Even after 15 years....still too much fun!

What an eventful weekend. Not only did we survive waking up to 32 degrees, the video camera running out of battery power (after Chris passed 20 in his Solo race), and me not beating the children too much, it was all too much fun~!

Chris has been racing probably as long as I have known him. Even though after having Allison and not going to the races until 18 months ago, I sure remember how much fun it is. It isn't quite the same as having 5-6 guys from Raleigh all together with everyone's family and such, but its a different kind of fun. Now Allison & Lauren get to enjoy it. And they love every minute of it. Even if its freezing outside. We knew it was going to be cold, Friday night was cold and Saturday was in the mid 50's but the wind was what made it so bad. The temp was bearable if the wind would have stopped. Saturday night was colder but didn't seem like it. I think I finally was warm somewhere in the middle of the night on Saturday. Chris did bring 2 plug in heaters that we split with the girls. The girls even managed to sleep on the air mattress together without complaining.

Chris had hooked up his video camera and we actually got the 2 laps of practice he got on Saturday and so when he raced later Saturday we were excited because of starting 29th and finishing 9th, it was going to look too good on video. But it had only recorded from when he reached to turn it off, which later we figured out was turning it on. Sunday we again, turned it on and again, did the same thing. We FINALLY figured out it was the battery. We were so worried that the card wouldn't hold his SOLO race we never thought of the battery. Lesson learned. Lauren and Chris were looking at the video he was hoping was there after his Formula 1 race on Sunday. That is when it hit us that the battery's were what was wrong and not operator error!

This is Chris during his Formula 1 race on Sunday. He finished 10th, which continues his Top 10 finish streak. He looks pretty good on my bike, huh? And not too bad considering the Top 5 finishers in this race are Pro's. All the experts in 6th-10th place were all together. They had a race going between themselves, and no one went down in this race. Which is always nice.

You can't really tell in this picture but he can't move his hands. New handlebars is what he is hoping will fix the problem. Along with taking in some ibuprofen and some icy-hot gel. Let's hope that works. Or bionic hands here we come! Sunday the weather was in the high 60's and the wind had calmed down, it made for a perfect day. We packed up after his race and headed out. Only until the next race.

Yes, I'm allowed a break...

Surprisingly I am giving myself a weekend off from remodeling and any of the 100 other things I need to finish. Chris is racing at VIR (Virginia International Raceway) this weekend. Its only about a 90 minute drive from Raleigh, about 15 minutes north of Roxboro. We loaded up the cars, bikes, coolers and food and took off before noon. Rumor has it that its going to be 32 degrees in the morning. Luckily we brought the heaters...so the girls have a heater and we have a heater. I don't mind camping, but this is usually the coolest of the year. Usually when we are here in June, we are begging for a cool day...but that never happens in March!
Allison was on her laptop and I finally got a picture that she wasn't sticking her tongue out or crossing her eyes. It only took me 5 snaps to get this picture but Im glad she finally just smiled!

Down to basics.....

So after sanding the rest of the ceiling, I had to take down the plastic drop cloths to get all the dust out. Removing popcorn isn't bad its the sanding part that will drive you insane. But there was so much dust and I had limited time to get out stuff before we get back from Charlotte on Thursday and then are heading out of town. So my goal today was to get the carpet out.

We cut the carpet into 3 sections and rolled it and the padding out. It was fairly easy. The tack strips came up fairly easy as well. The staples where the padding was is going to be another story. But I think thats a job Im going to give Allison & Lauren. ha ha.

Kind of weird seeing it now and what its going to look like when its done...but I can't wait!

What can you get done in 2 days?

Took some 'before' pics of the living room before I delve into the remodel of this room. I had moved the couch into the middle of the room and evenually moved it out onto the deck. I was initally going to move it into the dining room but then remembered that I had to bring this in through the french doors when we moved into the house. One of the reasons I love this couch is because it is so deep, so there was only one option and that was outside.
I took some random pictures of the room before everything just to get some 'before' official pictures. ha ha.

Im not going to change the paint color but the popcorn is definately coming off the ceiling! It a fairly simple process, time consuming but fairly simple. And the outcome is amazing.

I put up drop cloths all around the room and double-covered the boxes of hardwood flooring that comes after the ceiling gets completed. I cannot wait to see the outcome of this room. I think the flooring is going to make the biggest improvement, even to the point where Im not bringing the couch back in. Its going to look too nice and my couch (even though I love it) is about 13 years old....I think its ok to get a new one...and hey, couldn't be a better time!

Everything got taped and covered! The worst part of removing a popcorn ceiling is the chalky dust that comes from sanding. The initial removal by scraping is not bad at all. It is crazy how heavy the popcorn actually is. I made sure that the entry way into the kitchen and the entry way by the front door were sealed with the heavier plastic Chris brought me and made some 'doors' that overlapped into both the front and back so I could get through the house if needed. I wanted to make sure the dust stayed within the living room as much as possible.

It didn't take long to get everything taped and covered before actually starting on the ceiling. My goal was to get the popcorn off by the end of Day 1. I only had Thursday & Friday off so it was important to get as much done as possible. We had plans Thursday night to go to Jordan's concert so I had to stop by 5:00 in order to get ready.

So the spraying and the scraping began. It went fairly quickly and I making a mess was kind of fun. I love home improvement stuff. Just wish it didn't cost anything! I think if I ever won the lottery I would flip houses for the fun of it! The popcorn kept piling up. But the ceiling was looking good, even though there was going to be a ton of sanding to do. The room is about 350 sq. ft. and taking the popcorn down doesnt stir up alot of dust, so this is the quickest part.
This is what the ceiling looks like without the popcorn but BEFORE sanding....it was looking better every step of the way....this is the end of DAY 1.
Which brings us to Day 2. I ended up sleeping in today until 0915. WOW! That felt great! But I knew I had a ton to do today and sanding was going to take up most, if not all, of the day. I got everything together that I needed, including my head cover and my mask. I put contacts in, not sure why, but I thought it would be better and I would try to wear some goggles. Cant you just picture me now? Can't you see how big of a difference sanding makes? I had the french doors open all day. I had turned off the heat today and left the doors open to help ventilate the room. Luckily most of the dust you could see going out the doors, but a ton also stayed. I tried my best to keep my face away from being directly around the sander but most of the time I couldn't help it. The goggles I had got covered in dust so quickly I couldn't keep them on and be able to see. I am paying for it now.
IThe ACC Tournament is on and, of course, UNC was playing at noon, so even through the plastic covered tv, I had to stop and listen and attempt to watch parts of the game. Even though they played like crap and almost lost to Virginia Tech! Whew~! Glad that game is over...now back to sanding...
So for the most part I completed the sanding by the end of Day 2. I am glad. I do have small spots that I need to go over, you can still see some spots that have some dust on them, but 99% of the sanding is complete. I do have a few spots that need spackling and then light sanding but other than that, I got everything accomplished in 2 days that I wanted to.

This picture says it all. This room is probably the one that will have the biggest impact with the least amount of 'stuff' done. Stay tuned...there is definately more to follow~

Just some finishing touches!

Here are some pics of the 99% girls bathroom remodel. Still have to put up the blinds and the door back on. Lauren made it clear. After we told her she could use the toilet, her reply was 'no I cant.... there's no door'. Oooppps! Guess I kind of forgot that. ha ha. It did turn out very well, and I guess I'm kind of proud of myself. I can't believe how nice it looks. I did not replace the tub enclosure or the toilet. It's already a low-flow toilet so I really didn't see a reason in replacing it. I did, however replace the flooring and the vanity and hardware.

It seemed to take me forever to pick out tile I liked. I think the people at Lowe's know my by name. I had about 6 different choiced before I found these 16x16 tiles. The color is more a 'sand' color, it seems to look more brown in this picture but it really is more like sand at the ocean with some black specks of sand as well. I used the 'mushroom' grout that Em suggested and it was PERFECT. I went with a wider grout line, and I loved it.

Picking out a curtain for the shower was about as crazy as finding tile. I did get a curved shower rod and new hardware for the shower. Allison & Lauren made it clear that they didn't want the 'rain' type shower that I had, they wanted something with some force. ha ha. Shower curtains though, they didn't really care. I had it narrowed down to two. This one, which is a taupe colored silk and a black/silver more modern type curtain that almost looked shiny like a mirror. I really liked that one but I thought this one made it more relaxing than the other, so this one is it!

Also put up the wainscotting and took the popcorn off the ceiling. The wainscotting looks awesome. Chris was so great during this whole process. Not to mention that we have 4 houses to do, so by the time we get finished with mine, we should be pros at his house, his moms and the lake house! ha ha.

I let the girls choose between 4 vanities. Even though this one was my favorite and the most expensive, I let the girls choose! I said maybe since they like it so much, they will brush their teeth more? We can all hope. I also went between numerous light fixtures and also couldn't choose between hardware. I originally I thought I wanted to go with a oil-rubbed bronze, but when the girls picked this vanity and the polished nickel faucet that came with it, I had to now look for polished nickel hardware for everything else.

I finally found everything and we have slowly gotten everything up. I do have some finishing touches left, and I did buy 2 modern shelves to put up but not sure how they will look since they are the color of the vanity. Im not sure if they will look 'off' with the wainscotting being white. So Im still working on that. Still need to get the wood blinds back up and of course,the door! After all, we don't want to walk through the house and see Lauren sitting on the toilet. Hope you enjoy!And I couldn't have done all this without Chris! He is so good to put up with all of my demands!

Going to miss the girls but not RTP!

The girls tracked out today and what I day we had planned. I had to pick up both girls from school and get on the road by 12 noon in order to meet Carolyn at the Virginia border. Allison hadn't packed last night so I picked her up first, dropped her off and then went to pick up Lauren. I will be glad in July when they are both in the same school.

We got the car loaded, cooler packed, gas tank filled and hit the road right before noon. The weather was great and it was a wonderful 2 1/2 hour drive. One of the better times I have made in driving to the border.

We ended up being about 30 minutes ahead of Carolyn, so we got out, stretched our legs. The girls played on the winding steps.

They were so excited to see Mimi. They are heading to Charleston until Monday or Tuesday and then back to Charlotte until I pick them up on the 19th.

I think Lauren was more excited that they were staying in a hotel than anything else.

Since I made such great time in getting them there, there was no way I was going to make it home in the same amount of time. RTP traffic. I ended up getting to stopped traffic at the Streets of Southpointe in Durham. I was stop and go until I got to Cary. It added 45 minutes to my time. Bumper to bumper for over 30 miles. This is definately one thing I do not miss from my corporate life with American Express.

Another reason for a party....Anna is getting married!

Anna's bridal shower was at Karen's house Friday night. It started at 1800 and I did my best to get there early, but I had a last minute interview scheduled for 1430, Lauren was in school-spirit attire (meaning blue and green hair) and getting home and getting them ready in order to help Karen and Anna out was a challenge.

I did end up getting there about 30 minutes early and some didn't show up until after work so everyone really wasn't there until 2000. There was plenty of food, lots of presents and a great group of friends. And of course, we all got to see Jackson, the new addition to the Ramey family.

I did get to see Hind and Cherine (I hope I spelled that right). They are pharmacists that are in the ER. I miss them greatly! I had a wonderful time catching up with everyone and, again, it brings back how much I miss seeing my 'family'.

Laura works nights, but is as crazy as I am during a 12 hour shift so it was nice to see her as well. Everyone was waiting on Kelly's special 'punch' that she had been bragging about for such a long time. Needless to say, after one bite of fruit, you really wouldn't need to drink anything else for the rest of the night.

Allison & Lauren went with me and had some what of a good time. I think they were more entertained by us than actually being at a bridal shower. I think this is the only time Allison hasn't stuck her tongue out in a picture with her Mommy. I only think that was because of her being on the phone. ha ha.

Lauren, on the other hand, is quite the opposite and this is probably the 1st time that she has acted up during a picture with her Mommy, usually she is the one that smiles proudly. So much for counting on consistency, huh?

So this is Jackson Ramey after he got a drop of 'punch'. Accidentily of course! Keri didn't have a clue and Jackson got one slurp in and then it was over. Punishment....into Mommy's lap for the rest of the present opening time. And all glasses got put up. I think Jackson had too much fun and was overwhelmed at all the party-like atmosphere.