Last Day of January

Saturday, January 31, 2009

This is going to be a quick one just because I’m actually able to have a nice relaxing night at home with Kimm tonight.  And that makes me VERY happy 🙂

I truly CANNOT believe that one month of the year is already gone.  Seriously.  Where does the time go?

So, even though this was my weekend “off” I spent a portion of the day (too much in my opinion!) sleeping.  I was able to get up at about 2 pm and then I felt like the day could begin.  But of course because I only got about 6 hours of sleep (WAY less than I need) I had to practically peel my eyelids open!  But then once I was up, it was a great day.

Just sat around and read during the afternoon (while Kimm was watching her hockey game).  I spent just a little bit of time wrapping Kimm’s gifts because tomorrow is her birthday!!  Then we decided to take a trip back out to Holyoke (where we moved from) to get some grinders that we absolutely LOVE.

And while we were there we got some alcoholic beverages to have on hand (Smirnoff Ice for me and BBC Steel Rail Extra Pale Ale–Whew, that’s a long name–for Kimm).  Also picked up some Vodka, Peach Schnapps, Hot Damn! (hot cinnamon schnapps), and some Triple Sec.  Our bar is slowing expanding.

Also stopped at Stop and Shop to pick up the fixings for guacamole (Kimm’s choice because it’s her birthday!), and some ice cream (yep, we’re being totally bad), and a breakfast treat (cheese danish ring) to have with our coffee tomorrow.  Oh, oodles of yumminess!

And then the meal.

Have you ever just said “yumm” about 50 times while you were eating?  Well that is what we both did.  This is just a hole in the wall pizza/grinder place that we finally tried the veggie grinders at and boy are we sorry we didn’t try them earlier.  Really.  De.lic.i.ous.  We get a 16 inch that we share.  The veggies include: onions, green peppers, tomatoes, mushrooms, and lettuce (I know, sounds strange, but really good).  Then American cheese….melty, gooey, wonderfulness since this is a hot, toasted sandwich.  Then we get an order of steak fries–normally I’m not a fan of these (too thick), but these are crispy on the outside and melt in your mouth on the inside.  Again, cannot get over how good this meal was.

Tonight we are going to watch a movie and then probably call it a night.

And tomorrow will be so much fun.  First is the cake making (which I will post about most definitely).  And the gifts.  And more good food.  I just love birthdays, even when they are not my own 🙂

Oh yeah, as usual, Madeline was being naughty, climbing on our DVD holder, knocking down some loose DVDS, and in general being a nuisance.  So Kimm grabbed her up and made her stay in her arms as “punishment.”  Boy, Madeline was NOT happy with that, but it turned into an adorable picture.

“Queen” of the hill

Stretching out…

In mommy’s arms…look at Madeline’s eyes and feet…she is NOT happy…

I love this picture of Kimm.   She’s so cute!

The Closet is FINALLY done!

Friday, January 30, 2009

That’s right.   I finally just decided to do it today and I am very happy I did.  Even though it took a long time (almost FIVE hours!), it is so worth it.  It looks so different, so nice.  So much better than the pink.  So here are some pictures.  I know they are not that great but it is kind of hard to take pictures of the inside of a closet 🙂

This is on my side of the closet.  The white shelving units were installed prior to us getting here.  Let me just tell you, they are a PAIN to paint around.   You will also notice that the there is a window frame–yes, in the closet!  I guess this closet must have been created for the room and they built it right around the window.  So the window frame was dark wood and I have primed it and will be painting it the same white as all of the rest of the trim.

This is the shelving unit in the center of the closet that we use for t-shirts, sweaters, sweatshirts, etc.  Again a pain to paint around.

And this is Kimm’s side of the closet.  Same kind of shelving unit as on my side.

So, I know I keep saying this, but I think the bedroom will almost be done soon.  I just have to do the two windows, the trim around the closet, the door, and one more coat on the baseboards.  So hopefully by sometime next week that will be all done and then we can get that furniture delivered.

Well, I have been writing this as I was HOPING to get cancelled for at least the first four hours tonight.  But it is 5:05 pm and no call yet.  Considering that they usually call by 5:02 (I really have this down to a science!) I don’t think I’m in much luck.  This totally sucks because this is the night that Kimm gets out early and I was hoping to spend some time with her.  But this usually happens–when I really want it, it doesn’t happen.  But hey, I guess I should just be happy I have a job.  At least I  have the weekend off.

100 Random Things About Me…

Thursday, January 29, 2009

I got the idea for this post from a blog that I read (Roni’s Weigh).  I thought I would try it.  It really is pretty tough to do.  And at times you really are just mentioning TOTALLY random things.  But it was an interesting exercise in getting to know me better and now you will know me better as well.  Try it if you have time.

So here goes…

1.  I often can’t believe that I’m 36 years old (I REALLY don’t feel that old and wonder if life is just passing me by).

2.  I recently (with my partner Kimm) just bought a first house!

3.  My favorite food to eat is pizza and my favorite pizza is from the Pizzaria Regina at our local mall (I know, pretty lame…but it truly is the best).

4.  I have two cats–Charlie and Madeline–and I have to say that I like Charlie best because he is more lovable to me.

5.  It took me a while to find a career that would support me (a nurse)–I only got my degree in 2007 (which means that my two year anniversary as a nurse is coming up).  Sometimes I find this hard to believe considering that I still remember sitting in my nursing classes and doing clinical rotations.

6.  I don’t really have any close friends in this area.  I’m originally from Wisconsin and my best friend from high school was Michele who I see about once a year only and the best thing is that we can start chatting and it’s like I’ve never left.  I also have Jen (my first girlfriend) that I am still in contact with but not too often.  And I still consider Frank one of my best friends even though we don’t talk too much (I really hate long distance friendships!)  I think it is tough to make friends (I mean real close friends) later in life.

7.  I do not like snow too much.  Although I don’t mind the look of it, I don’t like shoveling (as has been pointed out often in this blog!).

8.  Sometimes I get bored with myself.

9.  My favorite pasttime is to read–and I really love to reread my favorites.

10.  My favorite T.V. shows are Reba, My House is Worth What?, Gilmore Girls, Will and Grace, Boston Legal and House Hunters.

11.  I have been on a diet for much of my life.  I really wish I was thinner, but I tend to use food as an emotional crutch and when I’m stressed, I eat.

12.  My favorite color is brown.

13.  I don’t really spend much money on myself.  I rarely buy clothes or anything “fun.”  Most money goes to bills or groceries.

14.  I prefer hardwood floors.

15.  I wish I had a close friend that I could confide everything to.

16.  I always wear the same pair of earrings.  Haven’t changed them in YEARS.

17.  I love the fact that I can wear scrubs to work.  It’s nice to work in something that feels like pajamas.

18.  I tend to be very insecure.  Sometimes I think people are talking about me.  I tend to want to try to please people so much that I won’t be myself.

19.  My favorite ice cream is Haagen Daaz Caramel Cone.

20.  I REALLY like to blog which surprises me every day.  And I really like to find new blogs to read.

21.  I really miss living closer to my parents and brother.

22.  My favorite hobbies are reading, watching TV/movies, cooking, knitting, cross stitching, and reading blogs.

23.  I have one younger brother (Kurt) who is 34.

24.  I have one nephew (Eric) who is 7.

25.  I would like to visit Hawaii, Ireland, and Paris.

26.  My original plan was to go to medical school, but I gave up when I didn’t get accepted to the one medical school I applied to.  I wish I would have had a better advisor who would have advised me to apply to more schools.  I wonder what my life would be like if I was a doctor.

27.  I don’t believe that people are born gay or straight.  I just think that people become attracted to different people.  And often who you are attracted to depends on who is attracted to you, the options that are available to you, and what you were socialized to believe was an option for you.

28.  I am gay and often don’t tell people.  Even though I don’t want to feel this way, I often feel like others will not like me just because I’m gay.  I really hate that I still feel this way.  Mostly because I feel fine with who I am and I love the person I’m with and I think it is sad that people still feel that there is something wrong with someone if they are not straight.  But STILL I can’t change how I feel.  This is something I am still working on.

29.  I’m excited to start a garden this spring.  I love fresh veggies.

30.  I have had five diferent girlfriends.

31.  I love to hang out in sweatpants.  So comfy.

32.  My ultimate dream would be to own a coffee shop.

33.  I really want to have at least two children.

34.  My favorite soda is orange (even though when you drink it you’re still thirsty).

35.  I don’t like to watch most sports–the only ones I would actually watch are ice skating and gymnastics.

36.  I love to go ice skating with my dad and my nephew when I visit home.

37.  My favorite holiday is Christmas–I love to have the tree lights on at night.

38.  I have large feet–size 12 women (although I often wear size 10 men).

39.  There is nothing like the smell of fresh bread baking.

40.  I love to go to the library and read People magazine (for free!)

41.  Sometimes I wish I had long hair.

42.  I love to take a long, hot shower.

43.  My partner Kimm absolutely LOVES hockey.

44. I wish I  had a better sense of direction.   Most often I have to drive somewhere a few times before I feel comfortable knowing where I am going.

45.  I never thought I would end up living in Massachusetts.

46.  I love to try new recipes and usually want to try a new one each week when I have the time.

47.  I wish I knew more about computer and technology in general.

48.  I own an iphone.

49.  There have been several times when I have gone over my cell phone minutes–I think the most I have had to pay for a cell phone bill is almost $300 (that SUCKS!)

50.  I love to go see a movie in the theater and I always have to get buttered popcorn.

51.  My favorite alcoholic drink is Smirnoff Red (I can polish off 4-5 when I go out).

52.  I love to get together for “Girl’s Night.”  There’s nothing like good food, good drink and good friends to make an excellent evening.

53.  My favorite flower is the daffodil.

54.  I can’t seem to get rid of the clutter by my desk 🙂

55.  I am not a fan of organized religion.

56.  My favorite restaurants are The Olive Garden, Uno’s, and On the Border.

57.  I am a vegetarian and have been for about two years.  Kimm read a bunch of stuff on the cruelty to animals and decided off meat.  I wanted to support her and after reading a bunch of information feel similarly as she does.  But sometimes I STILL miss pepperoni on pizza or a good burger!

58.  I keep my fingernails short.  I can’t stand it when they get long–they start to feel strange.

59.  I have been on a toast kick for breakfast lately.  Two slices–one with honey and one with peanut butter.  Both with Country Crock spread first.  Yummy.

60.  I wish my grandparents were still alive so I could talk to them.

61.  I have been with Kimm for seven years.

62.  I wish I had more patience.

63.  I don’t really like to talk on the phone.  This comes from working at Mass Relay (telecommunications for the deaf and the hard of hearing) where I was on the phone for EIGHT hours a day.

64.  I usually have to listen to music several times before I can make a decision whether I like it or not.  Strange, huh?

65.  I don’t play any computer games or Wii and have never played Atari or anything like that.

66.  I never used to like vegetables that much but now I really like them.

67.  I like to play board games or cards.

68.  I like to get dressed up and go out.

69.  I am very sentimental and will cry at movies or with a sad book.

70.  I love to sit in front of a campfire or a fireplace.

71.  I like to go camping.  In fact, I was the one that brought up this idea to my parents a long way back, and now they still go camping every year.

72.  My dad is an ex-librarian and my mom still works (occasionally) as a substitute teacher.

73.  Sometimes I wish I could be in a play.  It would be fun to act out someone’s life that is not your own.

74.  Sometimes I wonder what it would be like to be someone else and live their life.

75.  I like to go swimming.  And I like to go to the ocean.

76.  I always sleep with the covers over my head and I can’t stand when the covers are tucked in at the foot of the bed.  There has to be room for movement of the feet!

77.  I taught myself how to type.

78.  I eventually want to have a dog.

79.  Sometimes I wonder what it would be like to have a disease.  I am surrounded by sick people all the time and this thought has often crossed my mind.

80.  I used to play the clarinet and I would like to start playing again.

81.  I love to have coffee in the morning.  And I like to read the Sunday paper.

82.  I don’t like tea.  There’s just something about the taste.

83.  I tend to be frugal.  I can’t believe how expensive a lot of stuff is.  And I often wonder how people survive and how much money they make since they seem to spend so much more money than I do.

84.  The lowest I have ever weighed is 170.  And I looked damn good then!

85.  I like to look at old pictures.  Every time I go home to visit my parents I always spend time looking at old pictures of our family.

86.  I really like Kimm’s family–they all make me feel like I’m part of their family.

87.  I love watching fireworks.

88.  I like to attend weddings.

89.  I feel naked without my ring.

90.  When I have a child I will be using sperm that I know nothing about which kind of freaks me out.  Half of the child I create will be from someone who is a stranger.  That bums me out.

91.  My favorite snack food is Doritos.

92. My favorite desserts are homemade chocolate chip cookies, brownies, and cheesecake.

93.  A few of my favorite movies are The Shawshank Redemption, Music and Lyrics, and Legally Blonde.

94.  An ideal date would be dinner and a movie.

95.  I use coupons when I can but not often enough!

96.  I don’t like to clean the bathrooms.

97.  I have paid off all but one of my credit cards since I became a nurse!  And this last one should be paid off by the end of this year.

98.  I wish I was independently wealthy so I didn’t have to work.   But I don’t gamble so I don’t think that will ever happen 🙂

99.  I’m not a big fan of going out to bars.

100.  I wish that I had more time to spend with my sweetie.  It just never seems like we have that much time to be together and the time that we do have together goes by way too fast 😦

Did I mention I hate shoveling?

Wednesday, January 28, 2009

Yep.  I do.

And I had to do a lot of it today.  I was outside for one and a half hours.  I was soaking wet with sweat by the time I was done.  And that was with my sweetie helping for the last hour.

We got about 4 inches I would say.  And it was HEAVY.  First there was the snow and then if that wasn’t enough, freezing rain.  There’s really nothing like shoveling while it is raining.

It probably didn’t help that my arm and neck and back were still sore from painting.

Which by the way, I woke up too late to do the closet, so I took off all the tape (which took an hour…OMG that was so annoying).  The tape was sticking to the wall.  Then I taped and painted the baseboards and then removed the tape pretty much after a half hour.  It came off a LOT easier.  But I’m still not happy with those baseboards because you can still tell where it was dark wood on the bottom.  I may have to prime again (that would only be the 5th!!! time).  We will have to see how ambitious I feel another day.

So now I’m getting ready to eat because of course I would have to go in to work tonight.  And I’ll have to leave early because it’s pretty much like an ice rink out there with the freezing rain.

Did I mention I also am not a big fan of winter when you have to go to work?  Well, now I did 🙂

Second Coat Done!

Tuesday, January 27, 2009

I am pretty psyched!  Now the actual walls in the bedroom are done.  It was kind of strange putting the second coat up only because when we put the first coat up it was putting blue on the white primer, whereas this time because the wall was blue, the new paint going up actually looked white.  Weird, huh?  But thankfully it dried the same color.  You always get that nervous feeling, like, did they mix us up the right color???  It looks really good.  No white spots showing through.

And I really got my fill of painting today since I (FINALLY) primed the inside of the closet in the bedroom (remember the pink!).  I really don’t know who decided to paint the inside of that closet pink.  It is quite ugly.  It took me about 3 hours or so to prime the inside of the closet.  It was NOT fun.  There were so many little things to go around (all the shelving and closet organizer parts) and not to mention that the closet is SMALL so for a good portion of the time I was bent in uncomfortable positions.  I painted just a little bit of the blue on the wall in the closet tonight and from what it seems, I might have to do two coats.  I’m really hoping that is not the case.  But I’ll be able to tell better tomorrow when there is actually light in the room.

Then the only thing left will be the trim (baseboards, windows, door).  I’ll probably do that one day this week, maybe Thursday when Kimm is at work.  We’ll see though because I work the night before.

The furniture place called too letting us know that the furniture is in.  The furniture is from Bob’s Discount.  I REALLY like it.  Our set is called the Providence.   That dark wood is going to look so nice against the blue walls.  I’m getting so excited about having the room done.  We still have to pay the balance on the bedroom furniture (and the split queen box springs because remember ours put a hole in our stairwell as we were trying to force it up!).  So hopefully by the end of this week or the next we will have it!

By the way, did everyone see that a set of octuplets was born in CA yesterday?  Eight babies.  WOW.  That is all I can say.

A Quiet Night In

Monday, January 26, 2009

Today we were going to give the bedroom a second coat of paint, but then when Kimm got home she was very irritated with work and by the time she got done venting, it was about seven o’clock.  At that point I said, “Let’s just paint tomorrow.”  Sometimes you just need to change your plans.  So we made a quick pot of chili and paired it with some fresh Italian bread and a salad.  It was yummy!

Then we just spent the remainder of the evening on our laptops, with our fave, HGTV on in the background.  It really was a  relaxing evening.

One thing we saw surfing the web is that we are expected to get a “sizable” snowstorm Wednesday.  Not really looking forward to that.  Anywhere from 4-12 inches.  Plus I have to go into work that night.  I’m a bit worried about that considering the plowing hasn’t really been quick in this neighborhood.  I guess if I can’t get out I’ll have to call out.  But I’m trying not to worry about that now.  I’ll just see what the day brings.

Another thing I saw online was that the Ninth Annual Weblog Awards are in progress.  Check out the nominees and vote if you feel like it.  A few of my favorite blogs are nominated (Smitten Kitchen and Pioneer Woman).

Another day, another dollar…

Sunday, January 25, 2009

I had to work yesterday and so came home today to sleep.  Which, by the way, I never realized how tired I really was in the morning after getting done with work.  But having to drive 15 minutes home instead of 1 minute home really allows that fact to shine through 🙂  Now most days when I’m driving home I’m struggling to keep my eyes open.   But usually I resist having a coffee too close to when I come home because I want to be able to sleep when I get home.  It’s a subtle balance between wanting to stay awake enough to drive, but then not so much that I’m wide-eyed when I get home!

But seriously, I LOVE sleeping during the day.  I actually think that I get my best sleep on my days when I sleep during the day after working, because I AM so tired.  My head hits the pillow and I’m OUT!

So, tonight I’m heading back in for my second day on and then I’ll have two days off.

Kimm made a yummy meal (mini pizzas with tomatoes and onions) that we’re about to eat.

And then off to work.  Speaking of dollars…we were talking at work yesterday about how last year we got a 4% cost of living wage increase at the hospital (it started in April but we were notified sometime in the beginning of the year).  Somehow I don’t think that will happen this year with the economy, and with the fact that the hospital has seven years to pay off the pension to those who are still due it.

It’s very frustrating.  I mean, at least cost of living.  It would be nice to see at least a 2% increase.  But hey, we did get a thank you from our hospital administrator (a FREE meal at our cafeteria–whoo, whoo!–that is sarcastic by the way) for our great JACHO survey.  Did I mention that I really hate it when places where you work use food to thank you instead of some monetary compensation…grrr.

Anyways, hope everyone had a good weekend.

Color on the Wall!!

Saturday, January 24, 2009

So we did it!  We put ACTUAL color on the wall.  And it doesn’t look half bad!  Although we now know that we’ll have to do another coat because there are some light areas showing through.  But because we see ACTUAL color on the wall, I don’t think we’re going to mind as much 🙂

So, after priming last night, we both only had one thing to say–“This room looks like poopy-shit!”  Let me tell you that primer does not look that great on walls.  It looks spotty and streaky.  We were VERY discouraged.

This is what it looked like…

See how you can still see some of the grey showing through?   We were NOT impressed!

But then, after priming for THREE (!) hours, I spent some time online trying to find out how primer is supposed to look on a wall.  Very difficult information to find, but I did happen to see a few sites that said primer is not designed to look “perfect.”  So that was our only hope…that our “not perfect” priming job would provide an okay background for our true wall color.

We both went to bed feeling VERY tired and achy–Kimm her back and me my legs and knees.

Woke up this morning full of energy again.  Had our coffee.  Then attacked the room again.

I don’t know why I didn’t show the color before…but here are the two colors we are using…the blue is the wall color and the white is for the trim…

I just LOVE paint samples!

So, we opened the paint can and started.  It actually seemed to go much faster today.  We used the pole we had gotten for the roller which helped Kimm become Speedy Gonzalez!  I followed doing the trim work.  And then when we were done I did two more coats of primer on the baseboards because the dark wood was still showing through.  But now it will be ready for trim color.

So here is the color on the wall!

Yeah!

However, you can’t see from this distance that there are some white spots showing through.  So we need to get another can of paint and do another coat.  The goal is to get it on Monday and paint the second coat on Monday night.  And then we’ll do the trim maybe on Tuesday.  And we still need to do the closet.  But I will probably do that on one of my days off when Kimm is at work since only one person can fit in there at a time.

But I can’t tell you how proud we both are that we actually did this painting together.  We both feel so accomplished!  I tell you, by the time we paint the rest of the rooms in the house, we’ll be painting experts 🙂

Even the cats were involved, marching around the newly painted room…

Madeline’s behind 🙂

Charlie amongst the drop cloths…

Oh the excitement!  Now we can’t wait to get our “grown up” furniture and new comforter in the room.  It’s going to look so nice.  And maybe even an art project for the wall.  Look at me being all artsy fartsy!

Hey, maybe it’s the paint fumes 🙂  Kimm and I WERE a bit giddy last night 🙂

Prepping the Room

Friday, January 23, 2009

I figure I better write this now because I won’t feel like writing later after Kimm and I get done priming 🙂

So today while Kimm was at work I spent the morning and afternoon getting the bedroom ready for the priming this evening.  You would think it wouldn’t take that long.  I mean, it’s a small room.  But then you would be thinking incorrectly.  Foolishly.  Silly, even.  Why is it that things ALWAYS take longer than you think they will??

The first order of business was to move the bed from the bedroom into the library room which is just next door.  That took about a half hour I would say, to move the mattress, re-make the bed, and set up the nightstands with everything on them on each side of the bed.  Then I spackled anything that needed to be re-spackled since last night (you would be amazed that you miss things the first time around!) and then I proceeded to caulk a bunch of spaces that were not meeting correctly (like where the baseboard meets the wall, or in the door–there were actually spots where you could see right through the door!).  Caulking was fun.  It’s like working with glue.  Kind of reminded me of being a kid in art class again.  But I can’t tell you what a difference it made in so many areas of the room.  Just a cleaner, sharper appearance.  I suppose it didn’t REALLY need to be done, but then, I want to do things the RIGHT way, since this is something I own now.  You know, the whole pride of ownership thing 🙂

Then came the taping.  I taped all around the bottom of the baseboards just in case the drop cloths don’t catch everything.  Then all around the windows.  And the door knobs.  And the light electrical outlets.  Believe me, it was a lot of taping.  I was DONE taping if you know what I mean.

Then lastly I sanded a few rough spots on the wall and then swept the floor.

So when Kimm comes home in about a half hour, we will move the two dressers to the middle of the room and cover them with a drop cloth.  Then we will commence with the priming.  We are seriously hoping that it doesn’t take longer than 2 (at the most 3) hours.  But I’m sure it will take longer than we expect.  But we are going to just grab a snack to eat and have our meal after we are done.  We figure we won’t really want to do something after filling our bellies!

So here are a few pictures so far…

Here’s the door leading into the bedroom…notice the painter’s tape on the baseboard…

Here’s the two dressers…it sure will be nice to have a matching set soon! (notice the bright pink in the closet that also has to be primed and painted!)

Here’s the window…notice the painter’s tape on the window and on the outlet below.

And here’s the wall color as of now.  It’s not that easy to tell from this picture, but it’s a light grey.  Soon to be Oceantide!!!

Oceantide

Thursday, January 22, 2009

That is (or WILL be) the color of our master bedroom.  After holding up different paint samples to our comforter (which is cream with orange and brown) last evening, Kimm and I finally decided what shade of blue to use.  The blue is light, yet with enough contrast to really show off the dark woodwork of our bedroom set and the brown and orange of the comforter.  Its going to be so cool when it’s done!  Oh yeah, and the trim will be White on White.  Both are Glidden brand paint, the Evermore variety (which I guess is their top end paint), in a matte finish (meaning no gloss).

And tonight we went to Home Depot and bought the paint, the primer, and all of the supplies.  Came to about $170 (gulp!!).   But the good thing is that a lot of the paint supplies (rollers, drop cloths, brushes, paint pans) will be used again for our future painting projects.  The paint itself I didn’t think was too expensive (about $18 a gallon, the primer was $15 a gallon).

So guess what we are going to be doing this weekend? 🙂 Tomorrow will be priming, and then Saturday morning/afternoon before I go to work will be painting.  Hopefully it will go well without too many mishaps.

After it is painted then we will FINALLY be able to get our bedroom furniture here and then one room will be for the most part completely done!  Pictures of the process to be posted in the near future…