IKEA I-See-Ya

If you are a reader of what I like to call blogs-by-people-you-don't-know, you may have discovered that some bloggers like to "link up" to things like Foto Friday, Alphabet Thursday, Random Thought Tuesday... I guess it gives long-time bloggers a starting point each day.  Or perhaps a sense of community.  Or more followers.  At least it keeps them blogging, which is more than I can say for most of the blogs-by-people-I-know.  (cough, cough)

As for me, I can find plenty to post about without a prompt.

Like the pictures I found on my camera this morning.  And the stories behind them.

 Mar took at least a dozen pictures of Buddy and Tweety the other day.  She is quite concerned that Tweety has a "short" wing, and can no longer fly properly (she thinks - test flights are yet to be performed).  Not to mention they are apparently both in desperate need of getting their nails clipped.  She has asked me to schedule an appointment with a vet.  Being the unconcerned unfeeling practical mom I am, I have responded with things like, "The vet costs a lot of money, I'm sure they are just fine," and "Tweety lives in a CAGE.  She doesn't need to fly."  Mar, on the other hand, is undeterred.  She plans to use the money ($100) she recently earned from dog-sitting to pay for a vet visit.  I hope I can talk her into opening a savings account instead.  I think Buddy and Tweety are perfectly healthy and happy.  Long nails, short wing, and all.  Gosh, they've already lived a lot longer than I thought they would.

And who wouldn't be happy with a view like this?

The next set of pictures were these:

We were supposed to get our carpet yesterday.  It didn't happen.  We got a call early in the morning, informing us that they didn't have the right pad.  But they could still install it if we wanted to go with another pad.  I think it was a ploy to get out of giving us the deal we got on the pad we ordered (a result of an apparent error in their system, which wasn't discovered until after we had received a quote, placed the order, and paid).  I said no, we would like to get the double-moisture-barrier foam pad we were planning on.
Excitement delayed.

Bill and Taylor had stayed up until 2 am the night before, cleaning and mopping up all the dust and mess on the cement, in preparation for the carpet install the next day.  From the pictures, they were obviously ecstatic to have completed the tedious task, the thought of soft, beautiful carpet, installed within mere hours, having kept them going.

We have yet to hear back on when the rescheduled install will be.

In the Things I've Learned file:  Get your carpet from a carpet store.

I found this picture (obviously the camera gets used by more than myself around here):

I'm not sure why, but I assume it was necessary for a school assignment, which probably needed to be submitted online.  Since our high school is only in it's fourth year, it utilizes some of the latest and greatest technology.  That means textbooks are accessed online, and most assignments are due online, with midnight cut-off times and all (makes finding computer time around here tricky).  Maybe this is the new way to "show your work."

And FINALLY (see? plenty to blog about), yesterday I ventured to the new IKEA that just opened up in our area.  I took my experienced friend Steph along, to help me navigate the hugeness of it all (including the covered parking that rivals DIA).  

Yes, I have been to IKEA before.  

Yes, the trip yesterday was exactly what I anticipated.

I found a few items of interest,

(like this sink that might work perfectly in the girls' bathroom),

and even purchased a few things.

But it's like a trip to an amusement park:  Crowds of people milling about, strollers galore, crying children, tons of walking, with a few thrills thrown in here and there.
And something you do maybe once a year.

(I think Walmart is too big, for goodness sake.)

Unfortunately Regrettably Lucky-for-me, I get to go back, since I found some pillows, tentatively purchased two, and like them enough to get a couple more.  Once I recover from the first visit.

I will probably take Steph along with me, because even though you can see that ginormous, tacky, blue-and-yellow building mucking up the skyline from all directions, you practically need a map to get there.

Sisters in Heaven

Shi and Chey.

 One my daughter, one my daughter-from-another-mother.

 Cheyenne's dad is not a member of the church, and her mom is a convert, but currently not active.  Her parents are not together, so Chey does a lot of back-and-forth.  She is a super strong girl with an amazing testimony.  Even with limited church-related support from home, she regularly attends early early-morning seminary and all her church meetings and activities.  You go, girl!

 We love having her around our home -- she's just like another member of our family.

(Sometimes those girls even quarrel argue disagree like any sisters do.)

 Years ago, when Lexee was 3 years old, she and two of her friends were playing in another room.  I could hear the conversation, but couldn't see the action.  You know how it is when THREE girls get together... there seems to almost always a be little competition among friends.  I heard one of the girls say, "She's MY friend!"  In an effort to best the girl issuing the inferred she-likes-me-better-than-you challenge, the response came, "Well, WE are sisters in heaven!"

Frankly, it shocked me.

How on earth could a 3-year-old come up with that?

 Shocking, but {AWESOME}.

I love you guys!

Sunday Dinner

We had a dinner invitation yesterday after church.  That never rarely happens to us.

We went to visit Lynnea's family.

(Taylor and Lynnea last week at our house.  Pre-haircut for Tay.  Such a cute couple.)

Our assignment was to bring dessert.  After a miserable first attempt at whoopie pies (I won't ever make them again, although my family swears they are good, since they are enjoying the fruits of my failure efforts), we settled on our ol' stand-by favorite, (I first posted about them here) Pizookies.  Back then I called them fazookies.  Taylor set me straight ("They are a pizza/cookie.  Pizookies.").

We made the scenic 1-hour drive to Conifer, where we enjoyed beautiful views, delicious food, and good company.

Mar even got to check out their chickens.

And, after I admired one of her houseplants, Lynnea's mother gifted it to me.  She said she had wanted to get rid of it, but couldn't bring herself to throw away a perfectly good plant.

Not only lovely people, but generous too.

 (I had told her how I had a similar plant, not nearly as colorful, that pathetically props against the wall, alone in it's pot, on it's spindly trunk.  I've had it for well over 10 years.  It manages to live on sporadic over-waterings and occasional leaf-dustings.  It is perhaps not a thing of beauty, but I don't have the heart to throw it away.)

We enjoyed this on our Sunday drive home:

Who knows, we may see a lot more of Lynnea's family in the future.  (Wink, wink.)

Neverending

Yesterday we took the family to Olive Garden for Britt's farewell.

Bill and I had planned on taking her to lunch, but it just so happened that everyone but Mar was home by the time we pulled Bill away from the basement.  The neverending basement.  So we nabbed Mar on our way out, and had a nice family going-away linner (lunch+dinner, since it was 3pm).

 After much thought and contemplation, most of us ended up with the neverending pasta bowl.  (Although since Lex, Shi and Mar had already had lunch, they made different choices.  Like chocolate mousse cake, chicken panini, or garlic mashed potatoes.)  Taylor barely made it through his first serving.  Britt ordered a second so we could have leftovers.  Bill made it through two servings, and I managed to eat about a fourth of my second bowl.
We were done.

But the company was awesome, and it was fun to do something together before Britt headed out.

 (I think sunglasses on your head is the perfect accessory, don't you?  I even wear them when I clean house.)

Adios, mi chica bonita!

As for the basement:

the bench seat was trimmed out,

the doors hung,

the handles put on,

the microwave installed.

There are a few more projects before we can say we are done.  And mean it.

Basket Case

Things have been a little crazy around here.
Oh.  You've heard that before.

Have I mentioned my gazillion trips to home improvement stores?  I think the workers at Home Depot are just as sick of seeing me around (endless questions, returns, assistance needed), as I am them.  I've actually dashed down a random aisle to avoid running into a few.  Yesterday I had to call and leave a message with Connie, who, due to an earlier dispute confrontation situation, I would rather not talk to again.

I probably haven't been a piece of cake to work with either.  My favorite excuse is that I'm hormonal.

Oh.  You've heard that before, too.

This was my problem yesterday:

 We ordered both of our countertop selections through the aforementioned home improvement store.  We comparison-shopped, and negotiated a price-match on the granite.  The store sub-contracts the product and work orders, so we ended up having two different companies providing the product, and two separate installers.  We had carefully reviewed our orders, making a change on the granite corners on the island, post template.  We had discussed the change with a HD employee, and also called the supplier to confirm the change.  

 The Silestone was installed first, on Monday.

 The installation was NOT problem-free.  The template-maker had neglected to note that the electrical outlets by the desk area were less than 4" from the surface of the desk, rendering their pre-cut 4" splash-guard (or whatever it's called) too tall.  A quick solution was demanded needed, so Bill and I decided that they could cut it down to 3", which could be done "on-site."  The problem now is that the cut doesn't appear to be completely straight, and since they used a clear caulking at the seam, I notice it.  Bill and I have discussed how we can remedy the situation.  His idea was to put crap stuff on the desk.  ("Won't there be stuff on the desk anyway?" he asked.)  I'm not so sure it is the best solution, so I hope that we can find caulking that will blend the seam a little better.  If not, I will accessorize the desk and camouflage the seam.  And wipe it out of my mind forever (the second half of Bill's solution).

At least the corners were finished as requested.

Yesterday was the scheduled granite installation.

Yes, I signed off on the job prior to noticing the corners were wrong.

Both Bill and I made some phone calls, and this morning he told me he had a message that the corners would be fixed today.  On-site.  (That makes me a bit nervous, since the on-site cut of the Silestone was less than perfect.)  I'm sure most of it will never be noticed by the naked-non-critical-average-basement-visitor eye.  They'll be too busy watching the TV that will someday go here:

  But it's just so gosh-darn easy to get caught up in the smallest details when you're in the middle of it all.

To relieve my frustration (which is really just minor, despite the long, detailed explanation of the most recent basement-finishing anxiety), I went looking for baskets.  We have several built-in areas that will necessitate them, but they are very size-specific.  Initially I spent some time online, searching the internet, but then decided I would just take my chances on the good ol' reliables, Target and Walmart.

Target did not disappoint (no need to run across the street to Walmart), and I came home with many possible options.

The winners are:

Today I will be returning all others, and purchasing multiples of these little babies.

I am ready for the basement to be done.  I am ready to be finished with the constant flow of a myriad of workers through my home.  I am ready to have spare time that doesn't need to consumed with endless painting.  I am ready to clean up the dust.  I am ready for the doors to be hung, the carpet to be installed, and the touch-ups to be completed.  I am ready to drive by home improvement stores and have no need to stop. 

I am ready.

Blog Help -- NOT

My friend Zoeanne came over yesterday for a haircut, then spent a good hour and a half watching my futile attempts at trying to assist her in designing a blog.  Let it be said, I am blog illiterate.  I just pretend to know what I'm doing, but discovered yet again that I really don't.  It should have been much, much easier.  I tried to convince her that blogging would be simple.  Quick.  Easy.  Hah.

Zoe is my good friend from back in the day (when floppy discs were actually floppy), so she was forgiving of my shortcomings in the area of technology skills.

And reminiscing about those days was so much FUN.

 Circa 1985, pre digital/internet/technology explosion.  The days of non-correctable over-exposed film.

And easily coiffed permed hairdos.

 We had some serious cookie-bouquet-making ability.  This little beauty was used to ask some un-expecting young man to a dance.  Or maybe to reply to an invitation.  Either way, we had skills.

The two-heads-are-better-than-one/great-minds-think-alike philosophy did not come into play yesterday, however.  Blogging skills were M.I.A.  The intended tutorial only led to confusion, and our session was cut short by an appointment with the good doctor who removed Britt's wisdom.  Hopefully Zoe can sort it all out, and then start blogging like madwoman who has nothing better to do than spend hours trying to figure out how to remove a random, mismatched, misplaced background.
And I have been sufficiently humbled.

No, I do not know what I am doing.
No, it wasn't quick, simple, or easy.
But at least we were able to resolve the preliminary issues, and leave on a somewhat positive note.

You will have to check out our her final result here.
But give it a week or two, she had a TERRIBLE teacher.

Friends and Family

This weekend Lex had her second session for senior pictures.

Her good friend Kelsey was getting hers done that day as well.  

Those girls go way back.

Of course, they took a few candid shots while we were waiting around in the sweltering heat.

In the meantime, Britta has been healing from the extraction of her wisdom.  It's been painful.

But that doesn't mean she hasn't caught up with some of her old buddies.

Ashlyn

and Lizzie.


Taylor invited his good friend Lynnea over to spend a few days with us.  Unfortunately, I only managed to procure a solitary shot of them together.

I know, romantic.

We've had so dang much fun this weekend with the whole family around, the camera has remained primarily neglected.  Replaced with long conversations, game playing, and eating.  It's been fun to have the company (since visitors around here are few and far between. Hint, hint).

And last night we had our Stake Trek fireside.  We were reunited with our trek family, and had the privilege of meeting their "real" parents.

We hope to get together for a family reunion soon.  When the basement is finished.

Silestone today... Yay!

Wisdom

Britt's in town.  She flew in from PROVO yesterday (it's so awesome that you can get a cheap direct flight from PROVO to Denver these days).  She sat next to, and chatted with, her friend's old seminary teacher, then walked to meet me with some friends from our ward who had also been on the flight.  Nice.

She came to get her two (only two, lucky girl) wisdom teeth extracted.  We drove directly to the doctor's office from the airport.  Britt was a little excited nervous, since she had never had anesthesia before, a real treat according to Shilo and Taylor.  After checking her in, I was sent immediately to the nearest pharmacy to pick up medication, and I grabbed a little chocolate to help me through the stress of sitting in the waiting room.  Once back at the office, I flipped through a magazine for less than 5 minutes before being called back for post-extraction-care instructions.  Nice and quick.  Britt was wheeled to the car, breathing deeply through her nose and out through her mouth (does it really matter where the air goes in and out of?), so as not to lose consciousness upon standing.  Once I had her seat-belted in, I took a quick video per Shilo and Lexee's request.
They wanted to see if she acted loopy.  I complied.

She's done amazingly well.  Not too puffy, minimal pain, and she remembers SOME of the aftercare and ride home.  After she rests more today, we hope she will be up to enjoying the rest of her stay through Wednesday.  She's just happy for the break from work.

In other news, Bill received a FedEx package yesterday.  Being the nosy curious helpful wife I am, I opened it for him. Inside was a gift and a card.  I didn't open the gift, but waited patiently for him to arrive home from "work" so he could get whatever potential pleasure awaited him in the opening of it.  (I can be generous.)  The family gathered around him (so maybe only a few of the more curious members) as he opened the gift upon his arrival home.  Ta-da!  A desk ornament.  It was a beautiful, sparkly paperweight made of the finest crystal, engraved with his name, an inspiring quote by JFK, the year of the completion of the Leadership Development Program for which it was presented, and the name of the company that had requested his participation.  Which also happens to be the parent company of the company that "let him go" just one day prior to his attendance at the final of four sessions of the program.

What the heck do you do with something like that?
I think we'll take a "don't ask, don't tell" approach.

Hey, Soul Sister

Today is my sister's birthday.

I have been so blessed to have a big older sister like her.

She has been a great example to me my whole life. 

And, like so many other little sisters, I wanted to be just like her.  

(Thanks to a hairstylist/seamstress mom, I was often extremely close.)

We were lucky to live close by as we started our families,

and so very lucky to have children close in age. 

These cousins have always loved getting together, thanks to diligent parental efforts, including frequent long-distance visits over the years.

Happy Birthday, Jill!

You have truly been the best big sister ever.  I hope you have a wonderful day!

Much love,