So, it's been a few days since I blogged here, but I've actually had very little time or chance.
Thursday:
Christopher worked 6am-3pm then had a Dr appt at 3:45 but had to be there at 3:15 for paperwork. Rhiannon had to be at the elementary school across town at 8:00 to work with the volunteers at the Science Fair, then picked up at 2:45pm. So, guess who had to do the driving on only 2 hours of sleep? Yep.Turns out Faelyn also missed the bus, so I had to take 3 people somewhere in the morning then slip into a coma for a few hours then get up and go get them again.
Finally go to the Dr. Christopher is pretty sure he wants surgery to fix his herniated belly button, but really this is just not the best year for it! I'll go along if he feels it has to be done, but the surgeon was like it could wait a couple years, whatever. I chose the high deductible insurance this year to try to save money each month on the premium and hoped we wouldn't need to worry about deductibles... and now he wants surgery?? He has a date set, but he can cancel it. Though he's already told his boss he'll be out for 2 weeks. Maybe he's trying to use up his benefits, just in case? He does admit it's painful more than it used to be. Whatever happens, we'll pay it as we can and deal with it.
Friday,
He had to go in to work part of the day, and during the day, Faelyn and I got the sink mostly done, until we realized the drain from the old sink wouldn't fit the new sink. So, Friday afternoon, when he got home, we went out and got the parts for it and also to fix the main bathroom toilet that has a broken flange. That evening, we got the sink finished, then I asked him to help me get the plywood cut to fit the hole. I assumed that was all I'd get him to do, but we just kind of kept working. We finally got it all done! Well, okay I do still have to get some more of the vinyl tiles to finish the rest of the floor by the doorway, but it's basically done... sort of.
Did you know toilets built these days don't have the same amount of room in the base as older toilets to allow for flanges that sit up off the floor? Also, the wax rings that have those plastic funnel looking things attached so not actually fit all pipes? Yeah, so both those things were issues here. We did install everything and get it bolted in, but it's still kind of wobbly. So, we still need to get a new wax ring all by itself without the plastic part. Then if the toilet still sits up off the floor due the the flange not being flush with the floor, then we'll have to shim the toilet so it doesn't rock or wobble. Seriously though, WHY would toilet makers make it so that the toilet flanges you buy at the hardware store don't actually work with the toilets? makes me want to just get an old 5 gallon monster one from someone's remodel on Craigslist or something. The toilet in our master bathroom is from Freecycle actually. It's huge and old and has no issues with sitting over the toilet flange.
So, anyway, yeah it's mostly done other than retrofitting that and finishing the vinyl tile. So, here's
a reminder of what it did look like
some MOSTLY-AFTER pics!
I do have a new vent cover down there now that's really nice and matches the one we put down in the living room.
I still don't have my towel shelf up, but I will get to it. Been really busy lately.
And the sink before:
The duct tape was holding together a huge piece of the plastic sink that broke off.
And the Mostly After:
The hole that had been cut for the old sink (which measured the same size as this one somehow???) was bigger than this sink. Either I was way off on the measurements of the old one or the new one sits weird. I dunno. It's also not as deep since I used to be able fill my kettle in this sink, but now it doesn't fit. I just keep a gallon jug of water by my kettle now. Still annoying. Christopher said not to worry, we'll simply move this sink to the other bathroom whenever we have the money to get a new vanity for this bathroom. The main bathroom sink has a melted place from a cigarette, so that would work.. though we may have the same issue there with the hole being too big - but we can put another piece of plywood down and cut a new home and put down tile on the vanity top or something and put a trim around it.. Less than ideal, but it would work okay.
Saturday,
I got up and headed to Johnson City with Rhiannon. Lenscrafters had called that my glasses were ready. So I got those, and we picked up shoes for her prom and a clutch, both at Payless. Shoes were $19.99 and purse was $7 so SCORE! I'm not a big fan of my new glasses though. They're the first pair of progressives I've ever had, and I like my regular old glasses better. But I promised I'd give them a shot, so my brain can train itself to use them. My neck gets tired having to turn to face everything I want to see LOL. I never realized how lazy I was just moving nothing but my eyeballs HAHA.
I have realized my life seems to be a continuous comedy of errors. one of those sitcoms that makes you either laugh out loud or feel so embarrassed for the characters that you can't watch it.
Saturday evening we had to get ready for a Purduettes concert at the performing arts center. Zoe's chorus was asked to be their opening act. We were all heading to the car to take Zoe to the elementary school first to get into her uniform when the dog got out. So, I left the teens at home to get the dog, then took Zoe on to get ready. Came back, got the older kids again and thankfully the dog had come home. I dropped Zoe and Rhi off at the front of the NPAC so she could help get her to the music room backstage. Then I went to park and walk over with Faelyn and her boyfriend. I went to the box office to get the tickets, but they said they'd been picked up. But Rhiannon was no where to be found. Turns out, she went to her seat and didn't think to wait to give us our tickets. So, we headed to the mezzanine to find her, trying to explain to the ushers what was happening. Having the hangar of Zoe's clothes from the school helped probably. Finally we found her and she had 4 seats total that were given to her for being a high school chorus member. So we all sat together to watch Zoe's group perform. She said she'd given Zoe her tickets because they would not let her in (even to sing) without one. But she gave her all 4 of them.... So, when I went to get Zoe to have her change clothes in the bathroom so the music teacher could get the uniforms back, she said she didn't have the tickets. She gave them to the stage director. So, we had 5 people total and 4 tickets. not great. Though really there were tons of empty seats. Still, I wanted our actual seats. So I went to the box office again just in case, and yep, the director had turned them in! So, finally we were able to find our seats in the dark between songs.
The show was great, and I am very glad we got the free tickets so we could all go. Well, Christopher didn't get to go since he had to work, but it was nice to be with the rest of everyone.
Zoe is the last one on the right in the back row. The picture does not look that grainy on my computer. I don't know what happened there.
Today, I finally got to sleep late though there was a lot of noise. Faelyn had a ton of friends over to play games and just hang out. One did accidentally break the main bathroom door of the hinges. Granted it was close to happening on its own anyway, but that was a bit of a shocker. Rhiannon nailed up a sheet to act as a door for now. Hopefully we can rehang the door and just screw it onto the supports better. It's an old cheap hollow core door that the side pieces are broken out of. In fact the side that was attached to the hinges is still there... on the wall. So, a bunch of screws thru the door panel into that side piece should let us get away with not having to buy a new door for a while. I hope.
Tonight I am at work til 3:15am, then I have to sleep as much as I can because I have to get up at 9am so we can all leave by 9:30 and head to Maryville to the college for a financial aid meeting to hash out this thing and see if she can really go there and what the options are. Guessing that will take about an hour maybe? Then we'll have lunch that I've still got to pack. I need to save money on this trip, so eating a packed lunch in the cooler in the trunk is the best option there. Then it's an hour drive to DOLLYWOOD!! Season passes are one of the things I got for our family because this might be the last year we have Rhiannon home for a while. If she does go to Maryville, she may even end up finding somewhere else to spend the summer and work like her dad did each year. So I wanted to make a lot of memories, and I figured we all deserved a little break. I know we'll use the passes a ton so the fact that they cost less than 2 day passes made it worth it to me, and one is a gold pass which gives free parking and a discount on food etc.
Everyone is really excited about this trip. Zoe can barely remember going the one time she's been there, and she was too small to ride anything then. Now, we'll be riding the coasters together! We watched the POV vidoes of the ones I want to ride with her, so she'll know what to expect. She isn't scared at all actually. Christopher is really excited too. he's been acting like a kid. I'm so glad to see his spirits lifting finally. Maybe I'll finally find the man I married in there. :)
Thursday:
Christopher worked 6am-3pm then had a Dr appt at 3:45 but had to be there at 3:15 for paperwork. Rhiannon had to be at the elementary school across town at 8:00 to work with the volunteers at the Science Fair, then picked up at 2:45pm. So, guess who had to do the driving on only 2 hours of sleep? Yep.Turns out Faelyn also missed the bus, so I had to take 3 people somewhere in the morning then slip into a coma for a few hours then get up and go get them again.
Finally go to the Dr. Christopher is pretty sure he wants surgery to fix his herniated belly button, but really this is just not the best year for it! I'll go along if he feels it has to be done, but the surgeon was like it could wait a couple years, whatever. I chose the high deductible insurance this year to try to save money each month on the premium and hoped we wouldn't need to worry about deductibles... and now he wants surgery?? He has a date set, but he can cancel it. Though he's already told his boss he'll be out for 2 weeks. Maybe he's trying to use up his benefits, just in case? He does admit it's painful more than it used to be. Whatever happens, we'll pay it as we can and deal with it.
Friday,
He had to go in to work part of the day, and during the day, Faelyn and I got the sink mostly done, until we realized the drain from the old sink wouldn't fit the new sink. So, Friday afternoon, when he got home, we went out and got the parts for it and also to fix the main bathroom toilet that has a broken flange. That evening, we got the sink finished, then I asked him to help me get the plywood cut to fit the hole. I assumed that was all I'd get him to do, but we just kind of kept working. We finally got it all done! Well, okay I do still have to get some more of the vinyl tiles to finish the rest of the floor by the doorway, but it's basically done... sort of.
Did you know toilets built these days don't have the same amount of room in the base as older toilets to allow for flanges that sit up off the floor? Also, the wax rings that have those plastic funnel looking things attached so not actually fit all pipes? Yeah, so both those things were issues here. We did install everything and get it bolted in, but it's still kind of wobbly. So, we still need to get a new wax ring all by itself without the plastic part. Then if the toilet still sits up off the floor due the the flange not being flush with the floor, then we'll have to shim the toilet so it doesn't rock or wobble. Seriously though, WHY would toilet makers make it so that the toilet flanges you buy at the hardware store don't actually work with the toilets? makes me want to just get an old 5 gallon monster one from someone's remodel on Craigslist or something. The toilet in our master bathroom is from Freecycle actually. It's huge and old and has no issues with sitting over the toilet flange.
So, anyway, yeah it's mostly done other than retrofitting that and finishing the vinyl tile. So, here's
a reminder of what it did look like
some MOSTLY-AFTER pics!
And the sink before:
And the Mostly After:
 |
| The new porcelain sink in place |
I know the caulking looks terrible. I'll make it neater soon, but hopefully it's temporary while we save up a little more to get the vanity I want.
Saturday,
I got up and headed to Johnson City with Rhiannon. Lenscrafters had called that my glasses were ready. So I got those, and we picked up shoes for her prom and a clutch, both at Payless. Shoes were $19.99 and purse was $7 so SCORE! I'm not a big fan of my new glasses though. They're the first pair of progressives I've ever had, and I like my regular old glasses better. But I promised I'd give them a shot, so my brain can train itself to use them. My neck gets tired having to turn to face everything I want to see LOL. I never realized how lazy I was just moving nothing but my eyeballs HAHA.
I have realized my life seems to be a continuous comedy of errors. one of those sitcoms that makes you either laugh out loud or feel so embarrassed for the characters that you can't watch it.
Saturday evening we had to get ready for a Purduettes concert at the performing arts center. Zoe's chorus was asked to be their opening act. We were all heading to the car to take Zoe to the elementary school first to get into her uniform when the dog got out. So, I left the teens at home to get the dog, then took Zoe on to get ready. Came back, got the older kids again and thankfully the dog had come home. I dropped Zoe and Rhi off at the front of the NPAC so she could help get her to the music room backstage. Then I went to park and walk over with Faelyn and her boyfriend. I went to the box office to get the tickets, but they said they'd been picked up. But Rhiannon was no where to be found. Turns out, she went to her seat and didn't think to wait to give us our tickets. So, we headed to the mezzanine to find her, trying to explain to the ushers what was happening. Having the hangar of Zoe's clothes from the school helped probably. Finally we found her and she had 4 seats total that were given to her for being a high school chorus member. So we all sat together to watch Zoe's group perform. She said she'd given Zoe her tickets because they would not let her in (even to sing) without one. But she gave her all 4 of them.... So, when I went to get Zoe to have her change clothes in the bathroom so the music teacher could get the uniforms back, she said she didn't have the tickets. She gave them to the stage director. So, we had 5 people total and 4 tickets. not great. Though really there were tons of empty seats. Still, I wanted our actual seats. So I went to the box office again just in case, and yep, the director had turned them in! So, finally we were able to find our seats in the dark between songs.
The show was great, and I am very glad we got the free tickets so we could all go. Well, Christopher didn't get to go since he had to work, but it was nice to be with the rest of everyone.
Zoe is the last one on the right in the back row. The picture does not look that grainy on my computer. I don't know what happened there.
Today, I finally got to sleep late though there was a lot of noise. Faelyn had a ton of friends over to play games and just hang out. One did accidentally break the main bathroom door of the hinges. Granted it was close to happening on its own anyway, but that was a bit of a shocker. Rhiannon nailed up a sheet to act as a door for now. Hopefully we can rehang the door and just screw it onto the supports better. It's an old cheap hollow core door that the side pieces are broken out of. In fact the side that was attached to the hinges is still there... on the wall. So, a bunch of screws thru the door panel into that side piece should let us get away with not having to buy a new door for a while. I hope.
Tonight I am at work til 3:15am, then I have to sleep as much as I can because I have to get up at 9am so we can all leave by 9:30 and head to Maryville to the college for a financial aid meeting to hash out this thing and see if she can really go there and what the options are. Guessing that will take about an hour maybe? Then we'll have lunch that I've still got to pack. I need to save money on this trip, so eating a packed lunch in the cooler in the trunk is the best option there. Then it's an hour drive to DOLLYWOOD!! Season passes are one of the things I got for our family because this might be the last year we have Rhiannon home for a while. If she does go to Maryville, she may even end up finding somewhere else to spend the summer and work like her dad did each year. So I wanted to make a lot of memories, and I figured we all deserved a little break. I know we'll use the passes a ton so the fact that they cost less than 2 day passes made it worth it to me, and one is a gold pass which gives free parking and a discount on food etc.
Everyone is really excited about this trip. Zoe can barely remember going the one time she's been there, and she was too small to ride anything then. Now, we'll be riding the coasters together! We watched the POV vidoes of the ones I want to ride with her, so she'll know what to expect. She isn't scared at all actually. Christopher is really excited too. he's been acting like a kid. I'm so glad to see his spirits lifting finally. Maybe I'll finally find the man I married in there. :)