Chookah

How to replace a deck in 13,000 painful steps (part 2)

Whoo Hoo!  Memorial Day Weekend!  THREE full days of productivity on the deck project.

SHIT

~Rain Delay~ 

Too slippery and seriously cold to do anything at all.

Ideas

Here's the scene tonight at bedtime:

Me: "Sebastian, I have an idea.  Why don't you take your dinosaur and blanket and hop into bed.  I'll come and rub your back."

Sebastian: "Okay" [He run/hop/skips over to the bed, dinosaur and blanket in tow and climbs into bed.]

Sebastian: "Momma, I have idea too."

Me: "You do, huh?"

Sebastian: "Yeah.  Where's idea?" [he sits up in bed and looks around the room]

Me: [laughing] "You can't see an idea, sweetie.  An idea is in your head."

Sebastian: "Momma, get idea out. [grabs hair]  I wanna see it."

Me: "An idea is pretend, you can't see it or hear it or smell it."

Sebastian: "Oh, okay.  Momma you have idea, I have idea."

Yep.

How to replace a deck in 13,000 painful steps (part 1)

The Deck of Terror (bwhahaha!) must go.  It's a hazard, Sebastian is curious about the "scary deck" and we can't use the stairs to get out of the house in case of fire. It's original to the house, so it's now 20 years old.  20 years of neglect.  Ugh.

(Who in the hell thinks that a piece of plywood is an acceptable landing for a flight of stairs? Honestly.)

(Note the 15' drop and the obvious lack of railing)

Time for a retrofit. You think?

Intital steps:

1. Check health insurance coverage (will it cover maiming of limbs, broken bones, concussions?)
2. Place health insurance card in a readily accessible location
3. Make sure tetanus shots are up to date
4. Check pricing on inflatable stuntman inflatable landing thingy
5. Purchase no fewer than three books on deck construction
6. Plan for two weeks
7. Price composite decking materials
8. Cry
9. Price wood at no less than three home improvement stores
10. Debate selling blood plasma for cash
11. Scrap idea for expanding deck in favor of replacing existing "structure" (if you want to call it that)
12. Guilt neighbors into helping with construction
13. Pimp the ward for engineers to help plan and point out ADDITIONAL items to be fixed in addition to the minimal scope planned
14. Take a crash course in crowbar proficiency
15. Practice walking on a tightrope to improve balance
16. Drill running up and down various types of ladders
17. Find babysitter for Sebastian (preferably off-site)

Happy Mother's Day

(a week late)

It's just so freaking hot in my house right now that I haven't had the energy to do much but sit in front of the fan.

More pics to come...

Fatty

It's official

GINGER IS FAT FAT FAT.

I knew she was getting chubby.  I knew that Sebastian was raiding the dog treat cabinet and giving her treats.  But come on!!

Scale at the vet says that she's 94 lbs.  That's 94 lbs. of lap dog.

Diet starts tomorrow morning.  Is there an Atkins plan for canines?

Har Har

It's funny... but not that funny.

Happy Birthday to me!

First off: thank you to everyone who came to the cinco de mayo/Sunny fete on Friday.  It was a blast. 

My birthday is a time of reflection for me.  This year i thought to myself, "Where did my 20's go?  I'm starting to feel old.  I see the time I've wasted more and more each day. And who in the hell is Deathcab for Cutie?"

• What did I do the past year?
• What do I want to do moving forward?
• What hurdles are in my way?
• What do I really need to buckle down and do in order to get there?
• What do I miss from my life that needs to come back? How did I get distracted enough to cut it out of my life when it brings me happiness?

Without going into too much detail, this has been the most stressful year of my life.  Those of you who know me well, know that I've struggled, that I've had a very difficult time, that I'm pulling out of it and am a much happier, increasingly well-adjusted, and aware human being - even during the times when I cry on your shoulders, I realize I'm in a much better place. You've seen me happy and even ecstatic and you've seen me in very low places. But you've seen me and that's what counts.

Thank you for being there for me.  It means the world to me.

What I want to do for the year.

• I want to spend a lot of time with Sebastian, challenge him to grow and develop into the wonderful person I see in him.
• I want to bring my family and friends closer to me.
• I need to bring my deep appreciation for art, music, books and dance back into my life..
• I want to become a better dancer and get to a higher level where I feel confident in my skills and presentation.
• I need to develop my "see the forest, don't focus on the trees" mentality.  It's all but absent right now.
• I need to beef up my self-confidence in all areas of my life.
• I need to learn and to grow!  I don't want to be stagnant any longer.

I've missed a lot of these things in my life and they must return.

Note to Dad.

My birthday is in May. Nikki's birthday is in March.

Nikki called to pass along your birthday wishes - even though you bestowed them on the wrong daughter.

Thanks for the Birthday wishes (I won't hold it against you until next year). ;-)

New Look and Feel

New look and feel!
New look and feel!

Feel free to post your comments.

(thanks, Matt for the valuable feedback!)

--if you can't see the yellow header, click "refresh" on your browser.

Monkey Chatter

Lay in bed, stare at the ceiling. Can't sleep yet.

• Where should Sebastian go to school? Public school? that charter school down the hill (if so, need to get him on the waiting list now)? Private school? He's so smart, don't want to sell him short.
  
• Will his friend bite him again tomorrow?
• How can i help my friend with XYZ problem? I worry about them.
  
• What should I do about the deck? How many 2 x 6's do I need to shore up the rotting boards?
• Need to price out pavers for a patio in the front of the house. God forbid, Sebastian (or anyone else) fall off the "Deck of Terror".
• What should we have for dinner tomorrow?
• What should I put in my presentation for work?
• OH! I have a brilliant idea for work.
• What in the hell was that dream about last night? Something to do with my office...
  
• Crap, I have the Daily Show theme song in my head.
• What about this piece of choreography in this part of the song? Wow, that's brilliant.
  
• I need to get the photos off the microdrive.
• That would be a great title for this photo on Chookah.
• Need to upload the new design for Chookah.
• Is ginger shedding big clumps of fur i'll have to pick up on the carpet?
• Need to clean out the car, too many cracker crumbs and toys.
  
• Is Sebastian's favorite fish shirt clean? He'll want to wear that for the ump-teenth time this week.
• Need to clean the bathroom.
• Shit, I *still* have the Daily Show theme song in my head.
• I should scan more of Sebastian's art and rotate it out of the kitchen.
• Need to feed Bob in the morning.
• It's someone's birthday this week... who was it? Oh yeah, me. I'm getting old.
  
• Need to come up with a creative gift for Mom for mother's day.
• When will the cabin open? I'd love to go up there and get out of the city for a weekend.
• Will I finally throw my blackberry across the room or out the window of the car on the freeway when it drops the 18th call in 10 minutes? i hate that piece of shit.  The guys in IT are going to hate me when I ask for my 4th phone...
  
• Need to clean out my inbox and reply to all the people who's emails I've ignored (if you're on this list, i apologize)

Enough! Monkey's, go to bed! 

(Envision an empty movie theatre with no one in it. i'm all alone staring at the white, blank screen.  Sit peacefully and absorb the silence.)

Good-bye daily show theme song, good-bye work worries, good-bye friend problems.

Good Night.