I still hate Yankee Candle, and I will not be buying anything from there ever again. I have one poor person waiting to send out a Christmas present, yes look at your calendar, it's a bit late for that, but she has faith, faith that Yankee Candle may come through for her. She is waiting for some taper candles, so I sent an email out asking when they are going to ship, and this is the reply.
"Tapers no longer available. I have already requested a refund for both of these sellers. You should receive it within the next 2 weeks"
WOW, thanks for the proactive notice so my person can move on with her life. Oh my freaking God, I hate Yankee Candle. Really, I may have to clothesline anyone I know who walks into Yankee Candle. I'm tough you know. I can do it.
Monday, January 14, 2008
Wednesday, January 9, 2008
The Pit of Despair is Getting a Makeover
We live in a raised ranch and have what is called a finished basement. Though it's not really a basement to us, it's part of the living space. It consists of a bathroom, family room, and a furnace room that has a computer/music area for The Nephew and a sometimes organized storage area.
Over the past couple of years, we have been working to undo the damage my mother did with her interior and exterior design ideas. Our first step was to use color on the walls rather than the insane asylum white that was in every room except the Nephew's, which was a sensory deprivation gray.
The next step was to take up three layers of kitchen floor. Because there had been a slow leak from a baseboard heating joint for many years, the floor was rotting with mold. Very disgusting. We also lost a built in desk in the process. We (and by we, I mean our handyman who does everything for us) put down a beautiful 20x20 Italian porcelain tile (that I got for 1.80 a square foot, nyah nyah), which I have to say, is gorgeous and hides dirt very well. If you've read my blog on organization, then you know that would be very important to me. During this process we ended up moving a very large pantry cabinet and had to replace the crap wall that the pantry, desk and bookshelves were hiding. Prior to my mother's modern makeover of the kitchen, it had carpet and gold paneling. Most excellent. She took that away then added black and white vinyl tile and ruined a beautiful hardwood floor in the process. The bisque cabinets are alright as are the black counters. We are keeping them for now. At least 10 - 15 years we're hoping to get out of them
The bottom layer of floor and the wall that had to be replaced.
The gorgeous new tile...the border came from Lowes.
Love the tile. Bet you can't find the dirt!
At the same time we did a mini makeover on our downstairs bathroom which no longer makes me cringe when I enter it. As part of that we began the makeover on the basement, or what I like to call, the pit of despair. The pit is basically disgusting. I can say that, because I have lived here forever. It's been a family room for us, at one point it was a studio apartment for us, now it is back to a family room.
The house has had cats, cigarette smokers, pipe smokers and the basement carpet is very funky. The makeover began last year because I had to cut a square of carpet out. Why would I cut one little square of carpet out? Because it was where my father kept the litter box and it smelled like cat piss. Yes, my basement constantly smelled like cat piss. Therefore, the one foot square of carpet was cut out. So as part of the bathroom makeover, I decided to redo the area outside of the bathroom.
I primed the paneling and painted it a lovely yellow that looks green because of the color of the wood trim. And now I'm not sure I really like this color at all. So I stopped right there, because now this involves priming and painting trim and doors, and while I love painting, I painted the whole upstairs myself, I hate priming. I am not down with that just yet. So "we" (see above) put the tile in, which I love, and called it a day.
The beginning of the makeover. The yellow actually looks okay in this picture, but it's going. I have changed my mind, and that is the end of that. Even though I still have two gallons of it. Hmmmm, no it's going.
The Pit of Despair is brown. Like someone came in with a spray gun and sprayed shit all over the place. The paneling is brown, the carpet is brown, the trim is brown, the bookshelves are brown. It's brown, man, it's just a whole lot of brown. The paneling was there when my parents moved in, as was a gold shag carpet. Apparently the shit brown carpet was an improvement.
So now we are ready for the full monty. The pit of despair is going to become Man Town and I am not lifting a finger to do any of it. YAY! Beginning February 10, we are getting paint on everything, new carpet, new baseboards for the heat, molding along the floor where there isn't any, and a closet organizer. Then we are getting new furniture. I am so excited I can barely contain myself. So I present to you our before pictures so you can gasp with amazement when I post the after pictures.
Brown
Brown and some brick
Brown
Brown
What the hell is that on the baseboard? I don't know, but it's brown and it doesn't come off and that's why the whole damn thing is getting replaced.
So though it is a while off, the makeover is in progress because of all the happy planning.
Over the past couple of years, we have been working to undo the damage my mother did with her interior and exterior design ideas. Our first step was to use color on the walls rather than the insane asylum white that was in every room except the Nephew's, which was a sensory deprivation gray.
The next step was to take up three layers of kitchen floor. Because there had been a slow leak from a baseboard heating joint for many years, the floor was rotting with mold. Very disgusting. We also lost a built in desk in the process. We (and by we, I mean our handyman who does everything for us) put down a beautiful 20x20 Italian porcelain tile (that I got for 1.80 a square foot, nyah nyah), which I have to say, is gorgeous and hides dirt very well. If you've read my blog on organization, then you know that would be very important to me. During this process we ended up moving a very large pantry cabinet and had to replace the crap wall that the pantry, desk and bookshelves were hiding. Prior to my mother's modern makeover of the kitchen, it had carpet and gold paneling. Most excellent. She took that away then added black and white vinyl tile and ruined a beautiful hardwood floor in the process. The bisque cabinets are alright as are the black counters. We are keeping them for now. At least 10 - 15 years we're hoping to get out of them
The bottom layer of floor and the wall that had to be replaced.
The gorgeous new tile...the border came from Lowes.
Love the tile. Bet you can't find the dirt!
At the same time we did a mini makeover on our downstairs bathroom which no longer makes me cringe when I enter it. As part of that we began the makeover on the basement, or what I like to call, the pit of despair. The pit is basically disgusting. I can say that, because I have lived here forever. It's been a family room for us, at one point it was a studio apartment for us, now it is back to a family room.
The house has had cats, cigarette smokers, pipe smokers and the basement carpet is very funky. The makeover began last year because I had to cut a square of carpet out. Why would I cut one little square of carpet out? Because it was where my father kept the litter box and it smelled like cat piss. Yes, my basement constantly smelled like cat piss. Therefore, the one foot square of carpet was cut out. So as part of the bathroom makeover, I decided to redo the area outside of the bathroom.
I primed the paneling and painted it a lovely yellow that looks green because of the color of the wood trim. And now I'm not sure I really like this color at all. So I stopped right there, because now this involves priming and painting trim and doors, and while I love painting, I painted the whole upstairs myself, I hate priming. I am not down with that just yet. So "we" (see above) put the tile in, which I love, and called it a day.
The beginning of the makeover. The yellow actually looks okay in this picture, but it's going. I have changed my mind, and that is the end of that. Even though I still have two gallons of it. Hmmmm, no it's going.
The Pit of Despair is brown. Like someone came in with a spray gun and sprayed shit all over the place. The paneling is brown, the carpet is brown, the trim is brown, the bookshelves are brown. It's brown, man, it's just a whole lot of brown. The paneling was there when my parents moved in, as was a gold shag carpet. Apparently the shit brown carpet was an improvement.
So now we are ready for the full monty. The pit of despair is going to become Man Town and I am not lifting a finger to do any of it. YAY! Beginning February 10, we are getting paint on everything, new carpet, new baseboards for the heat, molding along the floor where there isn't any, and a closet organizer. Then we are getting new furniture. I am so excited I can barely contain myself. So I present to you our before pictures so you can gasp with amazement when I post the after pictures.
Brown
Brown and some brick
Brown
Brown
What the hell is that on the baseboard? I don't know, but it's brown and it doesn't come off and that's why the whole damn thing is getting replaced.
So though it is a while off, the makeover is in progress because of all the happy planning.
Tuesday, January 8, 2008
I Love Music
I love all kinds of music. Kids music, classical, church music, some hard core music, some country music, light music, pop, some rap, motown r&b, some jazz, inspirational, whatever, I like all kinds. I use music to be sad, to be angry and to move through those feelings to happy. If I need a boost, if I need to calm down, music does it.
Diosa wrote a blog about theme songs, I can't say I have one theme song. It often depends on the day and sometimes even on the time of day and what's happening at that particular moment. I'll listen to the same song throughout a day of driving because I'm obsessed with it for the day and when I finally let the song change, I'll obsess on the next one.
A couple of friends of mine make mix CDs and we will exchange them and tell stories to each other through the music.
I'll listen to certain songs at certain times of the year. The first warm day of Spring means I pull out 10000 Maniacs and The Smithereens. Echo and The Bunnymen make an appearance at that time as well. These bring me back to high school and Thayer street. Loved hanging on Thayer street and I can't wait until the Things are old enough to think it's cool to go there.
Indigo girls always meant a sing a long with one friend of mine that I have long lost touch with. But they bring good memories, and I will sing my part whenever I hear them.
There are some songs that bring me right back to being young. Different times. Joan Jett always brings me back to sitting at the kitchen table listening to AT 40, however old that was, but I can still see the gold paneling in our kitchen, so that's young. A certain disco song brings me back to when I was about 5 years old and had trouble lots of falling asleep, and that songs haunts me when I hear it. A certain song at church reminds me of when a friend passed away suddenly in college.
You know that song that goes "Oh what a night, late December back in 63"? Well that song reminds me of a horrible hangover. Riding the train Friday morning, up to graduate school in Boston, praying that I wouldn't toss my cookies on the ride and that one freakin' line running through my head for the whole ride. I hate that song. Now, Rage Against the Machine's "Killing in the Name Of", that's a different story. That song just reminds me of the fun I had getting that hangover and dancing like an idiot at Lupos with the usual Thursday night suspects! Cotton Eye Joe? Ask Doc about that when you see him.
Some songs make me think of high school crushes and I feel my stomach drop when they come on. "No one is to Blame" is one of those.
Kenny Loggins has one of the best children's cds ever. I'll never hear that disc and not think of the Things and how cute they were when we listened to it. The Wiggles. Very catchy music and it makes Thing 2 do hysterical dance moves. How can you not like it. Bear in the Big Blue House. That was the first kids disc I got when Thing 1 was 10 months old. He would start kicking his legs like a maniac when I put that on in the car.
I will usually have a mix of music playing or the radio on, but the dj's irritate me lately, so usually discs. If I have the radio on, there are certain songs that come on that make me blast the radio and dance and sing with the things. Thing 1 gets a little horrified, Thing 2 jumps right on the wagon with me. Though I can say the same thing when I have discs going. I always have it on random, so I never know what is coming next. It's always a great surprise, like when you're at a club and your favorite song comes on.
Rob Thomas, Colin Hay, Santana, Kate Havenik, Anna Nalik, Dave Matthews, Tim McGraw, a certain Mr Barry Russo, Indigo girls, Blue Shift Signal, Stevie Wonder, Bare Naked Ladies, Maroon 5, Howard Jones, 10000 Maniacs, REM, The Smithereens, Metallica (yes, Metallica), Justin Timberlake, Christina Aguilar, Sting, Five for Fighting, Lori Berkner, Genesis, Phil Collins, The Hooters, Goo Goo Dolls, Train, almost any 80's soft rock ballad, and many many more. They all make me happy.
I am constantly making mix discs for myself so I can hear all my favorites without the extra crap. My MIL would smack me and say I need an IPOD. She's right, but the finances are going in other directions right now, so that has to wait. Besides, it's fun making the discs and sharing them with people. You can give me a disc, I'll probably love at least half the songs on it, if not all of them. If you want one, I'll make one for you. I think I am very good at it, that's right, no shame here. I have an awesome jukebox on my myspace page. It's private , so you may need to ask to be my friend, such a snobby bitch am I. Go take a listen for a glimpse into my obsessions, past and present.
I love music, all kinds, and you should too!
Diosa wrote a blog about theme songs, I can't say I have one theme song. It often depends on the day and sometimes even on the time of day and what's happening at that particular moment. I'll listen to the same song throughout a day of driving because I'm obsessed with it for the day and when I finally let the song change, I'll obsess on the next one.
A couple of friends of mine make mix CDs and we will exchange them and tell stories to each other through the music.
I'll listen to certain songs at certain times of the year. The first warm day of Spring means I pull out 10000 Maniacs and The Smithereens. Echo and The Bunnymen make an appearance at that time as well. These bring me back to high school and Thayer street. Loved hanging on Thayer street and I can't wait until the Things are old enough to think it's cool to go there.
Indigo girls always meant a sing a long with one friend of mine that I have long lost touch with. But they bring good memories, and I will sing my part whenever I hear them.
There are some songs that bring me right back to being young. Different times. Joan Jett always brings me back to sitting at the kitchen table listening to AT 40, however old that was, but I can still see the gold paneling in our kitchen, so that's young. A certain disco song brings me back to when I was about 5 years old and had trouble lots of falling asleep, and that songs haunts me when I hear it. A certain song at church reminds me of when a friend passed away suddenly in college.
You know that song that goes "Oh what a night, late December back in 63"? Well that song reminds me of a horrible hangover. Riding the train Friday morning, up to graduate school in Boston, praying that I wouldn't toss my cookies on the ride and that one freakin' line running through my head for the whole ride. I hate that song. Now, Rage Against the Machine's "Killing in the Name Of", that's a different story. That song just reminds me of the fun I had getting that hangover and dancing like an idiot at Lupos with the usual Thursday night suspects! Cotton Eye Joe? Ask Doc about that when you see him.
Some songs make me think of high school crushes and I feel my stomach drop when they come on. "No one is to Blame" is one of those.
Kenny Loggins has one of the best children's cds ever. I'll never hear that disc and not think of the Things and how cute they were when we listened to it. The Wiggles. Very catchy music and it makes Thing 2 do hysterical dance moves. How can you not like it. Bear in the Big Blue House. That was the first kids disc I got when Thing 1 was 10 months old. He would start kicking his legs like a maniac when I put that on in the car.
I will usually have a mix of music playing or the radio on, but the dj's irritate me lately, so usually discs. If I have the radio on, there are certain songs that come on that make me blast the radio and dance and sing with the things. Thing 1 gets a little horrified, Thing 2 jumps right on the wagon with me. Though I can say the same thing when I have discs going. I always have it on random, so I never know what is coming next. It's always a great surprise, like when you're at a club and your favorite song comes on.
Rob Thomas, Colin Hay, Santana, Kate Havenik, Anna Nalik, Dave Matthews, Tim McGraw, a certain Mr Barry Russo, Indigo girls, Blue Shift Signal, Stevie Wonder, Bare Naked Ladies, Maroon 5, Howard Jones, 10000 Maniacs, REM, The Smithereens, Metallica (yes, Metallica), Justin Timberlake, Christina Aguilar, Sting, Five for Fighting, Lori Berkner, Genesis, Phil Collins, The Hooters, Goo Goo Dolls, Train, almost any 80's soft rock ballad, and many many more. They all make me happy.
I am constantly making mix discs for myself so I can hear all my favorites without the extra crap. My MIL would smack me and say I need an IPOD. She's right, but the finances are going in other directions right now, so that has to wait. Besides, it's fun making the discs and sharing them with people. You can give me a disc, I'll probably love at least half the songs on it, if not all of them. If you want one, I'll make one for you. I think I am very good at it, that's right, no shame here. I have an awesome jukebox on my myspace page. It's private , so you may need to ask to be my friend, such a snobby bitch am I. Go take a listen for a glimpse into my obsessions, past and present.
I love music, all kinds, and you should too!
A Flashback to Thanksgiving and the First Night at the Mirabar
Party like it’s 1999...
Current mood: 
silly
Category: Life
And who do we run into on the way to the bar? Why an incredibly cute CCD student and her very nice mom coming out of High School Musical. "What are you guys doing out, not seeing High School Musical?", (because it would be wierd for two grown women to be going that kind of play, right?) "No, we decided to go out for a drink after church tonight", "Ooh, that's great did you have fun?" (because at 10:00 pm, two grown women who are mothers should be heading home to get ready for Thanksgiving the next day, right?), "No, we just got here and you probably don't really want to know where we are headed". ohhhhhh, so inappropriate.
We had a great time, and are already planning our next trip out. If you can go to the Mirabar on a late Saturday night, go on and do it and check out the piano bar, you'll have a great time. The dance club looks incredibly fun and kind of crazy, but we got scared and ran away.
It's time to be domestic and tame again.
Happy Thanksgiving and here's to many more nights at Mirabar!!
Wednesday, January 2, 2008
Just in Case You were Wondering
So, the Yankee Candle mess is not yet over, and now UPS is on the shit list. UPS was supposed to deliver overnight packages that were sent out 12/20/07. We did not receive those packages until after Christmas and 2 of them seem to have been delivered by Ace Ventura. The packages jingle when you pick them, nothing ordered from Yankee Candle has jingle bells on it. UPS sucks. Yankee Candle has offered a full refund to any customer that wants it and they get to keep the product. Whoo hoo. So that's the story with that. Um, just so you know, Yankee Candle was supposed to over in November. never again.
Tuesday, January 1, 2008
Happy New Year
It is 2008 now. Happy new year! Much peace and happiness to all of you. I hope all of your resolutions are easy ones and that next year finds you even happier than this one.
Much love to you all!!
As Thing 2 said tonight as we were leaving Smarmy and Nurse Rachet's house...
"Happy New Year to All"
Much love to you all!!
As Thing 2 said tonight as we were leaving Smarmy and Nurse Rachet's house...
"Happy New Year to All"
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