Just Simply Holly

Last night I wrote a post over at Jo’s Java Thoughts about how I totally changed the family room around yesterday to accommodate a “new to us” couch that we were given this week. While I was totally happy with the outcome, I wasn’t totally sure about how much my hubby would like it because he just does not like change, especially when it involves his “stuff” being moved around!

I’ll admit, I was nervous when he came home late last night! But I’m happy to say that he really liked how the room turned out, especially his “area”! Although we only had a few minutes together because of how late he got home and the fact that I was making his dinner while he was taking his shower, he did tell me one thing that’s even more obvious about this room to him.

The family room is definitely not a large room. If I had to guess, I’d say that it’s maybe 15 foot by 15 foot. Yes, I do realize that’s not small, but there are a couple of factors to add in that make it a “smaller” room. First, there is a HUGE sliding glass door on one wall that takes up about half the wall. then there is a wood burning stove in one corner that takes up about 1/3 of each of the walls it’s cornered in. Then, there is the opening into the room, which is about 7 foot wide, so that takes up about half of yet another wall. The point is, there is not a single solid wall in this room. And considering that we have a HUMONGOUS entertainment center, it makes setting up furniture in this room quite interesting!

My hubby told me last night that he thought we should think about getting rid of the old, oversized TV and entertainment center and replace them with a flat LCD TV that could be hung on the wall! It would put the TV up at a better level for viewing and would eliminate one HUGE piece of furniture in this room. We could then put this TV and entertainment center out in the living room for the kids since that room would accommodate them much better than this one would. I like his idea!!

I don’t know what it is lately, but I have just been so out of it the past few weeks! I’ve been so tired and just have had no energy at all. I’m trying to get things taken care of so that the kids are ready to leave for their sisters a week from tomorrow. We’ve been going through boxes, digging out summer clothes, and realizing how many of them no longer fit. UGH, I wish they’d stop growing, ya know? LOL

Going through all the boxes that got put into the attic did have one major benefit though! I found my box of books from the bookshelf at the old house and we also found the box that had all of our CD’s, DVD’s and videos, which we haven’t seen since last October. I had asked my husband more than once if it had been put in the attic, and he swore profusely that it didn’t, guess he was wrong, wasn’t he? LOL

I had NO clue that we had collected so many CD’s over the years. Probably because the vast majority of them are my husbands and he kept his either in his truck or by his computer. Since he no longer has his truck, and the Honda doesn’t have a CD player, we now have to find a place here in the house to store them all! I’m thinking we need to look at audio racks that could hold the stereo and all these CD’s that we have. That way the stereo and CD’s all in one central location!

Here we are, it’s already Sunday afternoon, and I can’t help but wonder WHERE this weekend went? My hubby ended up having Friday off work and the weather here in NW Ohio was picture perfect, so we took advantage of that and started working on the yard. Just so that you know what we’re “up against” as far as this yard goes, I decided I’d take some before pictures so you could see what things around here look like right now. But since I took so many pictures (30) I decided that it would be easier on everyone if I put them into a video…LOL!

So, for your viewing pleasure, may I present a view of the yardwork from H**L!

Let me tell you, this is the most gorgeous morning we’ve had in a long time, almost six months if you want to be exact….LOL! I’ve been awake since almost 7:00 this morning and I’ve been able to have a window open since I first got up! The best part of that is being able to listen to all the birds “talking” outside, it’s such a wonderful sound! The current temp is 63 degrees and we’re going to max out today in the upper 70’s, you just couldn’t ask for more!

My “goal” for the next week is to try and find a person or a place in the area that sells used kitchen cabinetry. The reason I’m doing this is because I’m in search of an island for my kitchen! It was obvious after putting the “new” cabinets up, that an island was exactly what is needed in order to make the kitchen “complete”. Well, other than replacing the mismatched appliances, counter top and sink…LOL!

I seen a couple of gorgeous islands at the local home improvement stores, but they’re also a bit out of my price range! So I’m going to be scanning the local “for sale” ads and calling a few places that I’ve heard that sell used cabinetry in the area. So wish me luck!!!

With the anticipation of a check in the mail comes the debate as to where the money is going to go. Fortunately we’re in a position right now where our bills are caught up for the most part, so it’s not a matter of getting the bills caught up for a change. And since it would be way too expensive to board four dogs for a few days to take a quick vacation, so that is also not an option right now.

I think we’ve narrowed it down to a couple of options. One option is to get the new counters and sink for the kitchen, as well as a nice sized Island. I found an island that is the perfect color and size and even has built in wine racks on one end. Another option would be to build the new deck off the side of the house and the small patio out back. Finishing the kitchen is the better option because it’s something that is used daily. But the new deck and patio are also a good option because we do spend a good chunk of time outside!

No matter what we end up doing with our stimulus check, I’m just glad that for once it’s not going to have to be used to catch up the bills!

I don’t know what the problem was, but man did I ever have a rough night last night. What made it even worse was the fact that I knew I’d be waking up sometime around 4:00 AM this morning. But no matter how tired I was, sleep just didn’t happen the way I wanted it to last night. So I ended up spending a good part of the night listening to my husband and the dog alternating between passing gas and snoring and flipping the channels on the television. I was surprised to see how many channels were running commercials for directbuy over night. And I think that’s actually what I finally fell asleep to because I remember having a dream about building a fancy house with gorgeous kitchen cabinets that I had purchased from them….LOL! If only dreams would come true!

I wanted to apologize for not being around much this weekend. The weather has been miserably cold and I’ve been in quite a bit of pain from my back. I ended up skipping my Friday night class because of how much pain I was in. I knew that I needed to take the pain meds I take for my back, which meant it wouldn’t be possible for me to drive. Fortunately my Algebra instructor has the same class on Saturdays from 12:30 to 5:00 PM, so I was able to make up the class as well as the quiz. My back was still bothering me, but not as bad as it was Friday night.

We spent a good chunk of this weekend watching movies. I have a movie subscription so that I get DVD’s by mail and we had a couple that we hadn’t watched yet. And since my back feels better when I’m sitting up, I just kicked back in the recliner with the heating pad behind me.

While we were watching one movie last night I found myself thinking that it would be so cool if we had a room set up specifically for watching movies complete with theater seating, a big screen TV and even some of those neat home theater sconces hung on the walls, then it would feel like we were at the theater without having to pay the high price for theater tickets! I’ll keep dreaming, maybe some day it will actually come true!

No, I’m not trying to rush past Christmas and New Years this year! But we got some exciting news last night from our landlord. As you’ve probably read, the house that we are living in sat empty for several months before we moved into it. We had quite a bit of cleaning and painting to do before we could even thing about moving in, but there is also much more that needs to be done in the house as far as updating and remodeling. The landlord told us last night that after the holidays are over we’re going to get started getting things done in the house and wanted our input on what needs to be done. When we told him that the bathroom back here by the family room was in need of some updating, he agreed that it would be a simple place to start and gave me several catalogs with bathroom vanities and fixtures to look through to get some ideas as to what I’d like for the bathroom. I LOVE the fact that he’s letting us give our ideas and input!!

Please don’t get me wrong, I’m honestly not complaining about our new house already! It was a lot of work cleaning it and getting it ready to move into, but I’m glad that I did so! Unfortunately I’m realizing now that we’re going to have no choice but to replace the current kitchen cabinets and cabinet hardware. The moisture and mildew that was in the house has made the cabinet doors swell and it’s made the hardware rust. Fortunately, I have “connections” with someone that works for a cabinet company, so now I just have to find my perfect hardware!

I thought I’d give you some of my likes and dislikes about the new house, now that we’ve actually been in it for 24 hours.

LIKES

1. I like that no matter which window of the house I look out, I am surrounded by the beauty of nature!
2. I like the fact that the dogs have finally calmed down and don’t seem to need to be by our side every moment!
3. I like the fact that even without A/C it is still fairly cool in the house!
4. I like the fact that the kids like to hang out in their rooms again, sometimes with each other.
5. I especially like the fact that it is quiet here except the noise that we make ourselves!

DISLIKES

1. I don’t like the fact that there is no light kit on the ceiling fan in the family room
2. I don’t like that after weeks of nice cooler weather, it was 90 degrees today!
3. I don’t like the fact that there is STILL a piano filled with mildew sitting in my front living room!
4. I don’t like the fact that I have to replace the kitchen faucet because it’s broken

BUT, on a note about replacing the broken kitchen faucet, at least it will give me a chance to try and get my hubby to get me the kitchen faucet I seen the other day made by Delta faucets that I just LOVED!