what's a bitca?

We had planned on carpet being installed on Valentine’s Day, but after our contractors bailed, we had to push that back and rescheduled for February 28. We were confident that the remaining work (sanding of the hallways, laundry room and miscellaneous crappily-done areas throughout the upstairs, then priming and painting of the areas, plus hanging of doors and trim and leveling of all the floors) could be done before next Wednesday.

We stopped being confident of this last night.

SIGH. What to do, what to do? Maybe I should sit back and watch Buffy in a state of panic. Nothing puts your problems in perspective like some blonde-fashionista-vampire-butt-kicking chicka quipping away with masterpieces of sarcastic wit as she saves the world and stakes one vampire and makes out with another. and another.

Think I could sic Buffy on our bailed contractors? Or the handyman who was irritatingly right when he told me it couldn't be done? Or maybe on the cable television, true master of the art of time suckage ...

Bored now.

Maybe I'm Crazy ... Possibly ...

I've been a little loopier than usual lately, which I am going to go out on a limb and say is due to not just burning the candle at both ends but really throwing the candle into a stovepot and setting the whole shebang on fire. Working full-time day jobs, part time night jobs, being in a band (jason only - I gave up trying to find the time), rehabbing the house, going to physical therapy (me only) and trying to retain some semblance of a social life is taking its toll. I find myself succumbing to uncontrollable and sometimes mildly inappropriate bouts of hysterical laughter. Then there's the sleeping thing. I nap whenever I can, except I haven't figured out how to do it when driving yet. (Dad, what's the secret?) Jason, complete in his new Ditka-approved facehair, has a constant pale ghostly tone to his skin, which is worriesome until you understand it's not an illness but merely a stubborn layer of drywall dust that never seems to wash away.

We need a breather. A break. A siesta. A vacay. Whatever. And it's just around the bend ...

Now that was easy ...

This is cool. Guy turned his staples "easy button" into a switch for his garage door.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/tommybear/sets/72057594093761486/

We have our own easy button, of course, courtesy of Scott and Julie. Maybe once the house is done we can find it new life too ...

Tile Style

Before our drywall contractor went missing, he recommended a tile expert (tilist?) for our new bathroom. While we could probably tackle the floor tile ourselves, the custom all-tiled shower and tub surround with niche was intimidating so we decided to look for expert assistance.

As Jen is a graphic designer, it naturally took us about 3 weeks to find the right tile. :-) Seriously though, we wanted a combination that would fit the room, blend with the house, and take advantage of the soft northern exposure. We decided to go with a "cool" color palette, by mixing in some mosaic-ish slate with a smokey grey main tile, and a nice slate border that is contemporary with its colors, yet has a long horizontal feel to match the prairie-style of our house. The floor, yet to be installed, will be a greenish-grey with accent points that pick up the border's colors.

Well after last weekend, Zoran completed the tub and shower areas and the results are outstanding! The floors are up next..