Thursday, September 29, 2016

Side Yard

We had a rusty, dirty, ugly, nasty basketball hoop on the side of the driveway. (Trust me, it was bad.  It must have been even too bad for a before picture.)  I kept pestering Matt that I wanted it repainted.  He wanted to wait until he got a new acrylic backboard for it and then he said he would repaint the pole.  Needless to say, here's the freshly painted hoop...minus a new acrylic backboard.  Deb 1, Matt 0 for those of you keeping score.

The side of the house has a nice fenced-in pen and doggie door on the side of the garage for any future dogs (yes, plural) we may have in the future. I power-washed the concrete and we added some river rock. We  had a hard time finding just the right river rock to use in our landscaping.  Everything here in Michigan was too gray or too red. We finally found some Indiana river rock...but, it's also 5x more expensive than Michigan river rock. I think we'll have to go to Indiana and buy the bulk of it there for future projects or find a way to stain Michigan river rock tan!








Thursday, September 22, 2016

Cutting Crew

Matt and our awesome neighbor grabbed the chainsaws and got to work cutting and removing the huge tree branch from our roof last night.  Thankfully the damage from the branch isn't too bad...except for the poor gutter.  Another bonus is we also got a head-start on the fall cleanup of the backyard!







The view from our bedroom is MUCH better again!


Wednesday, September 21, 2016

Why I'm Not a Good Sleeper

One of the reasons why I'm a horrible sleeper:  trees that fall onto our roof at 3:30 a.m.





Monday night, a HUGE branch from the neighbor's tree fell onto our roof (over our bedroom) in the middle of the night.  We both jumped up in bed and I asked Matt what that crash was.  He said probably lightning.  I'm smart (I know this because I watch a lot of Jeopardy) and told him that lightning didn't make noise.  Since there weren't any storms in the forecast, I went to peek out the dining room windows to investigate because I told him it sounded like Bigfoot crashing into the hose reel and ripping it out of the wall.  We didn't see anything until Matt looked out of our bedroom windows and realized he couldn't see out of them because there was a branch blocking them. (He watches Jeopardy with me.)  Matt went outside with a flashlight and saw the huge branch on the corner of the roof.  Luckily it doesn't look like it did too much damage, other than to the gutter and shingles.  He'll know more when he and his chainsaw-helper crew cut the big branch (60 ft. and 12" in diameter) and roll it off the roof.  I'm just hoping that the tree this branch fell from doesn't decide it likes our yard better and moves over.

Friday, September 16, 2016

Backyard Update

We celebrated our one-year anniversary of being in the "new" house on July 27th...and we're STILL working on it. (The house, not our anniversary.) I want everything new and shiny and clean and pretty NOW.  Truthfully, it's really probably more like yesterday.  But, with not enough hours in the day and that damn elusive money tree we still haven't found in our backyard, we keep chipping away at what we can improve, day by day...month by month. I feel like we're plodding along when I really just want to sprint.  Matt had two fantasy football drafts/poker games and 20+ friends/co-workers over last week.  I was extremely apprehensive about having people visit.  I told Matt that he had to tell everyone that our house wasn't pretty yet.  I was pleasantly surprised by the reactions and compliments I received from everyone...especially from the straight single guys.  

While I spent time in my scrapbook room, hiding from the guys yelling during their drafts/card games, I worked on the New House Scrapbook (a.k.a. Remodeling: A Complete Guide to Inventive Cursing and The Reason For My Gray Hair").  I have to say, I'm pretty impressed by what we've accomplished so far this past year.  We've come a long way, baby...and still have a long way to go!  I'll try and update this blog each week with our projects and the fabulous results!  We really have done a TON around here and still have a ton planned to do.

THE BACKYARD:  The back of the house had a hot tub and super-small deck to climb into the hot tub that covered a basement window.  (That must have been a common theme because we also discovered another window in the basement that was covered by paneling.  This one took us a little longer to discover...it was kind of like a treasure hunt.) I decided the 80s were over, I wasn't bathing in public with Matt anytime in the near future, and I needed more light in my laundry room.  So, I talked Matt into getting rid of the hot tub and the ugly brick walkway -  which did NOT even match...our house is tan/orangish brick and these bricks were red and gray. (Yes, he saved every single brick in case he has to use some one day.  This is why I tell him he has hoarding tendencies.)  He was more easily convinced to build a deck when he discovered boards in our wood pile...a.k.a. an inexpensive project...and I kept talking and talking about how ugly the hot tub was; how ugly and uneven the brick path was; and how dark my laundry room was.  I like to think it was the idea of an inexpensive building project, and not my incessant whining about the ugly hot tub and brick path, that spurred him into action.


So, for the low cost of $32 (the price of new screws), we built this fabulous little deck.  We added some new furniture (the taller pub chair set I call 'The Dominatrix' because it's made out of braided faux leather), added an outdoor heater, planted shrubs dug up from elsewhere on the property, hung up our outdoor speakers and made a grilling station from the old deck that used to cover a window.  (Oh, and I painted the storm door and back door and hardware to get rid of that ugly mint green and brassy gold they were so fond of throughout this house.)  It's soooooo much better now!  We now use this space for eating and entertaining...which would have totally been impossible (not to mention unhygienic) to do if we still had the hot tub. We plan on putting rocks around the house one day and either re-pouring porches or covering them somehow.  We'll have a better idea of what we'll do once we win the lottery!  In the meantime, I'm happy with the outcome of this space!!


Blocking the gorgeous view from our sun room were these over-grown shrubs.  We decided to move them to the side yard to create a natural privacy fence and create a room with a view.  We also dug up more bricks they used as a mismatching walkway. And, yes, Matt saved every brick from here too!



We added some mulch and plants from elsewhere on the property and now have a gorgeous...and unobstructed...view from the sun room.  We also added some solar lights and this arbor we found super-cheap at an antiques show. A little soap, water, and spray paint does wonders! I plan to add some decorative large rocks to the walkway, once I find some I like. 



The back deck overlooking the water was pretty dirty and moss-covered.  We power-washed it and covered it with corrective deck paint and brought it back to life.  We added furniture and some solar deck lights and now it's a fabulous space that is perfect for relaxing...if we ever have the time to sit and relax.




There was a little piece of plywood under our bedroom windows that probably was used to cover the hole from an air conditioner.  We haven't found any bricks from the house...yet, but who knows...so I just had Matt cover the ugly plywood with a decorative panel from our favorite store in the whole-wide world - Menards.  Ta da...another easy, inexpensive fix.  Oh, and that ladder in the middle of the photo is my herb garden.  Love it!!



We've done a lot in the backyard that I don't have photographic evidence to support. You'll just have to take my word for it.  We've power-washed the house, eaves, and trim; washed windows and screens and rewashed them again and again and again...pretty much every month; weeded and worked on landscaping; continued to battle the damn English ivy that keeps invading our yard; added mulch; and cleaned and scrubbed and cleaned some more.  Our next project in the back is to finish power-washing the steps...all 129 of them.  I got about 1/6 of them done and then the power washer broke.  Now that it's repaired, I have to get the rest washed so we can get them painted before winter.  It'll be quite a job.  I'm sure I'll probably make up some new curse words.  I don't like heights...or painting.


Saturday, July 9, 2016

Happy 26!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Not my age (darn)...our anniversary.  Happy 26 years of marriage...in a row!


We celebrated our anniversary with dinner and a gorgeous sunset in South Haven on Lake Michigan last month.  It's hard to believe it's been 26 years already!  What's our secret for a happy, fun-filled marriage? He still makes me laugh...every single day.

Last year we wanted to go on a nice vacation to celebrate our 25th anniversary.  Sadly, life just got in the way and that never happened.  Sigh.  Sometimes it's tough to be responsible adults and not spend money recklessly.  It just seems to make more financial sense for us to spend money fixing up the house rather than spending money to sit on a beach somewhere just relaxing with each other.  Darn priorities.  SIGH.  I guess we'll just have to wait for our 50th!

Friday, June 24, 2016

Perfect!

I found the perfect photo to put in my new picture frame.  We sure do miss this little guy!

Friday, May 6, 2016

24

24 Reasons I'm Proud of My Son

With Mother's Day this Sunday, I thought I'd jot down a few thoughts about how proud I am to be a mom. I really have a gazillion reasons, but am only listing 24 since that's the number of years I've had the privilege of being this extraordinary person's mom!

  1. He's kind.
  2. He's considerate. 
  3. He's compassionate.
  4. He graduated both high school and college with high honors...all while being on the basketball
      team and working part-time.
  5. He's not living at home. (Not that we don't love having him with us...but we're proud he's making
      his own way in the world.)
  6. He likes hanging out with us. (He visits us or meets us for dinner about once a week.)
  7. He's thoughtful. (After the shooting in Kalamazoo, he sent us a text at 1 a.m. just to let us know he
      was home safe and sound. He texts and calls to check in with us while he's on vacation.)
  8. He's polite.
  9. He's appreciative. (He thanks us profusely for any meal we buy or make when he visits.)
10. He has a sense of humor. (Mostly, it's Matt's dry sense of humor, but he still makes me laugh.)
11. He's open to trying new things. (Electric Forest, for example. It's a multiple-day outdoor music
     event...without showers. Yuck.)
12. He's respectful.
13. He values our liberal opinions...and agrees with them.
14. He's not passive. (He thought he should be paid more at work, so he found a new employer that
     agreed.)
15. He's smart.
16. He manages his own life...himself. (He pays his own bills. He makes his own appointments. He
     does his own cooking, cleaning, and laundry.)
17. He purchased his own car...himself.
18. He has goals in life...and a drive to achieve them. (He wants to own a home in a
      few years...and get a dog or two. I'm looking forward to giving decorating advice.)
19. He lives by a budget. (He has a spreadsheet for his life plan...and he made one for his girlfriend.)
20. He makes good choices.
21. He treats women with respect. (He treats them like the goddesses they are.)
22. He doesn't have a false sense of entitlement. (He works for what he wants.)
23. He can sleep anywhere. (He was sleeping eleven hours straight when he was only six weeks old.
      He would fall asleep in the car after fifteen minutes...and he still does to this day.)
24. He's beautiful...inside and out. (He has a kind, caring, and compassionate soul. He also has
      gorgeous hazel eyes and beautiful hair with loose curls. I may be the only mom in the world who
      used to beg her son to grow his hair out.)


Honestly, raising Keaton was a breeze. He was the easiest baby, toddler, and teenager in the world!  He never cried. (Well, maybe only ten times.) Seriously. He never even cried when he was born. He covered his eyes and went back to sleep. Then he pretty much slept for the next six months. He used to sleep so much that I talked to his pediatrician about narcolepsy or some other sleep disorder every month at his check-up. His pediatrician used to just laugh at me and tell me how lucky I was. Yes I was...and still am!

Just born:  I don't think he liked having his nap interrupted.

Twelve hours later...and he was still sleeping.
Nobody could wake him up for his hospital
birth photo.  Not us.  Not the nurses.
Not the photographer.


Friday, April 22, 2016

UGH!!!!!!!!

UGH!!!!!!  My blog pictures have disappeared.  I don't know why.  I don't know how.  Somehow my phone and blogger accounts were synced and when I deleted pics on my phone, it also deleted pics on my blog.  UGH!!!!!  They're gone and my blog is incomplete and ugly.  I now have to start the fun chore of reinstalling my pictures and getting my blog all pretty again.  I originally started my blog for our out-of-town families to share in our lives through my story-telling (WITH pictures!). Sadly, I don't know of one single family member who even reads this. I thought this would be a good tool to help them feel connected to us while Keaton was growing up.  I'm not even sure why I bother to keep this going anymore except it's a great tool to use for scrapbooking...or to win an argument with Matt about a date or event.  Of course, I'm always right!  ;-)

Let the fun begin!!

Monday, April 18, 2016

Wonderful Weekend!

I think Michigan skipped spring and we just jumped right into summer!  It's hard to believe that we had snow last weekend and it was 80 degrees this weekend!!  We met our friends on the Kal-Haven Trail and rode 9+ miles on Saturday.  It was an absolutely perfect day for it!  After our ride, we stopped at a restaurant for dinner and came back to our house to enjoy some margaritas and pinochle out on the deck.  After being cooped up all winter and then waiting and waiting and waiting for spring to arrive, we're pretty happy to be able to enjoy the outdoors...without wearing three layers!




Thursday, April 14, 2016

Sweet!

Matt came home from work on Tuesday night bearing gifts.  He likes to celebrate all the little things in life and decided to commemorate our first kiss...31 years ago.  Holy cow, we were babies!

I'm one lucky gal! 

We've been sampling the chocolates.
My first one was a jalapeno one...it was awesome!
Of course, I had to chase it with a margarita one!  Yum!!


Tuesday, April 12, 2016

Latest Addition

Here's the latest addition to my menagerie.  I've named him Bernie. I may have my very own zoo soon!

Thursday, April 7, 2016

Spring (?) Break

Spring break in Michigan this year is more like winter break.  It's been cold.  It's been cloudy. We've had rain.  We've had sleet.  We've had snow.  Yuck.

My sister and niece came to visit for a few days during their spring break.  It was so great to hang out with them!  They loved the house and that made me feel good because I worry that it smells like old people and dog pee.

Tuesday was our only nice, sunny day so we headed over to Holland to visit the lighthouse and take my niece to the beach so she can tell her friends that she went to the beach over spring break.  (Of course, she had to wear a winter coat, but hey, she can still say she went to the beach!)  We spent the day wandering through downtown Holland shopping and enjoyed some fried avocado at lunch.  It was awesome!  I guess you really can pretty much fry anything. As we headed for home, we also hit the outlet mall and got some great bargains.  We had a lot of laughs going through an antique store and scaring my niece with creepy dolls. (She refused to touch them because she said she didn't want to be possessed.)  I think one of those creepy dolls will look great on her night stand or will make a fun White Elephant gift this year!



Wednesday, March 30, 2016

Easter Brunch

Keaton and Autumn came for brunch on Sunday.  I made a nice spread:  skillet scramble with eggs, ham and green peppers; monkey bread, fruit salad, Deviled eggs, bacon, shrimp cocktail, and mimosas. After we enjoyed all that food, it was time to work it off and go down to the lake.  It's 129 stairs to conquer.  That's 129 down AND 129 steps back up.  Whew!  We all did some leaf scooping and Autumn agreed to wear the waders next time and go out in the water to do some serious scooping. We hope to get a dock soon to make it a little easier to get in and out of the kayaks. Maybe we'll even get a boat some day...

Matt did a lot of clearing down at the water the day before.  He started a fire to burn all sorts of brush and dead trees he's been clearing and piling up...and burned a lot of it for a good eight hours.  There's still a ton to do down there:  more clearing, more burning, power washing the stairs, refinishing the stairs and deck at the bottom, adding another hand railing, adding lights, adding a kayak rack, and adding a lift to carry me up and down all those stairs. Our little neighbors came over for a visit and to help.  The youngest boy (he's 8) spent most of the day helping Matt clear the area, getting dirty, discovering some hidden treasures, and slipping into the water twice. He and Matt filled up four bags full of stuff to throw away and/or recycle. They even found a bottle with a note inside...but the note was all wet when they opened the bottle. Darn.  They took a break from working to go kayaking.  The little one loved it and climbed in and out of the kayak to explore the little islands and sand bars in the lake. While the boys were at the water, the little girl (she's 10) came over and worked with me in the kitchen. We made cookies, caramel popcorn, banana bread, and Deviled eggs.  I now call her Betty Crocker. (The oldest one, he's 11, had baseball practice...but he did come over to check out the progress down at the lake a couple of times.  I can't believe how the kids just run up and down the stairs.  I'm a slow plodder.) The kids are so darn cute!  We just absolutely LOVE hanging out with them!!

Oh, and my little robin friend has been tapping on the window every morning. He taps on the window until I open the shade and talk to him.  He keeps coming back to peek in at me. I think I'll name him Reese.










Monday, March 28, 2016

Snow White?

I have this theory that I'm a reincarnated Disney Princess because animals seem to love me.  I talk to animals and they listen to me.  After I name animals that frequent our yard, I talk to them when they come to visit. They sit and listen to me...most of the time doing what I tell them.  Sometimes my squirrels don't want to share the goodies from the bird feeder and they squabble.  I just tap on the window and tell them to be nice and they stop trying to chase each other away and share the food. When the blue jays start being bullies and start their squawking, I tell them to stop and be quiet. They obey.

Just after we moved in, the neighbor's dog was loose and was out in the road.  I was sitting on our porch watching the kiddos across the street trying to catch him. I clapped my hands twice and the dog immediately made a beeline for me and jumped onto my lap.  Seriously.  I've never met him.  He just hung out on my lap until we found the owner.

I just had a visit from a robin at our office window.  I walked into our office and he was sitting on the window ledge.  I slowly approached and chatted to him as I got closer.  He stared at me (do birds even have eyelids?) and kept cocking his head like he understood everything I said to him.  Then, every time I sat down at the desk or turned away from him, he started tapping on the window.  (The window is closed...it's only in the 30s.  He was probably trying to see if it was spring on my side of the window.) So, I'd turn and talk to him some more.  He kept doing this.  I wanted to get a picture of him, but when I walked away to go grab the camera, he started tapping REALLY hard and I didn't want him to hurt his beak or crack my window.  I finally had to tell him to stop and go sit in the tree. He did.

I wonder what would happen if I wore my Snow White costume.  Would my menagerie follow me around like a parade?  Maybe I'll just have to try it sometime.  Or, I could just leave the door open and Matt could come home to our own personal zoo!


Tuesday, March 22, 2016

More Projects Completed!


While doing some spring cleaning on my cell phone yesterday, I came across some pictures of other projects we've done around the house.  One of the first things I did when we moved in was to paint the awful mint green front door and trim.  Have I mentioned how much I HATE mint green?


We had a hard time trying to find a new light fixture for the front porch.  There isn't enough clearance to hang anything built in this millennium and I didn't want a recessed light.  I was resigned to just spray painting the existing fixture we had until Matt solved our problem by being able to move the fixture back enough to be able to open the door without creating a gaping hole that we would have a hard time patching with the existing siding.  Yay!!!

This is just phase one of the porch.  The mint green is gone, but now I think I'm going to paint the front door a burnt orange color and paint the shutters the front door color:  a deep chocolate brown.  I'm a girl and can change my mind as much as I want!  I'm also thinking of staining the concrete on the porch and then adding some cute planters and/or a flower box.






We also painted the brick wall in the three-season porch and replaced the carpet.  Matt kept questioning me about painting the brick the same color as the porch walls.  I kept telling him to trust me.  I'm not sure why he ever questions me.  After 25 years of marriage, he should know by now I'm right and we're going to do what I want.  ;-)


There was a nail in the wall and I just put up a picture
because I can't stand blank walls.  Ever.
Moving the nail is on Matt's to-do list.


Wednesday, March 2, 2016

Radiator Removal

Holy cow...we get a lot of snow in west Michigan.  I thought we got a lot at our old house, but we get even more the closer to Lake Michigan we get.  (Our goal is to end up living on Lake Michigan one day...after we win the lottery!)  We've pretty much had over a foot of snow every single week this winter. I've shoveled pretty much every foot of it too.  Unless it's that heavy, wet snow.  I leave that for Matt and the snowblower.

So, yesterday we got...wait for it...another foot of snow.  There was absolutely NOTHING on TV last night and I was sick of constant updates of stupid election stuff, so I talked Matt into removing the old radiator that ran under the sink in the kitchen. It took some finagling, but he was able to cut it, bend it, and rip it out. There was over 60 years of dirt and dust hiding behind the trim and radiator. No treasures...except for a piece of dog food, a cracker, and a beer cap. Nine more radiators to go in the house! Let the treasure hunt begin!!
Gross.

The next nine radiators are much bigger than this little guy.
Matt's going to get a workout.