Happy New Year!

Happy New Year to you and your families!

2008 was a great year for The House of B's. We met a lot of fantastic people through blogland, traveled, procrastinated and got off our butts to get some projects done.

I think 2009 is going to be even more fantastic!

Here is a blog that I thought had a great New Years Postings.

Check out the Coastal Nest

****The Last Posting For 2008*****

I got my ceiling painted and the walls almost painted. I'm not very excited about the color. I had it pictured differently. I'm hoping as we get the rest of the stuff done it will tone down a bit.

This picture shows the color pretty true. It's very green!

****Contractor Update*****

The Hubs aka The Contractor ran in to more than a couple problems today. The electrical isn't going right, the drywall isn't going right and his boss (me, Princess Lazy Ass) isn't thrilled with her color choice now.

So the boss made him quit for the day.

Tomorrow is a new day and a new year. An excellent time to start over.

In the mean time...............

He and his work partner are relaxing and trying to figure out WTF they are doing!

Trust me that smile is so so fake. He couldn't be any more grouchy in this photo. Even a shower, pizza, and a beer couldn't fix a bathroom renovation going wrong! They do look cute and that's why I love them.

Tomorrow is a new day and a new year!

My New BFF

The Mailman

In the middle of my painting of the second coat of green in the bathroom I had a knock at the door along with a doorbell ring. Who is that? Nobody ever just stops by. It's either Church Folks or Magazine Sales.

I go downstairs and there in the window is the mailman. Now he normally is a stale smoke smellin curmudgeon. Today I had what must be the B or C team of mail delivery personnel. I say that because our normal mailman doesn't bring stuff to the door. He hucks it from his car in the drive way to door. If he's too lazy to do that he usually just tries to shoves it in the mailbox which doesn't always work. In August he knocked the mailbox over...........anyway..........back to my story.

This B Team Member is my new BFF! Not because he brought the package to the door and let me know it was there but because he brought me this...............

That's right!

My new funky ass rubber boots! The Hubs got me these for Christmas but because of the weather (they would have come in handy while we had 2 feet of snow) they didn't make it in time.

These are Nomad Boots from Shoe Buy.com.

They have some really fun boots. I found a couple more styles that looked like they would like to come live with me.

Not only are these boots funky and different but they are super comfortable. I have some freakish high arches and I can't wear flat shoes so all those cute rubber boots that are popular now are a NO CAN DO for me. Which has made me cry more then a couple times. I had to get these boots a size bigger than I normally wear so be aware of that if your going to order these.

Love them! They are going to go with everything. Brown, blue, pink, white plaid with black trim. Since we still have a foot or so of snow and it's snowing again today I bet I get a little use out of them still this year.

These are going to be fantastic at the beach this spring!

*****UPDATE****

The Hubs just informed me that these are not a late Christmas present. They are an early birthday present because he's so organized and on top of things!

Update On The Update

Thought maybe I would show you all what's goin on with the bathroom update that we have undertaken.

Recap for those of you just joining in;

We were snowed in for 2 weeks and decided that instead of watching TV, eating, watching movies, reading, and fighting we would instead tear apart a bathroom that desperately needed some update to it. This has given us a legitimate reason to fight.

Now you're caught up

We were able to get out of the driveway the other day to start shopping for new fixtures, tile, and paint.

I now have a vision. I only hope it looks as good in real life as it does in my head.

Attention Readers.

****Warning Issued****

If you have ever hired a Contractor you will find this humorous. If you ARE a Contractor you will probably be offended. I won't say I'm sorry because you know it's true!

This is my contractor for this bathroom update project. The Hubs Remodel IncI call him the contractor now because he TOTALLY has the whole contractor gig down.

I know your sitting there thinking "what's that mean?" Let me give you a little run down on how Contractor Hubs operates.

8:00 am Roll out of bed, punch time clock

8:01-8:15 Give boss (Me, Princess Lazy Ass) a run down on what's going to get done today.

8:16 Leave house to get supplies

8:20 Stop at Hoochie Mocha (Barista's with big boobs and little clothing work the stand near our house. I have given them this name) and get coffee and treat for Charlie (dog/work partner).

8:35 Leave Hoochie Mocha big tip and drive away with big ole' cup of Hoochie Mocha Happiness.

8:36 Drive 30 miles to get supplies so that one doesn't have to pay the $50 delivery charge and can obtain materials before holiday.

Contractor rule #1 always plan poorly so you can get away from the job for a while. Leaving early will allow you to sit in traffic for a long period of time so you can enjoy your coffee and listen to sport radio.

9:30 Arrive at supply destination. Have supplies loaded at Will Call and bull shit with loading guy.

10:15 Think about what you're doing and realize you need more supplies.

10:35 Arrive at huge fancy hardware store, McLendon's in Renton. This is the mother ship of McLendon hardware stores. The Hubs loves this store.

Go in and shop like a girl.................

11:00 Finish up shopping at store and load a $100 worth of stuff in the truck. Some items not needed for this job but it was cool and he might need it one day.

11:10 Head back home

11:25 Getting close to lunch better think about where to go

11:45 Arrive at Ranch Drive In for lunch. Go in, order, and wait. Deluxe Cheese Burger, Fries, Coke. Also order extra hamburger patty and cup of water on the side. Eat lunch, read paper, bullshit with old farts having lunch.

12:30 Return to truck. Feed Charlie (work partner) hamburger patty and give him some water.

12:50 Start heading home, remember personal errand that needs to be done. Drive 8 miles past house.

1:15 Drop off movies at Blockbuster. No need to pick up more......I'm workin! No time for movie watching!

1:30 Arrive back home. Get out of truck, take Charlie to pee. Run in to neighbor bullshit for a while.

2:00 Come back in house show Boss (Me, Princess Lazy Ass) purchases.

2:30 Start work in bathroom

3:45 Realizes he doesn't know what the hell he's doing

3:50 Start wrapping up so that more research can be done on the Internet and in home repair books. This research will be considered over time I'm sure.

4:00 Punch out! Work day is over!

The Contractor got the texture on the wall and the window drywalled in. This was the wall that had wallpaper covering it. Now it's time for me, Princess Lazy Ass to get in there and start painting. That way The Contractor can put up the wainscoting tomorrow and start laying tile. I have already been informed that The Contractor will need to go to the store tomorrow again to get supplies. Go figure!

Here is where we are at

Toilet out and relocated to tub. My guess is that since we don't use this tub and shower this is where we will be storing the toilet until it's time to go to the dump.

The tile was the item we had to pick up today. Got it home and laid it all out to see how it's going to look.

I'm likin it.

Classic. This choice was inspired by my bathroom trips in New York earlier in the month. I love the subway tiles and black and white floors.

These are my color choices.

I'm going with an apple green on the walls, picket fence white by Martha Stewart (I have used this every where in my house that white was needed) on the wainscoting that will go around the lower part of the walls. Then somehow, use the black & white toile and black & white check somehow. You bet I'll be using some monogrammed items too.

So you're up to date now on the Bathroom Update Project.

I'm off to paint!

I'll have more pictures to post in a couple days.

Stay tuned

Marriage Test 2008
Just Got A Little Harder!

The Hubs is employed by a company here in the Pacific Northwest that is gracious enough to give their employees Christmas through New Years off.

With that said, he isn't going back to work anytime soon. The original plan for us this week after Christmas was to take the mobile estate on a trip to the Washington and Oregon coasts. I had big plans of meeting Lisa from Coastal Nest. With the weather we are having, that isn't going to happen.

Note to Lisa.....I know you knew nothing of this plan but it was on my agenda.

Saturday morning we still have this much snow! We went to check on the mobile estate yesterday and The Hubs could barley get there. Even in 4-Wheel drive the truck was not getting through the snow and ice to the storage facility where the mobile estate is kept. Sooooooooooo here we sit. We have been pretty lucky with being able to get in and out over the last couple weeks. Today.............totally different story! Too slushy, too much snow, and The Hubs' wheels just spin and spin.
We decided last night that we should use this time a little more wisely. That maybe sitting and watching it snow, waiting for it to melt, watching movies, playing Wii and eating weren't the best use of all this time he has off.

At 9 pm last night we decided to update one of our ugly ass bathrooms.

I'm sorry, I don't have BEFORE pictures for you of our guest bathroom that I despise. I thought I did but I don't. Here are some of the before decorating choices of the previous owners that will be vacating

The House of B's!

1980's country style, light blue wallpaper with pink hearts. There was a time in my life I would have given my right eye for this wallpaper hanging somewhere in my house. Along with my goose collection.

Oh you know what I'm talkin about!

If you didn't have geese all over in your house you had hearts. Or.....your house looked like a Miami Vice set.

*******Attention All**********

The photos of these goose dust collecting items are not from my collection. They are photos I found on line. My collection was sold off years ago when.......THEY WENT OUT OF STYLE!

Matching linoleum. Well it didn't match at all but it was from the same era.

The hideous burnt orange Formica along with the dark wood cabinets.

LOVELY!

I took a black sharpie pen and wrote on all the walls

I'M UGLY BUT I'M CLEAN. Seemed no matter how much I cleaned it still looked dirty. I found the need to let my guests know that it really was clean.

With some badgering and taunting from the The Hubs at 9 pm Friday night I started stripping wallpaper off the walls.

I have stripped more than half the walls in this house of wallpaper. I'm almost an expert!

After the wallpaper was down.

YEAH!

Then The Hubs went to work!

He tore out the vanity

Then the linoleum came out

Charlie checking out all the holes. Making sure we don't have any vermin in there. Good dog!

Now what?

We hated this bathroom and it needed to be updated (along with the other two ugly bathrooms) so we tore it apart while The Hubs was off this week. Now it's time to figure out what we should do for updating this space.

Any suggestions?

The space is only 5'x5'. We aren't taking out the tub but will be replacing fixtures. This is a guest bathroom. It seldom - never gets used.

Let me know what you think?

I'm leaning towards small black and white hexagon subway tiles on the floor, pedestal sink, and smaller toilet. Maybe some wainscotting on the walls to cover up some of the holes, stains and cut down on the retexturing.

Let the project begin!

Marriage Test 2008 Is Still In Progress!

Well we are still buried in snow. In fact we have gotten about 8 more inches since the last time we chattedand we are expecting 3 or 4 more inches tomorrow. Won't that be fun?

The Hubs and I haven't killed each other yet ( I need him to drive my ass around) but we have gotten creative and have started thinking of ways to USE the snow to our advantage.

Example

Say hello to our new cooler!

Corona anyone?

Just step out the door and grab yourself a cold frosty beverage.

Maybe I could interest you in a Coors Light

Cocktail anyone? Maybe a Bloody Mary?

Have you found any uses for your snow?

What are you doing with your snow besides shoveling it and cussing at it?

Happy Holidays

From

The House of B's

Wishing you and your family a happy holiday

Have a wonderful time!

Pictures by Michelle taken on our trip to New York

Thank you Michelle for having a fancy camera and knowing how to use it.

Marriage Test 2008 Continues

Picture taken out the kitchen window looking on to the sunroom roof. This was just Sunday nights accumulation.

It's been a week of snow, ice, snow, The Hubs trying to work from home, me fighting a cold , and trying to get ready for Christmas all without leaving the house, and the power going on and off.

I can't even begin to tell you how much fun we are having!

Monday morning we awoke to MORE snow. The Hubs went out and measured the snow and ice layers at 5 am only to find that we had 14 inches of snow. It kept snowing most of the morning so we probably have at least another inch or 2.

The weather person says it's going to stop snowing Tuesday. On Wednesday it starts all over again. Rain starts on Saturday which should start some nice flooding!

FanFreakintastic!

Snow on the deck that has drifted up to the sunroom windows

The icicles hanging off the roof Poor Charlie has no place to pee.

He tried to go out in the snow but it's up past his manhood. Buuuuuuuuuuurrrrrrrrr.

Looking out the dining room window at the deck.

Do you see the stairs down the deck? Yeah, me neither.

The trees between us and our neighbors.

These tree branches are usually high enough to walk under and between. Not now, they are hanging clear to the ground. They look like huge white palm trees.

Well that's what I keep telling myself when I go to my happy place.

Front of the house

The Hubs aka The Snow Bitch has been shoveling for 3 days to keep us clear for walking and getting out of the drive way.

Sunday night............all his hard work gone.

Deck pictures

can you see the patio furniture? Yeah, me neither!

The deck railing

The snow drift on the deck up to the doors. We couldn't get these doors open if we wanted to.

So what have you been doing to get through the snow days?

I saw on the news this morning that it's like this across the whole Northern part of the United States. I was talking with WSU Laura and we were trying to think of reasons why we are thankful that we have all this snow.

It's what we do to keep from going insane. This isn't normal weather for this part of the world.

Here are my reasons;

1. I've done no Christmas shopping so the stress of spending too much money is gone. My family is all in the same boat with not being able to get shopping done so we decided the kids were the only ones who get gifts.

I'm done with my shopping!

2. There has been a lot of baking and cooking going on here. I've got to try several recipes I had been meaning to make. Some good, some not so good.

Also.........we have ate at home for a week.

This is a huge accomplishment at The House of B's.

3. I have my house all cleaned up which means I can sit and read guilt free. I'm now on book 3 Eclipse of the Stephenie Meyer books.

4. I have spent some time with my 6 year old niece, Princess Spoiled Brat who came to visit last week and hasn't been able to go back home. It's been fun to have a 6 year old here.

With all the snow not going any where soon, I finally just decided I couldn't stress out about all the stuff that wasn't getting done before Christmas. Places I wanted to get to before Christmas, people I wanted to see during the holidays, gifts I wanted to buy, and well.............once again we won't be having a perfect Martha Stewart/Norman Rockwell Christmas.

You know what we are having?

Some time together that we normally wouldn't take. My Grandmother isn't coming up because of the weather so I'll take the time for a long chat on the phone with her. I got no where I have to go or no where I have to be. My niece is always busy with school, gymnastics, friends, and whatever it is that 6 year olds do. It's been nice to hang out with her with nothing else to do. Made me feel good that she didn't want to go home.

Do you think this weather is Mother Natures way of saying "hey why don't you just slow down and remember what is important fool!"

EXAMPLE

Saturday The Hubs and I took Princess Spoiled Brat over to WSU Laura's to decorate Christmas cookies. Now last week when planning this event we had lots of other activities planned the same day. We were going to squeeze a months worth of stuff in to one day. With the snow and bad roads cookie decorating is all we did. We spent all day decorating cookies, laughing, visiting, and just having a good time. That would have never happen with all the usual rushing around.

It was so fun, and watching the kids decorate was an even bigger treat. It meant so much to us that I'm having a hard time giving up the cookies for eating.

Even The Hubs got in on the act. His "lets get physical" gingerbread man and this U of O gingerbread man.

Thank you WSU Family!

Another thing I have gotten to enjoy that I normally wouldn't because I would never be home. I would normally be running around like a crazy person.

My paper whites are blooming. They smell wonderful! These were a hostess gift from my friend Suzy from our Ugly Christmas Sweater Party. I love the old drawer they were planted in.

Love love love them!

She got these from Folly's in Centralia when she was down there visiting. I tried to find a website for them but couldn't. I need to go visit this place. I bet they have fabulous stuff.

Some other things I've done because I had the time...............

I had a bunch of cheery tomatoes left over from our party that needed to be used.

I dried themTakes all day. I sliced them, salted them, and bake them at 250 all day.

These are really good on pizza, in rice or salads. It's just a little something different.
I got to make pancakes for Princess Spoiled Brat. The only one who will eat pancakes with me.

Then witness the mauling of The Hubs by Charlie and Princess Spoiled Brat.

Then it was time to venture out and see if we could get Princess Spoiled Brat home.

There was a Grammy and Papa that were anxious to have her back home.

Down our road.

Lots of trees down from the weight of the snow this trip down the road.

The drive up to my folks house to drop off Princess Spoiled Brat wasn't too bad. It's about an hour north from our house. It took about an hour and 45 minutes this time.

The roads were bad once we got of the highways and main roads to my folks house but The Hubs aka Snow Bitch this week, drove us girls around like a pro!

Here are a few pictures I snapped while at their house and on the way home. They had a lot more snow then we did. Probably 12- 15 inches more than we got.

The sunset was beautiful.

Snow hanging off the barn

Snow snow snow .................as far as the eye can see!