Confessions for Friday

I'm confessing since it's Friday and the very best day of the week.

• I'm not here today.
• I'm on a field trip.
• I'm getting paid to go and look at rocks in the mountains.
• I love my job and my hubby, since he's the reason I'm going.
• Nick fully plans on doing next to nothing this weekend.
• He has been particularly busy the couple of weeks.
• Of course we may think about going hunting too.
• I have to shop for my Swapoween package this weekend.
• It's going to be fun!
• I'm feeling better, but it was a long week.
• Now I have to catch up on household chores.
• The bathrooms need cleaning, the floors need vacuuming.
• I should clean the windows too.
• I really could have stayed in bed this morning.
• It was oh so very comfortable.

Now since Mamarazzi is taking some time off Friday Confessions are at Audrey's place, High Heeled Love.
Go link up there.

Spin Cycle--Fanatic

The Spin Cycle this week is about being a fan.  Of something, anything. I am not really a fan of anything. I'm not big into sports.  On year I had no idea who the teams headed to the Superbowl even were.  I don't follow baseball.  The only thing I know about the World Series is that there was an earthquake during it in Oakland when I was in high school.  yeah, not a sports fan at all.
I don't fanatically follow movie stars.  The closest I get to being an avid fan of anything is probably The Big Bang Theory.  I catch the new episodes on TV or on line.  I watch the fan clips on YouTube.  But that's about the extent of it.  Truly, I'm just not fanatical about much of anything.
Perhaps I can go with the video games I really like to play.  It all started with Doom.  I loved playing Doom after a particularly trying day of serving customers when I worked in the deli of a local grocery store.  Doom let me kill several demons, which was very satisfying and stress relieving.

Not long after this we discovered Tomb Raider.  I really enjoyed playing All the Tomb Raider games until the first PlayStation 2 game.  That one coincided Turbo's arrival and I just didn't have time to get into it.  I never really got into it.  I sort of missed the next few Tomb Raider games, but have recently got back to some of the remakes for Wii and Xbox.  I just don't have time to devote to playing.  Small boys demand my time more often than not.

I am, however, excited about the next Doom release.  Doom 3:bfg is going to be available on Xbox and I'm looking forward to trying it out.  It may become a nice stress reliever, especially given that it comes with the classic games Doom and Doom 2.

So if anything I am semi-fanitical about video games.  Not wildly, avidly or die hard, but I do enjoy them.
What  are you a fan of?
Go see Gretchen for more fan spins (oh that sounds pun-ish doesn't it?)

Room Redo, Sort Of

Turbo got his redo on his room, only it's not totally done yet.  We still need to get him new curtains, and paint his dresser, but we got everything rearranged.

His bed is in the corner his shelves were.

His dresser and coat rack are on the wall his bed used to be on.

His shelves are where his dresser used to be.

He absolutely loves it.  He has space enough on the floor to have a futon mattress for a friend to sleep over on.  he has space to hang out.  he still needs a light under the bed so he can use his desk, but that is on the list after Nick fixes the electrical in his room.  Old houses are so fun, plugs are few and far between.

Of course we couldn't forget Bruiser, so his room got a minor redo.  His bed got moved and a couple of the bins got put elsewhere to give him a bit more space.  His room still needs a window, but since that requires a large hole to be cut in the foundation so an egress window can be installed, he has to wait until next summer.
Turbo's room took half a day to get all rearranged.  Bruiser's room took ten minutes, but he feels like he got something anyway.

Random Weekend Stuff

So I know it's Tuesday.  Why? Cause Monday kicked my butt.  Bruiser was sick Friday so I stayed home with him and did mommy stuff.  He was generous with his germs and by Saturday evening I was sick.  A nasty head cold took up residence in my sinuses and breathing became difficult to say the least.  Sunday and Monday were a bust as I couldn't summon the energy to do anything.  I am sort of back among the living today.  So on to the randomish weekend stuff:

• After all that, we did do some stuff to the house on Saturday before I got hit by the bus of sick.  Turbo's room got rearranged and he is thrilled.  Pictures to come.
• In changing his room around, we, of course, stirred up plenty of dust.  My allergies kicked off and I really thought that that was all the runny nose was about.  Little did I know that it was a cold chasing those allergies.
• We had a potty success on Sunday.  Bruiser voluntarily pooped on the potty.  It was a victory in the potty war.  Now to follow up on this success, he needs to go again.  We shall see what comes.
• I took my first soaky bath of the season.  I love taking a long hot bath with a good book but during the summer when it's hot they don't have much appeal. It's finally cold enough to appreciate a hot bath again.
• Bruiser has changed his mind about what he wants to be for Halloween about 6 times now.  Currently he wants to be Batman.  Turbo can't decide either.  Good thing Halloween is a month away, plenty of time for them to change their minds several times before then.
• Since changing Turbo's room around, Nick thinks we should do something with Bruiser's room.  I'm not so sure.  We have 5 bins of clothes that are waiting for Bruiser to grow into.  These are in Bruiser's room.  We may finally be able to downsize one of them--the clothes are getting more able to span more than one year and there are not so many of them. Maybe with some creative rearranging we can make the room a bit better.  I checked and the bins will fit in the closet.  If we can find another place for some of the stuff we are storing in the closet, we can put a couple of them in there. I'm also going to change the way things are stored--shirts and such in one bin, pants in another.  Since the clothes are more small medium and large now it might be easier to store them that way.
• Wow, that one got a bit long.  See what randoming when sick can do?
• Nick and I are going to have a celebration on election night.  What for?  Why to celebrate the end of the political ads.

How was your weekend?  Need to random it up?  Go link up with Stacy and get your random on.
 
Also link up with Shawn and Impulsive, who had a fun get together (that I am totally jealous of).  They have Talk To Us Tuesday.

It's Friday! Woo Hoo!

I made it through another week. The sicks have been running through the house.  Turbo had the flu, Bruiser has it right now and Nick keeps feeling tickles in his throat.  I'm hoping that I dodge the bullet.  Anyway, it's Friday so that means it time to confess.

• I'm almost happy to be running again.  
• Almost.
• At least my foot doesn't hurt anymore.
• We went to Turbo's open house at school.
• His teacher really has his number.
• He's doing well.
• I am so relieved.
• He's also doing well at his swimming lessons.
• I'm going back to a menu next week.
• I'm picking one of the emealz menus.
• Nick liked them and they gave us a guideline and something kinda different.
• I am disappointed.
• My friend from college couldn't make it up to see us.
• This weekend will be about laundry and kitchen finishing.
• It would have been more fun to have her come visit.
• Some of the shine has come off doing the dishes in the new kitchen.
• The sink is still awesome.
• Dishes aren't.
• Insomnia must be the loneliest thing in the world.
• It wants my company way to often.
• At 2:30am.
• Makes for long nights, or short ones, depending on your point of view.
• Bruiser is sick.  
• Fever, coughing, stuffy nose, mommy needing sick.
• I get an unexpected Friday off.
• Not what I wanted, but I'll go with it and snuggle with my boy today. 

So what do you have to confess this Friday?  Audrey of High Heeled Love is hosting for Mamarazzi while she take a bit of a break.  So link up there.

Spin Cycle--You Can't Go Homa Again

This week's Spin Cycle is all about your hometown.  This is an interesting question for me.  I was born in Hollywood Florida, lived in Missouri, California and then landed in Wyoming all by the time I was seven.
The town I consider my hometown is Buffalo, Wyoming.  It's a very small town.  Currently it has a population of around 5000.  When I was growing up there, the population was closer to 3200.  Small indeed.
We had three seasons growing up--tourist season, hunting season and winter.  The mountains are literally in the back yard--you drove 15 minutes out of town and you were in the Big Horns.  I spent a lot of time in the mountains with my family growing up.
However, I never really liked the town.  Growing up it was obvious that we were not of the haves, we were have nots.  I was nerdy and a bookworm and just never really fit in.  I was very happy to get out when I headed to college. I went home for breaks but soon found that I was making excuses not to go home.  I was making a new home in Laramie, Wyoming, where I had met Nick.
Now Laramie is my home town and I'm quite content to only visit Buffalo on rare occasions.  Buffalo does have a lot to offer for the traveler though--it is an easy half day drive from Yellowstone, and from the Black Hills.  It's right on the intersection of I90 and I25.
Check out the website dedicated to Buffalo.
Check out the once a week paper as well.

Looking North up Main Street.

Looking south down Main Street

The huge outdoor pool I lifeguarded at for three summers.

 Pictures courtesy of Google images
For a place to grow up it wasn't bad, it just didn't have a lot of options. And since I never felt I fit in there, I was relieved to leave.  I found a place I fit in far better.
Go see Gretchen for more Hometown spins.
 

Christmas, Right Around the Corner

This is a Sponsored post written by me on behalf of Kmart for SocialSpark. All opinions are 100% mine.
I know it's only September, but Christmas will be here before you know it.  Those of us who are thinking will want to squirrel away those gifts now while we can.  An easy way to do that?  Layaway.  Kmart Layaway to be exact.
Turbo wants Legos, Nick, well I won't say what I'm getting him--he does read my blog and all, but it's another big thing, Bruiser wants Ninjago stuff.  All of which could make a big dent in the old pocketbook.  AN easier way to get these things is to put them on layaway at Kmart--now is a particularly good time because the things I want to get them will be in stock and I know I can get them.
Rally this is a great idea for anyone--do your holiday gifts shopping at Kmart now and put it on layaway.  Not only can you pay a bit at a time, but no kid is going to find the stash if it's not at your house.  Kmart also offers free layaway--you just have to pay for the merchandise--no fees to layaway.  That is seriously cool.

As an added bonus Kmart is running a contest, Kmart's Big Layaway Giveaway where you could win all the stuff you put on layaway.  That's right, one person, per store, per week is going to win all the stuff they put on layaway.  Now that right there makes me want to put Lego sets and Ninjago sets and hmmm, Nick stuff on layaway right now.


Yeah, both Turbo and bruiser would be thrilled to see Ninjago and Lego Star Wars under the tree.
I know other stores are offering layaway.  See:

Looking at the grid, Kmart is offering the best deal--and with the chance to win all the stuff you layaway?  This is really a no brainer.

Turbo's Room

So yesterday I mentioned we are thinking about doing something in Turbo's room.  He's nine and a soon to be tween.  And the neighborhood boys tend to gather at our house--they all come looking for Turbo eventually.  Nick thinks it might be nice of he had a room that was a bit more guest friendly.
We asked Turbo what he might want to have in his room.  More shelves and wall space were his first responses.  We then told him to think about it and we'd talk about it more later.
Right now his room is sort of a mash up.  When he was little we went with a Goodnight Moon theme--green walls, pictures of the three bears and the cow jumping over the moon, wall clock, it was cute.
Turbo still loves his dark green walls.  So that's not changing.  Most of the pictures have given way to posters of comic superheros and cars. The girls haven't hit the walls--yet.

The window seat in Turbo's room. The staging area for the legos.

The shelves he has.  He'd like more.

His loft bed.  He needs a light for under it, but he likes it.

After thinking about it, he has decided to keep his loft bed for now.  He'd like to put it in a dfferent spot and move some other stuff around in his room. We are going to see what we can come up with that will be a bit more pleasing for him to hang out in with his friends.
We are going to rearrange the furniture in his room and I think he needs a new dresser.  He wants to have space to display the legos creations he wants to keep nice and a place to play with friends.  I think eventually he will end up with a bunk bed with a futon on the bottom.  We need to fix the electrical wiring in his room--give him a couple more outlets.  The joy of living in an old house.  He also needs a new rug for the floor--one of his choosing.  He needs a cool CD tower because he has the Magic Treehouse books on CD that he enjoys listening to when he's playing with his legos.
Really, he doesn't need a whole lot of decorating done, more just a redo with what he has. We are also thinking about building a fold down table--if it will fit--that he can sit at with friends and build his legos.
We are also open to ideas.  We do decorating on a very basic level.  If anyone has a great Lego theme that can go for an older kid, I'm all for it.

Thinking Random Thoughts

So it Tuesday.  One day closer to the weekend.  It can't come soon enough.  Is that a bad way to spend a week?  Longing for the weekends that go by too fast?
Well anyway, on to the random:

• Sixteen Candles really is a good movie.  
• We have been thinking about changing Turbo's room up a bit.  We are taking suggestions form Turbo, who really wants more shelves. That could be a bit of trouble.  He also wants to get rid of his loft bed.  I would prefer he keep it and we rearrange some so his room feels different. We will see what happens with the redo. 
• I hate the never ending household chores.  I get them done and turn around to find they need doing again.  It stinks.
• Bruiser is still not poop trained. It's sad.  I'm sad about it.  I really wish he would learn already.  I think poop boot camp is in his future.
• I think the boys toys mate in the dark.  I swear there are more in the morning than there were the night before.  They scatter everywhere.  And I'm the one who picks them up.  On occasion I can get Bruiser to help, but mostly he's an obstinate three year old and won't.
• We had frost again this morning.  Definitely fall here.  There are trees turning yellow in town.  The trees left in the mountains are already turned and losing leaves.  The s word is not far away in these parts. Nick has a bet running with friends about when the first snow will fall.  I know it will happen before Halloween.

To be nine again.

 So what's your random this week?  Link it up with Stacy--she who is wearing the random crown these days.

And go link up with Shawn and Impulsive for Talk to Us Tuesday.

Was That the Weekend?

It's Monday again.  I really could have used another Sunday.  This last weekend was at times fun, but at other times less than fun.
The fun parts were Friday night with pizza and beer over at our friends house.  Turbo spent the night there and Nick made plans to go hunting the next morning. Since Nick went hunting and I had to go get Turbo, we headed over there for breakfast.  When we left, we went and rented some movies and video games.
We lazed around the rest of the day--although I did get the kitchen floor swept and mopped and the rugs from the bathrooms washed.  The bathroom floor got mopped too.  Nick got home late in the afternoon, but he had a great time.
Sunday was grocery day.  It was also run random errand day, brew day for Nick, and cleaning day for me.  I cleaned the upstairs bathroom, got the hand me down clothes sorted and put away nicely in Bruiser's room as well as getting all the 3T clothes moved out and the 4T clothes moved in.  The kid is growing faster than I really want him to.
I did take a nap Sunday afternoon and it was wonderful.
Now for the not so fun things.  Turbo caught a mild cold--fever, stuffy nose, headache, general not feeling goodness--and was mostly a lump on the couch Saturday night.  He was feeling better Sunday night and is headed to school today--but if he starts feeling yucky again, I'll go get him.
The other not so good moment was when the crankies swept through the house.  I got annoyed at Nick when he couldn't wait five minutes for dinner to finish cooling to eat--no, he had to snack.   As a result of my getting cranky about this, he got cranky and we both got a bit snappy with the boys.  Granted, the boys really know how to push each other's and our buttons, so things were less than fun for a bit, but we got over it.
So how was your weekend?  Good, bad, boring, too exciting?  Do tell.

Confessions!

Time for Friday Confessions.

• I went and got my hair did.
• Went from this:

Kinda straightish and dull.

• To this:

Looks so much shorter, but the curl hasn't really relaxed yet.

• It was time for my annual perm.
• It really does give me a wash and go hair style.
• Turbo has been sad.
• It's likely that one of his hermit crabs has died.
• He is really broken up about it.
• There was hope that the crab was just molting, but it doesn't really look like that's what is going on.
• I ahve to get all domestic like this weekend.  
• Next weekend a friend is coming to visit and the house should at least look clean when she gets here.
• Nick will be brewing this weekend.
• I can't say I'm unhappy at the enforced break from running.
• But truly--I miss doing something that makes me sweat.
• Shhh, don't tell anyone.
• I'm really happy it's Friday.
• We are having a get together with friends tonight.
• So looking forward to good food and good conversation.

So what are you confessing this week?  Link up with Audrey at High Heeled Love and confess away. (She's filling in for Mamarazzi who's on a blog break.)

Spin Cycle--Exercise, Sure, I Love Exercising

So the Spin Cycle this week is all about exercise.  Which has turned out to be ironic.  See, I was exercising. I was doing pretty good at regularly running a mile three days a week.  It was doing me good. I had lost 8 pounds since the beginning of July.
And then...

My right foot began to hurt Saturday night.  I stayed off it and it felt OK by Monday morning.  I went for my mile run and my right foot started to hurt again when I was in the shower and it steadily got worse during the day.  I had to walk to the student Union for a presentation, less than a half mile. By the time I was done with the walk back to my office my foot was really hurting.
Strangely it didn't bother me to ride my bike, and if I only walked on the toes of my right foot there was almost no pain.  I iced it Monday night and took ibuprofen and tried to rest.  It still hurt Tuesday morning so I headed to the chiropractor.  He said it is most likely tendonitis.
So I get to take some time off from running.  And that just crushes me.  I so love running.  OK, OK, so I don't really like the running.  It is convenient, simple to do, and effective.  It is not fun.  I don't like doing it, but it fits the schedule.  I will never consider myself a runner.  But I run.
Now I guess I need to dig up the exercise DVDs I have, haul out the exercise ball, and figure out something else I can do to stay active.  I was going to have to do this anyway because the weather was going to stop the running before too long.  Just this morning we had the first frost of the season.
I'll take suggestions for exercise I can do in the living room that is interesting but not too complicated.  If it's too complicated, I'll hurt myself.  Hey, I managed to hurt myself just running around the park.  I've got to keep it simple.
Go see Gretchen for more exercise posts--you just might find inspiration.  I know I'm going to check on it so I can get some inspiration.

Why is it...

Why is it:

• your hair always looks awesome the day you are headed to get it cut?
• the pain always goes away once you make the appointment with the doctor?
• you only want the snack when you know you shouldn't have it?
• kids insist they are NOT TIRED?
• weekends go by so fast but Monday crawls?
• the food on the TV looks so awesome, but on the plate looks less so?
• 80s fashions are coming back?
• at 2:00pm I can be so tired I could sleep standing up, but at 2:00am I am wide awake?
• supportive shoes are not cute shoes?
• exercising is mostly not fun?

Do you have any why questions?
And just for the cuteness

We really do love the new kitchen.

Swapoween for Halloween

I know it early to be thinking about Halloween--although not according to the stores.  They would have us doing every holiday at least a month early. Anyholiday, the lovely Beth and Angie are hosting a swap for Halloween.  I decided to throw my name in the pot so I could send and get some goodies for decorating for Halloween.

So go join in if you want to swap with us--you may get to be my partner--how fun would that be?

 

Random Thoughts

So it's Tuesday again.  Sort of a blah day.  Nick is headed out of town for some field work, I get kid duty and the week rolls on.  Let's get to the random:

• September 11.  The day everyone remembers exactly where they were when they heard about the Towers.  May we never forget.
• Bruiser is driving us nuts.  We tell him no for any reason and he bursts into tears and throws a fit.  You gotta love three year olds because otherwise you'd sell them to the first bidder.
• My right foot has started hurting.  Right in front of the heel on the bottom, sort of.  I know it's not plantar fascitis.  This gets worse the more I walk. Stupid foot.
• I get to go get my cut and permed tomorrow.  It is so time--it's getting to that annoying stage.  However, tomorrow, just because I am going to get something done to it, it will look awesome.
• Turbo starts swimming lessons tonight again.  He's excited.  The kid loves swimming.  I foresee swim meets in our future.  Not a bad way to spend time--if you don't mind the smell of chlorine.
• We ordered the rest of the backsplash for the kitchen.  Once that's up we can call the kitchen mostly done. I need to fill the nail holes in the trim, we need to reset the sink and caulk everything, and there is a cabinet that needs to be finished, but it will be 90% done once the backsplash is up.  I'm so thrilled to have a kitchen where everything has a place and it's not on the counter.
• I'm going to be bugging my mom for crocheting lessons and patterns soon.  I need something to do with my hands this winter while we watch TV in the evenings.  If I crochet, I'll at least have something to show for it--and I won't end up snacking or tying knots in my hair.  As an added bonus, my mom will be thrilled that I'm doing something needle crafty, which is her passion.
• I need to get a good travel mug for this winter--my office will be moving to a new building--a brand new building and for a while there, making hot water for tea in my office will be unfeasible, as my office will be packed up and moved.  
• Nick really wants to see the new show Revolution on NBC.  I'm looking forward to Big Bang Theory, but the rest of it, eh, not so interested in network TV.  

So what's your random?  Write it up and link up with Stacy, she of the random linky.
 
And go see Shawn and Impulsive for TAlk to Us Tuesday--they are both talking today.

No, I'm Not Ready for Monday

It can't be Monday already.  Where did the weekend go?  I guess we had too much fun because time flew by.
Friday night we hung out at home, Cooked chicken on the grill and Nick did go hang out with a friend of his. It was fairly mellow and a great start to the weekend.
Saturday dawned bright and early, too early for my comfort.  Bruiser was up and at 'em at 6:30am.  All I wanted was more sleep.  It was not to be.  After getting the boys something resembling breakfast, I took Bruiser grocery shopping and then swimming.  Nick took Turbo to the mountains to go four wheeling.   They bumbled down some dirt roads and checked out the burn area and a mountain lake.  They had a good time.
When they got back, we started planning for the afternoon barbecue we were having.  We had a couple of families over and grilled chicken, bunches of chicken.  It was a wonderful evening.
Sunday had a later start--which was nice.  We spent the day getting trim cut, primed and painted and then put up in the kitchen. The trim looks really good.

Painting away in the garage.

 Bruiser painted too and he does a fairly good job painting for a three year old. We had dinner with Nick's folks and then I went and had a drink with some friends of mine.
Really we did a lot but it was all fun.  Therefore the reason the weekend flew by.  I'm so not ready for Monday.
In other news, I started running the beginning of July and started to reduce the amount of random snacking I was doing.  In the last two months I have lost 8 lbs.  I'd like to lose 8-10 more, but I'm happy with what I've lost so far.  So win for me.
How was your weekend?  Too short, too long or just right?  For me, definitely too short.

Whew, Now I Feel Better

Cause I got to confess before heading into the weekend.  Confessing with Mamarazzi makes me feel all good and ready for the weekend.  And today is Friday.  Just about the best day of the week.
So here goes:

• I'm still not a huge fan of running.
• I am still doing a mile three days a week.
• I should up my distance.
• I don't really want to.
• I also need to figure out something I can do once it gets cold out.
• Snow and ice are not conducive to running and the gym is not an easy thing to get to.
• Exercise needs to be close by, easy to start and not wildly time consuming.
• Tall order, I know.
• The Back to School Bash in the park was a hit with both boys.
• Bruiser wouldn't get into the bouncy houses, but he did do the face painting.

Blue Ninja coming for you.

• Turbo got his face painted and did the human hamster ball.

Cute little skull.

• Sleep has been eluding me recently.
• Stupid insomnia.
• I still love my kitchen.
• Poopy potty training is still not going well.
• I hate potty training.
• The laundry is being all needy.
• The dust rhinos are charging the kids.
• I think I'm going to have to imitate a domestic goddess.

So what do you have to confess this week?  Link it up with Mamarazzi and see what other confessions are out there.

Spin Cycle--Edumicate Me

The Spin cycle this week is all about education.  Now this topic could be interesting.  Education is debated everywhere, it has even come up in this political world we live in.  I'm not really going to go into that.
What I will talk about is the sometimes unconventional places education can come from.

Last night Turbo was oh so very frustrated with us because we wouldn't let him go play Minecraft with his friends.  In a sullen huff, he headed downstairs and turned on the TV.  As he was going to try to find a movie, some episodes of Mysteries at the Museum caught his attention.  He spent the rest of the evening watching this entertaining (and educational) show. 
While watching it he had questions for Nick.  I had gone out with a friend and when I got home Nick was upstairs getting sugar and a plate.  He used it to illustrate the solar system and the universe to Turbo.  We ended up having a pretty good discussion about space, the universe, the possibility of alien life, and how much we don't know about the world around us.
Education comes from the most interesting places sometimes.  Nick and I argue with the geology shows that run on the History Channel, Discovery and other more learning type channels.  We are avid Mythbusters watchers--for the entertainment and the science.  Anything that sparks the interest in Turbo is a good thing. 
Heck, the nature shows we watch have lead to the sex talk at our house more than once.  We go for educational TV over network TV anytime we can.

What ever we can do to motivate these boys we will do.

Where does your more unconventional learning come from?  What have you learned that didn't come from a book or school?  Spin it up and link with Gretchen, she of the Spin Cycle overseeing.

WWTK--Would you Rather...Again

Would you rather was so fun Crazymama has  a few....

{1} WYR...splurge on make-up or hair styling?  Hair styling.  I don't wear makeup on average.  I'd like to figure out makeup that looks good on me, but have yet to really master the whole makeup thing.  However, I do spend a bit on hair styling far more regularly than makeup.
{2} WYR...eat at fancy restaurants or eat good home cooking?  Depends on the restaurant.  In general I like home cooked food, but since the vast majority of home cooked food I get comes from my own efforts, there is something to be said for eating in a restaurant where someone else cooks and cleans up.
{3} WYR...go to a big city or take a relaxing cruise?  I like visiting a big city, but would love a cruise and since I have a far better chance of getting Nick on a cruise before I could get him to a big city, I have to go with a cruise.  Especially if the cruise is to Alaska.
{4} WYR... spend your money on jewelry or purses?  Oh, tough one.  Jewelry.  Yeah, sparkly things win out every time.
{5} WYR... wear a dress or jeans?  I like dresses, but since my life is not about wearing dresses right now, I have to say the perfect pair of jeans would be my preferred clothing.

Go answer these Would You Rather for yourself and link up with Mamarazzi and Crazymama.

Randomish Tuesday

OK, so after the long weekend, as promised, I plan on giving a run down of the kitchen redo.  There will be random things--probably at the end.  First I get to gush about the kitchen.

• So to start, when we moved into this house, the kitchen was seriously lacking.  In counter space, cabinet space, refrigerator and stove.  Oh, there was a fridge and stove, but they were, well, old.  As time passed, we replaced them, but still had to deal with a lack of counter space.
• We got pieces of old bowling alley and changed out the counters by the sink, Nick built cabinets for by the stove, where there hadn't been any, and we made do with the prefab corner cabinet/counter thing that was what was pretending to be counter space when we moved in.
• Then Nick came up with the wonderful idea of getting new cabinets and creating a peninsula.  It gave us counter space and more cabinets.  And Nick poured a concrete counter top over it.  See:

• That helped with some of our counter space issues, well a lot of our counter space issues.  What we didn't get to (because of lack of fundage) was the sink side of the kitchen, which still had the original 1927 cabinets in it.  Here is a picture, admittedly after we took off the cabinet doors:

• We got the means to finally redo the sink side and the remodel commenced. Here you can see the process.  My husband rocks!

Before lathe and plaster removal.

after lathe and plaster removal.

Yay insulatiuon!

drywall.

Working on getting cabinets in.

• And now for the final product:

The beautiful pantry cabinets.

• So, in other random thoughts, Turbo starts school this morning.  He looked so cute.

• Little boys rough house way too much.  They also talk to much about poop.
• I'm pretty much over the political ads.  Too bad we have another two months of them.
• It truly does feel all fall outside today.  It will be hot this afternoon, but this morning it was a cool 41 degrees.  The trees will be changing soon, and the first frost is not far away. Yep, definitely fall.

So what's your random today?  Go see Stacy and share that random.

Also, time to link up with Shawn and Impulsive for Talk To Us Tuesday.