Bathroom is FINISHED!

Kai and Joey finally finished the bathroom. We had a hold up with paint colors. I couldn't decide which shade of green I liked (green was one of the only colors Kai and I could agree on).
The boys did such a good job! I always hated that bathroom because no matter how much I scrubbed it always look dirty. Behind the toilet was the worst! The wall paper was peeling off and there was mold growing behind it. Nasty!! Joey spackled the wall where the damage was but when we painted the spackling came off. Joey ended up putting a piece of wood (it has a name I just don't know it!) behind to the toilet to cover the damage. I thought it won't look nice but was pleasantly surprised!
The toilet was so old the bowl cracked when we tried to put it back in. Water would shoot out when you flushed. It was pretty funny but we definitely couldn't leave it like that:)
Our family gave us plently of Lowes gift cards for Christmas so we were able to buy a new pooper (it was a running joke over the holidays that we got a toilet for Christmas!)
The new pooper has finally been installed but the old one is still hidden in the shower. It needed to drain and we weren't sure what to do with it. I totally forgot about it but Daniel found it when we had people over for the super bowl. Opps!

Grandma Jean

Jean, Jean, Jean...where to begin!

For those of you who are confused, I'm not allowed to call her my Grandmother....or Nana or Granny or Grandma only Jean.

Funny Jean story:

At a wedding last month, Jean walks up behind me and smacks my ass.
This was all done in an effort to tell me my dress was too short.

I think the exact phrase was "if your dress got any shorter, you would be wearing shorts!"

Then she adds but you do have nice legs!

That same evening, she tells Katherine's boyfriend Robert, I'm just going to call you Wilford. Apparently, Robert was too difficult to remember but Wilford was easier?

Gotta love Jean! She's pretty awesome if not just plain entertaining!

Maxine reminds me of Jean:

Disfunctional Omelets

I am officially scratching omelets off my list of meal ideas.

This was my sad attempt: Kai proceeds to take over saying he used to make omelets all the time and I didn't know what I was doing. He started out ok. He actually looked like he knew what he was doing.But then his ended up like so

Hahahahaha
Guess it's wasn't as easy as it looked, huh Kai??

Love you:)

Carolina vs State

Saturday was not a good day for the Tarheels....not that much of their football season has been! Kai and I attended "the game" with Russell and Nancy. Kai was of course decked out in his red while the rest of us sported Carolina blue only for Carolina to loose miserably to the Wolfpack. It was a very good game with quite a few interesting plays. I have never been to a football game when players have actually been ejected either. My favorite play was when a Carolina defensive player literally picked up the State running back and slammed him to the ground. Bet we will be seeing that replay again!
I often found myself forgetting which team to cheer for. That didn't make Russell too happy! I got "the look" (when dad purses his lips together and flares his nostrils all while a vein pulsates in his forehead). Guess I have been to one too many NC State games. I could really do without the howling or the "Go to hell Carolina" line in their fight song, but at least one of our teams will go to a good bowl game! Keep your fingers crossed that State beats Maryland this weekend and then Virginia Tech in the ACC championship because Miami here we come!

Inspirational

Apparently, that is my personality type. We had a work seminar today where we took personality tests. In the explanation, it says I have a sociable, direct, influential, gregarious personality. Those were the nice things. It also says, in my mind, the end justifies the means and I will use my persuasiveness to manipulate people to reach my goals. If you feel you have been manipulated, I apologize.

Pictures!

These are pictures from our family trip to the World War II memorial.

Side note

Why is it that all government agencies, schools, banks, and even the bond markets were closed today but the stock market was open??? Wish I could have been at home.

Happy Veteran's Day

Two years ago, my sweet Nana made a request for her birthday, to take Papa to see the World War II memorial in DC. The whole fam packed their bags and headed to DC for the weekend. (mom, dad, Lee, Kai, and I all crammed into one room at Embassy Suites...it was interesting but worth it. Thank goodness for happy hour in the lobby!) It was hard to grasp the significance and importance of such a trip being young and having never lived through a world war, but seeing Papa's eyes well up with tears at the site of the memorial was enough to make me understand. He fought for our country at the same age I was piddling through college more concerned about my weekend plans than my future. I think our generation can learn alot from our grandparents: hard work, honor, determination, respect, pride...key items that seem to be lost in the digital world of facebook, video games, blackberries, and ipods. Boys actually planned real dates with girls filled with manners, corsages, and dancing cards. People took pride in their work, most owning their own businesses in small town USA. Nana and Papa have been married for sixty years and owned their own appliance store for over fifty of those years. Papa never talks about the war or his days on the battleship, but he does talk about coming home and courting my grandmother. My favorite story is when he taught her how to drive a stick shift on an old beat up ford in the middle of a corn field. Sounds like something out of a movie....
Anyways, not to be too sappy and sentimental, but take a minute to call your grandparents or thank a veteran. They deserve it!

Cold Weather

I love North Carolina's crazy weather. Spring and fall seem to be skipped altogether. One day it's 80 degrees outside and the next day it's below freezing. Today is one of those freezing days and in the spirit of winter, I am making taco soup! I'm sure Kai is freaking out because he knows we will be eating it once or twice a week until it's warm again:)
I have decided to unveil the recipe for anyone who wants to taste a small slice of heaven!
It's sooooooo easy to make. You literally open up a bunch of cans and dump them in a pot to boil. I normally buy the no salt added veggies to cut back on sodium content.

Taco Soup:
1 pound ground beef
2 cans corn
2 cans black bean
2 cans chili bean
1 can petite diced tomatoes
1 can tomato sauce
14 oz can of chopped green chilies
1 packet taco seasoning
1 packet of ranch dressing mix
1 cup water

Charlie is so cute

and irritated!

Who needs insurance??

Back in August, we found out our guest shower was leaking through the ceiling into the apartment below us...lucky us, insurance was going to deny the claim because the leak was "due to faulty equipment or the result of wear and tear" which isn't covered. Someone please explain to me how the insurance agent could see through the tile to determine the cause of the leak!! When I mentioned that aspect, she recanted and offered to cover an "exploratory" search where the tile would be pulled up but not replaced unless the leak was deemed coverable. Having had enough of that BS, Kai recruited his friend Joey to help with our first home improvement project. With much hesitation, I agreed to this plan (at least Joey seemed to know what he was doing and he had the tools!)
So now, there is sheet rock in the dining room, tile dust covering the apartment, the linen closet contents on the guest bed, the bathroom doors in the hallway, and the toilet on the deck of our second floor apartment. Sorry neighbors! Hopefully, we will be done soon...for every one's sake! Pictures are included for your enjoyment.

Kai being a manly man:)This is the new tile! They have done such a good job! Will post more pictures when the shower is finished.

Ohhhhhhhh Ice Cream

You know you and your husband have a serious sweet tooth when...

there are 9 contains of ice cream in your freezer!
You may choose from vanilla fudge swirl, coffee,
mint chocolate chip, strawberry, double chocolate fudge
brownie, mocha almond fudge, rocky road, and chocolate
chip cookie dough. wow. I'm glad one of us has a super
human metabolism....

Inspiration

This blog is for all the non do-it-yourself-ers, horrible cooks, restless newlyweds, awkward nurturers, 9 to 5 workers who have suddenly found themselves stuck in the random twenty-something transition into adulthood. We have graduated from the college years filled with endless parties, drunken stumpers, random boys, and no permanent schedule to the working world where we actually have bills and responsibilties. Somewhere along the line between college and present day, we were supposed to learn how to be like our moms: cook a good meal, keep a house, raise a family, all while working without losing our minds. I have yet to figure out the secret but have picked up a few hard learned lessons from my many mistakes. For those who know me well, I am anything but a Martha Stewart knock-off hence the stepsister title. I plan to embarrass myself often with stories of cooking blunders and housekeeping disasters; hopefully, I can find a few people who can relate!