Does this count as exercise?

The answer: Yes.

We had a SUPER weekend!  It was very productive, fun, exhausting, and rejuvenating all in one.  We haven't had a weekend like this ... well probably since we first bought this house.

SATURDAY
We had a sleep-in, lazy morning.  It was nice. 

We are were both looking for new golf clubs, and our driving range/lesson club was having a Demo Day, so we headed over there after lunch.  Talked to a few people, hit a few clubs, and hung out for a bit.  I think I found a driver.

Then we headed up to the golf course ... it was later in the afternoon, 3pm tee time, with perfect weather!  I mean gorgeous!  There was barely anyone left at the course - just how I like to play ... all the time in the world to focus, mis-hit, and just have fun.  It was a blast - other than the sub par conditions due to the monsoon, the fact that the course was waaaaaay hard (and super long), and the fact that I had a breakdown somewhere around hole 10 - but totally fun!  Followed by an American Idol dinner bet at Oakwood Club ... drinks and food were on me (sorry you missed it!).

Hole #1 (I parred this hole and hole #3 ... it was pretty sweet!)

SUNDAY
So, we had made a deal that we'd do fun stuff on Saturday & Monday - and all the work on Sunday.  It was a good deal.  But, Sunday was hot.  90 degrees plus.  We meant to get up around 9am to start doing yard work, but that turned into 11ish since we went out for dinner and drinks Saturday after golf.  Then, we got some lunch, picked up our screen door with it's new screen (it's awesome, in case you were wondering!), and went back to start in on work. 

So, about 2pm, we actually headed outside to do work - me, start digging the front yard up; Pat - mow the lawn & then help with the demo.

Now I know why my mom always said she had to get the stuff done in the morning and she'd be finished by the time I was out of bed.

It gets hot.

But we suffered through it.

And accomplished A LOT!  And, by a lot, I mean MASSIVE, WOWZER, CRAZY AMOUNT OF WORK.
(Especially when compared to the nada, zilch, nothing, never yard work that either of us had ever done before?)

Now, it's only fair that I mention that we lucked out and bought this house next to a fabulous, terrific, couldn't-be-more-generous, hard-working lady.  She loves yard work, totally wanted to help us, had all the right tools, and is super nice & knowledgeable to boot.  Pretty unbelievable, we both must say.  She helped us all afternoon, and into the evening on Saturday.  Just offered her help right up, and did an excellent job.

Now, it's only fair that I also mention that she put us to complete shame.  She's about 15+ years our senior, wore long pants and a long sleeved shirt, and was a mad woman when it came to doing the work.  She just kept chugging along - digging, clipping, axing, shovelling - calculated breaks, and didn't slow down.  Me & Pat: shorts, t-shirt, water, interval breaks every 10 minutes, sweat pouring into our eyes so that we could barely see.  You get the picture.

Now, Rita & I were able to clean out most of the shrubs, bushes, ivy, weeds, roots, etc.  Except for the stump.  There was a stump - that was actually more like 100 stumps in one - and it stumped us (hahahaha).  It was a tree/bush that was many things in one - we're not sure exactly what it was.  It had to go.  We cut it down and dug around it, but it was not budging.  We borrowed other tools from other neighbors, and to no avail - this stump went no where.  Boo.  So, this is what we ended with on Sunday.

Some of the bricks and rocks we found while cleaning this all up!!

Also, we *GOT* to witness an exchange between the mama and papa birds taking over the nest duties and sitting on the eggs.  So, Pat (very excitedly) snapped this picture while he could so we can all see the eggs!

Side note - I sprayed insecticide in that basket about 3 days to 1 week prior to the birds nesting in there ... so I told Pat I hope the babies aren't too dumb to leave when they hatch. (There's already been some bird droppings on our front porch and I want them out.)

MONDAY
We took it easy during the day - it was even hotter than Sunday, and I wasn't having any part of yard work at 95+ degrees.  So, we went to lunch, stopped at Golf Galaxy - bought Pat some irons (YAY!) - went to Home Depot, then home.  I took a little break, while Pat went to the driving range to swing his new clubs.

Then, I got to work cleaning up the outside.  We kept the hostas - but they were scattered around - and a rose bush we found buried behind crazy over-growth to see if we can use them. But the dirt wasn't tilled, and the stump from the crazy-mega tree was still out there.  So, I figured we better at least clean up the work so it didn't go to waste and sit there for another couple of weeks before we touched it.  Rita saw me out there and came out again to help!

So, we moved the plants, tilled the dirt, positioned stuff to clean it up, killed more roots, pulled more ivy, and sprayed a bunch of Round-up to kill anything that I couldn't get to ... I wanted to make sure that it's all D.E.A.D.  Much to Pat's dismay, I ended up spraying the ENTIRE yard with this stuff ... I, like, had no idea it was totally toxic and would kill grass - I thought it was for weeds?  Opps, sorry sweetie.

That's a lie - but he told me about 100 million times not to spray the lawn because it would kill the grass.  He reminded me it was toxic and to be very careful EVERY time I mentioned Round-up or weed-killer.  Plus, our grass is mostly clover, so really, I mean really, would it have mattered?

And, when Pat got home, he worked on that stump for another couple of hours.  He dug, axed, pried, wedged, and cursed at that thing.  And in the end it was all worth it - because he got it out of there.  It took us probably 4 cumulative hours to remove this stump. 

Us - 1, Stumps - 0.

And, so, with all of Rita's help, tools, and know-how ... we fixed the front of our house. It no longer looks like a jungle, overgrown from the monsoon. You can see that we have a front window, siding, shutters, railings, a walkway!  It looks bigger, more open, cleaner, more kept-up ... like non-crazy, non-wild Amazonians live here!  The finished (for-now) look.

Rain, rain ... GO AWAY!

So, for any of you who have talked to us over the past 2 months know that it's been raining here, like, non-stop.  For 2 months.  I'm not joking.  We've had no Spring, and now it's about to be over 80+ degrees and muggy.  And, for anyone who has ever even talked to me - I hate being hot*.  Ughhh.

*Unless I just have to lay by a pool or on the beach or some other outdoor activity that warrants good sun and heat, then it's pretty freakin' awesome.

So, here are the stats, and pics of what the outside has looked like for as long as we can remember now.  Really, it has been that long!

• A total of 8.72" of rain fell in April 2011 - second in stats only to 1996, when they had 9.2".
• A total of 5.91" has fallen in May so far.
• It rained 19 days in April, but the sun only popped out for 5 days - the rest were cloudy and dreary (with possible drizzle, but no measurable rain, apparently).
• It has rained 18 days so far in May; the sun has popped out 5 days - the rest were cloudy and dreary (again, with possible drizzle, but no measurable rain, apparently).
• April's mean temperature was 54.7 degrees.
• May's mean temperature has been 65 degrees.
• Ohio's WORST planting season in 53 years - it could cost millions, and we might not have good corn this year (ditto for soybeans, but who cares, right?).

Here's the standard view from our front porch ...

And what they do to our TV when there are storms - because it's a BIG deal around here.  Mainly it's Fox ... which is also ABC ... they are dumb.  I called and complained because it was the American Idol Final - and I lost the fantasy draft to Scotty - SCOTTY the (non-existent) BODY. 
I'm still mad.
About the tv, not the bet.

It's supposed to be really nice this weekend.  Here's to hoping ... our fingers are crossed.  But, the temps to follow on Saturday - Tuesday are: 78, 88, 89, 90 ... etc.  Seriously, I'm P-O'ed about skipping the 70s.  But, no one in this region can complain about it now - so I'm keeping my mouth shut, for the most part.

Also, Pat has made a fine feathered friend ... who has nested and laid eggs in my hanging basket.
I should have an update post, post-Memorial Day weekend. We should have a lot to show ... so long as the weather cooperates! Have a great holiday!

The Kitchen. Part 2.

I think that before we're done with this thing, there might be 1 million parts to "The Kitchen" blog postings.

So, the flooring is now in!  YAY!  There were some real issues along the way (I know, it's hard to imagine; but sometimes when you rip floor up five layers of floor, you don't find awesomeness underneath.)

First, everyone who tried had a hard time ripping up the multi-layered flooring; so I'm giving Pat props for doing as much as he did in the beginning.  The contractors, even with all their right tools, had a hell of a time demo-ing the floor.  Then, there was a hump issue.  A hump in the middle of the floor that might create some problems down the line.  And, the remedy to "fix" the hump issue in the past was ... (this is a doozey) ... to pound nails into it in an effort to hold it down.  Many contractors would have just floored over the hump - I mean, by the time it created any issues in the joints, they'd be long gone.  But, our guys ... well, they do things right.  Apparently, one of the contractors took time out of his day to pull out nails pounded into the floor in one big pile.  (I wish I would have been home to get a picture of that.)  They spent an entire afternoon sanding that hump & pulling nails to make sure everything was proper.  Which means that everything in the kitchen was once again dusty and dirty ... I'm about done cleaning everything in the kitchen whenever I don't cook or use the dishes!

And, tonight, we put all of the pulls on the cabinets and drawers!  So exciting!  They look great too. We only had an issue with 1 cabinet, and once we got the pull on and screwed in ... you can barely tell that we had to drill a MASSIVE hole underneath because things didn't line up.  It was the drill's fault.

Anywho, here are the pics of the process and the finished product of our new cork floors!  (They feel squishy and it's cool!)

The grossness under the dishwasher.

Some "before and after's" of the flooring ... vent area, door molding, the molding under the cabinets, and fixing the enormous cuts into the door frames to fit all of those layers of flooring!

 

Notice how they matched the door frame molding and also the baseboards in here too ... it makes SUCH a difference!

MASSIVE HOLE (top one obviously!) ... surprisingly, it doesn't really show with the pull on the door?

All the dust on the floor, and in the cabinets, and in the drawers ... luckily I DID NOT have to re-wash everything again tonight after NOT cooking ... because we have a dust buster!  One of the single greatest gifts from our wedding ... we didn't even know we needed one, and we use it all. the. time.  (Thanks Peggy!)

  

 

Up next ... PAINTING!!!  

(which means more sanding = more dust = more cleaning (without cooking), and finally painting.)

We both win.

So, I'll just say it ... I didn't get 5 of those items done this week ... you win.  BUT, I did get a lot done, so I'm counting it as a win too.

We completed 3 1/2 of the 8 items - I'm counting the 1/2 towards my bedroom because I did clean up the laundry area and move our cedar chest in there, and also put some laundry away, and swifter ... but the infamous pile has not budged, not even a little.  And, really I'm now saying that it was out of 7 items, because once I thought about having my dad hang the light fixture, I knew I certainly wasn't going to do it beforehand!

So, feast your eyes on this ... just look at our house.  It's amazing what a little cleaning (okay, a lot) and a little re-arranging will do to a place.  It feels bigger and more spacious.  And, everytime it's clean and crisp inside, we sit back to enjoy it and talk about how much we both really love our house ... and that's a happy story!  (Plus, we've been able to start opening the windows a few days at a time and it's just totally awesome!)



Spring has arrived! (but brought the rain with it ...)
FYI - This is the view from the window by my chair in the living room!

 So, the cabinets look really good here ... but they are still chipping, so at least they're up and the kitchen is functional again, but we'll have to redo them correctly, one at a time.  Oh well.

You can barely see the filler that he put in since the old hinges came through the cabinet doors ...  

 The crystal light that Pat so abruptly ruined when we first started fixing up the house ... is now in the trash. 
Goodbye old friend, may you bring sparkle to the landfill now.

 Installing the new light fixture ... yay!
THANKS, DAD!!

Yes, I still have to paint the ceiling around the base.

 Our kitchen floor is all ripped up now!  And it was a mess even for the contractors - they had a hell of a time even with all of their tools. 

All the people before us really did a number in there ... and we are glad to restore it properly!

 See how much they had to cut into the trim work just to get all the other flooring to fit in there over the years ...

why wouldn't you just take the old flooring out first? 

The flooring over the vent was fanagled when they decided to put in the cabinets and re-re-re-cover the flooring. 

So, now our contractors have to figure a way properly fix the fixes!

A while ago, I told you all about a new front porch rug I bought ... but I never posted a picture.  Here it is.  Although it looks somewhat worn because the front half is wet and dirty from the rain we've been having for about 2 weeks now!

The AWESOME lazy susan that Pat installed for me last week!  It is so so so nice to have a clean, new lazy susan ... and to have been able to clean out inside that cabinet (couldn't get to it before with the old one in there!)

I know it doesn't look super clean - but I promise it's just the way the wood has worn and stained. 

IT. IS. CLEAN. (finally)

My cedar chest used to be under these DR windows ... we moved it to the bedroom (where it belongs) and it has opened up this room SO nicely!

AND ...

I saved the BEST for last ... I finally got my ottoman today!!  Furniture finished!  And it looks great, and it's oh, so, comfortable! 

$100 Well Spent.

So, when our kitchen cabinets started chipping as we screwed in the hinges and started hanging them ... I said that I'd fix the problem areas.  I didn't know if it would be worth it to ask Tim the painter (aka - TtP) to come back and fix a mess he made in the first place.  But, as the day wore on and we got more frustrated, Pat declared that he wanted to call TtP back to fix the paint because, well, he should.  I agreed. 

So, Pat called me after he talked to TtP, to tell me that he agreed to pay him an additional $100 to come back and fix the problems.  I was pretty pissed off.  I mean, the gall to ask for more money - we already paid him, and he didn't do it right.  We should NOT be paying him to re-do the job.  Ughh.  But, Pat had already agreed, and given him $60.  And, after I got off my soap-box, principle-ranting tirade, I agreed too.  We paid him cash, so we got a $200 discount off his originally quoted price.  So, if we paid him another $100, it was still cheaper than his original quote, and maybe we would get away without having to do the painting/repair work ourselves.  It was a $100 gamble.  It paid off.  The cabinets now look great.

On to the lists.  My lists. They are literally scattered all over the house - in my purse, on the fridge, on the DR table, on my nightstand.  I live by lists.  Most of them overlap other ones and I start new ones constantly - probably more than one a day if you count work and home.  Remember this ...

Next up on the list ...

• Hang curtains on actual curtain rods.
• Paint and hang the shutters in the LR/DR.
• Hang the DR light fixture (that's been sitting in the garage for weeks now).
• Paint the hallway.
• Paint the guest bedroom.
• Organize the guest bedroom closet.

Well, I do (if you don't, see this post - Best. Week.).  And I went back to that post from a few weeks ago to see just how much of my list is still not done.  It's mostly not done.  Ugghhhh.  I lost all momentum gained by all the great things that happened that week.  And, I'm blaming it on the weather (cuz that's what you blame things on when you don't have an answer for them - colds, exhaustion, hair problems ... ).

Anyway, we didn't get any work done in the past 2 weekends either, and we really needed to.  We have guests coming next weekend - my family is almost all going to be here for the baptisms of our niece and nephew.  And, in true Marissa fashion (procrastination), I now have 3 1/2 days to actually get some work done.  Here is my new list of must-dos (some of them overlap the old list):

1. Clean the whole house (no big deal, we're two people in an 1100 sq. ft. house - how bad can it get?)


2.  Hang the DR light fixture (otherwise, I'm going to put my super handy, good-with-electricity father to work when he gets here this weekend!)

3.  Finish assembling the kitchen with everything that was in the DR, LR, and guest bedroom.

4.  Buy a bed frame for the guest bedroom (we threw the other one away over a month ago because it kept falling apart whenever anyone laid on the bed - basically, it was broken.)

5.  Paint the kitchen.


I thought I mentioned to everyone that we were having out kitchen remodeled ... did I not tell you?  Isn't it gorgeous?


6.  Clean my room (yes, there is a pile between my side of the bed and my dresser - it was clean for about a week.)

This is basically my room looked like and my parents had to put up with from the ages of 10 - 24.
Now, I live with Pat and I don't talk on the phone as much.



7.  Organize the guest room closet (what we are using as a linen closet).

This is actually, for real, what our linen closet will look like when I'm done.  No Joke. 
(Except mine will have labels on the shelves as well.)

8.  Paint and hang the shutters.

Pretty, right?

Who wants to gamble on how much gets done before Thursday (yes, a week from yesterday)? 

I'll let you in on a secret - we have plans for this entire weekend, so no work will get done until Sunday afternoon at the earliest.  I am going to a bachelorette party on Saturday night, so Sunday afternoon may be a stretch.

I'll put the over/under at 5. 

Now, most of you took the under, and based on my track record, you'd be right.  But you'll have to tune in next weekend to see if you'd be a winner.