Lights!

I put up Christmas lights today. Those of you who live here in Salt Lake city know that it was an unpleasant day to hang Christmas lights, but I'm pretty much done with the outside lights. In fact I can't do any more until I either borrow or buy an extension ladder.

Hopefully I can finish it off this week without too much trouble.

This post was brought to you by the letters S, N, O, W, and the number 3.

Ooops! I Broke It!

I killed the hand mixer Monday night. The Pink Princess and I were making Zucchini Bread and after adding the dry to the wet, (the batter gets really thick at this point) the mixer slowed to a near stop and then there was a ZZZZZZ-POP and a puff of smoke. The mixer had expired after 11.5 years with our family. It had finally given up its electric ghost in an acrid cloud of smoke.

LOVELY!!!

At this point I was forced to complete the mixing by hand on batter that was the approximate consistency of concrete. After a few moments, it was time to add the shredded zucchini and that addition of liquid was enough to loosen up the batter a bit so that it could be poured into the bread pans.

The bread turned out nicely! :) I'm sure we'll kill another loaf tonight. :) I was told by the recipients of the mini loaves at work that it was excellent, but I think I could have done better.

In the aftermath of this, we've finally purchased the KitchenAid stand mixer we were instructed to purchase with some money from our wedding 11.5 years ago. Yeah, it's a little late, but we got around to it. The new mixer is scheduled for delivery on 12.9.2009.

I think I'll be making another double batch of Zucchini Bread that night to break it in... We'll see if the KitchenAid can handle the concrete. :)

This post was brought to you by the letters Y, U, M, and the number 5.

Exhaustion

I am really dragging these days. The carpet was installed yesterday and we've begun bringing back furniture.

I still need to install the molding downstairs and complete the door trim (3 pieces remain). The new door hardware needs to be installed downstairs and I need to cut a half inch from the bottom of a door. I had been hoping to avoid cutting the door, but it is inevitable. I also need to paint a window sill I completely forgot about when I was painting trim in the rec room (this needs 2 coats at least).

Once all the above is complete, I can begin assembly on the new furniture. There are at least 4 pieces that need complete assembly. Then I can move some of the heavier items of the existing furniture into place.

The incidentals that remain include installing electrical plates and a bunch of touch-ups as well as temporary installation of a handrail to the basement. I have the materials to create a new one, but I'm not going to have time to build it and stain it before the party tomorrow night.

I think I'll leave the incidentals other than touch-ups to last, possibly tomorrow since it really won't take very long to perform those tasks.

This post was brought to you by the letters T, I, R, E, D, and the number 30 (hours to go).

Paint Fumes!

Last night I painted the ceilings of the Basement buildout and the rec room. This morning, the Queen claims to be a bit high on paint fumes and the Princess has claimed to HATE the smell of paint. The ladies are a little demanding! :)

How am I supposed to paint the space before the carpet is installed if I don't apply paint to the ceiling and walls of the space?! I mean SHEESH! :)

Anyway, I finished up around midnight and I'm dragging at work a bit today as a result. Tomorrow, the marathon really starts. I have to paint the walls of the new bedroom 2 colors (light over dark), the common area and stairs, and the rec room 2 colors (accent wall). All of it needs 2 coats. I also need to install the door hardware and start painting the trim and chair rail that we'll need to get. On Sunday, I get to install chair rail and start installing the trim. (I'm planning on watching my Cowboys win another game and the Nascar race as well - should be some really good crashes). Then Monday and Tuesday nights, I have to try to finish up because the carpet gets installed on Wednesday. Wednesday and Thursday, I have to assemble some furniture and put it into place. Sounds fun, eh? :)

Wish me luck at getting it all done!

This post was grought to you by the letters H, O, M, E, and the number 5.

Progress.

Hey, in case you've been wondering, I've made progress on my basement. I know, I know. You're probably thinking "Wasn't this thing supposed to be finished in the spring?" And you would be right, but things have taken longer than we expected and I've been slacking trying to work on it when the family wouldn't be disturbed by my activities. :)

At any rate, the mudding and taping has been completed, the doors have been installed, and I have a couple of areas to do a little light sanding - about 10 minutes worth. This means I'll be painting the ceilings of the basement area and the rec room tonight. We have carpet scheduled for installation on Wednesday of next week, so ALL the painting and trim work has to be completed by then. I'm not sure the trim will be completed, but I'll be doing a lot of painting over the weekend to try and meet that deadline.

I'm sure the painting will be completed Sunday some time, but the trim may take a little longer. We'll see! :)

Wish me luck!

This post was brought to you by the letters T, I, R, E, D, and the number 12.

Faith Restored... Sort of...

Yesterday, I came to the realization that HUMANS SUCK!!! Then one of those humans started restoring my faith in humans a bit.

If the frozen lunch in the freezer has a name on it and the name IS NOT YOURS, you should leave it alone. Anyway, one of my fellow humans stole my lunch yesterday and another fellow human bought me lunch after hearing of the incident. I was on my way to get lunch myself when he told me he'd drive. I just thought he wanted to go to lunch at the same time. Who knew, eh? :)

P.S. - You all have my apologies for taking so long to post since my last one. Oops!

This post was brought to you by the letters U, D, W, N, C, and the number 6.

Really? You make the call.

I've been told recently that I look like a cross between the rappers Common and Ice Cube. I was informed that I should take it as a compliment because "Common is FINE!"

(yes, you could hear the capitals and the exclamation point when she said it)




Why don't you make the call. I'll upload a pic I just took of myself (from a 1.3 megapixel webcam that apparently has trouble focusing on me), then one I found on the Internet of Common, and finally one of Ice Cube I found on the Internet.

So... What do you think? I just thought it was amusing that the young ladies in the concession stand at the corn maze we visited felt the need to inform me of this and I think it's a bit flattering to get the attention. :)

Anyway. This post was brought to you by the letters F, I, N, E, and the number 3.