I am finished the bedroom. My aunt Wanda will be pleased to note that painting does indeed go a lot faster when listening to the Scissor Sisters. My aunt Brenda will nod wryly when I mention how all week, I mostly keep moving and keep working and try not to sit down lest I not get up again for a few hours.

But before you cheer about the bedroom, I have to tell you the kitchen is next. We are going from a dark green 90′s teal to a brilliant happy yellow. (Feel free to take bets or guesses in the comments as to how many coats of primer and/or paint it will take to cover.) Being Emma’s favorite color, she is understandably beside herself. Being the kitchen, this means I have to wash the walls really good beforehand. TSP here I come.

Carl says, “TSP? Man, you are serious.” Did I mention that Carl’s official job is a paint inspector? Yes, he gets paid to watch paint dry on things like bridges. He comes over every so often, peers closely at the walls, scratches them a bit, and declares we did a good job.

Anyway, here’s an older shot of the kitchen when you come in the back door.

While I was waiting for some things to dry upstairs in the bedroom, I came downstairs and figured out where I could start in the kitchen. I am leaving a couple areas untouched for now – behind the stove, the fridge and the wall Ron needs to fix. In talking to Ron, we decided we would take off the backsplash around the counter.

It is wood. Our backsplash is wood to match the cabinets, white formica or melamine-like countertops with wood edges. This is especially not good around the sink area, but I digress. I took off the first chunk of backsplash over by the first wall I will do, near the microwave.

It came right off. It was “glued” on with clear caulking. Don or Christine, is that right? Cuz that don’t seem right to me. And the trim all around the room is not white, but an off-white that is closer to a putty grey. It’s really quite awful. The kitchen was redone about 10 years ago, and is all modern. Which is nice looking, but it doesn’t quite fit with the rest of the house.

Ah well, day’s a-wastin’.

Saw it a few places, most recently Ron. See this post to see what we did together.

01. Bought everyone in the bar a drink
02. Swam with wild dolphins
03. Climbed a mountain
04. Taken a Ferrari for a test drive
05. Been inside the Great Pyramid
06. Held a tarantula
07. Taken a candlelit bath with someone
08. Said “I love you” and meant it
09. Hugged a tree
10. Bungee jumped
11. Visited Paris
12. Watched a lightning storm at sea
13. Stayed up all night long and saw the sun rise
14. Seen the Northern Lights
15. Gone to a huge sports game (and survived the crush afterwards)
16. Walked the stairs to the top of the leaning Tower of Pisa
17. Grown and eaten your own vegetables – it just tastes better
18. Touched an iceberg
19. Slept under the stars
20. Changed a baby’s diaper – too many to count
21. Taken a trip in a hot air balloon
22. Watched a meteor shower
23. Gotten drunk on champagne – it doesn’t take much
24. Given more than you can afford to charity
25. Looked up at the night sky through a telescope
26. Had an uncontrollable giggling fit at the worst possible moment
27. Had a food fight
28. Bet on a winning horse
29. Asked out a stranger
30. Had a snowball fight
31. Screamed as loudly as you possibly can
32. Held a lamb
33. Seen a total eclipse
34. Ridden a roller coaster
35. Hit a home run
36. Danced like a fool and not cared who was looking
37. Adopted an accent for an entire day
38. Actually felt happy about your life, even for just a moment
39. Had two hard drives for your computer
40. Visited all 50 states
41. Taken care of someone who was drunk
42. Had amazing friends
43. Danced with a stranger in a foreign country
44. Watched wild whales
45. Stolen a sign
46. Backpacked in Europe
47. Taken a road-trip
48. Gone rock climbing
49. Midnight walk on the beach
50. Gone sky diving
51. Visited Ireland
52. Been heartbroken longer than you were actually in love
53. In a restaurant, sat at a stranger’s table and had a meal with them
54. Visited Japan
55. Milked a cow
56. Alphabetized your CDs
57. Pretended to be a superhero
58. Sung karaoke
59. Lounged around in bed all day
60. Played touch football
61. Gone scuba diving
62. Kissed in the rain
63. Played in the mud
64. Played in the rain
65. Gone to a drive-in theater
66. Visited the Great Wall of China
67. Started a business
68. Fallen in love and not had your heart broken
69. Toured ancient sites
70. Taken a martial arts class
71. Played D&D for more than 6 hours straight
72. Gotten married
73. Been in a movie
74. Crashed a party
75. Gotten divorced
76. Gone without food for 5 days
77. Made cookies from scratch
78. Won first prize in a costume contest
79. Ridden a gondola in Venice
80. Gotten a tattoo
81. Rafted the Snake River -I inner-tubed part of it, does that count?
82. Been on television news programs as an “expert”
83. Got flowers for no reason
84. Performed on stage
85. Been to Las Vegas
86. Recorded music
87. Eaten shark
88. Kissed on the first date
89. Gone to Thailand
90. Bought a house
91. Been in a combat zone
92. Buried one/both of your parents
93. Been on a cruise ship
94. Spoken more than one language fluently
95. Performed in Rocky Horror
96. Raised children
97. Followed your favorite band/singer on tour
99. Taken an exotic bicycle tour in a foreign country
100. Picked up and moved to another city to just start over
101. Walked the Golden Gate Bridge
102. Sang loudly in the car, and didn’t stop when you knew someone was looking
103. Had plastic surgery
104. Survived an accident that you shouldn’t have survived
105. Wrote articles for a large publication
106. Lost over 100 pounds
107. Held someone while they were having a flashback
108. Piloted an airplane
109. Touched a stingray
110. Broken someone’s heart
111. Helped an animal give birth
112. Won money on a T.V. game show
113. Broken a bone
114. Gone on an African photo safari
115. Had a facial part pierced other than your ears
116. Fired a rifle, shotgun, or pistol
117. Eaten mushrooms that were gathered in the wild
118. Ridden a horse
119. Had major surgery
120. Had a snake as a pet
121. Hiked to the bottom of the Grand Canyon
122. Slept for more than 30 hours over the course of 48 hours – I think
123. Visited more foreign countries than U.S. states
124. Visited all 7 continents
125. Taken a canoe trip that lasted more than 2 days
126. Eaten kangaroo meat
127. Eaten sushi
128. Had your picture in the newspaper
129. Changed someone’s mind about something you care deeply about
130. Gone back to school
131. Parasailed
132. Touched a cockroach
133. Eaten fried green tomatoes
134. Read The Iliad – and the Odyssey
135. Selected one “important” author who you missed in school, and read – because I liked it, not because I felt I had
136. Killed and prepared an animal for eating – although I mostly helped
137. Skipped all your school reunions
138. Communicated with someone without sharing a common spoken language
139. Been elected to public office
140. Written your own computer language
141. Thought to yourself that you’re living your dream
142. Had to put someone you love into hospice care – indirectly
143. Built your own PC from parts
144. Sold your own artwork to someone who didn’t know you
145. Had a booth at a street fair
146. Dyed your hair
147. Been a DJ
148. Shaved your head
149. Caused a car accident
150. Saved someone’s life

Total: 70. Some I honestly can’t remember. This was probably written for or by people younger than me though.
Feel free to gank.

BabyToupee.com

I seriously giggled for a good two minutes. Meaghan was pretty scared though. Besides, we all know the best part of having a baby (besides how cuddly they are and how they smell so good sometimes) is the fact you can dress ‘em up and make ‘em look really silly, just for your own parental amusement.

More real actual content coming later. Today is a catch-up day and I’m seriously (no, really this time) trying to get the whole house back on track and in a routine. plus there’s a pile of beyond-urget stuff that needs to be taken care of, and I need to prep thing for the weekend.

It’s Thanksgiving weekend coming up, here in the Great White North, so you know what that means. MY BOY IS COMING HOME! Oh, and Sarah’s birthday is on Tuesday. She’ll be sweet sixteen. Someone hold me?

And in Emma news, she now fits into a size six. And she looks like a big kid.