Blah, blah, house, blah

I should be in bed.

Ok, I am in bed.

I should be sleeping.

Tired.

I'm so mentally & physically drained right now.

10 hour work week this week?!? Ugh. Then working on THE house!

Errr'day, errr'day.

Vacation?

I swear I'm in a movie right now.

The movie "Money Pit".

But where's my sexy, funny Tom Hanks????

Missing:

Laughter.

Update on my house:

My room, complete.

My bathroom, not even close.

Gage's room, complete, (minus carpet, should be laid this weekend)

Gage's bathroom, need to paint.

Back entry area, need to paint.

Laundry room, need to paint, replace some tiles.

Living room, complete, (minus carpet...also hopefully done this weekend.)

Kitchen, need to paint the walls.

I'm starting that tomorrow! As soon as I go buy the over-priced, but perfect colored paint that I want.

Stress.

Will we ever finish this house?

Will I ever move in?

Will I ever enjoy a weekend of going to garage sales, estate sales, antique stores, and the flea market EVER AGAIN?!?!?

Oh, will I, trustworthy magic 8 ball of Zac's..... Tell me my future!!!

Outlook foggy. Try again later.

Shit.

yep, that sounds about right.

I'm almost to the point of tears. Then laughter at the madness that shows itself right when we think we're getting close!!

Money Pit, I'm telling you!! I need my Tom Hanks. Tom hanks makes everything better. :)

p.s.

I don't want to go to work tomorrow. :/

i.want.to.MOVE.dammit!!!!

RE: Creepster

Yesterday I had to MAKE myself go tell the land lord that it may still be a couple weeks before

my house is ready. I just wanted to know if we could pro rate the rent or whatever.

I'm not going to go into details of everything that was said.

I just wanted to share a text message conversation that my sister & I had about the situation.

August 29th 7:31 p.m.

Me: Went to the landlord to ask about paying rent for just two weeks, since the house is taking longer to get ready than expected. He opened his door & said,"Hey, Stephanie! Come on in!" I was like HELL NO, I'm not coming in! Haha. I didn't SAY it like that, but I thought it.

August 30th 5:21 a.m. (I'm driving to work)

Leah: why didn't you go in? He could've sat you down, got you a nice, cold, refreshing, lightly drug-laced drink. Then sat you down & slowly untied your shoes, very gently tugging your socks off. He'd ask you if that felt good. He's been wanting to do this since the day you moved in. "Would you like a light, gentle foot massage?" Then he'd put your foot real snug into his crotch & slowly, but firmly, begin to rub your cares away. He'd go get you some ripe, fresh, sweet, juicy fruit. Before he'd pop piece into your mouth, he'd lightly rub some of the fruits sweet juice on your lips & it would dribble down your chin. He'd say,"Oh, Stephanie! I'm so sorry! I made such a mess! Let me clean that off for you", as he cleaned it with his gummy, bacteria-coated tongue jutting out of his mouth.........Sorry to leave you hanging on the edge of your seat, but I gotta get kids ready for school. Tune in later for..."the rest of the story".

5:31 a.m.

Me: you're a sick bitch. Do NOT send "the rest of the story"! I think I just threw up in my mouth a little.

11:51 a.m.

Me: I let Bren & Misti read your text. They were laughing so hard. Bren thought it was hilarious. Misti was totally grossed out. Haha.

1:13 p.m.

Leah: I'm not sure...but I think that may have been my masterpiece :)

Me: I believe so

Leah: I just re-read it & started laughing again so hard, my eyes are watering. That's just too good!

Me: Get over yourself & your twisted mind.

I do believe my sister needs to either stick with the Stephen King novels or the raunchy romance novels. Reading both has made her a bit disturbing.

THIS is the concern I get from my family when a psycho landlord talks about locking me in my house & chaining me up.

I feel so loved and safe.

Did I mention my sister is one sick bitch????

In a Perfect World

Imagine there's no heaven.
It's easy if you try.
No hell below us.
Above us only sky.
Imagine all the people living for today.
Imagine there's no countries.
It isn't hard to do.
Nothing to kill or die for.
And no religion too.
Imagine all the people living life in peace.
You, you may say I'm a dreamer, but I'm not the only one.
I hope some day you'll join us.
And the world will be as one.
Imagine no possessions.
I wonder if you can.
No need for greed or hunger.
A brotherhood of man.
Imagine all the people sharing all the world.
You, you may say I'm a dreamer, but I'm not the only one.
I hope some day you'll join us.
And the world will live as one.

My sister called me this morning to tell me about Jack's first two days of school.
She said when she picked up Jack from school, he was so excited to tell her about what a great day he had.
He said he made a new friend and they had so much fun playing!!
Leah asked him what his friend's name was and he said,"I don't know."

Tuesday, she picks him up from school. He goes on and on about his new friend and again....how much fun they had together.

Leah: So, what's his name?
Jack: I don't know.
Leah: How come you don't his name yet?
Jack: Cause I can't understand him.
Leah: Why not?
Jack: I don't know. I just can't. He don't talk like me.
Leah: What does he look like?
Jack: Umm, he has brown hair and brown skin and him has silver teeth.

haha. Apparently Jack's new best friend is Mexican and has yet to learn English.
Leah asked him how they play if they can't communicate. He says they just point and wave to each other, or pat the seat next to them to let them know they want to sit by each other. And.....they just play.

I thought that was the sweetest thing ever.
It made me remember being a kid.

Color, looks, clothes, cleanliness, money....nothing mattered at that age.
All you cared about was having friends. Whether you could understand them or not....or had anything in common, really at all. Just as long as you can play....we'll be friends.

What a wonderful world this would be, if adults still had that mentality!
To overlook race.
To overlook class.
To overlook all the things that don't really matter, and just see that the person in front of you is just that......a person. Someone you can get along with, if you just make the effort. No matter how opposite you are. We are all made in God's image. We are all just flesh and blood. With feelings, problems, family, love, insecurities, wants and needs.
We are all the same.

Take a look at kindergartner's while playing. How they interact with each other.
No fear of rejection.
No fear of being judged.
They just want to play. Make friends. Have fun.

If only we all had the perspective of my 5 year old nephew.

He's my hero. :)

Labor Day Weekend

I've gone over to work on THE house pretty much everyday for the past two weeks.

I still cannot describe the mess that was left behind.

We've gotten so much done, but there's still so much to do before we can move in.

This weekend the roofers came and put on a new roof. Woot, woot!!

I've cleaned and scrubbed and used so much bleach, that when I put my finger on the finger pad at work to clock in, it can't identify me! Brenda's been putting my time in manually! Ridiculous.

We painted most of the walls with kiltz and the ceilings too.

The living room and my room have old school brown panelling. I love the dark paneling in the living room, so I'm keeping it. (brings back childhood memories, which makes me happy).

But the paneling in my room is the light blond color....dislike. So we had to kiltz the entire room, except for the dark redwood frame and doors. Because I love those too. I'm loving the old school-ness of it all, but cleaner. So, I just have to figure out what paint will look best with the frame. I'm thinking khaki, a light sandy color....

We've ripped up the carpet & padding in Gage's room and scrubbed the concrete below. Yes, scrubbed concrete....from the urine of the 2 dogs and one cat that the previous people had. We've put a sealant on the concrete. He already has his carpet and paint picked out. He want his room navy blue..."just something chill, mom". Ok, whatever....it's your room.

I didn't work on the house today (it was my day to pick up zac & I tortured him enough this weekend having to go with me to work on the house), but my mom and step dad went over to fix the toilet in my restroom. It wasn't bolted to the floor. It worked, but it was set. Ridiculous.

OF COURSE, while they were there, they noticed another leak in Gage's room and the entry area by his room.

Mike think it's the air conditioning unit, so he's going back tomorrow to see if he can fix that.

I'm going to go & kiltz my bathroom and the rest of Gage's room...or what I can before heading home to shower & get ready for work the next day.

I'm hoping this 3 day, Labor Day weekend, will really get things rolling. I'm hoping to paint and get the carpet laid.

I have to buy a new fridge because the nasty one they had....that I spent over an hour cleaning, doesn't get cold. It just gets cool. Like, put a hot coke in the fridge, then an hour later, the can is cool. My cans were still "cool" the following day.

I need to buy a new stove. This house has a gas stove & I'm hoping I can put an electric one in.

I've recently been teaching Zac how to use the stove and I'm scared for him to try the gas stove. Especially out of my sight.

The pantry area was turned into a laundry area.....so I'm also looking for the apartment size stacking washer/dryer. That way we can set up some shelves and whatnot. Just to have some extra space.

I think my garage is bigger than my house. And I'm still almost more excited about it.

I can't wait to get my art stuff out and organized the way I want it!!

Anyways, I know people are so tired of hearing about the house. Believe me, I'm tired of thinking, talking about, and working on it.

I just didn't realize how time consuming it was going to be!

I'm just thankful for an awesome step dad who can do everything. He's amazing and never complains. Whether I'm asking him to fix the garage door that off track, or the back door that swings open unless locked, to the taping and bedding of all the parts of the house falling apart.

He never complains. And he has Gage right there by his side, showing him how do it all. I'm glad Gage has him in his life.

And I'm thankful that my mom is helping....and I have someone to complain with :)

Because we have been known to complain a time or two. Believe it or not :)

So, our goal is to have us all moved in by the weekend AFTER Labor Day weekend.

Wish.us.luck.weneedit.

Creepster. Uncalled for. Ridiculous.

The roofers are coming tomorrow a.m. Once they're done, we can start painting!! I'm so excited.

I'm even more excited about moving out of this place!!

It seems like EVERYWHERE I move, there is some creepy, stalkerish person there. Knocking on my door, offering to fix things, just wanting to talk.

I am anti-social, people! If I wanted to talk to you, I wouldn't head straight for the front door daily, with my head down.

No eye contact, Stephanie. No eye contact.

......knock, knock....

UGH!!!

Now, I'm not moving into the best part of town, but my aunt lives right next door and my grandma lives around the corner. Neighbors I know, neighbors I don't mind talking with.

Why am I bringing this up, you ask?

Well my current landlord/neighbor gave me creeps from the first time I met him. But he is/was? a truck driver and was gone for long periods of time, so I didn't really have to worry about him too much.

The past 6 months or so, he's been home a lot more than usual.

He would come over and "check" on us, make sure everything was working and going good. Of course, then he'd start talking about everything under the sun. I gave my best "I'm bored to death & have not a care in the world about what you're talking about" look.

He didn't get it.

He finally took the hint when I went from walking onto the porch to talk to him, to opening the door and talking to him, staying inside, him on the porch, to cracking the door open and sticking my head out.

Well, lately with the humidy, rain, whatnot, my front door has been sticking. Usually I just walk up, try to open it, it's stuck, so I kick it open....all lady-like, ya know.

Well, yesterday when I got home, I tried the kick....it didn't work. It seemed like the deadbolt was locked. I put my key in, turned....nothing. The door wouldn't budge.

I'm thinking, did he change the locks? It's not even the end of the month yet AND he said if I had to go over a bit, it'd be fine.

So, I take a deep breath and walk myself over to his house.

Ugh.

Knock on his door, he answers, and I said,"Did you change the locks on the house or anything? My key isn't working.". No, he didn't, blah, blah, he'll walk over and "take a look".

On the way I tell him that the door's been sticking, so maybe it's just really stuck.

He put my key in and turns it. We hear it lock or unlock. He tried to open it, it wouldn't open. Put the key in again.

Still, not opening.

Here comes the small talk.

"Did you bolt it this morning?"

"No, I never lock it during the day. Gage is always in & out and he doesn't have a key."

"Ya think someone's in there?"

"Uhhh, better not be."

Pushing, pushing, pushing on the door. It finally opened. The door was stuck, really really stuck.

"Oh, that's not good. I'll have to get some tools and work on that."

"mk. Well, thanks. Sorry to bother you."

I sit down on my couch to watch True Blood! I was looking forward to it all day.

All that cleaning of the other house has worn me out and I was in bed before it even came on Sunday night!!

Ridiculous.

So, it's about 10 minutes in and I hear thump, thump, thump.

Oh, Dear Lord, please don't tell me that's him.

Knock, knock.

son.of.a.bitch

So I open the door, apperently when he said he'd have to work on it, he meant immediately.

I sit down and continue watching True Blood.

He's talking the whole time, I'm just nodding and saying hmm, not listening to a word he's saying.

Then he said something about locking me out, I looked at him. He said,"I wouldn't lock you out. If anything, I'd lock you in. But then I'd probably have to chain ya up, because you'd try to get out a window or something, wouldn't ya?"

I just look at him. No expression on my face.

Silence for a few seconds, I resume watching True Blood.

"That was a joke."...."you didn't laugh"

"No, I didn't."

"Guess you didn't think it was funny."

"No."

Now tell me, people was I rude. Or is that just creepy?!?!?

In what universe is it ok to say something like that to your tenant?

I'm home by myself, he's in my house, we live in the middle of nowhere and he makes a "joke" like that?

No. Not cool, man.

Needless to say, I'm really wanting to get moved ASAP.

He's always made weird little remarks, but that was off the chart.

Ridiculous.

So, my fellow blog readers, should I turn up missing....please, look at my landlord/neighbor first, or tell the police to.

My bet would be on him.

Creep-o-la!!!!