little bit tired…but lots to do.

I was up past 1am and am now paying for it. I had a great day/night yesterday. Things are exciting with the kitchen but busy. I got 3 Halloween LOs done last night – one more to do.  Had chocolate cake and cheesecake …..just didn’t have room for the carrot cake too!  Got another pressie too – a full set of purple towels with ‘Jude’ embroided on them lovely and soft too! I was thoroughly spoilt by friends and family yesterday.

Today its down to work.  I am just uploading the last of my 5 cd set ready to put on my iphone and ipod..think I’m going to need some music pumping today!

So todays to do list

upload cds to ipod/iphone

clear more room in scraproom for kitchen cupboards (by noon)

clear out unused kitchen cupboard of last stuff in it plus heaps of stuff on top by 3pm and preferably get it off the wall

get plaster, timber and mortar for the guy who is to brick up the window and block up the doorway

deliver my last SU order around the corner and up the road

ok that’s the absolute essentials for today…I can do that…afterall I have 2.5hrs before noon….ahhh ok quick delivery now while music is going then scraproom then kitchen…not sure when/how I’m gunna manage bunnings though!

Shopping Day!

Man buying an Ikea kitchen is a lot more time consuming than I had thought! Got there at 10 and got back to Werribee at 2.05pm!

Still I have most of the kitchen. There were a few things out of stock which will need another trip in but I have plenty of time and will be able to fit the other things in the car which is good.  Only one cabinet was out of stock the rest is mostly doors.  The best bit about that is that I still got my $300 in vouchers which means that I can go and use the voucher to get the last $325 worth of stuff in effect shaving $300 off my slim kitchen budget and giving me some much needed breathing space.

I don’t have a date yet but as I only faxed the paperwork at midnight I am giving them some breathing space and will call them on Monday morning to organise a date if I don’t hear from him before then.

And I got home to find some cool 80s cds, a voucher from my fav book store and a beautiful handmade card with a note to see the girls at Scrappe’s for my present so that rounds out a pretty good birthday I reckon!

oh except of course – I am off to said Scrappe’s tonight for crop as the kids have now gone to Daddys! A pretty good day all in all. Tomorrow will be busy with the Ikea delivery in the afternoon and hopefully the window being bricked up and the doorway blocked off as well as someone coming to collect one of the old kitchen cupboards. It is all REALLY happening now!  Happy Birthday to me!

Shopping Day tomorrow!

Money transferred to an accessible account. Corey booked into Ikea childcare. Kitchen has been measured and plans confirmed. Have Form printed and am about to fax in to confirm installation (date still unfixed grr). Shopping list printed. Tomorrow is the day!

jobs done..

Corey is booked in at Ikea Smaland for 11am, awaiting a call back from kids new school to organise the orientation visit having chased that up. Have quote for kitchen (which came in ever so slightly under budget). Have organised someone to come brick up window and block in doorway on Saturday. Brad, my kitchen project managar, (yes I still love having a project manager) promised to call me back this evening with a mid December date for my kitchen. He would like to start Tuesday at 7am…I know 7am!!! and finish on the Wednesday when I’m home – apparenlty I don’t need to be here, can go to work still so long as I let them in first.  So it’s all happening. I will feel better with the window bricked up and the plastering done…then just have to rip out the old kitchen, organise the plumbing and electrics, get some plaster where there should be plaster behind the cupboards (where there isn’t any atm)…and maybe just maybe I might possibly have time to splash on some purple paint…now that would be ace!  must check out the cheap paint place (and look at tiles)…..it’s really happening now!

best go get the boys from school/after school sport!

 

kitchen update

I should be able to cross off #2 by the end of the year at long long last!

Brad, my project manager (doesn’t that sound cool), came to measure up my kitchen this morning at 5 past 8. I had warned him that my house was likely to be complete bedlam at that hour of the morning but he said it was ok (having cancelled on me due to car problems on Monday).  Well the boys were ready for school before 8 and Owen’s new DS (birthday present from the best Mum in the world) kept them quiet – yes really – for ages.

So conclusion so far….sourcing a different option for a splashback as the ikea fastbo stuff is no good behind cooktops so really that is crap! He waws happy to look into the ceramalite stuff that I planned to use when I planned this originally and I will get a quote on a tiled splashback too.

He suggested changing one draw (under sink which i plan to put a bin in) to a cupboard as it sometimes causes hassles with water pipes etc so that is cool hell its only a bin!  Other than that we are good to go except I need to rip out old kitchen and put up some plaster where there is none for some reason.  He actually said not to do the floors before the new one goes in as they might get scratched in the process and that the plinth can be just clipped on so it can be removed to seal the floors under the cupboards later which makes the changeover from old to new kitchen much easier.

I will have a proper quote for install (less sparky and plumber and splashback) on Monday with an edited shopping list to go to IKEA with.

Am going to go buy my kitchen ON my birthday YAY Happy Birthday me have a new kitchen!

This week I need to make room in my scrap room for kitchen and appliances as they will need to be stored in there for about a month. Install will go ahead early to mid December.

woohooo!

50 by 50 – working on #2

yes actually making movement towards completing my new kitchen!

Someone is coming to do a final measure and quote on Monday afternoon!  My appliances have been purchased and should be here soon (will chase them up soon).

50 things….crossing off #26

Ok so I’m not going to earn any medals but I think, seeing as I have been down at the local indoor pool swimming laps for 30-40min every Thursday afternoon for the last 3 weeks now, that it is safe to say that I can actually swim properly.  Perhaps not well or fast but I can definitely swim.

Given that I had a few lessons as a child and then didn’t swim at all from 8yrs old til the start of this year I think that is something to be proud of.  I am amazed (and very thankful) that so many people who heard I was learning to swim didn’t laugh at me as I had anticipated but praised me for doing it instead. I am gaining confidence and fitness every day I swim and owe a lot to all my friends who encouraged me with this one.

So thats 7 out of 50 crossed off now with 43 to go…

I will be 50 in about 170 months so 170/43 = 3.95….so I guess if I keep crossing one thing off every 3-4 months I will make it

Not crossing off #26 just yet.

I woke up around 7 this morning – I know so not fair when I could sleep in because no boys but thems the breaks it happens a lot lately!  Anyway I thought that I should get myself down to the pool just this one day (had planned to go everyday over the Easter Break but changed my mind as I was feeling a bit run down).  Anyway I got in and suddenly the 50m pool looked VERY long. I suspect the one that I usually swim in is really only 20m or thereabouts.  And the deep end is at 1.8m is way over my head (cause i’m only 1.6)! So I started with a lap of backstroke from the shallow end to the deep end and I made that ok…legs were feeling it at the end but hey no surprise that I’m unfit.  Took me a while to prepare myself to swim freestyle back toward the shallow end but eventually sucked up some courage and I made it…half way….oops.  I repeated the whole backstroke a lap, freestyle a (nearly) lap 3 times and made it a little further each time.

I was pondering out loud to a freind how to measure #26 on my 50 things list – that being to learn to swim properly and the outcome of our discussion was that I had to be able to do a full 50m lap without stopping of both freestyle and backstroke….as my best lap in freestyle would have made about 30-35m I guess I have more lessons and practice in store.

Still felt good to try even if I looked like an idiot when I didn’t make it – I don’t think too many people noticed.  Also found out they do do 20 swim multi passes so I may organise that next time to make myself get down there and practice some more.

Meanwhile I must get ready as the boys will be home soon. Having a simple but healthy dinner that they like tonight – don’t want to be the fun police after they have had 4 days at Dads.

Much as I love them it has been nice to get some time out too – it’s been 2 years since I’ve had more than 2 days without the boys (was used to a 4 night scrap retreat every november but haven’t been for a couple of years).

Am looking forward to having them home again now though.

the kitchen saga nears movement….

yes I know its been a long drawn out process BUT….

this week I had a draftsman come visit.  He quoted be with two options….one was relatively inexpensive (aka not much over budget) the other was scary…..the first involved me having the plans for the house so he only had to draw the alterations…the other involved him drawing plans for the house as it is AND the changes…..lots of $$$ in the difference!

Luckily I had already been on the phone and for the princely some of $5 have a copy of the original plans for the house coming from the department of Housing who initially owned this house when it was built in 1969! (yup older than we thought too).

And now for the good news…..(especially for those who have had enough of listening and just want to see it done)….I should have the plans for the house by the end of next week. Once I get them to the draftsman he will have the drawings done in about a week and council will only take a week to 10 days to approve them…..which means we could be ready to knock down the wall in a MONTH!

*mumbling something about having to get all the crap out of the way pretty soon and wondering where I am going to put stuff in the meantime*

50 things by 50 update

# 2 finish my new kitchen – STILL working on it – anyone know a draftsman near Werribee?
#23 almost half way there – looking good to be completed by the end of next week!
#26 could say it is done but giving time to allow for more improve – can swim but could do better – not sure I’d last a whole 50m lap as yet due to fitness level mostly!
#25 take the boys to the beach – DONE – while in Adelaide – forgot it was on the list. Photos to come!
those are the three I’m working on at present….

also thinking about several others.