The Pearls Are Off

You know what I don't get? Drivers here. With all due respect (and we know since I said "all due respect, I can now say anything I want without fear of offending anyone) what is the deal with the whole "oh, sure, you need to get out of that gas station onto a four lane major road? Not a problem, let me just slam on my breaks real quick so you can slowly get out into traffic. You're welcome." or how about "aww, look at me. I'm going to stop my lane of traffic so you can take a left out of that parking lot. I'll wave you on cause I'm super nice. But just so you know, I'm not checking the other lane for cars and I'm definitely not going to make sure cars aren't coming in the other direction, so it's pretty much risking your life. You're welcome." Don't get me wrong, I'll be nice and let you out if I'm coming up to a red light or there's lots of traffic and I'm going to stop anyway. But not just randomly. So I propose- Is it nice or just stupid?

I will say this- after the Steelers lost last weekend, I did notice people being less likely to let others out. The niceness meter dropped just a bit that Monday. Interesting...
Speaking of which, I don't think it's possible (if you live here) to not be a Steelers fan. It's unlike anything I've ever seen. These people are cra cra about their football. I saw people dressed up in full Steelers gear like it was game day 2 months ago... on weekdays. A friend of ours got called out in church last Sunday for not wearing black and gold. It is a way of life here. I do appreciate that Pittsburgh had the good sense to make all their teams the same colors. Big shout out to the guy with that brilliant idea. We're going to the Steelers home game opener this Sunday. I'm a little worried my enthusiasm level isn't up to par with these folks quite yet. I'll let you know.

We went to the Pirates game a while back when my sis was in town and here's what came out of that...

1. Toto, I don't think we're in South Carolina anymore. Let me set the record straight. In the South, the majority of women wear cute outfits to games (All sports). Not all women. And they are most certainly not always cute. But nonetheless, a solid 70%. ESPN did a whole thing about southern girls and their cute outfits, so that's how serious it is. Sis and I were excited about our cute black dresses and yellow jewelry. I have this fantastic hat that's black and yellow plaid that was making it's debut. So, we finally walk up to the giant tailgate and it is soooo obvious that we are not from around these parts. We looked like we were going to prom. These women were not in cute outfits. They were in jerseys and jeans or t-shirts and shorts. WHHHAATTT?! Not a fan. I guess this is how it is everywhere but the South. Well, I may be the only one, but I'll be darned if I'm going to an event looking like I just got done mowing the lawn. I'll rock a jersey I'm sure, but it'll be cute if it kills me. You can take the girl out of the South but you can't take away my cute outfits.

2. You can take a ziploc bag of snacks and a bottle of unopened water into the stadium! Okay, maybe that's just exciting to me. I love snacks and water! And it's a good $30 cheaper for Sparky if I get to bring that stuff in from the outside where items are reasonably priced. Go Bucs!

Kenny. Not to be confused with Dolly

Well, I’m back from a needless and lazy break from typing.  I know everyone was anxiously anticipating my return. Well, anticipate no more, my friends. Let’s see…where to start…

Kennywood is as good a place as any I suppose. Kennywood (not to be confused and definitely not related to Dollywood) is a theme park really close to us that we took Sparky’s family to while they were here visiting. I think it would be a significantly better story if Kennywood was related to Dollywood, but sadly, it’s not. In reality, I’ve read the story of Kennywood and I’m not even sure where the Kenny comes from at all. Anyway, I’m not a roller coaster rider myself. I really just go for the food. But they made me get on one of those water rides cause surely I can handle that. Oh, I handled it alright. I got soaked. As in, wring me out over the state of SC and there’d be no more fear of drought. Fun. It was fun overall, though, so I guess I’ll live. I will say that my hubby and his bro-in-law rode the big, scary death coasters and they both said “Best. Ride. Ever.” After each one.

Remodeling- So, I’ve done a lot of painting, etc. but at some point we’re going to have to get real and start tearin’ stuff up…or down as it were. Just one little problem with that. Money. Why does it cost a small fortune to do anything? I mean, I could buy a car, or a small island for what these guys want to put a shower in our bathroom. I guess who I should really be upset with are the previous owners. I mean, who puts in fancy, claw foot tub (aka not a shower) in the master bathroom? I love a claw foot tub as much as the next person, but people take showers. So we trek our happy rear ends downstairs every morning to the only shower in the house which, of course logic would indicate, is in the den. Oops, not den. That’s not what they call them up here. Great room maybe? Whatever, the big room. So it’s in the great room. I fail to see the logic here. Then again I fail to see the logic in quite a few things the previous owners did. But, don’t worry, because Sparky and I have decided that we can do a lot of the remodeling ourselves. Oh yes, it’s happening and I’m sure it will be completely painless, cost nothing, and take no time at all. Yay us!

Phil- Sparky and I have decided that each month we will plan a surprise date for the other person. I thoroughly enjoy this idea and am completely on board because it will get us out in our new community. In August, his surprise for me was a drive up to Punxsutawney to see Phil. We stopped at some wineries along the way and then stayed the night in a precious B&B. Phil, in case you didn’t know, is housed in the local library there. Also, for your information, Gobbler’s Knob is about a 2.5 mile drive from the middle of town. It’s near the Wal-Mart if you’re ever up that way. Some other tidbits you might want to know prior to going are that the only restaurant in the actual town that’s open on a Saturday evening is McDonald's (don’t worry, we drove a bit to get food), the only bar in town was not open- don’t know why, and the movie Groundhog's Day was not actually filmed there.  Oh, and apparently, the townsfolk aren’t real keen on that movie, so if you think it’ll be fun to watch the movie while being in the town, you’ll have to bring it with you. Overall, an adorable surprise and a good little overnight adventure. Props to Sparky. If you're wondering what my surprise date for August was- I got us tickets to see Jim Gaffigan at the Benedum Theatre. Not nearly as...um... interesting, but it was super fun.

Ok I'm drained for now but I'll be back with more soon. Promise

Afters

Foyer

Living Room

Dining room project

Phase 1-  Wallpaper (layer 1)

Phase 2- Wallpaper (layer 2)

Phase 3- Paint wainscoting

Phase 4- Paint walls

Phase 5- clean room...

Let's see... over the last couple of weeks I've taken down more wallpaper, painted some more, gone to a bachelorette weekend, bought a 7 lb. bag of ground beef, gone on an interview, taken a trip to Germany, and eaten a giant sundae.

So first things first- the wallpaper... what? Oh, you've heard this before. Same book, different chapter. Don't worry, I won't get into it again. You know the drill. So let's move on.

Bachelorette weekend in Chuck Town with the cutest bride EVER. We had so much fun! Her wedding is in about 10 days and I'm so excited about it! Beware of the ugly cry. I can't go into detail about our trip cause as you know, what happens in Charleston, stays in Charleston. Yeah, I'm' pretty sure that's right. Or I'd tell you but then I'd have to kill you. Either way, not telling. Before we hit up the wedding festivities, though, we'll be headed to Lake Anna for our annual July 4th fun thanks to the Bryan family. Always a good time. Basically, we have a super fun week coming.

On to the meat. I know that one got you. Ok so there's this really cool market in what's called "The Strip District" (and, no, it's not like the red light district). It's like a giant farmer's market and a bunch of restaurants. The bag of meat came from this cool market called Wholey's. It's a giant meat and seafood extravaganza. I imagine it's something one would imagine more so in San Francisco or somewhere. But it's here -which is awesome. Anyway, you can buy giant bags of meat. Who knew?

The interview. Oh, the interview. Ugh. I'll tell you one thing, I hate finding a job. Hate. I mean, I've been using Outlook and Excel for years and never have I ever experienced some of the things they were asking. First of all, I'm not sure it's entirely reasonable to ask someone to describe how a function works in excel without letting them look at the program. Also, what I do know about that specific program is that there's more than one way to skin a cat. Well, not for them apparently. Their way or the highway. I wish I could remember some the questions on the timed, only one correct answer exam. May or may not have been worse than the SAT. Then after an hour of testing, I finally get to talk to someone. And by someone, I mean a robot. What is wrong with HR people? Is it a qualification that you have to be personalityless to get those jobs? I was using some of my best stuff. I'm funny. I'm witty. I'm personable. She gave me nothing. And, seriously, are "give me an example of a time when you..." or "what would you say your strengths are" really the best questions they can come up with? It's exhausting. They can't possibly think these asinine, redundant questions are insight to a person's personality or work ethic.

Guten Tag! Ok so we didn't actually go to Germany. Just to Haufbrauhaus. This place is crazy. We originally sat outside on the giant deck by the water but then moved inside after dinner when we heard all the singing. They have picnic tables lined up inside and everyone stands on them and sings along with the band. It's supercalifragilisticexpialidocious kind of fun.

The sundae...mmmm... the sundae. Never in my life have I experienced such a sundae. Sarris Candies. It's where hot fudge lives. I don't even know what to say about it. You have to experience it.

So, there's your update.  Kinda makes you want to visit the Burgh, doesn't it?

Befores

Left-Den

 Right- Dining Room

 Left- Foyer         Right- Living Room (you can't tell from the pic but the LR is the same green as the dining room)

 Kitchen

Wallpaper and other stories of drunkeness

Welcome back internet. Welcome back TV. Oh, how I've missed you! And I have so much to tell you all. Okay, so we closed on the house about a month ago (although I've only been here for about 2 weeks of that). We've been working our butts off!! P.S. if I can give anyone advice about decorating, let it be that wallpaper is NEVER the answer. Seriously. I have spent far too many hours spraying and scraping, spraying and scraping. Then peeling. All the peeling. I can't get those hours back, ya know what I mean? Do yourself and everyone who may own your house in the future a favor and just don't do it. I hear an accent wall is coming back in style. I salute and encourage it, in fact, I'm doing one...but not with wallpaper. And yesterday I discovered a delightful treat, 2 layers of wallpaper in the dining room. The hits just keep on comin...

Moving on- the people we bought our house from are...let's say...different. And by different, I mean crazy. Like certifiably nutso. To be fair, we suspected the husband might be a bit off his rocker towards the beginning of our relationship. Little did we know, the wife was also on the crazy train. Let's see...what tale to tell. Well, first of all, they were drunk at our walk through. Classy, right? At one point, Sparky asked them if they work or are retired. Her response, however, indicated what she heard was "Are you retarded?" Then there's the fact that the garbage man told me, in no uncertain terms, that they are alcoholics. Yeah, the universal hand signal for alcoholic. You know, the thumb and pinkie out, thumb to the mouth signal. Then there's the fact that they busted out bags full of crushed beer cans every week. Oh, and lest I forget, there was a restraining order on the husband for three months prior to the sale of the house. I could go on and on. The arsenal of guns (he actually laid them out in the driveway once), the vague answers to questions ("let's just say I work for an agency"), the fact that they left cups of wine and open beer cans in the fridge. P.S. it took me half a day to clean the refrigerator. The inside of the dishwasher is all rusted...how does that even happen? Cra Cra, I tell you.

So, I'm going to try to post some pics of the house soon. Before and afters hopefully. I would like to say, for the record, that just by painting and taking down wallpaper, I think we could turn around and sell this house for about $10,000 more than we bought it for. Amazing.