The Peggy Sue Fireside room makeover - still in progress

We are still working on completing the front of the fireplace but there is a plan in the works. We will be installing the new doors this weekend and then covering over where the gross fake brick was with a stone front. The mantle is actually an old hand hewn log from my parents' 100 yr old barn. It is going to look spectacular when it is finished. I can't wait to decorate it for the holidays. 

Our "Fireplace" room when we bought it

View from the kitchen complete with saloon doors

View of the driveway showing off the "fabulous" carpet and concrete ledge

Serving as a work space in the AC with no dust so I could paint kitchen cabinets

After Mr Nielsen tore down that wall

One more drywall wall to come out

Taking down the final piece of drywall

New lighting courtesy of my fantastic brothers Clayton, Caleb and some consulting by Chad. Paint by Jake and me one late Saturday night

New furniture and I finally got my treadmill back in the house!

View from the window 

The Peggy Sue Kitchen Makeover - From June to August

Kitchen when we bought it

Kitchen on moving day

Kitchen after the wall came out

Kitchen before skim coating walls

Walls finished, upper cupboard doors on - Almost there

Kitchen with the fridge in its final resting place, new flooring and all the cupboard doors on.

Painted kitchen countertops

Kitchen window prior to the new trim and valance

All done!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Lobsterfest 2012!!!

  

Thor watched a video of how to "butcher" the lobsters that we got today and was giving me step by step instructions. I was pretty impressed with the attention he paid to the chef he watched on YouTube.

We got the lobsters as an "anniversary" gift to Jake and me because today marked 12 years that we have been together as a couple. The grocery store that is about a block from our house was selling live Lobsters that you could either have cooked there or take home and cook  yourself. We decided that we would have them do the cooking! The lobster "dissembling" was easier that I had anticipated. Its really kind of like cleaning a big shrimp -except that the claw meat is where it is at. So good! Baleigh was not really that impressed and decided that she would be happy eating leftovers after trying her two obligatory bites. : ) It was a first time for me eating lobster and overall a pretty neat experience.

My Grown Up Boy

Thor started School today! He was all decked out in his Angry Birds attire that was chosen weeks ago. I was not a fan of the camo pants for first choice but he rocks them. I made him get up early and eat a real breakfast so that he wasn't starving by lunch. He mowed down a poached egg and several pieces of  toast along with half an apple. I guess gearing up for school works up an appetite.

We took him to the bus stop where there were about a dozen or so kids already waiting. The bus was 10 minutes early so its a good thing momma still has that Army "10 minutes prior" thing still drilled in her head.

He wasn't sure where his stop was and I had to ask the bus driver to call for him to get off. Jake was just coming home from work when Thor was getting off the bus so he got to see him right at the end of his first day.

In Thor's words the day was "Awesome". He said they had two snacks, milk in the morning and then gold fish the were "blasted with cheddar cheese". They had a rest time on mats in the afternoon but Thor stated firmly that he didn't take a nap.

He managed to forget his lunch box in his locker but we have a back up just in case. He is looking forward to hot lunch next friday when they have pizza.

IT was nice to just hang out with the Bean all day. I think she is going to enjoy being the only one home this fall. I know I am. : )

Where the summer going????

This summer has gone faster than any one in my memory's history. I can't believe it has been two months since we moved in to our new house and started making it our own. Now in just a matter of weeks we will have a Kindergartner in our house ( or at school rather) and it will be just Baleigh and I at home all day. We have been making all the necessary preparation for starting school. Eye exam is completed and the appointment for physical is made. Registration is next week and all of our school supplies are labeled and in the book bag. First day of school clothes are picked out and we are ready to go.

This weekend my dad is helping to put in the remaining pieces of the sub floor in the kitchen and dining room and showing us how to blow insulation in to the attic now that all the work up there is complete. Monday the carpet guys come and we will have floors laid by the end of Tuesday at the latest.

Today Baleigh and I pickled several pints of banana peppers and started drying about 24 cayenne peppers in the garage. This is just the beginning of our food preservation for this fall. I am looking forward to it very much. It will be a lot of work but at the same time so rewarding.

Yesterday Jake's step mom Cori  was in town and we went to Galena for the afternoon. We had lunch at a Mexican restaurant and walked down main street before taking a trolly ride around the city. It was a fun day all around.

Kylie, Gage, Baleigh, Cole, Thor and Aunt Hannah at the Lena Pool 2012

Today we are headed to the pool with the cousins for a couple of hours. I managed to get a good sun burn on Tuesday so I will be slathered in sunscreen today. We have been getting good use out of our season pool pass. So glad we decided to get it.   

Pretty Darn Lucky!

Monday was my last day on active duty. Now all I have to do is go to the nearest military base and get my ID changed to IRR. Tuesday Jake GOT A JOB!!!! He was out job hunting when he got a call from a placement agency saying they had a position open up and wanted to know when he could start. He went in to their offices, watched all the mandatory safety videos and filled out their paperwork and stared work on Wednesday. He is the materials handler for Saega Industries. They fabricate machines at this factory but Jake isn't working on the assembly line. Instead he receives all the materials and organizes where they go so when a particular department is out of a part they come to Jake and he gets it for them. They have not had anyone in this position for around 6 months so it was a rough first day getting all the inventory off the floor where it was in random piles. He is working on shelving it all and getting it in some sort of order. Its hot work (especially this week) since the factory is not air conditioned and there are a limited amount of fans. If everything goes well after his probationary period he will get a raise and be on a permanent status. We are so blessed to have found something this quickly and that it is something that he really enjoys doing. Now getting the house finished is up to me. : )

My To Do List

Just for fun I thought I would show my little reader world what my to do list looks like after 5 weeks of working on Peggy Sue. We have this list on a dry erase board in the living room at the moment so we can feel a sense of accomplishment when we have completed a task. At the end of the day we flop down on the couch exhausted and mark things off our list.

To Do List as of  July 9, 2012

1. Paint Master Bedroom closet
2. Install underground dog fence (purchased and J.U.L.I.E. has been called - waiting for underground wires to be identified)
3. Paint Baleigh's toy box and puzzle shelf to match her room
4. Finish painting mail box (need more spray paint)
5. Clean out tool shed/spray hornets nests that have been established there
6. Instal post for my clothes line (this too will wait until underground wires are identified)
7. Finish skim coating kitchen walls after range hood is hung (will be completed this week)
8. Finish painting kitchen walls (after they are skim coated/patched/ after the range hood is hung) : )
9. Hang remaining cupboard doors (waiting for floors to be layed so they don't bang up my labor of love that are those cabinet doors.)
10. Level Floor in fireplace room
11. Lay floor (after it is leveled) in kitchen, dining room, frunch and fireplace rooms
12. Fix bathroom ceiling - need to find a good tutorial on how to do this
13. Instal Dog door in the back door
14. Make curtains for every room but the bedrooms (after I pick out fabric and room colors)
15. Hang family photos in the family tree
16. Hang trim around kitchen window (after the walls are skim coated, painted and my range hood is installed.
17. Paint inside of front door (decide on a color)
18. Paint outside of back door (after I get more paint)
19. Frame my grocery list chalk board (after i choose a trim)
20. Finish last coat of stain/sealer on coffee table
21. New trim for around AC unit
22. Paint trim white in master bath
23. Skim coat dry wall on header in kitchen
24. Scrub all ceiling fans in house
25. Paint ceiling in fireside room white
26. Scrape caulk off of shower walls.


That's what it looks like today. Who knows what will be on it tomorrow. I see new projects every day and they get added to the list. I could not be happier with what we are doing right now. This is what I love doing. If I had just a little more knowledge and a few more tools I think I could do this for a living.