful around the current window sitch.

(Sorry for the crappy backlit pic)

Edit:  Here's a closer look.

I seriously think that's the last thing we can add to the project unless I add a pot filler.  You know what that is, right?

(Source)

I have been drooling over this thing for like 15 years and the Mr has been urging me to get it if I want it especially since we'll have the room for it with the stove controls on the front.  While I would love to take him up on it, I literally stand in the same spot, turn to the right and there's my kitchen sink.  I could understand if I had to turn around and walk a few steps or across the kitchen, but I don't.  It would be there for the sake of being there and you could tell it was superfluous.  Sigh.  It's purty though, ain't it?  I'll just have to continue to drool from afar as practicality has to win this one.  (That will be laughable when y'all see the ceiling but I'm picking my battles.)

I emailed the contact at the kitchen place Tuesday and told her I hoped my name popping up in her inbox didn't make her cringe yet.  She said no but I'm still sending them Mrs. Fields cookies when this is done just in case.  Then that night we watched Twister in honor of the 3rd year of Bill Paxton's passing after the Mr finished his upgrade which went surprisingly well for once. 

I've got to get the priming done where the crown molding was so if they call and say "oh, we're coming out to smooth the ceiling and install the new lights in two days" we're somewhat ready.  We definitely have to clean this weekend because the new stove and microwave are coming next week.  WOOOT!!

Would you get a pot filler if it were free?  Do you have a pot filler so I can secretly curse you?

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Hump Day Poll: Kids Today Will Never Get To...

This week's random question...what simple joy or mischievous thing did you do as a kid that kids today can't do?

Prank calls.  I'm pretty sure my friend and I (the one getting married in a few months) spent most of our middle school years pranking friends, boys we liked and businesses.   We used voices, made up ridiculous scenarios to see how long it would take them to catch on and were general nuisances.   Of course, caller ID ruined that for the most part.  I suppose I could do it to certain people now since we've got an ID block but businesses wouldn't work because they can still see your number.  Womp womp.

What simple joy or mischievous thing did you do as a kid that kids today can't do?


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Weighty solution, small progress and grocery store fail

Good Tuesday everyone!  I hope your Monday was a good start to the week and not more like "not another week of this."  I sent this to the Mr at work and told him he needed to print it out and put it on his desk since he's the "go-to" man in his department.

(Source)

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I'm trying a new experiment of not scrolling my phone before bed as my way to "unwind" or keep the hamster wheel at bay.  Even though I have it on a no blue light setting and the darkest screen setting possible, I always read that screens are the worst thing you can do.  I can't say it let me sleep any longer Sunday into Monday but I'm going to try to make this a habit.  I can just feel that my body doesn't have enough time to recover because I don't get true "deep" sleep.  Meds are not an option but I keep hearing good things about weighted blankets.   Does anyone have one that they swear helps them stay asleep?

I was afraid I wasn't going to be able to do much of anything since my legs are giving me issues again and I pulled my back Sunday.  There was this big ass planter on the back patio that I wanted to be moved to the front and I had to lift it three times and then leaning over the couch to remove the crown molding in a weird position had it cursing me.  I grabbed breakfast (at noon) and then touched my toes a bit to try to loosen my lower back enough to start the sanding and spackling I had ahead of me.  Our step stool is the Mr's toolbox so it can be heavy to move.  My mom got it for him as a wedding gift when we got married with a few essential tools.  It's actually a pretty awesome gift for someone moving out on their own or getting married.  We use it as a step stool a good amount of the time and it's nice to have all of the tools in one spot.  You can even wind one of those big ol' outdoor extension cords around it that you can never find when you need it.

Side note:  I'm pretty sure UPS, FedEx and Amazon Prime think we are drop shippers.  The amount of cardboard that has come through this house the past four weeks has been IN-SANE.  I say that because I think I just heard them drop something off on the porch.

(Source)

Okay, apparently no one was there.  It was like a phantom cell phone ring on your hip.

Where was I?  Spackling/toolbox.  It hurt the first few times I moved the toolbox as I made my way along the hallway but then I think my back was like "fine, she's doing this regardless.  We'll get her later."  I got what I could without moving furniture on my own and sanded when it was set up.  Then there was the spot over the mantel where I saw that I will need to keep an eye on the ceiling or never burn a candle there again.

We did our workout (LIIFT 4- 15 min HIIT and Back and Bi's) then had homemade Chinese for dinner with cauliflower rice.  For some reason, the grocery store has stopped carrying the frozen cauli-rice over the past month.  I've been getting out the ol food processor and chopping our own.  It saves us a ton of sodium.  WHY does there need to be 100mg of sodium per serving of cauliflower rice when it doesn't add any flavor?  We use two bags which is 400mg of sodium for no reason.  It's a bit of a pain in the butt but not too bad.  We watched the delightfully unPC comedy stylings of Christina P's "Mother Inferior" and settled in for the night.

Anyone use a weighted blanket?  Got any tricks to stay asleep?

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Deals Snagged, Tears Shed and Wish Granted?

Hey, y'all!  Another weekend has flown by in the blink of an eye.   Actually, there was quite a bit of blinking of my eyes as the tears flowed in frustration.  I did a little work in the kitchen on Friday but not as much as I would've liked.

Saturday at 5am, I started my day by getting pissy with the switchplate place that didn't have what I needed and had jerked my chain for two weeks.  I canceled my order, they refunded my money and I looked for two hours to find a friggin' place that had the style I wanted.  Not the way I wanted to start my weekend.  We went to lunch at a place by my old high school that one of the Mr's coworkers told him was good.   My high school is long gone and it was weird being in that spot.   It's like I could see the ghosts of my past in my peripheral.  Shadows of me walking home from school.  A friend's house on the way home and her odd family.  The place my friend was killed in my freshman year was right next door.  It's not a place we go to often and it left me feeling a little strange and out of sorts. 

We drove across town and I picked up this home sweet home silver platter that I thought I missed out on last month.  She brought it back for the clearance bin and I snagged it.

Of course, I picked up a few other little trinkets too but I was so happy to get that for $25!  We pet da pooch in there who was tired and had been fawned on by the masses so she wasn't as up for kisses as previous visits.  We came back home and the Mr washed his car outside while I tried to figure out how to use this leftover piece of wood we had from our project.  The Mr cut it and we don't have proper tools for it so it makes the whole thing way worse than it needs to be.  I told him to cut something he probably shouldn't have.  Then the piece we did cut was cut an inch too short and we were trying to figure out ways to make it work.  I was in a heap of tears and ready to light a match to everything.  See, ever since we moved in, the original builders screwed up the window sill BIG time.  It's always been hidden behind the fridge so we didn't give much thought to it.  Then the friggin' window guys last year put this trim in there that really had no reason to be on the window and it's continuing to screw us.  Even if we wanted to just slip in a wood skin over the current sill, we can't because of the wonky trim.  It was going to be the only DIY project in there but we've both thrown in the towel on it.  I'd say get the a-holes who screwed it up in the first place to fix it but they won't be able to work in our timeline.  So I guess I'll email the kitchen dude's assistant and see if they can come up with a solution for us so we can be done with it after 24 years.  The stress and anxiety were so bad, I got vertigo which was my body's way of tapping out since I refused to give it a break.  I have gained five pounds this month.  FIVE.  My eating and exercising haven't changed at all.  I'm pretty sure it's stress/cortisol/lack of sleep.  SOOOO over it.  All of it.

Sunday was just more frustration with trying to get some issues with the couches settled.  Then we had lunch then walked the hood for our workout because nothing else sounded appealing.  We got home and decided to rip off the crown molding.  It was frighteningly easy compared to the work done in the kitchen by the pros.  We don't know how it didn't fall down on us over the years.  We each reveled in removing certain pieces that always bothered us.  But as a final eff you to us, it's removal let us know ghosts of horrible paint colors past will be right there waiting for us. 

It's gonna suck.  So now I have to sand, spackle, sand, and prime.  We'll let the dude smooth the ceiling (whenever that is) then I'm basically going to have to repaint the entire room because the replacement color I have matches the color but not the sheen of satin.  I suppose we can try Behr and see if that works since I'm sure that's what we got before.  If not, I'm in for a crappy few days at some point. 

We finished the grocery shopping and found the treats I'd been looking for...

I'm not a peeps person but I do like me some Hot Tamales on occasion.  I have to say they were decent but definitely not enough tamale flavor.  Not even 1/4 of the flavor of one hot tamale so we sent the other sleeve to the Mr's work today.  They can try them.  Bummer.

As I was putting away some groceries, this fell from the ceiling and in front of my face.

A wish from heaven.  These are not flying around yet.  There wasn't one on the ceiling.  Nothing on my hair.  We have no idea where it came from but I think someone is trying to tell me everything's going to work out.  At least that's what I hope it means.

What did you do this weekend?

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What I'm Reading This Week #8

Happy Friday everyone!  You guys, I have to tell you, my faith in humanity has been restored a bit.  The owner of the place doing our kitchen called me last night to thank me again for the banana bread and the sweet card.  He said such a random act of kindness is so rare these days and he kept thinking about it and had to thank me again.  He shared one of the loaves with his daughter (she held the dog while they put her to sleep) and told her about the card.  He said he's keeping the card, it was just so nice.  That was all he called for.   I started crying when I hung up because these days even being thanked for something is a random act of kindness.  I knew when we met him, he was the right guy to trust.  I already bought his thank you gift a few days ago which is a little custom piece with an animal and scenery he loves so I think he's really going to like it if he was impressed with banana bread.  LOL

It's been a crazy week over in these parts between getting our kitchen worked on to kick off the week, then going through materials as they come in to make sure nothing was broken and getting returns and exchanges underway.  I think I've got switchplates and then our custom wood pieces that aren't going to be ready until mid-March.  All of the moving parts of a reno. 

But enough of reno news, let's move into...

7 Ways to Fall Asleep Fast — Without the Sheep or Fairy Dust  (Do you know how many times I've tried the military method??  It actually raises my heart rate and induces anxiety.  I'll have to try one of the other methods.

The 10 Best Sleepy Teas to Help You Fall (and Stay) Asleep  (Can you tell I'm not sleeping well?   Just research kava first because liver issues can arise if you use it regularly and potential drug interactions.)

Why Controlling Your Anger May Help You Live Longer  (It's not serving you.)

25 Farmhouse Decor Ideas That Perfectly Blend Old and New Styles   (Cute ideas)

10 Reasons Your Nails Are Dry and Brittle   (Mine are a hot mess.)

100 Saturday Morning Projects  (Mr- can we fit #7 in the garage wall to the left of the outlet?  Oh and if we can find more joist space for #10.  Stop sweating.)

Where To Store Your Stuff When You Run Out Of Closet Space  (Good suggestions)

We Tried 17 Dark Chocolate Brands to Find Our Snack Soulmate  (Let me save you the trouble.  Trader Joe's 72% Pound Plus is the only one that matters.)

How Not to Bomb Your Offer Negotiation  😁

Hard-Hitting Nature Valley Ad Shows The Terrifying Side Of Kids Addicted To Technology  (Their answers are absolutely heartbreaking.  If we don't put the smackdown on some stuff, we're in for a terrifying future.)

Wit’s End: They’ve Turned the Soundtrack of My Youth into Muzak  (Just embrace it and sing the words in the freezer aisle like it's karaoke night.)

Pigeon Forms Adorable Bond With Puppy Who Needed A Friend   (Oh goodness!!!)

A local foofy shop is holding an art piece I bought online so we'll head over there tomorrow and smooch da shop pooch too.  It's grocery weekend which is always a joy.   At some point, we're going to have to pop the crown molding off of the living room so it might be either Sunday or potentially Monday.  We'll actually enjoy that one because while we appreciate our friend doing them for us years ago, the seams were never done right.  I've seen people eye them when they're here too and look at us like "you DIY'd these, didn't you?"  So it'll be a pleasure to cut on one of those seams and rip the effers off.

Got any plans for the weekend?

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Scope Creep: Kitchen Edition

Y'all, we've done lost our minds.

(via GIPHY.com)

Do you remember when we discussed scope creep a mere five months ago with the basement project?  If you'd told me exactly five months later we'd be in the throes of a major reno with scope creep part two swallowing our lives, we'd have both laughed in your face and waved our middle fingers like dudes directing a plane into the gate.

(via GIPHY.com)

Our microwave has let us know in no uncertain terms we're on what's called borrowed time.  I can't remember the name of the part that's going bad but in the beginning, we said it would be cheaper to replace the microwave than the part.  We couldn't replace it with any ol' microwave though because we had to consider that it would need to be the same brand for all of the appliances when they needed to be replaced.  That meant I had to research my double oven range.  I'm never going back to one oven...ever.  That thing has been a Godsend even if I only use the bottom oven 20% of the time.  When it's holiday time or I need to brunch up and have a warming station, it's right there with open racks just waiting.  We're getting a backsplash in the kitchen...something we've never had and honestly, never thought we wanted.  We knew we'd have to replace the stove eventually and thought it would be a shame to cover up the new backsplash with the controls on the back of the stove like we currently have.  But those things are like an additional $1500, which I do not understand so it put it out of our price range.  The more we both researched ovens, the more a few with front controls taunted us.  Especially the GE Cafe line.  OMG, they are so. beautiful.  I showed the Mr and he liked them but we both choked on the price and moved on.

The more research I did, the more frustrated I got and was just going to give up.  Then the Mr's all "just get the Cafe.  They're showstoppers and we need to let that backsplash shine and that's not going to happen with a stove with controls."  I was going back and forth, especially once I added them all to cart with extended warranties, delivery and haul away charges.  But look at them...

(Source)

That's how they'd be delivered.  I'm doing subtle brushed gold accents here and there in the kitchen (small enough that I can switch them out when I'm bored with them) so we're upgrading the knobs and handles.  This is my photoshopped version of what the above pic will look like when I'm done with them.

(Source)

That makes me squishy when I look at it.  We'll keep the original knobs and handles so we can go back to stainless steel if we want to switch up the look in a few years.

I always look at the one-star reviews on anything for common issues.  I saw too many red flags on the fridge and was going to nix them altogether.  ("I was going to nix them."  Sorry, Airplane! is too embedded in me to not do that.)   But I did find another GE fridge that gets excellent reviews, doesn't appear to have the issues the Cafe version has and should match pretty well.  We were going to wait until the cabinets are done but as I was looking at them, the cabinet frame tapers down and basically touches the side of the microwave.  I trust the contractors more to be careful around our new appliances than I do of some rando jamming the microwave in and raking our newly veneered cabinet frame.  So we're getting the stove and microwave in 2 weeks and we'll get the fridge after the kitchen is done because the Mr doesn't want it accidentally dinged like our current one was.  It's like it wasn't enough to take it back but is something you always see and sneer at.

We knew we were probably a year away from needing to replace the appliances but the microwave is going to die anytime, the fridge icemaker is knocking and we have an extra one that we could use and hope that fixes the noise and there's nothing too wrong with the stove.  (I won't mention someone scrubbed off the numbers on two dials about four years ago and it still irks me when I use them because it made it look like a hoopty stove.)

(via GIPHY.com)

I have some sealing work I need to get done that is going to be a pain in my patootie (and probably my neck and shoulders) but it needs done sooner than later.

So with the addition of the appliances, consider us out of the "funny money" we were using and now having to budget a little more closely for anything else that we need.  I got a $70 check back from Rakuten so that should pay for a knob on the stove.  😑

What's the last thing you went overboard on?

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Hump Day Poll: Tappin' Out

Movies so bad you can't even stay until the end.  Romy and Michelle's High School Reunion.  I wanted to leave 10 minutes in.  The Mr and I kept looking at each other every 10 minutes and neither of us said anything.  Afterward, we both said "I wanted to leave from the beginning."  Then we sat there appalled that we wasted our lives on that shitshow and vowed never to sit through a movie that bad again.

I fell asleep during Phantom Menace after Darth Maul died so while I didn't leave physically, I left mentally.  Trainwreck with Amy Schumer we actually left....10 minutes before it was over.  I literally couldn't take it anymore, was so ragey and the Mr was like "I give zero f**ks how this turns out."  We were at a drive-in and since we had a long drive ahead of us, I considered it a plus.  I can only imagine people being like "wow, you hung in that long and are leaving now??"  Yep.  The movie was aptly named so I blame myself for not taking them at their word.

Have you ever walked out on a movie?

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Good vibes, good guys and good thing a-comin'

Hey y'all!  Happy Tuesday!  First, my proofreader is in bed so I apologize for the slew of typos you may find since my fingers are furiously typing.  Second, I have to thank those of you who messaged me on Facebook wishing us luck with our project.  It felt like we had our own little cheering section.  If you're still in the mood to cheer, the Mr has an interview today with the same company, different department so pass along any good vibes you can.  He really needs to get out of his current job for the sake of stress.  I hate seeing him so on edge all of the time and there's no end with that job, it's just fire after fire.  This job would be so much less stressful and better for his health.  Fingers crossed!

We had about as good of an experience you could ask for with our contractors yesterday.  The owner showed up a minute ahead of his guys and went over the plans for the room with them.  In a last minute potential shakeup, he suggested switching the direction I had something going that would've changed the whole feel of the room as I'd been imagining it.  I asked him what his reasoning was, listened and told him I understood his concerns but I had plans for the space he was addressing.  He said that was totally fine, it was just something he kept thinking about and wanted to mention it to me.  I'm glad I stuck to my guns on it though because it's exactly as I imagined.  He was going to leave, I reminded him to do the field measure for the cabinets and he said I was an angel for reminding him because it would've sucked to get on the other side of town and realize he hadn't done it.  We could tell he was quite scattered.  Friday, he had to put his dog to sleep and I guess it was the first time he ever had to do that.  I really felt for him.  I baked him some banana bread and we got him a card.  He was appreciative and talked about it a little.  Then he walked out and I reminded him we needed a measure for the ceiling estimate.  He felt horrible he was so scattered and we said we totally understood.  That's a big loss to go through and be chucked back into your work 3 days later like nothing happened. 

The guys were totally nice, they didn't mind I had things labeled on what I wanted to hide and feature more prominently and really knew their stuff.  We had a moment where we thought maybe there wouldn't be enough materials but they trudged on and we all had our fingers crossed.  They didn't have a radio or anything like many contractors do so I perused the guide to see what they might like and found the show that brings people together...

(Source:  Giphy.com)

As soon as they heard The Office theme, they both perked up and started telling stories and reciting dialogue.  We were all laughing together and needless to say, I got my fix after six hours of it! 

We really loved the way this portion of the project turned out and let's just say this wasn't a mistake.

There are a couple of spots where the old ceiling is visible (I'm hoping to rectify that today) and if we'd kept the ceiling white, we would've been in serious trouble.  So all of the weekend shenanigans were completely worth it.

There was one issue with spacing that we were both surprised by because we thought things were spelled out pretty clearly.  They made the suggestion that we might want to replace that light because the shades that point down in the pic above actually take away from the work done on the ceiling.

After looking at it and seeing what they were talking about, we tended to agree which stinks because that light isn't very old.  I was dreading looking for another one but on page one this one spoke to both of us.

(Source)

We looked at a few more pages but we both agreed this would allow the light to flood the room rather than direct it all down and create a black void over it.  We'll just swap the bulbs we have in ours for theirs and the width of the base should actually balance the spacing issue we have.  We're hoping it's a "happy accident."

One thing that was revealed that we forgot about from the original remodel was this disaster on the side of the pantry.

There was a piece of trim against the wall that was used to hide how out of square the house is.  The top of the pantry is flush against the wall but by the bottom of it, there's about 1/4"+ gap.  There was a dip there before that I tried to fix several times and when I painted it was just a pain in the butt and never looked right.  I finally gave up and said no one would notice but us and forgot about it.  When they pulled that off, it looks like that brown piece took out my dip.  So I'll be sanding and painting that to make sure it's ready to go and ask for a white trim piece to cover that back up.

I am dying to show you guys but please trust me when I tell you it does not look peek worthy yet especially with the honey cabinets.  We have so much to still do in this space and it'll probably be a month-ish before everything comes together.  I can tell you this though...I'm in love with the smile on the Mr's face when we look at it.  We kept looking at it and giggling and just looking in wonder, asking what the other's favorite parts are, etc.  I was worried that he was going along with it for my sake because he knows if I have a kitchen I love being in that he'll keep getting good food.  😆  (His sentiment, not mine.)   But to see him truly impressed with what he sees and pointing and smiling at it does my heart good.  There are so many details to still hammer out but I'm glad this part is done even if we're not ready for a while for the rest of it.

What's going good for you as you kick off this week?

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Getting Shizz Done Weekend Recap

(Source:  Me... because I recently watched Jexi and I make myself laugh sometimes.)

Yep, it was that kind of weekend and you knew it would be.  It feels like we didn't get a weekend at all and even with the Mr taking today off, we have the contractors coming out to work on the kitchen ceiling where I will be making sure they don't put uglier boards where I don't want them and the owner doing a field measure for our cabinets.  That starts at 8am so...yay!  The "fun" continues!

(This post contains affiliate links for your convenience to stuff that got us through the weekend half sane.  (Debatable)  Should you buy through them, I may receive a few cents commission to go toward keeping the blog up and running at no cost to you!)

It all started on Friday.  We had a delivery of wood planks coming so they could acclimate over the weekend.  Tuesday after we paid our deposit on the project, we went to this wood place to pick out pieces that would go in the kitchen.  We chose 3 beams and the kid put the blue tape around them to hold them for our contractor.  I picked out very specific pieces that I wanted as my centerpiece due to their patina and of course, some weren't in there.  We decided the next day we would go back and ambush them first thing in the morning and before coffee so they wouldn't know what hit them.

(Mama ain't payin' $6 a lineal foot for water damaged looking wood, yo!)

We tried a few scary methods with the Dremel and Ryobi cutter tool thingy (the official name on the box, I'm sure) to get that friggin' crown molding off of the kitchen walls.  We chose a super-hard wood and fancy rope moldings that were impeding the process.  The Mr found this Trim Puller at Home Depot and it was our last hope Obi-Wan.  Thankfully a few good cracks with it brought off a difficult piece on top of one of the cabinets.

The Mr worked on some of the rope molding to make it easier for me to get the other pieces off and he went back to work.  I was able to get the rest of the ones over the sink...

,,,and over the cupboards off and he popped off the last piece over the fridge that we were worried about like it was nothing.  We were SO relieved to have that off. 

After a wee break, it was time to paint behind the cabinets where the crown molding was as well as the walls.

We got a good amount done Friday.  I foolishly thought we'd get it done that night but time ran out as it always does when you've got lofty goals.

Saturday, we were up and at 'em and ambushed the people at the reclaimed lumberyard.  Well, at least the two moving guys.  No one was there.  They said they'd send someone over.  So while we were waiting, we picked out two pieces to replace the two asterisked boards I wasn't going to let them use as well as the best beam they had, which isn't saying much.  Some dude comes over and we nicely make it clear that just like in Stephen King's The Stand "give me what I want, and I'll go away."  He made three phone calls and finally just got our info, took pics of the Mr's license (which I wasn't a fan of) and the boards we took.  Take it up with the contractor dude.  This is why I shouldn't have left picking out important pieces to the 20 something douche rocket we dealt with.  We took the boards home so they could acclimate and we went out to lunch and walked around one of the burb towns.  I was looking for this one shop but I didn't realize it was in place of one of my favorite old shops.  But they did a good job with it in there.  We happened to see the sun shining in at just the right moment to capture this double rainbow. 

Maybe there was a pot of gold there somewhere. 

We hit a mid-century store to peruse their stacks of wax and I saw the Billy Idol To Be A Lover remix album I'm pretty sure is down in the basement.

It was nice to get out and enjoy the day a little even if it meant we weren't slaving away in the kitchen every waking moment.  We stopped for ice cream and saw this kid about 14 or so having ice cream with his 70ish-year-old grandma.  The Mr and I smiled and my heart longed to tell him to enjoy this moment.  She won't be here forever and some of us would give anything to share such a moment with our grandma's.

We went home and the Mr finished the rest of the painting in the kitchen. 

We were so glad to have that done and both slept like logs.

Sunday was brunch around noon, cleaning up a bit and then trying to figure out what appliance suite we might have to go with.  Our microwave is nearing the end but it's going to have to center around what double oven range I like.  So when we finally fried our brains enough, I suggested a few laps around the hood even though it was WAY colder than forecasted.  We rolled and stretched then I made dinner and baked some chocolate chip banana muffins for the workers coming this morning.  I also made two small loaves of it for the owner who's doing our field measurement today.  He had to put down his dog over the weekend and I know how the people expect that a weekend is enough to be "over it" and move on with things.  Animal deaths are often far more traumatic since they love us so unconditionally.  So we got him a card and a little homebaked empathy.  Then we cleaned up the rest of the way and are ready to collapse. 

I have no idea what today holds and am crossing my fingers for the best.  We have the boards separated as best we can into the ones we don't like as much and want to be hidden behind the cabinets to the mix and match boards to the feature boards we want prominently displayed.  It'll be a miracle if I wake up with teeth today with the jaw clenching going on even as I type!

What did you do this weekend?

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What I'm Reading This Week #7

Happy Valentines Day!

(Source)

It's been a long, crazy week and if you read yesterday, you know we have a long, crazy weekEND ahead of us.  No rest for the wicked.  I painted the ceiling already but that effing crown molding is being an a-hole.  If we don't get that off, it's going to be super crappy for me.  Plus more potential decisions to be made too.  Oy!

Let's just jump right into...

When You Burn Fat, Where Does it Actually Go?  (Hopefully to hell!)

12 DIY Projects That Don’t Require Power Tools  (Winter is the perfect time for DIY's)

Be My Valentine  (Love these covers)

How to Have the Most Productive Week of Your Life  (Must do this!)

40 Home Mysteries Explained   (Great tips!)

32 Kitchen Trends for 2020 That We Predict Will Be Everywhere  (I know we're using a few but I could give two poo's about "trends.")

How To Decorate The Top Of An Armoire  (Good suggestions.  I draw a blank so I do nothing.)

Why People Get the ‘Sunday Scaries’  (It's real and it can be paralyzing.)

Starting Your Day on the Internet Is Damaging Your Brain  (Except with me!  These links enrich your brain...I hope.  But totally get it if you want to unwind with me after work.  I'll still be here.)

The Story of Huey Lewis Is Not a Tragedy  (Nugget.)

Still Fighting Like Cats and . . . Mice: Tom & Jerry Turn 80  (My all-time favorite cartoon.  Original and unedited, obviously.)

No clue what we're doing when but I know frustration and a lot of cursing will be involved.  Yay.

Whatchu doing this weekend?  Doing anything with your sweetie?

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"It All Started With a Lamp"

We went Tuesday afternoon to put down our deposit on the kitchen project.  We picked out our cabinets and asked about some options that we were thinking of adding to it.  I have to say, I think we found the perfect place to work with.  The owner is a super good guy and you know how you just pick up someone's vibe and feel totally at ease with them?   He's that dude.  He showed us some examples of things we had questions about and we swapped stories about going to Yellowstone.  He surprised us by saying they could fit us in next week to start the ceiling in the kitchen.  Just the night before I told the Mr I had the feeling they were going to fit parts of it in early.

Manifestation, yo.

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Then we had to go over to the reclaimed lumberyard to pick out the materials we wanted so they could pick it up when they were ready.  When we got home, there was an email that they could start the ceiling Monday.

Like...Monday.

That's okay, we just need to pop off the crown molding, sand the paint lines, paint the top of the wall under the crown the same color as the walls.  Oh, then the wood we picked had some larger nail holes meaning if we put it over the ceiling as is, you'd be able to see white of the old ceiling through them so Monkey Madness brown it is.  Did I mention we have until Monday to do all of this??  No Valentine's weekend for us.  I'm going to curl into the fetal position and look at pretty things.

In an effort to get a jump on things, I cleaned the kitchen and took before pics.  I cleaned the top of the fridge.  Apparently, you're supposed to do that every now and then?  Whoops! 

Because the crown molding isn't attached with caulk on top or bottom, I thought it would be a simple removal. 

I used a thick piece of cardboard under the WonderBar to not damage the wall.

I damaged the wall.

That took like 90 minutes on and off.  I then read the best way to remove crown molding so I could work on the other side today and hopefully not repeat that.  It involves shims.  We'll see. 

I scored the molding on top of one cabinet and I might give it a go tomorrow.

I may have to just accept that the cabinet dudes might have to take care of that before I can paint.  I really wanted to paint the back walls BEFORE the ceiling went up because it will be a horrible pain in the butt to paint carefully after the fact. 

On the way home from work, the Mr picked up the new sink we still have to inspect.

I also got our hardware...

...half of them damaged.  Thanks a lot.  So Wayfair issued me a refund and I'm going to donate them to Habitat for Humanity Restore.  Someone can spray paint the chipped ones if they want, but I now have trust issues with longevity.  The Mr said there were similar ones at Home Depot so we'll go look at those when we pick up our tile.

I was freaking out a bit yesterday morning because I felt like I was coming down with something in the super early stages.  A wee bit of throat irritation and nasal swelling.  I downed some Emergen-C and gargled with hydrogen peroxide.  I gargled again before bed and felt better.  I'm hoping I'm feeling nothing today because especially this weekend, I have zero time to be sick.

This definitely isn't where I thought I'd be starting the week.  Me and my big ideas.

And to think...it all started with a lamp.

Has a project ever snowballed on you?


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Hump Day Poll: Pearly Whites

This week's random question from the interwebs...do you smile for pictures?

I would say 95% of the time unless I'm in a pic/situation with people I don't like.  LOL  Plus I have an excellent smile.  I have perfectly straight teeth and never had braces.  I remember when I met Lorenzo Lamas (remember him from Grease and Falcon Crest?) he looked up at me and did a double-take and said: "wow, you have the most beautiful smile!"  Try to chisel the smile off of my face that day!  LOL

You might say "of course people smile for pictures" but my grandma didn't.  For some reason, she did not like her smile and would give this pressed lip grin in pictures.  (She had a bridge which you couldn't see.)  Any time you could get her to smile in a pic, you took it.  When we'd do "silly" pictures, her idea of silly was to smile and show her teeth.  Goofball.  So I was quite pleased with a picture we got of her, two of her daughters and me in a pic after a birthday dinner where she's got a big smile on her face.  I use that pic for the flag on her grave and everyone always comments how much it comforts them to see her smiling face.

If you're not a smiler, throw a bone in a few pics, please.  When you're gone, people will cherish it all the more.

Do you smile for pictures?


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Lunch. Damaged and Pick Up Artist

Happy Tuesday!  I hope you had a good kick off to the week yesterday.   I had a nice ladies' lunch.  It's always good to see them and catch up.  They only like to go to Panera which is fine I guess since that's pretty much the only time I get that.  I've learned not to get their fruit cup because eww.  I went with a Thai Chicken Salad with a whole grain bagel and I really do NOT understand why a salad has to have half of your sodium requirements for the day. 

It's SALAD. 

I get my dressing on the side and dip the fork before the stab to help but still.  I remember my paternal grandma teaching me that trick when she was on Weight Watchers (I refuse to call it WW) back in the '80s and I've done it that way ever since.  I always have 1/3 or more of the container of dressing left.  I think I only used a teaspoon yesterday and it wasn't even the dressing, just the peanut sauce.  The chicken was paltry, 3 ounces if I was lucky but my Lord did they have a crap ton of wonton strips on it!  I picked off 75% of them just to get to the salad and probably only ate 10% of them.  They're supposed to be a garnish, not the main event.  Yeesh!  I was relieved to hear that the one friend I was worried about does not have dementia but is dealing with an illness that can be treated with meds.  She looked a little frail and we asked about it when she went to the bathroom and the other lady filled us in.  She seemed more mentally together than the last time I saw her but physically, she seems to have aged 10 years.  I hope she's able to get through it okay.  There was some political talk and two of us put our heads down and kept eating but thankfully it wasn't long or ugly.

I tried ordering some stuff from Walmart and it got damaged in transit...twice.  How does that even happen!?  I chatted with customer service and told them I needed to cancel that because I needed them yesterday so I'd be going to Target to get them.  They refunded me right away but dang it, the one time I try to get something that's not Amazon and I get nothing but irritation.  I grabbed my stuff after lunch and it was nice to have it paid and ready to roll.  The Mr was kind enough to take care of some errands on his lunch and then was so bored at work, he came home after to telework the rest of the day. 

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I ordered our new sink, garbage disposal and tile for the backsplash from Home Depot.  It's so irritating they're not part of Rakuten so to still get some money back in my mind, we bought Home Depot gift cards for the amount at our grocery store and got fuel perks.  We've got $1.70/gal off of gas which is better than nothing.  We'll pick that stuff up after our appointment to sign the contract today.  I added the beam skin to the punch list yesterday so it could be added into the estimate. 

We'll run to World Market and pick up some new sheers I've got ordered after our appointment.  Just call me a pick-up artist.  Then I'm hoping for an early workout.  Last night's session was Turbo Fire 30 and Mike Donavanik's strength torture and my rump was sufficiently handed to me.  My elbow scar tissue is REALLY bad lately so I need to scrape with my Graston tool because it's making it so I can't even lift my water bottle with one hand.

Do you do pick up orders regularly?

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Winter Road Trip Weekend Recap

Happy Monday all!

It was a good weekend around these parts and that's saying something for a grocery weekend!  We got that knocked out of the way for the most part on Friday night.  We decided that we did need to look at a few options for the kitchen so it was an early rise for us on Saturday and a road trippin' we went.  We were behind a slow goer and I didn't mind at all.

We had a beautiful day for it as mother nature FINALLY blessed us with a light layer of snow.

I love the way everything looks with a layer of snow on it.  It's like taking all of the regular things we pass every day and sprinkling it with a clean slate of beauty.

It always does my soul so good to go for drives in the country anyway (seeing how we don't have much of it anymore) but to see it coated with snow makes it hard to get the smile off of my face.

We stopped off at an antique mall and spotted a few fun things...

The Mr was frothing over that one but it didn't say "works" on it and I didn't think it was worth the $150 risk.  Still cool to see though.

True Duran Duran fans know the significance of this cover.

I'm probably the only one that would look at that tin and start giggling and singing this song in my head.  (NSFW!)

We made it to two lumber places and one was very large but a bit of a disappointment on the lumber side of things.  The other place we hit the jackpot.  All kinds of reclaimed goodness and they are getting me a quote together today for a beam skin for the kitchen pass through.  Basically, you know those hand-hewn mantels like ours?  They shave the face off of a piece like this...

So I'll have to let the dude know to add it to the punch list and jack up our installation cost when we sign the contract tomorrow.

We got a bunch of things in at the end of last week including an arbor we'll have to build when the planter boxes come in.  I want it over our outdoor loveseat and to grow some vines for a natural shade spot out there to entice us to use the patio we overpaid for two years ago.  If anyone has tips on how to grow morning glories from seeds, please pass them along in the comments!

We also got our new curtains/rod so we need to get holes filled and painted before drilling new ones.  Yay.  I also found the slipcover was sewn funky on our loveseat and contacted Wayfair and they're shipping another one out to me.  Always something.

Today I am having lunch with some old coworkers.  The last time we got together was two days after Grandma's funeral so I was still in a bit of a fog.  I will pay more attention to see if the one I was worried about has dementia or if she was just having a really bad day.  Another one I will have to steer away from political talk because no one wants to hear that and we kind of made that clear last time.  Regardless, it'll be nice to see them.  They're all 25-35 years older than I am so I can't take the lunches for granted.

What did you get into this weekend?

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