In the dog house / patio/fence debacle

We installed a gate to our patio/backyard to contain the dog. Right? Right.

BEFORE:


AFTER:

She's contained, see?

Well, she WAS contained.

One day, she squeezed through the neighbor's wabbly fence. We took care of that and patted ourselves on the back. All done!

Not quite.

About a week later, she was out. I couldn't figure out how. Until I saw ... THIS ....



STINKIN' DOG broke through the lattice and wiggled out.

THIS IS WAR, I declared.


I went and selected this from the home improvement store. Our buddy had to help get rid of the loops/attachments on the side, but once he did, it fit into the space PERFECTLY.

I, in my typical (Polish) fashion came up with all sorts of complex ways to affix the fence piece to the post. We were walking down the aisle and Erik said 'what about a zip tie?' .... and holy cow, they make zip ties in 2-foot lengths! Genius. I love it when Erik has fabulous yet simple solutions to the issue I'm trying to solve.


Notice how the 'tails/ends' of the zip ties are pointing into the backyard area? This will be important later.

So I put the fence length in and put on just 2 of the ties to see how I liked it. I'd show Erik when he awoke from his nap.

I put the dog outside, and patted myself on the back. I HAD WON.

Then, there was the most awful noise from outside. I'm not sure what exactly was going on, but I go out and someone must have taken the tails/ends and started pulling on them. That or pulling on the fence. AND BROKE THEM. :( :( :(

Let's not talk about how livid I was.


I readjusted and did the zip ties again ... but left the extra on the OUTSIDE of the fence, so the do had nothing to pull on. And I secured it with a tie on the top/bottom of each side. This thing was FAR more stable.


Plus, it covers the hole.

Since the zip-tie mishap, things have been better. Sure, she cries/whines some, but it's actually decreased significantly. I suspect one of the neighbor dogs made fun of her for crying like a baby in the backyard. She will still occasionally whine, but sometimes, she will just sit by the back door and stare at me until I let her out, and then not want to come back in. So I shut the gate and let her roam around.

Everyone *seems* happy with this arrangement.

Lazing around the house

I don't get my cat. Seriously. She gets herself at an angle to sleep COMPLETELY on my purse-like-bag. Um ... strange.


And the dog. Well, she likewise wants to be on something soft. So when I cover myself with a blanket and put my feet up, if there's a corner, she'll find it. And when I toss the blanket off? All the better. :)

Vents = CHECK!

BEFORE:


AFTER:

Yes, there's still a hole, but the metal component is completely gone!!!! The hole is probably 12-14 inches worth of hole, but in a few weeks, it'll be covered w/ a new floor and so it won't matter anyway!!!!!


I circled the area where it was before ... it's hard to imagine, but it was there. I was completely impressed the guys could get it out of there. I had a bit of a runaround getting their quote formally/in writing and getting them nailed down for a time to do the work, but they did a fantastic job ... I'm seriously and insanely pleased!


This is now in our laundry room. Seriously, I had NO IDEA how huge this would be .... but it carries our air over to under the sink. There's a vent that comes out in the 'toe-kick' area under the sink. I forgot to take a photo of it, sorry. We've both noticed the air blowing, though, and think it was a great call!

There is a slight 'T' off to the right ... eventually we'll finish off about 100 more square feet of the basement into a more 'formal' office for me to work in. It doesn't have a vent, and we had them put it in while they were doing the other vent work anyway. Even though that project is 12-18 months off, it should be easier when it's time!

Now to sand and prep the walls, then prime + paint.

In other home projects, the hinges for the orange room have arrived. They aren't a 100% perfect fit, but they're close enough. I've put a few on and have about 4 more doors to go. I can hardly wait for this room to be finished!!!!

The starting line!

OOOOh, today is the day! This afternoon is THE afternoon. After getting quotes and gathering information, we have someone coming in to move the vent from the space where a wall once stood. YES!


There will likely still be a hole tomorrow, but the vent will be more 'formally' closed off. And we'll have a new one under the sink! Sweetness.

The floor installer has also been scheduled. VICTORY. I am extremely excited about a very mundane detail of this.

Let me back up. I will confess that even though I started a chore chart to help break down housecleaning tasks into small, manageable bites, I just couldn't bring myself to wash the kitchen floor. I've been meaning to do it since BEFORE Christmas. I know. Judge all you want. Here's the thing, though. To make that floor look presentable, you have to really scrub on your hands and knees, then use a magic eraser to scrub the grout in between even more. If you're lucky, it might look good for 5 seconds after it's washed. Then back to looking dingy/dirty. UGH.

So when I scheduled the floor installer, I told him I would be doing some sanding of walls/etc. and asked if I needed to wash/scrub the floor before they installed the floating floor over the top.

He said "Nah, we'll give it a good clean with the shop vac, but you don't have to wash or mop it."

I wanted to leap through the phone and give him a big kiss. Seriously. This tidbit of info has made my week. I have been putting off scrubbing that floor for MONTHS ... and now, I will not ever scrub that awful tile floor again. Praise heaven!

So, once the vents are arranged today, I'll work on sanding down my big, gaping opening between the living/dining rooms. Then I think I'll have to mud and sand one more time. THEN it will be time to prime + paint. Oh happy day! (not really, Erik won't let me do the painting above the cabinets b/c he's afraid I"ll fall, so he's going to have to do all of that ... and this boy has no love for wall painting).

Trend alert!

Oh dear.

I've never been one to be "in" on the latest trend, but it appears I've unwittingly become so.

When we painted our middle bedroom a vibrant orange, I wasn't thinking 'orange will be the next big THING!' I was thinking how bold, playful and fun it was. Yet as I was reading through a magazine recently, Tangerine Tango is the 2012 color of the year.


Yikes! I'm in on a trend! And completely by accident!

Let's just be sure 'the record' (whatever that is, and whoever actually keeps it) reflects that we painted our room in Nov. 2011 ... BEFORE the 'trend' was announced. Also, the color had been in the works for a good 4-6 months. So we're way ahead of the curve at the Bonar household!

And, remember my cute owls?


I picked out an owl clock seriously almost 2 years ago. I wasn't really looking much at decor at that point, but evidently it was the start of an owl up-swing. Because now I see them EVERYWHERE .... don't get me wrong, they're super cute and all. But do I really want to do something that's 'trendy' for a room? I guess I'll just try to go with subtle, and not over the top with a sort of 'theme' of them ... we'll see how it goes.

As a matter of fact, I am *almost* ready to share this complete/finished room! I have managed to paint all of the trim/built ins. The shelf/desk setup that I've been itching to get is with my bro in KC, and I'm just waiting for it to make its way here so we can assemble it - I seriously cannot wait for it to arrive!

Now just to get the hinges in for my built-ins. And then, of course, decide on handles for the drawers. I'm currently trying to decide if these owl nobs are too much. Also, can't decide if this owl light plate is too 'theme-y.'

Leap WEEK :)

Happy Leap Day! :)

I'm not doing anything super special today. E tu?

With the way the calendar falls, I actually have an 'extra' week for my cleaning chart. I'm through the 4 weeks of Feb. With the end of one month in the middle of the week and a full 4 weeks in March, I have a 'leap' week.

Extra time.

What will I do with it? Use it wisely? Squander it? Wash the bathroom floors that I've been putting off? We'll see.

The nice (surprising) thing about this whole chart is tasks are SMALL and the goals attainable. For example, on Sunday, we had some extra time ... and I was all "Let's clean out the fridge." As in, let's take all the stuff off of the shelves and wipe them down. The bonus is any items hiding in the back that needed to go ... they WENT.

In all, it took probably 15 minutes (however, I only did the shelves, I didn't clean out the door yet). I'll do the door later this week. it will take me another 15 minutes. But that was all we did in the 'cleaning' realm for that day. And with knowing that is ALL we were going to do, Erik seems more willing to help. I confess, I am ALSO more willing to clean if it's the only task on the agenda.

I'm an organized person (for the most part), but I don't consider myself to be totally OCD (Erik will probably laugh at reading this) ... but this chart, it REALLY has been helpful in keeping me on task. Even though I started it in December, it's been a great addition to 2012.

Cheers!

Mini Pizzas!

Oooooh, how good this is! I don't have a photo to share, but GO HERE to check out this awesome recipe for mini pizzas. It's SO super-easy.

I took it to a social gathering last night as a snack and it was a HUGE hit!

For me, the best part of this recipe was its use of tortillas for the crust. Genius! I used my red sauce recipe (I added some diced tomatoes to it, though) .... and omitted some of the spices from the top recipe b/c of food reactions. But the red sauce itself was perfectly good!

For the mini pizzas, you put them in a muffin tin to bake. If you wanted to make these for kids, use a smaller cookie cutter in mini-muffin tins. Seriously, perfect size!

(I found this recipe on Pinterest .... and lately a lot of people have been asking in general 'do you do ANYTHING you see/like from Pinterest?' .... for me, some of it is just dreaming big. But this recipe is a great example of something I found, tried, love and will absolutely add to my hand bag of culinary tricks). :)

Organizing meal plans?

One of my blog friends, Michelle, mentioned in a blog post that she plans her meals for an entire month at a time. Seriously. I thought she was nuts. Off her rocker. Who on the planet is that organized? Not me. That's for SURE!

Yet I continued to struggle with making things last-minute for dinner.

At one point, I'd tried doing it one week at a time, but it just didn't seem to work. *frustrating*

I *think* I've been able to find a happy-medium. I will sit down and go through the recipes we like and ask Erik what he wants to eat over the next 2 weeks. If he has a special request, I'll make it happen. A little direction is helpful. Then I'll fill in.

Oh, and when Erik is off, he takes care of dinner. And I don't plan for Saturday nights either. So I usually only have to come up w/ about 4 meals/week. Or 3 if I want to make something big and plan for leftovers. :)


(no, the colors don't mean anything, it's just me going through post-its).

Here's the MAJOR up side to things: It has VASTLY simplified grocery shopping.

I'll put meals with fresh ingredients, or ones that will wilt/expire more quickly in week 1. If I have a partial ingredient left over from the first week, I'll find a recipe to use the rest of it in week 2. AND it means we have 2 "big" grocery trips/month. Ahhh, bliss! We will usually have to go for milk on the 'other' week, but it's a quick in-and-out dash and it's over. :)

Previously, we'd go for groceries about every 10 days or so, and would just sort of dawdle. No real plans. With a list of what we're eating, I can be sure I have the specific ingredients which is WAY nice.


Now, here's a question for the peanut gallery. I put the main dish on a little sticky note tab thing and stick it on the day. I do this so I can move it around if I need to. If I write it on the actual calendar, I'd end up moving things around and erasing and using arrows ... it'd get confusing.

Because we have a few favorites/staples, I re-use some of the stickies. But they're starting to lose their stick. Or peel or whatever ... I'm looking for a solution to this. Help? I'd like to be able to put on/take off the tag. I really only need to write on it once, but I'd like to be able to move it around as much as possible. On paper.

Anyone have a good idea/solution for me?

Smoothie Talkin' :)

Previously, I talked about making smoothies HERE.

How much I enjoy a good smoothie. :)


Here is my latest version:
1.5 c. frozen* strawberries (might want to let them thaw a little; sometimes hard to process if totally rock-hard solid)
1/2 c. frozen* blueberries
1/4 - 1/2 c. plain greek yogurt
dash of honey (optional)

*Notice how I don't add ice in my smoothie? It's b/c I get the frozen component from frozen fruit.

Lately, I've been adding some SURPRISE ingredients:
1/2 c. cooked sweet potato (usually left over from dinner)
-OR-
handfull of baby carrots

The sweet potato gives lots of extra nutrients w/o adding flavor. The carrot, you can taste it a bit more. There is virtually no color change b/c of the strawberries/blueberries.

Put into food processor, blend until smooth. This makes about 3-4 servings, depending on size.

Favorite toppings/sides/mix-ins:
walnuts
graham cracker squares (dip + eat)
granola
crushed almonds
Teddy Grahams (for kids)
The crumbles in the bottom of your bag of cereal.

Some of my friends have more adventuresome tastes.


Yes, that smoothie is GREEN.

I've heard these are good combos:
Frozen mango/pineapple/tropical fruit mix
about 1 c. fresh spinach
orange juice

The word on the street is that you taste the tropical part and not the spinach. I might even add some mint into mine. Just b/c it's green :)

Some other fun smoothie add-ins: mangos, papayas, cherries and peaches. You will notice I omitted bananas. It's not because I'm a hater; it's because my body doesn't process them well. :( They're a great add-in for smoothies, too, though.

I'm curious how other veggies might go in. I'd probably stick with ones that wouldn't add too much flavor/taste, wuch as: cooked sweet potato or cooked cauliflower .... any other suggestions for veggies I could add in here?

The Domino Effect

You know how it goes. Yes, you. The homeowners. You know how home projects go. You do ONE TINY thing like tear out the wall between your kitchen and dining room and then other projects spiral from that one tiny action.

About 2.5 years ago, I tore out a wall. I was done looking at it. It gave me the stink eye most days. And I was tired of its attitude. Its sass. So I showed it who was boss.

This is what was left:


Yes, that's a hole, and yet is is in our kitchen/dining floor. We just step over it and pretend it's all finished and pretty. Seriously.

Over the years, Erik has said "I'd like to get rid of or cover the tile in the kitchen and get rid of the carpet in the dining room." For YEARS he's said this. Well, Erik is the thinker and I'm the DO-er in this marriage. I finally said ENOUGH! We are going to do this.

It started with us thinking we'd have the hardwood floors refinished. Under our entire kitchen/dining/living room area.

After some consulting with floor people who know more about this than I do, though, it seems the tile in our kitchen could be a problem. Even if we are able to get it up, the floors are probably hopelessly damaged. :( Which makes me sad, sad, sad.

One day, Erik said to me "Maybe we just re-do the floors in the kitchen/dining room and leave the carpet in the living room." I don't have any problem with that. In fact, it'll make the kitchen/dining project MUCH easier! We'll just move appliances into the living room and not have to take them out of the house, along with the couch. This seems like a genius idea!

So now, we're just having the floors in the kitchen/dining done. Project got smaller, right? Maybe.

Think back to the above photo. Notice the hole? It contains a vent. The only vent that went into the kitchen. We certainly don't HAVE to have a vent in the kitchen, but we probably should for the comfort factor.

For the past few weeks, we've had heating/air/duct people tromping in and out to look, see and give quotes for moving this vent. The dog thinks it's Christmas, with so many people coming in to bark at and to sniff.

I *think* we've nailed down who will be doing the duct work, and later this week we'll nail down details on the floors. Sigh. But this has been a process.

I will be so glad when it's all done.

Oh, but the domino effect. We can't forget. So, since we're having the floors done, it makes sense to paint the walls before we care if we drip anything on the floors. In both the kitchen and dining rooms. Did I mention I have not sanded down and re-mudded the big hole in the wall? Yes, I will have to do that BEFORE any priming or painting is done.

Seriously, some days I think I need to have my mental health checked.

So, dear blog readers, if you feel like I'm neglecting this blog in any manner, it's because I am drowning in the domino effect of taking out a wall and deciding to put in a new floor.

It all sounds so easy. Right?

Riiiiiiiiiight.