Things to do before Christmas

Househould things, that is. My mom is coming by for a visit next Friday so not much of this list is going to get done before then but I should most of, if not all, this stuff done before Shell comes by in December(!) Something tells me this is going to replace our (mostly) annual NYE get-together.

• plant winter grass (winter rye or fescue?)
• install medicine cabinet in second bathroom
• buy guest bedroom furniture
• replace showerheads in both bathrooms
• put up xmas light decorations on front lawn and windows (after turkey day)
• make sure house is baby-proof for Cameron
• new home theater system? maybe

Random thought

I like walking barefoot around my backyard. It feels great.

Halloween aftershocks (afterthoughts?)

Well, in spite of the plumbing problem last night, everything went off pretty well. A lot of kids showed up to get candy. More than I expected for a housing community with maybe 50-60 occupied houses. My filled-to-the-brim candy bowl (one of the big ones you can get at Wal-Mart) had only a few pieces left by the end.

Next year's going to be better. More lights and spooky stuff, which I couldn't do this year because of last weeks' car problems.

Boo!

gotcha! ;>

Punk'd on Halloween

While the kids were putting their dentists' kids through college tonight, I got tricked while they treated. A water pipe broke in the front yard. After an emergency call to the plumber, it turned out that a valve in the sprinkler system chose tonight to commit seppuku.

Fortunately, the house and sprinkler systems use separate lines so I was only without water for a couple of hours (a precautionary move done by a neighbor).

Darnit! This place is less than six months old. Three months since I moved in. This shouldn't have happened for a long time. Everything's still under warranty so it's not going to cost me anything to get it fixed.

Just goes to show: plastic parts are cheaper but not stronger than metal ones.

Car-blang!

Ouch! This was a painful week. My trusty ride, a 98 Jetta, has spent most of the week in the repair shop. The little slut's took most of my bank account with her. Fan belt replacements and fixing a busted cv boot on the axle will do that. When the service techs showed me how the axle was, I found myself being confronted by the ghost of Henry Ford, who looked at me and said, 'Didn't you learn auto maintenance 101?' 'Dunno,' I replied. 'B&N is backordered on 'Car Maintenance for Morons trying to be Dummies but failing.''

Call it 'bad carma'. :)

Anywho, at least my car will be good for another 100,000 miles or so.

Days like this

Days like today make me glad I live in a house, instead of an apartment.

• I have a nice, new home with an equally new roof!
• I have a garage so I can keep my car nice and dry in case I leave the windows down (which I do frequently).
• I have a garage door remote so I don't have to get out of the car in the pouring rain!

Wishy Washy

Pardon me a moment while I emote on my new washer and dryer. I know you're thinking 'Big Deal!' Well, it's not. After years of being reliant on apt complex washers, I now have my own washer and dryer. It's oh so nice not to be forced to wait on someone else to finish their laundry so you can get started on your own. And, even better, not have to wait on the weather to be favorable! OR have to wait for the laundry room to open in the morning! OR have to time it so that your laundry is done before the laundry room closes! GAH! I hate that crap!

Never more. Never more.

Washin' that whatever away

Wow. This house is getting expensive. I've already spent a lot on a new refrigerator (which is the size I was looking for but the water filtration system is hit-and-miss. the ice side is fine but the filtered water tastes n-a$$-ty!) So, today being the end of the week, I ran out to the Sears Outlet store in Addison to go looking for a washer and dryer.

Well, I found a nice matched pair of Kenmore Series 500 washer and dryer. The prices were pretty decent but it still set me back a bundle. I should get it delivered this weekend. Now, I can start doing some laundry!

The interesting thing is that I came in under budget for those three items. In fact, I came in $100 under! Although that number is probably off another $200-$300 since I didn't factor in shipping and taxes and was looking at some decidedly cheaper (and probably lesser) models to begin with.

just waiting for the weekend now. the laundry's starting to pile up!

The Move! The Move!

Well, it's but time for the moving all the furniture, etc. today. I don't know why but I just can't seem to find the motivation to finish packing. It's not like the last time when I dumped, literally, nearly a dozen trash bags full of junk. I just don't want to do it. What's up with that?

Oh, well, regardless, tonight will be my first night at the new place.

Oh, yeah. Once the move starts, I'm going to be offline for a couple of days. I don't get internet service till Tuesday. :(

Cool-ness

Well, last night was pretty uneventful. I left work a little early to get to the sales office to get the keys. The house hasn't changed much in the last twenty-four hours. :) The main difference is that it's all mine now. Mine! My Own!

After a run to the local Wal-Mart, I picked up a few things to make the house a little cozy and grab some non-perishable food. Dinner at the house consisted of a Coke, a peanut butter sandwich and same sour cream and onion potato chips. Yum.

it arrived today. My fridge, that is. It's a lot bigger than I remember from when I saw it on the outlet center showroom. I need to find something to clean all the smudges off the front doors. I also need to call Sears and see about getting a copy of the instruction manual.

Well, back to packing and stuff. Gonna be a looong weekend.

Who needs caffeine on day like today?

I'm less than two hours away from closing on the house and I'm so pumped up right now that I don't need caffeine. 1 hour 44 minutes and counting!!

1st sign of the impending

I bet you thought I was going to say 'Armageddon', didn't you? HaHa.

It's more like 1st sign of the impending move. I close on the house tomorrow so today, at lunch, I went out and bought a (slightly used) refrigerator. It's a nice model made by Kenmore. Side-by-side. Stainless finish with a lot of fingerprint smugs and a few scratches. Nothing I can't live with. The price was pretty reasonable, too. It cost a few hundred less than a brand new model.

(I'm one step closer to the edge and I'm about to break!)