The Joys Of Homeownership

So, this happened today...

 

That would be two holes we currently have in the ceiling in our kitchen.  A little backstory on this is perhaps needed.  

One night in May, we came home from having dinner with my parents to find a puddle of water on the kitchen floor under the ceiling fan.  There was a visible wet spot on the ceiling, and when the fan was tipped water came pouring off.  To identify the source of the problem, we cut a small hole in the ceiling and postulated that it was the guest bathroom toilet.  You may recall this photo... 

We thought we had the toilet issue fixed, so we patched up the ceiling also and moved on with our lives.  Enter July amidst the furry of flooding in the basement, I again found water on the kitchen floor.  This time, I told Andrew we were calling in professionals.  As luck would have it, we had about one week remaining on our home warranty that came on the house when we purchased it.  HSA dispatched a plumber who "fixed" the toilet.  I say "fixed" because I honestly don't know what he did.  Not more than a week or two later, we again had water on the floor in the kitchen.  

Having passed the HSA expiration date, I call them again to explain that the issue wasn't fixed the first time they called someone out.  So, they dispatch the same company to come look at the toilet again.  Meanwhile, I'm not convinced the toilet is the issue.  I kept asking for someone to cut into the ceiling, but my plea was ignored.  So, the toilet was fixed a third time around.  I told Andrew we weren't fixing the ceiling again until we went sixty days without water on the floor. 

After taking a shower yesterday, I noticed a puddle of water on the floor.  However, it was in a different spot.  Andrew was convinced one of the dogs peed on the floor, or I flung water on the floor when I put a container in the recycling bucket.  I wish I could say I was as convinced.  

After showering today, I went downstairs and was working in the kitchen when I heard the familiar sound of dripping on the floor.  I looked over to see water coming out of the ceiling above the location where it was puddled on the floor on Sunday.  Andrew came down to investigate and I had him cut a hole in the ceiling.  Water pouring out of your ceiling isn't something you want to see, but that is what we witnessed today.  

After sitting on the phone with HSA for an hour on hold between speaking with someone who was no help and trying to speak with a supervisor, I was no further down the road to solving our water issue.  I insisted this time if they sent someone out they were cutting open the ceiling because they were going to identify the source of the problem.  I was told that unless it was related to the original toilet issue, it wouldn't be covered under the prior claim.  In addition, it had been more than 30 days, so the only thing that was covered were defective parts.  So, because the first person they sent out was too busy answering phone calls to actually figure out the issue, we are stuck with this issue which has likely been brewing for months.  Word of warning if you have an HSA warranty on your home and you have an issue.... be as vague as possible.  If I had said "we have water coming out of the ceiling" and not hypothesized about what it could be, we might not be in this mess.  

After calling a couple of plumbing companies in the area, I found one who was able to send someone out right away.  When I told them everything that had happened, the woman looked at me and said "cutting open the ceiling is the first thing they should have done".  At that moment, I wanted to throw my arms around this woman standing in my kitchen and thank her for using her brain!  Yes, we had a female plumber today and she was amazing!  She cut into the ceiling, all the while apologizing for making such a mess.  We exposed the plumbing from the guest bathroom toilet and discovered that wasn't the source of the issue.  We then moved over to where the water was coming from the last few days, which was directly below our master bathroom shower.  When we ran water through the shower, there wasn't an issue with the pipes.  The issue, we discovered, is either with a chip in the floor of our shower, or with the pan under the shower.  Either item doesn't bode well for us.  

There are a lot of things I want to re-do in this house, but being forced into redoing them earlier than we can afford isn't my preference.  While we were trying to identify the problem today, the plumber checked our toilets.  Turns out, the toilets are the original toilets that were installed when the house was built in 1986.  Needless to say, I think we will be replacing those soon as well.  This summer has been unintentionally expensive, and I'm not a fan.  Stay tuned for the bathroom facelift that may be coming soon.  Meanwhile, we are showering in the guest bathroom, and I'm thanking my lucky stars for having a second bathroom with a shower. 

Happy 3rd Wedding Anniversary

I don't have any exciting three things this year.  We don't have a third dog, unless you count our current foster dog.  We aren't moving again, so we are sticking to two houses purchased during our marriage.  All jokes aside, we made it to three years!  We count each year of marriage as a success.  One step closer to a lifetime of wedded bliss.  Each year isn't without its ups and downs, but it makes us stronger.  I know, it sounds like a greeting card, but it is true.   

We don't have anything exciting planned this year, unless you count constructing a storage closet in the basement as exciting.  Perhaps that speaks to where we are at in our marriage; adventurous in the projects we tackle!  We will celebrate with the usual anniversary cake.  Sadly, the man who made our wedding cake closed his business over the last year, so we will have to move our tradition to another local bakery.  Other than cake and construction projects, there isn't much on the agenda.  Perhaps a little r&r is also on the docket for tomorrow.   

 

 

 First anniversary trip to Green Bay!  

 Our amazing anniversary cake; sad our baker closed. 

Close enough to our second anniversary! 

Here's to many more memories to be made this year and in the years to come! 

A Work In Progress In the Basement

The basement wasn't really on our list of things to do this summer, but when it flooded we decided to move it ahead on the project list.  There is nothing like going down to do laundry early on a Saturday morning and feeling your feet squish into wet carpet.  It could have been a lot worse than it was, but it still spread far enough to be a total pain.  Turns out, the float on our sump pump got stuck, so the sump pump hadn't been running during a time when we had about two straight weeks of rain.  

We spent the better part of a weekend moving everything from one part of the basement to the other that wasn't as impacted by the flooding.  My office had to move up to the spare bedroom for most of the summer since what was my office turned into storage. 

We decided if we were going to redo the basement, we were going to make it what we had wanted to since moving in last summer; the Packer Cave!  I dreamed of having yellow walls with a green stripe across the room.  The room would be our game cave.  We would watch football games down there and have a table to play board games.  The room isn't totally finished yet, but we have come a long way with it this summer.  

What I came down to the carpet looking like.  The bare cement had snap 

together tile that was easy to pull up, so we salvaged it. 

 Carpet pulled up 

 

Carpet was throughout the hallway area in the above 

picture and in the large living room area. One whole piece of 

carpet that had to be torn up and moved outside. 

Painting the walls before the new floor goes in.

Second coat of gold 

  Time for the floor to go in! 

 Third coat and done with the gold.  

And for the finishing touch, Green Bay Packers green stripe! 

Since this picture was taken, we have mounted a TV on the wall, moved the table back down for playing games and doing puzzles, purchased a couch and put down an area rug.  Still on the list for the basement is: getting the table set up, installing a dry bar, and hanging my numerous items of Packers paraphernalia.  

Next project for the basement is.... 

Putting in a storage closet to span two walls and wrap around a corner.  Stay tuned for more on that project! 

Front Closet Project

Half the reason for my lack of posting recently is the amount of projects we have going on in the house.  I wanted to complete a project so I could get the before and after posted.  We haven't fully finished two of the major projects going on in the house, so the complete "after" photo will have to come later.

It started with a thought.... "what are we really using our front closet for"  and a pinterest idea!





While I was gone in Minnesota for work, the closet went from this - I didn't take a "before" photo

[source]

to this

 the door and frame were taken out and the space was expanded slightly. 

then there was color! 

Next, furniture courtesy of Andrew's workshop!  Glad I married a handyman! 

I will try to post the final "after photo" shortly.  Andrew just finished putting up trim and staining this weekend.  Last thing to do is hang the hooks and call it finished!  I think this semi mud room will function a lot better for us in the long run.  It will give us a place to store shoes and boots and hang up jackets and bags!  

Recipe Wednesday- Chocolate, Chocolate Chip Zucchini Bread

A few weeks ago, our amazing neighbors gave us some zucchinis and cucumbers out of their garden.  I wish I had taken a picture of the zucchini before I cut into it, it was HUGE!  As soon as I saw the zucchini I knew what I had to do with it.  Clearly, Andrew was thinking the same thing I was.  When he called me that night to let me know he was headed home from work, I mentioned our neighbors gave us some zucchini.  He said, "I guess that means you will have to make some chocolate zucchini bread".  Already a step ahead, I had the bread done!

I cannot express to you how amazingly delicious this bread is.  Healthy, not so much.  Delicious, yes!





If you have a large zucchini, you will have enough to make 4 total loaves of bread.  I shred up the zucchini and freeze it so I can make another match of bread in the future. 


2 1/2 Cups of All Purpose Flour
1/2 Cup Cocoa
1 teaspoon Baking Soda
1/2 teaspoon Baking Powder
1 teaspoon Salt
1 1/2 Cups Sugar
3 Eggs
2 teaspoons Vanilla
1 Cup Vegetable Oil
2 Cups packed, grated Zucchini
1 1/2 Cups Chocolate Chips

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees and spray two loaf pans with nonstick spray.

2. Combine flour, cocoa, baking soda, baking powder, and salt in a bowl.  Set aside.

3. In another bowl, combine Eggs and Sugar until fluffy.  Add in vanilla and Oil. Beat until well combined.

4. Blend egg mixture into flour mixture.

5. Fold in zucchini and chocolate chips.

6. Pour batter into two greased loaf pans.

7. Bake for 50-60 minutes until a toothpick pushed into the center of the loaf comes out clean.

8. Allow to cool for 20 minutes and enjoy!

Is Gratitude A Thing Of The Past

I really didn't intend for it to be almost two months in between posts.  I know I started typing a post previously, but I must have deleted it without publishing it.  Clearly, it was a really important post.  Life has been more than a little crazy lately.  Since my last post, Andrew was gone for part of a week, and I was gone for part of the next week for work.  We were home one week, but both working crazy hours, then we swapped out weeks being gone again in August.  In the midst of it all, we picked up another foster dog.  Sometimes life in our house feels like a circus! But, moving along to the post of the day.   

The subject of this post stems from a conversation Andrew and I were having with my parents over dinner last weekend.  It has taken me about a week to compile my thoughts on the topic, but I think I can finally put two semi calm, coherent sentences together on the matter.  I have to say, this is something I feel pretty strongly about.  I was raised on please and thank you; were you raised the same way?  I fear people have grown too busy for please and thank you as of late.  If I hold the door for someone, a smile and a thank you is appreciated.  I don't hold the door because I expect something in return, I do it because that is how I was raised.  Recently, we were out to eat and Andrew stood and held the door for several groups of people.  Not one of them bothered to turn and say thank you as they were passing through the door.  Does it take too much time to stop and say thank you?  Are you too distracted with the latest and greatest cell phone to peel yours eyes up and see who held the door so you didn't walk right into it?

The day to day thank you's kill me, but the ones that really get under my skin are the big, what I call obvious, thank you's.  I don't remember the last thank you we got for attending a wedding.  There are all sorts of stats out on how much it costs a wedding guest to attend a wedding these days.  While that thought doesn't always cross my mind, it does bother me that we took our day to spend with you and there is not a thank you given.  I took part of a day to pick out a wedding gift and wrap it nicely to present to you.  Yes, I realize the gift likely came from your registry, but there is still a process to determining which gift on the registry I'm going to pick.  I spent another twenty minutes of a Sunday standing in the card aisle at Target trying to find just the right card to go with the gift I picked out.  I say "I" because the gift picking out and card picking is left to me.  I enjoy it, and Andrew admittedly isn't a card person.  However, check the next card you get from us.... I promise you his signature will be on it.

Perhaps the thought behind the lack of a thank you note following a wedding is, we invited them, we gave them food, cake and dancing.  Perhaps you even provided free booze as well.  We gave our guests all these things, why do we need send them a card too?  Ok, maybe it isn't quite that obvious or harsh.  Perhaps the thought is, "we thanked them at the wedding".  Having been the bride, I can safely say our wedding day was a blur.  Sure, I remember who was there because I wrote out all the invitations and the table assignments.  Yes, we spoke to every single person in attendance at the wedding as we were dismissing them from the church.  No, I don't count that thank you as sufficient.

A recent reason I have heard for not sending out thank you's is that the person throwing the party simply doesn't have time.  I'm going to pause for a minute to let that really soak in with you.....  You had time to plan a party - compile a guest list, send out invitations, put together food, decorate, etc. But, you lack one to two hours to complete thank you notes when the party is done and the wrapping paper is sitting in the middle of the living room floor?  Perhaps, if you lack time to write thank you notes, you also lack time to throw a party.  Thank you notes are part of the party throwing package as far as I'm concerned.  Be it a wedding, baby shower, wedding shower, birthday party, bachelorette party, house warming party, graduation, etc. show a little gratitude to your friends and family for taking time out of their day to celebrate with you. A thank you note doesn't have to be a five paragraph essay.   A couple of sentences acknowledging someones attendance at the event and your appreciation goes a long way.   

Here is some additional food for thought, gratitude = respect.  Not saying thank you is disrespectful to those you should be thanking.  If I took my time to attend your party, you can take your time to tell me that it was meaningful to you.  Why do you invite the people you do to your parties?  I invite people because I care about them, I value their friendship and their place in my life.  When we compiled our invitation list for our wedding, we invited those whom we valued as friends and family members.  We invited those who mentored us along the way.  I wouldn't dream of disrespecting those we love and care about.
 
I'll leave you with a few additional things to mull over on the topic of gratitude.  Take these things into consideration be it on a daily basis, or the next time you host an event.

"Gratitude is not only the greatest of virtues, but the parent of all others" - Cicero

"Silent gratitude isn't much use to anyone" - Gladys Browyn Stern

"Showing gratitude is one of the simplest yet most powerful things humans can do for each other"
 - Randy Pausch