A Little of This & That...

Well... I haven't been on the computer much... especially in the blog sector... because I haven't had a whole lot to write about! We didn't do anything for the 4th of July so there isn't much festive to report on!

We did, however go to the mall and find me some maternity jeans on sale this past Saturday. I am looking forward to some relief from the bulging buttons on my normal jeans, however the new jeans are "straight leg" which I'll have to get used to! To anyone that doesn't know I'm expecting, I probably don't look too much different (maybe a little porkier)... but I can tell that our little baby is a-growin'... and I hope to live in sweatpants and dresses around the house and then have a few decent articles of clothing for going out! I can't really hack skirts (depending on the elastic) because they put too much pressure on my gut. I am hoping to get my butt in gear and make a couple of dresses though this week! I wore one yesterday... with the intention of going to church... however, I ended up running outside for my first throwing up session... and we ended up not going. I did wear the dress the rest of the day and it was LOVELY not having a waistband to confine me! Get me some more of THAT!

Anywho... Cory has been on a major cleaning kick because of my sensitive nose. EVERYTHING smells bad! He has been using baking soda and white vinegar to ward off some smells. It's helped. Not 100% - but quite a bit. Unfortunately, today he is working in the basement (he gets the day off from work).... and he discovered...... MOLD! Yes, that's right... mold. I have mentioned before about our drainage issues. As you can see from the pictures below... the water runs off our back hill and driveway.. RIGHT into our basement.



Please don't mind the mess... Cory has it all torn apart trying to see where the mold is and what the heck is going on down there.

If you look in the bottom picture, you can see a metal cover right where the garage door comes down. That is a drain... however, there are 2 OTHER drains that are placed in odd spots in the floor as well... so that first drain doesn't always do it's job when the rain comes pouring in. I think the previous owners thought that by covering the rock wall on the right in what looks like swimming pool concrete, they would help the problem. I think they just made it uglier! (Personally, I only like the look of swimming pool in a swimming pool).

Anyway... I am forbidden to go in the basement.... and Cory and his parents are going to try to get a closer look to determine if we need to call in professionals. (cha-ching!)

This is getting ridiculous!!!

Also... I have been having HORRIBLE heartburn! I never knew what heartburn was until 2 nights ago. Then last night... it hit me HARD! I have been dealing with it all day and it is definitely not fun. I don't know if it was something I ate? But I haven't really eaten anything too much out of the ordinary. Ok... I did have some pepperoni... and what about garlic? Would that cause it? I don't know... but I don't wish this on anyone!!

Well, I'm off to pull a blueberry pie out of the oven (can't believe I got up the motivation to make it!)... it smells wonderful!

I hope you all had a Happy 4th of July!!

What a Stinker! Literally!

My house stinks.

I'm not even kidding.

I thought it was that bag of rotting potatoes that I found in the kitchen earlier last week. That was nasty! *gag* Threw it away with hopes of fresh air!

No such luck.

I can't even figure it out! My mom thinks that maybe it's from the humidity.... just eeking out all of the funky smells from the carpet, furniture or whatever.

It's an odd musty smell. Part of me thinks it's coming from the basement. When I go down there, I smell it, but not as much (methinks because it's cool down there, so the smell isn't magnified?).

Thankfully, Cory has taken to opening the windows in the AM before I get up to air things out a little.

I must mention though... the 2 bedrooms upstairs... do NOT stink. We keep their doors closed through the day to keep the cat out (and even at night). Let me tell you, getting up 7 times in the middle of the night to go to the bathroom... I walk out into the hall and BAM! It hits me! I thought it was just my pregnant nose... (because even the inside of my cabinets smell bad enough to make me gag right now)... but Cory started to notice it too.

We're baffled. We have cleaned. We have febreezed the furniture... no luck.

We run a dehumidifier in the basement because we've had drainage issues (water runs off the hill behind our house into our garage/basement drain... which was backing up MAJORLY... but is now a bit more under control after clearing the drain). Could it have something to do with moisture in the basement?

HELP!!!!!

PS--Cory read my last post (without my prompting) and informed me that he hadn't planned on (or thought about) getting me anything on that list for my birthday! HAHA! Oh well, I tried! Guess it will all just be a surprise!!

My 200th Post!!!

No, I'm not having a give-away... sorry. Just can't afford it at the moment with all the moving and shaking of wedding plans and moving into a new house! BUT! I did want to show you what I got today! (And share a few other pics as well now that I finally had the chance to upload them!)

Lookie here:

A woman at work has 2 alpacas! I heard her talking to another co-worker the other day about her having sheared them over the weekend. My ears immediately perked up! I have always wanted #1... to buy an alpaca (or two.. or three)... and #2... learn how to spin my own yarn!! I asked her what she did with the fleece and she said... BURN IT! I almost choked! She told me that I could have it if I wanted it! WOOT! So now I am excited to get into that! I have never ventured into the land of carding and spinning... but I have found a great website that is giving me a lot of info! Of course I don't have a spinning wheel... but I figure I can use a hand spinner (that you can buy for a decent price on Ebay) to get started. Then maybe someday (*sighs wistfully*) I can use my own yarns on my loom!!! :) :)

Anyway!!! Cory has been busy, busy, busy at the house. I feel horrible because I never help. Ok, sometimes I help... but I think I'm more of a nuisance than anything. But I still feel bad. Its just awful to have to come home from work, load up the car, load up the dog, drive 45 mins, unload the dog, unload the car and then PAINT! Then load up the dog and drive 45 mins home... and have to be home in time to get sleep for work the next AM. BLAH! Poor Cory paints before work, after work, on the weekends! I miss him! We hardly see each other!! :( Here are a few pics...

Looks who is all packed up and ready to move to the new house:

Ok... maybe not QUITE yet!

Here is Cory primering the 2nd bedroom:

Here it is finished... with new carpet... collecting junk until the other rooms are ready to go: (its hard to tell.. but the paint is a hint of blue--or maybe a lil more blue than that... I am hoping furniture will tone the blue down once we get it in--paint chips are so deceiving!!)

And the living room... its a pale green. Paler than what we were expecting... but it works! Depending on the lighting it takes on a creamy hue:

I really would like to share some photos of wedding prep stuff (like the flower girl dress, my jewelry, etc.) but I don't want to take the chance of Cory seeing... so you'll just have to wait in suspense!! LOL!

I am off to pack up some more stuff! Hope you're all having a great week...

The Flu...

I haven't posted in awhile because I have been so busy. Last weekend I was away visiting family and then this week I was supposed to get my passport, find flower arrangement ideas to talk to the florist about, go to the tux shop with Cory, volunteer this weekend at the Teen Center, have a practice hair appt for the wedding... and of course, go to work every day (BLAH!). Turns out... I have the flu. Well, that is what the doctor believes. I could barely stay awake on Wednesday at work--I got my 8 hours in by 1:30... dragged myself to the prothonotary's office to take care of passport stuff... and then went home. Thursday I went to work half a day and couldn't stand it any longer. I came home and slept and slept. Friday I didn't even TRY to go to work. I called off and just kept sleeping. I got up long enough to call the doctor, take a shower and then go back to sleep for a little while. The whole time I was a mess of aches and pains, chills and fever... coughing and sniffles. Miserable, seriously. I made it to the doctor and found out I had a temp of 102. The doctor said I could have pneumonia or the flu virus. She said she's only seen the flu one other time this season! Sheesh. I had to drive to the pharmacy to drop off my prescription, then to the hospital to get a test to see if I really have the flu. (They made me stick a long Qtip up my nose until I about choked--very weird sensation). I came home and went right back to bed... waiting for the doc to call with the results--which she never did.............????? (UGH). I have mostly been laying in bed. That's it. Cory has been over to take care of me... he made me soup and muffins and has given me medicine. All the while I have just been coughing and hacking and sleeping. He even put a cool wash cloth on my forehead to try to cool me down with my raging fever. I don't remember anyone doing that since I was small and my mom took care of me. Anyway... I am bummed that I had so much to do and didn't get to do any of it! I still should be in bed right now... but I am just so tired of laying around. I know I need to rest though... I am just tired of resting!!! I thought I'd get online to look up bouquet ideas... but I can't find any!!!!!!! I am looking just for a simple yellow rose with white daisies arrangement for me to carry... and then just a simple bunch of white daisies for the bridesmaids. You would think with so many internet sites and such that it wouldn't be hard to find something I like. No luck. I don't want gerbera daisies. Just plain white, wild-flower type daisies.... and soft yellow closed roses that aren't in a big round ball!! (You know those types of bouquets). I would like something more natural looking. Oh well... I will figure it out.
The wiring and plumbing on the "new" house should be done sometime this week... which means it will be time to go in and clean up and get ready to move some items in. I am struggling with the thought of living in such a small house (even though my current house is so small)... but I guess I will just have to make the best of it. Decorating for Halloween won't be too hard with the bright orange kitchen counter. LOL...
I am off to switch some laundry and climb back in bed for a bit... I hope no one else has caught the flu-bug. It is definitely no fun!

Gas Line Woes...

Note to self: Never ever ever ever leave your house in disarray... EVER.

Yesterday, Cory and his dad were coming out after work to help dig for the installation of a new gas pipe for my house. I figured I would have a little time to come home... straighten up and bit and then help them out once they came. I pull into the driveway to find that Cory's dad's truck is already at my house. Then, getting out of my car... my mom's dog --who should've been tied up outside, since it was a nice day-- must have broken free... because she walked over to me with those "rescue me!" eyes. (she's getting old and was rather tired... she wanted to go inside and lay down. used to be we could never catch her when she got loose!) So, I let the dog in the house, grabbed my stuff and came around to say something to Cory's dad. He disappeared! So, I walked in the house and set my lunch box down... glancing out the kitchen window... I see... Cory's MOM and DAD!!!! Panic struck. My house was a mess! I usually live in a mess... because it's darn hard working FT and then coming home to take care of a house. And it was even more of a mess because I'd been going through stuff for yard sale, etc. So... I had to let Boo out... and of course, she ran right over to them. I brought her back inside and went on a rampage of shoving things out of sight, putting dishes away... making sure the bathroom was clean... etc. Yikes!!! They probably thought I was looooooney! I'm sure they could hear me banging stuff around, etc. Shoot! So, then.. I went outside to help. The night before, Cory and I had started digging. But... Ummm... I told him to dig in the wrong spot. ARGH! I wasn't really paying attention, I guess, when my dad was telling me what needed to happen. So I spent time shoveling dirt back in that hole... and trying to save the pieces of grass to pack down on top. Wouldn't you know it... even though I KNEW it was there... I stepped right in a BIG pile of dog-doo-doo. Sheesh! I could smell it... looked around... and saw a foot print in the one pile... then realized... TAA DAA! It was on my foot... luckily I was wearing my work boots. But still. It reeeeeked!! Cory's dad was right there. I was so embarrassed... I said, "I guess I was the lucky one today! Stepped right on a land mine!" and kind of shook my head. He snickered. I should've just kept my mouth shut. Well, finally Cory came from work and then I went to help his mom at the other end of the pipe--by the house. She was digging where they are going to move the meter. Of course, what did she find? That the pipe comes out from the house a couple of feet (underground)... then T's off toward the back of the house! Must go to the furnace... it's the only thing other than the stove that is gas. So, that causes a problem... because we were pretty sure that the plumber didn't know this. I don't like calling people--especially people I don't know. So I went over to my mom's and conned her into calling the guy. He pretty much said not to worry about it... he'd take a look at it and determine what needs to happen... "If its a lil more work--its a lil more work" --- HA! Yeah! On MY dollar!! So, we made the decision to keep digging... and Cory's dad is going to bring a ditch-wich (?) out today to dig the area from the road to the house. I dunno... but it was so crazy. It was stressing me out. It always seems to be more than what was expected (or hoped for). My mom came out and was helping dig... and we chit chatted with Cory's mom... at one point they stopped digging and went over somewhere... looking at flowers or something... and I didn't know where Cory was. Guess where I found him? He sort of looks like the Hunchback... since he's all scrunched in there and squinting from the sun! LOL (sorry Cor). A little later, Boo was lurking around... and I told her to go find Cory... and she sniffed around and looked for him... and finally found him in the hole... and almost fell in on top of him! Whhhoooops! Also, Boo decided that she likes baby binkies. The neighbor's little girl dropped hers outside... and Boo got it..... 3 times. Oops! Anyway... it was a bit zaney... and like I said... Cory's dad is bringing a digger thingy out to dig today. I need to go get a shower before he comes. I was hoping to throw some pottery today - I took the day off! (Hallelujah!)

Oh, one more thing... back when I worked in the office... and wasn't piddling around painting racks and such. I was in charge of an account from this one place in Ohio. I had to go back and forth with this one lady about inventory and such... and we found out that we both had Lab dogs (she has TWO!)... and constantly kept in touch even though I've changed positions, TWICE. So yesterday at work... I get an email - which was actually from the day before after I'd left... that she was going to be visiting the plant. Holy Crap! I was in old holey jeans (not really allowed.. but umm.. oh well), a crappy old tshirt, a bandana, no make up... and boots. But She wanted to finally meet me. So, the one guy paged me to go up when she was there.. and man, I felt like such a goober! I felt like I had to keep apologizing for the way I looked. She asked about Boo, etc. It's funny how you have a mental picture of someone and they look NOTHING like what you thought once you actually meet them! I was glad to meet her though, she was really nice... even if I did feel like a geek.

Well, I really gotta get hoppin' - don't want to be in my PJ's when Cory's dad shows up!!