Pumpkin Carving Party

I love carving pumpkins.

It appeals to my creative side and my need to do stuff with my hands....

Idle hands...blahblahblah

This year, I decided to have friends over for some home made soup and to carve pumpkins

BYOP, of course.

I, being the pumpkin aficionado that I am, went to my favorite pumpkin farm on Sunday.

45 miles away.

Yep, a little drive for some pumpkins.

Sure, we passed a few other pumpkin farms on the way...

But it isn't MY pumpkin farm.

The one I discovered 3 years ago when I was killing myself selling insurance (don't ask)

I walked away with 3 beautiful carving pumpkins, 2 pie pumpkins, 2 butter squash, and 2 loaves of bread: zucchini with pecans and rhubarb

De.licious.

Home made from scratch (except for the crust) pumpkin pie will happen next week.

Last night, we broke out the tools, some beer, and got cuttin'

I chose my prettiest pumpkin to carve first:

This will be my 'cute' pumpkin this year.

The next one will be a little more scary

And the third is going to be downright creepy.

I think the creepy one will have to take up residence atop my filing cabinet at work...

At first, only Megan and I were the only ones carving...

Her pumpkin:


Then Eric and Scott arrived with their own pumpkins, as requested!

They were hesitant...but gave in to the pumpkin carving temptation.

Eric's pumpkin was kinda small and a bit rotten inside.

Gross.

But it turned out great:























Scott said he's NEVER carved a pumpkin before!

I found that unbelievable.

He cut er open and I helped him pull out the guts and scoop scrape dig...

Then he picked the simplest pattern in the book.

Which was a happy looking pumpkin.

He started with poking the holes and then tracing the pattern....

As he was carving I noticed his pumpkin was cracked on the bottom.

He became frustrated, thinking it was ruined and just about gave up.

Everyone told him to keep going!

So he kept on...then decided to just go with the flow...and started carving every which way!

The result:

I think it's adorable!

A couple of strategically placed eyebrows and it could be menacing.

This weekend: cooking up the seeds and more carving!

Last year's spooky pumpkin post

Getting Back on Track

Alright, so where were we...

Ahhh yes.

Tailgating.

The pictures I said I would post a couple of weeks ago...

Tailgating is an art.

It takes planning, preparation, and dedication.

If you arrive at 8am for a 12:37pm kick-off, you're late.

Especially for the Iowa vs Iowa State Game...

You meet all kinds of people tailgating...

Families, students, alumni...

What do they have in common?

A love of football and drunkenness.

Yes, whole families, wasted off their asses!

Some days are started with an omelet and a Bloody Mary

Not these.

A bowl of chili and crappy beer....not to mention shotgunning and beer-bongs....

That's how you start the College Football Saturday Extravaganza

About mid-morning, after playing bags and that game where you toss a string with balls on either end - way too dangerous for drunks in my opinion - you get a hankerin'

For some brats!

Fire up the grill and get out that spatula!

Spatula?!

Fuck. We forgot the spatula.

No worries.

Iowa State is known for it's engineering program.

Surely there are Engi-nerds present that can solve our dilemma....

You need only look left or right, they dwell among us in large numbers.

5 minutes later, Voila!

A Beer Can Spatula:

Fucking Genius.

After that some drinking games...

Namely, Tippy-Cup

Which I ROCK at!!

My team completely dominated.

I'm a single-flip-attempt kinda gal.

Always on the first try.

That's how great I am.

::Pat on Back::

Other things of note from that tailgate:

PENIS.

For some reason, guys feel the need to show me their dicks.

Not usually a problem.

Except we're drunk in the middle of the afternoon in a tailgating field in a college town in central Iowa!

Meh. I took pictures.

I was looking for a TV to watch the game on...and walked into the arms of a guy named Todd.

It was really odd.

35, recently divorced, father of a 3.5 year old son, from out of town....how convenient

He was cute, tall, claimed to be successful...

And then he took his sunglasses off....

SQUINTY.

Uck.

At least I got to smoke some of his cigar . . . (pervs)

Oh yeah, IOWA STATE WON!!

Eat it, Hawks.

What happened that day...

My paternal family is diabetic.

All five of my aunts/uncles and my grandfather.

My grandmother died September 18, 2004, after years on dialysis.

Dad was a little overweight and had been diagnosed with diabetes late in life.

He'd always been an active person, playing soccer since college, coaching us when we were kids, doing home improvement projects...

His death was extremely sudden.

A heart attack is suspected, although never confirmed.

He was playing soccer that day.

Came off the field at half-time and motioned to his chest.

Told his wife he felt pressure.

Do you have any pain anywhere? Anything tingling or numb?

No, I just feel weak.

At that point they found him some sugary water, thinking it was just low blood sugar.

He couldn't keep the water down, and they set off towards a path to have some privacy.

Once they got there, he got down on one knee.

He didn't feel well...

We should get you to the hospital, can you make it to the car?

I don't know, just let me get it together first...

Then he passed out.

He never really came to after that, a bit of incoherent moaning was about it.

An ambulance was called.

The had to call back for directions because they couldn't find the side entrance to the park.

My stepmother and stepsister followed.

They turned on the siren as they left...but soon turned it off.

After arriving at the hospital, they worked on him, but wouldn't allow anyone to see him

At one point, my stepmother and sister were placed in a small, private waiting room.

They were told it didn't look good, and to prepare for the worst.

After an hour and 45 minutes of working on him, they finally gave up.

He was pronounced dead at 7:45 pm.

The Medical Examiner refused to do an autopsy.

We'll never know for sure what it was that killed him.

I'm glad it was quick, that he didn't go through what his mother did.

He was only in pain for maybe 20 minutes.

And he was doing something he loved when it happened: playing soccer

Sunday, September 16, 2007, approximately 7:30pm

I'm doing my nails, watching the Patriots game...

My phone rings.

It's my brother.

Odd.

It's either really good or really bad, he never calls 'just to talk'

I answer and immediately know something is wrong...

My brother is hysterical.

I just talked to Chris, (stepmom) she's at the hospital, it's dad, it doesn't look good, they said to prepare ourselves for the worst...

Ohmygod, what happened?!

I think it was a heart attack. I'll call you when I hear more...

Where are you?

I'm on my way home.

Chicago? Or your place?

My place.

OK, calm down, I'm going to leave as soon as I can, ok, just hold on...

I'm nervous, shaking, trying to wrap my head around what my brother just said.

I can't remember where my weekend bag is...

I call JMax and leave a frantic message, My dad had a heart attack, I'm leaving as soon as I can, I need to look after my cats.

I call my mom....no answer.

I'm running around my place, head spinning, I can't focus.

My phone rings

It's my brother again...

He's sobbing

Steph...Dad passed away.

I sat down and cried and told him I'd be home as soon as possible.

I threw a couple of things into a bag, hesitated as I reached for black clothing.

Trying to keep it together.

On my way out, I decide to call more people to see if I can drop off a spare key to someone that lives closer than JMax (he's 40 miles away)

Not one person answers.

Not even my creepy older upstairs neighbor.

Frustrated, I get in the car and head to the gas station, it's about 8:30

I'm still shaking.

My brother calls again.

He's a little more under control...

Don't come tonight, there's nothing we can do, it's not safe, just leave tomorrow.

No no, I've already left, I'm coming tonight.

I only received two return phone calls.

I told them the news and that I couldn't talk, I need to focus on driving.

That was the longest the drive has ever felt, even though I did it in record time

4 and a half hours, one bathroom break, one full tank of gas.

I had a lot of time to think....

About the things that I'll never be able to do with my dad.

Walk me down the aisle at my wedding.

Bounce his grandchildren on his knee.

Push it away.

You need to make it home in one piece.

I arrive at my mother's house at 1am.

The doors are locked, even the screen door in the back.

I ring the doorbell repeatedly and pound on the door.

She finally answers.

Mom.....dad died, I sob into her shoulder...

What?! Oh my god...

She's really out of it.

She took a sleeping pill and went to bed early.

My brother arrives about an hour later from Champaign.

More later...

It's Tailgate Time!

It's that time again in Iowa...

The Big Game.

The University of Iowa Hawkeyes, a Big Ten school, take on the Iowa State University Cyclones, a Big Twelve school.

The Hawkeyes have dominated the series over the years, 36-18

Winner receives the CyHawk Trophy

Since I've lived here in Iowa, the Cyclones have dominated.

I'll admit, I've never been to a game!

(And I won't be going to this one considering ticket prices are outrageous at $90!)

I was too busy getting drunk in the parking lot and tailgating fields across the street from the stadium

Sure, a touchdown is a great excuse to shotgun a beer, but, in my opinion, so is the sighting of a great ass!

The game is at 12:30 pm

Which means people will be up and ready at 6am

Insane.

Being an Iowa State alumni, I feel a bit obligated to support them....even if we did lose our first two games...

And the last one was absolutely embarrassing...

It's not about the score, it's about the experience!

(which is exactly what people say when they think their team is going to get an ass-whopping...)

Go Clones!!

Tailgating pics posted next week!

(Yes!! My camera is finally ready - someone dropped it and it sorta...broke.)

I'm Hopped Up On Drugs

After the 'usual' weekend - drinking and partying till the wee hours of the morning, laying on the couch recovering and a bit of shopping - I make it out unscathed.

Not this time.

Saturday I noticed that I was kinda itchy on my neck...

Figured I'd been bitten by mosquitoes again.

Little Fuckers

After a while I went to put some hydrocortizone on it and saw that it was not a bug bite.

Huh.

Saturday night I went to see Superbad.

Fucking Awesome.

I almost starting drawing penises on the agenda of my Monday Morning Meeting...

Went to this bar called Tonic in a part of town I usually have to be dragged to, and what did I find?

Exactly what I had expected.

Stuck up bitches and rich guys.

I belly up to the bar and meet David:

40 something, single, never married, no kids, real estate guy from Vegas in town visiting family, and his brother-in-law Steve

I was entertained and when bar-close came, they invited me and friend back to their hotel to kill a 12 pack and snack on nasty microwavable tid-bits...

I was blitzed out of my brains and a few parts of the night are fuzzy, but I woke up, fully clothed, shoes and everything, in David's bed.

Okay....

My friend is gone.

WTF

I leave around 10, saying Sure, I'll meet you later to watch football...

Went home and passed out.

It was glorious.

Hung over like crazy.

And now my neck itches again.

But on the opposite side.

What the hell.

Famished, I decide to use the old guy for a free meal and a beer.

I'm so nice.

Yesterday I woke up and I was still itchy.

In yet another spot, my chest.

OK, doctor time.

Diagnosis: Allergic Reaction

What did you get into? (doctor)

Geez, what am I, a dog?!

It's not like I was rolling around in the grass and trying out new lotions or perfumes or shampoos etcetc

Now I'm hopped up on drugs.

Steroids and something called Clarinex which dissolves on your tongue and tastes like gross children's vitamins.

The 'roids make me peppy.

Like a caffeine overdose without the short of breath and unpleasant feelings.

Yeah. I have a rash, and I KNEW you wanted to hear all about it!

Not the all-over really gross kind, a localized, very polite looking-rash, like it won't bite you if you come near it!

I've been busy having fun...

The Pis has been busy working and having a good time...

As you can see.

Nothing sums up a good time like some guy named Timmy's name and phone number on your left ass-cheek in permanent marker.

If you have a comparable image, do share!

I started that day with a car-bomb.

And ended it with a side-knot and leg warmers.

Yes, it was an afternoon at the bar, watching the Cubs game, and then an 80s party. (pics here)

No nap in-between.

That was a mistake!

I ended up on this party/lame rollercoaster...

Between bouts of binge drinking/slutty antics and vegging out on the couch alone watching Top Gun, I managed to have some fun at the party.

The outfits were golden.

The music appropriate.

And not much can beat Twister in short skirts and hitting on Beetlejuice.

Alas, no pics from me since my friend dropped my camera at the bar and broke it.

It's in the shop gettin fixed.

Poops.

That's my accomplice.

I don't remember what happened without it!!

I did start working at the ol bowling alley again...

Here's a gem from a local perv:

Hey, c'mere...have you been working out this summer?

No...why?

Cuz you look GOOD..mmm mm...ass all tight...

Alright, thanks, that's enough!

Ahhh. Good to know some things never change.

It's good to be back at the bowling alley.

Wang Tango Fruitcake

I wake up because I have to go to the bathroom...

Groaning, I throw back the covers...

And see a dark spot on my bed.

I don't have my contacts in, and it's dark, but I know it's blood.

I grab my glasses from the bedside table and notice there's something else there...

I put them on....

There's a head with the top neatly sliced at an angle sitting on the table.

Blood all over the floor.

I get out of bed, hop over the blood spot, and turn on the bathroom light

I don't know who the head belongs to.

It's a female with short light brown hair.

I start to freak out and scramble back over the blood, over my bed, to the living room where I left my purse

I grab my cell phone and call my mom.

Mom, I don't know what's going on but there's a severed head on my nightstand with a piece of it sliced off! Ohmygod, what am I supposed to do?!

Wait....mom, I didn't see the body.

I go back into my room, and crawl over the bed to get back to the bathroom...then check the floor at the foot of the bed.

There it is.

Wearing khakis and a green & white striped shirt

OMG mom! The body's on the floor!

As if it heard me screaming franticly, it starts to twitch and lurch towards me...the head's mouth opens and the eyes come to life, staring at me.

I'm hysterical, I run back over the bed and into the other bedroom...

I wake up, completely freaked out.

It's 5:32 am and I have to pee.

A Change of Heart

I've never been a picky eater.

Ever.

There are only a couple of things that I don't enjoy

Like lima beans and okra.

But I'll still eat them.

There has been only one thing that I refuse to eat.

Cottage Cheese.

For very good reason.

First, look at it!

Second, the addition of only a single word to the phrase 'cottage cheese' makes it even more disgusting.

Like thighs.

Or discharge.

Eew!

Ok I'll stop.

I've winced so many times when people order it...with fruit or all alone, BLECH.

So imagine my surprise when I came across a 'Healthy Breakfast' recipe called Avocados with Tomato Cottage Cheese and wanted to try it.

Pi, you don't like cottage cheese...

Well, maybe I never gave it a chance...it's playing with avocados and tomatoes! My favorites!

Off to the grocery store.

I stood in front of the cottage cheese section and just stared...

Small curd, large curd, low-fat, all-fat, no-fat, low sodium...WTF

Too many choices.

I almost bailed.

No, no, you're going to do this!

Fine, um...small curd low-fat!

The curds are what always made it look inedible, so maybe if they're smaller it won't bother me as much...

And guess what?

I fucking loved it.

I loved it so much that after breakfast, I had more of it for a snack later....and then again later.

I consumed the whole 12 oz tub in one day.

And I've been craving it since.

Guess what? (again)

My favorite Mexican cheese (Queso Fresco) is a cousin of cottage cheese...

That's right, keep it in the family.

We got Dirrty

So last night ended up WAY better than expected.

I figured I'd be lazy again...

Then Twinky McStraight Nuts called and my fate was sealed.

A great fucking time!

Through torrential rain and retarded drivers, I made my way up to Ames, home of the alma mater.

We chilled out and drank domestic beer with mexican flare (miller chill)

The boys were engrossed in a chess match.

Nerds.

Then it was shot time (straight up JACK) and off to the bar!

I have to say, I've avoided partying in this little college town for several months, I didn't want to run into the ex...

Well, he's moved away (technically the National Guard moved him away...) and it's once again, a Crazy Pi Party Zone.

We hit Phuel, known for people that look like A&F models and drug deals.

Perfect.

We saddle up to the pool table and get comfy.

Steve and I kicked ass.

Then the drunk hit...

Next thing you know we are dancing all over each other, legs up in the air, humping, grabbing, groping, spanking

Y'know, the usual.

I had a little 'accident' as I was trying to take a picture with a full glass...

And 'all of a sudden' the bar was packed...

And people were staring at us!

We don't give a shit cuz we've been there done that etcetc

All the hoochies are workin their hoochie magic and guys that barely look of age are trying too hard.

Ahhh, the college bar.

We've moved on (well, most of us) to the point where we don't care what other people are saying/thinking at the bar.

So we got showed off our stuff and had a great ole time!

We left around midnight and went back to Twinky's newly purchased pad...

Turned on the telly and what do we find?!

Anime.

DIRTY Anime.

I've never seen boobs so big or more sexually suggestive cartoons!

Shots from behind, up skirts, boobs flying all around, implied cock sucking, and snootch hunting!

yes, that's an eel that had crawled into her suit while she was inner tubing...totally got her off, and now it's slithering away...

Which channel, pray tell, was it on?

Movie Plex.

Good people, good times.

And we're doing it again tomorrow!

I'm Talented

. . . in a retarded sort of way!

Last night, I did absolutely nothing.

(I had intentions of moving stuff out to the garage, but it was RAINING!)

Worked late, went home, made a frozen pizza, turned on the TV

Ate the whole thing and watched all kinds of crap on FOX while cringing from cramps.

Went to bed early since my quarterly menses have arrived.

Whee.

Woke up at 2.30am to PAIN

No, not from the menses.

Aside from the bloating, bitchiness, cramps, backaches, headaches, feminine products, salty food cravings, bleeding from your cooch, and being twice as hungry/sleepy...

My shoulder hurt.

To the point where I couldn't find a comfortable position to sleep.

Yes, I woke up in the middle of the night to find I had somehow injured myself!

Maybe I slept on it funny.

All I know is, it's my right (dominant) shoulder and it flippin hurts.

Believe me, I'm no stranger to pain!

But this...it's unexpected and unpredictable.

I had to blow dry my hair with my left hand.

It was very odd.

Like trying to brush your teeth or masturbate with the opposite hand

Awkward, but ultimately effective.

Thing is, it's not a determinable movement that causes the pain...

I can lift my arm straight up in the air, but the second I try to reach higher, PAIN

I am unable to open doors.

Lifting a bag of garbage was fine.

Lifting my purse off my passenger seat and into my lap was OUCH

It's not the shoulder shoulder, it's the shoulder blade.

WTF.

That's how you know you're getting old. Stuff hurts for no reason or you can't remember what you did to cause it.

Thanks, boss.

Hey, 30 is right around the corner.

Yeah, in 4 and a half years!

I'm talented.

Mobile Burger Barge

...is parked outside my building!

I didn't know there WAS such a thing.

And there's about 10 people out there eating.

It's 89 degrees and humid as fuck outside.

Crazies.

In other news, JMax is moving in with me!

(At least temporarily)

Help with the mortgage!

I had a visitor a couple nights ago, as people were coming and going...

A little froggy!

I looked over and saw this dark spot on my green wall...

Went in for a closer look...

Voila!

a little frog.

How flattering, he thinks it's a tree!

I caught him and released him back into the West Des Moines Wild...

I also have crickets.

Everywhere.

They chill on the door frame and hop into the condo when it opens.

Hours of fun for the kitties!

I got my car back...guess what it was...

The starter!

Those idiots at CarX...

And it needs more work.

Surprise, surprise.

Stuff called CV boots and tie rod end boots and belts and whatnot.

Whee.

I'm getting pooped on.

Moving Day, 2 weeks ago...

7.30 am, I'm frantically packing the last of my shit.

No word from the moving company yet

Finally at 8.30 I miss a phone call.

20 minutes later they try back...

Hi, this is Deb from the moving company, our guys are running a little late, the truck has a flat tire. I'll keep you posted as to when you can expect them.

Great.

So I finish packing and wish I had slept an extra hour.

The guys finally show around 9.30ish

They start loading my shit.

I pack up my refrigerated items and head to the condo.

On the way, my brakes go REALLY soft.

I'd been having this problem for a couple weeks already.

Used a whole bottle of brake fluid.

I expected to have to take it in and get it fixed...

Just not today!

It gets to the point where I can't put it off.

I can barely stop!

It's scary.

So I take the car to a repair place and get my butt over to Enterprise.

Hi, I need a car.

Do you have a reservation?

No.

Ok, when will you need it?

Right now.

Oh....

20 minutes later I pull out of the lot in a brand new shiny red Chevy Cobalt.

I head back to my apartment

Still loading the truck.

And one of them destroyed my bathroom!

2 hours later, we're all packed up and ready to go.

They decide to take a break or something, I couldn't really understand the one guy, a lisp/speech impediment/drug use thing...

We agree to meet at the new place in an hour.

I grabbed some lunch and went to my new home.

They were 15 minutes early


It only took 30 minutes to unload the truck.

And all of a sudden, I'm home.

I head back to the old place to clean a little and dump my keys off, ready to say goodbye to the whole apartment thing.

A couple new brake calipers, a brake system flushing, and a couple hundred dollars later... I begin to get settled into the new place.

And now it all comes back again.

Car is acting funny.

Instead of the usual crank crank crank start, it begins to slow down...cranka cranka cranka staarrttt.

This happened over a couple days.

Two days ago, crankaaaaa.....crankaaaaa......dead.

Fuck.

It's hot. It's humid. It's 5.45pm.

I'm still at the office.

Not sure what to do, I try to jump it.

Nothing.

Ok...accessories come on...no turning over...no clicks...nothing.

WTF

So I go back to the car place and tell them what's up.

They tow it the next day around noon.

I get a call around 2.30...

Hey, uh, we're not really sure what's going on with your car, but we think it might be the security system locking you out. There's no power going to the starter...We don't usually work on that kind of thing and there isn't a helpful amount of information about the security system available so I'd suggest taking it to Another Place or The Dealer.

Great.

Ok.

Call the Other Place and The Dealer.

Other Place can get to it Monday. The Dealer, Wednesday, maayyyybe earlier.

::SIGH::

Ok, I'll try the Other Place.

Now I have to get the car there...it's 0.6 miles from where it's currently parked.

Towing is going to be $55 minimum...

Or I could get a few people together and we can push it in the middle of the night.

Or I could call the dealer and see if they'll give me a loaner...

I borrow the rental car a coworker secured for the next day and went home.

What do I find in my mailbox?

A letter from the apartment complex.

They say I owe them another month's rent for 'improper notice'

For fuck's sake...

So I double check.

The lease says sixty (60) days notice is required before you vacate your apartment.

My lease ended on July 31.

I gave notice on June 2.

31 days in July, plus (30-1)=29 days in June...that's technically 60 days!!

::SIGH::

Yet another thing to dick with this week.

So I call the dealer this morning...

Would I be able to get a loaner while my car is there for service? That usually requires 2 week's notice. Lady, this isn't scheduled maintenance....I talked to your service guys yesterday and they can't get to it until Wednesday anyway...is that enough notice? You'll have to check with the service guys, they don't take calls until after 8 o'clock... Fine. I'll call back.

An hour later, I have the car scheduled for a tow to the dealer and they'll look at it on Monday

If I don't have it back before next Wednesday, I get a loaner.

Great.

Car-less.

Transportation-less.

The Public Transit system in Des Moines sucks if you live out in the 'burbs...

I'm a bum!!

I've always said I'd drive my car until it dies. . .

It's been in the family since it was brand new...15 years ago!!

It has 207+ thousand miles on it.

And a laundry list of things to fix...

But she's my piece of shit and I love her.

What if this is it?!

I don't think it is.

She's not totally dead.

Not yet.

I am a Fuzzy Bunny

The new place is coming along, thanks for asking...

Everyone wants to know how the new place is.

It's almost annoying.

Different co-workers everyday come up and ask..

And I repeat the same damn thing.

So after a long long week of repeating myself, I actually DID something to change my answer

(And no one has asked me today!)

I was motivated enough to unpack the stragglers last night

Books.

Lots of books.

Books from college even.

Text books.

Why in Xenu's name would I keep college text books?!

Calculus and Methods of Statistical Analysis no less...

I can rationalize away the Calculus book, that's easy, it was my favorite subject.

The rest of it...well...

I dunno, call it Nerd Points.

Some people refuse to believe that I'm actually a nerd.

Amazing, right?

Well, those text books on my shelves are PROOF of my Nerdom.

They're my nerdy bragging rights.

Back me up, Stephen Hawking...yeah, I have his book...

Double Nerd Points for that one.

I was almost injured by one of my college degrees.

Those things are dangerous.

Maybe it was mad that I'm not 'making the most of it' er whatever...

I also have books from childhood!

Well, at least one anyway...some silly joke book. Maybe I'll use it for this ole rag.

And then...::GASP:: High School year books.

Ick.

But along with that came an interesting letter (somewhat related to today's title). . . more on that next week!

Some rearrangin goin on roun' here...

Hello monkeys!

I finally upgraded my template.

Which kinda messed things up.

But I was quick to waste time at work to fix it.

And then I tweaked a few things.

Ummm yeah, the poll, not sure if I'm diggin it just yet.

You fuckers need to vote.

I'm exhausted from moving/unpacking/organizing/cleaning/partying during my 5 days off from work.

There will be pics of the place with furni and whatnot in it...

Eventually.

that's a completely random pic from a happy hour turned 1am from 2 weeks ago...it's funny and creepy and happy all at the same time!

Thing is....

I have FOREVER to get settled into the new place.

FOREVER.

Cuz it's mine.

I think that whole mortgage thing is sinking in now...

I should at least finish painting. . . soon. . . ish

Something about the new layout is bugging me.

Is it bugging you?

crap. WHAT IS IT.... help me out. praise jesus, pass the ammo, move along, nothing to see here...

completely random pic

Of my Ugly Ass Cat reaching for a piece of kettle corn:



Frickin' Adorable.

We move Wednesday.

I've only started packing...barely!

I also took Wed-Fri off of work to try and regain my sanity...so you might not hear from me for awhile....

But when you do....more pics!!

More Condo Crap

I know you're just DYING to see the latest pics from the condo remodel...

Last weekend dad grouted the entry, kitchen, full bath, and started/finished the master bath

Here's a before and after shot, not quite the same angle, but you get the idea...



Then there's the kitchen...this is the only decent shot I have of 'before'



And after:



Now I need to find an island for it...and finish sanding down that wall...it's gonna make a big mess

I'll be covered in white dust!

The orange I picked...well I didn't pick

I totally cheated.

It's called Desert Vista and it was the same color of my last kitchen before I moved!

I loved it that much.

I have the accent wall painted in my bedroom...

It's some sort of plum.

3 Coats.

Eesh.

3 more walls to go in there in an uber light 'so light i can hardly tell it's pink' pink

And the entire living/dining room (in another orange that I picked, but didn't)

I killed a WHOLE ROLL OF BLUE TAPE on it last night.

I'm anal like that.

Now I need more.

ATTENTION if you're going to buy IKEA faucets, this is a warning!

They are not compatible with American plumbing.

You have to finagle them.

And it'll cost you.

I'm STILL searching for the missing link between the water line and the faucet.

Damnit.

Home Depot actually let me down yesterday.

Jerks.

Wll, the place is shaping up...now all I have to do is finish painting and then pack and then move next wednesday!!!!

Holy crap, less than a week...