Guess what I got for Christmas?

A violent case of food posioning!

From what? Now that is a fantastic question because no one else got sick. Just lucky ol' me.

Could it be the turkey breast, dumplings or mixed veggies from lunch? I don't think so...everyone else ate the veggies and dumplings, and I felt fine all afternoon.

The salad and white rice for dinner? With the exception of differnt dressings Wyatt and I ate the same thing, so I don't think so...

Later at the holiday party I perused the mixed nuts and dessert tray, had a bite of Jamie's mince meat pie (eww!) and drank 1 1/2 Old Fashions. Hmmm, nothing jumps out there. We headed home round midnight, watched some tv with our house guests, and went to bed feeling fine.

Then around 4am all hell broke loose in my body. It's like I was trying to expel an alien creature from my body by any means possible.

And I still don't feel good. Ick. =X

Death on wheels.

No, I haven't crashed a car lately. Knock on wood. But this might be worse.

But it is pink, and fantastic, and I am so friggin' excited!!!

Oh, and we finished the bathroom (touch ups and all), made it to NYC and back (and had an awesome time), sealed the harwood floors (which I do not recommend taking on in the winter), put up out first Christmas tree (all pink...aww), totaled a car (not fun at all), my foot's still non-functional (can you say surgery) and the besty is coming to visit this weekend!!

It's been a ca-RAZY couple o weeks!

And did I mentions that when we get home we no longer have to brush our teeth here?

THE BATHROOM IS DONE!!

Finally headed home from NYC (and we're both still smiling!). So many stories and adventures to share....

Sweatin' it out at lunch.

Thursday 13

1. The majority of my time and energy these past few weeks has been dedicated to bathroom remodeling...and as I type this, it's still not done!  The goal is to have it finished by the weekend.  Cross your fingers!!

2. If I never again have to remove wallpaper that would make me a very VERY happy girl.  But if I do, or should anyone ask, fabric softener works wonders. Nay, miracles!

3. This week has been my first week back on a bike since, well, a long time.  Long enough that I'm not sure when my last ride was.  And I only got on a bike this week because it was work related.

4. I miss exercise endorphins.  The days that I have ridden this week I felt like a much more together girl, more like the person I was 6 months ago and less like the stressed out basket case I have become.

5. Next week, in fact one week from today, we are jet-setting to visit one of my bestest girl friends Jamie.  I am so excited.  

6. My foot/ankle still hurts.  On the infamous 1-10 pain scale, I would stay I am still hovering around a solid 5 all the time, with occasional forays into the 6's and 7's.  My insurance DENIED the pre-authorization of the Prolotherapy and PRP.  What's the next step?  I don't know.

7. I want to start planning out my 2010 race schedule, but I hardly know when I will be able to start running again.  And seeing as I had my sights set on a run focused year (half marathons and a  fall marathon) I don't know what to do.  Grumble.

8.  My weight has officially reached the point that I do not want to get on a scale. Nope, won't do it.  It's not like my clothes don't fit, I haven't gotten to that point yet, they just don't fit like they use to.  Or I want them to.  I just need to find some sort of exercise that I actually like doing (and am allowed to do) and get at it.  End of story.

9. I'm not sure I understand all the New Moon hype.  I guess that has to do with the fact I never saw Twilight.  I've been told I will be seeing both and soon.  Ok, I guess I have some vampiring to do.

10. Have you ever been given the most off the wall unsolicited advice?  The kind of advice that makes no sense?  It's be like me, the vegetarian, telling the meat eater what red meat tastes best.  Yeah, that's the non-sensical mumbo-jumbo I'm talking about.

11. Insomnia has definitely set it.  I think it's a combination of things, but the end result is a serious brain numbing lack of sleep.  I'm awake and thinking about all sorts of everything at night because I can't shut my brain off and sleep.  During the day I am a barely functioning version of myself.  I think that brings me back to #4 and #8.  I need me some exercise.

12. I turn another year older this weekend.  For oh so many reasons I just don't seem to care about it though.  Like, another year has gone by and what have I accomplished?  How have I grown and become a better person?  What do I have to show for another 365 days gone by?  Not enough to celebrate.  And then there's the disaster that was last year's birthday.  The last thing I want is to relive that debacle.  Let's call the whole thing off.

13.  I promise to be a better blogger.  I will write more.  It will have meaning, or at the very least be entertaining, and it will happen on a much more regular basis.

This is how I came back to find Burton after I got up to shower this morning. What a lazy bum!

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Thursday 13

1. After a web brief hiatus I am back.  I don't really know where in particular I went, but where ever it was I didn't seem to have a whole lot of internet-ing time.

2. I wish, now a few days later, that the bathroom remodel was looking better but alas, it is not.  I am still chiseling away at those damn moths and their papery back.  We've got some epic plans to repair the other wall on Saturday.  Wish us luck!

3. I cannot seem to get over my fixation with running lately.  I believe the obsession to stem from the fact that it is the one forbidden activity at this point.  I really want to get back at it tho.

4. We've started to plan out our race schedule and plans for next year.  Monona 20K and Madison Half Marathon in May, with our first marathon in the fall.  And of course there will be a few triathlons on the sched for me and some epic bike events for W.  I am excited!!   

5.  In 3 weeks today we will be on our way to NYC to visit and spend some quality time Jamie....not to mention check out the latest at MOMA, The Guggenheim, FAO, Tiffany's and so much more.  I haven't been to NYC in over 10yrs and W's never been there so we are pretty darned stoked for this lil adventure or ours. 

6. Our new furniture gets delivered tomorrow!! TOMORROW!!  That's right, no more futon for a couch. 

7.  Lately I have been scouring the all of the local thrift shops on a regular basis just waiting to unearth the most fantastic retro dinning table and chairs.  I am ok with the chairs and stuff being mismatchy, I just want wood and for it all to be in good shape.  Is that so much to ask for?

8. Have you ever been given the most random advice from the most unqualified of sources?The sort of unsolicited random advice that makes you go really??? is that for real???  Sort of like me the vegetarian who won't even touch red meat telling the avid meat eater how to cook a steak.  It just doesn't make sense.  Yeah, that's all I'm saying.

9.  Change is in the air my friends.  I can't say what or when for certain, but it's there.  And it feels good.

10. Now that it is get cold out and the snow is a-coming I am love love loving my garage usage.

11. I am over half way to hair long enough to donate again and it is driving me crazy.  I want donate it, and I've been growing it out for months now, but I am so over long hair.  I am suppose to go in for a trim in 2 weeks and I am hoping I stay strong and just trim, not cut.

12. It's birthday month again for so many wonderful people in my life: my mom, my grandma, my cousin Erynn, my work partner in crime Ron, and the fantastic man in my life, to name a few.  I am sending month long happy thoughts to all the November babies out there.

13. I am glad I have reached 13 because my hands are so very cold typing.  Brr, brr, brr!  I am cold and done typing for the time being!

I HATE MOTHS!

The moths I am refering to here are the gawd awful moths that cover the wallpaper in our bathroom.  They. are. HIDEOUS.  And they seem to be affixed to the wall with super glue.

So this past weekend we ransacked Home Depot to pick out a new vanity, mirror and cabinet for the bathroom.  My job, this week, was to get the wallpaper down. Easy-peasy, right?

WRONG!!!

Apparently whoever put up the funky wallpaper didn't seal the drywall before slapping it on so these mothy goodness is permanently bonded to the skim coat over the drywall.  But said skim coat only goes half way up the wall.  Why? I don't know exactly, but the upper half is finished and the bottom half is, well, not.  And to add another fun little step to this project is that the shiny moth part of the wallpaper is pulling off of its paper backing...adding yet another step to this process.

And when I took down the medicine cabinet (with a little help from handy man extradinaire and my bff Ryan) we noticed that they had a jacked up way of installing that too.  The short of it is that we now have to replace a portion of the drywall and maybe a stud or two.  Yeah.

So what was suppose to be a week long project has gotten much much longer.

The new hope is to have the moths down and the walls repaired by the end of the weekend so that I can paint next week.  And minimize the time with out a toilet (which needs to be removed to repair the wall).

Who needs to go to the gym when there are house projects?!?

I've been derailed

Er, wait, is that right?

After months of everything hurting (and most things still not feeling great), being advised against doing the majority of the things I love doing (hello, running), and just generally letting myself go, how in the world do I get back on track?

I've been cleared to bike, swim, and do short stints on the elliptical.  But now that I am ok'd to do that I don't even want to.  I am still sore and I am always tired.  And all I want to do is go for a run.

It's my favorite time of the year to run.  The air is cool and crisp, it's dark and quiet out.  It's running tight season!!  And I can't run yet.  Sad tights haven't even made it out of the workout clothes bin.

I've got a whole laundry list of exercises to do from my physical therapist, and for the most part I'm actually doing them.  I'm not sure that I'm doing some of them right.  Like the aero squat one leg balance thinger.  Her theory is that the biomechanics of my run are all wonky, starting up in my glutes, which causes me to stick out my hips weird (possibly the culprit behind my IT band issues) which pulls on my knee, and with each strike it causes my arch to collapse which, as it collapses, pulls on my posterior tibial tendon and consequently my dewclaw. Woah, that's a mouth full.  The tricky part about fixing biomechanics is that when you are so use to doing something it's awkward and hard to stop doing it.  But I have to do the exercises to strengthen and correct the issues so that maybe I will get to run again....some day...

But in the mean time, how do I get myself to the gym to do the things I am allowed to do?!?

(more soon.....life, home improvements, and everything else)

Halloween...and everything else!

Wyatt showing off his new Game Bibs before we headed to the Badger game.  I also think he may have been trying to shake the rest of the leaves off the tree so we can rake and be done with it already!

At the game, in our matching bibs.  

It was windy, overcast and chilly, but the Badgers prevailed!

After the game (and a 2+ hour nap) it was time to lion-a-fy myself for the night.  The costume was waaaaaay more work than anticipated, but turned out pretty darn cute.  Even Burton put on his skeleton costume!  

We decided pictures with the pumpkin from Tom and Renee's wedding were in order.  

(Carved pumpkins  make possibly the cutest centerpieces ever.  Who knew.)

Don't worry, I'm a vegetarian. The cow is safe!

Burton with his puppy mullet....business in front and party in the back!

Burton got a haircut....and a cute new Halloween bandana! What a stud!

Costme

So this is what I REALLY want to be for Halloween...only Katie sized. How cute is that!

But is it ok for a girl to dress up as a boy lion? I mean seriously, boy lions have much cuter outfits and hair than girl lions.

Thoughts???

Thursday 13.....maybe later?
It's rainy, it's cold, I'm sleepy and unmotivated. So yeah, maybe later.  Maybe next week.

Dinner

Let me tell you a little something about this picture.  It may not look like much, but to me it was.  I was my first ever attempt to make spaghetti and (turkey) meatballs. From scratch.

Ok the meatballs were from scratch, the sauce not so much.  But lets not split hairs here people.  I tried really hard.  I hand mixed, made and rolled those stupid turkey meatballs.

Since Wyatt was suppose to be home early from his clinic tonight I decided to make dinner.  From scratch.  Now I don't do this very often, because, well it's hard and I'm not very good at it.  And it never works out.  So home early from the clinic tonight I took to mean 8:15-8:30'ish (as he didn't get home from the clinic the night before until after 9).  Cool.  I can work with that.

So at like 7, when I got home from work, errands, etc, I started cooking.  From 7 to 8:30 I cooked.  And read recipes.  And tried really f'ing hard.

At 8:15 or so it was done'ish and staying warm.  Around 8:45 I started to wonder what the deal was.  9:15ish he strolls in the door.

I guess having beers with the boys trumps your girlfriend cooking dinner. 

Fuck that.

The new wheels have arrived! Pretty sassy, eh? :)

A hard day's work at Devil's Lake....

I.AM.SO.EXCITED!!!!!!!!!!!

Thursday 13

This has definitely not be a rockstar week for me, and after getting no sleep last night I am full on sporting my cranky panties this morning. Proceed with caution....

1. Do you ever feel like what you really want is right there, but just out of grasp? That for every step you make towards it, you end up making many many steps back? Like you are stuck. STUCK! Yeah, that's kind of what's on my mind lately.

2. My Sports Med doc wants to take drastic measures in regards to my non healing foot. Seeing as PRP is definitely not covered by my insurance, he wants to try Prolotherapy. My insurance is likely to cover 50-60% of the 1000+ treatment, which leaves me to come up with a nice chunk of change. And it may or may not work. AND this therapy has NOT previously been done on the posterior tibial tendon. Hmmmm. I'm not sure I understand all this or like my odds...or the price tag.

3. Meanwhile my physical therapist (who ROCKS!!! I'd tell you here name, but I don't want to share her) is pretty skeptical of Prolotherapy. She's decided to try Iontophoresis instead to get the pain and swelling down. Hence the battery powered foot pic on my blog the other day. It seems to be working. But is this just a temporary fix or is it going to get the job done?

4. The house is still not unpack or organized and this OCD gal is starting to twitch.!! I cannot handle the boxes, the mess, the not knowing where things are stashed. Grrr.

5. Missing money. As in $322 of my money is MIA. We're not talking the twenty dollar bill I may or may not have spent at the bar the other night, but really thought I came home with. We're talking a lot of moolah in my world. I don't just lose hundreds oh dollars. I will even own up to poor math skilz and losing like a hundred of dollars in poor subtraction. Bu this is not the case. So put it back. Because if I have to face the humiliation of some teeny bopper cashier handing me back my card and snickering that its declined I am going to lose it. I've been told this opps of a transaction has been fixed (as of like 10mins ago) so we'll see if the ATM can confirm this fact at lunch.

6. I didn't sleep well last night because of the stress of the above situation and am feeling pretty much like a useless zombie at work. I;m am staring listlessly at the monitor, mouth agape, just waiting for the day to come to an end so I can resume staring blankly at my tv at home.

7. We had epic plans to camp and climb this weekend. Ok I'd be belaying and observing the climbing part because, well, I'm still a gimp. It was suppose to be chill-lay, but manageable. But instead the forecast is now for a mix of rain/freezing rain/snow for the majority of the week, Yuck, double yuck! Every time I get excited about something it falls through. Maybe I will set up my tent in the dining nook and start something on fire in the kitchen just for effect....

8. This is the first time ever in my life I am just not excited about Halloween. I thought that going to the punkin farm and picking out a punkin or 2 would do the trick, but alas, it did not. I just don't seem to care this year. I don't know what I would be, I don't know where I would go. I'm just not getting excited about any of it.

9. I've been given the green light to get on trainer and ride for 20-30mins at a time now AND that swimming (as long as I don't push off the wall) is ok! Woo Woo! 2 of my least favorite activities are ok to do again! Smell like chlorine and go nowhere on my bike. Did I mention I have a sassy attitude today?

Let's wrap it up with some good news...

10. My friend Natallia is in town with her beautiful baby girl Katia. I am so excited to see her and meet Katia. :) I love babies, especially when I get to hand them back to their parents.

11. Wyatt comes home tomorrow (finally....) and is traveling locally next week!! That means a week and half with him around. What's a girl to do? :)

12. I came across a recipe for S'mores pie. If I can't roast marshmallows at least I can eat S'mores pie! MMMM!

13. 6wks to the day I will be jet setting to NYC for some much needed vacay with my girl Jamie. Can I get a heck yeah?!?

PINK + KATIE = HAPPY!!

That's right people, SRAM has a new PINK groupo.....and I am REALLY excited about it.

Combine it with a little Chris King...

and Sweet Jeebus! It's like MY Holy Grail in bike form. I can't handle it. Granted this is a way super pricey project I am lusting after, but oh yes, it WILL be mine.

As for the frame...well I am kind of in love with the geared GF Superfly frame, but that would be a little over the top I think. And the red on the paint would kind of clash with my pink theme, but I would ride shiznit out of it just the same. The GF Paragon might also work.

Our trip to NYC over Thanksgiving is my birthday present....maybe the PINK geared 29'er will be Christmas??? Something to think about Wyatt. :)

My foot is battery powered...but sadly not healed.

Farmer's Market!

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Hey Shopaholics!!

You know what comes with house expenses? A budget. You know what I am bad at doing? Budgeting.

For example. I really want a Pottery Barn bedroom set. Like REALLY want. Pottery Barn is not in my budget. My budget is much more like middle of the range Steinhafle furniture. Sigh.

It stinks to have champagne taste with a PBR budget. I am sure many of you can relate as this dilemma applies as much to my tri gear as anything else. I want the $50 CEP compression socks, but the $20 Wigwam "compression socks" are in the budget. I want Zipp 404's with a PowerTap hub, but hand me down American Classics are in the budget. I want to race Escape from Alcatraz, but High Cliff is in the budget. Double sigh.

When I can across the website Ruelala.com I thought it had to be too good to be true. Designer gear at like half price? No friggin' way. Well it's true. The website is "invite only" so I am posting my invite link for all interested parties.

Check it, shop it, LOVE IT!

Now if only a site like this existed to tri goods and Pottery Barn furniture....

MMM, pie!

What do you do when you have reached an all time high frustration level?  When life seems to have handed you more than you can deal with?  You bake!!

After a fantastic trip to the farmer's market, I had all sort of goodies to play with, including a bag of delicious Macintosh apples.  Fall + Apples = APPLE PIE!

Now don't let the fact that I have never made an apple pie unsupervised before second guess my pie baking skilz.  I didn't.  Secretly I believed myself to be quite the gourmet.  And so it begins.

First step crust.  Wait.  I've never made crust before.  Ok, first step, locate a cook book and a recipe...then mix.  

It was about this time that I realized I didn't actually own a a pie pan.  Really?  Really.  Luckily Wyatt was willing to save my pie making dreams and borrow one from his parents who are nearby.

And just in case my crust was a bust, ha, Wyatt's mom also sent this:

hmmm....do you think she doubted my crazy mad cookin' skilz?

Then it was time to peel the apples.  Oh so many apples.  But don't worry, PBR came to help.

After peeling like a kajillion apples, it was time to get a lil saucy!  All those tediously peeled and sliced apples went into the cinnamony sugary yum waiting in the bowl nearby. 

After saucin' the apples the went into my crust and awaited a top.

At which point I realized I didn't actually own a rolling pin.  

I SWEAR I DID!  I am not normally this unprepared.  

But luckily my Klean Kanteen doubled as a rolling pin. 

All crusted up and into the oven it goes.

Voila! 35-40mins later you have pie!

It tasted better than I looked.  I would say that my first unsupervised apple pie adventure was a success!  I'm feeling good about it.  :)

I'll take a little DIY with a side of apple pie...

So what's been going on these days you ask? Well certainly no training, that's for sure. But my body feels like box moving, cleaning and house projects is more than enough cardio and strength for some time....

The day of the close Wyatt decided the carpet in the living room had to go. Immediately. And so it did.

Going....

(front door)

Going...

(living room and picture window)

Going...

(dining nook)

Going....

(and happy to see it)

GONE!!!

Let me tell you, we hit the jackpot on the floors! Under the smelly blah beige carpet (which was really stained underneath, can you say cats? ewww...) were beee-o-tiful hardwood floors. And best yet? Other than pulling A LOT of staples, and cleaning it, we didn't have to do anything to them. WOOT WOOT!

Final step on the floors was to cut 1/4 round and trim out the room to cover the gap in the floor from where the tack strips were. Yes, I made Wyatt wear safety glasses. Yes, he still has all of his fingers. And yes, if you look closely I think you can see the start of his plumber's crack.... :)

BTW, cyber friends, if anyone has a trick as to how to get gunk off of hardwood floor I would LOVE to know. Specifically the gunk is carpet pad residue that is stuck, and I mean stuck, on the floor in a few areas.

The house is still a work in progress. So many boxes to be unpacked and dealt with. So many projects on the to do list. So many deliveries to be made. Ugh. Will this ever end?

What do you do when you have reached an all time high frustration level? When life seems to have handed you more than you can deal with? You bake!! But that story will have to wait til tomorrow...

Saris Gala

click here for event details and registration info

This Friday is the annual Saris Gala benefiting the Bicycle Federation of Wisconsin. Every fall Saris teams up with the BFW and hosts a fundraising event to help support their efforts. There's delicious food and beverages, a silent and LIVE auction, and an array of speakers. Joining us this year is our keynote speaker Taylor Phinney, as well as Axel Merckx and Gary Fisher (just to name a few others).

So come on out, grab some food, have a drink. mingle with other cycling enthusiasts and help raise money for an amazing cause!!

The Bicycle Federation of Wisconsin is a nonprofit organization that through advocacy, education and coordination is working to Make Wisconsin a Better Place to Bike.

Good Lil' Helper

Apparently Burton was helping Wyatt unpack today....maybe this was a much needed after nap after all the epic unpacking?!

Ryan as a strawberry....or wearing my strawberry hat. Whatever.

Sofa!!

That's right, we now own a new sofa, chair AND ottoman (like the foot stool, not the empire). That's the general look of the sofa above, but in COMPLETELY different colors. We just didn't think an off white sofa was a smart idea in our house. So we went with a brown (specifically mahogany) with some fun pills. You know, spice the place up a little. Bad news is, by snubbing the off white sofa we had to special order what we wanted. It could take 3-10wks for it to get here.....grrrr! So for the foreseeable future we have no, and I really do mean no, furniture. Which isn't necessarily a bad thing as the house it OVERRUN with boxes still. Seriously we could build some pretty bad a$$ forts if we rearranged the boxes....hmmm, something to think about.

So we're suppose to move the last of my stuff into the house tonight. But seeing as it is looking like death storms again to day I am guessing I will be bumped from the docket. Who really wants to move stuff, especially a mattress, in the rain?! Btu really, the longer I live with my stuff in boxes and split between 2 locations the CRAZIER I am getting. Really, seriously, losing my mind! Oh, and in case you are wondering, someone else moves in to my apartment on the 1st this week. That'd be Thursday, and I'm still not out, nor is the place clean.

Oh, and there is the floor finishing project that is apparently going to get done this week. And putting a much needed vanity in the bathroom.

Wyatt moved in, check. Sofa picked out, check. New washer purchased, check. Direct TV being installed, check. Going to a 3 day bachelor party*, check CHECK!

Katie moved in....not checked.

At least our priorities are in order.

I do love the furniture we picked out tho...

*The 5 day bachelor party has been reduced to only 3 days. Geez, what a rip off. But don't worry, that still allows for 2 nights of strips clubs and unhealthy levels of intoxication, with a little football and MORE alcohol sandwiched in the middle. I still say F* That!!

No Rest for the Weary

Yep, that pretty much sums up my week.

I am exhausted. Working all day, and moving at night, has added up to a looooong week. It may only be a studio apartment, but good lord do I have a lot of stuff there. Apparently 28yrs, almost 2 of which have been at the most recent abode, adds up to way too much stuff. And no place to put it.

But wait Katie, aren't you moving into a house? Why yes, observant reader, I am.

I went to try to unpack and clean stuff at the new house last night. I figured getting a start on that would make moving the last of my stuff a little easier. Right? Only what I found in every cabinet, drawer and closet I opened is that it was already full. So where exactly am I suppose to go?

This is bringing back horrific memories of freshman year of college. Or even my sophomore year apartment with the roommate from, well, Waukesha. Right, Waukesha. You remember the college days where all of your belongings had to stay in your room/side of the room, designated closet, kitchen cabinet, shelf in the fridge... It's like I'm going from a luxurious, spacious 2 room efficiency, to 1 room. In a house. I feel like I am going to have to stash my Ramen noodles and microwave popcorn in my closet to keep the roomie from eating it at bartime. And I am thinking of bringing back the shower caddy so I have a place to put my shampoo, face wash and toothbrush. I'll keep it right next to my shower flip flops and towel hanging on the back of my bedroom door.

If any one out there knows how I can loft my double bed, or has a mini fridge I could borrow, let me know. Apparently I'm going to need them.

Thursday 13

Woah, it's Thursday already and I haven't even finished my post from Monday yet about the Fat Tire Festival.... It will be finished. There are pictures and everything.

But to stay on task...

Thursday 13: The Moving Addition

1. After tonight's trip I'll be prolly 75% out of my apartment! Woot Woot! Now there's just my closet, kitchen essentials, bathroom essentials, bed and tv....ok that still sounds like a lot. Grrr.

2. We went to empty my storage unit in the basement last night to find out a bottle of bleach had spilled on stuff. FML! I don't think it ruined anything important...

3. The "we" I am refering to here is my bestfriend Ryan and I. My deadbeat boyfriend (from this point forward known as the DBB) is in Vegas this week. Yes he is in Vegas the same week I need to move. Granted it's sort of work related, but still, f*ck that!

4. Moving has been further complicated by the fact that the above mentioned DBB moved his stuff in and left boxes everywhere. So to be able to move my stuff I have to rearrange and deal with his stuff. WTF?

5. The DBB did however manage to quasi finish the wood floors before he left for Sin City. All the staples are out, the tack strips are up, and they are clean (to a boy's standard clean). All that's left to do is to add 1/4 round trim around the room to cover up the damage from the tack strips. Oh, and to somehow match the 1/4 round to the floor/trim color...

6. So Monday night, as we were hurriedly moving in the DBB's stuff (yes I helped him) he tried to put stuff in the refrigerator WITHOUT CLEANING IT FIRST!!! ICK ICK ICK!!! What was he thinking?!? So I took on said task, and what did I find in the fridge? Cat hair. Like enough gross black cat hair to think that they were storing cats IN the fridge. I just threw up in my mouth a little thinking about it.

7. Tonight's mission is to move all of the nonperishable foods, misc kitchen odds and ends, and the bathroom non essentials. All in all that's probably 1 trip. THEN it's time to clean the bathroom and kitchen so that I can put that stuff away. It could be a looooooong night.

8. So the house was "move in ready" which basically means it wasn't a complete hovel. It's actually pretty nice. But there are so many things that need to be done to make it "ours." Like the pedestal sink in the bathroom HAS TO GO! Say it with me people, vanity. And painting. Everything is off white. I don't do off white. Give me color!! And seeing as we had to move everything in kind of quick, we didn't get to paint first. Which now means we have to move stuff around, and cover stuff, and basically do things the most difficult way possibly. And the kitchen needs updating....and the gross asbestos linoleum removed. And the cabinets, something about the cabinets. I have some ideas...

9. Oh the basement. Ick. Their definition of 1/2 finished, well, is that they painted the cement block walls. And the 1/4 bath. Yeah, that's going to be walled in and turned into a real 1/2 bath ASAP! Next to that will likely be the bike area. Scary creeper "bar"? GONE!! Cement block walls in the "finished room"? Framed out and actually (gasp!) walls built. The carpet that was pulled upstairs? Laid in the basement. Futon, aka the DBB's former "bed," and his leather chair will make lovely furniture down there. Trainers, yoga balls, tv, stero, check! Hello space to workout. Oh there is so so many things to do....

10. Don't tell my PT, but I have been going sans boot for the moving process. Yes, probably not the brightest idea, but it's just so hard to manuver and accomplish things in that thing. It's no real shock my foot is extra super hurty. That goes hand in hand with not listening to the PT and Dr.

11. I really am crossing my fingers and hoping that this is the last time I move for a really long time.

12. The best part about moving? Definitely the usage of the DBB's Element. Hello XM radio and bumpin' system. I've been so spoiled cruising around town, you know the 4m round trip between the old and new place, rocking out to good tunes. I'm not sure how I will go back to my regular ol' FM radio and stock stereo system. But in the mean time, damn it feels good to be a gansta'...

13. The worst part about moving? Pretty much all of it. This post deserves every CAPITAL LETTER, profanity and exclamation point it has, and then some!!!

Pictures, oh so many pictures, to come!! Stay tuned my friends. If I can't run or bike, I am going to be a lean mean house improving MACHINE!!!

Finished...and glad to be done!