Showing posts with label Minnesota. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Minnesota. Show all posts
3.04.2019
7.14.2015
Tuesday's Frugal Mission
Mer.
Frugality.
Frugal.
CHEAP.
Frugal doesn't necessarily mean cheap. Frugal means thinking about where you're spending your money, what you're spending your money on, and actively making a choice on how you're spending money.
Some days I'm great at being frugal. Others... not so much. OY. I think it's like that for a lot of people.
In any case, today I had a BRILLIANT idea. I saw these awesome curtain rod strings at Ikea and thought - I NEED THOSE FOR MY BACK PORCH.
And then I remembered that I bought the same curtain rod strings - in fact I bought them to string up in the dining room to hold The Monkey's art work but I never got around to it (and I've determined I really like the painting we have in the dining room anyway so I bought magnet clips for the fridge). I thought I might have donated the string or maybe sold it in the last yard sale that we had but no, I didn't do anything with it. Instead the curtain rod string thingy was just hanging out in a basket in the closet.
I even have leftover home decor fabric from when I made curtains for The Monkey's room when I was pregnant. SCORE.
All I need are 4 extra corner holder thingys from Ikea and some type of hanger clips and I'm all set to hang up some curtains - instead of using the tension rods which keep falling on The Monkey when she's playing back there (it's sort of funny. I mean you suddenly hear something snap and then a 3 year old screaming "GHOST! IT'S A GHOST! I CAN'T SEE!!!").
So the total cost for these curtains AFTER finding what I already have in my house will be under $10. WOO HOO!!!
My NEXT frugal mission after Ikea and the curtain rod string thingy is to go to the library.
I reserved 5 books - two are urban homesteading books which are all about turning your yard into a vegetable garden and basically making the most out of a 1/4 acre of land. Here in the city we have like an 1/8 of an acre - but with the tree coming down in the back, I can start to take advantage of all the sunlight we're going to get next year and plan out more vegetables and determine how to PRESERVE what I grow. That's the tough part - you can only eat so much while it's fresh so knowing how to preserve homegrown food is really a good thing to know. I'd like to do lasagna gardening in our front flower beds for vegetables and move all the flowers into the actual yard - but make some sort of patio for chairs and a table (yes, we hang out in the front yard here in Minnesota, sometimes even in the garage!). First I need to read HOW to do some of this shit and determine how much sun the front gets to know if I can actually move some flowers and how bad chicken wire will look from the street. Maybe I should start looking at what grows best for vines... Meh, whatever... I have lots of months to think about gardening and to write down which flowers did the best this year.
Three books are just for funzies - one stupid Nora Roberts book (the last in a trilogy which will take me two or three days to read); another last-of-a-trilogy book in the Grave Mercy series which won't take me long at all; and the 4th book in the Logan McRae series by Stuart MacBride (if you can't tell it's a book set in Scotland by a Scottish author).
And the last frugal thing that I do today:
Make lunch with leftovers from dinner - some type of veggie wrap or quesadilla with the grilled veggies from last night.
Cook dinner with the last of our CSA veggies from last Thursday. Tonight = roasted veggies (broccoli, cauliflower, beets, turnips) with rice pilaf.
If you notice, there's no meat listed above. Basically we get enough veggies where I don't really need to cook meat with a meal. There's no way we can eat everything if I include meat. We become partial vegetarians in the summer with the amount of vegetables we receive with our CSA and with what I supplement from the co-op or Cub or Target or Byerly's. That doesn't mean we don't have meat - in the freezer there's pork chops, chicken, ground beef, fish, and shrimp. I have meat so when we do need some protein I can just pull it out of the freezer instead of running to the grocery store or wherever to get meat. It's a cheap way to eat meat - I buy when it's all on sale (and I don't buy the cheap stuff, I buy organic free range chicken, organic grass fed beef, organic fed pork, etc...) and then I toss it into bags with marinade in portions for 1 or 2 people.
So.. I think that's all we're up to today.
Happy Tuesday!!!
Frugality.
Frugal.
CHEAP.
Frugal doesn't necessarily mean cheap. Frugal means thinking about where you're spending your money, what you're spending your money on, and actively making a choice on how you're spending money.
Some days I'm great at being frugal. Others... not so much. OY. I think it's like that for a lot of people.
In any case, today I had a BRILLIANT idea. I saw these awesome curtain rod strings at Ikea and thought - I NEED THOSE FOR MY BACK PORCH.
And then I remembered that I bought the same curtain rod strings - in fact I bought them to string up in the dining room to hold The Monkey's art work but I never got around to it (and I've determined I really like the painting we have in the dining room anyway so I bought magnet clips for the fridge). I thought I might have donated the string or maybe sold it in the last yard sale that we had but no, I didn't do anything with it. Instead the curtain rod string thingy was just hanging out in a basket in the closet.
I even have leftover home decor fabric from when I made curtains for The Monkey's room when I was pregnant. SCORE.
All I need are 4 extra corner holder thingys from Ikea and some type of hanger clips and I'm all set to hang up some curtains - instead of using the tension rods which keep falling on The Monkey when she's playing back there (it's sort of funny. I mean you suddenly hear something snap and then a 3 year old screaming "GHOST! IT'S A GHOST! I CAN'T SEE!!!").
So the total cost for these curtains AFTER finding what I already have in my house will be under $10. WOO HOO!!!
My NEXT frugal mission after Ikea and the curtain rod string thingy is to go to the library.
I reserved 5 books - two are urban homesteading books which are all about turning your yard into a vegetable garden and basically making the most out of a 1/4 acre of land. Here in the city we have like an 1/8 of an acre - but with the tree coming down in the back, I can start to take advantage of all the sunlight we're going to get next year and plan out more vegetables and determine how to PRESERVE what I grow. That's the tough part - you can only eat so much while it's fresh so knowing how to preserve homegrown food is really a good thing to know. I'd like to do lasagna gardening in our front flower beds for vegetables and move all the flowers into the actual yard - but make some sort of patio for chairs and a table (yes, we hang out in the front yard here in Minnesota, sometimes even in the garage!). First I need to read HOW to do some of this shit and determine how much sun the front gets to know if I can actually move some flowers and how bad chicken wire will look from the street. Maybe I should start looking at what grows best for vines... Meh, whatever... I have lots of months to think about gardening and to write down which flowers did the best this year.
Three books are just for funzies - one stupid Nora Roberts book (the last in a trilogy which will take me two or three days to read); another last-of-a-trilogy book in the Grave Mercy series which won't take me long at all; and the 4th book in the Logan McRae series by Stuart MacBride (if you can't tell it's a book set in Scotland by a Scottish author).
And the last frugal thing that I do today:
Make lunch with leftovers from dinner - some type of veggie wrap or quesadilla with the grilled veggies from last night.
Cook dinner with the last of our CSA veggies from last Thursday. Tonight = roasted veggies (broccoli, cauliflower, beets, turnips) with rice pilaf.
If you notice, there's no meat listed above. Basically we get enough veggies where I don't really need to cook meat with a meal. There's no way we can eat everything if I include meat. We become partial vegetarians in the summer with the amount of vegetables we receive with our CSA and with what I supplement from the co-op or Cub or Target or Byerly's. That doesn't mean we don't have meat - in the freezer there's pork chops, chicken, ground beef, fish, and shrimp. I have meat so when we do need some protein I can just pull it out of the freezer instead of running to the grocery store or wherever to get meat. It's a cheap way to eat meat - I buy when it's all on sale (and I don't buy the cheap stuff, I buy organic free range chicken, organic grass fed beef, organic fed pork, etc...) and then I toss it into bags with marinade in portions for 1 or 2 people.
So.. I think that's all we're up to today.
Happy Tuesday!!!
7.06.2015
Free Things I Love To Do In The Summer
Kids are freaking expensive, and places where you usually bring your kids for entertainment can be REALLY expensive - hence why we've never been to Underwater World (See here for ticket prices) or Valley Fair or to the rides at the Mall of America or even to the Minnesota Zoo without someone that has a membership.
Am I denying my child a fun childhood? NO.
I'm being a smart parent that likes to save money.
So we do other things instead.
Saint Louis Park offers free concerts in the park on Wednesday nights.
I did end up buying a pool pass for each of us, however, we've used it 5 times in a week so that's already paid for itself.
The local neighborhood park is always entertaining.
We bike to Lake Calhoun and stop at the parks around the lake, bring a snack/lunch/drinks and people watch.
The LIBRARY. OMG. It's the best. I swear, I come home with two new books to read and The Monkey comes home with BAGS full of books. Do they all get read? Not every week but we sure do have fun picking out books - her current favorites are the Fancy Nancy series and all books by Mo Willems (if you haven't heard of Knuffle Bunny, you need to get on that shit, best kids' book series ever!).
We also just bought a new tag-along bike trailer so The Monkey can sit and pedal along (it's called a WeeHoo). It doesn't have the storage like the full-on bike trailer but it sure is easier to ride and a heck of a lot more fun. Bimmer Man can get up to 17 miles per hour (probably even faster if we were really biking) and I was going along at 13 mile per hour around Lake Calhoun - one guy was happy enough to give us our speed and an enthusiastic thumbs up to The Monkey for being an awesome "biker."
LEGOS. Our basement looks like The Lego Movie. 'Nough said.
Gardening in our yard. The Monkey is happy with a shovel, a bucket, a rake, and a garden hose. Dirty? Yes. Memorable? Yep. I'm starting to teach her how to identify plants. So far she knows a few herbs, lilies, tomato plants, and butterfly bush. And yes, she's only 3.
Cooking/Baking. She helps dump all the ingredients into the bread machine to make bread. She smashes eggs (please note, I didn't write "crack" eggs), stirs what needs to be stirred, scoops cookie dough onto cookie sheets, and is a pretty great "helper" in the kitchen.
Splashpad. It's free for residents. Generally The Monkey only lasts 15 - 25 minutes anyway, so we don't go as often. Andplusalso because it's free it gets busy and the older kids can be a little nuts. Some parents don't actually watch their kids and the older kids ruin the fun of the younger kids.
CLEANING. Put your kid to work. I give The Monkey a cloth and a squirt bottle of water and I just say... "Have fun cleaning! You said you were bored!" It doesn't last long... but I also haven't heard "I'm bored!" in quite a few weeks.
Sooo... there's my list of ideas of things to do that are free (or mostly free if you already have the supplies). Summer is a ton of fun and I really like to make sure that we're enjoying the great days outside when we can. I LOVE summer... and I LOVE to enjoy these days while we can - because in the middle of winter I really do miss the 90 degree days of the summer!
7.26.2014
The Thing That Sees Me When I'm Peeing
I'm going to let all of you women-who-want-children-but-haven't-had-any in on a little secret.
Your bladder will no longer work like it does now.
As in, I used to be able to hold my pee all night long, even after drinking.
I now wake up at least twice to pee at night, I still drink a TON of water - generally my day consists of caffeine until 9 and then water, water, water, water, water, a beer or two and then that's it. I just can't hold my urine anymore. I have not had a full night's sleep in almost 3 years. Mothers sacrifice their bladders. It's just how it works.
Which brings me to this post.
A few weeks ago I was talking to our neighbor and she noticed a few headless dead animals in her yard, and the neighbor next to her did too. We've had three dead headless birds on our front sidewalk, a dead headless chipmunk on the side of our house (not killed by Rusty), and I've seen at least two dead headless rabbits in our back alley. One neighbor said it was hawks killing the small animals - the head is the best nutritious part of the animals. I guess brains taste delicious but I wouldn't know. I've never eaten brains before.
The past two weeks I've been up at 2:30, 3:30, 4:30, 5, 5:30, etc... peeing. And I've looked up and out the skylight while peeing to see a moving object (though I was a bit blurry eye-ed with sleep), that is incredibly large, tall, with HUGE tail feathers walking up and down the same branches.
It sort of looks like an owl, but then when it turns it looks like an eagle. We do live close to Minnehaha Creek and I have seen Bald Eagles in the area several times (they are HUGE when they swoop through the air!). My problem is that I'm not a bird-watcher and I have no idea what to look for to identify owls or eagles in the middle of the night.
I"m pretty sure it's this bird-thing that's killing the small animals (which I hope it eats more chipmunks!!). But I don't know what it is! In the middle of the night I'm way too tired to even think about grabbing my camera or shining a flashlight or anything that might help me to figure out what it is.
So, to explain where I"m looking, here's a few photos. If there are any bird-watchers reading this, please, please let me know if you think you know what this is or how I can identify this bird creature!
Your bladder will no longer work like it does now.
As in, I used to be able to hold my pee all night long, even after drinking.
I now wake up at least twice to pee at night, I still drink a TON of water - generally my day consists of caffeine until 9 and then water, water, water, water, water, a beer or two and then that's it. I just can't hold my urine anymore. I have not had a full night's sleep in almost 3 years. Mothers sacrifice their bladders. It's just how it works.
Which brings me to this post.
A few weeks ago I was talking to our neighbor and she noticed a few headless dead animals in her yard, and the neighbor next to her did too. We've had three dead headless birds on our front sidewalk, a dead headless chipmunk on the side of our house (not killed by Rusty), and I've seen at least two dead headless rabbits in our back alley. One neighbor said it was hawks killing the small animals - the head is the best nutritious part of the animals. I guess brains taste delicious but I wouldn't know. I've never eaten brains before.
The past two weeks I've been up at 2:30, 3:30, 4:30, 5, 5:30, etc... peeing. And I've looked up and out the skylight while peeing to see a moving object (though I was a bit blurry eye-ed with sleep), that is incredibly large, tall, with HUGE tail feathers walking up and down the same branches.
It sort of looks like an owl, but then when it turns it looks like an eagle. We do live close to Minnehaha Creek and I have seen Bald Eagles in the area several times (they are HUGE when they swoop through the air!). My problem is that I'm not a bird-watcher and I have no idea what to look for to identify owls or eagles in the middle of the night.
I"m pretty sure it's this bird-thing that's killing the small animals (which I hope it eats more chipmunks!!). But I don't know what it is! In the middle of the night I'm way too tired to even think about grabbing my camera or shining a flashlight or anything that might help me to figure out what it is.
So, to explain where I"m looking, here's a few photos. If there are any bird-watchers reading this, please, please let me know if you think you know what this is or how I can identify this bird creature!
Here's a photo - you can see the skylight and the toilet
This is my view from the toilet out the skylight
And here's a better view of where this bird thingy sits in the trees.
Anybody know what this thing might be????
7.13.2011
Minnesota Government Shutdown = No More Beer
Boo. Any liquor distributor that did not renew its license cannot deliver beer to Minnesota.
See here.
And here.
So, hopefully no booze will get people motivated to decide upon a budget and get state workers back to work, truckers able to pee at rest areas on the freeways, campers back into state parks and well, beer to be stocked on the shelves!
See here.
And here.
So, hopefully no booze will get people motivated to decide upon a budget and get state workers back to work, truckers able to pee at rest areas on the freeways, campers back into state parks and well, beer to be stocked on the shelves!
7.07.2011
Help Me With Growing Grass
Why?
Well, because I need some help. How in the world do I grow grass here? You can tell that I'm experimenting with grass seed - I spread out a bag of black dirt, tossed some seed and kept it watered. This is after a week. I just don't know if it's worth it to do the rest of the dead part or not. Well, unless there is some secret grass that holds up to dogs (anyone know?).
I think I'm going to rope it off next week and throw down more black dirt and try to seed the rest of the dead spots. GAH. It's just grass - I shouldn't care too much, but I just HATE when Rusty comes in with muddy paws.
Any thoughts or suggestions? I tried to embrace the mud but I just can't do it anymore. I'm not a fan.
7.04.2011
Happy 4th of July!!
Yeah, sorry. I've been getting distracted lately by the AWESOME weather. It's been warm, sunny and just perfect to work outside, sit outside and read, cook on the grill, swimming at a friend's pool. Minnesota in the summer is the BEST. So I apologize for not sharing in the fun.
But I have a problem in my garden - my Clematis died. Again. This is the only plant that I kill outside. Continuously. Well, besides the tomatoes that I had to replant. Whoops. Mostly because I don't think the Clematis is in a spot where the soil drains well. I think I'm going to have to go to Sunnyside Gardens and get another one and then plant it right next to the house on a trellis since that soil seems to drain well. GAH. Gardening. It never ends!
Recipes I've made:
Mostly brats on the grill. Who wants to see pictures of brats? Well, not me.
Potatoes AND asparagus on the grill (this is sort of a weekly staple in our house in the summer, I never bother taking pictures because otherwise I'd be posting the same thing over and over again - just seasoned with salt, pepper and Moroccan spices for both veggies)
Chicken on the grill - seasoned with Mediterranean seasoning and sprinkled with lemon juice
Scrambled eggs, bacon, toast
See - I'm boring when it's nice outside. But I found a recipe for Cherry Crisp, so I think I'm going to run to the store and pick up another bag of cherries and maybe make that for dessert tonight. Simple, but delicious!
Happy 4th of July - be safe with the fireworks and hope that everyone's day is AWESOME!
But I have a problem in my garden - my Clematis died. Again. This is the only plant that I kill outside. Continuously. Well, besides the tomatoes that I had to replant. Whoops. Mostly because I don't think the Clematis is in a spot where the soil drains well. I think I'm going to have to go to Sunnyside Gardens and get another one and then plant it right next to the house on a trellis since that soil seems to drain well. GAH. Gardening. It never ends!
Recipes I've made:
Mostly brats on the grill. Who wants to see pictures of brats? Well, not me.
Potatoes AND asparagus on the grill (this is sort of a weekly staple in our house in the summer, I never bother taking pictures because otherwise I'd be posting the same thing over and over again - just seasoned with salt, pepper and Moroccan spices for both veggies)
Chicken on the grill - seasoned with Mediterranean seasoning and sprinkled with lemon juice
Scrambled eggs, bacon, toast
See - I'm boring when it's nice outside. But I found a recipe for Cherry Crisp, so I think I'm going to run to the store and pick up another bag of cherries and maybe make that for dessert tonight. Simple, but delicious!
Happy 4th of July - be safe with the fireworks and hope that everyone's day is AWESOME!
5.23.2011
Tornado Near Us This Past Weekend
I have a video to share with everyone. This home video was shot at a Costco maybe about 2 - 3 miles from our house. From where the tornado is, our house is just south about 3 miles. Where was I when this was happening? Well, sitting in the living room watching the news.
I wanted to share this because we live VERY near downtown Minneapolis and tornadoes in cities are very rare. SO... just a reminder - be safe, find a basement, grab a blanket to cover yourself and wear shoes!
I wanted to share this because we live VERY near downtown Minneapolis and tornadoes in cities are very rare. SO... just a reminder - be safe, find a basement, grab a blanket to cover yourself and wear shoes!
4.03.2011
Macy's 2011 Flower Show
For being free, I would say it was pretty good. But really... it didn't take up as much space of the auditorium as I thought it would. There was a lot of empty space and I thought there would be more. Oh, well. Lesson learned...
There was a program as well that listed all the flowers. Some of the flowers had little asterisks by them - those ones could be grown in Minnesota and unfortunately for me... Cherry blossoms were not listed. Boo. I don't even know where I'd put one in the yard either so maybe it's a good thing I don't have the option!
There was a program as well that listed all the flowers. Some of the flowers had little asterisks by them - those ones could be grown in Minnesota and unfortunately for me... Cherry blossoms were not listed. Boo. I don't even know where I'd put one in the yard either so maybe it's a good thing I don't have the option!
3.30.2011
Intro To My Other Life...
So there's another life that I have that I haven't mentioned much. Why? Because it's kind of scary... Bimmer Man is called Bimmer Man because he's a BMW car enthusiast. Actually, not only is he an enthusiast he races them too.
The thrill of car racing past me by years ago... When you get a phone call from your husband saying the car needs to be towed home on a flatbed because the radiator failed, well, not only does your heart skip a beat but so does the bank account.
He went to track days, put in some lap time, joined the Hoosier BMW Club and that was it.
Then the deliveries started.
A helmet, specialized driving gloves, Ferrari driving shoes, etc... New car parts... I really like our UPS guy. And when we lived in Indiana, car parts were even delivered to my work (imagine my surprise when I think it's a work package and it turns out to be the front end of a BMW).
This is why he has a shop in the basement and a shop in the garage. I'll have to take pics of the race shop at some point because now I'm sure y'all are curious to see what a race shop looks like (cars, car parts, welding tools, spare roll cages, extra seats and smelly men). Neither is it glitzy nor glamorous like Penske or Andretti Green Racing is. Sarah Fisher's race shop is really nice plus she's pretty awesome too - Graham Rahal drove in her cars last year. Unfortunately she's not big enough to get huge sponsorship like some of the other shops and I would really like to see that. I think that her team could do excellent if they had more funding (but just don't let me start spouting off like other race wives, it's really not like we matter that much in the world of racing. Generally wives are on the sidelines trying to not look to bored).
In any case, a roll cage was put into Bimmer's every day driving BMW (which I helped with, I'm actually pretty good at helping to fix cars but that's a whole other story) and then track days became more frequent and more expensive. He wanted more than just driving fast around a track trying to better his lap times.
He's actually going to be an instructor this year... if he has time...
WE decided (yes, WE, not HE) that racing was the next step. And so out of that decision the ChumpCar World Series has now taken over my life from late February to late October. There are famous racers that do a few races each year. Races take place in major tracks (like Road America and the Iowa Speedway) and some people have jumped from Chump to more famous racing teams and televised races. The picture below is Bimmer Man (in the gray car) at the Iowa Speedway.
Last weekend he was supposed to race at Road America but it was canceled due to weather. They're heading out for this weekend instead and Bimmer is super excited for the season opener. I'm pushing for the team to go race in Ensenada, Mexico - it's a street race, however in my excitement for going to Mexico I sort of forgot that I'd probably get stuck either in the car giving the guys a break or being on the pit crew and all suited up. I'd planned on just going to the beach and reading, shopping or hanging out by the hotel pool but I forgot - I'd have to actually work.
I'm sure I'm forgetting a heck of a lot of information - people that don't race are usually pretty curious and have a lot of questions.
If you're curious to see more, feel free to visit Bimmer's blog, Opposite Lock. He mostly talks about repairing cars, recaps of the races and the events.
The thrill of car racing past me by years ago... When you get a phone call from your husband saying the car needs to be towed home on a flatbed because the radiator failed, well, not only does your heart skip a beat but so does the bank account.
He went to track days, put in some lap time, joined the Hoosier BMW Club and that was it.
Then the deliveries started.
A helmet, specialized driving gloves, Ferrari driving shoes, etc... New car parts... I really like our UPS guy. And when we lived in Indiana, car parts were even delivered to my work (imagine my surprise when I think it's a work package and it turns out to be the front end of a BMW).
This is why he has a shop in the basement and a shop in the garage. I'll have to take pics of the race shop at some point because now I'm sure y'all are curious to see what a race shop looks like (cars, car parts, welding tools, spare roll cages, extra seats and smelly men). Neither is it glitzy nor glamorous like Penske or Andretti Green Racing is. Sarah Fisher's race shop is really nice plus she's pretty awesome too - Graham Rahal drove in her cars last year. Unfortunately she's not big enough to get huge sponsorship like some of the other shops and I would really like to see that. I think that her team could do excellent if they had more funding (but just don't let me start spouting off like other race wives, it's really not like we matter that much in the world of racing. Generally wives are on the sidelines trying to not look to bored).
In any case, a roll cage was put into Bimmer's every day driving BMW (which I helped with, I'm actually pretty good at helping to fix cars but that's a whole other story) and then track days became more frequent and more expensive. He wanted more than just driving fast around a track trying to better his lap times.
He's actually going to be an instructor this year... if he has time...
WE decided (yes, WE, not HE) that racing was the next step. And so out of that decision the ChumpCar World Series has now taken over my life from late February to late October. There are famous racers that do a few races each year. Races take place in major tracks (like Road America and the Iowa Speedway) and some people have jumped from Chump to more famous racing teams and televised races. The picture below is Bimmer Man (in the gray car) at the Iowa Speedway.
Last weekend he was supposed to race at Road America but it was canceled due to weather. They're heading out for this weekend instead and Bimmer is super excited for the season opener. I'm pushing for the team to go race in Ensenada, Mexico - it's a street race, however in my excitement for going to Mexico I sort of forgot that I'd probably get stuck either in the car giving the guys a break or being on the pit crew and all suited up. I'd planned on just going to the beach and reading, shopping or hanging out by the hotel pool but I forgot - I'd have to actually work.
I'm sure I'm forgetting a heck of a lot of information - people that don't race are usually pretty curious and have a lot of questions.
If you're curious to see more, feel free to visit Bimmer's blog, Opposite Lock. He mostly talks about repairing cars, recaps of the races and the events.
3.10.2011
What? I Wear Shoes?
But a few days ago, it was actually nice outside. In Minnesota. Yes. In March.
So I wore shoes.
3.04.2011
Snow Banks
So this winter has been awful snowy. I mean, just awful! Two snowstorms of at least 12 inches of snow each, plus more in between - I mean, really, now, Mother Earth? Really? This is the latest picture of the snow banks in our yard - and it's been about a week since the last snow. Check out the four foot fence... And then we do have a deck back there... Somewhere!!!
And now I heard last night that we're supposed to get another foot of snow next week. Where are I supposed to put more snow???? GAH!!!
It's going to be FOREVER until my tulips come up. Oh, well... at least the poo is still frozen.
It's going to be FOREVER until my tulips come up. Oh, well... at least the poo is still frozen.
3.02.2011
Happy Birthday Bimmer Man
Ok, well for the blog... It's really happy belated birthday, Bimmer Man, but still. By the way Bimmer, you took your own birthday picture. So yes, it does get put on the blog. Any picture on my camera is fair game. But I think you already knew that!
I got the best surprise ever - I was uploading pics for the blog when I found these AWESOME photos.
And I do have to say that we have the best friends. They're nice, caring, open, honest and most importantly - they have a sense of humor. We've known the Dog Lady (as Bimmer calls her) and her husband for a very long time. Bimmer has known Stelly for longer than he's known me - so longer than 9 years (ACK!! 9 YEARS!!). We've been friends through tough times - fraternity days, crazy weddings and hundreds of miles. We actually introduced these two and now they're married (WOOT!!) and now they (ok, mostly she) rescues dogs. And cats. And I'm very, very proud to have them as friends:
I got the best surprise ever - I was uploading pics for the blog when I found these AWESOME photos.
And I do have to say that we have the best friends. They're nice, caring, open, honest and most importantly - they have a sense of humor. We've known the Dog Lady (as Bimmer calls her) and her husband for a very long time. Bimmer has known Stelly for longer than he's known me - so longer than 9 years (ACK!! 9 YEARS!!). We've been friends through tough times - fraternity days, crazy weddings and hundreds of miles. We actually introduced these two and now they're married (WOOT!!) and now they (ok, mostly she) rescues dogs. And cats. And I'm very, very proud to have them as friends:
2.17.2011
Restaurant Week In Minneapolis!
The description is simple:
Mpls.St.Paul Magazine Restaurant Week
Fabulous Food and Exclusive Wine Pairings
Gourmet Prix-Fixe Menus
February 27 - March 4, 2011
Two-Course $10 or $20 Lunches & Three-Course $15 - $30 Dinners
And there's lots and lots of restaurants to choose from all around the city (and even one in Duluth!).
Click here to see the complete list and make your reservations through Open Table. It's easy, simple, pretty cheap and absolutely awesome if you love food and live in or are visiting the Twin Cities.
1.16.2011
Joys of Being a Homeowner - Ice Dams
Being a homeowner in Minnesota in the winter can sometimes be a pain in the ass. Especially when the previous owners of our house treated it like a rental. They did nothing. Absolutely nothing besides probably hiring painters to do the whole house in a light baby shit brown color. Go figure.
By the way - the previous owners had Ph.D.s' and one is now a professor at Harvard. So no, no street smarts (before you get your panties in a bunch, I'm not saying that all professors do not have street smarts, just the people that owned our house).
Let's talk about ice dams. Let's talk about what we're going to do about ice dams. And mainly, let's talk about what caused these ice dams so that you, my readers, can learn from our experience.
Yesterday, I wished that I lived in a condo. And had lots of wine. And beer.
Last night after getting home from baking pies with my fabulous friends (Kathy: you are awesome for hosting and don't worry, baking is trial and error sometimes but you will make delicious pies! Buck: you are going to make fabulous bread and pies, don't worry about being a hippy, I've got a composter!), I found this:
This is a very wet plaster cove ceiling. VERY WET.NOT GOOD. LIKE I NEED TO TAKE A SHOT OF VODKA RIGHT NOW NOT GOOD.
You can see that it's near the front door. I just about had a heart attack. I panicked, then put my glasses on and went outside. Bimmer Man grabbed the roof rake (more about that later).
There are no ice dams on this part of the house. Why? Because there's adequate insulation to keep the attic at the same temperature as the outside, so no ice dams. No temperature changes, no worries. What also helps is a roof rake, and getting the snow off the roof so that there's not an influx of melting snow to re-freeze at night. And Roof Melt
, which I pretty much saw the ice dams and bolted out to the garage to run to Jerry's Hardware store for yesterday. So here's our plan:
1. Buy insulation for the attic above the living room
2. Continue to rake the roof
3. Continue to improve my throwing arm with Roof Melt pucks
4. Repair the plastic in the living room, once the ice dams have gone away and we know that they are not coming back.
5. If they do come back, then we're going to hire people to come and melt them away.
But we do have one happy dog in the family who LOVES all the snow! I'll leave you with a happy picture instead of awful ice dams.
By the way - the previous owners had Ph.D.s' and one is now a professor at Harvard. So no, no street smarts (before you get your panties in a bunch, I'm not saying that all professors do not have street smarts, just the people that owned our house).
Let's talk about ice dams. Let's talk about what we're going to do about ice dams. And mainly, let's talk about what caused these ice dams so that you, my readers, can learn from our experience.
Yesterday, I wished that I lived in a condo. And had lots of wine. And beer.
Last night after getting home from baking pies with my fabulous friends (Kathy: you are awesome for hosting and don't worry, baking is trial and error sometimes but you will make delicious pies! Buck: you are going to make fabulous bread and pies, don't worry about being a hippy, I've got a composter!), I found this:
The arrows show where to look for the ice dams. You can see the large chunks of ice in the gutters and partially on the roof. This is NOT GOOD.
Here's another shot of the ice dams with no arrows. Now, one of the reasons why we have ice dams HERE in this spot is because there is NO INSULATION in the attic space above the living room. So that area is much warmer than the outside, which means that the heat in that area is melting the snow on the roof (but not all the way, so it re-freezes, causing ice dams).
Another reason why we have ice dams besides NO INSULATION: I could not get the gutters cleaned out before the first snow. There's leaves, dirt and junk in the gutters causing the water to back up. This spring I will be getting some sort of gutter guards so I don't have to worry about cleaning them as much.
, which I pretty much saw the ice dams and bolted out to the garage to run to Jerry's Hardware store for yesterday. So here's our plan:1. Buy insulation for the attic above the living room
2. Continue to rake the roof
3. Continue to improve my throwing arm with Roof Melt pucks
4. Repair the plastic in the living room, once the ice dams have gone away and we know that they are not coming back.
5. If they do come back, then we're going to hire people to come and melt them away.
12.11.2010
And Woke Up To A Blizzard
Happy Saturday!
8.07.2010
Patio Furniture... The Saga
Now, picture tile floors with a jute rug and some really nice low end tables... with picture perfect books on them... you know, picture something that's not my house with this furniture!
I bought it online at Sears. There were only 4 in stock in the area. Went there to make sure it was still there. It was. Then I checked my email. The order was canceled. Then I got a phone call, my furniture had disappeared. Someone sold it.
So a few phone calls were made and I ended up going to a Sear's north of the cities and buying the furniture and taking ALL THE CUSHIONS to ensure that no one could buy the furniture. And then we had to borrow a big truck.
So in a nutshell, this set was an absolute PAIN IN THE ASS to get. It better last a really dang long time.
8.04.2010
Been Away For Awhile
I was camping. It was hot, sticky and buggy. The dog came home covered in slime from the lake. 'Nough said.
7.29.2010
Stripes.
It's almost August. That means we're close to the end of summer. BOO. Stripes make me want to go out on the boat and bask in the Minnesota summer sun and smell like cheap hair conditioner because you just can't swim in a lake without cheap hair conditioner.
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