Tomboy Tools

What is Tomboy Tools, you ask? Well until last month, I didn't know either. I recieved my monthly edition of the magazine All You. In it, they had featured some of the at home consultant businesses like Pampered Chef and such. There was one that I found intriguing enough to check it out. Tomboy Tools are tools that are designed specifically for women. The parties are designed to empower women to do their own repairs and not have to wait on hubby or the repairman. It can save hundreds of dollars. If you had to take off work (and not get paid for that time) to wait for the plumber to come fix a leaky faucet, then pay said plumber after he was 3 hours late, you would be out a pretty penny. What if you had the tools and the know how to do it yourself? The parts you would probably need would only cost about $5 and you wouldn't have to take off of work. Even in today's economy, Tomboy Tools increased their business last year by over 40%. Unlike Pampered Chef, Longaberger Baskets and the like, Tomboy Tools is offering an education that can be invaluable in times when repairs are so costly and money is so limited. So, if you are interested in having a girls night out and maybe learn something new, give me a call. Look it up online if you want at:
www.tomboytools.com

The Roof

Our roof leaks! A few weeks before Christmas, Knoxville began to have what seemed to be monsoons. We began to notice water dripping on the hearth. Then as it rained more, there was water seeping all around the chimney. We called a roofer and found out that the roof that we thought was a great 5 yr old roof was laid completely wrong. The dimensional shingles had been laid as three tabs, which turns out to cause problems when there are roof lines that meet up. On the flat part, it just looks funny. The chimney just happens to be right where two roof lines meet up. Just the location of the chimney poses a roofing challenge, but added with shingles being laid incorrectly, it is a recipe for disaster it seems. We took a week or two to try to find out who had put the roof on, but the previous owners could not remember. We were told that even if they could remember, the chances of them still being in business were remote. So, we paid to have it fixed the week of Christmas. Done, right? Wrong. Another monsoon has been upon us the last two days. Last night we found water on the hearth again. We had drips in more places than we had before. The roofer is going to come look at it, but now they are saying that it may be the mortar between the bricks allowing the water to come in and that we will need to seal the chimney. ArrrrgggggghhhhH!!!!!!
I keep going through all the "if we had's" before we bought the house. This should have been caught before we bought the house, but it's hard to find a leak in a drought. It's just so frustrating!!!

Facebook

So, I'm on Facebook like the rest of the world seems to be. I didn't want to do it at first. I had created a login so that I could look at a group that was on there. Little did I know that I was being sucked into a black hole. Once people started to find me, they would send me friend notices. I couldn't stop it. Now it consumes my life! I am a bit over the pieces of flair and plants and what not people send each other, but it is interesting hooking up with old friends. Most of the time, I find myself looking to see what they are up to now, and that is it. I don't really know what to say to most of them. It has made me very nostalgic. I also am becoming desperate for a scanner so I can embarrass a whole bunch of people with old pictures. :) Now you know what I do in my spare time instead of painting the house.

A New Year

A new look for the new year. It's still a work in progress, but, hey, it's something new.

We got moved in back in October. There is a ton of painting to do. If anyone is bored and needs something to do, I can put you to work. I think things are finally settling down though. It is beginning to really feel like home. It is definately a place we can stay for a LONG time. They are going to have to drag me out kicking and screaming or in a body bag. This is it for me!

Christmas was low key due to the house. We ended up having to fix a leak in the roof the week of Christmas! There was no extra to go around this year. My parents came up from Mississippi for almost a week. Superbeav's folks came over for Christmas day. His folks wanted to come for Santa, but of course you never know what time the kids will wake up. The days before Christmas the kids had gotten up around 7. We told them they may want to be here by 6:30. My parent's dog got them up around then as well. All four grandparents were hanging out downstairs watching tv and waiting while the rest of us were upstairs fast asleep. Superbeav and I woke up around 8 and the kids got up soon after that. I was very gratefull for the extra sleep for Christmas!

The biggest news of the holiday was a proposal. My younger brother asked his girlfriend to marry him. We are all very happy for both of them. The wedding has been set for May 30th. Looks like the summer vacation will be in Oklahoma instead of the beach this year. We are all so excited. It will be the event of the year!

Beaver Update

Were to start....A lot has happened in the past few weeks. I guess the biggest news is that in the beginning of July we happened upon a house in our neighborhood that was about to go up for sale. We decided to just take a look for the fun of it. It has been empty for awhile and is owned in trust currently. We talked to the realtor and had him let us in to take a look. We got very interested! It is very dated and will take some work to get it fixed up, but structurally it is sound. It is a 5 bedroom, 3 bath house with an office, an eat in kitchen and seperate dining room. The yard is right at a half acre. The rooms are bigger and it is a full 1200 sq ft bigger than what we have. Not only that, but the price was right. We quickly decided to put our house on the market. It took about 6 weeks to get it painted, decluttered and do some repairs. Once we got it on the market, though, wow! People wanted to look at it right away. We got one offer in the first week that didn't pan out. Only two and half weeks into the house being on the market, we got another offer. That one seems to be working out. This process is killing me, but hopefully we are about done with the worst of it (besides the moving part that is...). At this point, we are going to have to put a new roof on our existing house in order to sell it. I'm not sure why, but the inspection was difficult for me. The things they asked us to fix, except for the roof, seemed silly when there were other things that I would have requested. So, we are going to fix the roof and see what we can do about the other little things on their list. As it stands, we would close on both houses and move on Oct 10th. Sounds like forever until you look at a calendar. It's less than a month away!!! Anyone want to help pack?!?!?!

Other news....Buddy is doing TERRIFIC in first grade!!! I don't know if he has matured, if the structure is better, if his teacher is a better personality match or all of the above, but first grade defiantely agrees with him. He has also lost both his top front teeth. He thinks it is quite funny and wanders around wishing people "Merry Christmas" from the song "All I want for Christmas is My Two Front Teeth."

Princess seems happy at her new school. We switched her from the Jewish school to a Church of Christ one. She has always loved Jesus, plus it saved some money. She has come home singing new songs almost every day. It's really cute to hear her singing in the shower.

Other than all that, I guess things are still about the same. I just want to go to sleep and wake up Oct 11 when all the realtors, inspectors, prospective buyers, roofers and the like are all gone and I can get on with my life the way I want to!

You Have GOT to Read This!

Thanks to my friend Laura for recommending this book. I am not quite finished, but I am far enough along to know that EVERYONE needs to read this book! Check it out!

www.theshackbook.com

The summer so far

I guess you could say we have made it halfway through the summer. Everyone is still alive, amazingly enough. The kids and I have been very busy. We traveled down to Mississippi to see my parents and helped them start up an antiques booth. My mother has had many of her mother's things in storage for almost 20 years. She is ready to get rid of them and turn them into money so that she can then help her 4 grandchildren attend college. So far, the booth has not made a whole lot, but a few things have moved on and there have been nibbles at the bigger items.

We have been swimming at our neighborhood pool, playing with friends, running here and there and everywhere. Princess had a bout with an UTI that landed her in the hospital for a night. One of the dogs had surgery and then we left for vacation, all in one week! We have just gotten back from a full week at Litchfield Beach in SC.

Superbeav is a beach bum. He really loves to get sand between his toes and get out in the surf and float in the waves. When we went to the beach last year, Buddy wasn't so sure about the water. This year he ventured out farther and enjoyed the waves more. Princess played in the sand mostly. She would go out into the ocean with her daddy, but for the most part stayed in the sand. Her favorite part of the beach, though, was the shower afterwards. In the pic below, she is being a ballerina in the shower. I watched from my chair and tried to figure out why people like to be covered in sand.

We stayed in a condo at Litchfield by the Sea. It was very nice. Most of the pictures I have are from a broken tree in front of the Litchfield by the Sea property. The kids had a good time climbing the tree and posing for me.

We also went to Brookgreen Gardens. It is a garden museum full of sculptures and wildlife. It is beautiful. We didn't tour the whole thing. It was hot and the sculptures are not all that exciting to a 6 and 4 year old. Although they were quite interested in the fact that most of the people were naked.

Ok, now for the pics. I'll just load up a bunch. Hope you enjoy....