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Thursday fun Friday, May 28, 2010 Andrew had to work late last night. All of my favorite Thursday TV shows ended their seasons last week. Netflix sent a new movie. All I will say is this. Dear John, I want my two hours back. xo, Courtney ~Courtney posted at 7:43:14 AM Results: Pay it forward Wednesday, May 26, 2010 After a busy few days, I finally had a minute to sit down and pick the winners of the 3rd annual pay it forward contest. I wanted to pick everyone, because I am a sucker like that. But, for the sake of my wallet and my marriage, I stuck with the first three numbers that were randomly generated. I am not entirely sold yet, but I think I have good ideas for each of the winners. It might even be the same idea for everyone...we'll see. Amy and Sara, please shoot me an email with your addresses. Leah, I already have yours. And can conveniently package it up with the stuff that I have had sitting on my desk, that I meant to send to you mid-last week... I have a busy few days ahead of me, getting the boys ready to fly out to the west coast for a few days, but hope to get your little something-something out sooner, rather than later. Thanks for playing! ~Courtney posted at 8:22:55 AM Waste Friday, May 21, 2010 Andrew and I have the same philosophy on waste. We are not fans of it. In fact, we dislike it, and invest some energy (pun intended) on doing things to avoid it. In attempts to reduce our monthly energy costs, as well as to "do our part" in a way that doesn't put us out all that much, we signed up for our power company's energy saver program. Outside of cost-savings, it appealed to Andrew because they would come and (for free!)install a touch-screen, programmable thermostat. We had a programmable one previously, and apparently (which I didn't know until we were discussing this) he was bummed that the one here wasn't. I digress. Anyhow. The mercury is rising and I wanted to turn on my AC yesterday afternoon. My brand new, three week old touch pad, programmable thermostat is dead. Andrew called, tried all of the trouble-shooting recommendations to no avail, and a tech is scheduled to be here between 8:30 and noon. So, that makes us stuck at home this morning. Wasting time. I recognize I'll live, but sitting in a steamy house (hopefully it stays this insulated in the winter, too!) waiting for a stranger to come over is not my cup of (iced) tea. Here's to hoping he gets here within the time frame, and that we can chill out this weekend. With busy summer weekends starting, with no end in sight, chilling out is exactly what we need to do. UPDATE: (since we can laugh at ourselves) Guy was over an hour late. Issue was TOTALLY stupid, and totally our fault. The switch on our furnace was switched off. The only thing I can think of was that Andrew brushed it when he was dragging the jogging stroller out of the basement a couple of days ago...FAIL. Waste. ~Courtney posted at 11:15:58 AM So, it's sometime within 6 weeks... Friday, May 21, 2010 I answered my own question from a couple of posts down. Andrew and I stayed up too late last night watching Thursday night TV on a TiVo delay, and I slept through my 5:25 alarm. I woke up on my own at 5:50, debated if getting to the gym was feasible, threw on my (luckily laid out last night) clothes, brushed teeth while filling water bottle, and was at the gym by 5:57. And it's 5 blocks away. Woot! Happy Friday, yo! ~Courtney posted at 8:44:27 AM It's Pay It Forward time again! Wednesday, May 19, 2010 Almost everybody I know had a rough winter, or is having some workliferomance stress right now. Well, not everybody, but enough people that I think it's time to do another "pay it forward" post, and start some contagious cheer. Perhaps I'll create a viral, worldwide spread of happiness? Doubtful, but I would love for three of my lovely readers to get a little springtime cheer, courtesy of me. It'll also fill my need for some blog love and adoration; not going to lie. In this game, currently unspecified prizes will be sent to three people who leave comments. I plan to use random.org to pick the winning numbers, and only your first comment will count for the prize. Here are the rules:
I haven't figured out the prizes yet, but will come up with something good, most likely tailored to the interests of the winner. Or not. It'll be fun, nonetheless. I plan to pick the winners at some point over the weekend, so...comment away! ~Courtney posted at 9:45:50 AM Lather, Rinse, Repeat Wednesday, May 19, 2010 What is the time to make something a habit? I think it's either four, or six weeks, right? Anyhow, I am not a morning person. When Benjamin was a baby, Andrew and I had a deal that I'd get up with him when he woke up (multiple times) at night, as long as Andrew handled the early am wake-up call (howl?). I would roll out of bed only when Andrew woke me up because he had to get to work. But our new, busy schedules, and the fact that my awesome gym doesn't have childcare leaves me with few options to get a solid workout in unless it's dark outside. So, for six weeks, I've been getting up at 5:25 every Monday, Wednesday and Friday. It's the perfect amount of time for me to stretch in bed, wash my face and brush my teeth, stumble into workout clothes, and get out the door for a six am class. I've been a tad (understatement of the month) under the weather this week, and had run a half marathon on Sunday, so I didn't make it on Monday, despite responding to the auto-alarm on my iPhone, but did get up today. In fact, most mornings, I wake up about 2-3 minutes before my alarm goes off. It's craziness! So, anyhow. I am loving that after a few weeks, it's easier and easier to get to the 6 am classes (which are in my calendar and phone as "ass kicking"). I am loving that the muscles that felt like death after class 6 weeks ago look and feel like toned muscles, and mostly, I am LOVING that my skinny clothes are a tad baggy on me right now. What I don't love? That I am ready for a nap and it's 9:30 am. But, that's nothing a little diet Coke can't help (yes, my anti-diet coke kick only lasted about 5 days...). ~Courtney posted at 9:31:46 AM Meeting of the minds Tuesday, May 11, 2010 So, I am a tad tired tonight. And when I am tired, things that are not all that funny seem really funny to me. In honor of getting my sweet little Saab back late last week, and remembering that I forgot to pull the passenger side mirror in (which I will go and fix once I am done with this post), I am going to share a conversation that Andrew and I had the other day. Andrew: Will you roll the window down and pull the mirror in there? Me: Sure thing. It's probably narrow enough {on our one-way, narrow street with cars parked on both sides} that it should be tucked in. Great thinking! Andrew: Well, the car in front of me has it pulled in {at which point I look in the mirror to see the car behind us} and the car behind us is missing their mirror. Okay, typed out, you totally had to be there. But, this is one I want to remember, because it was really, really funny. And now I need to run out and tuck in my mirror. ~Courtney posted at 7:08:00 PM Everything is coming together... Monday, May 10, 2010 We got an amazing amount of work done around here (assuming I don't look behind me and see all the crap that I need to deal with this morning), and I am feeling SO good about how it's all starting to shape up. And we spent all of Saturday out and about, including a fantastic, albeit slightly late, Cinco de Mayo block party down the street. SO.MUCH.FUN. Probably too much, based on how hard this morning's workout was. I finished painting the 6 drawers I had previously mentioned, and ended up splurging on some cute pulls for it. We put the finished product into B's wagon, and walked it over to my friend's house to give it to her as an early birthday present. I had totally planned to give it to her, since she suggested I make Andrew go and get it for me, but since she often reads this blog, I had to play it a little cool. It'll get more use at her house, and would have been too much blue next to my massive beast of an armoire. We found a desk for this space. A nice, loooonnnnng one that takes up the bulk of the longer wall in the room My fabric came last Thursday, and while on the fence if I was going to make them myself, or find someone to do it for me, I tripped over some easy-to-follow no-sew instructions using the iron-on bond tape. I spent much of yesterday evening making the four panels I need for downstairs, and am proud to say that they absolutely rock. I couldn't be more pleased with how they turned out. Plus, I got the fabric, with enough left over to make a couple of pillows, I suspect, for $106. I NEVER liked the curtains in our VA house, and they cost a hell of a lot more than $106. {pats self on back} I still have the painting bug, and will probably rip this room apart to give it a pretty coat or two in the not too distant future, but for now am just going to enjoy it. And deal with the mess in the kitchen, which will inevitably make this room look cluttered in no time, flat. A little sneak peek:   Next project? I think it'll be creating (or hiring someone to create) a tile backsplash for a couple places in the kitchen...we'll see. ~Courtney posted at 7:40:44 AM A crocodile in my heart Friday, May 07, 2010 Benjamin is very into his doctor's kit. He'll operate on anybody who will let him, even including a consultation via video chat with my mother earlier this week. I am trying to bang out some work here, and he's currently assisting me with my multitude of ailments. You have a very high temperature: NINE. You also have a very serious case. Very interesting. There is a crocodile in your heart, and it turns out you're allergic to crocodiles, so I'll get it out with this tool." He's now serving me water in a sippy cup, and has prescribed that I turn on the tv to watch a show that he loves, like Handy Manny, and to play some trains. If only he could reach the shelf with the bottle of wine, and put that into the sippy cup he just served me...it IS 5 o'clock on Friday, after all. Happy Weekend. ~Courtney posted at 5:02:29 PM It was free, and nobody wanted it... Thursday, May 06, 2010 We've had this armoire since 2005 or 2006. It was heavy as hell, had a broken drawer, and for the most part, was laminate and particle board, rather than real wood. In a shade I don't even like, to boot. I didn't think I needed it here, and it's too tall for basement storage. It owed us nothing. So that's what I posted it on Craigslist. For free. And nobody wanted it. So, I changed my mind and decided to keep it. But, to totally change it's look and purpose. As the last boxes are unpacked, and the fun decorating begins, I've noticed an overwhelming trend of blues/greens in just about everything I am doing. The fabric I picked out for our curtains is a soft turquoise and green. My accessories that I've had for ages, when all in a box next to each other, are blue and green. So, since the room was heading in that direction (and we're getting rid of the black desks and shelf in there, to lighten up the space), creating it in blue and/or green seemed like the obvious choice. So, yeah. I read up on how to prepare and paint laminate furniture, tripped over this blog and got started. I can't find the "before" pictures that I'd used to do the craigslist post. Oops. Just take my word that it was fugly. First, I sanded it all down, and cleaned up that disaster. I primed it that same day, and then had to let the pieces cure for 7 days. That was awesome, to have those all over my house. The next weekend, I started putting coats of paint on, three in total. I waited a couple of days after the last coat and then used a rub-on poly coat. Which I totally messed up; it was sticky, and since it was dark there, I had too much in some places, and not enough in others. But, I am so sick of the project, that I just can't be bothered right now. Another day, perhaps. So, here you are! My brand new craft/sewing/storage center!  It was a multi-week, multi-room project. Not so fun.  Andrew got out his saw and built me a frame to put a peg board on the back wall for added storage.  Work in progress...  And voila! I was about to splurge on new handles, but all of the ones I liked were on the pricier end, and I wasn't entirely sure how well this was going to turn out, had already dropped a few bucks on the primer, paint and supplies (not to mention time) so I just took the ugly ones that came on it, and gave them a couple coats of black spray paint, and a poly spray coat (duh! Why didn't I use that on the furniture!?)   I am on the hunt for a new, larger table desk. Because I, apparently, need to consistently keep my house in a state of disarray, I've taken on another project that I mentioned last week. So far, that set of 6 drawers has been sanded and primed, and will start getting paint this weekend. I am seriously, seriously done for awhile after that. Although, now I want to paint that room... ~Courtney posted at 4:17:18 PM Vertical Space Wednesday, May 05, 2010 When you move into a much smaller space, you have some re-purposing to do. Downsizing the quantity of bedrooms seemed like a bit of a challenge to us, mostly because we already owned the furniture for 3-4 bedrooms, but it's actually been easily solved with a single purchase. A twin-over-full bunk bed for Benjamin's room. Well, it came today. And it rocks. I ordered it from Bunk Beds Now after reading reviews, and attempting to shop for it locally. Only complaint, the twin/top headboard had two chunks out of it that happened during shipping, but I emailed the company, and got a response within an hour saying to still put it together, another replacement piece was on the way, and that I didn't need to send back the first. Amazing customer service. After a bad crib/changing table experience, I have been hesitant to order furniture online, but had confidence in the brand and the reviews of the company. Anyhow, good choice, and I highly recommend them. So, without any further chit-chat, here is B's new awesomesauce bed. He is SOOOOO excited about it.  Please ignore the flowery duvet cover...I haven't picked his new bedding yet. That might be another blog post.    AND, to top it all off, we had our first barber shop experience today. It wasn't ANYTHING like I was expecting (where were the old men singly harmonious melodies?), and was actually quite close to Cartoon Cuts, where I had been taking him before. And walking distance from the house. Or in our case, tricycle distance. Here's my rock-star being such a calm, good kid during his much needed haircut.  ~Courtney posted at 9:24:42 PM These are a few of my favorite things... Wednesday, May 05, 2010 A drawer full of these...  A basket stocked with these (the plastic Easter egg is unrelated to guacamole. At least in my recipe):  Chop, scoop, press, juice. And add in some of this (yes! I am growing cilantro and it's flourishing for a change!):  Need chips and some Corona Lights, but we've got a great evening ahead of us! Happy Cinco de Mayo! PS. I have no clue why we have limes in both the fridge and on the counter. Andrew brought home some ginormous bag of them, so I suspect it has something to do with that. Maybe. ~Courtney posted at 9:06:18 AM Except for his anxiety... Tuesday, May 04, 2010 My child is smart. He's kind. He's funny. He's sweet, and has a heart of gold. But he's a little strange. Who isn't?   He's got some eccentricities that, despite attempts to make him more comfortable in those situations, he just holds on to them. Whatever.  Today was his end of year parent-teacher conference at his VA pre-school. It went, mostly, as expected, and I am quite sure that the report card looks a lot like my 3 y/o pre-school report card. What caught me off guard was about 45 seconds in when his teacher said something along the lines of "Benjamin is smart well beyond his years, but if he could just get over his anxieties." Um, really? We had to wait until 3 weeks before the end of the school year to know that my child is an anxious mess in school? My response? "Well, in his defense, he comes by it naturally." And it's true. I stress out about every social, medical, personal, professional, you name it, to-do. I dread all things new, despite knowing that everything ends up working out in the end.   I didn't know what else to say. It's true. In some ways, he's SO much like me, and I am a worrier about everything. In other ways, he's SO much like Andrew; happy playing alone, reading a book, or just getting lost in his imagination. Apparently that's not a great combination at pre-school.  I think he's perfect, but I have to say that I've felt a little stressed about this all afternoon. For starters, it's undeniable that Benjamin spends the bulk of his time with (for the most part, smart) adults. We have some friends we visit with, but now that I am working more, the play dates are not as plentiful as I'd like. Secondly, he's just shy. This is harder for me to wrap my head around, because I am not shy. I'd scheduled my meeting with the teacher at the end of the day, due to our commuting scenario, so I went out to the playground to get Benjamin and play with him for a few minutes before we loaded up in the car, and most of the kids were interacting and running around, but Benjamin was all alone, in the middle of an intricate construction scenario in the sand box with some trucks. It's funny, because he seems really popular (I can't believe those words just came out of my mouth), and the kids want to play with him, but he's just content by himself. I am truly trying to not worry, but just have that never-ending mom guilt. As the school year winds up, though, we're looking into some nanny-share options so that he's not stuck playing trains alone when I am on a conference call this summer. And on that note, I have to pretend to be Diesel 10 for a few minutes before bed time. I did promise. ~Courtney posted at 7:27:42 PM Getting settled... Monday, May 03, 2010 We've been in the new house for just over five weeks, and I think we're finally starting to get settled. We unpacked as much as we could right away, but then I got that "let's refinish furniture" bug, which has basically taken over the office space in the house. So, the computers (outside of our laptops) are still in boxes in the dining room because the desks are piled with paint cans, things that should be in the armoire, and other random things that I haven't dealt with yet. But, this weekend, for the first time, it felt like we were actually living in the house, instead of an endless list of to-dos. For the sake of full disclosure, I had to close the door to the office, because it is still a disaster. I finalized my decision and ordered the fabric for both sets of downstairs curtains (which will be coordinating colors) this morning, and I think that things will seem much more tied together once those are done. My refinished armoire is nearly complete. There are a couple of scuffs that we made putting the doors back on, and installing the peg board back wall, but I haven't had the energy to deal with those yet. I can't find the before-pics I took, so I am holding off on that blog post, too. And because I was ---> this <--- close to being able to actually move into that room, I picked up a free (remember my previous garbage picking skills?) tall, solid wood dresser that someone had abandoned with some free signs. I think it'll be a good addition to the study, mostly because I am attempting to rid my life of plastic crap, and currently, a lot of my notecards, craft supplies, and B's arts & crafts are in those plastic drawers from Target. Would LOVE to see those go. If the (currently painted in that old-man-ish hunter green color) isn't a good fit here, my friend is willing to take it off of my hands. The best part? Like the free table story from a year and a half ago, it entailed Andrew doing something semi-embarrassing in order to procure it for me. This time, he (and Benjamin) towed B's Radio Flyer wagon down the street, and then walked home with it. I didn't capture the moment, because I thought Andrew was super irritated with me. He swears he wasn't, but I don't believe him. Anyhow. So, now that's in the middle of the study, and after a little sanding this morning, the room is now a dusty disaster. Moreso than it was. But, I am pretty sure that's my last project for awhile, because as I mentioned at the beginning of this wordy post, we're starting to just live life, instead of getting settled, and that is better than a house full of repurposed, painted furniture. And that's all for now. ~Courtney posted at 11:45:03 AM If you were REALLY handy, Handy Manny... Monday, May 03, 2010 It's a gloomy day, and I am working a bit this morning, so Benjamin is catching up on some Tivo after a mostly-tv-less weekend. I just heard him say: "I HAVE A PAGER HANDY MANNY. Not just a phone like you. If you were REALLY handy, and really wanted to help people, you'd ask your mom for a pager, instead of just an iPhone." There really isn't anything to say, other than that. ~Courtney posted at 8:36:19 AM |
