Proof that I am officially domesticated.

Last weekend, we put in a new door. Our patio doors on the North Side of the house leaked a lot, to the tune of about $100 more per month in heating costs. Summer 2007 we purchased two French doors, but of course, life happened and they never got installed. So - on my comp days (264 hours straight of work earns one a few days off, I guess) we decided to get one of the doors in. It was a long process, this being a 35 year old house. Nothing is really plumb, level, or square. Previous owners do things that make you scratch your head and go "what the ____ were they thinking." Doors have to be removed in teeny, tiny pieces.

But, the process was awesome. Jeff and I usually have a lot of help from dads when we tackle these projects, but we started this one on our own, and my brother came out to help - so we really feel good about ourselves - it's a feeling of accomplishment, the "I did that" thing.


Checking for level (above)

Teeny, tiny pieces (below)



What the _____ were they thinking. In this case, the old door was about 6 inches narrower than the opening and to cover the problem, they'd drywalled over the opening, which left us with a too narrow door as well... (above)

Finishing touches (below)


Today, Jeff and his dad finished trimming out the door and I'll stain tomorrow. It looks really nice, I'm pumped. Now, we just have to do the other door!

Of course, nothing ever goes as you plan. The same day we were working on the doors and feeling really good about that...the stove died. DIED! That's about $2000 we weren't counting on at all. But thanks to awesome credit scores and a good No Interest for 2 years deal at Sears, we were able to purchase new appliances. The stove is here, and I will say I'm actually pumped about this. I'd been looking forward to new appliances (read back to my MAY 07 posts from when we repainted the kitchen) and they kind of do complete the make over - but it still sucks to have to charge stuff. Anyway, here's the stove. My "freezer on the bottom" fridge should arrive next week...



Today, we spent outside cleaning the van and garage...LONG project. I have decided to no longer allow food/beverages in my vehicle. What a mess. Four hours I cleaned it, but other than stained carpet, it looks and smells new! And that feeling of cleaning is so good - rejuvenating. Jeff worked hard in the garage, and it's organized again - at least for the next few weeks!

And the very, very, very best part of the past week + for us --- Lucas' birthday party. He turned 4 while I was in Mexico (Aug. 3) and we celebrated with a party last Saturday - here's the birthday boy, one of the five of us and because it's my blog - one of he and I too :)