Saturday, September 04, 2010

While they're in school...

In the week and a half since Brandon and Whitney started school, here are some of the things I have accomplished:

*Changed the oil on the lawnmower.  This was a first.  I was proud of myself.  But it didn't fix the shaky engine problem and I still had to pay a professional to repair it.  Boo.

*Replaced a sprinkler head that I had run over with previously mentioned mower.  Props to Andrew for getting the old one out of the ground.  Try as I might, that thing wasn't budging for me.  When I got the new one in the ground and turned on the sprinkler system, I discovered that the default setting is for the sprinkler to go around 360 degrees.  That was fun to adjust.  I got soaked.

*Got the deck re-stained.  Love, love, LOVE it.  It makes me happy every time I open the back door.  We used J&J Pressure Washing.  They did such a great job at a fair price.  I highly recommend them.

Here is what the deck looked like
before.

And after.

And a close up:
Before.
Yea, it was in pretty desperate need.

Not anymore!
It looks brand spankin new.

*Bought an old, ugly little night stand at a thrift store for ten bucks and re-painted it to look like this:

I wish I had a "before" picture.  I am thrilled with the result.  I want to go buy out all of the ten dollar furniture and stuff our house full of colorful pieces.  Great idea, right?

*Finished Chapter 15 for my Stats class.  Only four chapters to go!

Pretty productive, huh?

Not to worry, though.  Caroline and I also met some girlfriends for lunch, met our friends for a pool play date, have gone on five morning bike rides, and watched plenty of Dora and Diego episodes.  It's good to be back into a routine.

8 comments:

The Oregonians said...

Some routine! Paint the deck,
refinish the furniture, finish a chapter for your stat class, lunch with girlfriends & Caroline....
What do you do in your spare time.
Hint for future occasions:
You can adjust sprinkler heads without having to dodge the spray.
Turn it off; set it to a narrow spray, then widen as desired while it is spraying and you will stay dry.
I am proud of Andrew; getting those sprinkler heads out of the ground is one thing I don't miss since moving into our condo.
PS-
You do a great job of furniture painting. No brush strokes!

Now explain to me why, when I first make this comment on your blog, there is no word in the visual verification. I have to go through all the other steps, click on submit, then it comes up with a word verification and I have to do it all over again.

Andrew said...

Beward, kazbah. You are about to get rocked by one Andrea Sweat.

Natalie said...

Your deck looks awesome! That is so on our to do list. Except ours needs boards replaced too. And picturing you getting soaked by the sprinkler is cracking me up.

Unknown said...

You are making excellent use of your time. I love the little night stand.

Sandy said...

Fun projects!! I'm still in the garden/canning/freezing mode...but I'm hoping to find a few $10 gems this winter to paint as well - your nightstand looks great! Love the color.

And my word verification word is "sally". That made me laugh :)

Ang said...

You're the woman, Andrea. Love the deck! And the night stand looks great.

A Hunter said...

Love the deck! Can't wait to see it. And I suddenly feel like finding old furniture....

Julie said...

Beautiful job with the deck. It does make it look brand new. And what an adorable night stand. Charming. Great color. I'm very proud of you for changing the oil in your lawn mower. I think I need to do the same.....