So… here’s the before and after shots of our kitchen. We still have some cleanup to do before we move things back in, but all of the hardware’s on, and both Erich and I are very happy with the result. Future additions include curtains (which my mom’s making) and an eventual new floor… but for now, we’re working with the budget we had, which essentially was for paint and new cabinet hardware. It made a huge difference.
So… here’s the before and after shots of our kitchen. We still have some cleanup to do before we move things back in, but all of the hardware’s on, and both Erich and I are very happy with the result. Future additions include curtains (which my mom’s making) and an eventual new floor… but for now, we’re working with the budget we had, which essentially was for paint and new cabinet hardware. It made a huge difference.
BEFORE
And a closeup of the scary wallpaper:
AFTER
Not bad for an approx. $200 remodel, eh? 
Removing old wallpaper & paste:
Get a spraybottle, a wide-blade scraper, and a bottle of fabric softener (of a scent you can stand in pretty strong amounts).
Mix one part fabric softener to one part hot water.
Spray on walls.
Wait a few minutes.
Peel off wallpaper slowly using scraper to pull back corners and slide under center of strip as needed.
Using this method, Erich and Matt completely de-papered the kitchen in an hour. We still need to work on the glue, but considering that we expected the paper to take a long time? We’re already ahead of the game. I’ve read that the fabric softener will work great on removing the old paste, too. Just need to remember to work small areas at a time.
The best thing? No gouges in our walls, and we only had ONE layer of wallpaper. Yay!
Really not sure why these guys haven’t grown up yet, given the number of views… but I’m running out of time on them. *sigh*
The NHL Winter Classic will be at Fenway this season. OMGOMGOMGOMGOMG.
And OPEN ICE SKATING IN FENWAY PARK!
OMGOMGOMGOMGOMG!!!
*bounces*
So… my 1001 days expired last month. I managed to do 46 things on my list, with some things still in progress. Honestly? Not bad. I’ve forgotten dates for some of these things I’ve done… but I will be honest on them, of course.
101 things in 1001 days
The Mission: Complete 101 preset tasks in a period of 1001 days.
The Criteria: Tasks must be specific (ie. no ambiguity in the wording) with a result that is either measurable or clearly defined. Tasks must also be realistic and stretching (ie. represent some amount of work on my part).
Why 1001 Days? Many people have created lists in the past – frequently simple goals such as new year’s resolutions. The key to beating procrastination is to set a deadline that is realistic. 1001 Days (about 2.75 years) is a better period of time than a year, because it allows you several seasons to complete the tasks, which is better for organising and timing some tasks such as overseas trips or outdoor activities
Start Date: Sept. 12, 2006
End Date: June 9, 2009
Final Status Update: July 14, 2009
Days Remaining: 0
Key:
(normal text)- not yet addressed
italic – in progress
bold- completed (with date)
I’ll organize these by category later. Most are in order, but I’m just striving to get the list for now.
1. Doctor- get my physical done
2. Doctor- go to OB/GYN
3. Eyes- new prescription & contacts
4. Lose 2 dress sizes
5. Create Living Will
6. Pay off credit cards
7. Put $2,000 into my IRA
8. Find a new job – 11/27/2006
9. Create a personal cookbook
10. Learn to cook 3 fabulous meals
11. Cook every night for two weeks straight
12. Sit ritual for Samhain
13. Reimburse Erich on loan
14. Reimburse dad on loan
15. Get a pedicure
16. Find a new hairstyle that I love
17. Get each cat to the vet for an annual checkup. 11/24/2006
18. Pick a date 9/30/06
19. Reserve ceremony & reception site 9/30/06
20. Reserve caterer Dec. 06
21. Compile guest list with addresses Mar 07
22. Send out save the date cards Mar 07
23. Buy dress & accessories 9/29/06
24. Arrange photographer 6/15/07
25. Arrange florist
26. Send out invitations
27. Get married
28. Take down wallpaper and repaint bedroom
29. Take down wallpaper and repaint bathroom
30. Take down wallpaper and repaint kitchen
31. Restring windows in sunroom to make them functional
32. Buy a snowblower
33. Finish sorting through boxes
34. Organize basement
35. Create a functional space in my office
36. Go through all clothes and make serious (and realistic) decisions
37. Have a yard sale
38. Create flower bed in the empty space in front of the house
39. Reclaim side flower bed from the weeds
40. Plant something under trees along slope in side yard
41. Send photos of the house to grandma
42. Create a good address book (with birthdays and other important dates)
43. Attend all three sorority degrees during the year
44. Hold an autumn 2006 Stitch ‘n Bitch 11/10/06
45. Hold a spring 2007 Stitch ‘n Bitch (multiple 07
46. Reconnect with Andi
47. Reconnect with DT
48. Clear out penpalling stuff
49. Send out all thank-you notes for wedding
50. Send out thank-you notes for Christmas
51. Shed old email groups
52. Clean out clutter email
53. Complete already set stitching goals for 2006 Dec. 06
54. Create new stitching goals for 2007 Jan. 07
55. Complete stitching goals for 2007
56. Complete Egyptian Sampler
57. Complete Apache Wedding Blessing
58. Complete my wedding sampler
59. Start an active stitching group/guild with semi-regular meetings – Stitch Bitch & Who – 5/07
60. Knit a shawl
61. Learn how to do cable knits
62. Write a fanfic story
63. Buy a floor stand for stitching
64. Buy a natural light lamp
65. Get The Castle professionally framed
66. Buff up my Russian
67. Read a Jules Verne novel in French
68. Read any book by Jane Austen
69. Attend the human body exhibit at the science museum missed it. 
70. Audit a college class
71. Create a “must read” list
72. Read at least five books from said list
73. Buff up my French
74. Visit Vermont
75. Attend Arisia
76. Attend King Richard’s Faire 2006 10/2006
77. Attend King Richard’s Faire 2007
78. Go to the Big E fair in Mass
79. Attend one of the CATS (not feline-related) exhibitions
80. Visit the Roger Williams Park zoo
81. Spend an afternon at the Gardner Museum in Boston
82. Attend Waterfire
83. Visit Erich’s Mom R.I.P. 3/12/07.
84. Go on a romantic weekend getaway with Erich (that’s NOT part of the honeymoon)
85. Donate platelets in fall 2006
86. Donate platelets in spring 2007
87. Donate platelets in fall 2007
88. Watch a meteor shower
89. Attempt a looser-schedule novel project
90. Level another character in world of warcraft to 60
91. Purchase new battery for my laptop 6/10/07
92. Try a new ethnic cuisine Mar 07 – Brazilian
93. Re-memorize how to do sun and moon salutes for morning stretches
94. Find my clarinet at Mom’s
95. Start retraining my breath and fingers so I can play again
96. Research (and attend) a meeting for a casual/alumni band
97. Attend a Drum Corps show
98. Knit an afghan
99. Balance my checkbook every month
100. Update this list every month
101. Create a new list to start in 1001 days.
TOTAL – 47 Completed, 5 in progress
I’ve finally moved my normal blog onto WordPress, which is absolutely wonderful. Come see! http://measi.net/measiblog/
ETA: A couple people have emailed/asked… no, I’m not quitting LJ. The two have run concurrently for about 6 years now. I don’t use the other one for fannish stuff really at all, aside from the occasional general mention. If I have things I need to friends-lock, it stays here, but is never posted over there.
Honesty, the b.s. from Globat’s moves to new servers just finally pushed me into fixing things. I’ve wanted to go to WordPress for a while because of the flexibility, but had dreaded transferring my entries over.
Turns out, I didn’t need to worry – there was a very easy blogger to WP importer. I do need to clean up my categories a bit, but that’s not as big of a deal to me.
So yay! It’s fixed and running! Now if I could just get the Zero Room back up again, I’ll feel on top of things website-wise.
Taking a half-day today from work, planning on getting laundry hung up then getting back into writing Wiggie’s fic. Ever progressing… *sigh*
Obviously spoilery, although for now I’m not going into much detail because I’m still wrapping my head around it all.
So I’ve uploaded some new photos to Flickr. The garden is going insane – seriously… take a look at how much things grew in two weeks. It’s scary!
Also up are photos of the Volvo Ocean Race from last month and the Tall Ships that are currently in Boston.
Well, okay – the pet-only airline is. But as far as cats and small dogs in the cabin of planes? Not a new thing at all.
Colley would fly with me at the holidays before I met Erich. Since I didn’t have any friends in the Boston area at that time who could have watched him – and no car – I would fly to Allentown with cat in tow. Colley would be in a soft-sided carrier, and flew as a carry-on bag under the seat in front of me. There was a surcharge (maybe $75 each way at the time). I would quietly whisper to the flight attendant as I got on that if there were completely empty rows, it was probably best for me to sit there (in case of both allergies and meowing).
Colley did just fine with it, too. He’d be nervous during take off and landing, but otherwise just slept. And this was not on a large jet – these were on the 50-person prop commuters that US Air flew several years ago. Definitely NOT the quietest of planes. And not the easiest of commutes, either – my flights were almost always late. Colley spent a lot of time observing folks in the waiting areas.
The only interesting part of the ordeal was going through security, which required me to take him out of the carrier, flop him over my shoulder, and walk through the metal detector while his carrier went through the X-ray. Just my luck, one time there was a dog on a leash a few people behind. THAT was not much fun. Last thing I needed was Colley to go bolting somewhere in the middle of Boston Logan.
So if you play WoW and have nothing better to do with your Friday evening, come on over to Eonar (US) this evening, roll horde, and join my guild in defeating the most vicious villain ever to roam the ground of Azeroth.
HOGGER
That’s right, THAT HOGGER.
The more the merrier. Any level is welcome. Azeroth pub crawl and temporary guild leader hazing initiation (aka beating him with lvl 1 brooms and sticks until he dies) will follow.
Details
Server: Eonar (US)
Faction: Horde
Levels: All. Mix of 1-80 will be present.
Time: 9 p.m. US Eastern Time for Hogger. 10 p.m. for pub crawl [Convert Here]
Contact: Whisper Tennetty, Xaldien, or Abudiabudie in game to get a raid invite
Bring: Some sort of a stick for the afterparty, any booze/food you feel like bringing, fancy dress, etc. EPIC HOGGER IS TERRIFIED OF EPIC SILLINESS.
