LaurenandLloyd.com

where our wasted time becomes your wasted time

Home 'Improvement'

That stupid faucet.

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Our kitchen faucet is leaking AGAIN, and this time Lloyd doesn’t want to fix it – he just wants to buy a new one. This is a HUGE problem because it takes us forever to make any kind of decision like that. He wants to get a big commercial-style one, with which I am completely on board, but I’m thinking that we can’t put a cool faucet on our crummy sink and even crummier countertops, so right there we’ve spent thousands of imaginary dollars. (We have this same problem when discussing putting a deck out back. I just want a deck, he wants to build a super-deck just off the kitchen and turn the kitchen window into a door that goes right out to it – and the discussion dies in a puff of burning dollars.)

Anyway, one of the goals for this weekend was to figure out the faucet situation. That hasn’t happened so far, but …. eh. Lloyd’s got a cold so we’re moving slowly around here. (Another goal is – Taxes! That’s Sunday afternoon’s job.)

At least we’re on the same floor.

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HAPPY BIRTHDAY, KEREN!!!!!!!

My voice has sounded much more normal lately, and singing isn’t as difficult as it used to be. I graduated from the couch to a bed a couple of weeks ago, but forgot to write about it. We prototyped Brad’s bed by propping up one end with cement blocks. (Those classy green blocks are from our Maryland days – the awesome brick & board bookshelves. We still have all the blocks and boards, and they’ve come in handy.) You’ll notice that it’s sloped toward the wall – that’s so I don’t fall off. When I was just sleeping on sheets I’d slide down about once an hour. There’s a flannel comforter under me now to provide some friction. It really works when I don’t shave my legs.

bed

They’ll make excellent play clothes.

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Yeah, yeah, yeah – the website looks different. Lloyd’s a genius, blah blah blah. Well, he couldn’t do all his brain work if he wasn’t warm, right? That’s where I step in.

Let me tell you a sad little story. When we went to visit his family in February we went out to eat at Pizza Hut. We sat at a table in the corner that was right by a window and was cold as ice. (…willing to sacrifice our love….) I was so. cold. and tried to be all suave about it since everyone else seemed warm enough. I put on my sweater so I wouldn’t look like a wimp eating in my coat. That worked for about five minutes and then I became Super-Wimp and had on my sweater and my coat and was still shivering. When we got back in the car after dinner I said to Lloyd (who only wore his shirt), “It was freezing in there! How did you stand it?” He replied, while smoothly slipping a knife in my heart, “It wasn’t so bad – it’s about what it’s like sitting at my computer.”

*Gulp* Well, that needed to change. No staple-gunned towels or comforters for my guy, no sir. I went out and bought real thermal curtains and a curtain rod…… without measuring.

oops

The curtain rod was too short, so I couldn’t use it. The curtains were also ridiculously short. I measured the windows, took it all back, and bought new stuff. Then I felt silly because it was 68 degrees outside the day I hung them. It’s been incredibly cold the past few days, though, and Lloyd says they make a difference. (Of course he does – he’s afraid of what I might replace them with.)

Ignore the coat - he says he's warm.

A box of fun

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Yes, I tore right into them.
Dnag it, Christina and Paul, you already got us those awesome tickets to see the comedian, and then you also have to go and send a box of wonderfulness. (We still have Christmas presents we haven’t sent yet.) I laughed almost as hard as Karla’s stamps when I saw the book “Tai Chi in a Chair”. Hilarious!!! (I’m actually reading it!)

There were many other wonderful things, but I was very excited to see a vinyl quote! I’ve admired these on many a window shopping trip, but didn’t buy them (due to cheapness). Now – I had one right here! “If music be the food of Love, play on.” A beautiful quote, but the right spot for it would have been by the piano where all the music stuff is, and that space is currently taken.

I went with the next logical spot.

I wish I had cleaned for this photo.

I have since cleaned up the fridge and straightened up the counter, but I can’t take a picture of it. Why? That’s a post for another day……

How I spent my Superbowl.

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Not being a big football fan (though I did root for the Steelers, on Harold’s behalf), I tried to get some stuff done around the house.  My brother Mark is going to be here Wednesday and his room is a disaster, so I cleaned out the kitchen cupboards.

Lotta mistakes here, folks. Lotta mistakes.

Look at all that unused food. Shamefull.

How did it get to this point?  It took a good 45 minutes to tame this mess. Canned goods were relocated to the basement, like foods were re-grouped after years of migrating away from each other, things I’ll never use were put in a bag for the food pantry, and expired things were tossed.   I’d like to make a few notes to myself for future reference:

Quit buying crackers! I threw five half-eaten sleeves out for the birds. No more.
You do not like oatmeal. Stop kidding yourself.  Too ….. ooky.
Same with cream of wheat. It’s better, but still ooky. You have two boxes to finish.
You have enough basil and cinnamon to open an Italian Cinnabon.
Make some things that involve rice so you can use it up.

When it was all said and done, it looked like this:

All in their little places.

Well, I really should go work in Mark’s room.  Or……. paint the basement……

I found some stickers.

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This is why I can’t get things done. I’ve been trying to clean out the guest room (while watching t.v.), and have managed to sort through quite a bit of crap stuff.  I have an entire bag of papers for the recycling bin, three bags of stuff for Goodwill, and have distributed eight tons of stuff to their respective places.  I’m still not done.  It didn’t help that I found a box of stuff that came with my computer. It had stickers.

Behold the iOven!

Behold the iOven!