The Remodel. an introduction

When we bought our home we always knew we would like to remodel the kitchen, at some point. If any of you have been in our kitchen you would know that it is horrible design. When you walk into the kitchen you are greeted with a bank of cupboards that run at least 6 feet along the peninsula. It blocks your view to the sink, fridge, and stove. Once you walk around the cupboards you have a U shaped area to work in. Because the cupboards hang so low you don't have much of a work area. The distance between the sides of the U is around 3.5' with the sink at the top of the U. There is not enough room for Larry and I to both be in the work area. In my opinion it is a dungeon! A dark hole that I HATE being in.

The day our fridge died was unfortunate. The logical thing for us to do is to buy a new fridge. We would have to buy a small fridge to fit in the 1980 cabinet design but that would mean spending money on a fridge that we DON'T want and would eventually have to be replaced with one we would want with our new kitchen design.

The decision was made to remodel the kitchen. We have some money set aside that was supposed to turn our rec room into a theatre room but Larry was kind enough to set his project and dreams aside to embark on MY project and dreams. The money certainly won't cover my project but it sure does give us a good starting point.

This isn't the first kitchen remodel we will have done. When we moved into our first home we remodeled the kitchen there. It was easier because we weren't moved in yet and could come and go as we pleased. We regret that we didn't get as many pictures of the remodel process as we would have liked so we are going to make sure we document this kitchen remodel well.

So, I've decide I will post the process of the remodel. All the sweat, tears, frustrations, decisions, setbacks, and joys.

To be continued....

TGIF

I recently posted that the company I work for has been hit hard financially by the economy, being that we work in the art industry. We were laid off on Fridays until business started to improve. (Honestly, I never thought we would ever come back on Friday's. After the owners got used to NOT paying us it sure would be hard to go back to paying us.) Well, business has picked up and during our Monday morning meeting the boss informed us that we will be coming back to work on Fridays. Right now he is giving us the option to come back full time now or in September. Well, since I am enjoying my Friday's off so well I have decided that I am in no hurry to get back to a full work week. We just bought season passes to Lagoon and I am really looking forward to spending Friday's there with my boys. I am also tackling a kitchen remodel so I can definitely still use my Friday's to finish that project. Anyway, it's nice to know that Friday's are now available but I think I'd rather stick with the smaller paycheck and enjoy the summer and my boys.

Our recent visit to Pioneer Village at Lagoon. We decided to do a serious "outlaw" picture. The boys certainly know how to do serious!

Home at last

I know you have all been holding your breath, I know I have been...I am happy to inform you that my money is back at home, safe and sound, in my bank account.

Double Grrr

So, the fraudulent charges have gone through my account and I still have not been reimbursed for the charges. I called Monday but the person helping me was not in the office. I called yesterday, still not in the office. Today I got a phone call back and apparently the paperwork I filled out has somehow been lost between the securities department, a hallway, and the visa department. Hmmm, do these people really know what they are doing? So, away I went to the South Salt Lake branch AGAIN to fill out the paperwork. I wonder if they will get it right this time! Don't they know I can really use that $600?!?

Grrr

A few weeks ago I received a letter from America First's security department informing me that my visa card number may have been compromised and if I wanted to have a new card issued that I should give them a call. I figured I would call the next day, which it came and went and I did not call. Pretty soon it was out of my mind and I didn't think much else of it. Larry called me today to let me know that there was a message on our phone asking me to call because there was suspicious activity on my card. Well, I should have cancelled my card a few weeks back because I have close to $600 worth of charges pending. All but one of the charges are coming from Great Britain. Lovely (in a sarcastic voice) I went straight in to a branch and filled out all the paperwork needed to dispute the charges. The securities lady working with me is going to try to get all the paperwork processed before the charges actually post to my account. I would love to not have $600 come out of my checking account. Apparently, what happened is I swiped my visa checking card at some store and a hacker was hacking that store's computer system and was stealing all the information from the card strip...account number, expiration date, security code...and placing that information on new cards. Hopefully, we caught the charges before anymore could go through. I HATE DISHONEST PEOPLE!!!

On a side note...

I usually always park my car in the garage but last night the boys scooters were blocking my spot in the garage and I was having a migraine so I didn't feel like getting out of my car and moving them so I left my car in the driveway overnight. I am crazy about locking my car and I know I did...well I could have sworn I did...but I received a phone call this morning from my lovely neighbor, mom, who asked me if I went to my car last night around 1 - 1:30am. I told her I was dead asleep with a migraine and I wasn't out there. She went on to tell me that she heard a car door close quietly so she got up and peeked out her blinds (she's such a snoop j/k). She said she saw someone with long hair sitting in my car. She figured it was me getting something from my car and didn't think much else about it until this morning when she called me. I know when I went to my car this morning it was locked and I could swear I locked it last night. I can't see anything missing from my car. My registration is still there, the folder with my paid bills was still sitting on the passengers seat (I know, that should have been taken into the house), the curly fries from Logan's dinner were still there along with the lovely odor, the cd's were still there (maybe they don't like Spongebob music or Kids Bop), and the change in my door was still there. I can't see anything missing.

So, the question is..are these both random incidents or do they have something to do with each other?

I guess my advice to you is this, if you get a letter from your bank or credit union letting you know your information MAY be compromised, it probably is so you should change your account information. The other thing is, be aware of your neighborhood! A prowler was lurking around my yard which means he may have been lurking around your yard. Watch out for your neighbors and if you think something is suspicious go ahead and give your neighborhood police a call!!!