New walls, new hope

Hello all!

Is everyone else enjoying the brief moments of cold weather we are getting?  I love it - except for the fact that I'm living like a gypsy and I have shit everywhere and it's annoying to have to search for pants or shorts or a jacket lol.  I'm telling you, you really don't realize how complicated it is to live in 3 rooms of your house and then have all your SHIT everywhere and other stuff strategically placed everywhere else.  Its a pain in the ass, take my word for it.

So the house - lets start from where I left off.  In the last blog, I talked about the beginnings of the hurricane and what damage was done and the demo of it all.

Well, I'm happy to say that we have WALLS!!!!!!! The whole downstairs where we took the 4ft off now has brand new sheetrock.  We are in the sanding and floating stage right now - hopefully, texture & paint is next week.  I finally got the wall of my dreams.  I don't think I've ever been so excited to have a freakin wall.

So for comparison - here is a picture from Little man's 4th birthday party.
You see the curtain back there?? Yea that was the only cheap way to close it off to everything.

During this demo pic, you can see it was open.

Well....I wanted to be closed off.  Why you ask? 2 reasons - one I wanted it to be an actual room with a door (a bedroom for my Bubba) and second because I hated the fact that I had to paint that the same as the living room because their was no break. 

Well...look at it NOW:

THERE IS A WALL!!!!!!!!!  We are putting a pocket door, it's the only way we could fit a door without having to rip up the stairs.  I'm in total love with it.

So speaking of demo - demo comes with problems, right?   

You see that tile on the floor behind Little man?  Yea...that stuff wouldn't budge..at all.  So thanks to my cousin who is in road construction, he let us borrow his electric jack hammer and Hubs went to town!

Hubs got it all up - he's so manly (sometimes lol).  Right now its a hurry up and wait game still.  The sheetrock is up but it's got to be floated at least 3 times...le sigh.  I wish they'd just spray the texture and get it over with.  The only good thing is...I don't have to cook right now lol.  Check out the kitchen.  Since everything in the kitchen (except the dishwasher) is good, they moved all of our boxes and totes in front of the cabinets and stove.  Fun times, right?

Sigh, lets talk hurricanes

Hellllooo? 

As you can tell I took a slight break from doing projects and writing on my blog.  2 reason - 1st: it's hard to do DIY projects when you have 2 families living in 1 house.  You see, I'm purchasing my parents house (the house I grew up in) and my parents are building a new house in the country.  My parents are strangely and lovingly attached to MY house.  And aren't really keen on projects that I want to do...cause it's been their way for 25 years and just...no lol.  And I understand, I do...but I pay the bills...and at a certain point you've just got to let go (ANNND Hurricane Isaac sure did give them a swift kick in the ass, just sayin).  2nd - I'm effin lazy, there I said it.  I still have not put the clear coat on my upstairs cabinets, I know...bad DIY-er.

Well...you'll be unhappy to know that Hurricane Isaac destroyed my NEW bathroom...I was able to keep the toilet area because we put up greenboard and tiled the walls (which I'm sooo glad I took my dad's advice on that).

I do have a few pictures on my phone from the hurricane, not much because I wasn't home to see the damage get done.  I did walk (with my hubs) 8 blocks in thigh high water in the rain to get to my house...and then I just broke down in tears. I wanted to redo stuff, of course I did but damnit, not like this.  Not EVERYTHING all at one, it was supposed to be 1 project a year...but le sigh, I can't do anything about it...whats done is done, you know.

 Here is the water line - Red wall is the living room.  Beige wall - Kitchen.  Green wall (sniff!) - bathroom - Plus side is now I can really get rid of those presswood cabinets.

 So yea, this is my bedroom - the fucking ceiling COLLAPSED because the roof came off in that one section (because the roofers just nailed the shingles in and didn't remove the back for the back adhesive)

 How nice, right??  Guess who's getting a new bed now....

 

 The beginning of the trash pile...and speaking of trash pile - I hate touching that shit, god it's nasty!.

And here comes the DEMO!! (pay no attention to the underage workers, btw lol)  We had to go 4 feet high with EVERY wall.

 

The freaking tile was coming up like butta...my hubs and dad killed that shit in like 20 minutes.

 AND whoever created or layed vinyl tile in my house - I hope you DIE.  God that shit was horrible to take off and my shoulders are still killing me.

 And little blue flooded out and Geico came and towed her away...

But for now, we are living upstairs (thank goodness we have a 2 story) and everyday when we get home from work, we do a new project.  I want this shit done...and done quickly.

-Em

My loving Husband

My dear loving husband sent me this IM that said "Omg...they made a graphjam that's all about you!" and at this point I'm like whaaaa? what are you talking about, who would make a graphjam of me, I'm like no one in this big ol' blog-a-sphere....

Well....would you like to see what my dear, loving husband sent me?

graphjam

 

Touché..........."Just you wait, 'enry 'iggins, just you wait!"

Cabinets Transformation!! (totally sounds like a magic trick, right?)

Hello!  I know that I promised this post yesterday but you wouldn't BELIEVE the day I had at work.  It was crazy and I was swamped with work.  Who knew they actually expected you to work :p

Anyways! On to the cabinets.  After seeing the Rust-oleum  cabinet transformations all over the interwebs, I had to do it myself.  So this is the cabinet when I 1st started.

 

This is the lovely kit and believe me when I say the large kit can really do your whole kitchen, I have so much left.

Step one, clean the cabinets.  This stuff worked great and didn't smell that bad.

 Look at the cabinets, it's just a plain white press-board laminate cabinet.  Nothing fancy about, no wood grain...nothing...just white.

 

 I tried to do an action shot...lol, not much action to cleaning.

So after I cleaned it, I was on to step 2, painting.  Here is a picture of the 1st coat.  btdubs, this paint is THIN.  Like it was dripping everywhere.  I stirred the crap out of it and shook the can but still thin.  It got everywhere on me lol.

It's a bit streaky but it's on there.  At 1st I didn't like the color and thought to myself, well at least it's just paint...but I did a second coat.

And I like it sooo much better.  And now on to step 3 the glaze!!

Now, you'd be crazy to tell me you just don't looove this....ready??

Squee!!!! Lookie!! It actually looks like wood!!!  I love it soooooooooo much!!!  I can't wait to do the rest of my cabinets!!!

Here's a close up of the glaze...

How could you not love that!!!

A little bit of the paint came off when I was wiping the glaze off, meh I kind of like it like that, gives it a unique look and yes that is code for eff it, I'm not repainting this bitch again.

And eventually I'll paint the bathroom walls...what...don't like the sponge blue?  Meh, neither do I but I'm not rushing it.  This is the upstairs bathroom, no one every uses it except us.

 I added some brown to my Sister's paint shirt lol

I told you, the paint got everywhere on me.  BTDubs, look how pretty my garden is, love it.

 Little man decided he had to clean my feet lol.

My review on Rust-oleum Cabinet Transformations is a A+, no sanding..why yes, yes please :)

Linking to Thrifty Decor Chick for her Before and After Party!!

No Sir, I don't like it.

Have you ever heard a phrase or a saying and as soon as they said it something pops in your head.  Happens to me all. the. time.

I was talking to a Co-worker the other day and he was asking me if I liked something and I said "No sir, I don't like it." and I laughed.  Because I obviously got the joke...he however did not.  And if you don't know the joke....well just shame on you.

 

I have a very overactive imagination (totally why I can't watch scary movies, that shit stays in my brain and I freak myself out).  And I can pretty much remember every single book/movie/tv show I've ever seen (where was this in college!?).


When I read books, I become so invested in them.  I feel like the character is real and I want them to be real.  Now, I'm not super weird chick who actually thinks they are real, no I'm not.  But that doesn't mean, I wouldn't want them to be real.  When I read, I see the story in my head and it stays with me forever.  When I was in Junior High, I pretty much read every single Fear Street book there was and I still remember bits and pieces of it.  It kind of helps that I will re-read everything and anything.  In High School, I couldn't tell you how many times I read Without Mercy...I don't know why I was so obsessed with it but I was, my copy was so worn out.  I can't go into a IHOP without thinking of that book.  I know that story backwards and forwards.  And now, my Goose got me into the Paranormal Romance Novels, The Black Dagger Brotherhood and oooh, I was in heaven and in love.  I was engrossed in these books that I was ignoring my shows (which if anyone knows me, I love my TV).  I highly suggest you read them.  I've also read the Dark Hunter Series, which I love.  I have read Acheron, probably about 15 times now and I just can't stop.  Acheron has just stuck with me.  I've read The Midnight Breed Series, which are actually quite good (more action, less romance) and Mercy Thompson Series, I really liked that one.  I love reading about werewolves/shifters - that's one thing I loved about the DH series, they had vamp books, were books, even dream hunter books.  All the things I love in one series...yes, please!!

Oh, the reason I was telling you this story was because my godson has to read Freckle Juice for summer reading.  And omg, I loved that book when I was younger.  I was so excited to tell him what it was about and how great it was and I wasn't that much older than he was when I 1st read it but I still remember it.  And he has to read a Junie B. Jones book..squee! I loved her books too! lol


Anyways...lol, I didn't expect to talk that much about books - if you can't tell I love books.

I don't know where "NOT TODAY" came from, maybe it was from reading too many meme's but when something in a movies happens...crap it was just in a movie I watched and I can't remember the name of it...but I can totally see the scene in my head...moving on, when something epic happens, I always want to yell "NOT TODAY, oh not today mf'er" LOLOL seriously I think it's hilarious.  When I was having the whack-a-mole contest with the roaches during the Bath Renov, I was yelling at the roaches "NOT TODAY..oh you are not coming in my house" lol.  Don't judge me.


OOOH and my co-worker just reminded me of this one cause our new intern name is George.  And I was like hmmm...why do I know that name? Aha!! I know, Bugs Bunny!!!!

Buhahaha!!! I say that when I squeeze our cat.


I think my Hubs loves and hates me for this because most of the time, I'll reference movie we've both seen and he gets the joke but when he doesn't, it makes it even funnier for me...for him..meh, not so much lol.

So this weekend, I plan to do a DIY project and I'll share the details on Monday.  Make sure to check twitter and facebook for random updates.  I just posted the pictures of my mom's new house! It's HUUGEE!!

No Boil Lasagna

I got this recipe long ago and I love it.  It's super easy.  Now, this wouldn't be "Adventures in Caveat Cooking" if there wasn't some kind of mistake.  I swear, I've made this lasagna a bunch of times and its came out perfect.  This time...no so much.  I didn't use enough sauce (I usually use the big ol jar of Rago/Prego (whatever is on sale, really) but this time I used a small jar) so there wasn't alot of sauce in the actually lasagna.  So if you make this, use the big ol' jar or add 2 cans of tomato sauce (I only used 1).

Ingredients:
1 to 1 1/2 pounds of ground meat
a pack of oven ready lasagna noodles
a pack of mozzarella cheese
a tub of part skim ricotta cheese
a big ol' jar of tomato sauce (whatever brand you like)
some parmesan cheese
some minced garlic
Italian seasoning
1 egg

Tools:
1 skillet
1 big bowl
1 9x13 pan
1 small bowl

Start off by browning your ground meat, add the minced garlic and Italian seasoning.  Once done, drain and add to the large bowl.  And then add your tomato sauce

 See...small jar...make sure you use the big jar or another can of tomato sauce.  And I'd like to point out, I cook almost everything in that Magnalite pan.  I LOOVE it.  My mom has had a set since her wedding 30 years ago (and they look GREAT too) and I received mine from Hub's Aunt D when we got married..I was so happy.

Personally, I think you can really cook IF you can cook in a non non-stick pan and nothing gets burned or stuck to the pan.  Non-stick is for the weak :p

 I totally did the action shots instead of making it all pretty to take a picture...I don't have time for that lol, I needed to make this stuff.  So pay no attention to the everything except the 3 cheeses there and the carton of eggs.

I have a messy counter, I know.  BUT in my defense, it's stuff I use every time I cook (my spices, my olive oil, cooking spray) I don't know why the cup of bacon grease is there...I thought I put it in the fridge...hmmm.  And yes, I save my bacon grease...don't judge me. 

Make sure your noodles say "Oven Ready", believe me.  I tried it once with just regular noodles...the noodles were a bit undercooked and it was not good.

 Ok, so after you add your meat to the sauce (heh), in the small bowl add the egg and ricotta cheese and a 2-3 shakes of your parmesan cheese. and stir well until it's all mixed.

 Then in your pan, put a layer of sauce on the bottom of the pan, remember your sauce cooks the noodles, so don't freak when you have a big ol' bowl of sauce, trust me...you will use it.

 Then put a layer of noodles.  Now in my pan, I have to do the noodle configuration like this and I actually like it this way.  I do have to break off a bit to the top to fit - BUT be careful because you only have 1 extra noodle.

 Then add a layer of sauce, then a 6 globs of the ricotta mixture and spread them as best you can. Then sprinkle some mozzarella over the whole thing.  More mozzarella the cheeser it will be, so don't go overboard.

 And repeat.  Noodles, sauce, cheese.  you'll get about 2 layers - max.  After the last cheese application (use all the cheese..do not be afraid), put your noodles on top and cover it with ALL the sauce.  The more sauce, the better (and I should know, right..tsk tsk)

 After you've put all your sauce, cover that baby with cheese.  Now, I know you're probably asking yourself..."Em..is that yellow cheese I see?"..why yes, yes that is yellow cheese.  Truth be told, I didn't have a full bag of mozzarella, so I kind of ran out, so I improvised and add some cheddar that I had in the fridge.  Cheese is cheese to me. Oh, when you finally lift it to put it in the oven, you'll probably say "sweet jesus, this damn thing is heavy"...well, you do have alot of sauce in there.  But yes, it will feel like a brick but it will lighten up once it cooks.

Bake at 375 for about 45 minutes covered with aluminum foil.  Then bake uncovered for about 10-15 minutes or when the cheese starts to brown.

And VOLIA!!! You have lasagna! and you didn't have to boil anything!!

 I told you, you always get stuck with one extra noodle...what in the crap am I gonna do with one measly noodle..*scoff*.