transforming...

We're at it again. A transformation is taking place. Messes being made.

Homegirl using power tools. Homegirl is so excited...

an peace offering...

A Holiday treat...
I offer you for my non-bloggin' self.
Please forgive me for my lameness the past six months or so.


Now, with the majority of our casa
updating complete, I'm back in my kitchen.
Yippee!


And just in time for the holiday's no less.

I made these the other day to give away...
that was after I "tested" it. mmm... ;)

*Salted Caramel Pecan Bars*

1 cup chopped pecans
12 whole graham crackers
1 cup firmly packed brown sugar
3/4 cup butter
2 Tablespoon whipping cream
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1/4 tsp kosher salt

~ Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Bake pecans in a single
layer in a shallow pan 10 to 12 minutes or until toasted
and fragrant, stirring halfway through.
~ Line a 15- x 10-inch jelly-roll pan with foil;
lightly grease.
~ Arrange graham crackers in a single layer
in prepared pan, slightly overlapping edges.
~ Combine sugar, butter, and cream in a medium-size
heavy saucepan; bring to a boil over medium heat,
stirring occasionally. Remove from heat, and stir in
vanilla and pecans. Pour butter mixture over crackers,
spreading to coat.
~ Bake for 10 to 11 minutes or until lightly browned and bubbly.
~ Immediately sprinkle with salt, and slide foil from pan onto
a wire rack. Cool completely (about 30 minutes). Break into bars.

Enjoy!

Peace, Love, Good Food and Warmth...
Rolo

some facts...

I thought I'd share a few fun facts with you
on this lovely Tuesday.
"Why"? Because I like you...
and blogging about nothing or nonsense helps relieve stress.
Not that I'm stressed or anything.

So, here ya go...

1. I got up just before 4 AM today.

2. It's spirit week this week for my homies
for Homecoming, and today is "Western Day".

3. I will take my baby to the Dr. today for his "well" check...
I'm pretty sure he'll get a few immunizations...
and I'm pretty sure he'll cry... maybe even scream.

4. I should be editing photos instead of blogging.


5. I agonized over paint this past weekend.

6. The sprinklers are watering my lawn right now.

7. One month ago today I turned 41.

8. I spent my birthday weekend agonizing over faucets.

9. I'm in love with Olay products.


10. But just a little.
Hey, I need all the help I can get.


11. I had a sun spot removed over the summer.


12. Did I say that I'm in love with Olay products?
Well, this one is my new favorite.

13. I apply it at least three times a day.

14. I don't obsess much.


15. I want to make these soon... very soon.

16. My coffee is ready now...
Have a great day!

rolo

wait, wait, wait...

Last week was full of wait.

We waited until the rain stopped...


until the water receded.


We waited on the plumbing inspector.
That there is the framing for the tub...
it's about 4-inches too wide.


And that there is the shower...
it needs to be about 4-inches wider.

We waited on the electrical inspector and the framing inspector.

It was a quiet week last week.

I hope this week we make a little more progress.

Living in disarray,
rolo

mi casa...

It's been three weeks since "Operation Garage Enclosure" began...
Our garage has been cleared out. The heating and air conditioning
has been replaced. An over 100-foot ditch (2-feet deep) has been
dug around the back of my house. Plumbing has been plumbed. Faucets
have been shopped for (OH, have they been shopped for... whew!).
Debates over 6-inches of closet space have hashed out.
The way the doors will swing open have been finalized.
I have strange men coming and going about my house all day.
Hammer, hammer, saw, saw, bang, bang is the sound.
Decisions have been made. Decisions are being made at this very minute.
Decisions will continue to be made, more than likely, for the next month or more.
I've stocked up on Excedrin and the red stuff!

Let the good times roll...

This is our little house.
She was built in 1954.
She's a good little house... emphasis on little.
We have six humans... consisting of two adults,
three teens (in high school) and one toddler... and four pets
living in just about 1400 square foot of space.

With one, I repeat, ONE full bath and one half bath.
Yepper, that's what I said... one shower/bath for all six of us.
Oh, you can just imagine the joy.

Back up to a year ago... JB and I considered selling
and moving out of the city to the burbs.
Needless to say, the big kids freaked... emphasis on freaked.
And really, I didn't blame them. I mean it's hard enough
just being teenagers in this world, let alone moving somewhere
new, making new friends, etc, etc.
So, JB and I bit our lips, shrugged our shoulders and
said some prayers that we wouldn't kill our precious
offspring before they were ready to leave for college.
Then, a light bulb went off... or on... I guess you'd say.

"Why don't we enclose and convert the
garage into a master bedroom and bath?", we said... ahhhh, yes!
Yes, now that's a great idea... but first, we need to sell a few kidneys.
So, that's what we did.

No, not really.
Actually, I'd heard that men can sell their testicals
for a whopping $75,000. So, that's what we did...
er, JB rather.

No, not really... ha ha ha, hee hee hee, ho ho ho.
JB's gonna kill me.

No, the truth is, we did what everyone does... waited for the universe
to align just right, said some more prayers, crossed our fingers,
and headed down to see the mortgage people.
Oh, and JB wore a tie and I wore a pretty scarf and high heel sandles. ;)

That's what we did... really.
And it worked! Amen.
I think the good karma bus finally
came down our street.
We are so thankful... especially after the year we just had.

And we're especially thankful that all our blessed offspring
get to live and JB gets to keep his testicals. ;)

So, after all the paperwork was signed,
we agreed on a contractor and got to work.

First thing was first... clearing out all the junk... emphasis on junk.


A few days later a giant dumpster was delivered.

And then...
It began.


This here is Bessy... She was worn plum out.
Twenty years working in the Texas heat will do that to ya.
She retired. Whew.


Because of the extra square footage we're adding
and the fact that JB likes to live in a freezer,
we went with a little bit bigger unit... emphasis on bigger here.
Now, all I can say is brrrrrr... but hey, after the
summer we just had, I'm not complaining.

Along with the heating and air conditioning, day one also brought
a crew in to tear out the old sheetrock in the garage.


While all that was happening at the casa for the first two days
JB, the baby, and I checked into this place. We sent the
precious teens and pets elsewhere.

I'll tell you more about this place later.

By the end of day one they had most of the old sheetrock down...

the ducts run and the can lights up... minus the electric.

This is the window that my tub will sit under.

Now, just imagine this for a second...
A cold winter's night after a long day of teens and a toddler,
a nice glass of red, candles, and a hot bubble bath with the window's open.
I figure that's the closest I'll get to a hot tub.

This was after the first day.

At the close of day 2 we no longer had a garage door.

Some of the electrical work was started and the ducting was up.

The holes for support beams were cut.


The beams will run three across the the length of the rooms.

Meanwhile, the new air unit was cooling the main part of the house.
I haven't seen the inside temperature of my house below 82 all summer.

Moving into the second week, the plumbing got under way...

Oh boy, did it ever.

A crew arrived one morning and began digging...
By noon it was 105 degrees, but they kept digging.
A 100 foot long by two foot deep ditch... it wrapped
all the way around my back yard to the side
yard to tie into the main sewage line.
Fun stuff I tell ya... especially when it rains.

After the first round of inspections and the plumbing
got the green light (literally, it's a green tag), they started
covering the ditch. Yay!

Then, the "rough-in" plumbing inside was up next.
That there, against the far wall, will be the vanity
with the toilet against the left wall next to the tub.

This here is the plumbing for the shower.

Late in the second week began the framing of the floor.

There's JB chatting with the contractor.

After the floor was inspected they began framing the walls.

And now it's starting to look like something special...

Living to blog through a remodel,
rolo

back in business...

Out with old (it broke).

Two weeks without a washer.
Ten loads at the neighborhood washateria.
A week with one home with the flu.

In with the new
(all shiny and fancy, woohoo)!

Back in business!

Happy Monday!

Thanks Babe!
You'll have clean undershirts by the time you get home!

xo
Ralonda