Small Victories & Small "Presents"

Mom and Dad came out today and did some work on the house with Ryan... Dad got all of the windows trimmed out and fixed the bedroom and bathroom doors so that they will now shut all the way! woot! They also got the spare bedroom (home of Couch Mountain) cleared out, and put the couches and some other stuff down in the newly-cleaned basement... check it out....



6.3.07


7.27.07
I know, it's still pretty messy and disorganized, but hey I can see the floor! Who knew we had one of those in there?!


Where was I all afternoon and evening? I was watching the kids.... we had a great night, they were so good. So good, that is, until the end of bathtime when a certain little curly-headed girl calmly handed me a piece of poop. Um, yeah, bathtime was definitely over. I'll be with the kiddos all weekend, too, wish me luck!

Tonight I Celebrate My Love for You...

and you...





I'm trying to refrain from hugging these gems...






(can you tell that I finally cleaned my house tonight?)

Random...

Ok, I normally don't even like chips, but I got a sample of these sent to me in the mail (sa-weeet) and they are delicioso (wow that must be the Dora the Explorer in me)! All must try. I must be pretty special to be getting Pringles sent to me in the mail, hehe. :)




I had to add before I'm off to bed.... so we went to Homerama with Alyssa & Jason this weekend. Other than the houses not being super impressive, we had a good time. We stopped in to see these guys to see about perhaps hiring someone to finish the basement, since we are so burned out and not looking forward to putting up drywall whatnot down there after doing all of the other work we've done on this stinkin house. I, being the prideful "I-can-do-it-myself" girl I am, completely resisted the idea at first. We are the super do-it-yourselfer-best-friends-with-the-home-depot-employees Kirnans, right? So anyway, the guy talked to us about this specific basement system, and it seemed pretty impressive. Good air flow, guaranteed forever and a day, no mold growth ever, blah, blah. Interested in a free estimate? Sure, especially since this sales rep guy (who was really nice, don't get me wrong) had ABSOLUTELY no idea how much it would cost, not even a ballpark estimate. So Ryan was researching this company on the web today, reading reviews and trying to get SOME idea of the cost. We had originally figured that a few grand $$ might be worth the hassle of doing it ourselves. We will be finishing about 800 square feet. Ryan informed me that, after his research, he read a review by a guy who got a DISCOUNT with this company and ended up paying $70 a square foot for finishing,............... WHICH WOULD EQUAL $56,000 FOR US!!!!!!!!! Not including flooring!!! Needless to say, Ryan called and cancelled our 6:30 pm consultation this Tuesday. Drywalling, anyone? :P

I Heart Wood Paneling

So Ryan has spent the majority of this evening finishing ripping out the basement, as I cardio kick boxed, ate, and played on the computer... feeling sort of useless right now! Check out my farewell to the faux wood wall...




At least we are making SOME progress down there... however unfortunately the basement is having to look WAY worse before it looks better... and it looks so terrible down there with the walls and carpet ripped out that I am truly too embarrassed to put pictures up! Can't wait for there to be pictures I want to post! The kitties will be sad, though, when the basement is finished... they just LOVE to run and play down there among the ripped out drywall, carpet tack strips, and who knows what else. :)

What a Slacker's House Looks Like

I'm feeling a bit slacker-ish today, remembering how I originally intended this blog to be about our house and all of the spectacular renovations we did... I was pumped because we did so much in the beginning, but we've been kind of at a standstill. This summer has been so busy, it's hard to get a free afternoon, let alone a whole weekend to do work. Plus, who wants to be knocking down walls and painting when it's 95 outside AND inside (yes, we have AC, but we don't really use it... hey we just bought a house people do you think we can afford to run the AC now? ha)... HOWEVER, we have done a little to make the outside of the house a little more presentable. We still want to eventually re-side the whole house (what? who doesn't love a PEACH house? ick.) and maybe even do a stone veneer over that smartly painted brick... all in time. Check out what the house looked like 3 months ago and what it looks like today!


4.16.07



7.19.07


I did plant a lilac bush in the front yard, but it was out of the picture... don't you love the pretty brown grass? haha. Well, there's my house update... next one in a few more months! (just kidding... hopefully!)

Wordless Wednesday - Sisters

I just love her!






I'm 1/2 hour early... but hey it looks like I'm really on top of things, right? :)

Wee Hours

Ok I know I've been a freak writing so often lately... but it's 5am, I've been up for a few hours not feeling good (now dreading that 8am total body conditioning class at the gym that I'd promised Alyssa I'd go to)... and look who's been keeping me company....

Minkis is purring and snoring at the same time... ha! Need to get some rest... I think I've blog-stalked more tonight/this morning than ever before... hehehe

Miscalculation...

Or should I say.... WE SHOULD HAVE FREAKIN MEASURED!!! So we've been looking for an armoire for the bedroom, since our closets are practically non-existent and we are so fashionable that we each have to have such extensive wardrobes... we finally found one that we semi-liked and figured it would fit. IT IS MAMMOTH! Ginormous (did you know that word is an official word now? It's in the new dictionary!)!!! Please excuse our messy and semi-finished bedroom; we're working on it, people. The doors of the armoire are much more pleasing to the eye in real life, I couldn't seem to get the glare to go down.... But what should we do?! I thought maybe use it for an entertainment center in the living room, since the one we have is so small... but that means that WE STILL DON'T HAVE AN ARMOIRE FOR THE BEDROOM! Argh, I am so frustrated. I know there are worse things in life, but please let me have my moment... I hate having my hopes crushed in an instant (ha I know I am being stupidly dramatic).





How about some happy thoughts... As of today, John and Amy are homeowners!!!! Their beautiful, BRAND-NEW house is just what they deserve! Check out AJ's blog to see some pics (look through some older posts).... can't wait to see the finished product, guys! WE LOVE YOU!!!!!

One Word MEME

Yay for being tagged by Elizabeth and for giving me a reason to post! My days of working, going to the gym, and laying around the unfinished house haven't been quite interesting enough to blog about lately, so thanks. :)

ME in One Word

1. Where is your cell phone? desk
2. Relationship? married
3. Your hair? pouf
4. Work? nanny
5. Your sister? bestfriend
6. Your favorite thing? hubby
7. Your dream last night? hazy
8. Your favorite drink? icedtea (ok I'm a cheater)
9. Your dream car? rover
10. The room you’re in? office
11. Your shoes? absent
12. Your fears? abandon
13. What do you want to be in 10 years? momma
14. Who did you hang out with this weekend? Ryan & inlaws
15. What are you not good at? confidence
16. Muffin? blueberry
17. One of your wish list items? baby (I know it's not an "item," but it's at the top of my list!)
18. Where you grew up? Alden
19. Last thing you did? drank
20. What are you wearing? clothes
21. What aren’t you wearing? watch
22. Your pet? kitties
23. Your computer? mac
24. Your life? joy
25. Your mood? sleepy
26. Missing? friends
27. What are you thinking about right now? tomorrow (long day)
28. Your car? jetta
29. Your kitchen? beautiful!
30. Your summer? (freakin) HOTTTT
31. Your favorite color? gold
32. Last time you laughed? 5minago
33. Last time you cried? um today
34. School? doneforever
35. Love? RPK
36. Name? ashley (I added this, i realized a few may not even know my name :))

Now I tag AJ (even though with the move you prob won't get to it, but I tag you anyway b/c I love you) and Julie (pinkmorning) (even though I know you just did one, but hey then I'd just get to know you even more)! Night-night!

Lift Off!

I love our kitties. I wouldn't go so far as to say that they are our "children" or anything, but they are pretty darn cute and funny. Ryan was trying to measure the closet door in the kitchen the other day and the kitties became so enthralled with the tape measure that he couldn't even get an accurate measurement! Now all Ryan has to do is click the tape measure once and they come running... check out that hop! :)