Me and My Boo at the Zoo

Saturday was a date day and dates days are my most FAVORITE days. Since it was a day I was looking forward to, I of course woke up not feeling well at all. This tends to happen to me for all important events. Stomach virus two thanksgivings in a row which not only prevented me from having a turkey sandwich but also prevented me from shopping the day after. You know that it was serious if I wasn’t shopping. There’s no joking about that.

Eddie got me a ginger ale and I packed a baggy full of saltine crackers and we decided to give it a go. So we headed off to Cola to the zoo. Yup – the zoo – a place where they keep the animals in captivity so that the public can stare at them from behind a fence. Of course I totally prefer this option over seeing them in the wild – mainly because in the wild there is a higher possibility that the animals can run after you and eat you. I’ll take my chances at the zoo thanks. Another reason to visit the zoo – they have animals from other countries – and since I don’t have a travel budget – nor do I ride airplanes - I’m sort of limited to possibly ever seeing US, Canadian and Mexican animals. I really wanted to see the Koala (originally from Australia) so we probably saved thousands of dollars in air fare and hotels by seeing the fuzzy little thing two hours away from home at Riverbanks instead of going to Sydney.

I bought Eddie a behind the scenes tour last year as part of his Christmas and we decided that since this was the only free weekend we’d have before it expired then why not head on down. I made it through the car trip and once we arrived I still felt kind of crappy, but I forged on. It was sort of hot and the sight of two hundred billion other people all wandering through the gates didn’t help matters much. Eighty degrees, lots of hot sweaty people and lots of hot sweaty animals. Awesome – we maybe should have just stayed home and watched Animal Planet.

We had some time to look around before our tour started so off we went. Now that I look back, I realize that the highlight of the day for most people had to have been at the Riverbanks farm where we not only saw a cow but could pet it too. Some of those kids about lost their minds over the cow. Never mind about the endangered birds or the lion cubs right down the path – the cow was awesome. And we could have seen it at home.

We also went through this really weird enclosure thing where there were flocks of birds just flying around inside. The good folks at the zoo allowed regular joe people to go in and feed them or interact with them. I would have rather pulled my eyelashes out one by one than walk through that enclosure where the possibility of having my eyes pecked out was more real than not real. However, being the awesome fiancée that I am, I gave it a try. But you know what? Those birds didn’t even go on about their birdy business. They just kinda sat there looking bored. Thank goodness we didn’t buy the food to feed them. That is when they would swarm near you. I’m not into that. They were however really really pretty (as seen here). PS – thanks Lisa for the use of your camera for the day.

We were able to get up close and personal with the giraffes – they are so pretty – no wonder Dooney & Bourke wanted to use them to make purse patterns from. Seriously – this picture is not zoomed in at all. He (or she) was just right there all up in my face waiting for me to feed him (or her). I would have liked to have gotten there a little earlier so that we could have actually fed one. Did you know that giraffes can lick their own ears? They can. Regina told me, and as you all know she is an ocean of useless knowledge. She is the reason that I also know that coke was originally green in color.

Our behind the scenes tour was with the elephants. We went to the elephant barn and were able to meet the elephants and their trainers. The elephants are always behind those bars. The trainers never have free interaction with them like at the circus. It’s all about safety folks. I mean they weigh a ton. They did a few tricks for us though. They are so well trained, and we learned loads of interesting facts about them. I don’t remember any now that I’m writing this, but there were some I promise. On our way out we saw a painting that one of the elephants had done. They give them giant paint brushes which they can hold with their trunk, and then they can swirl the paintbrush on the canvas and make some pretty cool art work. Who knew elephants were so creative and artistic?

After the tour in the barn...I got to ride one of the elephants! It was all I ever dreamed it would be. Eddie got to hang out with some monkeys. All in all it was a good time. Our little group of 10 got to do some really neat things in "Employee Only" accessible places. It was definitely nice to not be in a crowd, especially when that crowd is standing really close together in hot weather.

We also got to feed some meerkats. They were cute little things, however don’t let that cuteness fool you. They eat worms…and centipedes…and other gross things. Oh seriously we get to feed them? Awesome. I tried to just take pictures of Eddie feeding them, but I didn’t want to be outshined by the 5 year old in our group so I let our guide put a worm in my hand and I tossed it to the meerkats. Gross :) Last stop of the tour was the animal hospital – or as Eddie and I would say Animal Doctor Movie. It was definitely interesting seeing the charts for the animal patients (whose ailments varied from arthritis and diabetes to hairballs). We also got to see some xrays. The craziest one by far was of a monkey that hasn’t been eating and was acting pretty sick. They brought him in to check him out and what do they find inside….41 pennies…. Isn’t that crazy!

I think it was after the tour that we had a dippin dot break – but I honestly can’t remember an actual timeline of events. I do however remember that the dippin dots were quite tasty. We decided to finish seeing the animals. A lot of animals must have sensed me and Eddie’s presence when we approached – because they would lay down and take a little nap to show that they were kindred spirits with us. We appreciated that. The little koalas slept practically the entire day away while lounging on their eucalyptus branches. Too cute right? I wanted to take one home. The turtles also put on quite a show I must say. Since neither of us paid attention that day in Biology when the teacher went over reproductive skills of turtles, it was the perfect day for us to see a real life demonstration. Parents were ushering their little kids right on past that “exhibit.” I’ll not be posting a picture of that action, but I will post one of Eddie hitching a ride from one of them.

I think our last stop was the bird house. I actually enjoyed the bird house since the birds were behind glass. I hearted seeing the little penguins diving into the water and knowing that one wasn’t going to run after me and attack me below the knees. I also really enjoyed seeing the peacocks. They were so pretty. One of them stared me right in the eye. I didn’t dare look away because I read or heard or maybe made up in my head that if you break eye contact with a mountain lion it will attack you. I’m not sure if the same applies to peacocks, but I didn’t want to take any chances.

I think the last animal we saw was the tiger. It was also one of the first we saw. It was asleep both times. I wanted to see it being all ferocious and GGGGGGGGRRRREAATTTTTTT! But alas, it was chilled out on a ledge in the shade. So instead I had to be all ferocious, and then I had to get Eddie in on the action too (but he won’t let me put his picture on here) :) There is one though…for blackmail purposes … just kiddin love! We had such a fun time. I think I’d like to go back and do a different animal tour next year – like an animal that doesn’t weigh over 900 lbs or something – maybe a penguin!

Sheet Rock My World

So the sheetrock guy rocked – literally! I told you people earlier that this was the first time we hired someone out to complete a project for us and needless to say – he got that project done way faster than we would have. It was lovely to see progress happen so quickly and at such a steady pace. Things like that don’t usually happen like that here.

I feel that over the course of this sheetrock project I have learned a thing or two or twenty about the topic and I’d like to share my findings with you. The whole sheetrock process pretty much consists of the following…smear mud over tape seams and screws…let it dry…sand it….smear on some more mud…let it dry….sand it….smear on even more mud…you get the picture. It sounds easy and honestly the mud looks like a huge container of cake icing….but there is nothing easy or delightfully tasty about it.

But guess what? Sheetrock guy finished up the bathroom and the den and now I can go to sleep at nite in McNest without worrying if the walls will fall down on top of us while we watch tv or take a shower. Bonus!

Moving on…our progress sometimes seems slow – painfully slow. I did some mental calculations this weekend to determine whether or not we’ll be able to live in McNest by March. I got confused converting project time into days and months, so I pulled out a Magic 8 ball and asked it instead. Of course it gave me a non-committal answer (reply hazy – try again). So I shook it again and got an affirmative answer that I liked better (It is decidedly so). Of course this is the same ball that told me that “yes definitely” a perm was a good idea in Junior High and boy was that ever a bad idea. So I’m not sure how reliable it is.

I’ve been struggling to emit any sort of productivity in regards to McNest (as evidenced by the lack of renovation posts). I got a small surge of energy from my Bagulful this morning(mmm thanks Kraft!) which inspired me to blog and tell you all something to keep you coming back for more, but that’s pretty much all I am good for. I’ll need more than a little carbohydrate high to do something productive house wise. We did meet up Monday evening to do a little painting of the orange persuasion. I feel like I’m the slowest painter on earth – I think it has to do with being a perfectionist. Eddie on the other hand is a speed painter. I’m almost afraid to stand still in front of him because he might slap a coat of Autumn Rust right on me.

Last night we started to put down the flooring in the dining room, and by we I mean Eddie and Cheryl. It may come as a surprise to you, but I’m not exactly qualified to put down a floor. I know right?! Reason 1 – I have no idea how to do that. Though I could google a “how to” article on putting down flooring I just really don’t think it would qualify me to put together a structure that is so complex and that people will actually use. I mean I could google how to perform open heart surgery but would you trust this face to do that? No. Reason 2 being it clearly falls under the realm of construction. Construction is not only hard but it’s dangerous. I’m used to sitting behind a desk all day. Not risking injuries. And construction sometimes involves wearing a hard hat. Oddly enough, that does little for this girl’s looks.

We still have a lot ahead of us, but I feel confident that it’ll all work out eventually. We may or may not be able to complete ALL of the things that we’re hoping to do (so I’ll be vague about future plans as to avoid embarrassment later). But soon I have the feeling that we’ll be joining the ranks of proud home owners worldwide! The Magic 8 ball says “without a doubt” :)

When Do Nothings Do Something

In the beginning God created the Heavens and the Earth… From dust He formed man… from the creation man, man in his infinite wisdom began to screw up… When man brought sin into the world man was punished by having to work hard for the rest of his existence… And here we are today suffering the consequences of “free will”… (no charge for the short and sweet theological discussion)

I started working at the young age of 14… I have had various jobs, of which have not always been my favorite, but they have given me little patches of knowledge that I randomly use today… I tried construction the summer after I turned 14… Boo I hated that, I quit that job every morning when Cheryl woke me up…

I learned rather quickly that I’m not very builder friendly, not that I couldn’t lift heavy stuff or drive a nail, but rather that heat and physical labor wasn’t for me… So we moved on to electrical wiring… This lasted perhaps 2 weeks because of how awesomely thrilling it was not… And let’s just say that my boss (AKA Scott) was less than desirable to work with…

I did manage to lay hardwood floors for a year, but even that paycheck lost its luxurious luster after a while… The rest of my time has been spent in and out of restaurants… Needless to say I am a huge winner in life can’t ya tell??? I’m sure that you aren’t interested in a biography of me, so I’ll get to the point…

So here we are all grown up and ready to embark on a new journey… Full of ambition and fairytale beginnings, hopes and dreams of what life has in store, eager to start a family and make a home… I found the greatest gal who accepted my proposal, and loves the house that we decided that we could make our own… We just forgot probably the most important thing… “We are poor”… Oh and neither of us dig the manual labor…

We are those people who like to conserve our limited amounts of energy by taking a nice nap or catching up on a TV series by watching the DVD because we hate commercials… Oh its true people… We have some awesome plans for the house, but no one to fulfill them for us because free labor is so hard to find these days… Therefore we are faced with the worst possible scenario… “Do it ourselves”???? Are you kidding me?

After a long day at “The Office” (awesome show if you haven’t seen it you should give it a try) who wants to deprive themselves of relaxation to do more work… As active members of the “We do nothing club”, we think there should be a petition to the government for the free labor of those people that we pay for all year long who have an “excuse” for not working… (And he steps down from the soap box)

At first it was hard to get used to, but as things are progressing and looking more the way we’d like them to, I must say that the times we spend working on McNest are the best for us… We’ve not only started our life in a sense, but we have also created many memories that we’ll cherish for a life time… Although we may not agree on everything (picking colors and décor), at the end of the day we’ve realized that we make a great team… You never know what might happen through this crazy process, but I kinda look forward to it… We are not sure what the end product will be exactly, but “When do nothings do something” who could tell anyway???

Hubby2b

Waving the We Want Wedding Wand

So apparently my public desires more posting of what’s going on with me and Ed – but where are you in the comments section public? How am I to know these things unless you tell me directly :)

I guess I’ll fill you all in on what we did the other weekend. We ventured into the world of wedding registries. What is the point of this you ask? Well the point is to imagine how good McNest is going to look one day when we put something in its empty rooms :) It was a little overwhelming, but I guess that is to be expected when you’re pretty much starting from scratch. Eddie and I both live at our parents houses so basically we’re coming to McNest with nothing more than clothes, shoes, and dvds – and when I say nothing more – I really mean far more than the average person should have.

We decided to go to Target first, where we met with an unenthusiastic girl behind the customer service desk who told us in monotone about the rules of registering. Honestly – show some excitement here – I’m getting married! I didn’t really hear the rules, because I was already picturing myself running off down the aisles with the scanner gun zapping bar codes and beaming things to our wedding wish list. I pretty much had one goal – look for something understated and mid range that didn’t put off a vibe of overinflated sense of self worth. I think Eddie’s goal was to look for anything that looked like it could decorate a safari room (just kidding love!). Our tastes and styles are different but I guess that’s all part of what makes us interesting together :)

Since I’m practicing the art of sacrificial love, I let Eddie have the scanner gun. I figured he would understand how it works better than I did anyways (it has buttons just like a remote – so he should totally know what he’s doing). Plus I wasn’t sure how into the whole registry thing he would be, and I thought maybe the scanner gun would remind him of the Nintendo Duck Hunt game and he’d think it was fun like video games.

I think we probably should have done some homework before we ever started. Not knowing the difference between non-stick, stainless, copper and anodized (I had to look up the spelling on that one) pans made it hard to know which ones we would choose. However , knowing each others cooking habits did help out in the end. My cooking habits consist of not cooking, while Eddie’s consist of master culinary chef skills (hands off ladies – he’s all mine). So basically it was all me when it came to picking out a toaster and microwave (yes baby I can make you toast and heat up a Hungry Man meal for you in just a couple of minutes). When it came to actual cookware, that was all him. Eddie also took care of the coffee maker since I hate coffee, but he finds it a necessary part of life.

I didn’t find a cake stand that I like yet (which is essential since I plan on wearing an apron and doing much baking), but I did register for many knives and other food accessories that I vow to figure out how to use and will think of whoever bought me that vegetable peeler each time I use it. Eddie graciously let me scan a few items. Bad idea. I was completely overcome by the combination of power and desire that the scanner gun gave me. I went from being simple and understated to …what a waffle iron ? YES!!! A self service ice cream maker? YES! We must have it! A juicer? -Wouldn’t be caught dead without one! SCAN IT ALL EDDIE SCAN IT ALL! !!

I’m kidding by the way. We didn’t scan the waffle iron, the ice cream maker (sadness) or the juicer. I came down from my registry-high, and we went on our way buying classic registry items such as dish towels, knives, glasses and wall art (pretty see?). Later on I started getting nervous about the registry. Why? Well because this is all some people will ever know about me. They will judge me for eternity based on what sort of blender I chose and what the thread count is on the sheets I picked out. It was almost enough pressure for me to delete the whole list, but I didn’t. Mainly because I didn’t know how.

We thought that the whole registry thing would be a piece of cake and take about an hour. Three hours later when Target closed for the evening, we weren’t even done, and I have no clue what is on the list. I’m not sure if Eddie scanned stuff when I was turned around or not. If there are TV seasons on DVD listed on there – he did it!! If there are items of clothing – my bad!! Just kidding :) We still have to go modify the list (thank goodness you can do it online – I’m computer savvy to say the least), and figure out what should have been on there and maybe what’s not supposed to be. We’re new at this ya know.

It really was fun imagining how things would one day look in McNest and what kinds of food he…I mean we…will make in our new cookware. I can’t wait til our happily ever after :)

You're a Winner Either Way!

Not a lot of progress on McNest this holiday weekend due to a couple of things…paintballing on Saturday…and laziness on Labor Day (ironic? Yes).
This post isn’t going to have a lot to do with home improvements…sorry fans! I want to talk about paintball instead. Our church youth group voted on this activity as a back to school event, so that’s how it all started. What better than a friendly game of aggression to get the church kids to come together and fellowship with each other.

Now I have never been paintballing before in my entire 28 years, but it sounded like something fun and worth experiencing at least once in my life (kind of like buying a real pair of Manolo Blahniks or getting front row seats to a New Kids on the Block concert). Oh yeah, that and the fact that I didn’t want my 6th and 7th graders making me feeling like a wuss if I didn’t play.

We headed out from the church and arrived at New Gen relatively early for a Saturday morning. Brit and I were the only girl “leaders” who were going to play. Here we are before any of it started. Pretty hair and makeup still intact. Right after this photo was taken we were taken into a little room and some paintball professional guy explained how everything worked. I didn’t really hear anything other than “it will hurt” … “you’ll get your eye shot out” … and “raise your hand when you get hit or want out of the game”… fun!!

I pretty much knew all I needed to know though. Basically the goal of paintball is simple. Shoot everyone else without getting shot :) Then he told us to put on these terrible face masks. Eddie had to help me out with that one. Obviously it was super attractive which caused him to laugh in my face as he adjusted it on my head. Bye bye good hair day.

We headed outside into what I can only describe Saharan Desert high temperatures. Who planned this trip during the hottest time of the year? Oh yeah…us. We split into teams and ran (who am I kidding I walked) out onto the fields. I planned on hiding behind the closest barricade (mainly because it was the closest – but secondly because I thought if I was further away I wouldn’t get hit). My style of paintballing can be described as less precision shooting…more volume shooting. I just fired and fired and fired. Not really aiming at anything, because I couldn’t really see out of the mask anyways.

The first time I was shot…it was a hit to the head. Yes…you read that right. Adam fired away and orange paint splattered right onto the part of my head that wasn’t protected by a terribly ugly mask. I remembered to hold my hand up and I walked off the field. It didn’t hurt at all! I was super psyched about that. The next game started and I assumed my sniper position again. I was trying to aim at a kid that I thought was Craig. I totally got him. I would like to say that it was skill…but since I was merely shooting in his general direction and not expecting to hit anything I’m thinking it was luck. Still – pretty psyched about that good luck.

That feeling lasted approximately 2 seconds when all of the sudden I felt a burning sensation on my right arm. It felt like I had been stung by an entire hive of bees. The pain was excruciating for about five seconds, then it pretty much went away. And the kid wasn’t even Craig – but new kid Caleb. Apparently I shot him twice – once in the neck and once in the side – Welcome to the youth group Caleb!

We played a few more games after that. I got shot a few more times and did some more shooting of my own. By this time my internal body temperature had to have been around 212 degrees…my makeup had melted off my face…and my hair can only be described as tragic. As I sat on a little grassy hill watching the kids load their guns for the last game…I tried to decide if I should go ahead and throw up from heat exhaustion or try to play the last game with the kids. Afterall – I didn’t want to be a wimp at the very end. Totally should have. Once I put that mask back on my face, I felt like I was going to suffocate. Basically I sat behind the barricade and just pulled the trigger over and over and over. I was either going to hit someone or run out of paintballs. I didn’t care at that point.

Game over. A quick trip to McDonalds and then a devotion at the church ended the days youth activities. Eddie and I planned to go to his house and jump in the pool. Good plan – but what actually happened was a three hour nap instead. The next morning I realized that I had been hit a few more times that I had originally thought. My legs were so sore that I briefly considered staying in bed the entire day. But I didn’t. So yeah, I may have a few battle wounds, and my body temperature still hasn’t returned to normal…but I survived. And it was actually pretty fun :) Oh and if you’re still waiting on that after picture – wait on :)

Yes!

Surely you know the story of our engagement if you have been directed to this site by me or Eddie...but if not...I hope this picture says it all.

99 gallons of mud on the wall...99 gallons of mud...

Though I’m well known for my ability to create cuteness and crafts (as well as my humbleness), I have decided that some DIY house projects are just not for us. For those that don’t know DIY is the acronym for Do it Yourself. Don’t get me wrong. I do think that Eddie and I should do things for ourselves…you know make huge efforts to create an environment in which every single thing in McNest hasn’t been mass produced in an Asian country or have been completed by experts and professionals that charge us so much money that we have to have our lives mortaged to the bank for an eternity. Case in point - we painted our own room. Here's an after of the Green Room taken last nite (I learned how to use the timer on the camera to get us both in the shot). We definitely want our company to feel that personal touch through out the house. I just don’t want that personal touch to be like painted over duct tape holding the sheetrock up.

I know that a number of people in the world (me included) find it incredibly satisfying to create things for themselves. I agree that it’s absolutely ridiculous to spend money on say…a professional curtain hanger when I feel completely confident to like hang them up on my own. I am pretty sure that if I have any issues hanging blinds or something I can look up a tutorial on YouTube to help me. With Cheryl’s help, Eddie hung the drywall (good job babe!) and decided to start taping, mudding, and sanding. None of these tasks are in my skill set and since my skill set abilities are questionable anyways, I stuck to taking pictures of the progress (I did it for you…dear friends…for you).

So here we are…living on the edge…and daring to do it ourselves! There totally are benefits to it … working to reach the shared goal of creating a place that feels like home… having the same focus…getting outside our comfort zones…being proud of what we can do together…saving a dollar. One little problem though… we’re sometimes not very good at knowing our own limits. And though we don’t want to hire out when we can hire in… I think the time has come to DISE – or Do it Someone Else. While we remain tough and committed to other projects, we have decided to have Someone Else do our drywall and sheetrock stuff. Tonight we meet Someone Else…and hopefully I won’t have to sell a kidney to pay him for his drywall services.

For serious renovators like us…this definitely wasn’t an easy decision. There are two goals that all renovators (and yes I speak for renovators across America) strive for: to do good work and to do that work quickly. I’m thinking we didn’t really come all that close on this project. When you look at the things we want for McNest… namely walls that will stand… and walls that are smooth and ready to be painted and beautiful…(and maybe a swimming pool one day…oh and granite countertops) it’s in everyone’s best interest. Though I do have serious doubts about the whole drywall thing in general. Who knew that the walls of our homes are only slightly more substantial than a hunk of chalk! I feel like I’m going to be tiptoeing around the house as it is in order not to fall into said walls and knock our bedroom down or something.

Honestly…it’s powdered rock people. You can cut it with a box cutter (which I have in a lovely flowery print along with matching hammer, screwdriver, tape measure and other tool thing in a lovely set purchased at Belk – thanks mom!) At any rate, we’ll still steady work on the other tasks in this whole renovating process… there are many other sundry jobs that we will try out 24 different methods for doing and make multiple trips to Lowe’s for each one of these projects, all the while still enjoying that magical feeling of our wallets emptying. We’ll let you know how the meeting with Someone Else goes.