A design in the making

This is so far the concept for the new kitchen. Above the stove is a microwave/range hood thingy, and we had them raise the cabinets above the sink and add a shelf. We have yet to decide on knobs vs handles, but I want the cleanest lines possible, soooo,, I will let you know! Yaaayyyy for progress! The crappy part is, it will take more time than we thought for them to come in, and I was hoping to have it done before the move. Oh well, dinners out I guess, lol.

An old kitchen, a new plan!

This is the 'old to them, new to me' kitchen. We went today and got it all measured up for new cabinets/counter tops etc. Sooo exciting! I will not be putting a table in there, I have a butcherblock island that is going where the table is, which is right beneath the kitchen window. We are putting in black counter tops, and a light wood set of cabinets. The stove is being moved over one cabinet space, so it will be to the right more, and on the left of the stove we are putting in drawers instead of a cupboard. The drawers we have picked are really awesome, they are 'unslammable', lol. After a certain distance, they close themselves, how cool is that! One thing missing from the kitchen is a vent above the stove, but we found a built in microwave that goes over the stove, and the vent is attached to the underside, so no microwave on the counter. I wanted a passthrough knocked through above the sink, but there is an issue with something in the wall there, so we are having cabinets a bit higher than the ones in the picture, and I am going to have shelves installed for some of my glass canisters (coffee/sugar/tea) to sit on. I hate counter clutter, and in a small kitchen it can be very cluttered very fast.
Soooo, that was my day today,, fun fun fun! Possesion date is Feb 28, and hopefully everything ordered will be in by then, and then the massacre can begin!

crayon creations from Badness Jones!

I have fallen in love with Badness Jones blog http://badnessjones.blogspot.com and she had this on her blog today. Crayon creations rock!

I started off with some busted up crayons, peeled and ready to go..

then into the oven at 350 degrees sitting in a pan of water. They sat for 20 minutes, then I pulled them out. After looking at them I thought I screwed it up,, but,, then I flipped them over, and TAAA DAA!!! Pretty awesome, so thanks to Badness Jones blog for this!

On a semi-related subject, why can't I move my pictures around? I would like to have them show up throughout the post, so I can explain each one as it comes up, but once they are loaded on here, they are stuck where they are. Anyone know?

MINE,, ALL MINE....

Well,, drum roll please,,, I GOT THE HOUSE! Yup, today I was approved, signed, sealed and delivered, I now own a new home again! The headache was worth it, and what a headache it was! My bank, that I have dealt with for almost 20 years has taken over a week to still not give me an answer. Yesterday,, and yes, I said YESTERDAY, I went to someone else, and today, YES, TODAY, less than 24 hours later, they gave the approval. Go figure how far loyalty with the bank gets you these days. I even got a much better interest rate! Sooooo,, WOOOOT WOOOT!! I am too hyped to blog more right now, but ya,, did I say WOOOOT WOOOT???

One of my ALL TIME FAVOURITES!

As pictures go, this is by far one of my faves! We have the PNE in Vancouver, and it was the first time Tela was tall enough to go on the rollercoaster. After the ride, she was mad because she lost her gum. Andi paid what ever it was for the photograph they take when your on the ride, and low and behold, they caught the EXACT MOMENT Tela's gum was flying out of her mouth. I only hope it shows up on here, but you can just see the gum in the corner of her mouth as it is going bye bye,,lmao!

Introducing,,,,, "T" and "A"

So this is Tela (pronounced tayla) and Andrea (known as Andi), just to put a face to the names! The second picture of Tela is not the most flattering, looks like one side of the head is shaved, but really, it's just tucked back, really!!

Mish-Mash, part duex

Part of the problem of "T" being here is the logistics. To get back and forth from here to the island, first off is around $10 in gas per trip to the ferry, then if I chose to walk on, it is $10 for day parking, and another $13.00 to walk on one way for me, and around $8.00 for "T". That adds up to $54 to get her here or there if she is only traveling one way. If I chose to drive on, and stay for a few days, the ferry then jumps to over $100 round trip, they don't make it cheap to take a car, so that really adds up! The trip takes 2 hours, and if it is round trip (pick up/drop off) then it is 5hours when you account for unloading/loading on the other side. It is an hours drive there and back to the terminal, so pretty much a full day of travel. When "T" is here, my daughter talks on the phone every night, and we have MSN and webcams, so the connection is still there, but really not the same. Of course, that is done in reverse with me when she is there.
My daughter and I have discussed it, and she is going through the same feelings as me, as a mom, she wants her daughter home with her, but,, she also knows what I am like as a mom, which in turn is what I am like as a grandma, and as I said in the last post, it comes down to guilt on both our parts. Is Tela,, yes,, that's her name,, lol,, better off home but with not a lot of contact with mom because of work, or here, where I can give her all my time, but she will be missing the bonding time with mom even more. I have put thought into moving back to the island a few times, but as I have also pointed out previously, I need to move on with my life, and moving back I feel will just put me back, not move me forward. It was a huge thing to start the buying process on the townhouse, as that pretty much cemented the staying here.
Tela's dad lives on the island, he has 4 other kids, and she stays in contact with him when she is here (phone and msn etc), and when she is home she sees him as much as he can take her, so that contact isn't broken. He is fine with her being here, because he thinks I am pretty awesome,, lol. He has known me since he was 15, so he knows me really well. The good thing here is no matter where Tela is, she is happy, safe, loved and all the things you can wish for a child. I sadly know grandparents who have grandchildren in unsafe homes, and are fighting to get them out. I have the peace of mind that isn't the case.
On a really good note, I have a full pot of coffee on the counter, and Coronation Street on the tv, so I am off to enjoy both,, have a great Sunday!