Down 'n Dirty

My place may not be spic and span all the time, but one thing I can't abide is clutter and messes.  Which is why I came very close to shedding tears yesterday.  I am very excited about the remodeling going on at our place right now, but it does something inside my brain when there are messes everywhere.  I know it will all be worth it, but seriously I think my brain short-circuits when I can't find things and there is disorganization.  I felt better after a good night's rest.  I have forced myself not to do too much at a time getting things back in order.

That said, the place is looking great.  The laminate floors are in (which I didn't realize would make the place so cold!), baseboards pretty much in, ceilings scraped and retextured, painting is almost finished, area rug in, and new blinds installed.  Lighting, fans, and rewiring are 90 percent finished.  The crown moulding remains to be installed and a punch list about 20 items long including assembling two new bookcases and a chair.  The sofa is still missing two legs -- picked up some at Home Depot as a temporary fix.  I feel like I have been at Lowes and Home Depot every day for a month.  I changed my mind on the blinds three times.  Good thing it's easy to return stuff.

That's all work in the downstairs.  Upstairs will have to be remodeled another year.  I can't take it.  Well, the ceilings are finished upstairs and girl's rooms are done except new flooring.  The rest can wait.  I still want to remodel the bathroom and fireplace downstairs, but I'm not crapping money, people.

This always makes me feel better...

Highway 52 is opening this weekend.  We had a grand opening party on the freeway and had a lot of fun. Ally kissed the freeway, so she could say she did it.  There was a three mile walk/run on the freeway.  The new road will connect East County to the shore.  We are very excited as we had to travel through Santee prior to this, which can add 10 to 20 minutes to your trip depending on how you hit the lights.  Now we can skip Santee altogether!

Counting Our Blessings

We have so much to be thankful for.  The news is filled with the devastation in Japan.  I was watching videos today of reunions of people who found their loved ones after thinking the worst.  Brought tears to my eyes.  It makes the headlines from the United States lately seem trivial -- almost shameful.  One thing Ally pointed out to me was that you don't see headlines about looting going on all over in Japan.  Maybe the devastation was too great, maybe they care too much about their fellow countrymen, or maybe it doesn't make the news.

Well, here's my trivial stuff that's been happening this week...

Broke my finger playing volleyball almost two weeks ago and didn't know it was broken until I finally went to the doctor.  They would have cast it had I come right in, but since it's been almost two weeks, I have to use this splint for another week and then tape it for two more weeks after that.  Typing is so fun!

Yesterday I was sitting at my fave place, Starbucks, and the ceiling decides at that moment to start leaking right on my head.  After two drips I realized that no, someone is not spitting at me or shaking water on me.  By the time we left it was dripping into a bucket from several spots.  Hmmmmm... SAVE THE STARBUCKS!

Chris and I did finally make it to Ruth's Chris Steakhouse for our anniversary dinner.  Man, these are the biggest, best shrimp ever!  They are big enough to be a tiny lobster!  Chris' steak was the best, as usual.  Of course, for $42 just for the steak and not even any sides, it better be.  We eat here once a year and that's why!  Totally worth it, though.

View from the restaurant -- I love living in San Diego!

On Sunday we went to The Yogurt Mill.  Any local will tell you it's the best soft serve yogurt around.  They don't skimp on the yorgurt or the toppings.  Mine is the one in the middle -- it's the junior size.  I forgot to order the child's size (see others) so I ate it for three days.  Mine was vanilla with cookie dough bites, which they put on the bottom, middle, and top.  Tasty!  I don't know why we don't go there more often.  Yeah I do... I'd weigh 50 pounds more.

One of my fave games -- this is the St. Pat's release:)