What's been up at our house

1. Allergies and/or an upper respiratory viral thing. I had a really sore throat starting on Tuesday, and finally went to the doctor on Thursday afternoon. No sign of infection or strep, but I can't go anywhere without a box of tissues. I seriously went through about 1/3 of the box at work today. I'm not sure if it's me or the pollen, but my allergies have been like this for the past year or so - I get a really really bad attack where I'm pretty much useless. Just so congested my whole head hurts.

2. The cabinets came on Thursday! They're in cardboard boxes in the garage. Most intruiging are the boxes labeled "FRAGILE - GLASS," as we didn't order any glass...

Greg called the installer on Thursday, and he said he could come out today (Friday) or Saturday, but there was just no possible way we could be ready... So it will probably be a week or two before he can get out here.

3. My rearview mirror leaked on me. On Sunday afternoon, when I got in the car, I noticed a "bubble" in the mirror, and it was really blurry to see out of - double images and everything. Well, on Tuesday, when I was leaving work, I noticed that the bubble was gone. Shortly after, I noticed the oil drops on the cup holder and shifter. As I was trying to figure out where it was coming from (and driving), I went around the corner, and it dripped two big fat drops on my favorite khakis. Sigh. Just about all the oil is out now (no more drips) and it's actually a lot easier to see out of now. I suppose it will have to be replaced eventually.

4. Classes started again. 5.5 more weeks of fun. This one is called "information systems," but is kind of more of a project management class, which is interesting, but a bit more "fluffy." It doesn't sound like it's going to be awful, but they never do, right?

Music for Steve and Steph

Steve asked me for some advice about "going country." I'll have to be upfront and admit that my "country" tastes are really a little more folk/bluegrass with just a little bit of country. Love Dixie Chicks and Johnny Cash (and yes, I'll admit it - I even really like Joaquin Phoenix/Reese Witherspoon covers on the Walk the Line soundtrack.)

Some additional recommendations...

• Robert Earl Keen (try Then Came Lo Mein, That Buckin' Song)
  
• Blue Dogs (that was the Watchful Cow song I sent you)
  
• Cigar Store Indians (less country, more of what Greg calls "rockabilly")
  
• Lyle Lovett (Greg's recommendation; Greg also insists that I point out that he was Robert Earl Keen's college roommate)
  
• Nickle Creek - I like their older stuff better

Let me know what you think of those and I'll try to think of what else we have that we like.

It's the 5th of July ... and I'm feelin' independent

The title is from one of my favorite Eddie From Ohio songs, and in honor of that, today's post is about what I've recently downloaded from iTunes. (and if you're not listening to Eddie yet, RUN, don't walk. Just so much fun to listen to!)

Call me a dork, but I really dig Garrison Keillor's taste in music. I first heard Chris O'Brien, Jaryd Lane, and Jon Troast on Prairie Home Companion, so those were my first downloads. (iTunes classifies Chris O'Brien and Jon Troast as "folk" and Jaryd Lane as "country.") I'm really digging Chris O'Brien... love the song "Rosa."

Then I noticed the "based on what you bought, we recommend..." thing where I found Death Cab for Cutie. Always been turned off by the name, but I'd read somewhere (Newsweek?) lately saying that they weren't just for my younger, cooler brother anymore, so I decided to try it. Pretty cool.

Chris O'Brien is right before Counting Crows in my alphabetical playlist, and I've really rediscovered a love for them lately.

Ah, and the soundtrack to Garden State is on my short list lately, too.

Happy 4th!

Tagged

Beth tagged me, so I've had to come up with 7 random facts about myself to post. (Yes, I've been thinking about them for a week.)

1. I love cereal. I am obsessed with it. I could eat it day and night. My favorite dessert is cereal. Currently in the rotation are Cheerios with honey, Honey Bunches of Oats with Almonds, Kashi's Heart to Heart, Post Banana Nut Crunch, and Honey Gone Nuts (bulk) granola.

2. I have this weird, apparently hereditary, swallowing problem sometimes. My dad says he has it, too. Sometimes, food just gets stuck in my throat, and I can't swallow. Nothing helps but time ... and occasionally having to gag myself. I've had it checked out - xrays and all - but they've never found anything. It definitely is more likely to happen with dry foods - rice and bread can be my arch nemesis. I think it also happens when I haven't had enough to drink. The frequency kind of comes and goes. Happened last week when we were out to dinner with friends -- always fun when it's in public. But it had probably been a month or two since the last time.

3. I am a strange mix of the Type A and Type B personality. Bet you thought you couldn't be both! My type A side is incredibly neurotic - I like things done my way, and I'd much rather do them myself than have someone else do them. I like organization and rules and structure. But I don't have a competitve bone in my body. I'm very laid back ... usually.

4. I go grocery shopping once a week. That's it. I plan out meals, go through the sales circulars, and go to the store on Sunday. (See #3).

5. I am a hoarder. (See #1, #3) Of strange things. (It's not just scrapbooking stuff!) I'm a bit ashamed to admit that we are still using the Christmas hand soap I bought. And that the stack of cereal in the pantry is 3 feet tall. And that I have enough shampoo to last until I don't have hair anymore.

6. I hate the heat. I hate summer. Winter can't come soon enough. I like to be cold. I like to be cold when I get in bed because I love to sleep covered in blankets. I hate that I wake up hot. And it's not all psychological - too much heat makes my chest break out in hives.

7. I am allergic to cats, dogs, and horses. Yes, cats. Doesn't that just prove how much I love Dusty and Lefty? My allergies have improved since we got them. Oh, and I found out about the horses after I'd been on one.

Guest Designer Layouts for Coordinates Collections

The "Home Sweet Home" one is a gift card holder.

July is here!

I harvested 4 tomatoes yesterday, and there's one more that's almost ready... and tons of little green tomatoes out there! Honestly, I'd been afraid to go out there lately - I keep forgetting to water them, and it's been so hot and dry. The plants don't look fabulous, but they're still alive. I did water them yesterday, but we really could use some rain! The rain is so spotty this time of year - it could fall in a downpour and stay dry on the next street over. Thunderstorms have been all around the past few days, but we haven't gotten much of anything. It's so nice, though, when the clouds roll in around 3pm - it makes such a difference in the temperature of the house when it's cloudy at that time of day!

The kitchen cabinets are all empty! All of the lower cabinets have been pulled in toward the center of the kitchen, and Greg has started taking down some of the upper ones. We're planning on leaving them in the kitchen only as long as we can confirm that all of the new ones will fit in the garage. Greg cleaned out the garage on Saturday, and pushed everything up against the walls, so we THINK there's room... but there's only one way to find out... Cabinets should be here Thursday afternoon.


Dusty and Lefty have been having a grand old time in the kitchen the past few days - so many new things to see! Plus, they're never been allowed IN the cabinets before. I had to take a drawer out of one of them yesterday, and that started the kitten gymboree. Next thing I know, someone climbed up the cabinet and went in through the drawer hole. They quickly learned to get themselves out by hanging on the bottom of the drawer hole and pushing their feet against the door.

The absolute funniest thing, though, was when I was standing in front of one set of cabinets, waiting to get a good picture of Dusty's head through the drawer hole, when, all of a sudden, the drawer next to me opens. I couldn't stop laughing. I had NO IDEA Lefty was in the other cabinet at the time! The doors were closed, and I don't know how she got in there, unless she went in and closed the door behind her!

We decided on a paint color, and went back to Home Depot tonight, but got there about 10 minutes after they closed. Maybe tomorrow.

TigerTiger

I was reading about the attempted car bombings in London yesterday, and thought some of the preliminary pictures looked familiar. At first, I thought it was just coincidence - we were just in London in March. But the way the road went up a slight hill, and ended at a "T," and it was near Picadilly... When they finally said that it was in front of the TigerTiger night club, I knew I wasn't going crazy anymore.

That's where we at lunch on St. Patrick's Day. Right by the window.

Freaky, no?

Been away from the news all day, and just heard about the airport car bombing in Glasgow. It's a little unnerving, but I can't say that it's going to scare me away from England or Scotland. We had such a fabulous time on our trip, and I absolutely loved England and Scotland. The whole time we were there, I was thinking about what I wanted to do when we go back. I'm a worrier, and I worry about a lot of things. I'm trying to not let this be one of them.

While Supplies Last! Free Flower Pot with Purchase of New Kitchen!

Greg came home from work early today to add the stuff to level out the floor. The first batch got hard a little faster than expected, so we have a new flower pot!

But Greg is now the king of whatever that stuff is, and it went a bit smoother after that. Could probably use a little bit of a touch up -- in spots, you can feel the plywood edges through the linoleum. But we're getting there! They confirmed cabinet delivery for next Thursday afternoon.

Our cats are smarter than your cats

We came home tonight to find Lefty playing with this squirrel toy of hers. It's got a little pocket that you can fill with catnip and then you velcro it closed. Well, we watch her, and she's walking around with it in her mouth, bobbing her head up and down as she walks. Honestly, it was hysterical - we couldn't figure out what she was doing. We finally figured that, as she was bobbing her head, she was pressing the squirrel on the floor, and opening up the slit where the velcro is just enough to get any loose catnip to fall out on the floor. They're so crazy.

Went to they gym tonight, and then out to dinner with some friends, Scott and April. I was going to say that's it's very unusual for us to go out in the middle of the week for dinner, but with the kitchen situation, it's becoming fairly regular. But it is unusual for us to go out with friends in the middle of the week. Their 2 year old was with the grandparents for the week, so they were happy to be out, baby-free. Lots of fun!

Halfway there!

The year is now half over, at least school-wise! I took my last exam, and didn't do stellar (there were some I just guessed on), but definitely well enough to pass. I have a full 7 evenings to myself before the 2nd summer session starts next Tuesday. 3 more classes until I finish my MBA! The syllabus is up for my next class, and it looks like it's going to be another pain. He has like 3 paragraphs on the syllabus about how he judges your class participation, and what makes a good comment in participation. And when are professors of an evening MBA program going to learn how nearly impossible it is for people with full time jobs, class two nights a week, a house, and a family to do "group projects"? Oh well. I don't have to think about it for 7 more days.

Not much else to report. Greg finished terracing the kitchen with 1/4" plywood over the weekend, and will probably level it out fully with the thinset sometime this week. The cabinets are still supposed to be delivered next week sometime, and then installed (by Home Depot's contractor) sometime after that. We've still got to get all of the other cabinets out of there, and get at least a first coat of paint up on the walls... which of course means deciding on a paint color.

I saw some cherries at the grocery store on Sunday, but they didn't look great. Ever since then, I've been craving cherries. To reward myself for finishing my class, I went to Whole Foods on my way home tonight and got some cherries (and a bunch of other things... their frozen blueberry waffles are good, and we love their individually sealed frozen Alaskan salmon, and of course the Honey Gone Nuts granola... but I'm getting off topic). I knew the cherries were expensive, but chose not to think about it. Just looked at the receipt... shhh, don't tell Greg. I think I spent $11 on cherries.

And *so* worth every penny.

Just a quick update for Saturday so far...

I did some yardwork this morning and had to take some pictures of the hydrangeas now that they're all blooming. I just love the color of them!



I mentioned we had pizza for dinner... Lefty's trying to figure out if there's any left for her.


Greg started peeling back the linoleum in the kitchen this morning, and had to cover up an air vent duct. I found his sign kinda cute. :)






But both layers of linoleum are peeled back now. At first, we couldn't figure out why there was a second layer. Once we peeled back far enough, though, we found some holes from nails that had popped through. Underneath, the nails aren't there anymore.











Greg finally got to use his circular saw. Ah, the smell of sawdust. Very manly. (I appreciated that it came with its own case.) He read the instructions and promised not to cut off a finger.

So far, so good! I'm trying to get through my 2nd lecture of the day for class, and just needed a quick break.

EEST (*extremely efficient shopping trip)

Finally, the weekend is here! To celebrate, we've had a highly efficient evening. So efficient, in fact, that Greg was worn out just thinking about it and is in bed and asleep before I am. Honestly can't remember the last time that's happened.

We went to the gym and picked up pizza on the way home, took quick showers (because we can do 2 at once now! how efficient is that?!?), and then I dropped Greg off at Home Depot to get all of the manly things we needed, and I ran to Walmart for the cat litter, deodorant, etc. I was out of there in half an hour! So efficient, in fact, that Greg wasn't done at Home Depot, so I rewarded myself with a quick trip in to AC Moore. Still had 5 minutes before BJs closed when I ran in there! By then, Greg was done and ready to load up the car.

What were all of our manly purchases? A circular saw. Plywood sheets. 2 X 4s. Yeah. He was happy. :) Tomorrow will be the start of the epic battle between Greg and the kitchen floor. As I probably already mentioned, it's not level -- no supports are directly under where the kitchen sink and dishwasher are (were). It's nothing structural, more just a matter of settling. But, in the deepest spot, it's about an inch lower. As far as we know, the new cabinets should be delivered in about 2 weeks.

Sorry no pictures lately. I finally have some energy back now after a very long week. I commented about Greg taking a nap on Tuesday afternoon; Wednesday was my turn. Just came right home and got in bed.

I wish I had gotten some pictures of Dusty attacking the tissue box this morning. She was pulling the tissues out and then getting the box stuck on her head. Not sure where that came from. Lefty's been going through a "digging" phase that we don't really understand. She'll get up on the bed and just start pawing like she's trying to dig a hole. She goes at it like a little machine - no claws, just making noise. Oh, and when she's not doing that, she likes biting toes through the sheet. You have to keep your feet covered by the blanket - it's the only thing that stops her.

Maybe some pictures of the circular saw tomorrow?

Still alive!

Just been trying to get through the day-to-day lately. Neither of us have been getting enough sleep lately - Greg actually got in bed around 8:30 tonight and I haven't had the heart to go in and wake him up.

So, the shower is in! It had to set for 24 hours, so we didn't use it until Sunday, but so far, so good! It's nice to have 2 functional showers again, especially in the morning. We can't clean it for 10 days ... no problem there!

We went to Costco on Saturday. On the way down, there was an accident on the highway where it looked like a truck had caught on fire. Traffic was backed up for miles, but we thought it would be cleared up when we came back through a couple of hours later. No such luck, though. Luckily, we knew where the accident was, so we pulled out the map and navigated around it, but it took us an extra hour or so to get home.

Made it to the gym. I finally weighed myself again, and I'm back to where I was before I started the weights routine. I guess that's good.

Can't remember much else from the weekend. Sigh.

I've got one more exam next Tuesday for my 1st summer class - five chapters to get through. I haven't made it through any of them yet... I'm running into problems downloading them. It gets frustrating when it just keeps stopping, or the audio get screwed up and the next slide audio starts in the middle of the one you're on. I guess it's still better than having to go to class.