Exceedingly Mundane

Today is the day that Tim has been looking forward to for weeks, maybe months. The opening day of gun season for deer hunting. Plus, with the weather having turned colder, he’s doubly excited.

We’re headed out in a little bit for his parents. I’m going to ride with his parents down to Ethan’s birthday party (he turns 3 on Tuesday) and Tim, Terry and Tony (or, the 3 Musketeers as I call them) are going hunting.

We’ll probably be late getting back, so look for an update and maybe even a picture or two tomorrow! 🙂

I was out running errands this morning and had my favorite radio station blaring. They said “Caller number 3 wins lunch for two at Mazzios”, so I picked up the phone and dialed twice, never expecting to get in. But, I did and I was the right caller. So, I won a gift certificate for lunch for two at Mazzio’s buffet. We never go to Mazzio’s, but hey, it’s free, so that’s good enough for me! Now, I have to run over there this afternoon and pick it up! 🙂

I have won several things in the past off the radio, including (most notably) a trip to the Bahamas when I was 12 years old (I took my mom!) and a trip to Dallas to see the Dixie Chicks in concert (three years ago on my birthday). I also won an e-machine computer that I gave my mom several years ago. Then, there’s the misc food, cd’s and tickets that I’ve won over the years. But, I haven’t won anything lately. Chalk that up to the fact that I mostly listen to my iPod, music on my computer (iTunes through my speakers) or else Internet radio. I never have the radio on very long to hear them give things away! Oh well, at least I won a little something today!

She bop

1. Favorite brand of jeans: I’m not brand loyal, mostly they just have to fit and be comfortable. My absolute favorite pair at the moment are JCrew jeans that I got last year at the outlet in TN.

2. Magazine you read regularly: Better Homes and Garden

3. If a button came off your clothing, could you sew it back on? Yes, but that’s about all I can do. And no guarantees that it would be sewn on very well.

4. Have you ever had a curfew? Yes, I think growing up I had one, probably through college

5. Most dangerous thing you’ve done: I’m not adventurous at all, but there was a time in college that I walked along a train trestle after midnight… I think. 😳

The new Chili’s in Madison opened up on Monday of this week, so last night, we decided to go check it out. Like most new restaurants, they still had people training, but they were definitely on their toes. The food was really good, service was great, and since we got there a little early, we got in and out in no time. There was a long line when we were leaving, so I know people were glad to see us get up from our table and head out!

We went to Lowe’s and got new thresholds for the doorways and more parts for the washer. Tim tried to hook up the washer last night and found that we need another new hose, so I’m headed out today to get that. Hopefully, he can get it hooked up later today and I can start in on this mound of laundry. I have never been this far behind, but if I had to guess, I’d say I have 9 or 10 loads to do. We’ve been going through so many clothes, normal clothes, work clothes for Tim, then at least one extra set, sometimes two, per day for every day we were working on laying the tile. You know it’s time to catch up when you’re about out of clean underwear. It’s either that, or head to the store to buy more!

::Where’s the Server?::

Onesome: Where’s– the main event for you and yours next Thursday? Are you staying in? …or are you doing the “Over the river and through the woods” thing? Going to Gail’s. Looking forward to seeing all of the family! Especially the Texas branch, whom we haven’t seen in like, forever! 😀

Twosome: the– main course? If you had your way, what would be on your plate as you sat down for a Thanksgiving meal? I’m nothing if not totally traditional and routine-driven. I have never had a non-traditional Thanksgiving lunch. Always have turkey, dressing, cranberry sauce, broccoli casserole, sweet potatoes, etc. Love it, gotta have it.

Threesome: Server?– Who is the main server at your get together? Does one person run the show? …or do several people work together? Students: do you even get to go somewhere? Gail runs the show, because it’s at her house. I try to help, as do most everyone else, but Gail is the master at this kind of thing and very adept at it. She actually makes it look easy (even though I know it’s not!).

Last night after we finished with the grout, we hopped in the truck and ran to Sonic. We barely made it home in time to watch Lost. When we turned the TV on, the tail section was falling into the ocean, so I don’t think we missed anything. We rested and watched both Lost and Invasion.

After that, I settled in to read and finish my book. And I did! I finished “Munich Signature”, book 3 in the Zion Covenant series by Brock and Bodie Thoene. That makes #34 on the list for the year. My original goal was 30, and my modified goal was 35. Now, I have to return this book to the library and decide if I want to check out the next one in this series (these are looooong books!) or if I want to read one of the books I have here. I bought a Nicholas Sparks a few months ago that I have not read (“True Believer”) and now he has a new one out that I will probably add to my Amazon list. Plus, I have the book that Wendy recommended that Tim bought me for my birthday that I want to read (“90 Minutes in Heaven”). So, that’s my dilemma – whether to keep on with the Zion Covenant series or read some of the books I have here. I was going to stop after this one, but I’m so close to meeting my second goal of 35 books, that I feel compelled to read at least one more. I just know it’s going to be hard with all the birthdays and holidays and decorating and shopping that we have coming up. Sigh. Decisions, decisions! Tough life, I know. No bashing!

UPDATE: OK, problem solved. I found a paperback by Debbie Macomber of 2 Christmas short stories today when I went to Walmart. I picked that up, and will read that next. 🙂 Picture of the cover just added to my sidebar, look to the right ➡

As happy as I am to have ceramic tile put in the laundry room, kitchen, breakfast room and guest bath (we still have the master bath to go), there is always a flip side. And you know me, the eternal pessimist, I’m always looking at the negative.

Well, not really, but I thought some certain people might get a kick out of the fact that my house is a mess and the OCD in me is struggling with it. Tim calls me Mrs. Monk and although I’m not nearly as bad as Monk on TV, I do have my moments. I actually think I’ve been coping quite well. Certainly in this case, the end justifies the means and getting the tile laid is just wonderful.

But, for those of you who know me, you’ll get a kick out of these pictures…

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Tim asked me the other day if I had been blogging about my “homework”. And I told him, no, but I should. So….

When we first started on the tile in the guest bathroom, at the end of the first night, Tim was like “OK, here’s your homework, like they do on Trading Spaces.” And I had this blank stare I gave him that said “how on earth do you know about homework on Trading Spaces?” Then, I realized, I had made him watch one episode with me several years ago, the infamous one where Hilde redid the master bathroom and stapled thousands of fake flowers on the wall. That house (and the one where Laurie did the beautiful bedroom for the other lucky people) is just a few miles from where we live, and it had been written up in the local newspaper. I only watched Trading Spaces during it’s heyday, maybe some that season and another. I had no idea Tim had picked up on their “homework assignments” at the end of each day. But he did! {that Tim, he’s something else, isn’t he?!! :D}

So, I had homework most every night. It’s my job to remove the spacers the next day from tile we had laid the previous day/ night.

My homework now is to mist the grout twice a day for 2-3 days. And yes, I have already done my homework this morning 😀

Yeah, the kitchen is looking really good now! Tim worked from home yesterday, and after lunch, we started on the grout in the laundry room, kitchen and breakfast room. It was long, tedious work, but we finally finished about 7:30 PM. Tim made one pass through to put on the grout (and it’s very messy, it gets on everything), and then we made about 4 other passes with sponges and water and dry clothes, to clean off the grout from the tiles and baseboards, and buff it clear. It dries in a whitish haze, and you have to sponge the excess off (2-3 passes) and then buff the hazy part of. Long day, but very worthwhile! We have tile WITH grout now!

Check out the pictures from yesterday…

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I posted a quick update last night, but didn’t take any pictures. I took a couple this morning once we moved the refrigerator back into its “hole”. Click to see 2 pictures in the extended section.

Meanwhile, today is going to be another busy day. Tim is working from home again, and after lunch, we’re going to start on the grout. Going to be a long job. Grout is easy to apply, but very messy. It takes both of us several passes to get it in, get it sponged up from the tiles but at the same time being careful not to take it out of the grout hole, and then getting it cleaned and buffed off the tiles before it hardens. Tedious work. Cross your fingers and wish us luck and lots of energy and patience! 🙂

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Well, we had a productive afternoon, till the thunder and rain started and the tornado sirens went off. 🙂 Tim got all of the tiles cut and laid in the rest of the kitchen, including behind the refrigerator, in front of the dishwasher (lots of small pieces) and the rest of the laundry room. So, the tile is all laid, now we’re on to bigger and better things – like grout and sealer!! 😆

Gail did this fun Middle Earth quiz in her blog, and sent me the link. Fun, I love anything related to Lord of the Rings.

Surprisingly, I’m Entish! Not sure about the resilient part, but hey, I could go for the Wise stuff! Cautious is me, definitely me!

Entish

To which race of Middle Earth do you belong?
brought to you by Quizilla

Ten Favorite Movie Characters

1. Legolas – “Lord of the Rings”
2. Aragorn – “Lord of the Rings
3. Kathleen – “You’ve Got Mail”
4. Luke Skywalker – “Star Wars”
5. Toula – “My Big Fat Greek Wedding”
6. Westley & Inigo Montoya – “Princess Bride”
7. Lara – “Tomb Raider”
8. William – “Notting Hill”
9. Ulysses Everett McGill – “O Brother, Where Art Thou”
10. Thomas Crown (Pierce Brosnan) – “Thomas Crown Affair”

For those of you following our ceramic tile project, read on….

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It’s been a while since we’ve done this; I ask each of you to choose a letter of the alphabet and answer each of the following with a word/group of words that begins with the letter you’ve chosen… And as always, thanks for playing! =)

OK, I’m going with ‘G’, since the first question was color and green is my favorite color!

1. Name one color. Green
2. Name one song. Go Rest High on that Mountain by Vince Gill (and yes, I cheated and looked in my iTunes playlists for a song that started with ‘G’) 😀
3. Name one movie. Gladiator
4. Name one vehicle. Galant (Mitsubishi)
5. Name one food. Green Grapes
6. Name one household item. Grater
7. Name one book. Gulliver’s Travels