Self-Leveling Shenanigan

So why would something be advertised as being "self-leveling" when it does not level itself? It would seem that you actually have to level your floor first and then the compound finishes leveling itself.

As you can probably tell, our floor is still not completely level and we are going to have to level it AGAIN!

So the new plan is to level the floor again one night this week and then hopefully we will be dry laying the tile and officially tiling this weekend.

I think this is a bit of false advertising...

The Never Ending House Remodeling Saga

So I keep thinking the house will get finished sooner or later, but things always seem to happen to prevent completion. There are have been car problems, trees that have been blown down, cold weather, hot weather, weekend trips, too much too do during the week and not enough time on the weekends and most recently Daniel isn't felling well. All I want are floors - is this too much to ask? I just want one weekend where things go right and we finish the floors. I want the dust to go away. I want to be able to unpack everything I own. I want weekends where we can once again go backpacking. I want to start cooking again...

No Mountain Biking Today...

Last night I was really excited because I knew that we had to wait 24 hours for our floor to cure so I figured today would be a great day to go mountain biking. Unfortunately it was cold and rainy and Daniel hasn't been feeling well so instead we went to the movies and were kind of lazy. 

 

Later in the afternoon (before we went to get supper) Daniel had be help him to pull some dents out of the Pathfinder. You might be wondering how we would do such a thing... I was in the drivers seat and Daniel used a board sandwiched between a tree and the vehicle while I backed the vehicle up slowly to force the dent out. As I am sure my sister will comment, this is not a normal married people activity, but it is a somewhat normal Cheree & Daniel activity. The good news is that the Pathfinder has head lights again!

 

We have to use the make-shift ladder to get from our hallway over to the living area for 24 hours while everything cures. I am disappointed about no MB but there will be other weekends (I hope).

Sunday, Lord willing, we will FINALLY be tiling the kitchen. That is something to be excited about - I have been waiting for 6+ months to do this.

Oregon 2006

We are back from our much needed vacation to Oregon. We had a wonderful time and were able to see a good portion of the state of Oregon.   

We spent our first couple of day's with Lisa & Erik Granberg (Lisa was one of my college roommates). We met their little guy, David, who seemed to be instantly attached to Daniel. Our time there we constantly heard David calling out: Where's Daniel?

Day 1 of sightseeing included a trip to Multnomah Falls, followed by a drive around Mt Hood and camping at Lost Lake.   

Day 2 of sightseeing involved driving to Bend and then out to Elk Lake. Attempting a hike to the Six Lakes Area and turning back after a mosquito feeding fest. Staying at a rustic cabin at Elk Lake.   

Day 3 of sightseeing was spent hiking on the South Sister Moutain - we made it to the lip of the crater of this extinct volcano but decided that we could not endure the hiking on scree to the actual summit. We rewarded ourselves to a nice hotel with a soft bed and hot shower after this long day of hiking.   

Day 4 we explored Bend, OR and then tried to find a wild Lava Cave. It was blocked. We then went to an Ice Cave that is now full of water instead of ice. We then paid to go to the National Forest Lava River Cave. Due to time restraints we only saw a portion - this type of cave is definitely different from the limestone caves we are used to. We the drove on to Crater Lake where we camped.   

Day 5 we headed for the coast and experienced riding 4-wheelers on 200 ft sand dunes at the Oregon Dunes Recreational Area. We drove up the coast and camped at Cape Perpetua where we were rewarded to an awesome sunset over the Pacific Ocean.   

Day 6 we continued up the coast in the fog, taking time to see the Haceeta Head Lighthouse and then the fishing town of Newport before heading back to the Granbergs in Salem, OR.   

We had a wonderful time reconnecting with old friends as well as spending time doing the things we love. 

Paper Plate Award

Today I received a paper plate award at work. This is the second one I have received.

The first was for being the fastest email responder ever.

Today I received one entitled "Miss InDesign Know-It All, You've Got Questions, She's Got Answers."

I am glad that someone at work appreciates me.

The Altima

Daniel had a car wreck a couple of weeks ago in our Altima. We are saddened that it is smashed up, but Daniel is hopeful that he can fix it as long as we can find someone who will be willing to straighten out the frame. I am just thankful he is ok. The hardest thing right now is that Daniel will have to spend more time working on the car and less time working on our house. At least we have a garage he can work in!

Ski Trip 2006

Top 10 Things We Learned Skiing

1. If you do not have a baby, there is no reason for your SUV to be completely FULL of gear for a 3 day ski trip.
2. When driving up a winding mountain road, do not let yourself get stuck behind the SAME bus on 3 different occasions.
3. You should not park your vehicle with the front end in a 4 foot snow drift and then proceed to leave the lights on in your vehicle (for 5 hours).
4. You should make sure you learn how to get up after a fall when you take a ski class.
5. 12 inches of fresh snow makes your falls deceivingly soft.
6. A Yard Sale is when you fall down and leave your gear strewn all over the slopes.
7. When exiting the ski lift, you should make every effort not to fall on your face.
8. Doing back flips down a black diamond is a good way to entertain people on the ski lift.
9. Skiing with friends is more fun than skiing by yourself.
10. IF you are going to learn to ski in the east, choosing the weekend that happens to get the most snowfall for the year is a good decision.