The Great Flood

It's been a week and a half since we had water in our basement.  It was after days and days of rain - and apparently our sump pump stopped working.

My typical behaviour would be to get fairly distraught and upset over something like this...something I really couldn't do anything about, yet I took it all in stride.  Even with the company we had staying with us, and the 'mommy' makeup party I was having.  Perhaps motherhood has calmed me some - or perhaps just put things in a different perspective.

I hate to admit this, but it's situations/events like this that teach me about our house.  You'd think I'd be proactive when it comes to understanding our home (as I'm fairly proactive in most other areas of my life), yet I tend to 'coast' when it comes to the maintenance of the home.  Shame on me.  I honestly didn't know where our sump pump was, or for that matter, what it looked like.  I'm sure if we had figured that our sooner, Mr. J and Cheruby wouldn't have been sucking and hauling water all day with the shop vac.

After finding my home inspection from when I purchased the home, we were in tune with where I sump pump was.  We took the lid off, suck out half the water, and VIOLA, the water drained and receded.  Unfortunately this was at about 10PM, after about 10 hours of hard labour.

Luckily not much was destroyed.  Our basement is undeveloped, and we use it mostly for storage and the cats.  So the area rug, and 'cat couch' (which I wanted to get rid of anyways) and a few boxes of Mr. J's precious comics, were the only things that were really ruined.

We had some guys by the house to check out the sump pump.  It seems to be working fine now, but we'll definitely keep a close eye on it from now on.

We investigated our home insurance, but decided not to put a claim in, as the damage isn't worth the deductible we'd have to pay.  Plus, we are enjoying a fairly substantial 'claim-free' discount on our home insurance.

I'm just glad that we started cleaning up the basement weeks ago, and de-cluttering, otherwise a lot more things would have been ruined.  Now just to find the motivation to keep going.

Mushy Memories

Mr. J and I are doing some heavy duty spring cleaning in the basement.  It's been an eye-sore since Mr. J moved here, and it's only gotten worse. 

I've wanted to develop/finish the basement since I moved in over 3 years ago, but just never got around to it - nor had the money (not that we have the money now).  Being that I'm at home and have the time - AND - thinking of Master K's upcoming mobility, I want to try and make the most of the space that we have, spread out all of the furniture/things we have and get rid of the clutter.  I'm hoping to have the project complete before I return to work in November.

So...while cleaning out old boxes I stumbled upon a number of old items - as far back as my childhood.  Some of the more semi-recent (within that last 10 years) items were cards from Jeff (the ex).  Now, I did get rid of a lot of stuff after we parted ways, but these pictures and cards were packed away in a box that I thought only had high school stuff in it. 

It was nice to reminisce a little about how much 'in love' we were with each other.  The silly notes we left for each other and the funny/lovey dovey cards we gave to one another.  It definitely took me back to the good 'ole days when we were young, in love and just having fun.  Oh, how things can change.  But people change - people grow up and apart - and that's OK.  It was great once, but has long been over and put to rest.  Although, was nice to remember the fun that was once had between me and my ex, even if only for a moment.

Busy, Busy Week

It has been a fairly hectic week. I have been swamped at work.

Aside: Yes, I realize that I am blogging from work, and that could be perceived as not being busy, but I am, I just needed a break.

I have been in meeting after meeting all week. We have had a number of different reps on site training our staff and presenting on software upgrades for the entire week. I wasn't given too much notice, and therefore found myself double and triple booked. However, I managed to work it all in, although I felt somewhat like a little butterfly, flying all over the office and not really staying too long in any meeting. I guess some of the managers and leaders decided at the last minute that it would be a good idea to have the L&D advisor sit in on these meetings, so when it comes time to train the rest of our internal employees I have some idea of what we actually use these programs for. It is a good thing that I learn stuff relatively quickly, otherwise we would have some big problems. I don't even use any of these programs that I am going to have to develop internal training for. However, I am pretty confident I can make it happen and do a good job. I was told by a co-worker of mine on more than one occasion in the last couple of weeks that there has been a definite increase in the amount of L&D that has occurred in the organization since I arrived. That made me feel pretty good.

As for my personal life, things are extremely busy and going well. I had supper with friends on Monday night, went bowling with co-workers and did some power exercising on Tuesday, took in a Aquafit class last night, and now I have some house cleaning to take care of over the next couple of days. The next 2 nights should be somewhat more relaxing. Other than hitting the gym after work, I should be maxing and relaxing at home. My house is still fairly clean since MFJ visited, but it could use a quick vacuum. My BFF is coming to visit this week, so I want to make sure my home is in tip-top shape. Not that she would really care.

We have a full weekend of manless entertainment planned - Eating, Shopping, Drinking, Eating, Girl Talk. Sorry folks, no pillow fights.

Dad's are Great (& Mom's too)

It has been a busy weekend with my parents visitng. Although I had cleaned my house furiously a couple weeks ago, there was still a number of odds and ends that needed attention. That is where my Dad comes into the picture.

He has always been a handy guy, so whenever I need something handy done, or just needed some handy advice I always call on my Dad. As for this weekend, we (I mean, my Dad) fixed and installed a couple of light fixtures, attached a couple of towel racks in my downstairs bathroom, cleaned up and mowed my lawn, bolted my dishwasher to the countertop and took care of various other odds and ends. Today will be less busy with attaching the mirror to my dresser and installing another clothing hook in my bedroom. He has also been attempting to fix my kitchen chairs which are missing a few of the supports.

It doesn't seem to matter whether we are in my home or in my childhood home, we had our typical Sunday morning family breakfast. Dad & I spent the morning drinking coffee and chatting about life and my house. Then once Mom was awake, showered and dressed we sat down for a hearty breakfast of less-than-real bacon (we usually have real bacon, but I didn't have any in the house so the skillet strips that were purchased last weekend had to do), scrambled eggs and toast. Good Family Times.

It's back to work tomorrow...a full week this time. I don't think I have worked a full 5 days in a row since before Easter. I hope that it goes fast, as BFF is coming up on Saturday, and Andy doesn't have to work, so we are planning a fun-filled girls weekend.

That took way too long

I think that I should clean more regularly. I spent all week cleaning house each evening this week. I did laundry - clothes and bedding, vacuumed, cleaned the bathrooms, put away boxes, tidyed, wash dishes, organized computer area, cleaned up and took out garbage, and probably more that I can't remember.

Well, at least I can say I have gotten my spring cleaning done. Except washing windows, but I don't do windows. I shouldn't have to do any major cleaning for awhile as long as I keep up with the basics - laundry, vacuuming and dishes. I think I can handle that.

The cleaning wasn't all bad, as it kept me busy and made the week go by super fast. It is already Friday tomorrow, and my first visitor arrives. Good times will be had by all.

My New Home