Can't get this outta my head!

OK, last night, while watching TV, I saw a car commercial. It had a remake of an oldie but a goodie song on there. Remember this one? 4, 3, 2, 1, Earth below us, drifting falling, floating weightless, coming, coming, home. So, I thought since I can't get it out of my head, I'ld post it for you so that at least I have someone to sing with!!!

Song: Major Tom by Peter Schilling
enjoy :)

The Truth is Out There

As promised, here are the pictures from Jason's b-day:

Here he is getting ready to open his presents:

He really gets into it!

Here's the dinner I made...

...and the cake:

I want to Believe!

But here's the truth:

The stove is supposed to go between those two cabinets

Through much of the weekend, my kitchen looked like this:

Notice the stove, it's where my table is supposed to go!

We really did celebrate Jason's birthday, just not till about 8 that night. We got our Chili's take out and Costco cupcakes and sat down to watch Bolt. We paused after we ate to have him open his presents. We gave him How I Met Your Mother (first 3 seasons) Battlestar Galactica (first 2.5 seasons) and The Bro Code (a funny little book / companion to How I Met Your Mother. SO in between all the painting and such, he can also learn how to be a "Bro"

Song: X Files theme

Birthday Boy

This is one of the million things I love about Jason...it was his birthday yesterday, and how does he spend the day? Building my kitchen.

I have to tell you a little story:
My first car was a 1990 Ford Escort with no air, no stereo, no defrost- I drove that thing for 10 years! The Escort was starting to get less reliable, so we bought a Nissan Altima. I got primary use of the car. It was black, with really dark tinted windows, it had a nice stereo with a CD player AND air conditioning! It was (and still is) my favorite car I have ever owned! I used to drive to work and cry because I loved my car so much!
That is how I'm pretty sure I'm going to feel when our kitchen is done! I told Jason he shouldn't be surprised if he were to come home from work and find my crying in the kitchen! You see, I have NEVER loved my kitchen. Ever. Even when we were looking at this house before we moved in, I didn't really like it. BUT with all the things we are doing to it now... I have no doubt that it is going to be awesome! And, most likely, I will bawl when we are done!

So here's the list of stuff we did this weekend:
took out all the cabinets
ripped out all the old linoleum and sub floor
re-installed the cabinets
decided we wanted sub floor after-all, so we took out the cabinets AGAIN
bought new sub floor, installed it
re-re-installed the cabinets
bought our new sink (which we saved $60 on at Costco)
fixed the computer (got a NASTY NASTY worm and my computer was a paperweight since Thursday)

We're on a tight schedule now. Jason has the week off so that he can paint cabinets and walls, and install counter tops, sink, and flooring. This Saturday, our new range is supposed to be installed.
I will post b-day pictures later...I have to get ready for Preschool!

Yummy

I bought a cookbook at the book fair a couple weeks ago. The other night we made French Toast Surpreme. It was super easy, very quick and quite delish; which is the reason for this post! I thought I would share the recipe with y'all!
I am going to preface this by saying it is very similar to Monte Cristos from Disneyland but easier to make and a bit healthier too because they aren't deep fried (I can post that recipe too if you would like it)
anyway, here is the recipe for French Toast Surpreme
8 slices Texas Toast
4 slices Canadian Bacon (we used ham because we couldn't find large pieces of C.B.)
4 slices Monterey Jack Cheese
1 egg
1/2 cup refrigerated French vanilla nondairy creamer
Powdered sugar (optional)
1/4 c seedless raspberry jam (we used blackberry jam)

On four slices of Texas toast, place one slice of bacon and one slice of cheese; top with remaining Texas Toast. In a shallow bowl, whisk egg and creamer. Dip sandwiches into egg mixture.
On a hot griddle or large skillet coated with Pam, cook sandwiches for 2-3 minutes on each side or until golden brown. Sprinkle with powdered sugar if desired. Serve with jam.

so basically, you have these french toast sandwiches which you dip into the jam when they are done. Yummy! The only thing we would do differently next time is add more meat so that maybe each sand. has 2 slices of meat instead of one. You should try it, it was very good.
Oh, and the recipe suggested serving it with a fruit salad, and so we did. I thought it was the perfect compliment to the dish!

Micorscopic kitchen update

NOTE: it's a microscopic post because this is the slow part. There probably won't be any pics now until we are getting ready to paint BUT Jason has been working his butt off!!!

Bottom cabinets are primed.

Last weekend we added an over-the-range microwave. It's spiffy! I don't know why we waited 12 years to add one!

Yesterday, we bought a convection oven. It will be delivered in about 2 weeks, which is when this project will hopefully be done! I'm very excited to bake something yummy. Maybe my infamous banana cake, or maybe my delish oatmeal chocolate chip cookies. I may just turn into Betty Crocker! Well- maybe Betty is a stretch. :D

Sunday Poetry

T'was the day before Monday,
When all through the house
Not a creature was stirring,
Except for the spouse (that's me)

The family was nestled
All snug in their beds
As 5 o'clock rolled around
And mom's loosing her head

I should be fixing dinner
But computer time is swell
If I don't start doing something soon
I'm sure to go to hell!


The end! :)

Songs:
Enjoy the Silence from Depeche Mode
and Sound of Silence from Simon and Garfunkle

Fashion Tag

So, my cute little friend Hannah (she used to be my across-the-street-neighbor) tagged me to do a fashion tag. She is very much a "Glam Girl"! And her blog is a crack up to read!!! (Unfortunately, it's private)

Post the rules on your blog
answer the five questions on your blog
Let each person know they're tagged by leaving a comment on their blog

FYI I try not to ever, ever go to the mall, unless it is absolutely necessary! After working for 15 years in the mall, I feel as though I have spent enough time there to last me a couple of lifetimes! But, anyway, here goes:

List five types of shoes you would by at the mall:

(I'm not really a shoe person. I don't feel like I have anything new when I buy them. I much prefer a cute shirt or some new jeans)

1. Payless shoes

2. Docs

3. Sketchers

4. Old Navy

5. Whatever else is UNDER $35

What accessories suit you best?

I love necklaces! I wish I had one for every outfit!

What's your idea of dressing up?

I love putting on some nice perfume, my favorite jeans, and a cute top!

What are your favorite stores at the mall?

Well, I don't really go to the mall, but I like Lame Giant (Lane Bryant), Old Navy, and Costco

I tag whoever wants to participate! :)

Thanks Hannah! That was fun!

Lunatic Fringe

Have I ever told you about my "friend" (name withheld to prevent embarrassment)

Well, anyway, she's been super busy lately. She's been getting lots of phone calls about her business over the past few days- (which is great for her- don't get me wrong) and she's also been having lots of people come over to her house to take a look at the business, but the house has to be in tip-top shape when people come by! BUT on top of that, her and her husband have decided to do some remodeling in their home. All these things put together, means that someone has to suffer. That someone, is her kids. OY! I know. It's sad!

The other night, one of her kids told the mom(my friend), that she was out of underwear. No biggie, that happens in every one's homes. I tried to be encouraging, and told her to go throw a load in the wash. Well, it turns out, my friend put the clothes in the washer, then forgot to run the load! Idiot! The little girl woke up the next morning and asked for her clean undies and the mom had to tell her little girl that she forgot to run the load. I felt bad for the little girl! And the girl, she's kind of stubborn and would not under any circumstance, go "commando". So, the mom had to drag her sorry butt to Wal-mart that morning before school to get some underwear! I can't believe it! I would NEVER do that to my poor kid!!!

The other thing she's been doing, or shall I say, not doing, is cooking! The last home-made meal she cooked was on Monday! Monday, people!! They have had what her kids refer to as "fend for yourself night". They've eaten cereal, pb&j sandwiches, and then, more cereal! My friend got some recipe books from one of her friends, and she says she's going to look through them so that she can get some meals ready to freeze. I hope she can do that!

You remember the little girl and her underwear, or lack thereof? Well, she's supposed to be reading every night for 20 minutes. The mom knows how important that is! She's a teacher herself! But the reading has fallen to the wayside too!

Any advise for my "friend"? She's a slacker mom!

I think it's only fitting that people who talk about their "friend"- as if no one knows it's really themselves that they are talking about, should have Lunatic Fringe by Red Rider as the song for today!

Lucky 100!

I like to take the time to remember how lucky I am on St. Patricks day, but I don't want to bore you with a long drawn out post, so here is my attempt at Lucky 100 (as in 100 words)!
These are in NO particular order! I had to type them as they were coming to my head, or else I might loose the thought! Remember how I said I'm turning into Dory? Click here
1. Jason
2. Sue
3. Loo
4. Super
5. Jobs
6. Home
7. Warmth
8. Food
9. Cars
10. Computer
11. Blogs
12. Facebook
13. Friends
14. Music
15. Caramel
16. Coke
17. Twilight
18. Books
19. Security
20. Electricity
21. Plumbing
22. Heat
23. Toiletpaper
24. Papertowels
25. Sight
26. Sound
27. Smell
28. Touch
29. Taste
30. Microwaves
31. Grandparents
32. In-laws
33. Sister-in-laws
34. Brother-in-laws
35. Nieces
36. Nephews
37. Cousins
38. 5
39. Guys
40. Burgers
41. Fries
42. Movies
43. Caramel
44. Almonds
45. Dax
46. Alice
47. Dargo
48. Internet
49. Email
50. Lawnmowers
51. AC
52. Bushwhackers
53. Leafvaccums
54. Flowers
55. Trees
56. Grass
57. Tape
58. Staples
59. Removers
60. Soap
61. Shampoo
62. Conditioner
63. Straighteners
64. Blowdryers
65. Make-up
66. Hairspray
67. Lotion
68. Sunshine
69. Rain
70. Umbrellas
71. Shoes
72. Socks
73. Jeans
74. T-shirts
75. Snow
76. Rainbows
77. Windows
78. Birds
79. Mountains
80. Lakes
81. Vacuums
82. Bleach
83. Fabreeze
84. Cleaners
85. Freedom
86. Safety
87. Peace
88. Voting
89. Happiness
90. "Moms"
91. Preschoolers
92. Gluesticks
93. Tinker-toys
94. Skittles
95. Fieldtrips
96. Paint
97. Flooring
98. Knobs
99. Countertops
100. Movies

That's so hard to do with only 1 word things!!! By 50 I was struggling. You guys should try it!! Please! I want to see if you can do it! Think of this as a tag. Your it!!!

The only Irish music I can think of is from the Once soundtrack, so I thought I would share my fave from that album: If You Want Me by Glen Hansard and Marketa Irglova

Wall-E and Eve

Supe's art work

Making Progress!

We are done with the cabinet tops! Yeah!!! I'm thrilled with how they turned out!
As promised, here are some pics:

I think we have finally nailed down a color too! We have been going back and forth between red, (the one that's in our Living Room) tan, and yellow. We have FINALLY chosen Homestead Resort Pumpkin, which is a nice buttery yellow. Funny thing is yellow was actually our first thought for color when this whole project started! (this little sample is pretty close to the color)
The top one is the Homestead Pumpkin... The bottom one is Kidskin Buff (the trim we used in the Living Room and we will also use it in the kitchen)
We have also made a final decision about the counter tops! We had a company come in and do a bid for some and it came in WAY too high!!! We have decided to go with some in-stock stuff they have at Home Depot! We can do those and pay for a stove and over-the-range microwave for the difference in price!

Tonight, we are taking down the old wallpaper boarder. Shouldn't be too bad of a project! We'll see though! :)

I think the song Yellow works for this post too! (Love it when that happens)

Air Head

I think I may have mentioned before how sometimes Sue still says things that crack us up... Well, I keep forgetting to post this funny little story. Here is what happened at Sue's work a couple of weeks ago:

Christy says: Hey Sue, will you please take lemons to 8?

Sue says: Sure!

Sue goes out to the lobby, and calls "Lemons party of 8... Lemons party of 8"

Christy happens to walk by and hear her calling for Lemons, and says: No, I meant, take lemons to table 8.

Song for today: Yellow by Cold Play. (It's almost like there is a theme for my songs this week. Who knows maybe next time, the song will be Lady in Red, or Blue Suede Shoes)

..

U

How Do You Eat An Elephant?

One. Bite. At. A. Time.
I don't know if it's Spring Fever, or what, but green has been on my mind a lot recently.

Did you know that many of the cleaning products we use can harm the environment? I didn't know that until recently. You can click here to read one article about it, but there are many many more.

Anyway, we've decided to try to be a little bit better at doing our part to save our planet. I went to Costco and bought environmentally safe dish soap, laundry soap, and multi purpose cleaner, and a couple of months ago, I bought hand soap too. I didn't want to do a post about this yet until I had tried out my new cleaners. I must say, I've been 100% satisfied! The only thing I haven't tried is my dish soap. For 2 reasons: 1 - I still have some old stuff left and 2- because we aren't using many dishes. I haven't cooked dinner since Monday!

Another thing we are doing, is trying to ditch grocery sacks all together, but we're not doing so great on that one. We keep forgetting to bring our bags into the store! Dang it! One day, I told the checker to not bag any of my groceries, that I would bag them as I put them into my car. She didn't mind at all, but the person at the door asked for my receipt!!! Here's another short, but true story. About a month ago, Jason and I were doing some shopping at Walley World, and I told the checker to put my stuff my bags as full as she could because I wanted to use as few bags as possible. I explained that I was trying to do my part to help save the environment. She said "It's too late, it's already ruined!" Now THAT is an attitude worth passing down! What a freaking idiot!! This just in: it's too late everyone! Don't even try anymore!

I was just thinking....

Some green songs:
Hash Pipe by Weezer
Green Eyes by Cold Play

13 years ago, today

I got this tag today. Since it is my actual anniversary, I thought I'd share it!

1. How old were you? 24

2. What jobs did you and your fiance / husband have? I worked for The Limited, Jason worked (and still does) for Litho Flexo Graphics

3. How long was your engagement? almost a year.

4. What shape of diamond is your wedding ring? Brilliant

5. What season were you married in? Early Spring

6. Who married you? A cute judge

7. Who was your maid / matron of honor? Erika

8. Was your wedding dress white? Yes

9. What were your colors? Black and White

10. How many bridesmaids? 1- my maid of honor

11. Did you have a flower girl and/or ring bearer? "Sue" was the flower girl

12. What flowers did you have for your bouquet? Calla Lillies, and other white stuff. I can't remember what they were called. Is that bad?

13. What kind of flowers did your bridesmaids carry? same as mine

14. Did the groom wear a black tux? Yes. He wanted to wear his grey elephant boots with it though. I put my foot down! I'm so glad I did too!

15. Where was the ceremony? White Memorial Church (across from the State Capitol Building)

16. Did you wear comfortable shoes or neck-breaker high heels? No I wore heels.

17. Who gave you away? My dad

18. What was the most memorable part of the ceremony? I loved walking down the isle, seeing my sweet man smiling at me.

19. Did you have a reception? no- not really. We served our cake following the ceremony. We spared everyone the pain of a tacky line and we invited everyone to go out to dinner afterwords at the Olive Garden.

20. What was your favorite gift? money. A good friend of mine also gave us a night at the Armstrong Mansion. It was beautiful!

21. What was your least favorite gift? must not have been very good, I can't remember

22. What kind of cake did you have? we had 3 different types, white, spice, and chocolate

23. Disc Jockey or Live Band? ghetto blaster! ha ha. We didn't really have a boom box, but we did just have our home stereo. We were young and poor. And we paid for everything ourselves!

24. What was the name of the song for your first dance? I Want Your Sex by George Michael jk! We didn't do a dance! But if we had, we probably would have danced to something by Frank Sinatra.

25. Who caught the bouquet? My friend Erika? Honestly I don't remember. I remember my throw was terrible!!!! I don't think anyone really "caught" it. I think picked it up is more like it! :)

26. What kind of vehicle did you leave in? My sweet Ford Escort! It was plush! Everyone was jealous as we drove away!

27. If you could change one thing about your wedding day what would you change? I don't think I would have changed anything. We had our closest family and friends there. We were married in a quaint little church. It was so "us"! We like to do things the non-standard way... It's just one of the million things I love about Jason! :)

Other things I remember about that day:

The weather was perfect!! It had been snowing pretty heavily a couple of days before we were married, and I was so worried that my family from Logan wouldn't be able to come down for it. I was pleasantly surprised when we had gorgeous 50 degree weather! Clear blue sky. The works!

Sue was a beast! We (meaning me and my friend Erika) forgot to feed her in the morning. So here first "meal" of the day was cake!

I forgot Jason's ring in my purse. I had to send my cute grandpa in to go get it for me. He was searching through all the purses left downstairs in the church. It makes me giggle every time I think about it!

Happy 13th hon! It's been great! I can't wait to see what happens in the next 13!

This post wouldn't be complete without some of our favorite Frank songs:

Fly Me to The Moon

I Thought About You

You Make Me Feel So Young

That's my girl!

So today, Supe was cleaning her room. She came in a little while into it and said "Guess what Mom? I took a "before" picture of my room so that I can see how messy it was!"

When it was all clean, I came in to look at it, just as she was putting her camera away. I asked her if she took an "after" shot too, and she said proudly "Yep!"

Hmm. Wonder what ever gave her such an idea?

So here they are, for your viewing pleasure:

Supes room before:
Supe's room after:
Songs are:
Thank Heaven for Little Girls: Maurice Chevalier
My Girl: the Temptations

Put On Your GREEN Shoes And Dance The Blues

Sue took her friend "The Persian" (that was his character in "Oklahoma") to Sweethearts over the weekend. I had to snap the top picture because I thought her green shoes were so stinking cute.
I was cracking up at her having to get into the car. She had to drive, which she was NOT looking forward to in her big giant dress and hoop skirt. (plus, she didn't have great luck last time she drove the van... remember the purse incident at Sadie's)

After the dance, they went bowling...in their dresses. Crazy! Our neighbor who owns the bowling alley was working at the time, but unfortunately she was on the opposite side of the building and couldn't get over there to see the girls trying to do it.
How lame is this though...one of the girls who went with the group didn't want to go bowling, so Sue took her home, but the date wanted to stay and bowl. What a trooper! And to do it without a date! He literally was the fifth wheel. Stupid girl!
At the end of the evening...Sue and all of her friends arrived home safe and sound with all of their personal possessions in tact. Now I think that sounds like a successful date! Well, all except for the fact that she never did get a "Persian hello". Dang it!

Let's Dance by David Bowie

Couldn't resist!

Before:
BORING!!!! I threw most of the crap away that was on the top of my cabinets before! Durring:

I am so excited about the way the cabinets are turning out. Jason didn't want me to post pics yet because he doesn't think it's exciting enough. BUT, I will anyway, but don't tell him! Shh!!

So far we have done this to the top section of our cabinets: add crown moulding, add base moulding, sanded, primed, pained and now antiqued. Tomorrow (after we are done with Sue's court case from the purse incident) we are going to antique the doors. Can't wait!

The next part of our to-do-list will be a BEAST!!!! We will be pulling the counter tops off, the sink out, and the bottom cabinets out completely, so that we can get rid of the linoleum/ sub floor, add a water line to our fridge, put in pergo (like the living room). It's exciting and it scares the you-know-what out of me at the same time!

So if you haven't read my post entitled "Burgers and Fries" please do it now! I am asking for crock pot recipes, make ahead meals that you can freeze, and or frozen meals you like to buy at Sams Club or Costco. Help me! Please! We'll go broke if you don't!

no song for this post, because I wanted to focus on Sue's dance, but if I were to put one on, it would be "Help Me Rhonda". Because I need your help!

Burgers and Fries

It's been awhile since we've talked about food. So, I was thinking, lets talk about it today. Ok? My kitchen is coming along. Slowly but surely. We are using oil-based paints which will be more durable, but take more longer (did you like that) to dry! Much Much more longer! We have to wait 24 hours between coats. Which means the cabinet doors are going to take 4 days just to paint the cream! Holy crap that's a long time! I'm getting to the food, I promise! Anyway, after the final coat of paint has dried for a couple of days, then we can start the antiquing...then we will have to wait a couple more days to do the top coat. THEN, Oh boy! we have to start the bottom cabinets. That's where all my pans, dish towels, silverware, tin foil, dish soap, practically my whole kitchen's life is in the bottom stuff!

Now for the food...or in my case, a lack thereof! I need help! I need some GOOD crock pot recipes, or some ideas for pre-cooking foods and then freezing them. Jenny- that's you I'm talking to about the freezing stuff. I know you do it all the time. Also, I have a new Sam's Club membership, which I don't love at all, but had to get one because Costco has stopped selling some of the necessities I use for preschool, but that's a whole different topic! Anyway- sheesh! Back on Sam's Club... what things do you guys like from there as far as frozen meals?

More on the topic of food... last night, Jason "cooked" dinner. I love it when he does that! ( I should note that Jason really does know how to and does actually prepare food... when I say he "cooked" dinner, it's typically code for "I was a looser and didn't come up with any brilliant food ideas, therefore, we ate out") We went to Five Guys! Anyone ever been there? They have the most Delicious burgers EVER! You can order yours "all the way" which means it has grilled onions and mushrooms, pickles, mayo, tomato, the works! ALL day long today I've been thinking of it! Anyone want to go to lunch Wednesday? At around 12:30 ish? You, me, and 5 guys? Anyone? Anyone? Beuler? Beuler?

I'm tired of my standard food songs, so here are some less traditional food songs:

Short Skirt Long Jacket by Cake ( I thought some Cake with your music might be nice)

Ice Cream by Sarah Mclauchlin (and...what would cake be without ice cream?)

Orange Crush by REM (Forever, I thought that the song said "I've got my sprite, I've got my Orange Crush") So now, you can have some Orange Crush with your cake and ice cream, and think of my lyrics whenever you hear that song! :)