Watching the Oscar Red Carpet and Googling Kitchen & Bath Tile

I believe it is a good combo....

So those who impressed in no particular order: 

1. Hailee Seinfeld (Age appropriate and just pretty - good job with the shoes as well)
2. Mandy Moore (yes I believe she is trying to make an Indy/Disney comeback)
3. Gweneth (the dress just dripped - well done Calvin Klien)
4. Cate Blanchett (who else could wear that and look stunning)
5.  Jennifer Lawrence (Holly Shit - how the hell did that woman look so perfect in that - take me to that gym please)

Those who could have stayed home:

1. Scarlett Johansson (Brush your hair)
2. Jennifer Hudson (I know I am going to get killed for this - but I know she looks great losing all that weight - but really put the mommy boobies away)
3. Nicole Kidman (Wrong Dress - wrong shoes.  New stylist)

Now on to my actual day and away from living through the famous people... I went to the Tile Store today!!!!!!

I am so excited to say the least.  I have found the floor tile for my kitchen.  I have found the counter top for my dream kitchen and it all seems doable.  Did I mention I want to redo my bathroom tile - yes it is true.  I am insane.  I have decided to go with Soapstone for the counter top and a travertine (in the gray family).   Backspalsh a 2X8 travertine tile.... Pictures to come....husband is kicking me off the computer....

So let's be honest I really wanted a girl

My husband has always said he didn't want to be "Bob".  He didn't want to be my dad, with two girls, who out numbered him, left him out of jokes or made him the joke.  

Bryan and I started dating when we were 13 (true story).  So he had the inside scoop on what my dad had to go through with two girls and no boys except an English Setter bird dog that would only point on cats.  Bryan felt sorry for my dad to say the least.

So at our 13 wk ultrasound the tech "guessed" it was a boy.  Bryan was out in the waiting room texting everyone and their mother the news.  For some reason I think men think it takes some extra "effort" to have a boy, I pretty sure Bryan thought he was the amazing Hulk that day.

I was slightly disappointed, and I know this is where I am suppose to say - as long as the baby is healthy....yaddi yaddi yadda- the truth is I wanted Bryan to be Bob.  I wanted a sister for Emily to giggle at dad with... and I believe Karma should have supplied Bryan with another girl. Karma instead got me...

But I had a little hope yesterday that maybe the tech was wrong - 13 wks is a little early to be playing the gender guessing game...Nope.  Clearly a boy. 100% a boy.

Now the true battle has arisen - the name game.  I had to flat out tell Bryan that Guillermo was off the table.  He said he loved the name.  Sigh.  I am not okay with this, and again this is not the moment where I am going to play the good wife and let Bryan name "his" son.


Arguments against Guillermo:

1. My name is Megan, My husband's name is Bryan and our daughter's name is Emily....people will question if my son was adopted if we go with Guillermo...just sayin

2. I don't like

3. We live up North where the Hispanic population is not as large as TX (where Bryan and I grew up).  We are surrounded by white people who will most likely pronounce Guillermo as "Guy-er-mo" or just go with Gizmo.  Again not okay.

4.  Bryan says his nick name would be "memo"..... 

5.  Bryan thinks that just because he names his son Guillermo that he will grow up to be a famous goalie ---- I am not basing the name of my son based on how it will sound after "GOOOOOAAALLLL!!!!"


But do I have a name that we both agree on, that we both love - an most importantly a name I love - No.  Nothing is screaming at me (however I do like Liam - I have been vetoed already).

He is going to be called BB for baby boy. Just like a cat I had that Bryan forced me not to name since we weren't going to keep him... his name was BC for black cat... we kept him. And his name remained BC.... we are so in trouble..... my poor kid.

I am about 100% sure I have a ghost

I can't believe I haven't told you guys this yet, I guess I was busy having my self a pity party and being sick, but I am about 100% sure I have a ghost.

Yes, I am being serious.  Last Friday (before my lovely meeting that put me well in my place) I was getting ready for work with the normal routine.  Shower, clothes, blow dry hair and make up.  I had just walked out into the living room with Emily and Thomas the man cat to get Emily some breakfast when I heard my blow dryer turn on.

I know what you are thinking, I forgot to slide the switch totally down to turn it off.  Nope.  It had been off a good 15 minutes.

So there I am with Emily, and my oh so brave cat with no claws.  I was not feeling brave myself.  But I left those two in the living room watching Mickey Mouse Clubhouse and went to investigate... I know this is where the ghost is suppose to throw me across the room but I am thinking it was a little early for the both of us for those types of shenanigans.  Then the blow dryer turned off.

Uhhh huh.  So I walk in the bedroom, and looked at the outlet like maybe the plug had fallen out half way or something along those lines to make me feel a little less insane.  No such luck, I had a one way ticket to crazy town.  I then looked at the buttons or switches on the blow dryer - definitely in the off position.

This is where I texted Bryan to tell him we had a ghost, and that I was freaked.  His response..."Faulty Wiring."  Sometimes I love my husband, this was not one of those moments.

So then of course convincing myself that I am truly just insane I went about my business and started to brush my teeth.  This is where the story might be taking a TMI route so consider yourself warned!!!

Being pregnant, your gag reflexes and your bladder control are not at their prime.  My ghost saw me gag on my toothbrush and pee myself.  I was completely mortified....and again texted Bryan what the ghost had witnessed...again little sympathy.

For this reason,  I believe the ghost took pity on me and has left me alone since.  I am guessing that my ghost is more of a Casper kind of character - at least I am hoping so, I really really hated Paranormal Activity and it has had its remaining effects on me...yuck yuck yuck is all I have to say about that movie... but I did have a crush on the guy who played Casper in the movies way back when, so I am hoping to go that route.

I will keep you updated if anything out of the ordinary happens again - and if I ever get my husband to believe me... until then I suggest falling in love with this band:

The Great Lake Swimmers 

What is on the Menu you ask?

Just a big old piece of humble pie.  The meeting went well, I apologized for phrasing my concerns the way I did and in front of such a large audience and she seemed real receptive of the apology.

And then I went back to my desk and felt like a fool for the rest of the day.  I really really really hate looking stupid, and I hate it even more when it is truly all my fault. BAH. 

And to top it all off I have one of those sinus - I feel like hell colds.  And the snow is back with vengeance. 6-12 inches today...I believe we have already hit the 6" mark.

Really need sun back in my life right about now.... and so I am nursing my wounds this weekend with a Twilight marathon...go ahead and make fun but I am quite secure in my ridiculousness.

I told someone their idea was stupid today

I am a brutally honest person.  Ask my friend Tiffany.  She once wore booties way before they became hip to do so... lets say a good 4 years ahead of the trend.  We were sitting in the middle of the atrium of the College of Design - with a handful of other fashionable college girls and Tiffany asks me what I thought of them.

I knew she was excited about them, I could see it in her face.  And I hated them and it showed in my face.  I don't think she has ever quite forgiven me for that day.  However, she does know that I will give my honest opinion whenever asked. And just an FYI she does ask every now and then.

Too bad the person at work didn't know this fine attribute of mine. She did ask if there were any questions or comments after given a presentation (see what I am doing here, I am blame shifting). This new idea is to help our retail people help get selling accessories back on the floor instead of at the check out... great idea except they can only access this information at kiosks ...  

This is where I should have kept my mouth shut.  This is where I might not have made someone mad... but I didn't.  I spoke my mind. Sigh.  Do you ever have moments where you are like - really- did I really have to do that?

Well I didn't phrase it well either.  Verbatim "If we are trying to get the customers out with the product, doesn't it seem stupid to make the retail associate reference this info at a kiosk?"  I am sure there were better ways to have phrased that.  And just like Tiffany's face, this woman's face told me that she didn't  appreciated my opinion either...

I don't think we will be friends in the near future...and I don't think she will be like Tiffany and appreciate this quality for what it is.  I am chalking this one up to a learning experience.

It is like telling someone their baby is ugly, you just don't do it (but you can think it). 


UPDATE: Meeting to discuss meeting where I told this woman her idea is stupid schedule for tomorrow morning - I did not set this up...Karma is coming for me!!! Eeeek!

In Honors of Valentines Day

This is one of my favorite stories of Bryan and I, and pretty much sums up how our relationship works.  For my 21st birthday Bryan decided to take me on a cruise down to Mexico... don't worry this isn't gross romantic - make you want to vomit stuff...

Now Bryan isn't a huge fan of actually swimming in the ocean but knows I love it.  I love the salt, the fish and in full disclosure I use to think I could control the waves by singing the song "Hit the Road Jack" when I was young.  True story... please don't spread that one around.

Any who... Bryan knew I wanted to kayak out a bit and snorkel to see the fish.  We almost looked like pros paddling in sync and the sun was shining so obviously we looked good, that is until I decided I wanted to get in the water and asked Bryan to counter balance the kayak.

I don't think he understood what counter balance meant.  There we were both in the water watching our flippers, snorkels and masks sink to the bottom of the ocean....dramatic pause here... this is when I looked at him with my death eyes that pretty much said "you are an effin idiot".

Next thing I know my husband (boyfriend at the time) was panicking about being too close to the buoys (the ones there so that boats don't run over silly tourist like us) and climbing frantically back into the kayak.  Bryan thought the buoys were there as a boundary between us and  the sharks.  That the sharks were all lining up right outside the buoys - waiting for us to step a toe out of line.  Like sharks are that polite.  Maybe he hasn't seen Shark Week on the Discovery Channel....

As I dove for the equipment that we rented (a $200 value) my husband paddled his ass to  the shore and left me in the middle of the ocean (okay this is a prime example of where I might be exaggerating just a bit), to be eaten by the sharks that were waiting just outside the buoys.

I love my husband.  I love that my husband gives me these great stories to retell.  I love that he assumes I can take on a shark no problem by myself. I am choosing to see this as Bryan allowing me to realize how strong, independent and self reliant I really was....yeah not so much. 

But he truly makes me laugh all the time, in any stupid situation we can always find humor even if it is at the expense of each other.  We take turns,  I get a few good jabs every now and then and then he retaliates.  The key to all of this is - is that we can laugh at ourselves - we try not to take everything too seriously and know deep down there is some love there somewhere.

I hope everyone has a great day tomorrow... and know that the major ingredient of love is laughter. 

Kisses Meg. 

Dreaming Again

So this might be severe nesting, or spring coming on (it is above the freezing temp. of 32 degrees so technically it is spring in MN) but I am back to dreaming about the kitchen again...  I know I know I promised not go go here again ... buuuuut IKEA was calling my name.

   

I had a little time today while Emily was napping and Bryan was taking the LSATs to play on IKEA's website (we are sidestepping the fact that Bryan took the LSATs today until we know he aced them and that every law school wants him...until then mum is the word).

I have created my dream kitchen, the one that requires no walls to be torn down, no electrical to be moved and no plumbing in sight....Bryan is very enthusiastic about my ideas.  I used the measuring tape to draw and measure my lines on my wonderfully accurate and to scale blueprint...later to find out there were rulers in our junk drawer (Bryan was the one to point that out, don't know what I would do without him).

I have priced out everything - even the tile on the floor to the door knobs.  The price tag did not stop my heart, and best yet did not scare off my husband.  We are going to visit the store tomorrow (after I feed Bryan coffee and breakfast - tip to all - taking a man to IKEA to "dream" must start with coffee and food).

So here are some of my ideas that I have stolen off the internet:

Love Everything about this Kitchen

For a bit of Whimsy for above the Sink - Lovely from West Elm

Counter Tops

Would love, love, love these above my dinner table handing from my vaulted ceiling (when I say vaulted - I mean more like slanted)      again from West Elm

Another To Do for Mr. Vargas....

Wallpaper - are you feeling the Gray Theme yet?

So I don't know exactly how to make the pictures all line up cute or be able to type in between pictures - but I will have the husband figure that out tomorrow if he survives our trip to IKEA .... to obviously give my kitchen a punch of color I am going to paint my table a buttery (but still bright) yellow.  The table is one of the many projects I have started and not yet finished - however it is completely stripped and ready to go. God I love Spring - makes you want to do everything at once :)

Missing my sister - the one who stole a dog

I am missing my sister like crazy.  Currently she is living in TX being a big kid with a job and all, and so I haven't seen her in a while and miss being ridiculous with her.  To give you an understanding of who she is... take my snarky-ness and times it by 10, and give her 6 inches over my 5'2" and you got a start.

One of my favorite things about her is that she is unapologetic about pretty much everything - if she thinks she is in the right.  For example - stealing a dog from kids.

Yes - she did this (I know you are gasping right now - thinking what a mean mean person - but just wait - the story does get kind of funny).  We come from a family of animal lovers.  Most of our animals have been strays and just needed love, Princess Mae Mae is another story.

My sister was driving down a road one day, and spotted this mangy looking dog with a pathetic thing called a tail running alone the side of the road.  Of course she stopped - we have seen too many puppies on the side of the road not moving to just leave a dog there.  The small black and white dog (looks like a mini boarder collie) hopped right in.  As my sister starts to close the door to the car she hears some kids yelling in the distance... this is where the story gets fuzzy.  She is not sure what they were yelling, could have been something along the lines of "that's our dog" or "go ahead and take the dog"  to close to call really.  Needless to say, Ellie slammed her foot on the gas and took off.

When Mae Mae came home - she looked like a hot mess- no hair on her behind, a stick for a tail and just plain ugly... and not the ugly only a mother could love...no she was fugly.  I could not believe my parents let Ellie keep the damn dog (mind you we never told my dad the true true story of Mae Mae...just that we found her along the road).

Needless to say Mae Mae has been spoiled - has a nice full tail - and is pretty much human - she has the attitude to prove it.  She gets Dairy Queen every Sunday...and looks like one of those bear footstools you see at the Caribou coffee shops.

So about 5-6 years later my parents moved North and my Aunt Mary was visiting.  Of course my mom had told her the true story of Mae Mae... but my Aunt didn't know my dad was still out of the loop on it all (it was for the best).  So of course when she first sees this dog, she says "oh is that the dog Ellie stole?"  Yes, my dad was in the room.  And yes my dad has a temper esp. if he has been lied to, or left out of things or feels like he was made to look like a fool.  I think we accomplished all of the above.

I believe, trying to make light of the situation I asked my dad if he really expected us to go back down to TX and put up signs saying "Was your dog stolen by my crazy sister?"  That didn't go over well, sometimes I don't think my dad gets my humor - or at least doesn't appreciate it like most do...

But I still love this story, love the fact that my sister does not feel bad for "rescuing" Mae Mae and love the fact this is what my sister and I do.  We leave our dad out of things and then mock him out of love.  We really do love him, sometimes it is just better leaving a few details out, like where we find our pets (I won't mention the time my sister told my dad she found a cat in a box by the mail box - that cat came from Polly's Pet Shop...).

P.S. I am quite aware that some may see this as plain evil - I see us more like the kitty/dog cops on Animal Planet - just minus the official badges...

Miss you and your shenanigans Ellie. 

Plumbing Merit Badge Awarded to my Husband

Yesterday started off to a rough start... My cousin and her boyfriend (Emily's love interest - Joe) were lovely enough to take Emily for the day - they had a fundraiser thing and needed a cute kid - Emily fit the bill :)... So we decided to take advantage of the free time and off to Lowes we went!

Our rules were - no more dreaming of the kitchen - we were there for one purpose - to finish the bathroom... where did we end up? The kitchen area dreaming.... And that is where Bryan decided he was going to be frustrated.  I am a very visual person and love thinking of things - Bryan is not.  So back to the bathroom area we went...the frustration followed.

Once there - we were again debating whether we could get a single unit vanity with 2 sinks (I hate this idea - but it would be easier on our plumbing).  Then we decided I would win this battle and have the two individual sinks, we started picking out the faucets - put them in the cart and everything.... and then realized the instant gratification we were seeking was not going to come out of non working sinks with pretty faucets.  We put the faucets back, and decided to get rid of one of our biggest headaches of the moment... THE DISHWASHER....

We hightailed it to Best Buy (across the road as luck would have it).  We purchased a new Samsung dishwasher!!!! And because my lovely cousin was still watching Emily we decided against delivery and went on a scavenger hunt to find the Best Buy warehouse to pick it up!

Well here we are on day two of the Dishwasher extravaganza - and we have had about 4 trips to Mendards (local hardware store).  Turns out having an old house means that your plumbing sucks - esp. if someone tried to flip the house on the fly...also, I am pretty sure we found a vacuum extension cord used in the wiring of the last dishwasher (might just be a small reason it died).  

So now we have a pipe cutter and know how to use it,  I have also learned how to shut off the water to the entire house (good for emergencies) and Bryan has become a master at plumbing!!! 

I don't know if you know how major this is for the Vargas household.  I don't cook that much...and I hate dishes... but even so the dishes stack up and no one wants to do them.  Our kitchen has been a disaster lately due to all the dishes (I am ashamed- really I am-but I hate dishes).  So this is huge.  

I have also decided, that I am going to rehab the current cabinets that are in the kitchen - I will be painting them and adding new hardware and cool storage stuff to make the kitchen workable.  I came to this realization when I figured out how many half projects we (I) have started and need attention... so instead of complaining and dreaming - I am going to be doing something doable and in our budget.  This way we can focus on the things we really need to finish and or start. My husband is grateful.

So to say thank you to my husband - I made caramel rolls this morning (the kind you get a tube - don't get too excited- we all know my cooking skill level).  

Betty Crocker better watch her ass - there is a new domestic goddess in the kitchen.  Oh and Bryan is now going by Bob Villa.  We might even try and get a reality TV show to show off our new skills. Name suggestions are always welcomed...we were thinking along the lines of Money Pit....

Pictures to come soon once I figure out how ;/

 

Well I am exhausted and excited...

Today was a big day for me, I took a half day and declared it "Date Day".  

Bryan had his monthly eye exam (remember he nearly lost it trying to pain the exterior of the house - the doctor really did say "well we are going to do our best to save this eye" to which Bryan thought "THERE IS A CHANCE I AM GOING TO LOSE MY EYE??!").  The lesson once again is to wear goggles when your wife suggests them... now back to my story... 

Well, anyways his appointment was earlier in the day and he picked me up at work for out date day.  Most people would think of going to a romantic lunch, museum or movie but no... our exciting romantic day consisted of Cabinets To Go!

We were really please with our experience, they helped us design our tiny tiny tiny kitchen and they were friendly - but not overly creepy friendly- just the right amount.  Also, there was no pressure! Imagine that at a show room.  It was really refreshing.  

So of course we are not professional  DIYers - we didn't come with any of our measurements - but had pretty good guest-a-ments.  They must have just laughed at us when we left - but they held it in well.  

So now I am back to being totally recharged and re-inspired and almost have hope that someday I will have a kitchen that resembles a kitchen and not a cave.... Reality did settle in a bit over our romantic lunch at China King's Buffet.  We will be buying new appliances - ouch to the wallet...and we have that darn bathroom we have been working on for a few years...but Bryan was full of Chinese food so there was no getting him down.

Did I mention Bryan knocked down another wall in our basement?  Anything to do other than study for the LSAT - but you know what - I will take it!  Don't worry it wasn't load bearing and we do still have the outer 4 walls still standing...but we will be needing one of the huge dumpsters to get rid of all the debris Bryan has created with his man hands.  Good news though - he did find my crowbar - one of my favorite tools- it was hiding on the stairs :)  

However, due to Date Day being a half day at work I am slightly petrified to check how many emails are in my in-box....but I am rebelling and not going to check it tonight...okay that might be a half truth but I am going to try my hardest not to!!!

Hope everyone finds times to have a date day for themselves this month! 

Oh, P.S. the groundhog said winter is almost over... I am thrilled and going to go with this scientific prediction.