Day 6 – A photo of an animal you’d love to keep as a pet.

Day 6 – A photo of an animal you’d love to keep as a pet.
This one is fun!! I actually have two animals I would love to have as pets. I will start with the impossible one first...
Have you seen the Direct TV commercial with the little giraffe? 
Here is the important part:


I want it.
That little giraffe is so flipping cute. I love how it reaches up its little head upon that looooooooong little neck and gives him a little giraffe kiss. 
Here is another on featuring my fictional future pet, he is in the lower left-hand corner on the treadmill:




However, mini giraffes aren't real so I should probably pick an animal that could actually be a pet.
That is where the chimpanzee comes in.
 As a child I thought chimpanzees were adorable. I recall telling my mom that if I couldn't have kids (irony?) I would just get a chimpanzee and dress him in overalls. He could be my kid.
I think I was inspired by a few movies I watched growing up (although neither of these apes are chimpanzees...):

Or a few celebrities with their monkeys:

Or just because this is ridiculously adorable:

But there is that whole "poo flinging" thing that I am not very fond of that is getting in the way of adding a primate to our family. Maybe over time.

Day 5 – A photo of yourself two years ago.

Day 5 – A photo of yourself two years ago.
Ha! This one is really easy. Two years ago Sparky and I were taking engagement pictures with my sister. :o) 
Here we go: 

I am the one on the right ;o)

Day 4 – Your favorite photograph of your best friend.

Day 4 – Your favorite photograph of your best friend.
We have a rule in my classroom... we don't have best friends. We are all friends with each other, but we don't rank our friendships. All that results in are hurt feelings, quivering lips, and crocodile tears. 
So today, I have chosen my puppies as my best friends--considering that dogs are man's best friend. I figure I can't do any wrong that way. (I considered making categories such as "best childhood friend," "best work friend," "best weekend friend" but that seemed like way too much work.)
So without further ado:

Amelia and Animal all wrapped up in their little blankets and their little hospital hats for their adoption announcement. You can see their adorable little faces here and can clearly see how Sparky and I fell in love with them so quickly. 
Just because they are so cute, here are a few more:

These pictures remind me that the dogs really need to get their hair cut...

Day 3

Day 3 – Your idea of the perfect first date.
Hmmm.... Well, I can't think of a real perfect first date. I think every first date I have gone on has been with someone I am wanting to get to know better, therefore it is always filled with awkwardness. I am not a huge fan of first dates. 
That being said, I suppose the first date I had with Sparky was perfect because it resulted in our marriage (awww). 
So, I will share that. 
Sparky and I "met" on eHarmony. I was the 200th person he was matched with, he was my 1st. He was just about to give up on the site when he found me. :o) Of course, he is afraid of the internet (hence his blog name being Sparky, obviously not his real name) so I knew him only as "M" who worked in academia and had no picture. I made him send me a picture before I would meet him because, lets face it, we live in a shallow world and I don't want to be with someone who looks like Quasimodo. 

Sparky sent me a photo of him working on something at school. It showed only the top of his head and his back. I told him that from the picture, basically all I could tell was that he didn't look like Quasimodo. Apparently, Sparky didn't know who Quasimodo was. He didn't get it. 
Since he passed that test, I decided to meet him in real life. 
I called my mom and sister and told them exactly what I was wearing, where I was going, my license plate number, and what time to expect another call from me before calling the police... just in case. ;o)
Sparky and I decided to meet at Starbucks because it is a nice public location. 
I got there first. I ordered myself a late. 
I was nervous and knocked it off my table onto the floor. Oops. Starbucks was kind and made me a new one while cleaning up my mess. 
Sparky arrived, windblown from riding in on his motorcycle. 
He ordered a white chocolate mocha (I only know that because it is the only thing he ever orders there). 
We talked for a while and agreed that neither of us was psycho and we could plan another date sometime. 
The end.

Day 2

Day 2 – A photo of something you ate today.
So technically, today is day 3. But I thought about posting last night. The problem was I couldn't move. I spent all day yesterday tearing down ugly (sorry grandma and grandpa Smith) 70s wall paneling that grandpa had cut into an odd pattern that looks eerily similar to this symbol: { Just imagine the { turned sideways with the point going down. ::involuntary shudder:: 
Then, after tearing down the oddly-shaped paneling, I painted the rest of the paneling. (Back in 2008 I decided to paint my current townhouse with a blond-colored paint to make the trim pop more. I figured I had a lot of area to cover so I should just get a 5 gallon bucket instead of making multiple trips back for a gallon at a time. Needless to say, my townhouse isn't that big and I CANNOT get rid of the blond paint. I used it to paint EVERYTHING in sight yesterday and I still have a bunch left...)
I painted the doors, walls, part of the bathroom, living room, and wall-o-bookshelves. I can hardly move today. Last night I was too exhausted to type so I gave myself permission to wait until today to update my daily challenge. :o)


So yesterday I ate...

Peanut butter toast with coffee for breakfast.

A 6" ham on honey oat with provolone cheese, lettuce, tomato, onion, oil, vinegar, and oregano from SubWay

with a side of baked barbecue Lays and a root beer.

For dinner, Sparky and I went out to eat a Bucceto's Smiling Teeth at about 10:00pm.

Day 1

Day 1 – A photo of yourself and a description of how your day was.

I think this is the most recent photo I have of myself. It was taken in January 2011 in Sonoma, Arizona. I am the one on the left. ;oP
I would have taken a picture of myself today... but I would rather not. I was just picking at my face so now I look like a pubescent teenager. 


My day: Actually, considering I have a classroom full of kindergarteners who want nothing more than for school to be over my day went well. We took an impromptu nature walk in the morning. We discovered the ground is not completely dry along the way. I lost my flip flops in a mud puddle that had the strength of gorilla glue. All went well though, no kids fell into the mud or into the pond we went to visit. Miracle.  We found lots and lots of worms, some really ugly bugs that apparently will grow up to become dragonflies, and some small crayfish (aka crawfish, crawdads). Here is a secret: I don't like the ugly dragonflies or the mean crawdads, the worms are okay though. 
After lunch my cherubs did not have to participate in many purely academic activities (thank God) so we ended on a high note. Of course, my jeans are covered in dried mud... oh well. 

30 Day Blog Challenge

I have decided I need to give the "blogging everyday" thing another try. It wasn't really fair of google to delete by blog as soon as I attempted this last time, so I blame them. If my blog hadn't been temporarily deleted I might have kept up with it. ;o)
Anyway, in an effort to make this even easier for me than it already is... I have found a 30 day challenge where I just have to answer a question each day. The idea is to get me into the habit of actually logging onto the website and posting something for 30 days in a row. After all, we all know it takes something like 30 days to develop a new habit. Unfortunately, it only takes a few days to delete the habit if it is a good one.
So here is my second attempt. I have also decided to make today Day 1. I am all about killing 2 birds with one stone. However, I will, at least, make Day 1 in a new post.

Day 1 – A photo of yourself and a description of how your day was.
Day 2 – A photo of something you ate today.
Day 3 – Your idea of the perfect first date.
Day 4 – Your favorite photograph of your best friend.
Day 5 – A photo of yourself two years ago.
Day 6 – A photo of an animal you’d love to keep as a pet.
Day 7 – Your dream wedding.
Day 8 – A song to match your mood.
Day 9 – A photo of the item you last purchased.
Day 10 – A photo of our favorite place to eat.
Day 11 – What’s in your makeup bag?
Day 12 – A photograph of the town you live in.
Day 13 – Your favorite musician and why?
Day 14 – A TV show you’re currently addicted to.
Day 15 – Something you don’t leave the house without.
Day 16 – Your celebrity crush.
Day 17 – A photo of you and your family.
Day 18 – Something you crave a lot.
Day 19 – Another picture of yourself.
Day 20 – The meaning behind your blog name.
Day 21 – A photo of something that makes you happy.
Day 22 – A letter to someone who has hurt you recently.
Day 23 – 15 facts about you.
Day 24 – A photo of something that means a lot to you.
Day 25 – What’s in your purse?
Day 26 – A photo of somewhere you’ve been to.
Day 27 – A picture of you last year and now and how have you changed since then?
Day 28 – Your favorite movie.
Day 29 – Something you could never get tired of doing.
Day 30 – A photograph of youself today + three good things that have happened in the past 30 days

Busy Busy Weekend

Before I begin with my tales about this weekend I need to back up and tell about Tuesday... well, I guess the story starts on Monday.

Monday, after school, I decided to go to Lowe's and buy one of the tiles Sparky and I have selected to be the floor in the kitchen, hall, and bathroom downstairs at the log house. I drove over to the log house, popped one of the linoleum tiles off the floor and put my ceramic tile in its place. Pretty.
It looked good. But while I was at Lowe's I noticed that the tiles Sparky and I liked were marked down. This means they might be marked back up if I don't get them soon!
Since it took eternity for Sparky and I to agree on a tile we liked and actually find it in real life I decided I needed to go to Lowe's the next day after school to buy all the tile we needed before it went off sale.
(I don't know if tile even goes "off sale" it might just get marked down forever until it is sold. But I don't know, and don't want to to take a chance.)
So Tuesday after school I headed back to Lowe's in my trusty car Blanche. She is a mercury sable. Not anything rugged. I talked with Sparky about being able to pick up the tile we needed with Blanch verses going to the log house and getting Sparky's cargo van to do the job.
Here was Sparky's logic: What could a tile weigh? About a pound each? Well, we were getting 300 tiles. This would be able 300 pounds. That would be like having two passengers in the car who each weigh 150lbs.
Sounded good to me!
So I go to Lowe's after an exhausting day at school. I find the tiles we love. I find a cart (easier said than done). I divide out how many boxes of tile I need using my handy phone calculator... I need 300 tiles.... there are 18 tiles in a box... so I need 16.66666667 boxes of tile. Well, I'm no dummy, I know I can't tile a floor with .66666 of a box of tile, so I need to round up. And, knowing me, I will probably break a few tiles along the way anyway so I need extras.
I pick up one box of tiles.
Holy Cow.
These boxes are HEAVY!
I don't want to look like the weenie that I am, so I huff and puff and get three more boxes in my cart. At this point I am wheezing, coughing, and sweating. I still need 13 more boxes and I am about to pass out. Not to mention my cart is full.
I noticed there were two men sitting under the large sign that says TILE chatting up a storm having a gay old time. I decided since I am paying for this product they should get it off the shelf for me. So I wheeled my cart over to them and asked them to please help me because the boxes are heavier than hell.
One guy looks at me and says, "You need a bigger cart." and he leaves. The other guy says, "was your installer in here earlier today?"
I responded with, "I am my installer."
Apparently another couple was looking at getting this same tile. They sent their "installer" to check out the tile earlier that day. They planned on coming back to get it on Monday. Well, you snooze you loose!
The man said, "Well I guess I'd better start calling other stores to track down more of that tile for those other people."
Um... ok. I guess you could do that. Or you could help me load up the tile I am here to get.
Finally the other guy came back with a flat cart for me. He quickly stacked 17 boxes of tiles on the cart. Then he said, "Now, your next problem is going to be getting the cart up to the checkout isle. I will get it moving for you, just don't let it stop moving." He shoved with all his manly might and got the cart rolling.
Well, guess what folks! I was not dressed for Olympic cart pushing! I just finished teaching kindergarten all day. I was wearing capri pants and a pair of cute J Crew flip flops. While J Crew flip flops are adorable and come in ever color/pattern imaginable they do not provide any traction on a polished concrete floor.
I looked like an extinct Dodo bird trying to get the cart to keep rolling, pushing with all my might, while my feet slid out from under me time and time again.
I finally passed a couple in the paint isle and while apologizing for not being able to control the direction of my cart they noticed the ridiculous position I was in. The man and the woman each grabbed a side of the cart and they pushed it all the way to the check out isle for me. Saints.
Fortunately, they took my stuff to the checkout isle with the old man. He could sympathize with my plight. He called for some people to help me get the tile to my car. I went and backed my car up to the door while they gathered around.
The guys started putting the tile in my car. I was happy it all fit.
One man commented that it was pretty low, so take it slow over speed bumps.
I got in my car and started driving. Um....
My car was sitting on the tires. The tiles were so heavy my tires were rubbing against the wheel well.
I called Sparky and he came to my rescue with a friend and his pickup truck.

Fast Forward to this weekend:
After school Friday I decided to go to the log house and start putting together the kitchen cabinets. Before I install the tile I need to have the kitchen cabinets together so I know where exactly the plumbing needs to be moved to, but before I install the kitchen cabinets I need to lay the tile. It's a catch 22.
I got two cabinets put together and then I stopped to put together two chairs.
Saturday we went back over with my mom and dad.
Sparky and my dad dug trenches to lay pipe to divert the water from the gutter downspouts away from the foundation of the house. This will keep water from leaking in around the foundation.
My mom and I went to the Habitat for Humanity ReStore to look for some cool doors and to see if they had a better bathroom vanity than the one that is currently in the log house.
No luck on a vanity, or the cool doors. But I hit the jackpot in sconces. I found a ton of brushed nickel wall sconces for $10 each, on sale for 25% off! I needed four sconces for some odd lighting on the first level of the log house.
Then, while walking around the "showroom" we found the treasure. A sofa. A brand new(looking) beautiful green sofa with a tall back and fluffy arms. $250. That's all. Brand new. I bought it before the store could change the price. The tag said it was donated to the ReStore the day before. Sweet.
We picked it up along with the four sconces and delivered them to the log house.
We then took our dining room table to the log house along with Sparky's HUGE speakers and some random furniture that was making my townhouse look clutter-y. We replaced our normal dining room table with an oak one of my mom's. Our current house looks much more spacious now!
We also found four old water/emergency barrels full of "stuff" and other junk half hidden behind some pine trees on the property. We are guessing people bought this stuff when we had an auction and couldn't fit it into their car so they hid it to get later. Later they either forgot about it or decided it wasn't worth another trip back. They were heavy and full of junk we didn't want in the first place (hence it was in the auction).

Sunday Sparky slept in while I caught up on my DVRed Royal Wedding. I called my mom to see if she remembered the name of the sofa I just bought for a steal...she looked at the sofa and read the label.
Wait. The sofa was at the log house. How did she read it? My dad and mom apparently went back today to work some more! They took down some wall paneling and a wall so they could see the plumbing better. All while Sparky slept and I pretended to be British. Aren't they nice?
Now I have to decide what to do about the downstairs bathroom. Should I make it wheelchair accessible by taking out an adjacent closet, or not worry about it? Sparky wants to replace the shower stall. Should we just remove the shower and put in a different one in the basement and make this bathroom into a half bath since there aren't any bedrooms on this floor anyway? Or put in a new shower in case someone makes a bedroom on the first floor? I don't know.