Aug. 31

Slept late this morning. Well, only 7am, but for me that's way late. Was not nearly as ambitious around the house today either. Boys and I did the shopping that we'd not gotten done Friday or Saturday...lol

We ended up buying the first two seasons of Two and a Half Men on DVD because A)they were there, and B)they were on sale. LOL I think I mentioned in yesterday's blog that we've all been getting into that show lately. Spent the evening watching the first several episodes. I told Ty he should start dressing like Charlie. He said ok, but I don't know if he was serious. I'm going to buy him a Charlie outfit thought. Ha!

I was a little productive after shopping. Got the second coat of paint on the trim and did more scraping on my door. Called it a day early though. Hubby was busy while we were gone though. He got the first set of steps built on the front porch. Wheee!



The handrails aren't done yet, but overall it looks pretty good. :)

And this is weird...it's not even 10pm yet and all three of the menfolk in the house are in bed already, with me on my way too. Weeeeeird.

Aug. 29 & 30

Had the day off yesterday, and was supposed to take the boys shopping. I had told Casey (notorious for sleeping half the day) he had to be up at a decent time so we could go in the morning. As predicted, he wasn't getting up, and when I went to get him up he was crabby and didn't want to go. So Ty and I went alone. We only went to Ripon, got his hair cut at Cost Cutters, then walked over to Kmart and got shoes and jeans on sale. Got home before hubby, who was only working a half day.

After a bit of lunch, hubby decided he wasn't letting this long weekend go to waste and went outside to start working on house projects. I joined him. And we were busy little beavers all afternoon. His main project was framing the area at the base of the deck steps that will be a concrete step/slab.



The idea for the slab came from RoofDude on the day he built the steps. My mom had come over that day and commented to him that the bottom step was too high off the ground. He told her hubby would have to lay a concrete half-step there. News to us! But the step *is* too high, so we decided as long as we were doing it, we'd do something nice. We decided to go wide and round the ends, with thoughts of putting flower pots or pumpkins or seasonal decorations there.

My first project was to throw a coat of primer on our wood trim pieces that will go into the rebuilt room. After that, I decided to clean up that old, banged up inner door that RoofDude had insisted we need to get rid of. Originally, I was just going to scrub it clean, scrape paint on the rough spots and do some putty/smoothing work.

Started with this:


As I was scraping the loose bits of paint, I found it was coming off really easy and decided to be a little more thorough. Then I became obsessed. I took the screws out around the doorknob so I could move it and get good, clean edges, and what I found underneath surprised and saddened me.



Beautiful, dark, varnished wood. Obviously no one had removed the hardware on this piece for quite some time. It made me sad because I would sooooo love to have all the woodwork in this house be redone, back to natural wood instead of paint. Maybe someday. *dreamy sigh*

This little discovery made me even more determined to save this door and make it beautiful again, just to say 'In your face, RoofDude!' Ok, so it won't be stunningly beautiful, because we're painting even after all that, but it will be saved to the point it looks good once again.

Hubby knew he didn't have enough concrete mix to do the whole area. He also wanted to get fish for supper. Later in the afternoon he made a trip to Menards to get more mix, and swung by Players (local bar-n-grill) on the way home to get fish dinners for us. Well, chicken tenders for the boys cuz they don't like fish...

We kinda called it a day after that. I had asked hubby earlier in the day if he'd ever want to play UO again since he'd been drawn back into it last weekend. He said no, probably not. I did not want to hear that. I had been thinking my mission had been accomplished, that he'd broken down enough to play that one day, and that'd he'd realize he's been away from it long enough that he is ready to come back. I guess that's not the case. *sigh* He said he had just been sucked into it that day because he hadn't believed the dragons were really harder. lol

After we quit working on projects for the day, hubby logged onto Warcraft. I was bored, didn't want to play Warcraft but he didn't want to play UO, so after sitting there for a bit I just logged onto UO anyway. Spent some time doing quest runs to gather seeds, then switched characters and got those seeds planted. By then it was getting late and I was tired, and headed to bed without even blogging. Oops.

Since Casey hadn't gone shopping Friday, he said he wanted to go with my on my early morning grocery shopping. Ty said he wanted to go too. I told them both they had to be up early cuz I wasn't waiting around. Heh, neither was up when I was ready to go...so neither went along. Of course when I got home they both made comments about how "you could have woke me up" and "you knew I wanted to go." Ha. I told them it was a long weekend and we'd no doubt be running back to town for something at some point, so they should both just chill. *evil mommy giggle*

Hubby was already working on the concrete project when I'd gotten home, so I took care of the groceries, then joined him outside and got back to work on my door. He quickly realized that even with the extra bags of mix he'd gotten yesterday, he still would not have enough. He ended up racing to town again to get *more* bags, and racing back home before the stuff he'd already started with began drying. But in the end, he got it all done and so far it looks quite lovely.



Don't know if you can see it in the pic but we wrote 'AUG '08' in the wet concrete, up be back edge of the steps. Hubby tried to leave a hand print on the other side but it was still too wet at the time, and then we took a break and forgot about it...and it was too dry by the time we thought about it again. Oh well.

I put a first coat of paint on the trim pieces, then it was back to my obsessive door scraping. I got sunburned. *pouty face* I ended up moving my work into the shade.

Hubby's next project was wrapping pipes in the basement to hopefully help with the condensation dripping problem we've had since our basement flooded not long ago. He called the boys down there and put them to work cleaning up something...not sure what, but they were filthy by the end. lol

We took a break for supper, and not that we've eaten way too many tacos, we're probably calling it a day again. That's ok, we got two new movies from Netflix today so we'll probably watch them while the boys hog the computers tonight.

Oh, while flipping thru channels on one of our breaks earlier today, I came across the movie The Messengers and had to stop on it. Why? Because the girl who is playing Bella in the Twilight movie was in it. It was right at the end, the same five minutes I always seem to see. Someday I will see that whole movie. Anyway, watching her made me all excited for Twilight again. Wheee!! I've already started my Christmas list...the official Twilight calendar.

And that has been my weekend so far. OH! While shopping this morning, I bought four packs of flower bulbs that I will try to get planted this weekend. I bought irises for the one smaller bed around the post. And I bought tulips, daffodils, and hyacinths (sp) for my bigger bed between the two other posts. I need to weed both bed first though. They were totally neglected all year. I suck, I know. But yeah, that's another project on my weekend agenda.

Off to watch a movie now.

Aug. 28

Started filling out the census booklet thingie tonight. At first I was all excited, then found it asks too many questions that I couldn't answer offhand, things I need to look up or do math...bleah. I shoved it aside and will finish it tomorrow when I have extra free-time and a clear head.

Yep, I'm off work tomorrow. Heeeee! There is no production because the boilers are down for maintenance or something. There are still other things going on, like training classes and working on holds, but we also had the option of taking the day off. And I'm all about THAT. Part of the day will be dragging my boys around town in an attempt to get new shoes, and some new school clothes, and Ty wants his hair cut.

Boring blog tonight.
Bleah.

Aug. 27

Freshman Orientation for Casey tonight. It's always weird to go back to that school, and it was no different tonight. I sat in that auditorium listening to the principal talk about student cellphone policies and various other important things, but my thoughts were also drifting back so many years to when *I* was the student. Many things have changed there, but so many are still the same.

And to think I have a senior and a freshman there now....unreal.

Saw several of my own old classmates, now with their own kids coming into high school just like mine. I had not realized that the quads would be in Casey's class. That was kinda cool to see. (Two classmates of mine had eventually married each other and had quadruplets. In a small town like Buttmunch, quads was quite a big deal.)

Casey seemed nervous as we walked around the school so he could get a feel for it. Ty went along, and was better able to point out specific classrooms for him. Totally understandable that he's feeling overwhelmed right now, but he's got the advantage of having Ty ahead of him. I do worry more about Casey though. He's way more self-conscious about stuff, lets things bother him and distract him too much. Time will tell...

My sister emailed me about Borders.com having Twilight interviews and videos on their site. Woohoo! I figured it would just be the same old stuff I've already seen but checked anyway. There was one that is the sneak peak found on the dvd of the movie Penelope, and that was the only one I was able to watch. (Loading slow and choppy for whatever reason.) It had some funny behind the scenes and filming bits, but also had a scene included that I have not seen. WOOT!!! Can't wait, can't wait, can't wait!!

Oh and did I say I can't wait for this movie????

Aug. 26

Discussed the Minnesota trip with hubby today. He says he'll need to talk to his mom about the Bates Motel thing...find out who is paying, etc. I admitted I'm fearing the place. He said it's not a big deal, that if we don't like it we won't stay there. Again, he'll need to talk to his mom to see if the rooms are already paid or if we even can change at this point. He also figures we'll leave here Friday morning (not *this* Friday, silly people) and get home Sunday afternoon or evening. Ok, so this might not be *quite* as horrible as I've made it out to be in my head. My movie watching co-worker says she'll stop by and tend our pets if need be.

So, ok, that was all a bit of stress off my mind.

Hubby and I also went to Menards today to get wood and supplies to continue working on the remaining odd jobs around the house, like the front steps and stuff. We didn't get everything, but enough to keep us busy over the long weekend. I noticed they had alot of their Halloween/Fall stuff out and wanted to go look but by then we'd already spent so much time in the store. Hubby's ankle is still bothering him, I had a headache, we had two carts, and decided the Halloween stuff could wait. *pouty sigh* I really don't need anymore holiday stuff anyway but dang, it's always so fun to look at!

Speaking of Fall, I've been having big time autumn vibes the last week or so. Big time!! Our weather has really cooled off this week, so that is a contributing factor but it started even before the temps dropped. Not sure why. We're coming into my FAVORITE time of year and I'm getting excited. OOOOH!!!! I wonder if the leaves will be changing by the time we go to Minnesota?! Some of the scenery out that way is gorgeous anyway, and if we have Fall colors on top of it....wheeee!! I'm taking both cameras, and extra film.

This morning was chilly (actually wore my sweatshirt to work) and had that scattered fog thing happening. It looked soooo cool. There were many better views than this, but the following pic is the only safe place I could take a spur of the moment pic. It was taken on my road, on the way to work, about 6:45am this morning. Sucks that the fog effect didn't show up as good as it looked in real life...



I've actually been wanting to take a pic of this field anyway, but from a different angle. That particular bit of scenery is so picture perfect right now with those big bales. Maybe I'll try tomorrow, actually pull over and get the shot I want.

Well, I got mail from Zorro today and it includes magazine articles about the Twilight series. Woot! So I'm wrapping this up and going to read those. Heeeee!

Aug. 25

Yesterday was my sister's birthday, right? Well, today is my brother's birthday. And I don't see any international celebrations for him. Huh. Good thing I sent him a card since China forgot.

I'm really starting to worry about something. We are going to Minnesota next month for hubby's grandma's 100th birthday. I'm not exactly sure when we're leaving or coming back, just know it's a weekend thing. A couple week's ago hubby's mom said she'd made reservations at a place, two rooms for us (boys going too) and one for them. At first I was relieved because I'd been fearing we'd be staying in the camper or something and I am *SO* not into that. She's made reservations, great! Until I start looking for this place online and can find NOTHING. My fear kicks in again that it's one of those rundown motels that you always driveby but never see anyone there. The one bit I eventually find online is a customer review that does nothing to reassure me, with mentions of the "shag carpet" being "crusty" and the "dark panelled walls." Oh.My.God.

I don't want to go on this trip to begin with. This makes me absolutely FEAR the whole thing! I asked hubby for more info about the place but he just keeps shrugging it off, saying his mom has it all taken care of. I asked how much the room costs, thinking it would give me an idea of the quality, but he said he didn't know...his mom has it all taken care of.

I sooooo want to make our own reservations as someplace reliable, someplace clean, and current, and friendly. But I know it's going to be a big deal if I bring it up to hubby, and that will carry over to his parents...Deb being too good for them again. *shudders*

I don't want to go on this trip. I don't want to go. I don't.

HELP!?!?

PS - Forgot to mention that RoofDude's UsualHelper was back again today, painting more window trim and our doors. I'm still not sure if these windows are *done* or just prepped and primed. They look cleaner and brighter but they are a white that matches the outer j-channel white like RoofDude said it would. And while the doors are not bad, it is as I feared...without paint they were perfectly smooth and beautiful but not quite pure white. Now they are pure white but they have the look of being painted. *sigh*

Aug. 24

Today is my sister's birthday. And China threw her a party. Yeah, hope this doesn't go to her head. *rolls eyes*

Oh, that was the Olympics closing ceremonies. My bad. But seriously, I was a bit bored with these closing ceremonies. I missed the very beginning, and quit watching about 45 minutes before the end. The dude from London...mayor, whatever?...did he look like a big schlep or what? The other two guys all poised and proper, and Mr. London with his coat unbottoned, hand in pockets, looking totally lost. Oooh, will the London 2012 mascots be Fish & Chips? LOL!

Hubby was sucked into playing UO this morning! He probably won't stick with it, but it sure was fun while it lasted. Almost like warping back in time. How did he end up playing? Ty and I were puttering around in the game and ended up at Destard dungeon, killing dragons. Ty noticed 'Greater Dragons' and we foolishly rushed into a fight with one. Wham, bam, dead. Ooops! These 'Greater' versions were not around back in our day. They are tough. And hubby didn't believe us, so we teased him, telling him to get his best character, the formerly superior PerkyOnes. So he did...and couldn't even remember how to play the game. LOL! After getting some macros set, and a bit of time trying to remember everything, it started coming back, and he spent a couple hours playing...determined to show these dragons he still reigned supreme. It was fun.

We mowed the lawn today, first time getting right up around the house since RoofDude & Co. has been gone. Even after all our picking up those many days, there are still tons of nails and screws and scraps out there. We need to get one of those magnet thingies. But at least things are getting back to normal, finally. Probably won't be able to do anything about all the ruts in the yard until spring though. Well, maybe if we have dirt brought in to backfill around the house (where years of no gutters has left mini ditches) we can use some dirt to fill in ruts too. Not sure yet.

Speaking of gutters, this week will be three weeks since he came to do the estimate. Hopefully our turn in the schedule is *soon.* This is the last step in the whole adventure, and then we can get back to the bank to get all the loan stuff finalized and taken care of. We still have small projects that we'll do ourselves, but that loan related stuff ends with the gutters. Yay!

Aug. 22 & 23

Nothing to write about yesterday. I worked. I got out of working this weekend by trading with a girl who did want to work. I had a crabby evening and went to bed early.

Today I had all kinds of ambitious plans, and they all pretty much fizzled out as usual. Too many things to do, so I don't do any of them. *grrr*

Went shopping early like always. No one went with me this time, and it was oh so peaceful. Got home and decided to putter around on the computer while it was still early. Hubby was playing Warcraft. I logged on too after a bit, but just sat there staring at the screen and soon logged off. I feel so useless in that game. Logged on to Shaiya, on Ty's character, for a few minutes. Didn't want to get involved in that either. Ended up logging onto UO. Stared at the screen for a while there too, thinking about all the other things I should be doing. Didn't stay on long.

Hubby logged off later in the morning and ended up falling asleep on the couch. I eventually went outside to tend my weed infested bird feeder area. Accidently broke my finch feeder but that's ok cuz I didn't like that kind anyway. Puttered around the house for while. Decided to use the boring day as a chance to watch some of the many movies I have piled up, waiting.

That new Lost Boys movie sucks. Glad we only Netflixed it instead of buying it! They, of course, had to overdo it on the gore and swearing, and do we really need to see that many boobs? Corey Feldman's old man voice with his still-teenage-looking face was totally odd. Head vampire Shane was about the best part. He's played by Angus Sutherland, who is the younger half-brother of Keifer Sutherland, who played a main vampire in the original Lost Boys.

Angus as Shane the vampire:


I totally hate how they always make vampire or witch or demon eyes go completely black. Why not just make the iris (?) part totally black? Not the whole damn eye. I hate that. And I hated how their faces changed into ugly stupid monster faces, with stupid monstery voices. I hope like heck Twilight doesn't do that! From clips I've seen, they don't.

After that crappy movie we watched The Bucket List. Oh.My.Gawd. I thought it was supposed to be a comedy with some drama mixed in?! Where did I get that idea?! Even my movie watching co-worker (who is lending it to me) said it was ok, that she only cried a bit at the end. Hubby said it wasn't bad, maybe I'd cry at the end. But ya know what?? I cried almost all the way thru and was SOBBING by the end! Sobbing like it was Titanic! It was a good movie but dammit I wasn't ready for THAT! lol

And now I'm back to being bored. Hubby is watching football or something. Ty is in his room. Casey is watching videos on YouTube. I guess I could go read.

Hohum.

Aug. 21

That troublesome second computer continues to work fine since the new network card was put in. Whee! Last night the boys were watching Warcraft-related videos on YouTube, and one of them was set to the Linkin Park song 'What I've Done.' It was hysterical how they managed to copy the video but with Warcraft scenes. LOL!

From that, I started watching Linkin Park videos on my computer. And I'm back into my total Linkin Park mood again. I really wish I could find that one pic I used to have of Mike Shinoda. I originally found it on the wiki page for him/Linkin Park, and it showed him kinda leaning down towards a gold record, smiling at the camera. I just went thru 44 pages of Google image search results and it's just not there. I'm pretty sure I lost mine a computer crash. There is a *small* chance I have it saved on a disc somewhere but I'm not ambitious enough to look tonight.

Anyway, Linkin Park, yeah.

Moving on. The electric dude was here to check that line. He found one of the splices had shorted out so he replaced it, along with two others. Our power outside is back, and all is right with the world again. Well, not really but you know what I mean. Heh.

I was reading on Stratics that UO has 15 new plants. YES!! I loved growing plants back in our UO days. So when I read that, I instantly logged onto the game to go in search of these wonderful new seeds. Didn't get any. Got frustrated. Decided I really need to spend some time reacquainting myself with the game and my characters, clean my bank, bags, and house...reset macros. So I logged off. And found out the new plants aren't actually in the game yet. DOH!!!

But I did love playing for that short time. And I even found hubby watching. Maybe I can tempt him into playing again...hehe

Ok, well once again, the boys are waiting for the computer so I'm heading to bed.

Aug. 20

After 10pm last night Casey and I noticed the other computer seemed to be working ok again. It started to seem like only during prime time hours was it acting up. Even the computer guru I'd emailed suggested it might be something like this, and we'd just need to find a setting or something.

Well, this morning it wasn't working again. I knew I'd have to call tech support when I got home from work. *grrr* Sure enough, when I got home, the boys said that computer's connection hadn't worked all day. I didn't even mess around, just got on the phone for the dreaded encounter with tech support.

Luckily the guy spoke English, and spoke clearly, and was nice. He had me do all the things I'd already been trying. He had me do some other things. He seemed to be getting baffled, but eventually we got it working. He was all happy but I said I wasn't convinced cuz it was often ok for the first couple minutes then would quit again. He suspected it was my computer then (of course), and suggested it might be the network card. He said if that was the case, they'd have to send a tech guy out to fix it. I thought screw that...I can change a card myself!

So I hoped onto *my* computer and checked Best Buy for an idea on prices, then headed to Fond du Lac to get a network card. Got back home, popped that sucker in, and the connection has been fine ever since. *KNOCK WOOD*

I'm much happier this evening.

:)

Oh wait, forgot something. Hubby noticed that our beautiful new powerline is not as spectacular as we thought. He noticed there was no power in the barn, so he went to check the box and found one of the breaker thingies tripped. When he flipped it back on (or whatever) it kicked out again and he heard 'crackling' somewhere. So we need to get the electric dude out here again. Earlier today this would have probably sent me into a ranting rage. But knowing that our DSL problems are fixed *knock wood again* has given me a protective layer of mellow. lol

Casey is impatiently waiting to play on the puter now, so I'm outta here.

Aug. 16-19

Well, I've been severely lacking in bloggage, haven't I? It's not that I've been especially busy...in fact, I've been more bored than anything. Hmm, so what's my problem?

Saturday, hubby and Ty both decided to go shopping with me. Gah. I've decided I'm perfectly content with going alone for a while again. It gets frustrating after a while when I'm always alone, and I start asking for someone to go along to help pick things, look with new eyes, get out of the same old rut. But good lord, having them both go along was horrible! LOL Took extra long, spent way more money, I was getting crabby and they were getting both crabby and bored. So yeah, I'm back to shopping alone. LOL!

Saturday afternoon hubby and I started working on the floor of our rebuilt room. I painted the trim that will go in there. He got the two outlets put in. Then we started laying the floor.

Before:


Halfway thru:


We quit for the night when we only had the final row left. We were getting tired and frustrated by then, and starting to make mistakes, and that last row needed serious measuring and cutting. We felt it would be better to leave it for a while than to push it in such a cranky mood. I had a fear that it would sit undone for ages, just like all our other projects tend to...

And sure enough, we didn't even touch it Sunday. Hubby and the boys spent the entire day playing Warcraft, and I spent most of the day puttering around the house, cleaning and whatnot.

Monday (yesterday) was the day we would be getting DSL. High-speed internet AT LAST!! We were all excited about it, and hoping the dude would show up early. Hubby didn't go to work that morning, called and said he'd be in after his business was taken care. Ended up that he missed the whole day of work because the internet dude didn't show up till 2pm!

Somewhere along the way I fell into my totally bitchy, zero tolerance mood. I blame it all on stress again...hehe. It started at work, and grew all day. So when I got home and found out the internet dude was still there, and having problems, I was *not* a happy camper. Hubby told me the dude couldn't get a signal and was unsure we could really get DSL cuz we live "quite far out." Over three hours later and several trips coming and going, he finally announced "You're up and running." He had been going back and forth between the two computers, we saw them both working. After he was gone, of course we were all checking out things like UO and Warcraft and videos on YouTube, etc. Then hubby settled in for some quality game time and after a few minutes...got booted off the game. We never got anything internet related to work on that computer for the rest of the evening.

I was pissed. That evil demon called Stress reared it's ugly head in a big way again. I think I even had a tantrum, blurting out things like "Of course! WHY should anything ever go right?! Why should ANYTHING work like it's supposed to?!" I tried puttering around on the computer myself but was in such a crappy mood, and don't know diddly about DSL or networks or any of the crap we now have. I figured I'd have to call tech support but I was soooo bitchy, and it was getting late, and I was totally not prepared to talk to them, so I put it off, figuring I'd do it today.

Today (Tuesday) one of the machines at work was having such major issues that they had to call in the project engineer from Illinois. During a boring moment later in the day, I asked him about my computer problem. (He's a puter geek, ya know.) He suggested something for me to try. I was hoping it would work, anxious to get home. And when I got home I had the boys telling me the computer was fine all day, they'd been on playing games and downloading stuff and never had a problem.

Awesome!! But what the heck??? I checked what the engineer dude had suggested anyway, but figured hey, it's working now so why worry about it? Wheee!

Also today, we finally got our powerline put back up. You remember...the one that RoofDude had pulled off the house, thinking we'd replace it and the run it underground? Well, yep, we *finally* got that back up and power back to our garage and barn. What's funny is that we ended up having some changes done, and what it is now is exactly what RoofDude was trying to get us to do to the wires on the other side of the house. LOL! Even so, it was $400 cheaper than the price RoofDude had quoted us.



So the DSL is working on the other computer, and our new and improved powerline is back up where it should be. Things were going *right* for once! And then!! My boys told me that RoofDude's UsualHelper was here today and started working on the windows that need to be painted. Yes!! And THEN!! Hubby comes home from work and says he's feeling ambitious enough that he doesn't want to go park his butt on the couch yet. He wanted to pour the concrete slab we need at the base of the porch steps, but it looked like rain was coming, so we opted for getting the trim put up in the rebuilt room. We got the window and two doors trimmed (touchup painting is needed):



Awesome day, right? I'm in a wonderful mood. And then....right around the same time as last night, the second computer starts acting up again. It acts like there is no connection. I try puttering with things again, double check what the dude at work had suggested, trying anything I can think of. Nothing works and I'm instantly back into my foul mood. And this time I end up in live-chat with tech support. He's just having me do the same things I've already done, then (and I knew it would end up like this) he tells me to restart the computer and call them for further troubleshooting. Yeah, dude, not happening tonight. Not when I'm likely to say things I might regret.

It's funny too, because ALL of us are wishing already that we'd never messed with things, that we'd just been content with our dialup. At least it's RELIABLE. Yes, we're considering going back to it. And we're considering dropping Netflix, and Gamefly. And I hate our cellphones. And pretty much all our changes this summer have left me craving the good ol' days and wondering why we ever changed.

*stomps off to bed*

Aug. 15 - *hysterical giddiness*

Just found out that the release of the Twilight movie has now been moved up three weeks! WOOT!!!!!!!!! It is now coming out...yep...the day that Harry Potter originally *was* scheduled.

YESSSS!!!!

Aug. 15

Last night I mentioned the Harry Potter movie being delayed until next July. Now today I read an article suggesting they changed the release to avoid competition with....Twilight. Woot!! The Harry Potter people deny it. I had no idea there was such a rivalry between the two camps?! The article I read said it started when Eclipse (third book) knocked the last HP book out of the top sellers, or something like that. Makes it even more funny that Cedric in HP is Edward in Twilight. LOL

I was reading during my breaks at work, as always, and marveling at how much I love this book. I was also depressed at how Edward is so completely awesome in the first book, and somewhere along the way it all falls apart. Where and how did he go from the totally cool, in charge and sure of himself, sometimes snotty and angry stud...to the sappy, whiny, pussy he became by the last book? *cries*

There are several little bits I love in Twilight, and one of them came up in the part I read today.

"Will I see you tomorrow?" I demanded.
"Yes -- I have a paper due, too." He smiled. "I'll save you a seat at lunch."

*swoon* It's just so hysterical, given the conversation just before this, the drama of learning he is indeed a vampire.

Ok, in other news....guess what!!! We are getting high-speed internet! FINALLY!! Earlier this summer we had almost decided to give in and get satellite internet. I had called about it but just wasn't sure enough to commit, and did some research instead. There were just too many things we weren't comfortable with about it all. I called CenturyTel to check once again on if they'd expanded their DSL coverage area. At that time, no there still wasn't anything available to me, but the lady said they were committed to having it available in *every* area by the end of this year. So we decided to take a chance and wait, at least till the end of this year.

Well, in today's mail was a letter from CenTel letting us know high-speed internet was now available to us! *GASP* I called immediately, and they will be out sometime on Monday to get us switched over. Monday already! We're all pretty giddy about this, being the family of gaming dorks that we are. LOL The only problem is that we need someone at least 18 years old to be here when the dude is here doing the installation. I thought no prob, hubby's parents could come over. Found out later that no, they can't do it cuz they'll be gone for one of their sales. Doh! We don't know what to do now. I can't take the day off cuz I won't get double-time pay next weekend if I do. Hubby figures he can probably take off but hates to do that with no notice. My other two options are my mom and....Tina. I'll need to contact each of them tomorrow.

Cellphones and high speed internet all in the same summer. What has become of us?!

Aug. 14

The new Harry Potter movie was supposed to be coming out in November. I read today that it's being delayed until July of next year. Doh! Something about marketing strategy, and the strike causing less competition or something. Well, Public Enemies (the Johnny Depp movie I watched them film!) is also coming out next July. I guess I'll be busy at the theater next summer. Hehe.

I don't have to work this weekend! Woot!

We didn't do any painting or work on the room yesterday or today. I think we're kinda just relaxing and leaving the work for the weekend. All those piddly little leftover jobs are still stressing me. I hope we get tons of them done.

Ty says two of his stitches are out now. They are the kind that disolve, so he didn't have to go back for a followup visit. He never did have to take any pain meds, and his amoxicillin is gone now.

I'm not really liking Netflix or Gamefly much. Maybe just cuz we've been busy with everything else, and now the Olympics taking up our evenings...? I don't know, just seems like so much time in between new shipments, and there is a tendancy to just watch a pay-per-view movie on those days. So then it becomes 'why are we paying the Netflix monthly fee if we're still going to watch ppv movies?' Ya know? And Gamefly had extremely fast shipping in that first couple weeks' trial period but now it's slower than my dialup connection. *snort* Again, the tendancy to want to run to the video store to rent games in between is there.

Even though we might take our computers over to Tina's and download a game (Warcraft type), and the boys are all thrilled about that, I find myself more and more wanting to play UO. The urge gets stronger each day. Is it because I'm stressed and just longing for those days when our main concern was getting more playtime in? What is it? Whyyyyyyy? I keep telling myself once this or that is over or done or out of the way, I'll throw myself back into UO. But of course something else always seems to pop up before I get to that day. As my blog title says....

...it's always something.

Like now, I'm off to watch the Olympics.

Aug. 13

We had rain today, and we noticed some things. First, the main troublesome door...leaks. I suspected this once before but wasn't sure because at the time we were still having all those 'doesn't close right' problems and I attributed it to that. But that door seems to be working ok now and I still noticed a wet spot inside. *grrr* Hopefully hubby can find the problem and we won't need to listen to RoofDude's whiny theories.

The other thing we noticed is that we really need to get those rain gutters installed. I don't know if redoing the roof has changed the angle just enough to send the water pouring down right outside one laundry room window or what, but that's what it does. It comes pouring off the roof and tends to slop back towards the window...the window we have always been able to leave at least cracked open during rain, but now have to close tight or it gets soaked. Not a major deal once the gutters are up but for now...annoying.

Something kinda funny happened today. I had meant to blog about this last weekend when it first came up, but what happened today makes me have to do it now. Ok, I've noticed recently my hair seems to have lightened up. I look in the mirror and kinda chuckle that my highlights look so cool, then remind myself that I'm not fooling anyone and it's just gray and white hair from age. Well, this weekend my sister was here visiting for a bit and asked if I'd done anything to my hair. I told her no. She said it really looks lighter now, like I got it colored or highlighted. I insisted it was just the gray taking over. She insisted that no, it's not gray...it's blonde, golden. My mom agreed. I kinda laughed.

So today, this morning at work, in the bathroom before my shift and this woman that I really can't stand comes in and stops and looks at my hair in shock. (This is an older woman who gets these horrible dye and highlight jobs in a continued attempt to be young and cool.) She asks me if I colored my hair. No. Highlights? No. Spending alot of time in the sun? No. She insisted I've done something with it. I shook my head and insisted no, and walked away because I really can't stand her. But I was secretly smirking because apparently I really am going blonde! LOL I told another co-worker that I have license to be dumb now! LOL!

Last weekend hubby and I were shopping and noticed they were already getting autumn tableware out...like table cloths, flatware, dish towels, etc. We were both shaking our heads, trying to believe that we're *that* far into the year, and wondering where the time had gone. I absolutely LOVE fall, so this didn't sadden me in the least. But it does seem like only weeks ago I was struggling to pack away my tons of Christmas stuff. Wow.

And today I heard a commercial on the radio mentioning some deal about buying whatever "before Thanksgiving" and getting blah blah blah. Again I had thoughts of 'where did the year go?' mixed with 'we're that close...yesss!'

I've been totally crabby this evening. And tired. Don't know if it's still from working 3am-3pm the other day? I also wonder if it could be post traumatic stress, lol...from the house adventure. Seriously, I thought once RoofDude was done and out of here my stress would go along with him. Kinda seems like there is more stress now though, like it's all the things that had been ignored or pushed aside while the house stuff was going on. Friggen great. *sigh*

Whatever it is, I've been crabby and extremely tired all evening, and my blogging STILL isn't what I'd wanted it to be.

Oooh but I did find some new (to me, anyway) Twilight pics:




And this one I've seen before, even saw the teeny of bit of video, but I love it and can't wait to see this part in the movie:

Aug. 12

I missed yesterday's entry, sorry. I worked 3am-3pm yesterday, then had Ty's chiro appointment and a couple other things to take care of. By the time I got home I was dragging, and in bed by 7:15pm.

I almost skipped tonight's entry too because I have so many things I want to blog about but I've been running all over again today and I want to go watch the Olympics.
Soooo...... *considers this* .......I guess I'll just do a shorty entry tonight and hope for better tomorrow.

We got the 'rebuilt room' painted! Well, the ceiling was done already Sunday, but tonight we got the walls done. Tomorrow we'll do the trim and decide about the doors, and maybe even start laying the flooring. Tina asked me what the hurry was. The hurry is just to get it done, but also because we need to have the floor installed before we can put the trim up, and we needed to do the painting before laying the floor. Another reason is because everything we had stored in that room before this adventure is still taking up space in any spot we had available, and we need to get things back to normal. And finally, we need to get it done because like anything, the longer you put it off, the harder it will be to finally just do it.

Unfortunately, I don't really like the color we ended up with. I wish we'd gone with something brighter and cheerier, but I keep reminding myself that it's basically a storage room and as soon as we clutter it up again no one will notice the color. *snort*

Made a quick trip over to Tina's this evening. It's her daughter Trinity's 6th birthday today, so we took a present over to her. And Ty came away with a new name: Boy. LOL I asked him if he'll spell it 'Boi' just to be creative? LOL

Ok, I'm just itching to go watch the Olympics so I'm ending this rather abruptly...

Aug. 10

Still not sure what to do about my day count, but for now I'm dropping it.

RoofDude showed up bright and early to pick up his last trailer, and to get his corrected check. Since that worry was out of the way early, hubby and I were free to go to Fond du Lac. We went to Walmart first to get my car in for an oil change, then headed over to Menards where we spent the morning trying to decide on flooring and paint for the rebuilt room. We did eventually agree and bought what we needed. Didn't get as much done in that room today as we would have liked but did get it started.

Also spent some time tweaking the front door, which I discovered yesterday does not close...again. So hubby was working on things, altering holes where the strike plates go, etc. It's already much better but he says he's not done yet.

I forgot to mention yesterday that UsualHelper replaced the screen they had ripped way back in the beginning. He also replaced the other two screens on that wall. Cool. (One is loose and will need to be snugged up a bit but hey, at least they actually kept their word on this.)

It's so weird to think this adventure is, for the most part, done. Hard to realize that no one will be here tomorrow to annoy the boys, or me when I get home. No more stressing about what the day's news will bring me. The boys will have peace and quiet for the first time this summer. The cat can finally come out of hiding. The only one that will be sad is Meena, cuz she won't be getting extra treats anymore.

I'll try to post before/after pics tomorrow. I'm kinda rushing this right now because I have to get to bed early....have to go into work at 3am. BLEAH!!

Haven't had a chance to read Twilight for two days now. Ooooh, but CoWorker will be back from vacation tomorrow and I can finally hear what she thought of Breaking Dawn! Heeee, I can't wait. I wonder how far Tina is, and what her thoughts are...?

Well, got a couple more things to take care of before bed so I'll leave you with this shorty post. :)

Oh, and a beautiful pic of Casey:

Aug. 9 - Day 62

RoofDude and UsualHelper were here today. On a Saturday! They painted the rebuilt room...well, ok, primed it...installed the light in there, and built steps for the deck:


And guess what!! They packed up all their stuff, and we gave them final payment!

WOOT!!!!

Except... (*party comes to a screeching halt*) ...they still haven't painted around the windows. Ya see, RoofDude is leaving for vacation in Mexico next week, so UsualHelper will come while he's gone, and do the painting. RoofDude deducted this part from their final pay, and we'll pay that part when it's finally completed. RoofDude will also stop over when he's back from vacation and install some trim in our rebuilt room (gives us time to paint and lay flooring first) and caulk around all the windows.

Guess what else. He *did* honor those hours we all put in helping clean up the yard and whatnot. He *did* take that amount off the final price. He also offered Ty some extra work as a cleanup dude on future project sites. At $10/hour, not bad. Not sure if Ty will actually do it though. He's been leery of how RoofDude treats UsualHelper this whole time they've been here. hehe

AND, RoofDude wants to take us out to dinner when he gets back, as thanks. Not sure if we'll take him up on it, because I've heard stories of what he's like when he's drinking and frankly, I can only handle him in small doses. But offer was nice, and unexpected.

Oh and I screwed up. I wrote the check while we were all babbling at each other and none of us really looked at it. Later I realized I probably wrote it wrong...wrote it for hundreds instead of thousands. DOH! When RoofDude came back to pick up his second load of equipment and stuff, I asked if he still had it and he said he'd given it to his wife already, that she was on her way to the night deposit box. Gah!! I told him the problem and he tried frantically to reach her on the cellphone. It wasn't until later, after a second trip back to pick up more equipment, that he finally got ahold of her and yes, it was written wrong. So, I wrote another, had hubby double check it, and have it waiting for when he brings our other check back. He said he'd stop by tomorrow.

But yeah, they are GONE! We can go out and mow all of our yard tomorrow. We can start getting back to normal. We can...relax. (Well, except for when UsualHelper comes to paint, but he's no trouble.) I'm not sure what to do about my day count though...?? They *will* be back but it won't be immediately. Do I stop the count at today's 62 days? Hmm.

I'm just so flippin' excited that we're at this point finally!

Aug. 8 - Day 61

I didn't get a chance to post in my usual timely manner last night, so this will be a recap of yesterday/Day 61.

On my way home from work I was hoping again that RoofDude would be gone already cuz I just didn't want to deal with him. No such luck. I pulled in, saw him and UsualHelper working on something by the back of the deck. Yay. Then I noticed RoofDude was talking on his cellphone and tried to get into the house before he was done, thinking he wouldn't have a chance to talk to me. Ha! It's actually come to that point! HA!!

Again no such luck. I was almost into the house when he greeted me and kinda called me back out, asking what I thought, how was everything coming...? Instantly in my head I'm answering 'Oh, you don't want to know' but outwardly I just kinda shrugged and nodded and took a step to go into the house. He kept up with a smiley but frustrated "Come on, Deb. Give me some feedback or *something.*" I looked around at the room he was working on (finishing the drywall and putty and stuff) and said it looked fine, and took a step towards the house again. He asked something along the lines of 'what's wrong?' and luckily added "...tired from work?" I jumped on that and used it as my excuse to not answer him further and get into the house.

*sigh*

He got the room all drywalled and puttied and sanded and stuff. He brought a dehumidifier and set that up in there, told us to leave it running all night so walls would be ready to paint next morning.

They also got the lattice around the bottom of the rebuilt room and deck. We're not sure how we feel about it, but he did it as a freebie so we'll wait till he's done and gone before we decide.


They also got several small jobs done, like the outlet outside the laundry room, and changing the door knob and tweaking that one troublesome door, and a couple other little oddball things. They also got the light installed outside the laundry room door, and the new dryer vent:


So we are ALMOST done!

Ty has not had to take any pain meds at all for his post-op owies. He started eating a bit today, but just mush things like sherbet and yogurt. He sipped a Dew, which we all know is the best medicine anyway. The swelling in his face was getting worse though. That kinda shocked me, until I was reading over his papers from the doctor and it says that swelling usually peaks by 48 hours after. So yeah, that was fitting with the timeline. By bedtime, the right side of his face, jaw, neck was really obviously POOFed up. I kinda worried about it being on one side but he insisted there was no pain or anything. He's been taking his amoxicillin as prescribed, and did his first mouth rinse with that Peridex stuff before bed.

We watched the Opening Ceremonies of the Olympics. I know alot of people will scoff at me for it but oh well. I was hoping the commentators wouldn't make it a nonstop political discussion and they didn't. They talked about Bush being attendance, how some people thought he shouldn't be. I'm glad he was. Whether he's there or not isn't going to change what China has done or is doing or will do in the future. Bush (or any leader, or any country) staying away from the Olympics is hardly going to make China fall to its knees in tears and sob "We've been bad!" Deal with the politics in the political arena, not the sports arena. And for those who want to start screaming at me for this opinion, just remember....I'm entitled to MY thoughts and opinions just as much as you are to yours.

Moving on, the Opening Ceremonies were once again quite stunning. Those drummers in the opening...wow. Hubby and I both got a nervous feeling, like they were war drums, like we should be marching into ancient battle. lol I still the Calgary '88 (?) Opening Ceremonies are my very favorite ever, but I do love watching the others. Unfortunately, I didn't make it to the end, didn't see the flame being lit. Was it spectacular? I'll have to look around online.

While we were watching the ceremonies, a commercial for some movie came on and I made a comment about vampires. Then I warned my family that the first time I see a commercial for the Twilight movie, I will be spazzing like a...spazz. LOL And then there is poofy-faced Ty telling me "There was a preview for it on the Never Back Down DVD." WHAT?!?! That was the movie we'd gotten from Netflix, the one I'd had no interest in, the one I never watched, the one I'd just sent back that morning. WHAT?!?!?!

"WHY DIDN'T YOU TELL ME?!" I demanded? He said he had forgotten. OMG. Makes me wonder what other DVDs might have it though? Hehe! Also makes me wonder what was all in it. I mean, the trailer I've seen (the one I posted) isn't very long. Usually previews on DVDs are much longer. Heheeee....I'm all excited.

Hubby started reading Twilight last night. I doubt he'll finish, but he said he would read so I'd have someone to discuss it with. lol

So that's my recap of yesterday. I'll post my normal entry for today, later tonight.

Aug. 7 - Day 60

I have almost no details about RoofDude's progress today. I know he has the interior of the rebuilt room pretty much done, but other than that I have no clue if they worked on anything else. And I really don't care.



Except for painting the windows/doors, they really only have piddly, minor things to finish up at this point. I didn't talk to him today. Hubby said he barely spoke to him either, but hubby was busy running around today.

And why was hubby running around today? Because Ty had his wisdom teeth removed today. Hubby had more vacation days available so he took off to do this. Everything went fine as far as I know. He handled the anesthesia ok....threw up once in the car on the way home (had a bucket though, cuz Mom thought ahead!) but since then has been doing pretty darn good. No pain meds at all yet. He's been taking it easy, kinda napping on and off. He has a pain med prescribed but it has vicoden (sp) in it so I'm not giving it to him unless he's in a seriously desperate state. He also has a prescription for amoxicillan which he needs to take regardless, as a preventative measure. He just had a bit of ice cream a little while ago and that seemed to go ok. So overall, it's been way easier than I'd feared...but I think it's just that thing where you never want your kids to be in pain, or scared, etc. *sigh*

Hubby also had to go pick up his paycheck at work. And we had to go to the bank after I got done working, to sign new papers for that money we had added onto our loan.

We tried to watch the movie Vantage Point tonight but gave up. First, the DVD (Netflix) was in such crappy condition, it kept skipping and stalling. But even without that, we were all so lost that we gave up. Not what I thought it would be. Although, if it hadn't been for the skipping I might have tried a little harder to follow it.

I started re-reading Twilight today. Before you all scream "AGAIN?!" let me explain. I read it the first time and loved it. Then I read the next two books. Then I had a week to wait before the fourth book came out so I *started* reading Twilight again during that week. When the fourth came out, I set Twilight aside. But now I'm done with the fourth, and hated it so much that I decided I need to read the first one again just to keep *good* memories of Edward in my head. Got all that? So this is only the second time I'm reading it. hehe

Oooh, this just in, Tina says her sister didn't like the fourth book either. Woot!! I'm not a freak!

Ok, off to check my post-operative child before I head to bed.

Aug. 6 - Day 59

This whole ugly deck thing absolutely tormented me all day at work. It was to the point that I didn't want to come home and have to face RoofDude and his smiley inquiries of "What do you think?" and he proudly shows off his work. I could not believe my luck when I got here and they were already gone for the day. *phew*

But I told hubby that I absolutely hate the deck. He asked why, then eventually admitted there are things about it he doesn't like either. I can live with the low level of it but I cannot accept that stupid high rail. It's not only the height. It's also what he used (2x6s) and how he used them. He will need to lower it about six inches, and redo it using smaller, thinner boards along the top. Luckily hubby is home tomorrow (vacation day) to have a lovely discussion with RoofDude.

They didn't do much today. No clue why they didn't finish the deck (his ADD kicking in again?) but we're glad they didn't. They did, however, get the porch light installed. And they started drywalling inside the rebuilt room.



As for the always problematic door, RoofDude says this new door knob is defective, that the 'tumblers' inside are catching and hanging up on each other. To try and turn the knob and open the door from the outside, it feels like it's locked. You have to keep trying, turning back and forth and always pushing against the door. But to open from inside the house, it doesn't do that. Whatever, RoofDude. Just take care of it. We have HOW many friggen door knob sets around here now??

We had a gutter guy come out this evening and do an estimate. Hubby called him today, he said he'd try to get out here tonight, and he made it out. We were so impressed with him right there that he could have told us it will cost $10k and we would have still hired him. LOL Seriously though, he came out this evening, he was very friendly and social, he did his measuring and wrote up the estimate on the spot, and never asked for a dime in advance. We did indeed hire him on the spot. We're to the point that we just want all of this stuff done, and his price was fairly close to the rough estimate we'd been working with all along, so we figured we'd just take it instead of dealing with the crap, time, and stress of shopping around for cheaper. The guy said it might be three weeks before they can get to it but that it should be done in one day once they get here. That's fine. That's great. We love you, GutterGuy.

I made a point of reading tonight for the sole purpose of getting the stupid Breaking Dawn book done. And I finished it. And I continued to hate it all the way thru to the end. I'll even admit that for the last 100 pages or so, I didn't even really read...I just skimmed over, only stopping here and there for bits that might have been important. I'm done, and I'm happy that I'm done, and I'll probably re-read the first book (Twilight) just to get the GOOD story back into my head again.

Way past my bedtime now. Bleah.

Aug. 5 - Day 58

RoofDude and UsualHelper were here bright and early this morning, already getting started as I was leaving for work. RoofDude said "You'll have a new deck by the time you get home." I wasn't sure if I believed him, but figured with the two of them working all day, why not? So I was kinda excited to get home and see out beautiful new deck...which is actually just a back porch. (People keep thinking we have this grand, multi-level, wrap-around thing with a hot tub and dining area. *snort*)

They weren't done, but at least it's something more than temporary steps propped on wobbly bricks in the mud. LOL



I'm trying to remind myself that I'm a creature of habit and accepting change comes slow to me...but I don't like this deck. I'm also trying to remind myself that it's not done yet. My two main problems are that they built it so low. Look at the bottom of the door, and then how far down the deck is. He had said way back in the beginning that the deck would be level with the door. I see that he built low, below the lowest piece of siding, but why? I'm wondering and hoping if he's going to put a small step at the door? We didn't mention it today because, well, they're not done yet.

My other thing I don't like is that the rails are so high. Is there a code or something for rail height? These rails are awesome for if you're having a party or something, ya know, where everyone is just standing around and setting there drinks on it, leaning on it and talking or whatever. But I tend to think of deck rails as lower, like waist high or something. I don't know, have to wait for the finished product I guess. And I suppose once it's painted and complete and everything maybe I'll feel differently. But my initial thoughts are that I don't like it.

They finally got the last patches of roof thingie pieces of. Facia, or whatever that front roofline trim is called. And he said all three doors are done, and work, and we should feel free to test them, try them, examine them. The laundry room door is wonderful. The front door is 'acceptable' but the gaps will be pointed out again. But that damn back/main door is still all screwed up. Hubby will be discussing this with RoofDude tomorrow.

Tina and her girls ambushed me at work today. They were waiting for me in the parking lot when I came out. She was trying to kidnap my book, hehe. We talked for a bit there, then decided to head out here so she could see the house. Not sure how long they were here, quite a while, chitchatting and letting the girls flirt with Ty. And I'm sorry they had to see our house in all of its filthiest glory. Like I said, cleaning has been the least of my concerns for the last 58 days. *sigh*

I bitched to her about the Breaking Dawn book but didn't give away details, even though she insists it doesn't bother her to hear spoilers. I had been thinking today at work that I had nothing going on this evening and that I'd be able to just read and get this horrid thing done. Well, that didn't happen. And even when I did finally get time to sit down with my book, I'm just to the point where I don't care anymore and couldn't keep focused on it.

I still hate this book. It's become totally VC Andrews fairy tale soap opera stupid. I almost just gave up and handed it over to Tina while she was here. I'm really REALLY curious what she'll think, and what CoWorker thinks of it. And what Sheri/Fuzzy's friend thinks of it. And anyone else.

So I'm off once again to struggle my way thru more of it. As hubby said to Casey this evening, "It's now a mission."

Aug. 4 - Day 57

No work on house today. I guess it's understandable because it was rainy and stormy all day. And it's probably a good thing because of our money/bank situation...buys us an extra day. Hehe.

I had a horrible day today as far as stress and mood goes. I just tried to stay away from everyone, stay away and think, and spare them from getting heads bitten off. It's just totally pressing down on me...wondering how much more money we need, when will the estimates and bills be in so we KNOW how much, when will these last projects be done, when will we finally get this financial stuff switched over into the actual refinanced home loan, and what will the payments be? All of it, just driving me nuts. I'm tired of having to deal with all of it, trying to coordinate everything, call everyone, keep on top of everything. So yeah, it was almost one of those burst into tears days again by the time hubby got home.

I contacted the bank. We can get our extra money and will have to go in Thursday to sign new paperwork. I was hoping it would be sooner but at least it's taken care of.

The PowerLineDude left stopped during the day to look at the line. Then he called this afternoon to see if we'd be home so he could stop out and talk to us. We figured that wasn't good. Turns out it's not horrible, but not as good as we'd hoped. He's concerned about the part of the line that runs down the side of the house and into the basement. He says it's about 60 years old and has definately seen better days. They *will* just put it back for us if we want but he highly recommends against it because it's only a matter of time before it starts arcing and sparking. So while looking at the box in the basement, and asking questions about just what we use our garage and barn for (to know how much power we need down there), he was coming up with options for what we could do. He will write up some formal estimates and get back to us.

While we were all down in the basement, my in-laws showed up. I abandoned hubby and PowerlineGuy down there and went to see what In-laws wanted. My mother-in-law wanted me to look up something for her online. Of course the computer/connection was being a slow beast today, and she wanted me to check a bunch of different things, trying to find what she wanted. Then she decided to go ahead and order the stuff online so I had to do that for her. Hubby and his dad eventually went back outside so mother-in-law took advantage of the moment and had me look up something she wanted to get father-in-law for his birthday. We ended up ordering that too. She was all excited by how easy it is to shop online and said she'd probably be over more often now. lol

All afternoon it's been phones ringing and people coming over and emails and crazy crazy crazy. This anti-social person can only handle so much!

And another huge reason that my mood was so crappy is the stupid Breaking Dawn book. I. Hate. It. *cries* Seriously, I hate it. I would love to be able to openly bitch about why I feel this way, but I'll hold off a bit yet. I did, however, fill up nearly a page of scribbled angry thoughts throughout the day at work. I really wish I knew what CoWorker thought of the book. We don't talk outside work though, and she has company all this week, so it will have to wait till Monday. Besides, I'm not even done with the book myself. I'm about 3/4 done, and I'm only reading now because I paid money for it and feel I need to see it thru to the end. *grrr*

(Tina, I will pass it to you as soon as I'm done, if you don't have your sister's already.)

And on that cheery note, I'm off to force myself thru another chunk of text.

Aug. 3 - Day 56

Spent another hour or so outside cleaning up around the house today. The magnet thingie will need to be run many times to pick up the bazillions of fallen nails, but for the most part, things are clean. Well, they still have trailors and some pieces of equipment in the yard, but all the mess is taken care of. It will be fairly easy now, once they finally pack up and leave, to just mow and get back to normal.

RoofDude and his wife stopped here for a bit this afternoon. We didn't talk to them. It looked like he was just dropping off supplies for the remainder of his projects....the deck, etc.

I mowed the south part of the yard today. It was soooo overgrown, that even on the highest mower deck setting, it still looks like a hayfield out there. It will have to be gone over again in a couple days, on a lower setting. Couldn't really get up around the house close enough because of the remaining scaffolding and trailors and stuff.

I've been reading most of the day, when not working outside. I'm not pushing myself so obsessively with this one like I did last week with the third book. Part of it is that I have more time to read this one, but a bigger part has become that...I just don't like this book. Gah!! I'm actually kinda mad about this! It's like, I'm sitting here reading and wondering 'Where did all go wrong? How could it go from so freakishly cool to just plain freakishly stupid?' But then I think about how I hated that whole werewolf section in the second book (had this same depressed reaction), only to find that everyone else around me thought it all fit perfectly fine, that the book was still wonderful. I'm just over halfway thru the new book now. I've kinda given up, can't see it getting back to anything remotely close to the coolness the series started out with. *sigh* But I will read it to the end. And I'll discuss more details after I know Tina has read it.

So, I'm outta here, and back to my book.

Aug. 2 - Questionaire

I kept forgetting to post this, but here it is...finally. I saw this on Captain Anne's blog and decided I was bored enough to answer too.

1. Do you like blue cheese?
No, but I’m not a big cheese fan in the first place.

2. Have you ever smoked?
Tried it once or twice as a kid, ya know, gotta be cool thing.

3. Do you own a gun?
No.

4. What flavor Kool Aid was your favorite?
Was? I still love it! Black Cherry!!

5. Do you get nervous before doctor appointments?
Yes.

6. What do you think of hot dogs?
Used to love them as a kid but can barely stomach them now.

7. Favorite Christmas movie?
I must see A Christmas Story and Christmas Vacation every year.

8. What do you prefer to drink in the morning?
I *prefer* to drink Dew, but I try to stick with water or sips of whatever juice we have in the morning.

9. Can you do push ups?
A few.

10. Favorite piece of jewelry?
I don’t wear any, not even my wedding ring.

11. Favorite hobby?
Hmm…lately it’s reading.

12. Do you have A.D.D.?
I wonder sometimes….LOL

13. What's one trait you hate about yourself?
I don’t have the balls to say things that need to be said. I’m spineless.

14. Middle name?
Kay

15. Name 3 thoughts at this exact moment:
I’m thirsty. I’m disappointed in the new book (Breaking Dawn). I want to go lay down and read my disappointing book.

16. Name 3 drinks you regularly drink?
Water, Dew, Kool Aid

17. Current worry?
Money…how much more do we need from bank to cover the last of our house projects?

18. Current hate right now?
All contractor/service type people.

19. Favorite place to be?
If I’m being grand I’d say Germany. More practical, I’d say early morning shopping on a day that I don’t have to rush for anything.

20. How did you bring in the New Year?
Can’t even remember. Maybe playing Warcraft?

21. Where would you like to go?
Germany

22. Name three people who will complete this?
Maybe Tina, but other than that I don’t know.

23. Do you own slippers?
No, but every winter I always wish I had some.

24 What shirt are you wearing?
Light orange t-shirt that's starting to fray around the neck and should be tossed out.

26. Can you whistle?
Barely. It’s very wimpy sounding.

27. Favorite color?
Purple

28. Would you be a pirate?
Ha, I don’t know. Never thought about it.

29. What songs do you sing in the shower?
I don’t sing.

31. Favorite boy's name?
Jack

32. What's in your pocket right now?
Nothing.

33. Favorite type of cake?
Angel food with chocolate frosting

34. Where are you right now?
At home, in front of my computer

35. Worst injury you've ever had?
Does c-section count? Otherwise, either split/crushed my finger at work, or when my wisdom tooth caused infected jaw.

36. Do you love where you live?
I love the peace of the country but it sucks for so many reasons (slow internet, distance from everything, etc)

37. How many TV's do you have in your house?
One for watching, one for video games.

38. Who is your loudest friend?
Lisa

39. Do you have any pets?
Akita dog named Meena, and cat named Lynx.

40. Does someone have a crush on you?
I don’t think so. Maybe my hubby?

41. Your favorite books?
Twilight, Sweep series, Harry Potter, The Outsiders

42. Favorite Sports Teams?
Minnesota Vikings…not into sports

43. Favorite comfort food?
Pizza, Dew, chocolate, sour cream & onion Lays chips

44. What music do you want played at your funeral?
At the moment, I don’t know, but I *have* thought about this.

Aug. 2 - Day 55

No work on the house today, but we (Ty, hubby, and I) spent at least four hours outside today just cleaning up the yard. It would have been soooooo much easier if they had just put the tarp down like they *claimed* they would back in the beginning. We had their wheelbarrow and our wagon, just slowly going along each side of the house, picking up every little scrap and bit we saw. Three sides are pretty much clean now, but we'll need to finish what we can on the final side tomorrow. That's the side they still have their equipment on, so we'll just kinda pick up around their mess. And then we'll have to spend another good chunk of time just running their magnet thingie, trying to get all the nails.

A couple things about their mess pissed me off even more than the mess itself. First, when they dump stuff on our burn pile they don't even get it ON the burn pile. They just kinda get it in the general area and dump. We had to spend about an hour just cleaning up the mess in front of the burn pile...scooping everything and throwing it onto the actual pile...before we could even unload our new amounts of garbage! I mean, duh, we have a block retaining wall to keep the crap contained. Could they not figure out something that basic? *grrr*

The other thing is their total disregard for recyclables, and the way they discard some garbage. They go thru tons of bottled water. What do they do with the empty (and many half full?!) bottles? They just toss them randomly away. We found them all over the yard, mixed in with the siding and wood debri, under the rebuilt room, even under out front porch...which is enclosed with lattice! So to get them under there, they had to purposely poke them thru the holes and toss them! Also found glass root beer bottles all over, and some aluminum soda cans. *GRRR*

But, the yard looks a thousand times better now, and we were busy today (vs. sitting on our asses watching TV), and they'll hopefully only be here one more week. *crossing fingers hard*

I got up early this morning, hurried to town to do my shopping. First thing I did when I got to Walmart was head straight for the book section and grab Breaking Dawn. I was smiling like a fool. Heeee!!!! There were TONS of copies, two big display racks full. Tried to hurry thru the rest of my shopping so I could get home. Decided to hurry up and get other things done (like the yard, and dishes, etc.) so I could then sit and just read happily. Well the yard thing took way longer than expected, then I was tired and hot and crabby and had a headache and couldn't focus when I tried to read....bleah. Took some effort, but once I did get started, I found I wasn't liking it.

*GASP*

I won't go into details, for Tina's sake....lol

But then, the one thing that CoWorker and I were so eagerly anticipating, the one thing we were sure would have to happen...what a total freakin' letdown!! And then, something else we'd discussed and strongly feared, came true. Instead of hot vampire sex, they... *gulp* ...'made love.'

Excuse me while I puke.

So yeah, CoWorker and I will have some strong bitching to do on August 11 when she returns from her vacation. Really, I'm only about 100 pages into it and I really don't even care anymore. Just like with the second book, I hope like heck that something changes soon or I will be really disappointed again. And this saddens me tremendously.

Well, hubby and boys are watching some movie that I have no interest in so I'm going to try reading more.

Oh, and I bought a Linkin Park cd today. LOL

Aug. 1 - Day 54

RoofDude & Co. showed up shortly after 6am this morning! Damn, what's wrong with them lately?? I didn't have time for more than a few passing words this morning, and I didn't talk to them when I got home, so I don't know any news, BUT...



Except for that one little piece along the edge, this wall is pretty much done! They still need to put a light back out there by the door, a new dryer vent by the door, and finish the lock on the door. We will build new back steps ourselves.

So, with this wall now basically done, the only things left are one other section of white piecees along the roof (different wall), paint the windows and doors, rebuild the deck, and get the interior of the rebuilt room done (drywall). Then RoofDude's part is DONE!!! A couple more days at most! We still need the powerline put back up, and the gutters to be done. Oh, and DirecTV needs to come back and relocate the dish up onto the roof. Then....DONE!!!

I can't believe it's taken this long, but I also can't believe it will soon be over.

GutterGuy was supposed to be here at 4:30pm today to do the estimate. Hubby rearranged his work hours to be home for it. The dude never showed. We were also waiting for the ElectricGuy, but it wasn't a definate what day he'd be here cuz he's going to just stop as a favor on his way home from work. Well, today wasn't the day for him either. *sigh*

This weekend we will try to clean up the yard around the house. Most of RoofDude's equipment is now centrally located at the back of the house so it will be easier to go around and pick up all the scrap and garbage on the other three sides now. The grass is soooooo overdue for mowing, it's ridiculous.

In Twilight news, I was reading at the author's website and found that another book is in the works...this one is Edward's point of view on everything. Oh.My.Gawd. I cannot WAIT for this book!!!

I also found something interestingly funny to me at that site...about music. Anyone who knows me knows I go thru Linkin Park phases, usually when I'm stressing about something. I will pop the cd into the car stereo and crank it when I drive, like an anger management thing. lol Several days ago I felt the need for Linkin Park again, and as I listened I wondered if any of my songs could 'fit' for Twilight. Well, reading today, apparently Linkin Park songs factor big into what the author listens to while writing/reading the books. Even the cd that Bella listens to early in the first book is supposed to be Linkin Park although it's never mentioned by name. Ha! How cool is that?? Of course songs she mentioned are none of *my* songs, but still....ha!

CoWorker and I were doing some Twilight talking again today. We were discussing what looks like big differences between the movie and the book, and from there we just got kinda silly. We were talking about Bella & Edward's first kiss, trying to remember if it was at the meadow, or where. I told her the little bit I saw in a video clip looked like it was in Bella's room, that she looked nervous and he was moving in very slowly and cautiously. Suddenly we're both laughing, imagining them filming it and suddenly Edward lunges for Bella's throat, latches on and won't let go. LOL!!! Maybe they'll have some good extras like that on the DVD. Heheeee! Or filming some serious scene and he had those plastic vampire teeth. It was pretty funny coming up with all these silly situations.

And then we were both plagued by the fear that one of the main three will die. *cries* I have been growing increasingly worried about Edward's survival but suddenly today, something in what I read today, made me panic for Bella. Ohhh, I can't wait till tomorrow, to get this book. I didn't think I would push myself to read it so fast like I did last weekend, but now I'm thinking I might indeed do it that way again. The stress is too much!!!

I've been debating all evening about going to get the book at midnight. I've been chatting with Tina on Yahoo pretty much all evening, and we discussed going together. In the end though, I've decided I'm too tired and will just get it in the morning. In our nattering though, I linked her to some ComicCon videos and she's all hot for Robert Pattinson now. LOL I managed to see one video. *rolls eyes* It's kinda cool that he's shy and uncomfortable about his newfound fame. And I do agree this movie will place him on the front page of Hot New Stars. It's rather cool.

Well, I'm just rambling now so I think it's time to call it a night.