Thursday, January 31, 2008
Day 6
Last night I got a good chunk of work done, and i still have the paint on my hands to prove it (although I've washed them until they are almost raw). Let's see... got home from work, immediately changed and moved some furniture and the dog crate so i could vacuum and wash the 3rd wall (which is beautiful fake wood panelling). Then i went to have dinner, watched Kwame Kilpatricks pathetic excuse of an address to Detroit (there's still smoke coming out my ears), and then my mom, Fiona and Owen arrived. Suzie gets so excited to see Owen and continuously jumps up trying to lick his face, not only does she love him, but she also appreciates that his face is lower to the ground :) and Maggie adores Fiona and throws herself into her arms every time she comes over. Suzie kept trying to sit on Owens lap to lick his face when he sat down for his haircut... its pretty funny :) but we put some treats in the bones so I could cut Owen's hair and move on. After the cut, Owen and Fiona helped me paint while Mama did some work on the computer. We got the wall under the stairs primed (Owen), the panel wall primed (Fiona and I), and then when they left I painted those walls green. Its getting closer!!
Wednesday, January 30, 2008
Day 5
The advantage of being on a show like trading spaces is that you go and do your project like crazy from dawn to dark for a weekend, then you're done. None of this real life interruption stuff like I seem to run into. Last night I went to Lowe's, bought the shelving stuff and spray paint for the cabinet hardware, loaded it into the truck in the pouring rain (awesome!), and raced home where Geno, Lucy and Donal were almost ready for dinner.
Those munchkins are so much fun! Lucy is awesome, quite a pill, and its so fun hearing her speak in full sentences, when only a few months ago she said almost no words at all. Its amazing how fast that transformation happens. So we had a silly dinner, then Geno's haircut. I didn't want to get his shirt all hairy, so I had Donal go get a t-shirt for him. Donal brings back one of his vintage camo tshirts, so as we put it on Geno, he checks the sleeves (yes, it fits like an alb) and says excitedly, "Maybe I should take this home and say Mass in it!!" We had to burst his bubble and tell him Uncle D needed it and that he has other albs at home (like the last shirt he borrowed). He took it rather well and we read Sam I am while cutting his hair. Bren and Hannah came to get them just as I started Donal's haircut. Okay, enough of the real life interruptions and on to the project...
I finished painting the cupboard doors, washed and spray painted the cupboard hardware, installed the 2x4's for the undercupboard shelves, painted some of the exposed under stair boards, washed walls under the stairs, and painted two of the purple stripes on the wall that's ready as sort of a test. We'll see how it really worked when i take off the tape tonight. Its progressing little by little, but there's still a lot to do. I think I may get some help on Saturday, which would be fun... but we shall see.
Those munchkins are so much fun! Lucy is awesome, quite a pill, and its so fun hearing her speak in full sentences, when only a few months ago she said almost no words at all. Its amazing how fast that transformation happens. So we had a silly dinner, then Geno's haircut. I didn't want to get his shirt all hairy, so I had Donal go get a t-shirt for him. Donal brings back one of his vintage camo tshirts, so as we put it on Geno, he checks the sleeves (yes, it fits like an alb) and says excitedly, "Maybe I should take this home and say Mass in it!!" We had to burst his bubble and tell him Uncle D needed it and that he has other albs at home (like the last shirt he borrowed). He took it rather well and we read Sam I am while cutting his hair. Bren and Hannah came to get them just as I started Donal's haircut. Okay, enough of the real life interruptions and on to the project...
I finished painting the cupboard doors, washed and spray painted the cupboard hardware, installed the 2x4's for the undercupboard shelves, painted some of the exposed under stair boards, washed walls under the stairs, and painted two of the purple stripes on the wall that's ready as sort of a test. We'll see how it really worked when i take off the tape tonight. Its progressing little by little, but there's still a lot to do. I think I may get some help on Saturday, which would be fun... but we shall see.
Tuesday, January 29, 2008
Day 4
Update: Last night I had dinner with some school friends, that went kind of late, but I still managed to get home and paint the cabinets, get the 2x4's off the garage rafters, and cut the supports for the undercabinet shelves. The supports still need to be primed, painted, and installed, but at least I cut them.
Tonight: Run to Lowes for shelving stuff, dinner and a haircut night with Geno and Lucy and Donal. Then finish painting the cabinet doors, spray paint the hardware, and hopefully install the under cabinet shelves.
Tonight: Run to Lowes for shelving stuff, dinner and a haircut night with Geno and Lucy and Donal. Then finish painting the cabinet doors, spray paint the hardware, and hopefully install the under cabinet shelves.
Monday, January 28, 2008
Day 3
So, here it is, Day 3 of the project and the schedule is already in flux. I can't just go pick up the shelving in my car because it won't fit, and since I have dinner plans for the night anyway, borrowing a truck won't work tonight. So instead:
Revision A to Tentative schedule for the project:
Monday evening: Paint cabinets, install and paint supports for under cabinet shelves, prime 3rd wall
Tues evening: borrow truck, Lowe's run for shelving supplies, build shelves under the stairs, install wire shelving under cabinets
Weds: paint 3rd wall (if i'm home), spray paint cabinet hardware
Thurs: begin taping off and painting stripes
Fri: hang out with friends
Sat am: move washer and dryer, wash and prime wall behind w/d, go get my cousin in Toledo and head to my Gram's 80th birthday party. after the party (meaning late at night) paint w/d wall
Sun am: continue painting stripes, particularly on w/d wall so i can move them back into working position, LT superbowl party
Some day the following week: Project clean up, move stuff back into laundry room organized on the new shelves
Saturday, January 26, 2008
more updates?
You know how when you watch Trading Spaces or Flip that House on TLC, they update you on every little detail, just so they can fill the hour show? well, I told you I'm pretending this is one of those shows... thus all these totally boring updates. If you're tired of the painting project, read no further... if you're bored and dying to know what color I chose for beneath the cabinets, read on...
Its the end of the first day of the project (midnight in fact), Reenie is tired tired tired but pleased with how the project is progressing. The back wall is primed and painted the back wall- its now green and awaiting colorful stripes. She did have a bit of a mishap with the paint colors though... Since she'd bought all the paints on clearance, she didn't entirely have control of the colors. When she opened the green, looked like a pale celery kind of green, it was kind of a yucky color (thus the original owners returned it to Lowes). Instead of a happy pale green, it was kind of a greenish tone to a beige... not what she had in mind. Undaunted she surveyed the other paint cans... forest green, left by the previous homeowners, maybe if she mixed a little of that it would help the color out. Well, the date on the paint can said 1996 (yes that is 12 years ago), and it took 15 minutes to pry the lid off. The paint itself looked fine, once stirred, but adding some to the celery green didn't help, and it was then she noticed the rusty paint can was flaking into the paint... lovely... she's going to dispose of that ancient forest green and not use it further. Anyway, then I added some of the lovely medium blue (purchased from Aco for 1.50 yesterday). It brightened up the celery to a nice happy shade of green and she began painting.
After much pondering (about 1.5 minutes), Reenie decided on the pale pink for beneath the cabinets, behind the future wire shelves. It looks quite nice, although she was a little surprised that she, a professed pink hater for many many years, had just painted an entire wall pink. That just shows how far she's come :) I think it will look quite nice and already the room is so much brighter and happier with the green, pink, and white primed cabinets. And as always, clean up is kind of a mess, as I headed upstairs to freeze the rollers, I definitely managed to give Suzie a green snout... but hey, at least its a happy green :D
Next up? Well, Sunday is a birthday brunch, Life Teen, and maybe a pre-LT meeting, so our fearless home decorator won't get much done (okay, won't get anything done).
Tentative schedule for the project:
Monday evening: purchase and install the wire closet shelves
Tues evening: build shelves under the stairs
Weds: Paint cabinets (2 coats) and add support to cabinet shelf, spray paint cabinet hardware
Thurs: put hardware back on cabinet doors, put cabinet doors back on
Fri: hang out with friends
Sat am: wash and prime large paneled wall, go get my cousin in Toledo and head to my Gram's 80th birthday party.
Sun: Move washer and dryer, clean, prime, paint wall behind washer and dryer, paint paneled wall, begin striping.
Some day the following week: Finish striping, project clean up, move stuff back into laundry room organized on the new shelves :D Yay!
Now its really like a TV show... and I'm positive, just like on TV, you'll hear the narrator say at some point "Reenie is falling behind schedule, although she'd planned to be done by now, she still has a lot of work to do..." Stay tuned...
Its the end of the first day of the project (midnight in fact), Reenie is tired tired tired but pleased with how the project is progressing. The back wall is primed and painted the back wall- its now green and awaiting colorful stripes. She did have a bit of a mishap with the paint colors though... Since she'd bought all the paints on clearance, she didn't entirely have control of the colors. When she opened the green, looked like a pale celery kind of green, it was kind of a yucky color (thus the original owners returned it to Lowes). Instead of a happy pale green, it was kind of a greenish tone to a beige... not what she had in mind. Undaunted she surveyed the other paint cans... forest green, left by the previous homeowners, maybe if she mixed a little of that it would help the color out. Well, the date on the paint can said 1996 (yes that is 12 years ago), and it took 15 minutes to pry the lid off. The paint itself looked fine, once stirred, but adding some to the celery green didn't help, and it was then she noticed the rusty paint can was flaking into the paint... lovely... she's going to dispose of that ancient forest green and not use it further. Anyway, then I added some of the lovely medium blue (purchased from Aco for 1.50 yesterday). It brightened up the celery to a nice happy shade of green and she began painting.
After much pondering (about 1.5 minutes), Reenie decided on the pale pink for beneath the cabinets, behind the future wire shelves. It looks quite nice, although she was a little surprised that she, a professed pink hater for many many years, had just painted an entire wall pink. That just shows how far she's come :) I think it will look quite nice and already the room is so much brighter and happier with the green, pink, and white primed cabinets. And as always, clean up is kind of a mess, as I headed upstairs to freeze the rollers, I definitely managed to give Suzie a green snout... but hey, at least its a happy green :D
Next up? Well, Sunday is a birthday brunch, Life Teen, and maybe a pre-LT meeting, so our fearless home decorator won't get much done (okay, won't get anything done).
Tentative schedule for the project:
Monday evening: purchase and install the wire closet shelves
Tues evening: build shelves under the stairs
Weds: Paint cabinets (2 coats) and add support to cabinet shelf, spray paint cabinet hardware
Thurs: put hardware back on cabinet doors, put cabinet doors back on
Fri: hang out with friends
Sat am: wash and prime large paneled wall, go get my cousin in Toledo and head to my Gram's 80th birthday party.
Sun: Move washer and dryer, clean, prime, paint wall behind washer and dryer, paint paneled wall, begin striping.
Some day the following week: Finish striping, project clean up, move stuff back into laundry room organized on the new shelves :D Yay!
Now its really like a TV show... and I'm positive, just like on TV, you'll hear the narrator say at some point "Reenie is falling behind schedule, although she'd planned to be done by now, she still has a lot of work to do..." Stay tuned...
Saturday night
5.00 PM Update
John Denver, Barry White, Guster, and I have been singing it up in the basement... note: I do not like spiders and I just had to kill a big gross one... at the risk of admitting to being a wussy girl, encounters with large spiders make a shiver run up my spine. and the next two big fluffy dust bunny's that fell during the wall cleaning made me jump (but don't tell anyone I admitted that). After vacuuming part of the laundry room- it stopped sucking... grrr... out of vacuum bag apparently.
Successes: most of the stuff is moved out of there, except Kara's table and chairs, the laundry soap shelf, dog crate, ironing board, water softener. Furnace filter has been changed, 2 loads of laundry done, part of the water softener disconnected. several bags of garbage, some old cushions and carpet squares ready for the trash. one wall has been washed in preparation for painting. under the stairs has been measured for shelves.
Failures: Vacuum bag situation, its butt cold down there, seriously grossed out by big spider, haven't figured out how to disconnect the rest of the water softener, old water softener (from previous owner) is too heavy for me to drag out to the garage, did i mention big spiders gross me out big time? oh yeah, and as of breakfast, we are totally out of dog food.
The Plan, revised: Head out to the wilds of saline unshowered as I am in search of vacuum bags and dog food. And when I get back, maybe I will break the job into sections for priming and painting. If i finish one more wall, I could prime and paint 2 walls, leaving the rest of the room (including washer and dryer in place and usable).
8.00 pm Update
My run into Saline yielded dog food, vacuum bags, and a few other painting supplies. I definitely slid through a red light on the slippery roads... nice job... luckily it was at the Wendy's light, where the one car waiting watched me slide through and then made his turn. Nothing like a little adrenaline though.
Finished vacuuming the walls for painting, finished washing them, primed the two prepped walls. and now I'm starving so I'm taking a dinner break while the primer dries, then the coat of light green will go on. So, along one wall that has upper cupboards (old ugly ones that will be painted) I'm going to put wire shelves below the cupboards to the floor. The question is, what color do i want the wall behind the shelves to be?? The green is rather light and won't be very interesting. I'm thinking the cupboards will be purple... hmmm... maybe the pale pink? maybe blue? my inner creative genius is struggling with this one... or maybe that I'm not a creative genius at all, just a girl who needs some sunshine and finds organizing and painting projects all consuming and a good creative outlet in the midst of a crazy life. Well, I'm off to eat something. Stay tuned for color decisions...
John Denver, Barry White, Guster, and I have been singing it up in the basement... note: I do not like spiders and I just had to kill a big gross one... at the risk of admitting to being a wussy girl, encounters with large spiders make a shiver run up my spine. and the next two big fluffy dust bunny's that fell during the wall cleaning made me jump (but don't tell anyone I admitted that). After vacuuming part of the laundry room- it stopped sucking... grrr... out of vacuum bag apparently.
Successes: most of the stuff is moved out of there, except Kara's table and chairs, the laundry soap shelf, dog crate, ironing board, water softener. Furnace filter has been changed, 2 loads of laundry done, part of the water softener disconnected. several bags of garbage, some old cushions and carpet squares ready for the trash. one wall has been washed in preparation for painting. under the stairs has been measured for shelves.
Failures: Vacuum bag situation, its butt cold down there, seriously grossed out by big spider, haven't figured out how to disconnect the rest of the water softener, old water softener (from previous owner) is too heavy for me to drag out to the garage, did i mention big spiders gross me out big time? oh yeah, and as of breakfast, we are totally out of dog food.
The Plan, revised: Head out to the wilds of saline unshowered as I am in search of vacuum bags and dog food. And when I get back, maybe I will break the job into sections for priming and painting. If i finish one more wall, I could prime and paint 2 walls, leaving the rest of the room (including washer and dryer in place and usable).
8.00 pm Update
My run into Saline yielded dog food, vacuum bags, and a few other painting supplies. I definitely slid through a red light on the slippery roads... nice job... luckily it was at the Wendy's light, where the one car waiting watched me slide through and then made his turn. Nothing like a little adrenaline though.
Finished vacuuming the walls for painting, finished washing them, primed the two prepped walls. and now I'm starving so I'm taking a dinner break while the primer dries, then the coat of light green will go on. So, along one wall that has upper cupboards (old ugly ones that will be painted) I'm going to put wire shelves below the cupboards to the floor. The question is, what color do i want the wall behind the shelves to be?? The green is rather light and won't be very interesting. I'm thinking the cupboards will be purple... hmmm... maybe the pale pink? maybe blue? my inner creative genius is struggling with this one... or maybe that I'm not a creative genius at all, just a girl who needs some sunshine and finds organizing and painting projects all consuming and a good creative outlet in the midst of a crazy life. Well, I'm off to eat something. Stay tuned for color decisions...
Saturday morning
I love the weekend. I love sleeping in after being up too late. I love that the second my foot hits the ground (out of bed) I can hear the jingle of excited bitches waiting at the bottom of the stairs. I love that this morning Suze attempted a flying kiss (where she's so excited she jumps straight into the air and tries to lick your face). I love slowly waking up reading the paper, drinking coffee. I love that the geraniums are blooming. I love that the seed catalogs are pouring in lately, lots of room for garden dreams while the snow is falling outside.
The Latest Plan:
The laundry room is a rather dismal basement room at the Nichols homestead. Its time to redo it, repaint, reorganize, add some shelving, totally revamp it. Since its the laundry room (where virtually no one goes) I've decided to go cheap and exciting. I've been checking the clearance paint shelves for the last couple months, and for $15 total I now have a gallon of light green, a gallon of dark purple, and quarts of pale pink and medium blue. Then last night I went digging into the old paint from the previous homeowner and found even more colors to add to the palette: hot pink, navy blue, forest green, creamy white. Now I'm thinking these might be too many colors for my feeble mind to handle. But for the time being, I'm thinking stripes, colorful stripes. And maybe ladybugs to accent the room. Thats what I'm thinking at this moment anyway. Feel free to leave me suggestions if you're inspired by that exciting palette :D
Today's task is to move everything from the laundry room into the storage room, organizing as i go. Then everything needs to be cleaned, the walls, the cobwebs from the rafters, everything. Thats probably as far as I'll get today. So maybe next weekend I'll commence the priming and painting. Stay tuned... I'm going to take some before and after pictures and pretend I'm on Trading Spaces or something like that. Okay, I really need to get to work, Happy Saturday friends.
The Latest Plan:
The laundry room is a rather dismal basement room at the Nichols homestead. Its time to redo it, repaint, reorganize, add some shelving, totally revamp it. Since its the laundry room (where virtually no one goes) I've decided to go cheap and exciting. I've been checking the clearance paint shelves for the last couple months, and for $15 total I now have a gallon of light green, a gallon of dark purple, and quarts of pale pink and medium blue. Then last night I went digging into the old paint from the previous homeowner and found even more colors to add to the palette: hot pink, navy blue, forest green, creamy white. Now I'm thinking these might be too many colors for my feeble mind to handle. But for the time being, I'm thinking stripes, colorful stripes. And maybe ladybugs to accent the room. Thats what I'm thinking at this moment anyway. Feel free to leave me suggestions if you're inspired by that exciting palette :D
Today's task is to move everything from the laundry room into the storage room, organizing as i go. Then everything needs to be cleaned, the walls, the cobwebs from the rafters, everything. Thats probably as far as I'll get today. So maybe next weekend I'll commence the priming and painting. Stay tuned... I'm going to take some before and after pictures and pretend I'm on Trading Spaces or something like that. Okay, I really need to get to work, Happy Saturday friends.
Thursday, January 24, 2008
Good morning friends, happy Thursday.
A momentary vent: It never ceases to amaze me the kinds of people we, the american people, vote into office. Mayor Kilpatrick of detroit is back in the limelight for lying under oath about an affair he was having. Not only did he get elected the first time, but then it was shown that he misused city funds, and then he was re-elected. What is wrong with this picture??? I hate politics and politicians in general. Why is the voting public so stupid sometimes? And why does it seem like all politicians are lying, cheating skunks? Grrr.
On a more cheery note, I love Fr Gordon at St Andrews. What a joyful and beautiful man, so in love with the One he serves!! I'd vote for him any day! I am sometimes just awed at the blessed life I lead. Many people struggle to find one good, orthodox, solid priest near them, and I have a dozen of them within a half hour of me! I am so blessed!! Thank you Jesus.
One more note, has anyone else noticed that it is COLD??? Good heavens, its like 8 degrees out right now, with a windchill of -1. Have I mentioned that I am ready for spring?
A momentary vent: It never ceases to amaze me the kinds of people we, the american people, vote into office. Mayor Kilpatrick of detroit is back in the limelight for lying under oath about an affair he was having. Not only did he get elected the first time, but then it was shown that he misused city funds, and then he was re-elected. What is wrong with this picture??? I hate politics and politicians in general. Why is the voting public so stupid sometimes? And why does it seem like all politicians are lying, cheating skunks? Grrr.
On a more cheery note, I love Fr Gordon at St Andrews. What a joyful and beautiful man, so in love with the One he serves!! I'd vote for him any day! I am sometimes just awed at the blessed life I lead. Many people struggle to find one good, orthodox, solid priest near them, and I have a dozen of them within a half hour of me! I am so blessed!! Thank you Jesus.
One more note, has anyone else noticed that it is COLD??? Good heavens, its like 8 degrees out right now, with a windchill of -1. Have I mentioned that I am ready for spring?
Sunday, January 20, 2008
Couch Shopping
My green couch has seen better days. Actually, it probably saw its best days looonnnggg before it came to live with me. Let's see, history of this couch... in summer 2001 Michele and I found it on the curb with a matching chair (both in a horrible aztec print). We picked them up, cleaned them, and recovered it in green checkered fabric and it moved from Michele and Tina's apartment to our Forest apartment where they they lived happily with Tina, Michele and I for the year. Then we moved them to the Hamlet house, where they saw many roommates, many friends, many teens, many cats, and a few goats. In November 2002, the chair went to the curb and the couch moved with me to the Nichols homestead. It seriously needed a new cover, so we recovered it sage green, and here it has seen many roommates, many friends, many teens, and a couple bitches. The time has come... its current cover is looking dingy, falling apart, and frankly I'm not recovering it again. I'm ready to let the poor thing actually retire. Anyway, so I got some money for Christmas and that strengthened my desire for a new couch (although new tile in the kitchen was a close second).
Anyway, Art Van was having a sale this weekend (the biggest sale ever, as usual). I spent an hour Friday night wandering around Art Van sitting on couches, and realizing I must have really short legs! I mean, I know I'm no tower of height, but I've never felt so short in my life (and I have some tall friends)... most of the couches didn't let me touch the floor! Sigh. The few couches in my price range were okay, nothing I was totally excited about. Besides feeling short, its a little strange to realize I've bought cars, a house, appliances, and yet, I've never bought furniture! (Thank God for grandparents and couches on the curb). Anyway, the salesperson was sort of helpful, but the only couches I really liked were way out of my price range and the ones in my range were fine... ugh. decisions! Oh and I like that the salesman told me that couches like this last over 10 years, you will easily get tired of them and get a new one to redecorate before they wear out. Try me, I thought to myself. I've had a free couch off the curb for 10 years now and a pink couch from my grandparents for over 5. Sigh. Exit Art Van agonizing over the decision.
Saturday afternoon I headed for Ikea. I've definitely lusted over their couches in the past and they recently added the one I like in black, very nice. After my mediocre experience at Art Van, I was debating getting the well made Art Van model, probably better than Ikea couches, for the same price... hmmm... I just don't know. So Ikea was insane, apparently a cold Saturday afternoon is a bad time to be in Ikea as everyone is there with their antsy kids. And apparently Ikea is just the place to let them run screaming all over the place, push each other in carts, run into patrons, etc. at least you're busy scoping out cheap fixtures and don't have to deal with them (note the sarcasm in my tone). So Ikea was nuts, but there it was, the black ektop sofa I've been pondering... I sat down, its the right balance of comfortable and firm, and guess what... it fits perfectly! My feet hit the floor while my back rests on the back of the couch. Very comfortable. I like the color, the cover is removable and washable, its exactly the right price, yeah... Decision made... its Ikea all the way. Now I just need to borrow a truck to go buy it and bring it home.
Saturday afternoon I headed for Ikea. I've definitely lusted over their couches in the past and they recently added the one I like in black, very nice. After my mediocre experience at Art Van, I was debating getting the well made Art Van model, probably better than Ikea couches, for the same price... hmmm... I just don't know. So Ikea was insane, apparently a cold Saturday afternoon is a bad time to be in Ikea as everyone is there with their antsy kids. And apparently Ikea is just the place to let them run screaming all over the place, push each other in carts, run into patrons, etc. at least you're busy scoping out cheap fixtures and don't have to deal with them (note the sarcasm in my tone). So Ikea was nuts, but there it was, the black ektop sofa I've been pondering... I sat down, its the right balance of comfortable and firm, and guess what... it fits perfectly! My feet hit the floor while my back rests on the back of the couch. Very comfortable. I like the color, the cover is removable and washable, its exactly the right price, yeah... Decision made... its Ikea all the way. Now I just need to borrow a truck to go buy it and bring it home.
Friday, January 18, 2008
In the Oven
On a more positive note, the 2008 baby count is on. I'm excited for the arrival of:
Baby Archibald due in February
Baby Cousino (my brother Liam and his wife Katie's second) due in March (my 7th niece/nephew)
Baby Lawson #2 due in April (I think)
Panning McNugget due in July
Love Child #3 due in September
and more to come I'm sure... people making seems to be quite a popular hobby among my friends and family.
Baby Archibald due in February
Baby Cousino (my brother Liam and his wife Katie's second) due in March (my 7th niece/nephew)
Baby Lawson #2 due in April (I think)
Panning McNugget due in July
Love Child #3 due in September
and more to come I'm sure... people making seems to be quite a popular hobby among my friends and family.
January
In my head, January means things will slow down, you finish the craze of Christmas and 8,000 events surrounding it, and then it will slow down and you can catch up... catch your breath, see friends you haven't seen because its been too crazy, finish a few projects, spend an evening doing nothing at all, catch up on filing, go through your financials so you can do your taxes early, etc.
In reality, January is almost as crazy as December, only you start out already exhausted. The past two weeks continue to be a flurry of activity... dinner/wedding dress viewing with my future sister in law, hosted family for birthday party, epiphany celebration (official end of christmas), took down the tree and most of the christmas decor, lots of Life Teen stuff- life nights, Masses, retreat planning, and more; dinner with Collin & Beth, dinner at Brad's with a bunch of peeps, dinner at my house and an evening of wedding planning with bro, sis in law to be, and maid of honor / sis in law in law to be; girls night with my sisters (combined with ironing linens for church); more Life Teen ... and don't get me wrong, its not like any of it is bad stuff, lots of it has been great, but i am tired and really need to regain some balance. The coming few weeks don't offer any promise of a slow down.
And yes, BALANCE continues to be one of life's greatest challenges for me.
In reality, January is almost as crazy as December, only you start out already exhausted. The past two weeks continue to be a flurry of activity... dinner/wedding dress viewing with my future sister in law, hosted family for birthday party, epiphany celebration (official end of christmas), took down the tree and most of the christmas decor, lots of Life Teen stuff- life nights, Masses, retreat planning, and more; dinner with Collin & Beth, dinner at Brad's with a bunch of peeps, dinner at my house and an evening of wedding planning with bro, sis in law to be, and maid of honor / sis in law in law to be; girls night with my sisters (combined with ironing linens for church); more Life Teen ... and don't get me wrong, its not like any of it is bad stuff, lots of it has been great, but i am tired and really need to regain some balance. The coming few weeks don't offer any promise of a slow down.
And yes, BALANCE continues to be one of life's greatest challenges for me.
Thursday, January 10, 2008
50 acres and a poodle
I seriously love the book 50 Acres and a Poodle by Jeanne Marie Laskas, it might be one of my favorite fun books. I found it this summer and sped through it on vacation, laughing out loud on numerous occasions, and even shedding a tear or two when... nevermind, i can't tell you who dies. About a week ago I got it back from a friend who was borrowing it and needed to re-read it. Its a great pick up, especially with the past 2 weeks being soooo gloomy and sunless here in Michigan. Anyway, sunny or not, you should read it, its a fun book... as are the sequels Fifty Acres and a Family, and Growing Daughters... although I think the first one is the best of the three.
One of the reasons I love the book is that Laskas weaves the deeper issues of life into her fun, upbeat story. One of my favorite parts (and I do have a lot of favorite parts) is at the beginning of the book where she is conversing with her cat Bob. She then goes on to explain she isn't a crazy cat person who talks to her cat and believes he responds, she never says anything out loud. She and Bob are a unit, they belong together, they've been through a lot together and are a comfortable unit.
That is exactly how I feel about the bitches (and now I have a nice descriptive word for it - we are a "unit"). I don't consider them my children, or even my "family", they are my dogs... and yet, they do play a very important part in my life. Maggie and Suzie are a good reminder, excuse for me to take care of myself. They let me know when they haven't seen enough of me, which generally means I haven't seen enough of me and need some down time at home anyway!! They are just my pets, and yet, sometimes they are the visible love of God for me... a listening ear (or four) when I need to vent, a head on my lap when I'm stressing out, a reminder of the value of a nice walk, a shadow never letting me out of her sight when I'm lonely, an exchanged knowing look from Maggie when crazy people are pushing me over the edge (somehow she can always tell)... yeah, they're definitely an important part of my day to day life... We are a unit. Its a Reenie-and-the-bitches sort of unit :) In fact, you could almost lump my home into that same unit. Not that I couldn't be complete without my house per se... I've lived several places, and each is home in a different way. "Home" is my safe place, my down time place, my haven... and the BOC are part of that... maybe its a Reenie-and-the-Bitches-and-the-Nichols-Homestead sort of unit, I don't know... that might be too deep for me to figure out right now :)
Anyway, back to my post... so, I love that book and if I had it here on my lap I'd be tempted to type up whole sections that i love... the ladybug episode... her realization of her inner princess... the mums for the wedding... read it and let me know how you like it :)
Wednesday, January 09, 2008
Its a New Year
The new year is over a week old and yet, i haven't even sat down to list my "resolutions"... I've been pondering a lot of things, but sitting down to list them is almost too overwhelming right now... thus the procrastination :)
Christmas is officially over now. We had a family celebration on Epiphany that sort of closes the season. It was a great time of celebration and I am greatly relieved that its done now. Not that life ever slows down to the extent that I hope it will, especially in January with a bunch of birthdays to celebrate, as well as just the regular life stuff. The tree needs to be at the curb on Thursday evening, so somewhere in the next day or two I need to take all the ornaments and lights off. Sad to see it go, and yet ready for some ordinary time.
For Owen and Suzie's birthday on Jan 5th, I hosted the family party. We went bowling (I got my butt kicked) and then came back to my house for dinner. Owen turned 12 and Suzie turned 3, exciting birthdays for both (although Uncle D insists that Suzie has no idea what birthday means). A few funnies from the evening:
Lucy (age 2), petting Suzie who was chewing a bone on the floor next to her: "oh look, happy tail, happy tail" (I always say that when she's wagging her tail excitedly)
Reenie: Lu, do you have a happy tail?
Lucy: Yeth
Reenie: Where is your happy tail?
Lucy, in a very monotone voice (like "duh"), not pausing for a moment: Net to mine butt.
Geno had a mishap in the bathroom and his shirt ended up getting soaked. Naturally he didn't want to get in his PJs yet, nor did he want to wear one of my shirts, nor did he want his wet shirt. So I took him down to the laundry room to put the wet shirt in the dryer and we planned to wait for it. Plans changed when Geno realized how cold the basement is, so when I offered him a grey tshirt of mine, he took it willingly. As he is a bit smaller than me, the tshirt fit him like an alb... thrilled, he looked at the flowing sleeves, and watched his hands and how the sleeves fell as he folded his hands on his chest like a priest. "Reenie, I think I should take this home so I can say Mass in it" he told me seriously. Later he informed me that "grey is for Easter." He may not be quite up to speed on liturgical colors, but he sure does love the way those sleeves look when he spreads his hands, and folds his hands, and moves his hands... it was a rather entertaining evening.
I've recently discovered a new trick to keeping Suzie from licking the kids to her usual overwhelming degree. If she has a bone in her mouth, she can sniff them, stand next to them with her tail wagging excitedly, she can follow them around, but, unless she is willing to set down her precious bone (which is rare) the kids are free from her overly affectionate tongue. It works quite well all the way around. Suzie spent most of the evening out of the cage and playing nicely with the kids (aka chewing her bone while they snuggle with her, or walking around with her bone hiding when the kids got too loud). Anyway, Ellie is about eye to eye with the Suze and can be a bit intimidated by this large wagging creature. She likes the idea of being buddies with Suzie, but up close and personal (especially with no crate between them) it can be a little much. Well, Geno and Ben started feeding Suzie her dinner one piece at a time and Ellie wanted to get in on the action. Long after the boys had moved on to other activities, Ellie continued walking over to the dish, grabbing one morsel, walking to the living room and yelling "Dooogggg" and then chucking it at Suzie, delighted when Suzie would eat it. A few times Suzie would come too close for the food, and little Ellie, with a panicked expression would start backing up quickly. Then, after surviving the up close and personal encounter, she would give an excited yell and grin and head back for another bite of dog food. Apparently its kind of like being on a roller coaster for her, the thrill of the terror is exhilarating!!
Christmas is officially over now. We had a family celebration on Epiphany that sort of closes the season. It was a great time of celebration and I am greatly relieved that its done now. Not that life ever slows down to the extent that I hope it will, especially in January with a bunch of birthdays to celebrate, as well as just the regular life stuff. The tree needs to be at the curb on Thursday evening, so somewhere in the next day or two I need to take all the ornaments and lights off. Sad to see it go, and yet ready for some ordinary time.
For Owen and Suzie's birthday on Jan 5th, I hosted the family party. We went bowling (I got my butt kicked) and then came back to my house for dinner. Owen turned 12 and Suzie turned 3, exciting birthdays for both (although Uncle D insists that Suzie has no idea what birthday means). A few funnies from the evening:
Lucy (age 2), petting Suzie who was chewing a bone on the floor next to her: "oh look, happy tail, happy tail" (I always say that when she's wagging her tail excitedly)
Reenie: Lu, do you have a happy tail?
Lucy: Yeth
Reenie: Where is your happy tail?
Lucy, in a very monotone voice (like "duh"), not pausing for a moment: Net to mine butt.
Geno had a mishap in the bathroom and his shirt ended up getting soaked. Naturally he didn't want to get in his PJs yet, nor did he want to wear one of my shirts, nor did he want his wet shirt. So I took him down to the laundry room to put the wet shirt in the dryer and we planned to wait for it. Plans changed when Geno realized how cold the basement is, so when I offered him a grey tshirt of mine, he took it willingly. As he is a bit smaller than me, the tshirt fit him like an alb... thrilled, he looked at the flowing sleeves, and watched his hands and how the sleeves fell as he folded his hands on his chest like a priest. "Reenie, I think I should take this home so I can say Mass in it" he told me seriously. Later he informed me that "grey is for Easter." He may not be quite up to speed on liturgical colors, but he sure does love the way those sleeves look when he spreads his hands, and folds his hands, and moves his hands... it was a rather entertaining evening.
I've recently discovered a new trick to keeping Suzie from licking the kids to her usual overwhelming degree. If she has a bone in her mouth, she can sniff them, stand next to them with her tail wagging excitedly, she can follow them around, but, unless she is willing to set down her precious bone (which is rare) the kids are free from her overly affectionate tongue. It works quite well all the way around. Suzie spent most of the evening out of the cage and playing nicely with the kids (aka chewing her bone while they snuggle with her, or walking around with her bone hiding when the kids got too loud). Anyway, Ellie is about eye to eye with the Suze and can be a bit intimidated by this large wagging creature. She likes the idea of being buddies with Suzie, but up close and personal (especially with no crate between them) it can be a little much. Well, Geno and Ben started feeding Suzie her dinner one piece at a time and Ellie wanted to get in on the action. Long after the boys had moved on to other activities, Ellie continued walking over to the dish, grabbing one morsel, walking to the living room and yelling "Dooogggg" and then chucking it at Suzie, delighted when Suzie would eat it. A few times Suzie would come too close for the food, and little Ellie, with a panicked expression would start backing up quickly. Then, after surviving the up close and personal encounter, she would give an excited yell and grin and head back for another bite of dog food. Apparently its kind of like being on a roller coaster for her, the thrill of the terror is exhilarating!!
Tuesday, January 08, 2008
"Break"
Christmas "break"... the week between Christmas and New Years we close the office, I think that is all i mean by break, since most of it passed in a flurry of late nights, lots of events, general celebrating and insanity all around. And now I'm tired. Let's see... a few highlights from that time...
Dec 28 was an exciting day for many reasons... I slept in late (it was incredible). Then got the phone call to announce the arrival of Eleanor Rose to a good friend of mine. And I got to go visit at the hospital, which was fun. I really think newborn babies are one of the most incredible things... its such a miracle, all of it! This little person has been forming and growing over the past nine months, and all the sudden (usually with much pain and blood) they're here, they are out, the mystery is revealed... or at least part of the mystery... the rest will unfold a little at a time for the rest of her life... wow... May God bless little Ella and her family as they uncover the mystery of her sweet little person. The next excitement was finding out some good friends of mine are expecting a new baby!! Yay! I've been waiting for them to make such an announcement, and I am excited to meet this new person in about 7 months :) and then the day ended with a movie night with my two beautiful sisters. I really love those ladies, and am so blessed to have them in my life and the privilege of having them not just as sisters, but some of my best friends.
One day (don't remember which) I worked, ran errands, worked some more... and then a crowd of college kids (and a few older ones) came over to hang it. It was nice and low key and fun to catch up with people. We also made room for performing some talent- Donal and Linds sang and played bass and guitar (respectively)- great job, Garrett sang and played- he is quite talented!, MaryBeth and Ani sang a beautiful armenian song, and Kara and I did a duet, playing one long note on the beer bottle and kahlua bottle (respectively). It is such a gift to be part of the lives of teens and young adults. It is cool to see them all growing and maturing through the challenges and experiences they are living. Its another phase of life where you see more and more that unfolding mystery... who they are as adults, what they want to do with their lives, how they make decisions now that shape that for a long time to come... anyway, they are great. God is good!
The Kennedy party happened, meaning my mom's extended family gathers at my parents place for another Christmas celebration. It was a smaller crowd this year, missing all the out of town family and a few of the in town family. Nonetheless, it was great to see and celebrate with the family. Its especially a gift to have my grandparents with us again this year. They are getting older and have some health challenges... its a hard reality to face that they might not be with us next year, and it makes the time we do have even more precious. I am so thankful for my grandparents who are such heroic and faithful examples of living the love of Christ day by day. I'm thankful for each day and each moment we have with them and I pray that we get a lot more of those moments in the days and years ahead.
New Year's Eve I went to Mass at CTK and then headed for the Loves for a small gathering. As it turns out, it was even smaller than anticipated since there was a winter weather warning with a lot of snow expected. Nonetheless, it was great to see Clare visiting from South America and Cora, Steve and Maria until around 10 pm. Also nice to catch up with Baby Archie's parents :), Kyle, and of course, the Loves. At around 1 am John looked out the window to realize that it had in fact been snowing (the weather advisory was from 7 pm - noon the next day) and last we'd looked around 10 pm, it hadn't snowed at all yet. Anyway, there was significant snow and it was coming down fast. Time to head home... and I did make it home eventually, although it took almost an hour to get home since there was so much snow. Thankfully, everyone else was taking it slow and I made it home in one piece. Happy New Year!
Dec 28 was an exciting day for many reasons... I slept in late (it was incredible). Then got the phone call to announce the arrival of Eleanor Rose to a good friend of mine. And I got to go visit at the hospital, which was fun. I really think newborn babies are one of the most incredible things... its such a miracle, all of it! This little person has been forming and growing over the past nine months, and all the sudden (usually with much pain and blood) they're here, they are out, the mystery is revealed... or at least part of the mystery... the rest will unfold a little at a time for the rest of her life... wow... May God bless little Ella and her family as they uncover the mystery of her sweet little person. The next excitement was finding out some good friends of mine are expecting a new baby!! Yay! I've been waiting for them to make such an announcement, and I am excited to meet this new person in about 7 months :) and then the day ended with a movie night with my two beautiful sisters. I really love those ladies, and am so blessed to have them in my life and the privilege of having them not just as sisters, but some of my best friends.
One day (don't remember which) I worked, ran errands, worked some more... and then a crowd of college kids (and a few older ones) came over to hang it. It was nice and low key and fun to catch up with people. We also made room for performing some talent- Donal and Linds sang and played bass and guitar (respectively)- great job, Garrett sang and played- he is quite talented!, MaryBeth and Ani sang a beautiful armenian song, and Kara and I did a duet, playing one long note on the beer bottle and kahlua bottle (respectively). It is such a gift to be part of the lives of teens and young adults. It is cool to see them all growing and maturing through the challenges and experiences they are living. Its another phase of life where you see more and more that unfolding mystery... who they are as adults, what they want to do with their lives, how they make decisions now that shape that for a long time to come... anyway, they are great. God is good!
The Kennedy party happened, meaning my mom's extended family gathers at my parents place for another Christmas celebration. It was a smaller crowd this year, missing all the out of town family and a few of the in town family. Nonetheless, it was great to see and celebrate with the family. Its especially a gift to have my grandparents with us again this year. They are getting older and have some health challenges... its a hard reality to face that they might not be with us next year, and it makes the time we do have even more precious. I am so thankful for my grandparents who are such heroic and faithful examples of living the love of Christ day by day. I'm thankful for each day and each moment we have with them and I pray that we get a lot more of those moments in the days and years ahead.
New Year's Eve I went to Mass at CTK and then headed for the Loves for a small gathering. As it turns out, it was even smaller than anticipated since there was a winter weather warning with a lot of snow expected. Nonetheless, it was great to see Clare visiting from South America and Cora, Steve and Maria until around 10 pm. Also nice to catch up with Baby Archie's parents :), Kyle, and of course, the Loves. At around 1 am John looked out the window to realize that it had in fact been snowing (the weather advisory was from 7 pm - noon the next day) and last we'd looked around 10 pm, it hadn't snowed at all yet. Anyway, there was significant snow and it was coming down fast. Time to head home... and I did make it home eventually, although it took almost an hour to get home since there was so much snow. Thankfully, everyone else was taking it slow and I made it home in one piece. Happy New Year!
Wednesday, January 02, 2008
Christmas - part 2
Christmas Eve, we gathered as the immediate Cousino clan (which gets less and less immediate). I think we are at 25 now for those immediate family things. Anyway, we started out with a family picture, thanks to yours truly, the family photo nazi. This year Lindsey got to be in the pic for the first time (once you're engaged you're eligible for participation in said photo as decreed by said photo nazi). So... the last few years, Lindsey took the pic, so this year we were back to my tripod and camera... we set up a big mirror so the little kids could smile at themselves (since there was no one behind the camera to watch). I would push the timer button, run, climb up on piano bench, and try to look relaxed before the beeping quicked and the camera flashed. It was a workout :) Anyway, I'm quite pleased with the result... see for yourselves.
After the photo, we had an appetizers dinner, and opened gifts between all the siblings. Thankfully, we draw names between siblings and inlaws. Owen got me a great new pair of LLBean slippers, just what I wanted, and a dark chocolate bar... very nice. Kathleen liked her gift from me of knee high boots. The nieces and nephews generally liked their homemade gifts, which i was able to finish at the last moment :) Mostly it was fun to spend time together, amid the craziness, and celebrate the birth of our Lord. After the gifting, several of us rushed off for 8 pm Mass at CTK, which was absolutely beautiful. I love Christmas Mass!! 
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