Update on Projects

Awhile back, I laid out 3 goals for this summer for house projects:

*Fix garage ceiling
*Give the windows a good "spring" cleaning
*Plant new grass in back yard

So far, we've worked on project #3, getting some grass to grow in the backyard. If you'll recall from my previous post, our yard was torn apart by our loving and playful pup, Ella. Given the energy and rambunctiousness of a 2 year old lab mix, you can imagine how much she loves to run around the yard, chasing everything from toys, sticks and even her tail. With all this darting back and forth over the already not so green grass, Miss Ella managed to turn our back yard into an area filled with dirt and mud, leaving no grass to be seen.

As the weather warmed up here in the 'Nati and spring sprung, we headed out to Lowes to have a chat with a garden expert about a durable grass seed that might have a better shot up against Ella playful ways. (Because even though people say Lab mix dogs call down when they turn 2, I don't see that happening for us anytime soon with her!) We ended up buying some "Smart Seed" and got started by raking up the dirt lawn and preparing the area for seeding.

We sectioned off half of the backyard with a temporary fence, and got to spreading the seed with our new handy walk behind Scott's spreader. We also planted a nice Azalea bush in the corner to try to deter Ella from barking when she sees the neighbors. (Though I doubt this will really make much of a difference in that area, but it will be a nice pop of color in the backyard!)

So far, the new grass is growing great! It's actually time for a cut and we're going to work on sectioning off the other half of the yard next week. Miss Ella is one smart dog, because she managed to jump our temporary fence last week and has now made it a fun backyard game of jumping to the newly seeded side, and then barking at us because she can't get back over the fence! (We'll have to get some taller yard stakes this time for the second half of the project to try to keep her from hopping into the newer seed.)

Nothing like watching grass grow to get you excited for summer time! I'll leave you with a fun picture of my girl Ella. Here she is back in February, running and jumping across the backyard. You can see that she truly enjoys playing and not even snow can stop her from "flying" in the yard. I wish the new grass seed luck, I think it's going to need it! (HaHa)

Have a fabulous weekend my "blog checking friends"!

Where have I been?

I've been a bad blogger...haven't posted lately...just haven't had much to say really. Life is good, which in these tough economic times and so on, is a nice thing to be able to say!

My training for the 5k is harder than I anticipated. I'm still following the Couch to 5k program, though now, I'm trying to jog outside as much as I can to get more comfortable on the pavement rather than spending time on the treadmill. Technically I'm only on week 5 of the program (which is crazy since I started in January, you can tell I haven't been as hard core about it as I should be!). I have hit the track a few times and completed a 2 mile jog (let's be honest, it was more like a shuffle!). But it was outside, against the wind, and today I plan to shuffle my way through the neighborhood near my gym before I do my strength training.

Spring has almost sprung here in the tri-state and there are loads of projects to be done around the house. Project #1 - Fix the garage ceiling. Over the winter months, I opened the garage door to find part of the ceiling had fallen, Bummer. It was patched when I purchased the home, so it's not too suprising that the patch tape finally gave way. Project #2 - Clean the windows....this task is part of most people's spring cleaning, but I admit that in the almost 4 years I've owned our house, I've never cleaned the windows....Oops! Project #3 - Find a good grass seed to put down in the back yard. Miss Ella has totally destroyed the backyard by running around like a maniac everytime a ball is thrown or she spots another animal roaming through nature's beauty! But no matter how much I dislike seeing all that dirt in what used to be our grassy backyard, it's hard to get mad at a face like this...

So, that's the latest with me...oh yeah, and JJ and I are planning a wedding, but that's just a side note! Hope life is treating your and yours well, remember to give thanks for life's daily blessings and not to sweat the small stuff. Enjoy the day, Thanks for checking in!

New Layout...

So is it a "girl" thing?  The fact that I like to move the furniture around every so often in the house.  

Take an extra couch from the basement, move it up to the living room, then rearrange it time and time again?  JJ says he likes to "change it up every now and then", but I probably wouldn't notice it b/c I'm always wanting to move stuff around.   

For me, I do it to help keep things fresh, you know, change the feel of the room without spending tons of money on all new furniture, which is what I'd really want to do!  

Our most recent change has been moving a smaller couch into the living room.  We did buy a new rug to add to the space, which gives it a new look...we also switched out the coffee table, which after a few days, I've decided I like better than the other one. 

All these options are possible b/c when two people, who already had their own places, move in together, you end up with two of almost everything.  So now it's JJ's couch and coffee table, with LW's chair and Tv/Tv stand.  I think some different curtains and artwork will complete the look.  

We'll see how long this layout lasts...so far, I'm feeling it!

Who Forgot to Pay the Maid?

Really...I mean the inside of the house is looking pretty rough around the edges (baseboards, windows, bathroom & kitchen floors, counter tops, laundry, all of it!). Guess we've been spending so much time working on our Curb Appeal, neither of us have tried to keep up with the "house cleaning duties".

I realized the place was quite messy when JJ mentioned the idea of having some friends over for dinner. Absolutely Not, I said, our place is a mess....dog & cat hair EVERYWHERE, dust bunnies in all corners, crumbs on the kitchen floor in front of the pantry....you name it in the lack of cleaning department and I bet I can locate it in our little Cape Cod house.


This lack of cleaning brings up another question....who does the cleaning in your house? If you live with someone or lots of someones, then who does what? In college, many people have a cleaning chart , sharing the duties one a week (or once a month). Should a couple have this system too? Some of my friends split it up like this: He does the "outside chores" (Lawn care, Trash & Garbage duties, etc.), She does the "inside chores" (Dusting, Mopping, Counter tops, etc). What about the laundry...each person does his/her own dirty clothes?


Our system works pretty well for the most part. We each do our own laundry...I cut the grass and he does the weed whacking (mostly b/c I can't seem to work the trimmer!). Inside the house, we usually split it up, I'll take the kitchen, he takes the bathroom, which I appreciate - Hint, Hint !!!


The only good news to this posting is that now I have stated the problem and will have to fix it...Bet you can guess what we'll be doing this weekend - CLEANING!!

As they say on HGTV, it's all about Curb Appeal!

One of my favorite shows is Curb Appeal. It's this fantastic 30 minutes of television (well, not really 30 when you count the commercials!), anyways on the show a homeowner submits their home for a face lit of sorts, where a landscape designer will come out and put together a plan to update the outside of the house. Usually this includes a new coat of paint, possibly new windows to be more specific to the time period when the home was built, and almost always new landscaping for the front of the house. This brings me to my latest project going on ... working on the curb appeal for my 1960's Cape Cod house!


First up is the front landscaping, or lack there of in my case! When I bought my house it was framed with some old school bushes, that in my mind, had to go. With the help and muscles of JJ, this was a taken care of within the first few months of moving in. Below is a picture the front of the house after the bushes were removed.
This Spring I decided it was time to get a plan together to add some shrubs & flowers to make the walk up to the home more welcoming. I enlisted the help of a "landscape guru" I work with and also got some get advice from a local garden shop to get the plan moving. I spray painted the layout I wanted and edged the lawn to form the area where the front flower beds will be added:

After the grass died off, it was time for the heavy duty tools. And with heavy duty machinery, comes the help of JJ and his muscles!! We borrowed a tiller and used it to break up the dirt and pull out the old clumps of dead grass. Going on the advice of the "guru", we added some Peat Moss to the soil to get it ready for the new plants. From that point it went pretty fast, I picked out the foundation shrubs I wanted to use....Green Mountain Boxwoods & Rose Glow Barberries. Added some small mounding grass called Liriope and used different annuals like Impatiens and Zinnias to add some color.

After the planting was done, I used some brown small pine bark mulch to finish up the beds for this season. I think I may add some more perennials over time, but this is a great start for now. Overall, I'm really happy with the plants I've chosen and hope that my research pays off to make sure they are planted in the correct amount of sun/shade.

Next up on the Curb Appeal...painting the house!

Got any color suggestions?!?!

Do you know what a "flashing" is ... ?

Not that kind of "flashing"...Come on people, get your minds out of the gutters and indulge me in a few moments of telling you how I spent my "economic stimulus" package money.

That's right, I spent it on flashing's...the upper and lower flashing to be exact on the chimney for my house. Now it goes without saying that this is not how I wanted to spend this extra bit of cash so generously handed out by the U.S. government. But when you're a homeowner, as I'm learning, there are a few things you don't mess with when problems arise.
(For example: Roof/Chimney Troubles, Plumbing Issues, Furnace Problems, etc.)

According to Merriam-Webster.com, a flashing is sheet metal used in waterproofing (as at roof valleys or hips or the angle between a chimney and a roof). If you are new to the "roofing" terms, some of that will sounds confusing, at least it did to me. So, I give you a picture of the old bad flashing on my chimney to better describe a flashing:

OK - so a flashing is basically the metal squares where the roof shingles meet the brick of the chimney. I've learned that it's important to keep this metal parts in check b/c is they get old and crack away from the bricks, then rain water can leak in and cause all kinds of problems. (Luckily most of my problem is located in the ceiling of the garage, but some trouble spots are peaking through on the walls along the chimney wall.)

Going on the advice of some reliable neighbors, I called in the roofing experts to get these flashing's fixed! Within 2 weeks time, the problem was fixed with some other necessary maintenance was done to pro-long the life of the chimney and roof on my 1st home. Below I give you my new flashing's:
Are those not the prettiest flashing's you've ever seen! HaHaHa, just try to make it sound like a enjoyed spending my money on home repairs! But I am thankful I'm able to own a home and have the means to fix the problems when needed, don't get me wrong.

It's just that I was hoping to help the economy and spend my $600 stimulus check at the brand new IKEA on new furniture for the bedroom...guess that will have to wait!! Hope you've enjoyed learning a little about the roofing industry through my experiences as a home owner!