Let me just say that being a regular hunter/searcher I find things.  I tend to know things.  Found two pieces of information since Friday.  The first makes me sad and angry and uncovers a little bit of vengeful desires that I wish weren't there.  The second makes me just feel incredibly sad and sympathetic.  It's this second piece of information that makes me realize I'm not as bad of a human being as I thought.

If you still read this... I'm really sorry for your loss.

Dear Excedrin, how I love thee, let me count the ways...
migraine, sinus, tension

The challenge at times can be putting my finger on the right cause of a headache to expedite relief.  I'd like to blame The Purge for this one, but I had the headache when I woke up this morning.  With the weather shifting back to rain and pressure over my eye I guessed wrong and went with sinus.  When that wasn't kicking in by the time I went to church, had a bite to eat, and took in the movie I got another shot.  After laying down for a little while the tension pill has alleviated most of the problem.  At least enough that I can now get out there and put the tenant's stuff back on his finished deck.  Good thing I got so much done Friday night and Saturday... because today is a bust.

So, back to the movie.  I was disappointed, did you gather that much?  It could have been so. much. better.  I did have one moment of enlightenment however... and that was to say "please God, if anyone is ever coming into my home allow me to be a little smarter wielding my gun than that woman."

Friday night required some prep work as there was a free shred day today nearby, so I started gathering.  Most everything was already in a big plastic bin, but I wanted to go through the filing cabinet as well.  I didn't toss tax files, although I'm sure some are old enough they could have gone.  Then I got distracted and hunted through my box of cables for the printer cable I need to change the wireless settings on my all-in-one.

Finally I pried the vent covers off the vents in the dining room.  I say pry because not only did these idiot paint over them but they had also put them on with a nice seal of caulk.  Lovely.  While I was at the removal process I also removed the plate covers from all of the plugs in anticipation of painting, maybe I'll do that before I do the floor.

Today is one of those incredibly FULL Saturdays that helps me feel like I had a long weekend.  I tried to roll over after the ritual 7am potty trip (for the girls, not me... I was up at 3:30) but it didn't happen.  Instead I told myself I could spend some time at the computer before getting in gear and that was motivation to roll out of bed and make a cup of coffee.  Because I like punishment I decided to take the cable I hunted down last night and try to get my printer rocking with my new wireless configuration.  That was an epic failure that consumed way more of my play time than I'd like to admit.  In the end I still have no easy access to my printer (I can change my network's wireless settings back and print/scan, but what a pain in the butt.)

Then I headed to drop off the shred-ables and a quick stop at Big Lots since they keep tempting me with coupons.  Back to the house before noon and I forced myself outside to waterproof the tenant's deck.  It's done, not perfect thanks to those awful lattice pieces around the bottom, but so be it.  Since we may have rain tomorrow I used that as an excuse to not also do the back deck.  The apartment deck is covered, so I'm hoping if we do get rain it won't be a problem... besides it should hold off until after 2 to give me 24 hours.

Well, if you're not going to do the other deck you better keep working, right?  It's been near two months since I bought the supplies, but I finally changed out the light switches!  7 of them are changed.  1 I couldn't swap because I had forgotten it was a three-way, so I needed a different switch.  I also couldn't change out the GFCI in the bathroom as desired because it does not want to budge from the wall once unscrewed.  I am assuming this is another case like the one from the living room a few years ago where there wasn't enough wire to make 'room' to pull the plug out to mess with it.

I then headed to Home Depot to return a few items and pick up a few others (like the 3-way switch and some vent covers).  Unfortunately this set of vent covers won't work.  The size is spot on, but the vent comes out of the wall too low for this to fit.  It's a shame too because they were lovely wood that would have matched in there fantastically.

From there a quick visit to an old friend who is currently at Conemaugh (progress is going well, but prayers please). All the while today laundry was running, so I'll have a nice fresh bed to climb into tonight.  I suspect I'll sleep quite well.  I'd like to go see The Purge, but I'm afraid I'll fall asleep at the theatre.

I'm not sure how we got to Thursday night so fast.  Each day seemed to be so long, it doesn't add up, but I'll take it.  As to not only post on the negative side, I think it's safe to say I'm good at work for a while.  Not certain on length right now, but nothing of immediate concern.  Of course, now that I posted this I'm sure something will change tomorrow.  C'est la vie.

I left a bit early today since I had to put in a few hours one other evening.  I promptly spent this 'extra' time with a nap.  I'm really hoping we have nice weather Saturday so I can seal the decks.  I guess if the weather doesn't give us one nice day I have plenty of other things I need to accomplish.

I did get to see my Mithy for a little while last night, that was nice, even if it felt rushed thanks to needing to clean the gutters (again) before the rain came.  Nothing else exciting to talk about.  Sorry, world.

Before I headed to the work picnic on Saturday I called mom and committed to heading down there on Sunday.  Sunday was also the 25th anniversary of my father's passing, so I guess I can say it felt right to head home for the day.  I can't believe it's been so long.  I was fully expecting the chilly, rainy weather to hold all weekend... so I had written off getting the decks re-sealed.  I was pleasantly surprised when it warmed up and the sun crept out at the picnic.  I went dressed for the colder weather, so as it warmed up I was ready to leave.  I wanted a nap something fierce too, so I didn't last super long.  I did nap when I got home and still managed to get to bed at a reasonable hour.

Woke up at 7 Sunday morning, as I often do, put the girls out and then crashed back out on the couch for 2 more hours before heading to Altoona.  Mom cooked, and we ate way more than anyone should at one meal, as is often the case when I visit.  Then we took a nap.  What a productive weekend, huh!  I've been having strange dreams and not feeling like I'm getting into a good sleep, so that is probably why I am ready for bed now too.

Oh, and my custom backstrap arrived today!  It's pretty sweet.  Now I need to get out and do some more practicing to enjoy it.

Go figure.  I no sooner order dog food, then I walk into one of my discount stores and find my brand of food at a good deal.  *sigh*  I couldn't resist, so I bought another 5 bags.  Petco 5 bags on sale w/ free shipping $160.  Big Lots 5 bags w/ $5 off coupon $120.  Either way I should pretty well stocked to winter.

Last night Beff helped out in the dining room.  I pulled tack strips at her place when she bought it, so it's kind of amusing to come full circle.  With her help and a long night we have the wood ready for sanding!  I had picked up a bigger pry bar at Big Lots ($3 is way better than the $9 large ones they had at Home Depot).  That means the rest of the tack strip is up and we even pulled up the half circle at the entry which consisted off plywood and vinyl on top.  I need to pry the other vent covers off of the wall (some idiot painted straight over them), clean out the inside and patch whatever plaster that pulls down.  I'm going to paint so it seems like a wise move to hit those little details as well.  There is also another plug that needs replaced (a 2-pronger).  So, lots of little things I can still do before I need to secure the rental of a sander.  I guess I should start calling around though, right?

Since I'm ahead of schedule I'll indulge a little relaxation this weekend though.  Boo on the chillier temps and rain.  I would really prefer to be finishing the resealing on the decks.

More dog food!  Yep it was time to order another 5 bags from Petco.  Looking back my 6 bag purchase was ripped into on Jan 21, then I snagged another 100lbs or so a few days later.  I am on the last two bags, so I'll only factor in the average bag size for 4 plus the extra bought from Ollies to say roughly 200lbs of dog food in 136 days.  That's like 1.6lbs of food a day!  Piggies.  I'll need to start keeping closer tabs. I'm now quite curious how quickly we go through food.

Night 3 of the work in the dining room. I wonder at what number I'll start referring to the nights as part of a prison sentence in hard labor.  I decided to give myself a break tonight and I finished up what I wanted to accomplish in time to come out on the deck to relax with the girls while the sky began to get dark (and type this entry).

Goal #1:  Sweep up more gunk - CHECK (it's amazing how much dust and disintegrating carpet and padding doesn't get sucked up through the carpet by a vacuum)
Goal #2:  Test out the pry tool I have - CHECK (it worked, but not fantastically, I'll definitely be stopping to pick up a flat pry bar to make the rest of the tack strip removal easier)
Goal #3:  Give the floor a light washing - CHECK (Basic H and Murphy's Oil Soap cleared some black gunk off of the floor and removed more dust and grime.  It also allowed me to find 3 more staples I had missed.)
Goal #4:  Remove the rest of the staples - CHECK (I'm 100% confident in this one thanks to doing the hand wash.  Let me tell you how many persnickety staples felt the need to snap off and fought being plucked from the wood.)

 I made great progress in the dining room last night, which is quite impressive since I left work ready for a nap.  I didn't do anything else with the stairs, instead I turned my focus to the main floor.  I cleared out enough of the furniture and decor as to rip up all of the carpet and padding from the main floor and closet.  I also pulled all of the staples (except in the closet) from the main floor.  The area by the entry and stairs is pretty nice looking, but there is some damage to the wood out in the middle of the dining room.  I've been watching some youtube videos and getting some ideas and confidence on doing the sanding and hole patching on my own and I'm psyched.  Let's hope that some of the discolored/damaged parts sand out well.
 
Lots of tack strips are in my future at this point but I'm also looking forward as there are a few items I need to figure out.  For example, at the entry there was a vinyl tiled area.  It looks like it's lifted up from the wood floor a bit, so I wonder if there is wood under there as well.  Not sure what I'll do there.  I also need to figure out the transition at the top of the stairs to the awful carpet that is up there.  I know I can't be so lucky as to think there is hardwood up there as well, or I think that carpet would be coming up too.  I do want to replace that carpet, so maybe I'll put that task into a contractor's hands, but where on earth do I move all of that junk to for them to work?!  I have dreams of a lovely area rug for under the dining room table floating in my mind, but I guess I need to figure out what the "right" size is as to not have it too small or too big for reasonable usage of the furniture.
 
My goal for this week is to get the tack strips up, which means I need to go buy the right type of pry bar, and to scrub the hardwood to get the last of the grit from the carpet up.  I think that would make it feel like I'm a lot further than it is.

I'm crazy.  I have just proven this once again.  I think the desire to launch spontaneously into a large project is a female tendency.  This is dangerous when you don't have an other half who says "no, no, no".  I think my ex disliked this about  me, heck, it didn't even have to be large projects, just necessary ones like raking leaves etc, because he felt obligated to help.  He even told me outright that he wished we hadn't bought a house and he just wanted to sit with his computer and not deal with lawns, repairs, and upgrades.

Anyhow, I digress.  Tonight I did what I've been longing to do for quite a while and lifted part of the carpet in the dining room to see what is underneath.  Guess what... main floor and stairs - wood.  To think shortly after we bought this place Satin tried to rip up the carpet!  We should have listened to the damn dog, she knew what she was doing.

Now, I think that the main floor will need sanded and refinished, but I do have some high hopes.  In the mean time I have a lot of staples and tack strips to remove.  If you have tips for removing tack strips without causing damage, particularly on the stairs, hook me up.  Tonight I finish with all of the carpet off of the stairs, a patch removed near the door and main window in the dining room, and 4/13 of the stairs staple free.  Where on earth am I going to move the furniture to in order to remove the rest of the carpet?  I have no idea.  This should be entertaining for the flies on the wall.

I did it!  The front sidewalk, stairs, porch, and apartment deck are pressure washed, as are the back deck and the siding the whole way around the house.  I'll need to get more stain for the back deck and application equipment and get things sealed back up next weekend or so.  Today I headed to church and then off to celebrate Miss Ella's first birthday w/ the Wild ones.

We had a bit of rain this morning which cooled things down, thank goodness.  Wanting to turn the AC on June 1 seemed a bit extreme to me.  I guess it's back to work tomorrow.  I wish I knew what I could do for a living that I'd _want_ to go there for 40 hours a week.

I don't really feel like getting in gear around the house, but I should take advantage of the last two days of my vacation, right?  I did sleep in, although my body fought it fervently, waking me at 6 and every half an hour there after until I climbed out of bed around 9.  Perhaps since it is finally quite warm enough I will head out with the pressure washer and brighten up the exterior a bit more.  That means I'll need to seal decks again soon.  Boo.

I can't believe the outpouring of support from folks here on my blog, on facebook, and most of all on Cruise Critic for those of us that were on board Grandeur.  I truly appreciate it, thank you!  God was truly with us.  I know it is only through him that I didn't pull back the curtain and only by his peace that we didn't spend 5 hours in fear.  Amusingly, the daily word I received via email on Monday while away was this:
“In the day of trouble he will keep me safe in his dwelling; he will hide me in the shelter of his sacred tent and set me high upon a rock.” (Psalm 27:5, NIV)
Bam.  Isn't that a fact.

A few pictures... the good and the bad:http://share.shutterfly.com/share/received/welcome.sfly?fid=667ceab9377ed5dc2f762628e38c6d8e&sid=8CaNmzFqxaM2q