Bye Bye Bu

With Baby Merrill on the way, Adam decided we I needed a new vehicle. I really couldn't figure out why since the Bu was free and seemed to suit our needs just fine. I have had some good times in  this 2002 Malibu. It's the car I had when I first met Adam, the car that I drove to Arizona with my mom to start grad school, the car I then moved back to Minnesota in 5 years later (again with Mom) as well as the source of many close calls and lessons.

I thank my trusty rabbit's foot for not getting more dents and dings.

When the turn signal went out I learned I could punch the dashboard to get it to work. This was actually a bonus as it made me feel cool in a Fonzy-kind-of way. Eventually someone pointed out I could push on the circuit behind the vent to get it to work... not as cool.

I gained confidence in my mechanic-abilities when I figured out how to top off the coolant every month in addition to learning that the funny light on my dash meant "low coolant".

Apparently, parking your car in the scorching Arizona sun for 5 years straight can be rough on the paint job.

Good-Bye Malibu

Hello 4Runner, aka: mom-car!

The Best Thing I Ever Ate

The best thing I have ever eaten was a duck confit salad at Scallion's Restaurant in Saratoga Springs, New York. This salad was so good it became legendary in my mind.  I figured there was no way anything, even the same salad at the same restaurant, could ever live up to it. While I was back in New York last February I begged these two ladies to go there with me again to put it to the test.

As you can see... I thoroughly enjoyed it. To this day the citrus duck salad maintains it's status as the best thing I have ever eaten. 

It's Not Easy Being Green... Ok Maybe It Is

Last Weekend's Project: Add additional insulation to the attic.

Goals: Reduce our gas bill, prevent another ice dam and save the planet.

Duration of Project: Approximately 10 hours.

Cost: $400 plus ancillary costs (AttiCat rental, insulation, staple gun, goggles, face masks)

Maybe I can bump the thermostat up from 67 to 68 and still save money this winter!!!

Fungus Amoungus

I know I sound like a weird-o saying this, but I like fungus. I've noticed some pretty crazy things cropping up in our yard this year and wish I would have taken pictures of all of them. Maybe I'll be one of those mushroomer-people when I retire. Here are some photos of our current fungal-situation:

What's that smell?

Oh that's right- it's our basement. In case anyone's been wondering what we have been up to this last week here is a quick update:

Last Wednesday night and Thursday day we had a huge storm. I am pretty sure we had at least a few inches of rain. Thursday Adam called to tell me the roof was leaking. Later he sent me a text that the basement carpet was soaked. Great....

The roof ended up not being a huge issue (yet) but the carpet was saturated. No matter how many times we ran the shop-vac, it was not drying up.

And the smell was getting worse by the day....

I tried putting down some baking soda. That failed.

I looked online and read that a cut up onion will eliminate basement odor. Nope.

I even tried using my trusty Sham-Wow to soak up the water under the carpet just like they show on the infomercial. Sham-Lame.

So Sunday night we finally gave in and tore up the carpet. The padding was completely drenched and had to be ripped up. We are trying to salvage the carpet and save a few bucks.

Anytime I do something stupid Adam likes to be a smart-ass and ask me: "Did you learn anything?"

Well, I suppose I did learn a few things from this experience:

1. Long leaders off your gutters are important.

2. Wet carpet smells horrible.

3. It is also ridiculously heavy.

4. We have some awesome friends and roommates.

 

5. A cut up onion is not as powerful at eliminating basement odor as you might expect.

An Addendum to Jussi's Adventures

Unfortunately Jussi's little prank she decided to pull a couple weeks ago just cost us over $400. She's officially grounded. 

Initially when she came home she had a small scab on her side. On Friday Adam noticed she was bleeding from the spot so he took her into the vet. Turns out she had an abscess (personally I didn't notice any fluctuant masses.... but who am I to question. I don't do cat surgery). They had her come back the next morning so it could be drained. 

Looks to me like they cut a huge chunk out because she's got a pretty good sized incision. I guess her bikini modeling days are over.

This makes me glad we're having a boy: no more cat-fights in the Merrill household.

2nd Anniversary

Monday September 13th was our 2nd anniversary. 

It also happened to be the day we went for our 20 week ultrasound. 

Here are some pictures of our baby....

BOY!!!!

Happy anniversary to my husband and best friend.