Today is FRIDAY....

...and Peter and I both have Monday off-YIPPEEE!!!  I'm totally pumped.  We were going to take half days each today too and leave work at lunchtime but decided since we were both rather busy to wait and do that another time.  I totally wore lounge pants to work today and was loving every second of it.  I love that even in the office setting I can wear a dress, jeans, skirts, basically whatever.  That's definitely a perk for my job.  Tomorrow morning Peter and I are headed to Hollidaysburg to see my parents and siblings.  We are taking my parents out for their anniversary which falls on Sunday.  35 years-wow!  It should be fun...I think everyone is looking forward to it. 

Sunday and Monday will hopefully entail a bit of yardwork, a lot of relaxing and of course-eating!  

Peter and I have also been looking into our car situation and what to do.  We're definitely selling the Audi.  We hope to get 4-5K for it and then we'll drive the truck until we get something else.  Right now we are considering a few options including selling the truck also and having one car and getting a Santa Fe....if there's ever a time to have only one car it's now when we commute together.  After lots of thinking though, we think we're going to sell the Audi ASAP, keep the truck and get like an Elantra or some other kind of zip around town car.  Then in the future a Santa Fe...hopefully :P  We're hoping God makes His will clear by closing doors and opening others.  In the meantime....we must be patient!

Rain Delay

Well I wish it would have rained today...it was supposed to.  So once again we had to delay the finishing of the wainscotting/trimwork in the bathroom.  Ugh!  Jeff was going to come down but we said no when we saw 60% chance of thunderstorms.  It looked like it was going to rain on the way home but NOTHING...not one single DROP.  I was bummed.  Last night and this evening I finished the final coats of touch up in the bathroom and took off all of the painting tape.  I also hung the toilet paper holder so we don't have to keep the TP on the window sill anymore haha.  I also got things organized for loading back in and did a nice cleaning of the bathroom.  Weds should be the final day and then a deep clean will follow.  So hopefully next week at this time it will be DONE! *crosses fingers*

What a Day!

Well today, actually this whole week, has been crazy at work for me. We're in the process of making new IDs for all 3 companies. I've looked over the choices, decided on one and we finally got it 2 weeks ago, even though we ordered it like 6 weeks ago. Our "systems administrator" aka "biggest schmuck on earth" set up Badge Builder and the printer, etc. Well yesterday and today I've spent all day at work setting up the software, installing drivers, installing hardware, etc etc. As an HR person I don't think I should be doing that kind of stuff but schmucko can't do anything. Seriously he's like the biggest idiot, I don't know why he is even employed. Anytime anyone has computer problems, he's never able to help them. I don't bother even asking for help and just do it myself....as with this project. It was either me do it all or me do it with him over my shoulder not knowing anything. Even though my boss told him that this is a computer program and he needs to learn it in order to be able to support it. (Yeah right!) At this point no one knows how to set up anything for it, make databases, design the cards, or anything else...just me! Since we have 3 companies, I have to make 3 separate databases, design cards and that's a lot harder than it sounds. It's not just click on the employee's name and fix a spelling error. The card is set up with 123456789012345 being coded for "FirstName_LastName" and you have to pull up the coding and enter it. Very hard to explain. Then I had to deal with importing all 3 logos and making the printer pick up the very faint details of it. What you see on the screen isn't what prints. For example, the DBA logo looks like a dark gray box with our logo in it on screen but prints out perfectly. It's frustrating because I went through 60+ cards (front and back) because every change needed to be printed to see what it looked like. After 2 straight days of headache, I've got 2 of the 3 companies done. Yay! Tomorrow I'll have to do the last company and then add all employees for each company to their respective spots. (Name, Title, Company, Emp #, Signature and Photo). So this means I'll have to set up schedules to get everyone's signature. We have like 230+ employees! It'll take forever before this is all done. But after that it should be easier, I hope!

Well that probably didn't make sense to most folks, but that's all that has been going on in my life this week so far. Tonight I did final touch up painting to the bathroom. I'm anxiously awaiting Jeff to return to finish up. It was supposed to be Thurs or Fri but tomorrow it's scheduled to rain in the evening (big surprise!) and Fri Jeff's going away. So who knows when it'll finally be done, but I hope SOON!

In the meantime, I'm super excited to have Monday off for Labor Day. I think I'll also take a half day on Friday just because I can.

Happy 1st Birthday, Bella!

Isabella Formica is one year old today!  :)  Though we couldn't be there to celebrate with them, Peter's parents sent us some pictures of her party a few days ago.  Looks like such a good time, we're bummed we couldn't make it.

Laughing Babies

Tell me these are not hilarious!!

hahaha

Baby laughing at the Wii

Fatso.

Andrew came to visit this weekend on his way to Chicago!  It was great fun.  Peter and I picked him up Friday around 10:45 PM and the craziness immediately started.  We had a weekend full of 3 stooges, America's Next Top Model, eating, Warcraft/Hero Wars and lots of fun!  We didn't really do anything special because on Saturday it was way too hot outside for much of anything and on Sunday I didn't feel very well--my back was hurting a lot.  We still played games, watched movies/tv, and had a grand ol' time together.  It's so good to see Peter hanging out with Andrew.  I know he misses him a lot.  We're looking forward to going to Chicago to visit Andrew sometime this year!

Accessories!

I finally found a comforter set for our blue bedroom!  When we first moved in, I wasn't crazy about the blue walls at all.  I am definitely more of a green green/taupe/rust/brown color kind of gal.  But Peter expressed how much he liked the blue in the bedroom and that was enough for me to make it work.  I love that he was verbal with that.  It took months and months until I found it, but here it is:  I found it at Bed, Bath, and Beyond.  The ironic thing is that it's only sold online in King and Cal King sizes.  Our bed is a queen but it works out great since Peter and I both hog the covers and the sheets fit well with our featherbed leaving us just with extra comforter.  So this bedding was ordered by someone and returned because it didn't fit their bed...bad for them, great for me!  I found it on one of the crazy high shelves, way up in the corner and saw the blue of it and thought it might match.  So I had to have some BBB worker come with the rollerstairs and get it for me.  It was originally $200 and I got it for $47!!!  And it came with a bonus sheet set--I was so happy with my find...and even more excited when I finally put it on and saw how great it was! (plus it has some green in it for me :P).  It's not too girly either according to Peter.  The comforter reverses to all green leaves on the back which is nice too but this side definitely looks better in our room.  It's also very cozy!  It looks great with our bedroom suite too that I got in highschool for my room at home that my mom so nicely let me take with me when I moved out. :-)

Since the pillow cases are big enough for king size pillows, I have two options....buy new king sized pillows to fill them or cut off the extra fabric so they fit our standard pillows and make a couple of accent pillows with the leftover fabric...hmm decisions, decisions! haha

Also here's a quick snap of the hardware for our bathroom.  I looked all over for new stuff but didn't like it as much as I liked the simple smaller stuff we already had...so I bought chrome spray paint for $4 and ta-da!  Now I can have this up there and if I find something I like down the road, can change it out.  I even spray painted the door knob on the inside of the bathroom door to match since it was original brass and looked out of place.  Now if I could only get this bathroom done! 

iphone

Thank you Semantic Compaction for buying Peter an iPhone! He's wanted one but didn't want to spend the money on it. I was going to buy him one for his birthday but then rumors came up that his employer might get him one so I didn't. And finally here it is---

Peter activating his iPhone.


Entering in all the info...


It's complete!

Outside Improvements

Man I hadn't realized how different our house looks. Here are more before/after shots of the front and back.

When we moved in, we had no yard. Instead it was this dog pen with stones at the bottom, wire fence around it and dead honeysuckle all over it. It was a real pain to rip out and dig out and plant grass but we did it! And it's sooooo much nicer!


You can't really see the same angle, but the green grass in this picture follows all the way down where the pen used to be.


Front of the house when we moved in...green trim, overgrown everything...huge mess.


New paint! Plus Peter and Jeff cut down a tree in the middle of the yard as well as some other huge shrubs. You can actually see the house now!


The old, short and slippery when wet steps...


The brand new retaining wall and awesome steps!


And the other side...


We still have to finish doing the landscaping out front. It's been so hot and humid and then we started the bathroom so we hope to finish that soon!

Kitchen Catastrophe

I found these pictures of what our kitchen looked like when we first moved in. Aqua cabinets, old nasty floors, 2 different kinds of mis-matched wallpaper (both of which were hideous), and ugly 25+yr old fridge and stove they left us (when we had newer ones already) and an all around mess. The day we got the keys, I ripped the wallpaper down--it felt so good! There are no pictures of the appliances, but you'll just have to trust me bc they were old and dirty and nasty!




At the end of the first weekend we moved in, this is what our kitchen was like---new paint on the walls, cupboards, hardware and new flooring. I also lined all the shelfs with shelf paper bc the old wood was kind nasty. I cleaned them all out and put the paper down and it made a world of a difference! Plus we got our appliances in there and the old ones out. I didn't paint all of the cabinet doors yet and actually we left them like this for a while because then it was wedding planning time and I didn't have enough time to work, have over and hour commute each way, do wedding stuff, and paint. It was good though bc we both learned where things were haha.


A few months later we have curtains, painted cupboards and a great looking kitchen! I still have a few things to do in there - add a shelf above the stove and make more counter space (you can see the brackets in one of the photos), paint the microwave stand to match the cabinets, put a new back door on, and then do all the touch ups.

Porch Furniture

I found these pictures of the porch furniture I got this year. I bough this whole set (4 chairs, table, buffet and a shelf unit-not pictured) for $75. I intended to use the table and chairs and buffet as outside furniture for on our covered deck. I painted them all white and recovered the seats with brown outdoor fabric from JoAnn's for $7. Paint was $15 so total = $97! I used the shelf unit in the spare bedroom and painted it sage green (our kitchen wall color) and made it a tv stand with a vcr shelf, etc. Here are the befores of the table/chairs and buffet. They look better in picture actually bc they were really shiny, orientalish looking pieces.


Here's the after on our deck: They have been standing up pretty well in the elements. The only thing was that the board on the back of the buffet warped bc we have a leak in the roof where it seems to the house and it got very wet. I can replace that though. And I think I painted the drawer shut somehow haha but I'm still investigating that... :P I'm very pleased with the outcome and so proud of myself!

More progress!

Slowly but surely we're able to get this bathroom into order. These pictures are from Saturday's progress....enjoy!

Here is Peter, obviously excited about painting haha.


Peter checking out the primer.


Close up view of the primer to cover the dark blue. Nice color but too dark for our small bathroom.


Peter is upset because while he was painting the ceiling white, he leaned back to see if his missed any spots...in doing so he bumped his head against the wall with wet paint!!


Proof...good thing it came out easy :-)


At the end of the day's work, we have blue walls, a white ceiling, white trim work and a white door. The trim, door and built in cupboard all need one last coat of white to be finished.


The white door. Only on the bathroom side. We would have left it wood but the previous owners had painted it blue so we had to do something. Eventually Peter and I are going to look into getting all the wood floors, doors, trim, etc. refinished...or try doing it ourselves! But that's a whole 'nother project for a whole 'nother time :P


The walls look darker with the lights off. We're still having this light blue grow on us. We didn't want "baby blue" but it looks to be that right now. We wanted more of a tint...it looked like that on the sample and in the can and while painting. We're going to finish it all and get the decorations done and if we don't like it, we can always lighten it. :)

Cadi is still getting used to the new sink. It's a bit more slippery than the last one so she has to be extra careful!

Rained OUT.

Due to the stupid rain, the finishing of the bathroom was postponed until Saturday....a little frustrating because now we all just want to finish the project.  Not much you can do though when the rain is making the wood and tools all wet.  Oh well...what can ya do?  Thanks to Jeff for coming down and trying though!  Andrew is coming this weekend too!  We're clearing house to make room for the fatso.  Tomorrow we are cleaning house because it's long over due.   

Cancelled---again!?

Having your doctor's office call to cancel your appointment is mildly annoying. Especially when it's a follow-up with a previously done EMG medical test that hurt so bad I cried! Aug 13th got cancelled so I scheduled it for tonight. Well this morning I get a call that my doctor is leaving early so they need to cancel for the second time! Argh-I just want to know what's going on with my hand/arm and why it hurts so badly sometimes. The EMG test came back negative for carpal tunnel...something my doctor was positive I had and the EMG test was supposed to just confirm. Even the doctors at the EMG testing (there were 3 plus one lab tech) all thought that by my symptoms and strength tests that I had CTS. So something is definitely not right, but what is it? Without being able to go to the doctor's, I'll never find out!

Cozy in Corduroy

This morning I (Mallory) woke up and put on my favorite brown corduroy pants. Topped off with a cozy pair of fuzzy socks! This past weekend's weather was FABULOUS! Even Sunday's chilly/misty gloom was welcomed by me. It felt like autumn was fast approaching-my absolute favorite season! When the chilly weather continued today I was more than happy to put on some fall attire to head to work. While wearing skirts and flipflops most days are fun, I hate the heat, especially muggy heat. I'm much more of a fleece/sweats kind of girl and am glad to have been reminded these past few days that fall isn't far away! :D Boo to the 85+ degree weather that's coming at the end of the week.

Bathroom blues

After this weekend, we're even closer to the finished product in our bathroom. Saturday we painted the inside of the door, the trim work, and the built in cupboard all white....needs 1 more coat to be solid and finished. Even with primer, the old dark blue is hard to cover. We also have been using painter's tape to tape out things so it's easier to paint and less messy. We're pleased with how things are going so far. We painted the walls a new, lighter shade of blue. However, while on the sample and in the can, it looked like our perfect color, after 2 coats on the wall it looks like baby blue--not exactly what we wanted. We can always take it back and have it lightened, but we're going to see how it looks with everything all finished and loaded in. Tomorrow night Jeff comes to finish the last bit of wainscotting, the corner pieces and the chair rail-yay! Then we'll be able to do one last coat of white and take the paint off and be done! Hooray! I already have our new shower curtain ($8) with nice beachy colored stripes and the previously mentioned pictures to hang. Also going to get a new chrome towel ring and toilet paper holder ($10 total for what we found so far, maybe cheaper--I love those bargains!), and since I spilled paint on our old floor mat, I think I'll look for a new one of those also. I also saw cute corner shelves at Lowes that I want to show to Peter to put in the corner by our door. To top things off, I'm going to use all of the fabulous seashells we collected on our honeymoon last year to put around in the bathroom. I really love decorating and am excited to finish this project! I took a few more pictures of our bathroom in progress this weekend and will post those later.

Bathroom in Progress...

Yesterday was a great day in the bathroom remodel! As you can see it already looks 10 times better and it's not even finished! I like how the sink and mirror are centered on the wall and each other now. And we didn't have to cover some of the vent. :) We had the wrong size lightbulbs but took the bulbs from the candles in the window for a temprary fix. They are only 15's and provide about the same light we were getting before. When we up them to 40, I think it will be great! Jeff is going to come back on Monday to finish the wainscotting and chair rail and corner pieces. Jeff and Peter worked for like 12 hrs yesterday and I must say--job well done! We love the new sink/cabinet and also the medicine chest. We used the silver knobs on the cabinet for 15 cents each and it really looks nice with the faucet and the mirror. I'm wondering if I should get a new toilet paper and towel holder in silver to also pop. I'll look online to see. I'm very happy with the results so far. This weekend I hope to paint the ceiling white and walls a light seashore blue color. This way we don't have to be precise with the paint trim since it will be covered by the chair rail. Then after Monday (when Jeff comes back to finish up) I'll be able to add pictures, shower curtain and other accessories and have a wonderfully nice bathroom!

Picture Dilemma

This is the first set of pictures...very beachy and nice...wondering if they'll match the shower curtain? Hmm...


This is the second set of pictures...also very beachy and nice...more toned down and might look nice against the blue tinted walls...guess we'll have to wait and see!

Bathroom Mess

Last night Peter and I ripped most of the old blue plastic tiles off of the wall in the bathroom. It was a mess!! And it smelled really stinky because of the glue. Of course we had to shut the door because Cadi was trying to come in too. So it was also hot! However it didn't take long to do and was for the most part very easy. There were some holes in the wall where they used extra glue that was a big trickier but like I said-mostly easy. Cleanup wasn't too bad either. In total, it took less than an hour to do. We opened the window in the bathroom today bc it was so stinky. Poor Cadi...she loves the bathroom and won't be able to be in it for another day or so. I can't wait until it's completed!! It'll look SO NICE! :D I also found awesome pictures at Walmart, marked $2 but rang up for $1!! I got four (2 different sets) because I can't decide and am going to wait for the bathroom to be finished. I migth even keep both sets and switch them around sometimes and whatever. With 2 $5 frames, total is $14.00--not bad!! Especially since the ones Paula and I saw at Linens N Things were $30-40. I'm so happy to have found something. I was just passing through Walmart and saw the pictures...there were tons and I had to hunt through every single smaller one to find the 2 sets, but it was worth it--especially when they rang up for a buck!

This is what the bathroom looks like so far...and it's pretty stinky so we opened the window before we left for work!

Welcome!

Welcome to our blog! Although our web.mac.com/pjformic site has a blog in it, we have to be on our laptop to update it. This way when we're bored at work, we'll be updating more often! :0)