Before and After

Apparently I have been lazy and not written in a while. My husband was home a ridiculous amount last week, because when there is too much rain they can't work. It was really nice to have him around. Caed and I had lots of fun with him. Unfortunately the bank account does not feel the same way... but it was totally worth it.

We took numerous trips to the beach. Caed had tons of fun, the sun wore him out (and us) and we all look a little less white and feel a little more like summer is the best season.

Josh wasn't completely off work though, because when he's not doing his real job he has a wife at home to force him off the couch and to get at it. (Ok he's actually really good at getting things done and his wife often complains something along the lines of "but if you get off the couch, then I have to get off the couch and I just feel quite lazy." More often than not he gets off the couch anyway. Sad for lazy me.)

But our counters are sealed and shiny. This not only makes it look nice, but makes it easier/possible to clean them. We used an epoxy that not only sealed the counter tops, but leveled them and made them shiny. It was actually fairly easy to use (not that it was me who applied them...). We just scrubbed and sanded the counters, taped off areas we didn't want epoxied (the wall, sink, cupboard hardware), covered the floor, mixed the two containers together and applied with a paintbrush/sponge. They had to dry for 24 hours before we could use them. This was kind of inconvenient, but it had to be done, so we just sucked it up. And accidentally touched/put purses on them....

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After.

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 After.

The grout is also done on the tile back splash. I think it looks fantastic. I'm really happy with the tile I picked and the way it turned out. I would, next time, wait until someone was around to entertain my one year old. Grouting with a tiny human screaming and hugging your legs isn't as fun as you might think.

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And the fence! Josh built a little fence with a gate on the drive way side of the house. And my little, I mean short, because it isn't a very big space. It is quite tall, however. It's a really great cedar fence. I like it a lot. It will keep my babe in, and provide a wind break for when I'm attempting to light the bbq. Lighting a bbq with a match is definitely not one of my strengths. Dumb clicker that stopped working. Give me a match, add a little wind (What? Wind? in Medicine Hat??? Crazy, I know.) and you get an Ashley waiting for her husband to come home so she can make supper/ he can make supper, because lets face it, he's already home and the man should bbq... at least at my house. He also built a gate on the other side next to the neighbors fence. Not all we need is the gate at the back that will go between my lilac hedges. So wonderful.

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After.

As for me, I've been cleaning my floor. Over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over........

Jodi Mae, my fabulous sister in law, brought me this back from Ikea. It's wonderful. We put it together that night. I like it so much. I fits a lot of our stuff (books, dvds, wii stuff). Functional and looks great. Thank you once again Ikea. And Jodi. :)