Month: June 2008

Mom and I arrived at Dabney’s house around 8 and we all piled into the car to start our drive to Charleston. We were planning to stop in Dawsonville, GA at the outlets and then drive a few more hours before finding a hotel room for the night. We got to the outlets at 3 pm and closed them down at 9pm. We ended up spending most of our time in Restoration Hardware and my favorite buy is below:

We started looking for a hotel room at 11:30, but didn’t end up finding one till 1 am. But at least we are very close to Charleston now.

I took my first train ride in the US today. Wade dropped me off at the station very early and I spent all day riding to Carbondale. It was great. I slept, read, watched movies, and didn’t have to deal with traffic. If you don’t hit traffic in Chicago, it takes about 7.5 hours to drive to Paducah. The train takes 7 hours to Carbondale and then a 1.5 hour drive to Paducah.

The best part – there is power at every seat. I could have watched movies the entire way!

I have been waiting and waiting and today Wanted came out. Wade taunted me with going while I was with my mom in Charleston, but then he suggested we go. We found a theater (The Rosebud Cinema) a few blocks from our house that has a new take on movies. The theater doesn’t have regular chairs, but numerous love seats. You can order dinner, drinks, etc. and have it delivered to your seat. Wade and I shared a pizza while watching the movie.

The movie – it wasn’t what I was expecting. I enjoyed it and loved the shooting and fighting, but somehow I had other ideas in my head. And as a note for anyone going to see it – it’s rather gory and bloody.

I spent all last weekend painting the walls and trim in the hallway. Then I spent every evening this week painting. Covering up stained trim is hard work and I’ll never buy a house with stained trim again, but it’s looking good. Wade was awesome and helped with the sanding and painting too. I haven’t done the doors or windows, but I wouldn’t want to finish my projects too quickly…

When Wade and I first moved to Milwaukee we didn’t like the water in our apartment. We knew we’d only be there a short time so we didn’t buy a filter – we discovered Crystal Light. Wade’s drink of choice is lemonade and mine is strawberry. Then we realized the plastic tumblers Uncle John and Aunt Louise gave us for Christmas were the perfect size for our single servings of Crystal Light. I got frog glasses for my birthday so we now have his and hers.

For not being yard people, Wade and I have done a lot in the last two weeks. We planted flowers and roses with Wade’s parents last weekend. This weekend, we planted two bushes, fenced the roses, and mulched. We had hoped that Madison’s established path would keep her away from the roses – no such luck. Our solution is a fence until the roses are a little bigger:

The yard is looking pretty good and we are done for a while I think:

It is probably a very good thing that Wade and I have a very similar sense of humor. We both loved the “best gift ever” he brought me back from his trip to Florida.

To make it even better, it was on sale and needs a little repair. Some of the hot glue is failing and the turtles are losing their heads.

Wade brought up the idea last week of saving up his points for an iPhone. I was open to the idea and mentioned I have been secretly wanting one too. I would be more than happy with an older, used model. Wade wants the brand new one. We did a little research and found that he could sell his current phone (pictured below) on ebay for almost $200. He bought it in Hong Kong and it is still in great condition. He could also sell his iPod, which would about cover the cost of the iPhone. The points he will turn in will be based more on the monthly increase to our phone plan when we add a data plan.

Then they send Wade to Florida for research. He doesn’t return my call one evening and the next morning I have an email telling me he lost his phone. Evidently he left the phone on the table at dinner (Wade and his piles) and realized it as soon as he got to the hotel. He called the restaurant and they couldn’t find it. He called them the next day and they still didn’t have it. We assumed it was gone at this point and Wade was not too happy. Then last night he was out walking and ended up near the restaurant. He figured it wouldn’t hurt to stop in and ask. They had it! I can’t imagine why it would be there after three days unless no one actually looked when he phoned to ask. Regardless he is super excited and the iPhone is now much more likely.

Wade and I decided to plan out all of this year’s projects. There are lots of fancy computer programs, but we find ourselves using our old familiar system of a board and notecards. This time Wade wanted a reward system. Each project has a certain number of points based on how long it takes to complete and how much he has to be “enticed” to do it. I can add points if I want it to move up on the list. Then we created a list of things he can turn in points for: banana pudding, a weekend up North, a night of bowling, a new desk lamp, etc. So far it seems to be working, Wade is moving through the projects. I’m not sure what he’s hoarding his points for though. He has only redeemed the banana pudding.

It turns out our neighborhood has an ice cream truck. It took me a few minutes to figure out the sound and I can’t determine a pattern to when – but we have ice cream at our doorstep!

I’ve become addicted to chocolate graham crackers. I buy at least one box every time I go to the grocery. Last time I was at the store, I realized the store brand was half the price of Nabisco. I figured I’d give it a try.

I’m going back to Nabisco. There’s nothing wrong with them, but they don’t taste quite the same. I’m sure I’ll manage to finish the box I have before too long.

We took today to show Judy and Jerry around Milwaukee. We drove around Wauwautosa, the lake front, the river walk, etc. We also made our first trip to a German restuarant, which are found all over the area. Mader’s was recommended to us and we all enjoyed the authentic German food (Mary Ann – finally we eat German food). They also had a stein and hummel gift store and a large chair for the kiddies.

I had Madison inside with me yesterday and she went nuts when the mailman walked up to deliver the mail. (She does this till I open the door. Then she quits barking and wants attention.) He was nice and had doggie treats in his pocket. We chatted for a while and then off he went. Today he left a package on my doorstep with a doggie treat on top. How cute!

Wade and I also met an awesome couple yesterday. We are selling our old appliances on the craig’s list and they came by to look at the dishwasher. They didn’t end up buying it but we talked for quite a while. They saw my Sticky Fingers t-shirt and that began a great conversation on barbeque. They offered to have us over for dinner sometime after pointing out meals are crazy at their house (they have 10 kids). I warned them that Wade doesn’t turn down invitations to barbeque.

I spent the weekend painting. I have finished most of the painting in the living room and dining room. Only the bay windows in the living room and the windows in the dining room are left. We are still undecided how we are going to handle the windows in the dining room (replace or repair). So I am declaring myself done for now. It’s amazing how bright and open the rooms appear with all the white trim.
Before Pictures:

After Pictures:

Madison is forever chasing something in our backyard – normally birds and squirrels. It appears we also have ducks (I have no idea why) and chipmunks in this neighborhood. I was working outside and noticed Madison was very interested in the deck box up against the house. I moved it out so I could see what she was sniffing. I was expecting a mouse or something small. It was a chipmunk and Madison was standing in just the wrong (or right) place. She pounced and it was too late for me to do anything. I feel horrible. Chipmunks are so cute. Wade won’t even take care of the body. He says they are cute and this is all my fault. Darn it.

I’m not sure why, but I have been hoping for a thunderstorm for weeks. I must have mentioned it to Wade on several occasions because he woke me up at 4:30 AM this morning. It was storming like crazy and he didn’t want me to miss it. I’m glad he listens to me. I’m still not sure if I am glad he woke me up. I went right back to sleep, but it continued storming through till the afternoon.

We reached our goal for the new appliances. We found some models we liked online and then went to see them in person. We found the largest selection at Colder’s and actually ended up making our purchase there (but I’m not sure we would again). Wade did his part with researching and bargaining. I’m not sure the salesman liked us in the end, but we did get the price we wanted. They were delivered today and Wade spent the rest of the evening installing them. He used the phrase, “We’ve been Pepplered” quite a few times, but we have come to expect that.
Before:

After:

While Wade and I were in Anderson packing up our furniture, we had Sandmasters refinishing the stairs and the floors in the master bedroom. We were very impressed with the floors, but not with the clean-up. They had been in the breaker box and left a circuit breaker off – the one that went to the refrigerator. When we got back all of the ice had melted and the hardwood kitchen floors were bowed and separated. Then we noticed 5 or 6 drips of poly from the stairs to the backdoor. We have had the guy come out twice and I think we are all happy with the conclusion. He doesn’t really think the drips are from his guys, we can’t say 100% they weren’t already here, but they look fresh. The guy decided a happy customer was the most important and is going to take care of them. Now that is customer service. We have to wait for most of the moisture to evaporate from the floors and then we will determine the best course of action.

Madison now hides in the bed of ferns. I’m not sure why, but she can see into the ktichen from this particular vantage point. I found it funny.