FINALLY...

after MUCH aggravation we FINALLY got our new carpet!!

you may recall about a year and a half ago we had a huge rain storm here in kittyville, which caused the poorly maintained storm drains on the road in front of our house to overflow… right through our front door

you can read about that joy HERE and about our difficulty even getting an estimate for new carpeting HERE

now to be honest, we desperately needed new carpet long before this flood ever happened… the only difference after the flood was the potential for mold - but the flooring in here was DISGUSTING when we moved in – I’ve spent 4 years arranging furniture and laying down area rugs in an effort to hide that fact

and when that didn’t work (because NOTHING could hide the disgustingness of our floor) I just begged people not to look down when they were in our house haaaa

the people who lived here before us had messy pets… one had a rabbit (that pooped and peed all over the living room) and the other had a dog that puked EVERYWHERE!!

also when the carpet was put in, it was installed by my brother in law… who cobbed EVERYTHING he did in this house (mainly the flooring… and the cabinets – which are a whole ‘nother post in itself!!)

when he installed the ‘living room’ carpeting and tile (which you’ll see in a moment) he also installed a cabinet at the far end of the room (which we took out when we moved in and turned into our kitchen counter) but when he did that, he chose to leave the original flooring alone under the cabinet… which meant that when we moved the cabinet, the tile under it didn’t match the rest of the tile… not only that but it was HORRIBLY stained… it was DISGUSTING!!

of course I took before and after pictures so you can see the DRASTIC difference!! here is how our original living room floor looked (after we moved most of the furniture out... which really is no different from how it looked when we moved in) - as you can see there are stains EVERYWHERE!! and it's coming apart in spots... and in some spots you can see it's not even cut properly!!

this is the area you see when you walk through the front door, right in front of the breakfast bar



here you can sorta see how the carpet is coming unraveled... and MORE stains



more stains still... some of which is from the flood



this is a lengthwise view from the 'living room' end to the 'computer/music stuff' end



this is where the original people's rabbit did a lot of it's peeing!! (they didn't care at that point because they were moving)



you can see here how the carpet is cut funny... no idea why



this is the end where our computer used to be... we had an area rug covering the tile at this end... I'm sure you can see WHY!! see how the tiles don't match (because there was a cabinet against the wall) - they must have used the cheapest tile available when they did the checkerboard... you can see how about 2 years or our computer chair rolling over it basically tore it to shreds (I didn't even know that was possible)





for obvious reasons I DESPERATELY wanted our new carpet to run the full length... and after a year and half of waiting and stomping my feet I FINALLY got my wish!!

here is a kind of close-up of the new carpet



as you can see it is multiple shades of browns and tans... kinda shaggy - it should hide dirt and whatnot A LOT better... not that I plan on letting any dirt or whatnot get on it!! but we DO have a cat who likes to disembowel mice... and throw up hairballs - so ya never know!!

there is the cat investigating right after the installers left... probably looking for the perfect place to puke!!



and here it is now... with ALL our god awful furniture back in place



of course now that we have our new carpet... I REALLY REALLY want new living room furniture - specifically a new couch and a reclining love seat (so we can get rid of the two recliners and actually be able to sit next to each other again)

and of course with the new carpet... our kitchen floor looks that much worse now



so I want to redo that - which we have been planning to do anyway...

also... we managed to get the carpet for less than we originally thought... so with the leftover money we are planning to put in new kitchen cabinets/counter top (nothing fancy just something that is a REAL set of cabinets... not the cobbed together piece of crap the brother in law built (straight ahead in the picture above) which has loose nails that poke out and rip holes in ALL of my clothes!!) oh and since it will only cost about an extra $100 - I will HOPEFULLY be getting a dishwasher too!!

if all goes well... we should practically have this whole place nearly habitable by this time next year haaaa

too much of a good thing?

in Amber’s most recent post she was talking about how Dan (her husband) knows EVERYTHING about her (and vice versa) and through comments with Suzy mentioned how being a couple (particularly a ‘D/s-y’ type of couple) – there is an extra sense of connection and closeness when you really know everything about each other

it's interesting... because that is something I think about often

being together since we were kids, Sam and I know EVERYTHING about each other - all the yucky/stupid/embarrassing/regrettable things we’ve thought or done that most people question whether or not to tell the person they’re with (even their husband/wife) we know… mostly not because we chose to tell each other… but because they happened while we’ve been together - most of the yuck and stupidity and embarrassing and regrettable stuff is stuff we've done with or to each other!!

most couple’s baggage (relationship or just life baggage in general) comes from prior relationships or a time before that couple even met – so I can see how being open and honest about such things would be somewhat freeing…

but in a way I think that makes things more difficult for me and Sam

it's one thing to come clean about the things you've done and the baggage you carry - it's another thing for ALL those things and ALL that baggage to be associated with the person you're actually with, ya know?

not to mention that I have a hard time realizing we're not actually kids anymore… part of that is my own issue with growing up (I want to be a kid FOREVER!!) but also we spent so many years of our relationship as kids it’s hard to see us as adults

kinda like when you run into an old friend and they tell you the baby they ‘just had’ is about to graduate high school… huh? what??

that is how I see us… even though intellectually I KNOW we’re fully growed adults with real adult lives and responsibilities… I still see us as stupid teenagers

like uh... where did the time go?? ya know? one day we’re hangin’ out, smoking a joint, choking ourselves out with strawberry air freshener and laughing our asses off and the next we’re balancing check books and trying to find the best deal on car insurance – for some reason that is hard for me to process hehehe

and because of that I often have a hard time taking him seriously…

for years he was a boy and now what? he’s a MAN? how did that happen? especially since I'm still a little girl (and I like it that way!!)

add to that, YEARS of ALL the crap put in our heads opposing the way we truly are and what we feel are our true roles in our relationship - and ALL the damage we (I) did to our relationship because of that

all the years of him being told that all the yummy dirty things he thinks about are wrong – and all the years of me being told that men are hopeless morons

I assume most people do a lot of the working out of those kinks on other people… but in our case we’ve been working them out on each other… for the better part of two decades we (mostly me) did a lot of damage (I think anyway… I’m not sure he agrees)

berating him, treating him like a child - basically (in my mind) emasculating him (things I still do on occasion… and I know I’m not alone)

I know he doesn’t hold it against me… but I DO!!

anyway of course there is a sense of connection… a closeness and comfort in knowing everything about each other – I can’t imagine a life without Sam and I’m pretty sure he feels the same about me…

and there is something special about having SO MUCH history – especially at our ages

but at the same time – I think all that knowing and all that history gives us sorta unique challenges

fortunately I can’t think of anyone I’d rather tackle those challenges with than Sam

~ I actually had more to say… but unfortunately I’ve reached the point in the day where distractions creep in and scatter my thoughts - perhaps more will come out as the day progresses...

HAPPY ENDING

I know most of you guys are animal lovers... and were sad when I posted a couple months ago about Sally, the dog that was left all alone in the sweltering heat to starve to death in a steel clothing donation bin

you can read that post HERE

anyway - I thought I'd give you an update: first of all they found the sick piece of shit who did this to her, he was arrested on four misdemeanor animal cruelty charges (pleaded not guilty of course) and is due back in court later this month

according to one of the local papers, Sally is doing well!! she's gained lots of weight (36 pounds up from the skin & bones weight of 16 when she was found) has been spayed and was adopted yesterday!!

YAY!!

thanks to the SPCA, a dog that was tortured and left for dead, never to know what it feels like to be happy and loved - has a new home with lots of love and attention and FOOD!!

remember that the next time you see a donation jar for your local shelter... or are looking for a new four-legged-american to keep you company :)

the one where kitty proves her ignorance...

I've always wondered (well not ALWAYS - but since we started hyphenating) what they call black people in other countries where black people were imported...

the other day I was talking about how much I love the movie Bad Santa... Sam was talking about the 'elf' and neither of us knew how to refer to him - I decided he was a vertically challenged-American – and Sam said, ‘no, he’s a vertically challenged-African-American!’

so he gets the double hyphen?! WOO HOO

of course I have no idea if he's American... maybe he's Canadian

for that matter – I have no idea if his ancestry is African… don’t black people come from places other than Africa?

you’ll have to excuse my ignorance… I never paid attention in geography class – actually I don’t remember ever having a geography class… but that CAN’T be right!! hehehe

also I went to a school where there were probably less than 800 kids from grades 7-12 and there were literally less than a handful of ‘black kids’ (that’s what they were in those days) – well that’s what they were to me anyway…

I realize they are not LITERALLY black - but by the same token, I’m not LITERALLY white either… ya don’t see me demanding to be referred to as pigmentally challenged

perhaps just mentally challenged would be more accurate...

checked out...

I’ve been kinda… absent, lately – not only from here but from real life as well… including not being a very attentive wife… I’ve been very distracted and just really kinda checked out – and I DON’T like it!!

but I’m starting to come around… I’m feeling better and more together and wanting to check back in now

my poor husband has been amazingly patient… even though I’m sure I’ve been more than a little hard to love lately :(

I hope he knows that I appreciate the way he’s been handling me and the whole icky way I’ve been… my head has been elsewhere for a while now… but it’s slowly starting to emerge from the fog and I’m really ready to be more… present!!

GREATEST INVENTION EVER!!

Sam had to talk me into getting THIS THING but I swear it is the most useful gadget I’ve gotten in my kitchen since Santa brought me my kitchen aid stand mixer!!

if you don’t have one you totally have to go get one… like – NOW!!

seriously... it's so cool I almost tried to vacuum seal the cat!!

is it wednesday yet?

if I hear one more word, see one more sign, watch one more ad or read one more blog post referring to this election I swear I'm going to explode!!

seriously... I can't hear another word!!

I don't give a rats ass which of the two assholes gets elected (even just saying TWO pisses me off!!) I know my feelings on this make me a horrible, evil, STUPID person

I don't care!!

let it be done for fuck sake!!

and when it is done... PLEASE, for cryin' out loud!! LET IT BE DONE!!

no hanging chads, no months long recounts, no 'I think they must have cheated'

pout or cheer - but we're grown ups here... lets not be bad winners OR sore losers!!

after all... in the end it REALLY doesn't matter who wins... either way we're screwed!! haaaa