The Snowpocalypse, A Birthday, And A Decided Decision.

I have been debating telling the story of a birthday snowstorm that Mother Nature lovingly gifted Ed. The reason for the great debate is because 1.) it's snow and we live in the Northeast. It's not a new phenomena. 2.) I'm pretty sure you've read seventeen other blogs talking about snow in October. However, my dear RHN fans and not fans (hell, you could be reading this strictly due to boredom) I have decided to enter the literary world of the October Snowpocalpse 2011, and divulge to you all the wondrous (sarcasm detector just went off. did you hear it?) white stuff that has my/Ed's shoulders and back really pissed at me/us. But first: Happy Birthday, Ed!

 

 

Non-cake birthday cake. 

The original forecast for the weekend was around 6in of snowfall total. Then as the week went on it went to 8in total. Then 10in, then bam! 10-15 inches of white stuff. In October. Happy Snowaween, peeps; and Happy Birthday, Ed. Grab a shovel. The rate of falling snow here was 1-3inches an hour and the ground wasn't frozen. So, doing simple I-grew-up-in-the-northeast-I'm-tired-of-this-crap math, we can determine that the sum of those two variables equals a giant sloppy mess. As Ed and I were determined to get the furnace up and running before the pipes refroze, we fired up the new green monster and let er' rip! It was on and running for maybe ten minutes when the power went out. Wah-wah. It was cold in the hizzy at a staggering 49-50 degrees so we decided to head back to my Dad's where they was heat and power. Once we got outside six inches had already fallen which then became our cue to go. While we weren't really worried about driving because we had Ed's rental 4x4 pick-up, we were more worried about trees being down and roads being closed - this snow was wet and heavy. Well, with that being said, we hopped in the truck, put it in reverse, took off the parking break and BAM! Holy sheet! A giant maple tree limb fell on our truck with us in it and scared the beejeezeus out of us.

 

After we put our hearts back into our chests, we squeezed out of the truck drivers side, we (Ed) went in and grabbed the battery operated sawzall and began chopping away at this monstrous tree. Luckily for us (and Enterprise) there was minimal damage and Ed and I weren't hurt - oh, and either was Mama. However, the lamp post and lilac didn't fair so well, but I do have to thank Mother Nature for helping us take down limbs that we were going to trim back in the spring! High-Five M.N.! The other side of the hizzy suffered a lot of down branches too, but nothing directly hitting the house. Damn! We were hoping for a new roof due to tree damage. Oh well. All in all, the snowpocalypse dumped a little over a foot of snow on us and we lost power at RHN until last night. The big green monster in our basement is now being fed and is heating our chilly residence. Yay for electric and heat. 

In other non snow related news, we have made an executive decision on the kitchen. The original plan to pour concrete counter tops has been slashed. No, no, not the slash with the top hat and Gibson Les Paul; although that would be seriously cool to have slash jammin' at RHN while we talk counter tops. Anyway, the concrete isn't going to work out as much as we want it to. It's cool, peeps, no sad panda faces. We are going to go the Corian/Staron route which I think is just going to be a better fit for us in terms of work (making the molds and pouring the counters), upkeep on said DIY counters, overall durability and resale value. We have a color/design in mind and also a back splash in mind. So, do you want to see how I envision our final kitchen looking like?

 



pinterest.com

That's quite a far cry from where the kitchen began just six months ago. The picture is almost identical in terms of cabinet color, counter top style, lighting, and appliances we already have in RHN which makes the envisioning much easier. I love the design element in this kitchen. It is modern and clean, yet inviting and homey, yo. It will help poor big RHN transform into the home we knew it could be...well on the inside at least. Plus, it will be a lot easier on the eyes than the before:

Cringe worthy. Yuck.

We are coming close to moving in -everybody say it with me- FINALLY, with only a few projects to go.

The checklist stands as so:

• finish the bathroom vanity top
• install the bathroom sink
• paint the trim in the bathroom
• install sconces,towel bar, etc.
• fix hardwood floor in kitchen
• install the last 3 cabinets
• tile the kitchen floor
• have counter top installed
• install appliances

Then we are move-in ready, homeys. I know the list may look long to you, but honestly, this is a 1mm in length list compared to what we began with in May. Right now I am debating whether or not I should pick up the dining room chandelier I have been eyeing for years. It's on super-sale right now and I can hear it beckoning our names, calling for us to rescue it from the depths of the warehouse to which it was exiled. I really think it needs a home in our dining room, even Ed thinks so. I also have 2 free chairs, a dresser that will soon serve a totally different purpose, a desk, and a headboard for Cmans bed that all have to get painted. We have a plan of attack for Frumpkas/the bad kids room and it is fabulous! No, seriously, I'm not kidding. That's another post for another day. I have to do a little research before we engage in a full on battle - both blog wise and construction wise.