ready or not.

What am I doing with these four books I just checked out at the library?

Well, we just got approved to be a foster home for Love of Labs! We should be getting our first foster dog this weekend/next week. I am SO excited!

Fostering is something I have been interested in but unable to commit to with my work schedule & apartment living. Now that we've moved into this bigger place & I cut my hours to part time... we're ready for this new adventure!

getting energy efficient.

Our last electric bill was $180. My boyfriend almost died. I don't even want to think about what the gas bill will be this winter.

Our building was built prior to the 1930s. The windows upstairs are plexiglass & the trim around them is rotting wood so the windows don't even touch the glass. First on our list is new windows. We also have zero insulation. That's second on the list.

I checked out this book from the library. Lots of great ideas! Here are some of the projects I'm working on:

• buy an energy monitor to see which appliances are costing us the most
• buy a Smart Strip so devices can really be turned off when we're not using them
• install a low flow aerator for the faucets
• check the hot water heater temperature
• we already have a tankless hot water heater
• clean the a/c coils
• seal gaps around windows & baseboards with acrylic caulk
• cover all outlets with foam gaskets
• seal the foundation gap with 100% silicone caulk
• add insulation
• check into weatherstripping the doors

We went to Menards this weekend & bought lots of supplies so I could begin my projects. Today I am tackling the foam gaskets! & we've gotten three estimates on new windows so that will begin (hopefully) later this month!

yikes.

photo taken with my phone as we walked down the bleachers to head for shelter

We went to the state fair Saturday evening. On the way down we heard a severe thunderstorm warning was in effect & the storms were in Lafayette. I wondered if the concert would even get started before the storms hit.

We ate an elephant ear & drank a lemon shake up before heading to our seats. We were all the way at the very top. Not good for concert viewing. Turned out to be good for other reasons.

As we waited for the show to start we watched the clouds rolling in. It got darker & darker & I wondered if we should leave. Just then a man came on stage & announced storms were on their way, but the band would be out in a few moments. If they needed to pause the concert, we could all head across to the buildings, but hopefully it would pass & the show could go on.

The clouds continued to get darker & closer & lightning got closer. I started to ask TJ if we should head for shelter now, because by the time the storms actually hit, it would be a madhouse. Several people were heading toward shelter. But before I could form the words, a huge gust of wind came through & rocked the stage. It happened in slow motion. From our seats at the top row we saw the stage sway... & then collapse.

It was like a scene from a movie. I heard hundreds of people screaming. I saw people running. I knew people were hurt. Then the slow motion stopped & everything kicked into high gear. People were running down the bleachers, running from the collapsed stage, running to the collapsed stage. I heard sirens. The wind was blowing debris through the air. People were hunched down on the ground, covering up, bracing for the worst. The wind got stronger & stronger. We started down the bleachers to head for shelter.

We went to the horse barn to wait out the storm. We couldn't see outside but it didn't seem like it rained very hard or for very long.

I found out later the stage collapsed right around 9p.m. We were headed home around 10:30. By the time we got home they were showing video footage of the collapse. It falls so much faster on t.v. than it seemed to in real life. The next morning we heard news that five people were killed & over 40 were injured. Truthfully I'm surprised to hear so many more weren't harmed. There was no way to warn those fans in the first few rows that it was coming down.

It was a scary, scary  night & I have been thinking & praying for all those people.

$35 wardrobe.

We bought this Ikea cabinet in the As Is section for $35.  It's missing the doors & the clothes rail (& the little feet but we don't need those anyway). I thought it'd be super easy to get a new rail & since we needed more closet storage, it was a deal too good to pass by for only $35!

Turns out it wasn't easy to find a replacement clothes rail. I emailed Ikea & they don't sell a replacement rail because it doesn't have an item number. So we searched online & found something similar but it was $20 & maybe wouldn't even work. We looked at local hardware stores & couldn't really find anything that would do. Of course we could have just drilled new holes & hung any regular old clothes rail but since there are no doors on our wardrobe, I didn't want 14 different holes visible.

Last week we went to Ikea again & while we were there thought we'd check out their wardrobes. We wrote down the item numbers of a couple different wardrobes that used similar clothes rails & crossed our fingers that they would be available for purchase separately. Luckily for us, one of the wardrobes had almost the exact rail that we needed sold separately for $10. It was a little bit long so we trimmed it with the saw.

& this week, finally got it mounted in our wardrobe...

a week in the life.

No photos yet.
This is the first year I've participated in AE's event. Unsure yet as to what kind of album I'll be making. Right now I just want to document the daily things before I forget them.

Sunday. Up early, plant new flowers, fix Sheila's rock wall flower bed. Spray weeds after a quick trip to Rural King to buy weed killer & a spray pump. Pull weeds from sidewalk all the way down Markland & in front of the office. Then little cousin's baseball game at 2pm. Home at 8pm. 2 mile run, felt pretty good.
Monday. Chiropractor visit #2. My first appointment was Friday & I was super sore Friday & most of Saturday. Sunday I felt good. Monday he told me I am going to heal quickly & he will only need to work on me a couple more times. I didn't crack as much this time as the first time (not sure if that's good or bad) & I wasn't as sore afterwards (definitely good) so I think this is working! Then I worked 3-11pm. A pretty uneventful night. Went for a run after work at about 11:45. Jogged down Markland & back. Tripped while admiring a dress in the consignment shop & almost face planted. Luckily the boy grabbed my arm just before my face hit the sidewalk. Then we laughed so hard I could barely finish the run.
Tuesday. I worked 3pm-7am. Was a pretty good night. After work went to mom's to sleep for a few hours before going to the lake.
Wednesday. Wake up at 1pm & head to the lake with mom. Boat not working properly. Come back home. The boy's making apple crisp for a birthday surprise. Vacuum. Applebees with mom & brother for dinner.

living room shades.

Desperately needed blinds for the 4 living room windows. They face the west (one faces south) & the sun sets so fiercely in the evenings. Also, we live on Main Street & are sick of people at the stop lights being able to see in the windows at night (we live in an upstairs apartment). I ordered a shade of red (after going through several samples) from Steve's that are top down/bottom up pleated. We still want to let light in from above, we just don't want the neighbors/every person driving by to be able to see in. We measured & double measured... but I made a mistake/didn't read the directions carefully enough. So we weren't able to hang them correctly. Rather than $364 going out the window, he jimmy rigged them. You can't really tell & they're doing well so far. We're hoping to see an improvement on the electric bill!

E T

using the Artful Delight March 2011 kit
posted online at Scrapbook Examiner 7/3/11

bathroom cabinet re-do.

When the boy asked me to move in with him [May 2011], I knew we needed to add some storage to the bathroom. I have a ton of beauty junk that was not going to fit in his bare minimum bachelor pad bathroom. I found a cabinet I liked (& brought him to peek at it too, he liked it almost as much as I did) at a local antique store. I paid under $200.

I brought it home & was determined to make this a quick, no sweat, no pain project. No sanding. No priming. Just find some grey paint to match the bathroom, a quick coat, & be done. Well, it took two coats. But then I was pretty much done.

We found some coordinating knobs at Menards. & here's what she looks like in the bathroom now [July 2011]!

first race.

May running stats

Total Distance: 5.9 miles


Total Time: 1:01:34 min

Run Distance: 5.9 miles

Run Time: 1:01:34 min

first step.

Published at Scrapbook Examiner 5/3/11

April stats

Total Distance: 18.7 miles


Total Time: 3:13:44 min

Run Distance: 18.7 miles

Run Time: 3:13:44 min

first 5 K

4/17/11

he loves me [card for bff's bridal shower]

L & T

3 Scrappy Boys Sept 2010 main kit

My mom & my aunt when they were little baby girls!