just tell me to RELAX...and BREATHE

internet troubles

well, the fun continues.  the floors are in, the trim is installed and caulked, and now we just have to paint the trim and we're all set in the basement.  It's been a long haul.  James has done SO MUCH work, bless him.  Knocking out the small amount of tile in my office about did me in...next time (Ha Ha) I think we'll rent a jackhammer...

The big problem right now is that I cannot for the life of me get my internet connection back up.  Argh. 

I've left that all behind for some serious relaxation in the mountains with my folks.  We've been eating, sleeping (except for when Ralphie spent an entire night wanting OUT of my room because he worships my mother and wanted to be in the room with her!) and watching movies.  The guys got a round of golf in this morning, and Rip and her daddy will hit the pool in a bit.  It is so nice to get away from our house (esp. the basement!) for a few days.

Have a great holiday weekend and I hope to be updating again soon!

floors

hey all:

haven't forgotten to be bloggy...just haven't had time OR internet access for several days while the hubby and I have been putting in new flooring (1000 sq. ft. worth!) in the basement.  I hope to have the computer set up and running sometime tomorrow so that I can post some pics.  The floors are complete and look AWESOME, if I do say so myself.  We are still working on the trim/caulking/painting but keep running into little snafus.  Such is the life of do-it-yourselfers.  

All in all, I am VERY proud of the work we (mostly James, some me) have done these past four days.  More on that soon, I hope.

TODAY is going to be a GREAT DAY.

That's our motto around here.  Rip and I say it to each other at the beginning of most days.  Usually, she replies, "It's ALREADY a great day!" or "It's already a great day because YOU started my day!"  :)

 

Today is ALREADY a GREAT DAY.

Exhibit A (above):  Coffee.

Exhibit B:  Our washing machine has been repaired!  And it only took 25 days!

 

Thank goodness for extended warranties (this $1100 repair was fully covered since we were 4 years and 1 month into our 5 year extended warranty) and for Ellery, who allowed me to run wash at her house for the past 3 weeks. 

Exhibit C:  I am on my blog and actually posting something!  In part, this is due to Ripley and Grandma's zoo date running long (thank you CAROL!) and to Avery coming to babysit later (thank you AVERY!)

Exhibit D:  Happy flowers, all over my backyard, despite the vole invasion that continues.

 

Exhibit E:  DATE NIGHT! 

Happy hour with my hubby!  Wish it was 5 o'clock...

time out for Shrinky Dinks

Yes, Shrinky Dinks.  Those fabulous little plastic-y creations that you remember (or not) from the 70s.  They go into the oven as flimsy little papery pieces and come out only moments later as litty-bitty hard plastic trinkets.  Rip and I have been talking about shrinkin' and dinkin' for weeks, and I've probably owned the shrink film (purchased at JoAnn Fabric) for almost a year.  Nothing like getting right on a project.

Well, yesterday we declared it to be Shrinky Dink Day.  Here are our masterpieces, drawn with colored pencils and cut out with scissors.  We hole-punched a few too.

 

Now they are headed into the oven for the shrinkin'...

 

Oh WOW!  Rip can barely contain herself!

 

...and in a matter of seconds, those dinks are already curling up, right before our very eyes!

 

And WA La!  Cooked dinks in a total of 2 minutes.  Look how cute they are...

 

So immediately after this photo, R grabbed up her dinks and ran.  No further photo op for her dinks, but here are mine.  Seriously tiny little things.

 

 

Too much fun.  And you might be asking, what will you DO with your finished dinks?  Great question, I answer.  I'm thinking they could work as fun little embellies on some mini albums.  Now, where did I put my glue dots...

new mexico road trip recap - Day 1 & 2

on the road to Albuquerque before 9 a.m. on Tuesday.  Rip is psyched to watch a DVD in the car for the first time.  I am psyched to listen to a book on tape, since R has a headset.  The weather is STORMY.

 

traveling thru New Mexico and making great time.  R still more than excited about watching movies.  Only downside to DVD player is no remote control and no way to manage movies without pulling over.  We make due.

 

rest stop outside of Wagon Mound, NM (what a name!) is a godsend.  Bathrooms are OK, but there wasn't a button for that...

 

...but there were quite a few red hot pokers for Ripley to visit with while we stretched our legs.  Still raining.

 

Albuquerque!  We arrived before 4:30 and met James at the hotel.  We did a tiny bit of driving around before we headed to dinner.

 

our only photo as a family -- not the greatest but it is documented.

 

Day 2:  James is off to work again, and we hit the road at a leisurely pace, deciding that taking the Turquoise Trail from Albuquerque to Santa Fe might be a fun change of pace.  R was enjoying her movie (Bolt) so much that I took us on a further excursion up into the Sandia Mountains.

 

At the top (where the outside temp was registering 54 degrees, a 25+ degree drop from the main road!), we got out to explore.  Ripley was ready for an adventure.

 

 

We followed the path as far as it would go, stopping and taking pictures the whole way.

 

Back at the bottom, we had a picnic and prepared for the rest of the trip.

 

 

A quick stop in Madrid, NM to take a few photos (mailboxes above), and then onto Santa Fe.  Checked into the Hotel Santa Fe, took R on a quick tour, then walked over to one of my favorite restaurants...

 

a well-deserved cerveza, enchiladas, tamales, and more tortillas than a 5-year-old should be capable of eating, and stick a fork in us.  We were done.

 

More from the road later.

 

a day at the market

 

My cute buddy Rachel, who I met through our now defunct LSS, scheduled a day of thrifting last Saturday, and away we went to A Paris Street Market.  I've been to several of these over the years, but this was by far the biggest and best yet (although the wind was DISASTROUS, to both vendors whose merchandise was damaged and also to patrons like us -- keep reading).  Tons of eye candy for a crazy ladder-lover like me...

 

and plenty of other goodies to ogle, dreaming of new uses for all these old darlings...

 

Well, as we were excitedly checking out these wooden soda crates (above), Rachel commented that she's always wanted a Dr. Pepper crate but hasn't had luck finding one...I had just taken the above picture and said, "I'm pretty sure THAT'S a Dr. Pepper crate, isn't it?"  As we crouched down to look at our find, a huge gust of wind picked up a metal tri-fold screen and threw it into Rachel's head!  Poor thing was hurt something good -- a big ol' goose egg formed on her head almost immediately, and she was seeing stars.  We ended up calling it a day so that Rachel could take a rest at my house and I could keep an eye on her for a few hours, but not before the vendor gave Rachel the Dr. Pepper crate for free!  Here she is with her bump AND her "free" crate...

Never fear!  I left with a few goodies of my own (bought and paid for - luckily no injuries sustained by me)...I bought this funky screened-in window for $10...James had already pulled the screen out for me before I took a photo...

 

...and after a little paint it's starting to look like this...

 

The final step will be to add some corrugated metal to the back so that we can hang it in Ripley's room as a magnet board.  She's very excited.

I also picked up a groovy metal gate with peeling green paint.  No pictures yet, but I'm planning to use it as a trellis in the yard.  Stay tuned!

hitting the road

 

and what a trip it was!  rip was a wonderful travel companion (or as I've been calling her, my P.I.C., or Partner in Crime.  Thanks "Role Models" for putting that one in my head). 

many pictures to share later but my computer is not cooperating this evening...maybe it too needs to catch up on some sleep?

Today...

 

...we are road-tripping!  R and I traveling through CO and NM for 4 days, no big plans, just making memories.

More when I return...

what we've been up to...

making coffee...

reading a few good books...

 

repurposing...

  

garage sale-ing...

 

...and do-it-ourselves-ing (not really a word, I know)

the "Princess Posse" graduates from preschool

(again, I am running about 2 weeks behind on EVERYTHING, including blog posts :) so bear with me)

 

(Left to right:  Lauren Veldhuizen, Ripley, Ava Veldhuizen, Caroline Clouatre, Reagan Saewert, Johanna Saewert)

Our little gals, who were once known as The Girl Gang, just graduated from preKindergarten, added 2 new friends to the group (Reagan and Johanna, their new buddies from school this year), and changed the gang name to The Princess Posse. 

A few highlights from the graduation...

 

 

this next one was during the "i love YOU" line in the Skiminerink song (who knows how to spell THAT word?)

 

I laughed so hard that I cried during the "Hip Hip Hip Hippopatamus" song...

 

...there is nothing more entertaining than a stage full of 5-year-olds, dancing around in circles and singing at the top of their lungs...

 

At the end, each child came on stage to get his or her diploma.  Here is Ripley receiving her diploma from Mrs. Karen Rossi...

  

It was a big night.  So big we just HAD to go out afterward to eat ice cream and celebrate with Caroline and Alex (fellow preK graduates) and their mamas.  Good times.

And my favorite picture of the evening...

 

Can't believe we are headed to Kindergarten.