It’s just an oven!

No, Dorothy, it’s not just an oven (I’m not sure why I said Dorothy, but I did).

So, today we had lovely kitchen progress! The walls have primer, the faucet is installed and working with no leaks. The vent hood that goes above the range has been installed and works. All new electric receptacles have been installed, as well as the under-cabinet lighting, and…….drum roll please…….the wall oven was installed AND WORKS! And let me tell you, it is not just an oven! So, now I am going to brag about it:

 

-  It is a 30 inch single wall over with Wave Tough Controls (wow!)

-  The oven racks are luxury-glide with a ball-bearing system

-  It has theatre lighting inside (cool, huh?)
-  Convection Conversion Cooking Modes with the following options (get a load of these)

Bake, Broil, Convection Bake, Convection Roast, Convection Broil, Keep Warm and Slow Cook.

Baking Options: Perfect Turkey®, Defrost, Dehydrate, Bread Proof, Multi-Stage Cooking, Convection Convert, Delay Bake, My Favorites, Temperature Probe and Rapid Preheat

plus a My Favorite Setting (and yes, I WILL learn to use all of these)
-  It has extra large glass window
- 

Signature Cobalt Blue Oven Interior
-  Different

Self-Clean Options
and finally, it actually has a Sabbath Mode (I’m not Jewish, but I think this is da-gum cool!)

So, want to see? These are not the greatest pictures (especially the first one), but you’ll get the general idea!
 


















































 




































I can’t WAIT to bake and cook and bake and cook! I LOVE MY OVEN! By the way, I will have a second oven that will be gas. It will be attached to the new Bosch Range! Bet you can’t wait to see that one!

Of course I must end this post with more happiness!

rainy days and Mondays always get me down

I love The Carpenters. Always have. Karen Carpenter’s voice was so pure. As I little girl I always wanted to sing like her because she was in my range. Low and mellow. Well I do have a low voice, but mellow? Pass on that one.

As for today, well it is Monday, it was a bit rainy at first, but get me down…..no. Even after a rather physically, puny weekend (just a little cold/achiness) and wind/rain and a sleepless Sunday night, my little cupcake girl brightened up my Monday morning. We lay on the sofa for a couple hours watching Curious George, Max & Ruby, Dora and Diego. Not only does little Mady girl love those shows….I do! Curious George has been around since I was little and I love seeing him in animation. Max & Ruby is just precious! As for Dora and Diego, well they are wonderful educational programs. Spanish, animal conservation, preschool learning, etc. all rolled up into one!

After our little rest we made our way to the the house-to-be for my daughter, son-in-law and Mady, of course. They will hopefully be moving in by the end of the week or sometime next week. The sellers poured a new floor for the garage, so Mady left her mark (in the picture on the left) and they have this beautiful tree right by the driveway.
 













Spring is springing here. The temperatures are suppose to be in the low 70’s this week….all week. YIPEE!!
 

As for the kitchen, granite has been installed (along with the sink) and tomorrow the plumber should be installing the dishwasher, faucets, and gas stove. The electrician should also be on site to install lighting and the electric wall oven. Here is a peek at the latest pictures.

I am looking forward to wrapping up this project over the next few weeks. I can’t wait to COOK!!! And finally, here is some more fun-in-the-sun-ness!! Isn’t she just so cute and adorable?

Kitchen Update

I know….haven’t posted any updates in a few days. I was away for 3 days last week (visiting my little hermit crab in Jacksonville). When I returned home, the sheetrock was up on the walls and ceiling. Friday the drywall man came in to mud, tape and do all the stuff that drywall guys do. I did take a few pictures over the weekend, especially of the really cool tool/equipment that they use to hoist the sheetrock up to the ceiling (it’s the yellow T-shaped thing). I just love tools!








































A few things were taken care of yesterday (Monday). New thresholds (they still need to be stained/painted) at the doorways and more fine tuning of the sheetrock/mudding aspect. You can also see my dusty floor!!



















This morning I took some pictures BEFORE the cabinet guy came. So, here are the BEFORE pictures (at different angles):



















 


















One during the middle of installation:



















A picture of the one of the doors and the beautiful grain pattern (hickory wood):
  


















And, drum roll please, at the end of the day:






































Plus a few extra pictures: 








































Okay, at this point everything looks good. There may be one minor issue with the cabinet that is above where the range will be. It is a bit low and I am hoping the carpenter will be able to just shorten it up without having to make a new one. But, I want it to be right and even though it is even with the other upper cabinets, it is just going to be too low.

Tomorrow the granite folks will be coming out to make a template of the granite and the cabinet guy will be finishing up the doors and such. Granite will be installed either Friday or Monday. Painting will occur next week and I have chosen 2 different tiles for the backsplash, but will wait until the granite, cabinets, paint and appliances are all installed before making the FINAL decision.

I am really please with everything thus far and am so excited to see the progress over the next few days!!

And before I go, here is just a little silliness and cuteness!

Will You be my Friend?

The weekly challenge at iheartfaces is all about the angle! I love shooting anything and everything at angles….when the opportunity presents itself. I took this photo of my precious cupcake granddaughter in a hotel room. I absolutely love how she is in the background allowing her critter friend the limelight! She posed him  and said “take the picture now.” So, I did.








































Be sure to visit other stunning angles at iheartfaces.

On this day in history

It’s always interesting to see what occurred on a particular day in history. So, today, this is some of what happened:
1903  Niagera Falls runs out of water because of a drought (wow!)

1931  William Shatner, of Star Trek and Boston Legal fame, was born (he makes me laugh)

1934  1st Masters golf championship began in Augusta, Georgia (golf is sort of boring to me)

1938  Glen Campbell, singer,

was born (if you don’t know this one just google him)

1948  Andrew Lloyd Webber, composer,

was born (beautiful music)

1954  1st shopping mall opened in Southfield, Michigan  (whoo-hooo!)

1958  20th NCAA Men's Basketball Championship: Kentucky beats Seattle 84-72 (Kentucky is in the finals this year)

1963  Beatles release 1st album, Please Please Me (LOVE THESE GUYS)

1975  Walt Disney World Shopping Village opens (you should see it today…..wowzers)

1981  1st class postage raised to .18 cents from .15 cents (and today it is, what??)

1989  Kayla Delores Polk was born
You may be asking, who is that? Well, she is a sister, granddaughter, aunt, girlfriend, friend, student, animal lover, closet-comedian (at least to me) and most of all, my precious, beautiful, younger daughter.

Twenty-one years ago today, an 8-pound, bald-headed, pink bundle of joy entered this big ‘ole world. Kayla was a baby who loved her bed and sleeping (and still does). Kayla also LOVED her pacy. She was only allowed to have it at home and she kept them under her pillow. Yes, them. She always slept with one in her mouth and one in each hand. Even after the day she no longer had the bulb end of the pacy, she would sleep with the handle part! 

From a very early age Kayla was a bit shy/reserved and seemed to be attached to her mama at the hip (and still is, the shy/reserved part). She always wanted to how to do something BEFORE she learned how to do something. Strange bit of philosophy, but it has always worked for her.

She made me laugh then, and still does today. I laugh at her silliness, her goofiness and sometimes her logic (it makes sense to her but not always to me, therefore I laugh). She made me cry then, and still does today. I cry because I miss her, because I”m proud of her and because I wonder where the time has gone. Twenty-one years have zoomed by and there was so much in-between. I cry because I don’t remember all the things I want or wish I could remember. She made me smile then, and still does today. I smile at her smile. It is quite infectious. I smile at her beauty. Those sparkling green eyes (that sometimes change to blue), her hair that is so cute when it is pulled up in a messy ponytail, those precious toes that can pinch the fire out of you, those beautiful, thick, natural fingernails that anyone would loved to have and most of all, those freckles. A scattering of freckles that are always there, but that really come out after she has been in the sun. Beautiful freckles. Kayla freckles. Freckles that make me smile.

She stole my heart then and still does today. Every time I see her, hear her voice or even think about her, my heart is happy. Kayla is unique, a one-of-a-kind and a true blessing to my life. I feel so blessed and thankful that 21 years ago today (plus 9 months), God chose me to be her mother. He gave me a gift. A gift that I will treasure forever.

Kayla, I love you deeply and am so proud of the person/woman/adult that you are becoming. Thank you for being you and being true to the person that you are. Thank you for loving me, unconditionally.

You may have outgrown my lap, but you will never outgrow my heart! Happy Birthday my little hermit crab!

Bundled Up

Here I go again…..

This week the theme at iheartfaces is Bundled Up. Since we had several snowfalls in January, I remembered taking a picture that would showcase this theme.

Mady was staying with us overnight on a Thursday. There was a prediction for snow the following day (Friday) and into the weekend with accumulation of about 3 inches. I had been out of town a few days earlier that week, so I hadn’t watched any weather reports. On Friday I met with our contractor and electrician about our kitchen renovation and during that meeting we noticed the snow starting to fall. After about an hour, it seemed to be accumulating rather rapidly, so our visitors departed. I kept peeking outside and it just kept accumulating. Schools were closing and even my husband’s office closed early. Needless to say, Mady stayed with us the following two evenings.

We woke to a beautiful snow-filled yard the next day and Mady wanted to go out and play. Oops! We were not prepared with clothes for playing in the snow. Ahhh, being the wonderful Lulu that I am, I came up with some new snow gear. With tights, 2 pair of pants (some too small for her), jacket with a hood, my toboggan, my big gloves, 1 pair of my socks and 1 pair of her socks, Mady was ready to go! So we crunched our way through the snow for about thirty minutes and I took this adorable photo of my beautiful, bundled up little cupcake girl! I love how the gloves make her look like she as ET fingers!

























Be sure to visit iheartfaces to see more awesome bundled up photos!

Just Another Story or Two

Story #1
We made a lunch visit to McD’s yesterday due to the non existence of a kitchen and the rain. The unique toy with the happy meal was an I Carly Locker with stickers. Jackpot! Mady loves stickers! And let me tell you, there were many, many stickers all rolled up in the locker.

Mady referred to the locker as a frig. Makes sense. She doesn’t really know what a locker is. After a few bites of lunch she started pulling off the stickers and putting them on the “frig.” After about 20 or so, she looked up at me and said, “Lulu, look at my stickeration.” I wasn’t sure I heard correctly so I asked her to repeat and she again said “stickeration.”

Interesting concept Mady. I like it! Maybe I will submit itto Webster. It would look something like this:

stick·er·ra·tion

[stik-er-rey-shuh]

noun

1.

an adhesive label used for decorating; adornment; embellishment: The frig was adorned with pictures and stickorations for the family.

2.

the act of stickorating.

 

Story #2
In preparation for St. Patrick’s Day and a little project I am working on, I decided to take some pictures of Mady in her St. Patty’s Day outfit. You know, green shamrock shirt, shamrock socks, shamrock headband….etc. I know she doesn’t know what St. Patrick’s Day is, but I tried my best to explain it. So the conversation goes:

Me:  We are going to take some fun, fun pictures today. You have a special green shirt and socks and hair pretty.
Mady: What for?
Me:  There is a holiday coming up called St. Patrick’s Day.

Mady:  Why?
Me:  Just because. It’s just a fun day like Valentine’s Day or Easter. You know, just fun stuff and you get to dress in green all day! Lot’s of people will be in green.
Mady:  Meeeee too? (she sometimes stretches “me” word out)
Me:  Yes, you too. So let’s go take some fun St. Patrick’s Day pictures. We can celebrate early and have lots of fun!

At this point her little eyes got really big like the light bulb just went on.

Mady: For Patrick’s Birthday!
Me:  Birthday? What birthday?
Mady:  Patrick’s.
Me:  Patrick who?
Mady: Sponge Bob’s friend!

So now my lightbulb went on. St. Patrick’s Day is in honor of Sponge Bob’s friend. So we took pictures with Sponge Bob and Patrick (I can only show a few – Don’t want to spoil the project).

Kitchen Renovation – Day 4

Stormy, rainy day. Around 9ish the plumbers arrived to start the new gas piping installation (for the gas range) and shortly thereafter the sheetrock arrived as well as the New Blue crew, Nathan (the electrician) and Stuart (just to check in). They all began working. Hammering, sawing, up and down the attic stairs, in/out the front door, music and lots of chatting/laughing. These are AWESOME sounds! It’s wonderful to be around folks who truly love their job and who want it to be done right. They treat the my home as if it were their home. Thanks guys!!!

So, more electrical wiring, new gas piping, adding some sub-flooring the the cabinet area and expanding two door openings! EXCITING!!!

Mady was here for the day and never once minded all the noise. She even rested for almost 2 hours. She also entertained the New Blue guys with her rendition of Yellow Submarine. They loved that! Mady and I had to leave before they finished up for the day and when I arrived back home I had a lovely surprise…..a clean kitchen/den area. I really wasn’t expecting that!

So here a few pictures from today.

Next week’s happenings:  Hanging sheetrock, drywall and installation of cabinets

As for me, well I still need to “tag” the granite and pick out the tile backsplash (as well as making a quick visit to see Kayla for a pre-birthday time of fun). Finally, I can’t post on this last day of the week without my cute little cupcake!

Kitchen Renovation – Day 3

Here we are on Day 3. No New Blue guys today, but plumbers, electrician, Stuart and more kitchen shopping!

Stuart and I met to go over the agenda for the next week, as well as what else I needed to shop for and accomplish. I love lists, so thanks Stuart!

The plumbers, from Walden Plumbing, finished the tear-out of the sink and installed new piping. I did hear several of the guys say that the “copper was in great shape” so, I was relieved about that. It may seem kind of strange to get excited about seeing new pipes, but wow, looks pretty cool to me!
 

Stuart and I did a walk through and he created lots of “writings” on the wall for the electrician, Nathan. I thought they were pretty cool, especially the “mystery” one!






















































Nathan, the electrician, installed the can-lighting boxes and the light-fixture boxes. He also began some of the switch and outlet re-wiring (or something like that).













Shopping was very successful! Traci (thanks for helping me my darling daughter), Mady and I headed out to Home Depot and found the sink (beautiful black granite composite), a new hot tap water dispenser (with a savings of $130), a new faucet (that matches the hot water dispenser) and finally the door/drawer pulls (in black) for the beautiful natural hickory cabinets. Lovely success!!

So at the end of the day we have a beautiful mess!
 


















































Looking forward to more progress tomorrow!