Busted...TWICE!

~~~~Part I~~~~

Tonight's senior photo shoot was amazing. The lighting was awesome! The senior was gorgeous! My pictures are BEEEEEEAUTIFUL! We started at a new location that I stumbled across last week that includes an open field, a foot bridge over a raging creek, train tracks and split rail fences. We finished up our session at a weathered and abandoned home, popular with photographers. And that, folks, is where my story starts. 

We pulled into the overgrown, dirt driveway of the abandoned house, exited our vehicles and I posed the senior on the rickety steps leading to the boarded up front door. As I'm positioning my camera, from the side of my eye, I notice something running towards me. It's not a something, but a someone and the look on his face told me that he was trouble.

"This is private property!" he shouts.

I shrugged, looked around and then asked where the private property sign was located.

He told me that there was no sign.

Uh-huh. 

Then, he muttered something about how photographers are always using this house.

I replied with a compliment about the great texture of the walls and explained exactly what we were doing and where we would be shooting.

Grumpily, he told me that I could have at least asked permission.

Really? On an abandoned property that is not marked as private?

And then to whom may we ask this required permission as that information has not been posted either.

Then he admits that he doesn't even own the property.

Seriously?

It belongs to his mother.

Unh!

So, I casually asked if we could use the house for some pictures and he said yes.

But it wasn't a nice "yes." It was the "yes" of a bully on a power trip.

Feeling just a little defeated, I proceeded with my photo shoot, taking my sweet time, as he watched on from a distance. Truth be told, it really is a great location, but if it was properly marked as "private property," then you can bet that photographers would respect the signage and find a different location.

I left that abandoned unmarked "private property," seething.

~~~~Part II~~~~

Just because I was fuming about a bully, doesn't mean that I was driving like a maniac.

Because I wasn't. 

I was just a mom on her way to pick up her little boy from his nanay's house.

However, when that cop car pulled out behind me, I was hit with a sudden premonition of a flashing lights. As the cop car began following me through town, I was diligent to go BELOW the speed limit. Mentally, I began rattling off a list: registration, check. Insurance, check. License, check. 

Then it happened. The lights began to flash. 

"Really? I mean, really?" And that is the exact line of thought that was playing in my head as I pulled over to the side of the road and the cop car followed suit. 

Flippant, and somewhat irritated, I drummed my fingers on the steering wheel as the cop began approaching my side of the car. 

"Good evening," he started, as though we were friendly strangers passing one another in a park full of families. "Not especially, officer," I wanted to respond, but didn't.

Instead, I sighed. Yes, I SIGHED out loud and said, "what's the problem, officer?"

Because, let's face it, tonight was not turning out to be one of the five favorite nights in my life.

"Did you know," he began,

(and I pause here to give you time to sit down because this next part is a doozy. I promise! And you'll want to be sitting down to keep yourself from falling over LAUGHING!!!)

 "that the current registration sticker on your license plate is not completely covering up the previous year's sticker."

(go ahead, laugh.)

I KID YOU NOT! THAT IS EXACTLY WHAT HE SAID.

I mean, how do you respond to something like that???

My response was classic: "Oh. Hmmm.."

In my mind, I was thinking, "So? You pull me over on a Friday night for something that isn't even against the law?" 

And it's true. It's not against the law for your current year's registration sticker to not entirely cover the previous year's. Even the cop admitted it wasn't a law.

He then gives me the standard police schpill about my license, registration and insurance.

At this point, I'm *almost* laughing, because, hello, this is the STUPIDEST thing on the planet to get pulled over for!!! But that's immediately followed by a feeling of dread and wonder because I really don't think I could handle getting ticketed tonight....for this.

By this time, my hands are shaking because I'm nervous. I sloppily dig through my glove box and present the requested documents to which the officer responds that he'll return them in a few minutes and he walks back towards his car.

I bite my lip and watch him in my rear view mirror. 

Then, I clean out my glove box.

Check my text messages.

Count the clouds in the sky.

Reflect on how much I have to pee.

Flip through the radio stations.

And FIFTEEN minutes later, the cop is still in his car with my stuff.

And this is where the story gets even more ridiculous...

A second cop car shows up and parks right behind the first cop car.

Now, I've seen this protocol on the side of the road for what I can only assume will be the gallant arrest of a most wanted felon, but never in my wildest dreams did I imagine that a law abiding MOM would deserve such notoriety in a small town on a Friday night. Or anywhere, ever, for that matter!

Admittedly, I'm freaking out now. FREAKING OUT. 

WHAT.THE.CRAP?????

This can't be good, right?

The cops converse for a few minutes and then my officer turns towards my car and starts walking. 

I swallow down the lump in my throat and take a deep breath as he returns to my open window.

He hands me my information and reminds me to makes sure that next year's sticker entirely covers this year's registration sticker and then he sends me off with "have a good evening"

Have a good evening?

Are you kidding me? I mean, REALLY, are you kidding me? 

I just went through a TORTUROUS and humiliating twenty minutes on the side of the road for something that isn't even against the law? And deserved a second cop? For what? As backup??

In case I ran for it?

And hello: NO ticket because you can't get ticketed for something that isn't even against the law!

Seriously? Is it idiot's night out???

So, I got busted twice on a Friday night! 

Do I know how to live it up in a small town or what???

Easter Eggs

When I was a little girl, my mom and my grandmother would make German Easter eggs. My grandmother's warm kitchen would smell of used coffee grounds and vinegar and the browned eggs with their delicate lace leaf pattern were the centerpiece of our Easter tradition.

My traditions don't include German Easter eggs (maybe someday). For now, it's all about the artificial colors around here.

This year, I found a Easter egg-coloring deal-io and decided to give it a try because it looked like this:

and, let's face it, anything touting the glories of camo are heartily embraced by a certain 5-year old I know.

The colors advertised were: army green, army brown, girly camo purple, hunter orange, teal (c'mon is that really a camo color???) and pink. Yes, pink. Probably to satisfy little sisters of camo aficionados. However, Brock insisted that pink is for the moms. Love that boy!

While we waited for the color tablets to dissolve in vinegar, Brock went absolutely silly with the hard boiled eggs. 

Then, without fanfare or ceremony, we plopped the virgin eggs into the cups of color and waited.

And waited.

And waited.

Then Meh. 

The colored eggs resulted in an odd combination of camouflage and spring. Not exactly what the box advertised. But then, their one half-sheet of camo stickers hardly filled half of one egg.

Overall, it was great one on one time with my little dude who is dazzled by the eggs.

Next year, we're going to get far more creative, though. 

And say no to Paas. 

This Boy

This boy of ours sits still once in a while, on very rare occasions.

This boy of ours sometimes follows instructions, when it's not "mom" giving them.

This boy of ours can stand still, like a black belt, for about 6 1/2 whole seconds.

This boy of ours is almost too cute to look tough, but doesn't stop him from trying.

This boy of ours can't decide whether to shake hands or to give a high five. This boy of ours, in his silliness, makes strangers chuckle.

This boy of ours is now an ORANGE belt in Tae-kwon-do! 

This boy of ours is swift to action when he hears "Down. Set. Hike!"

Except when he forgets to hike the ball.

This boy of ours is fascinated with his mouth guard.

This boy of ours has a football play specifically designed for him to make a touchdown.

And he did!

This boy of ours doesn't always play by the rules, like tackling or pulling on uniforms.

And sometimes he gets away with it. But most of the time, he gets a whistle and the ref throws a flag.

This boy of ours might someday remember the rules.

But for now, he's just 5. And that's okay.

This boy of ours sometimes forgets that he is playing football and not in karate,

like when he casually practices his round kicks on the field.

This boy of ours makes us proud, makes us laugh and makes us pull our hair out and continually call out, "Brock! Hey, Brock, pay attention!!!" 

This boy of ours looks forward to football practice and game days. 

This boy of ours practices his round kicks and power punches as he walks through the house. 

This boy of ours might just, one day, grow into an athlete. 

Or a ninja.

An Update

At last, an update! 

I just know you've been hungering for an update on the See family remodel like you hunger

for something sinful and chocolaty after dinner. 

First of all, we FINALLY have a working sink, dishwasher and range!!! After seven long days of glamorously washing the dishes by hand in my master bathroom and feeding my boys on microwave meals and Pizza Hut, I am excited to announce that we are re-acclimating ourselves to the glories of kitchen technology. This also means that we have a new counter top and it looks awesome. Of course.

Except, too bad for me, because now my boys expect real dinners again, and just when I was getting used to the convenience of Michelina's and ordering out. 

The floor, which is STUNNINGLY BEAUTIFUL, is about 95% done.

The paint, which is BRILLIANTLY GORGEOUS, is about 97% done.

The area rug, which is AWESOME BEYOND DESCRIPTION, is 100% rockin' the floor decor.

We've ordered our 5" baseboards! Don't you love the look of tall baseboards?!

Our tile is sitting in boxes in our family room patiently waiting their turn.

The upper cabinets are anxious for crown molding.

And our plain jane cabinets are ready to luxuriate in white paint. 

And we, the worker bees, are ready for a night off already!

Alright, what's left to do...

...that's right: post pictures!

I've had HUNDREDS of request for pictures, so here are some to tie you over until the project is finished...

My handsome set of muscles tearing out subfloor...

We made sure to include Brock in the project, but insisted on safety measures. The hat, for the record, was Brock's idea, as was the chin raspberry. Boys play rough!

Recycling dog food bags for construction purposes was a smart move on Clarke's part--they're much stronger than other bags. Brock was our official sweeper upper!

The subfloor, as I've complained about before, took 12 agonizing hours to FINALLY and fully tear out. Blasted awful stuff of the devil!

No subfloor. No sink. No dishwasher. No lower cabinets (i.e. naked kitchen).

 This is what the other half of our miniature kitchen, aka the dining room, looked like when Satan's subfloor was finally done away with!

Another naked kitchen shot....

 Here is what our living room looked like during the process. Even the plywood floor looks BETTER than our late, disaster of an excuse for carpet! You even get a peekaboo shot of the new wall color and the flooring!

Ding Dong, the carpet's dead! Woot! I spent a very blissful day, tearing out carpet with animal abandon!

We honestly thought that the flooring would amount to a weekend project, however by Sunday afternoon we had just started laying out the pad, a sure indication that our two day DIY would last all week long. And then some.

 (insert Hallelujah chorus here, and maybe a drumroll for added ceremony)

Here

is

what

the

floor

in

the

kitchen 

kind of

looks

like...

The floors are twice as dark as they look in the picture (thanks to my flash for brightening things up a little TOO much. 

And that's all for now, folks. I'll post more pictures when the project is complete-o!

Going Slow and Going Bold

The arduous challenge of phenomenalizing a starter home in a thriftville suburb of Boise is painstakingly snailish, at best. We've foregone the real hardwood floors and granite counter tops for their slightly more affordable cousins: laminate and Formica and have ultimately decided to "go big or go home" when it comes to what was, initially, a weekend project. Added to the to-do list:

New Counter Tops (Formica)

Paint

Tile

New Sink

New Faucet

New Baseboard

Area Rug

Here's our success so far:

ripped out baseboards

ripped out carpet

ripped out subfloor

ripped out cabinets

pulled thousands of staples from floor

ordered Formica

purchased tile

purchased paint

prepped for painting

laid new flooring in kitchen and pantry

re-installed cabinets

installed new chipboard counter tops (to precede Formica)

installed new sink & faucet

re-installed kitchen appliances

We still have so much work ahead of us, but the end result will be STUNNING!

Here's what we've chosen for our counter tops:

Smoked Quartzstone

(you can't see it in this picture, but there are flecks of brown...)

And a color for our walls that incorporates the brown in our floors with the coolness of our counter tops:

I have to admit that this color is intimidatingly DARK for our walls and after waffling about my decision for an hour last night, I decided that since we were going bold with some of our choices, why not do the same for our walls? *gulp*

And, finally, Clarke and I are debating the virtues of area rugs in a price vs. pretty argument that will undoubtedly last until I head to Lowe's to make the final decision. Will it be indulgence or clearance???

How DIY Ruined Our Weekend

The headline this weekend should read:

Weekend Warriors Overdo It

or

The Devil Does Subfloor

Clarke and Charlotte See may have bit off more than they can chew when they attempted to install their new laminate flooring in their miniature country home this weekend. A project that they initially concluded would take two days work and at minimal cost has grown into a complete kitchen remodel. The homeowners maintain that subfloor, designed by Satan himself, is to blame for the delay in completion as well as the escalating cost of the project. After hacking away at the aforementioned subfloor with hammers and crowbars for eight solid hours, followed by the painstaking task of pulling out each of the thousands of staples with pliers, the homeowners were cursing the entire institution of subfloors. Without kitchen cabinets, a kitchen sink or appliances, the See family has taken to fast food, peanut butter and jelly sandwiches and washing dishes in the bathroom sink. Fortunately the fridge, which currently resides in the middle of the living room, is plugged in and keeps copious amounts of Diet Coke cold and at the ready for these overworked homeowners. The See family say that a fair mix of LDS Conference talks and Aerosmith keep them going and that in spite of the sore backs and bruised and bloodied fingers, the work will go on and the end product will be fabulous.