Trip to CA

We took my oldest nephew Matt, newly graduated from high school, and his girlfriend Jaylee, to California.

I asked where he wanted to go and he said Six Flags.

Jimmy Johns likes you to have something to read in the bathroom.

I made a playlist of songs for the ride out and a number were from the 90s. I thought about it and realized that Matt and Jaylee were not even born when some of the songs were released. I was making them listen to oldies.

We saved $20 and took the trolley over to Six Flags. Our first hotel was just across the street.

I'm not the biggest fan of roller coasters, but I do try to get outside of my comfort zone and make sure I don't limit myself because of my fears.

And if I have to die proving it to myself, well....my family knows where the will is located and my fur children will be well provided for.

Our second hotel was right on the beach. Just my style. 

When we walked out to these rocks to take a cute picture, we attracted the attention of a drunk guy up on the pier. He started talking to us and informed us he was running for president. I turned around to tell him I'd vote for him over Trump or Hilary. Drunk Guy on the pier has to be better than those two idiots. 

And that's when I fell.

I had J's hand so I took him down with me.

We went down so fast it took drunk guy a second to realize. He was busy telling Jaylee he was "Jealous of her boyfriend." Gross. He followed it up with "Because he's so tall....hahahaaaa just kidding."

As I tried to pick myself and my shattered pieces of pride up from the rocks, he shot out a "Nice buttcrack" just as I was bent over and my humiliation was complete. I didn't answer him when he asked if I had been drinking. He replied with "because I have!"

I refused to go out on the rocks after that but sat on the beach where it was safe.

We had some delicious beach tacos. Which ended the night with someone having major, super stinky gas (I won't say who because I don't want to embarrass this person, but it wasn't me - if it was I'd own up to it). It was the worst. Every time was like a slap in the face. We ended up making a "go onto the balcony" rule. Which wasn't always followed because apparently it was sneaky ninja farts that just snuck up on this person.

Or the fart maker just didn't care that the lack of breathable air was slowly killing our brain cells.

Other than those small incidents, it was a fabulous trip and I hope the kids had fun.

New Back Door

We bought our house seven years ago in May.

We have done SO MANY renovations and changes. It is not the same house at all.

One of the things that has been on our list since day one was the back door. The seal broke in the double pane so it always looked dirty. But I couldn't clean it because it was on the inside.

Originally I was planning on changing out the sliding glass door for french doors, but when we got the sun shades installed on our house, we got a screen door too.

That screen door was fabulous. We have a security door on the front, so we would open the doors but keep the screens closed during the winter and we would get a nice little breeze.

So we wanted to keep the screen. Then we got a small freezer which now blocks the left area, so it made sense to stick with the sliding glass door.

This year was the year. We finally had the money and it had worked its way to the top of the list.

Here is the old back door.

Here is the new door:

It is so easy to lock, you just push the handle down.

New screen door that isn't as dark because the door does a fabulous job at insulating and keeping out the heat.

We still need to paint the new trim. And I'm not going to lie, I am not in love with the outside trim. Maybe I'll feel differently once it's painted. But I do love the new door and the new inside trim. It is so crystal clear. When I'm in the house and I glance outside, it still startles me and I think the door is open for a second.

It's kind of weird that this project is finally done. It was the last big project. We've redone both bathrooms, the kitchen, changed out all the light fixtures, changed out the electrical outlets and switches from almond to white, had the floors and baseboards replaced when the car hit the house, changed out the fans, bought all new appliances (just finally bought a new washer and dryer this year)...the house is basically done. It's a strange feeling.

I do have other little projects I still have on my list, but it's nothing big. I want to do a gallery wall, frame out two pieces of art, frame out the cheap plastic mirror in my bedroom, and re-upholster the headboard in my bedroom. But nothing major.

I'd almost think about moving except we'll have this house paid off in 13 years and that feels so good.

Oh you know what....I was sitting here thinking about everything we've done, and I'm lying. There are still backyard projects and the roof needs to be replaced within a few years. And once the roof is replaced, J wants solar panels. So I'm sure there will always be something.

I don't know if replacing the roof really counts though. We also replaced the heating and AC systems, and I didn't include that. We just had a garage repair guy out a couple weeks ago because the spring broke on the garage door, and that's not really fun. I don't stare lovingly at my garage door spring like I do my new vanity in the bathroom. So I guess there are two different kinds of projects. Regular, lame home maintenance and the fun remodeling.

The only downside to my fabulous back door is now I actually have to keep the glass clean.

**Updated June 14th: Back trim painted

Wooden Hearts

I got an idea (from Pinterest) to create a gallery wall.

I decided one thing I wanted on the gallery wall was a heart. Drawn and cut by J.

He draws me hearts on my mirror and I love how they are lopsided, the left always larger than the right.

Random fact...did you know that after seven years, a paint can will start to rust?

I cleaned it up with my dremel, stained and painted it.

I really like it. And I was doing a separate project for my sister Danielle that involved the number 2 for her two year old son. I stained two scraps of wood to ask her if she wanted it brown or grey. Then I had two scraps of wood....begging to be hearts....

My sister Danielle made me that shelf and my sister Kristi made me that candle. I really love it. I initially placed my first heart up there for a temporary spot because I needed to buy a piece for the back to hang it on the wall. But that may be where the hearts live now.

Incidentally, here is the number 2 for little Jett. We haven't taken his two-year-old photos yet. Hopefully he's not three by the time we get around to it. 

I told Danielle I'll put it in my guest bathroom when we're done. Then when people come over, they can think to themselves, "Why is there a number two in the bathroom?....Oh wait."