11:11 on 11-11-11

I know it's weird but I still have a favorite number- #11.  It was normally my class number in elementary school.  M's were right around #11 in every class.  And I like to make wishes when that number is repeated- like everyday at 11:11. So when I realized this was the year that it would be 11:11 on 11-11-11 I knew I had  reason for some extra wishing!  And I made my class and Trent get in on it too.  The challenge was to take a picture at exactly 11:11 to show what you were doing.

Proof of the big event!

 At 11:11 am I was teaching reading.  We were in the middle of our weekly reading test.  And yes I made them flip their tests over, gather round, take a quick pic, and then go back to testing.  They were so excited cause some of them are also 11 years old so they felt EXTRA special.  Their teacher felt extra jealous ;)

 Meanwhile... back at home... Trent had taken a personal day for the basement project and was waiting for his parents to arrive.  He was in the middle of lunch as he waited.

 What he was eating at 11:11.

 The bite he took the second it turned 11:11.

And since it happened that night too we also had to document the 11:11 pm shot.  Good thing I set my alarm for 11:09 just in case I forgot... cause after a long week of school, a 5th grade party after school I got to chaperone, then a full belly and a glass of wine... I was OUT.  At 11:11 Trent and Lora were watching something on the DVR and I was conked out in the recliner.  Exciting evening at our house ;)

Here's to hoping everyone's 11:11 11-11-11 wishes come true!

Renovation Reality: Basement Storage

Welcome to our basement... but use caution!!

Trent and I LOVE the show "Renovation Realities" on the DIY channel.  It always cracks us up how... 1. people go WAY over budget. 2. they always want to finish these huge projects in like a weekend. 3. the couple always starts after they engulf a huge breakfast which then prevents them from starting first thing that morning. 4. the couple always fights and you're guaranteed to see somebody cry- usually the woman which always annoys Trent and makes me mad.

The first week that I didn't have homework we decided we needed a new project.  One that could be completed fairly cheaply and quickly.  Enter- the basement.  We have grand plans on how we're going to finish 1/2 of it soon for an office/scrapbook room so the upstairs bedrooms can be used as guest bedrooms and future nurseries, yikes.  But before starting work on finishing our basement we needed to get the storage side in order.  We decided that our November project would be to overhaul 1/2 of the basement to be our "Storage Room."  And to make the process even more fun we were going to keep track of the budget, set a deadline, and count the number of fights and tears shed- Renovation Reality style.

Budget: $350 or under
Deadline: By Thanksgiving- since we host both of our families at our house
Fights and Tears: Hopefully 0

To Do List:
-install 4 new fluorescent lights
-paint the walls white
-etch and wash the floor
-paint the floor gray
-build custom shelving
-purge and sort thru our crap
-organize and label everything into Rubbermaid totes

 Before: West wall as you walk down the stairs

 Before: South wall

 Before: North wall

 Before: East wall

 Before: Rest of East wall/stairs

 Phase 1: Lights installed and everything moved over

 Where the rest of our crap went

 And the fun begins!  Painting on Monday night 11-7-11

 The first coat!

 We ended up needing 2 quick coats of the white.  We picked white so the storage room will be nice and bright.

Tuesday night was Phase 2- sweeping, etching, and washing the floors.  I didn't take any pics cause it didn't look that different.

 Phase 3: Painting the floor gray on Wednesday night.

Phase 4: Building the shelves!  Trent took Friday off and Bob and Lora came up so that Bob and Trent could have all day Friday for shelf building fun. I wanted my shelves nice and long... as Trent is demonstrating.

1 down 1 to go.

 And both the shelves were done by the time I got home from work on Friday evening- NICE!  I figured I'd have to bust out my work gloves Friday night to pitch in but they definitely got 'er done without me ;)

Jeryn tested them out and she approves as well!

 Saturday was taken off for fun stuff with family so Sunday was moving-our-crap-back-over-day!

 And the afters!  South wall view.  Most of the storage bins have been reorganized and labeled- but the Christmas ones won't get redone until after the holidays since I'll be getting them out in a few weeks anyway.

 Not totally perfect yet- we have to go buy a few more red/green bins for some more of our Christmas stuff.

East wall

 North wall- not as much crap!  Still have a pile of stuff for Trent to sell on Craigslist, some of Trent's truck stuff that will be headed to the garage soon, and the Christmas tree which is waiting on it's storage bag to arrive in the next week.

 West wall- up next we'll move the deep-freeze to put next to the fridge.

 Sunday night- all done!!!  And the renovation reality rundown is...

Deadline: Done weeks before Thanksgiving- woo hoo!  Thanks for the help this weekend, Bob!

Budget: Lumber $180
Lighting $45
Paint(walls and floor) $55
Misc. (screws, couple new bins, etc) $45
Total= 325
But Trent didn't use all the lumber...we have lots left over for the next time. $325-50=275
Then some friends bought our old metal shelves.  $275-25=250
Grand total: $250!!!!  Below budget :)
AND we had ZERO fights or tears.  All in all... a success!

Now up next:
-Re-wiring to move the deep-freeze and to add more outlets
-Frame in the new wall that will split the storage side from the office side
-Install door to separate the rooms
-Build identical shelving on the new wall for the storage room
-Tap into existing plumbing to install a work sink in the storage room
-Then start on the office/scrapbook room.  Lots of fun!

Done-zo 10-23-11

Never again will I...
-sit at the library at Nike Elementary on Wednesday nights from 5-9 for classes.
-have another gas station dinner of a slice of pizza, spicy nacho Doritos, and a 44 oz. Mt. Dew.  Oh so healthy.
-cry, yell, or pout in front of the computer because of assignments, papers, projects, or presentations.  One or more of these may have happened at some point in the program.
-miss out on social activities by saying "I'd love to but I have class" or "I can't, I have homework"
-be a bad wife that barely sees my husbands some nights.
-ever go back to college.  My bachelors years were WAY more fun.  Masters... not so much.

 I will have no more nights going delirious and cross eyed in front of a computer with a certain furry friend begging for attention in my lap.

 Is he handsome or what?

After a couple weeks of working on my portfolio I officially submitted my work for my master's degree program and hit submit on Sunday, October 23, 2011.  After giving up my life for the last 18 months I can officially do whatever I want on any night of the week.  What a feeling! I celebrated that I finished before the November 2 deadline with some well deserved Cold Stone.  As you can tell... I look spent in this pic.

The box of doom that I will never open again files for all my classes..  Baker University- I'm out.  See you on December 17 at graduation!

Pumpkin Carvin' 2011

WARNING: Lots of Jeryn photos ahead.  Stop reading now if you're not in the mood for some niece bragging from Tia Kala.

 We went over to play with Jeryn the other night and she was looking quite stylish in this unseasonal warm weather.  Even a 1.5 year old is confused with this October weather- hence her hat with her shorts.

 I'm too lazy to figure out how to rotate this picture so please rotate your head to the left.  I had to include one of "Mommy" Jeryn.  Feeding her baby with what else... puff paint.  Duh.  Babies love puff paint.

 

 Look at that angelic smile :)

 Love those kisses.

 She made Tio throw the ball over and over and over again.  All it took was for her to say "Ready" and Tio was at it again.

 We also had our yearly carving party that night with Ashley and Jerad.  But poor J-FE always misses out on the fun of carving- click here for pics of her at last year's carving.  She's grown so much in a year :( 

 She wasn't too keen on the yucky part.

 My carving for the night- I went with a polka dot theme.  We have since decided it a. looks like a soccer ball or b. looks like a toadstool from Super Mario.  My carving skills fail again...

Trent's fierce pumpkin.

 Our final products from our night of carving.  My fave was Ashley's one eye pumpkin which reminded me of Mike Wazowski (spelling?) from Monsters Inc.

 Our traditional front stoop pic.

 Tonight we also got together at Dave and Dana's so we could get some Henry time and carve some more pumpkins.

 Henry wasn't too excited about the commotion.

 The results from our hard work.  I did the two paw prints for Bentley and Harlee.  Dana did the witch on the left.  Dave did the sad face and the deer head in the middle.  And Trent's cyclops is on the right.

 Group shot.

 Post to come on my October crafts :) Look out Martha Stewart.

 Our front porch decor- all we need now are some trick or treaters... that's if me and Trent don't eat all the candy before Monday...