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****

Warrior Dash!

Today Charlie and I were officially crowned Warriors! We did our very first 'adventure race': The Warrior Dash! The race was located about 70 miles away in Conroe, TX on the site of what looked to be a dirt bike race track. The race is a 3.18 mile race with several obstacles to conquer along the way.

I made us t-shirts that read "Threat Level Mudnight. Clean up on Mile 5!". Charlie was "Cherokee Chuck" and I was "Mud-in-Face". If you haven't seen The Office tv show lately, you may not get the reference (see here for more info), but we got a kick out of it! We met a few friends of ours up there about an hour and a half prior to our 2:30pm heat. HEAT being the key word. Yowsa! We had great weather, but it was at least 80 degrees and full o' sun for our wave. Hot hot heat for a 5k race!

Our wave of the race started promptly at 2:30 and we were off with the other Loonies in our wave!! Charlie graced me with his presence the entire time, bless his sweet heart. After the first mile there was a "Texas Tornado" where a guy in an air boat blew dirt and debris at us as we passed by. Next came running up a muddy, steep hill (with rope assist at the side, thankfully), getting DOUSED by a fire hose at the top, then sliding down the other side. We slid feet first into the pile at the bottom of the hill, wet & muddy, then continued on. I can't remember the next sequence of obstacles, but they included: more little hills along the dirt track, a low, dark, HOT HOT HOT HOT HOT HOT HOT tented obstacle we had to bear crawl through (total spine knocker!), a tangled web of bungees to maneuver through, over walls/under barbed wire, a horizontal cargo net (my knees are killing me from that one!), a vertical cargo net (which we ruled!!!), jump through a tire run (or step slowly, in my case...charlie high-stepped it), run through a small pond and over floating logs (thank you for the cool off!!), climb up and over a tall hay-bale hill (where I fell at the bottom of it on my arse), jump over two fire obstacles (hot foot!), then finally jump into a swimmy mud pit and army crawl underneath barbed wire to the finish line. My time was ~43 mins...and I did walk or break for ~5 total minutes of it.

Whew. Warriors!!

We all survived without any notable injury, though once Charlie face-dove into the mud pit at the end, he popped up after the first set of barbed wire and misjudged the distance to the next set...slashing his arms on the wire. Whoopsie. A little medical tent cleanse hopefully keeps him free of infection ...ewy dirt water! After the cleanse in the lake, we changed out in the open, in front of god and country into new clothes and went to party with our posse in our new hats and free beer for racing :)

I highly encourage any and everyone to participate in this race if you ever want to try out a minor version of an 'adventure race'. The distance was a manageable one and the obstacles were super fun. There are people of ALL kinds there, ready to have fun and party.

Recommendations:

1. Choose an early-ish race. Helps beat the heat and gives you more time to party to the live music and festivities afterward. Saturday would be best (so you can rest on Sunday), but we had a really great time even though we have to work tomorrow :)

2. WATER. Bring it. Bring it to drink and maybe even to clean off with. They didn't provide free water for our race (except at the midpoint and the finish line), it cost $1 for a bottle.

3. Bring: A change of clothes & shoes, wet clothes bag, old shoes (our race had a shoe donation pile (rather, mountain!) for those who didn't want their shoes), Qtips for your nasty ears and nose holes, sunscreen, towels, snacks for after (if you don't want to spend the $$ on the turkey legs and other awesomeness). The bag check was easy-peasy and well worth it to be in good clothes again.

4. Dressing up can be super fun (even with just a silly t-shirt), and everyone is doing something wacky from body paint, costuming of ALL kinds or regular running clothes. Be creative and enjoy yourself!

More pix to be added to the album once I get them from the other participants, but for now: Enjoy the show!

New Favorite Thing

Strange, but true! I have an unhealthy love (read: LOVE LOVE!) for this thing!! Thank you Pier One :)

2011

Well, so much for posting more frequently! Let's see, where did I leave off?

Oh yes, it was pre-holiday 2010. I had just had a horrendous yet delicious experience baking Pioneer Woman's cinnamon rolls and we were about to embark on our quest for another Minnesota family christmas, 1200-mile driving with a dog in the new Subaru, staying in a small town in Missouri, kind of holiday.

MN was great! We stayed with my sister for the majority of the time, enjoying the fresh loads of FEET of snow and my little nephews. Sammie learned all about the joys of trouncing through 2 feet of snow like a wolverine and we learned all about the joys of Baby Jaguar and the Rescue Pack...and Thomas the Train...and stinky butt diapers. It was so fun!! Charlie's family was doing wonderfully as well, and we got to see our newest nieces in action too. They grow up so fast!!

I know there was more that we saw and did and loved and enjoyed, but after 3 months...the old synapses aren't firing as efficiently as they used to. What I CAN say is that we had a marvelous time and Christmas 2010 was a good one!!

New Years came and went without much ado, minus the VERY MUCH ADO about our dear friend's baby girl Grace being born on 1/1/2011. I've only seen pictures, but she's as cuddly as they come and of course, her amazing parents are blessed with her awesomeness every day. I'm so happy for their new addition to the family!

In January I got to give a $1000 donation to Second Chance Pets (the rescue org we got our first dog from), thanks to HEB and their Travel with Run E Nose photo competition. A photo from our trip to Africa with their "flat stanley" of Run E Nose (mascot) won us the privilege of choosing a charity to donate the $1000 prize to. It was a good feeling to give back to the organization who rescued our pup and blessed us with her over 5 years ago.

Charlie got a wild hair and decided that this year was the year for planting citrus fruit trees in our backyard, so we went to a wild/wacky fruit tree sale at the University of Houston campus (accompanied by obliging friend Aaron) and picked up 2 pomegranates, 1 grapefruit and 1 tri-peach tree to plant. We also took a fruit tree class for free in town nearby, given by the local gardeners club. Fun stuff!

Also, January is the time of year I get the privilege of watching all of the SAG award nominated films for free thanks to my ongoing membership with SAG. I watched a ton of amazing films and by far this award season my favorites were: The Kings Speech, Black Swan, The Fighter, 127 Hours...in no particular order. Oh yeah, Conviction was good too!! So many films to watch, so little time to remember those I loved and those I could have done without (I mean YOU, "Rabbit Hole"). Almost forgot (but didn't!), Charlie's really good friend from as far back as forever Barrett was in H-town for work for the month and we got to spend time with him as well. It was really great to see him and catch up! ...if you get the chance, make sure to ask him about the speed of time ;)

February was a blur! We went to Atlantic City for a surprise get-together for a friend and the trip was a really great time with good friends! AC I can probably do without in the forseeable future - mostly because gambling isn't one of my favorite pasttimes - but if I had to go again, I would. Also, there is a FAB crepe shop near our hotel that if you ever go to AC, you MUST go there. I am sure you'd like the name of this little shop, but as you must already suspect...I cannot remember the name of it. It's just across the street from the Sheraton Convention Center/Hotel, by the H&M store. THAT I can remember. Good luck and happy crepe-ing!! Mmmmmm.

February also brought with it another birthday for me (yay me), a much-needed visit from Mom for mucho shopping, pedicures and margaritas (yay Lunas!), and the final mission of Space Shuttle Discovery on STS-133/ULF-5. I worked the entire mission in a supporting role and enjoyed almost every second of it. As these amazing vehicles bid us farewell and head to their final place in history I am proud to say I have worked for and been a contributing part of such a workhorse of a program. I know the Space Shuttle program inspired me when I was young, so I can only imagine that she has continued to inspire countless others as well throughout her tenure for NASA. Two more flights left, let's make them count!

This weekend I got a surprise visit from my sister here in H-town and it was also much needed. I've been missing the family a lot these days and as we've been dealing with some personal tragedies at home, it's driven home the need for family connection even further. We went to the rodeo with a friend to see some country music people (Rascal Flatts?) and ate some cheese-laden country fries...oh lordy. Mmmmm rodeo food! Also, I love Mutton Bustin'. If you've never seen it, google it and enjoy. SERIOUSLY my favorite part of the rodeo.

Lastly, for catch up:

1. Fatness re-joined the Army National Guard (this time in TX) after his stint in the Naval Reserves. It was really fun to see him get sworn-in in Austin not too long ago. I love him and am proud of him, as always!!

2. Dogs are doing well - Sammie got her teeth cleaned and a cyst removed from her underarm and is healing nicely.

3. Hung new outdoor lights that I love (pix if I can get to them).

4. Charlie went into full-on garden mode and we have 4 new hardscaped gardens with beans, hot and bell peppers, herbs, broccoli, kale (the new spinach, we hear), tomatoes, pak choi...and probably some other stuff too.

5. Splurged on two gel-mats for the kitchen and already I love them.

I can't writes no mo'!

Later!

Also and Plus...

What ever happened to people leaving comments on this blog? WE encourage it from everyone except that one creepy guy who kept posting links to his creepy hacker blog. No thank you, sir.
If you read this thing ever in life...drop US a line sometime to let US know you care.

*Note: Updated to include Charlie in this situation. I'm told it's his blog too. We'll see about that.

Talents

This holiday season I agreed to make Pioneer Woman's infamous cinnamon rolls for our family's Christmas morning brunch. My friend Erin made them for us last year (right?) and Mom just loved 'em. With limited time in Minnesota prior to said event, I decided to make the rolls before leaving here, freeze them, then pack them on ice and carry them with me to the Land of 10,000 Awesomenesses-es.

Two nights ago after work, I got down to business. I made my very first ever dough which was, as Charlie suggested it would be, super fun to *PUNCH!* once it had risen. BAM! BIFF! DOUGH SMASH! I was feeling pretty confident about the whole process and my skill at making baked deliciousness. Unfortunately, my spirit was to be crushed when I got to the step where I had to roll out the dough. I guess it wasn't so much the rolling out of the dough, as it was trying to re-roll the dough into a cinnamon roll log of delight after it was filled with butter, sugar and cinnamon...and butter.

You see, in an effort to keep our energy bills to a minimum (and because C-Murda has an uncanny knack for keeping the house both too warm AND too cold: read as 81 degrees F in the summer at its coolest) my house is kept at a balmy 852,001 degrees Kelvin in the summer and 4 degrees Celsius in the winter. Sadly, in SE Texas it is (though technically the middle of December) still 75 degrees Fahrenheit outside, which a cold-countertop does not make. This complicated the process of making the nummy log treat. The dough stuck to the countertop and as I was rolling it (PW says to keep the roll tight ....i did not succeed) I got sad, frustrated and almost started crying. I swore out loud in my kitchen about how it was always so Gosh Darn (GD) hot in this house and I Stink at making things and WHY can't this dough just cooperate, I didn't have time to deal with crummy, no good, rats-a-frackin' dough.... it was a sight.

I can't really explain to you why I thought crying too might make this situation any better, but on the verge of tears, C-Murda stepped in and suggested I do something different. He's the smarter of the two of us. He gently 'splained to me how I probably didn't use enough flour on the countertop (as I whined about how I didn't know how much to use and didn't want to use too much and...and...AND...*sniff* with extra pout face), picked up a flipper-flapper thing (spatula?), doused it in flour and helped scrape the dough off the counter so I could roll it. My HERO!

With the first roll complete, I was equally as sad to the see the finished product in the pan. My rolls are the stuff jokes are made of: floppy, thin, lame. Still with a severe case of pout lip, Mo-Murda asked if I wanted him to try the next roll. Um...yes please?

Like a professional, he began tossing flour on the countertop like a Pizza Maestro! Fling! Sprinkle! Poof! It all landed nicely in his target zone (unlike my attempt, which literally had flour ending up on the teapot on the oven, in the crack between the counter and the stove, on the floor and in my hair), then he plopped the dough on the counter, rolled in into a perfect 10"x30" rectangle like the directions say with right angles and knife edge precision...shake some flour here, sprinkle some flour there...finshed the roll all neat and tight, sliced it perfectly and VOILA! Second roll done and not a tear to be shed anywhere!! How does he do it? I don't have a clue, but I am thankful he's got a talent for hot-counter dough rolling and wife consoling.

Next dough project?...it's all his!