Oddly, I’m fine with dandelions and other sorts of weeds. I pretty much refuse to use pesticides on my yard, so that’s OK with me. This is a different story. Ivy is evil. Once it gets out of hand, it’s darned near impossible to get rid of it. The last time, we used RoundUp shrub killer and then covered it with a tarp. Now I’m faced with a problem. Having learned so much about the ill-effects of RoundUp, how do I get rid of it without harmful pesticides? I’ll have to continue to pull up as much as possible and then roto-till the heck out of the area. Maybe borrow one of the Gro-Moore goats… kidding. This stuff is pretty well established: I’ve dug up roots as thick as my thumb! (See photos)

Here’s the side yard before we killed the ivy. Much more than my current problem area, but it’s still annoying.

Here’s what I’m contending with now.

Progress made today.

Now, I find myself squinting a lot, and wondering why the screen is so blurry. Then I pull out my glasses and like magic: things are clear! WHO KNEW?? Now I’m just dragging my feet at setting up another eye appointment. It’s been at least 3 years since my last eye exam. It’s long overdue.

Here’s a picture of me when I got my glasses. Lord only knows why I’m smiling while at work. Notice the umbrella in the background and black “shade” in my cubicle. I used them to block out the ungodly amount of light from the plethora of fluorescent lighting in our office. It truly was hell on earth. But I digress… I’m thinking about a new pair of frames now because the old ones tend to get a little uncomfortable after wearing them a while. But that does cost $$.

Just about to break on through to the other side.

Demolition is always fun.

Our friend Don (seen peeking out from behind the wall) helped Mike frame up the opening with a load-bearing header! Great work, guys. It’s good to have friends we can pay with Wendy’s lunch.

In between: I patched/painted the walls and added a wooden casing on the inside of the opening. Somehow I never took pictures of the process… Shame on me. :( Then there was the whole ordeal about what countertop to go with. Let me just say that if you’re going to buy countertops, buy them all at once. This little piece of countertop was way more money than I wanted to spend! They really gouge you when it comes to small orders. Luckily, we had a little help from my parents as a Christmas gift. Yikes.

So once the countertop was installed last week, I finished up all the trim work. Phew! Done.

And because I like to keep it real, this is what happens when I stage the house for pictures… I end up with a pile of relocated clutter, so that my house looks clean. It’s not.

When last we saw this little room, I had just tiled the floor and installed a new toilet. Since then I’ve accomplished the following things: I purchased a couple of really cute FLOR tiles to really tie the room together.

Then I got the brilliant idea of putting translucent film on the window. I wanted to be able to keep the shade up, allowing more sunlight to flood the downstairs “cave”, but our air conditioner is right there and our backyard is a bit of an eyesore at the moment. The film hides those uglies, AND lets in the light!

Next, I happened to be at Lowe’s when I saw an open-box vanity hanging out in the plumbing department. The guy gave me $100 bucks off, so I pretty much got the thing 50% off. SCORE! I had plumbers come to give me an estimate, and they actually installed it right then… Which is when I learned that my awesome deal was obtained at a price; the counter top/sink piece was warped, requiring the plumber to shim it up a little bit. Being the perfectionist that I am, I ended up “fixing” the shim-work done by the plumbers. I’m handy like that. No one will ever notice that it’s uneven, unless I point it out.

Then I repaired the wall where the old tiling was and ripped out the stupid toothbrush and bar soap holders. Why anyone would need those in a powder room is beyond me!

Lastly, I decided to add a wider shelf to the foundation ledge. 4 inches wasn’t even enough room to put a tissue box. Add a few accessories to the shelf, get some cute decorative knobs for the vanity, hang a picture, take some photos and you’re done, baby!

Let’s revisit how the bathroom looked when we bought the house:

And then the progress:

Finished product:

I’ve had this post idea on my mental list for a long time (two years to be exact). I believe I had “organize my closet” on my 2011 goal list, and now it is complete. When we bought our house, there was a powder room and TINY closet (that Mike was using) attached to our bedroom. Not the wisest idea in my opinion. Pretty much the only things you could do in there was brush your teeth or pee. But we have a nice refinished bathroom to do that in, so back in 2008 I converted the whole thing into a walk-in closet (and Mike got the normal closet that I was previously using). We pulled out the toilet and installed a Rubbermaid closet system. One of the best things we ever did, IMHO. And since we left the sink you can still brush your teeth.

But when I pulled out the yucky old vanity mirror, I discovered this: terrible exposed electrical wire and a giant hole. LOVELY. And seriously, that ugly mint green paint was EVERYWHERE in my house at some point. Luckily it was all covered up before we moved in, but I’m of the mindset that there can be too much of a good thing, if you know what I mean.

Anyway… Long story short. Here’s my current organized closet. One more thing to check of the house “bucket list”. And yeah, I still have to purge some clothes. I have way too much to wear for a SAHM! :) At one point I had my clothes organized by color but that’s way too anal retentive for me. I can’t be bothered with that level of crazy. I’ve only got so much crazy to go around.

Happy new year everyone! So far this has been a fantastic year full of lots of fun times and few bad times.  Also, it has not snowed yet this season to any degree that bothers me. Read almost none at all.

I have re-discovered the ability to purchase music after relying on Pandora and XM radio for years. We have since ditched the XM and keep Pandora for catching new stuff here and there.

WITR has come into my listening in a capacity that WBER used to.
Basically combing it’s top 20 for new songs as they pop-in.

Anyway, here are some changes I have made recently for the new year.

1. I phased out more caffeine during my week off from work. I now only drink one diet soda at lunch and I think it helps counteract the asthma drug I take  at lunch too. I used to drink a cup of coffee for breakfast too.

2. I take my pills at Lunch instead of before bed. I find I can wake up better without the drowsiness the pill causes.

3. Vanessa and I started a tea ritual at 10pm most nights. In fact, I’m drinking tea with her as I write this.

4. I’ve resolved to make this the year I start meditating more
regularly. At one point I was doing it every day at lunch and frankly felt like a million bucks due to the micro sleep I would tend to get at the end.

5. I’m going to start working out at work two day a week. Right now I try to get in as many board game with my co-workers as I can. I think I need a little more balance and three days a week is still plenty.

I think that’s all for tonight, see you next Wednesday!

I’ve had some time to think about the circumstances that got me here. I’ve done some mindfulness meditation to calm my brain and I have to say that it has helped — especially in coping with the anxiety/uneasiness that comes with being over-tired. Considering that this whole ordeal fell during the holidays, I’ve also been thinking about the coming new year. I’ve decided that if I make one resolution this year it would be this:

In 2012 I will be kinder to myself

I’m so quick to place blame on myself for things I have no control over. I’m too busy taking care of others (Gabriel, Mike, the house) I often neglect my own personal needs. I feel guilty if I take time away from Gabe to do things that I want. I don’t make time for exercise. I could stand to eat healthier.

So yeah, all this needs to change, but by choosing the simple resolution to be kinder to myself, it pretty much encompasses all that in one statement. And I say 2012 is the year to make it happen! Here’s to the new year and my one and only resolution. :)

I am beyond miserable. I said to Mike that I’m being punished for something I’ve done, because this feels like hell. I fumble through my days just barely able to keep my eyes open. Cruel, cruel irony. I need to be there for Gabe and work, but I’m floundering.

I used to be such a good sleeper. I think a year and half of crappy sleeping cycles is finally catching up to me. Are there any insomniacs out there that can help me out with my new problem?

However, I ran into a small snag. The pre-cut oak panels I used before are 5.5″ high, which was fine on the other stairs because I covered up the open space with 3/4″ shoe molding. Those risers are only 6.5″ high — you do the math. You’d think the builder of our house would have used the same freaking sized rizer, but NO. Silly me; I assumed they were the same. The risers going down were at least 7″!! What the hell?? 5.5 + .75 + .75 = 7 So the boards weren’t going to work the same way as the 6.5″ steps.

Long story short, I created some skinny shims that I could lay the molding on and filled the small gaps with wood putty. It’s certainly not my proudest home improvement moment. I used to complain to high heaven about the weird things the previous homeowner use to do (um 3″ nails??), and now I’m turning into that homeowner. Hey, whatever works, just do it. :) I’m just glad I don’t have to listen to Mike nag me to do it already… and it looks pretty good too!

Living Room (or Den as I continue to call it)

• touch up walls
• paint trim
• cut wood for stairs
• urethane panels for stairs
• nail up panels and trim
• get chair
• attach mantel permanently
• new couch
• get rid of bar armoire
• install some kind of shelving/ cabinets behind bar
• bannister
• accessories
• new fireplace

Dining Room

• break open passthrough to kitchen
• adjust wiring
• finish old electrical project
• get rid of coffee table
• create a room divider
• figure out what to do with that awkward open space (if anything)
• hang artwork
• cut/measure/urethane and hang trim
• bench (Dad is making)
• new curtains
• paint
• possible display shelves for corners

Sitting Room

• new curtains
• create photo montage above piano
• hang other art

I only listed three rooms here that currently relate to House 2.0, so you can imagine how the rest of the list goes on and on. Actually the two longest room lists are the living room and dining room, so it’s not that bad really. Notice the two items with strikethroughs? I just got around to doing that today; so there will be a blog post to follow-up on that little adventure when I’m all done tomorrow. (There is no sarcasm in that comment whatsoever.)

This is my first time doing something like this for my whole house and frankly, I’m surprised it took me so long. I like the idea of keeping all the possible and even impossible projects in one place. That way I can refer back, modify, add, subtract — all the while keeping a perspective on the “someday/maybes” so I can actually make them realities. Do you make crazy all-inclusive lists to keep your ideas organized?