Everything AND the Kitchen Sink

I spent THREE HOURS yesterday at the local plumbing supply place - who knew there were so many choices? I flipped thru half a dozen catalogs, compared products to what I had found on the 'net, and made some FINAL decisions about our new home.

Gotta give Roger some credit, however, as he selected the brick:He is on the home computer right now, researching carpets. The hippie in him would love to go "all green" and "recycled" materials. I wish we could, too, but as we learned during our research of solar-powered hot water heaters, the prices make it infeasible. Maybe the next house will be more "green." Right now, I want energy efficiency.

I finally settled on a kitchen faucet combination - after consulting with various experts. Evidently, the faucets that double as a pull-out sprayer can be a pain, so I went with a traditional setup. I wonder if I'll use the side sprayer. I've never had one before, but I figured it will help for resale purposes. I've been washing dishes by hand for the last 14 years, so it will be nice to have a dishwasher. But let's not rush things. Appliances seem like a huge challenge after yesterday's ordeal. The kitchen sink - you've seen in a previous post. Are you surprised at which one I settled on?This one has 8" deep basins, and with the elongated faucet, I think I'll have plenty of room to manuever large pots for rinsing.

Next is something the plumber dude talked me into. I was ready to go with just regular shower stuff in the master bath, but evidently, side sprayers don't cost that much. Our new shower arrangement will look something like this:And yes, that's me, sampling products in the showroom. And you just thought he talked me into the fixtures.

I had to give up the stainless steel finish because of the product choices, but as the plumber dude explained - showers are usually trimmed in chrome, and the fixtures will be hidden behind glass doors. So no one will really notice that they don't match the finish of the bathroom faucets EXACTLY.

I'm still not sure how I feel about a sprayer that hits me square in the bellybutton. And I learned something new about my husband - I didn't realize before how much he utilizes our current hand sprayer in the shower.

These are the bath faucets - two for our master bath, one for the guest bath, and one for Amber's bath:I had a fancy-schmancy pedestal sink picked out for the guest bath - Roger and I had both agreed on it. Then I saw the fancy-schmancy price, and figured I didn't like my friends THAT much. So we settled on a more reasonable pedestal sink. I figure the stainless fixture pictured above will look much nicer than what is pictured here:Also figured all of the toilets should be the same, so settled on a Kohler "comfort height" model. Wish I had photos of me sitting on all the toilets in the plumbing store - but if you ever replace a toilet, I can tell you that the height of this one is much more comfortable. I wanted to settle in and read a book on it:Our master bath will have a whirlpool tub, mostly for resale purposes since EVERYONE has one. I never have time for a bath. Here is the whirlpool fixture, with the exception that the handles will be brushed stainless, unlike the ones in this photo:And, the whirlpool tub:Who knows, I might actually learn to relax and use it.

Oh, and you boys out there will appreciate this. Roger has joked about wanting a urinal in his music studio, so I decided to go for it. This was a nice one, without all that exposed plumbing:Since Roger is the primary bathroom cleaner, I figured he earned it. (When I get my face close to a toilet, I want to vomit. Must be a reflex from those college partying days.)

I couldn't find a photo of Amber's shower/tub combination, but I picked out a larger than normal one, so that she'd have plenty of room to maneuver.

Okay - more than you wanted to know, but I'm pleased that we've made some DECISIONS! Let me know your thoughts!

Fun Monday Kitchen

Joy at A Spot of T is this Fun Monday's hostess, and she asked us to post photos of our kitchens. I was NOT jazzed about this assignment, as I hate my kitchen with a passion. HATE. It's large - but the wallpaper is enough to make me crazier than the insanity genes with which I was born. But guess what? Only a few more months in this kitchen before we have a brand new one, in a brand new house, just the way I want it. This is the shot from the door into the dining room, toward the door in the back room. Did I mention that I HATE my kitchen? Not enough storage space, for one - and it's arranged strangely.

Here is a shot from the doorway leading from the back room in our house, into the kitchen. The door you see on the right hand side of the photo leads into our dining room/Roger's guitar/amp storage area. And BONUS! Whiskas was circling her food bowl at the time, so there's the gnarly cat, too.I spent a lot of time on the 'net the other night, picking ONE feature of our kitchen. I have narrowed the kitchen faucet down to this choice:
Also spent a lot of time looking at sinks, and have narrowed it down to two, but I think I like this one the best:Here is the other one - which is much like what I have now, only with deeper sink bowls.My next project is to pick bathroom sinks, a pedestal sink, and bathroom faucets. I'm closer to finishing that than you might think. I'm avoiding picking a tile at this point - but I'll get there!

Good news is that I got loan approval last Thursday. Bad news is that I can't turn back now! Visit Joy to see much better kitchens than mine!

And We Have A Winner!

Most of you will NOT be surprised, once I reveal the subject of last week's contest that (insert drum roll here) the winner was none other than...WILLOWTREE! A fat congratulations goes out to him, as he emailed me the winning answer. It just doesn't get more precise than this, folks:

"That is the closest thing to you when you get down and look a dog straight in the eyes...Ok, you've turned your head (and camera) 90deg to the right. No wait!! Left left. It's between the nostrils and the right hand side of the photo is towards the mouth."

Second place goes to Desert Songbird, as she was technically the very first to comment by email as such:

"Okay, I’ve stared at it and got past my really obscene thoughts, so here is what I think it is…I think it’s a dog’s nose. A really close section of a dog’s nose, probably your dog, but I’m not sure what kind of dog."

Third place goes to Raffi, because his(?) comments had to be the most bizarre and creative. I now wonder what planet Raffi might be from. You'll have to read his comments on the original post to see what I mean. (And Raffi, I just assumed you were a dude - your profile didn't tell me exactly one way or the other. But we're both originally from the OC, so hopefully you're cool with that.)

So - now for the photo from whence the close-up came. It's my Poo Woo! Isn't he cute?
I actually like this second photo better, but the nose wasn't quite as clear for the contest:Okay, winners, email me your mailing addresses, and I'll get your prizes out to you. And thanks to everyone for participating!

Crafty Tigger

Karmyn is hosting this Fun Monday - and wants us to show our "crafty side." Now, I could have gone a lot of directions with this, but since I actually DO make crafts by hand, I figured I should just stick with the traditional interpretation of her assignnment. She said, "I've asked everyone to show something they've made. It can be ANYTHING - burnt pot roast, a crooked knitted sweater, scrapbook pages, that junior high shop class table - WHATEVER - as long as it was made by hand."

I really thought this would be easy, because I remember having photographs of my crafts SOMEWHERE. I must have looked at a million discs to try to find the close-up photos that I KNOW EXIST. My craft is Victorian-style Christmas ornaments, but they are packed away in a very high closet, and getting them down would have taken all weekend. So the best I can do is give you an idea by taking photos of our Christmas tree and cropping them up so you can kinda see what I do. My favorite one is in this photo - the red one, middle left - I actually won 1st prize at our county fair for this very ornament! I use satin balls, pins, beads and sequins to make these. It is time-consuming work. I started off with the traditional kits that you can find at any craft store, and then moved on to make some original designs. The top ornament in this photo is an original - while the star below is from a kit.
I'm really hacked off that I can't seem to find the closeup photos - they really showed off my work. The Santa and reindeer are also pin/sequin creations. There are snowmen somewhere, but I couldn't readily find photos of them.
Lastly, another shot of the prize winner - bottom left. It's a shame these aren't closer - because that ornament in particular has crystal dangles and beaded rope chains - it was exquisite, and lots of fun to make.
Sadly, now that I've filled up an 8-foot tree with these suckers, I don't make them much anymore. I have lots of ribbons and materials, but my porn-star fingernails make the process near to impossible. I plan to get back into the craft, though - once my vanity wanes.

OH! And YES...we do have a contest winner! But I'm going to keep you in suspense until tomorrow. It's a Monday, and I do have pressing needs at work...but be assured, I have chosen a winner!

Now go check out some crafty bloggers, who have better photos!

A Mystery!

Okay gang, I've been a lax Tigger, and haven't posted anything in a looooong time. Been very busy with work and the end-of-school festivities, which is really no excuse at all. So, how about a contest? Everyone loves a contest, and I haven't ever had one, so...here's my first try. And YES...there will be a prize! No photo of the prize yet, but be assured, it is something in my possession. And could shortly be in YOUR possession.

The winner is the one who can most accurately define and describe what is shown in the photo above. I'm DEFINITELY going to use your description as a basis for determination of the winner. Contest officially ends on Sunday - midnight, Central Standard Time. Ready...set...go!

Memorial Monday

During my D.C. visit, one of the most moving experiences was my trip to Arlington National Cemetery. As we celebrate this Memorial Day with our fancy grills, coolers full of beer and the blessed day off from the daily grind of our jobs, I realized that I will never again "see" this holiday in the same way. Even living with a Vietnam-era veteran on a daily basis has not made me appreciate the meaning of these holidays as much as walking through Arlington (sorry, Rog).

Believe it or not, witnessing the somber wreath-laying ceremony at the Tomb of the Unknowns brought me almost immediately to tears. Here, the Tomb Guards begin the ceremony:The Tomb sarcophagus is placed above the grave of a soldier from World War I. Three white marble slabs that are flush with the plaza mark the graves of unknown soldiers from World War II, the Korean War, and the Vietnam War. Advances in DNA techniques led to the identification of the Vietnam War Unknown. He was United States Force First Lieutenant Michael Joseph Blassie. Lieutenant Blassie's remains were returned to his family on Friday, July 10, 1998, and were buried in his hometown of St. Louis, Missouri, the following day. It has been decided that his former resting place on the plaza will remain vacant.I've often seen photographs of Arlington's rows of headstones. Similar to the one below, they only show a minute portion of the over 300,000 people buried there.While on a tour bus during my first visit to the cemetery, I shot some footage of the rows and rows of headstones. They seemed to go on forever. I couldn't figure out how to edit this video properly (neophytism), but approximately halfway through this clip, you will see what I mean about the vastness of the cemetery. Words cannot express my thanks to all those who have given so much in service to our country, as well as to those who continue to serve, every day.

Getting Down and Dirty...aka Political

You know I hate to muddy the pristine, cheery waters of the Neophyte blog with atrocity, but a situation has been on my mind that just won't go away. An article written by Nicole Belle on March 25th, 2007, describes something that seems abhorrent to me. Entitled, "You'll Never Look at Potholes the Same Way Again," it details how "the pulverized remains of bodies from the World Trade Center disaster site were used by city workers to fill ruts and potholes." This is according to a city contractor statement in a sworn affidavit filed in a Manhattan Federal Court.

According to the article, which you can read in its entireity here, "Eric Beck says debris powders - known as fines - were put in a pothole-fill mixture by crews at the Fresh Kills landfill on Staten Island, N.Y., where more than 1.65 million tons of World Trade Center debris were deposited after the Sept. 11 attacks."

"I observed the New York City Department of Sanitation taking these fines from the conveyor belts of our machines, loading it onto tractors and using it to pave roads and fill in potholes, dips and ruts," Eric Beck said.

Thanks go out to Mugsy for bringing this to my attention.

Fun Monday Poetry

Willowtree, who evidently has an alternative lifestyle, tagged Nikki to be this week's Fun Monday host. Her assignment was to:

1. Write a short poem. It can be about anything and it doesn't even have to be good.

2. Whip out your crayons, markers, paint, etc. and illustrate your poem (or have your kid, dog or cat do it).

As I have extremely limited poetry skills, unless I'm allowed the use of rampant expletives, I decided to let the kid do the entire assignment. Actually, The Offspring had this poem posted on her myspace blog a few weeks ago, and we had a very interesting discussion about who she was referring to in this piece.

the ending getting started

this is my first ending
it's an ending with you
you may not be through
but i'm ready to end it
and now i have found another
and we're so close to one another
so hopefully you'll understand
this ending poem starting
with someone new
someone great
someone new for you to hate
i love him
and he loves me
and thats the way it's gonna be


Deep thoughts...must be the hormonal phase.

It's Finally Begun!

Well, another meeting with the builder to show him THIS:And now, there's no turning back. The house plan just needs some tweaking (a door from the back of the garage, making the laundry room section two feet larger, moving my island a little more forward...just small stuff) - and the builder has taken my plan home to make the adjustments. The major adjustment involves this:
The room above will be the new music studio, and it really should orient the other direction. To do that, the garage will increase to 28x28, and the entrance from the garage will be expanded. The stairs will also come from another direction, but it's in his hands now. He sounded confident that he knows exactly what to do to make it perfect for us.

See this lovely gravesite?
It's actually the first hole for the "perc test," which is a test to see how well the ground will percolate for a septic system. I think a body would fit in there...creepy.

The plumbers put out all these little flags to show where the lateral lines for the septic system will go. I've been instructed NOT to mow over them.
They dug another gravesite perc test hole, but with the trees all around, there are too many roots to make it viable for seeping sewage:
I have new photos on my flickr site that show the new acreage that we bought to buffer us from the neighbors, plus all my new trees.

I guess it's GAME ON now!

Fun Monday Cuppage and BONUS Material

I know Willowtree has been wanting to do this coffee cup thing for a while, but I spoiled all the fun by posting my favorite cup a few days ago. His assignment was as follows: "I would like to see your favourite Coffee Mug. But wait there's more, I'd also like to see your favourite glasses for a) non alcoholic drinks and b) alcoholic drinks. If you want extra credit you could also post your favourite plate. Note I said favourite, not best."

I don't have a favorite OR a favourite plate, so I'm a photo shy of making the grade. But, I have a bonus video to make up for it!
To start, another look at my favorite coffee cup, from the front:
And now, from the back:
I LOVE big coffee cups. I drink one of these, full to the brim, each morning. It's only when I'm having a very groggy day that I drink another half cup. Here's my second favorite:
I've also found that when you borrow over a quarter-million dollars to purchase a business, your lender will gladly give you a coffee cup. This one is five years old, and I use it during travel:
And what kind of business owner would I be if I didn't have my OWN cups made?
Now for my favorite non-alcoholic glass to drink from, even though I do use it for Tom Collins' every so often:
This is my favorite wine glass, because it makes that neato noise when you run your finger around the rim of it:
And what classier way to drink beer than from this?
Don't know about you, but I'm kinda bored - so let's move on!

Now, this is the BEST thing I've seen for Mother's Day. I know it's not part of Fun Monday - but is a LOT more interesting than my coffee cups and glassware, and made me laugh hysterically.

All of a sudden, I wish I had a couple of sons.

Just in Time for the Weekend

Got this little gem from my long time friend Brent, and was amazed by its simplicity! Plus, I had to scoot those morning photos down a bit. They were scaring me.

Not sure if this can be done while there is still wine in the bottle, but it's worth a try!

OH! And one more little weekend trick to try! I actually saw this and came to the office and just tore the place UP! We had a lot of old phonebooks around, and I amazed my coworkers by making Incredible Hulk noises while performing this trick. (Sorry, my shirt didn't rip off - but I made some really scary faces.)

Have a great weekend!

Mean Meme

Robin at Pensieve has issued the most difficult meme EVAH. And like Robin, when I get an assignment, it consumes me until I can get it completed, like a monster gnawing on the back of my brain, threatening to end my life if I don't get it done. Call me anal retentive.

As Robin put it, "It started with Lisa Samson over at Author Intrusion who asked Rachelle and others 'to show [their] morning faces! Yes, she wants to see that no-makeup, just-got-up, haven't-had-coffee-yet face. Are you up for it???' Rachelle, in her post, went on to explain, 'Lisa slyly asks us... if we don't want to do it...why not?'"

Why not?!?!?! Because we are going to scare off our READERS, that's why not! Then again, I don't have a blog for fame and fortune, so what the heck.

I figure I'd start where this process begins - at night. This was taken after I'd washed off my makeup and was ready for bed. That's why I have a happy smile - I get to go lay down and REST! Well, that, and I just finished a glass of wine before brushing my teeth.
Okay - here it comes. The WORST look of the day. Hair askew, and barely able to hold up my coffee cup. This was taken only after I had POURED the coffee. Not after I had taken any sips. No makeup. Puffy eyes. Only able to force a smile because I know it's all for YOU.
This is my coffee cup. LARGE coffee cup. It gets me thru the morning, and see that french press in the background? If you don't have one, GET ONE. Makes the best coffee in the world. However, I program the automatic one so that I don't have to think that early in the morning.Since I'm baring it all - why not one FRESH OUT OF THE SHOWER? And yes, I'm naked. And no, you can't see. But the smile is wider, because I finally got to drink some of that coffee.
So...now to the finished product. As a reference, my alarm goes off at 6:45AM. Much to Roger's dismay, I usually hit the snooze button until at least 7:03AM. It takes me a total of 3 minutes to put on my makeup. Impressive, huh? I don't wear much. (MAKEUP. You're still thinking about that shower pic. I know it.) Flattening the mess that is my nappy-head takes about 10 minutes, if I blow dry it first. I'm usually out the door and in the car by 7:55AM. I'm a low-maintenance girl, for sure. And all that, while sharing the bathroom with The Offspring, Roger and sometimes the cat.
Okay, I've completed the meme. I won't blame any of you who decide to abandon my blog after this post! Especially after I tag the following to show their morning face: Marnie, Julie, Mist(who I can't imagine being brave enough), Shauna, and Arkansas Songbird! You may all commence to hating me now.

Fun Monday Voyeurism - UPDATED!

It's another Fun Monday, and today's hostess is Vicki, also known as the Horny Redneck Christian Woman. She is the ultimate voyeur, and her assigment was to post photos of our springtime view from our front door. I'm hoping this is the LAST spring I will be posting this view! Vicki is so honest about her intentions for today, as she states: "Today is the day I can peek through your door and see what you see everyday. It makes us BFF. It almost shows my stalker personality. It satisfies my sweet tooth. Makes me feel all cozy and warm inside when I get to peek into your world."
It's garbage day on my block, so I thought I'd treat you to a front view of the house first. It's not the best thing in the world to wake up to a street lined with garbage bags, though I made an effort not to show them in the next photo. Roger mowed the lawn this weekend, and I wish I could dig it up and move it to the new property. It's St. Augustine - a beautiful, lush grass that grows like crazy. When The Offspring was little, it was nice to have a lawn that was good for tumbling and rolling and just laying back on to enjoy the sun.
I wish you could have seen my springtime view last month, as my azaleas were all blooming in glorious splendor. Red, white, light pink, dark pink, along with an abundance of purple iris. Sadly, they are short-lived and gone now. I can see the neighbor's iris from my front door - a lavender cluster around the base of the tree. You can't see them too well here, but look under our flag, and you might see their purple haze.
Now for the back door photo - actually, this view isn't STRAIGHT out the back door...because I was late for work this morning and almost forgot to take the photo. So it's my view as I'm getting in my car, with my very sad dog. Poo Woo doesn't like to see me go away, as evidenced by this pouty look. Roger is going to be home today, but it's just not the same for Poo Woo. Roger may be the pack leader, but I am his "mom."

My next post will be photolicious, as I had a very exciting weekend with some folks from Japan. And for those of you who are curious as to what the view looked like last time, here is your link!

Thinking Genius and Updated Linkage

I'm nothing if not tardy, as Julie nominated me April 11th for the thinking blogger award. It's not that I can't think, it's just that I've been covered up at work and The Offspring's science fair project (remember LAST YEAR?) has been all-consuming. Worst of all, so many of the people I planned to honor have already been nominated! One of the requirements was to refer back to this, so there ya go.

1. James Burnett. Always smart, entertaining, and makes me think about things from all perspectives.
2. Mocha Momma. She's not blogging much now, but when she's got something to say - listen up!
3. Piglet. Writing straight from the heart, with poetry thrown in to make you think even more.
4. Angelina. Read along, and you'll find yourself exploring new mental paths.
5. Mist1, who basically makes me think that my life is completely dull.

I'm wondering if any are duplications - so I've thrown in two bonus clips of "sound bloggers," that make me think differently...about MUSIC!

This first link was sent to me by a friend. I absolutely love the way he thumps the guitar and keeps a beat. His name is Andy McKee, and you can check out his new album here.

If you know Bella Fleck and the Flecktones, then you might know Victor Wooten. If you're not a fan of bass guitar, you will be after you watch this:

Tiggerlane's thought for the day: I'm pink, therefore I'm Spam.