Happy Monday Morning!


This weekend was definitely very productive.

Lindi had to work at 3am on Saturday, so when I woke up at 9:00, Sarah and I got started on some serious de-clutter cleaning. Sarah cleaned her room, the kitchen and the living room, while I tackled the master bedroom. I threw stuff away, cleaned off dressers and completely re-organized Lindi's CDs that had been scattered everywhere. She came home to a whole new house!

We had also been discussing the downstairs bathroom, aptly dubbed the "kitty Room", where we put all the toys, litter boxes and food/water dishes. It is carpeted. Who the hell carpets a bathroom? Both bathrooms are like that and it drives us nuts, because it is so hard to keep clean and fresh smelling.

Anywho, we wanted to rip out that carpet, since in the other side of the duplex, their downstairs bathroom has linoleum. We pulled up a patch and saw that the carpet was just laid overtop of the linoleum, so we decided we were going to rip it up and take our chances that the linoleum is in good condition. If not, we were gonna replace it ourselves.

Our landlord doesn't care, as long as it's an improvement, and even encouraged us to attach the bill to our rent check and deduct it from rent. As long as we do the work, he's a happy guy.

So, back to the story... Lindi came home about 3:00, we all ate a late lunch and I put her down for a nap, while I read a book (I was tired from all the cleaning). My sister and brother in law came over for a bit, and Ray (B-I-L) knew about the carpet project. He walked into the bathroom and had the carpet and tack board up and out in 15 minutes. We swept and cleaned the floor and had it done in 1/2 hour! (I gave my B-I-L a "beer basket" for his trouble. He was a happy guy...)

I went upstairs and laid down with Lindi. A friend called and needed some help, so we left and helped them out, and when we came back home, I said, "Well, let's tear up that carpet now that I am up and motivated..." She agreed and walked into a completely finished project! She couldn't believe the three of us had done it while she slept, so all she had to do for the rest of the weekend was relax and laundry. She was a very happy honey-bunny.

I paid the price for all the workout, however. My back was in pain all weekend, even if I didn't show it. We went shopping on Sunday, and finished the bathroom in yellow and blue... with Spongebob accents for Sarah. We are going to make it "her" bathroom... with her portrait from Disneyland on the wall and places for her makeup and things.

Now that it's a lot cleaner and brighter, we all feel better about people visiting the bathroom. We discovered that there had been a flood at some point because there was some black mold around the potty. You bet I Clorox'd that bathroom from top to bottom. The linoleum is coming up around the edges, mostly due to the tack board, so we are going to get some estimates on re-doing it or maybe even putting in some tile. Depending on how much it is, we might even pay for both bathrooms to be done. Like I said, as long as we come up with it up front, the landlord doesn't care. I love our landlord. Never thought I would say that!

Sunday morning, I did take Lindi to breakfast at Jim's and we encountered an entire family dressed in yellow shirts, accompanied by a man in a "sandy" uniform, obviously a returning soldier from Iraq. It brought tears to my eyes. Lindi was watching me and said, "You want to go say something, don't you?" I smiled, and couldn't believe my wife knew me so well.

On our way out, I stopped at their table and said, "You don't know me, but I just wanted to say Thank You and Welcome Home." The soldier, looking a little dazed anyway from the trip home, simply replied, "Thank You, Ma'am." I had to hold my tears in for at about an hour.

So, here I am back at work, in a bit o'pain from this weekends events. Sarah twisted her knee really good last night, and it looks like she may have messed it up badly, so I kept her home. It is the size of a grapefruit. I hope she didn't ruin her surgery. Cross your fingers!

Love out to Toni and her puppy Prince. My thoughts are with you guys. Congrats to Rob on winning his game!

Drink of the day: Cafe' Mocha, shot of orange, x espresso
CD on the Playa: radio