More Lately

Lately...

- I've been consumed with midterms.  Consumed, I tell ya.

- I've developed a "negativity not welcome" attitude.  I truly do not care if you don't like our potential baby names, our birth plan, or if you think prenatal yoga is a joke.  If you are going to be critical of whatever I say - why even ask the question?  I also do not want to hear about your horrific labor, birth and breastfeeding experiences without me even asking about your experiences.  Mmkay?

- I've been kicking the crap out of my Christmas shopping list.

- When getting out of bed in the morning, I feel like a turtle that's stuck on it's back.  I have experienced some separation of my top abs and have been encouraged to literally roll off the bed when getting up.  This would normally be fine, but only problem is - my lower back locks up and I have to quickly and repeatedly roll from side-to-side and gain some momentum before being capable of rolling off the bed.

Source

 

 

 

- We went to a local pumpkin patch and bought pumpkins last weekend.  I am sad to report that they remain un-carved on our kitchen counter.

- I've been working extra long days at work.  I do not like this.

- Momma and I have been having Saturday shopping dates that include a salad bar lunch at Roundtable.  This, I do like.

Take Luck,

LP

Countertops Suck

Warning: This is a picture heavy post.

Our countertops were installed on March 15th.  It is now July 31st and I can say that the countertop/tile backsplash project is complete.

Holy bologna*.

*I hate that this is how to spell bologna.

I love do-it-yourself house projects because A) you have the self-satisfaction of doing it yourself B) you save money (or hope to), C) you don't have to do any work because your husband does it all, and D) it takes a hell of a lot longer than it would have if you had just paid a professional.  Wait, what?

I say that our countertops were installed on March 15th, so it's safe to say that the demolition of our kitchen started around March 1st.  Exactly 10 days before I was slated to host a baby shower at our house.  I came home from a movie with Haley and the kids to find that my lovely husband had already ripped off the laminate backsplash and huge portion of the countertops.

Ryan insisted that I could still host the baby shower and "cover up" the length of the wall that was missing the backsplash and riddled with left over adhesive.

Sure, babe.  Sure.

Removing the countertops and the backsplash seemed never-ending, and I swear that everyday our kitchen (and who am I kidding - our house!) turned more and more chaotic.  My godfather, Frank, was a God-send throughout this whole project between his knowledge, tools, and supportive, helping hands.  We love Frank.

Here are some before photos.  Because of Ryan's hasty backsplash and countertop removal - I never got a good "before" picture of the whole kitchen.

Some chaos (including the discovery of some dry rot in the wall between our bathroom and kitchen):

And finally, the finished countertops:

So, the counterops were in and all was great.  They just so happened to be installed on the week that I was battling bronchitis.  No joke - I slept through the entire installation.  I literally went to sleep with no countertops and woke up to granite ones.  I felt like Dorothy in the Wizard of Oz... Or something like that.

We really slacked on the backsplash portion of the project, and this is where we both with we would have just contracted this work out to get it over and done with.  C'est la vie.

Once we got our shiz together (decided on tile, purchased tile, and ordered grout), Ryan was able to get the tile up and grouted. It certainly didn't happen over night, but this is what our kitchen looks like now:

I'm really happy with how it all turned out.  Is it sad/bad that with the completion of this chaos, I was most excited to have our paper towel roll resume it's rightful place?

No, no it's not.  It's the little things, people!

So, there you have it.  It took nearly five months, lots of hard work from my Hubby (and Frank), and lots of patience from me.  Even though I was seriously itching to get this project finished, I tried not to pester Ryan about moving faster in his progress since he was doing all of the work.  I can honestly say that I contributed nothing to this project - except picking out the granite, tile, and grout color, and  helped clean/scrape the grout off.  But give me a break, I've been sick and/or pregnant during this whole ordeal!

What do you think?  Have you ever tackled a (majority) do-it-yourself project that took forever?  I would love to hear about your experience.

Take Luck,

LP 

15 Fun Facts

Day 1 of Sar's 15 Day Challenge!

Hmmm.  Fifteen fun facts about myself.  This should be interesting.

[1] When I first read this prompt, I immediately thought of the movie "Eurotrip" and the part when Cooper says to Jamie, "Here's a fun fact.  You made out with your sister, man!"  I have a wild tendency to make these sort of connections.  

[2] I like looking up movie trivia on IMBD.

[3] My feet are very ticklish.  This makes pedicures super fun.

[4] I am extremely noise sensitive.  I hate the sound of fingernails being cut/clipped or filed on an Emory board, forks scraping on a plate, and gum chomping/snapping.  Not only that, but once I hear a noise that irritates me - I cannot block it out or get it out of my head.  It just gets louder and louder.  I've considered seeking hypno-therapy for this issue.

[5] I have kept a planner since the 7th grade.

[6] I prefer to sleep with one leg outside of the covers.

[7] My little sister and I love to sing Broadway show tunes.  Once, when we were on the ferry (and apparently in our own little world) we were deep into a number from Mamma Mia when an older gentleman interrupted us and asked if we were auditioning for the play.  Embarrassing.

[8] I spend one hour every Sunday preparing Brock's food for the week.

[9] While playing softball in college - I played every position in the infield at one point or another.

[10] My favorite snack is tortilla chips, sour cream, and salsa.

[11]  I share a birthday with my nephew, Liam.

[12] Only recently did I finally catch the joke in Dumb & Dumber when the cop tells Harry and Lloyd to "pull over" and Harry responds, "No, it's a cardigan - but thanks for asking!"

[13]Sometimes I talk to our dogs like they are people.

[14] Two of my favorite shows are Dexter and Weeds.  Is it wrong that I love two shows that happen to be about a serial killer and drug dealer?

[15] If I could quit my job and become a professional photographer - I totally would.

Did you learn anything new about me that you didn't already know?

Take Luck,

LP

Dear Monday

Linking up with Megan for Dear Monday!

Dear Monday, I would have appreciated a good night's sleep after a very long and busy weekend... But, no.  Let's see if we can't change this tonight.

Dear Kennedy, I asked your Mommy yesterday how your little puffy lip was doing.  She told me that it wasn't so puffy, but a little black and blue.  Awesome.  Now you look like you've been assaulted.  Aunt of the year, right here.

Dear Baby Alex, Your Mommy and Daddy came over to watch a movie with us on Friday night, and I had the pleasure of spending more time looking at your cute face than actually watching the movie!  The best part was when you fell asleep on me and we snuggled for quite some time.  I totally hated that.

Dear Comcast, I called for help this evening and I swore that if your customer service lady said, "Uh yes, Miss Peters..." one more time - I was going to scream.  And make punching motions with my fist.

Dear New Job, We will get real acquainted with each other on Monday.  Now if only this week would fly by.  It gets challenging when I have transitioned all of my work already.  Hmmm.

Dear Hubby, We had dinner at Azteca the other night and when asked for your order, you asked for a "Pico de Gallo Burrito."  The waiter looked at your with a very puzzled expression, and we then determined you meant to order a "Carne Asada Burrito."  Sheesh.  Let's stay away from Mexico.

Take Luck,

LP

Fill in the Blank Friday

Hooray for Friday!  As usual, I'm filling in some blanks with Lauren!

[1] My bedtime routine includes washing my face, contacts out, glasses on, brushing teeth, flossing, night lotion on, taking vitamin, grabbing a fresh bottle of water, hopping in bed, and continuing to find the cold spots in the bed until sleepy time.

[2] I am super sleepy lately.  I slept for 12 hours last night and could have slept 4 or 5 more, fo sho.

[3] I can't stand Styrofoam because it makes horrible, horrible sounds.

[4] My idea of relaxation would be sitting on a quiet and secluded beach with my tootsies in the sand and a reading a good book.

[5] If I had an extra $50 I would go buy more maxi dresses.  They are my weakness right now.

[6] The best thing about a bloggy friend is they can be supportive and caring even when they only know part of a story.  I also feel like I get to know these people through the stories they share, and I hope they feel like they get to know me through my stories and rambling too.

[7] A recipe I've been dying to try is this white chicken enchiladas with green chili sour cream sauce.

Take Luck,

LP