Home Inversion

It's been a really productive day over here at CdE. We started the day with a trip to the Hagemann's to deliver post-bday bagels to Dan, then some estate sale shopping, and a trip to Lowe's. Serious excitement over here. What IS exciting is that we found some cabinets to fit in the one corner of our kitchen that will allow us to have REAL DRAWERS!!!! Not these rinky-dink 4-inch wide drawers that we currently have that were manufactured to torture people (and we only have 3 of those). Real drawers, and a real cabinet where we can put pots and pans. Rick just finished painting them and they should be in place in the next day or so. We just need to figure out what to put on top for the counter-yes, additional counter space to boot! I must be all that clean living I am doing to deserve such treasures.

While Rick was slaving away with the painting, I was forced out of the downstairs because I was having a panic attack over all the displaced stuff. You see, there are about 13 square feet in the lower level of our mansion, and when stuff is out of place, it makes me mental. So I went upstairs to clean the upper wing (duplicate 13 square feet). I don't know what came over me, but I got all meth-head cleaning on this biz. Those of you not from Missouri (I am positive there are some exotic bloggers translating this blog into arabic as I type), meth use results in endless energy and attention to detail. Those are the pros. The cons are paranoia (a possible result of the attention to detail) and meth mouth. Some would argue the cons are a small price to pay for a clean house, but as someone that is already missing teeth, the meth mouth is not something I am interested in. And before Mom goes and calls the cops on me, everything I learned about meth I learned from the Dateline Special "METH: A County in Crisis". Don't judge me, it was on a neighboring county and I felt it was my civic duty to be informed. But I digress....

I usually think the upstairs of our house is the much easier to clean because B doesn't go up there anymore (more on that in another post) and neither do we, except to shower and sleep. Turns out, it's not that it doesn't take longer, I just haven't been cleaning it well. My theory on this is that I always start downstairs with the cleaning and by the time I get up there, I must lose steam or something. So three hours later, the upstairs is spotless. But now the downstairs is in shambles. Here's hoping the paint dries and all order is restored by sundown tomorrow, or I might have to take a mental health day on Monday.

How is THAT for the most boring post ever? Well, don't you worry my little pretties, you will be rewarded tomorrow for your loyalty when I post pictures from last night's demolition DERBY! Stay tuned.

Hear Ye! Hear Ye!

Big news day here at Casa de Erwin! Well, it's not specifically Erwin News, but that type of material is hard to come by, and if we just posted Erwin-related news, this blog would be relegated to tales of vet visits and malfunctioning DVRs, so we are turning to outside sources for news that is fit to print! And since Liza/Shisha is an honorary Erwin, it works! More importantly, SHE WORKS! Yes, all 2 of you reading this blog, Shisha was offered a job with University City Senior High School! Adios, Anjalie (or however she spells it)! We are so happy for our little Shisha. I think she starts work as soon as Monday, so if you see our gal, buy her a drink, a taser, or possibly a Nelly CD!

And equally important is that today is Dan's 34th birthday. Yes, Ladies and Gents, though he may look 22 (16 after a haircut), Dan and I are almost the same age. While I am considering botox, he's off getting carded at all the local watering holes. Life is not always fair...Happy Birthday to the best brother in law I know! Can't wait to get down at the demolition derby with the Hagemann clan tonight!
And, thanks to Ricker's testing last night on the blog, there are now TWO pictures in this post. I anticipate a new layout by Sunday. When Rick spots a design deficiency, he does not sit idle. Expect great things (and possibly brace yourself for disappointment).

testing

Two pictures say what?

This is Rick testing the blog. Hell's'ya

Be Careful What You Wish For...

Yesterday, in what's becoming a more and more infrequent moment of work slacking-off, I noticed on the trusty-dusty REI monthly calendar that the Urban Assault Ride (UAR) is coming back to St. Louis this August. More specifically, August 15th! We missed the UAR last year because we were at Camp Longhorn Alumni Camp in Texas (rough life). HOWEVER, this year, we have opted to not go to camp because I have already used up all my vacation days as of mid-May (I get 3 weeks....again, rough life). But as they say, when God closes a door, he opens a window.

Well, it might be a bit much to think that God has any interest in our vacation plans or weekend activities, but I was sure if he did, he would want us to participate in this tour of our fair St. Louis. After all, the City Museum is one of the stops for the ride and my sweet Ricker is the director of said Museum. While he might not be too thrilled about it, I thought this was a perfect time to show off our big-wheel riding, wet sponge throwing skillz. We have those skillz, I am sure of it. I mentioned it last night to Ricker and the response was a luke warm "I'll look into it." I received similar responses from my parents growing up when I asked for a pony.

I just got a text from my loving husband, who does not want to deny his doting wife of anything her heart desires (except a dachshund, but that's still being "looked into"-or so I keep telling myself), that Team Erwin is signed up for this bike-powered-New Belgium-un-routed obstacle course ALL OVER our city. What could go wrong? Beer, bikes, and big wheels....bring it!

http://www.urbanassaultride.com/

Top o' the morning!

So I am not sure when it started, maybe a month or so ago, but my 8 year old niece Parker and I talk on the phone every morning before I get to work. We normally discuss very important issues like bedtimes, plans for the day at summer camp, and if today is a pool day or an activities day. Parker is very polite and always asks me what I am doing that day, to which the answer never changes, "I am headed to work, BLAHHHH." She politely giggles and we carry on. Parker is normally a somewhat reserved child, which is why I love these phone calls. She doesn't just talk on the phone to anyone, so this makes Aunt K feel very special.

I did notice today that Parker's becoming quite the little comedian, whether it's intentional or not, I am still not sure:

K: how long were you at your grandma's house last night?

P: I am not sure, I think we left somewhere around 8:23.

This exchange exemplifies two key Parker personality traits: she is currently obsessed with clocks, and she is nothing if not precise. One day she will make an excellent expert witness.

The conversation continued on to the plans for the day, at which time Parker explained her frustration at the different plans for her and Chloe (her 6 year old sister, who is not interested in talking to her Aunt K at 8 in the morning):

P: I am going to camp today, and we're having a bbq.

K: That sounds fun, but it's going to be hot!

P: I KNOW! And Chloe gets to go to a pool with one of her friends and I have to go to this bbq that's outside and it's going to be so hot it will probably KILL me!

K: I don't think it will kill you.

P: I know, but a pool would be nice.

So maybe the propensity for brief moments of exaggeration will keep our gal off the witness stand after all. Talk to you tomorrow, P!

Marathon Training

While I have no complaints about St. Louis as a city, I would like to submit a complaint regarding one of St. Louis' less enjoyable attributes: weather. Specifically summer weather. Rick and I are training for a half marathon in October, which is (in theory) preparing us for a full marathon in Miami in January 2011. While it could be the hangovers, or laziness, I choose to blame the heat for my lack of motivation for training the past few weeks. Hell, we have only been training for 2.5 weeks, so it's been pretty miserable from the get-go. Only 9.5 more to go! We have been trying to get up super early to beat the heat, but it's proving to be impossible. I got up at 6:00 am this past Saturday to get on the road by 7, and even at that time it was 86 degrees outside! No good. I am thinking I should just get myself back to bed and wake up when the weather is more runner-friendly. Somewhere around November...

Intro

I'm Kaly, I am married to Rick, we have a dog named Bexar (pronounced Bear, named after a county in Texas where we grew up). We have been married for almost four years and it has been a blast so far. I plan on documenting the adventures moving forward here.

For a little background, Cottage 13 was where a group of my good friends stayed when they came to our wedding. I have fond memories of that place and we always talk about going back. As many of those friends and family members will be mentioned on here, I thought it was fitting to name the blog after a placed that housed so many people I love.