Queen B

Archive for the ‘Nothing to it but to do it’ Category

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Kombucha

In Healthy shmealthy, Nothing to it but to do it on January 21, 2012 at 1:07 pm

Well, there hasn’t been much posting lately, mostly because we’re up to our eyeballs.

It’s high time we started again on the basement, and I wasn’t exactly taking no for an answer. To date, DH has built a new laundry room wall. He decided that it was wasted space having an extra wide walkway/hall. He was so right. It only adds a foot or less, but it will make a huge difference in the laundry room setup. The industrial laundry bin will turn sideways and the ironing board will gain its own space. Laundry is so exciting, I’m not going to waste your time by mapping it out any further.  Also, the laundry room is still ugly with a capital U.G.L.Y., so no pictures.

The biggest part is the door. We opted for a 36 inch white six-panel door to the laundry that will open out into the hall rather than into the room as it was previously set up. No more hitting hubby in the back with the door as he irons in the morning. No need to turn the laundry basket sideways to squeeze through the doorway!! That’s going to be the best. Even better than that?  This will mean the removal of the last black door in the basement.  White doors will reign supreme in the basement!  Woot!!

**For the record, there are still two black stained doors in the house – the door leading to the basement and the door leading to the garage.  All other interior doors upstairs are dark brown… for now.**

We also purchased cabinets from our local ReStore that we will be painting and repurposing as the base for our office space. The idea is to have a counter that wraps the entire room using cabinets above and below for storage and support and supplementing with open shelving as well. Between the major purging we’re doing to gear up for this portion of the remodel, and the increased amount of organized storage this should create, I’m hoping everything will finally have a place when we’re done.

Aside from all of that, I’ve also got my own personal side project going on.  I’m attempting to brew some of my own Kombucha for the first time!  If you follow me on Facebook you already know that of which I speak, because of the gross-to-you photos I post regularly showing the progress.  I don’t know why, but some people don’t have the same level of enthusiasm for slimy scoby as I do.  You know I love a good science project.

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If you really study the above photo you can see that in addition to the fact that what was once just a clear jelly fish looking blob has started to become a solid white colored mass (which is good, I swear), there are small clear (for now) blobs beginning to form on other parts of the surface of the tea.  Right now is one of those moments where I wish I could work photoshop well enough to very quickly and easily add arrows to the photo to point out the beginnings of scoby in that photo.  But I know it would be neither quick, nor easy, so you’ll just have to really look and figure it out.  There are white spots on the glass from dried drips (which I would totally scrub off, but this needs to be left undisturbed and not jostled, so it’s a no-go.  ie. deal with the damned drip marks in the photo), and then there are white-ish tan-ish looking blobs in the liquid.  THOSE are the new growths.  You should be able to find three in the photo.  And YES… it IS exciting stuff to me.  Just tea and sugar and some yeast create sunshine in a bottle?  Why not?!  And yes, I know I’m a complete dork.  Some people have normal hobbies.  I grow various types of edible yeast every winter.  Sue me.

Finally, I just wanted to let you know that I do use other types of the internets for those interested (as well as YOU, stupid loser stalker who thinks I don’t know you’re watching… news flash, I KNOW and I don’t give a shit what secrets you think you’ve unearthed by reading my blog because it’s PUBLIC, dummy).  Twitter, Pinterest, and Instagram.  Yep, I’m there.  Find and/or follow me at thetinytyrant.  That is all.

Love you (non-stupid loser stalkers)!

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So it begins

In Nothing to it but to do it, The little roomies on August 14, 2011 at 11:12 pm

Today was the very last day of summer vacation.  Tomorrow, I am the proud parent of a high school freshman and a fifth grader.

To commemorate, today we engaged in the following:

  • losing money on the ponies
  • golfing
  • laundry
  • grocery shopping
  • preparing for the morning (ugh)

I am not one of those parents who can’t wait for school to start again at the end of every school year.  In fact, every summer I’m super pissed that I have to work at all, and I can’t be home doing more awesome fun stuff with the kidlets.  It’s a problem.

Tomorrow it becomes less of a problem.  Unfortunately.

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Summertime

In Badass Ideas, Nothing to it but to do it on July 19, 2011 at 10:45 pm

It’s summertime in Chicago, and finally, FINALLY the livin’ is easy.  Well, easier, anyhow.

The party went off without a hitch, but not without a LOT of work.  Of course there were helpers.  Lots and lots of helpers, which is unusual for me because I have trouble accepting help, and find it even worse having to ask for it.  But we certainly needed it and without it things wouldn’t have been half as good.  Or perhaps it would have been twice as bad.  Either way, it was new for me, and a tremendous feeling being lifted up like that.  The support puts a smile on my face and makes my spirit shine (like a disco ball).  You know who you are and what you’ve done for us.  Thank you.

I have to say that attending a party is much less work than throwing one.  For the record.

Once the party and the cleanup were behind us, I had an opportunity to actually relax.  It has literally been months since we could rest.  There has been no sitting, no television watching, no leisure whatsoever.

I’ve been making up for that today.

Welcome to Chicago, summer!  We’ve been waiting on you.

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Everybody gets one

In Nothing to it but to do it, The little roomies on July 6, 2011 at 7:59 pm

A job. that is.

My husband and I have been working ourselves silly trying to get ready for the quickly approaching party scheduled July 16 at our house.  Somehow I finagled one of my children into doing a little something.  It’s a very difficult endeavor, and even harder to photograph.  I think it’s because I’ve taken the creature out of its natural habitat (which would be the family room, in front of the XBox or in the driveway shooting hoops).

Of course, he still refuses to call it Cornhole.  Which, thinking on it, is probably alright.

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Patting myself on the back

In Nothing to it but to do it, Random nonsense on July 5, 2011 at 11:20 am

Another random and minor project completed.

I never knew how horrible a white door on a brown house could be.  Especially one that never, ever gets used.  Seriously, who needs to visit me in the laundry room?  Either way, I’m taking “paint door” AND “install screen” AND “paint screen” off my list.  Permanently.

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Finally

In Big time stuff, Nothing to it but to do it on July 4, 2011 at 11:14 pm

We have FINALLY gotten the basement refrigerator fixed.

Now we can get some real work done around here!  It’s not natural, this dry method we’ve been forced to become accustomed to.

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Round Two

In Nothing to it but to do it, Punishment for what?, Random nonsense on June 27, 2011 at 11:01 pm

So we got the first half of phase 1 basement remodel completed, and here we go on the second.

Just finished carrying a trillion plus six pounds of 10 foot long 5/8″ drywall for miles (ok, from the car around to the backyard into the basement, but still).

This is not something we should be doing in preparation for a party. Seriously, most people just clean the floors, right?!

The upside is that somewhere in all of the dust I can see the outline of my dream home, which fills me with joy.

Still, I can’t wait to be done, because drywall is heavy. And I’m sorta on the woosie end of the strength spectrum. Just sayin’.

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We’re f*’d

In Big time stuff, Nothing to it but to do it, Punishment for what? on June 7, 2011 at 12:04 am

My husband and I decided today that we both need to be working every single free moment of every single day between now and July 16 to be ready to host my son’s graduation party or we’re f*’d.  Except I didn’t abbreviate when I was talking to Craig.  And then we laughed, because we both know we’re f*’d either way, and it’s pretty typical.

So in that vein, this is my day:

4:40am :  swear at the alarm clock.  swear word should not be how I start my day.  but it is.

5:20am:  holy crap, get out the door!

6:03am:  OK, only a tiny bit late.  if I hadn’t been behind that gravel truck the entire ride I would’ve been early.

8:00am:  feed me, I’m melting!

11:00am:  rush of energy, I’m off like a prom dress.  my coworkers just love it when I say that on my way out.

12:00pm:  run to the orthodontist to get more rubber bands for the boy.  it is ungodly hot because i’m not accustomed.

12:30pm:  spackle the drywall screw holes in the basement.  sucks.  i think he used a million screws plus four.

4:00pm:  freak out and string together a sentence consisting entirely of swear words when I realize that a carpenter bee has started drilling a new hole in the BRAND NEW SIDING my husband put up but didn’t yet stain.

4:15pm:  craft an entirely new and equally impressive sentence of swear words when I can’t find the house stain in our ridiculously disorganized and messy garage.  make mental note that in addition to the other million plus thirteen projects, we should clean the garage.  curse the missing paint.

4:20pm:  notice zinnia seeds have sprouted!  the neighbors probably think i’m crazy when i start to jump up and down.

4:30pm:  kick can of paint while washing the spackle knife in the laundry tub.  do a little dance.

4:40pm:  kill that f*cking carpenter bee who has the nerve to come and start drilling into my siding while I’m trying to paint it!  do a new dance, that makes eight kills.

4:45pm:  dance around in a panic when the ants start biting me because I’m standing on an ant hill while attempting to paint the siding.  Hate. Ants.

5:30pm:  clean up from house paint, move on to trim paint to paint over the old cream (when was this house cream?) trim paint that was exposed when we moved the gutters.

6:00pm:  clean the danged old paint brush again!

6:15pm:  edge the impatient bed with stones I have laying willy nilly in a flower bed, plant more impatients in the bed from whence I removed the rocks ~ it’s all a delicate dance around here.

7:00pm:  make my husband walk around so I can point out all the work I did.  expect praise.  didn’t get nearly enough.  Pfffft.

Cook dinner, clean up from dinner, empty and reload dishwasher, wrangle children, send long overdue emails.

Rest while husband takes his diy shift.

12:01am:  feel guilt for writing blog post instead of working.

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Like it’s 1999

In Badass Ideas, Nothing to it but to do it, The little roomies on May 17, 2011 at 10:57 pm

We’re throwing a party in honor of my son’s 8th grade graduation.

In the midst of a basement remodel, a yard rehab, and a lack of housekeeping in general, we’re throwing a party.

I’m so excited I haven’t been able to sleep, yet slightly nervous because we’ve invited around a million people, and oh shit, what if it rains?

I’ve already started buying alcohol, and I’m taking up a collection of tents to set up tent city in the woods for those who wish to indulge.  My husband reminded me how treacherous it is to cross the creek on our bridge in a sober condition during the daytime hours.

This should be good.

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The Wagon

In Healthy shmealthy, Nothing to it but to do it on May 2, 2011 at 1:05 am

So maybe tomorrow I’ll try to get back on it.

On a different note, my boy arrived home safely from Washington DC tonight.  He was happily sleeping in his own bed before we heard the news about Osama Bin Laden’s death.  Not that he would be allowed to gather with the masses (since it was a closely guarded school trip), but what an electric experience it must be to be a part of what’s going on in DC right now.  Participating in the celebration would be so profoundly moving.  I almost wish he was there for one more day.

Well, not really, because I missed him SO MUCH.

By the way, I’m of course obsessively glued to the television and can’t get enough of the coverage, even though it is well past my bed time.  I don’t even care that CNN is repeating themselves just to stay on topic.  What amazing and unbelievable news.

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