Gotta get this body moving

I feel fat. I need to move. The one thing about our house I hate is that I cannot walk out the front door and walk around the block. We live on a very short street that is at the top of a very very very steep hill. I would have to walk the length of the street back and forth about 15 times to get even a very little workout. And the hill is just way to steep. I seriously have to take two or three breaks on the very very rare occasion that I do have to walk it. So I have decided my next major purchase after the dining room furniture, will be some exercise equipment. Yes, I will be among the crowds probably right after New Years, looking for a deal on a treadmill or some such beast. The next task, is to figure out where I can put such said beast, where I'll actually use it and not have it become a clothes hanger. Pffft.....

Finally found my dining room set!

So my husband got his motorcycle, and he has agreed to let me get a dining room set since we are hosting Christmas dinner this year. He actually even went out with me looking at various furniture stores and we finally found a set we like at Macey's. We are waiting until their Thanksgiving sale to go an purchase it, but I really can't wait to get it. Our dining room has been sitting emtpy for soooooo long!

So I'm back!

Did you miss me? It's been just an insane few weeks here, and I'm finally back. My middle daughter Shannon fell off the monkey bars two weeks ago and broke her arm. It's was just a small buckle/greenstick fracture thankfully, could have been much worse, but it is her right hand, which has made writing difficult.

Then my oldest is struggling in school again. Trying to figure that out has been very stressful to say the least. We have a conference scheduled this week to address that and I am so nervous about it! On top of that, she has been playing volleyball for school, and she has practises or games everyday of the week except the weekend, so we are spending a lot of time in the car running to pick her up or watch the games.

THEN, my darling husband, seems to be hitting his midlife crisis a few months early (he turns 40 next March) and decided that he must acquire a motorcycle, something I absolutely loathe the idea of. He spent most of this weekend at a beginners training class to learn all the rules of the road, etc. Blah. He's trying to convince me it will save money in the long run because now I can drive his New Beetle instead of my Suburban, which will save on gas. Yeah, um, HELLO? We live near Seattle and it's October, the rainy season has JUST begun!!! Plus, it was my turn to get the next new vehicle, my Burb is 10 yrs old! I guess because he just got a really nice promotion/raise, he's feeling he deserves a treat or something, and yeah, I get that....but I so would have preferred a nice vacation somewhere or something. Oh well. There's a peek into my life as of late.

budgets smudgets

I wish there was some kind of financial reporting software that eliminated the need for us to keep track of our budget. Something that would be tied to our debit cards, and let us know what was left in each budget category right there on the spot. OK, yes, I would probably hate it, but I hate trying to stay on budget too. Just seems like a menial task that only serves to remind me that there is NEVER enough money, so I'm supposed to just accept that and deal with it. Hmmmm...I just remembered, I have a lottery ticket I haven't checked on yet from the other night. Gotta run!

I'm not a techie

So I'm not really sure what to write about a wireless router except to let you know that I know that we have them. We have 3 desktops and a laptop in the house, and they are all connected to the network wirelessly, thanks to these lovely little doo dads....but that's about all I can tell you about them!

I miss grilling outside!

It seems our fall has come in fast and strong. It's been rainy and cold for two weeks now and I already miss those warm summer days and dinner off the BBQ. Tell me, who wouldn't love an outdoor kitchen? I would. I'd have a covered outdoor area with a fireplace as well. It doesn't get really really cold here often in the Pacific NW, but that rain sure does put a chill in the air!

We need a new PC, or three.

The girls are getting older, and fighting over the one they have. And it's old, and doesn't even run a lot of the stuff they want to use on it, so I fear it is time. And we have to buy pc here, no other computer will do in my husband's eyes, and I fear I would be lost on anything that is not a pc. And not only do we need to replace the ancient computer, but getting one each for the girls would be ideal, but not likely to happen anytime soon. Hearing them fight over it, is just mind numbing, so yes, one a piece would just do us fine.

What I need is a windfall, actually, because I wouldn't mind a new one myself as well. So there you go. Four should do. Now I just need to find some outrageous pc deals AND win the lottery, and we should be good to go.

How could I forgot to mention this!

How could I have forgotten earlier to mention the REASON we left and had a nice Saturday out?

Here it is: Something has died in one of our heating vents. Yep. And the stench is just foul. I put the heat on for the first time Thursday morning for about an hour. That night, after watching Survivor, I went up to bed and when I opened the bedroom door I didn't notice it. But when I walked across the room and set the laundry basket down on the bench, right next to the heating vent, the smell was just awful! We opened the windows, put on a fan, put my incense ring on and buried ourselves under the covers.

Then yesterday, my husband took out his shop vac and attempted to use it in the vent, but no luck. Then last night at dinner time, I noticed the stench was now in the kitchen. So out came the shop vac again to hit the vents in there, no luck again. This morning, it was so bad, we just had to leave. We left all the windows open and when we came home late in the day, it was much better, but we know it's probably not gone, and will be back in the morning.

So the questions is, what do we do? My only thought is to call those places that clean out all the ductwork in the house, but we don't have the money to do that, and we don't want all the ducts done, just the line that goes through the kitchen and up the wall to our bedroom above. Will they do that? If we just ignore it, how long until the smell passes?

Hosting during the Holidays

So we are hosting Christmas dinner at our house this year, yet we don't have a dining room table! I would really like to get the dining room done before the big day. I need to find the furniture and maybe some home lighting to make the room feel perfect. Perhaps some drapes as well to cover the french doors and make it feel cozy. Not quite sure how I'm going to pay for it all....but a girl can dream, right? Maybe my Ebay sales will be good to me this month. So far they are doing ok, but could be better. Guess we'll just have to wait and see!

Itching to get crafty

Well yesterday the rain started here, and it truly feels like fall. I've been having the itch to get out my scrapbooking stuff and hunker down in my sweats and be crafty. I mostly enjoy just plain old scrapbooking, but sometimes I like to make cards, like baby and graduation announcements. Christmas cards are fun to do, but I find I'm so busy at that time of year, I have all these great ideas for them but they just never get done! I guess I need to start going through all my summer pictures and get them printed out. Maybe after this eBay crunch for the big September Sale, I can squeeze in some crafty time in October!

And another week goes by...

Hard to believe it's been a week since I posted! We had I think what might be, our last burst of summer weather for most of it, and I was working on the deck for a lot of it. I also got a bunch of listings up on Ebay, so I have been super busy as usual.

Today marks the first sick day in our house. My middle daughter has come down with a nasty croupy like cough so I kept her home. Isn't it typical though, exactly 2 weeks ago school started, and here we go with the colds! I'm starting my Coldeze today to help ward off anything!

What a beautiful weekend

I hope everyone has enjoyed their weekend as much as we have. The weather here is absolutely perfect, clear blue skies, high 70's, no humidity. These are the type of days I love for! But fall is in the air, the leaves are just starting to change around here!

Yesterday I worked all day sanding the remainder of our back deck. Every muscle in my upper body just HURTS today. But that deck is done, and I plan on priming tomorrow and painting on Tuesday. It's supposed to be in the low to mid 80's, so the weather will be perfect!

Trying to catch up on my blogging assignments while I'm online, and just not sure how to go about this protective underwear one....so I'm just sticking it in here to get it done! I've been so busy with the kids back to school, the deck project amd trying to get as much stuff listed on Ebay as possible this month due to their sale, I haven't had a lot of time to check on Payperpost lately for new assignments, so I've at least got to get my PayU2blog one's done.

School starts tomorrow!

Can I get a WHOO HOO!?! Just tucked in the girls after going over the bus schedules, double checking the backpacks have all the school supplies, and putting out their first day of school outfits. We had a great summer, but this mom is ready!

My "To Do" list is pretty long, but I'll be starting with finishing the deck refinishing project we got under way yesterday, as well as trying to get some more stuff listed on Ebay during this month long sale they are having for September. I really want to clear a bunch of stuff out of here. I also want to start walking more, and go check out the new YMCA that just opened near me. They apparently have an indoor pool with water slides and all. I have always loved swimming and I'm sure the kids would enjoy the slides, never mind the gym and other activities they offer. Just have to decide if we can afford the extra monthly cost or if we have to wait to do it.

Well I'll wrap it up here, got to get to bed early as I imagine the early morning routine will be tough for the next couple of days.

Lazy Saturday

I am enjoying a lazy Saturday here at home. We have no plans this weekend, which is really nice. My husband took the girls up to the fairgrounds this morning to drop off some things for fair, and I cleaned the first floor while they were gone and finished the laundry. It's nice to have that done. We have been talking about needing to refinish the back deck, and I have been motivated to start sanding/scraping and doing the prep work, but the husband is not motivated to help me, so I don't think it's going to happen today. He has to work Monday and Tuesday, and is then off until after Labor Day, so I'm hoping between fair activities and our two days free after fair before we leave for camping, that we will get that project done and then we can cross off one item on the "To Do" list. We really need to paint the whole house too, but I think we might have to do that in two phases. Hopefully we will get one phase done next summer. What fun! NOT. Hope you are all having a great weekend!

Window Coverings

I would really love to get some wood blinds for my kitchen, or maybe roman shades. We have a LOT of windows in our kitchen/living room area, so it would probably be out of our price range. We've been in the house 6 yrs, and still don't have window coverings on the windows in the kitchen. Reason being mostly that we have a built in eating nook with benches, and most of the windows are right at the back of the benches. I have't wanted to invest in anything for fear of dirty fingers destroying them immediately, but maybe with wood blinds, I could just wipe them clean. Not like I need to add another thing to my cleaning list. Maybe I'll just keep waiting until the kids are a bit older. Hmmmmm....