That Would Be The Gut

Well this was a messy job!

What have we gotten into?!

My poor hubby!  He worked his butt off getting everything out of here.  This is the view from the back half of the kitchen.  The old kitchen actually had two entrances to it.  We are going to use this entrance for the new bathroom.

It looks so bare now!

The window is going to stay.  Going to have to figure out something for privacy though.  Later though.  First we have to pull up the floor to get ready for new walls.

We found out when we pulled up the floor that there were several layers of flooring underneath.  These two pieces are some of the "beautiful" floors that had been installed previously.  I keep looking at these thinking that at one time someone put down this floor and was really happy to have this for their new floor.  We actually found 6 layers of floor under the top layer.

The walls are starting to go up now.  It's getting easier to visualize what the size of the room is going to be.  Before we can put up drywall, we need to run the electrical, plumbing and heat vent.  As you can see on the existing wall, there are two plugs.  We are going to remove the one closest to the new wall and keep the other one.  We are going to remove all the old wiring and upgrade it with new.  The old wiring is run in flexible conduit and really old.

Even though it seems to be going slow, we are getting alot done.

For now, I am going shopping!  I need to find a new toilet and sink for in here.

Posting at Foodie Friday
and

Finding My Style

So I have been given the keys to the checkbook by the hubs.  Anything that I get rid of I can replace.

Really?!

I've been thinking alot of how I want to decorate when the walls are up.  Talk about giving yourself a headache!

I think I want to keep all the high dollar pain in the ass to replace items neutral.  I would like to be able to change out colors, especially for the seasons.  I also want to keep things kinda rustic.  I really like the idea of bringing a Celtic feel to the house too.  Everyone is in this french style, which is pretty, but EVERYONE has it.  I want something different.  I love the muted colors of Ireland too.  I am not really a pastel kind of girl.

I like to decorate with pictures of my family and artwork made by the kids.  These things I love to see.  It makes me feel good looking at them.

So I have come up with an idea I want to incorporate in every room.  In every room, I want to put something old, something new, something made just for you.  I also want lots of plants, even though I suck at gardening.  Really suck.  I guess I should take some gardening lessons.

I want to take everything and just toss it out the window.  Start from scratch.  Do what I like and use what I want.

What's your decorating style?

Take a deep breath....and JUMP!

The porch is pretty much done for now with the snow.  There are a few more things to do and then the pretty stuff can start!

Now....onto the next project!

This next part is HUGE!  I am so excited for it and I think my old girl is ready too.  It is far past time.  She is a beauty and it is about time that everyone knows just how beautiful.

This project is going to be hard.  We are planning on renovating the entire house while we are living in it.  Can you say excited and scared at the same time?!  I'm worried that we are taking on too much, but thankfully my husband is a licensed contractor and knows what he is doing.  We have been doing, redoing and redoing the plans and finally have come to a great floor plan!  With this project comes rules though.

Rule 1 - ONE ROOM AT A TIME.  This is the big rule.  I don't want to have the entire house torn apart and a mess.  I mean, we do have to live here after all.

Rule 2 - NO MOVING ONTO THE NEXT ROOM TIL THE PREVIOUS ONE IS COMPLETE!  By complete, it means livable.  Not necessarily totally decorated complete.  It needs to be able to be used for the intended purpose.  Make sense?!

Now.... where to start.... 

The farmhouse has only one bathroom now.  It's on the main floor at the back of the foyer.  Since we are going to be using the foyer for more useful means, the bathroom is going to have to go.  First though, we need a new bathroom before we rip out the old one.

NOOOOO!  I worked so hard on making the bathroom beautiful!

Atleast I will have a bit of time to say good bye to her.  Where will this new bathroom go?!

So this end of the kitchen needs to be cleaned out so the cabinets and appliances can be moved.  Since the new bathroom is only going to be a half bath, there is going to be a temporary shower outside of it.  When the full bath upstairs is done, the shower will be pulled and replaced with a stackable washer/dryer.

I better get a move on.  I need to move all this stuff and set up a temporary kitchen til the new one is finished.

Oy vey....

WTH is a spandrel?!

Spandrel?!  What's that?!

It is not to be confused with that god awful contraption invented by, more than likely, some out of shape man to make women look curvy that is a real  *&%$# to get off when you REALLY have to pee.

If it sounds like I own one of said torture contraptions, it's cause I do.

'nuff said....

A spandrel is apiece of fretwork that you usually find in the opening on a porch.  There are all kinds of spandrels.  I was told, not by Google, that it was used on Victorian porches to keep birds from flying under the porch roofs.

Huh....

I think I need some of THOSE!!

Did I mention if you are painting them more than one color, they are a real pain in the buttocks?  Yeah, they are.  I would suggest painting them before they are installed and then doing any little touch ups after.  Of course, we also had to have brackets to seem like they are holding them up too.  Now this is my kind of gingerbreading!  No calories on the hips here!

Love! the way the morning sun shines through the spandrels and brackets!

If you need me, I'll be sipping coffee on the porch.

MUUUAAAHHH!

Posting at



and

Metamorphosis Monday

For the love of ....

Seriously?!

More freaking snow?

This was my yard last week....

Really??

My kids were off of school on Friday and Monday for Midwinter break.

Thursday, we got this....

Snow....no school for the urchins.

The weekend was gorgeous!  The snow melted and we ventured to downtown Detroit for Autorama cause that's what you do when you are from the Motor City.  It was warm enough by the river for this....

It was so warm that I, once again, cleaned up all the monster piles of dog doodoo that a Great Dane makes.

Monday was also beautiful and warm.

And then.....

....it was back!

No school Tuesday OR Wednesday!

ARE YOU KIDDING ME?!

I was about to go stir crazy....again....  Even clicking heels together didn't work.

They did FINALLY go to school today.

Now it's snowing.

This weekend it is supposed to be in the 40-50's.

Michigan where if you don't like the weather, just wait 5 minutes.  It'll change.

This time though, I am refusing to clean up the dog crap til we are in the "safe zone".

MUUUAAAHHH!

About that porch....

Things have calmed down here....finally....

I think that everyone is over the sickness we have been swapping back and forth for the last 2 weeks.  Still keeping my fingers crossed though!

So....where did we leave off?

Ahhhh yes....my mess.  It was quiet for a few weeks here too.  I think the neighbors were worried we were done.

NOT!!

In Michigan, according to building code, this porch needs a railing.  It is too high up to not have one.  I would have loved to not have a railing, but oh well.  We looked at so many railings that I was starting to get tired of looking at them!  So many options!  But in the end....

  

....we decided to make our own.  Why?!  My husband thinks it is because I like to drive him crazy.  The real reason is that I didn't want a railing like everyone else's.  Plus, our sections are different sizes too, which you will soon see.  I bought the spindles at Home Depot and my wonderful husband routed the top and bottom rails to fit.  Then we assembled them.

We also widened the steps, which I lovelovelove!  You can see on the porch fascia how narrow they were previously.  It was so hard to carry things into the house with them.  You had to kinda shimmy up sideways with groceries.

Love the detail work he did with the stair rails!

Then came the very tedious job of painting them.  I don't know who thought it would be a good idea to have them red and yellow, but they should be shot!  I wanted more of the red, since my husband wants to paint the house yellow.  The majority of the spindles are red and the "balls" are yellow.  You have no idea how happy I was when the last spindle was painted!

Remember the old door?  I was going to strip it and paint it.  I liked the old door!  

But I love the new door!  We decided to change out the door since the old one was very small and the door swing was the wrong way.  I really wanted side lights with it, but we have a change in mind that you will hopefully see later.  For now, it is just beautiful.  I love that you still get the light into the house from the door.  That is something that we lost with covering the porch, the inside light.  I'm willing to make sacrifices though!

I think that is enough for today!  I do have some more surprises in store for you though.  I am so not done with this porch!

Hopefully it won't take me 2 weeks to post them!

Until then....

MUUUUAAAAHHHH!

Glimmer Moments....

Motherhood is HARD!!!

You spend so much time raising your kids.  Kids are a blessing, don't get me wrong.  I love my kids. But there are times that I want to just scream at the top of my lungs and pull my hair out!

Brush your teeth....

Do your homework....

Eat your dinner, not the dogs....

Ugh!  I spend so much time focusing on how I am raising them that I forget to look at what they are becoming.  It seems like what they get more credit for what they don't do, than what they do do.

*do do*

*snicker*

Then come the glimmer moments.  The little moments in time that you are afforded a look at the person you are raising.  It's God's little gift to you when you are at your lowest.

Yesterday I had a glimmer moment.

The little one came home from school in tears!  Her whole world was just torn apart!  It was the Daddy Daughter dance and her dad was out of town.

Crap!

Nothing that I could do or say would console her.

Until....

....her older brother came down the stairs in a dress pants and shirt and asked if he could take her.  You should have seen her face!  It just lit up like a Christmas tree!

How awesome is that?!  He gave up a night he could of just sat at home, playing video games with his girlfriend to make his little sister happy.  It was so sweet watching them walk away holding hands.  I cried for 5 minutes.  They both came home smiling and laughing about the great time that they had too.

So, just when I started to doubt myself, I was given a glimmer moment to see the wonderful people I have raised.

I couldn't think of a better Valentines day gift than that.

MUAAAAH!

The Sour Side of Life

When I first found out I had cancer, I wasn't ready for all the changes in my life it would bring.

Some, I knew about.  The  masectomy of course.  I knew they were taking ALL of the breast.  I was left with a Frankenstein like Barbie boob.  For a while only, until after the reconstruction.  We, me and my husband, were going into the initial surgery not knowing what to expect after.  When you have a masectomy, they do a pathology on the removed tissue in the operating room. It is at this time that your cancer is finally staged.  Up until then, it is a guessing game.

My cancer was finally staged as Stage II Lobular Breast cancer.  My cancer was estrogen and progesterone receptive.  Meaning the hormones my body produced were "feeding" the cancer and causing it to grow.  The cancer was Stage II due to the size, 3.8 cm.  They removed the sentinel nodes and the cancer hadn't spread to there, so the lymph node was clean.  There was a little twist though.  They also found cancer in the ductal glands that was just forming.  I didn't need chemo or radiation though, since I didn't score high enough.  My oncologist said that at my young age, my score didn't warrant either.  God I love it when he calls me young!

Why the little lesson in cancer?  It's a prelude dahlings.  You see my taste changed, among other things.   I craved SOMETHING.  It drove me crazy trying to find it out.

We went out to lunch one day.  No place special.  This little lake seafood cafe by our house.  We got our fish dinners and there on the plate was something that was going to change my life.  That innocent little yellow perfect wedge was what I had been craving.

Those beautiful, yellow, perfect orbs hold the key to my salvation.  The sweet, tangy liquid held beneath it's yellow skin is what I've been craving.

Is that not one of the most beautiful things you have ever seen?!

Ok, so maybe I get a little weak in the knees over them.  I always loved lemons.  Who would have thunk that during menopause, these would satisfy my soul like chocolate would?

Enough of my love affair with lemon.  This story is leading somewhere.

Pinky promise....

Every time I go shopping, lemons are always on my list. I buy lots of them every week.  I am a lemon snob though.  I don't buy the prebagged ones. Even if they are cheaper.  I like to choose my own lemons. You, unfortunately, can just squirt lemon on everything.  Somethings just need a special kind of touch.

Enter lemon curd.

I've had people that lemon curd is hard to make.

What??!!

It's so easy!  So I am going to show you a foolproof way to make lemon curd.

Lemon Curd

6 Tablespoons butter at room temp

1 cup sugar

2 large eggs

2 large egg yolks

2/3 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice

1 teaspoon lemon zest

Let your butter set out over night.  That way it will get nice and soft.  Make sure you measure it out.  It's easier to cut straight out of the fridge.  I also use unsalted butter.  It will be about 6 lemons to get your juice.  The secret to juicing a lemon is before you cut it in half, press and roll it on the counter.  Soften that baby up!  Also, wash the outside.  You are going to need it for the zest.  I use a micrograter for the zest.  You only want the yellow part.  No white here!

Now that you are all prepped and ready to go, cream your butter and sugar together in a mixer.  Get it nice and smooth.  Add your egg yolks one at a time.  Then the eggs.  Mix it all together and let everyone get to know each other for a minute or so.  

Now, add your freshly squeezed lemon juice.

It should look somewhat like this and you are probably thinking "oh crap!  screwed it up!"  Well dahling, you are right on track!  Transfer everything to a saucepan and heat over a low heat to get it all melty.

Now turn up the heat a bit.  Not much.  The sauce is going to thicken now.  Stir it constantly so you don't burn it.  No one likes burnt lemon curd.

Now when your spoon leaves a trail, you are done!  Well almost....  Stir in the lemon zest.  Once again, transfer it to another bowl, I use my glass measuring cup, cover and let cool.  Its important to cover so you don't get a skin on the top.  I lay the plastic wrap on top of the curd to make sure there is no skin.

Once it is cooled, you can put into little jars and store in the fridge.  Supposedly it will last a few weeks.  Mine is never in there for that long.  It is good on biscuits, waffles and blueberry scones.

Mmmmm.......

Know what else it is good for?

Donut filling!

Like in paczki....

Fat Tuesday is just around the corner too.

Coincidence?!

I think not....

MUUUAAAAH!

Posting at Foodie Friday

A Little Peek

If you looked closely at the very ugly front of my house you would get a hint of what is the next project.

Here's a little closer look....

Nothing?

What about now?!

I'M GETTING A PORCH!!

I am so excited!  I can just imagine relaxing on it on a beautiful summer day. A gentle breeze blowing.

*sigh*

For now though, there is much to do!  We stripped off the railing around the porch and the steps.

Once the railings were off, the posts and headers went up.  The boy even got in on the act since he found out there was alot of ladder work.  What is it with boys and ladders?

The rafters were scissored onto the existing ones.

Then  the decking.  Have I impressed you with my construction knowledge and terminology yet?  Well....don't be toooo impressed.  In real life I still call stuff thingamajigs.  I call it endearing.  My husband just rolls his eyes.

At this point the neighbors were hoping we were done.

Nuh huh....

I guess you will have to wait though to see what else is next.

MUAAAAH!!

The Old Girl

Remember this girl?

I love my girl!  I remember the first time that I saw her.  She was a beauty!  She still is.

We don't really know how old our girl is.  On the books, she is listed as a 1890 farmhouse.  That was the year that the one story part of the house was added though.  Feeling adventurous, I went to the county and looked at plat maps.  There is a house and barns on our property  shown on the 1858  maps.  So like a true woman, we are not sure of her real age.  Crafty ole bird!

Our girl was starting to show her age though.  The roof was starting to wear.  The last winter had taken quite the toll on her and shingles were starting to blow off.

Crap....

I am a very lucky girl and married to a very handsome and talented contractor!

There he is!  My very own fiddler on the roof!  He's probably thinking what the heck did she talk me into now?!

You see.... it's not a simple but down a new layer of shingles.  Oh no....  The roof already had 3 layers on so we had to strip off the old shingles to put down new ones.  Code in Michigan is no more than 3 layers.  But look at what we found!

The original cedar shake roof!

Be still my heart!

We considered repairing the cedar shakes and keeping the original roof.  Big problem was having 3 layers of shingles nailed through made for lots of nail holes.  The above pic is actually after we painted it with Deck Restore.  Did not fill the holes....damn....  

Goodbye beautiful old cedar shake!  I loved you dearly for the short time that you were showing!

Okay, the bad news was I lost my cedar shake roof.  The good news is.....

....I guess you have to come back to see what it is....

MUAAAAH!

When Life Hands You Lemons.....

HELLO MY LOVES!!!!

Miss me?!  I have missed you sooooo much!

I needed a break from blogging.  I thought it would be a couple of months.  Life decided to hand me ALOT of lemons!  One thing after another and now....BAM!  Four years later!  I have so much to tell you about to get you up to speed too!

First of all.....my kids!  My children are AMAZING!!!  You never realize how amazing your children are until they become your lifeline and reason for living, but enough of that!

My girl graduated!  Whoopwhoop!  Such a proud mommy moment!

Now it is this one's turn!  He's such a goof,but I wouldn't want him any other way!  BTW isn't his girlfriend a cutie?

And last, but not least, Not So Bitty Anymore!

Here are all of them dressed and ready to go terrorize the neighborhood.  If the boy behind Bitty looks familiar, that is my nephew!  He grew up too!

One more pic of the nuts, then we will move on....

Remember this old girl?!

She has had major surgery!  I mean MAJOR!  You won't even recognize her!  But that is to come in future posts.  It all started innocently enough with needing a new roof....  You won't believe her now though!

This old girl got a makeover somewhat too!

When we started our house remodeling, I pulled out of alot of volunteer work,including Relay For Life.  I told them I had "no time".  I think back about that now and laugh.  I found a cyst on right breast right in the cleavage.  It didn't change or anything, so I waited  til my once a year visit with my OB/GYN.

New Year's Eve, Bitty's birthday, I got the news....I had cancer.  WTF?!  I screamed, I cried, I begged, I bargained....nothing changed the fact that I had cancer March 5, 2014 I had a mastectomy of my right breast.  Just when I thought I had no time, I found how to make time.

I hate cancer.  I am also grateful.  This experience taught me alot.  It made me realize who I am.  It brought my family together to be supportive of each other.  To come to together when one of us is down and bring them up.  This was one of the hardest challenges I have had to face but thankfully I didn't have to do it alone.  My family and friends were right there beside me ready to take over when I was weak.  I am so blessed!

Now.....bring on the remodeling!  Hope ya'll come back to see what the crazy lady has been up to  in between surgeries!

Boo!

Yesterday was Bitty One's Preschool Halloween Party!

Aren't they cute?

Bitty One thinks she is Cinderella.  Don't tell her she really is a Renaissance princess though.  Isn't she cute? This is her and her friend Tyler.  I tease her that he is her boyfriend!

Look who else is a cutie!  Heehee!  She told me she would get her revenge if I posted her pic on facebook.  She  didn't say ANYTHING about my blog though!

Her "partner in crime" is just as cute too.  We were talking about how hard it is to find a costume that you can wear around 4 year olds without being risque.

They made crafts, listened to stories and ate food.

Lots and lots of food!

Isn't this cake cute?!  Okay, it was cuter when the legs didn't start to break and thaw.  The kids didn't seem to mind though.  I got this idea from Hungry Happenings.

I also brought these cute little mice.  Bitty One ate all the silver balls that I was going to use for eyes.  You can find the recipe for them here.

As for now, I am scooting off.  I have to bring treats for Bitty's other class today.  I found another really cute idea at Hungry Happenings that when I saw it I just knew I had to make them!

See ya soon!

Menu For Week Of Oct 24th

So.... yesterday was the first day of no hubby. I made lists of what to do this week, planned a menu and even went to the dreaded grocery store! I "lost" the kids at Meijer's. Aren't you proud?! Yup, couldn't find them. They went to look at the video games and toys while I shopped. How could you resist a deal like that? I went to go find them when I was done and they were no where to be seen. I gimped around that whole store, couldn't find them. I have gotten to know the lady who was working as a greeter since it seems I am up there daily. I told her "isn't this great? The first day my hubby leaves me alone with them and I lose them!" I did find them though, don't worry. They are safe and sound! Oh, for all inquiring minds, Stinky Pinky is gone! The doctor took it off last week. Now I just have to wear this very attractive shoe for the next 3 weeks since I am not supposed to bend it.

Oh well, onto the menu!

I am planning on sending food down with my husband on the weekends. Not a real problem since I cook like an army is coming to dinner. I also suck at reheating leftovers. How boring are leftovers?! So I will be freezing them and sending them back to Tennessee with him. Saves on groceries or cooking for him. I bought a new cookbook so I am trying out some of the recipes in it this week.

Monday

Chicken and Fall Veggie Casserole

Ceasar Salad

Chicken and Fall Veggie Casserole

3T olive oil

2 leeks, sliced and rinsed

2 cloves garlic, minced

2 large chicken breasts cut into bite size pieces

2 sweet potatoes, chunked

2 parsnips, scrubbed and sliced

1 red bell pepper, seeded and cut into strips

1 yellow bell pepper, seeded and cut into strips

9 0z wild mushrooms, sliced

14 oz tomatoes, chopped

4 cups cooked long grain rice

1 small bunch parsley, chopped

1 heaping cup grated cheddar cheese

salt and pepper

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Heat oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the leeks and garlic and cook til softened. Add the chicken, stirring frequently about 5 minutes. Add the sweet potatoes and parsnips. Cook til golden brown and beginning to soften. Add peppers and mushrooms and cook about 5 minutes more. Add remaining ingredients, except cheese. Spoon into an ovenproof dish. Cover with cheese and cook about 25 minutes. Serve.

Tuesday

Spinach and Ricotta Rollatini

Minestrone Soup

A total vegeterian dinner! I found this and it looked soooo good I knew it would be on the menu soon! Look for the tutorial for this later in the week.

Wednesday

Burgers on the Grill

Cream of Potato With Bacon Soup

The days are getting colder here in the North so I am taking advantage of the mild weather to use the grill. I am also doing a "fall cleaning" on the kitchen so not cooking in it is a plus! I am trying out this soup for the first time. You can find the recipe here.

Thursday

Roast Pork

Rosemary Potatoes

Green Bean Casserole

Roast Pork

2 lb pork loin

3T olive oil

salt

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Pat loin dry and put into a roasting pan. Brush the loin with 1T of oil and rub with salt. Roast in the oven for 20 minutes. Lower temp to 400 degrees and cook for an additional 40 minutes or until pork is done. Remove from oven and let rest for 20 minutes before slicing.

Rosemary Potatoes

2 lbs small yellow potatoes

4T olive oil

1 bunch rosemary, chopped

Peel and dice the potatoes. Heat the oil in another roasting pan. When hot add the potatoes and rosemary, toss to coat and cook for 40 minutes in the same oven as the pork. Remove from the pan and serve with the pork.

Friday

Margherita Pizza

Yes, it's pizza night! I love Fridays for this reason. You can find the recipe for this pizza here. I am using the canned pizza dough and precooking it for this meal though. You can also add cooked, shredded chicken to this if you like.

Saturday

Baked Chicken

Boxed Potatoes

Roast Fall Veggies

Baked Chicken

8 chicken drumsticks

1/2 cup mayo

6T yellow mustard

Zest of 1 lemon

1-1/2 cups Italian breadcrumbs

Put chicken in a large sealable bag. In a small bowl, mix mayo, mustard and zest. Add to bag and toss to coat. Let marinade overnight.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Put breadcrumbs in a shallow bowl. Remove chicken from bag and shake off excess marinade. Dredge in breadcrumbs and transfer to a 9x13 baking dish. Bake 45 minutes or until golden brown. Serve.

Sunday

BBQ Beef Sandwiches

Baked Macaroni

I am using Stone Gable's recipe for the BBQ Beef. It definitely is a family favorite and so easy to make! Thank you Yvonne for posting it! The baked macaroni is also a favorite here. I can eat this stuff til I am stuffed! You can find the recipe for it here.

I also have cooking to do for Bitty One's Preschool Halloween party and school snacks on Friday. I think I will be in the kitchen all week long! These recipes are so easy though. It's been so long since I spent time in the kitchen I am actually looking forward to it. As for now, me and Bitty One are off to the orchard to get some apples for caramel apples later in the week. Maybe even a pie or two?!

What are you having for dinner?

Posted @ Stone Gable's OTMM