BASEMENT CLEANUP

After almost 4 years we have finally cleaned up our basement. Ralph had to ask for his nephew A.J.'s help as he still can't lift up heavy object. We spent the whole afternoon in the basement whilst my MIL watched over the kids. The first couple of hours was spent breaking down boxes that we accumulated for quite some time. We also had to weed out a lot of stuff, separate which was junk and which ones are still good. We also had to organize a bit to make the basement less cluttered. I didn't think we were going to be able to do it in just half a day but we did it. Now the front on our house has a mountain of garbage with lots and lots of broken down boxes. The garbage collectors are not going to be happy with us, lol. Some may probably think that we are moving out,lol.

Now that the basement is decently organized and clean we can start visualizing what it would be like to have it finished. That is really one of the few projects that Ralph and I would like to start. It would not only add value to the house but it opens up a new space for the kids and for when we have visitors.. We are aiming to start with the basement in another 2-3 years.

GETTING USED TO EACH OTHER

Guest post written by Ken Barley

My wife and I are newlyweds, and itÕs been a whole new experience since we started living together. Having to share the same space everyday has its pleasant momentsÉ but it also has its challenges, ha! We get along really well, but weÕre definitely still fine-tuning a few things. I am a pretty messy guy, and she is a pretty neat girl, so we bang heads there a lot. I feel like sheÕs often frustrated because I donÕt clean in a very timely fashion, and when I get home from work, cleaning is the last thing I usually think about. IÕm trying to work on my habits so that we can both live easily.

One thing we both agree on is that our new home needs a little work in general. We are going to have to make it a team project to get our new little home in pristine condition. I think that I am going to look at sites like http://www.HomeProImprovement.com because I honestly have no idea what IÕm doing when it comes to repairs. We have a lot to work on together, but, the operative keyword there is TOGETHER!

IT HAS BEGUN

Fall is almost here, lurking its golden head around the corner. Our neighbor's tree has started to loose its leaves. Her tree is always the first one to go in the fall. I have also noticed birds starting to migrate. My neighbor loves the fall with the changing of the foliage from green to yellowish to golden red and then to brown. She also loves the breezed that comes with fall and loves to hear the crunching of the leaves under her feet. I know my kids will love to play in it and so would our dog. And speaking of our dog he has been going nuts barking every time our doorbell rings. Maybe its a good idea to change look into door chimes. It is just so annoying hearing him bark constantly every time he hears the doorbell..Maybe if its a different chime he will stop since he is not used to a new sound. That will be among the many projects Ralph and I will be tackling in the coming months. Hopefully we will have a mild winter like the Farmer's Almanac predicted.

FINISHED BUT NOT DONE

It's been over 2 months since our last mini kitchen renovation got done. Ralph wanted it done as soon as we moved in this house but due to financial reason we had to wait. Finally late last year we were able to get everything done. We shopped around at first at different places and getting quotes for our kitchen counter as well as the flooring. It was good that Ralph and I agree on the new flooring we were going to get and he was gracious enough to give in about the color paint in the kitchen. We had a rough time looking for ceramic tiles to use for the back splash. There was just not enough selections, or so we thought. He was looking in the wrong section. I didn't give up and kept looking and looking at this one store until I finally saw something we both liked. A lot of things like little knick knacks here and there still need to be added in the kitchen but we will get there. The important thing is that the major overhaul like the kitchen counter, flooring,painting and the back splash has already been done.

MINI KITCHEN MAKE OVER

Before this year ended we finally finished our mini-kitchen renovation. We started our kitchen makeover last October.It was a stressful month for since it was Kaitlyn and Ralph birthday and I had planned a party. I had no idea that our kitchen counter won't be in until the the end of October. The party went off without a hitch even though we had no kitchen counter and most importantly sink. Our kitchen was finally finished before Thanksgiving. We bought a new dishwasher, stove, new flooring, backsplash and a new fresh coat of paint. We also had a little bit of difficulty choosing the back splash for our kitchen to match the new counter. One of our other option was stainless steel backsplash or tiles. It the end the tiles won hands down, we did use a little bit of stainless steel backsplash on a part behind our kitchen stove. I didn't really want to at first coz I thought I looked tacky and cheap but it actually looks very clean and chic. At least we are done with everything.

MORE PRESENTS

Yesterday the girls got more presents from their Uncle Larry. He got Kaitlyn a big stuffed bear which is bigger than her, a Zhu-zhu pet, Spongebob soap bar, a clothe tiara, mirror and a wand.. She got so shy when she saw the big bear but she did gave her uncle and aunt a big hug and a kiss. We all converged in the kitchen while we caught up with everyone, as if we haven't seen each other for ages,lol.. My niece said that our kitchen faucet looks weird but nice, she has never seen a faucet like ours before. I told her it looks unique, simple and elegant. She said it looked like something from Kohler faucets line. When our faucet is compared to Kohler it must mean it looks elegant. They also mentioned that our kitchen floor looks very nice and according to my BIL it made the KITCHEN. I'm just glad I got a kitchen to cook, wash from the holidays.