Striving for Freespirited Organization

Friday, we went to Atlanta to go to Ikea. We got a corner TV stand and a slim bookcase. We needed updated furniture to go on our new hardwood floors! The bookcase box just barely fit in the Jeep. About a foot of it was sticking in between us on the drive back. But at least I didn't have to sit in the backseat! Ikea will make you tired - fast! It is so sprawling. Even if you've been there before, you kind of forget each time just how big it is....
So when we got home, we were just hanging out, relaxing. About 8:30 our doorbell rang. This is a very rare occurrence, so we were a little startled when it happened. We both went to the door (well, I went to the window) and looked out - nobody was there. And there were no "gifts" (pranks) on the front porch. We checked all around the house, but no one was there. And we didn't even hear laughter (at us) when we were looking out the door.
So this morning, while walking the dog, there it was. Tire tracks in our front yard. The grass torn up. It looks like someone quickly went mudding in our yard. So the doorbell now made sense. Someone drove through our yard and one of them jumped out and rang the doorbell. Nice. Random act? A dare? All I know is now I need some grass seed.

We recently had bad service at a restaurant - and after complaining to the manager - we got a $40 gift card. This was a nice apology for poor (or lack of) service, but there was really no desire to return to that restaurant. So today, I traded my card for Starbucks gift cards. A much better deal!
A co-worker that loves that restaurant and hates coffee had $40 of Starbucks cards that she had been given.
Caramel Macchiato...here I come!

The floors are finished. They are beautiful! The workmen got here about 7:15 this morning and stayed until about 6:15 - long day! And after they left, we had the task of dusting, wiping down surfaces, dusting, putting little felt things on the legs of all the furniture and swiffering! It's amazing how different your house can look with new flooring - and sound different too!

The flooring guys left about 4pm. They left a big mess (on purpose). They wanted to be ready to go first thing tomorrow morning! The main room is pretty much done - and it looks SO GOOD! I am very excited for it to be done. But for now, we are pretty much living downstairs. All the living room furniture is in the kitchen, so that makes the kitchen out of commission. Plus there are tools and debris everywhere! This project is only going to be for 2 days. I can't imagine having a whole room remodeled. Or another story on the house. Although that is what it sounded like today!
We have noticed that there is dust everywhere! And there is a gouge in the wall - but that's where the TV will be. But the most exciting thing that I found was a hamburger (whole) and another one with only 2 bites left - just laying under a tree. And of course ants were all over the place. So I grabbed my tongs and put it in the trash! Ewww!

I left out 2 exciting things that happened this morning.
11:30 - killed a giant roach in my "hiding" room
12:30 - killed a giant wasp - in my "hiding" room

So now it's 2:15 - I just walked the dog and saw the men scattered outside the house having lunch. So I don't know what that silence was earlier. One guy was on the front porch, drinking a fast food drink and smoking. Another guy was sitting on the back porch (in my FABRIC patio chair smoking). The hammering has started again.

And the crazy dog that was barking to alert me that someone was in the house ALL morning, is now wanting to go upstairs. I have no idea what that's about!

2:30 - I really think that they are going to come through the floor. And one guy keeps yelling - it has the tone of "I just chopped my finger off" or "I can't believe you just broke that" - I can't tell. Either one, I'm not too keen on.

Today is hardwood flooring installation day!
7:30 - 5 cars pulled up and 7 guys came up to the door, after unloading lots of equipment.
7:45 - they had already moved all the furniture and started ripping up the carpet
8:00 - got the last thing that I needed from upstairs = Excedrin!
and I couldn't get out of their way fast enough!
8:15 - ate my cereal with earplugs in
8:30 - VERY loud - Sawing, hammering pins out of the doors, scraping, Ripping nails up out of the carpet tack strips - all at the same time. It sounded like a new housing development - 3 house sites at once.
9:00 - I was brought the quarter-round to paint - got set up for that in the garage
9:30 - 11:00 - I painted the quarter-round, while the noise upstairs got even louder - sawing, scraping, hammering, pneumatic nailers roaring, and now the dropping of boxes of hardwood flooring - at several points, I thought they were going to come through the floor - also, a thin layer of dust has covered a lot of things down here! I see lots of cleaning in my future.
11:00 - cereal for lunch!
11:15 - went into the back room of downstairs, hiding out in the quietER part of downstairs, with my computer, books, and DVD player!
12:00 - it got quiet for a while - lunchbreak?
1:15 - I've been hiding out in this room that has been pretty safe from noise for the past 2 hours. But it sounds as though my luck has run out. The dropping of the boxes of wood seem to have found me...again.

I played my first round of golf - only 9 holes. It was quite an adventure. We played at a "practice" course. I have learned that it is called a practice course, so that you can practice hazards - so it's not a flat, pretty course. It was uphill and downhill, lots of trees and wild-growing grassy areas. I hit from the tee pretty well. From the fairway, I hit ok. When I actually hit the ball, instead of whiffing or just knocking it a little ways, it went a good distance. And putting... well, needs some work. So, I need to work on consistency!! As far as my score - I counted it this way: only 3 drops (for lost balls), it took me about par for the hole to get to the green, then 2-3 shots on the green.
Completely exhausted by the end of only 9 holes, I had a blast!

Saturday was just a bad day. We were supposed to get quarter-round delivered, so that we could paint it before our hardwood flooring installation on Monday. It was supposed to come about 9 or 10 am. Around noon, we called the installer (the guy that was supposed to bring it) and left a message. We didn't hear from him all day!
That afternoon we were going to play a 9 hole round of golf - somewhere. But it was raining ALL day! So that was out.
So to end the day on a good note (we thought), we decided to go out to eat, as a date night. We went to a local restaurant on a Saturday night at 6 pm. This place had come recommended by several people. So we were pretty sure that it would be a great place to eat. We were worried about the wait being long, but we were seated immediately on the back patio. We got our drinks and then waited for our waitress to come back to take our order. We saw her come and go from other tables - even stop by a table with her friends and chat. We tried to get her attention - but she never looked at us. So, after about 25 minutes, we just left. But I headed straight to the hostess stand and asked for the manager. The little waitress ran up and started making excuses - "I'm new here" "You should have gotten my attention" "Do you want to move inside?" The manager came back with a gift card - I was interested to see that I was $40 worth of mad! But I don't think we are going to go back to use it. I think one of those people that recommended that place might be seeing that gift card.

We've had some storms here recently. And I usually do not like storms (ok, I NEVER like them). But this past weekend, I kind of enjoyed myself. The thunder sounded different somehow. It was "perfect" thunder - like the kind that you hear on TV. So, Saturday, I curled up on the couch with a book - and listened to the rain and thunder. And it was fun!

I got my first cavity filled today. Actually it wasn't even a cavity... The dentist told me it was a decalcification that was fairly deep - and that they wanted to go ahead and fill it before it got worse. So... still no cavities for me!! It was the first time that I gotten numbed up - that I could remember.
I joined D for lunch - I had soup and a fruit cup and some ice cream - and it all pretty much tasted the same - and I went through about 3 napkins trying to keep most of the food in my mouth, and not drooling down my chin.

It's nice to have the feeling back in my lips now!

I watched some of the most beautiful fireworks on the 4th. We got a great spot lakeside to watch them. And the spot was even better than I thought it would be! We saw the barge (that would be shooting the fireworks) coming toward us - and then it stopped...right in front of me. There was really nothing between me and the barge, except the water. It was a great 30 minute show! Some "low" stuff and some spectacular huge ones! And with the reflection in the lake, it was so amazing! Even without the music that was playing on the radio, it was quite moving. I loved the reverb of the BOOM on the buildings behind us.

Fireworks are one of my favorite things - watching them, NOT shooting them. And I LOVE water. So I enjoyed being able to have both of these in my 4th of July experience.

Thursday night, we had our 4th golf lesson. Still learning the swing - there are lots of things to remember to tell your body to do - all at one time. And usually, I only remember a few each time I swing. Practice will make perfect - or at least make "ok". Our teacher showed us some "practice moves" with a soccer ball - to learn body position. Very cool! I did a little practice throwing the ball at my house today! Felt like a kid playing in the yard with a ball on a sunny, summer day!

I followed clues when I got home today. There was a plastic hanger cover - and an empty wooden hanger in D's closet. I found a Lean Cuisine box (in the trash) - and a fork and a spoon on the counter. The door to the basement was closed. And there was a pamphlet next to the front door. So I knew what had happened while I was at work.
D had come home, shut the door to keep the dog upstairs, changed into his suit, been given a pamphlet (by a religious group) and had eaten lunch and some pudding for dessert.
I should totally be in the CIA!

Last week, we went to upstate New York for our summer vacation. We flew into Albany and drove down to Cooperstown, the home of the Baseball Hall of Fame. We spent a couple days there, then drove west through the rest of the state. We drove on the "scenic" routes 5 & 20 and saw some of the Finger Lakes. We stayed in a beautiful Bed & Breakfast on one of the lakes. And since we were the only ones staying there that night, we got a free upgrade to a new room that had a little balcony overlooking the lake! We ended up in Niagara Falls, for 3 nights. We stayed on the Canada side - better views and better attractions. We did the Maid of the Mist (the boat that takes you up to the base of the Falls). We also did a more exciting boat ride up the river a bit. The Whirlpool Jet Boats take you up the river a ways to a whirlpool, that has class 5 rapids and you ride across those! The guide described it to us before we went as follows: "Have you ever jumped into a swimming pool? Well, you are about to have a swimming pool jump onto YOU!" And he was right! The first part of the trip - actually getting to the rapids is a 60 mph boat trip. Then you get to the part where the coast guard won't even come... and ride the waves! It was beautiful, exciting and incredible all at the same time!!!
From our room, we could see the falls - how they lit them up at night. And on our anniversary night, we watched the fireworks above the falls! It was an trip of beauty and adventure!

Not much adventure since then... I read a book. Yes, a YA book - Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants (the second one), but such a good read. I look forward to starting the third one tonight when I get in bed! Had lunch with a friend, did some laundry, hung up my new birdfeeder and went to the grocery store - quite a successful day!

Boy am I pooped from the garage sale prep. I like to do pretty much everything the day before, so that I can sit and watch the money the day of the sale!! So I removed all of my "keeper" garage stuff, swept the floor, arranged the shelves and tables for display, brought the stuff out and arranged and priced. Oh, and made signs and stuck them into the ground. Having a sale last year made many things go smoother this year. I already had the bar that I made for hanging clothes (that took a good 2 hours last year - this year 2 minutes!). Also, I knew how to do the signs - it was a fiasco last year. But this year - pretty fast. I knew what NOT to do!


And while doing all of that prep stuff, I was waiting for the plumber. He was going to fix a few things - nothing REALLY urgent. But I was going to be home, so I thought it was a good day to have him come. Well, he was supposed to come at 9 am - at 10 am he called and said he had to make an emergency delivery (no idea...) and that he would be back on my side of town at 12 or 12:30. Well at 2 pm, I started getting annoyed. And at 3, he was called to be told "Don't bother!" (oh, on a voice mail, he didn't pick up his cell)

I was going to be home all day - so it wasn't a huge inconvenience today - but how often do those days happen. That doesn't mean that I wanted to wait all day! This was ridiculous! And maybe he was going to come at 3:30. But after having to wait that long, I didn't want to have to ruin my evening with a plumber in the house. And now, at 8 pm - we still haven't heard from him - to say "I got your message" or "I can't come today" or even "I'M SORRY!!!"

Can we say NEW PLUMBER!!!!

This is started as the week of planning...
I have gotten back in to my nerd folder. The loving term given to my research, information and maps for our summer trip. I never do an itinerary - I just want to have all the information so that we can do whatever, whenever.

And I am having a garage sale this Saturday. Hopefully it will be as successful as last year! Everything is sorted and planned out. And it looks like good weather too!

We got a new computer - a Mac! We have been switching all the stuff from our PC to our new computer. Moving into the Apple world has been fun! I work with macs, so it has been a fairly easy transition for me. But really it has been easy for both of us - because Macs are that fun and easy to use. It really is like the commercial - you just turn it on and everything just WORKS! TADA!
It was time for an upgrade - and we wanted to avoid Vista like the plague.

Also I've been downstairs playing Wii Fit. It's a game, but really it's a great workout. Aerobic, strengthening, yoga and balance exercises are all done on a balance board that tracks your movements. I thought it would be fun - it definitely is that - but after "playing" for about 20 or 30 minutes, I'm tired and sweating!

But the Wii Fit balance isn't working quite yet... The other day, I was taking one last swig of water before I went into the grocery store. And I poured it all over my face, shirt, skirt and car. There was no hiding or even blotting. I looked down - yep, I'm soaking wet. But I'm here, I'll dry. I just went on in to the store. My skirt (which after this day is now my FAVORITE skirt) dried pretty much on the way in to the store. I hadn't finished in produce yet, and it was dry. My tank top, however took a little longer. But when I got to the checkout, I was completely dry. And the great thing is, that nobody saw me wet. Well, at least I think so. Nobody looked at me funny. I just pretended that there was nothing there - and I guess that worked!

I can do this one - actually most of my blogs are like this anyway....

1. We just got an imac - so I've been playing on the new equipment, and not doing a good job blogging, blogging, journaling and emailing.

2. My Aunt brought 18 contractor trash bags full of my childhood stuff (that had been stored in my parents' attic from my childhood till I graduated college - then it went to my aunt's attic for the past 10 years). So this week I am playing the "what's in that mystery black bag" game - a few bags at a time. I have no idea what is in each bag. Each one holds surprises of what my mom thought that she should save for me. Interesting to say the least. Quite the adventure.

3. I love NFL football - my team is the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

4. I live in flip flops in the summer.

5. Most of the time I enjoy TV shows (my 22-hour movies) better than most theatrical releases.

6. I pack my lunch for work at night, because I don't have time in the morning. (Actually, I have negative time in the AM)

7. A sunroof is for all seasons. One of my favorite things is in early spring, when the air is fresh, to have the sunroof open and the heat blowing!



Now my 7 tags, how about one.
2 people that I would tag have been already
so Marissa, you're it.

I am so not good at this...posting on a consistent basis.

So, what's new? I ordered some golf clubs - they should be here Monday! They are blue and gray! No pink - that was pretty hard to do!
Tax season is over - so it's a little more relaxed at our house!
I've read a few books over the past few weeks. I have enjoyed my weekly trips to the library! And my visits to the Young Adult section. I really enjoyed "Fairest" by Gail Carson Levine. And just started "How to be popular" by Meg Cabot. I usually like her stuff!

And it is nice to have most all shows back from the writers' strike-induced hiatus. The shows that did come back were able to freshen up some story lines - and some shows were able to fix some things that really didn't work [read: Gizzie]. May sweeps is REALLY good this year - maybe because of the freshness of the writers, maybe because I've been missing my shows. I do miss the shows that were new this year that didn't come back (Chuck, Daisies). But I am glad that I know they will be coming back in the fall! :)

So I went to the driving range with my husband this past weekend. But before we went, I got A club. Yep, just one. It was a hybrid - of a driver and an iron. Basically you can use it to hit off a tee or just off the grass. That's about all I know about golf right now anyway...
So the goal was to see if I could hit the ball. Teeny ball, little club - can they make contact? And much to my surprise, yes, I could make contact with the ball. Many times. I couldn't believe it. I have never been good at sports, especially with equipment. I can run [I USED to run]. But no equipment needed. I am really excited about playing golf. It's something I'll get to do with my husband (maybe I could get a few more clubs eventually!). And it is very tranquil - it's a mind and body sport. Didn't think that I'd like it this much.