Whew... glad that weekend's over

It was a wonderful weekend filled with family, friends and good food. But after the past two weeks of having our house ripped to shreds, it's nice to have some time to breathe. We still have some work left to be done on our house, but things are coming along.

We spent Friday night with Brian's inlaws here in Vegas. Brian and Rene flew into town Friday morning so Rene's family held Thanksgiving dinner until Friday evening. It was a nice time visiting with Rene's family, and of course, it was wonderful to see Brian and Rene. Saturday night we spent the evening with Beth's parents, grandma, family friends and Amber. It was sort of a "grand reveal" of the house for the family, and, YEAH!, it was well received. Everyone loved the changes we made and can't believe how different the house looks. I know, pictures. Brian came over for breakfast on Sunday. It was nice to have him in town. We hung out all morning and he ran an errand with me in the afternoon. Amber and I went and saw "National Treasure" Sunday night. Although I am not a Nicholas Cage fan, and the movie was slow to get going, I enjoyed it in the end. It had some undertones from the "da Vinci Code" and "Angels and Demons," so I enjoyed that side of the story.

House: The tile upstairs and the moldings for the bamboo have not yet arrived and therefore I have been unable to complete the baseboards upstairs. The downstairs, thankfully, is nearly complete. We have a new door for the back being installed next week and then I can begin replacing the door knobs on all doors. We still need to add a fresh layer of paint to the doors before that is done. But, fortunately, the majority of what's left is cosmetic and can be done as time allows.

Today we had four trees delivered, three for the back and one for the front. We replaced the tree in the front because we felt it was too small for being the centerpiece of the yard. Ultimately, we'd like to completely re-landscape the front yard, but that's one of those projects for when everything else is done. Right now, we are focusing on the backyard. And this is where my stress lies now. This is the next BIG project. We've contemplated hiring someone to do it, at least to give us the basics, so that it at least can be done. Once the entire drip system is complete, we get some plants in, our fountain in place and the rock for ground cover, I will feel a lot better. It will be easy from that point to add features to the yard to complete the look.

I know that landscaping can be expensive... we've already spent a pretty penny on the little that we have done. However, time is money, and unfortunately, I haven't had the time I'd like to devote to the yard. My semester is ending December 17 and I have a ton of work to complete before then, plus, I have to get a full month's worth of flying in before December 23, since Beth and I have plans from the 24th on. And I want to get my yard done.

Through the past few years, Beth and I have pulled various ads for landscapers. I think it's time we get those ads out, make some phone calls and get some estimates. I'd really like to have someone else get this done for me. I feel bad for not wanting to do it, but Beth and I have done so much for our house on our own, I guess you have to draw the line somewhere, right?

Feeling lazy...

Happy Thanksgiving!

I hope you all had a wonderful day and are fat and happy, filled to the brim with all that makes Thanksgiving dinner so yummy. Of course, I'm probably the only one still up... everyone else is suffering from post-prandial lethargy from the triptephane in the turkey. I am tired, but I had a nice strong cup-o-joe with my pumpkin cheesecake so I'm still hanging in there.

We had dinner at our house tonight. Amber, Brad and Kanako came over for a potluck style dinner. That kept the workload on everyone easy, especially me, since all I had to do was buy the turkey. Kanako made mashed sweet potatoes, homemade cranberry sauce and pumpkin chocolate chip cookie muffins. Amber made the stuffing, salad, pecan pie and her grandma's infamous chocolate sauce. I simply provided the turkey and the booze.

It was a relaxing evening and enjoyable, especially in our newly redecorated home. After dinner we played Cranium and a little Taboo. Both fun games, but more fun with a lot of people. We started the evening out by watching a holiday classic, "Planes, Trains and Automobiles." I suppose watching that movie makes you appreciate your pending meal and allows for some hearty laughs. Classic.

Happy Thanksgiving. Oh, and have fun shopping tomorrow!

One week progress report...

Well, the tile and hardwood are in and the carpet on the stairs is being installed as I write. I am secluded in my bedroom with the cats, trying to keep them out of the way of the carpeter. I will be installing new baseboards in the loft and hallway tonight. Tomorrow, we will seal the grout in the tile and add baseboards to that area on Wednesday, all in preparation for Turkey Day. The house is really starting to take shape.

The tilers have to come back and install the backsplash in our master bath, so we are still without sinks there. Not sure when they'll be back to finish that. The bamboo upstairs looks awesome, but it, too, is not quite complete. They had to order the molding or whatever you call it to finish the bamboo with other surfaces. For example, there are still gaps between the bamboo and Pergo and bamboo and vinyl. However, it is nearly complete and there are no restrictions on its use.

It's all coming together, slowly but surely, and I hope to put some pictures online, eventually.

Home improvement hell...

The top project of our home improvement begins tomorrow: replacing the carpet and vinyl downstairs with tile, replacing the carpet in the loft and hallway with bamboo and replacing the carpet on the stairs with new carpet. There's a lot we've tried to get done before this point, but of course, we weren't able to accomplish all that we wanted to. Unfortunately, home improvement is a side job... hard to do when you're out flying nine days straight.

We had hoped to paint the wall above our stairs before the new flooring came, this way we wouldn't have had to worry about paint on the new flooring. Can it be done after? Yes. We just didn't want to have to worry about it. Today, I get to remove our bathroom cabinet and sinks. We decided to replace them with pedastool sinks and some bathroom furniture. They have to go today since we are having the area under the old sinks tiled as well as having a backsplash tiled up the wall. Of course, the home improvement doesn't stop there.

We are awaiting a phone call to get measurements done to replace our back door as well as have shutters made for the downstairs windows. The door should happen in the next three weeks, based on ordering time, the shutters, however, have a six to eight week lag time since they are custom built. We've been talking about another road trip to IKEA to get more decorative items. Our new entertainment center could use some nik-naks and we need more wall art for our bedroom and the loft.

How could I forget replacing all the baseboards after the new flooring is installed? We've already ripped out the old stuff. I don't mind putting in the new baseboards, but I really don't like the idea of having to paint them all first. I know it won't be hard, I'd just rather bring them hope and pop them in. I guess I should start placing wagers on when I think the Mercury will make it back in the garage. It has been outside this whole time as we've used its side of the garage as a staging area. My guess right now: mid-December.

Seven days of morning nearly over...

I was inclined to write more just before, on the day of, and the day after the election. However, I was working and cramped on a tin can some five miles up. Needless-to-say I was and am devastated by the events of November 2nd. I am simply appauled. As one of my friends put it, "52% of voting Americans are stupid." Plain, simple and to the point. I knew the election would be close, but I really felt Kerry had the chance to pull it off. I had no idea the gap would be as wide as it was, although historically it is one of the most narrow wins on record.

It floors me Bush was able to convince so many he was the right guy to lead this country. He has done nothing but prove he isn't up to the job, yet the American people re-hired him. I don't get it. I want my money back. Can't I call customer service and complain? When I spoke to my mother about the election, she said, "It's never fun to be on the losing side." She's right, but I've never felt despare before due to the outcome of an election. It's hard for me even to find the right words for the aboslute loss I feel for what has happened. I feel like my membership to my most favorite club has been revoked. It kind of feels like the end of a long, satisfying relationship. I feel there is no hope.

I know Bush will only be in office for four more years but that man has done more in his first four years to move our country backward then any I can think of. I am also more afraid now because he doesn't have to worry about being re-elected. He can push through whatever legislation he'd like without having to worry about the political fall-out come election day, 2008. I really think we've yet to see the real George W. Bush. I was reading in the USA Today today an article about Carl Rove. He's Satan himself, I swear, and he promises Bush will push through a Constitutional amendment to ban gay marriage. Isn't it great our Constitution may soon discriminate against some of our fellow Americans?

I know whatever Bush does can be undone but I am worried for how long that will take. Hopefully we can get a democrat in the office next time and start to repair the damage. However, it may take 20 years or more to undo all the wrongs Bush will have committed on this country. I really don't know if I am willing to wait around that long. I feel like I'm slowly being pushed out of my own country.