Training at 12 - comes in use at 35

When I was growing up, this was my association with the word "centipede":





Oh, how I loved this game. It was fun - it was fast - and it was fairly easy until you got up to the really high levels. I have a knack for scanning things, so this game fit me perfectly - my eyes constantly darting and looking for mushrooms and spiders and other obstacles to shoot away.


These days, this is my association with the word "centipede":

Eeegalabiggeeaaarggh ... I have shivers down my spine even looking at this thing. So imagine my chagrin when I realized we are roommates with these creatures! AARRRGH!

Why would I admit this? Because I have a feeling they are a lot more common than people let on. My friend has them, too - and since we didn't have them in the townhouse I would sympathize with her back then (we DON'T do bugs - one day I'll tell you about the wedding-day-rehearsal-day-bee-in-my-bedroom) and thank God that I didn't have any myself. Now, we cry together. I am not kidding how it is a daily conversation between us:

"I found one in the bathroom today. Hubby killed it."

"I found one in the dining room. I called Andy and he rolled his eyes, but he killed it."

"Mine was big - like 2 inches!"

"Mine was ten."

I was on the phone with Andy's mom once, sitting on my steps to the bedrooms and I looked up - and one was right above my head on the molding! I stopped her mid-conversation and would not let her hang up until I killed it. She was screaming right along with me.

Well apparantly they smell my fear. They aren't even running away anymore! "Nyah nyah - you can't catch us - we always get away and you so easily give up ... heh heh heh heh." They know when Andy isn't home and take advantage of that fact and parade around the house in their Sunday best. I've only ever seen one at a time - they're like the Sand People - they hide their numbers.

Not anymore.

Last night one was on the rug in the playroom. THE PLAYROOM! "You dare intrude on my daughter's territory? I am no longer afraid of you, centipedes!" I don't care if you are 2 inches long - with legs that make it seem like four! I have found your weakness - your Achilles heel! Lysol? Nope - does nothing! Shoes? Nope - you're too fast. Tyson upright with many attachments for getting in those tough to reach spots and not lose suction?

YES!

I calmly take a deep breath and pull out the purple vacuum. I manuever the fifteen things it takes to get the attachment with the arm. You don't move. (Audacity.) I position it right over or under you (you love mouldings). "Puh-lease," you say, "You don't have the nerve." I turn it on and SUCK YOU UP! HAH! I leave it on for a bit to make sure you are centrifuged apart into a millions pieces - and you are gone!

I have done this twice so far - and I feel empowered. I am not a violent person - but I am back to being the 12 year old girl scanning the screen for mushrooms and spiders.

Your move.

"Shed"ding the Pounds (from the garage)

Andy loves a good project. He loves doing things himself (when he has the time, that is) and nothing is too big! His latest project is our new shed. I wanted to be able to park the minivan in the garage during the winter and during the nicer months have it be an extension of the driveway for the girls to play in as they get older. My brother, Eric, recommended a Rubbermaid shed for all Andy's lawn toys - so off we went to The Home Deep. Andy and my mom put it up this weekend, and it went up really quickly - and then they got to the roof. Apparently "this" piece had to fit into "that" one and it took them a while to sort it all out. But they did a great job and it came out wonderful!

Because we are a bit of a rolling hill, Andy and my Uncle Pat built a platform to place the shed on so it would be level. (Thanks, Uncle Pat!)

Andy then put planks on it and then the base of the shed.

He-Man and She-ra (Andy and my mom) brought the walls and ceiling over the area one-by-one. (Thanks, Mom!)

Putting up the walls and the center beam for the roof.

I still have to take a picture of the finished product! Stay tuned!

We love our Playroom

When we first moved to our new house, it needed (and still needs) a lot of updating. I liked the split level design because of the room one level down off the kitchen. I knew we would turn it into a playroom and be able to hear the girls all the time. However, the walls and ceiling in that room had a "stucco swirl" design that I just did not like. We knew when we were looking at the house that those walls and ceiling were coming down immediately. All these pictures are from last year.

Before. You can sort of see the pattern on the walls and ceiling.

First the room was gutted with help from Andy's friend Anthony. Thank you Anthony!

Putting in the recessed lighting - it took me forever to decide how many lights I wanted. I finally settled on 4, although 3 would probably have been enough.

Anthony and Andy putting up the ceiling. Later, Andy replaced ALL the insulation before the walls went up.

My brother Eric came over to help with walls. Then he came over every day for about 2 weeks to spackle, put up crown molding, and make new shelves for the built in little bookcase. Thank you, Eric!

We had to have a new floor poured, because the room was sinking - so I marked the occasion for all time.

Once the room was all painted and carpeted, Andy and my mom had the lovely task of moving all the furniture downstairs. Thank you, Mom!

Beautiful!

After! The girls have their beautiful playroom - it gets wonderful light during the day - and Andy and I have a great TV room at night.

Thanks again to everyone who helped out! There was no way that we could have done it alone!