For those of you that have not been updated as to our current life status...I will inform you that my husband is no longer a teacher. He is, in fact, by all means and purposes...an OTR driver.
Some of you may be fortunate enough NOT to know what a OTR driver is and so I will bring you up to speed.
"Over The Road" driver.
This means that he leaves our house in a big truck and generally does not return for four days.
It stinks for many reasons.
One of the biggest is that I have no one here to answer my questions.
Those of you that know me well, know that I am extremely analytical and given enough time and no accountability, I can think myself into a frenzy. I am curious by nature and due to the fact that I zoned out most of my academic life, I would label myself in great need of lots of answers and fairly stupid.
My sister-in-law corrected me the other day by letting me know that if you are unaware of the world and historical facts, you are indeed NOT stupid, but in fact, "ignorant".
Funny, this did not make me feel better.
Regardless, I am very unaware of most things and think that it is possibly a more endearing part of my personality that I am willing to humble myself and ask questions. Right?
Yeah, whatever.
For instance...after much hysterics from my best friend regarding all the bombing that is going on in Israel and the declaration by many that we in fact, are in the end times, I glanced at my husband across the breakfast table and said, "Um..this whole bombing thing. Well, is this something that I need to worry about? Should I know more? Be more aware? Are they planning to bomb me soon?"
My husband who was about to launch into the ends and outs of the happenings looked up at my crumpled face and smartly replied, "No Charity...you don't need to worry about it."
Good answer.
Next question...
So, I'm single parenting and what that looks like is a very frazzled mother that has abandoned any form of diet or personal space so that she might produce some sort of summer fun for two boys in order to wear them out by 7:30 so they can collapse in bed.
In keeping with this survival mode, I was manipulated into getting ice cream on my way home from a friend's house tonight. I was anxious to get home and begin the bedtime process so I pulled into the first ice cream joint I could find.
TCBY
Now, I ordered the kids a small cup and got myself a LARGE waffle cone of mint chocolate chip. FABULOUS...it's my favorite! I was thinking that I shouldn't be too worried about the calories because it's Yogurt, right??
Can anyone tell me if what I ate was truly "yogurt"? I haven't been to a TCBY since like 1987 and I'm confused about what I actually ate tonight? Do they serve regular ice cream also? I didn't specify and they didn't ask...thus, I'm guessing yogurt?
Hmmmm.
Also, I have a small shower off of my bedroom. It's frankly the smallest tile shower I've ever seen but the water pressure if out of this world! It's much like a sauna when I've got it good and hot and while enjoy all that, it's pointless to try to shower and also preserve my hair. Inevitably, I am drenched head to toe. My hair has FINALLY grown long so I hate to go to bed with wet hair. The question is...
Is it okay for a 32 year old mother (who I feel still has some style and class) to wear a shower cap? Do they still sell these things?
I was just imaging myself in the shower with an old lady cap on and it got me laughing. My mom doesn't wear a cap...nobody I know does. Will I be mocked severely by all who love me?
See...I'm left to figure all this stuff out and that just leads to stupid blogs!
Or ignorant ones.
Tuesday, July 25, 2006
Sunday, July 23, 2006
1 Brighton Lane
Well, this is it. We are enclosing the garage area and making a sun room. The back yard is HUGE and it's a pretty big wreck but with some landscaping and a patio, it should be very beautiful one day.
I'm painting the shutters black and I'm hoping to have a nice red door in a few weeks! Along with my flag and some rockers, I think it will look great.
Come and see me! I have a lovely guest bedroom that is just waiting for...well...guests!
"Dirty Jobs"
We definitely didn't pay this guy enough for this job!
Our old oak tree came down and while it was a little sad to destroy something that has been around for such a long time...It would be more sad when it was sitting on the roof of my new house.
Tree removal.
A home repair you don't think to consider.
*ouch*
Our old oak tree came down and while it was a little sad to destroy something that has been around for such a long time...It would be more sad when it was sitting on the roof of my new house.
Tree removal.
A home repair you don't think to consider.
*ouch*
A Deep Breath
Well...The last box has been unpacked and things are starting to come together within the house. I finally got some time to sit down and look through my old pictures that I haven't had time to download and it is so weird to think that it's only been three weeks since we moved.
Here's a look back for everyone...
Moving Day
(Is this a sign of Josiah's future occupation?? I hope not!)
Sam
This is Diane, my first friend to arrive, diving into the donuts! She actually walked through the door all teary! I thought I had failed to explain to her that I wasn't actually moving back to Indiana but across town a few miles, but she reassured me that she was only crying because she was so happy for me.....Oh, sweet friend!
Seth and Keith
Anne, Amy, Tanya and Diane-My moving relief!
Matt and Matt
The official assembly line!
Our first house party
Here's a look back for everyone...
Moving Day
(Is this a sign of Josiah's future occupation?? I hope not!)
Sam
This is Diane, my first friend to arrive, diving into the donuts! She actually walked through the door all teary! I thought I had failed to explain to her that I wasn't actually moving back to Indiana but across town a few miles, but she reassured me that she was only crying because she was so happy for me.....Oh, sweet friend!
Seth and Keith
Anne, Amy, Tanya and Diane-My moving relief!
Matt and Matt
The official assembly line!
Our first house party
Friday, July 21, 2006
My Vent
Well...here goes. I'm back online after a LONG battle of bringing our new house into the 21st century. It has been an amazingly hard experience.
H..a..r..d.
I've been waiting to have a vent about the whole thing-creating blogs in my mind as an outlet to the frustration and difficulty that is the "American Dream" and now I have my chance.
I permit you all not to read an further!
I could write pages on advice to people who decided to invest into an old home.
At first we passed glances at newly constructed homes and the "newness" is appealing on many levels but I am just not a subdivision girl. I can barely tolerate the city itself and am drawn to country living, but you always come back to the budget...and our budget is a brick ranch in a small neighborhood with a wooded lot.
I can appreciate this.
My neighbor has a Rooster. This amuses me and makes me feel very much at home.
Regardless, ours is an older home that has only had one family living in it (the people that built it) and while it is reassuring that I can call them and get updated on the quirks of the house, they did very little to update it.
This house was labeled "move in condition".
I'm baffled by this.
It has been three weeks of one thing or another...From leaks to wiring to carpets and hardwoods...painting, painting, painting. Tree removal and pipe issues...BIG PIPE ISSUES...spiders and ants and appliances that quit. More painting. MORE LEAKING. No cable..then satellite..No phone...then MANY cell phone minutes. Creaking and installing locks and outlets and "IS THE AIR CONDITIONER WORKING OR DID WE UNKNOWINGLY MOVE TO THE SURFACE OF THE SUN?" I could have taken that dream trip to Europe three times now in the amount of money it has cost just to live in this house for three weeks!
But, it is a cute little home and when I'm about to flip out I drive to Target or Pier One and buy something pretty for MY HOUSE! My bedroom is beautiful...it's a raffia color and it feels like someone threw a bed in the middle of an old stately library! It has all my favorite things in it and when I can't take another project I go sit in my room and read. Best thing about it!!...I have my own bathroom! It's light, light blue and black and I'm decorating it in "Old Hollywood".
Sadly, though..I just found out the sink leaks.
Go figure!
I offer this to those of you venturing into home ownership...
*Get ready. Unless you are independently wealthy or make enough to "hire out", gear up to spend every waking moment fixing something! Be sure you enjoy that kind of thing because even those that LOVE it...don't love it all the time!
*Expect every fix-it job, no matter how big or small, to take the whole day. I don't care if you're digging up a septic tank or hanging a blind...it will take at least 24 hours!
*Expect every major thing needed or wanted for your home to cost around a thousand bucks!
*Decide ahead of time that you're just going to laugh about how overwhelming it can be. If you do not, you may find yourself considering anti-anxiety drugs, sales representative homicide or divorce!
*Fix any major things BEFORE you move in. You will be shocked what you are willing to live with once you find a spot for your couch.
*Get one room exactly the way you want it with pictures on the wall and a beautiful furniture arrangement in the corner. If you've got a retreat, you will survive.
*And if all else fails...jump in the car and leave town for a while!
I'm banking on that last point to be my shot in the arm...you think?
H..a..r..d.
I've been waiting to have a vent about the whole thing-creating blogs in my mind as an outlet to the frustration and difficulty that is the "American Dream" and now I have my chance.
I permit you all not to read an further!
I could write pages on advice to people who decided to invest into an old home.
At first we passed glances at newly constructed homes and the "newness" is appealing on many levels but I am just not a subdivision girl. I can barely tolerate the city itself and am drawn to country living, but you always come back to the budget...and our budget is a brick ranch in a small neighborhood with a wooded lot.
I can appreciate this.
My neighbor has a Rooster. This amuses me and makes me feel very much at home.
Regardless, ours is an older home that has only had one family living in it (the people that built it) and while it is reassuring that I can call them and get updated on the quirks of the house, they did very little to update it.
This house was labeled "move in condition".
I'm baffled by this.
It has been three weeks of one thing or another...From leaks to wiring to carpets and hardwoods...painting, painting, painting. Tree removal and pipe issues...BIG PIPE ISSUES...spiders and ants and appliances that quit. More painting. MORE LEAKING. No cable..then satellite..No phone...then MANY cell phone minutes. Creaking and installing locks and outlets and "IS THE AIR CONDITIONER WORKING OR DID WE UNKNOWINGLY MOVE TO THE SURFACE OF THE SUN?" I could have taken that dream trip to Europe three times now in the amount of money it has cost just to live in this house for three weeks!
But, it is a cute little home and when I'm about to flip out I drive to Target or Pier One and buy something pretty for MY HOUSE! My bedroom is beautiful...it's a raffia color and it feels like someone threw a bed in the middle of an old stately library! It has all my favorite things in it and when I can't take another project I go sit in my room and read. Best thing about it!!...I have my own bathroom! It's light, light blue and black and I'm decorating it in "Old Hollywood".
Sadly, though..I just found out the sink leaks.
Go figure!
I offer this to those of you venturing into home ownership...
*Get ready. Unless you are independently wealthy or make enough to "hire out", gear up to spend every waking moment fixing something! Be sure you enjoy that kind of thing because even those that LOVE it...don't love it all the time!
*Expect every fix-it job, no matter how big or small, to take the whole day. I don't care if you're digging up a septic tank or hanging a blind...it will take at least 24 hours!
*Expect every major thing needed or wanted for your home to cost around a thousand bucks!
*Decide ahead of time that you're just going to laugh about how overwhelming it can be. If you do not, you may find yourself considering anti-anxiety drugs, sales representative homicide or divorce!
*Fix any major things BEFORE you move in. You will be shocked what you are willing to live with once you find a spot for your couch.
*Get one room exactly the way you want it with pictures on the wall and a beautiful furniture arrangement in the corner. If you've got a retreat, you will survive.
*And if all else fails...jump in the car and leave town for a while!
I'm banking on that last point to be my shot in the arm...you think?
Saturday, July 15, 2006
Unavoidable Blog Break
I am still alive...
We are currently without internet service as we switch providers.
My immense disdain for our local cable company has driven me to satellite television and the use of a local phone company for my phone and internet. While I will miss Vonage (but am still keeping the same phone number for all of you that care), I am immensely THRILLED to give Charter Communications the boot! Yee-Haw!
We are slowly settling in as I have been renovating room by room and while there have been many difficult days, I am adjusting to everything different...again.
I will hopefully get back here soon and until then, you may have to resort to a phone call to check in! (That is my humble plea from a homesick girl!)
See you soon!
We are currently without internet service as we switch providers.
My immense disdain for our local cable company has driven me to satellite television and the use of a local phone company for my phone and internet. While I will miss Vonage (but am still keeping the same phone number for all of you that care), I am immensely THRILLED to give Charter Communications the boot! Yee-Haw!
We are slowly settling in as I have been renovating room by room and while there have been many difficult days, I am adjusting to everything different...again.
I will hopefully get back here soon and until then, you may have to resort to a phone call to check in! (That is my humble plea from a homesick girl!)
See you soon!
Friday, July 07, 2006
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