Saturday, the floor guy did in fact show up and finish! Sunday morning, we were able to go upstairs and view the new floors. They look shiny and fabulous! So, Tuesday night, we will be busy starting the move back upstairs.
Now, I guess I have to start thinking about window coverings so we won't be giving the neighbors a free show!
6/30/08
A Quick Trip to Portland
So the floor guy actually showed up and worked a very long day on Friday with the promise of finishing up on Saturday. Mike and I agreed that we both shouldn't go to NH because we needed to make sure he actually showed up and worked Saturday. Bummer. However, Mike being the wonderful husband and smart man that he is, he recommended I find someone to go up with me to hike so that I wouldn't be at home being pissed off about being in the construction zone and, in turn, wouldn't complain about it to him. Unfortunately, my search for a hiking partner was unsuccessful. Fortunately, my friend Tamara invited me to crash her plans to go visit our friend Jess in Portland, ME overnight. So, I ran home after work Friday, packed a small bag and headed up to Tamara's place to make the trip with her.
From Tamara's place north of the city, it only took about an hour and a half to drive up there. We met Jess and a friend of her's out for a couple of drinks and then got a semi full night of sleep to prepare for our Saturday morning activity, helping the Friends of Casco Bay do a clean up of Back Cove. Jess's friends from soccer, Vicki and Morgan (with her 14 month old son Sawyer in tow) also came out and the group of us spent a few hours digging for trash!
Tamara, Sawyer, Morgan, Vicki and Jess working cleanup at Back Cove
After doing our good deed for the day, we walked back to Jess's place via the farmers market where Tamara and I picked up some fresh veggies...yum! After cleaning up a bit, we walked about 15 minutes to the old port section of Portland where we had a lovely lunch and did some fun shopping at the great shops that are in that area. The day was very cool and cloudy, but not raining so we all stayed happy!
Oliver hitting the kitty crack (aka cat nip) pillow from Portland
From Tamara's place north of the city, it only took about an hour and a half to drive up there. We met Jess and a friend of her's out for a couple of drinks and then got a semi full night of sleep to prepare for our Saturday morning activity, helping the Friends of Casco Bay do a clean up of Back Cove. Jess's friends from soccer, Vicki and Morgan (with her 14 month old son Sawyer in tow) also came out and the group of us spent a few hours digging for trash!
Tamara, Sawyer, Morgan, Vicki and Jess working cleanup at Back Cove
After doing our good deed for the day, we walked back to Jess's place via the farmers market where Tamara and I picked up some fresh veggies...yum! After cleaning up a bit, we walked about 15 minutes to the old port section of Portland where we had a lovely lunch and did some fun shopping at the great shops that are in that area. The day was very cool and cloudy, but not raining so we all stayed happy!Self portrait in the Old Port - Jess, Tamara and Me! 
After a great day with the girls, Tamara and I headed back to MA. Thanks for hosting us Jess!
After a great day with the girls, Tamara and I headed back to MA. Thanks for hosting us Jess!Oliver playing with the souvenir from Portland
Oliver hitting the kitty crack (aka cat nip) pillow from Portland
6/27/08
Big Fitness Goal Reached!
Most, if not all, of you folks out there know that I've been working my booty off for the last 2 years to get leaner and healthier.
Today, I hit a big goal. In elementary school, I dreaded the part of the Presidential Fitness test that made the gym teachers come after you with calipers. Today, I actually went looking for those scary calipers. That's right, I decided it was time to measure my fat!
As we all know, the scale and height/weight charts (BMI) can only tell you so much....and they normally don't fare in my favor given my short stature, large bone structure in relation to said stature, and pretty beefy muscles (hehe). I wanted a more accurate reading. Luckily, the nutritionist at my gym offers this service for free, so I ducked in her office after my body pump class today. AND......good news! I made my "lean" goal! According to the charts, 18-25% is healthy for women....18-22% being lean. I measure in just under my 22% goal at 21.9%!! Wahoo!
It's cool to see lots of hard work pay off! Want to know my secrets? I'll post my diet\weight loss plan sometime in the future. For now, I'm off to celebrate! Cheers!
Today, I hit a big goal. In elementary school, I dreaded the part of the Presidential Fitness test that made the gym teachers come after you with calipers. Today, I actually went looking for those scary calipers. That's right, I decided it was time to measure my fat!
As we all know, the scale and height/weight charts (BMI) can only tell you so much....and they normally don't fare in my favor given my short stature, large bone structure in relation to said stature, and pretty beefy muscles (hehe). I wanted a more accurate reading. Luckily, the nutritionist at my gym offers this service for free, so I ducked in her office after my body pump class today. AND......good news! I made my "lean" goal! According to the charts, 18-25% is healthy for women....18-22% being lean. I measure in just under my 22% goal at 21.9%!! Wahoo!
It's cool to see lots of hard work pay off! Want to know my secrets? I'll post my diet\weight loss plan sometime in the future. For now, I'm off to celebrate! Cheers!
You Guessed It, More Delays!
It is so incredibly aggravating to be where we are in the renovation. We are ready to be back in ALL of our house and nothing seems to be going smoothly. Our floor guy has been MIA for 2 days (his boss hasn't known where he is and is baffled because this is very unlike the guy). Word on the street is that he's to show up today (though we heard the same thing the last 2 days in a row) and will still finish by tomorrow evening. I'll believe that when I see it. I'm dreading that this is going to drag on past the 4th of July holiday. Remember, it's 72 hours after the floors are finished before we can think about setting furniture on it!
Yesterday, the guys showed up to build our back stairs and determined there weren't enough materials. They left, more stuff was delivered last night and they were working again this morning.
Our poor contractor has had a big black cloud following him throughout our project which has struck lightening again today. Previous storms have been back pain, followed by back surgery, followed by more back pain and now the promise of another back surgery, the death of 2 family members and his father's house burning down. Yesterday, a week after the house burned down, his father died of a massive heart attack. Our contractor is a really nice guy and it's tough to see so many horrible things happen to a good person in such a short length of time. We really feel for him.
Unfortunate for us, it also means he hasn't been as available to help us with all these problems that are arising. Understandable but not furthering our cause. I cannot even tell you how great it's been to have Mike at home dealing with all of these blows. We're incredibly fortunate that the timing of his not having a job has allowed him to do that....it definitely has saved us a lot of time and money over the project. However, now that it's drawing to a close, we definitely need to get him a job. Anyone know of any employment options in the Boston area?
Yesterday, the guys showed up to build our back stairs and determined there weren't enough materials. They left, more stuff was delivered last night and they were working again this morning.
Our poor contractor has had a big black cloud following him throughout our project which has struck lightening again today. Previous storms have been back pain, followed by back surgery, followed by more back pain and now the promise of another back surgery, the death of 2 family members and his father's house burning down. Yesterday, a week after the house burned down, his father died of a massive heart attack. Our contractor is a really nice guy and it's tough to see so many horrible things happen to a good person in such a short length of time. We really feel for him.
Unfortunate for us, it also means he hasn't been as available to help us with all these problems that are arising. Understandable but not furthering our cause. I cannot even tell you how great it's been to have Mike at home dealing with all of these blows. We're incredibly fortunate that the timing of his not having a job has allowed him to do that....it definitely has saved us a lot of time and money over the project. However, now that it's drawing to a close, we definitely need to get him a job. Anyone know of any employment options in the Boston area?
6/25/08
Solstice Celebration
This is a cool stacked wall that separated some one's home from the ocean.
Me in front of the granite quarry
Nice view of the coastline from the quarry
The claim to fame of Rockport - the red fisherman's shack
After exploring the quarry and hiking back, we ate some great seafood then headed back into Boston for the Summers Day Revels celebration. Jim, my brother in law, was a part of the festivities. His band, the What Cheer Brigade, led the parade to the main stage to start the festivities and then played a set there later. Mike and I had a fun time hanging out with Kristina and the boys, Jacob and Corwin. It was perfect weather, there were lots of fun activities around and the kids, as always, were a (tiring) barrel of fun!
What Cheer Brigade leading the parade
(Jim is in the red pants playing the snare drum at the far left side of the picture)
Mike, Kristina, Jacob and Corwin
following alongside the parade
Hanging out
On Sunday, we had a busy social day. Our friends, Sean and Sarah with their 6 month old Owen, came over for lunch. Sean was a friend of mine from Tae Kwon Do. We bonded after we realized we're both from Texas - he grew up in Plano. When Sean decided to go back to school to get his MBA at Wharton, Sarah became my roommate for about 6 months while she finished up her PHD at Harvard. They celebrated their 1st wedding anniversary while Sarah was living with me! Flash forward to 4.5 years later and they're in London, where they've been residing for almost 3 years. It was truly great to get to see them while Sean was in town for business and awesome to meet Owen. He's a cute, smiley guy! Maybe we'll get to meet again in the Dallas area for the holidays.
That evening, we had more family time as all of Mike's gang came to our house for a cook out. They were all anxious to see the renovations. The rain threatened but held out long enough to cook, play in the yard, eat some grub and enjoy each other's company. The kitchen proved very conducive to parties so it was a successful first event!
So, all in all, a pretty perfect first weekend of summer! Happy summer everyone!
6/24/08
Big D to meet Mr. R
Mike and I ended May and started out the month of June in stinkin' hot Dallas. The major incentive to get me to Texas during the summer months was to meet my wonderful new nephew, Ryker. We had a great time laughing with Ryker and playing with Reece and Presley. I think the last time I actually got to hang with R&P was at Jamie and Sarah's wedding last June. Wow! Time flies and those kids grow fast! Reece is turning into a wonderful young man (but still a super fun kid) and Presley, aka "mini-me", is more like me every day - fabulous and stubborn. Since I understand her VERY well, we get along smashingly! I just love those kids!
We did a lot of hanging out and eating that weekend, but we also took Ryker to see his very first movie (Indiana Jones), which he slept through very well, and took a trip to the children's science museum on the State Fair of Texas fairgrounds. I tell Mike every October that we need to plan a trip to Dallas during fair time one of these years....I have such fond memories of it growing up and would really like to get back for it some time. (I actually just got a book of 1000 places in the US and Canada to see before you die and it was even listed there!) So, for those of you that are in Dallas in the fall - definitely plan a trip there.
Here are some pictures from the weekend:
Look at this handsome, happy baby!
Reece - 11
Presley - 7 3/4
Ginger Relaxing
Cleo Napping
Kara and Mike in front of the Texas Star
Jody and Ryker napping
Cool Chicks (Mini-Me and Big-Me)
Definitely one for the scrap books! Luckily - it all landed on his clothes!
Blog Title
Help! I've only come up with cheesy blog titles. I need help and suggestions. Anyone good and witty with words out there??
6/23/08
Delays, delays, delays
The floor guy finally showed up at 4:30 today with his repaired sander. The time line he gave us for his work is a little longer than the original estimate we had gotten. He'll be working at our house all week and will finish the last coat of poly this weekend, which means we won't be able to move furniture back upstairs until Wednesday, July 3rd. Ugh! Looks like we'll be heading to the mountains of NH this weekend instead of moving furniture. Anyone want to meet me there for a hike?
Cuteness
I met Ryker, my new nephew, a few weeks ago for the first time. He's a big cutey! I'm already in love with him and he's already a part of the "Aunt Role" fan club!
Here's a picture my brother sent me of him modeling the onsie I got him. With an 11 year old brother and an 7 3/4 year old sister, this shirt says it all!
Here's a picture my brother sent me of him modeling the onsie I got him. With an 11 year old brother and an 7 3/4 year old sister, this shirt says it all!
6/20/08
One More to Check off the List
The electrician did in fact finish his job today, so we can check one more thing off the list. Unfortunately, we have to add one more...the phone company. Apparently the electrician will not hook up the phone jacks he installed to the actual phone lines. I wonder how much it's going to cost to get Verizon out to do it. Ugh! Maybe I'll just have to do a bit of studying and do it myself!
Happy Friday Everyone! We have a fun weekend planned that I'm sure will be exciting for you to read about next week.
Happy Friday Everyone! We have a fun weekend planned that I'm sure will be exciting for you to read about next week.
More renovation delays (End of Week 15)
The 12-14 weeks of renovation time has come and gone.
Ah the joys of renovation! We are SO ready to reclaim our house and it seems to hitting lots of little snags as the end moves further and further away. Here's a list of what still needs to be completed and their delays:
1) A few electrical tweaks - delayed since the electrician has been super unresponsive to our contractor and us over the last few weeks. Status: Mike just emailed to let me know they actually showed up.
2) Upstairs and stair floor refinishing. This is the major project standing in between us living in one room downstairs and being able to move back into our upstairs. Was scheduled to begin yesterday (6/19) but the floor guy's sander was broken. Status: sander is getting repaired and they're (hopefully) going to start on Monday. If it takes 2 days as planned, we can then move back upstairs Friday night and after (72 hours for the poly to dry).
3) Bathroom shower door. Man those suckers are expensive! It took me some time to swallow the pain of the price and go for it. Currently, we're going ghetto style with our old shower curtain taped to our tile with painters tape. At least we can shower at home! Status: The order is in and it should be ready for installation the week of July 7th.
4) Tile backsplash in kitchen\second coat of paint. The tile we partially picked out because it was in stocked and available in 2 days is, of course, back ordered. The painter will finish up the paint once that's installed to clean up anything that might happen with the grout. Status: tile scheduled to be in July 8th and we'll have to schedule tile installation when we have it in hand.
5) Door hardware for upstairs. We found it online for a lot less expensive than our local specialty hardware place but are paying the price in time. You wouldn't believe how unbelievably difficult it is to try and pry open our bathroom pocket door without hardware! Status: Scheduled to ship to us June 27th.
6) Exterior work - siding and back stairs. We need siding on the moved windows and on our new mudroom as well as stairs (currently using the old ones that were moved over to the new door location). Status: Supposedly all materials are in and our site manager will be here early next week to complete this stuff.
7) Hinges from cabinet company for one cabinet. Status - who the heck knows when we'll get these because, as far as my experience shows, the kitchen company has a bunch of non communicative bumbling idiots that work for them.
So, nothing major left to be done but lots of minor things that will keep me nuts for at least another few weeks since people will still be in and out of my house constantly.
The ONLY room we can actually check off the list now is the mudroom. Thanks to my newly handy hubby, our carpet floor tiles are in and this room is DONE. Wahoo!
Ah the joys of renovation! We are SO ready to reclaim our house and it seems to hitting lots of little snags as the end moves further and further away. Here's a list of what still needs to be completed and their delays:
1) A few electrical tweaks - delayed since the electrician has been super unresponsive to our contractor and us over the last few weeks. Status: Mike just emailed to let me know they actually showed up.
2) Upstairs and stair floor refinishing. This is the major project standing in between us living in one room downstairs and being able to move back into our upstairs. Was scheduled to begin yesterday (6/19) but the floor guy's sander was broken. Status: sander is getting repaired and they're (hopefully) going to start on Monday. If it takes 2 days as planned, we can then move back upstairs Friday night and after (72 hours for the poly to dry).
3) Bathroom shower door. Man those suckers are expensive! It took me some time to swallow the pain of the price and go for it. Currently, we're going ghetto style with our old shower curtain taped to our tile with painters tape. At least we can shower at home! Status: The order is in and it should be ready for installation the week of July 7th.
4) Tile backsplash in kitchen\second coat of paint. The tile we partially picked out because it was in stocked and available in 2 days is, of course, back ordered. The painter will finish up the paint once that's installed to clean up anything that might happen with the grout. Status: tile scheduled to be in July 8th and we'll have to schedule tile installation when we have it in hand.
5) Door hardware for upstairs. We found it online for a lot less expensive than our local specialty hardware place but are paying the price in time. You wouldn't believe how unbelievably difficult it is to try and pry open our bathroom pocket door without hardware! Status: Scheduled to ship to us June 27th.
6) Exterior work - siding and back stairs. We need siding on the moved windows and on our new mudroom as well as stairs (currently using the old ones that were moved over to the new door location). Status: Supposedly all materials are in and our site manager will be here early next week to complete this stuff.
7) Hinges from cabinet company for one cabinet. Status - who the heck knows when we'll get these because, as far as my experience shows, the kitchen company has a bunch of non communicative bumbling idiots that work for them.
So, nothing major left to be done but lots of minor things that will keep me nuts for at least another few weeks since people will still be in and out of my house constantly.
The ONLY room we can actually check off the list now is the mudroom. Thanks to my newly handy hubby, our carpet floor tiles are in and this room is DONE. Wahoo!
6/18/08
Home Renovations
Here are a few of the latest pictures of our renovation project. It's down to the details now and we're more anxious than ever to be able to reclaim our house. Hopefully we'll be able to wake up without contractors in our house within a few weeks!
6/15/08
MOOSE!!
Upon our arrival to NH Friday night, I went to open the windows for some fresh air while Mike was unloading the car. Much to my surprise, when I drew back the curtains, I saw two moose! I screamed to Mike in excitement and he quickly grabbed his camera from the trunk. It was both of our first up close and personal moose experience! Ever since I moved to New England and almost peed my pants laughing when I saw my first "Moose Crossing" sign, I've been anxiously awaiting the day I would actually come across one of the huge creatures. In Mike's 31 years here, this is the first he's seen as well. So, it was a big moment for the two of us. After they let us stalk them for a while, they continued their walk into the woods.
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