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Home > Archive: March, 2013

Archive for March, 2013

New flooring and the house is a mess!

March 31st, 2013 at 07:51 pm

We reached our goal for saving up for hardwood floors and after a couple of weeks of price matching and asking people for advice on which companies were good to work with or not...we bit the bullet, ordered the flooring and set to motion the "joy" of packing things up so furniture could be moved.

April will see the anniversary of our buying this home 15 years ago. The home is paid for and soon after we bought it, we replaced the carpeting in the family room and then the dining room and hallway as we saved up for it.

Due to wear and tear the carpeting was starting to show it's age. Plus, we both have allergies and it was recommended by the allergist to replace carpeting with vinyl, laminate, or hardwood. We decided to go for the hardwood because if we would ever desire to sell the home, we figured hardwood would be a bigger selling point. So we saved a little longer and finally reached where we could afford the job.

Due to the fact we are not "handy" we have to pay for installation. We figured it was cheaper than major medical bills after we injured outselves. :-)

Anyway, the flooring guys came Tuesday and started. One had an accident and hurt his thumb so he wasn't there Wednesday and the other one worked solo, putting our "adventure" behind. But, they anticipate finishing tomorrow. They did get the dining room finished. We donated the entertainment center to a local charity opening up the dining room quite a bit. We bought it almost 23 years ago and felt it had served it's purpose.

My photos aren't the greatest and I don't have things put away since some are blocked into another room, but you can see the difference in the flooring.

Someone posted on Facebook the other day about Dave Ramsey saying, "You are not entitled to anything until you save enough to pay for it."

Not sure we are entitled to new flooring, but we did save for it.

Before:




After:

Snow...happy spring????

March 24th, 2013 at 08:34 pm

Well, here in Central Illinois we are getting snow. Lots of it. And blowing and then it is supposed to freeze hard tonight. Gosh, those weather forecasters are just full of good news.

DH and I went to church...it hadn't started yet. We got home and had brunch and it started. Big, wet, flakes.

We've been out twice to shovel. We learned our lesson a few years ago that it is far better to go out and shovel a few times than try to move many inches of heavy, wet snow. One person on Facebook told me to wait and then admitted they don't shovel. I am assuming we will have school tomorrow, so I need to get out of the driveway.

Other than my complaining, I need to count my blessings as well. We are in a warm shelter...we have plenty to eat, and I can change into dry clothes after coming in from shoveling.

And, spring is coming...right?

Good eating

March 24th, 2013 at 12:49 am

We did our weekly grocery shopping. We spent around $100. We have the same things for breakfast so I didn't include them...DH has cereal and I have yogurt and take a Thermos of coffee with cream to work. I also take a piece of fruit in my lunch. Someone told me at work they are too tired to cook after school and I said I was pretty tired too, but making things ahead after figuring up a weekly menu sure helps.

Menu
Saturday night - pork loin roast, sweet potatoes, stuffed mushrooms, green beans, fruit salad
Sunday brunch - scrambled eggs, sausage, toast, cheesy grits, fruit salad
Sunday supper - Sloppy chicks (sloppy joes made with ground chicken), chips, cheese, fruit salad
Monday - lunch - leftover sausage and grits
Monday - supper- Yankee pot roast with carrots, mushrooms, onion, and celery, boiled potatoes, cottage cheese
Tuesday - leftover sloppy chicks
Tuesday - supper - chicken stew and crackers and cheese
Wednesday - lunch - leftover chicken stew
Wednesday - supper - leftover pork and gravy, mashed potatoes, salad, fruit salad
Thursday - lunch - leftover beef and vegetables
Thursday - supper - chicken and noodles, salad, cottage cheese, fruit salad
Friday - lunch - leftover chicken stew
Friday - supper...treat...we are going out. :-)

Fortunately DH doesn't balk too much about leftovers for lunch and if I rework something for leftovers into something else, he won't complain. And he loves eating at home.

Not Sure How I Feel...

March 20th, 2013 at 02:54 am

I am in a quandary. Well, not a major mix up by any means, but I am really not sure how I feel about what happened this evening.

My husband is retired from the public library. A coworker who was also retired died suddenly and we attended the funeral visitation tonight.

There was a large turnout and I'm glad for that because I think it is reassuring when people take the time to comfort the family.

The funeral home had an area that was in the center of the place that was not walled off and it was like a refreshment stand. I'm sure the price of that was included in the price...we priced funerals a few years ago when dh's mom was dying...and this place was pretty expensive.

I guess what I'm confused about is the fact the grandkids were acting like it was a party...screaming, laughing, hitting each other and carrying on, all next to those of us in line to pay our respects.

Granted, I didn't expect them to be crying and in a state of deep mourning, but everything they said or did was about "them." I wasn't trying to eavesdrop...it was just right there in the open.

Maybe I don't understand how society has changed. When I was a child, I was expected, at a funeral visitation, to be respectful of the deceased as well as those who were saddened. I know life goes on, but why in the world would a funeral home set up a refreshment bar, and television out in the open while those who waited could witness this? I live in a fairly conservative Midwestern city.

Any thoughts?

Fact or Fiction?

March 18th, 2013 at 02:52 am

We were watching HGTV today and a rerun of the Love It or List it was on. The designer was given $15,000 to put in a bathroom, male two rooms, update a kitchen and do a few other things. We thought that was a low figure for all that work. Well, they didn't get the bathroom or updated kitchen and had to fix some structural problems. We just looked at each other and said how could someone even claim to try and do the original work for such a low price and not reuse stuff?

It amazes me how these home improvement shows love to tear out stuff and tear it up. Years ago when we bought new kitchen cabinets, the contractor removed the others and our neighbor took them for his garage.

I have sort of ruined the Love It program for DH...I pointed out the predictable turn of events....the homeowners give the laundry list of what they want remodeled, and all the things they want in a new house....the hosts always say they can work these miracles, then say later there isn't enough money for the remodeling or the new house. The homeowners hate the decorator and get snarky, and they hate the first two houses, but love the third one shown. I kind of wonder how much of the conversations are scripts and if the story line is written ahead if time and the viewer just thinks these things are happening. Guess I am skeptical.