Scrub a dub dub!

Ok, so it's been a while. I've been contemplating what to do on the house. Spring is in the air, and I want to do something!  Next weekend is "Project Make the Closets Useful" with my sister, brother-in-law, and kids.  More to come on that next week.

For this weekend, more like today, I contemplated re-grouting the bathroom shower or trying to do something with the dirty grout on the bathroom floor.  Well, it was getting late in the day to start trying to re-grout the shower because I do want to take a shower tomorrow. So, I opted for the floor.

I bought some grout cleaner and a brush. Now, I've scrubbed that floor before with Mr. Clean, but it just didn't work. I needed something more intense. So, I started... on a test patch, which is supposed to be in a hidden area, but I opted for the dirtiest part, right in the middle!  Heck, if it doesn't work, I will end up ripping out the grout and putting new in - and sealing it! (I'm guessing whoever did it last didn't seal it.) But then again, I'm noticing many of the improvements previous owners have done have been less than stellar craftsmanship.

Here's a before picture:

Now, there are a lot of many different shade of the grout on this floor, ranging from a cream color to a gray, to this nasty stuff.  Some spots are dirtier than others.  So, I mixed the solution, and started scrubbing away.  I let it sit for 5 minutes, then cleaned it off.  Here's how it looked:

Some improvement, but as I thought, I'd need another shot at it. I did it again, and this time left it work its magic longer.  Here's after the 2nd try:

Better, but not the result I'm looking for. I guess I could do a few more tries?

I think my options at this point are: leave it like this, scrub a few more times, buy a stronger acidic cleaner, or re-grout.  Each has it's pros and cons.

What do you think?  Any other suggestions?

This brings me joy

This brings me joy!

Reflections

"...We may ask ourselves if we've shown enough kindness and generosity and compassion to the people in our lives. Perhaps we question whether we are doing right by our children, or our community, and whether our priorities are in order. We recognize our own mortality, and are reminded that in the fleeting time we have on this earth, what matters is not wealth, or status, or power, or fame - but rather, how well we have loved, and what small part we have played in bettering the lives of others... The loss of these wonderful people should make every one of us strive to be better in our private lives - to be better friends and neighbors, co-workers and parents..." - President Barack Obama, January 12, 2011.

2010 Goals - A year in review

It's time for my annual review of the year to determine what went well, what didn't, and what I want to change for the following year.  Here are the goals I set for myself, and the end of year update:

• Be happy with what I have
• Yes, I've been happy with what I have.. I guess.  That's not always easy.  If I was happy living in an apartment and throwing money away, I wouldn't have bought my house.  So I guess it's ok to sometimes be unhappy with what you have. Being unhappy with something leads to progress.
• Eat better
• Ok, this had mixed results. There was a part of the year I was doing really well. But I just couldn't pull it through the whole year. It's hard to always eat well. This morning, I decided to look back on my bank statements, and determine how often I ate at McDonald's (my favorite fast food place). The only way to track this was via my debit card, so my results were mixed, because for part of the year I was using only cash, so I would say a large number of transactions are not recordable. So... I'm so embarrassed and disgusted by this quite actually.  Just at McDonald's, and just when I used my debit card, I was there 97 times!  If I ate 3 meals a day, that's nearly 9% of my meals this year at McDonald's.  Now, if I figure that I went another 75 times at least, paying cash, that means 16% of my meals were there.  Just at McDonald's.  What about Taco Bell, Hardee's, Culvers, Burger King.  OMG. That is totally unacceptable, unhealthy, and dangerous, not to mention costly.  Must improve greatly in 2011!
• Laugh more
• I think it's fair to say I've laughed more this year.  I've probably cried more too.
• Learn life lessons from the elderly
• Still a work in progress.  I see great things through those at church.  I never did get to go have tea like I had planned however.
• Learn yoga and meditation/deep breathing techniques
• I started the year by doing much more stretching and relaxation and breathing exercises before bed. It never developed into a habit or yoga for that matter.  This still remains an interest for me.
• Mentor youth
• I've informally done a bit of this at church, but nothing formal.  I want to continue to look for options to get involved in the future, but need to balance my time.
• Reduce credit card debt by 15%
• Failure. Started strong, but then buying a house sets in, and all of the things that come along with that. Need to try to focus again during the new year, but darn, owning a home, especially an older one is expensive. I should have learned more from my younger sister!
• Run around Lake Calhoun and Lake of the Isles by end of summer (6.2 miles)
• Failure. I had good intentions, but kept hurting myself while trying to train. I guess I'm just not a runner. Maybe biking is more my thing.
• Volunteer more
• The majority of this has been through church. So much so that I became overwhelmed and started to have negative feelings over what I was doing.  Need to balance everything moving forward so I don't get burned out.

So there you have it... full disclosure on my successes and failures this past year. I will be setting some new goals for 2011 and hope to do better. Maybe I shouldn't have so many?

How did you do this year with goals you may have set?

Snow, snow, snow

Today is December 14.  7 more days until the official start of winter.  I have typically been a fan of snow, however as I get older, I really dislike it.  I especially dislike it this year because as I'm now a homeowner again, I'm responsible for the snow removal!


Let's see, so far this year..  first snowfall 8" wet and heavy.  Second snowfall 4". Third snowfall 9".  Fourth snowfall...21.5".  That's 42.5" of snowfall and we're only halfway through December!


Am I being punished for something?


I was out of town in warmer weather during this last storm.  Thanks to some very wonderful friends Josh and Laura they watched the cats, and took care of the snow for me too!  I owe them big!  Here's some before pics.  Poor kids, had a lot of work to do!  I came home from work tonight and shoveled some of the snowbanks... yes, the snowbanks, to make some room for the next snowfall.  And I had to shovel through 4 feet of snow alongside the house so I could get from the front to the back.

That's a 3 foot retaining wall that Josh is standing next to.  I love that lonely little branch sticking up from the snow...crying for help in that first picture.

Here's how it looked last night when I returned from my weekend vacation.

In this last picture...that's a 4 foot fence under that snow pile from the driveway.  I have no idea what I'm going to be able to do with any more snow that we get this year.  I'm not going to be able to lift it that high!  The same can be said for that first picture of the front sidewalk.

Oh well, at least it's pretty.  No, wait... I just heard on the news that we've got another 3-5 inches coming Wednesday night!  ARGH, stop the insanity!!!

We've been under a Snow Emergency since Saturday.  Minneapolis and Saint Paul schools have been closed for 2 days because the buses can't make it through the streets to pick the kids up.  Saint Paul has a terrible plowing system.  I'm on a day route.  For example, that snowfall with 9 inches that came Friday night...the first plow didn't reach my street until Sunday morning at 9:30 am.  Because that snow emergency was issued on Saturday, they started with the main roads, then did the night route, then the day route, meaning no plows for me!

Anyway, I better stop or I will keep rambling on and on.  I hope you're enjoying the winter weather more than I am!

Tis the Season!

Well, everyone seems to be posting pictures of their Christmas tree.. so here's mine!

It's not the best pic, but it works for now I guess.  I wanted to put it in front of the window, but I just didn't want to rearrange the furniture, so it's in the corner of the dining room.  Still pretty.

I really like Santa and Snowmen ornaments.  I have lots, but I'm starting to diversify.  As you can see, there's a reindeer above in gold, and a silver one somewhere too.  I love my new Frosty ornament though!

I may change my mind about the snowmen idea though...after all of my recent experiences with snow.  I'll write about that in just a minute!

Tis the Season!  Have a Merry Christmas!

Still working...

Still working on the house... just when I think I'm making progress another room gets messed up.  I feel like nothing is getting done, but it really is.  Progress is slow, but at least it gives me something to do!
Cleaning out the apartment this weekend and checking out.  maybe I will take one last nap on the floor there.