Sunday, October 30, 2005

 

Since I've been promising house project pics, I thought I'd better follow through sooner or later so you don't think I'm a big liar... Here's just four pictures to give you some idea of what's been going on here at my house. (And I'm going to post a photo of our visit to the Dow Gardens from yesterday on my photo blog as soon as I'm done here so go check that out too if you want.) My mom and I had a real nice visit and it was a beautiful day for a walk! =)











(Not sure what those little white dots are in these photos, but if you click on them, they disappear...) Also, we have a new garage out in the back yard; I just didn't post any pics of it yet. I sure hope my kid is in her new bedroom by Thanksgiving! Keep your fingers crossed please! =)

feeling...

Thursday, October 27, 2005

 

I was just over to Shirl's and she invited anyone who was interested, to participate in this... so I decided I would give it a try! =)

The challenge is... Five things you may not know about me:

1. When I was very young, my sister and I used to think we were adopted.
2. I bought my first ten-speed bicycle with money I made from picking raspberries. I was about 14 (I'm guessing.)
3. I took Accounting in college and it took me 2 semesters to get through a 1 semester class. (Now I'm a bookkeeper.)
4. I love coffee, but I make it at least twice as weak as the average person.
5. I'm not a morning person really, but even on my days off I like to get up really early so I don't 'waste my day away.'

SO, if you would like to play along, please leave me a comment. (I guess we're supposed to tag 5 people, but that's always a challenge in itself!) =) Thanks!

feeling...

Wednesday, October 26, 2005

 

Good Wednesday morning to you! The husband just called and said our guys are working today!! Yay!

Just wanted to share this with you... found it at Susan's:

My blog is worth $63,793.02.
How much is your blog worth?

feeling...

Tuesday, October 25, 2005

 

Rain, rain, go away! Our construction workers can't work in the rain... I wonder if they'll come today if it stops raining by noon. No work has been done since last Friday morning. I really wanted to have my daughter in her new bedroom by Thanksgiving, and maybe it'll still happen. I'll keep a positive attitude; promise! =)

Guess what?? My stepson and fiancee were in town this past weekend and they came over Sunday to visit. They're getting married next October and they asked my daughter to be a bridesmaid! She was so excited! I'm sure I'll hear through the grapevine what my stepdaughter (stepson's oldest sister, who, by the way, is NOT in the wedding) thinks of all of this; oh well! Do I care??? =)

Well, if you played Monday Madness this week and were unable to leave a comment because the system was down temporarily, please do so now; it's working. And if you haven't played and want to, just click on the link above. Thanks!

More good news: My mom has heat! The furnace guys were out there for the whole day yesterday and she's nice and cozy warm now!

It's time to start working, so I'll be going now. Tomorrow my former boss is coming to town and we're having lunch with her. I'm looking forward to it; so I'd better get all the work done that I can, today so I won't be too backed up tomorrow afternoon. Take care!

feeling...

Friday, October 21, 2005

 

There is a severe problem with violence in school today... For anyone who graduated from high school 20 years ago or longer, could you even imagine at that time, that one day the schools would have metal detectors at the doors??? There was a shooting at one of our local public high schools again yesterday and since, the students have been asked to arrive early from here on, because there will only be one door they'll be allowed to enter and everyone will be walking through a metal detector. Parents were shown on the news last night disgusted that, obviously, if a student were able to enter the school with a gun, the metal detectors were not being used... Maybe instead of building more prisons, we ought to be thinking about NOT cutting education when funds are low. It seems it's the first thing that gets cut from budgets; do they realize that education is the key to cutting down crime; to lowering the number of people on state aid; to lowering the unemployment rate, and more??? These people obviously are lacking in some area of education if this kind of thing keeps happening. Our young people need to be TAUGHT right from wrong; they don't just automatically KNOW it. I'm disgusted....

On a much brighter note: Our lumber was delivered yesterday around noon and the workers showed up almost immediately afterward. And as I type this, I hear trucks outside right now. Maybe they want to finish this job so they can get on with their next one. (My lights and computer monitor are blinking so I'd better get off here before I lose this whole post.)

This weekend I want to take a drive so I can get some pictures of the fall colors (before it's too late). We'll see...

Take care and have an absolutely wonderful weekend!! =)

feeling...

Tuesday, October 18, 2005

 

I think I need to spend more time on my computer and less time working... There's so much I want to do (that's fun) but there's so much I need to do (that's not so fun) and I'm feeling a bit deprived from my fun time. I'm really trying to keep a positive attitude about all this construction business we're going through but some days it's a challenge. Every time we turn around, there's little things that cost more than what we had anticipated; no one lifts a finger anymore without the sight of dollar bills dangling in front of them. I know; that's the real world, so I'd better get used to it.

I thought I'd see floors in our new addition today when I got home from work but there were no floors and no lumber sitting in our yard. I want to see FLOORS! I want to see WALLS! I pray the weather doesn't prevent these guys from working tomorrow. Oh yeah; first we need to pray that our lumber comes early in the day.

Also, I've been really negligent in visiting blogs; I don't know where to fit that in right now. Some days I just want to sit here for hours playing and drawing and I'm lucky to sit down for a few minutes to read my family's blogs and leave a comment or two. I've been wanting to change the look of my blog for weeks and I can't seem to come up with anything that won't take me days to create. I want to do a whole new layout because I enjoy it, but it ain't gonna happen real soon.

Have you ever felt down and not been able to pinpoint the reason why? That's kind of the way I'm feeling right now. I'm going to psyche (sp??) myself out of it though...

And here's a quote that I need to keep in mind, so I thought I'd share it with you too.

"Each one of us comes complete with a unique set of talents. Happiness lies in identifying those talents and putting them to good use throughout life."

feeling a bit...

Sunday, October 16, 2005

 

The weekend is over... and what a busy one! We put in two new windows to replace one in our existing living room and one in our existing kitchen, my daughter and I ran to the laundrymat to do our laundry (since our washer and dryer are currently not hooked up), I washed the ceiling and walls of our kitchen (in case we don't get to buy cupboards this year and I just re-paint it for the time being), I cleaned the kitchen really good and got rid of some more junk, oh yeah, and Friday we spent the whole day making and selling taco dinners at our church. We did some things in between too, like go to church, eat, etc....

We'll see what tomorrow brings! Have a good one! =)

feeling...

Thursday, October 13, 2005

 

Half of our house is gone! The demolition project was successful... By the time I got home from work yesterday afternoon, the guys already had the house torn down and were cleaning up the debris. The didn't leave until all the debris was gone. Today they will start on the new foundation. I'm so excited!! =) Our cement for the garage is being poured as I write this. There IS a light at the end of the tunnel!

That's all I wanted to say; I have lots to do here at work, and since one of my co-workers turns 76 today, we're going out to lunch, which makes for an even shorter work day. SO, have a great one, and look for house pics soon!

feeling...

Wednesday, October 12, 2005

 

Life is good. I'm very pleased with the amount of work we were able to get done at my Mom's these past few days. Also, thank you Jan for flying in to spend a week with Mom and for doing all that you did! Have a safe flight home and know how much we love you, seeester!! Thanks to all my sisters (and husbands), too!

When we got home last night around 8:00, there was a huge tractor-like thing sitting in our yard. It has a big scoop thing in the front. (Not sure what it's called.) Guess what that means? They're going to start tearing down half of our house this morning!! It was confirmed when we returned the contractor's phone call. I just hope the weather is on our side! I took more pictures of our house last night just in case I didn't have enough already. Those will be my 'before' pictures of course, and I'll continue to take pictures every day as the project progresses. I'm really excited because, as you may know, we've been trying to get this thing done since March.

I have to get to work now. Have a wonderful day! =)

feeling... for many reasons.

Monday, October 10, 2005

 

Since I haven't made too many graphics lately, I thought I'd make a new adoptable. You can find it here; then click on 'seasonal adoptions.'

 

I'm going to do something I haven't done in a long time; play my own meme, Monday Madness. (If you wanna play, just click on my link to the left.) Then I'll say a few things...

1. Name one productive thing you accomplished this past weekend. Helped out at my Mom's house cleaning the garage and burning lots of wood.
2. Name two things that you look forward to doing. Coming home from work after a long day ~ Spending time with family
3. Name three things that gross you out. Having to hear someone pass gas on a regular basis ~ Hearing someone barf ~ Old food that has grown mold
4. Name four things that you normally do on a daily basis. Shower ~ Check my email ~ Take the puppy out ~ Call my mom
5. Name five things that you own that you think you could get rid of and not miss. Some of my clothes ~ My walkman ~ Some of my jigsaw puzzles ~ Cable tv ~ Blender (That was not so easy!)

Let's see; what's going on around here? Well, this past weekend we spent most of Saturday shopping around for the best prices on windows and doors. After about 8 hours of shopping, we bought 6 windows and a front door. We have our patio door picked out; we just have to figure out how to get it home without paying the store $50 to deliver it! All in all, it was a very productive day. We got home from shopping and I took an hour-long nap, cooked supper, ate, and vegged out in front of the tv while I read a book. Sunday we went to church, came home and had a bit of lunch, then headed over to my mom's to help her and my sister do some work. We got a lot done and we really enjoyed ourselves. We'll be returning on Tuesday do finish up what we can.

The breezeway and garage section of our house should be gone soon; then they'll rebuild that part of the house and add a 10' x 26' area to it. It'll all be living area and when it's all done, it will more than double the size of our current living area! I'm really looking forward to seeing this project start (and even more, seeing it finished!) =)

Take care, have a blessed day, and go check out my meme if you have a few minutes to spare.

feeling...

Wednesday, October 05, 2005

 

16 years ago today, I gave birth to my only daughter... where does the time go??? On the way to school today, I sang Happy Birthday to her and told her I couldn't ask for a better daughter. She acted like she didn't want to hear it but I want her to know that I'm very proud of her and I think it's important that we tell our kids this; how would they know, otherwise?

I gave her the choice of opening her birthday gift this morning or waiting until tonight after I get home from work (and cleaning a house) and she said she didn't care. She's waiting until tonight. She DID try to throw a guilt trip on me though, about cleaning on her birthday. Well, life must go on and I must do what I must do. We're going to take her out to dinner tonight and even though I know she would NEVER want me to tell anyone at the restaurant that it's her birthday, I'm going to anyway. Some places just quietly bring over a cake; some make their employees gather around the table and sing... it ought to be interesting.

Update on the house project: We've got the breezeway and old garage emptied out, ready for them to start tearing it down. The dumpster is about 3/4 full and I think we only have a few more things to throw in it, so we'll probably have them pick it up after this coming weekend. The other crew is supposed to come today to scrape the ground for the garage floor and spread the sand. *praying that we have enough sand* Then, I guess they have to wait until the sand settles before pouring the concrete. The house project is expected to take 5 weeks, according to the contract we signed. Let's hope the weather is on our side and that these guys are good workers!

Ok, I must start my work day now; have a good one!

feeling...

Sunday, October 02, 2005

 

Our dumpster was delivered Friday; it doesn't look as big as I had imagined but when we looked inside after putting quite a lot of junk in it, I'm sure we'll have plenty of room. We're about half-way to getting our breezeway and old garage emptied out in preparation for them to tear down that part of the house. (I think that's happening by this Thursday. *keeping fingers crossed*)

Yesterday we got up early and took a drive to Northwood University for their annual car show; they feature all the newest models. I don't go so much for the viewing of the cars, but for the walk. Usually when this event comes around, the colors are already changing and I get some pretty good pictures of trees, but yesterday I didn't take even one picture. We were home by noon and got right to working. It was a short work day for us since my new boss was going to be installed by the bishop at 5:00 pm Mass. I decided it would probably be a good idea to go, so by 3:30 we were getting cleaned up to go to church. It was a nice Mass and I'm glad I went; I think my boss was happy to see me too. (In case you were wondering, I don't belong to the church I work for...I usually only go on very special occasions.)

This morning I'm skipping out of church and taking it easy (just for a couple of hours). Hopefully, we'll be finishing up the clearing out of the two rooms. Whatever we don't get done today, the husband has to do by himself, because it's back to work for me tomorrow...

Here's another little thought I want to share with you:

"A single burst of effort is not enough to succeed.
It's perseverance that moves us steadily toward our dreams."

I will be feeling... ...later.