Driving in Style

This is how it should be. Wish I had a snuggle pillow :)

I'm A Genius

...and I also fixed my own washing machine. Woo woo! 

The other day my washing machine started beeping at me and flashing error messages on the little screen. I didn't even know my machine could flash anything but the infernal "16" minutes remaining there always seems to be when I'm trying to wash clothes in a hurry.

The water wasn't draining (read: HUGE sloppy puddle in my machine),  so at first I had to hand-wring my heaviest clothes to get the water out which of course were towels, jeans and sweaters... I was out of a washing machine. I was sad.

Then, Google to the rescue! Others had seen this failure message and most had an easy fix: clean out the filter! Apparently your washing machine has a filter that lies somewhere between the the drain hose for the drum (where the water and clothes are) and the pump that sucks the water through the hose and out the back of your machine through another hose. Now that I think about it, it makes sense to have a filter, but I had no idea there was one.

I popped off the front panel of the washer with the fancy screwdriver that looks like an asterisk. Behold, the innards of the washing machine:

I jammed a towel underneath the frame of the machine as people had suggested on "the google". Turned the filter cap and nasty smelling water streamed out, soaking my beach towel. Soaked. *Good tip Google people!* 

You can see the gross inside, but it wasn't anything so spectacular as I was expecting. Some slime, a few sewing pins (oops), and oh yeah, a GIANT rigid metal piece the size of my hand! I have no idea where that piece came from and I only hope it wasn't from the machine itself...

So I cleaned out the gunk, took the pump off and made sure the impeller still turned properly (which it did) to ensure it wasn't an obvious pump problem, returned the pump to its rightful place, and then did a test wash. No leaks, full drain capability, I'm awesome! 

Shenanigans

When I left with Kirby on a walk to get the mail, Sammie was barking in the backyard. When I came home, Sammie was inside the house wagging her tail and staring at me through the front screen door. No wonder she was so proud... Click here to see.

Feeling Guilty

The "Village Ten" pizza...all for me!!!

New Girl

If you aren't into this show, you should be. New Girl is my new favorite show and oh-em-jee it rules. I almost pee my pants every time I watch it. You can catch up online at fox.com/new-girl. DO IT! You just might pee yourself too... :D

Little Gardeners

Someone decided to be helpful with the melon harvest. Girls were outside all day, found this guy in the middle of the yard. Kirby danced around it several times, then tried to pick it up. Hmmmm... Someone must have gotten it there. See the teeth scrapes all over?

Brrr

You know it's cold in your house when your furriest and fattest dog is shivering in her bed, teeth chattering and all! Time to pile on the blankets!

Chandy

One of my sweet deals from the shopping excursion in San Marcos was a fabulous capiz chandelier from West Elm (here). After bargaining with the manager to get a more pristine shade piece, the chandelier which came in two pieces (shade with capiz shells and canopy) left in my hands for 64% off retail. Booyah. I had been eyeing this chandelier for some time online, but never wanted to pay retail for it. This find was HUGE!

So home I went and decided to hang this thing all by myself. No problem. Sure, I am not the electrician in the family and of course I hadn't hung a chandelier by myself before, but why not. As you can see, here is the before picture of my dining room. The builder-grade chandelier you see was the centerpiece of room and very uninspiring. Snooze and not my style.

I had many struggles with the new chandy, which included:

1. The ceiling hole from the old chandelier was wider than the baseplate of the new chandelier. Patch/tape/mud/sand needed.

2. Shade and canopy did not match. Nope. Luckily the outlet had the matching canopy, and they sent a courier to pick up the old canopy and deliver the matching canopy. Amazing!

3. It took over an hour to unfurl the carefully packaged, triple bagged and taped, extremely fragile capiz shell danglies. None broken, I'm awesome.

4. But the ultimate "struggle": I may have put a stepstool on the table (with the table runner still on it) since I was too short to reach the ceiling. I may have had the chandelier canopy hanging from my shoulder while I was sweating in the dark with a spotlight illuminating the ceiling, trying my hand at wiring the chandy. I may have had my pockets stuffed full of wire nuts, screwdrivers, and screws. I may have shimmied the stool too close to the edge of the table, the stool may have fallen off, I may have thrown the canopy to the floor and I may have, just maybe, done some parkour from the falling stool, to the table, to a chair to the foyer to save my stupid hide. ...this may have happened.

Good stuff.

At the end of several days, the new chandelier was hung and I love how it turned out. What do you think? 

Speaking of Weed...

I had Hemp-anadas and Hemp Brownies with my Grilled Salmon Pasta at Ruggles Green yesterday, mmmmmmm. They were delicious!!

Lauren and I chowed down, then saw the movie J Edgar at Studio Cinema Grill. The movie was good, I thought. Interesting man, interesting time, so many secrets!

I am going to see the latest Twilight movie at some point, but I'll be danged if I was going to see it on opening weekend. There were so many teenagers and well..."unsavory" movie-goers there, it was craziness! Also, since when did going to the movies involve dressing your hoochiest? There was booty and one-piece unitards and prostitute shoes and more booty!! It.was...fashionable? Egads. I'm old.

The Half Acre Weed

...okay, maybe that's too big a stretch from the "Hundred Acre Wood", but that's what I dealt with during yesterday's lawn-mowing adventure. 3 weeks+ of growth was a bit of a challenge. Good news: it's now done!

...and it appears some folks are already enjoying not having to high-step through the backyard jungle ;) can you see the wee ones?

Deals, Swollen Feet and Some VIP Action

On Saturday, us Strandmark Ladies hit up the San Marcos Premium Outlets. Let me tell you how excited we were to hit up the home goods outlets: Williams Sonoma, Pottery Barn, Crate and Barrel and ...the piece de resistance: Restoration Hardware Outlet!! OUT-LET people!! For anyone who knows, I'm in a total RH phase right now - I love the industrial, yet classic elegance of their style but whooo-weee! Are they expensive! So, you can imagine the pitter-pat of my heart when I saw they had an outlet...le sigh :)

Anyhoo, we hit the WS/PB outlet first and hit it strong! We all came out with fabulous deals and while I can't show my two best finds just yet (soon, my pretties!), I can tell you the best part:

West.

Elm.

Outlet.

Section.

What whaaaaaaaaat? You heard me. Zee outlet of zee Elm. A-booyah!

So we had a wonderfully successful venture at those first stores, then hit the luscious RH outlet where I will definitely go back if I ever want to get anything from RH. I drooled over this Kensington Upholstered Linen Couch...gaaaaaaaaaaah. Maybe next time :)

The next 7 hours were spent shopping, eating lunch at Johnny Rockets (Turkey Route 66 on a wheat bun - delicious!), commenting on passers-by, and enjoying each others' company. We took our weary and swollen feet back to the hotel with our bags and bags of spoils, rested for about an hour then headed back out to downtown Austin for some evening fun.

We first stopped at Parkside and shared a smattering of small dishes including their divine mac and cheese - a must try! Our delightful server Marissa (seriously attentive and so helpful) gave us some good suggestions for where to go that evening, including the Elephant Room and Cedar Street Courtyard. As we departed the restaurant for our venue of choice (the Elephant Room), we hit some topless, trashy folks just waltzing in a clump down 6th street....gross. Yes, ladies with boobs and no top. A few of them. Gross boobs - not the good kind. ...let's move on.

There was a line at the Elephant Room to get in, so we kept on keeping on. And thank goodness, because Cedar Street Courtyard was such a fun time! We got in to the venue free and were able to score some VIP seats on the balcony area with a private bar and a great view over the stage. Mom, Faith and I enjoyed the cover band Encore, I drank too many G&Ts and then we hit the hay around 1am. Woot woot! Late nite for Jaimers!

All in all it was a banner Saturday with gorgeous weather, gorgeous ladies and swollen feeties from shopping and dancing. Amazing!

Night With the Ladies!

Mom and Faith came to visit me this weekend for a little girl's weekend in Austin! So far so good! We picked Faith up at the airport (mom came in yesterday) and headed straight to Austin. We walked to the Capitol which is really pretty, if you haven't been, then went to try to see the Congress Bridge bats. Needless to say they had already migrated to Mexico this year, so instead we headed to Hank's Garage for happy hour drinks and duck fat frites...mmmmm. this place was goooooo-ood! Curry ketchup and dill creme fraiche dipping sauce, delightful! I did, however spill my drink, but the bartender made me a new one for free so yay! From there we went to BD Riley's Pub, had some drinks and grub, saw a bagpiper dude play fo reals, then the lady next to us went ass over tea kettle in her chair! Poor thing :) once filled we trounced up the street to a bar called Latitude, where I had a G&T (gin and tonic, obvy) and we listened to a good blues band. Loud, but good! I'm getting oldie moldy in my ears, so... Stuff is often too loud or too quiet these days for me, *sigh*.

I had a great time with mom and Faithie, tomorrow shopping!!

Who's Your Buddy?

DST

Anyone who knows me understands I target 9:30 pm for bedtime and anything later is often a miracle. I'm old, I likes me sleep - so sue me! Anyhoo, this evening as I was watching TV, I decided to congratulate myself for staying up so late. I was truly proud.

...then I realized it was only 6:30 pm.

Daylight Savings Time, you and your concept stink. "Fall Back" THIS!

I hope you're all coping better than this ol' bird :)

Sunday Part Two

So...I decided to tack on a few more tasks to today's agenda including a self-pedicure, baking cinnamon-chocolate chip cookies, and burgers for dinner. As usual, I did all of them simultaneously trying to maximize my use of time.

Good news: Cookies and burgers turned out well. Cookies are tasty! Pedi even survived the cookie fiasco.

Bad news: There was a cookie fiasco.

Oh! You don't know what I mean? Well, I may have accidentally bumped the Kitchenaid switch while dumping flour in the mixer. Let me show you.

Good stuff :)

Sidebar: Feet with the toe-separators in make feet look more gnarly than usual. The flour footprint, however, is bad ass.

Ruff Sunday

Reaping the rewards of a few miles biking and a couple running. I hope you are as at peace with the world as these jokers! Happy Sunday everyone!

Fall Baking!

To commemorate the beautiful Fall day today, I ran 2 miles with Sammie and biked a mile with Kirby. I am so thankful Kirby does well running alongside my bike...not perfect, but good enough that I don't fall off and she gets her exercise :) we make a good team I think!

Tuckered out, it was time for dog napping and Mommy baking! A couple weeks ago I bought a bucket o' pears at the Farmer's Market and it's time to finally use them. I googled pear galette and found a fab recipe on epicurious.com for an Almond-Pear Galette: http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Almond-Pear-Galette-236924

It was pretty easy to make, but took a little time between steps; perfect for a Fall day! Give it a try, it turned out yummy!!

All Hallows

As a late addition to this Halloween, my neighbors smelled gas in their house so... LCFD to the rescue!! Fire trucks and sirens and flashing lights! Wooohooo! Everything turned out okay, so that's good news for all.

Also, the kids who came to the door said both: "it's not as scary as last year" and "it's the scariest house ever!!" Some of the parents were also joking they had to bribe the kids to come up to our door cuz it was so scary... Yay, I guess? :D

Happy Halloween everyone!

Bikes & 'Cakes

Today was gorgeous outside, yay!! Sunny, breezy, perfect temperature. Lauren and I biked from my house to a local cupcake shop, Rise Cupcakes (www.risecupcakes.com). They just opened in September and I will definitely go back. Moist cake, strong flavors and cute decor. All in all we biked almost 12 miles round trip!! Woohoo! I expect a sore butt-crotch tomorrow from the journey, but it will have been well worth it :)

I hope you all had a bright and sweet weekend!

Mmmmm

It's a New Age and Jersey Girl kind of night.
...someone here might be jealous.

Bounty!

A cool front came through last night, so I was able to finally get a reprieve from the mosquitoes and tend to the garden. This is probably close to the season's last fruits...

Hot

A little "post-run with Mommy" fat tongue. So hot!!

Note: Mommy is also sweating profusely from the brief run x2 in capri pants and a long sleeve tshirt, but you will not see any pix of that! Separate runs with each dog, since both are too much to handle for me at one time = double sweat!! Why the full-body cover in 80+ degree weather? Yep, still skeeto infested here!

I hope you're living skeetie-free!

Ahhhhhhh...

This is the way to spend a morning with your husband! Cup of tea, breezy air and foot cuddles :)

Mozzies

I remember when we went to Africa and I was all worried about contracting Yellow Fever and Malaria from mosquitos. It turned out there weren't very many mosquitos there (at the time at least) and I was so un-worried I began to adore their name for mosquitos, "mozzies". "Mozzie-spray" this and "mozzie coil" that... "Oh how cute!" I thought. Tee hee hee...

Ahhhhhhhhh mozzies. I remember why I dislike you, MANY!

The area I live in got a few inches of rain a few weeks ago and since it has "cooled off" to a balmy high of 85 only (yay!), the rain has stayed and the mozzies, they are-a-breedin'. It's a literal swarm of mozzies all over the dogs as they go outside for potty and it's a Marshik-family slap-fest when they get in.

The dogs are faring okay still, though their little legs (less hair) and faces (least hair) get bitten pretty frequently. The fat-juicy mozzies get smashed by Mama Marshik and it's bye-bye suckers! Mama Marshik is the entree du jour every time, probably because I'm so sweet. My feet and ankles and neck and arms have SO many bites, it's crazy.

I do think Texas mozzies are worse than MN ones. It's true folks, it's true. MN is a close second, but Texas takes the cake for big ol' skeeties.

I'm usually against sprays and chemicals and what have you, but in this case...SPRAY CITY SPRAYYYYYYY! They are supposed to be spraying the area I live in tonight, so let's hope it helps.

Our cooler temps are a welcome reprieve from the sweltering drought this summer season, and I am thrilled to be able to enjoy those temperatures :) I hope you are all enjoying this lovely autumn!

Hi There

Hello there world! It's time again for another session of Bloggo!

Life has been pretty crazy lately, so let's get caught up:

1. I'm still navigating my way through the mystical world of my new job. So far I am managing okay, and looking forward to getting the most out of this new position that I can.
2. In August Charlie and I had our 6-year anniversary -woo!!! It's been a fabulous 6 years of marriage and I am thankful every day to be married to such a rock-star of a husband. Mwah!
3. Carey and Chris brought our new nephew Henry Molton Meehan into the world and he is super cute! Charlie got the opportunity to see him in person upon arrival in MN for his sister's big 40th birthday bash. Great times abound on the Marshik side of the family!
4. My sister's kids are doing really well and Noah started school this year. Preschool, that is. He's simply adorable and little B is always stylin' with his cheeks and glasses, so you can't beat that!
5. Charlie and I took an Indian Cooking class during Houston Restaurant Weeks at Rice Epicurian Market and had a wonderful time - our table ruled! Good food and good times.
6. Thanks to Groupon we got to take an Intro to Scuba open water class and that was super fun. I was a bit freaked out at first, which surprised me, but in the end I think I got the idea and paddled myself around the practice lake. I might try for my Scuba cert even! Stay tuned for that one.
7. Mom just came to visit and it was really nice to have some girl time :) Faith and Mom will be coming to visit in November for a "real" girls weekend and I can't wait!

That's all for now - I hope life is treating you all well!

Sniff!

...I can't help it. I'm a lost cause.

I deplore Billy Ray Cyrus and his re-emerging mullet.

And yet, this DOES. NOT. STOP. ME.

At the very first snippet of a 'reveal' from the commercial for that new show "Surprise Homecoming" on TLC (a show about deployed servicemen coming home as a surprise to their families)...you guessed it. I start boo-hooing like an idiot.

What's worse is this eye-watering happens every time I see the commercial. EVERY TIME. If you watch HGTV as often as I do, you obviously know that TLC commercials are like the plague on that network. I'm doomed.

Final Mission

In a couple short days I will have the privilege to be working the last week of the FINAL space shuttle mission of all time: STS-135/ULF7.

Many of you have asked about the climate at NASA as the end of the shuttle program arrives in full force. The general feeling at NASA is one best characterized as bittersweet. The end of an era in human spaceflight and an ever-fluctuating direction for the future and the agency as a whole is hard on the dedicated NASA workforce - including those not involved in the shuttle program directly. There are a lot of layoffs that have occurred and the last round of them is soon to come. By the end of the shuttle "retirement phase" we will have lost much legacy manned spaceflight knowledge and more importantly, really good folks.

In my thirty-some years of life, the space shuttle has been a staple - in fact, I can't remember a time in life without the space shuttle. I remember specifically the tragedy of Challenger in 1986 as a young student and again the tragedy of Columbia in 2003 as a just-graduating new hire at NASA.

I cannot forget what it felt like watching the launch of this magnificent, engineering marvel in person. The roaring sound, the tactile feeling of the sheer power coming from her engines as she rocketed into space on her dynamic 8 minute ride. To this day I cry at the sight of it.

I will never forget how honored I have felt working in Mission Control Center for each shuttle mission over the past ten years.

Having been blessed to have been a part of this amazing program, and in general as a proud American citizen (even with her downfalls), I will miss the space shuttle dearly after the wheels have stopped upon landing. Until then, however, I will relish every second of the mission!

Work Funny

Charlie and I are both civil servants and we each got a notice from the Office of Personnel Management that said we had an updated personnel action document.

Part of the document stated, and I quote:

"Work performance is an at acceptable level of competence."

We rule.

Gak!

It's been a month since the last entry, which by our record isn't all that bad :)

What's happened since then? I worked the second-to-last shuttle mission (STS-134/ULF6) for two weeks on the overnight shift and since my friend and coworker Lauren got sick, I got to take a turn as FAO for a few days including the Orbiter's final Entry of her lifetime! It was fun to be back in the Flight Control Room for a final time :)

I also did my civic duty and sat as a juror for the first time in my life. I spent the entire week with 11 other jurors trying to determine the fate of an alleged felon, indicted with first degree aggravated assault. The defendant elected to have the jury decide the sentencing as well, so we basically sat through two trials with witnesses and testimonies and evidence; One for the charge and one for the sentencing. It was an emotionally charged week, where I cried every day after duty and even a few times during deliberations - mostly because of the disappointing, aggressive, childish state/behavior/attitude of the other jurors and not even so much because of the case content. In the end we could not come to an agreement on the sentencing, so the judge declared a mistrial. Despite the end result, I am proud of having performed my civic duty in the most respectable and fair manner I knew how - a duty that fellow citizens have fought and died for so that we may enjoy the benefits of our legal system and way of life, as a citizens of this country.

It was the toughest week I have ever been through.

I got some Vibram shoes for running and have worn them once. Only a couple small blisters, so I consider that a win. I think I'll try again tomorrow!

Lastly, my summer show "So You Think You Can Dance" is on and it makes me happy. So far I'm not really feeling it with this season's contestants, but I'm sure someone will grow on me. I do like a few of dances though so far, but "the one" hasn't yet revealed itself. I can't wait for it!

So there I was, sitting on console, minding my own business, when what should I see? A text from my husband about wrangling some "harmless" monster-snake with his bare hands like Bear Grylls. ...or rather, in my opinion, like some kind of delusional, usually-shirtless, barefoot-running, dog-loving, Gardening Wonder also known as Fat Mar. Who does that guy think he is? Traipsing around the LC snake-trapping with a snake stick does not a wise-man make....

Mama wants to keep you around honey. Watch yo'sef wit' dem snakes.

Wife, out.

So there I was, sitting on the couch, minding my own business, when all of a sudden a snake-like shadow appears in the opaque-tinted window next to our front door, about six feet up. I thought fa-sho that it was just a branch shadow moving in the wind, cuz wth would a snake be doing creeping down our doorway?

So I went and looked anyway and was able to snap a couple crappy pictures with my phone. He was about four feet long and coming down off of our door header. I have no idea how he got up there or where he was coming from. So then I went and got my flip-flops to go try to chase him the opposite way (into the woods) so that none of our snakepocolypse-fearing neighbors would find him. I found him creeping along the dining room window sill and grabbed at him, but he shook loose; he had himself pretty intertwined in the azaleas and I didn't have a great grip on him. Then I went and got a flashlight and snake stick, but I couldn't find him again.

Oh yeah, it was not a cottonmouth, which I do see more often than any other snake. I'm guessing a blotched water snake? http://www.houstonherp.com/BlotchedWS.html

2nd to Last

I have the pleasure of working the 2nd to last shuttle mission, currently ongoing. It is bittersweet being a part of this whole operation - "bitter" for the impending end to the program and "sweet" cuz I get to be a contributor to the mission success - but I am thrilled to be on loan from my new job so that I may once again partake in Shuttle Mission Operations.

I am, however, on the overnight shift for two weeks which isn't quite as thrilling. Wheeeeeeeee! Regardless of the shift work, I will enjoy as much of this mission as I can :)

Quickie Vacation!

Charlie and I went to Orlando last weekend to help Faithie and Shawn celebrate their 5-year anniversary - Happy early Anniversary sweeties!

The whole family was there including Mom, Dad, Faith, Shawn and the kiddies, Fatty and Me.
We stayed at the Treehouse Villas on Disney property at the Saratoga Springs Resort. The Treehouse we were in was in a really nice wooded aread, backed up against a waterway upon which you could travel by boat to Downtown Disney and other resorts. We had a fabulous time enjoying time with the family, including a spectacular dinner/dessert/fireworks evening hosted by the lovely couple at Epcot. We went to Typhoon Lagoon as well, and whooped it up at the wave pool, including getting schooled by some mid-waves...lol! Mom & Dad went to dinner with us at Seasons 52 (www.Seasons52.com), our favorite local restaurant, one night and then the four of us "kids" went to dinner at Kuzzina and played some mini-golf at Fantasia...Putt (?)...another night. It was so much fun!! Of course, the kids are great and I even got Brandon to fall asleep on me - yesssssssss! Sure, I had absolutely nothing to do with him sleeping (I could have been a rock or lumpy pillow for all he knew), but either way -I call this a win :)

Lastly, we got to finally meet Faithie & Shawn's good friends Shira & Chris and Gemma & Rich(ie) - what a hoot! Yes, I said "hoot"... All were great people and they're so good to my sister. I can see why they're such good friends! I especially liked Rich since he's such a fanatic about NASA. It's not often I get to meet people who genuinely are interested in the space program, so YAY RICH! I hope they come down to visit sometime soon (before JSC is stripped on its last remaining reminders of the Shuttle program...*sigh*).

Thanks for inviting us to share in your special celebration Faith and Shawn, we love you!

Today's Harvest

Super Cuke and Super Zucc (reference the quarter at the bottom of the frame)...with a smattering of ripe, delicious strawberries to boot!!

I love our garden!

Bat House

It's been a few weeks since the last post. The gardens are going strong in the green bean, zucchini and herb categories.

Most exciting of all, however, is that Charlie finally finished his bat house. Yes, a bat house. He's been talking about making and researching how to make bat houses for a long time. Mostly I think he just thinks bats are cool, BUT they have the added bonus of eating the heck outta some mosquitos, which on our end of the development by the path and rice creek...we have an over-abundance. So, go get 'em batties!

He constructed it out of custom wood pieces, plopped it on a 20 foot high swingarm and even gave it some custom bat decals so the bats would know where to go hang out. Ha! Hang out! Get it? Yessss! I knew you would! ahhhhh...

It's located by our 4 large gardens near the back of the yard and blends in quite well. So far though, no bats...at least we haven't seen any bat guano, so...that's all we can tell.

We're waiting for the STS-134 mission to launch and hope that happens in the coming week(s).

*******************

Late breaking news!!! Bat House pictures (and gratuitous garden and Kirby shots) discovered! Five pics in the slideshow:

While the Cat's Away, The Mice Will...Do House Projects

So, after not seeing Charlie for 3 weeks (1 week I was in NL, 2 weeks he was in Russia), he finally returned home last night, yay! I feel complete; seriously, I do!

Since I had the house to myself and the furballs, I decided it would be a good time to:

1. Spring clean (read no further if you're overly judgmental about the cleanliness of one's home)

2. Re-seal the slate in the kitchen (it had only been 5 years since the last time...3 years "late" according to the slate floor gurus)

3. Update the master bath cabinets (bye bye oak color)

4. Miscellaneous

#1 took me a whole week to do, but felt really good when it was completed. You know, vacuuming the dog hair out of the cracks in the stairs and under/behind the bed. Hand scrubbing floors and baseboards and dare I say it? Dusting every surface in the house (even the windows above the fireplace and front door and fridge that no one ever sees). I was proud.

#2 was a result of being sad looking at my dull floors and wanting to re-seal for quite some time. I bought a low VOC matte-finish 'enhancer' and sealant. It took an entire afternoon to clean, seal, wait, seal, wait, seal, cure - but I'm pleased as punch! Achieving sparkling floors with 2 hairy dogs and 2 dirty owners who go in-and-out of the back door every 7 seconds is a feat!

#3 took about 4-5 days in total between prep, painting and curing. I was tired of our oak cabinetry's look since it's not my style preference, and short of an entire bath redo (which I would like to do if it were free and didn't over-reno our house for the market) I decided a cabinet refinishing was a perfect fit.

I have been seeing adverts for the Rustoleum Transformations cabinet and counter refinishing kits and thought this would be a perfect project to tackle and perfect product to try! In short, the process was easy and intuitive and I recommend the product. I chose the color "Espresso", and used the glaze to darken it up and give it dimension. I didn't think it would matter that much for the dark hues, but it absolutely did. Consider using the glaze even for dark shades.

Some tips:

a. The drying time is extensive, especially when doing drawers and doors since they are two-sided, so take that into consideration when doing the project.

b. Humidity makes the drying time more important, so if you live in an Htown-like swamp environment, be prepared to wait longer between steps.

c. Watch for drips on your base coat step. Seriously. Luckily my drips were concentrated in the under-cabinet areas, so you can't really tell.

d. When they tell you not to overbrush the protective coat, DON'T OVERBRUSH! Watch for obvious drips (again), but a thick coat dries as clear as a thin one. It dries fast and will clump if you try to be anal and get the surface looking exact before moving on. Oh yeah, and move FAST!

e. Have a clean, prepared surface for your doors and drawers to lay on and PROP THEM UP from underneath if you can. Also, see item "c" from above because I was a little too heavy-handed on a couple coats and it dripped, then stuck to the drying surface - end result, sloppy.

Before & Afters:

#4 includes miscellaneous items like organizing underneath the bathroom cabinets (SO excited for it!), planting hanging baskets in the front yard, weeding the gardens, cleaning the kiddie pool for Stinkdog, bathing Stinkdog (so she was less stinkly), and learning to use the thermostat (don't ask).

All in all a productive couple of weeks. Idle hands and all that. Yay!

Sweet

Springtime in Houston is a wonderful time. The weather is warming, sunny and breezy. The birds are chirping and spring baby animals are running around all over the place. It is also the time where you can smell the sweet honeysuckle and jessamine blooming wildly on the trail by my house. The sweet scent wafts toward the house in the early morning and late evening. Inhale. Bliss!

PLUS, the gardens come alive :) Spring strawberries from our garden!

Ew

Jen H....don't look. This isn't for you. Seriously!

Um...so.....this "little" guy crawled into my house today from the garage.

His size in relation to a cereal spoon.
His glowing eyes! Grody.

I'm so thankful he wasn't a "jumping" spider! I carefully captured him in the plastic bin and subsequently tossed him into the bushes out front. Note: He was so massive, he made a substantial "thunk" as I tipped the container over. THUNK.

The Book of Love

Whenever Charlie is away, even for a short time, I get really sappy and my emotional state is amplified - not a good thing for anyone who is near me, as an EXPLOSION of emotion is bound to appear at any given time. This includes, but is not limited to:

-Crying my face off on the airplane home while "The Book of Love" by Peter Gabriel plays, as I simultaneously lip-synch the words. *Tear* (that's "teeeer", not "tare")

-Wearing his tshirt to bed so I can smell his stinky stink as I drift to sleep. *Dirty tear*

-Having his dog sleep in the bed with me to keep me warm, as I imagine it is he who is cuddling that nook behind my knees and snoring with his mouth open, not the small furball. *Hairy tear*

-Running 3 miles. Not really because it is good for me, but rather because I know he'd be proud of me for doing so. *Fat tear*

Miss you honey!

(c'mon furlough)

Going Dutch

--PICTURES NOW BELOW--

***Start Transmission***

Welcom!...and get ready for another edition of "long post"...

I have just returned from a 11 day trip to visit my dear friend Sarmad in The Netherlands. I had a lovely time catching up and seeing quaint towns in the region. It is beautiful here and the people are wonderful.

Each morning I had yogurt and peanut-butter toast (sometimes with cereal, most of the time without) and a big heaping mug of tea. Sometimes we passed the time reading on the patio of his flat, sometimes it was reading in a cafe in the town square...ahhhhhh. I had a most relaxing and enjoyable time; the kind of vacation where when you're 32 and trying to pass gracefully through another one of life's crossroads you learn to try harder to appreciate the small things like: a good friend, a good book and a crisp morning breeze.

I love that everyone bikes here, that everyone has a great, open love for their animals (especially dogs, they are EVERYWHERE with their owners!), and I love that these people love being outside. Not a bad gig if you can get it!

Here's the recap:

Day 1 (Thu) - Leave IAH, travel overnight on a bumpy airplane next to a med student who likes to talk. BOOOOOO-RIIIIING.

Day 2 (Fri) - Arrive Amsterdam, take train to Leiden Centraal, then Voorschoten, then Wassenaar to see the new bachelor pad. Walked around town, took nap, hung out.

Day 3 (Sat) - Cycled from Wassenaar to Leiden & walked around the open air markets, Sarmad saw a rottweiler allegedly bite a lady, then we ate at some Einstein Cafe and had hamburgers (with what seemed to be actual "ham" burgers). Cycled back to Wassenaar and continued our bike journey through the forest and around the awesome mansions in the area and boy...did my butt-crotch hurt! It felt like we cycled about 20 miles, but it was more like

20km. I'm such a wuss! Wuss or no, it was a great feeling to be biking around. That evening we biked to a nearby Pannekoeken Huis and ate scrumptious pancakes (mine had ham, cheese, parsley, tomatoes) and I even enjoyed a Weisbier.

Day 4 (Sun) - This day we went to nearby Delft on a gorgeous afternoon. It was sunny, beautiful and perfect for wandering around the city with no particular destination in mind. We went to the square and sat out on the patio (where I got sunburned) drinking hot chocolate and eating sandwiches, enjoying the post-lunch hustle and bustle of the town. Of course, I had to pee in the midst of all this loveliness and of course the only WC we could find was out of order...but I survived thanks to the train station automatic WC for 50 cents.

Day 5 (Mon) - We spent most of this day taking care of some mandatory car registration items for Sarmad's car (still has Texas license plates, ick). Afterward we headed to Gouda by train. Yes, THAT Gouda. The cheese Gouda! We walked around the (again) adorable town center and admired the old building facades and charm the town exuded. We actually went inside the De Sint Janskirk church (dedicated to St. John the Baptist, patron saint of Gouda) to admire all of the famous "Gouda Glass". This is the longest church in The Netherlands and some of these magnificent windows date back as far as the 15th Century! Amazing. Afterward we headed to a small kitschy cafe on the square and had a heaping bowl of Gouda cheese soup and a delish sandwich. Mmmmm. That evening, we went to the Wassenaar beach and caught the sunset in the cold breeze. It was great!

Day 6 (Tue) - This was the day we went to the AMAZINGLY BEAUTIFUL Kuekenhof Tulip Garden. There were manicured vignettes of flowers and just gorgeous outdoor settings, that in a couple weeks will probably be full of the native tulips and even more fantastic (it was still a little too cool outside to get a full bloom of the flowers). The pictures speak for themselves. That evening we went to my very first european soccer game! We went to the Netherlands vs. Hungary game at the stadium downtown. The game was absolutely full of happy, engaged, ORANGE fans and was a blast! The final score was 5-3 Dutch, GO Oranje! I sported my brand new beanie cap (orange, of course) with an embroidered "12" on the back so I would fit in a bit better. I say the "12" means I'm the "12th man", Sarmad says

I'm just crazy...but I don't believe him :)

Day 7 (Wed) - This day we went to Den Haag to try to catch a movie called "Wasteland" at the annual "Movies that Matter Festival" by Amnesty International. It was the last day of the festival and needless to say the movie was sold out. So instead, we grabbed a bite to eat in the cafe (I had a delish curry/potato bowl) and then went to see another film: Silent Snow about the effect of toxins on our environment (air, water, glaciers, our health...). I quite enjoyed the film.

Day 8 (Thu) - Slow start to the day ending in a trip to the nearby Ikea, followed by dinner in Oegstegeest at De Beukenhof, a boutique hotel and restaurant that housed Sarmad for the first bit he was here. We both had delectable meals, and mine included: Scallop tartare, halibut in ginger butter sauce with dutch asparagus, crispy duck with potato gratin, peas and mushrooms, and chocolate cake with calvados ice cream atop a macerated strawberry delight. At some point in the evening, in this MOST charming of restaurants (cozy, warm, eclectic, gorgeous) the fire in the fireplace got out of control and must have set off an alarm. 10 minutes later the fire brigade showed up and ended up clanking around in their full gear, testing the flue and mucking about for the rest of the evening. The owners were very apologetic, but for us, it was at least entertaining :) Anyone in the area, EVER, should definitely go to this place for a meal and if you can, stay overnight in their boutique hotel - it looks divine!

Day 9 (Fri) - Lazy day in Wassenaar where I slept in, ate breakfast, took a nap, finally showered, and then we went on a walk to the Bagel Alley cafe in town. I sat outside on the patio reading a book, eating a hot bagel sandwich and drinking hot chocomel with whipped cream. Sounds nice, doesn't it? We capped it off with a long walk around town, followed by a cozy pizza and wine dinner at home. Oh yeah, we got to see Wasteland too, on iTunes! DEFINITELY check it out if you get a chance - great film!

Day 10 (Sat) - We got up bright and early to catch the train(s) to Ghent and Brugges, Belgium. The trip was about 4 hrs travel each way...and sorry Belgium, your trains are not as great and were always significantly late. Yay Dutch train system!! Both towns were great, we wandered mostly and took in the architecture and people. In Ghent we ate lunch along the river and I got to have my Kriek bier IN Belgium! Woohoo me! It was a worthwhile trip to Belgium on my final day of vacation - booyah. It was a fun, albeit exhausting long day.

Ghent:

Brugges:

Day 11 (Sun) - I said goodbye to my friend and flew home on an 11 hr flight. I picked up Sammie from our friend's house, saw Kirby once home and of course, lamented Charlie being in Russia for the next two weeks. Boooo.

There was plenty more I experienced and detail I left out (for instance I finished two books: "Bread Alone" and "The Other Hand"), but hopefully you get the gist.

Thank you Sarmad for being such a wonderful host and most importantly, a great friend whenever I need one.

***End Transmission****