Girl's Guide: Home Repair

When we moved in to our house, as I was reveling at the glory of a whole laundry room (as opposed to the laundry closet we used to have), I noticed that our washing machine had been rigged in some way. Usually, if you open a washing machine during the spin cycle, it will stop spinning. This is because it would be dangerous to reach in there , and people are dumb. I didn't think much of it at the time.

Then, I decided to wash a blanket. The machine stopped right before the spin cycle. I went down and saw my blanket sitting in a lot of water, and soapy. I tried just starting the machine over again, and the same thing happened. So I tried it again.

Because I'm brilliant.

I figured I had broken the machine because our addition was finished, and the bathroom was finished, and we were thinking about maybe, someday, having some spare cash to buy a couch, so it would make sense that now I would do something stupid and break the machine and cost us basically another grand.

Because being a home owner has taught me to be an optimist.

Thankfully, I was wrong. The rigging for the lid switch had broken. This is what had been making my washing machine work:
A lid switch basically functions like this: There is a little tab on the washer lid that fits into a hole on the machine. When you close the lid, the tab hits a lever, which closes the circuit to the wiring in the machine, that tells it that it is ok to spin.

Of course, I did not know that it was a lid switch problem, or what a lid switch was, until I did some searching on the internet. The internet told me that it would cost about $15 to replace the part and that I (yes! Me!) could fix it myself. Getting a guy out to replace the $15 part would cost about $100 plus parts plus labor. That's more plus than I'm looking for, so I found directions for taking the washing machine apart and got to work fixing it my damn self.

First, obviously, I had to get a new lid switch. Thankfully, Sears Service Centers are conveniently located near you (or my husband's office). They had one lid switch for our model washing machine. It's more like $25, but still ok with me. Of course, Mr kept forgetting to go pick it up, so it was a week later (and now a desperate laundry situation) that I finally went my damn self.

Naturally, being a week later, they do not have the part. But lo! A new Sears has opened a mere two minutes from my house (as opposed to the 30 it took to drive to the first one) and it seems they have it in stock. I drove over there, and, naturally, they do not have it in stock. A snotty saleswoman informs me that they just recently moved to that location, so their inventory is "all messed up." She offers to order it for me, but I won't get it for three years. I decline, and order it myself at home, because Sears will feel my wrath and lose my $25 sale.

However, now we need clothes. I can't even just buy new ones because I prefer to wash my clothes before I wear them. So I soldier on, determined to fix it temporarily until I get the part.

First step: pry off the side caps. They look like they're permanent, and it feels like you're breaking your washing machine, but you aren't. Just get a screw driver (preferably a flat head) and wedge it under one of the corners of the end caps and pop it off.

Take off both end caps and unscrew the screws that they were hiding. Then, you just have to flip that control panel part up. Only it isn't just an easy flip. The next picture is a bit fuzzy. It is also on its side. The left-hand side is actually the top. See the little white thingy poking out of the black metal part? That is basically a hinge. Once you pop the end caps off, you have to work the whole control panel up until the white thingies on both sides move up that groove and into the top part, where they will have room to move.

Then it will just flip up:
Pretty cool, right?

Ok, next, you pop out those gold doo-dads, which connect the cover to the back and base. Again, just use the screw driver to pry them out. This takes a little bit of muscle, but isn't as nerve-wracking because those gold doo-dads clearly work on tension, so you don't have to worry about breaking them. They tend to really pop out though, so make sure you don't lose them when they go flying.
(Look how gross it gets under the console. Who knew?) The next part is a little scary, but also fun. If you go up to the picture with the control panel flipped back, you'll see a bundle of wires leading to a clear-ish white tab heading into the cover. You have to disconnect them by taking the screw driver again and prying the tab on the big tab up.


Then, you walk the cover off of your washing machine. Once the cover is no longer secured to the back, washing machines are really, really flimsy. In reality, a washing machine is a big barrel with a thin metal box around it. Without some reinforcements, they wiggle a lot.

To replace the lid switch, you have to basically get inside the washing machine cover.

In the next picture, you can see the switch. It's the gray plastic thingy. See the little white plastic post? That is supposed to be pushing down a little lever, which broke off, which is when the previous owners used a zip tie to hold down the broken tab, which eventually broke off.
It is connected by the screw on the right-hand side, which is also grounding the wires. Everything else is in clips that you can just pull out. It's surprisingly simple. If your machine is broken, I highly recommend the site I linked to above - they have pretty good instructions. Plus, it never occurred to me to take a picture of the new switch. Oops. Anyway, since I didn't have a new switch when I did the first fix, this is how I solved the problem:

Electrical tape is good, because it is stretchy, so you can really get a tight fit. Sadly, this worked for only a short time, but long enough to get a few loads of laundry done and carry us through until the replacement switch arrived.

Check it out:

It's Almost Christmas!

This past weekend, Mr and I celebrated with our own little Christmas tradition. The Saturday before Christmas, we go to the matinee performance of The Joffrey's The Nutcracker and then have dinner at Morton's on Wacker. Mr claims he likes the music, but really he goes because I love ballet and Morton's is a pretty good reward for his patience.

I love the Nutcracker. I love the families with the little girls in pretty dresses, and the little boys in tiny ties and sport coats. Of course, I love the ballet itself, though the arabian coffee piece always puts me to sleep and their Mother Ginger puppet sort of freaks me out. I can't find a picture of it, but traditionally, Mother Ginger is played by a man on stilts. The little ponchinelles run out of her skirt, and it has sort of a clown-car effect. You can't tell how many kids are in there. It's fun. The Joffrey has a massive puppet with a person inside operating it. Her head turns and her hands move, but it is very weird. Plus, her skirt is super light and doesn't quite touch the stage, so you can see that there are more kids waiting to run out. It's really bizarre and a little disturbing.

All in all, I love it. This year was a tad disappointing, because at our performance Willy Shives was Herr Drosselmyer and Calvin Kitten was the Nephew/Nutcracker prince. Kitten was good, but he's a little on the short side and just not as handsome as Shives. Shives is the Assistant Ballet Master at the Joffrey, so he's basically their star. He's the one you see in their posters for The Nutcracker, and he's just amazing. When he's the Nutcracker Prince, it is a lot easier to get swept up in the magic of the play. Kitten, aside from having a goofy name that is either unfortunate or a poor choice of stage names, just doesn't have the presence that Shives does. Also, I think maybe he's not really used to partnering. It looked to me like the Sugar Plum Fairy was having to work a lot harder than she should have. Although, it is nice for her that he got the shot - most ballerinas are tall because they have to be proportionate to their partners. Men are few and far between in the dance world, so ballerinas get chosen from those who are the right height for the guy. Most short girls get stuck in the Corps.

Morton's, obviously, was fantastic. I don't know what they do to make that steak taste so freaking good, but ... there literally aren't words. Mr is also a fan of Gibsons, who are not shabby, but I just don't think anything can compare to Morton's. It is literally the most satisfying meal I have all year. I eat as slowly as possible when we're there, just to savor the steak as long as I can.

So, now that we've done our Christmas tradition, it is starting to feel real to me. The construction is wrapping up on our house - the floor got the final seal yesterday and the siding guys are out there now capping off our windows and doors. We didn't get to put up the tree, so I have a tiny silver tree from Urban Outfitters on the end table and our presents underneath. Our stockings are up, which I love. I even have a tiny one for Hank.

Up next: we have to find a dining room table. We're having a hard time, as it seems difficult to find anything less than $3,000, which we don't really have. Wickes, Harlem, Ashley, and every other place we looked were a bust. We're currently looking at a table from Crate & Barrel. The table itself isn't too expensive, but the chairs are, and you can't really get a wood-finish table and then find cheaper chairs at another store -there's no way the finishes will match. We have pretty traditional tastes, nothing modern, nothing ornate. Just a basic table. Any suggestions are much appreciated. This is the table we like from C&B.

It's all Coming Together

We've got a solid roof! The holes in our main roof have been patched on a more permanent basis, and we got new shingles. The gigantic hole in our small roof is now gone, on the outside, and replaced by a whole new roof. We had just shy of 3/4 of the siding replaced on the house. All that's left on the outside is new gutters and putting the lights back up on our back porch (and while we were at Lowes this weekend, we picked out new, prettier lights. Woo!).

Today, they should be putting up those gutters, and they are starting work on the inside of our house - tearing out the floor the drywall and the ceiling of the addition where the tree fell through. They will replace all of that, paint the addition, patch and paint the kitchen, patch and paint my office, replace three windows, replace the sliding glass door (which wasn't damaged in the storm, but has no lock and is rotting), and replace our other back door (which also wasn't damaged but doesn't have a deadbolt. It has like a weird bar-type thingy that works like a chain lock. We're replacing the door with one with a deadbolt [and no window, which is why the current door can't get a deadbolt] so that we can both lock our home securely AND get in from the back). While they're at it, they are also painting our living, foyer (about five square feet), the staircase and the upstairs hallway. So, shortly before Christmas our house should be back in one piece and better than ever. Sadly, this means our Christmas decorations are minimal.

It's going to get worse before it gets better, but I am very excited that it is all underway. We took everything off of our kitchen counters in anticipation of the dust, but I'm sure we didn't think of something. I hate living with construction, but I can finally see the light at the end of the tunnel, and I can't wait.

Like a Fool

I was going through my copy of “Preparing the Roman Catholic Liturgy: A Workbook for Engaged Couples,” looking for the appropriate readings for our wedding ceremony, and I found this:

Matthew 7:21, 24-29

Jesus said to his disciples: “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the Kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father in heaven.
“Everyone who listens to these words of mine and acts on them will be like a wise man who built his house on rock. The rain fell, the floods came, and the winds blew and buffeted the house. But it did not collapse; it had been set solidly on rock. And everyone who listens to these words of mine but does not act on them will be like a fool who built his house on sand. The rain fell, the floods came, and the winds blew and buffeted the house. And it collapsed and was completely ruined.”

I couldn’t help but feel a connection to the words “The rain fell, the floods came, and the winds blew and buffeted the house. And it collapsed and was completely ruined.” Our house is built neither on rock nor sand, but perhaps there’s a lesson here. I'm not sure what that lesson is. Sure, there’s a message about following the teachings of Jesus, but I think the choice of metaphor is interesting. For us, the metaphor is the reality. “The rain fell … the winds blew and buffeted .. the it collapsed and was [partially] ruined.” Fortunately, we have insurance, and someday they might even pay us something that will hopefully help fund the rebuilding efforts. We will rebuild, not on rock but also not on sand, and hopefully, that will be ok.

Tree Trauma

I'm still in the heat of studying. We got the BIG QUESTION, for which we have THREE HOURS to write an answer, yesterday. The test is a week from today. I think I'm developing TMJ. In the meantime, here's some pictures of destruction. At some point, I'll figure out how to post the video of the guys taking the tree off the house.

First picture: from the back door, looking towards the garage. What? You can't see anything? Just leaves? Yes, that's because everything in sight was overwhelmed by leaves and various other tree-parts that used to reside about fifty feet higher.

See? I wasn't exaggerating. Here's where the tree broke through the roof of the addition and one of the many, lovely, new water-spots we have popping up in all sorts of unexpected places.
Our porch in the lovely light of morning, filled with tree.
This is the view from behind the house. Note the now-squished looking corner of the top of the house. That's above my office. The tree must have hit there first, poking a few holes in the roof above the attic, which resulted in some water in my office. The little couch was slightly damp, but not too bad, so I'm keeping it. Thankfully, I had only recently moved my wedding dress to the other closet, which stayed totally dry. Also dry: the vintage guitar I inherited from my dad.
This is the view from my office window. Luckily, it is double-paned (pained?) glass, and only the outside pane was broken. So, it looks neat, but it is still water-proof. Unlike the roof.
This is the tree service cherry-picker attempting to get up the front lawn. Because the ground was so wet and slick, and the front lawn has a slight up-slope, he couldn't get close enough to the house. He did manage to rip up the lawn, though. I like that the back of the truck says "Dangerous work done safe" but the "safe" is obscured by the ladder, so it's just "done."
They attached this claw to the bobcat to stabilize the tree while they sawed off pieces of it. Later, they used it to take off the big chunk. Hank is supervising because that's what he does when work is being done in the yard. He makes sure it is done right.
I kind of love this picture. It's the hole in the addition, after they removed the tree. It reminds me of that scene in Disney's "Sword in the Stone" when Arthur first touches the sword and the heavens open up and the chorus sings? Except... this is bad. It's sort of like, instead of a destiny being fulfilled, I can see God revealing a life of struggle ahead. Something will always go wrong. And yet, I'm not all that concerned. I mean, either I laugh at it, or I go nuts, literally, and get committed. Or move back in with my parents. Finding the beauty and humor in this sort of thing is the only way I'll get through it. Maybe that's overly dramatic?
The roofer took some pictures with my camera when he went up to patch the roof. I like this shot, because you can see my couch through the roof. You aren't supposed to see in through a roof.

Haitus, Interupted

There were some seriously bad storms in my area on Thursday. I tree went through the roof of my house. Thankfully, it happened in the best possible spot - you know, relatively speaking. If I had to have a tree through my roof, this is where I would do it. We lost a couch, and our kitchen table to water damage, and the floors are seriously warping. We're still without power. But, all of my books, which were in the addition, where the tree came through were spared, as was my wedding invitations, and my wedding dress. All good things.

We had some tree guys out at 6:30 am on Friday to remove the tree, and just as they were finishing, the roofer called and came over and patched up the holes. He actually finished before the tree guys were done chipping everything they removed.

I took a million pictures for the insurance adjuster and, at some point, I will post them. At the moment, though, we are still without power, so I can't get the shots here. I can only devote so much time at work to blogging.

I hope my Illinois readers (both of you) were spared any major trauma.

For those of you who are expecting wedding invitations - they were going to go out today. I'm staying late at work today to try and get the envelopes addressed. Hopefully, they'll go out this week.

Catching Up

I got back from Atlanta late on Monday night. I've been relatively lucky with flights for a long time, so I guess I was due for a little airport snafu. My flight was supposed to leave Atlanta at 6pm, and we didn't start boarding the plane until just after 9.

It was a little exciting - apparently, if we were five minutes later than we were, the flight would have "gone illegal" and they would have to cancel the flight. Exciting!

So, I was somewhat worthless yesterday, but now I'm back and trying to get organized. I went with Mavis yesterday to get her measured for her bridesmaid dress and get the shop all set up for my other maids to call in. I didn't realize how late I am in getting all this set. It takes twelve weeks for the dresses to get in. So, in order to be on time for the wedding and get alterations (because, even though they take exact measurements and make the dresses from scratch [I picked the color combo, so it has to be from scratch] they still make them to whatever their sizes are and bridesmaid dresses ALWAYS need altering) they'll have to all call in, like next week. Thankfully, I think most of them are all over it. I think the dresses will look nice, and be flattering to all of them. Compared to the creature of a dress Mavis is sporting this weekend (she's very popular with brides), my dress is awesome.

I also finally got to try on the shoes I've ordered from Zappos. I haven't told you, I think, how much I love Zappos, but someday I will. I love them. Seriously. Shoes make me really really happy, and they let me both shop in my pjs and get shoes almost instantly. Anyway, I've been ordering and trying on potential wedding shoes. Here's the thing: I don't want to pay a ton for wedding shoes because 1. They will most likely be white and how often do I wear white shoes? Almost never. 2. My dress goes all the way to the floor and even has a little train, so unless I pick up my dress and say "check out my shoes!" (which is highly likely), the shoes aren't that noticeable. But, I want them to be comfortable, and I want to dance in them all night long.

I don't approve of wearing one shoe for the ceremony (you should definitely wear both. ha! seriously, folks. I'm here all week) and then changing to slippers to dance at the reception. My dress will be altered for the shoes with heels, so why would I want to switch and get it all gross? Plus, I really think flats are way less comfortable than a modest heel.

So, I ordered a ballroom dance shoe, which is actually more expensive than I was planning on, and some more traditional wedding shoes. The wedding shoes are super cute, and I could totally dye them later to wear again. The problem, is that I'm not so sure they will be comfortable. They might kill my feet. The ballroom shoes are insanely narrow. Like, I couldn't even stand in them because my foot wouldn't go all the way in. Like Cinderella's step sisters trying to force the glass slipper on. Ridiculous.

I'm going to try the wedding shoes on again tonight and try them with hose and such to see if I can make it work. The ballroom shoes are definitely going back, but I'm going to try again with a wider shoe. I'll keep you posted.

On the garden front, the nocturnal creature was actually a squirrel - Mr caught him in the act. He's now become more bold and is destroying the pots on the deck. He only attacks certain stuff though, and it isn't flower-specific. Like he keeps attacking one of the pots in which I've planted marigolds, but none of the others. I am sort of at a loss as to how to stop him. Any suggestions?

Finally, the Bathroom

Ok, people, you're going to have to bear with me here, as I am not great with Blogger and pictures. Specifically, there are a couple that should be portrait and for some reason I can't get them un-landscape. I trust you can use your imaginations. Or tilt your head to the side.

Behold: the bathroom as the previous owners left it to us.

Note the circus-like stripes, the shitty furniture and the lack of matching woods. The cabinet over the toilet and the vanity were very close - but still not quite matching. What you can't see in this picture is that the finish was coming off of everything that was "metal." The handles on the vanity doors, the faucets, and the drain of the sink. Also unpictured - the giant crack in the toilet tank. Upon further inspection, we realized that it wasn't a crack - at some point, the tank was dropped or hit with something and a big ol' chunk was knocked out. Don't worry though, it was super-glued real good.

The tile. It's a lovely gray shade that looked perpetually dirty. The damn tub was installed incorrectly, causing the waterfall in my living room (I have pictures of that, somewhere, too. I'll see if I can add them) which instigated this whole thing.



The day after demolition. This is the shop vac they used to soak up all the water that was under the tub after the idiot sent to work on my house (one guy was great, his assistant the first day was very nice, but a bit of a knucklehead) removed something in the tub without turning off the water main or even finding out where the water main was, so my ceiling got wet. Again. After we'd had it fixed.

Anyway, this is the original tile. I would have preferred it to the "updated" stuff that was in there.
Oooo! Our fancy new bathroom. This towel hook costs about $25 . But, it's part of the Kohler bathroom set, and it makes me really happy to have it. I love the paint color and our tile and the shower curtain. Sorry, I couldn't get this picture to rotate. Also, they installed a curved curtain rod, which makes the shower seem HUGE when you're in it. You know how sometimes the steam from the shower and the regular air in the rest of the bathroom make the curtain billow in and get in your way? That doesn't happen with the curved rod and I love it. This is my attempt to show you the bathroom as a whole. There's the lovely trim in the shower, and the granite, which you can only see in the reflection, and the picture we found at Bed Bath & Beyond and it just happened to match all the colors we chose. The towel does not match. I've registered for bathroom stuff that matches. I'm hoping to get it at my shower this weekend (because towels I can take back from Atlanta, dishes I'll have to return and re-buy).

Here's a close-up of the glass mosaic. It was taken right after they installed, so it still has some grout haze on it.


Isn't it pretty?
So, I'm leaving Friday morning for Atlanta. I won't be back until Monday night, so I don't know when I'll post again. Probably tomorrow. And Friday morning before I leave. But after THAT, it won't be for a while.

Sorry, Rabbit

My apologies to the bunnies. They were not responsible for the flower carnage. It was some sort of nocturnal, evil creature. Probably a raccoon. The good news is, the mulch we put down seems to have convinced them to torture some other garden. Or, there are no more flowers left on the dahlias and they went to find greener pastures. Either way, the garden is making a recovery, woo!

Some Letters

Dear Bunnies,

Aren't the new flowers pretty? Mr did such a good job laying out the flower bed with the white and purple petunias (I think...) and the dahlias. I love dahlias. They're so pretty, with the big round flowers with a million perfect petals. And these dahlias are such a rich, beautiful red.

I did not buy them and plant them as food for you. Please stop eating my flowers. While I'm sure they are delicious, they haven't even been in the ground for a week yet. They're annuals, so they won't be back next year, and you're really ruining my enjoyment of them. Aren't you supposed to love Hostas?

Please notice the massive hostas lining the garage and the front walk and in various other places around the yard. Feel free to eat the hostas as much as you like. They're awesome! Plus, they came with the house and I'm not crazy about them. Please, eat the hostas. Give my Dahlias a fighting chance.

Thanks,
Rita

Dear Dude who works out a lot,

Wow. You must be at the gym all the time. It's clearly paying off, what with your massive pecs and rippling biceps. I wish I could spend some serious time in a gym, but I'm having a hard time finding one convenient to me. But I digress.

I think you're dedication to your health is impressive. I like that you're putting your best foot forward, however, I think maybe in your gym obsession, you have lost sight of the ultimate goal: to look good in clothes.

I know. You spend a lot of time working on those pecs and delts and whatever, and you want people to know that you are in top physical condition. However, wearing a polo three sizes too small makes the wrong impression. See, when I saw you, the first thought I had was "wow. He works out a LOT." Had you been wearing clothes that fit you, I would have thought "Wow. That guy is hot." See the distinction? You want people to think that you are just really put-together and attractive, not that you spend all your free time working out (even if that is the case). Trust me, clothes that fit will not hide your physique. You'll still look strong, but you'll also look sharp - a total package.

Best,
Rita

Dear Ladies who commute,

Doesn't the walk from the train suck? My office is a little over a mile from the train, so I know it can be a hike. This, however, is no excuse for those shoes. I know you don't want to trek all over downtown in high heels. Even if your office is only two blocks from the train, I understand. Hey, maybe you never wear heels. That's cool too. But please, please, stop wearing those ugly "comfortable" shoes. Just because they are black leather does NOT mean that they are office-appropriate. Really, there is no situation where those are appropriate.

See, you don't have to wear the shoes you walk to the office in while you're in the office. You see all those ladies in nice suits or slacks with sneakers on? They don't wear them in the office. They have another pair of shoes, something really cute that goes with their outfit, but isn't so great for long walks, tucked into their bags. They get to the office and they change their shoes. They change back before they walk to the train to go home. It's a great system. Try it.

Ta,
Rita

Ew. Just, Ew.

A while back we found a tiny collection of mouse poops under the couch in the addition. No one goes in there, the couch is currently the only thing in the room. So, it isn't like we had been hanging out with the mouse. One day, Hank went nuts digging around the couch and we didn't know why. When we moved the couch to clean and prepare to paint the walls (pictures soon!), we found the poop.

So, Mr went out and got some traps and set them up with yummy tempting peanut butter in places where mice would like to go, but Hank was unlikely to get them. Hank did find one and got snapped in the face, but it didn't catch him and he wasn't hurt.

We were on the lookout for more poop. Our house had been empty for months before we bought it, and they left food in the pantry. It was mousy heaven, but we never saw anything. Then, Mr's mom brought over some of our stuff that had been in their basement. Where they have mice. Then we found it. So, I'm blaming her.

Anyway, we never saw more traces of the mouse and figured that he had seen Hank and chosen a safer haven.

Then, last night, Hank was nosing around the refrigerator.

"Hey, did you put a trap behind the fridge?"
" No, it's next to it"
" Are you sure? Hank's into the back of the fridge and he won't leave it alone."

So, I get the flashlight, just to make sure the trap is still there. It was. Only. It wasn't empty.

Ew.

So, I got an eyeful of the dead mouse. Interestingly enough, I couldn't look at it directly, but I had no trouble taking pictures of it. I was going to post a couple, but figured that a dead mouse in a trap would be a little gruesome and disturbing. I mean, I think it was as humane as killing can be. His little neck was snapped, so it should have been pretty quick and painless. But it is still a mouse that we killed. I hope he was the only one and it wasn't a momma with babies somewhere.

New Look, Again

Ok. I think I'll stick with this layout for a while. I'm digging the green and purple combo. It reminds me, strangely, of seventh grade, when this was my favorite color combo on the planet. Except it was more crayola-shades.

I just couldn't stand the other layout. It was too all-over-the-place. I need my posts centered and contained. I don't know why.

And, for your viewing pleasure, more pictures of Hank. Because I'm sick and he amuses me.
*****
This is Hank in our old condo. I was sitting on the couch next to him, undoubtedly delaying writing a paper for school. I think this is how he spends most of the day when we're not home.
The only think I really miss about that condo is the kitchen. Everything was brand-new, so the stove and oven were awesome, the microwave above the stove has a fan for sucking up smoke and whatnot and the fridge never froze the food on the refrigerator side and kept all the food frozen on the freezer side. Our new refrigerator is not so reliable, and the oven likes to burn stuff and makes the house smell like gas. I had my current appliances but, as they work (sort of), they are on the bottom of the "things to buy for the house" list.

This is Hank in my new office. I promise I will post before and after shots soon. I'm still waiting on Mr to hang the curtain rod on that back window.

Mr hates that old green velvet (!) couch in the background. I got it from my grandparents when they moved. I love the size and shape of it. It's very small - more of a loveseat, really - it's low to the ground and it is sort of oval shaped. It also has some weird bleach-like stains on the front. I'm sure one of my grandmother's eight children spilled something on it and someone tried to clean it. I promised Mr that I would recover it or at least slipcover it. That I didn't love the color, just the shape. But. It matches my office so well. It picks up lots of lovely shades in my fancy Home Depot area rug. Besides, it's my office.

Light at the End of the Tunnel

I'm now in the worst stage of being sick: almost better. Almost better blows. You're no longer completely sick, so the awfulness of daytime tv is readily apparent and sitting on the couch is just boring. But, if you get up and try to be productive, you get dizzy and a little nauseous and have to go back to the couch.

I've found a couple of daytime tv shows that are ok. I'm really getting into "How Clean is Your House" on BBC America. These two British ladies go around to astoundingly dirty houses, tell people they're living in filth and then force them to clean. After everything is spotless, the people are happy, and the ladies leave. They come back two weeks later to check up on people, but come on. Are you going to let your house get messy in the two weeks? I don't think so. Go back in three months and then see where they're at!

This has, of course, made me wonder about the cleanliness of our home. We're pretty clean, compared to the people on the show. Mr is very clean, which means I have to be clean, which is good. However, we've never cleaned our couch. They cleaned a couch on the show today and it was sort of gross. But their couch was some sort of pleather so it was easy to clean. Ours is ... um ... fabric. I don't know how to clean it. I want to take the cases off the pillows and toss them in the washing machine, but what if they fade and then don't match the rest of the couch? How do I clean the rest of it? I vacuum it sometimes, because it is Hank's favorite hangout. See?He's got white hair which, though it is short, still gets EVERYWHERE. So, I vacuum the couch every once in a while - though not as often as I should - in the hopes that the couch will remain blue and not turn white. The vacuum does not work very well. We have a hose, but none of the attachments have a spinning brush thingy, so it only sucks up so much. Lots of hair stays on the couch. Sometimes I use a lint brush, but the couch is big and even that doesn't help all that much. Anyway. Hank is clean, we bath him fairly regularly. However, he is a dog and doesn't shower everyday like Mr & I do. I don't think our house stinks but I remember going to friends' houses when I was younger who had dogs and their whole house smelled like dog. I don't want that to happen. I worry that maybe I just don't notice because I live there and am used to it. I don't think that's the case... but it could be.

So. Any tips on couch-cleaning?

And, by the way, please don't be afraid to come and visit. I promise, we'll vacuum the couch before you get here. Maybe I should get a special lint brush, just for the guest room....

This is How it Works

If you ever own a home and you need something fixed, this is how it works.

You call a contractor. The contractor comes out to your house to check out whatever the problem is. He (and it is almost always a man - though our contractor came with a woman. I suspect she runs the business side of things and he handles the actual fixing part) tells you all the things that will need to be done and then gives you an estimate. They leave. You call later and either schedule the job or tell them the price is too high.

Then, he comes out to your house. In my case, he showed up with two other guys. He ran through what needed to be done, in Spanish, with the guys. Then he leaves, telling me these are his "great guys" and they'll take care of everything. They do not speak English. I do not speak Spanish. If something is wrong, they will call the contractor.

So far, it seems like things are going well. There have been no phone calls. Though, right now, there is also no work being done because they seem to be on break. They also seemed uncomfortable with the fact that I switch from cooking to reading at the kitchen table, which is in direct line of where they were sitting in the living room, having their break.

So, now I'm upstairs in my office because I don't like to make people uncomfortable and I feel guilty because I don't speak Spanish and can't make them more comfortable.

****

I'm cooking chili right now. I got a recipe from my mom which she doesn't really follow. I was supposed to use it as a guideline. Basically, I cut up pork tenderloin and threw it in a crock pot and added crushed tomatoes, black beans, kidney beans, red wine, minced garlic, and some spices. Now it's going to cook for 8 hours or so. I hope it turns out. It was supposed to have bell peppers and onions but I didn't have a bell pepper and my onion was moldy - I bought it a couple of weeks ago when I meant to make chili but didn't get around to it and used the meat for the original chili for something else. Apparently, onions don't stay good forever. Who knew?

Anyway, I've never made chili before, so I hope this doesn't suck.

Decisions, Decisions, Decisions

I'm a very opinionated person. Thus far, in the decorating of our house, I've had an idea and Mr has accepted it (for the most part - he's made a few suggestions to tweak ideas and he's usually right). I've been pretty good. I was worried about my office, because I picked a pale pale mint color and I was afraid with the new white furniture it would look like a baby's room. But it was good.

The guest room was a flop. I picked what I thought was a lovely shade called "Butter Up!" It was not lovely. It was bad. So, we went back to the paint store and got a lovely blue/grey, which has turned out wonderfully. The nice part about being in school and completely overbooked is that Mr is entirely responsible for fixing up the house. This weekend, while I was reading and researching, he was priming, taping, and painting. Right now he's cleaning up and later we'll load in what furniture we have for the room.

We're also working on the bathroom. I have been completely uninspired. I don't really like anything. We went to a tile store - Mr used to be their accountant - and looked around. We were both getting frustrated. Mr was looking for stone type stuff and it all just looked too boring for me. Then. I saw the glass tiles. I love glass tiles. I just dig the way they look. We found a stone that we both liked and I was asking what decorative trim they have for it. She said there is none, and you can use whatever you want. After a bit of prodding, she made a suggestion and showed us the glass tile.

Mr is unsure. He thinks he'll break it. How you break 1" tiles that are 6 feet up the wall is beyond me, but he thinks they'll break. Really, he's worried that it will look weird. He's never seen glass and stone. I can't find examples, but I just know it will be good.

This is the stuff. We've picked a pretty neutral beige-y stone with traces of red/brown in it. This would run, probably in a row of three tiles, about six feet up, just under the shower head.
I'm thinking we'll paint the walls the light yellow color. I already found a paint at Sherwin Williams called "White Raisin" that looks really good.

Mission: Bubble Bath - Not Complete

So, I was so excited on Friday when my tub was "fixed" that I just posted right away. After the plumber left, I started to follow his instructions - to pour two cups of bleach down the drain to clear out any grease (also, I was supposed to let my husband know he should caulk the seal on the faucet [another thing not done by the moron who put in our tub]. He also left the panel off so that my husband could see what he had replaced. I think there was something else I was supposed to tell my husband, but I don't know, maybe I forgot because I'm just a stupid girl. I HATE it when people assume I can't do stuff because I don't have a penis.). Anyway. Where was I?

Bleach. Right. So, while the bleach was clearing things out I posted my joy and did some internet research on the best way to clean tub jets. Then, after some time had passed, I started cleaning the jets. Turns out, the waste/overflow system wasn't the only thing the douchebag who redid the bathroom didn't do properly. We once again had water in the living room, though not as much as before. We just noticed it because the big hole in the ceiling made the water really obvious.

The jets, or the pipes that connect to the jets are leaking. They are, naturally, the jets closest to the wall. And, since we installed a fancy-schmancy closet system that I don't want to take down and I also don't want to cut a hole in the closet and then repair the wall and repair the closet system, I have decided to get a new tub. Yes, the old tub works, and it is just the jets that don't work. However. Without being able to turn on the jets, I am unable to clean the jets. If I can't clean the jets I can't take a bath. In which case we are stuck with an awkward, ugly stupid shower.

So. We're completely remodeling the bathroom - new tub, tile, fixtures, vanity, toilet, etc. Totally new.

Do you realize how expensive bathrooms are? Sheez. I guess I know what I'm doing with my tax refund.

Mission: Bubble Bath

I have spent the majority of my day today with a plumber. He was very nice and I will love him always because...
(drumroll, please!)

My tub is fixed!

He had to cut a hole in my living room ceiling and there was a little drainage mishap (thankfully, I was pretty quick grabbing a bucket), but now my tub is functioning. I have to clean it and flush out and scrub the jets (I've instructed Mr to bring home a kid's toothbrush so I can really get in there) but, once I do all that work I plan on taking a long bubble bath, shaving and then showering.

Though I love baths, I do feel that you should take a shower after. I know it is a waste of water, but a) it is hard to wash your hair in the tub as you're rinsing into the water that all the dirt you scrubbed out is in and b) you're sitting in all the dirt you've scrubbed out. So, I always bathe until the water is cold, then rinse off and wash my hair in a shower after. Not really a great water-saver, but I don't do it very often and I haven't had a good shower in two weeks.

I've taken pictures of the event and the mess in the living room and once I replace the baterries in my camera, I'll post them here.

Bits 'n Pieces

1. We booked a photographer for the wedding. Yes! I got to book the guy I wanted, who is definitely on the expensive end of things, but I know that I love his work. Once the day itself is over, the photography will be all we have, so I think it is totally worth it to "splurge" on the photography. Not that we couldn't have found a more expensive photographer, because they're out there. This guy is expensive for wedding photographers, but by no means is he at the top of the price range. Plus, I really like him and I think that's important, too.

2. We ordered my desk! We are turning one of the spare rooms in our house into my office, so that I have a place to go to study. Mr has done nearly all of the actual work, save for a little sanding, and I helped apply the skim coat to the walls. But he has done the majority of the sanding, all of the priming, ceiling and trim painting and he's going to paint it tomorrow night. Because of school (why I need the office) I can't help much. He's really handy to have around. To top it all off, for Christmas, he said I could order the desk I really want from Pottery Barn, even though it is pricey as hell. Thankfully, I found a chair that matches at Target for considerably less, so I was able to save him a little cash there. I'll post pictures soon.

3. Speaking of pictures, I realized that I didn't take any pictures of the awful, blood-red walls that used to be in our bedroom. I took a little tour of the room after we skim-coated, but I don't know how to post video. We'll see if I can figure that out later.

4. I can't find one of my old friends. I realized that I haven't spoken to her in a while and made a note to email her today. Oops, I don't have her email. Her cell phone number now belongs to a guy with a Spanish accent, and she no longer works at the job that I had for her. According to the guy I talked to, she moved to New Orleans about six months ago. I spent a good part of the morning looking for her online, to no avail. I'll have to look up her parents' and call them. Is it weird that I still feel it is important to invite her to my wedding? We don't keep in touch anymore but when we do we have a lovely time. We'll see if I can get a hold of her.

5. Hank's sick. He woke us up at 3am last night to go ... well, he needed to go out. I used to be annoyed that it was always my job to walk him in the mornings. Now that we've moved, I have to get up by 5:30 to walk him, or I'll be late for work. Mr's commute has shrank since we moved, yet I still walk Hank. This morning at 3am though? I remembered why I don't complain about walking him. Because sick in the middle of the night is Mr's job. Poor puppy apparently puked this morning, too. Hopefully whatever strange thing he ate has gotten out and he's ok. If he's still sick tonight, I'll have to take him to the vet. Again.

I'm Back!

Miss me?

Ok, so once NaBloPoMo was blown, I pretty much gave up. Sorry about that.

Things are coming along in our house (I know you were concerned). Mr has sanded, washed (twice) and re-plastered the walls in our bedroom and the blood red the previous owners used will soon be nothing but a horrific memory. I'll post pictures before we prime and paint so that you, my vast Internets public, can see how truly terrible it was and how awesome it will be. I feel a little guilty as he did all the work. Literally all of it. Because it took me nearly a week to get our kitchen together. But I felt I had to concentrate on that so that we could stop eating out all the time. It was getting bad. If course, we'll still eat out tomorrow night because we have bowling on Mondays, but you know. Soon, I'll cook.

The rest of the house is extremely overwhelming to me and I feel like our bedroom is holding me hostage. I can't really put everything away because nothing can go in the bedroom, so our clothes are split between the two tiny guest-room closets and the room we aren't sleeping in is sort of a mess, as we have more clothes than space at the moment. Since my office is where we're currently sleeping, I can't put my desk stuff away... it's just a long domino effect of me wanting to put stuff away but not wanting to move it twice. and now it is dark on Sunday which means I won't see daylight in my house again until Saturday.

However, there is a light at the end of the tunnel. Mr is staying home this coming Friday so that the fence guy can come and put a new gate on our fence. The current one is set up super-goofy and we can barely get our cars in and out of the driveway - there is literally an inch of clearance for my car and even less for Mr's. So, that will be fixed Friday. Also coming Friday is Empire Today (You know: 800 588-2300 empiiiiiire) to install our bedroom carpet and then on Saturday, Wickes is supposed to deliver our bedroom furniture. So, that's nice. We also have a surprise party for one of my uncles on Friday and my company Christmas party on Saturday. So next weekend is a big weekend. I don't know when I'll have time to put up the Christmas tree, but I REALLY want to, as we'll be here for Christmas and it will be our first Christmas in the new house.

I love Christmas. It might be my favorite time of year. I love the lights and the music and the presents - mostly giving them, but also getting them. It's all going to fast this year, I just hope that I get to enjoy it.

Happy Day

Foiled again! I tried to get my Monday post in under the wire, but apparently my computer clock is slightly slower than Blogger's. Oh well, I guess I'm out of the running anyway.

I did bowl pretty good tonight. Which is always nice. I'm in a Monday night Mixed League over at Irving Park Lanes. If you're ever tempted to join a bowling league, I highly recommend you do so. It is a nice way to meet some interesting people. For the most part, the people in my league are a lot of fun, though they're also almost all at least 20 years older than us. We're the obnoxious kids in matching shirts with a killer handicap.

Today was a really good day. Things were insanely busy at work (they usually are at the end of the year but this year there are two more major projects that we're not usually handling). But the good part came after work. I took the train home. Mr drove me to work this morning because it was on the way, but I walked over to Olgilvie after work and got on the train. As it turns out, the Metra station is really close to my house - closer than the Red Line was to my old apartment and I used to walk there every day. So, I took the train home, which was lovely, and I finished the last reading for my final project which was awesome, because it is due tomorrow - technically today, since it's already Tuesday. I also wrote most of the summary of that article. The best part, however, was the walk home. Like I said, the train is close, so it doesn't take long, and I just like my neighborhood so much.

We moved this weekend and I'm just so happy to be in my house. It's weird how happy I am. It's still a big old mess, but it's my big old mess. As I was walking home I was admiring all the other cute houses in my neighborhood - all the yards are well-maintained and cars are in driveways. It just looks neater and nicer and .... it just felt like home. I walked almost the whole way with a big goofy grin on my face.

I almost wish that I wasn't going back to my parent's house this week. I mean, I love them and miss them and I'm really looking forward to seeing my nephew and going to look at wedding dresses with my mom. But I could also really use five days in my house to get things in order.

My boss has offered me two extra days off since work is so crazy. She's good like that. The problem is that I want those days NOW and since work is crazy due to the time-sensitive nature of the stuff we're working on, I can't really take time now. So, the house will have to stay in disrepair for a little bit. It will get there eventually.