First off, let me say, Mr. Anderson, your weed wacker rocks.
But you are a two-faced toad.
I seem to recall a conversation last winter that went like something like this, "Babe, you are not going to believe this, but I found the black boots I wanted on sale for 35% off at Fields, and then I had a coupon! So they ended up being half off! And with all that savings, these new sandals were basically, like, free! Isn't that amazing?")
Your reaction at the time went like this, "Don't you have some sandals?"
So if I were a catty wife, I'd be tempted to ask you, "Honey, don't you have a saw?" But *I* understand these things. There's nothing like the euphoria of a great bargain.
PS: Honey, if you're a smart man tonight you'll tell me how frickin hot my sandals are.
Thursday, August 31, 2006
That must be new math
Monday, August 28, 2006
Amazon Math
Those of you who check in regularly already know that I'm in the middle of wrecking our "garage." Needless to say, there's no better excuse for buying a reciprocating saw, a must-have for every DIYer.
Now consider the fact that the wife and I are longtime Amazon Prime members. No sales tax, no shipping costs. And as if that weren't enough, Amazon is currently offering a $25 instant discount on any purchase of $199 or more from their tool and hardware store. (You can see where this is going.)
Feeling like a contestant on The Price Is Right, I set out to hit that magic threshold of $199. And I nailed it, baby.
To paraphrase Martin Landau from last week's Entourage: If I were to tell you that you could have a Milwaukee Super Sawzall...
And a mini-hacksaw (I'll need this to cut off protruding nails when I fix the siding next weekend)...
And a coping saw (I'll need this, uh, when I install the baseboards in the master bedroom and kitchen)...
AND a Black and Decker electric weed trimmer (nicely starched landscaping outfit not included)...
...for $179, delivered in two days: Would that be something you'd be interested in?
Yes, I believe it would. I do believe it would.
Sunday, August 27, 2006
The roof. The roof. The roof is on...
...my lawn.
Just so we're completely clear: This is an actual unretouched photo of my backyard. With a roof sitting on it.
To further clarify: Until this afternoon, said roof was sitting on top of our "garage," AKA "barn." Which my dad was kind enough to come over and help me destroy.
I'll leave it to the wife to share all the gory details - I'm sure she had a much more interesting perspective on the whole operation than I did - but suffice to say, that garage now knows who's its daddy.
Here's a more artistic pic from after the demolition:
Thursday, August 24, 2006
Hello girls
We're in. The place is an utter mess but already we feel at home. I can't bring myself to post pictures yet, but I did want to introduce you to my new best friends... Doris and Winnifred
I think this is the start of a beautiful relationship.
Tuesday, August 15, 2006
While packing you have to make tough calls about what is best left for the dumpster.
Ummm. Yea. This is not a tough call.
Behold the tragic casualty of the cruel mistress known as "house staging".
Sunday, August 13, 2006
Elvis Night at the Cell
Many of you know I've always wanted to see the flying Elvi.
Well on Friday night, I finally fufilled my dream.
Saturday, August 12, 2006
What do last night's sox game and our newly finished floors have in common?
Both were tremendous victories.
Here are a couple pictures of the new floors:
Pictures of the game to come.
Friday, August 04, 2006
A new look for the master bathroom
I couldn't take the red. I just couldn't. So my awesome husband agreed to a little project scope creep -- we cleaned up the bathroom and installed a new sink. Now I won't look like a lobster when I get ready in the morning. 
Thursday, August 03, 2006
Priorities
So get this, our insurance company recently informed us we need to fix the both the siding and the garage situation by September or they're not going to carry our insurance.
Snobs. What's wrong with this garage?
Ok so fine, it's leaning dangerously just a bit to the right, and you can't park a modern car in it, and sure, it's all held up by one single ancient lally column, and the singles are prone to fly off in stiff winds, but come on!
As Mr. Anderson pointed out, yes, it's old as dirt but that just means if it were to fall over and kill someone it would have already happened by now.
Actually the truth of the matter is with this new job I've suddenly become a commuter. So that combined with the fact that we need that pesky insurance means we'll need to push the garage project up to the top of the priority list.
Naturally my husband is psyched up about demolishing the garage. He's got crazy plans ranging from the simple (just go at it with a sledgehammer) to much more elaborate (tie a rope around the center column, attach it to a truck and pull). All plans involve beer and buddies, of course. But none of that matters till we get a demolition permit, which, with Cook County in charge, involves jumping through a lot of $illy hoop$.
For my part, I've put down the home decorating magazines and started researching affordable 2-car garage plans. Not sexy, but when the first snow hits and I'm out there at 7 am fumbling for the car keys I'm pretty sure I'll be happy to have slogged through it.
Tuesday, August 01, 2006
I'm obsessed...
On my first day commuting to the new job I got truly excited when I saw a home depot across the street from the new office.
And yes, my friends, I stopped in on the way home.
