Our House...in the Middle of the Street

And it actually kind of is in the middle of our street...what a coincidence that a great song by Madness would foretell my future??

Anyway, so we finally have some pictures to show. We haven't hung anything on the walls yet, and one room is still full of boxes of books that need to be put away (Mark!), but hopefully this will give you an idea of the place, if you're interested! We still have a few things we want to add, but I think there will always be a list of things we want to add, change etc.

Please enjoy!

The front of the house (obviously). Mark is taking great pride in his lawn and all of the maintenance that comes with it. He is adapting to life as an 80 year old man very well.

The "dining room" - it and the kitchen are joined, so I don't know if it is an official dining room, but it is where we eat. I am happy to say no meals have been eaten on the couch since we moved in! The kitchen over on this side... that would be were we cook.

More kitchen.

The living room. The wall behind the TV has a nice lovely square cut out of it - we are

trying to decide what to put there that won't be too heavy and crash down in the closet below! I'll post an updated picture of this room in November when the real curtains arrive - these are just place holders!

And this is the foyer. We bought this bench because I love it, but it might be a little too big for the space, so we may end up moving it elsewhere.

I didn't put up the bathrooms and bedrooms, because some of them are rather blah and boring, and others we just couldn't get a decent picture because of doorway angles and such, but who wants to look at bathrooms? Believe me, ours are nothing to brag about, no jetted tub, or italian marble going on. As for the bedroom, well it still looks like someone going to college lives in it because we don't have "grown up" bedroom furniture. That's next years purchase!!

Hope you enjoyed a little peek into our home.

Kitchen Nightmares

Unfortunately, this is not about Gordon Ramsey's TV show. So a warning - don't read this if you're eating, or are a big wuss like me. (You'll probably not even blink twice at this, but like I said, I am a big wuss).

So last night, Mark was out working in the yard, trying to clean out some old growth and such, I was in the house putting stuff away and trying to get my new table runner out of it's unnecessary over the top packaging. I first try to just rip it open, no luck. Then I try to undo those little plastic twist ties, you know the ones that you can tighten, but not loosen? No luck either. Scissors are needed, but Mark has them outside with him, and rather than spend 2 minutes walking outside to ask where he put them, I decide it will just be faster/easier to use a knife. I grab a small kitchen knife (probably a paring like knife), and I get two of the twists off (yes!), however this merchandiser has decided to put 6 of them on and two are on so tight you can hardly move it to get the knife underneath it. Of course, I manage to get the knife under it, but it is not working, I grab a serrated knife to try to saw it off, nope, not working. Back to the paring knife. I get the knife under and give it one big heave ho. I didn't find out until about 20 minutes later if I had succeeded in cutting off twist tie #4 because I had nicely stabbed myself in the hand. I dropped everything and ran to the sink (thankfully it was right behind me), the window was open so I said, "Mark, can you come and help me please?" to which he replied, "sure, one second". At this point I didn't know how bad it was because I hadn't taken my other hand off the cut, so I opened my hands up to see a nice lovely flow of blood. I returned to my previous hand position, and looked up to see Mark still working away in the yard so I yelled, "Mark I just stabbed myself with a knife, can you come here PLEASE!?!?" That got his attention. I did end up dripping blood on the counter, cutlery drawer, floor and sink, but thankfully it came off - nothing like blood droplets to christen your home, right?

We decided to call the 24 hour nurses hot line that our insurance provides and after some questions she suggested we head off to an urgent care clinic in the next few hours, unless it bleeding worsens or I lose feeling in my fingers (great!). Thankfully I didn't lose and feeling, and the bleeding stopped, but it was a pretty deep cut and you could see some of the fat tissue under the skin so lucky me, I got to have stitches AND a tetanus shot! You're so jealous, aren't you?

So if you want to take a peak at what we did Saturday night, pictures are below, and I know Krista is going to say that I am indeed the biggest wuss ever, but Mark was quite proud that I did not shed a single tear. Not even when that needle was jabbed into my muscle, or the 62 different stabs I got to numb up my hand!

There goes my career as a hand model.

Oh, and as a sidenote, the stabbing was all in vain as that stupid twist tie remained smugly in place..but I got it today (with scissors of course).
Good times.

Fall is in the airwaves!

So now that Mark has had his opportunity to rant...back to regularly scheduled programming!

I have a new mission in life. This epiphany came to me as I watched the Emmy's and read my latest edition of Entertainment Weekly. This is serious folks, we are talking life or death here. Something must be done in the next few months to ensure success and I am calling on all the open minded, faithful, risk takers out there.
30 Rock must be saved. Now, it was renewed for a full season this year, but EW brought to my attention that it finished last season in 137th place. Serious? Two and a Half Men get more viewers (have you seen that show?? No thanks.) If you have any doubt, I ask that you call upon Dawnell or Chris. We gave them the challenge late last season and she, while a little apprehensive, said they would give it a shot. They are now loyal fans. How can a show with Alec Baldwin, Tina Fey and newcomer Jack McBrayer be bad?? Add in guest stars such as Elaine Stritch, Isabella Rossalini, Paul Ruebens (probably my fave episode ever), Will Arnett and a plethora of others... it's magic!! Last season it progressively became funnier and funnier, leading to my ultimate fave episode that had me almost of the couch laughing. Who knew the Prince of Austria would illicit so many laughs!
In my opinion the breakout star of the show is McBrayer's Kenneth the Page. He cracks me up and steals every scene he is in. Just thinking about his character makes me laugh.
Now I know not everyone out there is a TV junkie like I have apparently become (my parents are so proud), but try it out, you won't be disappointed. and if you are, then you have no sense of humour and suck the life out of every room you walk into (kidding... sort of!)
Now I assume that all of you are on board, so we should have no problems bringing this intelligent, hilarious sitcom out of the abyss of TV show ratings into a much
more appropriate ranking. I can't give it my overall #1 ranking because that belongs to this, but I can give it my #1 top comedy easily.

And since we are discussing TV... I might as well launch into my plans for the Fall Premiere Season (Deal or No Deal started it off last night). Trustworthy EW gave me a lovely handy dandy reference guide of all the new shows and returning shows for the season to ensure I don't miss a thing! There looks to be some good freshman shows this year, and inevitabley there looks to be some stinkers (Cavemen anyone?), but I am looking forward to Pushing Daises (which I know I have previously mentioned) the most. I think I will also check out Chuck, Journeyman, Viva Laughlin (yes I watched CopRock when it was on too - but this one has Hugh Jackman!), Samantha Who (might be cute), Aliens in America, Reaper and Bionic Woman might be worth a looksy. I figure anything is worth a one time watching - some might be worth two, but some might never find themselves on my DVR again.
Returning shows that will find a place on my DVR though: Amazing Race (when it starts up), Medium, L&O (all of them), Scrubs, 30 Rock, My Name is Earl, ANTM, Idol, DWTS (love ballroom!), and Ugly Betty. Of course some of those get more of my love than others and might end up being erased without being watched!! The most glaring omission is LOST - when will February come???? - but that will be the most anticipated season opener ever, it's going to be so good!!

If there is only one thing you take from this post, please let it be to give 30 Rock (season premiere Thursday October 4th, 8:30pm) a shot - if you don't like it, I will send you a personal blogpology for making you sit through 30 minutes of time you feel was not well spent - just email me and let me know!

Now only one question left to be answered and that is: Why in the world did I not go into some sort of televsion related career field?? Anyone have an answer to that?

Put the kids to bed, the men are blogging!

After looking back at the last month or so of posts on “our” blog, I realized that our blog is really gay. I mean no offense in that phrase, but come on, Britney Spears, Fraggle Rock, Calgon, Fergie, and Hairspray, these are some pretty effeminate topics. It’s no surprise that very few guys blog, because while reading their wife’s and their wife’s friends posts their testicles are slowly shrinking, sucking-up and turning into ovaries. From now on I will try to post a little more often to try to balance out the testosterone to estrogen levels on blogspot. So ladies, brush up on your football lingo and penis jokes because you’re going to get a little more testosterone over at the Smith’s. Hopefully some of the other guys I know will get in on the action, because I only know so many slang terms for genitalia and my NFL watching has slowed in recent years.

My first blog topic is college football. I love my wife, but my Mormon heritage tells me it’s ok to have another wife, even if it is only on the weekends from September to January (Monday night is also part of the weekend and occasionally Thursdays). I have been out of the game for the last two weekends due to moving and painting, but I was able to catch a little bit of action at Buffalo Wild Wings for lunch and Deadspin has kept me up to date. My first conclusion for this season is that University of Michigan player’s huevos have shrunk, and not like Ken Caminiti’s. (Is it ok to make a joke at the expense of dead baseball player’s steroid issues? If not, then tough; I figured it was more safe than a Chris Benoit reference.) Having attended games at the big house I must admit that I am a pretty big fan of the Big Blue, but it may change if Lloyd Carr isn’t taken in the street and shot like the rabid dog that he is. Has anyone heard from Marty Downen lately? If UofM loses to Notre Dame this weekend you may want to put him on suicide watch. The only relief I have is knowing that at least my nights after the losses were better than Coach Carr’s. Our friends at EDSBS gave a touching narrative of the night after the game at the Carr home:

Lloyd sits in his garage, alone. A single light bulb burns above him. The floor is swept clean; he sits on a lawn chair in the dark. A bottle of scotch sits next to him; two buckets in front of him.
[SQUEEEEEEEE!!!! (Snap!) ]
Lloyd Carr: (sip.)
Laurie Carr: (from somewhere in the house.) Honey? You coming in for dinner?
Lloyd Carr: Hrrrmph.
Laurie Carr: Honey?
Lloyd Carr: I hear ya, I hear ya. Just another–
[SQUEEEEEEE!!!! (Snap.) ]
Lloyd: –few, I swear.
Laurie: Recycling’s going out tonight, remember?
Lloyd: Hrrrrmph.
Laurie: I said, did you remember to–
[SQUEEEEEEEE!!!! (Snap!) ]
Lloyd: Yes, yes, YES. I heard you the first time.
Laurie: Then why didn’t you say anything, honey—
Lloyd: Because I’m BUSY, that’s why! Busy…
Laurie approaches the door, looks in and sees Lloyd with his head buried in his hands.
Laurie: Oh, Lloyd.
Lloyd pauses in his work. He stares, a lost man looking at his hands.
Lloyd: …trying to figure this whole thing…out.
[SQUEEEEEEEE!!!! (Snap!)]
Laurie: You know I love you, right?
Lloyd: I know, honey.
Laurie: And the kids? They love you, too.
[SQUEEEEEEEE!!!! (Snap!)]
Lloyd: Yes, yes, I know, honey.
Laurie: And you’ll get through this, you know this, right?
Lloyd: I know, I know.
Laurie tenderly touches Lloyd’s shoulder. He puts his hand over hers, and together the years of marriage and shared love reveal themselves in one single, touching gesture.
Laurie: Tell you what. I’ll take the recycling out, and you just come into dinner when you’re ready, okay baby?
[SQUEEEEEEEE!!!! (Snap!)]
Lloyd: Okay, darlin’.
Laurie leaves, then ducks her head back in the door to the darkened garage.
Laurie: Any idea when that would be, sweet cheeks?
Lloyd: As soon as I work through this bucket, sweetheart.
Laurie: And how long is that?
Lloyd: I dunno. There’s a lot of kittens in this bucket.
Laurie: And you have to kill them all, right?
Lloyd: Yes, dear. Every last one of them.
Laurie: See you then, baby.
[SQUEEEEEEEE!!!! (Snap!)]
(End scene.)

Now that 90% of the readers of this blog are offended it is time to sign off until next week when I can mock either Michigan or Notre Dame.
(I don’t expect this blog to stay up too long after “The First Lady” takes a look at it so please tell your husbands to blog for my support, sanity and satchel of fury.)

Still Waiting

No internet/phone/cable hook up yet, but I am just tired of seeing that Calgon picture every time I open this blog! So I figured if I am sick of it, the people who visit the page must be sick of it too!! With no TV, people might have worried that we missed Britney's big moment, but dance your fears away, worries for another day - we caught it online! (Fraggle Rock spotlight there). It was a mess. Seriously though... who wouldn't have been nervous knowing the entire world (those who care anyway) was watching to see if she would fall flat on her face or re-ignite her lagging career? I was nervous for her!! I think the album will be a hit though, if it is all like the first single Gimme More... classic Britney. I am big enough to admit that I like the new song. If I was still in my club/dancing days, I would bust a move to it. Thankfully I'm not, so no one needs to see that. Dance grooves, lip sync-able, machine assisted... all the ingredients for massive hits. We needn't worry - Britney will be back on the airwaves before you know it.. whether you like it or not!
Anyway, on to something else...we're all done the painting - even if there is a spot somewhere, it will remain a spot. The paints, brushes and rollers have been cleaned and put away for the last time! We both think the rooms look good, but maybe we're biased. When we get our internet connection running and the camera recharged and can find the cable to download pictures - I will post some! We still have tons of boxes to put away, and the dishwasher is waiting ever so patiently to be installed, but it should be done Thursday. I have hopes that all of the boxes will be put away by the end of the weekend, but I am afriad that college football will get in the way of that ever happening. One good thing about no tv is that since there is no tv to watch, you have to do something!! And it makes going to bed by 10:00 so much easier (no, it's not because we're super old, it's because we get up at 5:15 AM to get to work by 7:00!). Early mornings are hard, but I have to say I like leaving work at 4:00.

I had a rousing conversation with a co-worker this morning about LOST. He is not a LOST watcher, but I think I may have converted him!! It got me super excited for the new season, but then made me sad since it won't start until late January or early February. At least there won't be any repeats in between episodes! Any one have any good new TV shows they are looking forward to this fall? I am hearing pretty darn good things about Pushing Daisies, so I might have to give that one a try. So many reasons to love Fall!! :o)
Any shows you're looking forward to? Any new thoughts/theories on LOST?

Calgon Take Me Away

I am not one for baths, but after spending Labour Day(12 hours - what better to be doing on Labour Day, than labouring??!) painting every nook and cranny of our foyer, living room, dining room and kitchen (okay the kitchen part still has to be done), I might be up for a nice long, warm, bubbly soak in the tub. I almost suggested Mark rub my neck and back they ached so much... but I remembered how much I hate massages, and Mark informed me that his hands hurt too much to be of any good.
Perhaps all of the areas we painted don't sound like much... but the foyer has 13 foot ceilings mixed in with 2 staircases and some funky wall with a cut out (thanks whoever invented split-level homes!! NOT). Anyway, after some very crafty thinking (ask Mark about his nifty extend-o-brush), some scary ladder positions (envision a 10 foot ladder, Mark at the top one leg on the ladder, one leg on the banister and me firmly planted on the kitchen floor, one arm wrapped around the ladder, the other arm gripped around Marks leg - I wasn't going to risk him falling over the rail and down the stairs just to have the ceiling trim painted, was I?), and much sitting, squatting, standing, reaching, and climbing we got it done! And we both think it looks pretty good...guess we'll find out when we got back tonight if it actually looks good, or if we had paint in our eyes when we left last night.

The house is finally coming together and now all we have left to do is sprinkle some lawn seed over some spots (Mark has master-landscaping dreams), finish painting in the kitchen (no death defying positions needed, just some stretching to awkward spots) and some drape hanging, we should be ready to roll!! Only a few odds and ends to finish up (garage door opener, lawn mower, and back-ordered living room drapes - if they came early, I would be the happiest girl in the world!!). Now we get to pack up the apartment and make the move this Saturday.

The saddest thing about the move... the fact that we can't get our cable hooked up until the 12th. Which means we will miss the final of GSN's Grand Slam!!! Ken Jennings vs Oggie Oggelmeister or whatever his name is. Cocky little guy. Who will take the title of All Time Game Show Champ?? Go Ken!! AND the MTV Music Awards. Will Britney perform?? Maybe!! Will she really sing?? AS. IF! Will she show off her vay-jay-jay? Probably. Thankfully youtube should catch it all for us. As sad as it is... missing these world shattering events are worth a future of no more screaming banshee neighbours, stereo blaring at all hours of the day/night neighbours, or homeless people sleeping in your hallway. Now we get remote control car racing neighbours, trying to live out a "I wish I had been a rocker" garage band neighbour, a blare "Mr. Roboto" out of my truck as I sit in my driveway neighbour (how did I luck into that one!!?) and a distant train horn.... I'll take them all; preferably Mr. Roboto first (Mark would prefer Fergie's "Big Girls Don't Cry"). Kidding Mark!! We all know you prefer Kelly to Fergie. :o)

So, this might be the last blog for a few days/week - come Saturday, no phone, internet, or TV until the 12th. Whatever will we do?? Does this mean we have to resort to this? Or this? Nope, it will probably mean this.

Until then! Or maybe before if work is really slow.