Rain

I desperately need to paint the interior doors in the flip house.

desperately.

This is what I keep seeing.

It's kind of hard to spray the doors outside when it won't stop raining for a day.

I know, I know, it's good for the grass, trees, wildfires, etc.

I just want to get the doors painted.

Maybe Sunday?

Have a great weekend!
Kristin

Fortunes

The other day I was at my witts end with my husband. We were working in our flip house, nothing was going as planned, we didn't have any AC, and he was complaining about every. little. thing.

I was so tired of him. (He was tired of me, too, I'm sure lol)

I got Chinese take-out for lunch and this was HIS fortune.







We needed a good laugh!

Have a great day!
Kristin

Air Conditioning

We have AIR!

Those vents in the ceiling actually have a purpose. They blow cold air!

The doors and windows can be shut now.

I don't have to chase wasps and bees out of the house.

We can turn off that noisy box fan. (Even though it was fun to talk through the fan, like I did as a kid, making all of those strange guttural voices.)

We've been working on the Jupiter flip house without air conditioning since April 11th. We have been trying to get the people we paid to put it in, to actually put the thing in for two months.

We have hired three A/C installers to do the job.

Yesterday all the worlds collided and we got it accomplished. The house is finally, finally cool.

When the thermostat was placed on the wall, the temperature read 99.

I knew it was hot in there.

The electrical is finished.

The A/C is finished.

The plumbing is finished.

The carpet has been installed in the master bedroom.

The carpet guys came back out and moved one of the tack strips so that the pocket door to the bathroom would open.

The lawn got mowed on Sunday.

The missionaries came back twice this week and helped caulk and paint and clean up the garage.

The crown molding has been installed.

We should be finished with all of the painting of the trim and doors by Sunday.

The final cleanup should occur on Monday.

We should be finished with the inside by Tuesday.

But for right now, I'm joyous that for the first time I won't have to work in a 99 degree house.

Have a great day!
Kristin

WFMW - Kitty Litter

Todays Works For Me Wednesday tip is about a way to keep kitty litter pouring easily. I buy a 25 pound box of the stuff, so anything that keeps it easy to pour and store is my kind of tip!




This is the box of kitty litter that I use. I've used this same brand for years. All 11 of my kitty's life and possibly even with previous cats. The box design hasn't changed in all that time. I think there are several different brands of kitty litter that use this type of box.
When you open up the box, this is what you are left with. A big open area to pour out the kitty litter.
Please ignore the pastey white claw hand LOL But, do you see the gap between the thick cardboard and the outer cardboard? If you pour out the kitty litter, that area will fill up with kitty litter. It happens to me every time. I'd say about a cup of kitty litter goes into this wasteland and it doesn't come out easily. I used to end up with kitty litter all over the floor whenever I tried to dump out that last remaining litter.
See this? This is packing tape. One day (just last month) I put together the packing tape and the kitty litter. It was a marriage to last forever.
I placed two or three small pieces of packing tape on the inside of the box, and wrapped it over the gap and on to the outside.

It should not have taken 11+ years to figure this out, but it did. Learn from my mistake.

I really like this kitty litter, it doesn't produce huge clouds of dust, it works excellent, it clumps tightly, it comes in unscented thankfully and my kitty has never had any trouble with it. The box didn't work for me, but now with a little packing tape, it truly does work for me.

Thanks so much for joining me today. Please leave a comment and then go over to Rocks in my Dryer for more fabulous tips and suggestions to make your life easier.

Have a great day!
Kristin

Flip that Bathroom

The plumbers came yesterday!! This means we have sinks and faucets installed. We should even have a working bathroom by Thursday. The plumbing inspector will sign off on the plumbing Thursday (cross your fingers) and then we can get rid of the port-a-potty.

Here are the two bathrooms as they look now. Installed, but not cleaned up lol

This is the main bath. There is a toilet between the sink cabinet and the tub/shower.



This is the tub in the main bath. We have it covered right now so that it doesn't get all scratched up. Hopefully tomorrow I can get that tile cleaned up.



This is the Master Bath. The sink cabinet. We bought a toilet for this room, but it was broken, so tomorrow we will get another toilet and see if that one will work.




I hope you enjoyed the sneak peek. I'd love to tell you that by next Wednesday we will be finished. Oh, how I hope that is true!

Have a great day!
Kristin

Pig Roast

My family hails from Michigan. Nearly everyone in my family and in my husbands family still lives there. Tom and I moved to Florida about 6 years ago. I still miss Michigan a lot, but mostly I miss being with my family and the friends we've had for so many years.

The 4th of July my Aunt Jane, who recently got married, had a pig roast & invited everyone. Amy, Janes daughter, took some photos and sent them along to me last night. I told Amy that I'd use this as two posts, but what the heck, I'll put them all together.

Looks like they had a nice time.

This is Judy and Jan sitting on either side of my mother. I have known Judy and Jan since I was in 2nd grade. They have known each other since college, as I recall. Jack and Jan & Stan and Judy. When my parents moved to our first house, it was across the street from Stan and Judy.



Amy's husband David and my sister's husband Jim with the roasted pig.



This is my niece, Stella (Jim & my sister's daughter)




Here's Judy holding Stella.



Stella's big sister is Zora. This is Zora. I love the goggles. Amy took the picture below, too. I can never get Zora to smile for me - Amy said that Zora was so excited to show off the new vest, that she is sure that's the reason she is smiling. Whatever the reason, she looks great.

Thanks Amy for the wonderful photos and for permission to post them.

Have a great day everyone!
Kristin

Secret Scrolls

I haven't posted from the Secret Scrolls in awhile. I realized I had a little pile of calendar days that I kept wanting to type up and put in my blog, but I was distracted by other things - my red shirt, going to IKEA, painting and caulking. Stuff like that.

I like all of the messages on each calendar day, but these four spoke to me more than others. I hope you enjoy. You can read more about The Secret on their website.

To restore harmony into a relationship, focus on what you appreciate about the other person, and not your complaints. When you focus on the wonderful things and you appreciate those, you will be astounded at how many more things to appreciate suddenly appear in the other person.

There is a big difference between giving and sacficing. Giving from a heart that is overflowing feels so good. Sacrificing does not feel good. Don't confuse the two - they are diametrecally opposed. One emits a signal of more-than-enough and the other emits a signal of lack. One feels good and one does not feel good. Sacrifice will eventually lead to resentment. Giving from a full heart is one of the most joyous things you can do, and the law of attraction will grab hold of that signal and flood even more into your life. You can feel the difference.

As you have control of your feelings, you can slide your inner switch upward and amplify them. When you amplify your good feelings and deliberately increase them, you are on the receiving frequency of the Universe. The Universe wants to give you everything, but you have to be on the frequency to receive. Your good feelings are your feedback that you have turned in to the frequency of the Universe.

Every night before you go to sleep, give sincere thanks for the day. Then intend your next day to be joyous, effortless, and wonderful. On waking in the morning, confirm your intention that your day will be magnificent! As you are creating every one of your days, if you don't intend your day in advance then you are handing it over to the whims and energies of mass consciousness. Don't pur your day in the hands of others - create your own magnificent day.

Have a fantastic day!
Kristin

Etsy

Have you been to Etsy yet?

www.etsy.com

It's a place where you can buy and sell handmade items.

I have found so many fun things and so many interesting crafters!

I have purchased cards, gift tags, and a few other things. The quality that I have seen is just incredible.

Here, click on the links below to see some of my favorites.


Mattart

ilee letterpress goods

Airmail envelopes accordion file folder

Jellybeans - original art

Little Red Caboose

Elephannie

I Spy - travel bags

Field and Sea

Going to Target

I love a red shirt.

I wear red most days.

OK, if I'm not wearing a purple shirt, I'm wearing red.

Red is a GREAT color, unless you want to go shopping at Target.

I wear my keys on a lanyard.

I have a flat white card that is also on that lanyard - it is a key card that lets me into my condo building.

When I go anywhere, my keys are around my neck.

I look like an employee.

I really look like an employee when I wear a red shirt and have keys dangling from around my neck.

I even act like an employee sometimes.

When I get asked where to find an item, I almost always know where the item is located.

"Miss. Miss." "Miss"

"Oh, were you talking to me?"

"Yes, where can I find the vacuum cleaners?"

"They are on the other side of this wall, not in an isle, but on this wall."

"OK, thank you"

walking, shopping, walking shopping

"Do you have any patio furniture?"

Not really, I hardly have a patio

"I think you will find the patio furniture near the garden center."

"Can you take me there?"

"Ummmm, I suppose. I don't work here, so if you have any questions on the patio furniture you will need to talk to a Target employee."

Why do I wear red?

Oh right, because it makes me look a lot less pale!

Have a great day!
Kristin

On the Run

I thought I was going to paint all day. My contractor has been hard at work for the past three days getting all the doors, bi-fold doors, window casings, trim and baseboards all installed. Most everything was purchased pre-primed, but some of it still needs to be primed and all of it needs to be painted.

That was the plan.

The lazy susan unit that we purchased was missing some essential parts, although we weren't quite sure if it had just been misplaced or if it wasn't in the package. We'd been looking for the missing pieces for two days now, but today was the critical day. We have to have the countertops on & the tile on the backsplash installed by this weekend. Our timeline is getting shorter and shorter. The post that holds the lazy susan together must be installed before the countertop goes on.

So, off I go to IKEA in Orlando. Its just a 2½ hour trip. One way.

I had a few items to return and a few items to pick up - my schedule was tight, so I just returned and picked up - no dawdling. I left at 12:30pm and got home at 7:30pm

Pretty good!

Tomorrow I plan on painting. again.

Have a Great Day!
Kristin

Apostrophe Abuse

I cannot begin to tell you how much my family would love this site.

Maybe it would make them squirm in their seats?
Maybe it would make them laugh?
Maybe it would just be too painful to see so much abuse.

Whatever it would do, this is a great site.

http://www.apostropheabuse.com/

I am so guilty of the apostrophe abuse.

I sent my grandparents a card & my grandmother called me to tell me that I had either placed the apostrophe in the wrong place or didn't use one (I can't remember.) At this moment I am thinking that I must have used the apostrophe. However, at the time, I couldn't remember how I wrote out the card and what exactly I did that was wrong - so from that point on I no longer wrote out...

To: The Wrights (Wright's) because I didn't know which one was correct

I would instead say

To: The Wright Family

That got me past the whole apostrophe thing. It is now standard practice on all Christmas card corespondence.

I think I may get a crash course in the proper use of apostrophes after looking through that site.

Enjoy!
Kristin

I totally forgot to mention that I found this gem of a site when I visited sweet little happy little life Thanks to her fun site, I found this one!! Thanks!!

WFMW - File Folder Labels

My tip this week for Works for Me Wednesday is something that has made my bill paying/filing a bit easier. It isn't earth shattering, but for me, it works. It works Great!!

I am a visual girl.

I need a picture, a logo, a color - something to trigger my brain.

Somewhere in the vastness of the Internet I found this tip - and now I'm passing it on to you. (I looked for the original post, but I couldn't find it)

This picture is of my file folders.

I used the original insert for the folder tabs to get the correct dimensions for the labels.

I then used the original logo from one of my bills (I just cut out the corner) for each tab.

I just held the original tab over the logo and cut around it, to make it the perfect size.

I put the small little piece of paper into the label and then onto the folder.

Filing my bills is so much easier now. It seems silly that a little logo makes my life easier, but it does. I have the paid bill in hand, I open the drawer and I SEE the logo. I file the bill. Done. I don't have to read the labels, I don't have to look through the files six times before I finally see what I was looking for. I don't have to alphabetize the folders. I just look for the logo and file. Easy!

Please leave a comment for me, if you will and when you are finished, please go to Shannon's blog, Rocks in My Dryer, for more tips and tricks to make your life easier.

Have a Great Day!
Kristin

Fun stuff I found

I was wandering through the web the other day and found these fun things. Click on the link to read the original article.

Enjoy!!

Frozen Grape Pops I thought this was such a great way to have grapes. I can never eat the entire bunch of grapes before it goes bad, so this is a great way to save that from happening. Looks like good kid food, too!



Unique Birthday Calendar

This looks like a great project!! It certainly would help this brain of mine remember birthdays.



Idea Rolodex

I love this Rolodex idea - I love it!!




Have a great day!
Kristin

Reunion Auction

I just read the most facinating thing over at We are THAT Family.

They had an auction at their family reunion.

It was the coolest sounding thing.

We have two family reunions a year. A hat used to be passed around to collect money for postage - although now with the internet, postage may be a thing of the past...but still, we may have to pay for the pavillion for one of the reunions. (I haven't been in a few years, so I am really out of touch.) This really would be such a fun thing to do at one of the reuinions sometime.

Anyway, Kristen, the Mom of the We Are THAT Family blog, wrote up a cute tale of their auction adventure, so if nothing else go read it.

I love auctions myself, so this is totally up my alley!

Have a great day!
Kristin

Newspaper ads

I've been talking about the flooring being refinished, but I don't think I've talked about the newspaper.

See the white edges around the pressboard? It's newspaper. It must have been Christmas time because there were several ads for Christmas decorations. Come to think of it, it could have been October!

Here are a few of the photos that weren't too blurry. Not quite sure why my picture taking abilities died the day I took these photos.




Do you remember Skinny Dip? I recall it, but I never purchased it. I'm terribly allergic to perfumes, colognes, etc. I do remember the box though. How funny.

Have a great day!
Kristin

We made it

If a marriage can make it through a remodel it can make it through anything, right?

Well, Tom and I built a house together and then got married after it was finished and we moved in.

Then we remodeled two bathrooms in another house just weeks before we listed our house for sale, so we could move to Jacksonville.

We survived both of those.

Then we bought three condos and we fixed them up, furnished them and now rent them to transplant patients.

That was good - I worked on those alone most of the time, so not a together kind of issue.

For the past three days my husband and I have been putting together IKEA kitchen cabinets.

Alone.
Together.
No Air Conditioning.
90 degrees outside - who knows how hot inside.
Power tools.
Hammers.
Small parts.
Lots and Lots of small parts.
Directions written only in code - no words.
Short tempers.
HOT
VERY HOT

We got all of the cabinets finally put together today. We did all of the base cabinets. I put together about 7 drawer units. I put about half of the drawer units together wrong. A different thing wrong in each one. I am grateful that the drawer units did not end up in the yard. The wordless directions were not correct - the tab DOES go on the bottom. Even though they had a big X over the do-not-do-it-this-way, it turned out that was indeed the correct way to put the drawer fronts on.

To put together the base cabinets, it only took us THREE calls to the IKEA Kitchen help call center.

We still need to put the feet on all of the base cabinets. We could have done it today, but I was so pleased that I was still on speaking terms with my husband that I thought we should just go home.

This will be one of the most productive Independence weekends ever!

In a few weeks I may look back at this week fondly. Next time I go to IKEA I will once again get excited about the kitchen cabinets and I will start planning another kitchen. I should bookmark this post and remember this experience.

Maybe all we really need is a little A/C to make the experience worth doing again.

Who am I kidding. We'll totally do it again.

Have a great day!
Kristin

Flip Pics

The bedrooms, hallway and livingroom are all the same color. It is a color called corduroy.
The bathroom is on its second color. I picked a baby blue the first time...I didn't mean to pick baby blue, but it sure was. I thought the accent tiles were a watery mix of blue and green - but as soon as the blue went up on the wall, it was clear that the tiles were 99% green. This color, I forgot the name of it, is a little darker than I had originally planned, but it looks fantastic.

We are going to put up beadboard on the bottom half of the bathroom walls, so that's why the paint is just half way down the wall. In the photo the green drywall board looks like a closer color match to the tile.

I also noticed in the photo that the tile really needs to be cleaned off. I only have one small light in that room, so I hadn't noticed that yet.

The front entry - with a beautiful trashcan on the front step. I like the green door. Even the door looks good next to this paint color.

Here is the "art" photo - a close-up of the textured wall.

This was the other project this morning. My husband is surrounded with the IKEA boxes, full of cabinet pieces. It's a do-it-yourself project, that's for sure.

We only put together the upper cabinets today. We still don't have an AC unit and it was getting close to 100 degrees in the house, so we decided to only work half a day today.

This is the left side of the kitchen.

and this is the right side. The space in this configuration is for the range hood. On the end of all of these cabinets will be the fridge.

Whew! I got the camera out of the car and pictures loaded. I feel so much better!

Hope you had a happy 4th of July.

Kristin

oh drat, it's in the car

I left the camera in the car.

I even went back to the flip house tonight to take pictures, to post online, to show you all the painted rooms.

The neighbors came over because no one is usually at the flip house at 8pm, so they wanted to see the place.

We don't have any lights in the flip, so it was kinda dark, but they wanted a tour and I always love to show off our work.

Here's the kitchen, I said, wondering if they could possibly see anything. It was really getting dark quickly inside that house.

Here's one of the bathrooms, it used to be a closet.

Hardwood floors are underneath all of this paper, tile is under the paper in here...etc.

We chatted for another few minutes in the driveway and I gave them the address to this blog -- Hi Neighbors!!

Next stop, the grocery store - just a few items, so I grab my bucket out of the back and shop real quick.

Then I get home, see the neighbors walking up to the front of the building, so I hurry and get parked so that we can catch the elevator together. Since I would be entering from the parking garage side, I really must hurry and get my key fob elevator unlocker thingy out and scan it across the bar and then push the elevator button to open the door.

The door opens and the lobby side didn't open - so I push the lobby button and sure enough, the neighbors are just walking in. I hold the elevator for them.

They got off on their floor, but stand in the doorway of the elevator so we can chat just a few moments longer.

They leave and I am finally arrive on the 5th floor, with my bucket in tow. Into the house, slam the door (I can never get that door caught before it slams shut) and unload the groceries, shed my shoes and flop on the couch, only to remember that the camera is hidden under the sunshade thing on the front seat.

Not going back down.

I will take more (better) pictures tomorrow and post them.

I hope to finish the painting tomorrow - just a few closets need a second coat and a few touch ups on the ceiling from where the paint roller slips and kisses the ceiling.

Have a great weekend!
Kristin

You're Painting?

Yes, we are painting.

Oh goodness, we are painting.

I am unsure if my feet will recover.

Well, of course they will, they've been this tired before.

The great news is that we got some free labor today, so we were able to get a lot of the house done in a short amount of time.

One of people that we employ is a Mormon carpenter and a few boys from his church are missionaries from around the United States. From what I understand, they devote some time each week to do community service for free and they have chosen to help us several times in the past month. Today we had the three missionaries, our carpenter, my husband and myself all painting. We primed the entire interior of the house, all closets, bathrooms, everything. The ceilings were all painted their two coats of finish paint and we got a first coat in all of the bedrooms (minus the closets), hallway and living room.

To say it was a blessing to have so may helping hands is an understatement.

We did three days worth of work today.

Tomorrow we have to finish the second coat on the main walls and our carpenter (who is an excellent trim painter) is going to finish all of the trim at the ceiling, so I don't have to do this over the weekend! I can trim out the ceilings but it takes me forever.

I hurt from head to toe. Mostly my feet hurt.

I told my husband that I was going to go into the shower and just stand there. I wasn't sure if I had the strength to actually wash LOL Pretty pathetic! I did manage to get myself all clean while I was standing there, just in case you were wondering.

I forgot my camera today, so come back tomorrow to see the pictures.

Have a great day!
Kristin

WFMW - 5 Ingredient Recipes

This week over at Rocks in my Dryer, Shannon has asked us all to give our favorite 5 Ingredient or Less recipe. If you are looking for a new foods for the summer this is going to be a great week for you. After reading my fabulous recipes, go look at everyone else's.


I blogged about mine a few months ago (Has it been that long already?) But, it needs repeating. It is Rice Salad and it is a great dish. This is a family favorite and so easy!

I make this in 4 ingredients... I leave out the tomatoes (unless I'm taking it somewhere) and I almost always forget the parsley LOL


Rice Salad

2 boxes Uncle Ben’s Long Grain and Wild Rice - original recipe (Fast cook is OK, but I prefer the 25 minute kind)
1/4c plain yogurt
1.c Hellman’s Real mayonnaise
1c. cucumber peeled and sliced (I like the English cucumber - just use the whole thing)
1c. tomatoes
a few sprigs of fresh parsley chopped

Cook the rice as directed, omitting the butter. After the rice has cooked, mix in yogurt, mayo, cucumber, tomatoes & parsley and serve warm or cold.

I have to admit, I almost always forget the parsley lol I also try real hard not to eat it all when it is freshly made and still warm — oooh lordy, it is wonderful. Rice Salad is a HUGE hit at potlucks and family reunions. It is a staple at nearly all summer family events & bbq’s. Enjoy!


My next recipe is probably one of my best Go To meals. I usually make this for myself, but I also make it for my husband and I as a breakfast.

Summer Eggs

Onions, diced (or green onions, sliced)
Summer squash, cut up however you'd like.
Mushrooms, sliced
Seasoning (dill, garlic powder, onion powder, Herbs de Provence - whatever you like in your eggs)
Eggs
Cheddar Cheese




I saute onions, summer squash and mushrooms if I've got 'em, in a non-stick pan. Grate up some cheddar cheese, set aside. Crack open a few eggs, toss in some dill & garlic powder if you want and give them a quick beating. When the veggies have gotten a bit soft, toss the eggs into the pan - stir with a spatula until the eggs have just barely cooked through - sprinkle in the cheese toss quickly and pour into serving dish or individual plate.

I try not to empty the fridge out into these eggs. It is too easy to add in a bunch of leftovers (ground turkey, bacon, ham, cream cheese) I suggest that if you want to use up leftovers, make a large batch of this - use a dozen eggs and feed a crowd. I usually just go for the veggies & eggs, but 5 ingredients is about tops for this dish. Anything more and you lose the lightness of the meal.

Have a great day. I can't wait to see what delicious recipes are over at Rocks in my Dryer.

Kristin


My previous WFMW posts are located here... WFMW