Completely Unsolicited Reviews.

After over a year of complaining about Blogger's horrible HTML editor/interface....they unveil a new one today!  I'm trying it out for the first time right now, and so far so good.  I only have used it because it's tied in with my entire Google world.  Gmail, iGoogle, Picasa, all that jazz.  I still think WordPress is the superior product despite my love for all things Google.  One thing I'm particularly fond of so far is the frozen pane one on the top of the HTML editor.  Nice not having to scroll up.  It also has an overall cleaner look.  Since I'm reviewing this blogging platform why not give you my unsolicited opinion on all sorts of other things today?!

 

Sons of Anarchy
Network:  FX
Grade: A
This crime drama starting in 2008 on FX has proven to be one of the best TV shows I've watched in quite some time.  Set in northern California it follows an outlaw biker gang through many events.  It will pull you into this subculture with its outstanding cast, my favorite being Katey Sagal, that we all know from Married With Children.  She portrays the matriarch, Gemma Teller, in such a captivating way that it's hard to turn away.  If she hasn't won an award for this role, then she's been robbed.  If you are looking for something new to order from Netflix you can't go wrong with this show.

 

The Millenium Trilogy
Author:  Stiegg Larsson
Grade:  A

I'm almost finished with the Stieg Larsson series, The Millennium Trilogy.   I wasn't premature in endorsing these books in a previous post, because they have absolutely lived up to the hype.  If you're itching for a terrfic crime/thriller pick up these books.  Or...download on your eReaders!  It follows a socially inept, but genius young woman named Lisbeth Salander.  Lisbeth is one of the strongest and most uniquely portrayed female leads I've yet to read in a novel.  It's unreal to me that she was created from a male's point of view.  I've also watched the first two Swedish films.  As with any film you can expect a lot to be left out, yet Noomi Rapace has this character so down pat it makes up for everything.  The American actress that takes on this role has huge shoes to fill. 

Breaking Bad
Network:  AMC
Grade:  A
Ok ok.  So maybe I'm being a little lenient on my grading since I'm giving everyone "A's", but I'm only reviewing awesome things today!  Breaking Bad is about a high school chemistry teacher turned mega-drug lord.  I can't say much because of so many spoilers with this show, however Bryan Cranston stars as Walter White aka, "Heisenberg".  The transformation of this character from meek, beat down chemistry teacher to AK toting drug lord is amazing.  We're in the middle of Season 4 and have yet to be disappointed by the writing, acting and direction of the show.

Frontline
Maker:  Merial
Grade:  F-
I know it's been a difficult summer for bugs.  I have heard numerous people complain about ants, spiders, and fleas.  When you have pets you have to assume you're going to encounter fleas at some point in your lifetime...but when you pay an arm and leg for a product that is supposed to be the best on the market you expect results.  We've recently switched the pets over from this product based on lack of performance, read:  fleas.  If I was buying some over-the-counter $10 product I'd expect as much.  However, when I'm going to the vet and pay upwards of $200 for flea protection I expect something that works.  We've recently turned to other measures and are seeing better results, read:  no fleas.

Cerca de 2009

Something I'm really looking forward to is my Labor Day trip to Boston to see my kindred spirit Jennifer.  First I moved, then she moved, and quality time sure is hard to come by these days.  I am leaving Friday and spending a long Labor Day weekend out in Boston!  I can't wait to take my first trip to The Cape, and catch up on all I've missed.  We used to commute to and from work together everyday, sit by each other AT work, and hang out on top of that.  I think going from 50+ hours a week together to zero has been rough!



Now that I've given my .02 on things you may or may not care about... I actually do more than just watch TV shows and read fiction.  See!

The living room is finished!

The basement is finished!  Sort of...

Kitchen:  FINISHED!

Different view

Guest Bath

Progress!

Thanks to Clear Cut Lawn Solutions we now have a yard that no longer resembles a jungle!  These guys were great.  They came earlier than expected, and absolutely exceeded my expectations.  Check it out!

We've had a "when it rains it pours" scenario going on with the house in the last couple of weeks.  First after our power having been out for over 48 hours, the central A/C wouldn't come back on. Awesome.  The great part was that the seller purchased a warranty for the home.  We had to pay to file the claim but ended up getting that fixed about a week later.  A week with no A/C in August feels like a year, trust me.  Thank goodness we could seek the basement for some refuge!  In the upper 90s though, it was even getting toasty down there! 

Amidst our string of bad luck, our pride and joy - the koi pond - even took a hit.  After Michael put blood, sweat and tears into that puppy, the pump broke.  Naturally this was after we'd adopted a school of 7 koi fish!  The clock was ticking for oxygenated water so we had to act fast!  After numerous trips to Aquatic Escapes and completely destroying the pond all over again, we have a new pump and filter.  Whoever initially created this pond had absolutely no idea what they were doing.  The filter was inaccessible (a problem since it needs changed every 3 months!) the waterfall canister was buried (shakes head?) and half of the pond was actually being wasted by that.  It's not much to look at right now, but check out the fish during chow time.  (Click to view full size)

A few "BEFORE'S"...and we've got fish! (Shy fish)

Lillies!!!

Michael has been working so hard on getting the koi pond up and running.  We've both always wanted a water feature in the back yard and luckily we already had the basics laid out when we moved in.  We learned from the landscaper (who has been doing the yard work for the past year) that the koi pond hadn't actually been operational for over 3 years.  No wonder it was funky.  I'm surprised it wasn't funkier.  We've been skimming and cleaning out the debris regularly and cycling out with all new water.  We had no idea until after we put pea gravel in to make it look nicer that this is in fact a bad idea.  Whoops.  Oh well, live and learn.  I got the lovely surprise last night of coming home to beautiful water lillies and....fish!  We now have four koi!  I think.  They won't come out from under one of the rocks so I've only actually seen some fleeting moments of them so far.  A tail here or there.  The waterfall was made to look just right, Michael patched the hole in the liner with a repair kit, and now we're in business!  The dogs have discovered the fish and Pete just had to do his Godfather impression....thanks Whitney for the great caption! 

Pete meeting the fish and pretending he's Marlon Brando

We got a taste of the Amish lifestyle this past weekend.  A crazy storm came out of nowhere Saturday evening and left us without power until Monday at 9:45pm!  Not cool.  We were just lucky it was such a beautiful weekend and could have the windows open.  For a storm that lasted maybe 10 minutes, the damage was insane.  Over 150,000 LG&E customers were without power, the last of which were just restored as of yesterday.  There were trees down everywhere and the wind damage cost a great number of people some homeowners claims!  Luckily no damage was done to the house and all of the falling limbs from the trees landed in the yard and not on our vehicles.


The house is coming along great and the only two rooms that need finished are the "drum room" in the basement and the spare bedroom.  I've made some headway in the spare room but there are still some boxes to be put away and things hung on the walls.  We've got some priority projects that are needing attention such as the deck seriously needs to be power washed and stained, and the gutters are as full as they can get.  I took some "before" pictures of the landscaping so you'll be able to see the transition in the upcoming weeks.  It's all very overgrown in the front and I can't wait until we're able to actually see the front of the house.  I'm thinking of building another mound on the other side of the driveway mirroring the one on the right.  Everything else is pretty much just maintenance.  So far so good and I can't wait to showcase some more projects! 

A "BEFORE" picture of the front landscaping

"BEFORE" sidewalk - out of control Crape Myrtle

Making a mirror mound directly across from this one

Tighter shot of landscape overgrowth

 

New Begonia for the sun room, and Ferg

Let the projects begin.

I've been pretty scarce on the blogging lately.  With starting the new position at work, and the move my time has been completely monopolized.  I'm hoping to get back into a routine, especially since I'll have all sort of new fun home-improvement stuff to talk about!  I took several pictures of our first full weekend in the new house.  We have several items on the wish list, but here goes. 

The backyard was professionally landscaped in 2009, and unfortunately the seller didn't keep it up very well.  It desperately needs to be mulched, but with some help this weekend just removing the large weeds made a huge improvement:

The koi pond now just needs some koi!



The furniture I bought from World Market to go on the deck is now residing on the sun porch.  For one reason, I don't have anything else to go in there.  And secondly, we MUST have that deck power washed sooner rather than later.  Again, seller neglect.  In the meantime, the Ferg is really enjoying it!!!



Whenever I move I always like to buy new bedding.  Overstock is such a great discount place for bedding, especially if you like to change often like I do and don't want to spend a fortune!  I ordered on Sunday, got no expedited shipping, and this lovely new bedding was on the doorstep by Wednesday!



Still a bit wrinkly from the packaging



 On the list of things for the next year...or two....are expanding the shower in the master suite bedroom.  Who lived there, Frodo and Sam?  Seriously.  Making the hot tub that doesn't work outside into a mini-garden.  We'll put up the hot tub on Craig's list, then fill in the wooden area on the deck with soil and voila!  Mini garden area!  I'd like to make the semi-attached (through a breezeway) 1 car garage into an attached 2 car garage.  This is a lofty and expensive project that will be down the road.  But is definitely on the list.  Other than that, here are a few pics as of the first week in! 


AHH!  Front loaders!  Best.  Things.  Ever. 



Outdoor rug, on lower part of deck.

Red basement...not crazy about the color. 

Formal living room upstairs, with new sofa!

And there ya have it.  We've got our work cut out for us on several projects, and I'm ready to let the fun begin!  Pete however...not so much.

We're IN!

I haven't blogged in a while because I didn't want to jinx anything...but now it's official...we're in the house!!!  I had some major problems getting up to closing because the loan officer was less than stellar (putting it politely), but Saturday morning it was official!  I really like to keep it interesting so the closing was at 8am, movers arrived at noon.  Needless to say it was a heck of a weekend.  I'd say about 90% of our stuff is in the new house...with the exception of some odds and ends at the rental house.  Some winter coats still in closets and some miscellaneous items here and there.  The important thing though is that the pets are already in and adjusting to the new place.  Fergie of course hopped out of her cat carrier like she's owned the place for years.  Typical.  Spencer was sketched out for a day but seems to be coming around quicker this time than the first time we moved.  Rigby was a  little hesitant but she's already adjusting to the new routine - AND her new found freedom at night.  We are going crateless in the new house.  She's 8 months now and the first two nights crate-free went off almost without a hitch.  There is of course the issue of 3/4 of a missing sock...  I'd update you on Pete but he was dognapped by his Mimi, Ruthann.  She and my stepdad came over under the guise of helping unpack, only to dognapp the Petester for a few days.  That dog is spoiled rotten.  To the core!  Between starting my new position at work (Manager of Marketing), going on vacation for over a week, and this home closing/moving, I'm officially spent and more than ready for some downtime in the new casa.  Bring on a boring weekend- please!

I'm hoping to update this blog with TONS of before and after photos.  The house was very move-in-ready...but there are plenty of projects we'd like to get started on.  The first being the landscaping.  It was top notch when the bid was put on the house, however it's now been completely unattended for the 60 day closing process.  Yikes.  Weed central.  The garage door needs painted, we really want to redo the shower upstairs because unless you're Verne Troyer you simply can't even turn around in there.  I can't figure out why someone would competely redo a bathroom...and install a microscopic shower.  Anywho...lots to do.  We're VERY happy to be in our new home and have already made some furniture purchases.  Now begin the joys of many home improvement projects to come!!!

Just farming around.

With July making haste in my direction, I have got to take advantage of these do-nothing weekends!  (Sidebar:  Have I told you about July?  9-16th - vacation to Oak Island, 18th - closing on house, 23rd - movers come, 25-30th - in Boston for work/visiting Jen. I'm already exhausted)  We headed up to the farm for some fun in the sun and relaxation this weekend.  Friday night kicked off with a bonfire with Mom and Mike, The Graves Clan, and Michael and I.  We shared ghost stories, urban legends, and got to hear a pack of coyotes in the distance to enhance the ambiance.  Saturday was filled with catching some rays, reading a good book (see previous post) and exploring the back of the property.  Twenty seven acres is a lot to have at your disposal, so we took the four wheelers back to the river.  We waded, rode around in the woods, found fossils, and climbed to the top of the train trestle that goes across the river.  Mom is terrified of heights so of course we had to egg her on by hanging off and acting irresponsibly.  We had a blast, got cut up a little bit, and had a great time.  One of the carvings in the limestone part of the trestle is something Mike and Michael had mentioned several times.  It says "C Rush" who we've come to discover was the rail station manager back when the railroad was active.  It's quite an impressive carving compared to the rest and we were able to get a great photo of it, even though it's pretty high up. 

Riding back to the river

Me on top of the trestle





Old railroad captain's engraving on limestone trestle

Michael below wading in the river

View from under trestle

Very scenic place to be

In house news the appraisal came back great and we shouldn't have any more bumps in the road pertaining to that.  I'm sure we'll have another bump or two, but still planning on being in the new house by the end of July!  We have so many projects that we're already talking about!  I can't wait to post pictures and blog about them in the months to come.  We are definitely going to expand the size of the koi pond in the back yard, and maybe even add a large waterfall element feature.  Using the rock that Michael dug out of Blue River a few weeks ago as a focal point.  After all, an entire afternoon spent digging a rock out of a river bank should go towards something...sigh.  I'm glad they did it...but geez Louise.  A lot of work for one rock.  After consulting the almighty Google for answers, ultimately it was decided that the mystery rock was most likely a part of the old bridge that was across the river, prior to the railroad.  Making it extremely old.  Either way, it looks neat and I'm happy to showcase it in the backyard. 

Postcard view of backyard

Rigby laying on the legendary rock in question

Master griller with assistant

"Why yoo leev us ebery weekend?  We iz displeased wif yur absince"

Too early for me to endorse this book series? Probably, and yet...

Looking for some summer reading?  Of course you are.  After much provacation from a few people I know, I finally broke down and bought the Millennium Trilogy.  You might know it better as "The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo, The Girl Who Played With Fire, and The Who Kicked the Hornets Nest".  I'm only about 1/3 of the way into the first book, and already know I'll be zipping through all three of these in a row.  Be prepared for this series to start out slow, but it's necessary as it provides quite a lot of background.  After chapter 3 you won't be able to put it down.  I guarantee.  You might be asking  yourself, "But Lindsey, this book doesn't appear to be about vampires, zombies, witches, wizards, ghosts or any other supernatural beings...and you're reading it?".  Shocking, I know.  It's a crime thriller and believe it or not I have read some other crime thrillers.  (Another great favorite is Deception Point by Dan Brown of the DaVinci Code fame...I actually like Deception Point better than DiVinci Code) 

The American version of the movie comes out this December and stars Daniel Craig as the lead character Mikael Blomkvist.  The book is a Swedish translation so you have to get used to all of the locations, proper nouns, and names to be Swedish.  The author, the late Stieg Larsson, does a fanstastic job of bringing those locations to life, even for the American reader who might not be familiar with those places.  The trailer looks pretty awesome, and it helps that a Led Zeppelin song is the theme music:

http://www.imdb.com/video/imdb/vi1464638745/

This post suddenly makes this motivational poster come to mind...Oh well, it's Friday.