86'n It

Disclaimer: I've had 2 PBRs and not enough sleep, so please join me as I get all mushy.


5 YEARS.

5 Years ago today I snagged a good one.

Wait. Pause the mushy. What is that I hear coming from downstairs? Ah, yes. "Lime in the Coconuts" song... Marc watched a Harry Nilsson documentary last night. (Nilsson sang that song.) Not my favorite. Oh, but wait, what is up next? Harry Nilsson's "Jump into the Fire"? Now that's what I'm talking about.

Forget the mush. Let me tell you the straight story: Our story is way more fire than coconuts. Here are the lyrics or "Jump into the Fire":

Or we can make each other happy

Here is a funny homemade video for the song.

Basically, the song turns into just a pleading repeat of  "we can make each other happy". Romantic right? Or what about "you'll never be free"? That's real romance there.

But it is the truth.

Everyone else knew that Marc and I would end up together (thanks for telling us!). Marc and I did not know this. We broke up, we made up, we broke up. For 7 long years! But I was never free. My life was never right without him. We both were always pleading that we could make each other happy. So...

5 years ago I jumped into the fire.

 And I've never looked back.

Ok I know that title is corny, but I could not resist it. As far as the anniversary present part, I had a minor renovation breakdown on Saturday. I went to Home Depot, got harassed by a random guy lurking at the loading area who not only did NOT help me load 14 bags 80lb bags of concrete, but who also asked me how much I weigh and when I didn't answer, proceeded to guess 20lbs OVER my actual weight.

I got home, I was hot and tired. I took one look at Marc, who had just dug out all the dirt for the stoop and was in the process of putting in the gravel layer and I said dead seriously: "Cover it back up."

I had just had it with working on the weekends. I didn't care if we had to step onto broken concrete hunks to get to the new patio. I didn't want to lift a finger. Cover it back up.


Luckily, Marc doesn't listen to me because he kept on working while I proposed a deal. The stoop could be my anniversary present. Pretty good deal, I think. (In all honesty, I did try to help him Sunday afternoon, but some little munchkin boycotted her afternoon nap.)

Franca had a grand ole time helping Marc finish the planting in the little holes. We just used some mondo grass from the garden.

She has been LOVING playing outside. She cries when we have to go in. Sadly, her favorite activity is stomping on our new, delicate grass. Digging is a close second. (As you can see by the bucket and shovel in the above photo.)

Marc is outside as I speak working on the patio. We are hosting a little get-together for neighbors Thursday and there are some corrections we want to make. Some painful, painful corrections.

Oh, is that Franca I hear waking up?? Huh, too bad I can't go help him. Happy Anniversary (again) to me.

 We have a bunch of little things left to do on the patio and have decided to do them in the order of the most dangerous to least dangerous.

At first the most dangerous was the lack of fence gates, but I have fashioned (in pure "Bunny" style) four of  what I will call "gates". So the fence openings have been take care of and right now, the most dangerous thing is this:

Chasing bugs on the concrete seat wall.

Loading and unloading the gravel.

I've been taking advantage of the fact that I only have Franca to care for this week by making multiple morning runs to Home Depot, taking her on business meetings in cabinet shops (the guys got a real kick out of that), and doing odds and ends around the house.

Remember my plea for a modern, cheaper ceiling fan? Well, Marc was still set on the Modern Fan Co. Ball one ($288). I don't know, for me it was just too plain. Too "Architect". So I was covertly hunting for something else. I saw an ad while at my parent's for a modern fan at Menards (a store we don't have down here), I remembered to look it up when I got home and the price was just right! $139 including shipping!

I knew that Marc wasn't sold on the fan, so I decided to hurry and put it up so he couldn't dismiss it without seeing it actually up. To be completely honest, I had my doubts too because ceiling fans, while a necessity in this house, can be really ugly. Plus it is made by Westinghouse. Not a company known for modern designs.

Franca went down for nap #2 yesterday and I sprung into action (well, after finishing a rendering for work). It was so dang hot and muggy that mid-job I just took my shirt off. 20 minutes of me standing on a step ladder in a black bra and black stretchy mini-skirt, I had this:

Ceiling Fan

Good news is, except for some loose ends, the patio is finished.

Bad new is, I'm having trouble walking, let alone carrying Franca up and down the stairs.
In retrospect, I probably shouldn't have run 5 miles Sunday morning and then come home to shovel gravel and carry heavy stones. Lesson learned.

Here is a sneak peak:

On a day like today, when I've seriously had to stop myself from throwing my computer out the window about 4 million times, (I'm not joking. AutoCad makes me INSANE!) I really needed something to go right. So I was beyond elated when Marc called me downstairs (before he goes boozing with his friends) to show me that my trench drain is working!
This is the drain that will keep water away from our foundation and therefore help our house not fall down. Yea! House not fall down!

Even though the pea gravel and flagstone isn't in, and Marc still has to pour the remaining piece of our "monument to concrete" (see below), I jumped the gun a little and did almost all the landscaping.

This last concrete retaining wall will have a step in it and will be the pad for the future outdoor kitchen.

Forget fence posts, please join me today over at So Wonderful, So Marvelous where I am guest posting!

You can read all about my desire to fake move! Click here to read.

(Also, how do you like my little facelift of this site? Better, no?)