frostdancer

The two smaller beadboard pieces went up with a little bit of whining from me. 0ccam had to pull me out of the room and plunk me on the couch to calm down. He went in and hammered in the small piece under the window. After calming down, I finished the other small piece, tapped in the nails, spackled, sanded ("Don't you need to sand all of the beadboard?" "Oh alright!"), wiped off the dust, and painted English Meadow from the Pooh paint collection.

Now on to touching up with yellow.

Browning the walls and beadboard with Deep in the Woods might have to wait if 0ccam wants to go do something today. That's fine with me because I've only left the house in the last week to go to Wing Stop.

The beadboard is finally up! That was this past week's project. I would cut them to size and/or cut outlet squares in them and we would put two up each night. This room was crazy for outlets! There are six outlets, one phone, and one cable. Well, one outlet is near the sink and not in the beadboard. Today I just put up the last two pieces by myself because they were small enough. I also tapped each nail in and filled in all of the holes. I still have two more small pieces to do...one under the big window and one next to the sink. I'm not sure about the sink though because it is an awkward space. However, 0ccam suggested cutting and painting one for that space because I might want to put it there after the room is complete.

Tomorrow should be cutting the last two pieces, sanding the spackling, painting the beadboard, and maybe painting some of the trim.

I still need to touch up the yellow paint, wipe the walls and beadboard with paint and glaze to make it look older and finish the trim. All this needs to be done before the floors are put in on Wednesday. We also need to move the filing cabinet and bed out of the room.

Then, there is the red trim above the beadboard and the brown baseboards.

Then, put the furniture back, hang pictures, figure out where the Lego train is going to run, and talk about the loft idea with railroad ties. Whew!

Ugh! School is looming. Nooooooooooo!!! It is already August! Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!!! I only have two more weeks before teachers have to report for meetings. Boo hoo!

The piano and patio furniture have finally arrived! After a little more than a month of researching moving companies and coordinating with someone down in Groves, Texas, we finally have my grandmother's piano from the 1930s or 1940s. Aunts, uncles, and friends remember fond memories around this piano. I have also been hunting for green patio furniture but most patio furniture comes in black or brown metal. In between the jungle of my aunt's backyard, I saw this great dark green iron patio furniture with all four chairs. I recently came across her wedding card to us describing the pool and inviting us to come over. I bet it was nice at one point but after the funeral, the entire backyard was overgrown and the pool was murky. The movers were a cute pair (an old white haired guy who was short and pudgy and a little Asian woman). They hauled the patio furniture to the back which is down some rotten railroad ties and up some concrete steps. The piano is just inside our great room. I will now have to see if someone can look it over for repairs and tuning. I still don't know where its home will be.

There is a glimmer of improvement now. Today was an awful messy day! This morning I scrubbed the wall because the iron on the border pulled up some of the paint. I had a bagel with strawberry cream cheese and then went back to sleep for a couple of hours. It was on to the nasty sandpaper. I hate sandpaper. I was powdered all over and it was gritty in my mouth. Yuck! I finally took a break and did some coloring which made me a little happier. 0ccam had an old chemistry spiral notebook so in it I drew each wall and colored the walls, beadboard, window trim, doors, etc... I did lots of measuring (even confirmed yesterday's post that one wall is 15' high) and labeled the walls. I was then able to use a paint calculator to figure out the paint needed. I finally ate some cottage cheese. The last nasty work was to wipe down the walls and trim which was so much better than the scrubbing and sandpaper. I was done about 5:30. Really done! At that point, I was ready to pounce on 0ccam so we could go get paint. He finally arrived about 6ish and was willing to go even without his evening snack. I was in a very whiny mood! We chose to go to Home Depot because they have Disney paint and the train room is partially inspired by Disney's train station. We found Mickeys Pants (red), Ho Hum Yellow, English Meadow (green), and Deep in the Woods (brown). It took awhile to figure out how much. I had estimated 4 gallons for the yellow color. The guy talked me into 2 gallons and then one of the red, one of the green and two of the brown. We wandered around waiting for him to finish and besides the place was mobbed with people wanting paint. We picked up some other painting supplies, looked at the lights, and tried to find something to stripe the walls. In the parking lot, I heard little voices cry "Mrs. ***!". Ugh! Summer is my time to ignore anything school related. It turned out okay. A boy and girl ran over, gave hugs, asked if we really had a house full of Legos, and said bye. Whew! Then, 0ccam took me to a diner where we had breakfast. I started to feel better. After unloading the stuff at home, we took a break. It was about 9ish. Finally, we covered the big furniture in the middle of the room with plastic and hauled in the huge ladder from the garage. I still need to sand two windows near the top of the 15' wall. It should be painting day tomorrow.

Well, I hope it improves! We have always talked about decorating the first bedroom with train stuff and eventually running our Lego train over our heads. I can't say near the ceiling because the ceiling is angled and one wall might be about 15 feet high. I just recently found some inspiration from Disney's Frontierland. I am so excited!

For the past week or so, I have unloaded one bedroom and closet into our great room. We have a pathway down the middle to get to the couch, tv, and computer. All of this needs to happen within two weeks because my sister, brother in law, and three nieces are coming to visit! But that's not all! Then on to the second bedroom which gets some stuff moved into the first bedroom. I know I'm crazy! 0ccam is putting up with me.

Today, I took most of the day just getting down the nasty blue with white and pink flowers border wallpaper down. I finally resorted to ironing it off and it just starting pulling off in one neat strip. Tonight, 0ccam helped me move the big furniture into the middle of the bedroom and move my computer to the dinette (You love me more!!!).

Tomorrow will be cleaning and repairing the walls and hopefully buying the paint.

More to come in the home improvement saga...

Oh wait! No!!! No wintery Christmas here in Texas! But wait! I have my winter tree. That will keep me happy for a little bit. Merry Christmas to all and to all a frosty New Year!

I haven't posted in so long. I am on summer vacation since I am a teacher. Woohoo!!! However, I have been very sick since being off for three weeks now. I am much better though. If I don't keep up with allergy pills to stop the crud, then the sore throat comes back and I cough up nasty stuff. I have a sore throat right now.

Today was fairly productive. However, I slept more than I wanted to getting up at 9am and taking a nap at 11am. This afternoon in the patio area, I planted some zinnias in some pots and watered the other potted plants. In the side garden, I picked weeds and cut back some tree limbs. Back in the house, I washed dishes, made taco skillet burgers, and made two salads that went in the frig. I went back outside around 7pm to work in the side yard again. I planted 6 or 7 plants I purchased from Lowes. I hauled two buckets of dirt to the back yard where the dirt under a stone wall is washing away. I finished up in the side yard by planting eight plants from my mother-in-law. I am trying to make our side yard into an English garden. It is coming along nicely. Maybe I can put some pictures in here soon. I still want some garden decor like some fairies, teacup candles on a stake, and shepherd hooks for some hanging baskets. Otherwise, it is coming along nicely.

It seems like I just post family events.
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Wow! No post for a whole year. I just wanted to say thank you to all who wished me a happy birthday. This year's birthday was one of the best I have had in awhile. I knew something was up the day before when one of my students asked if I was going to be at school in the afternoon. "Why?", I asked. Another student tried to tell me but I stuck my fingers in my ears (sorta) and loudly cried la la la la. So, the next morning I arrive to a silver curtain/banner that said Happy Birthday. I open my classroom door and the entire room has streamers hanging from the ceiling. There was a large bunch of balloons tied to a chair. I can barely get to my desk with all the streamers hanging over it. In fact, I had to tie a few just to get to the computer. I was loving it! Then, teachers started arriving and coming to my door to say happy birthday. The students were finally let in and I had bunches of people in my classroom and outside my door looking at all of the decorations. I got lots of wonderful gifts. Another teacher gave me a piece of glass that looks like a wine bottle (used for cutting cheese or whatever). From my students, I got a Mary Engelbreit birthday card, a notepad shaped like the letter "O", a Lego set (Star Wars...Clone Scout Walker), and a Barnes & Nobles gift card. From Mark, I got two sets of Mary Engelbreit posters...one is the holidays set and the other is the ecology set. I already have the holiday set laminated, cut out, and the easter is posted on the side of a file cabinet. The student who asked me about staying in the afternoon has a mom who helps out so much in my classroom. She organized the decorating with the second graders. She also brought in a three layer strawberry cake with fresh strawberried to go on top.

That same day I was taking a kindergarten student for antique shopping and eating lunch in their tea room. Each teacher comes up with an activity and is auctions off at the school auction. I love tea things so I chose this fun outing. The little girl had her beautiful Easter dress on and we had a great time. We shopped a little. I told her to pick something out that I would buy. She picked a brown purse with lots of big sequins. Lunch in the tea room was wonderful. The best part was the Cinnamon Vanilla iced tea (it is hot in these parts). We shopped some more and I bought a pretty green watering can for display on our patio.

Another great part of the day was driving 0ccam brand new SUV. The little girl thought is was grand.

The day ended with dinner at a Mexican restaurant with Mark. Yummy!

Every year, back comes Spring, with nasty little birds yapping
their fool heads off and the ground all mucked up with plants.
- Dorothy Parker

Thought 0ccam would like this quote I found while creating my stamping newsletter.

My hubby, 0ccam, made Valentine's day so special! First I left 14 notes around the house...his bathroom mirror, his bathroom cabinet, his closet, his computer in the master bedroom, his change basket, his computer in the great room, the remote control, the half bath mirror, the washing machine, the kitty litter box, the pill basket in the kitchen, the front door lock, and his steering wheel. The 14th I still have and I guess he will find in the morning. I wasn't exactly sure where to put the 14th note so I held onto it. It will accompany a coupon book with gifts that are in the mail and just hugs and kisses coupons.

This evening, he surprised my by leaving work early. I had just gotten home from visiting his parents and taking them a Valentine dinner including two heart cakes (I made) and a Valentine gift for his mom. I looked at AIM and he had logged off. By the time I looked at it, I knew he would be arriving in the driveway. So, I looked in the driveway from the kitchen window and he was there. He planted a big kiss on me when I opened the front door (grin). He said he already picked up some movie tickets so we needed to go to dinner. I quickly got dressed. We went to a mexican restaurant which has become a Valentine tradition. They offer a Valentine dinner for two including strawberry margaritas, fajitas, shrimp brochettes, and two very large chocolate covered strawberries. Very yummy! Oh and he suggested we sit next to each other on the booth seat (grin) instead of the usual sitting across from each other. We were a little early for the movie so I suggested going to a bookstore. I chose to get a few Valentine books and one Abraham Lincoln book for my teaching collection. 0ccam bought two CDs. After a romantic stop at the gas station, we went to the theater. I bought some Coke freezes but had to ask the boy behind the counter if they were open. Also, there were no staff at the ticket taking booth before the aisle of theaters. I guess the staff is sparse on Mondays but I thought there might be a few more on Valentine's day. Well, I still didn't know the movie until he said the green sign at the end of the aisle. When we got closer, I could read that it was Wedding Date. I just love romantic movies and it was cute. 0ccam will probably tell you differently. Overall, it was incredibly romantic. Oh, before I forget, he opened the car door for me a couple of times which is so sweet (grin). This was an amazing Valentine's day!!!

Well, my truck, the Ford Explorer Sport Trac, gave us a scare the other night. It wouldn't start after three tries plus the check gage light has been coming on for months. So, I take it in yesterday to get that checked plus change all of the filters...air, fuel, and oil and get an oil change. So, the guy says the filters and oil change are about $99.00 each so okay. The check gage is not like the check engine that stores info into the computer. He will have to keep it overnight so it sits and cools off to look at the check gage light. In the meantime, they do a diagnostic and he comes back with this card full of colored pieces of paper. The transmission fluid, the brake fluid, and the power steering fluid. Two of which cost $99.00 and the other is $159.00. So, I can't breath now because the bill is over $500.00 and they haven't even looked at the check gage situation. He said he could talk to my husband because he must have seen the deer in the headlights look. I said yes please and gave him the cell phone number for 0ccam. Well, I mistakenly wait for the guy to come back and miss the courtesy van for a ride home. He comes out (shocked that I am still there) but says 0ccam suggested only doing the transmission fluid. Okay, now I wait for the courtesy van to return. Finally it does and I head out with a little old black lady who can barely move and couldn't open the door. She gets in the frost seat and I get in the back with some old guy. We head out north of the dealership which is not the greatest neighborhood. We continue and the neighborhood gets worse but we turn on this little street with houses probably the size of an apartment. She gets out and I am asked to get in the front. I'm just thinking how interesting it must be to drive to all these homes and businesses seeing the differences in lifestyles between all the customers. Because now we are going to my neighborhood where the houses are three to four times the size of her house. We drive away from her neighborhood with run down buildings, an abandoned apartment building that is gutted, no glass in the windows, just a shell. We get to the highway and the area looks better. The closer to home, the better is looks. We finally get to my house which looks so beautiful at that moment. I wish I had asked if the van driver thought about the differences in neighborhoods. I might if he picks me up to take me to the dealership. Also, throughout this, I'm thinking it would be nice to be rich and have a chauffeur!

Last week the whole job thing seemed like a whirlwind! First, I had received some contact info from my stamping demonstrator. She said to contact this lady in FW ISD personnel and she can get me a job. So, I sent an e-mail to this lady and hadn't heard anything.

Next, I had a substitute interview on Friday set up with E--- for two long term sub positions. On Tuesday, they wanted it moved up to Wednesday. Okay, so I went but both long term sub positions were filled. However, she was considering me for an open 4th grade position which was a long shot (because of testing they want someone experienced). So, I got a call from E--- Friday morning trying to move my interview up. I politely told her I was already there on Wednesday. After she remembered, she said to come on back anyway because there was something else. So, within the hour, I was back and waiting for an hour when the secretary came out and said the lady was in a closed door meeting. Could we come back at 1:00. Okay, so I go home, come back, and sit for another 30 minutes. Finally, she just wants to talk to me quickly because we had already met on Wednesday. She asked if I would take a tutoring position at a nearby elementary and go talk to the principal. I said okay (not too thrilled). I talked to the principal who said it would be Tues-Thur but only an hour after school tutoring math and/or reading. I said yes because I'm too nice but he still had to call someone to check something.

In the meantime, my stamping demonstrator says A--- would like a long term sub to tutor. So, I talked to a teacher who said it was an all day, everyday tutoring job. I told her yes I was interested but she also had to check with someone.

Now, back to FW. Yesterday, I received a call from a principal in B--- who wants to interview for a Kindergarten position. I now have an interview set up for tomorrow. Wish me luck.

Here is the Christmas Loot:

On Christmas Eve from the in-laws:
Amethyst and sterling silver spiral earrings
Waterford heart with necklace
Lilliput Lane - Snow Place Like Home collection - "I Cycle" is the name of the piece

On Christmas Eve from 0ccam:
Shrek DVD collection - Shrek 1 and 2, 3D, and bonus
Train charm for my bracelet

On Christmas day from my parents:
Three pairs of socks - forest animals, cats, and one with toes (Santa for both big toes and eight tiny reindeer)
Mary Engelbreit buttons
Fabric with pumpkins stacked like snowmen (for my first teaching position next fall)
Book - Words FOR TEACHERS TO LIVE BY by Mary Engelbreit

On Christmas day from my sister:
Book - Words FOR TEACHERS TO LIVE BY by Mary Engelbreit (I will have to return this one)

On Christmas day from 0ccam:
Silver leaf earrings
Four pairs of Christmas socks
Book and CD - Rhinoceros Tap

We still have not received anything from my brother and family. My brother has been sick with bronchitis and pneumonia plus the whole family has passed around the stomach flu. I'll forgive them.

Today it snowed. Woohoo!!! Especially so near Christmas. It is so exciting. We don't get much snow here in Texas. I just love snow. It was only a dusting but coming down in chunks and flakes. It is so beautiful on the holly bushes and Yaupon holly trees (both with red berries). I grew up in South Texas where we may have had one ice storm and made a 5" inch snowman. While I was in high school, we moved to Memphis, TN and I was in heaven (lots of wonderful snow). During my senior year, we barely went to school because it snowed so much that year. Anyway, I am so giddy today and I keep on decorating the house for Christmas. Pretty soon the whole house will be covered with decorations. Tomorrow I want to put up our 2nd 9' tree! Thank goodness 0ccam puts up with all this craziness.

Last night I was up late (about 2), of course. I heard a truck outside and since I am curious, I snooped around OJ's perch and looked out the window. What to my wondering eyes did I see but an SUV's back wheels a little too close to me. The SUV was stuck on our neighbor's bushes with the front wheels in the neighbor's driveway and the back wheels in our front yard. It was actually the neighbor's (across and up the street) teenage son who got into this accident. I walked out the front and 0ccam soon followed. The mother was really apologetic. I asked if the boy was alright and he was. Just a little scared. I told her the bushes were not ours but the next door neighbor's bushes. I don't like them anyway. She had called roadside assistance but they apparently couldn't help her since it was on private property. Eventually, someone helped her get it unstuck (not her husband...he is out of town). I think the bushes are laying in our yard but I haven't checked. Well, today we received a note stuck to our door with duct tape. The boy had written an apology letter to us...very nice. Very interesting way to meet a neighbor.

My husband installed the new patch. When I went back into a house, the maid was ringing the doorbell. I clicked on her and she had a couple of interactions like greet or dismiss...I don't remember. However, I ignored her. Later, I noticed that she was in the house. She would pace constantly, try to have interactions with the Sims in the house, and cry. The Sims in the house could not interact with her. Clicking on her wouldn't allow any choices to come up. Eventually, she was tired and starving. She fell asleep in a bathroom and dreamed about food. When she woke up, she was starving so death came. She turned into an urn and I put it in the backyard. The maid's van is not parked in front of the house. When a Sim in this house calls for service, the maid is not an option. Other houses with Sims can call for a maid. How do I fix this?

Stolen from Mary Engelbreit, as I was adding more items of hers to my gimme list at Amazon...

I made a quick stop at a grocery store for some cherries and honey (pork chops tonight). First incident was when I was walking down a main aisle and two guys came out from another aisle. We both slowed down but they decided to keep going (basically cutting me off). Excuse me for getting in the way of them carrying their skanky, American beer. So, I got my things and went to check out. When I got to the pay out ledge, the two guys were headed to the front door. The clerk says, "There goes trouble". All I said was, "Yeah". As I was paying, an older gentleman carrying a box of canned vegetables told the clerk he couldn't find any peas. She said that she hadn't been away from the cash register all day and didn't know that she needed to search for peas. Well! The man said, "I just asked a simple question". She then tried to cover up by saying she was joking. Geez! Just hand me my change so I can get out of there. The tension was thick. If she had said her pea comment and quickly added something about just kidding and we'll have someone check that out, it may have turned out better. Give the man his peas!

I am updating my resume with my sister's help. She used to be in human resources and has given me some great suggestions. I just finished updating it and e-mailed it back to her for final suggestions. Pretty cool. I also need it for a job in Plano which is a long way from here. My friend from UNT teaches in Plano and they have some openings. She has been talking about me to her staff and wants me to put in my resume. I definately need the experience but the drive will be horrible.