The Basement's Skylight

You know how you start a little project, but it just ends up uncovering another, possibly bigger problem???

Here's ours...

It looks like there's been a leak next to the tub. See the hole in the floor?


Come...let's have a closer look.



Now lean on over and look right down there....See the shelves? They're in my basement.

Busy Busy Busy

Our house has seen a flurry of activity lately.

Jeff got a nice bonus and I've been working all available overtime, so the extra cash plus a desire to get all this home improvement stuff over with, has led to us enlisting help. (Hiring folks to do the work for us.)

Now with the help of a handy-man, a plumber, and a tree-guy, we're going gang-busters!! Our handy-man deserves a post all of his own. He's quite a character.

The main project is our hall bath. Our handy man is re-tiling for us. Floor and tub. Also the walls are a wreck, so he's fixing that too. If we really feel like blowing cash, we may have him finish the flooring for us, too. We've had a ply-wood floor in our hallway for a month or so. And two bedrooms are still waiting for carpet removal. I really want all of this done by April, because I feel like a June referral is in my future (once again, no guarantees here)

I never remember to take "before" pictures, but here are the "during" pictures.




This project should take another week or so.



The tree guys were only a one day project, but what a day. They took out our dead Sweet Gum tree, two 80 ft pines, and some other big branches. It was scary to watch the guy shimmy up the tree, hang from a tiny branch up top, and have his chain saw swinging from his hip. I saw him lose his footing while cutting branches around our power lines. I had flashes of dead tree guys and huge law suits. Crazy.

It costs a fortune to have trees cut down, but we did learn a thing or two about our trees. Turns out we have a pecan tree. I told the guy it didn't produce pecans and he reached down and picked one off the ground. Oh. I guess I've never seen unshelled pecans before. Now I know to look for them.


And as for the plumber, he has to work around the handyman who is re-tiling and repairing walls. I also think he'll be removing one of our hot water tanks. (We have two....long story)

Even though we're now hiring folks to do stuff, it's still a lot of work. Every night last week was spent running between Lowe's, Home Depot, and Ikea picking and choosing tile, sinks, vanities, and lighting.


Add to all that, today was re-fingerprinting day. We had an 8am appt down in Atlanta. And this afternoon is my Dr. appt for the homestudy update. All they have to do is sign this little form that says I'm not contagious or mentally/physically unstable. Should be quick.

And whew...I guess that's about it for now.

The Beauty of May!!

My agency does this prediction thingie on their monthly newsletter to give their families an idea of when they might be able to anticipate their referral. They make it clear that this is not a promise. It is not even based on any actual knowledge of what the CCAA will do. It is merely a projection based on what the CCAA has been doing recently.

This month, the newsletter brought joy to my heart for 2 reasons.

1). For the first time, my LID is close enough to actually be included in the predictions.
2.) It has me getting my referral in MAY.

MAY!!

I love May so much. It's 4 months from now. Practically right around the corner.

Before you all get excited. I don't really think I'm going to get Zoe's referral in May. I've seen the stat's on the Rumor Queen and June is looking more likley. July is a real possiblity. And August wouldn't terribly surprise me.

But MAY!! Someone's put it in writing and I can go look at it anytime I want.

May!!

It's Baaaaaack!

The train wreck that is American Idol.
(The auditions, that is)

The very first girl up made me close my eyes and plug my ears out of embarassment for her.

Poor, poor, thing.

Obviously many just want to be on TV, but this girl was for real. My heart breaks for her. I can't watch.....and yet.....I can't look away.

Must... go... watch... more...

Fingerprints

We received our invitation to be fingerprinted! yeah!

I should be frustrated. Afterall, re-doing the paperwork is annoying and costly. But still.....it's nice to be getting adoption related mail again. I have our appointment to look forward to and that should take me to the next referral batch. Also, I like feeling like I'm participating again. I haven't had a thing to do for Zoe since the paper chase over a year ago.

Now I do.

Bunco update

I'm late to this bunco thing, and I have indeed been missing out. It was FUN!

Since getting married, my girlfriends have taken such a backseat they've pretty much gone their own ways. Coordinating husbands, homes, jobs,and kids is near impossible. Any girl-gathering takes Herculean effort, planning, and then someone always has to back out anyway.

I think that's why it was so fun...hanging out with girls again. And although none of them could really be described as "girls", when women have a no-boys gathering, we become girls again, don't we? Lot's of giggling and silliness. Throw in some gambling and adult beverages and you have a winner of a time.

I'm really looking forward to next month.

Bunco, Ma'am?

I have been invited to play bunco with the neighborhood ladies. I hear it's the hip new thing that's usually associated with older ladies...like knitting. I also knit, so I am slightly worried.

What I'm really worried about is socializing with these ladies because I also deliver their mail. On the one hand, it would be nice to meet more ladies in the neighborhood. On the other hand, i don't really want to get chummy with my customers. It's quite a pickle.

Jeff and I went to a Christmas party down the street this year and the hostess kept introducing me as the mailman. While it made for a decent icebreaker and I could show off my skill at matching names with numbers, I also saw the flash of embarrasment on Mr. Playboy's face when he realized who I am. (Ms. Penthouse, however, has no shame.) I can't stop staring at the Scientolog% family and wondering if they've made it over the Bridge of the Err yet. (I totally made that up and apologize to any Scient@logist. But to an outsider, you must admit, it looks weird.)

I know so much about my customers it could be awkward. In addition, I do occasionally make mistakes. With the people I've met and know personally, I take such care with their mail that it really slows me down. I double, and triple check everything instead of trusting myself like I do with everyone else. The more careful I get, the slower I will get, and I can see myself stopping at every box and putting their letters in one by one instead of tossing the bundle in like normal.

I would turn them down, but this is my third invite.

I'll let you know how it goes. I'm suppose to bring 5 bucks and my own liquor. Whoopee!

Another Catch-up

Soooo, It's been awhile, huh?

I have quite a bit to catch up on and plenty of time to do it, since Jeff is currently occupied with the season premiere of "Beauty and the Geek." Oh yeah....not kidding. And don't worry, Deanna, we're recording it for you.

Christmas was quiet. Just us and my parents. It mostly involved eating too much and home improvements. I know you're thinking we must have redone our whole house by now. Sadly, no. We still have plenty to go. The area of activity this holiday seaon was the laundry room and adjoining half bath.

We turned this...



Into this....


Hmmm.....looking at the pictures it doesn't look like such a big change. You'll just have to trust me. We removed wallpaper, caulked, painted the trim and walls, and added new hardware and door knobs. Not changing the floor was a huge mistake, but c'mon.... We're not superheros.

I didn't take a before of the half bath, but here are the remnants. Yes, we've had a toilet in our yard for about a week.

It's really hard to take a picture of the world's tiniest bathroom (2x6) Here's the afters...





Here's a few Christmas pics from Mom's house.





As far as the adoption, we're inching our way towards referral. The CCAA has given referrals to those logged in thru 9/27. That means they need to cover 84 more days before they get to ours. I think no matter how you do the math we are set for a June or July referral. And that's fine. I have my moments of being upset. Like when I sent off my forms (and checks) to renew my I-797. That was a grumpy afternoon. But the wait itself doesn't get to me anymore.

7 months? No problem.