MemDay Already?

No news to report. That's it - end of blog.

Can you believe it?! This is normally our season of doing. But this year it's another season of doing nothing but going around in circles. When did we build that garage addition? May 1st it was pretty much completed... and here we are on the 30th and still no roof.

Shameful.

This very weekend Mike is sick and not too happy about it. He's dying to purchase the roofing shingles, but every Monday something else seems to play roof-block. And tomorrow's a holiday, so there ya go. He managed to mow the lawn today, just to say he got his butt outside for a few.

And me - I wish I could do more. I asked Mike to get the stain and deck stainer device from work so I could do that this weekend... but turns out he was too poo'd to go in on Saturday. Would have been a perfect time too - no rain for the weekend and the baby has been taking great naps all day.

At least I got one of my 4Runner soft tops sold. Woo-hoo! And with my new found wealth, I'll be purchasing the parts needed for 4Runner #1 so that it may too be sold. Woo-hoo2! I'm waaay too happy about that prospect.

I mean, come on?! What sort of a goal is it just to sell a 4Runner in an ENTIRE summer. Pathetic. In the olden days, we could have had the garage addition done, porch finished, and a whole 'nother side of the house re-sided by now.

I'm beginning to see why it takes normal people so long to do these renovations.
Although the scariest thought is this - next year at this time we'll be trying for our second child. Maybe I should start re-evaluating all my improvement goals. To think I wanted to have a second bathroom by spring 2012.... I still do. But is it realistic? Not so much.

Depressing.

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Attack of the Yard

Little Mikey turned 1 last Sunday, but to avoid Mother's Day plan conflictions, we scheduled his party for this coming Sunday. Weather's going to be beautiful.... the yard, not so much.

Mike and I spent some quality time with some good friends of ours last Sunday, which was a nice change of pace for sure, but left the yard in the same shambled condition it's been since the last garage addition building session. Our roofer told Mike, "Just get the shingles, let me know, and I'll just come by and roof the whole thing. It'll only take me a couple hours." Mike considered picking them up last Monday, but just didn't get to it. That means this Monday for sure.

No roof for the fiesta.

What really bugs me is the boat... the new boat. Oh I'm going to love it on the water for sure - it's huge! In the yard... on stands... so it can't be moved.... not so much. Repeat: It's huge! So we have a boat on stands in the middle of the back yard and an empty boat trailer in need of some TLC before the boat can be set down on it. Taking up double space.

Then there's 4Runner #1 - which, you'll be proud to know, we finally moved off of the side yard, giving that grass a fighting chance to survive the summer. Now it's in the driveway. And with prices back on the upside for Ebay 4Runners, now is most definitely the time to fix and sell. It's on our to-do list. I had hoped to get this taken care of this week, but that, in hindsight, was wishful thinking. No fear - always next week. Although I don't want to go much longer then that, as prices are sure to go down when we hit the heat of summer. I need to sell my second soft top too. Another item on the to-do list.

I digress.

So I guess I may have given away my anxiety about the state of the yard on FB, since yesterday afternoon our neighbor Dana came over with his weed whacker and did the entire yard. Even though I hope he didn't go to any trouble... I really love that he did. The hill in back and the scruff up front are both looking very well groomed. Mike would have never had the time to do it himself.

Speaking of MBSR, he began tidying up last night. He moved the Pontiac motor off the driveway and into the new garage addition. Then, followed that by a random dirt bike, random lawn tractor, and finally, the skid steer. Hey! Less then an hour to fill the entire space. Imagine that. A new world record.

I haven't been back to check it out yet. Hopefully they'll be enough room for the tables and chairs and the bouncy house and all the other fun stuff we have planned for Sunday.

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PlyDown

This past Sunday, work continued out on the garage addition. This time, with the addition of plywood. I arrived late in the afternoon after a weekend away to find that the wood portion of the show was nearly complete.

And I'll tell you one thing - with that roof on there, that addition looks BIG. I feel like I have no backyard left, even though there's been that concrete slab of the same size there for years. Must be the inability to see through to the other side of the yard. Then again, there's all the random junk still littering up the remainder of the back yard. None of that helps any.

In looking at it now, it almost appears that we just purchased a dang big shed and installed it at the butt of the garage. Hopefully when everything's painted up it'll look at least a little more cohesive. Maybe I can add some shrubs there on the side and the back. Oooo! There's an idear. Or we could get a canopy to attach to the side there, string up some lights, and put down one of those nifty fire burning tables. Oooooo!

Of course the whole place needs to be cleaned up.... again. Doesn't it just feel like we just cleaned up the yard?! I told Mike, once this garage addition is finished, he's got to get the trucks done and out. Sell one, drive one, sell two, buy a better one - I don't care. Just doooo it and lets be done with this giant vehicle fiasco we've been dealing with since LAST SUMMER.

Uuuhh. Makes me sick just to think I've been looking at this junk pile for near to a year.

On the bright side, the front yard is looking lovelier by the day.

The trees are in bloom! (And certainly not dead, which is a very good thing.) Most of the lawn is looking good, save for the spot where we removed that old tree and the spot where we had a trailer fulla siding for half of last summer. Luckily, even those spots are starting to come up now thanks to one of those "grow anywhere" seed products.

I only wish the porch was done. My hope is dwindling there though.

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