My favorite kind of day

Today was productive both on the work and home front. Due to the crazy weather, my supervisor allowed me to work from home. It's amazing how much more I get done when I work from home without the distractions of the phone and people "popping by" my office.

I took a break around lunch time to go to the gym for 45 minutes. I typically stick to the treadmill, bike, elliptical and sometime use the stair climber up on the cardio deck. Well the last few times I have gone to the gym, I have been eyeing the stair master down by the weights. You know the one that looks like this where the stairs actually move.

Let's just say it KICKED MY BUTT! Even after using a short period of time, it made my heart rate stay up the entire workout. It definitely will be added to the rotation!

Dinner tonight was a Spaghetti  Squash and Chicken Dish. I made a few changes: I skipped the peas and added cut asparagus. I didn't have Sun dried tomatoes so I used fresh roasted tomatoes instead. I used half the chicken broth and sauteed the chicken (raw) as I didn't have any leftover grilled. Then added everything else once the chicken was cooked. I then added 1/4 cup Newman's Own garlic Alfredo sauce. It was AWESOME!

All the laundry is done and put away. Lunch is made. Plans for tonight include the Bachelorette and my favorite summer snack...Cherries!

Why do bad things always come in threes?

It has been quite an eventful week over here, hence the absence in blogging.

It started late last Thursday night when one of our dogs, Lucy, wouldn't bear any weight on her back right foot. Being the overprotective pet owner that I am, we immediately went to the vet with thoughts of IVDD running through my head. They thought she tore her ACL which is around a $1200-$1400 surgery ( Thank God for pet insurance). Two trips to the vet, 4 X-rays and $500 later, the diagnosis was torn/pulled ligament. She is on crate rest and meds for two week which is tough with two other dogs in the house. Thankfully, she seems to be doing OK now!

Tuesday night, I was headed out to a nail appointment. I stepped foot into the garage and noticed a large stream of water. I thought maybe Tim left the door open on the outside fridge but open closer inspection it was clear that it was coming from out water heater. I called my dad to brainstorm a possible diagnosis. He stated that if the water was coming from the bottom, we had problems. Sure enough, that is exactly what happened. The unit had so much sediment in the bottom that we could  not even drain to move it. We had to roll it with all 40 gallons of water in it! Of course this was around 8pm so it was a scramble to get to the store for a new unit. My dad wasn't too pleased to have to help at that hour but of course he came through as always. Two hours and $338 later, we had a new tank and hot water. Turns out my previous water heater was over 20 years old!

Thursday I picked up a client as a favor to one of my staff since I was in that general area. We were driving back to our main office. We were next to a large semi truck and heard this awful noise. We both assumed it was the truck. When we passed the truck and the noise got louder, I realized it was coming from my car. I pulled over and had a flat tire. Luckily, I have three companies that offer me roadside assistance: AAA, State farm and Walker Ford. I just happened to be in a Valvoline parking lot and since I had roadside assistance they quickly popped on my spare, free of charge. My tire looked like Swiss cheese! Apparently, I hit some kind of metal/  debris in the road. I submitted a claim with my warranty and was told it was 50/50 as to if they get approved when it deals with tires. I didn't even make it back to my house before the denied my claim, forcing me to pay $226 for a new tire and alignment.

I am looking forward to putting this week behind me and starting out on fresh ground. Let's hope things are a little less eventful!

Wordless Wednesdays

We have a bunch a beggars on our hands

In their defense, this was our AWESOME dinner!

Electrical Happenings

Back when I listed some of the projects on my 2012 “to do”list, I did not include several electric projects I wished to accomplish. Due to the fact that our house was once a grow house, our electrical panel is a nightmare and the lighting in our house is simply bizarre. Actually, our inspector mentioned this to use before anyone knew the real story behind the house. This weekend we tackled two of said projects.

One of the major lighting issues was in our family room/ office. In the center of the room there is an air vent and the fan is to right side of this. Due to the desks location in the life corner, the fan did not provide enough light when working at the computer. So we purchase lamps for the end tables…still not enough light! So after speaking to my father, we decided the best solution was to add a second fan to the left side of the center air vent. We have a similar set-up in our living room and love having the two fans.  Now because there was no electrical in this location we had to run some new wires up in the attic. My husband has had to crawl around up there before (it is very pitched with little crawl space) and was simply despising this part of the project. We again used 14-3 wire and ran the electrical over from the existing fan.

We had plans to use a pancake to install the second fan directly into a stud. However, doing so made the fan off center with the existing fan. So back to Lowe’s we went to purchase a Ceiling Brace and Box kit. This allowed us to secure the fan where we wanted it, between two existing joists.

We installed two double switches, allowing us to control both fans separately and also to turn on the lights/ fan separately without having to use the pull strings on the fan itself.

We have the same fan in every room of our house, a HunterRidgefield. We have had NO complaints and the color is very similar to our wood floors. While it might not look like much aesthetically, the difference in light is AMAZING. We only need to use the new light to provide enough “work light”.

The other lighting project is very aesthetically pleasing in my book, albeit a bit simple. We finally got around to installing our new light fixture in the dining room. We had guests over for lunch last week and we became increasingly aware of how much heat that ugly old light was throwing off, even with CFL bulbs! So that was motivation enough to hang the new light. I am officially OBSESSED with it!

 It looks so much better than I was expecting. It uses two less lights and gives off a warm ambiance.  Can you spot the rug under the table? I used some birthday money to purchase the rug I mentioned in my dining room post, so my “mini makeover” is well underway! 

Random Thoughts

+ The puppy, Lily, consistently wakes up early. After waking me up at 6:15 am each and every morning over the holiday weekend, the past two mornings she has slept till 7:15! I am hopefully that this will last. However, I have decided if she returns to the 6:15 wake-up calls, I am going to try to embrace it and go for a walk BEFORE work.

+ My husband told me this morning that it takes me longer to decide what shoes to wear then it does for me to pick out an outfit. This made me smile because it is 100% true: I LOVE shoes!

+ We have been rocking the workouts lately! Yes, you read that correctly, WE. Tim and I have gotten into a pretty good gym routine. Last week I worked out 5 days and this week I already squeezed in 4 workouts! I really want to register for a couple of 5K’s to help on the motivation front. I am considering the Color Run this December.

+ How is it almost June?

+ Last night, we had a swarm of flies in the house. We have no idea how they got in the house. The dogs were going crazy. Tim and I think it may have had something to do with the rainy weather? We walked around the house swatting flies for a good 30 minutes before heading out the gym. I am happy to report that we got them all. While we were grossed out about the flies, we also laughed hysterically at ourselves afterward. FYI: I am FAR superior at fly swatting then my husband! On a more serious note, it is moments like these that I feel so blessed to be married to a man who makes me laugh each and every day. 

+ I tried something new for dinner tonight, A Kale and Sweet Potato Fritatta. I got the inspiration from a new blog I discovered, Peanut Butter Fingers. I added a bit of cheese and spices and served it with a side of fruit, Strawberries and Pineapple. I liked it. Tim wasn't impressed. I think it was the Kale that he disliked. He dipped it in ketchup but I don't think I will be able to make it for him again. The good news is I have enough leftovers for two lunches. 

+ I am trying to fight off a cold. A sore throat came on me out of no where tonight. I had fresh pineapple with dinner ( Am I the only one that believes in this old wives tale?), lemon and honey tea and some Alieve. I am hoping a good night sleep will help! 

Shed Project: Phase 3 (& Final... hopefully)

This weekend we wrapped up the last phase of the shed project. If you missed it, we started building a shed in the backyard, with the help of my dad, back in January. (Here is a recap of Phase 1 and Phase 2).

We decided to run electricity to the shed to provide more outdoor lighting as well as to add a light/ fan in the shed itself.  I was nervous about this for several reasons: 1) it meant running a wire under my new lawn and 2) Both Tim and I know NOTHING about electrical work. Yet again, I am thankful for a handy father!

We picked up two smaller outdoor globes at Lowe’s in my favorite finish, Oil rubbed Bronze. Although, I must note they are a bit blacker than I was expecting. These have been sitting in our garage for a while now. Saturday, we made another trip to Lowes with my dad and spend an hour and half in the electrical aisle. It was HELL. I felt utterly helpless cause as I mentioned, I have no clue about electrical. In fact, at one point, my dad asked me to stop talking but I was disturbing his thought process with my incessant questions! J

I will be the first to admit that I spent much more than I anticipated! Luckily, I had a $25 gift card which helped, but I think even with that my total was around $120 (this also included a few items for another electrical project under the works).  The specifics of this project are not as detailed due to my lack of knowledge. I know that we used the outdoor plug at the back of my house to do two things: 1) run electrical across the yard into the shed with 60ft of 14-3 outdoor wire and 2) run wire to the edge of the patio outside the sliding glass door to create a switch. This process involved Tim digging/ separating the grass while I ran the wire as far down as I could. My dad was working on the outlet/ actual electricity.

We wanted the switch for the lights on the outside of the shed to be located close to the house. If you have to walk across the dark yard to turn on the outside lights, what’s the point right? We then added a second switch inside the shed to control the inside light.

I have some house paint left over from when I changed out the house numbers. Tim and I were talking about painting the gray wire protectors in the house paint to that it blends a little more.

My fears were calmed about the destruction of my grass. Here it is today, the dig line barely visible!

I don't think I ever shared that I was able to add a cute little widow planter to the side window on the shed. 

So here is the finished shed: 

Oh and look at how nice it looks at night!

DIY Body Scrub

I have used Bath and Body Works aromatherapy scrubs for years. With my desire to use more natural products, I have been looking for an alternative. The one thing I dislike about the switch to natural products: the cost! Why are products so dang expensive?! 


Then about a week ago I was getting a pedicure and asked them what they use in their scrub: sugar and scented lotion. She said it saved them so much money! So I decided to make my own body scrub. The best part is I had all the ingredients on hand! I did purchase a two pack of snapware to store it in but that was my only cost! Here is what I did. 

The players:
1) Dr. Bronner's Fair Trade Organic White Virgin Coconut Oil
2) Olive Oil 
3) Raw Brown Sugar
4) Sea salt (optional)
5) Snapware Container

I used a regular mixing bowl since all these items are edible! First I added the Coconut Oil. If you aren't on the Coconut Oil bandwagon yet you are MISSING OUT! This stuff is amazing both to use in the kitchen and as a skincare product.Here is a article of 52 ways to use Coconut Oil. Oh and it smells delicious! 

There really are no precise measurements. You will want to get it to a consistency you like.First, I added my coconut oil to the bowl. (FYI: THE melting point of coconut oil is 76 degrees, anything cooler then that and it will be quite solid). 

Next I added my sugar, olive oil and a bit of coarse Sea salt. I chose sugar over salt because it is gentler on the face. I just put in a little salt for a bit of coarseness. 

Mix your ingredients until you achieve the desired consistency. Then place in a storage container. 

I chose the Snapware containers for two reasons: 1) I wanted something that sealed well to prevent water from coming in and 2) I wanted something that would fit in the shower well. This worked like a charm! 

I used the scrub for the first time yesterday and it is just as good as anything you can purchase! I LOVE the smell of the pure coconut oil but you could infuse it with other essential oils as well. My skin was left feeling soft without any oily residue. I love that I know exactly what is in it and saved a ton of money (Bath and Body Works sells their scrubs for close to $16 for a similar sized container). 

Hope you enjoy as much as I do! :)