Memorial Day Weekend 2011

What a busy memorial Day weekend.  Friday night we started off with the closing of Beffa's.  It was a hang out of St. Louis politicians, police and my mom would go there for lunch because the Southwestern Bell building was close.  We met up with Zipf and some of her friends for a couple of drinks and soon found out there was no food.  We quickly left and made our way over to Wash Ave. for dinner at Rosalita's.  The food was great and we'll have to go back soon.

Saturday, while Scott worked downtown, I worked on the bathroom walls scrubbing grout.  It was fun until my arms were spaghetti.  Then I was done trying and watched some of the Champions League Soccer game, Manchester United vs. Barcelona.  Barcelona won and it was a pretty exciting game for the first half and then Barca just took over.

Later that night we headed over to the Birch house to celebrate Catherine's 9th birthday.  Scott and I like to do something with the kids for their birthdays and it was going to be hard to top last year's gift to Catherine, Blues tickets.  But we came up with the idea of taking her to the Butterfly House.  I have never been there and from what Ellen said, Catherine might have been there once but doesn't remember it.  Score one for Scott for coming up with that idea!

Sunday was a really busy day of working on the bathroom.  Since the grout had set and dried longer than it should have (you live and learn when remodeling), we had to be creative on getting it off to save the tile.  After a couple of trips to Lowe's we bought some acid and scrub brushes and a new chisel set and by the end of Sunday we saw tile again.

[caption id="attachment_1267" align="aligncenter" width="225" caption="Grout removal"][/caption]

Our goal for Monday was to seal the bathroom and clean the garage before going to the Cardinals game at 3:15.  Somehow, that was completed even with doing more chiseling and acid wash.  It's now amazing how big the garage looks with all the junk that was not being used out of the way.  Plus the bathroom tile is now sealed and caulked!  We are just a few steps closer to the bathroom being user friendly.

[caption id="attachment_1268" align="aligncenter" width="300" caption="Sealed tile"][/caption]

We made it to the Cardinals vs. Giants game and sat in the Bleachers for the first time.  The seats really weren't too bad at all.  We had two homeruns hit into our section.  One by a Giants player that bounced over our heads and the other was a Pujols homer that was about 10 rows in front of us.  The downside was that McClellan gave up a grand slam and the Cardinals couldn't recover.  But we can say that we saw the current World Series Champions and can check off sitting in the bleachers on a crazy hot day off our lists!

[caption id="attachment_1269" align="aligncenter" width="300" caption="View from our seats"][/caption]

It was a great Memorial Day weekend and I'm extremely happy summer is finally here and it's going to be a busy one at that.

The Blue Room

So once we demo'ed the bathroom and found out that it wasn't scary behind the wall that was shared with our bedroom, I received a green light to remove the red!  I have not been a fan of the 3 red walls that Scott loved so much.  Maybe it was because they were bold red walls or because he only used primer paint and one coat or because the room is too small for such a bold color, or it was just time for the bachelor-pad room to go.  Whatever it was, it just wasn't working for a bedroom that should be a calm, relaxing place to sleep and mellow out.

[caption id="attachment_1255" align="aligncenter" width="300" caption="Red Hot Walls"][/caption]

With my green light from Scott, I wasted no time putting a coat of Killz on the wall while he insulated the bathroom walls.  I was so happy to just have the red gone that I left it blinding white for a couple days.  However, the 6am wake ups with the bright white did not go over well with me, the non-morning person.

[caption id="attachment_1256" align="aligncenter" width="300" caption="Bright White"][/caption]

And the blue was going up and it was looking really good.  I was very happy with my color choice and Scott was even getting used to the change.  Maybe even liking it!  By the time the drywall was up in the bathroom I had 3 walls of blue up in our room.  I left the big wall for after our trip to Chicago.  I managed to tackle the entire wall in one Monday night.  With the exception of a few missed spots the wall looked great.

[caption id="attachment_1258" align="aligncenter" width="300" caption="Blue"][/caption]

A couple touch ups on Saturday and the room is basically done.   Some flowers for the vases that started the whole blue room idea and the room looks fresh and clean.  Now to hang the mirror back and the new shade and the room will be complete.



Now that the mirror is up and the top of walls have been touched up, to the best that I can do.  I'm happy to say that this room is complete.  Well, at least until we get a new comforter and curtains that we registered for.

Bathroom changes so far

I don't know where to start with the bathroom...it needed help, badly.  So after almost 2 years of not being able to use the shower/tub area we finally decided it was time to do something about it.  Plus it kinda helps when you want to sell your house to have a bathroom that will pass inspection or actually get people in the door to look at it.  Or really because we were sick of going downstairs to shower all the time.

So we started with a little demo of the shower and saved the tub

[caption id="attachment_1238" align="aligncenter" width="300" caption="Before"][/caption]

[caption id="attachment_1239" align="aligncenter" width="300" caption="After demo"][/caption]

Then there was time for some insulation and plastic wrap and even some concrete board and green board going up.

[caption id="attachment_1240" align="aligncenter" width="225" caption="Insulation & Wrap"][/caption]

After a small trip to Chicago we completed the drywall process and were so happy to see 3 complete walls again.

[caption id="attachment_1241" align="aligncenter" width="300" caption="Concrete board & Green board"][/caption]

Then it was time to pick out the tile and make this a real shower once again, but first everyone had to sign the wall!



After the wall was signed it really needed some tile.

[caption id="attachment_1245" align="aligncenter" width="300" caption="Tile Day 1"][/caption]

[caption id="attachment_1246" align="aligncenter" width="300" caption="Completed tile"][/caption]

And now on to grouting and mudding the green board before painting.

Officially Employed

I am fully employed by Lindenwood University as of this week.  I've been doing temp work for a couple of months and then they decided to reorganize the department I was in and start interviewing people.  After waiting for a few weeks and watching other people interview, I was finally informed that I was going to be hired and that they were waiting on HR, one person, to officially OK me.

Once I received the official OK, we went over the terms of my contract and my inability to negotiate my salary...grrr.  I officially said yes to the job and my start date was to be early May.  Due to Office Team needing a final back ground check on me my start date was pushed back to May 12th.

I am now gainfully (kinda) employed at the University and get a few University perks, like free tuition for Scott (once we get married) and myself and health insurance!  Of course they are still a little behind the times and I'm only paid once a month and on real vacation time until after a year but I get to build up some time from now till July when the new year starts for the school.  So I'll take the ups with the downs and they are willing to work with me and my crazy schedule around the wedding this summer!

Land of Lincoln

It's official, we have knocked another state capital off our list.  Six capitals in one year.  Not too bad.  I don't think we will be able to beat that but it's an amazing feat in itself.

[caption id="attachment_1224" align="aligncenter" width="225" caption="Us at the IL Capital with Abe"][/caption]

We left early Friday morning with a busy plan for the day.  We made it into Springfield, Illinois around 10am and were able to find the Capital building some what easy.

[caption id="attachment_1225" align="aligncenter" width="300" caption="Finally, us with the top of the dome"][/caption]

We joined a tour group of high school students and a tour guide, who was on her 5th day on the job.  It was our first tour when the state Congress was actually in session.  It was interesting to see all the lobbyist running around and the pages setting up.

[caption id="attachment_1222" align="aligncenter" width="300" caption="The view of the dome"][/caption]

[caption id="attachment_1223" align="aligncenter" width="300" caption="Governor Quinn's office"][/caption]

After our capital tour, we walked down and took a tour of Abraham Lincoln's home.  They had a few blocks preserved and so it was like stepping back in time to the 1860s.  The sidewalks were wood, the houses hadn't changed, and there were a few, very few, towns people around.

[caption id="attachment_1226" align="aligncenter" width="300" caption="Lincoln's Springfield home"][/caption]

[caption id="attachment_1227" align="aligncenter" width="300" caption="Makin' friends"][/caption]

After a quick-lunch and fill up, of crazy Illinois gas prices, we were back on the road and on our way to Chicago.  The goal was to stop in downtown Chicago and visit Navy Pier before heading up to Scott's sister's house.  However, unexpected traffic due to construction and last-minute merging made us reconsider our game plan.  The temperature had also dropped about 20 degrees since we stopped in Springfield and the rain kicked in so we didn't think there would much to do outside.  Therefore, we decided to go straight to his sister's house.

Friday night we hung out with the family and had homemade pizza and played Dirty Neighbor, I won!  Saturday, Scott went to his nephew's soccer game while the rest of us got ready for the day.  We went to Potbelly's for lunch (St. Louis really needs a Potbellys) and then bowling.  It was really sad that I lost to a 5-year-old and I had bumpers to my advantage.   Afterwards, I napped while everyone else hung out.  Then the adults went out to dinner at Morton's Steak House.  It was a great dinner, I was able to try some lobster bisque, oysters, and shrimp.  The steak was great, too.  After dinner, the adults played a few ands of double fisted Dirty Neighbor.

On Sunday, Scott and I hung out with the family for a little while in the morning and then we cleaned up and headed out.  We decided to try Navy Pier even though it was still raining and cold.

[caption id="attachment_1228" align="aligncenter" width="300" caption="Downtown Chicago"][/caption]

[caption id="attachment_1229" align="aligncenter" width="300" caption="Us on Navy Pier"][/caption]

I would love to go back when it warms up and walk around and take a boat ride.  I would love to take a boat ride around the river around downtown.  But since there wasn't much to do we were on the road fairly early.

Our drive back wasn't as fun as the ride up.  Although there were some highlights.  We were making great time until we couldn't figure out why everyone was gong so slow, then we made it to the front of the pack.  There was a cop, just hanging out going the speed limit and no one would pass.  Basically, we had a line of cars that would get close and then back off.  It went on for 40 minutes!  The only good thing about it was that it was a great way to save gas because we all were cruising.  But it was so frustrating because no one knew if the cop was working or off duty.  So by the time we got to Springfield we were able to safely pass the cop and move forward.

Then when we were about 35 miles from St. Louis we were stopped by an accident which we thought was the slow down for construction.  And then we were in construction traffic for 30 minutes of complete stop and go.  It was really annoying to be that close and be in that much traffic.  But we made in back to St.Louis by 6:30 and we stopped at the Birch's to get Reily and then pick up my car.

It was a relaxing weekend but I wish I could have seen more of Chicago, if only the weather would cooperate more.  And now on to a very busy week.

I've got the blues

I've started painting the bedroom.  I couldn't take the blinding white walls in there.  It was just too white, even though it was just primer over red.  And with no window covering 6am morning light came too early for me and the dog.

So, with a little help from the Cardinals I was able to be distracted enough to paint three of the four walls last night.  I think they still need another coat and some touch ups here and there but I am loving the color.

[caption id="attachment_1209" align="aligncenter" width="300" caption="It's blue!"][/caption]

My helper, Reily,  decided to sleep and watch the game while I did all the work.

[caption id="attachment_1210" align="aligncenter" width="300" caption="I'm saving the big wall"][/caption]

More home improvements

We did a  lot of home improvements in one day, yesterday.  After a very busy week we were unable to actually get a head start on some of the projects and so they were all pushed into a busy Sunday, Mother's Day.  First we took Scott's mom to brunch at Molly's in Soulard.  And then we headed out to our house to start on the bathroom shower walls and painting in the bedroom.

We all went to Lowe's and bought concrete board, green board and painting supplies.  Then after halfway starting the work we headed back to Lowe's to pick up some more supplies.  Once back the fun began.  The walls in the bathroom were insulated and then wrapped in plastic and then some concrete board went up and even some green board.

[caption id="attachment_1201" align="aligncenter" width="300" caption="Insulation and plastic wrap"][/caption]

[caption id="attachment_1202" align="aligncenter" width="225" caption="Concrete board and Green board"][/caption]

Meanwhile the bedroom went from three very red walls to a nice white primer color.  It's amazing to see how much was started in just a few hours...

[caption id="attachment_1204" align="aligncenter" width="300" caption="Red walls"][/caption]

[caption id="attachment_1205" align="aligncenter" width="300" caption="Going"][/caption]

[caption id="attachment_1206" align="aligncenter" width="300" caption="Gone"][/caption]

It makes me anixous for the end results, but happy to know that we (Scott) are doing this mostly on our own.

Symphony

We finally made it to Powell Symphony Hall.  Scott and I have been talking about going to see the Symphony for a while or pretty much any and everytime time we drive down Grand Ave.  So this week, and thanks to Groupon we finally made our trip to the Symphony and saw the world premier of Christopher Rouse's Symphony Number 3 and Carmina Burana.

We even had great seats to take it all in



We first had dinner at Rizzo's Station Pizzaria with Scott's friends Bryce and Tasha.  Then we headed down to Powell Symphony Hall.  I don't think I had been there since grade school field trips.  I dreaded those field trips and now I was excited to go, my how the times have changed.

The first part of the symphony was very fast and it was the part that I enjoyed the most.  To me it seemed like you couldn't keep up with the music and that it was more like a chase scene going on in your head.  The second half introduced the choir and even though the signing was in latin, I still preferred the intrumental music.  The soloist had a great voice but overall I preferred the fun, fast music.

It was a great night, can't wait to visit it again.

Here is our tornado damage

Since the Good Friday tornado a lot of clean up and repairs have been going on around St. Louis, North County, and our neighborhood.  It still is amazing to see all the down trees lining the streets on my way to work and all the blue tarps on roofs on my short 5 minute drive to the highway.

What's even more amazing is the wood pile that is ever growing at the community center.  It's where they are putting all the down trees that they are picking up and then turning into mulch.

In all seriousness here is our damage from the EF4 tornado that went through our backyard.



If you blow up the picture you can see the crack in the fence and that is it.  And thankfully that is it.

Demolition

It's official we have finally started demo on the bathroom on the main floor!  It's only been over a year in the making but it's finally happening.  We will have a new shower and bath to use and Scott and Mike are doing a lot of the work.  Mostly Scott is doing it all himself with help here and there and I couldn't be more proud that he is taking on this task with his crazy work schedule.

So here is the before demo

[caption id="attachment_1197" align="aligncenter" width="300" caption="Before demo shower area"][/caption]

On Sunday, Mike came over and he and Scott pulled all drywall and insulation out of the walls around the tub.  It's such a small area but even with that part gutted the bathroom looks bigger.  It looks like the damage that Scott thought was behind the walls is minimal and our goal is to have the shower section of the bathroom up and running in a couple weeks.

[caption id="attachment_1198" align="aligncenter" width="300" caption="After demo shower area"][/caption]