If you know me at all, then you know every year I make the same lame resolutions on New Years Day and then make no attempt at keeping them throughout the year, culminating on Christmas Eve where I sit around bummed that I never A.) did enough sit ups to get Britney Spears like six pack abs or B.) refinished the wood floors by myself. (OR some times there's a C - finding a company that will pay me to wear my pajamas and taste test chocolate truffles and bottles of wine.)
You might say I have no willpower, or maybe these goals are completely irrational and unattainable. I'm going with the theory that no one can make a rational decision about the year ahead when they are nursing a hangover. That's why I am making my New Years Resolutions today, December 2nd, a regular old Wednesday. I figure maybe if I put these out there BEFORE the massive chaos of the holidays is upon us, then maybe I'll have the off chance of completing some of them.
A girl can dream, can't she?
So this year I am just making one resolution:
ENJOY LIFE.
I know. Sounds cheesy. (Ooo - even THAT apology sounds cheesy.) But really Dave and I feel..... in a rut. In all aspects of life. The years are flying by and it seems like the same old thing over and over and over and over and over and over... We need a change. PLUS, I maybe, have a habit, of, liking a routine to the point where it can kill someone of boredom. I think the nice way to put it is "she's a homebody." But Dave probably explains it as, "If she doesn't get to put her shoes away in the exact same location at the exact same time of night her head will explode."
So for 2010 things are changing. I am going to try and take time to do the things that I want to do, not what I have to do. I am going to make time for me. I am going to tell everyone important to me that I love them. And I am going to try to appreciate the things in life that we have - and not worry about what we don't have.
Here's to 2010!!!
Wednesday, December 2, 2009
Tuesday, October 27, 2009
Oh my god its almost November.
Yes. That was the title of this post. When I wrote it. IN OCTOBER. Then I saved the draft with every intention of going back to proof it the next day. But apparently it took me oh, say, another 6 weeks to even log back onto blogger. So I just deleted the entire thing.
We'll start fresh tomorrow.
So.
How have YOU been lately?
We'll start fresh tomorrow.
So.
How have YOU been lately?
Wednesday, July 15, 2009
Such a SOD story...
So after the tilling, raking and ..uhh... one water line repair job later... it was finally time for the sod. YAY SOD! I don't know if we were completely ready. Seems like there was always more stuff to rake up. But we felt like we got the bulk of it done and bagged, and quite literally our arms were about to give out after 2 weeks of this, so we broke down and called out yard guy Sam to come bring us some nice new grass.
This is what it looked like when I left in the morning...
And this is what it looked like when I came home from work!
I heart yard maintenance people.
That last day of raking was COMPLETE TORTURE.
Of course by now you guys are probably well aware that Dave and I base our relationship on a mutual love of procrastination (among other things; like chicken cutlets, Seinfeld re-runs, and booze. You know, the important things in life.) It's not like we did NO raking for 2 weeks. We actually raked every night after working 9-10 hours in an office building. But it was more like: rake rake rake, I'm tired, let's stop and go watch TV!!
But that last day we were left with much more than we thought we had to do and it went something like this:
Rake rake rake gee it's getting dark out here, rake rake rake these bugs are eating my face, rake rake rake I can't see anything oh there's the street light coming on that's helpful!
Yes.
We were literally those crazy neighbors out in the yard until 10 PM. I am not joking. BUT it's all in the past and it looks like a million bucks!
Friday, July 10, 2009
The Yard, Part 2
So after all the tilling came all the raking.
And then the raking.
And of course, don't forget about... the... raking.
That's because we had SO MANY weeds that you had to get them out of that dirt otherwise we'd be back to square one and we don't want that do we? (Noooooooo!) I researched extensively about the best way to prep the yard for the sod and I am aware that some people actually leave all those dead roots and weeds in there and plop the sod down on top because of the theory that the sod "chokes out" the weeds. To these people who are writing these articles online, may I ask you, have you EVER been to FLORIDA??? There is no WAY this theory holds any merit down here. We have killer amazon type weeds that will eat your house alive if you let them.
So we had to rake *every *single* piece of crap out of the yard. Yes it it just as tedious as it sounds.
When we were in that fantastic planning phase, where you talk about what you're about to tackle and nothing has actually gone wrong yet, we told a few neighbors of this ambitious plan to till and rake and sod the yard ourselves. I swear I saw them flinch as we told them this plan. Maybe they knew of the misery that lied ahead for us? but we seemed to determined to try and stop? I'm just guessing here. Either way, just had already jumped in the pool, now we were left to swim in it.
So here's the progress we made in two weeks:
NON RAKED......
RAKED.
Can't you tell the difference? Oh yeah. It was a fun 2 weeks.
And side note - only 12 extra strength Aleve's and a glass of whiskey will help the soreness that settles into your back after 2 weeks of raking.
And then the raking.
And of course, don't forget about... the... raking.
That's because we had SO MANY weeds that you had to get them out of that dirt otherwise we'd be back to square one and we don't want that do we? (Noooooooo!) I researched extensively about the best way to prep the yard for the sod and I am aware that some people actually leave all those dead roots and weeds in there and plop the sod down on top because of the theory that the sod "chokes out" the weeds. To these people who are writing these articles online, may I ask you, have you EVER been to FLORIDA??? There is no WAY this theory holds any merit down here. We have killer amazon type weeds that will eat your house alive if you let them.
So we had to rake *every *single* piece of crap out of the yard. Yes it it just as tedious as it sounds.
When we were in that fantastic planning phase, where you talk about what you're about to tackle and nothing has actually gone wrong yet, we told a few neighbors of this ambitious plan to till and rake and sod the yard ourselves. I swear I saw them flinch as we told them this plan. Maybe they knew of the misery that lied ahead for us? but we seemed to determined to try and stop? I'm just guessing here. Either way, just had already jumped in the pool, now we were left to swim in it.
So here's the progress we made in two weeks:
NON RAKED......
RAKED.
Can't you tell the difference? Oh yeah. It was a fun 2 weeks.
And side note - only 12 extra strength Aleve's and a glass of whiskey will help the soreness that settles into your back after 2 weeks of raking.
Thursday, July 2, 2009
The Yard, Part 1
I'm pretty sure I've mentioned this before, but Dave and I were GUNG HO on getting the yard into better shape this year. If you've talked to me in the past 6 months, I KNOW I've made this claim to you; to which you probably rolled your eyes mentally and thought yeah right!!! Who are those two kidding??
It was going pretty smooth until CRUNCH what the heck? UH OH we hit the main water line to the house. Luckily we live in a real neighborhood with actual neighbors who know a thing or two about lawn maintenance. (Who knew these places existed?) You've never seen a quicker bunch of men come to Dave's rescue. Our neighbor Richard kicked off his shoes and jumped into the mud to try and turn off the water at the street and neighbor Alan ran over with a new PVC pipe he had just laying around in his garage.
Well we finally tilled, raked, and successfully put sod down in the front.
BOOH YAH SUCKA.
We got the urge to till on the hottest day on record for Jacksonville (of course). I think it felt like 115 in the sun. I'm not even kidding. We found this great store down San Jose called "Do It Yourself" and they have every tool you could possibly want and or need for rent. We rented the most powerful tiller they had. As Tim the Tool Man Taylor would say, RAR RAR RAR RRAR RAARRR!!!
It was going pretty smooth until CRUNCH what the heck? UH OH we hit the main water line to the house. Luckily we live in a real neighborhood with actual neighbors who know a thing or two about lawn maintenance. (Who knew these places existed?) You've never seen a quicker bunch of men come to Dave's rescue. Our neighbor Richard kicked off his shoes and jumped into the mud to try and turn off the water at the street and neighbor Alan ran over with a new PVC pipe he had just laying around in his garage.
It doesn't look like much of a fiasco - but it was - trust me. There I was in the house, I look out the window and one minute, Dave is tilling away, and the next it's like Old Faithful in my front yard. Dave was digging frantically at the base of the spout, looking for the pipe. I stuck my head outside and no sooner could I say "Do you want me to call..." before Dave belted out "YES!!!" I didn't even know who I was supposed to call? Anyhoo the JEA truck pulled up just as said neighbor Richard found the off switch. Of course.
So after a LOOOOOOOONG day of tilling in the record setting heat, the yard finally went from looking like this....
To looking like this!
It doesn't look like much, but at least the weeds were turned over. Not bad for a $40 tool rental, a few gallons of water lost and an impromptu man party in the front yard. AND we can say we've got another skill under our belts.
It doesn't look like much, but at least the weeds were turned over. Not bad for a $40 tool rental, a few gallons of water lost and an impromptu man party in the front yard. AND we can say we've got another skill under our belts.
Uhh... the dog ate my homework?
Ok so it's been awhile. What can I say? Sometimes when you're knee deep in a project you need BOTH hands to get it done. (Leaving no hands available to shoot pictures and type up an article. IF ONLY my parents had lived on a nuclear waste dump! Maybe I'd have that third arm! Damn them!)
BUT! We 've got lots of typical Wax shenanigans to share with you so fret not, my pretty. Stay tuned for lots of upcoming informational blogs which may or may not be about any or all of the following...
How NOT to Till up a Yard.
(and it's follow up article; How to Fix your Main Water Line After You've Run Over it.)
What your arms will feel like after 12 straight days of raking and what combination of pills will ease the pain.
Where Black Flies live in June and how you can book a Vacation there!
and of course....
Gardening while Drunk - Pros and Cons
I know. You're anxious to get started reading. BUT I've got a LOT of editing to do. (And just maybe I've got fireworks on the brain?)
(Hmm..... Or Margaritas... )
I'll be posting again starting Monday.
Have a great holiday everyone! We've missed you!
BUT! We 've got lots of typical Wax shenanigans to share with you so fret not, my pretty. Stay tuned for lots of upcoming informational blogs which may or may not be about any or all of the following...
How NOT to Till up a Yard.
(and it's follow up article; How to Fix your Main Water Line After You've Run Over it.)
What your arms will feel like after 12 straight days of raking and what combination of pills will ease the pain.
Where Black Flies live in June and how you can book a Vacation there!
and of course....
Gardening while Drunk - Pros and Cons
I know. You're anxious to get started reading. BUT I've got a LOT of editing to do. (And just maybe I've got fireworks on the brain?)
(Hmm..... Or Margaritas... )
I'll be posting again starting Monday.
Have a great holiday everyone! We've missed you!
Friday, May 15, 2009
Rain Dance
It's been very VERY dry here. So the yard is almost completely dead. And actually that's a good thing! We need the old spotty grass to die so we can till and re-sod. The bushes, on the other hand, are doing amazingly well for having no water.... Isn't it amazing how one plant can die and the other can thrive under the same stressful conditions?
This weekend it's back to work on the yard. For the past two weekends we've been out of town. First for the Godson's 1st birthday party in Tampa, then to Mississippi for a memorial service for Dave's aunt. And then of course in between flying, driving, or sitting in an airport waiting, we've been working our tails off at work due to the infamous Players Championship here in town. (What?? You didn't follow Sergio's quest to contend? FOR SHAME...)
We've decided to hold off on painting the house until we can get the yard under control. I think this will help with the stress level around the house (and the cash level.) It's really REEEEEALLLY hard not to get into 10 thousand projects at once. We are the king (and queen, I'll admit it.) of unfinished projects.
But I am determined to have a nice yard this year. I want to enjoy driving up to house after work. I want to pull in the driveway and feast my eyes on green green grass (with no dollar weed) blooming flowers and think "I live here - It's so pretty!" instead of "Hmmmm... I guess that plant died. Well, that's a new type of weed I've never - wait who threw a candy bar wrapper on my doorstep? What the-?"
Yup. It's a pipe dream. I know.
This weekend it's back to work on the yard. For the past two weekends we've been out of town. First for the Godson's 1st birthday party in Tampa, then to Mississippi for a memorial service for Dave's aunt. And then of course in between flying, driving, or sitting in an airport waiting, we've been working our tails off at work due to the infamous Players Championship here in town. (What?? You didn't follow Sergio's quest to contend? FOR SHAME...)
We've decided to hold off on painting the house until we can get the yard under control. I think this will help with the stress level around the house (and the cash level.) It's really REEEEEALLLY hard not to get into 10 thousand projects at once. We are the king (and queen, I'll admit it.) of unfinished projects.
But I am determined to have a nice yard this year. I want to enjoy driving up to house after work. I want to pull in the driveway and feast my eyes on green green grass (with no dollar weed) blooming flowers and think "I live here - It's so pretty!" instead of "Hmmmm... I guess that plant died. Well, that's a new type of weed I've never - wait who threw a candy bar wrapper on my doorstep? What the-?"
Yup. It's a pipe dream. I know.
Thursday, May 7, 2009
So we meet again, eh?
Of course, RIGHT after I blogged about not getting an estimate from the Referral guy............ HE CALLED! And of course his bid was waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay high. Double the highest bid I've gotten so far. (That's $6,000 if you're keeping score.)
Ahh... I love a story filled with irony.
So I told him he was double my other bids, and even if I could afford him, I wouldn't use him just for the sole fact that it took him a month to even call me back; why would I ever fork over thousands of dollars to him?
(What? And you thought I was going to politely say "No thanks" and hang up?)
(Uhh Hello, have we met?)
He may or may not have uttered some expletives at me... and then may or may not have hung up on me.
Ahh... I love a story filled with irony.
So I told him he was double my other bids, and even if I could afford him, I wouldn't use him just for the sole fact that it took him a month to even call me back; why would I ever fork over thousands of dollars to him?
(What? And you thought I was going to politely say "No thanks" and hang up?)
(Uhh Hello, have we met?)
He may or may not have uttered some expletives at me... and then may or may not have hung up on me.
Tuesday, May 5, 2009
Your guess is as good as mine.
Besides the yard, another humongous project we're trying to tackle is getting the house painted this summer. I know some of you are screaming at your computer screen, "WHAT?!? You mean you don't love this pinky brownish skin color??? It's so lovely!!"
Uh, NO.
(Wait, you really like it?... oh wow....umm... This is awkward. Soooo... How about that local team/the weather?)
Actually the paint is in REALLY bad shape. It's flaking off in numerous spots (read = 95% of the house) and is revealing an even pinkier pink underneath! It's like the alien trying to break through that guys stomach in that movie...
So it needs to be repainted in a bad way. And while we're breaking out the brushes, I figured it was time for a new color. You know, put our stamp on it - make it more modern like we're been trying to do inside the house. I got three bids from local painters...
#1 The Referral guy.
This guy is a contractor by trade, but a neighbor 1 street over gave me his name. He painted their house, and it's similar in size, shape, and texture (stucco/brick) so I felt pretty confident that the bid might be the same price. But I have yet to receive it. Yeah, I know. Strange since I keep hearing all these stories about how people who do house construction are dying for work. I guess not so with this dude. He came out, spent about an hour taking measurements, writing stuff down asking my house what it's symptoms are (joking! I think?) and walked around it like 4 times. He then told me he'd have to go calculate the paint and labor and he'd get back to me in a week. That was 2 months ago.
#2 The Open the Phonebook and Point guy.
Just like it sounds, I picked a name out of the phone book at random. I had the Painting Pros come out for an estimate. They are pretty generic franchise that I think is in every city in America. Just like a Firehouse Subs or a Mr. Sandless, you can buy into the franchise and they will help start it up in your city. They looked pretty reputable online too. And I liked the fact they were nice on the phone, right on time for the appointment, and the guy smiled and said thanks when he left. (Courtesy goes a LONG way with me.) He was only here 15 minutes, plugged all the numbers into his computer, spit out an estimate on his portable printer and viola! $3,000 and they could start next week.
(Points awarded for attitude, but YOWZA! Three grand? I'll have to raise some more funds.)
(BTW still no estimate from #1. Called his cell about 502 times.)
#3 The Historic House Painter who Loves his Job guy.
Last estimate came as a referral from another friend. This guy paints all the historic houses in Springfield - a section of downtown Jacksonville. He mainly works on these old two-story houses from the 1800's that are being renovated and updated. Springfield used to be a pretty sketchy part of town but several blocks have been renovated by young couples since they can afford the cheap mortgages and don't mind living in drywall dust.
This painter was very nice, and I liked him alot but I am a little skeptical. For one thing, he took a look at the front, scratched his beard and said "Mmmm, $2,500?" Just like that. Like it was a question. I was tempted to say. "Nope. Try again." The other thing that kind of worries me is the fact that he doesn't work on stucco houses. The houses he paints are all restored wood shingles. I'm sure it's not that different... but what if there's something really wrong with the stucco and he doesn't know how to spot it? I'm probably being paranoid.
Bottom line he was a NICE guy - price is certainly better - and he LOVES painting houses. Can't beat a person who loves their job. You know you are going to get 110% of effort.
(BTW Still no estimate from #1. I called him 4 more times - got the secretary once, she claimed he would call back. He did - only it was the house phone while I was at work. Oldest trick in the book dude, do you think I was born yesterday?)
So there you have it. We have yet to get started... One of the things you must MUST do before you paint is cut all the shrubbery back so the people can get in there and paint. Plus I have to decide on a color... Any suggestions?
Uh, NO.
(Wait, you really like it?... oh wow....umm... This is awkward. Soooo... How about that local team/the weather?)
Actually the paint is in REALLY bad shape. It's flaking off in numerous spots (read = 95% of the house) and is revealing an even pinkier pink underneath! It's like the alien trying to break through that guys stomach in that movie...
So it needs to be repainted in a bad way. And while we're breaking out the brushes, I figured it was time for a new color. You know, put our stamp on it - make it more modern like we're been trying to do inside the house. I got three bids from local painters...
#1 The Referral guy.
This guy is a contractor by trade, but a neighbor 1 street over gave me his name. He painted their house, and it's similar in size, shape, and texture (stucco/brick) so I felt pretty confident that the bid might be the same price. But I have yet to receive it. Yeah, I know. Strange since I keep hearing all these stories about how people who do house construction are dying for work. I guess not so with this dude. He came out, spent about an hour taking measurements, writing stuff down asking my house what it's symptoms are (joking! I think?) and walked around it like 4 times. He then told me he'd have to go calculate the paint and labor and he'd get back to me in a week. That was 2 months ago.
#2 The Open the Phonebook and Point guy.
Just like it sounds, I picked a name out of the phone book at random. I had the Painting Pros come out for an estimate. They are pretty generic franchise that I think is in every city in America. Just like a Firehouse Subs or a Mr. Sandless, you can buy into the franchise and they will help start it up in your city. They looked pretty reputable online too. And I liked the fact they were nice on the phone, right on time for the appointment, and the guy smiled and said thanks when he left. (Courtesy goes a LONG way with me.) He was only here 15 minutes, plugged all the numbers into his computer, spit out an estimate on his portable printer and viola! $3,000 and they could start next week.
(Points awarded for attitude, but YOWZA! Three grand? I'll have to raise some more funds.)
(BTW still no estimate from #1. Called his cell about 502 times.)
#3 The Historic House Painter who Loves his Job guy.
Last estimate came as a referral from another friend. This guy paints all the historic houses in Springfield - a section of downtown Jacksonville. He mainly works on these old two-story houses from the 1800's that are being renovated and updated. Springfield used to be a pretty sketchy part of town but several blocks have been renovated by young couples since they can afford the cheap mortgages and don't mind living in drywall dust.
This painter was very nice, and I liked him alot but I am a little skeptical. For one thing, he took a look at the front, scratched his beard and said "Mmmm, $2,500?" Just like that. Like it was a question. I was tempted to say. "Nope. Try again." The other thing that kind of worries me is the fact that he doesn't work on stucco houses. The houses he paints are all restored wood shingles. I'm sure it's not that different... but what if there's something really wrong with the stucco and he doesn't know how to spot it? I'm probably being paranoid.
Bottom line he was a NICE guy - price is certainly better - and he LOVES painting houses. Can't beat a person who loves their job. You know you are going to get 110% of effort.
(BTW Still no estimate from #1. I called him 4 more times - got the secretary once, she claimed he would call back. He did - only it was the house phone while I was at work. Oldest trick in the book dude, do you think I was born yesterday?)
So there you have it. We have yet to get started... One of the things you must MUST do before you paint is cut all the shrubbery back so the people can get in there and paint. Plus I have to decide on a color... Any suggestions?
Make like a tree and get outta here.
So one of the perks of having a dead tree on a city street is the fact that the city will come and cut it down and haul it away for FREE. This fact can be evidenced by our neighbors who had a huge (HUGE) water oak tree taken down a few months ago. Too bad our dead water oak was in the back of the house... making it impossible to convince the city to pay for it. Damn.
Here's what our view of the street from our driveway looked like with that dead oak... (I have to say, even though it was dead, it sure was purdy.)
And here's what it looks like now. TOTALLY changes the street, no?
We're still getting used to all the sun we now get. It's almost too hot to stand out in the street and gossip. Hmmm....
Anyhoodle. We had tree issues of our own this past month. A huge windstorm blew through town and the gusts actually ended up damaging a tree in our backyard. Our weird looking tree in the right corner had a branch that split in half. Not just a piddly little small branch... Oh no. That would have been too easy. One of the main branches that all the piddly little branches grow out of. Yeah that one. THAT one split in half.
It must have happened when we were at work because I came home one day and thought, "Huh. That looks funny... What's different about that---NOOOO!"
See what I mean? Kinda looks normal at first, but then you notice the left side seems to be growing down towards the grass. Yeah. ALL those little branches - GONE! because that one split was at the base of them all. Sucks. And of course we have no chainsaw (it's like the one tool we've yet to buy) so Dave got up in that tree with a hand saw and got rid of it all.
Crazy? Yes quite possibly. BUT at least he was wearing sneakers and not flip flops - or worse, barefoot. If you know Dave - you know that's a big improvement. The man is determined to lose an appendage. I'm pretty sure OSHA has his picture up on the "WHAT NOT TO DO" side of the poster that they hang in construction sites.
Here's what our view of the street from our driveway looked like with that dead oak... (I have to say, even though it was dead, it sure was purdy.)
And here's what it looks like now. TOTALLY changes the street, no?
We're still getting used to all the sun we now get. It's almost too hot to stand out in the street and gossip. Hmmm....
Anyhoodle. We had tree issues of our own this past month. A huge windstorm blew through town and the gusts actually ended up damaging a tree in our backyard. Our weird looking tree in the right corner had a branch that split in half. Not just a piddly little small branch... Oh no. That would have been too easy. One of the main branches that all the piddly little branches grow out of. Yeah that one. THAT one split in half.
It must have happened when we were at work because I came home one day and thought, "Huh. That looks funny... What's different about that---NOOOO!"
See what I mean? Kinda looks normal at first, but then you notice the left side seems to be growing down towards the grass. Yeah. ALL those little branches - GONE! because that one split was at the base of them all. Sucks. And of course we have no chainsaw (it's like the one tool we've yet to buy) so Dave got up in that tree with a hand saw and got rid of it all.
Crazy? Yes quite possibly. BUT at least he was wearing sneakers and not flip flops - or worse, barefoot. If you know Dave - you know that's a big improvement. The man is determined to lose an appendage. I'm pretty sure OSHA has his picture up on the "WHAT NOT TO DO" side of the poster that they hang in construction sites.
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