When It Rains, It Falls

It seems like anytime we try to do ANY home improvement project at our house, disaster will always follow. We ripped out the carpet and put it in wood floors, but surprise, surprise none of the walls are square and so on the last run of wood, it looks horrible. Just stupid stuff like that ALWAYS happens. For example, yesterday I was having a nice little day...that is until I got home. Turns out our cheap-o faucet (I can imagine the guy that redid our place got it in the bargain bin at the dollar store.) in the kitchen decided it was going to crack on the side of the faucet. Just imagine how a water hose does if it is not properly secured to the spigot. You turn the water on and poof you are now soaked. Same principle with the faucet. I went to turn on the water to wash my hands and I was surprised and shocked to not only see that the faucet is busted, but my shirt is wet as well. So needless to say a trip to Lowes was in order. So I run into Lowes and was in total faucet overload. I never realized how expensive they were, considering I never had to buy one before. I finally picked one out and a hundred bucks later I was in the car headed back home. Joseph wasn't too happy to have to replace the faucet because that got in the way of his Generals and Commanders game playing time, but the kitchen sink is pretty important, so he had no choice. Thought it would be simple. In and out and have it done in half and hour. WRONG. So wrong. First off, Joseph couldn't get the bolts that hold the faucet in place loosened. Joseph is a very strong guy and he probably tried for over thirty minutes trying to get one off. Seems like the guy that installed the thing used an air wrench or something and torqued the mess out of them. But eventually Joseph prevailed and the faucet came off. I was relieved because by this point Joseph was not a happy camper! So we get the nice, new faucet in place and Joseph goes to hook it up to the water lines. Guess what? The lines weren't long enough! Just my luck. So another trip to Lowes looking in the plumbing section for crap I had no idea what it even was. So I found some more tubing and some little brass things that go on the end. But another little plastic tip-thingy I couldn't find. Neither could the workers at Lowes. Ding, ding, ding!! I just won the jackpot!! I would have to go to a plumbing store and get another one. Bad thing is that it is 8:00, store-no-open! So, I had a super fun night cooking dinner with no water and let's be honest-the fridge water spigot takes FOREVER to fill up a big pot of collard greens. And it was even more fun after dinner and cleaning everything up-with no water. So at this point I am still out of water and Joseph still has to hunt down the special part that will get our sink back in working order. If not....I'm moving to Mexico. Scratch that---Mexico Beach. No swine flu for me! Stay tuned to see if we can get through the installation without anymore trouble!

Topsy-Turvy

Well....I got a wonderful idea about 8:30 last night. I decided that I should do some rearranging and move the furniture around in the living room. Note to self: there is not enough room and I have way too much furniture to be doing all this. Oh yeah, and Joseph was not too happy about my idea, either!! Needless to say, I am not satisfied with the results. I will be moving some more stuff around this afternoon, but after it is all said and done, I have a feeling that I will be moving everything back in its original spots! I will be sure to take some photos, just so others can experience my joy of living in a shoebox!

Misery Loves Company

If any of you are wondering why I haven't posted anything in a few days, that is because it hurts to type. This P90X is kicking my butt. So I have been too tired to do anything else or even think about doing anything else, because I don't think I could force my body to do anything at this point. Hopefully the soreness will go away in a few days and I will feel more like my self!!

Note: My Easter Lilies finally bloomed the other day. And they look like they are on steroids. They are massive, but beautiful. That's about all the exciting news that I have today. Ta-Ta for now.

Bring It

Well, today is May 1st and it is also the first day that I begin my 90 day workout routine using p90x. Two of my friends are doing this program and one has been at it for 3 weeks and I can already see amazing results on her. So hopefully, they can keep me motivated and I won't quit after three days!! So, I picked my dvds up at the post office yesterday (they made their way all the way from China!) and went home to check them out. I did the Stretch X tape trying to get a feel of how they structure their workouts and to loosen up a bit for today. So far I like how they do things. Today, however, begins the real workout parts, not just a few little stretches to help with your flexibility. Thankfully, I am not sore from yesterday, like I thought I would be since I never stretch or anything. So I am giving this a try and hopefully I will get good results. Because I will have to say, taking my before shots was no fun whatsoever! I knew I had gained weight, but seeing yourself in a bathing suit on camera will really motivate you!! So I am going to do what Tony Horton says and I am going to "Bring It"! Bring what? I don't know but I am going to give it my best!!

Great Space-Saving Idea

I am always on the lookout for great, stylish ways for extra storage. While I was looking at Southern Living online, I came across this great idea. See if you can figure out where the great new storage is, and it's not under the bed!!

Have you figured it out?? Well, here it is:
What a great idea! Many people use a fabric covered end table such as this, but I had never thought to use a trash can and a plywood round to make one. Now you can use this to store seasonal items, like big, bulky sweaters to keep them out of your way until you need them again during the winter! Not to mention you get a great looking end table! Happy storing, ya'll!!

Doing my part for Earth Day

Not really, but it sounded good. My husband should learn by now that he should not send me to Espositos. I absolutely love that place. I could just walk around outside looking at all the plants and flowers for hours. So what started out as a simple task of getting something for Joseph turned out to be a free for all for me. Sixty bucks later, I had what Joseph needed and what I wanted! My main purpose for going was to buy a vine to replace the one that we killed this past season. We have one of those metal vine-climber-uppers (I don't feel good and I can't think of the real name, sorry, but you get the jest.) in front of our air-conditioner unit outside to try and hide it. For the past two years we haven't been able to keep the vine alive (I think it is a boulvevilla vine, I know that is spelled wrong. Whatever.) so we have had to replace every spring. So he sent me to Espositos hoping that I could find something better to replace it with. No such luck. I had a hard time trying to find something. I finally came out with some other kind of vine. Don't know the name. It was too hot to look for a good one anyways. What I did find was a nice strawberry plant to grow on the back patio and I got the plants to start my herb garden. I bought Italian parsley, basil, sage, rosemary, and chives. I'm thinking about going back and grabbing some more stuff to do another one. I think I will grow cilantro, thyme, more parsley, and whatever catches my fancy that day. Joseph was able to go pick fresh strawberries this morning to put in his Cheerios. Now if only those blueberries would ripen, I might never have to buy his fruit for his cereal again. I wonder if I can grow a banana tree......kidding! It's such pretty weather outside, so get out there and start growing something. And if you don't have a yard, like me, it's no excuse. Containers provide an excellent way to add a little bit of color inside or out!!

Just a day at the beach!

There is one thing that I love and it is a quick little weekend get-away to the beach. That is one thing that I miss since moving to Georgia and that is not being able to run down to Mexico Beach on a whim and go spend the day sitting on the beach. Now there has to be planning and a good 2+ hour drive one way. This weekend, Joseph and I went with some friends to St. George Island for a little R&R and a little fishing. Since we couldn't purchase a fishing license on the island, my sister-in-law and I decided to just relax on the boat and watch the guys do all the work. I got to catch up on some reading (book club book!! Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins if anyone needs a good, quick read) and catch a few rays. Thankfully the men-folk pulled their weight and caught us some fish so that we could have a nice dinner. We all had a great time and this was the perfect little taste of what is to come this summer! Can't wait! Not to mention that St. George is one of the most beautiful beaches in Florida. Too bad most beaches are way over-developed and you can't enjoy the true beauty of an untouched beach!