CostcoWarrior

Lawnmowing Visitors 3 July 2009

We have a sweet lawn hookup.  My 11 yr old niece comes every weekend to mow both our front and back yard lawns.  She’s pretty talented and fast.  It costs us $10 total.  She loves the $$$.  And we love the convenience.  Another bonus is my sister-in-law usually comes with her other children and we visit or weed or eat popsicles and such.

A few weeks ago a few other buddies joined our lawn-mowing party…

This guy was quiet and reserved and just hung out in the carport:

Don’t let the picture seem deceiving; that’s a normal size brick and this is the BIGGEST dragonfly I have ever seen.

And this guy became my 3 yr old nephew’s best friend by the end of the visit:

The kids spent an amazing amount of time and attention on these two visitors.  It’s so fun to see the wonder that children have for the world and the creations around them.

Remodel Dejavu 30 June 2009

We’ve started.  The “add a closet to the 2nd bedroom because naturally that’s a good idea BEFORE we turn that into the baby’s room” plan. 

It’s only been 24 hours and already I’m struggling against the panic of remembering the 6 horrible remodel months we lived through the last time we pulled out the tools. 

I keep reminding myself “this time it’s a much smaller project” and “this time it’s just one room instead of the whole basement” and “this time will be better”.  But it’s still overwhelming.  The moving and shuffling and stacking and yanking and pulling and pounding and sawing and dusting and planning and replanning and framing and sheetrocking and mudding and taping and patching and sanding and sweating and swearing and aching and collapsing each night into bed knowing that tomorrow it’s still going to be the chaotic mess that you just tore yourself away from…

Things are about to get nutso around here.  We’re busting into the sheetrock tonight.

Fly on the wall? 29 June 2009

This month has been an interesting one in the way of insect friends at work.

On the way to a meeting: ladybug on the wall.

On the way to my desk: huge daddy longlegs spider on the wall.

On the way to the restroom: moth on the wall.

On the way to TW desk: beetle on the wall.

Apparently there is a bunch of variety available in the the workplace wall bug-art.  I would never have guessed…

Public Bathroom Rants & Raves 24 June 2009

Perhaps you think I’m weird.  I whole-heartedly agree.

There are some things that I just want to rave about when it comes to public restrooms, though, and perhaps you’ll agree:

Baby powder air-freshener!

Touchless paper towel dispensers!

Entering a stall in the morning to find the toilet seat standing up meaning that the toilet was cleaned the night before and you are the FIRST to use it!

Yes…all of these make my heart flutter and bring a smile to my face and make me feel as if I’ve somehow got to be the luckiest public restroom user ever.  BUT then there is the most horrible public bathroom trend that I just want to rant about. 

Automatic flush toilets! 

There are some things in life that just shouldn’t be automated.

What the Woot?? 23 June 2009

So today instead of blog posting I was blog hopping…I ran across some linkage to www.Woot.com.  What is this?  A coffee maker?  I don’t get it.  So I click on the FAQ and spend 20 minutes laughing my head off at the first unapologetically honest retailers I’ve ever met.  Can I talk to a live person? NO.  Will I get customer service? NO.  What if my product isn’t working? YOU are probably the problem; use Google to figure it out   ….It was awesome and I’d highly recommend the read.

What a day to experience Woot for the first time.  Normally the site offers a slow and steady pace of one product at a steal of a deal per day, but TODAY?!  a Woot-off.  As soon as they sell out of one product, they post another one.  The whole sellout/repost process lasts just minutes.

Never mind that I don’t even have an account and couldn’t register in time to buy the product if I thought looked cool.

Never mind that I don’t even know what half of these products are! (WHAT is a PCTV HD ultimate stick anyway?)

I am stuck on-the-edge-of-my-seat-must-keep-clicking-refresh.  What’s the next product? How good of a deal is it?  Whoa!  That’s awesome…click refresh again! This is so cool.

How did I not know about Woot?   I missed 2 whole products when I took a trip to the bathroom (Yes, I made TW watch for me).  This is intense!  Hours of entertainment, folks, hours.

Things like this are what makes being easily entertained just the most rewarding experience in the world.