A Lot of Trouble for Little Things

Time to gripe. First off - I'm so sick of Couptessa ads on Pandora. Every time one comes on, I want to throw up. Secondly, I hate having to "sign up" for your stoopid website before you let me see any of the "awesome" deals... which always turn out to be more like mediocre deals on poop I don't need or want anyway.

Now that that's out of the way...

I've been trying for months, years in fact, to get the right dang end caps for my baseboard heat radiators. The problem originated years ago. Mike bought a buncha radiators without buying the end caps. He bought them from a pro-plumbing store open Mon-Fri 9-5. So obviously, since we work longer hours then that, it's been hard to go there to pick them up. Plus I never wanted to go on my own... not being a pro-plumber.

I finally mustered up the courage after a doctor's appointment put me in that neighborhood. I walked in there and received no assistance from staff. In fact, they directed me to the wrong place. A helpful pro-plumber actually helped me find the end caps, which I purchased four of.

Get home and they didn't fit. I told Mike I wouldn't go back there. So there they sat. $55 worth of end caps that didn't fit. Sitting around for months on end. But, as luck would have it, Mike had an opportunity to try and exchange them just yesterday. He came home with four different style caps at only a $10 increase in price. I was ecstatic!

But they didn't fit either. So now we have $65 worth of end caps that don't fit. I'm just ready to stab someone. I know the original mistake was not to purchase at the same time as the radiators... because over the years, lo and behold, stuff changes. Tis nature's way. But we have no way of knowing even the make and model of the radiators to order old-style ones... they have no brand names or markings on them and it's been too long to remember or have any of the boxes.

One of our pro-plumber friends is going to have to come over and try and identify the durn things... and then try and see if he can order or find the right caps. Two left. Two right.

I am so frustrated.

Then, last weekend, we put together Mikey's big boy bed. It was a gift, used, from some friends. And I assumed it would be a twin.... we get it home, it's a full. Good god the thing is huge, but we managed to fit it in Mikey's room and kind or sort of get things organized around it. Then, I fell in love with this bedding set from Target. Notice that the amazon link says "Twin." Just three days after I fell in love with the set - Target discontinued the Full size! I went to two local Targets to try and catch one left in stock. Nope. I went to Amazon and Ebay and a lot of other online bedding stores. Nope.

I started looking at other bed sets. Target, Walmart, Kohls, Home Goods, Bed Bath and Beyond, Overstock.com, smaller bedding websites, Macy's, Sears, Kmart... you name it, I looked there. And I hated everything.

Why did they discontinue the perfect bedding set three days after I fell in love with it??? That's almost reason enough to send some hate email.

Through some more mad searching, I finally got a wicked deal on ebay on a Tonka truck comforter. (Bought sheets and pillows at Target) See the Tonka tough comforter there on Amazon priced at $60? I got it on ebay for $30 plus $15 shipping. $45 comforter plus $25 sheet set equals $70. Original price of the Target bed-in-a-bag set? $69.99. At least I didn't lose money on this deal, but I'd still rather much have the build-it bedding set. The Tonka comforter by all accounts is thin and cheapy. I'm glad I didn't pay full price.

Mikey doesn't even like to sleep under the sheets and blankets. I'm probably driving myself crazy for no reason.

Meanwhile, nothing else has gotten done lately. We over seeded the back yard, which is actually growing quite nicely. My tree still looks sickly, but I just make sure it gets watered twice a week and hope for the best. Mike was terribly sick last weekend and I had bad allergy symptoms. We were both grounded.

I managed to pick out a paint color for the porch ceiling... but Mike hasn't been able to pick it up from work yet. Our neighbor Richard has been recovering from some minor surgery and hasn't been feeling up to drywall work. Timmy has been MIA, probably fishing. Not that it matters because we haven't been available either.

As you can tell I'm feeling pretty down about everything. Summer flies post 4th of July. This is not where I wanted to be right now.

Stain, Dig, Repeat

Allergies. I have severe allergies. And boy did I suffer last weekend... right after I cursed myself by saying, "F this sickness, I'm going to keep on doing whatever I wanna do." Yup. Never ever say that. Because the sick came back with a vengeance and bit me in the butt so hard I could barely get off the couch to make myself some Sleepytime tea.

I was going through a box o tissues a day. But after going to the Dr's on Wednesday, I'm Clariten clear! Now I understand that ad campaign - because I was in a serious fog o allergies. And that Netipot that I swore I'd never do? I'm doing it daily. And I'm going to be seeing a specialist.... Loverly.

But despite the pain... progress cannot be stopped. (Just slowed a little bit, which is super frustrating when you're on a tight spring chore/project schedule!)

Mike did in fact get the porch stainer and stain last weekend. The stainer thing looks a bit like a Swiffer, except with a brush in the middle to get the insides of the boards. Unfortunately, due to sickness, the porch was not cleaned off or prepared before Sunday as was planned. Mike had to do it all... and the job took all day.

Additionally, we realized last Sunday, "Hey it's May 1st and it's the last day we can burn!" And boy did we have a pile from all that yard work and trimming of trees we did a few weeks-a month back. So Mike set up a burn while he worked out front. It was a little hectic for a while...

But the brush got burnt and the stuff got stained.

The porch looks AMAZING! Not only because of the beautiful dark cherry stain, but also because all the poop is gone. (And by poop, I mean siding, wood, tools, etc.) I put back our porch furniture just a few days ago, plus a couple potted plants from BJ's.... OMG it looks like a real live nice person's house. I'm in love all over again.

I Actually Had a Nice Cup of Coffee Out Here While Mikey Played on the Bus

The Plants Make a Difference - So Nice!

The only unfortunate news - it's going to need another coat. And, with this week just made for diggin', I just don't think we're going to get to it in time for Mikey's 2nd bday party on the 15th.

But speaking of diggin', Mike picked up the machine on Thursday and began the lovely process of cleaning up the yard. (Did I mention he took the camper back to our friends' house on Tuesday night?) So the camper was already gone. Next, Mike cleared around the garage (again) and put some scrap metal in his truck for the dump. The boat he moved to our vacant neighbor's house. Mikey's little bus - on the porch.

And that's about all we had time for on Thursday....