She gets all the good stuff

Geez, when will this end?! I keep telling JR it will come to an end one way or another - pure exhaustion is most likely. Poor guy. I've kept him busy for the last 6 months and he's worn the same clothes through it all! This boy needs a pair of coveralls for xmas.

This weekend was closets and fun decorative details. We installed super closet organizers. They were cheap (MDF) and awesome. Totally designed for female installation. The website has the best 3D modeling tool I've seen for closet organizers -http://www.easytrack.com The most important step of installation is to find the stud (2x4 and male variety) - I'm a pro at this. I bought these super powered earth magnets from Amazon. They are so much more reliable than the 'stud-finder' - and you can leave them attached to the wall showing all the studs (very nice for crown molding). Finding the other stud - doesn't take a very strong magnet at all. Once we were done and I had everything hung up and out of the bags, JR said it looked like the closet displays in the container store! How does he know exactly what to say sometimes?

Our second accomplishment in as many days (this is a new record) is a decorative and potentially useful addition to the room. A ballet bar installed behind the door in the bedroom. We officially need a pink tutu - how many times in your life can you say that! The cope master (see previous post) proudly integrated one end of the bar to be flush with the wall - same screwy angle though - this corner is 140 degrees....and that bar is cut at a 45 degree angle. Three trips up and down the stairs! But once again....most importantly it is attached to the wall and looks GREAT!

Plenty of Trunk Space

I've lost many bets for what I didn't think would fit in this car...today I was hoping I had learned my lesson. The vet has an awesome trunk. And most importantly - this photo was taken in our garage.

The decorating party is in full swing. Crown molding is completely caulked, re-painted and walls touched up for the g-da&(!?it moments. Crib is assembled and now to decorate.

We found this Silver Cross English pram (handmade in the UK) while shopping for crib bumpers. I was looking for just the right ones. It was one of those shopping trips where you find something on sale and feel really good about it. So good, you pay WAY to much for something else. Somehow in life everything evens out.

We can't wait for the baby to arrive because......

that means the crown molding will be done! This was the cheer leading and supportive comments I got during 'baby prep' class. The instructions were to practice different 'comforting' positions for labor and the father's job was to whisper words of assurance and encouragement to the mom. These words would at least qualify as a good form of distraction - and as JR would remind me - I could be with the drunk guy at baby prep class. Life could be worse.

Crown molding is just about finished and really looks spectacular. In the beginning, we were going to do EVERY ROOM, then at one point we weren't sure we'd finish the one we started...and we've come full circle and may jump into a few more rooms in the future. We solved the puzzle. The secret to crown molding is not to cut each piece precisely at a 45 degree angle using a precise cutting fence - you'll fail. You have to use trial and error to 'discover' what the angle actually is because measuring doesn't tell you either. JR is still trying to figure out what angle the 140 degree inside corner is supposed to be cut at - I say the one he cut and attached to the wall (and then filled with putty is the right one!!). A little more putty, paint and touch-up this weekend and perhaps the crib we own will magically become assembled.

Adventures in Crown Molding

Every weekend seems to be a new adventure in something around here. I'm becoming less foreman (one who would pick-up a hammer) and more project manager (slave driver). Today was all about crown molding. As with most things, there is more than one school of thought for how to get the job done. This can be illustrated by the materials list for this project:

Hers:
crown molding
mitre saw
paint
goop to fill the cracks

His:
crown molding
mitre saw
coping saw
home built fixture/fence for cutting (seems to be all about the fixtures)
paint

The precision difference between his and hers is very interesting. He prefers the coping saw - I prefer the goop to fill the cracks. The project isn't done, so far my favorite quote of the day is - "I'm going back to 45's - coping sucks". Its still early and he seems to be getting better at it.

I've learned not to laugh out loud at the "coping Master" as he prefers to be called now.

Lunch & Learn

Every once in a while you attend a meeting where you learn a thing or two. I expected to have that experience today at an event highlighting company achievements. This meeting was focused on the attributes of one particular segment (movies). The meeting was well attended, almost completely filling Benaroya Hall. I sat in a box seat with some friends so I could skip the Q&A and head out to lunch early. WELLLLLL - that plan changed when this guy entered the stage for Q&A. WOW - this was a big surprise. I hadn't heard any of the underground rumblings about this. All of this and a paycheck every month too. It would have really been a huge day if I had a kindle under my chair like the Oprah show....but I guess you can't have everything.

Let there be color....

We are mainly a white paint household. I'm pretty sure this is because we are still getting over the shock of color from the purchase of our house. We had a selection of (ceiling included) neon orange (yes neon), neon green, barney purple, princess pink, navy blue and evergreen. Since then we've been buyer friendly white - everywhere. This weekend we took the plunge back into color. We're still a little nerveous - describing this as puke green a few times but we've settled on sweet pea green. Thank goodness.