AtomicMrX

I wanted to cheat this weekend with a fantastic Memorial Day feast for Shannon and I. So Saturday Shannon bought a bunch of stuff and we started to get the grill going and of course ran out of gas. I ran to Westlake hardware and did a quick tank exchange and we were back in business.

Here’s what was cooked and/or bought. Hamburgers, brats, hot dogs, chicken, tofu dogs, tofu blocks, potato salad, two types of baked beans, and pickle spears. There is enough food for about twelve people. We froze a lot of the food so it will be good for later.

The hamburgers tasted so good! I love the grill flavor! Later in the evening we went to Sharidon’s for frozen custard. It was apparently a good idea. We go there just before the rush!

Today is rainy so it was a good thing we did it yesterday!

So much for painting the house this weekend. I’ll have to sneak it in this next week if we get a dry day or two.

Shannon gave me a gift card for Bed Bath & Beyond on my birthday (back in January) and I finally got to spend it! I raked in the goodies too. Here is what I bought: a towel bar that hangs on your kitchen drawer front, a collapsable microwave food coverer, black plastic folding step stool for the Honda Element (hard to get the top of the car cleaned at the do-it-your-self wand car wash and will work great for my folks to get in and out!), set of 4 cutting boards (each with a picture on it to tell you what type of food to use it with Veggie, Chicken, Meat, Fish and they are silicone), and lastly a shower caddy to hang from the shower nozzle. Our corner shower caddy that went tub to ceiling bit the dust (or should I say RUST)!

After Bed Bath & Beyond I went to Lowe’s and did some pricing. I got the prices for Primer (need to paint the house and gotta start somewhere). I also got all the prices for door handles. I want to replace them all and go with the brushed steel lever style rather than the current brass knob style. I also bought a new shower head ($12.00!) to replace the one I bought about two years ago. It worked great at the beginning but just doesn’t cut it anymore. We have very low water pressure so it needs to be able to handle that. I hate a weak shower, I want some pressure there! So I found this very inexpensive shower head that says it works great in low water pressure situations. We will find out soon enough! After replacing the shower head I had to clean the tub from standing in it and to get all the rust stains off of the tub walls from the old shower caddy.

So my birthday gifts actually are for the house and both Shannon and me! I had fun buying it all and spending very little of my own money!

Here are the pictures that compare the yard when I bought the house to what is is currently. I bought the house in 2003. Click on image to view larger.

Here is a comparison shot of the front yard bushes; before on the left, after on the right.

Here is a comparison shot of the back yard; before on the left, after on the right.

Here is a comparison shot of the yard to the side of the garage; before on the left, after on the right.

Here is a comparison shot of the yard to the side of the house next to the street; before on the left, after on the right.

Here are just some more shots of our current yard around the house.

Well, that is a lot of photos! A lot of progress has been made in the short time here. Shannon is the main reason the grass looks so nice and green. He did a lot of work on the yard last Summer and Fall. Shannon also bought all the flowers and plants for the gardens. He has put several weekends into getting it to this point. It looks great!

Had a great dinner with Jim at Mi Cocina last night. We both had Mama’s Tacos which are fantastic and pretty much on my diet except for the mexican rice.

After we headed next door to Latte Land and I had a Polar Wave (one of their cold blended drinks which has coffee and chocolate blended together with other good stuff). We sat there and people watched with Andy for a good couple of hours. Andy didn’t eat with us but met up for coffee.

Jim and Andy went on to 303 and I went to Greg & Ron’s to give Greg a DVD of Madonna’s The Confessions Tour. I got to see all the work they have done to the place since they moved in a couple of months ago. It was a lot of work. Made me feel bad. I need to do more work on the house here!

I got home around 11:30 PM and was very tired. The coffee had worn off and I was ready for bed. I usually go to bed on the weekends around 10:00 PM (I know…. how old am I?).

Happy Mother’s Day Mom!

Shannon has today off and he’s off somewhere doing something right now. I’ve gotten all the laundry done and lunch out of the way. Jaki is on my lap and curling up for her afternoon nap.

So now I get to just do what ever. I’m going to take pictures of the yard around the house later when the heat isn’t so bad. Or maybe even tomorrow morning when the lighting would be best.

I played PREY again last night. Believe it or not, that was only the second time since I got it that I’ve played. I’ve been trying to play sparingly. Last night was freaky, frightening, and fantastic. At one point these ghost children started taunting me with “I don’t like you!” and “Wanna play!” and then they would through these white static balls at me and kill me. It took forever to get through that area. I couldn’t figure out which weapon would kill them. Finally made it thought and into some really cool areas of the game. Occasionally I think I’ve gone to the wrong area or got lost, till I find the solution and then I’m on to the next puzzle in the game.

I’m gonna have dinner with Jim at 6:00 tonight. We’ll be at Mi Cocina’s. I love that place. Hopefully we’ll have our coffee/tea afterwards like we were suppose to last time but I bailed due to tummy problems.

Diet is going well. I lost half a pound from last week. Not much but at least I lost instead of gain. I officially broke the 200 mark. I now weigh 199.5 pounds.

Shannon mowed last night and the lawn looks fantastic! It has changed a lot in the past three going on four years I’ve lived here. Most of that work is because of Shannon. He works hard on the lawn. I do the inside stuff… he does the outside stuff. It works. Except in the winter time… I have to shovel snow. I lost in that battle.

Happy Mother’s Day everyone!