More About Me!

I'm such a thief. I stole this one from Breakfast With Tiffany. I swear, the answers are all mine.

1. EVER BEEN GIVEN A RING? Just this one time, at a baseball game. Oh wait, and that Christmas in Appleton! :o)
2. LONGEST RELATIONSHIP? the one I'm in now
3. FAVORITE GIFT YOU RECEIVED: off the top of my head? My iPod
4. HOW MANY TIMES HAVE YOU DROPPED YOUR CELL? way too many
5. WHEN'S THE LAST TIME YOU WORKED OUT? tonight
6. THING(S) YOU SPEND A LOT OF MONEY ON? i buy inexpensive things for the most part, just a lot of them!
7. LAST FOOD YOU ATE? avocado
8. FIRST THING YOU NOTICE ABOUT THE OPPOSITE SEX? smile
9. ONE FAVORITE SONG: Maroon 5-Harder To Breathe
11. HIGH SCHOOL YOU ATTENDED? LaFollette
13. FAVORITE MALL STORE: mall? i haven't been there in a while
14. LONGEST JOB HELD: 4+ years at madison police dept.
15. DO YOU OWN A PAIR OF DICE?: just in my board games.
16. Do you prank call people? not anymore
17. LAST WEDDING ATTENDED? Babe's
18. FIRST FRIEND YOU'D CALL IF YOU WON THE LOTTERY? I have no idea. I think my hands would be shaking too bad to call anyone right away!
19. LAST TIME YOU ATTENDED CHURCH: Babe's wedding
20. FAVORITE FAST FOOD RESTAURANT: Milio's
21. BIGGEST LIE YOU HAVE HEARD? I swear I won't be mad
23. WHERE'S YOUR FAVORITE PLACE TO EAT WITH FRIENDS? my house. I'm getting a kitchen table SOON, so no more dinner in the basement!
24. CAN YOU COOK? I love to cook!
25. WHAT CAR DO YOU DRIVE? Dodge Neon
26. BEST KISSER? Dave, of course. Gertie and Babe tie for 2nd! :o)
27. LAST TIME YOU CRIED? today when I thought my eyes would fall out of my head. See previous post
29. THING YOU LIKE MOST ABOUT YOURSELF: my dependability
30. DO YOU HAVE A CRUSH ON SOMEONE RIGHT NOW: does Dave count as a crush?
32. LONGEST SHIFT YOU HAVE WORKED AT A JOB? I don't recall. But I have worked 3 jobs in the span of 32 hours, totaling 24 hours of work and 8 hours of sleep. I did that on weekends for 3 months.
33. FAVORITE MOVIE? Just one? A Time To Kill
34. CAN YOU SING? Not a chance. But I keep trying
35. LAST CONCERT ATTENDED? Phil Vassar...probably the best yet.
36. LAST KISS? about 4 hours ago
37. LAST MOVIE RENTED: Derailed from Netflix
38. THING YOU NEVER LEAVE HOME WITHOUT? cell phone. or at least I try.
39. FAVORITE VACATION SPOT? So far? San Francisco
40. DO YOU LIKE CHINESE FOOD? Yes!
41. HOW BIG IS YOUR BED? King. Enough for us and the 2 cats.
42. IS YOUR ROOM CLEAN? Only if Dave cleaned it tonight. So no.
43. LAPTOP OR DESKTOP COMPUTER? Laptop
44. FAVORITE COMEDIAN? So many...Adam Sandler, Will Farrell, Chris rock, Chris Farley
45. Do you smoke? Only if I'm drinking a lot
46. SLEEP WITH OR WITHOUT CLOTHES ON? I'm not telling! If you're not there, you don't have to know!!
47. WHO SLEEPS WITH YOU EVERY NIGHT? Dave and at least one of the cats
48. DO LONG DISTANCE RELATIONSHIPS WORK? Never did for me.
49. HOW MANY TIMES HAVE YOU BEEN PULLED OVER BY THE POLICE? 3 times. Only one ticket though
50. PANCAKES OR FRENCH TOAST? French Toast
51. DO YOU LIKE COFFEE? no thanks. just chocolately coffee drinks
52. HOW DO YOU LIKE YOUR EGGS? Scrambled.
53. DO YOU BELIEVE IN ASTROLOGY? not really
54. LAST PERSON YOU TALKED TO ON THE PHONE? a listener. personal? Dave.
55. LAST PERSON ON YOUR MISSED CALL LIST? my sister-in-law. she called twice today and I missed it both times. I swear I'm not avoiding her.
56. WHAT WAS THE LAST TEXT MESSAGE YOU RECEIVED? 730 she says. from my cousin on saturday.
57. MCDONALDS OR BURGER KING? McD's. but don't tell the personal trainer.
58. NUMBER OF PILLOWS? 2
59. WHAT ARE YOU HEARING RIGHT NOW? Nobody Gonna Tell Me What To Do by Van Zant
60. PICK A LYRIC, ANY LYRIC "I’m still mad as hell and I don’t have time to go round and round and round"
61. WHAT KIND OF JELLY DO YOU LIKE ON YOUR SANDWICH? you're not ready for this jelly
62. CAN YOU PLAY POOL? I can. just haven't in a long time
63. DO YOU KNOW HOW TO SWIM? yes, just the basics
64. FAVORITE FLAVOR OF ICE CREAM? Breyer's Twix. YUM!
65. DO YOU LIKE MAPS? I've never thought about it. They're helpful, that's for sure. So yeah, I guess I do. I read one well enough to get me from Madison to San Francisco
66. TELL ME A RANDOM FACT ABOUT YOURSELF? At one time or another, I absolutely LOVED at least 32 of the 50 Most Awesomely Bad Songs EVER on Vh1
68. EVER ATTEND A THEME PARTY? Yes
69. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE SEASON? Fall
70. LAST TIME YOU LAUGHED AT SOMETHING STUPID? I laughed at myself on the inside when I realized why my eyes were burning. Dumbass.
71. WHAT TIME DID YOU WAKE UP THIS MORNING? 11:30ish
72. BEST THING ABOUT WINTER? cuddling under the blanket
73. LAST TIME A COP GAVE YOU A TICKET? One and only time, August 2000. I was going 71 when the speed limit dropped from 65 to 55. Guy was just waiting for me
75. NAME OF YOUR FIRST PET? Bacca, our dog
76. DO YOU THINK PIRATES ARE COOL OR OVERRATED? Overrated
77. WHAT ARE YOU DOING THIS WEEKEND: Montana & Jourdan are coming for a sleepover (they're 4 and 8) and then having lunch w/Babe & Gertie
79. WHAT IS THE THIRD LETTER OF YOUR NAME? R
80. HOW OLD ARE YOUR PETS? 2 and 1
81. WHAT COLOR IS YOUR HANDBAG? brown
82. ARE YOU SICK? just in the head
83. DO YOU GO TO SCHOOL? just the school of hard knocks
84. IS THE BATHROOM OPEN? meaning unoccupied? Yes. because it ISN'T FINISHED YET.
85. ARE YOU ON A LAPTOP? On one, or using one? Either way, no
86. ARE YOU WATCHING MTV? Nope, VH1
87. ARE YOU SMILING? no, concentrating too hard on this
88. DO YOU HAVE ON EYELINER? No
89. ARE YOU A BLONDE? No
90. DO YOU DREAM IN COLOR? I don't know...
91. DO YOU HAVE A NICE ASS: it's the nicest one I've got
94. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE NAME? If I put it out here, when Dave and I have kids, I won't like them anymore. Sorry!
95.WHAT COLOR IS YOUR BATHING SUIT?Black
96. DOES YOUR SCHOOL START IN AUGUST? ??
97. DID YOU GO ON VACATION LAST MONTH? Yep, to Texas.
98. HAVE YOU EVER BEEN ON A CRUISE? nope, just cruisin East Wash!
99. EVER BEEN IN LOVE? Yes

Don't Try This At Home

this


and this



do NOT mix. Don't let anyone tell you otherwise.

Worth the wait?

Remember my Doctor's Appointment that wasn't last week? I rescheduled it for today. I was a little leery about it. I didn't want a repeat performance. So, when the clerk was very nice to me, things looked good. And holy crap, it's not even 3 (appointment time) and they're already calling me back. (To catch you up, this is my 3rd attempt at an appointment after waiting a month because of a new doctor). So I get my blood pressure taken, and then it comes. "The doctor is running about 15 minutes late." Oh great. So they get me in there and THEN tell me. Now I can't just walk out. So I wait. And I wait. At 3:30, I'm SO pissed off. I'm calling my mom, calling Dave...just venting. The nurse comes in about 3:35 (35 minutes late; 20 minutes later than she said she was running initially) and said "she'll be in any minute!" Thankfully I only had to wait a few more minutes. I finally met my doctor, and I'm REALLY glad I did. She was VERY helpful and informative. She explained things a lot better than the last doctor I saw. And she's looking towards the future and letting me know what will occur down the road.

Worth the wait? Abso-frickin'-lutely!

Ah, those cute cats!

Sami has a habit of hiding, or getting in boxes. Whether they have stuff in them or not, she wants to be in that box. And she'll call it home for as long as she can.

A few days ago, we found her trying to get into the box from our bathroom tile (8"x10")...there is still some tile in it.




Today we came home, and there she was.



Now, she's not a kitten. So one would think she wouldn't fit in there comfortably. But she seems to enjoy it. Or she can't get out. One or the other.

What to say

I had blogged about the naked lady in the locker room at the health club rubbing lotion in her ass crack about 1.5 feet from me, but I deleted it. I figure you didn't need details like that.

I was listening to ESPN Radio today, talking about how Howard Cosell used to drink on the job. He said (i don't quote because it could be a bit off, but you get the point) "You can only drink at work if you're a stripper, and that's just to take the pain off your existence". My jaw literally dropped.

The weekend's already over?

Whew. That was fast. Here's a wrap-up.

Friday I worked out with one of my team training teammates. (there's 4 of us that meet on wednesdays with a trainer, and we try to get together without the trainer throughout the week).

Friday night had a Tastefully Simple party. Thankfully I worked out earlier, because I ate some good food. And sold $300 worth of stuff. Which meant I got $30 in freebies. Woot! Afterwards we watched "A History of Violence". Pretty good movie!

Saturday morning I worked, and our bathroom got FINISHED! Well, except for ONE damn piece of bullnose tile. But he can come Monday afternoon and grout what IS there, and that's exciting. We'll have a shower soon, I swear!

Saturday afternoon I hung out at home trying to figure out what was for dinner. Dave was out of town, so I was going to go a bit more "exotic" than normal, since he's so picky. Just then, my cousin called. So, I picked up some cheese and sausage (i know, not exotic at all) and went to her place to play games (Riff, Catch Phrase) and have a glass of wine. Yes, only one glass for me.

Sunday I tried to sleep in. Not so much. We decided that since it was nice, we'd grill out. YUM! I love brats! (the sausage kind, not the kid kind!) We watched a bunch of NCAA basketball. I'm such a sucker for the underdogs...Go George Mason!! Then we watched "Derailed". Ooh, that was good! All the while I was updating my iPod. That turned into a chore. For a long time I've had my CD's split up. Some in holders, some in plastic sleeves, some in nothing at all. I got almost all of them organized and ready for eBay. There's over 200 of them. It took me literally ALL day. Dave wasn't as excited as I was to find my "Color Me Badd"! Then I took a nap, and here I am. At work again. What the hell??? Was that really a weekend?

I wasn't tagged...

My job is driving me crazy today. So instead of telling you about it and being considered crabby, I'll give you a lame-o post. I actually "stole" this from someone else's blog. Shame on me.

Accent - SOME people think I talk like a midwesterner. I don't think I have an accent. At least I don't pronounce Wisconsin as WESconsin.

Booze of choice - Ah...a nice cold beer or Captain & Coke

Chore I hate - changing the litter

Dog or cat - cats

Essential electronics - Laptop or iPod

Favorite perfume(s)/cologne(s) – i don't have a favorite

Gold or Silver? – Silver

Hometown - Madison, WI

Insomnia? – only on weekends

Job Title – DJ/Promotions

Kids? - Not right this second

Living Arrangement - A house with my husband and our cats

Most admired trait - the ease with which i do my job, i guess

Number of Sexual Partners - couldn't this be "number of blogs you link to" or something similar?

Overnight Hospital Stays - just when i was born

Phobia - roller coasters

Quote - Is this supposed to be something I say or a quote I heard someone else say? Hmm. If it's something I say, then it would be "What the hell!" If it's someone else, this one comes to mind because I just saw it last night "I live in a van down by the river!" (long live Chris Farley)

Religion - I was baptized Catholic

Siblings - one older brother

Time I wake up - 11am-noon, if i'm lucky

Unusual talent/skill - i can fit my size 10 foot in my mouth with little trouble!

Vegetable I refuse to eat - lima beans

Worst habit - swearing like a sailor...i've never cursed on the air though! (don't worry, I've said that a lot before. I didn't just "jinx" myself!)

X-rays - my elbow (long story) and my teeth

Yummy foods I make - breakfast lasagna

Zodiac sign - Capricorn on the cusp of Aquarius. I think my mom lied about my birthday, because I don't seem to fit in either category!

I'm supposed to "Tag" you. I don't want to. Just do it!

Me, Crabby? No!

How could I be crabby, with this picture of such a sweet boy! This is my cousin's baby, Matthew. He's 6 months old tomorrow!

Is it SO difficult?

I only have one major rule. Ok, 2. But the 2nd one (be on time!) can be bent on occasion. And of course you come to expect it from some people. If they ARE on time, it screws everything up because you expected them to be late.

Anyway, my major rule...

DO WHAT YOU SAY YOU WILL DO!

If you tell me you're coming over, come over. Simple as that. If, for whatever reason, you can't come over, that's OK. (I'm getting better at that one. I used to go crazy if someone changed plans on me). However, if things change, LET ME KNOW. That's really all I ask. Do not let me spend my day waiting for you to come over. It's INFURIATING.

Thank you.

Customer Service

Dave found this picture as an ode to yesterdays post. I LOVE it!

Dear...

Customer Service Guy On The Phone:
When you ask me for an 8 digit number, do not start repeating it back to me until I have finished. It's really annoying to only get 3 numbers out and have you repeat the first 3 to me while I'm trying to finish the rest of the number. I waited about 30 minutes just to get a person on the phone, I don't need to wait any more. I was actually told that your service STINKS, so I am not sure why I ordered from you in the first place. It won't happen again. (Because when I ordered over the internet, it said "item usually arrives in 5-7 business days" it's been 10, and no record of it even being shipped, much less delivered. No one seems to have a CLUE what the hell is going on, and that pisses me off).
* the guy on the phone said to me that it's being shipped directly from the manufacturer. That's all he knows. He had no way of telling me when I'd get my product. ARE YOU JOKING? I ordered from YOU. I asked how I can find out, and he said "I don't know." So I cancelled the order, called the competition, and should get my stuff next week.

Clinic Staff
When I am standing at your desk to check in, you should be able to ask if you can help me. Don't keep typing away on what is most likely a personal email, glance my way as if you can't believe I'm standing at your desk. And when you do ask if you can help me, don't be so damn snotty. Oh, and when I check in for a 3:30 appointment at 3:18, TELL ME that the nurse called and they're running 15 minutes late. Don't let me wait until 3:47 to ask YOU what's going on. And when I come to your desk at 4:05, don't be surprised that i'm VERY annoyed that the "15 minutes" has turned into 35 and that I want to reschedule. Again. Your clinic has "Cooperative" in it. You sure as hell didn't cooperate with me today. *after waiting a month to get an appointment, it was cancelled by them last week and now I have to reschedule because I'm tired of waiting and have a life. Good luck to me, I guess.

Guy in the red car
Sucks to be you. Stopped on the beltline with FOUR cops behind you. That's not normal here. MAYBE two. Not four. Good luck, if you deserve it.

Z,
I hope you're feeling ok. That was scary. I'll be thinkin' bout ya!

M,
you ever going to talk to me again? it's been over 2 months. OH WAIT! I don't CARE! Thanks for not talking to me!

Maker of Simply Asia Rice Noodle Bowl,
ICK! You should name them "Rubber Noodle Bowl. Kind of like Ramen Noodles, Except Not As Good"

AH! Progress!

The tile is going up! Should be done in a couple days. And then we can move our stuff back in. I am very excited. Except I ordered a faucet from Home Depot on the 11th, and it hasn't even shipped yet. What's up with that???

Speaking of ordering...we found the kitchen table we want. So, I went to purchase it today. It will be delivered on or about MAY 5th. Holy crap. I guess that's what we get for waiting until we need the table to order it.

No biggie. We haven't had one up until now, what's another month?!

So, there's the progress so far. I will update more when it's all done!

Just a little laugh

I don't have any progress to report. Hopefully really soon....

In the meantime, here's a funny email I got from a friend today.

A businessman met a beautiful girl and agreed to spend the afternoon with her for $500. They did their thing, and, before he left, he told her that he did not have any cash with him, but he would have his secretary write a cheque and mail it to her, calling the payment "RENT FOR APARTMENT." On the way to the office he regretted what he had done, realizing that the whole event had not been worth the price. So he had his secretary send a cheque for $250 and enclose the following typed note: "Dear Madam: Enclosed find cheque in the amount of $250 for rent of your apartment. I am not sending the amount agreed upon, because when I rented the place, I was under the impression that: #1 - it had never been occupied; #2 - there was plenty of heat; and #3 - it was small enough to make me feel cosy and at home. However, I found out that it had been previously occupied, that there wasn't any heat, and that it was entirely too large." Upon receipt of the note, the girl immediately returned the cheque for $250 with the following note : Dear Sir: First of all, I cannot understand how you could expect a beautiful apartment to remain unoccupied indefinitely. As for the heat, there is plenty of it, if you know how to turn it on. Regarding the space, the apartment is indeed of regular size, but if you don't have enough furniture to fill it, please do not blame the management. Please send the rent in full or we will be forced to contact your present landlady."

You say you need pictures....

so here's a couple for ya.

bathroom before:

The bathroom is really almost done. The tile was grouted this morning. A bit of painting, some more tiling, and installation. Then, I can shower in my own house, and pee in my new toilet.

bathroom now:

Pain. Everywhere.

I had another workout with a personal trainer tonight. Holy crap. I don't even know what all we did, but it kicked my ass. I survived, and that's pretty cool. I'll be in pain tomorrow...but it will be worth it, right? There's 4 of us doing "team training", and it is interesting. 4 VERY different personalities (not to mention goals...one woman is training for Mt. Kilamanjaro. HELLO! I'm training for a freakin' wedding!) The best part will be seeing improvement. I can't wait for that.

The bathroom is movin' along. The floor is in. We have to do a bit more priming to make sure the tile sticks to the walls, but it should all be over soon. Damn, I hope so anyway. Have I mentioned this is a bit inconvenient? Again, it will be worth it.

That's all I have for tonight. My mind just isn't in it.

Oh, a big congrats to Babe. She's havin' a baby, and found out today what it is. Woot!

This is kinda cool. It tracks all the states I've visited. I left off Virginia because I forgot at first, and then it started acting up and didn't let me do it. So, no Virginia. Looks like I have a few states to get to!




Check it out

Are we done yet?

Kind of like a kid saying "Are we there yet?" 5 minutes into a 4 hour drive. Seriously, are we done yet? This remodeling is really starting to get on my nerves. It seems that once we reach a milestone in our adventure, we get to the start of another hill. All that's really left is to tile the bathroom and then touch-up the paint. But it feels like it will be forever before this is done. And you know what? We'll take a few months off, and then start another project. By the time this is done, no room in our house will be untouched. New windows. New sliding glass door in basement. Replace wall between livingroom and laundry room in basement. Fix (or replace) driveway. New kitchen cabinets. Wood floors in bedrooms.

So the answer is no. We are not done yet. And it seems we never will be. I asked Dave tonight if we realized when we bought this house that it was going to be a fixer-upper. All I'm really looking for right now is to be able to just hop in the shower when I want to. Not to have to plan a trip to the health club to get clean. THAT is annoying. I am thankful, however, that we do have a 1/2 bathroom downstairs. I don't know what I'd do without a toilet.

I've Been Tagged!

Rob got me. So, here are 6 quirky/weird things about me! I'll tag 6 of you at the end.

1. I'm some sort of claustrophobic. I can't wear socks or full-length pants to bed. I can't sleep in a sleeping bag or in a bed with the sheets tucked in. I can't wear a necklace to bed. I'll wake up in a panic thinking it's going to strangle me in my sleep

2. My favorite TV shows and movies put me to sleep. My mind focuses on that, rather than the days events. If it's a show I don't care about, it isn't so easy to fall asleep.

3. I'm shy. Or something like that. I can talk all day long behind a microphone in a studio. Get me in front of a crowd (a wedding, my dad's birthday party) and I get really nervous. People think that because I talk for a living, that reading at a wedding would be a piece of cake. NOT! I had a pastor tell me "Slow down. If you think it's too slow, it's probably perfect." Yeah, thanks. Talking is my job. I know how to do it. I just don't like doing it when people can see me.

4. I am VERY impatient. As Veruca Salt says in "Willy Wonka": I want an Oompa Loompa NOW! Ok, so I don't want an Oompa Loompa. But whatever I do want, I want it now. Whether it's a new purse or an answer to a question. Maybe it's arriving somewhere...even a stoplight. I'd rather sit at a stoplight than drive behind someone. The faster I get to the stoplight the better. Don't tell me to wait. I don't wanna. And don't tell me I have a surprise coming. That's just mean. I love surprises, I just don't want to know I'm getting one, unless I can have it NOW. Oh, and if you're talking stupid, I don't have time to waste on you. Get to the point and move on. (God, I'm a bitch!)

5. Don't show me your fresh injury. If you recently cut your head, your hand, your foot...whatever. It grosses me out and I don't want to see it. Even if I say I do, I really don't. So unless the cut you're going to show me is your hair, don't.

6. Tell me I can't do something. See what happens. My aunt told me I'd never finish Walk America the first year I tried. I did. Even with shards of glass in my arm, because I tripped halfway through and broke a glass bottle of Gatorade. But I finished. And I had someone tell me while we were at a hockey game (what was the name of the team that played in madison back in '96?) that I couldn't shut up. I didn't speak to him the rest of the game.

Ok, there you go. I will now tag: Gertie, Dave, T, Jen, B, and Babe if she has time. She's a CPA, you see. She's a tad busy this time of year!

Things Heard Backstage At A Drag Show

I volunteered at a charity drag show tonight. I heard a lot of things backstage, and it was hilarious! They were raising money for St. Jude (i just handled the raffle and silent auction). It was the 4th year for the event, and the first time I've gone. I'll probably go back next year too!

Quite a bit of progress was made this weekend. Denny, Gertie and J came over on Saturday. After 8 hours and a $400 trip to the Depot, we have a new bathtub installed! Denny laid durock in the bathroom. J did a lot of work that I wasn't anticipating, which is why it took so long. He did a very thorough job, and that's worth the money. I also ordered a new faucet online. It was $40 cheaper than in store, and no shipping charge. Hopefully it'll show up soon. We grilled out (it was BEAUTIFUL) and after everyone left, I covered the space between the end of the bathtub and the frame of the wall (the durock was to be put up today, so there was space there. hard to explain, and i don't have pics right now). Dave and I were sitting downstairs, and I heard noise coming from the ceiling. I knew immediately what it was. I had covered one end of the tub, and not the other. Sami was under the new bathtub. The cast iron tub that was not going to come out of our bathroom in one piece. I was FREAKING OUT! Dave was able to see her from the laundry room, and i went up to the bathroom to try to coax her out. I got hold of her, but couldn't pull her up. I held on for a minute, then had to let go. I think I scared her, because she ran to the other end and scurried out. So fast I didn't even see it. Needless to say, we propped the door in the door frame for the rest of the night.

Today, Denny came over and finished the durock. All that's left is to put up the tile (on the floor, part way up the walls, and as the tub surround) and re-connect the toilet and sink. We have all the pieces to our new vanity now too. It really is coming together! Hopefully, by the end of the week, we'll have a new bathroom. And we can start moving things back to their proper places. I have so much crap in my bedroom right now that doesn't belong there...it's insane! Oh, our next purchase will be a kitchen table. We haven't even STARTED looking at those yet! We gave mine away when we moved into the house because the half wall that is no longer didn't allow space for a table.

By the way, if your bathroom is not in working order and you must shower at the health club, take a towel. I forgot mine today. I had to dry off with a wash cloth.

Mohawks for Money

Our morning show team got mohawks on friday. businesses donated $1000 each (coming to $20,000) to St. Jude. They have to keep them for a month.

I'm. Exhausted.

Every year at this time, our station holds our Country Cares for St. Jude Kids Radiothon. We spend 11 hours a day for 2 days on the air begging for you to help St Jude Children's Research Hospital. It is an emotional 2 days for all of us, but it is always worth it when the listeners pull our their piggy banks and give what they can. We raised our largest amount yet this past Thursday and Friday. $239,491. It makes me feel SO grateful for the people that find it in their hearts to help. I became a Partner in Hope. So did my dad and Gertie. Thanks, guys. If you want to become a Partner In Hope, it's never too late. Just go to St Jude's website. Even if you can't donate, go there and find out more about the hospital.

Ok, enough of that. Besides being emotionally drained, the housework has me going crazy. The tile is in, grouted and sealed. We even brought the futon back to the livingroom last night so the cats can have something to sit on. Today, Gertie and her hubby are coming over to tear out our bathtub. They're also going to put the new one in. After that, Denny will tile the bathroom. In a week or so we'll have our bathroom back. I really can't tell you how grateful I am to have these guys helping us. Gertie and I are going to head to Babe's house for a bit to drop off her birthday flowers. Her birthday was yesterday. We had a get-together last night. I was still at the radiothon. Someone forgot to bring the flowers with him when he went to the party. So, better late than never.

Anyway, be expecting pictures soon. Our journey is almost over!!!

Before I forget....For those of you who balance your checkbook...
The amount you subtract should be the dollar amount you wrote your check for, not the pre-printed number in the top right corner of the check. It makes balancing your checkbook SO SO SO much easier.

I Won!

Some months ago, I changed email addresses because of all the bulk mail I was getting. That account is still getting a LOT of bulks. I went through some of them tonight (not opening, just reading the subject). Look at what I've won or can get for free:

Best Buy gift card
Hoodia
iPods
laptops
$500 at KMart
sharp aquos 32" tv
pac man video game
digital cameras
girls gone wild video (this one came from "mom")
cell phones
old navy gift cards (at least 10 of them)
dream makeover, car, or vacation
PS3
xBox 360
DSW Shoe gift card
Tag Heuer watch
NFL jersey
Sopranos on DVD
All of oprah's book club selections (even A Million Little Pieces?)
viagra or cialis....

geez, i must be special to win all of this stuff!

Good Tuesday!

The floors are done! Well, except for the bathroom that is. But that is where our next pictures come from.


Is tile supposed to come up in sheets like this? We're seeing the same sort of work as we saw in the kitchen. A layer of tile over two layers of vinyl.

That's the bottom layer of vinyl that Dave thinks his parents had when he was growing up. I also tore out the linen closet thingy. That was kind of fun. The major bathroom work will get done this weekend. New bathtub, vanity (if it comes in), toilet...and floor. I can not wait for this to be done.

And this, my friends, is the danger of hard labor.

Reason to wear shoes:

Above items found lodged in the sole of my shoe

And reason to wear gloves:



In other news, our neighbors are moving. The for sale sign went up today. This is good. Not because they are bad neighbors...we didn't know them at all. However, they are the ones with a bazillion cars that don't get parked in the driveway. It's crazy. So, they're moving. We're hoping it sells fast, and the new neighbors have a few less cars!

The Day In Pictures

10am


2:40pm
At this point, I'm wondering how the hell this is going to come together today. They've been working for 4 hours.


445pm
and...voila! we have a floor! well, most of one anyway. Turns out the cutter wasn't working so well. Once they got the pieces cut, it went really fast.

There's the spot missing that we can walk on, which is really nice. I can't believe how large the room looks now that that wall is missing and the floor is all even!


They'll be back tomorrow to finish the tiling, and grouting will be done on Wednesday. Then Saturday, it's the bathroom. I'm so excited!!!

Weekend Update!

Please see Dave's post about what went on at the house this weekend. Unfortunately, it wasn't as much as we'd expected. BUT, we won't go there. Hopefully they'll be gettin' that floor in on Monday. (i'm not mad about it. dave's not mad about it. someone just bailed on the job, and people aren't happy with him).

Anyway, my weekend was a fun one. It was AWOL weekend w/the women in Dave's family. They've been doing this for YEARS, and it was my first one. 10 of us away for the weekend. We rented a house on Lake Geneva. Friday I went with Beth and Jackie. We shopped on the way down...and I thought I was a big shopper. Not even close. So, we got to dinner a bit late, but we still got the "early bird" special. Fish fry for $8. And it was so good. Everyone had fish, so when the words "$22 each" came out of someone's mouth, I almost shit. Um, not a chance. This person had 2 glasses of wine at $7.50 a piece. I had water. I'm sorry, I'm not paying for her wine. So, I put a more favorable amount in the pot and was done with it. We went back to the house and proceeded to open the wine. All I can tell you is that I haven't drank that much wine in a long time. It was fun though...they were giving me a bunch of grief. I was the "newbie" and the "virgin". And then I became "Boom Boom". No one actually knows how that came up. But it did, and it stuck. Saturday morning came way too fast. But I was up and showered by 9am. They were surprised at me. What they told me is this: "You're the newbie. You're supposed to take the last shower so that if the hot water runs out, you get cold!" Wanna know who said that? Dave's 74 year old aunt. She's a HOOT. It was a lot of fun. Then I went with some of the girls shopping. We hit an antique store, and I picked out the decor for my newly painted kitchen. I'm going to decorate with antique kitchen utensils. Hopefully it'll look really good when it's done. I got some neat stuff, and I'll share as soon as I get it together. We also found a place called Scrapbook Manor. Its a small scrapbook store, but also a B&B. You can rent it out for the weekend. You get all your meals, and a room to do all your scrapbooking. What a fun girls weekend idea. We did a bunch more shopping, a lot of eating, and then watched "In Her Shoes" and "Walk the Line". In Her Shoes was good. A cute movie. I like Cameron Diaz, so that helps. I fell in love with "Walk The Line" Instantly though. Maybe having been in country radio for the last 7+ years and knowing a bit about Johnny Cash and his music helped. But I really liked it. That ended around 2am, and I was ready for bed. Sunday morning we had to get up and head out. We stopped for breakfast first, then hit the road. It was a really good weekend, but I can't wait to have progress pictures to show! Soon! (We're going to be stranded in our basement the next couple of days because we won't be able to walk on the tile once it goes down...that should be interesting! Thankfully there's a 1/2 bath, and we can get to the health club to take a shower!)

A Break In The Action

I'm about to be away from the house for the weekend. The work will continue, but I will be relaxing. Drinking wine, shopping, and having a good time with the women in Dave's family. His sister said to him "Don't worry, I'll take care of her." I think that scared him more than anything! She's great though, as is his entire family. I'm really excited. And I'm VERY excited to come home to a finished (?) house on Sunday! Wish me luck! I will be without internet, so Dave can't even send me pictures of the process. I have to wait til I'm home!

Looking for something to watch at 4am on Thursday morning, I came across TV Land. I don't watch many shows on that station...I'm not into Gunsmoke or Bonanza. But there was an episode of Little House On The Prairie on....so, I watched it. I was very young when this show was on, and I can honestly say that while I know the basics, I never got into it. This particular episode, though, had my complete attention. It was a later episode. Laura and Almonzo are married and expecting a baby. Almonzo takes off with Pa to Arizona, and Laura is left to tend the new orchard during a drought. She didn't want to disappoint Almonzo, so while everyone was telling her to take it easy in the heat, she struggled on to water the orchard. Long story short, it made me realize just how EASY it is to survive today. Watering the orchard? That's what sprinkler systems are for. Not filling up 2 buckets, carrying them on a bar across your shoulders. A delivery to Arizona? Isn't going to take 2 months, that's for sure. And while things have changed since then, there will always be couples like Nels and Harriet Oleson!

It took me a LONG time (the show ended in '83), but I think I'm gonna watch it. Season 1 is in my Netflix queue!

Your assistance is requested

*put your contacts in BEFORE you start painting

I need help from you in the following areas:

1) PAINT. I HATE IT.

2) Remind me while I'm taping for paint, that we're going to be re-painting the cupboards and trim, so I need not worry so much about taping there.

3) REMIND ME WHY THE HELL I'M DOING THIS IN THE FIRST PLACE.

If you can help with any and/or all of the above, please let me know. I pay well. I'll at least buy you lunch.

This is coming together!

Ryan working on the last of the old tile...Rick supervising














there's nothing left!















Ryan mixin' away






























THAT'S a screwdriver!




















The progress today alone is just amazing!