thankful wrap-up.

back to work today after an extra long holiday weekend. i'm still recuperating from Thanksgiving and all of the awesomeness that it was: family! leaf piles! turducken! turkey hats! matching aprons! uno! bowling! games! silliness! piecaken! hiking! waterfalls! and so many hugs i couldn't have counted them even if i tried!

all the fun and the craziness and the noise all over the house felt so right, just like home, and it was downright sad and quiet once everyone was loaded into cars and planes and headed home.

we stretched the weekend as long as we could to squeeze in as much as we could, which means that we had a fantastic time. it also means that i've given myself zero time to regroup and now i'm falling headfirst into Christmas. but before all that craziness kicks in, i just want to take a minute and round out my thankful list for this year. i might have even added a few bonus thanks, just because i really do have a LOT to be thankful for!

86. Mom.

87. Dad.

88. Stasi.

89. Abi.

90. Alex.

91. Claire and Nick.

92. brothers-in-law.

93. Gram.
94. Pap.
95. slide rules.
96. new tires.
97. leftovers.
98. rag bags.
99. air mattresses.
100. cameras.

and... bonus! because i just cant stop being thankful!
...or using exclamation points!!!
101. one-hour photo prints.
102. mail.
103. lists.
104. online shopping.
105. Christmas.

"Now, our God, we give you thanks, and praise your glorious name."  

I Chronicles 29:13  

recognize what you're thankful for.

source

this picture cracks me up every time i look at it.

76. my job.
77. Sophie.
78. community groupies.
79. naps. (just knowing they exist,i wish i had time for naps)
80. hair dryers.
81. colored pencils.
82. my iPod, which i can listen to instead of the Christmas music on the
      intercom at work. (is one holiday at a time really too much to ask?)
83. glasses and contacts.
84. comfy sweaters.
85. music.

operation knock-down drag-out: week 12.

well, here we are: Thanksgiving week. the deadline is upon us. now if all went as planned, i would be sharing a lovely, fully styled grand reveal with y'all today. but y'know, things around here rarely go as planned. we would have loved to be done early, but its looking more like we're going to juuuusst make it on time, which is better than late, which is better than never. (read: hey family! dont cancel your travel plans for thursday! the bathroom WILL be done!)

this week was all about plumbing, plumbing, and more plumbing, because no matter how pretty your bathroom turns out, people will appreciate it way more if they can actually USE it.

Mark started with the vanity. before he could install and plumb the faucet, he added knobs to the doors and caulked the gap around the backsplash.
 

then he tinkered for a while under the sink. the process went kind of like this: tinker, test, leak, repeat. i think he only had to repeat the whole process two or three times, so i would consider that a major success...

... especially since it ended with a working, non-leaking sink!

over the weekend, after Mark installed the baseboard, his dad came over to supervise/help with the toilet installation.

i was busy doing things that were slightly more productive than hovering over the toilet installation process, but from what i can tell it went pretty smoothly. the toilet justbarely fits with the baseboard installed, which we are very very very happy about, since we neglected to factor the baseboard into our measurements.

you may have noticed that we ended up with a round bowl. i was thisclose to giving in and letting mark win and get the elongated toilet that would have taken up more space in our little bathroom, but he actually conceded before i had a chance. i think its quite lovely, dont you?

and oh hey, see the shower hardware in the background of that last picture? no, i didnt forget to mention it, i just took that toilet picture a couple days later, since the only other after picture of the toilet had Mark sitting on it and even though he was wearing pants i thought it might be a bit much to put it on the internet.

the shower hardware unfortunately did not go nearly as smoothly as the sink and toilet, and actually put up quite a good fight. Mark fought back, took a drill and a chisel to his beautiful new shower tile, and came out the winner.

and then we realized that we bought the wrong showerhead. crapbag. but other than that, all we need to do to finish the shower is to hang the shower curtain. which i have all ironed and ready to go. easy peasy. 

so what was i up to all week? eh, a little of this and that. mostly dishes and cleaning and laundry and replacing ALL the flourescent lights in the basement (they seriously burned out all at once!) but i did manage to squeeze in some time to work on my two bathroom projects: the shelves and the towel hooks. i dont have any pictures of the shelves, since it took both my hands and then some to assemble them, and the process shots i took of the towel hooks are boring and no fun, especially when compared to the final product, so blah blah drillmitersawgluenailcaulkpaintscrew BAM! finished product!

  

gorgeous, right!? once the shelves are hung i'll take pictures of them too. but until then, i'll be busy running around like a crazy person to get everything done and my house in a state of not-filth-and-squalor before Thursday.

trips to Home Depot: this week - 3. total - 21.
trips to Ace: this week - 0. total - 2.
trips to Lowes: this week - 0. total - 7.

times Amanda has cried over this project: this week - 0. total - 3.
times Amanda has cried in Home Depot: this week - 0. total - 0.

days until Thanksgiving: 2!!!!!!

it is thankful people who are happy.

source

66. two three-day work weeks in a row.
67. airplanes.
68. old recipes.
69. paint.
70. paid vacation time.
71. my seldom-used iron.
72. problem solving skills.
73. brand new lightbulbs.
74. the internet.
75. laughing is my favorite.

meal plan monday: thankful thankful thankful.

source

i had every intention of posting the countdown over the weekend... and then the weekend started flying by and i just... didnt.

source 

so you get them now, just a couple days late, because it would make absolutely zero sense to jump straight from 6 days to 3(!) in our countdown. i dont want people to get the impression that i thought to myself "self, i'm going to start a countdown. i'm going to start it at 8 and then count down by 3's" as though that would be logical in any sense of the word. people dont need any more reasons to believe that i'm crazy. i'm too young to be taken away to the insane asylum, plus i'm really looking forward to thanksgiving with the fam this year and it really would be a shame to have to miss it.

source

speaking of thanksgiving, here are a few more things that i have been thankful for lately.

51. saturday mornings in bed until after the sun is way up.
52. shoeboxes packed full of fun and love.
53. that i am happy to be taking my holidays one at a time
      thankyouverymuch.
54. new (to us) furniture.
55. uncles to help move said furniture.
56. slipcovers.
57. command hooks.
58. toilets that flush!!!
59. in-laws.
60. clean (and put away) laundry.
61. anticipation.
62. vaccuum cleaners.
63. a marriage that can withstand ugly rivalry games.
64. the home stretch of the bathroom project.
65. lawnmowers.

and just because this monday morning post that no one ever reads isnt quite long enough yet, here's my meal plan for this crazy awesome crazy week:

Monday: crock pot meatball sandwiches. (recipe)
Tuesday: chicken fried rice. (recipe)
Wednesday: breaded tilapia with rice.
Thursday: crock pot chili. (recipe)
Friday: Thanksgiving turducken and other various deliciousnesses plus
      piecaken for dessert.
Saturday: grilled chicken salad with fries.
Sunday/Monday: goin' to Gram's house.
Tuesday: let's eat out.

thankful for every moment.

source

41. water.
42. best friends forever.
43. family.
44. power tools.
45. sisters.
46. my dishwasher.
47. weight lifting gloves.
48. good memories.
49. date nights.
50. fridays.

always something to be thankful for.

source

31. wd40.
32. sunshine.
33. oatmeal.
34. jazzercise.
35. fist-pumping with a room full of middle age ladies.
36. clean sheets.
37. friends.
38. deadlines.
39. shoes.
40. sleeping in 15 minutes on a workday.