Wednesday Medley - Halloween

First let me start out today by saying thank you!!! Thank you for your prayers and thoughts for me and the city I love! I hope someday, somehow we can stop the madness of these horrible attacks so no other town has to deal with it!!!! Your prayers and thoughts help so much!

Now onto happier things...or scarier maybe?!?! HA HA!

Today I am joining Terri again for her medley of questions.  There aren't any rules and there is no obligation. Link up if you want to.   

Here we go........

 1. You’re in a horror movie. Are you the final person left, the first to die, the comic relief, the skeptic, the smart one, or the killer?

I would definitely be one of the ones to die, not sure how far in the movie I would die, but I definitely would. I would not be first because I am not that person that checks the basement to see what the noise was or answers the door at 3AM even though I think I shouldn't.  I am also not a run when you are scared person...I am a hide in the closet or under the bed person and that person ALWAYS dies eventually! HA


2. While watching scary movies, are you the person who yells at the characters, the person with their eyes covered the whole time or the person who falls asleep?

Eyes covered 50% and yelling 50%


3. If you were dared to spend the night in a “haunted house”, would you do it?

Nope - no way - never! Not for a million dollars! I am terrified of that stuff! I went to a "real life" haunted house tour. We walked through in groups and I did not sleep for weeks!!!! UGH!


4. Favorite horror monster or villain?

Don't have one except Count Chocula!!!  I LOVE that cereal!!!


5. Favorite horror or Halloween-themed song?

Thriller - Michael Jackson! I love that song!  When I was in high school my twirling team The Modernettes used that song and we actually did the dance from the video! It was so fun and I still remember parts!!


6. Tell us something random about your week.

I have officially finished installing Pergo in my first room in the condo!!! All I have left to do tonight is the transition piece from the closet to the flooring and the molding around the wall.  It was fairly easy except for that last row and believe me it is not perfect. Bute, since I am not a Contractor...I think it is good enough!!!  I am sooo proud of myself for doing this on my own...only 3 rooms left!! HA!

Here is the view from the bedroom door...

And here is from the room to the door...

This is the close up of my hardest row!! This last row was like a puzzle...it was different widths and had to go around doors and under molding. It took about two hours last night to get these last row of three boards in place! UGH!! Other than that, it has been soooooo easy and fun!

 

My house already feels cleaner with the carpet gone! HA! I recommend this project to anyone! Seriously! Don't pay someone else...it is sooo easy to do yourself and you will have the best feeling of accomplishment and saving money too!!

 

PS - The cats are hilarious...they are sliding all over the place!! LOL!

 

Thanks again to Terri for creating another awesome Wednesday Medley!!

 

I hope everyone have a great Halloween day and night!!!! Be safe out there! Thanks for all the kind words of encouragement - you helped me decide I was capable of handling this project on my own! HUGS!

 

Anyone trick or treating tonight? What gave you your last feeling of accomplishment? What lately has made you feel proud??

 

 

The Unthinkable in My City

Hi everyone! I hope you are all having a great week so far.

This is a tough post for me to write. I was going to write about this yesterday and just could not bring myself to do it - today it is not much easier.

My beautiful city had an incident over the weekend that I think left a lasting imprint on all of us that live here.

You hear about terror attacks and hate crimes all over the world but I think you never really process them until they hit this close to home!

As I am sure you have all heard by now; a man opened fire into The Tree of Life Synagogue in Squirrel Hill, PA. Squirrel Hill is a suburb of Pittsburgh just like the area in which I live. It is about 30 minutes from my house.  It is so hard to imagine the terror those poor individuals felt as they were practicing their faith and the unthinkable happens!! So many people died and the others were terrorized.

The President said the solution is armed guards in churches and synagogues??? Really??? OMG!

I do not want to get into a political debate but that is simply STUPID!!!  I think the solution is getting these people that are mentally unstable the help they need or getting them committed so they cannot hurt themselves or anyone else! (This man had been posting crazy comments and statements for months on a "free speech" website - it is not like this is a surprise - he has been posting for months that someone should attack Jewish people - he even went so far to post a list of synagogues in Pittsburgh-that alone should be enough to get him committed for evaluation).  It is unthinkable to me that we have a president that feels like we should just all arm ourselves for protection rather than stopping the unthinkable from happening in the first place. FIX THE ISSUE!!! I cannot imagine walking around town and stores and having armed guards everywhere....does this not sound crazy to anyone else?!?!?

Holy crap - I am scared to think what kind of world we are creating for my nieces and nephews!!!

Okay - enough of that - but please pray for my city and the families and friends of the deceased and terrorized...it can happen ANYWHERE ANYTIME!! 

If you are looking to help in any way; THIS ARTICLE from the Pittsburgh Post Gazette will link you to many options available where you can donate money to help the families and organizations affected.

On to floor progress...home is where I fell safe right now so I am focused on finished my floors.  Here is the progress from last night. I only have the last row left and then I can do the trim!! YIPPEE!!

I hope you all have a great Tuesday!

Love and hugs to you all - thank you for being my friends - I truly appreciate you all!!

Room Progress and Steelers Win Against Browns

Hi everyone! I hope you are all enjoying you Monday so far!

I will catch up with everyones blogs tonight when I get home and start to chill but until then...

Saturday was spent filling concrete gaps in the emptied out room to level it as much as possible. I also decided since I just going to nail quarter round into the existing baseboards I better paint them. After I painted all the trim; I decided it would be best to paint the walls also. LOL! My painting and watching all the TV shows I had taped all week kept me busy off and on all day!

Sunday my parents and sister came into town for the Steelers game. We were playing the Browns.  We met up with my brother-in-law, nephew and their friends (Browns fans) for a little pre-game snack at Local BrewHouse! YUMMO!!!

Then we all walked to the stadium (Heinz Field) for the game. Here we are in front of a fun little photo op outside the stadium.

Yeah! We won!!

After the game I started on the flooring a little. I struggled with the circular saw at first since I apparently had the blade way too low (if you are working with a circular saw; you want the blade down low enough so it just goes through the board). My dad had been using the saw before this and had cut something very thick and I did not know to move it. So, until I called them fretting like a mad woman; I wasted a lot of boards - oh well, part of the learning process. I got a lot done even though I struggled with the saw.  I think things will go a lot better tonight - I should be done in record time now - HA!

Here is the progress so far...

So, that's my recap! I have a crazy week at work with lots of workshops and documentation but I will catch up with all your blogs tonight!

Hugs to you all!!! Have a great week!!!

Anyone else in the middle of a large project? Anyone else getting pummeled with rain? Anyone else love using power tools?!?! What a rush!!! Ever struggle with "Do I work out or work on my project?" Such a toss up!

SO VERY Thankful Thursday

I am a day late but not a dollar short; I am actually about $2500 dollars short! My flooring was delivered yesterday!! Yippee!!!! Ha!

I am sooo excited to join in for Thankful Thursday so I am posting even though it is a little late.  Before anything I want to thank Rebecca Jo for hosting this every week! It’s one of my favorite days because of the Thankful posts!!!

I was notified late on Wednesday via the email tracking code I was sent that my flooring would be delivered on Thursday. I requested to work from home the next day and figured I would just have to take my time and bring the planks in one by one. There were 84 boxes that totaled over 2000 pounds. In this picture you can see one pallet on the ground (that is 30 boxes) so those other two pallets you still see on the truck were mine all. Wow!!!! Lots of trips up and down steps taking these into my condo. 

 I talked with my mom in the morning to let her know I knew they were being delivered and her and my dad offered on the spur the moment should drive to PA and help me load them all into my condo. Thank God they did! I did a bout 25 boxes before they got there and then we all helped get the remaining boxes into the condo. It was a crazy lotta trips in and out and up and down those steps! I am so so so grateful for my parents who are very active and who love to do home projects!!! It was so generous of them to drive those two hours just to help me out. Without them I think it would’ve taken me all day!

So, again, let me stress how awesome they they are and how thankful I am for them in my life!!!! They do so much for us kids even though we are all grown!!!

So here is the first room I am tackling...the guest bedroom. This is what it looked like yesterday morning.

This is it after I removed all the furniture from the room!

And this is it this morning! My parents hung around after bringing all the flooring in and we ripped out the carpet and padding.  Then they helped me remove all the tack strips and this morning I vacuumed the junk off the floor. 

So, this weekend I will use pre-mixed concrete to patch and level the concrete and then my parents are coming this weekend to bring me their saws to borrow for the duration of this project.

Again...sooooo very thankful for amazing and loving parents that always help out!!!!

Have a great weekend everyone!!! Stay grateful!!!! Hugs!

Wednesday Medley

Today I am joining Terri for Wednesday Medley. If you want to participate...simply copy the questions and then go to Terri's blog and leave a comment! Simple, right???

On this day in 1908 Bill Murray hit the charts with his "Take Me Out to the Ballgame."  Did you watch the MLB playoffs, and are you watching the World Series?

Seriously?!?! I had no idea it was World Series time. I live in Pittsburgh and I love my dear Bucco's but once they are out, I am too! I just know that this was not a good year for us (nor were the last few) so I am focused more on Football and Hockey!  LOL! I can't even tell you how long it has been since I sat through a whole game. 

 On this day in 1962, "The Manchurian Candidate", directed by John Frankenheimer, starring Frank Sinatra and Laurence Harvey, was released.  What is your favorite Frank Sinatra song?

I honestly don't even know that I know the name of a Sinatra song but I am sure I would know it if I heard it.

On this day in 1968 Mick Jagger and Marianne Faithful were busted for pot and released on £50,000 bail.  Has your state approved the sale of medical marijuana?  In a  nutshell, what are your thoughts on the subject?

I think we have here in PA.  I do wish it were legalized nationwide for those suffering. But, I also have a lot of friends that are ruining their lives by smoking it all day, everyday...that it is pity! So, please do not tell me it is not addictive because I know quite a few people that have no motivation to do ANYTHING or be ANYTHING due to their chronic pot smoking.

 On this day in 1979, the Guinness Book of Records presented Paul McCartney with a rhodium disc as the all-time best-selling singer/songwriter.  What is your favorite song by Paul McCartney?

Same as above...I honestly don't even know that I know the name of a McCartney song but I am sure I would know it if I heard it. 

On this day in 2017, Albert Einstein's "Theory of Happiness", written on a note as a tip for a bellboy in 1922, sold for $1.6 million.  His Theory of Happiness is "A calm and modest life brings more happiness than the pursuit of success combined with constant restlessness."  Is Albert Einstein right?

That is absolutely correct; add gratitude into the mix everyday and you are set for life!

 Tell us something about your week so far ….

I am happy to report that my eating is finally under control again and I am tracking every bite!! Also, I am either getting exercise or physical therapy everyday so that is back on track! I am just simply feeling like I am moving in the right direction again....finally!

Have a great week everyone!

UGH Lowe's Sucks

Did you ever hit a point where life is WAY too stressful and it feels like WAY to much to take?!?!

I am there!

I am holding my breath everyday waiting for the next text or next phone call and it is beginning to overwhelm me! I want to shut out the world!!!

I have a stressful job in itself, I work for a lot of other teams and I am responsible to deliver what is asked of me...in between workshops and RACI's, I am getting barraged with constant phone calls from my neighbor and everyone else he has decided to bring into this water damage issue.

Lowe's has taken responsibility and, yes, it is taking forever (2 months to be exact and they still have not contacted him with any money offer) for them to get him money for his damages but I have NO control of that! Had he gotten his home owners involved in the beginning none of this would be happening. His company would deal with Lowe's and that would be it. Instead, he chose to do NOTHING and leave his home for the past two months!! Who leaves water damage and does NOTHING???? He thinks he is going to be paid to get mold eliminated and paid for the time he has not been living in his home but I am sorry to say I doubt that will happen since he moved out by his own choice! Now he is calling me everyday about how his life has been hell and he is going to sue me since Lowe's is moving too slow. Then he called our old condo manager and got him involved so I was on the phone with him for an hour yesterday hearing about how my neighbor wants to sue me. I do not even care anymore! I am DONE! I am no longer taking any calls of texts from anyone about this issue!

If I get sued then I will take action but otherwise I do not want to hear another word about it!!  I have lost all compassion for this guy since he is blowing up my phone with calls and emails daily and he did NOTHING to mitigate his damages.

UGH UGH UGH UGH!!! I am trying so hard to focus and do my work and let it all go but it is tough!!!!

Your prayers are welcome...Lord knows I need them!

PS - Lowe's truly does have HORRIBLE CUSTOMER SERVICE!!! I have called and left messages with their claims department and they NEVER call back! What company has a policy that customers do not have to be called back? I end up having to sit on the phone for an hour and escalate until I get a someone from Lowe's to leave a message too and then they STILL never call back! I am stopping at the physical store tonight because they can't quiet me if I am physically there asking to assistance!!! Maybe then I will get somewhere!

What a Whirlwind Weekend of Sports

Hi everyone!! I hope you all had an awesome and fun-filled weekend! I was planning on a weekend hanging out at home since I had no plans but I decided to make an impromptu run to Columbus, Ohio to take in a few of my nieces and nephews games.  They are only young once and I figured my next few weekends are going to be busy with flooring projects so I better get a visit in while I can - LOL!!!

I arrived late in the afternoon but just in time for this guys soccer tournament...Such a cutie!!!!

Action shot....

  And another...he almost got wacked by the ball....UGH....

 I missed this sweet girl's soccer game but she stayed in her gear just for my picture...HA!!

 She even posed for an action shot...HA!

And this beautiful child has gynastics and dance but nothing on the weekends so I will have to get her pictures another time :-(  Instead, we opted for a photo shoot!

The kids put together a Haunted House...in all places, the bathroom!!! It was very small but very scary (as you can only imagine!) LOL!!! Half are laughing and half are acting scary....HA!!

Sunday morning was Hockey for this sweetie...

Action shot again...

And then flag football for the same kid! He is the one in the center pointing below..kids these days just go and go all day! HA!

 And action again...

The only child I missed from Columbus, Ohio is my oldest niece Kyleigh. She is becoming a young adult way too quickly. I missed her volleyball game as it was early Saturday and her dance is during the week so I will definitely get those photos at a later date!

The only thing I have of Kyleigh from this weekend is her and I created a video of us dancing to the Drake challenge and I will not dare post that on the internet...she was great but her Aunt Annie left something to be desired! HA HA!

Have a great start of the week guys - HUGS!

Five Fall Favs and New Project

Today I am going to share with you the 5 things I love in the fall!

These are my CANNOT live with outs....

In the Fall I LOVE candles!!! As most of you know, I have cats, four to be exact and fire does not go well with nebby cats and tails - LOL! But seriously!! The only time of the year that I enjoy a candle is in the Fall when it is closely monitored. Other than Fall, you will never see a candle lit in my home.

Second thing I HAVE to have in the Fall is these babies!!! They are Caramel Apple Pops and they are soooo yummy!! Each one is only 50 calories and lasts forever!! Great when you need a low calorie sweet treat! If you like caramel apples and you have not tried these...YOU ARE WELCOME! HA!

Third thing is this for dinner!! I am not a cook but I love soups in the Fall and Winter! Trader Joes has some really good ones and don't forget the Cornbread crisps-they are to die for!!! I float them in my bowl...soooo delicious!

I have a major issue in the Fall and Winter with dry feet and heels. I rarely get pedicures (no one sees your feet in November right?) so my feet start to get really dry and cracked! I found this stuff at the beach last year and I am now obsessed. It is Pure Factory Essential Foot Repair...You can get it online at Amazon!! It works great! I rub it in with the stick and them put on socks...problem solved! t smells amazing also- they have a bunch of different scents but I love lavender vanilla!

And lastly, Can you tell I love this tea?? I stock pile it!! It is the greatest treat at night if you like cinnamon candies!! It tasted just like you are eating a cinnamon hard candy! YUMMY with no calories!

That is it for my Fall favorites but I wanted to show you guys what my new project is going to be!

I am sooo excited about it and I cannot wait to start! Remember when I told you I was shocked by the cost of new carpet? Well, I am undertaking a large project instead.

I am ripping up all the nasty old carper in my condo and replacing it with Pergo!!  I am using the same brand and color my neighbor picked for hers because I LOVE how hers turned out. 

This is how it looked when she had hers finished! The brand in Pergo and the color is Coastal.

 

Do you like it?!?!

Do you love it?? I already ordered everything I need online and it will be delivered over the next week so I can get started soon! This will be the majority of my posts once I start - LOL!!!


I hope I did not bite off more than I can handle...literally! I have watched all the videos for install and all I need to do is find either a jigsaw or a table saw. I will be checking with my friend Mark since he is so close by but if he does not have one then I will borrow my fathers.

I hope you all have a great weekend!! 

Have any of you tried to install Pergo floors yourself? tips please? What was your largest home project you have tried to tackle?

New Beach Items and Thankful Thursday

Hi everyone!!! I hope you are having a fantastic week so far. We’re almost there guys… Friday is around the bend!

Today I am joining in wiht Rebecca Jo for her Thankful Thursday! You can join in here!!

Today I am so very thankful for my neighbors. I live in a condo and on my floor there are three other condos. We share a common hallway and I love every one that shares that floor! I realize how very rare this is...our other neighbors drive us all crazy so it is awesome that all four of us get along so well and look out for each other! I am so blessed to have them close by. Two of us are single women living alone and one has a son and the other lives there with her husband. It is such a great group and I am thankful and blessed to have them there for me!

I spent some time last night creating a few new crafts for my Etsy store!

I wanted to try to create some wind chimes out of my excess beach glass. This is my beach glass that is recycled an eco-friendly. They are larger pieces so I figured they would be perfect to create wind chimes. They turned out great! I was just going to make some for my home but since they turned out so well I’m now going to sell them in my Etsy store!

Here are two I have created so far!!!

And Here...

Also, I wanted to try to create sand dollar earrings with some baby sand dollars we got at the beach this summer..they also turned out sooo good here!!!

This shows how small and delicate they are!!!


And here is what they look like when they are in. So super cute I think!!!!


Check it out if you are looking for gifts for the upcoming holidays!!! I would love to make something for you!!!

Happy Thursday guys!!!

Wednesday Medley

I am joining in with Terri to play Wednesday Medley! If you care to join us, simply copy the questions , paste them into you post and answer the questions! Easy peasy right?!?!

1.  The Circleville, Ohio, Pumpkin Festival starts today.  All things pumpkin are everywhere. What is your one very favorite pumpkin flavored food or drink?  Do you wish it was available all year or do you only want it in the Fall?  My favorite pumpkin foods are pumpkin spice Special K and Cheerios! I love pumpkin spice for breakfast!!! I do not think I would like them all year since I look forward to them all year but after a month; I am ready to give them up for another year! HA!

2.  What product would you seriously stockpile if you found out they weren't going to sell it anymore?  I HAVE to have my Frizz Ease. My elderly hair is so unmanageable!!! I could not exist without it...or I would have to start liking hats!

3.  What is the most interesting thing you have seen online this week?  Nothing. How's that?! I have been trying to stay off social media as much as possible so I think I have done a really good job. All of your blogs are interesting but nothing online.

4.  Is it better to be a "big fish in a small pond" or a "small fish in a big pond"?  I enjoy being a small fish in a big pond...there is way more room for growth there! ;-)

5.  My Joe has become obsessed with playing chess on the computer.  Do you play chess?  Are you good at it?  I have not got the slightest clue how to play chess.

6.  Tell us something random about your week.  There is still no resolution on my dishwasher/neighbor flooding issue...crazy right? Lowe's has now sent it to GE and GE has basically started over. A few weeks ago my new claim person contacted me and my neighbor asking the exact same questions that Lowe's did. We have not heard anything for two weeks and have left multiple messages and emails and no one will respond! I work for a corporation and we have a 24 hour turn around policy. Even if you call me to tell me you know nothing yet; return the freekin' call!!! Customer Service sucks today!!!  UNREAL! I will NEVER purchase anything GE or from Lowe's again! Insanity!

Thanks for letting me vent - AGAIN!

I hope you all have an amazing week and thanks again Terri to putting time into coming up with our questions! HUGS to ALL~!

 

Variety Covestro Halloween Party 2018

WOW!!!! Hi everyone!!! I am still on a high from the Halloween party this past Saturday! A HUGE thank you to Covestro and Variety Children's Charity for allowing me to participate again this year!

What an amazing day! I was so blessed to be a part of it!!!

Prepare for A LOT of photos!!!

Here is where my pumpkin is sitting right now...she looks so pretty on my patio!!!

Guess what?!??!?! I won!! First place in the pumpkin contest!!! We set all the decorated pumpkins out and the kids get to put their ticket with their favorite pumpkin and we count the number of votes each one got!! My strategy won!!!! They loved unicorn and she won first place!! First time I have ever placed! HA! Here is a close up of her...

 I won a gift card to Amazon - yippee!!!

Here is a look into the DJ and dance floor area!! That is our DJ - he is awesome every year!

The dance floor and seating from behind...

 Here is the completed Millennium Falcon! This thing in huge - they are leaving it up until the end of the year. We have a Breakfast with Santa and they will use it for that also. Thanks goodness since this was sooo much work for the STEM team!

Here is the finished product of my ceiling - remember the last post - up and down the ladder...here is why...HA! I hung all those dangling things...HA!

Here is the front of the dancefloor...

And the cafeteria...

Another shot of the cafeteria...

Entryway with adaptive bikes...

A shot of the doorway on the side of the building...

And a hallway...there was not an inch of the cafeteria that was not decorated!!

I love the food names this year...there was Jedi Jello...

Princess Leia's pudding...

Decorated cupcakes and cookies...

There was Padawan Pizza...

Storm Trooper Chicken Tenders and Chewbacca Mac N Cheese...

 Here is a close up of the cookies...so super cute!!!!

And we had crafts around the room for the kids to entertain themselves.  They could make a Halloween Pet Magnet...

Make a Tissue Paper Monster...

Make a Magic Scratch Zombie...

And put their thumbprint on a vase that is given to the CEO of Covestro and other helpful individuals...

Here are me and my friend Kathy from work that does this every year with me. She is the Storm Trooper and I am the short, chubby lady riding the unicorn!! HA HA!

Me alone!! I loved my costume and the kids did too!!!

Here are two other employees posing in front of the Millennium Falcon...

These little girls wanted their picture me - I was flattered every single time someone wanted me in the picture - BEST COSTUME EVER! I love these kids!!!

This was the only other blowup at the party! It was a sibling of one of the variety families...awesome!!!!

Thanks to Covestro and Variety for allowing me to participate again this year! I am so blessed to have found this wonderful charity to donate my time and energy to! Love these kids!!!